You Can't Always Get What You Want

[Nerovec]

"I would have or if I was to late I would've crushed the ones responsible. Tell me did they at least have the decency to bring the ones responsible to justice ?"

The Sith noticed the weakness in the girl and smirked under his mask. "I shall ask you once more. Come with me and I shall make you powerful and fulfill your every desire...And I will help you bring the ones responsible for your loved ones death to justice...All you have to do is take my hand." The Sith said as he extended his hand.

 

[Evelyn Roslin]

It was a tempting offer, but Nero's earlier attempts to use Vier's death to manipulate her left Evelyn with a bad taste in her mouth.

Though, that might also be that kerosene-smelling drink from earlier . . .

Either way, chaotic as her emotions were at the moment, in this case her anger worked against the Sith, urging her to double-down on her decision. There was no mistaking that her grief made the Force sensitive woman was an appealing target for the Dark Side, but it appeared that direct overtures weren't quite the right tool to lead her down that particular path.

Against her better judgement, she turned away from the Sith, half-expecting to take a lightsaber through the shoulder blades. Trying to cover for that fear, she tried to adopt a nonchalant tone to the strange Mandalorian.

"Like you said, I'm with you, right?"

The enemy of my enemy . . . or is it the devil I know?

None of the metaphors made sense, really. Not with the adrenal rush fading from her system, and the beginnings of a throbbing headache taking its place. She rather hoped neither of the other two onlookers were looking to cause trouble- but then, hope hadn't gotten her very far these past few days.

 

[Darkwasp]

Bahati's eyes rolled in her head, as the armored individual and the Sith exchanged copious amounts of bravado. The two men were so engrossed in there testosterone fueled conversation that they hadn't notice her, nor the cute little waif of a woman; who was now pointing a shiny DH-17 blaster in the group's general direction.

The curvaceous smuggler's gloved hand subconsciously hovered over the large, heavy blaster that rested comfortably on her left hip. The waify woman wasn't currently aiming her blaster directly at Bahati, but the brash pilot wasn't going to take any chances. She shuffled several times to her right; to make sure that the Sith would be directly between her and the blaster wielding woman.

After a quick exchange, the Sith released its prey; who instinctively to a couple of steps back. The black clothed figure extended its hand, offering to fulfill the woman's every desire. The ground rumbled beneath Bahati's feet, as the bombing continued. The deafening sounds of blasts and collapsing rubble echoed and resonated between the surrounding buildings. The sudden reminder of the impending danger made the mocha skinned smuggler both impatient and anxious.

The rambunctious pilot loudly cleared her throat; in an effort to attract attention.

"If you'll excuse me, just passin' through. But if you want my opinion; you might want to continue this conversation in an area with... " she look back over her shoulder at the plums of smoke and the bombardment blasts that were becoming progressively closer. "...less impendin' doom."

Bahati smiled at the brunettes decision, not to take the hand offered to her by the Sith. Had the woman accepted the dark figure's dubious supplication, the mocha skinned beauty may have shot the woman on the spot for the shear stupidity. However, how the Sith would handle the rejection was still up in the air. Their kind wasn't necessarily known for their calm demeanor. She wanted to scoot passed the whole situation, but she didn't want to step between a flurry of blades and blaster fire.

 

[Nerovec]

The Sith shook his head slowly. "If you change your mind girl. Just contact me." The Sith said before offering her his holonet number which she could use to contact him.

"And remember...Not all Sith are the same." He said in a calm voice before looking at the curvy beauty. "I believe we are finished with this conversation, gorgeous. I might advise all of you to get to shelter. Unless you are stupid enough to try and fight then by all means try and catch some blaster fire before dying."

 

[Bailey Arterius]

Bailey listened to what the Sith and the curvier girl had said. Then again, her only way back to her ship was stolen. She turned her head to see more explosions going off in several large buildings. She holstered her blaster, and slowly stood up. The turmoil was nearby, spreading at an uneven rate. Watching as the Sith walked away, she looked at the 3 around her.
"Any of you think you know a good way to get to Quadrant L-42 right now?..."

