Ask Wax Wings: Bonk!

[Zay Kartan]

Zaylos took a drag off his cigarette just outside the employee entrance at Durafab Fabrications. He'd picked up a seasonal job in receiving at the durasteel manufacturer in order to get a discount on some product for his ship. So far, the whole thing sucked bantha tits. His boss was an irate ugnaught, named Reesh, that seemed to go out of his way to make Zay's life a living hell. Kartan groaned as his com went off.

"Kartan, here." He said with an enthusiasm that lacked vigor of any sort.

"Get you're ass inside, we've got a shipment. Do you go out of your way to piss me off?"

"Oh Reesh, hi, uh— N-no? You got it. Be right there."

Kartan cut the connection and grumbled a slur of expletives as he yanked the door open. As he began to pass through the doorway stars burst forth in his vision. Confusion stampeded across his expression as his conciseness checked out from the blow to the back of his head...

Three hours later...

Water hits Kartan's face causing an involuntary gasp. As he chokes on the water he'd accidentally sucked in, his eyes snap open and he frantically looks around. After a spell of momentary disorientation, Kartan recognized his surroundings. He was sitting in the training room. Computer consoles filled to the brim with mind-numbing regulatory tutorials lined the walls. However, instead of the bland fluorescent lights that normally painted the walls, the room was abnormally dim. Well, except for the light directly overhead.

"He's awake, get the PI."

Kartan squinted just able to make out the silhouette of Reesh behind the blind covered windows of his office.

What the hell is going on?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

The kark was he even doing on this dunghill of a planet again? Oh right - he was chasing down leads on a piece of shrak even karking worse than the locals here. And that was saying something since they looked like they all took it in turns to share the only brain cell between them... and it had probably gone missing at some point in the recent past and everyone was too dumb as kark to go looking for it again.

Still, they didn't have laws here against smoking inside so Lorcan was indulging in it. He'd also made sure to blow smoke in the faces of at least three people but that was typical for him, not because he was trying to annoy more locals. He eyed a dockhand who approached him cautiously from where he was leaning against a wall.

"You the PI?"

Lorcan would have resisted the urge to roll his eyes if he gave a single, solitary, kark what any of these dumbkark hicks actually thought. So he actually did roll his eyes.

"No numbnuts, I'm here to give you interior design quotes." he pushed off from the wall, stubbing his cigara out against the dockhand's vest as he passed him, "Be a good boy and kark off."

Striding through into the office like he owned the place, Lorcan exhaled the smoke from his last pull on his cigara in the general direction of the Ugnaught.

"Where's the kid?"

This better not have been a waste of his karking time and fuel getting to Lothal.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

With his brain slowly catching up on what's going on, Kartan tries to stand. As he does he's yanked back down. He looks to his wrist and realizes he's been cuffed to the chair.

"What the fu—"

"You ain't going nowhere, dummy."

Zay jerks around in his chair toward the voice and his shocked expression immediately sours. A chubby Weequay foreman, Shasta if he remembered right, appears from behind. He lords over Kartan with an air of superiority akin to a slavemaster, and Kartan could feel his blood start to boil. With a little effort, he manages to calm himself enough to try and get a little clarity on his current situation.

"Mind telling me why I'm cuffed to a chair?"

Kartan struggled once more against the bonds as if to accentuate his point. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his head and he could feel it getting worse.

The Weequay crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed, "Oh sure, play innocent all you want Kartan. Once the PI gets here everything will be sorted and we'll find out just how innocent you really are."

Zay's brow knit together as he tried to retrace his steps. He'd been just about to head in when... Nothing. Everything was black and then, splash. He knew it'd be worthless to try and talk to the bulbous dingleberry standing in front of him, so, Kartan had to hope the investigator would be more open-minded.

