The sound of idle comlink chatter echoed throughout the deck of the crimson Lantillian Short Hauler that transported the group. It was piloted by an employee of Karnek’s Transport Services, a modest company business specializing in interplanetary civilian transport. Teon Sul leaned over the pilot’s chair and patted the Duros man on the shoulder.
“Really appreciate you doing this, Unsil. You’re going to help a lot of people. And I’m going to make sure Karnek hears that you played a vital part in this mission’s success.”
The Duros’ eyes brightened at the Miraluka’s comment, prompting him to look over his shoulder with a smile. “Hell, Teon, you don’t have to do that. It’s the least I could do. I owe you one for helping out with my nephew. Boy doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble.”
“Well, he won’t have to worry about the B.B.G’s shaking him down anymore, at least. I’m telling you; the kid needs some counseling. I know a guy. Let’s talk later.”
Teon patted Unsil on the shoulder again before turning to address the others gathered behind him. He inclined his head to each of them, the dull blue glow of his visor shining in the white light of the room.
“I appreciate you all answering the call. If there’s anything you’d like to say to me or to ask, feel free. If not, I’ll begin briefing you on our mission.”
Teon spoke with a silvery voice, a touch of rasp carried with every word.
<@301514304845381632> <@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
Upon joining Arcona, Cryo had found herself with a plethora of opportunities to make a difference like she did in her glory days. And somehow, she ended Up on this transport ship headed off to God knows where.
The Clone had found a chair to sit in and was currently swiping away at a datapad. She’d been in more briefings than she could count and learned she didn’t like to talk much before them, preferring to leave the chatter until after she knew the mission details. Following Teon’s words, Cryo set her datapad to the side next to her bronze and green ARC trooper helmet.
“I’ve got nothing to say,” she responded to his question, her accent coming straight from the soldiers who fought in the Clone Wars.
Normally, Lula wouldn’t go on missions but this was affecting the trades and even her own family farm. Her bright tangerine hues glanced at the three others with her besides the ship crew. She felt a shift underneath her leg and she glanced down to see that Takka, her boar-wolf was getting up from the ground and started to whine. Then the boar-wolf proceeded to start limping, the back left leg was curled up as Takka whined again.
If others paid attention to Takka, they would notice the odd thing wasn’t just the limp only, but the fact that the boar-wolf wasn’t even looking at it’s owner for comfort or help. Instead, it was looking at Cryo with it’s pleading eyes as it limped towards her.
Instead of tending to Takka, Lulaire looked over to Teon, the guy with visor of his head.
“Nah. I reckon briefin’ might be best first and then if any questions pop on up, I’ll be sure to ask them.” Lula had a soft, thick backwater country farm drawl.
Across from the Firrerreo on a bench along the wall sat a near-human woman. The grey chitinous tip of her nose and the sandy colored short tail curled over her thigh spoke of possible Ryn ancestory, if anyone cared to wonder about it. She wore a vest over a tan long sleeve shirt with well worn cargo pants, the cut of the clothing exposed the light azure birth spots of her left shoulder and right hip. Her pack rested at her feet and a scratched up compacted bo-rifle with wood inlaids leaned against the seat beside her.
A taupe colored hand has been fiddling idly with a faded purple ribbon tied around her wrist. For much of the ride, Zujenia Bleu had been reflecting on her choices, considering the issue at hand and its dangers, and what it could risk. Kordath hadn’t been too pleased. They promised they weren’t going to be in the thick of action no more, for themself and for Shay'lra. For their three boys. The man was never for nosing in problems not involving him, an understandable choice that kept him safe, he did understand her own drive and respected her choices however. In the midst of their hushed discussion, they received a call from his youngest sister worriedly informing them their parents had last been known to be heading for the Taanab Sector. The decision was quickly solidified. .
Zujenia sighed and let her hand fall from the ribbon as she leaned back against the wall behind her. Amber eyes flicked over to the conversing pilot and Teon, an AEF soldier apparently, who was acting in tangent with Cryo who she assumed was a compatriot of the Miraluka’s. Neither of the two she knew, not that she knew many of the Arconan Armed Forces members. The half-Ryn hadn’t exactly been keeping in the loop with even the Shadesworn.
Her gaze drifted to the other Firrerreo in the room and her tusked canine pet. The attire and lightsaber on her hip suggested she was possibly Arconan. A brief extension to the woman through the Force confirmed, despite the dimmed presence, she was adherent to the Force and the light side at that. Zujenia did question whether her boer-wolf was healthy enough to accompany them.
A question she decided to ask later after the briefing. The half-Ryn gestured to Teon to go ahead, the other two women already voicing such interest as well.
Colorless light flared in Teon’s mind, shifting and pulsing in an endless dance led by the Force as it penetrated everything in his vicinity. Standing amidst the translucent backdrop of their starship transport were three individuals whom he suspected were all members of Clan Arcona. The one who spoke first projected a dull light, the kind he’d come to associate with non-Force adepts. They held a rectangular object in their hands that emitted a faint but nonetheless recognizable energetic buzz that changed the way the Force flowed around it. A datapad, perhaps? Their accent sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d heard it.
The other two were Force users; there was no mistaking the way the Force lingered around them, lilting like butterflies nearing a fresh flower. So, they were servants of the Light, then. Both projected strong feelings of protectiveness, as well. Good. No wonder they had chosen to take up this assignment. When the shorter of the two echoed the same general sentiment as the first had, and the last said nothing, but lifted their hand in a gesture that Teon surmised was a green-light to begin the debrief, he began to speak.
