Sullust's Scenic Route

[Omiya]

Growing up on Sullust wasn't really as bad as some might have thought, at least compared to a few other planets out there. Every city on the planet was underground, and for good reason, the toxic ash filled atmosphere of the planet. Even if you were capable of surviving on the surface, you'd still have to be weary of the electrical and ash storms that frequently ravaged the world, not to mention blocked out the sun. However miserable some outlanders may have thought Sullust to be, it was still Omiya's home, enlisting with the Galactic Rebellion would never change that. Omiya knew she would be leaving in a few days to join up with the main rebel forces but needed to say goodbye somehow. She had no family or real friends to say goodbye to however and there just wasn't time to visit her hometown of Fulluusub again, instead she had decided on just walking around the great city of Serres Sarrano in an attempt to make her last memory of home last. There was no guarantee she'd see Sullust again once she left.

It had been hours, Omiya had visited the markets and witnessed a good old fashioned Sullustan brawl between two vendors and a law enforcement droid over some sort of business transaction. After buying a Karkan ribene from an elderly sand colored Trandoshan women, Omiya made her way to the train station at the far edge of the market district. She'd seen enough and wanted to finish preparing to be picked up by the Rebel transport in a couple days, she had to be ready when they arrived but wasn't exactly sure when that would be since she was just a recruit. Once she finished her meal, she walked up to the train platform and took a seat next to a Sullustan man talking on his holonet recorder. Omiya didn't really know when the train would arrive but that didn't really matter to her.

 

[Narsi]

Nagorral hated this place. He had first arrived on this planet a week ago, hitching a ride in on an old cargo freighter. He had come with the intentions of finding work at this pit stop to keep funding his aimless wandering across the galaxy. As soon as he'd seen Sullust he knew he'd be underground again. Sure enough, the only work he found was in a mining crew carving out a new train tunnel. Nagorral hated being underground, he hated digging too. It reminded him too much of his old life and dredged up some bad memories. That was all the work he had though, and he had to do it if he wanted to get off and back into the openness of space, he needed the money.

Thankfully the days had gone by fast and Nagorral soon found himself shaking the dust out of his black fur as he headed towards a train station. Looking around as he slowly walked through the market, he couldn't help but think of what a miserable planet this was. Why would someone choose to live somewhere they could never even go on the surface. It was a horrible way to live, he knew that all too well. Soon he would be able to leave soon, hopefully his next stop would be better. The train station was right in front of him now. Looking around he took notice of the people waiting at the platform . Gently growling at the taken seats, Nagorral took up position leaning against the wall. Hopefully he wouldn't have too wait long. He was already tempted to force that little Sullustan from his seat next to some blue hooded individual.

 

[Omiya]

It was the sound of low growling that had gotten her attention, a lifetime of instincts forcing Omiya to look over her shoulder at the huge and furry beast of a humanoid. It was the oversized handle of the weapon slung over his back and the way the Wookiee looked at the man next to her that made Omiya stand and walk away. It was one thing to be standing behind someone, but it was another thing altogether when you were well armed, the size of a mountain and obviously looked capable of handling a fight with ease. Omiya remained calm, even though her mind began racing as she tried to think of any potential enemies that might have known she'd gotten off that prison mining rig out in the Slime Sea.

She was at a lost, it wasn't impossible to find someone, something Omiya knew better than most since it had been one of her specialties a few years ago. She wasn't the type to let enemies stick around to haunt her either so she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Instead she walked a few meters to the other side of the station and leaned with her back to the wall. Almost immediately she started watching the room, planning escape routes in case whoever the big guy was just happened to be there for her. A lifetime of eavesdropping, pickpocketing, fighting in an illegal arena, spying on and eliminating targets, as well as four years in prison had all forged Omiya's mind to keep track of her surroundings almost as second nature, a sixth sense. Other than the Wookiee's obvious stature and strength he didn't seem to pose any real threat to her, which was the only reason Omiya hadn't left already.

As she dared to zoom in just a little with her cybernetic eye, the repulsorlift powered train could be heard coming into the station, a loud whistle coming from down the track like the wail of a banshee signalling Death's arrival. The station lit up with noise and movement as people stood, gathered their things and huddled in groups awaiting their transport. Omiya did the same, but stayed at an angle so as to keep watch behind her, if someone was gonna try something she wanted to be able to see them coming long enough that she'd be able to defend herself or run. As the train came into the station and pulled to a stop, Omiya could hear the voices of many people calling to loved ones and friends and she stepped onto the train alongside a young Sullustan woman holding a holodevice as she watched some sort of news program with wireless headphones.

