"He took a left!" a stormtrooper cried out, directing the squad to the direction Anakin Solo had gone in, with the Jedi finding them right back on his trail. "Don't let him escape!"
Anakin struggled to keep the ensuing chaos at bay, swinging his lightsaber around as he sprinted down the corridor, dodging any of the bolts that managed to avoid his parrying. He held the artefact under his arm, hugging it closely to prevent any stray blaster bolts from striking it. No matter how many sudden turns he took, how many attempts at unpredictability he made, the elite force kept up the pressure, hammering away with each salvo they unleashed.
"These guys really don't give up," Anakin muttered, flinging his body through any open door he could find, barely finding any respite when the red flashes of light lashed at him once more, carving chunks out of the the walls.
Anakin led them on a deliberately prolonged pursuit, occasionally lifting his wrist to check the time, grunting when he realised that he still had some time to go before his ride arrived. Before long, Anakin began seeing familiar areas of the floor, understanding that he had started quite literally running around in circles. He tried to use the loosened debris to his advantage, lifting and throwing each piece he could find back at his pursuers, only to watch them duck and roll.
Just when he could feel his stamina beginning to struggle, chipped away by the energy he used up to defend himself in such close quarters, he heard the distinctive beeping coming from his timekeeper. Suddenly, Anakin moved with purpose, blasting through the walls, creating a shortcut that took him directly towards the agreed rendezvous point. It took a minute of decimation, but he soon arrived at the final stretch, staring at the massive pane of glass at the end of the corridor.
Launching into a swift sprint, Anakin raced along the corridor as fast as his tried legs would carry him, widening the gap between the stormtroopers and himself by a significant margin. Coming within range of the window, Anakin tightened his hand into a fist, throwing it out to send a blast powerful enough to dislodge the transparisteel from its frame. Anakin leapt through the gap landing on a steep incline, skidding down towards the massive city below.
Anakin placed his forearm against the glass sliding beneath him, using the leather of his jacket to provide enough friction to slow his rapid descent, ignoring the heat that came with the prolonged connection. Nearing the edge, he was able to see the city streets below, something that caused him to severely regret ever agreeing to take part in the mission. But the arrival of a cherry red hot-rod drained any sense of panic away instantly, especially when his eyes landed on the redhead sat in the pilot's seat.
Using a force blast to provide him with momentum, Anakin threw his body through the thin air of the skyscraper's highest levels, almost missing the speeder completely. But a gloved hand reached out, grabbing his tightly, hoisting him over the edge and into the safety of the speeder itself.
"You took you're time," Anakin gasped for air, settling into the passenger's seat, only to find himself being picked up and deposited into the driver's side instead. "Mara? What are you doing? I can't fly this thing!""
"I'm providing us with some cover, nephew," Mara winked, standing on the seat with a foot propped up on the side door, aiming her blaster towards the crack in the building, returning fire towards the stormtroopers, forcing them to take cover. "Did you get the artefact?"
"Huh?" Anakin stared down at the console, taking a few moments to try and figure the controls out. He turned, finding the sight of his aunt providing covering fire, incapable of tearing his eyes away from her rear, encased by her skin tight leather outfit. "Yeah, I found it in the Moff's office, looks like you were right about them collecting holocrons."
"You sound surprised," Mara commented, smirking when she successfully landed a shot on the squad's commander, sending him tumbling down to the incline. "That's one of the benefits of having the Emperor's Hand for an aunt, I know my way around an Imperial hideout like the back of my hand."
"And yet, you sent me in to retrieve it instead," Anakin reached out and gave the steering column a delicate tug, underestimating the sensitivity of the controls, wincing when the speeder jerked to the right and came within inches of striking the building. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm not used to speeders with this much power."
"Activate the limiter, it'll reduce the sensitivity of the responses," Mara moved her head with lightning quick speed, narrowly avoiding the red streak that soared towards her, making sure she didn't miss the one who had sent it. "Just keep the repulsors balanced."
"Right," Anakin exhaled, wrapping his hands around both sides of the 'U' shaped wheel, relieved to find the response to be far more reasonable. "I think I've gotten the hang of it."
