Hey, so I managed to get this one out much quicker. So, there you go. I can still write relatively quickly.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the read.
Klicks-Short for kilometres
Viewscreen-Literally just a TV, but much, much better.
The blood seemed to be endless.
The circle of blood around Tylie was growing continuously as she gasped for breath. Her short quick gasps rang through the air, smashing into Lax's ears with the momentum of a speeding starfighter. He struggled to move, to get out-to help her.
But no matter how hard he tried… how hard he pulled. It never worked. The pain in his right arm was blinding now, almost overwhelming him. Lances of pain speared through his arm, invading his brain with a sharp swiftness. Somehow, a small bar of durasteel had managed to cover his body from most of the debris, protecting him slightly. Much of the debris has also seemed to fall just to the side of him, missing him by just a few inches. But there were still many pieces of plascrete that weighed down on Lax, making it hard for him to breathe.
The darkness in his vision was receding slightly as well. The one ray of light in this sea of darkness. And somehow, somehow… he felt calm, unworried. It was as if he was not in a life-threatening situation at all. The Feeling was washing over his mind, helping him bear the spikes of pain that was brutally attacking him.
"Is anyone here!"
Lax jerked slightly as a voice shouted out of nowhere. His right arm jostled slightly, refreshing the onslaught of pain. He frantically tried to crane his almost immoveable head as he searched for the speaker. His sudden movements struck him with a new wave of dizziness as the rocks above him shifted slightly, spraying out a new wave of dust, obscuring his view almost entirely of Tylie.
"There!" A new voice shouted, "Nila! Look! Something is there under those rocks!"
Through the gap in the rocks, Lax managed to see a dark shadow flash over to him, coming to rest just next to him.
"Are you sure?" The original voice asked, "Nothing could survive being buried under that."
A pair of feet appeared in the gap, "I'm sure. It was moving" Suddenly, a face appeared in the gap. It was young boy, a Zeltron. His red skin glistened in the daylight, as his bright blue eyes peered through the darkness.
He gasped as his eyes met Lax's, widening in shock as he gaped at the sight of Lax's bloodied body. He took in the sight of Lax being pinned by the rocks and his right arm being bent at a weird angle as his left arm was unable to move.
The face disappeared as he shouted out, "There is someone, a human! And he's still alive! But he needs help! Quickly!"
"Rate!" The first voice shouted, Lax recognised it, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before, "Come help us! We need to get him out!"
"Can't!", a different voice replied, a boy's voice, "There's another one here! She's hurt too!"
Padmé! Lax thought, panicking. How badly was she hurt? Would she be okay? Lax needed to see her.
"Ok! Ask Yilt for help when he's finished with the other one! Let's get him out Ulta."
Lax waited, hope bubbling inside him, as he heard the sounds of heavy breathing and rocks dropping to the floor.
"This… is… heavy." The Zeltron boy gasped out, "How much farther?"
The reply came quickly, "Soon, I think." There was a brief pause, before the voice shouted out in excitement, "There, I think I see him!"
Light burst through the gap as the plascrete was lifted away, blinding Lax. Dazed, he blinked heavily to try and focus on the smiling face that appeared in the gap.
Squinting, he looked up at the face to see a young Twi'lek female with blue skin and… ragged clothes. It was the girl! The girl that had tried stealing from him! The one who needed bacta for her sister.
Confused he stared up at the girl as she smiled at him briefly before vanishing, watching as more and more debris was removed, slowly revealing Lax's body. The pressure on his chest was lessening dramatically, allowing him to breathe easier.
Finally, with a loud thunk, the last big chunk of plascrete pinning him down was removed, freeing him enough to move. Strenuously, together with the girl and Zeltron boy he removed his left arm from the lump that trapped it. His right arm cried out in pain from the effort, but Lax still pulled.
Slowly, he stood up, helped by the children. As he stood, his knees weakened as he was again struck with a wave of dizziness. He stumbled forward slightly, into the Zeltron boy, who steadied him.
Shakily, he used the boy as support to straighten himself. He blinked his eyes to try and get rid of the residual darkness and focused on the Twi'lek girl.
Hoarsely, he asked, "Why did you help me?"
She smiled at him, her eyes glistening in the light, "You helped me. And didn't I say I was only borrowing it? I needed to pay you back."
Stunned, Lax could only form a simple, but honest, "Thank you."
"I got her!" Another boy's voice cried, attracting Lax's attention to the sight of two children, another boy and girl helping a lightly injured young woman out of another pile of rocks. Her clothes were slightly ripped, and her hair was matted with dust, but she looked alright except for a large bump on her head.
