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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
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Oct 16, 2009 16:47:42 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Oct 16, 2009 16:47:42 GMT -5
{Ended up being a little long. So much to respond to D: XD}
As Jazen went his way, Locke moved to another bench, one that was more sequestered away in a corner of the courtyard underneath a pair of small trees. All right let's see what this says, he thought has the activated it. The image that flashed to life was one of the Arkanian, pale skin, silver hair and all. And those strange milk-white eyes that the Arkanians all had that disconcerted Locke so.
The image of the recording was a bit fuzzy, but he could hear the audio well enough. It was, as Jazen had said, in Olys Corellian, a language Locke knew, though he wasn''t the best at it. Here's hoping I can figure this out. And as the message played, heart started to sink down into his stomach. He could make out some of it, but not all of it. He frowned as he played it again, and slowly pieced some of it together. House of... Enlightenment? No... Illumination, maybe? Aldera? He shook his head. Aldera was the capital city of Alderaan; surely she wasn't going to flee to another part of the planet and make them follow. But what could it be?
Suddenly, another message started to play, and thank the Force he could make out more of it. In the mouth of the beasts of stone... What? Before he could contemplate the meaning of the message, he had a visitor.
It was the same bounty hunter that had been speaking to his student in the cantina. He raised an eyebrow as she gave her spiel about wanting to lend a hand to him and Jazen. Oh ho! Do you, now?She even let the barriers that blocked her mind up just a little to show that she meant what she said, which only pushed up Locke's eyebrow further. And then she called him by his name. I'm gonna have to give Jazen a talk about using false names, he thought sullenly.
"Well, now miss, uh... bounty hunter, I hope you can forgive me for not being entirely trusting of someone I've just met on a mission where life hangs in the balance, but uh... I'm not entirely sure if I trust you," he said as he gently took her hand off of his shoulder. "The sentiment is appreciated, I assure you, but," he shrugged "you'd be amazed at what some people can do to get what they want. Even that little trick with lowering your mind barrier could be faked with enough practice. So here's my offer to you." He looked her in the face, his stoney grey eyes locking with hers. "If you want to help us, fine, but you'll have to prove your trustworthiness before I start giving you info." Locke shrugged noncommittally. "Don't take any offense, it's just the way things go." Locke fished around in one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out a small comm device. He tossed it to Arwyn. "Here. There are others here that are not on our side. You trail us, and keep them busy. If you prove that I can trust you, then we might be able to come to some sort of an agreement."
And no sooner had he finished talking did two more show up. One was a Twi'lek, and slinked over to sit by him, moving with the grace of a dancer. Locke rolled his eyes at her question and resisted the urge to punch her in the face. What? Do you think you're going to seduce me into letting you have my info? Suddenly Arwyn was moving, reprimanding someone named Je'Baru. Locke seized the opportunity, and stood, turning around to face her. He shrugged and gave her a look that said 'it's your problem now, deal with it' and walked off across the plaza.
He sat down on another bench on the other side of the plaza, and looked around. Where in the hells is Jazen? he thought, a bit anxiously. He was ready to be out of this courtyard; too many bounty hunters were converging here. As he waited for his student to reappear, he ran over the message in his head once more. The House of Illumination.... Aldera... In the mouth of the beast of stone... He looked up, and saw the great stone carvings around the fountain. Of course! How could I have forgotten?
Before he could move, a large man was on him, grabbing at Locke's robes. "No, I don't have any credits for y-" And then the man's fist slammed into Locke's jaw, effectively cutting off the rest of what he had been going to say. Locke reeled back for a moment, and fell over the back of the bench. As he started to get back to his feet, shaking his head to try to clear it, two explosions went off in the courtyard, the first one making a blinding light, and the second making a noise so awful that Locke thought his skull was going to crack open. As his vision cleared, he saw the body of a dead Bith laying on the ground, and several other people were unconscious. He could see the faint scorch marks on the concrete where the two explosives had gone off, and though his head still rang furiously, he still maintained some ability to think. What... a sonic grenade... or a flashbang? Maybe both? Locke stumbled to his feet again, though the aftereffects of the blasts left him shaky. He stumbled toward the fountain, grabbing on to the side of it with both of his hands. Then, he stuck his head over the side and vomited. Ugh, that's... no good.
He called on the Force, just a little at first, and then more, to help clear his head. Once the ringing was gone, and he could walk without falling over, he looked around once more. The courtyard was a scene of chaos. People were running around, and there was a crowd gathered around the dead Bith. The realization suddenly hit him: the one that set off the grenade must have been the man that came up to him and punched him in the face. The thought of that made him touch his jaw, and wince; it was still sore. He called on the Force once more, and did what he could to heal it. Healing was not his forte, but he was able to ease some of the pain. It'll have to do.
Locke felt for the holo recorder and was met with another peice of bad news; it was gone. As he set off in motion towards a nearby clothing store, his mind raced. The man must have been bounty hunter. But who was he? The blow and the explosions had left an image that was too fuzzy for Locke to really remember, but he just remembered that the man was large.Yeah, that narrows it down a lot, he thought sarcastically as he ran through the doors. He found a set of clothes that would blend in much more: a simple dark blue long sleeve shirt with some black pants along with a a grey jacket; he could keep his boots and belt, there wasn't anything odd about them. He paid the owner with the rest of the money he had that Jazen hadn't taken and changed in the bathroom. He hid his lightsaber in one of the pouches of his belt and went back out. Now he looked like an average spacefaring man, and, other than the pistol hanging from his belt, there wasn't anything to indicate that he was out of the ordinary. Certainly nothing to point to him being a Jedi. Jazen, just find clothes for yourself, I've got some, he sent out through the Force to his padawan, who he could feel was still somewhere in the general area. Before he left, he went to the owner to ask a question. "Hey does House of Illumination, along with Aldera mean anything to you?"
The corpulent man thought for a moment before saying "Aye! It could be the Illuminati! It's one of the branches of the University here in the city."
And for a moment, Locke felt like one of the biggest fools in the galaxy. Of course that's what it is! Jeez, and I call myself an Investigator. I'll just have to think more clearly from now on. He gave his thanks to the owner, and made his way back out.
The courtyard was still in upheaval, and Locke moved to blend in with the people moving about, before surreptitiously making his way out of the courtyard. Then he broke into a run in the general direction of the campus. To get there, he'd have to get into a boat to navigate the canals. He came up to one of the canals and spotted an idling one by the entrance to an apartment complex. There wasn't anyone around that he could see, so he made a decision. Normally, a Jedi wouldn't steal from another, but two things were different about the situation. For one, Locke wasn't a normal Jedi, and would do whatever it took to accomplish his mission, and two, someone's life was on the line, and he wasn't going to let feelings of righteousness get in the way of trying to save her. So he jumped in to the boat, grabbed the controls and started to pull away from the side of the canal. He turned it around and made his way down, back toward one of the sides of the plaza. As he did, he pulled out the comm link that would go to Arwyn's device, and said simply "Illuminati". He didn't trust her enough yet to give blatant clues away, and if she couldn't figure it out, that would be more her problem than his.
Jazen, I'm in a motorboat by the north end of the plaza. Come join me when you've found something to change into. Locke suddenly heard yells from down the canal. And do hurry. One of the bounty hunters may have a leg up on us. And I uh... borrowed the boat from someone, if you know what I mean.
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Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
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last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
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Oct 19, 2009 19:52:52 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Oct 19, 2009 19:52:52 GMT -5
Jazen should not have gone shopping for clothes. If he had known it would have been this difficult, he would have just borrowed them from someone's laundry rack. As the shop lady rambled on in front of him, Jazen sighed in annoyance. "Okay, enough of this," he thought to himself. Waving his hand in front of the lady, he focused on her completely. "You want to sell me something that will help me blend, something cheap and easy. And you will do so very quickly." Almost instantly, the woman went quiet and repeated what he said, just as if she had said it. She quickly gathered a random assortment of things and Jazen was just about to pay for them when he heard Locke's voice in his head.
Grunting, Jazen replaced the one outfit and payed for the other, getting out of the shop as quickly as he could. Throwing on the clothes quickly and hiding his Jedi robes under a nearby bench, Jazen pulled the hood up to hide his braid, he headed back off towards where he'd left Locke. Hopefully, he'd managed to break the code on that recorder. Jazen had been thinking about it, but the only word that he managed to make sense of wasn't much help. What does Illumination have to do with anything anyway? Passing by a lady doing her garden, Jazen approached her with a smile. "Excuse me, but I was told there was a great place to visit here in Aldera, but I didn't get much detail about it. Is there something related to Illumination here?" The lady looked up at him and saw the kind face of a young boy. Smiling back, the lady pointed off at something in the distance.
