The Great Escape

[Azreala]

Azreala sighed in discontent when she heard a knock the slave harem door. She was tired of this life. All she had ever known was this dirty, corrupt planet and that nasty, slimy hutt Hurri. To all the girls in the room's relief it was just a new Twi'lek girl, probably from a new shipment. Not only did Hurri, run through these girls fast, but he was also picky. All of her friends were probably dead. Killed in front of her even. Azreala walked over and tightly grabbed the small Twi'lek's hand.

"Wha-what are you?" whimpered the small girl.
"Your friends are all killed, you'll probably never see your family again, and you want to know what I am?" Azreala bent down so she could see the girls deep blue eyes. They matched her skin perfectly and it was easy to see why Hurri liked this one.
"I'm your new guardian angel."
"So you're here to get me out! Please I so badly want to go home. I'm sure my father-"
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. You see I'm here to make sure you stay alive. I will show you what to wear, how to dance. How to approach the master, and the best tricks I know to keep you in his good graces."

Azreala led her to some over sized pillows on the floor and sat her down and tried to consul the young Twi'lek that was now crying.
"Now when you have calmed down a bit, knock on the door three times-no more, no less. A group of ladies with come in, and help prepare you for your first viewing tomorrow."
"Where, where will you be?"

Azreala stood up and began to walk out the door. Stopped to look at the girl one last time.

" I have some business to attend to."

And at that, Azreala shut the door and walked down the hall as quick as her feet would take her.

[Azreala]

Azreala felt bad, she really did. That poor girl will never stand a chance and it was probably all because of Azreala. There was no time to think too much on the subject or it would be more than just that Twi'lek's blood on her hands. A lot of people were helping her behind the scenes. To get her out of Hutt space and on new path. Hurri would never kill her, she was worth to much but others... others could be replaced.

Lost in her thoughts, her body moved almost automatically through the halls, as if she had been practicing these steps for ages. Quickly, after what felt like forever, she finally took a harsh right into a small dark storage room of some sort. The door slammed behind her.

[Azreala]

"Ahh I can see sneaking out of here is going to be a challenge."

Azreala looked down at her glowing skin and cursed under her breath. When she first met Attus she knew somehow he was gonna be the one to get her out of here. The human was just a bit shorter than herself-tall for a human. But he was quick, and his name was known throughout Hutt Space. Something that could be useful for her in the future.

"Don't beat yourself up darling." Attus smiled.
"I have always loved a challenge." Attus took a seat on top of some sort of wire.
"Do you have everything?"

This was it. All of Azreala's hopes relied on these next few words. It was not to late to turn back. But Azreala had to many questions that needed to be answered. And the only way that was ever going to happen was if she said "I have everything. Now let's get the hell out of here."
"Haha now that's the spirit!"

Attus pulled out a small hooded robe from his bag and handed it to Azreala.
"I know it's a bit small, but it's all I could get without looking suspicious. There will be less revealing clothes for you once we get to my ship, but you need something to cover up your -um- emiting presence."

[Rogue]

"I hope you realize what you're asking me to do here honey." Attus said, cocking his hip. "If I go through with this for you, I'll fall from Hurri's good graces forever, and he puts out good work jobs."
He waited for her to cover her body. A bright body. Kriff, he thought to himself. That's going to be such a pain to work around. Don't even know why I'm doing this for her. But in reality he did know. Her bright glowing skin and graceful figure definitely spoke volumes about her race's renowned beauty. Shame I'm covering her up more. Hopefully he'd be seeing her full uncovered beauty once they got off this slimy rock. Hutts disgusted him, but he did appreciate the income they represented for his humble operation.

He pulled out his remote and sent the preprogrammed operation to his droid set up in Hurri's workshop. It was a juvenile plan--set up an explosion in one distant wing of the palace to draw attention away, but the trick was that it wasn't Hurri's valuables Attus was after--unless you count slave girls as "valuable". But nobody would be expecting the true action to be going down over here...

"Whenever you're ready sweetheart," Attus said gruffly, "I'm going to need you to take this detonator and place it exactly across the hallway from the door to the 'fresher two hallways that way." He indicated with his hands. She'd know the room; she'd been living in these quarters for upwards of twenty years now, if memory served correctly.

[Azreala]

"It won't take me long."
Azreala didn't fully trust him. There was a way that he looked at her, and hunger she had seen in most men around here that angered her. But he was all she had.
Azreala opened the door and began to leave when she turned to give one last warning to her new "friend."

"If you get caught, it's not just your business you'll lose." And just like that. She slipped out and down the hall. One of the advantages of growing up in a Hutt palace, you know how to move silently. With this cloak covering a good portion of her light, she went unnoticed.

Almost as soon as she left, she arrived at her destination. She felt a ting of pain in her heart as she put the detonator down and began to set it. As much as she hated it, this was her home, the only one she had ever known. The walls held all her secrets and she felt bad for betraying them.

With the detonator hidden and set she hurried to the next meeting point. Now it was going to get tricky.

[Rogue]

Attus pulled his datapad from hit pack and pulled up the bounty on a small-time thief that had had the utter stupidity to try and rob Hurri--they had actually caught him in the treasury before he managed to escape through sheer luck in the form of a malfunctioning blaster rifle whose exploding power pack had fried its owner and nearby friends.
The thief, who must have thought he was some hot caf, had flown away (empty-handed) in the middle of the night in a battered G9 Rigger freighter leaving ion trails more conspicuous than a meteor shower. It was the easiest job Attus had completed in years, but payed fairly well because Hurri was so furious.

