Vault 713

[Lyra Mona Fane]

The Wicked Witch swung into Cato Neimoidia's lower atmosphere, giving Doctor Lyra Fane a breathtaking view of the planet's rock arches, cliffs, vistas, and canyons, all wreathed by steam rising from its acidic oceans. "Ever been to Cato Neimoidia before, ma'am?" Lyra asked as she swung her ship underneath one of the arches. "This place is an archeological gold-mine. A lot wealthy collectors will get rare shit off of the black market and pay the Neimoidian barons to keep them safe in their opulent vaults."

Now that the steam and mist was beginning to clear, Lyra could see the large bridge-cities the Neimoidians had constructed. The whole thought of those cities made her nervous. One malfunctioned repulsor or broken suspender and the entire city would plunge thousands of feet into a watery, acidic grave. She wanted to get in-and-out and be done with this world, and, yet, at the same time, she was thrilled with the idea that she was going to be breaking into one of the vaults below shortly enough.

"The way I see it," she continued, "these guys have about as much right to their artifacts as anyone does. They got them illegally, so we will get them illegally." She threw a shit-eating grin at her Mandalorian companion. "I've got a lead on the location of a Sith holocron dating back to the early Imperial period. We'll swoop in, nab the holocron, and then jet to the Cosmatanic Steppes to sell it. The credits should be more than enough money to pay for my suit of armor."

She was flying low now, circling towards a big landing pad that seemed to be suspended over a sea of mist and steam. The plan for getting into the vault was only loosely formed in her mind, but she would get there eventually. The ship rocked slightly as it landed and she threw a glance at the Mandalorian. "Hope you like adventure," she punched a power pack into her blaster and then stuffed it in its holster, "because you found it." @Nefieslab

 

[Tagal Saxon]

The hells was he doing here again?

Oh that was right - he was here to help ensure that this woman would actually have the money to pay him for his work. Tagal wasn't usually one to go running around the Galaxy but when your meal ticket was some unreliable college graduate who may, or may not, ever actually pay you?

And when you NEEDED those credits?

Well he supposed he could be forgiven for being uncharacteristically open for a trip around the Galaxy. Hells, he was even interested in running on after the woman to an Imperial planet - thankfully his armour was rather generic and he had no distinguishing features that marked him as a Mandalorian. So if they decided they wanted to pick a fight, it would be because he was acting like a damned treasure hunter with this woman.

"Call me Tag." he told her bluntly, looking out through the window of the ship as they flew, "Call me ma'am one more time and I'll push your head under the acid seas until the skin peels off your skull."

Let it never be said that Tagal didn't speak the other version of the native language of the Mandalorians - threats.

Making sure that his armour was fitted correctly, he tightened up the upper armour and made a mental note to make some adjustments when he got back to his forge. He was going to need to make some modifications if he was going to be out and about more often.

Somehow he could see this jaunt being the start of something new.

"... alright." he declared before asking, "Is there really a market for the inane ramblings of a man dead for half a millennia? Sith are strange creatures."

He rolled his eyes before pulling his helmet on.

"Let's just get moving." he suggested before adding, "If we have to go loud? I hope you know how to use that thing."

Non-Mandalorians were usually amateurs after all.

@Malon

 

[Lyra Mona Fane]

"You'd be surprised how many people will pay big credits to say they have an arcane Sith artifact," Lyra said, stepping on to the landing ramp of her ship as it descended. The open air of Cato Neimoidia smelled putrid, likely the fumes that were coming off the steam billowing off of the acidic oceans far below. Already, a Neimoidian port official was approaching with a company of battle droids serving as his guards. Lyra maintained her smile, but hissed, "Oh, great... Leave the talking to me."

She whirled around and waved at the approaching Neimoidian. "Top of the mornin' to ya!" she practically shouted towards the Neimoidian, even though it was clearly mid-afternoon on Cato Neimoidia. "You're looking mighty... green, today, friend! How can we assist you?"

"You don't have clearance to use this landing pad," the Neimoidian port official said plainly. "Turn around, get back on that ship, and get into orbit before I have it impounded and the both of you hauled off to prison."

This is going well, Lyra thought. She maintained her grin. "Listen, sir — can I call you sir? Some people—" She threw a glance at Tag "—get pissy when I use the wrong epitaph — anyways, listen, I'm sorry to be dropping in on your unexpected like this, but we're kinda here on some really important business. You wouldn't want to be turning us away."

The Neimoidian snorted. "Fat chance. If you were anyone worth knowing, we'd have known you were coming. Last chance. Turn around and go back to wherever it is you came from or you're toast, lady."

