A Theft Began

[Freyja Storm]

Christophsis was a rather interesting planet to look at, great Crystalline structures jutting around the large sprawling cities. Freyja wondered why the natives did not just get rid of the great eye soars, making her have to walk or fly around the things instead of just heading straight. She did wonder why these aliens in the Outer Rim took so much pride in the beauty of their planet. They were polluting it enough from every other sector of the lifestyle what mattered if they knocked down a few of the crystals to make their lives easier.

Freyja, was lent up against one of these crystals waiting for her contact to arrive. She had been given the Bothan's name by a mutual acquaintance, she had no idea if he was a member of this growing Rebellion against the Sith Empire. Nor did she really care, they were a means to her own end and that was the freedom gained when she threw down her sister. And that was one of the reasons she was here, to gain the first part of her freedom from her sister. For the past three years, she had been hopping from one planet to the other on shuttles or cargo ships. Now she needed her own wings, Freyja had been trained as a pilot at the Imperial Agent's academy so knew how to fly. But getting the credits to purchase anything half decent was difficult when you were trying to keep a low profile. Those who employed her kind liked working with well-known names and that was what she was trying to avoid at all costs.

So instead of buying one, she had chosen to steal one instead and she had her eyes on a particularly interesting one that sat only about five hundred feet away from her. Unfortunately, there was two particle barriers and two dozen guards within those five hundred feet. But she hoped that the Bothan on his way would help in that matter. She stood crossed her arms, letting her recently dyed red hair flow in the wind as she waited.

@Headastator

 

[Hosk Vendov]

Hosk brushed some dirt off of his jacket and let out a sigh. During his time gathering information about this "Freja" and the ship she had asked his help to steal, it had become increasingly clear that he was a means to an end. Details were sparse and he'd had to spend some time scouting out the area himself, but in his three years with the Alliance he was more than used to having to improvise with what he had. He'd been to Christophsis several times before and luckily they had some overarching peculiarities when it came to security. This shouldn't be too hard.

The Bothan spotted his contact lent up against one of the planet's towering crystal structures. A woman about his height, carrying herself with a proud demeanor. His fur rippled gently as he approached, making an effort to seem non-threatening and a clear ally. Real emotion hadn't had any place in the job for the past 21 years and they didn't now either. On his approach he noticed the particle barriers flickering between them and their target. They'd be the real challenge. People were weak and easily manipulated but technology didn't falter for anybody. Shifting the rifle strapped to his back upwards a little, he motioned to Freja with a nod. "Hosk. Let's get to work."

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja wasn't sure about working with an Alien, her time in the outer rim had softened her Zenophic upbringing in the core, but it was still there deep down and she had to really control herself to not say or do anything when the Bothan approached. "Freyja." She introduced herself but didn't move she kept herself lent up against the giant crystal, she gave the Bothan a look over, he seemed like one of the more capable of the race. She had met a few in her travels around the Outer Rim and even into the Unknown Regions. "Wait a minute, take a look over this and let me know your thoughts." She said motioning to a place on the wall a little along from her, she didn't want him to close to her. "Six guards this side of the first particle barrier. A couple in between and at least a dozen on the other side around the dock on the other side. Don't forget those two towers to either side." Freyja motioned to each of the points with a light point of her finger or a tilt of a head. You could never be too careful, anyone could be watching.

@Headastator

 

[Hosk Vendov]

The Bothan noticed Freja was hesitant to get close to him, although despite the galaxy's supposed civilisation he was no stranger to descrimination. Analysing the dock area, Hosk slowly formulated a plan There was no need to hurry and he'd seen too much too soon get many smugglers killed. "Hmm... Let's not be too hasty here, we can't take them all out on our own. We'll want to lure some away, that'll make this a lot simpler. If I distract these six, you should be able to deactivate the particle barrier and slip through. If I recall correctly this type of barrier has an emergency override near the projector, so bust that and it'll go down. If you can be quiet and fast about taking down the few guards in the middle, neither side should notice. From there it's your decision, I can provide cover fire or something similar if you'd like." Hosk took a breath, regarding the woman quizzically.

