The Silent Stick Together {Katar}

[Svarin Noimare]

Two years ago she had sworn she would never return to this planet. Never be locked up in a cage again. Wouldn't even say the word slave or servant. No, Svarin was supposed to be free. For awhile she had wandered with the former leader of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate. Even learned a few things about the force. Oh how long ago that was... They had parted ways some months prior to this. Didn't even hug. Just a nod of acknowledgement. Now would have been a great time to have Domino at her side. Perhaps than she would have avoided another capture. Maybe she wouldn't be sitting in a slave pen, waiting to be auctioned off like a protocol droid. Worst part was the fact that here it was legal. No one in their right mind would try to stop slavery on Nar Shaddaa, right? Or would they? Some people would be daring enough. The real question was when they might show up and if they're strong enough to enforce such rules. Not that it really mattered. This was an underground sale. Accompanied guests only. Someone could, of course, disguise themselves, get in, and fight their way out. It would just take some prep time, along with good luck. For now Svarin quietly tried to manipulate the lock with the force. Damn thing was quite complicated. Very intricate. It would take her at least another twenty minutes to get free. After that she'd have to beat the guards and... oh. Didn't really seem like she was gonna do this. If she had help, sure. But most of the other slaves were non-force sensitive individuals. Plus a majority were scared children. Rather troublesome.

Stay tuned in to see if our beloved Echani mute gets saved or not!
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Before the auction was to begin, a last-minute addition was lead into the room by a hooded figure. "Found one you might like," The hooded man said gruffly to the guards. They looked at this slave more closely. She was heavily chained and shackled, being lead by a chain collar. Her arms and torso were covered with numerous scars and branded insignias. Her bare hands and feet had claws for nails. But perhaps the most startling thing about this one were her eyes. They were bright green, practically glowing in the dim room, and slitted like that of a cat. The muzzle on her face covered everything except those cold, unnerving eyes as they bored down on the guards. "My God," One of the guards exclaimed, "Is that who I think it is?" Another guard nodded. "It's her, alright. I'd know those eyes anywhere. So they finally caught you, did they? The Blood Champion of Corellia." They placed her near a cage filled with children and a girl who looked about her age. Katar glanced at the hooded man who'd brought her in. She gave him a very hard-to-notice nod. They'd taken the bait. So far, so good...
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

Half of the lock was undone when the newcomer arrived. Svarin paused her work, eying the one they called Blood Champion. The name sounded familiar. Hadn't an old slaver mentioned her before?... Something about a very dangerous girl. If only these men realized that dangerous isn't good for their health. Though it's probably a good thing that they're this stupid. Makes it more likely that the captives will be able to escape. "...Hm..." Rin looked the Champ over, frowning when she realized that they were around the same age. From the looks of her, she'd been through hell as well. Someone would pay for that. A small pebble (not much bigger than one's thumbnail) slowly lifted into the air. The circular object would lightly tap Katar upon the shoulder before dropping, skidding towards Rin, and landing in the latter's open palm. It was her way of saying 'Hey. I acknowledge your presence. PS, I'm a forcie'. Next she returned to undoing the overly-complicated lock. If one looked close enough they'd see her hands moving ever so slowly... as if she could open the door with just that.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar felt a light tap on her shoulder. It came from a pebble. She followed its movement with her eyes, coming to rest on the girl from before. She met the girl in the eyes, hers filled with slight curiosity. So, she was a Force Sensitive? Katar's eyes crinkled slightly at the edges, as if she was smiling. Then, she gave the girl a small wink before turning her attention back to the guards. The hooded man was now in between two of them. The other three were wandering near the cages. Slowly, Katar tilted her head to the right, and then to the left. With a single nod, the hooded man enacted the plan. He grabbed the two men by the back of their heads and slammed them together. The three other guards were shocked for a minute. Katar concentrated on the one closest to her. She got down on her haunches and launched herself into the air. Angling herself, she landed on the man's shoulders. She held onto him with her legs as her feet were still shackled. He began struggling for breath. The guard next to him pulled out a blaster rifle and shot at her. She blocked it with the chains holding her arms together. This caused the chains to loosen, and she pulled them apart. The break-out had begun.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

