Off this rock

[Alora]

Alora was running. Staccato of her pace was echoing off the surrounding walls, rising up and filling every corner of this dark dirty alleys.
- Can't run forever, kid! - came voice from behind. The man following her was bigger and stronger, but that made him slower just as well. But even then he was gaining on her. - Stop running and it will be all over soon! - he called out again.
"In your dreams, di'kut," thought Alora to herself as she kept running down the alley.
This turn she knew, than again a familiar one. The alley began to rise, leading her higher to the next level. Alora pressed forward. Her breath was calm and steady. Her legs were carrying her just as easily as any other day. Her heart beat was steady.
Alora took another turn and jumped over the heap of metal scrap. Few moments later she heard a loud BANG and a series of curses in Basic and Huttese. Girl grinned to herself and pressed onward. She knew where the alley ended and it was not far away already.
Another turn, slide down the railings of the narrow staircase. Almost there.
And then suddenly she came to a halt. The narrow way, leading to the market level was blocked by a large pile of twisted metal scrap. The pile was almost 4 meters high and Alora saw no way any man could climb over it. She was at the dead end.
The man following her was approaching slowly from behind. Alora span on her feet, facing him, instinctively lowering her head and baring her teeth. A low growl was coming out of her throat.
- Now now, little girly. No point behaving like that now. Its your final stop. - Man stopped a good ten paces away from her. - Now that was quite a race, I can give you that. But I must admit, you never had a chance to escape. I knew this alley ended in dead end, you see. This pile of junk appeared here a few days ago, some stupid punk from upper levels screwed up with the netting on the junkyard, I think. You didn’t know that obviously, but that’s your problem. So now you're trapped in here with me. Fancy that.
The man pulled out a thin bladed knife from his boot, waving it in front of him.
- So now you give me back what you stole from me or I…
- Or you what? - barked Alora. Her face turned into a grin. - It's not me, who's trapped, di'kut. It's you.
Her voice was almost a hiss. The man stopped smiling, his face turned into expression of stoic determination. But a moment later he froze in his place. A low growl echoed through the alley again. But now it didn’t come from young girl in front of him. It came from somewhere above. The man slowly raised his eyes and cought a glimpse of the shadow crossing the open space above.
- Your time is up, hu'tuun, - hissed Alora. The man looked at her with scared eyes and started to turn around with every intention to flee. In his mind danced a single though - "shadow hunter". But he never made a single step. A large shadow, which looked like it was made of claws and fangs dropped on him from above, pinning his body to the floor, killing him on the spot.
Alora relaxed instantly, slowly coming up to the corpse of a man who just now was boasting about cornering her.
- We got him where we wanted, did we Zeera?
A big animal, to big to be a dog or a cat, slid off the lifeless body to sit beside it. It's yellow eyes were staring straight into Alora's. A wide bluish tongue slipped out of it's mouth to wipe the blood off its lips.
- And you made a mess again, you little dirtbag.
The animal bared its fangs and growled softly at the girl. Alora grinned and ran her hand through thick fur on animals head, ruffling it not too gently.
- You're adorable. Now, - she pulled a small cubic metal container out of her pocket as if showing it to the animal. - Shall we see what so valuable we got today, huh?
It took Alora 2 minutes to search the corpse of a dead thug, stripping him of everything valuable she could find and stashing the body un the hip of metal scraps.
- Time to see the wiseguy, don’t you think?
The huge animal growled in reply and a strange pair departed.

