Bad Days and Good Nights (Dutch)

[Otterling]

Aoife could feel her heart curl inside of her like burnt paper as the life slid away from the tiny innocent in her arms. The frail body seemed all the more delicate now that there was nothing left but an empty shell and the Theelin tucked her head to hide her own tears. She bit her lip and took in a few steadying breaths. What kind of monster does this? It was obvious the girl had been tortured slowly over some period of time but why? The answer, horrifying as it was, was right in front of them. The Sith had done it because he knew it would hurt them, he knew that to get to someone like Levin, all you need do is hurt innocent people and nothing was more innocent than children. The very idea of it was so repulsive that it made Aoife’s stomach turn.

She looked up from the girl’s body to find Levin staring intently at her, his face a mask of misery and his cheeks marred by tears. It was a look Aoife had never wanted to see. Levin was a pillar of light in an otherwise dark world yet there was some demon out there that was bent on bringing him pain for no discernible reason. As she stared into his eyes, she could feel the turmoil of his emotions pulling through him and it dawned on her then that the message was never meant for her. She wasn’t a part of this, she was just a pawn in it, a way for the Sith to attack Levin and that fact made her furious. She had been discounted as little more than a means to an end and she vowed in that moment that the Sith would regret that decision heavily. Still, if he had written her off as a non-threat, it could work to their advantage.

Aoife gently transferred the child to Levin’s arms as he reached for her and she rose to her feet, drawing her shoulders back. She was a Jedi, maybe a poor example of one but a Jedi none the less, and it was high time she started acting like one.

I’m sorry…

She felt the words as much as heard them over their bond and her eyebrow raised. Why? You didn’t do this and if you chose any other course of action, I’d be kicking your ass. Aoife crossed her arms and waited patiently while Levin divested a Rodian of not only his speeder but his jacket too. She wasn’t sure what his fascination with jackets was but it was rather adorable. At least she’d know what to get him for holidays. While the less than consenting transaction of clothing and transportation was going on, Aoife let her eyes scan the crowd. The Sith had already gotten onto the platform once, long enough to sabatoge their ship, but he’d also sent the girl which meant he had to have known his explosives trap wasn’t going to work. Perhaps it had never been meant to. It might have just been a warning not to leave the planet, a simple thorn placed in their sides to make it harder for them to get off-world.

This enemy would have to be watched carefully as underestimating him might prove disastrous. There was no telling how many children he had in his possession and she had no doubts now that he would kill them all one by one if it meant getting a rise out of Levin. She wasn’t sure what infuriated her more, that he was trying to hurt one of the most good beings she had ever met for nothing more than spite or that he had decided she was something he could use like a toy to do that damage. Well Aoife had no intention of being an easy victim. She glanced over at the limp form to the side of the landing dock, the girl hidden entirely from view beneath the veil of Levin’s cloak. They had to stop this maniac before he killed again.

Aoife turned as Levin approached and she followed dutifully behind him, her face schooled into a perfect mask of detached professionalism. They had a job to do.

"Aoife. I know you can fly this thing. We have children to save."

Aoife didn’t wait for him to finish his statement before she was already climbing in behind the steering column. She waited for Levin to join her, her eyes glued onto the open space lane just ahead where the platform dropped away into the lights of the city beyond. With a loud high whine, the speeder came to life and Aoife’s fingers danced over the controls until it was set to her liking. She pressed on the accelerator and the whine evened out into a soft whoosh of compressed air and repulsors. The speeder bolted forward and snapped cleanly over the edge of the platform, its nose curving down into a sharp dive as Aoife guided it out and away. She turned it in the direction the girl had come from but she already knew where they were headed. She’d spent over a month on Nar Shadaa as a padawan and she’d been very much alone. She’d heard enough talk to know the general area that most slavers came and went with their wares so it was just a matter of finding the heart of the operation and then asking enough questions to determine which vessel had been taken, how many children were aboard, and which direction it had last been seen traveling in.

