Trouble Arrives

[Salamandurrr]

Tanaab, once a luscious landscape filled with beautiful rolling hills and forests, now riddled with air pollution after industrialization finally arrived. New cities were created. One city, Lyanora, was one of the first. The town always seemed dim because of the cloud of pollution that sat above. The ground, littered in garbage. Walls were caked with graffiti. Small gangs spurted up here and there throughout the city. But only one truly rose to power, known as the Trian'qov Family. A crime syndicate ran by a Bothan, Trivaard Trian'qov, better known by Triv, who had been considered missing after being released from prison. The main business is run inside of a tavern formerly known as the 'Pickled Ale". Inside is not only where "business" happens, but also where one would normally be able to find Triv and his goons.

Triv stood in a room with 6 of his best men, behind them stood his latest sale, a freight of explosives. He patiently waited for the buyer to show up. To him, this was just any ordinary transaction, even if the buyer was running late. Normally he'd start to get suspicious by now, but this was his largest sale yet, and he wasn't worried about some lost time. But he was a busy man and had places to be. Hopefully the buyers would arrive soon.

 

[Sly]

Time had taken it's toll on the landscape, just as it had the woman looking upon it. Many years had passed since the last time Alyse had looked into this vast skyline and gazed over it. What was once natural beauty and farms lands had become another shadow of dense metal laid beneath a dark cloud of smog and pollution. The ship landed nearby the target site and it was time to finish a chapter that she thought would never end. Her target, one she knew too well, was wanted dead or alive; However, she knew that one of them wasn't walking away. The woman zipped the side of her body tight outfit and clipped the buckle of a waistline belt across her. Gear checked and ready, she knew it was time to go. One last thought crossed her mind, the bag... She turned back, unzipping the side pocket of a carrying bag, removing three thermal detonators. On any normal mission she would've just taken one, but this wasn't an ordinary mission and she had to prepare for the worst. Clipping the explosives to her belt harness, she left the bag in the seat as she shuffled to the end of the ship. In times like these, it wasn't hard to pay off a pilot and his ship with a bit of credits to keep their mouths closed and forget they ever saw you; In fact, it's even easier when you strap yourself with weapons as you exit. That demeanor tends to quiet people down. ​

Alyse moved off the end of the ship bay door, walking into the dense smoggy atmosphere that plagued the planet. She was on a strict time schedule and they were already behind. This wasn't something that Alyse could pull off by herself and she gave a silent prayer that her informant and partner would be waiting for her at the randevu point. She moved towards the market that sat nearby the landing platforms. These shops were always full of unsavory characters and Alyse fit the boot perfectly as she slid between the crowd quickly, ensuring that she didn't draw any unnecessary attention to herself. She knew that she still had a few blocks to travel before she would reach the target point but that didn't mean there weren't guards out and about looking for suspicious characters. ​

She didn't like the thought of killing their target, but she knew the loose ends couldn't sit un-threaded forever. Their target: Triv Trian'qov. Gang leader, murderer, and an old friend turned enemy. Many years before, in this same land, memories of one of her first real jobs and the escape of a lifetime. It wasn't without a cost though, a kid took the fall and she escaped with her life. She figured he had died but it came out a short time later that the boy lived and had told the authorities everything. Next thing she knew, it was her getting locked up in a MaxSec prison. He might've gotten away with it if it wasn't for his ego and Alyse's deep seeking passion for revenge. ​

Alyse realized she had been walking aimlessly, drifting off in memory lane. She made it to her checkpoint, just some rusted out shack of a slum-home sitting near an allyway about a block away from the target site. She slid her hand onto one of her Electroblades, pushing her boot against the door to open it. The creaking of the barrier echoed in the empty room where a table, two clothes stripped bodies and their outfits laid on the ground at the foot of a familiar face. "I was hoping you would make it.. How was your trip? I see you brought your carry-on.." She laughed as she grinned towards her comrade. ​

 

[Prudence]

The flight to the shithole planet of Tanaab had been the definition of uneventful. Kane had taken public transport to a nearby world, where a ship had been waiting to ferry him and his gear to Tanaab for the mission. He'd arrived twelve hours ahead of his rendezvous in order to 'prepare' some resources ahead of their mission. Presently Kane was walking through the slummy streets of one of Tanaab's sprawling rust-centric cities, carrying two large-heavy bags over each shoulder. He'd already made several trips to the shack that he and his partner were using as their staging area, to store the rest of his gear. His present load was lumpy, and radiated heat causing him to sweat even more than he already was. Rather than wearing his combat armor, which would have raised even more attention to him and his unusual activities, Kane wore a leather jacket — perfectly fitted to his dimensions —and a pair of khaki-gray colored flight pants. Strapped to his belt, concealed beneath his jacket, was a single blaster pistol, and a vibroblade. On his hands he wore a tight fitting pair of cloth microfiber gloves, meant to leave no physical evidence during his 'activities', and provide his hands a bit of protection.

