Warnings: Star Wars and all that belongs in that universe were
created by George Lucas. this story is base off events that happened in a
roleplaying session. Rona is the only character that belongs to me. A
great big thank you to all my gamer pals with help with their characters
and for having a great time gaming with them.
Rona Stormchaser was bored. She had been following Drogo and Kaala around for the better part of an hour, and Drogo was not letting her out of his sight. She sighed. Rona loved Drogo with all her heart, to her; he was her father, and biology would not change that, but sometimes he was a little too overprotective. She had seen some stores she had wanted to purchase clothes from, but because they wanted to equip the new girl with stuff that would be useful, as well as a new wardrobe, she wasn't able to.
Then Drogo turned his back to her as he helped Kaala with some weapons, and Rona saw her opportunity. She snuck away quietly, and as soon as she was out of the store, she ran to one where she had seen a nice sweater for a pretty good price. Rona skipped along in the mall. She knew Drogo was going to be mad, but she might be able to calm in down with a present, and she had seen a couple of shirts that he might've liked. Or at least, he would if he paid attention to his clothes like she did. She giggled a little as she went along. For the first time in months, she began to feel like a normal teenager.
Then, just as she was about to enter the store, she felt the barrel of a blaster shoved painfully hard into the small of her back, and a voice behind her say, "Don't scream. Head for the Pavilion, and keep where I can see you." She swallowed loudly, but did as she was told. As they headed toward the food court, she wondered why she never listened to her father when it was important.
Meanwhile, Drogo was about to help Kaala pay for her gear when he decided that he should get something for Rona too. "Hey, Rona," he asked, "do you want something from here, or would rather have me buy you that sweater that I saw you eyeing in that other store?" When he got no response, he turned around. "Rona, quit being-Rona?" She wasn't behind him like he had thought she was.
He searched through the entire store, not really beginning to worry until he realized she wasn't anywhere in the store. "Dammit all, where did that girl wonder off to now?" He looked at Kaala. "We need to go ahead and pay for that, so we can go search for my wanderlust daughter." He did so, and they headed out of the store. He decided to begin by searching every clothing store.
"Daughter? You two look nothing alike?" The young girl asked in her lilting accent.
"I adopted her when she was six years old, but that doesn't change the fact that she is my daughter." He said as he went into the first clothing store. After asking a few sales associates, and discovering that she had never been in the store, grumbled loudly. "That girl is in so much trouble. There are reasons I tell her to stay with me. These are very dangerous times for us." He went off to another store, Kaala having a hard time keeping up.
"You care for her very much, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. The little one has a tendency to have the worst luck in the galaxy when it comes to avoiding trouble." He said, barely slowing down to allow the young woman to catch up. Suddenly she stopped, and began looking in all directions, as if trying to find something. He also stopped and turned toward her. "What is it, Kaala?
"Rona is in trouble."
Drogo, despite thinking something like that was the case, became frantic. "Trouble, what do you mean trouble, what kind of trouble?"
Kaala shook her head. "I do not know, but she is very scared. Deathly afraid, I would say."
Drogo looked all around the crowd, hoping that his little girl was somewhere nearby. When he wasn't able to see her, he grabbed Kaala gently by the shoulders. "Kaala, please, tell me where she is. I need to find her before she gets hurt. Can you do that?"
Kaala closed her eyes in concentration. "Cannot say for certain. She is outside, and there are many around here. It is much more crowded than here." She opened her eyes, and stared at Drogo. "We must hurry. I do not know what will happen if someone does not rescue her, quickly."
Drogo nodded, and ran toward the most crowded place he could find, the pavilion, with Kaala right behind him. He looked around, hoping to find his daughter before any harm could come to her. Drogo was angry, but he couldn't tell if he were angry with Rona for running off, or at himself, for not paying more attention to her.
Kaala grabbed his shirt and tugged at it. "Drogo, she is over there." He looked over where the young woman was pointing, and sure enough, he saw his young green Twi'lek girl looking to be on the verge of tears. Behind her was a taller human, with long brown hair kept in a braid, and hazel eyes. Not that he cared what the other woman looked like. All he knew was that Rona needed help, and somehow, he had to get to the girl he considered a daughter.
So Drogo did what came natural to him. He began to push people out his way, quite literally picking them up and moving them from between him and Rona.
Both Rona and her captor heard the commotion, and turned towards it. Rona saw Drogo, and knew she was really gonna be in trouble when all this was over. Of course, all she cared about was the fact that he was coming to help her, and she would rather be back in the ship listening to him yell at her than have a gun to her back. The woman behind her said, "Keep quiet, or I'll kill both of you."
Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, and not for the first time she wondered how with this many people around, not one of them would not help a child that obviously was in distress.
In a diner not too far from the pavilion, Ka'th Odak was trying to pick up more information on what kind of bounties there might be out there and on who that bounty hunter woman was, when he heard the loud ruckus outside. "What the?" the bounty hunter muttered as he walked outside. He blinked twice, not quite believing the scene he was watching. Rona was standing in front of that same women from the guild he had run into earlier, while Drogo was literally throwing people left and right trying to reach them. He shook his head. "Dammit all, he does not know what he's doing! He's gonna get that poor girl killed." He raced over to the Fironean. "Drogo, stop! This is only gonna make matters worse."
"Let go of me, Bounty Hunter. That is not your daughter in danger."
"Which is why I'm able to be rational. Think about it. Why hasn't Rona run over here to you, huh? It's obvious that's she's seen you, she's looking at us now! That woman more than likely has a blaster to Rona. If you go over there, she's just as likely to shoot her as look at you."
Drogo shook his head. "But I can't stand around and do nothing!" And he continued to make his way through the thinning crowd.
Ka'th shook his head, and headed through the crowd to his swoop bike. "I think we need a couple more hands for this. I just hope that idiot Corahll is there."
On the other side of the pavilion, Nicca Mael, and his droid, three- deeeight were standing by a public terminal, talking to Lans, Nicca's personal assistant. "What was that Lans? I can't hear you!" He shouted over the din. "I don't know what's going on, it just suddenly got very loud in here."
Deeeight turned toward the suddenly panicking crowd, and turned back to his master. "Sir, I think you should see this."
"Not now, Deeeight, I'm trying to conduct business here!" He said.
"Sir, the little one is in danger."
"What?!" Nicca turned around, and saw the little one about ready to cry, while her "father" and the other girl they had picked up were racing toward them, with the bounty hunter seeming to shrug his shoulders and go in the opposite direction. "Oh, no. Deeeight, we've got to try and help her. She looks like she's about to go into hysterics. Deeeight?"
Deeeight had already started shuffling off in that direction; having come up with the only plan that he thought might work. Once he got close he enough, he said in a loud clear voice. "Oh, Mistress Rona, there you are! We have been searching frantically for you! Thank you kind Mistress for finding our-" He was interrupted by a blaster bolt to his chest. The woman had brought her other hand around Rona's neck, no longer trying to hide the blaster.
Drogo watched the droid's brave, but stupid plan backfire, and he stopped. Rona now had two blasters to her more than likely, and she was half-gone in hysterics now. He had to do something that the woman wouldn't expect, so he could give Rona a chance to run. He looked around. The Bounty Hunter had managed to reach his swoop bike, and was hopefully going to go and get Corahll. The Senator was approaching cautiously from the opposite side, and Kaala was coming in behind him. The droid was laying on the ground, more than likely playing Dead.
He shook his head. This is the worst idea I've had in a long time, but it's the only one that will give her a chance. He thought. So he took a flying leap at the woman, hoping to at least knock her back enough for someone else to grab Rona. Unfortunately, the woman ducked, and Drogo went flying right over her. "This is not what I had in mind!" He cried as he landed.
Kaala shook her head. This was certainly a bad predicament, but she had a strange feeling that Rona was not the one the woman was after. Drogo was already standing back up, and drawing his blaster. She didn't think that was such a good idea. If he missed, he could hurt Rona. So she turned to the woman, raised her hands in a surrendering manner, and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want the Senator." The woman answered, but she also whistled, as if calling for a pet, or companion.
Nicca looked shocked. How did this bounty hunter know he was here, and more importantly, how did she know who he was traveling with? Still, there was only one thing he could do. If it would mean that the little one would be safe, he would be willing to face his fate. "I'm the Senator you're looking for! I will come with you, if you let the little one go." Rona turned and looked at him as if he had just said he would stand on his head and juggle at the same time.
As the Senator said this, a grenade dropped in front of the woman and Rona, and he cried, "What are you doing, Bounty Hunter? You gonna kill Rona with the Bounty hunter!"
As Ka'th drove off, he shouted, "It's a stun grenade!"
"oh." He said as the grenade went off, and everyone but the droid and Ka'th were knocked out by the blast.
Ka'th nodded at his handiwork, then turned his attention to Bounty Hunter droid, Sym-On that was lowering itself from the ceiling. As he swung around for another pass, he got on his com, and shouted for Corahll.
