The hum of the lightsabers was accentuated by the crackle and pop of the floor when the tips of their blades sank into mess of glass and metal. Inside Vrax's helmet however, was the sound of his own heavy breathing. He kept the energy blades buried in the broken floor in order to cover the sound while it took every bit of control to keep his body from showing any outward signs of exhaustion. He could feel his naturally weak lungs struggle to pull in enough of the tainted air he survived on to keep himself from keeling over. His entire body ached now that the adrenaline had started to cool in his veins.

Still he was thankful for one thing: The death of one of their own had forced the Sith to briefly pause their attacks. This wouldn’t last forever though; sooner or later they would resume and it was unlikely he could keep up this pace compared to someone able to access and enhance their body through the Force. He needed a way to end this quickly and decisively.

“You look pretty mad,” Vrax commented, his voice alight with mocking tones. “Was he a friend of yours?”

For a moment neither of the Sith did much beyond glare daggers at him, but eventually the woman spoke up: “That fighting style, it isn’t tera kasi, is it?”

Behind his mask, Vrax grinned from ear to ear. Banter was exactly what he needed to buy time while he plotted his next move. “No, it’s not. I told you before, my people have spent millions of years fostering our endless hate and blood lust for Force users. Getting your entire star system nuked because of them can really put you in a bad mood for a while. So we spent that time finding ways to fight and kill your kind. The ignorant masses have tera kasi, we Ubese have zi-cha’ar.”

“So, what you’re telling us is that you’re some kind of close quarter juggernaut then?” she asked with a growing smirk.

In the back of his mind, Vrax was pretty sure he knew what was going through her head but his body was just a fraction of a second behind. Before he knew it, the entire wreckage of the club was being levitated into the air around him. Chairs, tables, glasses, bottles, even pieces of the stage and light fixtures began screaming towards him.

“Let’s see if your range game is any good,” she chided him with a smile that held no joy.

Vrax very quickly found himself forced onto the defensive, slicing and cutting his way through projectile after projectile. However, it was a losing game: the more he destroyed, the more ammo he was handing them. This was compounded by the fact that he couldn’t keep up this pace forever, a blunt-force reminder delivered by a chair smashing into his back. Stumbling to the ground from the blow, he rolled across the ground and narrowly avoided a heavy chunk of duracrete that would have crushed his head.

Getting to his feet, he made a mad dash across the room straight at his Sith antagonists. With speed and reflexes that had been honed from years of training, he cut a swath through the hail of debris that stood in his way. His sabers danced and buzzed as they cut everything they touched and within moments he had closed the gap.

As he approached striking range, the dark-clad woman swept a hand in his direction and the floor beneath Vrax exploded outward. The Ubese found himself airborne and stunned when lumps of duracrete pummeled him in the gut. Though the lightweight armor of his environmental suit took the brunt of the blow, he could feel kinetic forces slam into him, knocking the air out of his lungs.

As he drifted through the air unabated, the cruel, cackling laughter of his opponent served as the background music. Vrax had barely touched ground when it was ripped apart just beside him, sending him hurtling once more, stopped only by a painful crash into the wall. His breathing was labored when he forced himself back to his feet with the wall for support.

Whatever advantages he’d come into this fight with, were now slipping away - and the next thing that could slip, if he didn’t change the circumstances, would be his grasp on life.

----------------------------------

Rarity made her way through the dimly lit corridors of the station’s lower levels. Higher and higher she climbed through the lowest levels of the station's inner workings, always hoping the next sign she'd see would be pointing her towards the hangar bay. Her hoofsteps echoed off the metal floors and walls, adding to the hum of the generators, the buzz of power conduits and the sloshing of various pipes and pumps. The combined din was starting to wear on the mare's nerves, almost making it hard for her to concentrate.

As yet another automated door hissed open for her, Rarity found herself rooted in place as she came face-to-face with another armed alien in ragged body armor. The two looked at one another for one endless second before either made their move. With a flash of blue light, Rarity telekinetically swung the strong the metal case on her back into the side of her obstacle's head, impacting with a metallic CRUNCH. The alien let out a stream of angry shouts in its native tongue while it grasped the side of its face. She immediately spun around and started at a full gallop in the opposite direction.

