First Reply Hawkbat Begins

[Hawkbat]

Hawkbat Begins
​

Location: Coruscant Undercity
Equipment: Hawkbat Suit

Several years of training had all lead to this moment. Stepping to the edge of the building, and looking side to side, she stepped forward and took in a breath. "Are you ready?" The voice on her comm asked, perhaps having sensed the unease. "I'm ready Candor. Can you send me the coordinates?" She swallowed, fighting the unease that beset her. She flexed her arms working out the jitters, and keeping her mind open. A blue light appeared across her visor, and the distance displayed underneath the waypoint.

She leaned forward, bracing herself to leap, and tried to ignore the buzzing of airspeed traffic overhead. Candor's voice came on back over the comms. "Alright, it's done. Remember your training, and keep your mind open. The moment something is off I'll-" "I'll be fine Candor." She leapt forward, and was immediately sized by gravity. The undercity raced towards her, but Hawkbat only straightened, then even so gingerly, mentally grasped the corners of her cloak.

Bending the corners tightly, she pulled back on her legs, and broke out of her dive, the currents of air carried her back upwards. Then she was airborne. Her finger tips found the fabric of her cape and she set to guiding her course, thankful the months of training had paid off. It wasn't so much as flight as levitation and air manipulation, but the criminals wouldn't know that. "I'm en route." She heard Candor release a held breath, and would have sworn that she felt his mood lighten as well.

Tonight was her first night. A time to start her fight against those who had done her family wrong. Tonight, Hawkbat was born.

(Intended for crime/ investigation suited characters. Feel free to join!)

 

[Kyric]

S C I O N
Galactic City, Coruscant

Kyric stood atop another building a few hundred feet away. The shadow of the floor above his own encompassed him, welcoming him as the shadows had done countless times before. He watched the silhouette of another take to the skies on this dreary night. Much like himself, they wore a mask meant to obscure their identity from the public eye. They descended dozens of feet in the blink of an eye before gravity bent to their will and their form shifted elsewhere. He could make out the skill there. Something caught between pure athletic perfection and the trace whisperings of the Force.

"Nightwatch will like this," he muttered.

But is it a good idea to drag someone else into this silly game you all play back home?

Looks to me like they're ready and willing. Might as well see what we can do with them.

At his side sat a red face mask. Something to obscure his identity, yes, but another tool of the trade. It tracked the silhouette's movements as it soared through the air.

He took a few steps back before running towards the edge. With a deep breath, Kyric pressed down with both feet and launched himself into the air. The Force sped to his aid, launching him dozens of feet forward to another position perched above the undercity below. Roof by roof, building by building, he moved, nothing more than a shadow trailing behind the figure of Hawkbat.

Hawkbat​

 

[Hawkbat]

Hawkbat Begins
​

Location: Coruscant Lower Levels
Equipment: Hawkbat Suit
Tags: Kyric

It was odd moving like this, but still, it was effective. Running on foot grew tiresome when one considered the amount of work she put into her legs. The grapple lines were fit for transportation as well, but she and Candor found that they worked best when used for elevation control, so flight would remain her means of travel.

The distance for the way point slowed, as Hawkbat weaved up and down in the sky, gaining and losing momentum as to keep herself aloft. It took a degree of focus to hold herself aloft, but merely shifting her body weight made it easy to control her direction. Still, she hadn't used this technique for long distance flying, and after several moments she found it necessary to take a break. Seeing her destination was only a half a click from where she would be landing, she began to lower, setting herself down gently, her feet hit the rooftop, followed by her cape. It took a degree of discipline to not immediately fist pump into the air. "I'm nearly there Candor, how are we looking?" The was a pause, and she overheard 4U bleeping in the background. She grinned, catching a hint of the droid's irritation in the exchange.

"You're fine, the Eclipse members are still in the warehouse." She was relieved at that. How disappointing would it be to travel so far, just for her targets to flee? Thankfully, the Hawkmobile would be ready for deployment next week. Directing the force into her legs now, she leapt towards the nearest roof, then once more. Flipping off the last building, she focused through her force sight and fired off her grapple line, and caught it onto a ledge. The device pulled atop it, and she rolled across the tiles in a not so nimble fashion. Yet another thing she needed to work on.

