Star Wars Hourglass

Yuron Waviide
- Building 1511

The shadowed figure moved hastily through the crowd. That's not what made them catch Yuron's gaze. The mood of the being. The energy around them. Yuron could've closed his eyes and felt the contrast between them and the rest of the night.

He considered remaining at the window to observe, soon, the figure would be out of his line of sight.

What was more important? Following the figure or remaining as backup? Could he do both?

Second question:

What was more important to the figure: where they were going or where they had come from?

His eyes flicked, tracing back the route of the being to see if he could spot a pursuer or any other contrasting individual, making note of the stores along the storefront.

What was different? What was odd?

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422

 

Anya
Escape?

The young woman, though no older than Anya, stood stunned moving slowly at the other woman's urging. Her eyes showed her confusion, they were darting around the room looking for some sign, but of what? Her date's psychosis, his penchant for killing twi'lek women? This uncertainty cost them time, valuable time to escape this monster. Though she did follow as the magazine was shown to her her eyes widened. Her gaze flicked between Anya then to the images then back again.

"He…he seems so…so…" She fell back still holding the article, her words slurred the alcohol still in her system. "He just said he wanted to have a good time. We were." She flipped a few pages, almost scanning them for something. "Why are only twi'leks marked…and why do some of them have X's…" She looked into the distance, her face blank. "I mean I…I knew I wasn't special…he'd said he was stood up by his last date and wanted to blot out that memory. Did he…did he mess up…miss his target and was just using me to…to kill me too…" She held her hand to her mouth, eyes widening with fear… "I…I"

Her voice stopped when they heard the key slide into the door. He was back…

"What do we do?"

TAG: @T4M1-7

Zee
Just Chatting

"Well, Yuron has moved locations to overwatch the bar, Korto is in the bar, and I'm getting pings of something going down at Sensations." 'Whisper' replied the sound of her keyboard tapping heard in the background. "Looks like the place is clearing out and quick. I hope our friend isn't in trouble…Maybe that's why they've been quiet recently."

"Mercador, um…give me a second…" Some more key tapping. "Friends well, his Squadron was on leave with him until he didn't come back. He had a partner, Malan, but he died on their last deployment." A picture appeared on Zee's datapad two pilots, a Balosar that was clearly Mercador, and the Patoran next to would have to be Malan, smiling at each other love clearly in their eyes. "Looks like they were planning to get married, I see a canceled venue on Pantora. Shame, they look happy together." Nat paused to clear her throat. "All of his squadron returned to duty, and and can't find any other connections on Coruscant not even old Navy buddies. Though we still don't know what he was doing for those two months he was AWOL. Looking at his banking records, he took most of his money out, even raiding his savings. If I didn't know any better looks like he was trying to disappear. We just got lucky spotting him on a sensor that was recently put in below the Neon Line. If that hadn't of happened he might have succeed. Though…I don't know if I fault him. The love of his life was taken away from him. Would you want to return to the job that got your love killed? I mean…if you can understand that feeling?" Nat was being a little awkward, Zee hid the fact she was a synthetic being very well, so well many forgot. "I can dig a little deeper see what he was up to before trying to go dark?"

TAG: @greyjedi125

Yuron
Building 1511

There didn't seem to be anyone pursuing the figure, and the shops looked open, if a little forlorn due to the stream of people heading to the club. The businesses themselves were a mix of specialty clothes shops, holo-vid dealers, and sellers of drug paraphernalia.

As the figure moved to the edge of his vision a large exodus of beings began from Sensations. Something had gone down causing many to leave. The wave of people leaving crashed into the people trying to come in creating a hurricane of bodies as panic spread throughout the mass of bodies. Something was kicking off, the Bouncer at the door bullied his way past the crowd and moved into the club.

Their partner was in trouble, or maybe Korto could talk or sneak his way out, leaving Yuron able to intercept the fleeing being. But that wasn't assured Korto was good but, was he good enough to get out of that situation clean.

