Private The Mine Disruption

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

Just having finished up the dishes, Millicent returned to the cockpit as the ship was on its way through the clouds. They were dark - but it was not the kind that could burst into rain at any moment. These clouds looked more like the ones that could be expected from heavy industry or large scale mining operations with all that followed. It made sense, seeing as their task was to disrupt a mining operation. Soon, the ship pierced through the cloud, revealing the dimly lit surface of the planet. She stood up to look our the cabin windows, her eyes darting from spot to spot as the rocky surface became visible and more easy to observe. It was odd, how a little bit of darkness could do so much to bring the mood down. Strangely enough, it only seemed to continue falling the closer they got closer to their destination.

She turned around to look to Jas "You Sithy types really like these creepy dark places, don't you?" she asked, clearly not looking forward to exploring the surface of the planet or even stepping outside of the ship for that matter. Crossing her arms under her chest, the thief let out another comment "It looks cold out there. You might wanna bring a jacket or something. But I bet it's warmer down in the mines."

Finally, a settlement started to appear by the horizon. Despite the doom and gloom she felt, especially now that they were so close, Millicent's usual positive attitude shone through as she raised pointed her hand towards the area before exclaiming "There it is!" It was becoming abundantly clear which was which as the settlement contained numerous buildings and a few landing pads - many of them already in use to deliver equipment while loading on mining produce. But there were a few civilian pads available and that seemed to be where they were heading. The mining facility carried red flags and the structure had an ominous feel to it. The girl didn't spend too much time looking at it, finding it far too unpleasant to look at.

"I wonder what it is that's so important with this mine for them to build a fancy entrance like that. Guess we'll find out, huh? What's your plan anyways?" a smirk appeared on her lips as she felt like she had a pretty good idea of what he would want to do "Let me guess. You're gonna go in and start swinging, aren't you?"

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

It was a pleasant enough journey on the way to their target. Jas sat in the cockpit, staring out of the viewport as he waited for the ship to find a place to land. Millicent soon joined him and made a comment that earned a soft chuckle. "It does get a bit too much at times, yes. However these people are not sith. The facility belongs to the New Imperial Order. They massacred all Sith members among their ranks a while ago. They despise the sith." he explained calmly as he stared ahead of them.

She advised wearing something for the cold but he merely shrugged it off. "I'm used to cold nights. I doubt that this will be even half as cold." he quipped as he glanced at her. "They are refining Tibanna. Cannons, blasters, anything that uses it. This is one of their facilities in which they refine the gas." he explained when she commented on the facility.

With her next comment he turned to look at her with a smirk. "Oh not at all. There are far too many soldiers in that place. We are going to have to use your skills with this mission. Quietly go in, sabotage the place, then get out." he explained as he rose from his seat. Picking up his helmet, he tucked it in underneath his arm as he turned to exit the cockpit. "You should take everything you think we will need along with you." he advised as he inspected his Lanvarok.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

She didn't think much of the differentiation that he made. To her, Imperials were Imperials, regardless of which capital their overlords lived in. But then, if this meant that they wouldn't encounter any Sith other than the one she travelled with, it was rather positive. But then, if they were capable of massacring Sith, maybe there would be trouble anyways. "If you say so" she chirped before looking back out the viewports.

Millicent raised an interested eyebrow as he mentioned how he didn't fear the cold. She quickly countered "Are you sure? It looks really cold down there" as she produced a visible shudder - while part of it was because it actually did become colder as they approached the destination, another part of it was of mere anticipation of it. She had noticed that he was indeed warm whenever she touched him, it was almost as if he was running a constant fever except that he wasn't.

Upon hearing his plan, she let out a surprised "Oh" The idea of being essential to the mission flashed past her mind - it felt nice, as if she was important - and being important to Jas was always good, because it meant that she was relatively safe. With in mind, she nodded with a happy "Sure" before following him in his trail as he left the cockpit. Walking behind him, she reflected on how large he was, seeing as he was both tall and well built. "Sooooo..." she said, unsure of how to say it "you.... uhm... you don't look like you're well made for staying hidden and stuff"

Soon, she grabbed a few computer spikes, security tunnlers and a datapad, putting them all in a backpack along with a few cables in case she needed to steal a vehicle on the fly. It wasn't long before she bas back by his side again with a cheerful "Ready!" When they opened the ramp and left the ship, it was as if a wave of cold hit her, causing her arms to instinctively draw close in front of her to protect herself from it "It is cold" she whined, somehow managing to retain a certain playfulness to it.

