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(I was privledged and honored to share this story with Kava. One hell of an rp'er and a great friend! We should be nominated for an Oscar!)
A life long quest was coming to a close, Narmu had vowed to end these inner struggle weeks after Yisla and he had ended their brief yet intense union. He promised her that he would not go after his parents murderer; she did not want to lose him she said, but would it matter anyway? Perhaps since the break up he had seen her all of five minutes alone, no, she was already adjusting with life without him, it was time for him to do the same. She may never forgive him, but then again he may not live long enough for it to matter. As he loaded his kaadu with field rations and extra power packs he closed his eyes briefly remembering the last time he saw her, she had grabbed him and wrapped him up in an intense kiss and told him to wait for her, she needed time. She loved him very much and he her, but only time would tell what fate had in store for them. “Oh Yisla how it pains me to do this, but my destiny cannot be changed, I will take to heart with me all the happiness you gave to me. I hope you don’t hate me for doing this…” Narmu thought sealing the mount’s pack up tight. Petting Harmony on the neck he entered his house and went straight to his office, sitting down at his desk he opened up his data terminal and began encoding a message to Commander Sorven.
BEGIN ENCRYPTED MESSAGE
TO: Commander Utherr Sorven / Alliance Base Talus
FROM: Second Lieutenant Narmu El’qui / New Aldera
RE: Leave of Absence
Commander,
It has been an honor and privilege to serve under your command these last few months. I have had the pleasure of meeting fine fighters for the cause. Our force here is an example to the rest of the Alliance and a true signal to the Empire that freedom will one day be restored to the Galaxy.
When I arrived to Talus, you were under the impression that Alliance Intel had sent me here to continue my underworld surveillance. This is partly true. I had personally requested the transfer for a very personal reason, one that I will share now with you.
Many years ago my parents were murdered by a group of thugs that worked for Lady Valarian, Jabba’s chief rival on Tatooine. I have spent most of my life avenging their deaths by killing those responsible. One mark remained, and he has been on Talus for about as long as I have been. My investigations have taken me from Drall resistance camps to Binayre depots. I have found that this cretin has put a high bounty on me by both of the aforementioned groups, ironic that I should have a bounty on my head!
The Binayre Pirates have taken this person in and are currently working with him and Lady Valarian to try and undermine Jabba’s network in the Corellian Sector. This of coarse has no relevance to the war, but to me and my life long work it does.
Basically if Jabba were to lose his network here, then I would no longer be needed to be stationed here, second, this man and I have some unfinished business that I intend to get over with. So it is with much sadness that I must take a brief leave of absence from duty from our efforts here on Talus. I do not know how long I will be gone for, and to be honest if things go wrong, well you understand.
Again, it has been an honor to server under you sir, we are indeed blessed with a fine community and I foresee it will one day shine above and beyond all others. Thank you for your time and thank you for all the guidance you have given me in my time here.
Yours respectfully,
Narmu El’qui
Second Lieutenant
Alliance to Restore the Republic
END ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION
Narmu reviewed his message once before he sent it and leaned back on his chair, stretching. He stood up, leaving his office and taking one last look around his home. It had been such a joyous moment when he arrived on Talus, many good memories, and many sad ones. Such was the way of life he thought as he again went back outside. Harmony snorted happily when she saw him coming, the kaadu had become a great friend to Narmu, such a loyal mount. With a quick leap he was on the saddle, his feet nestled snuggly. “Cha cha Harmony.” He said with a little tap, and soon Harmony was moving out. He guided them to Mockingbirds, the booming cantina of New Aldera. At this hour there was only the soft hum of the droids cleaning inside. Reaching back he opened up one of his mount’s packs and pulled out the small Bantha toy he had carried his whole life. There was a small note on it that read simply “For Kava”. He placed it on the floor that was adjacent to him. Corellia was rising which meant he had little time to dabble; he needed to complete the first part of his plan by dawn. Kicking a little again against Harmony’s side and they went off again with great speed. Narmu had pinpointed the location of a Binayre supply depot to the South of New Aldera. “Time to shake the hornakuu’s nest to see if we get bit Harmony.” Narmu said, already checking the power on his Laser Carbine.
Unknown to Narmu his steps were already being followed, a seeker droid raised its antennae and sent out a coded message to its master, seconds after it was received the droid exploded in a shower of sparks and metal…
Narmu approached the camp slowly, the sky was still dark, but traces of purple began to fight its way from the eastern horizon. The time had come to attack. Harmony was tied to a tree nearby. The Twi’lek Bounty Hunter was wearing a black Desert Command Jacket, with an Ubese armor shirt underneath, black striped pants and a pair of hide boots. Narmu’s Laser Carbine was holstered over his shoulder as he crawled prone just above a hill, his blue eyes scanning the small depot below. Adjusting his macro binoculars, he counted at least 6 Binayres loading the Corellian YT-2400 freighter, with probably two or three more in the cockpit running pre-flight checks. “This is gonna be tough.” He whispered to himself in Ryl. Turning and sliding himself back down the hill, he put away his macro binoculars and pulled out a thermal detonator. Studying it for a moment, trying to remember the proper sequence to engage the deadly device, his fingers worked over the controls. First he set the yield, Narmu’s intent was to not destroy the craft, and such an explosion might draw the attention of any orbiting Imperial patrol. He wanted to cripple the ship so that it could not leave orbit. The shipment was bound for Tatooine; Lady Valarian was planning on moving in on Jabba’s trade contracts in this sector, this would be a good way to stop that from happening, not to mention find out where the man he had been searching for, for most of his life was at.
The purple hued Twi’lek finished setting the thermal detonator and moved around the hill he was perched up and headed down towards the ship, his lekku held firmly over his shoulders. As he got closer he could hear the conversation between the pirates. Plans of what they were going to do with their share of the profit and how they were going to have free run of the Cantina in Dearic. They were going to be in for one hell of a surprise. Using the surrounding trees and flora to get in close Narmu crouched behind a broken log, he took one last look ahead and nodded to himself, satisfied that all six were back inside the freighter’s hold adjusting the cargo he made his way towards the aft section of the ship. Setting the timer on the explosive for 30 seconds he placed it in between two thruster vents, with a slight scrape of metal on metal it was set. Narmu released the safety and the timer began its silent countdown. Counting down with it he ran back towards his original position on the hill. Just as he was about to duck and take cover two pirates emerged from the ship.
“Hey you! What are you doing here!?” a Rodian male called out drawing his blaster. His companion started looking around as Narmu finished counting 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The blast killed the two pirates instantly, sending their charred bodies many meters away. Metal sprayed the area with deadly shrapnel as the flames raised high into the early morning sky. Smoke enveloped the whole ship, one of its landing struts was snapped as a secondary explosion erupted, tilting the ship forward, suspending what was left of the aft section in the air. Narmu slipped his Carbine into his hands, his finger poised over the trigger as he approached the damaged freighter. The sun started to break the eastern slopes a little more now, adding an eerie glow to the fire and smoke. The air reeked of ozone and burnt flesh. Narmu silently cursed himself, thinking he may have set the yield higher than necessary. Grinning a bit as he got closer he heard moans coming from inside the ship, looks like all hands weren’t lost. Reaching inside his backpack he found a smoke bomb, carefully he approached the smoking entry ramp. The pirates inside now grumbling in anger and getting ready to come out and kill, there was little time left to dabble. He grabbed the pin to the smoke bomb with his teeth, pulled and tossed it inside. In seconds the smoke from inside tripled, the pirates inside coughing loudly, cursing. One took a random shot towards the ramp. The bolt deflecting off the ship’s hull harmlessly, Narmu moved and took a firing position a bit to the right of the ramp and steadied his Carbine as the footsteps from within scrambled towards him.
The first pirate came out, a human male; he was holding a vibro blade in his hand, Narmu disposed of him with one quick shot. The survivors inside seeing their comrade fall started shooting down the ramp. Not really having to protect himself much, the bounty hunter eased back a bit and waited as the smoke bomb became too much for the ship’s occupants. A pair of cobalt grenades signaled their coming. Narmu returned fire as two more humans came out firing; his aim true blasted one between the eyes, while wounding seriously the other with a crippling shot to his right knee. All of the sudden Narmu heard something come to life from outside the ship. A mini turbo laser, anti-personnel type slid down from a hidden emplacement on the starboard side of the ship. It began to fire rapidly at the diving Twi’lek. One bolt striking on his backpack. The carbon fiber super heated and melted. The intense heat so hard Narmu cried out as it burned through his jacket. With gritted teeth he unhooked the straps and let the smoking backpack fall the ground next to him. All this in less than two seconds, for the mini turret began firing again, its aim a bit off because of the angle the ship was in, yet still a dangerous factor that needed to be eliminated. Laser fire was making mini craters all over the place, but it soon dropped into a steady stream towards Narmu.
The burning in his back would surely scar him, until he visited a bacta tank; Narmu rolled and fired off 3 quick shots towards the mini-turbo laser. Two shots went wide, the third hitting the power coupling. The Force was with him, this was enough to render this threat terminated. The question now was how many were left inside. Shaking his head, he didn’t want this to last much longer, daylight was only minutes away, and with that, increased activity in the area. The smoke coming from inside emptied out; for the most part at least, he decided to board the ship. He slid his carbine back over his shoulder and drew his Scatter Pistol; he imagined for the probable close quarter combat it would be much more efficient. Slowly he crept up the ramp. Other than the small crackle of burning electronics onboard, the ship was as silent as a tomb. This did not sit well with him since obviously someone had to activate the ship’s outer defenses. He emerged on deck to see lying before him were 3 bodies, apparent victims of their own profits. Cargo containers of spice and other contraband had crushed them as they fell on top of them in the explosion. “So much for owning Dearic there boys…” he said smirking. A noise from the front of the ship alerted him that he had something to do. Moving over the fallen containers and bodies he made it to the bottom of a ladder, which lead up to the cockpit.
With great caution and silence he crept up the ladder. At first he let his blaster come up over the hatch, shooting off two shots he threw himself up the rest of the way, ducking behind a fallen flight console. Seeing there was no reaction he stood up to see a lone crew member slumped back on the pilot’s chair. Narmu saw that she was holding rather weakly a DL-44 blaster in her hands. Dropping the butt of his pistol onto the back of her head he said. “Drop your weapon and you will live a little longer.” Almost immediately the blaster fell to the floor. “What do you want bounty hunter?” she asked weakly. “How do you know who I am?” Narmu asked a bit taken back by her knowledge. “Boss said you might show up, what he neglected to say was that you were so good at what you do.” The dying pirate said, finishing with a blood filled cough. “Where is this boss of yours? Where can I find him?” Narmu probed his tone eager to get an answer. “Why should I tell you?” she replied defiantly. “I will make your death less painful, or I will leave you here to suffer and ask another wounded member of your crew outside, your choice.” Narmu answered pressing the butt of his gun harder on the Twi’lek woman’s head. “He is at a bunker, towards the southern coast, been there for a week or so.” Narmu didn’t reply, he simply pulled the trigger, ending her life in a blast that filled the front viewport with her gore.
Narmu left the ship, finishing off the last remaining pirate. He had set a
few more charges, a pair in the hyperdrive and one in the ship’s fuel
cells. Riding off a few meters he activated the remote detonators. The depot
and this ship mushroomed into a devastating blast that left very little to scavenge.
The bounty hunter knew the bunker’s location, having been there once.
The time was fast approaching…
Kava's steps faltered as she made her way through the early morning light and damp grass to Mockingbirds. She was hoping to get there early enough to do her work in the accounting books and check the manitenace driods so that she could get out before the patrons started showing up. She felt sluggish and bored, the new Night Club was successful beyond her wildest dreams yet she tried to spend as little time as possible within it's confines. The heavy responsibility of running the place and the recent increase in her counselor duties was taking a heavy toll on the lively young woman. Duty lay too heavily upon her shoulders.
