Warp Whistle

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

"Don't take this the wrong way, but your personal judgement on my character ain't exactly comfortin'." Runi murmured softly in response. As much as she appreciated the other woman's attempt to assuage these new feelings of guilt, surprising herself in both regards, a couple of minutes inside each other's heads hardly made Amea capable of declaring that she wan't a bad person. She hadn't seen the things she'd done in the name of survival of the years, the trail of bodies she had left in her wake stretching from Allen back there to her earliest days on Kol Atorn, and worse still the things she had done simply out of vindictive spite. Things she had enjoyed. "I did what I did, and I'd do the same again most likely."

The command deck was almost exactly as they had left it. Even with the power restored, the mercenaries were apparently too interested in the prize to worry about taking over the central hub. A mistake they'd likely come to regret in the next few minutes. She traced a hand across the tops of the closest console bay, eyeing up each screen in turn before dismissing them entirely. "This is an old Republic ship. Just look for the biggest, most ostentatious console you can find and that'll be it. These folks weren't exactly subtle. Just take our friendly droid down there."

While she trusted Amea could handle the count down, Runi had her mind on a different terminal entirely. A wicked smirk creasing her features as she moved towards one labelled Damage Control. If it wasn't for her injured leg, she would have almost skipped the distance.

"Set the timer for ten minutes. Gives us plenty enough time to make it to the Boracyk and take off." Her fingers tapped away as she spoke, temporarily sealing off the level while giving them a hopefully unobstructed run. For the sake of simple mischievousness, and as a parting gift for their friends, she also activated the fire suppression units on every deck still functioning. Spraying those corridors with fire retardant foam. A distracted enemy was a slow enemy after all. "We can give them a heads up once we're free and clear of the ship."

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Well, she was an optimist in some regards and pessimist in others. It really seemed to rely a lot on whether or not Amea could afford to be the pessimist in the end. From her experiences with Runi she didn’t doubt that Runi would do the same again but it didn’t take a genius to figure that lives would always become an unfortunate cost in the greater picture of their occupation. Sometimes people didn’t come peacefully, and sometimes you misplaced a punch or had no other choice but to use lethal force. There was some confusion as to what wasn’t comforting about the judgment on Verin’s character, but they didn’t really have the time or energy to discuss it. Or want for it for that matter.

The ship would likely have some big button somewhere that stood out. Well that was easy. It stood right there at the center of the room with a once-fancy chair parked in front of it. Captain’s chair or maybe some kind of commander’s seat? Whatever it was Amea took a seat in the chair and tried to turn it around. The rust had gotten to it long ago, and with a hurried push she got herself out of the chair just in time for it to fall over to the ground.

Eyes set on the screen.

8:03.

8:02.

8:01.

“Runi…” A pang of worry if not outright fear spread on their bond. “The self-destruct has already been triggered.”

Amea rushed over to the other woman. “We need to run. Right-fething-now.”

7:58.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

Her fingers froze mid-key stroke. Well, that was both fortuitous and yet decidedly not all the same time. The mercenaries? No, they weren't exactly the sharpest knives in the arsenal, but she doubted they were quite at the 'activate the self destruct while we're still running around the ship' levels of stupid.

She wiggled slightly as fear flooded the bond, her shoulder dropping as if there was an unseen itch between her neck and shoulder blade. Forcing her to bite down on the side of her cheek to bring herself back under control. Now wasn't the time to be distracted.

"How long we got?"

Did it matter? The answer was invariably going to be less time than they had hoped for. Pushing back from the console, she hobbled back a pace and drew her blaster. A quick pair of successive bolts put the terminal out of commission. The third coming just for the sake of reassurance. A process repeated in kind with the terminal Amea had just abandoned in a rush, almost coming as a shot by shot replay. If they couldn't set the count, the least they could do is make it impossible to stop.

Job done, she turned and began to make a hobbled sprint for the exit. Dashing through the doors with surprising speed for someone with a leg that screamed obscenities with every footfall, making a beeline towards the side escape hatch she had cut to gain access to the vessel. From there it would be open ground towards the ridge where she had stashed her ship. "The Boracyk is this way!"

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

“Does it matter?” Amea exclaimed and began to run. “The ship must have hit it as a security measure.”

For each metallic footstep that her boots caused she wanted to look over her shoulder. At Runi, at whatever she could see to make sure they were still alone. She did occasionally turn to check on Runi who despite her injuries seemed to push through just fine all things considered. Either because of a stubborn streak unlike any other, a high pain threshold or perhaps just stupidity that rivaled Amea’s own. Regardless of what it was, it was admirable to a degree.

