Black Luster Blues
It had been nearly two weeks since the movie - two whole weeks spent in port while Simon and their mystery client discussed a meeting ground to finally finish this job. All of this brought a spark of hope to Simon’s gut at the thought of unloading this case. And best of all, unloading his passenger.
Soon, the heavy blackened walls of the ancient, overly overhauled space station came floating into view. Black Luster was a station with a storied reputation that reached all the way back into the hay days of the old Republic. For thousands of years it had orbited the dead world of Harkonnen and served as base of operations for anyone willing to pay for the upkeep and repairs. Rather than let it simply fall through the atmosphere and crash into the long dead and rotting world, it had been given extensive repairs and refurbishing time and time again, becoming more of an undead corpse of its original self than a new and vibrant station. Though he didn’t voice it, Simon idly wondered if there remained a single piece of the original station left within its superstructure.
“Oh joy, another floating deathtrap,” Rarity commented as she saw the space station coming into view. “Simon, why can’t we ever go to any clean ports of call?”
“You want spotless, get kidnapped in Imperial space,” Simon said with a teasing smirk. “Surprised you weren’t born as one sometimes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I walk in on illicit dealings.”
“Don’t let the rotting coat of paint fool you: Black Luster is actually a pretty decent place as far as the Outer Rim is concerned.”
“I shall differ to your judgment as per usual, Captain Ortell.”
“Oh yeah? Don't mind me if I start counting the seconds until the fussing starts up again.”
The ship tacked to and fro, maneuvering its way into the already heavy traffic that surrounded the station. Far larger cargo vessels inched their way in and out of their lanes while smaller ships like the Venture managed to move with far greater freedom.
As the ship passed through the energy field into the hangar bay Rarity couldn’t help but stumble a bit, nearly falling out of her chair as the ship’s gravity switched off in favor of the stronger force exerted by the space station’s systems. Much to her surprise though, she founder herself caught by her companion’s arm about her midsection. She stared up into his emerald eyes and could feel a small touch of heat in her cheeks. Pushing this from her mind she quickly righted herself with a thankful nod.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to those blasted shifts in gravity,” she complained.
Simon barely stifled a chuckle as she pulled herself away to preen and fix her mane. “Right, well we got a few hours before we meet the buyer. What do you wanna do?”
He barely had time to retract that question when realization suddenly collapsed in on him. Simon saw a bright excited glint enter the Unicorn’s large expressive eyes while a wide smile stretched across her muzzle. Before he knew it he was laden with packages, parcels and various shopping bags all packed to the brim with new purchases.
They were in the esplanade of the space station which more or less acted as an open bazaar, lined with shops and stalls of various goods and wares from across the Outer Rim. Simon watched as Rarity argued the price of a large spool of red silk with the Duros merchant running the shop. With an annoyed grumble the dark grey skinned alien finally broke under the fashionista’s unrelenting savvy with her credits.
With an excited giggle she levitated the spool over to the already growing pile of goods in Simon’s arms. “Oh, darling, can you just imagine the wonderful gown I’ll be able to craft from this amazing material?”
“Ooooooh yeah, sure it's gonna look juuuuuuuust greeeeeat," Simon grunted as he fought to keep the new weight balanced with what he was already caring. "Any chance we're finally done wasting our credits yet?"
"I fail to see how buying a few souvenirs for my friends is any kind of a waste,” she scoffed.
"A few," Simon said with a snort. "Feels like you're stocking up for your entire freaking town."
"Well I don't want to leave anypony out when I start handing out gifts, and besides I even got you something."
"I told you I'm not wearing that pink shirt," he snapped at her.
"And I told you that it's not pink, it's salmon," she corrected him. "Trust me darling, there is a difference between the two."
"You're making that up."
"I am not, salmon and pink are completely different colors."
"No they aren't, you're just using a fancy word to say pink."
"Pink is much brighter color while salmon is much closer to being a lightish red in hue."
"Yeah, well it looks pink to me."
"I am doing my best to hide my shock."
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Vrax leaned against the railing of the upper level catwalk, his visor's built-in binoculars zoomed in on the smuggler and the dressmaker. "I honestly feel sorry for promising a slow torture first," he said to himself. "Right about now a sniper rifle would end this whole trip so much faster."
Behind him, several of his men milled about, their weapons and body armor at the ready as they geared up for what looked like a full-on assault. Vrax paid them very little attention however, as his full focus was on the pair he'd been hunting from one sector to the next...and here they were, just about in arm's reach.