As the building came into view a deep sigh left her body as she squared her shoulders and mentally organized her morning's tasks. Lost in thought and calculation she felt herself suddenly trip over an unknown object and swung her arms wildly in a vain attempt to regain her balance. Tumbling less than gracefully to the floor she muttered angrily while rubbing her knees vigourously to relieve the sharp pain of the fall. Her eyes darted furiously looking for the cause of the fall expecting it to be one of the mouse driods she utilized for cleaning and then she saw it...
In an instant her angry visage melted and tears formed at the corners of her yellow, long lashed eyes. "Nooooo..." Kava moaned painfully as she cluthed the objext to her chest with care for it's fragility and age. "Narmu!" she called out, knowing he was long gone and knowing where he had gone. She sat on the floor in a shaft of early morning sunshine lost in memory while the tears spilled unheeded down her freckled cheeks.
Their friendship had been a new experience for her, from the first meeting of the tall and handsome twi'lek stranger in the Dearic Cantina until today, knowing she may never see him again. He had taken her for her first visit to Tatooine because he needed help to move all his belongings to Talus. She had seen her first bantha and petted the large furry creature as it ambled across the barren desert on it's solitary trek in the wilds. She had told Narmu that she wanted to ride a bantha some day. He had promised to ride with her. She had seen the twin suns of Tatooine rise and set in a glorious swirling mix of beautiful colors. She had practiced her fencing with his guidance and support while they patrolled the lands around Dearic to make life safer for their friends, family and the rebellion. They had shared nights around the campfire laughing and joking. They had shared quiet moments of contemplation. They had shared frustration when things went poorly for them. They had shared love.
Kava had almost lost her heart to Narmu and still felt the occasional pangs for a life she would never lead. There had been a time when her feelings for him had overcome rationality and nearly caused a rift in her marriage with Dali. A heart was sometimes a fickle thing and she had nearly given up the best thing in her life to follow Narmu into the unknown future. She knew that it had been hard for Narmu and that their friendhip had almost collapsed especially with her jealous feelings towards the new love interest in his life. They had worked past that...she hoped...and were on their way to building a new friendship. She still felt close to him and worried for him but had had to make a decision and knew in her heart that it was the best decision for both of them.
All these thoughts flashed through Kava's mind and the memory of sitting with Narmu on the mountaintop near his old home on Tatooine watching the sun rise and listening to the story of his youth and his path of revenge settled at the front. He had never kept anything hidden from her about who he was and why he was on Talus. He had trusted her and she now had let him down. "Where are you Narmu? I should be there to watch your back like you did so many times for me," she whispered softly hoping his heart heard her no matter the distance between them. "Come back to me my friend. Please be safe." The tears dried and she stood up methodically brushing the invisible dust from her pants. She took the bantha toy with her and propped it on her desk as a reminder of all that made the battle a good one. A practical girl, she knew it was time to get to work and that fate would decide the future.
The sun was settling and there was a warm breeze this day. Narmu had just finished his breakfast, a ration bar and Jawa Juice. So much had happened in so little time. And soon much, much more was going to take place. His datapad beeped to advise him that he was receiving a holomail. Pulling out the device from his now half melted backpack he opened up the screen to read his new message. It was from V’anity, the resident Doctor/Tailor of New Aldera, also a member of the Council and Adjutant. So many titles he laughed to himself.
To: Citizens of New Aldera & Friends
From: V’anity
By order of the local government and our ever graceful Moff, private citizens are now permitted to own and operate personal transport. These vehicles include:
X-34 Landspeeder
Zephyr-G Swoop Bike
74-Z Speederbike
We have been able to provide, thanks to the efforts of Tall Tehmm, the citizens of New Aldera with their choice of one of these vehicles. They will be available for pick up at the CNARE Building.
Enjoy and happy riding!
Narmu closed the datapad and put it back in his pack, he immediately turned his gaze to his loyal mount, Harmony. The kaadu was eating some grass, oblivious to Narmu’s thoughts. “Well old girl, looks like you’re going on a much needed vacation.” He said smiling. The Twi’lek quickly assembled his things and put out the campfire. Nothing wrong with a quick trip back to New Aldera to pick up a vehicle, the time spent would more than be made up for with the speed of the transport. “Cha cha Harmony…” he said kicking her side a bit. The warm breeze felt nice on the bounty hunter’s smooth purple face, his lekku bounced up and down with the mounts rapid gallop.
Within a couple of hours, Narmu succeeded in backtracking to New Aldera. The sun was coming down, dropping a shadow over the many buildings of the city. Narmu noticed there was some activity in the city, but not much. This was a good thing since he really did not want to run into anyone that could delay him from his quest. He passed by the NATC Hall and smiled, remembering the first time he saw the grand building and how amazing it seemed to him. Soon enough he stopped in front of the CNARE Houses and saw a row of parked vehicles there. Two swoopbikes, a speederbike and on landspeeder all shining in the early afternoon sun. A smile spread over his face, the sound of the humming repulsor lifts excited him. As a child he had the pleasure of watching one of the last pod race events on Tatooine. The rush one felt watching those dare devils made any kid want to be traveling at speeds that terrified the mind. His eyes landed on the speederbike and he knew immediately that this was the one he wanted. Narmu walked around the bike first. Taking in every detail of it, the vehicle becoming more and more like a new love to him than anything else, he then placed a hand over the controls of the speeder. Depressing slightly the handlebar grip, the engine purred a bit as he gave it more power. This would be what he would take with him he thought. Turning back towards Harmony he sighed, knowing that she will not be leaving again with him. “Thank you for being so loyal to me, I am going now, and gonna leave you here to watch over things while I am gone.” He said already unfastening the various pouches he had on her saddle, finishing by taking off the saddle itself. Something he had done on many occasions when he had ridden her hard. Harmony was very familiar with the territory and thanks to the many other kaadu riders of the city, an improvised pack had been established. “Go on girl…I will see you soon.” Narmu said running his hand down her neck. The kaadu didn’t waste much time, happy to be free of all that burden. She did stop once, to look back at her master. The Twi’lek motioned for her to move on. “I’ll be fine girl, go on!” he said. With a snort the kaadu ran off towards the fields to the north.
Narmu now mounted the speederbike. Leaning down to get a feel for it first, than up to look down at the controls, they were simple enough. A comlink unit, power controls, and power displays. Foot petals controlled speed while the handlebar controls regulated direction and power. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” He said turning the speeder towards the street. With a grin he gunned the controls all ahead and zipped away with great speed. “Woooooooooo hoooooooo!!!!” he screamed as the wind hit his face and the rush he had been waiting his whole life crept in. “Now this is what I call traveling with a purpose!” Turning the speeder sharply he zoomed up the street where most of the local shops were located. He could barely make out the houses and signs as they streaked by him. Before he knew it he was already approaching the river, he pressed forward gaining more and more speed, and with the slight wine of the repulsors his speeder leaped over the small incline and hovered over the water. Water splashed on both sides of him, but with his speed parting the waters he only felt a few drops of the cool water hit his face. He was going to have a great time making up for lost time. Turning back towards New Aldera he decided to check his reflexes by darting around the various buildings and side streets. Narmu soon felt that the speederbike was become an extension of his own body. So easily and naturally the skills came to him, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Narmu zipped past City Hall and cut the controls left sharply the engines gladly accepted the challenge and he cut a near 90 degree turn towards the side street that led to the bank. Dipping his head low he pushed the throttle down hard to gain more speed. Passing by the bank he nearly lost control of the speeder. Kava was standing there, eyes wide at seeing him fly by. The engines did protest the sudden reversal of power as he did his best to come to a complete stop before smashing into a house that was parallel to the bank. Gliding the vehicle to a stop next to the bank terminals he got off and smiled at Kava. She looked beautiful, in a tanned outfit that brought out the lovely pattern of her lekku. Her dark emerald skin matched with her intense eyes stood out amazingly in the soft light coming from above. “Hello Kava.” He said to her quietly in Ryl. Kava smiled and soon embraced him in a tight hug, just as Narmu opened his arms to hug her as well. “Narmu!” she said happily falling into his arms, her hands wrapping tightly around his neck. “It is good to see you again.” Narmu replied blushing a bit at being so close to her again. “Narmu, I was so worried, what happened to you? Are you ok? Are you staying?” all these questions she asked in rapid succession, her tone anxious and showing worry. Narmu pulled back from the embrace and looked at her, his eyes intense and serious. “I am fine Kava, really. I am only here for the moment; I must be going away soon.” He began in Lekku. Kava’s eyes turned away, he could feel her hurt, the want for her to go with him. “I want to go with you Narmu, please take me…” she pleaded with him in Lekku, looking up to face him. He shook his head at her. “No Kava, where I am going I might not come back from, and I cannot ask that of you. You have so much to yet live for.” Kava’s stare turned stern and full of emotion. “No, I can’t let you do this alone…please.” Narmu sighed, this was probably going to be the last time he ever saw her, if there was ever a time to do what he had always been compelled to not do, this was it. Taking her hands softly in his he returned her gaze with a softened look of understanding. “Kava, I am going, probably never to return, but before I leave there is something I have to tell you.” Her look to him was one of surrender, she fought hard to cry out to him, to ask that he stay and be safe here with her and the city, but she knew that this was his destiny. “I love you…I always have…and I always will…” he declared to her, bringing her hands up to his lips to kiss them. He felt her entire body tense just as her eyes went wide. “Please forgive me, but I may never see you again, and I had to tell you.” Narmu said. Kava closed her eyes, almost as if some inner struggle was finally overcome, she whispered back to him. “I love you…”
Narmu felt light headed by this admission. All this time he had suspected that she could never love him, so perfect her world seemed to him, now this…he was happy to know that he could hear those words from her. He leaned down and kissed her, her soft lips feeling so electric as they met his. She returned his kiss fully, seemingly as wanting as his to finally share such an intimate moment. Almost as soon as the blissful moment began, it ended as Narmu pulled away. “Thank you Kava for all you have done…” he began. “You will have made my time here such an amazing experience.” He looked at her for a long moment, she seemed dizzy and at a loss for words. The pain he felt for leaving now ten fold, he turned towards his new speederbike to avert her look and to hide the single tear rolling down his cheek. With a quick leap he was on his speeder, activating the engines. “Farewell Kava, promise me one thing…don’t ever forget…” he said with a smile and wink she had come to know and love. He turned the speeder and hit full power, out and away from the city. Kava saw him speed off into the distance, whispering back to him. “I promise…”
The speederbike suddenly wasn’t as fun as it had been a few minutes ago; Narmu’s mind was spinning in a vortex of emotion and confusion. His mind screamed at him for going back to New Aldera before he had finished his mission, while his heart ached at the revelation he thought he would never had heard. “Must focus on my mark!” he said to himself, his head down low as he flew over the vast open fields of Talus. New Aldera was already way behind him. The distraction there kept him so out of focus he caught the proximity alarms warning too late. His speeder was struck by a rocket propelled grenade. The new vehicle died at a young age, it broke in two and sent its controller flying through the air, landing hard on the grass. Narmu was able to tuck and roll, using his long years of experience to save himself from certain death. Still the impact was hard enough to knock the wind out of him and send shockwaves of pain rolling through his body. The world was spinning as he spit out dirt and blood. The Twi’lek tried to stand up, but only manage to hold himself in place sideways. He tried to look around to see where the attack had come from, his hand coming down to unclip his Scatter Pistol from its holster, nothing, just smoke from his wrecked speeder and the haze his vision had from the pain of the crash.
A few score meters away stood a tall black droid. It was armored from head
to toe, with a cylindrical head that was rounded at the top with various sensors,
the head itself capable of moving around 360 degrees. It weapons included arm
mounted blaster cannons, a pair of concussion grenade launchers at the hip,
both still smoking from the recent firing, and other tools of it’s deadly
trade, poison gas canisters, throwing flechettes, a stun pulser and a paralysis
cord. It saw its prey right now in the infra red spectrum and was pleased with
itself. “Biological Target BH 996 down, proceeding with termination.”