The way up to the market place took them nearly an hour. Few times Alora had to hide in the shadows or behind covers to evade detection by people passing by. She did it more out of habit then out of real necessity, but this habits kept her alive for years so she wasn’t giving them up easily. Zeera followed her by her own paths, using high grounds, rooftops, narrow walkways and even walls. The pair was exceptionally good at staying invisible.
They reached their target before dusk. It was a small shop standing apart from others on the market. The owner wasn’t very successful, but he was a nice guy. What probably was the reason of his lack of success. The shop owners here were thugs by common standarts. Vipers, who made coin out of everyone else’s misery. Alora didn’t consider herself to be really nice but she never stole the last piece of bread from a starving family. The owners of the market didn’t have this kind of moral restraints.
The shops were open till dusk, so Alora opted to stay hidden until they closed. She visited the unsuccessful owner, Desar, a few times before, exchanging her finds for food or other supplies. He was glad to trade and never asked any questions. But once or twice he tried asking her personal questions, like who she was or where did she come from. Alora never bothered to reply and left his shop before he could ask again. The man got the hint and never tried asking anything again.
Today was a busy day at the market, unlike most days. Alora even noticed a few people dressed in strange uniforms or even dark robes, which was highly uncommon around here. They were strangers. Maybe even offworlders. The girl fought down the urge to abandon her hiding place and go in closer to listen to their conversations. The task at hand had to be done first.
Finally dusk came and with it a loud whistle from the wooden tower in the far corner of the market, which marked the end of the day. Shop doors and windows began closing, traders and commoners slowly thinned out from the market square. In less then half an hour the lights went out.
At that moment Alora slipped out of her hiding place and approached the door of the shop, she’s been watching. She gave a soft knock on the door.
The door opened in less then two minutes, revealing a face of old human male, who looked like he slept during the whole day, hanging upside down with a plastic bag over his head. The man rubbed his eyes and squinted at the darkness of the market square.
- Who is it? - he asked in scared voice.
Alora emerged from the darkness.
- Me, - she answered and went inside past the gasping man. The strill slipped between him and the door frame.
The man quickly shut the door behind her.
- Alora, are you barking mad?!
The girl eyed him with a stern look.
- The whole plaza is buzzing about the “shadow hunter”! - the man went on. - Did you kill someone? Again?
The girl kept looking the man in the eye, not bothering to reply.
- Look, Alora, I know it’s none of my business, but someone may notice you coming in here. If they ever suspect that you’re the “hunter”, they’re gonna burn my place down, probably me with it. I didn’t deserve it, don’t you think?
Alora considered the situation for a few moments.
- No, you didn’t. - She approached the table near the entrance where Desar usually displayed his goods for sale and put down the metal cube, she took from the man, who now lay dead in the dark alleys of the lower city. - I need to know what is it and how much it can cost.
Deser looked down at the object.
- Look, its a basic data storage unit, cost no more then two, maybe two and a half hundred credits.
Alora looked disappointed.
- Fine, two and a half hundred is a deal.
- Whoa, young lady, hold your horses. I don’t have that kinda money on me. You’ll need to find another buyer.
- I don’t deal with other buyers, - Alora cut him off.
- I know. Okay, lets do this. I’ll find you a buyer, but you keep that thing. If it’s stolen, I don’t want anything to do with it.
- Fine. - Alora took the cube and hid it back in her pocket. - I’ll be back in two days.
With that she strolled out, the strill sliding after her into the darkness of the night.

 

[Ral]

Nar Shaddaa, the jewel of Nal Hutta, or so it was called. The Mandalorian never really saw much of anything resembling a jewel. The moon reminded him of a hive-world slum. Sure, some parts were nice, but once you put your head below the tops of the towering skyscrapers you quickly saw the ugly truth. Ral had traveled to Nar Shaddaa in order to get a cache of weapons off the planet. It was a typical smuggling job, although, on this side of the Imperial border it would be closer to a standard transporting job. Still, the pay was good, and the Rebels always needed more weapons. Supposedly they got these ones for a steal, Ral just hoped they would be worth it. Despite being a bargain hunter he still believed in getting what you paid for. If he didn't then there wouldn't be any reason to hire a Mandalorian at their higher rates.

Walking through the side streets and alleys of Nar Shaddaa made Ral feel dirty even inside his beskar'gam. At least with his 360 degree pineal sensors he wouldn't have to worry about being snuck up on. He would be glad when he could leave this moon. Ral never enjoyed coming to Nar Shaddaa, but in his line of work it was impossible for him to avoid the moon for any stretch of time. Keying his comlink back to his ship, which was waiting back at a large docking pad overhanging a large artificial chasm made by rows of impossibly tall skyscrapers, Ral spoke. "How are things looking back there, Carii? Everything going alright?" The Mandalorian asked. It was an unnecessary thing to ask he knew, but it was a force of habit to ask such a question. Carii, he knew, could protect the ship and herself, but that didn't mean he wouldn't worry.

With a laughing sigh that Ral could hear over their comm the woman replied, "Everything is shiny. I'll let you know if something exciting happens."

Ral chuckled at the response. That was just like her. Always ready for a fight when she was bored. Not that she was bored often, the woman could easily find things to do to entertain herself. As he continued to move through the alleys and streets of the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa Ral noticed a girl with a pet Strill following her down one of the intersecting alleys as they stuck to the shadows. The pair were doing a fairly decent job of staying hidden, but Ral's buy'ce could spot things most eyes, or helmets, would miss. The Strill reminded him of Carii's, and he was surprised to see the animal on the moon. Stopping to get a better look at the pair the Mandalorian stared from behind his T-shaped visor. That was odd, very odd. Strill were from Manda'yaim originally and Ral wondered if that was where this one was from there too which brought an interesting and exciting question into the man's mind. Was the girl also from the Mandalorian homeworld? Taking a step towards the pair, Ral decided to take the risk. "Su'cuy verd'ika!" He called out, a hand on his pistol ready to draw in case the girl, or her pet, weren't friendly.

