On the Scent

[Vaak Lest]

Before climbing into the shuttle, Vaak went back to the first room and checking inside of a locker. Sure enough, he found his new-ish model Vibrosword.

​

The sword was more like a rapier. It didn't have sharpened edges for cutting, only a pointed tip for thrusting. It would mainly be used by Vaak for defense. He still preferred to dent his foe's skulls with his hands rather than a blade.

After retrieving his vibrosword and securing it on his belt, he returned to the shuttle to find Varren already sitting inside, looking ever-so-eager to go on an adventure.

""How are you doing? I'm Varren Krizs," Varren introduced himself."

Vaak climbed into the shuttle, having to duck down a bit to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling, and sitting down heavily into the seat across from the ambitious young bounty hunter who was obviously trying to force a friendship between the two of them. Is it because he's afraid of me or because he doesn't know what being afraid feels like? Hm, perhaps both. He may turn out to be the greatest bounty hunter out of this group if that is the case.

"Vaak." was all he said.

[member="Varren Krizs"] | [member="Marcus Lok"] | [member="Lord Ajihad"] | [member="The Courier"]

 

[Atton Korvas]

The Courier followed the Kel'dor into the shuttle. It certainly seemed like an expensive—and somewhat comfortable—one. He sat down to the comedian's right, leaving a seat between them. Just in case.

Although he didn't say anything, he was surprised that the guy was still attempting to socialize, even when the odds of him forging a friendship with anyone on board were slim. Stubborn. He may turn out to be a nuisance, or the greatest ally one can have. The Courier hoped for the latter. This comedian seemed the kind that'd do everything for his comrades, but that'd be useless and annoying if he was incompetent.

He unholstered one of his revolvers and started studying it to pass some time until the ship took off.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Rhodes stood up, and turned to the crew. "Alright men, here we go. We'll land two clicks from the target area, in order to preserve this ship's anti-scanner mechanism. We'll hop on speeders from there, and make our way to the hostiles. Remember, our clients want em alive, so no killing anyone, except for non-important personnel (NPCs). I'm willing to bet they'll have vehicles and ships down there, so priority one will be destroying them to prevent escape. Remember, we're talking about Jedi here. They'll be armed and very dangerous. Time to earn your pay." He signaled to the robotic pilot, and the ship took off from the hangar. He heard whirring as the anti-detection system activated, hopefully preventing them from being detected before they landed.

[member="The Courier"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

[Bump?]

[member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The ship jerked as it made contact with the ground, and the door slid open. Rhodes walked over to his speeder, and hopped on. Signaling for the others to follow him. Without waiting for a response, he shot off towards the base. He grinned. He could almost smell the blood of his enemies flowing before him. It was time for one hell of a fight.

[member="Vaak Lest"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[Varren Krizs]

Varren straddled his swoop bike. Painted white with a Wampa skull on the front, the bike's design was simple: a front mounted blaster cannon for slight offensive capabilities, and enhanced repulsors to give him a little extra speed and power. He had installed heatsinks into the bike to mask his heat signature, which would light up like a ray of sunshine in a dark room on the ice planet. The one called "Rhodes" shot off, presumably towards the base. Varren followed suit, speeding off across the snow drifts. It was in this cold, hell-hole that Varren had time to reflect on his past. He subconsciously felt his upper arm, the spot where he had the crest of Fondor tattooed. He wondered what his parents were doing right now. He wondered what his parents would think about him becoming a hired gun and murdering people for pay. His parents always wanted him to be a starship engineer. Get a diploma. Start a family. But Varren wasn't the romantic type, and he hated sitting behind a desk, so he quickly brushed the thought from his mind.

"If you weren't awake before, boys, this chilly weather is sure to change that," Krizs said with a chuckle, "Let's go bag us a Jedi!"

A electronic image of his family came up in the corner of his HUD. He pondered it, then fell silent as he contemplated life. This may be his last mission. Varren had cheated death for years. But how much longer could he play this dangerous game?

[member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Atton Korvas]

The Courier smirked under his helmet as the ship shook, entering the ice planet's atmosphere. A few minutes later they would be on the ground, and maybe an hour later they'd have a Jedi at their mercy. This was going to be a hell of a fight, even if it possibly was his last one. Besides, the Courier knew that just as he'd lived by the gun, he'd die by the gun; there was no death of old age for him.

A dozen minutes later, the shuttle had finally landed, and the mercenaries were mounting their swoop bikes. The vehicles were nothing special, but they were driveable and could shoot, so the Courier had no complaints. He mounted the bike and shot off after Varren and Rhodes.