Suddenly, he heard voices coming from Reesh's office. He could see the stubby little limbs of the Ugnaught gesturing toward the door leading into the dimly lit training room. Despite his hopeful disposition, Kartan couldn't shake a sudden wave of dread as he awaited his interrogator.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Lorcan didn’t so much pay attention to the short sentient as he just nodded along in a way that made it seem like he was paying attention when really he was doing anything but. Hells, he’d counted the ceiling tiles twice and that was after he had made a mental note of every window and door he could use as an exit both alone and with a hostage/bounty.

Sure it had only been, at most, a minute but that was already far too long for his incredibly thin patience.

He wanted to punch the foreman already but he resisted because it wouldn’t be worth the satisfaction of seeing the small sentient crumple. Wait… no, no it probably still wasn’t even if he was tempted to see how far he could launch the sentient across the room with a single kick. It was a scientific question for later he was sure.

“This the one?” he asked, hands in the pockets of the coat that was part of his armour set, looking incredibly disinterested, “The one tied up to a chair with clear signs he’s been beaten recently?”

He poked the side of Zay’s head.

“Karking hells, you tried to bash his brains out through his nose or something?” he scowled, “How am I gonna drag him to Corellia to face trial if he looks like someone tied him down and let a Reek try and skull-kark him, eh? No jury is gonna convict a fraking child of jackshit if he looks like this!”

The sentient standing guard and the foreman both had the decency to look started and slightly ashamed of themselves. Whatever.

“We just thought…”

Lorcan held up a hand for silence.

“And that was your first mistake – leave the thinking to sentients who haven’t traded their IQ in for BO.” He lectured, pausing for a moment before looking at them blankly, “The kark are you still here for? Frak off.”

Once they were gone, back into the office, Lorcan reached into his jacket and pulled out another cigara. Lighting it, he took a brief pull from it before exhaling the smoke into Zay’s face.

“Alright jailbait; ya got the next 14 seconds to tell me why you’re not the murdering piece of shrak I’ve chased halfway across the karking Galaxy to this shitehole. And, just before you get started…” he scowled, “You start a sob story? I’m gonna break your knees first.”

He had always hated sob stories.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

It was hard to make out the pair as they moved closer through the partially lit room. The handing florescent above Zay only radiated out about a couple of meters. When the PI was finally illuminated, Kartan couldn't help but think he looked... bored. The dread that had washed over him a few minutes ago returned like a wave crashing into the shore.

The investigator said something to Reesh and the little creep nodded enthusiastically. The PI stepped forward and examined the side of Zay's head with a sharp poke that elicited a startled inhale from the mechanic, but he didn't protest any further. Zaylos knew better than to pipe up before being addressed. He needed to bide his time here. If he could get the PI, if this guy was actually a PI, alone he might be able to give his side of the story and get out of this, but if he wasn't a PI... Kartan noted the armor under the investigator's overcoat, then Zay might already be Karked.

That's when the unexpected happened. Just as Zay was preparing for his beating, the investigator kicked Reesh and Shasta out of the room. Kartan watched the PI light up a cigara and couldn't help but be jealous. The investigator asked for his side of the story and Zay obliged.

"I was smoking, just outside the employee entrance outback. Reesh, the Ugnaught, called me back in to unload a shipment and as I opened the door, bam, everything went dark, and I woke up here cuffed to a chair."

None of what Zaylos said was a lie. That was in fact the exact events that had taken place before the incident had transpired, but it wasn't the only thing that had happened. As Zay was carried in here his drifted in and out of consciousness, he heard the speculation and was partially aware something had been stolen. The only thing throwing him off was the investigator's mention of a killer.

"I'm not a killer. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, sir. You mind if I ask a question?" Kartan nodded toward the cigara, "Are those Corellian Spirits?"


@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Wrong place at the wrong time.

Funny how many people thought that was as good an excuse as they actually needed to trot out these days. Used to be, when he was still a Ranger, people would give him a cock and bull story so grand that it might as well been a holonovela. What happened to some criminals with a little bit of decorum? Some pride in their work?

Oh well.

“Well… I suppose you are a bit too much of a scrawny puke to be able to kill someone with a knife.” He patted Zay’s cheek none-to-gently with a hand, “My dick has more weight than you do, kid… alright I’ll give you a little bit longer.”