"Oh, that would probably be the Illumanti. It's a part of the university here. Though from the looks of you though, you're too young to be attending that place." Thanking her, Jazen turned off in the direction the lady had pointed and once he was out of sight, jumped onto a nearby rooftop. "The Illumanti huh. I guess I should inform Locke of this." He was about to, when Locke's voice one again echoed in his head.
From Locke's tone, he had figured it out too. Reaching out to respond, the started leaping across the roofs as he sent his reply. "If you've figured it out too, then it'll be faster for me to head there right now. And by spliting up, we better out chances of beating that hunter there. Send me a mental picture of what they look like so I know who to watch out for though. Jazen out." Turning his attention to the task at hand, Jazen ran off in the direction of the university as fast as he could go. This mission was getting better all the time.
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Cirith An'Gol
"You got something for me? or are you just another slack jawed arruetti admiring my armor"-Cirith
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last online May 31, 2020 19:14:38 GMT -5
Knight
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Oct 22, 2009 22:38:21 GMT -5
Post by Cirith An'Gol on Oct 22, 2009 22:38:21 GMT -5
((OOC: Sorry for the wait guys, been reading everything through and trying to think of what to write, and then I got DCed when I finished my reply the first time, lol))
Arwyn accepted the comlink with a nod of her head "Thanks, the name is Arwyn An'Gol" she said before Locke walked off across the plaza. She turned her attention to the Twi'lek that chose to slink her way to the Jedi's side "Now sweety, how about we talk about who you're with and how many are with you. Be quick about it too, I'd hate to have to rough up that pretty face" Arwyn said with a don't-mess-with-me edge. Arwyn walked over to the Twi'lek's left side so she could keep her eyes on Je'Baru, and force the Twi'lek to either fight her to get away or run into the crowd.
She looked up as two explosions went off, her HUD polarizing slightly in response to a bright flash from across the plaza, next that went off was the distinct sound of a sonic grenade. She raised her E-11 blaster rifle reflexively and took a quick look around her. There was still Je'Baru and the Twi'lek but, she didn't notice anyone else that exactly shouted Bounty Hunter at the moment, but, then again, that was what some wanted wasn't it?
She looked at the Twi'lek and smirked, raising her blaster rifle to point at her. Just then the word "Illuminati" came over her commlink, she lowered the blaster rifle and holstered it. "A little peice of advice, get off planet while you still can. Some Bounty Hunter's aren't as nice as I am" with that she hopped over the bench with the aid of her jetpack and ran for the plaza. Arwyn ran over to a building and boosted onto the roof, once she was clear of the edge and over the buildings roof, she cut power to her jetpack and ran for the University. She'd passed it when coming to the cantina and had struck up a conversation with a citiczen, who'd mentioned that the Hall of Illumniation was part of the University. She followed the map she'd downloaded upon landing and jetted over the canals that came up. A block away from the University she glided into an alley and entered a clothing shop. She bought a dark grey cloak with a appropiately deep hood and threw it over herself as she exited the building. Good hunting everyone, let the race begin she thought with a smile.
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Foxfire
Hairless Wookiee
1,279 posts
1 like
Alive but not truly living
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last online Sept 4, 2020 21:39:20 GMT -5
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Oct 23, 2009 13:44:56 GMT -5
Post by Foxfire on Oct 23, 2009 13:44:56 GMT -5
Reina was feeling very confident until the Jedi took little note of her. What was more was the reaction of the female mando toward her. Reina could sense the hunters intent of hurting her. The only thing she was able to do was coil back and shield her head. One word, one thought was all she could muster that was...
Je'Baru!!!
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As Arwyn's attention shifted to Reina, Je'Baru's training and his predatory pack protection kick in. Je'Baru's kabac shield gauntlet engaged and Je'Baru roared as the grenades went off. His blind training was of some use but his anger was making it difficult. He had to find Reina nothing else mattered. As his eyes cleared he found her past out by the stone bench. His eyes were still having trouble and only one ear worked do to the ear droid's sound protectors.
He gathered her up in his arms vowing to gut who ever hurt her. Going over to a E.M. Tech to get her checked Ryver/Taym checked in to up date Je'Baru on their progress of the hunt.
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Ryver/Taym recorded all of the event and sent a copy to the local authorities. Ryver was already on the move to the collage. Just prior to the incident at the fountain, Taym over heard on the local security frequency's about a odd pale female at the Illuminati, of the university. That was all proof Ryver needed. This time no second puppet droid it was going to be them.
As they entered the great hall their Jedi like cloak was pulled further over their head and hands to hide their robotic look.
Let's scan to find her first. No harsh moves.
Yea, yea. Look like a Jedi, walk like a Jedi. But were not Jedi.
With her state of mind she might not notice until we are on her. Also let's activate the repulsers in our feet. NO clanking!
This Ryver agreed to, but as a precaution she readied her M-61 for that just in case moment. They walked over to the target. Slowly they reach her and at four feet from her they stopped.
Miss Blanche, will you come with us? It is for your protection. Other Jedi will be no their way but so will the other hunters. Those hunters found your holo disk at the fountain and are on their way. If you don't come with me you might be in trouble.
Ryver waited for the target's response while Taym continued to scan the hall for the hunters that are coming.
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Karl the Unfettered
Magnificent Bastard
1,010 posts
57 likes
(a+ bn)/n = x, therefore God exists
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last online Feb 26, 2022 22:36:25 GMT -5
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Oct 29, 2009 16:19:47 GMT -5
Post by Karl the Unfettered on Oct 29, 2009 16:19:47 GMT -5
((I suppose Drace isn't gonna post. Oh well.))
That other guy wasn't right behind, so Romeo just shrugged and kept going. There had been something about illumination on the message, whatever that meant; he had no idea, so he just wandered the canals looking for something likely.
Along the way he caught sight, out the corner of his eye, of someone leaping across the roofs; looking up, he saw what could only have been one of the Jedi. "Sheesh, they're sending kids out these days," he muttered beneath his breath as Jazen went on. "What next, toddlers?" Kids were cute, though, except when they were trying to kill you; then they were just more enemies.
A short time after that he saw what looked like a college, or school. "Illuminati," the assassin muttered, chuckling. "How clever." Still chuckling, he made his way inside, standing out among the uniformed students and well dressed visitors almost immediately with his long coat and ragged haircut. He took no notice of them, scanning the room rapidly; security guards, students and professors... there! An armed cyborg, confronting a white-haired female!
Not good, Romeo thought, glancing around at the crowds. He was getting dirty looks from the people, and a stern-faced guard was making his way forward. There was only one thing to do; distract everyone.
"Conservatives!" he shouted angrily at the top of his considerable lungs, pointing an acusing finger at Ryver and Blanche. Immediately everyone turned to regard the pair of them, muttering dangerously and backing away; even the security, in a liberal place like this, suddenly found them much more interesting than some random ragged homeless guy.
"Ladies, you'll have to come with us," a stern-faced man said implacably, as other stern-faced men moved in and surrounded the pair, their hands on their weapons. In the confusion, Romeo moved in as well, invisible in the surrounding crowd, waiting for his chance to get hold of the Arkanian fugitive.
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Kella
Fire and Blood
4,089 posts
5 likes
Fire cannot kill a dragon.
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last online Oct 30, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -5
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Oct 30, 2009 23:40:39 GMT -5
Post by Kella on Oct 30, 2009 23:40:39 GMT -5
Surprise sent a fiery twitch through Blanche's muscles as the sudden voice cut the air next to her, so very different from the hum of the University. Its words were those of a friend, but its voice she recognized, recalled as no friend. Her mind flashed back to the crevice, and her eyes flashed up to asses the cloaked figure. A single glint of light burst from underneath the hood, and she knew. Jedi did not glint. It was that gorram droid. Did it take her for an idiot? She probably was one, though, letting her guard down...
But she had chosen this place for a reason. There were people. Lots of people. And people were witnesses. And if she died, justice had a high probability of being served. Theoretically.
For all her planning, Blanche wasn't really thinking about that at the moment; fight and flight warred in her brain, neither one gaining much ground. There was a glacial defiance in her expression as she glared at the droid, shuffling quickly backwards, turning to sprint--
Her shoulder ploughed into something both solid and soft, and she looked up into a Human face, the uniformed guard towering over her.
"Where do you think you're going, miss?" He inquired, and his tone reeked with false Bravado. Blanche swallowed hard. She was in trouble. Slowly, she looked around, to the droid who was being accosted as well, around at the mingling students... several had looked up to investigate the commotion... what to do, what to do?
... she needed to attract attention. As much as possible. She hoped and prayed the bounty hunters wouldn't be so stupid as to try something anyway...