Corahll was hip-deep in fixing the hyperdrive on the Dragon's Head when one of his many Arfour units rolled up to him. "Excuse me sir, but it seems that your counterparts are having a bit of trouble in the pavilion. It seems that the bounty hunter has been trying to reach you for quite sometime."
The Duros sighed, but took the com from the droid. "What is it, Ka'th? Make it short, I'm about hip-deep in hyperdrive bits right now."
"The long and short of it is, there's evidently a bounty on our senator friend's head, and a couple of very nasty bounty hunters are trying to collect it by holding Rona hostage!"
"I knew that girl was more trouble than she was worth. Fine, I'll be there in a moment." And he turned off the com.
Rona shook her head as she came to, hoping that the day had all been a nightmare. Then she realized that an unconscious woman still had a gun to her back, and she knew she was in trouble. She looked out, and saw the most frightening sight she had seen in all her thirteen years. It was a seven foot tall droid with four arms, and a blaster in each one. Seeing this, she screamed. This was not turning out to be a good day at all. The droid turned toward her. Rona tried to slink further under the woman who had captured her, but it was no use, the droid had heard her, and was now moving toward her. Rona began crying. She was sure that the droid was coming for her.
It did stop in front of her, and scanned her, but then it moved on. This did nothing for Rona, for she was certain that it was just going to move the body from off of her, and grab her, and use her as a hostage just as the woman had, if not just outright kill her. Rona was terrified. "DADDY!" She screamed, something she had not called Drogo in a long time.
"DADDY!"
Drogo had already been coming to, but at the sound of Rona calling him Daddy, he jumped up to his feet with his blaster pulled. He saw that with the exception of the bitch and the senator, everyone was awake. Kaala was pulling the Senator out of harms way while Three-deeeight was taking potshots at the biggest, meanest looking droid he had ever seen. No wonder Rona was scared out of her mind.
Unfortunately for Deeeight, Sym-On did not like being shot. He turned slowly to face the protocol droid. "That," It said in a deep rumbling voice, "was a mistake."
Deeeight answered in his prissy voice that all protocol droids have, "Come get some."
Drogo shook his head. He was less concerned about the droid than he was getting to Rona, who was still calling out for him. He switched his blaster to stun, and raced over to his daughter. He lifted the bitch up just far enough that he could grab Rona by the back of her shirt, and picked her up. She screamed, since she couldn't tell who picked her up yet. "Shh, it's okay, it's me."
He was about to fling her over his shoulders when she wiggled enough in his grasp to change how she was facing, and latched on to him in bear-hug fashion. "ACK! Rona," He squawked, "I need to breathe." She loosened her grip slightly, but had buried her head in his shoulder. The front of his shirt soon became soaked, and he could swear that she was muttering something, but he couldn't make it out. He shrugged, and stunned the bitch one more time for good measure, and placed his boot on her throat. He looked up, and called out to the droid. "Hey, you! Stop right where you are. I've got my foot on her neck, and I have no qualms about killing her." The droid looked at him, then turned back to Deeeight. "Well, damn, there went that plan."
"Master Drogo, might I suggest getting the small one out of here." Deeeight said as he held up the grenade he had in his hand.
Drogo nodded as he holstered his blaster. It would not do for him to get into a firefight with Rona attached to him the way she was, and it would give him both hands to hold Rona with. He took a moment to adjust Rona in his arms, which made her involuntarily tighten her grip again. "Uh, Rona, can't breathe again." And again she loosened her grip. Drogo then began to back away carefully, keeping a close eye on both Bounty Hunters.
Kaala was struggling to drag the senator away. He was not that heavy, but deadweight is always much harder to move than a person who can help you a little bit. She was very thankful that the golden man, the one they called a droid, was distracting the other one. Kaala did not think she would be able to protect the senator from that beast. She looked over at Drogo, and sighed in relief. He had gotten to his daughter and was carrying her to safety. The Bounty Hunter had taken a few shots at the mean droid as well, but it seemed to ignore him for the droid.
"Could I assist you in that?" Someone said to her.
Looking up, she saw a well dressed man with a purple domed droid, which the others called an astromech. "Who are you?"
"I am in this man's employment. My name is Lans."
"Could you get his other arm? It will be easier to carry him like that."
"Of course." Now, with the help of the other man, they were making good speed toward the exit. As they were trudging along, the little astromech droid rolled over to a computer terminal and plugged itself in. "Zeenine? What in all of the Force do you think you are doing?"
It simply whistled and beeped in the way that all artoo units do. "Can you understand it, sir?" Kaala asked.
"No idea. Most of the ones that do are starfighter pilots and mechanics." He answered. The Senator at that time began to stir. "Oh, it does seem that Mr. Mael is beginning to recover."
