In Dark Places [Makura Rising S2E2]

[Dmitri]

Jamall rushed off in the middle of Collin's explanation, a more pressing matter presenting itself. Collin offered for her to join him in pursuit, which Kali agreed. Even though she was carrying a large bowcaster, she managed to keep Collin's pace. Time in the military and having to constantly run from the authorities during the time she had been a grifter had forged a decent reservoir in her stamina. Unfortunately, the situation was practically defused when the duo arrived behind Jamall.

Kali thought she recognized the surrendered man. She wasn't quite sure. She saw so many of the hired help the pirates hosted, so it was a little difficult to be sure. However, she knew the face wasn't one of the higher ups. She knew their faces. "He's probably a hired goon," Kali said, answering Jamall's ignored question. "One of many. Loyalty was bought, and apparently not enough to keep it alive." She indicated to the rifle rack in the vehicle. "I've yet to see pirates allow any slaves access to weaponry, let alone without supervision." A second though formed that suggested it was possible one of the men was a pirate and the other a slave, if there was a slave involved. However, both men would probably accuse the other as a pirate, to keep their lives. Few pirates believed when attackers claimed to part mercy.

Kali listened to Collin's plan. It was indeed crazy. However, she wasn't about to ignore it either. She had enough experience as a grifter to know that even crazy ones had a chance of succeeding. "How will you get past security? You don't have credentials. He might," meaning the surrendered man. "I can probably get in too, if someone has an injury. We can't just threaten them immediately as you get to the door. They'll panic and attack. If you can get inside, we stand a better chance at success. And if they see any warships, they'll lock down." Turning to address Jamall, she asked, "How close can you get without being detected?"

She paused to collect her thoughts. She tried to formulate a con on the spot. She had done it before in the past. However, it was unlikely to be the best one. "Con artists call a particular con the Deadman Walking Job. When a medical emergency occurs, a patient is taken to the nearest medical facility, unless the nearest one cannot meet the person's needs. In this city, the only two are my clinic and the old medical wing of the garrison; it's in neglect, but it still would have the tech needed for major injuries. To no surprise, if we were to arrive with an injured man. If the injury is too grievous, they'll call for reinforcements to guard the patient and medical team. If the injury is not severe enough, they'll take time to scrutinize our credentials. The Deadman Walking bypasses it by alternating from one to the other. The grifters approach the door with a man mildly injured, claiming that their medical scanners aren't working properly. The guards think they have time and begin the process of scrutinizing. However, before they can contact someone, the fake patient pretends to go into Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Panic sets in. They'll have the medical team take the patient to the medical wing. As you can probably guess, the medical team pretends to fail to resuscitate the patient. Now, guards would be keeping an eye on us. After failing to save the patient, the medical team would be brought elsewhere for debriefing; after all, most people don't like spending time in a room with a dead body. While the medical team is being debriefed, the patient sneaks out and does whatever is needing done while security is occupied by the medical team." As she spoke, she realized part of her life as a grifter was showing, but that wasn't important.

"I don't know if the pirates have any feline agents, so we better no risk that exposing the con, if we choose this route." Kali glanced at Collin. "Collin, you'll get to be our Deadman. I have a small blood bank in my clinic for transfusions I can use to bloody you up. Char some skin, some make-up, and you'll look injured; it'll also cover up your features, so it'll be harder for them to identify you." Pointing a finger at the surrendered man. "If he'll agree, he would be very valuable. His presence would give credit to our ploy." However, unspokenly, it also came with a risk. Were he to agree but later betray them, they would be in a very bad situation. She could only hope the threat of feline annihilation and Collin's bribery would keep him in line. "The WSF was notified of our ransack of the cantina; it's why I was called. I can probably come there with Collin and our new friend, saying he got injured during a brawl." She stopped, to let others speak. She wondered how the Makuran Commonwealth would treat her proposal and, more importantly, how the surrendered man and his companion responded.

 

[Manderley]

While the others, who Jace supposed were his new employers, brainstormed a plan, the former pirate of only a few moments glanced back over his shoulder to see where the Kushari's shot had landed. Frightened, but still stupid enough to put up a fight, the pirate was drawing a blaster pistol and levelling it at, you guessed it: Jace. Not in the mood for further fighting, he spun around, raising up his left arm and twisting it around, so as to display the Vac Attack Mk-127 that was secured there. He quickly launched a trio of spinning blades before the pirate could get a shot off. They whizzed towards their target, the first knocking the pistol out of his hand, the second embedding itself in his armoured vest, and the third sliced past his cheek, opening a deep wound in the soft flesh. Cursing audibly, he raised up a hand to staunch the bleeding, and gave Cairnspur a rather unfriendly gesture with his other hand.

Turning back to the rest of the group, he first addressed the man who offered to pay him. "I'll work for you, so long as you keep paying me, and I don't get thrown out of the nearest airlock as soon as it's convenient."
Next, he spoke to the attractive woman with the bowcaster, who was going on about a quite complicated, though eloquent, plan. "While a lovely idea, ma'am, I do have a keycard, and they already know me as one of them. So long as our friend in the truck stays quiet." Realizing his mistake, he casually turned halfway, raised up his other arm, and shot a laser at the man's head. It hit him squarely on the temple, and removed any possibility of him alerting his comrades to their recently-retired threat. Without an ounce of remorse for his past partner, he continued.

