Private Arsenian beginnings!

[Ciel Rivage]

The rope would only hold her for so long. Angered, Ciel sat in the little wooden chair, exerting quite a bit of energy as she tried to brute force her way out from the rope which held her arms behind her back and ankles bound to each other. Despite the powerful force she could produce, it hadn't been sufficient so far but she was not one to sit by idle when captured and bound. It was all so stupid and dishonourable in the first place - she had not been defeated in battle or something, no. She had been drugged - defeated by a sorry excuse for a Rodian with a little bottle of transparent liquid poured into her drink. The green tuba-faced alien would be wise to keep her contained for if she broke free, vengeance would be hers.

The hideout she was in seemed to be in a rather poor condition, but reminding it of what she would be able to find on her home planet of Nar Shaddaa, it almost seemed a little homely. She had had plenty of time to study it and had already spotted a few large ventilation shafts, three doors and some kind of man sized pipe channeling water running from her room to the next. What they had planned for her was a mystery but she knew that the people she dealt with were deadly and well organised. Whatever they wished to do, everything pointed towards it being bad. At least she was left alone for now, with only a single guard watching her. Outside one of the doors, the bustling sound of a busy warehouse could be heard. While they could just have been stupid enough to pick such a location, it seemed more likely that they held a great amount of influence in it or controlled it outright.

Nervously, the human guard watched as she strained to get out of the rope and how she apparently seemed to be making some progress. Shakily, he brought up his com "Guys, bring in some more rope or a sedative or something. We don't want her getting loose, right?" he asked, hoping that he wouldn't be left alone with her for much longer. Staring at him angrily, the young scoundrel let out a low growl, making it clear how displeased she was. Not too fond of her behaviour, the guard stood up and brought along the chock baton as he walked towards her. Leaning on close, he let out an angry and stern "Quiet" The instruction was brief and effective as she finally stopped what she was doing and shied away a bit from him, knowing all too well how much pain his weapon could cause.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

The lower levels of Coruscant. A twisted maze of old streets, buildings and warehouses all crammed together beneath the streets of the city above. Many of the cities less the reputable denizens called the dark streets their home, which made it a perfect place for anyone wanting to lay low. Especially a certain smuggler who had unknowingly caught the eye of several hunters a few systems away.

Ten of them, that's how many Ellie counted around the perimeter. Two standing may the main entrance, one patrolling the near side, two on the far. The one sitting by the front door barely cared to look up from his datapad. Three were loading a hover truck with some crates, and the last one....was having a less than pleasant conversation with a very irate Rodian. Ellie lowered her macro-binoculars and turned to the four Arsenian rangers with her. All wore the same armor as her that had been colored slate gray and black for the urban environment. Sure they could probably take the guards easily with their training and the element of surprise, but two things were holding them back. The first being they didn't know how many were in the warehouse, the second...

"Is he there?" Odea asked as she peeked over the edge of the wall they were sitting behind. She was the youngest member of the group and also the most excited, this was her first real mission after all. Ellie shook her head and put her binoculars away. "No, he's not with them. There's a very angry Rodian down there who might be the buyer, but....I'm not seeing much of anything form here." Odea's perked up some at what was coming next. "We're going to have to get closer. Kari you have overwatch. Everyone else, on me."

With that, the four rangers slipped silently over the the wall and made their way to the near side of the warehouse. There was a large just barely taller then them that ran this side of the building which allowed for them to get closer. Karis singled for them to stop, indicating that the guard was directly above them. Ellie peeked over the aide of the wall and waited for the signal. A few seconds passed. Then a silent round from across the way struck the guard and dropped him in his tracks. Ellie scrambled over the ledge and grabbed the dead guard and dragged him to the edge where the other two pulled him quietly over. Then the small group proceeded to the only door on this side of the building. Ellie opened the side door just a crack to peek in. Their side of the warehouse held fewer people than she thought, one on the catwalk and several others othe far side of the room yelling at some game on the holo. The sounds of crates being moved around came from the front of the warehouse, which seemed to be where the most hostiles were.