“Excellent. The planet Taanab located within the system of the same name is an integral part of the Perlemian Trade Route. Its vast agricultural industry provides food security to billions of inhabitants throughout several planets in the Mid and Outer Rims, including Selen. Although the Brotherhood and its associated Clans do a good job of staying mostly independent from the rest of the galaxy, the planets in their domain often rely on the same trade networks that have kept things running more or less smoothly in the galaxy for hundreds of years.”
Teon paused for a moment to let his words settle in the air, making note of the animal, whatever it was, hobbling across the floor toward the teammate fiddling with their datapad.
©
“If anyone’s noticed the dramatic decrease in staple crops lately, then you might have an idea of what I’m going to say. Something has pumped the brakes on a hefty portion of crop exports from Taanab. The intel gathered by our best and brightest at the DIA tells us that a group known as the ‘Guavian Death Gang’ or the "GDG’s” have reportedly been involved in the sector to which Taanab belongs. That exports from Taanab have slowed to a crawl following reports of their activity in the area likely isn’t a coincidence. So, it’s our job to go planet-side, gather actionable intel, and get this trade pipeline moving like a well-oiled droid again.“
Teon paused again to wait for a response from his team.
<@244244400488710155> <@216702440140046336> <@301514304845381632>
The moment Takka had turned to Cryo and began to limp over, it was game over for the clone. Almost immediately, her heart melted, and she slipped off her chair to her knees so the animal could come get some attention. She didn’t hesitate to begin petting it and looked over to Lula with a slightly annoyed look. How could she let her companion walk around in pain and not even look after it?
But thankfully, she wasn’t completely distracted and managed to catch the last part of Teon’s briefing. Without looking away from her new friend, she asked, “So, are we gathering information or solving the problem? Those are two very different things,”
It was then the Firrerreo (goddammit bril) noticed that Takka was getting away. She glanced over to the direction and saw the female was giving her a rather…displeased? look. Lula’s brows furrowed in confusion and her orange eyes down at Takka.
Then she dead pan stared at the boar-wolf.
“Oh, ya better stop that or it’ll be ya sorry furry behind that gets the hay bed tonight,” Lula warned. Takka angrily snorted like a pig in respond but was panting happily at the attention she was getting. Sure enough, her leg was back down and completely fine. No sign of injury. In fact, she used it to scratch her ear.
Lula shook her head at Takka and looked back over Teon while staying quiet. Farmers were a tough bunch, she would know, but when finally needing help, it was time to lend a hand.
“I think that likely depends on the Guavian Death Gang,” Zujenia responded to Cryo with a nod. She paused briefly to watch the exchange over the boer-wolf, pleased to hear it was just an act. It likely would be amusing later whrn they weren’t upon a serious topic. Still cute though.
Her gaze shifted back to the silver and green visor of Teon as she continued. “We have any Intel on them? Their numbers? Armaments? If it is something we can handle ourselves, then I prefer we do so,”
Upon hearing Cryo’s question, Teon didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he let the words hang in the air while he considered if she’d been listening at all.
“As I said, we’re to gather actionable intel, and then do whatever needs to be done to get the trade network running again.” He disliked having to repeat himself, so, hopefully she paid attention this time.
The slow talking woman seemed to be preoccupied with her animal companion. Instead of addressing her directly, Teon turned and fetched his Relby V-10 from a nearby item rack, allowing his hands to scan the smooth durasteel make before packing a loading a blaster cartridge into it with one, loud click. Maybe, that would get her attention.
“Most of the reports on the GDGs show them being active during the New Republic era. They’re extremely violent and infamous for using black market cybernetic modifications to upgrade their fighting capabilities,” explained Teon, who caught himself squeezing the Relby’s pistol grip without realizing it.
“Last known armaments included F-11D blaster rifles, standard issue for Stormtroopers of the now defunct First Order, and DH-17 blaster pistols. Outdated weapons to be sure, but deadly all the same. Group numbers are estimated to lie somewhere in the several dozens.”
Without turning his head, Teon gestured to the monitor to his right. “If one of you would be so kind as to flip that monitor on, you’ll see that a we’ve provided you with an exterior scan of what we have good reason to believe is the GDG’s hideout.”
<@301514304845381632> <@244244400488710155> <@216702440140046336>
Cryo gave Takka a couple more pats before pushing herself to her feet. She chose not to double down on her question. It was too early for her to lose her temper. She eyed his blaster as she walked over to the screen and flipped it on for him, trying to understand what sort of point he was trying to get across by loading it so early before starting the actual mission. Was he trying to be threatening? If so, he wasn’t doing a great job of it.
She held back, wanting to ask why he couldn’t turn on the monitor himself, assuming he was too busy playing soldier with the blaster in his hands. From the looms of it, he was much too young to have seen many battles. She returned to the floor next to her new friend and continued to pet him, but this time facing the blind man for hopefully another snippet about the New Republic. But only for a moment. She turned her gaze to the screen and inspected the building and its various entrances and the surrounding scenery. She had assumed they’d be going into a more grassy environment but it seemed it was rather urban.
Takka snorted in pleasure at the pets and then let out a soft squeal-whine when Cryo pushed herself to her feet. The attempted of the loud click did not get the Firrerreo’s attention. Lula made a soft purring noise towards Takka. Takka behaved the moment she heard the purr and stopped hogging for attention. She sat down and her paws slid forward to lay down.
