Look Down

[Sabetha Tag]

"Uuuuuuuugh it's a family name but nah. Ma was Corellian. Da was from Tatooine I guess. Very, very NOT noble. It's not THAT funny-"

It turned out Hira wasn't laughing at her name, but something else. Sabetha listened as she explained, snorting by the end of it.

"That," she said, winging the rock again. "Sounds like a damned hot mess and not even in a fun way. This is why I don't kill people.... well. I mean I *have* but not like, professionally. Sometimes chit just happens. But yeah, 'assassin fer hire' sounds like more headache than it's worth."

A smirk then at the last part.

"Sounds like an opportunity for a drink or four after, eh? We do that, my treat."

Test the waters, just a little. Nothing heavy or overt.

"Well, not on Sullust. Probably want to get out of THERE three times fast."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"Eh, t'was fine. Once da house was cleared out I had like a week 'fore dere fam' came back home. Sooo." Awkward cough there once she realized that what Hira considered completely fine and par of course might not be as acceptable to Sabetha.

But.

In for a penny, eh?

"Les just say that I never had that good a meal since." Yes. Hira had assassinated grandfather, father and son, then followed it up by spending a few days in their mansion, eating and drinking at her heart's content, before making off with her prize. Truth to be told she had yanked far more than that from the place. That was the only reason why that mission had turned out pretty okay even without the payment.

Made that up.

She turned around, flopping onto her back and started stretching again.

"Drinks two, three, four? Count me riiiiiight in, Sabby." A snort then. "Oh yeah, kark that. Sullust is a wash anyway. I will show ya a pretty lil' place on Terminus once we done there, yeah?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"See, now, I'd kill for the right meal," Sabetha responded with, totally deadpan.

Homeless for too long as a kid, she'd missed her fair share of meals. Food wasn't something Sabetha karked around it. She might not be picky when it boiled down to it- eat or don't eat she'd always pick the later assuming there was anything remotely edible involved. That said, she had come to appreciate a truly fine meal.

Some things were worth killing over. That might be one of them, depending on the situation.

A smile curled over her face at the response to the invitation. A counter invite, there we go. Still go careful cause wasn't fair but that was enough to encourage her.

"Assuming it hasn't been priss-ified by the time we get outta here, you're on," she retorted. "But if it's fallen over the cliff into First Order land, hard pass. That place means BUSINESS and not the kind I'm down for. Nah, miss me with that chit. I give Imperials a wide berth if I can avoid it. Too stuffy. Sticks too far up their bums. Usually the trouble ya invite ain't worth the pay out."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Her hand raised in the air, finger pointing at the ceiling.

"Point."

Pow.

She finger-gunned at the air and then let the arm slump down against the floor again. "At least da Remnant karked off from Rishi." She still refused to refer to them as the GALACTIC EMPIRE, like c'mon. You control like... what? A dozen star sectors and suddenly you think you are the Galactic Empire come again? Puh-lease. Some of them really had sticks up their arses.

"If Terminus gets painted with sum Imperial Red I will show ya around Rishi instead. Tropical, big talking birbs, good drinks and pirates alllll over da place. Ya will dig it, fun place to hang around a bit."

It reminded her of Shysa.

He had hated it.

But that had been half the fun for her back then. Hira yawned a bit. "So, I have been poking around a plan to get outta here."

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"I am down for Rishi, deal. Didn't even know the Remnant was squatting there. Glad they didn't ruin it."

For Sabetha, she'd missed when it had begun to call itself the Empire. So there was no disconnect when Hira called it that.

"See, I'll give the Alliance this much- for all of their bull, they mostly left the worlds in their clutches alone. Sure, couple a' exceptions? But mostly places stayed the way they were just with the white hats strutting around. They made it a schutta to do business but they left the local systems mostly alone. You been to Velusia? It's on my list."

Sabetha had a lot of things on her list.

Shoulders starting to cramp up from sitting the way she had been, she groaned, rolling them slightly and standing up. Stretching for a minute, she flopped onto the bunk, the board creaking slightly when she maneuvered to put her head back near the hole.

"Okay, hit me. I mean, I assume that's not the plan but. Well, guess it could be. Anyway. Whatcha got?"

