Fireworks Night

Ben Drake · Feb 5, 2019

Outside a Hutt Palace, Nal Hutta, Night

The strike squad was at the assembly area. They had been dropped silently about 3km away and this was their last opportunity to check their equipment and weapons. The squad of rangers had been tasked with planting explosives in the sewers under the palace in order to punish them for the uprising. To punish, but also distraction. Like a slap to the groin of a man who has you in a headlock.

The squad had been joined by a Sith, a proven warrior, to help them face off any threats. The signal to move out was given and the squad formed up to move out. Drake took his place behind the scout, with the rest staggered behind him. The two explosives experts would be the last - but for the tail-end-charlie watching the rear. They all had nightvision engaged. The Sith would be free to find his own place in the column, or to take a different line.

"Let's go" he whispered over the comm

@Nightfall

[cPvP - full fat negotiable if preferred]

Merrick Helmsdottir · Feb 6, 2019

Somehow, somehow he knew he'd be back in Hutt Space far sooner than he wanted. After the attack over Nar Shaddaa, it was only a matter of time before the Empire asserted itself. It was losing too many battles, facing too many enemies. And now came yet another, or so the briefing had said. He'd taken the important points from it anyhow:

Hutt Palace.

Ground based strike.

Small team.

High explosives.

Piece of cake, right?

At the head of the team was a familiar face, one he had to chuckle at a bit when he saw again,

"Hopefully we can keep this one quieter than Azure, yeah?" his reply was cheeky, but his blaster was ready and he was out of sight, coming up the column to Drake,

"Still, let's do this shall we?" despite his casual airs, Merrick wasn't a fan of having his or his allies heads blown off. And right now he meant to make sure they all stayed in one piece. Couldn't get a promotion when you were dead. Or a transfer. Or, indeed, any of the things he'd found he quite liked about this at times pitiful little existence.

Still, the blaster felt nice and weighty in his hand, that was something he could appreciate in the moment.

@Ulysses

Ben Drake · Feb 13, 2019

The strike team pressed ahead, darting from shadow to shadow.

Night operations had a particular buzz to them: the heightened awareness of sounds and smells; the almost deafening sound of one's own breathing.

As they came to the final corner, they could smell the stream of waste coming out from under the palace. The scout gave the hand signal for halt. He had heard something.

The rangers all took cover silently while Ben came up to see what the issue was. He came up to the building corner and peered round tentatively.

He saw what was making the noise that sounded out above the soft flow of the effluent. A civilian was urinating into the outflow.

Not exactly challenge of the aeon, but given they had a Sith with them, they might as well use him. He would have ways that would draw less attention to the operation.

He beckoned Merrick to join them and pointed out the man they had caught, literally, with his trousers down.

@Nightfall

Darth Victress · Feb 13, 2019

.

Unbeknownst to the Republica operatives, this same Hutt Palace had been approved as a strike target for the Old Empire as well. However, instead of explosive experts, the true Sith had deployed a far more ruthless approach: Crusader Arianna Marris to personally handle this situation. Her cloaked figure was nestled in the shadows on the other side of the street overlooking the palace, green eyes glancing with amusement as the operatives scurried along the path of the sewage wastes and were startled by what appeared as a commoner urinating into the outflow. The force drew closer around her, those with ineptitude to the divine power would feel no revelation @Ulysses however the other crusader @Nightfall would certainly feel a nefarious presence and one with a much greater dark sided power than his.

Her cloaked figure advanced towards them quietly, a chilling breeze swept outwards with her approach. Wails of tortured souls carried in its wake, as lights momentarily dimmed and the sorceress came to a position of 10 meters behind their tail-end soldier. Crimson lightsaber suddenly hissed to life in her right hand, as green eyes shifted to a golden hue as second nature for her dark sided corruption. She tilt her head to the side in an arrogant angle, "Your Empress lays dead in a field and yet you strive to fight..admirable." She stated mockingly.

Dark energies swirled around her, channeling and preparing her force powers in defense against what would undeniably occur next.

Let's get this Cinematic PvP rolling : )

@Taz

Merrick Helmsdottir · Feb 13, 2019

He heard it before he even saw it, the man relieving himself by the river, the little pat pat of water on water.

Karking idiot.

Though he looked at Ben and rolled his eyes, he knew that it was something that would need to be dealt with. With a crack of his fingers he moved ahead, moving silently toward the man to try and knock him the hell out and get on with the mission without anything going wrong.

Too bad it wasn't the civie he would have to worry about.

Hairs on his arms suddenly shooting up, he felt it, another force user around. And somehow, he just knew it wasn't one of theirs. No, this was a Sith, sure, but of an altogether different kind,

"Oh, oh my, oh my, my, my" the pantsless man rattled off, his head whipping round at the sound of the lightsaber beaming out, watching the dark figure stalk toward him. He ran. Well, waddled was a better word, along the bank of the river and away, slow as he was.