"We can also, if you guys are up for it, pretend that I've taken a few of you prisoner, allowing a couple of you entrance into the compound, without the Thespian's death charade." His own ideas laid out, Cairnspur took off his helmet and shook free his thick, dark hair. "Or, ya know, we can just walk in. He's not going to be needing his gear any longer," Jace said, pointing with his thumb at the deceased man who sat with his face smushed into the repulsortruck's steering wheel.

 

[DangerousTinkerer]

Listening to Oberj.... Jamall explain to him the work he had for him, Ko'vas noticed the female with him curiosity filled her sapphire hue eyes as she looked him over. As Jamall finished up asking about my name, Mr. Graves and the lady, Kali, if remember correctly walked up to discuss a bad idea with Jamall. I took a step back and flicked on my data pad to start making a layout to inventory everything in the trucks as they talked about their crazy plan. Not a moment later, Jamall removes his rifle and brakes out in full speed towards the truck convoy. Mr. Graves and Kali took off after him with no luck catching up and a shot rang out before they arrived.

As the echo of the shot slowly fades, Ko'vas starts to wander over to check with Jamall about starting the work he mentioned. As the truck convoy came into view through at the marines around it, a man was laying on his back with a pistol drawn facing the truck cab and a nice hole was in the side of the truck angled towards the cab as well. Finally reaching the area where everyone was standing, a plan, or ideas were being thrown around regarding a large garrison off in the distance. With a pause in their conversation, Ko'vas walked up to Jamall to introduce himself before he got distracted again. "Sorry to interrupt you again Jamall, but to answer your question, my name is Ko'vas Ta'vaal. Also would you like me to start inventorying or fix that hole in the side of the truck first?" Ko'vas asked as he turned to look at the hole in the truck before waiting for his answer.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"I do not like zis plan of yours."

Jamall paused, then jabbed a finger in the direction of their new 'employee' and barked at the nearby Marines in his native tongue. "And I'm downright pissed that this furless ape still has weapons! That was sloppy, Marines, that was ****in' sloppy. One of you geniuses could've gotten waxed and I don't wanna be the poor bastard stuck performin' your funeral rites! When Collin's done with him, strip his happy human ass naked and catalog every bit of gear that falls out. Savvy?"

A chorus of low, guttural grunts met Jamall's unmistakably infuriated tirade. He turned back to Collin and jabbed his finger in Jace's direction, then leaned close and whispered so that only his comrade could here. "Men who kill vithout reason cannot be reasoned vith. Vatch your back vith zis vone, ya? Turn him over to ze Marines vhen you are done vith him."

He stepped back from Collin, turned, and started back towards the parked Kingfishgers. "Und call me on ze battlenet if you need anyting. I am not far."

Mohatu didn't make it terribly far from the little congregation of heavily armed Kushari Marines - who, for the moment, were keeping a very close eye on Jace - before he was intercepted by the Miraluka he'd spoken to earlier. Or was it Miralurkan? He never could remember. He did know they were blind, though, had to use the Force for sight. It was one of the very few things he remembered about any non-Kushari race.

"Zere is a body in dere. Ve vill clean it out, zo do not vorry about it." The feline paused and took a moment to scan the area, "Tell me, Ko'vas, are you goot vith radios und electronics? Tings like zat? Vone of zese trucks should have a commlink or a radio. Find it and see if it still vorks. It probably haz encryption of some sort, zo if you can break zat I vould be happy."

The feline hoped against hope that Ko'vas was handy with technology - if he could use one of the pirate radios to patch into their local comms network, it'd provide a wealth of information to exploit. Movements, hideouts, plans; there was a lot they needed to know and fast, before the pirates came up with a coordinated solution to their new feline problem. The faster his Marines could deal with the pirates, the sooner their power'd be broken and the less danger there'd be for the civilians of Wazta.

 

[Andrewza]

Mar watched from the side line, most of the speach was in basic, so he did not know what was going on. Only one pirate had killed the other and surrenderd. These Pirats seemingly had no loyatie to each other.

Walking back with Mohatu he waited till they where closer to the kingfisher and a bit more privat.

"Sgt, the mariens had not yet had a chance to check the pirate. So it is not there fault he was armed. Any case, I doubt that littel toy of his could get through my flight suit. Any case they your men, I am not trying to do your job."

 

[Ravensmark]

Collin nodded to Jamall as the cat turned around heading back to Kingfishers. Coming to attention as Jamall yelled back at him over his shoulder, Collin brought his hand to his head for a quick salute and said. “Aye Aye, Darth Litter Box, it shall be done.” With a horrible shit eating grin on his face Collin quickly turned on his heels and made his way towards Jace. Motioning for Kali to come as well.

As Collin approached Jace, he pushed on the mans chest making sure the man was looking at him. “Now listen here. I will pay you or the Kushari will pay you for doing good work. But doing shit like that.” Collin pointed to the corpse. “That shit is a problem. That man was surrounded by marines with weapons drawn. He had been disarmed twice and as such posed no threat. We do not execute unarmed men.”

