Private The Hunt

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

His plan was crazy, but it was their only option. It'd allow her to provide cover for as long as possible, while he'd still help her get to the other side of the floor.

"Let's do it! Go!"

Valery waited for him to run and turned towards the attackers. She needed to buy herself time, so she wouldn't get shot during the jump. Her hand came up, drawing on the Force, and reached out to those in front of her. With a single blast, she sent the group flying and rolling across the ground.

They'd get up, but she was already on the run, and jumped straight for the Trandoshan.

She hoped he could handle her weight and stood ready to catch her.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"Let's do it! Go!"

That spurred him into action.

With a mild look of discomfort, Rissk charged across the glass, biting his teeth to bear the pain. He was Trandoshan, his scales were strong, and his feet were durable, but he was barefoot. He would need to check for cuts after this- but it was better than a human lacerating their feet.

He turned just as Valery blasted away their opposition, and jumped. Rissk hunkered down, and laced his hands together as a step. The Jedi Master landed on his hands, and with a hissing roar, he heaved, launching her the rest of the way.

The guards were getting up. Rissk blasted at them one last time with his shotgun, forcing them to get back down, before dashing the rest of the way out the door. "Run!" Rissk continued fleeing, trying to keep up with the more experienced Jedi Master. Whether she would let him, he supposed, was entirely up to her.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

There was only a brief moment of worry when she closed in on Rissk. The slightest miscalculation could cause her to end up in glass, or worse, she could knock him over and they'd both be on the floor. Luckily, the Trandoshan stood his ground and caught her foot as she made her landing. Using all his strength and the momentum Valery already had, he tossed her across the room, allowing her to land on the other side.

They made it.

A final blast of his shotgun forced the thugs back into cover, long enough for the two of them to rush out the door and into the colder breeze of a Nar Shaddaa night.

"We're not yet in the clear," Valery told him as they ran. "They will come after us." She looked around for speeders, both to find an escape and to be mindful of people in pursuit.

"We have to find a speeder and lay low for a bit."

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

They weren't in the clear. Not yet.

Feet pounding, Rissk did his best to keep up with Valery, though he certainly lagged behind her. He was Trandoshan- they weren't exactly known for their speed.

"We have to find a speeder and lay low for a bit."

Rissk huffed a little. "Like, sssteal one?" He'd never done that before. Then, he seemed to puff up. "I mean, yeah, of course. Steal one. Easssy!"

Yeah. You're a tough, grizzled bounty hunter. Not a kid on their first mission, in far too deep for your own good.

Rissk suddenly stopped, watching as an older woman parked her hot-pink speeder outside a dingy nightclub. Frowning at the color, Rissk called out. "Hey! Jedi! There!"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

"Come on, hurry!"

He had helped her out and despite his earlier attempt to capture her, she wasn't going to abandon him. But Ashla please, she wished he could move just a little faster. With every second passing, she felt the thugs drawing closer. Some on foot, trailing behind them. Others had already gotten into speeders, hoping to cut them off.

This was going to be a difficult escape.

"Not stealing! Just... borrowing! To stay alive." Valery blinked and hoped that insurance was a thing out here. Turning away from the Casino, Rissk spotted a speeder near one of the night clubs.

Bright pink and with a leopard interior.

Valery raised an eyebrow at him, but went for it anyway. With a quick hop, she got into the pilot seat and waited for her partner to sit down beside her. The moment he was down, she blasted off.

"Sit tight! This will be a chase." A dangerous sparkle burned in her eyes. One that made it obvious just how much she loved the thrill of this night.

"They'll be following us. Do you have any weapons left?"

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"I am!" Despite running for their lives, there was a distinctly annoyed hiss to his tone. He was going as fast as he could.

Rissk clambered into the speeder, feeling a jolt go through his entire body as it started up. He looked over, perhaps for guidance, perhaps out of instinct... and saw the Jedi was enjoying this. The Trandoshan blinked. He was the high-octane bounty hunter. His name was Rissk, for crying out loud. He was the one that should've been enjoying this, not her.

"They'll be following us. Do you have any weapons left?"

