Open Tatooine The Last Vault of Jabba

[Khlan Gonk]

Khlan shivered slightly and drew closer to the crackling fire before him. The small flames did little to fight against the approaching cold night and the fierce winds that were picking up, but it was better than nothing. Khlan cursed the planet he had grown on. The twin suns during the day made life a blistering hell, and the night time brought freezing winds that risked consuming anything alive.

“Gonk!” Boom Box honked as he drew closer to his master, trying to huddle against the lizard-like being.

“Hey, not so close ya hunking bulk” Khlan growled. Boombox tentatively took a step back and stood next to the sack of ropes and hooks. Khlan shook his head at the droid and turned back to the flame. Boombox meant well. He figured his running power generator would warm up his master, but his limited droid brain couldn’t process the fact that his exterior made any heat escape impossible.

Khlan looked up. Several miles away, he could see the outline of that imposing durasteel complex known as Hutt Castle against the backdrop of Tatooine’s Twin suns. Even without macrobinoculars, he could see the detail of the rising Alkhara’s tower over the rest of the palace.

Khlan shivered again, and this time not from the cold. Tonight was the night. It had to be. Traffic nearby had been at an all time low, and the nearby Tusken Tribes would be approaching this side of the Dune Sea soon. Khlan did not want to be waiting around with the constant threat of barbaric raiders. The only reason he hadn’t attempted his plan earlier was because his contacts promised to arrive tonight at the very latest.

His contacts….

Again, Khlan shivered and licked his teeth. He reached into the fire with his robotic hand and pulled out a small ember and rubbed it over his chest. They were interesting to say the least. Ever since he left his home planet the first time, he discovered the galaxy was not as friendly as he hoped it to be. Not that he minded that fact alone. But the additional fact that he had the Force residing in him made him a juicy target for some, and more paranoid than ever. But the inside of the Palace was going to be dangerous at the very least. He was unsure how helpful these contacts were going to be, but if the rumors and legends were true, this night would be a boon for everyone.

“The last vault of Jabba” Khlan giggled at the thought. Rumors had always persisted that Jabba the Hutt had numerous vaults across the galaxy stored for his personal use. Some of the more extravagant rumors said that his underlings had their own vaults. Numerous people had tried breaking into the Hutt Palace, but none ever really returned to tell the tale. But Khlan was sure of two things: The greatest vault was in there, and the B’omarr Order, beings with brains stored inside jars, still lived on. Khlan was sure the two were connected and that the vault was somewhere under the palace. And if the treasure was a bust, than at least the knowledge of the B’omarr techniques of enlightenment would prove most useful.

Khlan licked his teeth and balled his robotic hand into a fist at the thought of what cybernetic enhancements he could acquire from inside. He would’ve done this for those secrets alone. The treasure? Well, something had to pay for materials.

“Any time now…” Khlan muttered to himself as he rocked back and forth on his heels. “Any time now…”

@Sreeya @Volene

 

[Nefid]

By all accounts, Nefid should have hated the cold too, built as she was for the Ryloth heat. But as she approached, it didn’t seem to bother her much. Perhaps she hid it well, or perhaps she was already closer than most to the ideals preached by the B’omarr monks. Mind over matter.

To an outside observer, she was guided by the fire, beelined to it like an Alessian moth. In truth, that wasn’t it. The man was thinking so loud. Thoughts and fears spun and crashed in his head like drunk pilots at an airspeeder show. That was what drew her. She stopped near the Gank, stayed quiet a moment as her eyes appraised him.

A fire in plain sight of the target, visible for miles, Nefid remarked. In Khlan’s mind, her voice was blank, insipid, it just was. Is part of the plan giving yourself away?

@Narzen

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai didn’t give a shit about the Boomer Order or whatever ‘secrets’ the palace held. He was here for the treasures. His expertise lay in breaking into places, but this job was too big for him to navigate alone. As much as he despised the thought of working with Sith, they were known to be efficient. And they were far more interested in the spiritual bullshit than the materialistic treasures, or so he hoped.

The Fiani arrived on the scene shortly after the twi’lek, also wondering why there was a roaring fire in the middle of the desert. If he had any opinions about his companions, none of them surfaced to his face. His tail swished back and forth lazily as he spoke, “I scoped out near the palace,” He said. His specialty was being sneaky, and he put those skills to use to take a closer look, “There aren’t any guards positioned outside, so our entry may not be too difficult. I don’t know what we’ll find inside, but getting in will be easy.”

