Private Some Nights

[Drifter]

[ Oh hell, Pippin, do me a favor. Try not to throw up.] It was a desperate plea, even the residual coughs were making his quest. He did his best to carry her along, encourage her to use her legs. They were, a bit wobbly as she came out of stasis, but for now, they had no time to waste.

[ For now. We got a few minutes. ] he replied, and as Rhea would manage to catch sight of her surroundings, she'd see that the Squibs around her were frozen in place; lifelike statues in every manner of form. Some still had their hands raised in the middle of chanting 'big gun' others had been on all fours, snarling at the direction Rhea had been.

[ I need to you work your wobbly Nuna legs. I'm recalling the drones. ] he lifted his arm, the Force activating the comm.

[ Alex, get the ship ready. We are heading out. ]

 

[Rhea]

"Oh hell, no, not the sewers, not that smell," she protested. Yet while her face paled further at the thought, true trepidation coming to pass at the realization she would be sliding down a shoot momentarily, she soldiered on. One foot in front of the other, her bruised body soon found its pace. She was, after all, a trained operative. She was conditioned to handle worse.

"What was that back there? How did they-" She had no words for what she saw. Or how he had appeared besides her, abruptly there to take her away. The degree of dependency dropped to a single hand gripping tight on his arm. As much as she had shown an ego in their banter, it was moments like this where true teamwork came to play.

 

[Drifter]

[ My good looks just stunned them. ] he quipped back, helping her along. Bringing up the map, he paused while he studied their options. [ Feth. ] There were too many lifeforms near where they entered. They'd need to find a new way out.

Glancing around, he did his best to try and think on his feet. After a brief second, he cursed then said, [ Fuck it. ]

Turning to his comm, he made instructions to Alex. [ I need a fly by. Enough to draw attention away. We will try to find a way out through the ruckus. ]

 

[Rhea]

She leaned into the wall as he scoped at his HUD, a tired look following him as paced. She hadn't slept before arriving here. Despite his offer, and the room, the woman had been too spiked with adrenaline and fear to trust the man with her eyes closed.

That decision felt so far away now-- worlds away. The last time she had properly laid down her head felt like a lifetime apart. She was weary, and sore. Not just in this moment, but in spirit. She realized this would have not ended well for her if she had come alone.

He had likely just saved her in more ways than he knew.

The tired look continued, the woman trusting him inexplicitly in that moment to plot them a way out.


"What? What is it? What are planning?"

 

[Drifter]

[ Just a quick little....sorta, distraction -- I hope ] the last came from his modulated helm more as a hopeful prayer than a confidant plan. Regardless, he kept guiding Rhea along, watching for any lifeforms coming their way. They were heading towards the east area of the bunker. From what the could tell there should be some sort of exit around here.

[ Readying the ship. Five minutes until arrival ] Alex would pipe up in his helm.

[ We don't have five minutes. ] he shot back; Rhea wouldn't be able to hear Alex in his help to understand he was responding to her.

[ Deal with it. You should have called for assistance earlier. ] Her seductive voice shot back.

[I am really going to find a way to bring you sass level down.] he told her, moving down a corridor. The life forms would bloom fifteen meters down.

[ Good luck. ] was Alex's response, before shutting off.

[ Pippin, I need you to get that stun blaster our. We are gonna dance soon. ] he warned her, aware that these last five minutes were going to be critical.

 

[Rhea]

Rhea let out a slow and intentional breath, her hand leaving his as she pulled out the gun at her hip. There would surely be a bruise the shape of it on her hip come morning, but a bruise in exchange for her life-- and ship!

She took another breath in, slow and intentional, then let it out, pushing her body concerns away.

In-- her hand grew steadier. Out-- intention filled her steps. In-- her stance improved. Out-- focus reentered her vision.

Five minutes, huh? We're gonna dance soon.

"This isn't a date." She raised the gun shooting at the blue head that popped the corner. It landed a foot to the left, much to her chagrin, earning a screech from the squirb that ducked away.

 

[Drifter]

Rhea would feel Drifter's chuckle as he gave it, his chest rumbling, [ Oh is that so? Then what is a date, Pippin? ] he shot back at her. Up ahead, just as he expected, there were three Squibs rounding the corner.

[ Need you to shoot. Twelve o'clock, Thirteen oh eight, and Eleven fifty-two] he was giving her specific directions to shoot. Here's hoping that training was second nature and she could manage to send stun bolts downrange.

 

[Rhea]

The end of the barrel wobbled, a tremor running through her extending hand as the blue heads wobbled like a mirage on a hot day. She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes ... and pulled the trigger.

One.

Two.

Three.

Each squib fell to the ground, the hairs on her neck tingling as opened her eyes and shoved herself to keep pace. "Well it doesn't involve sewers and shoot outs I'll tell you that."

"Duck," she warned, a squib charging out of a door a moment later, swinging a chair towards his head. Should he duck, a stun bolt would hit the squib square in the chest.

Should he not.........................

 

[Drifter]

He ducked.

The bolt struck the Squib right on the chest, making him flail and flop down on the ground with a solid thump.

[ Remind me not to question your aim later on. ] he told her, modulated hum by her ear. [ Come on. Perk up. You still gotta tell me about your ideal Sith.] he was trying to get a rise out of her to get her focused and alert.

 

[Rhea]

"Remind me to test you on yours," she growled back, presently the only one shooting here. Still, his words drove her to fix her stance and bend her knees, her knuckles going white on that gun that slowly stopped shaking.

"I told you," Pew. Miss. Dammit. ...pew. Gottem.

"I like them dead." Pew!

Eyes open now, the world grew steadier with each breath. Color entered her checks, her arms swinging in time to shoot the heel of a squib running in panic over the body of its friend. He tripped and fell flat, the bodies piling. She paused, then glanced up at him, a thought clearly coming to mind.

