Sebastian counted the passing seconds. They amounted to days and like every motion he analysed, took the form of an equation. A verbose set spanning pages within his mind, compounded as he wrote at his desk in the bowels of the massive facility. He could hear shuttles take off outside and rain trickled in from holes, blown away by raids of the Black Sun syndicate, who threatened control of the area.
"Thel, you're needed on level thirty-five." A gruff voice called from the doorway. Waving a hand over his shoulder, he assumed the guard marched away before noticing Sebastian's dismissal. He arched his neck and stretched his wrist, which had cramped from writing for hours. A mug of coffee sat by the side of his notebook, which he sipped eagerly, before finishing the sheet of code. The clock ticked and alerted him to his change of station.
Footsteps raced in the corridors below. Sebastian tried to listen beneath the surge of star craft from outside. He cocked his head curiously and retreated to the adjoining bedroom. Steel walls, dented with blast holes stood above a thin bed. Closing the door behind him, he swapped his long coat and lace up shoes for a black T-shirt, khaki military britches and combat boots. He grabbed his notes, slicing kit and made his way down the hall.
Deserted corridors of murky steel, thick with the smell of machine fuel and smoke twisted and turned in an industrial labyrinth. Suddenly, the sound of blastfire echoed from the other side of the factory and Sebastian stopped in his tracks. He decided that the sound was probably further away than it seemed and pressed onward to the elevator.
Work in a computer programming facility on the edge of a gang war proved rife in solitude. Sebastian did not mind. He was only thankful he was not bound to some pious force order.
The elevator beeped with every passing level. At level thirty-three, the doors parted and revealed steel soaked with blood and charred bodies littering the corridor. Two men with heavy assault guns approached the doors and Sebastian planted his back against the wall. The Black Sun was taking control of the facility and Sebastian was caught in the midst. He felt his hands quiver by his side as one of the gangsters pointed a barrel beneath his chin.
"You, can you slice?" One of the huge men threatened. Unable to speak, Sebastian clamped his lips together and nodded his head.
"Where are you headed?" The man asked. He stood behind Sebastian and gripped his shoulders. Feeling the barrel of the blaster move the strands on his head, he stammered and tried to force out the words.
"Thh-h-irty five!" Sebastian's voice was small. The men nodded to each other and the door closed. They traveled to level thirty five, where the data board awaited programming. The Black Sun had cleared out the guards, and some of their own had been killed, by whom Sebastian did not know. A man he did not recognize from the factory moved by a doorway and a presence radiated from him. Sebastian felt the force and his own instincts were awakened.
"Keep moving!" The gangster shoved the barrel into Sebastian's back and forced him into the room.
Before the man could give any more orders, the Force user strode into the doorway and faced them. They turned their attention away from Sebastian and stared him down. While they were distracted, he made his move and sent forward a powerful push, knocking them both over. He scampered beneath the data board and lay on his back, where he immediately began to wipe the system and avoid the Black Sun acquiring any of the facility's innermost computing secrets.
[member="Djonas Vile"]
