The Lion and the Rabbit.

[Lara Zambrano]

[member=Lok Jorunn]
Green eyes squinted from beneath the hood which offered her shelter away from the aliens toing and froing from the several aligned hangar bays infront of her. She had made sure to tuck her long blonde hair into her green overcoat to avoid any of the Black Sun members noticing her straight away. She was sure with all the trouble she had got into already, they'd be quick to describe her as the 'scrawny rat with blonde hair and green eyes.' She took the time of peace and quiet to observe her injuries in an empty corner within the spaceport. A few ugly looking cuts on her hand from before, and a new battle wound on her leg. She had fell over awkwardly when one of the Black Sun goons almost caught up to her. Thankfully it wasn't to deep, and Lara had managed to clean it as best as she could with the limited supplies she carried around with her in the backpack over her shoulder. Not long after Lok had taken his leave, the Black Sun members had caught sight of Lara and Gabriel within the crowds and forced them into yet another chase. However this one had not ended as well. They were serperated from one another, Lara didn't understand why he had chosen to throw the ship key's and bag of credits to her. He had simply informed her to meet him in Hangar bay Besh-42 where their ship was located.

Lara blinked back some tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, what if Gabriel was hurt? Or hadn't been as lucky as her to escape the Black Sun hooligans? She balled her small hand into a fist and wiped the corners of her eyes to not risk dragging people's attention towards her. She had promised Gabriel she'd meet him in the hangar bay, she couldn't let him down on that. I have to be the strong one now. She wasn't sure if she was saying that as a simple reminder to herself, or was simply trying to find some courage deep down within her to face this alone. Yet again, this was not the time to dawdle. She checked her backpack was secure over her shoulders, and that there was no loose pieces of hair showing from beneath her hood. Once Lara was satisfied she wouldn't be easy to see, she began to make her way to the Hangar Bay.

The halls were long and illuminated by several small lamps dotted either side of the corridor, making it easy for people to not bump into each other during the day or night. Each section of the hangar bay was named after the Aurebesh, a writing system commonly used to represent the Basic language. However she had noticed several foreign aliens need assistance as they lacked the intelligence to find where they needed to go. Fortunately for Lara, the spaceport was at it's peak time - the evening was always the most busy time for arrivals off-world. Most likely looking to spend the night partying, and getting up to mischief. This of course made it easy for someone of her height to blend right, being at most as high as the alien's hips - she felt comfort in the fact if their were any Black Sun thugs looking for her, it'd be a bloody hard job.

Aurek, Besh.. here we go. Lara mused, stopping short of the large doors that slid open when sensing someone was infront of them. Cutting away from the stampede in the main hallway felt good to Lara, she had only just realised how much she was sweating when she wiped her hand across her brow. Besh sector of the spaceport was relatively empty, regardless of one or two aliens mumbling into their comlinks. It was clear they were far to busy to show her any interest, which made her all the more happy to scamper across each hangar door until finding the golden number '42' on the hologram board. She pulled her hood down, and rushed within the empty Hangar bay. Her eyes were wide and she spun around and around until she has inspected the entire room, yet she couldn't spot the Cathar. "Gabriel?" She heard a voice, but it was sadly her own that had carried and echoed around the large metal walls surrounding her. Lara felt fear creeping up from the core of her body. Thoughts coursed through her mind like a flood, and threatening to fill and drown her in things that could have happened to him. Lara took a deep breathe in and out, a common trait she had kept to keep herself under control and as calm as possible.

Stop panicking. She scolded herself. Her green irises scanning the hangar, looking for something to take her away from her worries. There was nothing of interest..however she did spot the ship in the center of the landing zone. Lara gasped. Perhaps that was a childish thing to do, but who cared? She had her own ship! It wasn't anything special by any means, a small freighter with it's own little ramp and windows.

It might not have been anything interesting to an adult, but to Lara, it was as she was celebrating her eleventh birthday early. She ran forwards, letting the thoughts of Gabriel, the Black Sun, Lok, and everything bad with Nar Shaddaa float away for now to go and see the inside of the ship. Lara stopped at the base of the ship and circled to find the side where the ramp was located. She had held the keys within her sweaty palms during the entire time she had been running, her hands were shaking - was it nerves or excitement? She couldn't exactly tell - but she pressed the only button on the keys to watch the ramp slowly open like a red carpet to a celebrity, the whirling of the ship was the sweetest music to her ears. Lara cautiously wandered inside the very thing she had dreamed off, she was scared for a second that this was merely a dream - and that she's awaken back in the abandoned flat with Gabriel.She needed comfort.. it couldn't be a dream. She placed her tiny hand out and pressed it against one of the small seats located around a diner table. It was soft and smooth, surely even her dreams couldn't make something so wonderful and so realistic? A simple smile caught her crimson lips, and she laughed - one that was brimming with happiness, cheerfulness, and joy that echoed from the ship like a sweet melody.

For once in Lara Straife's life, she was utterly and wholly happy.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

While Lok had managed to get those two randoms away from him - the kid and the cat - he was back to being his old, lonesome self on Nar Shaddaa. It didn't really help matters when you had just given several hundred credits to a ten year old and her kitty while you were tromping around the streets with a bleeding forehead and broken ribs. Oh well, he thought. Damn, "oh well" was starting to become his new catchphrase. This particular pirate roaming the streets of Little Coruscant didn't exactly like how that was progressing.

At least he had his shotgun back. And his lightsaber. And several more wounds from looping back around to snatch it away from the Black Sun buffoons.

He sighed, wiping a sleeve across his face.

"Hey man, you lookin' t' buy some deathsticks?" With a startle, Lok nearly strangled your typical trench-coated figure as it stepped out of the dark gloom of the underworld. "I got whatever ya need, man." He had sunken in eyes and his breath reeked of onions and grim. Had he not been used to the stench and sight, Lok would've either toppled the man over or retreated to a safe distance.

"Uh, no thanks, pal. That stuff kills you." His grimace didn't falter in the slightest. "I've tried 'em before, nasty stuff."

The wild-eyed fellow moved closer to him. "I know ya got money, man," he hissed, "Fork it over."

Immediately, a knife appeared in his hands and the green overcoat whirled with motion as the blade moved forward. Lok had absolutely no idea what his problem was. Apparently his wounds showed more than he'd liked and he was ripe for the pickings. It wasn't like it for a lion to be attacked by the likes of a hyena. Hell, he even had his shotgun slung across his back.

The victim didn't very much enjoy the idea of being stabbed in his broken torso. So, he broke the man's arm with a swiftness that the likes of which had never been seen before. It took an attempt to not move his body so much as it would writhe with pain, but years of training and proper technique proved their worth when sheer strength seemed to fail.

SNAP!

"Oww! Holy feth!" The knife was in the mud and he was already on his knees.

The lion would have no more. "Go to hell." Lok drove his foot home on the fella's chest, sending his body back down into the mud with a vicious jerk of his frail form.

And with that, he was off. He had no more time to spare on this planet. However, as he walked away, he didn't very little to double check who that fella actually was. Somehow, somewhere his followers had gotten the best of his weakness in lacking mobility and vision. That man he had just crippled was a Black Sun agent and he was being followed this very moment. Not until he moved further into the downtown area did the former Special Forces operative realize that this was the case.

The girl.

Yellow, sun-hued eyes caught a glimpse of blonde hair before it vanished into the starport. He halted, circling the milling bouts of people and the area, literally soaking in all the details that he could manage.

