Ask Urban Chaos

[Ava Xeto]

Yinchorr

Ava stepped through the crowd of burly reptilians in the city centre. A rally was being held to counter the growing tensions amongst the Yinchorri. A number of members from the council of elders were to speak in support of de-escalating tensions and maintaining peace.

The source of the tensions was a militant group calling itself the Popular Yinchorri Front. The organisation’s aim was simple: a return to the old ways of the warrior caste, which was summed up by the phrase “might makes right”. If they wanted something, it was to be seized by force and those who opposed them were to be crushed.

Given that Yinchorr was under the influence of the Jedi Order, and a number of members of the council of elders were to speak at the rally, it was deemed necessary for Jedi to be sent to monitor it.

Ava found a place were she had a good view of the stage. She was wearing her usual outfit, her lightsaber at her waist.

She had asked Syr Bors, the Jedi Padawan who she had worked with on Kashyyyk, to accompany her. She thought they made a good team.

“Let’s hope this goes off without a hitch.”

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

"Sorry my good friend! Ach, I am sorry again!" Bors apologized profusely to a group of Yinchorri who had began to curse at the Giant Pango. Some of them had spilled some food onto themselves after the large beast turned suddenly and his tail brushed against them. A few even began to throw some objects at the Giant Pango.

Embarassed and unsure what to do, Bors hand almost went for his blade. Not out of any form of malice or ill intent, but simply becuase Bors momentarily got scared. However, after a brief pause and another flurry of insults, Bors pulled his hand away and instead raised it to block his face. Bringing his tail inwards underneath himself, Bors began to fully tuck himself into a ball, showing nothing but a scaly exterior.

The hooligans quickly tired themselves out. There was no point in fighting a being that surrendered to insults. Still, Bors waited a few more minutes.

"That was...unpleasant" Bors commented as he unrolled himself. He glanced towards the stage from his spot. One of the gate areas for the city center had a decent view of the stage and was the main entrance to the area. If anything happened, Bors would be in a place to intercept.

At least, that was the idea. Bors was less sure about it. For once in his life, he felt out of place by, ironicly, being in place. The Yinchorri were a big species. Some of them were actually bigger than him. Such a thing was uncommon for the Thaldek, who was even big for his own kind. For once, Bors felt like he was on even ground with some of these lizards and it unnerved him. And everyone felt so hostile... It was like one bad mood over the entire populace.

"Good Knight Ava..." Bors spoke into his comm, hoping to find a way to soothe his own nerves. "Are you certain I was a good choice for this? I feel inadequate for these...diplomatic affairs..."

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

“I’m sure you’re the right choice, Syr. Have some faith in yourself,” Ava said, trying to reassure the Giant Pango.

“We’ve just got to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

The noisy crowd quietened down slightly when a Yinchorri took to the platform and approached the podium.

“My fellow citizens, I am sorry for the delay. The speakers are now ready and we will begin by hearing from councillor Jorek.”

Ava watched as another Yinchorri took to the stage. This one was smaller and seemed a less imposing figure than the others.

Something’s wrong. An ominous feeling suddenly washed over her.

“Syr, something doesn’t feel right,” she spoke into her comlink.

Things seemed to go in slow motion. As the smaller Yinchorri took to the podium, the sound of a blaster shot rang out. The red bolt punched through the Yinchorri’s chest, sending them flying backwards.

“For the glory of our forebears!”

She looked to where the voice came from. A Yinchorri on a rooftop, armed with a blaster rifle. It opened fire on the crowd below.

Panic broke out. The crowd scattered, many of them surging towards the entrance that Syr was waiting by.

Security personnel tried to return fire, but the sniper’s vantage point made them a difficult target.

Near to Syr’s position, there was a Yinchorri that seemed completely unphased by the blaster fire. Clad in multiple layers, when the crowd rushed towards the entrance, it lifted its large poncho to reveal a minigun. Without hesitation, it also fired on the crowd.

