Storms of the Eye - A WolfWren fiction

Chapter 4: Going somewhere.

That bitch!

Shin was running as fast as she could in the cargo deck corridors, drawing onto the Force to speed herself up. She made the usual turns toward the brig's section, a dreaded feeling in her guts. Punching open the brig's door, her heart dropped as what she had feared had, in fact, happened.

Sabine's cell was wide open and empty. On the ground, electronic parts were scattered left and right around Sabine's handcuffs. Shin spotted the shell of her comlink among the pieces, gutted and disassembled. A rugged and hastily assembled device was discarded on the doorstep, with the comlink screen displaying strings of codes. The Mando girl had built a makeshift keycard bruteforcer out of her captor's comlink. It was a rather simple device as it would just send every possible frequency code to both the door and the handcuffs until they unlocked. And it had worked, for she was obviously on the loose.

Shin's heartbeat quickened, a wrenching feeling inside of her. She played me. She made a chutta fool of me! Her heart sank at the thought. It was all a deception, she thought. The cute bantering, the playfulness, the... flirting. She grimaced at the last word. After the shower trip, she had spent all night and day thinking back on that moment in her cabin.

Master Skoll had never discouraged her from feelings or carnal desires. But he always had warned her to not trust or invest in such things. He taught her to rely on her own power, to love herself first, and to use others to further her goals. And so she had done, never giving up to such feelings before.

But Sabine had been something else. Her initial disdain and hate for the girl had turned into weird fascination and... maybe desire. Yes, desire. She admitted, angrily. I better face it. She felt that and played me with it. And now, I look stupid and she's roaming the ship free.

Shin felt so mad and betrayed. She was your prisoner, dumbass. You really expected her to be flirting for real? She knew that, deep down. The moment she realized her comlink was gone, she knew.

That part hurt deeply. That instant, when Sabine had come so close to her, whispering in her ear suavely, all thankful and flirty, her clean feminine smell washing on her... Shin had been sucker-punched by the sudden assault of charm and warmth. She let herself be disturbed by what Sabine made her feel. And it was all a manipulation, thought shin darkly. She was just picking my pockets. Putting her plans into motion. And I was too dazzled to notice.

"So, here's your comlink then." Said Baylan's voice behind her, coldly.

She turned around, to find her master at the door, as calm as always. He almost looked blasé, scanning the cell with his harsh piercing eyes.

"I'm... Sorry, Master. She played me." Confessed Shin, a sheepish look on her face. She had been yet another disappointment to the actual only person who cared about her. But Baylan didn't snap at her, to her surprise. He seemed focused and calm.

"Yes, brilliantly so. But there will be time later to reflect on that. Do you notice ?" Asked Baylan.

"Notice what?" Asked Shin, bitterly.

"The silence." Said Baylan.

Shin gave him a puzzled look, her dark-circled eyes squinting. Then she understood. No alarm, she thought. The ship was built in a very straightforward way, with no alternative routes or service corridors in the habitable area. And Elsbeth's men patrolled it all the time. Sloppily, but still. They patrolled every deck, day and night. But one thought Shin. The one I ordered them to keep away from. And no alarm meant Sabine hadn't crossed paths with any of them yet.