Ask Tirin Up

[Aeron]

“Yup,” he lied as NoVa checked in with him. Aeron knew he needed to lock it down. He needed to push Riley and Atticus from his mind. They weren’t the job, they weren’t his responsibility, but knowing that didn’t change how he felt.

The Hunter kissed his teeth, as NoVa seemed to read his mind. “I know,” he said with more attitude than he’d intended.

To the Creepy Little Thing’s credit, they didn’t back down. Aeron knew they were right. The journalist and his daughter were huge liabilities. Not to mention he’d been down this road before. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t let it go. He shook his head, “If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll do what I can, but the mission comes first.”

That had to be the compromise. He wasn’t a hero no matter how much his pride or conscience demanded. Experience had taught him that his interference always ended in disaster. His choice curdled like milk in his mouth, just because it was the right one didn’t mean he liked it. Luckily, he gave up on believing the universe gave a damn about what he liked years ago.

Aeron was ready to hit something, “Let’s get on with it, huh?”

The secure facility NoVa had found was about a click away. They’d said it was secured, but so far Aeron hadn’t seen much in the way of opposition, other than Riley he supposed, that is until he rounded the corner. He froze then slowly eased back around the corner keeping as close to the wall as he could while holding up a hand signaling NoVa to hold up.

From Aeron’s position, he just caught a glimpse of a humanoid guard and two droids before stepping into their field of view. They were about 50m away and down another alley, but from the angle, they were approaching walking into the open would bring both parties into plain view. The humanoid, a Duro he thought, was finishing saying something to one of the droids then stalked off. Once they were out of sight Aeron would make his move.

He eased his blaster from it’s holster and took it off stun. He wasn’t planning on leaving any witnesses. He crossed the byway to the next corner but didn’t turn yet. The element of surprise was like trust, once you lost it, it was nearly impossible to get it back. To NoVa he asked, “Can you see if there’s a way in through there?”

In the center of the byway was a sewer entrance. The thought of crawling through a sewer wasn’t exactly thrilling, but it beat an open shoot-out with scarce cover.

@Arcangel

 

[Yvon]

Yvon nodded as Aeron made his decision, ultimately choosing the job over his morals. If there was a window for rescuing the journalist, then so be it, but the job came first and foremost.

They travelled a short way to the other facility where Yvon suspected the auction would be taking place. They had a few options when it came to getting access to Kazier's datapad. Swiping it was one and Yvon had prepped a dummy pad for just that reason, designed to the spec's they had gotten off the holo recording. Other options might present themselves as they infiltrated the secure facility however.

Yvon paused as Aeron stopped, getting a brief glimpse around the corner at the pair of droids before ducking back behind the alley. Aeron requested an alternative route and Yvon set about trying to figure that out. Datapad in hand, they spent a few moments combing over the city and sewer schematics.

"The sewer is the best option... unfortunately." Yvon whispered, pointing at the sewer entrance while grimacing underneath their mask. "The building we need to get into... Is a divert pump station. Hmm." Yvon paused as they considered the why's and what's before moving on. "There will be several sewer access points inside, though I suspect..."

Yvon stopped speaking as the sound of metallic feet grew closer. There was a brief pause where the patrolling droids stopped near the alleyway where they were hiding before the footsteps started in the other direction. Yvon waited an appropriate amount of time before pointing at the sewer entrance again.

"Best bet. They might be using the tunnels as a mode of transport however, so stay sharp." Yvon warned the bounty hunter before proceeding to the sewer grate and gently lifting it up to usher the man in, eyes watching for a return of the droids.

@Zay

 

[Aeron]

Aeron kissed his teeth with overt aggravation. He hated the fucking sewer. He took one more look around and sighed, “Yeah, you right. Into the shitter then, huh?”

The Hunter stared at the opened maw of the city’s innards. “For force sake,” he grumped holstering his weapon and quickly climbing down the ladder. The smell was what one would think. Shit. Gross water lapped at his boots while the low light and rancid smell smacked him in the face. “Herk!” he gagged once wishing he had a helmet with a filter. Nah, instead he was just raw dogging this damn sewer…

While trying not to imagine everything he was breathing in, he made his way to the corner and edged around looking down the dark corridor. Clear. He rounded it stepping into deeper water and scowled as the water sank into his boots. Panic threatened to overtake his mind as his germaphobe went berserk. He fell into a mental mantra of, “It’s a lot of money, it’s a lot of money, it’s a lot of money,” as he waded through the piss and shit.