Omiya sat near the back of the train, leaning back with her feet up on a metal bar and her arms covering her knees. She sat there, watching people take thier seats in the reflection of the window as she thought to herself how odd it was to have windows on such a train in an underground city. Turning around and looking just above her at the map on the wall just over her shoulder. Omiya could see that the train would be taking the scenic route, just past the old podracing track. She looked back out the window out at the huge cave networks that extended for miles beyond the Serres Sarrano city limits, a small grin on her face as she tilted her head back just a little so she could take a short nap until she arrived at her destination.

@Narsi

 

[Narsi]

Perhaps he shouldn't have growled, it had drawn everyone's attention despite its rather low volume. Especially the blue hooded figure who had gotten up rather suddenly after turning to look at him. Nagorral watched as they walked slowly to another side of the station, a human now that he looked more closely. He hadn't meant to come off so threatening but perhaps the human was simply nervous around Wookiees. Whatever the reason, they had left an open seat on the bench and he would gladly take it. His body was still slightly aching from his work earlier and it was nice being able to sit down. Suddenly a weird scent hit him, it smelled...like piss? Slowly turning his head and looking down, Nagorral made eye contact with the trembling Sullustans sitting next to him. Maybe he shouldn't have sat down so freely after growling like that.

A loud whistle screamed as the train slowly pulled into the station in front of him. Good, he didn't have to put up with the disgusting stench hovering in the air anymore. Quickly standing, Nagorral joined the edge of the huddle crowding around the train entrance as everyone began to disembark. Stooping his head to get on, ignoring the looks he received Nagorral immediately headed right for the back of the train, he drew less attention that way. Removing his axe from his back, he heaved his large mass into the somewhat cramped seats near the back of the train. Holding his axe upright to conserve space he took a quick look out the window.....at more rock. He decided to look at his fellow passengers instead, noting the human sitting a few seats in front of him and the cowering little Sullustans. Ah well, at least it didn't smell like piss in here.

 

[Omiya]

As she was closing her eyes, Omiya caught a glance of the same black and gray Wookiee walking up the aisle headed in her direction. Despite her overly cautious nature, she actively attempted to push thoughts of that overly large axe swinging down and crushing her as the wookiee past by. Omiya was unable however, to keep her hand from reaching down and grasping the handle of her KYD-21 blaster pistol. Once she was sure the Wookiee had managed to find a seat she removed her hand from the weapon and smirked, he was sitting just a few seat behind her. "He has to know what this looks like to me, a Wookiee would know they intimidated others." Omiya thought to herself. She would be the first to admit she was intimidated, but it didn't mean she'd give into such tactics, and if the guy wanted to track her then she'd just have to make sure he knew that she knew.

Standing up, Omiya turned and looked the Wookiee in the eyes before walking down the aisle and sitting in the seat just across from him. Whoever he was, and whatever his intentions, he'd know that she wasn't to be messed with lightly. Sitting with her back against the window and her head bent forward, Omiya activated the thermal detection within her cybernetic left eye (her left) causing it to light up with a faint red glow. Her hood shrouded the rest of her upper face in shadow and the simple gesture had often been enough to scare off anyone who'd thought it wise to attempt to try to pull one over on her. Pulling her legs up into the other seat so as to keep others from blocking her view of the Wookiee, Omiya once again placed her hand on her blaster pistol, grinning as she did so.

In case she'd failed to draw his attention by that point, Omiya sent a low and quit whistle in his direction for a few good solid seconds before speaking. "What's a great forest dweller like yourself doing so far underground, I would think your people prefer swinging from trees." Nothing smelled worse than a nice pile of speciesism in the morning, but the comment was meant to bait him. Omiya was more than aware of Wookiees' reputation for being quick to anger, as well as the consequences of provoking one, but she also knew that the angrier a person got the sooner they tended to show all their cards. Besides, she had more than enough of her own cards left to play a good game herself. If it did come down to a fight it didn't matter how fast the Wookiee was, Omiya was almost certain her draw would be faster still.