The assassin droid moved slowly, but with deadly purpose. It computed that there was no need to rush. Its quarry was down, and near immobile, mission success was at a high probability. Narmu tried to get the cobwebs out of his head, his azure eyes scanning the immediate area. To his horror, and shock, he made out a silhouette heading towards him through the smoke of the smoldering speederbike. He had seen reports on this type of assassin droid back on Tatooine. An IG-88 model, very deadly, and very persistent, and Narmu knew he was in for the fight of his life. He slid his carbine into his hands, but cursed when he felt it lighter. The weapon had broken in two on impact, useless now the soon to be doomed Twi’lek tossed it aside. “Better you than my spine.” He said finally getting back on his feet. With a pair of loud thumps he heard the incoming concussion grenades. “Blasted droid!” he yelled diving for cover as the two grenades exploded next to him. The shockwave rolling him over a few more feet, grass and dirt flew everywhere and came back down almost like rain. He reached down and took out his unclipped Scatter Pistol and fired, realizing how futile his predicament was as the shots bounced off the droid’s armor plated body. “Not good…” he said in Ryl.
Blaster bolts started raining down on him; Narmu did his best to dodge most of the blasts, while allowing his personal shield generator absorbs the rest. He would have to thank Nomilla if he survived this. Firing back at the droid, he hoped that he could at least distract it long enough to get enough distance between them. A heavier stream of blaster fire proved his attempt was beyond foolish. His mind raced at what he had to do next. Where the blazes was his Lightning Cannon? Old Mercy could probably even the score; probably even frizzle the droid’s components. A warning light came on his power display, his shield was almost done. He looked over to his speederbike and saw that miraculously the cannon had survived! IG-88 increased its pace, its sensors taking in Narmu’s movements, planning out his trajectory. “Target course determined, adjusting fire, 20 degrees, by 8…Firing.” It said sending a steady barrage towards the Twi’lek. One shot struck true to Narmu’s right arm, the bolt tearing through flesh and bone, sending out a spray of emerald blood. He screamed out in agony and dove to the ground, taking cover under the remains of the speederbike.
Narmu reached with his good arm and gripped the lightning cannon, it was very heavy, and he immediately knew that he would not be able to aim properly with the weapon. Another pair of thumps and he rolled away from his cover. Two more concussion grenades exploded where he had just been, breaking apart what was left of the speeder. The situation was grim, he could now see the IG-88 leveling its arms and preparing to fire, squeezing the trigger of his lighting cannon he allowed himself a smile as the short burst hit the droid on the leg, sending up ripples of electricity through its body. This was only a small set back the droid continued its advance, raining death down on the wounded bounty hunter. The blood from the blaster bolt trickled slowly down his arm; he could already notice that his hand was going numb. There must be something he could do to stop this droid long enough for him to get away, for there was no way he could stop him now.
The assassin droid took note of the weapon its target was using and calculated the possible risk to it, it computed to eliminate its target’s defensive capabilities before it went in for the kill. “Target BH-996 threat matrix analyzed, determining target points of interests.” A grid shot of Narmu came up under one of its sensors, showing the various parts that were injured. A rich target presented itself to IG-88, the right arm it had scored a hit on most recently. “New focus now on right arm of bi-ped, new attack sequence initiated.” It said, opening up a wrist launcher, housing a collection of deadly saber darts. Meanwhile Narmu, saw an open avenue for attack. The droid was now fast coming at him, firing wildly, attempting to draw him out in the open. A pair of trees stood only barely apart from each other, if he could somehow bring a tree down, there was a chance he could pin the droid to the other one.
Wincing with pain on his arm he started firing at the tree. The bolts electrifying the leaves instantly, frying them to dust as the barrage continued. IG-88 launched another concussion grenade which forced Narmu to again expose himself to attack, there was nothing he could do except go low to the ground and keep firing at the tree, which was now breaking from the lower trunk, Narmu’s point of attack. “Come on…fall…fall!” he begged, and as if in response the tree let out a moan as it cracked and began to tip over slightly. IG-88 concentrated his fire to suppress Narmu in place; one of its sensors took note of the Twi’lek’s bizarre attack, just a micro second before it was too late. The tree gave up and fell down with a loud crash on top of the droid. Narmu cheered as it saw it was being held firmly in place, yet it was still firing. Getting up he dared to move a bit closer to it, firing off a cone blast of lightning at it. IG-88 determined this battle was only partially lost, this was only an attempt his target was making to escape, escape it would let him, for he had received structural damage and this electric attack was starting to overload some of its primary circuits. A shoulder pod moved up from behind and sent a noxious gas towards the surprised bounty hunter.
Narmu coughed loud and long, his vision blurred, he turned to run away but soon felt fire grip his wounded arm hard. He fell to his knees as the paralysis cord pulled hard and send wave after wave of unbearable suffering through his arm. Doing all he could he tried to turn and bring his weapon to bear, his shots went out wide, doing nothing more than sending electricity high into the sky. Dropping the lightning cannon he took hold of the cord, trying to pull it free from his arm. Nothing in the Galaxy was worse that what he felt at this feeble attempt to free himself. IG-88 saw the opportunity and fired off its darts, sensors locking onto the blaster wound which was still bleeding. This concentrated barrage freed Narmu of the cord, but the dozen or so darts also freed Narmu of his arm. From just below the elbow down fell off with an explosion of bone and blood. The animalistic cry of anguish echoed into the Talus field. Narmu did not feel the actual dismemberment; it was more a cry of surprise than pain in that first moment. Yet at the same time something else screamed at him. Survival. He had to get out of here; there was no way he was going to fall this day here, no way!
Blood covered his entire body, the gas still burned his eyes, but he had presence
enough to get his lightning cannon and start running. Running with the speed
granted to him by a surely short supply of adrenaline. The supply ran out in
about 10 minutes, he tripped and fell down a steep mountain. His head and body
bouncing off the rocks hard, landing on his back he felt that he was close to
a stream. The sound of the water inviting him into eternal bliss, the next step
in one’s life he thought. He saw his parents again, smiling at him, but
at the same time they weren’t looking at him it seemed they were looking
at…his weapon? Yes, yes of coarse! He could stop the bleeding real easily,
although he wasn’t sure he could survive the process. Mercy had never
failed him in battle, now she would have to succeed in saving a life. With the
last ounce of strength that remained to him he turned the tip of the cannon
underneath the stump of his arm, blood dripping heavily onto it. He reached
down to the trigger and pulled. The shot burned his sides from the heat, but
accomplished what he wanted. The wound was cauterized, burnt shut, with a slight
chuckle he dropped the cannon, and accepted the blackness and peace of unconsciousness…
Narmu found himself sitting in a barren wasteland; the freezing cold temperature sank into his very soul. The wind was blowing strong, howling actually like a wounded animal in the throes of death. Snow fell on him hard, prickling his face as it hit him. Picking himself up he brushed off some snow that collected on him. He wore dark blue robes over what seemed to be winter field wear. On his hip he had holstered his Scatter Pistol; half of his face was covered with a thermal scarf. What was he doing here? Why was he here? And more importantly how was he going to get out of here!? Narmu tried to get his bearing but all he saw around him was the white blanket of snow, mountains and…what was that? Far off in the distance he thought he saw smoke. With nothing else to do he started walking that way. There must be someone or something where that smoke was coming from. Off he went, crossing his arms underneath the folds of the robe and dipping his head down low to try and keep the piercing snow out of him and the heat in.
The snow varied from knee height to sometimes just past his lower torso. The trek was as perilous as some of the cliffs and mountains he breeched. Reaching a peak he took a look down to a valley, it was the source of the smoke, and what he saw below was truly horrible. It seemed to the remains of a city, by the looks of it, it had been heavily bombarded from orbit. Craters pocketed what was once avenues, many building were crumbled down to their foundations. There was a frozen lake on the outskirts of the city, a crashed Corellian Corvette driven hard into the ground, suspending a little more than half of the ship above the frozen water. As Narmu began climbing down the mountain he could make out more of the city. Some buildings had actually survived the attack, plus there was a small collection of tents and even a couple of parked speeders. Entering the city he headed towards the tents, they all had the look as if they had been in use for a long time. Ration wrappers, empty cans and other refuse littered the area, and the smell, even with the freezing temperature reeked badly. There was a small building a few feet away, he heard music being played from a partially opened door. As he approached he shivered, feeling very uneasy all of the sudden.
The door slid only partially open as Narmu tried to enter; snow and probably bad gyros prevented the entrance to work properly. The storage bay, turned cantina reeked of booze and smoke. Dali was in the corner playing a tune that set the tone for the place, very glum and dark. He wore a tattered robe that had seen much better days, his Fizz also sounded a bit off key, and looks like it had also been used and abused. Dancing next to him wearing a dark red flesh wrap Kava danced exotically seemingly for no one but her, she looked up and winked at him and beckoned him over to her. At a container turned table sat Daante, Jaegart, and Guntar playing a game of saabac. Jaegart declared himself the winner, saying he possessed the Queen of Strife, but Daante stood up and called him a cheat, that the card had belonged to him earlier in the hand! Guntar stood up and tried to calm them both, but only succeeded in getting punched in the mouth by the other two, who proceeded to get tangled up in a scrap of their own. Narmu shook his head and ducked as a chair flew over his head and crashed through a window, bringing in a cold chill. Kava took a hold of him by the arm and pulled her close to him pressing her lips forcefully on his. He pulled away and smiled at her, she returned the smile with a playful wink. “Commander is gonna be none to pleased with you Squid.” She said slapping his butt. “He’s in the office waiting for you.” She finished, getting back to her rather enticing dance. “Thanks Kava, I guess I better report in.” Narmu said walking towards the back of the room. The brawl was now full on with chairs and punches flying everywhere, Dali picked up his tune a bit to keep up with the fight. The song he played sounding as if it was the theme music to the event.
Narmu entered a back office and saw sitting behind a pile of boxes Utherr Sorven. Standing next to him on either side in Tantel armor was Nomilla and Aadyeniel, both holding T-21 rifles in their hands. “Where the frell have you been El’qui!?” the older human said, his voice sounding a bit slurred, probably from the pair of empty Sunburn bottles that were rolling around the floor. “What’s it to you Sorven? I come and go as I please!” he replied moving up right in the silver haired man’s face. Almost as if on queue both Nomilla and Aadyeniel leveled their weapons on him with obvious intent. “Back off Squid, we don’t want to have to blast you.” Nomilla said in a tone that did not hint contemplation. Narmu wisely backed off. “Look, you need to get your arse in gear because there is something I need you to do. It’s something that requires you special talents.” Sorven said plopping himself down on his chair. “Who do you need me to kill?” Narmu said sticking his tongue out at Utherr’s bodyguards. “She is arriving today from Coruscant, someone that is supposed to make a deal with us for a contract. “Why would anyone in their right mind come to this dump?” the Twi’lek said leaning up against the wall crossing his arms in front of him. “Don’t get smart with me Narmu, there is plenty good reason to come here for work for the same reason people don’t want to. No one gives a womp rat’s arse about this planet. It’s secluded and remote enough not to draw the attention of the Empire or anyone else.” Utherr said, popping open another bottle of ‘burn. “I’ll take it, not like I gotta choice in the matter anyways.” Narmu said taking the disk and walking out of the room.
The brawl continued, this time Dali had been thrown into the fray, smashing and bending his Fizz over Jaegart’s head, while Daante and Guntar continued to argue over who owned the card. He walked over to where Kava continued dancing and traced his finger down the curve of her cheek. “Gotta do a job lover, try and keep the natives in check will ya?” he said with a wink. “Hurry back Squid we got allot of catching up to do.” She answered with a mischievous grin. Narmu nodded and left the improvised Cantina, slipping the disk into his datapad and taking a first glance at his mark.
She was a Twi’lek, petite yet strong, sort of light green complexion tinted with purple lekku markings. Yisla Ge’So. Easy enough he thought. He hopped on a speederbike and rode out to the landing field. There he waited for two hours. The wind continued to howl as the faint light of day ended and darkness covered the city. Soon enough he heard the hum of an approaching shuttle, Lambda class probably. Looking up he saw the ship coming in. He took a position on a rooftop adjacent to where he leveled his rifle down towards where the ship was going to land. His scope was clean and mounted, it would be an easy enough target, and no one would ever know or care. The shuttle landed and the ramp came down a few seconds later. Out came his prey, she was indeed petite, but his aim was not for the body, his finder got her right between the eyes. Then something truly strange happened, she looked up and locked her gaze with his. Could she see him? Impossible! Yet there she was staring back at him, smiling!