Shaking his head he turned towards Kali. “As for you, I liked your plan, and if your up for it we will use it with our knew comrade here.” Collin looked at her as he spoke looking to she if she was sure of herself. "I don't expect you to put yourself in harms way for a bunch of people you don't know." Collin smiled at her and looked over to the marines Jace's old ally from the truck.

Motioning for the marines to bring the corpse over to him. As soon as they dropped the man before him, he began stripping the corpse of uniform and armor. “Lucky for us we have a blood covered uniform to use.”

Collin stood up and began stripping down his Templar armor. Starting from the extremities removing each plate until he could remove the core of the suit. Stepping out of the suit he stood there in the open wearing nothing but an undershirt and his drawers. He enjoyed the feeling, there were so few times planetside he ever got to stand outside with out being covered head to toe in armor. He flexed his arms watching the mussels of his right arm move under the badly burn scarred skin of his right arm and side. He then removed his shirt revealing even more scars ranging from shrapnel and knife to gunshot and blaster. His many years of combat had taken a toll on his body. Every mark being a lesson learned in survival.

Looking down at the blood covered uniform and armor Collin smirked and said. “Doc, I may need a shot after putting this on.” With that he reached down and began dressing in the dead mans clothes. Grimacing as he pulled the pants and shirt over his body feeling the other mans blood soak his skin. After he grew accustom to feeling the wet clothes, he quickly threw on the mans piecemeal armor.

Collin reached down to his pile of Templar armor and retrieved a head set from a tac pouch and put it on his head and began speaking, “Hey Jamall. If you could arrange it before I head out, I need a side arm. I am not gonna risk this baby falling pirate hands. With that he picked up his revolver and spun the cylinder.

“So anyone else need anything before we start this crazy scheme.”

 

[DangerousTinkerer]

As Jamall finished asking a list a questions, Ko'vas paused at his last statement regarding an encryption. Repairing and tuning electronics, especially a radio was not a problem for him but depending on the type and level, the encryption might prove otherwise. "Yes Sir, I am good with them. I can get that radio working for you no problem." Ko'vas replied before a quick pause before continuing. "Now honestly, the encryption will depend on the level and type regarding whether I can pass it or not." Ko'vas finished speaking before starting to walk to the convoy of trucks to find a radio and get started as Jamall started to walk back towards the landing ship with another member of his crew.

Figuring Jamall would like the radio up and running as soon as possible, Ko'vas pick up his speed to a slight jog as he scanned the dash column of each truck for a radio. The rear truck had a radio tucked up under the center column near the back slightly hidden out of view but Ko'vas luckily spotted its poorly ran cables and climb up into the truck. Turning himself upside down he carefully lowered himself to the floor under the radio to take a look at it. Through his Force Detection ability, Ko'vas noticed at large amount of system shorts within the radio as well as some serious damage to various components.

Ko'vas determining this radio was unusable from the damaged but figured to salvage the parts just in case. Pulling his multitool out from a pouch on his belt he flipped it open to the pliers and cut the power cable and grounding cable with the cutting teeth recessed in the gap behind the pliers. Quickly switching over to a Phillips head to start removing the mounting screws to free the radio. Dropping his multitool to the truck floor, Ko'vas contorted his way up and out to be sitting onto the seat correctly before starting to loosen the straps for his shoulder guard. Sliding the guard off his arm, he placed it on the drive side of the truck before removing his messenger bag. Tilting his head to slide the strap off Ko'vas saw Mr. Graves standing next to Kali in only his drawers and undershirt. With that slight pause and image, Ko'vas pulled the messenger bag past himself and leaning it up against it. Crawling back underneath now laying on his left side, Ko'vas started to finish removing the radio from the truck's center dash.

After a few moments Ko'vas was able to remove that last fastener, and with some prying of his multitool and force, the radio was free from the truck. Tossing the radio over his head on to the truck seat behind him, Ko'vas climbed out off the floor. Pulling the bag strap over his head and throwing his guard onto his back , Ko'vas jumps down out of the truck with the radio in hand to continue his search for a working or repairable radio. Searching the second truck and having no indication of a radio, Ko'vas made his way to the lead truck where a group was forming with Mr. Graves now in what look to be in clothing from a pirate calling to Jamall, with Kali still by his side and another man still on the ground.

Reaching the lead truck, Ko'vas hears Mr. Graves asking if anyone needs anything else before they start their crazy plan.

 

[Just Matt Now]

Not knowing the men he would meet on the surface, he did know that Delun trusted them and that was good enough. Aboard the Kingfisher, the Damarian-Kushari writhed about adjusting to this new armor which seemed to have covered all of his body. Even his tail was tucked away in a comfortable filling within the suit. It still took time for him to realize that he was now with his own people, these were the things that was supposed to be normal to him, and yet they werent. Simba couldnt help but feel like an outsider. Being stuck i the universe for so long, he became one.

The rocky breach that the Kingfisher had while entering the atmosphere did no last long. Simba's head rocked against the head panel, causing a small irritation. Sitting in the hold with all Makurans, he could not feel more like a loner. Though he knew that Delun would not put him on this transport without full faith in him, or his soldiers. Simba had no malice towards them, letting go of any pretense he once had and was brought up with as a child. The Makurans would not trust him at first, but he would give them reason to.

