Crowded Clouds

[Ecks]

Bespin.

Ecks turned Razor's Edge towards the famed Cloud City, the pink and orange sky turning everything in sight into what looked like a huge bowl of cotton candy. The small ship sliced through the clouds as he approached the City from several klicks away. He never liked descending into atmo right on top of a large group of unknowns, and so taking the scenic route was routine.

There hadn't been a peep out of the hold for the entire trip, though they had only been a few hours in hyperspace. The bounty hunter adjusted his armor, and activated the comm so he could alert the Imperial Garrison that he would be at their doorstep within minutes.

The ship shuddered underneath him and the lights on his control console all blinked out. Ion cannon. In a moment Ecks and his ship were dead in space. Except they weren't in space - they were within a planet's gravity well. Razor's Edge dipped, yawed to port, and began to plummet towards the hard center of the gas giant's core.

Ecks checked the status of his passenger, and was relieved to see that the ion burst had not interferred with the Universal Energy Cage. Loklorien s'Ilancy was still trapped. Not that it mattered much. Before they got too low the immense pressure would crush the ship like a cheap aluminum can and no one would know that he was about to bring in the most wanted being in the Galactic Empire for the largest bounty offered since Han Solo.

His thick green fingers flipped switches and pressed buttons as he tried to reinitialize the repulsors. The engines coughed, but didn't seem willing to come back online. The inertial dampers held him steady, but he was instantly aware that the ship's spiralling descent had stopped. The hunter peered out through the viewport, but could see nothing but clouds. Whatever had caught them in a tractor net was behind them.

The Falleen went into action then, abandoning the engines and arming himself.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her body's metabolism had done a magnificent job of mending her wrist. Aside from a bit of lingering tenderness, s'Il was able to move it without any pain. She moved her fingers, flexing them and working out any kinks from the break.

Of course, a healed wrist was the least of her worries. No, that dubious honor would be given to the fact that she was aboard the ship of a bounty hunter. For a few moments, she allowed herself to quietly panic. Dan couldn't help her; Sanis couldn't help her; Zem couldn't help her... she was by herself. Desperation crept upon her as her thoughts turned to Tak.

Tak?

She'd almost forgotten about the voice.

The fleeting feelings of helplessness were lost then, as the voice startled her. It took a few moments before she answered.

"My daughter," she groused into the solitude of the cargo bay.

I gathered that. An awful... odd name.[/i][/b]

"Than it's a good thing I didn't consult you when I named her." There was a pause, as s'Il rethought her response. "It's just a pet name, anyway."

And her full name?

"Teagan."

The voice was quiet then, and s'Il used the silence to contemplate just how she would get out of this predicament. For now she was incapable to move. That would change though, she knew enough to know that.

The bounty hunter would have to take her from this cage whenever they got to where they were going.

[Ecks]

The ship jostled and creaked as it was manhandled into whatever position the hijackers were trying to get it into, and Ecks checked his weapons one more time as silence finally descended. It was a fifty-fifty chance that they'd come into the cockpit area first, and that was the one he was hoping they'd try.

Otherwise they would crack the hold first to see what he was carrying, and he wasn't sure what would happen after that. The hull reverberated with dull booms, and he knew that they weren't near enough to him for his liking. They were attacking the hold's door.

The bounty hunter strode to the hatch, and found that he could open it. Cautiously he punched in the code to swing the door open, and cracked it a little. Peering out he saw why the hijackers hadn't bothered to secure the hatch.

Below him stretched nothing but Bespin's atmosphere, all the way to the hardtop thousands of miles below.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Something had not gone according to plan; the sounds around her told enough of a story. She could feel a difference in the air, as it seemed tension and malice crept in at her. Letting out a snort through her nose, s'Il cursed her streak of rotten luck; getting caught by a bounty hunter, and now this - unable to fend for herself.

She'd heard about force cages before, but only through second-hand stories on Cathar; and before that from the conversations of passer-by on whatever planet she'd stopped over on. She stayed her mind though, refusing to reach out with her senses. That would only bring pain and more injury. Instead, the Lupine half-closed her eyes, letting the feelings come to her. She would gather what she could of the emotions as they drew near, but in no way would she test the repercussions of her prison's defense mechanisms.

A brief thought, of where her captor was, flitted through her mind.

Dead, I hope.

She gave a disapproving harrumph at the inner voice and continued to listen to the sounds reverberating about the hold.

