Achinta had almost reached the trio , when the crowd had suddenly surged forward and he had been caught in the middle of it. The bodyguard now found himself on the floor swamped by a mass of flaying legs and arms, accompanied by the panicking cries of those who had tried to get away from the scene being played out behind them.

In the chaos and confusion , he had lost sight of Vinda, and as he untangled himself from the melee, he had found a somewhat disconcerting sight.

Vinda, who was now surrounded by medics and security personnel , seemed hurt, and Natalya had sped off after Deed.

The HRD hesitated for a fraction of a second, unsure of what to do first.

Tempted to chase after her Achinta let it go, and weaved his way to the now somewhat ruffled looking businessman…

His job was to protect Vinda, everything else came second. His concern for his employer increased as he reached the old man, and saw the medics fussing over him.

That was until he spoke…

“where the bloody hell have you been!” Shouted the Corporate head…

Inwardly Achinta felt relieved.

Clearly the old man was not seriously hurt.

“well don’t just stand there, get after her!” He demanded angrily…

Achinta turned to look at the now rapidly diminishing figure of Natalya chasing after Lux, then back at Vinda.

“My job is to protect you” He answered simply.

Vinda, flustered, struggled to his feet, much to the protestations of the medics trying to treat him …

“well that’s just changed, your job is to protect her!” He snapped stubbornly, frustrated at the bodyguard’s reluctance to leave him.

“in the name of Vader Achinta! she’s the only damned family I have left ! I’ll be fine here, I’m safe now, just… get after her!” He pleaded…

The bodyguard nodded, and turned back around to see Natalya leaping down the stairs towards the civilian parking area.

Without a second glance Achinta followed, breaking into a run, his long powerful legs covering the ground with ease…

He didn't quite know how or why, but it appeared he now had two Vinda’s to look after.


…as if one wasn’t enough…

Meanwhile…


A fraction of a second…


Fuck!…


The implications of what had just happened had not yet even nearly begun to sink in. Yana had even stood up looking desperately through her telescopic sight in order to get a clear shot, but it was now blocked…people everywhere, everything had gone wrong in the fraction of second…

Her sights had been clear, she had seen the right time, and at that very moment she had pulled the trigger something , or someone rather, had intervened.

Yana cursed to herself once more as she realised just who had interfered, and her eyes narrowed in disbelief…

His own damned daughter!

Natalya herself had come out of nowhere and had plucked the old man out of harms way.

Those last crucial last moments played and replayed out in her head almost as if in a looped cycle, as if trying to comprehend how in the blink of an eye she had missed her opportunity.

As the repercussions of this began to sink in, Yana felt sick, as she realised it was all over, Turga had obviously failed, and now , so had she…

It had taken so long to get to this point.

“uselss fat slug!”

She cursed the Hutt loudly as she moved quickly back into the apartment and away from the balcony

…all he had to do was keep the bitch out of the way…he couldn’t even do that!…

“FUCK!”

Yana yelled out in panic, frustration, desperation and despair… her head was now a steaming cauldron of emotion, a maelstrom now swirling around inside her to the point where she felt she would burst from it.

The young woman left the weapon where it was and made a move to leave.

…not needed now…

Yana now knew she had little time.
With this thought in her head, she froze as a sound reached her ears, her eyes widening as she recognised it immediately…

…security shuttle!…

Suddenly the entire apartment was flooded with a bright white light, and a voice could just be heard over its powerful engines…

“PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR SLOWLY! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING, GIVE YOURSELF UP!”

Yana looked away temporarily blinded by the light, and in that instant made her decision, without hesitating any longer she made a run for it…

Natalya had watched Deed speed off on a stolen swoop and in order to follow him she had found herself running to the closet thing she could find. In a public parking area close to the race starting grid , Natalya had jumped into the first speeder she came across.

Much to the shock of its owner.

“Get out!” She shouted, and after taking one look at her lightsaber the owner, a petrified looking Sullustan, decided he wasn’t going to argue.

…no time to be nice…

As Natalya started it up, she shouted above the noise of its turbines towards the hapless and somewhat reluctant donator…

“I’m sorry! I’ll return it I promise!”

…and with that, she throttled the throttle and gave chase…

Taking it high above the heads of the many confused and startled populace she accelerated it to full power and already its engines began to whine in response.

The busy sky traffic shot past her in almost every direction.

The back of Deed was just visible ahead. Although he was faster, he still had to move out of the way of big obstacles due to the swoop’s low flight ceiling. Natalya however could simply go over them and she had started to gain ground…

The young woman fixed her gaze upon the figure and started to take the speeder down, her eyes narrowing as all that had happened began to race through her mind…

Gaia…


Turga…


…her father…

The more she thought the more she felt the anger in her rise, Deed was now fixed in her sights and nothing was going to get in her way...

Achinta meanwhile had found himself in a yet another dilemma, follow Deed or follow Natalya…

The HRD had commandeered a Swoop too, much to the annoyance of another Racer, and as the Android surged forwards he followed in the direction of both…

After all that was where Natalya was going anyway…

As the crowd parted for him Achinta activated his internal comm-link to Bonadan’s security center and rattled off his commands…

They were already tracking Deed's escape bid...

