Dance Hall

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel quietly sat in a large auditorium, as a small group of people bustled about, looking for seats. He was hired to eliminate a dancer by the name of Naomi Verd, who had failed to pay up on some debts or something. While Daniel did his research on his marks, he never cared about why he was hired. As long as there was credits, he would take the job. During his studies on the young woman, he discovered that she was rising star in the Dance Community, which eliminated the possibility of killing her here and now. No, he had to wait and follow the girl to where she resided, which would be much easier to deal with.


A young Rodian man and his Hapan partner walked him up to him, interrupting his train of thought."Excuse me sir, do you mind if we sit here?" Daniel scowled for a second, but thanks to quick thinking he managed to deal with the pair. "Sorry, but I'm saving these seats for some friends of mine." The couple apologized, and walked off.

Now, he had the perfect environment to plan his course of action.


[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

It's been awhile since the young woman had indulged in the wonders of aerial dancing. The satin curtain had hidden her away for the time being. Shaking her hands the dancer tip toed around the silk cloth. Her adrenaline pumped as she could hear the voice behind her wall of fabric. She shifted her hair into a long, straight, pony tail and her outfit into a white and gold bodysuit. Naomi had to admit, it was much easier to do so rather than go into the chaotic dressing rooms.

Hastily she dusted rosin on her hands and feet to make sure they did not slip against the gentle ribbon that hung next to her. Before she knew it, it would be time for her to risk serious injury at such heights. The announce hushed the crowd and begun to explain what Naomi would be preforming. Taking in several deep breaths the music started and so the curtain rose. Standing, attentive and ready she had her chin raised, her chest forward and her toes pointed. To the beat of the music she moved to the beats in her head and allowed her body to do the rest.

​She showed strength, control, balance and elegance. Naomi owned the stage and the eyes on her moments.
--

Here is a performance video for example

 

[Daniel Tresk]

While Daniel had assumed that Naomi would've been a skillful dancer, he in all his years would've never expected this. She moved gracefully around the lightly colored silks that hung from the ceiling. The dancer was poised and elegant, but moved swiftly and with a surprising amount of strength. While he would never admit to this, Dan was intrigued and entertained by the simple yet precise performance. As the minimalist music slowly drew to a close, the crowd jumped to a standing ovation.

While Daniel stuck out from the crowd, as the row below and above him were empty, he stood up from his seat and clapped along with them. As the crowd died down, so did he, as he took his seat for the final performance.

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

Naomi dropped from the silk one last time, her heart pounded in her ears, her chest heaved with heavy breathing. Gently she stood standing on her toes once more. Cheers and sounds of approval filled her mind. Taking a dip she bowed to the crowd in three different directions. Her face was stern, no smile, her eyes fluttered shut. As the curtains came down she loosened her stance and took in a deep breath. Behind the scenes were several people congratulating her on her performance and even one director came and handed her an arrangement of white roses.

In the overwhelming heat she almost forgot the fees she owed. Naomi had to come up with some way to get into a prestigious school and at the time she had little to no money. After finding her credits in the hands of a rather shady anonymous man, she has paid every payment in full until this recent month. Credits are tight right now and lately she's been avoid much outside contact. Such as excepting new dancer partners or having teachings in her studio.

Naomi begun to leave but faintly she heard the director explaining her having dance classes and were they are held. He's never done that before and now the thousands of strangers know where she lives. Creasing her brow she hurried her way out of the building and practically ran all the way to her home which was a few blocks away from the theater.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel waited. And waited. And waited. He calmly sat there for a good 5 minutes waiting for Naomi to come out onto the stage, but she never showed up. The Director even came out and tried to apologize, but he was shouted down by the confused ramblings of the audience. The bounty hunter merely shrugged and walked away, as a shouting match ensued between the patrons and the director. As he walked outside into the light rain, he saw the dancer briskly walking away from the auditorium. "Thank you for staying obvious." He muttered under his breath as he followed his mark.

