Hunters Glory

[Lady Agony]

Coruscant, close to the surface

16 hours earlier

Through the scope of her rifle, Pandora could get a good look on the the targets location. A rather luxurious flat somewhere deep down on the planets cityscape, unrecognizable as a criminal hide out from the outside. The building neither had a landing pad, or a balcony, so the only way to get a look inside was through a set of large windows in the flats living room. To don't raise any suspicions, she had chosen a position a few blocks to the right and even more blocks upwards for surveillance purposes, using her electromagnetic thorns on four cybernetic arms to hang from below a balcony, her sniper rifle in front of her eyes.

From the information she had gathered in the last few days it seemed like someone had tipped of the target about the bounty put on him. He was a young upstart in the coruscanti underworld, and his quick rise wasn't very well received by those above him. A man that was a few steps up the ladder recognised that the target was a danger for his position, and did what many wealthy criminals did against a still inferior enemy. An unofficial bounty, one that was high enough to spend at least a few good years with. It was the easiest way to put someone out of business. The only problem compared to directly hiring an assassin was the possibility that information got out beforehand so the target had time to call in additional security measures.

Normally this would have been a dream job, a ton of money in trade for one sniper shot through the window and in the targets head. Now the stakes were a lot higher, with security being a lot tighter than anticipated. The windows were secured by energy shields, stopping anything that tired to pass through with enough speed. Also the place was riddled with guards, at least four of them constantly guarded the entrance to the flat on the inside, while two others constantly patrolled in the flat. Since surveillance began she had made an effort to mark their positions and calculate their routes and routines, to figure out the perfect moment to strike. Tomorrow it would be time, but the plan she had was bold to say the least. She would use her cybernetics to climb up to the window, break it, and kill the target without engaging any of the thugs. The problem was neither getting in or the kill itself, but the way out. She was a skilled figher, but surviving against at least six thugs still would really challenge her luck. The plan had to go exactly right ot else the situation would slip out of control pretty quickly.


Now

Lady Agony rested locked to the buildings wall, only a few meters below the window. With her eyes blinded by a red piece of cloth she could redirect her focus on the input she got from her sensors, while simultaneously watching a simulation of the guard routes from the small combat computer implemented in her armor. The clock was ticking, the time to strike was almost there. Three.

two.

one.

Glass shattered as a pitch black thorn was pushed through the window, a cybernetic monstrosity following afterwards. Now all simply had to run according to plan and she would be in and out of her in a heartbeat.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

14:00. Yesterday.
Townsquare,16th street, closed restaurant's storeroom.
Target: Acquired

The first blow didn't do much, a grunt of pain was the only sign. After two more well placed hits, the affects were visible. This wasn't his type of thing, but he had recently gotten word of a high priced bounty, but the brief was sketchy, so he found alternate ways to get the details he needed. Only problem, the man who knew the most was a notorious dealer, and that meant protection. It had taken hims 3 hours to catch the man, and another half hour or so the get what he wanted.

Blood covered his knuckles as he pushed open the door, content with the information he had. Now he just had to put the puzzle pieces together and execute his plan flawlessly.

Current Time.
Next to the flats, downtown.

Moving discreetly, he pushed his pistol back into its holster, the black cover in complete harmony with the rest of his gear, since he had decided on not using his armour, he was clad only in light plastoid and a black cloak, his fiery eyes burning out from underneath the cowl of his hood. Thankfully, he had spent years on Coruscant, and the result was a 'street sense'; knowing what to say and where, who to talk to, and most important; who knew the most. It all payed off, literally.

Looking up, he would spot the east side of the structure, guards covering most entrances, his however, differed from what most would expect. No jetpack, no rappleing gear, just a good set of legs and hella confidence. Of course, normally he would've stolen a guards ID, sneak in, in slit the targets throat. But this wasn't normal. The security the man had acquired was astronomical, as if he was prepared for this.placing a hand on the wall, he would heave himself up, stepping onto a small rivet in the wall. Free climbing a nearby building, out of sight, he would find the ventilation shaft that connected with the main filtration system. "Bingo." Pulling the cover off, he would hold himself up, pulling out a mixture of chemicals that would cause a brief seizure, a blackout, and maybe nausea. The detectors, however, would trigger, making most think that the toxin was capable of killing, as the first few would gag before fainting an having a almost nonexistent pulse. Hopefully, they would relocate the man to the safe room, the one where he could easily pick them off.

