Faction Fate of Denon: Attention, All Residents [Darkwire]

[Iris Arani]

"I already have. She's fine. .. Do you think we need to go find her? I'd rather focus on figuring out who was behind the attack on her before the Corpo's figure it out and twist the facts to their benefit. Last thing we need is them controlling the narrative."

Once down in the streets, Iris took point. She knew this place. She knew Denon. Living here for as long as she did, fighting against those she did, knowing how to get around the streets and avoid Corpo was a must.

"Whoever's behind this, you can bet they don't want to be found."

Alicio Organa

 

[Valery Noble]

Denon

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Daiya Varm Nul Samuel Exel Yula Perl Hex | Others? ;-;

She still seemed confused about how her presence was causing Daiya a headache, but Valery didn't want to draw away her focus too much. So while she couldn't turn it off, Valery instead buried her presence, so nobody around her could sense it through the Force, but she'd still very much be able to use the Force if she needed to. It would likely cause spikes of discomfort, but given this situation, there was simply no way that Valery would keep herself from using it entirely.

Too much risk.

"I'll do my best, but I might have to occasionally use it." A fair warning before the two began to move down the stairs to reach the lobby all the way at the bottom floor. It was a mostly quiet walk, at least verbally, but Valery could feel a lot about what was happening around her. Denon was even more chaotic than usual, people had died and she knew someone would be looking for her as well. Her comms were not working, so she hadn't been able to alert the Jedi, friends, or family. With her daughter and her vivid visions, she could only imagine how terrified she must be right now.

And how much that would affect her boyfriend.

When they finally reached the lobby, Valery focused no longer on the city around her, but on the teen who had been escorting her, supposedly to safety. She trusted Cartri and Daiya seemed close with him, but she knew better than to blindly trust people on Denon. A large part of her wanted to cloak up and hide away in the Shadows, so not a single person on this world could hope to ever find her. But for now, she decided against it and spoke up to confront the teen after she had shared the good and bad news. "We'll manage but before we go, why are you feeling so nervous?" she asked, her fiery gaze narrowed a little.

"We haven't run into any trouble yet, or is there something I'm missing? Or something you're not telling me?" Valery kept her eyes fixed on Daiya's for a moment, probing to test if there was anything she should be careful with. But they didn't have much time, and Valery considered her options to be stealthy.

"Usually I'd go invisible and cloak up through the Force, but if my presence hurts you... that'd be really bad." She sighed and rolled her shoulders while she thought about it. How easy it would be to ditch the girl and just get out alone, but if this safehouse was legitimate, it would still be the best option for keeping her head down. "Guess we'll cloak up, and walk fast," Valery finally said, before she moved to grab the blanket, and tossed the raincoat over to Daiya. She then wrapped the blanket around herself and moved towards the door, where she stopped so Daiya could take lead.

"Let's get out of here before more people show up."

 

[Samuel Exel]

Objective II: Lock It Down!
Location: District 7, Unknown Area
​

Spoiler: Equipment & Appearance

• Armor:
  • "Aegis" Powered Combat Armor, Mk. IV
    • Shield: MP-042 "Skjöldr" Energy Shield
    • Underlay: SGB-01x Bodyglove
    • Vambraces:
      • Left Gauntlet:
        • Nano-Missile Launcher
        • Repulsor
        • Painless, Adjustable Sonic Stunner
      • Right Gauntlet:
        • Fibercord Line
        • Cryo Projector
        • Dartcaster
• Weapons:
  • Primary: KIIR-26 'Hellpyre' Flamethrower
  • Sidearms:
    • XE-72 Vindicator Hybrid Hand-Cannon
    • M.I. Model 6M Hybrid Pistol
  • Stormbaton (Elite)
  • Pair of Dampener Aerosol Grenades
  • Pair of EMP Grenades
  • Terminus Shiv

Tags: Darkwire Cultist, Hargo Zur, Silver Shield Group
Getting Close To: Valery Noble , Daiya

| "We've got a Jedi to save." |
Hostage | Detroit: Become Human​

Spoiler: ”TL;DR”

• ‘Deputy Gorian’ readies to enter what he believes is a hostage situation.

He didn’t think he’d ever hear himself say those words. To be frank, he knew little of any official order that was composed of any variety of Force-Sensitives. A majority of his experiences with Force Sensitives were the ones at wit’s end, with bounties on their head for sticking their nose where it didn’t belong, or for just ones being a plain deranged psychopath. He’ll admit, though…they weren’t all bad, all the time. He knew little of the ‘Sword of the Jedi,’ but she was clearly popular. Holo-reports started streaming to his view from his HUD, trying to get what pertinent information he could before he ran headlong into this. She was quite the celebrity. So, how the hell did she get captured? Surely they must have some sort of Force-Restraining Device. Maybe a Ysalamiri or one of those new-fangled Void Stones? Or perhaps the explosion left her unconscious or too out of it? He’d have to ask questions later, because now was the time for action.