"Padmé!" Lax cried, trying to step towards her, but only managing a few steps before he almost fell over. Again, he steadied himself using the Zeltron boy that had followed him, holding onto him tightly to avoid falling down.
His rush had attracted Padmé's attention as she looked up from thanking the children. Her eyes widened as she saw him. Shock and fear filling her eyes as she gasped. She rushed towards him, a limp evident in her step, but she managed to quickly reach him without falling.
She slammed into him, hugging him tightly as she plastered her form to him. Lax grunted slightly at the pain the impact had caused but weaved his good arm around her to pull him tightly to him. His eyes were watering slightly at the joy he felt at Padmé's safety.
They stood there silently, drinking in each other's presence and warmth. After a while, Padmé pulled away to look over his form. Her eyes were creased with worry and she frowned when she saw his broken arm.
"Does it hurt much?" She asked hoarsely, softly grasping his arm to check it, but she immediately stopped when he grunted in pain.
"Not too much. Well not as long as I don't move it too much." Lax grinned at her reassuringly.
Padmé sighed in relief, her face brightening slightly.
Turning to the girl, Padmé cleared her throat, "Thank you. Can I ask what your name is?"
The girl smiled shyly, a stark contrast to the dour situation, "No problem!" She shouted quickly, before regaining her composure, saying more surely, "I had to help the people who helped me." I'm Nila."
"Then thank you again Nila. I'm Padmé." Padmé smiled at her, Lax did as well, amused.
"Umm… Miss." A boy's serious voice came from the side.
Both Padmé and Lax turned to look at who spoke, but their slightly better moods immediately disappeared at what they saw.
A Rodian boy sat there, his face devoid of smiles as his solemnly looked down. Next to him lay Tylie, but… she wasn't breathing!
Lax had forgotten about Tylie in the moment, too happy at escaping and seeing Padmé safe. He rushed to Tylie's side, sliding to a stop and ignoring the pain that the action had caused. Padmé arrived just before him, less injured as she was.
He moved his good arm to her neck, feeling for any pulse! Any sign of life! The slightest hint of a heartbeat would be enough, anything to show that she was alive.
But there was nothing. Neither he nor Padmé could find any sign of life.
Tylie was dead.
"I'm… sorry." The Rodian boy said, his eyes downcast, "I couldn't help her."
Lax's heart softened slightly for the boy, he tried to smile reassuringly at the boy, "You did more than enough. You tried to save her and that was even more than we did."
The boy nodded slightly, his black eyes rising to meet his own, still downcast, but less.
Next to him, Padmé had tears leaking from her eyes as she looked at Tylie. Solemnly, she reached over to close Tylie's eyes, still wide with pain and terror.
She had died in fear. She had died in pain and Lax had done nothing to try and sav her. He had forgotten about her the moment that he escaped, instead he had wasted time. Time that could have been spent on Tylie.
Gravely, he stood up, still looking at Tylie's warm body in front of him, blood was still leaking from her side. Now was not the time to grieve and to blame himself. If Lirae came back or someone else, then they would only be protected by Nila and her friends.
"We need to leave." Lax said, attracting Padmé and the kids' attention, "If they send someone back and find us. Then…" He was unable to complete the sentence, but his downcast look at Tylie said enough.
Nila nodded, "We can take you somewhere safe."
"What about Tylie?" Padmé asked, unwilling to leave Tylie's body behind. To leave it in this destroyed house with anyone able to get to Tylie's body.
Solemnly, Lax said, "We need to leave it. We can't carry it." He looked her in the eye, cutting off her protest, "I'm sorry Padmé. But we can't carry it. I'm injured and can't help you carry it, meaning it will slow us down to much. Nila and kids can't help you. We have to go."
Staring into her eyes, Lax saw a brief flash of despair cross it, appearing for only a second before it was replaced by… determination and anger.
"Then let's go." Padmé said determinedly before crouching next to Tylie's still warm body and picking up the knife lying next to the body. Jyke's knife. The blood was dripping down the knife, running along it till the piercing point. The blood dripped to the floor right next to Tylie, mixing with the circle of blood around her body. Padmé clipped the knife to her hip, all the time trying to ignore the body lying on the floor next to her. Unwilling to look at it and have her resolve stumble.
Lax staggered forward, the pain that he had been ignoring returning with full force to invade his mind. Quickly, Padmé grabbed onto him, steadying him as she worriedly looked over him.
Padmé turned to Nila, still supporting Lax, "Is there anything you have to heal him."
Nila nodded sadly, her eyes downcast, "I used the bacta pack you gave me on my sister. I'm sorry." Then brightening slightly, she beamed at him, "She should be alright now!"