She took a step back from the guard, and a flurried stream of indignant Corellian began to spill from her mouth. It was most likely to be recognized by the learned here, for the same reason it might have been recognized by the Jedi. And then, perhaps, were one really there, they might recognize here...
The guard's eyes grew wide as he watched warily the strange, pale girl. She seemed quite upset about something, but he had no idea what... And her eyes, there were no pupils, no irises, just a glossy pink... few things could unsettle the man, but those eyes had just done it.
Blanche's raised voice drew first the ears, and then the eyes of more and more students, and a few walked over to see what the fuss was all about. One was silent for a moment, and then he stepped forward, a hesitant look on his face, and approached the guard.
"I think I know what she's saying," he said haltingly.
The guard looked at him expectantly. "What are you waiting for?"
"Ah, um, right." He turned to Blanche, and spoke, though his Basic accent was thick as mud. "Are you speaking Corellian?" The butchering of those beautiful words grated on Blanche's ear worse than a sonic grenade, but it would have to do. She nodded curtly.
"What's the problem?"
Blanche immediately began speaking as rapidly as she could muster. She was resolved to be difficult, she needed more people...
"Woah, Woah, slow down. I don't understand. Speak again?"
Blanche sighed forcefully, and started again, enunciating clearly but still moving just faster than she knew the student could follow. The throng of students began to grow, and the first few had allowed for others to shamelessly follow. Only the most studious remained absorbed in their studies, while the blank circle in the center, preserved by the guards, grew smaller and smaller, constricting on Blanche and the droid. She could see as many of the gathered faces contorted in concentration, probably trying to judge whether they could translate better than the poor boy, stumbling through his words. Blanche was hardly saying anything meaningful; she was drifting through contract protocols. For buying Shaak.
Time, she needed more time... A chill ran down her spine, and Blanche wondered, not for the first time, if this day would be her last.
((I sense a potential climax approaching... and as such, I would suggest that we keep the next round of posts on the short-ish side, not assume more than needed, and allow this moment in time to be fully developed. But it's hardly my thread, so you guys do as you will. ;D ))
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
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last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
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Nov 9, 2009 20:34:47 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Nov 9, 2009 20:34:47 GMT -5
{Ack, sorry I took so long to get my post up T.T Also, to try to stem future confusion, I'm going to post the posting order now, to avoid mishaps later on. It is: Kella, me, FZKnight, Cirith, Foxfire, Drace(if he ever comes back from the hole he fell into), and Karl}
Locke walked through the halls of the Illumminati whistling tunelessly to himself. The place was nice, he had to admit that much; high praise coming from one who had lived in the Jedi Temple for more or less his whole life. He had arrived a little while ago, since his stolen motorboat had been rather swift. It was when he arrived that he passed by a guard and had himself a lovely idea.
After some wandering around the campus, he happened to pass by a fellow that looked like a higher ranking guard than the others, and thank the Force, looked somewhat similar to Locke. Well, from there it had only been a matter of trailing the man from a distance until he ended up in an area where there were no bystanders. And then Locke made his move. With some good ol'-fashioned Jedi Mind Trickery, a fair bit of subtle threats and coercion, and just a touch of explanation into the fact that he was a Jedi (he gave a false name, of course-Jean) he was able to relive the guard of his uniform, and of his access card. And so, Locke Nemsee was a guard now, in the powder blue and white uniform of the guards of the Illuminati, with gold cords on his left shoulder signifying his rank. I could get used to this, he thought as he looked himself over in a mirror in one of the school's bathrooms, straightening the white hat that came with the uniform as he did. I look rather spiffy, if I do say so myself. Thank the Force he was about the same size as me. He made one final check of himself; everything was in order, complete with his blaster pistol at his hip, and his lightsaber had been effectively hidden away. Well, let's get moving, shall we? Time is of the essence and all that. With that, he had left the bathroom, and made his way off to where he needed to be.
A few minutes later, he walked into a very large atrium, which seemed to be the location of quite a scene. But in the midst of the crowd and the noise, he spotted what looked like the Arkanian they had been sent to rescue... along with a droid. An armed droid, at that. He sighed to himself, and shook his head just a bit, settling in to play the role of Locke the Guard Captain. Remember to watch your language, Locke.
"Ho! What's the problem here," he yelled out as he approached the group of people, and a silence fell over the room. He spoke with the flowing accent of an Alderaanian-years of working as an Investigator had taught him that accents could be quite useful, and he intended to blend in as best he could. He took in the rest of the crowd as he moved in to stand near the droid and the Arkanian woman. "Well, then," he called out at the lack of a response, "is someone going to tell me what's going on here?!"
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Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
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last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
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Nov 10, 2009 21:18:40 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Nov 10, 2009 21:18:40 GMT -5
Jazen reached the university just as his stamina was about to run out. Stopping to catch his breath, Jazen surveyed his surroundings. The school was as immense as it was beautiful, showing the true grace of Alderaan. Recovering enough to stand upright, Jazen took another look around. Students wandered about, reminding Jazen of his younger years at the academy. Shaking it off, Jazen grabbed a set of books from a nearby kid, using a Jedi Mind Trick to make them forget about it, then proceeded into the school. His age was perfect for this situation, allowing him to walk among the other students without being noticed. For those that did happen to notice, he could always Mind Trick them away if need be.
Hearing a large amount of noise coming from the school's atrium, Jazen moved towards it, averting eye contact with anyone he passed. Shuffling his way towards the source of the noise, he arrived just in time to hear a familiar voice.
Jazen carefully watched the reaction of the other students to see if anyone who didn't belong like him were about. Many showed confusion, some showed fear and the odd one or two showed a big grin on their face, but it was most likely for other reasons. Returning his gaze to Locke, he moved his eyes over to the person he was protecting. Jazen almost let out a small laugh when he recognized the person as the one they'd been sent to meet and retrieve. And after some quick thinking, Jazen found a way to take advantage of the situation. Moving out from the crowd, Jazen yelled out to the girl.
"Well, there you are. We've been worried about you, you know that?" Moving closer, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and patted her left arm. "I'm sorry sir, she's a friend of my mom's. She's usually pretty calm, but she has these panic spells from time to time when she's in an unfamiliar place. I apologize if she's caused any trouble. Now, come on then, time to go home." Jazen cast Locke a quick look and a nod, a signal to his master. Then he focused his mind and sent a message to both the woman and Locke, starting with the woman.
"Calm down and listen. Myself and that guard there are the Jedi that were sent to meet with you. Follow my lead and we'll get you to safety, I promise."[/i] Hoping she got the idea, he turned his message to Locke. "I got her master, we'll meet at the entrance to the canals. Nice suit by the way."[/i] And with that, Jazen started moving the woman towards the rendezvous point, hoping that this mission would end just like this, without a hitch.
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Cirith An'Gol
"You got something for me? or are you just another slack jawed arruetti admiring my armor"-Cirith
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last online May 31, 2020 19:14:38 GMT -5
Knight
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Nov 11, 2009 19:11:29 GMT -5
Post by Cirith An'Gol on Nov 11, 2009 19:11:29 GMT -5
Arwyn thought for a second as a crowd started to gather in an open plaza not far away. Through her helmet's auditory sensors she could pick up feint sounds of Corellian, she'd only heard it a few times in her travels, but she recoginized the language well enough. The Mandalorian ducked back inside the shop she'd just come out of and demanded to be shown the most expensive clothes. She intended to make herself blend in with the crowd, and use her looks to help her. One of the assistants gladly helped pick something out for her, he simply glanced at her and smiled, then picked out a red dress that was her size. She looked at the price tag and cursed, it was too expensive for her.
She asked for one with a lower price and the man frowned but, complied. He moved down the racks and fingered the formal clothing as if picking through wall paintings. He brought out another one and showed it to her, this one within her price range but, still expenive. She asked for the next size up, wanting the dress to fit over her armor, just in case something happened. The man humphed but, again complied, she took the dress and bought it at the counter. Then after asking for a bag to carry it in, she took off her helmet, gauntlets, placed them in the bag, along with her E-11 Blaster Rifle, and dawned the long sleaved red silk dress. Then she threw the cloak over herself to hide the armor. She walked out into the allyway and walked toward the commotion, and started looking for the girl. She slapped her comlink to Locke and held it to her mouth. She dawned her helmet briefly, the crowd had thickened since she'd ducked into the shop but, she zoomed in on the boy and the guard and smiled "Locke, this is Arwyn, I've got you in my sights. I'll try and get to you. Nice outfit by the way Mr. Security Gaurd". She pulled off her helmet as she stepped out of the allyway and made her way into the crowd of onlookers.