The Gunship encroached on the general area that the pair were being tracked, thanks to the coordinates transmitted by Silver Shield Group . As one disgruntled tech answered: “We do not recommend aggressive action at this time…VN-0 appears to be following US-1 uncoerced. Intended destination is unknown. Repeat: We do not recommend aggressive action towards either individual at this time.”

Eyes widened. Damn, they got to her first. But she was following them, uncoerced? That can’t be right. Why the hell would a Jedi Master follow a bunch of Terrorists..? Unless… Ah. They got to her first, which means they get to tell the story first. Samuel’s mind processed, and thought carefully through what might’ve happened. Maybe they led her to believe they were just a bunch of folk trying to help - and that they weren’t responsible for the train being blown up…Or maybe the Jedi was working with Darkwire this whole time. He doubted the latter. Didn’t fit into the principle of things at all. With an annoyed exhale, he pressed a hand to his comm, <<Understood, ‘Mindspike’ - Rest assured, diplomacy is intended. But our orders are to ensure the safety of VN-0 summarily, and with as small amount of risk possible. Letting her be bait is against that.>> Came the monotone, bland response from his helmet. His hand left off, as he would step over towards the cockpit, looking over the Pilot’s shoulder.

“Be ready on those scanners and evasive maneuvers - a bird went down by the train site, and I don’t want a repeat if the Rocketeer is still lingering. Drop us off in the AO, and remain on standby. I’ll call if we need the fire support.” The Pilot nodded as his gaze continued to focus on doing his job, likely grateful he wasn’t going to be forced to dive headlong into a hotspot. They weren't anywhere near the previously known location where the last Gunship went down, but better safe than sorry.

As he turned back and grasped the handlebar once more, “And remember! This is a delicate procedure. It’s your heads on the chopping block by your superiors if you loose a shot too early. Don’t even fire on the Kidnapper, we need to assess the situation first. If we need to bargain, we will.” Declared the steely modulated voice. The CorpSec officers, clad in their armor, did little to acknowledge this other than with brief nods or otherwise. Probably discontent with the prospect of having to actually have trigger-discipline. Still, though, it was that, or a very unfortunate case to take up with Command - ‘I accidentally shot at the priority person we were trying to escort and made her flee, sorry…’ Frankly, that wasn’t a good look. Even a trigger-happy buffoon should be able to see that. For now, this was going to have to be Samuel’s main reason for having them listen to him, other than his efficiency. “I’ll be first to make contact,” He stated, “And the one to negotiate if it comes to it. A last reminder this is a hostage situation, with a hostage who might be confused right now. Not a smash and grab.”

As the repulsor-driven whirrr of the Gunship lowered to a halfway decent area, it veered and came to a hover, the doors opening. They were in an urban area - outside of the destruction of the train wreck. Once again, there was the sound of rope being slid down, the Hunter first to have his boots on the ground and wasting no time before he set off. Jedi or not, he had to stop them from what would likely be a nasty, nasty fate at the hands of the kidnappers. Hell, he still half-doubted what the Silver Shield Report said was true - he couldn’t quite understand how a Jedi Master could be following such individuals uncoerced. HUD continued to feed him details as his scanners began to work, cross referencing the coordinates previously given to try to pinpoint the location of his targets.

He was close.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio frowned down at Iris as they snuck through the city streets, staying close to walls, using his future-sight and the Jedi's own skills in stealth to avoid cam-droids and patrols. Likely, they could have walked to their intended goal unimpeded.

But the point was to see what the corporations didn't want them to see. They couldn't do that with a squad of soldiers at their backs.

"If you're sure she's safe..." Alicio kept his eyes down and away, thinking hard. In the grand scheme of things, it would be better to investigate while the crime scene was still hot. Before someone could spin it. The Count wanted to make sure his friend was safe, but he knew the more important goal was to help the people of Denon.

After today, they would certainly need it.

"...Then, yes. Let's do a little sleuthing."

Alicio's frown deepened as they continued, moving slowly, carefully through the streets. "I doubt the CAD would attack their own train, though. Killing a Jedi Master would bring too much heat down on their regime. Staging something isn't out of the question, but pretty risky on their part... They wouldn't want to hurt Val." That left a simple, unvoiced question.

Who would?

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

"Never underestimate the bond between a Padawan and their master. I can feel her. She's alive. If she ends up in trouble she can't handle, I'll know. And we'll go help." There was no chance she would ignore her own Master's distress. But right now, the chance this gave, no way was she going to ignore it. She closed her eyes, listened through the colors around them. So much panic, hate, and fear.

So many feeling unsafe in their own homes. If that wasn't a sign the DireX failed, Iris wasn't sure what counted anymore.

"We can't trust the CAD to give us the information we need, so we'll go to the other side first. Pull information from all sources. Which means-" She paused, glancing up towards one of the marks on the nearby wall. An eye.

"Darkwire."

Alicio Organa

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon
Objective: Protect Valery
Attire: Link
Tags: Brie Jaxx / Adeline Noctua

Cartri was about to get up and run when a blaster fired directly into his chest, forcing him to fall back to the floor in a stunned state "Arghhhhhhhhh!" he yelled in agony, only stopping when the pain started to ease. The ginger was left face down on the floor breathing heavily, the voice of the woman ringing through his ears like a strange nightmare "Ugh... what are you" he grunted back with gritted teeth, his arms managing to just about pull up his upper body.