He took a drag on his cigara and exhaled directly into Zay’s face.

“Why? Does it smell like it is?” he rolled his eyes, “See kid I know one of the people here is the killer I’m looking for. Give me something I can work with and maybe I’ll see about letting you get out of this place without any further issue.”

Another puff of smoke.

“So what’ll it be lil boy?”

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

Zay was karked. The PI was a crazy person with some bone to pick with a killer Kartan knew nothing about.

Cool...

Kartan's mind worked as he processed anything and everything he'd seen or heard in the yard for the last week. He could easily point out OSHA regulations that had been broken, but that was hardly giving anything to this bloodhound of a hunter.

Think Kartan, THINK.

"It does yes," he said trying to buy himself some time. Realistically, he didn't mind the smoke in his face, it was just making him crave a cigarette.

"I here you and believe me, I want nothing more than to get out of this chair, and quit this job, but I don't know anything about a killer."

Kartan's brain worked furiously trying to think of anything he could use to take the attention away from himself.

"Wait, I got hired with a group. There were three of us. Me, Dom, and Bryn. I don't know what your timeline is, but they're the only other ones that are new to the shop."

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Lorcan eyed the kid as he sat there, tied up like a Zeltron trying to surprise their lover... and he couldn't help but think he was being sold an awful lot of bantha shite. Trouble was that no one had been shooting straight with him from the moment he arrived on Lothal as far as he could tell. That this kid had the brass ones to be more upfront about it was a point in his favor really.

Shame it wasn't a point-based system but he had the right kind of enthusiasm so he would cut him some slack.

"Alright then kid you've given me two names to add to my shrak list - yours is still on there for now but slightly lower." he pulled out a vibroknife from his belt, "So here's my deal..."

He cut the bonds that tied Zay to the chair before putting the knife back away.

"You help me find Dom and Bryn. They sketch me out enough and I find some evidence? You get to walk your skinny little arse away. Sounds good right?" He grinned and pulled Zay up by a hand on his shoulder, "This is the part where you say 'Sounds great Mr Lorcan, sir!'"

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

Zaylos froze at the appearance of the pale blade of the vibroknife in the PI's hands. His eyes watched it like prey staring into the maw of a predator, but to his credit, he didn't shrink away when the investigator cut his ties. Zaylos rubbed at his wrists which at this point were raw and bloody. He glared toward Reesh's office, feeling the failure burn of hatred take root.

Kartan's eyes were ripped from the closed blinds by the investigator as he roughly pulled Zay from his chair.

Truthfully, Zaylos had been preoccupied with the myriad of emotions that had flooded him upon being released. He'd heard the bulk of the PI's schpeal but wasn't terribly worried. Once Lorcan got a look at Dom and Bryn, Zay guessed, he'd take it as a dead-end and hopefully cut him loose. Of course, given Kartan's general lack of luck, this whack job would probably take it as a slight or something and beat the shit out of Zay before karking off.

Unenthusiastically Kartan said, "Sounds great, Mr. Lorcan."

Kartan had no clue where Dom or Byrn were, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a chubby Weequay trying to shuffle out of the room.

"Hey Shasta, any idea where they're keeping Dom and Bryn?"

The Weequay froze in place as if a spotlight had fallen upon him as he attempted to escape incarceration. Through sputtering lips, he managed, "All employee's were relegated to the breakroom. I'd start there." Kartan looked to Lorcan.

Shasta bobbed his head and scuttled away before Kartan could press him more. Questions started flooding his won mind, like why in the hell was he the only one tied to a chair?

"I know, I know, I'll take you to the breakroom. Can I bum a smoke?"

It was a short walk from the training room to the breakroom. The denizens within were a hodgepodge of sentient ranging in diversity from a Wookie with a man-bun to a Rodian with a snout pricing. As they entered the eyes of every being in the room fell on Kartan and Lorcan. In a hushed tone, Zaylos said, "Dom is the Zabrak with the face tat at the back table. Bryn is the Twi'lek at the center table with the pretty smile."

