The Quarry

The Quarry - Part 13

Author's Note: Description of serious injury in this chapter 

"DIN!" Versa's voice was hoarse as smoke and dust filled the narrow alleyway before being tamped down by the drizzle. Without thinking, she reholstered her weapon and dove, wrapping her arms around his body and rolling him to the opposite side of the alley, tucking their muddy forms down between two stacks of crates. He grunted in her arms as she pushed his body up against the wall, frantically digging her fingers under his shirt to find where he'd been hit. He groaned as she found the blaster hole in his side, quickly inspecting it. "Vers," he gasped.

"Stay still," she commanded. Karking hells it's bad. The bolt had hit him right between the ribs, luckily cauterizing most of the flesh around it, but the way he was struggling to breathe was scaring her. "Are you gasping because of the pain or because you're short of breath, Din? This is important."

He tilted his visor up to look at her. "Pain...I think." The air smelled electric. She glanced at his leg. Not pretty, but he'll live. Din was grasping at her, trying to pull himself up, but she pressed him back against the wall.

"Stay down," she ordered.

Versa ripped her blaster back out of its holster with one hand as she assessed the situation. Breathe. Think. Which way is the blaster fire coming from? Her cloak was heavy with mud and water, and she wrenched it from her shoulders, tossing it aside as her hair stuck to her forehead and neck in the rain.

"Alright, you stay here. I'll handle this. Ok, Din?" She was met with silence. "Din?" Fear strangled her as her fingers dug under his cowl, desperately searching for a pulse. He was unconscious, but she found a heartbeat. Must have passed out from the pain. Kriff. Ok, I'm on my own.

As the bolts whizzed by, she figured out they were coming from the direction she and Din had been heading, towards the market. Good. We can get back to the ship. At least, so far. She allowed herself to peer around the corner. A troop of masked hunters were making their way down the alley towards them, about twenty meters away and closing quickly. Her peek around the corner earned her another volley of blasterfire. She blindly fired back without hitting anything before withdrawing.

Versa felt her heart rising in her throat. She hadn't brought any spare munitions with her from the ship, thinking that this would be quick and at most, they'd run into one or two hunters. Now with at least half a dozen advancing on them, she cursed her lack of planning. She began patting down Din's body, searching for anything that could help them. Her eyes landed on the whistling birds on Din's wrist. She whispered a prayer as she scraped the mud away that it would be loaded, and for once, luck was on her side. She quickly studied the mechanism on his vambrace, finding the switch he engaged with his thumb and the mechanism that clicked on when he snapped his wrist downwards. The heavy footfalls of boots were growing closer as she wrenched his arm out from behind the crate, bending his wrist downwards and depressing the button on his gauntlet. The salvo whistled out of his armor, and she counted six satisfying thuds as their attackers hit the ground. A second passed before a few more blaster bolts whizzed past. Damn. Didn't get them all.

Tucking Din back behind the crates, Versa began digging through his pouches and pockets. She found a vibroblade and smoke grenade. These'll do. Cautiously, she peeked again. Another four hunters were advancing. They really brought the whole gang. She inhaled deeply, concentrating on the sound of approaching boots as her training from her youth took over.

Versa tossed the grenade, and the alley erupted in smoke and blaster fire. Gotta move quickly before the rain clears it. Ducking low, Versa dashed forward, drawing the vibroblade and her blaster. The first form came out of the smoke and she kicked his leg out from under him. He landed with a dull thud before she smashed her elbow into his throat and fired two rounds into his chest. Blasterfire slammed into the wall inches from her face as another nearby attacker shot blindly at the noise. A piece of the stone hit her in the mouth, splitting her lip open, but Versa barely noticed it. She dove forward towards the source of the fire, landing in a crouch at the hunter's feet. She stood quickly, driving her shoulder upwards into the arm he was holding his blaster in, and his next round of fire flew wildly skyward. He swung his other arm and landed a blow to her ribs, driving a grunt from her lungs. She embedded the blade in between his chest plate and back plate on his blaster side, twisting the knife as he screamed and slumped onto her.