Hostile Takeover

[Valiens Nantaris]

"Yes. Maelion will be down there already. I'm going to get suited up, I'll join you soon."
Tegaea soon retired and returned with her armour and heavy boltgun in tow. She looked pretty imposing, considering that the armour itself wasn't massively bulky.

"Right, let's get going. You ready?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

"As ready as I can be!" Siobhan responded. She was nervous, she would be mad if she was not, but facing imminent danger was nothing new to her. Moreover, at least this time she knew she was walking into a trap. Unlike Tegaea she had foregone armour, though she had a boltgun slung over her shoulder in addition to the lightsabre and dagger she carried on her belt.

She gave Tegs a short smile. "Always had a weakness for chicks that know how to use big guns," she joked a bit cornily, but then she had not been hired for being a wordsmith! "Come on, off to the lion's den." With that she stepped out of Tegs' apartment and after moving to the tower took the turbolift down to the hangar bay level where Maelion was supposed to meet them.

 

[Maelion Liates]

Maelion was waiting for them as they emerged. She was wearing a simple black outfit, with two blasters at her side. She saluted. "Everything is aboard, ma'am, we will leave on your orders," she told Tegaea.

"Let's get going then. Don't want to keep Massive Dynamic waiting!"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

"Definitely not. I hear they promised us a banquet once we're all friends again," Siobhan said, though the frown on her features did not match her humorous words.

Without further ado they boarded the cruiser that would take them to Duro and within a few moments it had taken off into the depths of hyperspace and was en route to the planet. Siobhan went through some last preparations on the ship, going through intel and double-checking her weapons.
Duro might officially be neutral ground, but no doubt Massive Dynamic had taken every precaution to secure the location, from getting their people infiltrated into the spaceport to taking their own private army with them.

When they exited hyperspace a few hours later, they were soon hailed by the local authorities, with the comms officer responding in kind. Siobhan headed to the docking bay to board the shuttle that would take her and Maelion down planet-side.

The cruiser would remain in space, far enough not to get caught in the local radar. Hopefully Massive Dynamic had not planned the same and parked a battleship in the same sector.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Oddly, Tegaea was not there to see them off. Rather, Anya was there. "Good luck, Siobhan. Remember, if it does happen to be a legitimate meeting, you're free to discuss terms. I'll be in contact through your earpiece." She smiled and patted Siobhan on the shoulder.

Of Tegaea there was no sign....

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Where's Tegs? Siobhan looked rather puzzled at now seeing Tegaea there. Admittedly, as CEO Tegaea had many duties to attend to, not to mention the fact that she had to organise the strike, but it was strangely out of character for her not to be there.

She frowned, looking from Maelion to Anya, perplexed. But then, making a decision that true to the rules of drama in all likelihood would turn out to be extremely foolish, she shrugged it off. "Sure," though she sounded extremely sceptical about this meeting being legitimate. "I'll be in touch. Tell Tegs I'll be fine."

With that she and Maelion boarded the shuttle and it took them planet-side in a brief flight. A smaller, out of the way spaceport had been chosen as landing site, further away from the port of the main capital. The mercenary company doing security there was neutral, though no doubt Massive Dynamic had its spies among them.

When the craft had landed and the landing ramp was lowered, they were greeted by a small party of Massive Dynamic representatives. One of them, a man in his mid-thirties dressed in a smart business suit, stepped forward. Siobhan kept her eyes on the mercenaries guarding him.

"Welcome to Duros," the representative said with a well-practiced smile. "I have been charged by the Board to take you to the Palace for negotiations...so that the differences between our companies can be resolved." Siobhan resisted rolling her eyes at the fake politeness, she noticed the man frown. "If I may enquire, you are not CEO Alcori. It was agreed that she would arrive."

Siobhan made a gesture with her hand. "Major Siobhan Kerrigan. She could not make it, she sends her apologies," the politeness in her tone was strained, she was feeling antsy. "I've been sent here in her stead as her representative to discuss the allegations."

The representative sized her up, his gaze flickered to Maelion, then the time and tested smile appeared on his features again. To Siobhan it seemed like it had an off/on switch. "I see. Unfortunate, but life is adjustment. I'm sure it was a pressing matter." Siobhan resisted the urge to wipe that smile off his face. "You have full negotiating power?"

"Yes. I'm her representative on this," Siobhan said in a tone that brookered no contradiction and he gestured them to follow, leading them out of the port towards a speeder. Her lightsabre was in reach, ready to be drawn, just as the mercenaries had their hands close to their blasters.

She took a breath as they stepped out of the port. Tegaea's absence had set her on edge, something was not right.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

"Now, my pet, you know what you have to do? " she asked softly, running a hand down the woman's back.
"Yes, Mistress. I will do as you command."
"Good girl. Now go and get ready. Our guest will be arriving soon."