He pursed his lips, hesitating to respond. "I... don't. I only had four shotsss." Not even a full cartridge in the blaster shotgun he held cradled to his chest, now. "You got anything I can use?"

A group of four people in a speeder appeared above them, closing rapidly with blasters drawn.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

"You came to collect the bounty on me and only brought four shots?" Valery scoffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder in the most sassy way she could, almost annoyed with him for that. But perhaps he hadn't actually been there to hunt for her specifically. She wasn't exactly easy to track down and he could have just as easily been on Nar Shaddaa of all places for another bounty or to look for work.

When she realized how snappy she had gotten, Valery's lips thinned into a line. She was too stubborn to admit her mistake though, and just switched topics.

"If I got anything? And where would I be hiding that?" She perked a brow. "Have you seen this dress?" She gestured at her own body with a gloved hand and snickered.

"Try the glove box. A lot of people have blasters on this planet." And it seemed they were lucky. If Rissk were to pull it open, he'd find a simple blaster pistol. Nothing fancy, but deadly enough in the right hands.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"You came to collect the bounty on me and only brought four shots?"

"No! Wel- yeah!" Rissk sputtered a little. "I didn't know you'd be there! Happy accident!"

Besides, power packs didn't grow on trees. He was out of money.

Valery Noble continued her sassy routine. They were in the middle of a chase, and she was joking around? Was she that unconcerned? How powerful was this person? Rissk dug his claws into the leopardprint seat, digging around in the glovebox until he found... a dinky hot pink blaster.

Rissk groaned, before palming it, and swinging his arm to bring their opponents into his sights.

In the right hands, any blaster was a dangerous weapon. Unfortunately, his were not the right ones. Rissk used a shotgun for a reason.

He tried his best to aim on a moving speeder, large fingers struggling to find a comfortable grip on the small holdout. But his first shot went wide, and his next overcorrected to the other side.

"Fassster!" he growled, stomping his foot, frustration masking his growing dread. If they got caught, it would definitely be his fault.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

Valery snorted when she saw the fitting pink blaster he pulled from the glove box. Held within his huge claws, it looked even more ridiculous, but it only made her enjoy this chase even more. Served him right for hunting her and disrupting her mission in the underworld. But it did also complicate their escape attempt.

Shooting it seemed to be a struggle.

"Fassster!" he called out to her, but Valery snapped right back at him, "Or hit your targets!" She briefly turned her eyes to him and squinted. She was going dangerously fast already!

"Here, let me shoot! You take the wheel!" Without waiting for his answer, Valery snatched the pistol from his hand and began to crawl into his lap, hoping he'd be able to snake his way underneath her to get into the pilot seat. Only when she felt certain he got settled, she let go of the steering wheel.

In her hand, the blaster already seemed much more fitting.

She aimed the weapon a moment later, her senses guiding the barrel, and fired one shot that took down one of the gunmen in the other speeders.

"Hah! Look!" Valery exclaimed, clearly enjoying it a little too much. But how couldn't she? Here she sat inside a pink taxi with leopard print seats they had stolen to escape, wearing a much too revealing dress. Her hair waving along the currents of the wind, while she returned fire at some criminals trying to kill her.

It was a scene right out of a holo-movie.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"Or hit your targets!"

Rissk winced a little, then covered up the moment of weakness by firing another poorly-aimed shot, the blast scattering against the edge of the enemy speeder. She was right, of course. That's why it stung.

But soon enough, Valery Noble was switching places with him. Flustered a little, the Trandoshan scooted past the Jedi, taking the wheel with a tight grip. Maybe... maybe this would be better?

Their speeder almost immediately began to list to the side along the skyway, threatening to veer into oncoming traffic. Their ride was suddenly much more wobbly, swerving back and forth. Which, honestly, did make them a harder target.

"Bad time to sss-sss-sss-" Rissk seemed to get caught on a word, before finally breaking from the hissing lisp. It always got worse when he was stressed. "-Sssay I've never driven before?!"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

"What?!" Valery exclaimed when he told her this was his first time driving. She wasn't going to crawl back into his lap again to switch seats, especially not with the risk of hitting the steering wheel. So... she held on for dear life and tried to use the Force to compensate for the erratic driving.