The small viewports revealed the landscape of the planet. Light green trees and vast lakes flew by as they grew closer to their destination. A normal planet with normal people inflicted by fearsome pirates and now an impending foreign military command. Probably the most action they'd seen in decades.

A serious jerk of the ship caused Simba's face to crack the glass of the viewport. Lifting his hands up to recover, the jostling and jerking only got worse. Blaring sirens and red and orange flashing lights emitting throughout the ship meant cause for serious concern.

"//We've been hit...We've been hit! Kingfisher going down.\\"

The language was barely audible, but Simba could make out the extent of what the pilot was screaming. All of the soldiers on board held on to their restraints as did the Damarian. As the ship plummeted to the surface, Simba remained as calm as he could, despite his irritated headwound now amassing to a full blown pain, he could see the reserve and severity in the eyes of the other Makurans. They saw no fear, and trusted that the pilots would perform to their training. And so did he.

Fortunately, they were passing another lake, hopefully the pilots could retain some control and they would overshoot it. Simba choked on his own surprise, though not without watching them fall from the sky through the cracked viewport.

 

[Dmitri]

The surrendered man did little to improve Kali's impression of the man. If it weren't for his usefulness in infiltration, she would recommend he prostrate himself now for a search and then be sent to the coldest cell the Kushari had. The others were not far in opinion. The man mercilessly killed his companion for little justification, resulting in the Kushari marines to ready their weapons. She was impressed with their self restraint that they hadn't killed the man through instinct; part of her wished they didn't.

Kali wasn't sure if Jamall's comment about a disfavored plan was directed at her or the mercenary. She decided not to speak up, as not to worsen relations. The marine departed, though not without Collin jabbing the man that was sure to remind him the source of that joke. Collin alternated to seriousness as she followed him over to the mercenary. He gave one final warning, and the man should be grateful he was being allowed it. As he reminded her of the plan she herself proposed, she was somewhat skeptical of their new companion. "It should go as planned as long as no one does anything foolish." There was little doubt who that was directed to. An eye burrowing into Jace, she added, "I'll take care of myself. I know where the weak points are, for slow and fast deaths. Besides," she offered an impish grin to Collin, "the uncertainty is what can make it fun." And deadly, she added mentally. Especially with a trigger-happy mercenary in their ranks. She just hoped his mouth didn't fire as freely as his blaster.

While Collin tried to make light of the situation, she was less optimistic. Indeed blood was now present on the uniform, but it shouldn't have been needed. They had the supplies necessary to fake the situation. As Collin undressed, she didn't look away. As a doctor, she had been use to seeing sexes of many species naked before her, some prostrate over a table. However, no white glove was necessary this time. What a shame, she thought mischievously.

Collin offered his weapon to a companion. She motioned to the truck. "Take the dead guy's blaster. You don't want to give yourself away by having an exotic weapon not found in these parts." She repositioned the bowcaster. "I can defend myself. The pirates are use to be being armed, so I should be able to smuggle this in as well." She was uneasy about their new 'ally' being armed too. Still, if a firefight then ensue, she would need the reinforcements, as long as he didn't try to shoot her in the back.

Kali pulled out a communicator and spoke to 13-UZ. She requested a medical scanner and gurney be delivered to her present location, along with some bandages. She specifically asked the scanner with the Ju-Ju program in it. Ending the transmission, she returned her attention to Collin. "Once the gurney and scanner get here, we should be ready. I'll wrap you up a little bit, to make it seem like I've given preliminary first-aid. I'll blood that a little bit. Then we'll set you up on the scanner. Once the time is ready, I'll start the Ju-Ju program." The Ju-Ju program, she explained, was a file in the scanner that when activated, would alter the readings the scanner showed. It would claim that the patient's condition was collapsing. She had used it before, to smuggle a Wookie companion off the planet after he had pissed off Gujja the Hutt.

 

[Manderley]

Before he could mouth off and probably disrupt his relationship with his new crew any further, he barked out a "Sir, yes sir!" It was his old CorSec instincts kicking back in. They were so ingrained into him, that getting ordered around by a man with the air of a leader and the beard to match suddenly made him a simple recruit again. He gave a Corellian salute, muscle memory forcing false loyalty, then lowered his hand and spoke to the others.

"He was about to send a message to his buds about our little plan, so, in all fairness, I do believe I just saved our covert mission. But that's just my opinion. Feel free to hate me for killing a murderous, raping bastard," he gestured to the corpse who was quickly losing his clothes, "who would have been more than happy to off all the unarmed lot of you, slowly and painfully, if given the chance."

When Kali directed the obvious jab at Cairnspur, he smiled. "I've been in my fair share of cons. I assure you, I'll be the last person to mess this up, if you pay me what you promise." He knew the older woman from when she had worked on some of his fellow pirates. She was a woman after his own heart, cold and precise, like the scalpels she so often saved his former partners with. Hardened, and with an air of military about her, Kali was most definitely a woman he could work with. Assuming she didn't treat him like a child.

He hefted his helmet and placed it back on his head, securing the latches. "Can I have my pistol back, at least?" he asked. "God knows I'll need the bloody thing before the day is out," he added to himself. These high-and-mighty people were getting on his nerves. Like they were so glorious, so much holier than he. Jace seriously doubted that they had never killed an unarmed enemy, that they had never shot at someone with his hands up in the air.

