Can Only End Badly...[Kellaishleya]

[savon]

"So, anybody know what's going on?"

Oak lifted his head off the the table sitting in the center of the briefing room and fixed the Draethos with a glower as she sat across from him. "You know what I know, so pipe down. I'm trying to sleep over here."

"I thought trees didn't need sleep." Kir said as she pulled a chair out and lowered herself into it, propping her feet onto the table and lacing her fingers behind her head. Oak just set his head back onto the table, muttering something about the difference between 'need' and 'want'. Glancing around the nearly empty room, the Vahla cocked an eyebrow slightly. "Where's the addict?"

"He's on his way. Him and the Colonel were at the Academy for some reason or other. Shouldn't be long though...pretty sure Sho's their ride."

Kir snickered. "Those two willingly got into a bird with that psychopath?"

"...coming from the woman who volunteered to be the ball in an over-sized slingshot." Oak mumbled, his words muffled as he didn't lift his head to speak.

"Oi, no comments from the peanut gallery. Besides...not only did it work, but it was fun too. The landing was a bit interesting, though..."

"I can almost feel the professionalism in here..."

Kir leaned back a little farther and turned her head towards the door, smirking at her commanding officer as he entered the briefing room. "We put on a pretty face. You look a little pale, boss. Have a good flight? Didn't kill my techie, I hope..."

About as she finished speaking, the gold-eyed Arcona stepped through the door after Larsson. Or, nearly so. He only actually got one foot through the doorway before he had to stop and brace himself against the wall. "I...didn't think those ships were capable of such maneuvers...remind me to seek out a more reputable pilot on any further excursions..."

"Need a bucket, genius?"

Holding up his hand, Dellairis shook his head and slowly started for the table again. Larsson sighed as he moved around to the opposite side of the table and set a stack of datacards down. Taking the one off the top, he glanced it over once, set it down again, and slid it across the table, spreading the others out after it hit Kir's boot. "Gents. And Aris-"

Kir shot Larsson a glance as she leaned forward and grabbed the card. "I'm the funny one here...you just shut up. Sir."

"-you've got yourselves an op. Arkania."

"Great. Crazy people and a freezing landscape. Guess I'll need to find a cold-weather rig."

Kir read through the datacard a few times. There really wasn't a great deal of information on it, unsurprisingly. Field operatives were rarely told very much. What they were told was only what they'd need to finish the job, in this case who, what, and vaguely where. Thaddus Kane was the target, though only of secondary importance. Actually, Kane was specifically listed as Capture or Eliminate, which meant it looked like someone else could be after him as well, and the Republic wasn't about to risk that someone else getting him. Primary objective was some kind of research files; no information on what kind, just on how to find and identify them. No real info on where exactly Kane and all this research was, though, but at least they gave the city this time. "Descriptive. Know anything not on the cards?"

"Unfortunately, not really. Find Kane and his research, bring them both back if possible. If it gets hairy out there, you're authorized to off this guy to prevent him from falling into the wrong hands; your discretion on that one as far as I'm concerned. Flashing his files is a last resort only, though, so don't without a damn good reason; something along the lines of 'the rest of the team is dead and you're bleeding to death'. Intel can tell us roughly where this guy is, but that's it. Nothing exact, which means no schematics and nothing on security. We expect him to be under guard, however, so expect trouble. Captain? Is he asleep?"

Oak grunted, still refusing to lift his head again. "Arkania. Find egghead. Find data. Kill bodies. Kill egghead if too many people shoot back."

"Good enough. You now know as much as I do, so get lost. I'll leave your respective covers and transport up to you, Major. Fourth is on base, so I'll have Tohopp try and dig more up. We'll relay anything we find to you. Now git."

"Aye aye, big bossman. We'll be sure and fail you miserably. Maybe even lose a few people." Kir said in a deadpan tone, throwing Larsson a mock salute before swinging her feet off the table and pulling herself up. "Come on, you miscreant children. I hear Arkania's nice this time of year."

"You're funny, you know that?"

"Yup."

"Children? Isn't Aris older than everyone else here combined?"

"Yup."

"Hell, she's probably older than all of FID combined...

"I should just drop the both of you a few miles outside of a city..."

~~~~~

"...are we there yet?"

"For the love of...YES! Oh, wait...we actually are."

"Do we pay her?"

~~~~~

"Welcome to Adascopolis. I think."

"Nice place. Can we go home now?"

"In case it wasn't made painfully obvious on the flight over, the boss doesn't like the cold. Almost as much as she doesn't like spacetravel.

"Eh, so sue me."

