A New Set of Keys

[Ral]

The air howled past the windshield of the new glossy ultramarine blue souped-up hovercraft; it's sleek triple engine turbines purring smoothly as the speeder accelerated down the street. Overhead the hot sun shown down and warmed the air and the leather seats. Inside, the pilot expertly maneuvered the vehicle through the densely packed streets, around other slow-moving speeders, taking their time to get where they're going, and passed groups of pedestrians going to and fro with their friends on shopping expeditions. After all, when one bought a new luxury sports speeder, one just had to take it out for a test drive to see what it could do, even if that meant driving like a madman through the packed streets of the capital city. Traffic laws be damned!

As the wind filled the pilot's ears with a raucous roar, his blue eyes scanned what was going on around him. Speeders flew past like they weren't even moving, the pedestrians appeared as a multicolored blur, and the buildings of the capital's financial district whizzed on by at an almost alarming clip like someone was moving giant monoliths with a tractor beam. Approaching a busy intersection filled with people crossing the street and several speeders stopped to yield to the passing hover traffic the pilot gunned the speeder's engines, sending him and his passenger further back into their seats as the craft accelerated. Letting out a whoop as he maneuvered the speeder between lanes of traffic, he cut into the intersection, narrowly missing pedestrians in the crosswalk on either side. Their screams were barely audible over the noise of the wind and the craft's turbines. Hitting the brakes, the pilot pulled hard to the right, sending the hovercraft fishtailing around and between a pair of large freight haulers. Punching the accelerator again, the speeder took off down the thoroughfare.

Once they had settled back into the traffic, the pilot looked at his companion, a humourous smile about the stunt he just pulled. "That was fun, right? Not quite the same when you're doing it space with zero gravity, but still pretty exciting when it happens." His gaze settled back onto the street, his eyes scanning the street signs as he waited for the one they wanted to appear. They were quickly moving out of the financial district and into an area of the capital where there were more high-rise apartments mixed in with the commercial buildings and office spaces. "It would appear that our destination is coming up, you've got something to cover that ugly mug with, right? I'd hate for you to end up getting identified while we're out to day. It would really ruin the whole outing if the cops came because you were too ugly to be allowed in public."

The man grinned, the humourous tone in his voice quite plain. "I mean, I got my bucket in the back there, all shiny and black and new!" With that he noticed that they had come upon their exit, and with barely a touch of the breaks took the corner hard. Another few blocks straight down and they had arrived at their destination. Grabbing his black helmet, the man threw it onto his head before hopping out of his new vehicle. "You all ready? Remember what we're here to do?"

 

[SirNoodles]

Mark is wandering around the streets with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He is doing his duty to patrol the streets and watch over the traffic. After all there has been some bad road rage and speeding. This job is, of course, voluntary and considered not too "good" but someone had to do it. Besides, Mark wants to start participating in serving the Republic more whether it be in major or minor duties.

Screams, just about audible, can be heard down the streets. Mark turns round to see a man on a speeder just about missing the people on the streets. Unmistakably, Mark recognises the fact he is speeding.
"Oi!" yells Mark, sticking his hand out. But it makes no difference.
After letting out a sigh, Mark jumps onto his speeder. He flicks a switch and lights on his speeder start flashing - this means people can recognise the fact that he is doing his duty.

After reaching the location they stopped at, Mark parks his speeder and gets out just like they have. After having gotten out of his vehicle, Mark wanders over to them whilst keeping distance. He is ready for anything but is not showing it. For the first time in his job, Mark actually is feeling very scared. He's only 18 and young whereas these men look older than him.
"Hate to be a spoilsport but you guys were breaking the law by going over the speed limit", explains Mark, maintaining a serious voice and hiding his fear. "Not to mention the distress you caused to the public by doing your dangerous tricks. Now we can do this two ways: the easy way or the hard way. I'm not looking to arrest you but we may be looking at a fine here."

 

[Ral]

As the man got out of his speeder, helmet on his head, he looked around the area, though mostly up at the tall buildings surrounding them at that moment. The buildings that were around them were square in shape as was typical for most Mandalorian style structures, the architecture a mixture of the old traditional style, and the contemporary neo-Republican style that had started to become commonplace with Mandalore's activity in the Republic and the Border Alliance.

