The Cost Of Notoriety [Heol]

[Eliza Lunelle]

>VAL'HALLA SPACE / 'DELTA-PHI STATION' / HANGAR

There are few things money cannot buy- perhaps notoriety is one of them.

The pirate had both. Bloody hands, and a stupid name to boot; the 'Broken Tusk', an Aqualish with something of an illustrious history in murder, theft. Eliza didn't care about that. Eliza didn't care about the piracy, truth be told. But Broken Tusk had made a mistake, and not the sort that many can walk away from- he had started after Sith craft too.

Now the Galeocerdo, an old Razer-class frigate, and a detachment of twelve stormtroopers aboard it, were tasked with resolving the issue. He'd attacked some prize craft indeed, apparently- troops and Razer-classes weren't a laughing matter, especially this far out in Sith space. Intelligence suggested the presence of some particularly rare cargo in his possession too.

A mistake he'd made indeed, but he'd covered the tracks well. Little sign of the Tusk yet remained, other than that he was within the quadrant- any hyperspace jumps, and he'd have been dead by then. The Imperial Navy were, for all faults one might state, anything but spineless. The paper trail had ended at 'Delta-Phi' station, a backwater trading post- from here, it was a matter of watching the interstellar traffic and searching all Aqualish on sight.

Lethal force was very much authorised.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Heol was sad.​

He was the unluckiest guy in his mind. Heol had been waiting to construct a new secondary weapon he could use alongside his master's original weapon!

He imagined it like he had a sword, and half a shield. Which wasn't what he envisioned for the future.

His new Guard Shoto blueprints were sure to help him evolve that 'half a shield' into a full fortress. His ultimate defense.

But, things weren't looking good on his side. Firstly, Heol was a wandering padawan. He knew there would be many downsides to being so lonely, and that involved having no connections for materials to accomplish his blueprint. That said, he didn't even have money. He was flat-out poor. All Heol could rummage from his pockets was...a couple of .25 credit coins, a broken crystal, and a crumpled note.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sulking in the midst of the bar, Heol, once again, grabbed the cheapest drink he could find, and remained hidden. Considering many viable options to receive money for parts, Heol aimlessly scrolled down the list of tasks and bounties available. All requests either offered too little money, or held too many risks. Not something he hoped.

With a loud sigh, Heol grumbled, and hit the table with hid forehead. Suddenly, he heard a voice:

I got quite a few goods the other day, Feadal!

Ears perking up at the sound of 'goods', Heol scooted a bit closer to where he heard the voice. With his face still stuck on the table. He was often lucky when eavesdropping, perhaps his luck scored once more.

Another good day for thieves, eh? Sure, tell me what you got. Maybe I'll buy them off you.

Well, I killed a crew for the goods, so it's dirt money, my friend. Stole plenty o' cargo off of 'em.
Military-grade items, boy! You won't believe the stuff they were holding: We took lightsaber crystals, weapons, armor, heck everything you'd look for.

Alright, what's your most prized picks from the loot? I'll buy it off from you for 100,000 creds.

Oho, you would need more than that, my friend. I grabbed Mandalorian armor, Dead-eye decoders, Neonan red cheese, and even Phrik alloy.

Heol's eyes widened at the last statement. Phrik alloy. It was exactly what he needed, one of the most essential materials for his guard shoto. Now, he knew what he was to do. It was obvious: steal the alloy from the Aqualish. His luck didn't sputter and die yet, in fact, it blessed him! He had a shortcut now to one of the most expensive metals in the world.

Suddenly, the doors of the bar burst open. Heol's head flew up, and two storm troopers entered the clearing, scanning the area.

Sorry to bother your evening, citizens. We're in search of a pirate named, the 'Broken Tusk'. If you have seen this man, please report to us immediately.

In a quick motion, one of the storm troopers raised the picture of the man beside Heol.

Heol's face scrunched immediately. Grimacing, and recognizing who it was, he began to inch away from the pirate. Something told him, something big was going to happen.