More questions than answers it seemed.

TAG: @The Jedi in the Pumas

 

IC: Anya
The Grand Nubian... Escape?



Anya looked from the images on the holozine back to the eyes of the woman beside her. It was painful seeing the realisation set in. Anya realised she did not even know her name.

She took a breath. "The ones with X's are dead. I'm sorry. Except Cara there - at least I don't think so. I saw her recently."

Anya turned to the Twi'lek. "Don't ever let these jerks make you think you're not special. That's just another way to kill us. I..."

The distinctive sound of the cardkey opening the door.

"Oh no, he's back," she grasped the woman's hands in her own. "We've got to get out. I won't leave you alone. We can't let him know that we know, understand? Act casual."

They were in the bedroom. Anya slotted the holozine back in the drawer. No time to exit. She lay down on the bed.

She whispered, "Follow my lead, okay?"

@galactic-vagabond422

 

Korto
Where the action happens

While the bar was a in an uproar, the back room was quiet almost suspiciously so. It made one wonder what kind of things happened back here that needed to be kept quiet. Putting that thought to the side Korto took a place in front of the security terminal. Patching Nat into their communication, she got a good idea of what was going on.

"Alright Korto just use a dataspike and I can establish a link…" The detective didn't do that. "You're doing the analysis? We don't have time for that…" As she found they were serious about their course of action. "Alright, Jina was killed Zhellday at 0200, thats a few days ago…" The feed rolled back and back the days rolling by. "The club closes at 0330 so she must have left her shift early or their shifts are shorter than I'm thinking." Korto finds her, Jina the forgotten girl, not even noticed by the cops supposed to protect her. She was dancing, checking the timestamp 1100, a mere 4 hours before her death. A little further on they see her get off stage and move to the bar. A man starts talking to her, leaning close putting his hand on her lower back. Jaina made no move to remove the hand or remove herself from the man's presence.

She leaned into him running her hand along his jaw. Her breathing was steady, her eyes shining with life. There was no fear, or trepidation in her movements.

The man turned away from the bar offering to take the dancer's hand, which she accepted. Now facing the sensor Korto could see red hair green eyes, and a gold chain around his neck, his clothes shimmered in the light. He was dressed up for a night on the town…though not this far down. He would look more at home at the dance clubs of the upper levels, not the dives below the Neon Line.

"That looks like our guy." Nat remarked as the pair left the bar, timestamp 0100 just an hour before she died. "I've got a snapshot, I'll run it through facial recognition…not get out…" Down Korto heard the door to the back rooms open a bellowing voice echoing.

"You know the rules, no violence near the girls…" The growling voice was followed by heavy footsteps. It was either the bouncer out front or someone of similar size coming down the hall. Korto could wait, let the burly being pass, risking being caught, or find another way out of the windowless room with only one exit, that lead to the hallway likely filled with an angry Besalisk and his unfortunate victim.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

Anya
Trapped

"Ladies…" The man called out as he entered. The twi'lek took a slow breath before laying next to Anya in a similar suggestive pose.

"Over here!" She called out. The pair heard footsteps as the suspected killer made his way to the bedroom. A smile bloomed on his face as he stood in the door way, a bottle of alcohol in each hand. In his right hand a bottle of amber Arcadia Rum, a skull and crossbones on the label, the other a clear spirit with a green ogrish monster on the label, Rancor Killer was written proudly over the monster. These were not the bubbly one associated with sophisticated parties. These were meant for one purpose. To get absolutely smashed…possibly to backout.

"Well…" He finally said a cheeky grin on his face. "I was planning to mix a few drinks for us but…" he tossed the bottles from his hands letting them flop safely onto the padded chair nearby. "Seems you two made your own plan." Stepping forward he removed his shirt revealing a yellow rose tattooed on his right pectoral. Crawling up the bed between the pair, he looked to have taken the bait…They had his attention, what did they do with it?

