Defection

[Saric Noms]

​

A shanty, outside the port of Gamor, just before dawn

Saric stood with two servants of the Empire he now knew personally. If anyone would find the despicable traitor, it would be these two. None of them wore identifiably imperial garb. Saric wore simple robes, without his armour. The full briefing had been given before they left the flagship. They were looking for a famous artist, who had slandered the good name of the empire. Now she was skulking, like a dog in one of these shanty towns trying to make it to lawless space.

"Look at it," Saric said, "the poor scum. Half of them want to get out into lawlessness; half of them want to get in, but have no right. It may look peaceful now, but in a matter of moments, the sun will be up and these streets will be filled with the poor creatures. They will come begging passage from us and from ...unlawful means. Into that mess, you will need to go and recover the renegade."

@One For Sorrow @Nightfall

Spoiler: OOC

If you can recruit a DM, great, otherwise Dice :)

 

[Darth Inheris]

She wasn't used to places like this, Saorise had to admit. As hard as her time had been through training, so much of her life had been spent in wealth that she could scarcely imagine places like this. The part of her that prayed for the greater good of the Empire and its people felt some sympathy toward the people that littered the streets. A stronger Empire, a unified Empire perhaps, could get these people into far more productive positions. And yet another part of her had only simple distaste for the place, a part of her that shuddered at even having to set foot here. For now at least, she failed to reconcile the two, simply screwing her face up beneath the ragged clothing she wore to disguise herself as she scanned the streets, trying to work out where to begin.

An artist, another one. Her soft spot for them since her brother had died still existed, but her displeasure with revolutionaries hadn't faded since Jacob Tagger crossed into her life. Another antithesis she couldn't quite bridge today. It all left her so uncertain, a little on the wrong foot as they began their work,

"If the artist is as passionate as it appears, I doubt they'll be able to hide their skills or message so easily. Graffiti perhaps? or signage? Any of it might contain hints at a code or location for its creator. Worth a look?" she ventured forth the possibility. It felt like something she could imagine Finnigan having done, if he was still alive. But she was curious as to what her allies would think.

@One For Sorrow

 

[Talo Geist]

Talo looked out at the shanty town, it stirred memories of the small village he had spent the first small portion of his childhood in. Memories that seemed to be from another life at this point.

His partner seemed to be having memories or thoughts of her own as the trio stood there in their common garb. Talo had opted for a simple black tunic and pants, with dark brown boots and a dark brown cloak. He kept the deep hood pulled up and the cloak wrapped around him to obscure his face and hide the blasters on his thighs.

He listened to the briefing and then his partner's suggestion. "Agreed. Someone with skills such as this has a message in their work. Almost like on some level they want to be caught. All we have to do is figure out the key." he added. "Our first task I think should be to compile all of this artists works. We can speak to the locals as we do, that way we can figure out the key to whatever code is used and just maybe find other leads."

@Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

(Dice)

"Then let us begin, I don't know how long I want to stay here" Saorise replied before stepping forward and into the shanty. Her steps were confident, but only because she'd trained herself to be. She didn't want to be in this place, but she would stay, for the mission. It was not often she felt so disconcerted, her surety in herself had pulled her through so much, a defining trait. And yet today, the framing of the mission, it pulled at strings she had yet to snip. Something would have to be done about it. After.

Walking the streets, she saw nothing of note for a long while. Graffiti on the walls showed no sign of talent or skill, no clever symbolism or ideas. Just crude markings, signs of dominance, struggles between rivals. Nothing that pointed to anything seditious though. Nothing that tipped her off to their man.

It seemed though, they had not gone unnoticed.

While approaching a local under the guise of looking for someone who could design her a tattoo, it was clear that whoever they were speaking to had cottoned on to their little design. They were apprehensive to speak further, and as others gathered around and saw, there was no chance for her to try and get any more info just now,

"Come on, we shouldn't stay here" she whispered to her partner.

They'd need a new tact.

@One For Sorrow

 

[Talo Geist]

Talo nodded his agreement to his partner, leading them down the nearest alleyway to distance themselves from the onlookers as fast as they could do so.

