Stowaways Always Bring Trouble

[Holden Tark]

Yes, the Corellian daredevil came out in Holden as he whipped through the forests, around trees and boulders, just daring one of them to actually mess him up. Eryn was nervous at first, but then he could feel her relax. She was enjoying the rush, but he could tell she wasn't thrilled with the fact she was holding onto him. Too bad, because Holden rather liked the fact she had to hold onto him. It was certainly more enjoyable doing this with someone who could also enjoy the rush. Had Tark really kept her around because he just wanted to have some human interaction? He didn't even know the answer to that question.

"He's not someone to piss off... You can try if you want, but he's got enough of a fortune to send a small army after us. I for one don't want that target on my back. I've managed to keep a clean record, and bounty free, and I'm going to stay that way if I can."

Then why was he helping her and keeping her around? He knew if he looked he'd find a bounty on her head. For someone that hated trouble, keeping her around was going to invite it. Holden shoved that out of his mind and got back to what they were there for. They had two options, sneak in and don't get caught, or knock on the front door, get a tour, and try to make it to the vault. The amulet was likely in the vault.

Holden scanned the grounds for security probes, cameras, anything that would suggest they couldn't just climb over the wall and get into the mansion. Sighing, Holden moved around to check out the back. Places like this always had a security feed. The issue was not getting caught. He looked to Eryn.

"There should be an external pannel for the security system out here. If we can find, I can loop the feed back, and we can avoid getting spotted that way. Whether this guy has droids or not, I can't say, but at least we can move about invisible from whoever is watching the camera feed."

Tark started walked toward the back. These things were never by the front gate, too obvious.

"You ever rewire a security system before?"

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Varik Ryjin]

"Kriffing hot-wired security systems." Varik had been at it for a good twenty minutes already, trying to get through the security wired to the hyperdrive access panel. After plugging a second datapad into the system, he'd encountered security protocols and codes that were about eighty clicks south of galactic standard. That was the trouble with edge-of-the-rim smugglers. They may not have the most up to date tech, but what they did have was the capacity to hot-wire half a dozen decade-old systems together in an incomprehensible jumble of wires and code. That alone made some of these things harder to access than some of the high-end systems in the core if you didn't know what you were doing.

Fortunately, Varik was a quick learner even without a nearby genius to leech from, and he'd managed to crack the first couple encryption layers. If he wasn't mistaken, there should only be... *hiss, click* The panel released gently as he broke the final layer, and he pulled on a pair of gloves before opening it up and peering inside. It was a standard unit for this class of ship, with no add-on modifications. That was good. It meant the captain didn't pay much attention to what went on in the compartment. In fact, Varik wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time it had been opened. With the security subverted, the next task was to hardwire the tracking beacon into the start and stop sequences, programming it to transmit at the only two times a comms scan would be completely useless for detection. Upon entry to, and exit from, hyperspace. He'd wired up half a dozen ships with the same tech, and so far every single unit was still functioning.

With that done, he closed the panel back up, erased his tracks in the security protocols, and headed out to explore the ship and find a more conspicuous place to plant the second tracker.

 

[Eryn]

Yes, the Corellian daredevil came out in Holden as he whipped through the forests, around trees and boulders, just daring one of them to actually mess him up. Eryn was nervous at first, but then he could feel her relax. She was enjoying the rush, but he could tell she wasn't thrilled with the fact she was holding onto him. Too bad, because Holden rather liked the fact she had to hold onto him. It was certainly more enjoyable doing this with someone who could also enjoy the rush. Had Tark really kept her around because he just wanted to have some human interaction? He didn't even know the answer to that question.

"He's not someone to piss off... You can try if you want, but he's got enough of a fortune to send a small army after us. I for one don't want that target on my back. I've managed to keep a clean record, and bounty free, and I'm going to stay that way if I can."

Then why was he helping her and keeping her around? He knew if he looked he'd find a bounty on her head. For someone that hated trouble, keeping her around was going to invite it. Holden shoved that out of his mind and got back to what they were there for. They had two options, sneak in and don't get caught, or knock on the front door, get a tour, and try to make it to the vault. The amulet was likely in the vault.

