Something's Burning

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

Alistair grimaced, but he didn't have the energy to fight her off.

In his head The smuggler was cursing himself. He hated being in anyone's debt, and the prospect of landing in blondies was pretty bad. Granted, he had bigger troubles on his mind. Like the fact that he owed the Coratanni Cartel upwards of eighty thousand credits, but right now Saffron was the more pressing of the two. She could now very easily claim that she had saved his life, something that made him feel I'll at ease.

”Ha!” Alistair said, an odd sort of loopiness in his voice. ”I'm sure she does.”

Just what he meant by that was hard to tell.

His head pulled a bit, eyes wandering to the colorful makeshift bandage that she was tying around his abdomen.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

“That should help a bit, “ Saffron added, tying off the sari. Truth be told it made Alistair looks bit flamboyant. At any other time she might have given a soft smile in amusement. Instead her expression turned serious.

“Thank you,” Saffron began, a bit of lament entering her voice at his injuries,” for helping me.” It was a heartfelt apology from the Conpanion. Hazel eyes went flickering down to his side and she also added,” and I am sorry for your injuries.”

The blonde typically wasn’t the sort to harm another, but soothe. While she had trained to defend her self with a blaster, it didn’t mean she enjoyed violence at all. There was a delicacy to her. Perhaps the result of being a clone with a finite number of years to live.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

He smiled.

That was the first time he'd done so in what felt like forever, and the expression almost immediately faded away as The Smuggler started to feel slightly embarrassed about it. He cleared his throat, loudly, reaching up with his hand and scratching the back of his neck. "It was nothing."

He insisted quietly.

The truth was rather different of course, and he would have to make sure to never divulge the thought he had just a few seconds before she'd almost fallen. Perhaps that was why he felt embarassed in the first place, because instead of saving her he had almost killed her. The thought rang in his mind for a moment, but he had decided not to do it. Even though he was cynical and broken in many ways, Alistair wasn't a cold-blooded murder.

"We should uhh..." He cleared his throat again. "We should keep going."

Clearly the gruff Tatooine boy was not used to heartfelt moments.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

The Companion gave a slight lift of her brows, however, she did not say anything more beyond that. A nod would suffice in her agreement. Her empathic abilities had been able to pick up that he was now uncomfortable. Strange, she wondered, helping him to his feet.

"How much further?" the blonde inquired, giving a gander at their surroundings. She couldn't hear the racket of the riots now. Could it have dispersed?

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

"Not far." He assured her, still considering things for just a few seconds.

The Star Destroyer that made up Allecto city hadn't really changed all that much since people had moved in. Sure there were a few sections that had been cut out, some added hallways and of course a building here and there. By and large though everything still remained in place, and if you knew your way around an old Imperial Star Destroyer than you could probably find your way around Allecto. Of course for Alistair it was just second nature, this city being his home.

With an unsteady gait Alistair slowly lead Saffron down the maintenance hall, his eyes darting back and forth in almost complete paranoia. After another minute or so they once again found themselves with a fork in the road, though this time The Smuggler didn't even stop. He took a right, directly back towards the hangar bay.

When they got closer it appeared Saffron was right, there were no sounds of riot, no blaster shots, nothing of the sort. Instead as Alistair approached the door he could hear the distinct sound of Huttese. "Kark."

The smuggler swore quietly.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"] wasn't the only one who recognized it. Saffron did as well. Taking a few steps forward, the blonde attempted to discern just what was being spoken about.

Didn't take long to pick up that they were operatives of Nari the Hutt. From the gist of it, they were also not happy about the outcome. It seems Nari had taken not only this riot but the flames licking across the other side of the city personally. She had several hits out to pick up on who started it.

Little did Saffron know, that Alistair's friend Kurt as well as others were right in the thick of it.

Glancing down, Saffron gave her wristcomm a small tap. The ore here on tatooine made it almost impossible to send comms. She couldn't connect with her guards or even get an inkling where they were at.

"How upset would Nari be if we decided to talk to her?"