Vibrant and curious tangerine eyes watched him grasped his pistol’s grip. Several dozens enemies. There was four of them and plus of course, Takka and Bafforr, who was at the cargo hold because of his size.
Lula’s eyebrow rose in curiosity at Teon’s request for someone to flip the monitor on. Was there more to him? Cyro returned and there was a small thump thump of Takka’s tail hitting the floor.
“That will be five or six entrances on that. I reckon. Would be hard to grab anyone that tries to escape on small numbers such as us but I had done seen wilder things when riding my orbak and trying to wangle over twenty bordoks, yessir.”
A small frown flitted over Zujenia’s features upon hearing this gang was more than your common ruffians. Cybernetic modifications? Extremely violent, well, she was expecting that part. The weapon models went over her head, wasn’t a big blaster geek. She’ll look them up post briefing.
All in all and despite numbers, the half-Ryn was pleased to hear the man shared interest in acting today.
With the monitor glowing to life, the woman rose and moved over to the screen. She crossed her arms and examined the scan of the locale, noting all the entrances and nodding to Lula’s guestimate. Five she counted herself, baring any hidden or underground accesses. Already her mind was rifling through possible approaches.
“Looks like it’s somewhere industrial? Port? We’re going to want to get confirmation that is their base and an inside look on the place, any skills with slicing would be useful,” Zujenia glanced to the other three, as if asking if any of them had such skill or ability. She didn’t waver long before continuing, addressing Lulaire’s comment, “The key would be to disrupt as much of their operation as possible, so that any that do slip by are forced to leave. Nabbing as many as we can would be ideal though and especially anyone with rank among them.”
“Hmm,” her sandy tail flicked slowly at her calf, the white tuft on its end curling. She looked to Teon again, “Do we know what local law enforcement is in the area,if any? And can we contact them if there is?”
“Thank you,” said Teon to Cryo when he felt the monitor flicker on.
“That’s correct, Lulaire. Multiple ways in and out, which would pose a problem for us if our primary objective were capturing them,” he intoned, “But we only need a few left alive for interrogation later. The other two, I’m authorizing you all to kill on sight.”
Teon spoke so matter-of-factly about snuffing out the lives of their would-be enemies that one would think he were talking about something as mundane as getting a ship’s coolant systems cleaned.
Zujenia raised a good point.
“Unfortunately, none of us will be any help in that department. But I do have someone that can scout ahead to confirm that this is the BDG hideout.”
A subvocal trill escaped Teon’s lips, and for a moment, the room fell into silence. But that changed when the scree of a bird echoed from somewhere else in the ship. A large shriek-hawk zipped into the room and perched itself on the vambrace of Teon’s outstretched arm, cocking its head in different directions to give each of them a look. One thing they’d notice was that one of its eyes possessed the yellow glow of a cybernetic.
“This is Kaa,” Teon explained, “Anything he sees will be transmitted to a set of handheld datapads provided to you for this mission.”
Teon gestured toward the table and the three rectangular datapads laying upon it.
<@301514304845381632> <@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
Cryo couldn’t help but cringe at Teon’s statement. Killing. Cryo didn’t have too much of a problem with it, seeing as she had fought living things during her time, but a majority of her battles were still with droids. But he spoke of them as if they were clankers and not living, breathing beings. And she wasn’t exactly comfortable with that.
After a few beats in the silence, Cryo finally began to speak, “Who’s going to do the sco-” She jumped, caught completely off guard by the sudden scree of Teon’s pet bird. She took a small breath to compose herself and looked up at Teon. “So we’re supposed to rely on a bird to give us our intel?”
Lula hoped she packed enough zip-ties to hold them all down. She would avoid killing. Sure, the authorization was there, but if she can avoid it, she would.
If she had to, easy-peasy. She nearly recoiled at the trill and the screech of the bird. Takka growled and eyed the bird. It rose it’s body two inches from the ground and her body was statue while the paws barely moved, inching closer to it’s pre-
“Takka,” Lula called out. “Friend. Not food.”
Takka yipped and whined at Lula as it plopped dramatically by Cryo and let out this massive sigh that you would think it just got kicked.
Lula grinned, her canines flashing, and looked over to Cryo, “Aint nuthin’ betta than a bird. ‘Specially a Shreek-hawk. Quiet. Stealthy. Sneaky. Can go high. They is very smart. Smarter than young Takka here. Not cha mention that they may have sensors for droids but not creatures cause warehouse? There bond to be some mice in there and would cause too many false alarms.”
“I prefer to incapacitate when able, but noted,” Zujenia informed in reply to the authorized permission.
The shrill caw snapped her attention to the open door and she watched the shriek-hawk fly effortlessly into the room. As it angled its head to watch and take in the humanoids and the canine beast in the room, the half-Ryn noticed the cybernetics eye. At another time, she may have asked about how it came to be but for now…
“That solves that issue,” she nodded as Lula brought up good additional reasons why the avian would be useful. Unfurling her arms, Zujenia went over and picked up one of the datapads from the table. She thumbed the device on and took a few seconds to locate and pull up the holofeed. Sure enough, a bird’s eye point of view of the room was playing back. The half-Ryn locked the screen and looked back to Teon.
“And my other question? There any law enforcement on this planet? Government or civilian organized?”
“Shouldn’t be so quick to underestimate him,” informed Teon, “Kaa has flown more than a hundred missions to date and proven himself to be a valuable ally in a quarter of that time.”
