On The Shores of Cobaltia [Open Thread] [Alderaan]

[Miss Blonde]

Prelude ​

(Optional)

Spoiler

"How people can wake up every morning and say 'Oh boy! A new day!' That is an enigma to me." Laying on the plush velvet couch of a therapist's office, the once infamous crime lord Miss Blonde had willingly fallen so far.

"My kids, my employees, my comrades, my friends, they all look up to me. They see this goodness in me and tell me that I'm a good person, that I'm a good mother, this shining beacon of an individual, but that's just it doc. I can't see it, I can't see it after everything I've done. All the people I've killed, all the death I've cause is rote within my mind playing over and over again." A heavy sigh left Patricia's lips as she turned her head to face away from her therapist.

Her eyes tracked up the wall until they met a particular painting that seemed out of place from the others surrounding it. Where the encircling paintings were all of calm landscape that fit the decor and general vibe of peace and serenity, this one spoke to her somewhat. She seemed almost drawn in and hypnotized by it, but despite its allure she kept speaking to the business casual dressed shrink in the chair near her.

"But I want to be that person they see me as. I want to be this person who feels good about themselves and can be proud of their life. I want it so god damn bad." She said in a longing voice.

"Do you think you deserve to be that person?" A plain and drab voice retorted back.

There was a pause in the air that lingered almost awkwardly. A silent tension that could either be brought on by deep thought or a reluctance to answer the question that had been asked, and at the last second before the therapist decided to move on. The question was answered.

"No one deserves anything, doc. No one is entitled to life or happiness. I've learned that over the years. That good people die early while the wicked ones go on to raise kids and be successful. The path to salvation is built atop the graves of the righteous and just." She said as her eyes left the picture and turned back to her therapist.

"So the question shouldn't be do I think I deserve to be that person. It should be do I know how to be that person?" She said in a tone that was almost uncertain with herself.

"And the answer to that question is no. I don't know how. I don't know if I ever can be that person. All I know and understand is the life I left." Patricia said as she stared the man in his face.

The therapist then gave a slight gulp before clearing his throat. This woman was dangerous, that much was certain. She was calculating and despite her emotional and psychological shortcomings within her identity crisis, she was a monolith of ruthless efficiency. So it was with great caution that he asked his next question.

"Do you miss it? Your old life that is." He said with a cautious tone.

Taking her eyes off the therapist the woman looked up at the ceiling and chuckled a bit before turning silent once more.

Every single moment of every single day." She said with a small humor filled scoff of self realization.

"Do you ever think about going back to it?" He once more asked.

"Only enough to dip a toe once in a while." Patricia said with the faintest of smiles.

On The Shores of Cobaltia ​

The cold and unforgiving cocking of a Slugthrower broke the still night air of Alderaan followed by the calculated steps of small dress shoes hitting stone filled cavernous floors. Slowly the footsteps increased drawing closer and closer to what was revealed to be four people of a human variety bound and pushed down onto their knees. Surrounding them were men and women dressed in the black suits and ties of what could only be identified as gangster apparel, that or from the Agent Smith Fall Fashion Line, but considering that they were armed it was safe to assume they weren't Matrix enthusiasts.

"A long time ago I had a friend who betrayed me, stole from me, and turned his back on his family and everyone who cared about him. Now he was the best slicer I had ever seen, and really all he did was break a computer system and steal a rather small amount of credits. Not like he killed anyone really." The voice of Miss Blonde carried out bouncing off the stone walls of their currently unmarked location.

Now standing directly in front of the four bound humans, their faces and eyes showed the deep and frightening amounts of dread and terror that gripped them. They were all but putty in Blonde's small hands, and she'd get what she wanted out of them. She would knead them and break them down until they were nothing. Just because the woman had retired it didn't mean she was dead or was copacetic with people stealing from her.

"What do you think I did about that betrayal? I want you to guess." She said with almost an upbeat tone to her prisoners.

There was a pause in the room before the female among them, a brown haired woman in her early thirties spoke up.

"You let him go! You gave him another chance!" The woman exclaimed in a frightened voice.

Letting out a little chuckle, Miss Blonde circled around the group until she stood behind them out of sight.

"In a way, yes. But also... no." The sound of a hammer thrumming backwards echoed in the chamber followed by the illuminating flashes and barks of a pistol roaring within a confined space.

The slugs impacted the woman and she fell to the ground with deep wounds to the torso and abdomen. She was too weakened and caught off guard by the pieces of metal ripping through her to scream. But that didn't stop her friends and fellow captives to do it on her behalf as she struggled and bled into the earth.

