The trolley tracks looked archaic, but still operational. They were still clearly being used for transporting foodstuffs and other materials towards wherever the tracks led to. Scouting reports had detailed that this was one of the most surefire ways to gain entrance to the base. Of course, it was fairly obvious that was how any interlopers would try to infiltrate, so guards had, understandably, been established to…guard the access point.
The four Envoys that taken up the call seemed an odd bunch. A robed Kiffar that looked like they should have been a Jedi Knight stood with hands on hips, but no token weapon of the Jedi anywhere to be seen.
Beside them, a short but alert Kushiban in Mandalorian armor and helmet brandishing a blaster and a pair of blades plus saber hilt that would make their master proud. She stood at the ready, cloak hugging her small frame.
The most atypical, but veteran looking member of the group was a Human man of average height with clean armor and a hood and an assortment of weapons.
The last Envoy stood out from the rest by nature of being one of the Brotherhoods few Verpine, but also towering lankily over the others. They only seemed to have a blaster and knife on them, as well as as backpack, but the more telling was the quietly looming Bounty Droid that seemed to be faithfully following them and awaiting orders.
That left their guide, who stood out in front of each of them prepared to approach the pair of two Barabel guards dressed in mercenary leathers and goggles. According to the Exarch, the man was apparently an asset that could get the Envoys entrance.
“Hold. Who do ya’ think you are? This area is Red Fang territory,”
“Why, my good fellows, have a heart!” the man said, removing the wide brimmed outlaw hat from his head and holding it over his chest. “You don’t recognize your old friend, Chet Mannly?”
The Barabel exchanged a curious glance at one another. “Who?”
“Chet Mannly, the trader? I came through not more than a cycle past with that fire whiskey the boss loved!”
Chet had bright green eyes and a pair of goggles that framed them and protected them from the dusty air. He had a square nose and a pointed, bushy mustache flanking it. His duster coat was beaten and worn, blending in with the general theme of the Barabel guards mercenary garb.
The two Barabel guards seemed to be raking their memory. Chet stood calmly, despite their lack of immediate compliance. And, to anyone watching closely, he seemed to be concentrating, and made a disguised hand-waving gesture towards the duo.
Those Force sensitive would have felt a faint ripple, but nothing overt or telling.
The Barbel’s postures seemed to go rigid for a moment then slackened. “The fire whiskey, yes,” the first one nodded amiably.
“Boss did say she loved it,” the second confirmed.
“Excellent my goodmen, we’ll just load up this cart and be on our way then.”
He pulled out two bottles from his cloak, and also palmed a pair of credit chits, which he slid into each of their padded jackets. “Consider these two bottles and a little extra bonus for being so diligent. Cheers, mates!”
The Barabel guards, while perhaps a bit disoriented, nodded amiably and waved the Envoys past them.
The four Envoys and Chet loaded a crate into the transport cart and walked alongside the hover-cart track towards a small tunnel at the side of the base.
“See? Easy-peasy,” Chet said as he rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Once we get through this tunnel, you’ll be into the base. From there, you’ll be on your own,” he explained as the party made their way towards the tunnel and entered into it.
Tisto laced his fingers together as he stretched his arms above his head, his jacket rising as he did so. He didn’t trust this Chet as far as he could throw him, but that didn’t mean much. He looked over to the others and raised an eyebrow. “So if I need to call out to you all, what should I call you?”
Reiden’s posture shifted as they approached the guards, moving from relaxed to attentive, almost as if on edge, waiting for something to happen. Years of experience had taught him to be ready. He studied Chet for a moment, watching as he interacted with the pair of Barabels. Something about the man felt off, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.
He also seems familiar somehow, he thought to himself.
As he observed the three of them, he felt something faint within the Force and his keen eyes picked up on a slight gesture from Chet. That’s when the pieces slowly fell into place. That nagging feeling in the back of his mind resolved as he realized that he’d seen Chet before, or at least a version of the man. Although he couldn’t be entirely sure, he was convinced that their guide was actually one Wyndell Tyris, the Exarch’s brother.
Of course. Who better to be our initial guide than someone trusted by the head of the Envoy Corps?
He allowed himself a small smile, choosing to let the man keep his secrets. There was no sense in burning an identity that may prove valuable in the future. Instead he turned his attention to the Kiffar.
“My name’s Reiden. And you?” He directed the question mainly at the other man, but also glanced around at the rest of their team.
Tisto unlaced his fingers and brought down his arms, his left stretched towards his right side, his right twisted around the other stretching out his shoulder. He switched his arms, thinking of how to respond to Reiden’s question. Once both shoulders had a satisfying pop the boxer let them rest.
“My friends call me Tisto,” he responded after a minute. “Some one once said I should start off by saying ‘The ladies call me oh god’ whether or not that is accurate. I might use that when we get inside. Might get some chuckles out of the pirates.”
Chet nodded along, his hat shadowing his features.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied, cracking a smile. “Oh, definitely go for that. Any pirates I’ve known have loved that kind of thing. I bet these guys would eat it up.” While technically true, he refrained from mentioning that he could count the number of pirates he knew on his two hands. It depended on the definition one was using for the term.
He observed the other two members of their group for a moment. He wasn’t used to seeing either Kushiban or Verpine much in his travels throughout the galaxy. However, he assumed they wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t hold their own, especially when the Kushiban in question was wearing Mandalorian armor. Then again, assumptions could be deadly, so he’d have to stay on alert just in case.
Tisto continued to stretch, using it as an opportunity to lean to the left both his hands in the air. Once he got a good look at the Barabel and the droid he switched his stretch to the right, towards the group.
“The angry wheel droid could be a problem,” he kept his voice low. “I’m willing to box the lizards though I’d rather talk to them. Never know if there are people here who aren’t fans of their boss.”
The boxer straightened his back, pushing against the ground with his toes before lowering them. He did this a few times, stretching his hamstrings. “I think they might have height on me though.”
Another day, another job. Zig said it was good to get out once in a while. Something about blowing the stink off - but they kept their carapace nice and clean, so Mex wasn’t sure what that meant. Either way they were here to get the job done and make their presence a known benefit. It was now just a question of how… Looking down towards the others and following along quietly the big bug might’ve seemed stoic… if it weren’t for the uncomfortably rigid body language they conveyed.
The Kiffar and Human were introducing themselves and making small talk. Mex stared to them blankly as if they weren’t sure when the appropriate time to interject was. When Tisto gave a summary of what lay ahead, Mex decided to finally chime in.
“Hi, I am Mex.” They introduced. “Engineer: Fixing. Breaking. Modifying. I do not know of ‘angry-wheel-droid’… However; Droidekas are vulnerable from behind. If opportunity presents, I could perform disruptive maintenance. If firefight ensues, that is why I have Friend.” Mex gestured to the bounty droid that was present with the group, it was armed with a CX-17m ICWS Blaster Rifle and was ready as a fallback.
“Tisto-oh-god, if you want to talk to lizards I can introduce myself to angry-wheel-droid. Fights good to avoid when possible. Else, Friend is primed to engage. Thoughts?” They looked to the Kushiban member of the group that also hadn’t spoken yet, but remained open to any additional information.
Tisto turned towards the Verpine and stared. It took a second for him to process what he just heard. After a while he blinked and grinned at the his large companion. “I like you.”
Reiden looked from the Verpine to its droid companion and then back to Tisto, smiling at the mention of ‘angry wheel droid’. The idea of tangling with a droideka in any way wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time, although he was sure they’d be able to handle it. But he reminded himself that, given their mission, it was almost inevitable. His hand found the hilt of his lightsaber, a subconscious gesture often done in the anticipation of a fight.