Instantaneously, the Aquish rose and quick-drew both troopers. With a loud cry, the storm troopers fell to the ground, dead.

Heol wanted to 'face-palm'. Clearly, storm troopers were not trained as well as the clones were in the distant past. Their reaction timing had slowed dramatically.

Let's go, the Aquish told his buddy. Helping his friend up, the pirate left the bar straightaway. Heol's prize, was getting away.

Leaping out of his seat, Heol ran towards the exit, and began trailing the pirate.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

"Citizens, comply and move along." The four stormtroopers moving with her clattered up the ramp of another freighter, scattering crates and trade goods in a desperate hunt for the Tusk. Fifteen ships down, and no luck. There must have been a hundred on the station- at this rate, he could be gone in an hour without a trace.

"Nothing, ma'am." They hurled a crate full of rags down the ramp, barely missing the hangar clerk. The four reassumed their group form at the bottom An Ithorian came stumbling down the ramp after them, shouting and waving his arms in indignation.

"You can't do this! I've done nothing--" The end of a trooper's blaster cut him short. There was always resistance with these things, but with some pressure...

"Step back. Now." Even now, the soldiers' voices held their flat monotone. But the Ithorian made for his own blaster -fingers fumbled along one thigh, scrabbled at the wood varnish of a handle- but already the scream of discharging blasters filled the hangar bay, a hail of red beams cutting past. The Ithorian and the freighter hissed as the heat discharged, metal plates scorched and glowing pink. "What now, Ma'am?"

"Keep going, idiot. He's here somewhere." She swore under her breath. Pirates never made it easy. And aboard the station, between the colours and the crowds, the unending chatter and heave of people back and forth, he could be anywhere. Aqualish weren't a rare sight this way rimwards. However, sprinting stomtroopers were.

"Ma'am!" The sound of plasteel boots upon catwalks. "Two troopers dead, in the cantina!"

Tusk'd made a second mistake. The last, she hoped. "Move- you four move on closing off the hangar bays-" She glanced about. Ten stormtroopers. "And you two start spot-checking every Aqualish you see, starting at the cantina. Everyone else, on me. Now."

Now she darted forward, drawing the pistol from her belt with the remaining four troopers following close by.

"If you see an Aqualish, any of you, stop him. If he's running, shoot him. No questions asked."

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

The Aqualish was rushing to his hangar.​

That was Heol's best guess. He knew exactly why, and it was because of the Imperial inspections going on.

Yet, the pirate didn't know he had another enemy.
Heol watched as the Aqualish and his friend dashed to the entrance of another building. They wanted to leave soon, it wasn't fit for them to continue discussing in such a predictable spot. Yet, business came first.

After close inspection, Heol decided that the 'Broken Tusk' was an obvious opponent he could not face yet. As for his friend...he noticed how sloppy the human acted. The human would be no problem, however the 'Broken Tusk' would be difficult to threaten.

Heol's thoughts began to process several plans on the spot. He could see many passage ways, many options, and many obstacles he would have to face. Soon.

Suddenly, another storm trooper appeared in front of the two pirates. Alarmed, both pirates burst in speed, and instantly took cover. The storm trooper, as ordered, opened fire. Quickly, frightened pirates moved out of the way, creating a clear path. The Aqualish and human returned fire, hoping some of the shots had hit the storm trooper.

Found them. They were nearby Cantina A. I require reinforcements to my position immediately, 'Broken Tusk' has a friend.

The firefight continued for a long time. Heol could see the whole plot unraveling in front of him.

Turning to the left, he noticed two storm troopers were coming towards the bounty hunters.
On the right, a larger crowd of troops, and a military officer.

Goodness, a military officer. Even she was getting involved. That could mean trouble for Heol too.

Unless...

But he couldn't be sure. He didn't want to take the risk. If he was forced to, he could..

Screw it.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

"There!" The troopers each slammed against crates and pillars, blaster bolts spitting back and forth. All closing in, movement in twos blocking off escapes and exits, like water spilling down the plughole. "Shut them in! They can't--" A second gunman, a second pirate- two stormtroopers hit the ground smoking.

