Get in Loser, We're Going Stealing

[Ugoto Chivaro]

HYPERSPACE
EN ROUTE TO LAMMAX

The Danju System was an innocuous one, tucked up in the Colonies underneath hundreds of more relevant systems. With all the different governments squaring for power in the region, it was easy for it to go unnoticed. Which meant that its single habitable planet, Lammax, could be best used as a shadowport. Pirates, smugglers, slavers, and other miscreants found their way on-world to the settlement of Port Bianco in-between stints. Either to rest, lay low, or just do business. The usual stuff. Unfortunately, Port Bianco was something of an insular shadowport community. They didn't just let anyone land. You had to know someone to vouch for you, and they had to be likeable enough to make their vouching count for something.

So naturally Force 32 had just hijacked the freighter of someone who had already been vouched for. Some Ishi Tib smuggler currently locked in a supply closet, making a lot of muffled noises alternating between yelling and thrashing about. 01 was currently manning the cockpit, making sure the autopilot did its job in getting them to Port Bianco safely. This left the rest of Force 32 to loaf about in the vessel's cargo hold along with their designated extra - [member="Icarus Volcata"].

"I still don't think that guy was a real doctor," 03 said, seated on one of the crates in the hold and checking the sights on his rifle for what must have been the seventh time. "He wasn't packing medical supplies, that's for sure."

04 was leaning next to the wall of the shaking, (muffled) screeching supply closet. Every so often, he responded by gently knocking on the door. "You said he had that gas-cannister thing. That count as medical?"

"That gas killed probably twenty goons. That sound medical to you?" 02's mask was rolled about half-way up his face, exposing his mouth. His skin was light blue, giving him away as either a Pantoran or maybe a Chiss. Hard to tell. He rooted around in a bag of Nerf Jerky bits before popping one into his mouth. Then he held it out towards Icarus. "Here, want one?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Icarus seemed to be doing more work off the books than on these days; from his excursion to the Vampire world he couldn't quite recall, to this little extra-curricular activity (as his mother might say). He was perched on a crate not far from 03, regarding the group and the events unfolding. They had been put in touch through one of his mother's shadowy Council connections, someone likely well-intentioned by perhaps on just the other side of the law. They had contacts that could get them into the shadowport at Port Bianco, where there was some choice merchandise that Icarus wanted to steal -- both to weaken the pirates in the area and to benefit the MPTC.

His considerations were interrupted when one of them -- was it 02 or 04? -- offered him a snack. He chwed the inside of his cheek for a moment before shrugging. "Thanks," he said, reaching into the bag. He pulled a bit of it out of the bag and popped one into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. It wasn't bad until he swallowed the chunk of meat, then there was an explosion of spice in his throat. He choked and pulled out his canteen. "Are we sure that this is nerf?" he asked as he unscrewed the lid. He took a long sip of the cool water, then wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"The hell kind of jerky is that?"

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

04 held up his hands, as if to surrender. "Look man, I'm just spitballing here."

"But, like, why was he 'doc', then? What does it mean?"

"Doesn't mean anything. Probably just a gimmick, maybe some kind super-villain kind of-" 02 had not paid any particular attention to Icarus after holding the bag out to him, focused on the discourse between his two colleagues. He stopped talking only when Icarus had a negative reaction to the nerf jerky, sputtering like a wet toaster and scrambling for a canteen. "Of course it's nerf. What else would it be?"

02 rotated the bag in his hand, eyeing the label. This wasn't one of those fancy organic brands, sure, but it was still jerky. Although it did also say extra spicy. Then again, maybe Icarus' reaction was more to the fact that 02 had sprinkled in a load of Magravian Cat-Spice into the bag, sealed it back up, and tossed it around to coat the chunks prior to consumption. Well, whatever. It was an acquired taste... Made 02 a lot quicker on the draw in combat too. More recently it also helped keep him from getting the shakes.

The Pantoran-maybe-Chiss shrugged and indulged another piece for himself. "Humans, sheesh. And I thought not being able to handle spicy food was just a stereotype."

04 guffawed, but 03, probably offended, said nothing. The freighter gave a light shudder a few moments later. "Feel that? I think we're back in realspace." 01 would be be busy sending in the clearance codes so they didn't get blown out of the sky by starfighters or AA. Provided that worked, they would be landing soon. If it didn't... Well, hopefully they could all fit into an escape pod. But then they would have to radio back to Fort Amaranth for someone to pick them up. Given the choice between calling up Tytos to tell them the op was botched and an explosive death, most would have chosen the latter.

They were about the same thing, after a fashion.