Kaala nodded, and continued dragging the senator, and wondering if her new friends were okay.
Drogo was still backing away with Rona when suddenly, the four-armed battle droid was surrounded by security droids. They seemed more a nuisance than anything else, but they were slowing him down. "How in the hell did that happen?" Well, he didn't care, he was at the door now, and he was not sticking around, not with Rona in the barely controlled panic she was in. "All right, young lady, just wait til we get back to the ship. You are in so much trouble."
"I know." She muttered between sobs. Drogo gave her a little squeeze, thankful that she didn't seem to be hurt.
He waited just around the corner for the others to get out as well. Ka'th was next and he had the droid on the back of his bike. Finally, the quadrille of people came out; Nicca walking under his own power, followed closely by Kaala, and somebody else, and a purple astromech. As soon as they left, the fire control suppressor lowered on the mall.
"What the heck were those droids, and where did they come from?" Drogo asked. "And why the hell did the suppressor lower?"
"Just a little assistance from Zeenine here." The new guy said.
"Who are you?"
Nicca answered him. "He's in my employ." He walked over to Drogo. "How is she? Did she get hurt in any way?"
Drogo shook his head. "If she did, I can't tell. Thank you, by the way. I don't know many people who would be willing to face almost certain death for someone they had only just met." Drogo held her a little closer, being careful not to squeeze her to death. "Now, let's get back to the ship. I don't think this town is safe anymore."
Corahll walked down the ramp of his ship, and was about to get into the speeder when he saw his group entering the hanger bay. He shook his head. "Y'all tell me you need my help, so I lock down everything, and just as I'm about to come and help, you show up." He looked over the group. The Senator had been joined with another man and a purple astromech, with Kaala standing just a little behind them. The Bounty Hunter and the protocol droid were riding in on the swoop, and it looked like the droid had gotten a little redesigning from a blaster. Finally came Drogo carrying Rona in his arms. Rona, who seemed to have been responsible for this whole fiasco. "I could have continued working on the hyperdrive, if I had known that this would happen."
Drogo looked at him for a few seconds. The next thing Corahll knew, Drogo had landed one on his jaw, and was heading up the ramp. Corahll shook his head. "What? What did I say?"
Nicca Mael walked up to him. "He's just a little stressed out. Any parent would be after nearly losing a child." Then he grew much more serious. "We need to leave now. I have a place where we will be safe. Let my droid pilot, since he knows the way, and you can continue to work on the hyperdrive."
Corahll sighed, but nodded. "Then let's get aboard the ship, and get going, before someone else figures out a way to get captured."
Drogo carried Rona into her quarters, and set her down on the bed. "Now, let's make sure you weren't hurt." He knelt in front of her, and checked her thoroughly, but other than her scraped palms and knees, and a small bruise on her back from the barrel of the blaster, she seemed to be okay. Shaken, and still scared, but okay. He grew stern. "How many times have I told you to not wander off like that?! You could have been killed!"
"I know. I'm sorry." She said, curled up with her knees to her chin. Tears were still running down her face. "I won't do it again, I swear."
"Dammit, Rona, I was scared half to death when Kaala told me you were in trouble. You need to thank her, by the way. If she hadn't figured out that you were in trouble, we might not have found you in time." He was having a hard time keeping his voice under control. "From now on, you're not going anywhere without me, you understand?" She nodded. "Good." Drogo sighed. "I'm just relieved that you weren't hurt, or worse, killed. I don't know what I would do without you." She started crying even harder. Drogo pulled her close and held her. "Shhh, it's okay now, you're safe. I won't let them hurt you, remember? I promised your mother I would keep you safe, and that's what I intend to do."
Drogo held her until she had cried herself to sleep. He laid her down on the bed, covered her up, and tucked her in. He bent over, and kissed her gently on the forehead, then he left the room, and closed the door so she could rest.
"Is she okay?"
Drogo jumped at the sound of Kaala's voice. He looked at the young woman. "Yeah, she's okay, just a little scared still, that's all. She's sleeping now, which is probably the best thing for her now." He looked at the little purple astromech that had seemed to have taken a liking to her. "Looks like you made a new friend there, Kaala."
She turned and looked at the droid. She smiled back at him. "Yes, I only wish I knew what it was saying."
"Don't worry about it. If it really wants you to understand, it will figure out how to tell you. These little astromechs are smart."
She nodded, and the two continued down the hall, but before she passed out of sight, she called, "Please tell Rona that I am glad that she is safe and unharmed."