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"Naw, but I hear its a doozy dere, so might one o' these days for sure."

The horizons were supposed to be beautiful once the sun sets or rises an' there was that legend of an ancient treasure ship hiding beneath the waves. The ship of Taggart herself, if that wasn't a beautiful fancy? Then Hira didn't know what was. She continued to stretch there for a bit, while mulling and ordering her plan in her head before pushing herself up and flopping down on the bunk again.

Head leaning against the wall so the hole was right next to her.

"Get into a fight again with dem bozos. Afterwards, I break a few ribs myself, 'cus these guards can't throw a punch for chit." A shrug there after a moment of thought. "Pretty sure they ain't gonna let someone hang around with broken ribs."

First Order? Yeah.

Sith Empire? Hell, they would be working their arse off in a mine.

Alliance? Nah, they wouldn't have the heart for that.

"Whatcha think?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the wall. At first it was because Sabetha was absorbing that.

The second was because she was pinching her nose.

"Okay, maybe you are dumb enough to get caught by the Alliance, but so am I so here we are."

Sabetha rolled over onto her stomach, gesturing with her hands even if Hira couldn't see.

"Why in the world would you get yourself injured for real, when you have a built in option that you can really easily FAKE and be one-hundred percent fighting fit on the other side?"

A beat.

"Your cybernetics you dolt. They didn't do a full scan for 'em right? That's the whole point of the bracelet, so you couldn't surprise 'em? Give yerself a couple of bruises on your lower back. Don't have to be serious. Then ya flop on the ground, roll yer eyes back and groan a bit-" Sabetha paused, then SMIRKED, before continuing. "And I start yelling about kidney implants and oh gods what have they done to you, yada yada, sepsis blah blah blah. Bam, you get to medical, no broken bones required."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Brows furrowed at that.

She processed.

Thought.

There were parts of that plan that seemed completely reasonable- the idea of not having to break her bones and fighting with them at the same time would be pretty good in terms of their success, but. Head tilted as she mulled it over some more. After all, she wasn't that stupid, so clearly she was missing something, no? "Okay. So. Why do I need to give myself bruises on my back again?"

It wasn't like Hira was a medic.

You paid people for that in her business, specifically so you didn't have to know. "Also, hey, it was just the easiest thing that came to mind, miss Sabby Two-Years." That got a chuckle out of her.

"Sabby Two-Years."

Mmm.

"Good nickname. Gonna keep that one in."

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Sepsis in yer kidneys, liver, that stuff is bad news. I dunno what causes it, but it makes bruises all over yer lower back."

She said it with the certainty of someone who had seen it.

"Can happen when bodymods go wrong. Or if you can't afford to continue their upkeep. Take yer pick."

A shrug.

Sabby two-

A finger jabbed in the air in the general direction of the other woman through the wall.

"Hey, if I'd had implants I coulda used as an excuse I woulda! Call me that again I'll slap you silly and not even in a fun way."

She recognized that, somewhere around the year mark, something had gone out in her. She'd told herself she'd run out of options, but really, had she? Or had she just given up? Hira's arrival had started the smolder inside of her again. The drive. An unwillingness to just shrug and say 'eh this is where we're at, why fight it?'

Sabetha was a go with the flow sort, but this flow had stagnated for long enough that it had started to poison her and she hated that. Not only that it had happened but that it had been bad enough for her to barely notice it.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

An audible huh escaped her as Sabetha explained.

"Didn't know that, sounds good to me then." The more she thought about it the more Hira realized that yeah, way better than actually breaking a handful of ribs to get into the medbay. Not to say that she wouldn't have, if that was what it took. But. If a better option presents itself to you, why worry about it, eh? "I guess I will...." She looked around the jail cell a bit.

"I dunno, punch myself in the back a few times? Or ya can pass me that smol rock and I will improvise with it."

The sound of it constantly bouncing around Tag's room was a constant company for both of them. She didn't actually know how large it was though, so maybe that wasn't a possibility.

Good to ask tho.

"Fine, fineee, relaaaax, Sabby." Under her breath and whispered. "More like Caaatty Sabby Two-Years..."