Holden scanned the grounds for security probes, cameras, anything that would suggest they couldn't just climb over the wall and get into the mansion. Sighing, Holden moved around to check out the back. Places like this always had a security feed. The issue was not getting caught. He looked to Eryn.

"There should be an external panel for the security system out here. If we can find, I can loop the feed back, and we can avoid getting spotted that way. Whether this guy has droids or not, I can't say, but at least we can move about invisible from whoever is watching the camera feed."

Tark started walked toward the back. These things were never by the front gate, too obvious.

"You ever rewire a security system before?"

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

"How do you think I got this far without a bullet to the brain?" She was on-edge, full of nervous energy, eyes dancing from spot to spot looking for threats. Eryn spied the panel, set into the tall, elaborate wall surrounding the estate a few paces away. It seemed easy. Too easy. She looked up, scanning where the wall line met the sky. Halting, she grabbed Tark's arm and plastered her back to the fencing, towing him with her. "Up there," she said, motioning for him to look. Cameras. Hopefully, they hadn't seen their approach; considering they'd stuck close to the wall, probably not. "Only two. Stick to the wall, they won't see us until we're on top of the panel."

She held her breath, waiting, neck craned upwards watching patterns, counting off seconds as each camera rotated, paused, and swiveled back again. She swore. "Forty seconds. We'll have forty seconds to rewire this thing. There's a blind spot for both of them, a few feet from the panel… I think." Why did I agree to this? The fugitive set her jaw, tempted to sock Tark in the face and run for it. He started to move, but she turned, slammed a palm into his chest, shoved him back against the wall and got all up in his face. Her expression was stormy, teal eyes like lightning. "If I get caught because of you and your karking relic, the authorities are gonna be the least of your problems, Tark, you got me? I will hunt you down and make you wish you hadn't saved my life," she hissed menacingly at him.

Another glare for good measure, and Eryn shifted away as she slid along the wall, watching the cameras. They made it to the blind spot, and after making very sure that Tark was not going to be seen, she slipped around the camera viewpoints and reached the panel without incident. Her heart was hammering, eyes wide as she jacked the thing open and got to work.
It took her a little longer than she'd have liked, but she did it.

At least, she hoped she did it. Looping feed wasn't too hard, but she hadn't done it in a few months, so she cycled through the tiny display next to the controls, looking at the different camera screens. The two near the gate were showing nothing, but both she and Tark were still 'hiding'. Tentatively, Eryn stuck a hand out from her small bubble of invisibility, watching for it on the screen. She saw nothing. Relief rushed through her. "We're good," she said over her shoulder at Tark, closing the panel up again. "Let's hope the guards are stupid."

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -|

 

[Holden Tark]

"You know if you wanted to kiss me for saving your life we could have done that on the ship..." Tark said jokingly. He knew she was pulling him out of the camera view, but he couldn't help but notice how on edge she was. She needed to calm her nerves if they were going to pull this off. Holden shot her a look which told her just that as she counted the time between the camera movement. The blind spot was a short window, but Tark had dealt with worse.

He smirked when Eryn went to work. "You agreed to this to pay for passage somewhere in the outer rim because you bled your pretty legs all over my cargo hold." Did she really need the reminder. When it seemed the coast was clear, Holden moved out. He still stayed close to the wall because he didn't need their faces seen. Eryn had a bounty and he didn't need it transferring to him. Funny how a cop was now an accomplice. It was a good thing he never looked up what she had done.

Holden found a opening in the walled fence and stepped right through it. The former law enforcement officer looked around the corner to be sure there were no guards, then waved Eryn through. So far this was incredibly too easy. It made Holden think there was going to be a lot of trouble all at once later. Jobs like this were rarely smooth sailing, and he knew this one wasn't going to be.

The gardens were quiet, and so was the courtyard. Holden was not liking this. Now he was the one on edge. There were no guards. Either this guy was way overconfident in his security system, or he had battle droids somewhere. Holden sighed as he kept moving. The vault entrance was in the back garden. Reports for the job talked of an underground vault which had an entrance near a weeping angel statue. Those things freaked Holden out. He hated them. Still, pulling on the arm the entrance opened. This was way too easy.

