Save our Ship for Credits

[ZeroOrgan]

-Tatooine
-Ourskirts of Tusken Territory:
-1200 hours:

A remote crackly SOS call comes from a remote part of Tatooine, Admist the sounds of blasts and bullets, A woman speaks quickly and in great distress.

"Hey- Hey! To anyone out there! I'll pay 1000 credits and ,- Two gunshots ring through the air- "Hell, All I can pay for someone or some people to get me out of this hellhole-,Shit!" -Three more gunshots ring, and the screams of Tusken raiders, some pained, some out of anger, ring through the air- "I crash landed somewhere in Tatooine, Raider territory, Send help, Please!" The signal would repeat over and over, for those able to hear it, the signal itsself crackly and such.

In realtime. Rails would dive into the living quarters, using the walls and such of the freighter to help cover her from the raiders. the signal having been broadcasted for sometime, Several waves of raiders have come and go. Rails feared that the next few would be the last regarding her life. She couldn't last much longer. She quickly fumbled for some bullets, shoving them into her Revolvers chambers. She took a deep breath, and peeked her head around the corner, Thankfully her itty bitty head wasn't spotted from the lot of tusken raiders, roaming around carefully outside, waiting for a slip up or perfect time to strike. Rails had downed 4 Raiders, and rushing in there would only lead to more deaths.

"By the gods someone help" She groaned in her thoughts.

 

[The Captain]

Heroism, not Vol's strong suit. In fact, altruism in general was something the Chagrian actively avoided, unless it would benefit him later in some way. He had been sitting in some dusty, Tatooine cantina, trying to escape the scorching heat and blistering winds of the fetid dust ball he'd landed on. The Ithorian behind the counter had been fiddling with the cantina holocaster when the transmission came in. A woman in trouble, being attacked by Tusken Raiders somewhere in the dunes. Now, under normal circumstances, Vol would have ignored this and returned to the watered down grog the bartender indignantly insisted was Corellian whiskey. However, the offer of massive amounts of credits caught his ear, causing a small smirk to spread across his face.

Exiting the cantina, Vol used his datapad to track the radio signal, tracing it to a spot out near the edge of the Dune Sea, near Tusken Raider territory. Hopping into the speeder of a cantina patron, he managed to hotwire the vehicle and set out to locate the source of this signal. He didn't need to fight these mad men, not much, he just needed to get any survivors out.

 

[wristclerk]

The Tusken Raiders moving single file in line towards a downed ship. The circumstances of how it had crashed remained a mystery, but the cargo inside the ship, especially the sentient cargo was no mystery at all. Assigned to a hidden mission, or rather a self appointed mission, Reyyos was tracking down individuals of different professional persuasions, mainly those that dealt with smuggling, hunting or slaving. The trapped soul just so happened to be one of those professions.
Taking aim through his blaster sniper rifle, Reyyos targeted a small grouping of maybe 5 or so Tusken raiders outside the downed ship. getting ready for another advance, he quickly fired four shots taking down three of the five Raiders, The last two Tusken Raiders in the group managed to get into the ship before Reyyos targeted them, however the quick succession of the bullets fired drew unwanted attention from the reinforcements riding in on Bantha's. He hunkered down a bit more in the sand that was overlooking the crash sight. A well placed sand dune was the perfect sniper vantage in this fire fight. The other Raiders didn't see where the Shots had come from but they were on high alert now.
Taking another aim, Reyyos targeted the front right foot of the lead Bantha, he took his shot and the Bantha crumbled to the sand, letting out a loud moan of pain, Reyyos quickly ended the pain right then an there, and with the falling of the Bantha it ended another two Tusken Raiders with hast.

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Bam' Bam' Bam' Bam'. Rails was dead silent, breathing rapidly, was this a friend? Or a foe?, She quickly peaked her head outside, Seeing no one, only the dead bodies he had left. They were Tusken Raiders. She didn't know what to think. She was happy, and relieved that someone was here, although completely terrified. What if this "Savior" wanted everyone dead? She glanced back to the remaining survivors of the freight ship. Our cargo were a shipment of blasters , going to sell them under the table. Maybe this sniper knew that, and wanted everyone here dead. The other men and woman cowering, clutching their weapons She shook her head. Trying not to think of it much. Bam'. Another shot. She peaked out. Sweat dripping from her brow. Two Tusken Raiders barreling in. To avoid getting shot.

"Great" , BAMF BAMF. She swung her six shooter up, taking aim within half a second, sending two bullets into the chest of one Tusken raider, and into the head of the other one. They fell quickly with a muffled 'umph,' their desert robes comforting their fatal fall. She quickly took cover..Seeing a good 10 more raiders, coming right in her dirrection in a skirmish line.