In her time far from home, Rarity had picked up a few things from the galaxy she'd been adrift in. A few tricks and skills of her own, various creative ways to use both her magic and, more immediately, the stream of alien expletives she let fly when another group of armed men came stomping down the nearest gantryway. Not letting her pace slow, she darted blindly down one corridor after another but found herself being blocked every few yards. Perhaps it was luck, Celestia guiding her from afar or maybe even this Force phenomenon the off-worlders continually talked about in various states of awe. In any case, despite the best attempts of her would-be captors’ movements to squeeze the trap, she continued to escape; it seemed, metaphorically, that the more they tightened their grip, the more she slipped through their fingers.

Rushing up a set of pipes that they couldn’t follow through, she squeezed up to another deck, only to find herself yet again she found herself blocked by a pair of armed men who quickly aimed their weapons at her. She could hear shouting and heavy footfalls behind her growing closer. Perhaps this was it, the end of the line, she feared; soon she'd be delivered into Vrax's hands and no doubt executed in some grisly fashion or another. She was going to die light years from home, never getting to see Equestria again, never getting to see her friends and family again, never getting to see Sweetie Belle finally get her cutie mark.

No, she told herself, steeling herself. No, I will not be taken! I am an Element, and I will see my kith and kin once more!

With newfound determination, Rarity poured more speed into her legs as she tore through the tight corridor towards the two mercenaries. As they prepared to fire, she reacted, both sliding underneath them and charging her her horn for a blast. A flare of blue enveloped the pipes above as Rarity reached out with her magic and tore open. Her would-be captors let out a surprised yelp as a mixture of thick oily slop, bright blue liquid and hissing gas poured over them, dropping their guns. She immediately took advantage of that, taking the weapons in her magic and rushing off with them while the two wiped the gunk from their eyes; by the time they recovered enough to chase her, she’d be long gone...and armed..

She could barely keep the satisfied smirk from her face as she heard the shouting of the mercenaries she'd left behind. Whatever’s keeping me from being caught? I hope it’ll continue until I can rendezvous with Simon, she mused.

As she made a mad dash through the endless halls and corridors yet another avenue for escape was foolishly opened by one of her mercenary pursuers. Still uncomfortable with using the weapons on her opponents, Rarity used the brief lull of surprise to close the gap and made a quick swipe across the alien’s knees with the heavier pistol, hefting it as a cudgel. The strike crumpled the attacker’s joints, causing it to topple over, shouting in pain, and allowing her to gallop away.

Darting into another narrow hall, she found a large reptilian creature armed with what looked to be a cannon of some kind. It let out a hiss as it pulled the trigger, sending a large net flying through the air towards her. With another burst of magic, the Unicorn rebuked the net and sent it flying back towards her opponent. It wrapped itself around the hulking reptile and then blasted him with a burst of electricity. The monstrous alien let out a loud shriek of pain before it collapsed on the ground. Smirking proudly to herself, Rarity continued to race through the halls towards her supposed freedom.

"Simon," she said into her comlink between heavy breaths,"if you're there, I've hit a small spot of trouble. Now I'm not saying I need help darling, but if you're free at the moment then it would not go underappreciated."

Turning another corner, she could see another set of stairs, and shortly after that, the words HANGAR BAY 14. The Aurbesh wording made her heart soar. Despite the growing pain in her legs and the throbbing pain in her head from using so much magic, she breathed a happy sigh of relief, feeling the sensation of hope. "Good news darling, just about there now," she happily chirped into the com. "If I might be so bold, you should ready the ship to leave as soon as I'm aboard. There are still more than a few cut throats after me and-" All of this was snatched away when something stole the floor out from under her hooves.