“Shut off all civilian roadways , shut down the traffic lanes, evacuate the pedestrianized areas. What is the target’s course and heading?”

As the information was broadcast to him, Achinta frowned, Lux seemed to be heading for the causeway tunnel. A huge man-made industrial-sized traffic-tunnel / bridge built especially for low flight ceiling traffic to pass over the ‘causeway’ a large natural gorge that ran the outside of the capital…

“Close it down”

His command was simple and quick.

It had dawned on Achinta that it would be the ideal place in order to elude the many security shuttles hot on his tail. The traffic inside it was bottle necked and intense making it hard for anyone to keep up.

If Deed was organised he may even have a ship of some description hidden nearby…

Achinta’s sub-routines raced through his head, analysing and playing out the multitudes of possible scenarios ,in nano-seconds, but there was only one thing to do.

The HRD twisted the accelerator hard , and with a jolt that would have wrenched any other normal person’s stomach into spasms, gave chase.

“she’s running!”

The pilot shouted over to Kaneda, and as he hung on the wrung with the shuttle’s side hatch open, the sound of both the engines and the wind rushing around him filled his ears…

Turning to face one of the guards the section-agent pointed upwards…

“Meet me on the roof" He shouted…

“why? Where the hell are you going?” Replied one of the security men looking somewhat confused…

After gathering the zip-line up Kaneda threw it out down towards the balcony, his reply was simple…

“after her”

..and before anyone could reply or stop him, he had taken hold of the cable and leapt for the balcony below, hurtling downwards almost a hundred floors up…


His landing , if you could call it that, was far from perfect. Unable to control his momentum as the line grew taut, the Section-agent found himself crashing straight through the balcony plate glass door, sending shards of glass shattering everywhere and winding himself in the process.
Grimacing as he picked himself up, he reached for his Kitana still strapped to his back.

After noting the gun abandoned on the floor, he picked up the pace, darting into the apartment just in time to see the figure of the slender woman running out of the apartment and out into the corridor outside.

Gripping the handle of his Kitana tightly, Kaneda followed hot on her heels…

Yana was quick on her feet, and as the Section-agent came smashing through the glass door, she had needed no encouragement, by the time he was on his feet she was out of the door.

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Yana shot out of the apartment and down the corridor outside straight for the stairway that lead to the roof.

She knew the block was obviously now surrounded, that said, she hadn’t expected them to catch up with her this fast, everything had gone wrong so quickly.

Bursting through the doors to the stairwell she flew up them like her life depended upon it, because she knew at this very moment, it did.

Yana had a ship waiting for her on the roof, it was her ticket out, but if the security forces had already locked the building down, she knew it may already have been compromised, but right now she was running out of options.

The young woman could only hope they hadn’t got to it yet, that and she could actually make it that far.

With that in mind she stole a frantic glance downwards as she ran up the stairs, catching a fleeting glimpse of her pursuer as he chased after her.

She recognised him.

…Section!…


Yana knew she would be lucky to get away.

As Kaneda ran after the woman he looked up the stairwell to catch a glimpse of her, their eyes briefly met, and in that moment he recognised her. He also knew by the look on her face she had done the same.

Yana!…

Kaneda’s strong legs made short work of the distance between them both, and as he powered up the stairs after her, he saw her virtually crash through the entrance to the roof.

The Section-agent had already figured out she was running to some kind of ship or transport waiting for her upstairs, and as he too burst through the door he found his suspicions confirmed.

Her ship wasn’t going anywhere however…and neither was Yana.

Kaneda’s security team had already landed and were already on the roof by the ship, with their blasters aimed directly at her.

The young woman was caught between them and now the Section agent himself.

“STOP! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING PLACE YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD OR WE WILL SHOOT”

Their orders were loud and direct, and Yana froze in reaction.

Straightening himself up Kaneda slowly walked towards her, raising his hand to calm his security men down, they did as they were told and lowered their weapons a little, but did not break their gaze from the woman before them.

As the Section-agent moved closer Yana backed away , towards the edge of the roof.

Kaneda spoke, his voice clear but soft “Its over Yana. Give yourself up , there is no reason to make this any worse…”

…Trapped…


Yana knew it was all over now, and as the Section-agent stepped forward she instinctively backed away from him.

“Its over Yana. Give yourself up , there is no reason to make this any worse…”

Yana eyes grew fierce as she felt her anger and desperation boil over…

“WORSE! How can anything get any worse!”

She shouted above the wind that whistled and blew around her, carrying with it the sounds of distant police sirens and faint voices…

...Anya...

Tetsuo...


I’m sorry.


I failed you both…


Yana hung her head , she knew it was all over and would never get another chance. As the young woman backed away she suddenly realised she was now at the edge, and in reaction she threw a furtive glance to the distant streets below.

The height made her feel dizzy.

The Section agent stepped closer, and held out his free hand…

“Yana. Please give yourself up, I will make sure you are not harmed…”

The young woman looked at his outstretched palm, and for a split-second she felt a twinge of yearning. She looked at it forlornly.

