Ask The Dance of The Droids.

[Chalova Kallabacca]

Hoth, Wampa Mountain


Cha hated leaving Hoth. He loved this planet. Aye, the cold 'n' frigid temperatures weren’t pleasant, but at least he wasn’t sweating a thousand bricks the entire time.

To his surprise, he managed to find a bounty that hadn’t been taken. Which was a miracle, considering Cha’s track record with finding them first is so poor. It would take him a few days to reach Etti IV. His ship, despite purchasing it recently, was rather old. A bit like Cha, it was beginning to rust in several places. He hoped that by the time he even reached Etti IV, his bounty hadn't been killed.

All he knew about his bounty, which he had read about in the advertisement, was that it was a Zeltron with a number of security droids stationed at a “high tech ‘smart’ mansion”... whatever the hell that was.

He flipped several switches and ol’ Betsy roared to life. “C'mon, ye old hag. Ye'll be able to retire after this.” With 75,000 credits on the line, maybe Cha could get himself a new ship, and that alone justifies one last job.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

Crow’s eyes peered through his macrobinoculars. The smart mansion holding his mark was locked down tight. If he was getting in he’d need a hell of a distraction or an inside hand. He lowered the device and took a drag off the half smoked cigarra pressed between his lips.

The Enforcer hated this planet. It was the home of his biggest fuck up. His eyes flicked to the east and bore into the monolithic skyscraper emblazoned with the Imperial Czerka insignia. He’d pay a lot of money to do some bad things to that place, but that wasn’t his objective. Not now. He was close to consolidating power, but it was going slower than he’d hoped.

No one seemed interested in going to war with the company. A fact that scared him more than he cared to admit. His target was Czerka and that would have to whet his appetite. The price on Maevale Worscu was decent. That just meant getting in and out would be a pain in the ass.

He carried his usual blasters and assortment of knives. You really couldn’t have too many knives in this line of work.

@Resonance

 

[Chalova Kallabacca]

Somewhere in Etti IV

Cha managed to find a suitable spot to land his ship, a fair distance away from "The Smart Mansion". They probably noticed him flying over, but he hoped that they thought nothing of it.

He spotted several droids dotted around the mansion as he flew overhead, two at each entrance with a further two droids patrolling the entire house. He suspected more droids were inside. In small numbers, droids were rather easy prey. But, from Cha's previous experience, encountering an entire swarm of droids is where things get nasty. Cha had a sneaking suspicion that there was a lot more to this job than advertised. Imperial Czerka is a name Cha is unfamiliar with. Though he has heard it mentioned a few times before. He had prepped several grenades before leaving his ship. Primed and ready for possible distractions.

A few hours after landing his ship, he finally made it close to the Mansion. He stopped just short of a cluster of rocks, surprisingly big enough to cover Cha's entire body. He switched the safety off his bowcaster and took out a Stun Gas Grenade. He peeked over the top of the rock closest to him, the two droids that had been patrolling the house were ahead of him. They were talking, he could hear them. The mumbling of droids. He realized at this point, that he should've bought something a little quieter than his bowcaster.

The droids, still talking, seem to be unaware of Cha's presence. He decided now would be the time to strike. With the Stun Gas Grenade in his hand, he propped himself up against the cluster of rocks and threw it towards the droids with as much strength as he could muster. It bounced off the railing and landed off to the side. The sound that the grenade produced bouncing off the railing brought the droids attention to it. As it did, Cha raised his bowcaster and in a quick succession fired two shots. The droids fell to the ground in pieces. He ducked back behind the rocks and waited.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

Crow was kicking around whether he cared enough about the credits to turn the bounty in once he was done when the shadow of a ship flying by overhead caught his attention. He glanced up, this was a residential zone, but it wasn’t uncommon for delivery ships to be around, but this ship looked like it was on it’s last leg.

The Enforcer’s eyes remained on the ship until it disappeared out of site on the other side of the smart mansion. Crow chewed on the inside of his lip. Might be a coincidence, might be competition. Experience taught him to assume the worst, so that’s exactly what he did.

Crow took a final drag off his cigarra and flicked the spent vice over the outcropping he was hunkered down on. He slipped his helmet over his head and began priming his jetpack. There was a ridge on the north side of the smart mansion, it was closer and he’d have a better view of the droids on patrol.

Once he was in position, Crow waited. The worst part of this career was the constant back and forth of HURRY UP—DON’T MOVE. A couple of hours and few cigarras later and Crow heard a strange ping, He slid his helmet down looking toward the mansion. As soon as he magnified the area an explosion went off, wait, bowcaster bolts? His gaze flicked to the rocks hiding the mansion’s assailant and he scoffed.

Competition.

The Enforcer took one more drag off his cigarra then flicked it behind him into the wind. The Wookie’s attack had put the whole place on high alert. Crow pulled his duel pistols and took off toward the top of the building. If he was lucky he’d be able to make entry from up top without being spotted.

