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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2915009" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 348“Alrax?!” the voice was a familiar one, and off out of Marix’s vision...but she could tell that it wasn’t the source of the one pointing the weapon at the back of her head.    “Silence!” that voice was the source...it was raspy, sharp, and definitely on edge, with a slight accent that was like nothing she had ever heard before. And something was very, very wrong with it. She could feel that there were two others in the room with her, but they were both off in the direction the first voice had come from...which, Marix figured, was one of the Twi’leks she knew that owned the place.    But she felt nothing behind her at all...    Part of her wanted to risk a glance behind her, but the practical part of Marix’s mind reminded her that would be the kind of stupid thing that Jyren would do and get himself killed if she didn’t scream at him...so, she stayed still and realized something else.    She had no idea at all where Tobias was.    “Hwhat are you doing here, huuman?!” the voice behind her growled, almost sounding as if it had learned Basic through reading but never through actual speaking.    That seemed like a stupid question to ask before Marix reminded her self that she hadn’t actually paid any attention to the sign outside other than a quick glance...and, upon going back through her memories and having a good look at it again, there was something on the door that was probably screaming at people to stay the hell away. But what bothered Marix was that it didn’t feel like it should be closed...and these Twi’leks, despite being on Ord Mantell, were never the kind to keep friends that would come asking for payment with disrupters.    But she did not have a chance to answer. There was a sudden streak of something through the Force and, instinctively, Marix ducked low. There was a loud shrieking sound of the disrupter going off over her head at the same time as a heavy thud and then a grunt. By that sound, Marix was turning to get a look at the attacker, and she was able to see a tall, powerfully built human spin around and backhand Tobias across the face so hard that it sent the young man flying across the room and into the back wall with an even louder thud.    “Dammit, Toby!” Marix growled as she charged the human head first, doing her best to tackle him to the ground despite his size. He had tried something stupid! And she nearly took a disrupter blast to the back of the head because of it!    ...and then Marix’s thoughts stopped as she hit the human. Instead of taking him down, she hit him hard and was kicked back a good three meters with a disturbingly strong foot. Her head was spinning, but a loud clatter directed her vision down next to the human, where the disrupter had been dropped to the ground. Marix’s eyes went up to see that he had withdrawn some kind of...of...blade? It had to be a blade, but it didn’t look like any kind of vibro weapon or even a simple metal weapon...it wasn’t metal! It was...was...it was stabbing for her gut.    Quickly, she sidestepped the weapon, striking down at the man’s wrist. If she hadn’t already been given the idea that something was wrong with this man, it became immediately apparent. The placement of her attack very easily broke the man’s wrist with a loud snap, but not even the slightest noise escaped him to hint at any kind of pain, and the weapon remained in his hand.    And then, without any warning from the Force, Marix took a strong blow to the side of the head that sent her into the floor hard enough to cause her vision to go black for a few seconds. Fighting back the natural instinct to remorph the wounds and simply doing her best to move through the pain, Marix whipped her legs around and tried to sweep the human’s out from under him.    That worked.    The massive man slipped back and fell on his back hard, just as Marix jumped up to her feet and then, with the help of the Force, leapt over the fallen attacker. She landed in a very Alraxian position, in a three-limbed crouch, that, without the help of a tail, was very difficult to hold and looked extremely awkward as a human. But Marix held it long enough to reach out and sweep the disrupter pistol into her free hand. The second she got a grip on it, and again without any warning, a fact which was starting to worry her, a heavy boot slammed right into her face, breaking her nose and sending her a meter back before her back slammed into the counter. Her thud of impact was accented by two yelps of surprise from the other side...at least it was obvious where the Twi’leks were hiding.    But this was no time to be distracted. The man was getting up in as quick a fashion as Marix had, which was, again, worrying. Not only was the Force giving her no warnings at all to his attacks, but as far as she could tell, he shouldn’t have even been there. It was like a holo that was actually interacting with the world around it...wrong. And he was just as fast as her, and twice as strong. Marix couldn’t help a quiet curse about human females again before she dove to the side to avoid another strong kick.    This time, though, when she hit her arm was reaching up...disrupter in hand. The attacker seemed to be ready for this, reaching down with his weapon to slice her hand off...but Marix was, thankfully, faster. It was much easier to simply squeeze the trigger than it was to cut her hand off. And, so, there was another loud shriek before a sickly purple blast shot out and hit the man square in the chest.    It sent him stumbling back two steps before a gurgling sound escaped him and then he fell onto his back again. This time...he didn’t get up.    Silence consumed the small building...well, except for Marix’s extremely heavy breathing and similar sounds from the other side of the counter she was backed up against still.    “He’s dead,” she said eventually before tossing the disrupter pistol away in disgust. She hated blasters enough...but those things were even worse. Not that she wouldn’t use them, but she still didn’t like the damned things.    “...Alrax?” it was the same voice from before.    Marix nodded as she stood up, shaking her head and taking the time while no one was looking to remorph the broken nose and other bruises she’d taken. Realizing the nod couldn’t be seen, she said, “Yes, Kalrin.”    “What...what are you doing here?!” the Twi’lek finally appeared over the counter top. Kalrin was fairly old for a Twi’lek, but he was not as fat as many of the males of his species were. Instead, he was tall, thin, and a somewhat pale green colour that almost made him look sickly. He actually had a few scars that she didn’t recognize.    “I needed a favor,” Marix said, turning away from the Twi’lek and walking over to where Tobias had been thrown. There was a red stain on the wall where the back of his head had hit, but it looked as if his body had naturally remorphed itself before he’d fallen unconscious. That was an...interesting trait. Something she’d never actually seen before in any Alraxian, as unconsciousness was what would normally spell death for many. Sitting next to him an lifting his head up just to make sure the wound was gone, she looked back over and said, “Now I need another.”    “There’s a...a...a medkit in the back,” that was the second Twi’lek that Marix knew was there, but who had remained generally silent. It was a female, just as old as Kalrin, and pretty much the same build as him...though she was a red-orange colour that made her stand out very noticeably compared to the rest of the room. Though, unlike many Twi’lek females, she was clothed as would be expected of most normal humanoids in the galaxy. She was not a slave like many of the females of her species, but instead the mate of Kalrin, both of which had left Ryloth long ago to escape that exact thing.    After a deep breath, and calling on the Force to help her weaker human muscles, Marix picked up Tobias and walked around the counter, “Lead the way.”    “What about your favor?” Kalrin asked, though he was falling into step next to his mate as they walked into the small opening that led to the not-so-cluttered back of their store.    “We can work that out once I put him down...” Marix grumbled, noting that even the Force wasn’t helping all the much. Sometimes, she wondered how Jyren had managed to live nearly two standard decades as a human without getting himself killed...well, no, he had.    Well, that answered that at least.</blockquote>

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