Carefully the rangers slipped in and took cover behind some crates. Ellie scanned the room before her eyes landed on a door to a small room just a few feet away. There were people in there, two of them from what she could sense. She gave a nod towards the door and the others followed, all taking up point for a silent entrance. Ema took point as she exchanged her blaster rifle for her combat knife, with Ellie directly behind her. There was a moment's pause, then Ellie tapped Ema on the shoulder. As one they moved swiftly into the room, the guard turned just in time to have his mouth covered by Ema's hand and her knife find his neck. Ellie was directly behind her, rifle raised and ready to fire. She froze when she saw that then second person was a woman in rough shape and tied to a chair. Odea closing the door behind them caused Ellie to move to the woman and raise a hand to signal for her to be quiet before speaking in a low voice. "Don't panic, we won't hurt you. Who are you and how did you end up here?" Ellie stopped beside the woman and began to untie her.

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

The guard seemed to rather enjoy the feel of having some power, gaining an impish grin as she fell silent. Little did he know that she was well on her way towards liberating herself and now, he was within arms reach. Suddenly, the door opened with a seemingly delicate touch. It was nothing like how the run-of-the-mill thug would have opened it and it didn't seem like it was forced open either. Just a silent swoosh. In came an armed woman, and then another, and then two more. Ciel's eyes bounced between the five figures in the room as she doubled her efforts to get loose.

Apparently, however, the new people weren't friend of the guard's, as was becoming quite obvious by the knife wielding one threatening to take his life. She gained a confused expression as the two at the back took up their position whilst the middle one approached and started to untie the rope around her wrists. Realising what was happening, a smirk grew on the young scoundrel's lips as she looked upon the guardsman, thinking of claiming her revenge. The liberator gave her a few comforting words - none which were to much of a surprise, considering that she and her crew had just come in and attacked the guard without showing any hostilities towards her. Ciel nodded but remained silent, following the suggestion which the woman signaled with her hand.

The already loose rope soon came off and the girl proceeded to reach for the rope at her feet, quickly freeing them too. Standing up, she looked down on her rescuer who seemed to be a fair bit shorter "They drugged me" she replied with a hint of bitterness in her voice. Keeping it low, she continued "Thanks for freeing me" Ciel then looked to the guard who was still being held by the knife-wielder. She took a long stride towards him, arriving to let her large frame loom over him. "Let me do it" she said, already planning his demise. The young woman then looked to the other holding him captive and added a "Please" This squad did not seem like one which should be messed with. Staying as friendly as - someone who had just been held captive and hungering for revenge - possibly could.

 

[Ellie Omera]

Ellie quickly untied the woman's wrists and took a step back to let her untie her legs. When the woman was freed and stood up to her full height to where Ellie could properly see her, she became glad that she was wearing a helmet. Her cheeks flushed a bright red at the sight of the tall muscular woman before her. Words almost failed her for a moment until the woman mentioned that she had been drugged. Ellie frowned at this as her eyes turned to the guard the back to the woman. She didn't like slavers or pirates and the fact that they drugged and tied this woman to a chair made her like these ones even less.

The woman's next question caught her off guard for a moment. She wanted to kill the guard? That was an unusual request, but she understood what the drive for vengeance could do to someone. Ema gave Ellie a questioning look, after several seconds of internal debate, Ellie simply gave her a nod. The other ranger didn't respond but held the knife up for Ciel to grab.

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

The squad seemed to be a rather silent one. Ciel figured that it had to be their training - ever since they had entered, they appeared as well organised. Everyone knew what to do and their communication was non-verbal. Except for the few words which had been spared to communicate with her. It soon became obvious that the one behind her was the leader as she was the one to call the shots. The leader was quick to gain the young scoundrel's favour as she agreed to let the guard be killed, even to the point where she'd be given a weapon. Many would not have been quite as brave. But then, the four-woman troop was rather well armed.

Nodding at Ema gratefully, Ciel took the knife with her left hand and looked the guard in the eyes. He was terrified and was just realising that he was not going to survive, regardless of how silent he remained. Just as he was about to scream for help, the girl's right-hand fist smashed into his abdomen, causing him to fold forwards as he coughed, trying to recover the oxygen that had just left his lungs. Although she wanted to kill the man, Ciel saw no need to cause him any needless suffering. With that, she plunged the knife into his torso and moved her hand to his mouth to keep him silent. Shortly after, he would lay dead on the ground. After bending down and wiping the blood off of the blade on his shirt, the scoundrel returned the knife to its owner.