She was still hitting some shots, but it wasn't easy.

"Watch out! It's coming for us!" Or technically they were coming for it, as the pink taxi shifted into a collision course with a much larger shuttle that was switching lanes.

"Risssk!" Valery yelled, hoping he'd manage to evade it. Even crashing into the ground or one of Nar Shaddaa's floating platforms was better than a head-on collision.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"You heard me!" Rissk's reply lacked any bite, as he wrestled with the controls. Yeah, this was his fault.

Somehow, Valery was still accurate enough to keep their pursuers from catching up. Meanwhile, the Trandoshan white-knuckled the controls, guessing at the buttons he needed to press, and just barely keeping out of oncoming skylanes. Until a karking shuttle cut him off.

Or maybe he cut it off? He was a little fuzzy on the details.

Rissk yelled in alarm, pushing up on the controls with all his might. The speeder nosedived towards the ground, before Rissk pushed down on the controls again, making the whole machine groan with the effort. They skipped along the pavement, just barely keeping in the air, albeit accompanied by some worrisome beeps.

"Good news, we lost 'em," Rissk said, teeth gritted. No way they could follow. But... "Bad news, we're gonna crash."

They were headed for the side of a massive skyscraper. At their speed, and with the controls almost busted... there was no way to stop in time.

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

They were going to crash.

Valery held on for dear life but she knew there was no way for him to recover from this. They had narrowly escaped a head-on collision but their vehicle was damaged and they were heading straight for the side of a skyscraper, albeit low to the ground at the very least.

"Brace yourself!"

With a clenched Jaw, Valery closed her eyes and turned a last second of focus to wrap the Force around both of them. It wouldn't be enough to protect them entirely, but she hoped it'd at least keep them alive. The impact that followed was brutal, shattering metal and glass, and sending her flying from her seat. Her body struck the building, knocking her unconscious on impact before she even hit the concrete below.

Her dress torn, her body bruised and cut, she remained still.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"Brace yourself!"

For what? Death?

There was no time to jump. Rissk put his arms up to protect his face, and prayed.

Scorekeeper, please... I don't want to die a failure.

Valery would feel something odd, as she used the Force on Rissk. He didn't visibly react, didn't even seem to notice, but something within him stirred. Additional power was poured into the barrier around them, as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Suddenly, the crunching of metal. A harsh impact rocking his body, bruising bone and tearing flesh. Weightlessness. Second impact. Then... he opened his eyes.

I'm... alive?

---

"This would've been a lot easier if you'd just died, y'know."

Disgustingly harsh neon lights leaked between the shutters of the motel's blinds. They blinked at odd intervals, tinging the room's poor lighting with purple every few seconds. The holoprojector was on, showing a rerun of an old huttball game, even though nobody was watching.

He'd put the Jedi on the room's one bed. He'd managed to stop her bleeding with the few rolls of bandages he'd gotten from a nearby convenience store, but beyond that, all he could do was hope the Master was made of sterner stuff.

Rissk was leaning against the backrest of a nearby chair, a hand draped over his closed eyes, shotgun leaned on the armrest beside him. His wounds had already begun to scab over. That wasn't what was obviously causing him distress, as he mumbled to himself.

"What 'm I s'posed to do now?"

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

Valery's Keshian eyes slowly opened and flickered as they adjusted to the light inside the motel room. She groaned against the throbbing headache that immediately kept her from sitting up, and groaned again when she felt just how sore her body was after the impact. The last thing she remembered was being inside the shuttle, so she also realized quickly that she must have been out for a while if she had been moved here.

Who had helped her?

Valery slowly rose and turned her gaze to the Trandoshan, almost surprised to see him. He had picked her up and moved her here? It was somewhat surprising, given the fact that he had tried to collect on her bounty. But then again, he had shown that there was something genuine to his heart as well.

It made her wonder why he chose to hunt.

"Are you... okay?" Valery groaned again and adjusted the straps of her dress to prevent an even more flustered Trandoshan. She then looked across her body, seeing the bandages he had wrapped around her to stop her bleeding.

