Warning, this chapter contains a short scene that may be sensitive/offensive to some readers. Keep in mind this story has been rated appropriately.
"Return to us you have" Master Yoda said seeing Liliana enter the council chamber with Anakin and Ahsoka, "Told us of your assistance in defending Corellia Skywalker has. Grateful we are".
"I was defending my home world" Liliana answered setting a small bag on the floor, "Nothing more".
Master Windu addressed her, "Liliana before you left to aid in the defense of Corellia you claimed to have a Jedi artifact on your ship. Skywalker has informed us that in exchange for that artifact you would like our assistance in arresting a criminal on Nar Shaddaa".
Liliana turned her eyes to him, "Actually asking you for help in dealing with this criminal was Ahsoka's idea I plan on killing him, but she believes it would be better if he were to be arrested instead".
Master Windu looked to Ahsoka, "I see it's good to see that Skywalker's padawan is learning the value of life and the remembering the Jedi's stance on taking a life".
Liliana cut him off, "With all respect Master Jedi there is no value in this man's life. The things he's done death is too good a punishment for him" a disgusted glare appeared in her eyes, "If I had it my way he would be slowly tortured until he screamed himself to death. The only reason I want to shoot him is because I have other things I need to take care of so I'm unable to give him what he deserves".
Liliana gave Ahsoka a quick look and returned her eyes to Windu, "So instead of going through all that I decided to ask for your assistance in arresting him. If it works and he goes to prison with no chance of release that is my only condition then I will drop the matter and be on my way. Or you could just take whatever it is I have and I'll deal with him my way the choice is yours".
Master Windu's gaze seemed to pierce Liliana's, but the smuggler showed no signs of hesitance or concern as she spoke freely about her desire to kill the man in question.
"This criminal is based on Nar Shaddaa outside of Republic space and is controlled by the Hutts. It will take time, but the Jedi will"
Again Liliana cut him off, "It will be dealt with immediately. I will not allow that monster another moment of life. Either we have a deal or we don't. I'm not forcing you into this either way you get your artifact, but it will be dealt with today either he goes six feet under or to prison".
"Your anger is understandable" the stoic Jedi continued, "But this sort of thing will take time. The Jedi and the Hutts don't get along as it is and for us to show up on Nar Shaddaa to arrest someone could cause problems. If we don't approach this situation carefully it will cause more issues than the ones it solves".
Liliana gave an annoyed sigh, but before she could say anything he comlink beeped, "Yes Violet?"
"Liliana the pirate Hondo is attempting to contact you again shall I put him through?"
"Not now" Liliana told the protocol droid, "Kindly inform him that I'm busy and will get back to him".
"Understood".
Lowering her comlink Liliana looked back to Windu also feeling Anakin's eyes on her.
"You are acquainted with the pirate Hondo?" Windu asked her.
"Acquainted yes" Liliana answered, "But we are not friends. It was Hondo that informed me that Stagg was trying to kill me".
"And you trust his word?" Windu asked.
Liliana rested her hand on her hip, "I trust him more than most his information is good besides he has his own issues with Stagg and having me get rid of him saves him the time and money of doing it himself so it's mutually beneficial for us, but we're getting off topic are the Jedi going to assist me or not?"
Master Windu inhaled a deep breath through his nose, "We can provide you small assistance in dealing with him. This will come under several conditions however. We will send Skywalker and Padawan Tano with you, but you will follow his word on how to deal with the situation. Stagg will be returned here and sentenced by trial and this will have to be kept under the radar. We cannot let the Hutts know we sent Jedi to their moon to capture someone".
"I highly doubt they would care" Liliana grumbled, "Acceptable".
Stepping forward Liliana handed the small bag she had to Master Windu, "Here's your holocron or whatever it is. I'm relatively certain it's still in one piece".
Opening the bag Windu took out the holocron and began examining it quickly determining that it was extremely old, but surprisingly still operational.
"This is impressive" he said, "If I had to guess this is from the era of the Old Republic probably around two or three thousand years ago".
Master Yoda groaned, "Stored within the holocron lost history is. Chronicle it we must" he looked to Liliana, "By returning this to the Order, our thanks again you have. Go quickly to Nar Shaddaa you must".