Well where's the cat at? Didn't see him at all.

Finally, after a few minutes of contemplation, he had no other alternatives. With that in mind, he took off in a literal sprint towards the starport and weaved his way through the mob as best as he could. Some people fought his advances with curses and shoves (which hurt like hell), but he fought them back with his own and had soon nearly gotten towards the hangar bay area. It was all a nice plan to get there as fast as he could but he lacked stealth entirely and his little charade probably garnered the attention of every criminal in sight.

And there appeared to be no shortage of those things.

Half-running, the pirate scoured the hangar area in search for bay Besh-42. A wounded lion was scurrying through the starport of an underworld crime ring. Who'd have thought that his target would have been a ten year old with keys to an old freighter?

At last he rounded the curved wall and spotted the bay with the doors wide open. Lok was panting by then and sprinted right up, easily noting the blonde-haired girl dash up the boarding ramp with the exuberance that only youth could grant.

"Hey, kid!" He shouted, "Come out!"

[member="Lara Zambrano"]

 

[Lara Zambrano]

[member=Lok Jorunn]

Lara had spent plenty of time exploring the ship, taking the entirety of it in. It wasn't a fancy ship per say, with dozens of levels and hot tubs for the likes of celebrities. But it was strangely quaint, and she liked that. There was a main sleeping room which housed two beds, and plenty of supply compartments to be found throughout the short hallway leading to the cockpit. The ship had came with at least a month of food supplies, if Lara and Gabriel had to eke them out - perhaps even longer. She had even seen an escape pod, in all it's glory behind the closed blast doors.

While she awaited a signal from Gabriel on either her comlink or to actually see him enter the hangar bay. Lara had decided to use the time she had alone to give the ship a name, the 'Astral Grey.' it was peculiar, but she thought it fit nicely. The seats were more snug and comfortable than what she and Gabriel had at their abandoned apartment, and she was not shy to lay across the sofa and enjoy the softness beneath her. It was like laying on feathers compared to lumpy old mattress she had before.

She closed her eyes, and began to let her mind drift. Everything would be alright, Gabriel would make it out safely and they'd both head to Coruscant first to see the Ice Crypts and the Imperial Palace that was in ruins during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Where they went next was entirely up to them - they were free. Free to go where they like, see what they like, meet who they like. Free to do ..well just about anything she had always dreamed off. She hadn't stopped smiling the entire time she spent exploring the ship, and it still hadn't faded - she hoped it never did. Fatigue was beginning to creep upon her, and with the soft seat beneath her she felt herself slipping into a slumber soon enough. Gabriel will be okay.. She comforted herself. She knew he wouldn't approve of her wandering out to try and find him, she had to his listen to orders for once.

...

Lara didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but she swore she could hear a voice. A voice calling her. Was it Gabriel? She slowly sat up from the couch she had slumbered upon, and rubbed at her tired and heavy eyes to clear away any left over sleep. She still didn't feel properly rested, but that nap had helped her get some strength back. She looked around, running her left hand through her long tangled hair. Everything was silent, perhaps she had just imagined the voice?

No. She heard it more clearly. The blast doors to the hangar had opened and closed with a loud enough slam to let Lara know she wasn't imagining anything. The very fear she had tried to bury previously began to make itself known again. Was it the Black Sun? Had they found her? Lara slowly slid herself from the sofa, the ramp was closed and locked - she hadn't of been foolish enough to leave it open for anyone to just wander inside and enter at their own leisure. The voice could be heard again, even more closer. Lara dropped to her hands and knees as quick as if she were on fire and needed to stop, drop, and roll. "Hey, kid!" The stranger shouted, "Come out!" The voice wasn't waiting for a reply, whoever it was sounded urgent - and they definitely knew she was inside the ship. Lara could feel sweat upon her brow as she crawled across the cold metallic floor of the Astral Greytowards the window at the back.

Her knee were stinging like mad, and Lara almost yelped as the open wound dragged across the ground as she got closer and closer to the window. She made sure to bite her tongue tightly to conceal any sound from within the ship. She eventually arrived at the window, and cautiously placed her fingers around the edge of it to peep up comically. Lara looked left and right, and saw nothing of major interest - only the same empty hangar bay. This had helped her get some confidence back, so she leaned forwards to look properly out of the window. Would she have to kill whoever was outside? Lara had never taken it into consideration, the very thought of killing someone chilled her to the bone and bile almost threatened to escape her throat. Despite living rough for two years, and the fights she and Gabriel had gotten into, they had never had to kill someone. A shiver ran up her spine, and the weight of her blaster hidden inside her large green coat seemed to weigh down even more so than usual.

The voice of the man..why was it so familiar? She squinted, and saw the locks of the man's sun kissed hair, he was tall and muscular but he was also hurt. His golden eyes were searching every window of the ship, and he had begun to bang his fist on the locked ramp door. Her heart beat increased when she realised who it was. Lok. It was Lok. She was still safe. She thanked the universe, or whatever it was above that was looking out for her - she jumped away from the window and quickly clicked the button on the wall panel to allow the ramp to open hurridly. A loud whine could be heard from the gears as the mechanics allowed Lara to depart down the ramp - her white dress and long blonde locks billowed behind her as she threw herself into Lok's arms. She embraced him tightly, and for a moment didn't want to let go. The very fear that had been eating away inside of her calmed like a sea after a storm, however she couldn't see Gabriel with him..why else would he be back?

Lara leaned back from the embrace, and she looked up at the Pirate infront of her. She could see he was still bleeding and hurt. A frown snuck upon her soft features, and her voice was quiet - as if she was terrified the Black Sun goons were around the corner, ready to pounce upon them. "Lok..? Are you okay?" She wrapped her arms around herself this time, and nuzzled her chin against her chest. She felt the need for comfort. From something or someone. The day had taken it's toll on Lara and she was nothing more than a fatigued child longing for time to sleep. Lara was unaware she was shivering, but there was a chance if Lok looked close enough he would notice it. Her voice spoke up as soft as a lullaby, her big round green eyes never left his. "Have you seen Gabriel? W-we were separated and chased by the Black Sun..I don't know where he is.. h-he told me to meet him here..but it's been so long." She bit her tongue, feeling the fear well up within her. Her voice was shakey, as if she was going to cry at any point.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

The blonde-maned lion hadn't spared any precious seconds barreling his way towards the starship once he realized the girl was in it. A huff of hot air exited his nose and he was off, throwing himself at the vessel as if he were being chased by crusaders and he was but a mere witch sentenced to die. He balled his fists and rounded the ship and launched his hands at it, knocking and slamming without a moment of hesitation. He didn't even wait for a reply of any kind, just kept banging on the hatch until it finally hissed at him.

Lok stepped back to grant the ramp a wide berth as it opened, yet what he saw next was something he would never forget.

A little girl with emerald eyes threw herself into his arms, pressing her delicate and frail body right up against his broken ribs. "Ooh." The mangy-headed man groaned as the little girl clutched onto his form with the ferocity of a lioness. Though he hated to admit it, this was quite nice. Lok didn't mind being hugged for once rather than being chokeslammed by a droid or get stabbed at by some random thug. "Hey kid, ease up," the wounded man pleaded and she released him with a mist to her eyes that he would never understand.

"Lok..? Are you okay?"