[member="Lady Agony"]

 

[Lady Agony]

The sound of the alarm rang in her ears, as chaos began to take over the flat. Normally that shouldn't surprise her after breaking in through a window, but something was off. The alarm had gone of a second or two to early, and the target and his guards were already on the move. As she had lifted her whole body inside the flat, her sensors informed her about a toxic chemical that had been introduced to the flat, before filtering any trace of it out of her bloodstream. What the kark had happened, what had disrupted her plan so suddenly. Pandoras mind was racing, trying to figure it out, while she began to follow behind the target. The toxin in the air had the advantage that none of the thugs made an effort to fight her, instead following their boss towards the safe room.

Suddenly it clicked. Someone else was trying to claim the bounty, her bounty. For his or her sake she hoped that the other hunter had considered the possibility that the safe room had another hidden exit, something all to common for paranoid gangsters that knew that someone was hunting them. Her cybernetics had many advantages, but they didn't gave her superhuman speed by any means.

She was only fast enough to see the high security door being sealed in front of her, and she certainly didn't had the tools to open it forcefully. Four layers of enforced durasteel didn't break easily. The only possibility for her to follow the target would be to trick the doors systems either through slicing or by finding the underlying electronics.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Things were going smoothly, all the guards had clustered onto one big group, some trying to rally others to cover the front gates, then the rest following the man into the safe room. After making his way down onto the flat, he began to pick off the remaining guards, his bullup rifle nearly silent as he unloaded on the unsuspecting thugs.

Of course, he too would assume of the hidden exit in the safe room, the few possibilities were already mapped out and situated. Through the floor and into an underground tunnel; pressure activated sensors already placed in the we were systems were hacked and reconfigured to trigger a swarm of drones, all tasked with killing any other than the man himself. Out of the building entirely, a few pre-placed camera's would link up with his HUD, and anything else he could handle him self.

Moving into the hallway, he would turn the corner, meeting a black, sharp monstrosity. He wouldn't know the other person's name to be Pandora, nor the fact that she was partly human, as all he saw was sharp, durasteel thorns. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" Putting the back of her head in his sights, he would speak out, not sure what to do and how to do it. Another hunter hadn't originated as he made the final plans.

Things just got interesting.

[member="Lady Agony"]

 

[Lady Agony]

"Trying to secure my bounty after you had to kark up my plan."

Her hands at the doors console, she didn't even made the effort to turn around to look at the other hunter, as her sensors were already telling her what she needed to know. She wasn't much of a slicer but as soon as she would understand the console she could simply rip out the interface and open the door by manipulating the underlying electronic systems. Her voice was rather calm, but on her inside her blood was boiling in a mix of anger, fear and adrenaline, keeping her on right on the edge. There was rarely honor between hunters, so she had to be ready to react should he do anything.

"For your sake I hope that you have a plan, because if he gets away I will personally rip you apart and sell what is left of you."

One of her thorns bashed into the console, ripping out the display with mechanical precision. After giving the electronics a proper look she began to fiddle with the systems, trying to disable the part that was responsible for the security lock down. It would take her a few moments, but this was certainly not the first high security door that she unlocked.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Giving a fake smile, he would laugh. "Your Bounty?" That was a good one, but in the back of his head, he knew that if this really was hers, he'd have to depart. The figure was mostly metal, but upon further examination with the Force, he saw the itty-bitty parts of a human deep within, the emotions, thoughts. And boy, was she feisty.

Watching her rip out the interface was interesting, pieces of circuit board flying around. Grinding his teeth together, he bolstered his pistol, standing in front of the door. The seconds dragging out before he finally sensed the change in the locking mechanisms. Immediately, the door would slowly begin to open, giving him enough time to give the cyborg beside him a fiery stare. "Wanna try and see how far you get?" As the door finnalt opened, he would be greeted with four rifles, all the sights trained on him. Moving without a moment to waste, he ignited his saber, swinging the dark orange blade up through the barrels of the rifle, before kicking the first in the knee, stabbing the other two, and slamming his fist into the last's face. With the first few guards taken care of, he would move through the other rooms, coming up empty handed for all of them. "Where the fuck did he go?"

Growling, he grabbed the nearest guard that was still alive and heaved him to his feet by the collar. "Where. Is. He." Speaking low and deadly, the guard did his best to keep a stern look on his face, "He's already long gone... you're too late." Punching the man with a heavy fist, he would hold the man only a few inches from himself, speaking again. "Tell me where he is or I swear to God I will cut you up and ship you to your family's doorstep."