"You brought a gun, right, flyboy?" 04 peeled himself from the wall and made his way over to another crate, rifling around for his own weapons.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"Tastes like death," choked Icarus, his voice ragged and interrupted by coughing. He coughed into the crook of his elbow, then gargled some more water before swallowing. "I like spicy food, man," said Icarus, defending his macho pride. "I like it when I cook it and when I order it in a restaurant, not when someone says hey, here's some nerf without warning." He coughed, then growled as he cleared his throat a few times. "Yikes." He felt the lurch as the ship emerged from hyperspace, but was too busy clearing his throat to comment on it.

He glanced at 04, eyebrow crooking, and not for the first time he wondered if the numbered set was having a little fun with him.

"Of course I brought a gun," Icarus said waspishly, pulling his leather jacket to one side to show a sidearm in a shoulder holster. What he didn't show them was the small hold-out blaster he had stuffed in his left boot and the vibroblade that he had in his right boot. "I'm not a milk-drinker, for heaven's sake."

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

"Without warning?" 02 balked, drawing his sidearm and ejecting the magazine, ensuring it had a full clip. "How much warning do you need?"

Over by the crate, 04 had slung a shotgun with a strap over his shoulder and was now toting a single-shot grenade launcher in both hands. "Hey, go easy on the guy. I need like a fifteen minute heads up 'fore someone tries to give me food too."

02 re-inserted the clip, then holstered the weapon. "Must be a human thing."

"Tell me about it."

"Fah heavahns sake," 02 said, high-pitched, now performing his best [member="Icarus Volcata"] impersonation. It needed some work, but 04 laughed anyway. That was something only a milk drinker would say. 02 now bent over to retrieve his own assault rifle from under his feet. Proper weapons storage protocol was not exactly high on Force 32's priority list.

04 now pulled another device from the crate, which looked to be some kind of personal shield generator. "Here, you got one of these? These are important."

No one had any idea how close to the target shuttle they were going to end up landing. Could be the landing bay next to it, could be the landing bay on the other side of the spaceport. Whatever the case, if the getaway driver got shot in the face on the walk over, the survivors were not in for a good time.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"Why don't you just put your stupid little helmet back on and we can get to work," Icarus suggested, his voice making his jovial intent clear. He chuckled at 02's impersonation of him. "That's a bit feminine for me, mate, but keep working on it I guess." The pilot turned and took the offered shield generator, examining it for a few moments before deciding that the way to use it was to clip it to his belt. He attached it to his belt at the base of his back and draped his jacket over it, then executed a spiffy turn.

"What d'you reckon?" he asked 02. "Am I doing it right?"

He wasn't a ground operation type of guy, though he was no slouch when it came to knowing his way around a blaster. But still.

"What's our strategy, gentle, uh, beings?"

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

02 made a show of wincing, then pulled his mask down as instructed. "At least I brought a helmet..."

Meanwhile, 04 observed carefully as [member="Icarus Volcata"] equipped the shield generator. If he did anything wrong during the process, he didn't mention it. This was a good sign, as if 04 cared enough that Icarus survived the encounter to give him a shield generator, he would probably mention if he wasn't wearing it properly. He did, of course, scoff lightly when the pilot executed his spiffy turn. "Calm down, pal, you're not a model."

Off to the side, 02 cackled. 04 folded his arms and decided to explain the plan with as little insulting as possible.

"So, we're going to land in the next few minutes. Then we get off this ship and shoot at anyone who tries to stop us, making our way through the spaceport 'till we find the freighter we're supposed to hijack. We shoot the bad guys, you... Well, you stay in the back and don't, y'know, die. 02'll gets us into the ship, but you get the controls. Then all you have to do is fly us back to the designated regroup point for extraction."

Perhaps the one flawed part of the plan was that they had no idea which part of the spaceport they would be directed to land in. It could have been as close as the next landing bay over or as far off as the complete other side of the complex. More time running around in the open meant more time getting shot at, or more time for the pirates to figure out what they came for and try to escape. Or call in reinforcements. As skilled as Force 32 was, they couldn't hold out against a counter attack carried out by a mob of rampaging pirates indefinitely.

Well, maybe they could. If Force 32 was one thing, it was improvisational. To put it politely.

04 cracked his knuckles, as he usually did as sort of a pre-op ritual. "You take your cut, we take ours, then we go our separate ways. Easy stuff, right?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"But I could be," Icarus replied, his dark eyes flashing with mischief as he struck another pose. "I have what's called bedroom eyes. Do you guys even have eyes?" He half-turned, regarding 04 skeptically for a moment before letting his jacket fall back into place. He decided to leave off that his deflector shields were powered by sheer sex appeal, mainly because he didn't feel like being teased any more by these bizarre masked figures than he already was. Although he was able to take it, at some point it stopped being bond-building and started getting distracting.

"Don't worry about it," said Icarus. "I can fly anything with engines and a stick. That'll be the easy part."

The young pilot settled against one of the bulkheads and studied the group, waiting for the operation to begin. He folded his arms across his midsection and watched their pre-operations rituals. "I hope you'll leave me with a business card. We'll definitely want to do this again, right? I'm gonna miss you guys."