He exhaled and nodded, "Yeah, I think." Lara started shivering. A pirate would've never noticed that had she left her arms where they were, but they were now wrapped around her frail, ragged form. Smudge marks littered her cheeks and tears in her dress and clothes were boundless. Not to mentin a rather wicked looking scrap on her knees.

"Have you seen Gabriel? W-we were separated and chased by the Black Sun..I don't know where he is.. h-he told me to meet him here..but it's been so long."

A solemn look commanded Lok's features. "I haven't, kid. I even looked around the place for hours to find 'im after I saw you." He scratched the back of his head, groaning. "Y'all get split up or somethin'?"

Kark.

Lara's lips trembled and curled. She's gonna cry. Sighing, Lok took her by the shoulders and knelt down to where he was face-level with her emerald gaze. "We're being tracked right now. I saw men following me when I first walked in here. We have to go now." He pursed his lips. "I'm sorry about your friend, but we can't waste time trying to find him. He knew where this hangar bay was and he ain't here."

Lok tore off his jacket right then and there. It wasn't much given all the wear and tear it had sustained, but it was warm and that was all that mattered. "Take this. We're going." He tossed the green jacket around her form and the entire thing nearly swallowed her whole. Pairing that and her bright eyes and churning lips, he almost did the same thing she was about to do.

"There they are!"

He hadn't even began to rise from his crouch to move into the ship when the first goon spotted them from the ajar bay door.

Lok snapped to Lara. "Take the keys," he hurriedly spoke, "Start the engines, it's the green lever. Then take us off, autopilot is on, kid."

By then, blaster bolts already had him ducking as green plasma splashed across the ground and the hull of his bucket of bolts. "Move, now!"

The lion yanked the Czerka shotgun that was slung across his back, cocking back the pump-action before squeezing the trigger. A double-ought blast of slugs caught three men in its wake. I guess that's what happens when you charge a man with a gun with two barrels.

He wasn't gonna be so lucky after that first shot.

[member="Lara Zambrano"]

 

[Lara Zambrano]

"There they are!" The voices of the goons chasing Lok carried and echoed around the surrounding hangar bay they were within. Sadly at this point, Lara was at a loss for words - could she leave without Gabriel? She hesitated. Part of her longed to scream and shout at Lok to try harder to find him, but the other part of Lara knew deep down that it was not quite as simple as that. Living on the streets had forced the young child to understand common sense a lot quicker than most kids her age. Sadly, that was the type of thing expected of kids living on this rock in order to live and survive. If you didn't have common sense, you'd most likely be found face first in the dirt with insects and bugs crawling over you, dead.

She felt something cold be flung into her small scarred hands, larger tanned hands wrapped around her own to ensure she didn't drop them. In her fists were the Astral Grey's keys, gleaming in the harsh illuminating lights above - painting her in a spot light for all to see. His tone that was once gentle was replaced with that of voice expected from a Pirate. Sharp, and to the point. "Take the keys," Her expression could be compared to a rabbit caught in a speeder's headlights. In this moment, she was stuck. What was right? What was wrong? Go? Stay? Leave Gabriel? Go with Lok? Lara was suddenly snapped back from dream land to reality with a sharp movement. Lok had placed his hand upon her chin, and directly moved her face infront of his. They were only inches apart, and she could see every little scar, every little blemish and detail upon his features for a few seconds. His golden eyes shined as brightly as a roaring sun, and Lara felt as if he was gazing within her very soul.

"Start the engines, it's the green lever. Then take us off, autopilot is on, kid." Her wide green eyes stared into his, she opened her mouth to desperately try to change his mind. But she was cut off by the lion's roar. "Move, now!" Lara wasted no time. She nodded meekly and turned around to scurry up the already open ramp. By then blaster bolts from the men had been fired, the sickly green plasma glowed intensely once it reached the unfortunate surfaces caught by their bad aim. It left nothing more than a dissolved surface, showing the intensity to which the criminals had upped their blasters settings too. It was clear they were no longer messing around; they were trying to kill her and Lok. Lara almost fell over once her boot caught the corner of the pulled out seat she lounged upon earlier. She was quick to react, her heart was racing and the tired and fatigued girl was gone for now. She grabbed the table to support her fall, and used it to volt her forwards to where the cockpit was located near the front of the ship.

She hopped within the cockpit; once the sliding doors had registered her infront of them and slid open. Everything at this point was foreign to Lara, she saw controls and buttons galore surrounding her, with two black coloured seats directly infront of them. She no doubt guessed this was for the pilot and the co-pilot, she understood that at least when it came to ships. But when it came to flying one? Lara wasn't so knowledgeable in that area. She took a deep breathe in and out, her routinely habit that kept her in check during situations like this. The thought of piloting was difficult sure, but just how difficult could it be? She was about to find out.

"Okay..okay..start the engines." The engines were the first thing that Lok had scheduled her to start the lift off sequence, it was apparently a green coloured lever and not hard to miss. Lara's eyes desperately searched the interior of the ship, moving to and fro from either ends to try and spot the lever that was playing hide and seek. Come on..come on..The blaster fire had grew more frequent over the past few seconds, it was closer too. She desperately hoped that Lok was covering himself well enough to not get hurt again. Aha! There it was. The green lever was hidden beneath the console, it was placed in an easier position for the pilot to be able to reach without having to lean over the array of interactivity infront of them.the ship, moving to and fro from either ends to try and spot the lever that was playing hide and seek.

Aha! There it was. The green lever was hidden beneath the console; it was placed in an easier position for the pilot to be able to reach without having to lean over the array of interactivity of buttons infront of them. Lara sunk into the pilot seat, it was much larger than her and almost comically she looked like she didn't belong there. She shifted forwards so she was perched on the edge, and placed her small hands on the large steering wheel positioned infront of her. Lara felt her nerves grow and become more evident, her hands were shaking and for a moment she doubted whether or not she could manage the take off sequence without crashing the ship. The whirl of the engines had grown louder and louder, and she heard a thud behind her of someone boarding the ship. A shout from the voice she recognised as Lok’s was encouraging her to go. Now.

She swallowed the saliva within her mouth, and braced herself. Here we go. She trusted the auto-pilot to do the work for her, all she had to do was ease them out of the landing bay through the ceiling. She manoeuvred the steering to quickly at first, making the ship shudders and lurch backwards. An unhealthy whine could be heard from the scrape of metal meeting the metal flooring. She heard more shouting, she couldn’t hear Lok’s voice properly due to the sounds of the ship’s engines and blaster fire – but she assumed she wasn't doing to great at the moment. Lara let go slightly of the steering, to allow the shuttle to reposition itself somewhat upright – and with the help of the autopilot feature – a miracle happened.

They were up, up and away.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

//This isn't the post you're looking for. Move along, move along.

 

[Corruck Kazen]

The long lines of stars suddenly slowed to a halt, becoming small dots of light. Corruck beheld the orange brown marble that was Nar Shadda. He turned away from the viewport, looking towards a tactical table layout of the system. It had a holo of the planet with small ships moving around it. He yelled to Sheera, his pilot, "All power to the engines! I want us to find this shuttle before they can leave the system." Sheera gave a nod, out of Corruck's line of sight. Corruck was about to repeat when there was a shift in the power grid that could be felt through the floor. He knew she had heard and obeyed.

He turned to Rathur, his copilot and right now his computer controller. "Begin scanning all shuttles in the system. Remove all shuttles that have left within their normal schedules and any that are keeping to predetermined paths." Rathur gave an affirmative before turning his head to the tactical desk and his own datapad.