Ava dived to the ground to avoid the blaster fire. “Syr, there’s one on the roof and one near you. I’m going for the one on the roof.” She got to her feet, ignited her saber and began to sprint towards the building the sniper was situated on.

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

Bors felt his muscles tense at Ava's words.

"Are you certain?" the Giant Pango asked moments before the blaster shot went off.

The sheer panic that swept the crowd was impossible not to feel, even for an unskilled padawan like Syr Bors. Trained instinct forced Bors to ignite his blade without thought, despite not knowing what he could do in the situation.

Then the blaster fire continued.

"I see him!" Bors shouted into his comm at Ava's comment. His thundering steps were drowned out by the sound of people screaming and being shot down. Bors threw a hand forward and made a fist before pulling at the one with the minigun. There was no way he could get to the gunman before he slaughtered hundreds with such a weapon. He needed to pull his attention away, and if by using a poor excuse of a Force pull was it, then that was what he would do.

Roll to get gunman's attention: 5/20 failure
Number of dead from gunman: 4

The gunman continued, his weapon moving only just slightly that could've been simply the recoil of the blaster. Bors grunted as he tried another pull, only for it to fail. Frustrated, Bors gave up and gave charge. At the moment, he didn't register the number of deaths that may have resulted from his inadequacy. All that mattered now was the heat of battle

"Have at thee!" Bors shouted as he brought his blade down on the gunman. The blade sliced cleanly through the weapon's barrel, rendering it useless.

The Yinchorri was a large sort, but agile for his weight. Even as Bors followed with an upwards slash, the lizard sidestepped out of the way while dropping his gun to pull out a knife. Bors continued swinging side to side, but the lizard continued to duck and jump over the sizzling blade before rushing Bors.

Bors made an impatient huff. These Yinchorri were not to be trifled with. No wonder their warriors were feared by many.

Now close, the lizard made a slash. Bors brought his arm up and let his scales take the brunt of the blow. The vibroblade did draw some blood, but not enough to stop Bors reaction. Using the pommel of his blade, he brought it forward with a resounding crack on his attacker's skull, breaking bone and rendering deathy unconsciousness.

"Begone fiend!" Bors shouted at the dead body that fell to the ground, a small medallion falling from its pocket.

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava sprinted towards the building and leapt onto a balcony. She propelled off the balcony, towards a window sill above. A few more leaps and she reached the roof.

The Yinchorri sniper turned, raised its rifle and opened fire. Deflecting away the blaster fire, she unleashed a force push which knocked the attacker to the floor. Their blaster rifle skidded away from them.

As Ava approached, she didn’t notice the flamethrower gauntlet on their arm. Turning sharply, they unleashed a stream of flames at her. She reacted quickly and dived to the side.

They laughed manically as they attempted to catch her with the stream of flames. Leaping away, she rolled off the side of the building. She clung on to the edge desperately, as the flames roared overhead. Damn.

The Yinchorri ceased their attack as a hover pod approached the building. “Here comrade!”

It leapt onto the pod, just as Ava climbed up to the roof. She ran towards the pod, as it began to pull away from the roof, and threw her saber at it. The blade collided with the engine, which burst into flames. Using her other hand, she pulled the saber back to herself.

The hover pod crashed to the ground. The force of the crash sent the pilot flying out of the vehicle. Their head collided with the stone ground, killing them instantly. The sniper had survived though. As Ava approached the edge of the building, she saw them clamber out from the pod and begin to run.

It was at this time that an alert would come through on the security force’s channel, which the Jedi had been given access to.

“Alert! We’ve got confirmation of more attackers at the Green Scale Bar. They’ve taken hostages…”

There was interference, that caused the communication to cut out. Ava jumped down from the building, rolling to break her fall as she landed. She began to sprint after the fleeing Yinchorri.

“Syr, I don’t know if you heard the alert on the security channel. If you did, see if you can get to the Green Scale. I’m still in pursuit of the sniper,” she spoke into her comlink, as she ran.

