Ask The Iron Coast

[Aeron Wulfheart]

Out of the most of the planets he had visited recently, Taris was beginning to gain ahead of the others in time spent. Through his time on the planet and in the urban sprawl, he somehow found similarities yet differences at the same time between the planet and his own home on Eriadu. The Lower City of Taris was practically tenfold of everything Phelar was. People, traffic, buildings, restaurants, crime, everything. It was a reminder of how truly small it was but as another side effect, it made him miss home.

Ever since he had joined the Army and then the Knights, Aeron had never gotten a chance to return. He knew ultimately his family and people were safe but he was on the other side of the galaxy. A part of him yearned to return back to his street, stand in front of his house as a prideful and healthy symbol for his family to see. But, just as the yearning was there, so was that pain. It quickly overpowered any desire he had to return, an outcome he tried but failed to combat each time.

Before he let himself dive too deeply into his thoughts as he tended to do, Kelrod always quick to call him out for, he put his mind on the task at hand. Standing in a small listening outpost, one that was barebones but operational. It was stationed outside of a port, one that had rumors swirling around it that the place served as a smuggling ring. It was ran by the local gangs and with Aeron's past experience on previous hunts, there was reason to believe that a majority of their "clientele" were the Sith. The information wasn't concrete but the intensity of Sith activity in Imperial territory gave him reason to believe they had to be well supplied enough.

While Aeron studied the local map, he waited for a fellow Knight to join him, one he hadn't met recently. Their Order was stretched thin but only two of them would be more then enough. Compared to working with the army, he expected this to be much smoother as well.

@llamallove

 

[Amira Din]

The door of the listening outpost swung open, every cluttered nook and dust-covered cranny flooded with warm, welcoming sunbeams. There was life outside of its four walls, radio equipment, and faded charts, after all. 'Barebones' was a description too generous. It looked like a ramshackle hut left over from the planet's infamous rakghoul plague, with the structural integrity of one of those crude lean-tos her brothers had often built on Bandomeer as children.

It suited the needs of the Empire at present, however, situated near the harbor city, overlooking the marina. From here they would be able to see everything that went on down below—every ship that moored, every ship that set sail, and the transportation of cargo in and out of the city. Elicit or otherwise. Not to mention the comings and goings of the city's sailors, stumbling down the docks late at night, staggering from one cantina to the next, if they happened to get bored and wanted something to laugh at. All from the privacy, if not comfort, of their listening outpost, which had been converted overnight from an abandoned, one-room building into their base of operations. For the time being, they'd have to make the best of it.

Amira had been unable to dig up much information on her companion, another Knight she had never met before, but he must have been competent if he had been chosen for the assignment. At least, she hoped he was. She was beginning to tire of these leg-work missions and hoped that soon she'd be able to refocus her efforts on the Empire's image in the political paying field instead, but right now they needed all hands on deck. The Empire was strong, but it was still struggling, and there was no denying the reality that their numbers had dwindled in the wake of the split. All of that would take time. Amira just needed to bide hers.

"Here. I brought you a meat stick." The Tiefling wasn't much for formality when it wasn't absolutely necessary. She gave no introduction. Undoubtedly, he already knew her name, just as she already knew his. That was about all she did know about him. The door swung shut behind her with a desultory wave of her hand, and the room was cast in the solitary glow of a lamp once again. She'd already taken several bites out of her own meat stick. She'd been craving one for days. "Anything new?" she asked, peering over his shoulder at the map he held.
They didn't have a lot to work with so far. A smuggling ring suspected of doing business with the Sith. It was somewhere to start, but since he had arrived before her, she wanted to know if he had discovered anything new. @Orbit

 

[Aeron Wulfheart]

Aeron heard the door swing open and saw that it was his partner for this assignment, Amira Din. The young Knight stood up to full height and turned to face her, offering a deep nod as a sign of respect. The accomplishments of her brother were legendary amongst the Empire, the Warmaster the one to finally have the initiative to make the clean cut they needed from the Sith Order. Already, with her a Knight as well, their family line was beginning to form quite a impressive heritage.

Before he could make his greetings, she offered a meat stick to his surprise, evident by his arched eyebrow. "Thanks," he murmured, retrieving it from her hand and taking a bite out of it. With his time spent at the outpost, he hadn't realized how hungry he actually was. Aeron savored the taste knowing it would be his only snack before they conducted their operation.

Aeron towered over Amira and when she tried to peek over his shoulder, he simply shifted to give her a better view, making it easer. "Quite a few supply trucks have been going in and out. We suspect there may be a big delivery tonight." One of his fingers would then drag across a map to a specific street, "Right here is a tram track crossing. The light is old and makes each truck stop before going. That's our opportunity to slip onto one and get into the dock without too much noise." That was the plan that had been crafted so far, it requiring the least amount of bodies and legwork for them.

Amira would then be able to notice that he actually wasn't dressed in his Knight armor. Instead, he wore regular civilian clothing, a black collared jacket, shirt, jeans, and boots. It showed off his more muscular and lean frame compared to the bulky armor they typically wore. Aeron brought his violet gaze to the Tiefling, asking with another slight arched eyebrow, "Don't mind being quiet?"

 

[Amira Din]

It was a solid plan. Simple. Straightforward. Uncomplicated. The best laid plans always were. Amira had been hoping for an assignment with the least amount of legwork, and the other Knight's reconnaissance had delivered. "No complaints from me," was the Tiefling's response, leaning against the table as she studied the map, taking her time as she familiarized herself with the layout of the port city and, more specifically, the docks.
The meat stick, on the other hand, she made short work of. The stick was tossed into the nearest receptacle bin, overflowing with empty caf cups. If they were Wulfheart's, at least he would have no trouble staying awake tonight.