War was war, and you took the chance when you could get it. At least, that's what his old sergeant used to say. The man never could afford for anything more than an eyepatch to cover the wound he was given by pirates and smugglers back home.

 

[Andrewza]

Mar was at the landing zone and waiting for the next kingfisher to land. It was just a small black spot flanked by 2 smaller black spots when the skies lit up both slug thrower AA and lasers opened up. The 3 crafts performed evasive manoeuvres and firing off decoys but it was not enough for the kingfisher. The Mayday came through and Mar acted before it was even finshed. Runing to his kingfisher he started it up. Even though it was on idel the engiens kicked up dust that swirlied gentaly. Mar could see on his display as the kingfisher began it's decent, the 2 fighter watching it.

"This is commander Mar, ready to begin Search and rescue"

 

[Jiang Winters]

A black-hulled X-Wing roared overhead.

Collin's radio call was forgotten as Jamall watched the narrow-hulled starfighter's S-Foils lock into attack position as the fighter streaked up into the sky, rolled, then burst into ribbons of fire as four lances of shimmering purple-white energy ripped through her armored frame. Shards of burning, broken metal rained down; another X-Wing screamed overhead, her quad laser cannons loosing off crimson lances at a Commonwealth Claymore heavy fighter. The Claymore abruptly rolled and dove under her attacker, hexagonal fields of energy flashing brilliantly as her barrier shields withstood the brunt of the pirate starfighter's assault.

Jamall let out a bitter curse - the Pirates had gotten their asses in gear. It'd only taken them the better part of half an hour. "This is Raider 2-1 to Solace Actual. Pirate fighters overhead. Req immediate intel update, over."

"Roger, Raider 2-1, stand by."

Mohatu raced back towards Collin and the rest as he waited for fresh intelligence from highcom. The soldier barked orders as he ran - the Marine squads burst into motion. They herded the civvies out of the plaza, moving them into the relative safety of the starport itself. They'd be far safer inside its ferrocrete walls than they'd be running about the plaza like a mob of headless chickens. Most of the Marines were busy moving into the buildings flanking the plaza and setting up defensible positions. One enterprising team headed up to the starport control tower to get an eagle-eye view of the surrounding area.

"Raider 2-1, this is Solace Actual. Thermal imaging shows a lot of movement headed your way. We're estimating between a hundred fifty and two hundred personnel and six vehicles. Sparrow flight is heavily engaged. No CAS available at this time. Working on arranging some extra firepower for you, Raider, stand by."

Jamall only distantly acknowledged Actual's update. "Collin! Iv you vant to go, go now! Take vone of ze trucks und stick to ze back roads - ve have a lot of unfriendly people coming zis vay und fast!"

As if to make his point, a lone landspeeder darted from an alleyway connecting to the plaza's edge directly opposite of Collin and the rest. The speeder was manned by a group of disheveled and raggedy humans and near-humans. A thin, dark-skinned man clung to the twin-linked blaster cannon mounted in the speeder's bed. He swung the gun forward and loosed off a haphazard spray of energy fire, while the other pirates crowded into the speeder took 'aim' with their blaster rifles and fired wildly in all directions.

Blue-white tracers snapped across the plaza as railgun fire answered the unwelcome intrusion. The hull of the landspeeder was well armored, though its transparisteel windscreen was not and shattered almost instantly under the assault. The vehicle swerved in a desperate attempt to avoid the armor-piercing shot being sent its way, but that swerve caused it to bleed no small amount of speed. That proved fatal.

A staccato thumping echoed 'cross the plaza as a neat stitch of blue tracers lanced into the speeder's flank. Puffs of black smoke and hellfire rippled across the vehicle's hull, destroying her right engine nacelle entirely. Her repulsorlifts on that flank failed; the little craft listed, dug its flaming nacelle into the ground, then violently spun nose-first into the asphalt and crumpled. She bounced once, then broke apart and scattered in a broad but short fan of fiery debris.

The source of that lethal shot crawled from the circle of landed dropships. It was an Alaric - an 80-tonne monster of a tank armed with a 13-centimeter electrothermal cannon and possessing frightfully heavy armor. The tank lumbered across the plaza, spraying machine-gun and coaxial autocannon fire into the alleyway to suppress the pirates attempting to surge from it. A pair of Claymores screamed overhead, loosing off missile after missile into a formation of pirate fighters.

And in the middle of it all, some kilometers from the starport, a Kingfisher had been shot to hell and was coming in for a decidedly uncomfortable landing. Jamall hadn't paid attention to it yet - he was a gravel-cruncher. He had to deal with the threat on the ground before he could worry about that dropship. "Just like old times," he muttered bitterly. If nothing else, at least the firefight at the plaza gave Collin one hell of a chance to sneak into the pirate stronghold. On the other hand, fighting a battle on the pirate's home turf without any CAS or orbital artillery? Jamall didn't like that. Not at all.

