Sehnsucht

[Allard Keever]

Theme​

Allard and Nolan were back at the capital building to speak to politicians of Ord Cantrell after a run in with terrorists - this time it was in the wake of their successful attack on the Crimson Dawn's main base of operations so Allard was a little bit happier at the prospect of speaking to the politicians now that it was done.

They were meeting with both parties today to announce their success in dealing with the terrorist base and that was that.

Hopefully it would just be 'another day at the office' type of mission - if nothing else then Nolan deserved to not have to worry about being dragged into something bigger than what he'd signed up for. Allard was already feeling pretty bad about dragging the kid into this whole mess in the first place if he was honest.

As they walked through the gardens towards the entrance, Allard grinned a little bit sheepishly at the other man,

"Look... thanks for all of this Nolan." he admitted, "You didn't have to assist me with any of this and you did. Even if you decide the FTG isn't for you? I'm your man if you ever need anything alright?"

Spoiler: OOC

Assumes the success of "Du Siechst So Gut" to keep the plot moving

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

The planet started to feel less foreign, especially after the previous encounter with the Crimson Dawn that had made Ord Cantrell seem a little like Nar Shaddaa: different looks, same dangers. And since Nolan had already met politicians here, and had actually done something worth commending, he wasn't even feeling out of place.

"Don't mention it, Allard," the young man shrugged with a faint smile. After all, his friend probably didn't know that Nolan had done his part mostly for the reasons other than the goodness of his heart. "And if something does come up, I know whom to call," Nolan tilted his head slightly with a smirk as he said that. Allard and himself had made quite a team during this whole Ord Cantrell mess.

Ultimately, if asked whether he would've made the same choices if given a chance, Nolan would say "Yes". After all, here he was, about to receive his share of gratitude and the rewards for the mission. At the very least, he was very close to it: the hard part had already been done.

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Allard could honestly say that he was really coming to appreciate Nolan as a person. The guy was a dedicated fellow, skilled in multiple areas and stuck with his allies through thick and thin. He'd assaulted a terrorist organisation's main base with him and, literally, charged into fire by his side.

That kind of thing made a bond in his opinion.

"I won't mention it again - but if you need to mention it again?" he smirked and nodded, "I've got your back through whatever it is. Can't be worse than the flaming building right?"

Leading the way into the capital building, Allard followed the directions he had been given and they soon arrived in the House of Representatives. It wasn't a large room but then again Ord Cantrell was a reasonably small world so it made sense. There were a grand total of what... twenty representatives here today and that was because they were all that was left.

The Crimson Dawn had struck rather hard at homes of political figures as well. Allard smiled as he stood before them all,

"Thank you for meeting with us today."

As he began to speak to the representatives however, Nolan would be able to see two janitors stepping into the hall pushing trolleys full of cleaning supplies but they seemed very interested in the representatives rather than cleaning.

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

Nolan shrugged with a chuckle: "I can think of much worse scenarios, but I hear you." He'd let Allard go make his speech, as he leaned against the wall by the side of the room and watched. He was hoping Allard wasn't one for long sleep-inducing speeches. After all, they were almost done with the business on that planet.

The arrival of the cleaners didn't go unnoticed by Nolan, but he didn't pay them much attention. The amount of cleaning supplies was the only thing that drew his attention. How much of that do you need to clean the dirt after all the local politicians? Nolan chuckled as he thought that; if the only politician from Ord Cantrell that Nolan had met so far was anything to go by, the cleaners sure brought just enough of their stuff.

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Allard had to admit that talking to politicians was not something he really tended to have much patience with normally and today was only a little bit of an exception. He was alright with doing it today because they were, rightfully so, signing the praises of himself and his allies and he appreciated that.

Not this much though - their was some serious arse kissing going on right now and it was beginning to get on his nerves if he was honest with himself.

The two cleaners shared a nod with each other before they moved to the sides of the room and removed the brakes from their cleaning trolleys, letting them start to accelerate down the slope towards Allard and the politicians. From inside the trolleys however they both withdrew something that was not a fit here...

Each of them was now armed with a PIPE launcher.

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"Watch out!" Nolan shouted out of instinct before he even realized what exactly people had to watch out for. He then did the first thing his instincts told him to: run up the slope towards one of the cleaners-turned-cleansers and push one of the trolleys to the side as he ran past it.

In hindsight, it could prove to be a good choice: a PIPE launcher doesn't really give you too many options for close-quarter combat, let alone retaliation against a rapidly-approaching pilot. Clearly the attackers intended to walk out of the room, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered with the heavy launchers and just moved the trolleys by themselves.

Nolan's goal was simple: close the distance with one of the attackers so that shooting a PIPE at Nolan meant shooting a PIPE at the cleaner. It was a gamble, sure, but in this messed-up situation what wasn't a gamble?

