Sinnellae looked towards the knock and saw a thin blonde woman wearing a wide brimmed hat with a billowing trench coat. Her left cheek had several scars as if she'd been burned, which made Sinnellae touch her own smooth pale cheek self-consciously.
"You the girl from downstairs, the one who broke that trooper's nose?" she asked in a deep throaty voice. Sinnellae chuckled feebly, the incident seemed so long ago and she'd bet not even a few hours had passed.
"Yeah, guess that's me," she said flatly, "Why? You his girl come up here to defend his honor? 'Cause I'll warn you right now, I ain't in the mood." To her surprise the woman started laughing.
"Far from it girl," she chortled, "I like how you handled yourself. Quick and to the point," her tone dropped slightly, "Rumor says you just lost your dad." Sinnellae bit her lip until she thought it'd bleed, holding back more tears.
"Those damn rumors," her voice still came out choked, "Wrong when you want them to be right and vice versa." She went back to grabbing her stuff and tossing it the big duffle, then gave the woman as fierce a look as she could muster. "Not saying I don't appreciate the sympathy but I need to get going. If you've got more to say, better say it." The look on the woman's face was appraising as her eyes drifted over Sinnellae.
"You've got more kick than a pissed off nerf," she said, "Where you running to so fast?" The question stunned Sinnellae for a moment. She been so caught up in getting away she hadn't thought of where she'd wanted to end up.
"Not sure yet," she replied, "Right now I have two options. A. I could stay here, slinging drinks and forcing myself to put up with that drunk Goyan. The man who stays so wasted he can't even…" she bit her lip again, trying not to dwell on the message he should have relayed to her when it'd arrived. "Or B. I can move in with Las and his wife, try finding a different job. She works as a dancing girl, not my first choice but it's gotta be better than here." Sinnellae shivered slightly at the idea, it'd mean more money but even more leers and proprietary hands. The woman kept nodding as she spoke, listening intently.
"What if I could offer you a third option?" she asked as she looked Sinnellae up and down again, "Something with lots of travel and potential for creds." Sinnellae made a disgusted noise.
"Look lady, I already busted one person's nose today 'cause they made the wrong assumption about me. I don't mind doing it again even if you're a woman," the woman's eyes widened at the vehemence in Sinnellae's tone before a slow smile appeared on her face.
"You're as sharp as that knife you carry, aren't you?" she stated, "You are my type but that's not why I'm talking to you. I want a pupil, not a lover."
Sinnellae's eyebrows rose. "And just what are you teaching?" she asked dryly.
"The fine art of being a Bounty Hunter," the woman said proudly, "Name's Venom, and there are circles where the sound of it sends people into hiding." Venom let loose a long sigh as she shrunk down slightly.
"But this racket ages you quick if you're not careful and I've got no family to pass my skills on to. I'm looking to take someone under my wing, show them the ropes. I was downstairs when that ruckus broke out and thought you could work." She winked at Sinnellae, "If I were a Jedi, I'd probably say 'the Force led me here' or some such nonsense."
Sinnellae stuck out her tongue as she rolled her eyes. She hadn't seen proof of that esoteric gibberish the random Jedi she'd run into gabbed on about, she wasn't going to put stock in it now. But she wondered about Venom's offer. She knew how to shoot, her Da made sure of that, even placed friendly wagers on her with other troopers who doubted a girl could be so skilled. The piercing thought of her Da caught her off-guard and she felt her chest lurch again. She took a bracing breath as she looked at Venom.
"All this has hit me real hard," she spoke softly, "Can I get back to you? I ain't saying no, just need a little time." Venom nodded slowly.
"Understood girl," she said, "What did they call you, Elly? I'll stick around, check in on you later." She patted Sinnellae on the shoulder, "My condolences on your dad. Heard he was a trooper." The image of her Da hit her like a freighter and tears welled up behind her eyes again.
"One of the best," she managed to say in strangled voice, she then sat down on her narrow cot, waiting until Venom left before breaking down again.
Her hands found a small stuffed Nexu that she'd outgrown years ago but couldn't bear to part with and she clasped it to her chest, curling up as more sobs poured from her. She lost track of how long she laid there, just waiting for the tears to stop and hoping she dry up. Footsteps passed by her door several times but she didn't pay them any attention until she heard them step into her room.
"So this is your room," a familiar oily voice sent chills up her spine, "That drunk downstairs was slurring so bad I was barely able to make sense of what he said."
Sinnellae sat up and looked at the figure in her doorway. The trooper she'd punched, Cooper, was entering her room and every hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. He wasn't wearing his armor, looking nondescript but sinister in head to toe black. He had a bandage over the bridge of his nose and, despite the ominous feeling she had, the mottled black and red around his left eye almost made her laugh. She stood slowly, checking her surroundings for weapons as he closed the door.
"Unless you want those eyes to match, I'd get outta here if I were you," she put more bravado in her voice than she felt, her heart flip-flopping as he moved closer. The smile that oozed across his face made her stomach feel like it was full of wildly fluttering mynocks.
"Come on now," he said, "Told that old one-legged man that I felt bad about what happened earlier. I just wanted to come up here and apologize." His tone was conciliatory but there was an angry hunger in his eyes as he looked her over. Edging towards the wall of the room Sinellae tried to keep moving towards the door.
"Apology accepted," she replied curtly, "Now that your conscience is eased you can leave, 'kay?" He glanced around one more time and gave her another slick smile.
