Ask Legends of Shaddaa

As the others contributed their own concepts of what would be the best plan of action, Aska opted to remain silent. Silent, that is, until the human man decided to suggest that they coral the infected towards Durr’s gates. This warranted a single heavy and sarcastic laugh from the clone.

”Yea? And how do you propose we get the damn things back to the quarantine zone after we’re done with them? Nal Hutta may as well get glassed after that,” The clone replied, smirking as her cigarra hung from her lip. Of course, after her trip to Mataou, she knew all too well that Hutts weren’t above orbital bombardment of their own worlds to subdue the ever rampant virus. Would it truly be such a bad thing? Maybe they would just be accelerating the inevitable if that was the route Callo chose?

It would not be, however. It seemed that much of the plan was to follow her own suggestion though with less division of their forces. This suited her just fine. Nodding her agreement, the clone started towards the door but not until after she had retrieved a large bottle of whiskey from one of the serving droid’s trays.


The time had come. Nal Hutta, just as slime covered and stench ridden as it was the last time she had visited with Alisaah, was to be the scene of their attack. What it was with Hutts and worlds like this, she couldn’t understand. Nevertheless, she was ready.

Dressed in her custom armour and with her usual loadout, the clone had opted to bring along three thermal and three remote detonators. If Covax had taught her anything, it was better to have a grenade and not need it than to need one and not have it. The teams had split, leaving the clone with the legendary Callo as well as the ‘man’ known as Ines. The sun had set and it was nearing the time to move.

“Aska, Ines. Brought your jet boots?” Preef asked, to which Aska simply smirked as she took a drag off her cigarra, careful to keep the burning embers concealed by her palm so as to not allow any scouts or surveyors of the palace to spot them in the dark of night.

”Don’t leave home without em,” she replied. With her own pair of microbinocs, Aska could see the hordes of infected casually roaming outside the walls of the base, unthreatened by the palace guards who in turn were casual in their demeanor. Great…

”What I would give for Poffo to be here with his flame thrower right about now…” she muttered, amazed that the words even slipped past her lips. ( @Isen )

Gareth simply nodded as Preef told him the plan, it was one he could agree with, kind of what he expected, and the droids could serve as good backup, he didn't know if he wanted to use them, be it as bait or something else, but he would certainly not refuse them, better to have them and not employ them that lack them when they were needed the most.

A good while later, Gareth was with the rest of his group, hidden behind their own vantage point as they observed the guards ahead of them, the droids were also hidden and ready in two groups of ten, ready to be thrown away as bait and as a distraction if they needed to, but the Miralukan hoped it didn't come to that.

He had been tasked with something simple in theory: They had to stealth their way towards the wall and find an entrance point...And Preef chose him for a reason, the Rodian knew that Gareth could see in a way that others couldn't, and that ability would come in handy when looking for a weakened part of the wall that could perhaps be used to get inside.

"My group's ready Preef, the droids are on standby for now and we are ready for you to give the signal" Gareth talked through the commline knowing very well that Preef would be able to hear him. Just like always he wore normal urban clothes and his pair of matukai gauntlets, but he also chose to bring along two fusioncutters in case they had to use them to breach the wall...Not the most silent thing in the world, but it was the better alternative compared to breaching charges "Remember to stay out of sight, once we hug the wall I doubt they'll actually notice us, let's get this part over with quickly."

Covax took in the sight of the hutt's palace from what they could see from their limited view point. Big ass tower with a wall between them and it. Several guards on the lookout. Not much to speak of. The guards were not on edge, in fact they seemed bored and lacking in their duties. There was also no other sighs of defenses other then the limited guards. The entire thing reminded him of the job that nearly killed him. Something was off, he knew it in his gut.

"Something is off." Speaking in the comms so every member could hear him. "The guards on the wall are few, and hardly maintaining a watch. There's nothing else in view, not even spot lights or heavy weapons. Callo, we're walking right into something. I can feel it."

The towering human decided to crawl up the junk hill that made up their vantage point. It wasn't so tall that he could see over the wall but it was high enough to get a good sight on the guard. Taking the Javelin off his back, he pulled out the bipod and selected the fire to semi auto.