They jumped through the escape hatch, got themselves reacquainted with the outside and continued to run yet again. Amea let her holographic display flash before her for a second with the timer.

3:19.

“Three minutes until this fether blows!” She yelled. The ship was up ahead, it had to be. Amea kept focusing on running, following Runi and making sure they weren’t followed.

It wasn’t worth mentioning they forgot to tell the mercs about the detonation, right?

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

Even with the adrenaline flooding her veins, those first four minutes felt like a lifetime for Runi. The hot agony that was her ankle surged angrily up her leg like liquid fire. Ripping through her nerve endings even as she ripped through the decimated muscle fibers and bone. It felt as if the corridors had someone doubled in length and the rough ground that separated them from their final destination had become a mine infested lava pool. Exacting an excruciating toll with every labored footstep.

Her nostrils flared, her breathing became a repetitive cycle of burning emptiness. Her eyes wild.

It got so bad that she almost thought she was hallucinating when the Boracyk finally came into view. The mere relief at seeing the aging Corellian rust bucket almost finishing her off then and there. Only the thought of having Amea carry her those final steps kept her upright as she tapped the command codes into her wrist com on the fly, the boarding ramp dropping with a lurch and a heavy crunch.

Almost home. Almost.

"Call the mercs," Runi barked as she dashed up the ramp and swung hard for the cockpit, the last word coming almost out as an partial moan before she bit it down. Chewing her cheek until a metallic taste filled her mouth. Preferring the added agony of that to having face her weakness. Only when she was settled in the cockpit did she risk opening it again, her hands a blur as they cycled through the take off procedures. Skipping the pre-flight checks entirely. If that Isotope-5 went off, crashing just after lifting off would be the least of their worries. "An' close the karkin' hatch!"

She hauled hard on the yoke as she spoke, the weathered vessel jolting up and almost flipping over entirely from the shear roughness before she forced it to level out. The engines becoming a loud whine at having to suddenly push themselves to the limit without the benefit of a warm up. Screaming promises of future repairs.

"Hold the feth on!"

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

It was not until the sanctuary of the ship was within reach that Amea would let herself calm down. As her feet touched against the ship’s ramp in a hurry she felt her legs grow weak, and as Runi ran off to stress the flight procedures Amea would follow behind with a weary sigh. The co-pilot’s seat didn’t quite want to hold her but she buckled down regardless and kept a distant eye at the ship’s stress levels as they began to take off.

“Right!” Amea twitched and woke up again. Her hand flipped at the switch, the ramp of the ship closed and she reached for the comm console to hail the mercs at an open channel.

There were not many words needed for this.

“Two minutes before the ship goes boom.” She panted. “I suggest you run.”

Maybe it was even less but in truth the call was a courtesy to Runi if anything at this point. AMea could have lived without hailing them as well. Just another spot on her conscience, right? Just another set of dead bodies on her hands, just some thieving liars at that too. She could rationalize this all day if she wanted to, she was quite good at that.

The ship shook and they took off.

Thirty seconds until detonation.

Amea kept the fear from her mind as best she could. Runi was going to handle this just fine.

… Hopefully.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

​

Runi gritted her teeth as she worked the console, trying to coax everything she could out of the ship. Even then it was going to be tight. The Boracyk might have had it where it counted normally, but there were simply limits to how far Runi could push the vessel from a cold start and not have them simply drop out of the sky. And she was already red-lining most of those.

"Kark it."

If they were damned if they do, damned if they don’t, she would rather go out swinging than cowering.

She slammed the lever as far as it would go. The vessel bucked and roared as it jolted forward at an alarming pace, deck plates rattling and bulkheads groaning as they tried to cope with the increased forces placed upon them. The co-pilot console was alight with alarms…

… Which was like a candle next to a bonfire in comparison when the wreck finally counted down, a white hot flash bursting outwards across the rocky plains, scorching and glassing them for miles in every direction. A preamble to the shock wave that shattered its way outwards a split-second later. Even at the distance they’d put between them, the Boracyk still caught the tail end of it. Rocking and almost spiraling out of control before Runi ripped it up and out of the atmosphere.

All but sagging at the controls the moment it was accomplished.

“Fierfek,” She let out with shaky breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, “This is why I work alone.”

