The Story Between

[Dax Perl]

Location: Taris, the Lower Levels

The former Jedi shuffled through the crowd deftly, avoiding those that milled around him, his hood pulled up over his head, eyes focused on what was before him, hands in the pockets of his jacket, pressing the lining to his body. He made sure that his sabers were not visible. To any pickpocket, a lightsaber would be worth a fortune. To anyone on Taris...well it meant a number of things, none of which were good for the Rogue.

Dax took a turn, taking him away from the main walkways. The man strode down the wide, dimly lit street. On either side of him, warehouses towered, some boarded up, other so rusting and dilapidated, it was a wonder they still stood. A seldom few appeared to actually house things, and even fewer seemed to be reasonably safe to enter.

Three beings milled about out side one of the rusting warehouses. Not nearly as dangerous as those that surrounded it, but standing so near the building still concerned the Knight.

"I'm looking for Harvus Rhee" Dax said to one of the three, a Duros. A Twi'lek male, who was leaning against the red tinged wall behind himself was the one who answered, "Who's asking?"
"Someone with credits." a short clatter echoed through the empty street as several credit chips landed on the floor before the Twi'lek. The Twi'lek's eyes darted from the credits, back to Dax, to the credits, and then rested on Dax. He bent down and picked up the credits, never breaking eye contact with the Rogue, even as the credits entered the his pockets. "Well you've found him. How can I help you."

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Aspen would have been released from Rehab a few days ago and she would have jumped the first ship out of there that she could, not that it helped much she had nowhere to go. So she spent the past couple of days wandering the streets of Taris trying to think of how to put her life back together. Her clothes were ragged, and her face dirty. As she wandered the streets on the first day most people took notice of her thought she was gorgeous. Not anymore. She was still the same person but since her clothes were tattered and soaked and her face caked with dirt they didnt see her the same way.

Her frame was frightfully small, she was down to an all time record for her of 85 pounds. She would wander about and she would just walk in circles most of the day not paying attention to anyone but on this day someone caught her eye. A newcomer, he was pretty handsome. But she didnt bother to stop for fear of a conversation gone wrong

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"I'm looking for a holoc..." before the Rogue had even finished his sentence the Twi'lek had pushed him to the side and stepped forward, eyes squinting into the dimly lit street. "Who the feth is that?" the blue skinned man asked, turning towards Dax, pointing at what appeared to be a human, not too distant. "How the phrik should I know. People still walk around Rhee."
"Cut the poodoo Mr. whoever-ya-are. Who is that?"
"I said I don't fethin' know."
The twi'lek clicked his tongue and nodded towards the last of their party, a young looking Trandoshan who'd not said a word. The reptile stepped forward and raised a blaster.
"C'mon man, you're kidding me. What if its a civ, or a cop."
"Cops are dirty anyways, and whats another dead Tarisian. Do it."
A blaster shot echoed down the allies and the Trandoshan suddenly fell to the ground. Two more shots rang out, "Cover!"
Blaster bolts flew between the warehouses. "Second floor, across the street!" the Twi'lek cried. Dax's own slugthrower spat hot pieces of metal towards the target Rhee had identified, a crash resounding as the body tumbled away into the interior of the warehouse.

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

As the first blaster shots rang out Aspen wouldn't think anything of it, it wasn't until the man yelled cover that she would actually notice what was happening around her. She would dive into cover, that was after she was hit by a ricochet off of a blaster, it hit her in the arm which hurt like hell it probably broke a bone but it wasnt bleeding as they never do. She would hear the body hit the ground and then begin to move slowly towards the men who had been looking at her.

She would duck between different areas of cover and finally she would reach them dropping into cover she would grimace "Who are you people"

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Not dead." the Rogue would answer sarcastically. Rhee would just glare at her, "And you must be a decoy." the Twi'lek's hand shot out, roughly grabbing the woman's wrist to pull her towards him, "What the chit do you think you're doing?" Dax asked as he popped up to fire a few more rounds at the shooters in the opposing building. "Gettjng me a meat shield."

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Aspen would flip out and instantly her fist would go to the mans groin. Her hit was on the money and she would then go into a flashback, she saw herself being tortured. She was a prisoner of war and she was tortured like crazy, they tried to break her both mentally and physically. She would see many scenes but this would only take a second and then she would scream like a banshee. She would break the mans grip on her and grab his blaster. She would point it at his head and say to Dax "We should get out of here lets go." There was a crazed look in her eyes she saw not the man but an old enemy of hers

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The Rogue's eyes darted from one the woman to the Twi'lek. The Duros, huddled behind a piece of cover had his large red eyes fixed on them as well. Dax still had business to attend to here. He still needed to get those co-ordinates. Or at least a planet. But there was a glean in the woman's eye. "Let's go." he agreed. He could always contact [member="Tydus Wryeens"]. The man knew things.