"Is it me, or is this way to easy?"


[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

"Way too easy." She shot Tark a nervous look as the garden wall shifted, revealing a staircase slowly descending into darkness. The unlikely pair crept forward, equally alert, equally uneasy. Worst case scenarios played out in her mind with every step; the dim lighting cast thick shadows, certainly hiding all manner of evil traps. Any minute now, a laser grid would rise up from the ground and slice them into cubes, or alarms would bring down an army, or the walls would shoot toxic darts or maybe there was a sarlacc pit farther down the hallway. "Way, way too easy," she mumbled as the stairs evened out and a small antechamber opened up before them.

It was lit the same as the hallway, perhaps for 'aesthetic' appeal, with walls of onyx marble and elaborate statues set into the stone of what Eryn could only assume were religious gods. At the end of the room was a set of double doors that ran floor to ceiling, glimmering like molten gold in the light. She ran a finger over the surface, mesmerized, rubbing at the precious stones encrusting the frame. "Kark. You could sell just the handles of this thing and live like a king for the rest of your life." Visions of credits danced in her head. If this was the lead-up, then whatever was behind these doors had to be something ridiculously rare. She pulled the doors open, ready for the next ostentatious display of riches.

The room beyond was larger, circular, and by all comparisons, boring as hell. The walls and flooring were simple, roughly cut beige sandstone, no gold or gems, no decoration of any kind. In fact, the only thing in the entire chamber was in the middle, sitting on a rock pedestal illuminated by a bright spotlight. "…anticlimactic," she said, raising an eyebrow at the scene. Eryn stepped aside, making an 'after you' motion at Holden. "Tomb raiders first."

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -| |- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -|

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden took quick notice to the ornate designs and expensive inlays which covered the interior of the vault’s corridor. The door handles were of keen interest, but they were not the mission, and they had to move fast. He could tell Eryn was nervous about this whole thing, and granted, so was he. This job was too easy so far, and that usually meant trouble at the end.How to go about this. Well Eryn was his security plan, and it seemed with how easy things were going, he needed it. Holden looked over his shoulder.

”Okay, this is all way too easy, and that usually means some kind of trap. I’m going to lift the amulet, but don’t come into the chamber, just in case this goes horribly wrong. You’ll have a chance to make it out of here that way at least.”

Cautious steps went forward as he carried himself toward the amulet which sat on the pedestal. The lone object which was displayed in the center of the room did not do the vault it was housed in justice. Holden could only assume there was some magical element to it, or that it was simply something of a rare sentimental value. How the homeowner came across it, and why he housed it in a vault which not even most dead bodies would be buried, was beyond the tomb raider, but here he was stealing it.

Holden came prepared to keep the counter weight of the amulet the same. Hopefully the switch would not trigger some kind of trap, or hopefully he was faster than the mechanism would register. As he put his hand around the golden chain, Holden quickly made the exchange, only hear the door behind slam closed. He ran to the door, but it was locked. Dammit… this was just convenient. Oxygen would be limited, so Holden didn’t have much time.

”Cami… you still there… I need you to find a way to open the door,” he shouted as he scoured over the wall on his end to look for some kind of mechanism. Nothing. The only way to open the doors was on Eryn’s end, and for all Holden knew she was going to take this chance to run.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

"What?!" She had her ear smashed to the door but his voice was so muffled. The sound of locking mechanisms rumbled through the walls. "Tark!!" Eryn smacked her hand against the gold, looking around wildly. There had to be a way to get the door open. The handles wouldn't budge, so maybe there was a keypad or a button or something… She spied a small square opening between the stones next to the vault entrance that hadn't been there before. Deep in the crevice, something flashed. There. That had to be an override. "Just…hang on, I'll get it open!" she shouted, making for the wall.