"You mean you don't know who this is?" Lyra gasped, feigning utter shock. She then leaned on Tag's shoulder. "This, my very green friend, is Tag Solus, Mandalorian Protector to Mandalore the Chosen herself!" Lyra feigned dazzlement by drawing circles onto Tag's breastplate with her free fingers. "The head badass herself sent us to personally inspect your baron's vaults. She's thinking of using them. You know, treasures of conquest and all that."

She could tell the Neimoidian hesitated at that. He looked between her and the Mandalorian, then focused solely on Tag. "How do I know you are who she says you are? Do you have identification chips? Scan-docs?"

Lyra cut in, "Here's the thing — we don't actually have any of that sort of thing on us at the moment. I get it, you don't want to take a risk and all that, but, look, if you go and lock us up, then the head honcho lady is gonna come looking. Have you seen the HoloNet lately? She and her people have been kicking the Empire's ass from Nal Hutta to Corellia." She glanced at the port official's battle droids and smirked. "I don't think you want her dropping basilisk war droids on your cities over a minor thing like an inspection, would you?" Another glimmer of concern flickered in the Neimoidian's eyes. "Didn't think so. So get your baron. We'll wait here."

The Neimoidian flashed the pair one last look over his shoulder and, then, grunting, turned back to do exactly as Lyra asked. As soon as he and his droids were gone, Lyra glanced at Tag and flashed him a wicked smile, "See? What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about." She patted him on his breastplate then pushed away from him. "C'mon. We're not actually staying here. We've got a vault to find." @Nefielsab

 

[Tagal Saxon]

People would pay money for a class and metal doorstop that looked like it would have trouble holding back even the flimsiest of wooden shack doors? Sometimes Tagal wondered what it must be like to be one of the Imperial elite and not have to worry about money or anything like that.

Must be a shock to them when they had to earn anything.

But because he could comment it appeared that the welcoming committee had been arranged and, unsurprisingly, they were very unwelcoming. The shock that Tagal felt at this 'revelation' could scarcely be contained, though his inner sarcasm was still left unchecked of course. Tagal watched at the college girl and the Neimoidian talked back and forth like something of a demented game of verbal tennis.

If one side of the game was not allowed to bring a racket - the Neimoidian might as well have not actually bothered speaking given how easily the woman was able to run rings around him. Frowning behind his helmet at her familiarity with him, patting his breastplate like that, he rolled his eyes before heading off alongside her. As they began to approach the palace, Tagal tugged on her shoulder to get her to follow him as he led the way around the side of the building.

There were a lot of windows and a lot of doors for them to enter the palace through but Tagal knew well enough that doors and windows had silent alarms when they were locked in a place like this. But one place that was never properly attended to was the same in every place like this; the servant's entrance.

Coming around the back of the building, he grinned slightly upon spotting the door to the kitchen, propped open by a small crate to keep the fresh air flowing. Tagal pushed it open and hurried her inside.

"We're in - but do you actually have any idea where the vault is?"

That was kind of an important part of the plan to rob said vault after all.

@Malon

 

[Lyra Mona Fane]

Lyra put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow a bit as she gave his question some thought. Did she know where the vault was? Well... technically, no. But she did know the vault number. That had to count for something. "Well, it's certainly not going to be here in the kitchen," she whispered harshly. "The vault's number is... uh... seven-one-three. Betcha it's on a lower level. If we can find a terminal, I can hack our way in and find out for certain. C'mon!"

The rogue archeologist pushed their way into the kitchens. Chef-droids were milling around, doing their business, but their protocols were strictly related to meal-prep and so they did next-to-nothing to stop the archeologist and her Mandalorian compatriot from strolling right through the kitchens and into the adjacent hallway.

Once Lyra was certain the hallway was clear, she scrunched up her nose and tapped her chin, "Now, if I were a security terminal, where would I be?"

As if the Force was listening and had something resembling a sense of humor, she heard an echo down the hall: a droid, probably palace security, saying, "—not on the landing pad anymore! Do a full sweep of the perimeter! Find them! Units 2b and Triple-C, come with me. We'll search the security footage and see if we can find them indoors."

"Roger, roger!"

Lyra smirked. Bingo!

She peeped around the corner and watched as the droids disappeared into what she could only guess was the security station. She drew her blaster pistol from its holster, shushed Tag, and motioned for him to follow her. Then, she snuck down the corridor until she was just outside the security station. There she waited, counting slowly to three, before swinging around the corner and firing three shots into the room. Each bolt struck a droid before they even knew she was tehere. For dramatic effect, she blew on the muzzle of her gun and smirked at her Mandalorian companion.

