And So They Come

[Mariya Pyne]

Feth. Okay.

Eira slowly tilted and shifted her injured shoulder enough so that the jacket would slide down, allowing her to still maintain concealment of the tray while looking as if she was maneuvering in such a way due to the injury, and not because she had anything to hide. When it fell, she held the jacket from the sleeve of her good arm upwards to show that she had nothing to hide. The tray would remain tactfully tucked away, at least for the moment.

The words he spoke in his native tongue eluded Eira. Her unfamiliarity with Mandalorian culture made her ignorant to his question.

"I don't understand your language. As for your question, it hurts to move my arm and it's bleeding steady. Can I at least wrap my jacket around it? Or are you just going to kill me?"

She gauged that since he had come this far and not already shot her dead that he intended on bringing her back to Alpheridies, though that was still not in her plan book. Whether that meant more running, or forcefully crashing his ship, she wasn't going back there. She may as well die if that were the case. It would be a kinder fate than living through rehabilitation methods. First hand experience witnessing such rituals and cleansing were enough to convince her that there was no going back.

[member="Teroch Werda"]

 

[Teroch Werda]

"No, you won't die here." Teroch answered, looking towards her injured arm. "Put pressure on it if you must, but I will treat it at my ship." The was no empathy in his voice. Teroch had no intention of losing her again due to some careless mistake. They needed to get some bacta in her arm sooner rather than later, but from what the Mandalorian could see she was not on the verge of death. If he was forced to be rough, he would. If he needed to be careful, he would. Yet Teroch would not lower his guard. He had done so once before and let his target slip away. A mistake he would not twice make.

He took a few steps forward, now only a few yards away from the woman. "When we get to my ship I can heal that wound. It is not my prerogative to see you killed or maimed." His voice rang out in a static hum through his helmet. "You're to be taken alive back to your homeworld. What happens after that is not in my hands." Another step forward. "Make this easy on yourself, you've ran long enough." With his free hand Teroch tossed a pair of magnetic handcuffs to the feet of the woman. "Time to make a choice." He grinned beneath his helmet, and waited to see how things would go.

---

---

[member="Eira Sjona"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Eira grit her teeth, head falling to the ground where the cuffs had skidded across the duracrete to her raggedy boots. She was deliberate in moving slowly, speaking as she gently lifted the cuffs. "Being brought back to Alpheridies, I may as well be dead. It would be a kinder fate." He was every bit what Eira had expected in a bounty hunter. Unsympathetic, and without compassion. As cold and distant as the voice masked behind the helmet he wore. "I would run for an eternity if it meant freedom from being a prisoner in my own mind. I don't expect someone like you to understand, certainly not to care. But there are things worse than death you couldn't imagine."

A quick look at the cuffs made it obvious to Eira that the Mandalorian wasn't entirely aware of what she was capable of. Thus she shackled her injured hand first, then paused, looking up to the armed and heavily armored man. "Will you at least grant me the dignity of seeing your face before dragging me off?" If he gave in to her request, the opening would be there for her to throw with all of her strength the small, heavy tray she'd been concealing straight towards his head and then flee past him. If not, she would have to consider her options, given his level of agitation.

"That can't be too much to ask."

[member="Teroch Werda"]

 

[Teroch Werda]

There was a strangeness in Teroch as he listened to the woman's words. She had given up all she was by running. His contacts had not said much about her personal life, yet he had pieced most of it together. Leaving Alpheridies had meant abandoning all she knew, giving up the old life she led in search of a new one. Looking at the state she was in she was no doubt regretting that choice. All the same though, Teroch had noticed the similarities even if he refused to acknowledge them. No one hunted him for his choice to leave, to become dar'manda, but he too was an outcast. Perhaps somewhere deep inside he felt sorry for the woman because of that, and thus agreed to remove his helmet.

The buy'ce slid off with ease after Teroch released the connectors holding it in place. The cold unfeeling of his eyes now gazing firmly at the woman before him. "There." He spoke low and roughly. "Now put the cuffs on." He motioned to them with his blaster. A sense of revelry grew inside him. It would soon be over. The credits would be put in to his account and he would finally be able to rest. Too long he had been scouring the galaxy for a few measly hauls. With this one he would have enough credits saved up to cease hunting for a while. "I don't know what you'll go through, and I don't care. You people were willing to pay a very generous for your return, so whatever you did it must have been bad enough."

---

---

[member="Eira Sjona"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

If one were to hold a window to Eira's soul, they would see the wicked grin she bore inwardly as the Mandalorian slowly removed the helmet protecting his head. Though her face remained that same, half pained half apathetic look, deep within she was beaming. Her one final opportunity to be free was approaching, and she had but one single chance to seize it. One single moment to get it right. And one single moment to plead with her legs to carry her as far away from where she stood as possible.

It seemed he didn't know she was naturally blind, unable to perceive his facial features as a typical human would. Her false cybernetics had paid off. What difference it would make to her that he wore the mask or not was not the reason she had asked for him to remove it, yet by doing so had fallen once more like a puzzle piece into her game. Eira drew both hands together, as if she were about to cuff her other hand beneath the jacket that obscured the object she wielded.

Instead, however, she clasped the bracelet onto the same hand. "I'm blind." She said defiantly, and in one singular motion, her hand snapped up, back, and hurled forward the heavy cigarra tray towards the man's head. It was a dangerous gamble, but the hunter had let down his guard again, and like the cunning fox she was, would make good on the opportunity. With the object in motion not a single breath would be wasted as she bolted straight towards the Mandalorian with the hope that the object would either disorient, distract, or render unconscious the hunter long enough for her to be rid of him once more.

