Never Life(open)

[Darin Hereclaw]

"Get him,'' the gared shouted although everyone had already begun a chase after a man who had only been there a very short time, but this was due to the fact that he was one of the most wanted men in the galaxy, and half of another, and his readyness to cause trouble, the occasional death, and his great expieriance gave him all he nedded to blow this place. Darin paced, wanting to let the gaurds keep up with him, as he turned a corner that was made out the most ancient stone he had ever seen, and he had seen his share. He slowed even more as he heard the gaurds voices starting to fade. He found it comical that these were the people who were supposed to keep him locked up, and he had only been in this prison for a couple of days. It was actually his quickest jail break ever, but he did not let that comfort him there was always the problem of getting of this planet, and getting on to the next one. All this planet was used for was to house this prison, and with such a low level of oxygen on the surface, no one had ever escaped this rock. It was a tiny planet wich inabled the use of cameras to be placed all over the rocks surface, an escape would be difficult, very difficult, but doable.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn was here. And she was ticked.

She'd chased her prey all the way here and had lost him right in the middle of a break out. This was just her luck.

Not only all of this, there were cameras all over the place, and anyone and his brother would be able to see her. That wasn't exactly what she wanted.

And what made things worse was that there was low oxygen on this planet. She could hear the guards nearby, yelling and crying out someone's name and orders. She knew the name.

Hereclaw! Darin Hereclaw!

[Darin Hereclaw]

Darin quikly began to pick up speed as he realized that the guards didnt have to be in shape, the planet did all the work for them.

"It seem as though I am in a pinch," he chuckled.

At length voices became more distant, but as he soon found out, it was due to the fact that he had been going the wrong way.He turned and began running another direction, there were so many paths,and corridors that it had been foolish of him to think that the path he choose would be the correct one. This was not due to lack of trying though, and he knew that the guards would be push-overs. He knew this because he was one of the best fighters in his home galaxy, in wich he was also wanted, in part due to an old friend. A friend he hadnt seen in a great while, well not since their last run around the universe.Her name: Linn

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon had been unofficially 'detained' on this backward world awaiting his fate. Though the slave had escaped unlawfully from his former master, he doubted true justice would be served. The bounty hunters that had him held prisoner didn't seem like they cared one way or the other what happened to him, as long as they were paid.

The confusion following the jailbreak had given Karthon the perfect diversion to make a break for it, he had also noticed the thankful lack of security on this planet, which was why he was able to slip away from his single minder. Unbeknownst to him the prison didn't need much security because the planet was the prison, it did not end with mere walls.

As he ran he felt his lungs tighten and his body getting heavier. Karthon began to wheeze, sweat pouring from his brow. The Stennes Shifter put it down to not having eaten well for several days, but in reality the atmosphere was working against him.

As he turned the next corner he knew his own bounty hunter would not be far behind. Karthon glanced backward over his shoulder and not looking what was in front of him, he ran straight into Darin coming the other way.

He was sent sprawling to the floor. Thinking a guard had caught him, desperately he scrambled for something to fight with but there was nothing nearby he could see.

"D...Don't hurt me. I throw myself on your mercy... master."

Karthon had added the word master purposely. Though he was not afraid, just well versed in the language of appeasement he had so often used throughout his years of slavery. Little frightened him any more, certainly not the threat of violence, yet he hoped the tone still held true.

(ooc: Hope you don't mind a fellow prisoner joining you.)

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn saw the man that the guards were after. She could see her prey right in front of him. Great gods, what had she gotten herself into?

Darin Hereclaw seemed a little taken aback by the man sprawled in front of him. He stared at him. Linn decided to act. If she was going to take this guy out, she might as well do it now.

"Move, Darin!" she yelled, pulling out her gun and running in front of him. She pointed it down at the man on the ground. "Get up, Karthon. This doesn't become you."

Linn could hear the guards shouting, closing in. They were calling for Darin, but Linn had the suspicion that they weren't going to be happy to find Karthon Vanar here either. She looked over her shoulder at Darin.

