Bombs burst around him, throwing dirt and gravel in his face and down his shirt as he ran from one hiding spot to another, barely sliding inside the decimated building before a line of slug thrower fire connected with the space he had just occupied. He shook his head, getting the refuse out of his hair, then looked around, his back was against one of the only two walls left to the building. Slug thrower fire ripped at the other side of the bricks, explosions, gunfire and all the sounds of a primitive war rampaged around him.

Snipes looked at the pair of pistols in his hands, much more advanced than the weapons of this world, but still only equally as deadly. He holstered them and pulled one of the local weapons out of the grip of a bodiless arm. He looked it over for a second, he found the bolt and pulled it back, ejecting a perfectly good round but assuring that the weapon was usable. He let the fingers of his right hand wrap around the pistol grip and he brought the stock to his shoulder, then with a muttered prayer he leaned around his cover and squeezed the trigger, releasing a volley of fire at one of the camouflaged figures trying to flank him. The kick was rough and violent, lacking the inertial dampeners of truly modern weapons. However the army had taught Snipes how to live without such luxuries.

He stuck his head out again, taking more time to line up one of the figures. Satisfied, he gently squeezed the trigger, once, twice, three times. Each shot connected and it fell. Then Snipes was out of his hiding spot, running low to the ground and fast, trying to keep his tall frame out of any lines of fire. He made it across the open area that had been in front of him and slid into a slightly more complete building. He threw his back against a wall and scanned the interior. Instinctively his weapon pointed at the first sign of movement, but years in the army had taught him not to fire carelessly. Instead he saw the woman and two children huddled in a corner, she was bent over them protectively, but stared him in the eyes. Her features were very similar to human, with a touch of blue or green, and her eyes were slitted like a cats. If he'd known the local language he might of tried to give her some words of comfort. Instead he could only bring a finger to his lips. She nodded, obviously understanding him. He smiled weakly, knowing it did no good.

He peered out of his hiding spot, exposing as little of his head as possible. He didn't see anyone, and the sounds of battle were no longer around him, but he knew that didn't mean very much, the ashen sky only helped the soldiers in grey camouflage blend in with the rubble around them. Snipes dared not stay in the same place for very long, but he also didn't know where he was. He checked the outside again before leaning his gun on the wall next to him. He pulled out his datapad, it lit up quickly and it only took him a few seconds to pull up the map he wanted. Still he looked around every few seconds, making sure there was no one sneaking up on him. It took him at least thirty heart pounding seconds to find a route out of the war zone. When he did he carefully tucked the datapad back into his satchel, checked the other contents and, satisfied, grabbed his weapon again. With one final check out the windows and a slight bow to the other occupants, Snipes moved further into the building.

*  *  *

"So, uh, you aren't dead"  The Twi'lek watched Snipes down a plate of food and order another.

"Mmmfhhmmff"

"Right. . .you know, I expect some sort of repayment"

Snipes gave him a funny look.

"Oh not that kind of repayment you idiot."

"Den wat kunda paysment." Snipes mouth was still full.

"I want to know why you're worth ninety-seven thousand credits."

Snipes eyes bulged and he swallowed the entire mouthful at once. "ninety-seven thousand? Imperial or New Republic?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well yeah it matters, I mean at the current exchange rate if it's Imperial then. . ."

"Don't be stupid, you aren't turning yourself in. Now, why are you worth so much 'Thias, I don't like people bringing me trouble."

"Umm. . . honestly can't say, just found out. Figure you would know, don't you know everything, who is it anyway?"

"I don't know, the bulletin only said you'd stolen something, but not what you'd stolen, or why, or for that matter whether they wanted it back at all."

"So," Snipes said, pushing his plate of food out of the way, "Why haven't you turned me in, taken the cash?"

"Who says I'm not holding you here, waiting for them to come?" The Twi'lek smiled, and his lekku twitched, Snipes hated it when their lekku twitched. It bothered him, immensely.