Private Below the thunders of the upper deep...

[Dominic Shiro]

Ansen glee...

A water world that's home to the nautolans, and coincidentally, Dominics next stop on his latest job. Just a simple little drop off from supplier to buyer. Should be easy right?

Dominics ship, the runner, came out of hyperspace and began moving toward the surface with his sister at the controls. Who contacted the buyer and told them of their approach. She wasn't exactly the best pilot around but, she was the only person available.

Dominic came into the cockpit dressed in a scuba suit, carrying his helmet with him. "Does this suit make me look fat? " Dom joked around while the siblings closed in on the coordinates provided. "What? No, it doesn't make you look fat. You were larger than life anyway. " the two shared a chuckle as the meeting point came in view.

It was time for a swim, and Dominic was... Less than thrilled with this. He didn't particularly like being underwater. Nevertheless, he wanted his money. He grabbed ahold of the crates he needed to deliver and walked them to the already extended exit ramp.

"Alright, you're good to go. I'll hold the ship here. " Dom slowly walked down the ramp and threw the crates in first, before taking a dive himself. Upon entering he was greeted by the sight of a pretty coral, packed with all kinds of wildlife. He could see the meeting point below him and dived towards it.

He couldn't bring his lightsabers with him this time. Seeing as they don't work underwater. He found the buyer and approached them with caution. But, like most of his contracts, it all went a bit wrong from here.

The group opened fire on him, causing him to instinctively use the force to o push himself away off into the reef. Where even more of these less than desirable aquatic people. He eventually found his way into a small cave on the edge of the reef. ​

 

[Tek]

Tek was a hunter most of the time. Or when it was needed, he was a guardian. Really it all depended on what was asked of him, but he'd always excelled best at the act of combat underwater. He wanted more adventure than that though, wanted to journey worlds, even if it cost him the comfort of the great seas. He carried on him something akin to a Spear_blaster, and at his side a blade so if that was lost or failed he could at least defend himself.

He wasn't sure what he would be hunting today, more just wanted to get near the reef to see. That plan was quickly thrown away, he could see in the distance a group, narrowing his eyes as he swam closer he saw that it was someone in aquatic gear making some kind of trade to nautolans...and then they opened fire, [Nautila: "Oh boy, here we go."] he said as he picked up speed. He didn't want to kill them, but they had attacked suddenly and the outsider was trying to escape. It was rare to have to legitimately run into the criminal world on Glee Anselm, but if anyone did it often on violent terms, Tek was certainly on the list.

He swam into the thick of the reef, which would grant him greater movement due to something physical to grip, long as he did it right. He aimed at the ones chasing down Dominic Shiro and he pulled the trigger. Three quick shots at three different criminals. Two of them hit, one got hit in the stomach, the other in the leg, the last was narrowly dodged. They turned to try and see him, and as they did he released another two shots, each of these hit the stomachs. Give them the chance to live if their compatriots cared enough to get them out of here. It might not be a high chance, but it was a chance. And a reminder. One of them spotted Tek and started swimming closer while trying to shoot him, but Tek had the advantage of cover he'd already worked out. Ducked down and took a dive a distance down the reef than came back up firing another two shots.

He worked his way closer to the cave, their numbers were thinning. And he was much harder to hit. While he had not been trained in the force, what he did have a natural tendency for was better reflexes and better awareness. Which, while underwater, was even more important. When he got close enough he swam fast into the cave firing behind him, it wouldn't be easy to talk with an outsider like he did with them since they were underwater, and weren't synced to commlinks.

Instead he held up both hands and tried to gesture between them as a friend, casting quick glances over his shoulder, to see if he could see where the rest of them were. They couldn't hide here forevor, but the man had to have gotten here somehow. They could either try and hold the criminals off long enough to make them realize how badly things were going to go, or they could make a run for it and Tek could try and hold them off. Yes he knew this man was probably a criminal too, but he wasn't the one who started the shooting.

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic took to hiding just inside the cave waiting for someone to enter, at which point he could take their weapon and atleast try and fight back. Though, through the muffling of the water around him he could hear multiple blaster shots getting closer and closer.

Why would they be firing at the cave?

