I'll never leave the Corporate Sector Alive...

[Damian Starchaser]

It was hot, and sweat poured down his body. As flames licked at his frame. There was nothing here, nothing that interested Damian. The sound of a repeating blaster echoed chewing up pieces. “Who is that?” The Cantina owner asked over the sound of gunfire. Damian made an innocent look, “Some local cartel Gun thugs if I had to guess.”

Another salvo of red bolts lanced over his position. “How many?”

Damian started to look out the window of the Cantina when more fire traced in. “More than one and less than ten.”

He edged over to the other end of the window and moved behind the bar. Cleaning supplies. He examined the materials available. “Your cooking unit, do me a favor and rip it out of the wall.”

“What for?” The Harch cantina owner asked.

“I’m going to blow some of them up.” Damian stared back at the large spider-like alien and nodded.

“Not my cantina I hope…”

“No, I’m trying to save your Cantina.” How did he get into this mess?

The youth man had fought [member="Darth Vornskr"], a terrible and powerful sith lord, blowing him up and yet still he didn’t fall. The Republic had lost that battle and soon Damian found himself for his life. Two weeks on the run until he managed to slip aboard a ship and smuggle himself out. Dirty and tired he arrived at Ruusan by way of hitch hiking to various other destinations, and his master was nowhere to be found.

Desperate he found himself once again jumping onboard a freighter and searching, where was [member="Kana Truden"]? He wasn’t sure. His feelings were leading him to the Tion Cluster, where he had met his master for the first time.

He found a ship going to the Corporate sector and jumped aboard, knowing that from there it would be easy enough to find his way to nearby Tion. Picking this particular ship may have been a mistake though. As they entered the system their cargo was seized, not by local authorities but by spice dealers.

A little bit of chaos caused by Damian ensured that the illegal deal was detected and security forces moved in and arrested everybody present, Damian excluded of course. Good dead done, and yet it was only the start. Now Damian was sitting next to a former enforcer for the Cartel gone straight defending a lonely bar out on the rim of civilization.

Damain threw the chemical charge from the window into the streets and used the explosion and thick smoke to cover his movement in the house. He could sense the men moving in at him now coming up to the cantina. On his pack he lay under a broken window and heard the man breathing and checking in. Damian remained still grabbing his blaster and firing just as the man started to crawl in. Yup, cartel gun thugs he said examining his handy work. “One down,” Damian said, “the back looks clear.”

“Two more out the front.”

“Well you’ve got a lot of arms, when I tell you to start firing as many blasters as you can.”

“This is all my fault, I set all of this in motion, I’m sorry I got you involved.”

Damian shook his head, “No, I probably had something to do with it.” Eight sentients incarcerated… and millions in narcotics seized.

Only two left… Damian took a deep sigh and said, “Now,” the spider shot his blasters causing one of the men to stir an involuntary twitch that momentarily brought him our of cover. Two quick compressions from the trigger downed him.

Standing up Damian could see the last thug bugging out and heading toward the hills. The cartel on Duroon was looking for him now. He had to get off planet.


[member="Setzi Lunelle"] [member="Chastity Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi squinted her eyes, watching the Cantina for signs that Damian Starchaser was making an exit. She was at a nearby Speeder Bike refueling station, pretending to wax her bike. But she was ready at a moment's notice to jump on the bike and pick up the fellow padawan. At this time the cantina was under heavy fire, but she couldn't locate the assailants.

There had been no time for the particulars of this rescue, nor was there time to reunite with her younger sister, Chastity, who was around here somewhere, hopefully safe. Their assignment had been to locate Damian and rescue him. She wasn't even sure if the Order was able to let him know that the Lunelle sisters were there waiting in the wings.

Abruptly smoke began to pour out of the cantina windows, and Setzi knew it wouldn't be long now. The scene was becoming hotter than a Fire-Mantid during mating season. Starchaser could be emerging any minute.

But instead, there was a startling explosion outside of the Cantina and eventually two thugs scrambled out of the front door.

Setzi dropped the rag, strapped on her helmet (always one to follow the bike safety rules even under a pressing deadline), and jumped on the speeder bike. The brunette padawan and newest member of the Silver Jedi Order, rode to the cantina entrance and reaching out with the Force, not wanting to shout and attract any hold outs who could be nearby, sent a telepathic message to the young Jedi:

"Damian, it's Setzi Lunelle, Padawan from the SJO. Your ride is here. Front of the cantina."