Handling the guards, however, was another story. It would almost certainly be more straightforward in dealing with them. Again, they’d likely need to be dealt with anyway.
“It would be good to have a plan to handle the droid, yeah,” he commented before turning to Tisto. “If you do, you’ll need to be quick so they can’t sound the alarm or call on the droideka. They can be dealt with, but they’re a pain at times. That said, it’s not a bad idea.”
Tisto shrugged. “They might not go for fists if we lead with talking. We are smugglers right?”
The former gang leader flashed another smile, looking almost comfortable for a second. “No one I ran with before now had problems with the Red Fangs. The Azure Akuls sure, but Red Fangs?”
Tisto went back to stretching, pressing his shoulder blades together and pushing his chest out. “Any group large enough to be a problem to the Brotherhood should be big enough to have some people who aren’t satisfied with how things are being run right now. I think. If we can talk to the right muscle or brains before anything kicks off…”
The Kiffar lets that hang in the air.
He nodded in agreement. The Kiffar had a good point. If they could avoid a fight, at least for a time, that would likely be better. But he’d had enough experience to know that in situations like this, it was often more a matter of when than if. Reiden began to stretch a bit as well, rolling his neck and shoulders. Regardless of what the plan was or how it went, he wanted to make sure he was ready to act when needed.
“The names Asani.” she introduced herself plainly to the small band. A nice job something small to get her mind off of far too much family drama. Maybe she could get a few extra credits and go out on a date after this. Shed definitely have to wash up. Her helmet certainly didn’t help them ascertain where she was looking, or what her expression was. She seemed to gently shake her head at the suggestion of talking.
Asani began to whisper her own thoughts about the plan “If you want to risk your own hide be my guest, but if things get out of hand and blasts start flying we’ll have to bail you out” she commented, somewhat warning the group of the possibility of failure. She hoped they all might make it out with all their body parts intact if he did attempt to talk. “Blink twice if you want me to mercy kill you.” her words seemed laced with morbid humor as she looked at Tisto, keeping her blaster ready.
Tisto regarded their short furry Mandalorian looking companion. “Would you rather we risk our hides by starting a brawl now?” Tisto sounded more curious than anything. He gestured to his face and red dreadlocks. “I hate to say it but I don’t exactly blend in with my surroundings. Never been great at hiding. But I have run two gangs before. Its all about finding the right people, those with doubt or new recruits. A good word here, some credits there, maybe a few bottles of spicebrew or Jet juice to a third person.”
Tisto regards the bouncers. “Sometimes even a friendly brawl or a compliment could get you parsecs with someone who needs it. And Those people often tend to help out those they think they can rely on in the moment.”
He looks back to Asani. “But perspectives like yours can keep us alive if we aren’t sure about the kind of folks we are talking to.”
“Glad to see my optimistic attitude is appreciated.” she replied, humor in her tone. “what about you all? Thoughts on asking first?” she looked to Reiden and Mex. Were they really going to take bets on if hed get shot or not? She wasn’t too keen on having to start a fire fight but at least wouldn’t mind it if she knew there was backup involved.
Reiden stifled a laugh when he heard Asani’s question. Despite differing views, they were both plenty valid, and they weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive either. “Look, thanks to our friend Chet here, we may have a way in. This cart has to arrive eventually, right? I don’t know how much sneaking we’ll be able to pull off. Trying to gauge how these guys feel about their boss is fine, nothing wrong there. But it’s probably not likely we’ll be able to sway everyone and we don’t know how many will be there yet. We’ll be capturing and taking her with us, so there’s bound to be some resistance and we should be prepared for that.” He paused for a moment, glancing at them. “I’m fine with trying to talk first if that’s what you really want to do, but I’ll be ready to spring into action and fight if it comes to it.”
Think fast, act fast, he reminded himself.
Mex considered their team’s words. “Hi, Reiden is correct. Bounty requests alive, not dead. If this not dealt with at present, will likely remain problem for future. Whether by forceful or diplomatic coercion, equation will need to be balanced now or then. Droideka shield imperfect in design - slow objects pass through. If distance is closed safely, options multiply. I am Mex. Work quick. If I am close I may attempt to disable angry-wheel-droid.”
Either way, they had to make a decision. Mex was ready to support. This wasn’t the first bout of combat they’d been in, and it wasn’t the first time they bumbled their way through a facility.
At that, Tisto began to lead the transport cart towards the entrance, nodding at the guards as he approached. There was not a doubt in his mind he belonged here. One delivery to pirates was hardly different from a delivery to a gang.
The droideka swiveled first, but the the two Barabel mercenaries turned and raised their blasters immediately and trained them on the approaching Kiffar.
“Hold it, you can’t just come waltz'in in here. How did you get past Pip and Kern!?”
The droideka rolled a bit, respoistioned, and came out of the roll with twin blaster canons trained on the kiffar as well. It’s bubble-like shield sprung up around it.
Karabast, have to put that mantra to use now.
Reiden raised his hands and took a couple slow, cautious steps toward the Barabel guards, making sure not to move suddenly or appear threatening. “Chet Mannly sent us. Said you guys were expecting a shipment of fire whiskey.” He gave a slight wave of his hand. “He told us that we were expected and that we should take it inside. The previous guards let us through.”
The Barabel guard tilted his head slightly at first, having heard of no Chet Mannly, but then his eyes seemed to gloss over a bit.
“We were expecting and should take you inside,” he repeated after Reiden.
“Well, even if that was the case,” the second Barabel spoke, holding up a hand. “We would still need to check with the LT,” he said, likely referencing Merrins right hand woman.
Seeing that people were tense, Mex moved with the group cautiously. The people-people were handling the pirate-people, Mex would do what they did best: be a droid-people. Audibly clearing their throat before letting out a series of whistles likely very difficult for a normal mouth to pull off they began to converse with the droideka in Binary.
Hi, I am Mex. We have been requested to retrieve Merrin Kelina. Her safety is directive. Should we be opposed, it would be in direct violation of Merrin Kelina’s safety. Maintain sentry here. Lethal force authorized on any attempting to stop us from extracting.
Attempting to appeal to an assumed directive of subordination to Merrin, Mex wanted the droid to equate the group was simply here to relocate its charge and was likely under directions to do so.
Seeing as others may find it strange that the tall insectoid was conversing with the droid, Mex looked to the others. “Hi, I am Mex. Your droideka is very nice.”
“` The Droideka wheeled in place, its servos whirring, targeting reticules swiveling and readjusting to focus on the Verpine’s binary. After a moment, it beeped once in compliance.
It rolled off towards near where they had found entry and seemed to enter a sentry type mode. ”`
“Uh, yeah, it seems to be…going to guard the supply train entrance. Smart I guess. Anyway, let me go run this by the Lieutenant,” he said as he turned to go.
While they waited for the other guard to return, Reiden glanced around, trying to get the lay of the land. Unfortunately, all the sand shifting and blowing around made it hard to see much. It was times like these that he would have sent a droid out to do some recon, but he had left Blitz behind. It didn’t seem wise to bring him through the tunnel and calling for him now likely wouldn’t bode well for them. He didn’t want to risk causing more suspicion in either guard, or the droideka for that matter.
The Barabel that Reiden had mind tricked disappeared down a lift of some kind that must have lead to the underground base itself. The remaining Barabel seemed to relax a bit, but kept his grip on his blaster.
Tisto looked at the other Barabel, making it clear he was focusing on the lizards arms. He stayed casual, thinking on what he could do. “Hey guard,” The boxer lifted one arm and made a fist. He did his best to look relaxed. “I gotta ask since you are a big one.”