 

[Freyja Storm]

The Bothan was all action and that actually made Freyja smile, so many aliens were either gun-shy or too aggressive, at least this one had some brains on him. Which was a positive and she was happy that her contact had not put her with a complete imbecile. "The issue is those towers though, no matter how quiet I am they will still be able to see me and then the game is up. We need them out before I can move in." She paused for a moment before kicking off the wall and began walking to the east, keeping the complex to her left as she walked. "An explosion would get those guards away, then do you think you can get to those towers before they come back?" She could see a ladder leading up the back end of the closest one to them, but its bottom was over the outer wall, which was at least twice as tall as the both of them. "Any jet boots?" She said in jest.

 

[Hosk Vendov]

"Yes, the towers are definitely an issue. That ladder is the only reasonable way up by the looks of it, so we'll have to find a way over there." Hosk said, half distracted as he continued formulating a plan. Freyja seemed to have warmed up to him a little by now, as his contacts usually did if they were used to jobs like this. He'd been stealing ships and smuggling contraband for longer than most and it showed if you knew what to look for. Looking down the outer wall, a guard stood near a small security door about one hundred meters down. It was likely the back entrance to this place, a tried and tested entry point for break ins. The tall, lanky Duros didn't seem too tough or heavily armed and it wouldn't be any trouble at all take him out quietly. "The gate will be locked but it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Wait here and I'll deal with him."

Hosk began the walk down the outer wall, adjusting his jacket and preparing himself for the masquerade ahead. His fur rippled rapidly for a moment before calming down, disguising his true intent. Calling out to the guard, he stumbled up behind him. A panicked, frantic expression crossed his face as soon as the Duros saw him. "Sir, please! Help! My friend, she's been injured! Quickly!" He stuttered, the guard's irritation visible on his face. "Get the hell out of here, civilian. I don't need anybody screwing up my shift." The guard turned momentarily, reaching for a communicator in his pocket. This man obviously wasn't having a good day and there was nothing else for it. With a slight sigh, the Bothan unsheathed the short vibroblade on his hip, bashing the Duros in the back of the head with its hilt. With a short half-gasp, the guard tumbled down to the hard earth with a thud. Hosk disliked the brute force method of infiltration, but sometimes it was what the situation required. Turning his head back towards Freyja, he beckoned her over, sliding a key chip from the fallen guard's belt.

 

[Freyja Storm]

She was not expecting that amount of action so quickly from the Alien. So she was taken by surprise and took a few moments before moving over to the Bothan. "I need to give you more credit Hosk." She said nodding down to the man. She took the key chip from the Bothan and headed to the door, she slotted it into the console and after a short moment it flashed green and the door opened. "Help me move him." She said grabbing the guards feet, shifting him inside of the door. It was a small guardroom, about two meters square at the moment, it was lined with security panels showing the cameras both inside and outside the small base. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no other controls apart from moving the cameras from right to left.

A small window opened up onto the inside of the base and Freyja ducked down as a guard walked past, none to oblivious to his friend's unconscious nature on the floor a few meters away. Even though they were beyond the outer wall, through no actual planning of Freyja they still had the inner particle field as well as the guards and the towers. She quickly looked over the cameras and she could see that the inner wall was also patrolled by six men. Turning back to Hosk she released the latch on her blaster pistol and cracked her neck. "You think you can get up and take out the guardsman on each tower quick and quiet? Then I can make a break for the inner door."

 

[Hosk Vendov]

The control room was disappointingly useless by the seems of it. Hosk didn't have much technical knowledge with computer systems but usually there were a few ways to create an advantage from inside a security room. "Yes, I'm sure I could. Give me a few minutes and it'll be done." He'd have to scale the ladder of the first tower quickly and take out the first guard without the second noticing. It'd be risky but it was their best chance. The second tower was accessible through another ladder and he'd have to be even faster about that, but it hopefully wouldn't be too much of a challenge. Opening the door the the security room after a quick check through the window, he quietly made his way to the ladder in a crouched position.

