The Body Dealer Part 1

[Tomic Domin]

Tomic hated his replacement hand.

His eye he really didn't care all that much about - it was rather bulky and unattractive but he didn't need it to be anything but a replacement that did it's job and it did. Sure, the colours weren't as crisp as he would like but what the hell did he care if the purple of a set of curtains wasn't a purple as it should be?

It was literally pointless making a big deal out of it.

The hand?

Well the hand was becoming an issue.

It functioned exactly as was advertised but it wasn't as smooth or as protected as it could be. Some of it came down to getting used to it, he knew, but the mechanisms themselves weren't the best they could be and they came with so many downsides. There were better models out there but they weren't really available through official channels.

Which was why he was walking down a crowded gangway in the most disgusting city he had ever had the displeasure of actually finding himself in. He had called in Skuld because, like him, she could benefit from a new arm.

"So what happened?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow as they walked, "When I left you, you still had both arms. What, did it drop off?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She really did intend to tell Tagal what she was up to.

In fact, she was going to when she first got the message in the middle of the night. But when she rolled over in bed and he was already gone?

That wasn't the best feeling in the world. He just had to deal with a message... and she could hope that he wouldn't attempt murder when she would return. The arm was all right... but it wasn't what she needed. She needed something that had more to it than just a replacement limb, something that had some degree of rugged durability and not look as... minimalist... as she had been given.

Something that had a good design, that even Tagal could use. Unfortunately, he was elsewhere. But when it came to helping the youth that she had met before, she was on board entirely. She didn't mind the arm, it just wasn't quite what she wanted, or what they needed.

She didn't mind Nar Shaddaa too much. It was crowded, disgusting, and mostly the scummy underbelly of the galaxy... but there were always some sort of perks.

Including the fact she could wear her armor and not many would dare get too close. Nonetheless, it didn't help the feeling of unease the Deuc could feel skittering down her neck, and humming in her bones.

So she had dressed accordingly. Along with her weapons, and even the shield. But it still didn't help.

She snorted at his comment, flexing the arm with a mechanical click and giving him an unseen raised brow. "Nei. It's long story, but some of it had to do with being shot the last time I saw you."

Truth be told, she was embarrassed. But gaining a better limb would ease some of her prickled pride... and give her some peace of mind. But the way they were going, and the way things felt? A twisted feeling settled in her gut, and she caught herself continuously scanning the crowds, feeling something prickle hairs at the back of her neck.

Not good at all.

"At least you lived," she replied, tilting her head towards his hand.

"...Be careful. I do not want to carry you a second time, young man."

@Nefieslab

 

[Tomic Domin]

Tomic sighed a little bit as he checked their surroundings once again - he was paranoid about this place and, as far as he was concerned, with good reason! This place was full of gangsters, pickpockets and worse. As far as Tomic was concerned, this whole place was a cesspit and he really didn't want to be here any longer than he had to be. It was bad enough they were going after someone who called themselves The Body Dealer... who called themselves something that weird?

A long story huh?

They hadn't seen each other for only a short while so he doubted it was a long story but he let her have her privacy and didn't push. He did, however, draw his quickdraw pistol with narrowed eyes. The crowd around them was beginning to turn agitated, as though something was irritating them. He wasn't sure what kind of thing could get a crowd on Nar Shaddaa riled up and he didn't want to face whatever it was empty handed.

"Yeah yeah old lady - just keep your eyes open." he told her with a frown, "This place is putting me on edge and the people here are getting angry about something."

@Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

Something was off.

Her senses were screaming something, and even though she anticipated having a better limb than the standard she had gotten... even her rusty old instincts started sparking.

She caught him glancing about too. Good. At least he wasn't as green as she had thought.

He was still just a boy, but he would make good warrior yet.

Until the old lady comment.

She snorted and lightly thumped him on the shoulder, giving an unseen smirk. "Watch it, pup, I'm older than you for a reason." But if he saw it with his eyes... then she wasn't mistaken. She gave an affirmative nod, frowning fiercely with jaw clenched.

"I think is time to find less open space, ja? I do not like this..." She grumbled this quietly, one hand on her blaster pistol. She knew she had access to better tech... but this one did in a pinch, and it lasted her almost as long as her Elduröxi had.

They were getting agitated over something... but it wasn't her armor choice. She began to edge closer to one of the alleyways.

Just in case.

@Nefieslab

 

[Tomic Domin]

Tomic turned his rifle to one side slightly, checking it over for any obstructions. He was almost certain that he was going to be using it in combat soon and he would be damned if he was going to enter a firefight with a rifle that was going to jam on him because he had failed to do a weapons check. He had done a weapons check before they had even set off but he wasn't about to avoid being thorough - he was the kind who would rather check twice rather than chance being wrong once.

Once was all it took.

His robotic hand twitched slightly as if to confirm his thoughts, his fears. He scowled at her behind his helmet when she thumped him on the shoulder.

"Because you were born first dingus."

Before they could do much more however, it became apparent what the situation was. Their destination, a storefront for droid parts that had a second room they needed, was on fire and there were cartel enforcers on site. They were gunning down people who passed by, specifically targeting people with replacement limbs.

His own hand and eye were covered entirely by his armour but Skuld's robotic replacement arm was visible enough for a group of almost a dozen enforcers who were gunning down anyone who even looked like they owned a droid. Without so much as a verbal warning, they opened fire on Skuld. Tomic cursed and fired off two bursts from his blaster rifle as he sought cover, causing some of their shots to go off target from Skuld as the shooters reacted to his shots. They weren't aimed terribly well because they were just supposed to disperse the damned buggers but it was enough for them to realize that Tomic was a target as well.

Fantastic.

