Thila - A New Post (lmr)

[hiei]

Mal grimaced, but didn't move as the lightsaber cut his cheek. He also wouldn't give her the satisfaction of him making a sound. He was mad now, but he couldn't let it control him, he had to control it and think. It was death, or fixing the ship and letting them leave. His commlink beeped again, he still couldn't understand it. Mal cleared his mind and tried to focus, the pain in his throat made it slightly difficult, but he was able to think with some difficulty. His only hope could be to fix it and hope that the military could get to him in time. But how could he get her word that he'd be able to leave.

Mal finally nodded, "I need an assurance that I'll be let out of here. Otherwise, I'll blast this thing right now and leave you stranded." He didn't feel the need to remind her of his hold out blaster, she'd know. Even if she killed him, or kidnapped him, or just left. The military knew he was here, and had fighters. They could follow, they could even shoot this ship down with him in it for all he cared. So long as this all ended, he was happy. Or at least some semblance of happy, depending on the outcome.

Mal held the damper out in front of him, showing her choices. She could kill him and hope the pilot knew how to install them, which he was willing to bet that the pilot could, or let him do it and then leave. Mal doubted he'd be able to leave, he didn't quite trust her that well. Maybe he'd leave part of it undone until he got off of the ship, that would work. He'd just have to warn her about it before she killed him.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

He handled the pain well, Var noticed, not crying out once as his flesh was seared. That was a challenge she doubted she'd fare as well with. In a way she had to respect that, his strength of will was quite remarkable.

"I need an assurance that I'll be let out of here. Otherwise, I'll blast this thing right now and leave you stranded."

Var nodded and released her grip on Mal's throat. Then she deactivated the red blade of her lightsaber, though she still held the weapon in her gloved hand, ready in case her opponent tried anything.

Regrettably there was no assurance she could give the man he'd believe. What value was the word of a Sith? Betrayal was their way, and trust was a rare commodity indeed. And for outsiders, they were even more an object of suspicion.

All she could do was promise. And hope that was enough.

"There's no promise I can make that you'll find trustworthy. You'll just have to believe me, in the same way I'll have to believe you'll install the dampers correctly."

Var made eye contact and held it for a few long seconds. Precious seconds if his message to the military had gone through after all.

"Look at me and tell me if I'm lying. You have my word."

Almost reluctantly the Twi'lek held out one black-gloved hand in a gesture of peace as it were. If he took it, it would signify an agreement had been reached.

[hiei]

Mal did have reason to doubt her word, but she also had reason to doubt his. She surprised him by extending her hand, and he was unsure as to if he should shake it or not. Tentatively he extended his hand, and barely shook hers. He wasn't quite that trusting, his cheek still hurt, but this was needed to get them both out in one piece. "You have a deal." Mal touched his throat for a second, he had never been choked quite like that before. Now he knew that he needed to learn how to defend himself from the Force, if he could even live through this encounter. He might be killed before he could.

Mal crossed to the hyperdrive again, and inserted the damper. He was going to fully install it, then he paused. What was to stop her from killing him when he was done? Maybe he should leave part of it, then tell her how to finish. That would be the smarter thing to do, wouldn't it? But then what good would that really do? She could simply kill him once he told her, either way he thought there was a good chance for him to die here and now. Mal glanced down to his armor, right over the spot where his mother's ring was. What would she have had him do? He shouldn't have even had to wonder about that, she'd want him to do the right think. With that, he finished installing the damper.

Stepping back, he turned to face the Sith once again. "It's done. The hyperdrive will work when you need to use it." Mal slowly began working his way around the Twi'lek, keeping her in his line of sight. She couldn't blame him for being cautious, she'd probably do the exact same in his situation. The fact that she was letting him go in the first place told him that she wasn't as bad as he thought. "You're the first Sith I've seen that would let me go like this. I thank you, and hope that we don't meet again." Mal started down the ramp, and listened for the military, or the fighters. Slightly surprised that he hadn't heard either coming yet.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"You have a deal."

Var had to admit, she was surprised. But pleasantly so. He'd been so damned obstinate, as stubborn as she was at times, that she'd been half-expecting him to simply refuse to cooperate. She would have sliced through his legs for that one.

But instead he saw reason, and realized there was a way out for both of them. Quite surprising indeed. There was always the chance he was going to try some crafty form of betrayal.

The Twi'lek Sith stared intently at him the whole time he worked on installing the damper, reaching out with all her senses to see if she could detect any duplicity or attempts at sabotage. To her great surprise, she couldn't detect a single thing out of place.

"It's done. The hyperdrive will work when you need to use it."

Just like that. She'd gotten what she wanted; no, what she needed. What she'd wanted was acts of violence wreaked on him. Still, at the very least she'd given him a new scar and pain he'd remember. That was good.

Small pleasures. They were just about the only kind she had.

She noticed him warily moving around her towards the exit. She didn't blame him at all for that. If she were in his shoes she'd be trying to get the hell out of there.

"You're the first Sith I've seen that would let me go like this. I thank you, and hope that we don't meet again."

"It's mutual," Var snapped with a glare. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."

She gestured for him to leave, but then her eyes focused on something and she stopped him.

"Wait!" She called out as she bent over and picked up the blaster rifle lying forgotten on the floor. "You forgot this."

[hiei]

Mal hesitated, he wasn't sure if he trusted this Twi'lek enough to go back towards the ship. He was tempted to bring the hold out blaster down before he started walking, but resisted the temptation. He made his way back up the ramp and took the rifle, hanging it from his shoulder again. "Thank you." He said once again, walking backwards off the ramp. He didn't trust this woman, nor did he think she trust him. They both had reason for it however, so Mal shouldn't be surprised. He did however, decide that he was safe for the moment, or else he wouldn't have turned around and started walking again.

Before he had gotten very far a thought struck him and he turned around. "I wasn't going to say anything, but you're going to want to replace those dampers soon. And get you're hyperdrive checked." Mal didn't wait for a response, instead he turned and started walking again. Wondering when he would come across the army.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Var rolled her eyes. Obviously they were going to replace everything as soon as they got back. No one in the Sith was going to trust these repairs. Hell, even she didn't trust these repairs and she'd been watching them underway with great scrutiny.

Ultimately she had no choice but to trust in them. The alternative was landing again and being captured. Sure she was a Sith, and there'd probably be some prisoner exchange down the line to free her, but she didn't relish the prospect of languishing in a POW camp for years.

The Twi'lek Sith Initiate closed up the ramp and headed up to the cockpit, moving swiftly through the narrow corridors until she reached her destination.

"All right, get us out of here. Now." Var commanded the pilots. They were perfectly willing to oblige, and a few seconds later the engines roared from stand-by to active, and the freighter lifted off into the sky.

Whether it was Mal's comm link commands or their unannounced departure, a pair of fighters dropped onto their tale and fired off warning shots that flared past the large windows of the cockpit. The pilot's response was to redline everything in an effort to pull away.

The next shots weren't warnings, and even with the shields on full, the freighter still rocked from the impacts. Luckily the shields held up into space, and by the time they buckled the hyperspace coordinates for Korriban were punched in.

The pilot's hand reached out to the controls and everyone held their breath.

"It's now or never," Var commented.

The hand pulled back on the lever, and the stars flared into lines. It had worked, Thila was left behind and they were on their way to safety. It was over.