 

[Nicolás]

Each eye rolled over in perfect unison as the Sith continued on with his persistent badgering. Fortunately, after a few moments of tapping his feet against cold pavement and biting back a flurry of insults for the robed man, they had finally accepted the fact that the woman simply wasn't looking to get in his pants. Or whatever it was. Nicolás was only glad to see him off to... wherever. Probably to go fap at the thought of his self-fulfilled pride. Probably.

Nonetheless, there was still the girl to manage. Sure, he might've saved her the trouble of some stick-wielding snob and got a good kick from the risk, but now he was left with a stranger almost clinging to his leg. Well, almost. Then again, he couldn't just leave the poor woman in the midst of a planet getting doused in a bucket of kerosene alongside a burning match. It would only make the entire bothersome encounter with the Sith for naught. The least he could do was drop her off on some remote Outer-Rim world. Tatooine, perhaps? Or hell, Nar Shaddaa? With looks like those, she might do well on her own.

God. What was he thinking? He had to get off of Coruscant. And he had to get off fast.

Brushing off the mocha-skinned beauty's retort with a simple nod of his head, Nicolás twisted around to face an alleyway: his one way ticket back to the safe confines of his ship. Or really, the pile of garbage he stole after losing a game of poker. One couldn't blame him though, he's quite the sore loser.

"I believe Quadrant L-42 is... down," he responded to the other woman with vague concern, rather devoting thought on as to how they could escape the war zone. "Alright. Time to blast. Let's go, uh..." He reared his head to face the initial stranger (@Evelyn Roslin) in curious timbre, evident that he was looking for a name.

Spoiler: OoC

Sorry for taking so long to get in on this action. And further apologies for this kinda... blegh ...post. Busy Dev is busy.

 

[Evelyn Roslin]

Spoiler: OOC

If that's your 'blegh', I'll be sure to take notes so I can keep up with your 'meh' or 'average' level!

The ground shook with a particularly close explosion, and Evelyn wasn't quite certain how she managed to stay standing when the amount of liquor she'd consumed should've had her cursing at the world to stay still even without an aerial bombardment. Fear was a hell of a drug, apparently - or maybe she had higher tolerance than she assumed?

Or maybe it's the Force . . .

While she'd dismissed his offer, the Sith's casual observation was rooted in her brain. There wasn't time just yet for her to examine it more closely, but it was there all the same. The smoking front fender of an unlucky speeder chose that moment to fall between her and the Mandalorian, and it was only extremely rapid reflexes that caused her to jump back and out of its path.

Damnit, feeling like my world's falling apart was supposed to be a metaphor.

The exceedingly attractive, capable-looking female with the blaster was right; staying here was akin to suicide. She was far from certain that going along with the Mandalorian was a smart choice, but impending planetary doom of various degrees made it the only viable one left.

"Evelyn . . . and, uh, thanks."

In a way, it was a good thing everything was happening so quickly. Sure, it was making her head spin - but it was also keeping things from sinking in too deeply. It kept that threatening pit inside her mind at bay, gave her something to focus on other than how utterly frakked up her life seemed to have become in the span of 72 hours.

She followed his lead, glancing back once to see if the other two women were following; she had no idea who they were, but got the strangest impression that they might all have been crazy enough to take a pot shot at a Sith.

"My apartment's two sectors east of here . . . well, maybe west - oh, I recognize that part of the skyline, that's it off to the nor-"

At that moment, the series of skyscrapers she'd been pointing suffered a direct hit from the Imperial bombers. Evelyn's eyes widened, and her stomach dropped.

Vier's things . . . everything I have left . . .

It was all gone now, and they'd suffer the same fate if they stayed in one place too long, or simply ran out of luck.