However, the man didn't get a chance to do much admiring of the architecture when some young schutta approached him, carbine in hand, looking like he didn't know what in Manda he was trying to do. He seemed to be speaking to them, but the man really wasn't listening. There was some mention of breaking the law and distress and paying a fine. When he mentioned the easy way or the hard way, the man finally had to scoff. "Son, you wouldn't know the hard way if it showed up behind you in the middle of a dark alley and bit you in the shebs." The man's hand hovered over his blaster pistol seeing if this soldier would test his speed and resolve with the quick draw, something the man had a lot of practice with over the years gunning down other hotshot mercs. Seeing that the man's uniform and gear indicated that he was a Border Alliance soldier, and his rank seemed to indicate he was a lieutenant. Whoever it was that promoted this kid to lieutenant needed to be fired then lined up against a wall and shot.

"Look kid, you're not a Mandalorian, and you're not a cop. You're just some little officer walking the streets of my planet pretending to be important. Tell me, how's being a parking maid going for ya? Don't answer that. When you're actually a Mandalorian with authority here, then I'll pay your fine. Until then, you can go suck a wet Dug's toe."

With that the man started stepping back with his hand on his pistol, daring the BA soldier to try something. He kept his front facing the soldier in case he did try something, but he'd back up to the nearby door where he could get inside the building and away from the little baby man. Just then another man came running down the street like he was being hunted by someone unseen. The man ignored the newcomer, thinking he was probably on too much spice, and kept walking backward. Even after the new man jumped behind the luxury speeder for cover and started babbling on about how they were coming for him, the man didn't respond. Instead he kept his steely gaze on the soldier.

 

[SirNoodles]

(OOC: Is this on Mandalore?)

Feeling quite angry now, Mark responds, "Who said I was a parking maid?" Mark sighs. "Listen", he begins to explain, "I don't mean any trouble. You're partly right that I don't have much authority here. I'm not the one to fine you or arrest you. If needed I'd just report you to people who actually have major authority."
Mark's hand edges closer to his rifle. "And just because I'm 18 years old", adds Mark, "Doesn't mean I can't shoot or fight. All I'm here to do is enforce the law and if you're breaking it you've brought it upon yourself."

Mark gets his radio from his pocket as he'd be expected to. He pulls it to his mouth and, ignoring anything the man may have to say, speaks into it: "This is Darsten. I'm south of the town, right near the main road-"
"Yep, we've got your location", responds the officer over the radio. "What's the problem?"
"We've got a man whose been speeding and is armed", explains Mark, hand on gun and his eyes fixed on the man - ready for anything. "He hasn't done anything yet but is refusing to comply and is resisting orders."
"OK. Thanks, Darsten. We'll be on our way."
Mark nods, knowing that they won't be able to see him nodding at all. His hand is still hovering over the rifle and he says to the man, "Now if this really was "your planet" I'd at least expect you to respect its laws."

 

[Eccles]

To say Menderling enjoyed sitting next to Ral Viszla as the latter tried out his new glossy ultramarine blue souped-up hovercraft was probably telling a lie, well, we can leave the probability out of it. It was horrendous. His words to him only barely registered, but covering up his ugly mug wasn't exactly necessary. Today, on Republic worlds anyway, he was protected by his real identity as independent merchant captain and unfortunate victim of the notorious pirate Turncoat Jon. That they just happened to be the same person no one knew, well, except for that one Brother of the Sacred Band of Ziost that recruited him, and certain members of the Ha'rangir's Chosen mercenary band, and his missing quartermaster Tall Tulo Turner. But that's only like, seven people. Either way, the contents of his stomach, which may or may not have been containing copious amounts of Chandrilan rum, was threatening to soil the inside of Ral's new speeder when he suddenly stopped before the Mandalorian said some words Menderling didn't understand and hopped out.

Then some kid approached Ral about some speeding issue, which is strange as he wasn't a traffic cop and to give a speeding ticket you need actual speed-measuring equipment, to say; you need proof, which this kid totally didn't have. Menderling scratched his temple as he turned around in his seat to see what was going on while Ral was telling him as much, although he did so in his own way, when the kid started to threaten him by moving his hand towards his rifle. Now, as far as mistakes go, everyone, even Border Alliance lieutenants, should know that one does not simply threaten with violence on the planet of Mandalore, and especially not against someone wearing a Mandalorian-style armor. As those fanatics don't respond well, or in other words, they don't see threats, they only see an outrageous insult and invitation to put three cautorizing holes in your forehead.

Now, Menderling was a good honest Coruscanti merchant captain, much unlike his alterego the Sith-massacring pirate, enfin, he lowered his right hand again, but instead of going all the way down he took one of his blaster pistols from its chest-holster and set it to stun while he took aim of the kid. The lieutenant was just about to grab his radio when two stun bolts were fired square at his chest. "It's better than being dead, kid" Menderling said, "trust me."

