"What are you doing here?"
Saerith jumped, and the welding torch in her hand slipped. She quickly yanked the tool back away from the hull, and was thankful when a brief inspection revealed she hadn't damaged the ship. She flicked the torch off and tossed it to the ground. Frustration at the nearly costly interruption writ plain on her face, she turned and faced Tivari.
"I'm working. What are you doing here?"
Tivari met the question with silence, her face unreadable, and Saerith took refuge in her frustration. Folding her arms across her chest, glaring openly. She wouldn't be intimidated. Not while she was working. Apparently deciding the conversation wasn't going to progress unless she said something, Tivari deflected Saeriths question.
"If you are the mechanic. Why then did Krae bring you to our meeting?"
It took Saerith a second to puzzle out that she was referring to when they'd first met her. Her frustration now paired with confusion.
"What's it to you?" she snapped.
"It seems to me that there was no purpose in you accompanying him. You are not a bounty hunter, yet you will venture with him into the city later to claim a bounty."
What's her deal?Still confused and only getting more annoyed Saerith unfolded her arms and placed them on her hips.
"What do you know about me?"
For the first time since Saerith had met her, Tivaris composed expression began to crack. Her mouth turned down ever so slightly at the edges. Her annoyance bleeding through.
"Everything, except why you are here."
Saerith stared blankly; taken back by the audacity of it.
Everything? She's crazy.The conversation didn't seem to be going as Tivari had planned because the woman smoothed out her features, shook her head and sighed.
"I do not mean to give offense. You seem suited to your work here on the ship. I wonder only why you would place yourself in danger, by accompanying Krae into situations for which you are not trained."
"I'm training with Krae to-"
Tivari held up her hand and stalled the rest of Saeriths answer.
"You do not want to be a bounty hunter. That much is clear."
Saeriths first reaction was to refute the assumption, but she couldn't deny to herself she found the work distasteful. She'd crossed paths with more than a few bounty hunters over the years, and didn't have much to say about any of them that was good.
"No, I don't want to be a bounty hunter. I just- You know what? Why should I explain myself to you? What about you? Why are you here?"
"I'm hiding."
Her answer came without hesitation. Her tone calm and even. Saerith ground her teeth as her frustration mounted.
"Yeah, well maybe I'm hiding too."
"If that is truly the case; it would make more sense for you to stay out of sight. Your companion will leave a trail easily followed, and if you are at his side you will be noticed. What do you mean to hide from in such a fashion?"
Saerith was stumped for a response. She couldn't even really say that she was hiding. She'd just hoped that Tivari would take the answer, and that whatever crazy had possessed the woman to come and interrogate her would be satisfied.
I don't have time for this. How do I make her go away?
"I could ask you the same thing," Saerith said, her tone cold. "What are you hiding from?"
Tivari accepted the deflection with a stoic expression.
"If I answer your question, will you answer mine?"
Well she's got me there.Saeriths annoyance couldn't deny her curiosity. When Krae had told her they'd be taking on a client who wanted to lay low onboard the ship. Saeriths first question had been exactly what she was now being offered and since meeting Tivari in person that curiosity had grown. She seemed a formidable person in her own right, and Saerith wanted to know what could send the woman into hiding.
"Have it your way."
"I have your word then?"
Saerith once more folded her arms across her chest, unconsciously trying to create a barrier between them. Tivari was asking a lot of her. She wasn't even sure she could answer the question for herself, and even if she could. Who was Tivari to pry so deeply? She didn't know Saerith, despite all her assumptions to the contrary.
Guess you should've thought before you went and struck a deal. Curiosity killed the Loth-Cat
"Yeah, sure."
Tivari nodded, and Saerith suddenly felt bound. Like she'd signed a contract, which was problematic since she didn't have an answer ready.
Guess I better think fast."Until a month ago, I was a Senator in the Republic. I am wanted as a traitor and a spy."
If Tivari had punched her in the stomach, she couldn't have been more surprised.
A traitor?It was beyond anything she might've imagined. Saerith had thought perhaps some trouble with The Exchange, maybe some gambling debts. It was common enough, especially among the rich and powerful, but a fugitive from the Galactic Republic?
Oh man, that's bad news.Krae was already less than popular where they were concerned; if their encounter with the Orion were anything to go by. If it was found out they were harboring a traitor they'd all be spaced. Saeriths fear must have shown in her expression because Tivari sighed.
"You are in no danger; the Republic will never find me here."
This did nothing to reassure her.
"But… but why?"
"Why? Because I am a traitor and a spy."
She laid it out as if it were nothing, and stole Saeriths last chance of making sense of the situation.
"A spy for who?"
"You misunderstand, I am not a spy. You could say I manage spies. The information they obtained was for me. A means of gaining an advantage over my political rivals. Blackmail makes things much simpler."
