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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 1:32:48 GMT -5
Eyes suddenly aglow with new worry, Niko's mind worked furiously to remember Corellia's layout. Did Abbi ever say where she lived? Damn it. No. She only said that her family lives in the mountains somewhere. WAIT, the mountains. That's it!
His fingers now glided like ghosts across his wrist keyboard.
Treasonous literature. Was murder in or near Kor Vella? Search news!
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Post by hk47fan on Aug 22, 2009 1:36:48 GMT -5
Deej didn't know where Niko was going with this, but he chose to go to Galactic News' website, where they'd likely have the story on the front page. Their original report was brief, but if they had an article on the site, it may have a few more details. He quickly and nervously did this task, but he partially was getting stressed from all the confusion. Their school was blown up, Niko was involved with treason, and who knows what else.
He found an article, and sure enough, it was in Kor Vella.
Yes, the news site says Kor Vella. Deej responded
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 1:48:31 GMT -5
Upon receiving the message, Niko blackened. Abbi. Who would do such a horrible thing? But Deej did say that a relative had survived, so she must have still been okay. For now anyway. He had to reach her and track her down before whoever did this finished the job.
He just couldn't help himself but for the first time in his life, Niko was getting the opportunity to be a hero. And by the Maker, he was loving it! He typed with all his heart, a much longer message this time.
Okay. Kor Vella is not a large city, so CorSec is likely going to have her moved to Coronet when they get the chance. I'm going to try and access their databases to track her. The Empire may be after me, so I might not get a chance to talk. But if I make it, I will let you know as soon as I get to safety and explain everything. Force be with you, brother.
Niko heard his flight number being called and felt the slight tremor of an express shuttle going through the preliminary stages of ignition. He stuffed the bag of blob candy in his pants pocket, folded up. And with renewed purpose in his perceived run from the law, Niko winked at the protocol droid who took his ticket.
Hold on, Abbi. Niko Rob'n is coming for you.
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Post by hk47fan on Aug 22, 2009 1:58:00 GMT -5
Deej again stared at the screen as Niko left...so, did this somehow mean that was Abbi's family that was killed? Niko would know more than him, but it seemed so odd and unlikely...what the heck was going on?!
RJ, Ryinn, SOMEONE, get on! Deej thought I have to talk to someone about this!
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 2:25:08 GMT -5
Niko sat down in one of the shuttle seats on the right side of the middle row. The express flights were always for people who could pay more and sometimes had money to burn, so there were R2 droids with drink dispensers going up and down the aisles asking if people wanted anything. "Ahh, what the hey?" Niko told the droid, pressing the button for Boga brand soda.
The flight was a nice middle-of-the-road service. Quick and smooth with good service and no Imperial Stormtroopers bothering the customers. Of course, had Niko taken the time to falsify first class payment when he made his ticket he would probably be eating domestic Bantha steak and sipping champagne. Oh well, he'd have plenty of time when he reached the Ritz Coronet Hotel and faked payment for that too.
He drifted off to sleep and slept peacefully through the jump to hyperspace and awoke right around the re-entry. Even though he wasn't close enough to the window to see Corellia, he could picture its beautiful earthen radiance in his mind's eye.
"Next stop, Coronet City Star port." the computerized voice dictated.
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Post by Abby on Aug 22, 2009 13:42:48 GMT -5
Coronet WitSec Headquarters
Was this what it felt like, to swirl in a labyrinth of dark so deep that you couldn’t claw yourself out?
Abbi bowed her head, her eyes closing in contemplation. She sat cross-legged on a couch, bracing her forehead on her fists, and didn’t move to grab the soda that had been laid out in front of her. She heard, as if through a thick cloud, the larger Kel Dor move to sit down in a chair opposite her. Not from behind his desk, then. Obviously trying to ‘connect’ with her when she already knew he was probably getting a bonus for hiding such a large government case.
It was on the news. She saw it, and wished she hadn’t. Right now Chan was giving a personal bio on each of her family members, using a fake reporter ‘regret’ voice. Inside, the woman was probably thrilled at such a big, high-profile case.
Why it was so high-profile Abbi did not know.
”Take deep, steady breaths,” Sensei told her. “Visualize a ball of energy in your stomach spreading out to your arms, and legs... Calm down, relax...”
It’s what she was doing now, concentrating on breathing in and out... knowing full well that the next breath might turn into a hiccuping sob the next.
She focused on her foot curled up under her, emptying her mind of everything but the most strict details of it. It began to work, and her heart stopped racing. For once, she was calm.
Old defensive patterns had began to come back into play, and suddenly she wasn’t living this. This was somebody else, a book character. She was the reader now, and she had to begin to piece together the puzzle to move the story foreword.
Mom and Dad knew it was going to happen... they were already dead, she knew. Killed in their own homes. Sending Abbi to Corellia was their attempt to save her. And they probably didn’t tell me because they thought I’d freak out...
And her school... Niko and Reza were probably dead, too. The little piece of information nearly sent her tumbling over the edge into the black abyss again, but she gathered a hold of herself. Steady, steady...
