Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, Chev and I have been pretty busy...
Anyways, here's the next chapter for Wounded in an Alley!
As always, reviews are appreciated and we own nothing except for Niira and Shakiru
The hum of the speeder upon which Shakiru sat drowned out all the noises of the wilderness of Hutta. In truth, wilderness is perhaps an incorrect term, as the pollution of the Hutts' industries had seeped into the very roots of the trees and the blood of the animals, killing everything and drowning all in filth. Shakiru wrinkled his nose in disgust as he passed a large oil pipe that was leaking into what was probably a pond at one point.
Suddenly, just as he was getting closer to his target area, the speeder's hum changed into a splutter until it simply stopped. Just in time, Shakiru hurled himself from the speeder and fell onto the oily mud while the machine plough end into the ground. Cursing like mad, the bounty hunter stalked over to it and knelt down to examine it.
The sound of blaster fire slowly disappeared as Niira walked into the wilderness of Hutta. Since she got some sleep, she was able to focus on the mission at hand and opted to ignore the fear of feeling pain again through the devious Sith.
As she walked she glanced around at the multiple Akk Dogs that roamed around the slums of Nal Hutta. One peculiar scene stopped the chiss' roaming eyes and a grin spread across her face. A familiar disgruntled red head was busy fixing what appeared to be a speeder.
"Well, what do we have here?" Niira asked as she approached the man and smirked at him.
Shakiru grimaced and kept his face angled away from Niira so as not to let her see his despair. "What does it look like?" He snapped, examining some torn wires and cursing. Those would be difficult to fix, and he was certainly not much of a mechanic.
Niira was about to respond when she noticed a vicious looking Akk Dog sneaking toward the bounty hunter. She glanced at him to see if he noticed, but he seemed unaware of the beast. When Niira pulled her blaster rifle out, she realized that it wasn't just one Akk Dog heading towards the red haired man, but a whole pack of them.
"Look out," Niira shouted as she shot an Akk Dog that was charging directly at the man. When that one was dead she began firing at the other beasts, hoping they would divert their attention from the man who didn't seem prepared to handle their attack.
Almost completely oblivious, Shakiru continued to tinker with the wires and bolts, shocking himself at least three times before getting it right. At last the speeder came back to life and hovered above the ground as it should. It was at that point that he realized the fix that he and Niira were in. The chiss had done an exceptional job of keeping the Akk dogs at bay, but she had grown tired and more yet were coming. Shakiru whipped out his gun and blasted three Akk dogs into oblivion. Then he shouted, "Oy, Little Girl, get on," as he himself hopped onto the speeder while killing an Akk dog that had been about to attack Niira from behind.
Niira shot the bounty hunter a glare, but hopped on his speeder while firing at any Akk Dog that got too close to them.
Shakiru sped off and left the pack in dust. "What was the glare for, sweetheart? I just got us safely out of a situation," he pouted over the hum of the engine.
Niira scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I am not a 'little girl' so stop calling me that!" Niira paused as she glanced behind them at the beasts that were quickly fading from sight.
"Where are we going anyway?" Niira had a mission to complete and she didn't want this one act of kindness to hinder her ability to complete her task. She wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible so she could be one step closer from leaving the terrible planet.
"We're headed to Evocii Camp. At least that's where I need to be." Shakiru sighed loudly and said, "I do suppose it would be polite for me to take you where you need to be... Where should I take you?"
"As a matter of fact, I need to head there as well to take care of...business," Niira replied. She wanted to be as vague as possible with the bounty hunter, seeing as she didn't know if she could trust him yet.
"Business, you say?" He glanced back and gave Niira a coy look. "Interesting ... Because I happen to be on business too ..." He wanted to see how far he had to go before she even so much as hinted at what an Imperial Agent would need to do with regards to Evocii. "You know... We make a good team, maybe we should conduct our businesses together for maximum efficiency? Those Evocii won't take kindly to our presence."
Niira narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to protest, but she took one second to think about it. That one second led to her thinking of how much simpler the mission would be if she had a partner to aid her. "Well, I suppose that would be an agreeable arrangement. It would be much easier to dispose of any threats we may come across," Niira said, albeit rather hesitantly. Besides, it's not like this arrangement will last for any longer than a few days. With that thought in mind, Niira decided it was the best course of action. "What business do you need to take care of bounty hunter?" Niira asked rather sarcastically. She figured that since he interrupted her meeting with Nem'ro, the Hutt sent him off to kill someone who didn't smile at him the right way, or something as absurd as that.
