The Akurian Queen

His sign was acted upon without hesitation, and s'Il closed her eyes, her head bowed as her awareness stretched out with invisible fingers. So many bodies, and only one chance... only one option presented itself and her mind focused with singular precision.

Drawing inward, the Lupine channeled the Force through her body, pulling like a galeforce wind. With ethereal hands she reached out to feel each contour and edge of the blasters pointed their way, and tightening her hold, s'Il wrenched each weapon from the grips that held them.

The carbines skittered across the platform with the sound of clattering metal, and before they could come to a rest she pushed out once more, and Durrin was slung back with enough force to lift him from his feet. His only saving grace was Beirhannon, who only managed to move a fraction of a step before the Imperial crashed into him, sending both men to the ground.

It happened all at once, in such a fluid demonstration of the force that defied every attempt the Imperials had made to nullify Lok. Her determination was indefatigable.

Still, they didn't have time to rest on their laurels. Still bound to their posts, if they weren't freed in the next moments this would be a short act of defiance. Just as this crossed Dan's minds, their bindings fell free to the snow below them.

Nobody needed to be told what to do from that moment. They all went for the blasters at their feet.

"Follow my lead, Lok..."

Dage made eye contact with the Jedi, then turned to a rising stormtrooper and extended a hand. He had no idea what would come of it, but he'd act the part to make them all question exactly how many Jedi they'd actually caught.

She knew well enough what he expected, and the young Jedi returned in kind. Though she'd dropped to her knees, s'Il rared back up with a blaster in her hands while at the same time lashing out with the Force.

The stormtrooper that Dage had lifted his hand to was sent tumbling back in spectacular fashion to crash some distance away into a small snow drift.

Eye scanning the Imperials, s'Il hefted her weapon up to her shoulder, sighted down the barrel, and let off a burst of blasterfire meant to keep the white tide at bay.

He didn't miss a beat, and moved in unison with Kori advance under cover of Lok's staccato gunshots. Diving behind a snow berm, the Rebel leader and his comrade quickly recovered, opening up with a heavy volley from another angle. Kori winged one of the troopers, giving them further incentive to abandon their out-in-the-open positions as executioners and get in the fight. Even that was plenty of time to give to Lok and Dage.

Still firing, Dan turned to his newlywed wife, making a sharp gesture for the two of them to follow under their covering fire.

He had a healthy notion that something would go down. Durrin's insistence on caging the lot together for the night only allowed them to put their heads together, and now the Imperials were getting their reward for such a folly.

A rough shove sent Durrin's body away, and both men scrambled up before heading quickly for the cover they both knew they'd need.

"I ain't gonna say I told y'so," he growled out, sending a quick look to his ruined cigar, "... but I sure damn well think you'd better start rethinkin' your policy of cagin' prisoners together b'fore you plan on executin' them."

Durrin only glared, and Torik gave him a pat on the back that turned into an unexpected push, sending the Imperial sprawling out from behind the cover they shared.

"Remember next time to use your brain."

A sneer, and Beirhannon shuffled back, dodging his way piece-meal across the base's landscape on a trajectory that would take him as far away from this fight as possible.

Not one to rest on the heels of hisslight of hand and its' victory, was quick to make his way to where Dan and Kori were. He knew the safest bet when he saw it, and with his two fellow rebels laying cover fire, the blonde knew his chances weren't any better.

s'Il on the other hand.

The young Lupine caught the sudden expulsion of the Imperial commander from his cover, and her eye tracked away from Dan to watch as Beirhannon slunk away, moving from shield to shield. It caused a determined scowl to creep across her face, and without thought she moved quickly.

Her trajectory took her on a distinct path away from Dan, and s'Il ducked behind a supplies crate as the first volleys of return fire found their way to her position.

"What are you doing?!"

Dan shouted though he was sure she couldn't hear him over the din. He swept fire across the approach she was taking, keeping heads down to hopefully buy her some time.

"Dage, Kori, cover me!"

"We're not sticking around to take holos, sir!"

He was already over the berm in a sprint.

"I just married the damn woman I'm not gonna let her do something stupid and get herself killed!"