He called on his time with the soldiers of Odan-Urr. He gestured around. “I don’t mean to presume but, you ever consider stepping into the shockboxing ring?”
Focus on the benefits, like you are recruiting.
“I think that might provide a somewhat easier life. Scheduled fights, not having to get into life or death fights. I used to run with big crews like this. Lost a lot of good friends ya know? These days it’s just boxing and smuggling. My friends are a bit safer.”
Tisto did his best to keep the conversation focused on what he figured would be good for a shockboxing recruiter. “If you are worried about something like the pro leagues, there are a bunch of underground rings. I’ve been around a few, and I gotta say with someone like you in their ranks I’m shocked the Red Fangs aren’t that involved in them. I could get you a recommendation for a ring or two if you are interested.”
Tisto finishes with a shrug. “Figured I’d give the offer one bruiser to another.”
"Heh. Not a bad pitch, 'tats," he Barabel replied, showing his pointed rows of teeth. "But I've always been under the persuasion of 'why get your mitts dirty when I can drill a blaster bolt through their head from behind cover'," he explained, tapping the side of his scaled head.
It was a smart idea, keeping him distracted and his eyes off of the rest of the group, hopefully. They just had to keep at it while one of the others did something. He eyed the terminal, glanced at Mex and Asani, then looked back at it again.
He turned to Tisto and the guard, stepping forward to join them when the Barabel responded. “Hey, nothing wrong there. Sometimes that’s what it takes, you know? But think about it this way. I’ve known my fair share of fighters, whether shockboxing or in the pits. They can make some pretty decent money, even if it’s just something they’re doing on the side. And if you get in on it as a manager or even the one putting the fights together, maybe even both? Watch those credits start rolling in. People will happily hand over their creds just to see two people pummel each other.” He shrugged, “I’m not saying you have to be the one to fight or anything, just, you know, something to think about. After all, who doesn’t like money?”
“` "Heh. I guess you have a point there. Credits spend like credits, my pop used to always say,” he nodded along and seemed to be focused on the bantering chat between Tisto and Reiden.
The second guard had yet to return, but the terminal off to the side was unattended. “`
Looking over at the terminal Reiden eyed towards, Mex casually sauntered off to introduce themselves to it.
The thing looked pretty standard - probably wouldn’t be much encryption either if they weren’t very organised. Without bringing much attention to themselves, they pulled out a datapad from their backpack and jacked it into a terminal slot. Running through an interface, Mex was able to quickly inject a small script to brute force and get privileged access to the terminal. With a twitch of their antennae they were in - they just needed to not press their presence too hard on the network and it’d look like standard traffic. Putting away their encrypted datapad, they began to familiarise themselves with the system, one of the first things that made itself known were the security controls. Unfortunately it required different access then they had…
Unless…
With some deft taps, the verpine created a new shell account with access to security permissions. Whoever was responsible for setting up the infrastructure was either very lax, very confident, or just inexperienced. Switching over to the new fake account, they now had control over some of station defences. Pushing any further might get them flagged, so for now it would suffice. Mex couldn’t just tell the group in front of everyone that they were rooting around where they shouldn’t be, but they couldn’t just say nothing either. Pulling out their wrist-link they sent a small text message to the group: Hi, I am Mex. I am providing new parameters to turret defences. I will remain here with access to system. Will provide Friend as backup.
With the message sent out to the team’s comms for checking at a convenient time, the verpine finished off with a couple more tapps on their comm-link, ordering the Bounty Hunter Droid to remain with the team for fire support until further orders were provided.
The Verpine’s affinity for droids and machinery probably helped with a vastly overrated Phenomenon in the Galaxy. Nobody noticed a droid, and in this case, no one seemed to notice the Verpine interacting with the terminal.
Mex’s timing was convenient, because as Friend moved to stand with the rest of the team chatting up the lone Barabel, the one who had left earlier finally returned, emerging from the mechanical turbubolift that rose from underground.
He wasn’t alone.
Naomi Barron wore an all black armored bodysuit with pauldrons that looked to be made from polished beskar. The suit itself stood out less, but didn’t look to limit her mobility. She carried two pistols, a slughthrower and a blaster on either hip. Her dark hair was long and combed over in the front, revleaing a dark complection, dark eyes, some tribal tatooing over one eye, and a cybernetic headset of some kind. She was flanked on either side by more Barabel.
As she approached, metallic boots crunching faintly over the dry cracked ground, she drew the slugthrower and leveled it towards Reiden.
“Sorry friends, but we didn’t order any fire-whiskey, and I’m going to have to politely ask you stand down.” she smiled, but it was sharp as a Karkarodons.
The rest of the camps weapons trained on the group. It seemed that talk time was over.
Far away, on Arx Minor in orbit of the Brotherhood's homeworld, in the Exarch's monitoring office, a sigh could be heard as an ashen haired man with blue eyes pinched the bridge of his nose.
Tisto looked at Naomi and smiled, bringing his arms back. He could feel his shoulder blades touch and held them there for a second. “I suppose it was worth a shot. Your boy here really should have taken me up on my offer to get him into the shockboxing ring.”
He used the tension in his shoulders to smash the Barabel guard in the face with a quick right sucker punch. There was a mild sting in his hand as he connected with the lizard, but the boxer did not stop. A left hook quickly followed on the unsuspecting guard catching him right in the law. In a fraction of a heart beat he had brought his right hand around in an uppercut on the barabel, and followed it with a left jab right between the lizards eyes. As the lizard began to drop, the boxer whipped his left hand around smacking him one last time in the temple.
As the Barabel hit the ground, Tisto bent his knees his right foot behind his left, he raised his arms up, elbows in and started to bounce on the balls of his feet. “It really feels good to show why you should get your hands dirty.”
“Karabast,” Reiden muttered under his breath as he watched the woman emerge with more Barabels. Luckily Tisto had thought quickly and took care of the guard near them.
He reached out and took hold of the Force, jerking his hand backward in an attempt to disarm the lieutenant. Unfortunately in his hurry he didn’t quite manage the job, the woman still holding her weapon in her grasp. Fortunately, the slugthrower was no longer aimed at him. Using the opportunity, he quickly pulled his blaster from its holster and fired off a flurry of shots in their direction, meaning to hold them back and buy time for his teammates rather than hit anyone in particular. As he did so, he started running, then dove for cover behind a pile of sandbags that were laying strewn about.
“` The volley of suppressive fire did the trick, forcing the Lieutenant and the Barabel pirate next to her to fan out and get to cover. One pressed up against the side of the stacks of supplies that formed a half-wall. The other ducked behind the same rubble as Naomi, and the third peaked out from around the turrets cover.
One pirate from up north moved into position to draw a bead on the Kiffar that had brutalized his friend, drawing a bead downscope.
The farthest two took up defensive positions at the base of the second turret, trusting it to be their range and power, and there to reinforce as needed. They were no amateurs. ”`
Tisto opened himself to the Force, breathing in as a comforting heat flowed into him. As the northern pirate fired, Tisto bobbed under the first shot in a burst of Force enhanced speed. He kept an eye on the Barabel firing on him, weaving to the left as the pirate adjusted their aim and fired again. The blast came close, singing one of Tisto’s dreads. The bruiser pointed at the pirate. “Do I have another volunteer?”
Seemingly oblivious to the firefight, Mex kept their attention on the console. After a few deft taps on the interface, they leveraged the station defences. The first shot was a bit off-centre, but it only took a moment for Mex to lock-in and fire at the pirates that were actively shooting.
“Hi, I am Mex. Do you know the third law of physics?”
“` For every action, there was an equal or opposite reaction. Mex’s mentor would have been so proud to see their application of this in that moment.