Satisfied for the moment, she turned around and took a few steps towards the leader, her eyes wandering from the woman's scar to her blue eyes. "Thank you" she said again. "I am Ciel." she said, extending a hand to the woman, ready to shake with a firm grip. Soon after, an unarmed figure opened the side door and quickly spotted the dead thug. He was carrying a few crates which he dropped whilst letting out a loud scream for help. Unless, prevented, he'd quickly turn around to run away from the perceived threat.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

The action was quick, Ellie could breath a sigh of relief for that one. Ciel saw no reason to make the guard suffer even with her desire for vengeance. That made her a little more trustworthy in her book. Ellie took Ciel's strong grip and returned the handshake. "Ellie Omera." Omera, the name she used now after casting aside her Mandalorian name Ordo and taking up her new Arsenian name from her adoptive mother. "This is Odea, Ema and Nidia. We were glad to rescue you, but what were you..."

Ellie's question was cut short when someone yelling just outside the door caught her attention. She turned to see a man running away from the room while yelling for help. "Odea!" She yelled in both an order and frustration that he younger girl hadn't been paying attention to her job. The younger ranger fired a blaster bolt, hitting the man square in the back and dropping him in his tracks. The sound rang out across the warehouse, drawing the attention of everyone inside. Suddenly the atmosphere of the room quickly changed to one of surprise and panic as people rushed over to see what happened. "I think we over stayed our welcome. Time to move people!"

The small group hurried out of the room as to not get trapped inside. "Hey, boss. You have some company coming towards you." "I know, they realize we're here now!" "Not what I mean. Three armored vehicles just arrived. One of the occupants is the smuggler we're after." They couldn't catch a break, could they?

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

"Ellie Omera" she said in a whisper, feeling the name and recognising that it sounded rather good. Ciel then turned to give each of the members Ellie presented a nod with a particular look of gratitude directed towards Ema who had let her borrow her knife. Turning back to Ellie, the young scoundrel looked up to see the man dropping the crates and soon after, 'Odea' had been called to action.

Things then happened quickly as the rescuing squad rushed to action, making their way out of the room just about as organised as they entered. Reaching down, she grabbed the dead guard's chock baton and followed the group out from the room. While she was confident in her own abilities in a battle, she also knew that it would be foolhardy to face a plethora of guards in a tight space - at least when they were armed.

Listening in to the dialogue between Ellie and one of her subordinates, the girl soon realised that they had somewhat similar goals as she dearly wanted to get her vengeance on the one who had drugged her. She didn't know if the team had noticed her having followed behind them - but seeing as she was not the most silent person, nor the smallest one, she wouldn't be surprised if they had indeed seen her.

After a short amount of time, footsteps could be heard from the room they were just in. Followed by alarmed voices as they discovered the fate of Ciel's guard. The girl turned to face the door but instead of readying her weapon, she sheathed it. Just as predicted, one of the criminals soon opened the door, walking out with a raised blaster pistol. Using her explosive speed and power, the young scoundrel launched at him, using her right hand to grab hold of his which held the blaster. Continuing utilising her momentum, Ciel had soon turned him around 180 degrees with his blaster pointed at his friends. Her left arm rose and wrapped tightly against his chest, holding him still in front of her.

While they were still surprised, she reached in with her hand and pushed down on his trigger finger. The risk of them avoiding her hostage was there, and not wanting to take the risk, Ciel kept walking, easily pulling the goon along. "One downs, two more inside" she said, her voice somewhat unsteady as the captured one was struggling to get loose.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

Ellie was glad that Ciel stuck with them as they exited the room. Making sure everyone got out was top priority, even the woman she just met. The sound of guards entering the room they just left greeted her ears. They were almost on top of them and they needed to move quick. As the first one came out the door, Ellie went to raise her rifle, but Ciel got to him first. With surprising speed, the woman quickly subdued the hostile and took him hostage. Ellie didn't have time to be impressed as the other two guards tried firing from cover, despit their friend taken hostage. The four rangers fired at the door, forcing the pirates to take cover. Grabbing a flashbang, Nidia threw it into the room to the surprise of the guards. The explosive went off and blinded the two, making perfect targets for the rangers to finish off with a few quick shots.

"Now what?!" Odea asked as more guards closed in. "Well, we're blocked from the way we came in. So we're going out the front door." Pulling a trip mine from her belt, she placed it on the doorframe to slow down the next hostile to follow them. "Echo this is Omera. We're going to need an extraction asap, over." "Omera, this is Echo. I copy and will find an extraction point near your location." Ellie turned to the others. "Our ride is on its way. So let's get out of here and get to that extraction point."