Liliana nodded and bowed her head to Yoda, "Thank you" she turned to Anakin and Ahsoka, "I will return to my ship for now. I'll await your arrival".
Returning to her ship Liliana contacted Hondo inquiring as to why he called her earlier.
"Ah Liliana tell me have you made it to Nar Shaddaa yet?"
"I'm on Coruscant at the moment. Why have you learned anything else?"
Hondo placed his hands behind his back, "I have received more information about Stagg. It seems he's managed to contract the aide of the Mandalorian terrorist group Death Watch in exchange for weapons. I'm not sure what he's planning, but you should be prepared for additional security when you decide to infiltrate his base of operations".
"Well at least there won't be any shortage of action" Liliana mumbled, "Thanks for the warning Hondo just for that I think I'll give you the whole bottle of Blossom Wine".
Hondo rubbed his hands together, "Hmm I can already taste it, but I cannot keep the whole thing to myself I shall still share a glass or two with you".
Thanking the pirate again Liliana shut off the communication, "Why would he need Death Watch? He can't know I'm coming after him and even if he did having Mandalorian terrorists seems too much security for one person…What is he planning?"
The purple protocol droid walked over to her, "If Death Watch is there perhaps it would be best to think of a more subtle plan".
Liliana nodded, "This changes a lot of things. We should leave now and deal with Stagg myself with Death Watch there it's too much of a risk to bring Anakin and Ahsoka into it".
"I can understand the desire to not put others at risk, but is it wise to go after Stagg with known terrorists guarding him?"
Liliana looked to her droid, "We still don't know if they are guarding him. They could just as easily be doing something else for him. I've heard the stories of Death Watch, they're dangerous and not to be taken lightly…I would rather risk only myself than put them on the line as well".
"If that is your choice" Violet said walking out of the cockpit.
Quickly punching in the hyper drive coordinates for Nar Shaddaa Liliana started her ship just as Anakin and Ahsoka arrived. Raising the ramp the smuggler slowly waved at them from the cockpit as her freighter rose from the ground before flying off into the sky. Reaching the outer atmosphere Liliana contacted the Resolute waiting in orbit over the Republic capital.
"Admiral of the Resolute please respond".
"This is Admiral Yularen what is it?"
"Admiral I need you to deliver a message to Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano for me. Tell them I'm sorry. They'll know what it means".
"Very well, thank you again Captain for all the help you gave us. Safe travels".
"And to you as well Admiral"
Switching off the communications Liliana stood up from the pilot's seat and looked to her astromech droid Iron. Telling the droid she was going to get some rest during the trip she asked it to wake her when they arrived at their destination and to change the ship's ID signature before they arrived. Returning to her room which remained locked while she wasn't using it raising her left hand she held it over a scanning machine at the side of the door. Two seconds later the scanner beeped and the red light turned to green and the door's lock could be heard releasing itself. Stepping into the room Liliana walked over to a footlocker at the head of her bed holding her hand over its lock just like the door the lock released.
After her father died and left his ship to her she took the items that were most important to him and placed them in a footlocker. The keepsakes from her father as well as items important to herself were kept in a footlocker made from triple plated durasteel and sealed with a special lock that could only be opened by a certain ID chip. Looking at the palm of her left hand she traced the lines of a faint scar in the center of her palm the markings of a surgery to implant a chip into her hand. It was this chip that allowed her to open the footlocker as well as the door to the room effectively keeping it off limits to anyone else.
Opening the footlocker her eyes immediately rested on a picture of her and her father standing next to each other along with their two droids Iron and Violet. The photo was taken by a friend of her father after he finished teaching her how to use a blaster. The memory in the picture felt like it was so far in the past and yet she could remember it clearly as if it only happened days ago. Picking up the photo she closed her eyes holding back the pain she had locked away as she recalled all the times she spent with her adoptive parent. Steeling herself she placed the photo back in the footlocker and next to it she gently set down the pendant that belonged to Cynthia and with one last look at the memory of her lover she closed the footlocker sealing the pendant away.