 

[Kibagami]

"Wait, show me again." Dran nudged his brother.
"Again? What's the point if you refuse to remember it?" Laniz retorts with a snarl.
"I'll remember this ti-" Dran does his best to study the face in the holoimage shown from Laniz's compact imagecaster.
"You better! Now put your game face on." Laniz spits, closing the image with the arrival of the train.
"Where are the other two?" Yellow eyes darting curiously for their comrades as the brothers board.
"They'll be here. Stay focused and keep your eyes open." The hushed volume of his voice took on an inflection of annoyance being around so many people in such a small space.
"Ya, ya..." Dran huffed with the same annoyance before the two parted in opposite directions.

Sullust had been the home of the twin Pantorans for the last three months and within that time they had developed a strong distaste for the Elite Class, partly because of the rigged pod-racing that was feeding into the pockets of the super rich, but mostly because the brothers had been cast out of their own ultra-wealthy family, framed for the murder of their own aunt while the true killer took her place among the family hierarchy. The golden symbols identifying their lineage were stiped from their faces, now marred by scars. Such is the life of the rich and powerful: lies and murder. To hell them the whole lot of them. Laniz was far more jaded than Dran about it, being the one witness to the death of his aunt has been a source of torment. Although sympathetic, Dran hates himself for his inability to share his brother's burden. Because of this, Dran took it upon himself to study on several different forms of CQC and various defensive techniques and tactics as well as bulking his physic to intimidating levels. If he couldn't share the burden, he'd make damn sure Laniz would never have to shoulder another. Laniz knows this, mixed emotions manifest as words equal in heated revulsion as brotherly compassion.

Those around him felt his bootsteps rattle the floor beneath, the light ting of metal on metal in cadence was the swaying of several badges of military prestige pinned to his slightly tattered Pantoran Naval Commander jacket. Stolen from the drunken commander years ago, it also hid a taster stave and a blaster pistol of a kind he doesn't care enough to know. Dran shuffled his way towards the rear of the train. Blue skin, yellow eyes, 6'8", 260lbs., he was as hard to miss on this planet as a... "..a Wookie!?" He mouthed the words when spotting the one thing he never thought he'd see in his life, a real live Wookie!(Nagorral) Instantly he silently cursed the fact that he had more important things to tend to.

Making his way for the conductors chair, Laniz scanned every face he passed, looking for the one person on this train that has more credits than the rest of them put together. A disgusting, overweight pig of a Bothan named Ruut Kutaren'Cre. Laniz had information that there was another meeting of high-rollers for tonight's main event at Serres Sarrano, it would make for the perfect opportunity to use Ruut as an example, a message to the other so-called elite taking advantage of a corrupt system. A plain brown longcoat hid the outline of a taser stave at his hip and pistol at the small of his back, a thermal grenade in his jacket pocket would be his pen and the life of Ruut his paper. Written in blood. The trouble was waiting until they actually arrived at the Serres Sarrano station near to where network news channels were covering the race, worldwide broadcast of protest in the name of defeating corruption should shake some fear into those supporting it.

Secondary objective for the twins was to find the other two in their crew, if they even made the train, if not, they'd just have to watch the fun on the holonet news.

 

[Narsi]

He couldn't believe this, he just couldn't believe this was actually happening. Nagorral was just managing to get relaxed when the human from earlier decided to make everything uncomfortable again. The hooded human, a female he now noticed, had suddenly stood and unmistakably glared right at him. She then sauntered down the aisle all the while staring at him before taking the seat right across from him.
Sitting down facing him she had just started grinning at him. Then even more insanely, one of her eyes underneath her hood started glowing red. He saw she even had one hand on a blaster near her lap. "Who is this human, and what is her problem with me?". He didn't remember doing anything, maybe she was upset about the growling he had done earlier. "Or maybe," he thought, " She just has something against Wookiees."

"What's a great forest dweller like yourself doing so far underground, I would think your people prefer swinging from trees." Suspicions confirmed, Nagorral regretted his inability to fully swing his axe in the close confines of the train, the best he could really do was use it like a blunt spear. It wasn't a problem though, he had thrown specists out of windows before and there were plenty of those around if he needed them. He hadn't got where he was today by letting people push him around and he wasn't going to start now. Standing Nagorral decided that now wasn't the time for quiet anger and let loose a bloodcurdling roar that shook the windows and instantly gained everyone's full attention. Looking down on the small human in front of him, Nagorral glared, daring her to pull the blaster. Watching her closely he pressed a small button connected to the device on his shoulder activating it. Since most didn't understand his tongue this small droid on his shoulder instantly translated his words into basic as he spoke."Do you have a death wish human?," he snarled.