Rolling up her sleeve, Eryn squinted at the gap, trying to judge how far back it was. The space between rock and air was narrow, very narrow, but it was nothing her bendable bones couldn't handle. There was a moment, just a quick one before she went to slip her hand inside, where the fugitive paused and stared at the gilded doors barring Holden Tark from exiting, recognizing the chance life was giving her to do what she'd done many times before: run. She'd been chewing on the idea since the doors had slammed shut, but was only now just facing it. It would be so easy to leave him, to turn around and head for the spaceport and never look back. It'd be so, so easy…

Or would it?

She'd never been torn before on something like this. She WANTED it to be easy, like it always was. Her safety trumped everyone else's, right? Surely someone knew they were here now. But she could feel that damn debt perched on her shoulders, and it was easier to blame her hesitance on the fact that she owed the guy rather than the fact that maybe… she didn't find his company such a bad thing after all.

Swearing at her situation, Eryn cast a quick glance around and stuffed her arm in the hole, bones flattening and compressing as she inched her fingers towards the small switch at the back. Almost there…almost… Her fingers hit the cold metal, and she flicked them upwards. Yes! There was a clanking noise, like heavy gears rolling backwards, and the golden vault began to open.

Something stabbed swiftly through her forearm, hitting bone.

Eryn screamed, tearing her arm from the opening and squeezing her fingers around her arm. "What the KARK!" she yelled, inspecting it with smarting eyes. It was tiny, circular and deep, like someone had taken a straw, sharpened the edged and stuck her with it. She poked at it, wondering why it wasn't bleeding much, feeling at the tiny lump buried under the soft tissue near her bone. The pain lingered for a moment before disappearing altogether, and there was a weird numbness in her arm, but she chalked that up to jamming her arm in small spaces. Eryn stared at it, not liking to familiar prickle at the back of her mind. Where had she seen this kind of thing before? "This kriffin' place just BIT me!" she growled.

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -|

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden had no way of knowing whether Eryn was going to leave him high and dry or not. The situation was perfect for her. With Holden trapped she could run back to the spaceport and steal his ship, standing him on Atrisia for a while. The culture of the planet would provide Holden with enough work to get off soon. Just as he thought she would do just that the doors opened, and there the brunette stood holding her arm. With an irritated voice she complained about the place biting her, and Holden got concerned.

"Let me see it," Holden said taking her arm and looking at the puncture wound.

There was no way that was okay. The way the skin puffed around the puncture had Holden concerned. He reached into the small pack on his belt and pulled out a syringe which contained an anti-venom. It worked on most poisons, Holden hoped this would work, because Eryn was beginning wobble at the knees. The Corellian sat her down, then tied off her upper arm. This shot needed to go into her blood stream, so Holden found the vein on the inside of her elbow and injected the drug there.

"Just sit there for a moment until this works, then we'll get back to the ship. From there, anywhere you want to go, well as soon as I deliver the amulet."

Tark sat next to her, his head leaning against the wall of the vault. He smiled when he looked over to her.

"Thanks for helping me back there. You could have run, but you didn't."

This time there was no quip, no sarcastic joke, just genuine gratitude. Holden liked the banter, and he liked to flirt, but he was also serious when the time called for it. This was one of those times.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

“Yeah, well…” She didn’t look at him for a long time, rubbing at the tiny wound on her arm. She could feel the anti-venom under her skin, burning through whatever the vault had injected her with, and the dizziness slowly passed. Eryn drew her legs up and into her chest, resting her arms on her knees. The fugitive shrugged her shoulders a little, throwing him an uncomfortable look before also leaning her head against the wall. “I don’t like owing people,” she said, staring at the ceiling. “You save my life, so I save you from years of jail time. It’s not a full payback, but it’s a start… Besides, I couldn't fly your ship by myself, so…” It was unclear if she was joking or not.

His sincerity made her feel seven different things at once. She wasn't used to it, not interactions, not feelings, none of it. Life was weird when you didn't feel like you had to watch your back around someone, and after very careful evaluation by Eryn, unless Tark was a pro and playing the long con, he felt…okay. Good? Nice? Maybe…trustworthy? She didn't know. One of those, for sure. All she knew was, she didn't feel like he needed to die, and that was progress as far as she was concerned. It'd been so long she'd forgotten about those words entirely, and they tasted dusty.