 

[Ral]

Rolling his eyes as the whelp started his idiotic reply, the man had lost all patience with the kid at this point. Looking around, the street was completely deserted besides those around the speeder at this moment. How fortunate. Just as the kid grabbed his radio, the Mandalorian reacted by grabbing his pistol and quick drawing it out of his holster while taking a knee.

It seems that Menderling had the same idea as he had already fired a pair of stun bolts off at the kid. Not wanting to murder the boy and cause a panic if anyone ended up finding the body, but knowing he couldn't let this kid contact his friends, the Mandalorian pumped out a pair of stun rounds into the unarmored kid. The double attack would no doubt catch the kid off-guard, especially as his focus had been mostly on Ral and not Menderling. If the kid was lucky he'd go down without a fuss. Of course they couldn't have him waking up and calling his buddies, but they'd deal with that later.

 

[SirNoodles]

Mark is about to talk into his radio until four bolts hit him directly in the chest. "Argh!" he yells as he drops to the floor after receiving four short jabs in his chest. He drops the radio which then the screen of it cracks.
"It's better than being dead, kid."
Mark has to admit that he hates being called "kid". Especially judging on the fact that he is an adult.
"Hello?" comes in the voice of the radio. "Darsten, are you there?"
Mark, however, can't manage to get something out. He is still stunned and can't manage to speak loud and long enough for whoever is on the radio to be alerted of his danger and come to his position.

 

[Eccles]

"Well," Menderling quickly holstered the pistol and jumped out of the convertible hovercraft at the driver's side. The lieutenant was out cold, his radio muttering some words that never fell good to the ears of man standing over the unconscious body of a member of the Republic's joint taskforce. "Couldn't just drive like everyone else, could ya?" he frowned at Ral Viszla before taking the kids rifle and tossing it on the backseat and taking the radio to hand as well and being careful not to transmit anything, he said "we need to dump this somewhere before they manage to track it. You and your sawdust get the kid in the trunk and take his speeder. I know law enforcement better than you do, so I'll take yours with the kid inside."

A faint grin escaped him, as he suddenly saw the humor in it all. "Wait, my drone is in the trunk," he turned and opened the boot, taking a case from and throwing it on the backseat next to the rifle. Ral had ductape in the boot of his new speeder, go figure, so Menderling took it to hand and taped the kids mouth shut and his limbs together before helping Ral putting him in the trunk.

 

[Ral]

Watching as the kid took four bolts to the chest and fell to the ground disabled, Ral grinned. Standing up he walked up to the kid with Menderling and sighed. "You know, I'd say this was like taking candy from a baby, but that might be a little too close to home." The man gave a light chortle as his cohort commented about him not being able to drive like everyone else. "Awww, come on man, where's the fun in that? Look at her! She's just begging to be manhandled!" Waving his left hand through the air he scoffed as he listened to the freighter captains advice. It was good advice and Ral would be a fool to follow it. He'd already had his fun for the day, best not to cause any more problems by trying to have a little more fun. "Yeah, alright, that sounds like a good plan. Let's bind this kid up and take care of these speeders. You go take care of the tech and I'll get the girl. We'll meet at the office. Let's hope nothing else happens on the mean time."

Once Ral placed the kid's body into the trunk of his speeder, he hopped into the BA speeder and pulled out onto the empty street. Pushing the accelerator forward, Ral took off down the street, until he found a large parking garage and pulled in. Taking it to the penultimate floor, the Mandalorian parked the speeder before shutting it off and stepped off. Opening up the engine, he began pulling wires until he was sure if there was a tracker inside it than it wouldn't be transmitting. Walking away quickly, Ral took the stairs down to the city streets where he made for where the girl he wished to talk to lived.

 

[Eccles]

Menderling took off his chest-holsters and dropped them, too, onto the backseat as he took the driver's seat of Ral's new ride and sped off. He, much unlike his friend, would keep to the traffic laws and even enabled the automatic roofing system which not only barred the annoying and kinda gross industrialized city air from entering the speeder and attacking Menderling' sensitive sensibilities, but also to have the small arsenal on the backseat completely out of sight.

