You dead yet, Ren?!

[Dax Perl]

Yeah. Dax was already a tad bit secretive, but telling her about his new toy? Not something he'd ever do..."What it is is none of your business lady. Now you better get goin'. I'm sure someone's gonna come looking for these three bosh'tets soon." he said as he kicked one of the bodies on the floor. Fethin' idiots...

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara sighed and spun her blade, taking another step in his direction.

"Now see, this is were we have a problem. You have something interesting in there," She gestured at the crates with her left hand. "And I want to know what it is. So I've made it my business."

She paused, one eyebrow winging up and a coy smile curling her lips.

"How do you propose we end this stalemate so that both of us can go about our day?"

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Well I'm guessing you aren't just gonna walk away..." Dax said sarcastically, gripping his saber with both hands, a relaxed guard with the orange blade held out before himself. Placing himself between the crates and the woman, the Rogue was clearly comfortable with the idea of being in combat. He'd seen his fair share of battles.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara smiled wickedly, adjusting her grip on the curved handle of her saber and saluting him with the blade.

"No, I don't believe I will."

Without another word she launched into an attack. Speed and movement was her advantage and she'd using it to it's fullest. Dashing to his left, she attack with two quick thrusts towards the torso, dancing back out of his range almost immediately, merely testing his reaction time and skill.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax's blade pushed the Ren's to the side, just enough for it to miss her target. A subtle twist of the handle, quick, practiced, natural. The resounding electrical clash echoed aimlessly in the empty warehouse. The first, the man took a single step back. The second, another step as he parried the blade out of the way. As the woman back up, his saber cut down towards her chest, and then across towards her abdomen. Quick and vicious, it didn't matter if the strikes made contact, only that they forced a reaction.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara smiled as their sabers clashed, the electric hum of blades meeting like music to her ears. He parried her attacks easily, his motions fluid and practiced. Moving backwards swiftly to avoid his first swing, she brought her blade up in a vertical block of the attack to her abdomen, using her momentum to parry the blade wide.

Dashing in, two quick steps moved her inside his guard, a feint to the left followed by a sweeping arc to the right lower leg.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The woman was quick, he'd give her that. The Master's first strike cut only empty air, and his second strike resulted in a bright flash of light and a thunderous sound as the sabers collided once more. And then the Dark Sider closed the gap again, feinting left. Dax began to move his saber in the same direction, only to the blade abruptly change direction, the blade's angle changing before any other movement took place. Instead of attempting to intercept the crimson blade again, Dax leapt over the strike, his blade coming down on the woman as he returned to the ground, her blade still held low.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara followed the momentum of her blade as he jumped to avoid the arc, bringing it up and around aiming at the side of his head. Her body moved, almost of it's own accord, side-stepping to the left to avoid the lethal blade he brought down in a vicious slash.

Her breath hissed out in pain as she was a hair too slow, the smell of burning flesh rising up as the burnt orange saber grazed her side, cutting cleanly through clothing and leaving an angry line of red across her ribs.

Without missing a beat, she jumped back, using an empty crate for leverage, scrambling to get out of his range.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The smell of burnt flesh filled Dax's nostrils as a violent crash exploded through the warehouse, the saber striking the durcrete floor with force. The man wasted no time, turning towards the woman again, he unleashed a torrent of lightning at her as she sought cover. The blue-white streaks arced almost instantly through the air, stray strands of electricity connecting to anything it passed near too, such as the crates.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara scrambled for the alcove she'd hidden in a few moments before, hair streaming behind her. A stray strand of lightning arced off a nearby crate, slamming into her ankle, sending the girl stumbling forward as agonizing pain shot up her right leg.

In an effort to avoid a pain-filled scream, the girl bit down on her lip hard enough to fill her mouth with blood. She slammed her back against the wall, dragging her leg with it. The smell of burnt flesh was stronger now, she resisted the urge to glance down at the wound. It wouldn't do her any good to see the damage, for now, she was wholly outclassed and needed to find a way out.

She spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor, her lip stinging. At this rate, she'd be lucky to walk out on her own two feet.

Her hiding place led to a dead end, the only door the one she'd entered through a few minutes ago. To reach it, she'd have to cross at least ten feet of open space with a very pissed off Force User between her and escape. She listened for movement, glad for the enhanced hearing that having no low-light vision had required her to develop. She'd have to surprise him when he got close enough and then make a mad dash for the exit.

"Lightning huh, not usually a good sign in my book." She chuckled, wincing when her ribs protested the movement.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Obscured by the crates, Dax never saw the woman's ankle get struck by the high energy attack. Nor did he hear any cry of pain. What he did see though, was the woman stumble and heard the subsequent slam of her slamming into a wall. Whatever her hiding place had been, it wouldn't last long.

"I told you I was no Jedi." the man said. "I did give you fair warning."

A burst of light and a quiet explosion signified the ignition of another saber. The curved hilt in his left hand emitted a yellow glow, its light casting long shadows on the floor. Dax approached slowly, cautiously. Perhaps the most dangerous creature was a wounded one, pushed into a corner...