She lead the small ranger group and Ciel along the wall, using crates as cover. Soon the reached the front door of the warehouse which was wide open. Outside she could see the smuggler they were after and his thugs arguing with the Rodian and his thugs. Things seemed very heated between the two, maybe it had something to do with the shooting going on inside. "Now what?" Ema whispered as they crouched out of sight behind a crate. Ellie raised her rifle and lined it up with one of the smugglers thugs. "The enemy of my enemy, makes a good distraction." She gently squeezed the trigger of her rifle. The blue blaster bolt screamed out of the warehouse and hit the thug, dropping him instantly. There was a moments pause, then all hell broke loose. The smugglers men open fired at the Rodians and vice versa.

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

Hoping to get another one, Ciel moved back again, to shoot through the door opening once the flashbang was in. Along with the others, she fired at the two thugs who were spraying blaster bolts in the general direction of the door. Suddenly, she felt how the man she was holding fell limp, ceasing all his struggles to liberate himself immediately. Doing what she deemed the safest, Ciel held him still until the two thugs inside had stopped firing. It seemed like they had only managed to kill their own friend on their battle whilst the young scoundrel and her rescuers survived unscathed.

It seemed like the leader, Ellie, had it all figured out as she called for backup and soon lead her team out along the wall. Ciel would follow for the moment, but in truth, she'd rather hunt for the Rodian who had wronged her. Still, if she could first get to relative safety, she could extract her revenge during the time to come. Eventually, the group were hiding behind a number of crates. Her considerable bulk manifested itself clearly as she crouched down and neared her smaller allies to listen in on what they were planning. Once again, Ellie demonstrated her skills by figuring out a rather devious plan which caused the two groups to fight each other.

Determined to take the Rodian out personally, the girl was suddenly put in quite the rush as the risk of him dying were increasing steadily. Summoning both energy and courage, Ciel started pushing one of the wider crates forwards. While it was small - only big enough to hide her and one other person if they stayed close, it seemed durable and less heavy than she had expected - still, it wasn't light and friction made it challenging in itself. After a bit, one or two of the foes started shooting at the crate, but it didn't suffer any real damage which caused them to soon shift back their focus to the much more obvious threats. Once close enough, Ciel considered her options and looked out to see what her allies were up to, hoping that they hadn't all left and were still around get the smuggler which she overheard them being after.

 

[Ellie Omera]

The choas would be excellent cover for them to try and sneak around for a better angle. Then, unexpectedly, the crate Ellie and Ciel were behind began to move. This caught Ellie off guard at first as she wondered what was going on, then she saw that source was ciel. Sticking close to the crate and Ciel, she gunned down any thug who got to close. This really wasn't part of the plan, but she could improvise. Meanwhile, the other three rangers made their way out of the warehouse by a different route.

They were much closer to the smuggler and Rodian now. All she had to do was find a way to get ahold of him. Ellie had to weigh her options on this one. They needed to cut their target off from his armored vehicles to prevent an escape. "Nidia. I need those vehicles inoperable." She heard a confirmation from the ranger at the order. Ellie leaned around the crate and took aim before firing. Her shot hit true as it tore across the smugglers thigh and knocked him to the ground, running was going to be harder now. As the smuggler tried to get up, a deafening boom shook the ground as the vehicles were engulfed in fire and shrapnel. Everyone scattered for cover.

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

Ellie had stuck with her the entire time, providing cover against the ones who had tried to approach their crate, allowing her to push faster. Still, the two criminal teams were primarily occupied fighting each other whilst not doing much more than registering the Arsenian squad and Ciel. The young scoundrel did not know the smuggler and did not care much for him either. In her eyes - the Rodian and his gang were the bad guys. With that, she rushed forth, bringing out the shock baton she had stolen earlier. With a powerful swing, she knocked one of the gang members out, and then another. She was beginning to draw attention among a number of the Rodian's allies who begun shifting away their attention from the smuggler's crew to her. Utilising speed and overwhelming power, Ciel survived against a number of oppnents - often blocking an attack with the baton and then quickly proceeding to tackle the attacker. This allowed ensured that she evaded several attacks as her position changed and since it broke their 'formation', it also made it harder for them to attack her without one of their friends getting in the way.