Rapidly scaling the first tower, Hosk saw the guard at the top slowly turn towards the ladder. The Bothan steadied himself at the top of the ladder, preparing to incapacitate the guard, a short, muscular human. At that moment the guard glanced down, seeing the Bothan hanging below him with a shock. "Hey-" Before the guard could finish his sentence, Hosk grabbed him by the foot, pulling towards himself. The man was sent tumbling to the ground, slamming his head on the metal floor. With one taken care of, Hosk slid down the ladder before spiriting over to the second tower with a pile of crates covering him. The guards here were obviously not very focused on their job for the most part, but Hosk was. Climbing the ladder of the second tower, the guard at the top barely had time to think before the Bothan grabbed him from behind, slamming his head into the railings of the watch post. Dusting himself off, he looked back towards the control tower, giving a quick thumbs up to Freja.

 

[Freyja Storm]

Before the Bothan left she passed him a holo-caller she had on her belt so they could keep in contact. She then watched as the Bothan made his way up the first tower from the safety of the control room. He took the guard out with little ease which relaxed her considerably. As he made his way back down the ladder, Freyja moved out from the room and into the gap between the inner wall and the first particle door, both of the guards had their back to her deep in conversation about yesterdays sports scores. Freyja dropped into a crouch as she got closer, raising her hand to her Vibro-Sword she was about to draw it when one of them turned to face her.

His face dropped in shock at the sight of a heavily armed woman coming towards them. The split-second delay gave her enough time to recover but to not do it quietly. Her hand dropped from her sword to the rifle at her hip, switching from the running crouch to one knee she raised the blaster and fire a pair of bolts into each of the guards. Both men were downed but the sound of the blaster fire woke the rest of the guards from their daze. She ran up to their bodies and began to frantically check them over for the access card. "Hosk, I am going to need some cover. The rest of these guards will be on me shortly." She shouted through the comm as she pulled out the access card.

 

[Hosk Vendov]

A grimace crossed Hosk's face as he saw the guards moving to confront Freyja. They were on the clock now that the alarm was raised and they'd have to get this done soon. Cursing in Bothese, he leveled his rifle at the guards closing in on Freyja. The first particle barrier was shut off as the guards in between the two got into cover, shouting directions at each other. Hosk would reveal his position by firing, but that was a necessary sacrifice. He fired a volley of blaster bolts, striking one guard square in the chest and shooting the other twice in the left leg. They went down as more guards rushed in, hesitant to get too close to Hosk in his advantageous position. He spoke into his communicator whilst he ejected the power pack from his rifle. "You should be good to move up, I've got them pinned for now." Clicking a new pack into the gun, he carried on firing down at the guards, picking off a couple more as their allies sheltered behind walls and barriers.

 

[Freyja Storm]

Blaster bolts fired overhead from Hosk's elevated position. His aim was true, she watched the first guard get taken down before turning back to the task at hand. She slotted the key card into the inner panel, he took a few seconds to recognise which was longer than Freyja really wanted. Her head swivelled back and forth checking her blind spots her blaster rifle in her hand. The light flashed green and the particle barrier disappeared without a trace. Hosk's cover was great allowing her to easily shift through the door without the risk of a blaster bolt to the head. The tower kept the guards pinned down and allowed her to take up a flanking position behind the inner gate control room.

Leaning around the corner she took, a pair with shots to the lower back. Blaster fire was coming from both sides and the guards caught in the middle didn't know what to do. She took out another with a bolt between the shoulder blades, a fourth turned and ran back through the open particle barriers away to safety, or perhaps to get more help. "We are on the clock now Hosk." She called through the comm. "Get down here." They needed a new card for the inner door so she began rummaging around in fallen soldiers pockets. All the time she could see the half a dozen guards inside the inner door get into position.