"Soon as they make the trade, we start the show," Vrax reminded them. "You all have your jobs and I've called in a few extra mercenaries to make sure they don't slip away this time. Remember, I want them both alive, everyone else you can kill."
-----------------------
As the pairn continued to spend their new influx of credits, they were blissfully unaware of the number of crosshairs being drawn on them. From the vantage point of a store that sold vintage mugs, a pair of humanoids watched their targets mill about the shops. One of them was clearly a Human male; he was a mixture of muscles and cybernetics with heavy scar tissue littering the edges of his mechanical parts. The other had been concealed head to toe in a suit of matte-black heavy combat armor that completely hid the being's identity.
"So, looking forward to finishing up this blue milk run" the cyborg asked his companion. A frown touched his lips when he received no response from the armored figure. "Figures, I get stuck with one of you tight-lipped types," he grumbled. "Bet you think you're all kinds of BA with that heavy combat shell on. This is probably your first job to boot. You better not screw up out there, shortfoot. If I lose credits on this job because of a dumb mistake you made, I'll shoot you."
The armored figure turned his small slit of a visor towards the cybernetic man. He said no words, only glaring at him with the eerie crimson shine of the cycloptic view port. The stare made the other mercenary shift a bit in discomfort as he looked into the emotionless mask that hid his partner's true face. No more words passed between the two as they returned to monitoring their targets’ movements.
-----------------------
"So then I say to Serif, ‘We can't, you set it on fire’," Simon declared with a few hand motions for emphasis.
Rarity could barely stop the fit of laughter that racked her body after hearing the end of her companion's story. She brought a hoof to her muzzle to try and stifle herself down to just a giggle. The pair sat across from one another in what one would assume passed for a desirable eating establishment. Between them were plates of alien dishes that now laid in various states of being eaten.
"I can't believe you two actually did that," she said between snickers.
"Are you kidding me, I can't believe we didn't get arrested for it," Simon replied.
She sat in happy contentment listening to Simon as he went into the next leg of his story about the interstellar hijinks of his youth. As she listened to his tales warmth began to build in her chest and began to spread through her entire body. She felt her eyes transfixed on his as they shined with light that had been lacking since their ill-fated meeting back on Gaia. The longer she stared into them the more she could feel her head start swimming.
With a bit of inward effort, she forced her attention back to her plate. Her levitating fork brought another bite of bright green fruit to her mouth, washing her pallet with the sweet citrus flavor it contained. The fashionista was thankful for the chance to wipe away the unsavory taste of protein bars and other flavorless foods stocked on the ship. It was magnified when she took another sip of the auburn liquid in her glass.
The more she drank, the more her head filled with ideas and urges that she quickly crushed under mental hoof, though their aftereffects were certainly felt regardless of her efforts. She had begun to notice aspects of her travelling companion that she hadn’t before. The deep black of his hair was like the void between the stars and the emerald gleam of his eyes just seemed to draw her gaze back every time. The roguish curve of his smirk invoked images of a dashing pirate from one of her serial novels. She could feel her heart start to flutter at the very thought of these things. It had to just be the drink, she assured herself.
It was ridiculous after all, she assured herself. They were completely different species from entirely different worlds and vastly different walks of life. Beyond that, they shared little to nothing in common and were constantly at one another’s throats. The very idea was beyond foalish to her. But then again, Fluttershy had managed a relationship with one of these aliens. Soon though, that wouldn't matter anymore. She'd be back in Ponyville and he'd return to the same life he'd had before they'd met, that status quo restored. But the young Unicorn couldn't understand why that thought twisted her stomach so much.
Before long their time for relaxation had ended and it was time to meet with this mysterious buyer of Serif's. Case in hand, Rarity and Simon boarded the elevator to the upper levels of the station. A tense silence had fallen between the pair of them, disturbed only slightly by the burrowing droll of the music pumped in through the speakers.
"Hey Princess," Simon broke through elevator tunes. "Before we get up there, I want you take this."
She looked at the weapon curiously, it was like many of the other blaster type weapons she’d quickly become familiar with. What set it apart was the small size and shortened barrel. With a touch of hesitation she encased it in her aura and lifted it into the air so that she could examine the small blaster closer.
