Escape from Pain

[Tharin Kray]

The last bit of deep red light fled from the horizion. The night air was forming up, along with the usual cool mist. As night fell upon the prision, artificial lights began to flare up. The night shift of gaurds came in as usual. One day... I will be gone from here and as soon as I regain power, I'm coming back and slagging this miserable place... though Tharin Kray.

Tharin Kray was in the New Republic prision for life on accounts of grand theft, murder of the first degree, destruction of public property, resistance arrest, murder of New Republic law enforcer, and smuggling of illegal products into New Republic space. To say the least he had been on an average smuggling operation when it went wrong.

~~~

Three years earlier...

"Come on Tharin! I don't have all day," speaking was Tharin's brother, Darrin.

"Hold your rancors! This ain't light ya know!" Tharin was trudging along, barely lifting up a cargo crate, a crate of glitterstim. Very illegal spice.

"Grr!" Responded Darrin as he awaited in the duo's modified Lambda shuttle.

~~~

Pain soared through Tharin's backside as the gaurd thrusted at him with a stunbar. Apperently, the convict had drifted to close to the bars as he jumped away in pain.

"Get to bed maggot!" Said the gaurd. He was fat and oafish, but his voice was booming and deep.

"One.. I will kill you." Tharin Kray said to him in a low, quiet voice; nearly under his breath.

"What was that?!" Screamed tubby.

"Nothing." He said as he climbed onto the only bed in his cell. He was lucky, as most cells had two beds with two inmants in them and every night muffled screams could be heard. Wheather of pain or pleasure noone knew.

[Tharin Kray]

Tseew! Tseew! Laser bolts shot across the room. His arm wouldn't move, it was faintly warm, but would not respond to his will to lift it. The enclosure was extremely hot in there. The smell of smoke danced beneath his nose. A dark and cruel laugh could be heard within the room.

Tharin Kray shot awake as fast as a ship into hyperspace. Sweat glossed his face and his breathing was heavy. For the last two years, he had been having that aweful dream. A reoccuring nightmare of his last night as freeman.

"Josher, where the sith are you?" He said as he glanced towards his window, gazing into the abyss of space.

"Shut up maggot!" The same gaurd was on duty still, meaning it wasn't as late as he thought. The prisioner became quiet, knowing time for him was running out.

[Josher Nidan]

Josher sat down in the cheap, worn chair in front of the scratched and beaten transparisteel window. On the desk was a speaker, with a small mic protruding from the side. Behind him, he could hear the Security guard shift uneasily from foot to foot. Josher had laid down all the weapons he carried with him on a weapons rack, complying with the rules of the prison. The guard nearly had the courage to go and arrest him for carrying weapons such as those when Josher removed his licensed Bounty Hunter card and walked past him. The room was small, and dominated by the desk and transparisteel which seperated the two halves. There were only 2 guards in the room at the moment.

Moments later, a shrill alarm buzzed into life, and the clang of hinges along with the shuffle of feet could be heard. The clang stopped, and then did the alarm. Preceding two more guards, Tharin Kray shuffled forward through the opposite door with his wrists bound together by stun cuffs. The white prisoner's uniform which hung loosely off Tharin's malnurished form was smeared with dirt and grime. Overall, he looked pretty bad.

Tharin sat down on the other side of the transparisteel, and the guards stood to the sides. Josher removed his helm and placed it on the table, revealing his hair which was so dark, it was nearly blue. His eyes were a pure white, charactersitic of Arkanians.

"Hello, Tharin.."

"How are you, Josher?"

"Good, very good. You'll be happy to here your bird has laid her eggs."

"Finally! Were there four like I hoped?"

"Yes. Four eggs that you will be able to sell."

"Heh..I see."

"What did you want their names to be, Tharin?"

"For some reason, I want them all to start with A. I know this guy here see, and-"

"I understand, my friend."

"When did she lay them?"

"Oh, around midnight actually."

"Midnight... hm. I hope she didn't wake you."

"No, not at all. I uh.. still don't know the location of her brother."

"Ah, well, that's alright... you'll find him eventually."

"Well, I'll try to visit later, Tharin. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Josher."

The guards hoisted Tharin back up and led him out the door from whence he came. Josher placed his helm back on his head and stood and turned around. The guard gulped and nodded to him as he strode out the door and pivoted on his heel down the hallway to retrieve his weapons from the rack. The information they had exchanged had already been imprinted into his mind as he boarded the "Raserei" several minutes later.