Teon lifted his other hand to give the shriek-hawk little scritches around the gray and black feathers flanking its head, to which the avian responded by dipping his head low to press against his hand. There was a time where he doubted the ability of animals to make worthwhile partners on missions, especially in comparison to other people or even droids, but Kaa had made a believer out of the Miraluka.
He didn’t react to Lula’s pet growling at his companion, and neither did Kaa. He did angle his head slightly in her direction, though, as a subtle gesture that he was addressing her.
“You’ve trained it well. I’m looking forward to seeing how you two perform. Well, not seeing, but. You know what I mean.”
Teon’s lips stretched into a smile when he heard Lula’s comments. At least one of them was aware of the value shriek hawks held, especially when as well trained as Kaa.
He had almost forgotten to answer Zujenia’s last question. “Apologies. The last formal law enforcement in the Taanab system was the Imperial Security Bureau during the reign of the Empire. Of course, that became defunct after the Empire’s defeat. In the decades since, Banthal–the company responsible for exporting goods from Taanab–have been hiring local mercenary groups to defend its assets. But as is often the case with mercenaries, their loyalty is to credits alone.”
<@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
Cryo had only ever used old-fashioned macrobinoculars and skill when it came to scouting out an area, so the idea of using a bird, of all things, was very alien to her. She halted her scratches and was content to rest her hand on Takka’s back so she could focus more on the task at hand.
With an accent like that, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t smarter than you… Cryo thought to herself, definitely judging Lula based only on her voice. “You’ve got a point, but I still don’t know how I feel about relying on an animal.” She said to the other Firrerreo before turning her gaze to Teon once again, “So what happened to these mercenary groups? Banthal, stop paying up?”
“Dat a'right, we be here with same goal, to wrangle them up and help them farmers, yea?” Lula wasn’t bothered by the distrust that Cryo expressed on relying an animal. She gets it. There was some animals that just… well. Simply put, went on their plates faster than any other.
Takka was just content and happy to be by Cyro’s side. Even getting some shut eye before the mission.
Zujenia frowned upon hearing about the mercenary groups. Thinking over that fact, she listened to the others, hooking a thumb in her pocket. She nodded to Cryo’s speculations and added her own.
“That or this gang paid better.” The half-Ryn looked at the Miraluka soldier, “is there any signs that suggest these mercs are aiding the gang?”
“There has been a reported increase in the GDG’s numbers over the last few weeks,” he replied, “So, it’s not a stretch of the imagination that they’ve added mercenaries to their ranks.”
“A sudden spike in membership like that doesn’t just happen without proper incentive.” Cryo agreed “Unless they’ve got a really relatable mission statement or something”
“Sometimes money is enough of an initiative, but it’s worth finding out. If this gang has a motive and plan that could provide farther unrest, it’d be good to know,” Zujenia nodded. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second, thinking.
“Do we know if they are just preventing exports? Have any hostages? Making any exports of their own, especially trafficking?” The half-Ryn left out what type, but it burned her tongue to think about the possibility.
“So far, it seems as if they’re just ransoming the food exports,” Teon explained, “Holding them hostage so they can milk would-be buyers for all their worth. When they finally acquiesce to their demands, the GDGs give them just enough to keep them coming back for more.”
Another, much quieter chirp from Kaa prompted Teon to hand the bird a small piece of bogling jerky from his pack.
“No one thought the GDGs capable of such a sophisticated operation. I’m sure none of you need to hear this, but it’d be wise not to underestimate them.
<@216702440140046336> <@301514304845381632>
Cryo brought a hand to her chin in thought and pondered for a few moments whether or not it was possible that the GDGs could be doing anything more than holding food for hostage given their resources. She mentally shrugged. Whether they did or didn’t failed to change much, they still needed to be stopped.
“Wasn’t planning on it. When do we land?” She asked plainly <@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
Lula listened carefully, taking in information when she can. At least they were asking good questions.
“Ya know, I just don’t get why they use milk as a term for that,” Lula started. “Do y'all even know how hard it be to milk an animal? It ain’t no easy peasy thang I tell ya what.”
<@1056685516441006091> <@301514304845381632> <@244244400488710155>
“Hmm, I’d be weary and mindful of any potential hostages in the base then. Best case scenario is they’ve just been intimidating the farmers and haven’t resorted to taking any,” Zujenia added to the discussion after the Miraluka’s answer. She nodded to the above to not underestimate the Gang. There were no further questions she had, so she settled back down for one last check of her gear.
While the four of them conversed, Unsil’s voice rang out from the cockpit again. “We’re entering Taanab’s atmosphere. We’ll touch down planet side in approximately five minutes.”
“Roger that, Unsil,” replied Teon, who started to do a final gear check to ensure he had everything he needed. The last thing he grabbed was his light shield, which was kept in a more compact form for the time being and attacked to his belt.
The shuttle’s engines hummed as it touched down on the Taanab countryside. Rolling hills of lush, green farmland stretched for as far as any of them could see. Teon himself felt the Force flowing within each blade of grass, every stock of corn, and even within the countless lifeforms skittering and crawling above and below the ground. He narrowed Sight lest he be overwhelmed by it all.
A gentle breeze rolled through the area.
Teon raised his harm to call Kaa over, who landed on his vambrace and cocked its head to preen its feathers a bit.
“Be our eyes, my friend,” he said before swinging his arm upward, sending the bird up into the air.
It didn’t take it long to ascend a few hundred feet above them, stretching its wings outward to glide along the air.
