That Nagging Feeling

[Qyren Leret]

It was an unusual kind of day. Qyren sorted through some bolts of cheap cloth in front of a fabric storefront before exchanging a smile with her mother, Naota. The shopping district of the small city was bustling and the crush of people brought on a mixture of anxiety and exhilaration in Qyren. Rarely had her parents allowed her to leave their colony to visit the actual cities of the planet, even in the company of those she knew, and Qyren had understood. Slavers loved to pick off the unwary from city streets; although Qyren was now old enough to fight back, she did not relish the thought of revisiting the slave pens of some distant world, stolen from her parents with no way to get home but for the unlikely grace of others.

"This would go nicely with your eyes," her mother said, holding a bolt of pale green cloth up for Qyren's inspection.

"It would go just as nicely with yours," Qyren, who had inherited her mother's eyes, replied teasingly, running the cloth between her fingers to feel the weave.

"We will get it," her mother decided, and she turned to speak with the store owner.

With her mother distracted, Qyren took stock of her surroundings, carefully observing those near her as well as any unmoving figures among the constantly moving crowds. As Qyren watched a heat-lazy group of humans amble by, she sighed and rubbed at the aching pressure in her head, a gesture her father took note of as he rejoined them.

''No better?" he asked in their native Ryl, his brown eyes sharp.

Qyren simply shook her head. She had woken with the strange feeling, the one that had made her head ache and her stomach turn right before the raiders had hit a neighboring village. It made the trip she had so looked forward to the day before one that she somewhat dreaded. Something was coming; the feeling had never been wrong, whatever instinct it was.

"You should eat something," her mother insisted, running a gentle hand down her arm as she returned with the cloth bagged. "Here. We will stop before we finish our shopping." Qyren nodded silent acceptance as she took the bag from her mother. Her father slid his arm around her shoulders on the other side and guided her down the street, a tall, solid wall between her and potential harm.

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lorane couldn't really remember what this planet was called. He just knew it was chock full of Twi'leks. To be honest, he didn't care much. This job was one he took to pass the time until Serenna finished planning out his and Rawnie's wedding. He figured there'd be a bunch of jobs like this. Relatively low-risk guard duty, in this case.

The guard duty mostly consisted of one of his favorite things: sitting and drinking coffee with his fiancee. He held her hand and sat in a chair inside what seemed to be a relatively empty diner.

"Y'know, under different circumstances, I'd call this a date. With us, though, I don't think those start until one of us shoots somebody."​

[member="Qyren Leret"] [member='Rawnie Tal'verda']

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren sighed faintly as her family entered the diner and the city-fairing Twi'lek waitress gestured them to a table. In spite of being indoors, she kept the hood of her white over-robe up over her lekku. Thankfully, her species was used to heat, or Qyren may have been more uncomfortable in the head-to-toe garment. Her mother had insisted she wear the unusually obscuring set of robes for this particular trip; knowing that the insistence stemmed from her mother's paranoia that her only child would be taken from her again, Qyren had acquiesced readily. Apart from her face and hands, nothing else of her would be visible to an observer, limiting the amount of attention she might receive. Many travelers wore robes when they went about the cities; Qyren became just another tourist alongside them. When he had first seen her, her father had looked steadily at her mother for a moment, then had gotten into their transport without a word about it.

Qyren cast a second quick look around the room. The building was mostly empty, but for a blonde and her Chiss companion, a pair of Togruta men talking business in the back, and a small, chatty group of human women. None seemed interested in the family of three that had entered, which temporarily soothed Qyren's concerns. With her head still throbbing, the young woman lowered herself into a chair, trying not to display her discomfort on her face. She didn't want to worry her parents, especially when she was having a good time, but the headache had not yet gone away.

Whatever is coming, she prayed silently, Let it avoid me.

Usually, a sharp spike of unreasoning panic and a faint awareness of the direction of the danger would hit her if trouble ended up involving her; as that hadn't happened yet, Qyren was hopeful that what she was feeling was a vague danger to someone else in the city. She pointedly ignored that specific warnings usually occurred moments before the event, rather than well in advance.

Qyren accepted a menu without meeting the waitress' eyes and opened it. For a moment, her gaze looked beyond the menu, missing entirely the selections offered at the establishment. The last time she had been in a city it had been a passing point for her unwilling shipment off the planet. Although some details of her kidnapping had faded, a few stood out boldly, not the least among them the beatings and the distant, calculating look in the eyes of those sent to determine what kind of profit she could bring. Another was the dark, almost featureless docking bay where she had been changed from a speeder to the holding cell of a ship, one scared face among many scared faces. An absent gesture by her mother beside her brought Qyren back to herself and she refocused so that she could provide her mother with her order before the waitress returned.