As the CEO of Massive Dynamic left the room to get dressed, Ankeli walked to the desk. There was a flashing light there. "Yes?" she snapped.
"The Alcori woman isn't here. Some thug called Siobhan Kerri-"
"Siobhan Kerrigan," Ankeli said softly. "Good. This will make the game all the more interesting. Be ready, Captain."
Now alone, Ankeli walked to an intricate statue that she, as head of operations for MD, had purchased. There was a secret compartment in it which clicked open. From it she recovered a long item wrapped in a silk cloth.
"Well now, Siobhan...I'm going to keep an eye on you." She laughed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Meanwhile Siobhan and Maelion had been driven to the mansion where the negotiations would take place. More guards and businessmen were out to greet them, though Siobhan was not in the mood for small talk and there was something about her stance that made them shut up.

Her jaw tightened as she stepped into the luxurious reception room, she felt off-kilter and her droid had clenched. She noted the security droids on patrol, several persons dressed in smart suits carried hidden weapons.

Finally she was led into the meeting hall where the discussions would take place, around an oval mahogany table. Servant girls offered refreshments, but Siobhan did not drink anything, presuming it might be poisoned. With the Force she could mitigate the effects of more simple toxins, but Massive Dynamic had access to the best. It said quite a bit about Siobhan's state of mind that she did not even appreciate the servant girls' considerable beauty.

Finally the CEO of Massive Dynamic, an attractive woman in a fetching pants suit, stepped into the room, accompanied by the usual coterie of advisers and bodyguards.

"I'm Major Siobhan Kerrigan. Here as CEO Alcori's personal representative to discuss the issues between our companies. And the allegations of Massive Dynamic attacks on our company," Siobhan started. If these were real negotiations, which they weren't, then she was the wrong person for this and she would be the first to admit it.

And if it was a trap, which it was, then despite the plan she and Tegaea had concocted she felt off-kiler and ill at ease. One half of winning a battle was prevailing in the mental game, knowing that one could succeed. Even stretching out with the Force did not help.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

The CEO stepped forward and offered her hand to Siobhan.
"Welcome, Major. We had expected to see the CEO, but I suppose our olive branch was not taken seriously, if they sent someone of such a lower rank. However, please be seated, Major." A servant placed drinks before Siobhan and Maelion.
The agent carefully eyed the liquid and very slightly shook her head. There was something not right with the water.

"Now, what are these baseless and most cowardly accusations you have dared to bring to my notice?" the CEO asked arrogantly.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan heeded Maelion's advice and refused the drink. It's an olive branch that your head's not lying on the table, Siobhan thought when the CEO made her arrogant proclamation.

"I speak for the CEO. Rest assured she takes this matter very seriously, as she does anything that affects her Company and its security," Siobhan said icily. She removed a folder from her suitcase, placing it on the table.

"We have conclusive evidence of your Company's involvement. One of your agents was arrested on Thyferra, trying to sabotage our bacta production. Vessels of Massive Dynamic design have been sighted attacking our bacta transporters. In fact, one of them was shot down. The surviving crew was very talkative," she said with a grim smile.

It was strange. Just a few moments she had been nervous and antsy, but now with CEO standing before she felt on secure territory again. It took just a slice of the woman's smug arrogance to get Siobhan going again and banish those thoughts from her mind.

She removed a holopic from her pocket. It showed a high official in the Massive Dynamic security service conversing with Borax the Hutt, patron of various pirate groups that had been smashed by Omega. "Interesting company your employees keep," she said snidely. "You've been selling armaments to him, newly upgraded the pirates go through the process of attacking the shipments, Massive Dynamic gets a large share of the cake and claims plausible deniability."

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

For a moment the woman hesitated, and then learned forward resolutely. "I see. What are your terms?" she asked.

Siobhan would sense people watching, their intent pretty clear. The midden was about to hit the windmill.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan senses that all eyes were on them, a few more suits were moving into the chamber. The situation was about to hit fan. Whatever they discussed now was just a distraction.

She gave a Maelion a barely there nod, though the agent would probably not need that. The lightsabre was ready to fly into Siobhan's hand at a tug from the Force. She sized the up the room. Vases, several portraits on the wall, a large antique clock. Excellent. In a few moments all hell would break loose.

She leaned forward, looking resolute. "Simple. You give up those responsible for the attacks, pay a big fine and stay away from Thyferra. Then we'll forget about these incidents."

Heads would start rolling in seconds, limbs would be separated, property destroyed.

