[GAR Mission] The Night Path

[TheWonderousBat]

The Night Path

Location: Umbara
Date: Redacted
Time: Redacted


The perpetual twilight of Umbara was unsettling to most. Thick clouds swirled menacingly as the Republic Dropship lurched drunkenly through their midst. Small, with little more than enough space to fit five passengers with their gear, the craft was designed for specialist insertions. Luther sat strapped to one of the seats, rifle across his lap as he idly cleaned the barrel. The craft bucked once more in the swirling sky as the pilot did his best to keep her steady from beyond the durasteel divider. Grumbling, Luther was about to shout through to him when the central console flickered to life. Ghostly lines flickered to life as the holoprojector showed a map with a single, pulsating red dot in the middle. As the map rotated slightly, information scrawled in a box beside it as a disembodied voice croaked through the speakers, giving it a decidedly mechanical tone.


“All right, listen up. A diplomatic craft carrying a Republic envoy reported mechanical troubles here a few hours ago.” Another dot blinked to life on the screen, yellow in colour as it pulsated softly. “We’ve not had any contact since then. This is where we predict the crash to be.” The red dot blinked brightly in response.

“Foliage is too thick for aerial recon, so we’re sending you in to do the leg work. You’ll be dropping here, around a kilometer out, before heading in on foot.” A green dot showed their landing site, a dashed line creeping towards the suspected crash location, indicating their route.

“Local terrain is thick brush, visibility is obviously low. For that you have been provided with night-vision. Dangerous wildlife include the Banshee, a non-sentient flying creature and the Vixus, a large tentacled non-sentient.” Images of both flickered to screen, twisting their nightmarish visage even further in the twilight of the cabin.

“You’re to go in, evaluate the situation before extracting any survivors back to the landing zone. Medical assistance will be on hand. There are seven high-priority targets on board, including three Umbaran diplomats.” As the voice spoke, images of the targets flashed above the map. In the pale blue of the holoprojector they looked ghostly, as if already dead. "Stabilise on site and bring them all back. If there are no survivors, bring the bodies back anyway. Find out what happened to that craft, gentlemen. Command signing off.”

With a clunk, the voice disappeared as the ghostly lines of the map illuminated the cabin, rotating slowly to show the full extend of the briefing to the three occupants. Luther narrowed his eyes, leaning forward as the straps over his shoulders strained.
“Now that looks nasty.” His voice was quiet, hoarse as he jabbed an armoured finger towards the image of the Vixus. The image of the tentacled creature seemed alive, twisting and turning with the rotation of the projection. He studied the map with narrowed eyes, committing every twist and contour of the ground to memory as best he could. While they would have access to the map in-field, it never hurt to be prepared. After a long while he tore his eyes away, glancing to his companions.

“Don’t suppose either of you have been to Umbara before, have you?” He asked, a grin tugging at his mouth. It looked forced, his hazel eyes scrutinising them both as he leaned back into his seat with a dull thud, the idle cleaning of his rifle continuing as he spoke.

@Cainhurst Crow @TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

Artorias looked out the viewport towards the darkened skies surrounding the dropship as it flew towards their LZ. If he remembered correctly they were still about an hour or two away from their destination. Good. That would allow time for introductions.

He smiled grimly when he heard Luther ask his question.

"Unfortunately yes, I came here once during my stint in the Army. Bodyguard duty for some Republic officials... apparently there was too much turbulence in the air for aerial transport so we had to take a convoy over land." He nodded towards the image of the Banshee, "Nasty little buggers. They come in without a sound and snatch you up so quickly that nobody notices until its too late. Saw it happen to an Umbaran counterpart of mine. Dunno about the Vixus though, we didn't encounter any of those, luckily."

Artorias rubbed his beard (he should really shave) as he looked towards the officer amongst them, a Kaleesh who's report said his name was Daxio Oraka. He always made it a point to read his squadmate's reports, as it would help Artorias get to know them better, as well as know their strengths and weaknesses.

"Sir, I know you are the highest ranked soldier among us and forgive me for being direct, but if I were you, I would pay careful attention to both my and Trooper Karn's advice."