So there was more of them; but there was still eight soldiers, nine counting Eliza- it'd take too much luck. Another thing money couldn't buy, perhaps. The shots grew more frantic, holes appearing all around. The pair slithered backwards towards the hangar bays, firing blind but still firing nonetheless. Another shriek. The troopers were being reckless, impatient and underestimating the two- Eliza had let them move ahead of her, maybe to save herself the trouble, and maybe to keep herself alive, but that seemed to have been a mistake.

The Tusk had his luck, indeed. He was rapidly becoming a prime source of all things unpurchasable. The third helmet hit the ground, searing a hole in the grated floor. Eight left.

The shooting came to a halt. Loose formations held, anxiously sliding further and further towards the empty space ahead between the pillars, in the starlit shadow of a hangar bay.

"Imperials!" The wet, slobbered speech of an Aqualish. "Cease." Behind the old freighter ahead. The patter of boots signaled the movement of the remaining troops into position around the bay. Three pairs, and one trooper on his own. Eliza crept beside him, knuckles white about the grip of her blaster.

"Give me one reason."

"Bomb."

She slipped one eye past the edge of the crate. Red lights blinked upon a dark grey box halfway between her and the Tusk. Now he stepped out from behind the freighter, walked to the metal thing's side. He was tall, broad-shouldered, thick arms and legs, drooling constantly from a scarred mouth with one single tusk, snapped in two.

"Don't move, understood?" She hissed at the stormtrooper beside her. "None of you."

"You will do as I say, yes?"

"You're stupider than you look if that bomb's live." The beeping suggested it was.

"All of you, surrender. You are my hostages; the Sith will pay well."

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Heol was watching everything unfold.​

The Aqualish has a bomb? That annoyed Heol. He didn't take on everyone at once, but he held a bomb.
But...what would Heol do?

If he followed the Aqualish and allowed him to succeed, he would be able to find the location of the phrik alloy, and steal it for his own uses. Yet the Sith. What good did the Sith do to Heol? Not a lot, except offer a lot of power.

Should he feel sympathy for such cold-hearted people? For these once allies, and now strangers?

None of his plans fit into his situation. It's because the damn pirate had to pull out an unexpected surprise.

He was pissed.

Not usual for someone of his caliber. Wandering turned him from an excited youngster into a sad, yet tranquil being.

Watching through the public surveillance television, he carefully inspected the scene. Eight storm troopers, all possibly ready to fire again. An officer surrendering. The filthy pirate and his 'buddy'. Finally, the bomb in the middle.

The cantina wasn't far from the scene. If Heol could take the bomb in an instant, he could, allow the Sith to take him in, and ....possibly receive his merchandise?

No.

It wasn't possible. The One Sith often did not offer rewards for anything other than bounties. If help came, they took it in return of nothing.

Of course, if the pirate has his ship's transponder code information in his wallet, I could take that..

And that would be that. Heol had stolen too many things to even realize he stole something, he could pickpocket the pirate easily.

Setting his plan to action, Heol immediately sneaked through the passage ways, as quiet as he could. Something told him it could go wrong, but chances were always there for the taking. His quiet, wrapped feet made no noise as he approached the back of the scene. Hiding behind the corner of the wall, Heol attempted to avoid the perspectives of the pirate. Crouched, he took a look, and discovered that the Aqualish's 'buddy' must have already gone, to prepare the ship.

Alarmed by the realization, Heol took no time to waste.

In a flash, Heol slid underneath the legs of the imperials, grabbed the bomb, picked the wallet off the 'Broken Tusk', and slid once more, underneath the legs. The feat took 2.4 seconds to accomplish. Looks like his sneaky past helped him once more, snatching and going.

Hostages. Heol could laugh. Now the imperials were allowed to do whatever they wanted.

Racing through corners with the bomb, pocketing the Aqualish's ID, Heol noticed that the hangars were becoming visible.

But he still had one question in mind...what was he going to do with the bomb?