[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Why did they need to plan their wedding? All they needed was a few minutes, and an hour or so to teach him the vows. She liked to keep thing simple. Get it over with and get on with starting a family. He was fine with that, right? Well. She'd figure it out in time.

"I don't think we've ever been on a real date, now that you mention it."

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor grinned at the thought of going on a normal date with Rawnie, and then laughed.

"Aren't you the one who's been curling up next to me whenever I grab a snack and sit on the couch? I sort of... assumed you wouldn't be comfortable actually going out for dates. It's not like I'm gonna complain about ice cream cuddles, either."

He sipped a bit more of his coffee, looking out the window.

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"] [member="Qyren Leret"]​

 

[Qyren Leret]

"Ready?" the waitress asked in Common.

"Yes," Naot'aeret replied and proceeded to order for herself and her daughter in Common. This time, Qyren managed a quick smile for the waitress before the female moved on to her father. When he was done speaking, she rattled the order off again flawlessly.

"Yes, good," her father said as he passed his menu to the waitress. He smiled at her as she went on her way, and then turned his attention back to his family. He leaned back in his seat, casually draping his pale purple tchun around his neck and shoulder. When he next spoke, he had switched back to Ryl and his voice stayed companionably low. "Is the city what you expected?"

Qyren nodded, regretting that her hood would make understanding her words difficult. "For the most part, I think it is. Your stories have done it justice."

"I'm only sorry it isn't more exciting for you."

"Let us not wish for excitement," her mother commented with a wry smile. Qyren shook her head in amusement and her father traded a glance with her.

"True. However, this has been a peaceful trip. Perhaps next time Qyrenl'eret can be without the additional coverage," her father suggested mildly, brown eyes frank as he met Qyren's gaze again.

"Huluu'neret," her mother protested in a soft whisper, the tchin-movement accompanying her father's name containing an agitated emphasis. Qyren dropped her gaze.

"It is why we trained all of our women in basic self-defense."

"But that will not help her if a group corners her. She may be an adult, but this world is no safer than any other for our women and being older will not save her; she is still young."

"I understand the need," Qyren chipped in, reaching up to absently run a soothing hand down her tchin. She hated when her parents argued over her. "And I truly don't mind."

"And that is because you are of a forgiving and happy nature," Huluu'neret commented. He sighed. "I only want you to have the freedom we afford to our other children."

"I know. But this is best for now," Qyren answered, smiling to soften her father's disheartened attitude. "I am glad to be out and seeing something of the planet."

"A million million stars," Huluu'neret commented. Brought back to days when she would be caught standing before their home at night, staring up at the endless sea of stars, Qyren smiled with pleasure and felt a faint ache that was fueled by longing rather than vague future danger. There was so much she would never see, never know, of their wide universe. Her father and the other knowledgeable adults taught her whatever they could when she asked. Her aging schoolteacher, who had spent most of her life off-planet in the towering cities of highly populated worlds, always gave Qyren the most interesting stories. Some were warnings, but many were simply tales of sights that Qyren knew her imagination could hardly do justice to.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The blonde shrugged.

"We're getting married. The time for dating I think has passed already. "

She didn't mind having never gone on a date before. Honestly, she really didn't want that sort of pressure. How stressful. She'd probably be expected to dress up. Maybe even... wear a dress.

"Besides, when we start having children, we won't have time for that. Why start now?"



[member="Qyren Leret"] [member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor moved his chair a little so he could actually hug Rawnie. As always, she felt warm and smelled good, even through her armor.

"I'm happy with just this, you know. It's not like I don't have fun at home with you."

As they sat there, a group of slavers in what seemed to be light tanks came in from their hideout several hundred kilometers away. Still too far away to be heard or raise any alarms yet, a tall red Twi'lek man bared his sharp teeth in a grin.

"I wonder what the pay for fresh meat is today. Maybe this trip will be worth it this time."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"] [member="Qyren Leret"]

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren's head ached fiercely; she couldn't do much more than stare at the plate that had just been placed in front of her. Although she knew she would need the energy to finish out the day, she couldn't remember a time when her senses had been so insistent about something being wrong. Her mother's hand on her leg forced her to make a passing attempt at trying her meal.