A few moments later he came out, practically steaming as the anger built up inside him, ready to explode. Turning his burning gaze on the woman, he would cross his arms, trying to remain calm. "He's gone.... apparently he had a new underground hanger, and he took off in a speeder." Tapping his foot, scorch marks would begin to appear as result of his anger. "As I would like to that that this would be my bounty, you are also here...which complicates things. Like it or not, but we're going to have to work together now."

[member="Lady Agony"].

 

[Lady Agony]

Pandora watched the mans slaughter with complete apathy, making now attempt to fight the thugs herself. She knew that there was a high chance that the target was already gone, and if not it would still be easier to take out a single hunter instead of him plus the guards. The lightsaber got her wonderin at first, but it wasn't the most exotic weapon she ever saw a bounty hunter wield. Many liked to keep trophies and a lightsaber certainly counted as one. Her sensors amplified her hearing, giving her the option to hear a bit of what was going on deeper inside the safe room. As he returned she was in no way surprised that he was empty handed.

"Good job. Thank you."

Her voice was loaded with sarcasm as she belittled the man's actions. He had purposely pushed the target in the safe room, but he didn't made the effort to check for all exits. She had sacrificed days to precisely plan the hit out, and he rushed in and completely inhibited anything she worked for, and now he was asking her to work with him on this.

"Can't solve your own problems, big man? Need a woman to do your job?"

She began pacing around him, her thorns dancing erratically around her body. He was right, working together was the best option they had left, but that didn't meant that she had to like it, or that she had to be friendly towards him. In her opinion this was all his fault, and she would behave accordingly. A bit of belittling his ego, a bit of simply looking scary, and he would do her job for her. And that seemed pretty fair considering everything that had happend.

"So Mr lightsaber-instead-of-a-brain tell me, what should we do now, without any information on where the target has gone to."

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Growling, he would turn his flaming stare onto her, even more heat radiating from him. Her sarcastic tone made him even more disgusted with the fact that he failed and now this 1/4 human queen was belittling him. He had checked for every possible contingency, except for the fact that the target could have had a underground hanger.

"Shut. The. Fück. Up. If I needed you I would've said so, but in all reality, your just a unnecessary setback."

Connecting his sabers to make his saber staff, he would push past her, ignoring the many thorns that covered her body. Stepping over the corpses, he would stop, turning. "I'll show you a lightsaber for brains after I shove mine through that hollow skull of yours." Flames sprouting from his clenched hands, he would turn around, making his way outside. Pushing through the door, he would look up at the sun, feeling the Force flow through him as he searched for any traces of his target.

[member="Lady Agony"]

 

[Lady Agony]

Unfazed by his behaviour she followed the other hunter outside of the building. She could feel something about him, something she couldn't quite place at first. With her eyes still blinded by the red piece of cloth, she only saw him as a collection of data, of his heart beat, his body heat and some other things her sensors picked up, and yet she felt a power around him that seemed somewhat otherworldly. She had heard stories of the sith and the jedi and their magical powers, but she never meet someone with that power before today. Without changing her sarcastic tone, she addressed the bounty hunter once more, but this time at least a bit more careful.

"Or you could, you know, use your actual brain instead of your saber for once and listen to me for one second."

Her thorns hanging low, making her appearance a lot less threatening she moved in front of him, talking the red blindfold of and looking at him with her own, borderline colorless, grey eyes. Running after the target would get them nowhere, with a speeder he simply had the speed advantage over them.

"He is on the run now, and that makes him weak. His second save house certainly is less secured than this one. He is a successful criminal sure, but he isn't rich enough to afford the same security twice. But he will make an effort to keep his position obscured, and sooner or later he will make a mistake. So you can run of now, trying to catch a speeder midair, or we work together, monitor his allies, his friends and family, until someone gets sloppy."

Her face formed a small, human smile, that seemed somewhat misplaced in this cybernetic monstrosity, as she extend her right towards him to offer him a firm handshake. The truth was that the target was gone for now, and their chances to find him were a lot higher if they work together.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Growling and visibly agitated, he turned slowly, his withering stare boring into he blindfold. He had to actually restrain himself from igniting the blade, only failing, the deep throaty hum surely being picked up in her sensors. Again, most people with ADHD had a very fine temper, and if you pushed them overboard, the result would be a tsunami. Speaking low and deadly, his cloak would unravel, wrapping back around his broad shouldered frame.