[Ecks]

Razor's Edge had been backed up to a platform of some kind. As this was Bespin, that meant that the hijackers were most likely miners, or had been miners at one point until they'd discovered more lucrative opportunities between the clouds. And if they managed to realise what was in his hold before they released her by accident, then they would be very rich indeed.

Angry, Ecks slung his blaster rifle across his back as he heard the hold open, and opened up the hatch completely. No blaster bolts came skidding into the ship, which meant either they were stupid and had no one watching the fore of the ship, or not stupid and he was going to fall to his death.

Whichever, he wasn't going to sit there like a fish in a can waiting to be gutted. The Falleen flexed his big hands, and gripped the edge of the open hatch before swinging out over nothing. For a brief moment he felt his stomach lurch, but then he found footholds and began climbing up the outside of his ship as shouts came from the aft section as the hijackers entered the hold.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Daylight filtered in through the ever widening cargo door, and s'Il had to blink, screwing her eyes against the sun until her pupil became used to it. Still unable to fend for herself, the Lupine opted for patience. She reverted back to her time with Serena while in the company of the Rebel fleet, and sat still, waiting for the arrival of whatever it was out there in the light.

[Ecks]

He wasn't a small being, and he hoped that no one would look up and see him as he crept aft along the top of the ship. Bespin's star was at his back, and therefore anyone looking his direction would get the sun in their eyes - at least in theory.

After the hold had been opened there was silence, and then voices started shouting. Ecks hunkered down to listen.

"What the frell is this? I can't liquidate a slave!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The hijackers it seemed, were far more concerned with material goods rather than the living and breathing. Good for her. Trickery was her best option, and the Lupine hoped that these thieves were more or less slightly benevolent. A silent prayer was given to the Bloodline, and s'Il took on a pained look, her eyes both closing in feigned hurt at the light.

One of the hijackers stepped closer to examine the sight. He turned to one of his comrades. "Might not be able to liquidate 'er, but I bet she'd fetch a decent price."

The other studied the Lupine, an almost disapproving air radiating from him. "Hrmph. Maybe. If she weren't missin' an eye like that. Damaged goods, if'n you ask me."

Ha! Damaged goods. These creatures have quite the sense of humor.

She ignored the voice in her head, affecting a helpless look. Her eye went from one to the other, and then behind them at the small group that was fanning out to scour the hold for anything useful.

"Halp me," she said shakily, adopting an accent, "Playsse... "

[Ecks]

Ecks heard the voices of the hijackers, and then Loklorien s'Ilancy spoke. She was trying to get them to release her. His eye narrowed as he bellied up to the edge of the ship, trying to get a look at how many beings there were.

A quick count revealed three humans behind the ship, but there were at least that many more inside the hold and just below his vantage point. Ecks eased his blaster up, poking the tip of it just beyond the ship and aiming at the man who was furthest away.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her eye pleaded with the two standing before the cage, and the Lupine let her shoulders sag in feigned defeat. She was blind to the force, having cut herself off for fear of the force cage.

"Playsse... " she whispered again.

"Aww frell, Giro, let's just let 'er out."

'Giro' still looked unimpressed, and the other pressed on further, his eyes going over the Lupine's body.

"At least for a little fun... ?"

How typical. Disgusting.

Still ignoring Klavius, s'Il bit her lip.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, 'Giro' stepped forward to try his hand at picking the cage's lock.

[Ecks]

It was silent underneath him for several long moments, and then there was a howl of hurt and anger as one of the hijackers got shocked by the feedback loop of the Universal Energy Cage. Ecks cursed silently, and squeezed the trigger of his blaster, toppling the furthest human with a flash of green blaster fire.

He jumped down, separating the intruders into two groups, and shot another one in the chest before they could react.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Oh look; your friend is alive after all. How fortuitous.

From her spot in the cage, s'Il could only watch as her unintentional would-be rescuers were mercilessly cut down by the bounty hunter. She cursed to herself, and once at Klavius.

Helpless, the Lupine ground her teeth, her hands balling into white-knuckled fists as her eye bored into the Falleen.

[Ecks]

The first and second hijackers went down the easiest. They were taken completely unawares. The rest were a little more difficult.

Ecks thumbed his blaster to fire continous bolts, strafing the surface of the hovering platform and cutting down the three remaining beings on that side of him. Blaster bolts penetrated their feet and legs, sending them to the ground with howls of pain. One of the humanoids jumped to avoid being hit and fell off the side of the repulsor platform.