[member="Helix Syndicate"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

"Bedroom eyes?" 02 muttered confidentially to 03. "Seriously? What kind of quack did we pick up?"

03 shrugged and replied in the same low tone. "All pilots are quacks. Why else would they be pilots?"

Meanwhile, 04 was trying to behave more diplomatically. Or what passed for diplomatically among a gaggle of killers-for-hire. "Yeah, sure, I believe you."

This was a galaxy filled with beautiful people. Almost everyone who made the headlines these days was some kind of gorgeous human. Even the Jedi. Even the criminals. Everyone could be a model if they wanted, but they all kept choosing more violent lines of work for some reason. 04 cursed them all. If it wasn't for his weak chin, maybe he could have been a model too. Maybe he could have had a choice in the matter. But no, his criminal occupation was essentially predetermined by his unflattering face.

What a world.

What a galaxy.

The ship rumbled slightly, and 01 emerged from the bridge carrying a light machine gun the size of a small child. "We're in atmosphere. Auto-pilot's been engaged. It'll take us down and open the loading ramp, but as soon as-" 01 caught sight of [member="Icarus Volcata"] and appeared to realize he was there for the first time. It took an additional moment to recollect who he was and what he was doing there, sure, but at least he did recollect. "Tell me one of you briefed him."

04 waved. "All me."

And here 01 had almost begun to doubt their general competence. "Good. Take positions, they probably already know we're carrying too many extra people, so they'll be suspicious. Move quick, don't stop for anything. You, you stand behind me."

That last part seemed to be addressed to Icarus. Locked and loaded, 03 and 04 took up position on the right side of the as-of-yet unopened loading ramp. 02 went on his own to the left. Banter had a tendency to die down for the first few moments whenever 01 first appeared. It gave Force 32's leader time to adjust from the bliss of silence to the unending torture of listening to these people talk. 01 himself stood brazenly in the middle, LMG held at the hip. Amazing, the sort of boldness that could be encouraged by a personal shield generator. Either that or his colleagues truly made him yearn for death.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Icarus suppressed an eyeroll and went about checking the rest of his equipment as 01 came marching back from the bridge. He said nothing, and in fact didn't make any reaction at all. He made one last check of his weapon and charge pack before nodding his assent to 01. "You guys seem to know how these people think," he said. "Do you make it a habit of staging criminal enterprises like this? Not that I'm complaining. Stealing from thieves and murderers doesn't bother me that much." He had to wonder how things would be different if they tried to steal from good folk -- like the Trade Council or their allies. Hopefully whoever their shadowy overlords were could prevent that.

His faith in their plan faltered a little when 01, behind whom he was supposed to stand, took up a position in the center of the ramp.

He glanced at 02. Then he glanced at 03 and 04. This seemed to be par for the course, so Icarus stood back and unclipped his blaster, holding it defensively in case things got ugly. "If you die," he muttered to 01. "Try not to get blood on my jacket. It's custom."

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

The ship rocked a little more as it continued its descent through the atmosphere, but that was far from the most jarring event to transpire? Habits of staging criminal enterprises? Thieves and murderers? 04 appeared to be shuddering in the corner, but closer inspection might determine he was actually laughing. He simply had the decency to turn his helmet speakers off, so Icarus couldn't hear him. The rest of the squad were getting an ear full over their comlinks.

03 coughed, "Do, do you want to tell him?"

"No, no I don't think I do," 02 replied. "Might sour the mood."

It always paid to keep the mood pleasant. That was until [member="Icarus Volcata"] decided to speak to 01 about something that was not the conveyance of information vital to what they were currently doing. "Kark off, Nancy." 01 did not have a single humorous bone in his body, and no, it wasn't because of the cybernetic replacements. It was just how he was, and how he always would be. Unless he died. Then there would at least be the possibility that someone could find his corpse at least mildly more amusing than 01's living personage.

Another rumbling in the vessel. Final approach. The ship could be felt rotating beneath them as the autopilot brought them down safely in the midst of a circular cargo area. A hissing noise filled the cargo bay as the hydraulics kicked into gear. The loading ramp shuddered and gave way, and before it was even all the way down 01 was marching forward, "Find someplace to hide when we're off the ship," he called as he disembarked. The posse of pirate guards who were walking forward to greet the craft immediately recognized that this strange man and his gigantic machine gun did not fit the description of the pilot who had asked to land.

A few of them managed to yell warnings before being forced to dive for cover the moment 01 opened fire. Two were not so lucky, being shredded quite literally by a hailstorm of explosive rounds. Those not caught in the initial fire dove this way and that in search of cover. It so happened that there was plenty of it scattered around the landing bay in the form of large cargo containers. Typical of any starport setting, really. 01 continued to lay down suppressive fire as the rest of Force 32, hunched forward with ready weapons, fanned out of the freighter and began taking up positions outside.