The smile was returned. That same smile blossomed into a evil little grin as the scene started to unfold. While the children cheered on, Rin started working her own magic. A dozen or so pebbles shot into the air like miniature rockets. Half went toward the guard who had fired off a shot, the other half to the one who was going to get backup. Several slammed into the first man's chest. Another few his his hand, causing him to drop his blaster. Time for some fun, Rin though as she pulled the blaster to her hand with the force. By now both guards had recovered from the attacks... only to find blaster bolts heading for their legs. Though she had no issue with the idea of killing them, she wasn't sure if the cat-girl wanted them alive. So for now they would be subdued. Maybe maimed. Possibly even crippled for life. But definitely not killed. Yet. Once the shots were sent off Rin returned her attention to that sonofabitch lock. Three bolts were enough to blast it open. Freedom was fast approaching.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

The man continued to fight for breath as Katar squeezed her legs around his neck. She leaned backward, causing him to fall. Finally she twisted her thighs sharply to the right and broke his neck. She removed her muzzle before turning back to the man who'd been with her before. His hood was off, revealing him to be young. "What's the plan now, Katar? We still need to get out bef-" His sentence was cut short by a blaster bolt to the head. Katar was stunned for a moment, whatching his lifeless body hit the ground with a thud. One of the injure3d guards held a blaster in his hand and then pointed it at her. Rage seethed inside her now, practically pulsing off of her. She got down like an animal as an inhuman growl bubbled from her throat. Before another shot could be fired, she was tackling him. In a single swift movement, she used her claws to rip out his throat. He spent his last moments staring up into her cold, merciless eyes. Katar was quick to kill the remaining guards to ensure a similar scenario would not occur. She fished the keys to the locks off of a guard's body and opened every cage. When everyone stood freely behind her, she made her way to her fallen comrade. Carefully, Katar propped his body onto her knees. She studied his face with a pained expression. Guilt was obvious in her form. She gently touched his cheek before taking a locket that was in his pants pocket. It contained holo-pictures of his wife and children. commotion could be heard from the other end of the building. They needed to move. With one final glance, Katar rose to lead the others to safety, forced to leave the man behind.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

Soon the guards were nothing but corpses. Some of the children were... frightened by this. But they managed to recover quick enough to start fleeing. One of the smaller ones panicked, shivering in the corner. With a mental sigh Svarin walked over, offering her hand. Three seconds later they were running after Katar... the child making speeder noises as she rode on Rin's back. Children. Hmph. At least they were gonna make it out safe. Right? Another few guards rounded a corner, blaster pistols raised. A couple pebbles struck one's windpipe, while a laser bolt hit his companion. Unfortunately the third man managed to get a shot off. It whizzed past Rin's shoulder... grazing it and drawing blood. That's when the 'woosh woosh, vroom vroom' sounds stopped. Don't worry, the kid was alright. She was just scared. Made sense, really. Not many kids go through stuff like this. Let's hope she makes it through without ending up as messed up as Rin.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar lunged into the guards with the full force of her body. They were thrown to the ground like dominoes. She took one of there blaster rifles and made short work of them before moving on. Strapping the rifle to her back, she turned to check on everyone. They were all fine. Though, the majority of the children somewhat cowered when she looked at them. They were afraid of her. Katar heaved a sigh. As long as they made it out alive, she didn't care what they thought about her. The GLC shuttle would be waiting for them on the landing platform outside. She noticed that the older girl with the pink hair was bleeding a little. Quickly, Katar fished a bandage out of the pack strapped to her waist and gave it to her. She then motioned everyone to follow her and proceeded to the shuttle.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

Most of the guards were taken care of. None were left in this general area, to Rin's relief. The girl who had been riding on her back slid down before rushing towards the shuttle. Guess she knew how they were getting out of here. It made the Echani smile. Even forgot she was bleeding for a moment. That didn't last though. Cat-girl handed her a bandage, bringing her mind back into the present. Rin gave a little nod as a way of saying thanks. Then she proceeded to wrap her injury up quickly. Soon the deed was done and freedom was in sight. Things were going pretty smoothly. How long had it taken the GLC to plan this? Or had it been a very-well executed but spontaneous move? Now's probably not the time to wonder. Speeding up Rin rushed to the vessel, ready to leave this God-awful place.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar waited until everyone was on-board before she finally headed to the shuttle. Two men at the entrance helped her aboard. "Good to see you in one piece, Katar! Where's Hev?" She looked down st her feet. Shaking her head, she held up his locket. The men looked at it, and nodded solemnly. No one uttered another word. She gave the locket to the man on her right and headed back inside to take a seat. Katar didn't like the bulky wall-seats with the uncomfortable buckles. She took her seat toward the back, away from the others, and sat on the floor. she hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the ground. It was still painful for her to accept Hev's death. No one had ever died on a mission with her before. She felt responsible. She took the blame. And it made her feel disgusted at herself.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