He wasn't far from where he needed to be, but with an unconscious Border Alliance lieutenant in the trunk one just doesn't disobey traffic laws or show otherwise reckless or suspicious behavior. No, by all accounts and purposes, Ral's speeder and Menderling's I.D. papers would show there was nothing going on here, as long as the kid remained ductaped in the trunk and didn't cause a life-endangering situation. The pirate annex law-abiding citizen was dressed to blend in and he decided to park the speeder in a long-term parking lot, just a block away from his destination, before getting the case from his backseat. "Heh," he chuckled, "lets see if you're worth the credits baby"

 

[Ral]

"Well, let's see if fate will have anything interesting for me today, or if that will be the extent of the excitement I have to endure," Ral wondered to himself as he kept walking down the street in his black Mandalorian armor. While it might have seemed a little odd for a Mandalorian to wear full battle plate on the city street, it wasn't unheard of, especially in Sundari. Many traditionalists and local soldiers who weren't a part of the Border Alliance wore their armor about proudly when they walked through the streets of the towns they defended. Of course, Ral was no local soldier, he was something different; an idealistic, a visionary, perhaps even a leader. But not one that believed in the Border Alliance or the Republic. These were his own personal views of course, and very few people outside of his closest friends knew these things. A war was coming though. Not the war between the Jedi and the Sith, but with the Republic and whatever enemy they found themselves facing that year. Ral didn't want Mandalorians dying for a cause he didn't believe in, and thought that Mandalore could, and should, stand on its own. They were strong enough after all to make a small empire for themselves if they would only seize the opportunity.

It was all rather moot of course, Mandalore was too connected to the Border Alliance and the Republic. Something drastic would have to happen for that to change, and it would require than just little old Ral and his words to make an impact. He might have been charismatic, and a decent speaker because of his father, but he would not be able to sway the masses from the safety net that was the Border Alliance, even if it was a net that was dragging them down to the bottom of the ocean.

 

[Eccles]

The small drone vibrated to life and then rose, slowly, from its case on the passenger seat. Menderling grinned enthusiastically, "boy," he said, his eyes glancing from the live-feed on the datapad before him and back to the hovering drone. "That's one good looking fella."

He then disabled to drone and allowed it to recharge to optimum power through the battery inside the case, which he closed to remove it from sight. His target wasn't of flesh and blood, like Ral's was, so if he was lucky he wouldn't have to be physically present to achieve his goal, which always improved survival chances. Taking one of his Axis 224 Tactical Blaster Pistols and putting it inside a shoulder holster beneath his jacket, effectively hiding it from sight until he'd have need for it, he stepped out of the speeder and removed any identification tags that would somehow link it with the traffic violations that had occured earlier that day when Ral had felt the overcompensating need for an adrenaline rush. He was confident that the Border Alliance Lieutenant would stay unconscious for a while, still, as getting hit with four stun bolts could potentially put you into a deep sleep for days. There was the issue of him possibly being able to identify them, which meant that Menderling would have to find a way to deal with him, or his memories, without resorting to something drastic. After all, with killing Defiant Squadron officers came a lot of negative attention and scrutiny from the Republic, something that was severely unwanted if you ever want authorisation to get a ship offworld again.

Confident that the speeder wouldn't get flagged, Menderling took the visor that was normally attached to his UAI-19 Combat Armor and used it as if it was either strong prescription glasses or fancy protection from bright lights, before getting the case that contained to droid as well as closing and locking the doors behind him. Within minutes he was in public transport, eyeing the back of Se'rah Solus' head. The man was a typical white-collar, living in the city kinda guy, much like Menderling's parents had been, and as such could always be counted on to take the communite to and from the workplace. At this hour, he was on his way home and had no idea anyone in the transport knew who he was. Menderling was careful not to keep a fixed eye on his target and instead used the photosensors in his visor to prevent looking suspicious to other bystanders as well. In crowded places, one could never be too sure you weren't being watched.

The commute took twenty minutes until Se'rah and Menderling got off at his building and shared an elevator going up with just the two of them. For someone who wasn't accustomed to lying and other kinds of deceit, this would've been the trickiest part of the plan, standing there in the same elevator with the target and having to pretend you have no idea who he is and what you're planning to do. But after murdering his own crew, his love interest, and hundreds, if not thousands, of people that were present in the Great Pyramid of Korriban, not even a sensor droid would've sensed anything to be suspicious about the licensed independent merchant captain Menderling Smollet, who, as he didn't own his own apartment in this building, must be visiting someone on the higher levels. Se'rah got off on the fortieth of forty-five floors, a number that was important to remember as Menderling went all the way to the ceiling, having to slice his way through the security door to prevent any alarms, silent or otherwise, to go off.

Thanking the Mandalorian Gods, especially Ha'rangir, for the calm winds with which they had blessed Sundari this day, Menderling opened the case and linked the drone with both his datapad and his visor for optimal handling, before sitting down with the rooftop access door in sight. This was a tricky part as he directed the drone to fly its way down to the windows along the fortieth floor.