 

[Darkwasp]

"I believe we are finished with this conversation, gorgeous. I might advise all of you to get to shelter. Unless you are stupid enough to try and fight then by all means try and catch some blaster fire before dying." the dark figure remarked loftily in her direction

Bahati wasn’t the type of person to run from a fight… no… no; she was exactly the type of person to run from a fight (especially a conflict that didn’t afford her any credits upon completion). She smirked and shook her head in disbelief. The Sith’s smugness, in the face of the city coming down around them, was an arrogance that stretched far beyond even her most conceited moments. She was pretty sure that gigantic swaths of plasma raining down from the sky didn’t care whether you were a Force User or not. It was pretty much going to do the same thing to anything it came in contact with.

”Thanks, Chuckles!” she replied. ”I know that if your favorite color is black and ya carry one of those fancy swords; ya aren’t supposed to care about nothiin’… But ya might want to take your own suggestion.”

As she said that, a speeder in the distance was vaporized, sending a warped and smoldering bumper smashing into the ground in the center of the group. The woman that the Sith once held captive narrowly avoided the searing hot piece of debris; her reflexes and instincts skillfully taking her out of the path of the mangled bumper. Bahati face did little to hide how impressed that she was with the woman’s reactions. Looking from the scar left in the permacrete floor and the Sith; Bahati merely raised an eyebrow at the robed figure.

”Ya sure ya wanna hang around here?” she said with smirk spreading across her lips.

Bahati turned to the armored man and the captive (who she now knew as Evelyn), jogging quickly toward their position. We should probably stick together for the time bein’. There’s obviously already boots on the ground.” she said, looking back toward the Sith. ”We can drop off ‘L-42’ on the…

The exotic smuggler’s heart sunk, as Evelyn’s face morphed between various forms of horror and sadness. Bahati followed the woman’s finger, which still hung in the air, towards a mass of burning buildings in the distance. The caramel skinned beauty reached out toward Evelyn several times; each time retracting her hand before contact the woman. Bahati was unsure what the poor woman had lost or how to comfort her.

”Live now; morn later.” she finally blurted out. ”Hey ‘L-42’!” she called out. It was the only information that she had on the waif of a woman, and she wasn’t going to take the time to make introductions while the Sith rained down death from the sky. ”What do ya say; we stick together until we get people to places they need to be?”

Bahati looked to Evelyn once more, trying to assess how the woman was doing. She wondered if the ex-captive had lost her family or friends in the explosion, and if she had anywhere to go. Right now, they needed to get out of the area. She could comfort Evelyn later.

 

[Bailey Arterius]

"Honestly that's probably the best idea right now. My ship's there, it's a YT-2660, but if the L-42 Quadrant is down i don't know how safe it would be to get down there.." Bailey looked at the woman named Evelyn sitting on her knees, pointing at the burning building. She mulled over the idea of getting down to the Quadrant only to find her ship stolen, or destroyed.

"None of you happen to have a ship do you? Because I think we need to just get off of Coruscant..My ship has the room and space for all of us, but who knows what condition it's in"
She paused and took a minute to think, calculating the mess the 4 of them were in.

"At this rate how do we know if Coruscant is the only place being attacked? And even if it is at the moment, if this is the Sith working here, who knows what they'll do next, they won't stop until they get what they want. This won't be the only attack."

 

[Nicolás]

"Evelyn, huh?" His voice rasped, fingers coiling around the edge of his helmet as he lifted off his head, "Alright then. The name's Nicolás."

Hair gleaming in its slated amber glow, he offered a tender bow in direction to the younger woman. Although seldom ever receptive or as welcoming as he was now, the vague curtsy was the least he could do. After all, the lady had entrusted her life into the grubby hands of a nonchalant Mandalorian terrorist, and an interplanetary criminal no less. It would be weird to continue to have her at his side without even letting her snag a glimpse at his dazzling face— I mean, it wasn't often one got to gaze upon the pinnacle to his glamor. At least, that's what he thought.

Like a top hat, he held his helmet upside in his hands before slipping it back on, ready to kickoff on their escape. "How about you two other... ladies ...go hustle to L-42 and hitch your own ship, and I take this girl home myself, eh? Two's a party, but four's a crowd. That, and my ship doesn't have enough space for all of us."