 

[Alora]

Alora was heading to their hidden lair.
Zeera fallowed her casually, not taking high ways or hiding in the shadows. They were taking a pretty descreet route, a series of walkways and passages no-one used these days, because the power plant and postal hub to which they led were shut down years ago. Alora built her home at the far corner of the huge hub, which was filled with rotting and broken crates. The stacks and rows of metal boxes and containers were as high as the ceiling and created a maze, a labyrinth of narrow passages, which couldn’t be mapped. Alora just memorized them all.
The lair was on the other side of the maze, hidden from view and well protected from any prying eyes. It was a small shack made of wooden panels and metal scrap, a broad durasteal plate, which probably was a piece of a starship hull a long time ago, served as a roof.
The pair of them was almost at the end of the alleyway which ended with a broken elevator shaft and a narrow staircase leading to the hub's entrance when Alora heard a voice.
- Su'cuy, verd'ika, - the voice said.
Alora froze in her tracks. The voice came from somewhere above and to the left. It was clear and sounded like a voice of a droid. But Alora knew - no droid could speak Mando'a. She slowly turned her head and looked up.
Up there, on a walkway overcrossing the way she was walking stood a figure. It was a man, though Alora couldn’t be sure. He was clad in armor, his face hidden behind a helmet and a visor glinted for a second in the dim light. It was T-shaped, such a familiar sight that Alora almost gasped.
"Mando," was her first thought.
And then she bolted.
Zeera disappeared in the shadows, probably dived down from the alley. Alora sprinted to the starwell and slid down the railings. Her heart was pounding in her chest maybe for the first time in years. She couldn’t say why she ran, cause she didn’t feel scared or even mildly afraid. She was the hunter in this alleys. And someone invaded her turf.
Reaching the end of the stairway she glanced back over her shoulder. The man in mandalorian armor couldn’t be seen anywhere. But one thing Alora learned in her years on this force-forsaken rock is never to trust your eyes in the darkness of the lower city. He could be anywhere as far as she knew.
Zeera appeared from the shadows in front of her, growling quietly, then wheeled around and vanished again. Alora grinned to herself and followed her friend, disappearing in the darkness of the narrow passage between towering stacks of crates and boxes. Her hand ran softly against the walls, counting turns and corners.
She was followed here once before by a small gang of thugs, who decided to catch the elusive "shadow hunter". Not one left alive.
Alora reached the passage, she was looking for and froze. Crawling carefully she reached with her hand and felt a metal plate of a small trapdoor. The well beneath it led to the wide pipes of the sewers. There, if the man manages to find his way through the maze of the hub, she will certainly loose him.
Alora still couldn’t answer to herself why she ran. The man obviously wasn’t hostile, he greeted her in her own language, one she didn’t hear since she was a child. Maybe he was mandalorian, one of her own people. But mandalorian people didn’t exist anymore, that much she remembered. The clans were divided and scattered across the galaxy. She cought bits of news from the talks of people on the market. Clans were fighting among themselves in a pointless and bitter rivalry. Her mouth felt sour and head hurt from realization that Mando'ade were no more. That was not the way her father taught her. But Alora had to be realistic, this man could be an enemy just as well as a friend.
Zeera crouched beside her, sniffing the air. Alora put a hand on the back of the beasts neck and felt tension of the animal. She knew that in that state Zeera prepared to jump at any foe coming at them.
Like that, in the darkness, they waited.

 

[Ral]

Ral wasn't particularly surprised when the teenager bolted. Mandalorians weren't the most warm and welcoming of people, at least to strangers. To those who knew them, Mandalorians were very welcoming. But, to a girl who probably lived on her own, and who might not even be a Mandalorian, a large armored man speaking an odd language might be pretty frightening. Activity his comm, Ral called his partner again, "Hey Carii, I just saw a teenage' down here with a strill. I would think with Manda'yaim glassed along most othe' Mandalorian planets there wouldn't be all that many strill left."

"You thinking they might be a Mando?" Carii's voice came through his helmet speakers. A hint of interested curiosity in her voice. That was good, it meant he wouldn't have to convince her to come down to help him.

"I do. At least that's my hope. There aren't many of us left. We should try and stick togethe', ya know? You should bring Havok along. I'm sure the blob would enjoy company. Plus we might need that nose of his, the girl bolted." He reported. They would be a little behind getting the weapons by looking for the girl. But if they could find her, and if she really was a Mando, then it would be worth it. Nar Shaddaa was no place to grow up, Mandalorian or not. Carii's soft sing-song voice came through his speakers telling him she'd be there soon.

Several minutes passed as Ral waited for Carii to arrive. He wasn't worried about the trail going cold, Havok was smart, even for a strill, and he had a hell of a nose. Finally, she arrived with her pet. From this point out they would speak sparsely and let Havok do most of the work. Carii was in her beskar'gam and she tossed him his Tangler gun. While neither wanted to hurt a teenager, that didn't mean they were going to travel through Nar Shaddaa's shady underbelly unprepared. Who knew what would be down there. Motioning to Carii, Ral signaled to activate their thermal lenses. While people could hide in the shadows, it was hard to hide their heat signature. Loosing the strill, Havok quickly picked up the scent of the other strill and started off. The pet led them down some stairs, and down and into another passage of crates and boxes that twisted and turned until Havok stopped in the middle of a passageway. Looking around Ral wasn't sure why they had stopped. It was Carii who figured it out. Switching through the myriad of vision and scanner modes of their helmets she noticed the metal cover on the ground. Lifting it up she motioned to Ral and the pair continued on into the sewers. The stench was overwhelming, or would have been if they hadn't switched over to their internal supply of oxygen. Ral wondered if the strill would be able to track in sewers or if the scent would get lost. He guessed he would find out as they continued on switching between thermal, infrared, and the low-light tactical setting on their HUD. In their hands their weapons stayed on stun ready to switch to lethal I'd a dianoga, or some other unpleasant beast or creature appeared in their path thinking the three would be an easy meal.