"There is an Evocii leader the great Hutt has commissioned me to kill," Shakiru said after a moment of hesitation. He figured the little chiss would not do anything to upset his mission-if she had dealings with Nem'ro, then she couldn't possibly be on the Evocii's side. Besides, she may be tough but he was confident that he could still take her down. "And you, little girl? What business have you?"
"Let's just say, some Evocii are holding out on some shipments that were promised to Nem'ro. I've been sent to handle the situation," Niira said calmly. She chose to ignore his 'little girl' comment. "So, now that we have that settled, where are we going to first?" Niira asked as she gazed at the growing outline of the Evocii Camp.
"Ladies first," Shakiru said with a wink and a charming smile as he slowed the speeder and stopped in a thicket of dying yellow shrubbery about thirty meters from the camp. He hopped off (after powering down of course) and, as a continuation of his presentation of chivalry, offered his hand to help Niira down as well. "My lady." He couldn't help a teasing grin from tugging up the corners of his mouth.
Niira resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Shakiru's antics and she took the liberty of humoring the bounty hunter. She put her hand in his and quickly jumped down from the speeder. "Who would have thought a bounty hunter could be such a gentleman?" Niira asked as she walked past Shakiru with a small grin on her face. Normally Niira would have blown away such a cheesy gesture, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to play along with the bounty hunter, especially since they would be helping each other out in their assigned tasks.
Niira scanned the Evocii camp before she pulled her datapad out of its pouch in her belt. According to the datapad, the Evocii she was supposed to meet with was in a small enclosure under Nem'ro's control a few clicks away from the Evocii camp. "Looks like we need to go that way," Niira said as she pointed to the left of the camp. "There should be a small enclosure over there that is under Nem'ro's control. We'll find the man I'm looking for there."
"Lead the way, hon," Shakiru said, loosening his pistols in their holders and mentally preparing himself for conflict-be it in the form of diplomacy or aggressive negotiations. As he followed just a few paces behind Niira, looking out all around them in case of trouble, he couldn't help noticing that she wasn't un attractive and her business-like attitude was certainly welcome, for though Shakiru was a tease and liked his fun, he certainly had a sense of "get'er dun". He also liked that Niira was self-sufficient, where many women were not. Perhaps this child and I could be friends, if she'd just pipe the fuck down now and again, he thought before rapidly forcing his mind to focus on his surroundings and nothing else.
Niira quietly crept sling the edge of the Evocii camp. She had her rifle out in case any of the Evocii saw her or her red headed companion. Niira knew how to get around without being seen, so she assumed if they were attacked it would be due to her temporary companion. Niira stopped quite abruptly and sank low to the ground. Her attention was focused on an Evocii roughly 10 meters in front of the pair. Once she deduced they were out of its sight, she took a moment to take in where they were. A small fence in the distance told Niira they were headed in the right direction. A quick glance at her datapad confirmed this and she turned to Shakiru and said, "Do you see that fence over there?" Niira gestured to it before continuing, "We need to get there so I can...chat with the Evocii liaison."
Shakiru nodded slowly and thoughtfully, calculating. There was just one Evocii guard in sight, but there may well be more hidden behind him, not to mention even more over the fence. "We could go around the fence or over it..." He muttered. "If we go over it, I could jump out and distract the guards here while you scale the fence and start to take out whoever's behind it. I'll follow promptly and then we wing it. Or we could have less fun and try to sneak around." He shrugged. "Your choice little girl."
Niira ground her teeth together at that comment. "No, we need an actual plan. 'Winging it' is not a plan. That is an excuse for why missions fail," Niira said as she focused her attention on the Evocii guard. There doesn't appear to be any other guards around, but there could be more in those enclosures behind the fence.
"We're sneaking around the fence. You do know how to sneak right? Or is that not a requirement in 'Bounty Hunter Boot Camp?'" Niira asked with a small smirk on her face.
Shakiru offered a cocky smile and said, "I can be quite smooth when I want to be, hon." He winked and savored her astonished, furious reaction before becoming business-like and saying quite seriously, "Ready when you are."