"Qyrenl'eret, what is it?" her mother urged quietly. "You have not touched your food."

"Just a headache. I will eat it. I'm just... distracted." She took another bite, just to prove she would be good to her word.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The Mandalorian ran a hand through her blonde hair, separating the tangles. She stopped trying to regain control of her locks when he moved his chair to hug her. With a soft smile, she hugged him back. Being so affectionate in public went against her every single fiber in her being, but she would do it. For him. Because he didn't care.

"Fun at home... Yeah. I know you do."

She winked at him, knowing he would get her implication.

[member="Qyren Leret"] [member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor smiled back at Rawnie.

"Not just that... Although that's part of it. You're great to talk to, and you don't mind being close to me. And-"

He was cut short by an explosion not far from the restaurant. A speeder truck now had a smoking hole through its cargo bay, anx the driver was frantically running away.

"Well, time to earn our pay, apparently."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]
[member="Qyren Leret"]

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren flinched at the explosion and instinctively lifted her arms to shield herself, though no debris was forthcoming. She looked up along with everyone else to find the source of the disturbance. Some kind of attack?

"We are leaving," Huluu'neret said and stood. "Come."

The family quickly got to their feet, but Qyren reached out to take her father's arm as he seemed to realize what she already had: to leave the restaurant meant to walk into the fray.

"Should we hide until it is over?" Naot'aeret suggested. Qyren looked to her father for guidance.

"They should have a back door. We will try that first. Quickly now." Her father turned her and ushered his women ahead of him. Qyren glanced at the faces of those who had been in the restaurant in passing, trying not to stumble on the hem of her robe.

"You can't--" the waitress began as her father approached the door to the kitchen, but Qyren missed the rest of the woman's protest as she turned back to the street behind them with haunted eyes.

Her headache hadn't abated.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

She was on her feet, her coffee forgotten. With one swift movement, she had tossed a few credits onto the table, put her helmet on and was walking rather briskly out. She reached back, running her fingers up the barrel of her rifle. It was already loaded with the safety on. At her hip, she had her knife and pistol. She was in good shape. The hud popped up on her helmet, showing a nearly 360 degree view. Useful feature.

"Lead the way, Lor'ika. You know more about this job than I do."

[member="Qyren Leret"] [member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor glanced towards the loud man who'd just run out the back door, not sparing much sympathy for his stupidity. Would somebody in a tank really be outplayed by such an idiotic trick? Probably not. He looked at Rawnie and drew his coilgun.​

​

"Alright, then. Somebody's getting holes in their chest. Bloody slavers, probably."​

​

He stepped outside, letting whoever was in the speeder/tank thing see him clearly for a moment before he took off into the air.​

​

[member="Qyren Leret"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Qyren Leret]

Stay or go? Qyren turned her eyes back to the conversation as the couple who had been near the door suddenly ran straight into the fray, weapons blazing. Whether they were brave or stupid, Qyren didn't know, but she would leave it to them and others like them to distract whoever was causing the trouble. Her natural instinct said to stay out of sight until the trouble passed-- or find a makeshift weapon with which to defend herself. Until the situation changed, she would follow those instincts.

"Father," Qyren interrupted as her father gently began to move the waitress aside. Her voice was soft, hesitant, and she swallowed hard when neither of her parents heard her. It made her cringe, but she lifted her voice, "We should stay out of sight."

All three adults looked at her and Qyren looked away. Her voice lowered again, "They could be--"

Her words were interrupted by some kind of loud gunfire outside; Qyren ducked slightly, then grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her into the kitchen with her father trailing. The waitress, by now, seemed to have given up caring about what was right or wrong and had gone to find cover of her own. The family made it out of the back door, but when Huluu'neret went to round the corner away from the diner, Qyren felt a sharp stab of dread for what was to come.

Without a word, she shoved her mother back and threw herself at her father, knocking him aside and into the wall of the building. As her father steadied himself, Qyren used a leg sweep she had learned in self-defense to take his feet from under him, sending him to the ground and then falling prone herself. Where they had stood, the corner of the building suddenly blew away, sending large chunks of metal and shrapnel slicing past her; her robe offered Qyren little protection from the sharp shards, which cut through the fabric with ease. Qyren barely understood what was happening as she instinctively rolled back toward her parents and out of sight of the street her family had almost turned on to. The street with an almost direct line of sight to the fight going on out front. Someone had clearly taken the precaution that no one in the area would get away unscathed; they had eyes watching down the nearest side streets.