Kai brought a number of tools with him, namely his fusioncutter, a grapple line, and his usual weapons. He hoped to avoid engaging anyone and hoped to be the one to open the vaults or get them through doorways. Combat was not his forte, and he trusted the uggo ringleader could take care of all the clobbering.

“Kodi,” He said simply to introduce himself.

Dice: 3/20 on palace defense to get in.

@Volene @Narzen

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai searched the area while his ally Khlan Gonk tended the fire and awaited their guests. He had told the Gank that a fire would make them a target and conspicuous but he didn't listen and made it anyway. Stubborn as always. As the first of the strangers arrived, the Massassi stood in the dark, his red skin only apparent when he approached the camp and the fire.

Khlan had been the one to suggest they return to Tatooine, at first Trodai had refused until he mentioned the vault may contain some clues as to the whereabouts of the Sith and their secrets. Which both sought. Trodai desired this knowledge above anything of monetary value but if he could not find what he wanted, at least he would earn more credits and weaponry to the duo's vast collection.

Cautiously, he approached the newcomers, for did not know these people, and trusted few outsiders from his race. In fact in some ways he despised them, as much as any of the Pureblood race. One hand was always close to a sword, wary of them. And yet from one, the Twi'lek female, he felt something. Something within him being drawn. A familiar feeling, and he did not why or how. A feeling connected to his inner Darkness.

It was curious, and so he let events play out as they may for now.

As the younger male, Kai as he introduced himself spoke, Trodai agreed, having done his own assessment. Lowering his guard just a little, but not fully.

"I have also concluded there are no guards outside, but the inside may be different. I suspect we won't be the only ones looking for this place and may not appreciate the competition. Not that it bothers me, but I have my own reasons for wanting in that vault. We may also run into traps. Of what sort who knows, maybe even some using that Force trickery I heard tale of. I just hope you know what you're doing, and I hope Khlan and I don't regret allowing others to know about this endeavour.

I am Trodai Narat iv-Adas and Khlan is my close ally and associate of many years.Who might this young lady be, if I may enquire?"

His words came out with the slight accent familiar of his species, and yet for a warrior very elegant, speaking to his nobility.

@Narzen @Sreeya @Volene

 

[Gemini]

Tatooine; Dune Sea - Late Evening​

For one born of the sands, even the slightest shift of it's landscape drew an endless visage. Here, upon the setting of the twin suns, a child born of this world found himself lost both in metaphysical and in reality. As the crimson plum left his exhaling lips, Gemini let his blind gaze haze with the alterations that came from the purity of the Pyke's livelihood, the remnants of his youth still an infliction that sought to be quelled.

It had been many full Moons across countless worlds since he last set foot upon the coarse earth of his retched homeworld and even many more since his mind last held the torturous visions of a forgotten time and reality. But as a wanted soul by all that was labeled good in the Galaxy, few were the ports he could subsequently let down his guard and openly trek. Tatooine was that for this lost soul as one of his feet sunk beneath the loose dunes, as he tripped, an eruption of laughter proceeded.

As he brought the vapor to his lips, half leaned against the sands that now covered the one leg up to his knees, he delved deeper into his subconsciousness as the day became night, a welcomed old friend bringing forth a bitter cold in more than one sense of the word. The visions of flames engulfing his blinded sight, the smell of burnt flesh and the unknowing echo of screams tearing at his memories, all sought to destroy his peace of mind and acceptance of his life, but with another exhale, it was as gone as was his true reality. All that remained was visions of darkness and the bitter cold that nipped at his form beneath his armor.

Pulling his leg back to a semi-solid footing, he chuckled again and erupted into a chorus of sing-songs as he continued his trek into the nothingness that was his former abode.

Time passed, as did his intoxication, as the moon rose higher into the sky and spreading an eerie glow across a deadly horizon. For few dared walk this world alone at night amidst the numerous fauna and limited foliage it presented. And yet, it mattered not to this being that preferred the cold breath of death and the thrill of destruction. For in his silvered eyes, fate was inescapable. Only what you did before fate came for you defined your just reward. And by this point, Gemini felt his reward lacking immensely.