This nearly brought the situation back onto a recognizable plane. Since the start Saerith had been conjuring wild fantasies about the nature of the charges. Had briefly imagine Tivari to be an agent of the Sith. Saerith felt no particular loyalty to the Republic. If it were as good and great as many claimed, It would've moved into the Outer-Rim and strangled the slave market. It would've shut down the spice mines where so many of those slaves were worked to death. The pits where they fought and died for the entertainment of the galaxies wealthiest scum.
But if she couldn't see her way to forgiving the Republic for it's inaction, it would never compare to her hatred for the Sith. She could lay the names of many a lost friend at their door. People who had wanted nothing but to live their lives in peace.
"So you… you just spied on some other Senators?"
It seemed almost mild in contrast to what Saerith often imagined a traitor to be. Tivari smiled slightly at the question. The first smile Saerith had ever seen from her.
"Yes. Though I assure you, they did not take such a light view of it as you have. The Law is often merciless in how it is interpreted. A spy is a traitor. Perhaps proving my intent could have lessened the punishment, but as I am here standing before you. I believe we both can reason that I did not remain to answer them. Upon learning I had been discovered I fled immediately and have been fleeing since."
Saerith absorbed this slowly. Chewing on the inside of her cheek.
"Well it doesn't sound as bad to me as all that, but I guess…"
Saerith shrugged, the whole thing was beyond her. The worst things she'd ever been guilty of were theft, and lying about how much her repairs were going to cost.
But more than half those scum stiffed me on the bill, so I had to make up the difference somewhere.She reasoned, it was not her fault the Outer-Rim was so full of parasites. Only way not to get swindled was to do the swindling yourself sometimes.
"I believe, "Tivari cut through her ruminations, "That holds up my end of the bargain."
Saeriths stomach dropped as she was recalled to the deal she'd made. In the course of finding out Tivari was a fugitive from the single most powerful Government in the galaxy. Saerith had forgotten to think up a suitable reason for why she was following Krae around.
Because I don't know what else to do? Because I'd be dead if it wasn't for him?She had no idea what she was going to say. Every reason she could think up fell flat in her own mind. Any of them would've served if she'd were just the mechanic or the pilot. None of it explained why she was willfully following the man into potentially dangerous situations.
Tivari waited patiently, but there was a knowing look in her eye and Saerith was certain she had an idea of the internal struggle to try and answer the question.
I don't know why I'm doing it, or maybe… yeah, that'll have to do.
"Look, Krae saved my life not long ago. I owe him a lot."
"It does not seem prudent for you to return that favor by placing yourself in greater danger."
"No, it's not that. I don't work with Krae for me. I go to-"
The ear splitting screech of ship weapons sent Saeriths heart rocketing into overdrive and two brilliant flashes of red nearly blinded her. She crouched automatically, instinctively trying to use the ship for cover, but the rational part of her mind knew they should already be dust. The bolts had been dead on.
Saerith whipped her head around, and located the vessel. A single man fighter, of a make she didn't recognize. Moving at odds with Nar Shaddas normal traffic. It dropped low, coming on at great speeds and fired again. Again, the bolts were dead on and Saerith flung her arms up uselessly. Knowing full well they were about to be vaporized.
The red plasma turned queerly in the last meter and skated across what seemed to be an invisible barrier. Instead of smoking them on the pad, they slammed home into the Specters hull, boiling the outer layer of the durasteel plating into molten metal instantly. Saeriths head turned reflexively to inspect the damage, even a cursory glance told her it hadn't breached passed the surface.
Tough bird.Flickered through her racing thoughts, and she caught sight of Tivari out of the corner of her eye. Arms up in front of her and palms turned outward. Her mouth a grim slash, sweat running down her brow and breathing like she'd just sprinted a mile.
"What-"
She froze as she heard the Specters turrets come online. Six heavy rotary turbo lasers popped free of their housing along the ships top and sides. All swiveling to take aim at the fighter, which was now weaving through buildings and traffic as it came around. Preparing to attack from the other side.
HaxRelief swelled in her as she remembered her droid was onboard. He'd seized control of the weapons and Saerith knew the fighter wouldn't be in the air much longer. Hax didn't miss.
The fighter came on faster than she'd expected and some small part of her grudgingly acknowledged the pilot's skill. They maneuvered cleanly between obstacles with only inches to spare. The ship dropped low and accelerated; the pilot had seen the weapons.
Four of the six turrets fired a single shot in unison and they ripped neatly into the vessel. Sheering away a third of it on the left side. The engines flickered out and it began to tumble through the air. Saeriths relief was momentary.
It's going to hit the landing pad.Without a conscious thought she moved, tackling Tivari as she went. The pair of them toppled through the air and hit the floor in a tangle of limbs, but Saerith kept the momentum. Forcing them to keep rolling. The sound of the impact was a tremendous roar of screeching metal and she felt the wind of the fighter's passage as its wreckage missed them by feet.