He could not bring himself to shoot her now, she was so beautiful, and she had him in a trance so strong he felt himself become weightless. Into the air he floated. The rifle dropped on the snow and sank a bit. Narmu came down and stood in front of Yisla; she smiled at him and said in a soft voice. “I thought I told you to wait for me? Naughty, naughty boy!” she turned and started walking back up the ramp; Narmu continued to float and feel hurt that she was leaving so soon. “You’d better stay alive Narmu, you better stay alive!” she finished as the ramp closed and the thrusters came to life. The ship blasted off and Narmu fell to his knees onto the snow covered ferrocrete.
All of the sudden he felt surrounded, the wind picked up as did a new snow fall. All around him mounted on albino Banthas were Daante, Jaegart, Guntar, Dali, Kava, Nomilla, Aadyeniel, and Utherr. All were wielding lightsabers!? With a snap-hiss they ignited their scarlet blades. “You have failed for the last time Narmu!” Utherr said. “She was yours for the taking and you lost her!” Kava said. “You’re a fool!” Nomilla and Aadyeniel said grinning. “Now she will be with whomever we want her to be!” said Jaegart, Guntar and Daante menacingly as the group closed the circle raising their lightsabers high and then in a coordinated strike that brought the blades down in an arc sliced at Narmu’s body completely dismembering him. AAAAAAAHHHHHH…..
Back on vast field on Talus, a wounded Twi’lek sweat profusely as the
day’s afternoon sun baked him, the only movement he made could only be
observed by the rapid eye movements made behind tightly shut and crusted lids…
"Dammit," Kava thought as she watched the horizon over which Narmu had disappeared almost an hour ago. She and Darby were on the doorstep of E'epo's shop about to enter. They were looking for some specific pieces of furniture for their new joint venture, Mockingbird's Nest. It was to be a hostel and changing/relaxing room for entertainers visiting to entertain at Mockingbirds Night Club. As E'epo joked with Darby and began demonstrating his wares Kava began to fret and wring her hands together. "I have to go." she said and they both turned to her in surprise. Darby was excited about the project but Kava had been the driving force behind it thus far. "I have to go," she repeated and without another word she ran out of the building, hopped on her new swoop bike and sped out of town in the same direction Narmu had gone.
Faintly Kava heard Darby's voice behind her and for the first time she ignored her best friend and didn't turn back. She knew Dali would be instantly worried and probably a little angry. They had talked about her feelings a lot lately and he knew Kava loved him but now, finally, the faint stirrings of jealousy were beginning to show. Kava was her own person and had her own loyalties. Dali was always wonderful at letting Kava be herself so she knew that in the end it would okay.
"Damn damn damn..." Kava muttered angrily to the empty landscape she sped over, she had her weapons on her and a change of dancing clothes but little else of any practicality. "I should never have let him go alone." There were many dips and gullies in the landscape and she was unfamiliar with this portion of Talus. After travelling many hours she was hot, tired, dirty and beginning to wonder if she was on a fools errand. What if he had turned aside somewhere along his trip and gone off in a different direction? What if he was so far ahead of her she couldn't possibly ever catch up? What if she was lost? The trees and little valley's and rivers she travelled over began to look alike and she had thought she'd heard gunfire in the distance an hour ago but wasn't sure where it came from or who it was. Kava didn't even have her comm link.
She was contemplating returning to New Aldera to launch a better organized search when the faint, slightly ozonish scent of recent blaster fire was carried upon the wind to her from a position south of where she was. She wasn't trained in tracking skills but had learned a few basic things from a ranger a long while back. Using more caution than anyone who had every patrolled with her would believe possible, Kava throttled back on the engine of her swoop so it wouldn't betray her as soon with it's loud whine and slowly hovered over the dying grass towards the smell of fighting. She carefully grasped her DX2, instead of her preferred weapon the curved sword, and crept closer to the disturbance.
Kava noticed a bird circling in the distance and her heart leapt into her throat. Convincing herself of Narmu's incredible prowess and excellent weapons ability was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. She had to be prepared and couldn't let worry distract her. Perhaps if Narmu had been successful in his vengence she would be able to turn around and leave and never let him know she had been doubtful of the outcome.
Kava could smell a fire burning and saw a faint smudge of smoke drifting up into the air as she made her way through a thinning forest to the plain beyond. The grass was trampled and she saw where a tree had fallen over before she noticed the numerous scorch marks in the prarie grass. Throwing caution to the wind as only Kava could, she leapt gracefully off her swoop bike and landed in a full sprint. She saw a destroyed speederbike with smoke curling above it and another, darker, lump of metal with numerous thin columns of smoke rising from it's ruin. Scanning the area she saw droplets of twi'lek blood scattered in a swath and almost couldn't continue. "NO!" she breathed as she saw the humanoid form lying behind a beautifully flowering bush. Skidding to a stop she came into full view of who lay there and it was like time had nearly stopped.
Her movements were as if she were swimming through mud and her heart thundered in her head. "I am too late!" She cried as she took in the bloodsoaked area around Narmu and the nearly spent weapon lying in his one remaining hand. Almost too much for her to take the vision of another damaged loved one hovered over the crumpled body of Narmu and it was like Kava was reliving the recent painful past all over again.
Kava held tight to Narmu, tears rolling down her slender emerald cheeks. She could not believe the condition in which she found him. A bloody mess was an understatement. He had been pierced multiple times in and around what remained of his arm. The entire right side of his body was burned, some of his clothing melted into his purple skin. Kava could not believe the effort Narmu had gone to assure a slim chance of survival. He had lost allot of blood, and was dangerously cold. She had to get him to a hospital and soon. “Hang on Narmu; I am going to take you back to New Aldera, V’anity will heal you. Just don’t you die on me, please?” She said to him leaning down to kiss his cool forehead. He reacted to her touch, coming out of a whirlpool of dementia. His voice was almost a whisper; she tensed and felt herself gasp as he spoke to her. “Kava…Kava…no…I can’t go back to New Aldera now.” He began opening his eyes to her, the light in them ebbing into darkness. Kava shook her head adamantly. “You will die if I do not.” She said tracing her finger down the side of his lekku. A weak smile tried to spread across the wounded Twi’lek. “I knew you would come looking for me, I knew you…” his voice trailed off as the world almost became black again. “Narmu, love, please, save your strength.” She said, fear on the edge of her voice, fear that she was losing him. His eyes opened again, this time he felt his torso shift, almost as if he wanted to get up on his on accord. “Kava…I need to get patched up, I am too close now to give up.” He said again trying to lift his weight up from her embrace. Kava held fast and shook her head again. “Are you mad? Narmu, you…you…you’re a mess…” she said her eyes landing on what remained of his arm. Narmu managed to finally pick himself up a bit, the pain that rolled through his body was almost immeasurable. “I need…I…need you to take me to see a doctor.” He said trying to steady his breath. “I am taking you to see V’anity.” She replied with a smile. “V’anity can’t help me now; I need to see a cybernetic surgeon.” Narmu said looking down at his stump. Kava couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You don’t actually plan on continuing this little quest of yours do you?” she said, her voice shaking with fear and a touch of anger. Narmu merely nodded and looked at her swoop bike off not to far from there. “Yes, I plan on doing just that.” He replied. Kava had enough of this; she loved him too much to allow this madness to continue. “You are out of your mind Narmu you know that? How can you even think about going back out there after all you have been through! I will not take part in you committing suicide!” she said, her voice stern, she was about to continue when the smile on Narmu’s face brought her anger up a notch. “Do you think this is funny?! A joke! Don’t you realize how much you mean to me, to all back home?!” she said with tears rolling freely down her cheeks. “Kava…” he said as he brought up his battle scarred hand up to soft white lips. “I love you, with all of my heart, but this is something that has to end here, and now…it is out of my hands. The assassin droid has forced this into a rubicon; I cannot undo what has been done, nor can I stop what has yet to be.” Kava’s emotions were lost in confusion and despair. What could she do? Force him home to heal back in New Aldera, yet the mention of an assassin droid was a factor that warranted much care and danger to the city at large. She leaned down over him and kissed him on the lips. It was a slow deliberate kiss meant to ease both their pain.
Then they both heard a humming noise circle around them, then a faint whirl of gyros. Kava pulled back from the kiss and Narmu at once began to try and follow the sound. Knowing at once they had been found. “Seeker droid…blast…if it’s this close we have been discovered. We have to move, and fast!” Narmu said with great urgency. Kava was still too entranced by the moment to react. Narmu placed his remaining hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Hey, don’t you lock up on me girl, it’s just like our patrols, we need to fall back and regroup.” He said giving to her as much strength as he could. Kava reacted to those words, the fog clearing instantly. “Alright, Narmu, where to?” she asked. “Cybernetic Surgeon, there is one in the Northwest Quadrant.” He replied as she helped him to his feet. The world spun around, as he stood up, it took all his self control not to throw up. “I have never heard of one on Talus.” She replied as they headed towards the swoop bike. “Trust me, he’s there.” Narmu replied quietly. Kava helped Narmu get on the bike, helping him take a long well needed drink from her cantina; she quickly put field dressing on his other wounds, wincing every time she passed over his right arm. “Narmu, I hope this doesn’t get infected.” She managed to say finally. “I don’t think so; ole Mercy sealed it up real good. He said with a sly smile. “Your insane.” She teased, amazed at how the attitude had changed from grave to almost normal. She went back to where she found Narmu, collected his Lightning Cannon, slung it over her shoulder and headed back to the swoop. “How you carry this heavy weapon is beyond me love, my back is already aching!” she said getting on the swoop. “We have to move, Kava, we are almost out of time…” he said urging her to hurry. Kava nodded and activated the repulsor engines, kicking the throttle to full power the sped off to the northwest.
A few minutes into their trek Kava started to feel relaxed, the wind in her face felt good, and Narmu finally safe with her felt even better. This however was short lived. From above the sun was blocked by a large shadow. And soon their was an ear piercing whistle from above. “EVASIVE MANUEVERS!” Narmu cried as a pair of concussion grenades fell on either side of them. Kava nearly lost control of the swoop, regained it, only to almost crash into a tree. Narmu turned his gaze upwards to see IG-88 with a rocket booster pack attached to it circling around for another pass. The winged droid looked like an angel of death coming to get its just do. “Kava, I hope you know how to ride, because it’s coming back at us!” Narmu warned as blaster bolts rained down on them from above. Kava jinxed and pulled hard right, evading the attack with the skill that made Narmu proud, for the moment at least. “We won’t be able to shake it! There has got to be a way to bring it down!” He said to Kava as death bolts continued to befall them. Kava increased the power to the swoop to try and give them more strength to maneuver. Sweat trickled down her face, the threat of doom had always seemed to excite her, now with this assassin droid attacking them she felt such a high of adrenaline.
