Eastern Plaza – Sixteen thirty five hours (16:35)





“about time…I was starting to think you weren’t going to show….”


Vinda felt his anger rise again, but swallowed it down, promising himself there would be a time for it later…

The two men now stood facing each other surrounded by the crowds of people now making their way to the opening race of the big swoop at the bottom of the the plaza below… A few casting the Corporate man the odd strange glance, as if vaguely recognising him from somewhere, then shrugging it off as absurd. Most however were all oblivious to the drama unfolding before them, their focus elsewhere entirely…

“Well where is she?…” He asked , his grip tightening on the briefcase he was still firmly clutching in his right hand…

“you know what we agreed, open the case, show me the money first…slowly…” Smith replied , and Vinda noticed his hand reach into his inside suit pocket and let loose a glimpse of shiny gun metal as if to reinforce his point.

“try anything funny , and I won’t miss, I can promise you that…” he added threateningly…

Vinda glared at him , but slowly and surely did as he was asked, showing the contents to Smith…

He watched as the man before him let loose a sly smile, obviously satisfied at what he could see…

“Excellent, well done, now bring it here….slowly…”

Vinda closed the case and paused…

“No…I want to talk with her first…”

Smith’s smile faded, and he reached for his blaster still ensconced within his pocket…

“you are in no position to negotiate for anything , now bring it over to me now…”

Smith’s eyes became wide as his intentions became clear…

Realising this, Vinda's eyes narrowed in response and with final resignation he began to slowly walk towards the man before him…

Kryuff housing block - 88th floor




…Only when he hands over the money, and only then…


Remembering Turga’s words, Yana froze as her finger lightly rested on the trigger…

When she had learned of Turga’s plot against Vinda, she had jumped at the chance to volunteer. Her eagerness had surprised even the Hutt…

It had taken a long time to get to this point in time, and she was not going to waste it…

Now this moment was only mere seconds away…


Finally justice would be served…


…and it would be her dispensing it



In the short while Yana had been watching the proceedings, thoughts of yesterday had raced through her mind…

Before all of this, the good times…


Anya, and Tetsuo…


Both had been her pride and joy, and after that shit of a husband had run off with that bitch and left her on her own with the kids, they had moved to Bonadan…


A new start!


All had gone so well! Both Tetsuo and Anya had taken well to their new schools and she had landed on her feet with a new job working for the biggest corporate entity on the face of the galaxy…

She had become Vinda’s personal assistant and he had treated her well…

Yana felt a surge of hate swell up in her as she watched him through the scope of her weapon. The focus of everything.

She watched as he showed the contact the money in his briefcase…

It was because of him, her children were abducted…

It was because of him she was forced into helping the CSA sabotage Bonadan’s defenses…

That they were used as leverage against by Kalatan make her lure Miles away from Vinda…

…and it was he who had issued the orders to retaliate against the CSA…

It was because of him Captain Treyst Monohan’s bombers were sent that day…

It was because of him, that when the dust had cleared, the clean-up crews had discovered two children’s bodies in the rubble of the CSA compound …

In one fell swoop , he had destroyed everything good in her life, the only thing worth living for.


Vinda…


The very thought of him made her burn with a hatred she could barely control.…

Yana watched as the businessman began to hand over the briefcase…

Readying herself, Yana aimed directly at his heart.

A random memory of an old quote from an old book inexplicably entered her mind, and Yana now realised she had never before really fully understood its meaning until now…


As her finger tensed the trigger, Yana took a sharp intake of breath and held it.



With all my heart, I stab at thee…

Eastern Plaza - outside VC-HQ




The shuttle landed with a lurch under Kaneda’s direct orders ,directly onto the plaza right outside VC-HQ. Much to the annoyance of the port authority and to many clearly surprised patrons both entering and leaving the building.