She pushed her way past the people in the crowd, some quite literally since they couldn't seem to understand that she wanted past. She almost laughed as she saw their shocked expressions. Finally getting to the center of the crowd she hesitated, scanning the area first for any fellow Bounty Hunters that might be around. She saw the girl, the troublesome Arkanian, talking to a boy, and Locke's apprentice, with something shrouded in a cloak with the hood up not too far away from them. She looked at the figure the person in the cloak had and then looked at the feet Bingo! Gotcha droid!.
She pushed her way into the center and let the cloak open a little, so that the people around the Arkanian could see the dress, and hopefully the Arkanian girl would see it too and not bolt. Arwyn tried to walk like a regular Alderaanian woman, all regal and grace. She walked right up to the boy, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder as he spoke to her. "Oh good, you found her. Shall we go then? We're going to be late" Arwyn said feining concern but, the relief in her voice was genuine as she stepped closer slowly. She stepped closer and closer, slowly, trying to get within whispering distance. Finally after what seemed like hours she managed to get close enough to where the girl could atleast hear her "Don't worry, I'm with the Jedi, come on let's get out of here". Arwyn let down her mental defenses in case the girl was force sensitive, so that she could read the honest sincerity that resided there. With that she started moving with Locke's apprentice through the crowd, waving for people to make room.
She slowly extended her free hand behind her, she wasn't taking any chances, fortunately the dress was long sleaved, so her armor for the most part was completely hidden. "It's ok now, you're safe. Trust me" Arwyn let a pleasant smile expand her lips. Please let her understand me Arwyn prayed mentally, her mental barrier still down.
Arwyn scanned the crowd and spotted three bounty hunters that she'd taken pictures of at the Tavern earlier. She mentally cursed and drew the cloak tighter around herself, hoping they didn't recognize her. They were almost through the crowd now. All that was left now was to get off this rock and get paid. Arwyn hoped it would be that easy but, prepared herself for trouble. Nothing was ever that easy.
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Foxfire
Hairless Wookiee
1,279 posts
1 like
Alive but not truly living
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last online Sept 4, 2020 21:39:20 GMT -5
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Nov 11, 2009 20:34:46 GMT -5
Post by Foxfire on Nov 11, 2009 20:34:46 GMT -5
Ryver was starting to hate this mission of Je'Baru's there is no room for her to be her best. Having to obey protocols and laws this was some thing she could not under stand nor want too. Things became worse as a guard showed up demanding to know. Then another saying some thing about the target being his mother's..... what ever.
This is enough...... No more costumes and phony accents. We need here to correct a problem. If any interfer.......
Then Ryver ripped the cloak off revealing the two M-61's.
They will be deleted and then sold for scrap.
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Taym quickly saw where this was going and it was not good. He called Je'Baru and informed him where they were. Then in a burst of droid speed Taym snatched a few hairs from the targets head for Je'Baru's gen-tracker. On the turn Taym turned and let Ryver take back control of the arms.
------------------------------------
Je'Baru heard the conversation and was on his way. Reina was OK, awake, and on her way to the ship. He did not mind a bit of blood but not this way no true side was set to fight against. Marcus always told him, 'never fight when there is no side to fight for'. Silently stalking the the hall was a bit tricky Jedi, bounty hunters, and civs. Finally getting into a position to retrieve the droid Je'Baru waited. He knew that the droid could handle it's self, but he did not know how the other bunters were.
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Karl the Unfettered
Magnificent Bastard
1,010 posts
57 likes
(a+ bn)/n = x, therefore God exists
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last online Feb 26, 2022 22:36:25 GMT -5
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Nov 18, 2009 15:46:45 GMT -5
Post by Karl the Unfettered on Nov 18, 2009 15:46:45 GMT -5
Amid the confusion, Romeo cursed to himself as the other hunters, and even the Jedi, got in ahead of him and surrounded the mark. Locke he noted right away due to the fact that all the other guards had non-lethal blasters and this "captain" had an actual, fully lethal one; Jazen made himself stand out when he came bumbling up, spouting some lame excuse for why they should all team up and leave. Then someone else, a woman wearing armor beneath a red dress and a cloak, walked up also, edging in close to mutter something at the Arkanian traitor; Romeo's enhanced ears picked up every word.
Cursing again, the assassin ducked through the crowd, feeling around inside his coat for something useful, anything to turn this situation in his favor. Then he stopped, realizing something crucial; all his opponents in this little game had gathered themselves in one place! How stupid of them, he crowed to himself, feeling around a little more carefully.
Before he found what he was after, though, someone else stepped in for him.
Another guard, confused by the rush of events, happened to look down at Locke's hip and notice the decidely non-regulation blaster. Alderaan was a pacifistic planet, supposedly, with a strict no-weapons policy, so who was this guy? "Freeze!" the guard shouted, whipping out his own stun blaster and aiming it straight at Locke's head. "Don't move or I'll shoot!" He knew nothing about Jedi or missions or marks; all he knew was some thug was impersonating one of his own, and he faced Locke down without a trace of fear or apprehension.
At the same time Ryver grew tired of the charade and whipped out his own guns; immediately the crowd panicked and stampeded wildly, going in every direction at once. "Call the cops!" was the general consensus. "There's Conservatives on the loose! Conservatives!" Immovable amidst the bedlam, Romeo grinned, and it was not a nice grin at all.
As he made his move, removing his hands from his coat and tossing a number of round objects out low in two directions around him, the Jedi would have no warning whatsoever; amidst the chaos of the panicking crowd, one man quietly doing his duty would not stand out. The objects were, naturally, heavy grenades, two concussion and two ion, rolled in opposite directions to engulf the whole hall. The ion grenades would short out and disable, or destroy, electronics and complex machinery, from droids to blasters to lightsabers, and the concussors would do a similar number on organic targets.
As they detonated, filling the hall with disorienting shockwaves, sound and energy, Romeo made his move.
Locke was the first to fall, ruthlessly pistol-whipped from behind with his own gun; Jazen went next as the assassin moved forward, his leg kicked out and a vicious palm strike to the side of his head. Next was Arwen, who had a little more warning than the others; a hand snaked around from behind, siezing her around the mouth and squeezing for a moment with bone-crushing force, before it threw her bodily back over some man's shoulder, red dress and armor and all, to crash resoundingly against a pillar.
Then there was no one between Romeo and his target, and his other hand had already withdrawn a small hypodermic from his coat. "You're coming with me," he growled as the needle darted forward, sliding into her neck and injecting its contents. It was a tranquilizer of sorts; Blanche would only be aware of the world through a thick cottony haze, and her limbs wouldn't respond at all.
"Time to blow this joint," he muttered, slinging her over one shoulder and dropping a final surprise before making a dash for the back hallway. One of his lever-action sawed-offs was in the hand that didn't hold Blanche in place, with which he would blast away at anyone in his path who looked to try and be heroic. Standard buckshot this time, no fancy incendieries.
Romeo was long gone by the time anyone else realized he had even been there, and the satchel charge he'd left behind was rapidly ticking down; his coat had shielded it from the effects of the earlier explosions. Sirens and helicopters rent the air outside as SWAT teams in full riot gear sped toward the university.
No one would notice a single boat in the canals, driven by a shivering man in a ragged, shapeless coat, with some other form huddled uselessly at his feet.
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Kella
Fire and Blood
4,089 posts
5 likes
Fire cannot kill a dragon.
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last online Oct 30, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -5
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Nov 21, 2009 3:13:00 GMT -5
Post by Kella on Nov 21, 2009 3:13:00 GMT -5
ooc// Since no objections have risen in the OOC thread... and because of the potential for epicness... Ima run with it. X) //
Not only was Blanche in the middle of a crowd of people, but suddenly, some... some boy arrived and looped his arm around her shoulder. Blanche started like a frightened beast, yelping and leaping to the side, even before he'd started to speak. It took her a moment to adjust her mind to Basic as the little perpetrator spoke, and she missed all but the impression that he was some strange little twerp.
The Hunters will hire anyone these days, now, is it?
The thought chilled Blanche to the bone, and a shuddering shiver ran down her spine. Her pink eyes widened to a glistening degree suddenly, however, as she felt a... a foreign thought... a voice biting at her mind...
But she couldn't make out the words. It was a vague premonition, an impression... Blanche could not know that this was because she herself showed no Force sensitivity, and her race was notoriously strong-willed in the mind. Only a skilled Jedi could have planted coherent sentences, and this boy who Blanche could not know was a Padawan, did not make the mark. Nor could Blanche even hope to begin to understand the motivations of the overbearing woman who suddenly appeared. Now someone else was trying to touch her! Could things get any worse?? It made her feel claustrophobic, caught in, trapped...