 

[Alora]

"They're following" Alora thought. The clanking sound of armored boots on metal floors of the sewer pipes reached her ears less then a minute after she jumped into the well. And by the sound of it there were more then one pair of boots.
"Two," she figured. "Two men in armor, pretty heavy. And they found their way in the darkness pretty fast." She pondered on the thought for some time. "Must be the helmets."
She heard about sophisticated tech warriors used in their helmets or goggles, allowing them to see in the dark. But she never laid her hands on one so she discarded their existence as improbable. Now she saw her mistake.
"Stupid," she cursed herself. "How could you be so stupid?"
Zeera returned from her scouting, her breath was steady, she eyed the way ahead easily and without suspicion. That meant the way was clear and safe. But then the beast sniffed the air in the direction of Alora's pursuers. She let out a low growl and bared her fangs, but then went silent, tilting her huge head to the side, still sniffing the air curiously. All her expression said she was puzzled.
- What is it, girl? - asked Alora as quiet as she could.
Zeera eyed her, then turned back to the dark way behind. She kept sniffing, louder then Alora felt safe, but there was no fear or hostility in her friend. She found something interesting there. Somehow the people stalking them interested her very much.
Alora made a decision to trust in her friends judgment for the beast never been wrong before, so she carefully crawled backward and glanced around the corner.
Two men were walking on the sideways of the canal. The greenish glow of the toxic wastes made them pretty visible. They were definitely not in a hurry, they walk was calm and casual. But both carried weapons and both were clad in mandalorian armor from head to toe, their faces hidden behind the dark T-shaped visors.
But it weren't the men, who caught Alora's attention.
In front of the men crawled a beast, which looked exactly like Zeera. Well, not exactly. It was just a bit smaller, not as bulky as Alora's friend, more slender or gracious. And it was definitely cleaner then her friend. Zeera's dark fur was covered in dust and dry mud, which pained Alora insufferably, but she couldn't ever find a place to clean her up. Or herself for that matter. The beast following them had a lighter gold fur and it glowed with health. The two men obviously took good care of the beast. Alora suddenly felt very ashamed. Zeera was her best friend, her only friend, and she couldn’t take good enough care for her. So the strill grew up in dirtpit of the galaxy, feeding on giant rats, lizards and other nasty critters, that swarmed the lowest levels of the city. It grew big and sort of a brute, it was almost as big as Alora herself, but it still lacked that glow of well fed and cared for, which the other beast had.
Hissing a "get ready" command at Zeera, Alora stepped into the open, apearing twenty paces away in front of her followers.
- Tion'ad gar? - she asked in a clear defiant voice. Fear didn't get a grip on her heart, she could easily outrun this iron men, but the beast with them was another matter. But Alora hoped Zeera will be able to take care of it as well. - Gar bat ner vhet.

 

[Ral]

The pair of Mandalorians continued down the sewer with Havok. Ral had started to become worried that they had lost track of the girl, although he wouldn't show it or say it. Not yet at least. As they moved they continued to scan the sewers, but there wasn't much to see. Until, suddenly, there was movement up ahead. A body appeared in front of them, and by the person was a strill. It was the girl. The strill was large, almost ferally large. It probably got large off of whatever it could catch. As the young woman stood there in front of him she asked him who he was and that he was on her turf, so to speak. At the last remark Ral looked around the sewer. Prime real estate this was not. Still, it was good to hear his native tongue. "Ner'gai Ral Aran. Tion gar Mando'ad? Ni Mando'ad."

Thinking it perhaps easier to speak in basic, Ral switched languages. "This is Carii. The strill is named Havok. Do you live down here? What is your name? We don't mean you any harm, we are just curious what you're doing here. Doesn't seem like a place where verd'ika should be. Are you on your verd'goten?"

Ral was curious as he was sure Carii was as well. He just wanted to make sure the girl was safe and could take care of herself. The man wasn't the kind to just leave a girl on a slump like Nar Shaddaa, so if he could help her he would. Havok seemed excited to see another strill, and both Ral and Carii were half surprised that the strill didn't jump forward and try and play.