<@301514304845381632> <@244244400488710155> <@216702440140046336>
Cryo followed Teon out of the starship, strolling down the ramp with her helmet attached to her belt. She took a deep breath in and let out a satisfied sigh. “Every planet smells just the slightest bit different.” She commented to herself aloud. She swiveled her head, enjoying the view the planet offered the group.
Lula clicked her tongue as Takka got up, nudged it’s face into Cryo’s leg as a massive thank you and followed her. She made her way over to the cargo hold first and heard a familiar grunt.
“Hello there, how ya doin’, Bafforr?” The Narglatch responded with a low groan. “Awah, nearly there, just hang on a bit longer, ya?” She grinned as she reached up and started to give it scratches. It wasn’t long until they landed and the ramp open. Lula hopped onto the Narglatch and the three of them exited the ship.
The jedi rolled her shoulders back and let in a deep inhale. Her orange eyes watched the grass dance in the breeze. Takka was pacing back and forth for a moment as Lula shook her head.
“Go on, for a bit.” Then Takka took off, spinning around Cyro, Zuji, and Teon, chasing her ‘tail’ and round and round and round she goes, kicking up dust and she caught her tail. With a happy plop she panted and looked around, her nose high in the air.
Bakkorr, on the other hand, behaved. With Lula on the saddle and holding the reins, Bakkorr wasn’t going to disobey her. Instead, the pair of them took in the sights and scents while waiting for Teon.
<@1056685516441006091> <@301514304845381632> <@244244400488710155>
With her pack on and bo-rifle shouldered, Zujenia stood a meter away from Teon, already with the datapad he had lent in hand. She watched the shriek-hawk fly up and away, then shifted to put her back to the Narglatch – using the large animal to guard her back despite having already scoped the surroundings. The white fluff of her tail tip curled with each subconscious flick, the half-Ryn highly focused on the cyber-eye fed feed.
“How close is the warehouse from here abouts? Expecting any opposition out here?” Zujenia asks Teon with nothing more but a quick glance. She watched for any signs of armed foes, odd structures, discourse. Just anything out of the normal for a small settlement. Her home moon wasn’t as green but there sure were similarities with it and other small settlements like this, places the people worked hard with callous hands and had grit in their bones.
“We’re about two klicks from the warehouse,” Teon answered while putting on his grayscale helmet. “I anticipate us encountering a patrol during our approach, likely more the closer we are to our destination. The preferred course of action is to not engage and let them pass, but we’ll take them out if we have no other choice.”
Teon took point, positioning himself in the front of the group so he could lead the way.
As they followed the serpentine path, they occasionally passed by civilian farmers tending to the fields on either side of them. They’d stop and regard them with curious expressions, though nothing more than that.
By now, Cryo had donned her helmet and was on alert. Her head was on a swivel as she inspected their surroundings with each small step, looking at the various farmers and workers with just as much curiosity as they gave the small group. She didn’t have much to say to her comrades, instead choosing to stay silent and watch.
Zujenia debated breaking off from the group to chat with the farmers but decided the risk of any of them being seen as snitches was far greater than any potential information. With a final inspection of the avian’s holofeed, the half-Ryn offered it up to Lulaire on her narglatch to view. She herself kept to the head of the beast, just to be someone to follow, keep in step with.
A few more minutes passed when all of a sudden the sound of blaster fire rose up, sending a flock of avians. Zujenia’s bo-rifle slid into her hand as she halted. Her gaze glanced over the landscape quickly and seeing nothing, she turned her attention to Lula.
“Anything?”
“Yeaaaa, Kaa be having a rough time, for some reason they decided the bird is a fun game to be shootin’ at. I believe I counted six different blasters but kinda hard to tell, Kaa ain’t happy that for sure. I reckon we mighta found some of them.” She handed the data pad back to Zujenia.
“What be next, Teon? I do recommend ya call Kaa back, that was a buncha of blasters.”
Kaa’s distant cry was more than enough to alert Teon to the fact that something was wrong. Lula’s comments confirmed it. Raising two fingers to his lips and exhaled sharply to produce a high-pitched whistle that resembled the sounds the shriek hawk had made earlier. Those watching from below would witness the bird changing directions abruptly, zipping and banking through the air until he landed on Teon’s pauldron.
The Miraluka clicked his teeth and pondered their situation for a second. Then, he lifted his hand to give the bird a good scratch along the tuft of feathers lining its neck. “Sit this one out, buddy,” he said, “Don’t want you getting hurt.”
With a good toss, Teon sent Kaa sailing back toward the ship’s entrance before turning back to the rest of the group.
“We’ll continue forward. For those who are able, use the Force to survey our surroundings for potential hostiles as we approach. We’ll avoid them if we can.”
<@301514304845381632> <@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
Lulaire watched Kaa headed towards to the ship. Shame. She would just let Kaa rest and then when they go in, at least the enemies would be distracted with the six of them that Kaa could take to the skies once more.
But this wasn’t her mission and Kaa didn’t belong to her. She barely knew the two of them to make a suggestion. The Firrerreo was busy with the thinking, Lula missed the bit about Teon suggesting to use the Force to see if they can sense their surroundings.
Cryo was roused from her internal thoughts by the sudden sounds of blaster fire coming from afar, which prompted her to quickly draw her dual DC-17s. Why would they be shooting at the bird? Either they figured out it was for spying, or they’re a bunch of idiots without any real professionalism. She was betting on the latter.
“Anyone here alright with overwatch?’ Cryo asked as she looked to the surrounding area for a place for someone to snipe/look out from
“If you can find a perch,” Zujenia replied with a nod.