Even Ciel had her limits, however. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to maintain this rather brutal fighting style forever whilst also catching the Rodian. The smuggler's crew had, however, taken note of her efforts and decided that she was an ally in this particular battle. With that, they fired several shots against gang members who wanted to attack her, making for excellent cover. Suddenly, a number of big explosions happened, knocking most of the fighters to the ground or sending them staggering backwards. Taking the opportunity to push on, Ciel started running towards the Rodian who had wronged her, leaving most of the gang fighters behind - they wouldn't be too much of a problem as they soon resumed their fight against the smuggler's crew.

The Rodian had lead a small troop armed with vibro swords towards the smuggler, creating a melee among all the chaos and blaster fire. It was probably a smart option since it made it much harder for him to get shot at by the smugglers since they would risk hitting one of their own instead. Getting into the fray, Ciel started carving a path towards the two leaders who had engaged each other in the middle of the battle. This time, she wouldn't have any support from the smugglers - but hopefully, her new Arsenian allies would be able to do some damage.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

Ellie was momentarily surprised when Ciel charged out into the fray with nothing more than a shock baton. The Arsenian never got a chance to tell her to stop before the other woman already knocked out one of the Rodians thugs. The plus side was that the smugglers thugs weren't firing at her but remained focused on the other gang. Unfortunately that would only last for so long. Meanwhile the Rodian had decided that melee combat was the better option than getting shot.

The young Arsenian couldn't just leave Ciel to charge in there alone, not if she didn't want the woman she just rescued to get herself killed. Shouldering her rifle, she withdrew her combat knife and followed the other woman into the fray. The first opponent never saw her coming as her knife embedded itself into his back. A second thug swung at her with vibrosword. Ellie stepped into the strike, blocking at the arms and not the sword, then jammed her knife into the mans neck.

She couldn't help but pause for a moment and admire the strength that Ciel held. The woman was making quick work of anyone in her way with both excellent fighting skills and brute force. Unfortunately that wouldn't last forever and the woman would be overwhelmed. Ellie finally caught up to her and caught a thug off guard that was trying to sneak up on Ciel. The man hit the dirt and Ellie formed by the other woman. "I take it you and that Rodian have unfinished business?"



C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

The team leader, Ellie, seemed to be with her - or at least so she though, considering how foes who were supposed to be behind her kept being taken out. Step by step, opponent after opponent, the young scoundrel made her way closer to her target. She often blocked attacks with her shock baton to then send a jab at their head and at one occasion, she swung her baton so hard that it broke through the defences of a gang member wielding the vibrosword, sending their own weapon against them. She paused only upon hearing Ellie's voice. Turning around, she saw the leader standing by a corpse. "Thanks" she said before returning her attention to the fight - to the push towards the Rodian. "That tuba-face was the one who captured me" she said, almost in a roar as she redoubled her efforts and pushed even harder.

Once arrived, Ciel saw how the smuggler was about to send his vibroblade right through the Rodian's abdomen. Not about to allow for her vengeance to be taken from her, the girl leapt forth and extended her baton, just in time to redirect the sword away from the alien. Maintaining her momentum, she tackled the smuggler, disarming him of his vibrosword and sending him to the ground. Quickly turning around, she saw the confused look on the Rodian's face and the fear which emerged as he slowly realised that she was indeed the one he had taken captive earlier. Not giving him any time to react, Ciel threw a heavy punch at him which knocked him out quickly.

Keen on getting her revenge and not about to let anyone take it from her, Ciel went forth as he fell and managed to catch him and put him over her shoulder. Prepared to leave, she threw an eye at Ellie who had undoubtedly saved her from countless attacks from the goons loyal to either party. "Do you want to bring him too?" she said, using her free arm to point at the still conscious smuggler on the floor. While it might be a bit hard for her to knock him out in her current position, the young scoundrel was confident that she could at least carry or drag him out with her to a more safe and secluded location, all whilst the two criminal groups fought against each other still.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

So the Rodian was the one who captured Ciel. That explained her strong desire to try and get to him, well....succeeding at getting to him actually. Ellie watched as Ciel not only knocked down the smuggler, but also the Rodian. This solved one problem, but also created another one. Now they had two unconscious bodies to drag out. Luckily Ciel was strong enough to carry the Rodian, but that still left the smuggler. "Yeah, we need him. He has information we need." Ellie stepped up to the man and delivered a strong boot to the head, knocking him out.