“Any idea how far we are from the building?” he asked, but before NoVa could respond, they heard a loud metallic CLANG!, followed by the water around their legs picking up in flow intensity. Aeron wasn’t a religious man, but as the water continued to gain in intensity and he started praying to any preternatural deity he could think of. Then as suddenly as it started, the water went still. Aeron’s eyes went wide as realization slapped him in the face like a jaded lover, “DIANOGA!!!” he bellowed. Turning and running back the other way as fast as he could.

But it was too late…

Tentacles burst from the murky water with stifling speed. Aeron felt one wrap around his leg and he yelped as it yanked him back. He ripped a vibroknife from his boot and shoved it into the bastard's suction cup-covered limb. A wail slammed into his mind, it felt like a nail was being driven into his brain slowly as he twisted the knife back and forth. Finally, the tendril released and he plummeted into the shit water…

@Arcangel

 

[Yvon]

Yvon was thankful for the small things. Like the filter in their helmet as they clambered down the ladder and into the sewer. Their boots splashed in shit water as they hit the shallows off the ladder. A deep breath of filtered air only held a trace of the sewers fetid odor and Yvon looked over at Aeron briefly in sympathy as the man gagged. Even without the smell, Yvon's imagination was active with the visualization of a horde of hells only knew what kinds of bacteria dwelled down there, climbing aboard their boots, eager to crawl ever upwards.

"I think I will be burning my flesh away in the shower when this is over." Yvon grumbled synthetically as they proceeded deeper into the sewer system. A glance at Aeron as he questioned them was met with a shrug in answer before an echoing clang rumbled through the sewer and the water started to flow slightly.

"They must be running a pump nearby." Yvon commented. Aeron yelled a word of warning just in time for Yvon to look up as tentacles burst from the water.

"Fuck." The Echani exhaled as a pair of daggers came into their hands with a flash, lashing out at the grasping appendage that sought to wrap around their slight form. A shriek filled the tunnels, no... A shriek filled their mind as the blades sliced cleanly. Attack warded off, Yvon looked to Aeron just in time to see him sink his own knife into the creature before plummeting down into the shit water below.

"Gross." Yvon held back vomit as they splashed through the water and towards their downed partner. Could they do the job without the man? Yes. Could they fight off the Dianoga without him... maybe. Had they made a deal. Definitely. Another tentacle lashed and the Echani threw their left hand dagger to intercept it before plunging the hand into the water where Aeron had submerged, mentally screaming all the while as they felt the slosh and muck soak into their glove and sleeve. Up to the forearm. Elbow. Bicep.

There.

A fist full of tunic was what they were looking for and they heaved mightily with coiled, wiry strength. Hauling the mercenary up and out of the muck just before a tentacle lashed out at them from behind to connect solidly around the back of their neck. It curled mightily around Yvon's throat, suction cups splotching against the visor as they were pulled backwards, choking, away from Aeron, their blade flailing back as it searched for purchase against their monstrous assailant.

@Zay

 

[Aeron]

Aeron couldn’t see shit, well, that was a lie, but he was trying to ignore the phases floating around just above him. Something pale in the mire reached out and grabbed him by his chest armor. The Mercenary burst from the muck like a man possessed. The Dianoga went on full attack. Tentacules burst from the water like a disturbed nest of angry serpents.

Mathis pulled another knife seemingly from nowhere, a wicked smile spread across his face, and he looked over at NoVa, “Make for the door, I’m sure they’re gonna have security, I’ll buy you time!”

Aeron took a big breath then lunged for a tentacle punching both knives into it and hanging on for dear life as he was snatched underwater. He was slammed off walls and floor, but Mathis didn’t let go. The pressure of the surrounding water was disorienting as the living mass of tendrils tried to shake him from it’s arm.