While lost in thought, he was caught off guard by Tek entering the cave in front of him. He was so startled that he uncontrollably began to flip backwards before righting himself and facing the nautolan. Who was acting... Friendly?

Perhaps he wasn't with the bastards out there. Soon didn't quite know what to say, seeing as they couldn't really speak to one another, so he stretched out his hand as a greeting.

A few seconds later, another one of those gangsters entered the cave behind them, to which Dom grabbed them by the throat with the force and proceed to snap it. It took a little more effort than usual, likely because of the added pressure of the water around him. But he fell all the same.

Dom retirived the man's blaster and pointed out of the cave and up towards his ship. If the stranger could help him get there, then he could at the very least offer him a ride home.

Tek​

 

[Tek]

Tek adjusted his spear blaster, checking the charge and seeing how much he had left. Tek didn't have time to take the hand, soon another gangster came in who reached for his throat. Tek could feel the sudden sense of fear in the man before his neck snapped. He turned to see Dominic. He couldn't inquire about things right now. He'd ask later...if he could.

The human grabbed the blaster and left the cave, Tek came after him quickly, some of the time with his back to him. If any more of the gangsters even looked or turned to come their direction, Tek would send a shot their way mostly aiming for the stomach. It was an easy target but it was quite enough to stop them. If they did have armor...well he'd be sorry, but the head would be next. Occasionally he'd look back to see how fast Dominic was going.

Naturally, Tek was probably a good bit faster than him. He didn't have the limitations of all the gear and had lived here all his life. His body was built for this unlike Dominics. He could see some of the gangsters were looking their way, but there was a lot of hesitation now. They didn't have as many as they had before, by this point, anybody who swam closer was running the risk of getting killed. And they were a selfish lot.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic hated it down here, everything was muffled and he couldn't move as fast as he could above the water. Worse yet, he was trying to escape a bunch of laser bolts coming from individuals much more accustomed to the environment and didn't have to be weighed down by all the equipment he had.

Nevertheless, Dom pushed his way out of the cave with the stranger following behind him. The ship was a good distance away and still had the ramp open. With any luck they could just jump on board and get gone. He turned back to the reef and managed to catch a glimpse of the first group that shot at him. Perhaps a little spiteful, Dominic took a pot shot at one of them, though his aim was just a little off and he narrowly missed the guys shoulder.

He turned his attention back toward the ship, in time to notice, several figures moving onto the ramp and further into the ship. He got on the radio and called out to his sister. "Holly, you've got incoming, I count four. " He looked back the guy following him and motioned toward the ship before swimming as fast as he could carry himself back to the ramp.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek showed a bit of a grimace as Dominic continued swimming. There were people heading to the ship ahead of them, who Tek assumed were not friendlies. Especially at Dominic gesturing to head to the ship. Tek swam ahead of him using his belt to dangle his spearblaster to himself while grabbing Dominic by the collar if he could, and if Dominic didn't try to stop him, and then putting extra effort into propelling them both forwards with his remaining arms and legs hoping that Dominic would try and contribute with his kicking at least.

They needed to get to the ship and they needed to do it fast so Tek wasn't going to risk that the human couldn't move fast enough. Tek was used to being a good bit above average underwater, but once they were on the ship that might change. He just hoped that they could expel the invaders fast enough to get out of here before the gangsters managed a more...efficient offensive.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic was caught a little off guard by the sudden tug of Tek pulling him along. He did in fact try to provide an extra bit of propulsion with his kicking, though to be fair, it probably didn't count toward the overall speed of the two all that much. And as they nearned the ramp to the ship he shook of Tek and properlled himself further before finally bursting out of the waves and running up the ramp. Upon reaching the main corridor of the ship he began to take off the gear he had on; the helmet, Oxygen tank, flippers and the wetsuit.

After the lengthy process of removing the diving suit, he ran to the cockpit only to find the corridor to the compatment being blocked by a couple of the nautolan gansters blocking the doorway. He still didn't have his blades on him, and being driven by a sense of urgency to keep Holly safe, he resorted to tackling one of the people in front of him. Only to be picked back up and restrained by the other. In hindshight, this wasn't all that good of a plan.