Now settled onto the roof, her attention was drawn to a dimly glowing skylight, and the presence of another moving towards her. Her head turned towards where she had came, and the wind picked that moment to kick up; lightly tugging her cape in a dramatic fashion. "Candor, I have a visitor." She said calmly, awaiting the arrival of the stranger, and hoping this wasn't going to be her first fight.

 

[Kyric]

S C I O N
Galactic City, Coruscant
Hawkbat

​

Kyric felt himself plummet a good thirty feet before his body made contact with the top of a speeder. His knees bent to lessen the impact while the Force enveloped his body to act as a secondary cushion. The three-point landing went entirely unnoticed by the driver, who shifted the wheel back, guiding their vessel upward in a slow climb into another of the sky lanes. Rather than push himself further, he watched and waited. Intent was a powerful ally in a world so alive with never-ending movement. When another speeder moved in the direction the silhouette traveled, he shifted over, accepting the free ride.

He could feel the eyes of other pilots on him. The appearance of a masked man riding along the sky lane atop a multitude of speeders, though much more common on Coruscant than anywhere else in the galaxy, was still an absurd thing for the typical sentient to witness. More callous drivers veered closer in an attempt to make out more important details, but he paid them no heed. They weren't his target.

His target stopped a few hundred feet ahead.

Kyric launched himself onto a billboard exploding with neon lights. In the distance, he could make out a shift in the silhouette's form.

Whoever they are, they've noticed you.

Eh, took 'em long enough. They must be new at this.

Scion landed on the rooftop's corner a dozen feet away from Hawkbat. Unlike her suit, his seemed to lack any coherent theme. His body was covered in a lightweight bodysuit of armorweave, with plated body armor over more crucial points of the body. Still, he moved with a familiar grace. He knew what he was doing.

From behind his mask, Scion sized her up.

Approximately 5'8. Their boots could be providing them additional height. Factor that into the report.

She seems lithe, huh? Likely a woman.

Likely, but we won't eliminate the possibility of a young man or another species. Some near-humans showcase similar builds between males and females. Broaden the report to include species like the Echani.

Arkanian?

I'm counting five fingers. Potentially an off-shoot.

Got it.

He stopped a few feet away from Hawkbat and offered a slight nod.

"For a moment, I thought you might be Mynock," Scion motioned to the extrusions from the top of her helmet. "You're smaller, though," he crossed his arms, revealing the vibroknife sheathed at his belt, as well as the baton sticking over one shoulder. "I hadn't expected to run into another Mask on patrol tonight."

 

[Hawkbat]

Hawkbat Begins
​

Location: Coruscant Lower Levels
Equipment: Hawkbat Suit
Tags: Kyric

Candor spoke quickly, concern soaked in his tone. "Trouble?"
"I don't know."
"I'm coming, just-"
"No, just stay there, it could just be nothing."
She could feel the frustration coming through the other end, and smiled at it. Candor had always been overprotective of her, but given the family ties, it made sense. Especially after what happened with mother. He was never the same after mother died.

The stranger arrived, armored and clad in his disguise. It was then that Hawkbat realized she wasn't the only one acting out this crusade, though her fellow vigilante immediately annoyed her with his opening statement. "It's a Hawkbat." Her voice was distorted by the voice scramble, but rather than sound intimidating, it sounded wobbly. She immediately began to fiddle with the settings. How the hell could she sound intimidating like that div?

Feeling that she had made the proper adjustments, Hawkbat made a motion, and produced a short vibro-blade from the concealed sheath on her back. "Just so you know, I'm armed as well." She let her arms drop, and gently tapped the blade on her hip plate. "Is that what this called? Being a mask?" She sounded disappointed, and indeed she was. She had hoped people like her would have a cool name or something. That didn't seem to be the case. "I'm Hawkbat, and while I'm not quite sure who you are, but I gotta bust this slave ring." She motioned to the skylight. "So, mind giving me your name, then we can stop this joint and I'll give you my comm frequency later." Truth be told, all this waiting was making her anxious. The sooner she finished her job, the less jittery she'd be.