Blanche's composure snapped, and suddenly, she yanked away from the two--
A clank of metal and a whir of gears -- Blanche had flung herself just as the guns had been drawn, and chaos erupted in a cacophony of bodies and yells. In the tangle, a grasping hand meant to procure a sample of Blanche's DNA slipped, grasping the hair of another instead...
The recipient would find himself dissatisfied with the identity of one Maika Leen, human and budding reporter. That single coincidence bode ill fortune for Maika.
But not for Blanche, who fell to the ground untouched, saved by the betrayal of her own flustered feet.
Yet nothing could save her from the sudden wall that crashed through her. A million sirens threw bricks at her head, a wave of force caught her in the chest, knocking her breath away... she could hear nothing but the tortured ringing, see nothing, she couldn't breathe -- there was no time to react, no time to process...
But Blanche could still feel -- she could still feel the pain. Frustration surmounted in her chest until it had formed together. It grew tighter and tighter and moved into her throat, and suddenly Blanche let it free with a shrill scream that broke through even the numbness of her ears, as instinct bid her curl into a fetal position on the floor, her hands covering her face as sudden tears moistened her fingers.
And then... then she could hear again... just barely... Which made Blanche wonder what that whump! sound was. Maybe it was over. Maybe the Jedi had finally come...
A single fang dug into her neck -- Blanche's breathing suddenly choked as its poison was forced into her veins...
Now things really couldn't get any worse.
~
Unconsciousness would have been nice. Real nice. It was silent. And peaceful. And silent.
Instead, Blanche was doomed to a hazy semi-reality. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, everything was moving so slowly... Sirens whined... far off... slowly, her eyelids flickered open and shut... open and shut... red and blue were flashing... she could see legs moving beneath her... not her legs... entirely the wrong spot... but legs, with feet, and the floor of a hall... then shadows told her she was outside... a boat, the rock of a boat...
Blanche's mind took all this in with a sort of impartial acceptance. It was not, however, until she was dumped in an unceremonious heap at the base of a gondola, that Blanche's indignation pricked.
She had ditched the Hutt, because she was sick of being treated as a thing. And now she was being treated as dirty laundry. Was it really too much to have one being see her as a person? Not a bounty, not a translator, not a frellin' 'good form', but a PERSON.
Now, it is important to note a particular feature of the Arkanian physique. Intelligence is a prized quality of the Arkanian race, bred with arrogance for good measure, resulting in a strong, assertive state of mind. The Arkanian mind is, therefore, far less traumatized by psychological pressure than is the mind of a 'lesser' species. On the physiological side, there is also present an interesting phenomenon. Due to the Arkanian lust for perfection, off-shoots are considered out-casts. However, these 'mutts', of sorts, actually display some favorable traits, in even more exaggerated qualities. As it were, the slimy Hutt had always found Blanche difficult to suppress with sedatives.
Romeo was about to discover the same thing.
It was like the moment a dream becomes lucid, when one has had the capacity to bring everything into sharp focus, but neglects to untill that euphoric moment when they simply realize that they can.
Fright was enough to overcome sense as Blanche jolted upright, sent off-balance by the sudden drain of oxygen from her brain. A moment of struggle, and she tamed the cloak that had coiled itself about her head. Blanche became suddenly aware of everything her dulled eyes had been taking in -- the shadow of the canal, the strange, bundled man who sat across from her.
Wait, who??
Blanche jolted backwards, hitting the side of the boat -- hard. The impact rattled through her head even as the boat rocked precariously, protesting the occupant's suddenly strong opinion.
"Who are you??" she demanded, still free-of-movement, seeing as the dangerous rocking of the boat had bought her a moment, a singular moment of precious time. "Leave me alone, don't touch me!" Crisp, sharp basic on her tongue gave her power as she backed up against the edge of the boat. "What do you want of me?"
~
Impartial to the present struggle, the city spied a strange sight. Wandering into its most obscure streams, the buildings cast a soft shadow onto the murmuring waters. The boat slipped through the ink, which clung to the form of a brooding man. His garb reeked of the shadows, worn and dark, once-blonde hair shaggy and matted in front of his eyes. Dark blue eyes, roiling with more turmoil than the seas of Alderaan would ever know. There was a shadow that clung to his visage even when the light hit it, a heavy burden. It was as if cloak and weapon clung around an empty frame, an empty soul, searching for something, anything to be filled. A hollowness, an absence, a black-hole was that single, tattered man the galaxy had mockingly emblazoned 'Romeo'.
Then, across from him, the city remarked, a most peculiar foil. Her skin was white, so as to make her a bit of a moon, reflecting what little light their was. She was a frightened animal, her clawed fingers digging into the flesh of the boat. A jay who had attacked the wrong bear, a feisty minnow who had little hope of actually overcoming her adversary. Wisps of her ivory hair drifted in front of her eyes. Glossy eyes, brimming with tears and but one color -- white kissed with the subtlest blood of red. Fear and defiance were present in equal measure, giving a vulnerability to those quivering lips. Shadow curled softly around the curve of her cheek, while dim light sought to accentuate the arc of her neck. Though the breeze was warm, Blanche perceived it cold as ice. It snaked around her bare shoulder - exposed by the tilt of her cloak - tousled silver ruffles, which clung to her lean, moderate form with the same determination mother-of-pearl applied to gritty sand. There was just barely enough light to illuminate the stylized rose, laid across her collarbone. Her voice defied. Her stance fled. Her gaze begged.
Very few could have denied the inherent beauty of the scene, or that of Blanche herself. The city considered this beauty, soon to forget it, to move on to some other marvel...
But Blanche remembered this moment, she took that fraction of a second and absorbed it all. That moment she captured for one singular reason...
There was a very high probability it would be her last.
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
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last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
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Nov 28, 2009 23:25:47 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Nov 28, 2009 23:25:47 GMT -5
{I hope I remembered to cover everything >.<}
Everything seemed to be going well enough. The place hadn't exploded into violence yet, and Locke spied Jazen as his padawan stepped in and tried to lead the Arkanian out of the atrium, giving some excuse that Locke wasn't really paying attention to. Instead, he kept his focus on the rest of the crowd, particularly that droid in the cloak that had been standing next to the Arkanian. Arwen made her way in as well, and Locke nodded slightly in satisfaction. Good, everything's going smoothly. But Locke knew they weren't necessarily out of the woods because it seemed they had secured the contact. It's when you think everything's going well that the ground falls out from under you, he thought.
Perhaps he should have kept his thoughts a bit more positive.
Within moments, another guard was on him, pointing a gun at him, of all things. Locke furrowed his brows at the man. "Shoot? And who exactly are you talking to, sir?" He didn't get an answer, though. The droid decided that it was time to get serious, revealing two firearms and sending the crowd into a frenzy. The next few moments were a blur. As the crowd dispersed, the Force screamed a warning a Locke, but what the warning was for escaped him. Locke turned back to see if the guard that had been behind him was up to something, but he was gone, pushed away in the press of the people trying to flee the droid.
And then everything broke into chaos.
For the second time, explosions ripped through the area Locke was in, and he was sent staggering on his feet. Shortly after, a fierce blow, seemingly from nowhere, slammed into the back of his head and sent him to the ground. As he lay there, he heard the clatter of his own pistol falling behind him, and through the fog that filled the inside of his mind, the pieces fell together. Someone in the crowd had set off the explosive, and hit him in the back of the head. Now, if the explosion person and the hitting person were the same, he could not say, but it was a start. As he struggled to clear his head, he watched as his padawan was thrown to the ground like a toy, by a man in a ragged-looking coat, who went on to do the same to Arwen.
Locke started trying to force himself to his feet, and was able to after a failed attempt. The first thing he noted was that the man and the Arkanian girl had vanished. And then he was greeted by another fist slamming into his face, courtesy of none other than the same guard who'd been threatening him a moment before. "What the hell?!" he yelled out as he stumbled back, though he was able to maintain his balance. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know who the hell you are," the guard said as he pointed Locke's own gun at him, "but aren't one of us. We don't use full-powered blasters like this. Now, who are you? And if you try anything, I swear I'll blow your brain out of your head."
The irritation was almost too much for Locke to take. Of all things, he was being accosted by a guard? "Look, Spanky, who I am is of no concern of yours, but you need to know th-" The guard swung at him again, but Locke was prepared this time, and evaded it, catching the guard's arm and holding it in the process. "Well, if you must know, he said as his free hand whipped out to grab the guard's other wrist and keep the pistol pointed away, "I am a Jedi Knight on an extremely important mission. There's an Arkanian girl here with some vital information that I need to fi-"
"Oh, you're full of it," the guard replied. "You think I should just believe that any lout that comes in disguised as one of us is a Jedi on some mission?" The man's tone left no doubt as to what he thought about that, and it made Locke decide that he'd had enough of fooling with the guard. He reached to the Force, and set a trap around the guard that would hold him in place; it would cause him no pain, but it would keep him from moving.