Meanwhile, in the sky above, an unmarked ASF/55 Strike Hawk slipped into the fighting. A Pirate-controlled BTL-A4 Y-Wing was unfortunate enough to cross paths with the Strike Hawk and, for its trouble, was sawed roughly in two by a burst from the Hawk's monstrous gatling magnetic accelerator cannon. The Hawk knifed through the choking smoke left by the destroyed Y-Wing and settled into a low, fast loop around the starport. Its IFF was active, plainly identifying it as a Commonwealth starfighter, albeit a rarity. Scarcely a hundred Strike Hawks were manufactured before the Unification War came to an end, and the fighter o'erhead was no museum replica. "Swingfire to Commander Mar - standing by to play babysitter if you want to go pick those boys up." 'Swingfire' was clearly a woman - there was no mistaking that voice! But more important was the fact that Swingfire was the only pilot not presently busy swatting Pirates out of the sky, making her escort vital to reach and escort the wounded dropship - or save its crew, if it wound up crashing!

 

[Ravensmark]

As the sky came alive with fire and Jamall shouted at Collin he holstered his revolver reached down and picked up his bundle of Templar armor. “Well folks it looks like the pirates have decided to throw us a welcome to Wazta party.” Collin wore his normal smile and keep his mood cheerful as he lead the way to the truck. “This is going to be our best chance to get inside that fortress.” A large blaster bolt screamed by, not inches from his head as they moved towards the truck. With out a pause or hitch in his step Collin reached over with his free hand and pulled Kali in front of him. Placing himself between her and oncoming blaster fire. He spoke with a chuckle “No offense mam. But I am a soldier and your a medic, we each have a job to play in this. Some are just more important than others.”

The fire fight behind them intensified as the approached the truck, occasionally the snap and hiss of a round or blast could be seen impacting hard surfaces around them. It was just wild shots, nothing to get worked up about. The pirates didn't seem to be aiming, and the marines were doing an excellent job of suppressing them.

As they arrived at the truck Collin threw his bundle of armor and gear into the back while yelling towards Jace. “Ok your driving, don't do anything different then you normally would. The IFF tag in my armor here should keep the Claymores from tearing us to ribbons.” Collin turned offering his hand to Kali before he loaded up into the back of the truck.

They drove away amidst the sounds of gunfire, Collin looked back to the space port watching the area fill full of smoke and dust from the fire fight. As they turned a corner the whole scene changed, the firefight a brief memory. Collin reached up and keyed his mic, “Jamall if you lose to these pirates and I have to come save you. You will never here the end of this.”

“Ok Kali, with that little surprise back there, we aren't going to have those spiffy little gizmos you wanted. So...” Collin reached down and pulled a first aid kit from a combat pouch. “..This will have to do. If you need more blood, I can just open up one of these old scars on my skull. Head wounds always bleed like hole in dam. But its up to you doc.” Collin sat back and let the doctor do her job.

 

[DangerousTinkerer]

With the court yard coming alive with falling debris and a firefight, Ko'vas quickly ducked onto the floor of the truck as a landspeeder darted into the clearing dropping the radio on the driver seat in the process. No well equipped for a large scale firefight, Ko'vas started to get in position to work on the radio. Quickly removing his bag and shoulder guard from his back, he wedged the guard up against the opening under the dash board for some protection. Crammed on the floor with his semi-auto slug pistol on the floor next to him, he started trying to remove the radio as quickly as he could. Every so ofter with the effects of his Force Sight, would look through the front of the truck to see if anyone was approaching his position.

The sound of the rear truck started was almost not noticeable of the current firefight and the thunderous echo of a large cannon firing. Looking to his left, Ko'vas spotted a large armored tank rolling into the plaza laying down suppressing fire. Trying hard to keep himself focused on the radio and not the very interesting technology entering the area, Ko'vas quickly looked over the tank before able to returning to the work on the radio. As the sound of twisting and bending metal filled the sounds of the firefight as apparently the landspeeder crashed and broke apart the radio fell to the truck floor now free from its mount.

Figuring the radio would be better at a ground station location over the truck, Ko'vas decided to take the radio with him. Following the radio power cables to where they left the cab, he cut the cables and quickly wrapped them around the radio before putting it on the driver seat. Fighting to unstuck himself from the floor, a pirate pushed in his guard towards him with is blaster raised. Out of reach to his pistol, Ko'vas quickly try to get over the driver side seat before he fully noticed him. Before the pirate could react, a shot hit him square in his back causing him to fall and lay motionless on the truck step. 'I guess Jamall saw me entered the truck and still has use for me.' Ko'vas thought to himself as he quickly tried to gather his stuff from the truck. Throwing the strap to the bag over his shoulder and securing his shoulder guard to his left arm, Ko'vas grabbed the two radios placing them in the bag as they crashed on top of each other. Grabbing his pistol, Ko'vas hopped out the driver side of the truck and quickly slide into the area behind the cab and under the trailer. Working his way to the back of the truck trying to find a place in cover to allow him to work on the radio. Reaching the back of the front truck, Ko'vas kept an eye out for Jamall who would know what was going on.