Rarity went into a tumbled across the metal grates of the floor, filling the air with loud clanging, both from her and her “cargo”. Pain filled her body: from running blindly for so long, from pushing her magic so much and now the pain from hitting the floor with what felt like every inch of her body. When she finally came to a stop she could see what had caused her fall. On the ground before her was a weapon she recognized all too well, the blaster that belonged to Simon. She could feel her heart starting to sink into the pit of her stomach.

"Simon?" Rarity breathed in worry. "Oh, Celestia no."

---------------------------

What at one point had been a nightclub was now a broken and sundered warzone as Ubese killer and Sith warriors exchanged blow after blow. What had briefly been a fight in Vrax's favor was now quickly becoming a fight just to stay alive. The Sith had very quickly become wise to his skills at close range and now kept him fighting defensively at a distance with wave after wave of debris, and thanks to the earlier chaos and combat, they were not wanting for ammunition to use against the stocky foe.

Once more, Vrax barreled through the barrage to close the gap with his opponents - and once again, the floor beneath his feet cracked and shattered with a burst of Force energy. And once again, he was sent hurtling through the air. He swung his trophy saber around like a madman, swatting at the swarm of debris that they threw at him, and while a few of his chaotic swipes managed to strike true, he was again hammered by the debris storm. This was brought to a stop when he slammed backwards into a wall, his body smashing through the cheaply-purchased material and offering little cushioning to him.

Quickly righting himself, Vrax could see that he was in the kitchen of the neighboring establishment. He eyed one of the pipes that connected to a still-burning stove and an idea quickly snapped into place in his mind. Knowing that the Sith would eventually pursue even at the risk of an ambush, he did not wait long to ready himself for what was surely coming. Turning off the saber, he started using the hilt like a hammer and knocked a portion of the pipe loose. A loud hiss escaped as the gaseous contents of the pipe started to escape and fill the area. With all of his might, he forced the leaking end of the pipe to point itself at the hole he entered the room from.

--------------------

All manner of horrible thoughts entered Rarity's head at the thought of her comrade's fate. She was given little time to explore these when the sound of footfalls started to come from the hallway she'd just left. Rarity told herself that she would mourn if necessary when she was safely off this space station. Turning to make the climb to the hangar bays she found herself bumping into a large black solid wall.

After falling back a few feet, she was able to see that it was less of a wall that she had hit and more of a person that was built like a wall. Rarity looked up into the emotionless visor that glared daggers at her and sent a chill down her spine. Before she could react another pair of brigands blocked her only path for escape.

“Looks like the end of the line girly,” chuckled a man that looked to be part-human and part-machine.

“Dibs,” a younger humanoid growled, levelling his blaster.

Rarity's mind reached out, quickly mapping the locations of the other two blasters, as well as the additional one underneath her clothing. Her mind then wandered back to that dark day in Canterlot, and how in a flash of light so many lives had been ended and turned into charred corpses. Then how close her own rage and anger had nearly forced her to take a life that day. Her heart slowed to a crawl and her body nearly trembled at the thought of what she might have to do now. But even with the addition of the three blasters at her disposal, she was outgunned, out-armored, and they had their weapons pointing at her already, and unless they were bad shots - and they likely wouldn't be mercenaries if they were - they would pull the trigger long before she could even aim her weapons.

The odds in her mind started to improve just a bit when she glanced back at Simon's discarded blaster; by some small miracle, when she tripped over it, it angled in such a way that placed it right into position. A plan quickly formed in her head: It was foalish, risky and completely insane, but it just might save her flank. She'd need to be fast and precise, more importantly she couldn't hesitate. Corpses, burnt and charred. Every single move had to be done with a purpose. Pearl white fur stained red with the blood of the alien broken beneath her hooves, hate and rage boiling. If she hesitated or was off by even a hair, she was dead.

Her horn's magic flared brightly until it was a blinding pitch forcing the others to shield their eyes. She used this distraction and reached out with her magic to take hold of the blaster on the ground. Likewise her magical aura reached out to the other blasters as well. She bared her teeth and held her breath while flashes of a home and loved ones she might never see again started to flash in her mind, followed by another remnant of a thought:

His smile, he actually looked rather handsome when he smiled.