"Don't mean to interrupt, but do any of you actually speak Arkanian?"

For the first time since leaving Carida, Kir grinned beneath the scarf covering the lower half of her face as Oak and Aris glanced at each-other. Then she shivered again. She was not built for the cold, not in the slightest. Having very, very little body-fat had a great many uses...fighting off cold temperatures wasn't one of them. "Don't worry about it. Most Arkanians speak Basic."

"That'll help. And I think we'll need all the help we can get on this one." Oak turned his head slightly towards Kir as he slung the strap of his repeater over his shoulder. He hoped Adascopolis saw a lot of mercenaries, otherwise the four of them would look about as inconspicuous as Gamorreans masquerading as Jawa traders. Except perhaps the Arcona. He was the only one not wearing armor of any kind, and his blaster was concealed beneath the folds of his cold-weather attire. Aris was wearing a type of non-descript medium blast armor beneath her protective gear, making her appear more than a little large, and a flechette rifle rested in the crook of her arm. She was also, visibly still even with her gear, a vibrant shade of pink. Oak looked...well, like Oak always looked; unlike the others, he required no additional gear for the weather, as his heavy armor was more than enough protection in and of itself, and, as always, he was armed to the teeth, sporting his medium-grade repeater, a relatively small ion rifle, a pistol, and several grenades. Short, wide, and bristling. Honestly, in comparison to Oak and Aris, Kirhanos didn't appear too terribly out of place, carrying no visible weaponry above her heavy overcoat, though if one looked closely enough, they would likely be able to make out the light armor she wore beneath. Still, she was fairly easy to spot, standing several inches above most everyone around her and showing absolutely no skin. Appearances could be quite deceiving, though, as she was actually well-armed, carrying her side-arm and four combat knives beneath the folds of her heavy protective clothing. "So. What's the plan?"

Kir shrugged. "I 'unno. Whatcha wanna do?"

Oak shrugged as well. "I dunno. What do you want to do?"

"Oh, now don't start that again..."

"Take all the fun out of everything...alright, well, Sage, stay with the ship. Be ready for anything, we may need to get out of here in a hurry. Goober, head for the corporation's nearest public building, see what you can dig up, but be discreet, you hear? Leaf, find this city's underworld, it's gotta have one. Work your magic."

"Any you?"

Kir's grin changed into a smile. "Me? I'm going to try an' not get stuck in a vent shaft again. Run across a few roofs. Climb a few walls. Sneak around places I shouldn't be. The usual. See if I can't take a look around some of our corporation's restricted areas. Honestly, people are more afraid of technological intrusion than physical these days. Makes my job a lot easier."

"And mine considerably more difficult."

The square human leaned sideways and smacked the Arcona soundly. "Quit griping, brainiac. That's her job."

"Quite right. So let's get to it. Keep everyone informed if you find anything useful. Let's go, people, we got laws to break and paychecks to earn. Preferably not in that order, but chances are..."

[Kella]

ooc// woot! //

Zjiiiiing, hiss! Sparks leapt into the air as the silver-green blade dug through groaning metal. The iron bent, then melted, leaving the droid which bore it without a right arm.

Sellah landed on the ground, three paw-fulls of claws screaming as they scratched against the metal floor, bringing her to a halt. Her last paw firmly gripped her lightsaber, which she had just retracted. Even before her backward slide had stopped, she was coiling again, her muscles tightening like a spring. The droid's left arm quickly swiveled to face her. Sellah could feel more than see the energy cell begin to deploy...

Flash! Sellah leapt forward exactly when the blaster bolt left the barrel, her path taking her up and to the right, the cylinder of energy passing harmlessly over her shoulder. Front paws, back paws, she bounded, front again, back again. This time, she planted her back paws and launched herself into the air, flying over the droid as its arm swivelled up into the air.

Sellah twisted her spine, back feet coming around as she flew, another blaster bolt passing by her hip, lightsaber hissing eagerly as she ignited it while she fell.

In an instant, it was all over. Heat, sparks, a blinding glow. Sellah's saber came down diagonally, her muscles bulging as they brought the blade through the metal's resistance, saber finding the weak spot between head and shoulder.

The whining clang of metal as the broken droid clattered to the ground, bisected.

All was silent, save for the hum of Sellah's saber, and her own heavy breathing. Her chest expanded and fell, rushing oxygen to muscles that still buzzed with adrenaline. Her golden eyes flitted as she spun slowly around, pushing out with the force, checking for any further threat...