Turning to her bed she sat at the edge and slowly ran her hands over her face and over her head trying to calm herself before she laid down. Turning onto her side she gripped the crystal necklace Alexandra gave her there was a faint warmth filling her hand as she held it. Closing her eyes she thought back to the promise she made to her friend back on Corellia the promise that she would return. Maybe it was the warmth of the crystal in her hand or maybe the thought of her kissing Alexandra, but a smile slowly made its way across her face as she drifted to sleep.
"I'll never surrender to someone like you" someone yelled.
Opening her eyes Liliana's vision was clouded and her breathing shallow her neck felt like someone had recently strangled her. Pushing herself off the ground she looked over seeing two figures locked in a duel each of them wielding a lightsaber, the weapon of the Jedi. One of the figures was tall and covered in heavy black armor with a long cape behind him the mask he wore concealing his face, but the red light of his weapon made Liliana feel uneasy. The other figure was also wearing a mask protecting its identity, but this one was much more slender wearing an old looking grey armor just under a foot shorter than its opponent and wielding a silver colored lightsaber. Watching the two of them clash Liliana drew her blasters and took aim at the one dressed in black armor, but right as she pulled the trigger the heavy figure reached its hand out and Liliana was lifted off the ground.
Feeling an invisible force squeezing her throat Liliana began gasping for air thankfully the other figure in the fight attacked the dark one breaking whatever spell it was using and freeing Liliana. Dropping to her knees and gasping for air she raised her blaster again and fired while the two opponents were locked in a standoff. The blaster shot hit the cloaked figure in the leg causing it to falter and allowing the other to land a killing blow, the silver lightsaber twisted up in a half circle motion before coming down on top of the cloaked figure cutting him down. Looking to the victorious one Liliana smiled and nodded as it walked over to her holding her arms out she hugged the figure her smile growing as it whispered into her ear.
Hearing a loud beeping sound everything around her turned to mist and dissipated as she awoke from her dream. Still lying on her side she gently rubbed her eyes before sliding out of bed and stretching. Opening her bedroom door her eyes quickly fell to Iron who was shuffling back and forth on his legs.
"Slow down, what happened?" she asked the frantic droid.
Iron screamed as its top cylinder began spinning in a full circle before he took off for the cockpit.
Liliana muttered to herself, "An urgent message from Hondo?"
Following the droid to the cockpit she switched on the communications terminal and a hologram of the Weequay pirate appeared.
"Ah good there you are" he said upon seeing her, "I was beginning to worry you had already arrived at Nar Shaddaa".
"I'll be there soon" Liliana told him, "What is it this time?"
Hondo sighed, "I'm afraid I found a traitor in one of my own. It seems one of my own men was feeding information to Stagg in exchange for payment as well as plotting against me. He told Stagg you were on your way".
"Is the rat dead?" Liliana asked him.
Hondo lowered his head, "Yes although it pains me to have done it, but I could not forgive his betrayal".
Liliana growled a sigh, "Alright so how much does Stagg know right now?"
"I don't know I'm afraid" Hondo said, "But it seems that you were not the only one he made a target out of. He is targeting me as well".
Liliana crossed her arms and smirked at him, "What did you do this time?"
Hondo managed an innocent chuckle, "I may have procured one of his spice and weapon shipments".
Liliana chuckled and shook her head, "So now he's after you as well? It must have been an important shipment".
Hondo nodded, "Indeed it was it. The weapons were meant to be shipped to the Separatist forces while the spice was payment for him from another deal".
"So he's supplying the Separatists as well?" Liliana muttered, "Anything else?"
Hondo shook his head, "I'm afraid that's all I have for now. I can only hope that there was only one rat, but if there are others I will deal with them".
Liliana nodded, "Thank you Hondo".
Hondo waved his hand, "Bah no need to thank me I was only doing what was right. Besides if you failed to kill him that would mean I would have to get my hands dirty doing it myself and saving you if you survived. At any rate be careful and if you happen to come across anything of value while you are there".
Liliana smirked again, "I'll be sure to bring you back a shiny souvenir".
Hondo grinned, "Very well then good luck Liliana I hope to hear from you as soon as it's over".
Liliana nodded again and ended the transmission leaning back in her chair, "So he knows I'm coming now…Alright then looks like we're going to do this the slow way".
Cupping her hands behind her hand she kicked her feet up to the console in front of her, "Hey Iron how much longer until we reach Nar Shaddaa?"