"Outside wall B, my ship is there. It isn't going to hide you for long, but I should be done with Karthon soon. Get, kid! I'll be there in a minute."

She turned her attention back to Karthon.

"So, this is where you ran," she chuckled, charging her gun. "Not bad."

[Karthon Vanar]

Just as Karthon began to realize this was no guard he had run into, the Shifter looked up and was startled to see another stranger blocking his escape.

He heard her commanding tone and he was used to it. Karthon knew his ploy had fallen on deaf ears. Ah well, he had never much cared for the tone of a slave anyway. He looked at her gun, then at the women and after a moment he had decided she wasn’t a guard either. Though if she wasn’t a guard, why did she have a weapon trained on him?

He sighed as the other escapee was given a way off this prison, yet she still seemed focused on him. It would be just his luck if she'd recognized his face, he didn't have the kind of facial features you could easily hide but he'd hoped to find some kindness in a fellow escapee. Karthon should of known that was too much to ask from an alien, the galaxy showed him little kindness and now it seemed he was once again under its heel.

"Let me come with you, I won't get in the way."

He desperately tried to think of a reason, his survival instincts were going into overdrive but then he'd had plenty of practice. He saw the blaster being charged and aiming his way. What did he have to offer, what could he use!

"I can be of some used if we are detained. You can claim to be collecting the bounty on me."

The shifter had taken a risk now and he knew it. Though even if she was interested in the bounty, he'd much rather take his chances with a lone captor, than dozens of prison guards, on an inescapable prison planet. Besides he might be able to reason with her during the journey, he had his own leverage on her companion after all.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn laughed. This guy was a laugh. He obviously knew about the bounty on his head. Did he take her for some kind of idiot?

"Claim to be collecting the bounty on you? I am collecting the bounty on you. I wouldn't be on this god forsaken planet any other way," Linn said, he blaster leveled at him. She could hear the guards getting closer. She would prefer not to be there when they arrived, so she hoped this would be clean. But then again, if this guy had something better to give her...

"You got something better to offer, and I'll consider putting my blaster away."

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon cursed out loud, he was beginning to think everyone he met was out purely for the credits. He began thinking over some elaborate lie but he just stopped, the truth would do just as well.

"Then you should know the scum that placed that bounty won't pay you if I'm dead. I wouldn't want to be the one depriving him of the pleasure either, he's not a man known for his tolerance of failure."

Karthon didn't know that for sure but he knew his old master and the bounty hunter that had held him, wasn't keeping him alive just for the company. He'd seen the wretch, he used to call master, execute a guard who had disobeyed his orders. The guard had gone too far one night, damaging a slave permanently. However the guard hadn't just been executed, his execution had involved punishment and starvation over several days. That was the way he disciplined a man working for him, let alone a slave whom he considered lower than dirt. Karthon hated to think what fate the same twisted mind had in store for him, perhaps it would be better to let this women kill him here and now.

As he was mulling it over, he had also heard the guards getting closer, not only that but his own bounty hunter was almost at his back now. They had environmental suits of course, making movement altogether superior in these harsh conditions. He turned his head and was rewarded with a blaster butt in the face.

Karthon raised his hand, swaying slightly but staying on his feet, he winced in pain.

The Rodian that had been holding him, now had his own gun trained on Karthon, he was alternating it between Linn and the Shifter, not sure who to focus on.

"Wise of you to hold him here for me."

The Rodian said cockily. He looked over Linn's shoulder at Darin leaving and smiled slyly.

"Not a bad job for a female... but why don't you walk away and leave these two with me. Things might get rough and I wouldn't want that pretty face to get hurt.”

The obnoxious Rodian chuckled to himself and Karthon sighed, he'd been putting up with that for days.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn scowled as a gun was being pointed at her, then Karthon, then her again, and back. Just her luck. Competing grounds.