When she spoke next, a slight shudder could be heard in her voice - Millicent really wasn't made for cold temperatures "I usually scout out places before I start, uhm, you know, work in them" Continuing to push on, she pointed in the direction of a wide building "My gut instinct tells me that regular shuttles should go from somewhere over there to the refinery." she said, only to flash a satisfied smile as a shuttle coming in from the refinery landed by the facility she pointed at. "I guess we can figure things out once we're there, it should be a pretty quick ride. If we could find a side entrance..." her trailing off was sudden as she looked at a couple gruff looking strangers nearby, coming from the opposite direction. With a hushed voice, she whispered "Quick, push me aside" she said, hoping that Jas would understand what she had in mind - it was a perfect opportunity to grab one of their key cards.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

She seemed surprised at first, but it quickly turned into enthusiasm when she agreed to take the lead. As she followed him out of the cockpit, she voiced her concerns over his size. He stopped and faced her with a snort. "Certainly not. I am a warrior. I am trained to meet my enemies head on. I never learned how to properly sneak around. That is why I am going to need your help with this." he admitted to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he leaned down to look directly into her eyes. "If you help me through this mission and we complete it successfully, I might consider giving you some extra liberties. A shopping trip, among other things, maybe? You must be tired of wearing this same outfit and everything on a daily basis." he spoke with a warm smile as he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

He left her to finish preparing his own gear. After a few minutes, they were ready to move out. As they disembarked, she almost immediately complained about the cold. Jas glanced down at her and after a few seconds he wrapped an arm around her to hold her close in an attempt to fight off a bit of the cold. She went on to comment on the routines and her usual methods of operation, earning a shrug from Jas. "You know more about this than me. If we need to scout, we can. Would certainly be what I would do for a mission like this." he spoke as he looked around them.

The two soon spotted a few individuals closing in on their position. She gave an odd order to him but he didn't question her. "Um... okay." he muttered before mercilessly shoving her aside. With that done, he took hold of the hilt of his lightsaber in case things went sideways...

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

While the 'no' part was expected, him turning around so suddenly was definitely not. Almost bumping into him, Millicent just barely managed to stop in her tracks and even take a step back to create a little bit of distance. Although she did feel rather safe with him most of the time, situations like these put the fright in her as the person whom could so easily pick her up with a single hand and probably end her life just as easily turned around to look down at her just centimetres apart. Letting out a fearful "Uh-huh" she nodded. Slowly, she was realising that he was still very calm - and so, she started to calm down too. His hand enveloping her shoulder didn't prevent that.

With a nod and a smile, her face shone up "I would like that" she said, still with a small voice and a certain degree of carefulness. It had been a long time since she owned much of a wardrobe - it was a part of traveling light. Besides, when she needed new clothes, she tended to have alternative ways in which to acquire them. Still, some extra liberties did sound rather nice and something she was highly encouraged to seek. If nothing else, it would probably make it much easier to send credits back to her family.

She was grateful that he draped his arm over her and pulled her in close. He was warm and when she was there with him still friendly, there were few scenarios she could imagine where she would be safer than now with him holding her close. With that, she leaned her head against the side of his chest, enjoying the warmth he exuded greatly. In a way, she even started to relax a bit, softening under his arm. But before she could muster the capacity to answer, they spotted the two gruff looking men.

The shove was a hard one. While the thief had expected something semi forceful, it felt like Jas hadn't given much thought into showing some kind of mercy. Instead, she was flung to the side before violently crashing into the frost covered dirt on the other side of the walkway, right where the two men were going to pass. The two both let out angered "What the kriff are you doing?!" as they passed Jas by, running towards the discarded girl.

Millicent whined out in pain. Something in her left arm, the one that had taken the brunt of the force during the fall, was off. She couldn't tell what it was but made a mental note to - if she felt bold - talk to Jas about it. The two men crouched down to check for any more significant injuries, constantly asking if she was alright. Meanwhile, she assured them that she was whilst looking them over, searching for potential key cards. And when they finally helped her get up, she was quick to sweep both of their cards - for they were indeed workers from the refinery, going home for the day after completing their shift. In the spur of the moment, however, she decided to stay with them for a bit, hoping that Jas would get the hint and continue to walk away.

After finishing her chat with them - unless Jas interrupted it - Millicent would come running to him. There was no distress on her face, only some kind of enthusiasm or hopefulness if even that. Pointing at his arm, she asked "Can I...?" If he approved, she would slip in under it again on her own accord. When they continued moving towards the shuttles, she brought out both key cards and handed him one of them "This should help us get around. Through doors that doesn't require security clearance."

Once they were on the shuttle over to the facility platform, she leaned in against him to whisper "Those guys told me that they're doing construction work in the eastern wing, we might be able to slip in there"

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

After shoving her away, maybe a bit too forceful, Jas quickly ducked behind some rocks and stayed low. He slipped his helmet on and unclipped his lightsaber in case any of them tried to hurt her. But to his surprise she stuck with them for a bit. He didn't see if she managed to get what she wanted, but after a while he started to get impatient. When he was sure she could see him, he made a gesture for her to hurry up.

