Private Where the light barely touches

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"I don't know what you think I am, but it is not a bounty hunter. If this wasn't Nar Shadaa and I thought I could afford too I would bring you in too. I'm guessing you have more than a few warrants."

Jacen didn't stop to talk, he kept on going until the end of the corridor and shouldered through the door. It led out onto a street that wrapped around the building.

"Not just drinking buddies. He'll have friends from five different Hutt families down here soon."

Jacen started across the nearest walkway and then looked down. He looked down at a drop that would take minutes to complete. It was kilometers to the ground.

" I'm going to jump down to the next walkway. Come after me and I'll catch you."

It was nearly wenty metres down. An impossible drop.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

"Oh yeah, sure." She said sardonically, shaking her head in disbelief. His indifference towards her, especially since he just vaguely threatened to turn her in, she was rather skeptical that he'd catch her.

She felt as though she was trapped, having to choose which version of her death she'd prefer. It wasn't exactly an uplifting situation.

Maybe she'd be better off making a run for it on her own, this man was not her ally and she certainly couldn't trust him.

"Not like I have time to argue otherwise."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"You are particularly grumpy for an assassin," he remarked, as if assassins were supposed to be cheerful people.

Without any further explanation he hopped over the fence and fell through the air. It should have been his death. The Force buoyed him as the next walkway rose up to meet him. He landed hard, crouching into a ball and then slowly drawing himself back up again. The war injuries were taking their toll on his body.

"Jump," he called, waving her down.

There was a thump from the doors behind them as the enforcers started to break it down with their bare hands. From the lower walkway they were still targets, but at least they would give themselves a few more minutes headstart.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Her head snapped towards the sound of the door being beat down. She cursed quietly, tossing something onto the walkway. A magnetic lock engaged and the device chirped once to signal that it was activated.

Just a the door swung out and a cluster of men came rushing out onto the walkway, Lierra swung her legs over the railing and jumped. Her stomach lurched into her throat as she fell, putting her entire trust in the man that had just said he'd rather turn her in.

There was a flash and then an explosion.

The proximity charge had detonated. She heard the screams and then a horrendous shriek of metal straining. The upper walkway held, but only just. It was tilted at a sickening angle, several men and dismembered bodies tumbled down into the abyss below.

"Kriff, kriff, kriff." She hissed under her breath, reaching a hand out to Jacen.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Lierra came to a halt in the air, three metres above the walkway. Jacen had one hand extended, his eyes narrowed. She was supported head to toe by an invisible force. Jacen dropped his hand and she was lowered to the walkway. A single bead of sweat rolled from his temple to his jaw.

"I'm out of practise," he grunted. "Can you run?" he asked, looking up at the broken walkway. It was hanging by safety cables now. The remaining. enforcers were at least looking after themselves now, rather than raining fire down on them.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

As her feet touched the safety of the walkway, she felt a surge of relief settle over her. She'd been half convinced he was going to let her die.

"Yeah, I can run. I'll try to keep up." She said grimly, glancing over her shoulder to the men above.

At least she's bought them some time. They could flee down the walkway, without trying to dodge a hail of blaster bolts.

She was quickly running out of tricks up her sleeve, burning through her equipment to get away.

"Any idea where we're going?" She asked flatly, her voice strained from the pain as she started to run down the narrow platform.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"All I had in mind was a distance, then you are going to a med bay and I am going to go back for that devaronian," Jacen declared.

Knowing when to quit was not one of his qualities. Throughout his career in the New Jedi Order he had stood his ground when he should have turned to flee. He was far too stubborn for his own good.

"Quick, quick," Jacen called, holding open a door. He should have chased a man responsible for death all across the quadrant instead of a single murderer.

The sound of swoop bikes cut through the air. Jacen turned his eyes to the sky, looking for them.

"That cannot be good," he hissed.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

She ran through the door that Jacen was holding open for her, but quickly staggered to a stop when she saw what waited for them inside. It was another door, but this one was sealed shut and required a badge to get open. She felt her throat constrict and she looked back to Jacen. Under normal circumstances, she could have gotten through the security if she had the time... But she certainly didn't have the time here.

"Could you get this open? We don't have much time..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Move out the..." a blaster bolt interrupted him, striking the wall beside his head and sending a cascade of sparks down onto the walkway.

He turned and fired his hand cannon. It didn't have much range but the scatter of small bolts would give their pursuers a reason to pause.

Jacen held his other hand over the metal frame. His face screwed him in concentration and the metal groaned.

He pulled his hand back, eyes going suddenly wide as he felt a warning. He shoved Lierra Lunora to the ground. The screaching of swoop bikes rose as they swung about the tower. Laser cannon shots struck the walls all around them as they made a pass.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

As she was knocked to the ground, Lierra gasped in shock and then gave a pained cry as they impacted the metal floor, jarring the wound in her side. It took a few moments to catch her breath from the lance of sharp pain in her abdomen. "Mngh..."

She covered her head out of pure instinct just as the blaster bolts slammed into the wall where she'd just been standing.

Another barrage of blaster bolts tore through the small room and Lierra quickly kicked out, trying to slam the exterior door shut behind them. She succeeded in the endeavor... But she heard a click of a lock falling into place.

