CORUSCANT - Level 4035
The dingy canteen was humid and tight. Lowlives and thugs drank and yelled over one another, the yellow-orange of the lights making them appear more ominous than usual. Sounds of laughter and clanking cups filled the air, and Korra felt the room was more stuffed than it was.
She sat at a booth tucked away in the corner, slouched over, her dark cloak pulled low over her head. Across from her sat her partner, Mako, his hat pulled deep onto his forehead.
"There he is," Mako's familiar voice carried easily over the ruckus. "The table near the bar. Dark red jacket."
Korra's eyes flicked over. Tall man, well built, shaggy hair, she analyzed. Korra nodded.
"So what's the plan?" she asked.
"We don't kill him," Mako stated, "Can't kill him. It's just a shake up."
Korra chewed on her lip before sighing, nerves, she thought.
Red Coat moved over to the bar, his hand gesturing to the tender to get him another drink. Korra gave Mako a look and he grinned.
"Let's get the show on the road." He knocked his knuckles against the table before standing, faking a stretch before turning around and making his way towards the bar. He slipped easily between people, not drawing attention to himself.
A few feet away from the target, he squeezed himself between two people whose backs faced each other. Once situated between them, Mako gave the man in front of him an aggressive shove. The man stumbled forward into his friends, his drink spilling all over the floor. He turned around angrily, but Mako was gone, leaving the man behind him to take the fall for the agitation.
"Yew git a problem, dickhead?" The man drawled, grabbing onto the innocent man.
The other man turned, his face turning from confused to angry within seconds.
"I'd watch who yer talking to like that," the other man gruffed, his eyes growing dark.
"And I'd watch who you're running into."
Within moments, fists flew, and then the whole bar erupted into chaos. Korra got up smoothly, making a beeline towards the door. Men lunged at each other, chairs flew, and canteens smashed against faces and body parts. Mako had caused a scene, and in return there were both people running to leave, and people running towards the fight. Korra had lost sight of the target and her partner, but she could feel his presence.
And so she let her body guide her.
That was one of the many things that made Korra and Mako good at what they did. Separated they were great, but together, they seemed unstoppable.
Once outside, she headed left down towards an alleyway. The sounds of yelling and crashing faded into the hums and zips of Cloudskiffs driving above the streets and skies. She looked up at the gaping metal hole above her, leading up towards safer and richer levels of Coruscant. She wondered what the cities were like. Were some still like Level 4035? Were the streets wider? People nicer? One day, she thought, we're getting out of here.
"Glad you could make it," a scratchy voice broke her out of her trance.
Red Coat stood before her in the alley, one arm holding Mako in a choke hold and the other pointing a blaster against his head.
Red Coat let out a gravelly laugh, "Real funny how Reli believed he could put one over me. I saw you slums coming from a mile away. Two teenagers in a seedy canteen, not known for its sleazy chicks?," he thew his head back, "stupid."
He cocked his blaster, pressing it harder against Mako's temple. Mako winced, his lip busted and his eyebrow split. Great Mako, Korra thought, that eye is totally going to bruise.
Korra reached for her own gun.
"Ah!" Red Coat warned, his gun moving from Mako's head to point towards Korra, "If a single finger touches that blaster I'm killing both of you." Korra froze, her fingers grazing the gun before slowly lifting her hands up.
"We weren't planning on killing you," she started. "You're…you're behind on your payments to Reli. He just wanted to remind you. This doesn't need to go that far." Korra's voice wavered, her anxiety rising with every passing second. Think, think, how can we get out of this?
Red Coat seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head.
"No…," he started, showing a crooked, broken smile, "I think I'm done licking Reli's boots. You can tell Reli that if he wants his money, next time, he's got to kill me."
Korra nodded, "Okay, okay yeah. We'll- we'll go tell him that."
Red Coat tilted his head, mulling over some twisted idea in his mind. "Actually," he began, "I think I have a better message."
Korra watched in horror as Red Coat pressed the blaster against Mako's head once more. Time seemed to slow as his finger put pressure against the trigger. He's going to die, she thought. He's—
"No!" Korra yelled and lunged for Mako. She felt a tingle and slight pressure travel up her chest and through her arm, and suddenly, Red Coat flew back across the alley.
His blaster landed several feet away from him, the shot hitting off in mid-air.
"Urg," Red Coat grunted as he roughly hit the floor. Mako crumpled towards the ground, his arm reaching out just in time to break his fall.
Korra rushed over, slinging his other arm around her shoulders.
"Come on, come on."
Mako moved as fast as he could, his eyes droopily looking towards Red Coat and then to his friend. "Korra…" he mumbled, "what did you…"
Korra dragged him through the weaving alleys, taking random turns, fearing Red Coat would try to follow. She didn't know what had happened either, but she couldn't worry about it until they were both safe. Eventually she hit a street. A little busy, she weaved them through civilians and merchants until she found a tavern. The two busted through the doors, the people within only sparing them a short glance before returning to their duties. At this level, their predicament wasn't an unusual sight to see. It was always better to mind your business.
