Star Wars: Eyes of God Chapter 8 - Knight in Bloodstained Armour

Zarni leaned over the bar counter and slid a glass of Corellian whiskey to a burly Rodian who grinned at her with yellow teeth while his scaly hand brushed hers as he took it, she smirked saying "That's five credits, big guy" while fluttering her lashes just enough to make him dig into his pocket before he chuckled and tossed her seven credits muttering something about her ass being worth it, she rolled her eyes and turned to a human smuggler who leaned in close asking "How about you ditch this shithole and warm my bunk tonight?" she laughed and poured him a shot of lum replying "Keep dreaming, flyboy, but tip me good and I might blow you a kiss" he groaned and slapped a few extra credits down anyway. She kept moving and serving drinks to a loud crowd of spacers and locals who packed the neon-drenched club while flirting with each one to squeeze out tips and swatting away their grabby hands with a quick twist or a sharp "Touch me again, sleemo, and you're done," though while she served her mind chewed on thoughts of the Blood Oracle not sending the 30,000 credits payment, her contact inside gone dark for days now, she wondered if their base got hit or their comms were jammed, she dismissed a double-cross since she'd run jobs with them for years without a hitch.

She mixed a fizzing blue drink for a Twi'lek dancer who giggled and asked how her shift was going so Zarni shrugged saying "Same crap, just noisier" before handing a mug of grog to a Weequay who tried to grab her chest, she spun around and slammed her fist into his jaw knocking him back into a table, he snarled and rubbed his face while the other patrons laughed or shifted away muttering "Kriff, she's fast."

A scarred Trandoshan at the bar's end hissed and pulled a blaster growling to hand over her credits or get blasted, she sighed pulling her own blaster from under the counter and aimed it at his snout saying "Pull that trigger, lizard-face, and I'll melt your skull" before he backed off hissing curses as she holstered it, sighing that this was just another damn night in this pit, she wiped the bar with a rag and thought about Kyle who'd been acting different lately—looser and cockier—she figured it was him finally free of the Jedi's leash, she smirked to herself that it was good to see him enjoy himself for once.

She poured a shot for a Pantoran who winked at her, but she ignored him as her mind drifted to Kyle again crashing at her place and lounging on her sofa while leaving blaster bits all over and doing whatever the kriff he wanted, she grit her teeth thinking she'd bill him for every credit eventually, a small part of her liked him around especially when he stripped his tunic off after training, his sweat-soaked abs and broad chest caught her eye, she grinned to herself picturing him flexing just to mess with her. Someone signaled her from the bar's far end so she walked over and leaned in asking "What do you want?" the human who was a lean guy with a scarred lip nodded and said "Gimme a Jawa juice," she grabbed a bottle and poured it into a glass and slid it to him, he sipped it before eyeing her up and down saying "You're real pretty, you know that?"

"Thanks," she said with an annoyed grunt before starting to turn away.

He leaned closer and said "Came here tonight looking for a pretty woman, but the boss never said she'd be this gorgeous."

Zarni frowned and reached for her blaster under the counter, her fingers wrapped around the grip.

The guy smirked and said "Boss thanks you for all the years of work, but he's moving onto bigger things now." before he yanked his blaster out and aimed it at her face and pulled the trigger fast.

Zarni grabbed his arm with her left hand and shoved it up so the bolt shot over her shoulder and burned a hole in the wall behind her, she pulled her blaster with her right hand and jammed it against his forehead and fired blasting a smoking crater through his skull as he slumped over the bar with his face charred and lifeless, three other men in the crowd jumped up and drew blasters and opened fire while bolts sizzled past her head and blasted bottles off the shelves, glass exploded everywhere, the patrons yelled or dove under tables, a couple pulled vibroknives and started slashing at each other in the panic. She ducked under the counter and popped up firing her blaster and hit one guy in the chest who fell with a burned hole through his jacket, she saw another vault over the bar at her and aimed and shot him mid-jump, the bolt seared through his gut as he crashed onto the counter groaning with a blackened wound.

She grabbed a bottle of lum with her free hand and smashed it over the head of a third guy who climbed over, glass sliced his scalp before she kicked his leg and shot his foot; he howled in pain as he clutched his burning foot, Zarni shoved her blaster under his chin and fired blowing a burned chunk out the top of his head as he dropped limp, she had to get the kriff out now, she rolled over the counter while firing at the crowd, blaster bolts scorched walls and chairs, she bolted for the back exit where the neon sign buzzed.