Amazingly, not half way down the alley a large mural depicting the Imperial insignia with what looked like a large bloody gash diagonally through the middle. Talo looked long and hard at the mural, hoping to spot even the tinyest detail that might put him on the path to discovering the identity of this artist.

Looking at the painting he noticed a few characters of Arubesh, jotting them down in his datapad quickly before tucking the small devide back into a pocket.

Evidently not fast enough because someone saw and vegan walking down the alleyway towards them.

"That's a mighty fancy little bit o' shiny ya got there" said the rough looking man, his hand on what looked like a rusty old vibroblade tucked into his belt.

@Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

Finally, a lead. And a promising one too at that. Clear anti-imperial imagery, exacting standards of quality with clear shape and colour contrast. This was the artist they sought. And fitting too, that it was hidden away like this. The man was on the run, but still passionate, he wanted to make a statement but not be arrested immediately. And the locals who were meant to see it were the ones who would be journeying down this way anyhow, not standard patrols.

Too bad then that Saorise and Talo weren't a standard patrol, the artist had drawn far more attention than he'd meant to.

But, apparently, so had they. The eyes that had followed them before hadn't totally left, a dastardly looking man coming down the alley before them, after something a little more than a talk,

"A shiny that'll kark ya up, 'aight?" Saorise bit back at the man, mimicking the same affect as him to try and throw him off the scent. It seemed to work a bit, the man taking a step back. She continued instead, pressing him,

"Ay, this fella, who painted this, know where he is? I need some work done" she asked in her new accent. It sounded odd, unrefined, vastly different from her own normal speech, but it seemed to work. He gave directions, though they were nothing more at this point than cloak and dagger phrases whose meaning was uncertain,

"Not exactly what I was hoping for" she muttered to Talo, as the pair begun to work to understand the directions. While it took some time, they managed to figure them out, heading off to the shanties outskirts, a smaller shacks, hidden behind forgotten signage. They were not alone however. The man had made it first, and warned them, leaving a trio of guards standing watch at the door,

"Well. One step closer I guess"

@One For Sorrow

 

[Talo Geist]

Talo decided to play a direct game, approaching the guards with his hands in plain sight so they wouldn't think he was attacking them.

"Ay there lads. Izzhe in? Me chum 'ere 'as need of 'is services fer a piece o' 'er own yeah?" he said in the awful accent of the people in this town. He fought back the urge to gag as he spoke so improperly and it seemed that they bought it. As they turned slightly to indicate that the duo should approach the door.

"Yessir yessir 'e is. Though 'e's in an 'ell of a mood. Yer ladyfriend best start talkin' wit' 'er pocket book."

With that the guards stepped asside and gestured for them to enter the small shack. Once inside Talo would step back and allow Saorise to take the lead. Wondering how far they would need to take their deception before just apprehending this vandal.

@Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

"Ello, ello, here's what we were looking for" Saorise entered the mans shack, passing through the guards as Talo took charge and bliffed their way in. They'd done well it seemed, so close now to to their goal. Now they were inside it was all too easy to know this was their artist. Easels stacked to the side, half finished designs and drawings littering t space, brushes and spray cans all at the ready.

They'd have him in their hands in mere moments.

"Oh. I know what the two of you are seeking, Imperials" the artist shot back in a hiss. Just behind the artist Saorise caught a glimpse of someone who she recognised. The man from the alley, his blade at his side, all too close for comfort. The artist had been warned, they no longer had stealth on their side,

"You'll not have me yet!" he spat, his hand whipping up with a can of spray paint faster than Saorise could even recognise what it was, so taken aback by their failure. The artist was clearly all to familiar with their chosen tool, the paint shooting out and into Saorise's uncovered eyes, the paint biting and stinging her, blinding her sight and forcing her to try and rub them clean as the artist began to run from the building in a moment as the blade wielding fellow stuck around, his weapon brandished and coming right at Saorise. The chance she got her sight back in time was slim, and the man didn't look exactly like the type that took prisoners. But Talo knew their goal was the artist, they had to be silenced,

"Catch him, stop him!" she cried as she furiously tried to wipe her eyes, fight through the pain it caused. Hopefully Talo could hold his own in the meantime.

