New Beginnings, Old Endings

[Dez Sosa]

The sounds of sirens, and rushing foot steps echoes in his ears while sweat seemed to pour down his nape, and brow. What Coruscant now called cops rushed after Dez with full intent on breaking each of his bones till he screamed everything he knew. No matter where you were, the Sith always watched you on Coruscant, they were always listening, always making life hell for the people who wanted true freedom. The small underground rebellion Dez was apart of here was all he knew, and he wanted to see it succeed in some way, shape, or form. Even if it killed him..hopefully he didnt have to die to see that.

The hooded jacket hid his face for the most part, something the old Duros gave him that saved his life. Something Dez cherished deeply. An hour ago he had been watching a stake out, preparing to pop some noise to the smugglers they were about to bust. These smugglers had been Dez's only way to get things off and on planet, and probably the only people he found truly fascinating. So when a swoop gang from no where hailed down fire on the Sith's 'cops' and attention was brought his way, all it took was quick scan of his face.

He hopped over stalls that laid out in random positions, selling goods in hopes to make a living, or at least put another meal on the table for tonight. His mechanical eye feeding him information fast enough for him to already know how to react to the three obstacles ahead. Blaster fire hailed down from above as pursuit cars shined spot lights over him, illuminating the young man in a bright white light that was near blinding. Luckily the information was embedded into his memory. Another stall, with a man over it.

He slid under it, as there was nothing under the table, and he was also tripping the man that allowed the blaster fire to miss him. Dez came back up from mid slide only to keep running, never looking behind him. They yelled for him to stop, but there was no stopping this. Not yet. A speeder was no in his way, a quick hop over it, using his metal arm to hold him over allowed him to drop into a run and take a left into a very small ally way as there was no getting past the garbage men that was after the speeder.

Did the smugglers get away? He hoped so, he hoped he would get away. He heard terrible stories about the secret police's tactics on making one squeal their secrets. They were effective that was for sure. The ally way was dark, but the bright spot light was still on him, thus only stopping the speeders from getting closer to him. Was this the end to his small skirmishes on Coruscant, was he never going to get off, and see the universe? He had to focus on running, off world dreams would only slow him down at the moment.

 

[Dez Sosa]

Steam was beginning to appear with every breath as Dez ran for his life, the ally seeming to last forever with the spot light not helping at all. But it wasnt long before some words popped up into his cybernetic eye, the words
"TuRn lEft."
to which he did just that, and found himself entering a the building that made half of the ally. Confidently left open for him, probably by one of the members of the resistance here. It was all underground stuff, stuff he didnt even really know, much rather understand. They had a connection to his eye, which in return could send information itself. They were probably watching what he was seeing, making it hard for him to trust them, but he just reminded himself it was for the greater good.

"You gotta lose them Dez, then get off planet. It's not safe for you here anymore. You're all over the holonews." The old Duros was speaking in his comlink now, starling him enough to make stop his sprint. He was really feeling fatigue hit him now.

"How do I do that? Where do I need to go?" His words came out in sharp, painful breaths. Dez couldnt keep this up, he needed that speeder off his trail, and soon.

"Get to the end of this hallway, take the right, it'll lead you to a dead end with a window. Jump out of it."

"I can't exactly fly ya know!?" Dez argued the orders but ran anyways. The right went straight up, a angle he had never really seen inside a building before. "What kind of building it this Old Man?" That's what Dez had always called the Duros, though he was sure his name was Mul'sa Org. There was no answer, Dez followed the orders regardless, finding himself literally at a dead end. This place was really giving him the creeps now. He took a deep breath, and crashed right through it.

Time seemed to stop while shards of glass fell with Dez, while his arms covered his face. It had begun to rain, it was the only noise Dez could hear at the moment. He never noticed the beat up speeder that rushed to catch him, opening it's door, allowing him to fall right in, and smash to the other end of it. Suddenly time was normal, and his ears were filled with the loud purring of the speeder's motor.

A droid was his rescuer, an old protocol make. It was silent, never looking back to make sure it's passenger was alright. The speeder seemed to rush away from the scene, and when Dez turned to look back from where he fell, the Sith speeders were not following. Instead they swarmed the building he had been in, searching for him. Dez, now able to catch his breath, and relax, fell into his seat, closing his eyes.

Something flashed, a memory, a large hand holding a smaller one. Then something jerking the smaller hand out of the larger one. What was that? It occurred often in his dreams. Dez felt distressed when he saw it, like he had to fight to get the smaller hand back into the larger one, else something bad would happen. The next thing he knew, he was asleep.

