I've seen angels fall from blinding heights

[Byl Laprovik]

"Wake up."

I splashed a stale cup of water in Una's face to rouse her from her unconcious state. We'd taken temporary asylum in the Coruscanti foundry district. Our shelter was a blast factory I'd broken into. The residual heat from the vats was sweltering around us, and as I worked, a sheen of sweat quickly pooled on my skin and wicked into my shirts.

I had her tied against a steel chair, and had taken the liberty of removing her personal effects, laying them on the table in front of her. Strange. I would've been content to let the little firebrand go, had I not seen her ID slip. She picked the wrong people to be related to.

[Una Rakesh]

Una was slow to rouse herself, rather she was more than happy to spend however much longer in the dredges of her subconscious. Reliving memories of skipping out of hotel rooms, bedrooms, and any other inconspicuous abode that'd been chosen for her late-night trysts. The glitterstim dens, the illicit under-the-table dealings she'd partaken in; it was all so much more inviting than the reality of where she was now.

The water on her face was enough to dash away her dreams, and the redhead ever so slowly opened an eye. It was a shockingly pale green.

Her mouth opened, but closed as she found herself unable to move. Instead, Una groused visibly.

Were there any uncollected debts on her part? Had she neglected to somehow come through on some ryll deal? No, no she'd always been on top of the important matters. No, this was something else.

Her eyes closed then, as she remember the events of - well, however long ago it'd been - the events that no doubt led up to this more than inconvenient situation.

Her head went back, and she expelled a long breath.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Why did you draw on me? It wasn't your fight."

I grabbed a tuft of her hair and repositioned her head so that she was looking at me.

"Who are you working for?"

[Una Rakesh]

Well now.

Una pulled an unimpressed face, though it was an expression coupled with a small amount of pain as his hand grabbed at her hair.

She licked her lips before speaking.

"You surprised me."

His last question went unanswered.

[Byl Laprovik]

Releasing her hair, I stepped back from her, turning my attention to the contents on the table. I mulled over them all: an ID slip, a few credit chits, and three small pouches made from a heavy, opaque plastoid. I held one up to her for her to see, and asked one simple thing.

"Biter?"

[Una Rakesh]

A sneer; something strangely foreign on her features.

"When the fancy strikes."

[Byl Laprovik]

"A little below your station. This is for gutter trash. You're no street rat. It might fake people you meet here and there, but not me."

[Una Rakesh]

Una snorted.

"My 'station'? What's that got to do with anything. And who said anything about trying to fool you? I don't even know who you are; aside from some yutz that likes to shoot up Imperial sedans."

Her voice became almost patronizing then.

What's the matter, did he bump you one a skylane one day? Or maybe stole some long-ago lady-friend?"

[Byl Laprovik]

I half-laughed at her attempt to fade me, and smashed her across the left brow with an open fist.

[Una Rakesh]

She should've expected that. Her head rocked with the impact, and Una managed a bit of a sadistic grin. She'd never been treated in such a way, and truth be told she was rather enjoying it. She waited, incase he decided to deliver another blow.

He didn't, and so she went on.

"Lady-friend, wasn't it. Stole your girlfriend, didn'a he."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I'm not the type to keep relationships, unfortunately. Workaholic."

I returned to the table, continuing to examine the bags of glit. After a moment, I shrugged, and pocketed them. Afterward, I turned to the ID slip.

"Not averse to a good cunny, but I'm probably not marriage material."

Pereusing the identification, I paused, and lowered it from my field of vision to look at her again. The skin was welting up around her eyebrow and there would be a bruise. She'd probably be getting a few more later on.

[Una Rakesh]

I bet you're the type that takes your work home with you," she quipped in an offhanded manner.

A short pause, then she spoke once more.

"You got a stim?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"Fresh out."

I crossed my arms, sitting atop the table as I looked her over.

[Una Rakesh]

"You would be."

Her groused reply was far less than impressed.

She wasn't so blind as to see the look he gave her.

"You gonna start hittin' again or can I leave now."

[Byl Laprovik]

Her standoffish act caused a smile on my face.

"You really get in a twist over being told what to do? Is that where all this song and dance is coming from? Mommy and daddy issues?"