Artorias had been in the military for about as long as both of his fellow soldier's had been alive. He had been in almost every significant conflict between the Republic and Sith Empire and lived to tell the tale - he was certain that his experience would provide valuable insight to the mission.

Of course, he had also read Luther Karn's report. Artorias figured that Luther's previous experiences in the jungle would provide him with experience that he and Daxio lacked.

He checked his gear. For this mission, Artorias had chosen to strip down a few plates from his Arbitrator P.A.K. for more mobility, but everything else was his standard kit.

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Well now, aren't you a confident man. Don't you know im your superior officer?" Daxio said, giving a stern look to the trooper with a deadpan deliver and an intense glare of his yellow eyes, leaving his attention from checking over his vibroswords vibrational generator to make sure it was working at the right frequency. A moment later, he gave a chuckle and a wave of his hand, "I'm just messing with you. At ease trooper, it's good advice you're giving me. This isn't my first rodeo however." Daxio had a deep respect for the elders of any species, and a respect for those with experience beneath their belt. He also happened to be one of those officers who didin't have a stick up his ass, making him willing to let some casual advice between warriors slide as long as the person wasn't a fool.

"Hopefully, this mission remains a rescue mission, and not a recovery mission for the dead." He said grimly, being used to such things and looking at things from a pretty bleak stance as he spoke, "I've dealt with far too many cases which turned into that. Such is the price of being part of the space patrol. At least on the firma below, they have a chance of living outside the ship. So their chances are better then most i've gone after."

@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

Luther grimaced as the Kaleesh spoke, popping the seal on his harness and standing, using the overhead handles to steady himself. "Space patrol? Hear they're nasty too. You ever find many survivors?" The man shuddered as he spoke. He obviously didn't much care for space, grumbling as he lurched down the cabin to pop open a gear locker. Reaching inside he drew out a bulky set of goggles, slipping them over his head as he thumbed a button on the side. With a click the mechanism whirred to life as he nodded to himself, keeping the Night Vision goggles on for now. Glancing to his comrades, he double checked if they'd already retrieved theirs, tossing a spare pair from the locker to any who hadn't.
"Never much liked space. Not enough air, no way to track a man other than relying on computers and the like. I trust the readings, just prefer to see the tracks with me own eyes. That, and the emptiness." He grunted a laugh he shook his head as he made his way back to the seat, using the sickly green vision of the goggles to pick his way over their gear. As he sat he patted himself down making sure everything was where it was meant to be as he leaned back, tilting his head to the pair as he listened.
"Names Luther, if you didn't already know." He grinned, his head jerking in an unusual manner. He more than likely winked under the goggles towards the older human, the one who seemed to have read all their files.
@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

It seemed that Daxio was a more than competent officer. Good. Artorias discreetly breathed a sigh of relief. He had had too many experiences where inexperienced and cocky officers had gotten him and his men stuck with their feet in four feet of bantha shit.

"I concur, having to retrieve several dead bodies without any suitable gear will be a pain, not to mention that, well, they'll be dead."

He caught the goggles Luther threw him, offering a nod of thanks.

At Luther's mention of space, he nodded in understanding. While Artorias was part of the army, he had done some spaceborn operations while cracking down on pirates during his Bandor militia days. The feeling of helplessness in a ship's hold was something he could never shake, as he could do nothing to protect his squadmates if the end came.

As Luther introduced himself, Artorias couldn't help but chuckle, "Don't worry lad, I already know, as you seemed to have guessed."

He looked outside the window, it seemed that they were extremely close to the LZ now, the time for introductions was over. He alerted the other two soldiers of the fact,

"Looks like we are close, if anyone has to use the restroom, I suppose now would be the best time."

As he said that, he got up and moved towards the toilet, in order to ensure that no awkward moments would happen during the mission.

Edit: I keep forgetting to tag, @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Daxio looked towards luther with a nod of his head, finishing his calibrations as he stood up and moved to sheath his vibrosword, "Daxio Oraka. Lieutenant of the 301st division. It's nice to meet you, luther." The kaleesh said as he gave a nod, turning to face the door as he waited for the doors to open, "Lets hope your tracking skills work on this world. Umbara from what I hear, is a strange and dangerous world. For more reason then the fauna we were debreifed on coming here."

