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Everything was moving too fast. He'd just arrived, and now the four of them were being shoved out the door he'd come through only moments before.
"What? Oh- yeah." He ruffled his wings, feathers fluffed op and large against his back. "There's several around here, but the closest is a couple of blocks that way." He gestures down a side alley. "Who knows how many Seccers we'll run into between here and there."
He took a deep breath to calm his shaking nerves, settling his ruffled feathers and giving his mind a moment to think.
"If we go, I can hide the four of us, but it won't work on droids or anything with a cybernetic brain."
"Tell me you all have like, a friend signal or something." The game of loth-cat and rat was not something Lossa was terribly fond of since she usually lost.
"Don't hit anyone I know," was all he could whisper.
Hearing voices, he pressed himself back against the wall, hoping that would conceal him enough from a cursory glance. These levels were barely used. Maintenance corridors and essential services linking the warehouse district to power, data and pipelines of chemicals needed for manufacture.
Two men in blue body armour crossed their corridor and continued down another. They were not running, but they did not slow. Once they were out of sight, Makko pulled his comm-link from his belt.
"Corpos are coming from below already," Makko hissed briefly into it. He turned to Lossa.
"They'll be alright, but they won't be able to hold out as long as they thought. We need to go now!"
The idea had been to get away before the corpos closed the noose and Fractal State enacted their breakout. Plans were already in motion.
"They must have been waiting for an excuse for this crackdown! Sorry," he added, knowing that she should not have been caught up in this mess.
Oblivious to the deteriorating situation as he was, Desric eyed the team of heavily-armed droids outside his shuttle with some concern. They looked more suited to taking on a small army (or a single Sith) on their own than escorting him.
"This seems excessive for a terrorist attack, AMCO," he said, though that did not stop him from following along. "That is an accurate assessment. The situation has since escalated. A CorpSec gunship was downed and open violence has erupted following a lockdown order for Seven Corners. Fatality estimates are steadily rising. Jedi involvement is likely."
Furrowing his brow, the young Serennian found himself escorted towards a command room of some sort. A secure command room, one rated to withstand just about everything. "That's not great. How are we doing?"
"The Wall is secure. All Globex employees located within the Seven Corners are being monitored. They have been informed to comply with CorpSec requests while clearly stating their corporate affiliation." In other words, AMCO would be out for blood if any of them were victimised - and CorpSec was not wont to shield grunts from Corp-level pressure.
If they closed ranks? Well, a Corp could easily ruin the life of 'some insignificant seccer', even without official sanctions.
"I see. Jedi, you say? If the Galactic Alliance is investigating the matter, we should offer our assistance." Mere moments after the order had been given, AMCO would send a message to the highest-ranking identified Alliance representative.
It was somewhat up in the air how useful a link to Globex would be as the data was largely limited to satellite footage (which is an awful lot more useful on worlds without layers) and the infrastructure associated with their utilities projects.
Still, some data was better than no data, no? Knowing CorpSec, they would be uncooperative at first.
Except, of course, when a high-ranking CAD official cuts through the red tape. Imagine that.
So many issues with the communications here. She had her ways of getting to the Underground, that was simple. Getting to the computer witch of Blanchard was another task together… But getting to these kids? She needed to know who needed help and who was fine. If she was about to go to war, she wanted to know where she was going to be fighting.
Hoping the code was going to work over the Tatt Chat, she didn't even debate that the Tatt-Chat could just… not work that way. Peyton was hoping it was going to, but it didn't make a difference or not. Using an old airwaves communicator, one picked up and used by the Underground, she started calling out.
"Steele here. Moving into the streets. Subters, watch the kids. Flaps, keep an eye open." Flaps was very clearly Cuan Kunn, kids were darkwire, Subters were the Underground. She started moving and found herself rapelling down the building, her side arm not far from her hand. Kicking off, the small anchor's motor was running to slow her as she got closer to the ground. Once there, she looked around, blaster ready. Without anyone nearby, she holstered and disconnected her equipment. The cable would stay, it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Read you, Steele. Got some sparks over here. And a lot of kindling." There was a bit of joy in the gruff human's voice over the radio. The codes were spoken, and Peyton nodded. "Follow the smoke."
"Will try. Going to check on the kids again." And she was doing that, moving, the dark duster over her armor would give her a bit of cover.
"Trainer to kids. Don't even know if this is reaching but let me know… Here to bring the fire."
That was about all she had time for before she heard an armored Corpo making a search stop. Yeah… see, that wasn't going to work that well. Goggles down, she had a bit of a way to blend in. Stun sticks first. She ran from the alley as soon as she saw the request for search become much less of a request. A stun baton flying as she dove, smacking the hand that shoved. A roll out of the way of a return strike.
"Go!" She shouted, no voice modulator. She really needed more gear for this. But the blonde was not about to start the number one war here. She was a hit and fade type.
As the people were scrambling, Peyton eyed the pair of corpos, and took out her second baton. That was when she stepped forward.
"Watch where you're going, sleemo!" Das spat as she spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of the stranger who bumped into her. Admittedly, the run-in was probably her fault. - she'd been walking down the sideway with her earbuds in and her nose buried in a datapad. She was catching up on a few missed messages that she'd neglected to return in light of her recent activities and hadn't bothered to watch where she was going.
