Private Where the light barely touches

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Lierra Lunora

It was almost as unpleasant as his exile to Tatooine. At least that world he felt some affinity with. For the last few years Jacen had vanished from the world to Mos Espa. Once he had been one of the Grand Marshal's of the Alliance's fight back into the core. Recently he had been minding a parts store that saw three customers on a good day.

Jacen turned off a main street into one of the many bridges that criss-crossed between the tower blocks. He glanced upwards at the jagged web of paths and streets that linked them together. What a marvel to have built such a vertical world and then filled those heights with layer upon layer of scum and villainy.

Bathed in neon lights he approached the wide doors on the opposite side of the great chasm between towers. The music from the others side thumped through the doors. There was no queue, but two heavy-set men who carried barely concealed repeating blaster pistols blocked him.

"Need to pat you down."

"No you don't."

"No we don't."

They stepped aside and he walked into the wall of noise that was the club. This wasn't really following his new policy of not interfering in events. Seeing as it was a self-imposed policy he didn't feel so bad about that.

There was a devaronian here who was wanted in seven sectors. The authorities from those areas wanted him taken back to Silver Beacon and the further afield to stand trial. Everyone knew the authorities on Nar Shadaa were the Hutt clans and Hickan Blavred was their man. That meant he needed to be quick in getting him off world.

There was a complication he had not forseen. The devaronian was wanted by other people. People who were quite willing to simply have him murdered.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra was standing on one of the catwalks that overlooked the lower levels of the bar, forearms braced against the railing as she idly twirled a small throwing knife around her index finger. It opened and closed with each flick of her wrist, metal clacking together with a satisfying snap in rhythm to the music.

Keen golden eyes swept over the undulating crowds beneath her, looking for her target. She knew he would be here, and that other hunters would be as well. Which meant she would need to move quickly and get the job done with before anyone else found Hickan.

Her tongue flitted over the top row of her teeth and then pressed to the inside of her cheek. She'd been clean for a few weeks now, well mostly. But the itch was becoming unbearable. She would need to scratch it soon.

Though as usual, credits were an issue. That was why she'd agreed to take this hit job. It was something she was familiar with, well trained in, and it meant easy money to feed her addiction.

She hated that it had such a hold on her, but that was just a fact of life now. Just the same as inhaling the toxic air of the under city. The hurts said jump, and she was compelled to ask how high.

Her free hand pushed her dark hair out of her face as she caught sight of the devaronian creeping through the crowd towards the bar. He was dragging a twi'lek girl by the hand, laughing with a bright smile as he looked over her shoulder at the woman.

Lierra wondered if they were lovers, or if he'd just picked her up out of the dancers. Likely the latter, but you never could know. Clicking her tongue, she stood up straight and rolled her shoulders.

It was time to get to work.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Lierra Lunora

It was hard to immerse yourself in the Force when it was so chaotic. If the Force was an ocean then every living creature in the bar was a storm. They rode their highs and danced and loved and it pulled the tide this way and that.

Jacen was out of practise. His dusty hiding place hadn't required anything of him to hone his skills. Once he had used the Force to convince an irritating customer to leave his Uncle Kellan's shop but that was about it.

The Jedi pushed through the crowd. Whilst he didn't wear robes he hadn't dressed to fit in with the young, clubbing crowd.
The Force finally tugged at his senses, drawing him towards the far side of the club.

"Well that's just stereotypical," he murmured, looking towards the scantily clad twi'lek dancing above the crowd on platforms.

"What?" shouted a man who thought he was being spoken to. Jacen shook his head and kept going.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra stalked around the catwalk, keeping the boisterous devaronian in her sights. For a wanted man, he did not seem to be particularly on guard, which was a little concerning. It implied that the man was outrageously careless, or that he knew something she didn't. Neither was particularly reassuring.

Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth once again and she leaned over the railing, just above where Hickan was standing. She flicked the blade in her hand open, and then jumped over the railing. Her boots slammed into the devaronian's shoulders, just as she caught sight of a man who clearly didn't belong in the club moving towards them through the crowds.

More people moved into action overhead. The twi'lek screamed when she saw the knife in Lierra's hand.

Subtly had never been one of Lierra's strong suits. She knew how to get in, get the job done, and get the hell out. That meant things weren't always pretty.

The blade sank into the curve where shoulder met neck on Hickan's throat. A wound that could prove fatal, but it wasn't an immediate kill like she would have preferred.