Tek​

 

[Tek]

Dominic pulled away as they actually got there and Tek followed after him, though making no such effort for removal than a single basic squeegee of his clothing while it was on him. He could feel the air, dry to him, against his skin. To a normal person, it might feel like if they suddenly jumped in sand. At first you might even find it vaguely amusing, but it'd get progressively worse.

Dominic Shiro ran ahead and ran into a group instead of waiting for Tek, he was quickly restrained. Though Tek wondered how permanent that was given what he'd seen him do earlier. Still, there was no time, his speargun was pointed at the one not holding Dominic and spoke fast and clearly, a strange slight smile on his face as he spoke in Nautila to them, [Nautila: "The next one to move, dies. Compared to other prey your heads would split easily."]

His warning would not go without its backup, he was quite willing to pull through and if either of them moved quickly he'd pull the trigger. If not he hoped they'd let Dominic go and then things could come to a less...violent, resolution.

 

[Dominic Shiro]

The grip of the Nautolan holding Dom suddenly loosened as Tek brought his spear to bear. Dominic grabbed a hold of his arm and twisted it to a point where he dislocated the entire limb. He left the guy to his own devices and opened the door to the cockpit only to see his sister being further restrained by the other two who had previously boarded. One held a blade to her throat and spoke in his native tongue. "Take another step and she'll be gushing blood faster than this rust bucket can fly."

Dominic stopped in place at the sight of her being held by those two, and with a knife to her throat to boot. He instinctively took a step back, when the Nautolan that Dom had injured a second ago took a cheap swing at his face and landed the blow, knocking Dom to the ground and at gun point from a pistol one of those from inside the cockpit had suddenly pulled out on him.

"You had better hope you hit your mark! Or I'll shove that thing right down your throat!" He snarled at the guy who held him at gun point.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

The human was in quite a hurry to get out of grasp once given the chance. And through to the cockpit in which there were still more gangsters who had managed to capture a woman. He was taken to the ground and Tek wasted no time blasting the man who did so, and then another to one of the ones who wasn't directly holding Dominic Shiro 's sibling. He spoke clearly now aiming at the one holding the knife, a deceptive smile on his face as he told an absolute lie with absolute confidence, [Nautila: "Her death won't be on my guilt, I have made peace with the gods. But I'd be so happy to put yours on my list of prey."] he added the random detail about the gods more to completely throw them off from the idea that he was lying, believing he was in some kind of cult sounded pretty accurate.

The hunter tried to further solidify his standing with at least a little more truth, but with a look of growing impatience, as the smile began to turn to one of disgust, [Nautila: "I've killed a lot of things bigger and more fearsome than you, but they were worth the wait. You're worth two inches of seaweed and a dirt farm. Drop it or I'll blast you and the girl...on accident of course."

Sometimes playing like you were the worse bad guy paid off...he was really hoping it would here. If he was only fighting them, he'd be ok just shooting him. In this kind of case they didn't deserve to get their second chance at this moment. But if he actually did that. Or pushed to hard, the guy might kill the girl. In spite of all Tek's talk...he didn't want that. And he really hoped they didn't try and call him out on it.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic quickly stood back to his feet after watching both men get shot. He still couldn't understand anything that was being said between the two parties. Though he could guess that the one who seemed friendly had threatened the two others. The thought was only reinforced when the one holding Holly hostage took the blade away from her neck quite slowly. Dom still remained still, in order not to spook the Nautolan and risk her life. The gangster eventually put the blade away and spoke to Tek in Nautolan once again. "You strike a hard bargain." And with that, he knelt down to retrieve his comrade who was still only just barely clinging to life.

The other one who was still standing moved to pick up the other that was shot before they both moved toward the exit ramp once again. And leapt back into the water.

Dominic immediately rushed over to Holly to check she was alright. Thankfully there was only a small scratch where the blade had been pressed up against her throat. He turned to the stranger behind him and smiled. "Thank you... Uhh you speak Basic?" While awaiting a reply he moved to the controls and shut the ramp up.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek watched the gangster remove the knife and step back. He felt a strong sense of relief but couldn't show it. He stayed on guard all the way until the were back in the water before leaning against the side of the ship and letting out a deep sigh, leaning the spear-blaster against the wall of the ship as well.