Merrick, on the other hand, clutched at his blaster, while the other moved down his hip for his blade,

"Now, now, ain't nothing admirable out it" Merrick turned to the figure, the words rolling ever so casually from his mouth,

"I just like gettin' paid" and with that Merrick fired off a pair of bolts at the taunting figures chest, his other arm whipping out his lightsaber as he began to charge in.

No sense in waiting.

@Ulysses @Faded Truth

Sweet, let's have some fun!

Vian Windrider · Feb 13, 2019

Vian had been busy during this uprising. Slaughtering pykes, thugs, scum. Even putting a republic sith in her place before destroying a Hutt palace on Teth. The half breed Pureblood was due back in Sith space to be deployed to another planet as part of search and destroy force. Something about a hidden jedi temple. But for now his assistance was requested by a beautiful of deadly sorceress who he first met during the Kaggath.

He wasn't sure if he was a little late to the party of if the Crusader simply didn't feel the need to wait for the Sith warrior. However Vian would arrive his his heavy black armor, his crossguard lightsaber in his left hand. The force building and coiling within his right. Just ten meters from the Crusader he didn't quite catch what she said to the enemy but a skinny little imp opened fire on her in retort.

Vian ignited his weapon and strode to the imp's partner. "Surrender now and the Dark Lord will find a place for you within the true Empire. Or fight, and add I will add your name to the long list to the dead who have returned to the force." he offered them.

@Ulysses , @Faded Truth , @Nightfall

Ben Drake · Feb 15, 2019

The rangers were trained soldiers. Before the Sith got anywhere near as close as that, the tail man would have spotted them - as to catch up with the advancing column, the tailing Sith necessarily must have been ignoring all cover.

As the message went silently over the squad net, they would have fanned out into cover, creating a semicircle into which the newcomers walked.

Ben did not know the precise politics of which red lightsabers were friends and which were enemies, but when his companion opened fire, he did too.

That was the signal. As he shot, his squad lit up the sky with blaster fire. Obviously, not all the shots would be on target at this rate of fire and in this chaos, but no one would simply be able to stride anywhere.

Darth Victress · Feb 17, 2019

.

Arianna simply looked upon the two Republica Sith with a slight grin of amusement, her dark powers ready to respond when necessary. As Merrick fired off the pair of bolts, her right handed blade snapped upwards in a clockwise motion and caught them in the middle and tail end of the plasma weapon's length. The impact would send them back in various angles; as the other soldiers and Ben Drake prepared to fire upon her, she released the drawn energies summoned at her back. A force projectile shot from her free hand, searing to a central epicenter among the soldiers and Ben Drake, and creating a punishing volley of force blast that would send its victims reeling backwards before they could manage any shots at the sorceress. Golden eyes shifted towards Merrick's charging form, as she darted forwards herself, bringing the saber in a horizontal slash from his left shoulder aimed to his right hip.

@Ulysses @Nightfall @Taz

Merrick Helmsdottir · Feb 17, 2019

Yeah, yeah he knew blasters weren't the best idea against a Sith. He damn well was one himself. Though sometimes it didn't always hold him as it did others. Still, he had the skills at hand, and if there was ever a time to use them it was now.

Closing the gap as she fired off bolts of energy at his ally, he kept his blade raised and and his blaster in close, not wanting to be sliced, diced, or any other which way cut open. So when the distance was close and Arianna began to swing her blade, he jumped left, ducking under the blade and appearing on her flank as she was swinging through her attack, slicing back at her side. It didn't need to hit, merely throw her back and off balance, keep the focus on him while Drake fired off his own shots or got the squad to get things going,

"Drake! Guns! Now!" he called back, a bit of a suggestion but one he hoped would work as he pivoted on the dirt and moved to face his enemies again.

In a sense, he had to take some responsibility for this fight. Responsibility he was only somewhat willing to take. He'd never been one for personal blame. So long as he and Drake got out of here alive then hopefully he could avoid anything too bad. They still needed to get in those tunnels and make this night a little more explosive.

@Taz @Ulysses @Faded Truth

Vian Windrider · Feb 17, 2019

Vian sense the ambush as the republica soldiers popped up from corners and shadows, like Tatooine desert rats. Like the Sorceress, the Sith warriors unleashed the force. Hers, much like a grenade that would unleash a concussive blast to push them back, Vians was a simple but powerful wave for force energy that would cone out from his right hand to spread to nearly 140 degrees at it's widest point. The combines power of the two Sith would take the extra forces out of the fight, leave just the two other Sith.

Drake seemed to be frozen in fear, or perhaps hope that his squad mates would finish the two true Sith before he had to work. A mistake on his part. Vian then strode to the other agent, ranger, what ever he wished he was. Closing the distance to within a sword wing, and so Vian did. Swinging the red blade of his crossguard lightsaber from his left, intending to cut the other man from his right hip to his left shoulder.