Topping the next rise, as he gazed upon the blackened and ill lit horizon, a small flicker of life shown brightly in a brief distance, a flame attempting to reach for the heavens just as he did, and yet, like him, found it truly implausible. And yet, as he exhaled another crimson plum, he found himself drawn to it's snare willingly.

Stumbling upon the others @Narzen @Akheron @Sreeya @Volene as they began to gather, the visage of Gemini became growingly apparent as he crossed the threshold of Tatooine's night into the illuminated glow of the roaring fire. Glazed over silvered eyes gazed upon each without a word until a single hand reached up to run its fingers through gingered hair and another fit of laughter erupted softened by a passing billow of wind.

With the laughter subsiding and a curious smirk rising upon the right side of his face, Gemini brings forth the vapor to his pursed lips before speaking, an eerily manical undertone carried within. "Hello fellow travelers"

 

[Khlan Gonk]

As the first being made herself known, Khlan reacted appropriately: he reached and grabbed his knife for protection while jumping up in a startled fashion. However, he jumped up so rapidly and clumsily that he stumbled slightly to the side, barely catching himself on BoomBox.

“Hey hey, no need to frighten someone who is here to make an honest living, right?” Khlan whimpered to the Twi'lek, playing on his cowardly nature and pretending not to be anything noteworthy. He continued with a slight shiver. “No need to hurt me, see? I got no credits on me, and poor Boombox here is barely a pile of bolts at this point ….”

The second being, who introduced himself as Kodi, caught Khlan’s interest in the fact of its legs and ears. While he had seen a few aliens with interesting biology on the sand bucket of Tatooine, he couldn’t recall any humanoids with legs or ears like those. He wondered if he could make a copy of the legs with enhancements for himself. Would be far better than what he had now.

“Oh! Very appreciative... Kodi…” Khlan licked his teeth as his robotic sensor whirred and looked the newcomer over. He relaxed himself, forgetting about the Twilek momentarily. He would have to dissect this individual in order to get an idea how to make such an enhancement work. “You must be a very capable thief to have not seen my friend…”

“Speak of the devil…” Khlan chuckled as Trodai introduced himself. Khlan instantly became more visibly relaxed. BoomBox gave a rather large GONK as the droid took several waddling steps towards the red skinned man to give it a familial bonk. Khlan growled at the droid, stopping it in its tracks. “What took you so long my friend? I was starting to worry. What would your doctor do without his best friend?”

While Khlan chuckled at his own joke, he didn’t expect such laughter as the newcomer made himself known. The laughter that erupted as the final individual made Khlan return to his cowardly paranoid senses. He jumped towards Trodai’s side and brandished the knife momentarily again.

“Kriffing sands, maybe I shouldn’t have made a fire!” Khlan growled before easing slightly. Despite the darkness, everyone seemed to approach openly and without threat initially. Course, maybe they were playing the long con game. Still, he had his ‘bodyguard’ to protect him for now.

“I believe you are here about the, er, job…” Khlan pointed a knife at Kodi. He then looked at the other two, already knowing why Trodai was here. “You here about the job as well?”

Khlan hesitated to say the vault and outright give away the reason why he was here. But if these individuals identified themselves or their intentions of finding the vault, then he would have nothing to hide from this strange group.

@Akheron @Sreeya @Volene @Mythos

 

[Nefid]

Nefid stayed quiet through the subsequent arrivals, even as she was addressed directly. She probed them. They’d recruited a common thief for the mundane concerns, which was far from the worst idea; greed was a predictable motivator. The rest of them shone like her. Well, not like her—Nefid had yet to meet someone quite like her. But they shone not unlike her, different branches of the same tree.

No guards outside. A good thing, she decided. Only not unequivocally so because living, thinking guards were her specialty, and Nefid didn’t want to become expendable. But there would be more. And she was confident the B’omarr monks’ defenses would require keeping her around. ‘Force trickery,’ the Sith crudely called it for want of understanding of what the mind could do.

Everyone but Trodai felt her voice again.

I am Nefid, it said. My body is young, but my mind is ageless. Infinite. As is yours.

Then, to all four of them. Five of us, no guards. Go. Before they return.

@Narzen @Akheron @Sreeya @Mythos

 

[Z'Kair]

What a weird fucking gathering.