TAG: @T4M1-7

 

IC: Anya
The Grand Nubian... Checking out



Anya felt like her mind was racing in four different directions at once. She tried to keep calm as he entered the bedroom, knowing how much danger they were now in.

Stay cool, don't give it away, you're close.

She prayed the Twi'lek could act this out. Anya bit her lip. Kriff, I didn't even ask her name yet!

A procession of plans suggested themselves then were as quickly dismissed, like speeders zipping past in a swoop race. Some way to get us both out of the room...

Anya's mind's eye clicked like a holocam on the yellow rose tattoo. For some reason she decided to focus on and keep that detail. Her mind logged it then downloaded to long-term-memory. Perhaps it was to help her keep calm as her sense of horror rose. He is taking off his shirt. He is getting onto the bed.

Anya leapt off the bed, perhaps a little too quickly. She was used to playing nice with handy patrons at the dance club, but she could only take it so far. She hoped he had not noticed.

She made a show of studying the bottles of alcohol he had brought, then fixed her face into a demure smile and turned back to him.

"Interesting choice. While you were gone, we chatted a bit. Turns out we have some mutual friends, and one of them is near here. She's a seller of certain products. Products that will spice up our night, if you know what I mean?"

Anya glanced at the Twi'lek, not daring to make any sort of gesture or signal, just smiling suggestively, then looked again at the killer.

"So we can go right now to get some. We'll be right back, okay? You can get started on this bottle to... ummm, warm up. Yes?"

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Zardonyx
Torrens conscientia

​

Zee listened to Whisper as she sat quietly, soaking-in all the information being shared, much like the rain outside her vehicle. Plentiful and unceasing.

Her partners, Korto and Yuron were following their own leads, delving deeper into the mystery that was the ‘Hourglass Killer’, peeling back the layers which hid past events- and more importantly, evidence. She would have to wait a bit longer to hear their findings, it would seem. Any update from them was placed on ‘stand by’. On the plus side of things, at least there was a modicum of progress, especially since their unit was not being supported by the upper brass.

The complexity of the living was…in a word…’fascinating’, but not in the clinical sense. Genesis and Entropy danced an endless waltz of probability. What an enviable wonder. Yet still, for all its marvels, the system seemed flawed- or at least ‘glitched’.

Zee redirected her focus, which took only a fraction of a chronological-tic. Her mind kept going to Mercador for some reason. The file remained pending, with no clear connections or real reason for closure. Zee hadn’t learned how to truly deal or move past such ‘inconsistencies’.

“Married, huh?” She muttered aloud. The search engine scrolling through images for a possible new ‘face’ continued to run.

“He wanted to disappear….”

Zee grew thoughtful.

The woman was a Pantoran.

With blue skin.

“Tell me about Malan. How exactly did she die?”

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422

 

Anya
So close

The twi'lek carefully extricated herself from the man and moved, somewhat awkwardly, to stand next to Anya as she made her proposal. The man for his part rolled onto his back bracing himself upright with his arms.

"Naw, I don't touch that stuff…I'm a drunk not a druggy." He shook his head swaying a little as he got to his feet. "If I didn't know any better it's almost like you two want to leave…why's that." He put a hand on the twi'lek's shoulder. "Are we not having fun?" His hand gripped tighter to her shoulder. "Have I not been the perfect gentleman? Offering you a good time? I thought things were going well." His grip tightened as he loomed and started to loom over the girl. "All I wanted was a fun night…Last night wasn't very good for me and I wanted to forget it." Bruises started to form under his grip. "So where did I go wrong…Huh?"

There was darkness in his eyes and Anya could feel the anger coming off him, but it didn't feel like the alley where Jania's body was found. Though violence was possible, possibly likely given the look in his eyes.

The twi'lek looked at Anya fear in her eyes. If there was a time to act it was now.

