Open Sorry You're Not A Winner

[Rylee Asuchi]

Having asked what she thought was a fairly innocuous question, Rylee was surprised when Cass revealed she was a Mandalorian. She'd heard of the Mandalorian's before, a civilisation bound by a common culture, creed and code and famed for their martial prowess. Clearly Cass, or Anvil as she was otherwise known, was not somebody that should be taken lightly or messed with.

"So you're a Mandalorian?" she asked with apparent intrigue in her voice, "I've never met a Mandalorian before. Heard stories but didn't think I'd ever meet one."

"That's a shocker" said Jag, jumping in to the conversation, "Those guys must want their heads tested if they picked a fight with you!"

Rylee noticed as Cass continued talking that her speech seemed to be somewhat slurred, or at least, she kept trailing off at odd moments. Eyebrows raised she decided to query it.

"Cass, are you okay? Were you injured back there?" she said with a concerned tone to her voice, "We shouldn't be far from the station now so we can try and get you medical help if you need it."

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

"So you're a Mandalorian?"

So… That Pantoran voice crawled in Cass’ skull like an ant, or maybe it slithered like a snake; an echo that faded and faded away until it was not Pantoran and it was not a woman. You’re a Mandalorian?

"We shouldn't be far from the station now so we can try and get you medical help if you need it."

“N-No, I’m…” She coughed, this time over the com. “...I’m...” So… The voice returned, creeping in from out of nowhere as her eyes lingered on the window. You’re... “I’m…” Her gaze drifted away from the stars to crawl around the cockpit, this way and that way, trying to blink away the blur. I’m… The hum of her ship’s heart grew louder, not like a hammer on an anvil but as though she had headphones jacked into the engine and its sweet moan had reached right through her. You’re… She bit her lip, a surge of fury shooting through her then, kept back only by squeezing her skull with both hands.

“...I’m…” So… Maybe there were other voices too, maybe one or both of the Pantorans that she heard trying to keep her calm and assess the situation. Maybe there were never any voices to begin with and all of this was just in her head. Maybe, just maybe, her ship had already been blown up, the life taken from her body like Sun’s still laying beside her. Maybe, just maybe, what was sitting in this cockpit was just the ghost of Praxor past. I’m… Her eyelids closed to blink but for some reason they would not open again.

---------------------

“So, you’re a Mandalorian?” The armored figure spoke beneath his helm, stepping into the cockpit.

“Don’t answer this scum, Anvil!” Sun spoke. “He’ll pull the trigger before you get a word off just to laugh about it.” The Togruta was sitting upright in her chair once more. There wasn’t a wound to be found anywhere on her vibrant features.

“I know this scum.” Cass replied from her chair. “I know that armor.”

“And I know that you are pathetic,” the other Mandalorian spoke, training his pistol on her. “I know that you don’t deserve to wear that armor.” With that, he shifted his hand and pulled the trigger. Cass watched Sun collapse just as something clinked upon the floor, she saw gas, then something hit her over the head and her whole world went black.

---------------------

This last time her eyes closed, she woke to see the face of neither a Mandalorian helmet nor of a dead Togruta. She saw a Pantoran’s.



@Bex @Rylee Asuchi

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Some time passed. In that period, Rylee and Jag had received permission from the port master for an emergency landing in one of the space station's larger hangers due to the size and number of craft. This went off without a hitch as the two of them had great piloting experience. Upon landing the pair of them rushed to the Winged Pike, concerned as they'd both actively heard Cass pass out in the middle of talking. On entering the ship, they were met with a surprise. It turned out that Cass, although not having technically lied about being the only person on the freighter, was not in fact alone - at least at one point of her original journey.

Slumped in a seat next to Cass was the body of a female Togruta. There was a blaster hole through her head. Jag had instinctively gone for his pistol but Rylee put an arm up and asked him to stand down. They could not jump to conclusions, not based on everything Cass had told them. There were too many factors to consider; first and foremost being the pirates. It seemed likely that they were the ones responsible for this, taking into account Cass' current condition. For all they knew this Togruta could have been one of the pirates - unlikely, due to where she was positioned, but possible.

What did not make sense though, was why Cass had failed to mention that she had a body aboard the ship. It was also unclear what exactly had caused her to go unconscious. Rylee leaned over to look her in the face but before she could touch her, the Mandalorian's eyes opened.

"Uh... hey, Cass..." Rylee said a little awkwardly, not expecting her to have come around so quickly, "We've arrived but you passed out on approach. Found you here next to... next to whoever this poor soul was..."

Behind Rylee, Jag was walking around the other side of the Togruta's seat, examining the scene as the woman's body lay there, almost peacefully in death.