(OOC: 6/20. Partial success, when trying to stop Yinchorri.)

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

Bors turned at the hearing of the situation via the security's channel. However, he did not hear the Knights words, as only static broke through.

"Knight Ava? Ava?!?" Bors shouted into his comm link, only recieving the sound of her voice slightly breaking through static.

"Damn these fiends. They are jamming all communications..." Bors reasoned outloud. It was a smart idea for the Yinchorri. When Bors had to help clear out Killik nests, the bugs' usage of near instant communication made it difficult to coordinate against. By utilizing a jammer, most likely a small one to cover a section of the city, the Yinchorri had crippled security's ability to react.

Bors glanced at the wounded and the podium. There were some forces working to move the unharmed speakers to a secure location, but Bors worried that leaving them to deal with the hostages was a trap in of itself. Perhaps it was to lure protection from the speakers, or perhaps it was simply a hostage situation.

Bors grumbled in idle thought, trying to weigh the decision in his head. To protect leaders potentially getting attacked or to protect innocents already being attacked?

Bors pointed at a nearby civilian.

"YOU!" Bors shouted, startling the lizard. "Where is the Green Scale?"

The Yinchorri blubbered slightly, but eventually gave directions. It wasn't far from the city center. A few blocks west. Big sign made it impossible to miss.

Bors turned and left the city center towards the west. The remaining speakers would have to rely on their security for now. The bar wasn't too far, so maybe Bors could race there and back before anything else happened.

Sure enough, the Green Scale was easy to locate. The large neon sign that was off during the day hung over a glass door and boarded up windows. A few security guards surrounded the entrance, but did not enter yet, still waiting for backup.

Bors was in a rush. In his mind, he did not have time to wait for backup. In this situation, he was the backup, and the possibility of the speakers getting ambushed without a Jedi on hand made him rush all the more. Without even saying a word to forces, he charged, slashed, and crashed through the door, using all of his weight as a battering ram.

A blaster shot went out. Bors narrowly blocked the bolt from the lizard. The heat of the battle made Bors fight like he had blinders on. He cut down one lizard behind the bar, before crashing through it into the back rooms. Another Yinchorri tried to block him, but the startlement of the sudden onrush made the reaction impossible to fulfill.

It was only when Bors saw the three civilians on the floor, small Yinchorri on their knees, did Bors stop. One remaining Yinchorri stood behind them, pointing a rifle at a female's head.

"You bastard!" the Yinchorri hissed. "Take one more step and I'll end these ones. "

Bors glared but remained still.

"Release them now you rotten soul."

The Yinchorri shook his head, smiling. "You're an idiot. Your Jedi tricks aint no work on us"

Bors did something that took the lizard by surprised.

He smirked.

"There is no tricks caecilian . You release the hostages, or the light will be your judge, for I will only find you guilty"

At this, Bors pointed his large blade towards the terrorist while taking a step forward.

OOC: Roll for intimidation: 4

The lizard growled. back and with one swift movement, pulled the trigger. The Yinchorri were a proud race. And these terrorists were fighting for the old ways. And the old ways preached violence and force of will above all. No way was this fighter going to just give up.

"NO!" Bors shouted. The body fell and hit the ground. The terrorist raised his gun to shoot another hostage, but Bors, in an apoplectic state, did not wait. The steps he took was enough to get the hostage taker into range of his blade. True to his word, Bors ended the Yinchorri, cleaving head from body.

Bors stood a moment, stunned at the turn of events. That was five. 5 innocents died on his watch so far. Was he really Jedi material?

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

The Yinchorri tried to run, but Ava had the advantage in speed. Rounding a corner, she unleashed a force push which knocked the sniper to the floor. As it turned to use its flamethrower, she threw her lightsaber at it. She misjudged.

She had intended to try and subdue the attacker, so she could question it. The aim had been to slice off its arm. Instead, her saber had flown though the air and impaled the Yinchorri through the head.

She pulled the saber back to her hand, as the burly reptilian’s body collapsed to the ground. Damn.