Not a bad job for a female...but why don't you walk away and leave these two with me. Things might get rough and I wouldn't want that pretty face to get hurt. Linn heard the Rodian say. She rolled her eyes.

"Please! Can't you come up with something better than that?" she said, tired of hearing that line. What Karthon said had made sense. And she surely wasn't going to let this guy have what she'd come all the way here for. Looking down at Karthon she tried to see an easy way for him to slip out behind her and haul himself to her ship while she kept the Rodian at bay.

Using her eyes, Linn tried to indicate to Karthon what she had planned. The guards were closing in and thier time was a lit fuse. It was growing shorter every second they stood there. She continued trying to convey her message to Karthon as they stood.

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon understood what Linn was indicating, though he was hesitant to move with the bounty hunters blaster on him.

"I am sure I could find many lines but this isn't the place for that."

The Rodian laughed again, clearly enjoying the sound of his own voice. Karthon saw his chance in this distraction and began to slowly edge away, hoping to go unnoticed amongst all the bravado. The bounty hunters voice became a bit more serious, the blaster in his hand focused on Linn threateningly.

"These two are my bounties. You have no chance, why do you insist on getting yourself killed?"

Karthon had managed to cautiously step away but the attentive Rodian's eyes snapped on him. He swirled his blaster as his posture shifted, for a second moving it from Linn to Karthon in annoyance.

"Stop! Just where do you think your going?"

Karthon froze mid step, he was undecided whether to run or stay. What he actually wanted was for the two of them to kill each other, that way he'd have a free ship and ticket off this planet. After the way he'd been treated recently, he'd really like to see the face of the other prisoner as he waved goodbye out of the cockpit.

The guards were seconds away now, their voices were in the background. Whatever was going to happen, had to happen now.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn took the distraction Karthon dealt to her. She aimed and fired, knocking the blaster from the Rodian's hand and grazing his fingers. Just enough.

"Karthon!" she said, pointing to the blaster as she leveled her own at the Rodian and shot his shoulder. She turned tail and ran, suddenly not caring whether she shot Karthon or not. If he wanted to follow he would, if he wanted to shoot her, he would. And if he wanted to get caught and taken prisoner again...he would. But Linn knew she wasn't going to go down at the hands of the imbocile guards on this planet just because she was spied on cameras they'd set up.

It would be much better to go down at the hands of Karthon Vanar than by two fat guards on a prison planet. Even if she was the one running.

[Karthon Vanar]

The Rodian's hand burned, he realised his mistake too late. The bounty hunter felt a searing pain in his shoulder and slumped over backwards, his body unmoving. Linn had found her mark to good effect.

Karthon heard the shots and tensed himself, half expecting them to be aimed his way. Relieved that they weren't, he saw the blaster by his feet and hurriedly picked it up. The weapon felt heavier than he had expected, not being used to handling them. He paused about to turn and face off to Linn, till he saw her making a run for it. Karthon had a brief thought about cutting her down, though he never fired a blaster before and doubted he'd get anywhere close to his mark.

He clutched the blaster in his hands and took off after her, at least if he boarded her ship armed he'd be in a better bargaining position. The guards were just moments behind and had the added advantage of environmental suits. Karthons breathing soon became heavy once more, he felt a stich developing and clutched his side as he tried to keep up with Linn.

"This ones dead."

"This way!"
Shouted nearby voices, the guards were almost on them!

"How far"
Karthon called out between difficult breaths. It would be just his luck to have gone through all this and end up back where he started.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn's throat burned, but she was pleasantly surprised when Karthon didn't shoot her. She could hear him following her. They were going to make for odd shipmates, yes, but shipmates nonetheless.

How Far!? Linn heard Karthon call to her. She looked over her shoulder at him, her breath wheezing in her throat. She could barely get up enough moisture let alone breath to answer him.

"Just beyond this wall!" she called back to him, idicating the wall in front of the and the doors that she had managed to leave slightly ajar when she entered. She rocketed towards, and through them, seeing her ship so close.