"Gareth, put five of those droids under my command and leave the Deveronian with me. Make for the wall if you want, we'll cover you."

@Eccles @Versok @Darasuum @Feng Mian @Tulos @Nor'baal

Making something blow up seemed a bit too indirectly straight forward. Then again, rolling up on a Hutt with a fleet and then glassing their property with turbo lasers did sound like a move a Hutt gangster would pull to send a message. Pellios could say he'd witnessed such a thing on one or two occasions. The Devaronian was glad the Rodian opted for something with a bit more class and nodded his horned head when the orders were given.


Pellios followed Gareth's lead after they landed. The rest of the group seemed fairly well equiped and in no need of additional outfitting from his private stores thankfully. The scoundrel was wearing his regular blast vest underneath slightly darker attire. A vest over a breathable dress shirt and black trousers matched with painted scabbards and dark leather pouches for his equipment. Taking into account his own white hair, Pellios had a headset on behind the set of horns rising from his head.

The normally reddish hued devaronian had come alone after landing. The rest of his crew, Jann and his two droids were both staying with the ship. His copilot had insisted and rather than dawdle the scoundrel had just followed the larger Miraluka. He was glad they had a score of battle droids though. That would compensate for him not having the HWK drone. A small army sneaking into a Hutt's palace sounded like something straight out of a classic epic of one kingdom being replaced by another. Pellios was a bit happy just to be involved. But he kept that to himself for the time being.

Two additional reloads for the antique rocket pistol on his right hip was accompanied by an additional stun gas grenade and thermal detonator from his own stock. A BM-548 with scope, mag-accelerator and ascension gun attachment was slung across his back for the time being, hoping that he would not have to use it since that would mean probably having raised an alarm.

Of course Covax had to speak up. The gravely voice of the mercenary made the Devaronian turn his head. "Uh..." Pellios was not sure he liked how the words had been phrased. But what it also meant was the blackwell stamped durasteel weapon was going to be firing sooner rather than later. The aging scoundrel sighed and unslung the blaster. "...oh fine.... I should brought a bigger blaster." His eyes glancing at the javelin in Covax's hands for a moment.

@Eccles @Nor'baal @Feng Mian @Tulos

Movement above him suddenly drew Covax's attention. It was Preef's shuttle high above. Perhaps the only signal they would receive from the crime boss, since he hadn't seemed to say much since they all left his palace. His theory proved to be true when suddenly he noticed the Gunslinger first out of the shuttle, trench coat flapping in the wind.

"Light'em up!" he yelled. Returning his eye to the scope, the human merc centered the cross hair on the guard closet to the gate on the wall. Then exhaled his breath slowly as he squeezed the trigger twice. Intending the double tap the guard before he knew what hit him.

With a flick of his thumb, the former soldier turned the weapon full auto now. Holding the trigger down to spray hot plasma across the top of the wall. Kinda aiming at the guards, but mostly try to make them duck. He counted to three in his head and then paused. Waited for movement and then started to fire again.

"If you haven't already, move your asses."

@Eccles @Versok @Feng Mian @Tulos @Darasuum @Nor'baal @Nefieslab

While she wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of once again involving herself in a conflict with a horde of AMS infected, the promise of credits and the death of the Hutt that had instigated the whole pandemic was enough of a motivator for Aska. As Preef lept from the transport, the clone was only a short distance behind him. The freefall brought back the dominating memory of her descent on Devaron that had left her with this damned exo-spine but despite the gnawing anxieties this caused her, her training provided her with the mental fortitude to push through with little more than a bead of sweat and gritted teeth. With her arms held tight to her waist, her speed continued to build with every second until finally she pulled her arms ahead of her and activated the jet boots she was so accustomed to using.

As the boots flared to life, Aska held both arms outward and allowed the air currents of her fall to push against her chest to force her back into an upright position. Even though her descent was slowing, the clone could see the top of the palace quickly growing closer. Increasing power to her thrusters until finally she was approaching at an appropriate speed, she then wrapped the fingers of her left hand around the column of an communications antenna before cutting power to her boots and setting down on the top of the palace with ease at Preef’s side.

