Looking for People, Places, and Things

[Laira Darkhold]

Well that didn’t work. A police speeder pulled me over in only a matter of seconds. I figured they would have a good description of Draco, but I would be relatively unrecognizable. After all he was the one that took down six police while I laid on the floor. “Yes officer?” I asked as he walked up to the side of my speeder.

“Get out of the speeder and keep your hands where I can see them.” He barked before he even got to the window. I was obliged to do so, rather than get shot.

“What seems to be the problem officer?” I asked, putting on my most innocent show as I climbed out of the speeder as instructed. I might be able to get away with this.

“You were seen in the company of a suspect involved with a police lightfight, and you’re under arrest.” He grabbed me roughly and yanked my arm behind my back, cuffing me with stun cuffs. As I heard the second cuff click closed, I figured I might be able to play this off.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about officer, please I am just on my way to grab some groceries for my wife.” I tried to play up the innocent elderly person act as much as I could. I even added some tears as he shoved me into his police speeder.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“I’m sure,” he said showing me security footage on his dash of Draco and I leaving together. “This is all over the network already, buddy.” I just shut my mouth now. I didn’t realize they were that good. They were just local law enforcement, nothing special. Then it dawned on me, Kira must have sent it to them. I kept quiet while they processed me and put me in a holding cell. Luckily I hadn’t been carrying any form of identification so they processed me as Cad Bane, an alias I gave them. I remembered him being my hero when I was I kid, I loved stories about that bounty hunter, and they probably wouldn’t remember an eight hundred year old historical figure like him anyway. I sat quietly in my cell, what the hell was I going to do to get out of this. I was old and retired. I had some money, but probably not enough to make this go away, and certainly not enough to help Draco.

I had sat there for about two hours before I heard some blasted noise coming from above me. I was on the bottom floor, and I had no idea what was going on above me. I guess another prisoner might be bustling around. Then I heard something else. Blasterfire from outside.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I knew it had to be Draco coming to bust me out, but there had to be twenty police in this building, and one man laying siege to a precinct wasn’t a good idea. Then I heard an odd voice, a woman’s voice above me. “Hey, look up.” I didn’t recognize the voice, but it wasn’t going to kill me to look up, and I was curious anyways. There in the small ventilation shaft was a woman’s face looking down at me. “Give me a hand will you?” she said to me, asking for help holding the vent’s grate.

“Kira?” I inquired. It couldn’t be that in two hours Draco went from hunting her down to teamed up with her.

“That’s right. Draco caught me about an hour and a half ago and explained what was going on. Gotta admit, not how I would have chosen to introduce myself, but points for creativity.” She said wryly, smiling as she did. “Now if you give me a sec, I will have the vent opened.” She groaned under the strain of twisting a tool, then it popped loose and fell into my waiting hands. “Now climb into the vent behind me and follow me out. Draco is gonna hit this area with a couple of detonators to make it look like you accidently got disintegrated in the fight.” Not the worst plan he has ever come up with.

“Okay,” I replied. I was still processing everything that happened, but I was certainly glad to be out.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Kira and I had only just crawled our way out of the ventilation system when a high explosive missile from Draco detonated near my cell, then a secondary explosion erupted, collapsing that entire cellblock. “One shaped charge and one bunker buster missile, and ta-da, no evidence.” Kira said, putting her hands on her hips. She held out one hand, “Kira Rauter, nice to meet you. I hear you are friends with my dad.” I shook her hand and then hearing more blasterfire from the precinct I turned to her.

“Shouldn’t we leave?” I asked quietly and nervously.

“Oh, yeah I guess we should beat it, introductions on your ship then.” She turned and led me to a speeder parked nearby. “Draco is going to meet us there after losing the cops, and I am going to scramble the ship’s signature so we can actually leave this rock without being shot down.” This time it was a relatively short trip to get to the ship, which had relocated to a different spaceport, and only a few minutes later Draco stomped aboard.

“Let’s get the heck out of here before I have to shoot someone again,” He said half sarcastic, half intimidatingly. Kira sat in the pilot’s chair and pulled the old YT-2400 out of the spaceport and into the blackness of space.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

After we made the jump to hyperspace, heading out to Jabiim, Draco sat down in the galley with Kira and myself. “Well, alright, let’s catch Benji up to full speed.” He said gruffly. He hadn’t done anything for his ribs or chest yet, and I know they must be hurting pretty bad. “After I caught Kira, which by the way was about a half hour of chasing after her through buildings and streets, I explained who we were and what we were there for.”

She chimed in, “Yeah, I thought you were bounty hunters, cause I slice on the side. It’s kind of a hobby, but I have sliced into a few things I shouldn’t have, and I’m not the best at it or anything, so I just figured somebody had tracked me down.”

“And so after I explained that we weren’t there to arrest her she assist me in planning your rescue.” He said calmly, though I could tell he meant she planned it.

“I sliced the security system and deactivated the security sensors for the ventilation climbed in and came and got you and now you’re caught up.” She smiled and sat down next to Draco. “I gotta admit I am kinda excited to get into this kind of work. You guys are crazy, and get to have actual adventures.”

I started to give her the bad news, that this was the most adventure I have ever had, but Draco shut me down. “Yeah, and I will need your help in designing something for me right off the bat. I can’t slice worth a hutt, so I will need some help with that down the road.” I guess if it works out, it works out and you can’t be too upset by it.