However a mercenary in black armor slipped up from her left and swung a vibrosword at her throat, she leaned back quick, as the blade hummed past her face, she tried to shoot him but he slapped her blaster away with his off-hand sending it sliding across the floor, she stepped in tight and ducked under his next swing that cut the air above her and grabbed his sword arm with both hands and twisted it hard to turn his momentum and flipped him over her shoulder onto the ground where his armor clanged loud.

He rolled up and swung the vibrosword again, she side-stepped and kicked his knee to bend it and punched his throat fast making him gag, he lunged and tackled her backward into a table smashing it to pieces as patrons scattered shouting "What the hell!" or "Blast her already!" More hitmen closed in firing a blaster that burned a hole through her shoulder, she hissed and grabbed the barrel which burnt her hand, but she smashed it into the hitmans face, another slammed his fist into her stomach knocking her breath out as she doubled over, she fought back and smashed an elbow into one's jaw that loosened his teeth, a third grabbed her hair and bashed her face into a table splitting her lip so she spat and swore "Kriffing assholes!"

They kept coming one slashed her thigh with a vibroknife that carved a deep gash leaking blood making her limp, another kicked her ribs hard, and another grabbed her by the neck and threw her sending her crashing into a mirrored wall by the bar shattering it into jagged shards that cut her back as she slid down with blood streaking the durasteel.

Kyle stepped forward and ducked under a blaster bolt that sizzled past his ear and burned a hole in the wall behind him, he grabbed the nearest mercenary's arm with his left hand and twisted it hard until the elbow snapped with a loud crack, the guy screamed and dropped his blaster so Kyle kicked him in the stomach and sent him crashing into a table that broke apart under his weight. Two more mercenaries rushed him from the right and fired their blasters while he leaped into a backflip over a chair that took the shots instead, he landed on his feet and raised his right hand to form a black rod from his palm before throwing it into the chest of the first shooter who grunted and fell with a smoking hole where the rod stuck. The second guy swung a vibroblade at Kyle's neck, he leaned back so the blade passed over his face and grabbed the guy's wrist with both hands, he twisted it down and forced the mercenary to his knees before stomping his foot on the guy's throat and crushing it with a wet crunch as blood leaked from his mouth.

A scarred mercenary with a metal arm charged from the left and aimed a blaster at Kyle's chest, he sidestepped the bolt that hit a patron behind him who yelled "Kriff!" and dropped dead with a burned hole through his jacket, Kyle grabbed the metal arm and pulled the guy forward while driving his knee into the mercenary's stomach so hard the guy doubled over and puked on the floor. Kyle formed two rods in his hands and stabbed one into the guy's shoulder with his right hand while slashing the other across his throat with his left, the mercenary gurgled and collapsed with blood pouring from the neck wound, Kyle spun the remaining rod in his fingers and threw it at a fourth guy who stood near the bar firing a blaster, the rod punched through his hand so he dropped the weapon and screamed while clutching the cauterized hole.

"What the hell!" a woman hiding behind a table shouted as she peeked out and saw the guy's hand smoking, her friend yanked her back down saying "Stay low, you idiot!"

Kyle turned and saw three mercenaries lining up shots from the club's center, he made hand signs fast and split into three illusions of himself that ran at them while they fired at the fakes, he slipped behind the real trio and grabbed one guy's blaster with his left hand, he yanked it up so the bolt hit the ceiling and punched the guy's jaw with his right fist before flipping him over his shoulder onto the ground where his head hit with a thud. The second mercenary swung a fist at Kyle's face, he ducked under it and hooked the guy's arm with his own and spun him into a throw that sent him crashing through a glass partition that shattered loud, the third guy pulled a vibroknife and lunged at Kyle's stomach, he stepped aside and caught the guy's arm and twisted it back until the wrist broke with a snap, he slammed his elbow into the guy's temple so he dropped limp with a bloody dent in his skull.