"As I was saying," Locke said as he plucked his pistol from the man's hand, "before you so rudely interrupted me... I am on your side. I don't know who set off the explosions here, but I have reason to believe that they are also in this mission." He cleared his throat and picked the hat to the uniform up and placed it on his head again before continuing. "All you need to know is, that girl has some sensitive information that the Republic wants, and there are bounty hunters out to get her. So, I needed to blend in, and your captain was willing to help." Locke shrugged. "You can ask him if you like." No sooner had Locke finished speaking than the captain ran in, wearing the same clothes that Locke had been not too long ago, saying he had heard the explosions from afar. Locke released his bonds in the Force on the guard and the captain ran through what had happened, confirming Locke's words, which Locke was thankful for, because time was against them.
As the captain was finishing the explanation to his man, the SWAT team arrived, flooding into the room and fanning out. And so Locke and the captain of the guard were forced to go through the explanation again, wasting more time, which was not something they needed. "So, Jedi, is there anything we can do to help," the leader of the team asked when all was said and done.
"Hell yeah there is," Locke answered, as if the answer question were to blatantly obvious it didn't deserve asking. "Get to the spaceport and close it. Don't let anyone out, do you understand? If our friend is trying to get away with his bounty, he'll have to go through the space port, and if nothing else, we can find him there, though I'd prefer to get him before that point." The SWAT captain nodded in agreement before Locke continued. "Also, take some of your men and search the city in your aircraft. I've given you the girl's description, so you know what to look for. Search the plazas, the streets, the canals, the rooftops, try to think of anywhere they may go." He took out his last spare comm device to give to the SWAT captain, and was sorely surprised when it didn't work. "What's wrong with it," he muttered irritably as he tried to get it to work. His mind flashed back to the explosions, and he grabbed his lightsaber and hit the ignition switch. It made strange noises as if it was trying to activate, but it didn't. A test pull of the trigger on his pistol ended with the same result. "Well, I'll be damned, one of the explosions must have been an ion blast," he said in amazement. "It doesn't look like any permanent damage has been done, but it'll take some time before these work again." The SWAT captain handed a comm of his own to Locke, as well as another pistol.
"Well let's get out of here," Locke said, and they made their way out of the building in time to watch some of the aircraft that had arrived with SWAT members streak off towards the spaceport. Locke and Jazen would take to the skies in one of the helicopters, and as it lifted off of the ground, Locke looked to the city that lay out before them. The serene waterways would now become the arena of a game of chase, except a life hung in the balance for this one, rather than the bragging rights of neighborhood children. "May the Force be with us all," Locke said over the comm to the rest of the helicopters as they lifted off and spread out over the city to carry out their searches.
A distant boom caught his attention, and he looked back toward the university--the direction it had come from. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that he was surprised to see flames roaring upward and licking out at the night sky. What happened, he thought concernedly. Moments later, the flashing lights of emergency teams could be seen zooming toward the school, and Locke found himself wondering if more innocents would be dragged into the little game that had developed.
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Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
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last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
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Dec 1, 2009 22:01:17 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Dec 1, 2009 22:01:17 GMT -5
Jazen was caught off guard when Blanche backed away from him, the fear in her eyes clearly expressing her reaction to him. He didn't even need the Force to tell that his approach had failed. Blast him, he should have remembered not all species were sensitive to the Force; he should have used words or showed her his lightsaber instead. he was about to try again, use words she could understand instead when a glint out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning to face it, a droid flung aside a robe it has been using to conceal itself, aiming two really nasty looking blaster rifles towards them.
Jazen's instincts kicked in and he was in the process of reaching for his lightsaber when another event unfolded. The sound of Locke grunting caused Jazen to glance towards him, only the have his leg taken out from beneath him and a blow connect with the side of his head. Cracking his head on the ground, Jazen watched as the world around him spinned, a red haze covering his sight. The next moments were a blur as Jazen attempted to regain his senses. Finally, he managed to shake off the splitting headache he now had to look around. The target was gone, probably grabbed by whoever had surprised them all. The Alderaan's police were all over the place, trying to make sense of what had happened as well. Grabbing his saber, which had fallen out of his hand, Jazen tried to turn it on, to test to see if he was damaged. The saber groaned and did nothing, causing Jazen to frown. That would be a problem. Checking it, he noticed that none of the components were damaged, but instead seemed to be deprived of power. An ion blast no doubt. Deciding to worry about it later, Jazen replaced the weapon on his belt and looked around for Locke.
He found him rather quick, explaining things to the captain of the police. They spoke of taking to the skies to look for the target and her kidnapper. While they talked, Jazen applied first aid to his head wound. It wasn't bad, a little cut and bruising and so long as he was careful with it, the blood wouldn't spill anymore. Patting his master on the shoulder, Jazen shook his head. "Master, if its alright with you, I'll stay on foot and look around. Better to have one Jedi up and one Jedi down, just in case." Taking a spare communicator to replace the shorted out one he had, Jazen separated from the others. He'd call for help when he found them, he'd be able to move much faster this way. Now, if he was the hunter and wanted to move around without being seen, where would he go? Jazen was contemplating this when an explosion ripped behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, Jazen watched as the school they had been at went up in flames. Turning forward, he could see the image of school in the water before him. And that's when it hit him. The waterways. If one was careful, they could easily move about the canals while having ample cover from the skies above. Grinning, Jazen took off into the nearest canal, jumping into a boat and pushing it ahead with the Force. He would be paying back this hunter for that surprise blow....but his would be more permanent.
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Cirith An'Gol
"You got something for me? or are you just another slack jawed arruetti admiring my armor"-Cirith
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last online May 31, 2020 19:14:38 GMT -5
Knight
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Dec 2, 2009 21:54:52 GMT -5
Post by Cirith An'Gol on Dec 2, 2009 21:54:52 GMT -5
Arwyn was looking around, making sure no one tried anything when all hell broke loose. The droid she'd spotted earlier revealed itself and brandished two M-61 rifles, one in each mechanical hand. Arwyn pulled out her E-11 from the bag containing her helmet and gauntlets when a hand grabbed her from behind covering her mouth, out of pure reflex she fired a shot which sent one of the M-61's spinning through the air. She opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on her assailants hand, a moment later she was flung bodily against a pillar, a second later four explosions sounded and Arwyn scooted around the pillar using it for cover and pulled the bag into her lap, ignoring the pain in her head. She pointed the barrel of the E-11 up towards the ceiling and at the ready as she peaked out from behind her cover. The crowd which had been mostly made up of on lookers was now panicking, people running every which way and perfectly hiding her assailant.
The smoke from the grenades, which from their sound and the slight dizziness she was feeling was most likely a mixture of Ion and Concussion grenades, added to the confusion. "Osik!!" Arwyn shouted in frustration. She thought back, trying to remember every detail. She first had to calm herself though, her father called the skill Assassin's Sight. She was close to remembering something, a coat and beggars cloak. She sighed heavily and clipped the rifle back to her belt Yeah, real useful Arwyn! Gah! I should've stayed back and provided the Jedi cover from above! You Stupid! Stupid girl! You never let your guard down! While Arwyn silently kicked herself she stood and removed the dress from her armor after throwning the grey cloak over her shoulder.
Arwyn removed her helmet and placed it on, then pulled the gauntlets out and put them on before stuffing the dress into the bag along with the cloak. She shook her head and stepped out from behind the pillar only to stumble forward from the concussion wave of a explosion that came from the school. Her eyes scanned the crowd taking in everything, Locke picking up a hat and placing it on his head, SWAT surrounding the area and a Captain walking towards the Jedi, panicking civs screaming and running in every direction, and Locke's apprentice running off somewhere a minute before the SWAT teams dissipated and patrol craft rose into the air. She saw Locke and his apprentice, Jazen, talk to each other before going in seperate directions. She saw Jazen head off down the street in the direction of the harbor and cursed herself again Ofcourse! The canals would be the perfect get away, they're close and provided you have enough cover, they're the fastest route to the Space Port! Move your shebs girl!. With that Arwyn ran after Jazen, pulling up the city map on her visor, thankfully when her assailant had thrown her over his shoulder and into the pillar he'd also provided adequate cover from his Ion grenades. It didn't completely cover the effects though, because her HUD filled with static before pulling up her map and then fizzing slightly, like a TV that's signal was barely off.
