The Adventures of a Healer and a Viking: Pirates, Part II

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Right," she nodded and strode forward. She moved quietly and swiftly, even though Val's presence negated the effort. At least she could scout ahead. She checked the halls and corners, moving in a blur. But she always ended up back with Val, a sudden rush of wind washing over his form as she stopped in front of him, her form coming into solid focus.

Hands came to her hips and she panted, slightly hunched.

"We're....good," she tried to catch her breath. "Clear....through...the lift. Pressed....the button."

A ding was heard around the corner.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He looked down at her, perking an eyebrow.

She probably hadn't needed to do that, though with how loud he was...well maybe. He shifted slightly and decided that it was better not to comment on it at all, simply giving her a smile and an appreciating nod. That would do it. They moved quietly towards the lift, with Val keeping a careful eye on Taheera to make sure she didn't collapse from lack of breath. She had apparently run quite a distance and...well in all honesty he was concerned she was about to drop on the floor.

"Do you want to rest for a bit?" They could find a place to hide.

The Star Destroyer was big enough that Val was pretty sure they could pick any room and lock it and no one would question them too much, especially if they made drunk noises. He considered it for a moment, then pressed the button to send them to the floor below.

"We can hide." Val continued on. "Might be best."

He was clearly concerned.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A hand went across her brow and she straightened. The lift doors opened and she stepped inside with Val quickly following. The stubborn, rebellious side of her didn't want to risk resting. Didn't want to waste anymore time. The practical side and the physical side, knew she needed it.

"Okay. But just for a few minutes. We can't afford to waste a lot of time."

She didn't know how long they'd be in hyperspace and what the pirates plan was next. She refused to let anymore innocent lives be lost. And her body would be fine. Just a few minutes would be enough.

Finger jammed down the button for the next floor and the lift doors slid closed, taking them down.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

A few seconds later the doors popped open again. Val stuck his head out, peering about for a few moments to see if anyone was there. When he didn't hear or see any pirates, he stepped forward. With a wave of his hand Val ushered Taheera forward as well. They wandered down the hall, turning a corner or two before Val randomly selected one of the doors. His hand swept across the access panel, and with a quiet beep the door slid open.

"Here." He said as Taheera stepped inside.

What they found beyond was an oddly cozy little room, likely one of the officers quarters that Val had talked about earlier. There was a twin-sized bed, desk, refresher, and closet all located in the most efficient places possible.

"Sit down." He told her as he turned and closed the door, jamming the controls so the system locked into place. "Rest."

They had a few minutes at least.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Good pick," she mused as he took care of the door behind them. "Just...wake me up in a few minutes, promise?" She didn't even know if she would sleep. She felt too...nervous and adrenaline-pumped.

Those doubts left her mind as she sunk down onto the twin bed; the exhaustion hit her. She curled up on her side, knees coming up. Eyelids suddenly felt heavier and heavier. She stifled a yawn.

Boots remained on in case they had to leave in a hurry. Plus, she wasn't planning to rest too long.

"Don't leave me and do anything stupid," she yawned, before eyelids finally closed.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Fret not." He told her as she laid down.

While Taheera was practically beat from the days activities, Val was still more than a little alert. The pirates outside their door made him rather paranoid, couple that with the fact that things hadn't exactly gone their way so far...and well Val doubted that he would be sleeping any time soon. Nor would he go off and do things on his own, especially since not ten minutes ago he had told Taheera they shouldn't do exactly that. He was a man of his word after all.

He did however, sit himself down on the bed beside her.

"I won't go anywhere." Val said as he stretched slightly. "Not yet anyway."

The last words were said too quiet for her to hear. His eyes latched onto the door. It was locked, practically jammed in place, but there was no telling what surprises the pirates might have in store. The Warrior had been taken aback more than once already, and he wasn't about to let it happen again.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

With a nudge, she felt Val wake her up. Hopefully she hadn't slept too long. Eyes fluttered open and she propped herself up on an elbow. Palm pushed the sleep away from her eyes.

She definitely felt better. Refreshed.

"We should go. Stop wasting time." She propped herself up further, eyes studying the ever vigilant viking.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Not much time to waste." He said quietly.