Lucky I'm still 17. I barely fit through the pirate's fat legs, he muttered through his teeth. He had to relieve the stress in him.

Suddenly, Heol realized he was holding something else in his teeth. Sighing, he forgot that he had an unconscious urge to grab something extra whenever he would steal. It was another habit from his old past. Spitting out the hard device his teeth had clamped on to, he caught what seemed to be an Imperial comlink.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

A child?

Without his bomb, the Tusk swung back behind cover, Eliza and her stormtroopers too confused to act immediately.

"Three of you, with me!" She rose above the crate, firing blind to keep the Aqualish down. "The rest of you, arrest that damned Walrus!"

Now there were two problems- the pirate, and a child, who appeared not only to be carrying a bomb but whatever the Tusk had been carrying. Stranger things had happened, she was forced to admit. But the child'd escaped without a trace, gone as soon as he'd come- the troopers would never be able to corner him now, no matter how fast they ran. Every time she took a head from this assignment, two more grew back snapping.

"The child's escaped, ma'am!" A trooper shouted, voice muffled behind the helmet. That meant... no comlink. Eliza groaned, hand gripping the nearest wall tight.

"Your comlink, where is it?" The soldier froze for a moment, perhaps for terror. "If that child has it..."

"He... he must have taken it, m-ma'am." Eliza struggled to resist the urge to shoot his knee out.

"If I didn't need you in a fit state to run..."

"Understood, ma'am." She considered doing it anyway. What kind of stormtroopers where these, three dead chasing a damned pirate? They'd lost a child to boot. She made a mental note have any survivors reposted on a frozen moon even further rimward, if any of them made it out to begin with. "But ma'am... if the child has it, maybe we can use it to talk to him?"

She shot him in the leg. He wasn't wrong- right, even. But to suggest she hadn't already considered the option... disrespect of the highest calibre.

"Then talk to him." She smiled. "But wait... you don't have your comlink, do you? Pity." One hand reached to her ear to change her comlink's frequency. The soldier groaned, one of the troopers kneeling by him with a healing bio-spray.

"<Child. Identify yourself, and surrender the bomb and whatever you took from the Tusk. You don't want to make an enemy of us, that much I can assure you. You will not be harmed.>" The comlink bleeped.

The one thing she needed right now was cooperation- she'd be shooting out more than kneecaps in a few minutes.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Child?​

What was this woman, fourty? He didnt even want to guess. Calling him a child...he couldnt have seemed that small.

All insults aside, she requested that he forfeit the bomb and the wallet. But the wallet...that's all he needed. Did she need to take that too?

Groaning at her request, he knew how strict the imperial could be, especially this one.

Pressing on the device's comlink button, he replied:
*<Uh negative. I'll leave the uh bomb right here. You'll find it beside the Engineer's shop. But the wallet and my identity? Well...you can try and take it -chuckle- goodbye>*

Well he sure screwed up. The officer would have his head any minute now. Heol just had to escape soon, and he meant, real soon. Just as long as he get's the pirate's Phrik alloy, and maybe other materials.

Suddenly, the Aqualish's 'buddy' appeared in sight. He ran into a hangar labeled 'RESTRICTED'. Was the trading post co-operating with the pirates?

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

The bomb, at least. That was the most dangerous thing. But not what she needed.

"You!" She started towards the Galeocerdo, one arm pointed back at the quietly groaning soldier. "Do something useful for a change and secure that bomb." The rest clunked after her, the crowd thin and wide-spread in the wake of the firefight. "Anyone gets in the way, put one through them. Two if you want." This child would regret his interference. Or maybe he wouldn't- maybe the vacuum of space'd do the regretting for him.

"What about the other pirate, Ma'am?" A breathless soldier sprinted alongside her; they couldn't have been too far from the Galeocerdo now. He wasn't wrong, either. That was something she'd overlooked.

"First, to the damned ship- then we'll deal with the other one." What a mess. She might kill all three, when she got hold of them. Certainly she'd see the child arrested, at least. The long shadow of the Razer-class stretched far along the hallway. Stunned civilians and engineers parted against either wall to avoid the sprinting congregation, grey and polished white. "Someone get me on station-wide intercom, now."