They needed to move fast and move fast now. The fighting around them was still going strong, but now many of the thugs on both sides were starting to take notice of Ellie and Ciel. Which was bad considering they didn't belong to either side and the knocked out leaders with them was drawing attention. Ellie hit her comlink and contacted the others. "Alright sisters. We need to get out of here ASAP. Make for the extraction point, we'll be there soon." "Right boss. On our way." Odea responded. There seemed to be quite a bit of worry and stress in her voice, even if she tried to hide it. Ellie put that thought to the side and turned to Ciel. "We need to move. We're starting to draw attention."

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

Ciel looked at the leader as she knocked the man out. Considering the woman's petite stature, the scoundrel was rather impressed - naturally, most people could muster the power to know someone out in a kick - but the small ones usually didn't. Any praise would, however, have to be saved for another time as lingering seemed rather foolish. Taking a step towards the smuggler, Ciel grabbed the back of his collar "After you" she said, knowing that her combat capabilities would now be extremely limited with the Rodian thrown over her shoulder and the smuggler dragged behind her.

Ellie had already noticed it - the criminals were starting to take more and more notice of the two women who had just broke through their ranks - at this point, it would be hard not to. Still, they had each other to contend with, and the rest of the female squad was still firing a few bolts, taking out or distracting some of the foes. Still, she would have to rely on the leader's protection as the only defence she had was that she carried their leaders, guaranteeing that no shots would be fired at her and that she held 'items' which could help deter attacks. Just after Ellie had called for them to evacuate, the two were off with Ciel following close in the other's tracks.

Just as they were about to leave the crowd, a gang member lunged at her with a vibrosword. Luckily, Ciel saw him early enough and managed to turn, ensuring that the rodian she held would face the foe which put an abrupt stop to his attack. "Ellie!" she called out to her rescuer, hoping for assistance against the assailant as she pushed on further ahead, prioritising getting the two criminals away for now.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

They were on the move. Ellie lead the way, while Ciel used her impressive strength to carry both...well drag one and carry one, of the thugs. Time was very limited for the two before the rest of the crowd noticed and closed in on them. The Arsenian picked the closest route to what she believed was the location of her squad.

The had just made it to the edge of the crowd, when Ciel yelled for help. Her hand grabbed the blaster from its holster as she spun around. With highly trained reflexes, the blaster leveled on the assailant. Her finger gently squeezed the trigger, sending a bright blue blaster bolt straight into the thugs chest. The attacker buckled before dropping at Ciel's feet. There was no time to talk as the blaster shot drew more attention.

Another thug, drawn in by the shot, charged Ellie. Quickly reaching into the force, Ellie gave a shove with her hand and released the built up energy within. A powerful force push slammed into the man and sent him flying backwards. The crowd closest to them backed away in surprise, momentarily forgetting what they were doing. Before they could move, several blaster rounds rained into the crowd of stunned onlookers. The shots were close enough to be considered dangerous but precise enough to have only come from trained hands. People around Ellie and Ciel went for cover, while Ellie's eyes went to where the shots came from. Ellie quickly spotted two commandos half hidden behind some crates. With help close by and the path momentarily wide open, this was their best chance. "Let's move!" She yelled at the other woman before leading the way once more.

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

Ciel couldn't help but to let out a low "Nice!" as she saw Ellie's skill and precision with the blaster. The coast was clear for the moment and she continued pushing ahead. Seeing the new foe charge at he friend, the scoundrel increased her pace into what could generously be called a jog. While bringing the leaders along was tough work, the girl was determined to intercept the charging foe before he could reach the team leader. It was all for naught, however, as she unleashed a force push, flinging the man back. Nodding, impressed, Ciel once again continued pushing on ahead, relying on the confusion and this friendly group to keep her covered.

After a while, the two reached the cover and two friendlies. Once the smuggler was pulled in behind the crates, she dumped to Rodian down onto the ground with a heavy thud before going down onto her knees. She was breathing relatively heavily by now but was nowhere near exhausted. "Where's our ride?" she asked, assuming that they had a get-away plan involving a speeder or a ship. More and more of the thugs that were still in the thick of the fight started noticing that their leaders were missing and a few wanted to attack the women. However, whenever they turned their backs against the foe whom they were actively engaging, they would quickly get killed off, resulting in a very low amount of people actually coming their way. Ciel watched it all from afar as she recovered her breath until she finally grabbed the unconscious Rodian by the collar of his shirt as if ready to pick him up again "Okay, I'm ready" she said, prepared to go where Ellie recommended.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

Ellie pulled behind the cover with Ciel. The other two rangers kept suppressing fire all the while. Then Ellie noticed that Nidea was holding her side, a small amount of blood stained around her hand. "Nidea, you're..." "I'm fine. It's not that bad." Ellie wanted to ask more, but they didn't have time.