Meanwhile to the sniper. Two tusken raiders attempt to sneak from behind, slowly , hesitantly raising their weapons.

For the Speeder . He would hear gunshots and conflict, within an incredibly near distance, and would come on the opposite ridge of the sniper.

 

[The Captain]

From the distance, Vol could hear the sounds of gunshots and the shrieks of Tusken Raiders in the distance as he closed in on his target. However, the thing that interested him most is that these were not the cracks of Tusken slugthrowers, nor the sound of the mystery broadcasters' firearms, this was someone else. On one hand, this could be some good Samaritan looking to rescue the helpless villagers, of course on the other hand the vultures could finally be pouring in, looking to pick the battle site clean. Or maybe these were just some sick nuts looking for easy targets.

Hopefully it was the former most of these, as Vol had finally come into view of the wreck site. The bodies of spacers and Tuskens littered the ground, as their living comrades tried desperately to defeat their opponents. Keeping his speeder at a distance, he hoped out, taking his rifle and sneaking along the rocky outcrops near the ship, mobbing toward a small cluster of Tuskens sniping at the ship.

 

[wristclerk]

Reyyos started to rain hell fire upon the Tusken Raiders now taking refuge behind their dead Banthas. Using them as cover they would quickly pop up, shoot off a round or two and then fall back behind the hairy cover they had been forced to take. Reyyos wasn't interested in body counts at this point, instead of taking time to steady his aim and actually take out the Raiders, he just wanted to keep them from jumping out and attacking the ship anymore. The crater the fallen ship had made upon impact was a perfect arena of madness, and Reyyos wanted to make sure to use that too his advantage. However with the multiple shots he was firing off, he had given off his position. It wasn't too much of a hassle because he could still see the main group of Raiders, however two of the sneaky fodders had trekked there way up onto the Sand Dune that was his snipers post.

With the constant gun firing ringing on it was extremely hard to hear the Raiders, especially after they have perfected their walk among the sand. The two Raiders quickly jumped on top of Reyyos, knocking his rifle from his grip. He watched as it tumbled down the sand hill into the crater out in the open between the ship and the rest of the Raiders. One of the Tusken clubbed Reyyos across the head, a white hot streak blinded him from the club to the head, but he acted out in instinct. He grabbed the Raiders club and planted both feet firmly onto his abdomen and vaulted him over the edge into the crater. The Tusken rolled all the way to the ground, not yet dying, but still in pretty bad condition.

The other Raider made a charge towards Reyyos but his reflexes were too fast. He quickly withdrew his blaster Pistol and notched one hit to the thigh, the raider leaped forward knowcking both him and Reyyos into the crater. The two tumbled down the large slope into the hell of gun fire and blaster bolts. When the pair landed on the ground, Reyyos was the first to react, he pulled his blaster pistol again and shot the Raider through the head. However the other one was now quickly approaching with his scatter gun drawn. Reyyos quickly turned the blaster pistol to him but it was already to late, The Raider screamed out its call and time seemed to slow. The blaster had not fired yet, but hopefully he would be spared.

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Rails caught eye of two tumbling figures, rolling down to the right, It took her a moment to glance from her cover one or two times to identify her targets. Before she gasped, eyes wide agape as she pondered the weight of her following actions. She growled to herself, she was going to hate herself for this. She dashed towards the weapon supplies, grabbing a thermal detonator from the bottom of one of the crates. She rushed forward, right into the open. Before met with a dilemma, Save the man, or kill the raiders.

She didn't waste much time, given that her life was on the line. She threw the detonator right into the crowd of Raiders, she didn't know the man, but hopefully, hopefully the blast would be enough to affect the Raider infront of the sniper. the Detonator landed, a little closer to her, regarding where she wanted to throw the grenade. !BOOM!, there was an explosion that could level the floor of a whole Cantina. Tusken screams of pain rang through the air, as the Tuskens experienced the feeling of a fresh explosion, the raider infront of Graves flying forward over him. His legs were hit pretty bad, as he quickly turned and tried to shoot Graves. A bullet was firmly planted into his head.

Vol's shots were extremely effective, as the remaining Tuskens were regaining , they were shot down, BAM, BAM, BAM. All one shot at a time by the man by his speeder. He could easily take down the raiders. They didn't stand a chance.

Rails huffed, loading bullets into her gun. She quickly stomped inside, slamming open the door that held the survivors. Puffing with anger.