She slipped the datapad away and exhaled, extending her senses forward into the Force. Up yonder, negative energies brewed. She could not discern how many from this far, but they certainly disturbed the Force like rocks thrown in a pond. She pulled away from the ripples and glanced over to Teon.
“Expect hostility. I don’t know how many but they aren’t friendly.”
Teon pointed to his left. “There’s a collection of large rocks up on the hill. You can take point there.”
“Only one path forward, folks. How do we proceed? My vote’s on taking cover and letting them pass. Don’t want to make a lot of noise just yet.”
<@244244400488710155> <@216702440140046336>
“Yall can hide if yall wanna. I’ll send Takka over to yall. See, Bafforr here do be too big to hide behind them rocks, but duncha worry! This purdy girl and I got a whole play set up.”
She whistled to Takka.
“Pick one, listen, be good. Or ya get the hay bed, kay?” Takka snorted before going over to Cryo’s leg.
Lulaire then slid down from Bafforr’s back and stood in front of her. They made eye contact.
“I got ya girl. Alrighty, play dead why don’t cha?” Without hesitation, Bafforr plopped ot her side and made out a death sounding noise. Slowly, if they lingered and haven’t gone off to hide yet, they would notice a foul smell. It would remind them of an animal that had been left to rot out on a hot desert day.
When really, Bafforr just let out silent farts slowly and it smells rank. The smell alone brought tears to Lulaire’s eyes and it would help her sell this very well as she started to make sobbing sounds.
With Lulaire handling a solution for the one problem the half-Ryn could think of for them laying low, Zujenia nodded to Teon. She pulled the hood of her vest up and over her stark white hair, and looked to the rows of agriculture foliage.
“We can take cover there. Or,” her sandy tail flicked and amber eyes looked back to Teon and Cryo. “I can hide you both from view right here? Keeps us close by if anything happens with Lulaire. Just stay still if so.”
Cryo watched with disbelief in her eyes. This was really happening. They were to hope that none of these thugs, some of whom might be from this planet of farmers, don’t have a soft spot for animals or knowledge on them? What a mess this has quickly become. She lowered her hand a bit to scratch behind Takka’s ear with the grip of her blaster as she spoke
“Do you think you could cover them as well?” She asked Zujenia
“Never had to try to hide an animal before. Bafforr would require my whole focus alone. Perhaps Takka, but I recommend sending her to the field. She’ll get there and back faster than any of us,” Zujenia replied. Her gaze kept flicking towards the road and she slowly moved away from both it and the stench rising, intent to keep within a few meters in order to respond swiftly.
“No need to worry about cloaking me,” Teon added, “My M.A.R.S armor has cloaking technology built into it. As long as I don’t move, I’ll be completely invisible.”
Shifting his gaze to Baffor and Lulaire, he clicked his teeth. The chance of their ruse actually convincing them worried him. But at the very least, it would provide a suitable distraction in case he or one of the others needed to neutralize the approaching group.
“Sending Takka into the fields with Cryo should work. I’ll do the same.”
Takka followed them into the fields.
Lulaire can fair the judging eyes on her. But that was okay. She was used to being judged for thinking differently and outside of the box. Both Bafforr and Lulaire were ready.
Well it seemed Zujenia only needed to cloak herself, what with Cryo going into the field, Teon’s armor and Lulaire’s acting. She looked to the latter and pursed her lips in a look that could be construed as judgemental but was actually her debating suggesting covering her as well. The woman looked pretty determine and she was inclined to believe her. Pulling the bandana up around her nose to dampen the smell, Zujenia fixed her hold on her weapon and elected to stay close to the animal handler. She blinked out of sight.
Cryo groaned internally and made her way into the fields and hoped that whatever deity might exist that this plan would work. She was more than familiar with going in just guns blazing, her old General had a habit of doing things like that. But they weren’t backed up by an entire army here; it was just the four of them.
Once the rest of the team took their positions, Teon dipped into the corn fields and pressed a button on his vambrace’s display to activate his armor’s cloaking technology.
“`The sound of raucous laughter rang out from farther down the trail as the stayed in their positions. A group of eight men dressed in leather clothes and worn flak jackets appeared on the path. Each one carried rifles of the same make described in the debrief, as well as the infamous red skull of the GDGs somewhere on their clothes.
"Did you see how that thing freaked out when I started shooting at it?” boasted one of the man.
“You should have left it alone. The frakkin’ bird wasn’t hurtin’ anybody,” protested another.
“Whatever, man. I hate birds. I told you the story, right? From when I was a kid? Damn thing tried to ki–”
Another one of the thugs, a Weequay with a shiny hoop nose ring, interjected. “Shut up, you idiots. There’s someone up ahead.”
The group turned the focus onto Lulaire and Baffor. They kept their rifles lowered for now, but they did look at her with suspicion.“`
<@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155> <@301514304845381632>
Warm tears rolled down her cheeks as Bafforr let out a soft deathly groan. Lularie’s forehead pressed up against Bafforr’s own. She cleared her throat and started to hum. It sounded sad, almost like a song you would hear at a funeral or a wake. One hand loosely holding Bafforr’s rein and the other hand was gently stroking Bafforr’s head. To the group, if they can hear, not only they could feel the sadness and hear the death calls from Bafforr, they would notice she couldn’t maintain her hum. Sometimes it broke because she was fighting back the tears.
The Weequay looked to Lulaire with an unsympathetic expression. “Well, what’ve got here? You in some kind of trouble, miss?”