He nodded, and waved her on. He then turned and went into his room across the hall, leaving the door opened, just in case Rona needed him. He picked up his guitar, and began strumming a simple tune.
Rona Stormchaser was bored. She had been following Drogo and Kaala around for the better part of an hour, and Drogo was not letting her out of his sight. She sighed. Rona loved Drogo with all her heart, to her; he was her father, and biology would not change that, but sometimes he was a little too overprotective. She had seen some stores she had wanted to purchase clothes from, but because they wanted to equip the new girl with stuff that would be useful, as well as a new wardrobe, she wasn't able to.
Then Drogo turned his back to her as he helped Kaala with some weapons, and Rona saw her opportunity. She snuck away quietly, and as soon as she was out of the store, she ran to one where she had seen a nice sweater for a pretty good price. Rona skipped along in the mall. She knew Drogo was going to be mad, but she might be able to calm in down with a present, and she had seen a couple of shirts that he might've liked. Or at least, he would if he paid attention to his clothes like she did. She giggled a little as she went along. For the first time in months, she began to feel like a normal teenager.
Then, just as she was about to enter the store, she felt the barrel of a blaster shoved painfully hard into the small of her back, and a voice behind her say, "Don't scream. Head for the Pavilion, and keep where I can see you." She swallowed loudly, but did as she was told. As they headed toward the food court, she wondered why she never listened to her father when it was important.
Meanwhile, Drogo was about to help Kaala pay for her gear when he decided that he should get something for Rona too. "Hey, Rona," he asked, "do you want something from here, or would rather have me buy you that sweater that I saw you eyeing in that other store?" When he got no response, he turned around. "Rona, quit being-Rona?" She wasn't behind him like he had thought she was.
He searched through the entire store, not really beginning to worry until he realized she wasn't anywhere in the store. "Dammit all, where did that girl wonder off to now?" He looked at Kaala. "We need to go ahead and pay for that, so we can go search for my wanderlust daughter." He did so, and they headed out of the store. He decided to begin by searching every clothing store.
"Daughter? You two look nothing alike?" The young girl asked in her lilting accent.
"I adopted her when she was six years old, but that doesn't change the fact that she is my daughter." He said as he went into the first clothing store. After asking a few sales associates, and discovering that she had never been in the store, grumbled loudly. "That girl is in so much trouble. There are reasons I tell her to stay with me. These are very dangerous times for us." He went off to another store, Kaala having a hard time keeping up.
"You care for her very much, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. The little one has a tendency to have the worst luck in the galaxy when it comes to avoiding trouble." He said, barely slowing down to allow the young woman to catch up. Suddenly she stopped, and began looking in all directions, as if trying to find something. He also stopped and turned toward her. "What is it, Kaala?
"Rona is in trouble."
Drogo, despite thinking something like that was the case, became frantic. "Trouble, what do you mean trouble, what kind of trouble?"
Kaala shook her head. "I do not know, but she is very scared. Deathly afraid, I would say."
Drogo looked all around the crowd, hoping that his little girl was somewhere nearby. When he wasn't able to see her, he grabbed Kaala gently by the shoulders. "Kaala, please, tell me where she is. I need to find her before she gets hurt. Can you do that?"
Kaala closed her eyes in concentration. "Cannot say for certain. She is outside, and there are many around here. It is much more crowded than here." She opened her eyes, and stared at Drogo. "We must hurry. I do not know what will happen if someone does not rescue her, quickly."
Drogo nodded, and ran toward the most crowded place he could find, the pavilion, with Kaala right behind him. He looked around, hoping to find his daughter before any harm could come to her. Drogo was angry, but he couldn't tell if he were angry with Rona for running off, or at himself, for not paying more attention to her.
Kaala grabbed his shirt and tugged at it. "Drogo, she is over there." He looked over where the young woman was pointing, and sure enough, he saw his young green Twi'lek girl looking to be on the verge of tears. Behind her was a taller human, with long brown hair kept in a braid, and hazel eyes. Not that he cared what the other woman looked like. All he knew was that Rona needed help, and somehow, he had to get to the girl he considered a daughter.
So Drogo did what came natural to him. He began to push people out his way, quite literally picking them up and moving them from between him and Rona.
Both Rona and her captor heard the commotion, and turned towards it. Rona saw Drogo, and knew she was really gonna be in trouble when all this was over. Of course, all she cared about was the fact that he was coming to help her, and she would rather be back in the ship listening to him yell at her than have a gun to her back. The woman behind her said, "Keep quiet, or I'll kill both of you."
Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, and not for the first time she wondered how with this many people around, not one of them would not help a child that obviously was in distress.
