Human Cargo II

[Julian Valentine]

Julian hadn't kept still since he saw the lightsaber. He still had his own back in his locker on the third deck, he had taken it from a Jedi on Coruscant, but the presence of a lightsaber mean't a Force User, or so it was largely assumed. But Yee had never mentioned Lady Kay was Force-Sensitive, nor was she a Jedi - as far as Julian knew. He paced the deck, his jetpack now replaced by his armored nutrient pack. He wasn't taking any precautions.

They had entered hyperspace four hours ago and was scheduled to arrive in the Sriluur System in a matter of minutes. Then came the critical part; transporting Lady Kay into the White Palace. His armaments had been accounted for, his armor checked. He was ready at a moments call if the Senator tried anything with the Force.

The prison ship was empty but for four people, Ghorua, a Herglic that had tagged along with Julian on his bounty, Willow, the personal Human Replica Droid for Julian, handling the business side of hunting, Kay, the senator in an energy cage designed to contain Force Users on the lower decks of the hanger. There was almost a whistle in the air, a faint wind that passed through the corridors of the four-hundred meter ship.

Julian stood at the helm, he began an attempt to contact the White Palace, "This is Julian Solo. I've got Lady Kay in my possession - I'm here to claim my reward. Requesting docking point." He would have looked nice for the Cartel, but hey, there were bigger things to worry about. He didn't fear Kay escaping her cage, no, he feared what she might do once he let her out when he tries to deliver her.


[member="Ghorua the Fish"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had managed to heal her broken rib and close some of the cuts in the time that she had before being forced into the energy cage. What a horrible device. The humming energy surrounded her as she sat there, knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She rested her chin on them with her eyes closed. With no concept of time, the four hours seemed much longer. Or maybe that was because she was worried?

"Don't I get a last meal? Or a last cup of tea before you hand me over to criminals?" She was hungry. As well as thirsty. And who knows when she'd get anything later?

The hunters seemed to have been avoiding her. Did they search through her satchel? More than likely. She figured it would leave them with questions, but they didn't seem to be itching to ask.

This was wrong. They had to see the error of what they were doing. They just had to. For her sake...

[member="Julian Solo"]
[member="Ghorua the Fish"]
[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

While Julian had seemed a bit jumpy at the thought of Kay being a force-user, Ghorua was more happy than anything. He sat in a secluded room with Bones, his Massiff, trying to get her to calm down. A stray shot from the bodyguard had left her with a cracked spike on her back. Ghorua would have to get that looked at. In the meanwhile, he rested his hand on her muzzle, and petted her as she growled in pleasure. In his other hand was the lightsaber.

He hadn't had the courage to turn it on yet. In their hours of hyperspace, all that the Herglic had done was show the saber to Julian, watch him go paranoid, and move the woman to a safer location. Then, he shut himself in this room, and rested.

After a few hours of calmly sitting in a room, Ghorua got antsy. He wanted this job to be over, so he could get his paycheck. But, Ghorua knew that with rushing things came sloppiness. Finally relenting, the Herglic, still in his pitch-black Koodan-Class armor, rose to his full 8'9'' height, and ducked out the door as he went to observe the prisoner, and tell her that they would be dropping her off soon. She could also try to pull something, and having a guard in there might ward that kind of action away.

Walking to her cell, Ghorua reattached his helmet, and told Bones to stay outside. Walking into the viewing area, separated by an energy barrier, Ghorua held her lightsaber in his enormous hands. "I could've sworn I had broken your rib a few hours ago," he started. "Yet, here you are, perfectly fine. Is that some Jedi power? I suppose that would also explain this," he growled, fidgeting with the comparatively little metal cylinder in his palm. He glanced up at the camera on the roof, noting his position in the room. He had never been at odds with a force-user before, but he had heard very scary things about them. Knowing that Julian or the robot-lady would be watching this made him a bit braver. At least they would be able to intervene if she started choking him or something.

[member="Julian Solo"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Thraxis]

Thraxis was sitting at his table, happily swinging in his new ceiling chair, all the while accompanied by the screams of the other people down in the Pitt. Their melodious sounds dancing around their chambers and into the surrounding cages. As he swinged around a Gammorean rushed in with a frantic expression.

"Boss! Someone called da' Palace! They say theyz got Kay! They say their here for the bounty!" it said with a huff, not helping its already guttural sound of his native species. Its voice-box had been broken by Thraxis in a display of power and now it was trying to listen to sandpaper rubbing against stone. It was hard for most to understand but it added a comical nature for when he asked questions during his interrogation.