Chaos broke out.

A blaster appeared in the devaronian's hand a as he swung around to grapple with his assailant. While he'd been aiming for her chest, Lierra was barely able to twist her body just enough so that the blaster bolt struck her side, inside of center mass. It hurt. There was alot of blood... But she could still fight.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen struggled through the crowd. It was like the videos they showed you of gas molecules. Everyone ran in a different direction and he was buffeted on all sides.

A blaster shot rang out and he gave up on being polite. He formed a fist with his outstretched hand and drew it back sharply. The gran in front of him shielded his face, expecting a punch.

Instead a telekinetic wave fell upon the crowd, parting it before him. Burned flesh assailed his sense of smell. Blood and pain and suffering. Everything he had gone to hide from.

Jacen opened his palm and tried to drag the assassin from his quarry. He suspected that he was already too late.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra had been twisting around in an attempt to drive her blade into the back of Hickan's neck, but she was swiftly yanked backwards by an unexpected force.

A Force user? What?

She tumbled across the floor, grunting in pain. Her free arm wrapped around her injured side as she grit her teeth together.

"He's mine!" She shouted at the man racing towards the staggering devaronian.

The wound she inflicted on his throat seemed to be severe enough that Hickan may not survive long anyways.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen could only watch in horror as the criminal staggered and then fell, clutching at his neck. His blood was seeping between his fingers. Jacen could feel his life force fading quickly.

The assassin was still between them. Her declaration made it clear that she wasn't done yet. If she had a valuable contract she was going to confirm the kill.

Jacen surged forwards through the gap he had made in the crowd. He launched himself at her, trying to grab her knife hand and pin it down.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

The strange Force User was much larger than her and considerably more powerful. If she'd not been shot, she might have been able to wriggle free from his hold on her, but as it stood, once he had her pinned, Lierra wasn't going anywhere.

She glowered up at the man, snarling in frustration as he slammed her knife hand into the ground, sending the blade spinning across the floor.

Failure was not an option. The people she worked for would not accept it.

She was fighting for her own life, as much as her livelihood.

The dark tattoos on her face made it so that her golden eyes almost seemed to glow. Black hair was tied back in thick braids.

"He's going to get away!" She snapped at the handsome man who'd tackled her, more frustrated that he was focusing on her instead of the mark.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The Force moved darkly around the would-be assassin. It was a maelstrom on a very small scale, flowing quickly and ever changing. It was a long time since he had come face to face with the dark side of the Force.

He did not know if this was someone who used it consciously, but they were driven by their darker emotions. It shouldn't have caused him to pause. Once he had fought the reigning Sith Emporer.

"He might not make it anyway now!"

Jacen sensed the devaronian crawling for the door. He kept a tight grip on the woman's wrist but left an opening.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra seized the opening, taking any chance that was given to her. Twisting a hand free, she tried to shove Jacen off of her. He wasn't her target, but she needed proof that the devaronian was dead.

If not, she was as good as dead herself.

She grabbed for the blaster the man carried on his person, fully intent on putting an end to the entire debate in the first place.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen placed a hand in the centre of her chest, shoving her back down with all his weight. His eyes went wide as he realised she had pulled the handcannon from his belt.

Stupid, careless, he chastised himself. He was out of practise.

The occluder wasn't a weapon for the faint of heart. This close, pressed to his belly it would virtually tear him in half.

"Damn," he sighed. With a grimace on his face he took his hand away and let her shove him back.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

The first thing she did was move to grab her knife off the floor. She didn't want to hurt the bounty hunter, not badly; since he'd been sensible and let her up.

But there was a problem.

Hickan was gone.

Her heart stuttered in her chest and she felt panic sink its claws into her throat.

Frantically, her eyes darted through the crowd, trying to find her missing mark. There was blood, but she didn't see the horned devaronian anywhere.

"Oh no... " She breathed out softly, golden eyes wide.

When she took a step forward, she gasped in pain, her side flaring up from the movement. She staggered and fell to a knee. Her brow furrowed and she dropped the handcannon to press her palm against the wound. There was something wrong, it wasn't a typical blaster shot.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The handcannon leapt up from the ground and into Jacen's grip. The club was clearing out quickly. The devaronian had slipped away.

Jacen could trace him. He could still sense his presence, the dancing ripples of pain. It was hard to pick up when the assassin beside him was struck by a flare of panic. Like trying to spot a candle when standing beside a fire.