She wanted to start over again…



She wished she could go back and change all that had happened…


…live a quiet life with her two children ….


It was this moment Yana wished she had never come to Bonadan.

Right there and then memories of what seemed like a previous lifetime flashed through her mind, Anya and Tetsuo, their life before all of this.

The good times.



…Gone forever.



Yana brought her eyes level to his, something inside them seemed to worry the section-agent and he moved even closer…

Kaneda spoke again, his voice reinforcing his concern…

“Yana, step away from the edge, no-one else needs to get hurt today.”


The hint of a rueful smile tugged at the corner of her lips as her eyes welled up, sending tears streaming down her cheeks…


“Too late” She replied , her voice hollow.


…and stepped backwards over the edge.


As the shocked face of the Section-agent rapidly diminished from view, it was replaced instead by the faces of her two children.


Smiling and laughing


They were bringing her home.


Yana reached out towards them as she fell backwards , her heart in her mouth, unable to catch her breath with the wind rushing past her…

…and mouthed her final words…


Forgive me.



…before the impact a ninety floors below, killed her instantly.

...Just a little further…

Lux, knew where he was going and that he didn’t have much time, and as he weaved his way through the maze of Bonadan’s busy streets barely missing its inhabitants, he also knew he had become the centre of attention.

A trail of police and media shuttles were following every twist and turn, in hot pursuit.

Lux realised he was now headline news.

It was not something he needed right now.

The best chance of losing them was the causeway, and despite not being on Bonadan for a year or two he still remembered where it was.

Then, somewhere from deep within the recesses of his brain, perhaps some long unused ancient primeval survival instinct, made him look behind.

His eyes widened, as he saw a speeder coming straight for him.

…Shit!

Slowing down a little he reached for his blaster then twisted his body round, and fired at the pursuer, sending a volley of laser bolts impacting all over the front of the speeder.

Most missed, but a few didn’t, showering the passenger with sparks.

The bounty hunter glanced back again to see the speeder suddenly veer clumsily upwards, and grinned…

A glimmer of hope inside him now began to make him believe he could just make it through this.

Elsewhere…

VC-HQ – Bonadan Security nerve centre




“What the frell is going on!? Why has no-one stopped that son of a bitch yet?”

Vinda was furious, and as he shouted he gripped his shoulder, wincing in pain.

The entire control room fell silent, as they found themselves confronted with the old and somewhat filthy tempered corporate man. He was the last thing they had expected to see, especially in light of recent circumstances.

Stubbornly, Vinda had ordered himself to be taken to the control centre to see first hand the events unfolding. Much to the distress and very vocal protestations of his medical advisors, but the old man would not be deterred.

He wanted to damn well know what was happening, as it happened.

“Well? Don’t just sit there with faces like smacked arses! why hasn’t anyone shot him down yet? What do I pay you all for?”

“He’s in a civilian zone sir, we cannot take the risk of injuring innocent bystanders”

Vinda turned to face the direction of the officer who spoke…

“finally! someone with intelligence, whats your name?”

“Officer Stamm , sir..”

“Well Officer Stamm, status?”

“The suspect has stolen a swoop and is currently heading towards the causeway tunnel, we have issued an evacuation directive, following Mr Vega’s orders, and the suspect is being followed every step of the way…The tunnel has been closed and we have forces gathering there now preparing for his arrival”

The Vinda-Corp figurehead nodded slowly as he asked…

“Vega? Achinta is there?”

“he is following the suspect as we speak”

Vinda’s face grew heavy with concern…

“..and my daughter?”


The officer threw a telling glance to an aide behind a control console, and looked downwards…

Vinda’s eyes grew wide as he saw…

“what? What is it?”

The officer looked decidely uncomfortable at being the bearer of bad tidings…

“She followed the suspect in a speeder, just before you arrived he fired at her, and she now appears to have lost control of it, we have a team trying to get to her now”

The officer pointed to the huge display monitor dominating the room…

“See for yourself”

Vinda turned to view the screen.

The police shuttles were doing their best to keep up with both Deed and Natalya , filming it and broadcasting it back to the control centre all in realtime.

The corporate man stood there and watched in horror as Natalya ‘s speeder veered left and right, and then upwards. It appeared she was struggling with the controls…

It was like staring at a real-life horror film all happening instantly before him.

Without hesitation Vinda rushed to the comms…

“patch me through to Achinta Vega now”

The console operator nodded quickly in return , indicating his wish was granted…

Vinda’s voice was uncharacteristically emotional, and it was clear he was worried sick….

“Achinta! Natalya has lost control of her speeder…transmitting co’ordinates…get to her now, all other concerns are secondary…in the name of Vader! I don’t care how you do it but see her safe!”

As Achinta acknowledged and signed off, Vinda knew right now there was nothing more he could do, except watch and hope his bodyguard could get to her in time…

Now transfixed to the events unfolding before his eyes, the corporate man found he could not shift his gaze from the screen in front of him.


He once again found himself relying on the one person he always could.


...Don't let me down Achinta...