When she did finally chance a look, she caught his smile and quickly looked away, suddenly wishing he was a disgusting, lewd, evil son-of-a-schutta instead. At least she knew how to handle that type. She had no idea what to do with genuinely decent men.

Probably because she'd only met one outside her family, so far, and he was sitting next to her.

"Uh, thanks for the shot, by the way. Guess they didn't want anyone getting out of here alive." Eryn poked at her wound, clearing her throat. "What was in there, anyway?" She nodded at the vault behind them. "The artifact or whatever. What was it?"

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -| |- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -|

 

[Holden Tark]

Leaning up against the wall there was a sense of something which was different than anything Holden had sensed coming from Eryn since she woke up. Was she actually letting her guard down just a little, enough that she actually thanked him for saving her pretty little behind? Tark could have acted blown away, but everytime there eyes let she pulled away or he did. That was something else entirely. Eyes meeting only to pull away, Holden horrible at hiding a smile, yes he was attracted to her. There was even the briefest of moments when throwing everything out the window and just making his move was the best option of what to do next, but she asked about the artifact. That question only made him smile even more.

"Here," he said pulling the amulet from his pack. He handed the necklace to her in case she wanted to inspect it up close. Normally he wouldn't do that, but Eryn earned his trust. "This guy owns it illegally, and I was tasked to stealing it back for the rightful owener. Apparently it has value to the family which most had forgotten about over the years, but that's what I deal in mostly. I've been shot at, hunted down, chased after, threatened, and actually been forced into hiding over beautiful pieces of history and culture just like this. When I'm not doing this, or need a low profile, I salavage things."

Holden sighed, running a hand through his hair. They really needed to get moving if they didn't want to be caught. What a surprise it was going to be for the pair when they found another unwanted guest on the ship. This was the exact kind of trouble Holden was always trying to avoid, and today was going to be full of it. Pretty faces were dangerous, and Holden was going to learn exactly how dangerous to his way of life this pretty face was going to be. It was all too bad, because Eryn was growing on Holden. They Corellian knew in those moments they worked well together, and it had been a while since the tomb raider had a partner. Eryn could be that.

"Okay, Cami... something has been bothering me since you introduced yourself... your name isn't Cami, is it?"

She at least owed him the truth at this point.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

“Of course it’s not Cami.” She rose, turning the amulet carefully over in her hands, rubbing at the precious stones inlaid along the outside. It was a stunning piece, solid and weighty in her palm, and in pristine condition for how old it looked. Eryn brought it up to her eyes, examining up close with interest. She’d never touched anything so…fancy before, and a very tiny part of her wanted to try it on just for the experience, but it didn’t take long for Eryn-On-The-Go to kick back in and give her a reality check. The toxic shakiness had vanished from her limbs thanks to Tark’s quick help, and break time was over.

Back to business.

She avoided answering his other unspoken question for as long as she could, but she could feel his eyes on her, waiting patiently, and chances of him giving up and moving on were slim. Tark chased down relics for a living, and she could hear the sparkle in his voice when he talked about history. The man obviously loved a good mystery and lived to dig until he found the truth. She huffed a sigh, glowering at him from above as she reached out a hand, giving him the amulet back.

They made quite a pair. He liked to dig. She liked to stay buried.

“It’s Eryn.” She arched an eyebrow, setting her jaw. "Just Eryn. I wouldn't spread it around or use it in public, though, unless you want a target on your back. You wanna know more, you can look at my file," she finished with a pointed look that could have been a challenge or a warning. She squirmed restlessly, impatiently wiggling her proffered hand holding the amulet at him. "So, c'mon, take your swanky jewelry and let's go, tomb raider… And quit smiling at me, it's freaking me out."

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -| |- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -|

 

[Holden Tark]

"I'm not going to use it in public. You still have the matter of why you didn't use your real name to begin with. I figured you wouldn't be stowing away and bleeding out if you weren't in some kind of trouble. I wasn't always a tomb raider..."