Of course he was lying. The freighter he stole could carry perhaps two dozen civilians and a few days of supplies. Hell, it had enough fuel to jump across the galaxy a few times over. But if there was one thing Nicolás despised, it was playing babysitter for a bunch of random strangers. Sure, they could prove useful, or be in and out of his hair in the blink of an eye, but he had wasted enough time clambering to help this one girl, and he held no intentions to do so again.

Not while the world collapsed beneath an incandescent horizon.

Through his plated helm, he seethed again. "What will it be, Eve?"

Spoiler: OoC

@Evelyn Roslin
Sorry for the late response! I didn't even realize it was my turn until I checked. <.<"

Anyway, hope the rest of you aren't offended. I'm not trying to squeeze my way out of the thread, nor try to make off with Evelyn. Just kinda doing what Nico would probably do. That, and force Evelyn to make a decision that might just determine the very future for her character. kek. >:^)

 

[Evelyn Roslin]

Evelyn closed her eyes, just for a moment, as she deliberately drew in a long, slow breath and exhaled. Her home was gone, her fiance dead, and the planet under attack. Whatever plans she had for the future - for their future- were nothing but rubble now.

"Live now; mourn later.”

Hazel eyes opened again, briefly meeting Bahati's. Evelyn's chin dipped slightly, an almost imperceptible nod. If she let it all hit her now, there was a good point she'd never again regain her feet.

The suggestion of sticking together had its merits- the Imperials weren't the only ones taking advantage of the violent chaos. Coruscant had a sizable criminal population with the opportunistic streak to see chaos as a stroke of luck and means of advancing their own lot while law enforcement elements were otherwise occupied. Of course, given the armament and demeanor of the motley crew who'd gathered to watch the Sith toy with her, it was entirely possible some of her newest acquaintances were part of a similar network of less-than-lawful citizens.

"None of you happen to have a ship do you? Because I think we need to get off Coruscant . . ."

"L-42" was right, Evelyn recognized. Staying on-planet while it was under bombardment was a terrible decision; not to mention the fact that it looked like the Empire might just win this fight - and if they did, an Imperial occupation was unlikely to treat her very kindly given her recent service as a Republic soldier, regardless of the fact that she'd been discharged from active duty.

The analytical part of her mind recognized the facts, but that didn't make it any easier to absorb the realization that her life was spiraling wildly off its previously-stable axis.

Everything that made me who I am here is gone.

Evelyn mulled the reality of the situation over, her thought processes feeling a bit like they were churning through mud. The fight-or-flight reflex was a handy survival tool, but it came at the cost of over-riding most higher-level thinking. As Nicolás removed his helmet, she met a surprisingly handsome and well-groomed visage..

"Two's a party, but four's a crowd. that, and my ship doesn't have enough space for all of us. . . What will it be, Eve?"

For a few heart-beats, Evelyn considered the question, delivered in a rather nonchalant tone. Why should he care much for her answer, after all? Clearly, each one of these beings was currently more capable of taking care of themselves than the young woman caught flat-footed and drunk off her ass when the Sith launched their invasion. The memory of helplessness stirred an anger that was becoming increasingly familiar to the young woman.

She went with her gut; the Mandalorian had been the first to step in, directly challenged the Sith when he could have easily been on his way and left the two of them to their own devices. But he didn't- and that should mean something, right?

The only way out, is forward.

"There's nothing left for me here - and larger groups make larger targets. Thanks for the offer, but . . . I guess I'm with him."

She nodded to Nicolás, and fervently hoped she wouldn't come to regret the decision.

 

[Bailey Arterius]

"Alright, best of luck to you two." Bailey turned to the other woman she was now paired with.

"You have a ship? As much as I hate to leave mine here, L-42 probably isn't our best bet"
Bailey crouched out of instinct as another skyscraper was attacked and set ablaze. The sounds of innocent civilians screaming.
"Perhaps we walk and talk, we've been standing in one area for too long..."