Annoyance flashed in Niira's eyes before she closed them and took a few deep breaths. Focus on the mission. After repeating this mantra a few times, Niira opened her eyes and sent Shakiru a fierce glare. "Let's get on with it then," Niira said before she disappeared with a touch of a button on her belt.
Shakiru blinked and shook his head-surely he didn't just see what he thought he saw? He looked around, but Niira was nowhere around. "Where..?" He peeked his head up and peered at the guard, but he was still standing there, not being attacked, and the land surrounding him was void of the pretty-if-annoying little Chiss as well. Well I can't very well attack if I don't know where Niira went... She'll probably get mad at me if I do, because she wants to 'sneak'. He grimaced in frustration as he shifted behind his shelter, waiting for Niira to show herself again-or at least her intentions.
Niira smirked at the dumbfounded bounty hunter in front of her. The stealth field generator she had on was doing an excellent job in hiding her from the outside world; so well in fact that the bounty hunter standing two feet in front of her didn't have a clue where she went. Now it's time for payback, Niira thought as she crept up behind Shakiru and whispered, "Boo" in his ear.
Shakiru whipped around while jumping backwards. In his shock, he fumbled and dropped his blasters, but they wouldn't have done him much good, for he still didn't see anyone. Eventually-after having stared dead ahead of him for a few moments-his brain computed that the voice had been Niira's, and he was not in immediate trouble. However, he still didn't see her. At last, logic kicked in and it occurred to Shakiru that Niira was using a cloaking device. Realization must have dawned visibly on his face, for the Chiss' distinctive giggle sounded in front of him, where he could now make out a very dim silhouette, since he knew what to look for.
Heat rushed to the bounty-hunter's face and he exclaimed in indignation, "Why you little... little...-" He couldn't think of a good enough word for what she was. Shakiru hated the sound of her derisive laughter when it was aimed at him; he hated looking like a fool-in general, yes, but for some reason he was having a harder time keeping his cool and blowing off the humiliation with Niira, which surprised him. Why was she affecting him this way? It didn't make sense. His internal confusion served only to make him more furious with the imperial agent.
Niira's giggle turned in to a quiet laughter as she saw the emotions pass over the bounty hunter's face. "Don't give me that! You deserved it and you know it," Niira stated amusement clearly evident in her voice.
Niira's attention turned to the guard they were supposed to kill and her eyes widened briefly before she shoved Shakiru down and deactivated her stealth field generator. She held her finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet, before she reactivated the stealth field generator and stuck her head over the fence.
The guard seemed to have been alerted by Niira and Shakiru, more likely Shakiru, and he appeared confused as to why no one was standing in front of him. Niira rolled her eyes and muttered, "Idiot," quietly under her breath. After feeling around near her boot, Niira pulled out her knife and cautiously approached the Evocii.
The dumbfounded look he had on his face as Niira stabbed him would forever be etched in her mind. She briefly closed her eyes to compose herself before she stood up. The air seemed to vibrate in front of Niira as her belt deactivated on its own accord.
"Looks like I used it too long," Niira said as she made her way back to Shakiru.
"Good, that means less sneaking," he said in a pointed tone, clearly still irked by Niira's little trick.
With his blasters out, Shakiru crept forward and peered cautiously around the fence. At first he didn't see anyone, but just as he was about to break cover, a few Evocii guards on patrol marched out from behind a hut. Shakiru ducked back and informed Niira of the three new enemies.
Niira ducked behind the fence next to Shakiru and prepared to sneak a look at the three guards before she realized something; the dead guard's body was still lying on the ground in clear sight. Niira silently cursed herself and shot a glance at Shakiru before she darted over to the body. She carefully gripped the guard's hands and slowly began dragging him back to the protective cover of the fence.
Before she made it, however, Shakiru heard the shouts of the three new guards just before a blast was shot and missed Niira by a few inches. The bounty hunter did a tuck-and-roll and loosed a few shots at the guards himself. He hit one in the head, and the Evocii crumbled instantly. He hit another in the shoulder, but it served only to hinder the guard for a few moments. The last guard shot a series of blasts at Shakiru, who became aware that he was fully without cover-not something he was unused to, but certainly more dangerous.
"Little girl, forget him, it doesn't matter now," the bounty hunter said, dodging a shot and hoping that she had enough sense to do so and get under cover quickly, for he was loath to take cover himself while she was still out in the open. Why, though? I've not ever been like this before. If a partner is being daft, I let them deal with the consequences... why is she any different?