As he closed in, a sentry gun came alive and spit plasma at him. Crow barrel rolled to the left, steadied and fired back, his bolts landed true, but it was clear the stationary weapon was reinforced.

“Fuck,” he grumbled, taking two more shots before slipping into an evasive maneuver. He shot in toward the house, cutting to the left at the last possible second running parallel to the building. As he his the back right corner he pulled up and shut off his jack. The momentum carried him over the railing and into a forward roll.

As he came up to his feet, both blaster’s firing on the stationary gun, he realized he was getting way to fucking old for this shit…

@Resonance

 

[Chalova Kallabacca]

As Cha waited behind the rocks, he heard the familiar sound of of duel pistols being fired. He grumbled at the realisation that someone else was here. He would most likely have to either bargain with his opponent for the bounty, or just out right kill them both. A small part of Cha regrets becoming a bounty hunter. His luck at getting to bounties first has been so poor it's almost not even worth trying. But a part of him is glad, for those that he did manage to get to them first, the rewards were worth the pain and the trouble it caused him.

He got up from behind the rocks and slowly made his way to the droids he had shot. Whoever was here had provided enough of a distraction that Cha could get close to the mansion without being spotted by any of the other droids and for that, he was grateful. The mansion had three floors it seemed as Cha got closer to the bottom floor. He never understood why people splurged on such houses. Was it just to show others how much wealth they had? A form of gloating? or was it just because they had so much money they built such a building for sheer hell of it? Cha preferred smaller places. Less chance of anyone else getting to him that way.

As he got closer, he noticed a door leading into the bottom floor of the building. It had some sort of fancy shmancy keypad lock, preventing anyone who didn't know the code from getting in. He knew he wasn't getting in this way, unless he brute forced the door. Which is exactly what he decided to do. With his bowcaster, he fired once at the keypad lock. A loud buzzing sound was emitted from the keypad and sparks spewed from it and with all of his strength he could muster, began to kick the door down.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

The sentry gun gave up the ghost in a spray of sparks and grinding gears as it lost power. Between his and the Wookie’s assault he knew this job was about to become a pain in the ass. Time was their enemy. Czerka didn’t sweat involving local authorities, especially not at their private houses, but that didn’t mean reinforcements weren’t on the way. Czerka was ancient and it was very good at handling it’s own affairs.

Crow fired into the security panel and the door hissed open. One day some door company would fix that glitch and Crow would be out of a job, until then he’d just have to keep breaking into places he wasn’t supposed to go.

The Enforcer entered, guns up and at the ready. He was on the top floor which meant he’d have the chance to search each floor on the way down. He came to a corner, everything was quiet inside which made him nervous.

Then he heard a muffled crash. He froze. There was another. Then another.

“Fuck.”

Crow was running, throwing caution to the wind as he rushed toward the sound. He hit the stairs at the end of the hallway and started down, as he hit the ground blaster fire erupted from his left. The Enforcer crashed inot the wall, pressing himself into the corner as tightly as he could as the gun blasted the space behind him.

Great… just great…

The only solace he found in his current position was that there was no way his competition wasn’t dealing with the mansion’s internal defenses.

@Resonance

 

[Chalova Kallabacca]

Eventually, the door came crashing down. It came down with so much force that Cha was sure the whole building shook. He poked his head around the corner and immediately retreated as two droids opened fire at him. He took a deep breath. The blaster fire had just grazed his head. A small piece of his fur fell, albeit elegantly, to the floor. Cha grimaced. The droids were to his left. He removed the magazine in his bowcaster, and refitted another one into it. Going into this with only two shots left would've been a bad idea.

"3. 2. 1." Cha rolled forward. As he thought, the droids opened fire straight away. Missing him entirely. He lowered himself to floor and straightened himself out and fired. His bolts landed. One of the droids' head flew all the way down to the other end of the hallway, and the other had a large hole in its chest. "Uh oh." It said before falling to the ground. The other one collapsed in a heap.

Once Cha had gathered himself, he stood up. Quickly, but quietly. The sounds of blaster fire erupted above him. His opponent was either on the floor above him, or the one above that. It sounded somewhat distant, so he assumed the later. Though it wouldn't surprise him if his judgement was wrong.

There was a room to the left, and another to the right. He assumed one of these were a set of stairs leading upwards. Surely Worscu wouldn't be in this floor. Cha moved swiftly towards the room on his left. Bowcaster at the ready, he peeked his head around the corner. He ducked swiftly backwards as more blaster fire skimmed his head. He could feel his anxiety rising and Cha wanted this to be over. He hated this. But he thought about the bounty. The bounty was worth the trouble. It always was. Cha breathed in and out. Trying to calm his nerves before he faced the droids once more.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

Duracrete from the corner Crow was tucked behind exploded. Tiny shards pricked the skin exposed on his neck drawing pin drops of blood. The Enforcer lobbed a cylinder into the main room, drawing the sentry gun’s attention, until it combusted. The flashbang went off and Crow moved.