As the young man was running towards one of the target, he grabbed the blaster pistol out of the holster on his hip. With a quick glance, he shot in the direction of the other cleaner in the opposite corner of the room.

Again, it seemed like the only reasonable option: the guy Nolan was running to probably wouldn't risk firing a rocket at a target so close to himself. The other guy who'd be far away from the explosion of his rocket might not have such reservations.

Spoiler: Dice Roll

How successful Nolan's shot is

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Gods and Force be damned, what the hell was going on here?!

Between the two of the attackers, only one of them managed to fire with the PIPE on target. The one Nolan had hit fired instinctively but he was already falling to the ground dead from the shot to his upper chest so the shot went wildly off course, smashing through a window and out into the courtyard beyond rather than hitting the podium. This was good for Allard since he was the one at the podium.

Naturally, Allard threw himself away from the podium anyway, making sure to make some space between himself and the politicians, who he assumed were the real targets of this attack.

Unfortunately, the other terrorist held his nerve even as Nolan was approaching and fired his PIPE not at anyone in particular but at the trolley which was now a lot closer to the politicians.

The explosion was far greater than it should have been, complete with more fire than was standard for such ordinance and it was clear that the trolleys had been filled with incendiary explosives, which engulfed all by perhaps three of the politicians of Ord Cantrell. The terrorist threw the used-up weapon right at Nolan to try and cover his escape.

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

The explosion alone wouldn't be enough to throw Nolan off-balance: after all, he had almost approached the attacker by now, and hadn't shot only because he had to shoot the other guy. He was now at a reasonably safe distance from the inferno and the blast that preceded it, but the blast was still felt.

To top it off, the cleaner threw a 10-kilogram metallic pipe at the young man. That was the final straw that broke the camel's back (or in this case, threw Nolan off balance). Nolan had barely managed to point his blaster pistol in the direction of the cleaner when the used launcher hit his chest and knocked him over onto the floor.

When the young man was hit, he pulled the trigger instinctively. Of course, the aim had been knocked off by the impact, but a shot would be fired before Nolan would be knocked over. On the ground, he'd keep hold of his blaster and aim it, preparing to fire again, especially if the attacker hadn't been hit by the shot and were to try and finish Nolan off.

Spoiler: Dice roll

Nolan's attempt to stop the fleeing enemy

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

The explosion was rather intense it had to be said and it meant that there was, almost, a field of fire and burning chairs between Allard and Nolan. It wasn't great but that was fine... this was fine!

"Oh god... oh god they're dead!"

Alright so maybe fine was a stretch.

Most of the politicians were dead - he could try and sugarcoat it but that was, in the end, all that there was to it. There was the man who had spoken and a man who looked to be losing consciousness to Allard. The others were dead and gone already. Pulling himself to his feet, Allard grunted as his ribs protested before he was able to pick the injured politician up onto his shoulders,

"Come on... we're leaving via the window... come on now!"

As Allard was trying to help the injured politician up, the attacker tried to escape. His attempt to distract Nolan with the spent PIPE had worked and he was feeling pretty good at his chances... right up until he caught a blaster bolt to his kidney, which span him around and slammed him into a wall.

Groaning in pain, the assailant drew his pistol from inside his jacket and would try to shoot twice at Nolan's chest if he could.

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

Nolan knew that dropping a gun when knocked over was never a good idea. It's better to lie on the ground with a gun aimed at your opponent than to stand tall facing a barrel. That's why he held on to the blaster pistol, even at the cost of being hit by the empty PIPE tube to the chest and falling on the floor.

For the same reason, he didn't try to push the heavy launcher off himself; not while the opponent was still alive. Luckily, Nolan's previous shot hit, otherwise the fake cleaner would've had a far easier time shooting at the fallen pilot. Instead, Nolan's shot bought him a few valuable moments that he used to aim the pistol at the opponent's chest, despite his rather uncomfortable position.

It was still a close call: Nolan puled the trigger moments before the terrorist could aim at him. Hopefully, it'd be enough, and Nolan would finally be able to push the rocket launcher aside, get up and rush out of the room before it'd be engulfed in flames. From the looks of it, Allard had it covered anyway, and there weren't many options for Nolan, given that they were separated by a wall of fire.

Spoiler: Dice Roll

Can Nolan shoot first?

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Allard was not having a good day.

The explosion had been mixed with incendiary devices and fire was a volatile element that they had little hope of convincing to stay put while they attempted their escape. They being Allard and the two injured politicians. And, indeed, they were both injured. The man on his back more obviously than the man who was still able to speak but it was still there and it was still an issue.

Allard grunted as fire spread between himself at the window, almost as though it was barring their access.