I flicked her ID slip in her face.

"That ridiculous hair, the drugs, the gun. You have a meal ticket. Once again, why?"

[Una Rakesh]

Now that confused her. Ridiculous hair?

"I like my hair.

"Whether I have a meal ticket or not doesn't mean I have to take it."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Hah. Only a silver spoon can talk like that. You don't even comprehend how well you have to have it to even have that choice to make.

So what caused this little rebellion in you? Rich and bored, or something more fundamental?"

[Una Rakesh]

Making a face, Una rolled her eyes.

"What does it matter to you."

[Byl Laprovik]

I could quip, or be entirely honest.

"I've considered killing your parents, and I'd like your input on the idea."

[Una Rakesh]

At this, she lofted an eyebrow.

"That's a bit harsh, no?

"Who are you, anyway?"

She had a hunch, but wanted to hear it from his own lips. Perhaps it was that same streak in her that seemed to enjoy being roughed up. Oh, she'd been slapped around before, but for some odd reason it seemed this man had a way of making her like it.

[Byl Laprovik]

"I'm a serial killer with a philanthropic streak, what does it matter?"

I stooped down to pick up the slip, and held it up for her to see.

"This your current address? Still living with family?"

[Una Rakesh]

He was playing with her. No matter; she could play too.

"Maybe. Or maybe I just use it for collecting the post. Who cares?"

[Byl Laprovik]

I smiled thinly, dodging her little game.

"Not paying the rent out of your pocket, I imagine. Between the Academy and the Ministry of Information, you're fully vested. Who buys the bigger birthday presents?"

[Una Rakesh]

"Daddy; every year," she snarked.

[Byl Laprovik]

"You'd figure with Mrs. Rakesh being on the holo, that would account for something."

Shrugging, I withdrew one of the plastoid baggies from my pocket, holding it up.

"Your mother know you bite? That's a big skeleton in the closet. I could ruin her without firing a shot."

[Una Rakesh]

Well, it seemed he wasn't about to say it, and so Una opted to speak the word for him.

"And what would that do? All you'd look like was some blowhard Rebel trying to discredit an Imperial family. Nothing is easier these days than blaming the galaxy's problems on the Rebellion."

[Byl Laprovik]

I didn't quip or smile. My demeanor was dead calm at her words.

[Una Rakesh]

She gave him a hrmph, and sat back as far as she was allowed in the seat.

"Got any stims," she asked again.

[Byl Laprovik]

I emptied my pocket of the baggies I'd confiscated, and laid them on the table.

"Just this."

[Una Rakesh]

Oddly enough, she wasn't in the mood to partake in any of the drugs he'd pilfered off of her. No, she just wanted a smoke.

"Well damn."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Have you ever been raped?"

The question was asked off-handedly, as I bit a corner of a long-ish fingernail.

[Una Rakesh]

Now this caused an eyebrow to tik upwards, and she met his eyes.

"You're not exactly painting your cause in a glittering light of purity, are you."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I'm asking rhetorically. If I wanted to rape you, I would. There's nothing to stop me."

Spitting, I continued.

"Psychologists say it's attuned to dominance and power-seeking, and very little of it is a sexual desire. At it's roots, a sociopathic urge.

I'm no rapist, but I'm likely a sociopath. No sense in having a doctor tell me what I already know. I recognize the similarities, you see. What I do is easy because I've made myself comfortable with unspeakable cruelty. As long as you get over your own reluctance, you have power over more prudent people.

When I say that I'll kill your parents, it isn't for intimidation. I will. Simply. As simple as that Imperial Governor in broad daylight with a shot through the throat. The higher up, the harder the fall, and public, brutal death that people get piped into their living rooms is worth more than a thousand ordinary people."

[Una Rakesh]

With each word she was quickly becoming less than impressed.

"You could kill my parents; you could kill anyone you wanted. Rape, mutilate, torture, whatever you want. It won't help your cause.

"I really don't care what psychologists say, but it seems to me that you aren't doing your freedom-loving Rebellion any good. They might not know about how you get your jobs done; or they may, who knows... whatever the case, it won't do any good if the propaganda overshadows and diffuses it.

"And trust me. I know how that dren works. It will."