Lax tried to smile at her, consoling her, "I gave it to you for your sister. I just need to rest slightly, then I should be much better."
Nila paused for a bit, a weird expression on her face for a bit before her expression brightened more as she nodded energetically, "Then let's go. It's not too far from here."
Slowly, they exited the room, Lax limping along as Padmé half-carried him, his left arm looped over her shoulders. Both of them were unable to look behind them at Tylie's body in an attempt to stave off the growing guilt growing inside him.
"She'll pay for this." Padmé said, anger and guilt evident in her tone.
"She will." Lax agreed, but both were unable to say when.
Lax was blinked slightly to adjust to the sunlight blazing down on them. The sky was wide open as spears of light struck at them, a sudden change from the cooler interior of the house. The dust outside had cleared, with barely any dust still present.
He tensed slightly when he saw the crowd of onlookers gazing at them. All manners of species were there, watching them with rapt attention. Rodians, Humans, Twi'leks, Arcona, Togrutas, Chagrians and even a Wookie as well.
He swallowed a moan of pain as he tried to move his broken arm to his hip, where his blaster was holstered. Next to him, Padmé flashed a look at him worriedly as her hand trailed to her blaster as well. Nila and the rest of the kids were surrounding them slightly, acting as a shield.
Warily, they walked through the crowd, trying to ignore the gazes filled with greed and opportunistic glances looking at them.
Lax let out a low breath of relief as they exited the crowd, following Nila as they were led through a web of small streets deeper into the city of Vlarnya. They were heading to the poorer part of the town, with cracked and half-demolished huts and shops surrounding them. There were less speeders rushing by, less in the air. The viewscreens outside shops and taverns were broken and cracked. Malfunctioning droids and battered people were seen through half-broken doors. It felt as though eyes were following them, tracking their every movement.
Next to him, Padmé was looking at the poverty surrounding them despondently, dejectedly staring at the broken stalls and homes.
"This is one of the oldest parts of the city." Nila said to them, having noticed their stares, "Used to be filled with people. Everywhere you looked there was something new and interesting. Stalls were everywhere selling goods from all over the galaxy."
"How do you know?" Lax asked, curious to know how she knew this, especially as district had been rundown for long.
"It's a common story here." Nila said, "I've heard about it at least once a week. Its Ulta's favourite story." She waved over to the Zeltron boy that had helped Lax out of the debris.
Lax nodded as he thoughtfully looked around them, trying to imagine this place as a bustling market, with species everywhere, mingling and bartering.
"How did it get like this then?" Padmé asked curiously.
"Crime." Nila replied, "Smugglers, slavers. Anyone who does anything illegal. This became the centre for crime in Courkrus and many decided to leave instead of stay and risk death."
"Are smugglers that bad?" Lax asked. He had been aware that they were common in Courkrus, but this place was worse than Mos Eisley, deserted and broken.
"Yes." Nila said decidedly, as they walked over the broken plascrete of a half-broken house, "The only thing that keeps Courkrus alive is their Itys."
"Itys?" Lax asked, unaware of the meaning of the word.
"It's a sort of honour…" Nila was lost for words as she struggled to explain what it was, frustration visible in her eyes.
"System?" A human boy offered, walking next to Ulta.
"Yeah! That! Thanks Rate." Nila said triumphantly, making Lax and Padmé smile slightly at her enthusiasm, "A honour system. If you do something for them, they do something for you. Things like that."
"Smugglers with an honour system?" Padmé said disbelievingly.
Nila shrugged, "Its hard to believe but its there. It's more for tradition I think."
"So that's why Jyke helped us. The honour system. We helped him. So, he helped us." Padmé said, realisation dawning on her face.
"Probably." Lax said, "It's the most likely reas—"
Danger!
The Feeling filled Lax, crashing onto him as it warned him of incoming danger. Time slowed as Lax whirled around, the Feeling supporting him as his left arm stretched out, blaster in hand. How had it gotten there? He shot before he could even register what he saw, his finger squeezing the trigger unconsciously.
The bolt hit the source of the danger, a human, in the face, blasting him to the ground, causing his shot to go high, sailing over Lax and the others.
Breathing heavily, Lax calmed down, adrenaline racing through his body as power coursed through his veins, numbing his pain and giving him a sense of… peacefulness? The end of his blaster was smoking slightly as it cooled down from the shot.
Next to him Padmé and the kids were staring at him in shock. Padmé's eyes were wide open and Nila was gaping widely. They stared at him for a while, frozen in shock at what had happened.