 

[Sreeya]

She crossed one leg over the other, flashing a half grin. Her slender fingers loosely grasped a glass of cognac, swirling it around before she took a sip. There was no question that the man treated her well, and he sure wasn’t hard on the eyes. The man was a Sephi, but not the usual unsocial type she had come across in her travels. This one was a successful businessman, and he dressed the part.

The man’s unique features included the pointed ears and the dark eyes, a sharp contrast to his pallid angular features. He wore his silvery hair in a short ponytail, and loved to hear himself talk. Talia had agreed to a second date after the first one was surprisingly pleasant. She had met him during mutual business ventures, and he appeared to show up to any meetings following since then. Finally, she had caved and said yes.

Truth be told, if the man played his cards right, she could see this going somewhere.

“-So Talia. How did you come to fashion that name?”

Talia gave a surprised laugh.

“Nothing gets past you, Altan.”

He wasn’t going to let it go.

“I wanted no part of my old life. The old life I’m sure you’ve found out about. I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay..”

Talia uncomfortably took another sip of her drink. If one looked over at her, they’d do a double take: she was in a tight-fitting little black dress, her copious amounts of tattoos on full display. She was also adorned in black stilettos, a complete 180 from her usual bounty hunter attire. Her nails were perfectly manicured, and her face enhanced with makeup. It actually pained her to put on the girly façade, but she actually did want to get to know the Sephi.

“Not a problem. Well, would you like to take a walk?”

The man read her so well! Talia graciously agreed, rising from her seat. She grabbed her purse (dear god, she had a purse) which was actually stacked to the brim with weaponry but appeared bejeweled and cute on the outside. She let him take her arm, walking out into the streets. As she walked, she spotted an impressive-looking blue speeder. Making a mental note of buying a new one for herself, she ogled for a moment before continuing the walk. Altan led her down towards a local lounge.

“So, do you often run into anyone you need to chase on your days off?”

“Ah..I don’t get days off.”

 

[Ral]

Walking down the streets of Sundari, Ral slowly made his way on foot to where his next meeting was to take place. It was supposed to be at an electronics and office supply store not too far from downtown Sundari where he was now. It would only take him maybe ten minutes from his current location to reach the supply store at a casual walk, if he were in a hurry he could probably jog there in five with all his armor on. As the man walked along the sidewalk of one of the main thoroughfares of the capital Sundari, he saw that the crowds were starting to pick back up as people started to get off work and head home. That meant he'd stick out amongst the swarm of unarmored people. Of course that wasn't half as bad as what he was about to happen to the poor man. Had he known that Talia Al'Saif was on a date and taking a walk on this very street he would have turned right around and headed the other way. Alas for our intrepid Mandalorian, the fates were much more cruel to him than he anticipated on this day.

As Ral strode down the street without a care in the world, he noticed the tall, lithe form of an attractive female ahead of him. At first he paid it no mind, just another attractive female on Mandalore, was his initial thought. But then he did a double take, and he recognized the face. It was far different than the one he was used to, different even from the face he saw on Rishi all those days and weeks ago.

It was her. Moira, or Talia, or whatever she was going by these days. His heart leapt, then dropped. He saw the man she was walking with and his blood began to boil. Ral couldn't understand the jealousy he was feeling. They had parted ways, whatever they had before was gone, over, done with. And yet, there was still something there, deep inside him, twisting itself around his innards like a snake, making him feel sick and angry all at the same time. Heat flushed his face and the Mandalorian clenched his jaw. Gripping his fists tightly, he could almost feel the servos in his right hand straining under the pressure. Part of him wanted to pull his kukri out and throw it at the man. Outside of the obvious fact that would bring Talia's ire, Ral knew he needed to stay out of sight and out of mind; he had already drawn too much attention today.

She looked beautiful. He might have preferred her as a blonde, but even with the make-up, studs, and tattoos, his old friend cut a stunning figure in that black dress. Blinking, shutting his eyes, he looked away for a moment. This was only bringing him misery. He couldn't keep standing there, and if he tried talking to her she'd likely try to fight him for the intrusion. Watching as she got closer, he realized he couldn't stand there, for with each step she got closer, and the more Ral realized he wasn't over her.