Dax quickly popped up from behind cover and fired two more rounds at the ware house before grabbing the woman's arm and pulling her away from the firefight. One hand guiding her, the other aimed at the hostiles, he made sure that his body was between those firing at them and the woman.

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Aspen would keep her gun trained over the man's shoulder at the hostiles. She still saw her old enemies and she would keep her finger on the trigger. In all her time as a soldier one thing she learned was to never let her guard down. She would follow the man letting him lead her away. She trusted this man and didnt know why she did so

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The pair turned an a corner the blaster behind them still loud and apparent, an occasional crack filling the air as a slugthrower was fired. A building, a seemingly stable one. Dax paused outside at the door. He took a deep breath and then barged in, gun sweeping from one side of the room to the other. It was empty. They were safe. For now.

The Knight ushered the frail looking woman in and looked outside once more. There was more blaster fire now..."What's your name?" he asked as he re-entered the empty warehouse.

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

As they entered Aspen would point her blaster down at the ground and look at the man. "My Name is Aspen" She said the crazed look begining to fade from her blue eyes. She would look at the man and study him with the eyes of a soldier. He was sturdy looking, and handsome too. She was beginning to trust this man more and more as blaster fire continued to be heard "What's yours?"

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Dax." the man said curtly as he made an effort to lock the door, playing with the security panel next to it. He peered over his shoulder at the slim young woman once more and saw her face slowly change. "You okay?" he asked finally.
[member="Azlyn Ike"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"Not really" She said sitting her blaster on the ground before her, herself would take a seat looking at the man. He seemed to have a way with technology which could really be helpful. She would slump against a wall and lay the blaster down. She would reflect

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The man hissed as a shock ran through his fingers from twisting together two live wires. The display screen suddenly lit up red, signifying that the door had locked. 'Alright one down...' the man thought as he thrned, eyes settling on the woman, 'One to go.' the Rogue Knight knelt before the fair woman a kind look on his face. "I'm guessing you've seen some chit." the man said. "You know how to hold blaster. Soldier?" the fact that she was a soldier, or at least a former one was not based entirely on her ability to hold a weapon. There was that look in her eyes. The gaunt, haunted one he'd seen in the mirror, staring back at him.

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"Yes I am, or I was..." She said remembering her last mission. She and her squad were deployed to move into enemy territory, they were to move in and gather information on the enemy base. The mission started well enough, they did a parachute dive into the forest. They would have then moved deeper in and would be stealthy as the night. That was until they were spotted, they would have tried to fight but were overtaken. Aspen would have been captured and tortured for weeks before she was rescued

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Still are. Being a soldier isn't just a job my friend, its a way of life." the man said as few more cracks vibrated through the air, penetrating the thin durasteel walls. "So Aspen, what brings you to Ta-" before the man finishde his snetence and explosion shook the walls of the warehouse, dust suddenly falling like snow from the rafters above their heads. "We can't stay here." he said as he stood, "We need to try to make it to the upper levels. At least up there security actually has meaning." Reaching into one of the pockets in his cargo pants, the Rogue procured a few cartridges for standard blasters and offered them to her, "Just promise me you won't shoot me."

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Aspen would hear the man tell her she still was a soldier, but she didnt feel it. She would stand as the building shook. She would greatly accept the ammo. She would load it into her blaster and she would look at him as he told her not to shoot him "I-I promise." She said readying herself for the trip upstairs. She would keep her gun aimed at the door and try not to think, she normally only had issues controlling her PTSD when she was thinking about something

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The Knight moved to the back of the building and pulled out one of his sabers, flipping it in the air, catching it and igniting it, the orange blade illuminating room suddenly. A crackling hiss echoed within the hollow walls as he plunged the blade into the durasteel, cutting a large hole into it. Finally the saber retracted and he pushed on the metal slab. It slid out from the hole and fell to the ground with a clang. "Alright let's go."

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Aspen would look at the blade amazed, she had never seen anything like it before. The best weapon she had ever seen was a bowcaster, she had used quite a few of them during her deployments. She loved the things but she would follow him out of the hole loving it.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

As the Rogue Knight stepped back out into the brisk, rank air of Taris' Lower Levels, he clipped the saber back onto his belt. Slugthrower still in hand he began to make his way down the alley slowly. His eyes moved from place to place, his focus on his surroundings. He paid attention to every sound made, all the blaster fire around them, gauging their distance. Another explosion went off in the distance, lighting the sky up orange briefly as an entire floor of a building was blown out into the air. "I think we stepped right into the middle of a gang war." the man said apathetically.

[member="Aspen Laval"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"It would seem so, you take point I will watch the rear." She said her mind clicking back into her soldier mindset. She would hold her blaster close to her body ready for whatever may come. She tried very hard to stay in the here and now, that was very hard for her with all the explosions. She would stick close to the man as they made their way

[member="Dax Fyre"]