In a diner not too far from the pavilion, Ka'th Odak was trying to pick up more information on what kind of bounties there might be out there and on who that bounty hunter woman was, when he heard the loud ruckus outside. "What the?" the bounty hunter muttered as he walked outside. He blinked twice, not quite believing the scene he was watching. Rona was standing in front of that same women from the guild he had run into earlier, while Drogo was literally throwing people left and right trying to reach them. He shook his head. "Dammit all, he does not know what he's doing! He's gonna get that poor girl killed." He raced over to the Fironean. "Drogo, stop! This is only gonna make matters worse."
"Let go of me, Bounty Hunter. That is not your daughter in danger."
"Which is why I'm able to be rational. Think about it. Why hasn't Rona run over here to you, huh? It's obvious that's she's seen you, she's looking at us now! That woman more than likely has a blaster to Rona. If you go over there, she's just as likely to shoot her as look at you."
Drogo shook his head. "But I can't stand around and do nothing!" And he continued to make his way through the thinning crowd.
Ka'th shook his head, and headed through the crowd to his swoop bike. "I think we need a couple more hands for this. I just hope that idiot Corahll is there."
On the other side of the pavilion, Nicca Mael, and his droid, three- deeeight were standing by a public terminal, talking to Lans, Nicca's personal assistant. "What was that Lans? I can't hear you!" He shouted over the din. "I don't know what's going on, it just suddenly got very loud in here."
Deeeight turned toward the suddenly panicking crowd, and turned back to his master. "Sir, I think you should see this."
"Not now, Deeeight, I'm trying to conduct business here!" He said.
"Sir, the little one is in danger."
"What?!" Nicca turned around, and saw the little one about ready to cry, while her "father" and the other girl they had picked up were racing toward them, with the bounty hunter seeming to shrug his shoulders and go in the opposite direction. "Oh, no. Deeeight, we've got to try and help her. She looks like she's about to go into hysterics. Deeeight?"
Deeeight had already started shuffling off in that direction; having come up with the only plan that he thought might work. Once he got close he enough, he said in a loud clear voice. "Oh, Mistress Rona, there you are! We have been searching frantically for you! Thank you kind Mistress for finding our-" He was interrupted by a blaster bolt to his chest. The woman had brought her other hand around Rona's neck, no longer trying to hide the blaster.
Drogo watched the droid's brave, but stupid plan backfire, and he stopped. Rona now had two blasters to her more than likely, and she was half-gone in hysterics now. He had to do something that the woman wouldn't expect, so he could give Rona a chance to run. He looked around. The Bounty Hunter had managed to reach his swoop bike, and was hopefully going to go and get Corahll. The Senator was approaching cautiously from the opposite side, and Kaala was coming in behind him. The droid was laying on the ground, more than likely playing Dead.
He shook his head. This is the worst idea I've had in a long time, but it's the only one that will give her a chance. He thought. So he took a flying leap at the woman, hoping to at least knock her back enough for someone else to grab Rona. Unfortunately, the woman ducked, and Drogo went flying right over her. "This is not what I had in mind!" He cried as he landed.
Kaala shook her head. This was certainly a bad predicament, but she had a strange feeling that Rona was not the one the woman was after. Drogo was already standing back up, and drawing his blaster. She didn't think that was such a good idea. If he missed, he could hurt Rona. So she turned to the woman, raised her hands in a surrendering manner, and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want the Senator." The woman answered, but she also whistled, as if calling for a pet, or companion.
Nicca looked shocked. How did this bounty hunter know he was here, and more importantly, how did she know who he was traveling with? Still, there was only one thing he could do. If it would mean that the little one would be safe, he would be willing to face his fate. "I'm the Senator you're looking for! I will come with you, if you let the little one go." Rona turned and looked at him as if he had just said he would stand on his head and juggle at the same time.
As the Senator said this, a grenade dropped in front of the woman and Rona, and he cried, "What are you doing, Bounty Hunter? You gonna kill Rona with the Bounty hunter!"
As Ka'th drove off, he shouted, "It's a stun grenade!"
"oh." He said as the grenade went off, and everyone but the droid and Ka'th were knocked out by the blast.
Ka'th nodded at his handiwork, then turned his attention to Bounty Hunter droid, Sym-On that was lowering itself from the ceiling. As he swung around for another pass, he got on his com, and shouted for Corahll.
Corahll was hip-deep in fixing the hyperdrive on the Dragon's Head when one of his many Arfour units rolled up to him. "Excuse me sir, but it seems that your counterparts are having a bit of trouble in the pavilion. It seems that the bounty hunter has been trying to reach you for quite sometime."