"How did you do that!" Ulta screamed in excitement as he bounded towards him, excitement causing him to shake slightly. He was very happy, even for a Zeltron with their normal giddiness, at what he had just seen, "How did you even know he was there? How did you turn so fast?"
Speechlessly, Lax stared at Ulta, "I don't… know." More importantly, how had he even gotten his blaster if his left arm hadn't even come close to his right hip and was around Padmé?
"Really?!" Ulta cried, "But how did you shoot him first then?!"
Nila snapped her gaping mouth closed as she finally regained cognitive functions, "Stop asking him questions Ulta." She ordered, before heading to the body.
Lax finally sagged, his blaster clattering to the floor from his now limp fingers, as the Feeling disappeared from him, reintroducing him to the meaning of pain. Luckily, Padmé had also just recovered as she managed to catch him.
"How did you know he was there?" Padmé asked inquisitively.
Lax nodded his head, unable to explain, "I really don't know."
Padmé stared at him thoughtfully, before accepting his answer and turning to help him to Nila who was looking at the body.
"Probably only a common thief." Nila said as she bent to search through the body's pockets, "Saw us injured and decided we were an easy target."
Lax stared down at the body, almost gasping as he saw the damage he had done to the face. The man's nose was completely gone, and his face was a mess with barely any distinguishable features left. The only thing recognisable left was his short brown hair.
"Padmé! Lax!" Nila shouted as she stared at an object she had found on the body.
Turning to look at her Lax was pleasantly surprised to see a tube in her hands filled with a glowing light blue liquid. It was a bacta injector!
Grinning, Lax shambled towards her. Finally, a ray of sunshine after all of this darkness. With this bacta injector he could heal most of his injuries, and even slightly heal his arm.
Padmé took the injector from Nila, smiling at her in thanks as she studied it intensely, looking for any problems.
"But," Nila said, "It's the… special version."
"Special version?" Lax queried, confused.
"Made in Courkrus's underground. It works much better and faster than the original." Nila replied, but hesitatingly continued. "But… it has side effects."
"And what are these side effects?" Padmé questioned, looking at the seemingly simple bacta injector in her hand.
"Not too bad. Just a random bout of shaking every now and then… and the small chance of being paralysed for a bit."
Lax frowned, exchanging looks with Padmé, knowing that he couldn't immediately take the bacta, especially if it could paralyse him. He could take the shaking, but not paralysis. They first had to get to the place that Nila was taking them too and then he could take it in a safe spot. He turned to face Nila, "How far are we from your safe spot."
"We're there." Nila said in reply, gesturing to an abandoned house down the street, "It's in there."
"Then let's go." Lax declared and followed Nila into the house. Most of the outside walls was worn away, with many pieces having fallen off. The windows were completely gone, leaving only gaps in the wall that allowed the wind to create an eerie noise. The inside was as destroyed as the outside, with the walls barely standing as cracks were spread out all over it. There were a few destroyed doors lying in a pile to the side, but nothing else. There were stairs to the right leading to nothing, as the upstairs roof had been destroyed. All the furniture was gone, with a cracked in half viewscreen the only thing left on the wall. The house was bare, devoid of anything except debris and destroyed doors.
"Is this it?" Lax asked, confused. How could they live here if there was no evidence of any recent living? Yet, something told Lax that there was more to this house, something unseen, something…
"Underground." Padmé said, drawing a grin from Nila and surprising Lax at how quickly she had figured it out, "It's underground."
"Yes, it is." Nila said proudly, "Rix, do you want to show them?"
The only other girl of the kids smiled, a human, and headed towards the stairs. Lax watched patently as she pressed on the side of the stairs, against the wall underneath it. He was surprised when it moved backwards, swinging open to reveal another set of stairs, this time going down.
"A smuggler's storehouse." Nila said in reply to Lax and Padmé's inquisitive gazes. "To store all of the goods he needed. Spice, food, clothes, weapons. Anything you can think of, all hidden in there."
Lax whistled, "Lucky us then. How did you find this place?"
"My sister tripped." Nila replied simply, grinning widely, making Lax smile.
They headed down the stairs into a largish room. Shelves were everywhere, with most of them being empty and dust covered. A few mattresses were to the side, just enough for all the kids here. Lax even saw a computer at the wall to the side with viewscreens covering the wall. There were some worn seats in the middle of the room, around a chipped and broken table.
"Nila." A young girl's sleep voice sounded out, slightly hoarse, "Is that you?"
The girl walked out from behind one of the shelves, another Twi'lek, her skin and lekku were blue and her head was covered in a large bandage made from ripped cloth. She looked tired and was rubbing her eyes to wake up more. Lax surmised that this was likely Nila's sister.