He glanced over as Dominic Shiro asked if he spoke basic. He nodded, "Learned it with help from a friend. Important for trading, and traveling. Can't exactly expect aliens, no offense, to speak Nautila. You just don't have the organs for it." he explained watching the ramp rise before looking back at the two of them, and the disappearance of water, "Name's Tek. I'm a hunter mostly but I'm kind of used to running into fights...just not this big."

Running into was probably not the best term since he was often much more directly involved in it starting in the first place. "They may be gone for now but I wouldn't stick around if I was you. I don't know those gangsters...well really I don't know many gangsters at all around here. But who knows what they could be armed with."

He wanted to ask about what exactly Dominic was doing, but hadn't decided yet how to word that. Or if he'd just be told anyway.

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic took a certain liking to this stranger, maybe it was something about that smile. Either way, He agreed with Tek that they probably shouldn't stick around, so he climbed behind the controls of the ship and took them higher into the atmosphere before turning back to Tek. "Is there anywhere you wanna be dropped at? A city or some kind of hideout?" He moved his head over to check on his sister once again. She seemed to be fine though maybe a bit in shock, seeing as she hadn't spoken for the last little while.

"I'm Dominic, my friends call me Dom. That's Holly, her friends call her call her... Well actually she doesn't have any friends do you Holls?" She stayed silent and climbed back into the co-pilot chair. Perhaps she was also a little scared to speak up around this guy.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek eventually stood up, strapping his spearblaster to his back and holding his arms together, his instinct to keep the moisture to him. Right now, it wasn't bad. He was still pretty wet, but he knew it wouldn't last. He let out a hum as he was asked where to be dropped off, "Hm, could be a little problematic. I'll have to contact some people to warn them I may not arrive again for awhile...just in case. Much as I'm ok running into them again, I'd like them to think I ran off for now so they don't go after anyone where I live. I'll point it out, it's kind of far away on here. I can leap off the ramp since...well obviously it's underwater."

He nodded with another smile, more friendly this time, as Dom introduced himself and the girl. Who had remained silent and went to the front instead of speaking still, Tek almost felt a tinge of fear or doubt that she had understood what he'd said and thought he was serious. He tried to feel for their emotions. In the air it was more difficult for him to pick up on, especially to recognize direction, but he might get something he hoped. "Are you good Holly?" he asked looking to see if she'd respond.

In truth, Tek did think this could be a good excuse to go on a bit more of an adventure. See more of the galaxy. Shame he'd only got his speargun on him, but on the other hand. These two didn't sign up for that. A Nautolan on board after they just tried to escape from some. Still...he had helped them out. Maybe. He wasn't sure what he was going to do yet.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic understood the Nautolan's concerns for those he lived with, after all, he had shared a similar sense of responsibility to others before. Maybe they should stick together for a little while, the siblings could use a few more friends in the galaxy, especially since they seemed to lose connections easier than a Hutt loses track of their eating habits.

Holly was almost curled up in the seat, only just able to pay attention to the question. "Huh? Oh Y-yeah... I'm good... I just got a little spooked with the whole... Knife thing..." She gave a weak fake smile, before feeling her brother's hand on her shoulder. "It's over now. Your fine, sis." The ship climbed further, and Dom let go of the controls for a minute.

"Okay, you can either point in the direction of your place or gimme the coordinates, I'll drop yo-" Before Dom could finish his ship was suddenly hit by two of the Nautolans fancy ships. He took action and immediately ascended, headed for orbit.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek furrowed his brow at her response. With who she was traveling with she sure did have an especially negative reaction to dangerous situations. He was still unsure about his own position in this. Dominic tried to comfort her, but Tek doubted it had worked just yet. As he began to ask about where to go Tek felt the ship get hit and he quickly steadied himself with his hands against the walls, "Heh, well that's not supposed to happen." he said with a somewhat nervous smile, "You got a gunner? I'm guessing you're gonna want them off your back as much as possible. Doesn't look like we can drop me off right now."

