Tell Tale Tail

[Koil Solus]

THEME
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The private space port on Malastare was pretty standard in terms of the type of place it was. There were a few sparse vehicles that would come and go. If they wanted to get i then they could. But Koil was more interested in what was coming out.

A local air traffic controller was under the thumb of smugglers. They were not ordinary smugglers that had that attempt at charm. They were instead cut throat arms dealers and also dealt in illegal starship parts, allegedly. Now this Koil had learned over the past day or so. The air traffic controler had reached out to one of Koil's contacts for help. Normally the smugglers just asked them to change the log times of their arrival but now they were asking for him to completely keep one flight off the books. It really put the man in a tight spot but Koil was willing to help out, for a fee but also because if the Mandalorians wanted Malastare eventually they would need an in.

Today they would be following the arms dealers. They brought weapons in on their private ships and used the security of the private space port as an added level of security to buffer their endeavors. But like smart criminals they did not keep their hardware at the space port for long. Under the cover of darkness they were going to move it via hover truck to another location. Koil and his fellow mandalorians would follow the truck to its location, hopefully without being discovered.

The tinted windows of his bident would conceal him and his armor for the most part. His scatter weave armor itself was already hard enough to see.

@vamp @Kraken

 

[Drace Solus]

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The night skyscape of Malastare whizzed past the tinted window, small blinking lights fighting for attention out of the corner of Drace's eye. Other speeders whizzed past them, although rarely, and in the shotgun seat of Koil's bidet, Drace was loading up his rifle. A few more packs were on his belt, should he need them, and his Quickdraw was on his left side, in the holster under his arm pit. His beskad was at his feet, since sitting down with it hanging from his waist would have scratched up the seats, sheathed blade or not. He'd finally swapped two of his riot grenades with frags, since those were more useful, and as always, the thermal scope was attached to his rifle. With a click, it took the ammunition Drace stuck in.

He looked up then, rifle on his lap, his hands holding it in place so it didn't fall. The safety was on, of course—he wasn't an idiot. The Supercommando scanned the skyline, his eyes setting on the hover truck ahead. They were at a reasonable distance behind it, so it wouldn't look like they were tailing, and for now, they didn't look suspicious at all. They would need to be more cautious once they got out of the city and started going down obscure dirt roads, where any move could tip the smugglers off. "Pretty agitating music for a stake out, don't you think?" he remarked, not sounding particularly annoyed.

@Darasuum @Kraken

 

[Arturo Solus]

Arturo sunk a little lower in his seat as he followed the followers, making himself comfortable as they cruised along. In control of a bog standard AM-7 Adventurer, he did his best to maintain distance as the two airspeeders turned and weaved through the dark skies of Malastere; he was just another driver in a steady stream of vehicles, and he doubted he stood out amongst the many. His helmet lay on the passenger seat within arms-reach, so there was no need to worry about someone looking over and startling at the sight of a T-Visored Mandalorian staring back at them. His Beskar'gam -in the colors of House Solus- was a deep crimson, barely perceivable in the half-light cast by passing headlights. 'Twas fortunate, really. Arturo didn't fancy getting changed mid-flight- he didn't trust the autopilot, and at least this way he was ready should anything happen.

His A-10 Long Rifle stood in the passenger footwell, and as for his two Strill Blaster Pistols, they were holstered at his hips on opposing sides. Again, within easy reach. Arturo had checked and rechecked all his gear before they'd set off, and he'd made sure to stake out the spaceport a couple of hours before the hover truck had set off in order to avoid anyone getting the drop on them. He had made damn sure not to make himself obvious; traffic was heavy around the port, and the information Koil had gathered had allowed for greater awareness and understanding. Besides, Arturo had spent years going unnoticed; he continued to do so as the truck exited the bay it was parked in, right on schedule.

Ten minutes had passed since then, and not much had changed. His comm-piece chirped in his ear as Drace spoke up, and Arturo smiled, refusing to make comment as they ventured onwards.

​

@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

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Koil's eyes looked over at the light controls for the vehicle to double check and make sure the head lights were not on. The car was running but otherwise looked parked. The music was just loud enough for them inside to hear. But other than that it was no more in the foreground than the occasional ship landing in the distance. He did not look over at Drace when he commented on the music but he did respond. "I actually kinda like it. Plus it's not soothing, keeps me awake and alert."One reason he also chose more aggressive music it kept him in a state of mind that was attuned towards the job, and less on his personal problems and introspection.

Still with that in mind after the song ended he would put down his macrobinoculars and switch to something else. The song was the exact reason why he had chosen more agressive music, even in a stake out. But it was too late now. He had heard a few lines and it would be awkward for him to change it. So he pretended like he was focusing on the observation of the incoming hover truck.