Rumors about this world was always something one overheard where deploying with those slated to come here. The planets perpetual darkness made it prime for rumors and hearsay. As the LZ approached and the ship began to land, the doors opened and Oraka saw a world different from his two companions. While they could only see visible light, Daxio could see in the infrared spectrum, due to his species natural thermal pits. As such, the kaleesh squinted his eyes and held a hand up towards them for a moment as the lack of visible light, and the cascade of different temperatures lighting up his vision. The two normalized a few seconds later, giving a strange glowing effect to the world around him, overlayed on what his eyes were actually seeing.

"Alright. Seems the LZ is clear, for the moment. Let's move on out." Daxio said as he held the blaster shotgun in his hand, checking the ammo as he held it at the ready. He wanted something with a lot of stopping power if he was going to go up against the creatures of this world.

@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

As the craft made the final approach to the landing zone, Luther slung his rifle over the shoulder. Clipping his Datapad to his left forearm, he drew his vibroblade and twirled it into reverse grip. The Dropship groaned as it neared the surface, Luther finishing his preparations by drawing one of his pistols. He held it outwards in both hands, posture slightly crouched as he too waited for the door to lower.
With a clunking hiss, the door gave way to the surface of Umbara. Tensing, Luther took a single step forward before he spotted the hand signal from the Lieutenant that stopped him in his tracks. He flexed his grip on the pistol and knife, double checking the Datapad was set to map-mode as he waited for the all clear. He had no idea what the Lieutenant was doing, but he sure hoped he was swift about it.
"Alright. Seems the LZ is clear, for the moment. Let's move on out."
That was all Luther needed to hear. Darting from the Dropship he ran a good ten paces before skidding to his knee and scanning the surrounding area. They were in a clearing, around forty meters in diameter, ringed by strange new bushes and plants. He snapped down his night-vision once more, double checking the tangled mess in front of them before nodding to himself. He continued looking as he thumbed the activation on his in-ear Comms.
"Looks like we got a clearing, there's a path at the other end. Looks like a game trail more than anything, but its our best shot." Luther pointed with his knife as he spoke, glancing back over to the pair.
"No idea how far it'll take us, but its in the right direction. Brush isn't too thick so we can forge our own route if we need to." Rolling his shoulder, Luther eyed the brush. A thick ground covering gave way to strange, coral-like trees that pierced the sky. They were topped with odd purple luminescent spines at the top and got more numerous the further into the brush they went. Luther nodding again, his body tense as he flexed his fingers on the grip of his pistol. He was a solider through and through, waiting for the order to move out.

@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

As the dropship touched down at the LZ, Artorias did a final gun check. The HL-9914 was a reliable weapon, it and its variants basically saw Artorias through most of his military career and they had never failed him. As the lamp started hissing and lowered to the ground, Artorias shouldered the carbine and stood behind Daxio, waiting for his signal to move out.

When Daxio gave the clear and Luther went out ahead, Artorias took a few tentative steps out on the ramp of the dropship, keeping his eyes peeled for any hostiles or dangerous fauna and ready to call out to Luther if Artorias identified a threat to any of their safety. He had just met these men, but he would try his best to keep all of them alive.

Upon hearing Luther's report, Artorias once again reminded his fellow soldiers of the danger,
"That's gonna be a rough route, following a game trail means that there is a higher probability of meeting predators, and predators on Umbara... well, I told you about that story about the Banshee and the Umbaran, didn't I?"

That being said, it had been nearly 20 years since he had a real recon op like this one, he was rusty and he knew it. If Luther overrode his judgement Artorias would go along without complaint. He made this known to his companions,
"But I'm not too familiar with this kind of thing anymore, its your call, Luther, Daxio."

The entire time he was speaking, Artorias kept his eyes roaming, keeping them peeled for any sign of danger. Nothing... yet.

@Cainhurst Crow

OOC: I remembered to tag! Yay!