The tentacle he was on burst from the water and Aeron was flying through the air. He felt his back slam into a shallow and the air was driven from his lungs. He bastard’s full attention was on Aeron at this point. He rolled to the left, then right, as the tentacles sought to pummel him to death.

Aeron rolled over his shoulder pulling a flash grenade from his belt and praying to any deity watching for their enjoyment to step in on his behalf as he lobbed the cylinder toward what he hoped was the base of the beast.

Suddenly, the tentacles went stiff then flopped around, Aeron could help but think they looked like one of the wacky inflatable arm holos. The sound of boots splashing through the shallows would precede Aeron's last ditch attempt at killing the living sewer monster.

He pulled himself through the water, knife clenched between his teeth. A tendril whipped over head, the currant created buffeted him, but he pressed on. Suddenly, a single eye opened in his face, the pupil fluctuating between a slit and all black as the beast. Aeron felt that nail in his brain trying to start up but the flash grenade had done it’s job. He pulled the knife from his mouth and started stabbing.

 

[Yvon]

The tentacle squeezed around Yvon's head at the same time as a vice like screech gripped their mind. The agony and deprivation of oxygen was almost overwhelming as Yvon's blade flashed to and fro over their head. The lights began to go dim in their eyes until the sharp edge of their knife found purchase.

Oxygen. Stifled by the damaged filter of the helmet and stinking with the odor of raw sewage. Yvon gasped, ripping the cracked and dented helmet from their head to take in a deep breath as the now useless helmet plopped into the muck, bubbling as it sank. It reeked and they nearly gagged but adrenaline overrode the reaction as they whirled to face their foe.

Aeron's voice caught their ears and Yvon's head whipped around to face him. There was a moment of startlement, the realization that they were without the mask of their helmet. But the pair were too deep in the shit now for that to matter. Yvon gave a serious nod and turned away from the fight, wading through the disgusting water until they found an offshoot that led in the direction they needed to go, towards the grinding and clanking pumps. The sounds of battle echoed behind them.

It wasn't long until they found a service walkway and hauled themselves up and out of the shit, still gasping and choking on the smell. There was no time to recover however and they soldiered on, drawing deep on the years of training they had grown up with on Begali, marching forwards. There, a doorway.

They began to rush for the door, a blade in hand when a person turned the corner, a mercenary by the looks of them, probably coming to investigate the far off noises that had since receded. Yvon didn't stop their charge as the man spotted the grim covered Echani and went for his blaster. Yvon's blade flew, burying itself in the mercs throat. He gurgled and fell as Yvon swept past him, ripping the blade free as they went.

Another body a few paces inside, a nikto who's blaster was leveling on them. Yvon kept their forward movement as they fell back into a feet first slide, the slick gunk that they now wore aiding them in the move as a blaster bolt flew over their head and they sailed between the nikto's legs, blade flashing at the vulnerable point inside the man's thigh. They scrambled on the ground, spinning an sweeping a leg out to knock the man flat from behind. He struggled for a moment to get up before collapsing in a swiftly expanding puddle of his own blood.

@Zay

 

[Aeron]

Aeron still couldn’t see shit. The icore that poured from the tentacle monster's eye had cut out any light, but none of that stopped Aeron from stabbing. He hit again and again and again. He was changing angles and methods of attack, his lungs began to burn when he felt himself suddenly yanked out of the water.

The surface had calmed significantly, but as Aeron burst from the putrid water his scream would shatter the calm. He was airborn and toppling end over end. He bounced off the water surface once like a stone then slowed and sank into the waist high stuff down the tunnel. Aeron scrambled to his feet, spitting, gagging, vomiting.

“It got in my FUCKING MOUTH!” he said in between spurts of vomit.

Aeron was pissed. Everyone was dead. All of them, he was taking that fucking datapad by force and he was gonna waterboard this music festival motherfucker in a port-a-jon when this was over.

He followed NoVa’s trail. His weapons were soaked so there was no way he’d get a shot out of them anytime soon. So, he swiped the weapons from the first two, putting a bolt in the one slowly bleeding out. Aeron rounded the corner and spotted NoVa engaged in the enemy.

