Justice Overdue (Ask, Niner, Ractic, Myself)

[Tsar Fire]

Derek sat at the bridge of his vessel, not far from the asteroid where the girl from his nightmares was kept.

He could finally pay her back for what she did for him. He could finally be free.

Staring out over the barren rocks of the asteroid field, Derek felt a faint stirring of doubt. Was this really going to work...

But then... He was a knight now, and he had a duty.

Reaching down to the comm board, he gave it a single pulse. That was the signal for his allies to confirm with him, and then he would send a second pulse, which would be the signal to make their move...

Time to end his dreams.

 

[Niner]

Trish cried out as the slaver struck her across the face, "Get it right scum. You fix my speeder bike right or I'll cut your pretty little face off." The slaver held up a wickedly sharp knife to emphasize that point. Trish cowered back and again tried to draw on the Force. As she concentrated however the collar gave her a neural shock that dropped her to the floor.

The slaver spat on her and then kicking her in the ribs, sending her flying afor about two feet to slam against the wall. "By speeder bike better be fixed when I get back or you will be deader then my grandmum." The slaver stalked out of the hanger and Trish was left slumped against the wall. Her cheeks moist with tears.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek sighed, as he stared out amongst the asteroids. The confirmations were slow in coming. He almost wondered if anyone would come.

This would be difficult to do, by himself, but he wasn't about to give up. Not after everything that had happened. Pacing about the bridge, he tried to quell his impatience. He could act soon, and fulfill his obligations.

That was all he sought at the moment, and it would have to be enough.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek clicked the comm off and activated the drive of his ship, bringing all the systems off standby. So even the lure of wealth wasn't enough to convince people to do good.

This galaxy is certainly a twisted place...

Easing the ship into motion, he began the prepared flight path, moving towards the asteroid base by a circuitous route, in order to avoid detection.

Within five minutes, he had reached the point of no return, and without a second thought, he gunned the drive, sending the corvette roaring down at the target. 1,200 yards out, he keyed in the firing sequence, and the twin laser batteries on the core opened fire, blowing holes through the slavers defensive weapons and demolishing ships where they sat.

Like an avenging angel, Arbiter dropped down into the middle of the cargo bay and landed, the guns still spitting fire into the slaver defenses. Then there was an eerie silence, with only the sound of fire, and the sight of roiling smoke...

Then the boarding ramp lowered, and a dark figure strode down to the asteroids surface.

 

[Caleb]

The Corsair’s Shadow had blasted out of hyperspace above Arkania more than three-days ago. In that time, Ractic had made a feverish catalogue of all the arms and armor he would be using. One hard learned lesson of hunting was that unchecked gear always malfunctions at the worst possible time. His armor had been cleaned of any grime and grit , the new, non-reflective paint was pristine. His helmet comlink and scanners were in good working order. His blaster-rifle gleamed, as did the spare blast pacs strapped to his waist, and he had replaced the lenses on his scope and readjusted the. Both of his slug-throwers, the main pistol and the backup in his boot, were freshly oiled. In his backpack, he carried enough grenades, detonite, composition 9, and blast cord to blow a small moon out of the sky. Everything was in order now. Now all he had to do was wait.

The original plan had been for Kell to rendezvous with an indentified ship that was blaring a local signal in subspace. Dumb idea. More than one unsuspecting hunter had been lured into ambushes that way. Kell preferred to find out what it was he was getting into before he committed fully.

And so, he sat and waiting, with everything powered down except for the life-support system and the comm receiver. Ractic didn’t have to wait long, his would-be employer was right on schedule. A moderately size corvette, bristling with gun emplacements, jetted into the system. The comm board pinged as the signal filled the ship, but Ractic decided not to respond. Finally, apparently giving up on allies, the ship moved off towards the asteroid field. Kell followed at a discrete distance, even when the corvette burst into action, filling the darkness of space with brilliant lances of crimson energy and gobs of fire. Kell hung back—blasting into a slaver base wasn’t described anywhere in the bounty. If his employer made it through, it would be a sign that he was competent enough to work with; if he crashed and burnt, then there would be no harm done and Kell could just go home.

By some luck or skill, the attacking ship evading all oncoming fire, making short work of the slaver defenses. Now Kell followed. The ship set down in a cargo bay and Ractic brought the Shadow in behind it as stealthily as possible. He trained his blaster cannon on the figure emerging from the corvette. One flick of the switch and he could save himself a lot of trouble, and probably collect a sizeable reward from the slavers too. No…that was sort of thing that got out and killed your reputation. Ractic powered down and dropped the landing gear. On his way out, he sealed the ship’s biometric locks.