Corruck looked at the display, there was so much ground to cover and a planet like Nar Shadda was likely to have many people trying to escape. His quarry was hardly unique on this planet, so it would certainly not be easy to identify them. He tried to think of more things that could be used to separate them from ordinary travelers and other escapees. Another idea came to mind. "Remove any ship that has only one passenger. We need ships with at least two humans, along with the other requirements."

Corruck was fairly certain that Nothy, the gunner aboard the Recalcitrant, was quite upset that there had been no enemy to immediately fire upon. Corruck was sure that would change however, and hopefully fairly soon. And so, Corruck waited, watching the tactical display, as more and more ships disappeared due to not fitting into the search.

[member="Lok Jorunn"]
[member="Lara Zambrano"]

 

[Meanken]

Today's job was simple enough. Someone had pulled a hijacking of a freighter on a crime boss of some kind, and the boss was, of course, unhappy at this. The job had offered 20k, and the freighter itself as a bonus. While Chaff had little to no use for a freighter, he figured he could sell it for a decent profit to some shipping company or something. Any money he could get during his off time from the Protectorate would be nice. Most people would use the off time to relax and such. Chaff was not most people, and he was always horribly bored whenever he was not actively in combat or hunting people, hence the current freelance contract. Right now, he was sitting in his ship and running scans. Intel said there'd only been two people involved in the heist, so that would help narrow the situation. Chaff was also keeping an eye out for competition. The public listing had gotten more then a few hits besides himself, so this could quickly degenerate into a free for all battle between the various hunters. He started the scans, then put his feet up on the control panel, and leaned back, hands behind his head. Today was gonna be a fun day.

[member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Lara Zambrano"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Location: Narr Shadda, 2000m and closing.
Targets: [member="Lok Jorunn"] & [member="Lara Zambrano"]
Objective: Capture Targets Alive & Bring the Freighter back to its Owner..


The AEG-77 Vigo Gunship jolted out of Hyperspace, slowing down the droid crew was silent only giving a hum now and then as they monitored the "Barrowed" Vessel. It was a Large Ship and the Blacksun markings on it had been scratched out and a new Symbol was placed there instead. One of the many Sigils of the Bounty Hunters Guild, The Ship coasted at medium speed towards the Planet. In the cockpit sat a massive individual who eyed the working droid crew closely, with a growl he grumbled. " Scan the nearby area and match it with this..." he paused and plugged in the Information that was given to him by his current 'Boss', a unknown man only named Mr.G. The Data screens in lit up bright and the ships computer started its scan with the backup of some R4 units in Engineering. " Relay a message to Nearby Ships.." he was interrupted when his Protocol droid said awkwardly " But Sir! What if the Ship Owners dont respond or accept this message!" The droid voiced his query outright.

The Captains chair turned slowly to the droid behind him and a red eye flashed at the droid that was followed by a sharp snarl. " RELAY A MESSAGE NOW! ... " Kezeroth barked, his tolerance for droids interrupting his commands was very low. The Protocol droid jump and pivoted its metalic body to a nearby console and activated the Recording set to notify those around that he was near. The Data screen showed the process in work.

​..RELAY ANTENNA PREPPED..
..MESSAGE 02 "The Hunt" READY..
..COMMENCING BROADCAST..

(( MUSIC))

As the his chosen "Message" played Kezeroth grinned and sat back in his chair only. The music was for the factor of fear, He picked this trick up after recording some of his daily life in the Coruscant undersity in the Sections that the poor would go to cry and beg. Editting it the message only made it sound even scarier. Fear was this Hunters Ally. Rotating his chair and taking command of the controls personally, He steered toward the planet ready to begin a Good Day of what he called Work.

[member="Meanken"]
[member="Corruck Kazen"]
[member="Lok Jorunn"]
[member="Lara Zambrano"]

 

[Malica Drezyan]

NAR SHADDAA
Red Sector

Malica fished her datapad out of the bottoms of her dancer outfit. She balanced a tray of neon shots as she checked a new transmission.

"It's a shame most hunters don't possess the manners you have. Consider yourself hired and watch out for competition."

Manners? If only you knew...

Another shot girl shoved past Malica, nearly causing her to spill her tray on a Rodian at nearby table. "Feth you, Andrea!" Malica shouted at her coworker. The insult was swallowed by the bar noise before it was heard by its target. Malica's datapad buzzed with another transmission.

"Hunters, hunters! They're getting away! We spotted 'em and they were still on Nar Shaddaa! My boys just missed 'em but you fine ladies and gents should have a better time at it than we did. Remember, whoever brings them to me gets the money. Get to huntin'!"

Obeying this "Mr. G", Malica wasted no time. She pushed her tray into the unsuspecting arms of another dancer and grabbed her bag from the dressingrooms. Before the bouncers noticed she'd left, Malica had donned her signature black flight suit and blue Mandalorian helmet and was headed towards the hangar bay via speeder bike. Once inside the facility, Malica sped past Hangar Bay Besh-42 en route to retrieve her ship, Tyrant II.

***

Malica smoked a cigarra inside the cockpit as she warmed her baby up. There was no need to purchase cages or shock collars for this mission; the belly of Tyrant II contained several well used examples of both. She scanned the immediate atmosphere, honing in on a freighter that matched the description Mr. G had provided in the bounty notice.

Tyrant II launched into space at a steady pace; every hunter knew stealth was invaluable during a mission. Putting her ship on auto-pilot, Malica kicked her heels up onto the navigation console and smoked. Like a hawk circling it's prey, she would wait for the opportune moment to strike when she caught up with the freighter. She noticed a few neighboring ships on the path of her target and was unconcerned. "Let the foolish fire first," she purred between a drag on her cigarra, confident in her position above what she predicted would become a skirmish.

[member="Lara Zambrano"] [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Meanken"] [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]

 

[Lok Jorunn]

The firefight hadn't been as bad as he predicted. Thugs were always terrible shots and their experience came from shooting their blasters wildly when caught in combat. Lok had been a Jedi General, a Special Forces operative, and had made many people disappear during the night. Handling a few goons who thought they were hot shit was nothing to him. Though they managed to keep him pinned down behind a supply crate, his only successes remained in his first strike which killed a man instantly and wounded two others.

Shotguns were fun.

However, blaster wounds were not and as soon as the freighter was revved up, he furiously shouted at the ten year old at the pilot's yolk to lift off. The greyscale vessel gave a groan that sounded like a metallic beast scratching itself with steel claws, which actually happened to be the landing gear cranking back into place as the support boosters and repulsors took the weight of the bucket of bolts by themselves. That was when he bailed, slinging his shotgun across his back and taking off in dead sprint, ignoring the splashing plasma and frantic shouts around him.

A leap was all it took before he crashed onto the still open loading ramp. That chest-first impact made him groan as he added yet another bruise to his collection, though the force of it was thankfully not close enough to his torn up abdomen. "Oh, Gods above." Lok snarled to himself as he hefted himself to his feet and signaled the door shut before he took off for the cockpit.