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

Those eyes were tugging again, teasing their owner with whether to fully open or close and maybe stay closed forever. There was a voice just then that open the ears where the eyes were struggling, and it was without a doubt a female voice; a woman’s voice. A Pantoran’s voice. Cass looked straight ahead, seeing that blue face before her at an elevated angle. Hearts..? She realized that she was still in her seat. How…

“...Long..?” Her word was feeble as it passed between her lips, like a whisper that yearned to be heard but was like a fledgling bird. The face in front of her, so far yet so close, or was that a blur between her own pupils? She looked away, spotted another Pantoran. This one looked busy, looking at a body with some interest. A body… Her eyes were untested oculars just then, wide to the fullest expanse like sunlight around a ship that dared too close, and suddenly Cass could hear her heart in her ears. Sun…

“...Sun…” A second passed before she realized she had spoken the word aloud. She cleared her throat, but that only made her heave and lurch forward as she promptly began coughing like someone who had just swallowed a pint of beer down the wrong hole. When all was done, with or without someone’s assistance, she fell flat against the back of her chair, relaxing her hands on her thighs as though their wrists might be shackled at any moment.

“She…” The Mandalorian sighed deeply, the oxygen steadying every millimeter of her being as she came to terms with what had happened and what might yet happen. “...The Togruta was...m-” Another cough. She checked her gloved hand—there was no blood on it, at least. “...Murdered…”


@Bex @Rylee Asuchi

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee watched as Cass started to come around. Her speech was still somewhat incoherent, as if she were finishing sentences out loud that she'd started only in her mind. The Pantoran took the first to mean "How long have I been out?" to which she answered, "Not all that long in the grand scheme of things. You passed out as we were approaching the station, we set the ship down and literally only just arrived inside."

The Mandalorian continued her mumbling. She kept saying the word "Sun" and it didn't make a huge amount of sense. The next few words were a bit more coherent however, and didn't need any deciphering. According to Cass, the Togruta that Jag was inspecting had been murdered. Trouble was, she hadn't explained who by.

"Yeah... we can see that, Cass, is this your handywork or the pirates?" she asked. Rylee did not intend to be rude asking this question, but as Cass was a bounty hunter she felt she had to. Things weren't always clear cut and if Cass had a falling out with a partner, that fell far outside the remit of any bounty she'd been trying to hand in.

The Pantoran leaned in and tried to get Cass to sit up some more. She also attempted some basic first aid, checking her pulse and temperature with her hands.

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

Cass blinked a few times, trying to break the blur, and it seemed to help for a moment before she decided that keeping her eyes closed was better. That was before the female Pantoran—Hearts, no doubt—put her hands on her and Cass tensed up. She didn’t resist, against her better impulses, but she did keep her eyes open thereafter. She looked down—her wrists had no cuffs on them, yet—then back at the male Pantoran—Jag, surely.

“W-What..?” Hearts was feeling for a pulse and checking temperature when her patient had applied the question, a quarter dazed if not half. She stole another look at the Togruta. Oh… Of...of course. “I didn’t kill her…” Cass assured, shaking her head with so little energy as her would-be medic would discover a slow pulse and average temperature, though she had a pounding headache that her wandering mind had just made her aware of. It had caused no fever, the air around her feeling quite cool, but her heart was a leisurely drum in hiatus. She felt dizzy, weak, and wanted to do nothing more or less than sit down and stay in her chair.

“It was…” Cass took a long, steady breath, licking lips as though water had not touched them for hours and hours. “...It was...him… That man… The man…” She coughed again, hopefully not toward her rescuer, while phlegm shifted in her throat but did not spew forth. That’s good...at least. “...Man… Da...” His name… His name… What’s his kriffing name!? “...Man...dalorian…”


@Bex @Rylee Asuchi

 

[Corran Velt]

Routine, routine; why couldn't anything be routine anymore? It had been a long time since Ranger Corran Velt had been able to actually patrol his assigned patrol routes in the Outer Rim. Between Sith terrorism on Coruscant, recovering from injuries, and striving to find Trys Aran, it had been almost nigh impossible to get out here. But this is where Sector Rangers were supposed to be. The Frontier. Where the stability, resources, and wealth of the Core Worlds couldn't be relied on. They had their own police and security. Out there, they had themselves. Or Sector Rangers. This station was the furthest out the lieutenant's patrol went. You could practically see the dark void between galaxies and spit off the edge of this one. Being the last stop of anywhere, he'd taken the opportunity to take on supplies and refuel before heading back Coreward. That is, until a worried Port Master pleaded for the ranger to investigate a disturbance.

Supposedly a pair of X-wings had towed an adrift craft into a large dock they had here. The Port Master found that odd in these parts. Corran was inclined to agree. Two X-wings was a lot of firepower for rock-humpers in the Rim and towing in a ship? Sounded like trouble. That's how he found himself standing in a large hangar eyeing three large snub fighters and no pilots in sight. The blond ranger sighed to himself. Better start knocking. The lieutenant was adorned in his usual attire and equipment - enough to handle this minor investigation. Maybe even a tad overkill. Two blasters hung on each hip with handle of a vibrosword jutting out over his left shoulder from a scabbard on the back. His attire was immaculate; more akin to a recruit fresh out of the academy than a weathered frontier lawman. A jacket secured up the collar, finely pressed pants that tucked into practical boots, and not a speck of grime anywhere. The only thing that seemed to disturb the visage of a clean-shaven officer was a scar that ran across the nose diagonally and up to the right eyebrow. For the time being, Corran didn't draw a firearm but kept the holster unlatched for rapid use.