 

[Nicolás]

A smile burned across his lips. Although he might not have been exactly pleased by the thought that he'd still be left to babysit a random stranger, Nicolás was nevertheless glad to know he was the preferred choice out of them all. A boost to his self-righteous ego, one might suppose, even if it was just because he had come firsthand. That, and perhaps the young woman would make a good serv— uh, helpful companion. Who knew, perhaps she'd make a worthy champion among the ranks of the Mandalorian Dominion. Of course, the two would have to get off the roasting marshmallow that was Coruscant, for starters.

"It was nice meeting you ladies. Another time, perhaps?" He reiterated through his helm, before latching onto Evelyn's wrist with inviting clamor. "Let's go, sweetcheeks. We have a ship to catch." And with that, he lead her onward into an adjacent alleyway, and back into the blinding chaos of Coruscant.

Fire spilled from buildings torn by wounds of crossfire. Smoke ascended into the heavens of space, where ships clashed and burned in close company to the city. Civilians slouched against neighboring walls and sprawled over enkindled streets, either out of shock or the creeping scent of death. Nicolás didn't care though. He didn't even bat an eye or offer a glance. For now, all that mattered was his escape, and the ship poised only another fifty meters from his own position.

"We're almost there, Steve!" He said through worn breaths, having not realized he had completely got her name wrong.

@Evelyn Roslin

 

[Evelyn Roslin]

Sweetcheeks? Ok, you're not that good-looking.

Well, he was, but Evelyn was a bit touchier than usual given recent events. She certainly wasn't in the mood for flirting. Regardless, she was inclined to follow Nicolás, both due to the grip on her wrist pulling her along, and the sky coming down around them.

Her mouth dropped open as they raced through billows of smoke, past the dead and dying. She'd been in a few firefights in the Army, but those were generally hit-and-run efforts where the enemy melted back into the countryside rather than standing to fight. Even when they did, it was nothing on the scale of destruction that was currently being indiscriminately dealt to Coruscant.

The Mandalorian was insistent as he pulled her along, and the analytical part of her brain coolly observed that stopping to help the civilians was unlikely to accomplish anything other than helping them survive a few more minutes before they were crushed by rubble or suffocated by the rapidly spreading smoke.

Let it burn. Maybe Vier's killer is among the dying.

The venom in that thought came from a well deep inside her, one that she was uncomfortable examining too closely.

"We're almost there, Steve!"

Breathing hard, skidding around a corner and narrowly avoiding a piece of rebar drenched in someone else's gore, Evelyn frowned in confusion. 25 meters from the ship now.

"Who the hell is Steve?!"

Clarity arrived about the same time that she noticed a figure who looked somehow . . . familiar. Grubby-looking, panicked, his leg caught under a section of rubble.

But why would he look familiar-

Without any warning, Evelyn abruptly stopped, the shift in momentum nearly knocking both her and Nicolás to the ground as her arm tugged painfully in its socket thanks to his grip on her wrist.

Speak of the devil.

Analytical thinking, her usual modus operandi, was roughly shoved out of the way by a red haze.

"Stop! I . . . know this guy."

She twisted her hand out of Nicolás's grip, and started walking towards the wounded man, fingers curling into shaking fists at her sides.

@Nicolás

 

[Darkwasp]

Bahati glanced back and forth between the armored Mandalorian and Evelyn, as they discussed the separation of the group. There was something about the armored individual’s infatuation with Eve going with him that made the brash pilot uneasy. Perhaps the man was a bounty hunter or mercenary, and the brunette was worth some sort of compensation. Evelyn was attracting a whole lot of attention; and none of it appeared to be the good kind.

"There's nothing left for me here - and larger groups make larger targets. Thanks for the offer, but . . . I guess I'm with him." Evelyn chimed in.

”Suit yourself, Eve.” Bahati responded, with a half-hearted shrug. ”Let’s Hyper, L-42. My ship should be easier ta get ta than the lower levels, but we still have ta make our way past that bombardment.”