"YAAAA!" The bounty hunter turned in time to see one of the humans inside his ship charging at him with a heavy bladed knife extended. Ecks ducked under the blow, and came up hard, catching the man in the gut with his heavily armored shoulder. The human dropped to the ground, squeaking and gasping for air as the hunter grabbed the hand holding the knife with one large green fist. He turned the hijacker's hands, and thrust the blade into the man's own chest.

One left.

His prisoner looked at him with a blank stare, a groaning human on the ground just outside her cage. Still suffering the affects of the high amperage he'd had pumped through his body, he did not resist as Ecks picked him up and threw him out of the ship and over the edge of the platform.

Two hijackers still lived, their legs bleeding badly, but they were being as quiet as they could be and were not making any sudden movements towards weapons. Ecks glared at them, and then turned towards his bounty. "Hope you enjoyed the show."

He turned and stumped onto the platform, grabbing a humanoid by the shirt and demanding that he tell him where the controls were for the tractor net.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She gave him no answer; of course he was more than likely not really wanting one. Instead, s'Il settled for simply letting her growing anger build. She couldn't do a thing to help herself, and that fact infuriated her. Her, an Apex Lupine and a Jedi, had been bested by a bounty hunter!

Mayhaps your blood is thinner than I thought.

"Quiet."

I think not. You've allowed this upon yourself, I believe I'm entitled to my own opinions.

"Not when you've taken residence in my head."

Her voice, while still low, was becoming more gutteral and growled with each word. "Now shut up."

I most certainly will not. I came to you expecting to find a trueblood; I didn't expect to stumble upon a throwback weakling-

"I said-"

In a surge of anger, the Lupine pulled against her restraints and the field holding her. Her body reacted violently to the manner of her captivity, and she let the Force flow from her in angry, roiling waves...

... only to have it repelled and intensified in return upon her frame. The Lupine cried out in pain then, her body falling victim to the cage and its' sensor field as it turned her Force usage back upon her. Back arching, s'Il clenched her jaw shut and endured the rest of the barrage in enraged silence, her eyes closed tight.

[Ecks]

Controls located, Ecks used them to drag the ship onto the platform itself, so when it was released it wouldn't tumble to the hard deck far, far below. s'Ilancy cried out from within the hold, but he paid her no mind. Either the cage worked and he had nothing to fear, or it didn't and then there was not much he could do. Except that she hadn't escaped so it obviously worked.

The ship landed with a bump, and he killed the tractor net and knocked out the humanoid hijacker with a backhanded blow across the temple. The bounty hunter walked over to the hold and looked inside. s'Ilancy had her eyes and mouth clenched shut, back arched in pain. He tsked and closed up the hold securely before making his way back into the ship and to its controls.

The garrison wouldn't be expecting him, but they would be pleased when he arrived.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The surge passed through her body, but the lingering pain was enough to quell any more outbursts on her part. Beads of sweat had begun to form on her brow, and the Lupine finally released a hissing breath as her muscles relaxed.

It was a painful lesson to learn in keeping her anger in check, and as if suddenly aware of her own loss of control, s'Il let her body go limp as she felt the ship hit the deck of the platform.

She closed her eyes then to help try and purge her thoughts of any anger; it wouldn't do to become so uncontrolled. Jedi didn't behave in such ways, and she washed her thoughts of any and all negative emotions she felt.

With peace and calm came rational thought, and if she had any hopes of seeing her daughter once more, it seemed that that would be her only saving grace.

[Ecks]

Ecks kept the sensors on full-sweep at maximum range until they were close enough to Cloud City to contact Flight Control. He dialed back the sensors to a more normal setting and punched the comm to life.

"Control, this is Razor's Edge requesting permission to land." He dipped to the side, acknowledging the Cloud Cars that flew towards him to flank him. Standard procedure. "Be advised I am carrying a bounty for the Imperials. I would like to deliver as soon as possible."

"Stand by, Razor's Edge. Remain in standard pattern."

They circled the City three times while they waited for Flight Control to give the green light for one of the many landing platforms. Ecks watched his fuel gauge warily, but he had enough to keep airborne for a little while longer. Finally permission was granted and he followed a vector in towards a platform that was close to the Garrison.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The tingling sensation was dying down, and s'Il idly wriggled her thumb. She wondered if Sanis had come looking for her, and if he'd possibly found her shuttle on Hoth. There really was no telling, as it was entirely possible that he'd found some way to waste time doing whatever it was he did. It was a wonder to her at times that he managed to escape the trouble (and women) that he inevitably ended up right in the middle of.