[Byl Laprovik]

Sighing, I picked up one of the baggies again.

"So, how does this work, anyway?"

[Una Rakesh]

Una made another face, her nose scrunching up.

"You're a big boy. Figure it out yourself."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Good idea."

Easing the instep of my boot below the seat of her chair, I kicked up, upending the chair and putting her on her back. I put the same boot upon her chest as I stood above, using a pocketknife to cut a sliver in the bag. A faint sparkle shone as some residual dust caught direct light and activated.

"Open your mouth."

[Una Rakesh]

Not good.

The impact with the floor was jarring, to say the least, and the redhead let out a pained hurff.

His last words were met with resistance though, and she screwed her mouth closed, pale green eyes glimmering with steely resolve.

[Byl Laprovik]

It was predictable, the reistance. I treated it indifferently, and as I closed and put my knife away, I dealt with it conventionally, by punching her in the face repeatedly. By now I had knelt fully across her chest to afford me a better vantage point for her beating.

[Una Rakesh]

And through it all Una remained close-lipped. She took the beating in eerie silence. Again, it seemed that she was enjoying such mistreatment, and during a short pause she smirked as if to say, 'give me more.'

[Byl Laprovik]

I consented to her unspoken request, and continued to pummel her. She was bloodied now, crimson smeared on her lips, nose, and around her face from the unceremonial jostling she got from each impact. I gave her mouth and nose a rest and bore down on the sides of her face, sending her head reeling left and right from each alternating shot.

"Is this really as stoic as you think? I'm not asking much here."

[Una Rakesh]

"You're gonna have to work for it," was all she responded between blows, her once white teeth stained with blood.

[Byl Laprovik]

Her face was almost as red as her hair now. A pity, because aside from the street look, she was a good looking girl. I gave the beating a rest, and reached down to clamp a hand over her broken nose. I felt the bone shift in my grasp as I pinched her nostrils closed.

[Una Rakesh]

For some reason, the pain in her nose as he took a hold of it was enough to pull her from whatever sick pleasures she was deriving from the beating. The hitting, slapping, and punching had done nothing - aside from bloody and bruise her face. But her nose; that had suddenly become rather tender.

A gasp of surprised pain escaped her lips then, and Una tried to turn her head away.

[Byl Laprovik]

I leaned my weight forward against her, pinning her head in place. My other hand held the glit, and I cupped it to the side of her bloodied mouth. At the gasp, I used my opening, and let a measure of the photosensitive crystals free from the pouch and into her mouth.

Jamming the heel of my palm against her jaw, I remained deadly still, watching intently.

[Una Rakesh]

It was a familiar taste, but she fought against it still. She didn't want to roll, she wanted a smoke!

She had to swallow some time though, and the time came soon enough. Her body remained still, and Una let the drug fire through her system. It wasn't like some of the harsher drugs she'd done; no. This was much easier, and far more enjoyable.

Presently, she peeked open one eye, staring up into the eyes of her tormentor - was he really that - with a look that slowly seemed to glass over.

[Byl Laprovik]

The edge seemed to soften in her eyes, and the pupils dialated. She'd taken it in.

I relented on my pressure, and withdrew, rising to my feet. Of course my ignorance was feigned - I knew exactly how psychoactive Glitterstim spice was. Now, she was reaching out, and extremely open to suggestion. I wore my thoughts on my sleeve.

[Una Rakesh]

The pain from her beatings were pushed to the side, and Una let her other eye open. She blinked slowly.

She noticed things that she'd not noticed before. Like the scars he wore.

"Badges of honor," she queried, "or reminders of past mistakes... ?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"Mistakes."

In a change of protocol, I stooped down and lay on my back, adjacent to her.

"I'm not a romantic about what I do."

[Una Rakesh]

Despite her position; being bound as she was, and the nature of her face, the redhead seemed entirely too jovial about her situation on the whole. Of course, given her recent ingestion of glitter, it wasn't really all too surprising.

"You do what you must. I don't really care about either side; so long as I can still have fun. And as for you; well, I suppose you do whatever you have to do.

