Vortex (open)

[Ash]

Targets on the move again... going to a new station just a couple of rows over.

I see him... You don't need to tell me his every move. Just keep an eye on him, and watch the rest of the complex for anything suspicious. Out.

Phantom mentally closed down the comm channel with Shina a newly liberated slave, who was hacked into the casino's security system. This girl was a fast leaner, but she had much to learn about the lifestyle she was thrown into.

Phantom was in his regular garb of a black suit with a red shirt under his unbuttoned jacket. The only addition was a set of blue tinted glasses. He wasn't in some elaborate disguise simply because there was no reason to. No one knew who he really was, which was how Phantom liked it. He was simply a ghost floating around the galaxy killing who he was ordered to.

Except for now. He was after the Mandalorian slave trader who sold off Shina, and god knew how many other slaves. Rather if he knew this guy was a Mandalorian or not, Phantom didn't know. If he was, there were bound to be others around somewhere.

Phantom's target was wearing Beskar'gam, but had a cloak over so he wouldn't stand out as much. Still, most people generally avoided the somewhat overweight man. That was good for Phantom. Now if he would just go back to wherever his room was, but for hours now, the man was just a gambling away, unaware that he had a tail.

Phantom moved closer to the Mandalorian, easily within earshot of his extreme hearing. Moments before, Phantom saw the man take out a comm and start talking to someone.

-ry up. I cant keep running around this place. And I think someones been fallowing me........ Female, or so I hope........ don't judge my eyesight, its fine....... yea.

And just like that, he ended the call, shoving the comm link back into his belt, and resumed his gambling... So he had a feeling he was being tailed, but he thought it was a female... that was perfect for Phantom. He smiled, stuck a credit chit into the machine he was at, and waited for any more movement from the man, or a warning call from Shina.

[Faeruy]

Poodoo. How had the caught onto her? Shanti didn't think she was being obvious, and yet somehow the Mandalorian seemed to realize she was tailing him.

Or did he? There was a price on this man's head that could keep her rolling for at least a year without having to worry about picking up another job. It was very possible she wasn't the only one after this man. More than possible, actually. That could be good for her; if somebody else with the means took him down, then she could come in and pick up the scraps, so to speak. It wouldn't be the first time she'd stolen a bounty. She'd have to keep an eye on him though. Hunters were a sneaky lot. Keep an eye on him and act casual.

This job was a lot riskier than the ones she normally took; lowlifes and petty scum were generally the only ones she ever had any real success with. But the money on this one was too good to ignore, even if it was a Mandalorian. Even if he was found in one of the famed gambling establishments of Umgul instead of her normal haunts. Shanti passed by a mirror and sighed, shoving her mass of red hair back as she did so. She didn't fit in here, not really. It was a richer crowd than she was used to; the clothing more tasteful than her party wear. It was better than the rags she usually wore when she was on the job, but not by much. The low cut purple sheath over gold leggings fit in a loud and crowded cantina on Nar Shaddaa, but not so much here. At least she could still run in this outfit.

Right, now would be a good time to make sure the Mandalorian didn't suspect her of anything. Shanti had discovered a long time ago that sometimes the best approach was the most obvious one. She checked herself over in the mirror once more and started to walk towards her target. The closer she got, the more unsteady her steps got, until she looked like a drunken tusk cat. When she got up behind the cape-wearing Mando, she seemed to trip and crash into his back.

"Whoops!" She giggled inanely. The Mando turned to glare at her. "Excuse me. I think... I mean... I mighta....say...." She drawled, getting a good look at him. "Man, you're big. Good thing you were there, or I might have done some really embarrassing. I like your cape by the way. You wouldn't happen to know where the bar is do you? I could use a drink. No?" The Mando just continue to stare darkly at her, without answering. "Well, fine, I'll just go find it myself. Thanks for the catch, friend!"