Kai watched as more and more of their party started creeping out of the shadows. His gaze first went to the Pureblood. He heard these things were almost extinct, but clearly not extinct enough since this was the second one he was coming across. The guy looked like he kicked puppies for fun and was probably looking for an excuse to eat Kai. He listened to the long introduction but said nothing, nodding along. (@Akheron )

Next came a guy that appeared to be stoned or drunk, Kai couldn’t tell, but he could relate. And then came the maniacal giggling, which only unnerved the Fiani even more. However, Kai made a point to ask him what he was smoking because he would rather be blazed before running this job. They all knew each other, clearly. (@Mythos )

When the twi’lek echoed in his thoughts, he gave an embarrassingly loud fox yelp, physically springing back. He gave her a completely scandalized look, horrified as he realized she was in his head. She would have to do some sort of interpretative flailing with her hands or something before he got the hint that she actually couldn’t speak. (@Volene )

Still recovering from his mild heart attack, he looked back at Khlan when he pointed a knife at Kai and asked why he was here. Kai’s eye narrowed, “No, I was just wandering around the desert hoping to stumble into a Sith circlejerk for fun..” He answered sarcastically. (@Narzen )

With all the intros out of the way, Kai was ready to get going, “Leave the door opening and unlocking to me. I can also sneak ahead to deactivate traps, but I’m not a frontline fighter,” He needed to level-set with them all about his skillset, “I’m here only for the physical treasures. I don’t care about anything beyond that,” A quick glance around suggested that no one had anything worth stealing, so they were safe from his feisty hands for now.

 

[Gemini]

Gemini erupted back into a fit of laughter as the Gank reacted, brandishing a small blade that he otherwise viewed as nothing more than a mosquito bite in his current mind frame, a fit that inevitably made him choke on his own saliva and ended up in a fitted mixture of laughing and coughing as he slapped at his knee. Spitting aside, he cleared his throat and spoke. "I've never seen a Gank tremble so. Thank you my friend. I guess I am here about the job." And yet, as jokingly as he appeared, there was a seriousness in his silvered eyes as they met that of the blade @Narzen, an itch that spasmed his hand.

"Me and my brother used to play not too far from here, ya know. The old Hutt Palace. Wonder if that Norb character still lives there." He spoke casually aloud as he brought the vapor up his lips and sucked in a lung full of the crimson plum before exhaling, his gaze shifting across the gathered group until it fell upon @Volene she spoke silently within the void of his mind. "Sure hope not. Rather unpleasant fellow if you ask me."

As the guy who introduced himself as Kai @Sreeya spoke aloud to him, Gemini couldn't help but oblige. He reached into the pocket of his armor and tossed him a spare vapor filled with the crimson plum and handed it over, a soft pat upon the shoulder as he did with a simple response before turning back to the others. "Compliments of the Pykes."

But to the other who had remained silent so far, the crimson skinned fellow of stock and stature @Akheron, he offered only a few select words with a chuckle as he clasped his hands together near the fire and rubbed them vigorously. "And what about you, sunset? Why the tall, dark, and silent treatment? Heard your conversation two dunes over."

Gemini wasn't quite sure what he walked into overall, but the 'job' likely wasn't an honest one to be out here planning and gathering Intel about in the middle of the night. This was surely his type of quick creds. For now, however, he would play his part, make the quick creds someone else missed out on, and no one would be the wiser. But if things got hairy, at least these poor sods didn't know who he was.

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai gave a sigh as Khlan started pointing the knife and brandishing it around like he was waving a wand. With very little care as to where it was pointing. He spoke to Khlan as he looked first to the weapon.

"Put the knife away Khlan, we don't need anyone stabbed just yet. I'm sure none here will harm us, would you? After all then we would all lose out."

It was then he felt her, just as as much as he heard her. As she spoke within his mind, he felt some kind of connection. A familiar feeling, something born of Darkness. Like a key to a lock. And yet different. It spoke silently to his innate Rage and Wrath, a spark that would ignite a flame if given opportunity and time.

As her voice spoke, a whisper that became a voice, he felt this odd connection. Awakening something deep inside yet he was unsure about it. His interest was piqued none the less and he was drawn. Was this perhaps what the ancient spirit of his ancestor, Adas spoke of on Ziost? Was this the Darkness shared by his people, a inheritor of their power? Was she Sith or was she something else? A Jedi maybe? He hoped not, he loathed them even if all he heard of them were tales.