Actually, it wasn't usually Amira's style to go in quiet. But lately... well, lately was different.

There were still a lot of variables, still a lot that was up in the air. They didn't know if these smugglers were actually selling to the Sith or not. They didn't know if the Sith had an active presence that would need to be driven out. They didn't know what kind of resistance might await them. They didn't even know what supplies the smugglers were currently running.

All of that would be made clear tonight. Hopefully.

"So now we wait," Amira said, almost sighing. Always the worst part of any assignment. The Tiefling wasn't known for her patience. She lifted her gaze, away from the map she'd been studying and to her companion, noticing his eyes for the first time. They were violet. Just like Altair's. It was an unusual eye color, one that she had not often seen, and her thoughts naturally drifted toward her brother. She hadn't seen him since that private party he'd thrown.

The Tiefling crossed the room, looking out through the darkened window at the docks below. "Think we'll run into much opposition?" @Orbit

 

[Aeron Wulfheart]

Aeron was pleasantly surprised with his expectation of Amira being shattered. He assumed with her brother and her own status as a Knight, she would be stuck up or pompous with who she was. But the entire time, she had treated him equally, even with the incredible lead in credibility, and it made him like her from the start. As far as he could predict, they would be able to complete this smoothly.

The decision to sneak in was actually against his style too but he picked up a few things from Shale on his last assignment. Brute force usually found itself being his method of choice but he couldn't deny the process being easier without it. If they played their cards right, they could get to the heart of the docks and in perfect position.

Aeron gave a soft grunt of agreement to her words, that they indeed had to wait. They had a few hours until it was nightfall and that was when the trucks would start to flow in. "Yes. Always expect something to go to shit," he answered truthfully and in a low timbre that suggested he had gone through such occasions enough. If Amira turned around, she would find Aeron crossing to the other side to the room and to a relatively clean couch tucked away. The Knight would practically fall and sink into the cushions, his arms crossing over his chest while he closed his eyes at the same time, intending to catch every ounce of sleep he could.

Before he fell into his light slumber, he called out to the woman, "I would get some sleep while you can. Long night." She would notice that he took a spot that was the farthest he could get from her, affording her the most space to do what she pleased if she didn't decide to sleep too.

 

[Amira Din]

Spoken like a tried and true, hardened veteran with experience under his belt and the scars to prove it. He looked young—possibly even younger than Amira—but as she could well testify: age didn't always determine experience.

Across the room from Aeron, the Tiefling kicked back in an old, weathered wing chair and closed her eyes. It was small, and her legs hung over its torn arms, but it would do. Her feet were killing her. "I hope you don't snore," was the last thing either of them would hear before dozing off. Her way of thanking him for giving her some space. In cramped quarters like these, it was more than she had expected.
When the Imperial Knight awoke, Amira would already be up and standing by the window, looking out at the pier below. Where sunlight had crept through the darkened pane earlier in the day, moonlight now shimmered. A single electric lamp lit the room. The Tiefling was running her hands through her hair, weaving it into a braid so it wouldn't get in the way while they worked.

"You ready?" she asked, sensing he was up and about before she turned around and collected her things. She sorely missed that lightsaber, her hand empty as it hung at her side. She didn't wait for an answer from her fellow Knight, opening the door and stepping out into the night air.

The moon was bright, its shafts of light mirrored on the surface of the ocean, lazy waves washing up on distant beaches and lapping at the docks below. A gentle breeze carried the smell of sulfur up from the ocean. There was laughter in the air, too. A group of men and women ambling across the street, arms thrown around one another, no doubt out of equal parts necessity and comradery. They were all drunk, one of them shouting, whiskey bottle held high, "Cantina crawl!" before tripping on his own feet and stumbling into one of his friends.

Amira exchanged an amused look with Aeron before falling into step, navigating the path he had outlined earlier that day. @Orbit

 

[Aeron Wulfheart]

Aeron shifted in his sleep, unable to help himself as he reacted to the images that played across his mind. When he awoke, he would snap into an upright position, his breathing heavy. A few moments was taken by him to collect his thoughts until the process was interrupted by Amira and her question. The Knight's eyes gazed distantly outward for a brief moment before he shook his head and replied, "Yeah, let's go." He stood up from the couch and collected his things, leaving his bulky crimson armor behind.

As the pair navigated toward their objective and passed by the drunken bystanders, Amira would find him not even casting a glance. His eyes would just be periodically scanning around him, his mind too occupied with his own thoughts that resulted in him not wanting to see happy couples and people. It was the latent effect of his dream but his mouth was etched into a hard line, betraying nothing.

When they finally found the cross-junction, Aeron finally glanced over to Amira for the first time and gave an upward nod to signal they were at the right spot. He looked around for a moment until he found a formation of crates half stacked and tumbled over. They provided enough cover that the two could hide there until the trucks started to file in. "We wait for a little bit. When the last truck is about to cross, that's when we make our move."

Aeron approached and jumped over a crate, finding out he didn't need to crouch in order to stay hidden. The Knight inspected the space around him again, offering a slight shrug of his broad shoulders, "Time to get comfortable again." At least this time, the wait wouldn't be too long. He already swore he could hear the distant rumble of engines but that could have just been his many nights watching over the dock.