Shakiru didn't have a chance to ponder the question, for at that moment a shot skimmed his right shoulder, searing through his clothing and burning off the top layers of skin. He gritted his teeth, but refused to cry out, and instead shot two rapid-fire blasts at one of the guards, killing him. Finally, Shakiru decided he couldn't stay vulnerable any longer and he jumped forward and ducked behind a parked speeder. Safe for the moment, he dared to look for the little Chiss.
Niira was behind a small piece of cover, not much to sustain her, but it would help cover her for the moment. She peered over the small fence she was behind and noticed that the last two guards were approaching a speeder. Dammit, Niira thought as she aimed her rifle at the guard closest to her.
She took a few slow breaths before she fired a series of shots. She succeeded in killing one of the guards, but the other managed to fire a few shots at her before he pulled something out of his pocket and aimed it at her.
Niira narrowed her eyes before realizing he was preparing to throw a grenade at her. She fired a few shots at the man before her clip ran out. She ducked behind her meager cover and searched for another clip.
Shakiru risked a glance up and saw the man holding the grenade, ready to throw it. He cursed. If the grenade was thrown, Niira wouldn't die, but she'd be seriously injured. Can't let that happen, Shakiru thought. Taking a deep breath, he jumped up started firing at the last guard, knowing that if he missed; either he or Niira would blow up. A thud informed Shakiru that he'd hit the guard, and he jumped forward and picked up the grenade that was due to go off in seconds. Lucky, he thought as he flung it away down the street.
Luck continued to prevail, it seemed, for the grenade exploded on contact with the ground right in front of another onslaught of guards. "Niira, come on, we can't stay here forever," Shakiru said, waiting for the smoke to clear a bit and hoping that it revealed only dead Evocii. "You know where we're going."
Niira stood from her cover and glanced at the cloud of smoke down the street. "Right, follow me. Quickly!" Niira pulled out her datapad again and headed down the fence line. "It should be over there," Niira said as she pointed to a distant hill.
Niira kept her rifle at the ready and constantly glanced behind her and Shakiru to check and see if any of the Evocii guards had found out where they were yet. When she deemed the coast clear, she turned to Shakiru and said, "I don't think they realized where we were. We should be safe until we get to the camp, but keep your guard up." Niira turned her attention back to her datapad as she finished her sentence. It shouldn't take too long now. Hopefully the "negotiations" will go as planned, if not than it looks like I'll have to get my hands dirty again.
Niira glanced at Shakiru as she recalled the dangerous position she found herself in when she couldn't find a thermal clip to reload. He had saved her from a lot of pain and she felt the need to thank him, but she was hesitant to do so because she didn't know how he would react. He'll probably tease me again and I'm not sure if I want to deal with that now, but then again, he did save me...Niira was fighting and internal battle over whether or not to thank Shakiru, and even though the choice should have been fairly simple, Niira did not seem confident in either choice.
Shakiru ran alongside the little chiss and couldn't help but glance at her every now and again in spite of himself. At first it was just because he wanted her to be in his sight, but eventually is became a source of amusement because she was making very strange facial expressions. Stifling a laugh, Shakiru asked, "What's the matter, little girl?"
Niira snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Shakiru's voice. "What?" Her momentary confusion was quickly replaced by her stand-offish nature as she said, "I'm travelling with you. What do you think is wrong?" The confusion that flashed on his face was enough to make her feel guilty.
"I-sorry. I just wanted to say...thank you," Niira said hesitantly as she avoided looking at the estranged bounty hunter.
Shakiru smiled a little, but wiped it off his face after a second and said in a falsely haughty manner, "You should be more careful." He couldn't bring himself to be an absolute jerk to her, but he refused to graciously accept her thanks, for that would be displaying his emotions too much.
"Says the one who got shot," Niira muttered as she glanced over at the bounty hunter's wound. She sighed and took out a small, green glowing device and held it to his wound. "Hold still," Niira said before a small needle injected itself into his shoulder. The green medicine slowly began travelling in to the wound. A few seconds later, it picked up the pace and succeeded in healing his wound in less than a minute.
"Only so you didn't ..." He replied wincing a little-he didn't like needles. Nonetheless, he muttered, "Thanks. Now let's get a move on before you have to be nice again." Shakiru smirked a little and winked before stalking off.