He would soon see.

He decided to keep quiet about the possibility of it for now, unsure of what he felt and the truth of the situation. He would soon find out. Regardless, it appeared this expedition was already bearing some fruit.

At least for him. Perhaps for Khlan too, time would tell.

He looked at Kodi and almost laughed, not expecting such a comment.

"Well that is one way to put it. But fair enough, if there is a fight to be had that is where I will be, close and personal is my preference. I will see if there is one with the skill to do what many have not yet accomplished. Although not for a lack of trying. If anyone shows up to spoil things for us I will do what I can to make them live to regret it. "

He turned to the strange newcomer.

"Khlan is a useful medic and assassin, The silent one...I can't quite gauge just yet and I am a fighter, a warrior. What might your skill be stranger? And what do we call you. Will you be a hindrance or a boon?"

@Sreeya @Narzen @Mythos @Volene

 

[Khlan Gonk]

Khlan shivered again at the voice that intruded his head from the being identified as Nefid.

Magic he thought to himself, his preferred, though probably inaccurate, term for the Force. He would have to give this one special attention for certain. His own connection to the Force was still experimental at this point, but he knew that Force users were not looked kindly upon in the galaxy at the moment, even here on Tatooine. Whether she would be an opportunity or a trap was yet to be seen.

Khlan growled at Kodi’s sarcasm, but nodded. He never fully understood why most humanoids liked such idiosyncrasies of the basic language. At least he knew Kodi would be useful, as he had already proven so.

“Glad to make your night…” Khlan growled at the still unnamed newcomer. However, he did know the name Norb. There was some genuineness to this character. And if his comment about the Pykes was true, then he needed to be included on the job. If not because of his potential usefulness after the job completed, then because he didn’t want this person go contacting other criminals about the potential haul Khlan would soon acquire. Good to keep your friends close and enemies closer and whatever.

“ I believe he’ll be a boon my friend” Khlan tapped Trodai’s arm while putting away his own knife away. “Someone with connection to the Pykes would have to be a boon. Someone will want to buy what we find after all…”

“But know this, and this goes for all of you…” Khlan growled at everyone, his small stature lit up by the small, dying fire. He unconciously straightened his stature to appear bigger, to little effect. “If you aren’t a boon, then you’re a hindrance, and I deal with hindrances like i did with my own hand…”

Khlan held up his cybernetic arm to emphasize the point he wanted to make.

“Now I have good knowledge that what we are after is not in the palace, but under it. Deep under it. With no guards in sight, then that means we can search the grounds freely without worry. You see, those clever Monks never do anything half assed. And if descriptions are accurate, they’re like their bodies: Spiderlike. And what do spiders always have? A way out.

Khlan sniffed deeply, as if some thick aroma was blown through the air. “There is an entrance around, I can feel it. Those rocks that the Palace sits on are as old as Tatooine itself. I’d bet my good arm the entrance is somewhere there, and cleverly marked I reckon. Find it, and I’ll get it open.”

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai’s eye practically glazed over from all the grandstanding and threatening. First Tentacleface started dropping idle threats about being good enough to join their endeavor. Then he did it again. And then the cybernetic guy started a monologue about cutting off his own arm.

Through it all, Kai nonchalantly started taking slow steps away from the group, his hands in his pockets. He could still hear them waving their proverbial manhoods at each other, but he was here to run a job. The moment he heard no one actually knew where the entrance was was when his blood began to boil.

His first thought was the hangar entrance, but that would be heavily guarded from the inside. He kept shuffling until he spotted a lone guard out on a sand dune having a smoke. Kai looked back at the twi’lek (@Volene )from before that must have known some mind things at least, “Can you manipulate him into opening the hangar door?” If they managed to get that open, it was luck on how full the inside of the hangar was.

@Akheron @Narzen @Mythos

 

[Nefid]

Nefid couldn’t believe her eyes. If she hadn’t spoken directly to their minds, she could have sworn they hadn’t heard her. How else to explain that the sad trio before her had yet to move despite her urging? They traded words. Meaningless words. Nefid was questioned. Then the short one made threats, and she had enough.

