Collan, Nightshade, Nill, Nim, Trax: Raid on Horuz

[Nightshade]

Nightshade was also concerned for the well being of his friend and moves to him to visually inspect the man, "Are you well, Yūjin?"

[Collan]

"Because for all his faults, there's good man who needs help as much as we need his," Collan replied, "He carries a terrible pain inside himself and needs to find a way to...release it safely."

He looked to the Wookie with eyes that suggested he needed his help in talking to the girl.

"I don't have a lot of time to explain. More troops are likely on the way. We're here to rescue some prisoners. I don't think we'll come back this way. Your best hope is to come with us. We have a way out and not a lot of time. An ally has basically decided he is sacrificing himself so we can accomplish this rescue and I don't want his sacrifice to be in vain."

"If you stay, the Empire will make you a slave again. This place is secret and you probably know too much."

[Trax]

A trickle of perspiration ran down Trax's forehead.  He wasn't exhausted from the fire fight by any means, he'd seen a lot more action, it was his proximity to the lit lightsaber that was the cause.  With the skirmish now over, all he could focus on was the hum and the blue light.

The rebel was stalk still and his pistols remained raised as his eyes fixated on the energy blade.  His trigger fingers even trembled slightly as he fought to keep control.  His deepest instincts trying to force him into fight of flight mode, leaning far more on the side of fighting.  Then he heard a voice, the girls voice.  He needed to know she was okay.  Nim...was she okay?  Trax managed to begin stepping backward, his focus refusing to stray from the saber and the man holding it.  But with each step a bit more control returned, and he was able to slowly lower his pistols.  Finally, after a dozen or so steps he was able to holster them and turn away to look at Nim.

He could see her frustration with him all throughout her body.  All he could offer in return for the moment was an apologetic look, but he was relieved to see that she was fine.  The man was torn at the moment, he wanted to go to Nim and apologize, but he wondered if it would be more easily received once her anger at him had subsided.  At the same time, he wanted to move to the girl, but Collan had already closed the distance and being surrounded by strangers would only add to her fear and mistrust.

So Trax remained in place, surrounded by everyone and yet no one.

[Keshani]

So Trax remained in place, surrounded by everyone and yet no one.

(OOC: Can we get a group "awww" for Trax here? :-p )

Keshani stared into the older human's face for a few moments as if staring right through him - considering.

"If you stay, the Empire will make you a slave again. This place is scret and you probably know too much"

Flashbacks to her time since coming to this place burned through her mind - the executions, the work, the lack of food, the feeling of being trapped.

And slowly she stood, and nodded.

She didn't say anything more - no thanks or "what  can I do to help".

But at least she wasn't trying to shoot the ceiling with a blaster anymore.....

[Collan]

Collan nodded back, "Do you have a name? Don't want to keep calling you 'kid' the whole time."

How much did need to tell her? This was going to be dangerous.

"We're going to have to find a prison complex. Do you all know your way around the station? That would help immensely?"

[GM Craig]

Concern crept into his voice when he turned to Ch'lana.  "Ch'lana, you took a couple of solid hits there.  Do you need medical attention?"

Nightshade was also concerned for the well being of his friend and moves to him to visually inspect the man, "Are you well, Yūjin?"

Ch'lana extinguishes his sabre drops heavily to a knee and closes his eyes. He stays there for a moment breathing deeply. When he rises, he nods at Niil and Nightshade. "I'll be fine. Bit off more than I could chew there, but I'm only singed."

His words are a lie - you can both clearly see one major blaster wound through his burnt tunic. Althoug you would have expected him to have more - you saw him get tagged a few times, but he's only got the one wound.

He raises his chin and says again firmly, "I'm fine. We have to move."

[GM Craig]

The wookies take the offered medkits and work among themselves for a moment, patching on their injured.

Now that he's closer, Collan can see the girl is badly malnourished, and filthy. There is an unpleasant aroma as well, thankfully masked by the smell of smoke and ozone from all the blaster fire. He can still see the wounds on her neck from the needles of neural inducer. She'll need some treatment eventually, but it's nothing immediately life threatening.

[Niil Spaar]

Niil eyed the burnt hole in Ch'lana's tunic with a dubious eye, but he also noted that there were no signs of the other blaster hits he'd taken.  "All right, then.  We have spare medkits if you need to use one, though."  And the silent message he hoped to convey was if you need to use one, not if you want to use one.