"It isn't much," Simon informed her. "Just a hold out blaster, little something I carry around as a backup weapon. It's only got about twenty shots in its power pack so don't go firing it off all crazy."
"Good to know, but are you certain it's really necessary, darling?"
"If our luck holds out the way it has, then you're probably going to need a bit of extra protection."
Rarity nodded in agreement with the smuggler's sentiment. The idea of actually using the weapon on somepony still left a very uncomfortable feeling at her core, but she could see the logic in having it. If nothing else she could at least frighten a would be attacker with the threat of using the weapon on them. She levitated the weapon into the confines of her surcoat. The tiny weapon easily slipped snuggly into one of the pockets near the small of her back. She gave her reflection in the metal wall of the elevator a once over. A small smile moved over her muzzle when she saw how easily the weapon and any trace of it vanished from sight. If it wasn't for the weight of the blaster she might’ve easily forgotten it was even there.
Her musings were cut short when the doors flung open with a hiss. She and Simon quickly gave one another one last reassuring look before stepping off - there was no turning back now for either of them. Before them was a crowd of people all packed near the entrance one of the upper level establishments. Rarity's ears easily picked up the loud thumping and rhythmic bass of the club's thunderous music and the unified voices of those partying inside. She immediately thought of a neon-haired unicorn she'd hired for one of her fashion shows once.
At the entrance, a tall, broad-shouldered alien that was covered from head to toe in thick brown fur stood watch at the entrance. Rarity cringed as the massive creature lifted one rowdy humanoid into the air with ease, bellowing a loud roar before throwing the offender across the room where he crumpled to the floor.
Simon strode up to the Wookie at that door and produced an ID card from his jacket. "Ortell, plus guest," he informed the alien. "We're expected, VIP box."
It looked over a datapad before nodding in agreement. It barked something in a garbled language that Rarity wasn't sure if it really wasn't as feral as it looked. Still, it was kind enough to step aside and wave the pair of them in. Through all the chaos and the music, neither of them had noticed the alien that had managed to shadowed them into the club.
Inside the club, the noise wasn't much better. No longer muffled by the walls of the station, she was now force fed a somewhat painful dose of loud, booming noise that passed for music. Bright lights flashed and danced overhead and through the glass-plated floor beneath her hooves. All around her the bodies of men and women of races from far and wide across the galaxy danced and moved to the rhythm.
Eventually they made their way through the writhing mass of bodies and to a pair of double doors flanked by a pair of dark clad men who lead the pair into a room that overlooked the dance floor. The boom of the music and the crowd were reduced to low rumbles against the walls of this mostly sound proofed room. It had been sparsely decorated, a few luxury couches and several holographic projectors that showed various alien females dancing.
From the moment they had entered the establishment Rarity had an uneasy feeling, but when they entered this private room it turned into a full-on feeling of dread. A cold mound that had formed in her chest grew claws and began to drag itself into her spine. There was a strange pressure in the air that refused to give her any kind of quarter and only seemed to press harder on her the more she consciously tried to push it away. She tried to push all of this out of her mind as they finally came face to face with their client.
She was a human clad in form-fitting dark clothes that showed off her slender form and shape. Her pale skin created an almost fragile illusion about the woman. Sickly yellow eyes picked the pair of them apart like a hungry Griffon while her pitch black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She reclined contently on a large ornate sofa with a stylized glass of amber liquid. Rarity could feel the discomfort in the air oozing off this woman like a dark cloud.
"So you're my package boy," she cooed. "I must say, I would have ordered this meeting sooner." The grin left her face quickly. "I do have to ask though, what happened to Vrax?"
"He tried to double-cross our boss," Simon quickly replied. "So now you deal with us."
"Is that so?" she said with that predatory grin returning. "And just how should I ‘deal’ with you?"
Rarity could feel herself bristle at the strange woman's words and discomforting tone and the way her eyes continued to blatantly ravage her companion. She could only hold her silence for so long. "You could start by giving us what we came here for."
The woman turned a curious eye towards the no longer silent Unicorn. Rarity could feel those claws again, dragging along her back until they reached her neck. She could feel them slide around her throat, their tips just barely digging in. She froze and her body seized up as a sudden pressure pressed against her throat. From the smile on the woman's face, it had been the desired result.
“I suppose we can conclude business,” the dark-clad woman said before she signaled one of her companions.