Her attention turned to Ciel when she asked where their ride was. "Close. There's an opening not far from here. The gunship is going to meet us there." Once everyone confirmed they were ready, they moved. Ellie and Ciel in the front, Nidea in the middle and the other two covering the rear. The sound of angry voices were following now, as the gang members realized what was happening.

The small group wound their way through narrow and crowded streets. Finally, the reached a landing platform directly underneath an opening leading to the surface. The platform sat at the end of a long walkway with lots of cover and only one way to reach it. Ellie reached the end of the platform and took cover behind a crate. "Grab some cover. Our ride will be here any minute. So will our friends, I think."

C Ciel Rivage

 

[Ciel Rivage]

They were in danger, clearly. While they had not suffered any casualties yet, something which the scoundrel was very happy about, one of Ellie's team was hurt and while strong, managing three people would become a bit much, even for Ciel. Being rather far removed from what could fairly be called a medical expert, the young woman did, however, not have much input in the matter, figuring that the planning around that would better be done by someone else - someone like Ellie. What was important in this situation was that they could get away safely and bring the criminals with them and for that, all she needed was for the team leader to know that she was able and willing to help when needed. Judging by her most recent performance, that would surely not be unclear.

While some did try to pursue, most were locked in the fight - bridging long lasting rivalries and turning the other cheek could be hard - especially in heated instances like these. Still, a few thugs broke loose from the fighting and maintained their pursuit. However, with the cover fire from the squad and increasingly crowded areas, the group started loosing their pursuers. Few were able to wade through a crowd like Ciel - especially when accompanied by a team of armed warriors.

After a fair amount of struggles and hardships, they all arrived at the landing platform. Beautifully floating in the air, only connected to the building through a long walkway. Setting down both captives behind her cover, Ciel crouched down behind a piece of cover just a small distance further away from the landing platform than her allies. While unarmed, Ciel was confident that she would be able to deal with any hostile who got too close but when still at a distance, it was all up to Ellie and her team. Eventually, a group of six smugglers pushed through the crowd and quickly dove in behind cover. With surprising effectiveness, the foes created covering fire for themselves, suppressing the girls whilst slowly advancing, obviously having fought on platforms like these before.

Ellie Omera

 

[Ellie Omera]

They were pinned, that much was clear as six smugglers made it to the platform and began to provide suppressing for each other. Ellie and her small team returned fire to slow down the smugglers advance. This could only last for so long as the sound of more people approaching reached her ears. They would soon be overwhelmed if their evac dropship didn't arrive soon. "Echo gunship what is your location?!" Ellie yelled into her coms over the sound of blaster fire. Several seconds of silence passed with no response. Worry started to build up in Ellie as she wondered why there was no response.

"Echo gunship, what..." Her question was cut short by a loud roar of engines. The group of rangers looked up to see the dropship rapidly descend to their platform. Dual rotary cannons wound up and unleashed a hail of blaster fire on the smugglers. Those unfortunate enough to be in the open were instantly cut down, while the rest dove for cover. The gunship hovered close to the ground in front of them, the loading ramp opened on the rear of the ship to reveal the groups sniper ushering them towards safety. "Let's go!"

The small group rushed to the loading ramp. Kari helped pull Nidea in along with the two prisoners. The remaining two rangers followed after with Ciel, Ellie made sure she was the last one on so no one was left behind. Once everyone was on board, Kari closed the loading ramp door and the ship shudder for a few moments as it made a rapid ascent. Ellie gave a small sigh of relief, they were safe for now. Her eyes fell on Nidea as Kari moved to treat her wounds. Luckily it didn't look that bad and she should make a quick recovery. The leader of the rangers sat down next to Ciel, pulling off her helmet she gave the woman a smile. "You did good today. Thank you, for your help. I know you might have somewhere you want to go, but this ship is heading to Arsenae first. Then we can arrange a shuttle to take you to a destination of your choosing."

C Ciel Rivage