Intentional step by intentional step, the two X-wings were examined first. They had towed in the third. No pilots. That meant they wouldn't be pointing those wing-mounted cannons at him, at least. With those two options crossed out, that left only the modernized Y-wing or they had all scrammed to the station interior. Not many places for a foot chase to capture suspects, but maybe a few places to hide. The hatch to the Y-wing was opened similar to the cockpit of the other fighters. It was a larger ship than the two that hauled it in, that was certain. Instead of sneaking aboard the vessel and potentially startling anyone inside, possibly with a lethal outcome, Corran decided to try something slightly less risky.

"Sector Rangers!" the lieutenant called out, "Is anyone there? I'm here on behalf of the Port Master!" His voice echoed from the durasteel walls. In case blaster fire replied, Corran stood close to the nose of a nearby X-wing craft. The landing struts would provide enough cover for any immediate exchange. For now, he would wait for any response.

@Bex @Die Shize

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee was able to work out that Cass' temperature seemed to be fine but her heart rate was slow. That would explain why she passed out. Whether it had anything to do with the pirates she had no clue.

"Go and find a medical droid and bring water" she instructed, looking back at Jag who ceased his examination of the body and started towards the exit.

As Cass began to come around, her sentences started to make more sense, though what Rylee was hearing was deeply puzzling. The bounty hunter was explaining that it hadn't been her that killed the Togruta but a male Mandalorian.

"Another Mandalorian?" Rylee said, her eyebrows raised. The Pantoran's mind was starting to race. This was the second thing Cass had neglected to mention during their initial interaction. She was definitely hiding something but Rylee could not tell what it was. First, there was a dead Togruta which Cass claimed she didn't kill and now there was a second Mandalorian involved. If the second was responsible for the killing, why did he do it? Mandalorians were rare and those that were true Mandalorian were defined as such by a common culture. Based on the information she had, it made no sense how a second Mandalorian could be involved unless Cass was lying about something.

"Cass, you told us this bounty of yours was a Trandoshan pirate. You said his crew were a Trandoshan, a Clawdite and a Gran - no Mandalorians..." she said, growing concerned, "If you knew there was a Mandalorian involved then you know it wasn't Park's crew who boarded this ship. You know something you're not telling us..."

At that moment Jag called back from the entrance to the ship. "Hearts! There's a Sector Ranger out here!"

Standing upright the Pantoran ran her hand through her long pink hair. This was not ideal, given that she'd hoped to track down these pirates and dealt with them her way, but not a total bust. At least a Sector Ranger being involved would result in some form of justice, if not her own personal form of vigilante justice. Rylee asked Jag to get back inside and watch over Cass whilst she regained consciousness, an order which he promptly complied with. The two comrades passed each other as they swapped places, giving the other a confused look.

Rylee stepped out into the hangar and was met by a tall, evidently well-kept man, who clearly meant business. His appearance was smart save for the scar that ran across his face which gave him a sense of ruggedness.

"A little overly precautious today I see" said Rylee, commenting on the Ranger's blasters and vibrosword that were clearly visible. She placed her hands on her hips as she looked up at him. "Rylee Asuchi - I'm a squadron leader for the Pantoran military."

She held out her hand as a gesture of greeting. There was no need for hostility and she knew that if she didn't cooperate with the Rangers, within reason, that she would have to answer to her commanders back home.

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor @TerranSteel @Corran Velt

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

Cass… That name echoed in her noggin like a hammer on an anvil. Cass… The Pantoran called; Hearts as she was called. She was an okay chick, that Hearts; the comm communication had been easy, straightforward, laidback; no questions asked except for the obvious. It was a curious thing how you could get to know someone in the span of minutes over just a commlink, only to find out that you really knew nothing about that person after all when it came face to face. Hearts, if no one else, was discovering this truth right about now.

Cass… Had he called her Cass? Cass could not remember, but clearly the Pantoran pilot knew her name. ‘Cause you gave it to her, Cass. You slipped. You’re slipping. She was slipping, almost sleeping, her daze a delayed delirium if she knew any better, but she was conscious enough to overhear her rescuer call for the medic and the water. I...I could use both… Strong, Cass was, forged in iron, hammer on anvil, never quitting and never giving; but she was still flesh and bone and every disadvantage that came with both. He...he knew...

"Cass, you told us this bounty of yours was a Trandoshan pirate. You said his crew were a Trandoshan, a Clawdite and a Gran - no Mandalorians..." she said, growing concerned, "If you knew there was a Mandalorian involved then you know it wasn't Park's crew who boarded this ship. You know something you're not telling us..."