“That was some entrance,” Ractic approached the man from the side, taking note of the metallic cylinder hanging at his waist—Jedi. “I prefer something more discreet. Maybe with a bit less…chivalry.”

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek smiled. It was a cold expression.

"Chivalry is not what I acted on. I merely chose to take the most direct course of action in this situation."

He gave the surroundings a dismissive glance. "These defenses weren't enough to stop a ship like the Arbiter."

He turned and surveyed the hangar. Two doors... on opposite sides... On the one side, he could feel the girl... on the other... The enemy command center...

Blast...

"Alright." Derek made a quick decision. "I need you to go through that door and shut down the enemy command structure so that they can't contact reinforcements. You can take anything of value, but I want a copy of their entire database. You'll get a 200,000 credit bonus for it."

He turned away to the other door. "I'll rescue the target."

 

[Caleb]

[Just out of curiosity, who’s RPing the slavers?]

Under the matte-black duraplast of his helmet, Kell smiled. The first rule of military planning: ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy’. It was really a fortunate turn of events, despite what the Jedi thought, killing everything in sight was much simpler than an escort mission anyways. And he had packed for first-one in mind.

“Whatever you say Jedi,” the bounty hunter slipped off the safety on his blaster rifle, “just don’t get killed or else who pays my bills?” He tossed his employer a salute, for luck, and headed to the left side of the hanger.

 

[Tsar Fire]

(Nobody, just rp them yourself. If anyone wants to rp them, they can jump in and do so.)

Derek grinned at the parting remarks.

Jedi? He'd heard the word before, but he had never met one... He tried very hard to avoid them most of the time.

This was the first time he would reveal himself to them, and it was only because he owed this one his life.

Striding up the blast door, he whipped the lightsaber up, severing the power conduits operating the lock system, and forcing the door release.

Walking through, he felt the minds of his enemies up ahead, ripples in the force, as it were.

De-activating his lightsaber, he stowed it by his belt, and swept through the corridors, a pale ghost, striding into the midst of the enemy, seperated from them by mere inches of durasteel.

Soon, they would die, but that time had not yet come. He had to insure the safety of the girl first....

 

[Tsar Fire]

Finally... he was here... the minds of the slavers were all around him now, some as close as a room away....

Reaching out, he activated the door panel, and then blinked in surprise. He was expecting some sort of cell.... not a garage...

Scanning the room, he stepped inside, lightsaber held unactivated in one hand.

Where was she?

 

[Niner]

Trish heard the door open and sobbed, "I don't have it fixed yet! I'm sorry, I will work twice as hard watch!" She jumped at the speeder bike and started working on it furiously, banging her knuckles against it many times in her haste. Blood started flowing from the scrapes on her knuckles but she seemed not to care. She didn't even bother looking up to see who had come in. Even if she had the tears in her eyes would have obscured them anyways.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek caught her hand, and said, in a firm voice.

"That's enough."

He looked down at the girl, and the words rung true. She was so different now than she had been before...

A shell of woman...

He felt a dark anger growing inside him, at the injustice, at the slavers... at the evil....

He wanted to kill.

"It's time you get the same chance I did. It's time for you to get off this rock, and to be free."

He slid his lightsaber back onto his belt, and then swept off his cloak to reveal his orange and black robes.

He wasn't going to sneak out. Any slavers who got in his way...

Well.... someone should pity them, but Derek didn't.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Asha strode out of the galley, its automated doors hissing shut behind. Tucked under her arm was a bundle. Inside the burlap sack was disgusting pirate food, but food nonetheless. She passed pirates, a motley assembly of thugs, many of whom nodded cordially as she passed. They were nicer to her then they were to most people. But then, most people weren't extraordinarily attractive young bothans.

Asha paused behind the back door into the parts garage, and pressed her ear to the steel door. Oh, no. There were people, and most people didn't like her giving food to slaves. They thought it was a sign of weakness. But oh, well. She doubted there was anyone on this ship that she couldn't handle.

She strode through the back door. Beneath the annoyed expression she had assumed, she was thinking quickly. These two people manhandling the slave girl - she'd never seen them before.

She figured they were new recruits, or transfers from a different ship.

"I thought I'd find you boys here," Asha lied, never breaking stride. "Cap'n Gurfrey wants ta see ya."

 

[Tsar Fire]

(Derek is here alone. Ractic is somewhere else.)

Derek turned, his face colder than ice.

The lightsaber was back in his hand, concealed by the long sleeves of his overrobe.

"You are mistaken." His voice was like an axe being sharpened, harsh, bitter, and without compassion.