@T4M1-7

Zee
Info Dump

"Malan…." Nat said the name pausing to look through her records. "Looks like he died during a pirate interdiction." A longer pause as the slicer no doubt sliced her way into the New Republic Miliary records. "It looks messy. The 2nd fleet, led by the Mon Mothma II, had surrounded a pirate stronghold in the Deep Core. The big ships couldn't get close due to numerous turbolasers and torpedo tubes. The decision was made to deploy fighters to knock out their targeting so the fleet could move in. The 4th Force Sensitive Fight Wing was sent out. 144 fighters rushed the defenses of the base. Half of them were killed in the first pass…Malan was hit by a stray turbolaser bolt, his fighter was vaporized, nothing could be recovered." Another long pause as Nat swallowed a knot growing in her throat. "The mission was a success, the lost of life was considered acceptable…given the circumstances."

Was losing 72 pilots really acceptable, just to root out some pirates?

"I know we're not supposed to agree with the bad guys but…maybe Mercador was right not to go back."

@greyjedi125

 

IC: Anya
The Grand Nubian... Exit Strategy



Anya felt her heart thundering in her chest. Her mind worked furiously. She wondered if perhaps they could take him on, two against one. But she remembered the bodies... He was a practiced killer. And despite a few self-defence moves she had learned, Anya did not kid herself of her martial arts prowess. The Twi'lek did not look in any way ready for a fight, either.

She could try again to talk him into letting them both go, but it seemed like that would just make him more angry.

Anya knew the conclusion she was coming to was inevitable. Her subconscious was already there, tapping its foot impatiently, waiting for her to catch up.

So quit stalling and just admit it, then get on with it.

I could just walk away, it's not really my business.

Yeah, you're never going to do that. You made a promise to Jina.

Thinking of the name, Anya flashed on the holo outline again, then imagined this Twi'lek standing in front of her now as a soaking, pathetic corpse in an alleyway somewhere.

OK then, get on with it. He has a thing for Twi'leks, not Mirialans, so get her out.

Anya sighed inwardly with acceptance, then fixed her "work" smile back on her face. She stepped across and gently lifted his hand away from the other girl's shoulder, guiding it toward her own.

"Don't be like that, no-one's bailing on you here. The stuff is for us... It'll make us horny for you. Tell you what; let her go, I'll stay. It won't take long. You remember I'm a dancer? Let's have a drink, and a dance..."

She glanced at the Twi'lek and flashed a look with her eyes: Get out, get the seccers!

Anya prayed she would come back quickly.

@galactic-vagabond422

 

IC: Zardonyx
Fractions



“Mercador a bad guy? Are you sure about that?” Zee asked aloud, but was it more for Nat or herself?

It was a nuanced question she realized. One could ask the same about the rain pouring outside her vehicle. Guess the answer depended on who you asked? But would that be the truth of the matter?

Absently, she realized that the living were their own ‘Memento mori’, this was likely the very reason they lived as they did- with such hurry. Life was in essence ‘short’, and they sought to get as much out of it as possible- or so it would seem. But that was not the focus of the moment.

The information surrounding Malan’s death had only created a series of more questions, rather than answering any which were already posited. Did Mercador flee his flight for a more specific reason other than fear? Was his partner killed as a result of the mission, or was there some other detail she was missing? More importantly, none of the present data seemed to connect directly to the Hourglass Killer. Perhaps she simply wasn’t asking the right questions. Maybe she needed a different approach. That was something she’d been strongly considering, given their lack of results.

According to her calculations, given the number of victims so far and their frequency, it was likely the Hourglass Killer would strike again, very soon. Criminals, just like anyone else, had certain ‘habits’ that eventually gave them away, if one could only discover them in time. Undoubtedly, the Hourglass killer was bound to make a mistake in due course, but the point was to ‘catch him’ before having to wade through dozens of murdered victims.

“So....interviewing Mercador is not in the cards…” Zee stated simply, sounding out the words. “…And the female in the alleyway is not likely to reach out.” She concluded.

