Forget me (not)

[Jen]

[member="Marcus Lok"] :: [member="Tytos Ardik"]​

It had rained recently and the large puddle that had formed in the crack of the roads pavement reflected a blurry echo of the buildings and the colorful neon signs that surrounded it.

Not very far from the puddle, Jennifer, a twenty something year old female half human sat on what appeared to be a heavily tuned and modified swoop bike. With her legs planted on either side of its Corellian leather saddle and her heavy boots sturdily placed on the ground she seemed as if she had been there for a while, leaning up against the speeders handlebars, the last remains of a smoldering cigarette held between her fingers.

Ever since she had arrived in the narrow and rarely traveled street the puddle belonged to, she had been silently looking ahead and towards what appeared to be a large gate. It was several hundred meters away from her, but from the shadows of her vantage point she had clear sight with the help of a pair of macrobinoculars.

For what seemed like hours she continued to sit still, her head suddenly jerking momentarily as she spotted movement by the gate ahead. A single air speeder pulling out through the heavily armed gates. With a slight smile forming on her pale face she adjusted the large black hoodie she wore, reaching to activate a microphone, a single phrase uttered over the encrypted channel:

“Out hosts are arriving at target soon.”

 

[Marcus Lok]

The garage was dead quiet. It was there, in a crate of 'Cables' that he'd wound up. The idea had been simple enough, and Marcus had thought that it would be too cliche to have worked, but it did. The most attention he'd gotten was from the dock manager who scanned the label. The cramped dark space had been his home for nearly three hours now, and his back was killing.

He peaked out of crate's hatch, unable to see much underneath the dim lighting except more crates that were rather carelessly stacked about the area. Surely they would come soon. This wouldn't be a bust. Their information was solid, or... As solid as it could be under the circumstances. There weren't a lot of people who knew information about the Hub. It was a closely guarded facility that only a few private contractors had access to, and only one employee had offered to get them this far for a fair few chits. He knew generally where they had to go after their little meeting with the two officials that should have arrived an hour before, but beyond that, it would be improvised.

Maybe he should move... They might come and search these crates soon, and the last thing he wanted was fo-..

His thoughts of re positioning were dashed at the sharp static in his ear, followed by the scratchy voice of Phoenix.

Several minutes passed before he responded to her initial contact with his own confirmation.

"Copy, I see the doors opening now..."

The screeching of the door mechanism caused him to wince for a few seconds before the familiar hiss of the rain brought his focus back to the target. There it was, a sleek black speeder filled with two under bosses who were all too ready to get in and out of this place. It wasn't a particularly interesting destination, and each of them probably couldn't wait to get back to their spice dens.

"I'm engaging soon. Be ready."


/ [member="Jen"] / [member="Tytos Ardik"] / [member="Helix Syndicate"] /

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Jen"] | [member="Marcus Lok"]​

This entrance to the Undercity HoloNet Hub had its own little guard post. It was manned by five Syndicate Shock Troopers total. Two were standing off to either side of the entrance on their lonesome, holding gruesome looking slugthrowers. The other two could be seen sitting at a small cordoned off area by the door, playing pazaak and otherwise entertaining themselves. A table, chairs, and some crates. Mostly crates. Nothing too interesting. It was an innocent enough scene, were it not for their sinister armor. Their weapons were close at hand as well, just to keep in line with protocol. There was a small structure present to the right of the blast doors, something between a pillbox and an office. There wasn't a door.

After the blastdoors screeched open, the two playing pazaak stood at attention but did not leave the cordoned area. Another Shock Trooper, ostensibly the commander, came out from the pillbox. Sans helmet. He was a handsome looking human male, late twenties or earlier thirties. The black speeder slowly crawled forward until it had just cleared the door, then it stopped again. The young commander strode forward, pointing at the driver - unseen through tinted windows. The driver understood the gesture anyway, the back passenger window began to roll down and the Commander approached. Inside were two Sullustan men. Stern looking fellows, similarly aged and utterly identical. Twins, business partners. They did not look inherently pleased to see the commander, nor were they happy that they had to listen to the blast doors slowly screech shut while he bothered them.

"Gentlemen," said the commander, pleasantly enough, "We hope your visit's been satisfactory?"

They replied in terse, formal Sullustese.

"<< It was fine. >>"

"<< Adequate. >>"

 

[Jen]

[member="Helix Syndicate"] :: [member="Marcus Lok"]​

The roar Jennifers swoop bike uttered when it came alive was always a welcome one, it made the tips of her fingers tingle and her heartbeat just slightly faster. A wake up call from the monotone of sitting still for a couple of hours. With a flick of her fingers, the crumbling cigarette bud spun in an arch up into the air and landed on the wet ground as hot gusts of exhaust surged through the alley. With a violent growl the bike lifted itself into the air and soared down the street.