Hearts spoke again as Cass leaned back, resting her head against the seat, listening to the Pantoran’s voice up close and personal and comparing it with that which she had heard over comm only moments ago. If nothing else, this was a Pantoran fighter with a memory behind her shield, the way she recalled those names that her Mandalorian counterpart had since revealed. True to the salute and astute to boot.

Cass, though, was saved by the buzz from explaining herself as the other Pantoran, Jag, butted into the conversation. It was all so overwhelmingly difficult to glimpse his form, her eyes begging to stay closed and stay closed, but she perceived the man near her very own airlock. Words were exchanged and Jag came Cass’ way, the uncertainty a certain thing that for some reason fluttered her eyelids and kept her pupils poised.

"Sector Rangers!"

The humble bounty hunter heard from her chair, though her gaze crawled with Jag’s approach the entire time. Cass had a pretty good understanding of what was happening, and those hands on her thighs squeezed just subtly enough to tell herself that soon her wrists would find stuncuffs after all.

“Tell me…” she spoke weakly, casting a look toward Jag. She was tired, yes, with a headache like a slow drum, but now she had no desire to sleep as much as she had no desire to die. “...How much do you trust your partner?”



@Bex @TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Surprises just kept coming. The blond ranger didn't really have expectations for what would reveal itself from the large Y-wing (besides red blaster fire) but a striking Pantoran woman wouldn't have been on the top of that list. When her boots hit the hangar floor, leaving herself completely exposed, Corran felt a bit more at ease. Maybe cover wouldn't be needed after wall. As she approached, he took the opportunity to reveal himself completely from behind the nose of the parked X-wing and meet halfway. As he approached, he took an opportunity to examine her features. Pantoran for sure. The blue hue and golden markings were a dead giveaway. Long purple hair that flowed like a forest river. The eyes, though... they seemed familiar. Golden and powerful, much like Ilana's. Interesting.

She got off the first word. Something of a quip. "I like to be prepared since a couple mistakes left their mark recently," the Ranger Lieutenant replied, gesturing to his face with two fingers. A single blaster and a stun baton weren't enough to take down a blood-thirsty Sith terrorist. Though the sword was more of a trophy or good luck charm than anything practical. He needed more time training in melee combat. It felt so... archaic compared to blasters but it undoubtedly would be useful against Force-users. A blue hand reached out in greeting and the Pantoran pilot introduced themselves. Blond eyebrows rose in surprise before receding back to normal after a few blinks. Military? That wasn't something you'd run into every day, much less in these parts.

"Oh, sorry," the human ranger apologized after overcoming surprise, "I'm Lieutenant Corran Velt. Sector Rangers." They shared a brief and professional hand-shake. Now began the investigation. "I got called on to check out the situation here. Local administrators found it tad too excitable for their taste." He gestured with an open hand to the fleet of fighter craft in the hangar bay. Sky-blue eyes shifted back to the striking Pantoran woman. "It's a bit odd to have Pantoran military assets this far out in the Rim. Wouldn't you agree..." Corran visibly glanced about her uniform for a rank or title. Not finding one but eager to end the awkwardness he resorted to the given moniker, "uh... Rylee?"

@Bex @Die Shize

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Back in the cockpit Jag found himself alone with the Mandalorian. He kept his eyes on her in her weakened state, uneasy about how the situation was turning out. Cass continued to try and talk, asking what he felt was a very strange question.

"I trust Hearts with my life" he shot back in reply, "Life in the Outer Rim is hard. People suffer and die needlessly out here. We soldiers work hard to bring some kind of order to these parts. To keep our homes and our families safe. I don't know anyone who has more determination to do good in this galaxy quite like her. People might not agree with her methods at times, but she has heart, and to survive out here... to really turn the tide against the suffering, you've gotta do what you can and that woman has been doing far more for the people of Pantora than anybody."

---

Rylee took Corran's hand and shook it firmly. He was quite a bit taller than she was and there was something about the way he conducted himself that she liked straight away. This man was not a regular jobsworth - he couldn't be with that scar across his face. He was clearly a man of action and that was something that would always endear you to a military veteran like Rylee.

The Ranger explained his arrival in the hangar. There was some sense to it she supposed. The Port Master had given them permission for an emergency landing and she'd told him they were Pantoran military, but perhaps he was the nervous type and felt the need for some extra security.

"I could say the same about you Lieutenant" responded Rylee, "Not many Sector Rangers out in these parts. The Pantoran Assembly likes to know what goes on in the sector, so military personnel such as myself and the squadron get scheduled patrols outside of tours of duty. We keep them up to date, keep our flying skills sharp and help you rangers out at the same time. You're welcome, by the way..."

She could see that Corran was looking for rank insignia on her flight suit, but she smirked at him, waved a finger and gestured him to walk with her onto the ship.