Stormtroopers darted in two separate directions, half up the ramp of the ship and the other half to secure a wall-mounted intercom. Time was of the essence.

"Here, Ma'am!" A flat voice called around the corner, one plasteel-gloved hand holding the end of a microphone.

"<Child, pirate. You know who you are. Cease and surrender. Either we will kill you here, or aboard your ships. It makes no difference to us. Surrender yourselves and your goods. Lunelle out.>"

She turned. "Have the ship and its weapons systems ready to go at any time. And get that damned cripple with the Tusk back already!"

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

That didn't take too long.​

The old Imperial lady was already calling on him. Well, he couldn't stop anymore, too late now.

Rushing into the same hangar, he noticed the pirate had already begun preparing the ship. It was levitating.

Rushing towards the platform above, Heol hopped on a box, then another, and leaped towards the open backdoor.

Grabbing ahold of the ledge, Heol climbed with slow, cautious grace. Carefully sticking his feet on the floor, he snuck towards the pilot door. Peering through the crack, Heol could hear the pirate's buddy speaking through his phone. He sounded agitated, and scared.

Taking advantage of the situation, Heol's lightsaber ignited in an instant, and slashed towards the pirate.

The poor man barely had time to turn around, and realize he had been decapitated.

Giving the body on the floor a glance, Heol immediately got to work. Searching the whole ship, he had been surprised as he reached one particular chambre.

The whole chambre was filled with stacked boxes. Metal cases. Excited, Heol approached a box, and opened the case. It was filled with various lightsaber crystals.

His urge was killing him. He just wanted to take a handful. However, he would hold too much luggage. Crystals were sometimes heavy, and it would slow him down.

Rummaging through the other boxes, Heol finally approached one last box. It was glowing blue. He wasnt sure what the glow was coming from, but it interested him. Opening it up, he found what he had been looking for all-time: Military-grade Phrik Alloy.

Grinning at the super rare and expensive material, Heol immediately grabbed a bag he found in the cargo storage, and stuffed as much as he could. Phrik alloy was very light, thus was also lighter in comparison to crystals.

Laughing, he put on his new, handy knapsack, and turned towards the door.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

No response.

"<Child, pirate. Cooperate and surrender yourselves. We will not hesitate to kill you if you resist. If you surrender, we will deal with you fairly and justly. Understood?>" She pushed away the comlink, murmuring quiet curses under her breath. Her options were shrinking fast. The child and the pirate could be anywhere aboard the station- if they tried to escape in the freighter they'd be shot down quickly, but that wasn't likely now. The child required too many assumptions. He could be native to the station; then he'd never need to escape by ship. It was possible then that they'd never find him, provided he knew the right places to find.

First things first. "Have all interestellar traffic to and from the station stopped. Anyone tries to leave or enter, we're bringing them down." A trooper nodded and turned back towards the offices past the comlink. That defined the situation, at least. Next would be searching the station, IDing and interrogating if it was necessary. That might take hours. Days.

"M-ma'am!" A familiarly flat voice called. The limping soldier. And with him, staggering and drooling, the Tusk. Now that was a turn for the better.

"Excellent." She gave him a thin smile.

"You'll never win... my copilot, he'll kill you all!" Every word sent more split flying.

"Tell us where he is, and what that child took from you, and we'll make this less painful." She leant in close, pressing the barrel of the blaster to his forehead. "You might think yourself cold, Tusk. Brutal. Fearless, even." Her eyes narrowed. "But watch what hearts of ice do to hearts of stone..." She whispered as she might to a child.

"Watch your blood freeze still, and your bones warp and twist like iron as winter falls, my dear..." With a click she shifted the blaster to the highest power setting. Her face was a smirk, the tone some mock sing-song voice.

"Now... talk."