The hall was suddenly filled with the sounds of blaster fire and the smell of ozone.

------------------------

“Little bastard,” the Sith woman growled after Vrax did not emerge from the hole he’d left in the wall. The pair of Sith stood their ground in anticipation for the Ubese’s continued fruitless attacks against them. But instead he had refused to return to the battle that he’d egged them into.

“He’s been able to hide himself from us,” her companion commented. “This zi-cha’ar of his has masked him from the Force. Perhaps he’s used this as a chance to escape with his life?”

“No, this Vrax doesn’t strike me as a coward,” she replied. “A fool, yes, but not a coward. If anything he’ll have some kind of trap set up for us.”

With a sneer, her fellow Sith motioned towards the broken wall. Under his will and command, the Force roiled forth like an angry wave, picking up everything in its path. It crashed through the wall and tore it apart all the more. They could clearly see the kitchen beyond get torn asunder by the blow.

“Hmph, that should deal with his trap,” the male Sith said with a chuckle. Without a second thought the Sith warrior darted towards the opening. His hate, rage and growing bloodlust fueled his power within the Dark Side and granted him inhuman speed. If the alien was foolish enough to remain, then he would soon be dead. But these plans came to a horrific halt the moment he stepped into the room.

Unfortunately for him, Vrax had been patient, waiting with supreme patience while the Sith idiots tore the room apart with the Force. At the first sign of either of the Darksiders he ignited both of his stolen sabers and brought the blades against one another, sending crackling sparks in all directions, including, most importantly right in front of the broken pipe aimed at the hole.

In a burst of heat and burning air, the gas that had been spraying from it was ignited. The Sith that had entered the room was soon awash in a wave of fire that seared his clothes and skin with agonizing effectiveness.

"Burn Sithspawn, burn," Vrax roared over the screams of his victim.

-------------

Rarity had barely moved the blasters when the pair of men down the hall from her fell to the ground in a heap. She stood there, frozen and confused while several smoking holes dotted their bodies.

As the electromist slowly cleared from the area, she looked back and noticed a large, armored figure standing over her while a small plume of smoke rose from the barrel of the weapon.

"Nice trick with the horn," it said in a heavily distorted voice. “Unfortunately, you missed one.” The figure turned to show another alien, who by the looks of it had intended to sneak up on the unicorn and drive a vibroblade into the back of her skull. “Fortunately for you, I took care of it.”

"Um, yes, well, thank you," she replied cautiously and still keeping a telekinetic grip on the blasters. "Not to sound too ungrateful darling, but just who are you?"

"Oh, right, the armor." With a loud hiss of escaping air, the hulking armored figure pulled off its helmet and let a mess of dark raven hair spill out just past the shoulder. The soft contours of the face hinted that she was in fact a woman, and a few telltale scars dotted her face showed soemone with wide experience and strength in combat. She beamed with a warm friendly smile that made her emerald green eyes shine brightly and quickly conjured the memory of photo Rarity had seen before.

"Name's Kaily Ortell,” the woman said in a cocky tone that wouldn't have sounded out of place had it been voiced by Rainbow Dash. “I'm here to rescue you."

Rarity sat there as this new shock started to settle in on her brain. "You're Simon's sister?"

"Oh, good, he told you about me already," she said with a chuckle. "Was worried this would be one'a those long awkward explanation deals. Anyways, a one-armed Jedi told me he was trying to find me, then I heard about this big hunt Vrax was on to find him. So I figured I'd follow along and save my loser brother's hide."

"I'm afraid you're a bit late on that last bit," Rarity said as she levitated the blaster towards her. "It would appear that Simon has already been taken."

"Jeez, can't go ten seconds without me needing to save him."

"Oh, believe me I'm well aware of that feeling,” Rarity added with a wry smile.

------------------

With a wave of her hand and an extension of her will, the Sith woman pulled her companion literally out of the fire. With another application of the Force the flames eating away at his body were scattered away leaving his bubbled and charred flesh. His breathing was ragged and labored but life still clung to his blackened, decimated body.