"We found this ship in a sorry state after it exited the nearby hyperspace lane. Pilot claimed she's a Mandalorian bounty hunter and the only one onboard. The engines failed after an alleged attack by pirates and her bounty, a Trandoshan named "Psycho" Park Salal, escaped. You heard of him?" she asked. Rylee had to be clever. Although she still very much intended to track down these pirates and had no intention of having Cass arrested - at least not yet - there was now an order of priority at play. Keeping Pantoran military relations with the Sector Rangers came in at number one, far outranking any deals she had made with a bounty hunter she'd only just met and had no fixed opinion of. Let alone one that had clearly been intentionally misleading her despite the Pantoran's offers of help to tow the ship in and to track down her missing bounty - if he even existed, which at this point Rylee was starting to have doubts about.

As they walked aboard Rylee continued, "On approach to the station the pilot passed out, so when we got here we boarded and found her in the cockpit. Her temperature is fine but slow heart rate. We were calling for a medical droid when you arrived..." Before taking Corran through to the cockpit she stopped him, holding her hand up and looking directly at him with her golden eyes and whispered in a hushed voice, "We weren't told the truth about what happened here. She failed to tell us anything about who boarded this ship when we picked her up, now she tells us that another Mandalorian was here - a male -and that he shot and killed a Togruta - female - sitting next to her in the cockpit... I've been trying to figure out what this all means but, really I could use some professional help - I'm a soldier, not a detective."

A small sigh escaped her lips when she finished talking. She was used to the stress of situations far worse than this one, but she could not help but feel that she was being manipulated. Rylee didn't like that one bit. She was willing to give Cass the benefit of the doubt, despite being a bounty hunter, but this new information and the secrecy was not helping the situation.

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor @TerranSteel @Corran Velt

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC [Recurring]

Spoiler

Cass listened intently as Jag answered her question, though his response had not exactly been unforeseen. She had already gauged the two Pantorans’ connection over comm; the kind of relationship that was forged in the stars as much as her armor had been forged in sparks. Any warrior who said that they trusted another with their life meant that they trusted them with their life. She could see it in his eyes as he spoke.

“Order…” Cass repeated the word, in part to just hear herself speak and remember that she was awake and it was time to stay that way. She had lost consciousness twice already, apparently between a blow to a head and the gas that followed, but she was determined not to allow for a third time. “I understand. You’re a soldier, like your partner. I’m a bounty hunter. We’re not so different, though. Our work might be but I still set out to bring some kind of order where I can.”

She let those words be absorbed or float nowhere, however Jag might take them. Her focus had already shifted to the Togruta laying beside her. “She was my partner. For a little while, at least…”

There Cass sat in her armor; red-gold beskar from shoulders to toe. It might have been head to toe but her helmet was off. Though her second head was more than breathable, she appreciated the naked air and the coolness that permeated the cockpit to crawl along her skin. Her counterpart, though, contrasted her color scheme with a blue outfit of cloak and pants. The Togruta’s orange-white face was still, eyes closed beneath that hole in her head, while her montrals and head-tails were blue-white.

“Sun…” Cass sighed, just then remembering that she shared the room with a still living Pantoran. “...She didn’t need to die but die she did. He killed her on business but it was no less personal. Put that bolt in her head to spite me.” She sucked the cool air between her teeth, searching for Jag’s gaze. “I know I’ve got some explaining to do, soldier, and the sooner it’s done the sooner I can hunt my bounty and avenge Sun’s death. Pantoran Military, Sector Rangers…” She shook her head. “Only handcuffs and a jail cell will keep me from claiming what’s mine.” No, not really, but I’ll let you think that if you must.


@Bex @TerranSteel

 

[Gett'se Vizsla]

Gett'se had been on the trail of a particularly difficult to track down bounty, one "Psycho" Park Salal. A Trandoshan pirate who had a nasty habit of slaughtering the crews of ships he raided. The bounty fob that had been tracking the pirate had ceased to ping some time ago so he had moved on to other bounties that were more acquirable. That had changed when the fob began to once more broadcast, which meant the bounty was back on the table.

The tracking fob had led him to a small space station in the far Outer Rim. He had hailed the station master requesting permission to board and been granted approval. Bringing his Y-wing in to dock, he had been surprised to see another ship of the same design parked in the hangar, though it appeared to be in rather poor shape. Parked besides it was a pair of X-wings, not a common sight this far out in the rim.

Bringing his ship down to land, he pulled the beeping fob from his belt.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The steady tone emitted from the device, speeding up ever so slightly as he pointed it at the damaged Y-wing. It seemed that his quarry was well within reach.

Disembarking from his Y-wing, keeping the large patrol vessel between himself and the location of the target, he drew his blaster and set it to stun. The bounty was dead or alive, as they usually were with hardened psychopaths like the psycho, but generally alive paid better.