He started looking around for either if they had any location or sign at all of a turret, but if that was not the case, explosives. If their ship wasn't fast enough, he might be able to hit the Gangster ships by opening the ramp momentarily, only a little bit, and throwing them. At least that was if Dominic or Holly didn't get them out of there first. He didn't feel like becoming calamari today.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic maneuvered the ship as best he could, but after all this time he was still relatively new to flying in general. Holly usually would fly while he took care of other business, but given the circumstances that didn't exactly look like it was going to be the norm this time. He picked up on the Nautolan's question about turrets, to which Dominic quickly responded. "Two guns, top and bottom, there's a ladder leading to both of them just past the ramp." At this point he wasn't exactly sure if they were in the best hands, sure Dom had seen him shoot, but that was underwater with a blaster he had likely been using for years. To add to this uncertain factor of survival, Dominic was somewhat struggling with the controls.

At this point, Holly finally regained some kind of composure and sat up right. "You're gonna get us killed flying like this. Scoot." She smiled and took the controls from his hands, and set about performing a few of her tricks to avoid the blaster fire.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek wasted no time once given the answer, he rushed. Considering the circumstances, the bottom seemed the best choice. He dropped in the seat, glancing out the viewport and towards the direction of the enemy. He felt the vigor of combat set in, that rush that he felt in a hunt. Beast or not. They were after him. His mind focused by instinct, and with it, so too came the heightened senses, reflexes, and speed, of the force. The things that came with his less trained sensitivity.

He gripped the controls. First testing out their speeds and extremes before aiming at the enemy. Normally, had he spent more time on land, Holly's maneuvering might have thrown off his aim. But he was used to navigating in every dimension, having spent nearly his entire life underwater. And while he rarely had to fire from such a machine, the force helped guide his aim as he began laying shot after shot towards the enemy's path. He didn't aim simply where they were, but where they should be. He was a hunter in the ocean. You had to know how to lead a shot. It might take him a little to get accustomed. But his aim was getting better at a considerable rate, and the enemy was a much bigger target than he needed.

Dominic Shiro

 

[Dominic Shiro]

Dominic left Holly alone with the controls and took off toward the other gun, though with her numerous 'Tricks' moving around the shit wasn't all that easy. He was constantly being thrown side to side. Though he eventually made it to the ladder and climbed up and into the gunner seat. The ship continued to rock which had made his ability to shoot them down just a slight bit worse....

(Translation: He would struggle to hit an SSD like this)

"We're getting away from this planet and never coming back" She booted up the hyperdrive and B-lined it for the edge of the planets atmosphere. Dominic continued to fire away back toward the pursers though he wasn't exactly hitting anything. So he decided to simply leave the turret and return to the cockpit. Maybe he could be of more use there than by wasting ammo.

As he climbed down the ladder though, he could feel the ship get struck by another shot. He didn't think that it was going to hold together much longer. nonetheless, he returned to the cockpit to see Holly inputting the jump coordinates. By the look of it, they we're headed to Ryloth. The hyperdrive began to warm up as one final bolt hit the engine block. Causing a series of alarms. "What happened?" He turned to Holly awaiting a reply. "They blew away the main hyper cell condensers and caused the breakers to shut off, what's more, the navicomputer is blown. I can restart the system but I can't stop the jump." The ship sped away into hyperspace, with the three awaiting an uncertain fate.

Tek ​

 

[Tek]

Tek continued firing away, he was getting the hang of it and his toothy grin steadily grew. Even when they did get hit. However, they were soon pulled into hyperspace. He'd never truly been off world, and for a moment, he felt a clench of the heart. As if he was torn from something. His home. No matter the feeling of adventure he had. There was always that love of the familiar. And even now he took a moment to pause, staring lost at the walls of the gunnery until he finally pushed the emotions aside and left.

He came out to see Dominic and Holly in the cockpit. He could sense uncertainty, or unease? It was hard to tell the difference. They were so close together. But, he didn't know what that meant. It could be his presence, it could be from the previous fight. He walked in, tapping his speargun to remind himself of familiarity as his hearts calmed down and he felt the feeling of his own unease as he ran a finger across his slowly drying skin. Still moist. But certainly less so.

The Nautolan walked up next to them, glancing at both of their faces to see what he could discern, "Something wrong...other than a stranger on board your ship?"

Dominic Shiro