One of them produced a thick metal case, not unlike the one Simon had been carrying. Simon and the mystery man carefully approached one another, each one handing off their respected suitcase to the other before taking a few steps back. The case that Rarity and Simon had risked their lives to protect for so long was quickly brought over to their hostess who wasted no time in punching in the code. She flipped the lid open and a wide gleeful smile pulled her lips upwards while an excited spark entered her unnatural eyes. She quickly shut the lid and nodded to her companions who backed away from the smuggler and the Unicorn.
“Yes, well, it has been a pleasure doing business with you,” Rarity said with a forced smile.
“You haven’t even tasted my pleasures, dear,” she replied. “But I’m sure we can have some real fun another time.”
"Ah, yes, well, how lovely," Rarity said with no shortage or disdain. "But as I said before, Simon and I really should be-" her words fell short and her ears twitched about, something had drastically changed. "Did it just get quiet out there?"
Almost on cue a volley of blaster bolts shattered the thick wall of glass that had overlooked the dance floor. Simon brought his arms up and readied himself for what he assumed would be hail of painful cuts and stabs, but it never came. Cracking his eyes open he saw that Rarity had placed herself between Simon and the wall of glass. Her horn glowed brightly with translucent blue energy while a wall of the same magical force stood between them and the shards, striking the shield with no effect.
With the shock finally wearing off, a harsh gravel voice called out from the club floor: “Hey Ortell, you still alive!?”
Rarity and Simon shared a look, not one of fear or apprehension, but one that bordered on annoyance. “Yeah, I’m still alive!”
“And what about the Force witch!?” Vrax asked them.
Rarity rolled her eyes and shouted back. “Yes, darling, I’m still alive as well.”
“Well, that is very unfortunate,” Vrax admitted. “I guess me and the boys will just have to come in there and kill you!”
“Since this seems to be an issue between the three of you,” the mysterious woman spoke up. “My friends and I will take our leave. If you survive this, Ortell, look me up. I promise a night you won’t regret.”
“Actually,” Vrax interjected. “I was thinking I’d just kill as well and take both cases for myself! Come out ahead of everyone in this messed-up game of ours.”
“I don’t see that working out well for you, little man,” she snarled at the Ubese.
"Well, from where I'm standing, I've got all the blasters and the numbers," Vrax told her. "So I think I've got plenty of reason to feel pretty confident about my chances of walking out of here right about now."
Rarity could feel it, it was much stronger now and centering around the three humanoids - a ripple of energy that flooded around them and converged within them. She'd felt this before back on her home world. She had been in the presence of those who had tapped into this power and seen the marvels it was capable of, but this felt different. It was wild and unchained, like an animal set loose from its cage and thirsty for the first drop of blood it could find.
With a wave of her hand, the pale woman willed the shards of glass into the air. Hundreds of them floated about her, suspended by her unseen means. With another motion the pieces of glass showered down upon the room full of mercenaries like a swarm of bees. Men screamed out in pain, many dropping their weapons or abandoning their position to try and escape the cutting pain.
Their distraction in place, the trio leapt to the dance floor below with inhuman speed that caught the nearest pair of hired guns by surprise. Before any could react, three blades of crimson energy leapt from the metal hilts they now carried. Four heavily armed and armored men were cut down in the span of two seconds, their bodies falling limping at the feet of their attackers.
Every weapon was now trained on them, the air filled with the sounds of safeties being disengaged. But no shots were fired when Vrax stepped in. "Don't waste your power packs," he ordered them. "Get up there and bring me the smuggler and his woman, alive. I'll handle the Sith."
The three of them shared a curious look before giving the Ubese their full attention. "You've perked our curiosity alien, and just how exactly do you plan to back up this boasting of yours?"
"For starters, I'm an Ubese, my people have spent millions of years developing ways to kill Force users."
She could barely suppress the urge to laugh at this statement. "How adorable, let me guess, you've learned a few teras kasi techniques and now you're a full blooded Jedi killer?"
"Why don't you come over here and find out," Vrax chided her before assuming a defensive stance.
Simon and Rarity watched the exchange from the shattered VIP room above the dance floor-turned-battleground. The smuggler watched with fear laced interest as their constant pursuer knocked away the Force assaults with practiced ease. His eyes tore away from the exchange however when the corner of his vision spotted a number of mercenaries making a dead rush for the door below them. His eyes quickly scanned around for anything that could help them before settling on Rarity.
“So, line of sight, right?” he proposed.