Daniel cursed when he saw her walking into a large square filled with people bustling around, buying goods and talking about their day. He ducked into a narrow alley and silently shuffled along the cold and wet walls. Dan stepped back out into the street, and thankfully, Naomi was still in sight. He continued his pursuit of her, and when she reached her destination, he quickly sidestepped her field-of-vision.

"Alright, she's in, now to set up shop..." Daniel whispered as he began setting up his position behind her residence.

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

Gentle rain poured on her head. While she ran she changed but now that her clothes were soaked it was apparent she had to do it again. Naomi filled the sign on the door that read "Open" to "Closed" and simultaneously shifted into tight blue jeans, a grey tank top and her hair returned to the natural curls she preferred. Looking out of the glass door she began to take in slow casual breaths. She couldn't believe that she skipped out on the last performance of the night.

Naomi turned her back on the door, the studio had quite a few windows, a large one in the very back and four medium sized along the sides. Though one side was completely covered by a massive mirror. Facing herself one more time the Shi'ido-Human mix fixed her hair in the reflection and began to walk up the cold metal spiral stairs to her home. It was not the largest area but at least it was something. Her hands were shaking, every moment she was not in public was a chance she'd be attacked.

While yes Naomi did have the force on her side and her sheer strength, she had only one real weapon. Was her lightsaber. Quietly she tip toed towards her bed, beneath it was her weapon of choice. To feel a sense of comfort she hooked it onto her belt loop. She was not the most skilled but she could do a little damage. Naomi was naturally almost always paranoid.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel carefully pulled out his rifle and turned towards the building. He waited a minute, just making sure that no random passerby would interrupt his mission on eliminating Naomi. He turned along the side of the building, and silently opened a average-sized window that led into a studio. He heard footsteps echoing from upstairs, so he tried to muffle and silence every single movement he made. He crept along the building, checking for any possible escape exits and other information the could come in handy in case if things escalated for the worse.

Dan slowly tip-toed up the stairs, and gently rested his feet on the floor once he was up. The hitman smirked when he noticed that the girl left the door open. He placed himself in the doorway, and carefully aimed his rifle.

"Get down, and put your hands up."

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

Her heart stopped, Naomi jumped a little at the voice. Whoever it was, they aren't force sensitive so she would never have been able to detect them. Turning her head to the side she got a glimpse of man who was holding her at gun point. At first she was reluctant to give herself up but with a weapon pointed at her, ready to fire, the least she could do was throw him off to give her a chance at survival. Slowly she raised her hands above her head and then hesitantly lowered herself to the ground.

Naomi's breath was hot against the cold wood floors. She waited, just like on the stage, her heart pounded in her ears. The blood in her veins was hot and filled with excitement. Yet she remained silent and waited for the right time to act. Naomi was confident he was going to kill her if he had the chance, she wasn't going to kill her. Maybe if she allowed him to think that he had her right where he wanted her it that wouldn't include being shot on sight.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel coldly stared at Naomi as she lowered herself to the hard, wooden floor. Dan had become cold and unfeeling ever since those fateful years on Coruscant, when his parents died and he was nearly killed by bounty hunters. He took two steps forwards, and placed the gun right behind her head, where the cold barrel rested on the base of her neck. "Now, I'm going to give you two options to this situation: You either pay back the credits you owe, or I place a bullet in the back of your skull and I cut your jugular. Which one do you want to pick young lady?" Daniel slowly drawled out, emphasizing every single syllable.

The bounty hunter gazed down at her, his finger carefully resting on the trigger of the large gun. "Choose your next words carefully." He instructed her.

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

She listened closely to every step he took and where. Naomi closed her eyes for a second, the chilled metal on her body. Taking in a deep breath she opened her eyes once more. Her voice was soft and calm, "Ok-ok, I have your credits.. Just back off.. and I can show you were they are. No one has to get hurt." Of course she had no credits. She was still waiting on her opportunity to attack but her window was getting small and small by the minute. Gently and slowly she lowered her hands, preparing herself to get up and show him where the nonexistent credits were. Naomi had been in quite a few situations like this before but they've never been so severe.