 

[InfernalSage]

Etches had been posing as a protocol droid working for the pirates located on Wazta. After several cycles he had gotten a good sense of what the day to day routines of several of his targets were and decided that soon he would eliminate them. Etches was making his rounds performing "assigned" tasks when in all reality he was merely sabotaging the security protocols of the GA stronghold. he had set looped feeds on standby for the cams and established a remote back door entry into the defense turrets so he could deactivate them once he makes his escape, (upon reactivation the IFF would designate all organics as targets and begin causing havoc). Etches had been making his way to the officers quarters when everyone sprang to action, it would seem that visitors had come and have been causing a commotion. The time to strike would be now. The droid had made his way to the quarters of a Lt. Michael Heastrom, a former member of the 61st. This Lt. held the keys for the brig and several wrongfully imprisoned natives were held there. Eliminating this target first would allow Etches access to the brig and upon freeing the natives, they could provide an extra needed distraction for the droids escape.

"Lt. Haestrom, the commander has asked that I accompany you to the brig so you may properly interrogate the newest prisoner, I have been programmed with over 500 languages and should find translating for you to be no problem at all sir." the door opened revealing a grizzled man overweight and breathy just from standing. He no longer resembled an officer of the GA, more as a man who may have stumbled upon one and took his uniform fooling himself into believing that he was the same size as the deceased man.
"Yes, very good droid. *gasp* Although I don't understand why the commander *gasp* would choose now *gasp* when everyone else seems to be running off for a fight
The man waived for the droid to enter his quarters as he began to clean up and prepare himself for the interrogation. Etches entered and closed the door behind him, upon the door shutting the droid began to laugh
you've made this far too easy his vibroblade extended from his right arm and swiftly found its way into the back of the disgraceful, officers neck.You are probably the easiest organic ive ever terminated.
the large body crumpled on the floor as etches blade retracted. The droid located the security key for the brig and destroyed the panel that allowed entry into Haestrom's room.
Now, about those prisoners

 

[Andrewza]

As LtCDR Mar sat in his kingfisheer awaiting orders all hell broke loose. Pirate fighters where swarming the area. The held a strong numercal advanteg over the commonwealth claymors. But where not nearly as well trained and where fighting alone. The common wealth fighters woked as a team. It was then that swingfire cam along.

"Roger that swingfire, let's bring them home."

Mar would have prefferd 2 mariens and a medic fly with him, but the ground battel arround the starport had increased. So it would be just the two of them. The kingfisher may not have looked as sleek as many of the alien ships Mar had seen, but it was still fast. It had speed thanks to raw power. Lifting off great a dust cloud and as Mar brought the kingfisher in to foward flight at low level that dust cloud blew all over the place. The kingfisher rockted foward at high speed. To keep out of the fights way Mar kept low to the ground. Flying inbetween building at some points. The powerfull strik hawk flew above and behind Mar. Ever now and then it would fire of a burst from it's gun.


The crashed kingfishers locastion was marked, and a locastion was shown ion Mars HMD. Mar was 1 km away flying down a main road when the MAWR sounded a alarm. Automaticaly countermessers wher being deployd. At the same time Mar pushed the kingfisher to it's limit. Turrning sharply the 2 missiles could not match the turn and hit a building. At the same time swing fire had swank her craft to find the source of luanch and let rip on a ground based SAM. Shreading it in to parts.

 

[Dmitri]

The quick instinctual verbal salute made Kali alter her impression of the man. She had seen the same instincts twinge from other soldiers in the Galactic Alliance. She began to formulate the theory he was former military. He wasn't disciplined enough to be former imperial military like Collin and she really hoped he wasn't a byproduct of the Galactic Alliance military; that would be an embarrassing prospect.

The doctor shrugged. "I didn't notice. If you did, well done. If it's an excuse to justify your actions, all I have to say is think of a better lie next time." Kali was amused this man viewed himself as a con artist. His actions didn't suggest it, but then she knew better than to judge a holocron by its cover. She gave Jace an impish grin in response to his request for armament. "You're a con artist. It should be little effort for you to steal a blaster from a guard." She made it sound like a playful challenge, but in truth it was a challenge with a purpose. If this man really was a con artist, she wanted to see how well he operated. If he failed to procure a weapon, she could always lend her backup blaster situated in her boot.

Unfortunately humor was wiped away in the cloud of blasterfire. Pirates were storming the place. She wasn't sure how, but didn't care. As long as she and Jace could escape undetected, the con could survive. Collin, trying to be a gentleman, pulled her out of the line of fire. It vexed her that she was being treated differently. Unlocking the safety on the bowcaster, she commented, "I'm not a porcelain doll, thank you very much." Kali moved past Collin and aimed her bowcaster towards one of the entrances the pirates were assaulting from. She unleashed three bolts at a canister. The first and third missed, but the second struck the barrel. An inferno erupted from the canister. The smoke that followed spewed smoke from the ruin. Considering the high-tech helmets the marines wore, she suspected they could could use thermal imaging. The pirates on the other hand would be blind.

Kali followed Collin and Jace into the truck. As the truck sped off, Collin reminded them that they weren't going to have the resources initially desired. She paused for a moment to reconsider their options. "We'll have to try a Tarken Bubble Dance then. It has some similar properties. We have a wounded person. It works when there's a fight going on. I had discarded the idea earlier because the cantina brawl wouldn't be that threatening. However, with the fight going on in the dock, we can now use the Tarkin Bubble Dance." She went on to explain they would arrive at the garrison and report they had an injured soldier from the fight. Unfortunately, it required sending forces out to obtain favor with the gatekeepers. She decided they should alter the con slightly to claim the intruders were making their way from the hanger to Gujja's manse. It would work to their benefit as it could lead to the pirates unintentionally declaring war on the Cartel. In the confusion, they are let inside the base to give first aid to Collin.