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Storm troopers.​

Damn stormtroopers were already by the blast doors. Pointing up at where Heol was, they began to fire. Groaning, he turned to the comm link:

*<You know, having your storm troopers fire at me isn't going to make things easier for me.>*

Breathing in once more, he continued speaking:

*<I will only surrender if you let me off the hook. No arrest. No item confiscation. I have some loot I want for myself.>*

Recalling his early assassination, he pressed the button once more:

*<Oh, and is the broken tusk there? Well, if he is, do apologize to him about the death of his friend, -laugh- >*

His laughter echoed through the hangar, and even the halls. He was mad, turning Sith again. But. He could always fix that balance later.

Preparing to move, he crouched under the cover of the backdoor, waiting for an answer.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

The child again. Bolder each time.

She held the blaster still against the Aqualish's forehead, pulling her head back only to answer the comlink.

"<That can be arranged. Cooperation will be rewarded- but first, you must actually cooperate, understood?>"

What else had the child said- she turned back to look at the Tusk, at the great heaving thing slobbering before her, hands clamped about its back. One step back, blaster held level.

"Don't pity yourself, Tusk. All good things must come to an end." It only took one shot. The Tusk fell with a thump, and there was quiet. "Bad things, too."

The quiet spinning of fans above. The whistle of the blaster venting steam. The troopers moved away and onward to secure the child.

"<My troops will escort you to the hangar, if you allow them. Then we can talk properly. Lunelle out.>"

The loose ends were tying themselves up now.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Turn himself in huh?​

Well, hearing the fact the lady wanted to 'co-operate', he guessed it meant just as well as he hoped.

*<Sure.>*

Dropping himself down from the hangar, he carefully walked towards the hangar exit, as the storm troopers pointed their blasters towards him. Looking at them begrudgingly, he knocked the barrel away from the trooper, lightly.

Keep that thing away, it's not kind to point it at someone who's co-operating.

As the storm troopers escorted him to the high ranking officer, he turned and noticed that the citizens had begun to calm down. They were walking around, strolling with little carriages, holding merchandise. Everything seemed to pipe down.

However, he sensed something wrong. His instincts were screaming the same. Turning around, he couldn't identify any strange behavior.

---

He finally met with the officer lady. She was...taller than him. She looked young. It seemed as though, Heol didn't get enough time to study her face.
Yet, he finally realized what was missing.

....where's the bomb?

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

The child. Unimpressive.

"The bomb is none of your concern." Both pirates were dead. A trooper had been sent to retrieve it earlier; he'd been shot in the leg, a delay was unavoidable. Perhaps he had taken too long, but he was incompetent, after all. Hence the leg. "My concern, however, is what you took from the Tusk. And what you plan to do with it."

It wasn't likely to be a weapon. Too small, and taken too quickly. ID, perhaps. That would allow the child access to whatever the Tusk had been hoarding. Provided the child was clever enough. It could well have been a credit chit- that would fit the profile, an orphan thief desperate for money. No ties, no funds. Perhaps she ought to have sympathised with him, all facts considered.

"Provided it's nothing to do with Sith business, we'll let you go. No strings."

Anything he was that reluctant to give them, she suspected was very much to do with Sith business.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Phew.​

Heol was glad. Seemed like the Sith wasn't going to mess with him.

And they didn't take the wallet too, he now possessed everything the pirate owned!

Positioned in front of the Sith Officer, he replied.

A wallet. I took the pirate's wallet. I have no business except claiming what is mine.

He was claiming what was his. What he claimed in the first place, when the Aqualish was talking to his buddy.

Bowing to the Sith officer, he said,

Thank you for the dismissal.

Turning, he grinned childishly. He could sense the disappointment in the Sith officer. Yet, she had no right to judge him with a single feat of thievery. He had more tricks up his sleeves.

(OOC: No I will not be taking or using everything the pirate owns. Just the Phrik Alloy. Would be god-mode if I did, I believe.
By the way, do you want to end on this note, or do you want the bomb to blow up maybe? That would be interesting to survive haha.)

[member=Eliza Lunelle]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

(OOC: Well since you asked, I shall deliver )

"His wallet." Her tone was scathing. Perhaps needlessly so. Regardless, the child had wasted more time than he was worth.