She allowed herself no false hope. Reza’s adoptive Barabel parents probably made her go to fit in with regular humans... and Niko was never late nor absent.
The WitSec inspectors had already looked up the man from the transport over and found footage of him... according to Imperial records, he did not exist.
There would be no Jedi to help her out of this. There would be nobody but herself.
Slowly, she raised her head and took a sip of the soda. It tasted so good that she began to drain the entire glass. The Kel Dor inspector slid another one towards her, and she nodded in thanks before letting go to inhale and eat the sandwich he’d brought.
“Feeling a bit better now?” the Kel Dor asked with genuine concern.
“Thanks,” Abbi said, finishing off her sandwich. She rest her chin on interlaced fingers, trying to appear calm on the outside while she most certainly was not.
The Kel Dor nodded slowly, almost with genuine concern. She scoffed inwardly. He only wanted a paycheck. “You do know what will happen if you join this program.” His name badge read Ko’hler. “You can’t contact anybody you’ve ever met. Not your friends, not your family. You’re starting over again.”
“As an orphan,” Abbi finished.
“Unfortunately... We can place you in a home of others who have been with the program for a long time. You won’t know their history, but in turn they will not know yours except the one that’s given to you. Is this acceptable?”
Abbi gave him a slow blink. “And if it isn’t?”
“Then you will go to an orphanage,” Ko’hler said. “Your name and details ill be released to the press. Everybody will know where you are. And if you were the target, you will die.”
Abbi scoffed. “So I don’t have a choice now, is that what you’re saying?”
Ko’hler cocked his head to the side. “I know this is difficult for you,” he began, “but don’t go make a rash decision that could cost you your life.”
Abbi took another deep breath, realizing her anger was part of the shock. “And you can’t let me go, anyway,” she guessed. “It would cost you part of your career if you couldn’t persuade a stupid, thirteen-year-old human to take your protection, am I right? You’d blackmail me into doing it.”
He didn’t bother to deny it. “You respect strength, human. And I respect those that do. You will be much better off under our care.”
“Then I want to know how the investigation is going,” Abbi said. “I want to know who killed my family. I don’t care why. But if you find them, I want to see them face-to-face.” Alone. She could visualize the beating she would hand out now, could feel the bones breaking underneath her fists. She wanted their blood to color her walls. “Or no deal.”
Ko’hler nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“What will you tell my friends or those that ask?”
Ko’hler stood up, all pretense of caring gone from his body language. As he walked through the sliding door, he said, “We’ll tell them you’ve been kidnapped.”
He shut the door, leaving Abbi there, frozen.
She stood up in a sudden rage and tried to open the door, but the sensors were locked. He’d locked her in.
She kicked the door in frustration. I haven’t signed anything yet, she thought angrily. You wait, asshole. Two could play at his game.
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Post by hk47fan on Aug 22, 2009 14:04:02 GMT -5
Sister Ethea sat inside her house, the Bible in hand. "I know God is telling me that its time for his work to be fufilled...oh yes, Satan's working hard but God's gonna stop him!" she exclaimed, as she also watched the news about murders and explosions "Hmmmmm....the Lord may need his servants to interfere!"
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. "Its my time with the Lord, who would want to disturb that?!" she said outloud
She walked over and answered the door, and a Stormtrooper from earlier stood there. "Now listen you, I am going to have to place you under arrest, for standing against the Empire and its-" he started, but was stopped mid sentence
"YOU FILTHY SINNERS! WHATS THE MATTER WITH YOU?! Hurting innocent people and oh you know my God don't go for that!" she yelled, grabbing the Stormtroopers blaster rifle out of his hand, breaking it in half, then she went on to grab the trooper by the wrist, twisting it
She whirled him around, and began slapping him furiously with the Bible, so much that he fell to the ground. He tried to stand up, but she continued beating him, before finally shoving her off her property.
"And don't come back, neither!" Sister Ethea exclaimed
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 15:13:19 GMT -5
When Niko exited the starport and saw the dream unfold before him for the first time, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks and sigh. There before him was the famous starport marketplace, where merchants from all over Corellia sold their products directly or had their protocol droids give the coordinates to their shop. Someone behind him nudged him and Niko kept walking "Sorry, sorry."
Sadly, Niko couldn't spend his money on any new state-of-the-art electronics. In fact, if he didn't buy something that would allow him to access a bank terminal anonymously, he would have to use credit to pay for his transactions and that would create a paper trail. The Empire would jam a cruiser up his end before you could say "Order 67."
"So, first order of business." Niko said "Go to local cantina, talk to seedy characters."
Not wanting to appear like a tourist, Niko stowed his clothes case in the alley behind the Coronet cantina and took in his electronics case only. When he walked back around and in the service door of that place, he nearly wet himself. The first thing to catch his eye was FIVE different sets of well-endowed Twi'lek women dancing in skimpy outfits side-by-side, creating a dancing rainbow. Oh there is no way that woman is a natural red, but I don't care!