The black air speeder Jennifer had seen exit the Holonet Hub belonged to a pair of what Jennifer had come to learn was underbosses of the cartel. For a couple of weeks Jennifer and Marc had been surveying their private homes and tracking their movements throughout Nar Shaddaa. Luckily enough the underbosses seemed to show up at the Holonet Hub every so often for inspections. A fact Jen and Marc hoped to exploit.

The traffic of the Nar Shaddaa was busier than usual tonight, so despite knowing a route to the Underbosses home it took a little longer for her to get there than she had predicted. Especially considering she was not using the main road to get to where the Underbosses were going, ensuring she wouldn’t be seen.

By the time Jennifer caught sight of the underbosses airspeeder it was already entering the hangar of their apartment, Marcs crackling voice heard over the encrypted comms moments before. Slowing down her swoop bike she slowly approached the landing pad, once again, almost nervously adjusting the large black hoodie she wore and in turn the iron skin she was wearing under it.

Hopefully the appearance of an unknown speeder bike on the Underbosses landing pad would be sufficient distraction for Marc to get an edge in what was to come.

 

[Marcus Lok]

His breathing slowed as the familiar whine of an airspeeder approached the hangar, quite certain that he'd not been spotted. They would be vulnerable now, interested only in getting to their beds or whatever distractions were held inside the home itself. It was crucial that they didn't get inside, and even more crucial that none of them could get the word out. With that in mind, Marcus reached into his backpack which he'd been able to stow away with him. Each device he'd brought would serve a purpose, and as the whining of the airspeeder's engines ground down to a silent whirring on the pad, he withdrew a stun grenade and an ion grenade. One to knock out the occupants, and one to knock out their Comms.

This would have to go off without a hitch, and as soon as he saw Jen approaching the pad, he made his way out of his crate. He would remain concealed behind its bulk, at least until he was sure that the occupants had been properly distracted by those whom still lurked within the speeder.

If all went well, Jen would draw their curiosity if not a few laser bolts, and he would let loose with the ion grenades before they could get a word out. But only time would tell. With a steady hand on both of the grenades, he waited for the men in the airspeeder to make their move.

"Watch it... They might just let loose on you."

/ [member="Jen"] / [member="Helix Syndicate"] /

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Jen"] | [member="Marcus Lok"]​

These were not employees of the Helix Syndicate.

Anyone who was anyone in the Undercity HoloNet Hub tended to live on-site, either of their own volition or through urging by the Syndicate's top level executive. And those few that managed to skirt the rules and live outside the hub would not have made their home anywhere so easily accessible. They preferred the Corellian Sector, where their high class residential towers were protected by their own privately owned Tower Security. There was no commuting to and from the Corellian Sector without a security detail, unlike these Sullustans. This was the Hutt Sprace's most important HoloNet connection point and the Syndicate was more than aware that people would like to sabotage or take control of it. They took precautions: there were procedures and escorts and checkpoints and counter-surveillance and...

None of that with these guys.

They were criminals from Sullust - officers in some other criminal outfit that wanted to do business with the Syndicate. What sort of business involved visiting the HoloNet Hub on Nar Shaddaa was anyone's guess, but here they were. As with all visits, this was temporary. Neither Sullustan imagined anyone would be looking for them or aware of their presence. They were a low profile outfit from someplace in the Galactic Alliance. Hence why they didn't bother much keeping things tight: the unsecured apartment complex they lived out of, the fact that their only form of security was their driver. The driver himself was an agitated looking Caamasi, who leaned forward over the wheel to squint at the vague outline of Jennifer who appeared to be... Loitering.

From the back, one of the Sullustans noticed his staring and hesitation to shut off the speeder. "<< What is it? Who is that? >>"

The Caamasi did not immediately answer, then he shrugged after a moment. "Probably just one of the neighbors." He powered down the speeder and cracked open his door. Just some youngster slinging spice in the hangar-bay. Nothing to get excited about. The Sullustans followed suit, exiting on either side.

 

[Marcus Lok]

They'd certainly seen Jen coming towards the speeder, but to his surprise they seemed to make very little of it. Off-Worlders seemed to always underestimate a person lurking in the shadows and these Sullustans were no different. Years of living in the Vertical City had taught Marcus that anyone giving you attention usually meant you harm. It was a tough lesson to learn after he'd left a society full of mostly honorable warriors who'd tell you right away if they had a problem with you. He didn't mind their attitude one bit. It only made his job easier.

He waited for a few more moments, being sure that the men were totally engrossed with the confusing spectacle of a girl standing solemnly in the rain. She looked eerie when she stopped, almost like a figure of death from one of those creepy holofilms he'd seen a while back. He watched the Caamasi, waiting for his head to flick towards the opening of the garage once more before he made his move.

"Going now, look away."