The two dome-like turrets swiveled to life, but instead of firing on the intruders as would be expected, they instead turned on their own.
While the first shot was wide, the second set of blasts was true from the first turret.
The Barabel who had fired on the Kushiban Mandalorian watched as their attack failed to find thier mark on the target. They were struggling to find cover themselves, leaving them vulnerable.
Turret fire slammed into the Barabel at near point-blank range. Even through his armor and thick hide, chunks of flesh flew and landed in the sand. Spears of plasma pelted his body with enough impact to send him sprawling towards the ground wreathing in agony, leaving scorched holes smoking from his arms and stomach as he landed in the dirty and curled up into himself whimpering.
The second turret took aim at the Barbel that had fired on Tisto. This shot, since it was further away, merely hammered into the soldier’s armor. He was pushed back, clearly in pain, but managed to find cover and started to swear in Barabel as he tried to collect himself. ”`
Namoi Barron sneered as she watched her own turret defenses turn on her. She couldn’t get a line or bead on whoever was slicing or contorlling them, but she knew she had to keep control of the situation. Based on what the cameras had shown, they were dealing with at least a few Force Users like the boss. So she had to be tactical.
No problem.
As she re-adjusted her aim, she fired from around cover with her pistol. At the same time, she expertly arced a dioxis grenade into the center area between the Kiffar and Human. Balthazar had already been pummeled likely to death, but even if he was still alive, the danger was too high to worry over such things.
The canister struck, and a noxious cloud of toxins released into the air in a small sphere.
The Droideka that was not charmed by a clever Verpine realized battle was upon them. Finally. It had been growing quite bored. It rolled as fast as it could to join the fray, seeing Mistress Barron and making sure to position itself in front of her position protectively. It's personal shield popped up in a bubble around it.
Tisto couldn’t help but smile as he saw the torrent take a shot at the pirate who fired at him. “There is more of that coming friend!” He called out before an uncomfortable flash of heat spiked in his head.
Something is incoming!
“Reiden! Move!” Tisto shouted as he dove into a shoulder roll, going away from where in his head he felt the spike of heat. The spike of heat faded as the grenade came in. He held his breath for a second as it went off, before realizing he had gotten safely away.
Reiden heard Tisto call out to him and looked around. Above him, the grenade arced downward. He didn’t have time to think about what kind it might be, not that knowing would necessarily do anything to help him. Instead, he simply launched himself out of what he hoped was the radius of its effect, whatever that might be. It was a close call, but he got away just in time, breathing out a sigh of relief.
“I appreciate the head’s up!” he called to the Kiffar.
The Droideka that had befriended Mex remembered its directive. It rolled out to protect Mex's friend, the Kiffar. It deployed its bubble protectively.
Asani had managed to side step avoiding the worst of a blaster injury as it bounced of her armor.
Somehow she knew it would turn to chaos, “Remind me to say ‘I told you so’ once this is over!” she shouted at her team ducking for cover while firing at the barabel who had tried to strike at her, finding it was a bit redundant once the turret had set its sights on her target. “Karabast…” she could at least give him the final blow, a victory was a victory in this situation.
“You guys doing alright?” she asked her team mates listening for any responce while preparing to provide cover fire toward the enemy in case anyone needed it.
Tisto took a deep breath safe outside the grenade’s gas, then turned away from the woman who threw it. “Wait your turn!” He called out as he took off running towards the Barabel who had shot at him. Tisto’s legs strode across the ground as the boxer opened himself to the Force, feeling a rush of heat filling him. He directed it towards his legs as he leapt over the sandbags, landing with a crash next to the lizard. The boxer took advantage of being so close to push against the Barabel’s gun, putting his weight into his left side. With his right hand he threw a nasty right hook, shifting his weight from pinning against his foe with a twist of his hips and sending it all into the Barabel’s jaw with this punch.
“Hello volunteer,” The boxer grined as he looked his opponent in the eye. “Be a good example unlike the last one and put up a fight.”
The Barabel took the hits with no more than a painful grunt and growl. Without his gun, he still managed to get a forearm up to block, the shockboxing gloves not having as much an impact against his hide as likely intended. Bloodied still and injured, adrenaline coursed and he tried to simply overpower the Kiffar with his raw bulk.
Reiden examined the battlefield before him. Tisto had his guard handled just fine. The boxer clearly knew what he was good at and was sticking to it. That’s good. There were two other Barabels by one of the towers that held a turret. They were a threat, but too far away for the moment for him to do anything about. The lieutenant and another Barabel were partially behind cover, which limited options. Next up was the guard that Asani had shot. Technically, he was still in the fight.
Then there was the droideka near him. Now that posed a threat, but also an opportunity, especially with its design and shield. The Palatinaean immersed himself in the Force and reached out. Invisible tendrils took hold of the droid and, with a flick of his wrist, Reiden sent it hurtling towards the Barabel.
“` As a wise Verpine had once (a few minutes earlier) posited: the laws of physics were always to be respected.
The Droideka’s shield was formible, but its mass was nothing against the will of the Force. Sized mattered not, at least as far as lifting it up in the air went, but once its shielded body was propelled suddenly in the opposite direction like a marble, the droideka simply rolled over the crouched Barabel who had already been injured.
The object in motion stayed in motion, but the Barabel went down, crushed from the kinetic-replling field and compressing his body into the sandy ground.
Even after the droid crashed into the wall of sandbags and tried to re-orient itself, the Barabel did not get up or budge. ”`
“` "Kark off you sodding prick,” the bruised Barabel sneered, and tried to use his larger bulk to try and graple and pin down the Kiffar.
Tisto was stronger, or just simply knew how to handle the difference in weight better. As the Barabel tried to get one last stab of a hidden side-knife into the Odanite, Kingang caught it, reversed it, and plunged it into a soft spot between the Barabels scales. “`
“` The other two Barabel, tucked from behind cover where they figured the turret at least couldn’t get them, took their chances from a distance.
The first took two shots with his sniper rifle at the Force User that had magically thrown their Droideka like a pinball. Both shots…missed. He blinked a few times. Was this some kind of…weird mind trick!?
(No, he just was unlucky and the shots were off their mark. Performance anxiety is a real killer–shut up Wyndell you’re not narrating this)
The second Barabel took a different approach and fired off a micro wrist rocket towards the terminal and its operator. The projectile didn’t land where it was intended to land, but it was still a rocket. The impact detonated in a small ochre cloud of exethermal heat. ”`
“` The last Barabel took once glance at the Leutienent. She seemed to have a plan, and was calm and nonplussed by the situation. How could she be so calm!? These people showed up, turned thier own turrets against them, and had already bruttaly dispatched Murphy, Marlo, and Mick.
He wasn’t paid enough to deal with all of…this!
So he "tactically repositioned” and moved to cover where at least the Turret couldn’t get him. “`
Asani had been checking where the enemy and her allies were in relation to where she needed to be when she saw it. “no…” she saw the intention and the shot. “Oh kark” Asani muttered while moving, she had managed to dash away from the worst of the blast. Thankfully her armor was assisting in keeping the shock at bay, but noticed Reiden hadnt been as lucky.
“Karabast! Get up!!!” she shouted at her proned ally, her attempts to help were commendable but their size difference proved to be a bit much for the lagomorph. “Come on move!” she was trying to lift him, but the combined weight of him and her armor was too much.
Reiden had heard and seen the small rocket coming his way but only barely managed to dodge it in time, the concussive force of the explosion knocking him down, the heat reaching him as well. His ears were ringing, but there was another sound there as well.
He realized it was Asani telling him to move. He got back to his feet and shook his head, letting out a grunt of frustration. “Damn, that blast nearly got me. Thanks for the prodding.”