A big mercenary with a shaved head yelled "Blast him!" and fired a blaster rifle from across the room, Kyle raised his left hand and pushed with the Force to send a wave that threw the guy back into a pillar that cracked under the impact, the mercenary slid down groaning with his chest armor crumpled and ribs busted. Two more ran at Kyle from opposite sides, one swinging a vibroblade and the other aiming a blaster, he jumped into a wall-run along the bar's edge and flipped off over the blaster guy's head while the bolt burned a hole in the wall, he landed behind him and grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back into the vibroblade guy's swing so the blade cut through the blaster guy's back with a spray of blood, the vibroblade guy cursed "Kriffing hell!" and stumbled over the body, Kyle kicked him in the knee and snapped it backward before forming a rod and stabbing it through his eye so he fell dead with the rod sticking out.

Zarni pushed herself up from the shattered mirror and gripped the vibroknife in her right hand, she shouted "Kyle, behind you!" as a mercenary in heavy armor snuck up with a blaster raised, Kyle spun and leaned back so the bolt passed over his chest and burned a hole in a holoscreen behind him that fizzed out, he grabbed the guy's blaster arm and twisted it up and forced the barrel under the mercenary's own chin before squeezing the trigger so the bolt blew a smoking hole through his head and dropped him in a heap.

"Nice one, kid!" Zarni said through gritted teeth as she clutched her burned shoulder and limped forward, blood dripped from her thigh wound onto the floor.

A skinny mercenary near the stage yelled "You're dead, Jedi!" and fired a blaster, Kyle ducked under the bolt that hit a speaker and sparked, he rolled forward over a fallen chair and came up in front of the guy and punched him in the stomach with his left fist while forming a rod in his right hand that he stabbed into the guy's chest, the mercenary gasped and fell with a burned hole where the rod stuck, Kyle pulled it out and spun it in his hand before throwing it at a sixth guy who stood by the exit aiming a rifle, the rod hit his leg and pinned him to the wall as he screamed and dropped his weapon. Kyle ran at him and jumped into a kick that smashed the guy's face into the durasteel so his nose broke and teeth flew out, blood smeared down his chin as he slumped unconscious.

A patron hiding near the bar muttered "What the hell's this guy on?" to a Twi'lek next to him who whispered back "Shut up he might noice us!"

Three mercenaries grouped up near the dance floor and fired blasters at Kyle who dodged by swaying his body left and right while the bolts burned holes in the floor and tables around him, he raised both hands and pulled "Universal Pull!" All three were yanked toward him so they stumbled forward and tripped over each other, he stepped in and grabbed one guy's head with both hands and twisted it hard until the neck snapped with a pop, he kicked the second guy in the chest and sent him flying back into a pillar that broke his spine with a crunch, the third guy scrambled up and swung a vibroblade at Kyle's side, he caught the arm and flipped the guy over his hip onto the ground before stomping his foot on the guy's wrist and breaking it, he formed a rod and stabbed it through the mercenary's throat so blood gushed out as he choked and died.

"You're kriffing insane!" a mercenary with a bald head shouted as he ran at Kyle with a blaster firing, Kyle sidestepped the bolts that burned holes in a booth behind him and grabbed the guy's arm and pulled him forward while slamming his elbow into the guy's nose that flattened with a squelch, he twisted the blaster free and shot the guy in the chest with his own weapon so he fell with a smoking hole through his armor.

Zarni swung her vibroknife at a mercenary who lunged at her from the side, she cut his arm deep and made him yell as blood sprayed, he dropped his blaster and Kyle turned and raised his hand to form a rod that he threw into the guy's back so he fell face-down with a groan, Kyle smirked at her saying "Still got it, huh?"

"Shut it and keep moving!" Zarni snapped as she ducked a bolt from another mercenary that burned a hole in the bar counter, she limped toward the exit while clutching her side.

A final mercenary with a metal plate on his chest roared "I'll end you!" and charged Kyle with a vibrosword raised, Kyle ducked under the swing that sliced a table in half and grabbed the guy's legs with both hands and lifted him off the ground before slamming him down onto his back so the armor dented, he formed two rods and stabbed them into the guy's shoulders with both hands pinning him to the floor as he screamed, Kyle stood and kicked him in the head hard enough to snap his neck with a crack that left him still. Kyle wiped blood off his hands onto his pants and looked around at the bodies scattered across the club, patrons peeked out from cover muttering "What the hell" or "He's a kriffing monster," he glanced at Zarni who leaned against the bar breathing hard and said "Let's get out of here before more show up."