Hopefully, Talia hadn't noticed him. In his new black armor and helmet he would be hard to make him out for Ral Vizsla, but with Talia Al'Saif who knew what might happen. Stepping out into the street, completely disregarding the traffic and forcing it to stop for him so he could cross to the other side, Ral tried his best to ignore the woman he had loved and her new fling. As a speeder honked their horn at him, Ral drew his pistol and aimed it at the driver. It would silence the prick behind the controls, which was good, because Ral didn't want to shoot an impatient driver for honking at him when he was having a bad day. "Kriff this kessing day."

 

[Eccles]

The drone rocked a little as it descended five levels and circled the fortieth floor. Menderling wasn't exactly sure which of the six apartments was that of the Border Alliance Technician, so he steered the drone to take a peek through the windows in the hope that he'd either spot Se'rah, or someone who definately was't him. Either way, he knew that the technician lived alone and there wouldn't be any unsuspected surprises.

Approaching the first appartment from an angle, as to avoid the drone being spotted by any potentials inside, the drone instantly send its life audio and visual feed to Menderling's datapad and visor, allowing a realtime wireless connection between the two. The firs appartment was empty, but littered with children's holo-toys, which meant it could safely be disregarded. Just as the drone was going to fly passed the second, a window was shoved open to the side. The sudden change in wind-direction so close to the fragile drone almost made it crash to bits against the outer walls of the high-riser, but luckily Menderling's piloting experience saved his new friend from a very shortlived existence as he made the correct course-correction. "Pff," he sighed, seated still on the rooftop, "It's that I saw the window being opened." the relief was layed thick on his voice, for besides being the preferred way to complete the objective, the drone itself was very expensive.

Menderling let the drone hover in the outside air until he saw the shoes of the well-aired apartment's tennant walk back inside, which prompted him to take the rare chance to check his identity while he still had his back turned towards him. Surprisingly silent, the drone followed the man into his appartment, almost crashing into the ceiling when Menderling was a tad late in correcting the thrusters for interior flying. By a stroke of luck it had indeed been Se'rah Solus who had opened his window, no doubt eager for some fresh air after a long day working inside a stuffed base with his nose in electronics and other junk. Music played through the entire apartment on a good loud volume, conveniently masking even the little sound of the small drone's thrusters as it sneakily followed Se'rah through the rooms while the latter undressed, singing along the Lalala's from the song he was listening to on repeat. Menderling watched, partly in relief and partly in gross horror how the somewhat chubby tech nerd hobbled, completely naked, through his apartment and hopped into the shower. It was..a new experience, for sure.

It also gave him a window in which he could operate freely, so with a sense of urgency he steered the drone through the apartment searching for the technician's datapad or linked computer terminal, finding the latter in the living room. This is where the true beauty of the F105 "Hound" drone came into play as it connected with the terminal and searched its entire memory for perimeter schematics of the Border Alliance's base. It was a much faster process than one might suspect, as the search delivered results within seconds and on the computer terminal's screen the complete schematics became visible, which Menderling made the drone look at for a moment, just to make sure he had back-ups as the droid immediately transferred visual data to Menderling's datapad. Then came the most time consuming part of his plan, as the droid downloaded the schematics, and other files with the Border Alliance tag, onto its own drive, which would take a whole twenty seconds. Immediately after it was done, Menderling transferred the data files through his visor, which offered encryption, to Ral Viszla, ensuring that even if he didn't make it back in time, or at all, the schematics were theirs.

The drone disengaged from the computer terminal and flew out of the apartment long before Se'rah left the shower, or stopped singing, and the poor technician would be none the wiser of what had transpired in his apartment that day. The sense of urgency vanished and Menderling's mood improving due to an accomplished task, he whistled as he returned the drone back to its case, locked it, and took the elevator down again, in solitude this time. There was only one visit left on his calendar for today, but there was no need to hurry and casually blend in with the countless others who enjoyed rushour transit through Sundair.

Exiting at a transit stop close to a shady cantina, Menderling found himself humming along the the song playing in Se'rah's apartment, in fact, by the time he entered the cantina he sang quietly some of the lines he remembered "Ed il giorno verrá". No one really paid attention to him, since the place was already pretty crowded. It was that time of day where a lot of men needed a drink before returning to their nagging wives and hyperactive and attention-craving children, though some needed a bit more in order gather enough courage for it, and for those men there was spice. After asking around a little the dealer approached Menderling with the offer, who in turn explained that there were some recent sightings and situations, the bare-naked butt of Se'rah was described, that he would much rather forget. The dealer had just the thing, or so he claimed, and offered him some kind of Glitterryl concoction that was to be injected. It would have you experience a state of pure saturation before passing out for a couple of hours, memory loss with the prescribed dosage was ensured until six hours prior to the injection. Six hours was more than enough to make the lieutenant in the trunk forget he ever saw the two of them, but he felt a bit bad about it, knowing that the dealer was cleverly forgetting to inform him of the addictive side-effects. The poor lieutenant would have a mean craving for energy spiders, and probably fail his next mandatory drug test, but Menderling didn't care about that. The kid should be happy he would still be alive.