Her thoughts quickly turned to Syr. I’ve got to get to the Green Scale.

She sprinted through the streets. There was still a problem with communications. Perhaps some type of a signal jammer? That would need to be dealt with. Eventually, she made her way to a checkpoint. “I need to get to the Green Scale,” she told a Yinchorri security officer, the urgency clear in her voice.

The journey on the speeder didn’t take too long. She didn’t know if Syr had even made it to the Green Scale. Hopping off the speeder, she noticed that the door to the bar had been smashed down. “What’s happening here?”

“The other Jedi went ahead of us. We heard blaster shots.”

“Ok. Follow me inside,” she called out to the Yinchorri security personnel, waiting by the entrance.

She sprinted inside, her saber ready. Moving through into the back of the bar, checking room by room, she eventually found Syr.

There were two dead bodies on the floor. Two others, both alive, were on their knees, clearly terrified. “Syr? Is everything ok?”

Her attention quickly turned to the Yinchorri. “It’s going to ok. You’re safe now,” she said, trying to reassure them as security personnel entered the room.

“Are you alright, Syr?”

Ava wasn’t sure exactly what had happened in the time before she got there. There were at least one or two dead hostages. The Giant Pango seemed almost traumatised.

(OOC: 7/20. Partial success when stopping Yinchorri sniper. Deadly force used unintentionally.)

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

Bors wasn't sure how many moments passed as the feelings of doubt started to rise up. Those deaths he could have prevented, and yet hadn't. Why couldn't he have done it?

It wasn't until he was addressed directly did he stir.

"What?" Bors exclaimed. "Oh, Knight Ava! Yes, um...yes..."

The Giant Pango's demeaner shifted slightly, almost as if to hide the true feelings underneath.

"Its just...the situation could've gone better, but the threat is down. But ah! The speakers!"

Bors energy seemed to return back to normal, a guise to hide his current self-doubt and anxiety.

"Knight Ava, I believe this may have been a diversion. We must race back to the speakers. No doubt they've been moved, but if the Yinchorri are this clever, no doubt they know where the speakers will be moved to, yes? After all, they are jamming our signals. Of course where they got the means to do that is beyond me, but that jammer must be somewhere in the city."

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava wasn’t entirely convinced by Syr’s claim that he was ok. But now wasn’t the time to address it. There could still be other attackers in the city.

“The speakers? Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”She’d been so focused on chasing down the Yinchorri, that she’d overlooked them.

“I don’t even know where the speakers would have been moved to.”

One of the Yinchorri security personnel approached, having overheard the two Jedi speaking.

“I can take you both to HQ. Someone there should be able to escort you to the speakers.”

“Great. Lead the way.”

Exiting the bar, Ava spotted a speeder pulling up outside. A Yinchorri came running out and approached.

“Jedi. There was another attack in the industrial district. The shooters have taken refuge in a construction site. We could use some help. They’re dug in.”

“Sure, we can help.”

She realised that her and Syr were going to have to split up again.

“Which one do you want to take, Syr?”

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

When the additional speeder pulled up and then Ava offered Bors a choice, his mind panicked slightly. Did they really have to seperate again? He just failed in saving a hostage, and now he was being entrusted to protect either some high ranking speakers or deal with some shooters?

Not that Bors showed it. If he was determined in one thing, it was showing he was still Jedi material. If not to convince others, then to convince himself

"I will take the industrial district Knight Ava!" Bors exclaimed, thumping his chest once. "Those speakers are essential in making sure future relations go well, and thus need the more trained one. I will show these terrorists the way of the Light! The Force is with us!"

Thankfully, the native Yinchorri of the planet were naturally larger than humans and about Bors' size. That meant that their vehicles, even their speeders, were large enough to accommodate someone of Bors size. Still, even as he mounted the extra bike provided by one of the men, he had to manually lift and sling his tail over the rear. If the situation wasn't as dire, it would've been a rather comical sight.