His sun-hued eyes found Lara sitting at the control panel in the pilot's seat, her feet didn't even touch the ground. "Good work," he sighed, panting, "Kid, hop over." A gentle hand upon her shoulder was an indication to ease out of the chair and instead slid into the co-pilot's with a surprised look on her face. "I'm setting a course for Coruscant, I've got friends there. Empress Teta is our backup route." His tanned, rough hands worked the control panel as if he'd be born to fly this thing. It may have just been an engine strapped to a cardboard box, but it was reliable. "Hyperdrive'll take a few minutes to charge."

The little freighter pulled itself into the air, amongst various other ships that looked almost exactly like it. That was the perk of flying on Little Coruscant, you tended to blend in when you were among the lower classes of life. It was the late evening and the sun was nearing its last breath, casting an orange hue over the cityscape that was Nar Shaddaa. Considering how busy he was, the pirate didn't notice any incoming messages or the like. He was primarily focused on catching his breath and checking the scanners to ensure that nothing had directly followed them before he rose.

"It's on autopilot, it'll bring us into high orbit before we make the jump," he moved back to recover his jacket from the floor, "I'll be in the gun if you need me."

The little laser cannon turret this thing had packed one hell of a punch. The weapon even had a sensor of its own, so Lok opted to be behind a gun as opposed to a piloting yolk. It was what he did best; shooting things that weren't friends.

[member="Corruck Kazen"], [member="Lara Zambrano"], [member="Meanken"], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"], [member="Malica Drezyan"]

 

[Lara Zambrano]

Lara's feet didn't reach the ground while she was perched in the large pilot's seat like a bird. She had no need to control the ship any longer, the autopilot function did the work for her and continued to lift the ship into the great big sky above. Nothing else mattered to Lara in this moment, her large green eyes were widened and her mouth formed into the letter 'o' when she gasped with astonishment. The cityscapes that she had once longed and dreamed to fly over had begun to disappear beneath her, growing smaller and smaller. Everything was a blur, the people, the streets, the buildings, the other transports cruising by them. She leaned closer to stare out of the large window infront of her, letting every little detail she witnessed wash over her.

It was late evening by the time of their departure, and the sun was casting an orange haze above the horizon for those on the ground of the moon. It lit up the sky like a burning fire, yet the haze remained beautifully crisp and clear. It was so large that she felt she could almost touch it. The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once orange and yellow hued sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that engulfed the planet below their feet. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of darkness. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then, some were as vivid as the brightest jewels in the galaxy. They winked and twinkled illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky, offering a sense of peace. A peace Lara hadn't felt in a very long time.

It was beautiful, utterly and completely beautiful. This moment was the very thing that Lara had yearned and dreamed off since she awoke on Nar Shaddaa. The crash that led to her memory loss made her lose everything. A family, a home, a place she was safe and loved. She pressed her small ivory coloured hand against the glass infront of her - looking into the emptiness beyond the vessels cruising past theirs. My parents are out there .. She blinked her emerald hued eyes, that sparkled as brightly as the stars - a determination had ignited within the young girls heart. "I'll find you mother..father.." She whispered as softly as a lullaby sung to a child to lull them into sleep. She dropped her hand upon her lap, and a small smile broke out across her features. Two tears had fell from her eyes, and stained her cheeks like rain dancing down a window. But it wasn't unhappiness she felt, it was pure and utter joy.

Lara didn't know how long she had spent gazing out into space when Lok arrived. The doors opened and closed with a small hiss and whirl, and she felt his golden eyes staring at the back of her head. Did he know how much this moment mattered to her? He had seen so much already, and been to so many planets. Lara deep down was envious of Lok when she first heard he was a pirate, she envied the life he had been able to grow up with. To be so free and independent must be a wonderful wish, she hoped she had a chance to hear some of his stories soon.

He was the first break the silence in the cockpit. "Good work," His voice was tired and worn, and a sigh escaped from between his lips. She heard the echo from his boots when he approached, he placed his hand gently upon her shoulder and indicated for her to ease out of the to large seat into the co-pilot's beside it instead. She obeyed and slid over quietly - her eyes never once left the viewport infront of her. "I'm setting a course for Coruscant, I've got friends there. Empress Teta is our backup route." A look of surprise crept upon her features, Coruscant? Flashbacks of the Ice Crypts and Imperial Palace in her book of the Twenty Wonders of the Galaxy were located upon that planet. She didn't recall informing Lok of her dream to visit every location within the worn book, but she had no doubt she'd have to when they arrived there. Empress Teta wasn't known to Lara, to be honest she had never heard of it. This simply made her more curious and excited to visit it one day.

"Hyperdrive'll take a few minutes to charge. It's on autopilot, it'll bring us into high orbit before we make the jump." Lok spoke up after pressing a few buttons that were infront of them. It came so naturally to the Pirate, Lara wasn't surprised when she watched him. She had struggled to simply start the engines, she dreaded the thought of learning how to control the ship without her new favourite feature; the autopilot. Maybe Lok would teach her how to fly a ship one day during their travels - something had pulled them back together again, and whether it was fate or not, they were stuck with one another. Lara knew this was a wonderful opportunity to learn everything she could from him, she just hoped Lok warmed up to the idea too.

Her green eyes watched the Lion as he moved to recover his jacket that had fell from her shoulders during her sprint to the cockpit. He dusted it off, and took his time to make sure it wasn't ruined before putting it on his figure. Something told Lara he really loved that piece of clothing. He turned and looked at Lara, giving only the faintest of nods when he addressed her. "I'll be in the gun if you need me." The gun.. Lara had remembered peaking in that room when she was exploring previously. It was another thing she couldn't wait to learn how to use. She bobbed her head up and down, her long blonde hair fell down her back like a waterfall, and framed her heart shaped face perfectly, with a small smile she replied simply. "Okay."

And then he was off, and the doors shut behind him with the usual whirl and groan of the mechanics working away. Lara slipped off the co-pilots seat, and chose to explore the cockpit properly of the ship, it was the only part she didn't pay much attention too due to being as tired as she was before. Besides the consoles and two seats, there was a small grey door leading into another room that she had not noticed before. Curiously she tip-toped as lightly as a deer to where the opening was located, and clicked the button on the panel. When the door opened, dust lingered within the air that forced Lara to cough into her small balled up fist, it was quite dark and it didn't look like the lights were working."What is this?" She commented to herself, wandering inside the darkened room. She couldn't really see anything properly, only a few outlines of crates and boxes that she guessed were equipment for the ship. But then she heard something whirl and move in the corner - and launch itself straight at Lara.

She screamed loudly, startled and frightened - and fell backwards out of the door that slid open onto her bum to gaze upwards at her expected killer. But infact, she was met with a black and white coloured astromech R2 droid. It was beeping and booping extremely quickly, and Lara simply couldn't understand what it was saying. Lara sat up from the ground, and looked at the little droid that had stopped infront of her, the spinning of it's head had stopped and it let out a little whistle which sounded almost like a greeting. Lara found herself giggling at the behavior of the droid, it was almost as if it had a real personality of it's own. "Hey little guy, were you locked up in there this entire time?" She ran her small palm across the front of the droid, taking in each of it's compartments and hidden little items within it's unit. It gave off another series of boops, seemingly confirming her guess, and nudged itself against her again hastily. She found herself giggling again, and she shook her head. " Okay! Okay! Stop worrying! I'm not going to lock you back in there!" The droid seemed to appreciate that, and gave a series of high pitched beeps almost like a song. Lara eventually pulled herself up to her feet, while the droid wandered over to the consoles, something slid out of once it's compartments, and into an opening - Lara guessed it was most likely designed to keep the ship in tip top condition.