He neared the shack, dropping each of the bags just within the confines of the building's walls, rolling his shoulders a bit to massage out the cramping pain that he'd wrought upon himself. With a heft his drug one of them onto a rickety metal table in the center of the room, and unzipped it. Staring back at him was a paling corpse, its eyes still wide open — filled with pain & horror. The corpse's throat had been severed nearly to the bone, but the body had been preliminarily meticulously prepared, having drained the spilled blood away from the man's clothes, leaving them unblemished. It wasn't the first time Kane had seen the face this morning.

His mind flashed back for a moment, to hours earlier when he'd tapped his gloved knuckles against the synth-wood of a motel door. Left forefinger pressed against the peephole in the door as to block any forewarning of the early morning visitor, he forced the residents to open the door in order to greet him. Armed simply with a chain to prevent it from opening completely, the door slid open a crack and revealed half a man's face — the features of which were contorted into confusion. Few recognized Kane's face when they saw it the first time, and even fewer got a chance to see it a second time. Throwing all of his weight and muscle into it, He shouldered through the door, ripping the cheap chain from the wall with a puff of dura-plaster and a creak. Swinging wildly from the new momentum, the door smacked against the resident's face sending him staggering back.

The other resident approached now, also a human man, and began reaching for a blaster from his waistline. Kane rushed forward, seizing a lamp from a nearby desk and smacking the base of it against the man's temple. It was enough to set him off balance and delay him, as he wheeled around on his initial opponent. The man was beginning to straighten up now, reaching for his own pistol. Kane's leg came up, kicking the pistol out of his hand, as one of his own hands whipped in front of him, wielding a single WESTAR pistol. His shot was clean and precise, slicing through the man's forehead and ending him in but a moment. He then returned his attention to the final adversary, who was shakily returning to his feet. Kane kicked him right in the chest, sending him stumbling back into one of the beds. The man toppled back first, falling onto the bed and Kane was soon to follow. His left hand seized the man's throat, pushing him across the bed until his head and shoulders dangled off the edge. With practiced synchronicity his left hand withdrew its choke hold, and his right hand withdrew his vibroblade and brought it across his throat. He continued holding the victim in that position, making sure to preserve the man's clothes.

His attention was drawn back to the present moment. Absentmindedly he'd performed a task not unfamiliar to him, undressing corpses and preparing to dispose of them. A beam of light found swung itself across the dark room, resting on the corner of the table near him, and a familiar silhouette filled the doorway. "Uneventful, my shoulder's a bit sore though." Kane let out a soft chuckle as he rubbed the shoulder that had busted the locked door open, and then dramatically rolled it. "My friends here haven't been very talkative, so a change in company is much needed."

 

[Sly]

“As much as I would love to have a drink and talk nonsense about our lives, we are already running behind. Much longer and it’s going to draw attention.” Alyse said to the man as she slowly walked around the bodies. They didn’t appear to put up much of a struggle, then again, she had never expected them to be the type dealing weapons to begin with. She quickly began throwing one of the men’s outfits on over her own gear, stuffing a thermal detonator in her pocket for safekeeping in a worst-case scenario. She waited for Kane to get geared up and then prepared to head back out into the streets.

As she opened the door back to the outside world, a cloud of smog puffed into the room and mildly acidic rain trickled down from the cloudy skyline. It wasn’t anything unbearable, just wasn’t recommended to stick your tongue out and drink; Alyse was too focused to even notice. Memories were still rushing through her as the pair navigated the marketplace roads and she found it getting harder and harder to stay on track. This was a contract kill, but the personal vendetta she felt was becoming overbearing. “Stick to the mission” she thought to herself as they approached the target.

“The Pickled Ale", the same hole in the wall that she remembered from so many years ago had somehow become even trashier. Cameras riddled the perimeter of the building, watching down on the rest of the world from their two story high platforms. “Droppers” as they were commonly called by locals, sat against the outside walls of the building, either already riding their high or begging for the next one. The pair pushed by the druggies, moving towards the entrance to the compound. She looked back to Kane, “They were expecting one male and his security. As blunt as I am, I don’t think I can pass for a guy so I guess that makes me security… Ready?” She looked towards the man, removing her rifle from her back. “Gotta play the part.” She grinned, waiting for his go. ​

 

[Salamandurrr]

The longer Triv waited the more impatient he became. He still stood in the middle of the room, stone faced. But the way his fur stood on in was a tell tale sign of his anger. His guards who were once standing directly next to him had moved toward the corners of the room, in hopes of not being his target when the buyer flakes out on him. "Where the hell is he? The place isn't exactly hard to find." His voice sounded gruff as he spoke, years of yelling orders at henchmen had taken a wear on him. His fur looked as if it had a mind of its own, standing completely on end as he became more enraged.