Just as Jazen got into a gondola and pushed away Arwyn lept aboard "Don't worry kid, I'm on your side you can ask your Master, Locke if you want. I'm coming with you, besides two sets of eyes are better than one and you've got an advantage with your Jedi mysticism that quite frankly I'm beginning to envy". Arwyn shook her head, thinking of her brother, Cirith, and the powers he'd displayed when they were young. "Probably better to head towards the Space Port, unless there's a private port that's near by" she offered as the boy steered the boat across the water. It was probably a full five minutes before the questions in her mind pressed her to ask them. Seeing as she had nothing better to do and the most likely course the kidnapper had taken was indeed on the water, she saw no harm in asking. "So those Jedi powers of yours, are they genetic? How long do you spend training in them before you're allowed apprenticeship?" Arwyn asked casually while scanning the horizon for any speeding boats. This was going to be interesting, that and that alone, was what Arwyn was most sure of at this point.
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Foxfire
Hairless Wookiee
1,279 posts
1 like
Alive but not truly living
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last online Sept 4, 2020 21:39:20 GMT -5
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Dec 2, 2009 22:02:20 GMT -5
Post by Foxfire on Dec 2, 2009 22:02:20 GMT -5
As Ryver took a nano-sec to pause she knew that her actions would respond in kind from others that had gathered there. Taym scanned and to his shock of his sensors the one hunter that made the mess at the fountain was here and no-doubt he had more Ion grenades. They kept a watchful sensor on the hunter ignoring all around them. Once he moved for the grenades Taym powered down and signaled the second AI -Taym- of the 'Dark Matter' for extraction. Ryver signaled Je'Baru to hide as well but he was one step ahead.
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Je'Baru saw the movement and slide around the window sill as the blast of sound and energy exploded out of the hall. He waited for two seconds and turned to look in. The hunter was in the middle of sucker punching the lot. Je'Baru stepped back a little and fired his grappling system to the roof top for the way up to the 'Dark Matter', then stringing out a line for Ryver/Taym's unglorified exit.
Je'Baru worked through the crowd to get to the droids side careful not to let the guards get back to working function. As he came near to each that was in his way he either head smashed or clobbered them into unconsciousness. At the droid he wrapped another line from his grappling system tied it around the droid's upper torso and activated it retrieval system and away they went. Across the floor and up and out the window to the awaiting ship.
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Reina was there to meet them. Bandages still on her scrapes and pain patches on her lekku. When they hauled the droid into the ship she noticed hair that was in the droid's hand. Picking them from their hand Reina stood and looked at them.
Is this from the target? It looks to dark for her hair. What do you think Je'Baru?
Je'Baru came near and sniffed the hair and said, 'It was not hers.' So Reina dropped the hair and went to the cockpit to direct the ship. She noticed that Taym had once again hacked the security system and tried to make out the escape path the hunter would use. When 2nd Taym was ready a sudden boom rumbled the hall. The spot they had landed on started to give way. Flames licked the bottom of the ship. Taym set the thrusters to max and exploded from the falling roof top making a horrid exploding boom to snuff out the lower flames and dragging the upper flames with them in their wake.
So are we going after or what?
Most definitely. I've a score to settle.
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Karl the Unfettered
Magnificent Bastard
1,010 posts
57 likes
(a+ bn)/n = x, therefore God exists
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last online Feb 26, 2022 22:36:25 GMT -5
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Dec 7, 2009 20:30:35 GMT -5
Post by Karl the Unfettered on Dec 7, 2009 20:30:35 GMT -5
The moon was rising, and Romeo regarded that fact with grim satisfaction; stealth was easier in the dark, especially if there were bright lights elsewhere to distract others. One could, of course, easily substitute massive explosions for bright lights and achieve much the same effect, if not a greater one. "Almost out of here," he muttered with an unpleasant grin as he navigated the canals, going off a map he'd glanced through earlier during preparation for the mission.
Then the girl woke up, and as expected she reacted badly to her current state. "Don't look at me like that," the assassin snapped irritably. "Nevermind who I am. I'm here to take you back, and that's all that matters." He couldn't help but look back at her, though, couldn't help but notice how the moonlight and shadows played off her face, highlighting various features as they motored along.
Abruptly he was siezed by a powerful emotion, a need and a desire. As usual he wasn't equipped to deal with the sudden onslaught, though his hand was steady on the tiller as he bent over, groaning slightly. "Don't... look at me like that!" he hissed again, staring at Blanche with quite a different look. A look that brought to mind serial rapists, bedposts and long sweaty nights in cheap motels. "You... urgh... not now..."
He turned aside and stared at the buildings to the left as they flowed along, the cords of his neck standing out in sharp relief; the tiller creaked as his hand bore down on it with crushing force. Then, as abruptly as it started, the strange fit left; he was left thinking what in the hell he was doing here, in this city, dragging some broad back to what might be her death. Not that he minded death, but... hell, she was a cute broad. So, what the hell?
He stared at her a moment longer, then swung the boat around and banged into the side of the canal. "Get out of here," he snarled, leaping out himself. "I don't care what you do, just get out of my sight!" The assassin started away, ducking into the shadows of an alley, but paused and looked back briefly; the glance was strange, it seemed almost... gentle?
Then he turned again and faded away, out of Blanche's life and out of the Jedi's way.
((OOC: Not much of a leave-taking post, I'm afraid, but it'll do.))
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Kella
Fire and Blood
4,089 posts
5 likes
Fire cannot kill a dragon.
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last online Oct 30, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -5
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Dec 12, 2009 1:53:32 GMT -5
Post by Kella on Dec 12, 2009 1:53:32 GMT -5
"Don't look at me like that," he said. "Nevermind who I am. I'm here to take you back, and that's all that matters."
Take me back... Blanche's breath caught, and her attempt at forcing a saucy retort fell limp. She could almost feel the chains around her neck now, the slug's slimy, putrid flesh pressed up against her own... She shivered in horror...
"Don't... look at me like that!" The hiss came suddenly, and Blanche was jolted with surprise. The expression on his face now, she had seen it before, and oh how it frightened her! Her toes curled as she pressed herself as tightly back against the side of the boat as humanly possible, a rabbit huddling to the back of a crevice. Finally, his wild eyes turned away from her, and Blanche swallowed hard. She drew her cloak as tightly around herself as she could, trying to be brave but utterly failing as she could do nothing but quiver in silence.
Blanche could see the way in which the cords of his neck were tautly strung. She wondered what he would possibly do next.
It ended up being absolutely the last thing she had suspected. The boat growled in protest as it scraped gracelessly against the edge of the canal, and it rocked slightly as it came to a halt.
"Get out of here," the kidnapper said, and Blanche knew it had to be a game, a sick sick game... she was rooted to the spot. "I don't care what you do, just get out of my sight!" His voice was suddenly sharp, and Blanche didn't have to be told twice. She scrambled out of the boat with amazing speed, and as soon as she hit the shallow lip of the shore, she had spun around to face him, to watch the disheveled man. No longer trapped, Blanche was more wary and confused than fearful. He was... he was letting her go?
She took a slow step backwards as the shadows swallowed him... he had to be playing cat-and-mouse, messing with her, some sadistic fun... She watched the shadows as if any moment they'd leap out and swallow her too.
Then, he reappeared, looking back at her. There was suddenly a strange... soft quality to his expression, a face entirely different than any he'd worn before.
And suddenly, Blanche realized that she really was free, no strings attached. The shadows engulfed him again -- this time for-good.
Blanche hesitated not a moment longer. She turned and ran, putting as much distance between herself and that accursed boat as possible. Every so often, she heard voices or saw another boat, and was quick to hide herself. She trusted nothing, not even the police uniforms she saw. At one point, Blanche eyed a passing boat. It was moving quickly, and she could have sworn she recognized the strange boy and woman from the academy...
A chill ran down her spine. They must be bounty hunters... Anyone could be out to get her, from the police to the bar keep, to that strange little man who had brought out the rubbish. Blanche was still running, though now she ran more from shadows than any particular person. But now, exhaustion was beginning to overtake her, as she felt her limbs begin to grow heavy, her head began to fog.
Finally, Blanche found an alleyway between two buildings, and she all but fell to the ground. Her feet hurt, her head hurt, everything hurt, and suddenly, she didn't care about being caught, or the monsters in the shadows, or anything. She just wanted to--
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Blanche looked up wearily, already trying to muster the strength to run away again... but she saw the badge and the dark green vest, and Blanche decided that any bounty hunter that went to the trouble of stealing the sheriff's uniform and growing a pot-belly deserved to catch her.