[/div]

 

[Kyric]

S C I O N
Galactic City, Coruscant
Hawkbat

​

She misunderstood you.

Scion blinked, though the motion was obscured behind the mask.

"I'm referring to someone else," he explained. "There's another one of us out there with a similar costume. He goes by Mynock, but I don't think that matters at this moment," his arms relaxed at his side at that. Even at the showing of weapons, he didn't seem overly concerned. If anything, the entire exchange seemed entirely normal. His body language betrayed an ease to the encounter that bespoke practice, experience, or both.

"Nothing flashy. Good," Scion spoke matter-of-factly. "I go by Scion."

Slavers on Coruscant? Not a surprise at this point. Between Sith cultists in the lower levels, Senators turned dark siders, and the plethora of gang activity, anything seemed possible nowadays. Chaos had enveloped the galaxy. Anywhere you went, people told similar stories of hardship and troubles. Coruscant was never different.

He received the invitation with a nod.

"You know the situation better than I do. I'll follow your lead," Scion moved beside her. "Anything I should know going into this? Do we have an idea of their numbers, skill, or weaponry? Should we expect Force users to number among them?"

They're willing to offer a frequency. You may be able to convince them to return with you.

Maybe. I must be sure this Hawkbat wouldn't slow the other's down, first.

 

[Hawkbat]

Hawkbat Begins
​

Location: Coruscant Lower Levels
Equipment: Hawkbat Suit
Tags: Kyric

Her head tilted to the side, a tad confused initally, before realizing she had certainly misunderstood. "Ah, I see." She eyed up Scion, and seeing he was equipped for combat, she figured he could handle himself. Well, now that they had introduced one another, they could get down to buisness. Scion inquired about the state of their opponents, and Hawkbat knelt to the ground as she began her inital scouting procedure. Several seconds passed, as she switched through her visor settings, taking note of what she saw.

"We got a dozen in there. Looks like four trandoshans, three Weeqay, two humans, a Rodian, and two Gammorians. All except the Rodian are armed. Looks like blaster pistols, but the trandoshans have vibro-blades on their person as well. Far as skill, I think the Trandoshans are the only ones with proper training, they have the posture of mercs, the rest give off thug vibes. No force users, far as I'm aware." She looked back to Scion, and stowed her vibro-blade.

"Don't know about you, but I try not to kill when I can avoid it. Makes it easier to pry info out of them when they can still breath, but hey, can't save everyone." She shrugged, her voice still distorted by the voice modulator, but at least this time it didn't sound wobbly. She closed her eyes, focusing on her body, and willing herself to be unseen. Before Scion's eyes, the form of the woman would disappear, but he could still feel her near by. "I'm going to slip in, drop the rear guard. Then you can come in from above. If you have smoke, I'd advise using it. Try to move fast, need to keep them from swarming us." She tried to sound confident, and hoped that came through, but as she turned to flip open the skylight, her stomach tightened.

Down below, she could see the humans and Rodian clustered around a table. Datapads, credits, and several other devices were spread across it. The Weequay seemed to be playing a card game off in a corner, and the two Gammorians seemed to be watching. The only ones seemingly on guard were the Trandoshans. She nearly waved back to Scion, then remembered she was still invisible. Scowling, she looked down below her, and found a nice spot within the room to position herself. Teethering herself to the edge of the skylight, she lowered herself down on her grapple line until she could set her feet on one of the beams.

Accomplishing that, she worked her way to the far side of the room, just above where two Trandoshans guarded one of the doors. Taking a breath, she steadied herself, then leapt down.

Her first blow was a knee to the back of the first Trandoshan, and felt something break under the impact. She grimaced, landing on the reptiles body, as she became visible. A gasp of surprise erupted from the room, but she already threw herself to the Trandoshan before her. Left hand reached to snatch his blaster hand, and right hand moved to strike hard at his throat. The Trandoshan crumbled, and she she swept a hard kick to the back of his leg as she rose, dropping him to the floor. Turning now to face the remaining thugs, her left arm snapped back, snatching one of her smoke grenades and deploying it.

