Agenor Surface Dajorra System 41 ABY
Agenor was a bitterly cold planet. It was rarely used beyond the occassional exportations and archaelogical digs. Yet, nestled deep into a icy valley stood a small series of structures. They were sturdy but hastily put together with little regard for things that permanent structures would often pay heed to, entrances being thoroughly exposed and there being an altogether lack of aesthetic to the way they were all lumped together.
Efficient but flawed.
The Collective’s presence had been discovered now and those flaws would make it far easier to break in.
Zuza Lottson and Work’t watched over the base, the pair clad in pressurised suits prepared for the cold, provided by Arcona’s military. This was a hush-hush mission, necessarily so in case the still rooted sleeper agents got word, but they still had access to the supplies they needed.
Now, it was just getting in from the crest of the hill the pair had settled on. KX-Series security droids were stationed at entrances, acting as guards, cameras overseeing their blindspots. It was an odd choice, the black out style of concealment working against them in the snow.
The Ewok laid sweating in the environmental suit, the materials not designed for the heavy fur of one like Work’t. The lump in the snow turned to Zuza, reaching into her mind.
They have turrets. Do you see them? He whispered into her mind. She shook her head. There and there… she felt the jolts of his attention direct her eyes They seem to be tracking slowly. This place is cheap He wished that Solution was here, but B2 battle droids weren’t known for being sneaky. He’d had to leave them with Tyk, and now they were facing down the potential of many enemies against only two operatives.
We can end those droids in moments. But how many do you think are in those buildings? He imagined the sight of dozens of collective agents rushing them and remembered his last attempt and dealing with blaster fire on his saber. He shook his head. We need another way in.
Not quietly. Zuza thought, trying to make it very clear in her head. She couldn’t actually tell if he could hear her but speaking aloud wasn’t an option this close.
Hopefully he could.
She looked over the buildings. While the Human was out of practise for her more subtle entrances into buildings, it wasn’t too difficult to notice the ventilation systems. For a normal group of agents they wouldn’t be an option for entrance. Work’t and Zuza were normal agents in most respects but their lacking in the height department was a benefit here. It was large for a vent and that’d be enough.
It’d also de-pressurise that part of the station and deal with a lot of the Collective agents and researchers.
Zuza pointed to the nearest vent shaft, We can get in there. It’d unpressure the building too.
Picking her ideas up from her thoughts, Work’t grimaced. It would tip off the entire base, Zuza. We aren’t a strike team, battleleader.
He sent forth images of the hacking tools he had around his waist. We can crack the maintenance cycle and get in more subtlety. How many were in there? Six buildings, though none as large the main structure. Work’t sent venting one would be sus… into Zuza’s mind, as he wished he’d thought to bring Glue with him.
Shame neither of us have concealment, one of our masters of it would be able to walk right in there as an imposter. Work’t sighed into his suit, not that Zuza could hear it. How do we get there?
Zuza tilted her head, acquiesing to the notion and considering his suggestion.
Could set a trap at least, for later. Enter through a vent over there… The Human gestured to one further back. Less light on it, more time. They’re not patrolling the side closer to the cliff edge, less likely to pay attention to windows there too if there is any
So. Hack and crack? Keep low, stick to the edge of the rock until we get close.
Sounds good Work’t sent, cutting the connection. The slight pressure of his mind pressing against hers faded. He began to crawl around, hugging the ridge and sliding down the rocks slightly. He watched Zuza step down with relative ease, her more slender limbs aiding her in this rough terrain.
The pair moved down the ridge, large rocks bracketing them as they began to crawl, clamber and slide along the edges of the collective base. The ridge ran deep around the side, hard to access and harder to see in. A normal sized person in the correct outfit would be preventing from passing.
But Zuza and Work’t were vertically challenged, and not going to be stopped by having to crawl through borderline impassable terrain. Zuza watched as the lights of small scanner blinked off, Work’t reaching out with his techweaving to silence them. The hexes would leave them offline for mere seconds, but the two swiftly exited the range of each one.
