Mine!

[Long Gone]

Alyesa brought a hand to her chin in thought.

“I’ll let your men stick around to crew, and be on loan as long as they’re enlisted in some capacity under the PMC act and by proxy – under the command of the Lord General.” She brought her hand off her chin and gestured. “Your price is acceptable and I’m more than willing to offer you a sum of one-hundred and fifty million credits in return for all products and services rendered. I do require that you provide maintenance and upgrades to all software included in these models.” She gestured towards the datapad. “When the time arises that they’re required, other than that, I see no unreasonable pricing here.”

It was simple enough, and the prices seemed fair. She could understand why he would be hesitant on offering out weapons and in the end have them turned against him. She, however, had no intention of turning the tides against the Mandalorians as long as they had no intention of turning them against Alderaan. She just wanted to keep her system safe and free from the oppressive governments that kept coming along and trying to destroy their simple way of life. Nothing more and nothing less.

Why was the Galaxy so complicated?

Alyesa extended her hand out towards him. “Do we have an accord?”

[member="Darth Vulkan"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The sith nodded, taking her hand and turning it over to look at it rather than shake it. "Indeed we do princess. Clan Vereen is happy to have been of service." He released her hand and stood up, stretching and popping his shoulders again. They had ached sense Roche when he had gone berserk and lost control to the presence currently gnaw and gnashing in the back of his mind. The presence had drove him to turn a corridor into a butcher's shop and he had sustained injuries their that ached at inopportune times. He had built up so much Force power, and held it for far to long to walk away unscathed.

"If you would like my services, call me." Vulkan sat a card on her desk with one of his comm channels printed on it. "I'm always around somewhere. But, unless there is something else you want, I believe I should be going. I'll be back with your ships and tanks as soon as I can get them all rolled out. It takes a little time to but together almost five hundred vehicles." He smiled and scooped up his helmet, lingering a little bit. He didn't have anything to do, he just didn't have anything else to talk about unless she had a subject in mind.

Outside, Vulkan's ship sat waiting for him with the small contingent of Aliit'Drahr. The nemoidian was standing just outside waiting to be handed a purchase order so he could do the taxes, cost analysis and send it to the appropriate factory, probably Roxuli would be closest but have to cross from the OS border to Alderaan. Details that could be hashed out by people who cared. So long as his troops were stationed on the planet just in case.

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos had introduced himself as Mal'tiac to the Zambrano sisters, [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] and [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"], however he hadn't introduced himself to the other mercs in the group. He took out the clip of his rifle and looked it over before he put it back into it, a habit. 30 minutes, He began to count down as he felt the presence of [member="Darth Vulkan"] on the planet bellow. 'Chit, this might be a problem...' He thought and he was glad he had brought his lightsaber along. At the thought of having to deal with a sith lord while on the ground he decided to preemptively plan against that.
Noticing the look [member="Filius Stellarum"] gave Joycelyn Erebos smiled a little. 'Oh he will do.' At that thought however he moved to Joycelyn and stopped just a small distance from her. "Hey, are we going to be landing soon?" He said in the thick spacer accent he had adopted for this little mission. He would feign impatience for the time being but he would use whatever time he had to try and anticipate what they would face on the planet bellow.

[member="Sek Kali"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

When faced with an attempt at intimidation, Joycelyn only stared more intensely in return. She was not one to back down from a challenge, certainly not from someone of such lower stature. A small smile pulled the ends of her lips as she cracked the knuckles of her left hand in anticipation. Fighting on board was a bad idea, but she would rather smash the head of a crewmember than show weakness.

However, before she could make any sort of pre-emptive action, [member="Darth Erebos"], or Mal'tiac as she knew him as, distracted from the situation with his comment and question. She turned her attention to him as he questioned her impatiently then threw a quick glance at the cockpit from over her shoulder. What was Evaelyn doing? She turned back to Mal'tiac.

"Shouldn't be too long. We have to be cautious. Phrik is precious and usually well-guarded."

[member="Sek Kali"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Filius Stellarum]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Sek Kali"]
Filius heard the cracking knuckles, and looked up just enough to see the woman he had recently intimidated smiling at him slightly. Filius halfway hoped she would attack him. After being cooped up on a starship for so long, Filius was growing bored. To make sure the woman knew he would not be an easy target should she decide to make some noise, Filius pulled his vibroblade from its sheath and began twirling it in one hand, moving it from position to position as fluidly as if it was a mere coin. He kept his eyes on the woman the whole time, gauging her reaction.

