Vhetin started awake, breathing hard, woken by the sound of howling wind all around him. He stared wildly around at his surroundings, temporarily unaware of where he was. A moment later the memory of seeing his armor's heating systems failing returned and he sighed in relief. Jay must have helped him to get into the storage facility when he'd passed out. Everything after he'd pitched forward into the snow was nothing but a blur.
He fought to rise to his feet, using the wall as a support. As he struggled to a standing position, he took in the dimly-lit storage facility with interest and his gaze fell on the two unconscious bounties. Pollamo and Kokr were cuffed to heavy durasteel supply shelf, safely and efficiently restrained for the time being.
Good, he thought, letting out a low breath. They're still here.
Jay was sleeping too, propped up against the wall only a few feet away. Vhetin stared at the overcoat she'd given him as a makeshift blanket, then decided to return the favor. He gently wrapped it around her shoulders, and she shifted a little in her sleep. She sniffed and pulled the overcoat around herself, then fell still and silent again.
He pulled the now-drained heat tubes from his flak vest and tossed them aside. The slightest movement sent fire through his body and he grimaced in pain; that probably meant that he had mild frostbite as well. He resisted the urge to rub his arms for warmth, knowing from past experience with hypothermia that it would bring nothing more than pure agony. When he pulled off his gloves he found his fingertips were tinged with blue, but the color was beginning to return to his skin. That was a good sign; the damage wasn't overly serious.
He sighed and shook his head, booting up his HUD again. The holographic display released a blast of silent amber light that his eyes weren't yet adjusted to handle. He blinked until his vision adjusted, then regarded his surroundings with increased interest. His helmet told him that the temperature inside the storage facility was currently holding around two degrees – a little chilly, but well within safety measures. The temperature outside, however, was another story. His HUD displayed that it was at least eighty below and still dropping. He shook his head with a short sigh of relief.
It's a good thing Jay was on top of the situation. If not, we'd all be dead right now.
He heard a groan from a nearby aisle and turned toward the sound. Still tied to a shelf support, Kokr was finally beginning to regain consciousness. He groaned again and blinked a couple times before looking around struggling against his restraints. He groaned and grunted, "What in the hell? What in the hell?!"
"Good morning." Vhetin moved closer, limping slightly, and squatted in front of him. "Apparently you're the early bird of the group."
"Kark you," Kokr spat. He yanked against his restraints. "What in the hell happened to me?"
"You see," Vhetin explained, "you and your idiot brother took a rather large amount of money from Sekha. I'm sure you've heard the name."
Kokr's face began to slowly turn down in a deep scowl. Vhetin took no notice of it and continued, "And, as one could imagine, Sekha was pretty pissed about that. So she hired me and my partner to find you and bring you back for... a fair trial, shall we say?"
Kokr snarled. "A fair trial from Sekha always ends with death. I tried to tell Pollamo that, but..."
"Don't try and play dumb," Vhetin interrupted. "That wasn't the only reason we tracked you two down. You have high-level moles within Bloody Dawn. You're feeding information on Sekha's operation to Natasi Daala and the Imperials."
Kokr visibly paled. Apparently, he thought his contacts were well-hidden. Vhetin suppressed a grin. Not hidden well enough.
"H-how do you know that?"
"I have my ways," Vhetin said. "All you need to know is that you're in a lot of trouble right now. You can think over that while we wait for the storm to pass us by."
Kokr scowled and tried to throw himself at Vhetin, but only managed to tug on his restraints. Vhetin turned away, wincing as he once again put stress on his raw skin. He saw that Jay was beginning to wake and he nodded to himself. He had to thank her for her part in all this.
She rose to her feet and wrapped her overcoat around her shoulders like a heavy blanket. With a shiver, she looked over at Pollamo and Kokr, checking that the two were still there. The Rodian was still unconscious and Kokr was glaring around at his surroundings with a gaze that looked as if it could boil water.
"Are those two giving you any trouble?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
Vhetin shook his head. "The aruetii didn't bother me. Kokr's a little feisty considering you and I hold all the cards, but he'll get over it when we turn him over to Sekha."
"And what about you?" Jay asked. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine. How'd you fare during the fight?"
She grinned. "I'm not usually one to be prideful, but damn Vhetin. I kicked some serious ass out there."
He nodded in approval, unable to stop a rare smile from lighting to his face. "Good. It's nice to see that my training hasn't been completely wasted."
"Yeah…" She suddenly frowned. "But... I have something to ask you."
"Shoot."
"While I was fighting, there was this moment." She hesitated, then said, "You'll probably think I'm a fool, but there was this moment when I didn't use my rifle so much as feel it. And I was suddenly... I don't know, it was like I was aware of every single thing around me. I saw this flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye and just knew that it was a stormtrooper. And I turned and ― guess what? It was a stormtrooper."
He nodded, listening intently.
She shook her head and shrugged. "That trooper would have killed me if I hadn't moved at that exact moment. And I was just wondering if... if you think I-"
"You're wondering if you felt a connection to the Force," Vhetin said. He'd heard this many times before from fledgling bounty hunters.
She nodded sheepishly, a blush coloring her cheeks. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I've heard of what you're describing; hell, I've felt it before. I even asked Rame the same question when I was just starting out."
"And?" She almost sounded frightened.
"It's not the Force," he said. "And you are not an undiscovered potential Jedi."
Jay sighed. "Thank kriff. I was worried... you know, Order 66 and all that. It would paint an even bigger target on my back."
"You don't have anything to worry about." Vhetin squeezed her shoulder, then stepped away. "What you felt was much more important than the Force will ever be."
"More important than the Force?" Jay asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me if I don't believe you."
"It's true. What you felt was pure, unfettered instinct. You've drilled in combat situations so much that your body reacts to certain conditions before your mind does. That's what saved you back there. Training. Instinct. Conditioning."
He folded his arms. "Unlike the Force, everyone in the galaxy has the potential for this kind of power. Everyone can feel this and everyone can be improved by its power. It's not something hidden and accessible only to Jedi and their ilk, but something something real and achievable for anyone. And you're just now realizing what it feels like."
"So… I guess I'm now officially a true bounty hunter."
"You've been a true bounty hunter for months now. All you needed was a chance to show it."
He headed back to the wall, where he'd left his lightsaber pike and his rocket pack. Jay walked with him, rubbing her gloved palms together. She could barely keep her excitement from showing, even on her masked face. "So we got them? The job's done?"
"This job," Vhetin corrected. "We've still got to track down Kassh."
Jay smiled and shook her head. "That seems like years ago."
He slung his jet pack over his shoulders and said, "We've got a few hours before we have to head back to Triple Zero. We have to wait until the storm lets up, so rest up while you can." He hesitated, then added, "I'm proud of you, Jay."
His helmet's 360-degree vision picked up a pleased grin from his partner. She quickly hid it, however, and said, "So what now? We're stuck here until that snowstorm passes over."
"Yeah. While we're waiting, I'll try and get in contact with Void. If I can get the autopilot engaged from here, I can remote-fly the ship to our position for a quick pickup."
"Sounds like a good plan." Jay nodded. "And Vhetin?"
He turned back to her.
She bit her lip and said, "Thanks. Thanks for all the support."
He stared for a few moments. Then he nodded to her, the dim light of the facility illuminators dancing across his polarized T-visor. Then he disappeared into the darkness of the storage facility.
"Get some rest," he called to her. "We're not out of this yet."
To be continued in Star Wars: White Snow: Expedition…