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She listened to his footsteps, quiet compared to the clash and clang of their battle a few seconds before, but her hearing was better than most. His aura crept closer, the hum of his blade echoing through the room. She would have one chance. One shot to distract him and escape, or she might find a slightly fried ankle the least of her concerns.

And so she reached with the power of the Force, focused on one crate, just visible from her alcove. As soon as he stepped close enough, she reached out, lifting the crate and sending it flying at the man's head. Hoping his attention would be focused on the projectile instead of the woman, she took a risk, darting from her hiding place and spinning her blade low, aiming for his lower legs.

She stayed low, hoping he'd aim higher in the chaos, dashing for the door just a few feet beyond.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The flying crate took Dax off guard, but the man brought his hand up, the Force crashing into it, splinters raining down on them both. The crimson blade hummed loudly, giving only a split second for Dax to jump above the bloodthirsty weapon. The Dark Sider running away, Dax saw his chance. His hand thrust forward a telekinetic wall rushing towards the woman with her back turned to him.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Her hand wrapped around the door handle, for a moment she grinned in triumph as the metal turned under her hand. A wall of Force slammed into her, sending the slender girl flying into the wall of the warehouse beside her. She heard bones crunch as her left shoulder collided with the solid object, her entire arm going numb instantly. It was probably a small blessing, the pain from a dislocated or broken shoulder wouldn't do anything to help her right now.

Somehow she managed to keep hold of her saber hilt and the door handle, a small miracle. Two could play at that game. She released the door handle, eyes narrowed in pain and anger and focused her swirling emotions. Lifting her arm, she pushed the man away. Anger, fear, and pain swirled, the power of the Force tugging and pulling on her, the desire for blood growing with every injury. One corner of her mouth quirked into a smirk, her eyes darkened, the edges tinging yellow as she attempted something she'd only ever heard about.

As she clinched her outstretched hand into a fist, the Force responded, attempting to crush his lungs and heart.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The Ren slammed into the wall, a result of Dax's attack, more metallic clanging filling their ears. The man began to rush towards he again, blades poised to strike. Then the woman turned with an outstretched hand. Dax stopped dead in his tracks, bringing his sabers down to defend against an attack that never came. His sabers fell to his sides and he stood, looking at the woman with a confused face, "What the feth are you trying to do, bosh'tet?"

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara's brows furrowed in disappointment as her attempt failed. It had been a long shot, but it had accomplished the goal, stopping his advance. Her eyes flashed around the warehouse, searching for anything that could act as a distraction or buy her time to escape. She was outclassed and desperate. Her gaze lit on the crates and stopped, the corners of her mouth curling up in a wicked grin.

Her hand still outstretched, she opened her fingers, abandoning the attempt to crush his heart and lungs, instead using the power flowing through her to lift the crates. Easily they floated, hovering a few feet off of the floor, the lid to one falling off and clattering to the side. At this point it was about survival, the contents of the crates no longer mattered to her.

"Distracting you."

With a flick of her hand, she sent them flying towards the far wall of the warehouse.

"Catch."

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

A loud curse left Dax's lips as he turned and reached out with the Force to catch the precious cargo. It could be very bas if those canisters happened to break on the floor. Chances were the two of them would be knocked on conscious for several hours if they took even a single whiff of the sleep inducing toxin. As the man caught the flying crates, one of the canisters fell from its place, tumbling towards the floor, and once more Dax had to reach out frantically, barely catching it in time, the rim just barely touching the floor. He lowered it all to the ground before turning back to the Dark Sider.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara took her moment, grabbing the door handle and wrenching it open. She didn't even pause to see if the man had managed to save his precious cargo. Her right leg refused to cooperate fully, the damage from the force lightning greater than she originally thought. The pain spurred her on, as she let her saber go dark and held it close to her side. Her movements were slower than normal and jerky, each step a labored combination of pain lancing up from her foot and stabbing from the burn wound in her side. She was starting to feel her left arm, a screaming pain tearing through the limb from the dislocated shoulder.

She hardly wanted to draw attention to herself with a fully ignited blade. Reaching out, she slammed the door show behind her with the Force, grabbing her comm unit and connecting with the ship.

"Prepare to leave, immediately ."

Her voice offered no argument as she disconnected the call without waiting for a reply. Now she just had to hope he didn't try trailing her.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The door slammed in Dax's face, just as he'd reached it. Wrenching the barrier open he darted out once more, putting out his sabers. He wasn't about to get stopped by authorities again for chasing a Dark Sider. He could feel the woman running...well limping or hobbling away from him. He gave chase, not quite ready to give up the hunt.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She heard the door fly open behind her and she cursed, glancing behind her.

"What the Kark? Don't you ever give up?!"

She ignored the damage to her lower leg, knowing that she was further injuring herself but not caring. Her hobbled gait became a sprint as she turned the corner, heading away from the warehouse and towards the busier areas of the lower levels. If she could get somewhere more public, he might be content to let her escape rather than drawing more attention to the two.

As she took another turn, she reached out, focusing on the man and pushing him back with the force. Any delay would help her.

[member="Dax Fyre"]