Rarity looked at him then at the wide open doors of the club’s entrance. “At least this isn’t as far away as that hillside was,” she assured herself before she scrunched her face up in concentration.
Three of the braver, or stupider depending on whom you asked, of the guns for hire had rushed past their boss and his prey and made a mad dash for the entryway to the VIP lounge. Among them, the cyborg soldier and his power-armored companion. Upon reaching the door the two readied their weapons while a younger clearly more eager merc forced it open. The two let their younger partner take the lead as he rushed headlong into the room just in time to be blinded by a flash of blue light. Shouting in surprise the inexperienced mercenary began firing blindly into the room.
When his vision cleared, he finally saw that the room was empty and the back wall was now peppered with smoking blaster marks. His embarrassment was compounded when his companions shoved him aside to enter the room. “Where the kark are they?” he asked.
“Found ‘em,” the cyborg declared pointing out the pair that stumbled to stay on their feet just at the entrance of the club.
Seeing his chance to get back in good favor, the younger gun for hire flicked the switch on the side of his weapon. With the safety of the underslung grenade launcher taken off, he quickly took aim on the two of them. Just as he pulled the trigger, the larger armored mercenary grabbed his gun and forced the shot off course. The small projectile struck the floor some feet behind them and exploded on impact sending Rarity and Simon hurtling through air violently.
“What the hell,” he screamed at his partner. “That would’ve been dead on!”
“We need them alive, you idiot,” his cybernetic companion reminded him. “You’re lucky he threw your shot off or you’d be answering to the boss.”
Rarity and Simon landed roughly on the smooth metal floor of the station, tumbling across the ground. “What was it you said about our usual luck, darling?” Rarity quipped as she fought to ignore the pain shooting through her sides.
“No time to rest, princess,” Simon grunted out while grasping her about the barrel and hoisting her to her hooves.
Their break did not last longer than a blink of an eye as several blaster bolts struck the ground and walls around them. “Why doesn’t anypony in this galaxy ever resort to words in order to solve their problems,” Rarity complained after she finally found the strength to start galloping alongside Simon. “No, it’s always guns and explosives, so uncouth!”
“Tell me about it, nothing but a bunch of freaking barbarians,” Simon shouted before drawing his blaster and firing several blind shots over his shoulder.
Ahead of them, crowds of people scattered and shouted in panic just doing whatever they could to avoid taking a blaster bolt, "Why isn't anypony putting a stop this, police, guards, robots with stun guns, something!?" Rarity shouted over all the chaos.
"Vrax probably bought them off to show up late or something," Simon replied before ducking another blaster bolt. "Be nice if things were in our favor for once."
"With all the rampant theft and collateral damage in our wake, you'd think ponies would be flocking to our sides," Rarity shot back at him as an energy bolt passed close by her collar.
"Hey! We only committed one major crime on purpose," Simon reminded her.
He tugged on the back of her coat to pull her off course and into a nearby shop. Inside, a number of scared shoppers and staff all took cover, shouting to be left alone. The smuggler gave them very little of his attention while he continued to move at full speed through the racks of various shirts and swimwear. Simon heard the familiar hum of Rarity's horn as she used her magic to knock anything and everything in the store down and in the paths of their pursuers. On the other side of the store were the glass walls and doors of the back entrance. With several shots from his blaster, the glass became cracked and weakened which made it much easier for the pair to hurl themselves through and into the other side of the upper merchant level.
Rarity's sharp eyes could see that they were running out of space to run and fast as a bulkhead was drawing closer. She scanned about for anything that might help them until finally she spotted it. That familiar yellow and black markings that marked the entrance of a maintenance shaft. The glow of her horn flared up once again while the same blue aura encased the latch that held the grate in place. With a quick jerk of her head, the grating was hoisted out of the way. With blaster bolts singeing the ground around them and filling the air with the scent of ozone, the smuggler and the dressmaker hurled themselves into the dark tunnel.
--------------
Vrax stood his ground at the center of the cracked dance floor while his Sith opponents encircled him like a pack of hungry animals. His mercenaries having long since piled out of the establishment in order to avoid the coming melee, he was on his own against these three. Their faces became contorted and twisted things in the crimson glow of their energy swords and the dim light of the broken light fixtures. He could feel them sizing him up and picking apart his defenses in hopes of ending this quickly. But after the display he'd given them, they had reason to hesitate.