[member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Chastity Lunelle"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian looked back mournfully at the bar. For all the dirt, grime, and utterly violent patrons, the cantina had been a refuge to Damian a sanctuary while he hunted. Flames licked against him and smoke clogged his lungs and yet he felt a presence in his head. His first instinct was the to think the telepathic message as a trap. Perhaps Vornskr has tracked him here and was trying to lure him in. He wouldn’t put it past the sith, being as devious as he was.

Then he saw the driver of the speeder. He was very suspicious of her instantly. I mean, she was pretty. The last pretty woman he had encountered was a Sith who he left hogtied in a hotel room. Then again, “Damian Starchaser,” he said jumping into the speeder. “And we need to go somewhere fast.”

Pushing the woman aside he jumped into the pilot's seat and took off down the road moving as fast as possible. “Two things, do you have a ship nearby? We need to get off this rock now. There are a number of gun thugs after me. And how did you know I was here?”

Damian was off the grid, at least he thought it was.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"] | [member="Chastity Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

“Hello there to you too,” Setzi said, annoyed that she was roughly shoved to the back of the speeder bike to merely hold onto the lean and muscular form of Damian Starchaser as he sped away from the cantina. She supposed his machismo would not allow him to ride behind her. Nor would she be allowed to drive. Ugh, these young, wild Padawans. While she wasn't a galaxy-class champion, she knew her way around a speeder bike for sure!

In any case, using Force empathy, she recognized that he was suspicious of her intentions. As they sped along the road, she channeled her energy and gave him a subtle wave of persuasion to let him know she was friend not foe. Hopefully, he wouldn’t find her Force ministrations too intrusive.

“Yes, there is a ship nearby, commissioned by the Silver Jedi Order! I do not know how the Order located you!” she shouted into his ear over the drone of the speeder bike. “There is time to find that out later!”

She suddenly felt blaster bolts whiz by their heads. Starchaser was underfire again, and Setzi was too by proxy. Holding steady onto his torso with one hand, she reached into her holster and pulled out her blaster, bending her elbow to hold it high, ready to return fire if needed.

“Oh I nearly forgot!” she yelled. “We need to find my sister!”

How could you almost forget Chastity, Setzi?!? For shame! She felt suddenly guilty at being so distracted by the daring rescue as well as the disarmingly handsome Jedi to which she now clung to for dear life.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damians face reddened at the feeling of hands crawling around his body. Then she answered his questions. More were about to come, to hide his embarrassment at having the woman's arms wrapped so firmly around him, when suddenly blasters started once again. Red bolts lanced out against them zooming every way.

“There will be a roadblock ahead,” Damian yelled. He gave no indication of how he knew this. Truth was it was what he’d do if he could. “Offroad soon,” he hitting the throttle again. “In my belt there is a cable line, grab it.”

The speeder jerked to the right quickly avoiding some falling debris brought up by blaster fire. “When I give you the signal I need you to throw that line up, fish our wish.”

Damian spared a glance behind him to look at the persuit.With his right hand he grabbed his blaster and fired backward half-heartedly. Three speeder bikes and a full on car with a mounted laser cannon. Great, these gangsters really were throwing out all the stops.

A frown covered his face. “When we get close you will throw up the line and we will bail using this speeder as a weapon,” he said when, just as he predicted, a road block appeared. He could have gone offroad, moved across the rugged terrain, but enough was enough. Here is where he made his stand, again. “Ready?” he asked throttling up the speed and zooming down the road.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Belt? Cable line? What?

There was no time for any more questions. Setzi reached around and patted the Jedi's waist, trying to locate the cable. By the skies, there better be a cable here or this is going to get quite embarrassing, she thought. Finally, she grabbed the sturdy cable and whipped it off of Starchaser's belt.

Holding it with one hand, while still clutching to the fellow padawan, she waited until she could see the roadblock of which he spoke. She turned to look behind them and was struck by a jolt of fear as a small army appeared to be following right on their heels.

When Damian yelled, "Ready!" Setzi answered, "Yes! I think so-"

But he had already braked hard, and the speeder began to skid out of control. Setzi threw the cable up to a nearby cliff face, and as it hooked on, she did not let go, even though her arm felt impossibly stretched and as though it was going to pop out of its socket. Using Force Augmentation, she grabbed Damian and hugged him tight to her. Their legs would release bike, and both of them would be propelled up the cliff face as he had predicted.

[member="Damian Starchaser"]