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| - In the aftermath of the skirmish, Brisies has waved off medical attention and further discussion in favor of a frustrated walk through some of the deeper cave tunnels. She still wears her armor, but her helmet has been abandoned as she stalks into the quiet privacy of a small, familiar supply room. Her comsys buzzes, and she looks down to it, lifting it with a heavy sigh to acknowledge the message. COMSYS: Briseis says, "Acknowledged, Kenobi. It's good that our losses weren't in vain." COMBAT: Vengeance ignites his red lightsaber. COMSYS: A calm, soft male voice says, "How many did we lose?" COMSYS: A rough, deep male voice says, "One whole Wookiee squad and half of another from my attack." COMSYS: Briseis speaks softly, her voice echoing. "Too many." A pause. "Over a hundred from Zeta Five. Wolf is here. And-- another Force user." COMSYS: A calm, soft male voice says, "Where is 'here'?" Out of the shadows, two bright red lights click and whirr, and a shape melts from the shadows, boots making quiet muffled sounds on the soft floor beneath them. Suddenly, a red light bursts, shadows banished to the corners of the room, everything set in a red eerie glow. The heat of the blade washes over Bri, its tip held to the back of her neck. A voice hisses from a steel mask that catches the light: "Turn off the comlink. Now." Vengeance slips out of hiding. Briseis is on her feet, hand halfway to her blaster at that click and whirr. It's not unfamiliar - and it's not welcome. Not here. Her hand freezes at her hip, fingers curled as the heat of the lightsaber warms the nape of her neck with uncomfortable heat. For the moment, she does not touch her comlink, and it continues to chatter. "Turn it off or I'll cut off your hand," the voice hisses, low and dangerously quiet. "If you do not obey my every order, greater consequences await. Everyone you love and care for. Family, friends ... Haquien. Turn off the comsys." The blade hums dangerously, hissing near her. Briseis' breath snakes in between her teeth, and she remains stock still save for the twist of her hand that moves to turn off her comlink. If it shakes slightly as she does so, she'll never admit it. The hairs at the nape of her neck curl and hiss under the heat of the blade so near. Her force is quiet but steady as she asks, "What do you want?" "You will come with me, or I will kill you. Your life is meaningless to me. You are but a pawn for more useful things. I trust that when the chance arrives you will try to take my life; this is your right, your duty. Until your one opportunity arises, it would be best to do exactly as I say, when I say it. Or your loved ones will suffer the consequences. You will be ransomed back to the Republic for a considerable sum, if they value your life." The voice is a low, lifeless, mechanical hiss. The blade drops just an inch, searing the neckline of her uniform. "Do we understand eachother?" Briseis' breath draws in in a sharp gasp as the blade drops, and she squeezes her eyes closed for a moment as her hand inches downward with minute movements, fingers stretching toward her blaster with aching hope as she says, "They won't pay. They have no reason to pay a considerable sum for my return." "Now is not your moment," the voice hisses mockingly, blade dropping to rest by her hand, its heat warming up her blaster. "Drop it. If they do not, I will ransom you to someone else. It matters little, unless you are suggesting I just kill you now and enact my vengeance on someone else?" Bri's blaster remains holstered, her fingers centimeters from its smooth handle. She swallows and blinks her eyes open, watching nothing in the dim cave, washed over in red. She does not drop it, but neither does she inch further. "To someone else?" she asks, and then, with a clear quaver in her voice, "What vengeance do you have against me?" "Perhaps I will enact my vengeance on Haquien ... as you can see I am more than equipped to deal with his talents." His fingers constrict behind her, gaze unmoving. "The war you fight, the actions you have taken ... great injustice you have wrought upon this galaxy, you and all your kin, and I will bring justice if it takes my last breath. But I assure you, your last breath --" his fingers tighten more, "will be before mine." COMBAT: Vengeance begins to choke Briseis. COMBAT: Briseis chokes. Asphyxiating spasms mildly wounds her. "Haqui--" Briseis begins, her voice rising with sudden fear before she breaks off with a sudden gurgling choke as she tries to draw air in through a throat that will no longer allow air past. She sways unsteadily, eyes widened as a rush of terror rises in her belly and she finds it difficult to swallow it down. Fingers claw at her throat - this time there is no helmet to seemingly restrict her breath. The fingers let up, allowing air to flow into her lungs again, and the eyes click. Whirr. "Do we have an understanding?" the voice grates. Briseis gasps in a deep, desperate breath and moves her head to swing around, seeking a straight-on gaze at him. Her voice is hoarse and pained as she whispers, "If I go--" Negotiation. Lifeless red eyes stare back mechanically, and the voice grates. "You will be safe. You will be ransomed back, and I will not harm those dear to you. If you do not, you will die, and I will hunt down everyone you care about, everyone close to you. Understand?" Briseis stares at those eyes for a long moment, and the surpressed rush of terror gnaws at her belly, picking through every small hole of doubt or worry. They burn even brighter in the barely-lit cave, and Bri finds herself unable to look away. After a long, silent moment she nods briefly, a tight jerk of her head. The man holds out a pair of restraining bolts to her, for her to take. Then he leads her, blade still held close by, into a side passage.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)