That Nagging Feeling

[Qyren Leret]

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

[SIZE=9pt]The family ran, ignoring stares and rubberneckers who tried to call out to them to find out what the commotion down the street was without getting any closer. Qyren ignored them; her headache had dulled, but the extremity had been replaced with a kind of suffocating pressure that was gradually increasing her panic and adding layers of difficulty to her attempts to focus on the plan at hand.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Qyren had let go of her father's hand while they were running; when she received the flash of knowledge that danger was imminent, she was glad of it. Blaster shots fired past them, narrowly missing her mother. All three ducked but kept moving, though she saw her father's steps falter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Left!" She shouted, her mother instinctively obeying and her father only a half-step behind. Qyren herself went right, crying out when a blaster bolt clipped her shoulder unexpectedly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Her mother shouted her name behind her, fear and pain lacing the tone, but Qyren kept moving. Maybe the slavers would follow her parents, but Qyren doubted it. And they had to be slavers. Who else would follow a fleeing Twilek family while engaged in a fight with someone else?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Don't follow me, she thought to her parents. They might, and she knew her father had no compunctions about running into danger for her, but she hoped they went to the spaceport instead so that she could meet them there if she escaped from her pursuers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She could hear their heavy footsteps behind her, gaining ground, and coaxed a little extra push from her tired legs. She could be faster than them; she had to be.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The buildings passed by in a blur, Qyren focused on the route to the spaceport and keeping the loud steps behind her at bay just long enough. A hand grabbed her tchin and yanked hard. Qyren screamed at the sensation, falling back into the grasp of her human pursuer. Her feet scrabbled for balance and then she lashed out, elbows and hands following techniques her father had drilled into her a thousand times. Sometimes she connected with flesh, sometimes not, but the curse her captor leveled at her told her it worked enough that she had to keep fighting.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]-[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The girl might have been caught, but she wasn't as docile about it as Yor had hoped. From his perspective, she was a writhing tempest, one that landed a solid blow with her foot the one time Yor tried to step in. Theo didn't look like he was in much better shape, getting the girl's wrist pinned one minute and losing it the next. Yor stepped back and pointed his blaster, but the girl didn't much stay in one place as she tried to twist out of Theo's grip, even as she let out a shriek of mixed pain and anger when Theo again grabbed her lekku and pulled. Served her right.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Kriff it, Theo, hold her!" Yor demanded. "Girl, I'm going to shoot you if you don't quit it!"[/SIZE]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Not waiting for a response when he heard a man yelling, Lor gripped Rawnie as closely as he could and took off. The vantage point gave him a clear view of the three slavers and the girl being pulled down the street.​

​

"Looks like we're going to need some more ammo after this job, visahot."​

​

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

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Ack! She hated when he did that! Just grabbed her and took off! She tried not to struggle though. That would just make his job harder.

Rawnie had only met a slave once before. It wasn't strictly legal on Mandalor, but nobody really paid attention to it. Once while she was going on a supply run a few town over with her father, she'd met a small Zabrak girl. She looked so skinny, so underfed. Rawnie had felt kind of sorry for her. She wanted to feed her some of their bread. But her father had stopped her. Said she wasn't hers to feed. Said she was owned. Rawnie hadn't understood at all. How could a person be owned? It had taken nearly the entire time loading the supplies for Rawnie to understand what slavery was.
'Slavery isn't right, Rawn,' her Father had said, 'but neither is the Galaxy. You'll understand when you're older.'
She later watched him slip the tiny shivering slave girl a loaf of bread and pat her head when he thought nobody was looking. But Rawnie had been looking.

"Lor," Rawnies voice was steady, firm, "Take us in."

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


((SO SORYY! I completely forgot! I suck!))

 

[Qyren Leret]

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

The threat drove through her resistance, and, as she considered it, Qyren slowed her twisting, striking motions just enough that Theo was willing to release her lekku to pin her arms instead. Panting and in pain, Qyren finally noticed the third slaver standing off to the side, his blaster also drawn. Her focus was suddenly distracted by the barrel of Yor's blaster clear in her face.

"Now get up," he ordered. Without waiting for her compliance-- though she wasn't sure she would have given it anyway-- Theo dragged her fully to her feet, evoking another cry as his fingers dug into her skin hard enough to bruise.

What do I do? While trying to look pliant, Qyren cataloged her options which, at the moment, were slim. She had to hope that, as they dragged her off to wherever she was going, they would leave her conscious and give her a last opportunity to escape. Her thoughts scattered slightly as Theo shook her firmly.

"There--"

"Easy," the third slaver said, finally speaking up. "Look't her. You don't want to damage goods like that too much; she'll fetch a good price, whether she's a virgin or not." His considering leer sent waves of repulsion through Qyren that she was hard pressed to keep from her face.