Korra placed Mako gently down into a chair before pulling up one beside him and checking his head. Bruising…
She was able to receive a wet washcloth and two cups of water from the tender, and she slowly went to work against the cuts and scrapes against Mako's face.
"Mako…" she sighed. "You rushed in. You should've waited for me, you could've died." Korra finished angrily. Mako shook his head slightly.
"I should've had him…I just…I got distracted."
"Distracted? By what, huh, Voorpaks?"
"No, I…I saw something. This weird feeling came over me and then the scene just…changed."
Korra paused her tending, "What do you mean?"
"It was like a dream, like a- like a vision almost."
They stared at each other for a moment.
"What did you see?"
Mako hummed.
"This…gorgeous girl- ow!"
Korra pressed the washcloth roughly against the bruise on his temple.
"Are you kidding, you were daydreaming about girls?"
"No, I-"
"We don't have time for this. We failed the mission. Reli is going to have our asses if Red Coat doesn't first." Korra huffed, her eyebrows worrying themselves. Mako rolled his eyes.
"Maybe you should let yourself daydream about girls, it would make you less uptight." he muttered.
Korra ignored it, although she could feel her face getting hot. God, Mako was older but it sure felt like she was the more mature one sometimes.
Several minutes passed as the partners sat in comfortable silence. Korra cleaned Mako's wounds and listened to the calming bustle of life within and outside the tavern. It was peaceful, and for a moment, things were…nice.
She thought back to when she first met Mako. They had only been kids.
What was she then…twelve?
She had been hungry, and a bread stand caught her eye. She remembered tip-toeing up to it and waiting for the merchant to get distracted before reaching into a basket for a bread loaf.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
She'd gotten caught, the merchant grabbing her wrist roughly. He was much stronger than her, and she felt helpless as his shadow loomed over her. "You're gonna regret that, girl!"
Whack!
A rock hit the man in the side of the head and his gripped loosened enough for her to slip out. A voice told her to run, and she did. She ran down an alleyway, stopping to curl up behind a trash bin. She shivered, from fear and hunger, and closed her eyes, hoping to wish the pains away.
"Here."
Korra opened her eyes, seeing a boy, a little older than her, crouching with a loaf of bread in his hands.
Her eyes narrowed, suspicious.
"It's yours." He dumped the loaf into her lap and sat down, brushing his hands off on his dirty slacks. "Someone needs to teach you how to do things better around here," he grinned and stuck out his hand. "Mako. And you?"
"Korra," Mako broke the silence softly. Korra came back to reality, the memory dissipating. "What did you do back there?"
She set down the washcloth, her eyes coming to meet his. They were both a sight to see. Dirt and blood smudged Mako's face, and their clothes were worn with holes in some places. In another life she felt they would've been a force to be reckoned with. In this life, maybe even attractive. She saw a lot of herself in him, both brash and bold, at many times thinking with their fists rather than minds. She'd never say it, but she looked up to him like a brother. He never backed down, even in an impossible fight.
That was the mindset she was striving for.
"I…don't know." she answered. It was a lie, and they both knew it.
The New Regime had propaganda everywhere calling for force sensitives. They both knew, even if intermediately, of the skills a force sensitive possessed. Being able to move things with your mind…clear sign. If you even suspected someone of being force sensitive, you needed to contact the authorities. In return for a legitimate report, you were given hundreds of cred to spend at your own comfort. You can imagine people in the lower levels had no remorse then.
Force sensitives only caused trouble. Korra new that. Mako knew that. They all knew that. Maybe even believed it. And yet…
They stared at each other again and Korra couldn't help but feel anxious. Mako looked away first.
"We have to go back."
Korra sighed, "Yeah…Reli's got to find out about Red Coat sooner or later. We could make it up to him by doing a couple of steal runs."
Mako nodded, but then paused. He shook his head, "No…we go back, and we ask for out."
Korra paused in her movements to get up.
"Are you crazy? We can't ask for out after failing."
"If we don't get out of here Korra, we're both going to end up dead. And I'm not talking about by some Coruscant criminals," His eyes looked stone hard, and he stood. "We tell him we've found our families and that they're arriving at one of the higher levels to wait for us tomorrow morning. We…say they live on Tatooine, and we can say that he'll be expanding his influence by letting us go there. Say we'll do recon for him on that planet, maybe even gather a couple new hires. Then once we're in the clear…we disappear."
Korra frowned, then nodded. "By the look on your face, doesn't really seem like I have a choice."
Lester Reli sat slouched in his couch, eyes prying into Korra and Mako before him. His hideout was almost as bad as the canteen with dark corners, dingy lighting, and a pungent smell. Cruel thugs and skimpy women roamed the lair's rooms and halls. He leaned back, his tattooed arms out and slinked around girls who looked hardly sober. Korra held back a grimace as one of the girls leaned in to kiss at his neck.
