Freelancers

Hangar Seven

The hangar elevator provided respite for the trio evading capture. The steady pulse of passing lights danced across its walls, and bounced off of the bounty hunters' polished armor. Nai'riss leaned against the wall opposite them and nonchalantly observed her new friends. They seemed to be discussing their next move without her. The fiery red-haired hunter's eyes had not left hers since they had entered the lift. Even as the older hunter whispered quietly in her ear.

"Since we'll be traveling together, shouldn't we at least try to get along?" wondered Nai'riss aloud.

"I don't imagine being friends will keep me from killing you and selling your piece of the relic. I still don't trust you," said Veriss. "In my experience, Cipher agents will betray anyone, 'friends' included, to extract the information they need. Perhaps you're doing the same to us. Perhaps you just want the relic we possess."

The low hum of the elevator continued as they approached their destination. The female hunter's distrust was palpable.

"Well, I don't need you to like me, or even trust me. I know firsthand about the relics we both have, and I know how big people are willing to pay for them. You trust your gut, your credits, your whatever, and I'll trust in my ability to read people," replied Nai'riss. "Besides, even if I am wrong about the authenticity of the relics, you won't kill me. At least not until we reach Coruscant. The curiosity is overwhelming you."

She straightened from her leaning stance as the elevator came to a stop at hangar level. She looked towards the doors as the magseal slowly released, and glanced back at Veriss who finally broke eye contact. The doors opened up to a largely empty hangar bay save for a crowd of people circled around the Vengeance. The hunters led the way out of the elevator while Nai'riss hung several paces behind. They walked briskly across the shiny hangar floor towards the customs terminal when suddenly, Veriss and Jag ducked behind some cargo crates. Nai'riss followed suit and found cover behind the nearest set of containers.

Jag's voice lit up their private comms traffic, "Soldiers. At least ten. One unidentified female. Possible officer?"

Nai'riss saw Veriss shake her head. "No, she's not an officer. At least not an Imperial one. She's wearing a robe. I think you should get your eyes checked," she said.

Jag chuckled in agreement. He waved at Nai'riss who was taking cover a few crates down, and motioned her to stay hidden.

"There's a squad of ten soldiers and one other female I can't identify," said Nai'riss, into her commlink. "How do you plan on boarding your ship?"

Jag peeked over the top of the crates and quickly surveyed the hangar bay. He dropped back behind their cover and looked at Veriss. She said something inaudible, but Nai'riss picked up the traces of a smile.

His gravelly voice lit up the comms once again, "You still have those scout drones babysitting our ship?"

Nai'riss replied, "Of course." She checked her holo-display and scanned over her drones' positions. "They were my contingency plan in case your partner failed to see the value of this joint endeavor."

She paused to brace herself for the inevitable answer she was about to receive. She took a quick breath and muttered, "Why?"

Nai'riss' commlink clicked. She could tell he was smiling. "We're going to blow them up, and use the chaos to get onboard."

Drones aren't exactly cheap.

Nai'riss chuckled nervously to herself, "Great, and when this is all over you owe me a crate of them. New TD-2 models to be specific."

She peeked over the top of her cover to make sure Jag had heard her. He turned around and gave her a thumbs up, his face decorated with the largest smile she has ever seen. She sighed, and returned to cover behind the storage crates. With her back against the hard durasteel surface of the crates, she flicked her holo-display to life. Her fingers flew across the bright blue interface as she commanded her tiny drones to position themselves against the bulkheads above the Vengeance. Above their unsuspecting victims. Others were instructed behind material at ground level to cause further disruption. She waited for all six of her drones to beep ready, and peeked over one last time to signal the impending explosion.

One.

Two drones erupted in a violent fireball that buckled the durasteel bulkhead around it. Debris rained from the ceiling onto the soldiers below. Several screamed and threw themselves out of harm's way, but others weren't so lucky.

Two.

The second pair exploded behind the remaining group of soldiers. A shower of sparks and the ensuing firestorm caused by the rupture of a nearby fuel cell consumed them like a hungry Nexu.

Three.

The last pair of drones exploded directly above the robed female, engulfing her in fire and smoke. She let out a scream that was quickly silenced.

Veriss, Jag, and Nai'riss slowly moved away from their makeshift cover, and into the smoke and debris filled hangar. Lights flickered on and off, while the fire suppression droids roared to life. Streams of white foam shot out of the droids' arms as they followed their fire safety protocol. The blaring instructions from a loudspeaker sounded muffled under the deafening effects of the drones' explosions. The three looked at each other with cautious excitement and walked hurriedly towards the waiting ship.

As the smoke began to clear and settle, they noticed a peculiar shape taking form. The slim outline of a woman's figure stood with her arms raised towards the ceiling. A shimmering blue bubble of energy surrounded her, and her face contorted with exertion. At the same time she lowered her arms the energy dissipated in a violent snap. She turned towards her three assailants and let out a primal roar. She reached for the hanging silver tube at her waist, tugged it free, and thumbed it on. A snap-hiss followed as the color red flooded the surrounding area.

With lightsaber brandished, the woman rushed towards the three blasters leveled at her.