The Enforcer broke from cover, his twin blasters spinning and spitting as he laid into the obstacles in front of him. The plasma fired from his weapons slammed into the casing of the sentries. At first he thought he fucked up, then the shell gave under the weight of his assault.

The two sentry guns were little more than a smoldering heap as Crow reloaded his weapons.

Crow took a breath and then surveyed his location. He was in between the top and the middle floor right now, and he only saw one way down. The clatter of droid steps above informed his decision and he made for the lower floor. He pulled his last flash bang from his belt and steadied himself for the next round of trauma.

The Enforcer’s breath was steady. It was like he was talking a leisurely stroll on the beach instead of fighting his way through a house that was actively trying to murder him.

The door HISS’d open, Crow flung his flash, it popped, and he charged.

@Resonance

 

[Chalova Kallabacca]

Cha dug out one of his Stun Gas Grenades and primed it. Instead of lobbing it to the left and hoping it would hit one of them, he decided to throw at the wall in front of him. Hoping it would bounce far enough to reach the two droids at the other end of the room. Cha threw it as hard as he could.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The smallest pfft sound erupted from the grenade. Cha rolled to his left, practically doing a mini somersault. He pivoted to the right as he heard one set of blaster fire, and opened fire at the droid which attempted to shoot him. The bolt hit and left a large gaping hole in the droids chest, he flicked his bowcaster to the other droid and fired again. The left leg flew off fromt he force of the bolt. The droid fell to the ground, but it was still functioning. He fired once more but aimed for the head. He ejected his magazine and shoved a new one in the slot.

He backed away from the room, the sound of a flashbang upstairs told him his opponent was drawing close. Albeit cautiously, he headed up the stairs. The grand finale awaited him. Whether or not he'll get Worscu, the fight the he expected to face would be a valuable learning experience.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan]

Calamity erupted in front of him as he made entry. Crow’s blasters spit super heated plasma indiscriminately. Sparks sprayed from droids as their chassis became nothing but slag. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until he was fully committed to his attack that he realized just how fortified the room was.

This was a smart mansion owned by a Czerka suit. It had special features on top of it’s special features, and Crow’s eyed eyed look of shock told the story of his hubris beneath his helmet's visor.

A squad of four surrounding a bing, who Crow assumed was the target, shot toward an exit in the back right corner of the room. Meanwhile, a squad of six had taken up a defensive position front and center, Crow’s attack had taken out two and crippled three, but crippling didn’t mean much for droids. They just kept shooting regardless.

A seething hot streak of pain lanced up his thigh, and another bit into his shoulder. The smell of burnt flesh preceded the pain as his body dumped adrenaline into his bloodstream. Crow stumbled, lunged, then rolled behind cover just before the next flurry of blaster fire could end him.

The Enforcer scrambled to his feet. Both pistols gripped with white knuckles in his hand as he fought to catch his breath. Why was it every time he got around these Czerka bitches things got weird? He’d literally walked into the vault of Raxus and stolen from the heart of the Empire, but show up and kill a Czerka suit? Nah, that shit was harder than killing killiks.

There was another explosion. It was below and if he wasn’t mistaken he was pretty sure it was the same explosive used by his competition earlier. Of course, Crow was more concerned with the droids pressing in on him than what his rival was doing. Splinters were shattered from the corner of his cover, as he struggled to work through a plan. If the other hunter was incoming then there was a chance he could use their appearance to catch the droids off guard.

That is… provided the other came through here.

@Resonance

 

[Chalova Kallabacca]

A single thought made Cha pause on the staircase. What if Worscu isn't here? What if whoever is up there, is just a mere body-double?? Blaster fire erupted above him. He knew his opponent, whomever they were, happened to be occupied by the droids. Cha turned around and examined the room in front of him.

A reception of some kind, marbled flooring, coffee tables made out of silver and glass, plush grey couches, a vast array of artwork hung on the walls, Cha thought about stealing some for his ship. A dining table on one side, and a obnoxiously large tv on the other. That's when Cha noticed the door in the far-right corner. It was wide open. Perhaps from when the droids had entered. He could climb around the back of the house and get the upper-hand. His opponent would expect him to come barrelling up the stairs like a lunatic, but Cha suspects that they wouldn't expect him to come from above? He begins to second-guess himself. He brushed the thought aside and went for it.

He rushed towards the door, vaulting over one of the coffee tables. His foot caught the edge of one of the sofas, almost tumbling to the floor, but he recovered and made outside. Footsteps echoed above him. Fuck. Cha sprinted round the corner, he lept onto the railing and turned as he pushed himself up. He grabbed onto the railing above him and hauled himself up. As it turns out he made it in time... except the person he was chasing wasn't Worscu at all.

@Zay