The buxom smuggler moved quickly toward an alleyway beckoning ‘L-42’ to follow. There wasn’t much time before the Sith ground forces would begin sweeping the bombed areas. She glanced down the alley to make sure that it was okay. Rioters and looters tended to take advantage of situations like these.

”Eve is a cute girl, but I ain’t too sure about her decision makin’.” she said to ‘L-42’, trying to strike up a conversation. ”What IS your name anyway?”

 

[Bailey Arterius]

"The name's Bailey, and I have to agree. We can only hope she'll be alright, but we can discuss that more later. She seems like she's able to take care of herself, I just hope that she made the right decision."

She continued to follow the woman down the alley, even though she hated leaving her ship, she couldn't help but understand the woman was right and it's not safe to go down there.

"I guess I should ask you the same thing, your name is?"

 

[Nerovec]

Nero may have seemed like he had given up but he hadn't. He wasn't just going to let a girl so strong in the force slip out from his fingers by some Mandalorian scumbag. He started following Eve and the disrespectful worm from a distance. Hiding in the shadows.

He lifted one of his eyebrows as she stopped. He listened to her talk and then felt her anger rising inside her. He observed her for a moment before taking a step closer. For now he would simply observe to see what would happen.

 

[Nicolás]

"Steve is— oh, shit." He answered in direction to her retort, his hand still wrapped over her own as they moved through ravaged streets. "It's hard to remember names in the middle of a burning metropolis, alright?"

Although as the unusual duo continued to proceed to the apparent location of his "ship," Nicolás felt the tug of Evelyn pull him back. Did she forget a pair of panties for the subsequent trip? Maybe a quick bathroom break, despite the ongoing chaos? Or better: did she change her mind and return to the company of the other two women? At least then he wouldn't have to deal with the trouble of dumping her on an aimless, remote Outer-Rim world.

But, of course, she stopped only right before the face of death for the sake of some random moron wedged under debris. Feeling her fingers slip out of his clasp, he snapped around to see what she was up to. To his own surprise, however, he recognized only unbridled anger. An anger he knew far too well.

Hm— an ex-boyfriend, perhaps?

@Evelyn Roslin

 

[Evelyn Roslin]

"Ya gotta help me lady! My leg, it's . . . I think it's broken!"

The man's forehead was beaded with sweat, a panicked look in his eyes. The city was coming down around them; if he couldn't free his leg, it was unlikely he'd even live to see the ground invasion force.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

Evelyn spoke in voice she nearly didn't recognize; low, predatory tones as she stepped closer to the thug. Confusion showed plainly on his face.

"What? I don't give a flying frak if I know you! Just get this rubble off my leg! Whole city's comin' down!"

The lithe young woman was standing in front of him now, hazel eyes flashing as she looked down. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that he was helpless; that the right thing to do was free him; that she should feel pity. . . but all she could see was red. This was the man who tore everything away from her; the man she loved, the future they would have had together. A target for the cyclone of emotions that spent three days marinating inside her without an outlet. The shift in her demeanor was stark, as the primal part of her brain seemed to shove the rational and empathetic bits aside like a rag doll.

"Three days ago, you shot my fiance."

This time, confusion was followed by a flash of recognition in the man's eyes, though he quickly adopted an incredulous look.

"Yer crazy, lady. I never killed nobody. You gonna help me or not?"

At his denial, the anger bubbling inside her flared red-hot; she lifted up her boot-clad foot, and brought it down hard, on the part of his knee extending from the rubble. Evelyn ignored the man's half-scream, half-curse, and hissed through her teeth,

"Liar."

@Nicolás

 

[Nerovec]

Nero grinned as he felt the rage in the girl increasing. "Ah so that is why you have such anger..Your fiancee was murdered. But what did the Republic or the Jedi do ? Nothing.."

The Sith took a step closer to Evelyn. "I can feel your anger...This worm doesn't deserve to live...Kill him...I know you want too. This man killed your fiancee, and doesn't even remember it. Take your vengeance."