The trip to the industrial district was uneventful. The construction site was for a new factory, and was only halfway complete. Incomplete walls, torn ground revealing open sewer pipes, exposed wires on some of the more complete sections, piles of durasteel beams half buried next to piles of sand concrete mix, inactive droids sitting idly for commands, a tarp wall around the entire site....it was the ideal picture of what a construction site looked like.

Bors pulled over near some other armed men and their vehicles. Arming themselves up, the Yinchorri were heavily armed with riot gear among other weapons. The captain approached the Jedi.

"Sir, we believe at least 8 hostiles are in the area."

Bors tilted his head. "That is a lot for just a construction site."

The Captain shrugged. He wasn't paid to be clever. He was paid to follow orders and to take down bad guys. Why ever would terrorists seek to protect a site like this was beyond him.

OOC: Roll for danger sense: 13/20

Bors glanced towards the site. The situation felt off. And not just in the physical realm. The Force was tense, almost like something was about to happen. And that glint off the one nearly completed tower...

"Get down!" Bors shouted. The shot echoed across the entire district as Bors moved forward and shoved the captain. For the most part, Bors was successful. The shot glanced off the captain's shoulder, making a surely lethal shot into a less deadly, but still an emergency, wound.

"Sniper!" Bors shouted as he dragged the captain to cover. Another shot rang out, but this time hit nobody, as everyone had taken safety measures. His Jedi training kicked in. Instict forced him to search the agonizing captain's gear. Pulling out a small patch, Bors quickly placed it over the wound and activated the bacta inside.

"No site is worth this much defense!" Bors claimed. "The fiends' signal jammer must be inside!"

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

“Good luck, Syr,” Ava said with a smile. She gave him a little tap on the arm, trying to offer some reassurance.

The journey to the security force’s headquarters was a short one. She was escorted inside and taken to the main office. Stood by a desk was a large, even by the standards of a Yinchorri, security officer. The Yinchorri with her went over to them and began to speak to them in hushed tones.

“So, Jedi, you want to see where the VIPs were taken. I can escort you. I have to tell you that we’ve had a messenger from there, and they didn’t report any trouble,” the large Yinchorri told her, as he approached.

“Better to be safe than sorry though,” she replied, as the large security officer loomed over her.

He led her to a speeder outside and, almost as quickly as she had arrived at the headquarters, she was on the move again.

“We’ll be there soon,” the Yinchorri called out to her.

“That’s it!” He pointed towards a rather nondescript office building. The speeder came to a stop outside.

As she stood up to hop out of the speeder, she felt an impending sense of danger. Leaping away from the vehicle, a rocket fired from a rooftop slammed into it. As she jumped, the force of the explosion propelled her further away. She landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she stood up. The speeder was wrecked and the Yinchorri security officer had been killed in the explosion. She looked up to the rooftop and spotted multiple Yinchorri readying their blasters.

(OOC: Failed dice roll for being attacked when arriving.)

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

Bors flinched at the sound of another sniper shot whizzing near his head. The security was pinned for the moment, and with the jammer in full effect, radioing for backup was an impossibility.

Bors glanced towards the forces. They looked at him, mirroring his uncertainty with curiousity. A moment of stress began to build up in the Thaldek's chest. Was he really worthy of being a Jedi? How could he be, if he couldn't save lives in combat? What if all he could do was take lives?

"Light, grant us strength!" Bors suddenly prayed outloud with deceptive bravado, causing a moment of confusion on the others. "Fear not men! We will take these terrorists and show them that Yinchorr will not fall easily! With me, and stick together!"

With that, Bors stepped out from his cover and activated his blade.

OOC: Roll to protect soldiers from sniper fire: 15

The Yinchorri fell in line behind the Giant Pango. Bors, yellow blade in hand, began to waddle forward as he spun the weapon. In a moment of clarity, or perhaps desperation to prove oneself worthy of his selected creed, trained instict and practiced skill converged. A sniper shot came down, aimed at one of the men behind Bors. The large blade turned over and blocked the lethal shot from finding its target. Another shot. Another deflection. Bors, the Giant Pango, was a wall that no attack would get past.