She finally finished up and came jogging back to him, asking if she could get in under his arm again. "Of course." he muttered with a hint of irritation as he raised his arm for her. With her by his side again they pressed on.

He took the card she offered and kept it close for when they reached the shuttles. Luckily things seemed to be going smoothly and she even managed to get some info for them to infiltrate the facility. "Good work. Hopefully it's close to the facility's power source. Escaping should be easier. We just need to get out, my droid can pick us up with the ship." he commented.

For the rest of the trip he kept to himself, trying to figure out how the facility could be laid out. When they finally arrived at their destination, Jas followed her out and stuck close to her. "We might need to find schematics or a map of the place. Should make things much essier to find what we are looking for. Otherwise we can simply find the storage area and rig some kind of explosive." he mentioned softly as he walked with her.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

She nodded thoughtfully upon hearing his suggestions "I don't know if they keep maps around, but maybe they've got those fire emergency maps. But if we find a computer terminal, I could check." Millicent knew that she had not brought any explosives - they were far beyond her area of expertise and she didn't own any which she could've brought either - but the idea in itself was reasonable, seeing as there were plenty of highly explosive substances in Tibanna refineries. "If we don't count fireworks, I don't think I've ever used explosives" she admitted.

Once the shuttle arrived, the platform was not quite as busy as it could have been. There had just been a shift change - the two men they encountered on their way to the shuttle was proof of that. Still, there were some people still going in and out of the facility, probably foremen, some security, some who had worked a little OT and some latecomers. It meant that they still couldn't draw too much attention to themselves. Out of the three entrances, only two seemed to be trafficked, the third entrance, to the east, seemed to be pretty quiet. Looking up at him, she spoke "I think that's our way in. Just have to wait until no one is looking."

With that, she walked towards the destination, this time without keeping warm under his arm - opting to not risk drawing any attention. So far, their scheme seemed to be going smoothly as nobody seemed to pay much attention to them. Even the guard just threw a glance at them before starting to fiddling with his cigarette again, making the way to the door an easy one. Once there, she simply used the keycard she had kept to open the door and quietly moved in before crouching down behind a stack of crates, trying her best to make some room for him to hide behind them too.

The room they had entered had a long shape with them entering at the very tip of it. It mostly contained construction supplies with pipes, unused tanks, large machinery and stacks of duracrete along with parts for ventilation shafts, terminals and doors. Even though the room was large, there were only two workers in it, one welding by the wall near the middle and the other seemingly taking a small break from the welding right next to his colleague. With a whisper, Millicent conveyed "This room doesn't have much potential, we should probably continue on to the next. Think you can sneak past them?" she asked. If she had been there alone, trying to slip past undetected would have been the obvious choice, but with him there, she was unsure of what the best option would be. And so, she readied herself to follow his lead.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

As they moved from the shuttle towards one of the exits, Jas stuck close to her. He was extremely on edge. With his attire he was afraid that people would recognize him as sith. He hid his lightsaber in his robes but kept his hand on it, just in case. When they passed a nearby guard, he was ready to cut the man down. But he didn't seem all that interested in anything other than his cigarette.

Jas swiped the card and entered effortlessly into the facility, breathing a sigh of relief as he knelt over Millicent. He carefully studied the area before ducking behind her. He was ready to take out the workers but Millicent quickly suggested a different approach. Jas looked down at her with a hint of worry in his eyes before looking back at the workers minding their own business. "Yes. Should I cause a distraction to draw their attention?" he asked her as he looked around the place.

His attention was drawn to a stack of crates next to the workers. Reaching out with his hand, he caused the crates to topple over, drawing both workers' attention in a completely different direction. Cursing and shouting soon eruoted between the two as Jas looked to Millicent. "Okay, let us go." he muttered as he got ready to follow them.

The rest of the construction area in the next room was filled with more materials and machinery. Jas managed to be surprisingly light on his feet, though he was still a lumbering beast for the most part. Once they found another spot to hide in, he knelt down and took a deep breath. "I can feel something." he muttered, his eyes closed as he tried to focus on the presence. "I am not sure what is. But I can feel something in this facility." he said as he looked at her.

"Doesn't matter. We must find our where to go." he quiclly dismissed, looking around the place. "We should have questioned those workers. They could have information." he grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

Before she answered, Jas had already acted. The crates fell and seemed to cause some kind of internal conflict between the two welders. She sent him an impressed glance as she exclaimed "That's awesome! I wish I could do that!" in a whisper before waving for him to follow as she found the path with the most cover, heading towards the door on the other side. With that, getting into the next room wasn't much of a challenge, seeing as they already had the key cards.