She tried to pick the man out of the crowd, but the sudden surge of people on the walkway congested the path and obscured her view. Most seemed to be in a hurry, not an uncommon sight during this time, but some were running. Sprinting, even. That wasn't normal, even in the Corners. Something was wrong.
"What the hell is going on?" Das murmured to herself as she tried to pinpoint the source of the chaos, but her question was quickly answered by a strange IM that came across her datapad. Her pale blue eyes widened as she read the message, its contents tapping into a fear she hadn't felt since the Denon riots. Since she lost her parents.
G1D30N: It's time, Darkwire. Many of you may not know me yet, but our peoples have bared our soles together once before. We chose to stand side by side in the face of oppression, firmly planted on the hope of one day walking the streets of a free Denon. CorpSec once again stands promptly in the way of truth, integrity, and freedom. Their lust for control exceeds the patience of the people, and we will have no more of it.
We are one with the shadows, just like you, but today we must be lanterns in the darkness: A guiding light to those who need refuge. Our home is yours, and the door is open. Find us in the Tombs of the old metro.
In the depths of the slums, the violence continued. Blaster bolts lit the dim alleys with their burned tibanna, the muffled screams of men behind helmets and masks as their life was both taken from them and beaten out of them for a time. Most would live, Corin accepted, though he did not dwell on it much. Of what need was there, he wondered in the brief reprieve, and concluded that there was none.
:: For now. :: He replied between huffs, the sound of distant shots and yells overcame the comms. :: Darkwire's fault. Made it worse for everyone now. ::
The thought ripped through his skullsponge like thermonuclear wildfire, neurons firing off in unseen and unheard of ways within the grey matter. Footfall after footfall, he ran as hard and as fast as he could. Pushing his body to it's limits, he dipped and dodged between the people still on the street, realizing one after the other just what was going on. Chaos abound on the streets, walkways, and platforms of the Seven Corners. And there, mixed into it all was a streak of black, running between the raindrops like he belonged there.
Wall, JD, hit it up...
Legs pushed up with a sharp thrust, as he leaped forward, gaining a significant amount of height as he seemed to softly press into the permacrete. As if time itself had stopped, he could see each point of contact next within the chain. Left foot, push, right foot, push... Soon enough, he was about a good 18 meters up the side of the building, and jumping off toward an over a roughly 3 meter gap, grabbing gloved hands onto it's edge, and pulling himself up as if he were yanking himself by the collar. A quick snap of breath, and he just kept going.
He was blending in, using the Force in multiple ways, each one a brushstroke creating a breathtaking feat of both athletic and mental prowess. He could feel it as it pulsed through him, not only helping him speed along, but remain quiet and stealthy as he did. Hiding in plain sight was truly old but always sound advice. He knew he was getting near, he just wasn't sure how exactly. It had been a long time since he really dived into his connection with the Force and his relationship with it. But, sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do, consequences be fethed.
THERE!
He could sense her near, as if he were standing right next to her. He was hauling backside down an alleyway at this point, weaving in and out of sentient lifeforms like a snake darting through the brush. Soon, a durasteel chain fence came into view, what looked like outcrops to hold barbed wire long since 'salvaged' on top and a rather scuzzy but sizable dumpster up against it. Delving deeper into those filaments of the Force that seemed to slip on like a well worn pair of shoes, Johnny leapt up, grabbed the top crossbar, and vaulted over to the ground below on the other side. With a doorway not far from it...and three figures standing there about to leave.
Two of them he didn't recognize right off the bat, but that was no real surprise to him. Who he did recognize was standing just behind the duo of Doc and Anakin. Pausing a moment, he looked to them both for a moment or two, before pulling the maskhe wore down off his face, looking right at her. "Thank the Force, you're ok... I, um... I came as soon as I heard." He looked to Ruby, half-smiling at her. His lips wanted to curl up into an actual smile, but he had suddenly remembered that there were two others standing there. He just hoped she really was all right. Her friends, too, sure...
Cartri seemed to find a way in every situation to make fun of the helmet he called a fishbowl. It was almost natural for him by now to tease Bri, one that seemed to take their thoughts away from the stressful situation at hand. With little force, he pulled her to one of the sidecars and let her pull it open. However, due to the power and hydraulics being all but nonexistent there was no way it was not going to open without some more force. Using a hand to move her aside slightly, he stood at the front of the door with a grin.
"Don't worry Brie, let the boy sort this out" he said confidently before pulling suddenly and kicking the lock of the sidecar with some force. If he could somehow loosen the lock, he'd be able to slide it across using force, a plan he had only thought of on the spot. Cartri took a step back and raised his hands to the door, gripping with the force to try and slowly but surely slide it across. At first, nothing happened, but after some effort, the door began to move aside with a loud scratch of metal.
When there was enough space, cartri peeked his head out the train and saw the big gap "I have an idea..." he said nervously when he turned back to Brie "You won't like it, but I'm going to throw you across using the force" Cartri continued with a grin, there was no doubt he'd enjoy it yet he didn't want to kill her at the same time.
"It's either I do it or you try jumping that gap yourself. And for some reason, I doubt even the fishbowl will help you there..."
In a nearby CorpSec control centre, a communicator would begin ringing insistently. If it was not answered promptly, the operators would suddenly find their inbound communications clogged by millions of requests from one source.