And as she mulled over these thoughts, her body seemed to move within itself. The muscles beneath her skin were shifting, changing to accommodate transforming bones. Craning her neck, she closed her eyes as the change took over and her body smoothly morphed from one being to another.

The process took less than a minute, and soon enough a white vornskr sat patiently within the force-cage, her whip-like tail lazily wrapping around her front paws.

[Ecks]

Razor's Edge landed softly and Ecks quickly secured the ship and made his way out and around the back. Opening up the hold didn't take too long - the hijackers had destroyed his locking system and he would have to get it fixed before he went anywhere else.

"Cute."

The animal inside the cage cocked her head and looked at him, and Ecks felt like waggling a finger at her. "You probably think I'm not going to be able to prove who you are when you're in that form." The end of s'Ilancy's tail flicked a little, almost like a cat's.

The bounty hunter pointed to the far corner of the hold, and added, "Might want to wave at the holocam." He stumped out of the ship at a sound from outside, and found a group of stormtroopers arriving from inside the City.

"Got a bounty here - Loklorien s'Ilancy." He jerked a big green thumb over his shoulder. "Got her in an energy cage, and she's a shapeshifter too."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A rather grumpy sounding whorffle escaped the animal's mouth, and she found herself staring up into the corner of the hold he'd pointed at.


Outside the ship, the stormtroopers stood in small formation before the hunter, a few craning their necks to look past him and into the darkened interior of the hold.

Their commanding officer took a step forward. *click*"Registration papers for this bounty, please."*click*

[Ecks]

Ecks handed over the datapad he'd prepared on the jump from Hoth, and waited patiently as the stormtrooper confirmed that everything was filled out correctly. There was a visible doubletake as the trooper realized who Loklorien s'Ilancy was, and then the datapad was tucked away.

*click* "We will take her from here. Thank you for your service." *click*

Ecks nodded, "And the reward?"

*click* "It will be forwarded to the usual account within the hour. Your success has been recorded already, and it takes a little time to prepare such a large amount to transfer." *click*

The Falleen bounty hunter raised an eyebrow, but ducked into the hold and regarded the shapeshifter inside. She was a magnificent beast, all sleek curves and snowy ivory fur. s'Ilancy bared her teeth at him, and he shook his head. "That won't do."

Pulling out his blaster he thumbed the stun setting to active and shot her a split second after he deactivated the UEC. He followed it up with a second shot, for insurance purposes, then pulled open the cage and cuffed her now human ankles and wrists.

The lieutenant watched carefully the whole time, saying nothing as the bounty's body reverted to its natural state. Or, not. Who knew what her natural shape was? Stun cuffs in place and draped with a blanket for modesty, Ecks hefted Loklorien's light body. "Here. Take her."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A nod was all it took, and two stormtroopers stepped forward, holstering their blasters before hefting the woman up between them. They were careful to keep the blanket in place over her limp form, and without a word of acknowledgment they began carrying her back the way they'd come. Passing the lieutenant, he stole a glance at the Lupine's features, then turned his almost skull-like helmet to the bounty hunter.

*click*"Everything is in order."*click*

He turned briskly on his heel, his soldiers doing the same.

*click*"Good day."*click*

[Ecks]

And that was it. Ecks took the time to lock up the ship, making sure everything was powered down and secure. Then he activated his commlink, getting ahold of Voss. She was holed up in the City waiting for him, and he told her he'd pick her up and take her out to dinner to celebrate.

Five hours later, Llewelyn Voss was sitting across from him at one of the restaurants in Cloud City. It wasn't too nice - holos played above their heads keeping everyone up to date on the latest smashball or shockboxing matches. She'd wanted to know all the details of his catch, and he'd just started warming up to telling about Hoth and the shapeshifting bounty when all of the holos switched to a military feed.

"Attention citizens of Cloud City - this is an all points bulletin regarding a recent breach of security on level 35. A wanted fugitive has escaped custody and is loose in the City." The holo flashed with a picture of Loklorien s'Ilancy's face. Ecks cursed, slamming his fist into the table hard enough to make Voss jump.

He probably wasn't even going to get paid for his efforts.