 

[Doctor Azure]

There was no question of Rawnie's insistent order, mostly because Lor was already preparing to drop down right on top of the slavers. He did so, falling hard enough onto the ground that the repulsor fields smashed a small crater where they landed. Not taking his arm from around his fiancee, he held up his already loaded and cocked pistol as he heard the end of the men's conversation.​

​

"You lot have already fetched me a good price. I think it's time for the clean-up."​

​

Not even waiting for a response, Lor shot the one holding the girl in the head. The gun loaded and cocked itself again as he held it in front of him.​

​

"Your only ride here is to hell. All expenses paid."​

​

[member="Qyren Leret"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Another shot followed right behind Loranes. She remembered that girls face. The skinny Zabrak her father had fed. Overhearing where she was headed. She was too young for that. The words of this slaver... made her angry. She hadn't done anything for the tiny girl on Mandalore. But she could do something here.

She hadn't bothered to see where she had shot the second slaver. It didn't matter. She didn't care anymore how clean a kill was. She had one objective. She kept her blaster raised, face set.

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

 

[Qyren Leret]

If her Force ability could speak, it probably would have said something along the lines of "Don't move a muscle". The blaster bolt narrowly shot past her face and into Theo's; without turning to see the grisly details of that fatal shot, Qyren spun away from her former captor as his body collapsed to the ground, hearing another shot go off nearby. Qyren glanced up to see Yor on his knees on the ground, clutching his stomach, and the third slaver taking shelter behind some kind of metal box, distracted with firing at Qyren's saviors from his partial cover.

She had no weapon, but she knew when to get out of the way. Her feet stumbled at first when she began running, but she managed to stay upright and moving, putting the bounty hunters between her and the remaining slaver and finding some cover of her own for now. Her head pounded again and Qyren almost groaned.

It can't be anything else. What else could it be?

-

"Can I get some [bleep] backup?!" the final slaver shouted into his comm, completely ignoring Yor's attempt to crawl toward cover. His own life was on the line now and, well, no honor among slavers and all that.

"Already coming," someone responded. "And more sturdy drivers are following behind."

From down the street, the rumble of a large engine was growing steadily louder.

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

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor was understandably sick of this. He nodded approvingly at the girl who was now hiding behind him and Rawnie. His gauntleted hand very casually made contact with the metal box, and the man behind it screamed in pain as an electric current flowed through the conductive surface.​

​

"Kid, is there any reason for us not to tear these people to pieces?"​

​

The Chiss grabbed his coilgun back off his shoulder as the speeders came closer. He looked down the scope, fingering the trigger. This shot would be just within the effective range of the magnetic weapon.​

​

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace."​

​

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

 

[Qyren Leret]

Qyren's mouth hung open for a moment when the Chiss gave her the power over the lives of those bearing down on them, almost wishing for the vehicles that were approaching to attack so as to keep her from having to make a decision she didn't want to make. The other times people had been killed around her, for her, it had happened quickly and without any conscious thought on her part, even the one she was directly responsible for.

Her eyes darted between the multiple vehicles, eyes throbbing in time with the beat in her head. Her life or theirs. Her life or theirs. She shook her head as much to signal to the Chiss that there were no reasons to hold back as much as to chastise herself for her final choice. However, as long as she lived, she could take time to regret her moral quandry later.

"No, but we should move," she said quietly, voice steady in spite of how wide her eyes had gotten. She was quickly backing away now. "You don't want to stand here."

Around the corner of a distant building came something much larger than speeders, some kind of tank with several turrets mounted on it. Qyren's gaze was riveted to it.

I hope his gun is enough to handle that.

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

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie had not survived this long by sticking around in impossible situations. She lowered her rifle a bit and reached out to grab the girls hand.

"Lor, we should get her out of here," she called, "Pull back to strike harder."

There was no dishonor is a retreat as long as you planned to strike again. And Rawnie absolutely did plan to.

''Slavery isn't right, Rawn, but neither is the Galaxy.'
-Shut up, old man. Doesn't mean you can't at least try to do something about it!

She grit her teeth, glancing at Lorane. He was good at making plans. He was the one with the brains here. She'd follow his lead until the end.

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

 

[Doctor Azure]

A somewhat mad grin slid across Lor's face as he looked from his hands to the tank. What was a tank if not a large hunk of metal? The shock generators in his gauntlet reactivated.​

​

"Retreat? I'm gonna punch it!"​

​

Without waiting for a response, he leapt up into the air. The slow-moving vehicle's turrets moved to track him, but the Chiss simply waited for one of them to waste its slow-charging blast before he reached into the barrel of the gun and pouring as much electricity as his gauntlet could put out. Metal screeched along with whoever was behind the controls of the gun, and the chunky weapon exploded.​

​

"Metal is a great conductor... I fucking love science!"​

​

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

 

[Qyren Leret]

"What?" The startled word popped out of Qyren's mouth as she stared at the Chiss, aghast. And then he actually went and did what he said he was going to do, showing a complete lack of anything resembling common sense. He shouted something once the turret exploded, but Qyren couldn't hear what it was over the noise and distance. The faster, smaller turret on the front was turning itself to deal with the threat and at least one of the speeders as well. She hoped he saw them in time to get out of the way.