"Attention. Inflexible automated systems are preventing the elimination of a threat to local air traffic associated with the ongoing incident, see Incident Report 4123-DG-12. Requesting immediate exemption from GREK-27 response." There was a pause that could be construed as menacing. "Please be advised that any attacks upon Inbound Flight Besh-Seven will trigger the saturation bombardment of the offending parties, per Security Directive Zerek."
In the depths of the Wall, the shield generators began to spool up without any manual input. They would be ready to activate in an instant if a Zerek-Eleven response was deemed necessary by the inscrutable AI.
Some poor sap in an overworked glorified call center for CorpSec District 7 command had to look at this message and decide quickly whether or not it was worth their time to actually escalate this request to a superior or flag it as a possible misinformation vector. It provided an awful lot of official-sounding documentation, but with everything else going through the district, it was going to be a hassle to verify properly. More "saturation bombardment" sounded like a big deal, and CorpSec superiors would probably want to keep any further detonations to a minimum of just their own.
"Good day. Please do not deviate from posted commands by CorpSec Automated Defense Networks, and do not saturate or bombard anything while Emergency Order GREK-27 is in effect. If you would like to file a complaint after the crisis is finished, please call during regular business hours at..." More robotic than the literal AI trying to communicate with them, the CorpSec dispatcher read a standardized message for such inquiries and requests. Whether or not this triggered the inscrutable AI's DDOS response likely did not concern the sapient being working off of 10% of its necessary metabolic sleep in the past 48 standard hours...
The man looked at him, scrutinizingly. "…more bounty hunters?" The man asked. NOI shrugged. "Then not a chance. We're under strict orders to—" A stun blast went into the man and the man went down.
"No offense, pal. Wasn't asking." Then, he grabbed the man's id card, dragged him into the small guard station, tied his hands and feet and shoved him up and underneath the desk, with several chairs to block him. Then he used the man's credentials to log onto the system, and hailed the ship of Iris and Alicio.
"There's been reports of a possible disturbance at the Spaceport. Reports of possible blaster-fire. We've already deployed two dozen officers with air support to secure the landing pads, impound any ships they find, and detain all sentients until their identities can be verified. They should be arriving at any moment."
Zur's forehead furrowed as he considered the possible ramifications of this second strange development, but he nodded anyway. He swiveled at the hip, pointing a single finger with a wickedly sharp fingernail at one of the techs in the tent. "Get me comms with the Spaceport. I want a sitrep, immediately."
As timing would have, just as was briefed to Commander Zur, two dozen CorpSec officers arrived and reinforced the security employees of the Spaceport, arriving by Gunship and preventing any hasty retreat to space via starship. Armed with Sonic Carbines and CBE-19 'Sick Sticks,' they began to file in and clear rooms and hallways.
The trio, Iris AraniAlicio Organa
, and Raphael Gallustrade
would hear the humming arrival of the Gunships before the boots landing on the ground charged through the halls. Nonetheless, the professional corporate security forces weren't holding anything back with their wellness check on the spaceport. There was definitely time to escape by foot if they chose to, but it was unlikely the Jedi and her attaché were in any danger as long as they identified who they were. The Bounty Hunter outside his designated landing zone in an area with a report of possible weapons fire? Less safe from persecution should he choose to dawdle...
An Open Bounty has been Issued for all Darkwire Shadowrunners, Sympathizers, Informants, Associates, and any other Opportunistic Criminals profiting from their Terrorism.
While CorpSec Recommends all Citizens stay inside their homes, there will be a Reward for anyone who provides Information leading to the containment of Darkwire activities in the region. Including Clemency for any illegal acts which may or may not have contributed to the acquisition of this Information.
Do not be Alarmed by armed strangers on the street as long as they provide Identification when prompted; rest assured, these are Sanctioned Bounty Hunters cooperating with CorpSec to find and detain Priority Targets of the Darkwire organization that are loose in the District.
Valery looked at the group of kids with frustration clearly visible in her eyes — she wanted to get away and just figure all of this out herself, but she knew that wasn't the safest decision. Cartri giving her some confirmation that Daiya could be trusted did help, so she ignored the confusion that lingered about her connection to Cartri and dipped her head to Daiya. "Alright, I'll follow you to where it's safe, and we'll go from the-"
She paused as the booming sound of an explosion outside drew her eyes to the windows of the train, and much like the others, she watched it happen with widened eyes. What she had believed to be an isolated incident to target her seemed to be much bigger, and it made her wonder just what was going on out there. Denon had always felt incredibly unstable and corrupt, but it clearly ran even deeper than she anticipated.
Valery then turned to Daiya, who tried to ensure the others remained together, and watched quietly until she returned her attention to Valery. "Truce and I can jump myself, don't worry," Valery assured her before her fiery Keshian gaze easily pierced through the darkness to find the building she wanted to launch herself to. The Force began to rise within the Jedi Master and right as Daiya made the move, Valery exploded up into the air and across the distance to the relatively low building up ahead. There, she cushioned herself with the Force and made a subtle landing that made it look a little too easy.
"Turn off the Force?" Valery tilted her head, "It's not that easy and I need it to keep myself safe and for jumps like that." She looked at Daiya for a brief moment, "Does my Force presence hurt you? Or make you uncomfortable?" Valery wasn't quite sure why or how, but she could hide her signature, not turn it off entirely.