Nim was likely working on finding the location of the senators and Collan was speaking with the girl - hopefully also trying to get the same information.  If they could only trust the girl not to do something foolish.  Her actions, words and mannerisms seemed to suggest that she didn't like Jedi.  So, there was little else that they could do until they had a route laid out for them.  Running around blindly in the space station would quickly get them lost.  And killed.  Or . . . worse for Ch'lana, Collan and Niil . . . captured.

Niil shot a glance at Trax, and walked over to the hunter.  In a low voice meant only for Trax's ears, he said, "I'm sorry, Trax, but I gotta ask . . . you gonna be all right?  Look, I'm taking a guess as to what happened to you on Corellia, but I'm thinking it involved a lightsaber.  And probably Darth Vader, seeing as I don't think that Galen attacked you."

[Nim Naja]

Nim's rifle dropped to low ready and she moved forward to Trax with no time to waste. His poise was familiar to the woman now though, and it forced her to take the edge off of her voice. However, it didn't descend into empathy. There was a mission, after all.

She went to speak but stopped short as Niil seemed to speak to him.

OOC: don't know if I heard what he said, just know that I'm moving there while ya'll are doing your thing a post or two back (can't post as frequently now, unfortunately)

[GM Craig]

[OOC: She's have seen them talking, but not heard the question. She's close enough to hear Trax's response, if any.]

[Keshani]

"Do you have a name? Don't want to keep calling you 'kid' the whole time."

"Um, Damaria." she answered back, her words distant, as if she were only paying half attention.

The prison complex? They were going to the prison complex? She didn't know where that was, but she knew it was NOT where she wanted to be going....

On the other hand, staying here by herself seemed like a pretty futile effort at this point, as well.

Any Imperial that saw her now would assume that she had helped to make this .... mess.

They would not believe that she had nothing to do with it. Actually, they wouldn't care either way. Any excuse for a little more bloodshed....

She would be dead before tomorrow anyway if they found her.

"I don't," she answered, regret in her voice. "They don't let us move around the station very much..."

[Collan]

[ooc: can I tell she's lying about her name?]

"Don't worry about it, Damaria," Collan replied, and to the Wookie he added, "I don't understand Wookie very well but if you speak slowly, I'd like to know your name too."

[ooc: using my knowledge and if possible, Concentration]

After learning what he could, Collan added, "the prisoner we are rescuing are trying to coordinate an alliance to fight the Empire. It was strong enough that the Force guided us here. Will you help us too?"

[Trax]

Niil shot a glance at Trax, and walked over to the hunter.  In a low voice meant only for Trax's ears, he said, "I'm sorry, Trax, but I gotta ask . . . you gonna be all right?  Look, I'm taking a guess as to what happened to you on Corellia, but I'm thinking it involved a lightsaber.  And probably Darth Vader, seeing as I don't think that Galen attacked you."

"I'm fine." Trax replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Worry about the old man.  I helped save his sorry hide once, not sure I'm inclined to do it a second time."

The rebel strode forward towards Nim leaving Niil behind.

"I'm sorry." he said softly, raising his hands almost as if he was surrendering.  "I didn't mean to snap.  And I didn't mean to be an asshat and force you to stay in the back.

No, that's not true, I did mean to keep you back there.  I just..."  want you to be safe.

"I'll work on it."  Trax wanted to add the condition that she agreed to keep her head down or move away to safety the next time fighting broke out, but he bit his tongue.

[GM Craig]

[PM sent.]

Collan is able to piece together most of what the wookies are saying. The two that seem particularly protective of the slave are Charrua and Tarffahr. They and the other wookies were taken from their homeworld and brought here to work on this space station. There are thousands of wookie slaves here, and many more on the planet below.

"The prisoner we are rescuing are trying to coordinate an alliance to fight the Empire. It was strong enough that the Force guided us here. Will you help us too?"

Charrua asks if you have a ship. Or maybe he wants to buy a ship - Collan is not really sure.

[GM Craig]

The wookie who took Keshani's blaster away apparently calls himself Tarffahr. He growls at you in their tongue, but you can't make any of it out. After a few moments of that, he hands the blaster pistol back.