 

[Outlander]

"-click-zzzZzzzZzzzzZ-click-"

"Yes, of course, Master! All relevant variables have been accounted for. Oh, I'm so happy to finally get out onto another world!"

"zzzzzzzzz-click-zZz"

"No need to be hasty, sir. I am but a humble servant, and I have committed it to my memory unit to appear less cheery."

"-click-"

"I am a worthless pile of scrap! Thank you, Master."

The small transport, outdated now but quite serviceable and very discreet, dipped below the cloudy sky. Over the communicator, a Sullustan operator said something about returning to course in Basic, but he didn't get the chance to finish before a pincer shut the annoying drivel off. Cyzzre had no time, or intention, to deal with them.

"How rude of him!" Eps-33 said from the co-pilot seat, accompanied by a flail of metallic appendages. Cyzzre had put the combat droid together for exceptional performance; even if he couldn't manage to reprogram her personality matrix without wiping so much data as to make it more of a nuisance to do so. Although he was quickly reconsidering that. The Colcoid sorely wished he had time to make the protocol droid resemble one of his own kind. But, time had been short and he had settled for sets of sharp pincers, heavy blaster cannons, and a bubble shield.

The transport soared above the settlements below, sensors already tracking his "partners" below. The Colcoid himself was suited in heavy armor designed for one of his species, armed with tri-coupled intergrated blaster cannons and a grenade launcher. More than adequate for his task.

The twins, a pair of aristocratic rejects with a resentment for the wielders of their former status, had stumbled across him in a staged meeting, set up by him of course. There would be no way for them to know what he really wanted; again intended. They where simply a means to an end, puppets of his own cause. It was actually quite surprising they had accepted his ruse, seeing as Colcoid rarely ventured far into the galaxy. But, he wasn't complaining.

"zzZzZZzzz-click-"

"I've already prepped the droids, sir, and the call signal was successfully received! Standing by to await receive signal."

Good; efficient. Just how he preferred it.

 

[Omiya]

Omiya pressed her lips together into a thin line as the Wookie stood, he was a lot taller than she'd expected but a lifetime around Sullustans didn't make it that hard to underestimate another being's height. Luckily it was quite clear his ability to use his axe would be restricted by the small size of the train, close quarters combat just wasn't suited to that size of weapon. However, it was the fact that the Wookiee roared in anger that caused Omiya to unholster her blaster. She didn't want the situation to escalate to much farther, at least not where others could get caught in the middle of it.

Pointing the blaster pistol towards the floor, she could hear the muffled sounds of terror from multiple directions as the Wookiee spoke through his translator droid. The Wookiee's choice of words caused her to smirk but she knew better than to remain silent, he had obviously demanded a reply. "Yeah, it seems I was mistaken then. You'll have to forgive my cautious nature, we've all got enemies nowadays, I just figured you were attempting to follow me. I don't like being followed." As she spoke, Omiya put her blaster away, hoping that'd get the Wookiee to do the same. If he was tailing her he was either extremely stupid or not experienced in that line of work.

He was built tough, almost as if he had lived a life of hard labor, or grew up in an arena. Omiya couldn't help but give him a once over, her mind looking for weaknesses. The most prominent weakness she could see was in fact his powerfully built body, in such a confined environment he didn't stand a chance against the speed, agility, or flexibility she possessed. The way he wielded his axe wasn't sloppy, but it did show a level of inexperience that suggested he had only recently acquired it, or at the very least rarely used it. Even with her Jian in it's sheath over her shoulder, Omiya could still feel it's touch, as if her fingers were wrapped around the handle.

Omiya reached up to her head, slowly and in the opposite direction of her sword, pulling down her hood so the Wookiee towering over her had the chance to see her face to know she wasn't looking for a fight. Messy black hair, her dead eye, and the cybernetic eye and ear all became visible as she cracked a cheeky grin and offered her right hand. "Omiya Bleu, death wishes are sort of my specialty, and you are?" She might as well try to smooth things over with him, she still felt like taking a nap and while she knew it wasn't going to happen, an all out brawl just didn't sound like a better option. As Omiya turned the thermal detector in her eye off, she made sure to lean forward just slightly so she would be able to dodge an incoming attack without to much effort should the need arise.