Though maybe it would be a good time to use some of her force on the man's mind. She reminded herself of all the practice it took to get the force abilities she had now. Perhaps she could Force Reflex to give her enough time to take out her saber and stab the man or go the lesser route and use Mind Trick to get him to lower his weapon. No matter what it took Naomi wasn't about to have her life end because someone decided to stick a bullet in her skull.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel scowled when he heard the dancers response. "Do you think I'm that stupid? I'm not a moron, you fethin' scum! Now get the credits!" He shouted. The bounty hunter's ire was provoked by her paper-thin response. What Naomi said was the oldest trick in the book and every single being in the galaxy and their mother had used it before. He was getting dangerously close to pulling the trigger and eliminating Verd from existence. Dan made sure to watch her every single movement, as kept getting angrier and angrier. The chrome barrel gleamed in the dim light, as he lifted from her neck.

While he was getting close to shooting her, he gently pulled her up, before setting his rifle behind her once more. "Now, get my credits." He commanded while he lightly shoved her away from the bed.

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

There was a thought in the back of her head that told herself he wasn't going to fall for it but at least her words got her off the ground. She did not protest. Slowly she began walking towards the kitchen. Through the kitchen there was a box to the right of the garnet counter. Turning her head for a second she gently spoke, the force thick in her voice. This was rather energy consuming but would work. She was sure. "Put..the weapon down, now." Naomi believe strongly that the force would work on her side and give her a chance to act on the situation. The box in front of her was empty, simply for decoration. Her heart beat quickened the more she focused on his mind, trying to command him to do as she says. If she escaped this then the power she wielded would increase a little more.

She waited for the tension to release but right now the build up literally caused her to sweat. It was obvious to her now this man had quite the temper. Naomi valued her life and wanted nothing more than to free herself from this danger.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniels mind grew hazy as the woman spoke. His vision grew blurry as his ears began to register a low and faint ringing emanating from Naomi. "Ugh...wha' did ya'..." He murmured as he stated at the brown blur. He clenched his eyes and his open fist and tried to resist the voice in his head telling him to lower his weapon. However, despite his best efforts, he slowly placed the rifle at his side. He clenched the slate countertop next to him and tried to regain his balance. Dan concentrated once more, as his regular faculties and motor skills returned to him.

"Alright, I did what you wanted...Give me the karkin' credits!"

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

This was her chance. Taking in a shark breath Naomi had to act quick. Taking the metal box she lifted it up and slammed it down on the hand that was next to her. Then without hesitating she placed her hands on the counter behind her and kicked both of her legs swiftly and collided her strong feet to his chest and pushed him back to the stove. Which luckily for him, wasn't on. Before he could act next she grabbed the lightsaber on her belt loop and turned it on. The blue light illuminated against the darkness in the room. Quickly she shifted from a grey tank top to a jacket worthy of protecting her body against combative hits. Her hair turned sleek and straight, now her eye sight was not covered by her thick curls.

Gently she began to back up, keeping her eyes locked on the man before her. Her stance was strong, the humming of the saber took over the gently noises of an old building. As much as she'd hate to admit it, having her father by her side right now would save her life. The least she could do is take what he's taught her into swing.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel howled with anguish as the box was slammed on his hand. He cursed and spat at the girl as she activated her lightsaber. Luckily, Dan always came prepared in case a situation got hairy. However, his train of thought was interrupted as he was slammed against the wall. Dazed and bruised, but still functional, he yanked a flash grenade off his belt and chucked it at the tile floor. It simply bounced off the floor and exploded right in front of Naomi's face.

Hoping to exploit her situation, he swung up his rifle and shot off a series of bursts, which might not have been the most accurate due to his own condition. "NOW! Give me my credits, give me a karkin' good excuse, or DIE!"

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

She could tell that she made some what of an impact on the man's medical state. Taking in a deep breath she inhaled some of the smoke that came from the flash grenade. Bringing her hands up to her eyes Naomi have a shrill scream, falling, the flashes of lights were much more damaging then the smoke was but it was sure to give her quite a cough. Practically choking on the air, she didn't have time to react to the bullets that took in her direction.