If she could make it back to the star port, perhaps she could sneak aboard a ship...

[member="Teroch Werda"]

 

[Teroch Werda]

Teroch had rolled his eyes and stepped forward when the girl claimed herself unable to see. In hindsight he should have noticed a truly blind person would not have been able to evade him as she had, but it was too late now. The tray flung towards his exposed face with furious speed. Taking it head on would likely mean being rendered unconscious. Yet Teroch was a warrior, veteran of many battles, with a good degree of skill and reflex. He was not able to doge the oncoming attack, not at the distance away he was. Teroch knew before it ever connected he was going to take a bit of damage here. Arm raised to protect as much of his face of he could, the tray struck. Just barely glancing off his gauntlet before striking the side of his head.

Blood ran down Teroch's forehead. Another scar no doubt. He had saved himself from serious injury by slowing the tray, but he couldn't avoid all of it. He spun in just enough time to see the woman's back edging around the corner. A trail of red stinging his one good eye. Things became hazy as he lifted the blaster and let loose a series of shots, three in all. She was worthy more alive by a long shot but at this point pride became more important than credits. Wiping the blood away he replaced his helmet so it would stifle the wound. The hunt would continue it seemed. However; Teroch was done showing restraint.

---

---

[member="Eira Sjona"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Eira ran just as she always had. It was what she knew. There was no remorse in harming the bounty hunter. It was necessary for her own survival. It was that simple. Returning to Alpheridies meant the end for her. Salvation depended upon her evading both him and that wretched planet at all costs, and no cost was too great. Echoes of a blaster firing filled the air, three shots. Fortunately for her this time they had gone wide, though perhaps unfortunately for the bystander on the other side of the street. A woman had been shot dead. An unintended target of the bounty hunter. Eira made no attempt to look back at the scene, the carnage unfolding in the wake of her escape. Nothing mattered but her own skin. Just as nothing mattered to him but the reward of her capture.

Just ahead a speeder appeared to be waiting by the edge of the street, perhaps for someone to make their way from the building just beside it. Perfect. There was a man in the pilot's seat, but that was the least of her concerns. Eira hoped it was capable of whisking her away before the man she'd just tried to harm could catch up to her. Much to the pilot's confusion, Eira leaped into the passenger's side of the speeder. Before he had an opportunity to protest the decision her hand waived gently through the air, fingertips curling in motion. "You will drive -- Now." Her voice was that of a siren, sultry and calming. The man nodded, quickly pulling away and past the alley where Teroch would be coming from after her.

As the speeder zipped by, he would catch the malicious smirk on her face. Not my first chase, tin head.

[member="Teroch Werda"]

 

[Teroch Werda]

A crooked smile flashed beneath the helmet as the speeder raced by. Already the air filled with wailing sirens and dismayed shouts. People gathered around the corpse on the other side of the street, gawking and pointing his way. A showdown with local authorities was not in the cards at the moment. There was no way he could chase after the target without undue collateral damage. For now it seemed, she had won. A rookie mistake on his art had caused all this, Teroch knew that. Even still he was impressed. A girl that seemed that fragile and weak had managed to evade him all this time. As the sound of the sirens grew Teroch dipped out of sight and made his way back to his ship. All the while thinking: "She would have made a fine Mandalorian."

He was coasting now, the face on his screen betraying no emotion at the news of his failure. "So she has escaped you then." Teroch simply nodded in retort. "We had expected better from a man of your reputation Mr. Werda." Again, just a nod in reply. "We will bring on more hunters, feel free to void the contact at your earliest convenience." The Mandalorian locked his gaze on the Miraluka. "No." The woman fell silent. "She's mine. You can send as many others as you want, but they will regret getting in my way." For a while it remained silent until finally the woman spoke. "Very well Mr. Werda. Have it your way." The line went silent. Shortly thereafter Teroch began scanning outgoing ship registries, and formulating a new plan.

---

[member="Eira Sjona"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Her figurative eyes lay locked on the man as she passed out of sight. He had given up the chase for the time being, allowing her lay her head back against the rest behind her. An audible sigh passed her lips. Her arm still burned and bled on the interior fabric of the speeder as the man drove her aimlessly for the time being. A few fierce tugs against the sleeve of her shirt saw it torn free, allowing Eira to improvise a bandage around the injury and tie it off for the time being. It wasn't pleasant, but it would hopefully cease the bleeding in short time. Still, without proper cleaning it would likely become infected. A hospital was still a preferable place to go, but on this planet it would be beyond dangerous. The Mandalorian knew she was hurt, and might very well check the hospitals for her.

She needed to get off world.

Pulling the jacket back up over her shoulders to conceal her arms she spoke to the driver through the Force once more. "You will provide me all of the credits from the fares today, as well as your wallet." With a nod the man politely offered Eira a sum of credits more than enough for what it would cost to purchase a seat on an outbound ship. "You will take me to the star port immediately." It seemed things might actually be turning in her favor, so long as she hit orbit before the scarred man behind the mask found her again.

The ride to the star port would take thirty minutes, weaving gently between traffic until finally arriving at the steps she had fled from earlier. Turning side to side for a look around, her thick, overly long black hair shifted behind her. Seeing nobody that resembled a walking tank with a jetpack the exile quickly jogged up the staircase towards the lobby of the building, hoping to find a terminal with a freighter destined for a distant system. The further away she got the better.

[member="Teroch Werda"]