The concoction paid for, Menderling left the cantina and returned to the long-term parking lot, which was, as expected, still deserted. After a few cautious glances in all directions he opened the trunk and injected the still unconscious lieutenant, before slapping it shut again. There was a sad reality that dawned on him suddenly, as Deep Space Piracy at least had this romantic sound to it. Menderling's misfortunes, brought to him by capitalistic big money corporations, were to blame for his poetic transformation to a pirate. Yet today he was a simply thug, cop-stunner, thief and even made a poor child addicted to spice just so he wouldn't be able to pull him out of a line-up. He left the drone on the backseat of Ral's speeder, as his next visit didn't require such fancy measures.

 

[Sreeya]

Talia laughed at a joke Altan had made. In truth, he was beginning to grow on her. She could hear the low thump of bass from the surrounding clubs. The lounge he led her towards was considered a VIP establishment, exclusive from the very exterior entrance. She had heard about it, but hadn't gained enough status to waltz in just yet. Altan was her ticket, and from the sounds of it, he'd have no trouble getting in. Talia kept her eyes trained forward, oblivious to her surroundings. She had switched off the bounty hunter side of her on purpose, wanting to enjoy a nice evening with her date.

There was an abrupt commotion on the street, the sudden honking of a horn catching her attention. She glanced up just in time to see an armored figure raise a gun at the driver. After that, everything happened in a blink. Screaming erupted all around, shouts of 'another attack after Saleucami' exploded, and everyone ran in different directions. Altan panicked the worst, yanking Talia away before she could even take a look at the perpetrator. He was obviously a businessman, not a fighter. And yet, he felt the overwhelming need to shield her in a way that struck her as over the top. Talia attempted to explain she wasn't concerned, but he was hellbent.

"I won't let anything happen to you!"

"Altan really I'm-"

She dodged as panicked citizens almost slammed into her. She glanced up in horror to see Altan with a blaster out. The man had no idea what he was doing, but clearly he wanted to be a hero. Before she could stop him, he took aim at the armored man and fired. Hilariously off, the bolt fired into the speeder to cause a small explosion. The driver and passenger jumped out, the passenger an angry man with a blaster of his own. He wasted no time in shouting and brandishing the gun in the Mandalorian's direction, popping off a few bolts in his direction.

"STOP IT! JUST FIND COVER!"

Talia was pissed now. She shoved Altan to the side before he could pull any more idiotic moves with a blaster. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out. The entire street had erupted into chaos, blasters and explosions going off in all directions. The public was in complete panic after recent events at Saleucami, and this was feared to be another civilian attack. Except most of these civilians were armed. Talia quickly rushed towards the nearest building, which happened to be a seedy strip club.

 

[Ral]

Just as the screams started, Ral cringed, the high pitched shouts and yells grating his nerves almost as much as seeing Moira with another man. He'd never expect such a panic to occur on Mandalore. His people really had gone soft and become complacent. Mandalorians shouldn't scatter in a panic because another drew a weapon. Just as Ral seriously began considering shooting someone a blaster bold whizzed by and impacted the side of the speeder Ral was holding up. Looking over his shoulder, the man could see Talia's date brandishing a blaster pistol towards him. What the kriff.

Talia, for her part, seemed both angry and slightly worried about what was happening, and judging by her reaction to her date's move, it was mostly directed at him rather than the panic. For his part, the Sephi's move only caused Ral's blood to boil even more; he had to be careful not to squeeze the pistol grip too much lest he crush it his rage was so hot. If Talia wasn't standing so close to him, Ral would have riddled him with holes. Luckily, one of the passengers of the hit speeder jumped out before he could do anything rash and pulled a blaster on him.

That was it. Ral might not want to kill a fellow Mando, but he was having too much of a crap day to let some panicky passenger point a gun at him and potentially shoot him. With his blaster on stun Ral fired and dropped the civilian. Crossing to the other side from where Talia was, Ral ducked behind an empty speeder just in case anyone else started firing. The man knew he had to get out of there, and quickly, but how he wished he could speak to his old friend. The yearning to go up to her and rekindle their friendship was strong; he wanted to see her, talk to her, touch her. He knew he couldn't, though. She'd likely arrest him for the bounty on his head as trumped up and worthless as it was. Giving one last look at Talia, Ral made the decision to exit stage left before this turned into a massive firefight which attracted the local authorities. Keeping low, Ral sprinted away, hoping no one would notice him while he made his escape.