As both Natalya and Kaneda jumped down from the side of the shuttle , the section agent took her to one side and spoke, raising his voice above the din of the shuttle's engines winding down... “ wait here for a moment…I’ll be right back” and with that, before she could reply, he promptly took off inside to alert the security services, leaving Natalya standing by the shuttle outside the colossal Vinda-Corp building.

She looked up in awe. It was only the second time she had ever set foot on Bonadan and although she had seen VC-HQ before, it still impressed her now.

The enormity of it all was starting to sink in…

Natalya turned around to gain a scope of the place surrounding her. There were people everywhere and they all appeared to be heading in the same direction,towards the start of the 'Big Swoop' competition. She could just make out the starting grid through the crowds milling towards it.

With curiousity getting the better of her, Natalya moved forward to get a better look, but as she stepped forward she felt the rush of something wash over her. Stopping her in her tracks…

The umistakable pull of the force hit her with a violence she had never before experienced, it was like someone or something had opened the floodgates , and it took her breath away…

Natalya fell to her knees in an attempt to steady herself…

The power behind this was too powerful, and it hurt her. Natalya gritted her teeth in reaction and looked up but found she was no longer looking at the world through her own eyes…

The force was now in control of her vision.


Natalya saw a woman up high, with her finger on the trigger, Natalya saw what she saw…and felt what she felt…

Felt the hatred coarsing inside, the desperation, and the loss, the loss was absolute!


The vision rushed to the woman’s focus, so fast it made her giddy!...

Two men…

….in an area she was starting to recognise…

One was not what he appeared to be and despite this, Natalya knew him, she felt she knew him… all too well…

The other…the other was…

Natalya’s eyes widened…and all became clear…

An instant moment of clarity.


“Natalya!”

Kaneda’s voice punctured the bubble…

As he placed a hand on her shoulder, Natalya's sight returned to her and she found herself looking up at him wild-eyed . He seemed to back-off , as if realising he had awoken her from something unnatural… that and her eyes had now become a bright almost luminescent blue, something he had clearly not seen before…

“whats the matter! Are you alright?” He asked instantly, his voice heavily drenched with concern…

As the spell was broken, she shot up and grabbed him with both hands, the suddenness of which surprised the Vinda-Corp agent…

“She's going to shoot him!” She shouted with utter conviction…

Before Kaneda could ask, Natalya swung around to the direction of what she had seen and pointed to a large housing block ….

“She’s in there! She’s got a gun!” her words came thick and fast, and Kaneda turned to see the building Natalya had pointed at…

“88th floor” Natalya’s eyes glazed as she repeated the information, almost as if someone was speaking through her….

As Kaneda looked up at the building behind him, Natalya had already started moving in the opposite direction...

She knew where she had to go….and despite Kaneda’s rapidly distant protestations Natalya broke into a run as she began to weave her way through the crowd heading in the opposite direction to her, and only two other people…

Time was running out.

The force was guiding her now, compelling her, and she allowed it…


Picking her way through the throng, Natalya instinctively reached for her lightsaber.

“88th floor”

Kaneda suddenly found himself in a dilemma.

His eyes had barely settled on the building Natalya had pointed out, and she had shot off in the opposite direction…

The section agent shouted after her, but to no use, she was off and either not hearing him or not listening.


Shit!


He looked back up at the building for a second then back at Natalya…



how did she know?


what if she was wrong?


The thoughts flashed through his mind in what seemed like forever, indecision was a rare thing indeed for Kaneda, but this had genuinely thrown him…

He cast his gaze back up at the building…

What if she is right?…

Kaneda cursed under his breath and took off himself towards the direction of the housing block, picking his way through the crowds of people with nimble dexterity…

Reaching into his pocket as he ran, he alerted the services to the possible threat, and called for back-up. He was now going on whatever it was Natalya had…

It was her utter conviction that convinced him, if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for him.

Whatever was going on up there he was going to find out, either way…

As she ran through the crowds of people, Natalya caught sight of the two men and her eyes widened. For the first time she laid eyes on her father, and her heart skipped a beat.