The speeder wound through traffic at breakneck speeds, Aoife calling on the Force to guide her movements so that she could steer and react far faster than the drivers around her. The vehicle dipped, rolled, and careened through traffic, tearing past other vessels and leaving shocked and startled drivers in her wake. Their passage was marked by the occasional surprised yell and blaring horn but Aoife paid them no heed. She was far too bent on getting to the slaving district before any more children came to harm. She wondered idly if the Sith were tracking them in anyway. He’d have to be if he had warned them not to leave the planet or else how would he know if his threat had worked. Aoife stretched out with the Force as they finally neared their destination but she could feel nothing but the usual misery and despair of those who were being sold off, their very lives handed over to someone’s control for a few credits.

“Do you sense him anywhere?” she asked Levin as she pulled the speeder down toward an open hatch in the side of a non-descript building. Levin was far stronger in the Force than her and perhaps he could get a line on their Sith if he was in the area at all. As she finally eased the speeder inside and touched down in the cool hangar, she knew at least that they’d found one of the local hearts of the slaving operation. The florescent bulbs overhead flickered and cast a sickly yellow green on the hulking transports that squatted around the bay. The whole place stank of hopelessness, sorrow, fear, and the sour smell of biological waste. A few Sullustans eyed the newcomers with suspicion and an especially ugly looking Dug with a scarred face leered at Aoife appreciatively as she stepped out of the speeder.

“I say we find someone who looks important and break his or her limbs till we get some answers about out missing transport,” Aoife said casually as she leaned against the hood of the speeder.

[Dutch]

Levin held on for dear life. His jaw set and his eyes slightly wider than normal as Aoife bobbed and weaved through traffic. He could feel her pulling upon the Force to guide her steering, and Levin couldn't help but feel proud. She had been practicing. That thought was instantly dropped along with his stomach as Aoife let the speeder drop to a lower elevation rapidly. He never was a man for flying or space travel.

She must have remembered to be flying that crazily. Typical Aoife.

It wasn't long before Aoife led them to their destination. He trusted her judgement on these things. After all, she was an Investigator. No surprise that their ride would end in what was obviously a slaving district. Of course. She was a slave. Naturally, moving large groups of children would be difficult, which meant that the Enemy was somewhere near by. He felt Aoife begin to send her mind out into the Force to sense for the Enemy, and he began to do the same.

"No."

Levin said simply after he ran the Force through the immediate area. If he had time, he could sit and meditate to find the Enemy. But in this case, time was the very enemy they faced. His eyes scanned the area as she touched down on a landing pad, he saw the Dug and the Sullustans. Six people total. This wasn't optimal, they were outnumbered. Lev would have to be swift if he was to save time.

He did his best to block out the raw emotion that poured through this district, calling upon his own will to keep the negativity out of his mind. Luckily, he had something to focus on. As the speeder landed Levin immediately hopped out. His eyes turned to Aoife as she spoke.

"The Dug. Look at his clothes compared to the Sullustans. Watchman and thugs. He will talk- preferably without breaking limbs."

He started moving towards the group at a brisk pace. A breeze picked up to reveal Lev's lightsaber hidden up his coat sleeve. The aliens saw it. So much for not breaking anything.

"Jeedai!"

Cried the dug in broken Basic and pointed one of his feet at Levin, signaling the Sullustans. Four blaster pistols and a vibroblade were suddenly brandished, and Levin's lightsaber fell to his awaiting hand as he tugged at it with the Force. With the iconic snap-hiss, his silver blade lanced outwards from the hilt. His eyes never left the Dug as he approached, letting a stream of the Force aid him. Blaster bolts smacked into his chest a couple times, earning no more of a reaction than a grunt from Lev as he continued forward. The only bolts he really blocked were any strays, which he swatted aside one handed to make sure Aoife and their ride would be fine.

One of the Sullustans ran forward with a gurgling scream, rapidly firing off his blaster. Levin inhaled sharply and held a hand out, a rippling barrier in front of him absorbed the shots. He lunged forward and whipped the tip of his saber around, first severing the gun hand then lancing each leg. He fell, disabled.