The first attack came from behind, just as he'd predicted it would. Cracking and snapping of glass under the heavy souls of the Sith's boot telegraphed his approach and told Vrax exactly where he was attacking from. With a quickly motion of his hand, he snatched the metallic hilt from his belt and flipped the switch. His attacker's assault was brought to a grinding and sudden halt as a blade of grey energy shot up from behind the Ubese's back and caused him to falter back several steps. Under his mask, Vrax was smiling.
Not wanting to lose this new momentum, he quickly spun around on the ball of his foot and slashed his saber at the neck of his foe. The Sith, a humanoid with red and black face markings, brought his own saber up to deflect the blow. Hissing energy and sparks filled the room when the blades bounced off one another. Several blows rained down against the now defensive Sith as he backed away from his opponent.
His companion launched himself forward to try his luck at striking the Ubese from behind as well. Despite the superhuman speed granted by the Force, the cracking and breaking of glass under his feet still alerted Vrax to the attack. After knocking the enemy's blade aside once again, he let fly a powerful kick to the gut and sent him toppling away before swinging his blade around to meet this latest assault.
This time Vrax was the one put onto the defensive as several quick and well honed slashes were thrown at him. His own skills with the weapon saved him from being sliced apart by the superheated plasma but he was still losing ground with every step he was forced to take backwards. The assault's true purpose became all too clear when his saber was sent far to the right from a glancing feint from the Sith swordsman. His chest was exposed and the enemy saber was about to plunge into him.
Vrax moved on instinct and let the momentum of his deflected saber pull him. He toppled to the side and away from the attack while scoring a quick blow with the back of his hand to the side of the darksider's face. He darted to the side of a column at the side of the dance floor and slashed his saber through the duracrete and steel. Overhead he could hear the creaking of lighting fixtures that this thing had helped support. Just as both Sith were recovering from their momentary surprises, a shower of metal, wires and glass fell upon them. Metal beams and broken light units smashed into the ground around them and if not for the Force it surely would have crushed them both.
Before Vrax could capitalize on this distraction, the dark Force woman leapt through the debris and met him, saber to saber. The force of her attack sent both of them hurtling through the air and smashing into the wall behind the neon-lit bar. They both quickly recovered from this and began trading blow after blow with their sabers. Their strikes slicing and burning through the countertop and mirrored backdrop.
Still moving on instinct, Vrax grabbed an unbroken bottle from the countertop. With the swing of his saber he managed to force an opening in their exchange and with another swift blow he shattered the bottle over her head. Glass, blood and green-tinted liquor poured onto the floor while the Sith woman fought to keep her footing and senses. A fight that Vrax had no intention of letting her win as he rushed forward and slammed a kick into her chest to send her toppling to the ground.
Before he could finish her off, a metal beam speared through the air and buried itself into the mirror behind the bar. He quickly took off at full speed in the opposite direction as a hail of projectile debris was sent flying at him. The pair of Sith he'd attempted to crush were back on their feet and using everything they could lift in the room to try and kill him. Grabbing a metallic sphere from his belt, Vrax threw the item at their feet before taking cover behind another duracrete pillar. The pair of Sith turned to run from the grenade just as it let out a loud shrill whine. In a loud pop and rain of metal fragments they were both sent hurtling through the air in opposite directions of one another.
Vrax took off as fast as he could for the one that landed closest to him, catching up to him just as he got back to his wobbly feet. The Sith was just barely able to bring his weapon up in time to catch Vrax's latest blow as well as the next two as they struck him from above again and again. One the fourth blow, Vrax feinted another overhead strike, but instead looped his blade around to strike the Sith across the gut.
In one fluid swipe of his grey blade, his opponent's torso was split at an angle. The upper half of his body fell to one side while his legs went in another. His breathing became labored now that he only had one functioning lung while eyes stared straight ahead at the ceiling before glassing over. Vrax stepped over his fallen opponent as he breathed his last and scooped up the fallen Sith's lightsaber. Flicking the switch, he took a readied stance with the red and the grey sabers in hand while waiting for his clearly surprised opponents to make their next move.
-----------------
It was dark when she started to come around, the dim overhead lights of the tunnel she'd popped out in gave her only the faintest view of her surroundings. Rarity forced her legs move and pulled herself back onto all four. She gritted her teeth as the hurt lingering in her sides and back assaulted her entire body. Shaking her head clear, she fought to keep her limbs from giving out before taking a few test steps. Satisfied that nothing felt broken, she focused her magic into her horn, exposing the mass of grimy metal, wires and pipes to a wash of blue light. Looking around one thing quickly became very clear to her.