 

[Hosk Vendov]

The few opportune moments after Freyja's attack blindsided the guards was enough for Hosk to descend the tower and meet up with Freyja, firing off a few shots from his blaster to keep the security from advancing any further. Despite the fact that their enemy was now alerted, it seemed like the situation was still in their favor. Taking cover behind a security barrier that had raised up with the alarms, he took a moment to survey the enemy forces. There it was. The keycard to the second barrier was clinking off the belt of what appeared to be the guard leading the group as he moved into position.

With a second glance he saw that one of the wall panels above the leader was coming loose and it looked heavy enough to take him out. "Cover me!" Hosk yelled to Freyja as he dived out of cover, taking aim at the panel briefly and firing off a shot at the loose hinges. With a fizz the bolt struck the panel, completely loosening it. The heavy slab of metal crashed down on top of the imposing man carrying the keycard, startling the other five guards. "We need backup! Now!" screamed the Zabrak immediately left of the fallen guard, visibly panicking. Hosk smiled slightly to himself. They didn't want to kill more of these people than necessary and it'd be far easier if they would retreat beyond their targeted ship. "Move up on them, quick!" The Bothan shouted across the blaster fire to his companion.

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja nodded to the Bothan before leaping over her set of cover. She kept as low as possible whilst still keeping up a good pace. Skidding to a halt, lying on her back she used the beast of a guard and the piece of metal lying over his body for cover. A blaster bolt skidded off the metal surface, sending sparks flying around her chest as she scrambled to remove the key card from the man's waist. The panic of the blaster bolts seemed to make everything take longer, another bolt hit the metal, but instead of skidding off it sunk into the metal melting around it. Finally the key card came free, reaching over the metal plate with her rifle she fired rapidly in the direction of the incoming guards, before standing up and sprinting back to the cover and safety near Hosk.

Whatever god or force entity that watched over them seemed to finally shine on Freyja as she made it back to cover with barely a scratch. Hosk's sharp shooting had taken down most of the guards that direction. Now it was the one's beyond the last door which they had to deal with. The six guards were now well in position, this was going to be a tough fight. She moved over to the key card reader, inserting the key it flashed red a few times. "Hosk. Get ready." She said motioning to the guards beyond the gate. Before the reader flashed green and the particle barrier disappeared. A hail of blaster fire came through and past it all she could hear the humming of engines as the ships in the year began to come into life.

 

[Hosk Vendov]

Hosk was caught slightly off guard by the hail of blaster bolts that came flying through the entryway where the barrier had been, less prepared than his adversaries. The Bothan ducked down briefly behind cover. He'd have to clear a path for Freyja to get to that ship. In the end he didn't need to get close to their target at all, only Freyja did, so it would be far easier to keep it that way. If he could take out as many guards as he could she'd be able to make a break for it, with the bulk of the security forces now holding off until backup arrived. They had a brief window of opportunity to grab the ship and escape before the reinforcements in question turned up and after that they'd probably be too late.

Jumping up out of cover once again, he fired a few bolts towards the guards whilst they paused between shots. The first one struck a guard square in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards onto the ground. Continuing to fire, Hosk managed to take out three more of them and give Freyja a chance to break through in the chaos. He looked over to her, motioning with his left hand towards the ship. "Get a move on! We haven't got long!" He shouted as he backed away to more distant cover, ready to distract the security forces for a few moments longer.

 

[Freyja Storm]

She needed to take the Bothan on more sorties. That was the prevailing thought racing through her mind as she jumped over the barrier, it probably wasn't a smart thing to be going through her mind as blaster bolts flew past her in different directions. One skimmed past her shoulder singing the fabric but doing no more damage. She burst through the right-hand side of the semi-circle of guards that Hosk had blasted apart. She held out the rifle to the side shooting random blasts into the direction of the two remaining guards in the hanger area. She didn't know it as she ran away from the pair but one guard caught a bolt square in the head killing him instantly.