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Daxio watched the two take point, and let out a silent sigh of relief. He was a man who spent most of his career fighting from the skies. That didn't mean he didn't know how to hunt or navigate via land, what self-respecting kaleesh wouldn;t, but it wasn't his exact specialty. He did however know, that leaving a clear point to find your way back to was always the best strategy. And so, while the others went ahead, daxio withdrew a small device and set it on the ground, activating it with the flip of a switch and feeling it secure to the surface of the world, next to the ramp.

It was a beacon, so that when the time came to find their way back, they would have no problems doing so even under the heat of an attack. Daxio went to join the others, seeing the planet as a bright mix of blues and greens, and an occasional dull red coming from the plants exhaling oxygen and other gases. Shotgun held at the ready, daxio looked down towards the tracks, seeing them as a deep blue as he spoke up.

"These tracks haven't been used in a while. There's no heat on them at all." He said, bending down to look closer to see if he could make out foot prints, but couldn't. Not with this darkness, and most of his vision being given from his thermal vision. "A Banshee. Do those fly, or walk?" He asked artorias as daxio stood back up, looking further ahead in the brush before looking to luther.

"Luther. You're our scout. Take point and let us know if this trail gets too risky for us to keep using." Daxio said, taking charge as he looked up to the skies above to make sure nothing was overhead. The skies were clear, for now at least, and so he returned his gaze back ahead of them.

@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

Luther remained crouched as the Lieutenant spoke, peering through the sickly green glow of the goggles. He flickered a frown at the stillness of it all. Their landing would have caused much of the wildlife to scatter of course, but even still no plant nor brush moved as far as he could see. Behind him the Dropship's engines whined as they powered down, the pilot undoubtedly scanning the frequencies for any sign of an updated distress signal now that they were closer to the crash.

"Luther. You're our scout. Take point and let us know if this trail gets too risky for us to keep using." Came the voice behind him. He nodded his affirmation, eyes scanning the sky after the mention of the Banshee. He read what he could on the strange creatures, though rather hoped Artorias knew more than he. Keeping low and swift, he scampered forward into the darkness with his pistol and knife raised all the same. He made sure to keep a manageable pace, a brisk walk to be precise. No use rushing through the brush and alerting everything with teeth to their presence, or indeed missing a clue as to the location of their quarry. As he set off he made sure to keep roughly within ten paces of the pair, well within eyesight and hearing range. While he could happily run through the brush on his own, something about this place unsettled him. He scanned around; his movements measured and smooth, yet swift. No jerking motions nor quick movements as he breached the brush and made his way down the start of the path.

Underfoot was little more than grass and thicker bushes, mostly dark in colour thanks to the strange predicament of the planet they were on. He paused a brief moment at the mouth of the path, brushing a stray strand of grass from an age old track. The Lieutenant was right; the path, or at least the path at this end, hadn't been used for a long time. A flickering frown crossed his features as he glanced back to make sure the pair were following before he set off once more. As the feeling of unease seemed to grow, he thumbed the safety off his pistol as it gently hummed to life as the grumbled to himself, muttering under breath.

@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

At Daxio's inquiry Artorias jerked his head towards the sky.
"Those are the ones that fly - they swoop in as a flock when they spot you and try to snatch you up before you comrades notice. The Vixus are the tree-like ones on the ground, according to the report, so watch your step and watch the sky, is my recommendation."

As Luther took point Artorias took up right behind him, making sure to cover Luther's blind spots. Last time Artorias was on Umbara, he was with a platoon's worth of men, but this time, he was only with two others. It was unsettling, as he could no longer find comfort in numbers against the dark gloom of the forest.

Glancing towards the map on his HUD, he saw that the crash site was still a few kilometers out. This was going to be a long and stressful walk.
He looked upwards again. Good thing as well, as the first thing he saw was the widespread wings of a Banshee bearing down on him and the others.

"Banshee!" He exclaimed and brought up his carbine, firing off a trio of bolts towards the predator. The shots connected and the Banshee let out an ear piercing scream, falling towards the group.
He cursed, telling the others,

"That scream will probably attract more, we gotta get moving."