With that, Shanti teetered off again. She had learned one thing; the man seemed to be built out of permacrete; or at least his armor was. She would definitely have a tough time taking him down on her own. She wished she had a partner for this one; the bounty was high enough that even she was willing to split it. She had to figure out a plan. She continued to totter down the line of gambling machines until she found an empty one, next to a guy wearing blue-tinted glasses, who otherwise looked unpreposessing.

"What a karking wermo." She muttered under her breath, then turned to the man next to her. "Hey man, how are these machines paying out?" Might as well have a little fun while she was here.

[Ash]

Phantom nearly let out a sigh as he watched a woman teeter towards his target, out of the corner of his eye. In no way whatsoever did this woman look like she belonged here. Most people were dressed welly and elegantly. She looked more suited a cantina, or some other lowly establishment.

When she crashed into him, he cracked a small smile, along with whoever else was within earshot, or could see, what has happened. Either she was really drunk or really stupid... or a little of both. When she started to walk away, he shook his head, and continued playing.

Luck would have it, but which luck he didn't know, the woman who toppled into the Mandalorian sat down next to him, murmered something, then openly started a conversation. Almost instantly, he put on a shyer, more timid, and possibly more depressed atmosphere, almost as if it was how he always was. He adjusted his glasses, simply for show, before quietly addressing the woman.

Oh, um... They're doing well.

As soon as he finished talking, his machine failed him, and demanded more credits. He stuttered for a moment, as it contradicted exactly what he said, then hung his head in defeat for a few seconds before he dug out another token from his pocket.

Or maybe not. hehe

He looked at the woman, taking note of her quickly behind his tinted lenses. She looked young. She probably shouldn't even be here, but that choice was hers. Then again, his own appearance seemed like he should still be in school, if nor just graduating.

After a second, Phantom forced a blush to his face, then turned back to his machine, letting it go off again, and occasionally took a peek to the woman, which was what any other man would do, while still keeping the Mandalorian in his sights. So far he just seemed to be sitting their gambling away, and he ordered a drink, so he shouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

[Reverb]

Thank you Darling...

    Anwar retrieved his cocktail, and gave the young woman who brought it a big wink and a 20 credit chip. He was in danger of having too much fun with this job; luckily he only need glance across the table to steel himself. Slavers earned a special kind of disgust from Anwar, and this man sharing his dice was going to be one lucrative pile of justice soon. Until then he needed the man's confidence, and after a little small talk, Anwar convinced his new friend to follow him over to dice. 

Come on elevens.....HAHA!

    The table cheered and Anwar hugged a few excited, gold digging strangers. He fit in well enough in his usual  fair; his long burgundy jacket was closed on this rare occasion, keeping his lightsaber and shoulder slung blaster well hid. His right hip still had a holster on it, but the AA-37 was of course checked at the door. Security was mysteriously satisfied with the surender of his blaster to think of searching him further. He couldn't even consider wearing his hood in this place, and he learned long ago that blue haired Theelins didn't have blending in as an option. His best bet was to dive right into it, so here he was exchanging laughs with his target over a thrilling toss of dice. Anwar raised a glass to the Mandalorian and flashed a deceptive grin. As it turned out, adept telekenetics were coincidently very good at this game. Anwar forced himself to loose a few, but he couldn't help keeping the odds a little more in his favor. He was here because he needed money after all, one way or another.

     To his credit, Anwar was also buttering up the suddenly lucky Mandalorian, more than himself even. It served him well for his target's sense of propriety to be dimmed by booze and pride. Anwar had in fact just handed the dice over when a waify little redhead plowed into him. Cute little thing, he could smell the spunk on her, but that wasn't what got his attention. She didn't seem to belong here, and his gut provoked him to give her another once-over. His his ability to detect motives was nothing like it used to be, but a hint of deception was clear. Anwar offered his portly and stoic companion a bit of wit as his eyes tailed the young woman to a row of slots...

May we all be saved! You're like a magnetic to these women now, and they keep getting younger...eh?