There hadn't been a lot of activity while she was out, but once or twice a party of pirates had passed them on by. One of them had been loud enough for him to overhear their conversation. They hadn't exactly been subtle, not at all in fact. He frowned slightly and then shifted so he could get up from the bed, stretching his muscles and giving Taheera some room so she could do the same.

"They're headed back to the Aurodium mine." That meant they have a few days in hyperspace. "They know that the Destroyer can easily take on what your Jedi friends brought to kick them out, and if they get more Aurodium..."

Val didn't think he had to explain the rest. "Come on. Let's get to the armory and blow something up."

The faster they did this, the better.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Right," she scooched out of bed. Lightsaber hilt clipped to her belt and padded against her outer thigh. Pack went back on. She waited for Val to un-jam the door and then they were on their way. Coast was clear so far.

Shoulders rolled and eyes darted along the corridors as they came to another locked door. Fingers plucked the pass that still hung around her neck and waved it over the door. The panel went from red to green and with a hissing swish, opened.

Eyes widened.

The armory was bigger than she thought.

"Pick your poison."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Only need a few detonators." He reminded her. They weren't out to destroy the entire ship, just cause a big enough explosion that it would draw the pirates away from the bridge and towards wherever the bang was. The best way to achieve that was to grab some Thermal detonators and move from there. They could set the charges to blow on a timer, and when they got to the bridge...well chaos would rain down far harder than anyone could otherwise expect.

Or so he hoped.

"Grab two or three." Val told her as he did the same. "Maybe an extra blaster just in case."

He dropped an ancient e-11 into his backpack along with two powerpacks. Then he wandered back towards Taheera, stopping suddenly as he spotted something. His eyebrow perked, and with a wide grin he wandered over towards a weapons rack in the corner.

From it he plucked a collapsible electro-staff. The weapons had once been popular for Guard operations, though most of them had now fallen out of favor. He played with it for a few moments, spinning it once or twice and then letting it fold before tucking it into his backpack as well.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Nose scrunched up and she made a face. Healers and weapons weren't exactly a thing. Sure, she defended herself. But this was different, in a way. She knew what was coming. Most, if not all of these pirates would die. She never took killing lightly even if those being killed were murderers.

The weapons only reminded her of the cases she treated in war against the sith.

Hand trembled as she reached for the detonators. And a blaster. She quickly put them in her pack, not saying a word.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

After the armory Val knew exactly where to go next.

Star Destroyers didn’t exactly have the most unique layouts. They had been built in a time of standardization and political power, and that meant...well everything was exactly the same on all of them. This included where rooms were located and access hatches to turrets were placed. So Val lead Taheera through the winding halls of the starship.

Their trip was a fast one, and within just a few moments they stood in front of a thick, but closed, blast door. He frowned for a moment and then motioned to her. Taheera jostled around some things and then pulled out the access card she had earlier stolen from one of the pirates, the one he’d knocked out.

”Come on.” He said as the door opened.

Immediately he swung his pack around, opening up the top of it and fishing out the detonators so they could get on with what they had come here for.

”Place them all around.” He told her. ”It’ll cause a big fire.”

That was what they wanted after all.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She nodded without saying a word, grim-faced but determined. Hands gingerly placed the devices around the walls and support structures. They were close to the cantina. She could hear the clanking of cups and plates through the wall over. She could even catch the smell of alcohol and cooking meat through the vents.

They had to work fast.

Slinging the pack back over her shoulder, she strode back to the blast doors. She gripped a small detonator in her hands. "Ready?"

Blast doors were opened again and she began retreating with the Viking if he was ready.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

For a moment he peered around.


”Let’s get further away.” There was no telling how close any of the pirates were, and if it turned out that some of them were right around the corner Val didn’t want to bump into any of them before they got to the flames. At this point it was better to play it safe than sorry, they were still vastly outnumbered after all.


”Come on.” He motioned her to follow and quickly ran down the hall and towards one of the lifts. The door popped open and Val pressed the button to head towards the bridge level. ”Alright. Do it.”


He let out a breath.


What they were about to do was dangerous. So far none of the pirates knew that they were here, well, none but one, but...well triggering the explosives would mean that all of them would be tipped off. Val knew that as soon as that happened...well things would be in free fall, there was no telling what would happen.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Finger punched down on the switch.

Nothing.

"Wait," she pressed it again. "I think..." BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!