Sellah retracted her saber and stood up straight, breathing slowly returning to normal as the door across the room opened. She saluted the security camera which she knew was hidden within a particular corner, and stepped from through the doorway.

Outside was a humble lounge, several modest seats arranged simply to allow one to rest their feet. Sellah was attacked from the side by a young Padawan who looked up at her and tugged her elbow.

"That was amazing!" He yelled. "Not even Master Undo can do flips like that! And that training droid was set on like, level twenty! It was so fast! But you were even faster!" The wonder was apparant on his young features. Sellah offered the Selonian equivalent of a smile, her whiskers splaying as her eyes softened.

"I'm not so very impressive. I was only just barely faster." Sellah displayed a singe-mark on her fur.

At that moment, Master Undo approached, chasing after her run-away Padawan. "Do excuse us, Sellah, Jeran can get quite excited."

"It's no bother. And you," She turned her golden eyes upon Jeran, "Don't ever stop practicing." Her tone was filled with a fervor not usually found among the Jedi. It was one of the qualities that set Sellah apart. Jeran nodded emphatically as Undo shepherded him away.

As Sellah turned, she saw a runner approaching. "You're wanted in the council chambers." He said hastily. She nodded, and he was off again. Sellah set off at a brisk pace, using the walk as a moment to cool-down after her work out. And also to prepare herself to face the council. For the very passion that set Sellah apart, also made interactions with the council a wee bit... tense. A few members greatly approved of the Selonian; she'd proved herself to them. Yet others insisted that she was not a proper Jedi, that she did not observe the code with enough strictness, and that she was a Dark Jedi waiting to happen. Joy.

~

Arkania. Sellah mulled the information over in her head. Two Jedi had gone to Arkania to scan for force-sensitives. Between them, they'd found three. And now all five were missing.
Suspect: Vinidrean Corporation.
Target: Thaddus Kane.
Mission: Locate, capture, and retrieve live for interrogation.
For once, there had been no arguing over whether or not Sellah was fit for the mission. She figured that's because the dissenters would probably like to see her kidnapped too. The thought amused Sellah.

She thought over this, and more, as the psychedelic swirls of hyperspace streaked by. Sellah found hyperspace travel... bothersome. Mostly because it was boring. She wasn't exactly a thinker by nature, she'd already memorized her entire mission, and now there was nothing to do.

Sellah heaved a sigh and resolved to go watch the pilots work their magic. It beat striking up conversation with the other passengers, at any rate...

~

Of one thing, Sellah was absolutely certain.

Arkania was cold.

Her fur was short and dense, and provided some protection to her extremities, but the simple fact of the matter was that it wasn't nearly enough to stave off the cold. Sellah, while reluctant at first, had been quick to don the cold-weather clothing given to her at the Enclave. Thick black socks covered her feet and lower legs, though she had arranged them so her claws pressed out from between the weave. A thick cloak draped from her shoulders, made of heavy canvas and secured with a simple metal clasp. The two sides overlapped by a foot in the front, closing out the cold, but giving Sellah a bit of room to move. She had absolutely refused anything with sleeves. It just wouldn't be practical. It was like splinting a snake; Sellah was much to flexible to find the garments workable.

And so Sellah stood on the walk just outside the hangar, watching the traffic hustle by. A muffler encircled her neck, pulled up to cover her muzzle as well. The hood rested upon her head, thick fur lining creating an effective seal against the cold.

Which, of course, meant that Sellah's sense of smell and hearing were hugely muffled. It was like trying to see everything through a cloudy glass... she hated feeling cut-off. Even so, Sellah compensated by pushing outward with the force more than usual, and she made up for the disability, though it would cost her more energy later.

Three lefts, a right, another left. Her golden eyes watched as bundle after bundle of fur and fabric skurried by, like burrowing animals, each trying to stave off the cold. The only bare faces she witness were native Arkanians and a few cold-weather aliens, obviously acclimated to the climate.

Sellah's metabolism quickened to provide her more heat, which warmed the air her cloak trapped nearby, blanketing her against the chill. It too had its consequence, and Sellah was already getting hungry.

Finally, just as the chill was managing to weasel its way into the pads of her feet, Sellah spied what she was looking for. It was a simple unassuming building, with no street number on display. It appeared to be closed. But it was between slots 456 and 458, which made it 457, given Address of the Vinidrean Corporation. Sellah's eyes narrowed. It was only given for rendezvous, which meant it probably wasn't the headquarters... but it was a good place to start.

At least, that's what Sellah told herself as she subtly slipped in through the front door, which was, shockingly, unlocked.

...Why do I have a bad feeling that such is not a good sign...