She gave a little, he gave a little. It was how this all worked. Trust was earned, secrets were shared. Her name was a big deal, but he'd already given his to her. What he used to do for a living was about as next a big revelation as a name she didn't want floating around. Holden didn't want the fact he was a former cop getting out there either.

"I used to be corsec, and no, I'm not about to get all cop and try and collect on whatever trouble you're in. You need someone to trust, and that might as well be me."

Holden walked off to the speeder bike. The security feed was still looping. By the time the owner knew he'd been robbed the pair would be long gone. The plan was to get the amulet to the rightful owner, then they could go wherever Eryn wanted to go. At least he had a name, and he could see she liked the trinket. If the woman wanted to be, she could be a pretty damn good tomb raider. It was back to the ship for now, speeding the long way back. Holden loved going fast, he loved that the speeds he took forced Eryn to hold on so tight he could feel her press against him. Tark wasn't stupid, and he wasn't innocent either. He was Corellian.

When they reached the ship something felt wrong. Holden knew without getting on board that someone had violated his ship. Whether they were still on board was another matter. Holden just knew things sometimes. He swore he wasn't force sensitive, but there were times he was unsure himself. Maybe he was, but he really could care less about being a space wizard.

"Something feels wrong... maybe you want to leave now rather than take my offer..."

Holden entered the code to his ramp and waited for it to descend. It was time to find out if it was all clear.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

"And go where?" She gestured to the mostly empty spaceport around them as the ramp touched down. "I can't sit on Atrisia and hope another contender rolls by. Besides, I like my locker here," Eryn said, patting the Manticor's exterior.

Tarks 'bad feeling' wasn't contagious, but she'd met enough fringers to know most of them had some kind of sixth sense when it came to their ships, and far be it for her to ignore any kind of warning these days. He went first up the ramp, cautious but determined, and Eryn followed slowly, knife out, eyes bouncing around the interior looking for trouble.

The two checked the cockpit first, finding nothing in a quick sweep, and made their way down the hallway to the galley. Tark stood at the entrance, brow low and frowning, clearly not convinced. Eryn crept by him, checking the most obvious hidey-holes before shrugging. "Seems clear here. We'll check the rest of the ship, but maybe you were wrong. Maybe there's no one here."

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -| |- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -|

 

[Varik Ryjin]

He'd eventually settled on the galley, affixing the tracking device inside the back of one of the cabinets, behind a couple stacks of terribly flavored canned goods that looked like they hadn't been touched in years. He was careful to leave the dust undisturbed, and once done settled in to wait for his prey to return. He didn't have long.

It was the psychic impressions that alerted him first, and oddly enough the captain's spiked in alarm as he approached the ship, while it was the young woman's that remained steady. Obviously puzzled, he checked on Kresh in case they'd spotted him, but as expected the canine had remained entirely undetected. He had a knack for that. He moved aft, slipping into the small locker room as they ascended the ramp, talking about the intruder they somehow knew was aboard the vessel. But how? He'd tripped no alarms, hadn't hotwired any doors. Hell, he hadn't even touched the exterior at all, the door had been left open for him and closed on its own behind him. There was no possible way they knew he was here, which left exactly one option. "Kriffing space wizards."

He signaled Kresh to block the boarding ramp, then drew his pistol and waited for the Blackstalker to take his position. Once he was there, Varik moved in on his prey.

He stepped into the galley unannounced, centering Tark in his crosshairs first and opening fire without hesitation. He'd set the static blaster to stun for this particular mission, since even a graze could have much more dire consequences for his ability to keep fighting than it would if he'd set the weapon to kill. On kill, a graze just meant a burn, but on stun it could mean total nervous system shutdown, or at the very least loss of function in the affected limb and surrounding areas. All in all, it was a far more effective means of rapidly subduing a target, even if you did want them dead later on.

 

[Holden Tark]

His ship just felt weird. Holden was no space wizard, not that he knew. Truth was he was, but the force lay dormant within. On occasion Tark had a hunch that was right, but anything beyond that never manifested himself. He'd always thought his gut instinct was good. It was, but it was guided.