Hours passed before he ever woke up, and found the speeder stopping at a space port, his door opening to let him out. Dez removed himself from the speeder, which left after he closed the door. Ships of all kinds could be found here, including the many different faces that took no notice to him. Dez pulled the hood more over his face, wondering what his next move should be.

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Eights scanned the crowd with his one eye, looking for the client he had been commissioned to help. It wasn't long until Eights spotted him. The heat signature difference between his face and his bionic eye was a dead giveaway. Eights quickly navigated through the crowd to reach him, ignoring the occasional shove or elbow to the chest. As a free acting droid, you get used to those. Finally, Eights reached his potential client.

"Mr. Sosa? My name is NG-888. I've been hired by an anonymous commissioner to help you get off this planet. I'm here to help you negotiate a ship, and make sure you don't have any bureaucratic difficulties on your journey. I'd go into more pleasantries, but time is paramount. Let's get you a ship and get you off this rock."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was trying to get out of Sith space, after being a special guest at a friend's coronation. She had allies everywhere, gained through her various missions of rescuing slaves. But with having to 'resign' from her job in the Senate, her credits that she borrowed from her brother only went so far. That meant that she got the milk run when it came to reaching neutral space, with plenty of stops.

Coruscant was one of those stops. Kay kept her Force signature small and hid her face beneath a scarf. This was enemy territory after all. The last thing that she needed was to be recognized and caught.

Moving through the crowd, she overheard @NG-888"Eights" speaking to [member="Dez Sosa"] just as she was about to pass by. Someone else wasn't supposed to be here either. Kay spoke quietly, but loud enough to be heard by the droid and man. "Excuse me...but I could use some help too. My brother would pay you handsomely for it. Please...I can't be here." Hopefully the two could see the desperation in her eyes.

 

[Dez Sosa]

@NG-888 "Eights"
[member="Lady Kay"]

Seemed like there was way too many people than normal, Dez wondered if there was a check point going on in this sector, Sith checking cargo and for stow away's. Dez dug his hands into his pockets, wondering what was to become of himself, only to nearly jump out of his skin when a random droid called him by his last name. When more company showed up, a woman hiding behind a scarf, it was all too coincidental now, even for him.

He held a hand up, too much information, and commotion to take in at once. specially after coming down from an adrenaline rush.

"Wow, hold up NG-888, and...whoever you are."

Making motion with his head for them to follow him, being out in the open like this wasn't safe. Deeper in, surrounded by a large crowd would be a much better place to discuss this.

"Okay, I don't care who you are lady, not yet, and I have no idea where you came from eights. But I need to know, what's going on? Is the rebellion dispersing from Coruscant? Are they okay?"

He had a lot of questions with probably no answers to be given. Doubts ran through his head on who exactly sent the droid, and he felt like the woman was way more trouble than any woman should be.

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Eights wished he had any more knowledge then the client he was hired to protect, but he was told that the state of affairs was on a need-to-know basis. His wrists sparked in discomfort. He was tight for credits lately, and if this client turned him down it would be a tough living for a while. The woman, however... she was desperate, and desperation paid well.

The scarf hiding her face, the shifty movements, and the paranoid glances revealed her as a fugitive. The way she moved around the crowd before it could touch her gave her away as a force user. Another benefit: force users usually had some serious dough. Eights carefully calculated the risk-reward of offering her help. It was tight, but he decided he needed the credits.

"Sir, I don't know any more than you do at the moment. All I know is you need to get off-planet as soon as possible. My commissioner believes that you are in great danger. As for you, miss, if Mr. Sosa here allows it, I believe I can assist you as well. My diplomatic heft is most likely enough to get you into a safe space. Now please, let's not stay here any longer than we absolutely must."

Something in his core processor told him that it wasn't going to be that simple. Hopefully the danger wasn't as great as his commissioner had made it out to be.

[member="Dez Sosa"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Rebellion? Well that certainly explained a few things. And it was good news indeed. It meant that there were more allies to be found in this corner of space. And perhaps she had stumbled into one or two right now. That was good. Trouble may always find her, but so did hope and she was too stubborn to let out of her grasp.

Well the droid was letting her go with them. Now it was all up to [member="Dez Sosa"] and what he wanted. "Please, sir. You'd get paid as well. And I have contacts in numerous areas. I'd be able to help you or at least get you in touch with the right people that could."

She didn't reach out for him as she quietly pleaded. But in her mind she was preparing herself for different alternatives should he deny her request. Kay always tried to be prepared for whatever was thrown at her.

 

[Dez Sosa]

[member="NG-888 (Eights)"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

Dez scratched his head, pacing himself now, and feeling a head ache coming from the back of his skull. It felt like his nerve endings were being pinched one by one, and ripped off from their attachments that gave feeling. He rubbed his eye, the mechanical one, and felt the tinging pain in his arm.