"Oh, I'll show you how I use it all right."

Standing stock still, the wind would cause his cloak to billow about him, a slight sizzle being heard as the heat from his body began to scorch the concrete below him. Her remark would flip a switch within him, and he began to feel his anger dissipate. Watching her as she stood before him, his constantly flaming eyes would be in contrast with her bleak ones. Most would say it was weird, or unnatural, but he liked them. It was unique, and that was important. Then she even offered her hand, and he regarded it with interest, before deactivating his saber and indeed giving her a firm hand shake.

"Ugh.....whatever you say lady."

[member="Lady Agony"]

 

[Lady Agony]

"I would prefer you call me Pandora, at least as long as we have to work together. Also I have a little suggestion what you should buy with the bounty: Anger management."

Her smile stayed after the handshake was down, and she was quite satisfied that he had listed to reason. Her little quip wasn't meant hostile, it was just the way she was. By now she was more or less sure that the other hunter possessed the magical powers of the jedi and sith, and that would definitely give him some advantages over her, especially when it came to interrogation and persuasion.

"You have these powers right, that weird thing jedi call force? You can bend people's minds and whatever?"

In her head a plan had already formed, one that would only work if the man had some abilities that weren't to commonly found in bounty hunters. In her initial surveillance she had kept an eye on several alterative points for her hit, before the target realised what was going on and locked himself inside his save house.

"There is a bar, where the target and his thug are regulars. I don't think he will return anytime soon, but if we want to know where he has gone and what he plans than we should go there. I will monitor from above and bust the kneecap of anyone who tires to run, you go in and use your magic to make them talk. That's how it works right?"

She looked him up and down, trying to figure out who exactly he was. Going in the bar was a risk, they couldn't know if the people there were already aware of what had happend. The borderline giant was only a small bit less suspicious than her appearance, but he still had better chances to go in unnoticed at first.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

"Hm...it's what happens after spending a life time with derps like you." Her comments would bring the faintest of smiles, a rare spectacle. He of course would be semi joking, as it was kind of true.

Regarding her curiously, he would incline his head towards her. The question startled him, it wasn't at all what he expected. "Yeah...sure." Upon hearing her idea, he would shrug, it was better than his so yeah, why not. Scoffing, he started walking, "I don't have to use the Force to get people to talk."

[member="Lady Agony"]

 

[Lady Agony]

"Me neither."

Complimenting her small smile she raised and eyebrow at his remark, while walking behind him. It felt surprisingly good to don't act in her role of a emotionless cybernetic huntress for once, something she rarely allowed herself while at work.

"But if you go in and smash in the face of the first dude you see, we will definitely have more than one runner. I'm good with a sniper, but not good enough to incapacity a whole horde of drunk idiots in panic mode, at least not when they have to stay alive."

Her hands moved to the sniper rifle on her back, getting the weapon ready as they moved further towards the bar they were heading to. Raising a hand to signal him to stop as she looked down on the establishment a two levels below them, she began looking for a good position.

"There it is. I hope I can count on your skills to not kark this up. Here in case something goes wrong."

She offered him a small com for his ear in her right, that could be used to alarm her should something go so far away from the plan that he would need support. Turning away from him, her thorns attached to a durasteel wall, lifting her up to a balcony three levels above them. From there she would have a good sight on the bars entrance, and relatively free shoots.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Her smile....look uncomfortable. Like she never tried it. As she continued to talk, he would once a gain sum her up, the Force being obvious in such an endeavor. No doubt, she would 'feel' as if there was a cold hand pushing through her, unscrewing the many bolts and nuts that had covered up her past life. The things he saw, emotions he felt, it caused him to stop, and stare long and hard at the woman.

Finally, he began again, listening, but remaining uncharacteristically silent. Only when she handed him the comm did he speak, ever so softly. "Failure leads to death...and I don't have time for that." Turning, he would endure a few more steps, pushing the doors of the establishment, all eyes riveted on him. Pushing through, he took a seat at the counter, his cloak covering his armor for the most part, other than the mask that had fastened itself along his jaw, the many teeth engraved upon the durasteel giving him a demonic look, especially with the hood shadowing his features. "The hardest you got, in three." His voice would come out like it usually would, but a slight tone deeper, making him sound even more sinister.

Now all he had to do was wait, as the many participants in the bar were thugs, and loved a newcomer. Hopefully, they would find him interesting.

[member="Lady Agony"]