The force was flowing through her now, and its warning became deafening, sending everything and everyone else melting into the background…

Natalya watched in desperation as Vinda (Snr) handed Lux the briefcase he was holding…


NO!


Her heart in her mouth Natalya pushed and shoved her way up the plaza steps to reach the same level…

She began to push people out of the way now, and started shouting out towards her father.

“NO! DON’T GIVE HIM THE CASE!”

Now only metres away , her voice shattered the otherwise peaceful surroundings, and all turned around to see the commotion, both men included…


For the first time in their lives both Natalya's and her father’s eyes met.


As both the glimmer of recognition and the realisation of what this meant began to sink in ,what happened next seemed to become one big blur…

The stranger next to the businessman’s reply was instant, clearly recognising the young woman he reached into his pocket to draw his blaster…

She did not pay him any attention, but instead dived towards her father who at this point was too stunned at the happenings to even move. Just as she reached him, a shot from the heavens darted across the square and struck him, sending the pair sprawling down together...

Chaos.


Achinta’s feet were already pounding the pavement when he saw the laser bolt hit, and as the two figures fell to the floor, all hell broke loose, and Achinta broke into a run.

No!

The bodyguard’s worst fears were being realised

The crowd parted in all directions from the trio involved in the centre on the plaza square, and Achinta found himself swamped with people as they panicked and ran.
Their shouts and screams drowned out only by the engines of the various Espo rapid response units alerted to the scene by Agent Soom.
Hovering above the square, they surrounded the area with security personnel descending from their lines in mere seconds accompanying the bodyguard as he took the lead...

The entire plaza square had erupted.

As Achinta picked his way through the crowds with the security services on his heels, his eyes did not move from the figure standing over both Natalya and his employer.

Lux was now reaching for his blaster.

The bodyguard’s eyes widened , and he found himself parting the crowd forcefully with a power bordering on the violent.

Achinta could only hope he wasn't already too late...

Kryuff housing block



Kaneda however, had run into the housing block lobby, and much to his dismay, found the turbolifts all deactivated.

He smacked the control panel and yelled out in frustration, swearing in his native tongue.

Sabotaged!…

He whirled around to the security guards accompanying him at the reception…

“Seal the exits don’t let anyone in or out of this building unless I authorise it!”

As the guards nodded in response, Kaneda bolted for the stairs…

Bursting through the doors he looked up and groaned as his eyes settled upon the stairwells towering above him…

88th floor!

Knowing time was of the essence, the section agent ran back into the lobby and accosted one of the Espos..

“you!, where’s your ride?…”

The man pointed outside the building and Kaneda beckoned him to follow as they both ran towards the shuttle outside together.

As the pilot saw them arrive he started up the shuttle's engines in response , Kaneda clambered in and shouted to make himself heard above the noise "get me to the roof!" pointing upwards at the Pilot.

No further communication was necessary, and as the shuttle lifted up Kaneda held on to a handrail to steady himself, but kept his eyes fixed upwards towards his goal.

What the!…

Lux was beside himself…

it’s a set-up!

Just as Natalya had come bursting through the crowd, someone or something had shot Vinda.

Lux suddenly realised he had been used, and he found himself swearing the Hutt’s name with a venom unmatched…

But Turga was the least of his worries…

Within seconds the entire area had been swamped by security personnel, and Lux knew, he now had to look out for himself.

Without a second look, Lux lunged for the briefcase, and made a run for it…

It was all about survival now, he cared little whether Vinda was alive or dead.

There'd be another day, he would make sure of that.

Lux bolted for the square below, towards the race starting grid, the only direction not yet covered by the swarming security forces, shooting those who were unfortunate enough to not get out of his way quick enough.

As the laser shots hit , virtually all out hysteria began to spread.

Natalya and her father landed hard.



Despite this Natalya was up quickly, and as she took a moment to shrug off the discomfort it was at this moment she realised something.


Vinda was not.