Zee sighed dejectedly. Not because she felt that way at all, but because it was what sentients were likely do at that moment. It was this type of convincing interpersonal behavior she had to keep practicing- ingrain it within herself, make it a ‘second nature’.

“If we can’t go to him, maybe he can come to us...in a manner of speaking.”

Zee offered a smirk of self-amusement at the camera. That particular expression she had learned well. Convincingly so.

“If he likes dancing girls so much, then maybe I should become one. I can become irresistible bait. My dancing skills are quite…impressive.”

A small confident chuckle.

“What do you think, Nat?” Zee asked, leaning in a bit closer to the onboard camera.

“Maybe you can help me pick out my new face.”

A charming smile came over Zee's visage, one she rarely showed and reserved only for those she trusted.

Incidentally, in the back of her mind, Zee also acknowledge the fact she'd yet to hear back from the 'boys'.


Tag: @galactic-vagabond422 ( @Sinrebirth, @The Jedi in the Pumas, @T4M1-7 )

 

Anya
Progress?

The man's expression seemed to soften as his hand caressed Anya's shoulder the glaring intensity gone from his eyes replaced with desire. His leering gaze wandered slowly up and down the Mirialan's exposed body. His pulse started to pound the vein in his neck clearly jumping with each quickened beat of his heart. Slowly his hand moved down from her shoulder, over her elbow, and clasped her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers. Gently he pulled her closer a half grin on his face.

"Well," he started, "I guess if you need it to get your motor running…who am I to judge." He looked to the twi'lek. "Go ahead Taea get what you need." Taea for her part left quickly, almost alarmingly so. Thankfully the man's attention was fully on Anya, well her body at the very least. He let go of her hand moving to the comfortable looking chair set against the opposite wall from the bed. He held the bottle of rum in his hand as he turned to sit down.

"You ever have Arcadia Rum before?" He held up the bottle with a spaceship on the label, a skull and crossbones on the prow. "It's good stuff." Removed the lid he took a long pull from the bottle. "It's a little sweet, but it has a burn that reminds you, you're alive." Sitting back he offered her the bottle though there was an expectant look in his eyes. He was waiting for the show to begin.

@T4M1-7

Zee
Bait

"I mean the guy did go AWOL, then ran from us right? Only guilty people run. But he had a good reason not to go back. So maybe not completely bad." Zee could feel Nat shaking her head on the other end of the line. "I don't know any more."

As Zee laid out her plan Nat wrinkled her nose a little.

"Are you sure you want to do that Zee, it would be a big risk. And…I'm not too sure this guy only goes for dancers. I think the holozines would have picked up on that connection. From what I can find, they weren't of any particular profession. Or at least it didn't seem important enough to mention it. It feels like if this guy was targeting dancers specifically we'd of heard about it. I can't confirm anything until I get the case file but I feel like it might be a stretch to assume that dancers are his type."

Nat went quiet for a moment filing through a few things.

"I can get you a new face if you want. But, I don't think we need to keep to the same backstory as the most recent victim."

There was an audible beep on the line.

"Hold on a sec," Nat said with some urgency. "I got a ping on my system, looks like Patrol just put in a report of a twi'lek fleeing a serial killer…sounds like our guy, but it was logged way up…at a fancy hotel. Is that part of his MO, take the girls out to somewhere fancy then…well you know…Never mind sending you coordinates. Might want to act quick."

Zee's datapad pinged, they had a location now they just needed to round up the team and get there.

@greyjedi125

 

IC: Anya
The Grand Nubian... Staying Alive



Anya maintained a calm exterior as her heart trembled at his touch. He let the Twi'lek go, and Anya exhaled a breath she did not realise she had been holding.

Run Taea, run! Anya willed her out of the door, and Taea responded quickly.

Will she go outside, find a patrol, or straight to hotel security? Which would be quicker? She would have to explain a lot to the hotel staff, and they might be reluctant to bring in seccers to raid a guest... Or what if Taea gets jittery and just runs, and never tells anyone?