@Die Shize @Bex @TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

An interesting story, to say the least. Pantoran military flights all the way to the rim of the known galaxy, pairs of pilots or squadrons taking on criminals or slavers, and apparently rescue people. The 'helping the Sector Rangers' part induced some skepticism. Corran wasn't well-versed in politics but he knew the organization he volunteered for wasn't always respected or popular. More likely the Pantoran government was flexing some military might for influence or economic reasons. But that was just a guess and if they were incidentally aiding the Rangers, he couldn't complain.

With a wag of the finger and clever smirk, the Pantoran pilot caused pink to cloud faintly on the experienced ranger's cheeks. She was a sassy one. Likeable though. Mercifully that temporary embarrassment didn't linger as Rylee turned to guide him towards the damaged Y-wing. As she did so, the young lieutenant glimpsed her insignia on her shoulder. Squadron Leader. If they were part of the same organization, Corran would have crisply saluted the woman that was several leagues above him in rank. With how things shook out now, they were rough equivalent responsibility. Maybe. Things got grey out on the Rim.

And they continued to get more grey. Squadron Leader Asuchi filled in the blond ranger about what exactly brought them here in the first place. Stumbled across the damaged craft. Mandalorian bounty hunter on board. Got their ship roughed up by a pirate named Park Salal. At her asking, Corran shook his head. "No, I can't say that I have heard of him." Perhaps this Trandoshan was more of a local terror. Hard to keep up with the revolving door of famous pirates in less civilized space. So then the Pantoran pilots deigned to tow the Y-wing and its Mandalorian bounty hunter here. By the sound of it, that very same Mandalorian wasn't doing too great.

A blue hand raised abruptly. The blond youth almost rant directly into it but stopped a hair-breath short. Those golden eyes commanded his silence and so Corran obeyed. In hushed tones, the plot thickened like freezing carbonite. The bounty hunter had not been entirely forthright and there was a corpse aboard. Something about a second Mandalorian committing the murder? Those types were not too common in general, much less together. Who was the real threat in all this? The Pantoran pilots, the 'Pyscho' pirate, or the Mandalorian killers? Someone was feeding someone a load of bantha fodder. The Sector Ranger just wasn't entirely sure who.

Corran glanced to the side, then down to his boots, then finally rose to eyes to nod in agreement to Rylee. "I'll help you untangle this thread, Squadron Leader Asuchi, but we'll need to trust one another." Between all the possible outcomes, letting the Pantoran government get a win wasn't the worst. "I'll need to review the crime scene," he said and gestured to the cockpit.

An already complex situation got that much more messy as yet another fighter craft pulled into the hangar bay. A Y-wing much like the one they stood in. The way it parked, the lieutenant couldn't see who piloted or exited the new arrival. Corran cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the Pantoran woman beside him. "Friends of yours, I hope?" If not, then there might be two crime scenes coming up quickly.

@Bex @Die Shize @Arclight

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

The Ranger's lack of knowledge regarding Park dealt another blow to her confidence in whether the pirate was real, or just being used as a distraction by the owner of the Winged Pike. He did have some reassuring words however and all it would take for him to help get to the bottom of this mystery was trust.

"Anybody who truly believes in justice and protecting innocent people has my trust, Lieutenant, I hope I can rely on you" she told him. It was then that their hushed conversation was interrupted by the arrival of another ship in the hangar. Rylee grit her teeth, but did not answer Corran's question straight away. She grabbed his arm, perhaps a little roughly, and pulled him into the cockpit where they would have better visibility.

Jag and Cass clearly were in the middle of an exchange, but for now Rylee paid no attention to it, striding over to the console and peering out of the window. Another Y-Wing had landed in the hangar. This was a problem. Rylee and Jag formed part of a flight group with two other pilots in the squadron - Tycho "Typhoon" Kale and Rana "Bambi" Zetsi. They too were out on patrol that day but like Rylee and Jag, they flew X-Wings. Though her squadron included a Y-Wing flight group, they were back on Pantora and had not been scheduled for patrol duty that day.

"That ship isn't one of ours. We have an unwanted guest" she growled, frowning whilst she did so, "Jag lock the door to the cockpit and draw your weapon, quickly!"

The male Pantoran looked at Cass, said nothing further and did as he was instructed. As he approached the door he gave Corran a glance too and brushed his shoulder as he walked past. Any pretense of light-heartedness was now gone from the room. The two Pantoran's meant business. Jag locked the cockpit door and unclipped his blaster pistol from his flight suit, training it on the door.

Picking up her commlink, Rylee contacted her astromech who was still sitting in place in her X-Wing. "Sunny, be prepared to contact Bambi and Typhoon. A situation is developing here. We should be fine for now, we've got a... heavily armed Sector Ranger here, but if things turn south, they'll need to know..."

Eyes trained on the door, Jag spoke. "Cass, tell Hearts and the Ranger what you told me. If we're gonna trust anything you say you'll have to cooperate. No more secrets."

