Ask The Crimson Club

[Max Dram]

TARIS
11.30pm local time

It took only three lashes to break skin. Four. Five. Blood ran red across the man's back as he writhed in pain, straining against his shackles as the whip came down again.

Max watched in silence, hazel eyes never looking away as he took a swig of his drink. They always opened a show at the Crimson Club this way. A spectacle to draw the crowd and get their blood pumping. Tonight the victim was one of their own, a rookie who had not paid his dues one too many times.

"Reckon he'll live?" asked the patron next to him, already drunk on the frenzy of the place.

"He's a wretch" Max said coldly, downing his beer. "Who cares". The lad was a Club member, but local Taris trash. Max had little time for civvies, least of all those he and his brothers had already brought to heel. It was the real men who had carved out the Crimson Club all those years ago, those few in the ranks who understood strength, and pain, and lived for them both. This dark corner of the Tarisian undercity belonged to them now, no one else.

"Lieutenant". A young man with a goatee and a private's dog tags nodded to Max. In seconds his hand was at the fool's throat.

"No ranks jarhead" Max hissed. Even among the military, the Crimson Club was a niche pursuit. It didn't do to shout about it. "Sir will do just fine, and put those away". He forced the soldier's tags back down his collar. The apologetic look on the private's face almost made Max thaw. Almost.

He let the idiot go and shouldered his way to the bar. Smaller men made room for him, some of them with knowing glances. Most in tonight were rank and file soldiers and many recognised Max despite the plain black tee and cargo pants. Fortunately most would be too drunk to talk about it.

"So how about that shot" Max called, catching the Zabrak barman's eye. The man inclined his head and leant over the bar so only the Lieutenant could hear. "I have it here, they say don't take too much mind. And no fighting in the ring on this, they could call it cheating". The barkeep pushed a small packet across the counter and Max slipped it between his fingers. It was a shot of sorts.

"Just here to watch tonight, Linus. Trust me." He turned away with a smile, sidling into a empty booth and screening the small packet of powder from view with a muscled forearm.

It was time to enjoy his night.

@Versok

 

[Grin]

"C'mooon, I've been whipped harder during a freaky night in my fuckin' bed, put some strength into it!" A loud cackle followed the Verminion's statement after he heckled out loud, earning some chuckles of amusement from nearby patrons while also encouraging the one with the whip to put on a better show. The Crimson Club was a establishment the Verminion fancied for obvious reasons: Good booze, good spectacles and he could beat the shit out of someone in the ring if he felt particularly feisty, a good time all around whenever he had to set foot on Taris.

"Do me a favor and bet for me, kid" The Verminion told someone next to him, a man under the foreign legion that had been assigned to him the last couple missions, Grin gave him a good amount of credits, his eyes set on the fighters that were the next show after they were done whipping a fool "Bet on the Nautolan, that Gamorrean may be stronger, but I've seen 'im fight, just a fat pig fuck with little to no combat awareness and too much to prove." Grin added, the private nodding before leaving his sight.

The verminion headed to the bar, his eyes catching a glimpse of the young private being manhandled by the lieutenant and letting out a grin in response "Rookie mistake, mate" He patted the rookie on the shoulder as they crossed paths, sitting on the bar next to a fellow lieutenant before looking at the Zabrak "Captain's Corellian Whiskey, Linus, and if you've got anything to eat I'd appreciate it" The Verminion ordered, he knew he probably didn't have anything in the way of food but he couldn't help but try, he was hungry every minute of the day and drinking just made him hungrier...But he could always take part of the next fight and eat someone's ear if not.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max lined up the spice and snorted it in one go. Like a trooper.

Fire seemed to rage through his veins and he gripped the edge of the table as the rising heat swelled to an inferno inside his head. He felt as if the trials and tribulations of command were being burned away, rocking on the ecstasy of the sensation. After a few moments he was laying back hard in his seat, his broad chest heaving and sweat on his brow.

A devil seemed to smile at him in the near distance. Frack, that really was some hit. But then the devil moved and Max saw it was no devil at all, but just another Imperial solider among the throng, though from a race the Lieutenant had never seen.