"You're trying to take in an innocent kid... I have nothing to do with this crash!" he said more weakly as he saw the girl get closer to him with a shock collar twirling around her finger. With his eyes wide, he let her get close enough to the point where she was only a few steps away "But it doesn't mean I'll let you take me in!" he growled before lifting his hand up to use the force and sling her back first into the wall to create some space.

Slowly but surely, he used the opportunity wisely to get back up to his feet and raise his guard up. His body still ached from the stun, so he needed to find a way out of there as soon as possible.

"Whoever you are, I will not be used as trade for your own personal gain!"

 

[Johnny Diamonds]

Denon
Seven Corners
Ito's Atrsian Cuisine
Service Entry Alleyway

Gear: Railgun, Datadeck, Lightsaber, Ocular Implant.
Tags: Ruby Jaxx | Doc Painless | Anakin Stormrunner

thoughts | speech

[Johnny's Soundscape: Waveshaper]

​

Get with it, Johnnyboy. Now's not the time! ripped through his thoughts rather vividly, as if he was screaming at himself. But it didn't feel like him, it felt more carnal, more devolved. He was running on instincts long since awoken last, moving on a combination of emotion and focus. It took him a second or two to kind of come back down into reality. "Doc... Doc Painless? Hearda' you, choom. Name's Johnny." came from the Corellian Slicer-Dicer as Doc seemingly did some fancy twirly moves with his blaster before holstering it.

Not the most intimidating show he'd seen, but he understood it's intent. Hell, rep was part of the game, like it or not. So as Doc made a few suggestions as to how to get out of there, Johnny looked to Ruby for a moment, before turning his attention to their surroundings. He took stock, a few precious seconds to reach out within the Force, trying to remain as subtle as he could about it. "Up." came from Johnny as he pointed a single finger above his shoulder. "We go up. Unless someone's got a way to cut through the Fence." Up and over was easy enough with a good pair of gloves and a healthy dose of fear. Sometimes, you have to out-crazy life. This, yeah this seemed like one of those times.

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

Raphael reached up and pulled the comms piece from his ear, chuckling. "Sure. Sure. I'll stay right here and wait for your people." Then immediately muting himself he laughed, shaking his head and removed the comms piece from his ear, before setting it on the ground. But the frequency kept going, allowing it to be easily tracked. Yet, Raphael simply ran over, leapt away from the apartment, pulling himself up and onto the roof. He glanced down at the security officers as they swarmed around the apartment where he'd left his comms piece, chuckled a bit. Then with a quick movement he took a picture of the force that had come to "detain" him and ran.

He leapt across another building, before dropping down to the ground in an alley and started walking slowly, hiding behind trash in the alley, the Force went running back the way they came, still looking for, well, probably him. Then they kept going. He wondered, briefly, how Iris and the man's hunt was going. Perhaps they were doing well and had found something important or useful? Perhaps... He shook his head and moved across the street when the patrol had moved on. He was heading deeper in. They would able to handle themselves.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon
Tag | Cartri Keswoll

The last thing the Sangir expected was to be thrown against a wall, their body falling onto the ground, laying still for a short time.. Were they dead? The shock collar had been thrown aside, rolling off the roof of the building. And moments later the pale woman starts to get up onto their feet, darkened blood dripping onto the ground as they did so. Soon the rips in their back would heal, snow-white flesh patched up.

Jackal growls at the young man, showing off her own maw of fangs.

"Force... I better be paid extra for this.."

With ease, the woman jumps to a vantage point using her rocket boots.

"I can't help that you have a price on your head kid, I don't care if you are innocent or not... Blow up more trains as far as I care."

Jackal never was one to pick a side, a true neutral that didn't care which way the wind did flow. Innocence or guilt, such things are arbitrary. The time for talk was over, and seeing how her collar was gone.. This would have to be done the hard way it seemed.

The target seemed to ready themself, the trick was to do something they didn't expect. Instead of launching the whipcord at him again, she jumps off the side of the building, wrapping the cord around a lower pillar. Torpedos her carbine, the small proton missiles would number about three. All went after Cartri, seeming to have their own targeting.

As these lethal little devils distracted the target, Jackal herself used the cord and her boots to swing around the building. The missiles run out of fuel just as they got close, falling to the ground... And right as they fell? Jackal used her momentum to swing right back up behind her target, the sound of the whipcord can once again be heard faintly just the torpedos clanked against the ground. Jackal pulled herself right back on in, sending a kick right into his back before he could tell what was even going on... The hunter had planned out a perfect distraction, and thus her boot now crashed right into the back of her prey. If the Sangir had put any more force into the kick it would have killed him right then and there.

As she had kicked him onto the ground rather violently, her scarlet eyes stare right into his as they focused solely on the hunt at hand. His eyes get to watch as in a flash her vibrosword had been withdrawn, stopping before it actually hit him... Bloodlust almost came over her, but nothing said she couldn't return the pain she had received in kind.