"Getting the job done; that's what it's all about, isn't it. Don't matter what's gotta be done, as long as the end result is in your favor."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I have faith in people and things that are better than myself. Eventually, there will be peace. I'm of no use in a peaceful world. People are comfortable with being martyrs. Ask those same people to be discredited and hated, or even worse, forgotten completely. That's my lot in life. If I do my job, nobody will know who I am. And they shouldn't."

[Una Rakesh]

She thought on this.

"If that's how you want to live. Some people's want to be remembered. Some form of immortality."

The was a silence then, before she presently spoke once more - this time changing the subject.

"I bet you want to know why I don't fall back on my parent's, don't you."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Want to be something more than the byproduct of your parents?"

I paused, considering this.

"Then, why not more?"

[Una Rakesh]

"Why not less," she countered.

"Every family needs a throwback; a black sheep."

[Byl Laprovik]

"They need that?"

I quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that all of it? To be ostracized? What else do you want?"

[Una Rakesh]

There was a calming effect that came with glit; aside from the telepathic boost, Una had always enjoyed the sense of being able to connect with those she was around while on the drug.

"Oh I'm sure they don't need it, but it's just one of those unwritten family rules. There's always some kin that's not in the same lane as the rest.

"I bet you're the same way. Do other Rebels do their jobs in the same manner as you?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"Likely not."

An understatement. So much of what I did was hidden as much from my colleagues as it was from my enemies.

[Una Rakesh]

She smiled at that; an almost grotesque sight given her appearance.

"I thought as much."

Not thought - she knew as much.

She sighed then, and asked for a third time, "Got a stim?"

[Byl Laprovik]

At this, I outstretched a familiar shape towards her.

"Naturally."

[Una Rakesh]

Her pale green eyes tracked to the stim, and she opened her lips to accept it.

"Light?" she asked.

[Byl Laprovik]

I complied with her request, snapping a quick flame and then putting it away.

[Una Rakesh]

The initial drag was almost glorious, and Una inhaled as much as she could. The cigarette on one side of her mouth, she blew smoke out from the other.

Her tongue wrangled the smoke expertly, and her words were surprisingly crisp given her drugged state and the minor obstruction in her mouth.

"You really gonna kill my folks?"

It was so matter of fact, and yet there seemed to be an underlying sense of, well, something in her tone of voice.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Can I afford not to?"

I reached beyond myself and considered the philanthropic options. Was there any reason to keep them alive? I didn't owe anything to Una. That said, was there anything gained by killing them? There were more than enough Imperials who begged a death warrant. I'd singled Una's parents out on Una's basis alone. It was a simple, routine act of malice.

[Una Rakesh]

The redhead considered his answer, then spoke once more.

"I think you can."

She took another drag, expelling the smoke from one side of her mouth.

"Mom may be some PR spokesperson on a soapbox of Imperial virtues, but come on. It's like a talk show living around her. And pop? He's so buried in the academy it's more than a little dull talking to him. All it is is ancient this and ancient that."

Which was a half-truth. Fact of the matter was that Una loved talking history with her father. He always had some interesting tidbit of times past to intrigue her.

"They're really not worth your time. They might be upper-crust, but they aren't that high up on the pecking order.

"Think about it."

[Byl Laprovik]

"If not them, then?"

[Una Rakesh]

At this Una rolled her eyes.

"I don't know; I don't exactly look at my 'who to assassinate' list very often."

[Byl Laprovik]

I laughed at the absurdity of all of this.

"Of course, there is another option."

[Una Rakesh]

Another drag.

"And that being... ?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"Extortion. What is your life worth to them?"

[Una Rakesh]

Her features screwed up into an unreadable mass.

"What'm I worth?"

The redhead had to think on that for a moment.

"Hell if I know. Pop might pay out, but Mom would only try to spin it into her favor; turn her baby girl into a martyr.

"You'd get the same result if you killed me right now."

She blew out another breath of smoke. "Them's the breaks."

[Byl Laprovik]

"It's a bloodless option. I'd consider that gracious."

[Una Rakesh]

"Your kindness is not falling on deaf ears. I like being alive don't get me wrong; it's just that it wouldn't matter what you did."

She shifted as much as she was able to given her constricted situation, "Mom's just like that."

Settling more comfortably as best as she could, Una let her head fall back.