Peeking out, Mex needed to keep control over the field as the squad was in danger. Furiously tapping away on the control console, Mex twisted the turrets into a crossfire with the intention of keeping the enemy pinned down.
“Hi Friend, prioritise centre target.”
“Acknowledged.” The droid replied, stepping into position by Reiden and opening fire on Naomi.
“` The first turret obeyed Mex’s control completely, compelled by assisted programming to finely target the enemies fortified position. Blaster-fire tore and shredded into the sandbag cover, creating a cloud of dust that caused the crouched Barabel to cough and cover their eyes and reptilian mouths.
They suddenly found themselves without cover.
The second turret swivelled and layed down supressive cross-fire. Heavy blaster rounds hammered into the hull-plating of the base’s wall, and the frightened Barabel re-doubled his decision to stay put. Surely this was just survival instinct and not cowardice…. ”`
“` As Friend leveled their Syngery CX-17m ICWS blaster at the enemy’s Lieutenant and laid down some precision fire, Namoi Barron was quick to react.
The cybernetically enhanced Human activated her jet boots and leapt away from the spray of fire, repositioning to a better place of cover now that the enemy had managed to advance. ”`
Namoi grit her teeth as she landed atop one of the turrets, balancing by activating one mag-boot to keep in place even as it rotated. She squared up, fired off a wrist rocket towards the Bounty Droid that she knew to be a threat. Then she lifted her slugthrower and fired two shots at the prone Force User, hoping to capitalize. Her first shot missed, and the second she felt the weapon jam up.
She swore angrily to herself. “Fall back and secure the boss,” she called into her communicator calmly.
“` Meanwhile, the Droideka that Mex had charmed rolled its way into battle. Directive: defeat threats.
It took aim on its counterpart droideka and open fired. The blaster bolts were aimed true, but were absorbed, predictably, by the other. But that worked both ways, as the Droideka was now in position to try and shield its new friends. ”`
“Okay good, youre not allowed to die on me you hear?” she told the much larger Reiden while thinking up all of her options in that moment, her best tactic was shoot first ask later and that would be it.
“Ive had enough of these guys” the kushiban stated having scanned the area prior she had a good idea of where her next shots needed to be, having made sure Reiden could at least handle himself she took quick shots at the duo of Barbel pirates.
“` The first Pirate let out a squeak that was unbecoming of a grizzled Barabal of his size as the Kushiban’s blaster bit into his hide where the armor did not cover. He dropped to one knee, then took a final shot right between the eyes. A smoking hole quickly dissapeared as they toppled forward lifelessly.
The second was quicker to react. Her armor took some of the damage from the shots, and managed to swivel much more gracefully than any creature her size away from the rest of the blasts. ”`
Tisto looked down at the Barabel who had shot at him and sighed. It really did seem like the two he had fought were both not smart and not good at fighting. He pushed both of his arms to the side and yawned as he jogged over to the sandbags. He noted the dead barabel under the turret and wondered who had taken that one out, the boxer had been looking forward to seeing if two of them would be more of a challenge. Yet there was still one left, and they had a gun. Tisto waved a hand, putting his concentration into the Force incase his off the cuff plan failed. He had tried being less direct and more appealing to emotions like Diy sometimes told him with the first shot at getting one of these guards on his side. That had failed, and Tisto was sure he knew why. People like himself weren’t worth much when it came to emotions, you needed to show you could provide immediate value. Like credits or muscle.
“Hello there friend!” Tisto called out as he leaned against the sandbags. “I figure you look like a smart one. After all you have not shot at me yet, and thats always a good sign. I gotta ask, is this all worth it? Are you going to get paid to get beaten up by my crew and myself?”
Tisto let that hang for a second. “The way I see it friend, there are two options. You can take your chances with your old boss, which personally I woudln’t. What kind of boss lets several of their boys get beat by a boxer? What kind of boss just throws lives away like that? The other option might be more up your alley. One thousand credits if you say ‘Frak this I’m on the winning team’.”
Tisto offered a cocky smile. “See I used to run a crew similar to this. I thought I had retired from the life but hey, never to late to get back in. So yeah, One Thousand credits after this fightings done if you join me. Another thousand if you can take out that annoying lieutenant seems ready to abandon you to fighting me. Damn, I’m willing to make this better.”
The Kiffar stretched behind his barrier, “See I need someone smart, and thats why I am talking to you. I don’t know the folks here but hey, I want to help you all out. If you can convince others to join they get six hundred credits and you get four hundred for each. If they bring someone else in on this sudden mutiny that new person gets six, they get two and you get another two. Why throw away good muscle when the haul I’m getting out of this will get you nicely paid.”
“Kark this, kark you, and kark the whole band of fools here,” the Barabel replied, tossing his weapon down to the ground. “Kill me or don’t, but you’re right, I ‘aint paid enough for this.”
With that, he took off towards the tunnel the Envoy shad used to gain access tot he base.
Looking around the area, Reiden saw that the only enemies left were the droideka, the lieutenant, and a lone Barabel that had sought cover when the fight broke out. The droid would be a difficult target because of its shield. The lieutenant was up high and had the advantage of the high ground, so a more direct attack was most likely unwise.
An indirect one, however, left him somewhat safer and able to react. His eyes darted to where the Barabel was behind cover and a plan began to formulate in his mind. He reached out with tendrils of the Force and seized hold of the guard, drawing him out of cover and then flinging him at the turret’s tower. In his haste, his aim was off the mark and the Barabel missed both the lieutenant and the tower, but the end result was that the Barabel was no longer a threat.
Well, that’ll have to do. I’ll take what I can get.
Seeing as they were running out of targets, Mex swivelled the northeastern turret to fire at Naomi, one of the few remaining. Afterwards, they left the controls and made their way to their droid for cover. If they could begin their approach to the remaining droideka Mex could find a way to incapacitate it should no one else deal with it first. “Hi Friend, suppress lady. Advance.”
Friend kept a defensive posture in front of Mex, firing at Naomi for suppression.
Namio let out a sneer of disgust as she watched the last of her pirates flail uselessly through the air. Even the expensive shield droids had effectively done nothing to protect the base.
Useless
The Lieutenant hissed and, as she saw the turrents turn on her, and the supressive wave of fire incoming from the Verpine’s Bounty Droid, she had to use her last resort earlier than she’d hoped.
She deployed the box-like device quickly, a defensive bubble springing up and surrounding her position. Blaster fire hammered heavily into it, causing it to pulse but remain steadfast.
It gave her just enough time to slip away towards the hidden turbo lift shaft, dissapearing from view.
All that was left was the remaining Droideka, but there was a brief moment where Mex’s “friendly” Drodieka seemed to gain the upper hand and its blaster fire pierced the shields and caused it to shut down entirely.
The top of the base, from what the Envoys could tell, was clear. Now there was just the case of infiltrating below, and finding and capturing their quarry…alive.
Tisto walked towards his associates, stretching his arms again. “Well that was rather boring. They didn’t put up much of a fight. And one of them had the nerve to run away. After this I’ll have to track that one down and steal his lunch.”
“Boring is a choice of word to use for that…negotiation” the short lagomorphic woman commented having avoided an explosion and having to ensure her fellow team mate wasnt about to end up knocked out. “Considering were no longer working with the element of surprise we should probably get this done fast.” she stated, checking her gear, preparing for further conflict.
Reiden rolled his neck and shoulders then raised an eyebrow at Tisto. “I’m not sure if I’d call that boring, but it was a decent warm-up. Asani’s right, though. Quick is good, if we can manage it. And be careful, too. There’s no telling what might be waiting for us once we step inside.”