Arturo had followed one of the family members with the parked truck from their local town house and came to the space port where Drace and Koil were. The dealers were smart enough to not keep the truck parked at the storage location or the space port. But now they had to follow it from the space port to the hideout storage facility. "Any complications on your end Tracker Badger? He asked. They were all Solus here and so using Badger call signs was more than appropriate.

 

[Drace Solus]

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Fair enough. There likely would be action going on later in the night, and Drace knew they needed to be on their toes. He didn't particularly have any problems with the music; he found that he could get along with most genres, though some called to him more than others. The Mandalorian gently rocked his head forward and backward in a nearly minuscule gesture in rhythm to the music. "I dig it." It was intense and dripping with emotion, but that only made him appreciate more. His thoughts drifted for a moment, and then his eyes glanced back to the back of the truck ahead of them. If not for the music, this would be a boring mission.

They were nearly at the outskirts of the city, the high rises slowly turning to residential buildings as the level of the "road" lowered. After a few minutes, they were driving a few meters above the ground, a dirt road that people likely saw no reason to maintain, considering speeders hovered. The buildings would then disappear, giving way to trees and farmland.

@Darasuum @Kraken

 

[Arturo Solus]

"Nada, SB."

Arturo replied, switching lanes as they cruised through the city suburbs, the port and the outskirts beyond getting closer by the second. "These guys are punctual - left on time, and they're still on schedule." He took his eyes off the controls to gaze down at the dash, fiddling with the radio until he found a song he liked the sound of. He checked the time as he did, nodding minutely as he faced forwards once more, the truck still where it'd been for the last ten minutes- three airspeeders ahead, and moving at a steady speed through the bustling, sky-locked lanes. "We'll be with you in...twenty seconds. I'll follow you from then on, over."

He let off on the accelerator as he spotted his comrades a few heartbeats later, the two warriors hunkered down in an immobile Bident -a vehicle he knew to look for- some meters further on, near the spaceport. The hover truck disappeared for a time, and Arturo drove on before circling around the block and pulling up behind his brethren. Time passed, slowly, ambient noise, music and the sing-song voice of the resident DJ the only sounds filling the speeder. He checked the time, again, wondering how long they'd have to wait, and then the truck reappeared.

Koil kicked his airspeeder into life, and Arturo fell into line behind them, matching their speed as they left the port, keeping a wary distance as they crossed an intersection. It wasn't long after that that the outskirts rolled up on them, a sudden shift in their surroundings the only indicator of change. The buildings grew less invasive, the traffic less hectic, receding on all sides until there was nothing but a handful of vehicles and one or two lone roads leading away from civilization into the dark Malastare countryside.

Arturo killed the lights as they passed the last hollow shells of vacants, industrial sites and poorly-maintained homes. One of the vehicles in front of them turned off into a lay-by, leaving Arturo and his brothers in Solus alone with the mark. The hover truck was still carrying on, taking the route the Mandalorians had been informed of, oblivious of the two blacked out airspeeders creeping along behind it. Arturo shot a glance at his rearview -he'd been doing that intermittently from the moment he'd set off, unwilling to get caught with his pants down- searching for a tail. He found nothing amiss, only the last, flickering lights of the diminishing city. He set his eyes back on the road.

"What's the play when we get to wherever the truck's going, Silent Badger? Keep it quiet, learn what we can, or hit 'em now, hard?"

@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

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The hover truck that Arturo had been tailing entered the space port and went into the hangar. It would seem that his statement about them being punctual was accurate because in less than a few minutes the hover truck was loaded up from out of sight and exited the space port. As soon as it left he began following after it. He would keep his headlights off until they lost sight of them for a moment in the city. Staying only five car spaces back in residential areas was fine but once they got further out he dropped back to a full fifty meters and turned his headlights off again.

It was a quiet night in the outskirts of the city. Little to no traffic except maybe kilometers in the distance on perpendicular and parallel rural roads. "We're just trying to figure out where they store their shipments. Once we learn that then we can stake that out and move on it." When people saw spy holo vids and actions flicks they saw the kicking down doors, rappelling from sky lights. But actual work required preparation and patience. The galaxy was not such an easy place to just go in guns blazing every time they wanted something. Even the greatest of commandos needed reconnaissance.

After awhile the truck would slow down and turn off to an unmarked road between trees. It was too narrow to be a normal street and looked to barely fit the truck going one way, let alone two speeders side by side. While he was using an air speeder he did not want to go into the sky and risk getting detected by some radar or scanners. These were arms dealers and probably had access to such technology and safety measures. That way they would know if authorities were moving in on them. "Go past and stop off to the side a hundred meters up." He told Arturo. Koil would follow his own directions and make sure the bident could not be seen from the road, having the front pointed towards it so they could make a quick getaway if needed.