"See?" she gloated. "Told ya I was good with these. C'mon, let's see where this vault is."

She immediately began to mess with one of the nearby terminals. Naturally, she lacked the proper credentials to log in properly, so she simply sliced her way passed the system's security measures. Unfortunately... that had ramifications. A red light began to flash, coinciding the blaring of an alarm. "Bugger..." she cursed. "Alright, big guy. Let's see if you're good with those blasters. Give me some cover. I can have our vault's location in just a moment!" @Nefieslab

 

[Sergei Petrov]

ato Neimoidia was under the authority of Imperial Director Sergei Petrov. Since his operation on the colony world, he had collected his power and influence onto the planet, seized control and governorship, and had grown to rival even Saorise of House Dalaigh in the Deep Core. The foundation of his strength and wealth was ever growing, especially with the vaults of the Neimoidians now under his possession.

While he had yet to sift through every vault in search of prized Sith artifacts or caches of credits, they remained under close watch by Imperial and third-party forces to ensure the Neimoidian nobles, tricky as they were, would not empty them and dip for the Outer-Rim. The vaults, and what laid within, were for him and him alone. Which was why Sergei was quick to react at news of a break-in. Alarms blared, troopers were scrambled, the Director was ready.

Decked in his usual armor, jumpboots replaced with the jetpack he acquired after the defense of Nar Shaddaa, Sergei marched down the halls of the storage complex. In one hand, he brandished his polished light repeater and with the other, he directed his contingent of soldiers down different halls and into separate rooms. They would sweep the facility from top to bottom, every nook and cranny, until the intruders were found, captured and questioned.

Eventually, Sergei came to a stop before the main security center. The door was left ajar, and the Imperial feared the worst. With two of his guards, he urged them inside first, both of them ready to check or clear out the room. Not that he expected swift capture. They were merely shields for Sergei to follow.

@Nefieslab

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Well damn, Tagal was going to have to admit that the woman was actually useful. Sure, she didn't really know where the vault actually was but she had already gone up in his estimation considering how competent she had shown herself to be so far. He very nearly actually verbally apologized before it turned out that she set off an alarm by accessing the computer terminal.

He paused where he stood for a moment before staring at her blankly.

"... I see your field of study did not include computers." he noted dryly as he drew one of his blaster pistols in his right hand and his beskad with his left, "I would make a joke at your expense but the fact of the matter is that my computer skills are still worse. I'll hold the line."

Tagal wasn't really a big user of computers - he mainly only ever touched them to write the software for the limbs he made. He paused as he heard commotion outside the security room and pressed his back against the wall, behind where the door opened. Two Imperial Troopers stepped cautiously into the room, rifles up, as they spotted Lyra in the middle of the room, working on the computers.

As most people don't, neither trooper looked for anyone else in the room to begin with as they had the 'intruder' in their sights. Which meant that while they were preparing some, no doubt, boring capture speech, Tagal merely raised his blaster pistol and shot four times; twice into the back of each man. Completely taken by surprise, both troopers collapsed to the ground before they could do anything else.

"Progress?"

Tagal went to close the door - and spotted someone else outside. Someone he didn't think was a trooper... especially with that repeater in his arms. Cursing, Tagal threw himself to one side of the doorway and hammered the button to close the door.

"Company - more firepower."

@Malon @Deviant

 

[Lyra Mona Fane]

Company. Great.

Lyra pushed back from the terminal and crouched behind the head chair of a long, obsidian table that crowded the center of the room. Maybe the Neimoidians used it as a conference table, she wasn't sure. As she moved, she drew both of her blaster pistols and, with her thumbs, switched them to over to stun. Imperial troops were... not what she was expecting.

When did the bloody Empire take an interest in Cato Neimoidia?! They weren't here the last time she tried stealing from these vaults! Whatever. She was good with a blaster, and her cover would prevent her from being picked off by whoever was outside, but she was lacking in the armor department thanks to that greedy-ass Mandalorian she'd brought along with her. If he had just...

Ugh, focus Fane, she reminded herself.

If they could capture this Imperial, they might be able to learn a bit about the vaults. Hell, he might even have security access codes on him and then they could waltz around his palace as they very well pleased. A devilish smirk crawled across her face. Yes, that would work rather nicely. She glanced at her teammate and hissed, "Capture, not kill!"

