Ask A Day in the Life

[Arla]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

Arla was no fan of "desert" planets. Too hot and arid for her tastes, and although she had struck out at night to try to infiltrate the pirate base, she found herself wishing that it had been somewhere other than Er'Kit.

The small pirate group "The Blood Raiders" had set up on planet, and their leader - a man by the name of Devorn - was wanted dead or alive.

That was who Arla had come her to hunt. Truth was, it was as simple bounty contract and not much more to it than that. She had her bow slung across her back, but she doubted she would need or use it for this one. She would be relying largely on her magicks and her hunting knife, moving like one of the Nightsister Shadow Killers and relying on the training she had had with the Anzati to gain a good vantage over the area.

With the sun dropping, the temperature dropped to, falling to nearly freezing and prompting the Nightsister to pull her clothes more tightly around her as she waited for the hours to pass. She would strike a few hours after midnight when the most people were likely to be asleep.

By her count, she had estimated there to be around 30ish pirates in the base, but she had no desire to fight all of them. She was good, but 30 vs 1 were not odds that she loved. She would use cunning and skill to make up for the rest.

And yet, even as she nestled in the rocks on the small hill overlooking the compound, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else. Something she hadn't accounted for in her calculation, and that... that she didn't like.

 

[Raphael Valtiere]

Before having joined the Sith Order, Raphael thought the notion of bounty-hunting was beneath him. At first, his taste was fine-tuned for the "hunts'' back home, the ones that required the absolute perfect attention to detail and the need to be faultless. The tension that often plagued his home planet's capital was what he had thrived on while others wanted no part of the game.

But since he had become a Sith, his views had changed quite recently. For long years, he was confined to an invisible cage he constructed for himself, preventing any possibility of him acting out with control. The consequences were life or death back then and that made it easy to forge the material out of impenetrable steel. But since the Separation, he had stumbled into a newfound freedom and enjoyed it immensely, bounty-hunting being an aspect that in a way, allowed him to vent and lash out in a way without worry.

Raphael stood in pitch blackness, the air stale but still breathable. His arms were fastened to the sides of his body as he was completely surrounded by boxes that denied any movement. The pure Sephi's eyes would be fastened shut as he simply stood there patiently, almost in a state of meditation as he let the seconds tick by. Even in these circumstances, he felt a wave of exhilaration wash over him, a sensation that he hadn't experienced in years. Uncontrollably, his pointed ears would do a quick wiggle as he knew that he would be able to finally pursue his target. Not only was it becoming enjoyable for Raphael but it was a nice way to hone his skills once again. He had been inactive for a period of time and it was time to remedy that. Another benefit besides good practice was that it helped him acquire some disposable income for the time-being, most of his money tied up with Nakoa now.

The Sephi's wrist-pad would produce a red beep, alerting him that it was time. His eyes snapped open as did one of his hands, the boxes beside him pushes to the side to clear a path. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and toward the door. For Arla, she would see a shipment container mixed in with others and near one of the camp buildings open just a crack. Raphael would step out shortly after, clad in all black, the distance preventing her from truly grasping his size or significant details. He stood there for a moment as he briefly scanned the area around him before he moved on.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla kept watch over the camp, doing her best to remain patient and telling herself it was just like any other hunt: it required patience and timing. She was going to just let the hours tick by and was even thinking of spending some time in meditation, but she thought better of it. Tracking people's comings and goings could be invaluable information later.

That was the only reason that she caught side of something moving like a shadow in the boxes and crates. Her eyes narrowed, at first uncertain if it was just in her mind, but as the shadow seemed to move along through the buildings, she became more and more confident that it was not a trick of her imagination.

An assassin here to collect the bounty? Or some sort of phantom guard? No, probably not. If she had competition, though, she needed to move up her timetable.

Kriff, she cursed, moving from her perch and starting to move quietly but quickly through the camp on a path to intercept the assassin.

As it turned out, the movements would put them directly on path for a pair of semi-drunk pirates out to "relieve" themselves who hadn't been there only moments ago.

 

[Raphael Valtiere]

Raphael walked calmy along the dirt road, his footsteps barely making a sound with practiced eased. His armor helped him blend in easily, the night sky and shadows helping him dip in and out of darkness smoothly. Even with his height, he found little difficulty in his stalking, sound normally the main culprit when he was discovered by someone.

He had scoped out the camp before he had snuck into the crate and it left him with a target in mind. The Sephi walked at a steady pace, one that afforded him the most speed and silence at the same time. Raphael would have most likely been more cautious but all he had seen that infested this camp was mostly drunk pirates. Even if he was discovered, he trusted his abilities to silence them quickly.