Millicent continued watching their surroundings and observed how people moved while Jas seemed preoccupied with force stuff she simply didn't understand. Giving him a light nod as to acknowledge that he spoke, she then looked back into the room at large before once again slipping in behind the crate. His comment about questioning the workers revealed that the two of them were operating on vastly different levels. While he saw an opportunity to squeeze them for information, she saw a risk of getting caught. Producing a soft smile, she let out a low but enthusiastic "We'll find a way" before pointing to a door nearby "Let's try that one"

Millicent laid down on the floor and grimaced in pain as she put a bit too much weight on the arm she hurt when he pushed her. Quickly dismissing it, she then started to crawl along a thick fuel pipe, relying on her small size to keep her hidden behind it. Once she arrived by the door, she arched her back to peer up above the pipe. When no one was looking, she quickly rose and swept the key card by the door. Unfortunately it produced an error sound as the little console showed a text saying 'no authorisation'. It meant that it had to be a security door. Instead of slipping back in behind the pipe, she looked to Jas to see if he could create another distraction or if he had indeed already created one while sneaking his way over to the door. With the extra time, she pulled out a security tunnler and started to pick the lock of the door as well as making short work of the alarm it was attached to. As soon as it opened, she slipped in, hoping that Jas would be quick to do the same so that they could close the door.

"Bingo" her tone was normal - there was no longer a need to whisper as they were in a relatively small room with a weapons rack and a computer console but without anybody else. "Let's see what we've got" she said, running up to the console. Millicent wasn't skilled enough to hack into it on her own, but after plugging in a computer spike, it didn't take long for her to gain access to the system functions. Bringing up a map of the facility, she pointed at a large section that went through the eastern, middle and western wing towards the back of the facility "That looks like it's a gas or fuel tank or something. It's connected, should make for a big explosion if you'd want to blow it up. I can probably make it happen for here if you'd like. Might wanna trigger a fire alarm or something first to get people out." she said before continuing to check various systems on the computer. Simply assuming that they weren't there to kill anyone.

Suddenly, her forehead furrowed as she let out a low "Strange" Taking a step back, the girl looked up at Jas "I ran a diagnostic on the facility functions and it says that the processor here in the eastern wing is fine - so why would they need to do maintenance repairs here? Just give me a minute" she said, hoping to find something more as she worked fast to find more information. After a few minutes, it seemed futile as the logs were extremely vague as for the reasons for the maintenance work but then, she shone up "Jas..." she stopped herself in the middle of the sentence as it dawned on her how she had addressed him, causing her to quickly change "...euhm, I mean, Master, look at this. It was some admiral who ordered the maintenance to be done. Isn't that a bit weird? Why would they care about a refinery?"

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Millicent quickly took initiative and crawled over to a nearby door. Jas watched closely from his spot as she tried to get the door open. When she started to struggle and looked to him, he started to look around for a means of buying time for her. For the moment, she was in the clear. But when a few workers were headed her way, he started to get anxious.

He found a nearby forklift holding a bunch of drums that were likely overloading it enough to have someone earn a warning. He focused on the drums and outstretched his hand. After a few moments, a few of the drums fell off and nearly hit one of the workers. The distress worked in their favour as the two ran after it. Looking back to Millicent, he saw that she managed to get the door open. He quickly closed the distance and joined her in the strange room. Between the weapons and the computer terminal, he was under the impression that they were in a security room. "This is perfect." he spoke as he looked around.

He waited patiently for her to get into the computer as he stood beside her. "This is exactly what we need. Good job, Millicent." he praised her as he gently squeezed her shoulder. But there was still an odd feeling in the back of his mind. Coupled with her mentioning of sounding an alarm, his mood was starting to slip. "Why sound an alarm? These people are loyalists to the New Imperial Order." he spoke coldly as he stared blankly at the screen.

He zoned out as she spoke about some high profile target, his eyes closing as he took a deep breath. "Holocron." he muttered as his eyes shot open. "The officer is irrelevant. There is a holocron in this place." he spoke as he turned and walked over to the weapons rack. "Set a timer for that gas or whatever it is. Give me twenty minutes. Once it's set, make your way to the ship and tell the droid to be on stand-by. I will meet you there." he quickly explained as he looked over the weapons. "Nothing worth using." he grumbled as he turned to leave.

Once he was out, he focused on the dark side presence. With a deep breath he set out into the depths of the facility. He trusted Millicent to do her job right. He had confidence in her abilities. For the most part he was moving pretty quickly and without issue, though he had to snap a few necks here and there.

Unfortunately he took a wrong turn as he followed the presence, bumping directly into a patrol of guards. Things immediately got exciting as he drew his lightsaber and made quick work of them. "Getting close." he muttered to himself. The presence was getting stronger. The Dark Side was getting heavier the closer he got.