As she stared at Khlan, Nefid’s eyes passed over from dark grey to black, barely noticeable. To the others, nothing apparent happened, save for Khlan’s reaction if he had one. But the Gank’s surroundings changed. He was in the same dunes, but it was dark, nighttime. Trodai and Gemini were gone. Only Nefid stared him down a few feet away. The Tusken tribes he’d taken care to avoid made themselves heard, loud cries that preceded an attack. But the real threat came from behind him. Three patrolling guards from Jabba’s palace came into sight from behind a dune.

“Hey! Intruder!”

They drew their rifles and opened fire, straight at him—

The illusion broke. Khlan was back in the middle of the group, at dusk. The vision had only lasted a handful of seconds.

A foretaste of my... use, said Nefid for him only.

But it wouldn’t remain a foretaste for long as the thief addressed her. The Twi’lek turned her eyes to the guard in question. Again the subtle shift to black. None could know what the man saw, but he rushed back inside and shortly after they heard the rumbling of the hangar door. Then he returned.

“I’m terribly, terribly sorry, Sir,” he told Kodi, “we weren’t expecting His Excellency this moment, it’s my fault, my entire fault. I sent word that your arrival not be disturbed, and please send His Divine Majesty my deepest, deepest regards.”

For the second time, Nefid quietly goaded the remaining trio. Go. Before the thief leaves you all in the dust.

@Narzen @Akheron @Sreeya @Mythos

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai again heard her words and felt that same feeling born of Darkness. Imperceptible to most but to one attuned to the Force, even if unaware of just how much it was like a awakening. He kept quiet after taking note again unsure about it, but curious as he followed behind, a tight grip upon one sword as they got closer.

He ignored the threat made by Khlan, he had heard him say as much a hundred times before. He let him do it anyway and to posture, to make him feel more important. Looking over the dunes he saw the guard, and was tempted to just charge in and remove his head in a visceral display.

With it being a single guard, he would not have posed a problem. Easily overpowered.

Instead he waited, seeing that the guard raised his rifle and how just as quickly, the guard started acting strangely. Welcoming them like old friends. In that instant, Trodai knew what he felt must be true. For he had heard the old tales, how this 'Force' could bend minds to do the most unusual of things. Just as they could enter a mind and speak, without moving a muscle. A slight excitement was building inside of the prospects that possibly lay ahead.

Now he was sure she was a Force user, although of what sort he was still uncertain, however he was sure his questions would soon be answered and he would soon know for sure.

Following inside the hangar, he kept a suspicious eye upon the guard, hoping he didn't come back to his senses. At least before they were all through the door. And he hoped whoever went last disposed of him...no loose ends afterall and to stop him calling for help when his senses returned.

He whispered to Gemini, who appeared to be next. So far as he could tell.

"Dispose of the guard once we are all through, if you would. No loose ends, we don't want him realising and calling his friends."

@Sreeya @Narzen @Mythos @Volene

 

[Khlan Gonk]

When the vision overtook Khlan, a lump rose in his throat. Confusion clouded his mind immediately as he wondered how he ended up between the Tuskans and angry guards. And that Twilek… what was going on?

Then it ended. Khlan stumbled back slightly in shock and horror. He had heard stories, but that was something else.

Something I do not want to repeat… Khlan thought hopefully to himself as he looked the Twilek over with new found respect and fear.

Seeing the guard change attitude suddenly, Khlan was quite sure of what just happened, having experienced a similar exchange. When Nefid told them to get going, Khlan did not argue and moved forward at a brisk pace.

“Allow me, your Excellency, to take the front…” Khlan said as he passed the guard, phrasing it as more as a command than a request to Kodi. “I do believe I have good knowledge on where to go”

In truth, Khlan was going off reasoning and guessing at this point. But to put a few other souls between him and the Twilek made him a bit more comfortable, even if that meant everyone could see his back. Hopefully Trodai was keeping an eye on everyone else.

OOC Roll to find route downwards

Spoiler

30: Barely a Success.

Khlan’s method of finding a route to the tunnels was mostly one of finding stairwells and overlooked passageways. As he searched, he continuously glanced around in every direction. The interaction with Nefid had left him paranoid. Was this still real? Was he actually inside the building, or was he being slaughtered by Tuskans?

“No, no, this has to be real…after all, if it wasn’t, then why did I shop shivering …” Khlan muttered to himself as he turned around a corner into a wider tunnel. Khlan was so busy talking to himself that he walked face first into the red-liquid filled glass sphere.