Both grenades were out of his hand and headed towards the speeder in an instant. He was quick to duck back below the crates before they detonated, not wanting to feel any of the effects of the non lethal's. Soon they went off with a great big BANG that shook the dust from the containers and killed the lights. Marcus set to work, bounding over the crates and engaging with the Caamasi driver. A flurry of precise strikes that had been long practiced came to life all along the furry creature's form, and if he were incapacitated he would let loose with a stun shot from his blaster towards whichever one of those fold-faced aliens found themselves in his sights. He wouldn't be fast enough to take down both Sullustans, but so long as he got one, he was sure that Jen could take care of the other.

/ [member="Jen"] / [member="Helix Syndicate"] /​

 

[Jen]

His voice crackled over the comms “Going now, look away.”

Jennifer didn’t need a second warning and without hesitation she turned around and away from the garage, her frame ducking down to the level of her swoop as she raised a pair of tattooed hands to cover her ears. She had expected the warned electric explosion to come sooner, the fraction of delay making her stumble forward once the pulse surged through the air, her shoulder neck and by now rather soaked white hair blown forward as if by a fan, for a moment sticking to her hands and forehead.

She stood straight just as quickly as she had ducked down, her hands almost numb from anxiety as she spun on her feet, her sunglass covered eyes catching a glimpse of her Mandalorian partner-in-crime springing into action on the opposite side of the speeder. She strode forward and slightly to her left to minimize the cover the speeder door provided, unfastening the recently bought black market blaster from its holster and raising it, gripping it with both of her trembling hands. A single Sullustan in view. She squeezed the trigger and fired a stun bolt towards the target. While she sincerely hoped this would be enough to incapicitate the target, the thought of dragging a vibroknife was a consideration not unfamiliar in the planning of this attack. The thought of killing once again however, made her sick to her stomach.

[member="Marcus Lok"] :: [member="Helix Syndicate"]​

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Jen"] | [member="Marcus Lok"]​

Everyone realized too late that maybe they should have paid more attention to the loitering woman. But hindsight was twenty-twenty. In terms of their sight right now, everyone was blind. The Caamasi was yelling profanity off-pitch, deafened and blinded the stun grenade. He attempted to get his sidearm out, only to fumble and drop it. He might have tried to get it if Marcus weren't on him right after that. Already dazed and confused, the Caamasi dropped after a few punches - groaning incoherently. The Sullustans didn't fair much better, one of them was barking questions really loudly. The two attempted to run away even though they were blinded, only to keep stumbling and bumping into one another.

They didn't get too far.

Stun bolts smacked into the entwined, stumbling Sullustans. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. They collapsed into a pile on the floor, completely unconscious and twitching. The Caamasi continued to loll about, groaning miserably and grasping for the spots he had been punched in several times.

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus looked around at the bodies that now lay strewn about the garage. He could feel his heart beating fast underneath his breastplate. It had worked out perfectly, more or less, and it would seem as though they hadn't even had the time to call for help. It had been some time since he'd engaged in this sort of action and the rush of adrenaline that now coursed through his limbs only brought him back to the times before he'd chosen this life. He felt like a killer again.

He motioned quickly to Jen, beckoning her to come forward and begin the next phase of their plan. If she could see him through the streaks of rain that still hailed down from outside, she might have even seen a smile on his face. It wasn't intentional, and he might not have even realized that he was doing it, but it would be there even as he began to approach the Caamasi. Half of his concern was in that the being wasn't fully out of the fight, and the other half was simply that he couldn't help himself. He brought his foot across the alien's temple harshly, knocking him unconscious if not a little more-so. After he was sure that the man wasn't moving, he walked towards Jen, awaiting the delivery of one of the devices.

"Couldn't a' gone better. Let's get it done."

/ [member="Helix Syndicate"] / [member="Jen"] /​

 

[Jen]

Jennifer lowered the blaster slightly, still clutched tightly in a double grip as her amber eyes, hidden behind her round glasses, glanced between the point where her target had been standing moments ago, now a pile of unconscious and unmoving bodies. She looked up at the sound of Marcs voice, a wave from him signaling her to come closer.

If you had contacts to the right black markets you could find the darndest of things on the HoloNet. Luckily for Jen she owned the biggest one on the HoloNet. The Hydian Way had made it easy to acquire what had turned out to become the center piece of the operation ahead of them. Three small devices that once attached to a person could render an unfathomable exact disguise.

With a not as accurate as intended throw, Jennifer tossed one of the holographic disguise matrixs to Marcus, moving towards him while securely reinserting her blaster into its holster by her hip, readjusting her large hoodie and thereby covering the blaster from view.

“kark I’m cold.” She muttered in her odd melodic accent as she walked up to him and out of the rain, a finger flicking a strand of soaked white hair out of her face. “Got his keys? O.k let’s get the poodooheads into the speeder.” While she did notice his odd smile, it was an observation that first would be pondered upon on a lonely night in the future. A lifetime of being around syndicate members and people thrilled at violence had made a smile in the midst of chaos a not that uncommon sight.