Saerith halted the roll, her heart pounding in her chest. She glanced up and saw a deep gouge torn clean through the walkway between them and the ship. Spanning the entire thing in an almost straight gash. She quickly untangled herself from Tivari and started to run. The ship had nearly sliced the landing pad from its support and she knew she had to get the Specter in the air quickly.
The whole structure heaved under her feet, sending her back to the ground. Face down on the platform she could hear the remaining supports start to snap under the ships weight. She turned her face up, dread climbing with the sound of slowly twisting metal, and then all at once the landing pad buckled. The ship rolled back and away from her as the pad listed. The Specters struts screeching as it's weight began to pull it towards the leaning edge.
"Hax!"
Saerith screamed, pulling herself to her feet, moving towards the falling ship when a weight collided with her back. She hit the ground again, this time someone on top of her. She watched as the Specter tumbled free rolling end over end into the bowls of Nar Shadda with her best friend inside.
"We have to go!"
The voice was distant, almost muted. The Specter had quickly vanished from her sight, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. It couldn't be real.
"Saerith, get up. We can't stay here."
Strong hands pulled her to her feet and she found herself looking into Krae's steel grey eyes.
"Lets go."
"Krae…"
She mumbled. Seeing him stirred something in her. The world came back into sharp colored clarity all at once.
"Krae, Hax was on the ship."
"Come on Saerith."
Krae tugged on her arm, pulling her along Saerith started to move with him and then suddenly Tivari was there on her other side. Krae glanced at her, maybe wondering what she was still doing there now that the ship she'd paid to hide in was no more.
"What happened?" Krae asked her. they began to move more quickly; as Saerith started to catch up with reality. She wasn't sure what to say, and was thankful in a dull way when Tivari stepped in to answer.
"We were attacked. I didn't recognize the ship. It missed us the first time-"
No it didn't, those shots were perfect.Saerith conjured a fuzzy memory of Tivari, hands outstretched. Exhaustion in her normally stoic features. In her minds eye she saw the bolts turning aside at the last second. Tivari had saved them. The woman was a force user.
"The Droid shot it down."
This brought Saerith sharply back to reality.
"Hax." She growled, and they both looked at her. It was then that Saerith realized she was crying. She reached up and wiped the moisture from her face, but never shifted her glare from Tivari.
"His name was Hax." She repeated firmly.
After a few moments Tivari nodded her ascent.
"Hax… shot it down. I do not think I… I do not think we would have been so lucky the second pass. He probably saved our lives."
Saerith closed her eyes, letting Krae's hand on her arm guide her as they left the destroyed landing pad behind. A million memories buzzed through her mind. Bickering with Hax. Trying her hand at some of his games. Trying to convince him to help her in the garage. More tears rolled from under her eyelids, despite all her efforts to hold them in.
Hey you! I'm your droid!The moment she'd met him played back to her with vivid clarity. When she glanced down to find the absolute strangest droid she'd ever seen looking up at her. She had no idea. Now he was gone, and she was here. Trapped on Nar Shadda again.
"Come on. I know a place where we can hide while I get this figured out. You're welcome to come along."
Krae's voice lanced through her grief induced stupor and she opened her eyes in time to see Tivari nod her agreement. Despite everything, a small smile found it's way on to her face. At least this time she wasn't alone.
. . .
Hax watched the fighter crash through six different cameras, and quickly determined the only plausible outcome of the big gash it cut through the landing pads supports.
"Ah crap."
He disconnected from his remote access to the turrets and opened his visor.
This is going to suck
The little droid skittered quickly out of Saeriths room, and down the hallway. The ship turned violently as the landing pad gave way beneath it and it began to slide. Hax just made the galley as it tumbled free and began to turn in the air.
Normally this would've made moving within the ship impossible, but Hax, unlike his many siblings, was equipped with a powerful electromagnet that kept him firmly on the floor.
So, take that with your fancy repulsors and faux wings. You'd be tossed to death in here trying to fly around.Maintaining the magnets grip on the floor was integral to his survival, and so he was forced to move much more slowly than he would have like.He made the exit ramp as the ship came level briefly. A few seconds was more than enough time for the droid's powerful processors to determine his only course of action.
Sure could use some wings right now though.He lamented briefly as he leapt clear of the Specter. He drifted through the air, as he fell two dozen metersmore before he came in range of the side of a building. His magnet pulled him tight to the wall and he slid downward in a trail of sparks. His momentum gradually slowing.
His fall arrested he curved his serpentine neck, and looked down. Watching the Specter plow clean through a lane of shuttles that never saw it coming. Clip the side of a building and go into an extremely violent spin. Hax ran some calculations and determined that even his magnet wouldn't have been able to stand up to the centrifugal force.
"Well that was the closest I ever came to dying."
He informed the wall as the Specter fell out of sight.
"Pretty impressive if you ask me. I'd like to see anyone else walk away from a three mile free fall in a death box."
This reminded him that he had indeed fallen a long way. He curved his neck upwards. The landing pad from which the ship had fallen was lost to sight and on the other side of the gap many miles above him.
"Ah crap."