First Reply Mess

[Xeykard]

​

The entry was far from flawless. Trained as his troops were, they weren't all experienced in breaches like this -- of the four legionnaires swinging into the windows, only two stuck the landing; one tumbled to the floor, the other got their line caught on the window frame. But this was the best way to gain that experience. The SIA were dangerous enough to be a threat to take seriously, but with the information Xeykard had gained, they were dropping in with their enemy unprepared.

Those entering from the front fared better. The stun grenades had been perfectly timed, and they filed out smoothly after, clearing the front hall and the close room in a matter of seconds.

Before them a bounty sprawled -- datapads, listening equipment, files, weaponry, and...

Somewhere near Sith space (the little blob by Korriban, ideally, but it can be closer to the other SO blob if you'd like) Xeykard drops in on an Alliance intelligence operation, catching them completely off guard. Throw yourself in. Bystander outside, watching the chaos? One of the agents? Breaching alongside Xeykard? Do yo thang.

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
​

Well shit.

Glass shards flew past his face as the man ducked for cover. Flipping over a nearby desk, Keys scurried behind it, trying to catch his breath. Why does it have to be today? He had spent weeks infiltrating this facility. The information he needed was just within his grasp. First it was narrowing down which corner of the galaxy, now which chunk, then sector. The system was the next piece that was required for his manhunt. But nope, for whatever reason, this was the day a group of Sith troopers decided to raid the building.

Cursing more underneath his breath, Keys stripped off his SIA disguise, revealing a tattered shirt and pair of pants underneath. No point in wearing the outfit anymore. Blaster fire already erupted around him, which meant they were firing on the Alliance officers. Honestly, the man couldn't care less. As long as they weren't shooting at him. But unfortunately, this made his mission even harder. A keycard of a high-ranking official was needed to access restricted data. Those things don't just appear out of the blue.

"Think dammit. You've gone this far."

Peaking his head out ever so slightly from his cover, the Zeltron watched as more troopers swarmed into the building. They quickly rushed past, making their way deeper into the building. It wasn't that which caught Keys' eyes though. It was the dead commander they all stepped over on their path. And clipped to his belt was a keycard.

"Bingo."

 

[Xeykard]

Keys ​

As expected, it wasn't clean. Shots were fired in -- others out. A blast punctured the legionnaire's armour next to him. He slammed into the wall. Another streaked toward him; instinct brought his saber up, and his skill sent it straight back at his assailant.

In the following six seconds, the floor made three new friends. This base of operations was built out of a large office space -- a logistics and shipping firm. Easy cover. From his intel, they hadn't caught every agent here today. Some were on their "days off", meaning, offworld moving sensitive equipment. But, this was a nervous centre; a dozen smaller operations could spring from here, the Alliance's claws digging into the Sith's back.

Now he had an excuse to pin down the other operations revealed to him by that Jedi. These were the victories that would bring him the Dark Lord's favour.

The pause in weapon fire allowed him to expand his senses -- after a moment, he lowered his blade.

"This one can hear you," he snarled. He couldn't, but those left didn't know that. "Come out. The building is surrounded -- you will not escape this one. Surrender, and you live. Else, you will be cut down where you stand. Or where you cower."

He motioned to the legionnaires. Half began to secure what they'd found already, while the others fanned out in search of the enemy.

I ain't gonna cap, I thought I made it clear that they were breaking into a small apartment, but I didn't so we're EXPANDING OUR SCOPE. Too late to go back now. Do what you want to.

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
​

The man ducked down once again behind the desk as a volley of blaster fire flew overhead.

Bodies now collected on the floor, groans of pain coming from them, yet quickly silenced by another blaster bolt. It looked like the Alliance was completely caught off guard. And to be fair, so was he. Keys has been told that this was a secretive operation, that even some members of the SIA didn’t know about. A place meant to monitor and control the Sith. Turns out they weren’t monitoring enough.

His heart began to race as the low hum of a lightsaber started to close in. That, most definitely, was bad news. Sure the man had a basic-level of force powers, but it was no match for this warrior. One of these days the Zeltron was going to steal, or buy, a lightsaber to start training with. Guess he should’ve done it sooner.

With an uncertain exhale, the man slowly raised his hands and blaster into the air. After that, Keys started to stand up from behind the desk. What stood before him was lizard-like creature decked out in armor. Shit. Hopefully he was keeping his word.

“Look, I ain’t even supposed to be here right now. Hell, I’m not even Alliance.”

Darting his eyes quickly to the ground, the man spotted the keycard laying there. Maybe there was a different terminal, different outpost, different something he could use it at. But he needed to grab it first.

“Promise I’ll just walk right outta that door and pretend I didn’t see anything.”

 

[Xeykard]

Keys I did not receive a tag. Very sad. Sorry for the delay.
​

Xeykard, surprisingly, stuck to his word. A pair of legionnaires arrived, blasters primed, but he waved them down.

"Put the blaster down," he ordered the Zeltron. His own saber was down, but kept that menacing hum.

The Inquisitor's own gaze followed the not-SIA agent, but it was brief, and he could only tell that the man was looking at one of the fresh corpses. At first he'd wondered if the Zeltron was a civilian, but it was clear he knew about the SIA's operation here. An independent infiltrator?

"How did you get here, if you are not part of the SIA?" His tone was low, for now.

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
​

With a soft thud, the blaster landed on the ground next to the man.