Edit: @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Daxio turned his head at the call, aiming upwards as he saw two glowing eyes settled inside a mostly light blue creature, a few spots of white as he fired his blaster shotgun. A massively large blaster bolt fired out and sailed towards the banshee, glancing off the wing as the carbine shots hit. The thing was massive, but it had a glowing indicator for where it was. Still, he had barely seen it against the sky as he called out his comrades.

"You're right. Let's double time, now. Before the pack shows up." he called out, heading to catch up with Luther and head along the trail and move it towards the crash site. The calls in the air further behind them, now that they had been running, let them know the banshees had closed in on their fallen comrades. Still, he picked his way through the brush as quickly as he could while looking ahead. "We;re almost there. We just need to make it through and-" Daxio stopped as he felt something snag on his foot. He went falling face first into the ground, slamming hard into the mud as he worked to push himself up.

Suddenly he was being pulled back, dragged through the mud rapidly and rising into the air as his legs was wrapped in a massive tendril, hoisting him upwards as his eyes widened as he looked down towards what looked like a maw opening up, some form of glowing light coming from its mouth. "No, no no no no!" He said as he aimed his shotgun and fired downwards, thrashing about as he tried to break free desperately.

@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

Luther turned as his comrades opened fire on the flying creature. He gritted his teeth, their stealthy approach in ruins as the beast spiralled to the floor. He muttered to himself, irritated that he hadn't spotted the creature sooner as he scanned the rest of the dense brush. "You're right. Let's double time, now. Before the pack shows up" called the Lieutenant. He was all too happy to obliged as he picked up the pace, pushing through the brush. He kept an eye on the map as he heard the calls of more Banshee ahead. Pushing himself into a faster run, he ducked and weaved through the brush at an impressive pace as sweat began to crawl down his face. He rounded a corner, confident that his companions were still behind him as he began to surge on.

Suddenly he saw a flicker of movement to his side, the cry of the Lieutenant drawing his attention back. Seeing the great tentacle hoist the Kalseesh up into the air, he had to act. Drawing his machete he hacked at the limb, the blade biting deep into the flesh of the plant. He grunted, pausing mid swing as it dawned on him; should the tentacle break, it would drop the Kaleesh straight to the now opening maw of the beast. He cursed, surging into the brush as he levelled his pistol and snapped off a trio of shots, hoping to at least wound or distract the strange creature. As the red-hot bolts slammed to the side of the creatures face, it seemed to work. Too late did Luther spot the other tentacle sailing towards him. With a wet thwack and a dull thud it slammed into him, flooring him in seconds. He struggled with breath, blade in hand and hacking away at the seemingly never ending flesh of the thing.
"We need to get the LT clear and blow this thing! Artorias, if you get him free I'll stuff a det into this things maw!" He grunted with the effort, hoping his comrade was in a position to help as he sank another pair of shots into the flesh. Little more than distractions to a creature this size, he kept on firing all the same. His spare hand strayed to his chest, double-checking the grenades were still there as he nodding to himself.

@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

As Artorias ran along with the other two men, he turned as Daxio was suddenly lifted off of the ground by what he assumed was a vixus.
"Oh shit - why now of all times." He cursed to nobody in particular. Even before Luther told him so, Artorias was already using his great height and strength in an attempt to pull the officer out of the vixus' grasp.

It was largely unsuccessful until Luther stuck a machete into its appendage, which helped greatly as Artorias was able to pull Daxio out of the way of the creature.

All too aware of the incoming threat from behind them in the form of a flock of banshees, he shouted at Luther,
"Do it now son! We don't have much more time!"

@Cainhurst Crow


Edit: Oops wrong account o.O

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Daxio dropped to the ground as Artorias pulled him free, reloading his shotgun as he heard the sounds coming closer, realizing that it was the flock of banshee they had just managed to outrun. They were still a ways away, and the Vixus seemed to be flailing now from the attack Luther had launched on it. Just as the Banshee's broke through, they soared towards the trio, just in time for the Vixus's tentacles to shoot and coil around 5 of the banshees.

It slammed them into the ground, lifted them into the air, thrashed them around in wild patterns as it seemed to be trying to kill whatever it was that had caused it to let go of its former meal, and seemed intent on adding them to the now battered banshee's. Daxio stared at the spectacle of animal on animal violence as he came to a simple conclusion.