The steel grey astromech beeped before rolling in a short circle.
Liliana closed her eyes and smirked again, "Guess I better get ready then".
Getting up she looked down to Iron again, "After I'm off I want you to take the ship and put it somewhere safe ok?"
Iron shuffled back and forth on its legs as Liliana walked out of the cockpit and back to her room. Retrieving a medium sized supply bag from under her bed she opened it checking its contents making sure she would have what she needed.
"Hopefully I won't have to use all of it, but you never know" she said to herself slinging the bag over her shoulder.
Leaving the room she locked the door behind her and returned to the cockpit where Iron and Violet were waiting for her, "You two ready?"
Iron beeped and Violet bent forward bowing to her, "By your leave Liliana we will begin landing preparations".
Liliana nodded, "Alright once I get off I want you to seal the ship and then wait two minutes. After that I want you to take the ship and go somewhere safe where it can't be found and wait for my word to return. I'll be sneaking into Stagg's estate in the meantime I want the two of you to inform me if anything important happens like if the ship is attacked or if any form of authorities get wind of me".
Violet bowed again, "Of course Liliana please be sure to come back unharmed".
The ship dropped from hyperspace and quickly descended to the smuggler moon's surface finding an empty landing pad that was thankfully close to Liliana's target. Once they landed Liliana ran off the ship and looked back to her droids waving at them before running into a nearby crowd of dock workers vanishing behind them as she made her way away from the docks and into the city streets and then down to the slums.
"I really hate this place" she sighed running through the dark alley ways of the slums taking several turns to be sure no one was following or tracking her.
Spending the first twenty minutes of her visit running around Liliana finally made her way to the so called estate being used by the man she was after. Around three thousands years ago it used to be a massive warehouse district in the slums where thousands of refugees would end up after being displaced by war or other reasons, but now the various warehouses had been demolished and the entire space was now a single piece of property. To anyone who lived on Nar Shaddaa it would appear to be a mansion, but to anyone from a better place it would look just as rundown as the rest of the moon. Slowly approaching the estate from the side Liliana set her bag down and used a rifle scope she scanned the perimeter thankfully there were only a few guards outside.
"Ok so there's only five outside which means most of them are inside waiting for me. Well at least he's not making it too easy".
Slinging the bag back over her shoulder she silently ran around to the back of the estate stopping at another piece of the fence and climbing over it before sneaking up to the wall of the estate. Taking a brief moment to catch her breath she stepped onto the ledge of a nearby window and jumped reaching her hand out and grabbing the next ledge pulling herself up to the second floor. Prying the window open she slipped in closing the pane behind her to conceal her entry. The halls were dimly lit making it easy for her to hide in the darker corners and shadows as long as she stayed still.
Since entering the estate she hadn't seen many guards leading her to believe that many of them were guarding Stagg more closely and of course there was still Death Watch for whatever reason he hired them for something. All of that was irrelevant however all Liliana needed to do was kill Stagg and avoid being captured it didn't matter if she was seen or not as long as she escaped. Her only goal in all of this was to kill Stagg and that was all she intended to do. Hearing something around the corner Liliana crouched down and slide behind a statue peering around the corner at a pair of guards as they passed by her.
Thankfully this wasn't her first time here otherwise it would be much harder to navigate through the massive home. The last time she was at Stagg's estate he had tried to hire her directly to make an arms and drugs run for him, but upon learning how despicable of a person Stagg really was Liliana turned him down and even threatened him. Since then Liliana had gone out of her way to disrupt his operations specifically his slave trading and in the end it all caught up to her forcing Stagg to step up and try to get rid of her. As she crept through the halls she began wondering why he didn't put a bounty on her as that would have been easier, but it was of no consequence to her that was Stagg's mistake after all.
Arriving at Stagg's private office she placed her ear to the door and listened not hearing anything inside which meant he was in his secret office. Forcing the doors open Liliana slipped in and closed the doors behind her silently running over to Stagg's desk and looking at the unorganized files littering it. Several profit reports about drugs, weapons and slave trades Liliana felt her anger rising as she sorted through them and it wasn't until she found a recent report that her anger hit its limit.