As it turned out, the meeting room was spacious, comfortable, and completely devoid of people.
Unless you counted the handful of droids standing by with snacks, that is. "Just me?" Gesturing for a Tetan Purple and some biscuits, Desric made himself comfortable while glancing at the displays. "You are the only executive present with Aurek-1 admin privileges, but others can be called for in an advisory capacity if the need presents itself."
"Aurek-1?"
---
By the time AMCO had explained the situation, Desric was looking a mixture of concerned and confused.
"A concussion missile? What in the name of the Force was that man thinking - and CorpSec won't answer your requests at a level with any real authority?" He knew the CAD tended to favour organics in power, but this was ridiculous. A high-priority request from their AI should be treated the same as an angry call from the Executive Director.
Anything less was simply intolerable and would need to be addressed in time.
"The CAD don't like dealing with AI? Please re-route any requests for information or assistance to organic case handlers for the time being. We wouldn't want to offend their sensibilities." Desric was, of course, fully aware that Globex barely had organics on standby to take calls and that fewer still had the authority to do anything in a reasonable timeframe.
Ruby glanced past Doc and Anakin as Mrs. Ito told them it was time to get gone. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the Atrisian woman – normally quite a stern presence in the kitchen, but today she seemed... fraught.
Okay, that was her first big hint that something was really wrong here. That, and that Doc and Anakin were both outside her bedroom door...
She gave the Doc a steady nod when he asked if she was carrying, and she gave her hip a small pat. Ruby wasn't a walking armory like some of the others, but she hoped it was enough to get them through whatever chit-storm was waiting outside. She noted the way Doc's face looked clouded after he spoke about shooting.
It didn't make her feel any better.
Then, another form came over the fence and joined them. Ruby edged away slightly until she realized who it was. "What the--" she said. "Why are you--"
Her questions were answered when Johnny spoke – he'd come to make sure she was safe. Ruby's eyes narrowed slightly, unsure how to process this information. He probably didn't know her companions, but there wasn't much time for introductions. "This is Doc and Anakin," she said quickly. "They're cool." And by that, she meant they were trustworthy.
"Welp... if our only hope is that way," Ruby said, motioning in the direction that Anakin had indicated. "Let's go." Ruby still didn't fully grasp what was happening, but the sense of urgency beat her over the head enough to know this was serious chit.
She'd missed most of the conversation between Pulse, Binary, and the noodle man, Natsu.
Cinder peeled back the plastic wrap of her second candy bar and took a bite as Binary spoke to the men. She assumed this was all connected: the images she'd seen of the explosion, mention of Corpsec and blockades.
For the moment, Cinder remained calm. None of what she'd gleaned from the conversation had pointed to direct danger – from the people trying to capture her. That, she supposed, was the good part about having been in a secret lab. Only the people that were supposed to know... knew. But, Binary seemed to be cooking something up – and it wasn't noodles.
"What do you mean," Cinder asked, but her tone did not really indicate a question. "Opportunity to dress up?"
The teen's eyes shifted back and forth, she didn't like the way Binary looked at Pulse – and the smile on her face didn't help. They had something in mind. Cinder didn't know what it was... but she had a feeling that there were about to be more 'rules' imposed on her.
The Sangir had already been on Denon, spending time as she normally did within the vast underworld this place had. As she sat at a bench sipping on a soda, her phone sends an alert. And this sound she knew very well, her Howl-Runner instantly pinged her as soon as the bounty had come online. Setting the drink to the side to casually check it out, a pale finger slides through messages. To her surprise the bounty was on a bunch of targets right here on Denon... Did she have an issue with Darkwire? No not really, Jackal could care less who was shooting who. All that mattered to her was that credits filled her pocket, gonna need them if she was ever to move into a real house.
So perhaps this was her lucky day then? With a now empty can tossed into a bin, she pulls up her hood and straps on her goggles.
It was time to hunt!
It was easy enough to find where all the action was going on, shots being fired from all ends. Much preferring to stay out of the main lines of fire, inhuman eyes catching glimpse of a perfect target. Seeing a young man that fit the description of a Darkwire target, "The Shadow Fox".. Must have the nickname for a good reason, time to test it out then.
Perhaps something within the force would tell the young man that he was being stalked, watched by a cold, inhuman gaze. This feeling only got stronger as their hunter drew closer and closer, like a lion stalking within deep grass. And then? Silence... Unknown as to where the feeling went until a sudden whipcord fires at them, the signature of a bounty hunter.
It narrowly misses, smacking into some nearby metal before swiftly being recalled. Now that her ambush just barely didn't work out, he can see as they take aim with their bulky looking pistol.
A pair of gleaming crimson eyes watching them intently as they focused on the prey.
He glanced at his chronometer upon hearing the gunships and boots, and frowned. He didn't have a lot of time and had already wasted some of it. They had taken a bit longer than he'd expected, meaning they'd come from farther away. Didn't matter now. He just needed to make his escape and he had several options still. He'd take the easiest one, for the time being. He...had a strange feeling. Even immersed in the flow of the Force, touch was a terrible sensation sometimes, it wasn't easy to make headway. With both the jedi and this other man here, it was taking more focus to discern his direction. Still...