"Are you Blanche?" he asked, with a voice warm and deep like a camp-fire. She nodded. "My," he continued, "You must be exhausted!" Another nod. "I'm Sheriff Wampeg. The Jedi have been looking awfully hard for you..." He paused, but Blanche was far too weary to say a word. He rested a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you somewhere safe..."
~
Blanche paced nervously in the police station. The Jedi had been paged, he would be on his way... But what if something happened? Surely someone would find her in the meantime... As she paced a million thoughts tumbled through her head. But for now, safety was a shuttle-ride away.
A single shuttle-ride away...
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Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
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last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
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Dec 23, 2009 17:36:37 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Dec 23, 2009 17:36:37 GMT -5
A shadow moved amongst the shadows of the city. He'd been following the events of the little game that had unfolded from the beginning, but had escaped the attention of any of the other contestants. Kzat was the only name he went by, and he was a bit of a legend amongst those that knew of him. He stood a hair's width below seven feet tall, and he weighed over three hundred pounds, almost all of which was hard, dense muscle. A nasty scar crossed his face, standing out as a pale white streak against the dark grey of his leathery skin. Rows of sharp white teeth gleamed in his maw, and three sharp, stout black claws extended from the ends of as many fingers on each of his hands. His clothing was simple, a pair of black boots with some dark grey fatigues adorned his feet and lower body, while an armored vest that left his heavily muscled arms bare rested on his torso beneath a long black cloak. And of course there were the weapons. More weapons than anyone could possible need, but Kzat's years of experience had taught him that it was better to be overarmed than underarmed. Two pistols (one a blaster, the other a slugthrower) of Arkanian make hung from his belt, and a blaster rifle--also Arkanian--was slung across his back. A vibrosword with a wicked serrated edge also hung from his belt, along with a shorter vibroblade. There was a knife tucked in to one of his boots, and a number of explosive devices were hidden away behind his armorweave cloak.
It would not be unwise to assume that Kzat was a hunter in this race. He was just that, in fact. But, for him, and for Blanche, when he made himself known, he was much more than some mere hired hand sent in to bring back the runaway property of a Hutt. See, Kzat knew the Hutt very well. So well, in fact, that over years of service, he'd risen to be the Hutt's primary enforcer; his right hand man, as it were. And so, Kzat had come to Alderaan to make sure nothing went wrong with the capture of Blanche, though he'd hoped to avoid getting directly involved; it was always more fun to watch the Kath hounds fight amongst themselves as they battled for whatever scraps of food the Hutt decided to throw them. But, as the man in the ragged clothes--who had performed so splendidly so far--made his abrupt exit, Kzat knew he could not stand by much longer. A familiar proverb came to mind, one about having to do things oneself if they were to be done at all. Sure, one of the others after her might have gotten to her, but there were Jedi invovled in this, and he'd not risk things falling apart because of them. The white scar seemed to grow even paler as his face twisted in a scowl. He'd fought Jedi before. And he'd killed Jedi before, on more than one occasion. They were strong, but they were not invincible.
But now he found himself looking out at the police station, which rested on an island to itself amongst the many waterways that crisscrossed the city. Blanche had been taken in there. He'd need to get her out. It was certainly doable, but he'd have to go about it carefully. Simply charging in and running out would only be begging for a disaster, so he'd need some sort of distraction. And as he stood in his shadowy hiding place, plans growing in his head, he saw her. She was in there, pacing back and forth with the paranoia that she'd been well known for showing rather obviously, at least to Kzat's eye. And it was then, as he looked upon her slender form, that what passed for a twisted smile distorted his face. He knew what he'd do.
A few minutes later, everything was in place. He'd found the power generator to the building and placed a charge on it. When they went off, he'd move it, get Blanche, and get out while the police where left running about blindly in their confusion. The charges detonated as he strolled casually toward the building, and he ran through the doors as the lights flickered feebly before giving out. The officers screamed out in surprise, and he found Blanche right where he'd last seen her before the lights went out. He picked her up none too gently and slung her small body over his shoulder almost effortlessly before turning to run out of the door. A moment later, he was running along a walkway by side of the building, marveling at how simple that had been.
"It's good to see you again, Blanche," he growled in Dashadi, a language he knew she understood. "I hope you enjoyed your little adventure. Grotta isn't happy with you. At all. You'd better be thankful that he-"
"Stop right there!" a man screamed at him as he jumped out from behind a corner, pointing his blaster at Kzat's head. He was a human of average height with a rather large belly. His uniform implied that he was some sort of law enforcement officer, and one of fairly significant rank. "This is Sheriff Wampeg of the Aldera-" That was all the man got to say before the free one of Kzat's large hands swallowed his head and slammed it into the wall of the building hard enough to crack the skull and leave blood dripping down to the ground before tossing the now-limp body out into the water of the canal. So he'd been a sheriff? Well, now the city would be missing one. Kzat continued along, giving no indication that nothing had happened other than to adjust the way that Blanche lay over his shoulder.
"Now where was I," he said, before his mind returned to the Hutt's bad mood. "Oh, yeah, Grotta was pissed as hell when you went missing..." he continued on as he faded into more shadows, making his way toward the spaceport, and a very angry Hutt.
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"How did this happen?" Locke asked with no small amount of wonder at the scene of the police station. He'd gotten word that the girl had been found, and was waiting at the station. Finally, it had seemed like the game was coming to a close, and he'd been able to breath easy. But, as always, someone had gotten seen fit to crush his rising hope. The station was a mess. One of the walls had been heavily damaged from what looked like an explosion, the power was out, there was broken glass everywhere... And then there was the wall outside. Locke shuddered at the thought of that. Someone's head had been slammed into the wall. Hard. Hard enough to leave cracks in the wall, and undoubtedly in the victim's skull. And the blood... It hadn't been a pretty sight.
So now, Locke once again found himself desperate catch up to the players that so easily seemed to outpace him. But he didn't know what to do, and was starting to fear that this mission might end in failure. Even so, he had to remain calm; frenzied thoughts were often bad thoughts, and that was the last thing he needed right now. "We'll stick to the same plan," he said to the officers gathered in the station, and over the comm that were elsewhere in the city. "If you're in the air, keep doing what you can to look from above. I'll join one of the ground teams and search on foot. And, for the love of all that is good, do not let anyone out of that spaceport. If I find out someone slipped up, I'll strangle them myself, and Jedi Code be damned if I let it get in my way." His stony grey eyes swept over the men that were gathered before him, and for once, they were hard and serious, a reflection of the gravity of the current situation. "Well, then" he said to them as he turned to leave, "time's a-wastin'! Let's go!" A cheer went up from the men, and a few of them went after him. The others broke into groups, and spread out in different directions. Locke didn't know who had taken the girl. He didn't know where they'd gone to. But, as his hand brushed against the hilt of his lightsaber, he knew that one thing was certain: he would not fail on this mission. He swore it.
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Foxfire
Hairless Wookiee
1,279 posts
1 like
Alive but not truly living
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last online Sept 4, 2020 21:39:20 GMT -5
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Jan 4, 2010 14:28:44 GMT -5
Post by Foxfire on Jan 4, 2010 14:28:44 GMT -5
Taym was listening into the city wav as Ryver flew the ship. On their hearing about a death they both knew the situation had escalated. The one who took the target was not the same because the M.O. was not the same.
They told Je'Baru about the killing. All wanted to be planet side but the ports were locked down. Ryver stated, If only one of us were planet side the matter of the hunt could proceed. As we are it's not possible. We still have errors in our system and are just able to fly. Now if Je'Baru went down he could find and eliminate the capturer of the target. Taym agreed.
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Je'Baru agreed as well and had them fly low so that he could be droped back into the city near the port. Flying low over the port Je'Baru bailed out. With the use of his grappling system, he was able to swing safely to the ground. He went immediately into hiding and moved in the shadows. He hoped that Ryver/Taym's hacking would bring to light some clues as to where to start. Taym called from the ship, We have scanned the port we will up link our map witt t t t tt your'ssssss. SSSSorrrry annnother eeeeerror. Fixxxxing. ...... We're fine now. We'll give you a target marker when we see the target. ...... Also we have checked the reverse routes of the current ships at port and found one that might have ties with our target.
Je'Baru under stood and said nothing. Searching the map he found the main route that all took to reach ones ship and then found the ship that Taym had mentioned. Moving to the ship was very hard the place was filled with guards and flooded with lights. If it had been for Marcus's training he would have been spotted first thing off. But yet he got as close as he could and waited he could see much from his shadowed perch. Now he would wait until Ryver/Taym found more clues and video footage of their target.
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Reina helped where she could she watched the monitor's for other ships, scanners, and movement of the target. Her nerves were stressed no amount of singing or meditative dance could quell her. Only the ending of this failed venture could do the job.
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