“You realize we can’t do this forever right?” Vrax called to her from behind his fiery blockade. “It’s only a matter of time before the station’s security force comes in and starts shooting. What do you say we cut our losses, you take your wounded friend and I take that mystery crate?”

“You little sleemo,” she hissed at him. “Do you think I’d be foolish enough to turn my back on you, Ubese!?”

“Depends, you willing to gamble your crispy buddy’s life on it?” Vrax shot back at her. “C’mon Sith Witch, how long’s he got left in him after that warm welcome that I gave him?”

She glared daggers at the fire separating her from the alien that dared to strike her and her fellow Sith. Now he dared to dictate terms of surrender to her? Rage and hate filled her veins, bubbling throughout her entire being at the thought of submitting to this lesser life form and his lies. Her grip on the hilt of her saber tightened like a vice as the thought burned her from the inside out. She brought her saber up and with one swift stab she impaled her wounded companion through the chest, ending his life. Reaching out with the Force, she took her now dead compatriot’s saber and ignited it alongside her own.

“Now I have no burden to slow my hand, Ubese,” she cackled.

Through the fire, Vrax tumbled out into the open, igniting both sabers, the gray-hued blades lancing into the air. “Fine by me, I don’t like loose ends either.”

The pair squared off silently, each one taking measure of the other’s stance while weighing their options and chances. Every subtle movement from one was matched by something similar from the other as they sought to fill in whatever gap the other had found. In the distance the sounds of sirens and shouting from outside could be heard even from the wreckage of this facility yet to the two fighters it was given no mind. Death would come swift and this would end now.

In the space of a single breath they hurled themselves at one another. The Sith once again drawing from her boundless hatred and rage to pull herself forward. On the other end, Vrax lacked the advantages that the Force granted his opponent, but what he did have was training and skill. He shut himself off from everything but his enemy, and nothing else mattered to him; he moved on pure instinct and reflex, a finely-hewed killing machine.

When they met at the halfway point, both swung their weapons with full intent to kill the other. A bated breath later, they stood completely still, face to face with their sabers poised from where they had come to a stop after the strike. Time stood still until finally one of them moved. The darkside woman’s arms dropped to her sides, her eyes glazing over and legs going limp. Her chest fell one final time as she fell to her knees and continued to stare blankly straight ahead while a still-glowing gash down her chest as well as a hole where her heart used to be continued to smoke and smolder.

Another loud THUMP sounded in the now mostly silent room before Vrax stumbled backwards. A waft of smoke rose up from where his left arm used to be. The soft glow from the energy burn faded away and left behind only charred blackened flesh. He gripped the stump tightly with his right hand and screamed in pain and rage for his lost limb. If not for the seal around his helmet then he might have been exposed to the deadly oxygen-filled air. But this fact did little to dull the agony that now filled his entire being.

Taking several labored breaths, he forced himself to calm down since the security forces were right outside. The healthy sum of credits he'd left with their boss at least granted him enough time to escape but it would be some time before he could afford to make any return visits. That is, until after he cashed in-

It was then that Vrax noticed that the case traded to the Sith had gone missing.

"No," he wheezed through his voice modulator. "NO!"

With a healthy dose of anger and pain, the Ubese began stumbling about the decimated room, knocking anything in his way to the side. He turned over every inch he could while shouting over and over. "Where is it!?"

Finally giving in to his rage, he turned on the Sith woman's corpse, still on her knees. The soul of his boot met the side of her face sending the limp body toppling across the room like a rag doll where it landed in a heap. "Where is it you schuta!? Where's the karking case!?"

"Boss, you still there?” the voice of Vrax's henchman stopped him before his temper could flare any higher.

"Ulmar, this had better be damn good news," Vrax warned him.

"Sorry boss, but the station's bigwigs are saying we gotta go, now.”

"The other case?"

"No dice..."

"You're making it very hard not to kill you right now Ulmar."

"Got one bit'a good news though," Ulmar nervously replied. "We picked up someone I'm sure you'll be wanting to have a few words with."