”Well that’s the easy part out of the way… Kinda nice to not slam into a mountain for a change,” Aska muttered under her breath as she took in the scene below.

Covax would find that his aim was true, the gunslinger's repeater firing a short burst across the distance upon his own command. The targeted guard didn't so much get hit by the shots as it got smashed by them, one of them disappearing into his skull with the second knocking the poor sentient back off of it's post into the area beyond the wall and out of Covax's sight.

Although his first target did not have chance to respond, the few guards on the outer wall did respond rather quickly to the fast dispatch of one of their number. With thin numbers, they weren't as much of a threat to Covax as they could be but they were spread out across the wall, allowing some of them to fire off shots when he was busy spraying other sections of their domain.

They had not managed to zero in on his position so far but Covax would begin to find blaster bolts exploding against pieces of rock and earth around him, getting gradually closer with every shot he made and every bright light they could use to trace him.

***

Despite Preef and Aska throwing themselves into the plan by throwing themselves out of an ascending shuttle, Ines remained behind in the initial drop. Both Preef and Aska would find their skydiving to be both exhilarating and without much in the way of excitement save for their own adrenaline - neither of them would have any issues with sticking the landing atop the tower. As the two of them got their feet under them again and Aska lamented the fact that she had not face-planted a mountain, they would become aware that they were not alone.

Atop the lonely tower, a single Aqualish guard stood there, blinking it's four eyes at them slowly as it's cigara burned at his hand, forgotten about momentarily.

"... are you here for the sat dish?"

Fresh out of Ando University - though he had majored in civics.

As Aska’s eyes scanned across the ground below, she could see that the second group had commenced their engagement as the guards on the walls began to return fire on the general area that she knew Covax and the others to be. While she watched the fire fight, she took note that the sounds of battle eluded here. The gusts of wind from their high elevation whipped the resonations of blaster fire away and across the barren and burned landscape, leaving both the clone and Preef with nothing but the repugnant odors of Nal Hutta, or so she thought.

“... Are you here for the sat dish?”

Still clinging to the antenna with her left hand, Aska craned her neck around and saw the Aqualish guard as he returned the gaze with a dumb founded look. Were it not for the battle below, she likely would have had a similar disposition to some random woman and Rodian falling from the sky. Still, at least he didn’t open with the whole ‘are you an angel’ line. That would have earned him a shot right at the center of each of his eyes.

With her free hand, the clone stretched outward with a soft grunt and quickly plucked the cigarra from his hand before pulling it back to her own lips and taking a draw. Disgusted as she felt the dampness of the filter from his careless puffing, Aska still let the smoke hang from her lip as her right hand dropped to the holster on her hip.

”Yep… sure am,” she stated before quickly drawing her SE-45 and pulling the trigger, a burning hole in the center of the guards chest sending him stumbling backward. ”Oh, would you look at that! It’s fried!” Wasting no time, Aska quickly scurried herself onto the same balcony that the Aqualish had occupied and turned back, reaching a hand out to Preef to aid him in climbing over the railing and onto the platform. ”Lead the way, boss,”

Gareth would wordlessly give the command of five droids to Covax like he asked, if the guy wanted to use them, then sure thing, he didn't mind, they would see if he would be responsible with them...That being said, The Matukai also thought that there were not enough guards taking care of the well, which meant that either they had something else as defense or they saw them coming and planned a trap beforehand...It wouldn't surprise him if one of the big shots Preef got for this actually gave the info to Durr to ambush them, but oh well, they would know eventually.

By the time Covax started firing at the people in the walls, Gareth would be far, far away, approaching the wall while staying outside of the view of the guards who were now focusing on the man that just got one of them down, chances are they wouldn't spot them, but if they did...Well, he had gauntlets to reflect shots and another fifteen droids to draw their fire if things got dicey.

If blaster fire didn't come his way, Gareth would eventually reach the wall and call upon the force, heightening his force sight to great degrees as to find any crack or weak point on the wall, something he could exploit, he had taken part of this team for a reason, Preef knew that the man had no eyes but was by no means blind, if there was anyone that could find a spot to squeeze through in the wall, it was him.