"Yeah, sure. Let's...let's just get out of here. My cybernetics are acting up again."

He had to admit though, money being placed into the fold made this an easy decision. The man always fancied himself a gambler of life, and to gamble you needed money, funds, something to get you off your butt.

"Following you Eights, but listen, woman, do anything funny...and I'll kill you were you stand."

The biggest lie he ever told, Dez couldnt kill anyone, much less anything.

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Thank Constructor he could finally get on his way. The commissioner had a pretty hefty sum to help this kid, and the lady's cash would be welcome too. The man was clearly lying. Constructed purely for diplomacy, Eights was well equipped to tell the truth from a lie. However, the lady didn't need to know that. The threat would keep her in check. That is, if it didn't get into her head to try and escape.

Eights motioned with his head for the humans to follow him, shifting his way through the crowd to used spacecraft dealership. When they arrived, a sleazy looking salesman confronted them with an unsettling grin and immediately started peddling his wares. Lucky that Eights had been here before, and had a bit of heft against this particular dealer.

"Jek'al! My old friend. We're here for a ship. Fast and cheap. Oh, and my friend... I advise you to give us a good deal. You wouldn't want our old acquaintance Nikra the Herglic to find out what you did to that little speeder you sold him, would you?"

The salesman gulped and gave a stammered half affirmation/half apology and led them into the main hangar. Eights turned to Sosa with a satisfied whir.

"We'll get you a good ship for cheap here. We'll be off this rock in no time. As a side note, what do you think might be so dangerous for you here?"

[member="Dez Sosa"] | [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had a sense of humour, so doing something funny wasn't out of the ordinary. But she knew what [member="Dez Sosa"] meant. Did she appear threatening some how? If anything the two of them were the more intimidating beings here.
"Don't worry. Once we're out of here, I'll be out of your hair."

She followed Dez and @NG-888 "Eights" to the hanger, wondering which bucket of bolts would get them off this planet safely. Eights' question to Dez was an interesting one, but she could understand if he didn't want to answer. She wouldn't want to answer that either.

The mere mention of a Herglic caused her a bit of concern. One of the bounty hunters that brought her in was a Herglic and he still had her satchel! Sure she has a replacement, but it wasn't the same. At least she had no bounties on her head that she was aware of now.

 

[Dez Sosa]

[member="NG-888 (Eights)"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

Dez found himself resisting the need to run from all this, but he had to get out.

"I plan on allying myself with the alliance, I heard they need people like me...and I feel like the Republic is in no state to take back the galaxy from the Sith.."

He walked from Kay to Eights, leaving her with those words. Placing a hand on the droids shoulder, he smiled and looked over at the person he was speaking with and gave him another big smile. Dez had never thought that maybe his cybernetics were a little...grotesque. He had built them all himself, and attached them all himself...kinda. His mind wondered to the Duros who had saved him.

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Eights whirred in surprise, hearing the man's plans with the alliance. Maybe he was more important than he seemed. Eights saw how his question was dodged, but it didn't matter much. He just needed to help this man and collect the commission. He twitched in satisfaction at the comfortable weight of the cybernetic arm on his shoulder. Though it was a bit sloppy, and clearly could have used a tune-up, it was still welcome to see a human more accepting of technology. Droid discrimination often extended to a wariness of cybernetics in some parts of the galaxy.

Eights led the two into the massive hangar, adorned with ships of all shapes and sizes. Three of them immediately caught his eye. One was very small and very sleek, clearly meant for speed. However, it was also a luxurious model, so it would be a pretty penny. The second was a bit larger, probably not as fast, but a more affordable model. The final ship was little more than an escape pod with two massive engines. It was tiny, cramped, looked like it was about to fall apart, and boasted extraordinary speeds for the price of a land speeder. Each of them had its own pros and cons, but it would really be determined by how deep the cyborg's pockets were.

"Sir, I believe that these three will be the most likely models for the job. Would you like to choose?"

[member="Dez Sosa"] | [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="NG-888 (Eights)"] [member="Dez Sosa"]

Kay withheld her frown as Dez spoke of the state of the Republic. Did he know who she was? Probably not. His remarks were more than likely innocent. Yet it gave her an idea of what was being said by others. Not that she always spent time in Republic space anyways. On the contrary, she was usually elsewhere on her own missions not sanctioned by the Senate. She didn't want to have to ask for permission for every little thing. That just seemed wholly unfair.

She followed them into the hanger without a word, looking to each of the ships that were pointed out. It wasn't her choice, so she kept her opinion to herself. But whatever ship was chosen, she had hoped that it would be fully capable of getting them out of Sith space.