"Kark... You alright?" She asked Jacen, realizing that he was still on top of her. She actually sounded worried about him.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen rolled to one side and laid still. His limbs were in fact attached to his body which meant that the heavy laser cannons on the swoop bikes hadn't torn him to pieces.

"Go, go, go..." Jacen groaned, dragging himself to his feet. "I am out of shape," he added. The sound of repulsors reverberated through the room. Some of the swoops were clearly parking up outside.

They were in some kind of back room for a store. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with plastic boxes.

Jacen stood, stumbled and then ran for the nearest door. He opened it just as the one behind them was kicked open. A stun grenade was tossed in after them.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra was slower than Jacen due to her injury. It pained her pride almost as much as the agony in her side hurt her body. The bleeding had started again from the fall, and she knew that Jacen had only been able to slow the effects of the poison. What she didn't know was how much, and for how long. How much more time did she have?

The door behind her kicked open and she whirled around, knife already in hand as she prepared to face the threat.

But the stun grenade was what greeted her. Not a man.

"Kriff! Close your--!" She tried to shout a warning to Jacen but the grenade went off before she could finish.

The concussive blast knocked her back to the ground, her ears were left ringing, and the brilliant flash left her dazed. Groaning, she tried to roll onto her side to get up, but she could barely tell which direction that was.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen had long ago perfected the art of forming barriers with the Force. They could defend against sonic weapons, concussion rifles and stun grenades. It would have helped had he been quicker. It was not an art he had called on for two years.

The world span. He would have lost all sense of where he was had the door not helpfully rapped him on the back of the head. Jacen felt his feet slide from beneath him. He managed to get an elbow between himself and the ground. There were people all around, moving and dancing across his vision.

He felt a boot strike his gut. The Force guided him to block the next swing that came for his head. He lashed out without looking and struck a knee. Someone howled. There was a bright flash of blue and then darkness.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra's head was pounding when she came back too. But she didn't know where she was. There was something covering her eyes, blocking out the light.

When she tried to move, she realized that her hands were tied behind her back.

She was hurting and still felt as if the world was spinning. It must have been the poison spreading through her system. Sweat beaded on her brow and she could feel it starting to seep into her clothes.

Then she was gruffly yanked up and dragged across the floor. She was too weak to even put up much of a struggle.

Someone shoved her down onto her knees, pain shooting up her legs from the harsh impact and she grunted in discomfort.

A door opened and then someone else was dragged inside and tossed onto the floor next to her, just to her right.

The door slammed shut and then she heard the sound of an engine start up. They were moving.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Ow."

Jacen had missed out on the unpleasant journey from the store room to the back of the airspeeder. His eyes were covered but he could stretch out with the Force. Even groggy, he knew the assassin was bound beside him.

"Did you know...which carpet he was closest too?" Jacen groaned. He pushed himself up onto his own knees, brushing shoulder to shoulder with her.

Which cartel currently had them would dictate how unpleasant the road immediately ahead of them would be.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

She felt Jacen's shoulder brush against her and she was oddly comforted from the contact. It was nice to know that she wasn't entirely alone in the speeder. Weak as she was, she let herself lean a little into Jacen's side, trying to reserve her energy.

Her head bowed slightly, trying to rack her mind for the dossier she'd been given on Hickan.

"The Uthrid Ravens." She murmured softly, shaking her head a few times.

Which wasn't the best news.

They were known to be a violent bunch and merciless slavers. There was a chance they'd either be killed or sold, whichever they thought would be better for the cartel. They'd likely kill her and sell Jacen. Her poison and injury made her too much of an investment to deal with.

"I think... You'll uh... Have to make a run for it on your own..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Maybe when that's an option," he grunted. "They never tell you, when you're trained to use them, just how much pain stun bolts leave you in when you come to."

His fingers wrapped around the restraints. Solid durasteel, well made, but he could find his way out of them with some time.

"If we're lucky they might try and torture us and give me an opportunity," he suggested. It was a rather pragmatic thought given the circumstances, but he had been through worse.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra grunted softly in agreement, shaking her head. "They won't torture me." She said lowly, shifting her weight from one knee to the other.

"Probably just put a hole in my head as soon as they really who owns me." She muttered under her breath and exhaled softly.

"Might be able to get this door open for you though..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen let that sink in. She was dangerous enough, or worked for people who were, that they would just put a bolt between her eyes.

"And who do you work for exactly? Oh, and how are you going to get the door open?"

Jacen felt bad for it, but he had to wonder if her answer was going to affect his decision to use his energy to stem the poison further.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

"The Lux Imperium..." She said quietly, a cartel of questionable methods even for other criminals. They were known for their extremes and cruelty. "Though... Not because I want to, just to clarify."

Lierra exhaled sharply and started to scoot back towards the door. "I'm good with locks." She explained vaguely.

Carefully, she laid down on her back and reached for the bottom of her boot, depressing a small compartment in the side of the sole and a small shim popped loose.

"Can you do something about these blindfolds?" She asked softly, bumping into Jacen's side as she moved.