As he was about to come to an intersection, his ears flicked as he picked up a conversation between two pirates either who needed the restroom. Thankfully, their drunken state led them to being quite loud as one of their laughs ripped through the camp before being shushed. His hearing gave him an early warning of their approach and he smoothly slipped into a nearby pool of shadows, almost disappearing completely.

The guards would begin to pass him and his cover but at the same time, Raphael swore he caught the sound of a third-pair of footsteps. They were incredibly faint but his ears were incredibly sensitive. Not able to define what they were, he chalked up the owner being a small desert animal. Once the two pirates were at a safe enough distance, the Sephi would simply step out once more, checking the coast was clear before continuing on.

He would take a turn and head towards one of the nearby buildings and his target, the "nerve-center" of the camp. Approaching one of the side doors of the makeshift constructed building, he opened it with the force and only a sliver before slipping inside.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla moved through the camp quietly, but in doing so, had lost track of the other hunter. Even her sensitive ears didn't seem to pick up his footsteps over the ruckus that the drunken pirates were making. She rolled her eyes and decided to skirt around them, coincidentally putting her on direct course for the other hunter.

She rounded the corner to see him slipping into the building or rather nearly bumping into him. Her eyes went wide with surprise and she jumped back on instinct, hand falling to her knife to grab it, but not actually making an attack.

She reasoned that he was not a pirate, and the two of them fighting... well, that would simply alert all the pirates to their presence and bring the whole camp down on them.

Who are you? she hissed in a low and accusatory whisper. Of course, he had no less right to be here than her, but that wasn't really how she saw it... He was impeding her hunt.

 

[Raphael Valtiere]

So far, his infiltration appeared smooth as he approached the door. But, right as that thought crossed his mind, his ears once again picked up a pair of light footsteps, this time much closer. Clearly, it was not a small animal and before he could react, a hushed question was shot right at him. Raphael had his hand about halfway to the door before it would halt in mid-air from the disturbance. It would slowly close into a fist, the leather crinkling softly as he returned it back to his side.

Raphael would take a small step back before he turned to face the newcomer, revealing a woman who appeared to be another taker for this bounty. Their close proximity would allow them to get a good chance to inspect each other and he would tower over her easily, Arla's head ending about right where his stomach was. She would be able to see the metal mask encasing his head, hiding any hint of who or what he was, his eyes locked away behind the barred slots.

For the Sephi, the first thing he would notice would not be her hand on the knife, but her ears. Somehow, with his luck, he ran into another one of his kind all the way out here. Raphael was being generous with including her into his kind, it obvious her genetic being completely different then his right from the jump. The assumption that his people stuck to themselves was almost shattered completely by the sight of her, once more another corruption of his people walking right in front of him.

Even though he believed this, if Arla reached out with the force, she would feel nothing from him to give it away. There would not even be a wall there that gave off the idea he was hiding something. His presence was more akin to a void, cold emptiness that offered nothing if stared into.

Raphael would take a half step toward her before he stopped in place, his helmeted eyes locked on her intensely. His gaze would slowly travel down to the knife and then back to her face. It took him a brief moment but he pieced it together. It was clear she was trying to be quiet because she would have already attacked him if she was. Any type of loud sound had the chance to wake up the entire camp and that was a risk neither could take. That left them both very little options and he knew it.

Instead of answering her question, Raphael would simply spin on his heel and approach the door again, ignoring her question. If she tried to ask another, he would have already opened the door and stepped inside. If she wanted to stop him, she could, but once again, that risked them both.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

The man didn't respond or say a word to her but though he thought he was an impervious wall, Arla's power was equal to that of any Sith Lord, and she could still sense - if only faintly - disdain flowing off of him. It may not have been clear to her the reason for that, but it also didn't matter. He simply turned and started walking away.

For a moment, Arla considered simply stabbing him in the back or snapping his neck with the Force then and there. Yes because he was competition for her bounty, but also just purely out of spite. Arla was an incredibly spiteful woman.

He walked inside, and she looked in after him, seeing a blaster left nearby by an irresponsible and drunken pirate. Two things happened in quick succession. The first was that she reached out with the Force and squeezed the blaster's trigger. It went off with a crack but only struck the wall because she didn't care to shoot him.

The second thing was that the door was already closing, and as it did, she let herself be enveloped in a flash of green, simply teleporting away from the distraction she had just caused. Drunken pirates started moving toward the blasterfire - and thus the building he was inside - drawing their own weapons in expectation.

For her part, Arla was now back at the opposite edge of the camp, approaching from the other side while the pirates would begin to descend upon the other hunter. And good riddance, she thought, quite smug with herself.