 

[Narsi]

Nagorral slowly relaxed as the human put the blaster away. Apparently she had thought he was following her for some bizarre reason. He didn't understand why, he was just trying to ride this stupid train. No doubt it was because he was a Wookiee. At least she had put the blaster away and somewhat apologized. He might finish this train ride without any more undue drama or conflict. Nagorral had just opened his mouth to reply when she started reaching for her hood. He hadn't known exactly what to expect but he was somewhat surprised when she pulled off her hood. Her face was certainly beautiful and she had nice long black hair. However her face was marred by both a dead and cybernetic eye not to mention the mechanical ear.

Nagorral was taken aback to say the least, the human must have endured a lot the past. Obviously she was trying to show him she didn't want to fight by showing him her face. Looking her over, Nagorral decided he probably shared her sentiment, someone like her had probably seen a lot of fighting in her past. This small female was probably way more experienced than him and she even had some weapon
holstered on her back. "Omiya Bleu, death wishes are sort of my specialty, and you are?" she said as she offered a hand out for him to shake. Nagorral looked down at the hand in contemplation. As soon as he took it, he could yank and cripple her for life. It didn't matter how skilled she was, once that hand was in his grasp it would be over. But looking around the train at all the small Sullustans staring at him in fear especially the crying children. He suddenly felt ashamed for thinking of doing such a thing, it would be the highest dishonorable act. However he wouldn't shrug off an insult that easily. Roughly knocking the hand away, he spoke," Nagorral, and I don't enjoy meeting specists such as you, now leave me in peace." Pressing the off button on his translator droid, Nagorral turned away and started walking up the aisle. He would find a another seat somewhere near the front, hopefully this one would be free of paranoid humans. He shouldn't have much trouble finding a new seat with the way everyone was scrambling out of his way and shrinking into their seats.

 

[Kibagami]

The electronic chime from his his comm signaled the arrival of the twin's comrades. Laniz expelled a nervous sigh before notifying his brother. "They're here." His normally calm demeanor gave way to pent excitement. "You got eyes on Ruut?"
"No. And we might have a small problem.."
"I told you not to start any fights, Dran!"
"Oh, that's Funny." The words oozed with sarcasm. "There's a wookie scaring the druk out of people back here."(Nagorral's roar)
"A wookie!?" His mind raced in speculation. "Whatever, just deal with it, the last thing we need is some disgruntled furball spooking our mark."
"I'm on it."

Laniz was approximately at the middle of the train when the Colcoid and his droid called in, heading for the engine. For a moment he continued in that direction, until deciding that his brother wasn't the best at diffusing volatile situations and rather excelled at exasperating hostility. Maybe it would be better if they switched roles, so he headed towards the rear, and gave fair warning to Cyzzre. "Get down here a.s.a.p." Spoken directly into his comm. "I have a feeling things are about to get ugly." -Were not the most encouraging words to hear.

Once Dran got back to the area he heard the roar from, he witnessed the wookie walking away from a small female dressed in blue. It was strange to him to see the larger of the two supposed adversaries back away from the smaller, the altercation must have been an interesting one. The peoples on the train parted in the wookie's path allowing Dran a clear view of an axe of significant size. The sight gave him pause, even as good a fighter as he is, even as physically imposing as he is, a wookie with a giant frigging AXE is definitely a situation to think twice about engaging. He shot a glance at the tiny girl, what was it about her that made a wookie with an axe walk away? Quickly he realized that he didn't want to find out, so walked passed her without a word.

His Naval Commander jacket, though scarred, gave an air of authority he sometimes liked to play on. It wasn't a typical tactic, he preferred a more direct approach but he knew this was a delicate environment and there were other factors to consider. Lifting his chin, pulling his shoulders back, puffing his chest, straightening his spine, he would make his best attempt at civility regardless of the fact that he was a terrible liar. "Citizen." Spoken sternly as he placed his right hand on the wookie's left shoulder. "You're frightening the passengers, refrain from this behavior or I will be forced to..." ..to what? He didn't think this far ahead. "...to..uh..confiscate your axe and throw you off the train!" The people around them shrank away more if such a thing was even possible, making him aware that his words didn't come out the same way it sounded in his head.
Yup, civility in spades.