 

[Alora]

- Te’habir buy'ce be, - Alora said, ordering the pair to take off their helmets.
She wasn't used to stare at the faceless mask of a helmet, she preferred looking her adversaries in the eye.
It wasn't the mando way, she knew that. Most mandalorians lived with their bucket on, never caring about faces. It's the deeds that make one mandalorian, not face.
But this was not Mandalore, it was some backend of the galaxy which she didn’t even knew the name for. So she preferred faces.
Zeera circled her around stopping right in front of Alora, protecting her from any harm that might come her way. Her fangs were bared, she growled manacingly, ready to kill. The strill opposing her didn’t seem bothered at all, for all Alora knew it looked pleased and almost… playful? It whipped it's tail from side to side, head tilted to the side, showing no intention to attack. At the sight of Zeera it definitely was very pleased.
Alora looked up to the men as they lifted off their helmets.
The one on the left was a man, hard faced and scarred. His expression told of quiet determination and slight curiosity, but not offence. The man let his gun hang on his shoulders and showed her his hands, unarmed.
The other was a woman! She had just as hard a face as her partner, but her expression was softer. She was smiling slightly, her gun strapped to her back. She didn’t make any moves except raising her hands so Alora could see she wasn't armed either.
- I'm Alora Sing… - Alora began. - I mean Alora Laar. This is my place. What are you doing here?

 

[Ral]

When the girl requested they remove their helmets Ral hesitated. He wasn't sure that it would be wise to remove their helmets, especially where it would be dark and there would be the overwhelming stench of the sewers. But then Carii turned to him and over their private channel spoke to her husband. "Just do it. If it makes the girl feel more comfortable it's the least we can do. Just... try not to breathe through your nose."

With that the pair removed their helmets. The smell and the humidity hit them instantly, but Ral managed to keep himself from gagging. Even Carii managed to keep her lunch down, if just barely. Before them the girl's strill seemed to be very defensive of its owner. Showing that he meant no harm he held his hands up to indicate they were empty, but he was sure to keep his Tangler within quick access just in case. Next to him, his auburn-haired wife's braids fell onto her shoulders as she held her free hand up while her other held onto her helmet. "Alora, huh? That's a pretty name." Carii started, her soft voice barely cutting through the noise of the running sewage. "As for what we're doing here... Well, heard there was a strill following a young woman around. Don't see too many of them nowadays. Thought it would be worth checking out. So, you live down here?" Her voice curious without a hint of disdain or condescension. Then, taking a risk she decided to roll the dice, "Must be one interesting life you have down here. So, you're Mando'ade? What are you doing down here? This isn't a place for a Mandalorian."

 

[Alora]

At the last question Alora felt deeply ashamed. "Are you mandalorian?" the pair asked. Yeah, right. Basically a rat from the sewers, a thief, a murderer. Practically a pure model for mandalorian...
Alora pursed her lips.
- This is Zeera, - she pointed at her friend. - We… uh, we live here for some time. Well, not here, not in the sewers, but in the lower city, - she took a deep breath before continuing. - Our ship crashed on this rock… years ago. Buire kyrayc.
Zeera stopped staring at the opposing strill and turned her head around to look at her friend.
- We're staying here till we find a way to get off this rock.

 

[Ral]

Listening to the teenage girl Carii felt a faint flutter of motherly instinct. Even though she knew she was probably only a half dozen years older than the girl before her, she couldn't help but want to help. Turning to face Ral she raised and eyebrow. Immediately, the man knew what she wanted. At first the Mandalorian wanted to say no, but as he thought on it the more he realized it's the right thing to do. Nodding reluctantly at his wife, Ral gave her permission to carry through with her unspoken request. With that, Carii grinned brightly. "I see... seems like you've done pretty well for yourself since you're still alive. That's a shame to hear about your ship, though... but..." She paused for a moment, now she was really going to roll the dice. "If you wanted a way off... we have a ship. You could come with us. You wouldn't be a bother. I mean, that's if you want to leave now. If not we could come back later, or not. It's up to you."

Carii was trying to be as delicate as possible with this situation. She didn't want to impose on the girl, but having a new, young face around would be nice. And maybe having someone who Ral could teach the ways of the Mando'ade to he would see how fun it could be and start a family. But that was a long shot. The girl probably wouldn't accept an offer by two random strangers for a ride off the planet. Carii wouldn't have if she were in the girl's position. Well, she probably wouldn't have. If she were desperate enough anything were possible. Still, she had asked the question, so now she just had to wait and see what Alora's answer was.

 

[Alora]

"Come with you?" At the thought Alora at first felt thrilled and elevated, then her own instinct for self preservation kicked in.
- I don’t have any money to pay you.
The strangers didn't pose any immediate threat to her, that much was clear. Zeera wasn't showing any warning signals they worked out with her, so this people weren't enemies.
And by the looks of them they weren't slavers as well. She's seen quite a lot of them the first few years on this rock. The slave trade was thriving on this planet, that much was obvious. And people on the market talked and talked a lot. Mostly it was a good thing for Alora, cause she could get quite a lot of useful information without asking any questions, she just had to listen in and be patient.
But it had a downside as well. The slavers gang came, they took quite a few people from the lower city, leading them away in iron cuffs and chains. And then someone talked about the "shadow hunter".
The slavers leader got interested. He asked questions, interrogated few slaves even, cruelly. And worked out the territory, on which Alora made her habitat. And he went after her, taking a few goons with him to be sure.
Alora was 14 then. Zeera was only 4, but already she turned into quite a fierce beast. Not as large as now, but incredibly fast, silent and smart. Alora didn't like what she did then. She doesn't think about what she did now. But the slavers stopped their trade in this section of the lower city from that day and never tried to start again.
Skeletons of those thugs who went looking for her still hang from the rafters of the market square. And the smell of rotting, cut open and skinned corpses still haunts the dreams and nightmares of the inhabitants of the market.
Remembering that Alora doubted that any slavers gang would send another collectors down here, especially not Mandos, cause their services weren't cheap.
- I need to talk to my friend.
With that she kneeled down to Zeera. The beast looked her in the eyes, sitting up and leaning in, so Alora practically whispered in her ear.
- What do you think? Our chance? Or we go on with the plan?
The strill murmured something, making short purring noises along with rasp breath and hiss. But overall message could be clear to anyone, even one who never met a strill in his life. Alora on the other hand learned the same animal language Zeera used. She could understand her well enough.
- Okay, but if we end up in trouble, its your turn to pull our asses out. Tayli’bac?
Standing up, she said loud and clear^
- If you can take me off this rock than we agree. But as I said, I don’t have any money to pay you, so I'll need some time to collect them.