"Why do you think I do what I do? It's an escape; something to give me a break from the over-dramatization."

She felt the drug pass through her senses in waves, and closed her eyes to revel in the feeling of it.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Sounds like there's no love lost between you and her."

[Una Rakesh]

"That's putting it mildly, yes."

Pulling from the stim once again, Una let the smoke fill her lungs. Strange how it tasted so much better than it did when she wasn't under the influence.

She became acutely aware of her bound nature then, and wriggled her wrists.

"Any chance of a little more mobility?"

[Byl Laprovik]

I removed her stim for her, and tipped the ash. Depositing it back in her lips, I gave a half smile.

"Not yet."

I thought about her words, then rose to my feet. I eased her chair back upright, wiping blood from her face carefully.

[Una Rakesh]

She pouted at his refusal, but said nothing as he wiped the blood from her face.

She looked at him then, with eyes glassed over. And yet those eyes seemed to pierce his soul, to look deeper than what was normally seen. She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She blinked. "You're gonna have to let me go sometime."

[Byl Laprovik]

I thought about it for a moment, and then replied matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't."

Which was essentially true. I could let her rot for years, or kill her outright. I had every option available.

"I'm tired, and I'm going to sleep. Think about what you want to do. I'll come for you in the morning."

[Una Rakesh]

The redhead gave him a confused look then.

That soon passed, as her features softened and her whole body slumped into the chair. She wasn't tired, and could continue to talk for as long as the drug was in her system. Of course, she could do many other things until then as well.

"Please?"

[Byl Laprovik]

I paused, and turned back, brandishing a key to the binders at her back.

"Look at the floor and go limp."

I stood behind her, and released the bindings. My off hand rested on my concealment holster, and I was ready to kill her if she so much as deviated from my demands.

[Una Rakesh]

Una did exactly as ordered; anything to be able to get out of the chair.

Her arms fell to her sides then, as the binders slid off. Shoulders going forward, she let herself bask in the immediate release.

[Byl Laprovik]

I immediately dragged her by an ankle toward the nearest load-bearing column in the factory.

"Hug it."

I held the binders over her, and it was obvious what I expected. This way she could sleep, at least.

[Una Rakesh]

Not what she'd expected, Una refused. She wanted to be comfortable; to be listened to even. And what he was ordering was certainly not in line with her desires.

She got to her feet then, crossing her arms and turning to face him. He was a good bit taller than her.

"I don't want to be alone," she pouted.

[Byl Laprovik]

I stepped closer to her, and my jawline tightened. I didn't sense any deception in her. I also couldn't tell if there was sincerity. She was still high, and unstable. Her face was swollen and bruised, but she still maintained a manner of dignity.

"Come on then."

I gestured to the door leading out of the facility, back toward the stolen sedan.

[Una Rakesh]

Drawing herself up, Una ran a hand through her hair to remove the red locks that'd chosen to fall into her field of vision. She looked a sight; even through her drug-induced haze she knew as much. But, that didn't stop her from 'prettying' herself up.

At his gesture to the door, she let her body follow her eyes and began walking forward.

[Byl Laprovik]

I deposited her in the back seat of the sedan, and hopped in the front. We sped away from the foundry, and back toward the tenement house I'd leased under a false pretense. I stayed silent for the drive, still not convinced that keeping her alive was of any benefit to me.

[Una Rakesh]

Content for the time being, Una sat quietly in the back seat of the sedan, busying herself with wiping as much blood from her face as possible. Gingerly she touched her nose, unsure of how to go about fixing it. It was still tender, and at an involuntary jostle of the speeder, she poked at it a little too hard.

"Ow!"

[Byl Laprovik]

"Leave it be. I'll set it when we get to the tenement."

We pulled into a nondescript housing block, and I touched down on the adjacent outcropping for speeder parking. Opening the door for her, I removed my outer shirt, handing it to her.

"Put it over your head and look to your feet."

I untucked my undershirt briefly, and draped it over my concealed blaster, blading my body intentionally away from her.

[Una Rakesh]

She was grinding her teeth, though not from any sort of pain. She was sore and bruised yes, but it was the drug that was causing her to clench her jaw, working her molars over each other. The shirt over her head felt strangely soothing, and the redhead complied, looking to the ground.