Three ships stood on their respective landing pads, she could hear the engines of each purring lightly ready to take off at a moment's hesitation. The ship she was after was in the middle, a piece of gleaming white beauty. As Freyja moved around the last crate giving her clear view of the ship, she spotted another woman running up the gang plate, a blaster pistol in hand. A bright flash of red light illuminated the boarding ramp. Freyja paused for a moment, dropping the rifle letting it hang from its strap across her shoulder. She drew out her pistol, it was better for close quarters and made her way tentatively up the ramp. As she reached the top she spotted a guard with a hole in his chest a surprised look on his face. As she passed the body, she felt the engines ignite. "Hosk, get here quick. It looks like we are not the only one trying to steal this ship." She said over the comm as she moved through the inner corridors of the ship.

 

[Hosk Vendov]

Hosk watched Freyja run towards the ship and stop as she encountered the other figure in her path. He carried on fire bolt after bolt at the guards, keeping them mostly distracted from the ship thieves. "I'm not going to be any help to you now, do what you need to do and I'll try to draw them away!" A bolt flew past him, the heat uncomfortable on his fur. He didn't have long now. What looked like a transport ship was racing towards the compound from the horizon and in a few minutes there'd be backup for the guards pouring in. Hosk did his best to make himself particularly conspicuous, firing wildly more to distract the security than neutralize them. Letting off a few more blind shots, Hosk jumped out of his cover, making a sprint further back to the security room they'd come in from.

Most of the guards followed the Bothan towards the room, blaster bolts whizzing through the air and fizzling out on the walls of the compound. "Come on, you try and stop me!" Hosk shouted as he entered the small room. In the few seconds before the guards breached the room, he quickly rummaged through a small weapons locker. His mouth curled slightly into a smirk. Perfect. A small metal sphere lay on the floor of the locker, a thermal detonator. Setting its delay he raced towards the exit door, throwing the beeping grenade into the center of the room. Hosk slammed the exterior door closed as soon as he was through, barely pausing before he took off running towards the hangar he'd left The Arthas in hours ago. As he escaped into the bustle of christophsis, an explosion rocked the dock behind him as a few surprised guards were blown of their feet.

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja heard Hosk over the Comm tell her he wasn't coming with her. She inwardly thanked the Bothan, he had been a great help and she had to admit he had been pretty good for an alien. Pulling herself back into the moment she again steadied herself with the blaster held out in front of her, she peered around one corner and then the next, keeping her body close to the walls to avoid any random fire from whoever else was trying to steal the ship. She was about halfway to the cockpit when the ship's engines fully fired and they rose up from the ground. There was an immediate deep and turn which nearly threw Freyja from her feet, but she grabbed hold of a nearby handrail as the ship swung around before the pilot put her foot down and they sped off.

The fact that the lone gunman or gunwoman was in the cockpit eased her tensions a little and allowed her to make faster time through the rest of the ship. It was in a state of disrepair or refit that was for sure, parts of the walls had been taken down exposing wiring and pipes. The floor of the main living area had a great hole leading down to the engine deck. Most of the interior doors were set to open allowing her to see into the spacious cabins which were almost bare. It looks as if the ship was undergoing a major refit at the time she and the other woman had tried to steal it.

Freyja finally moved into the cockpit her pistol raised aiming at the back of the pilots head. The upper atmosphere of Christophsis flew past either side of the large open viewport around them. The crystal spires which had looked giant only a few moments ago looked tiny now. As she stepped forward she felt a slight prick on her leg, she looked down to see a small astromech droid pointing a blaster at her side. "It seems I'm not the only one looking to get away." The woman from the pilot's chair said. "That look's the case," Freyja replied her blaster still aimed at the woman's head. The pilot pressed a button on the dashboard which looked like the auto-pilot before raising her hands in the air and began to step out of the seat. "Weird how we both went for the same ship." She continued. "I was always looking at this ship, from the moment I took at the first guard. Why are you here?" Freyja asked. "This ship would fetch a lot of money on the market and I need the money to get me out of here. Plus I really don't like the owner." The woman answered. "Maybe I can help you out there and I can keep the ship. Tell the droid to put down the weapon." Freyja tilted her head towards the droid, the woman considered it for a moment before signalling the droid to put the gun down. "Kara." The woman said offering her hand. "Freyja." She replied.

End Thread​