Filius heard her answer the strange man with the helmet and perked up a little. Soon they would land, and he would be able to catch another shuttle to Nar Shaddaa. And yet, he heard her talking of this material called "phrik". Filius had heard of the metal, of course, but he was not aware there was any available on Alderaan. Immediately, Filius's mind began running calculations. If he could get his hands on some phrik, he could no doubt use it to make a lightsaber resistant knife, plates for his rifle, maybe even a set of body armor!

Filius smiled again, a cruel, haunting smile, and went back to spinning his knife, the motion easing his urge to land.

 

[Sek Kali]

Steadying herself as she got onto her feet, the Trandoshan seemed oblivious to having been read by the force user, Sek wrapped the rifle's primitive sling over her armor and torso while retaining the silence that came after her hisses of observation. Clasping the sling with her right hand, she moved about the vessel toward nowhere- not that she wasn't doing anything however. Walking around and back and forth was a way of looking deep in thought, but she was also listening and trying to get a understanding of where the whole crew was right now. However, nothing that was heard striked any importance, at least, its not like they were getting shot at by a vessel in space. If they had, she would've known long before this eavesdropping came to mind. At least that is what the Trandoshan believed.

The gloved fabric would grind and rub against each other as she moved her fingers back and forth in impatience, there was an eagerness to get involved in the operation, or at least the meat of it instead of waiting around on a vessel. For reasons she couldn't comprehend, this material- phrik -was to actually be used for something, but whatever that something was didn't bother Sek any more than a spec of dust. While there were words of intimidation, the Trandoshan didn't get involved nor wanted to, competition or talking before the hunt was unpleasing when said hunt requires herself to be actually involved in a group. Socializing could come later, and competition? She viewed it was a very healthy addition to any occupation or business, but right now Sek just wanted to know about the unknown, about how much credits would come out of this and how long she would last on the pay. All this thought was uncontrollable, unrestricted, it flooded any discussion she could have to herself, thoughts corrupted in questions. Walking back and forth was barely helping, the energy that was expelled kept being replaced, until...

An uneasy sigh followed. "Wait and see." The three words repeated in her head. "Wait and see." While the Trandoshan drifted off into a more deeper, calmer thought, finally calming the fear of the future temporarily.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Sek Kali"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Darth Erebos"]

The blue-haired woman left the cockpit, knowing the situation was well under control. They knew what they were doing. This was what they were paid for. Not by her, of course. Frankly, she had no idea who paid for them. She hadn’t really bothered to ask. Her primary concern was her own pay.

Evaelyn had no knowledge of Alderaan ceding from the Republic. Had she known, and had she cared for galactic politics, she might’ve applauded them for the decision. However, it didn’t change her mission. She needed the phrik. Should Alderaan reject her request for withdrawal, and it was a rejection she survived, she’d simply have to go elsewhere. Which world would be next? Arkania? Rendil? Demonsgate? The options were many, and it didn’t matter to her who she attacked. Her loyalty belonged to no one but herself and her sister.

Finally, the ship was approaching its land site. “Get ready.” Evaelyn said to the group, notifying them that they were indeed about to emerge. “Let’s make it quick and silent. Relatively” the less attention they received the better. That being said, she wasn’t one to shy away from a fight. This was good, especially considering Evaelyn’s lacking aptitude for stealth.
The ship touched down, the hangar doors opened, the small group was free to roam, and hopefully make a humble withdrawal of phrik.

 

[Shaddi]

'About time...' Erebos thought when [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"], having begun to feel the impatience that he had fronted towards [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] only a few moments before. Looking towards [member="Filius Stellarum"] and [member="Sek Kali"], he nodded towards them and loaded his weapon for the third time, habit, then he went over the pistols at his hips and lastly he took out the knife sheathed at his shoulder and looked it over and then put it back. "How long the the drop?" He then asked as his tone turned professional though still thick in a spacer's accent.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

As the ship touched down, Joycelyn turned to a crate stored under her seat. She pulled it out and opened it towards the cockpit, preventing others from peering into the delicate matters of its insides. Her fingers flitted around the inside of the box before she pulled out a backpack, clearly loaded with a few objects. She then shut the lid and slid the box back in under the seat. Standing up, the tall woman looked at her sister and nodded. They were armed and ready.