@Orbit

 

[Raphael Valtiere]

Raphael's expectation had been that the woman would follow him inside, assuming her hand on the blade to translate into her questioning who he was. There was always a risk that she could have stabbed him in the back but he trusted his own reflexes enough that the deed would cause too much noise. Instead and pleasantly surprised, he freely entered into the building after ducking his head and finding no patter of light footsteps following after him.

However, after he took a couple of silent steps, he felt a slight tug in the force and stopped; a brief second later a lonely blaster on a nearby table suddenly fired off a pop-shot right in front of him. The bolt struck the metal wall beside him, the loud noise echoing through the hallway he he planned to walk down upon. Already, he could hear the shuffling of pirates, their games or drunken stupor interrupted, as they went to check what the disturbance was.

He half turned his body to peer back at the door, using the force to open and reveal the woman had just disappeared without a trace. Raphael exhaled slowly, a surge of annoyance blazing through him as his ears flattened against his skull. His silent departing had been his own version of a peace offering and it had been rejected wholeheartedly. For what would have been expected of him from his House, it was one of the most generous offers he could make. Before he could dwell on it for too long however, doors would begin to open from the hallway, a handful of drunken pirates spilling out and looking around. When they found Raphael standing at the other side, one of them questioned outload upon seeing his outfit, "What the fuck?"

Compared to the possible hunter outside, the drunken pirates were not the biggest threat unless he let himself get surrounded. The hallway constricted their movement and as they got closer to him, it all but made it more advantageous for the Sith. Before the door to the outside closed, the last thing someone would see from the other side would be Raphael drawing one of his blades free before launching it at one of the nearest pirates. Immediately, he would descended upon them, withdrawing his other knife as he used the first pirate as a shield for the other bolts. The metal door would shut behind him, the sound of muffled blaster-fire echoing through the camp.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla let out an evil and satisfied little chuckle as she heard the sounds of blasterfire across the camp, quite happy with herself for screwing over the jerk and also creating a suitable distraction for herself.

She started moving far more quickly through the camp, checking buildings for any signs that they might be the captain's lodgings. It didn't seem like there was any sign, and she cursed under her breath in her native tongue.

She started heading toward the makeshift cantina, stopping outside before leaping to the top of the building in hopes of getting a glimpse inside from a skylight or something of the sort. It also gave her a decent view of the approach from the area where the gunshots were, and she could see more pirates making their way over there.

She cursed again, this time because she realized it was possible that if there were too much of a disturbance, it might draw the Captain himself and then she'd have to carve through all of the pirates or wait for the ruckus to disperse before being able to bring down her target.

@Orbit

 

[Raphael Valtiere]

It had been some time since Raphael had plunged into combat. Even though drunk pirates were hardly a worthwhile enemy, he didn't care. It felt great to finally let loose, the patience and stoic nature that often compelled him washed away as he became a blur of knives. In the moment, he was able to show exactly how he felt, about what had happened to the Sith, his House, the interaction with the Hunter seconds ago; all of it came out and lethally, the pirates finding themselves on the unfortunate end of his silent venting.

Raphael's Sephi and Sith training would reveal themselves and translate into smooth actions as he sliced at anyone that stood in front of him. Despite his muscle memory, it still had been years and the rust had not fully been removed. The constriction of the hallway left him and his size in combination made him an easier target then most. Even with his almost graceful movements, the drunken nature of the pirates made it hard to predict their moves. By the time he reached the final pirate and cut his throat open with his vibro-sword, he would be bearing his own wounds as he tried to recollect his breath.

The Sephi wouldn't be offered a moment of reprieve however, his sensitive ears able to hear the pounding of footsteps closing in on him. Regaining his bearings and performing a quick survey around him, he found there were no cameras within the hallway. As far as he and the bandits were concerned, witnesses of who the attacker was we're dead. That gave him an idea.

Before he could be caught again, Raphael rushed into a nearby room and escaped through the window. The force made his exit silently as he landed out onto the sand. He managed to only take one step before he fell onto one knee, a moment needed to collect his breath. The moonlight would show the extent of his fresh wounds, multiple grazes and even a blaster shot near his ribs. Multiple points in his armor would be giving off small trails of smoke.

Once more, his ears caught sound of movement and the Sephi would practically dive to a nearby gathering of shadows. Pirates would be entering the building now and passing him, investigating the hallway and surrounding area as they split up. Raphael waited there patiently as he calmed his breathing, his eyes scanning.

One pair of pirates soon walked by him, each one looking in different directions. When they neared close enough, Raphael would lunge out, a blade going into one neck of the pirates. The last one standing would be restrained by the force before the Sephi closed his mouth and pulled out a new blade. Without a word, he pulled both bodies into the shadows.

@Phoenix