"Alright..." He straightened and stretched his back and arms a bit, before pulling out a small datapad and pinging it. "Unfortunately I think they're going to be a bit miffed that I have apparently parked in the wrong place, despite the fact that no one said anything about where I was supposed to park..." He emphasized the last part with, perhaps, a bit more annoyance than he meant. "So, I am going to make myself a bit scarce, to keep you two from trouble. You'll have my comms frequency if you need anything, I'm just going to be pulling a Nar Shaddaa and sticking to shadows and nowhere. Also, non-lethal." He patted the blaster pistol as he took off, heading through a sidedoor.
Raphael sidled into the side of the building as a gunship swooped overhead and seemed to double check the pads. He reached up and held his wristcomm to his face, connecting to his ship for a brief second. "Solar Lance Override Code: Lambda-seventeen." There was a brief pause as the screen flashed a red warning. "Confirm." Then the screen lit up blue with the message 'Ownership data, pilot logs, navigation logs deleted'. He sighed. He didn't want to do that, but he didn't have a choice. Then as the second gunship swooped towards the first to check out the datapads, he took off, jumping from the starport to a nearby building, and then to the next and the next. He dropped down into the shadow of an awning as a gunship swerved overhead, searching slowly and moved with the shadows the light cast. It was literally Nar Shaddaa all over again. He'd pissed off some gang and they were hunting for him and his sister.
Pulling up his comms unit, he made an effort to reach out to someone. <"Come in, Jedi Master Noble? This is Raph. Can you hear me?"> He could only hope they hadn't cut all comms lines yet. With any luck, something might get through. Valery Noble Iris AraniAlicio Organa
‘Deputy Gorian’ stops a particularly brutal CorpSec Officer from inflicting police brutality, and promises he’ll find any others who terrorize civilians personally.
Samuel & his new co-workers bust a weapons racket with extreme efficiency, with a regretful encounter.
Samuel sees new bounties posted, finds out the Delegate was ‘taken hostage,’ and starts to make his way to Valery Noble to presumably save her, and see if he can collect the reward for escorting her to safety with CorpSec.
As Samuel’s group made their way through the streets of Baker’s Row, he encountered several other squads raiding houses and normal businesses. “Attention, citizens!” A call out, with his voice being projected clearly by an annunciator, “Please stay indoors while we locate hostile elements. Do not resist searches, and do not give any trouble, and you will be safe.” It was when there was eventually an encounter with a group of CorpSec officers lining up a group of unarmed individuals - plain clothes, civilians by the look of them - as they performed searches. One of these civilians was clearly distressed, crying out in protest before being met by a charged stun baton to the gut. There was a stern bark out of orders as he stepped, “You lot! What the hell are you doing? We’re here to catch terrorists, not terrorize civilians. Focus on the damn mission!” Pointing to the group of officers. “Let us do our job, Bounty Hunter. You have yours.” Came the stern reply of the masked officer. Behind his helmet, his brow furrowed, though it was obscured. “Deputy.” Came the cold response, “With Emergency Access to kick your ass here and now if you don’t keep your sights on the enemy instead of innocents. Is that understood?” A bit of a stretch, but, it'll have to do for now.
This prompted a hidden sneer from the Seccer, but as he sized up the Hunter, he gave a soft scoff, “Fine, sir.” Sarcasm evident in his voice, before motioning back to finish the search of the rounded up civilians. Annoying as it might’ve been for the Dirty Cop, they didn’t want to have to deal with an armored Hunter with better equipment, and seemingly uncaring of the status quo as he was used to being under. This armored individual watched this for a while longer, to ensure there were no further issues, before strides began to make off. “Squad, move on. We’ve wasted enough time babysitting.” He turned as he stepped, walking backwards for a moment, “If I find you hurt anymore civilians, Officers, I have your numbers and identities! You’ll see me again.” It was a warning, and a promise. He hoped that would be enough to deter anymore brutality issues in the area - his annunciator made his voice loud enough for the block to hear. The fact he had to in the first place wasn’t a good sign, but it looked like at least Captain Lonnie’s Company demonstrated differently. There were always at least a few bad apples in the bunch.
How long had it been since he’d done something like this? Samuel wasn’t quite sure, but there was little time to reminisce as he was the first to stack up on a warehouse door. One of the ones marked by Hargo Zur
as part of Darkwire’s little band of terrorists, or one of their allies. “On me - remember, set to stun. Detain first, stun if you have to.” After checking the canister to his primary, he tried the door, only to find it locked. Soft huff to himself, in which he stepped in front, then proceeded to kick it down with beyond the force of a battering ram - power suit and embedded repulsors causing the door to burst off of its hinges. “Police!” He boomed, “Hands where I can see them, get down on the ground, and you won’t be harmed!”
The first thing he was met with was a pair of blaster bolts to his chest - a shimmering energy field flickered for a split second to catch them. Aim snapped, and he squeezed the trigger to his primary as he stepped forward to maximize the effectiveness of his limited fuel. What spewed forth was not blistering hot flames, but instead a greyish chemical that would soak the upper halves of the offending pair of individuals who were taking cover behind an upturned table. One fell on their back as the goo hardened, trapping him in a breathable cocoon for retrieval later - and the other was caught in the shoulder. Desperate, the latter would fire off a few more blaster bolts into the Hunter before another brief squeeze of the trigger saw the rest of him covered whilst standing up, crying out with an angered shout as he dropped the blaster.