It did not take long for Marcus and Jennifer to stow the bodies back into the car, gagging and handcuffing both arms and legs of the three unconscious bodies. When done, Jennifer got back onto her speeder bike, the powerful engine coming alive once again, the cold rain once again flowing through her hair and down her face. Thank the makers she wasn’t wearing eyeliner.

A steady hum echoed from the engine of her speeder as she waited for Marcus to start driving to their next destination.

[member="Marcus Lok"] :: [member="Helix Syndicate"]​

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus looked around the cockpit of the air speeder for a few moments to familiarize himself with the setup before he took plugged the key into the ignition and fired it up. It was nice, one of the newer models that had come out of some luxury chain on Coruscant. He looked back, checking that Jen had mounted up before he eased his way out of the garage and took off down one of the narrower side streets onto a mostly clear highway.

He was fond of the lower roadways of the Vertical City. During his time on Coruscant, he'd come to hate the monotony provided by the automated skylanes that took all of the pleasure out a simple drive. It was almost suffocating behind the yoke on a world like that. Here, however, one could enjoy the freedom of movement to an overwhelming degree. He sped up, letting the glowing neon lights turn into ever broader streaks, though mindful of the path ahead of him. The last thing he wanted to do was total the thing before they'd even gotten through with the job. That was another plus to living under intermittent hails of acid rain, though. Speed enforcement was a joke.

Glancing at the illuminated navigational panel, he slowed up. They'd passed a few residential districts and now, in the industrial sector, he made his turn down one of the narrow side streets that criminals made their home. He spotted his destination, an open warehouse door where the florescent bulbs still burned above stacks of durasteel crates. It was a hole in the wall that the Black Skulls still used to store their equipment, and he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as more than a few rifles were raised towards the tinted windshield of the speeder before he powered it down. He wasn't a member. Didn't really want to be either. As long as hanging around Jen afforded him a life without having to watch out for one more gang, he was happy. Stepping out of the speeder, slowly, he checked on their passengers. They were still bound up tight and ready for the next phase.

Satisfied with their status and hearing the whining engines of Jen's bike, he took the opportunity to examine his projector. They'd both stayed up late, modifying the small pieces of technology here and there, but the original concept had only been improved since their invention hundreds of years ago. The flickering that had accompanied earlier models was almost completely gone, save for a few minor hiccups that were to be expected with such a device. Perfect camouflage certainly never existed... But he was optimistic. This would work. Either that or they'd end up fried.

Looking to a few idle members of the gang, he pointed to a few crates that sat open.

"Get the stuff, we're movin' out as soon as everything's set."

/ [member="Jen"] / [member="Helix Syndicate"] /​

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Jen"] | [member="Marcus Lok"]​

There'd been a surveillance team planted across from the Sullustans' apartment. Just two men, the ones who had broken in and started planting bugs in innocuous places in the Sullustans' apartment while they were out. All that effort for nothing, apparently. These weren't thick walls - they could hear all that blaster shots, the yelling, the detonators. They called the Syndicate only a few moments after the action. Even then Jen and Marcus had already been long gone, even after a squad of Enforcers meandered in to secure the garage. There was no sign of anyone, so then they called in Derrenger. Although Derrenger would have preferred to remain asleep.

The Trandoshan rubbed his snout with annoyance. "So what? What happened?"

"Eggheads said our guests are gone." One of the Enforcers said. "They said they heard some kind of fight."

Must not have been a strong one if it didn't take out the speeder too. "Has someone tried calling them?"

"Several times. They aren't going through."

"How many were there?"

"Headquarters says three. Two Sullustans and a Caamasi," The Enforcer glanced over his shoulder at his companions, who were milling about as if investigating. They were not exactly looking very hard, as if they were already resigned to finding nothing. Force knew they had all been party to some flawless abductions themselves. But there were more likely scenarios, at least to the Enforcer. "They could have just upped and left. Lightning probably knocked out the power. Maybe they knew we were listening?"

Lightning didn't strike this far down, but Derrenger did not bother to explain this to him. If they were fleeing their surveillance team, what was the deal with the fight the eggheads had heard? Derrenger sniffed the air, but all he could smell was rain and the Enforcers milling about the place. Worthless. This could have easily been an assassination by some professional outfit. Those Sullustans probably had their fair share of enemies back home, but the Syndicate was going to want answers anyway.

Derrenger was not convinced he had any to give.

Whatever. Headquarters would be appraised of the situation. They'd put out some feelers, but in all likelihood, the party was already over for those three. Whoever took the trio (or their corpses) and the speeder could have been anywhere by now, and this wasn't exactly the sort of neighborhood that had an abundance of surveillance cameras to consult for leads.