The second one pulled a knife from his belt and charged. Levin dodged a pair of swipes like it was child's play, and shot his free hand out twice, jabbing two pressure points that caused the attacker to instantly pass out.

The third looked at the two disabled buddies of his, and ran away rambling in his native tongue.

The fourth swung his vibroblade about, a display of a somewhat familiar martial art. Obviously someone who knew how to use that weapon. He charged with the vibroblade lunging forward. Levin sidestepped and used his free hand to pulse a bright flash of Force energy right at the man. The blinding technique caused the man to drop his weapon and cling to his big sensitive eyes and shriek.

The final one pulled a second blaster out and was about to unleash a hail of plasma when Levin used the Force to burst his speed right up to the man, arcing his blade to bite into the man's leg and slice clean through both weapons. With a push of the Force, Levin sent him to the ground.

Levin finally was able to stride right up to the Dug, his eyes intense as he called upon the Force to heal the several damaged spots from the blaster bolts on his torso. The Dug's eyes bulged as he watched his men's damage completely negated. Only sign now that he had been shot was through the holes in his shirt and jacket. With a loud hum Levin snapped his blade right up against the Dug's throat.

"A green Twi'lek was here recently. Where is he?"

He demanded, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. Levin stood there staring the Dug down, the only sounds for the moment were the four men he had left injured- but alive.

[Otterling]

Aoife watched with a knowing smirk as Levin made his way around the speeder and headed for the small pack of thugs whose attention they now had. “Now where’s the fun in that?” she replied as Levin assured her no breaking of limbs would be necessary. Aoife wasn’t the type to enjoy someone else’s suffering but she had no love for greedy and heartless slave runners either. How many lives had these monsters already destroyed? How many terrified men, women, and children had been herded into containers for long trips in dank conditions just to be sold off at auction on some distant planet? No, Levin might not want to take any lives but Aoife couldn’t say the galaxy wouldn’t be a better place without this kind of scum in it.

“Jeedai!”

Aoife rolled her eyes. Well, at least they wouldn’t have to resort to diplomacy, a fact she was grateful for since she doubted any of them would have anything reasonable to say anyway. She’d seen enough criminals to know that getting them to talk usually meant making them more scared of her than they were of whoever paid them. Aoife hopped up onto the hood of the speeder and leaned back on one arm to watch the show. She wasn’t the least bit concerned for Levin’s safety considering how strong she knew him to be in the Force. It was a matter of flies annoying a giant. If anything, this would be quick. Aoife crossed her legs and tucked her hair behind her ear, ignoring the screams of pain as the Sullustans fell one by one to Levin’s blade. She wasn’t sure why he was sparing their lives but he probably had no idea he was condemning them to a far worse fate than dying.

Crippled, these beings would be out of work, that is if their employer didn’t kill them first, and without a job, they’d soon enough starve on the streets. Aoife had to admit it was nice to watch Levin work and she didn’t hide the fact that she enjoyed seeing his shapely rear every time his coat whirled up behind him. She doubted the ever so proper Levin would approve of her staring but it wasn’t like she had anything else to be doing at the moment. She watched the facial expression of the Dug as Levin finally dispatched the last of his men. It had taken only a matter of seconds. The Dug looked like he’d just wet himself, his eyes huge as he stared up at the healer and he visibly flinched as the saber was brought to his neck.

“T-twi’lek?” the Dug stuttered and shifted some to put more space between himself and the light saber. “No, no twi’lek.” His toes twitched as if he could push the saber away with them but he held back and instead shuffled slightly to his right. Aoife sighed and hopped of the hood of the speeder. She slowly picked her way through the groaning men lying on the floor but only got about half way there before she sensed the presence of a few new lifeforms moving into the area. The sound of battle must have drawn some attention and Aoife whirled around, her own saber coming into her hand and igniting with just enough time to deflect a blast aimed at her back.