Aeron screamed a war cry as he burst into the room, splitting the attention with NoVa. The Hunter slid into cover then took a couple pop shots. He got lucky and nicked one leaving them open for Daggers over there to turn them into a pin cushion. He edged to the end of his cover then popped out and took two shots.

Both bolts found a home in the chest of an attacker. The gunfire was hot. There were more enemies than he’d realized. He just happened to glance up as a guy on the next floor opened fire, Aeron dove to the side and rolled until he slipped under cover from above. He crouched down behind a desk.

“Incoming from the second floor, watch it!”

@Arcangel

 

[Yvon]

Yvon moved forwards in traditional Echani battle doctrine. Speed and ferocity. There was no mercy to be found in the slicer's blades. Their heart pounded as they rushed forwards, clearing a second doorway to come face to face with another thug who had been rushing to use the doorway as cover. Up and around, their foot went in an axe kick to knock the blaster down out of their hands before pivoting on the foot as it landed. Closing the distance with a backspin that ended in a stab to the jugular from the small knife held underhanded in their fist.

Blood sprayed the wall as the spun away, launching themselves into a roll for cover behind a desk as blaster fire came their way. The came up a few steps short from a desk, flinging one of the two knives they held at an enemy just as Aeron came screaming through the door covered in raw sewage. The two of them must have been quite the sight, like shit-demons come up out of the sewer to avenge... something.

The knife flew true, settling still with a thud to plant itself in the chest of one of the mercs. The man staggered back as Aeron fired a couple shots from cover, grazing one of them. It was all the opening Yvon needed as another knife flew, making the man stand shock stiff for a moment as it sunk into his eyeball before he collapsed to the ground.

They had carved a quick path into the room, but the momentum quickly shifted and Yvon dived behind the desk as blaster fire came from in front and a girded catwalk that rimmed the second story of the room. They were outnumbered and quickly pinned down. Yvon's violet eyes scanned the wall, noting several fixtures and a low runged ladder that hung raised from the catwalk above. Covered in sewage and breathing heavy, Yvon's face was grim as they looked across the open floor between their two places of cove at Aeron.

"Give me some cover fire, I will ascend and kill the ones above us." They said as a man leaned over the catwalk above them trying to get an angle around the platform they stood on. His shots pinged against the desk that Yvon was using as cover and they ducked instinctively deeper behind the object.

@Zay

 

[Aeron]

As with any good fight, the room divulged into pure chaos. The rules of engagement took over. There were no more surprise attacks preceded by shocked cries. The truth of the moment was death. NoVa attacked with surprising furocity, tiny sliver blades glimmering crimson as they bit and gouged their attackers. Aeron’s weapons spit the truth with the ease of a preacher in his pulpit.

The wails of the maimed added their chorus to the cacophony of battle and the song delighted in Aeron’s ears.

He heard NoVa call out in response to his warning earlier, and Aeron nodded, slipping out and firing upward. Driving the gunner behind the railing, “Hurry up! I can’t do this all day,” he managed before blaster fire came raining down back at him.

A blaster bolt slammed into his armor from behind and the impact drove the air out of his lungs and threw him into the cover he’d had. Aeron didn’t look back, he scrambled over the cover, putting it between him and his new attacker, while still trying to stave off the incoming attacks from the front.

He was swimming in an ocean of sharks and he was bleeding.

The Hunter pulled the trigger on his pilfered weapon and it clicked, battery pack empty. He swore, tearing off after another weapon. A bolt grazed his leg, but he didn’t react. His only focus was his trajectory toward a dropped E-10 dead ahead. Molten plasma scored the ground around him, but he kept running.

Aeron lunged forward, landing in a slide that brought the weapon into his hand while he continued to move. He turned over, putting his feet to the slick duracrete floor and jumped for cover, sliding in just in time to avoid being cut in half by blaster fire. He couldn’t tell if they were starting to make progress on their attackers, for every body dropped it felt like two more cropped up in their place. He looked up. His eyes went wide as the muzzle of a repeater appeared over the edge of the balcony just above him.

Aeron was pinned down, he couldn’t get a shot off to stop the attack from above, and the heat he’d acquired trying to buy NoVa time had guaranteed he was a sitting duck. A cynic’s smile spread across his lips.

If this was it… then he was glad it was over.