Opening another file a photo fell into her hand a colorless picture of young Twi'lek girl with a frightened look the report stated that she was sixteen years of age and experienced in what was only listed as pleasure. She had been sold as a package deal with a large order of Nyriaan spice, but it wasn't the first report that caused Liliana's anger to flare. Behind the first page was a second report detailing the loss of profit in the aforementioned Twi'lek girl. The report was from whoever Stagg had sold the girl to detailing that she had failed in her duties and the client had demanded Stagg take her back replace her with someone more skilled and refund the money he spent on her. The last page in the folder was a much shorter report listing Stagg's disappointment in his live product and to cover his lost profits she was eliminated as an expense.
All of Liliana's anger suddenly surged to her hands as she squeezed the corners of the folder causing them to crumble in her hands a blinding rage slowly circling in the back of her mind threatening to overcome her self control she slammed the folder shut and placed the photo of the girl in her bag. Closing her eyes and exhaling a strained breath she turned to the surrounding walls of the office.
"I'm putting an end to this".
Reaching into her bag once again she pulled out a set of items she hoped she wouldn't have to use, but after what she just read she had thrown away her restraints. Placing three apple sized incendiary bombs around the office she placed her bag over her shoulder again and primed the bombs before turning to the bookcase behind Stagg's desk. With great effort she pulled the bookcase down causing it to land on the floor with a loud crash revealing a sealed door in the wall. Drawing one of her blasters she shot the code panel next to the door causing it to release the electronic lock allowing Liliana to force the door open. Descending the staircase through the door she entered the basement of the estate the voice of her target quickly reaching her ears.
Crouching down she sneaked around to a giant decorated vase and hid behind it spotting Stagg standing in front of four people in heavy armor the emblem on each of them giving away their identities as the Mandalorian terrorists Death Watch.
"As you can see my friend these blasters now longer fire your basic particle beam, but instead a bolt of super heated plasma that can eat away at even the best of top of the line infantry armor".
Stagg a man in his late thirties had made a successful living on Nar Shaddaa as a criminal overlord. While still working under the authority of the local Hutts he made his extensive wealth at first by tricking local thugs and criminals into selling him their entire stash of drugs and weapons for almost nothing and then he began selling them at a higher price eventually able to higher guards so he would no longer have to protect himself. A dangerous man who had earned intense hatred from countless people he was known for many disposable deeds ranging from drug and arms dealings to slave trading and even several accounts of rape. A short man considering his age Stagg only stood at 5'5 with combed back dirty blonde hair and a sly smile that would make someone want to punch his teeth down his throat. In the past several people had tried to stop him and even kill him themselves, but each time they were either killed or broken and sold as a slave.
While Stagg had become cowardly since he started hiring his own guard force he was still dangerous and not to be taken lightly, but at this point Liliana no longer cared who stood between them because before the day was over Stagg was going to be dead. She watched as the crime lord turned to an empty set of phase II armor worn by the clones of the Republic army he fired the blaster rifle and laughed as the super heated plasma burned right through the armor leaving several smoking holes.
"So what do you think?" Stagg asked turning to one of the Death Watch members, "Do we have a deal?"
The one he was talking to slowly raised his hand to the bottom of his helmet, "Hmm such a weapon would make quick work of the palace guards on Mandalore. Why don't you tell us about its practicality such power is sure to have some drawbacks. What about ammo capacity and type as well as reload abilities and more importantly the material it's made of".
Stagg lowered the weapon in his arms, "I would be disappointed if you didn't ask for a more thorough explanation. The weapon itself is unmodified and the plasma it fires heats up on contact with the air. Ammo capacity is two hundred fifty rounds before reloading and each magazine holds the plasma in a specially sealed container that. The only real drawback is you must be careful with the magazines if they are ruptured in any way they could combust all at once burning you alive, but I'm sure warriors of your caliber wouldn't be so clumsy".
Stagg set the weapon on a nearby table, "These types of weapons haven't even been announced to militaries yet despite being completely tested and ready for large scale production so these will give you a distinct advantage. You could even go up against the clones of the Republic or the droids of the Separatists with these all it takes is one shot. No matter where you hit them any organic would writhe in pain as this burns into their skin and melts it away and any droid would have its circuits, motors, whatever melted and fired from the heat alone".
"Impressive" the Mandalorian said.