@Die Shize @Casany Praxor @TerranSteel @Corran Velt @Arclight @Gett'se Vizsla

 

[Gett'se Vizsla]

Gett'se peered past the hull of his own Y-wing cautiously. The X-wings were unmanned currently, though he did not fail to spot the droids sitting in their sockets. Droids could pilot the things almost as well as a person and he made sure to keep himself out of the fighter's line of fire just in case. Switching to thermal imaging briefly, he could see the Y-wing was cold and the X-wings were hot. He could also make out a few heat blobs in the Y-wings cockpit. Somebody was home.

Reverting his HUD back to normal vision, he once more held the fob in the direction of the Y-wing.

Beep.Beep.Beep.

It beeped faster. Definitely the source of the acquisition's tracking signal. He took a deep breath.

Sprinting across the bay, he rolled under damaged Y-wing, crossing under it in a crouch to the backside that had the patrol vessels back door so to speak. He was familiar with such a vessel, seeing as he piloted one of his own and he knew he could access the recon vessel from there.

Jamming his security spike into the door's port, the device spun and whirred before giving a satisfactory click. The hatch to the small storage/crew bay opened with a hiss and Gett'se peeked inside. Empty. The acquisition, Park Salal must have been one of the heat blobs in the cockpit.

Entering, he took cover behind what meager supports there were in the bay, eyeing the closed cockpit door. He held the fob towards the door.

Beep.Beep.Beep.

He was close. Blaster at the ready he approached the door.

BeepBeepBeep.

The fob in his left hand beeped rapidly as he passed midway through the cargo bay, indicating he was right on top of the acquisition. Odd.

Glancing around, he noticed a spot of blood in the corner. Keeping his eye on the door, he crouched down to examine it. The fob beeped insistently as he did so.

In the spot of blood lay a small chip, a chunk of meat attached to it.

"Osik." He muttered to himself. The acquisition had cut managed to locate the tracking chip and ditch it. The fob was basically just a hunk of beeping machinery now for all its usefulness. He glanced again towards the cockpit door. If it wasn't the acquisition, then who was behind the door.

And why was the tracking chip aboard their ship.

@TerranSteel @Die Shize @Bex

 

[Casany Praxor]

Music OOC

Spoiler

There was a moment when Casany Praxor had been out of the zone, dazed and hazed and as confused as a Jedi walking down the hall of the Sith, but that moment had come and gone. Already having been coming around, all it had taken were three words that her ears picked up as surely as her contemporaries had picked up another ship: “Draw your weapon”. The Mandalorian half-assumed that it was herself being spoken to as her hand reached for her hip. Druk! She reached for her other hip. Druk and kriff it! Both holsters were empty.

Her eyes darted around the cockpit like whistling birds, seeing no sign of her pistols; no rifle propped against the wall; no vibrosword strewn against the console; felt no blade in her boot—no weapon whatsoever. She grit her teeth, that same sensation of anonymous anger crawling in her veins. Where the kriff is my shab!? Jag spoke to her just then. No more secrets… She considered that scenario, squinting his way, but in truth those words of his that were easier to swallow was really just one word: "cooperate". She would do that, at least for now, having no idea what enemy had just made their approach. Is it...him?

“I’m unarmed,” Cass started, looking between the strangers in her ship. “That’s a secret that I just became aware of. The other is that an enemy who claims my creed killed the Togruta. But I’m not your enemy. I’m willing to share the rest but, under the circumstances, it might be more prudent for someone to share with me their blaster. Nothing fancy. A pistol will do.”

Cass took a steady breath, feeling her pulse quicken, though she was still awake and aware. Kriff my head hurts. All in all, no single soul aboard that Winged Pike had any clue as to what waited for them on the other side. Sector Ranger, Pantoran pilots—they might just need all the help that they could get. And if they thought otherwise, well…What was that? Was that a noise she heard outside the door or just the pulsing of her own headache? Any moment now and all four of them might find out. Cass would not be empty-handed when she did. “My ship, my call. Gun.”


@Bex @TerranSteel @Arclight

 

[Corran Velt]

Rylee was stronger than she looked. Before the other Y-wing had fully touched down she had crudely yanked Corran into the cockpit. She had drawn him along with such force that he nearly lost his footing but recovered by bracing a hand against the canopy. The cockpit of the beefed-up Y-wing was a whole different scene entirely. There was another Pantoran. A male. Likely the pilot of the other X-wing. A human woman sat in one of the chairs. Was this the Mandalorian Rylee had talked about? The blond ranger had never seen one with a helmet off before. Granted he'd only met one. In the other chair of the cockpit was an unmoving Togruta. The murder victim.