So someone answer me!! What! Did I!! Do!!." Her loud and heavy words echoed off the wall of the cave mixing with the screams of her terrified victims.

As she eventually came back around to face the three screaming men and the bleeding woman she let out a sigh as she leveled her pistol and pumped an additional two rounds into the wounded captive to finish her off and leave only silence among the other three.

"You know what annoys me? You little drones who jumped ship to work on behalf of nobody Sith Lords stole something from me. Now normally the government I work for would want innocent little pawns like you to go free, you were just in it for the money, you have a sick kid, you're taking care of your parents. Believe me, I've heard every single excuse in the book. But the thing is you stole from me, you crossed me, and I am not as forgiving as others." She said her words now returning to the ruthless demeanor one was used to hearing with Blonde.

"So I'll ask again before I get angry. What did I do in recompense of that betrayal?" There were a few sniffles and silent sobs of the three remaining men when blood began to pool around their knees.

"You killed him." One of the men said in a half choking sob.

In immediate response, Miss Blonde chuckled once more as she stepped up to the kneeling man.

"Nope." She said as the pistol was flushed to the man's head only to have the trigger be pulled shortly thereafter.

Blood and flesh sprayed in the air as a dead and limp body was forever forced to the ground. With the dead man's eyes staring open and unmoving at the rock covered ceiling above the masked woman's head, she let out another scoff at the pitiful sight beneath her.

"Where's my @&$#ing book?" She asked the remaining two men in a deep in sinister tone.

"We took it to some sith here on Alderaan! He has it! We promise we were just doing our jobs! Please don't kill us! His name is Darth Pax! He runs a bar as a front! At the spaceport near Colbaltia, called the Mourning Maiden!! That's all we know! Please!" Pleading for his life, the man broke down in tears as she bent over to look at the two.

"Let me tell you what I did. I didn't kill my friend. No, I respected him too much. I killed his friends, his family, burnt his business to the ground along with everyone inside it. I took it all away from him." The blood speckled crime lord then stood herself back up and turned her back to the two of them.

"But here's the kicker. I respected him. I don't respect you two." As she began to walk away from the duo there were cries and sobs for help. Pleading that only fell on deaf ears.

"Kill them both." She said with a lack of care for their desperate cries.

Stepping out into the cold night air of Alderaan, her black visors reflected off the moon and stars revealing the surroundings of an old and depleted phrik mine that had been stripped of any rare metals and forgotten by time. Out here there was only the stars and moons to listen to the screams that came from the tunnel behind her, and waiting for them were four unmarked graves being dug by the hired help Blonde often kept on retainer for such cases like this. Now all there was to do was wait for her more elite members to approach her so they could get on with the task at hand.

[member="Formorta"] [member="Dogpaw"] [member="Nate Phantoms"]

 

[Dogpaw]

Alderaan. What a peaceful place. Something Dogpaw wasn't used to. The Mercenary was lived a life of battle and blood, so being on such a tourist planet was unnerving. Dogpaw was hired by one [member="Miss Blonde"], who was a well respected crime lord. This is what he needed, it was a start at least. He watched as the planet became larger. Turning to the pilot he nodded.

"Tanner, start the landing sequence." He said as he patted the pilot's seat the pilot grinned. "As soon as you get me some ale commander." Tanner said with a grin as he began the landing sequence.

Dogpaw shook is head as he left the cockpit off his light freighter and made his way to the crew's quarters. Upon opening the door, he was greeted with the sight gamblers dressed in the same combat gear tossing credits at the table over a game of cards.

"And that's my hand South..." The woman said as she greedily dragged all the credits onto her side.

"I swear Shi'rik you're a cheater." The male said. Shi'rik just laughed. "And you complain too much." Shi'rik retorted.

Dogpaw took a seat on one of the bunks. The woman was the first to look up. "Shi'rik, mind staying with Tanner while Southpaw and I complete a contract?" Dogpaw asked.

Shi'rik nodded as she put down her cards. "Of course commander, I'm pretty sure Southpaw is out of credits anyway." She said with a grin.

"Alright gear up, want you ready by the time we land. Out employer is waiting for us." Dogpaw said as he quickly. Southpaw pulled up his mask and pulled on his helmet before grabbing his rifle and standing up.

"Always ready Dog you should know that." South said with a nod. Dogpaw stood up and made his way to his own quarters.