Anwar feigned participation in the general laughter  while the little red head pulled up a stool to a man Anwar had noticed earlier. Admittedly, this was purely because the gentlemen was so damn handsome, but now it seemed there may be more to him. There was something amiss. Could be unrelated, but now with that girl... Partners maybe? A very attractive pair... Anwar shook the thought. Business first. He adjusted his blue braid as an excuse to sneak another peak at them, then scooped his drink back up and returned his attention to the game at hand, just in time to ensure that pile of Bantha squat won another toss. Cheers. This was getting tiresome, and the target was starting to get nervous as more attention was shifting his way. Time to tone it down, it may be better to get this handled sooner rather than later. But first, another round of dice! He was walking a fine line, but surely he could squeeze a few more credits out of the house before suspicion arose, and it felt so good to win...

(what is the mark's name)

[Faeruy]

The man sitting next to her stuttered like a tunnel rat, or one of the droid-obsessed classmates she had back when she still went to something resembling school. Too bad. His assurance that the machines were good completely failed when his machine broke down. Not that Shanti really cared; after all, she didn't have the credits to play anyway.

So instead, she turned her back to the machine and leaned against it. It was a good spot to survey the casino, and especially to keep an eye on the Mando. All signs of inebriation were gone; she sat casually, one leg crossed over the other and her light green eyes were keen. There had to be other hunters around. But who should she keep an eye on? The jaundiced weirdo with blue hair? The waitress? The geek sitting next to her? Probably not him, but one never knew.

Her mark was drinking, so clearly wasn't going to go anywhere, so she waved over a waitress. "Two brandies, please." That was the nice thing about casinos like this; the booze was free. Mostly because one was expected to spend their money gambling, but the fact that Shanti was flat broke was not something the servers needed to know. The waitress cocked a judgmental brow at her; not sure if Shanti was old enough or rich enough to belong here. But Shanti just leaned a little towards her new friend, and the waitress sighed and left to get the drinks.

"So, what brings you here? Besides gambling I mean? Or are you one of those addicts or something?" She asked her new companion, in lieu of having anything better to do. She was drawing a blank when it came to planning how to get this Mando, and he really wasn't doing anything interesting anyway. Just gambling and drinking, drinking and gambling, like every other wermo in this joint.

[Ash]

Phantom was fairly quiet as the woman next to him ordered a pair of drinks. Too young or not Phantom didn't care so long as his target died without interruption from anyone else.

She's pretty... maybe you can use her to get to your target.

Perhaps... We'll see what it comes to. Anyone else scouting our guy out?

At least one more. Craps table. The chick next to you bumped into him, and now he is deciding to keep an eye on him, as well as you two.

So whats where that feeling has been coming from...Ok keep all your eyes opened. We need every camera here looking at everything.

Yes dad. My curfew isn't up yet.

Shina was laughing as Phantom once again cut the comm channel. Everything that was said all took place in Phantom's head. He once again pulled the arm on the machine, and almost instantly won 370 credits... Over the internal mike, Phantom heard two clicks of an affirmative... So shina got into at least one machine, if not the rest of them... free money wasn't bad, but it just wasn't for Phantom. He ejected the receipt and tossed it to the woman.

I come here for work. There's a man here who I will soon be meeting. Just kinda wasting some time now. And you may need that more than I do.

Phantom still spoke with a softer tone that lacked some confidence, but it was pretty smooth action, handing over a few hundred credits on a whim. Phantom looked into the camera on his machine and smiled every so slightly, and he could almost hear Shina raging... he knew that she was getting very jealous very fast.

((Hmm... the targets name is Batou.))

[Reverb]

  The croupier's scowl was hard to miss. Four consecutive called rolls... Anwar had to admit he was pushing his illusion of luck a bit far. Deep Breath Sadis, bigger things ahead. The two credit hungry young "professionals" pawing at him helped spur him along, as the dance to keep their hands from discovering certain objects he was carrying became tedious. He removed a modest cut of his current winnings and let the rest ride on roll five. A failure by design, the resounding “aaaaaws” and the pitty of the two women was bittersweet. Putting on his best pout, Anwar tugged at the sides of his wild blue mane in anguish.