Kartan watched as each set of eyes condemned him for talking, but not a single being here had shown the slightest bit of kindness. That didn't change the disappointment he felt right now. Lorcan was clearly unstable, and Kartan had no clue what he'd be like with one of the beings sitting here.

"Can I go now?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Well the kid didn’t give it a lot of feeling when he agreed and said “Mr Lorcan” but, well, the skinny twig of a guy looked like he’d damn near lost three pints of blood when he’d pulled his knife out. Might be that the kid was just feeling a little bit dizzy from all his blood draining from his face like that – wasn’t Lorcan’s place to judge or care he supposed.

Wandering along with Zay, he tilted his head at the boss for a moment before smirking a little bit as he essentially dragged the kid along.

“Oh come off it kid – everyone loves to see violence against people who aren’t them.” He smirked wider, “Don’t act like you don’t enjoy watching others suffer. Everyone does.”

Everyone enjoyed it when it wasn’t their skin being flayed.

Stepping into the break-room, Lorcan patted Zay on the back in a companionable manner as though they were working together. It made the room’s occupants look at the kid like he was a real accomplice rather than unwilling minion. Why? Because Lorcan thought it would be funny to make them all think the kid willingly sold them out.

“Dom… Bryn…” he called out, hand resting against the holstered blaster pistol at his side, “Time for some questioning. Come quietly or…”

Bryn made a move to run and Lorcan drew his pistol, firing three times and hitting the Twi’lek twice in the back. It became immediately apparent to everyone that Lorcan was NOT using stun bolts when the Twi’lek fell dead on the ground. Unfortunately for Lorcan, Dom took the opportunity to over-turn a table and take cover, shooting over it with a hold-out blaster.

Grabbing Zay, he pushed the kid out the door again before following quickly, taking cover at the side of the door. He laughed.

“Oh kid… this is fun, right? Did you see ‘Bryn’ ragdoll?! Ah these are the moments that make the job all worthwhile…”

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

“Oh come off it kid – everyone loves to see violence against people who aren’t them.”

A wicked sneer tore across Lorcan's face.

“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy watching others suffer. Everyone does.”

Zaylos vehemently disagreed with Lorcan's morbid sentiment. It spoke of a man that reveled in hurting others, and that wasn't something Kartan understood. He'd lived under the prod of a stun baton. He'd been forced day and night to scour junk heaps until his finger's bled, and never once had he ever wanted to cause harm to another. Well, other than his slaver. That dude could suck bantha dung.

Zay's only reply was a polite smirk. The longer he was around Lorcan the more uncomfortable he got. Now, standing awkwardly in front of all his co-workers, Kartan wondered if he'd done the right thing. No matter how he tried to squirm away Lorcan the PI seemed to pull him back in.

Shame bubbled up in his chest as he pointed out Dom and Bryn. Lorcan called them forward —

BlamBlam! Blam!

Zaylos recoiled, hands going up to protect his face from whatever was happening, but before they could be covered his eyes saw the truth.

Bryn's body fell to the ground, her right leg at an unnatural angle, her eyes wide open, but lifeless. Three smoking holes adorned her chest. The thin wisps of smoke almost looked like her soul leaving her body... Kartan felt sick. Lorcan shoved him through the door. Zaylos was lightheaded and reeling from the sudden unnecessary violence. He found the wall and pressed his back to it, chest heaving.

"W-why?"

He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out and hurt Lorcan for what he'd done, but that deep-seated familiar in his gut spread it's legs as it scuttled across his innards. It whispered to him, "You're nothing, and he'll kill you too," and Kartan believed it. He was in danger and had no way to defend himself. He'd gotten in over his head and he was probably going to die when Lorcan got bored of his company.

Kriff...

Zaylos' sense were slowly coming back to him, while the image of the twi'lek slowly fading. He'd be seeing her in his nightmares for long after this. The clatter of overturning tables and general chaos roared from within the breakroom. Dom hadn't been the only one to take cover and now Lorcan would be facing down an angry mob of beings seeking revenge for their fallen. However, the PI wasn't the only one facing the ire of the mob. His association with the killer branded him a traitor to everyone beyond that door.