She yelped slightly as soon as she saw Lax and Padmé, jumping behind the shelves again to hide herself, her lekku flying behind her. She peeked over the corner slightly, warily watching Padmé and Lax for any suspicious actions, "Who are they?"
"Their friends, Esa." Nila said, "They were the ones that gave me the bacta to heal you."
The girl, Esa, immediately switched mood as soon as Nila said that, "Ok!" She said cheerfully, skipping to them, her previous wariness forgotten.
"Hi! I'm Esa." Esa said cheerfully, beaming as she stood before Lax and Padmé, stretching out her hand for a handshake, "Thank you for giving us the bacta."
"Hello Esa. I'm Lax." He said grinning, amused as he shook her hand, "And no problem."
"And I'm Padmé." Padmé introduced herself, also shaking Esa's hand.
"Esa!" Nila said exasperatedly, "Give it back."
"What?" Esa said innocently, turning to look at Nila confusedly, "Give what back."
"Her ring." Nila replied.
"Oh fine!" Esa said, throwing her hands in the air, before turning to Padmé, and opening her right hand to reveal a ring with a… Malab crystal?
"I'm sorry Ms Padmé. I just couldn't stop myself." Esa pouted with at least some sorrow entering her voice.
Padmé regained control of herself shortly after, tearing her shocked gaze away from the ring to Esa and taking her ring back.
She smiled at Esa, amused at her pouting and the situation, "You're a little thief, aren't you?" She said amused and teasingly, "Its fine. You just have to promise you won't do it again, ok?"
Esa nodded silently as she accepted the terms.
"Now," Nila said to them, "We need to inject you with the bacta." Then turning to Rate and Rix, "Can you two look for food?"
The two kids nodded in reply and headed up again.
Lax nodded, before sitting down with Padmé's help on one of the chairs in the middle of the room. He lied back in the chair, relaxed and recovering from the long walk with his injuries. He cradled his broken arm to him, unwilling for it to move and more pain to stab him.
Padmé crouched next to him, lifting the sleeve of his shirt on his right arm to reveal the upper part of his arm. There were large and purple bruises covering it, with very little undamaged skin left behind.
"This may hurt a bit." Padmé joked, as she readied the injector, causing Lax to roll his eyes at her. How could it hurt more than it did now?
"This likely won't fully heal your arm." Padmé said, "Even if it is improved bacta. Your arm is too hurt for even this to heal."
Lax nodded, relaxing his arm to minimise the pain from the injectION!
With a quick jab, she plunged the injector into his arm, causing pain to explode through it. Lax clenched his teeth to silence the scream of pain that would have burst out of him. It felt like his arm was on fire, with his blood being replaced by liquid fire as it coursed through his body.
It spread from his arm to his shoulder and then the rest of his body, feeling as if it was burning his insides. His entire body was in pain, his nerves working overtime to send all the signals of pain to his brains. Tears were streaming from his eyes, from the pain or from the heat. He didn't know.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, gasping through his gritted teeth, "You… didn't… tell… me… it… would… be… so… painful."
"Sorry!" Nila's voice came, "I forgot about it. We barely ever get this type, very expensive to make. But it shouldn't last long!"
"Are you sure?" Padmé's worriedly asked.
"Yes?" Nila replied unsurely, her voice trailing off in the end.
Minutes later, or longer, the pain dulled, dissipating bit by bit as it seemed the worst was past. His right arm felt much better and only a dull pain could be felt. Lax opened his clenched eyes that were still streaming with tears. He breathed out slightly, his breath rushed and warm.
Padmé was sitting in front of him, worriedly looking over him as she nervously wringed her hands. She breathed out heavily in relief when she saw his eyes open.
"Better now?"
"Yes." Lax breathed out, lying against the chair tiredly, spent from the experience, "Much better. The bacta is dulling the pain and now I only have to wait for the rest."
"Good." Padmé said, as she put a threadbare pillow behind his head to let him rest.
"How long was I like that." Lax asked, shifting his hurt arm to make it more comfortable, he could feel the shaking happening already.
"20 minutes or so." Padmé answered.
"Where's Nila?" Lax asked, catching no sight of the young girl.
"She went out, saying she would be back in a few clicks."
At that moment, Nila appeared at the bottom of the stairs, carrying a small object in her hand.
She smiled when she spotted Lax relaxing on the chair, "You're fine. Good." Then muttered softly to herself, "I didn't know if it would work."
Lax raised an eyebrow at this statement, having heard it, causing Nila to blush a bit. Her cheeks turning green as she looked away slightly.