A hungry grin began to tug the sides of Vrax's mouth beneath his mask. "Meet me at airlock five, top level. And get the damned medical droid up and running."

-----------------------------

"Zee, can you hear me?" Rarity shouted into the com in a near panic. As she'd hoped the unknowable whistling of the robot on the other side chirped back at her. "Darling, prepare the ship for immediate launch and track my signal. Simon has been taken and we haven't a moment to waste!"

Ahead of her, the heavily-armored and imposing figure of Kaily Ortell led their charge with unyielding resolve. One unlucky lowlife attempted to get in their way and was quickly greeted with a solid blow from her shoulder plate. The force of the blow practically flattened the alien against the wall, knocking the air and sense out of him.

“C’mon, Vrax’s ship should be right through here,” Kaily called back to her while she elbowed another unfortunate lowlife getting in their way.

When the door slid open a wave of heat washed over the two of them. The engines of the semi-circular ship roared to life as it started to shift and move. It spun around to face the shimmering field that kept the deadly void at bay before it blasted away sending a shockwave through Kaily and Rarity.

“No, no, no, no!” Rarity shouted as the ship flew away.

Kaily quickly hit the comlink on her wrist. “Zee, get the ship to our position now!”

Within moments the Meaningless Venture burst its way into the hangar bay and dropped its gangway. The moment Rarity and Kaily boarded it fired its engines and shot out into space. The pair made a fast b-line for the cockpit where the astromech R8-Z7 was already plugged into the main console and franticly whistling to them. Their view shifted and darted about until Vrax's ship came into view just as it detached from the upper level of that station.

"Zee, patch me into the firing controls," Kaily ordered while taking a seat at the helm.

"But, your brother, he's aboard that ship," Rarity quickly objected.

"I'm only going to disable them," she assured her. "Gonna lock onto their main reactor. Cut off their power supply and they won't be able to jump."

While Kaily adjusted and toyed with the controls before her, the main gun atop of the ship shifted about. The dark-haired mercenary focused intently at the screen in front of her as she continued to draw a bead on her target. Behind her, Rarity bit down on her lip while worry and dread swelled up inside of her.

"C'mon Zee, keep her steady just a little longer," Kaily pleaded.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Kaily's finger tightened around the trigger and the ship's gun roared with a burst of energy fire. Thick red bolts of devastating energy were let loose upon their enemy's ship, but the ship was no longer there. The moment the shots were fired, Vrax's ship made the jump to hyperspace.

"NO!" Kaily roared when her target vanished. "Zee, plot a course - I want us on their shebs, NOW!"

"Simon," Rarity breathed out in disbelief at the empty void in front of her. After everything that had happened, after all the pain and misery, in the blink of an eye her companion throughout it all was ripped away from her. She looked on slack-jawed as if this was some horribly-played prank, but then soon realized this was no cruel jape: not even the pranking twins of Rainbow and Pinkie would be this cruel.

Numb to the world around her, she barely heard Kaily's loud shouts and curses or Zee's frantic chiming and whistling. Everything slowed to a crawl around her and her head felt light. Simon Ortell, her friend, was now in the clutches of murderous cutthroat that would no doubt waste little time in either torturing him or possibly outright killing him. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. From the corner of her eye she spied the case that she had managed to escape with and suddenly she could feel a spark of hope.

I’m going to get you back, Simon, Rarity vowed, her eyes narrowing with a sudden anger that came from nowhere. I swear as the Element of Generosity, we’ll get you back.

She then turned to look at the four blasters, all set on the floor. Reaching over to take one in her hooves, she held it with a firm intent. Had she been more familiar with weapons, she would’ve identified it as an antique EB-11, modified for modern technology. Had she realized that she had a century-old weapon in her hands, she would’ve comprehended that whomever she took it from had a worthy treasure, indeed.

But all she saw it for, was a key: a key to rescuing Simon. A smile more akin to her pegasus friend came onto Rarity’s face as she thought, Whoever took Simon? I’m coming for you. And as Generosity, I will be generous with what I have to give you…

...I’m just not sure you’re going to like it.