"Enrito, come here would you?" A guard stepped up to him, roughly twice his size. "Tell me Enrito, do you believe the buyer is coming?" Enrito looked at him, and seemed almost relieved. He thought for sure Triv was going to kill him. He's seen it before. "Yes sir, word on the street is that Tanaab has been hard to get to today. They must be landing soon." Triv looked up at Enrito, staring him dead in the eyes. Something he never did to his inferiors. Triv believed that eye contact was only for equals. "Sir, is there a problem? Maybe we should check the cameras and see if there is anyone we don't know in to-" Just then an electroblade went through Enrito's stomach. Triv knew exactly where to stab to make death as slow and painful as possible. As Enrito fell to the ground in agony, Triv removed the blade and put it away. "Don't ever look me in the eyes. YOU ARE INFERIOR!!! Now someone get this mess cleaned up, I'm going to check the cameras."

Triv navigated out of the room through a door in the back, which led directly to the security room. He looked over the cameras, but he saw nothing. He didn't think to check the ones he had placed at the front. He switched over to those. That's when he saw two shady characters pushing through the river of homeless and druggies. They were a different kind of shady though, like they had a purpose to act that way. He knew that they must be the buyers. He went back into the main room, and to his dismay Enrito was still laying in the floor crying out in agony. "Someone better clean this up or everyone in here will end up like that."

 

[Prudence]

Kane just blew out a breath in an amused manner at Alyse's frets. Pushing off of the table he began to dress as his freshly disrobed victims had. The one that fit Kane's build had been wearing a gray button-up Alderaanian-shirt, with a black nerf-leather jacket overtop it. His pants were simply a tight fitting pair of black trousers. After wrinkling his eyebrow at the attire for a moment he slid the pants on and completed his wardrobe. Fastening a black leather belt with a shining silver buckle around his trousers, he fastened a hip holster onto it, and holstered his WESTAR. His vibroknife, and its holster, found themselves affixed to the inside of his coat, and then he was ready to disembark.

He could tell that Alyse was going through some sort of existential crisis about this job, but he chose to ignore it. Instead he'd just hold it in the back of his mind, knowing that she might be unstable or unreliable during the job. If his concerns proved to be true, then he would handle her when it came to that. A slight rain trickled against his jacket as they wove their way through the poor dusty streets. Despite the water falling from the sky, the planet was dry enough that it still found a way to feel dusty and hot. A layer of grime covered most things in this part of town, but the building that loomed before Kane took that to an extreme. Clinging to its walls were spice-addicts, either riding the wave of elation from their most recent score, or waiting to be given another dose by the men that controlled them. Kane didn't pay them any mind as they reached for his legs, instead he occasionally kicked one of them square in the jaw, or the chest, if they became too clingy. He rapped his knuckles against the building's durasteel door, and waited for someone inside to let him in. "One shot two shot, red shot blue shot." he muttered to himself, under his breath, preparing for the kill.

 

[Salamandurrr]

"Let them in." Triv spoke with a tone of annoyance at their tardiness. But he was also enthralled that the waiting was finally over. He wanted the money, and he wanted it now. Soon enough he had 3 of his remaining men cleaning up the mess that was Enrito, and the other two were letting his special guests in. He turned his back to the doorway, and stared at his shipment. 3,000 pounds of illegal explosives. "Talk about a health hazard on the job. No one gets hazard pay either, so don't even ask."

Despite the giant supply of explosives in front of him, Triv was unusually calm. Normally he is on edge because of the possibilities of bounty hunters and paid assassins. He truly built a hatred for them in particular. His mind hearkens back to his first "real" job. He was willing to take a measly 10 percent of the payout. He was naive. He made the mistake of trusting the people he was working with. Big mistake. Just the thought of that night makes him anxious. But something was different about this sale. For once he wasn't worried. He was at peace.

Finally his men opened the door, and standing in front of him were the buyers. "Finally, I've been waiting all day."

 

[Sly]

Alyse pulled the hood of her outfit up, covering her image the best she could. Suddenly the door-frame opened and she was face to face with goons. Triv, the fool he was gave a cocky welcome, Alyse felt it better to just nod to the target as the pair began to walk through the doorway. Attempting not to draw too much attention to herself, she waited for Kane to enter, following in suit after. Her rifle sat in her hands, loaded and ready to fire at a moments notice but she wasn't dare going to take a shot until the time was right.. There was only going to be one chance at this. As the pair walked around, She began surveying the room as well as she could while Kane and Triv began to discuss something about the deal.

She could feel the tension in the air and it only added to the musty stench of neglect that the building had acquired over the years. The inside of the place looked a lot different than she remembered, time will do that to a person. But one thing was clear, even through age, Triv still looked exactly the way she remembered him. As she glanced around the room, she made eye contact with one of the guards who was staring her down. He grinned and winked to her, she returned it with a light lick of the lips while adjusting her grip on her weapon slightly to deliver the message.

She heard some ruffling of the guards in a back room and the sound of weapons readying. "Sir..." she muttered towards Kane's direction as him and Triv conversed. She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she knew things were about to get fun...