 

[Ral]

At the sound of money Carii grinned warmly at the girl. She was considering it then! That was music to Carii's ears. She waited as the girl quietly "discussed" what to do with her pet strill. After a few seconds she stood up and accepted their offer. Carii smiled even more. With a casual wave of her hand she said, "Don't worry about money. We don't need it. Just do your part while you're with us, and don't cause too many problems, and you can stay for free."

Ral didn't like that his wife didn't consult him, but he knew better than to call her out on it in front of the girl. And besides, his rules would have been the same, just much less charismatically delivered. Speaking again, Carii continued, "Please, you don't need money, but if there are things you want to grab from your place before we leave or people you want to say goodbye to then by all means do that. Weren't not in a hurry to leave, but there certainly isn't a need to find some money to pay us. I wouldn't accept it anyways. We have enough saved up to support you for the time being. So, what do you need to do?"

 

[Alora]

Alora opened her mouth to reply, but a loud Bang cut her short. An echo of metallic clatter ran through the tunnels, bouncing off the walls in a deafening staccato. Zeera wheeled around facing the dark tunnel behind them, baring her fangs and growling manacingly. Her legs were spread wide, head bent low her chin almost touched the floor. Her tail whipped around and hit the floor twice.
Alora seemed to understand that as a sign.
- Borg rats! - she gasped.
A long beskar knife appeared in her hand, she crouched low, face frozen in a mask of cold determination, eyes piercing through the darkness of the tunnel. She looked as if she was sniffing the air just like her strill was.
- If you want to go, we better do it now, - she said to the pair of Mandos.
Borg rats were probably the most dangerous creatures inhabiting the uninhabited tunnels underneath the lower city.
First of all, borg rats were not rats in common understanding of the word. They weren't small hairy rodents. They were big, male ones could be even bigger then the strill, their maws were filled with short sharp teeth that could bite even through the armor alloys. Their bodies were covered with thick black fur, which with the help of mud and dirt drying up in the hairs turned into a scale armor. They had eyes which saw through complete darkness, ears which heard a pin drop from half a mile away. And they could sniff out living pray from even longer distance. They were very dangerous beasts on their own but the worst part was that they hunted in packs.
Alora and Zeera hunted them from time to time, but only when they were completely sure they were hunting a single rat. No-one in their right mind would go against a whole pack, which could number from ten to a hundred.
The pack in this section of the tunnels numbered no less then thirty. To go against them was a suicide.
Alora turned to the pair of Mandos, who put back their helmets on and seemed to be looking through the darkness.
- Ke'shekemir ti ni meh gar copaani su'cuyi, - Alora hissed and took off at full run into the side tunnel. Zeera was running in front of her, making less noise then could be expected from such a big beast with long sharp claws.

 

[Ral]

Both Ral and Carii were mildly surprised by the sudden arrival of the rodents of unusual size. Not scared, just perhaps startled, more at the unexpected noise then their actual arrival, though the sight of the rodents wasn't exactly pleasing either. Thinking as one the married couple's training kicked in and they immediately donned their helmets just in time to hear Alora tell them to follow her. Neither were particularly worried about the large rats, but knew that it would be better to stay with the girl on the way out then to stay in the sewers and spend forever trying to find their way back out on their own. Carii whistled to Havok and her pet strill immediately began following Alora. With that accomplished the pair reached for their belts and grabbed a pair of grenades. Carii grabbed an ABC grenade while Ral went for the plasma grenade. Carii threw first followed by Ral. As she threw Carii called out, "Cover your hears, got a big bang coming!"

With that Carii ran, Ral knew his modified dampening kit would let him pull through the bang relatively unharmed, but he also knew that the detonation would still be rather jarring. The grenades detonated as expected thoroughly stunning the rats and even killing a few. Next, Ral thought to buy a few precious seconds by firing his blaster into the pack. Thinking he had done enough Ral switched his flamethrower on standby so he could use it if the rodents were faster than he. He quickly caught up to Carii and the girl and their pair of strill. Activating his speakers he said, "That should take care of the smellies. Let's get out of here, yeh?"