Rather than worrying about the why of that decision, Qyren scrambled to her feet. Her hood had fallen back and her robe sported dirt and tears from the explosion, but she still retained her hearing and sight, for which she was thankful. Her father was helping her mother to her feet, and Qyren swept her gaze across the area to make sure that, for now, there were no immediate threats to their safety.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Slavers. Rawnie frowned behind her visor. She... really hated slavers. Bloody cowards, the lot of them. She found the idea of slavery to be, well, pathetic. A person too lazy to do things for themselves. Cooking, cleaning, mining, working. Some Mandalorians took slaves. Not her clan, of course. Her people took pride in being completely independent. Everyone knew enough of everything to survive if they had to. Rawnie knew how to hunt, gather, cook, sew, tan a hide, build a shelter, set a trap, start a fire, fix her gear, clean the dining hall. Everyone chipped in, even the children. The idea of forcing someone else to do something that was your duty to do yourself just irritated her.

"Oya!" she growled, snatching her rifle from her back. She clicked the safety off and raised it to aim at the speeder. She had about sixteen shots with this one. She hoped to only need one. The back of the speeder was vulnerable- if she could hit the right spot. She squeezed the trigger.

[member="Qyren Leret"] [member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor landed right beside one of the speeders and shot a hole where the driver's face used to be. Another slaver took the Chiss' shock gauntlet to the head and flailed helplessly as the electricity burned him. As much as he hated to admit it, fighting was something Lor truly enjoyed. He heard the tank-like speeder explode, groaning as a large bunch of shrapnel smashed into the building with the cafe in it. At least collateral damage didn't matteer to their paycheck. The mayor of this town was just that desperate.

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"] [member="Qyren Leret"]

 

[Qyren Leret]

“Qyrenl--”

“Please move,” she insisted as she hurried to their aside, assured that their spot was safe for the moment. She caught her father’s arm, the bag with their earlier purchase still over her arm. “Please, we want to get out of here before the fight moves this way.”

A building wasn’t going to hold back the fight up front; based on what had just happened, it was more likely that they would come through the building. They couldn't go back, they couldn't go forward; although it was risky, the only real option was to try to follow the street they were on until they had outpaced the fight and could reach the spaceport to get a transport from the city back to their town. It wasn't far. There might even be law enforcement officials there.

"This way."

Qyren hesitated at the corner and peeked around; on the street out front, she caught sight of the Chiss from the earlier couple move on to his next target from a destroyed speeder. Qyren swallowed hard at the sight of half a body hanging out from beneath the wreckage, but didn't dwell on it. She had seen worse before.

"Now," she hurried across the opening, unable to help checking their safety again. A green Twi'lek, his gun blazing at an opponent the building blocked from her sight, happened to turn his head and meet her gaze. Then, she was gone behind the next building, her family following her closely. If she hadn't needed to see, she would have closed her eyes in consternation. He had seen her running.

Let them keep him distracted.

-

In front of the diner, Yor Olef signaled an ally with a sharp "ey" and a wave of his arm. The interfering pair of what he assumed were bounty hunters-- what they were doing bothering with some honest slaving he didn't know-- were tied up with other people.

"Got a bit of cargo we'd like!" He pointed down the alley and got a nod. "Heading to the port, probably."

"Follow 'em!" his companion said after glancing at the pair they were fighting and weighing the odds the same way Yor had. "I'm coming."

Yor nodded and ran after the fleeing civilians; even if their gear was destroyed, at least the group might get something out of it. Besides, living was the only way they'd continue making creds, and how could they live if they all hung around to die? Easy decision.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie was exactly 0% concerned about the collateral damage she was likely causing. She had bigger things to worry about. Like doing her fething job. Where was Lor, actually, now that she thought about it? Never mind. There he was.

"Lor," she called to him, "You still never gave me the details of this job!"

She steadied her rifle again, waiting.

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Qyren Leret"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor looked at Rawnie and rolled his eyes somewhat jokingly as he jet-jumped back to her.​

​

"But there was a whole speech from the mayor... While he practically groveled on his knees. These guys are slavers, and we get to go full target practice on 'em. Wish I'd thought to bring another coilgun."​

​

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close as he pointed in the direction of the escaping slavers.​

​

"Express flight, visahot?"​

​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​