Her face turned once again towards Mal'tiac, a trickle of annoyance evident in the twitch of her brow.

"You're standing in it. Move out."

And the Vahla-Epicanthix hybrid pressed forward to the mouth of the hangar bay. Even now she carried herself tall and proud, as if she belonged there, as if she had a purpose beyond the acquisition of a precious metal. The club at her belt dangled with the sway of her hips. Her lightsabre was hidden away, but close to reach. Under her left arm she carried a spacer's helmet. Facial protection was not something she joked around with. Yet, like most spacers, she didn't wear it in what was supposed to be a 'peaceful' situation, such as getting off the ship.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"], [member="Darth Erebos"], [member="Sek Kali"] [member="Filius Stellarum"]

 

[Filius Stellarum]

[member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] [member="Sek Kali"]

Bout keepuna time, Filius thought to himself as the ship's hangar door finally opened. Sliding the vibroblade back into its sheath, Filius grabbed his case with the rifle parts and stood. He began moving towards the front of the crowd about to depart the ship, anxious to be off. Thinking nothing of the concerns of the rest of the people on the ship, Filius shouldered his way through the crowd and exited the ship, breathing in the clean Alderaanian air.

Finally, he thought, I am free. Filius wasted no time in moving to the nearest, darkest shadow. Screened from the view of the rest of the crowd, Filius emptied the contents of the case, revealing his precious X-2 Shadowblade rifle and accompanying scope. With the precision of a master and the tenderness of a friend, Filius gently assembled the rifle, sliding the parts together with a satisfying click. When the rifle was completely assembled, Filius turned his attention back to the ship. It appeared to him that the best thing to do at this point was to follow the strange woman he had seen on the ship. She appeared to know what she was doing. She would lead him to the phrik.

Show me your secrets, strange one, the invisible hunter thought, training his scope on the ship, Show me your secrets.

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

Evaelyn nodded to her sister in return, then allowed her to do her thing. Her reply to someone in their company, and the way she exited the ship made her smirk. Surely there was something to be said for remaining calm and collected in situations such as these, but Evaelyn could not suppress the great sense of excitement building within her. As she stepped out of the ship, there was an eerie sensation lingering at the back of her mind. Inexplicable to most, many would likely dismiss it as a mere hunch with no basis in reality. Evaelyn had learned to trust her hunches, however. That said, it would nothing to stop her from proceeding onwards. It was not a warning of imminent failure, but rather an urge for caution.

Evaelyn was not far behind her sister, though she was not the type to freely offer her back to just anyone, especially not given her little gut feeling. The group approached from the landing pad towards the main facility itself. It was likely to be one of many of the same type on the otherwise large planet. In truth, she didn't need much, and she had no ambitions of taking vast quantities to supply or sell others with. She was only here for a humble withdrawal.

The question now was how would they enter? Without turning her head, her voice addressed the rest of the group before they'd get within the hearing range of anyone else. "Thoughts?" There was a chance they might let them pass, like any other of the many who would use the facility. Perhaps they would be stopped. Perhaps they ought to look for alternative points of entrance. It wasn't unlikely that the best option was something she had yet to think of. And so she gave everyone a chance to chime in, before they passed the point of no return

[member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Sek Kali"]

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos felt a sliver of a want to smack [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] for the tone she took but then again he wasn't her superior in the one sith right now, he was a hired gun. When he stepped outside the hangar and looked around he began to understand a little of the situation, though he didn't see much point in [member="Filius Stellarum"]'s actions. When he looked towards [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] when she spoke he smirked a little under the helmet. "To bad we don't have one of those force user freaks, could just wave their hands and get us in wouldn't they?" He then said as he walked a little to the side and looked towards [member="Sek Kali"] and cocked the rifle in his hand. "Or does the trandoshian woman have a plan?" He then said as he put the rifle away a little and then crossed his arms.
"We could also just send the brooder over there" He paused to point at Filius. "In to get us some passes if we don't have them or even shut down the security, if he can handle it that is."

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

"I wouldn't trust the brooder to know how to wipe his own arse. If he had any good ideas, he should have shared them rather than skulk off like some creep."