Aaaargh! Well we can’t all have Batou’s magic touch eh?

 
He prodded the portly Mandolorian with an elbow, and was rewarded with a grin so slimy it almost made Anwar forget that this was his goal. Anwar distracted himself with the business of tipping the slightly less suspicious croupier.


 Well, you know what they say, all good things must…Continue in my room?! Eh?


   Anwar barely left it a question as he deftly spun the more flushed of the young women into Batou’s waiting arms. Her wine stained teeth and the greedy look in his target’s eye was enough to make Anwar cringe at the thought of what he was even implying. Luckily, hopefully, it would never come to fruition, but he still stole a moment to look away and refocus his thoughts. Hearing the rare excited buzzing of a slot actually paying out, Anwar turned to see the handsome couple from earlier. Nothing unusual until he caught the gentlemen hand his payout over to the clumsy little red head. Perhaps she was not so clumsy after all. She couldn’t be a call girl, if so she was just downright bad at it. Unless that was her angle…no. Something was definitely not sitting well about those two. She was a special breed of clever riff-raff Anwar understood well. Did she lift or plant something on Batou earlier? Either way, time to go. Returning to his present company with a lascivious smirk, Anwar tossed a generous tip to the croupier, and expanded on his plan for their evening.


 Perhaps you beauties could find some friends and a few bottles of your favorite poison? Meet us in room 441 and we can celebrate our success this evening…


   Giving each woman a very flirty kiss and a squeeze, he cleaved off a heavy slice of his winnings to punctuate the offer. They were absolutely delighted to oblige. Good, that was the last Anwar hoped to see of them. Closing on Batou, he threw a conspiratory arm around the Mandolorian’s bulky shoulders and flattened the blue hair around his horns as best he could.


What say you my friend?


  I’m not so easily enticed by colorful young men Mr, Freida was it?... and my taste in women…well lets say that I am not wanting, and my thirsts are hard to satisfy..


  The Theelin was completely thrown, and barely shielded it with a smirk and a knowing chuckle. The man was sharper than he had hoped, almost certainly his own dreadful miscalculation regarding the accomplished slaver. An itchy tinge of suspicion was in Batou’s tone as well, though mixed with what was clearly a lingering interest. Put up or shut up Sadis, we need a payday, thankfully I don’t need to bring him in alive. It was time to kick the bullpoodoo into some disturbing territory. Plan B. Anwar leaned in, hoping to keep his next few words as inaudible to the public as he could.


  Naturally Batou… I’ve never let precious flesh like that take a penny from me without earning every cent…I only ask because my fists get tired so easily…
 

Anwar clenched every muscle at the eager chortle Batou let fly. He had played that correctly, however horrid. Now, dodging the topic, he deftly retrieved a pack of exquisite Corellian cigarillos and popped one loose. An enormous sigh of relief washed over him as Batou accepted this offer.


At least have a smoke with me before we carry on in whichever direction our evenings turn…

 
Ah certainly, but I must retrieve my pistol if you would be so patient… call me old fashioned but I never feel comfortable outside without it.
 

I understand completely, I hope you won’t mind me taking mine as well…


Anwar had saved the catch, and with aplomb. Now he could cart Batou off from outside without incident or complication…as it happened he didn’t have a suite there, and had rattled 441 off completely out of his little yellow rear. His smile was finally broad and genuine, crinkling the golden freckles around the corner of his eyes. As the pair set off towards the entrance, impatiently brandishing unlit tobacco, Anwar casually fidgeted with a small communicator in his pocket, and sent the silent message to his ship. Back on his ship, the Diva’s Lament, Goober, Anwar’s droid and co-pilot, saw the green blinking beacon on his own matching device, and knew immediately what it meant:

Company in tow, prepare the ship. Home Soon.