"Let's go bag us a Jedi!" The comedian sounded excited. The Courier was still surprised that the man had managed to keep his...cheerful nature, even with this squad of hardened mercenaries. He responded with a simple nod, before turning his attention back to the snowy fields.

Let the bloodshed begin...


[member="Varren Krizs"] / [member="Vaak Lest"] / [member="Lord Ajihad"] / [member="Marcus Lok"] / [member="Knight K'sara"] / [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

Ugh, this is horrid!

Vaak cursed in his head as the ship's doors opened and blasted him with a dreadful wave of snow and icy wind. His body shivered restlessly for a moment as he got used to the frozen air and mounted his basic, unaltered speeder bike and rode alongside the rest of the group.

Having never heard or, nor seen, a jedi, Vaak had no idea what to expect from one, so he remained physically and mentally silent on the trip, listening to the chatter between his comrades through his earpiece.

[member="Varren Krizs"] / @Lord Ajihad / [member="Marcus Lok"] / @Knight K'sara / @Willa Isard / [member="The Courier"]

 

[K'sara]

Allies: [member="Willa Isard"], X3-T4
Enemies: [member="The Courier"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Lord Ajihad"]


It was at the moment they broke into the atmosphere that her com device on her arm went off. She activated it and a series of whistles came from the device. "Understood, we shall proceed with caution. Korr, out."

K'sara turned to her apprentice. "We have company. I was afraid of this... but.. we have the element of surprise." K'sara pulled out a vial from her pocket and handed it to Willa. "Drink this.... It will hide your force powers to the Dark Side. I will be able to tune into yours however. And stay close...." She said and reduced her presence to a mere fraction. Now they should have the element of surprise, especially with this tundra.

 

[Willa Isard]

Allies: [member="Knight K'sara"]
Enemies: [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Lord Ajihad"]

Willa was looking at her master as the woman presented her the vial to drink, her helmet opening up while the stealth of the armor disappeared from her face as she drank it. Hands going towards her gun instinctively. "Can you tell how many?" Her eyes were looking up as the helmet closed and she was walking with the scanners activating. The enegies she had searching out to see where they might be coming from while preparing to make a stand in the snow out here. She had the heat and was trained for this but didn't know what her masters plan was while she was moving. "We could lure them further out, double back around and sabotage their ships. Leave them stranded here to freeze."

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus mounted his bike and had to admit, he was satisfied. He had been part of more than a few missions where the hunters had been equipped with inadequate or malfunctioning gear, and it never turned out well. His bike held a simple blue streak running along its' center and was configured like the rest of the group's. He shot off after them and sorted through the multiple indicators on his HUD to the navigational system and nodded in pride as it still worked. A blue line symbolized the quickest route, and he was happy that they were, for the most part, right on course to whatever was waiting for them.

The HUD displayed the critically cold temperatures that were around them now, and kark if Marcus even needed it to be indicated. It was colder than a Sithy's heart on this planet, and he doubted they would last for long without their protection. The cold had not yet found its' way through his clothing and he was glad that he had at least not packed himself into ineffective clothing. The whistling wind came across the speeder's frame with white gusts of snow following closely and he found himself clearing up his wrist attachment from time to time as the snow began to form a crusty patch of ice on the electronics.

Karking cold... I hope this Jedi doesn't have the stomach for a fight, or else this might take a while...

[member="Vaak Lest"] / [member="The Courier"] / [member="Varren Krizs"] / [member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

His own presence in the force concealed, he reached out with the force to try and detect his quarry. As he reached out, he thought he felt something. The sensation only lasted for a second, before it disappeared into the infinite oceans of the force. He frowned. So, no force detection, then. He set his cybernetic eyes to look for life forms/heat signatures.

The pressed a series of buttons on his wrist, and their drop ship lifted off into the atmosphere behind them. He didn't know how long this would take, and he didn't want the ship's circuits to freeze while they were hunting their prey.

Soon, they arrived at what seemed to be a snowed-over entrance of an old base of some kind. Dismounting from his speeder, he walked to the entrance, looking it over. He creased his brow, he could've swore he'd seen this place before. After a minute, he realized what it was. "Echo Base," he murmured. The famed rebel base on Hoth, from so long ago. He turned to his small team, and spoke, "Here we are, men. Echo Base. This is where they are hiding, but be prepared for resistance. They very eel may know we are here." With those words, he stepped through the doorway.

[member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

Vaak switched off the engine of his speeder after stopping shortly after Rhodes, trudging through the snow and examining the base. He heard Rhodes murmur something that sounded like, "Fecko Chase", whatever that meant. Vaak took his vibroblade off of his belt and followed Rhodes inside without a word.