"Anyway," She declared, setting down the object, revealing it to be a small boxy looking object, "I found a Holonet receiver."
"That?" Ulta said disbelievingly, scoffing, "That looks like it couldn't even handle 20 terabytes."
"I know it's old." Nila said, "And was probably made from tech used millennia before the Old Republic even existed."
"That's a toy." Ulta said dismissively, "Probably made to entertain some two-year-old like you."
"Maybe it works?" Nila said, trying desperately to defend her new 'Holonet receiver'. She switched on the receiver, only for it to sputter for a bit, then die.
Ulta laughed, pointing at her and saying, "I told you so."
Nila threw the toy receiver to the side, joining a pile of other broken receivers, "Shut up Ulta. But it would be great if we could get one to work. Maybe even two. Then we can find out where Rate and Rix are right now and if they found food."
"Their probably at the bazaar close to where we found them." The Rodian boy piped up. The only one from the group who Lax didn't know the name of.
"You're probably right Yilt." Nila replied as she went to join him on the mattresses, where Esa was sleeping.
Lax and Padmé looked at each other, smiling from the childish argument from the kids, "Reminds me of me and Anakin."
Padmé smiled even more, and then looked down at the ring with a Malab crystal, "The same for me and my sister, Sola."
Lax looked at the ring curiously, still wondering why he had never seen it before, "Where did you get that?"
Padmé smiled still looking at the ring, rubbing her finger over the glossy black stone. "I always had it with me. It has cloaking technology installed on it because I wanted to make sure it would never get stolen."
"So that's why I never saw it before." Lax said, but he was still curious about something, "Where did you get it?"
"My family." Padmé answered, "When I was elected to office. They gave me this to show how proud they were of me." She paused slightly, her face turning slightly downcast as she softly continued, "But I use it to remind myself of why I became Queen."
"Which was to?"
"To help everyone, to keep them safe from harm, to ensure that my people can live a peaceful life. And I failed all three." Padmé said bitterly.
"Did you?" Lax questioned, sitting upright to look her in the eyes, "Did you fail all three?"
"Yes, I did." Padmé replied, self-hating tears starting to swim in her eyes, "And now my people suffer for it."
"But aren't you helping them now by trying to save them and keep them from harm." Lax said, placing his hand on her shoulder as he leaned forward, his hand shaking slightly from the side effects of the bacta, "By trying to get to Naboo and liberate it aren't you ensuring that they live a peaceful life. You are good Queen, no matter what you think." He wiped the tears from her cheek, "You have done more than anyone would ever except from a Queen and so far, you've done it well."
"You really are a good motivational speaker, aren't you?" Padmé rhetorically asked, her self-deprecating expression having been replaced by a small smile as she grabbed Lax's hand with her own and went to sit next to him. Soothing the shakiness that had afflicted it.
Silently, they sat there, absorbed in their thoughts, their clasped hands resting in between them. Padmé rolled their hands around absently, allowing the ring to appear again as she stared down at it thoughtfully.
Lax stared at it, riveted by its deep pool of blackness with small specks of what seemed to be light in it.
"It looks almost like space doesn't it?" He murmured, still engrossed in its appearance.
"You've never been in a cave filled with Malab stones, have you?" Padmé asked, fondly smiling at the memory.
"No?" Lax answered, confused at the question, "Why?"
"If it's dark and you light a glow rod." Padmé replied, lost in her memories, "Then it looks like the galaxy. The stones reflect the lights all around you, the only specks of light in the darkness surrounding you. It looks endless and makes you feel so small. That's why it looks like the galaxy."
"Wow." Lax said, trying to imagine the scene, wishing he could have experienced it at least once. "I think I'll go see that one day."
"Nila! Nila!" A voice shouted from the stairs, revealing the source to be Rix, as she desperately ran towards Nila. She was red in the face and her hair was in disarray.
"They took Rate!" Rix shouted, causing Nila to jump to her feet and Esa to drowsily raise her head.
"Who?!" Nila cried, flashing to Rix to hold onto her shoulders, "Who took Rate?" She repeated more calmly to the panicking girl.
"The Vornskr." Rix replied, still panicking slightly.
Nila, Ulta and Yilt blanched, even Esa, who was lying down did, causing Lax to grow worried about who these Vornskr were.
"Are you sure?" Nila replied hopefully, wishing it wasn't true.
Rix calmed down more as she wordlessly nodded to say she wasn't lying.
Finally, Lax couldn't hold in his curiosity, asking, "Who are the Vornskr?"
Ulta turned to Lax, "One of the biggest crime syndicates in Vlarnya. Their well-known for kidnapping people and stealing from anyone."