She hoped Mandalorians were good at following orders. @Deviant @Nefieslab

 

[Sergei Petrov]

ergei had chosen to follow his troopers inside. While they were his personal armored meat shields, they were still his troopers, and the Director was no coward. Already in his own armor with his own weapons, he was more than prepared to face down whatever threats laid inside the room if his soldiers couldn’t on their own. Which was precisely what happened, and the Imperial knew precisely what to do. This was not his first rodeo. He faced down enough rebels, radicals or raiders to know how to handle them.

With both men under fire, Sergei leaned down and launched into the room. His jetpack, newly made and perfectly functional, rocketed him forward at a remarkable speed. With a maximum acceleration of over ten meters a second, he could easily enter the room and catch those inside by surprise. By the time his troopers hit the floor, their superior was skidding over it. Tagal would have no time to close the door before Sergei essentially tackled him mid-air.

Lurching ahead, he would use Tagal as a cushion when he slammed into the wall, which would come moments later. Of course, it was no aimless blow. Given the Mandalorian had taken time to take out his troopers, men the Director was following, he made sure to clasp one hand on the other man’s blaster pistol, tilting it away to prevent a point blank shot. His other hand seized their other wrist too, essentially disarming them. There was no way they could prevent being smacked into the wall.

While that wouldn’t be enough to take out the Mandalorian, Sergei was ready to push through the motions. He kept an eye out on the woman he was accompanying too, which he caught by a quick glance. The second he hit the wall, the Imperial would be ready to angle his body, and jetpack, to ricochet off and launch over to Lyra. At least, as long as the first man didn’t interrupt him.

@Nefieslab @Malon

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Great - this Imperial wasn't an idiot.

Grunting as he was slammed back-first into the wall, both of his arms held away from the Imperial at the wrists, Tagal gritted his teeth behind his helmet. Being tackled into the wall was not fun but his armour meant that it wasn't as painful as it could have been. His legs, completely unimpeded by Sergei's tackle, wrapped around the Imperial's waist and twisted with his whole body weight downwards to his right not a moment after impact, having moved up during the tackle.

The intention had been to knock the man off balance but with the jetpack activated, the force of the propulsion would send both men (still locked at the waist) flying across the floor of the room to slam painfully into the far wall, sliding past Lyra on their way. Groaning in pain, the Mandalorian would recover his wits enough for something that his people were somewhat famous for; he used his head.

That is to say, Tagal would headbutt Sergei's helmet with his own purely to push the man's head up and distract him long enough for Tagal to release the grip on his blaster pistol and dart his hand for the Imperial officer's neck, getting his hand underneath the man's helmet to grab the exposed area. He was only able to do this because Sergei's grip was on his pistol rather than the hand that Tagal would seek to start choking his Imperial counterpart with.

@Malon @Deviant

 

[Lyra Mona Fane]

I was not prepared for today, Lyra thought as the two men, who were rather intimately locked together, soared right over her and into a nearby wall. It honestly would've been hot had the situation not been, you know, life or death. The rogue archeologist might not have been a Mandalorian, but that didn't mean her reflexes weren't quick. As soon both men hit the ground, Lyra sprang into action.

She remained crouched, but spun so that she was facing them. Then, with the blaster pistol in her right hand, she fired three shots into the Imperial Agent's side. As these were stun shots, they appeared as blue, circular bolts of energy rather than the traditional red laser bolts of death that blaster pistols ordinarily produced.

She kept the blaster in her left hand pointed at the Imperial, finger on the trigger, in case she needed to make a quick maneuver to defend herself or her stalwart companion. But he looked like he could handle himself for the moment. Maybe. @Deviant @Nefieslab

 

[Sergei Petrov]

e immediately regretted tackling the Mandalorian. While the slam to the wall was successful, his enemy unexpectedly hang on, straddling him mid-air, legs wrapped around his waist. Sergei found it hard to register what was happening. Next thing he knew, he was flying across the room again, armor skidding against the floor, hands struggling with the other man’s. Like a leech, they refused to let go. No matter. The Imperial was determined to take the man down. Or up.

As the Mandalorian slanted his body to throw Sergei off balance, their lurch to the opposite side of the control room gave him ample time to recalculate and regain his footing. When they slammed against the wall, he would continue. His jetpack never deactivated, so together, they would simply ricochet from the wall and keep sailing around. At the speed he was going, the man’s partner would be unable to land any shots, especially when she aimed in the space she assumed they would stay. Instead, they would be a blur to her.

But for Sergei? Rattled as his skull might be, the Mandalorian was clear as day to him. Given they would never stop at the wall, any attempt to headbutt or choke him would never come. Both men would remain locked to each other, one desperate to overpower the other. While Sergei weighed more, and therefore maintained the advantage, it was not strength he cared about it. Rather, it was precision and surprise. Along with the trick up his sleeve.