She was at the height of the rush now, and she could feel everything around her despite being blind. The air - strangely enough - felt crisp and cool even through the covering, and she drew in a long breath before reaching a hand out to rest upon his shoulder as a guide, gently kneading in the involuntary movement caused by the high.

[Byl Laprovik]

I walked with her quickly, yet casually, through the tenement lobby and up to the lift. We stepped in, and went up quickly to the level where my housing was. I led her through the corridor, unlocked the door with a keyswipe, and led her inside.

Once in, I opened the refresher door.

"Clean yourself up."

[Una Rakesh]

Una pulled the shirt from her head, letting it slide down her hair and over her bruised face. It hurt, but at the same time it felt so smooth; so delightful.

Stepping into the fresher, she stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Gods but she was a mess! He'd certainly done a number on her, and she bit her lip in idle thought about nothing. The faucet was turned on, and Una dipped her hands under the running water. It felt so good, and her drug addled mind forgot all about cleaning up the damage that her captor had caused.

She turned up the heat and stood, eyes closed as if in a trance while letting the water wash over her palms.

[Byl Laprovik]

I cracked the door open to leave linens on the floor. There were towels and washcloths. With that, I eased the door closed again, and went to my desk.

Unholstering my pistol, I contemplated what to do now. I threaded a prismatic cyllinder onto the muzzle of the weapon. If I did end up killing her, I needed discretion.

[Una Rakesh]

Presently she reached down, plucking a washcloth from the pile he'd deposited on the floor. Wetting it, Una laid it over her face. The water felt so good, and she began to gently massage the bruises and cuts. Blood was wiped off, along with thee day's grime, until looking once again in the mirror, the face that now stared back at her was far cleaner. It still bore the fruits of her beatings, but it was no longer bloodied.

She frowned then, leaning in close to the reflective surface and carefully reaching a finger up to test the cartilage of her nose.

Pulling away, the redhead looked to the sonic shower. It seemed like ages since she'd bathed, when in reality it'd been less than twelve hours. But she needed it again, and wasting no time she stripped.

Minutes later found her standing in the stall, letting herself relax. Any concept of time had been abandoned, and she stood with eyes closed and head tilted up, letting the sensations of the sonic shower wash over her.

[Byl Laprovik]

I waited a little longer, and then to satiate my ennui, I returned to the refresher, creaking the door open slightly.

"Do you need anything?"

[Una Rakesh]

She was enthralled, the drug in her body allowing her to take in sensations and feelings that she normally would not feel. Leaning forward, Una rested her hands on the tiled wall in front of her.

She took her time in answering, her fingers tiking the tile.

"A massage and a new nose," she finally answered.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Turn around."

[Una Rakesh]

It was a fluid motion, twisting her torso and then lower body to comply. She rested the whole front of her body against the cool wall, turning her head to the side, eyes still closed.

[Byl Laprovik]

I pressed the end of the prismatic cyllinder to the back of her head. With my other hand, I placed my thumb and index finger to either side of the bridge of her nose, in preparation to set the bone.

"Think of something else. This will hurt."

[Una Rakesh]

Such a request was unneeded, as Una's mind was already on something else; namely whatever it was that he'd pressed to her head. It felt cool, like the tiles, and she pushed her head back minutely, feeling it dig a little farther into her scalp.

[Byl Laprovik]

Feeling the contours of the fracture beneath her skin, I traced them momentarily, then quickly set the bone. From there, I cupped my hand over her mouth, to lid up any noise of pain that might come out.

"Easy. Done."

I withdrew from her, pulling her about by the shoulder as I backed away so that she faced me. The crimson was gone from her face, and while there was still some swelling and discoloration in spots, she looked presentable again. I took one of the smaller towels, wiping off the muzzle of my gun as I regarded her.

[Una Rakesh]

The pain was sharp, but didn't linger for too long; his hand over her mouth seeing to it that any cry of pain was silenced.

Her only reaction at the sight of the gun was a slight widening of the eyes. That's what he'd had at the back of her head?! Wrapping her arms about herself, she began to knead once more.

The glit eased any sort of shame she might've had at standing exposed in front of a stranger, and so instead she stared at him, eyes dilated to the size of moonpies.