Just in time as well. Throwing her senses to the force, she fired her grapple line upwards, and hoisted herself out of the cloud and the line of fire. Flipping herself around, she deployed her magboots, and clamped herself to the ceiling, then waited for the next foe she could strike.

Hopefully Scion could take the opening she gave him.

[/div]

 

[Kyric]

S C I O N
Galactic City, Coruscant
Hawkbat

​

"I avoid taking lives," Scion stated matter-of-factly.

Good man.

He watched them slink through the skylight before crouching low. His mask zeroed in on the figures moving through the room below, offering a complete breakdown of their physical characters, alongside a more defined description of their weapons.

"<Arthur.>"

"<Yes, sir?>"

"<Dig up everything you have on an organization of slavers working out of Coruscant,>" Scion eyed where he believed the invisible vigilante to be. Invisibility tech still proved challenging to manufacture entirely, especially when a Force-sensitive was considered. It became easier to place them once he gave up using his eyes completely. The Force proved a more potent ally at the moment. Their presence was like that of someone wading through a still pool. Ripples sent throughout the water alerted him to Hawkbat's approximate location.

"<You realize slavers of this magnitude number in the thousands throughout the galaxy, don't you, sir?>"

"<Narrow the search for missing-persons cases that went unsolved in the last twenty years,>" Scion straightened as Hawkbat flew into motion. "Keep an eye out for people who were missing, or killed, who left behind a child."

"<Very well, sir.>"

Glass shattered overhead and rained down upon the room. Scion came next, landing amid the two gamorrans with a heavy thud. He reached out towards the first, yanked hard on his arm, and kicked out the crook's knee. Scion pulled back and snapped the limb in twain at the elbow as the alien fell down to one leg. Not slowing, he kicked off the fallen gamorran's shoulder, turned midair, and slammed his booted foot into the second's skull with enough force to lift him from the ground and send him tumbling head over heels into a nearby shipping crate.

The smoke snaked out from the canisters left behind Hawkbat, providing him cover just in time. He disappeared into the haze as blaster bolts flew wild throughout the room.

A silhouette burst from the smoke opposite where he'd been seconds before. His body sailed through the air towards a lone gunman. Scion wrapped an arm around his throat and dragged him behind one of the pillars, where he tightened his grip and held firm until the body went limp in his grasp. The criminal crumpled to the floor unconscious.

With that, the masked man faded back into the smoke.

 

[Arlo Renard]

The second time the Bright Knight appeared, Kai was sitting alone on a rooftop. It was the middle of the night, and the Coruscanti skyline was filled with glittering lights that overpowered the glow of the stars. With his legs dangling over the edge of the roof, Kai was munching on a sandwich.

A soft sound behind him, like rustling fabric, prompted him to turned around. There stood the Bright Knight, clad in blue and gray, his cape rippling in the breeze.

"Our last meeting was cut short, Doppelganger," the Bright Knight said. "But you've proven yourself a worthy candidate, and there's more work to be done."

Slack-jawed, Kai looked down at his food, then back at the Bright Knight before hastily swallowing the sandwich whole.

<Where to?>

***​

The Bright Knight's cape fanned out around him as he landed on the floor, Kai dropping through the busted skylight after him a moment later. Two unconscious bodies lay among the shards of glass. There was a faint lingering odor from a smoke grenade in the air, but no sign of the attackers.

"These ones are known criminals, or criminal associates, particularly slavers," the Bright Knight explained. "But this is not the work of the police. I suspect it is either gang warfare, or vigilantism."

<So who are we going after?> Kai asked, still cycling through variations of his costume. He couldn't decide what it should look like, and given that he had the ability to shapeshift, did it even matter?

"We should assist in the capture of the slavers whenever possible," the Bright Knight said. "Otherwise, observe the attackers at a distance. So far they have yet to kill anyone or target innocents, but we do not know the nature of their mission. They may be seeking someone or something in particular."

<Got it.> Having finally settled on a teal costume and black domino mask, Kai grappled toward a ventilation shaft, following the faint signs of life he could sense with the Force...

Hawkbat Kyric​