“Yipe!” Khlan shrieked as he fell backwards at the sight of the brain suspended in liquid. The Monk’s spidery robotic body fell back a few steps but maintained its stance. Behind it, five other monks, still unenlightened and in human bodies, gathered around their teacher to make sure he was alright.

“Who are you?” The enlightened monk asked the group. “How did you get here?”

Khlan, still recovering from seeing a literal brain in a jar, stammered incoherently. The other monks looked annoyed at the Gank for touching the jar that held their teacher’s brain, but at least they weren't drawing any weapons at the moment.

 

[Gemini]

Beneath the facade that Gemini wore, he couldn't help but note the lengthy questions that were abound between the group, questions that usually got you dead in this portion of space and he silently questioned the overall success rates that would dictate their luck in surviving this plan, which of yet had to be laid out. It felt more upon a whim than it did thorough. As the tall, red, and silent spoke his, Gemini paid closer attention to the others.

As Kodi began slowly stepping away, Gemini pondered on his own exit, turning to follow in suite as he seemed to have the more sensible head for this job. But as he did, the silent one as the red skinned Alien called her, spoke once again to his mind and wondered if her kind even held the ability to speak as he would. In the world he grew up in, he had met numerous aliens, some who could speak, some who couldn't, even one or two who gurgled. So it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that she possessed Telepathy as a means of communicating just as he did to see. Still, she was right. It was time for action, not words.

Disregarding the Gank's story about his arm, he followed Kodi just as he intended to do to begin with and watched in awe as the silent one played upon the guards mind, a subtle hint of the Force embracing a darker intent. In silence, he pondered. Was she of the Jedi? No. Her presence held a darker nature. Sith? Possibly. It was hard to get a read upon her behind his blind silvered eyes. Or perhaps she was simply adept in the Force. Either way, his interest was peaked, even as he brandished his Vibro-ax with hidden glee.

All it took was Trodai's whispered voice for his actions to decree his intent, and amidst the blackened night, a silent swirling sound echoed quickly before a subtle thump before the body fell coldly upon the ground. With a brash smile, he nodded in reply to Trodai's words as they ended and he trekked forward behind the others to retrieve his blade.

None of them needed to know his name, nor anything he chose to keep to himself. For his actions had spoke what needed to be said. Placing the Vibro-ax back upon his hip, Gemini took another drag from his vapor and continued following, his gaze upon the silent one above all the others. He had wondered the underworld enough to know the others, as Thieves would be Thieves, and the two that traveled as one were amateurs at best when it came to his realm. But the silent one was an unknown, and unknowns could be either a life saver or a knife in the back. It was her that needed to be watched most of all.

@Narzen @Akheron @Volene @Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai observed as the spooky twi’lek got to work on the guard. It was almost unsettling what that kind of power could do, and he watched the poor fool wander over to open the bay. Spooky indeed.

He looked over when the diminutive Gank strutted over to take the lead. Kai simply shrugged and let him through, not too keen on getting himself killed. He preferred bringing up the rear of the group. The Fiani fell into step behind the others, always keeping a lookout. He didn’t miss the latest arrival disposing of the guard with quiet efficiency.

Their progress started to slow down on account of the ‘leader’ of the group suddenly hallucinating. He was confused and muttering to himself, no doubt getting the group lost. Kai nudged the quiet guy (@Mythos ) with his elbow, “Did you give him some of the Pyke spice too?” He whispered, pointing at Khlan, “Because that guy does not need it,” He remarked, watching the Gank wandering around before yelping at something.

Seeing how most of the party except for Tentacleface was shorter than him, he was able to stand on his toes and see what the fuss was about.

“That’s a fucking brain in a jar!” He hissed, scrambling back right into Gemini and almost toppling them both back. He didn't realize in his haste that he stepped on a switch on the floor. It wasn't immediately apparently what that switch did...

The monks began to draw their weapons, but they had been caught off guard. One of them attempted to jam a spear right into Khlan (roll: 5/20).