She wandered over, and run her palm across the metal near the buttons and spoke to her newest friend. "I named the ship Astral Grey, it's pretty weird..but I like it, do you?" She turned her emerald irises to the droid, and it gave another whistle to confirm it did. She found herself giggling into her hand again, before piping up with another response. "It's only fair I give you a name too, isn't it? We had another droid back at our old home..but it was broken and we couldn't fix it. We called it Sparky because all of the wires kept flashing." The droid made a low mumble beep, as if it didn't like the sound of that. Lara pondered the idea of a name for a while, she was always good at them. "Okay, okay! You wont be called Sparky..but your name can be Lucky!" She gave a smile to her new friend, who beeped in approval. "I think you'll bring us alot of luck..and help us get out of alot of trouble too! Lok will love you." She sat in the large pilot's seat besides Lucky while it checked the ship, it was only then she saw the flashing on the console infront of her. She knew it certainly wasn't there before.

"Lucky, what's that?" She looked down at her companion with a puzzled expression. The droid used it's diagnostic compartment to access the incoming message from [member=Kezeroth the Malevolent]. A loud crackling could be heard from the consoles infront of Lara, and her eyes widened at what she heard. Music..she heard music..but not the type you could dance or hum along to out of joy. No..this was entirely different. This music made a shiver run down Lara's spine, and as it grew louder and louder, she bit her lip frantically and yelled at Lucky. "Turn it off! Turn it off!" Her voice was full of terror, she had never heard anything like that - and she never wished to again. The droid beeped urgently, and switched off the music that had filled the cockpit with dread. It hung on the air like an anchor, and threatened to suck the joy she had felt previously out of her. The droid beeped several times, and a flash of text appeared upon the screen infront of her. It read "Transmission line open" - Lara had seen this upon her comlink when she had an open call with Gabriel back on Nar Shaddaa.

Was someone sending this to her? She looked around warily at the passing vessels floating past them still, they didn't seem to be stopping or following them.. but this had made the young rabbit extremely curious. She inched herself closer and closer across the large seat she once reclined in and spoke into the microphone - waiting to see if something or someone responded back. "H-hello..? Is somebody there..?" Her voice was quiet, but it was clear the young girl was terrified yet something stood out to whoever was listening - and that was her curiosity. No doubt many children who had heard such a thing would have run away, and yet curiosity had got the better of her. Was this a good thing? Not for Lara. But for Kezeroth it may well be something to exploit.

[member=Lok Jorunn][member=Kezeroth the Malevolent][member=Malica Drezyan] [member=Corruck Kazen] [member=Meanken]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Location: Narr Shadda Space, 1500m from Targets
Objective: Stalk and track


Kezeroth Manuvered the ship well, He had learned its controls quick after he stole it from some pirates on Coruscant. Their corpses would not be needing the beauty now, Trucking its way closer towards the planet searching. In the pilots seat the Gen'Dai kept his eyes sharp for what he needed to find, it was almost like a game of Wheres the jawa? gnashing his teeth and fangs he growled and slowed down slightly. Turning in his chair he tapped the interface on the terminal, It stopped the local broadcast but the line of communication was still open.

"H-hello..? Is somebody there..?" The words of a young woman or girl sounded loud throughout the ship. A protocol almost responded back but the only thing that could be heard was the sound of metal falling on a hard surface along with wires buzzing with electricity. Holding half the droids body in his massive hand he closed the line and tossed the broken thing behind him. " Computer... Locate the ship that responded back." he muttered raising a brow, He kept looking at the communications console. " Playback the previous recieved Audio!" His thoughts drifted as he waited.

- A girl? You must be joking... This is too good..- He said to himself getting an idea, he could only assume that his bounty had given their location away. *Tap Tap Tap* The feet of the ships security droids echoed as he thought, One walking into the cockpit and nodded at Kezeroth. " Master, Engineering has found something..." it said coldly, the Security droids were nothing like the protocol droids on the ship. Cold, Calculating and Ready to respond was there best traits. Before the Gen'Dai could get up the Ships lights got low and the cockpits data screens flashed with information of [member="Lara Zambrano"] & [member="Lok Jorunn"] his current targets. Apparently the received audio was from the girl, Which meant...

.. Last Previous Audio Message Traced ..
.. New location added Mapping ..
.. Bounty Information Matched! ..

Leaning in his chair a giant grin came to Kezeroths face. " This is too good..." he paused and took the time to control the Ship again. " Battle Stations!" he shouted and slammed the forward control to activate the Thrusters. The AEG-77 Vigo Roared, jolting roughly and slowly gaining speed in the direction of the new location where he would find his bounty. The Lights switched to a reddish color and the Security droids jogged to their stations to arm the Ion Cannons, The Ship and its crew were now in combat mode. The Engine growled, The shield Generator hummed, screamed as it came online and a light purple flash covered over the ship. A chuckle came out when a sinister red eye spotted the target ahead acouple thousand meters away now in the space outside of Narr Shadda. Tempted to scan the Freighter he decided not to sense it would give away his location to them. " Fire Ion Cannon 1 & 2, Target Back Portion of the Ship. I need the Ship Disabled..."

The Front Turrets hummed lightly as they turned and faced the Targeted Freighter till the charged plasma screamed and in a Flash was Released in a Orb of Energy, Ion cannons were not always accurate and traveled slower than other weapons chosen but what they lacked for in speed the gained in effectiveness. One shot could disable a Entire ship depending on its Size, with both shots incoming the chances were better besides two shots from an Ion Cannon would not do much Overall Fatal Damage to the ship at the most.

[member="Malica Drezyan"]
[member="Meanken"]
[member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck had been sitting in the copilot's seat, his head resting on his knees with his arms sagging to the floor. Even with the most minute searches, there would still be so many possible ships that it would be impossible to find them. He heard Sheera listening to open comm frequencies. He also noted that through the viewport he could see a large vessel beginning to move where before it had stayed still. He wondered whether it was another possible hunter. But it would be nearly impossible to tell. He felt someone nudge his shoulder.

As he looked up, Sheera began speaking so fast that he couldn't understand what she said. She must have seen the look on his face, because she stopped took a breath and then started again. "Core, that ship...that one there. I think it is a hunter and they have a lock on the prey."

Corruck pulled himself completely upright, out of his sitting position and looked out the viewport towards the ship Sheera had specified. "Are you sure?"

"Mostly. That ship sent out a message, some stupid music. I thought it was just some glit-biter. But then I think something responded and the ship almost immediately began moving."

"I see. Get us moving towards the ships intended target. I want a lock on their prey. We need to get ahead of them."

Suddenly flashes of light shone through the viewport a moment before the solar protection kicked in. Corruck watched as two ion blasts headed towards a freighter. "Target! Move!!!"

The Recalcitrant leaped forward with a jolt to the systems as almost all the power was pushing the ship forward towards the freighter. Nothy, on the guns, apparently had had minimal power shunted to the weapons. She loosed fours shots from each ion cannon all towards the small freighter. The shots from their ion cannons were not quite as large as the other ship, but they were faster. Corruck had always preferred speed to strength. Corruck turned to Rathur and bellowed, "Get on the docking controls! I want us attached to that freighter and pulling it out of there as soon as possible."

Corruck knew that as long as there was competition he was not guaranteed the freighter and its contents.