“That’s not polite,” she chided at the small gathering of Kubaz, Pho Ph'eahians, a Sakuubian, and a handful of other mingled races. One of the Kubaz curled a lip in what was either a smile or a growl. Aoife couldn’t tell which and she didn’t much care. She bolted forward toward the group, her saber a blur as she batted away the bolts aimed at her. She wasn’t as strong or fast as Levin but she could hold her own well enough. She skidded between the legs of a Pho Ph’eahian and popped up behind him, taking both of his lower set of arms off just above the elbows. His blasters clattered to the floor behind her but she was satisfied that he was at least less of a threat.

Aoife did not share Levin’s qualms about taking lives when it came to this kind of filth and she solemnly dispatched the Sakuubian and an alien species she was entirely unfamiliar with. The green skinned reptile hissed at her as her saber drove through its throat, yellow light reflecting in its eyes as the life fled from them. She was on the move before he hit the ground, dodging a vibro blade aimed at the back of her neck. She dropped down into a crouch and rolled back onto her shoulders, her saber flicking off for a brief moment as she kicked up into the Kubaz’s chin above her. Using the downward swing of her legs, Aoife was back on her feet and leaping over a low charge made by a Weequay. A twirl of her saber had it tucked below her arm, the thin yellow line disappearing into the base of the Weequay’s skull.

A Force assisted kick bought her more room in the battle, shoving aside one of her foes as she rolled across the back of another Kubaz. Aoife lost herself to the swift and deadly dance of it all, a sensation she’d long since forgotten of doing the right thing, defending the weak, and the strength that came with being a Jedi. As the last of her enemies fell, Aoife unfurled from the low position she had halted in, and she slowly stretched, popping her back and extinguishing her saber as she walked away from the mess behind her. The Dug’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two Jedi as he realized his backup had utterly failed to save his hide. “Oh…that twi’lek,” he said sheepishly at Levin. “Don’t know where he is,” the Dug rumbled in his deep gravelly voice, “he no say where he go. Just kill poor Sev’h’chick and take his stock. We no follow. No bother. Stock no worth dying for. You want good slave, Ebulia can get you good slave.” The Dug gestured at himself as he spoke but he swallowed hard as it became readily apparent that the Jedi weren’t interested in buying his wares.

The slaver took another step back before apparently deciding whatever he was protecting wasn’t worth fighting for anymore. He reluctantly reached into an inner pocket on his small vest, moving very slowly so as not to spook the two Jedi, and withdrew a small parcel wrapped in rumpled paper. “He left. Said someone come looking for it. You take. No trouble.” The Dug dropped the package onto the ground and shuffled back again, fully prepared to run if allowed. Aoife dipped to collect the package and examined it closely. The paper was nothing special but she could see something written on the inside of it and it was wrapped tightly around a hard round object. Carefully, she peeled the paper away to find a second layer of wrapping inside of it, this one with a waxy coating. The outer layer had a simple scrawling handwriting on it in neat thin letters.

You have three hours.

Aoife frowned at the cryptic message. What was that supposed to mean? She showed the letter to Levin and then carefully unwrapped the waxy paper inside. What she saw there made her cringe. A single child’s finger, curled in on itself, had been half coated in molten slag. Aoife bit down her sorrow. Another child had been mutilated and now the message on the outside of the package was clear. They had three hours to save another child’s life. Aoife looked up mournfully at Levin. She knew this would hit him hard but she didn’t get much chance to offer any comfort as the sound of thundering boots began heading in their direction. Aoife looked back to the Dug to see him smiling to himself and backing away, a small transmitter in his hand that he’d used to sound some silent alarm. They didn’t have much time before more enemies filed in and they couldn’t afford too much of a delay if they were going to locate the missing child to whom that finger belonged. Aoife’s face hardened as she dropped the finger to the ground and her lightsaber snapped to life at her side.

“Let’s finish this and get out of here.”