“Her animal looks like it’s dying, boss,” interjected one of the other men, who sounded like he was choking up.
The Weequay’s expression flattened. “That’s obvious, you idiot.”
The man lazily pointed his blaster pistol in Lula’s general direction. “Hey, lady. Mind mourning your dying animal somewhere that isn’t the road? We’re walking here.”
Zujenia held her position beneath her blind of shadows and light as she watched a couple meters away. Her gaze flicking about the group, reading them. She was prepared to intervene if needed.
Lulaire sniffled as started to have hiccups. She looked at the men with a hurt expression on her face.
“S-sorry! I w- -hic- would if I coulda! S-she’s just -hic- on the -hic-” She brought up her clothes and wiped her face with the fabric from the tears as Bafforr groaned in pain again.
“S-she’s on the -hic- side of road. I-I can’t m-move her…” She pressed her forehead against Bafforr’s and her orange hues watched her friend’s eye. If they were to try anything, Bafforr would let her know with her eyes.
One of the other miscreants leaned forward to speak to the Weequay under his breath. “Hey, man. The thing’s dying. And none of us want to move it. We can just go around, yeah?”
The man was silent for a moment, mulling it over. But eventually, he accepted the suggestion with a begrudging shrug of the shoulders.
As the group began to move around them, one of them noticed something.
“Hey … what is that thing?” the human asked, pointing at Lula’s lightsaber.
Lulaire looked hurt that they were bothering her while she was trying to mourn for her best friend.
“Wh-what? -hic-” She whispered, her eyes swollen and puffy. She glanced down to what he was pointing at.
“T-that’s -hic- be my uncle drink -hicannister-. It -hic- empty. Didn’t drown the sorrows. -hic-”
“` The human man remained quiet for a moment, considering her answer. Then, his eyes shifted to the dying animal.
”…Looks like you’re going to need a lot more of that. Sorry about your pet, lady.“
That was the last thing he said before gesturing for the rest of the group to follow. They left shortly afterward.”`
Cryo let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d even been holding as she watched the group pass them by. “Can’t believe that kriffing worked…” She mumbled to herself before reaching down to pet Takka “Can you believe it?” She asked the animal “I can’t believe it.”
Zujenia waited until the group was out of sight or far enough before uncloaking and joining Lulaire, using her mount to block sight if anyone looked back. She pulled her bandana down and slung her bo-rifle back on her shoulder. A nod to the Firrerreo hybrid.
“Well done. Let’s wait for the others and we can press on.”
Takka woke up at Cryo’s words. Apparently it got bored with waiting and fell asleep.
“You brilliant girl!” Lulaire laughed softly as she kissed Bafforr on the forehead. Bafforr let out a happy chuff as she got up.
Cryo continued to pet Takka just a bit more before giving a parting pat and beginning the trek back to the road. She holstered her blasters and exited the crops quietly “You sure do know how to put on a show”
“Yup! They sure had experience in playin’ dead when they try to get out of work.” Lulaire grinned as Takka yawned and emerged from the crops as well and stood by Cryo.
With that obstacle surmounted, the group continued on their way to the compound nestled within Taanab's rolling hills. Led by Teon, they arrived at their destination without further delays. When they arrived, the group would see that the facility was as exactly as the images during the briefing depicted.
Teon remained behind cover after they arrived. “Anyone see anything?” he asked.
Lulaire kept an eye on the surroundings but she was also giving scratches to Bafforr for such a good job. Takka was following Cryo, rather pressing herself up against Cryo’s leg and begging for pets. Lulaire would call her off in concerns that Takka could possibly accidently trip Cryo but Cryo was an adult and can inform Takka to knock it off if needed.
Bafforr sniffed in the air and let out a soft whine/growl. Lulaire’s brow furrowed as she quickly connected with Bafforr’s mind.
“Well, ol’ girl here done snuffed out two guards near by the compound.”
“Three more patrol the exterior,” Zujenia added, sensing their signatures around the building. Amber eyes shifted from the warehouse to Teon. “I’m keeping track of them. Are you still intending to send in your bird?”
Cryo kept her footing, even with Takka constantly trying to push her over. Once her comrades started listing off potential threats she crouched down and began to pet Takka “Between the three of us I’m sure we can take care of five. That’s one for each of us.”
“I think I’ll keep him out of this one,” Teon remarked, “Won’t be of much use to us once we’re inside.”
Takka huffed at Lulaire as she stared at her for a bit before sighing.
“Go on then if ya want to so badly-” Takka had an extra pep in her step as she attempted to be stealthy and was gone before Lulaire finished her words.
“I wasn’t done talkin’, you rotten hay scent-” Lulaire whispered under her breath, but she was slightly concerned. Takka was tough anyways. She had found herself in much worse situations. There was a bit of a loud crunch as Lulaire silently facepalmed. She looked at the trees and listened carefully. Her orange eyes lit up. She knows those birds!
She started to make horrible squawking sounds like she was a baby bird that was being attacked. The entire flock started to fluttered towards the building with angry bird sounds.
Cryo’s heart sank when Takka went and made a loud enough noise to potentially draw attention. The cutie needed to be protected at all costs, and she was ready to go raise hell to keep the animal safe. But Lulaire’s sudden squawking captivated her attention. She was in complete disbelief of the whole situation and, quite frankly, was at a loss for words.
Lulaire can feel the glare from Cryo as she winked towards her.
“Sometimes, being a farm gal can help, ya know?” Then she became quiet. Her eyelids closed while she focused.