[member="Lara Zambrano"] [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]

 

[Malica Drezyan]

As the two ships, the AEG 77 Vigo Gunship and the Recalcitrant, advanced upon the freighter she was tracking, Malica perked up from her tabacco induced stupor. She always was thrilled by the sight of a good space battle, but became annoyed that the gunship was gaining an advantage so quickly.

Malica's first intention was to start firing at the gunship, both to distract it from her target and from possibly damaging what she intended to be her new vessel. Of course, that might enrage the giant gunship and what seemed like it's trigger happy captain to release it's behemoth turrets upon her, and not just the ion cannons...

It was time for diplomacy.

She sent a transmission to the gunship, first making sure Tyrant II was several meters above and behind it.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I noticed you are attempting to capture my future ship."

[member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]

 

[Lok Jorunn]

Lok had set to busying himself with the laser cannon turret that this little tug boasted as far as weaponry went. It had a little autoblaster on the ventral side and a warhead launcher, but that could also be controlled from back here in the turret. A massive screen was displayed before the pirate with crosshairs, a sensor reading, and a targeting computer. A few other key ship systems statuses streamed along the bottom with indications on the condition of the vessel. All in all, this was a nice boat for being so cheap. Lok himself had fixed this up and improved upon the internal systems.

Even had a few surprises in the hidden storage areas.

"Just gotta get to Coruscant.." He mumbled, thumbing the turret around in a circle.

He finally had a time to breathe easy. The past day or so had been spent in an attempt to flee from the Black Suns and he had been paid in bruises and broken ribs, probably a concussion too. His wounds ached, but the bactabandage that had been given to him by the girl in the cockpit had already worked wonders for him. So, for now, he exhaled deeply and enjoyed these precious few moments of peace.

All of a sudden, chilling noise filled the air. It sounded like something from a cheesy horror movie and it made Lok's skin crawl. He stepped away from the turret's seat and peered down the corridor, eyeing the girl at the communications console. His eyes grew wide, not even registering the little droid next to her before he shouted.

"No! Get away from that!" He barked, "That was a bait signal!"

The pirate eyed the droid just as an ion round smacked right into the freighter. It shook and trembled, though the electronics were still online.

"Droid, take the helm." He growled at the astromech, "Get us to Coruscant safely." He sent a look towards Lara, who seemingly disapproved of his tone with her new friend. "Please."

And so, he leapt back into the turret and glanced at the shield status. Fifty percent of it was already knocked down by the ion blast and another round would disable the ship completely. That situation was one that he yearned to avoid at all costs, so he was more than happy to pull the trigger on some lunatic gun-for-hire that shot at freighters in public airspace.

His sensors churned out information and quickly marked Kezeroth's vessel as an enemy, highlighting it with a crimson diamond that beeped and flashed everytime he acquired a lock. It wasn't big, but it surely had more weapons and armor than his own little tug, but he fired anyways.

Lok clamped both of his thumbs down on the dual trigger and two streams of semi-automatic green plasma rocketed towards the enemy vessel.

"Get us outta here now!"

[member="Lara Zambrano"], [member="Corruck Kazen"], [member="Meanken"], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"], [member="Malica Drezyan"]

 

[Lara Zambrano]

Crunch was all Lara could hear from the other end of the transmission. Whoever had contacted their ship, clearly didn't want to respond back. Static buzzed and hummed like a musical when she attempted to make contact. It had dawned on Lara shortly after that perhaps accepting said transmission wasn't the greatest of ideas, but she had been desperate to find out who it was that was contacting them in such a strange way. At first she thought it could of been Gabriel, but she soon realised it wouldn't be like him to use such a tactic, and with the Black Sun after them..

She shook her head, taking a moment to understand what had just happened. Her long blonde locks curled and fell down her back elegantly like a waterfall when she moved to glance down at Lucky the R2 astromech remaining loyally by her side - he had cut the transmission when they failed to make contact and gave a series of beeps and boops. She assumed he was just as confused as she way. With a shrug she replied back to her companion. "I guess they got the wrong comlink number.." Her voice trailed off, but she failed to hide the curiosity that tried to peak through. If she knew how, she'd try to track down exactly who it was - but sadly her knowledge in ships and technology didn't stretch that far.

She heard footsteps and a gasp behind her once the large doors leading to the cockpit slid open. Lara turned her head, letting her green eyes study the Lion that had prowled within the same room as her. He didn't look as relaxed as he usually did, infact he looked strangely distressed for someone who was injured. She opened her mouth to ask him exactly what was wrong, but he cut her off when he rushed over. His boots echoed like a drum as he approached the console to check the previous comlink channel records.

"No! Get away from that! That was a bait signal!" He barked at her loudly, her eyes widened when her suspicions were made true - a bait signal? So it was the Black Sun? Why would they bother so much to try and track them down in space?! "I-I didn't know..I just..-" She attempted to explain to Lok why she made such a mistake, but before she could finish her sentence - she was knocked out of her seat.

It took Lara a few seconds to brush strands of hair that had covered her eyesight, she had fell on her bum upon the floor and was looking up at Lok and Lucky scanning the console. The lights were flashing on and off, and the ship had shook and trembled from whatever had impacted them. She could seen upon Lok's feature's an expression foreign to her, a look that was more strict and focused than she had ever seen him before. Was whoever chasing them really that bad to make him serious? It seemed so, because before long Lok turned towards Lucky with a growl.

"Droid, take the helm." He growled at the astromech, and Lucky gave a stubborn beep and boop in response. Lara couldn't help but giggle into her palm at the droid's personality. She could tell they were going to clash often. Her laughter was stopped soon after due to Lok giving her a very firm look. "Get us to Coruscant safely." Lara frowned, she didn't exactly enjoy seeing Lucky getting yelled at - so she decided to stare at Lok for a few long seconds. He seemed to register the stare, because he added onto his sentence in a lowered tone, more than likely in hope that Lara didn't hear him. "Please." She smiled up at the Pirate, and settled herself back into the pilot's seat. If they were going to get out of this, she would need to help Lucky and Lok as much as she could. "Lucky will get us out of here safely, Lok! I know it." She affectionately patted her hand against the black and white metal adorning the astromech. Lucky gave a loud whistle, as if the thrill of a chase made him ready and focused. She broke into a giggle again, and looked up to Lok with a giant grin. "See? We'll be fine, go on!" Lok looked disgruntled, Lara assumed he didn't hold that much courage in leaving such an important aspect to a 10 year old girl and a droid, but he had no choice. Someone had to man the turret, and he was the only one capable. He nodded and ran off back down the hallway, to return to his post. It was down to Lara and Lucky now.

She took a deep breathe, it was strange - she would've guessed anyone in this situation would be more well..nervous, and yet she wasn't. Not much anyway. She'd be lying if she didn't feel some dread deep down, but living on the streets of Nar Shaddaa for two years had helped her conquer and face a lot, especially today. The time for being scared and fatigued was gone, she had to be brave and focused. She lowered her emerald irises to her companion, who was already accessing the steering aspect of the ship through the panel of the cockpit, she leaned forwards in the large seat and took the wheel in both of her small hands. "Okay Lucky..we need to buy some time for the Hyperdrive to be charged and ready. D'ya think you can do that?" The small droid gave an even louder whistle, as if determined to prove himself. Lara grinned, and felt a wave of confidence wash over her. She tucked her hair behind her ears, and retightened her grip on the steering. "Okay! Let's go!"