There was a lull in sniper fire.

"Go! The cur is reloading! Go go go!"

At his command, the Yinchorri poured forth into the cover underneath the half-built building. Blaster fire began to open up as the terrorists began to attack, but the security forces' armor and riot gear gave them the advantage they needed. They could handle the terrorists and their weapons.

Bors moved for the stairs of the building. No doubt the sniper was protecting the Jammer. Establishing communication, he decided, was the priority. The terrorists were relying on surprise and confusion. Bors would end that confusion.

@DMCK

 

[Ava Xeto]

Ava reacted quickly to the Yinchorri readying their blasters. Turning and running, she approached the flaming wreck of the speeder and leapt over it as the blaster fire rained down. Using the force to smash one of the building’s windows, she sprinted towards it and hurled herself through the gap.

Keeping low, she quickly moved into a hallway as blaster fire poured into the room. The VIPs were in the building somewhere, hopefully secure.

Working her way to the opposite side of the building, she looked through a window. Some of the Yinchorri were using grapnel lines to get back to ground level. The ones that were already down were approaching the building. I’ll take them when they get inside the building.

@Narzen

 

[Syr Bors]

Each step was a test on the nerves. Each corner turn was a moment of stress inducing, heart pounding terror. Bors had been in combat before, but each time was still terrifying. Combat never was easy. Of course, it wasn't supposed to was it? If it was easy, did that say Bors was getting better or simply immune to the horrors of war? Would getting immune to the horrors of war be a good thing?

At the top of the construction site, in the open air, Bors spotted the jammer. The relatively small device on the floor with a radar dish and various antennae pointed upwards the smokey sky was obviously something involved with communication. But Bors himself could tell the device was a RX-3600 Jammer device, upgraded slightly with some unique add-ons.

"Ah ha! I got you now you blasted infernal device of..." Bors started as he took a few steps towards the Jammer.

The Giant Pango stopped.

Where was the sniper?

Danger Sense: 17/20

Bors took a step back towards the stairs just as a blaster shot whizzed inches from his nose. Had he not moved, he would've been dead as a durasteel doorknob.

"Fiend! Cur!" Bors shouted as he spun. There on the ledge of a hanging I beam, the sniper stood, aiming his weapon while maintaining his balance.

Bors stopped.

"You are human?"

Sure enough, the body balancing on the edge of the dangling I beam was in fact not Yinchorri, but rather a more humanoid figure. Masked, which was no surprise, but it was obviously not reptilian like the natives of the planet.

Pieces began to click into place, which only served to ask more questions. The Yinchorri were not a tactically advanced race. Brutal, sure, but tactical? Not as much. That was part of the reason the smaller Yinchorri held more prodigious roles amongst the species. They were a bit better at thinking in terms of tactics. But this rebellian, it appeared to be started by the larger, less tactically sound Yinchorri. Of course an outsiders influence was involved. After all, the idea of using a jammer during an assassination attempt was genius.

"Who are you?" Bors asked, while holding his blade before him. He dared not step forward onto the I-beam. His own size would send both he and his foe careening towards their deaths.

The sniper glared and aimed. Another shot, but this time, Bors deflected it with ease.

"You have no where to run fiend! Surrender, and I will..."

Bors didn't get a chance to finish. The sniper instead turned and jumped off the beam.

Bors watched in wonder as the sniper fell and fell and fell. Before it splatted against the ground like a waterballoon of meat, the sniper's boots came to fiery life. Hovering inches off the ground, the sniper began to duck and glide into the maze of the factory sector, vanishing like a trained expert.

"Blast!" Bors cursed. There was no way following the sniper for now. But he, or his organization, would be understood later.

Bors turned his attention towards the jammer. With a slice and a bash, the device fell lifeless, and communication was restored.

"Knight Ava! Knight Ava, can you hear me?"

@DMCK