 

[Alora]

Alora heard the loud bang of the grenades going off. For a few moments she went deaf.
Running down the tunnel she took another turn and stopped looking around. Zeera paced around her impatiently.
When the Mandos caught up with her, they were wearing helmets, weapons in their hands.
- That was stupid , - barked Alora. - The rats, they aren't scared. You kill one, three more will come to the scent, you kill dozen - who hundred will come rushing in to the feast. In a few minutes this whole system will be crawling with those monsters. And if you managed to damage the pipes that keep away the heat, then all ends of this sector of the tunnels will be blocked by blast doors and flooded with freezing liquid .
Alora was panting, thinking hard on their options to get out of the mess.
- In other words, we're locked inside a labyrinth with a hundred hungry predators with just ten, maybe fifteen minutes before we're all frozen to death.
Alora couldn't know the reason for this system to work like that, but it was pretty simple. The cooling system was meant to keep the heat, produced by toxic wastes down to acceptable level, preventing the cheap metal of the pipes from melting. If it was damaged or integrity of the pipelines was broken, then the whole section of the sewer system was locked up with thick blast doors, which could withstand both toxic and heat, and flooded with liquid coolant.
- We need to get to the highest vent and somehow cut through to the other section or to the old power plant's basement. And listen, if I say run, you run, if I say quiet, you keep quiet. You don’t know what's in this tunnels and you don’t know how everything here works. Now follow me and keep those guns in holsters, they wont do much good in here.
Alora made a quick whistle. Zeera jumped forward, leading them deeper into the dark tunnels. Alora sprinted after her.

 

[Ral]

Once Ral caught up to the girl and stopped he glared from behind his T-shaped visor as she berated them on his actions. Normally, Ral would have been impassive to such an act, knowing he did what he thought was best given the limited information he had on the rodents. But what burned him was the fact that this teenager was barking at his wife too. When she finished Ral held his hand up to keep her from speaking. Some of the things she said, some of the other things were contradictory. Ral would address her issues in turn. Hefting the pulse rifle his wife had brought him, he spoke, "Listen here, Verd'ika, this is your home, and you know it nest. But leave the pest control to the professional exterminators. As it were none of those pipes were damaged when the grenades went off, and even if these uglies can smell their dead a click away in the sewers, it's enough of a labyrinth that I'm not worried about a group finding us, and even if they do I don't care if there are a thousand of these rats, there are only so many that can fit down one of these tunnels at a time and we have crowd control weapons. As for that group back there... those bilge rats will be blind, deaf, and dumb for the next several minutes. That ABC scrambler will keep them from smelling anything and the biological irritants will keep them paralyzed for awhile."

Ral looked at his wife and she put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from building up too much steam. Inhaling deeply the Mandalorian. Ral didn't care about the rats or how big or how ferocious they were. He had survived and killed a pair of lightsaber wielding dar'jetii ten years ago when he was less experienced as a fighter. Recently, Ral and Carii committed what could be called genocide against a massive pack of mynocks and their queen who had taken up residence in the unoccupied sections of the Corusca, as well as half a dozen five-legged spiders. And after surviving an air strike on his position, a thousand rats didn't scare Ral. Especially not in the enclosed space of the sewers where their numbers would be more of a liability than an advantage. The comment about them not being afraid didn't make sense to Ral, fear was a natural survival instinct of any creature with a brain. Scientists counted on fear and memory in rats to run tests on them, if they didn't the term "lab rats" probably never would have come about. But perhaps these rats were special, that is to say, they're stupid. Not having fear got you killed more often than not. Ral ignored her comment about the pipes. A Mandalorian wouldn't hit them unless they were aiming for them. And if they did the rats would be in the same boat as the three of them. The only difference was that Ral and Carii's armor was hard-sealed against vacuum and environmentally regulated and would allow them several more minutes of exposure before succumbing to the cold. Minutes they could use to find a way out. As for the blast doors, they had ways of dealing with those too. And old sewer blast doors tended to rust or malfunction very easily. Ral didn't like getting bossed around, even by a native who might have known better. Still, the sooner they got out of the enclosed space the happier they would be.

Following the girl down the sewers Ral checked it against the path they had taken to get there on his HUD. The trio were moving down the maze-like sewer and making good speed. They seemed to be taking the same route out. And at their current speed they would be out in just another minute or so. Just as they rounded the last corner Ral could see the entrance. Then he noticed out of the corner of his eye that a rat was about to attack. Knowing that the entrance was close Ral shouted, "Looks like we've got company! Carii, get the girl out. I'm right behind you!"

Turning around Ral got his sights set on the rat he saw, the first of many. They probably smelled the strill on the air. Aiming his pulse rifle he fired. An ionized burst of energy spread out into a sixty-degree arc overloading the creature's nervous system as well as the ones immediately behind it. Satisfied, he turned and ran for the entrance. Slamming the metal plate back into place, Ral breathed a sigh of relief, "They don't need to be scared of me, they just need to die and get stunned like everyone else. Carii, see if she needs to collect anything then get her back to the ship. I'm going to grab the weapons."