The ship was beginning to pick up speed, whatever Lucky was doing, he was doing it well enough to maneuverer and shift around any incoming ships to avoid crashing. Lara helped where she could, steering the wheel in the direction she felt the ship drift within, she never thought she'd be able to tell the story of being a co-pilot to a droid, but it was something to mark off the list in her great adventure. Lara was overall glad for the seatbelt, because otherwise she was sure it'd be the third, forth and fifth time she'd of fell out of this seat, and land on her arse from the quick turns and movements they were currently undergoing. From the corner of her eye, she could see a dazzling and brilliant green painting the sky, by rocketing away from their ship, towards another. She squinted, trying to see anything special about the ship that Lok was targeting - nothing but strange symbols etched on the side that she didn't recognise.

A voice barked from the back of the ship, it was muffled but she could just about make out what he said. She diverted her gaze down to Lucky, who hadn't stopped giving a series of beeps and boops when he victoriously whizzed the ship away from what Lara thought would lead to a crash. He was a talented little thing, and Lara found herself comforted with him helping her. Her voice was quiet, but it radiated assurance for them both. "Alright Lucky, let's try and get into high orbit, and ready ourselves for the jump!" Lucky responded, and did exactly that..but in a way Lara wasn't expecting. The ship suddenly lurched upwards, and everything went upside down for Lara. She no doubt thought if anyone was able to watch her, she'd look a sight with her surprised expression and hair falling infront of her face. Her stomach dropped and resurfaced once they shot upwards from the loop-de-loop that Lucky thought funny to perform. Was he taunting the people chasing them? She wasn't sure, but she found herself laughing so loudly that she was sure even Lok could hear her from within the turrets.

Whoever it was chasing them, Lara was sure they would have their hands full with their little team. And she knew they certainly weren't going down that easily.

[member=Lok Jorunn], [member="Corruck Kazen"], [member=Meanken], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"], [member="Malica Drezyan"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

..1 of 2 Confirmed Hits..

The Gunships computer sounded the recieved information confirming a hit. The targeted freighter was down in shields and the next incoming batch of shots could easily disable. Kezeroth smiled as he continued to drive the Gunship forward toward his bounty. Looking out the view port the Gen'Dai observed another ship named the " Recalcitrant " slowly speed up and go past him. It was rude for multipule bounty hunters to fight over a claim and this bounty was Kezeroths. He did not care about the ship as a reward and would rather it be dismantled and destroyed he wanted the people inside. The Data screens flashed and a message was recieved by another ship named the "Tyrant II" .

"Sorry to interrupt, but I noticed you are attempting to capture my future ship." It read.

Kezeroth raised a brow and chuckled turning in his chair he was ready to order another strike against the Freighter but the AEG 77 Vigo Gunship Shook slightly and the shields crackled as some plasma slammed into it and then another... Two hits. Checking the damage it held no expression when the the ships computer annonced that he Shield were at 65% after those two hits. Indeed it was rude to talk mid battle and so Kezeroth did not reply or at least how most would. Getting up out of his seat he notified two piloting droids to take over the cockpit and they did steering the Gunship to the side.

Meanwhile the Gen'dai took his time headed toward the main gun controls, on his way their he stopped by the communications room and sent a slight reply back to the "Tyrant II" .

" You can have the ship.. after im done. " [member="Malica Drezyan"] and with that sent to one of the ships around him he finally made it to the main gunnery control room, Where he kicked the a steel lid off a large box and picked up a large metal like cone and heaved it to his shoulder to carry. It was a Proton Torpedo... Shoving it in front ports he loaded up the side missile launchers with x3 proton torpedoes and snarled, Force Augmentation was to thank for this feat even though his strength was high as Gen'Dai the Augmentation made it faster then a droid's process of handling missiles. Grabbing a Comm connected to the ship he shouted " Lock on the Targeted Freighter, the Tyrant II & the Recalcitrant! Hold them in lock! Do not lower shields yet!" His voice rang throughout the ships speakers and the lifeless crew of droids nodded.

The AEG 77 Vigo gunship would hold stand strong it was a tough ship and fitted to handle situations like these, was the reason Kezeroth stole it on Coruscant. The Locking of all ships would signal a good message to everyone, in fact he made sure that the type of Ordnance would be listed to the other ships. The shields would have to be lowered for split second if he wanted to fire a Torpedo but hopefully he wouldn't have to.. He played a sick game of threats the Gen'dai but always had a plan with it.

[member="Lara Zambrano"]
[member="Lok Jorunn"]
[member="Corruck Kazen"]
[member="Meanken"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck was not to be intimidated, Sheera had called out that there was a torpedo lock. He had no doubt that this other hunter would fire if needed. So he assumed that it would be dangerous to play this game of threats. But that was the allure to him, the danger. He was fairly certain that his ship could take the torpedo. He spoke to Sheera, "Power to shields, no weapons. Keep the engines running."

He then ordered the ship to continue moving towards the freighter. "Keep us between the freighter and that ship." He heard a groan escape Rathur, right before the Recalcitrant swerved slowly towards the freighter. This was an attempt to remove the lock and halt any further shots being fired on it. The shields went to almost full power, with slight amounts heading to the engines and the rest of the necessary functions.

He decided to not hail the enemy hunter, as it was more than likely going to be dangerous and a waste of time. So instead he walked to the tactical display, which now showed the immediate area, and the possible travel route of the freighter. Rathur was still waiting by the docking hatch, prepared for if the ship got close enough to latch on.

[member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"]
[member="Lara Zambrano"]
[member="Malica Drezyan"]

 

[Lok Jorunn]

With a churning face, Lok cursed his Gods and swore upon his grave. His thumbs were jammed down on the turret's double triggers so tensely that veins in his arms bulged against his flesh and his teeth ground against each other. If it had been his way - he would've been pounding this motherfether's face in before breaking every bone in his body. He had no idea that it was a Gen'Dai trailing them and such things were futile, but it was all about the thought that counts. Fearless in nature and courageous in mindset, it was always hard to track down and face a lion head on. Even if you thought you were immortal.

Lok heard Lara and the droid chirping excitedly. The pirate was too focused on destroying whomever it was chasing them to decipher their muffled voices, though he assumed it was something either extremely good for him or bad. Knowing this peculiar ten year old, it was most likely the latter and would eventually end up in Lok earning even more wounds. Broken ribs and a collection of bruises and whelps labeled him who needed to get to a hospital rather than shoot back in a firefight. Destiny worked in strange ways.

Just then as the gunship launched its missiles, the freighter lurched. Alarms and klaxons blared as the single concussion projectile rocketed towards the rickety little ship that Lara and her mechanical buddy were piloting. It did a barrel roll of sorts and soon Lok was reoriented and firing away at the ship and missile.

Damn! It's about to hit!

The sight of it brought vision back to him. Back when he still led Gamma Company as part of the Sixth Battalion when an RPG killed two of his best friends and scarred him for life. Shrapnel was still lodged in his right leg and wretched scars littered his form.

"Deploying countermeasures!"

Lok flicked up a panel and smashed his fist on the red button that it had uncovered. Instantly, a rear compartment of the freighter would open up, dropping out several crates of supplies along with electromagnetic dust. It was a shame to lose some supplies, but they and the dust would throw off the missile before it exploded when hitting the crates.

[member="Corruck Kazen"], [member="Kezeroth the Malevolent"], [member="Lara Zambrano"]