Lorcan babbled about how much fun "they" were having, but Kartan couldn't bring himself to respond. Suddenly the absence of clamor sent a wave of fear crashing over his body.

"Oh shit..."

Zaylos was running, kriff Lorcan, kriff this job, and kriff this kriffing planet...

The door he'd been shoved out of burst open, anyone on the wrong side of it would have been splattered against the wall. Enraged beings of all shapes and sizes demanded recompense for their loss.

Chaos had just entered the building.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Why?

It was always the question that it came back to in the end - the why. Why he did what he did or why he didn't care enough about the lives he took or something similar. Why did he leave the Rangers? Why did he agree to work with Sith when the credits were good enough? It was the same thing every time and the same question.

Why?

Whywhywhywhywhy?

He was getting sick of that damned question.

"Why?" he scowled a little bit at the kid as he had the nerve to ask him that question, "Because I gave her a choice. They knew I was here for a murder investigation - and the first thing she does when confronted with questions? Try and run."

Lorcan spat on the ground.

"Kark em. They had their chance and they blew it - you know the real reason they're so shraking angry right now? It's not because I shot their shite-stain of a friend, kid, it's because I shot first and I didn't pussy around like a Ranger!" he readied his pistol again, "Murderers don't give you a karking stunner, do they Boy?! They shoot and they kill but they and everyone else cries when you shoot first and your shot is LAST!"

He holstered his pistol and stepped away from the door, hearing the rush of people as they neared the door. Lorcan had the experience he needed to know that it wasn't going to be anything good... so he unslung his blaster rifle. It hit harder and it hit faster without needing to reload like his pistol. When the door slammed open, he didn't hesitate; he just started firing.

Head-height.

Again and again it fired, a bolt for each and every time he pulled the trigger and already there was a clog in the hallway as the people in front fell forward, dead, as obstacles. His eyes wide, perhaps even mad, as he fired and fired and roared without saying any actual words.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

Zaylos looked over his shoulder and immediately regretted his decision. Lorcan was unloading a blaster rifle into the mob that sought to consume him. Bodies went limp as they ran headlong into the blaster fire. Smoking holes were bored into the faces of more beings than he could count, and the rate at which it happened was staggering.

Zaylos tripped and fell to the cold hard duracrete floor. He scrambled to his feet and ducked around the corner. He curled into the fetal position covering his head and try with all his might to ignore the violence just around the corner. Even with his eyes closed, he could perceive the flashes of the blaster rifle. Suddenly, unknown hands grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. His eyes ripped open and met with Reesh's terrified gaze.

"I called security, they should be here soon, we need to get out of here, follow me!"

Kartan did as instructed and the pair took off down the hallway away from the violence, but would they escape Lorcan? Could they?

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

He would have found it more satisfying to be able to say that he pulled the trigger again and again until his rifle went ‘click’ as he used up the last of it’s ammo. Instead what actually happened was that many of those who had thought to attack him were running instead. It was a sight that made him smile, ignoring how much gore had splattered across his helmet and his armor.

Even from a few feet away he had been thoroughly splattered from the way he’d mown them down without issue. Slinging his blaster rifle over his shoulder, he drew his vibrosword instead and started forward. The screams started again as he swung and slashed, cutting through limbs of corpses and the living to reach his goal.

“Hello Dom!”

He slashed his sword out, cutting through the Zabrak’s right hand as it grasped fruitlessly for a blaster pistol just out of reach. Drawing his pistol with his free hand, he stunned the Zabrak with a shot to the head. This time he had chosen stun because the Zabrak actually fit for the murder he was investigating.

Inciting a riot against him would probably count as some kind of evading arrest as well.

Lorcan reached down with his free hand after holstering his pistol and grabbed Dom by the leg, bodily dragging him through the blood and the filth towards his ship. One little loose end however wasn’t lingering around.