Smashing him in the face with the pommel of her blade to stun them for a moment before powering down the sword and putting it back into her sheath.

"Better thank whoever put that bounty on your head that they specified you have to be alive, or else I would have taken much pleasure in slicing the skull of your shoulders... Nothing says I can't beat you until you pass out though, how else am I supposed to turn you in now that you LOST MY COLLAR?!"

Jackal yells before picking them up by the neck with one hand, whatever this hunter was, their petite frame hid inhuman strength. Pressing Cartri against a wall, Jackal then stabs a black claw into his gut. The claw is soon slipped out moments later as Jackal gets a taste of their blood, allowing the young man to see her fanged maw once again as she ran the claw over her pierced tongue.

"Perhaps the pay isn't even worth it, not when you have such tasty-looking eyes... And exquisite-looking flesh."

Seems that the hunter was becoming less and less concerned with the pay, and more so the thrill of the hunt.

 

[Varm Nul]

NOT FAR FROM THE JEDI
DISTRICT 7 | DENON

The small ID9 seeker droid maintained observation.

That was its purpose, it was what it was built for, and when the target - and accompanying sentient - entered a building, it was no issue. The red photoreceptor adjusted, the tracking method altered, and the small droid began to circle the building slowly. The scanners it utilized didn't require visual perception only, it boasted several other features for the purpose of seeking targets, with some adjustments to the standard configuration by its owner.

~Beep-beep... beep-boop...~

Data was sent to the owner, updating the position and change in sentient tactics.

~Beep-beep!~

With the scanner it used, the droid could 'see' through the walls.

Targets confirmed as changing appearance; raincoat and blanket.

Coordinates updated.

Observation mode, resumed...

Even closer...

Varm Nul was now within several streets of the acquisition.

He walked with purpose, his steps hurried like so many around, with his hands in the deep coat pockets at either side. With the long trench around his lean form, he looked like any other sentient that seemed to be focused on escaping the chaos not far away, and doubted he would draw too much attention; and it wasn't like he wore easily recognizable Mandalorian armor, after all...

Still, the Duros glanced down to his wrist and saw the update feed from his ID9.

"Disguises, eh?" Varm Nul muttered to himself, as he sneered. "Shame that ain't how it works."

The scouting droid was also fitted with a lifeform scanner, one that didn't rely solely on visual identification, and it had locked onto Valery Noble's specific lifeform read-outs. The Keshian could wear a tauntaun suit and it wouldn't make a difference. Varm Nul was on the scent, he was close, and he wouldn't let something as mundane as raincoats and blankets fool him...

This wasn't his first rodeo.

"Almost there, Jedi," Varm Nul smirked. "Then I'll get you out, nice and safe like."

Valery Noble | Daiya | Samuel Exel | Yula Perl | Hex​

 

[Das]

Location: Seven Corners, Denon
Objective 1: In the Pale Sunlight
Soundtrack: 3:00
Tags: Darkwire Shadow;
OPEN to DARKWIRE AGENTS

Another chime from her holopad pulled Das' attention from the strange girl beside her, but even curiouser than their run-in was the IM that stared back at her. Das turned curiously to her new little friend, but the hooded girl had disappeared. She surveyed the masses but finding Nim among the chaos would be impossible.

Her blue eyes skimmed over the holopad. The message curtly read 'here,' but the encrypted attachment is what caught Das' interest. Ten minutes and a quiet place to lay low would be all she'd need to crack it, but both of those had become luxury commodities in the wake of... whatever was going on.

The sudden whoosh of a pair of CorpSec squad cars blew her hair back as they jetted above the walkway, sirens screeching as they rounded the corner.

Das reached out to a man walking by, stepping in front of his path to halt him. He bobbed from one side to the other, trying to pass her.

"What the hell, girl, move!" he spat.

"What's going on?" Das asked, her palms now pressed against his chest to prevent him from leaving before answering her.

"What's happening?"

The man shook his head in frustration, pointing over the teen to a large holo-board in the distance. Das read the words carefully, her chest tightening as she realized just how much danger she was in.

The screen glowed red, a grim warning scrolling over the insidious CorpSec sigil:

'LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT > ALL CITIZENS SHOULD REMAIN INDOORS > PLEASE REMAIN CALM > LOCKDOWN IN EFFE-'​

 

[Daiya]

Objective 1: In the Pale Sunlight
Equipment: Phase II Powderpunk Armor, PD-3 "Combo Breakers" Blaster Pistols, PD-4 "Ninth Life" Hold-out Blaster, "Little Sister" Karambit Knife
Nearby: Valery Noble Yula Perl
Other Tags: Samuel Exel Varm Nul Cassus Akovin

(Post Soundtrack: "Predator and Prey" by Griffin Puatu, Jonah Scott)

"...why are you feeling so nervous?"
"...is there something I'm missing?"
"Or something you're not telling me?"

Daiya wished she could give the woman an honest answer. Looking at the Jedi only served to remind the young shadowrunner of the pain still everpresent in her skull. It had to be the heavy weight of the Force around her, which the Jedi stubbornly refused to turn off. The pain had stayed longer now than it ever had for a Vision, leaving her with just a single conclusion to draw. Her eyes found the woman's lazer sword for a moment, then flicked away. How could she say it was the Jedi making her nervous when it could lead straight to her death?