The droids that Gareth sent over to Covax for the human to command proved to be more of a hinderance than a help as they moved close to the human to listen to his orders. Unfortunately, it seemed that the human was too busy laying down covering fire while the guards searched for his precise location to actually give orders. So the droids waited for orders - inadvertedly giving away the more precise location of the man and his repeater. Two of the guards fired a bolt each at Corvax's torso now that they knew where to aim properly - another two opened fire on the five droids awaiting further instructions.

Of droids, however, those under the command of Gareth were close enough to their opponents to return fire with their programming and did so, keeping the remaining guards so focused on Gareth that they wouldn't be able to spot the firery matukai as he reached the wall. Reaching the wall, Gareth would be able to see through the Force that the wall itself was well made; duracrete covered in durasteel plating. Though the seams of the durasteel plates were, naturally, a weaker point than the middle of said plates, they were not going to be something that could be destroyed easily regardless.

Further down the wall, however, Gareth would be able to detect a smaller entrance that would be used by the guards to patrol the bottom of the wall in this sector. Far smaller than the imposing main gate on the other side of the complex, the small door would be locked shut with a terminal to one side for access.

**

Atop the roof, the team was altogether as Ines finally made the entrance that was expected of them; slightly flashy but ultimately without much trouble. With Aska's quick shooting, the poor Aqualish guard had died without so much as a whimper, his body sprawling out on the floor, his com-link and cigarette rolling away from his cooling corpse.

Moving past said deceased doorman, they would find the way unbarred and the stairwell clear of anyone else. The man had, after all, just come up here for a smoke break and the numerous signs on the wall forbidding smoking within the building meant it was the best option.

Smoking inside was an evil even Durr the Hutt could not tolerate.

Upon reaching the next landing, the penthouse area, Preef would be able to hear movement before the others did. Indeed, there were two guards stationed outside a pair of large double doors with a duo of ceiling-mounted turrets as well. Between the stairwell and the door itself were a small maze of corridors patrolled by another two guards, currently none the wiser for the intruder's presence.

Gareth's abilities with the Force would serve him well, allowing him to sense life within his immediate area. Which would seem surprisingly unhelpful to begin with as the only life in the immediate area he would be able to sense while near the door was his own. Something that may register as odd to the Force Sensitive as there were at least two guards along the wall higher up that should have been within range of his senses. But, more immediately, there were no living creatures through the door.

The door itself was, of course, locked. Gareth would not be able to simply stroll in but his trick with the Force would fry the circuits of the door. As with most doors in the Galaxy, when the locks were destroyed the doors opened fully as a security feature. Even Hutts didn't hate their employees enough to alter existing technology to remove the hardwired fire safety protocols.

With the door open, Gareth would find himself inside a small tower built into the wall, with a steep staircase heading up to the top of the wall and another door on the opposite side of the room he found himself in. Above him the sounds of blaster rifles being fired, two if his hearing was correct and, still, no other lifeforms.

Above him along the wall, two of the guards fired their rifles in time at Covax and the mercenary was not quick enough to move out of the way. Two rifle bolts slammed into him at the same time, one hitting him hard in the right shoulder and the other further down his body, hitting his kidney from the side. A third shot impacted his helmet, crumpling the upper right side and sending the merc sprawling further down the hill and, mercifully, out of sight of the guards.


They didn't stand a chance against Preef's draw. By the seven Corellian hells, they wouldn't have stood a chance even if they had been aware of his presence. They could have prepared for days specifically for this exact meeting and their fate would be the same. One of the turrets managed to twitch in the right direction before it was disposed of - the other turret and both guards hadn't managed even that much in the way of movement.

The more delegate circuitry of the turrets was the weak link, the softer metals within melting almost immediately in the heat of Preef's flamethrower. A shot to each was, in all honesty, kind of redundant but the most Infamous Rodian in the Galaxy didn't get to his lofty perch by being sloppy. The doors themselves were locked solidly with a series of three bars that ran through the doors to reinforce and strengthen them. Unlike the door outside, the only visible lock was an actual, physical, metal lock that shone in the beautiful way that only beskar could.