[Faeruy]

Lizard-monkey on a stick, either this man was even more of a recluse than she thought, or he completely crazy; given how much time it took him to respond. It was like his mind was elsewhere.

Or he was working up the courage to make his next move. It wouldn't surprise her, because his next move was a doozy.

Shanti looked down at his receipt in disbelief; her expression quickly morphing into one of disgust and disdain. She looked from the winning receipt to the man's face. "I'm not for sale, pervert. Especially not for the likes of you. You probably have some seriously creeptastic kinks. Find your kicks elsewhere." Great. Just great. She was going to have to find another place to scope out the Mando. She couldn't stay anywhere near this creeper.

She snuck a glance over at her target.

Who was nowhere to be seen.

Poodoo. Kark. Frell. Frak. Crapcrapcrap.

She scanned the room. Where could he have gone in such a short amount of time? Now she was really angry at the nerd sitting next to her. If he hadn't distracted her, she wouldn't have lost the target. This was not going well.

Her eyes caught the blue-haired man first, and only after a split second did she see the Mandalorian. They were headed for the entrance; clearly leaving the area. Shanti stood up out of her seat, ignoring the creeper entirely now. She needed to follow them, but any movement towards the two would likely be noticed, and not in a good way.

Well, if she couldn't be sneaky, she could certainly raise a fuss.

Shanti took off running; at least she had planned her outfit well enough for that kind of movement, straight towards the blue-haired man and his friend. She tilted her head upward, hoping that the breeze would bring a few tears to her eyes.

Once more, she crashed straight into her target.

"Please!"She pleaded, red in the face, and with a hint of moisture in her eyes. At this moment, she looked even younger than she normally did. "Please, you have to help me! I'm... I'm scared!" She clung to the Mandalorian's armor. "That man over there..." She pointed a trembling finger at her 'friend'. "He tried... he wanted... oh my... he said he was gonna... do stuff too me. Please sir, you have to save me!" Shanti buried her face against the man's armor and started to sob loudly. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but she needed to hide the fact that she wasn't really crying. Having long, thick curly hair was an advantage in that regard.

Now if only these two would take the bait, she could possibly kill two birds with one stone.

[Ash]

To be expected, the woman completely freaked out when he tried to hand her the money that he just won. He wanted to let out a small smile over that, but held himself back, instead looking away, muttering something incoherent.

He also spotted his target starting to walk away with some man that he vaguely spotted recently. Phantom wanted to get this job done quietly and away from people, but it looked like he would need to improvise just a little bit. But this man needed to die... tonight... and soon.

Now the woman ran off, finally. Phantom did the same, but casually, walking the other way: away from his target and his new friend, and the woman, all of whom were nearing the main entrance.

Shina, lock all doors and kill power.

On it. Power will be killed in 30 seconds. I can give you about 2 minutes before they can get it back on.

Phantom's hand touched something on the side of his belt, hidden by his clothing, and, without anyone taking notice, vanished from view. As the man doubled back, he tossed his glasses, replacing them with his plasteel mask, with a few asure markings on it. The only electronic part of it was an electric voice modulator, to hide his voice. He didn't need anything special for vision.

As soon as the power was cut, and the area was bathed in the dim, bloody light that was the emergency lighting, Phantom showed himself again, but not as the shy guy from before, but now the highly trained assassin: The Phantom. His target, not far away from the pistol now in his hand, was the Mandalorian. Someone must have knew him, because a man screamed, much like a little schoolgirl, his name and bolted away, prompting others to do the same. Phantom didn't say anything, but if the woman and the Mando's friend didn't move here, they would be blown away as well.

((Crappy reply, i know... I am without muse and with other distractions... But this should provide something fun. And shooting... and maybe running... lets see what gets played out. haha))

[Reverb]

Anwar's jaw cracked. Never in his life had he ground his teeth so hard as when this melodramatic mess of red curls collided with his paycheck. "Of all the miserable, wannabee tricks in the galaxy," Anwar's thoughts burned; he wanted to treat this woman to a flying lesson. She was obviously after Batou,or more likely working for that guy who was...wait what did she say? 