"Now I know you're not from Denon," the Denonite teen said, frustration roughly coating her words. She grimaced, then shook it away, no longer able to hide away expressions in the privacy of her helmet. Only an offworlder couldn't tell what was happening today, so Daiya tried to summon the patience that had eluded her all day now. "You saw all the Seccers, right? And the way beings were staring at us until it was obvious we weren't them?"

Daiya indicated the colors of her own suit and its lack of red-winged badge. "The comms might be down, but we all got the same message." She tapped her head, almost grinning, "Collective intuition, don't call it the Force. It's like I told you before, and now everybody feels it too: Some real bad chit is about to go down."

She grabbed for the rain-poncho that the Jedi tossed her way, her grimace plain this time as she held the fabric up for examination. Daiya let out a breath, pulling it over her head. "It couldn't hurt to be a little nervous today, y'know?" She winced with every crackle and sound of the worn outfit until it clothed her, most of her anyway. A spark of relief lit her scouring eyes to find that it hadn't torn, it would service her for now. She looked back up at the woman, "I'm Darkwire and you're their target, CorpSec would be drooling all over themselves if they caught us."

And then likely kill Daiya before delivering the Jedi to a warm, awaiting safety.

The young shadowrunner could no longer see the lazer swords that gave her such pause. A thought sprang up inside her, born of the day's impatience and yearning both, one that Daiya struggled to wrestle down this time. It was still too dangerous, too risky. Risk normally sent a thrill through the impulsive young shadowrunner, she didn't like the fear that held her back today. Daiya felt worse every time she thought about it, so she pushed the thought away from her. Once she got the Jedi to Yula's, together they could—

Daiya groaned, holding up a gloved finger. Whoever was messaging her, and she had set her datapad to allow nothing else, refused to take silence for an answer.

ok
yeah im home
come over
wait
whos ur friend
daiya did u blow up a train lmao

Speak of the nether. Daiya clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling, typing in a quick reply to Yula.

Nope, not me. That was Hex, she had the xplosives. I only got deets for her. Theres a good reason i promise! OMW now, see u in a few. /Powderpunk

"That was my contact, we're good." Tucking the datapad away again, the young shadowrunner rolled her eyes at the interruption. It would have been seamless with the HUD if she still had her helmet on. The suit was already a dead giveaway now, and Daiya didn't want to find out how dead. She nodded, ready to start out, offering one last word to the Jedi before they left. "You don't know her, but if we get separated, look for the junky garage near this graffiti art of a dorky superhero dressed in black."

A steady breath came to the teen, as ready as she was going to be now. Daiya nodded, happy to take both suggestions from the Jedi for now. The red and black motions outside had slowed, and with a peek out the door, she spied a cluster of Seccers three buildings down. Enough of them were idle to give her second-thoughts, but she didn't have time for those today. Tightening her jaw, Daiya strode out the door.

Quick and with purpose, Daiya crossed the street. Every stride, every breath, even the direction of her eyes, all painted the picture of a regular Discrete minding her own business. She hoped. Ideas swirled in her head, stories and backgrounds in case they were stopped. Daiya let them all go, there was only going to be one solution to a CorpSec stop today. Either she would wind up dead on the ground or they would.

The darkness of the alley was the sweetest relief, Daiya couldn't breathe until it cloaked them far more easily than their disguises. She nearly turned to share the moment with the woman behind her, almost forgetting what she was. That reminder carried the young shadowrunner forward, always forward, keeping the Jedi in tow as best she could.

She didn't relax as the neighborhoods and streets shifted to an unusually quiet Baker's Row. Daiya kept on alert, mistrusting her senses today more than usual. A second glance merited a third, and twice she cursed herself for nearly walking right into a CorpSec patrol. Her palm itched to grip her blasters, leaving them safely tucked away in their holsters. The young shadowrunner was afraid of what she might do with them, more than just destroying the thin ruse of her disguise.

"It should be just up ahead here now," Daiya finally said, her low voice drifting back to the Jedi as they waited for another street to clear. Three more crossways and one level down would dump the pair onto Yula's block. Then the young shadowrunner could do what needed to be done, and be done with the Jedi for good. "We're just—FETH!"

The pain had been growing sharper, driving into the teen's skull for a while. It wasn't until that moment, leaning up against the graffiti-tagged wall of the alley, that Daiya realized the warning she had ignored. The teen pressed fingers into her forehead in a futile attempt, her body slipping down the side of the wall as she slipped into the inevitable Vision.