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

He frowned for a moment, taking a step back. "You probably could."

The Smuggler said flatly.

His words were obviously in their implication. She was from ATC, if she made that clear and showed Nari proof of it then very likely the Hutt would at least listen. There was no guarantee that she would be logical or nice about the whole thing, but she would at the very least listen. If Alistair was involved? Very unlikely. The Hutt didn't known him personally of course, but by now the guards had likely taken camera footage and whatever else to see who had started the riot.

That meant bad things for him.

"I'll hang back." He told her quickly. "There's another way out."

At least he was pretty sure there was.

Of course while Alistair stepped back and prepared to run away as fast as he could, an odd shadowed figured moved into the hallway. Half-way turned already a voice broke out into the tunnel, gruff, broken, and most definitely not human.

"OI, YOU TWO!"​

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

It was natural instinct to freeze. However, it was to their benefit that Saffron forced her limbs to relax and turn around. It was all a matter of presentation, you see. If one ran then the perception that one was doing wrong could label them as such. Saffron didn't need that.

No, she needed to make whoever was calling for their attention feel as if they should be careful on how they talked to her.

Although her ankle gave a throb of protest, Saffron held herself high -- as much as her short stature would grant her. Her chin rose, and she gave the individual a level look. It was a Devaronian. From the markings on his armor, it labeled him as one of Nari's goons.

"Oh, good. Finally found someone that could help." she began.

"My name is Saffron, I am the representative of Arceneau Trade company... the riots... everything." she made a gesture, no lie given to make herself seem delicate, she was.

"I'm hurt and in the ruckus I've lost my guards. Would you be able to assist us?"

Oh this ought to be good.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

Alistair attempted to make himself as small as possible.

He wasn't the tallest human in the galaxy, and he most certainly wasn't the most muscular, but it was still rather difficult to attempt to hide himself behind Saffron as the alien began to stalk up to them. The wide Vodran rippled with muscle, and as he stepped out of the light at the end of the tunnel The Smuggler realized that he recognized the man. Almost immediately Alistair cringed, turning his head away and looking at the ceiling in hopes the man wouldn't recognize him.

"Arceneau huh? Well whose your fri-"​

The Vodran cut himself off, looking at Alistair and letting out a bark of a laugh.

"Arceneau! Ha! You had be going there. Hiring Prostitutes to do your lying for you now, eh Alistair?"

The Smuggler cringed slightly, not only because he had called Saffron a...lady of the night, but also because the Vadron had recognized him. Though Alistair had never personally met Nari, he had had plenty of run ins with her goons. The dockmaster was just one in a long string of people whom he had rubbed the wrong way on Allecto city. Most of the time he could talk his way out of it, but the way the Vodran was standing...he doubted it was the case. "She's not a prostitute Gar, she's a representative from Arceneau Trade and I was helping her escape the riot."

Gar laughed uproariously.

"Right, and my wife is the Queen of Naboo herself."​

He grumbled for a moment.

"We'll see what Nari does with you."​

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

“I am not a prostitute,” the reply coming from the Companion was quiet, but firm. Indeed, the way she held her shoulders and her chin high reflected a measure of conviction that would be hard pressed to see on any lady of the night.

“I would advise that you watch your tongue, Mistah,” the twang was there, as was a soft strength to the woman. Although her ankle throbbed, Saffron held herself as tall as she could.

“Lest my report back to Miz Arceneau relay just what Nari the Hutt and her associates conduct business.”

It was a heavy threat. Blatant. While Tatooine was still a wild place out in the waste, getting the attention of Arceneau Trade on the world considered to be their headquarters was not one to take lightly.

However, before the pair could get rounded up to be delivered to Nari the Hutt’s palace, that very same wild fire that had ravaged one side of the city had finally caught up to their location. The cries of fire and alarm came bursting in from behind, as several locals came running through.

“Fire! It’s spread to the ammunition lockers.”

Now that was something no one was wanting to hear.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

Alistair’s eyes slowly bulged as he realized what that meant.