Kyle slung Zarni's arm over his shoulder and pulled her up from the bar where she leaned panting, he half-carried her toward the back exit while she hobbled on her good leg and clutched her burned shoulder that smoked from the blaster hit, they pushed through the dented durasteel door that creaked loud as it swung open, patrons inside still yelled or scrambled over broken tables that littered the club floor. He guided her into the narrow alley behind Za Za Ka where neon lights flickered and cast shadows on the wet pavement, she stumbled and grunted in pain so he tightened his grip around her waist and kept her moving past rusted speeder parts that piled against the walls, he smirked saying "You gotta pick better clients, Zarni, these sleemos don't tip worth a damn."

She tried to laugh but winced instead and shook her head saying "I don't know what the kriff happened in there, Kyle, the Blood Oracle were an honourable group who always paid up when I worked with them before, no idea why they'd pull this shit now."

Kyle snorted and kept walking while supporting her weight as they turned a corner past a dumpster that stank of rot, he replied "A bunch of thieves and cutthroats honourable, that's a good one, Zarni."

She grunted and leaned harder against him as her sliced thigh buckled, she said "As honourable as a group like them could be, you smartass, they've never screwed me over until tonight," but her voice cut off with a hiss when she slipped further and almost hit the ground, he caught her under the arms and held her up while her legs shook from the pain.

He eased her down onto a disused crate that sat against the alley wall near a flickering streetlamp, she slumped onto it and groaned while he knelt in front of her and said "Let's take a look at that wound," he pulled out his blaster pistol with his right hand and kept it ready in case more mercenaries showed up, she shifted her leg that dripped blood from the vibroknife gash and muttered "Shit's gonna be bad once they find out their first hit didn't work, they're gonna put an active bounty on our heads, Kyle, no question."

Kyle ripped the sleeve off his tunic with his left hand and wrapped it tight around her thigh where the cut ran deep, she grunted loud as he knotted it and pulled hard to stop the bleeding, she sucked in a breath and said "We need to get back to my place, I've got a bag with my savings and a couple transport passes stashed there, should be enough to get us both off-planet, maybe somewhere off the books like Nar Shaddaa where they won't look too hard."

Kyle looked up at her and smiled while tying off the makeshift bandage, he said "I like that plan, Zarni, I like it a lot, only one issue with it though."

She narrowed her eyes at him and leaned forward on the crate, she said "Kyle" slow and sharp like a warning while her fingers twitched toward the vibroknife that hung from her belt.

He chuckled nervous and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, he said "The thing about your apartment, well, it kind of blew up when a mercenary squad attacked me, everything's destroyed, even my poor lightsaber got torched in the blast."

Zarni's left eye twitched and her body started shaking as she stared at Kyle who still crouched in front of her, her hands clenched into fists that dug into the crate's edge, her jaw tightened and her lips pressed into a thin line while her burned shoulder heaved with each breath she took.

Kyle started to sweat and wiped his forehead with his sleeve stump, he said "Look on the bright side, Zarni, we're alive and kicking, right?"

She snapped and burst into manic laughter that echoed off the alley walls, she rocked back on the crate and laughed while saying "My home's destroyed, my workplace is a kriffing warzone, my contacts are burned, I've lost over a hundred thousand credits I saved up over years, and I'm likely to be targeted by bounty hunters in the next 24 hours, but I'm supposed to look on the bright side, that's rich, Kyle, that's real rich," her laughter turned shrill and her eyes went wild as she gripped the vibroknife tighter.

Kyle laughed with her and stood up brushing his hands on his pants, he said "Right, it's all good, we'll figure it out, just a little setback," but she stopped laughing sudden and screamed loud enough to make a nearby street rat scamper away, she lunged off the crate and swung the vibroknife at his chest with her good arm while he stumbled back and tripped over a broken bottle that rolled under his foot.

"Get back here, you kriffing idiot!" Zarni yelled as she chased him down the alley, she swung the knife again and nicked his arm so blood leaked from a shallow cut, he bolted around a corner and dodged a stack of crates that she kicked over in her rush, the wood splintered loud on the pavement.

"Whoa, Zarni, calm down!" Kyle shouted while running and glancing back at her, he jumped over a low wall and landed on the other side where a speeder bike sat abandoned, she vaulted the wall after him but grunted when her sliced thigh hit the edge and slowed her down.

"You blew up my life, you little shit, I'm gonna carve you up!" she screamed and threw the vibroknife at him.