"Well, well, the troublesome two." Reli sucked at his teeth. "With the rejected looks on your faces and pretty boy's busted lip there I take it you're not here to shit rainbows." The partners shared a look.
"The target got away." Mako gave.
Reli laughed humorlessly, "The target got away," he mocked. "What do you think this is, a game? I look like a fucking fool."
Korra shifted uneasily, Reli's rising tone drawing the looks of some thugs.
"We know…which is…which is why you should let us go."
Reli's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
Mako recited his story to Reli and Korra nodded along, doing her best to keep her composure. Once finished, the group sat in silence for much too long. Reli looked furious, and the longer he sat, the more angry he began to look. I knew this was a stupid idea, Korra thought. Then, curiously, Reli's face relaxed.
"That is the most ridiculous story I've ever heard," he said. "You must think I'm an idiot." He sucked his teeth once more. "But you know what…you're free to go."
Now it was Korra and Mako's turn to look surprised.
Reli gave an uneasy grin, "Yee-ah, I've just realized you both are more of a hinderance than an asset. Lesson learned, don't give pity hires. Never say I didn't do anything for you freaks. Now get, before I change my mind."
Korra and Mako exchanged glances before rushing through the halls of the hideout, eager to exit.
"Holy…can you believe that?" Korra breathed, "He's letting us go. He's actually letting us go! Mako…this is it. We can start a new life. Where should we go? Well—first we have to ascend the levels, then try to hitch a ride on someones ship."
They pushed past a dingy door curtain.
"Korra-"
"That should be easy, I mean, we're handy. We can work honest jobs up there until we can afford a ride. Trading, sewing, labor. Yeah, yeah we can do it."
"Korra-"
They finally exited and began to make their way through the streets.
"Where should we go? Outer rim?"
"Korra." Mako stopped and grabbed her arm. She gave him an odd look. "Korra, what did he call us?"
"Who?"
"Reli, Korra. Keep up." He sounded tense.
"Oh, uh…troublesome two?" Korra recalled. Mako shook his head.
"No, no. He—he called us freaks."
Korra shrugged, "I mean, he's called us worse."
"No! Korra," Mako grabbed onto her shoulders. "He called us freaks."
Korra stared at him quizzically, and then it dawned on her. Oh no. He knew.
"Red Coat…he must've—"
A commotion started in the streets as people around them began to slow and look up towards the sky, murmuring to one another and pointing. Korra and Mako looked up to see several New Regime Cloudskiffs descending from the hole down towards them.
"Coruscant civilians, Mako and Korra," one of the vehicles boomed. "Get down on the ground, or we will shoot."
Without a word, both partners took off. Shots immediately began to rain down on the two. The street broke off into chaos as the other civilians began to run for cover. Several blasts hit innocent bystanders and Korra watched in horror as several bodies began to fall beside her.
She had lost sight of Mako, but the only thing on her mind was to lose the New Regime. She weaved in and out of people, under merchant tables and ducking behind crates when she had the chance. Still, the Cloudskiffs began to gain on her. Panicking, she turned into one of the alleyways. She ran and turned at what she felt was random. Her heart beat in her ears and her breaths came in ragged pumps. She could hear the vehicles still. It was inevitable, they would find her. Constricting herself to alleys was a stupid idea. She made a sharp left and then—
She felt arms come around her waist. Her eyes widened. Someone pulled her sharply against them as they backed into the wall, covered in shadow. Korra began to struggle.
"Let—"
"Shh!" A hand came to cover her mouth.
Within seconds, Cloudskiffs zoomed by, continuing straight down, with a few actually turning into the alley Korra was in, but sped past too fast to notice the two cloaked against the shadowy walls. After a few uncomfortable minutes in that position, Korra struggled, the figure letting her go.
She wheeled around, surprised to see a bounty hunter before her. Their armor was dark red and white, their helmet nearly all maroon with slim, off-white air chambers slinking from the cheeks to the mouth-com below. Korra began to panic they found me, and she pulled out her blaster.
"I'll shoot." she stated.
The bounty hunter held up their hands, "I don't doubt that." A crackled, but clearly feminine voice replied. She took a step forward.
"I'm here to help you, Korra. I'm trying to get you and your partner out of here." she stepped forward again. Korra took the safety off her blaster.
The hunter paused before moving her hands to her helmet. "Okay, look…"
The helmet came off, and Korra felt as if all the air had been taken out of her lungs.
She was beautiful.
Long, dark hair, tied back into a tight ponytail. Emerald eyes, smooth skin.
Holy…, Korra thought.
The girl stepped closer, close enough for Korra to fully see her face in its entirety.
"I'm really trying to help you," the girl's expression dropped to concern. "Please, we don't have much time. We have to get you out of here."
Yeah, totally. Let's get out of here, you and me. Ever been to the WompBar?
Korra was brought back to reality as the girl grabbed her by the shoulder. She pulled her in close.
Once more Korra felt herself being whisked away to dreamland. Wow, she smells nice…
She didn't register the tranquilizer shot until it was being jammed into her neck. She let out a yelp before…before…
Black.