They closed in around her from both sides, choking her light away. Righteousness flew in loud, drawing all that was right to its shining form. Greed crept in from behind, always watching and waiting for her moment of weakness. They swirled around her, offering the impossible bargain, forcing the hand that clutched her blaster tight against the head of the Jedi. She had no chance; she had no choice. The moment she fired, the hot ice of Greed and Righteousness rained upon her, bringing not fortune but a freeze. The tears on her cheeks would never thaw again.​

Fear and cold were the first things Daiya felt as she returned, a shuddering breath reminding her of life again. Her thoughts swirled, muddy and uncertain, the way it always was for her afterwards. Images in her head mixed with the Real, making neither seem correct and yet both at the same time. Her lungs whimpered with another breath, feeling the need to cry. Her palms itched as her fingers twitched, feeling the need to draw. Daiya couldn't afford either right now, and she barely understood why.

As the Jedi reappeared to her, still alive, understanding followed quick behind it.

"We gotta run. They're almost here." The young shadowrunner struggled to rise from her seated position. "Worse." The question hadn't been asked, but still she answered. "Hunters!"

If only she had found the courage to kill the Jedi earlier, none of this would be happening.

 

[Silver Shield Group]

​

THE EYE IN THE SKY, BABY

​

Oh, great. Great, great, great. Samuel Exel was going to do it anyway. Figures. If CorpSec were interested in reasoning things out, they wouldn't be in this mess. And Cecil wouldn't be in this bird, on the comm with who he suspected to be the man with the flattest feet out of all the flatfoot dipwads in the whole rotten business.​

​

He massaged his temples, attempting to disperse a growing ache. "Copy that, Exel. Good luck. Over." He terminated the connection and flipped his microphone back up. Cecil had no desire to overhear what was about to happen next. He'd probably see it all unfold anyway.​

​

Noble-and-friend vanished into a building. Some rundown office or another. There wasn't much decor on the side. It wasn't likely they'd get visual on them again. Too many possible departure routes.​

​

Unless they messed up royally. But the fact that these Darkwire losers were already carrying on like this meant they had messed up royally. The odds of them doing it again were…​

​

On the other side of their little mobile surveillance room, a weedy pantoran peered over his console. "I'm picking up signals. Looks like they're sending messages."​

​

…Pretty high, apparently. Sloppy. Didn't matter what network these people thought they were on, they had to bounce the signals off of something. And if signals were bouncing, Mindspike was picking them up.​

​

"Reorienting," the tinny, synthetic voice of a droid pilot came in over the channel. Some droids were so smart you didn't even have to ask.​

​

"That's great, Jacques. They saying anything nice about us?"​

​

Jacques frowned down at his screen. "If they are, I can't tell. Encryption's tight. Not sure I can crack it from here."​

​

"Well, whatever. They can figure that part out at command if they feel like it. Find out where it's going. Or coming from. Whatever."​

​

"Way ahead of you," the pantoran licked his lips, "Could be a bit, though."​

​

"Try to get it done before CorpSec decides its cheaper to base-delta-zero the whole district, yeah?"​

​

"No promises."​

​

Of course. Promises were a risky prospect in this line of work. Cecil scanned his viewscreen and saw nothing of note. Just empty streets and a lot of litter. They must have been sticking to the alleys. But sooner or later they'd run out of cover. And CorpSec were converging on their general area now...​

​

Oh, what a mess. What a mess.​

​

 

[Under Foot]

TOMB STATION
Midnight Zone
[ garbage truck ] [ blaster pistol ] goggles ]

Hex​

"Are you ok Undie?"

"I'm fine!" the Squib relied. Perhaps with a touch too much bravado. Leaning up against the garbage hauler, he attempted to play it off. But wound up instead awkwardly fumbling for an arm rest to lean against, before settling on just folding his arms in front of him as he continued. "We're all fine. Here," he supplied. Because it wasn't about him.

Or her.

Or how pretty she was.

Clearing his throat, the Squib tossed the question back at the tall human being. "How are you?"

"Oh my stars Undie! I blew up a whole train! You should have seen it.... BOOM BABY!"

The Squib's ears folded back as a bemused smile crossed his face. She had so much energy. Such a passion about her. It was raw. It was dangerous. And it was genuine.

It was the kind of thing that would make a Squib want to blow this junkyard and just sail the stars. No destination. Just a pair of salvagers, making it work.

"Why do you have a sofa?"

The Squib snapped out of his reverie. "Oh, uh," the Squib began. Why did he have a couch? "I dunno," he admitted finally, explaining, "I was driving along Twelve and Ghazikhanian and there was just this couch, sitting right on the street. A perfectly good couch!"

Okay, maybe it had a few stains. A new spring on the left side. But this was perfectly salvageable.

"I figured the folks in the Tombs could probably use it," Undie supplied, pointing back toward the entrance with a thumb, while Hex seemed to be tapping out a message on a holo-message.

Then the lockdown came up, and the woman asked, "Where can we go?"

"Depends," Undie answered honestly. "Do you want to lie low and bunker down? Or you want to try and run?"

He knew which option he preferred, which was part of why he was here.

But wherever Hex would go, the Squib felt like he was going to follow her down.

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Johnny Diamonds Doc Painless Anakin Stormrunner
​

As Doc drew his gun on Johnny, Ruby attempted to stammer something. But the two men didn't shoot each other down, luckily. Because they were allies – and they needed all the allies they could get at the present. Well, part of it was probably her fault because she was lousy at making introductions and all that. It was another fail for social skills.