Freedom.

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon heard Linns thankful words. He redoubled his efforts to keep up, though he really was struggling to breathe now. He felt lightheaded and his lungs gasped for air.

Karthon pushed through the doors, sighting the ship gave him new impetus. He pushed himself on, through the pain, the fear of imprisonment driving the former slave to press his body past its normal bounds.

"Over there, stop them!"

Three armed guards piled through the door after them and from the bustling in the background, more were on the way. Immediately several blaster shots fizzed by the pair, one cutting dangerously close to Linn as it disapated on the ships hull. More blaster shots followed as their escape loomed closer. He could almost touch the ship now, he could almost taste his freedom...

"Yaaaaa!" Karthon cried out in pain and rolled forward just yards from his goal, a blaster shot had caught his leg and the pain was numbing. He began crawling to the entry ramp, the shock of the blaster and the pain flooding his leg had forced him to the floor.

The shots around him intensified, it didn't look like he was going to make it...

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn skidded about halfway up the entry ramp to a stop, breathing heavily and almost blacking out. She turned on her heels to see Karthon struggling up the ramp, blood trailing behind from a blaster shot in his leg. She looked up at the guards running towards them. Looked at how close she was to freedom. She made her decision.

"I could get shot and maimed for this," she said breahtlessly as she grabbed Karthon's arm and jerked him to one foot, pulling his weight and hers up the ramp and into the ship. More blaster shots rang on the hull of the ship and whistled past Linn's ear into the ship. She slammed her fist down on the emergency take off remote in her pocket and the ship rose like a slug into the air.

"Come on, baby," she said, getting up and closing the hatch. "This isn't the time to stall!" Linn ran to the controls, and opened her up. The ship roared to life and fired up into the cloudy, hot atmoshpere. It screamed through the heat, and shot out into space.

[Karthon Vanar]

With Linns help Karthon struggled painfully to his feet. The pain could wait, all he had on his mind was getting to the ship. The seconds seemed to last forever as he and Linn dived for the escape ramp, a hail of shots thundering around them.

As Linn ran for the controls Karthon slumped to the floor. His vision was hazy, the searing pain in his leg was unbearable. The Stennes shifter looked at his wound, he had to stop the bleeding. He ripped a part of his clothing away and steadied himself. Karthons face quivered, holding in the pain as he wrapped the leg tightly in a makeshift bandage. It was done, finally finishing the agonising task he had to yell out in release of the torture.

The former slave was used to beatings, a life filled with a tormenting keeper had left him less sensitive to pain. Though a blaster shot to the leg was not just a matter of pain, it would need treatment and quickly. The dressing wasn't much but maybe it would allow him movement. Working on instinct and adrenaline, he clambered to his feet and limped off after Linn in the cockpit. His mind was running on overdrive and Karthon sensed this wasn't over yet.

"What do you need me to do."

He said, strangely coherent. It would not last, the adrenaline of the moment could not fuel him forever.

As the ship lurched off, leaving the fading blaster shots behind, there was a shrill and several flashing lights beckoned on the right of the cockpit. He sighed, what now?

Three M-class Fighters lifted out of the prisons docking bay, the final barrier to escape had been revealed. The M-class, although a bit heavier than the y-wing, looked similar save for the third engine.
The three fighters levelled their formation out and circled around, closing on their prey.

Linns brave act had saved him from certain death again but they weren't out of it yet. Could they get lucky three times in a row?

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn looked over her shoulder as if she would be able to physically see the M-class Fighters with her own two eyes. Growling her annoyance she looked back at her screens. They were closing in and doing it fast.

Karthon asked her what he could do. But Linn didn't know how long he would last doing anything. But she needed help.

"Go to the guns. They're just out there," she said, jabbing her thumb towards a hatch on the right wall. "When I say, get there as fast as you can."

Linn's grip tightened on the controls as she waited for the fighters to get into range of the guns. With a purr, she pulled the ship into a tight turn on the fighters.