 

[Aeda Shaytari]

"In business, it is good to negotiate. We will simply seize you two and hold you until your company is better prepared to negotiate sensibly. It's a shame the CEO didn't come, but you two will have to do. Get them!"

And then it all went to hell in a handbasket.

Stun bolts fired from blasters, goons with stunprods pressed forward, and more of them with blasters waited just in case it was better to kill rather than capture....

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

All hell had broken loose. Countless stun bolts streaked through the air and whizzed past her head, from the flanks thugs with stunprods advanced upon Siobhan and Maelion.

They were outnumbered in the lion's den, the trap had been strung. It was a heavy risk situation. In other words, it was absolutely perfect and glorious. Diplomacy annoyed, especially when it came to people she held in contempt, violence she excelled that.

So Siobhan felt fine. Better than she had felt since accepting this assignment. It was simple, straight-forward, even with all the stun bolts racing towards that were more dificult to block than conventional laser rounds.

As the first goons levelled their stun blasters at them and brought their finger to the triggers, the table behind which they were seated started to move, propelled by the Force. First it collided into the CEO, Siobhan heard a satisfying crunch when the heavy table pushed into her, then was slammed onward into the wall, knocking down several goons that had taken up position there.

Siobhan dove sideways as the blaster fire intensified, her blue lightsabre flared to life in a snap hiss and moved in a fast spin to deflect. However, stun rods were less prone to bounce off her sabre and she had to dodge and spin to evade the fire. Swinging her sabre to the side to take out a goon coming at her with a stun-prod, severing his left arm and shoulder, she pushed her mechanical elbow backward to slam it into the face of another attacker who had taken aim at her with a stun prod, then spun her lightsabre quickly to deflect rounds, knocking a shooter out of the game when he got struck in the chest.

She backflipped when more attackers with stun prods charged at her from the flanks. As she landed upon the ground they lunged at her, Siobhan swung her sabre to block the attacks, but then as she was distracted a stun round struck her in the leg. She fell down to the ground, trying to will the Force to counteract its effects. A boot was slammed into her chest, she wielded her sabre in an angry flurry to keep her assailants at bay, there was a cry of pain when one of them lost his leg below the knee and another sustained a nasty cut to the stomach.

Briefly they retreated and instead the blaster-wielding goons started firing. Siobhan kept deflecting. Then when there was a brief pause as the shooters repositioned themselves, coming at her from another angle, suddenly several portraits on the wall started shaking, then breaking loose and were turned into salvoes as she hurled them at her attackers.

As the salvoe broke loose she jumped to her fight, moving on in for the kill.

 

[Maelion Liates]

And what of Maelion? Well at this point there was little chance of her avoiding detection, but she immediately leapt into action. Stun bolts had almost no effect on her, as they targeted parts of the body she simply didn't have.
In an instant, her blasters were out and firing. Able to concentrate on two separate enemies while moving she ran and fired, jumped onto the table and leapt over Siobhan just as the former-Jedi activated her lightsabre and started deflecting bolts. Cleared of enemy attacks for a moment, Maelion advanced to meet the attackers with stun prods. Now, these did do more damage, as they sent a heavy shock, but they were no match for a HRD in their prime. With twin blasters out, Maelion advanced, batting aside prods with her blasters and clubbing, shooting or kicking each attacker in turn. At one stage she seemed cornered by four enemies, but she simply rammed an attacker and stamped on his throat , turned and fired into her attackers.

Blaster armed enemies opened up, and several struck Maelion or glanced off her, but she kept on coming, still firing, jumped up, dropped the empty blasters, swarmed up a pillar without stopping and jumped across to the second story. In combat the enemy seemed powerless as she hurled them like toys from the balcony or shattered bones with a blow.

It was an awesome onslaught, and soon no enemies were left alive and active in the room. Maelion dropped down from on high, ignoring the ankle shattering twelve foot drop without flinching. For once Ms Kerrigan had a rival in the sheer amount of ass kicking undertaken. Maelion looked at Siobhan. Part of her face was burnt off, revealing metal beneath, while her clothes smoked slightly from numerous impacts.
"The CEO is still alive," Maelion pointed out, calm as ever. She picked up a fallen weapon and advanced on the cowering woman. "Did you want her alive?" she asked casually.

More noises could be heard outside. More enemies were on route.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

At long last Siobhan had finally found someone as recklessly destructive as her who rivalled her ability to cause mayhem and widespread property damage.

If she had not been busy fending off guards on her own, she would have been very turned on and looked at Maelion's action with amazement and perhaps even some envy.

As it was she had been busy taking out the enemies Maelion left her. Vases and portraits, even enemy corpses became her weapons as she thrust them into the enemy lines with telekinesis. A light repeater fired by one of the shooters was turned against him as she ripped it free and pulled the trigger, sending a hail of laser bolts that took down two soldiers before enemy blaster fire compelled her to send the gun sailing through the air and impact on the head of a guard.