"That man over there... He tried... he wanted... oh my... he said he was gonna... do stuff too me. Please sir..."

Very strange. Either they were both sicko's, or she was working alone, and was a complete idiot. Had to give her some credit for her nerve though. Ok, a lot of credit. But the money? The man was walking the other way with an added sense of purpose, and Batou...oh god. He was buying it, or at least he wanted to. The Mandolorian looked to his Theelin guide for some sort of grotesque approval. Anwar gave a snort of resignation, and helped the girl to her feet, wondering if she completely understood the nature of her target. Well she was in it now. Half the room was watching, but they were 4 meters from the door. Anwar gave Batou lascivious wink, placed a protective hand on the girl's shoulder, and began to usher the lot toward the door. Anwar's chops as an actors had reached their limit, and, despite considerable effort, he now spoke through clenched teeth and a tense smile,  waving dismissively at gawkers, and taking enormous strides.

"Well Well Well! An innocent young girl being taken advantage of, in this Casino? Well you have come to the right gentlemen. Just stick with us and we'll keep you safe.." Batou agreed enthusiasticsly. 2 meter's to the door. Adding a little squeeze for emphasis, he bent over to snarl a few thoughts into the young woman's ear as he did his best to maintain momentum toward the exit.

"You've bit off more than you can chew on this one Copper head, back off and you can walk aw..." Anwar completely lot his train of thought as his outstretched palm bounced off an unmoving door. His stomach sank.

"Frak."

Cue lights. Anwar spun on his heel to face the casino, which was now bathed in red. She was an accomplise in this, someone had too be. Each breath was a tense huff of frustration. This went from perfect to fiasco real quick. A scream pierced the air, "Phantom." Anwar had heard of this guy, and not really encouraging things. A small metal cylinder unhooked from his left hip, and under the concealment of his long jacket, drifted out through the tails behind his back and into Anwar's waiting hand, where it hid for a moment while he started what would surely be a very brief dialogue.

"Lacks a little subtlety for someone named Phanton. Batou is under my protection...so... " Anwar was suddenly completely aware he had no idea where he intended to go with this. "Open the door..please"

A bit of an exaggeration, but Batou was certainly comforted by Anwar's pledge. He didn't need to know that Anwar would only keep him alive to kill less conspicuously later. Especially since it seemed his hand may be forced rather soon. Meanwhile, Batou, inspired by Anwar's confidence, used the guise of heroics to wrap his sweaty palms around the young woman beside him and drag her into his side where he could 'keep her safe'.

Stick with me sweet girl, Uncle Batou wont let you get hurt..

   






"

[Faeruy]

The blue-haired man was on to her, it seemed, though how he figured it out, Shanti wasn't sure. Though it was possible he didn't realize she was a bounty hunter; he might have just thought she was an opportunistic hanger-on. Whatever the case, he clearly thought she was an idiot. The juvenile part of her wanted to stick out her tongue and shove his unwelcome hand away, but that would most definitely blow her 'cover'. Let him think she was an idiot; it would make it that much sweeter when she collected the bounty out from under him.

She did wonder what he was doing here. After all, Mandalorians were strong; they didn't need bodyguards. Maybe it was a friends? Or servant? Or maybe he was another hunter, working an angle. It would explain how he managed to see through her facade, though only kind of; Shanti knew she didn't look like a typical bounty hunter and she certainly didn't have any kind of a reputation to speak of.

At any rate, here he was, accusing her of... something, and treating her like an idiot. She wasn't going to blow her cover for that, so she merely sniffed noisily.

"Why are you hurting me? Please, I just... that guy... he was... he was..." She stuttered tearfully. She would have continued on, but at that moment, everything went downhill faster than a Jawa down a sand dune.