The search of the ship turned up nothing, but it still felt wrong. Well, they might as well get something to drink from the galley. Holden knew the best route was to cut through the lounge. That's when he heard it, the rustle of movement as a trigger was pulled, and blaster was shot of. There was little time to dodge, but a quick drop to the floor and roll, then back on his feet with blaster drawn, and the two men were now at a stand off. His aim was good but the shooter didn't know that.

Holden shot a glance to Eryn. Her trouble had followed them, and his ship had been violated because of it. He didn't blame her, and was looking for an excuse to get a new ship. This gave him the excuse to do that. If they got out of this, his ship was marked, and Holden would have to turn it into credits, a physical transaction, no accounts so it credits couldn't be traced to a new purchase. His brain was going fast as all the options ran through his brain. Holden knew one thing, he wasn't handing Eryn over.

"What the frell!? Seriously man don't you know you're not supposed to board a man's ship and start shooting it up? Whatever happened to the good old days when scoundrels and bounty hunters were classy!? You don't touch a man's woman, and you don't touch his ship. Whatever it is you're here for, you just made getting my cooperation that much harder."

Maybe he could get the guy taking and make a mistake. Either way Holden was stalling, hoping Eryn realized she needed to make a run for it. It wasn't safe to stay with him anymore. It was a damn shame to, because Holden really liked her.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Eryn]

In a more perfect cinematic world, Eryn would have paused as she passed Holden, time slowing as she met his eyes with a look that said everything and nothing, full of unspoken feeling and deep gratitude. She would have turned, throwing her knife at the intruder, her aim true and blade sharp as it buried itself in his chest as she rounded the corner to freedom. She would have found the ramp clear and the way clearly defined.

But this wasn't a perfect world, and more often than not, the crap hand you were dealt never gave you the chance to react so flawlessly.

She hit the floor as the intruder let a bolt loose, mirroring Holden's stop-drop-and-roll. There was no time to look at him, no time to throw her knife, Eryn bolted past the relic hunter without so much as a glance, hair flying, eyes wide. Every corner, every shadow, every area she couldn't see was suddenly a possible death trap, hiding more invaders. She couldn't be sure the man shooting at Holden was there for her, because any smart person regardless of their target would aim for the tomb raider, the 'biggest threat', first. But she wasn't taking any chances, and neither was Tark.

She ran for the ramp, falling easily back into her habits, mind flying through possibilities, looking for things to grab on her way out. It was so routine, so familiar, this flight before fight, this rushing adrenaline, that it was almost…comfortable. Almost…relieving. She was back in her element, it was what she did, what she knew, and it was easy. Everything here was easy. The distress was a crystal, focusing the light in her mind. Thoughts were crisp and clear, decisions were easy, she had no one to worry about but herself. Tark was far away in another time and place, like the memory of her family, always there but never quite acknowledged. She didn't care, couldn't care, his fate was his own, or so she'd tell herself for the first few weeks. Run. Just run. Run faster.

Eryn tore around the corner and sped for the ramp, but screeched to a halt moments later, pin-wheeling to slow down. She froze at the top, barely breathing.

Because there was a Blackstalker guarding the exit.

They were rare, and she knew little about them except that they were immune to blaster fire and were a favorite of bounty hunters with very big balls, because you'd need them if you had the nerve to try and harness these creatures for anything. She'd only ever seen one other, and the man it had followed was one of the more powerful people Eryn had ever run into. But she'd never heard of a Blackstalker belonging to anyone that wasn't some kind of hunter.

She should've expected he'd leave a guard at the exit. She should've left Tark in that vault and run long before. She should've expected ALL of this. Eryn swallowed, taking a step back. Now, Tark was probably gonna die, and she was gonna get caught, and the hunter and his dog were gonna be rich for it.

|- [member="Holden Tark"] -| |- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -|

 

[Varik Ryjin]

It was an utter mystery how the huge corellian managed to shift his entire bulk out of the way of the shot, but Varik wasn't the type to waste time being surprised. He'd witnessed far less believable feats than this one, and he was sure he would witness many more. After all, he'd already confirmed the man was a force user. He interrupted the spewing diatribe without a second thought, re-centering his aim and firing a second shot at the man's center mass. Avoiding one bolt was luck, but two at point blank range with no cover? For that, he'd need a miracle. It didn't much matter if he managed any return fire or not, the shield on Varik's belt would take care of that easily enough, and he was confident Kresh would cut the woman off at the ramp.