Oh well, that really was the least of their worries.

Ruby craned her neck to see, watching as Doc crept up the alley. CorpSec goons in full gear was definitely not good, not good at all. With their options so limited, Ruby began to feel the panic rising in her chest. She felt cornered.

"The fence," Ruby repeated, daftly.

Thankfully, Johnny spoke up – saying that they'd need to go over. Her eyes shifted towards Anakin. She wasn't sure how he could 'hide' them. It was probably one of those strange skills that she didn't really understand. Maybe she didn't need to understand it... but she also didn't want to put the young man on the spot. She hated it when she was put on the spot, after all.

With a squad of goons headed their way, Ruby nodded hastily. "Up and over, boys."

Ruby started to climb the fence. She definitely wasn't the most athletic, but she hauled it like her life depended on it. And when she reached the top, she was careful not to get cut to threads by the razor wire. With the grace of a boulder, she threw herself over – and landed like said bolder on the ground.

"Oof." She sat up and rubbed her ribs as she waited for the others to join her on this side of the fence. Hopefully, they didn't use her as a landing pad. But she was there if anyone needed a softer landing.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: LEAVING FRACTAL STATE BASE, WAREHOUSE TUNNELS, DISTRICT 7 TWILIGHT LEVEL
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Makko Vyres

The slow turn of her face, along with the slackjawed stare probably drove the point home of her disbelief.

"Don't hit-" She felt her jaw clench to keep herself from raising her voice further and barely kept herself to a harsh whisper. "Those two your friend was carrying weren't waking up again. I think we get a little leeway today."

She kept herself out of sight, cursing her bright skin for the moment. Her eyes were wide, wondering what the outcome of today could be.

Even being under threat of harm, she still silently wondered how much trouble she'd be in if anyone at the jedi temple learned she'd been here.

She felt the air catch in her lungs as two armored bodies came dangerously close to finding them. Makko producing a comm and speaking across it as she couldn't decide if she wanted to smack him, or push to get out quicker.

The brief pause in action provided her answer as he spoke to her.

An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach, hand touching the spot where her bag sat hidden. She gave him a sharp singular nod, not giving the people they'd left a second thought in the moment when he spoke about a crackdown.

"Seriously!? Who are corpos!? Why would they be after people!?" It was said ignorance is bliss, but one couldn't ignore what was shuffling around in armor wielding weapons.

She kept as close as she could to Makko as he led the way onward, nervously glancing back while doing her best to not step on his heels. Her hands and knees began to ache, the tunnels feeling just a fraction tighter with every passing minute.

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Seriously!? Who are corpos!? Why would they be after people!?"

Makko turned them into a side passage and then faced her.

"Look, I'll explain more later but things...things aren't good here. Corporations hold all the money and can do whatever they want. As for us..."

This time he looked a bit sheepish, where before he had been fire and brimstone.

"We defaced a few sites, virus bombed a few corporate currency vaults..."

They did worse than that, but she didn't really need to know right now.

"You don't want to be caught. Not with me."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon
Objective: Protect Valery
Attire: Link
Tags: Brie Jaxx / Adeline Noctua

"I can't help that you have a price on your head kid, I don't care if you are innocent or not... Blow up more trains as far as I care."

"Then you're nothing more than a cold blooded murderer!" he grunted back to the woman as she used her boots to get up on the high ground. Cartri stared up at her with malice "If you think I'm going to go down so easily, you're very much mistaken!" Cartri grunted just before she fired her small proton missiles toward him. Opening his eyes wide, he quickly jumped to the right in the hopes of avoiding them. To his surprise, however, they seemed to drop to the ground before they reached him.

As he got up, he didn't realise Jackal was behind him until a violent kick smashed into his back. Arching backward, spit flew out of his mouth when he fell to the floor in total agony. Any more force could have snapped his spine in two, thankfully the corpo's wanted him alive rather than dead. Cartri seemed to cry on the floor, tears filling his eyes from the force of the blow. Even through that, his body screamed for him to try and get up to fight. Although, just when he was slowly doing that, the pummel of her blade slammed into his face.

Cartri's face snapped to the right, followed by his body which limply fell to its side. He wasn't knocked out, but his world was most certainly rocked. All he could do was groan on the floor, barely able to see through his blurred vision which was only getting worse. Above him, he could hear her talk crap about losing her collar and wanting to beat him senseless, if that didn't send a chill down his spine he didn't know what would.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around his throat and pressed into the wall. Weakly, his hands clawed at her arm with a feeble attempt to break free, yet it wouldn't last very long. With force, her black claw stabbed into his gut. Cartri's mouth and eyes widened in shock, looking down at the red blood patch which was quickly forming. It hurt like hell, but due to the lack of air in his lungs, he couldn't scream "U-gh n...." was the only thing he could gasp.

Before long his face was bright red and his eyes were showing he was about to pass out, leaving his arms to begin hanging limply to his side while he desperately tried to get any sort of air "S-t...sto-" he gasped again, bridging on the edge of giving up and ending his suffering.

If there was any point he needed help, it was now.

