Móirín was thankful that Priscilla had chosen to remain with her but she regretted taking on the task of looking after the psuedo-celebrity as the residential district became more vulnerable to the warzone nearby. It had only taken a few minutes of tinkering to transform the holovid display unit into a hacking device that allowed the resourceful Chiss to get a feel for what was happening on the ground on both sides. She didn't have much of a vested interest in either the Republic or the Sith-ran Empire but she did need to find a safe route to evacuate her new companion. Her quarry would have to wait for the moment, assuming the target had lived through the first few waves of the assault. But considering her target was an employee of the Senate building, she might have to worry about chasing down evacuees that would have been given top clearance and the highest possible level of security. That concern was for later, however, the more pressing matter was to get out of the lush apartments that threatened to trap the pair instead of providing any sort of security against the various ground forces.
Eventually the assassin was able to piece together enough intel to ensure what she hoped would be a relatively safe route. She hadn't spent enough time on Coruscant to have a local's view but she knew that stealing a local's vehicle might turn the odds back into her favour. After the first one proved ineffective half way through the journey she decided quality was always going to trump quantity and she went for a much more luxious skycar, the sort that transported vulnerable persons with ease, comfort, and much more security than the average citizen could expect. Priscilla remained quiet, probably in a state of shock after seeing the ruined remains of her favourite locales. The attack was unfathomable, no one had ever dared to strike the Republic at its heart, it had always been assumed that the defenses were too strong and the occupants to precious to risk which would encourage any and all soldiers to fight with more tenacity than they would on any other world.
While she was no foreigner to combat, Móirín had been trained for subterfuge and stealth, the idea of taking part in a more direct line of combat unnerved her and she tried her best to keep her distance from it. Battlefields were too chaotic and messy and while the distraction could be used to her advantage, there was just too many risks to entertain such a notion. There were plenty of distractions along their current path anyway, namely other civilians seeking refuge from the destruction that threatened everyone indiscriminantly. Móirín was dreading the sight that would meet them at the starport, more than likely all space traffic would be halted. Who knew what sort of dangerous lurked beyond the planet's atmosphere? Still, she he had to try, getting Priscilla offworld was the only thing she could think of at the moment, no where on the surface was safe. If she could bribe the right people or make her companion seem more importan than she was, their might still be a chance, otherwise the trip to Liston Starport was a waste of both their time.
She wasn't entirely sure why she felt so compelled to look out for the Twi'lek's well-being, maybe she was the closest person she had to a friend at that moment and unusual sensation of sentimentality had taken over her senses. In the future she would have to make sure to avoid such nuances and get on with her mission, friendships didn't put credits in your account after all and there were bigger matters to deal with. It wasn't hard to understand the common desire that assasins held regarding solo operations. Even if her training had emphasised the value of teamwork, she had already learned that trust was hard to come by and profits shared were never going to be good enough.
Besides, she had already given up on teamwork after her previous unit was obliterated on their first major mission away from her home planet of Thule. She had trained with many other young Chiss who were looking for new opportunities in the wider galaxy, eager to get away from the traditions of home and to get as far away from the Empire's influence as possible. If that meant mercenary work then so be it, it wouldn't matter who hired her so long as it was good pay. And it meant she could get away from the rules and regulations that came with normal Chiss life, no longer worried about the Ascendancy and her place within it.
The small colony of Thule had been one of the first beyond Chiss space and had been intended to serve as a model colony for future expansion efforts. Unfortunately, the Empire had caught wind of the new arrivals in territory that they deemed to be their own. But then, the Empire's entire existance was built on dominating every known piece of galactic civilisation so they considered everything to belong to them, rightfully or wrongly. While she still had family on Thule, she had no intention of associating with Chiss that would rather ally with the Sith than resist their influence. At least they hadn't allied with the much weaker Republic and she was sure that the alliance with the Empire was a temporary one while the Chiss built up their strength for later.
Either way, politics was of little interest to her, which was ironic given her current mission at the heart of the galactic political scene. There was little time to reminiscent about the home she had left behind or the assassination team that she had managed to betray to advance her own personal career. Had they been better assassins, they wouldn't have bitten off more than they could chew anyway and there was now less competition in the field for her to worry about. But if she failed to take advantage of the situation on Coruscant, she could very well find herself back at square one and if anyone had learned of her past actions she'd have a much harder time gaining employment in the future.