Samuel’s heart beat in his ears. This was his first real combat in a while. One where he wasn’t running away, at least. But he wouldn’t have it any other way, if it meant stopping what could be a brewing violent insurrection that would see, however many of the innocent folk here in harm’s way. He had stared at the frozen figures of the presumed criminals for a moment, breathing as he silently reassured himself that they would be fine. With enough space cleared, his newfound squad followed inside, “Focus on clearing the rest of the building. We’ll return for everyone later.” As he took the lead - he had the most armor, the most equipment. It was quite literally not worth it to have anyone else do so. Heart racing or not, he was no coward.
Crates were stacked tall in the warehouse. Scanners indicated they had power-cells, weapon-grade ones. So it was a smuggling operation he had happened upon here. If Hargo’s word was anything to go by, perhaps this was one of multiple establishments used by Darkwire to get weapons to their members. All that equipment from that Heist had to go somewhere, didn’t it? Perhaps it might’ve not been here, but weapons obtained in similar fashion or otherwise might’ve. Shadowed paths used to move between the gathered assortment of stock, his scanners doing a brief sweep of the area. There were more life signatures around. And they were likely armed - those were just the door guards. In the corner of his eye, he detected movement, and he whipped around as one came charging with a vibroblade towards him. Eyes widen - what kind of karkstain uses a damn sword in a gunfight if they weren’t a Forcie? - but just as he was about to pull on the trigger, a stun ring that came from behind him dropped the assailant, the sword clattering to the ground and the body to follow. Gaze turned glanced over, to be met with the sight of an Officer and a smoking underbarrel. “...Thank you, Officer.” In response, the squadmate merely nodded as the Hunter's helmet turned forwards once more. He’d have to get their names later, if he actually did end up getting that long-term contract. He wasn’t in any real danger, but he preferred to limit the drain on his power core from taking damage if this was to be a long term endeavor. It was appreciated nonetheless.
The area widened out into a bigger area, and it was quiet. But he knew there were folk here - lifeform sensor pings were all over. There was a tap to the side of his helmet, switching the visor’s vision to that of Thermal signatures, allowing him to see the hidden forms of several individuals crouching behind crates of various positions, and some on the second level, out of sight. Perhaps preparing an ambush. So he flicked the setting to the underbarrel, as longer-range equipment was going to be necessary here, making a motion to the squad to take up defensive position here, rather than advance further into a trap. He would stand at the entrance of it, but would go no further. “I know you folk are there. Don’t make it any harder than it has to, drop your weapons, and come willingly. You will avoid harm and get reduced sentences” He gave up all elements of surprise. Police didn’t need that - they had to protect, and serve. He thinks that with that, it was an obligation to offer a chance to surrender, no matter how erroneous the circumstance.
Unfortunately, that mattered little. There was a moment of eerie silence that followed, his voice echoing in the warehouse for a moment. It was then there was a cry of, “SMOKE ‘EM!” And they all raised from their locations of cover to unload on the spot. Many of which were on the second floor behind the railing, but a few were on the ground floor. Samuel couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming, but it was disappointing. Repulsors worked in tandem with his feet, boosting him aside as he skidded across the ground, ducking low as he slid into cover. His algorithms let him see just the right moment to loose a stun bolt at one of the ones on the second floor in the last second before his form was obscured, resulting in a cry out before the assailant fell limp. A full-fledged firefight ensued.
The CorpSec officers surrounding him exchanged shots with the assailants. They were able to hold their own fairly well with the Riot Armor they were issued this time around. One, two went down to accurately placed shots - training, however meager it was, typically paid off compared to goons off the street. But there were a lot of them, and suppressed Samuel and his squad with a hail of blaster bolts from a repeater and many blaster pistols. He gave a grunt of annoyance, “You, and you,” Point to the two Officers besides him, “On me. We’re going to push.” Their faces were hidden behind their armor, so he couldn’t really tell, but they only nodded. Before gesturing to the squad on the opposite side of the entrance. “You two, covering fire. Those have Hardsound Pulses, yeah? Use ‘em.”“Copy.” The Riot Armor they wore could handle it, not to mention his own. The unprotected Criminals? Not so much. Blaster bolts whizzed past as he made his battle-plan. Flanking wasn’t an option without an opening - they had the high ground, and a chokepoint. So the only choice they had was to be smart about pushing that choke point. “On my mark,” As he took a grenade from his hook, “Anyone else, try to get a better angle with the distraction. Switch to hardsound. I’m gonna draw their fire.”Click, and he tossed the detonator, “Mark.”