After slicing through some armoured doors and a few more troops, he reached a secure room containing a bunch of odd items. Bit there it was. Tossed between a bunch of garbage was the little pyramid, pulsing with the Dark Side. With a menacing smile he grabbed it and made for the entrance they used.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

For a moment, she looked to the side as he put his large hand on her shoulder. It was heavy, it was large and powerful - but she was not really afraid anymore. Even though he could probably cause irreparable damage with a crushing squeeze, she had come to trust that Jas would be keeping her safe and not cause her any harm. In time, she had come to appreciate the gesture and associated it with his approval. "Thanks" she said, barely able to contain the smile that was spreading across her lips.

Of course, he didn't quite agree with her on how to proceed in regards to the personnel but the girl really wasn't in much of a position to disagree with him and simply swallowed hard as she nodded,

As the mystery started to unravel, the Sith seemed to realise what it was about. "A Holocron?" she asked, curious about the thing he was talking about "It's some Sithy thing, isn't it?" she asked, thinking that she had an idea of what it was despite really not knowing it all.

Soon, he gave his command and her eyebrows furrowed "Master?" She looked at him confused by the order "You're going in without me?" Once it was confirmed, she nodded and let out a small "Be careful" before returning her attention to the computer console where she set the required commands for it to blow up in 20 minutes. She could have give him some more time - but she couldn't read minds, and chances were that he would exploit the explosion in some way, and so, she did what she was told.

Sticking around for just a few moments longer, the girl started looking through the security feed when she suddenly spotted Jas engaged in a fight. The thief let out a gasp as she quickly got onto the console again to magnetically seal some of the entrances that connected the eastern wing that they were in with the other wings as well as a few closed doors that lead into where he was now - there would be no risk of reinforcements coming to hurt him. Her eyes slowly glanced up from the console to the red button on the wall. With the simple press of a button, she could warn everyone inside about the explosion that she started. Carefully, slowly and with a slight tremble, her lithe arm started to rise as her fingers reached for it - but when they were just a few centimetres away from it, her arm fell to her side. Her mind had gone to his heavy hand on her shoulder, his commanding voice and the violence he did to her after they first met. She let out a defeated sigh before starting to make her way out from the facility, largely taking the same path as she took on her way in.

Millicent wasn't lucky - at least not this time. For as soon as she left the facility, the shuttle left the landing pad. There was nothing to do but to wait for the next one. But even though she was slightly delayed, the girl figured that there was plenty of time before the ship needed to be ready. And so, she casually sat down on a bench outside to wait for the next one. At this moment, the thief missed Jas terribly - she was freezing to the point where she would shudder if she spoke to someone - and that was something which he had protected her from. Not just aggressors, but cold too. A sweet smile grew on her lips, making the time go just a little bit faster.

When she finally arrived by the ship, she stepped in, took off her backpack and her jacket and passed on the order that Jas had given. And then it happened - the explosion went off. After twenty minutes, just like he had ordered. The girl's eyes immediately watered as she let out a hallow gasp. She was the one who was to blame for all of their deaths. She had set the tanks to explode and she had refrained from warning them. The sadness she was feeling, it was powerful and profound, overpowering the 'training' that she had received so far. And with that, she took off, not even grabbing her jacket or backpack. Naturally, she didn't produce a clear and thought through plan - but she followed her gut. And that took her into a cargo area next to one of the landing pads. The guards were easy enough to slip by without notice, now all she had to do was to get into a container - after that, she would be free from it all. After that, she would be on her own and hopefully allowed to process what she had done.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

By the time he arrived near the exit, he knew that time was almost up. A few workers and even soldiers stood between him and freedom. None of their lives mattered. He cleaved and slashed as he ran for the exit, not slowing for one moment as he burst out of the door and sprinted for the landing pads. He was barely out of range when the facility went up in an enormous explosion. The shockwave sent him sailing through the air for several meters, but luckily the snow gave a pretty soft landing.

He pushed himself off the ground and made for their shuttle... however along the way he spotted a curious sight. Millicent was hiding from a few guards who were in clear distress over what just happened. At first he thought that she was still going to the shuttle, but the lack of her backpack and jacket suggested otherwise.

With a confused look he waited for the guards to pass then quickly made his way over to where Millicent was. Quietly he approached from behind then cleared his throat to get her attention. "Millicent, why are you out here? And where is your coat. You will freeze to death." he spoke with a hushed voice as he wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm.

It was then that he realized the look on her face. "What is wrong? And why are you not on the ship?" he asked gently, wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt. He desperately hoped that she wasn't trying what he thought she was.