"I think you should forget that this girl was ever here." The force was laced through his voice, giving his suggestion extra potency. He was close... so very close to losing it altogether and killing this girl, but she seemed to be less involved, and he'd hate to hurt an outsider... mostly...

 

[Captain Awesome]

"I...I think that's a good idea."
Asha turned around and slowly trudged out of the room. But she had not really been fooled; as soon as the door shut behind her, she flattened herself against the wall in fear, pressing her ear to the door. While she listened, her mind was racing. What had that person been trying to do to her? It's like he tried to use some sort of mind control! Normally, she would have simply taken the man for a lunatic - they were a dime a dozen on this damn fleet - but she had actually felt him, trying to worm his way into her mind!
The pack of food forgotten, Asha drew her pistol and listened intently to the door. If she got even the slightest idea that the man was going to hurt the slave, then he could eat her blaster!

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek hissed in frustration. The girl wasn't fooled, and wasn't susceptible to mind tricks either.

Well... at least she wasn't totally hostile... yet...

The slave girl was totally in shock, and wasn't responding to him. Pulling her to her feet, he moved quickly towards the door on the other side of the garage. He could feel the growing menace as the slavers got over their surprise at his entrance, and began searching for him.

The automated defenses would make short work of any who came near the ship, but still.... best not to overstay his welcome.

Wheeling Trish around, he placed a small signal broadcaster into her hands, and told her; "Go to the hangar, and get in the ship that is waiting there. This will protect you from the turrets."

Running towards the far door, Derek called. "I'll distract them so you can get there alive. I'm trying to get you back to the order, so move!"

The woman was waiting just outside... keying the pad, he stepped out into the cold light of the hallway, and turned to face her, lightsaber ready, within the shroud of his left hand, concealed in the long sleeve.

 

[Niner]

Trish looked down at her hand and then looked at the man, "But, they will beat me if I leave this area. They've done it before. I can't escape, I tried at first but now I know how futile it is."

Trish sat down on the floor and lowered her head into her hands.

"Please don't get me in trouble with the masters." She whimpered.

 

[Captain Awesome]

The pathetic girl's show of submission was what it took for Asha to see past the malignant stare of her strange savior. She had seen enough fights in her life to know that the man had something up his sleeve - a knife perhaps, or maybe a hold-out slugthrower. Her instinct was to flee, to dive behind the door and run, or hide, but she knew that the slavers catch up to the prostrate girl, and the slave girl would be punished - even killed.
She clenched her teeth. She didn't like what she was going to do, but it would have to be done - for Trish.
Distant voices were shouting, down the hall. But this could not be helped. Asha held her blaster arm out at a 90 degree angle from Derek, always keeping the menacing figure at least in her peripheral vision - and fired a single bolt of blazing red energy into the terminal behind.
Ptew! There was no turning back now. The airlock slammed shut behind them, effectively severing the last connection from the hanger to the rest of the base.
"You!" she called, pointing at Derek with her gloved finger. "You, with the anger issues! It's time to go." She quietly primed her gloved hand with a hidden stun setting - one touch could incapacitate some men, but it would probably only stun this man for a few seconds - enough for her to slip by. Just in case he decided to use whatever he had up his sleeve.
A renewed thundering of boots - closer - snapped her out of her reverie. She knew what must be done. Her instincts were screaming at her to stop, but Asha forced herself to begin to walk past the leering man, towards the helpless trish. Her self-erected barrier would not last long.

 

[Tsar Fire]

"Huh." Derek hoped that this woman had her own vessel. The idea of being cramped up with a stranger as bossy as this one was not appealing.

"Fine by me."

Turning back towards the hangar, he strode past the other two.

"Can you bring her?"

He barely waited for an answer before sweeping out into the hall, checking both directions to make sure there were no enemies present yet.

The others didn't understand the danger, didn't realize that there were hundreds of slavers, and once the light went on in their collective brains, not even Derek would be able to get them out alive...

 

[Captain Awesome]

Asha was trembling imperceptibally with the residual fear at what she had just risked with the imposing, lionlike figure. At the same time, satisfaction blossomed inside for the same reason, and that she had won.
She deactivated her stun-gloves with a deft flick of her fingers and stooped by the pathetic slave, Trish.
"C'mon, gal," she said. "We're gettin' off this dump." She could only hope that Trish's new, submissive mindset would make it easier for her to obey.

 

[Tsar Fire]

Derek was waiting for Trish to respond, when the floor shuddered ever so slightly. Faint echoes resounded down the hallway, and he groaned. Blaster fire. His ship was being attacked.

He could also feel the minds of several slavers coming in his direction.

Blast it... blast it... blast it...

Running back into the garage, he shouted in warning, as the door that had been sealed just a moment ago exploded open.

Blast it.