“Kiiiiiiid!” he called out to Zay, “I got my Zabrak kid – where you at?!”

He called out loudly as he dragged Dom’s unconscious form toward his parked ship, blood dripping down the edge of his vibrosword as he walked. Was the kid hiding from him?

Adorable.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

"This way," barked Reesh as they reached the end of the corridor. They were headed toward the parking deck, attempting to put as much distance between them and Lorcan as possible. Reesh's com chortled and he answered it.

"This is Reesh."

A translucent holoprojection flickered to life displaying an armor-clad security officer.

"Good evening Mr. Reesh, we've reached the location and are setting up a perimeter—"

Reesh cut him off, "You need to move now, this psycho is literally mowing people down with a blaster rifle!"

"Any idea where he was last spotted?"

"Yes, back west section by the breakroom," replied Reesh.

"Copy that, you stay safe, we'll have this wrapped up shortly."

Reesh cut the transmission and stuffed the comm in his pocket. Kartan had heard the conversation and felt a wave of relief wash over him. Finally, the real authorities had arrived. It wouldn't be long before that maniac was taken down. Then he realized Reesh hadn't slowed in pace. He was still running. Zay decided not to question it. After all, better safe than sorry.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Sirens gave it away, really.

Someone had called the local cops - probably on him. Sure, he had killed a few people but they had all, technically, been assisting a fugative from FWA law. To the point that they might even be charged with lethal intent against a Sector Ranger! You know, if he had kept that job. Which he hadn't... not even the badge come to think of it.

He was in the middle of wondering where his badge had gotten to when he heard more sirens. Enough that even if they were just patrol vehicles it was likely that things were about to get dicey. Killing random nobodies in the Outer Rim? Nobody tended to give a shite.

Killing cops?

That might come back to bite him if he left any witnesses to report it. So the best way he could think of getting out of it? Make sure there weren't any witnesses likely to report what he was about to do. He pulled out his com-link, sheathing the blood sword as he continued to drag the criminal with him.

"Hey fellas? Local fuzz are going to be an issue. Wake up and start blasting would ya?"

He dragged the criminal with him, bursting out into the open of the parking desk. His own ship was parked up alongside some others he didn't really care about. What he did care about was Zay and Reesh running away.

"Hey Kid - you wanted to get a head start huh?" he called out as he drew his pistol, "Do me a favor? Hold that scum still for a second. I want to see if I can shoot his eye out at this distance..."

Lorcan raised his pistol to do just that when the local PD showed up, two patrol speeders pulling up in the parking area. Two officers in each vehicle, they piled out with their blasters raised.

"Drop your weapon and... and drop the zabrak!"

Rather than do either of those things, Lorcan just smiled as his ship seemed to suddenly come to life, the turret atop the blastboat spinning round before blasting one of the police speeders. It exploded violently, sending one of the officers to an early retirement (called death) and the other sprawling to the ground. Lorcan started firing with his pistol, hitting one of the two left standing in the shoulder and sending the other scrambling for cover.

"Good job boys! Let them have it!"

His blastboat was too big to really be crewed by himself alone - hence why he employed two hardened mercenaries to help him fly it. They had the same general attitude towards collateral damage too which was handy.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

A sheen of sweat clung to Zaylos Kartan as he and Reesh made it into the employee parking deck.

"Where's your ship?" Asked Kartan, while trying to catch his breath. Reesh slowed to a trot and then came to a stop. The ugnaught faced away from Zaylos, without responding.

"Reesh? Uh, I don't—"

The Ugnaught pulled a holdout blaster from his jacket as he turned around to stare Kartan down. Zaylos instinctively backed away, raising his hands.

"Whoa! Why?"

"I never trusted you, but I can't believe you're working with that monster."

"I'm sorry, did you inhale some spice while we were running for our lives?"

Reesh cut the kid off with a bark of his blaster. Kartan swore under his breath as he hopped to the side. He glared at the scour in the duracrete and then looked up to Reesh.