With his left arm, he aimed his wrist below the man’s waist, around his thighs and groin. Sergei was quick, enough that the Mandalorian would have little time to redirect his blaster as they were flailing around. Without a need to aim, and at point blank range, the dart launcher on Sergei’s left wrist would fire. While it couldn’t pierce light armor, he shot at his unarmored upper legs. And at the range it was, he didn’t doubt it would slide past the environmental suit of the armor and inject the sedative into the man.

That way, Sergei could move onto the young woman he was with, who was no doubt trying to land a shot while they flew around at well over five meters a second. Too fast for even a sharpshooter.

@Nefieslab @Malon

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Tagal really didn't like this damned Imperial!

As they were travelling through the air, Tagal decided that he had had enough of the Imperial. Growling in annoyance, Tagal would twist his hands, grasping Sergei's wrists while his own were still pinned by the Imperial. This would cause the dart to ping against the floor beside him due to the sudden twist changing it's trajectory - the Imperial had made the mistake of going to use an activation button on a suit of armour when wrestling with an armoursmith.

Considering the position of the trigger, it could only be a few functions. Since neither of them wanted to die he didn't have to spend even a second deciding it wasn't a wrist rocket.

Unlike the Imperial however, Tagal still had his legs in a useful position. Pulling back on Sergei's wrists hard, Tagal would pull his legs back to press his feet hard against Sergei's chest and push. The result would be Tagal using the power of his whole body to pull at Sergei's arms at the sockets. It would also force the Imperial to arch his back- presenting a nice target to the Mandalorian's ally.

If she didn't shoot the Imperial he was so going to have words with her about extra payment.

@Deviant @Malon

 

[Lyra Mona Fane]

Lyra deadpanned. Men, she thought. Always fighting over who gets a piece of me. Raising her blaster pistol up, she fired two more blue, circular stun bolts into the Imperial Agent. Would it work? Well, given her luck with this recent mission... probably not. And there was always the chance that the Imperial would turn the tide at the last moment and her shots would hit Tag instead... Eh, whatever. She'd cross that bridge if it came. For now, she was fairly certain her bolts would find their mark, and then they would be on their way.

@Deviant @Nefieslab

 

[Sergei Petrov]

othing went as Sergei hoped or expected. The man he was locked legs and arms with was relentless and refused to concede in spite of everything. Slammed from one wall to another, sailing between every corner of the room. He hoped to finish the fight with the sedative dart but the Mandalorian surprised him, twisted his wrists and forced the dart to fire harmlessly, aimlessly, into the floor. He only had a second to curse under his breath before they hit the ground once again. And for good.

Still intertwined with the other man, Sergei struggled out of his grip. He recognized the female looking for an opening and threw his full weight against the Mandalorian. Due to his superior strength, he lurched his body to the side just as Tagal pushed his feet into his chest. The first stun bolt would fly narrowly past the Imperial. Before he could reactivate his jetpack to avoid the other, it was too late. The second blow shattered against his armored torso and melted into his skin.

He arched his back on instinct, teeth gritting at the painful shock. Despite his armor, the bolt sank through and he lost some feeling in his spine. Not enough to drop unconscious, but enough. Muscles tensed, fingers twitching, Sergei collapsed on his side. He thrashed around for a couple moments, desperate to regain control, but found nothing to work with. He failed. Whatever happened now was up to the intruders to decide.

Regardless, they wouldn’t have long. Alarms continued to ring. More troopers would be arriving shortly.

@Malon @Nefieslab

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Tagal groaned as one of the bolts hit the Imperial and he seemed to lose fighting ability. The bolt hadn't knocked the man unconscious but it had done a number on him it seemed. Lifting the Imperial off of him, he set the man down on his side rather lightly, all things considered.

"Good shot." he told his ally before turning back to the Imperial for a moment, rummaging around before pulling out his datapad and copying his com details, "Good fight, Imperial. You very nearly had me... your armor is good but I think it can be better. I'll drop you a line with my prices."

Honestly, there were no hard feelings about their little bout. The two of them had been fighting cleanly, fighting well, until the advantage of having a partner proved to be too much of an advantage for the Imperial to overcome. There was no shame in being bested when numbers were not on your side.

Standing, he retrieved his weapons quickly.

"Did you find the vault and the lock?" he asked his ally, "I don't think we have a way of turning off the alarms and we shall soon have company."

@Deviant @Malon