"Wait. Have you dated a sith?"

Zing. A dart came racing by between them, forcing them to part.

"Big gun? Big gun! Big gun?" Echoes rang from around the compound, hinting at the quantity of squib they would have to contend with. It wasn't that they were particularly threatening, it was their numbers. It only took one hit down either of them.

 

[Drifter]

Of all the things this woman was focusing on - it was this? The incredulity and mirth echoing in his voice as he said, [ Why? Are you jealous? ] came his chortle, drawing his arm back from her now that she wasn't going to be standing on wobbly knees.

With the way things were heading, they were likely to be overrun soon. Four or so more minutes before the ship did a fly by. Another Squib came charging from the right, prompting the man to lift his hand up and send a sharp push of the Force. It sent the squib flying, tumbling back onto a secondary green Squib.

"Big gun? Big gun! Big gun!"

[ Head down the corridor to the left! ] he told her, spinning on the heel of his boot to look behind them. They were heading towards a wider atrium now, where a three-way split could potentially lead them towards the eastern exit.

 

[Rhea]

He always answered a question with a question.

Always.

She took his order, slamming into a door as it swung open and knocking the body back in. 5 minutes was a long time when running for your life. It was a fact she knew intimately.

"We have to shake them, if they get us pinned..." Rhea basic jeans didn't do shit for blaster bolts. Not like she thought that damn tech of his would. Ugh! First thing she'd be buying back her suit.

Forgoing shots, as they would just draw attention, Rhea hit the ground running. A dodge to the left, the right.... down.... up... the squibs that caught sight of her each missed their mark. She slide across the ground at the turn, hoping to tuck herself into it before any could step into the hall and see the way she went.

"Is there a path to the roofs?"

 

[Drifter]

[ Uhhhh...] think think think. The drones had already been recalled and had been touring the vents. Bringing his HUD up, he matched their tracking, painting an image of where they could go.

[ Turn to the right! ] he told her, snapping the HUD off and grabbing her arm. They came to another corridor with three large blast doors. [ So, you want the easy way or the hard way? ] he asked her, glancing at her to decide.

 

[Rhea]

What a stupid question. She slid to a stop in front of the blast doors, head craning as she realized... well had he brought them to a dead end?

"How about the effective way?" She gritted through her teeth.

She pulled her gun again, arms raised as she braced to take out any body that turned the corner. Her thumb stroked the stun button, like a lovers caress saying hello. She'd turn it off if she had to.

"You have ten seconds," she warned, no context to her words.

 

[Drifter]

[ As you wish. ] Drifter replied, panning that reflective helm over to her. His hand still around her arm, he quickly drew her over towards the left side of the corridor. There along the wall was a small closed door. Along the sides, in old aurabesh, the faded letters spelled out - l . f . t.

He let her arm go, reaching to open the handle. There a small three by three service lift revealed itself. [ Get it! ] he told her, gesturing to hop in.

 

[Rhea]

A single, dead pan glance was tossed his way. She climbed in, jamming her legs into chest as the fully grown woman tried her best to turn her core into a black hole.

"Gods help us," she uttered, handing him the blaster and offering a hand. Teamwork. She'd hold him in, lets hope he could handle that gun.

"You have service lifts in there but not the duct work?" Came her exasperated quip as she yanked at him. Didn't want a limb to fall out and get chopped off.

 

[Drifter]

[ Do you always question everything? ] he shot back, the tight squeeze prompting an elbow to poke at Rhea's side. This was a very tight fit. They were cramped up in the service lift. This... this was going to be a heck of a ride.

[ Hold on! ] he told her, extending his reach with the force to select the power button, activating the lift. The sudden jolt of speed as they were flung upward made Drifter's body crash back against Rhea. [ SHit!] he cursed, barely managing to keep his foot inside. He had been close to it getting chopped off.

Here's to hoping that the final destination was better than a massive collection of Squibs.

 

[Rhea]

He was about to get a firey response. And then they were flung upwards, the blood leaving her face as she fell into an abrupt silent. "Oh fek," she moaned, her stomach twisting in an instant.

Her fingers tightened on his limbs, her attempt to ground herself very clear.

Too many nuna nuggets.

Too much shaking.

 

[Drifter]

The service lift wasn't meant to carry their weight, so the amount of shaking was criminal. For a few seconds, Drifter thought that this perhaps this wasn't the best idea after all. Behind him, he heard Rhea moan.

There wasn't anything to do; faint shafts of light would flicker across them as they went up to level after level. Once, twice, then finally it slowed, coming to a stop. The shaking would calm and the lift coming to a stop.

With a grunt, Drifter did his best to try and kick out the door. Only that when they were packed in so tight, it was hard to get leverage. All he ended up doing was squishing Rhea a bit more. [ One... sec. ] he told her, before just letting the Force surge within him again, blasting out the door.

Two more minutes.

[ Alex! ] He called out. [ Really would like an update. ]

[ The drones are collected and we are en route. ] she replied.

[ Good, trying to get a clear sight outside to send our direct location. ]

 

[Rhea]

Rhea spilled out, the fresh night splashing across her face. The ground was steady under her, a blissful gift of calm given to them both as the squib down below were left to wonder where their gem crooks went.

"That was criminal," was all she said to him. She hated that it worked. She got herself to her feet, recovering quickly as she look around in sync with him. "They shouldn't know we're up here," she murmured, a first bit of hope to her tone as she scanned the dark for location clues. "There!" the ever faint outline of the mountain behind the compound came into view as her eyes adjusted.

"East wing, back... back section," she hazard, connecting dots. "Eta?" Came the pushy demand.