"Fuck this planet, and everything on it." he said with a snarl, aiming his shotgun and firing at the Vixus's mouth with a powerful shot, blowing a hole in its jaws as he trusted Luther to toss the detonator right into its ugly mouth, "Waste this son of a bitch. That's an order, solider." He said, pulling rank if only out of sheer anger.

@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

Luther ducked a wildly swinging vine as he heard the death wail of a Banshee in its grasp. He had got himself deep in the mess of tentacles and vines while trying to act as a distraction, but at least it had worked. He swung once more, machete clearing the wayward vines at his feet as he heard the snarled order from the Lieutenant. Letting loose a chuckle, he was too happy to oblige as the blaster shot blew a portion of the beak-like mouth away. He yanked a thermal detonator from his webbing, looking to make sure his path was still clear behind.
"Happy to oblige, Boss. Fire in the hole!" He hollered, thumbing the activation button as the detonator plunged into the maw of the beast. He didn't stick around to see if it liked the taste, ducked another swinging vine as he bobbed and weaved through the makeshift gap, finally getting clear as the sudden blast lifted him from behind.
He wasn't as clear as he'd hoped, the blast wave lifting him skywards as the warmth spread through his back. He landed with a thud a couple of meters away, twisting to pat himself down. Good, nothing was missing. Dragging himself to a sitting position, Luther surveyed the mess before them with a grin. Where once the beast had made its lair was now a smoking crater, chunks of vine and sinew raining all around them. He looked to his comrades, eyeing them over as he sat there. Without warning, Luther suddenly began laughing. It was hoarse, more of a nervous laughter than anything else as he once more looked to the crater below.
"What a thing to miss, eyh? Big ol' tentacle beast nearly made us supper." Luther continued to chuckle as he spoke, shaking his head as he caught his breath and triple checked for any injuries.

@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

As soon as Artorias pulled Daxio free from the vixus' grasp, he turned and aimed his carbine towards the flock of banshees that were almost on top of them, trusting the others to handle the vixus.

Firing off few more rounds, he suddenly had no need to defend himself anymore as the vixus suddenly took out the remaining banshees in a flurry of tentacles, trying to take everything out with it.

Now that Daxio was free, Luther must have stuffed a TDet into the vixus, as Artorias then heard a large 'whoomp' as the vixus exploded, sending Luther flying.

At first, Artorias was worried, but was calmed down when he heard Luther laughing. He too started to chuckle, then bursted into full on laughter at the situation they had just survived.
"You're right, Daxio, **** this planet and everything on it."


@Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cainhurst Crow]

Daxio would have laughed as well, but he had to a job to do. When it was done and he was on the ship, he'd probably bust a gut. This would likely go into a catalog of funny stories to tell his fellow soliders to help boost morale. But for now, there was work to be done, so Daxios marshalled himself and rose back to his feet. He looked to the crater, and then to luther, and gave a simple nod.

"Well done, solider. Now...let's get the hell off this planet, with our survivors in tact." He said, getting ready as he walked forward. He could see that they were close, so close that he felt more anxious now. What if there was more enemies to fight? More creatures to contend with? His shoulders and legs ached as he moved, the thrashing doing little to make him comfortable as he held his shotgun at the ready. Closer and closer, 100 meters, 75 meters, 50 meters. The jungle was so thick he couldn't see ahead of himself.

As they approached, he heard movement, and saw through the thick brush what looked like heat signitures. After what happened earlier, he wasn't taking chances. He held his gun, motioned for the others to wait, and then took a breath. "3...2...1..now." he said to himself, before darting through the bush and leveling is shotgun, hearing a sudden scream as he stopped himself.

"DON'T SHOT! DON;T SHOOT!" Someone said, a human by the look of them, wearing a torn uniform of the republic and nusing a nasty cut on her arm. Behind her, the sight of a crashed ship, and about 5 other people huddled around it, the survivors pulling guns to aim at Daxio as he let out a sigh of relief and set down his shotgun.

"Survivors, I-" He began, but stopped as a shot rang out. The kaleesh paused in his word as his eyes went wide, stumbling back and almost falling to a knee as he looked down towards his arm, a smoking blaster shot burned into the officers jacket and burning his flesh as he looked towards it and back towards the crew.