It exploded in a cloud of Dampener Aerosol, and it was then Sam rushed out of cover in a dash towards the stairs on the opposite side of the room, followed swiftly by the two armor-clad squadmates (who we will dub ‘One’ and ‘Two’), sonic carbines singing out as they fired Hardsound Beams at the opposition. Once he was there, they’d be flanked - even if it was only by one person, he was certain it would be enough. At the same time, the pair he had ordered on the opposite side of the opening (who we will dub ‘Three’ and ‘Four’) poked their heads out and fired in blanketing Pulses that swept over the rafters. Most of the criminals cried out in pain, either dropping their weapon, or being thrown backwards by a Beam to the chest and summarily knocked against the wall. This was not without trading blows, however - Three was shot square in the shoulder the moment he poked his head out, but as he recoiled, he realized he didn’t even feel it thanks to the gas that permeated the air. One was going to be pelted by a trio of Repeater rounds, only for the armored Hunter to shield him from harm - the weakened bolts only dissipated by the energy shield formed on his right forearm. “I’ve got you, keep pushing!” In a rally, as another attacker collapsed and fell over the rafters with a thud to the ground from disorientation. His strides were swifter than the average being, bolstered by his many systems, and suddenly he was already charging up the stairways followed shortly by Two and One. When he reached the top, the disorientated, repeater-wielding criminal had whirled around, firing wildly and missing his first few shots, striking into the side of Two before - FSSSH! - the assailant was overcome by the greyish chemical that stopped him in his tracks from the Bounty Hunter. “Think that was their leader?” Queried One, briefly affirming Two was fine before moving to secure a perimeter. “Not sure. I’m getting another signature. Watch my back.” Came the gruff reply of the Deputy, making his way forward to what seemed like an office overlooking most of the ground floor below. Tried the door - locked, again. So, he stepped back, and kicked it down with destructive force once again, “Police! Drop your weapons!” He preemptively shouted, because he was almost certain the last signature was in here, unless his thermal readings were being spoofed.
As his Thrower snapped to aim to the last remaining sentient, there was a squint. Behind yet another upturned table, akin to a last stand, stood a teenager. They looked no older than 16, perhaps 15, but their hands were held firmly upon a pistol. “Kid…what are you doing?” Came words of disbelief from the modulated voice. The ‘kid’ held their ground, saying not a word. Gaze hardened in the face of the Hunter, which only prompted Samuel to furrow his brow. When the Family said they were runts, they weren’t lying. He thought it was just an insult. But, no, it seems the deplorable Darkwire truly did take what they would get. Including sending children to wage their war. “Come on, kid, you don’t wanna do this.” Tone was softer, less-harsh. “You’re not meant to go down with this despicable lot…drop the weapon, and come quietly. You’ll get a reduced sentence.” Not much of an offer, this he knew, but he doubted CorpSec would let a potential affiliate just walk away. Fingers of the teenager shake, ready to squeeze on the trigger. “Kid, don’t-!”BANG!ZZT! Blows were exchanged as a slug this time caught on his chestplate, glancing off the plating with the help of a last-second shield emitter, yet still packing a nasty punch. The Kid was felled with a stun ring, crashing to the floor and leaving the high-caliber slugthrower skidding across it. Dammit - he’ll have to calibrate the shield as he goes to the next location. Must’ve been so long since it’s been up against a slug that it took a second to recognize it. He was lucky all the systems in his armor made it feel like it was just a slap to the chest. Still, his gaze stared at the motionless, breathing body of the teenager. He felt, guilty, but, he was left with no other choice. Goddamn children, what kind of…
With a sigh, his hand went to his helmet, tuning to the proper frequency. <”This is Deputy Gorian to Command. Inform the District Commander a Target's down. Requesting a clean-up team here, we’ve got a Black Market Bust.”>
---
More troops arrived by Gunship, or were redirected from the surrounding area to confiscate stolen weapons, handcuff the associates. No fatalities had occured, which might’ve been impressive to the right people. It was then he got an important communications from CorpSec - Bounties had been posted. Eyes quickly read through the details shown in his HUD, and his brow furrowed. They had the delegate hostage? Valery Noble. Where had he heard that name before? He felt like he should know it. He skimmed over titles - Sword of the Jedi. Ah. That would explain it. How the hell did they get a karking Jedi Master hostage? No matter. That was a 50,000 credit bounty, for something he would’ve wanted to do in the first place. That means it was now doubly his priority. “Change of plans, folk!” He called from his post, which was overseeing the shakedown of the place, “Log all of these criminals as caught by my squadron under Captain Lonnie, and my IFF. There’s a nice bounty on associates and sympathizers, and there is no doubt in my mind this lot was smuggling weapons to the terrorists. I intend to collect.” Pointing to an officer holding a Datapad, of which merely nodded in response. Samuel then dropped down onto the ground floor, “Wrap-up! We have a hostage situation, they’ve got a karking Jedi, and an important one at that. Your reputation, my paycheck, and most importantly, her life, is on the line. We’re redirecting to free and escort her through whatever means necessary.” Spoken briskly, wasting no time as he marched double-time with his assigned squad in-tow, the sounds of heavy footfalls and boots against stone echoing. Head tilts as the communications from Silver Shield Group
come into his perception, listening along to the report. And, what do you know - they had the details on the exact person he was looking for! Comms are adjusted in his helmet, <<Copy that, Silver Shield, moving to intercept and free VN-0. Request to maintain this comm-channel, I’m going to need real-time updates to keep up.>>
He jumped from the ground to the gunship on standby that had delivered the group of troops sent for cleanup, turning to pull another one of his squad up with ease - this being Three, who's shoulder was now a tad singed from the blow from earlier. The rest boarded simultaneously or shortly thereafter, perhaps more efficiently as some grew used to the Hunter’s pace. “Pilot, double time it! We’ve got a Jedi to save.”