Stagg grinned, "So do we have a deal then? In exchange for your assistance in dealing with those Weequay pirates you will get these unfortunately I only have five at the moment, but I am working on making more since I did acquire the blueprints for them as well".
"Weequay pirates?" Liliana gasped, "Does he mean Hondo? He's sending Death Watch after Hondo…that's not good even without those weapons Death Watch would slaughter them".
"We have a deal Mr. Stagg" the Mandalorian said reaching out to shake Stagg's hand.
Stagg laughed, "Excellent, you will find the pirates on Florrum once they've been dealt with these fine weapons will be all yours and if you bring me their leader Hondo Ohnaka alive I'll throw in some bonuses for free".
The Mandalorian nodded, "Very well we'll leave at once and we'll contact you upon our return. Just know if you try to double cross us it will not end well for you".
Stagg held his hands up, "I would gain nothing from betraying you Mr. Vizsla you have nothing to worry about".
The four members of Death Watch all turned at once and walked back to the staircase followed by Stagg and one of his guards aside from Liliana the guard seemed to be the only armed person in the room making this a bit more easy for her. Waiting until the Mandalorians passed by her Liliana drew her blaster and leapt out from her hiding place landing a bone crunching punch into the center of Stagg's face before shooting his guard in the head promptly eliminating him from the equation. Hearing both Stagg's grunt and the blaster shot the members of Death Watch turned around just as Liliana wrapped her arm around Stagg's neck and stood behind him using him as a shield.
"Well now what have we here?" the one Stagg referred to as Vizsla said looking at Liliana as she held the barrel of her blaster to Stagg's head.
Liliana glared at the Mandalorians, "Listen up there's been a change in your little transaction. The refined version is this, you take your weapons over there and leave without bothering the pirates and then I kill this worm".
Vizsla chuckled, "Really? Pray tell why we should take this new deal?"
"Because it involves less hassle and effort on your end" Liliana told him, "And in return for your free weapons I get to kill him" she tightened her restraint on Stagg's neck.
"Vizsla" Stagg chocked, "Kill her now and I'll make it worth your while" he chocked as Liliana strangled him even more.
"This is interesting" Vizsla said, "I confess to curiosity as to what could make you want to kill him while in our presence".
"I have my reasons" Liliana told him, "Furthermore I have no issue with you or your group so this is the last chance. You can either take the weapons and leave or you can leave without them, but this piece of shit is going to die and this entire estate is going to burn to the ground".
"Is that so?" Vizsla laughed removing his helmet and showing his face, "Sounds like you've got quite the grudge against this man".
"Kill her" Stagg struggled only to have Liliana choke him even more.
"We do have you outnumbered" Vizsla noted looking back to his comrades, "Do you think you could kill all of us?"
Liliana retorted, "Do you think you can escape before this place becomes charred rubble?"
Vizsla smirked, "I like your attitude girl, but I'm afraid play time is over release him or we'll be forced to kill you".
"Not happening" Liliana told him.
Vizsla lowered his head and sighed, "So be it" he turned to his allies and waved his hand signaling for them to surround Liliana.
Once the Mandalorians began moving Liliana quickly aimed her blaster at the light fixtures above them and fired the exploding lights a distraction giving her time to throw Stagg to the ground and toss a flash grenade at the Mandalorians. Ducking down and shielding her eyes Liliana waited for the boom and flash of the grenade before she looked up, Vizsla had shielded his eyes, but the close proximity to the grenade stunned him giving Liliana the opening she need to kill Stagg and escape. Turning to Stagg Liliana aimed her blaster at him, but she her senses were also distorted from the grenade her vision shaking and her ears ringing. Pulling the trigger she managed to shoot Stagg in the leg before one of the Mandalorians attacked her pushing her weapon arm to the side and swinging their fist at her. Ducking down Liliana jumped back and fired at the Mandalorian shooting him in the chest thankfully for him the infamous Mandalorian armor kept it from being a fatal shot.
"Back off" Liliana yelled holding up her wrist showing them the flashing light on her comlink, "I have several bombs planted in the estate one press and everything comes crashing down around us in flames".
Vizsla stepped forward, "You've got guts, but you won't do it. I can see it in your eyes you're not ready to die yet".