The droid looked down at its quarry and computed its next angle of attack. “Biological target BH-996 and unknown biological target land speed calculated for distance and wind resistance. New attack pattern initiated.” It fired another pair of concussion grenades and followed up that with another volley of blaster bolts. How the two on the swoop were able to manage to pull out of that attack sent its logic circuits into a frenzy. Narmu and Kava were also surprised they made it out of that one alive and in one piece. Their luck would not last though, they both knew this. “Kava, if we stay out in this open field we are as good as vaped, break left and take refuge in that grove over there, I just need one clean shot at the bastard.” He said, trying to tighten his hold on the swoop with his legs long enough to free his lightning cannon from Kava’s shoulder. Kava nodded and threw the bike hard left gunning for the grove which would offer the only chance they had to survive this encounter. Narmu almost fell off as she turned; he had forgotten he only had one hand to grasp on to the bike with. “Be careful Narmu!” Kava said as the IG-88 dove down almost to the ground, trying to clip the off the bike with its wings. Kava slammed on the brakes and let it fly right by. “That thing is insane!” she exclaimed. “No one blamed those things for their intelligence, only their persistence.” Narmu replied finally freeing the lightning cannon from Kava’s possession. The swoop bike entered the cover the trees provided it in the grove, but the grove itself was not very big, they had one shot at this. Narmu steadied himself as best he could, the stood up, his body ached and his stump arm was throbbing as severed nerve ending protested the detachment. He crossed one leg over the other, tipping and falling over. Almost dropping the lightning cannon in the process, IG-88 still firing through the treetops, Narmu was finally able to turn around and sit back down again. Leveling Mercy and holding it steady against his good shoulder he let out a breath, his eye trying to focus on the winged shadow above the tree line. “Steady Kava, steady…” Almost out of the grove… “On my signal you give this thing everything she’s got.” He continued, his finger tapping the trigger in anticipation. Then the trees were gone, and IG-88 came into full view, a richer target Narmu could not have asked for. He fired a full burst of electricity high into the diving droid. At first it seemed nothing happened, but a second burst did the work. Narmu saw a small explosion coming from the booster pack and the droid began to spiral out of control. “NOW KAVA!” he yelled, and Kava threw all she could, the engines screamed in protest, but gave into her request. The last he saw was a small mushroom like cloud of smoke rise up into the sky. “We did it!” Kava said happily. Narmu slung his cannon over his shoulder and turned himself around again, wrapping his only arm around Kava’s waist. “We slowed it down, nothing more. We have to get to this doctor, that little scuffle took allot out of me.” Narmu said his voice trailing off into nothing. “Hold on, we will be there by nightfall…” Kava said silently hoping they could make it in time…
Kava sat outside a small, dark waiting room. Her slender legs were crossed as she looked around the area. A few lamps provided light, dim and nearly spent, the power plant surely giving most of its resources to the operating room in the back. “I can’t believe I let myself be convinced by him to come here.” She said scolding herself. A droid sat behind a dilapidated desk, entering information into the database. It had been 3 hours and still nothing from the Surgeon, a smelly Devarian by the name of Na’nook. She was just about to stand up and make a point of finding out Narmu’s status when the door parted and revealed the red skinned creature. “Well?” She asked urgently. “The operation as a success, I must say it wasn’t easy, he nearly destroyed all the nerve endings when sealed his wounds.” The horned alien said tossing a pair of surgical gloves into a waste compacter. “Is he awake? When can I see him?” Kava asked already making a beeline for the door to the back. The Devarian took her by the arm and shook his head. “Sorry, only patients are allowed back there, paying customers in other words…your friend is waking up and should be out here soon.” He said giving her a gentle tug back away from the door. Kava easily slipped out of his grip and stood up firmly against the surgeon, her hand sliding behind her to grip the hilt of her sword. “Don’t you ever touch me again, next time you will have to perform an operation on yourself to replace the hand I took with my sword!” she said meeting his gaze with one of pure ice. Na’nook to his credit only smirked and turned back to the door. “Wouldn’t be the first time I had to darling, probably not the last either…”
Just as Na’nook opened the door, Narmu stepped through it. The color had returned to his face, yet one could see in his azure eyes that the flame was not as strong as his usual intensity. Automatically Kava let her stare fall on the arm, or replacement, or… “By the gods of Ryloth! What did he do to you???” she gasped her jaw dropping in shock and horror. Narmu tried to smirk, but grimaced a little bit as he raised his new arm up across his body. It was much bulkier than his other arm which was very odd, and there was no prosthetics covering the metal as there should be. In fact…the arm looked as if it had been pulled off a droid and sewn onto the Twi’lek’s body. “Vintage Clone Wars Kava, old Techno Union Battle Droid, complete with built in blaster rifle.” Narmu said moving his new arm around in a wide arc. The arm looked similar to composite armor except it was much bigger. Possessing only 3 digits it defiantly was not for any detailed work. The built in weapon system was placed above the hand. “I figure I needed an edge now fighting this droid and completing my mission.” Kava was too much in shock to reply so she merely nodded her head, not that she was repulsed by what she saw, she loved him too much for that. It was just that this new appendage gave Narmu a dark look she could not fit with the man she had grown to care and understand. What was happening in his head that would make him allow such change? “Come on Kava, its time to go, that droid probably is back on the hunt at this point, no telling where we may bump into him again, and I would prefer it not being here.” Narmu said wincing again as he let his arm drop. Kava noticed this and went over to him. “Are you sure your ok, looks like your in pain.” Shaking his head he winked at her playfully. “Just getting used to carrying the extra weight that’s all. “It’s all part of the grafting process. The pain should go away in a week or so.” Na’nook said as he left. Kava was not convinced but kept her doubts to herself, she was here to support Narmu not give him more to worry about.
They left the improvised infirmary; it was night time, perfect for Narmu’s
purposes. Narmu checked the swoop bike for damage from their previous encounter
with the IG-88. His eyes widened as he noticed a couple of large carbon scoring
on the chassis. “Kava…these were close ones, a couple more centimeters
and we would have been vaped.” She laughed and poked him in the ribs playfully.
“Don’t you start putting down my riding skills; I did get us here
in one piece.” Narmu smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. “That
you did, come on, there is little night left, and we gotta stop by Dearic for
supplies and ride hard to the south afterwards.” He said hopping on the
swoop and turning on the engines. Kava nodded and got behind him, wrapping her
arms around his waist and locking her fingers in place. With a teasing voice
she whispered in his ear. “Since when did you get the right to drive my
swoop?” He turned around and smiled, “Since just a few seconds ago,
hold on!” Narmu said gunning the swoop full power, with a loud boom the
swoop and its riders sped off into the night…
The stop over in Dearic was uneventful. The two adventures laughed and joked while picking up supplies from the hidden Alliance depot. Narmu and Kava acted as if they were not about to go on a mission of life and death, but a pleasure vacation on Corellia. Food rations, power packs for Narmu’s weapons, field stim packs, and another swoop bike to replaced Narmu’s lost speeder. Kava watched silently at times, just looking at how her beloved friend went about his preparations. She thought quietly to herself that no matter what happened she would not leave his side. The pain and suffering for him had gone on long enough. The distancing the two had while she traveled to Tatooine did much to their relationship, but all was forgotten now in the face of this new and dangerous quest. Kava, still could not get used to seeing Narmu’s new arm, it was unnatural and very ominous, total contrast to the façade she knew the Twi’lek Bounty Hunter was. Then again, so much had changed in him since she came back from Tatooine, it looked as if the lessons he had just learned were hard ones, and that the wall he had previously erected around himself was back up, and reinforced. She broke through it once, she knew she could again. Narmu trusted and loved her very much, this much was certain. What would happen to them if they survived this adventure? Those memories of her desire for him came back then, the moments of battle that lit the flames of desire for her, seeing him fight and… “Kava…Kava…hey you ready?” Narmu asked her quietly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She blinked twice and nodded her head, clearing out the images starting to roll there. “I think so, you think we need anything else?” she replied taking a look at the provisions they assembled. “We should be good to go with what we got…Kava…I...” Narmu started deepening his gaze to her. Kava smirked knowing exactly was he was going to say, she brought her hand up to cover his lips. “I am going to be with you until the end.” She said smiling, her tone however was serious. “Kava, but what about your duties in the city, what about Dali? You have been gone already for 3 days, and I can’t say for certain we will be finishing any time soon.” Narmu started to protest but the way Kava was starting to narrow her eyes he stopped, and simply nodded as he sealed the packs on the swoop bike. Kava thought it would be wise to compromise in this case, he was right in his observations. “I will send a courier to New Aldera and advise them that I have taken off to Naboo for an arts and entertainment event.” She said returning her blade into it’s sheathe. “Good idea.” Narmu started saying while hopping on the swoop bike. “Let’s get going, we have a long ride ahead of us, and there may be a surprise or two waiting along the way.”
Kava got on her swoop bike and glanced at Narmu’s arm again, noting that the arm wasn’t looking any better, one day's worth of bacta patches had only sealed the wounds, but it looked rather dark around where the real arm and robotic arm met. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get that new arm of yours checked out.” She said powering up the repulsors. Narmu nodded and throttled forward at full power, Kava close behind him. They were out of the city and on the open fields of Talus just as the sun set and Selonia started to rise. Narmu looked up towards Centerpoint Station as well, the sight of it and the marvel it presented never ceased to amaze him. How can races in the Galaxy be capable of such great marvel and also be responsible for great tragedies, he thought. Kava pulled up along side him and smiled. “Do you have any idea which way we are headed?” she asked. “South, and a bit to the east, I am told there is a bunker where the Binayres center their operations here.” He replied. “According to you, the Binayres don’t like you very much, you plan on just knocking on the door and saying, here I am!” she joked. “That’s exactly what I plan on doing.” Narmu said in all seriousness, but still she saw a grin on his face. They rode in silence for close to an hour when in the distance they saw what looked like smoke break the now pitch black horizon. “What do you think its going on?” Kava asked, already showing more than just a passing interest. “Not sure, but it wont hurt to take a closer look.” Narmu answered smiling to himself.
As they rode closer and closer to the smoke it soon became evident that there was a firefight happening. Flashes of red and green laser fire crisscrossed the hills and land the two Twi’leks were fast approaching. Narmu signaled to Kava in the silent language of Lekku to stop and camouflage the swoops that they were to make the rest of the way on foot and under cover. Narmu grabbed his weapons, holstering his Scatter Pistol on his hip, he slid his Light Cannon over his shoulder, and his Laser Carbine was held tightly in his hands. Kava on the other hand held her slender sword in one hand, with her DX-2 pistol holstered on her right leg, they ran a bit towards where they needed to go, and once they got close enough to hear the blaster fire Narmu signaled that they were to split up and make a perimeter around the battle. She winked and made way around the west, while Narmu started to encircle around the east.
Now only a few meters from the fight the combatants were there for him to see. Imperial Stormtroopers had pinned down an unknown number of what looked like the remains of a small transport vessel, Sullustan he assumed. Making a head count, he saw about 2 squads of Stormtroopers, the survivors looked to be putting up a good fight too, he knew it couldn’t last… Almost on queue he heard the bang of a sonic boom followed by a loud swoosh of repulsor engines. An Imperial drop ship arrived on the scene and opened up its belly to free more Stormtroopers and an AT-ST. Kava rolled and crawled now next to him, her eyes wide and her face dripping a few drops of sweat. “Whatever it is, it’s big for the Empire to divert this many Stormtroopers here.” Narmu said, his eyes squinting down at the transport. “We can’t just leave them here like this.” Kava started to say. “Kava, we don’t even know who the Empire is after. They could be pirates, or who knows what else.” Narmu started to answer when Kava pulled out her comlink and keyed into the Alliance frequencies.
“BZZZZZT…Transport Freedom Force….BZZZT….heavy fire….BZZZT…Stormtroopers…..BZZZZT….AT-ST…BZZZZT…request….BZZZT…immediately…repeat…BZZZT…”
Narmu closed his eyes and shook his head; Kava was already formulating an idea in her head. “Alright Kava, what do you have in mind to help out our comrade in arms?” The AT-ST started firing on the crashed transport, ripping the hull to slag, time was running out for those inside...
Working quickly Kava emptied out her pack and found everything she needed. Dali had once told her about the extensive swamps to the southeast of Dearic and she saw on her map that they were close enough to be useful. Her old blaster pistol in one hand and her DX-2 still in it's holster she shoved everything back in except some low grade glob grenades she was supposed to have disposed of. Glancing up she noted Narmu's worried expression but knew that they were doing the right thing.
"Listen, I want you to take out those three stormtroopers, there, there, and over there with your lightning cannon and also take a pot shot at the AT-ST to get it's attention. Then I want you to jump on your speeder and head towards the swamp. No matter what you have to promise not to stop." Kava stopped to take a breath and smiled at Narmu. "Trust me hun. I have to try. We have to try." She gathered her weapons and ran off at an angle staying out of sight of the Imperials. "Get ready for my signal."
Before Narmu could even protest Kava was out of sight with only a few waving branches to mark her swift progress. "Hell!" Narmu didn't want to do this. They were badly outnumbered and it wasn't their fight but he couldn't argue with Kava's determination and heart. "Dammit!" he muttered as he turned to track his targets. "What the hell was her signal going to be anyway?" He trusted he ability in combat and had patrolled many long nights with only her and their pets as company but never had they been so outnumbered. He had seen by the look in her eye that there was no argument to convince her against this course of action.