There was no point in risking any further conflict, especially since the lizard kept their word. At least for now. His eyes admired, and feared, the red saber. The unique designs of lightsabers were always fascinating to him. How someone's whole heart and soul went into the creation of the weapon. Like it was an extension of their own self. Slowly and without any sudden movements, the man lowered his hands to his side, but still kept his distance. Things seemed to be neutral for now. He intended to keep it that way.

"Stayed quiet, built connections, gained trust of one of the agents. Eventually made my way to the insides of this operation. Nothing high-level, but still, got me here."

It was shocking what wonders Zeltron pheromones could do to a person, especially human. You expose them to someone for long enough, and they are now your new best friend. This wasn't the first time that he used this gift to his advantage, and it sure wasn't going to be his last. Keys kept his explanation brief. Enough to hopefully keep his life for a few more minutes, but vague enough to bypass personal details and intentions.

"Let me guess, you are here to steal some of the Alliance's data?"

 

[Xeykard]

Keys
​

"This one will ask the questions," he snapped. The Zeltron wasn't entirely off, of course; the data that could be scraped from a well-organized intelligence operation was immensely valuable. There was a wealth of information here. Xeykard's job was to extract it as cleanly as possible -- and now, before him, seemed to stand the key.

His presence expanded; his shadow seemed longer, his voice lower, as he enveloped the man before him in his senses, searching for even a hint of deception or ill intent. "What is your goal here? Why... enter, this operation?"

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
​

The Zeltron flinched back at the lizard's sharp tone.

He had to weigh his options very carefully. Lying to this Sith could result in death, or something worse. Knowledge about Sith curses and after-life hauntings was not something he possessed. Telling the truth could still end up with his death or being forced to help out this crew which he'd rather have not met. But he felt the shadow of the creature looming over him. It was going to be difficult to charm his way out of this one.

"My goal is...entirely personal. Family matters, if you will."

While it wasn't exactly a lie, it was not the full truth either. Keys was here on personal business, that part was true. The family part was complicated. He believed that the data stored here in this facility could lead him to his half-D.N.A. strand brother, Okkeus Dainlei . The cloners back on Polis Massa did not offer much in terms of information of where to find him, so it left the man in need of larger scale search. This led him here.

"Look, fella, since we don't need to mess with each other's plans, I'm just going to slip on out of here. That cool with you?"

Regrettably, his eyes shot down once more to the keycard. There were only three in this entire building, and he had no idea where the other two were. This was his only chance at completing his mission. And by all means necessary, he was not going to let a Sith punk get in his way.

 

[Xeykard]

Keys
​

"Your usefulness has not yet expired." He held up a hand. "This one will allow you to leave when it has. Cooperate, and you will be on your way quickly."

The Zeltron's future was inconsequential to Xeykard, outside of that he shared what knowledge he had with the Inquisitor. But it was clear that the Zeltron was still anxious -- potentially hasty.

"Tell this one what you were looking for." His tone shifted, softening to something more neutral. "This-" he gestured at their surroundings- "is not your end goal, yes?"

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
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Cooperate.

Keys did not like that one bit. It made it sound like the Sith held all of the power here, which was something that worried the man. He tried his best to hold some sort of leverage in this situation, but right now it seemed like he was at the full mercy of the lizard. Part of him wanted to draw his blaster, escape this place guns-blazing, and run far from here. But deep down he knew that he wouldn't make it past the front door. A small sigh escaped his lips, puzzled on what to do.

"This ain't my end goal. One final stop you could call it before the finish line."

Weighing his options in his head, the man did what he figured to be the best possible outcome. Pointing a lone finger to the commander on the ground, he showed the Sith what he came for.

"That's what I'm after. The keycard from the commander. It'll get me the information I need."

 

[Xeykard]

Keys I keep not getting these tags and then immediately forgetting all my threads. My apologies as usual.
​

Xeykard studied the Zeltron. He nodded his head to the legionnaires. “Search her.”

The two knelt and gave the corpse a quick pat down, quickly finding the keycard, which they handed to the Inquisitor. He looked at it for a moment before handing it back to the legionnaire, snapping something in battle-speak. One hurried off.

“It will be returned to you soon,” he said. His eyes scanned the rest of their surroundings. “What else do you know about the operation here?”

 

[Keys]

Xeykard
​

Trying his hardest not to flinch at the sudden movement, the Zeltron watched as the two troopers quickly searched the commander's jacket.

It was only seconds before the keycard was located. There it was, just feet away from his grasp. How easily he could reach out and touch it - reach out and find the answers he had been searching for so long to find. Yet he let the moment slip away, realizing this was the more favorable option. Yet it still was not the most pleasing. The lizard inspected the keycard before handing it back to the trooper, who hurried off with it. A lone, pink hand half-heartedly reached out for it in desperation.

"Well, I can tell you quite a few things. No one here knows how to make a decent cup of caf. Not a single one. Its saddening. Kaland, the man lying dead over there, was in love with Laihla, a server who works a few blocks away. It was never going to work though, since she doesn't date Alliance. And Emmi, who I'm pretty sure was the first to bolt when y'all smashed in, has a fear of mynocks, which is strange because there aren't any near here..."

The man stroked his stubbly purple hair as he thought more about this operation.

"Oh! I got another thing - that plant sitting right over there on Triv's desks? Its fake. He insisted everyday that the thing was real, but we all could tell..."

No worries! Life got super busy for me recently, so I have not had the chance to write.