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

Rissk jerked his shoulders a little as he heard the Jedi's voice. Then, he cautiously picked up his shotgun. It was only after a second of staring that he registered she was asking about him.

"Don't." There was a new sharpness to his face, that went beyond playful banter. Was it... guilt? "Don't thank me. I'm still trying to decide whether to turn you in or not."

Leveling his shotgun at the bedridden Jedi, the Trandoshan attempted a carefree, confident smirk. He imagined that's what a real hunter would look like, in this scenario. "Used your money to pay for this place. And the wraps. Hope you don't mind." His smile wavered a little. Her purse, along with her lightsaber, were on the nightstand next to her bed. She was wounded, but it wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world for her to grab them.

"Ssso... Why shouldn't I collect on you?" It was odd- he was trying to be cool and aloof, but it almost sounded as if he was pleading with her. "Give me a reason."

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

"Haven't you already decided?" Valery perked a brow, recalling earlier moments when he likely could have turned against her. Or, at the very least, he could have stopped helping her. After a deep breath, Valery pushed herself to sit on the bed and watched him as he leveled his shotgun.

He tried to look confident, but it felt odd after their last encounter.

"Did you use my money to buy yourself ammo, too?" She asked with a grin, "Or are you threatening me with an unloaded gun?" He had used all his shots during their escape, and was he really that bold to go buying ammo when they weren't even off-world yet?

"Because I don't think that would end well for you, and... is it really what you want?" Valery asked, "You've had plenty of opportunities to turn on me. Hell, you could have bound or restrained me while I was unconscious, or perhaps even be well on your way to already collect on me."

"So I think you should tell me. Why aren't you?"

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

"No!" The Trandoshan hissed, perhaps a little too forcefully.

"Did you use my money to buy yourself ammo, too? Or are you threatening me with an unloaded gun?"

He answered a little too quickly. "Yeah! Uh, I mean no. I mean... Try anything, and I will swiss cheese you." The young man's eyes darted away a moment, before refocusing on the Jedi.

Valery continued to rattle off advantages he could've taken for himself. Every consecutive sentence seemed to raise his hackles just a little more, until he was practically seething, nervous hisses escaping his mouth with each word. "That'sss not it. At all. I might've been able to turn you in by now, sure. And yeah, it'd be easssier to kill you when you were unconsciousss. And yeah, I don't have money to pay for my nexssst meal, much lesss a ride off thisss dungheap, b-but..."

Rissk growled, slamming his fist against the armrest of his chair.

"I... just... didn't want to," he said, quietly. "That's all."

I'm too weak. That's what you want to hear, isn't it?

- Valery Noble -

 

[Valery Noble]

Nar Shaddaa

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber (hidden in purse)

He didn't want to.

Valery wasn't at all bothered or fazed by the emotional outburst and chose to focus on what she really felt deep inside. It had started with his apprehension back when they were confronted by those thugs, but it was stronger now. There was no reason or excuse not to attack her or try to capture her.

Nothing beyond him choosing not to.

"Then please, lower the weapon," Valery finally said, her voice softer than it was before. She had teased him and poked a lot of fun at his mistakes, but that side of her was gone entirely now, "I'm not going to hurt you or try to turn you in, so whatever happens next is your own choice." She paused and looked him in the eyes for a moment. Was he doing this work just to survive? He was tall and strong and a decent enough shot.

It made sense for him to be a hunter, like many of his people.

But did he want to be one?

"I can give you some credits to buy yourself food and other supplies you need, and even enough to get off this world. But after that, you have a choice to make. Is this life really what you want?"

Rissk ​

 

[Rissk]

With a moment of hesitation, Rissk let the muzzle of his blaster drop. It was empty, anyways.

"I don't want your money." His tone was more defeated than offended. "And I don't have a choice. You weren't my target, but I'm gonna go back and get my guy. I need to become the best hunter that ever lived. Then maybe they'll let me go home again."

Ouch, that hurt to say. Rissk winced, before shaking his head helplessly.

"Why am I telling you this? You wouldn't get it. You aren't T'doshok."

- Valery Noble -