Suddenly startled out of his daze Narmu heard the battly cry "FREEDOM FROM TYRANNY" and for a moment he almost believed they were not alone and reinforcements had come. A shot from a blaster coming from his right temporarily took down a stormtrooper and others quickly dropped for cover. A few more quick blasts that went wild and all hell broke loose. Narmu smoothly and professionally aimed for his first target and the man went down without a cry. Suddenly shots were being returned but they were aiming for somewhere in between the two of them.
His second target had dropped out of sight so Narmu randomly chose another and took this new unfortunate Imperial lackey with a well placed shot to the head. He could imagine the sizzle of contact when blast met helmet although he was too far away to really hear anything. His blood lust was up and his expertise turned on as he decided to take a few more troopers down before he took off.
Breathing hard Kava ran forward at an angle almost bent double to take up a new position and as she lobbed a glob grenade she stumbled down into a gully covered by brush. Underneath the canopy of bracken it was like a tunnel and it led in the direction of the battle...perfect. She knew the grenade had not even gotten close. Her brother had always teased her about throwing like a girl although he was frequently made to take back his words. She could hear shouts and running feet and the renewed blaster fire from both sides of the conflict. It was a long shot but maybe they had a chance. It all depended on distracting the AT-ST driver and drawing him off. She hoped her use of multiple firing weapons might momentarily convince the enemy that they had a larger force attacking. It was a slim hope but Kava couldn't and wouldn't afford a moments thought of failure.
Hearing the sizzle of the lightning cannon and the panicked yells to take cover she knew that Narmu had fully engaged. She hadn't given him a chance to think about it or to even choose. She had made the choice for him because she wasn't all that sure that he would have agreed given a moment or two more of thought. It wasn't that he wasn't fully dedicated to the rebellion or that he was in any way a coward but she thought that the battle with the seeker droid and how close he was to finishing his revenge on his parents murderers had somehow changed him more than she wanted to think about. Afraid that his thirst for vengeance would win out over duty she made the choice for him and cringed inwardly at the prospect of losing him and forever knowing it was because of her.
Climbing out of the gully she ran further and climbed a small rise to take a number of debhillitating shots with her DX-2 while Narmu contined to shoot from his hidden position. Growling to herself she noted that he had gone beyond the three victims and was randomly wreaking havoc over any white helmet that dared show itself. She saw that two groups of troopers had broken off heading towards each of them and knew that now was the time to head back to that gully. Lobbing one more glob grenade she leaped back down the rise and landed wrong, falling to her knee. "Crap!." Scrabbling to her feet she winced in pain but could ignore it as she hobbled quickly towards her path. Reholstering her DX-2 she unsheathed her sword swiftly. "Clumsy oaf!" She berated herself as she disappeared from view and worried that if Narmu did not leave soon that she was running towards a quick and ignominious death.
The impromptu battle caught Narmu off guard only for mere moments. After years of fighting against Tusken Raiders and the Alliance he was able to tune himself to into action with incredible ease. His azure eyes saw, tracked and eliminated targets with deadly precision. The Stormtroopers were caught completely by surprise by Kava’s and his attack. This was evident the fact that they had been able to take down half a dozen so easily. As with most things in this Galaxy, luck wasn’t a long lasting friend. With the elite training the Stormtroopers received on Carida, they quickly reformed ranks and began to lay down suppression fire on his position and towards where Kava’s last shot had come from. Whatever Kava had in mind he hoped it would work, because by the looks of it, there was a slim chance it they had a chance. The AT-ST diverted its fire now up towards Narmu’s direction; he barely rolled out of the way as the twin cannons pierced the ground next to him. It was time to go. Running hard towards his swoop he slid his Lightning Cannon back over his shoulder and decided to try out his newest weapon…his arm. A pair of Stormtroopers spotted him and opened fire; spinning around while jumping slightly off the ground he shifted his weight so he could face them. With a slight pull of his pinky and thumb inwards he unleashed the power of this old Techno Union weapon. An impressive barrage of red laser fire found their marks, shredding the Stormtrooper’s armor at the chest, blood immediately vaporized as it came into contact with the laser. The two fell onto the ground in a crumpled heap of charred flesh. Narmu’s eyes widened as he looked at his arm, amazed at how powerful this weapon was. “I am amazed the Republic was able to defeat such weapons!” he thought to himself.
Kava was lying low as a Stormtrooper came close to her. She held her breathe and closed her eyes momentarily. If she could avoid detection for just a bit longer she would be able to double back and continue with her plan. That thought ended when she felt the cold hard tip of an E-11 Carbine pressed hard on the back of her neck. “Get up!” came the order from the Stormtooper. “Blast” she whispered to herself. Slowly she started to rise, still holding onto her sword. It was concealed beneath her torso which was good, the Trooper apparently more concerned with her holstered DX-2 which he proceeded to take out and toss away. “Move it!” he insisted. As she came up she kept her back to him, taking a quick note that the battle was still away from them, just out of sight, as was this Trooper from the others. It was probably the craziest idea since, well since she initialized this plan to save the downed freighter. “Trust in your feelings.” Narmu had once told her, in what seemed like an eternity ago when they had religiously gone on patrol together. Letting out a breath to release a minute amount of fear she spun on her right heel, a movement so rapid and graceful, one could easily see she was an experienced dancer. This however was far from a flourished move, she lifted her left leg high, her foot and heel extended parallel to the chin of the taller Stormtrooper. The spin kick connected with a loud crack, she wasn’t sure if it was her foot or the helmet that was broken, all she did know was that this fight was only starting. Stunned, the Stormtrooper fell back a few steps, probably seeing more stars than were out this night. “TK-77….” He never finished his sentence as Kava followed her kick through with a forward punch with the hilt of her now revealed sword. With the wind knocked out of him he clumsily brought up his E-11, Kava now was in her groove and flipped the sword back behind her, and in one easy step brought it down towards the carbine, the tip of the blade connecting and slicing off nearly a quarter of the rifle. “For the Republic!” she said turning her body side ways, her eyes never leaving the doomed Stormtrooper. She reversed the angle of her attack just enough to confuse her approach, then in a blinding flash let the curve of her blade pierce through the slender spacing between chest and head armor. Blood exploded as the Stormtroopers capillaries were pierced, the head toppling off as they body stood in place, in shock of its grave loss. Kava couldn’t help but smirk at the twisted humor in it. “There she is! Set for stun!” a new voice cried out. She turned around just in time to see three blue bolts come at her. “Naaaaarrrmuuu…….” Kava cried as she blinked out the blue ion energy crippled every nerve of her body.
Narmu was just about to speed of in the direction Kava had instructed him when he heard her cry out. A feeling of dread came over him as her voice seemed to have tuned out at the end, but deep down he knew she was still alive. “Blasted, I had a bad feeling about this...” he quickly thought about what he could do to remedy this situation. The intensified fire fight nearby were starting to limit his options. First and foremost he had to find Kava. He swung his swoop about and headed back towards the fight. The AT-ST continued to pummel the hull of the downed ship, with the Stormtrooper lines holding fast and moving forward, meter by precious meter. Settling behind a group of trees he decided on the only coarse of action, he looked down at his swoop and sighed. “Ya know, I got a feeling this won’t be the last time I will have to look for a new ride” he said to himself with a chuckle. Narmu quickly pulled all the power settings to the max, and began to over charge the small power reactor the swoop had equipped. Immediately the swoop protested and began wailing alarms. He thrust forward towards the fight again, leading the swoop on a head on collision with the advancing Stormtrooper line. Almost as soon as he came into view the Stormtroopers fired on him, again with his new arm he returned deadly fire with the loud and rapid bursts from his mounted cannon. “Wait…wait…wait…” he started. As he zoomed by the amazed and shocked faces of the ship’s survivors he leaped off the swoop, hoping that it would stay the course. Landing hard on the ground he rolled and looked up as the swoop screamed forward. “GET DOWN!!!” he yelled at the approaching Rebels. Just then there was a bright flash and explosion as the swoop’s power core overloaded and exploded, just shy of the mark, but still enough to take down at least a dozen Stormtroopers, the rest falling back behind the AT-ST.
Dirt and rock rained down on him, some super heated metal from the swoop spreading like shrapnel cut into him as well. The purple Twi’lek was picked up rather roughly and carried back towards the torn open rear hatch of the transport. An Alliance trooper, private by the looks of it saluted him. “Thank you for the assist…uhh...” “Second Lieutenant El’qui, Alliance Intelligence.” He finished for the Barabel soldier. “Who is in command here?” he asked. “You are now sir; Imps took out the Sarge in the firefight.” Replied a bloodied human female, medic by the looks of it, she looked scared and not to mention tired. Narmu straightened up and nodded, taking a look back towards the regrouping Imperials. “Won’t take them long to start pounding us again, what is your status?” he said, noticing that the group around him was staring at his arm. The Barabel came out of its gaze and reported. “We are running low on power packs; we will not be able to fire back much longer. We have 5 wounded crew and 3 dead.” Narmu made a head count of the living, eight. “Understood, what about this ship? Does she have any power left?” he asked. “Just enough to keep sending out our SOS sir.” The medic said taking a closer look at where a piece of shrapnel dug into his lekku. “Right well, I hate to break it to you all, but as far as reinforcements goes you’re looking at it. Well that is, I had someone else with me, but I am afraid she may have already been taken prisoner.” He told them all, meeting their gazes. “Understood Lieutenant, what are your orders?” another asked, a male Trandoshan. Narmu looked around and noticed that one of the ship’s guns was facing in the general direction of the Imperials. “Cease the SOS, send out one last call and then divert power to that gun!” he said. It was all or nothing. Without question they obeyed, keying in commands onto a smoke filled console. Just as soon as they made themselves ready with newly charged weapon the AT-ST opened fire again. The ship shook violently as the lasers ripped through the superstructure. “Lieutenant, she can’t take much more of this.” The female medic said. “The rest of you keep those Stormtroopers where they are. Private, what’s the status of my gun!?” he asked extending his arm out and firing once again at the Stormtroopers. “Enough power for one volley sir.” The Trandoshan said gravely. “That’s all we need, lock on the AT-ST’s leg…” Narmu’s brow trickled with sweat, this was a long shot, but it was the only chance they had at maybe stopping the immediate threat the large mecha presented them. “Target locked sir.” “FIRE!!!!” Narmu cried. Green energy blasted out of the ship’s gun, striking just where the cockpit compartment met the right leg. The gun totally spent dropped, and soon was lit up with a life ending barrage of fire from the AT-ST and Stormtroopers. The former however was already falling as it was firing. The blast succeeded in taking it out of the fight. With a rumbling crash the AT-ST exploded as it hit the ground. It showered the Stormtroopers with debris who once again were forced to fall back.