@One For Sorrow

 

[Talo Geist]

Talo was perhaps more surprised than he should have been that they had been figured out, but his mind snapped to action as the painter sprayed Saorise in the face with some paint.

He began running after the painter, but fired at the man with the rusty vibroblade as he ran. Perhaps it was uneven ground, because as Talo turned to fire at the man he tripped. The shot went wide as he fell and rhe painter got farther away.

As Talo scrambled to his feet he saw that the man had at the very least shifted his attention to the Nagai agent.

Trying to think quickly, hoping to subdue the painter still while defending the pair of imperials Talo quickly fired a shot from one pistol at the running painter and another at their attacker.

The first shot sailed after the painter and took him in the back of the left knee, sending him crumpling to the ground.

He wouldn't be going anywhere.

His second shot caught the attacker in the chest, ending him. But not before the rusty old vibroblade sliced into Talo's left bicep. The Nagai agent let out a yell of pain and stumbled back against the wall. He holstered his right hand pistol and clamped his now free hand over the bleeding wound.

In a fit of rage that was completely out of character for him he fired another two shots into the man, he was not usually one to waste ammo but that kriffing hurt and he found himself praying that he would not get an infection.

With the painter subdued he took a moment to grab a couple of clean rags, tying one around his arm to stop the bleeding and passing the other to Saorise to help clean the paint out of her eyes.

"Well. That could've gone better." he joked before walking over to where the painter lay moaning and waiting for his partner to join him.

@Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

As the mans trap sprung, Saorise stumbled backwards as Talk sprung into action, firing off blaster bolts and chasing down the artist and the ruffian. Too bad they hadn’t been the only enemies they encountered.

Through the thin shanty walls she heard the voices of the guardsat front they’d bluffed their way past only moments ago. They weren’t as dumb as they looked, and at least responded to the blaster bolts, though that isn’t exactly what one would call a particularly high bar,

“Oye, you, outside now” as they swept round the curtain, guns raised. Saorise’s eyes still stung as they came, meaning she heard them as their heavy boots stabbed into the ground. Just enough time then, for a little reaction throw.

As the two passed the threshold of the space she took the pain and forced her mind into it, made her feel it all the more real as the dark side quickly flooded her body, charging her spirit and allowing her to unleash a blast of kinetic energy right into their peoples. They floundered and flailed about for a time as their bodies fell smack against the wall, all while Talo dealt with his own. None around would know what they did.

Not that she could help following up the mask joke,

“Certainly, but also a lot worse. Let’s just bag and tag and get them home, I’m done with this place for a long time.

Still, a job... haphazardly done.

@One For Sorrow

 

[Talo Geist]

Talo chuckled a little and nodded his agreement, once they were finished this he too would not be coming here for a very long while. Not without being ordered here at least.

He pulled some binders off the back of his belt and clapped them onto the artist's wrists. With the commotion they had made now he figured there was no sense being discreet.

He hauled the man to his feet, eliciting an admittedly satisfying yelp as weight was put on the man's destroyed knee and sent pickup coordinates to the shuttle that had brought them in. He didn't want to go waalking through this karkhole while dragging their crippled quarry.

@Nightfall

 

[Darth Inheris]

A mission well done. If you could possibly say that for all the problems they'd had along the way. Still, with the guards dead and their location otherwise rather discreet from the rest of the shanty, the possibility of trouble was slim.

Didn't mean it didn't find them of course.

The commotion had been heard from other parts, drawing a few wary eyes and lingering bodies as she and Talo made for their exfiltration ship that touched down not far from their current location. And good thing too. Judging from the look on many of the peoples faces, it did not look as if they would have been returning to friendly company if they'd gone back that way. Still, if a few saw them now, at least they would have sent a message. Sometimes that was better.

The artist was no ease either, struggling constantly to free himself from his bondage. She wasn't going to let him have the chance, and tightened them as the stepped aboard. He was having none of it though, spitting in her face before she could pull at the mans wrists, keeping them tight as they dug into his skin.

She was getting sick of traitors like that.

At least this meant one more was back in their hands.

@One For Sorrow

/EndThread