He eyed the turbolift shaft. It was too bad that the lieutenant managed to escape, but what was worse was that she would be able to give advance warning. Then again, an operation like this almost certainly had cameras. It was really only a matter of time before they would have Been detected anyway.
Even so, the slightest trace of a smile played across his lips. He had been meaning to branch out and try different things for work. So far the Envoy Corps had managed to deliver on that front.
“` The party rallied and descended carefully into the subterranian level of the Pirate base. Metal servos groaned and creaked as they lowered, weapons at the ready.
The lift landed at a stop, and the gate retracted, revealing what looked to have been, at one point, some kind of manufacturing assembly warehouse. Old machinery and conveyer belts were present, along with various crates and storage pallets filled with plundered resources from the groups raiding efforts.
A few Barabel pirates were moving into position, while Naomi shouted out orders.
"Captain!” she was saying. “Fall back, these intruders are here for you, and we must get you out of here.”
“Nonesense, Naomi,” the Captain replied. Merrin Kelina’s long brunette hair flowed around her fair face, matching the dark intensity of her eyes. “I will not be routed by my own-”
“We will hold them off, but you need to escape. NOW,” Naomi insisted.
The two women held each others gaze. Something unseen, unspoken passed as the words resonated and the genuine fear and concern teemed in the Lieutenant voice.
“Protect the Captain, or I’ll find you in the afterlife and drag you screaming from the back of my starfighter across hyperspace!” she yelled the command. “`
The Barabel pirates shuffled obediently into formation. They had not witnessed what happened above, so they trained their blaster rifles and started to lay down fire on the armored Kushiban and the Human.
Reiden saw the blasters raise and acted on instinct, calling his lightsaber to his hand hitting the activation switch. The viridian blade crackled to life as he raised it up, deftly blocking the incoming blaster bolts from the Barabel guards.
More Barabels? Where do they keep finding these guys?
Moving in front of the squad was the easy part for Asani. Her armor mightve been more problematic if she hadnt been so determined, she had one goal and wasnt about to let it slip away. Their target.
But the Barabels in the way were going to make this difficult for her. Slipping through team mates legs and running a bit on all fours she managed to position herself with a shot at the target. Just one well placed shot…
As the Kushiban moved smoothly to reposition and cover, Reiden’s saber served as a ward, turning aside the stream of blaster fire coming their way.
Naomi grit her teeth, and sighted on the troublesome Tisto, firing a salvo of slugs at the Kiffar.
While she did not fully turn to flee, the Captain and also the target – seemed to ripple and pulse through the Force itself. Merrin Kelina reached out to her troops to give them a passive boost to their resolve and efforts.
The only one seemingly untouched by this, however, was the lanky IG-styled droid that was readying its double blasters, sighting down towards the Verpine and their metalic guardian.
Tisto breathed in as a rush of heat flowed through him, but the idea of this woman threatening her boys when she was clearly afraid made him laugh instead of dodging. There was a sharp jolt that ripped into his right shoulder that was met with a shard of ice throwing the heat from him. Tisto stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder as he did. With his right arm he made a grabbing motion and yanked towards himself. He grimaced as she grabbed a hold of the conveyor belt and stopped. There was another flash of pain as he stared at Naomi with unblinking eyes. “You think you should be respected by them?” He wore a manic grin in his face. “Be feared by them? Don’t forget you ran from us.” The boxer forced out a laugh over the pain. He extended his right arm as he held that shoulder. He took a few steps forward so he was a very obvious target. “Prove your life means anything and be the one to finally kill me. Or die bleeding and broken as another failure who got in my way.”
With the enemy droid setting its sights on Mex, Friend’s Caretaker routine took note and moved between the verpine and the blaster fire. The damage was minor but would still impact the efficacy of its firing parameters. Mex instantly took note of the damage and got to work, hyper-focusing on keeping the droid in top shape. They put on their polarized goggles, grabbed a field torch and a hydrospanner from their engineering backpack and got to work while actively being fired on.
Pushing a spring back into place here, and repairing hull damage there, the verpine did what verpine do best: Fix things. Something about the tension of the firefight allowed Mex to hone in on just the work in front of them, drowining out whatever else was happening.
Meanwhile, Friend returned fire at the droid, keeping Mex cover as a walking shield.
The kushiban had managed to get a perfect view of the chaos spreading and her team mates doing well what she guessed was their best in one case, handling something important and defending in the others.
At least from this vantage point she could see the target. Before her team mate began to do the insane thing and try to taunt the target into a fight against him.
“Are we sure he doesnt need to be tested?” she asked her sabered defender as she lined her sighs. “Because I’m feeling less like hes smart and more like hes crazy!”
“` The shot didn’t even come close to hitting its mark. Perhaps it was the fact that Mandalorian Kushiban was distracted by the banter, or the line of sight and angle was off.
The target Captain simply watched the bolts sail past her. She blinked once, quirked an eyebrow, but seemed to remain focused as she slowly backpedaled further away. ”`
Somehow Reiden managed to stifle a laugh from hearing Asani’s comment. She wasn’t wrong, but the Kiffar had managed to help them so far. He was a good asset…as long as he didn’t manage to get himself killed.
“He’s got his moments, at least. Better to have him with us than not, all things considered.”
He took in the scene before him. Their target was in the process of slipping away from them and once again there were more Barabel guards and the lieutenant from before. They would have to act fast if they wanted to catch her. He didn’t know why the Envoy Corps wanted her alive, but that was the mission - he wasn’t going to question that, not for something seemingly simple. Besides, it was above his pay grade and he didn’t exactly care why some pirate was wanted. It would get them off the board. He just hoped the vacuum of power left behind wasn’t filled too quickly. Then again, maybe that’s where Tisto’s attempted recruitment pitches finally sink in and these guards realize they should find other sources of work.
He centered himself and reached into the Force, grasping hold of its power. He glanced at one of the crates nearby and jerked his head toward the guards. The crate lifted into the air and was launched at the nearest Barabel.
“` Mex’s work would have made his mentor proud, the Verpine doing what they did best. With renewed vigor, their Bounty Droid retaliated by firing back on the gunslinger-Droid.
The red-plated, lanky droid recoiled and ducked for cover after taking a few hits to its hull. ”`
“` Naomi heard the words, and clearly a visible tension settled over her dark skin. But she shrugged it off, words being wind, and focused on keeping up the defense to protect her Captain with a bit of devotion that perhaps extended past friendship or professional courtesy alone.
She said nothing and the skirmish continued. ”`
“` The crate completely blindsided the Barabel pirate closest to it. The momentum crashed into his tough scaled hide with tremendous force- enough to fold his body over with a series of sickening snaps and cracking of bone and sinew.
The crate continued, and knocked the next Barabel in line prone onto the ground. ”`
Naomi spotted the Kushiban that had tried to fire off a sniper-shot at her Captain. Anger flared hot in her vision as she open fired in the direciton of the armored lagamorph, unconcerned if the saber-wielder near her tried to intervene.
<@142850390738731009> <@232396983854301187>
Merrin Kelina, confident still despite the odds, continued to bolster the resolve of her pirates.
Jin, the gunslinger droid in red, fired a solvo at the talkative Kiffar. The shots were accurate, and Tisto did not have much time to react…
The boxer grabbed hood of the Barabel before him and hefted the lizard into the way of the shots. It was a struggle to be sure, with the lizards weight and its struggling. He felt the shots slam into the Barabel, and felt pitty for the creature as he let go. I’m suppose to be better than that.