As she spoke, Kali dabbed some of the blood on Collin's head. She ripped part of her sleeve off her shirt and wrapped it around his head. She dampened it with more blood. She proceeded to use the remaining blood to bloody Collin and her own outfit, specifically around her arms and chest. She tossed the remains to the seat next to Jace. "When you get the chance, wet your hands with that, so it appears you helped me a little bit." She just hoped this would work, but dared not jinx them by saying it aloud.

 

[Just Matt Now]

Twisted, jagged bits of durasteel were splintering off in every direction. It was only after the dust had settled that one could make out the true extent of their crash landing. All hope was on the pilots ability, and of course, lady luck. Simba could feel the fresh air on his fur before he could even feel the rest of his body. Taking a deep breath in, thanking the heavens that he was alive, the cat was attacked by a sudden coughing episode. It wasnt until after he'd get over it that he realized he was pinned down, along with another Makuran, by the very seats they were so attached to. Simba checked himself, he suddenly wanted to know if all of his body parts were still intact. He could feel a sharp dig in his side, if it wasnt for the Templar suit, the jagged piece of metal would have went right through him.

Comfortable enough to know he was in general decent shape, he turned to the Makuran beside him who was trying with all his might to lift the structure off of him. Simba could see his nametag read "Massat", and he had a nasty fresh scar painted in red over his eye. Simba could only move his hands enough to hold the durasteel seats.

"Here, push like this..."

It was clear that he couldnt understand what was being said, even with Simba using traditional Katari. Though he motioned the way he wanted to lift it up in unison, and the Makuran was bright enough to understand. The structure was heavy, with the added strength of the Damarian Kushari they were able to lift it up although what they saw was terrifying.

The Kingfisher was sprawled out over about double its size in a rocky field. There was no more cabin, no more ramp, and no more pilots cabin. Fire burned around the twisted metal and movement was heard all across. The multiple Makurans they were with were regrouping just as Massat and Simba were. There were also bodies lying limp, some mangled over the metal, some still in the seats buckled tight. It was a mess to say the least. It was only by the grace of the heavens that Simba and any other Makuran made it out.

Gently, Simba rose to his feet, with the aid of the metal structures still at the base. The scene was even worse from this point of view, though Simba kept a stoic demeanor and gave a hand to help Massat gain his composure. It was then Simba could hear the thrumming of repulsorlift engines making their way in the distance.

It's not possible Delun could have sent a rescue team to reach us this quickly. This has to be a follow through attack.

Simba looked past a metal structure still standing that concealed them. He could see multiple speeders not so far away, though he could not make out who was on them. He could make out the sharp blaster rifles they stuck up n the air however...did not seem very military-like.

"Massat..." Simba put a hand on the shoulder of his armor and pointed towards the speeders. He then grabbed his own lawbreaker that was still slung around his back. The notion could mean only one thing...they had to prepare to defend the crash site.

 

[Manderley]

"Conning isn't quite necessary when a weapon's just lying on the ground," he replied, picking up his Höllensturm and shoving it into its holster. "Though I promise you, guards are-" His quip was cut off shortly by a storm of plasma flying at them, prompting a rapid egress. He hurried to the truck alongside the other two, a blaster bolt smacking into his armour's chestplate with an audible slapping sound. The wind was knocked out of him, so he assisted his flight with a firing of his boot's jets. As he passed the white knight and his princess, he joked, "Porcelain you may not be, but doll you sure are."

Wrenching the repulsortruck's door open, he clambered inside, and revved its engine. It started with a shudder, hovering a few inches above the ground. Gesturing with his hand for the others to get inside, he sped off when they did. He listened as Kali explained her latest ploy, swerving around to make it seem as though he were trying to avoid fire from the Kushari and their devastating weapons. When she was done explaining, Jace spoke while she administered, funnily enough, wounds to Collin. "I'll get the bubbles, and you'll start the dancing, eh?" He grinned beneath his helmet, then scowled. He was getting a bit too invested in these people. They were money, and he was a gun. That was how it worked.

Shaking his head, as if to dispel his thoughts, he picked up the bloodied cloth and alternated driving with each hand, getting each glove as covered as he could with crimson. Now that he had some time to think, Kali reminded him of a girl he once met on the force. In an attempt to divert his train of thinking, he asked to give them his best concussed-soldier moan.

 

[Andrewza]

Leveling out the kingfisher Mar headed low and fast towards the crash site. By this time a number of emergancy tranmestions add actvated. A clear sighn that there where survors. Flying over the lake that the crashed kingfisher had avoided Jake could see the crash site. Mar could all so see that a number of speeders full of pirats where attacking the crash site and what looked like a old GA tank was coming up to. "Swing fire see if you can lend suport"

Flying over the crash site Mar could see how difcult the terrian was. There was some flat ground on the beach a few hundred metters west of the crash site.

"The kilo foxtrot 2 to the survors of kilo foxtrot 4. I am here to bring you home"