"But, why did they take Rate?" Nila asked, "Did he steal from them or something?"
Rix shook her head, "No. Apparently, he was seen with the Queen of Naboo recently, the one with the huge bounty on her."
Lax's blood froze as he jumped up suddenly, Padmé doing the same and asking, "The Queen of Naboo. Are you sure it's her?"
"Yes." Rix replied, turning to look at Padmé, "Do you know her?"
"No." Nila said, realisation dawning on her face as she pointed at Padmé, "You are her."
Padmé swallowed heavily as the other children gasped in realisation. Finally, she bowed her head in defeat, "Yes. I am Padmé Amidala, the Queen of Naboo."
"You're a Queen!" Rix shouted, "You're the Queen!"
"And when they show Rate her picture on the Holonet, they'll find out that he knows where she is. Here." Nila said seriously, cutting in, her normally bright face gloomy.
The other children paled, "We need to go!" Yilt cried as he leaped towards the shelves to start throwing things into a bag.
Nila nodded, rushing to join him, "Quick! Pack! We don't know when they'll be here."
The children quickly rushed to pack all of their things as Lax and Padmé looked on in shock.
"Wait." Padmé said quietly, her tone filled with surprise, "You don't want to give me in?"
The kids paused in their work, turning to face her as Ulta said, "You helped Esa with her injury and we won't give up someone who helped us, especially someone who helped Esa. Rate will be fine for now and we can try to get him out later."
The other children nodded, Nila adding, "Besides, we don't want to give Lirae anything that will help her make money."
"Lirae!" Lax shouted in shock, "You mean the red-haired human woman Lirae?!"
"Yes." Nila answered, "She leads the Vornskr, used to lead the swoop-bike gang. Do you know her too?"
"She's the one who caused us to be stuck under that rubble." Lax replied, "She has a friend of ours as well."
"Then, if their adults then their probably dead." Yilt said, "Lirae only keeps children, people like your age and mine, alive and that's for slavery."
"No." Lax said, shaking his head, "She sounded like she wanted to torture him, for a while as well."
Nila frowned as the other children continued packing, "Then he's better off dead. Lirae is known for her torture skills, one of her main strengths apparently. Who was he though? Lirae doesn't torture just anyone herself."
"Jyke Ryzle." Padmé replied, "He's a-"
"Smuggler!" Nila said shocked, as her eyes flew wide open and her lekku trembled slightly, "He's still alive?!"
"Yeah." Lax responded, "We saved him from a ship in space. He had already been captured by Lirae."
Padmé cut in, "Why do you know him?"
Nila paused, her mouth forming unsaid words as she seemed to struggle answering.
Nila finally answered, "He was… the leader of the Terantatek, an even bigger crime syndicate than the Vornskr, till he died. Or as it turns out supposedly died."
Surprised, Lax looked back at Padmé to see her surprised as well. Lax knew that Jyke had been a smuggler, but the leader of one of Courkrus's biggest syndicates. That was new.
"And that means that he has power, and lots of it." Nila answered, "He even has enough power to stop the entire Courkrus from attacking you. He can protect you while here, keep you safe and free Rate. But…"
Lax realised where she was going with this, "But as long as he's imprisoned, he can do nothing."
"Yes." Nila said, her voice growing very serious, belying her young age, this was the first time that Lax realised how fast Nila had been forced to mature on Vlarnya's streets, where she was forced to fight for food and struggle to survive. And yet throughout all of this she still maintained a spark of innocence and childishness. Lax truly respected this young woman right now, where she was able to remain calm in this tense and dire situation.
Nila continued, "And in less than a day we'll all be caught and Padmé will be handed over to them to be sold to the Trade Federation. The rest of us will likely be turned into…" She trailed off, unwilling to say it.
"Slaves." Lax finished, "We'll likely be turned into slaves."
Angrily, he whirled around and stalked to the wall, almost wanting to hit the wall in frustration. He had just escaped slavery, and now he would soon return to being one. Padmé as well, she would fail in her mission to liberate Naboo and would be sold to the Trade Federation. Lax didn't even want to think about what would happen to her then. His family, Anakin and his mother, he would never again get to see them again. Never see Anakin and his mother finally enjoy life, away from Tatooine.
No! Lax cried in his head, interrupting his thoughts, he and Padmé will get out of this. Resolved, he turned around to look at Nila and Padmé.
"If we get Jyke out." Lax said, "You said he can keep us safe."
Nila nodded, "If he gets out and returns to Terantatek then no one can touch you, and he can easily release Rate."