Hexes inner voices '...Neutral...' '...Doubt...' '...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter
The explosives were set, the shadowrunners were clear of the crashed train and there was a cool breeze coming in the windows from the Silver Shield Group
vehicle high above her. She guessed there was only one thing left to do. She put on her shades, and pulled her headphones on before stepping to the open hatch of the train
She dropped out of the train, rolling on to her back counting down as she went letting the wind rush through her hair "6...5....4.....3....2.....1....."
The explosion was enormous, tearing the train engine immediately in half and sending a shock wave chasing the blue haired girl as she fell from the sky. Bits of debris from corpsecs new jigsaw puzzle began to rain around her. The train carts dropped several meters as the first mag grapple fell, and then seconds later the whole train detached from the ruined rail. It was only due to the forward planning of Darkwire that the train dropped towards abandoned ruins in the deepest layers and not more populated areas.
'...Beautiful!...now pull up...'
Hex stopped savouring her work, flipped the board from her back and clipped her feet on, seconds before she became a duraplast decoration, the repulsors whirled to life and she kicked off the roof of a warehouse and skimmed down an alleyway. The in a flash of blue hair she was gone. Her fingers ran across the walls, wet from the rain as she planned her next move, she needed to either get out of district seven or into the tombs, or both.
<<Anyone about! Need a lift outa her boys and girls.>> she giggled into the comms as she followed her locator towards the tombs, seeing an access port, a sewers always sewers. She was in the dark tunnel in second, spray from the run off filled the air behind her and she squeezed her gut tightly, riding the turn high up the walls and spinning over as the tunnel straightened up. As the sewer turned into the tombs proper she saw friendly site, a familiar dump truck. She skimmed to the side of it and stuck her head in looking for her friend Under Foot"If I was a little Squibb, where would I be hiding?"
A small, saucer-shaped droid flew through the streets of Seven Corners.
With several arm attachments, a swiveling red optic lens and low operational beeps, it zipped between buildings and fleeing crowds. The red optic was constantly scanning, the programming of the droid assessing individuals en masse, as it kept reporting false readings. The small ID9 seeker droid was looking for someone in particular, a certain Keshian humanoid that was well-known to many as a Jedi Master of the Galactic Alliance, so it zeroed in on the last reported location of the target:
A train wreck.
The droid ignored the panic, the screams and shouts, the distant explosions and all those that weren't its primary mission. And as it neared the area of the crash, where a scene of pure destruction was present, it scanned with no care for those injured or assisting or fighting... it only sought one individual--
~Beep-beep... beep-beep...~
--an area scan revealed a pair of humanoids that rapidly ascended onto a nearby building top, through various means. The partial recognition of the primary target, Valery Noble, was noted by the droid systems and pinged the owner. To confirm, the ID9 flew in rapid zig zags, until it was higher in elevation, and there the small red optic honed in on the Keshian and another individual.
~Beep-beep!~
Target confirmed.
Coordinates reported.
Observation mode, engaged...
Not far away...
A trench coat wearing, blue-skinned humanoid sat at a table with his boots propped up on the edge.
Varm Nul reclined, oblivious to - or uncaring of - the events that transpired on Denon, as he chewed on some dry meat from a stick with his pointed teeth, casual in manner. The bounty hunter had his seeker droid out looking for his target, one Valery Noble of the Jedi Order, and figured it was as good a time as any to get some food while he waited; the thought 'work smarter, not harder' came to mind, as he absently glanced down to the datapad on his vambrace.
~Beep-beep!~
"Good timin'," Varm Nul muttered, as he scanned the positive ID report, and began to pick his teeth with the stick in his fingers. "Looks like Noble has some company... I'll handle that when it's time."
With a long inhale, Varm Nul stood and stretched, before he reached over and picked up his wide-brimmed hat. He returned it to the top of his head, then tossed some credits onto the table, before he started to walk into the chaos. It was about five seconds later that another explosion ahead, beyond some buildings where the train was located, lit up the sky...
"Damn," The Duros whistled as he pulled the hat brim lower. "This place is gonna be a bounty rich environment soon enough."
Whoever the hell was responsible for all the destruction, they were declaring war.
But, for now, Varm Nul had his location and eyes in the sky, so he started making his way after Valery Noble and her companion with a quickened saunter pace...
Alicio spared a discontented frown at the Jedi. There was a reason he hadn't identified himself when speaking with Dominique Vexx
. "Trust me, they won't do anything they don't see value in, or they don't need to do. As long as messing with us is more trouble than we're worth, we're safe. Too many spinning plates, and one is bound to fall." Alicio spared a smile. "And a Jedi is a rather heavy plate."
Alicio felt a buzz at his side. His ponderous expression continuing, he checked his datapad, seeing a message from... Globex? Alicio frowned down at AMCO
's correspondence. He didn't want to use corporate assistance unless they had to.
"Iris, do you think you can sense... Wait." Alicio paused, the taste of bitter ash wafting to him from the future. His grey eyes flashed as he turned his head to Iris, the sounds of approaching tactical units on the air. Raph left as quickly as he entered, something in his face that Alicio couldn't quite parse. Parked in the wrong place...? That felt... odd. But he could only watch on in curiosity as Iris' acquaintance made himself scarce. The Count spied into the moments yet to come.
Doc Painless
Ruby Jaxx
Johnny Diamonds