"You're gonna kill me, aren't you," she whispered.

[Byl Laprovik]

"I could have killed you when we first met. This keeps me from having a reason to."

I handed her a towel to accomodate any modesty she may have felt in the afterglow.

"You wanted to sleep in the lion's den. Don't let the sight of fangs and claws discourage."

[Una Rakesh]

Amazingly, through her drug-induced haze she understood what he meant, and nodded while in the same motion taking the offered towel.

She looked to the floor, and the pile of discarded, dirty clothes. She had no desire to put them back on; the open air on her skin was too glorious a sensation; even the towel he'd given her was simply held in hand.

Blinking then, Una took a step forward, intending to step past him and explore the world beyond the fresher.

[Byl Laprovik]

I leaned against the tile to let her pass, watching her with a quizzical expression.

I couldn't tell if her cry for help was due to the narcotics or not. She was making a mistake in being here either way.

[Una Rakesh]

Cautious at first, Una soon became much more comfortable in her surroundings.

Her travels brought her to the kitchen alcove, and scratching at some unseen itch on the small of her back, she called out to him while using her free hand to grasp the handle of the cooler unit.

"You got a name?"

[Byl Laprovik]

"No."

Or at least, not one that she'd earned hearing. Maybe I'd take the time to lie to her later.

I shadowed her into the kitchen, and removed a carton from the cooler she'd opened. Setting it on the table, I pilfered a glass from an adjacent cabinet.

"Sunberry juice. You need hydration, and potassium."

[Una Rakesh]

Una disregarded the glass; instead opening the carton of juice and up-ending it.

Whether or not he realized it, her 'host' had just provided her with the means to renew her high. The taste of citrus was wondrous, and she gulped down two long swigs.

Setting the carton back down, she tilted her head back, eyes closing as she felt a renewed wave of euphoria sweep over her senses. The juice had released another dose of endorphines, and the redhead found herself feeling everything about her with an inner eye.

Including him, and whatever errant thoughts bubbled at the surface of his mind.

She smiled, eyes still closed. "It's not nice to lie, Byl."

[Byl Laprovik]

Ah yes, the psyonic effects. I smiled thinly, and put a rather raw and unmentionable thought at the forefront of my mind. A subtle hint that she could drink a little, but I could poison the well in spades.

Not letting her linger on the unsavory image, I thumped her ear.

"Find a new hobby."

[Una Rakesh]

Making a rather undignified face, Una caught his wrist before he could pull it back.

"That's not nice either," she scolded.

[Byl Laprovik]

I cracked a bemused face at her powers to state the obvious.

"So you want me to be nice?"

It was entrapment and a prelude to indecency. I wasn't particuarly above either.

[Una Rakesh]

Letting go of him, she reached for the juice again.

"No, I want you to be civilized."

She paused before lifting the carton to her lips, "You did this to me; what I feel, do, and say is your fault.

"No one to blame but yourself."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I can think of a few others."

I pulled the juice from her and drank from the carton as well.

[Una Rakesh]

Stepping past him to lean an elbow on a counter top, the redhead ran her tongue over her bottom teeth. Her eyes looked past him as her thoughts went to the less than savory mental image she'd gotten from him just seconds ago.

"Cheap hookers and violence. That's the only way you can get it, isn't it."

Her eyes lazily shifted to connect with his once more. "Pretty pathetic."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Convenient."

I replied with steel in my voice.

"I'm not naive. What I do limits some liberties for myself that others can normally take."

Taking another deep gulp, I tilted the carton back a bit.

"It's not that hard, walking without a safety net below. Believe in a thing hard enough and anyone can."

[Una Rakesh]

Another roll of the eyes, and she pushed away from the table, ambling out from the kitchenette.

[Byl Laprovik]

"When this garbage wears off inside you, and you're thinking with your full head, where will you go?"

I pursued her, cornering her before she made it out of the kitchen.

"Are you thinking that far ahead? It may be hard to tell here on Coruscant, but there's a war on. Everybody here will come to a point where they have to see where the chips fall."

[Una Rakesh]

Stopped rather abruptly in her tracks, she looked up at him.

"I think as far ahead as I need to."