"Go! Now!"

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon drew strength from Linns resolve, she was so calm under pressure. In reality he was knotted up inside, shaken by the latest twist in the tale. The Stennes Shifter wouldn't let the situation get he better of him. Life had seen fit to test him again, well he hadn’t failed yet and wouldn't falter here.

"Go now"

Karthon nodded, a firmer look in his eyes. He was determined that having come this far he wasn't going to end up littered all over this rock. In all his self-assurance he had forgotten the pain as he turned to move. An intense shock firmly reminded him of the wound he was carrying. Grimacing Karthon limped off into the hatch, though not quite moving with the fluid speed Linn might have been hoping for.

The Shifter reached the gunnery controls and tried to make some sense of them. Having never operated a starship before the systems were quite alien to him. The time he had spent maintaining the slaver's ships was all the experience he had to work with.

A sharp blast on the ships forward shields shook him into action, he would have to be a fast learner. Karthon struck the gunnery controls haphazardly and a shot fizzled off into space. He tried to focus as another blast impacted on the shields. Aiming at the lead ship he punched the controls again, hoping to have some effect.

The three M-class fighters were continuing to close on their target, they were holding a tight formation and heading right for them.

[Linn O'Conner]

Linn could tell by the two awkwardly fired shots that Karthon had little experiance. She jerked the ship away from the M-class fighters, barely missing a shot. She glanced over her shoulder, a single drip of sweat slipping down her temple.

"The lever on the left, Karthon! Pull it down, it will release the hand controls. There are missile controls on the console in the middle and normal blaster shots at the base of the controls! Get on those fighters, Karthon! Sadly to say, this ship isn't as nimble as I'd like!"

Linn turned the ship into a tight left turn, wheeling once again on the M-class Fighters, opening up the ship and heading straight for them. She dearly hoped Karthon had caught on quickly. She laughed out loud as she barrled towards the fighters.

"Eat this!" she called, turning the ship to the right so the guns were clearly visible by the fighters.

[Karthon Vanar]

Karthon heard the instructions, he was oddly learning the system much quicker than expected anyway. Seemingly feeling his way around the controls. The Stennes Shifter pulled the lever down and the manual gunner controls jarred into position, as his chair shook he felt the sting in his leg returning but tried to fight the pain.

Finally the manual targeting screen lit up and three glowing yellow dots were displayed. Karthon pulled the guns into position, focusing himself directly on the lead ship. He fired off several shots at the central fighter, one... two... three... then suddenly one connected home.

His dead centred accuracy displayed another stroke of uncanny luck. The fighters cockpit cracked and the ship spun out of control, engulfed from head to toe in red flame. As Linn closed on the formation the other two fighters broke in opposing directions. Karthon snapped off several more shots, a few impacted but his second targets shields were holding.

Linns front deflector took several more hits and flashed to 50%. The third fighter, seemingly incensed at the destruction of his wingmate had lined itself back up, this time for a precarious game of chicken with Linn. Karthon heard her laughter and hoped she wasn't going to do what he thought she was.

[Linn O'Conner]

50%. Plenty.

"Keep firing on those sons of--" but Linn was cut off by a particularly heavy barrage of fire hitting her shields. "Damn." Linn banked left and saw the M-class Fighter coming straight at her. She heard Karthon firing more and she kept towards the M-class fighter. It seemed they were going to keep going until one veered off, or they hit each other.

Linn considered something. They had just been to hell and back to get to the ship. And now, those fighters weren't going to give up. Was she really willing to make it so easy on them?

Not on her life.

Just as they came into critical range, Linn veered upwards, spinning almost out of control, then regaining it and swerving back down tobear down on top of the fighters. She glanced over her shoulder slightly as a drop of sweat found it's way down her cheek and neck, and slipping down her collarbone to wet her under cloak collar.

"Shoot 'em down, Karthon! We've only got a few more tries! Let's make 'em count!"