[member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[K'sara]

If it weren't for X3's warning the hunters and her former rival would have had the upper hand. Turning to [member="Willa Isard"], she grinned. "Four. We should let them have the ability to run. After all... we Jedi do not kill unless it is absolutely required of us. So wound them if you must... just do not kill. Leave their ship. They will need It even if they will not see the sun by the end of this... the cold will take them. Also, I have Thurion on speed dial. I can easily get to the Silver Jedi Order should we be in trouble."

[member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="The Courier"]

 

[Willa Isard]

Willa looked at her master as she nodded her head standing there in the snow crouching lower. "Understood but if we're leaving them alive we should have a game plan master. Being in a place they can trap and track us out of the elements will make it easy and we have the greater advantage here." She placed a hand on the snow to melt sections of it while motioning for her master to come and have the cover while they looked around. "We can find a place to watch the base and see if anyone comes." [member="Knight K'sara"]

[member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="The Courier"]

 

[Varren Krizs]

Varren stepped off the speeder and pulled off a bag of thermal detonators. The hangar was completely snowbound save for a small crevice presumably at the top of the hangar doors.

"I've heard stories of this place. Isn't this where the Rebels got their asses handed to them by the Imperials?" Varren said with a chuckle, "although, how did a rag tag team of ill equipped protesters take down the most powerful dictatorship in the history of the galaxy?"

He took off the rifle from the sling on his back and cradled it in his arms. The snow was falling on and off and the sun was in the middle of the sky, presumably the warmest part of the day. The skeleton of an old, planetary, ion cannon sat off in the distance, anchored to one of the mountains. Surely the Jedi knew they were here by now.

"Alright boss, where do you want me?" Varren said over the communicator as he looked around for a vantage point.

[member="Willa Isard"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="The Courier"]

 

[Atton Korvas]

Ah, so this was where the fighting would start. This was where they'd capture a Jedi Knight—or get butchered by one. The Courier would make sure it'd be the former. He turned off his speeder's engines and stepped off the vehicle after the three others, unholstering one of his pistols and following them into the former rebel base.

"Do we have some sort of plan? Or do we just go in guns blazin'?" he asked his squadmates through their comm channel, scanning the area for any hostiles, Jedi or not.

This place was in ruins. A single concussion grenade could even cause the roof to collapse, and bury them under hundreds of tons of ice. They had to be careful, or the famous Echo Base would be their tomb.

[member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Willa Isard"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Vaak Lest"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Finally they arrived, and Marcus would be lying if he said that he was impressed to any degree. The base itself was nearly fully intact, save for a few collapsed sections of ice and rock that had come either over time or from the famous battle that had ravaged the area. The snow drifted around the bikes nonstop, and he only hoped that they would be able to find them after their work was complete. The entire look of the base gave off an eerie sort of feeling that only made the young Mandalorian grip his rifle tighter. The sheer fact that there was a Jedi in this ruin was a completely different matter, and it did no better to calm his nerves to be reminded that they were about to enter combat with one.


A chunk of ice fell not too far from the party, and it was cause enough to cause Marcus to point his weapon in that direction for a few more steps before imagining it might be a diversion. This was all getting to be a bit much.

"I don't think it would be best to simply storm a Jedi... Maybe you can distract them with some of your material?"

He indicated this statement towards Varren, as the man had displayed nothing but humorous enjoyment to the thought of fighting Jedi since they had left the ship, and it was appropriate.


[member="Varren Krizs"] / [member="Willa Isard"] / [member="Knight K'sara"] / [member="Lord Ajihad"] / [member="The Courier"] / [member="Vaak Lest"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Rhodes stopped walking, and took a moment to use the force. He was trying to detect any other force-users in the area, but to no avail. He frowned. It was probable that the rogue Sith was now hiding, hoping to conceal her presence in the force. He turned to the hunters before him, and spoke, "This now where I will let you take control of the mission. This is so I can stand back and evaluate your skills, as well as a chance for you all to build up some comradare. Develop your own plan, and execute it. It's time to bag us a Jedi."

After he was done speaking, he moved to the back of their convoy, leaving [member="Vaak Lest"] in the front. He pressed a few buttons on his datapad, which would command the ship's droid to jam any outgoing communications. After he was done, he raised an eyebrow at the men, wondering how they would proceed.

[member="Marcus Lok"] [member="The Courier"] [member="Varren Krizs"] [member="Knight K'sara"] [member="Willa Isard"]

 

[Vaak Lest]

[Messed up, ignore this]