Great.

Pushing through, Allard roared his defiance against the odds as he charged through the flames along the floor at a sprint. He had heard once that you could go through fire at speed and be alright - that it was only when you slowed down that you caught fire. Well... they were kind of right? He had managed to make it through the fire but he found his leg was on fire and his shoes had almost melted, causing him to have to immediately pat the fire out.

Still better than the other man, who was screaming as the flames caught on his upper and lower body. He was the other side of the flames too, meaning he was beyond Allard's reach.

He swallowed thickly and helped the other man out of the window instead.

The terrorist screamed in pain as Nolan's blaster bolt caught him in the upper chest, causing his own aim to be off and the blaster bolt to smack harmlessly against a nearby chair. Unfortunately for the terrorist, the two bolts to the torso were enough and he slumped slightly, dead from his injuries, leaving Nolan with a clear exit and growing flames at his back. The rest of the building had fire alarms blaring so it was just this room that had been effected so far.

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

If Allard encounters further difficulty getting the injured politicians to the window
How severe these problems are and If Allard can get past them while keeping the injured politicians alive

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

The way out proved to be as simple as the way in, just at a more hurried pace and with more ruckus. The fire alarms were blaring, people were leaving their offices and evacuating, and it was easy even for Nolan to blend into the crowd. Surely, it would've been a breeze for someone wearing a cleaner's uniform. Guess we're lucky that it's not happening, right?

Nolan made his way downstairs and left the building with the rest of the staff; on his way out he could see some security guards and firefighters rushing towards the room he had come from; probably a first-response team.

Luckily, the emergency services were just arriving, so they haven't set up a perimeter around the building just yet, nor have they started checking all those people who were exiting. Nolan didn't want to explain himself to the authorities just yet; not until he met up with Allard. After all, the young pilot would probably be the first suspect in all this: he had a blaster and had been in the room when the attack hit.

After examination, Nolan found a bench far enough from the building and occupied it, waiting for... What exactly? Whatever happens next. Nolan didn't have business of his own on Ord Cantrell after all, but with Allard presumably still in the building, Nolan didn't want to leave either just yet.

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Allard made it out the window fine with the one remaining politician and quickly made his way back around to the front of the building, to both link back up with Nolan and with the emergency services. He wasn't sure what was wrong with this guy exactly but he did know that he was injured and that was something that needed to be seen to because Allard himself lacked the skills to identify the issue, let alone fix it.

He was a space captain, not a doctor!

Upon reaching the front of the building, Allard was almost swamped with EMTs who rushed to help take the politician off their backs. With the politician off of him, Allard searched around for his ally quickly, finding him out the front. He groaned a little bit as he hurried on over,

"Nolan!" he called out to his friend, "You alright Nolan?"

The rest could wait until that was confirmed.

@Catbert

 

[Nolan Kodd]

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. You?" the young man asked, still sitting on the bench. His facial expression didn't say anything; probably the suddenness of the attack had left him devoid of emotions yet again. For the time being, he was just thinking how he, an ordinary Nar Shaddaa smuggler, had gotten into the lethal squabbles of a resort planet in the Mid Rim.

"So much for paying the local security forces a visit," after hearing Allard's reply, Nolan would shrug, referring to Allard's original plan, that had been much much simpler than it turned out to be. "Do your jobs always end up like that?" That was a legitimate concern: after all, if Nolan were to join the FTG work with them again, he'd need to know what he'd be signing up for.

Either way, that (and the reward for the mission that Nolan had already gotten himself into) would probably be a topic for another time. For now, the young man was just going with the stream; that was the case pretty much since the moment he had arrived on this seemingly peaceful yet surprisingly violent world.

@Nefieslab

 

[Allard Keever]

Well thank the Force - it seemed that Nolan was alright.

He hadn't been worried because he thought the younger man couldn't take care of himself. It was more than he was worried because of the situation they found themselves in. Explosions didn't care how skilled you are, they were the Galaxy's big equaliser! Even Force Users were rather limited in terms of response when it came to large explosions.

"I'm alright but..." he sighed a little bit, playing nervously with his beard before admitting, "Only one of the politicians survived... which is either a really good thing... or a really bad thing... I'm not sure."

He laughed a little shakily,

"Yeah... I guess those Crimson guys were dedicated even after the others were dead." he admitted with a sigh before shaking his head, "No. Normally missions aren't this chaotic at all. Normally it's more smash, grab and leave if you excuse the expression."

Shaking his head, he nodded to Nolan,

"I'm gonna... stay and clean this mess up. You can head off." he paused before offering his hand to shake, "Thank you again Nolan. Once again - above and beyond."

He would bid Nolan goodbye for now and head back to discuss the situation with some of the local officials.

/End Thread
@Catbert