Joycelyn turned to the rest of the group and rested her hand on her hip. She knew she was likely to create enemies with her brazen attitude, but very little did she care. These persons were the scum of the galaxy and the cream of casual villainy. They were just what they needed for the mission, but not persons she was liable to trust in any way, nor keep in too close a company. It was Evaelyn and herself, all others were expendable in her eyes.

"As for plan, I say we intercept one of their shipments as it's transported to the space-port. That way, we may avoid the brunt of their security. There should be most around the mine and before it's shipped off-world."

Her eyes jumped from one co-conspirator to another before setting on her blue-haired sister again.

"There will be security, lots of it, but we are more likely to make a get-away on the road than in the mine or the port. Of course, it will also be trickier to actually catch them. An experienced Force User would indeed be useful at this point."

She smiled a sly smile and spoke directly to her sister's mind next, relying on their connection. There was an element of worry in her mental tone, though she maintained her look of confidence.

That is if our information is correct. It could be a set-up.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"], [member="Darth Erebos"], [member="Sek Kali"], [member="Filius Stellarum"].

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Sek Kali"]

"Right?" Evaelyn replied to helmeted man, agreeing with him. She sounded a little absent minded, as if her thoughts were elsewhere. Though Evaelyn fell within the category of Force using freaks, she was an unrefined beast with little training in the finesse of the Force. To wave her hands and make people obey her, or forget they ever saw her, was something she had no clue how to do.

After asking the rest, she lingered in the background, listening to their arguments and plans. Her silent, focused expression was interrupted by laughter from her sister's joke. But then Joy suggested something else entirely. Evaelyn's eyes widened, and she slowly nodded her head. "Hadn't thought of that" she admitted. Her mind had been on how best to perform a frontal charge. This sounded much better. "I like it. We intercept a shipment." she voiced her agreement.

"I like our chances. We hit them while they're mobile and not as protected as they would be in their own building. Besides, they've already packed up the phrik for transportation. It's ours for the taking" her sister's plan was starting to sound better and better in her ears.

'Could be. Be careful who you show your back to. I guess we're about to find out whether your goddess is watching over us today too' she replied mentally to her sister, teasing her a little. Though she acknowledged the risks, she wasn't about to stop now. The ability to give up wasn't one of her qualities.

 

[Elaine Thul]

[member="Alyesa Organa"] [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Sek Kali"] [member="Darth Vulkan"]

At this point Elaine did not know about Darco being on the planet, though her people had told her of ships in orbit not conforming to their local signatures. She sent an urgent message to house Organa, as they would soon be in range of her ion cannons. She wanted to know if she open fire on them, after all the one sith are her enemies. These ships could be one sith raiders, and that was something she did not want near there planet.

The message read

Dear Princess Alyesa Organa
Urgent reply need, ships of unknown origin coming into range of my ion batteries.
Need confirmation of weather to shoot or not, please reply asap.
Ion cannons taking aim, and awaiting your order.

As the message was sent, the ion cannons began to aim at the ship. House Thul was arming it self, and they where doing a very good job of it.

 

[Filius Stellarum]

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Sek Kali"]
Filius had known that if he kept tabs on these two women he would find a way to get the phrik. He had expected them to go to a mine or vault, in which case he would have followed and made his own withdrawal, but now it appeared that they were going to attack something. Therefore, it was more tactically sound to offer his services to them. For a price of course.

Coming up to them as if he had melted out of the shadow, Filius pulled his hood low and presented his rifle in their view.

"If you're planning to attack something, you're going to need an overwatch," he said, "To prevent any unexpected surprises."

He now subconsciously presented them with a choice. If they said yes, Filius would provide them with the skills of a master assassin. They couldn't possibly know his skill yet, but would be foolish if they rejected such an ally. If they really were that foolish, Filius would get the phrik another way. If they happened to be in his way when he did so, it would be their fault.

(OOC: Ooooo it's the old, "Unexpected ally do I trust or not" cliche. This was not planned. Wonder how it's gonna pan out.)

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Joycelyn cast her eyes to the ship they had arrived in. It was procured in neutral space to the galactic north, a civilian ship with no significant markings or track record. It had made many journeys to and from Alderaan in the past, carrying simple goods, tourists, refugees, and the like. The credentials were, as mentioned, taken care of through blackmail and the pilot holding said credentials kept discretely on gunpoint within the ship. On the surface, nothing should appear to be out of order. Joyce was reminded of the times she and her sister had been taken hunting. Blending in with the surroundings was paramount when hunting. All the way, they had stayed 'upwind', by approaching from the north-east rather than directly from the west.