The sight of long queues met her and Priscilla as they got closer to the starport. She was going to have to get clever if she was going to get the dancer off-world. No sense in parking the skycar out of the way, better to look like they were in a hurry anyway. Without much thought for the panicked pedestrians, she pushed her way quite literally through the crowd and got as close to the main terminal's entrance as possible. Several aliens yelled and shooked their various appendages at her but she took no notice.
Hurriedly, she got out of the vehicle and took Priscilla by the hand, her grip tight on the other woman's wrist. She'd be damned if this was a waste of her time. The Twi'lek made no fuss but she was shaking quite noticeably, probably a mixture of fear and apprehension given how tense the atmosphere was in the crowded building.
As far as Móirín could tell, there were no telltale signs of Republican troops fortifying what she would have considered to be vital infrastructure. Maybe they were too occupied by the Sith forces elsewhere, too overwhelmed to help important civilians seeking refuge away from the fighting. Typical military attitude, putting their own needs before any other. At most, she saw the occasional standard issue blaster pistol resting in the hip holsters of the usual security officers who were clearly not coping well with the unusual circumstances. If it came down to force, she might actually have a chance.
"Do you have some sort of plan?" Priscilla whispered in her Chiss companion's ear as they wound their way through the crowd.
"Don't need one. Just follow my lead," Móirín responded with mock confidence.
"That's not very reassuring," the Twi'lek complained with indignation.
They approached what looked like the most secure section of the terminal, the gaudy lounges and presence of various protocol droids indicated it was a much more exclusive area than the one before and the crowds was much thinner. The number of security personnel was thicker than what they had seen previously and the guards were all holding their weapons for everyone to see. There was a make shift barricade set-up near the corridor that led to the landing pads where a crowd of expensively clad civilians was being held at bay. Móirín noticed that one or two of the would-be passengers was being escorted through at one end of the checkpoint and for the first time she felt like fortune was beginning to smile on them. The only difficulty was the small army guarding the way through.
"This looks promising," the assassin voiced her thoughts out loud.
"But there's a long queue to go through and they want some special identification that I don't have.."
"Come on, we're getting you out of here one way or another, a few guys who have never fired their weapons before aren't going to stop me," Móirín assured her as she fumbled through a pouch on her belt where her credits were stored. There wasn't going to be enough for a bribe, so much for plan alpha. The Chiss frowned but part of her was relieved that she wouldn't have to lose any of her hard earned credits on such a venture, even if the amount was a lot smaller than she remembered it. Sometimes the best approach was try walking through the front door anyway.
She walked right up to the front of the line, ignoring the grumbles and complaints from the other influential types trying to get off-world, "Who's in charge up here? I have clearance to get my patron to safety. Didn't anyone get my message earlier?"
"What message, ma'am?" a younger security officer asked with genuine concern.
"The one that said that the Echani's senator was coming and needs immediate passage away from this war-striken world! Honestly, this place is a mad-house, anyone could try to waltz right through and steal a ship with this level of competency. Take me to your superior, son, I haven't the time to waste on you," she jabbed him in the chest with a finger to make her point and despite his body armour he seemed intimidated enough by the direct confrontation.
"Follow me," he said shakily with only a casual glance at Priscilla. It wouldn't take long for him to connect the dots that the Echani senator wasn't likely to be a Twi'lek but Móirín had been urgent and brash enough to at least look like someone that should be taken seriously. Besides, the kid looked harried from the day's events and was probably anxious to do something other than stand around playing crowd-control.
They were brought to the edge of the barricade which revealed that there was actually two layers to the makeshift durasteel structure. Between the two layers they were met by a much older human with a much more sinister looking gun in his hands than the rest of the security forces. The authoratative figure wasn't guarded, his men were probably stretched far too thin for such triviliaties anyway.
"Shouldn't you be the Ryyloth senator? What kind of game is this?" he growled at the pair of them.