@Akheron @Narzen @Volene

 

[Nefid]

They killed the guard behind her and Nefid knew it without needing to turn around, his stream of thoughts gone out like a candle. Not her preferred outcome, though not enough to raise an objection. The man had played his part; now his corpse would only betray them. Nevertheless, the party carried on. The hangar was remarkably empty, yet another example of what perks a living guard could bring. A living guard thinking himself approached by the Supreme Mogul’s majordomo himself.

It was an uneventful walk through the hallways of the vault and Nefid bathed in the feelings of anticipation from her co-conspirators. Then surprise. A spike, a scream, fear. The Gank on the ground. A mess of tension and urge to defend oneself, the irony of no one considering themselves the aggressors. Nefid caught sight of the monks, those they came to find. One of them enlightened. Even he spoke aloud.

Pathetic.

The monks attacked.

Stow your weapons, Nefid ordered, her quiet voice in the monks’ minds. Kneel before your better.

The monks looked straight at her, but Nefid knew instantly she hadn’t had the intended effect. In their hearts was not awe, not reverence; it was fear of a power unknown. Two of them moved directly for her, weapons raised. And as the Twi’lek reached into the deepest recesses of her mind for a defensive trick, the floor collapsed from under her.

All of them fell. The monks too, so wide was the opening, like to leave no chance the perpetrator wouldn’t be caught. Some landed worse than others. The brain in a jar, notably. And Nefid.

There was a sharp pain in her knee and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back up in time. One of the monks had landed on his feet and moved to action before anyone else.

“Get this one!” he called for his allies, and charged straight for her.

Nefid couldn’t stand. Her knee felt like it would never again stop hurting. She reached for her lightsaber, but the blade never ignited. The monk brought up his spear and stabbed it down.

Onto the bare stone, six feet from her position.

@Narzen @Akheron @Sreeya @Mythos

 

[Trodai Narat-iv-Adas]

Trodai was just about to strike at a enemy when Kodi rather clumsily caused a commotion and stepped into a hidden panel, shrieking about the brain in a jar which Trodai simply ignored initially until they fell. He had seen plenty of dismembered corpses and more in his life, a brain in a jar was of no concern. Soon enough the group and the monks were sent tumbling down the previously hidden pit. As the flooring gave way, and He been to tumble down from, Troda I remained relatively silent only looking down as he fell to get a gauge as to where he might fall and onto what.

Bracing himself, he awaited the inevitable stop at the bottom. He was not amused. For a thief the man seemed to be rather clumsy but he hoped his skills more than made up for it.

Tucking his legs he prepared, and as he hit the floor after the fall he rolled however the force of the impact knocked him off balance and about and he was sent tumbling right into Kodi. Picking himself up he sighed as he unsheathed a sword and prepared to strike at the nearest enemy monk to his position.

Monks or not if they stood in his way, they were nothing but obstacles. Obstacles he would remove.

@Sreeya @Narzen @Mythos @Volene

 

[Gemini]

Blood dripped casually upon the sands of Tatooine at first, and then the metallic flooring of the Hangar before its drip became a coagulation of bone, hair, and blood and it's miniscule trail ended by the time they ventured into the beginnings of the vault's entrance. In response to Kodi's questioning, he simply whispered a brief response, followed by a stiffled chuckle. "No way. He's already way too on edge."

Taking another plum from his vapor and exhaling, he started to say something else, but only managed a few words before the chaos that ensued completely killed his mellowed buzz and almost ticked the Hybrid off completely. "Like a half starved Ewok..." This time, Gemini wasted no time as his blooded blade was brought forth, a sneered and almost grizzled look crossing his face behind the silvered blind eyes he openly revealed. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the woman from before, Nefid.

And for a brief moment, his weapon was stayed. And in that moment, he realized how buzzed he truly had became, a cartoonish reminisce of simply looking down at the world leaving his presence behind in open air before the effects of gravity took place and he fell behind the others into the darkened pit below and one word escaped his pursed lips. "Great."

Spoiler

OOC: D20 Roll = 16

The fall happened alot faster than his mind could internally comprehend or react to, and as his form connected with the bottom below, it left him winded and gazing at the enlightened maw that had swallowed the group. There was pain, but not as much as was expected, and as he moved, what he thought was the ground, felt soft and coarse. It's at this time, he realized he had fallen onto someone, but the darkness that engulfed them offered no clarification, even for one as he. It was simply a shadow, blacker than the darkness that surrounded it.

@Sreeya @Volene @Narzen @Akheron