They may not be expert assassins, but they were not fools. Even if they were spotted and the ship destroyed, they themselves were not known to be supporters of any enemy of Alderaan. [member="Darth Erebos"] was disguised beyond recognition even of his own students. , The Zambrano sisters too had taken precautions to dress out of their normal fashion. Unless one knew them personally, it would be more than difficult to point out their allegiance.

Joycelyn jumped a bit as [member="Filius Stellarum"] slipped out of hiding and presented his offer. Clearly, he knew how to hide and an overwatch was indeed helpful. Joyce was not inclined to trusting the shifty person, but perhaps she could rely on his greed.

"An equal share in the spoils. No more, no less."

Equal share of a humble withdrawal. Hitting the transport alone was suicide, betraying them would be risky at best, helping them increased the success rate and could lead to further cooperation. There was very little to lose. Joycelyn looked to her sister again.

Vahl is always watching our backs, as are the gods of our father. As long as we're together, we can win.

Joycelyn smiled confidently at the group. Her determined, brown eyes moved from one to the next in search of doubts before she put her gloved hand out.

"Then it is settled. We strike the transport, grab and run, leave none to tell the tale."

Her hand remained stretched out between them, awaiting others to put theirs on top. While raised to be harsh in her judgement, Joy had her cheesy moments, and she was stubborn enough to enforce them.

[member="Evaelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Evaelyn Zambrano]

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Sek Kali"]

Suddenly Filius had graced them with his presence once more. Evaelyn looked at him puzzled, as if she was waiting for him to say more. But no, that was it. "Wasn't this why you joined this crew in the first place?" she was confused as to why his involvement was ever in question, considering the ship he had arrived on. For his sake, she hoped he wasn't planning to turn this into a situation of blackmail. It wasn't likely to end well for him. "By all means" she said in approval of his overwatch role

"Works for me. We have our plan" Evaelyn said with the hint of a smirk, placing her hand on top of Joy's outstretched one. Cheesy, perhaps, but she would entertain her twin on this one. With their ship having touched down long ago, and a ways behind them, the small group carried on. They had their strategy, now it was just about setting up and waiting for the opportune moment. They'd move forwards, get positioned. With their ambush set, soon enough, their target would come along

'Of course they are' Evaelyn replied mentally to Joy, trying not to sound too sarcastic. 'You're definitely right about one thing though. As long as we're together, we win'

 

[Shaddi]

He had been curiously observing the twins at this point when [member="Filius Stellarum"] came up to them and gave his offer. He felt a little like he was watching children bicker over which role they'd take in a game of make belief but with the added knowledge that one could kill with his rifle at very long range and the other two were force users that analogy became quite mute.
Looking towards @Seki kali he feigned a little sigh. "If they keep this up the merch will be in orbit before we even get to it." In this little play he had a role to play and he would play it to the best of his ability. "So if it's all settled shall we get going or do either of you know where the prhik is coming from and to were it's being delivered so it can leave orbit?" He then asked once [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] and [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] seemed to have finished their mental pow'wow, he could see them connect with each others mind but reading the messages wasn't something he could do.

 

[Sek Kali]

The Trandoshan female kept her silence among the group, it was all about the pay and kill count, all this talk and bickering just kept irritating her further. Maybe enough that she would actually speak- probably nothing to say even in the next few hours, but it wasn't like there was any need to. Nothing complex required her attention, and anything simple was already being figured out as she would fiddle with her breastplate, making sure the straps weren't too loose or tight. Initially at Erebos's words (little did the Trandoshan know who he was), she retained silence. But eventually she chuckled, there was much time being spent on all this chatter rather than action, that was easy to agree with.

[member="Darth Erebos"] [member="Evaelyn Zambrano"] [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] [member="Filius Stellarum"] [member="Elaine Thul"]

(OOC: Pardon the OOC, thought I'd explain: I am deeply sorry for being quiet for some thousand years and not saying a word- a lot of things happened! Also sorry if this is a bad post, I'm trying to get back into the roll of things! But that ain't no excuse, just hope I can make up for my silence.)