"And neither are you" Liliana fired back as Stagg crawled to a corner.
"What's wrong with you kill her already" the crime lord yelled.
"Do shut up" Vizsla told him turning back to Liliana, "What makes you so sure you're going to make it out?"
"How about the bolt I put between your eyes" Liliana suggested.
"Yes you could shoot me" Vizsla agreed, "But then you'd still have three more of us to deal with".
At that moment Liliana noticed the Mandalorian to her left preparing to jump her swiftly turning on her heel she shot him in the knee just as he rushed her. The Mandalorian's knee buckled from the blaster shot leaving him open for Liliana to grab his arm throw him over her shoulder flinging him into the table of weapons and armor Stagg used as demonstrations. Once the first was thrown away another jumped Liliana from behind trying to subdue her, but Liliana planted her feet and threw her elbow back aimed at the Mandalorian's helmet only to have him catch her arm and wrench it behind her back. Kicking the back of her leg to force her to her knee the Mandalorian grabbed the back of her head, but Liliana twisted her body using her superior agility to spin toward her restrained arm before it was fully locked behind her and kicked her attacker in the back of his knee. Freed from his grip Liliana grabbed the faceplate of his helmet and swept his leg out from under him while pushing forward using their combined body weight to push him to the floor slamming the back of his head into the ground.
Drawing her second blaster Liliana stayed crouched and turned on her heel as the third Mandalorian charged toward her firing his own blaster at her. Firing both of her blasters in quick succession she shot the blaster out of the Mandalorian's hand while the second shot found its mark in his knee causing him to fall.
"No more games" the one that first attacked her yelled standing up from behind the weapons table.
His helmet had fallen off after he was thrown revealing a scarred, scowling face as he reached for his blaster, but Liliana's hands proved to be quicker. Once his hand moved down to his holster Liliana raised her arm and in a single swift motion pulled the trigger just as her blaster leveled with her target landing placing her shot in his forehead killing him.
Vizsla grinned taking note of Liliana's apparent marksmanship. In a single movement she raised her blaster lined up her shot and fired without slowing or stopping her arm. The Mandalorian at Liliana's feet yelled as he shot up and tried to stab Liliana in the leg with a blade he had hidden in his gauntlet. Raising her targeted leg Liliana pivoted around and slammed her foot down on his knife hand and aiming her blaster at his head.
"Useless" Stagg yelled standing up and pulling a blaster from his suit jacket aiming it at Liliana, "Die…" his words were cut short by the sound of another blaster shot.
Liliana had shot his weapon from his hand sending shock and fear through Stagg as he slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. At that moment the Mandalorian at her feet sprang up and grabbed her arm twisting it to the side as he swept her leg out as she did his before. Falling onto her side Liliana's blaster dropped from her hand and slid away her opponent kneeling over her his arm drawn back as he prepared to strike her again. Moving her head back at last second Liliana avoided his punch and slammed her elbow into his helmet turning onto her back at the same time and landing a swift chop against his neck knocking him off her. Scrambling back to her feet Liliana stepped back and turned to defend herself from the third Mandalorian she had shot earlier holding her arms up she protected her head and body against his attacks.
Engaging in unarmed combat against her new opponent Liliana continued to defend herself until she saw an opening grabbing her opponent's arm as it drew back and forcing it up leaving his side unprotected. Tightening her fist she punched him in the lower abdomen three times before jumping to the side to avoid his retaliation following up her attack landing another tight punch to his kidney. The Mandalorian's armor absorbed the blow, but the force of the impact still caused him to recoil. Before the Mandalorian could swing back Liliana dropped down to her knees grabbing one of his legs placing her hand against the inside of his knee and her other hand on the outside of his thigh pushed against his knee and pulled his thigh the conflicting directions causing the joint to snap out of place.
The Mandalorian screamed as he fell to the floor quickly reaching for Liliana's blaster next to him and aiming at her. With instant reflexes Liliana's hand dived down grabbing his wrist and pushing it away as he fired and her foot quickly rested against his elbow. With a growl Liliana pushed her foot down and twisted it while holding his arm causing his elbow to snap from its joint as well. Standing up Liliana turned back to Vizsla who had remained still the entire time observing her as she fought his comrades, but right as she opened her mouth to say something to him she heard a click behind her.