The durasteel door was slammed shut with telekinesis, trapping their enemies for a brief while. Siobhan advanced grimly, delivering death with her blade and her powers, slashing at opponents with her sword and punching others out with her mech hand. With Maelion at her side, soon there were no enemies left.

But from further away in the corridor they could hear more guards incoming, they would break down the door soon. It was that that Siobhan noticed the damage Maelion had taken. A portion of her face had been blown off, revealing metal. Someone else might have been disturbed or weirded out at this revelation, Siobhan just looked surprised and a bit amazed.

She had watched HRD movies before. Oh, that's so cool, inevitably her thoughts drifted to the most pertinent question imaginable at this juncture. Does the mechanical tongue really feel just like the real thing?

She nodded to Maelion. "Yeah, she's coming with us," she shot the CEO a grim smile. "She can answer lots of questions."

 

[Maelion Liates]

"She will tell us everything," Maelion stated. Siobhan's query about a mechanical tongue is...it's often better than the real thing because it never stops.

Maelion pulled the table free and grabbed the CEO by the throat. She flailed weakly at them, but had been severely injured by the table striking her. "You will stop moving or I will break you," Maelion stated calmly. Instantly she stopped and Maelion dragged her by one arm across the floor towards the door.

As they heard the sound of people breaking down the door Maelion went to the window. "Look," she said. Dozens of enemies in APCs and speeders were jumping out. An entire private army was waiting for them, complete with a walker!

"You in there, this is your one and only chance...come out or you will be destroyed. You have two minutes to surrender!" a loudspeaker hailed.

Maelion didn't look worried. She looked to Siobhan. "Wait...it is they who shall be destroyed."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan would most certainly want to put the capabilities of the mechanical tongue to a test. Perhaps she and Maelion could also find time for a philosophical debate about organic "reproduction rituals." And the illogicality of intercourse that did not facilitate reproduction.


She certainly approved of the definite way Maelion dealt with the pompous CEO. But then when she beheld the small army that was arrayed outside for them Siobhan looked unnerved before grim resolution appeared on her face. She could take down a walker, but not with an army shooting at her.

The APCs levelled their blaster cannons at the window, so did the walkers, which also possessed missile launchers. The sound of boots on the ground echoed in the corridor behind them. Siobhan gave Maelion a brief look when the HRD spoke up, as calm es ever. "All part of the plan, eh?"

If Tegs was planning to swoop in, now would be a good time. The trooper holding the loudspeaker found himself levitated into the and slammed into the leg of his own walker, blood splattering on the durasteel plating. "We decline," Siobhan said flatly.

In the same moment as the APCs powered up their guns, the door got blown apart...

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Maelion was used to oversexed controllers of both genders, so had long given up even trying to understand.

However, just as the walker was about to spit fiery death at them, there was a rumble overhead and...

Spoiler

...the walker exploded into a ball of flame and shrapnel.

As the bewildered Mass Dynamic troops looked around more and more explosions lit up amidst them. Then suddenly the ground was churning and flaming as from concealed hiding spots a volley of bolter and missile fire tore them apart. The battle was over in seconds, if battle it could be called. Blaster rounds cut down those who survived, and a gunship overhead opened up with massed fire so that none could resist.

As the door burst open, Maelion turned and fired into the enemy trying to get through the door, then tossed some grenades picked up from the fallen. Having seen the fate of their comrades outside, they surrendered or fled.

There was a hiss of exhaust and Tegaea dropped down with her jetpack and walked inside. "You two alright?" she asked, her bolter scanning the carnage inside the room. "Hmm, seems you were doing fine without me...should have let you get rid of a few more and saved some time!"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

In seconds the great battle was over. The walker was torn asunder by the explosion and soon the Massive Dynamic mercenaries and their APCs joined it as hidden Omega mercenaries unleashed a hailstorm of missiles and bolts.

Hostiles came storming in from the door but were blown apart by grenades Maelion tossed into the fray. Soon the surviving guards were laying down their weapons, holding up their hands in surrender.

Then Tegaea swooped down. Siobhan found her lover really had a flair for dramatics. However, she was in no position to complain, given that it was the same with her. "While you on a relaxing vacation, huh?" she asked sarcastically. "You could've told me with have our own HRD with us." She said this in a tone of 'this is so awesome and you didn't tell me".

She pointed towards the Massive Dynamic CEO, who had cowered during the firefight and now seemed frozen by fear, quite understandable considering the onslaught she had just witnessed. "Got a present for you. One enemy CEO on delivery."