The Ceiling Chair started to slow down, an air of silence swept through the office, as if the echoes of the screaming prisoners just vanished. For a few moments the Gammorean sweated, a bead of sweat dripping of his brow and crashing into the ground. Then came laughter. A hideous and twisted thing as if the devil itself had just found joy for the first time in its miserable life. The ceiling chair had turned to face the wall. A wave of his hand motioning the Gammorean out of the room like some sort of villain who never wanted to reveal his face. A step was heard taken as the sound of paper shuffling and lightly tapping the ground as a voice was heard in response. "I'm sending the location. Just dock anywhere near the White Palace. If anyone try's to stop you. Tell 'em you have Thraxis special cargo. They should leave you alone." then it ended with a click.
[member="Julian Solo"] [member="Ghorua the Fish"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Julian Valentine]

It wasn't long before he got a reply, but the time spent waiting was filled by the heavy breathing of a walking pig. It was disgusting enough that he swore he could almost smell his reeking breath. He closed the link after the call and nodded to Willow. She knew what to do. The ship would anchor in orbit and the bounty hunter's and Kay would take a shuttle down to the surface.

He stared into the camera feed where Kay was held prisoner, she began to ponder aloud about a last meal. Julian thumbed a device and spoke through the ships speakers, "No." He pushed himself off from the console and moved for the corridors. The door swung open with a hiss, and his boots echoed down the grated hallways.

He had taken an access corridor mostly used by maintenance crews to get to the hanger quicker - not that he had maintenance crews on here. Perhaps the Fringe Confederacy once did, but their little empire had faded into history. He walked out into the hanger where Ghorua was entertaining the guest.

"Don't get too attached," Julian warned Ghorua, "She's just cargo." He moved for the closest and only shuttle, right beside the BT-7 Thunderclap. It was without armaments and only big enough to fit ten men. It was a ferry and nothing more. "I've received the call, we'll be landing outside the White Palace and handing her over." He spun on his heels and draped his hands over his MT-14 twin blasters, "Now how about you get her out of that cage and we move along?"


[member="Ghorua the Fish"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay spoke quietly as [member="Ghorua the Fish"] held her lightsaber and spoke of her secret. "I'm not a Jedi or anything, but it's my secret to keep. My late husband was a great warrior. He would have me heal him after his battles. You could say that I've had a lot of practice. I was denied a medic, so I had no choice but to help myself."

She frowned as her request for food and drink was denied. It wasn't long after that that [member="Julian Solo"] arrived. Kay spoke up louder then. "I am not cargo! I have a life! I have a job! I have done nothing to you, done everything that you told me and still you want to hand me over for a few credits. Don't I at least get to catch a break? Give me my stuff back at the very least. For when my friends find out what you've done to me, you will have to watch your back." No doubt the hunters will become the hunted.

[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua stared her down as she spoke, a blank mask where his face should be. Finally, he spoke. "Interesting. I guess everyone has secrets, even a Republic senator."

Looking back as Julian walked into the hangar, the Herglic removed his helmet with a hiss. He smiled oily at his fellow hunter, the promise of pay in his words. "I was just information-gathering, Solo. And I got bored. You canceled out Dejarik game to lock down the Lady." Ghorua whistled, and Bones trotted in, happy as ever. The Herglic put the lightsaber between her jaws. "Go lay down," he said, and the pale Massiff walked deeper into the ship with the superweapon.

Ghorua let his eyes, his real eyes, rest on the senator as he went to deactivate the shield. Deep black, and without a hint of emotion. His smile only widened when she mentioned her "friends" again. "Yeah, yeah, Senator, you know the drill," he said, walking over and putting his massive hands on each of her shoulders. "One false move, and my two friends here will break YOUR back." The large Hunter gestured to Julian.

"After you. Let's get this thing over with."

[member="Thraxis"]
[member="Julian Solo"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Julian Valentine]

"No, Lady Kay, you're just cargo, human cargo. It's a few credits to a senator, sure, but a million split between myself and the fish, well, that's a lot. We all aren't so blessed to have the opportunities in life you have had, but as for your friends.. it's a big galaxy, there's a lot of rocks they'll have to look under if they hope to find us."

Julian turned his back to her and ducked into the shuttle, moving towards the cockpit. He sat down in the pilots seat and swung the chair around to watch them approach. "But the thing is, I'm hunted by a lot of people for a lot of things, I'm not scared of one of your friends like Hawk Solo showing up. I'll deal with him in due time," he said. He had learned a few things about Lady Kay from Yee, one of them being who her friends were - at least some of them. He swung back to face the console and began to warm the engines. They were closing in on orbit.