Still, he had a job to do so the boxer moved forward to the next Barabel. He tried to get a swift jab out, but it put strain on his right arm. The switch turned it from a quick fight into more of a suffer with the Barabel able to turn the left jab into more of a graze. Not wanting to cause to much harm to himself or anyone else at the moment, he hastily let the Force flow through him and shoved the familiar heat into a hasty barrier.
“` The blaster bolts almost had a chance to be redirected by Reiden’s lightsaber, but he was busy defending from other incoming shots. Naomi’s shots snuck through…
And collided with Asani’s mandalorian armor. It saved her life, taking a nasty dent, and the bolt was enough to send her helmet flying from her head, a sudden rush of air on her fur. ”`
Finished their repairs, Mex slotted the tools they’d likely need again for quick access on their belt. Unholstering their blaster pistol for the first time on the mission, they tapped the back of Friend to imply to push up, and kept pace behind the droid using it as cover and firing some blaster shots of their own.
“Hi, we must advance or the target may flee before we begin escort.”
“` The Verpines cover fire as they advanced with Friend was more of a distraction than a means to strike their target. The Bounty Droid, however, was out for…oil.
Friend’s blaster barked brazenly but with percision. The volley of blaster bolts tore into the gunslinger droids armored plating, peppering it with damage until it lost its balance, short cirtcuited, sparked, and toppled over, oil spilling and pooling like blood around it. ”`
Her mark was off, she could practically hear Buir commanding her to train all over again. That she needed to focus or her mark would always be off.
She was feeling perhaps dissappointed at herself, maybe it was the trouble over the missed shot that distracted her, but suddenly her helmet was smacked off.
She could feel it all now, and hear it all far too clearly. The breeze, the smells, the sounds, were all clear. The whistling of her notched ear. Gritting her teeth she searched for the helmet from behind cover.
“Cold it is then…” she mumbled to herself. She was not going to be very reserved and cautious now.
“` The first bullet was precise and fired with the furry of a ferocious Kushiban. Naomi, bolstered by her Captains attention and focus, managed to slip past the first bolley of blaster bolts. Confident, she went to return fire, but was hit solidly by Asani’s less-percise but equally on-target shot.
The dark skinned woman cried out in pain, was spun, and dropped to a knee.
"Captain, GO!” she screamed.
“Naomi…no…” Merrin whispered, seeing her crew fall apart in front of her eyes.
And then she was backpedaling, afraid to turn her back, but knowing she had to get out, had to escape… “`
Seeing the target leave was something that frustrated Tisto. That combined with his lack of taste for fighting these Barabel, had him opening himself to the Force. Hear rushed into his legs as he left his fight to chase after her. It didn’t seem to last for long, and truth be told his heart was not really in it. It seemed he really did lack for purpose as Tisto was unable to catch up to her. “Are you really going to just leave your crew?” He called after the captain.
One would think a pirate captian who had this much loyalty from her lieutenant would be better than me.
The Kiffar didn’t push himself to go further, instead he just watched as an emptiness filled him in place of heat. “You will regret this for the rest of your life if you go!”
He wasn’t sure if he called that out to taunt her or himself.
The words fell on deaf ears, though there was clearly guilt on the womans face as she finally turned her back to flee into the next room.
Reiden watched as the remaining guard and Naomi were knocked down. He knew enough to tell that they weren’t out of the fight and would more than likely recover shortly. Tisto had tried to close the gap to Kelina, but, if the Corellian had to guess, his injuries hampered his efforts. His mind was trying to come up with a solution to their predicament when a voice from beside him drew his attention.
“Throw me!” He looked over to see Asani and noted the fire in her eyes, her face set in determination. Her body was braced, ready. She was being serious.
Well, if that’s what she wants…
Reiden quirked a brow and nodded once. He drew upon the Force and let it fill him, then thrust his arms forward. The Kushiban was launched through the air, heading for the lieutenant who had previously taken shots at the two of them. Asani wanted to get back at her and he wasn’t about to stand in the way, or deny her that moment.
His gaze turned to Tisto once more, then looked past him to Kelina. He hated to leave something unfinished, but he had to trust in his team that they’d handle the remaining guard. Muscles tensing for a moment, he took off, running towards their target, not wanting her to get even further away. There was no telling what manner of escape she may have at her disposal.
Asani flew like a vengeful whistling bird towards the Pirate Captain, propelled by Reiden's telekenetic throw. As the armored lagamorph came down on the target, she tried to simply use her momentum and weight to tackle Merrin to the floor. But perhaps her desire for violence was a bit too aggressive, and Kelina was able to scramble away from the tackle, stumbling though and slowed.
Seeing that Asani’s tackle was unsuccessful, Mex and Friend continued to push forward, and now set their sights on incapacitating the target using their blasters to maim or stun.
“` Merrin was off balance. Just as she was about to turn the corner, however, a set of screeching blue rings of energy slammed into her, sending her dropping to the floor like a sack of grain. Stunned and incapacitated.
"Captain!!!” Naomi screamed as she tried depserately to get back to her feet. “`
Tisto jogged over to the stunned target. There was a brief glimmer in the inquisitors eyes as the job was completed. Still, the Kiffar did not want to take chances that the pirate might be able to get back up. He placed both her arms behind her back, and pulled a pair of stun cuffs out. The boxer placed them on her wrists, and looked over to Naomi. Great she is still up.
The Inquisitor raised one arm, letting the Force run through him. He seized control of a nearby canister on the ground, and flung his arm towards Naomi. The canister sailed through the air and crashed into her. Tisto smiled as she crashed into the very conveyor belt she had used to stop him from bringing her into a fist fight. “Will you shut up!”
Reiden looked around and nodded. Despite things perhaps not going as planned or hoped, they had managed to accomplish their mission after all. His gaze turned to the lone remaining Barabel. The poor guy had been a bit stunned before and was starting to come to. He walked over and wrenched the guard’s arms behind him and affixed some stun cuffs to his wrists.
A scoff escaped his lips and he slapped the man upside the head. “I bet you wish you had switched over to our side earlier, don’t you? Well, now you get to come with us and see what information our people can…extract from you.”
Naomi was unable to get out of the way of the projectile. She dropped with a bit of a sickening crunch followed by a thud.
“P…parlay?” the Barabel hissed, clearly knowing that there was no way out at this point. He did not seem to resist the cuffs at all.
“How are things over there?” Tisto called over to Reiden and Mex. The Kiffar pulled the target up as he stood. “Oh we got a live one!”
The inquisitor smiled at first then frowned remembering how the other Barabel had ditched mid combat. “Probably not worth trying to get on my side at this point. Couldn’t trust them. Mid fight would have been their best bet. Is their second in command dead?”
“Looks like things are under control. This guy’s captured and will be coming back with us to see if he’s got any useful information. I bet the Inquisitorius is going to have some fun there. The lieutenant is…I think she’s alive, but she won’t be a problem for a while.” Reiden paused, thinking for a moment. The way in which the two leaders had interacted with each other stuck out to him. An idea formed in his mind. “It could be worth taking her in as well, even as leverage for the Captain here in case she doesn’t want to cooperate and makes things difficult.”
“I won’t have any fun with that one. He stayed relatively loyal,” Tisto remarked sadly in response. “As for the lieutenant, well we should definitely grab her. I don’t trust this not to be some sort of con.”
The boxer started pulling the target back towards the rest of the group. “If we are worried about her condition I can probably help her a bit.”
“Shame we didn’t get anyone to turn on her. Always good to reward people who do that. Lets them know they will never not be watched.” The Kiffar smiled at the group. “I wonder if they have any snacks around here. I could eat.”
“Hi, things are nominal.” Mex replied to Tisto’s sitrep, holstering their blaster now that it seemed things had fully calmed down. Mex seemed to be inspecting the features of the room and on the lookout for anything else.