"Simon?" she called out. "Simon!?"
There was no answer to her calls. Fear and worry began to worm their way into her core when it became obvious that she was all alone in the bowels of the station. She shook those thoughts out of her mind. The Element of Generosity had been in far worse scrapes than this and she would not be phased. With a clearer mind she recalled the comlink concealed between her curls and her ear.
Placing a hoof upon the tiny device to activate it she spoke in a calm even tone. "Simon, are you out there?" For a moment there was no answer. She could feel those darker thoughts and feelings taking root inside of her again. "Simon, darling, if you're out there, please answer."
"Y-yeah, ugh, yeah I'm here, Princess," his labored voice grumbled from the other side of the line.
"Oh, thank Celestia," Rarity breathed out. "You had me worried, Captain Ortell."
"Yeah, well, looks like I'm still alive," Simon grumbled. "Nice escape plan, by the way, jump down the tube blindly. How about we try that with a hyperspace jump next?"
"I don't recall you finding us any avenues for escape at the time," Rarity snapped back at him. "Besides, it worked last time. Though, with varying results."
"Must have been a split in the tube somewhere," Simon told her, "I got a fix on your location, you're a few levels below me but on the plus side we're beneath the docking ring. We gotta start making our way up and fast if we wanna get to the ship before they block our path."
"I understand," Rarity agreed as she started looking for anything that looked like and exit. It was then that her hoof brushed against something, when she glanced down she found the metal case that she and Simon had just been hunted for. With a sigh of relief she floated it onto her back and began trotting through the maze conduits. A playful smirk slipped across her muzzle at the thought of Simon worriedly thinking he'd lost their prize yet again. I'll tell him when we get back to the ship, she said to herself.
Several floor above her, Simon slipped his datapad back into his coat before taking a minute to look around the dark corridor. He hunted and searched around the ground near where he woke up, assuming it had been where he'd landed. "C'mon, don't tell me I lost another one."
"Maybe it got stuck up in the tube somewhere," he said to himself as he eyes the opening he'd no doubt spilled from. "Need to find a maintenance droid or something, get them to hunt around the tunnel for it."
These thoughts came crashing to stop as the door to his right suddenly opened with a loud hiss. As he turned with his pistol at the ready to face whatever it was, a flash of blue light washed over him. In this moment the world around him started to spin, his limbs went heavy and his blaster fell to the station floor just before he did as well.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Ooh. Cliffhanger.
This has been a lot of fun so far. The characterizations have been entertaining, the descriptions good, and the dialogue amusing. Still, I'd think that force-users would show more interest in some fairly unprecedented pony abilities - and, Vrax is getting a but absurd. He has THAT much power and skill and yet has nothing more important in play than obsessing over torturing a couple of messengers because they got lucky and dodged his treachery? And why not just pay them in the first place? It would have been a LOT less trouble and makes it much easier to hire good messengers in the future.
5406040
I agree and disagree at the same time. I call bullshit on the bad guy being so tough, but that doesn't worrent a downvote. Besides that one thing, the story is great.
5410261
Opinions, I suppose.
5410267
5407052
5410261
Speaking of opinions, after hearing everyone's thoughts I've decided to alter that little bit. I think I brought out too much too quickly, as such and after some talking with a few other writers I've edited out the Force resistance thing.
5410290
Good idear. Just let us know when you rewrite and where, then.
5410313
It was already done.
static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/0/7029/2631525-ozymandias2.jpg
5410337
Oh okay. I'm assuming you rewrote just that battle scene?
Also, what's that picture from?
5410369
I dropped the whole Force resistance thing. The picture is from Watchmen.
I thought the whole force resistance thing helped him against Rarity, at least breaking free from its hold. That was a pretty exciting chapter though, if he held up against the Siths it's almost no wonder why he was pissed at Simon and Rarity.
5415166
There are martial forms in the Star Wars canon that make one resistant to the force, I just made it look too strong at the start of the fight. Glad you enjoyed it though.
5416455
Oh okay then, at least you made him work for it, instead of easily dispatching them then. ^^;
5416581
Besides that, the fight's still going.
5417715
At least that give our heroes time to escape, hopefully.