[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Ghorua the Fish"]

 

[Thraxis]

As his laughter silenced he took towards the entrance of the Cartel, gathering with him his thirteen most esteemed Gammorean Torturers with him. They were all bloodied, their skin almost pruning with the blood that had so often drenched their skin. Thin strips of linen covered their body, covering the bare necessities, they loved the blood dripping from their skin, though they loved the screams more. They came as well with their signature weapon, Arg'garok. Truly an awe-inspiring and terrifying weapons, each one drenched in a different shade of blood from the different 'visitors' of the Pitt.

As he went through he halls he told every single person that under penalty of death, they were to do a song. They were all to repeat the words. Salt the Wound, Strip the flesh. It was to be on constant repeat until Kay is taken to her chambers and they are all to do it in time with the stepping of their feet.

After a few minutes of moving and shuffling he got the men to prepare themselves. They lined the walls of the White Palace, with Thraxis standing in front of the towering Gate that made way to the White Palace. He had removed his helmet from his Suit moving his hair in front of his face, making sure his eyes were barely visible and a deep scarred simple split between his face. He had pierced his lips with his teeth to allow a slither of blood to slip between the cracks in his tooth. Impatiently awaiting the arrival of his honored guest.
[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Julian Solo"] [member="Ghorua the Fish"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay got to her feet as soon as [member="Ghorua the Fish"] stepped into the cage, her eyes not on his, but instead on Bones and her lightsaber. Another gift, gone. Her beloved satchel with her kettle, tea cups and tea, gone. Replaceable maybe, but she valued the comfort that they gave her.

As [member="Julian Solo"] spoke to her about being so blessed, she frowned. "A million? It would take me years to make that kind of credits. Do you think that I'm some rich snob born into rooms full of credits? I earned my way, worked for it. And to repay society I spend nearly all of my credits freeing slaves and helping refugees. Haven't you wondered why I have no ship, no home and no staff? It's because I can't afford it. You are richer than me right now,even without collecting on me. The Cartel is only going to torture me or lock me up for saving people from them."

They just weren't listening to reason and it was frustrating. She knew who awaited her at the White Palace, but she had no idea what his plans would be this time. Escape was not going to be easy. But she had to try. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, she was going to take it.

"When word of this gets out, Hawk Solo would be the least of your worries..." She had friends with very bad tempers, ones that she cared for as though they were her big brothers. They would not be happy with this news.

[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua escorted her into the shuttle, leading her by her shoulders. If Ghorua had his way, he wouldn't let go of the senator until the transaction was made. The Herglic placed his thumbs on her shoulder-joint. From this angle, he could pop both of her arms out of place. A little trick he learned from Solo.

Standing behind Solo with the girl, he unintentionally started tapping his fingers on her back, making a heavy clicking noise. He was more bored than anything at this point, but tried to look professional. The Herglic stood up tall, and tried to look menacingly down at the Lady. Despite all of his professionalism, Ghorua couldn't help but laugh at Julian's comment about hiding under rocks. "Ha, easy for you to say. I couldn't find a rock large enough to hide me if I tried."

With his laughing fit subsiding, Ghorua waited for the shuttle to head towards this "White Palace".

[member="Julian Solo"]
[member="Thraxis"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Julian Valentine]

"You're a Republic Senator, Kay, even backwater politicians earn six-digits - ain't my fault you spend your salary on others." He struggled to become comfortable in the chair, the nutrient pack hanging from his shoulders was getting in the way and he was forced to hunch over the control pad. His hands waved by a series of buttons, he then gripped the cyclic and throttle.

The shuttle closed with a hiss as the small craft was pressurized. The immense hanger doors slowly scraped open. The noise was akin to nails being dragged across a chalkboard. It was painful to the ears. The deflector shield lowered, and Julian began to steer the shuttle out of the bay. The engines didn't so much roar as they did hum. A vibrating noise that rattled the head.

He twisted the small cylindrical device that acted as throttle and accelerated the shuttle into Sriluur's atmosphere. White hot flames licked the side of the shuttle as they descended through the highest clouds. As the flames subsided and they passed atmosphere, the clouds opened and they were greeted with a magnificent sight, well, at least Julian was. He had front-row seating, the rest of the shuttle didn't have viewscreens.