Ben Drake · Feb 18, 2019

So this was where the phrase bringing a blaster to a lightsaber fight came from.

As Drake gathered himself after the unseen tidal wave that knocked him off his feet, he was greeted by the sight of blazing red coming towards him. Without the time to aim his rifle, he simply threw it, side on, towards his attacker's face. It would do no damage, but would at least make him flinch or otherwise react - rather than make his intended swing.

This would give Ben the time to step back, take out his bayonet on one hand and his pistol in the other.

He would snatch a shot at the enemy. Without time to aim, what he hoped was a shot at his centre of mass, would turn out only to be going towards his shoulder.

Darth Victress · Feb 19, 2019

.

Arianna chuckled darkly at the young acolyte's theatrical gymnastics, he was talented, she had to give him that. However, the crusader was more than prepared and had anticipated an aversion of her initial strike. Golden eyes kept their gaze upon Merrick and as he dove towards her left, she pivoted her left out in a counter clockwise motion so that her left hand would be facing his torso. Prior to him being able to slash, a bolt of red lightning shot out from her fingertips and crashed towards his body just as he came out of the jump.

@Nightfall @Ulysses @Taz

Merrick Helmsdottir · Feb 19, 2019

Kark!

He felt the lightning hit his back and course through him as he felt his muscles tense and try to hold it. And, well, it just wasn't his day. His arm froze up as he went for the back swing, unable to keep it going. Not an ideal way for this to have gone but hey, ya win some and you lost some. He just hoped if they did indeed lose this then he wouldn't lose anything more.

Taking the pain, he threw himself back to face his attacker,

"Oh come on now" Merrick shot back through gritted teeth "two can do that" he called back as he fired off blaster bolts at his enemies calves, firing as he closed the distance, choosing there so she'd be kept busy and the angle would be too odd to direct back at him with any real substance.

But, as a little worse for wear, he just wasn't feeling this fight now that he had provoked it. Perhaps there was a way out of it after all. He kept hi hand ready to drop his blaster at any point, and his lightsaber up and ready to defend.

Still, perhaps there was a way to do this where none of them ended up dead except the Hutts.

@Taz @Ulysses @Faded Truth

Ben Drake · Feb 24, 2019

The shots to the shoulder knocked the Sith to the floor. Ben kicked the lightsaber away from his hands.

"Remember the mission" he commed to his squad. The two demolition men would start to make a break for the tunnel.

Ben saw the lightening shoot out towards his companion. He could not do anything to help in that respect. He could retaliate, though. He shot from the enemy's side towards her. There were no clean shots from this angle, but two would be on target.

@Nightfall
@Taz @Faded Truth

Darth Victress · Feb 25, 2019

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Arianna smirk as her lightning hit its cord, infusing her opponent with a wicked array of pain and discomfort. As the bolts came flying towards her feet, the defensively held lightsaber rotated in a counter clockwise motion with flicking of her wrist. The bolts were caught on the edge of the plasma blade, deflecting them to the ground harmlessly. She saw her companion hit the floor but her own eyes kept attention on both of the enemies. She realized that the soldiers were ordered to accomplish their mission and truthfully she didn't really care about Imperial Hutta anymore. She was here to see if these operatives were worthy of being recruited to the True Empire or if they would keep their allegiance with the Republic until it was eradicated.

Lips curling into sinister smile, she merely stated. "Well played, what is your name..Crusader?" @Nightfall

Merrick Helmsdottir · Feb 27, 2019

Oh well now, this was a turnup for the books. And one he wouldn't be mentioning to command anytime soon. Well, he'd have to, but he just hoped that he and Drake could get their stories straight before anyone came asking too many questions. He was never a fan of having to answer too many questions,

"Merrick Helmsdottir, at your service" he said with a quick, sarcastic bow of his neck. Always one to play the game, even when right now it felt more like you win or you die,

"Well, you know what I mean" he finished with a roll of his eyes. Glancing over to Drake, he did something rather drastic,

"You know what" Merrick began sliding his blaster back into his holster, lowering his blade too "we can call it here and both send a nice report back of finishing this mission, get a nice little tick next to our names in their ledgers. Thoughts? Everyone?" he wasn't a die hard Republican and he knew that. What he wouldn't do in truth was die at all for it, and now felt like the time to play that card. If they were on the battlefield at all they were all lackeys here anyhow, no harm in tryin' to bargain.

@Ulysses @Faded Truth @Taz

Ben Drake · Feb 27, 2019

Ben was perplexed by this turn of events.

As long as the bombs got set, his mission would be complete. True, no one needed to know about the unexpected guests. They weren't equipped for taking hostages.

Ben left the talking to his colleague, but continued a wary overwatch of the opposition.

The squad would be setting the explosives this very minute.