A loose air vent clattered loudly as it dropped from the ceiling. She took that as her ship obviously voicing his agreement.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

The rush to fix those errors was real. The balance of energy had to be distributed across all systems at a pace that Amea quite frankly was amazed she managed to keep up with. The shields were boosted in the back, the weapons were powered down entirely and the engines given a near-overload of power just to ensure it could get out of reach from the blast. As the ship shook from the explosion Amea would tense up. Her breath staggered for one potentially final breath. Her heart beat against her chest with a slow thump not once, but twice, and that was how she knew that she was still alive.

“I could throw up.” She spoke under her breath with a queasy smile. “That was close.”

Nevermind the comment about working alone. Amea could agree, working solo was often a lot more predictable. Amea liked to think she had made it easier for Runi to work on this one, but perhaps not. Regardless, they would go their separate ways in just a few hours and then it would be business as regular again.

Amea’s hand found her face and dragged itself across her face with a continued nauseated grimace.

“Now to calm down.” She groaned. “Just… Relax.”

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

"I wouldn't vomit in here I were you," Runi remarked drowsily as she extricated herself from the cockpit, almost completely staggering like a drunk now that her strength had all but faded. Trusting that Boo - Buyca - her droid could handle the jump to hyperspace from her. Already the little droid was spooling up the hyperdrive. The normal harmony off tune by more than a few percent as the Boracyk tried to recover from its most recent ordeal. Much like it's Captain in that regard. "Long walk from here to the nearest outpost otherwise."

Or maybe she could wait around for those friends she'd been so confident in.

The bond shimmered with an ephemeral, fleeting sense of amusement before simple exhaustion override it once more. The Kiffar traced a shaky hand over her worn features. Sweat stained, blood stained and grease stained. Short of a fight with a Mandalorian Warlord, She couldn't remember the last time she felt this dog tired. The repairs the Boracyk would invariably need would have to wait a few hours. Things should hold together until then.

"There's a spare bunk if you can find it." She murmured as she limped passed Amea, jerking her chin towards a cabin that seemed to be more suited towards becoming a scrapheap than taking on passengers. Every inch and surface was crammed with boxes, crates and trunks of scrap and broken electronic devices. Salvaged parts and loose odds and ends from countless battlefields, space hulks and one or two yards she had yet to get around to off loading. "Be tight, but should do you until we get where we're going. Boo will wake you in a couple of hours so you can give me hand with the repairs. Maybe offset some of the fuel costs you're rackin' up."

Runi might have made it sound like a chore, but it was surprising sign of trust in the other woman. The number of hands she had allowed to touch her ship since she'd acquired it in her teens were few and far between. "I'll take it as a personal kindness if you avoid gettin' me shot, beaten or almost blown up until then."

With that she ducked into her own cabin directly opposite, barely making it through the door way before she face planted her the rough spun, lumpy mattress that served as her bed, letting out a muffled satisfied noise.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

They’d be there. She’d need to have a few words with the transporting crew, but she knew that they would be there somewhere. For the moment though there were greater issues to take care of. Repairs, for one, and recuperation for second. The hand that had dragged itself across Amea’s face made her injuries all the more evident as the adrenaline pumped out of her system proper.

Sharp pain throbbed under her skin as she felt her hand cover her nose. Nothing was loose, at least not too loose. It hurt though, that much was certain but a good batch of bacta and sleep could fix most things with time. Sleep that was offered on the ship in some extra bunk which seemed to have a lot more in common with a scrap heap than a bedroom, but sleep was sleep and Amea could do with it no matter where it was.

“Yeah… Yeah, that sounds good.” Amea truly did not understand what that meant in terms of trust from Runi. It was more about doing the right thing after the problems she had helped cause to some degree. “And I’ll try not to get you blown up at the very least.”

Cocky smile to top it off.It turned into a warm smile spread on Amea’s lips as they went their separate ways. Amea to her scrap-filled room and Runi to the more comfortable one. Perhaps time for a tempting offer to share the bed? No, too soon. Also wrong timing, probably. When was the right timing? Not now, that was for sure.

When was it though? For real.

Not now.

Amea shook her head and sat down on her bed. She contemplated bringing her bacta out to fix her issues, but at the same time most of her issues were probably bruises as it were. She would instead bring out a small scarf to wipe at her nose to no effect. She studied the small traces of blood that soaked into her rag before she looked around for anything similar to water that she could use, but there was nothing.

Perhaps sleep wasn’t as bad. She laid down on the hard, worn-out bed with an uneasy grimace and shuffled around for comfort. Once she found a position that was manageable she felt her eyes close almost as if on instinct.

Sleep came knocking and Amea was out cold. For now, at least.