They found themselves approaching the final strech; Another tight crawl through some rocks, an open section of the gulley leading to the small chimney of rocks leading to the side of the building with the vent. Work’t went to move out, but Zuza’s eye caught on something just ahead…
One of the guards with his zipper down. Zuza grimaced, averting her gaze as much to stop him from seeing the reflection of her eyes in the dim lighting as it was to avoid seeing that as the guard emptied his bladder against the back of the building.
It was a tense few seconds but the guard turned to pass between the buildings back to his place on duty.
Zuza peered round the corner, pulling a face but stepping out toward the vent.
“You go first, you’ve got the tools to get it open.” She murmured, watching the gap just in case someone else tried to take their turn as Work’t scaled the outcropping of rock toward the vent.
Work’t telekined a large lump of snow over the pee. Gross he thought to himself, softly stepping down the narrow path.
He reached the vent, and begun to use his tools to open it. Suddenly though, they both saw two men walking toward the edge. Work’t used the force to drop a cargo crate of it’s hook, slamming into the ground. One of them grunted, going to check it out. But the other was still walking right toward the ledge.
Kriff Work’t thought, getting the last bolt off. If he dropped it now, they were seen. Zuza, distract him!
Zuza was still on the ground, standing behind Work’t as the guard approached.
It’d potentially put them on something of a timer but there wasn’t a way to slip behind them and cause a distraction and this wasn’t nearly a public enough place to ask for directions. Kriff it was a desolate moon, no one came here!
So instead Zuza slipped to the side of the edge, taking the moments of the first guard being distracted to let the second walk past the way. He turned toward Work’t, spotting the Ewok. He opened his mouth in time for a blade to pierce the back of his throat. Blood spurted, the vocal cords too damaged to produce more than a wheezing whimper. Zuza dragged the Arbir blade back, the twin blades connected still and kicked him in the back. The guard stumbled forward and collapsed, the snow melting under the flow of blood coursing into the powdery layer.
The Human made haste to get into the same position once more, letting the guard pass her but he was taller and upon seeing the fallen corpse turned faster than expected. The blade pierced his shoulder and he shouted in pain, moving to draw his blaster.
Zuza unclipped the second of the twin blades from the first and stabbed him in the abdomen, a crack in his armour letting the blade pass through. She ripped it sideways, stuffing her hand over his mouth as he tried to scream once more. They scuffled but even as the guard shoved Zuza back off of him, he fell to his knees, hands pressing over the wound. The blade was still imbedded. A quick kick to his head left him to bleed out unconcious at least, Zuza wrenching the blade free and wiping them clean on the guard’s trousers before replacing the twin pair back into their place on her back, panting lightly.
While Work’t continued working, she pulled the corpse to lay beside the other.
At least it was somewhat more concealed.
Oh subtle. Work’t muttered into her mind. Despite that, she sensed some admiration in the link. Luckily they’re unlikely to notice that before we arrive in their central command. He finished telekining the vent apart, slipping it open silently.
The two moved into the vent silently, Work’t cycling it to keep the pressure. The two slipped out into a maintaince area.
Alright, we’re in. He pulled his helmet free for the moment. Using his Force powers he could survive a time if it depressurised anyway. “Let’s ruin some days.” He said in Ewokese.
Zuza left her suit intact. She was capable of moving just fine in it anyway so there was little point to putting herself in risk. Her recently blossoming Force Powers wouldn’t do anything to save her in a situation like that.
She stayed low once they dropped down, nodding and responding in Ewokese, “We’ll kark ‘em up- Intel first. Though. We need to know what they were looking for.”
With that confirmed, the pair moved out.
Stepping into the corridor, it was immediately obvious they’d expected their exterior defences to protect them from the risk of infiltration. They definitely hadn’t expected two people to get in without triggering any alarms.