He glanced around to make sure nobody was around, then led her back to the ship. "Millicent, why are you out here?" he asked her as he removed his helmet and glanced down at her.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

And then she heard him - startled, Millicent turned around to find that Jas had got really close without her noticing. Maybe she wasn't thinking straight for in normal cases, she would have noticed that he was approaching. A flash of fear in was soon replaced by a kind of bewilderment and confusion as she let out a distraught "Master.." while turning under his arm to bury her face by the side of his chest. The girl detected a hint of concern in his voice when he asked what was wrong - it was hardly a wonder, seeing as she was still shivering like a leaf under his warm arm.

As she was calming down, a secondary explosion went off, causing her to immediately tense up and shut her eyes tight. It was a reminder of what she had done. Of her terrible crime. It was a reminder that she needed to get away, because if she ever did this again, the thief highly doubted that she would be able to live with herself afterwards. In fact, she didn't really know if she could live with herself after this.

His arm wasn't there to hold her hostage - it was to keep her warm. It was something that might have become extremely obvious as she suddenly broke loose to throw him an apologetic look as she rushed in between two containers. It was a right space, she would be able to move through it fast but it was far from certain that he would even fit inside. Her mind was now fully set on escaping, resorting to instinct rather than rational thought. Unless she was stopped, Millicent would proceed to make it deep into the maze of containers. It was a bad time to make an escape attempt - it should have been more carefully planned out and done at a more opportune moment - but she really wasn't doing that much thinking right now. Still, with the tight spaces, she was well suited to their current environment.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas flinched as the second explosion sounded off. But what he didn't expect was Millicent breaking away from him. Confusion appeared on his face but it was quickly replaced with anger as she rushed for the nearby maze of containers.

The space she chose was perfect. Too tight for him to fit through. But he wanted to know why she was running... and most importantly, he wanted his property back. With a growl he rushed after her and launched himself on top of the stack of containers. After a few moments of looking around, he caught a glimpse of her and leapt over the rows of containers. "Millicent, stop!" he shouted as he ran after her. He was about to drop down when she took another tight corner, cutting him off once more.

Jas looked around and watched her movement. When he spotted a corridor wide enough for him, he dropped down to cut her off. With an outstretched hand he launched a powerful push to send her crashing into one of the containers. Growling, he closed the distance and wrapped his enormous hand around her scrawny throat. However he didn't clamp down just yet, merely holding her against the steel wall behind her. "Why?" he practically hissed as he leaned in, his face inches from hers. The grip around her neck finally started to tighten a little as he glared at her. "After such a perfect mission. After making plans to dedicate a few days to you... you throw it all away. Why?!" he barked, pulling her away and slamming her into the container.

"Just when I thought you are different from the rest of your kind. Apparently I was expecting too much from an ape like you." he growled as he unclipped his lightsaber, pressing the hilt against her chest. Behind the anger, though, was a hint of something else. Betrayal, remorse, disappointment. Just when he believed that they had found a common ground, she proved him wrong...

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

His shout was loud and clear. It was a command for her to stop. Part of her wanted to do it, wanted to go back to him, to safety. But the other part won - the part that wanted to get away from all death and killing. The part that yearned for freedom. An intense pursuit followed as he chased her from on top of the containers until he could finally get the drop on her. She let out a scared gasp as she turned around to flee the other way - but his push sent her crashing against some containers behind her. The girl cried out in pain as her already injured arm once more took the brunt of the hit. It hurt whenever she moved it, and so, she took hold of it with her other arm.

Jas was on the offence, charging at her - at this point, she knew that there was no escape. Of course, she tried, but simply recovering from the impact against the metallic surface behind her meant that she would be too slow. Soon, she found herself trapped - his hand was now wrapped around her throat. She made a pained grimace as she let go of her bad arm to use her free hand to try to break free, putting her fingers against his before pulling. She almost stopped as soon as she began, however, seeing as there really was no point in trying to overpower him.

The girl breathed heavily, letting out small pained whimpers in between as he held her against the cold steel behind her. Ironically, the only thing that brought her warmth was Jas' large hand the pressed her against it. Her fearful eyes shivered, just as she did, as they looked into his yellow ones. Although attempts to look away were made, the Sith was so close that, wherever she looked - he was still there. "I, I..." she said with the shivers from the cold and her emotional state making it hard to speak properly "I can't" Millicent's eyes were watering with a few tears running down her cheek. But before she could get much further, his grip started to tighten, making it harder to speak, or even breathe for that matter.

It was a short-lived mercy, pulling her away from the container. He asked why another time, but she had a hard time breathing - and then she got slammed into the container. There were three things which could buckle in the equation. The container, Millicent and Jas. In the end, it seemed like the Jas would be the only one not to buckle, as the container was heavily dented and Millcent started to feel dizzy whilst also starting to bleed by her back as an old wound reopened.