She spun the chamber of her gun . "'Yall better have a Damned good reason..for lettin' me save ya' sorry asses"

 

[The Captain]

'Mon Calamari in a barrel...' Vol had already caught the sharpshooters with their pants down and eliminated them, the swarm of panicked raiders scrambling toward him was just icing on the cake. From his protected position in the rocks on the edge of the crater, Vol was able to fire into the fleeing crowd with impunity, cutting down many of the fleeing Tuskens. Hopefully the small massacre that had occurred here would dissuade any attempts at retaliation, but Vol was never much of a gambler, intending to get paid and leave as soon as possible.

Double checking the crater for survivors, he noticed a somewhat bewildered man crouched in the dust, and some indignant young man barking in an almost indiscernible accent. Taking this second figure to be a crash survivor, Vol poked his head out of the ruins, whistling down to get their attention.

 

[wristclerk]

Reyyos ducked from the explosion. The only thing he saw was sand and the Tusken Raiders feet flying towards. He counted fifteen seconds making sure he was still alive. The smell of explosives and burning bodies cleared up any doubt that he had moved on, at least to a happier place that is. Reyyos glanced around, taking in his surroundings. He saw a young woman with a large brimmed old cowboy hat rush back into the scrap heap that crash landed, maybe to take cover from someone else? He still heard gun shots ringing throughout the ridges so there might be more than one person out there still.
Reyyos quickly holstered his blaster pistol, trying to move as fast as he could but the tumble took a toll on his left leg. He hurriedly hobbled over to his sniper rifle laying in the sand, half covered half uncovered. The scope was cracked unfortunately, but he had a spare on his speeder bike that was still sitting up on the ridge where he previously was. He quickly loaded the gun and pointed it at the entrance to the wrecked ship.
He didn't have to use the scope because it was close range, but even so he'd be able to get off one shot if he needed too, then he'd have to switch to his blaster pistol again.
"Come out!"

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Rails glared to her employer, a Rodian cowering behind a box. She sighed, holstering her Revolver as she placed her hands on her hips. "Yall better give me a raise.." Rails then went to turn, glancing over her shoulder towards the survivors, taking a moment to gather their relief..It felt, good, to save a life or two, it felt nice to keep someone alive, Maybe she should do that more often. She faced back outside, going to move back outside the ship, ducking out the bent entrance, the bar crooked lower, so she ducked to avoid hitting her head. Glancing to the sniper , smiling widely.

"I'd say you owe me for that blast, but I'd say you'd repaid that debt." She paused, counting the bodies one by one. "10-, No 9.Ahaha, Anyways..You got a name ?"

 

[The Captain]

"Oh kriff..." Well, it appeared that the mysterious gentleman from earlier was now leveling a rather substantial rifle at the man from earlier. At least, he thought it was a man? Anyway, it would be rather difficult to get paid for this rescue if his intended target was gunned down by some maniac. Leveling his rifle at the kneeling figure, Vol attempted to shoot him in the chest.

However, given his lack of extraordinary marksmanship training and the sub-par range of his weapon of choice, this outcome was far from likely, and the shots would most likely land around their intended target, not in.

 

[wristclerk]

When Reyyos saw the figure emerge from the ship a twinge of doubt surged in his mind. The rifle seemed to be heavier than before, the twin suns were now blinding his eyes unlike before. Reyyos lowered his Rifle. The gun fire from above the ridges had stopped so he could only assume the blaster rifle was now aimed at him.

As Reyyos' first words began to form at the front of his mind a few shots hit the sand in front of him. Reyyos quickly rolled out of the way and returned fire, shooting blindly far above into the sky, the scope on his rifle was cracked after all, so he couldn't use it to get a good shot out. He quickly holstered the rifle behind his back, withdrew his blaster pistol and ran for cover. He managed to get to the Dead Tusken Raiders, and where they had been hiding behind the banthas. He didn't know anyone in this situation, so he could only trust himself at this moment.

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Rails sighed, tapping her forehead, before she finally had enough of this. "Would everyone shut the hell up and stop shooting!" Rails growled to herself, calling out to both in the desert, her tone full of anger and impatience. She called out again "I'd rather not waste a single damned bullet, so lets all get the hell out of here. and as far as Im concerned, my employers can go soil themselves." Rails stomped forwards , towards the sniper , her hands balled into fists as she sent out a hand, to help him up. As far as he was concerned , she was expressionless, But her gait and her tone of voice earlier, proved that she was in intense amounts of anger.

 

[The Captain]

And with that, Vol stopped trying to shoot the mystery sniper in the head, not that he was having great success at the task anyway. Waiting for his target to stop firing back, Vol narrowly poked his head from behind cover and, seeing it was safe, slowly emerged and began to pick his way down the canyon toward the two figures. Not that he trusted either of them in the least, but the person he now realized was a woman seemed to have brought this standoff to a close and seemed to be the person who placed the distress call, so he was willing to act civilized for a second.

