From the time that he hit the ground, the world around him was a spinning, blurry top. His lungs could barely fill with air once it had been knocked out of him. He couldn't maintain his focus for more than a second. Even when the Stormtrooper had nabbed him up and tossed him inside the storage building, he felt like he was outside of his own body for most of what was going on. The small bits that he was able to piece together were barely registering, right up until he saw the blaster pistol being shoved squarely in his face. It brought him back to the present in spectacular fashion. His adrenaline surged through his system, and he clearly heard the trooper ask him which one of the group chasing him wasn't presently in the room after his little romp through Junktown.

[color=cyan]"U-Uh...S-Snivvian! There was a Snivvian. Not sure where he'd be heading, prolly in one of the alleys nearby-"[/color]

There was some sort of exchange between two of them after that. His eyes lost their focus again. Just how hard did he hit the ground?

And that was when he saw the trooper remove his helmet. He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he saw. This [i]wasn't[/i] a Stormtrooper. The words he was harping at his fellow "soldiers" was evidence of that much. Zane tried hard to focus on what was being said after that, although only a few of the words were registering. Something about a plan, and then he mentioned the [i]Basilisk[/i]...wait. Were they planning on making some sort of move against the Empire? What did he just manage to land himself in the middle of, [i]literally[/i]?

Just then, the larger trooper walked back in carrying the Snivvian under one arm. It was then that Zane realized just how tall the white-clad warrior was. Far bigger than many of the troops he had seen around in the past few months. Wait...why was Zane still thinking of them as Stormtroopers? It was quickly becoming obvious that the lot of them weren't Imperials, at least not now. It was then that the blue-skinned one spoke up, and Zane was able to pick up a few things from his short speech. He was smart enough to know how to make the best of a bad situation. The mention of whatever this "kolto" stuff was might be enough of a bargaining chip for him to make it out of this debacle, if he was keen on not ending up in a ditch here in Junktown. [color=tan][i]Oh, kriff...[/i][/color] Zane thought, [color=tan][i]I'd better figure out how [b]I'm[/b] gonna be useful, if I expect to walk out of this shack alive.[/i][/color]

That was when Zane heard the female voice speak up. His eyes got a little wide as she removed her helmet, realizing that she looked [i]incredibly[/i] Imperial. While she was speaking her thoughts aloud, Zane's eyes narrowed. Why were they going on about this "plan" they had with such little regard for who was in the room? That didn't bode well in Zane's mind. Still, Zane had to focus on what was being said if he hoped to get a glimpse of some way to get out of all this with his eyes still in their sockets. The woman mentioned a "smuggle job" - stang. That wasn't good. Now he knew of some kind of thieving plot [i]along[/i] with seeing their faces.

Then the large "trooper" was suddenly back among them, and the feeling in the pit of Zane's stomach was suddenly cold and gripping his insides. [color=tan][i]Kriff me runnin'...I did [b]not[/b] see this coming. This has been a truly kark-tastic day.[/i][/color] When the big guy removed his helmet, Zane got a good enough look at him to realize that he was the military type, for certain. And when the man's eyes fell on him, Zane recognized the look that he regarded him with. It was one that he had become increasingly familiar with, ever since his parents died. He'd seen it in Parlo's eyes, too. Pity. It was almost enough to make him retch.

Then the man spoke some more, and Zane realized his words were regarding him...

[quote=@Archazen][color=ff0000][b]“And the kid’s coming with us,”[/b][/color] he said, his tone firm but not unkind. [color=ff0000][b]“He’s a local; he knows things this guy doesn’t.”[/b][/color] He nodded towards the Chiss, who sat silently, observing the exchange. [color=ff0000][b]“He’ll either prove his worth or I’ll personally toss him from a height much higher than that damn balcony.”[/b][/color][/quote]

And there it was. The threat was hardly veiled. Zane believed that the hulking male would [i]definitely[/i] carry out his statement. He felt the adrenaline rush through his system again as his mind struggled to figure out something, some way that he might be able to wriggle his way out of this. His "fight or flight" response was in overdrive, wrestling against the sheer amount of fear that froze his legs in place as he sat curled up on the filthy warehouse floor. Those thoughts were intermingled with something that Zane couldn't quite get a grasp on. He almost felt envious of the group. Here they were, seemingly just the three of them, talking about attempting something that Zane had only scarcely imagined in all of his years; the sheer excitement of it all grabbed his attention like nothing else.

As all of these different notions swept through his mind, he started to formulate a few thoughts that prevailed against the others. He spoke in a low mutter, barely registering against the rattle of the warehouse walls being shaken by the wind outside.

[color=cyan]"...This just ain't my kriffin' day..."[/color]

When he looked up to see that a couple of them had looked in his direction, he finally piped up.

[color=cyan]"Look, I barely understand [i]half[/i] of what you guys are wrapped up in, but, it seems like it's gonna get a [i]lot[/i] more complicated here in the next few minutes. Tossing me in the mix prolly won't do you any favors, honestly. And thank you, y'know, for dealing with those guys. Sorry for, uh, 'dropping in' on you like that."[/color] Zane swallowed hard, the dryness in his throat becoming more and more apparent following his chase through the valley. [color=cyan]"I dunno what I'm gonna be able to do to be 'useful' to you - I might be able to get you through town without much incident, but beyond that, the Imp over there is probably gonna be your best bet on the [i]Basilisk[/i]."[/color]

Zane couldn't really understand why he wasn't trying to upsell his worth to the group, but, he figured that trying to do so might just end up putting him in a worse spot than he was already in with the Dorbeks. Which reminded him...

[color=cyan]"Oh, by the way...those crates in the back have an internal release lever. It's one of the first things we learned about as kids. You may wanna just stun the whole lot of 'em before you walk outta here."[/color] He realized he was likely saying way too much at the moment. [color=cyan]"--Sorry. I'll shut up."[/color]