While it was not conscious thoughts, Millicent felt remorse and regret. For all those people she had killed in the refinery. For her brother, who might be forced to drop out of his education when she could no longer send them any funding. For her mother, who would take on extra work to pick up the slack. At perhaps even a little bit for Jas, for breaking his trust. But she didn't say any of this - all she could do was to let out pained whimpers between gasping for air.

And then he called her an ape. She couldn't explain it - even if she was in a clear state of mind, it would be hard to explain - but for some reason, Millicent felt hurt. Her gaze fell as she tried to keep herself from crying. Still, a flood of tears started to seep out as she closed her eyes. In a sense, the girl was giving up. Her soft hand had been resting on his until now, but slowly, it started to slip and drop to her side. She was, by all accounts, broken.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas was seconds away from igniting his lightsaber. She betrayed him. She proved that humans were all garbage, that there were no exceptions. She had wasted his time enough. She had outlived her usefulness. But then he looked at her hand as it softened and slipped down.

His gaze stared at her hand and then looked up into her eyes as tears poured down her cheeks. She was completely limp in his grasp. With a growl he pressed the hilt harder against her chest... but he couldn't ignite the weapon. He finally lowered it and eased up on his grip. Despite his feelings, there was still that naivete that his slave would still be loyal to him.

"Why did you run? Why did you do all this?" he asked her with a much calmer tone. "I was not lying when I said that I was going to give you liberties. I was considering even paying you for your services. But then you do this. You betray my trust. You act like the rest of your kind. I want to know why you did all this." he confessed to her as he let go of her neck and instead held her by her shoulders.

He crouched down and lowered her as well as he held her. Most of the anger on his face was gone, replaced by confusion as he looked her over. It was then that he felt something wet on her clothing. Pulling his hand back, he noticed the faint smeers of blood. "You are injured." he muttered as he helped her to her feet. "If you tell me everything, I will try my best to heal your wounds."

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

She had given up. The sound she made when he pressed his sabre hilt against her chest was not one of worry or fear, it was simply a few more pained breaths, a natural reaction to what he did, but not much more. There was no real 'Millicent' in the sounds, they just were. Her broken state didn't disappear in a heartbeat - it became abundantly clear when he removed his weapon and eased up on the grip, allowing her to breathe again. While the breathing became more pronounced as her body tried to recover, the girl didn't do anything on her own. There were no relieved sighs or hopeful peeks at him. Instead, the solemn tears kept making their slow way down her cheeks.

Instead of his angered tone, she could soon hear his voice in a calm state again. It stirred something within her, something that reminded her of the good times they had had together. It made her feel safe, to what little extent she still cared about being safe. While his tone stirred something within her, his words seemed to have little effect. She had given up, she was hurt, and her limp body told as much. For the moment, he was still holding her up high above the ground, her feet not even close to touching it, but in truth, if he let go at this very moment, she would just collapse. And then he started to lower her - as he did, he would notice how her own legs offered little in terms of support - if she were to stand upright, it would either be from the support of someone she was leaned against, or from being held up.

Slowly, his anger started to disappear. It woke a sense of almost primal sense of safety in her. She had made such a strong connection between his good mood and her personal safety that it made her less sad to see his angered face slowly disappear. Still, she didn't make much of a reaction when he noted that she was bleeding. She would continue bleeding and it did not appear like she would do anything about it. Before long, he started to try to help her back up to her feet, but her legs still wouldn't support her. Broken, battered and without much more will to continue, it was hard for her to make much effort to get by on her own.

What felt like an eternity passed by before she looked up at him. Gone, were the eyes that curiously observed his red skin or watched him doing his impossible feats with amazement or worried for him when he was hurt. Instead, it was just a blank gaze with tired eyelids threatening to shut. The lithe girl had been beaten and battered and without a jacket or Jas' embrace, she had become dangerously cold. "I k-.." her voice was hopelessly unstable but the reason she didn't finish the sentence was not that her shivering made it too hard. "I ki-..." her second try wasn't much more successful. She gave it a third go "All those p-p-people... I-..." she once more trailed off.

The word she had been looking for was killed. It was a harsh reality to face. Before this, she had never tried to kill someone before or even attacked someone with a weapon. The knowledge that she had now ended the lives of so many weighed heavily on her conscience. But Millicent wouldn't have to worry about that now - for before she could try uttering the word a fourth time, she passed out.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Slowly she seemed to be regaining some life. Her eyes started to move up until they found his. Jas held her up by her shoulders as he waited to see if she was going to answer.