Given the serious air that filled the damaged craft's forward section, it felt like any of them could be the next murder victim. Jag followed the orders of his Squadron Leader and rudely bumped his shoulder against the newly-arrived law enforcement in a show of authority. Corran merely sighed lightly and grimaced for less than the blink of an eye. So much for that trust Rylee has mentioned earlier. Already Jag was trying to get the sitting woman to confess to something and in turn they were calling for a blaster to be put in there hand. The lieutenant ranger shot a look to Squadron Leader Asuchi. She'd recognize the face of concern. Four people and a dead body was cramped enough in this small space. Adding a few more blasters in the mix, especially between clearly distrustful parties, was a bad idea. To that end, Corran didn't draw his own firearms but instead leaned back on the console behind him; practically sitting up against the glass of the cockpit. Anywhere to be outside the direct line of fire from the door.

Waiting here was feeling more like being a sitting gizka by the second. If the crew from that new Y-wing were determined enough, a large enough blast from the door could kill them all. The blond youth instead turned to look at the supposed Mandalorian, "Give us a second way out of here and I'll give you a blaster. Does the canopy have an emergency release? A second exit hatch? Ejection seats? Anything?" If nothing else it would give them options. Options that would be sorely needed if things went sideways. Until the tensions in the hangar subsided, Corran wouldn't be investigating anything anytime soon.

@Bex @Die Shize @Arclight

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee could tell that Jag was tense. Having known and fought beside him for years at this point she knew this was probably because he also felt they were being played by the Mandalorian and the intruder was getting in the way of them finding the answers they wanted. The Sector Rangers on the other hand were a whole other kettle of fish. The feeling amongst many military personnel was that as skilled as the Sector Rangers were, there weren't nearly enough of them to keep the peace, particularly in the Outer Rim. As such, soldiers from planets in the Outer Rim, such as Pantora, believed they were overburdened, having to combine not only their military duties to their homeworld but civil duties on behalf of the galaxy which could be alleviated by Sector Rangers. In effect, they could not understand why they bothered having them at all if the soldiers were having to pick up the slack anyway.

Though she understood the standpoint taken by many of her comrades, Rylee did not totally share that same opinion. To her mind, any person or organisation that set to bring about justice, protect innocent people and keep peace was a good thing. She would rather do her job, knowing that there were others, like the Sector Rangers, out there they could rely on for assistance. This was one of those situations. Although Jag and Rylee were both military veterans they weren't detectives. They weren't paid to investigate the intricacies of situations like these. That was the job of the intelligence personnel. The soldiers were just briefed on missions and expected to carry them out. Yes, there was an element of thinking on your feet and information gathering as part of that, but for the most part it was warfare.

The female Pantoran caught Corran's glance at her. She mouthed the word 'Sorry' to him in an attempt to reassure him that they meant no real harm. She then turned her attention back to Cass. The Mandalorian seemed to be recovered and was now asking if she could be given a blaster. It seemed as though the bounty hunter had no idea who had boarded her ship from the way she was talking.

"These pirates really have done a number on you, haven't they Cass?" she said, looking her straight in the face with her golden eyes, in reference to the fact the Mandalorian seemed woefully under-prepared for a bounty hunter. Unfortunately for Cass, there was no way the Pantoran's were going to furnish her with a weapon. The pair of them had left their X-Wings so abruptly that they only had their blaster pistols on them and they weren't prepared to trust her with their only means of protection. It was Corran that began negotiating with her - a way out in exchange for a blaster - very clever. This would at least ensure the four of them didn't end up being shot like fish in a barrel in the cockpit of the Winged Pike and was, realistically, the only person she could have been given a weapon by.

Without saying anything further, Rylee strode back towards Jag who still had his blaster trained on the door. She squeezed past Corran on the way through, her long pink hair brushing his jacket as she went by. Unclipping her own K-16 Bryar Pistol from her flight suit, she too trained it on the locked door. As she got closer she could hear, very faintly, a beeping noise on the other side.

"Can you hear that? I think whoever landed that ship is on the other side of the door..."

@Die Shize @Arclight @TerranSteel

 

[Gett'se Vizsla]

Gett'se once more turned his head to the closed cabin door of the Y-wing as the muffled sound of voices from the other side drew his attention. The discarded tracking chip would have to wait.

Approaching the door cautiously, he turned off the beeping bounty fob and stowed it in his belt. It was useless now. Putting his back to the wall next to the right side of the door, he considered his options. Soft entry or hard entry. He didn't know that the acquisition was behind the door, and he would hate to bust the door down on an innocent person... but he didn't know that the acquisition wasn't behind the door either.

Hard entry it was... after a knock. If it wasn't Park Salal behind door number one he at least wanted to give them a chance. But if it was the "Psycho" then he didn't want to give the Trandoshan and his accomplices a chance to blast him. From his position next to the door, he tapped on the door with his blaster pistol while pulling a breaching charge from his belt and sticking it on the door, setting it to explode by remote from his wrist-com.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Park Salal? I'm with the Guild. One chance. Open the door and surrender yourself or I'm blowing it down." His voice echoed in the small chamber. He hoped he had spoken loud enough for those on the other side, on the off chance that they weren't the "Psycho". Who came up with these nicknames anyways.

@Die Shize @TerranSteel @Bex