She fell back into Val as the lift shook and the lights went out, "Ooomph," the lights flickered and the lift stalled. Klaxons sounded outside and the lift lights turned to flashing red. With a second, sudden jolt, the lift started moving again and stopped on the floor to the bridge. The doors shuddered but slid open. A few pirates ran by but didn't seem to notice them.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"They have other things to worry about." Val said as he gently let go of Taheera.

He counted about a dozen or so men that had run by, all of them looking armed to the teeth. He doubted that it was all of the people on the bridge, but it was enough that it had at the very least given them a better shot at doing what they were supposed to do. He frowned slightly, and then slipped passed Taheera, wanting to be the first one that stepped into the hall in case any more pirates were waiting. When he found none he pulled the electro-staff from his bag.

The thing folded up, and then began to loudly buzz.

"Come on." He told her quietly. "Be ready."

There was no telling what was waiting for them, or who.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"I'm always ready," she whispered. It immediately got lost in the melee and shuffle. The jedi was quick at his side. Shoulders were tense. With a hissing-whir, the bridge doors slid open. She looked beyond Val's bulky-form and was met with the sight of twenty or so pirates sitting around a large, oval shaped-meeting table. Armed. Different species.

Women and men but mostly men.

A wookie with a jagged scar running down one eye turned their way first. Surprise, then anger on its face. Then another turned. Then another. Her blaster was already out with stun bolts flying.

"Go, go, go!" She yelled at Val and pushed past him, diving behind one of the instrument panels. Lightsaber hilt slipped into her free palm, thumb hitting the ignition switch of the golden-blade with a snap hiss. She was heading toward the navigation panels. She had to figure out where they were and force this ship out of hyperspace.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val didn't bother with subtlety.

The Electro-staff in his hand loudly buzzed to life, and as soon as blaster bolts started to fly the Warrior launched himself forward. The Wookiee was his first target, the massive lumbering carpet roared at him, but by the time it got its arms up things had already spun into motion. The elctro-staff went bashing against the Wookiee's skull, slamming him to the ground as Val followed up the move with a swift kick. Speed and strength, both combined were the speed.

It went that way over and over again.

Val didn't duck for cover like Taheera, he didn't move to hide, instead he barreled from one pirate to the next. He became a force of nature, though it didn't come without cost.

A few times blaster bolts singed his flesh, either penetrating the armorweave coat or slipping by an unprotected area. Each time it only seemed to drive him forward, pushing him into a bloodied rage as he fought his way through the pirates. Before long he had felled five of them, the others either distracted by Taheera or watching in awe as the craze Viking butchered his way through their comrades.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

There was too much fire. These pirates liked their blasters, too. She abandoned her own blaster and stood with her golden-blade, deflecting bolts back into their shooters. There were gurgled screams and yells as one, two, three got shot and fell back.

She grimaced each time even though she didn't know how many were fatal. Myrtle-ellipses flickered over to Val to spare him a glance. She could feel his pain mixed with the pain and deaths of the pirate on the bridge that was quickly becoming bloody and burned. Her stomach churned.

Holding her lightsaber down at her side, a protective bubble went up at her back as she hovered over navigation. It looked like if they dropped now, they'd be close to Manaan. Close enough.

"Hang on!" She yelled at Val without turning around. She didn't even know if he could hear her. He was that animal again - like the one that woke up on the jedi hospital ship. Pursing her lips, she punched the button to drop them from hyperspace.

The Star Destroyer suddenly jolted violently and she fell back. Her protective bubble flickered.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

There was a splatter of blood as one of the pirates dug his knife into Val's side, a loud roaring grunt passing from the Vikings lips as he tore into the man. A loud snap rang out across the bridge just as they went tumbling out of hyperspace, Val steadying himself with a single step as he dropped the now dead pirate.

Three men in front of him hesitated slightly, and then broke into a sprint.

They ran as fast as they could, only four pirates on the bridge either remaining alive or conscious. Val looked half beaten, scorch marks sat across his skin, his eyes were bloodshot, and red was splattered across his clothes. He shifted slightly, looking up and catching sight of one of the viewports. The other pirates on the bridge seemed to to the same, either confused or too wrapped up in events with Val to actually keep on with their attack.

That was until a shrill voice rang out across the bridge.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? KILL THEM!"

A womans voice rang out behind Val.