Her focus was on a singular body, now ducking behind cover on a path to essential freedom and the safety offered by a ship. With precious little time to make any sort of lengthy decisions, s'Il darted outward once more. She was mindful enough at least to be aware of the cover fire sent her direction, and for that she was thankful.

Beirhannon, so intent on his escape, either did not see her or chose to ignore her stuttering advance. Either way he used his time wisely and continued to dodge his way to safety.

The Lupine doggedly kept on however, even in the face of the growing return fire being spread in both her direction and that of her companions.

A furtive look back showed a grave sight, and the Lupine scowled.

"What are you doing??!"

The same words he'd yelled at her - though unheard - were sent back his way. Whether he heard her own mirrored question or not was not anything she chose to dwell on, and darting forward once more to slide behind the protection of a generator s'Il waited for a few moments before moving on.

Beirhannon was nearing the small area of the encampment that sheltered his ship, and the Lupine knew that her time was exponentially short.

On last look to make sure her intended path was largely blastershot free, and the Jedi burst from her cover to sprint across the open ground on a direct line to the smuggler.

His ruined Mimban was tossed aside as he ran, and Torik gave an angry growl as he muscled his way past a gaggle of stormtroopers hurrying to the action. He didn't bother looking behind him at what may or may not've been happening... his own hide was at stake, and the smuggler was keen to keep it in one piece.

Keeping low, Beirhannon ventured a quick look behind him, and his scowl deepened at the sight of the Jedi woman doggedly tailing him. And of course, some distance behind her, was Dan.

No way he was beating that woman in a foot race. That just wasn't happening. Still, he could be of some help. Kori and Dage were dutifully covering the advance, peppering the regrouping stormtrooper positions as he hopped from cover to cover. A lucky bounce outside and he caught one of the troopers in the flank, stitching him with a blaster shot that blew through the trooper's armor in a shower of sparks. That got a bit too much attention and he had to duck behind a supply crate that was suddenly raked with return fire. Still, it was heat that was now off Lok, allowing her to go exactly where Dan figured she'd be headed.

Of course now, he was stuck, with Kori and Dage still keeping pressure on the troopers to prevent them from moving, but without a real opening to follow the Jedi. Hunkered down, Dan glanced at the aurrebesh stenciling on one of the crates, which was labeled "grenades"...

...and a few seconds later, one such appropriated party favor was rolling through the snow beneath two troopers on the far berm.

The sound of an explosion rocked her senses, but aside from a slight skip in her step, s'Il persisted in her chase. She dodged behind and past a tarp-covered mountain of cargo crates, her feet digging into the hard-packed snow as she propelled herself into a manic sprint. She drew from the Force with steadfast determination, and as Beirhannon took his first step onto the boarding ramp, the Lupine shifted her grip on the rifle she still carried. One hand grabbed at the barrel, and swinging it back, she launched herself into the air.

He had only enough to wheel about on his heel as the sight of the Jedi woman filled his view, her rifle cocked back like a club intent on connecting with his face.

Torik allowed his body to fall backwards, one hand lifting quickly into the inside of his overcoat to pull out the small holdout he kept in a shoulder holster. He knew it wouldn't stop her, but he hoped that it would at least slow her down.

Even as her weapon came around in a vicious swing, he lifted his firearm and sighted quickly down its' short barrel.

He fired in the same moment that the stock made contact with his shoulder.

The explosion gave Dan enough time to close the distance. Kori and Dage were also quick to notice the change in momentum, quickly moving to close the distance so they could continue to cover the assault. They paused momentarily at the same cache Dan had previously ducked behind so they could replenish the depleted tibanna cartridges in their rifles. Dan, in the meantime had picked up a full head of steam, and was nearly upon Lok and Beirhannon when he heard the shot. He drew up for a shot, but Lok's back was to him, covering anything decent he had on the mercenary.

Fueled by adrenaline, s'Il barely felt the searing sting of the bolt that clipped her side, and in a near-rage she slung the rifle from her white-knuckled grip on the backswing, opting to reach down with both hands to grasp Beirhannon by the collars of his heavy coat. She heaved up and out, sending the smuggler the rest of the way up the ramp and into the ship to crash against an inner bulkhead.