Ines, in comparison, was slower but then, who wouldn't be? Comparing the other criminal to the Rodian gunslinger was foolish - especially when Ines was effective enough herself though not as effective as she might have liked. Her flicked knife flew from her sleeve, true, but it was an incredibly hard throw to make when using jet boots to propel her entire body down the corridor at speed. The knife lanced out, cutting the guard across the length of his jaw to the left side, cutting his face open in a spray of claret but not being the killshot she had intended, though bloody enough to appear so in the moment.

Her second attack, however, was a bit more effective as the guard had enough warning to turn towards her and that brought him well within her reach and opened his throat up to her knife. However, as her knife was slashing the second guard's throat open, the first guard spun with the momentum of her throw to his face and opened fire with his rifle from the hip as he turned. The first shot would miss her hip ever so slightly and impact the second guard in the gut, but the second and third shot would be rocketing toward her back as she was mid-attack on the second guard. After all, these were not terrible guards - it just took someone of Preef Callo's literally legendary skill to make them appear so and he was very upset with having his face sliced and his friend butchered.

As the trio of mercs made their way into the palace, Aska began to wonder if every Hutt domicile’s defences were simply embellished. This wasn’t the first time she had infiltrated a slug-owned complex and everything was going exactly to plan, short of their partner’s delayed arrival. The merc quickly shook this train of thought from her mind. She had paid the price of overconfidence once before, the exospine underneath her armour piercing into her flesh and granting her mobility an everlasting reminder that fortune would not always be on her side.

Skill came with practice and training, something that Preef, Ines and Aska all certainly had acquired in their careers. Still, there was nothing to be said against having luck on your side from time to time and it seemed that Ines was about to discover this the hard way. As Preef began to eliminate two of the guards and the turrets protecting Durr’s penthouse, the clone took notice of one of the many ‘No Smoking’ signs that lined the halls. Needless to say, Aska scoffed.

”Fuck you, buddy,” she would chuckle as she plucked a cigarra from the pack behind her breast plate, placing it in her lips and proceeding to light it. Exhaling the smoke into the air, an added insult to the ‘illustrious’ Hutt overlord, she would be able to watch as Ines sprung into action. Did Aska immediately jump in to help? Where’s the fun in that? No, instead the clone leaned on the wall and observed as her cohort slid across the floor and threw her blade up towards the neck of the first guard before turning her focus to the second. It was an impressive maneuver but rule number one of merc ops; confirm your kill before moving on.

As the first guard recoiled from the gash across his jaw, Aska knew she needed to intervene lest Ines end up being an added casualty to this infiltration. Leaving her cigarra hanging from her lip, the clone raised her wrist and took a careful aim before activating her dart launcher, sending the miniscule projectile at the nape of his neck as he turned his blaster on the woman who had just slit his friend’s throat. Whether or not the dart interfered with his aim, she didn’t know. She didn’t take the time to wait and find out either. With her other hand now wrapped around the ever trusty SE-45 she carried everywhere with her, the weapon would be levelled and fired on his back twice, blue bolts of energy racing towards him at blinding speed.

One way or another, the man would undoubtedly fall so Aska hurried over to Ines’ side, dropping one final shot into the man as she stood over each of the bodies on the floor.

”What was that about thunder? I couldn't hear you; I was too busy cleaning up your mess,” Aska teased as she leaned down to offer the other woman a helping hand to her feet though she was prepared to carry her somewhere safe if it was required. After all, you never leave a man behind.

Aska would eventually make her way to Preef and the door that separated them from the Hutt they were here to kill. And of course, there had to be one last obstacle before they could get to him.

”You know, for something that’s supposed to be nearly impossible to find, there is so much fucking beskar in my life,” she would groan before leaning down and examining the lock. ”Well, the lock might be nearly indestructible but the door itself isn’t,” Aska continued with a smirk and a draw off her cigarra as she pulled one of the three thermal detonators from her belt, tossing it in the air and catching it in her hand. If none of them had the means to pick the lock, she was only too content to blow it to hell.