A brief flash of darkness, followed by the eerie dim glow of emergency lights. Some screaming, with somebody shouting 'Phantom', whatever that meant. A man, not just any man but the nerdy creep from the gambling machines was standing in front of them with a blaster pistol in his hand.

Shanti almost laughed. Only Batou's sweaty, smelly arms around her waist reminded her that she was still playing a part for as long as she could keep it up. She did let a sneer of disgust cross her features; between the odor of the Mandalorian and the ridiculousness of this 'Phantom' she couldn't hide it if she wanted to. Luckily Batou wasn't really looking at her, and the lighting was dim enough to make her expression difficult to read.

"But he's got a blaster!" She squealed inanely at the Mando, and despite her protesting nose, she nestled closer to the Mandalorian.

There was a practical reason for this; Shanti's weaponry was all in her boots, and currently unreachable without detection. Batou had plenty. Being so close afforded her to slip a knife from off of his belt without him noticing. She had a feeling she would need it. If this Phantom was dumb enough to face a Mandalorian head on, he was probably dumb enough to get her killed in the process.

As for Batou, he merely chuckled at her squeal of fear. "Don't worry, girl. You have nothing to fear from that hut'uunia shaibur". He reached for his own blaster; certain of his own ability to kill the man in front of the trio.

[Ash]

So, just as Phantom thought, his target had some extra help, which complicated things. He could try to escape and attempt to kill his target at a later time, but that wasn't how he normally did things.

Complications arose in every mission: that fact never changed. You can plan and plan and plan but the smallest person can send that planing careening off and then you are left high and dry. That was when someone needed to know how to improvise.

While the group was talking, Phantom moved, not letting the small conversation between them finish: he pointed his verpine pistol at the emergency light above the door, blowing it in a shatter of glass and sparks, a bright flash of white light.

Phantom's cybernetics protected his eyes from it, automatically compensating so he didn't get washed out. He then emptied his entire clip in his pistol into his target's barely armored neck and head. As soon as it was emptied, he pulled out his second one in his left hand. He took a few steps back, waiting for a response, and ready for anything.

((Sorry guys, im really trying to get my muse back, but this should be fun, and maybe the local police force and/or security will show up to... mix things up. hehe))

[Reverb]

For a few moments before the blaster fire began, the chaos in the room seemed infinite. Tension was drawn between parties like a bowstring, and Anwar loved it. Despite the storm of riddles in his own mind, he knew the moment was fast approaching where training and instinct would be free to solve the greater question of survival. He was ready for this. What he got however felt more like the bowstring panicked and snapped. A look of disappointment wrapped itself in ire at the realization of how sloppily Anwar’s hand was about to be forced. Ugh. How this Phantom had earned a reputation was beyond him; likely another trust fund hunter, not that Anwar had too much room to talk. This man had all the grace and phantom-like quality of a rancor in an antique shop.


The first shot was almost a surprise simply because of how stupid it seemed. The flash created from the already weak emergency lighting was a minor nuisance as was the shower of glass, which Anwar new he would be brushing out of his frizzy blue mop for days. His left arm had instinctively done well to shield his face, but it was an embarrassing moment when Anwar cleared that arm to see that Phantom’s prank had worked. Sort-of.


The second blaster bolt got past and made it to Batou, but the game was not over yet. Batou may have been lecherous, a bit overweight, and even tipsy, but he was still a Mandalorian. As soon as the first shot rang, his own upbringing sobered him instantly. Though distracted by the flash, he kept his arm up and turned an armored shoulder into the second shot. His grunt of pain was real but not remotely lethal. After that first hit, Batou made the practical drop to his knee to return fire with the pistol he’d been hiding, still using his right shoulder and arm a his only cover. He was no stranger to a head-on shoot out, but it still took him a few moments to join the fray properly: something else had surprised him. He wasn’t hit by the third shot, the fourth, nor any others. They didn’t even pass him. This Theelin had proved very surprising indeed.