With enough space between he turned to give chase and then came to a sharp halt. Jacen looked back to the assassin. She was dying.

He had left better people behind than the murderer on one knee. A moment of indecision was followed by a groan of frustration.

"You got shot?" he snapped, aware of the increasingly empty room.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra blearily looked up at the Force user-turned Bounty Hunter in front of her, torn between biting off a sarcastic retort and a genuine response. If he left her here, she was prepared for the consequences. Either way, she was a dead woman. One route was just a little faster, and perhaps less painful, than the other.

She swept her tongue over her teeth, expelling a sharp breath.

"Yes. Pretty sure it's a kriffin' dirty round too, so, be careful you don't get shot either." She advised, grimacing with a rueful smirk.

Her free hand shuddered, not a good sign.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Forcedamnit," he grunted. He felt a tremor of warning, but paid it no heed. There were times when you could not focus on every single nebulous piece of information arriving from the Force. You had to live in the moment and trust your skill.

"Put that knife away and I'll get you to some treatment," he offered. They were left to just the continuing beat of the music. He could probably slow, if not stop the poison.

Part of him knew that he should have continued to go after the criminal. For more deserving than a single assassin would suffer and die with him still at large.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Hearing that he'd help her was certainly unexpected, and it almost made Lierra suspicious; but she was hardly in any position to turn his offer of help down. She grimaced and reluctantly slipped the knife away into her boot and held her trembling hand up to show she meant no harm.

Hickan could still very well die from his wound, but she wouldn't be able to prove it. The devaronian's escape wasn't ideal, but she might be able to disappear before word got back to her employers.

Already, she could feel her pulse starting to rise and her breathing was starting to grow ragged. If the Hunter was going to do something, he would need to act quick.

"Okay... Okay. It's up."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen knelt down before the assassin, watching her carefully. She was quick, but he hoped the chance of death if she interfered was enough to stay her hand.

"I need you to breathe slowly, try and slow your pulse," he said.

Jacen took a deep breath and stretched out with his sense. The presence of the poison was immediately apparent. Nasty stuff, already working its way into her organs. Most of it was still in her blood stream so he could start there. He could buy time, he realised, but she was still going to need to get to a hospital.

He sent the Force flowing through her veins. It was a lance of white in his mind and the poison was a dark shadow that it burned away. She would feel a flare of heat running through her body and a spike of pain, but afterwards would come a much greater sense of relief.

Jacen opened his eyes.

"Kark."

There were at least twenty rifles pointing towards them. Hutt mercenaries by the look of them, responding to a call for help. Jacen slowly raised both hands. There were too many of them, with too many angles on him.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra opened her eyes when she heard Jacen curse. At first, she thought that the man had messed something up at first, but was much more disheartened when she saw the cluster of hired guns surrounding them.

Her eyes turned to Jacen from her position laying on the ground, there was a questioning expression in her eyes. As if she was trying to ask him to trust her.

She slowly moved her hand inside her jacket, Jacen's crouched form in front of her masking the movement. Her eyes then darted towards a corridor on the opposite side from the gunmen. She didn't know where it led, but it was at least some cover.

Her hand came back into sight and she was holding a pair of smoke grenades. There was the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

She popped one of the devices in her hand, letting the dark grey smoke swirl around them and then tossed the other towards their intended exit. The poison had slowed, but she was far weaker than she would have liked.

Scrambling to her feet, she raced towards the corridor and grabbed at Jacen's hand. "C'mon." She hissed as the hail of blaster fire descended upon them.

 

[Acaadi]

Jacen didn't trust her. Not even slightly. At the point where she had dropped one of the smoke grenades he was not left with much choice but to follow the plan. The thugs were going to start shooting anyway.

The smoke was lit up by red and blue blaster bolts. Sparks flew as they struck the floor. The Force was his guide to find the door ahead of them, but it was pure luck that they weren't riddled with holes.

He turned, shut the door and fired the hand cannon into the locking mechanism, dealing it.

"Who would have thought a devaronian wanted in seven systems would hang out with such a crowd," Jacen murmured sarcastically.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra grit her teeth as she ran and released her hold on Jacen's arm once they were through the door. Running meant her pulse was increasing once more, she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to run like this.

"Alright... Now what." She murmured lowly, glancing around the room where they now found themselves.

She looked to Jacen after a few moments, taking a deep breath. "We need to keep moving. Otherwise the devaronian's drinking buddies are going to make it so that we don't get another job whatsoever."