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"My rock? Try the edge a ya' bunk," she said, settling her arms folded under her chin. "Little below the kidneys. Not too hard though, don't actually want to hurt yerself for real. Last thing I want is to end up sitting here waiting for my Hero while yer dying cause ya busted a kidney."

It had occurred to Sabetha that, with all of this talk, what she was really doing was just helping Hira out of here. That once the other woman was on the outside of that door, she would walk without a backward glance. Definitely a risk.

If she did, she reasoned, she wouldn't be any worse off than she was now. The gamble seemed worth it. Nothing changes or everything changes for the better.

But there was that doubt in the back of her mind.

She heard her mutter something under her breath, but couldn't make it out. Her face screwed up but she didn't respond.

"'Sides, rock's too big ta fit through that hole."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"Dun' worry, I saw sum of what they got in 'ere. This is a two-lady job for real." A smaller stretch as she glanced at the edge of her bunk. Ugh, this was going to suck for real though.

In some ways worse than breaking her own ribs.

That would have been relatively quick and hard. This on the other hand would be a repeat, where she had to judge the rush just right, unless she wanted to go too hard and actually kark something up internally. Definitely not a thing she was looking forward towards. "Oh, yeah, got a big rock on ya, eh?" She murmured absently as she studied the edge a bit more.

Trying to figure out what angle would be best there.

"Nah, big rocks are over rated in a partner."

"Yeah, I guess if you got a small hole you want smaller rocks, true, true." A sigh then. "Aight, I figure we will take some time to figure out what we remember from the building, how it all fits together, yeah? The more you remember the better 'ere, numbers, habits, chit like that."

Sabby Two-Years could use her experience here.

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"I dunno, key in that case is being gentle and patient. Meet 'em where they at."

SMIRK.

Sabetha assumed the banter and subtext was deliberate. Which also meant it was easy to switch gears when Hira did rather than be surprised by the change of topic. When flirting, respect the topic change.

They both lay there, trading off what they knew about the facility. Hira's memory for the intake areas was fresher, while Sabetha could tell down to the number of steps the areas prisoners had access to. Not many, but between the two of them they got a pretty good idea of enough of the lay out. From where they were to the infirmary. There was a gap between the infirmary and the way out, but it wasn't a big one and Sabetha wasn't too concerned. This place wasn't a deliberate labyrinth. How many turns could there be between? One? Two? And they knew which direction they'd have to go.

She felt the excitement of planning. Not just the potential for freedom specifically, though there was that. It was also the sheer enjoyment of a good plot. Sure, had to be ready at any moment to let it go and wing it. But there was something deeply satisfying about making up a plan that would royally kark someone over while getting yourself what you wanted out of it.

"All hinges on you gettin' outta that infirmary," Sabetha ended on. "I can pick the locks to get us out out, but you gotta get ME out."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Meet... them... where they at?

Brows furrowed in confusion at that.

In the end Hira decided to let that one lay, because honestly she was eager to get cracking at their plan. Once the idea was set out every single fiber in her body got energized and jumpy. She wanted to move, wanted to do it. It had always been that way for her. Always on the move, always going forward and forward without pause. Her partner had always tried to pull her back a bit.

Probably saved her life a couple of times that way.

"Not a problem. If they take dis fethin' bracelet off and my power gets recharged?" A shrug followed after that. "Gon' be gud, trust." Oh, her fingers were already making fists and relaxing compulsively.

"Mmmmm. I guess we should wait a few more days maybe? Get a few nights of sleep, chit like that."

Her nose wrinkled at that.

Why not now?

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"One day," Sabetha said decisively, rolling over to stare at the ceiling.

"Bruises need time to develop. To look good. One day. Assuming you're ready to hurt yourself. If not we wait. But."

She rolled over again, her mouth close to the spot that brought her voice to Hira on the other side of that wall.

"Two years is too much," she said, her voice quiet and hard.

"I don't intend on spending one day more than is necessary here, ya feel me?" There was an intensity in her voice that hadn't been there over the last few days. Up until now she'd been casual, light. Tired, yes, but her voice had always had the easy quality of someone ready to take whatever came their way.

Now? It was hard and heated. Driven. A tension that couldn't be seen in the body translated to voice. Low and fierce.

"Not one day more."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

A lazy stretch.