She finally started to speak, albeit with a lot of effort. Whether it was the cold or shock, he didn't know, but he listened closely as she stuttered out some semblance of an answer. "Those people?" he asked, trying to make sense of what she said. It finally dawned on him what she meant, but she went limp in his grasp before he could ask anything more. He sighed as he carefully picked her up and carried her to the ship. His mind was all over. On one end, he wanted to make her regret trying to run from him... but on the other end, he wanted to take care of her and make sure that she was alright.

In the end, he made up his mind.

When Millicent woke up, she was warmly tucked into her bed. Her shirt was gone, but bandages covered all the important bits as well as the wounds on her back. Jas was nowhere in sight, but his helmet and lightsaber was sitting on the bed across from hers.

Jas was in the kitchen, busy stirring a pot of red soup. When it was done, he poured some into a bowl and took it to Millicent. He stopped by the door when he noticed that she was awake. "You are awake." he muttered calmly as he walked over to her bed. He held out the bowl and a spoon for her to take as he knelt down beside her. "I tried to make blood soup... however I did not have the main ingredient for that, so I used tomatoes instead... I guess you can say that I made a very odd tomato soup." he admitted with a hint of embarrassment as he looked her over.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her as he stared at her.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

The Mine Disruption

She woke up to pain. It was dulled compared to right after getting beat up and it didn't seem to just have been time that saved her from the worst of the pain. She had been patched up. The cold was mostly gone too. Jas' ship had never really felt all that warm, but she wasn't shivering anymore. While things were better, the girl still felt terrible, both physically and emotionally and let out a low pained whimper as her eyes started to water. Whatever she was feeling before passing out was far from gone now. And then, his angered words came back as if in an echo. He saw her as an object, an animal. Her breath shivered for a moment but she did her best to hold back any tears.

And then he came, stating that she was awake. Millicent threw a quick glance at him and produced a timid nod. She was awake. Although she tried to get up, the pain that it brought caused her to let out another whimper before falling back down onto the bed. Her lithe form appeared small in the bed, despite it being a narrow bunkbed, designed for spacial efficiency for the ship. The brief movement did make her notice how she was dressed as her senses slowly returned. With a somewhat worried gaze, she looked up from the bandages over her chest to him before quickly averting her gaze from him completely.

Once again, he made it hard for her to not look at him. But this time, it was not because he was angrily looming over her, instead, it was because he knelt down beside her, offering soup and a spoon. Even now, for some magical reason, the Sith managed to bring a smile out of her as he told her about the soup he had made. It was not the same bright smile as usual, it was more suppressed and not quite as happy, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Thank you" she said, her voice still small and soft.

Fighting the pain, Millicent rolled to lay on the side, propping herself up with her elbow to have the soup. While she failed to hide the pain from being exposed by her facial expressions, at least she didn't whimper. When she tasted the soup, she could only agree: It was very odd. It didn't taste horrible but she would be lying if she said it was the best thing she ever tasted. Still, she did say "Thank you, I love it" and that was indeed honest - for Jas was the one who had made the soup for her. It was neither a definitive nor a strong sign - but she would take what she could get: Maybe he didn't view her as just an object.

He asked how she was feeling. Millicent didn't know how to answer - she had never felt like she did now. She had never been as miserable as she was now. "Better" another honest answer - but this one was hiding the truth. For while the soup had indeed made her feel better, the thief felt terrible. What she had done to all those people in the refinery was something which would probably weigh her down for as long as she could remember it. She took another sip of soup before carefully looking up at him "Are you.. are you not mad at me?" she asked, fearing the worst when she waited for the answer.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas shook his head with a soft smile as she thanked him for the soup, not entirely believing that she 'loved' it. "No need to be modest." he muttered as he looked at her. He shifted to sit on the edge of the bed by her feet as she ate the soup, waiting patiently to hear what she had to say. She was still rattled but at least she was speaking clearly which was an improvement in his books.

For a long while he stared at her as she asked her question, letting out a long sigh. "I am... among other things. But more than angry, I feel frustrated. I want to know why you tried to run again. You mentioned something about the people, but you never managed to finish your sentence before you passed out." he admitted softly as he stared at her. "Millicent, do you think that you are responsible for killing those people?" he asked her gently as he rested a hand on leg. "Because if that is the case, I can assure you that you are not to blame. You are my responsibility. Your actions are an extention of mine. I gave you the order to blow up that facility. You didn't do it out of your own will. You did as I commanded. So none of the lives lost in that explosion should fall upon you." he explained gently as he gave her leg a soft squeeze.

He looked away for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "But you running away... I did not appreciate it. I despise humans. I think that they are weak and meaningless. But you have been showing me that it might not be true for all. You are a vastly different soul compared to the ones I have met. I might even consider you as a friend. Which is why I feel like you betrayed me when you ran away again." he admitted to her as he looked at her again with a hint of sadness.

Millicent Tharoul