"Oh, I was hoping we could kiss and make up first," he sneered, then dropped low and lunged at her. Sinnellae tried ducking past him, but he barreled into her, shoulder first, and blasted her with a quick blow to abdomen. The air rushed from her and he hit her again, grabbing her by her ponytail when she dropped to her knees. He started dragging her back to her narrow cot when she reached into her boot, pulling out her knife and quickly sliced through her hair just below where he'd grabbed it. Still wheezing she tried crawling to the door but was flattened by his weight.
"Cot would have been nice," he snarled as he shook the knife from her hand and flipped her over, "But floor's fine by me girl."
He stuffed a rag into her mouth and she realized it was the one she'd thrown at him earlier, covered in whatever she'd wiped from the tables during the day plus his blood. The taste made her gag, but her survival instincts told her to vomit would be death. He used one hand to pin both of hers, tearing the front of her shirt open with the other. She bucked under him trying to dislodge him but he gave her a hard blow across the face making her eyes water. Still struggling to breathe through her stuffy nose she continued to thrash as he groped her breasts with his free hand. He rocked his erection against her as he leered.
"You're going to be a bumpy ride aren't you?" he smirked as his hand traced lower down her stomach then into the front of her pants. She shrieked through the rag as his fingers stroked her lower lips roughly and he sneered again, "Think I found that holster I was looking for."
She felt a sense of relief when he removed his hand but it was short lived as he struck her again, hard enough to make her see stars. Her mind raced as she felt him groping her breasts and her head turned to the side. She could see her knife not far from her and an idea formed. Going limp, she forced herself to stay still even as he struggled to unfasten her pants with one hand. It took a moment for him to notice her lack of movement but when he did his assault slowed. He took longer running his hand over her exposed breasts as he rubbed his stiffness against her.
"There now," he muttered, "Knew you'd start liking it, just like the others." He leaned his head down and licked the side of her neck, making her queasy again. She squeezed her eyes shut as he reached back into her underwear, he was panting while he ground against her. Forcing all of her concentration on her wrists she bided her time, waiting for the right moment. It came when his hand left her pants so he could undo his own, as soon as the pressure lessened on her wrists she bucked under him as hard as she could.
He eased back, surprised at her outburst and she yanked her hands free as she half-rolled, reaching for her blade. Adrenalin fueled her mad grab and she was able to clasp the handle, then turn around and jam it into his shoulder.
"Bitch!" he shouted as she yanked it loose and scurried back. He made another grab for her leg and she sliced at him, opening the back of his hand. He wailed as his hand spurted blood and he cradled it to his chest. His eyes were demented and he looked like he was going to dive at her again when the door to her room burst open. Venom stepped in, wielding a small but lethal looking blaster and Sinnellae felt ready to faint with relief.
"Something told me this was a good time to check up on you Elly," she drawled, taking in the tableau, "Looks like my timing is impeccable."
"She stabbed me!" Cooper squealed, "I'm a soldier with the Republic. I demand she be arrested." Venom looked at him and raised her eyebrow.
"And who you going to have do it," her voice low and deadly, "What I see hear is a girl who fought off her attacker. Seems like she's in the right and your fate is in her hands. What do you say, Elly? Should I shoot this sorry piece of dung?"
Sinnellae was shuddering at the door to her room, having managed to pull the filthy rag from her mouth when Venom looked back at her. There was resolve in the woman's eyes and she drew strength from it as she used the doorframe as support to stand. Her room was trashed and blood was all over the floor. Her newly shortened hair fell around her face as she glanced down at her torn and bloodstained clothes. Cooper was still on the floor and glared at her as he wrapped his hand in his shirt.
"These people you catch," she asked Venom, "Are they like him?" Venom's eyes darted from the man on the ground back to Sinnellae.
"That's up to you," she replied, "We ain't the authorities. We catch for money, but you can pick who you go after. Nobody forces you to take a job."
The more she heard the more the idea appealed to her. "And what part do I play to you?" Venom looked her up and down.
"I'll train you, get you used to looking for bounties and taking them in. The Great Hunt is coming up, kind of a 'best of the best' contest for us. I'd love to see one of mine go after the title of Champion," Venom looked Sinnellae over again, "I think you've got what it takes."
One loose end, Sinnellae thought, got to go see Las, let him know I'm alright, but after that I'm free and clear of this place. She walked over to grab her duffle while Venom kept her blaster aimed at Cooper, tucking her stuffed nexu inside gently before picking it up. He still looked crazed but didn't move towards her.
"I'm ready Venom," she said, "Let get off of this rock." Venom waved her blaster at the bleeding trooper.
"What about him?" she indicated, "You want me to shoot him?" Sinnellae looked hard at the man on the floor, remembering what he'd put her through. Behind the mad hate in his eyes she saw flickers of fear. All that and now he's afraid of me, she thought incredulously. Part of her liked the feeling, the idea that someone who seemed to enjoy causing fear could feel that way about her.
"No," she replied icily, "Don't shoot him." She saw relief wash over his face just before she took Venom's blaster and gave him a chilling smile. "Let me." She fired one shot into his groin, letting him wail in pain for a moment longer before shooting two more quick shots into his head. Venom nodded approvingly as she slipped out of her trench and wrapped it around Sinnellae's shoulders, touching her swollen cheek with care.
"I'm sure you wanna tell that Twi'lek goodbye, then we'll get you to my ship and get you patched up," she said "You ready to go Elly?" Sinnellae shook her head.
"Nope, Elly's already gone," she looked dispassionately at the trooper's corpse, "Call me Sinn."