When she came into view inside the ship, Kresh instantly honed in on her as the prey they sought. A low growl emanated from deep in his throat as his teeth bared and he began stalking toward her, clearly enjoying his new hunt. Just a little closer and he would bark, attempting to jolt her into turning and running so he could give chase. He loved a good chase.

 

[Holden Tark]

Personal shields, tech which made people invincible, yeah Holden had been here before, a stand off. He just shrugged as his own shield fluttered in front of him as the shock of the weapon hit him. The point blank range may have knocked Holden back a bit, but there it was, a genuine made by hand miracle, and clear evidence this was not Holden's first rodeo. No if this guy wanted to cash in on his hunt, he was going to have to get down an dirty. No weapons, no tech, just a good old fashioned fist fight.

"Some people are dumb enough to stand in the open while staring down at the barrel of a blaster with no shield, but I'm not one of them."

Holden knew his ship well, and despite wanting a new one, he hated the fact he was going to have to shoot it up. This bounty hunter didn't strike him as stupid, so distractions would be the next best thing, like the pipes above the man's head. A nice hole placed just above the man's head would certainly send steam into his line of vision. Sure if the guy was wearing a personal shield he wouldn't get hurt, but he wouldn't be able to see where Holden was running off to.

Through the otherside, and around to the ramp where Eryn had hopefully gotten out, that was where he was headed, well, at least he wanted to make it seem that way. He ducked around the wall and just waited for the bounty hunter to follow. If he did, the man was going to have a solid mass of arm clotheslining him to the ground.

[member="Eryn"] | [member="Varik Ryjin"]

 

[Varik Ryjin]

"You can't save her, Tark." He ignored the steam, though was somewhat surprised by the man's willingness to damage his own ship. Unless he was very much mistaken, that pipe was a significant part of the life support system. Something he was going to need if he hoped to make good on his escape. Varik rushed forward after the man, ducking under the flailing arm as he burst through the doorway. One of the perks of being psychic was that it made you incredibly difficult to blindside. He spun as he came through the door, pushing the barrel of his pistol against the corellian's ribs beneath the extended arm and pulling the trigger. The man had been able to grab his own pistol, and he wasn't floating a centimeter off the ground, so that meant his shield unit was the usual type that allowed slow-moving physical objects to pass through. Objects like the barrel of Varik's pistol. Pressed against his ribs as it was, it would be inside the protective envelope of the shield, and the unit wouldn't be able to do a single thing to prevent the attack.

 

[Eryn]

She had half a mind to stand her ground against the Blackstalker. Her bounty specifically stated ‘alive’. If it truly followed orders, it couldn’t kill her. But they were temperamental creatures, and she wouldn’t put it past the thing to take a chunk out of her leg if she tried to move past it.

She’d had enough leg injuries (and injuries in general) for the day, but she’d be damned if she let a dog, however dangerous, boss her around.

Eryn summoned her nerve and stood straight, glaring at the creature with a fearlessness she didn’t quite feel, arms by her side, knife in her fist but pointed at the floor. She flinched the slightest bit as it barked, teeth flashing, attempting to herd her into the ship, but she waited a few stubborn beats before taking a slow step backwards. She couldn’t outrun it, that was obvious. The young woman racked her brain. Trapping it could work, provided she could remember the layout of the ship and where all the possible places were, and once she had it trapped, she could use the lift in the cargo hold to exit through the hatch at the top of the ship. It was hard to outsmart these animals, and based on the hunter’s behavior, he was no dimwit either.

But it was worth a try, if she could pull it off. Of course, the way her luck was falling today, she didn’t have much confidence there.

She turned, showing the dog her back, ignoring the urge to run, and ever so slowly inched forward back into the ship, taking her very sweet time.

|- [member="Varik Ryjin"] -| |- [member="Holden Tark"] -|