Of course one of the first things that had been taken from this destroyer upon its discovery were the weapons and armor that had been left behind by the Imperials. Proton Torpedos, weapons, powercells all had been stripped, but there were still some things left. If the fire got to the darkest depths, if it reached the left over munitions that had been buried too far into the sand to retrieve then…

”Listen Listen LISTEN TO ME!” He shouted at the alien guard. The Alien half turned, his bulk blocking the way for a dozen or so fleeing men and women.

”We can't go to the tower.” This was going to be tricky. ”If that fire reaches the munitions the explosion will go straight up that tower. Path of least resistance. You, me, pretty Blondie over there.”

He made a boom motion with his hands. ”Gone in a second. Even Nari couldn't do jack.”

He saw the wheels spinning in the aliens head, eyes shifting slightly towards the tower as he considered Alistairs words.

It was the only opening he needed.

Within the small gap The smuggler leaned in and headbutted the man right in the stomach. A loud ‘oof’ echoed out and then Alistair shouted. ”Run!”

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

There wasn't much time to think; just act.

Saffron heard the guttural cry from the dark-haired stranger, and she just about did just that. Granted, her ankle was thinking another thing entirely. As soon as she turned, the pain went rolling up her ankle and into her leg.

She gave a muffled cry, but gritted pearly white teeth as Saffron gathered the intestinal fortitude to continue just a few more steps. There were a series of crates to the left and the right, but there was so much they could do. Especially with the fire behind them.

The bigger question was if this make ship city created on the carcass of a former Imperial Star Destroyer had a means of combating a combustion of this extent -- before it grew worse.

Barely glancing back, Saffron saw the guard fall back, winded from the knock back that Alistair had given him. He was just about to swing back up around to grab at Alistair when Saffron gave a pause.

The lone shot went whizzing through the air, striking the guard on his shoulder, exploding a cry of anger and pain. But at least it gave Alistair the opportunity to dart back and run should he choose.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

Alistair wasn't a coward.

Generally speaking he didn't like to fight. He had no military training, he'd never really been 'taught' how to go toe to toe with anyone, but that didn't mean he couldn't hold his own. Most of the time not fighting was just a means of survival, a way to skirt around the edge of life without getting killed. The odds were always stacked against you, and battling your way through everything was ordinarily a really good way of getting yourself killed.

Sometimes though? Sometimes you just had to do it.

A curse escaped him as he half whirled back and saw the alien get struck with the shot from Saffron's strange blaster. His eyes darted back towards where she was hiding behind the boxes, her face somewhat grim but determined. A split second passed, his heart beat furiously in his chest. In that moment The Smuggler made a decision. His fingers tightened and a voice in the back of his head began to wildly scream at him to stop what he was doing.

Without hesitation Alistair jumped, but not away from the alien.

Instead he pounced on top of him, his hands curling into a fist as he smashed them into the mans face. He sought not to kill, but disable long enough to grab the Devaroniam's blaster and pull himself free. His fists smashed into the aliens face, a cry of pain escaping him as The smugglers free hand reached low and grasped the man's pistol. The weapon jerked free, and two shots rang out as he returned to his feet.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

Saffron’s ears were pounding. There was a ringing there along with the dull ache in her ankle. Although neither prevented her from hearing the desperate cry that came from Alistair’s direction.

It all happened so fast. Those last few shots ar the wake of it prompting a flinch from the blonde. Then it was over; or at least from the danger of Nari’s goons. The approaching fire, not so much.

There was little time. They had to get out of this. Now that they were out of the innards of the ship, she should be able to get a signal out to her guards. Desperately, the arceneau rep brought her left hand up, where a small bracelet contained a transmitter. It was the ore in the sand that made it difficult to send messages, but maybe being closer could make it work.

“This is Saffron, Dawes are you there?”

Coming to her feet, Saffron gave a half stumble when she heard the crackle back of Dawes voice. Thank goodness.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

Alistair stood frozen.