"Good," Mara turned her eyes towards a pair of skyscrapers that disappeared into the clouds, picking up on a frighteningly familiar screeching sound. Sure enough, a squadron of TIE fighters banked around the northern corner of the closest tower, flying at full speed once their intended target appeared on their multi-view screens. "You might want to get this thing moving, we have company."
"I see 'em!" Anakin waited for Mara to drop into her seat before hitting the accelerator, thrown back in his seat by the sheer force. "By The Force! Where the hell did you find this thing, Mara?"
"I borrowed it from one of the local clubs," Mara grinned deviously, twisting towards the rear seat to rummage around, again distracting Anakin with the sight of her heavenly body.
"And does the owner know you borrowed it?"
"He didn't when I hotwired it, but he should by now. If he's lucky, he might get it back."
"Something tells me he won't," Anakin shifted the directional flaps, shielding himself when a laser crashed through the windshield, throwing shards of glass directly at him.
Anakin shifted the speeder from side to side, moving out of the way of the green bolts that came their way. He avoided sustaining damage for only a short while, but it became virtually impossible when the TIEs broke formation and attempted to flank him, striking the body of the speeder repeatedly. The Jedi, pushed the nose down, regretting it when the g-force almost made him black out, levelling out with a hard pull of the steering column.
Unfortunately, the manoeuvre had sent him into one of the brimming sky lanes, flying head-on in the wrong lane. Anakin only just avoided slamming into a fast approaching heavy hauler, scraping along the side of its trailer, brushing away a large amount of once gleaming red paint in the process. He weaved in and out of the traffic, using the Force to aid his pinpoint evasive manoeuvres. Despite the severe risk, the TIEs followed Anakin into the lane, firing without care or thought for the civilians, requiring Anakin to move into clear space before any innocents could come to harm.
"We're not going to make it far if we can't shake these things off," Anakin stated, crying out when a large chunk of metal plating was torn away by a successful hit, exposing the repulsor generator beneath. "I hope you have something that can help us."
"Do you believe I would risk an encounter with TIE fighters without bringing a means of dealing with them?" Mara asked, returning from her search with an Amban phase rifle, one modified to suit her every long-range need. "Keep the speeder steady, I'll see what I can do."
Anakin did as she requested, nervously stopping his weaving to keep the speeder moving in a near straight line, aware of just how easy a target he had become. Mara used her heeled boot to kick out the remains of the windscreen, allowing her to sit herself upon the dashboard, bringing the scope up to her emerald eye. She turned a pair of dials that were positioned mid-way along the scope, adjusting the settings of the rifle itself as she lined up the shot. Satisfied, Mara took the shot, right as the TIE trailing behind prepared to blast them out of the sky. A silver bolt flew out of the two-pronged barrel, striking one of the TIE's wing struts, gouging out a significant chunk. The level of wind resistance helped to finish the job, tearing the wing off completely, sending the TIE into a death spiral.
"That's one!" Mara's red lips curled into a grin, moving the scope until the next TIE appeared between the crosshairs. "Now for his friends."
Mara held her breath, aiming directly for the TIE's fuselage, hitting it precisely. Flames poured from the TIE fighter, until it detonated into a rolling ball of flames. Aiming for the third and final pursuing TIE, Mara again lined up her shot, aiming for the center hexagonal window, licking her lips as she prepared to squeeze the trigger. But the TIE opened fire, hitting the speeder on its underside, rupturing the fluid links running towards the repulsors, which sent a gaseous blue cloud of smoke pouring in its wake.
"That's it, this thing's finished," Anakin exclaimed, feeling the controls beginning to slip away as the repulsors faltered, with every warning alarm blaring in unison. "I'm gonna have to take us down, if we can make it that is."
Anakin made a steep decent, holding the speeder at a diagonal angle as he sped towards the ground below, fighting to keep the controls stable as the power gradually waned. Mara slipped off the dashboard and sat in the footwell, failing as she tried to line up the last shot, unable to stop the TIE from peppering the ailing speeder with fire, melting and scorching the remaining metal panels. With the TIE moving in for the kill, Mara had to act, dropping her eyes to the console, smiling when she spotted something she believed was just the trick she needed.
"Grab that handle," Mara pointed to a red handle beneath the dashboard on Anakin's side. Once he had his hand wrapped around it, she hovered a finger above a silver switch beside the gear lever. "Same time. Three. Two. One. Now!"