Shoulders heaving, the Lupine hunched low for only a moment before bounding up after her prey.

He hit the bulkhead square, and with a sharp exhalation, Torik slid to the decking. His blaster was raised once more, but with only one shot left he had to make it count.

There was no real fear in him, but stalwart resolve.

Even as the Jedi advanced, he gave a hurried yell to the faithful little R2 unit that never strayed from the ship.

"Ell-ee! Get us off the ground!"

A frantic chirping was his only answer, and steadying his aim, Beirhannon watched the woman as she ate up the distance between them. With a hiss of whining hydraulics, the ramp began to pull up even as she loped onward, and grimly the smuggler steeled himself.

At the last moment, he flipped the blaster around, and cocking his arm back in a quick motion, brought the handle around on a path that would send it into her temple.

Or would have, if her own hand hadn't lashed out to catch his wrist in a vice-like grip and bringing his intended action to a sudden halt.

And for the first time in a very long while, Torik Beirhannon found himself rather nervous at his immediate prospects.

Fight or flight is a helluva thing. When you see a ramp raising up and your options are to dig your heels in or to...

"Whoooooaaah..."

Dan caught the ramp on his ribs, hugging a hydraulic pylon awkwardly as he pushed his rifle onto the plating. His legs dangled feebly as he tried to worm his way up from his ungainly purchase, forgetting what was probably a cracked rib thanks to the adrenaline rush pushing him on.

Dage and Kori skidded to a halt, finding the best cover they could, and dishing out fire to the stormtroopers who were now being reinforced. It wasn't exactly the best places for any of them to be.

Pressing into him, s'Il kept his gun arm held to the side for as long as her own muscles would allow. Which, even she knew would not be very long. Despite her own advantages, the distinct possibility still existed that pound for pound Beirhannon would have the greater strength. Drawing on the Force, the Lupine gave a snarl as her free hand lanced out to grasp at his throat. It was a worthwhile yet lost effort, as his own free arm came out to deflect her away.

Even as she pulled back for another strike, she felt the flat of his boot plant solidly upon her chest. Nanoseconds later she was skittering across the deck, propelled by his kick.

Having bought himself at least a small amount of time, Torik heaved himself up to his feet even as he felt the Akurian Queen's repulsors firing up. Ell-ee was at least quick.

Sensing that it would be in his best interests to put as much distance between himself and the two rebels, he broke into a staggered run that sent him around a corner and out of sight.

"Leave that ramp down, Ell-ee! I want to dump this dead weight soon as we're in the air!"

His only answer was a concerned whistle followed by a scattered menagerie of chirps and twirls.

"Aw hells-"

It was all he could get out before the deafening sound of a capital ship's engines roared close overhead.

"Dead weight my a-whoa...!!!"

The sudden yaw of the ship caused Dan to nearly pitch from the gangplank, losing a foot as his hand slipped to the nearest strut on the hydraulics. Nothing like the fear of a freefalling death to propel you. He gritted his teeth and dug in, swinging himself so that his legs cradled the strut opposite and allowed him to make his next move. By then the ship was pitching in the opposite direction, which sent Dan tumbling into the craft and crashing hard into the wal opposite. From his awkward vantage, he managed to see a pair of fresh contrails in the sky that didn't belong to the ship he was on.

No, he knew the scream of those engines.

"It's the Novgorod!"

Thrown angrily into a bulkhead as the ship tipped to one side, s'Il latched onto the most available handhold and held on tightly. Even as the Akurian Queen leveled out she didn't let go, and when it angled to the opposite side, the Lupine felt her body angrily respond to the ship's compensating gravity generators.

Dan crashed into her view, hitting the bulkhead across from her with a force that made even her cringe. His landing looked equal parts painful and utterly graceless, and as the Queen righted herself once more, the Jedi relinquished her death-hold on the strut she'd grasped. Hitting the deck in a crouch, she made quick work of the short amount of time she knew she'd have and surged after Beirhannon.

The steadily increasing reverberation of the engines were enough of a sign that they were picking up speed, and even as she felt the first stages of another bank, she leaned to the side, hands going out to grab a hold of a strut and using it to lever herself forward and around the same corner that the smuggler had disappeared behind.