"Ugh! Later, Niko. LATER!" he had to remind himself. It took a while to find the right man, and took even longer to gain his trust, but Niko finally found the parts he needed. With the remainder of his hard credits, Niko purchased a credit chip attachment from a fat, balding man in robes with unusual-looking sideburns. If there was one thing that Niko didn't understand about Coronet, it had to be their fashion style.
Niko made himself scarce and picked up his suitcase from the back alley, which now smelled vaguely of cabbages. Now to find a public holonet terminal away from all the hustle and bustle.
After a few blocks of travel into a less touristy district, Niko recognized the familiar light of a holonet terminal and noticed a luxury garden with stone walls around it. There were benches, it was quiet and just one other person was relaxing in there. Perfect.
He aimed his watch at the terminal and remotely accessed it, sitting down on one of the stone benches surrounding the large planter in the center of the luxury garden. He unfolded his computer and got to work.
The official CorSec records were never easy to access, and the fact that Niko was trying to do it on his computer using the access of a public holonet terminal made it even harder. But nobody can catch the Fishy in the end.
Soon he had limited access to the CorSec database, very limited access but enough to know that a witness in the Kor Vella case had been taken to another department. Niko logged out quickly and lugged his sorry ass and all his suitcases all the way to Central CorSec Station.
"They never do say how much heavy lifting is involved in being a fugitive from justice, do they?" Niko complained, sitting down across the street from the station to think up a new plan.
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Post by Abby on Aug 22, 2009 21:44:06 GMT -5
Nobody could ever say she wasn’t a fierce damn negotiator.
Before she had signed the papers, she’d convinced Captain Ko’hler to give her a one-on-one audience with the men who killed her family, a shiny new laptop even better than her old one that restricted contact with anybody named RoboGamer, HK, or any one of the usernames they found on her harddrive (she’d figure a way past that and contact Seri on DaventiaArt). Instead of being ‘kidnapped,’ she was now doing the CorSec investigators a ‘favor.’ She’d had to push hard for that one.
Her next location was going to be an apartment in the busier Corellia traffic, far away from the bad neighborhoods. She’d memorized the number and street and had already talked with her new family. They seemed okay...
Ko’hler was going to drive her there with a plainclothes securityman tailing them. He led her out of the CorSec building with a spring in his step, and Abbi stumbled over her shoes. “Wait, lemme tie them,” she said.
Ko’hler didn’t even berate her for it. He must’ve realized he still had to keep her happy, then. Good.
What do you feel if somebody you know if watching out for you? How would you know where they’re at, or do you find them yourself?
The thought came, unbidden, to her mind. She frowned, looking upp automatically.
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 21:59:26 GMT -5
Niko at the same time was still lost in trying to concoct a plan to free Abbi. It was as if he had a blue genius bar hovering above his head and he had depleted that entire bar getting away from the Empire. He'd lost track of the length of time he'd been waiting around for some great, spontaneous knowledge to hit.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, a familiar pair of jeans. Niko looked up, and sure enough there she was, leaning over and tying her shoes. Agh, Force. I have to get her attention somehow. he thought, looking through his labcoat for something useful. Finding nothing, he frustratingly began waving his arm. Oh come on, Abbi. I must be the only guy around here wearing a white coat and goggles. Look over here!!
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Post by Abby on Aug 22, 2009 22:05:42 GMT -5
Abbi's eyes caught something familiar in the crowd--a head with brown hair that seemed to defy gravity attached to a white labcoat. Her eyes glazed over his, realizing she had to pretend she didn't recognize Niko there.
Oh, Force, that's really him.
He was alive.
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she wiped them with the heel of her hand while she retied her shoe. I need a phone, I need to talk to him...
She stood suddenly. "Hey, how long is the ride there?" she asked, feigning curiosity.
"Two hours."
"Then can I go to the 'fresher before we take off? Just real quick, I promise."
"Make it quick, then."
She disappeared inside and stopped at a desk to loot some candy from a jar... at the same time grabbing a datapad from an unused desk. She disappeared into the bathrooms and hastily logged on to MSN.
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 22:11:18 GMT -5
Niko's wrist thingy activated and beeped. He was receiving a signal from inside a refresher, he could only assume from Abbi. Hastily, he typed out a message.
That you? You okay?
Just from typing that message, he felt his life turn back into an action thriller holovid all over again. Niko was getting so excited he regretted drinking all of that soda on the shuttle ride over.
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Post by Abby on Aug 22, 2009 22:15:16 GMT -5
Abbi's eyes closed in relief. She began to type.
No, I'm not. Can't talk long, stole the datapad.
Family dead. School blown up. Reza there with you?
She didn't even wait for a response.
Under government protection for time being. Don't want to be, but only way to stay unnoticed.
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Post by Revan Jast on Aug 22, 2009 22:20:02 GMT -5
Housten logged back into MSN after a somewhat busy day. He spotted HK and opened up a convo with him.
What's up? he asked, sipping water from his giant water bottle.
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Post by RobbyL9 on Aug 22, 2009 22:20:40 GMT -5
School was my doing. Empire almost killed me for treason, was late to school though. Reza's not here, I don't know about her. Do you know where they're taking you?
Niko scratched his right temple and blew out his nose waiting for the next message. Please don't let her be discovered.
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