The arrival of the other speeders suddenly distracted Qyren from the drama taking place down the road; she ducked aside as one swept by, her hand still clasped in Rawnie's.

"Plan?" she asked, knowing it was unlikely the woman would abandon her partner, which effectively put their escape on hold. Qyren's body trembled with the desire to run as she saw the speeders that had passed turning back around. "Speeders both sides now."

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

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"Dammit, Lor-!"
But he had already rushed off to do something dangerous. As per usual. How was she going to keep him alive long enough for marriage if he kept... No. Never mind. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"I hate it when you do that..." she sighed, "Don't give me a look, Lor. You know what I mean. You get that look on your face when ever you do something smart."

She raised her weapon, taking aim at one of the speeders. She'd let go of the girls hand for now, needing both for her rifle.

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

 

[Doctor Azure]

The expression Rawnie was referring to was somewhat like that of a dog who was happy that it would get a treat for a well-done trick. And a well-done trick was definitely a good way to describe Lor's actions just now. He pulled his arm out of the now-useless cannon barrel to aim the coilgun at the speeder right next to him. Then he changed his mind. Magnetic gun away, pistols out.​

​

"Now we retreat."​

​

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

 

[Qyren Leret]

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

The turret on the tank fired just as Lor moved, effectively firing into thin air. When Lor landed beside them, weapons drawn and unphased by his jaunt to deal with the slavers, it was with a sense of relief that Qyren absorbed his words. She wasn't about to argue with sound logic; it was beyond time for them to go. However, she turned to run only to remember that they still had several speeders to deal with when the driver of one started firing at them. She covered her head with her arms and ducked out of the way, leaving the professionals to handle it.

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

That look on his face. Like he expected her to pat him on the head and say 'good boy'. For what? Risking his life doing something crazy? This sort of behavior was not to be encouraged.

"Girl?" Rawnie turned her attention to the Twi'lek, "Do you know how to shoot one of these?"

She pulled out her shattergun and held it out. She didn't like babysitting if she didn't have to. rescuing a girl who was armed was easier than rescuing someone who wasn't.

"It's really easy. You just aim and pull the trigger. This ones old. Twelve shots. Fire only if you have to."

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

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor held up his gauntleted arm in front of his head to keep the shots from hitting his helmet. Of course they were aiming at him. That was normal procedure in any fight - to try and kill the most destructive enemy first. Obviously, though, they hadn't seen Rawnie's amazing sniper work from before, or they would've been in more of a rush to close distance. As it was, the Chiss shot the driver of the offending speeder and briefly flipped a finger at the occupants as it swerved into one of its compatriots.​

​

"I swear, when we get back on the ship, I'm putting these guys out of their idiotic misery."​

​

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

 

[Qyren Leret]

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"][member="Doctor Azure"]
((Apologies for the delay! I didn't realize these were here!))

Qyren's eyes widened at the gun that was held out to her, but she reached out and took it anyway. It wouldn't be the first time she had held a blaster, and she should have assumed that that wouldn't be the last. She nodded at the instructions the bounty hunter gave about using the simplistic design and took a firmer grip on the weapon. "Yes."

If she fired, it was going to be to injure, not kill. Not unless she had to do otherwise.

Qyren fell back as Lor dealt with one-- two of the speeders, quick and light on the balls of her feet as she put distance between herself and the slavers. She dodged aside as shots fired past, but reserved her ammunition for now; a scattergun wasn't going to help with enemies at a distance. The couple seemed to know what to do and had the experience with dealing with all ranges of enemies; but, of course, life was never that easy once adversity reared its head. Qyren kept her eyes on her enemies, rather than her saviors; there were still two speeders, both of which were closing quickly and firing rapidly, so as to prevent return fire. Her eyes shuttled between them, instinctively measuring distance and realizing they would pass Rawnie and Lor shortly.

Qyren ducked behind an empty trash compacter for cover, faced the street, and lifted her gun; the first speeder crossed in front of her, and then the second, which was closer. Qyren fired, her eyes tracking her victim as the second speeder veered wildly to the side in reaction to the driver being knocked sideways from the blast. It had happened so quickly that the dark girl hadn't had much time to do more than aim at the driver; whether he was dead-- or would die-- or not, she couldn't know. All she knew was that the second had been closer and was therefore a better target, and that no small arms weapon would take out the protected parts of a speeder quickly enough to matter. The speeder skidded over the curb, flipping up against the side of a building and tossing the driver and his companion out of the vehicle. The driver lay still on the pavement; the second rider began getting to his feet, reaching for his weapon. Qyren's fingers clutched at her weapon, the adrenaline of her heat of the moment reaction pumping in her, but her need to react to the situation sated by her actions. Caught between the opposing emotions, she wavered in her commitment to finishing the job.