The White Palace lay sprawled in the barren wasteland below. He turned away from the sight and craned his neck towards the woman, "No hard feelings, this is just my job." He peeled his attention away and back to the screen ahead.

[member="Ghorua the Fish"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Thraxis"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

It just wasn't fair....Neither of them had any compassion and she had been nothing but compliant. Every attempt at sympathy was met with a steel wall.

She felt [member="Ghorua the Fish"] 's thumbs holding the pressure points in her shoulders. She could try to break free from his grip, but losing the use of her arms wouldn't help her. Kay brought her hands up to cover her ears as the hanger bay's door opened. It was an awful sound.

As Ghorua started drumming his fingers on her back, she got slightly annoyed. She wanted to stamp on his enormous feet and kick [member="Julian Solo"] in the back, causing him to lose control of the shuttle. But she didn't.....

Killing them all would do little to help her circumstance. If she had a death wish, she would have fought them a long time ago. But she still had too much to live for.

As he spoke of this being 'just his job', Kay spat on the floor. "That's what I think about you and your job."

She felt the shuttle enter the atmosphere and a chill went up her spine. There was only one chance left to get out of this. Regardless of whether they were expecting it or not. She had to take it. Kay clenched her fists as she watched and waited.

[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

As they broke the atmosphere, Ghorua couldn't help but get antsy again. If he were to become a legendary Hunter, Ghorua would have to get his impatience out of the way. There was a lot of waiting in this business.

Ghorua watched Kay spit on the floor absentmindedly. She had little hopes to escape. A thousand pounds of angry was holding her by the shoulders, and Julian was as hawk-eyed as ever. Still, his paranoia seemed to get to him, making him squeeze on the smaller form's arms. He certainly felt nervous, but his smile never faltered. His smile was fake, not meeting his eyes, which were dark and brooding. Everything's gonna be fine, Fish, he said to himself, his grip like a vise. Everything's gonna work out, you're gonna get your pay, and you're gonna get rich.

The shuttle was close to the ground now. Any moment, the doors would open, letting the gigantic figure out. Thank goodness, I was starting to get claustrophobic.

[member="Julian Valentine"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Thraxis"]

 

[Julian Valentine]

"Good thing my job isn't to clean the floors," Julian broke a grin. The small spacecraft shuddered from turbulence. Landing gears were lowered, and Julian adjusted throttle and cycicle. The shuttle spun around so that it's rear loading ramp would be facing the gates of the White Palace. There was a loud bang and the entire ship rocked. Julian caught himself, unbuckled his harness and stood.

The rear ramp was lowering, and he could see Thraxis. The man looked disturbed. Not in the sense that Julian had woken him up during his sleep, but that he was truly insane. It sent a chill down his spine and he involuntarily shivered. The Bounty Hunter ducked his head, his hands draped themselves over his holstered pistols. "Get moving."

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Thraxis"] | [member="Ghorua the Fish"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

--Meanwhile, back on Bakura--

They loaded him into the back of a blue armored speeder with a small holding area, along with two other policemen. The doors didn't have anyway of opening them from the inside. Dominik's weapons were upfront as this was the only speeder with enough space to hold them all. The first thing he noticed, was that the guards had blasters with stun settings, and a metal mesh to see through to the driver. These guys were amateurs. They didn't even wear armor, just greyish blue uniforms.

If they took him to prison... it take him a few days at best to escape. He didn't have that kind of time to get Lady Kay back! He had to get out now.. and he had just the plan.

The guards would see a tired, exhausted man who held one of their own hostage after shooting a civilian dead. But Dominik was far from that. Well, he did take a policeman hostage and killed a civilian, but that was on accident. In truth, he wasn't tired at all. He was trained to fight and run until his arms and legs physically would not respond to him anymore. The speeder started up, the doors were shut, and they started to move.

The ex-agent leaned his head back against the wall, sighing before saying softly, "I told you letters of condolences would be sent to your family. And as of right now, I'm not sure if I'm lying or not."

The guard next to him looked to him, a questioning look on his face. Dominik had solid cuffs on, and was in the back of the speeder. What could he d- ... that's as far as he got.

In the moment of a breath, Dominik shot from his seat toward the guard across from him, throwing his whole body into him. With his armor pressing on one side and the armored wall of the speeder of the other, the guard either passed out or his skull cracked. He wasn't sure.

Before the second guard could fire his gun, Dominik ducked and swept his booted foot out, throwing it under his captor's feet. The guard fell to the floor, his head and upper body on the bench for prisoners to sit on. Dominik launched up from where he was, slamming his armor platted knee into his head, and from that he heard a crack. Although when he pulled it back, he wasn't sure if it was his nose or his cranium. Didn't matter.