"Stark." he bit out over com unit from across the alleyway to her, blaster fire filling the alley between their hiding places, "We need to get whatever information they have before we bug out. Their target obviously isn't here but we need to make sure we can find out where they are."

@Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

He acted as though she were born yesterday. He had been in fight enough, certainly, but surviving was one thing she needed to do. Even if they went together to the belly of the beast known as a Body Dealer.. she trusted her instinct to survive far more than any equipment she was given, or instructions. She had already ducked into an alley the moment blasters pointed in her direction. They weren't aiming to kill, but to maim. They knew about the body dealer, about the droid front. These cartel enforcers weren't idiots per se, but their aim was deliberately wide. It seemed they wanted them alive as well.

Perhaps it was time for more coverage of her prosthetics. She made a mental note to nudge Tagal into buying more clothing with coverage beneath her armor. She thought in bemusement, he would perhaps stumble in shock.

Now was hardly the time to dwell on that amusing thought, however.

She growled something under her breath that perhaps couldn't be understood by her Empire companion, but the message was easily conveyed. She wasn't happy with keeping survivors. Dead men spelled out better warnings. Enforcers that watched their companions cut down by an ax would talk better. Hearing them scream as they were torn to pieces also spelled a better message for 'surrender or else'. But here she was, forced into cover as a boy took fire for her.

Surely some ancient ancestor rolled in shame in their grave at such an idea.

She aimed from behind a squat trash dispenser, tagging one in the shoulder, another in the lower leg. Medium armor as they fell to the ground. Bellows of pain in response. She scowled at his barking into her comm, barely restraining from making a sarcastic comment.

Instead, she simply grit her teeth and reholstered her blaster. Her hand reached for her ax, and the irritation melded into the familiar cool space that her mind entered. The mental space where rage made her numb, where pain held no quarter, and all survivors would face her wrath long enough to survive.

Her companion just had to keep them focused on him.

"Ja. I know. Keep them distracted, sonur," she bit out, letting the twin blades hum to life.

Their enemies just had to get a little bit closer...

@Nefieslab

 

[Tomic Domin]

Tomic wasn't sure what Sonur meant but he got the feeling from how she said it that he should probably be mildly offended - probably some kind of mild curse at his expense. If he knew another language it's what he would use it for but he had been told he was a bit childish like that sometimes.

He was a bloody soldier - of course he was going to be immature.

It was a requirement.

He cursed a little bit as a chunk of the wall was blasted off and came close to his face. Sure, he was wearing a helmet but Tomic had developed something of a phobia of things flying near his face. Kind of justified in his opinion considering he was down to only one natural eye because of something flying out quickly at his face.

Flashbacks were real.

Keep them distracted?

"Oh no, I was thinking I'd magic myself out of their line of sight without moving." he snarked back at her over the coms, "Keep them distracted? I'll keep them busy if you actually do something about them you demended old ice-hag!"

He was getting mouthy in his old age.

@Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She snorted in amusement. He was cute in his own way... young blood that he was, his sarcasm was appreciated against being fired down. It seemed they didn't want her killed outright... but a bit of maiming wouldn't hurt too much, right?

Another wide shot hit between them as the enforcers pressed closer. She just had to hope none of them hit Tomic…

But those four pressed closer.

She charged.

For one of them, it was a flash of bright blue blade, searing pain close to his throat... and then nothingness.

For two others, they witnessed their companions decapitated, or fallen asunder.

And now she was coming for them. And she seemed prepared to take them both on.

She had her shield, her ax. Her armor. She was willing to tear them both to pieces.

She lowered her shield before her, her voice harsh as it spoke out from her helmet.

"Surrender now."

She only hoped Tomic had her back with his rifle. Otherwise... she would have to explain more burn marks to her armor to Tagal, and she really only wanted to face him after acquiring a better, more well-fit arm.

​

@Nefieslab

 

[Tomic Domin]

Firing his rifle over the top of the cover his was in blind, Tomic knew that he was in a terrible position. He was in the kill zone and he had no way to get himself out of it that didn't result in him jumping out of cover and dashing across no-mans land. Considering he was fond of NOT being shot, he wasn't really in a hurry to go ahead with such a mad dash.

So his options were limited.

He could use some of his grenades but they wouldn't be directed or aimed very well so their effects would be limited. They could either help or hinder considering it would, essentially, be nothing more than a basic roll of the dice. What he needed was for someone to take the pressure off of him.

Which he had in the form of Skuld Stark - if she could charge worth a damn.

He waited until she was engaged in combat before turning and raising his rifle to his eye. Watching as she killed two of the four pressed close together, he saw she hesitated as she demanded the surrender of two others. Whereas she demanded surrender, Tomic demanded only that they stand still.

He fired twice, both shots tripled up due to the burst fire nature of the rifle. Both men died quickly, their heads and necks disappearing in a spray of gore from the blaster bolts.

"We can get their data from their corpses." he reasoned with a scowl, "We don't need to resort to taking prisoners."

They didn't have the resources to hold prisoners.

@Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

At least they worked well together. But even she could acknowledge they were low on options when it came to how to engage the enemy. They originally wanted her, but it seemed he made a better substitute until they were mown down.

She knew that he would also have her back the moment she charged forward. She would have kept going, but they had their entire focus on her. Having that split second gave enough time for the rifle to successfully dispatch the two others that would have simply razed her to the ground. They weren't close enough for her to tear asunder anyhow... not easily.

She smirked at Tomic. Was he scolding her?

...Such a boy.

"Knew you had my back," she replied easily, giving a shrug.

"Nei. No prisoners. Let's see what their corpses have to say, ja?"

Maybe then, they'd be one step closer to getting the limbs they needed.
/End Thread

@Nefieslab