"Ain't my jam to hurt myself for da fun of it, but-" She hummed softly as she noted the intensity of her tone now. That was more like it. "Gotta do what ya gotta do to get da job done, eh?"

"Now is as good a time as any."

It wasn't even about Sabby or her two years here. She felt for her (sorta somewhat), but Hira didn't feel like postponing something that needed to be done anyway. Why would tomorrow be better? Or the day after? What could happen next week that would make it more enjoyable than right now? It would hurt like a fether either way, so might as well get it over with.

"S'allgood, Sabby, I will getcha out. S'what I do, eh? Yo personal hero."

The smirk at the end could be felt in her tone as the sound of her climbing up to her feet. "Mmm... mebbe sing a song for me, while I do dis? Would like that I think."

Then she slowly went through her knees to prepare for the first... flop.

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Not looking forward to making ya hurt yourself neither, but I'll make a note," Sabetha said with a smirk.

Oh yeah, there was no doubt now, Hira was definitely flirting back as far as she was concerned.

The fact that she was wrong of course.....

The request for a song surprised her.

"Dunno if I know any 'beating' music. Well maybe I do, but not that would be good to accompany a self beating anyway. But hey, never say no to a pretty lady willing to beat 'erself up for ya, eh? Hmmm."

She cleared her throat, hummed experimentally for a moment. It had been..... a long time. She used to sing a lot. Hadn't been bad. When was the last time she had?

Not since being behind bars.

"Ya know there's no appropriate music for this yah?"

But she obliged.

Laying on her back, she sang, words she hadn't put to voice in years, a song someone else had taught her.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

A snort followed.

"Ya dun know how I look, Jolt, s'far as ya know I might be a fat guy with a raspy girly voice." In truth Hira never really had thought about her looks. Oh, she knew there were plenty of folk who liked what they saw, but that never really mattered to her. All that mattered was a sharp edge of the blade, quick trigger and quickness. The golden trio to get a mission done as far as Hira was concerned.

Once the syllables sounded rolling.... Hira began.

The grunts of pain as she landed against the edge of the bed over and over again were overwhelmed by the song's words and that had been the point. Make sure that nobody was too focused on what they were doing here.

Over.

And over.

And over and over again.

Until Hira realized she was on the ground and couldn't actually get up again. "Mrrpfh, d-dat should dooo it." The words managed to escape her lips, before she let out a pained sigh and carefully, oh so carefully, crawled onto her stomach and laid there. "Feth me." Hira murmured softly, trying to find a position where the hurt wasn't as bad with every breath she took.

"S'good song, Sabby."

 

[Sabetha Tag]

Hira didn't argue with her about the looks thing. Honestly, it didn't matter. But when Hira called her pretty she wasn't talking about her looks anyway. Was true she had no idea what the other woman looked like. Was equally true that Sabetha just liked people. Short people, tall people. Thin people, fat people. Male people, female people. Human people, non-human people. Just. People. People were attractive in a wide swath of sorts.

She focused on the song, rather than the sounds she could catch through the hole. She wasn't necessarily squeamish. But there also wasn't anything good in listening to it in detail. Easier to sing, to remember. Bittersweet but nothing she regretted.

"Is a good song," she agreed when it was all over. "Take it easy over there- ya didn't go too hard right?" Genuine concern.

Hira seemed like the sort to only have one setting- maximum hard.

"Stretch out, relax." Least Sabetha could do. Sure she had her own role in this, but it didn't involve beating the feth out of herself till she bruised.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Maximum hard.

Full throttle.

No point in looking back, only forward.

It was the only way Hira Mitsae knew how to live and she wouldn't change it for anything in the world. "Just 'ard enough, Sabby." Hira gasped in pain as a twitch in her back caused the muscles to constrict. Uuuuugh. This was going to suck tomorrow. Suuuuuuck. Trying to relax, breathing in and out, relax more and more. Stretching out as best as she could in that moment.

"Starting to think the ribs would have been more pleasant."

The grumble had only a little energy behind it.

Most of it was currently focused on breathing, stretching and trying to find the willpower to climb her way into her bunk. Because either way sleeping on the floor didn't really seem a good idea.

"Tho. This gives good motivation to rip out throats tomorrow."