[Dutch]

Levin watched Aoife's dance, graceful as ever. His lightsaber remained trained on the Dug, but his eyes were focused on the Theelin. Her application of Ataru was simply mesmerizing, her natural grace and flexibility coming in hand as she bobbed, weaved, and sliced, all in one single, fluid motion. One as muscle bound as Levin didn't have the natural abilities to move one's whole body that way. Sure, he was fast with his hands and fast with a saber, but Aoife could move on a level that only those who have studied that form could. And despite himself, couldn't help but admire her form as well.

"Well done Aoife."

He said calmly as she approached the two men. Levin could feel in the Force that she was proud of her work, that she was once more being directed to the right path. It made the Jedi happy to feel through their Bond. But those more pleasant emotions were clamped down as the Dug spoke, and Levin resisted the urge to decapitate the creature right then and there. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, letting the Force carry that emotion out of his mind, keeping it clear and level. The Dug must have sensed that emotion through some primal desire to not be killed, and continued on.

His lightsaber would be lowered as he dropped the package and Aoife retrieved it. Levin's jaw clenched as he watched her open it, and read the note, then reveal the tiny finger. He fought down the urge to become angry, but the Enemy was severely testing Levin more and more. A trial. Yet another trial lain down at his feet. Would he give into temptation and slaughter the man on sight... or would he follow Master Alvita's teaching, and despite everything... try to help the man.

That question would have to wait, as several more beings were found in the Force. Levin was done with being kind to these men though. Slime both inside their beings and outside. As the Dug tried to back away, Levin raised his saber and pulled out with the Force, and pulled the Dug clear off his hands and into Levin's blade. The lightsaber burned a hole clean through the man's neck, and Levin deactivated his blade as the Dug dropped as to not mutilate the body.

As the reinforcements arrive, Levin's mind rapidly lined up his maneuvers... until he had another idea. A memory, a tactic that had worked quite effectively once before... Lev's eyes darted to Aoife real quick, and a small smile tugged at the left corner of his lips. He reached out into the Force to her, and sent two words... Trust me...

With that Levin swung his body around and grabbed Aoife's free hand. He spun once more with the Force aiding his momentum and flung Aoife right at the group, immediately following with a bursting jump aided by the Force. He quickly counted up the enemies in the Force as he flew at them, a total of seventeen heavily armed and more than willing to kill mercs. How history did like to repeat itself... Levin and Aoife against crowds of enemies. But they both knew this dance, they both knew their fighting styles, the both knew how to be unstoppable.

Levin swung and parried and stabbed and sliced, his moved fluid and sharp when he struck, his one handed Niman supplemented by bursts of Force energy to blind charging groups and also use the Force to pull and push those around him. He sensed Aoife at his back the entire time, her Ataru letting her move seamlessly with the much taller and bulkier body of Levin at her back. The two worked in tandem, the Bond shining brilliantly as they shared everything, their thoughts, sensations, moves, which ended in a deadly blur of silver and yellow. Pure light slicing through darkness.

Once the group had been dispatched, Levin stood there panting, one hand holding his blade at ready, the other placed slightly across Aoife, making sure nothing moved to get her. He had sustained some wounds. The left arm of his jacket was ripped to shreds by a vibroknife, his blood would occasionally patter onto the ground. His right cheek was also bleeding slightly from a grazed blaster shot, but it was nothing more than superficial capillaries bleeding. Levin's torso had also taken a few more blows, he felt a fractured rib sit uncomfortably in his chest. But other than that, compared to the seventeen fresh dead around them, he was relatively unharmed. He flicked off his lightsaber and stored it as he spun to face Aoife better, his hands already beginning to glow with soft light, ready to heal her up.

"Were you hurt, Aoife? And where to now? I know you can decipher his message. I know you can."

He said, emphasizing his confidence in her abilities as an Investigator. Lev felt it would be important for him to share that, reaffirm what Aoife truly was- the ever vigilant seeker, the eyes of the Jedi...