Cheers erupted from the downed transport; the battle now with its tide turned seemed to favor the once doomed crew. Or was it? Narmu quickly shouted them all to be quiet. The veteran emerged from inside and looked up into the night sky. “Look sir, the Stormtroopers are retreating.” Came the elated observation from the Barabel private. Narmu didn’t say or do anything except keep his eyes on the sky and his ears open. Then, the all too familiar sound of the ion engines came, twin ion engines, TIE-Bombers. “INCOMING! GET THE WOUNDED OUT OF THE SHIP NOW!” he shouted as the approaching howl drew closer and closer, he could see now the faint silhouette of the fighters coming in from the east. The Rebels scrambled back into the ship and emptied it of the wounded, all in a matter of seconds. Narmu ran in and helped carry out a seriously wounded Bothan, whose fur was coated in blood. He carried them over towards the only cover they had left, the downed AT-ST. What seemed like a thunder cloud clapping right on top of them the two TIE’s dropped some of their payload on the downed transport. Lighting the night sky with a nova explosion that consumed and destroyed the ship. The heat of the explosion knocking over trees and the survivors hard on the ground. His eyes followed their path and he knew that this position was more than likely going to be the target of the next pass. “Sir, what are we gonna do now?” the medic cried out to him, she was shaken up, probably passed the point of rationality. He would have to admit, he was getting there too. Renewed fire from the Stormtroopers snapped him out of his momentary daze. On instinct he returned fire, his cast of supporting soldiers following suit. “Keep fighting! We make our stand here, hold off these troopers, and see if we can move before the TIE’s make another pass.” No one replied, silently each of them knew that there as not chance of victory in this fight, they didn’t care; this was what they signed up for when they joined the Rebellion. Narmu resigned himself and thought of Kava; at least she would come out of this alive…
Narmu continued to fire from his arm mounted cannon, fired until the charge was spent. The Stormtroopers began their advance again, confident that the appearance of the TIE Bombers had struck so much fear into the Rebels that their march would be unopposed. They were terribly mistaken. For each meter they gained, two or three would fall. Narmu had switched to his Laser Carbine now, laying down his enemies with a dizzying spread of fire. “Lieutenant, those TIE’s are circling back.” The Barabel said pointing up. The trademark roar of the twin ion engines indeed grew louder. “Private! Stay here with the wounded…the rest of you with me!” the Twi’lek yelled as he slid his Lightning Cannon into his hands. Taking aim he unleashed a cone of electric death to the now retreating Stormtroopers. Four fell to the ground convulsing in agony while the score that remained continued to find cover against the impeding drop from the TIE’s. “CHARGE!!!!” Narmu cried leaping over the leg of the downed AT-ST. The soldiers knowing the futility in the tactic, but also seeing its worth in valor they too cried out and charged the Stormtroopers. The pilots aboard the TIE’s now seeing their prey getting dangerously close to their ground forces peeled away at the last second, circling back to see if their next run would even be necessary.
The Stormtroopers turned and couldn’t believe their own good fortune. They began raining death on the Rebels. One, two, three, four Rebel troopers fell in an instant under the deadly attack. Narmu again let loose a lightning cone while the Barabel next to him tossed a grenade. “Take cover! Low to the ground!” Narmu yelled as a shot hit him in his new armored arm. He winced as he really only felt pain shoot up from where both arm and stump met. Now they were pinned down, no cover, and no chance of changing position before the TIE’s came around again. The Stormtroopers faded back slowly, in a two by two formation, allowing them to keep the Rebels down low without any opportunity to move. Narmu was able to spy a group of Stormtroopers away from the fight with an Officer, held in shackles on the ground was an unconscious Kava. “Kava I am so sorry I brought you into all this.” He whispered as again the TIE’s began their dive. This time though another sound began to drown out the TIE’s, another ship, coming in real fast. His heart skipped a beat as his grin spread from ear to ear.
The ship, he had seen once before on the remote planet Lok. Corellian by design it wasn’t much to look at. In fact at first glance one would think it was a miracle it was in flight. The cockpit came out in a pod on the right side of the ship, dorsal and upper cannons and a satellite dish made this ship’s most notable features. This heavily modified YT-1300 was nothing to be reckoned with. The TIE’s were the first to feel this shocking revelation as the forward missile tubes opened up to launch arachnid missiles towards the fighters. Leaving a twisting trail of smoke the missiles sought their quarry. One was his dead centered and erupted in a mini nova, debris raining down to the Talusian field. The other two fighters broke formation and prepared to engage. Cheers erupted from the soldiers as Narmu began with more force to take out the Stormtroopers. “It’s the Millennium Falcon!” he said to those close to him. The Falcon’s well known pilot twisted the ship in a corkscrew upwards, the quad cannons opening up on the much slower bulkier version of the TIE. Both fired their lasers at the ship, but to their horror saw them bounce harmlessly off the shields. It was over in a matter of seconds. The Falcon dispatching with ease the TIE’s now zoomed back down towards the ground to save the beleaguered Rebels. The Stormtroopers seeing their impending doom approach began firing upwards in a futile attempt to save their lives.
Narmu seeing this as an opportunity to save Kava picked himself off the ground and moved towards where he had seen her last. Luckily he spotted her easily; the Imperial Officer was using her as a shield. A scout blaster pointed at her head he laughed at Narmu. “Stay back scum or I will leave her with a big scar on her pretty head.” “Don’t do anything stupid man; there is no need for this.” Narmu said trying to find a quick solution to this newest of twists. The Falcon having achieving its goal of decimating the Stormtroopers was igniting its repuslor jets for landing. Already the landing ramp was opening. A large, brown furred Wookie came out first, bowcaster in hand followed by Princess Leia. She wasn’t dressed in her long white gown as Narmu remembered her from Corellia; instead she wore a dark blue jumpsuit with matching boots. Her hair was also arranged differently, tied up in a grouping of braids instead of two buns. Chewbacca, the name coming back to Narmu now howled something inside the Falcon. “You’re going to let me call for transport and leave Rebel.” The officer said over the noise of the landing ship. “I don’t think that’s gonna be possible.” Narmu replied taking note for the first time Kava’s eyes being opened. “I don’t think so at all my friend.” He said with a chuckle. Bewildered the Imperial was shocked to have his hand holding the blaster twisted, then the rest of his body followed as it was tossed over the once thought harmless hostage. Kava spun about and placed her heel underneath the downed Officer. “You are doing nothing of the sort.” She said in a menacing tone.
Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca approached Narmu and Kava, with the downed Rebel soldiers close behind. Narmu was the first to speak. “Am I glad you showed up Captain Solo! We were just a hair from being vaped.” He said shaking the extended hand of the Corellian pirate. “We were about to make the jump to hyperspace when we heard the distress call.” He explained. Narmu nodded and smiled, bowing to the Princess. “It is good to see you again your Highness.” Leia smiled. “The feeling is mutual.” Kava stood there a bit in awe at first but smiled graciously to their rescuers. “There are a few wounded from the downed ship back by that AT-ST, not really sure how or why they are here on Talus.” Narmu said. The Barabel spoke next as he saluted Captain Solo. “We were on route with supplies to the new outpost on Hoth when we were intercepted by an Imperial frigate.” Narmu didn’t miss the looks Leia and Han exchanged Chewbacca growled something and Leia nodded. “Interesting, well…we could just as soon finish that trip for you, seeing as we were going to head that way to scout the planet anyways.” Solo said. “Excellent!” Kava said.
As soon as the Falcon was out of sight in the sky, Narmu and Kava had set up
camp quite a few kilometers from the battle site. Sleep was going to be a very
precious commodity, and Narmu wanted to have much of it now…
Three days had passed since the battle on the fields of Talus. Kava and Narmu were close to their target. So close they could see the distant glow from the floodlights outside and a pair of shadows that were more than likely guards. Weeks of locations that had turned out to be either abandoned or simply destroyed. This time though, they were both certain they had found the Binayre Bunker. The night had a chill about it that had Narmu feeling a bit numb on the tips of his lekku. Kava had put on a jacket over her black body suit. She was rubbing her slender and battle hardened hands together as she began to speak. “Narmu, this is the last place on Talus anyone would want to be, it has to be it!” Narmu nodded and checked the charge on his Laser Carbine then on his arm mounted blaster. With a playful smirk Kava nudged Narmu’s side. “So do you plan on just walking in and saying hi? Or do you have a better idea to get in there? It looks like a really hard shell to crack.” She said her eyes squinting a bit towards the bunker. “Nothing we can’t handle, I’ve gotten into placed more heavily guarded than this before.” Narmu replied with a wink. Kava continued to have her worries, they had been through allot and this seemed like yet another impossible task to overcome. What she was also worried about was the black and blue around the part of his arm that had recently been grafted. She was no doctor but it was obvious to see that his body was fast rejecting his implant, it was infected, and the infection was getting worse. While Narmu slept, the couple of hours he allowed himself to, Kava would have to keep watch on him and comfort him while he sweat profusely. The tortured Twi’lek probably had a very high fever as well. Pain was in his eyes, but with all that had been happening, it was easy to confuse it with his worsening condition.
Kava would have to get him to V’anity in time to save him. “OK,
here is the plan.” Narmu started, pulling Kava out of her contemplation.
“It’s going to require a little trickery, and allot of luck.”
He continued. “You are gonna move down there and your going to use your…feminine
persuasion to distract the guards.” Kava smirked but only for a moment.
“Is that so? And what if they don’t bite?” she inquired. “Trust
me, they won’t have much time to react. If they do…” Narmu
said handing her a vibro dagger. “This is more discreet than a sword,
but just as deadly if used correctly.” Kava nodded, not being a stranger
to the use of a dagger, her brief stint on Tatooine taught her allot in the
ways of the darker forms of combat. “I’ll set up over there behind
those trees.” He started noting the concern showing on Kava’s delicate
yet beautiful features. Narmu placed his real hand over hers and squeezed it
softly. “Don’t worry, I am not letting you out of my sights.”
He said reassuringly. Narrowing his eyes in a serious manner he leaned close
to her and kissed her lips softly. “We are going to get out of here alive…I
promise.” Narmu whispered gently. Kava smiled and felt some sense of relief.
She stood up and walked over to her speederbike. Narmu followed closely behind
her, he slid his hand inside his jacket and pulled out a laser cutter. As Kava
mounted the speederbike he kneeled and lit the cutter, slicing through a grouping
of cables that ran from the power converters to the repulsors. “There
that should do it…” he said with a grin. Kava not knowing what he
had just done looked at him inquisitively. “It’s to help with your,
distraction, don’t worry, you’ll know what to do. Narmu chuckled
as Kava brought the speeder to life. Almost immediately smoke started to bellow
from underneath the bike. Kava shook her head rolling her eyes as she started
to move out. Narmu then moved towards his position, which left him just barely
in range of his Laser Carbine. His shots had to strike true, or Kava would be
killed.
In three minutes the brave Twi’lek woman was there. Narmu counted four
guards immediately converge on her, weapons at the ready. Kava had her comlink
open so he was able to hear the grunts and deadly serious tone the guards had
against her.
“What are you doing here?” A tall and menacing Trandoshan asked. Narmu zoomed in with his macrobinoculars and saw the brown scaled reptilian armed with just vibroknuckles. Three scruffy looking human men were standing around the speederbike, they looked at Kava the way most human males looked at woman of beauty. This was always and advantage in a fight. Narmu decided to take aim first at the Trandoshan. He set his carbine to full spread and centered his sights on the Trandoshan’s thorax. Patiently he waited for his chance to strike. “I am sorry, I was on my way back to Dearic when my speeder started to smoke and lose power.” Kava explained innocently. “I’m sure there is something we can do to help eh?” The Trandoshan began slyly. “Ain’t that right boys?” he said looking back to his comrades. “Oh yeah, we can help alright.” One human said taking a step forward. He was soon pushed away by a second human. “Please allow me to be the first to…investigate your problem.” Then the third human pushed him away and placed his hands over Kava’s on the handlebars. “Don’t worry about them my pretty. I’ll make sure you leave from here with a smile on your face.” He said. Kava was almost at the end of her rope. The Trandoshan then lifted the smaller human and tossed him like a rag doll to the side. “Why don’t you come with us inside, while I get someone to fix your bike?” he said, baring his fangs with a smile. Narmu too had enough and squeezed the trigger of his carbine. The red bolt shot down and hit its target, burning scales sizzled as the bolt exploded out the other side of the muted, dying Trandoshan pirate. Two of the human males seeing this rushed towards Kava who had already slid out the vibro dagger. She launched it toward the nearest attacker, felling him as it went into his chest. Narmu already started running down towards the scuffle, Scatter Pistol and arm blaster ready.
Kava threw herself off of the speederbike and extended her right leg, leading with her heel she connected squarely on the jaw of the second attacker. With a crunch that surely dislocated his jaw the pirate fell in agony to the ground. Kava then grabbed the dagger from the first stunned pirate’s chest and pulled it free, blood and gore exploding from the now crumpled human. She spun around to the second attacker and got behind him, driving the dagger into his back. The last human was already on his feet, running sloppily towards the entrance of the bunker. Narmu was already on him, firing once from his arm the poor pirate froze as the blast pierced his torso nearly in half, he fell with nothing more than a stifled scream to the cold duracrete. The first stage was over, Narmu thought. Kava walked over towards Narmu, looking towards the carnage around them. She was used to killing, but it always was against the Empire. These poor fools while vile were not really the combatants she was used to dealing with. They were more Narmu’s type of kill. The scum of the Galaxy, trash that needed to be disposed of. “Good work Kava, let’s hide the bodies before they are noticed.” Narmu said as he dragged the body of the still twitching Trandoshan over towards a pile of containers.