The Duros sighed, but took the com from the droid. "What is it, Ka'th? Make it short, I'm about hip-deep in hyperdrive bits right now."
"The long and short of it is, there's evidently a bounty on our senator friend's head, and a couple of very nasty bounty hunters are trying to collect it by holding Rona hostage!"
"I knew that girl was more trouble than she was worth. Fine, I'll be there in a moment." And he turned off the com.
Rona shook her head as she came to, hoping that the day had all been a nightmare. Then she realized that an unconscious woman still had a gun to her back, and she knew she was in trouble. She looked out, and saw the most frightening sight she had seen in all her thirteen years. It was a seven foot tall droid with four arms, and a blaster in each one. Seeing this, she screamed. This was not turning out to be a good day at all. The droid turned toward her. Rona tried to slink further under the woman who had captured her, but it was no use, the droid had heard her, and was now moving toward her. Rona began crying. She was sure that the droid was coming for her.
It did stop in front of her, and scanned her, but then it moved on. This did nothing for Rona, for she was certain that it was just going to move the body from off of her, and grab her, and use her as a hostage just as the woman had, if not just outright kill her. Rona was terrified. "DADDY!" She screamed, something she had not called Drogo in a long time.
"DADDY!"
Drogo had already been coming to, but at the sound of Rona calling him Daddy, he jumped up to his feet with his blaster pulled. He saw that with the exception of the bitch and the senator, everyone was awake. Kaala was pulling the Senator out of harms way while Three-deeeight was taking potshots at the biggest, meanest looking droid he had ever seen. No wonder Rona was scared out of her mind.
Unfortunately for Deeeight, Sym-On did not like being shot. He turned slowly to face the protocol droid. "That," It said in a deep rumbling voice, "was a mistake."
Deeeight answered in his prissy voice that all protocol droids have, "Come get some."
Drogo shook his head. He was less concerned about the droid than he was getting to Rona, who was still calling out for him. He switched his blaster to stun, and raced over to his daughter. He lifted the bitch up just far enough that he could grab Rona by the back of her shirt, and picked her up. She screamed, since she couldn't tell who picked her up yet. "Shh, it's okay, it's me."
He was about to fling her over his shoulders when she wiggled enough in his grasp to change how she was facing, and latched on to him in bear-hug fashion. "ACK! Rona," He squawked, "I need to breathe." She loosened her grip slightly, but had buried her head in his shoulder. The front of his shirt soon became soaked, and he could swear that she was muttering something, but he couldn't make it out. He shrugged, and stunned the bitch one more time for good measure, and placed his boot on her throat. He looked up, and called out to the droid. "Hey, you! Stop right where you are. I've got my foot on her neck, and I have no qualms about killing her." The droid looked at him, then turned back to Deeeight. "Well, damn, there went that plan."
"Master Drogo, might I suggest getting the small one out of here." Deeeight said as he held up the grenade he had in his hand.
Drogo nodded as he holstered his blaster. It would not do for him to get into a firefight with Rona attached to him the way she was, and it would give him both hands to hold Rona with. He took a moment to adjust Rona in his arms, which made her involuntarily tighten her grip again. "Uh, Rona, can't breathe again." And again she loosened her grip. Drogo then began to back away carefully, keeping a close eye on both Bounty Hunters.
Kaala was struggling to drag the senator away. He was not that heavy, but deadweight is always much harder to move than a person who can help you a little bit. She was very thankful that the golden man, the one they called a droid, was distracting the other one. Kaala did not think she would be able to protect the senator from that beast. She looked over at Drogo, and sighed in relief. He had gotten to his daughter and was carrying her to safety. The Bounty Hunter had taken a few shots at the mean droid as well, but it seemed to ignore him for the droid.
"Could I assist you in that?" Someone said to her.
Looking up, she saw a well dressed man with a purple domed droid, which the others called an astromech. "Who are you?"
"I am in this man's employment. My name is Lans."
"Could you get his other arm? It will be easier to carry him like that."
"Of course." Now, with the help of the other man, they were making good speed toward the exit. As they were trudging along, the little astromech droid rolled over to a computer terminal and plugged itself in. "Zeenine? What in all of the Force do you think you are doing?"
It simply whistled and beeped in the way that all artoo units do. "Can you understand it, sir?" Kaala asked.
"No idea. Most of the ones that do are starfighter pilots and mechanics." He answered. The Senator at that time began to stir. "Oh, it does seem that Mr. Mael is beginning to recover."
Kaala nodded, and continued dragging the senator, and wondering if her new friends were okay.