Still, with two sentries dead they had a limited time window. Work’t gestured toward the command room of this part of the base. The two could see half a dozen men and woman of various races stood around the terminal. Zuza could see Work’t preparing to draw on the force, and he gestured mentally at her to take the two on the left.
As Zuza moved off, he slammed the cultery off a nearby table where the agents had been eating, slamming them into throats and eye sockets in an impressive display of sheer telekinetic mastery. Work’t could only focus so many targets at once though…
Zuza had enough time to get close, only just out of arms reach as the pair turned around in response to the guttural screams of their coworkers.
She raised her blades, using the length of the weapon to slice the woman’s throat. The momentum carried her too far but even as the other man reached to grab she ducked and avoided his fingers. His other hand had a knife. This wasn’t a soldier but they had orders. What they were creating here was a weapon.
She shifted the blade backwards, into his chest. With a sharp pull Zuza closed the gap between her and the closest of the pair who hadn’t been targeted yet. The further one had drawn a blaster, firing wildly at both her and Work’t but the force was with her and the Human twisted almost unnaturally, managing to evade the red bolts and use the male closer to her as cover. He was large, broad shouldered and quicker than he looked, grabbing the blade. Zuza panicked for a moment, eyes widening as it was wrenched from her grip and tossed aside.
Zuza managed to avoid his strikes but missed an incoming feint. He grabbed her by the front of her environmental suit.
She unlatched her lightsaber, pressing the handle into his stomach aimed up and flicking the activation button. The male had swung already catching her in the side of the head but the damage was done even as the cyan beam flickered off.
The only one left was a blaster wielding Torgruta, fangs bared.
Watching Zuza stagger back, head impacted, the Tortgruta raised his blaster to fire. It wrenched out of his hands, turning toward him and firing three times.
The body slid down the wall, holes burnt clean through by the point blank firing.
“Zuza.” Work’t said, stepping forward and resting a paw on her arm. She felt the damage fading rapidly, her head clearing.
“That was close. We need to move now, that.. was definitely not quiet.” Zuza laughed lightly, despite the still fading injury.
She crossed over to the terminals, frowning.
“You’ve got the gear right?”
“Yes yes…” Work’t stepped over to the terminal, jacking in his slicing kit and beginning to type.
“I should be able to vent the other structures and seal them, anyone geared up will be trapped for as long as it takes for them to cut their way out. We’ve got a problem though.” He gestured at a feed of the outside. “The KX droids and turrets aren’t on the mainframe. They’re running blackboxed.”
He typed something else in, the screen tearing and glitching and the light in the room dimming considerably. “Never mind on the turrets, though.”
“So just some droids. We can handle that.” Zuza nodded, “What about the research stuff, is that all there?”
It was what the pair was here for, afterall.
“No.” Work’t said grimly. “Not in the main complex, it’s secured in the research facility but you need a key authorisation from here.” He waved a small dongledoodad.
“So that saves us a job.” He began pacing toward the doors. “I think it’s time we become loud. They know we’re here after all.”
Zuza slipped her blades back into their sheath on her back, unclipping Phausis from her hip.
“So, we get to the place where we plug that in, wait a minute and get on out. All while kicking ass. I think we got that down.” She commented lightly, peering out of the door. No one was coming yet but there was no way there wasn’t awareness of what had happened here among the rest of facility.
Work’t paced forward, shrugging. “What are they going to do? No turrets, no staff outside. We walk out and just smash their teeth into their toenails until they spit fur.” He paced directly toward the main door, ready to throw it open at Zuza’s signal.
She felt the air begin to prickle. He was building alot of force energy up, even she could tell that.
“That’s.. one way of putting it.” Zuza chirped back, hesistant but Work’t often spoke like that. It was less unsettling than Bub.
Urgh.
Shaking off the sudden prickle across her skin, Zuza readied into stance, defensive with her lightsaber prepared to deflect any blaster shots.
She gave him a nod, eyes focussed on the door ahead.