Carii nodded. That was a good idea. Maybe the two could have a chat, woman-to-woman. As Ral activated his jetpack to get up into the air Carii turned to Alora. "I have to apologize for my husband, he doesn't play well with others. He'll warm up though, he always does. Now, do you need to go somewhere or should we head back to our ship?"

 

[Alora]

Alora opened her mouth to answer but a low rumbling sound, coming through the tunnels, cut her short. The walls and floor vibrated under their feet.
- The flood, - said Alora shortly. - Run!
She sprinted at full run, dashing the nearest exit, which was just a few hundred meters away. It was a metal hatch, leading to the bottom level of the power plant. The plant itself was shut down many years ago, so the place was safe. Definitely safer then the sewers.
She reached the hatch in less then two minutes, the mandalorian woman right at her heels, both strills running in front of her. At full run Alora jumped up and grabbed the railings, which were bolted to the ceiling on both sides of the hatch. The girl lifted her legs and kicked the hatch with both feet as hard as she could. The hatch didn't open. She kicked again. The hatch stayed closed.
- Shab, they welded it!
She dropped down to the floor and turned to the mando woman.
- Do you have anything to cut it open fast?

 

[Ral]

Carii was glad to be out of the dank sewers, but it seemed that the excitement had not yet ended for her a rumbling sound began reverberating from the sewers. Wondering what it could be she was about to ask the native when she mentioned something about "the flood" and that they should "run." Wasting no time Carii followed after Alora. Despite being a street rat the girl was tall and well-built for a woman of her age and she could move surprisingly quickly. Calling after he she asked, "What's the big deal about this flood?"

Carii followed the girl to a nearby abandoned power plant. The Mandalorian woman wondered if the teenager lived there or what the big deal was. Once there Alora grabbed ahold of some railing and kicked at a hatch to no avail. Grimacing she remarked about it being welded and asked if they Carii had something that could cut through it. Normally, Carii would have used a small breaching charge for such a thing, but today the pair were in luck. Carii had recently gotten her hands on a cut-down plasma torch for breaking into things, houses, footlockers, crates, whatever needed to be opened and didn't have an electronic lock. It would be a little slower, but quieter and much less expensive than using a breaching charge. Nodding, Carii responded as she reached for the plasma torch. "Aye, I got just the thing. What's the big deal? Why do we need to get inside of here?" She asked as she ignited the torch. The plasma flame nearly instantaneously cut through the aged durasteel door, her visors auto-tinting to protect her eyes. After just a few seconds she was a quarter way through the door. This thing was handier than a lightsaber! Well, maybe not really, it did have a fuel source which would need to be replaced after a few minutes and it couldn't block anything. But it's usefulness was incredible to say the least. Several seconds later Carii had burnt through the rest of the door. With that the way was open and Carii turned off the torch. "It's open!"

 

[Alora]

- It's not where we need to get in, it’s where we need to get out, - replied Alora as she pulled herself up and out of the sewers.
Zeera just jumped up through the hatch, landing on all her six legs. Alora crouched in the darkness, looking around carefully.
They were in the basement level of old power plant. The halls were dark and unlit, a dim light came through the small openings on the side walls and ceiling, coming from the advertisement lights high above. The floors were covered with rust and dust. The air was dead and unmoving.
She glanced over her shoulder at the mando woman getting out of the hatch. Her strill, Havok she said, jumped out after her, sniffing the air loudly. Zeera glanced at him once and turned her attention back to the surrounding darkness.
- We better get moving. Those rats can't follow us here, they don’t know how to climb. But there are other beasts down here.
Zeera murmured something quietly and Alora turned her attention back to her. The strill looked at her and softly hit the floor with her tail once, then once again after a short pause.
- Gangs, - Alora translated. - Pretty far from here, but may come this way. And don’t boast about killing them, I can guess you can. But if you do, the cartel they're working for will come looking for the killers to the Lower city. And they can torture and kill lot of people to find you. I don’t want to cause them any more trouble then they already have. Most people down here are nice and friendly. Well, apart from the ones running the Market. So please, keep quiet and follow me. Where did you leave your ship?

 

[Ral]

Carii followed Alora through the hatch she had just cut through as they entered the lower city. The teenager made a comment about the gangs. Carii would prefer to get back without much of a firefight, so she had no problem avoiding a shootout. And, unlike her husband, she didn't want to create a problem for other people, though she was sure she could dispose of them in such a way that the gangs would think it suspicious. Still, she'd prefer that to be a last resort. "That's fine with me. I'd prefer to just get back to my ship. As for my ship it's parked on one of the lower docking pads. It's not too far from here. Docking Pad DZ-63 was it's designation. But I'll follow your lead."

With that Carii followed the younger girl through the lower city. She had hoped that the beskar'gam would prevent the average mugger or low life from picking a fight with her, but one could never guess with desperate people. Thinking to pass the time Carii asked the girl a question in hopes to get to know her better. "So how long have you been on your own? It must have been hard how did you survive all on your own?"