“One target was the requisite, I lack sufficient restraining capabilities for three. We still require extraction. May look suspicious if we exit out front with more than required. Captain was attempting to abscond. There is likely a hidden exit we may utilise to do the same thing. Friend will maintain lookout for the time being. May also be able to carry one of our charges.” They explained while intimately investigating some of the old manufacturing equipment in the direction the Captain was attempting to flee. Both out of inquisitiveness in finding anything they missed, but also to do a modicum of salvaging.
The inquisitor nodded somewhat grimly. “Can Friend watch over the target?”
Almost immediately after the question, the boxer smiled. “I want to take a look for this exit and check out the Lieutenant. I can carry one out, and I think she might be down some ribs?”
“I would hope shes still breathing after that sound…” Asani said, looking around at the mention of an exit she began to investigate. The short woman took steps around the area, retrieving her helmet now having accidentally left it in a bit of a small moment of rage.
The search yielded more than just results for her helmet search. “You said hidden exit right?” she stated as the group made their way into the nearby areas. “Because theres definitely somethhing behind the crates over there” she pointed in the direction of a door hidden behind some crates.
A hidden exit?
That certainly made sense. Having a secondary exit was always good, and one unknown to others was even better, especially when needing to make an escape. While he thought they would probably be fine heading out the same way they came in since there didn’t seem to be anyone else around, one never knew what could happen, so it was best to be cautious. And then there was the fact that he was, if nothing else, a naturally curious person, and it often got the better of him.
He made his way over, eyes following to where Asani had indicated. “It’s worth checking out.”
“` The Envoys found a secret lift that lead back up above ground. As Mex had been vigilant, rightfully so, they all emerged from the lift carefully, weapons ready, as they dragged their three prisoners with them. Friend carried the passed out Naomi over one shoulder, easy for the large droid.
A shuttle was waiting for them when they emerged in a landing pad. There was no sign of any remaining enemies, but there was two bodies of pirates laying unmoving off to the sides of it.
Chet Manly stood in front of the ramp to the shuttle. He tipped his wide-brimmed hat and smiled, causing his handle-bar mustache to twitch. ”`
“Inccreddible work, Envoys!” WynChet exclaimed as he saw the group approaching. “The Exarch will be pleased.”
Tisto nodded at the Chet fellow. “Didn’t have stun cuffs for the one with broken ribs. And we got an extra lizard, though I am not sure if I have any use for him.”
Chet reached into his pack and tossed the Kiffar another set of stun cuffs. “Never be unprepared,” he said sagely with a wink.
The Inquisitor took the stun cuffs and slapped them onto Naomi’s wrists. “One of the Lizards got away. I might track that one down and steal his lunch in the future. But I don’t think he will return to living it up as a pirate after this.”
“I hope so.” Asani stated checking her helmet for damage as they approached Chet, as Tisto had everything else under control it seemed, she could relax a bit. “Im going to have to go back to target practice…” she said, clearly irritated while shuffling around with her blaster.
“Hey Tisto was it?” she asked while looking up at him. “Youre crazier than my sister, I appreciate that. If you ever need someone to keep you safe from your own crazy, Im available.”
Chet looked around and whistled slowly. “Mate, I don’t think any of these folks will be looking to go anywhere near Brotherhood assets after the ass-whooping ya’ll laid down.”
Tisto nodded at the Mandalorian and smiled. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Reiden couldn’t help but grin at Asani’s comments. While having no siblings of his own, at least biological ones, he’d met some people like that over the years. She had a point about him, too.
“You are a bit crazy, Tisto, but you can at least back up what you’re saying. I think we had a pretty good crew for this, though.” He turned to Asani. “I’ve never seen a Kushiban in action before, but this has been a good first impression. It looked like you got hit good back there, you okay?”
The Inquisitor grinned at the comment from Reiden, his eyes not matching the grin. Excellent.
The boxer shook his head. “I am a bruiser. I take my job quite seriously.”
“Yeah, helmet took the brunt of the hit, Ill likely have to get it repaired but otherwise fine.” she said, taking the helmet off now to inspect the hit proper, ears sticking upwards as she inspected the helmet for any further damage. Her ears twitching, listening for any further trouble.
Mex followed the group with their droid in tow. Some small talk was had with Chet and each other but they were never proficient in the partaking.
With a nod to Friend, Naomi was ungracefully dropped on the floor of the shuttle with a metallic thud. Flicking a piece of blaster fire slag off of the droid, Mex joined the team.
“Hi, I apologize that we exceeded the parameter of one target. It was our perception that it would ultimately be beneficial.” They mentioned to Chet before turning to the others. “It was good to perform as a unit with you. We over-achieved our objectives together with minimal difficulties.”
“Pleasure to work with you too. Hopefuly we can all work together again sometime. Thanks for the launch back there by the way!” She nodded her head down slightly, acknowledging Reiden.
“Hopefully next time Ill crash land em and the armor will be enough to knock em out.” she said with maybe more glee than she should have when it came to talking about being launched at an enemy.
“May not have been the intended effect you wanted, but it got the job done in the end. I’m just glad that crazy move worked. Although something tells me you’ve probably done that before,” he said with a laugh. “It was good working with all of you. If you ever need help in the future, feel free to reach out. I’m always up for a little fun.”
Chet Manly nodded along, and once everyone was into the shuttle, he disapeared into the cockpit for a moment.
A few moments later, an entirely different person apeared. He had long dark hair tied back into a pony tail, bright green eyes, and absolutely no facial hair, let alone a mustache. The wide brimmed stetson was replaced for a pilot’s cap.
“Chet had to ride off into the er, distance, so I’ll be flying you lot back for debriefing with the Exarch,” the new person explained.
“Good work, Mex. I’m sure Zig will be proud,”
The Verpine studied the Human. “Hello Wyndell, I am Mex. Thank you for agreeing to fly us.”
Wyndell Tyris grinned as he made sure that everyone was securely in before closing the hatch. The shuttle took off, and the pirate base soon became a distant spec and memory.
Marick Tyris Arconae wore his formal attire, as was fitting of a debriefing.
“Great work, Envoys,” the Exarch said calmly, hands clapsed behind his back, uniform crisp and clean. He was just missing a hat. Wyn had tried to get him to wear one, but to no avail. His loss…
“Thanks to your efforts, the Inquisitorius agents were able to scrub the base, and our experts were able to interrogate Merrin Kelina and her…Lieutenant. Once we pressured each of them about the other, Naomi broke, and we have a list of their contacts to chase down. You did well to bring her back alive as requested. Shipping hyperspace lanes are no longer being harassed along that trade route. Thank you. Dismissed.”
With that, Wyn saluted, despite not having supposed to have been on the mission himself. He ushed Mex, Reiden, and Tisto out, talking idly with them about random things.
“Asani?” the Exarch spoke as the Kushiban was about to turn to follow. “A moment.”
Dented helmet tucked under one arm, ears bending back, she nodded as the door closed behind her.
Marick seemed to relax ever so slightly once they were alone. But he was still his rigid, stoic self. He gestured at her helmet. Reluctantly, she stepped forawrd and handed it to him.
“It likely saved your head,” the Hapan said absently. “Zig can make sure it gets repaired up for you, unless the Armis clan has their own armorer they prefer. Just tell her I sent you.”
Asani nodded. Marick looked down at the lagamorph but didn’t speak for a few more moments. “You did very good work. You used your eyes, were aware of your environment, and most importantly, you tried to keep your team alive while keeping your eye on the prize.”
He clasped her on the shoulder, gave her a very faint, small smile.
“Proud.”