Drogo was still backing away with Rona when suddenly, the four-armed battle droid was surrounded by security droids. They seemed more a nuisance than anything else, but they were slowing him down. "How in the hell did that happen?" Well, he didn't care, he was at the door now, and he was not sticking around, not with Rona in the barely controlled panic she was in. "All right, young lady, just wait til we get back to the ship. You are in so much trouble."
"I know." She muttered between sobs. Drogo gave her a little squeeze, thankful that she didn't seem to be hurt.
He waited just around the corner for the others to get out as well. Ka'th was next and he had the droid on the back of his bike. Finally, the quadrille of people came out; Nicca walking under his own power, followed closely by Kaala, and somebody else, and a purple astromech. As soon as they left, the fire control suppressor lowered on the mall.
"What the heck were those droids, and where did they come from?" Drogo asked. "And why the hell did the suppressor lower?"
"Just a little assistance from Zeenine here." The new guy said.
"Who are you?"
Nicca answered him. "He's in my employ." He walked over to Drogo. "How is she? Did she get hurt in any way?"
Drogo shook his head. "If she did, I can't tell. Thank you, by the way. I don't know many people who would be willing to face almost certain death for someone they had only just met." Drogo held her a little closer, being careful not to squeeze her to death. "Now, let's get back to the ship. I don't think this town is safe anymore."
Corahll walked down the ramp of his ship, and was about to get into the speeder when he saw his group entering the hanger bay. He shook his head. "Y'all tell me you need my help, so I lock down everything, and just as I'm about to come and help, you show up." He looked over the group. The Senator had been joined with another man and a purple astromech, with Kaala standing just a little behind them. The Bounty Hunter and the protocol droid were riding in on the swoop, and it looked like the droid had gotten a little redesigning from a blaster. Finally came Drogo carrying Rona in his arms. Rona, who seemed to have been responsible for this whole fiasco. "I could have continued working on the hyperdrive, if I had known that this would happen."
Drogo looked at him for a few seconds. The next thing Corahll knew, Drogo had landed one on his jaw, and was heading up the ramp. Corahll shook his head. "What? What did I say?"
Nicca Mael walked up to him. "He's just a little stressed out. Any parent would be after nearly losing a child." Then he grew much more serious. "We need to leave now. I have a place where we will be safe. Let my droid pilot, since he knows the way, and you can continue to work on the hyperdrive."
Corahll sighed, but nodded. "Then let's get aboard the ship, and get going, before someone else figures out a way to get captured."
Drogo carried Rona into her quarters, and set her down on the bed. "Now, let's make sure you weren't hurt." He knelt in front of her, and checked her thoroughly, but other than her scraped palms and knees, and a small bruise on her back from the barrel of the blaster, she seemed to be okay. Shaken, and still scared, but okay. He grew stern. "How many times have I told you to not wander off like that?! You could have been killed!"
"I know. I'm sorry." She said, curled up with her knees to her chin. Tears were still running down her face. "I won't do it again, I swear."
"Dammit, Rona, I was scared half to death when Kaala told me you were in trouble. You need to thank her, by the way. If she hadn't figured out that you were in trouble, we might not have found you in time." He was having a hard time keeping his voice under control. "From now on, you're not going anywhere without me, you understand?" She nodded. "Good." Drogo sighed. "I'm just relieved that you weren't hurt, or worse, killed. I don't know what I would do without you." She started crying even harder. Drogo pulled her close and held her. "Shhh, it's okay now, you're safe. I won't let them hurt you, remember? I promised your mother I would keep you safe, and that's what I intend to do."
Drogo held her until she had cried herself to sleep. He laid her down on the bed, covered her up, and tucked her in. He bent over, and kissed her gently on the forehead, then he left the room, and closed the door so she could rest.
"Is she okay?"
Drogo jumped at the sound of Kaala's voice. He looked at the young woman. "Yeah, she's okay, just a little scared still, that's all. She's sleeping now, which is probably the best thing for her now." He looked at the little purple astromech that had seemed to have taken a liking to her. "Looks like you made a new friend there, Kaala."
She turned and looked at the droid. She smiled back at him. "Yes, I only wish I knew what it was saying."
"Don't worry about it. If it really wants you to understand, it will figure out how to tell you. These little astromechs are smart."
She nodded, and the two continued down the hall, but before she passed out of sight, she called, "Please tell Rona that I am glad that she is safe and unharmed."
He nodded, and waved her on. He then turned and went into his room across the hall, leaving the door opened, just in case Rona needed him. He picked up his guitar, and began strumming a simple tune.