 

[Drace Solus]

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They kept driving in the darkness for a few minutes, things staying quiet for a while. Missions like this were always slow to start, though Drace knew that patience was sometimes more important than rushing to battle. His eyes stayed ahead, set on the hover truck driving in front of them. As it pulled off into the dirt road, Drace unholstered his rifle and held it up in his right hand, reaching to open the door with his left. "I'll scout ahead," he told Koil before stepping out and heading into the dark of the dirt path.

There was not a light around for several hundred meters, though he could see the warehouse up ahead. The supercommando held his scope up, peering into it set on the night vision mode, using it to look around at his surroundings. The hovertruck had just parked when he began the walk, and after a few minutes of strolling, he reached the outskirts of the facility, ducking behind a few bushes and crouching. His eyes scanned the perimeter for security systems, cameras, and guards, then reported his findings into the comms. "I spot about 10 guards on patrol and a few cameras. Only way in is through a chain link fence but jetpacks are more than enough to vault it."

@Darasuum @Kraken

 

[Arturo Solus]

Arturo supposed that was a sound idea, Koil's reply telling him all he needed to know. Raids took time to organize; reconnaissance and thorough preparation went hand-in-hand with success. Rushing headlong into an Op oft spelt disaster- there were so many ways it could go wrong. It could still go wrong even if the objective -in this case the smuggled starship parts- had been afforded ample time, planning and proper attention. There were so many factors one had to think of before committing themselves to a job: How many foemen are there? How're they equipped? Does the reward outweigh the risk? What's the best approach? What gear should I take? The list went on and on and on, and Arturo had neither the time nor the patience to think of them all as the truck turned off, down a dingy lane flanked by trees.

Arturo shot a glance down the lane as he drifted past, catching the waning lights of the truck as it approached a compound directly ahead of it. Then, it was gone from sight, replaced by blackness and the dull, ghost-like imagery of artificial light breaking through the gaps in between a large clump of trees. Hmm, he thought idly, slowing to a stop a hundred meters further along the road as Koil had instructed. Grabbing his T-visor and rifle, he slammed the former into place, the seals hissing, secure, as he opened and closed the driver's door on his Adventurer, locking the vehicle as his HUD sputtered to life. It had taken him an age to get used to the helmet's feature. Fortunately, he had a firm understanding of the system now, a series of quick blinks and rapid eye movements activating the night-vision and compass capabilities.

"Copy that," Arturo answered Drace's first statement, already moving towards the compound. "I'll go to. 'Two pairs of eyes' and all that." He kept low and fast as he advanced on the distant buildings, the darkness total and oppressive now that they were out in the sticks. The night was mild, and the grass crunched quietly beneath his boots as he reached the trees, nervous of tripping a motion sensor or alerting a guard with abnormal noise. He stilled, observing the compound/facility from a crouch, taking in all he could with what his eyes -and the magnified imagery his visor supplied- could see through the chainlink boundary.

"Can confirm, ten guards; two at the gate, two near the workshops," at least they look like workshops, he thought, carrying on as the truck they'd tailed rumbled to a stop outside one of the bays. "Six are actively patrolling. Plenty of junk filling the yard on the South side, could hop the fence there, make an approach." Arturo squinted, and blinked, trying to make out more. He couldn't. "At this time of night, there's likely only a couple more men about- in the main buildings to the North and North-East, plus the truck driver and his guard." Arturo breathed, sinking away into the dark as he pondered what they knew.

"What's the reckoning, SB?"

@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

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With the air speeders parked and out of sight safely the trio of mandalorians made their way in the same direction the hover truck had gone. It would evnetually come to a lit compound like location. A chain link fence, topped with barbed wire was three meters high around the whole area. Inside there was a warehouse that the same hover truck had pulled up nearby. There were plenty of guards and lighting but they were not here to assualt the warehouse. It was merely reconnaissance. Koil reinforced this with a command after Drace reported what he saw. "don't shoot unless necessary. We're just here to observe."

He would wait without moving in his darkened armor for the next few moments. He trusted the words his team mates were saying and observed with his own carbine blaster rifle scope. It was easy enough to see with the light inside the compound and he could make out the individuals enough. Koil noted their placement and path, possible view for when they would approach. But for tonight the trio would make no action towards the group. "We will come back tomorrow night. For now let's head back."

He wanted to stay for longer and observe as much as they could but staying too late and this close could cause alarm. Besides, he wanted to get some sleep since he had been awake for roughly twenty four hours straight. Heading back to the air speeders they would start them up and with as much care as when they had arrived they departed and headed back into town.

♠ END THREAD ♠​