The driver shouted "What's going on back there?!" Cooly, The Ex-Sith Agent drew the stun blaster from the guard's belt, pushing it through the metal mesh. A stun blast slammed into the driver sending the speeder out of control. The blue speeder veered off the center of the road, plowing head first into another vehicle, if not slightly of center. The armored police speeder tore through and tilted to one side, finally overturning as it smashed into the side of a building. Debris, sparks and sand flew everywhere as the speeder used the building as it's brakes. Dominik was thrown about the carriage, blacking out for a second before opening his eyes again, seeing the doors slightly open. Perfect.

If he recalled the bounty board, the one paying the bounty was one @Thraxis. Home, the White Palace.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay turned her head and looked up to [member="Ghorua the Fish"] as he tightened his grip, causing her to wince. "You are holding me too tight! Ease up!" As the ship rocked, she widened her stance to keep her balance.

The same chill that ran down [member="Julian Valentine"] 's spine went down hers as well when she saw [member="Thraxis"] there, waiting. She could hardly see his eyes and he was bleeding? Blood was coming from one of his lips. Was he aware of it?

Julian told her to start moving, but she just couldn't. Kay remained frozen in place while she stared at Thraxis, her mind going back to the long time that she spent in his mental institution, as well as the images of him killing people in front of her and throwing pieces of the body at her. The man was psychotic. She sent a friend to capture him once, only to have that friend caught by Thraxis and tortured instead. Who knows what horrors he has dreamt up this time.

Ghorua, no doubt, would start to push her forward, and so with heavy footfalls, she walked down the ramp.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua slightly lightened his grip a little as it was pointed out. He may be cruel, but he wasn't uncivil. As the door hissed opened, he could feel the Lady tense up. When she didn't move, Ghorua got impatient, and decided to show off his strength.

Instead of pushing her along, the enormous Herglic put his hands under her arms, and lifted her off of her feet. Walking her forward like this, he let her plod back and forth with his footsteps, hopefully disorienting her as he stepped off the shuttle.

Planting her feet back on the ground, hands back on her shoulder-joints, he growled. "Keep moving, M'Lady. Wouldn't want to be late for your date." Examining Thraxis, he didn't get much. Typical small human, at least small to him, with some high-quality looking armor. His lip was bleeding, and he almost radiated an aura of terror. Ghorua could tell already that he would like this guy. Exhaling through his blowhole, he gestured forward, pushing the senator along.

[member="Thraxis"]
[member="Julian Valentine"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Thraxis]

That devilish shriek that echoed in the Pitt become audible once more, his head falling back as he laughed at the sky, his hair falling back behind his head. After a few seconds he went quiet, his head slowly twisting around to see her with his eyes wide and empty. "Madam Kay. We have your room ready. You can't keep running of like this. The doctors and I get ever so worried. Now thank our personnel for getting you back to the medical treatment you need." his slip smile growing ever more uneasy on his face. His body bounced up and down as he tried to contain the laughter.

He turned around to one of the Gammoreans. "Grab the suitcase. Make sure its a fancy one too, not the ones we throw to common street rabble." he said, an air of unease broke out as every word was spat from his lips. He then looked to the biggest one of the lot. "Give me the uniform." he said,his voice morphing to that time back long ago. He wanted to play up the doctor role to get maximum psychological torment out of her. In a few minutes he had been dressed in the White robes, atop his armor, his hair pulled back and his face twisting back to that old gentle face that once tortured Lady Kay. A smile spread from lip to lip, almost looking genuine, though with the Gammoreans saying Strip the Flesh, Salt the Wounds, it was all but genuine.
@Julian Solo [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Dominik Borra"] [member="Ghorua the Fish"]

 

[Julian Valentine]

"Wire me the credits, you get the girl and I'll be on my way," Julian addressed Thraxis. Personally, he was annoyed by the theatrics, and it showed. His arms slowly crossed against his chest, and a deep frown registered on his forehead. Once Thraxis had her, Kay was no longer his responsibility. Even if she escaped then and there, so long as he had his credits, he would be happy. But until then, he was keeping Kay with him.

He ambled up beside Ghorua, flanking Kay on her left. "I don't have time for a musical, mate," he near-hissed through gritted teeth at Thraxis. "Let's get this over and done with, I've already wasted enough time on this assignment as it is."

[member="Thraxis"]