A wide vicious mouth made the soldier stand out a mile, even among the dozen drunken brothers all around. "Hey Smiles" Max called, beckoning the creature over "That's a lot of teeth you got the-"

There was a sudden scream, then another to his left. Max had time to see his comrades leaping backwards and hear the chink of metal as something bounced down the stairwell.

Then the world around Max exploded and everything went black.

@Versok

 

[Grin]

Grin tilted his head as the human he had observed actually wanted to interact with him, he did see him just grab that rookie by the throat, was the guy feeling feisty? Did he want a brawl on his hands because the Verminion had looked at him or was it something else? Didn't know, didn't care, it was another way to pass the time for sure. So, Grin's grin widened as he was beckoned to come over, walking towards the man while listening whatever he was going to say before something went off and exploded near the human.

"Shit!" Grin cursed, knowing from experience exactly what that had been, thankfully he had been outside of the range of that grenade, but he now had to react quickly. The grenade had killed a few people that had been closer to the blast, but that human looked like he only took the end of it. Grin would quickly approach him, grabbing him by the collar before throwing him over the bar in order to get him behind cover, vaulting it himself before grabbing his blaster pistol and looking at the bartender, who would now be crouching behind the bar, clearly alarmed "Sorry in advance for the blaster marks I am gonna leave on your walls, but just stay behind cover, eh?"

The Verminion looked at Max after that, smiling at him once more "Well, friend, I hope you didn't leave your blaster home, 'cause we sure are gonna need firepower...Wish I didn't leave my shotgun at the wardrobe" Grin peeked over the bar, trying to find who the fuck had thrown that grenade, didn't care who they were, he was about to empty his blaster on them for giving him such a scare.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max fought through the sudden haze, coming to and finding himself on the floor. His ears were ringing and he smelled fumes in the air. A grenade? His years of combat service left him in no doubt, but what the frack was going on?

He pulled himself up into a crouch, drawing his blaster pistol instinctively. "Pistol's all I got too" he replied, though he wished he had more. You didn't come packing to the Crimson Club and the DA-34 in his hand was as basic as they came. He had a knife too, but that was it. It would have to do.

The two of them were behind the bar somehow. His grinning comrade must have pulled him into cover after the blast, no mean feat. "Max Dram" he whispered "thanks for the save. Who, what...are you?" Max tried risking a glance over their cover but he was unable to take one eye off that vicious grin.

Blaster fire and screams sounded over by the stairwell. It seemed whoever had thrown the grenade in was now coming in to clean up. Max couldn't see if any others in the Club were alive, but the room was a dimly lit sprawl of booths, pillars, tables and chairs.

"It can't be hostiles" Max breathed. Taris was under Imperial rule, it would be virtually impossible for Republic or Jedi to sneak this deep into the undercity. Besides, this was not their way. "Don't know who it is though". Could it be locals? If so the Tarisian resistance was much bolder than Intel thought.

Whoever it was clearly hoped to take out a load of Imperials when their guard was down. They would die for that. "We're sitting ducks here" Max said, his calculating mind turning to the task. "Let's hope they don't know we're alive. If we sneak out from behind this bar and stay hidden, we can take them by surprise. Pick them off one by one if we have to?" He looked the other solider up and down, he seemed unhurt and certainly looked like he could handle himself. Whatever their enemies numbers, the two Lieutenants would give them hell.

@Versok

 

[Grin]

The alien let out a small chuckle as Max blurted out his question, specifically when he went and corrected himself to say "what" instead of "who" "Name's Grin, your newest, toothiest guardian angel, couldn't you tell by my face?" The Verminion joked as his vicious smile turned even bigger, how much he loved that it freaked out people even in situations such as this, one would think the grenade would be his main focus.

"Whoever it is, they fucked up by messing with my favorite drinking place in the planet, let's do it." Grin added, pulling out his Imperial Foreign Legion insignia and adding it to his clothes: On one hand, he knew this would make him an even bigger target for the people that had attacked them. On the other, he sure as hell didn't want to be shot by local authorities if he survived by sinking his teeth in a couple insurgents...It was for the better.

Grin was the first one to come out of hiding, hearing blaster bolts a bit farther away as the people that had naded them switched targets. The Verminion would motion the human to follow, sneaking around as he heard cries of pain and terror and blaster bolts getting closer. It seemed like there was a couple armed humans nearby, no doubt the ones that had thrown the grenade before, Grin would look at the one nearest to him, nodding his head towards the other one to let the human take care of it.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

"Grin?" It didn't qualify as a name in Max's book, but the other Lieutenant didn't seem to be joking. He was up and slipping across the room in one fluid motion. Max could sit there frowning or get following him.