 Anwar had already been in motion through the first two shots, but it wasn’t until the third that he took his intended place in front of the mark, the irony not lost on him either. With a familiar static hum, a beam of red appeared behind Anwar, and made it around in time to greet the third blast from Phantom’s pistol, which flew off harmlessly into a wall. Still this showed no signs of letting up. Phantom just kept firing, and Anwar slipped easily into the trance like focus of battle, enjoying an unusual economy of movement as he beat away one bolt after another. He was proficient in Soresu as it was, but with each shot coming from a singular origin, and focused on a small target area, it was nearly effortless to keep the fire off Shanti and Batou, and he sent every 3rd or 4th shot flying directly back at Phantom. Still, Anwar restrained himself from getting arrogant; this fight was about to double in size, and so far Phantom had done a wonderful job of making himself look like the bad guy. Sure enough, by the time Batou began firing on Phantom, he was joined by a brutish clerk behind the service desk with a blaster rifle, then the two front of house security guards got their wits about them and jumped in as well. Anwar could hear a team outside working on getting the doors behind them open, and by the time the Phantom had exhausted his first power cell, 8 more security guard had assembled from all parts of the Casino to surround him all hollering orders of, “Drop your weapon!”, “Ceasefire!”, “We will not hesitate to use force!” and “Hands where we can see them!” The two guards by the door followed suit but turned instead on Anwar, Batou and Shanti with similar suggestions.



 Anwar almost laughed out loud when he realized the opportunity he had just been given. Perhaps there would again be another way out of this. He deactivated his lightsaber and raised his arms, calling up an old voice of authority he had not had the chance to use for some time:


“I am Master Sadis of the Jedi Order. I had hoped not to involve you all in this, but it seems the ‘Phantom’ had other plans. He is an Assassin, a traitor, and enemy to the Republic, and I enlist your help in bringing him down by any means necessary.”


 It paid to be clean cut. After that display the guard had no reason to doubt his authority as a Jedi. The same could not be said for Shanti and Batou however. As things had escalated, Anwar had taken for granite the two armed scoundrel’s right behind him. Batou would be more than a little skeptical of Anwar at this point, and then…Oh no, the girl. She was ambitious and wholly unpredictable. The sinking realization that there were still two extremely dangerous wild cards behind his back took hold, and Anwar wearily peered over his shoulder…

[Faeruy]

Shanti was going to die. She was sure of it now. And really, this was not the way she wanted to go, in the rank arms of a lardbelly Mandalorian, shot by some hotshot assassin who thought she was probably just a dancer for hire.

But though she heard the blaster shots, and the sizzling of Batou's armor, none seemed to find her. She stole a glance at the Theelin and the Phantom. The Theelin had a lightsaber. Crap.

Shanti didn't have a great track record with Force-users. She quickly got behind the Mando, ostensibly for protection, but partially so she had the time and space to think for the few moments that blaster shots were going off. There was assassin trying to kill the Mandalorian. There was some sort of Force-user with a lightsaber protecting him. She had a vibroknife and her own admittedly terrible blaster down her boot. There was a good chance she wouldn't get out of this alive if she didn't play it smart.

Her blaster. Phantom's blaster. Dim lighting. She could do it.

Shanti reached down beneath her boot, thanking whatever powers existed in the galaxy that the Mandalorian was far more concerned about the boys. She stepped back, aimed, and shot the Mandalorian in the side of the neck. Not quite a direct hit, unfortunately, but at least it didn't hit armor. Batou grunted and gurgled and shoved a fist in his neck.

Then the authorities came in.

And then then Theelin spoke.

Dammit, dammit, dammit. He just had to be a Jedi, didn't he? She'd killed Jedi. She had help, yes, but still, if it were known... well, she didn't like her odds. She had to get out of her. She had the Mandalorian's vibroknife, which should be proof enough for her "employers".

Still, the four of them were surrounded. She wasn't going anywhere in the next few minutes. Charade time again.

Shanti dropped to her knees and bawled loudly.

"Why do bad things always happen to ME?!" She sobbed dramatically.