"Reesh, I swear on my life I've never seen that whack job before."

"Tell that the people he's killed."

"Kriff you, man, you're the one that brought him here, not me!"

The Ugnaught scowled angrily and growled, "You shut your mouth."

"Or what, you're gonna kill me?"

"Don't tempt me, kid."

Time was running out, the longer they played this game the more likely Lorcan was to show up. Deciding he was tired of allowing the galaxy to make his life choices for him, Kartan eased forward hands out in front.

"Reesh, please. I know we've never gotten along, but you've got to believe me, I'm not working with him. He's crazy!"

Reesh looked away from Zaylos just long enough for the mechanic to spring forward. Reflexively the ugnaught squeezed the trigger, the blaster fired off another bolt that nearly ended Zay's life, but the mechanic managed to get his hands around the stubbly little gremlin.

They fell to the ground struggling for control of the weapon, Zay attempted to wrench the gun free and in doing so swiped an elbow across Reesh's face hard. The Ugnaught grunted with pain and let go of the gun, Zaylos scrambled to his feet keeping the weapon trained on the foreman.

"Get up and get us to your ship."

"I-I don't have a ship..."

"You've gotta be fracking kriffing me," groaned Kartan.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Were his eyes deceiving him or had the kid just tackled the little gremlin-looking motherkarker off the side of the landing pad? If that was the case? Good on the kid! Lorcan wasn’t a racist or anything but that little bugger had been annoying in the extreme so he would be glad if the kid managed to kill him.

First though?

He dragged the captive along with him to his ship even as the blastboat continued to lay down fire. The cops weren’t all dead but they were about as suppressed as anyone could be without being literally six feet under at this point. Walking up the ramp, he strapped the captive into restraints inside the ship before stepping back off.

“Boss, where you going?”

Lorcan waved a hand as he drew a knife.

“Keep the engines warm – we’re gunning out of here soon as I’m done. Curse my bleeding heart but I’m gonna go help a kid.”

Jogging over to where he had seen the Kid and the gremlin go tumbling down, he hefted up his vibroknife and threw it. The knife would stick in the gremlin’s left shoulder, causing him to scream and weaken. Lorcan laughed and waved.

“Don’t say I never gave you anything kid!” he grinned down at Zay, giving him a flippant salute, “Be seeing you, Kid!”

He laughed a little bit to himself as he got aboard his ship and headed for the controls as the ramp started closing up. It was time to leave – Lorcan had gotten as much fun as he could out of the dirtball known at Lothal. Hopefully he would see the Kid again though.

/Exit Thread

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

It happened in the blink of an eye. He was staring down Reesh, trying to figure out what in the hell he was going to do, and then he felt something splatter across his face. The whites of the Ugnaught's eyes bulged as they tracked toward the point of a bloody blade protruding from his left shoulder.

Lorcan called out acting as though he'd just blessed Zaylos with some sort of gift. Kartan's com chortled. He answered it, still befuddled by the entirety of the day. Reesh collapsed clutching his shoulder wailing in pain.

"I'm here, Zay, you ready?" Asked the deceptively gruff voice of Darry.

"Yeah, be right there."

Zay turned and walked to the other end of the parking deck. As he reached the edge the top of a ship appeared and Kartan stepped over the railing and onto the ship. He stuffed the gun he'd taken from Reesh into the back of his pants, then pulled out his ratty pack of Corellian spirits. He lit one up as he opened the hatch into the ship and climbed down the ladder.

He could hear Derry calling out trying to talk to him, but the best he could manage was, "Sorry, man. Today's been a lot."

Without saying anything else, Zay rounded the corner and sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the ladder down to the ship's guns. Derry followed at first but stopped. He could tell something was wrong, so instead, he said, "We got the parts you needed."

Kartan gave him a thumbs up while taking a drag on his cigarette.

Derry lingered a moment longer before heading back to the cockpit. Kartan wiped the blood from his face as a tear slid down his cheek.

Sometimes it be that way...

End​

@Nefieslab