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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 1848719" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 41: Last Thoughts“Why again didn’t we go with Akan?” Jen asked idly as the turbolift traveled up to where the airspeeder had been left. It wasn’t much trouble getting past the few guards that had come down the turbolift, but the current worry was about how many were in the hangar.    Voort gave her a sideways glance, “Why didn’t we go? Why didn’t you go?”    There was a short silence as Jen had to think about that, then shrugged, “Someone has to make sure you don’t run off with my ship.”    “Your ship?” asked Voort with a slight grin on his face.    Jen laughed, “You think we stole that shuttle? Or worse, you think Akan actually bought it?!”    Voort’s only response was a smile, but that quickly faded when he looked up to the level indicator just above the door. Noting how close they were to the hangar, he stepped back against the wall and got ready to thumb on the lightsaber. Jen followed suit, backing up as much as was possible and holding her small blaster pistol up and ready. The two of them exchanged glances as the turbolift came to a halt, and the door slid open.    Voort didn’t stand still. The second the door was open, he ignited the orange lightsaber and moved in. Even if it had been empty, the move was a safe one. But, of course, it wasn’t empty. There were two other airspeeders in the hangar, larger transports that could hold at least ten men each, not including any pilots. With four of the Security officers having been dealt with already, that left at least sixteen others. And, with a quick look over as he moved in, Voort confirmed this number. Sixteen security officers of various species and sex all spun and trained their guns on Voort, who had stopped in his tracks upon realizing that rushing in was not a good idea.    “Lower your weapon!” yelled at least two of them. One voice was more obvious, being a Mon Calamari and sounding slightly fishy. Voort simply planted his feet and felt for Jen with the Force. Hopefully she was smart enough to stay as hidden as she could. If they thought it was only him...    Another of the security officers, a Sullustan, took a small step forward, his blaster rifle trained carefully on Voort, “I’ve seen his face before, sir!”    A human male with light brown hair tilted his head and also took a step forward, “It’s the escaped Imperial!”Great. Now they’d identified him. Almost a little too convenient in Voort’s opinion. Extremely convenient. Of course, the next moment was one that Voort had anticipated. The security officers fired their blasters. Voort quickly backed to the turbolift again, using the lightsaber as best he could for defense, but mostly relying on his own instincts and reflexes. As he backed up, he called over his shoulder, “Maybe we should have gone with Akan!”    “It’s a little late for that now!” Jen replied, reaching out around the open turbolift door and firing off the best amount of covering power she could manage with such a small weapon. A couple of the guards quickly took notice of her, and Jen had to duck back against to avoid the blaster shots that were getting far too close.    Voort was back enough that he had one foot in the turbolift, “If its too late for that then I think we’re in trouble!”    Jen managed to reach over his shoulder and fire a few more shots, “You know, you are a lot like Akan. About as perceptive, if anything.”    “I try,” Voort commented before stepping completely into the lift and shutting the door. Blaster shots rang against it and he let out a sigh. With a serious look coming over his face, he looked to her, “We’ve got probably half a minute to figure out a plan.”    “You’re the soldier,” Jen said, pushing him back with her blaster, a slight grin on her face.    Voort smiled and shrugged, “You’re the thinker.”    “This may be one of those times where brawn is better than brains,” admitted Jen, the grin leaving her expression.    “Well,” Voort shifted to face the door, lightsaber still active in his hand, “Lets get to that speeder and get out of here.”    Jen took that as a signal of ‘let’s go’ and hit the switch for the door. Voort stepped out again, now face to face with three of the security officers. He didn’t give them a chance. In that frozen moment of surprise that had locked their bodies, Voort swung the saber in a long, horizontal arc. The three had no chance to even move, easily cleaved in two. Jen was surprised by the lack of emotion on Voort’s face, but yet again she had to remind herself that this man was...as he’d said ‘not a good person’.    As Voort started running to their speeder, Jen watched as the other security officers opened fire on him. Taking a deep breath, Jen stepped out behind him, firing her blaster pistol to those on her left as she ran as fast as she could. They were both moving fast enough to avoid being shot, as the security officers had obviously not expected them to come out running like they did. Of course, Jen wasn’t exactly hitting with her shots either, but it wasn’t like she got paid to shoot things. As far as she knew, these New Republic security officers were paid to shoot...and, from the looks of it, badly. The funny part was that these were the same people who’d commented on the inaccuracy and bad training that stormtroopers were given. Amazing how things eventually came full circle.    Voort got to the speeder, quickly hitting the switch to open up the main hatch. He ducked down behind the speeder, deactivating the lightsaber as it wasn’t really doing him any good anyway. Jen was right behind him, firing still as she ran and immediately jumped into the speeder. Voort waited a moment for at least a short break in the fire before also getting in, shutting the hatch and trying to ignore how the sound of the blasters hitting the speeder.    “This thing can’t possibly hold up to all that,” Jen commented as Voort started up the speeder and they shot off into the maze of tight buildings ahead.    Voort said nothing, simply doing his best to bring the speeder up and hoping that it would take enough time for the others to get going to give them a good head start. After nearly slamming into a building, Voort angled the ship up and they soon were out into the only ‘open’ air in Coruscant. Of course, it currently was littered with a very large amount of ships. X-Wings, Combat Airspeeders, and even a few older Z-95s criss-crossed the sky around them. Surprised by this, Voort quickly brought the speeder back down lower, hoping to not get noticed. Not likely.    Laser blasts hit around them, and Jen looked up and behind them to see two of the Z-95s angling around behind them, two lasers firing wildly at them. She said nothing, as the expression on Voort’s face seemed to warn against any kind of sarcasm or stating of the obvious. But as Voort wove the speeder back and forth to avoid the shots, something not far behind them exploded. It wasn’t a normal explosion...more like a huge crashing. Jen managed to catch sight of something coming out of a large hole in the tops of the industrial level. It looked similar to the Alraxian ships on Garek V, only a bit smaller and more streamlined. She mentioned this to Voort (albeit frantically), who spun the speeder to the side so they could at least see better.    As the ship shot out of the crack, blue energy blasts extended out from it at awkward intervals, and for the first few moments, fired wildly. Then, finally, it connected with one of the Z-95s after the airspeeder. Jen gave Voort a strange look, who said, “Well, he’s out. We don’t have time to watch this show.”    Jen only nodded as Voort pulled the speeder back into an angle to bring them to their shuttle. She got one last look at Loki, already up in the atmosphere and fading from sight. Akan and Shadow had made it. But what about Voort and herself? It was unlikely they’d even get to the shuttle. In fact, it was even more unlikely they’d make it to the main city district, as the fighters and other speeders were all starting to converge on them with Loki gone. Jen and Voort simply exchanged silent looks, saying nothing but both thinking the same things.    In the silence penetrated only by the laser blasts of their pursuers, the two of them only looked forward, though their thoughts rested years and years behind them as they ran through their lives. For Voort, it was not the first time it had occurred, and he knew where his thoughts would rest. On his lost wife...their unborn child...but strangely, they also found other things. Other people. Just as Jen’s did. Her family...but then, more recent events. More recent people. Things she wouldn’t have expected an would have doubted had it not been such a lost situation.</blockquote>

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