His fingers were still wrapped around the handle of the blaster, his chest rose and fell in steady heavy breaths. Surprisingly his expression remained mostly blank. This was hardly the first time he had killed someone, in fact it wasn't even the first time this week. The only difference was the person hed just killed

If Nari found out he was a dead man.

For a few seconds more Alistair lingered over the now dead enforcer, his lips thinning as he ran the last few moments back in his head. Eventually he slowly turned, lowering the weapon but still holding it close. ”I need to get out of here.”

Not just out of Allecto, off Tatooine.

Nari wouldn't take kindly to her enforcer being dead. Saffron had the backing of the galaxies biggest corporation. Alistair? He didnt even have his best friend anymore.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

It was easy to read the panic that went washing over Alistair's angular face. Saffron didn't have to use her skills as a Companion or as an empath to read that. It was painted all over his face. Chest heaving under the growing flicker of flames.

[ We are trying to locate you. This blasted ship is preventing me from locking your coordinates down.]

Turning back to her delicate wrist comm, Saffron brought it back up to speak. Hobbling she began heading over towards Alistair. "We are... where are we?"

The fires were continuing to burn throughout. It was already getting warmer and there was soot and grime all over her.

"Hey, we need to get out of here!" she shouted out at him, trying to get him to snap out of his reverie.

 

[Alistair Fenn]

[member="Saffron"]

"Aft bay, hangar 3117." The smuggler seemed to rattle off the words without much thought, only snapping out of it a brief second later. There was still a great amount of panic in his eyes, something telling about just how much he wanted to get the feth out of there.

Nari would skin him, torture him, and make sure that he regretted every single second of his lifetime. The Hutt's weren't known for their kindness or mercy, he was sure that when the slug found out it had been him and caught him he would end up in some tiny room with more instruments of torture than even the Empire knew existed. There was no doubt in his mind that his fate would be far worse than any sort of death that he could imagine.

Staying wasn't an option. "I need to go."

He told Saffron.

"I mean really." The Smuggler sounded near panic. "If she finds out this was me. If she..."

Alistair was usually so confident, so self-assured, the sight of him near a panic attack was almost pathetic enough to make one feel sorry for the smuggler. He remembered when his eye had been taken, he remembered the pain he'd felt. He didn't want that again, he didn't want to suffer.

 

[Saffron]

Well, there was little time to waste.

[ We are at the alf bay, Hanger three - one- one- seven.] Saffron managed to call back through her comm. Through the crackle, Dawes managed to pick enough to make it out and call back to confirm.

[ Roger, Three-one-one-seven -- We can get to you in five minutes!]

[ Hurry! The fire is spreading.] the blonde would call back, but her attention was focused on [member="Alistair Fenn"]. His face was a white sheet. Fear and growing alarm bled off him as sure enough as the hole that had lanced his flank earlier from Saffron’s shot.

Lips drawing thin, Saffron added, “You can come with me.”

 

[Alistair Fenn]

Alistair was frozen for a moment.

He had no idea what to do. They were still five hangars over from where he'd left his ship and even if he did make it there the place was probably swarming with dozens of Nari’s thugs. For a few seconds he squirmed, then looked at the hangar for with a long sigh.

”Alright.” The word didn't come easy.

Never did for someone like him, not here in Tatooine or anywhere else in the galaxy. Accepting help was hard, especially when the last few people you'd accepted help from all ended up shoving a gun in your face. It helped a little that Saffron had already done that.

At least she was upfront about it.

”Let's go.” He said quietly. ”She'll send more.”

 

[Saffron]

[member="Alistair Fenn"]

There wasn’t much of a choice. Saffron could read that. If he had any other options, the Companion figured that the scoundrel would have already left with his plan on hand. As he hadn’t that meant that he had to take Saffron’s offer. What that meant in its entirety would be up in the air- at least from what could be likely discrned from Alistairs point of view.

“My men will be here soon. They’ll take us off Allecto — and deal with Nari later.” They would have to report back to Arceaneau Trade headquarters on Mos Eisley.

Around them, people were ignoring them for now. The focus was on quenching the flames, not on what or who remained. A small boon in the chaos that ensued.