 

[Thomas Cox]

The waitress at Kryvil's Diner had just set down a pulled nurf sandwich with tuber chips in front of the large cathar. Cal'rick noted the intense sweetness of the sauce and looked forward to digging in after a long day of chasing down leads on a criminal syndicate that was smuggling glitterstim onto Mandalore. The diner was a hole in the wall place filled with a bunch of generic items that can be found almost anywhere in the galaxy. Sitting at a bench facing the window he lifted the sandwich about to take a bite when he noticed a flood of people running by. He drops the sandwich opens the door and runs into a blonde haried blue eyed female she looks up at him with fear on her face. Where are you headed little lady? "Anywhere but here. I think we are under attack like Saleucami."The waitress pops her head out the door You gonna pay for that meal? Cal hand's her the credits Bag it up ill come get it in a bit.

Cal opens up his comm to local emergency frequency " all units... repeat all units be advised there a firefight has broken out in the Streets of Sundari all units please converge on 7th and broadway. This is sector ranger Cal'rick Suthor I am inbound. Cal breaks into a run sprinting the two block quickly pulling his blaster as he goes. He peers around the corner and sees civilians taking pot shots at each other. He can tell by the amount of misses that none of these people have been trained properly. Except for the guy wearing blue armor. Cal flips down a velcro patch to reveal his badge on his armor and sprints around the corner to an open car. THIS IS SECTOR RANGER CAL'RICK SUTHOR. EVERYONE CEASE HOSTILITIES PLACE YOUR WEAPONS ON THE GROUND ... PLACE YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY I WILL RESORT TO USING FORCE. He peeks over the speeder and sees the man in the blue armor slip into a side street. There are to many people who need help so Cal decides not to give chase!

 

[Eccles]

"Warning, firefight has erupted on seventh and broadway. This transit will not not continue, please exit the transit in an orderly fashion" the speakers inside the commute sprang to life. Menderling sighed, not at the fact that a firefight had broken out on the homeworld of Mandalorians, but because everyone around him remained so incredibly calm. There was apparently not even a hint of surprise that a blasterfight had erupted in the capital where at least a fifth of its people regularly wore their armor and weapons out in the open. Somewhat agitated that he would now have to walk a good twenty minutes to his destination, instead of the three minutes transit, Menderling exited the vehicle together with the other passengers and made his way to the shopkeeper for 'special merchandise'.

Ral would probably meet him there, as surely he wouldn't have been stupid enough to get involved in policing matters. The man sure loved his planet, but smalltime crooks were best left to the Sundari security force, and not to idealistic sons. Luckily, the honest white-collar independent merchant captain knew that Ral Viszla's inconspicious black CCT-armour looked nothing like the armor he was known to wear. No Viszla crest, and more importantly, none of those ridiculous Tu'lips. Menderling sniggered at the thought. Bloody Mandalorians and their fondness for Tu'lips. Laughable.

 

[Thomas Cox]

Cal peers over the vehicle and notices that no one seems to have paid heed to his instruction. Several of the people however, have holstered their pistols and are taking off down various side streets. I said place your weapons on the ground and put your hands behind your head! He walks around the beat up speeder blaster at the ready. Two more people have dashed to a side street leaving the scene.

On his comms he heard " Sundari Security force we are three minutes out"

In the middle of the thoroughfare were 3 Mandalorians still firing on each other. Gentlemen please drop your weapons or I will resort to using force. This time they heard him and pointed their blasters at him and fired at him missing wide. Ok we will do this the hard way. The first man was ducked behind a post box but had exposed himself while firing at Cal. Cal quickly fired a stun blast center mass. One down he mumbeled under his breath. The second figure was behind a speeder fiddling with his blaster. Seeing a n opportunity to end this quickly Cal picked up speed jumped slid over the top of the speeder and but a stunned the unaware assailant. That makes two.

The last man had eyes on Cal and with a panicked expression on his face fired his blaster wildly scoring a hit on Cal's right arm. Cal hissed in pain. Luckily his armor absorbed most of the damage. That's when Cal heard "click, click, click" the sound of an empty blaster. A smile crossed Cal's face. The man dropped his blaster and began to run. Cal had anticipated his decision and caught up with him easily tackling him to the ground restraining him in binders. You sir are number three. Cal lifts the man up and has him sit on the curb. Now would you mind telling me who you are and how all this started?