After completing the gruesome task they stood at the entrance of the bunker. Kava looked towards Narmu who now was holding onto his newly grafted arm in pain. “Narmu, your body is rejecting that implant. We have to get you to a doctor. A real doctor!” she said to him, voicing her well placed concern. Narmu merely shook his head. “I’ll live…” Kava not convinced took hold of his real arm as he took a step forward. Narmu froze and sighed. “I have to finish this.” He said looking into her eyes with a fierce intensity that spoke volumes of the swirling emotions he was experiencing. Kava silently sighed and nodded. Narmu easily sliced the entry code and stepped through the door. A rush of smoke and ozone poured out to the pair. Then stench of charred flesh soon followed. Narmu gagged and Kava nearly hurled her rations out. What had happened here?
Narmu walked inside and was greeted by a pile of corpses in various stages of decay. Quickly he pulled out of his pack an Ubese Helmet and placed it over his head, the filters instantly replacing the raunchy air with cleaner more tolerable intakes. Kava had also donned a Composite Helmet, her lekku now draped behind her shoulders. Through the comlink sounding speakers Kava spoke. “What manner of evil is responsible for such a sadistic slaughter?” Narmu was walking further inside taking note of the carbon scores and blaster hits that dotted the walls. “Close quarter fighting, looks like it got heavy around here.” He reported in a neutral tone. After years in bounty hunting his investigation skills were quite formidable. “Whoever these guys were fighting….” He stopped mid sentence in sudden realization. “These aren’t Stormtrooper weapons. Kava it’s here!” he said sliding his Lightning Cannon into position. If Narmu could, he would have seen Kava’s eyes widen in fear. The IG-88 assassin droid exploded through the floor underneath them dropping a pair of poison gas canisters while firing wildly as it lifted itself into attack position. “TAKE COVER!” Narmu shouted returning fire, a streak of electricity wrapping itself around the droid. Kava pulled out her DX-2 pistol and also shot in the direction Narmu did.
“Biological Targets BH-996 and C-237 prepare for termination!” the electronic yet terrifying voice proclaimed. “It will be a summer day on Hoth before you kill me you oversized oven!” Narmu shouted back firing again and tossing two C-12 fragmentation grenades at the droid. This time he and Kava had stocked up well on what heavy weapons they could use against the droid. He had his new Lightning Cannon sliced by Ilsala, a friend and probably one of the best slicers in the Corellian Trade Spine. He noted with some satisfaction that the droid was getting its circuits fried by his continued attacks. The grenades exploded with a deafening blast that took out an adjoining wall. Shrapnel pierced both Kava and Narmu. The droid lost its footing and fell right back through the hole. Kava let out a small cheer of victory. Smoke filled the hallway they were in and a fire had started to spread. “Come on, let’s keep moving.” Narmu said motioning towards a ramp that lead deeper into the bunker. The two found more bodies spread out on the floor and various rooms. Narmu was starting to put things together. “Lady Val wasn’t interested in starting operations here at all.” He started as he checked another body. Kava looked at him and nodded. “She sent my mark out here to take out the Binayres.” He said shaking his head. “Looks like the job was too big for him, so he went and got some help.” Kava said also beginning to see what was going on. Narmu agreed but. “It still doesn’t explain how the droid was on to me, and how it tracked me from New Aldera.” “I am sure all the answers will be there for us once we reach the lower command level.” Kava said pushing Narmu forward.
Down they went, spotting fewer bodies as they drew closer to the command level. It looked like the pirate gang was trying to escape when they were killed. “Narmu, you notice back there that the spice containers were still ready for transport?” Kava reported after a moment’s thought. Narmu stopped and nodded. “Yeah, looks like either Lady Val or my mark are out for a little profit.” The two adventurers turned and walked forward, turning that corner into the command center. It was dark, and deadly quiet. Narmu got a bad feeling and was about to share it when they heard a swoosh then saw coming at them an adhesive mesh net. There was no room to dodge; they felt the sticky substance grab hold of them, immobilizing them in seconds. As the net was pulled hard both Narmu and Kava were swept off their feet. They were pulled hard and dragged inside the chamber, lights came on and Narmu looked up to see the IG-88 droid pulling the net closer and closer to it with one arm while leveling the blast arm down towards them. “This is it Narmu, we’re finished.” Kava whimpered in a voice full of dread. There was very little Narmu could do to argue that point. He quickly took note of the chamber. Besides the droid he saw no one else that ended with the sound of footsteps and a mock clapping. Narmu couldn’t turn around behind him to see who it was. Had he been able to before the person began to speak he would have probably fainted in shock. “Narmu…” the person spoke.
The voice was one that he hadn’t heard in decades, it was a voice he thought he never hear again. It was the strong and powerful voice that in his memory had once filled him with joy and pride when he heard it. It was a voice that threw him back to his childhood on Tatooine, suns rising over the Dune Sea, a young boy waking up to share a day of work with his… “Father!” Narmu cried out. The man walked past Narmu and Kava and stood in front of the IG-88. Kava’s mouth dropped in awe as she saw what looked like a much older version of Narmu standing before her. He was wearing a ragged flight suit with padded boots. He had a scar that slid down his face and over a closed eye. A visage of evil that she knew could never be attained by Narmu. He held in his hand a DL-44 blaster. “You never knew when to quit boy.” He chided with a snicker. Narmu was too confused to reply. The man he thought dead, murdered by some cretin ages ago was standing before him now, apparently responsible for the carnage he had seen in this bunker, and in control of the IG-88 that had been hunting him for weeks. “What’s the matter son? Surprised to see me?” he continued signaling the droid to stop pulling. “You must be I suppose. All these years chasing me and you never once figured that the only person capable of escaping you was the one person you thought dead.” He said holstering his blaster. “Why…why? Why did you…mother why?” was all that Narmu could say, fighting hard the tears forming in his eyes. Then Kava was even more appalled by the almost sadistic laugh emitted from Narmu’s father. “She didn’t understand, she wouldn’t accept that on Tatooine you either worked for Jabba or worked for Lady Val.” He explained. “Always an idealist she was, guess that’s were you get it from.” He teased. Narmu cocked his head up to look at him deeply, anger starting to boil. “Oh yes, while you were out chasing ghosts I kept tabs on you. I might say I could be proud of you I suppose, being such a fine Bounty Hunter in the service of Jabba and…” he paused and put a finger to his lips in thought. “A lieutenant in the Rebellion…pathetic…just like your mother.” He spat with a grunt. The reunion was going horribly, worse than any person could ever imagine, but in Narmu’s killer mind it was all clear to him. He had to escape this position of disadvantage and destroy the IG-88 and avenge his parents…his mother’s death.
“All this for the love of credits father? You did this to serve some beaten hag from Mos Eisley? You’re just as pathetic as I am.” Narmu said, regaining the composure back in his voice. There were a couple hidden surprises concealed in his new arm, he was making use of one now. A small metal rod extended itself from below the forearm, it started to superheat and melt away the mesh pinning him and Kava down. His father walked over to him and kicked him in the ribs. “Insolent boy! If only you would have died with your mother that day!” “STOP IT!” Kava cried. “How can you be so cruel!? Don’t you know the suffering you put him through all these years?” she said in a voice full of emotion. Narmu’s father turned and smiled. “Don’t worry my dear, his pain will end soon, as will yours.” He turned to the droid. “IG-88…execute them…slowly…”
Just as the droid was about to fire the mesh loosened and Narmu rolled to the left, breaking free. At once he opened up on the assassin droid. The deadly energy hitting it hard with a volley of blaster bolts that momentarily stunned the droid and pushed it back. Narmu’s father drew his pistol and fired back at his son, missing him by mere millimeters; he turned and fired on where Kava had been laying. Luckily she had managed to break free and take cover. “Destroy them both droid! Destroy them both!” he cried in angered frustration. There was very little room in the command chamber. The fighting would end quickly and with only one group declaring victory. After months of patrolling and hunting together on Talus and a score of other worlds Kava and Narmu proved to be the better in battle against their in-experienced foes. They concentrated fire on the IG-88 droid, Narmu discharging an entire pack of energy from his Lightning Cannon. Kava tossed another frag grenade, it exploded next to a wall unit that contained a large view screen and computer console. It fell over and crashed hard over the droid. Narmu smiled as he saw his father cower behind another row of stations. “Keep on the droid! Its pinned down!” he ordered over the crackling secondary explosions. The pain in his arm was numbing, he knew Kava had been right in her worries, but he had to make it past this. Turning it towards him he keyed in a command and another compartment opened up. It contained a single thermal detonator core, used back in the Clone Wars to prevent the Republic from capturing a Battle Droid in tact. He set the detonator sequence to engage. “Narmu! Look! Your father is making a break for it through that escape hatch.” Kava said pointing towards the far end of the room where a hatch had closed. “Get out of here Kava! Now!” he cried out to her. Kava raised an eyebrow and saw that Narmu was making his way down to the droid that was in vain trying to free itself from the tons of electronics that fell on it. Narmu winced and cried out as he twisted his arm loose from its graft. Blood started to slowly trickle out from his infected wounds. Kava was too much in shock to say anything. “Get out of here! Hurry!!!” The thermal core was going critical it soon began to hum louder. Kava cursed to herself and started to run back up topside the same way they came. Narmu limped towards the droid. Smiling at this small victory. “You failed IG-88, you are to be deleted.” He said tossing the arm at the droid’s feet. He started then running out to the escape hatch his father had just exited from. He followed the dark tunnel slowly, his arm in tremendous pain. He expected to find an attack at every corner…
Kava ran for her life, she was less than 10 meters from the bunker when the thermal core went critical. The Bunker shook for a second and shattered into a showering collection of metal and electronics. The top foundation crumbled and collapsed, essentially leveling to the ground in a small mountain of junk. The force of the blast threw her to the ground hard. The night lit up as the mushroom like cloud rose into the sky. She turned around, tears falling down her dirty cheeks. She heard a hum, and felt the sonic boom as a small Z-95 Headhunter took to the sky. The bastard escaped! And by all looks of it Narmu was dead. No…this was not true…it couldn’t be! Fate could not be that cruel! Could it? Her silent fears were extinguished when she saw emerging from the maelstrom a dark form. Narmu stumbling and in a haze approached her. She ran to him and caught him in her arms just as he was about to fall. The lovely young Twi’lek woman caressed the side of her loves face. He opened his eyes briefly and smiled at her. “You know, that’s the first time I let a mark get away.” With that he slipped back into unconsciousness…
EPILOGUE
Narmu awoke inside the Medical Center of New Aldera. At once he tried to get up but felt the firm yet soft touch of someone restraining him. “Easy there lieutenant. You’ve been through allot.” It was V’anity. She ran a scanner over him and nodded to herself. “What, happened?” Narmu asked all of the sudden feeling he had an arm where there should only have been a stump. “Your lucky to be alive, the way Kava brought you to me, chances were you would have died.” Narmu nodded solemnly. “After I stabilized you I brought in a real surgeon to replace your arm.” She continued shaking her head. “I must admit, what you did not only was foolish, it was very barbaric.” Narmu took the scolding in stride and kicked his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. V’anity took a surprised step back. “Narmu your in no condition to...” she never finished her sentence. Narmu was already on his feet and slowly stumbling towards the door. In her experience she knew better than try to stop him. All she could do was call out to him. “You just be sure to check in with me before you leave the city!”
Narmu walked slowly back to his house, his mind in torment at the revelations he saw back at the Binayre bunker. His father alive! Yet the man that he had once known as a loving father was truly a heartless murderer. How could he kill his own father? With a smirk he thought of many ways to do it. Justice would be served and his mother would rest in peace once he had put an end to his father’s life….
FIN
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