As he lay there motionless, a feeling of dread gripped Natalya’s stomach, and as she bent down to see why, she saw his wound.
The laser bolt had struck Vinda on the left shoulder , and as she checked it, he groaned. Realising his wound was not serious, the feeling of dread was replaced at first by relief, then as she looked up and saw Lux making a sharp exit through the fleeing people, anger.

Her father murmured groggily as if trying to speak, the impact of the fall had concussed him slightly, and although the wound was not a mortal one, it was still incredibly painful.
Natalya spoke to him calmly, whilst keeping her eyes on the fleeing Deed. “you’ve been shot, its not serious, but it’ll hurt like hell…”

“Natalya?” Vinda asked lucidly.

“Yes. Father…” Natalya replied simply, the weight of those few words in themselves were enough to force her to hold back virtually a whole lifetimes worth of angry tears and frustration . This was not the homecoming she had imagined.
She hurriedly ripped a piece of his suit lining and made him hold it over the wound with his good arm.

“I knew you’d come back” he said softly despite the pain.

“Hold this here, keep pressure on it, it’ll stop any bleeding…” Natalya ordered , appearing to ignore his words.

Her father did as he was told but winced, and in what seemed like a bright moment of clarity suddenly looked up at her with a look of concern…

“Why? where are you going?” He demanded..

Natalya looked back at the now rapidly diminishing figure of Lex, and the havoc he was still causing…
“This isn’t over yet” Natalya said in reply, standing up…and as she spoke those very words, a Police shuttle hovered over them, letting loose its lines of security personnel sliding down around them…

“HALT! Put your hands in the air, slowly” demanded one of the Policemen as another went to hold her, and before Natalya could react Mr Vinda nearly shouted his throat hoarse…

“that’s my daughter you imbecile!, let her go!” The security man looked at Vinda then back at Natalya then sheepishly apologised and the other let her go…

Satisfied he was now safe, the young woman gave the tower block a cold hard stare then turned her gaze back towards the escaping Deed, and felt the flash of anger rise inside her.

Oh no you don’t…

She turned suddenly to her father and looked at him directly in the eye…

“I’ll be back, I promise”…and with that, Natalya broke into a run, chasing after her kidnapper across the square , determined to not to let him get away.

As she focused her gaze on Lux, she barely heard her father’s response behind her, as he berated the policemen for not arresting her.

Clearing the steps in virtually one go, Natalya fixed her scrutiny on the man running before her, she watched as he pushed his way onto the starting grid of the racing circuit below. Natalya gripped her lightsaber in her hand at the ready.

…Lux was going to pay for all he had done, She would make certain of that.

Escape...



That was the single thought now racing through Deed's mind as he leaped over a barricade made to keep the public away from the racetrack, a closed off-section of the city's road and pedestrian system.

A few men attempted to stop him, but he he shot one in the stomach, and the rest ran away to protect themselves, and to get help.

The loud hum of turbine engines filled his ears and as he looked up he found himself looking towards a security shuttle, with its crew ready to spring into action.

The sound of an Espo shouted down through the loudspeaker.

"Give it up! you've got nowhere to go! Put the gun down or we'll shoot to kill This is your only warning!"

Lux raised his blaster towards the cockpit and gave his reply, sending several laser bolts shooting upwards...

The craft veered out of the way of his shots, and returned fire. Deed darted across the starting grid with a trail of laser fire impacting behind him to the surprise of the waiting riders, all staring in confusion at the strange scene taking place around them.

With this in mind he ran over to the nearest swoop-racer and pointed his blaster at the stunned rider and shouted above the noise "GET OFF THE SWOOP NOW" his eyes were fierce and wide, the rider dismounted immediately , and raised his hands in a gesture of complete compliance.

Without a second thought Lux hitched himself onto the Swoop, activated it, and roared off at full throttle, leaving the security shuttle and everything else behind, racing off the track and onto Bonadan's pedestrianized streets. Much to the shock and alarm of both the spectators and the general population.

There was no way Lux was going to be caught, he had already decided that, he was either going to escape or die trying.