A few missed her by inches but she was unlucky as a not-so-stray bullet struck her thigh, though it did not go straight through the leg, it grazed her skin, causing her the same amount of pain. Creasing her bow one hand clenched her thigh, the dark blood was running thick through her fingers while the other hand held onto her saber. Naomi then begun to scream, the voice out of her throat was blood curdling. Anyone would get goosebumps at the sound of her voice.

"I don't have you're credits! I have nothing to give you!" Naom's throat was practically sore but it was a combination on her tempoary blindness and the new wound on her. It would take at least a week for her to get back to dancing.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel furiously stormed towards Naomi, when suddenly the still air was shattered by an ear-piercing scream. The bounty hunter, who had been through many horrible and disgusting situations, felt chills run up his spine as it entered his ear canal. He turned his gaze downwards, and saw the terrified face of a poor young girl, who's skin was now marred by blaster marks. Her desperate and crying plea touched Daniel in a way no other begging victim had before. While the dancer was a pain in his ass, he felt a deep and intense feeling of remorse enter his soul. "...Kark! C'mon, lets get you up." He told the girl, as he gently raised her.

Dan made sure not to touch any of the wounds he inflicted as he tried to find the kitchen. Finally, he entered the area and yanked a cloth of the counter. After wetting the rag, he began slowly and precisely applying it to her wounds. "Ugh, I don't even know how one minute ilI was fethin' shootin' at ya', and now I'm patching up your wounds. God I'm a karkin' lunatic." He muttered.

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

Slowly, her chest heaved, her eyes wide as he went to help her up. Quickly she slapped his hands and escaped his grasp but only to realize that she need his help. Naomi found her way up to the counter top, it was the most sterile area of the kitchen even though she did quite a lot of cooking it was always clean. Unlike the floor which now had tiny pools of blood splatter and dirt from the bottoms of shoes. In fear of the situation she remained silent. She watched him as he touched the wound. Her brows creased as he spoke but Naomi had not spoken a word to him yet. Gently she coughed out softly, "I really do not have what you're looking for."

Being a dancer doesn't mean you get paid for every single performance. At least not as much as you'd want. Of course she was making her way up in the credits she didn't have nearly as much as it took to repay her debt. Naomi wasn't sure what she was to do but now she wouldn't be able to preform or at least not now. It would take her about a week or so to even move around normally let alone preform a dance of any kind.

 

[Daniel Tresk]

Daniel scowled as she tried scrambling away from him, but then he realized how it looked from her point-of-view. "Alright, you can calm down. This hired killer has felt some remorse, I'm not going to hurt you anymore." He quietly told her. As he cleaned the wounds, Dan realized that she wouldn't be able to move normally for a decent amount of time. "I'm sorry, but it'll take ya' a while to get back to moving 'round normally. That means no dancin'." He murmured.

He began finishing up his work. While Daniel wasn't a doctor, he managed to do a good job on cleaning the open wounds he inflicted. A guilt he had never felt before pervaded his troubled thoughts. "Look I'm...I'm sorry 'bout tryin' to kill ya'. I can send you some credits your way to help pay off that debt, and help ya' get back on your feet."

[member="Naomi Verd"]

 

[Naomi Verd]

[member="Daniel Tresk"]

She lifted her head up to watch his hands but then laid it against the cool surface. Naomi groaned at the thought of not being able to dance. The more she thought about it, the more it became a reality. Slowly her thick curls returned to their natural state and the colors of her iris shifted from a dark brown to a warm green, their base color. Using her elbows the clone propped herself up and hissed at the man. "I could never accept your credits.." Naomi was quite a reluctant woman when it comes to relying on others to aid her. She preferred to do it all herself. Though maybe by the time it took earn the credit it took to repay her debt they would have already sent another hitman out on her to actually get the job done and take care of her once and for all.

Pushing his hands away gently she turned and sat upright on the counter. Naomi tried to place her feet down on the ground but there was a sheering pain in her leg. So she put her right foot down first. Holding the injuries one directly above the floor. Luckily the only thing the wound did was compromise her walking but her balance was still with her. She almost forgot there was a man who was one minute trying to kill her and the next helping her recover still in her home. Naomi had to do something about this.