Attus through on a second cloak and pulled a mask over his plain face to hide his appearance. He had gained much benefit from not letting many on to his true appearance. Ready for his grand entrance, he walked brashly into Hurri's throne room, throwing the great double-doors aside with impudence. "Hurri the greatest and most honorable Lord Hutt in all of Hutt space!"
Hurri belched out an upset response, translated by a very flustered protocol droid. "The Great and Honorable Hurri would like to remind Sir Attus to keep a proper level of respect around his throne, if you'll pardon my more civil translation."
Attus through his datapad at Hurri's feet, and a holorecording began to play. "I'm here for job listing... 32Z-5812-Besh. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to *hurm* take the thief alive."
The holorecording showed a message that had gone into Attus' navicomp from the scared young thief.

P-please sir, don't kill me, I didn't even take anything from the treasury please! Just lemme go, I-I'll pay you, I swear I will!"
"Your offer is enticing, but I have a reputation to hold up."
"Come on, y-you sleemo, just let me go!" desperation cut into the thief's voice like a vibroblade through shaak butter.
"Sorry," Attus replied, almost bored sounding, "I can't call off missiles that have already been launched."

The thief's protest was cut short by a large surge of static sound, and the holorecording ended.
Hurri gurgled something else, and the protocol droid spoke. "The great and honorable Hurri accepts this as proof of bounty, and offers one item from the treasury antechamber in compensation."

Under his mask, Attus rolled his eyes. That was less than half of the promised reward, but he'd take it. He walked over to the throne and picked up his datapad, "accidentally" bowing to Hurri's fat slugtail of a foot.
He was ushered towards the treasury, but didn't pay much attention to his bodyguard, as he was sending a message to Azreala.

"Go now. Escape out the hole I had you make in the outside. I'll meet you at my ship in 15 standard minutes."

They entered the treasury antechamber, and Attus reached into his belt, slyly commanding the droid in the workshop to plant yet another charge on a strategic wall, then return to the workshop and self-detonate.
Realizing the bodyguard was waiting on him to pick his reward, Attus purposefully took an exaggerated amount of time choosing.
"Hmmm, I think I'll taaaaaaaaaaaaaaake...." He waited just long enough to hear a far-off thump of the first planned explosion. "This one." He swiped two jeweled figurines off a shelf and ducked back out the door as all hell broke loose in the palace.

[Azreala]

Azreala's ears rang from the sound of explosions. Trying to not become to disorientated and lose precious time, she felt the vibrations in the wall to lead her back to the new "addition" to the palace. Through the new doorway into the light outside, Azreala felt like she had just stepped through a force-field into the world unknown. She had never before left the palace walls.

There was no time to dwell, however, she still had to get to Attus' ship, and the palace guards were now suddenly surrounding the scene.

"Ap-xmasi keepuna!" The guards lowered their weapons, as Azreala quickly threw off her hood to reveal her face. Quickly, she pretended to be more disoriented then she already was. <I am the slave girl known as Angel. I am injured. Go send help quickly! Unless you want to suffer the wrath of Hurri yourselves!>

Azreala was thankful how stupid Gamorrean guards really were. Most of them ran as fast as their stubby pig legs could take them, and the other two remaining were squealing in their own language trying to decide what to do. Azreala, slowly walking behind them; suddenly grabbed both of their helmets clunking their heads together and effectively knocking them out. She knew there were advantages of her being so tall.

Slipping the hood back on, so as not to reach more trouble, Azreala pulled out her datapad to help her navigate to the ship. Upon reaching the hanger she froze for a moment. She was never allowed in this part of the palace, and had never before seen a ship. A YT-1250, It wasn't much, but in Azreala's eyes it was truly magnificent. Coming to her senses, she scurried onboard, greeted by an odd looking protocol droid.

She had made good time. But where was Attus?

[Rogue]

Attus flew down the hallways as fast as he could while carrying the two figurines. Emerging into Hurri's throneroom, he saw the Hutt in hysterics, thrashing a whip at the helpless protocol droid. Only a handful of guards remained here--Attus remembered seeing mayhem pass by fleetingly as he escaped the treasury.
"Good afternoon honorable Hurri, thank you for the reward! I promise that it's not me behind this!"
Attus darted through the room without slowing down and reached the giant double-doors, chased by a couple of scattered blaster bolts and Hurri's outraged spitting and snarling. Out the doors and through the main entry hall, and Attus was free. He needed to get to his beloved rustbucket, the Starstruck Victory. It was as cheesy as cheesy starship names go, but he picked it up from an old retired spacer who looked on that thing with more love than he had seen most men view their wives.
Making a beeline for where he stashed it in the garage, he barreled over the roof control operator and smashed his fist on the control panel to open the hatch.
He didn't see Azreala's distinct figure anywhere on the ground level, so he could only hope she got to the ship in tima dn was on it, because at this point--there was no going back to the palace.
He kicked the control operator in the head to keep him down long enough for them to escape, and in a moment was at the 'Victory, hurtling up the ramp.
He slid into the pilot's seat and gunned the engine. "Ready to see space darling? Sorry we don't have time for the luxury tour." A jitter, a shake, and the 'Victory was off.

[Azreala]

Continued in Greener Pastures:

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