"Oh shit! I-I-I...I didn't mean to, I-...it just slipped." One of the survivors, a bandage around his head as he dropped a blaster pistol and raised his hand, the others looked shocked as they spoke.

"What the hell was that, Karl?" One of the surviors asked as karl looked to them, scrambling for words, "I just-, he came out with a gun, and he was wearing that mask I thought he was with the sith or something! By the time I realized he wasn't I just sorta reacted!"

Meanwhile, Daxio looked towards the ground and clenched his fist, one of which was coiled around his arm, "They shot me...they actually shot me." He said, sounding in pain and in disbelief at what had just happened.


@TheWonderousBat

 

[TheWonderousBat]

Luther marshalled his laughter, sighing with an odd relief as he dragged himself to his feet. He stretch slightly, making sure it was nothing more than a few singed hairs and the occasional scrape before he nodded, closing the distance beside his companions. With them being so close now, there was little need for him to scout. Still, he kept his head on a swivel, scanning the floor and sky in tandem as they neared their objective.

Suddenly he saw a flutter of movement beyond the next brush. He was about to motion when the Lieutenant halted their advance. Luther ducked into a low crouch as he held his pistol and knife before him, the soft blinking of their objective dimming as he cut the power to the datapad on his arm. No need for maps now if this was their quarry. The Lieutenant seemed to steel himself for a moment before bursting through the brush. Luther followed a second later on his right, knowing that Artorias would take up the spare side. As always in breaching situations, everything seemed to happen all at once.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Cried out one of the tattered survivors. Luther gave them all the once over, narrowing his eyes before he decided they were of little threat. He took up a crouch beside the Lieutenant, scanning the artificial clearing the crash had made. Fire still smouldered and smoke rose lazily into the sky as he began to plot how they'd go about getting these survivors out.

Suddenly the unmistakable sound of a blaster discharge brought him back to the situation at hand. The Lieutenant was holding his arm, the survivors all shouting and hollering at one another. It took less than a second to figure out who was responsible, the man was still holding his hands in the air. Knowing the situation teetered on a knife-edge, Luther sprang up from his crouch. His pistol was levelled at the man as he began to slowly circle right, no more than a few paces. That way if the man decided to pull a second weapon, Artorias or himself would drop him before he managed to get a shot off.

"Everybody down, NOW!" Luther ordered. A quiet man normally, he knew full well how to use his voice when required. He barked the command, advancing swiftly towards the survivors. They were unpredictable and on edge, they needed to secure them before looking to the Lieutenant's wounds.
"Down on the floor!" He reiterated as he reached the first survivor. The woman did as commanded, panicked by the situation as she fell to her face. Luther knelt one knee in the middle of her back, securing her in place as he used a free hand to pat her down roughly, checking for weapons. He kept his pistol trained on the group as he did. Satisfied she was unarmed he yanked free a strip of plasticord, securing her hands behind her back. He rose, doing a quick count before he raised his voice loud enough for his comrades to hear.
"We got six here boss. Five check out on the target list, one -- " Luther motioned his gun towards a man dressed in Republic uniform " -- Looks like the pilot. Missing two." He paused before securing the next survivor, adding "You alright, boss?"

@TheCalmOne

 

[Billbo Swaggins]

As the blaster bolt flew out of the survivor's weapon and made contact with Daxio's arm, Artorias had to stop himself from instinctively raising his carbine and returning fire. Instead, he holstered it, drew his pistol, and moved forward to inspect the wound.

Luckily it had been a blaster bolt, so the wound was cauterized instantly, if it had been a slugthrower, it would have been a problem.

"It's clean, slap some bacta on it when we get back and you should be good, sir."

As Luther gave his report, Artorias turned towards the group of survivors. Their meeting had been rough so far, they needed to lessen the tension before anything else happened.

"It's alright, guys. We're with the Republic. We're here to get you out of here." He said, "Tell me, what happened to the other two that were here?"

@Cainhurst Crow

OOC: Sorry for the short post, studying for exams is taking like 90% of my time awake lol