“Well. There be twelve people in that building but course, can’t tell who is friend and who is enemy. What yall reckon we should do? We could try to take down the guards silently, use the zip ties to tie them up, and slowly one by one arrest the ones inside?”
The relief that Takka hadn’t pulled the entirety of the gang’s attention was palpable from the half-Ryn, the internal screeching dying down with an exhale. She definitely would have preferred a moment to plan. Lulaire covered it in an act that made Zujenia wonder if she was in fact one of the holomovie princesses Shay'lra used to love(it’s all spies and ninja-queens right now).
Twelve in the building, five outside.
“Mm, I agree we should try to stealth, take them out in small batches,” Zuji nodded. Her tail flicked as she spotted a manhole near the main entrance to the far right of the two posted guards. She gestured towards it. “That might access the warehouse. We could slip by and into it, or wait for the three patrolling to pass, take those two out and hide them in the grate with us.”
“That’s a good idea. My armor has state of the art cloaking technology. I could take you with me. We’ll split the two posted guards up and take them out,” Teon suggested. “Maybe use the Force to split them up?”
“It might not be as fancy and advanced, but my armor has also been modified for stealth operations. That and I’ve run multiple stealth operations before, so sneaking up shouldn’t be an issue.” She felt the need to justify herself against Teon’s new fangled tech, feeling a touch outdated in comparison yet again. Such was their dynamic.
Teon paused for a moment to register what Cryo was saying. “On second thought, you raise a good point. We could ambush the two guards together, with Zujenia and Lulaire to cover us should things go awry.
“And Zujenia can use her force-cloaking power to cover herself and Lulaire so they can get nice and close to us and spring to the rescue if we get caught.”
“I unfortunately don’t have that ability, not while moving that is,” Zujenia sighed. Sometimes, in situations like this, she missed the days of honing skills of a Shadow. The trade off was worth it however. “But I can obscure both Lulaire and I from sight, yes. Perhaps we can sneak nearer before cloaking?”
She paused to think before continuing, “I can try to slow their reactions when the two of you make your move, buy a couple seconds before they can grab a comm and alert.”
“Slowing them down would be very useful. You and Lulaire could remain behind cover while doing that, too.”
Lulaire nodded.
“Okay. Sounds like a plan. Yall don’t be worryin’ bout Bafforr, she’s stayin’ back quite a bit. She can run up here if I call for her though.” Once Zuji and her found a good spot to stay back until Teon and Cryo needed them, Lulaire started to focus and call upon the Force. Meanwhile, Takka was laying low and started the crouch, move slowly, and crouch kind of hunt.
The Force said no as Lulaire tried to conceal.
Lulaire pouted.
Zujenia crouched down beside Lulaire, shoulder pressed against a dumpster. As far as she could tell, their approach to a nearer location went unnoticed. With a nod to the Firrerreo woman, the half-Ryn willed the Force to knit shadows and light over the both of them. They disappeared from view for a second when a cold wet feeling penetrated Zuji’s pant leg. Her concentration broke as an ick shiver ran down her spine and she looked down to see she had knelt in a discarded overripe melon.
Lovely.
She gave an apologetic shrug to Lulaire about the failed cloak. Hoping their cover and quiet would be enough to evade detection, she focused back on the guards .
Whilst the two force users were having trouble getting their cloaking up, Cryo prowled beside Teon towards the two guards as silent as the night. She looked to him for guidance on when he wanted to strike.
The last thing Cryo saw was Teon nodding to her. Then, he vanished, his armor’s cloaking technology refracting light around him to create a perfect simulacrum of what was behind him. Perfect so long as he remained completely still, at least. And she realized that when she saw a subtle distortion when he crept forward – like a heat mirage on a scorching Selenian day.
He made his way toward the guard on the right, the one who was closest to him, leaving Cryo to handle the leftmost one. Once he was in position, he pounced, reaching up to cover the guard’s mouth and nose with his hand before burying a small knife into his neck. A thin spray of blood squirted through the air and marked the end of the sentry’s life.
When Teon faded from view, all Cryo could do was roll her eyes under her helmet. Fancy tech like that could be detected or, worse, taken offline. Cryo had always been taught to rely on what she knew she could do; it was the best way to survive. Noticing his imperfect cloak shimmer towards the rightmost guard, the Clone headed towards the one on the left.
Stealth kills didn’t need to be anything fancy. They just needed to be swift and quiet. The goons hadn’t even bothered putting on helmets, so this was going to be a breeze. The Trooper crept up behind the guard and, all in the same moment, she activated her knuckle-plate vibroblade, extending the sharpened weapon past her fist. She threw her fist forward and planted the blade into the back of the man’s skull, going deep enough to immediately end his life but not so much as to cause any visible damage outside of the wound now located at the back of his head. Slowly, she lowered his body to the ground, and she began to drag it towards cover.
Teon did the same , dragging the guard’s corpse into the dense shrubbery nearby before signaling for the other two members of their team to follow.
<@216702440140046336> <@244244400488710155>
“Force ain’t on our side…” Lulaire murmured to Zuji quietly, still a bit peeved she couldn’t conceal her teammates and herself. She waited and watched. The moment she saw the signal, silently as she can be, she made her way to follow Teon.
Teon was the first to enter, removing the large grate and crouching down ro fit through the opening. Once they were all inside, they'd see that they'd arrived in some sort of storage room filled with old crates, some of which were broken. The floor is also riddled with old syringes and tabbac pipes.