She cracked her neck then. "For someone who was more than happy to abandon me in an old factory however long ago, you seem awful concerned about what I do."

[Byl Laprovik]

"Who said anything about abandoning? I just insisted you sleep there."

[Una Rakesh]

"Than what's your point?"

She brushed a lock of red hair from her eyes. "You kidnap me, drug me up, and expect me to see some sort of light; some beacon of freedom that you and your rebellion stand for?"

And then, unexpectedly, the redhead reached out and slapped him across the face. It was a surprising enough reaction to her even, and the look on her face said as much.

[Byl Laprovik]

I recovered quickly, and returned the backhand in a less kindly fashion, spinning the euphoric woman about.

"If you aren't going to sort out your place in all of this, I will. I don't have the luxury here to rest on high ideals. There's only work. Dark, dirty, bloody work, and I wouldn't suffer your existence if you didn't get in my way yesterday.

You got in my way. I generally kill my obstacles. Noting that, this is the first day of the rest of your life. If you aren't having an epiphany yet, consider doing it."

I was tired of the petulance, and drew my sidearm. Squaring up at Una, I flared my nostrils.

"Right now."

[Una Rakesh]

Reeling from the blow, Una took the strike in the same manner as her previous beatings. Her gaze went from the barrel of his gun up to his eyes, and her voice seemed to smooth over.

"Or what, you'll shoot me?"

[Byl Laprovik]

I answered without a shadow of uncertainty in my voice.

"Yes."

[Una Rakesh]

She blinked. She didn't need any drug-induced telepathy to tell her that he was serious.

"I've got nothing you want," she mused, stalling.

[Byl Laprovik]

"You're the daughter of well-connected Imperials. You're ammunition against the enemy, dead or alive."

I watched the expression on her face from behind my weapon's sights.

"We'd both rather have it be the latter, but it's your decision."

[Una Rakesh]

Biting the inside of her cheek in thought, Una gave a hmph.

"The enemy... ? What, some reporter and a history professor? Give me a break."

The novelty of being kidnapped was starting to wear off.

"They might be old blood, but they sure aren't 'the enemy' by a long shot," she crossed her arms over her chest then, glassy stare fixed on his face, "... and they aren't the ones pointing a gun at me.

"If anything, I'd say you're the enemy."

[Byl Laprovik]

"I can live with that. You can't."

I drew back the primer on the pistol to bring the trigger into single action.

"If you value your parents, do the right thing. Get them out of the Empire. But I won't break bread with them, or any other Imperial who doesn't cross over."

[Una Rakesh]

"Get them out? And then what, they'd hide with the rebels?"

She snorted. "Right.

"How about this. I do what you want, then when we're done, you leave me alone and let me be on my way."

Of course, in her state of mind she had no idea what he wanted her to do, or what he wanted to use her for, but that mattered little. She was on the business end of a gun. Never a fun position to be in.

[Byl Laprovik]

"Before Endor, you'd be right. Take a moment and put a finger to the breeze now. The Empire's been on damage control for a year. Every announcement made, every battle lost. Last week, the Chancellor himself took a bomb to the face.

Read the tea leaves, the war is coming to Coruscant, not away from it."

I softened my demeanor somewhat.

"We have a dissident sanctuary program. I can get your parents to an enclave, on Ithor. All they need is convincing."

[Una Rakesh]

The redhead made a face.

"They'd never go.

"I said I'd do what you wanted me to do. Isn't that enough?"

Her hand went up to try and push aside the gun. "... or are you lookin' for something else. 'Cause if you are, you'd best open another glit bag," she pulled a disgusted face, "There's no way in hell I'd sleep with you otherwise."

[Byl Laprovik]

I dropped a second bag on the carpet at her feet.

"That'll do, then."

[Una Rakesh]

Her glassy-eyed gaze went from the gun barrel to the baggie on the floor, then back up to him. She'd not really expected him to do what he had.

Regardless, she knelt down to pick it up. "I was being rhetorical, you know."

Turning her back to him, she set about searching for a knife. "You're probably crawling with any number of diseases."

[Byl Laprovik]

"And with hair like that, you're clean as snow."

Holstering my weapon, I gave her the chance to have her fix.