"Racism aside, I think your young recruit heard wrong. I said she was part of the senator's entourage, rather she is the Echani senator's wife and I've been ordered to escort her to safety," Móirín spoke quickly as she bluffed her way through the exchange.
"We did hear that a group of senators was supposed to be making their way here with some trooper escorts," the man said as he tried to rationalise the situation as Móirín presented it. "But you're just one...one what? A bodyguard?"
"Yes, I've worked with the Echani office for quite some time now. Lovely people, really.
I can't go into the details, but I'm supposed to be working with a low profile here, you know? Slip one or two people out from the Senate Building while the enemy is distracted and get them here. It's a dangerous job but that's why they hire the best.
Can you imagine what sort of fallout would happen if the Empire murdered the senators or their famiies? Bureacracy can barely function when there isn't an invasion or some treaty going on. Civilian starports are the only ones that are safe for the moment, but that won't last long."
"I've heard a lot of rubbish stories today, but yours at least makes some sort of sense," the man rubbed his chin as he tried to decide whether to believe the assassin or not. After a long pause he finally came to his conclusion, "Since you're not part of the escort that I was expecting I can't possibly take your word on this, understand?"
Móirín sighed, so much for plan beta. She hastily pulled her carbine free from its holster and before the man could react, she pointed it at the cieling and fired off five quick bursts of blue light. A few fragments of dented durasteel rained overhead and screams could be heard all around as the restless crowd began to panic. The guards would be occupied with retaining control and all Móirín would have to worry about was the shocked security officer in front of her if he decided to take his chances.
"Either let us through or not but stand in my way and you'll regret it, and that's no lie," she said with a sly expression, she was hoping that he'd back down but wasn't going to hesitate to put a few rounds through his skull if need be. The man simply ran back around the corner to the safety of his troops and didn't look back. "Always love a coward. Makes life so much easier."
"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Priscilla asked once she found her voice again, having never been so close to a high-powered weapon while being fired in an enclosed environment before.
"A little, though this is the part where we must go our seperate ways. There will be ships in there that haven't left yet, you'll be fine. I have to get on with my job before this stupid war kills my target without me. A girl's gotta make a living, right?"
"I worry about you, this lifestyle is too dangerous."
"That's sweet but I can take care of myself, really."
"Will we see each other again?"
"I can't make promises like that, Pris. If the Empire is bold enough to attack the Republic here then things are about to get ugly in the galaxy for all of us. At least I can take contracts from both sides.."
"Still focused on the job, that's.. well, that's unfortunate. I enjoyed what little time we had together."
"Me too but can we make this quick, I really have things to do.."
"Fine, take care of yourself Rael'orsi'nuorodo," Priscilla stumbled slightly on the proper pronouncination but it was the first time Móirín had heard her name spoken by a non-Chiss.
Maybe their encounter had meant more to Priscilla than she had expected it to, a shame there wouldn't be an opportunity later to see what could have possibly developed between the two of them. Móirín looked down at her weapon with a pang of guilt, trying to hide her expression. She was still a Chiss no matter how hard she tried to escape it, emotions were just frivolous and impractical nuances that she didn't have time for. Suddenly she felt a hand delicately cupping her chin and before she could push away the Twi'lek kissed her on the lips in a way that was definitely more than platonic. After the brief moment had passed, there was nothing left to say and the other woman made her way down the corridor to the docking bays, she looked over her shoulder more than once but Móirín tried not to make it obvious that she was watching.
When she was gone from view, the Chiss smiled down at her modified carbine, "Don't be jealous. You finally have me all to yourself. Let's go see what kind of trouble we can rustle up, eh?"
With that, she made her way down a service corridor to avoid the rioting crowd within the terminal. Once she was outside again, she had a good view of the landing pads with their various ships firing up their engines and preparing to lift-off. She wasn't sure if she could spot Priscilla's blue lekku from where she stood but knew she would have made it to one of the ships without any hassle. She sighed and looked in the opposite direction, where the Senate Building and her task awaited her. There was a platoon of Republic soldiers in shining armour approaching from a nearby boulevard, probably sent at last to reinforce the starport. She couldn't tell which direction they had been sent from but it was likely that she needed to hurry before the Senate chambers became a battleground of their own.
