Scene 19 – The Charge of the Dark Brigade

Vacy looked over her shoulder. The dancers were still climbing into the large speeder. She glanced back to Corso and Bell'aria, and each of them nodded that they were ready.

At her signal, Arri leaped forward, igniting both sabers midair, landing squarely in the middle of the group. A number of the guards were disoriented by the sudden attack, and the Jedi pressed her advantage.

"Fight me fair!" hollered Corso, targeting one of the larger guards around Arri. The harpoon shot hit the man squarely in the chest, latching onto his armor firmly so that when the cable retracted, the guard was dragged along with it. Several of the others noticed the challenge and ran toward Corso.

Vacy took just a moment to spin around, shooting the first guard from behind before ducking back behind cover and firing on the guards around Arri, who was still significantly outnumbered. Behind her, she heard the speeder's motor whine into action, settling into a throaty hum before it raced away. They wouldn't have to hold out much longer – just until the speeder was able to get around a few turns and out of sight.

Unfortunately, that was proving to be a bit challenging.

Arri was slowing down. A moment later, Vacy felt a sharp burn in her shoulder. She looked down to see blood seeping through the delicate filigree of the dancer's costume, which offered no protection at all. Looking again at Arri, Vacy realized it wouldn't be too much longer before one of the guards she was fighting slipped through her defenses and took her down.

Vacy reached into her Darmas-bag, but with everything they'd stuffed in it, it took her a few moments to put a hand on her kolto pistol. She aimed – wavered – and the first few shots went wide, spattering uselessly on the ground near the twi'lek. She cursed, turned the weapon, and took a dose in each thigh. Her head cleared, and this time, she was able to shoot a row of pellets right up along Arri's spine before the pistol clicked empty. The result was nearly instantaneous: Bell'aria began to attack and parry more quickly and precisely.

But the guards were still looking fairly healthy, and their group was still outnumbered, and now on top of that, they were all injured. As if to confirm her worries, Vacy heard Corso rasp out, "Uh, Captain? Kind of dying here…"

The kolto pistol was useless at the moment, so Vacy rummaged through her satchel again, looking for the mini-droid and its controller. She heard Arri cry out in pain, and given how silent the twi'lek was when she fought, Vacy decided they'd best play it safe. "Fall back!" she shouted. Wishing she could do more, she flash-blinded one of the guards attacking Arri and shot another in the kneecaps. "C'mon, Riggs, let's move!"

The trio headed unsteadily down the street, Vacy and Arri supporting each other, Corso limping along behind, rifle in hand, covering the group's escape. "We can make this," Arri wheezed. "Just gotta get a little farther – there's a Republic outpost up ahead. They won't go near those cannons."

They could see the uniformed officers, and as they got closer, the shouts of the guards behind them tapered off. Vacy felt a rush of relief, and the last few steps seemed significantly less painful than the rest of their escape. "Made it," she gasped, stretching her arm out to test the injury in her shoulder. "Thanks for having our back, Riggs."

Arri's eyes widened, and when there was no reply, Vacy spun around.

Corso Riggs was nowhere in sight.