 

[Doc Painless]

"Doc... Doc Painless? Hearda' you, choom. Name's Johnny."

The Doc winced as Johnny called out his name on an open street, where any number of CorpSec monitoring devices and financially desperate potential informants might be listening. He was still actively on Denon's Most Wanted list, his chosen alias connected to the murder of the DireX Board Bursar, Qanatain Xopsaloff... not to mention the fact that he was a cop killer several times over, first while on the run from his old clinic, then later during the prison break at Eden Megamall. Suffice to say that Johnny wasn't the only one who'd heard of him.

It would be wise to stop using the name... but he was worried his patients wouldn't be able to find him if he changed it.

Besides, names stuck. Old ones were hard to shed. He knew that all too well.

Several snarky retorts swirled in the Doc's mind in the wake of Johnny's words. A little louder, please, I don't think the officers in the back of the patrol fully heard you. Or even simply that's nice, never heard of you. But neither response was helpful at the moment, so he bit them back and simply offered the other runner a nod. They could chat later, if they all made it out of this alive and free. Back to planning how to do that, then. Anakin seemed nervous about hiding them from the Corpo patrol, which likely had droid sensors anyway, so that option was out.

They were going to have to climb. The Doc eyed the wire-topped fence warily, not looking forward to the prospect. Johnny had made it across just fine, but from the other side, where the wire sloped down; from this direction they had to climb up into the slanted wire. The street medic had seen the kinds of cuts and punctures that razorwire could cause, and they were nasty. Fortunately for him, his hands - indeed, his entire arms - didn't have any skin to cut. He was metal from shoulder to fingertip. As long as he kept his head low, he should theoretically be fine.

Ruby made it over okay, hurling herself bodily over the wire without earning any lacerations the Doc could see. That was a good start... but they were running out of time. The tromp of booted Corpo feet was growing louder, closer. A Quarren dressed in rags darted past the alley mouth, trying to find somewhere to hide from the patrol's relentless march, then looked back down toward where the four of them stood. "Let's pick it up," the Doc said. He knelt and interlaced his fingers, creating a step that he could elevate by standing up and raising his arms.

Basically, he was offering Johnny and Anakin a boost, an easier way over the wire.

It might be a silly offer in Anakin's case, he belatedly realized. That particular runner had wings.

Even as he knelt, he multitasked. The Doc had gotten good at multitasking. Three Cryptnet messages flashed across his cybernetic retinas, allowing him to scan through them while he helped others climb. The first two were signed Your Adoring Mistress, Mastema. He had no idea who that might be, but it did promise a way out, if not a free one. In this situation, though, they might need to take whatever they could get. The district was on full lockdown by now, and there would be no easy escape routes... and no permanent safe havens within the search area.

"Check your messages," the Doc said, forwarding the two he'd received from "Mastema". "There's an address. A way out."

651st and Independence, Level 10. If they could possibly make it that far.

If it wasn't a trap.

The other message was the kind he'd been expecting - a request for medical help. There would be a lot of those tonight, and the Doc couldn't answer them all. Not without getting himself captured or killed, in which case he couldn't help anyone. This one tugged at his heartstrings, though - a teenager clipped by a sonic blast. His blood boiled at the casual brutality of CorpSec... but it was hardly a surprise anymore. He couldn't bring her back to his clinic - if he could reach his clinic, he wouldn't be in this mess - but maybe he could work in the field.

That might mean letting the others go ahead to the rendezvous while he stayed behind.

Sithspit. He was not looking forward to this. But he'd taken an oath.

He had to hold onto what was left of it.

So Doc Painless sent back an address - a warehouse he knew to be empty, down on Level Six. They might have enough time for him to clean the wounds and apply some synthskin before the CorpSec sweep made it that far down. He'd just have to hope that he could reach it - he still had to get out of this alley before he could rush off to medicate anyone. "Let's roll, Johnny," the street medic said, jerking his head toward the fence. Whether the man accepted his boosting hands or not, they needed to get finished with the business of crossing over.

Ruby Jaxx | Anakin Stormrunner | Johnny Diamonds | Dominique Vexx | Sarvod Dravis​

 

[Anakin Stormrunner]

There was so much going on. One moment, the three of them were preparing to rush past the corpos, the next a strange man had come barreling into their midst, offering another way to salvation. They had to take it. It was the safest way. So, Anakin spread his wings and flapped once, twice, three times and soared over the barb wired fence. Praise Ar-amu that he'd had the artificial wing put in. If this had happened a month ago, he likely wouldn't have made it over without several bad injuries.

"I can still hide us as we go. It'll provide some level of cover." He offered to them. Four people was stretching his abilities some, but back on Tatooine he'd been able to hide up to eight in a crisis.

No, he didn't worry about the prayer not working. He worried about the cameras and droids. It was so much easier back on Tatooine where any tech was rare and old, outdated and half made of rust. Here, you couldn't walk half a block without coming up on at least a dozen cameras and seeing twice as many droids. Though, a good amount of those droids were Amavikka too. If only some of those droids were around. No one suspected droids, and they could help get them to safety.

Doc Painless Johnny Diamonds Ruby Jaxx