Anya jerked out of her worries when he offered her a drink.

Okay, back to the game, she steeled herself. Objective: stay alive long enough for Taea to bring help.

She strode to the man and took a swig from the bottle, before handing it back again. He was not kidding; the liquid burned her throat on the way down. Don't take too much of that or you will be at a big disadvantage, she decided.

Then she skipped up so that she was standing on the bed.

The task was simple in concept, but extremely difficult to execute: She had to entertain him for as long as possible, before he demanded the inevitable next step. And at that point, Anya was sure, she would share the fate of all those other girls.

But I will go down fighting, she made a silent vow.

For now, she had to dance for her life...

@galactic-vagabond422 @greyjedi125

 

IC: Zardonyx ( 'Zee' )
Urgent Response



“Dank Farrik!” Zee heard herself say, as she was already inputting the given coordinates with preternatural speed and lifting off with their patrol vehicle.

“Nat, tell the boys I’m responding to the call and I’m taking our ride.”

Given her nature, Zee was arguably as efficient a driver as the most experienced Ace Speeder Pilot in any given Ecumenopolis. At the moment, she felt justified to speed through city traffic as she did, quite confident on her split-second reflexes to get her to the appointed destination in one piece.

“Do we have an ID on the Twi’lek?” she asked in her usual calm demeanor. “Timing is everything and I’d like to skip any and all red tape this time around.”

This was the first solid lead in the case of the Hourglass Killer and she would do everything in her ability not to lose it.

“Also, I think I may have settled on a face for my next skin job. What do you think?”

Spoiler

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422 ( @T4M1-7, @Sinrebirth, @The Jedi in the Pumas )

 

Korto
In the Backrooms

Korto reached out through the Force, the suggestion to the subconscious floating through the cosmic background energy and locking into the minds. The two criminals were big and imposing but their mental strength was found lacking. The bouncer tossed the Black Sun thug into a dark room.

"Stay there for a bit and cool off." The Besalisk roared before turning away.

"Oh come on I have to go…"

"Fracking hold it…you make a mess in there and I will make you bleed." The door slammed shut the light turning red as the bouncer locked it, leaving the other being stuck in the room with a power need to relieve himself. The police officer hears the footsteps thumping away, they were safe to make their escape.

"Hey Korto, Zee is running down a lead in the upper levels, we might have the Killer, she took the speeder, I can get you and Yuron to safety."

It seemed they were on their own and this lead couldn't be put off.

@Sinrebirth

Yuron
Buliding 1511

"Yuron, Zee's making a move sending you a location to meet up with Korto and get you two following after Zee."

@The Jedi in the Pumas

Zee
Time running out

"The tip is coming from a twi'lek named Taea." Nat replied her fingers moving over the keyboard as Zee moved with all due haste the lights flashing on the squad car. Everyone moved out of her way giving her a clear path up top. "Looking at her holonet she looks to be a socialite, going from party to party. She certainly fits the victim profile." There was an unsure waver in Nat's voice. "This feels off…I don't know what it is…"

Zee was driving as fast as her enhanced reflexes would allow.

"And you'll look amazing in your new skin…"

@greyjedi125

 

IC: Anya (combo with @galactic-vagabond422 )
The Hourglass Turns...

The man watched Anya 'work' he took another long drink from the bottle in his hand. His eyelids narrowed a little, drooping as he got deeper and deeper into the bottle. His eyes began to darken a slight smirk on his face. She could see his chest rise and fall with deep breaths as the look in his eyes shifted. While it might have started out happy or playful, now it was dark, a burning coal in his eyes. Slowly he got to his feet and stalked toward her. The heat in the room seemed to rise or maybe it was just the tension in the room.

He reached forward, his hand closing on wrist, a dangerous smile on his face.

"Hey why don't we do something…together." The lecherous look in his eye let her know what he meant.

Anya felt the mood swing in the room, but continued on dancing. She had to stay alive. She felt the look he gave her changing; moving from playful into violent. It was like a demon was staring out at her from behind those eyes.