"Then I take it you have some method of paying us in spite of them?" He hadn't just hijacked a speeder and shot Tusken Raiders for nothing after all. If, as this woman said, her employers could go soil themselves, an interesting choice of words, he needed confirmation of payment.

 

[wristclerk]

Reyyos looked around cautiously at the two of them. Their words to each other seemed to confirm that they are indeed separate. And Reyyos couldn't image a plot this big to try and kill him, a lowly SBZ member.
He quickly holstered his blaster pistol and came out from behind the dead Bantha. The Tusken Raider bodies had already begun to smell. "I'm Reyyos, I heard you're distress signal... what are you moving?"
He moved on with his words, so as not to let on the suspicion that he was probably the one to take down the ship. However since the woman had saved him, although nearly killing him in the process, he couldn't let her know the ship crashing was his doing. He had to have some form of code.

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Rails shrugged looking to the pair, and giving a response that would probably satisfy both of them, "Weaponry. Most of it was damaged though, So I'll pay out of pocket for saving my life, Of which Im grateful~." She chuckled shaking her head. "Im Rails, Pleasure meeting you both, That said, I've only got the half of each of your payments. 500 each, so, the other 500 will come in time, I apologize~, But for now I can pay you each 500." Rails smiled, going to place a thumb and index finger on the brim of her hat, tilting it upwards to get a better view of them, Her gaze almost expressionless, hard to read.

 

[The Captain]

'Oh goodie...' Vol thought, 'Another one.' People like her excelled at getting under his skin, they seemed almost designed for the task. The kind of people who had built in Sabbacc faces and the body language of art gallery statues. The kind he couldn't break down and analyze with a cursory examination, like a well trained detective. And it wasn't like the mystery sniper was much better. Not because he was as stone faced as the woman standing before him, but because there was so little to read.

He screamed military, professional but not an officer, and not a grunt either, grunts don't massacre Tusken Raiders. Clearly some kind of commando, the kind who takes orders and doesn't give them. His posture was about as rigid as Wroshyr wood and his leading question signified that he was used to getting lead by the nose a bit. And of course, the coup-de-grace, he had to split the profits with this automaton as the woman who placed the order for some cavalry had neglected to think of what happened if more than one of the showed up.

"Of course..."

 

[wristclerk]

"Don't worry about my payment, I'll take as much as I need for a new scope which is just 200 credits," Reyyos motioned towards the man standing opposite of himself, "He can take the rest... I'm sure he'll need it."
Reyyos wasn't afraid to look into their eyes, he learned from an early age how to read through people. These two were hardened, by what? He didn't know nor did he care. He came here to do a job, and now he was working with them. Might as well see it through he thought, maybe he could finish the job later on down the line.
He took the heavy sniper off of his back and studied it while the trio still stood in the semi circle, he awaited for the next person to make their move, he just wanted an intimidation factor between himself and anyone else. He took the scope off the rifle and tossed it in the sand a ways away from them.

 

[ZeroOrgan]

Rails smiled, looking at the pair. "How bouts we discuss this at a Cantina? " She said simply, glancing around to make sure no one shoots her in the back, although she seemed to be a tad excited at the notion of a Cantina, Idly fiddling with her thumbs, smiling broadly. This time it was obvious to read, Rails was one who lacked social interaction, the notion she would get to talk to some people for sometime made her happy.

 

[The Captain]

Ah, finally, some displays of genuine sentience. The gentleman to his right made a respectable attempt at making himself seem imposing to his two new associates. Honestly, if Vol hadn't spent several years being more blatantly threatened by much more menacing beings, this might have worked. Still, some proof that he wasn't some escaped military combat droid was welcome. And as for the young woman standing to his left, he made his satisfaction with her shattered social-mask very apparent. This tiny crack, however long it lasted, allowed Vol to break down some of the mystery gunslinger's persona.

Anti-social, clearly, but not by choice, as she was far too excited about the concept of casual interaction with other sentients. She wanted to interact with others, but some force compelled her to suppress this desire, to hide it behind that impregnable, stone-faced façade of hers. Something happened to her, something unpleasant, personal in all likelihood, something that formed the nice, tight shell around the almost giddy-schoolgirl buried underneath. Checkmate.

Taking a moment to revel in his own social observation powers, Vol finally decided to reassert the thick layers of social protection he had formed over the years, and get down to business.

"First things first, I believe you mentioned some of the cargo surviving?"