"So, we have to get Jyke out." Padmé said, "If we do all our problems will be solved." Lax could see the determination flaring in her eyes, Lax knew that she was thinking the same as Lax. They both couldn't fail, because neither of them knew what to they would do if they didn't."
However, Lax realised there was a large flaw in the plan, "But how will we get to Jyke. We can't take on the entire Vorngr, so we have to get in stealthily."
"I can help with that." Rix answered, coming to stand next to Nila with a large durasteel box in her hands, "But first. Here."
She laid the box on the table in front of them, opening it to reveal two rows of three metal spheres with a large button on the side.
Lax gasped, "Are these?"
Nila grinned, "Thermal dets." She reached out to grab one, "From the previous owner of the house. They must have forgotten it when they left. Here." She gave the thermal detonator to Lax.
Lax looked at it, feeling its smooth metal surface. In his hand there was enough force to blow a Dug, like Sebulba, into nothingness. Lax realised he was grinning, a look mirrored on Padmé's face as she also grabbed one.
"Two dets for you, two for Padmé and the other two for us." Nila said, as she handed the rest out, grinning as well, "Please don't explode it now."
Lax paled as he realised that he was holding the detonator with a shaking hand. Swiftly, he clipped the detonators to his belt. It was good that the Angel had this belt. It was helping immensely so far.
Padmé had realised something as well, "Lax. What about your arm. What if it gets hurt?"
Lax shook his head, "I'll take hurting my arm over being caught any day. It should be fine, and the shaking doesn't happen to often. If I don't hit someone with it, I'll be fine."
Finally, they were ready. The kids had packed most of their things and were carrying them in small cloth bags slung over their shoulder.
They were standing in front of another section of the wall, this time there was a screen to the side, indicating there was more to the wall than it seemed.
Ulta stepped forward to the screen, as he took out a small, old, computer and slicer droid, which Lax was sure the children could not afford. He plugged it into the wall, typing quickly on the computer before stepping back, revealing it to be a scramble key. He was a slicer?
Ulta turned around to see Lax's raised eyebrow at the revelation and quickly defended himself, "What else can you learn to do with only a computer to keep you busy most nights?! And I found the key in an abandoned house, so I didn't steal it."
Lax rolled his eyes, grinning at Padmé as she laughed at Ulta.
Then, with a small hiss, the scramble key finished, and the door hissed open, allowing Ulta to repack the computer and the small slicer droid into his bag. The door led to a dark tunnel with barely any light. A cold wind was blowing through the tunnel and the darkness seemed endless.
The children took out glow rods, Rix handing Lax, Padmé and Esa one of their own. They then walked out into the tunnel silently, leaving behind the storage room. Nila paused while looking at the room for a short time, complicated thoughts and emotions flashing through her eyes. Then she hardened herself, whirling around to walk down the tunnel.
Their footsteps were echoing as they walked, the sound of their feet slapping against the hard floor seemingly never stopping. Lax noticed that they seemed to be walking downhill slightly, meaning they were going deeper underground. Lax still hadn't been told how they were going to get to Jyke, but he soon noticed a faint light starting to appear in front.
They walked to the light, the glow rods casting their shadows onto the wall. Behind them, Lax could no longer see the storeroom. All that he could see was the small faint light in front. The wind was growing stronger as well, pushing against them, as if warning them to go back. Lax almost wanted too, but he knew they had to succeed.
Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel, where the light was appearing. He gasped in awe as he took in the sight before him. He was in a huge cavern, that stretched out for what definitely seemed like a few klicks. There were a few rays of light breaking through the roof, illuminating the surroundings slightly.
"These are the-" Padmé started.
"Catacombs of Courkrus." Rix said, "On which Vlarnya was built millennia ago. They stretch out for many klicks, have access to almost every house and street in ground level Vlarnya, and are impossible to navigate."
Then grinning, she continued, "Unless you were forced to live here for long. Like me. Then you can navigate it."
Lax grinned back, ready for what was to come. They could get to where the Vornskr were, a casino and free Jyke.
Lax knew that the hardest would come after entering the casino. They would need to get Jyke out of there without being killed or caught.
Yet, as The Feeling filled his body, giving him strength and Padmé walked next to him, fire flashing in her eyes. He knew one thing only.
They would win.
Hope you enjoyed.
I also want to ask you guys. Do you want Padmé's viewpoint. I've been thinking of writing her viewpoint, but likely only at the end or after TPM. So just tell me if you want her view and I'll decide from there.
Read and review, or don't. Choose one of the two. The third option is just to ignore me.
The reviewer who told me about my mistake, Jaimevilla2001, thanks for telling me. I have no idea how I missed that. Probably should sleep more.
Adios