He was already leaving. "I've not given you such permission yet, child." The stormtroopers knit closer, guns raised. "That wallet will allow you access to his ship, we know. That's not yours to take. It's not the Tusk's anymore, either."

She smiled, that pretty face crueller than ever yet. She raised her pistol, levelled it to the back of the child's head as he walked, turned. "It's ours."

For a few moment's breaths, there was quiet. Her eyes, cold blue, and the black steel of the barrel, steady.

Then the bomb went off.

A scream; Eliza couldn't tell which way was up.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Well, damn.​

Heol didnt know if he wanted to kill the Sith lady. And she had been so kind! He was utterly disappointed himself. Looks like the Sith could not keep their grubby hands off of everything. Yet he knew exactly why.

Sweat dripping below his brow, Heol analyzed his surroundings. A group of storm troopers. The lady officer. And a barrel to the back of hos head. Not something he wished to experience first hand. His hand tried to etch towards his saber. A bit of the Force could help him.

Suddenly, something large went off. Attempting to keep himself steady, Heol tried to hold on to the floor, however fell to the...ceiling? He couldnt be sure anymore. He kept calm, wondering what had happened.

Screams could be heard all around the station. Even the officer had screamed out of surprise. Blast doors of the station began to shut, preventing oxygen from escaping.

It was the uneasiness. His instincts were right. The bomb was not disarmed.

The Sith. This was their fault. The storm troopers had not secured it on time. Now, it killed many poor, innocent citizens, all unknowingly. Gritting his teeth out of pure frustration, he turned towards the Sith group who confronted him in the last second. The storm troopers were out cold. The lady officer seemed to be fine.

Yet he was stuck. Unwillingly. It was not a part of his brilliant plan.

Sighing, he began climbing up to the next blast door, wondering what he could do to get out.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

Stormtroopers flew back and forth as the station rumbled- Eliza sank to one knee, hand falling out to keep her upright. That was more than any of the soldiers had done, by the looks of it. Useless.

"Child!" She hissed the words through gritted teeth, blaster discharging wildly as the world shook before her; above, a great durasteel tube exploded, coolant and smoke roaring out in great silver plumes. "Surrender!"

For the smoke, he could be anywhere- fire alarms squealed, blast doors slamming open as the station shifted to emergency status. Now there was no chance of catching him- except for one thing, she supposed amidst the chaos, scrambling for the nearest blast door to get clear of the smoke. If the child wanted his pirate's treasure, there was only one place he could go.

The ship itself, safe and secure in the hangar.

Numb and dazed, she staggered for her bearings, clutching the blaster pistol tight- no doubt the child would be running, running for his life and for his treasure.

Now she had to catch up- time was running short.

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

It was a childish thought to run towards the pirate's hangar first.​

Of course, his plan, was quite obvious. Take the pirate's ship and escape safely. Yet, what could he do for these civilians? There was nothing possible, at least for someone of his caliber. The only good he could do was through a war, for a side, gambling death. Yet, this was not what it was about, currently.

Looking up at the ceiling, he took a quick glance behind him, and noticed the smoke. Where had the Sith Lady gone too?

Probably the pirate's hangar, he predicted in a mutter. She must have left to stop him from escaping.

Sighing at the stubbornness of the Imperial, he immediately opened the air vent above, and pushed himself in. It was not bad, considering he was still somewhat short. However, it was a tight squeeze, and it proved to be extremely uncomfortable for Heol.

This is...not the best way, but probably the only way, to get to there, he observed. Heol, was not headed to the pirate's hangar. Instead, he was heading towards the emergency pods. He had received everything he needed anyways, Phrik was all he wanted. He didn't need everything the pirate had, neither the ship.

As for the Sith, she would probably chase him down to the depths of hell, if she ever saw him again. He didn't know how far, but probably farther than he could imagine.

Crawling through the vents, turning many corners, he finally arrived above a small room. Peering inside, he noticed the human-sized capsules.

Perfect, he said with a grin. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]