Turning back around the Mandalorian that had knocked her down earlier was charging at her his arm outstretched aimed right for her neck. Stepping back Liliana planted her feet and parried his arm before preparing to strike back with a blow of her own, but right as she drew her fist back the Mandalorian jabbed forward with his other hand hitting her just below her stomach. Liliana's body jolted and recoiled from the surprise blow leaving her open for the Mandalorian to withdraw his fist and punch her a second time this time his fist landing against the side of her face sending her to the floor.
Falling on her side Liliana's body curled at the blunt pain against her face, but her attention was quickly drawn to her lower abdomen where she was first struck. A dull throbbing pain centered at where she was hit and when she moved her hand down to massage the spot she felt her hand make contact with something warm and wet. Looking down to her hand her eyes changed from anger to panic when she saw the amount of blood covering her hand. Moving her eyes to the spot of pain she saw a puncture wound just below where her shirt stopped at her midriff, blood pouring from the wound smearing against her skin and staining her pants. Looking back to the Mandalorian she saw him raise his hand and display the blade he had hidden in it.
Liliana cursed herself for forgetting about it as her body began going into shock coupled with the adrenaline rush from the fight her vision became narrow and blurred. The blow to her head also drew a bit of blood next to her eye adding more obstruction to her vision as she tried to wipe it away only to smear some of it against her eyelid. Taking a step back from the Mandalorian Liliana realized that her breathing was becoming rapid and starting to shallow adding to her panic.
"Its deep" she thought "I'm losing too much blood…I have to get out now".
Her eyes moved to Stagg who had returned to his feet and began laughing, "Not so tough now are you?" he gloated seeing her reel from her wound, "So high and might and one simple stab wound has you practically on your knees. That pathetic look suits a bitch like you".
Walking forward Stagg smiled triumphantly, "Now then I think its time to settle this dispute" he laughed at her again as she took a step back, "Now who's cowering. Its too bad you're going to die from blood loss I would have loved to make you into my personal servant adding the final bit of humiliation after everything you've done".
Hearing that Liliana's mind flashed back to the report she read in his office the Twi'lek girl he sold into slavery and then killed when his client returned her. In that moment Liliana's vision darkened, but her tunneled focus on Stagg was locked leaning forward she kicked the floor behind her adding a burst to her starting run. Crouching down she scooped up her blaster and before the crime lord could react she tackled him to the floor and jammed the barrel of her weapon into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the shot was accompanied by a sickening splatter causing Liliana to flinch as she closed her eyes. The shock from her wound and now the shock from killing Stagg merged together becoming too much for her even though she could feel the Mandalorian standing behind her she remained still as he grabbed the back of her neck and lifting her up.
"That's enough" Vizsla's voice just barely reached her.
The Mandalorian holding Liliana released her and she fell to her knees turning her head to Vizsla and she held her hand over her still bleeding wound. Through her shaking vision she watched Vizsla walk over to her taking out his blaster he stopped next to the Mandalorian who's elbow and knee Liliana had dislocated and shot him in the head calling him a failure as he holstered his weapon. Walking over to Liliana as her consciousness began fading his voice seemed like a whisper as her body became heavy.
"Now what should I do with you?" he said as Liliana tightened her grip on her blaster, "You fought well impressively so, but…it seems you've killed my business associate and one of my men".
Words formed in Liliana's mind, but she was unable to speak them due to her condition.
"Consider yourself lucky" Vizsla said turning his back to her, "You've piqued quite a bit of interest from me and it only because of that you'll survive today" he turned back to her with an evil smile on his face, but his smile quickly faded when he saw Liliana on her feet aiming her blaster at him.
Her hand was shaking too much for him to be worried about it. Removing her other hand from her stab wound Liliana grabbed her blaster with both hands steadying her aim, but Vizsla took another step toward her and grabbed her weapon slowly pushing it down.
"When you awaken you're going to tell me everything about where you learned to fight and shoot like that".
As his final words drifted to her ears her pain numbed and faded and her vision turned to darkness as she fell forward.
"When I awaken?" she wondered as she waited for the last of her consciousness to slip away, "I'm not going to die yet…I can't I still have to go back…Ahsoka…Alex…I'm…".