Most of the kids weren't used to shuttles. At least not ones like this one. It took a few minutes for Rin to help everyone into their seats (including the 'woosh woosh' kid), but it was necessary. The lass was about to sit down herself when she noticed the girl from earlier by herself. "...Hm..." Quietly she walked over before kneeling in front of her new friend. Reaching a hand out she put a finger beneath Katar's chin, raisin it up a few inches. Then she smiled. A big smile. Her way of saying "Hey, you did good! Don't fret." To add to this she gestured at all the others. All the kids saved from a horrible fate. Even counted them and displayed the numbers with her fingers. Today had been a good day. Though a man was lost, another dozen or so were saved.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar was surprised to see the pink-haired girl come up to her. And when the girl showed her how many lives she'd actually saved that day, her guilt faded a little. Katar grinned back at the girl. It was true. Those children could have a better life now. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder to tell her that she could have a better life, too.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

Though she didn't know if the girl knew sign language, Rin thought she'd try to communicate anyway. "I'm S-V-A-R-I-N. Thank you." In case that didn't work, she traced the letters of her name into Kat's hand, smiling as she did. Whoever this girl was, Rin liked her. In fact... if this girl had a habit of freeing slaves... Rin wanted to go with her. Maybe not forever, but for awhile at least. Because this was a good cause. And it would be nice to have another person around who didn't talk much.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar smirked, nodded. She pointed to herself. "Katar," She said. She'd been practicing pronouncing her name for months now, doing her best to say it clear enough to be understood. It was one of the only words she could speak. She took Svarin's hand and spelt something out in it to her. F-R-E-E. Her eyes were wide and bright as she wrote it.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

So the girl could speak after all... Was she semi-mute by choice, or just doesn't know much Basic? Perhaps she'd find out later. Katar went quiet again before reaching out for Rin's hand. At first the latter tensed, not used to being touched for any reason other than harm. But when she recognized the letters she relaxed. Even smiled again. She was free. Because of Katar. And though she was angry at herself for getting in this mess, she was glad she had someone to get her out of it. Now she just had to figure out a way to thank her properly. With a gift, maybe? Or just to try and keep her safe?... She'd figure something out.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Within the next hour, they had landed and were taking refuge in one of the GLC's safe houses. It was a spacious underground apartment, hidden below an abandoned living complex. They would stay here for the next few days until the situation died down and the transport could get them off-world. The kids happily explored their new surroundings, picking out beds or playing games. Katar found a closet filled with blankets. She passed one out to each person, including Rin, who she smiled warmly at. When everyone had a blanket, she took whatever was left and made a nest for herself in the living area. She'd be alone there, but she'd be able to guard the door and make sure no one found them.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

At first her blanket sat unused. Some of the kids were still a bit shaken up, so to help them she made funny faces, along with doing shadow puppets on the wall. Eventually the youngsters settled down to go to sleep. It had been a long day for them. They needed their rest. Svarin was about to lay down herself when she realized Katar wasn't around. Frowning she started to look for the girl. Only a minute or two passed before she found the other girl's 'nest'. The setup was slightly amusing, and her presence was announced with the chuckle that followed. Walking over she sat by the girl with a 'lil grin. The joy from being freed had yet to go away.
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Katar sat cross-legged in her nest, double-checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before she went to sleep. She heard some one chuckle. Looking up, she saw Rin coming over to her. Katar stared at her, tilting her head in curiosity. Was something wrong?
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]

 

[Svarin Noimare]

A gentle smile would hopefully be enough to reassure Kat. Though Rin was honestly a tiny bit worried on the inside. Was her savior okay? Did she mind being alone? Had she recovered from her friend's death yet? There certainly were a lot of things to be concerned about. "May I... join you?" She asked, speaking for the first time in a few months. Usually she refrained from talking, but since Kat had earlier, she thought she would to. Just a little. Maybe a few words. Then it would be right back to facial expressions. Along with the occasional hand gesture (nothing rude, mind you).
[member="Katar"]

 

[Slot 21]

Nodding, Katar scooted a little bit and made room for Rin. Some company would be nice for a while. Usually, she preferred being alone. But after everything that had happened, she wasn't quite as enthused about it. She studied Rin's hair. It was an interesting color. Katar had never considered dying her own hair, but it was fascinating to look at when others did.
[member="Svarin Wolfbane"]