He moved around the bar, glancing left and right before hurrying across behind a pillar, still at a crouch. 'Grin' was a little way ahead, surprisingly covert in his movements. Max hadn't missed the Foreign Legion patch and saw that his smiling friend had a very particular skill set. Between them, they would make short work of these murdering traitors.

As if on cue, he heard a man's voice as one enemy called to another and the sound of a booted foot on broken glass. At least two of them, though there could be more back towards the entrance of the club. Every sense told him these two were only feet away.

Max holstered his pistol; one shot and all of them would know the two Imperials were here. He pulled the knife from his boot instead, hoping that they could take out these two and keep the advantage of surprise for the rest.

"Psst" he whispered to his comrade. He motioned with two fingers for Grin to take the left-hand guy and Max the right. Soundlessly, he mouthed the countdown.

"One, two, three!"

@Versok

 

[Grin]

Grin's hearing was quite good given his big old ears, so, the moment he heard the broken glass he knew he would need to approach carefully in order to catch the guy off guard. The Verminion would be on him in an instant, as silent as they could come after deftly moving around most of the broken glass. What he would do, however, would probably take Max by surprise while at the same time being something to be expected.

Grin didn't exactly have a knife with him, no. Instead, he put one of his hands around the man's mouth to keep him quite just before gutting him with his other hand, clawed fingers stabbing the poor man in the stomach as he digged deeper and deeper into him. Of course, this vicious attack would make most people scream loud enough for it to be heard no matter what was used to muffle the sounds coming out of them. However, taking this into account, Grin already made sure the guard wouldn't be able to by biting into his neck and tearing out most of it with his teeth.

It was a gruesome execution, but the man would be out in a matter of seconds. The Verminion would look at Max, giving him another one of his smiles and a thumbs up after he dealt with his own guard, the sight even more disturbing than usual because of the blood in both things...Max would also notice that Grin had not spitted anything out...Turns out he was a bit less hungry now.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max moved in unison with Grin, stepping out from behind the pillar and sweeping up, his knife flashing in the dim light. The man barely had time to react, grunting and twisting towards Max as the blade plunged into his throat. The force of the blow knocked the wind from him, as the Lieutenant hoped, strangling the enemy's cry.

Max moved in close, pinning the victim's arms and wrestling to dislodge his shaking hands from his weapon. It was a near-silent struggle for supremacy, but Max had struck well and struck hard and the man could not find his breath or his strength. Gradually the Lieutenant prized his enemy's fingers from the trigger hold and the man's rifle clattered to the floor, though not likely audible enough for anyone to hear. Bit by bit the life went out of his eyes.

He laid the body down, standing back with grim satisfaction on his face. He only wished he could make them suffer more for the cold-blooded murder they had done tonight.

Over the way, Grin had done his job too, though far more messily than Max. Even the Lieutenant had to look away when he saw blood dripping on those serrated teeth. His comrade was almost more beast than man.

Max motioned for them both to move around to the stairwell. They were unlikely to be able to take out the remaining hostiles so easily, but at least they had evened the odds. They would get their revenge tonight one way or another.

@Versok

 

[Grin]

Grin took a look at the man that Max had taken down, the Verminion had to admit it was a professional, efficient kill...But it still was a bit boring for his tastes. Still, props to him for being able to keep up, he was deserving of Grin's bloody thumbs up for sure...Now they had to take out the rest...Which he did doubt would go quite as smoothly, but that was fine by him, he enjoyed both the sneaky kills and the loud bloodbaths, just had to make sure to enjoy himself regardless.

After enjoying the taste of the fear that Max was showing by looking away, the Verminion lieutenant would take out his blaster pistol and so Grin would follow Max as they went around the staircase, prepared to take out whoever came next, if he had to guess from the voices far away there should be around four suspects left...But he would need to be careful, as brutal as Grin was, he still was a trained soldier and knew to not be too trigger happy, didn't want to end up shooting a civilian instead of a target, even if chances were the terrorists were killing every single person in the establishment.

@Alhon