Where's Taea, dammit?

The problem now was not to do the work too well, but well enough to keep going.

All too quickly, Anya realised the time had come. He was ready to hurt her.

The man stalked up to her and before she knew what to say, had hold of her wrist.

"I'm not feeling well," she blurted. "I think it's that drink. Let's take a break, huh?"

She almost suggested waiting for the Twi'lek to come back, but figured that would just remind him of her and build his anger.

She tried to twist from the grip.

"I think I need some air..."

His grip tightened, to the point of pain. The smile faded replaced with a slight scowl.

"Come on, you don't look too bad." His other hand came up caressing her jaw his thumb resting on her chin. "Not bad at all."

His eyes roved up and down her body. He moved closer able to feel her heat against his bare chest.

"Maybe you just need to lay down for a bit." He pressed against her, his hand moving down her neck to her shoulder his fingers digging in.

"I don't want to," said Anya, twisting as hard as she could to break his grip.

"Oh come on," His hand tightened on her wrist and pushed harder on her shoulder. His weight pressing against her, pushing her down towards the bed. "Don't be like that…I thought you said you wanted to have some fun?"

Anya began to panic as he slowly overpowered her, sensing what would come next.

"We already had some fun, didn't we?" she still fought as hard as she could to break free. "But I feel sick now... please let me go..."

Something made her blurt out the next words, and she regretted it instantly. "I thought you only went after Twi'leks anyway!"

A confused look fell over him for just a moment. For just an instant he pulled back turning his head to the side. A slight chuckle left him.

"I may prefer Twi'leks…but" His hand slid across her shoulder coming to rest on her neck. "A bird in the hand and all that…" He roughly pressed his lips against hers, it didn't matter if she reciprocated. "No more questions," He whispered into her ear before biting it hard. "I've been waiting a long time for…" his weight continued to press down on her his hand tightening around her neck.

Anya's sense of helpless panic deepened. He had her pinned down, easily overpowering her slight physique.

And the hand closed about her throat.

She tried to call out for help, but could only croak.

The realisation slowly dawned. She could not move, he was easily strong enough to hold both her arms with one hand. And the other was slowly crushing her neck. She could not breathe.

I am going to die...

@greyjedi125 @The Jedi in the Pumas @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Zardonyx (‘Zee’)
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock



Zee did not slow, but drove like a being possessed, as she swooped, swerved, dived and rose with all the precision her processing power afforded her.

Zee trusted Nat and valued her input greatly. In the world of sentients, the obvious wasn’t always the answer to a query. One needed to dig deeper, collate and contrast a great deal of data, to slice through nuances, falsehoods, deceptions - and simple bad data.

The phrase ‘something feels off’ carried great connotation, even logistically. It meant something unknown was missing, something necessary to connect points and prove something to be true.

Something that would likely require time to uncover- and time was fast running out for everyone involved.

As she internally reviewed what was already known in an attempt to possibly uncover what could have been missed, Zee spied a landing platform and angled the vehicle toward it, slowing to acceptable speed limits. There was no point in causing an accident now that traffic density was greatly increasing. She would have to make up for lost time some other way.

With her keen sight she spied a group gathered together nearby and quickly scanned for Taea the twi’lek.

Nat’s words echoed in her mind again, which prompted her to be in full alert, for anything she could see or hear or perceive in any other way. Whatever was going to happen next, it was clear that her Team would need to act quickly, with a zero margin for error.

It was a tall order- if they were to successfully crack the Hourglass case.

Zee landed their vehicle smoothly and rushed over. She had no update for the Team quite yet, but was fairly certain that would change in a moment. No doubt the Chief would require one as well.

“P.S.D..” Zee announced quite officially, tactically and without preamble to those gathered.

“What’s the sit rep?”

Tag: @galactic-vagabond422 ( @Sinrebirth, @T4M1-7, @The Jedi in the Pumas )