Soon the ship landed, not too far from the meeting point. Soon he made his way off the ship followed by his partner Southpaw. Upon reaching Miss Blonde he gave a slight bow.

"Dogpaw reporting in..." Dogpaw said as he adjusted his blaster rifle's strap. Out of the cone of his eye he noticed. a group of graves. He smirked under his mask. This woman meant business. And he guessed business was good.

 

[Formorta]

(I'm going to assume I was standing near you when you went through the whole intro)

Formorta stood their in silence as her latest employer berated and interrogated two people, she was angry but in control demanding answer and other things from the workers. She had been hired for this task due to her silent way of going about things, and her emotionless to killing other on a whim.

As long as the money was presented, and things went well she didn't care what [member="Miss Blonde"] asked, it would be done to the best of her ability. Finally the two men gave her the answer she wanted, but like all contact and leaks thing needed to be covered up.

"Kill them both".

As Blonde walked away Formrota cocked her pistols pushing off against the wall walking towards the two fearful men, raising one of the said blaster towards the closet.

"wait don't kill us we won't say a wo..." The man didn't get to finish the sentence as a blaster bolt was quickly put between his eyes, the body slumping over, lifeless. Turing quickly she placed the other gun to the next mans head, his whimpers falling on deaf ears, followed by another shoot causing instant death.

Once the deed was finished Formorta walked out standing besides Miss Blonde, "Done". Looking in the distance is seemed as though [member="Dogpaw"] had finally arrived, "Your late".

 

[Miss Blonde]

When [member="Formorta"] had finished up the grim task assigned to her, she had swiftly joined Miss Blonde outside to greet the extra help. Since this task ultimately revolved around securing an artifact from some nobody Sith Lord in hiding, she had decided to splurge a little and hire more professional grade help. Even if the Sith Lord in question was a nobody, they were still a master level force user. Which of course made them a particularly dangerous individual. Though that wasn't meant to discredit Miss Blonde at all. She was a special kind of danger, a woman who ran on the cold and ruthless efficiency of her own grim and at times nihilistic tactics.

This was made abundantly clear to [member="Dogpaw"] and his partner Southpaw when the more "minion" helpers in dark suits and ties could be seen dragging the limp and bleeding corpses of her late prisoners out into the crisp evening air of the long abandoned phrik mine. With as little care for the deceased as possible, the group of thugs tossed the corpses into the shallow graves. The sounds of shovels breaking into dirt could then be heard as it accented Formorta's words of "You're late." To the arriving mercenaries. In a more subtle context it meant that Miss Blonde and her hired associate were very dangerous people who clearly weren't above killing women and mindless little drones who were simply innocent little cogs in the machine.

"Better late than never. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Miss Blonde." she said making her introduction as another corpse was pushed into a hole.

"Now I won't waste our time with small talk since you both know the details of the job. I want my book, and you're going to help me get it." As if stating fact, the woman in the gas mask shifted her gaze to the small group scanning over them.

While she didn't like working with unknown and untested people, she didn't have much of a choice. [member="Cyrus Falcor"] had yet to show up and she could always trust him to do what needed to be done. He was an amoral killing machine that had no qualms over any type of murder be it from babies to geriatrics, he was her go to for all things chemical death. But these would suffice for now, wasn't like she was in business again and hopefully this would be a one time affair.

"Newfound Intel has put the target or at least the next bit of information leading us to the target is in a small spaceport bar called the Mourning Maiden near Cobaltia, a little tourist trap a few klicks west of here. So I want you two to mount up in the speeders we have provided and get there. Seeing how a spaceport is a twenty four hour operation expect civilians and potential private or government backed security. Don't kill anyone you don't have to, and when you arrive at the bar I want everyone inside the bar held there." Blonde then snapped her fingers a few times over by her drivers after giving her directives.

A few moments later a few black plated speeders arrived near their position and Blonde stepped into the backseat of one of them making sure to roll down the window to look at her two associates once more with the black and soulless lenses of her gas mask that shined slightly in the moonlight.

"If there's anything else you need to ask me, say it over the comms." She said in a calm demeanor as the speeder then took off in a B-line through the forested path outside the phrik mine.

It would hopefully be a quick trip for her little group and she prayed that the two wouldn't kill one another before they arrived. They were both left with their own separate speeders should they decide to take their separate routes to the spaceport.

[member="Dogpaw"] [member="Formorta"]

 

[Dogpaw]

The cool breeze of Alderaan felt nice. His thoughts were broken apart by an irritated voice of [member="Formorta"]. He nodded and looked her dead in the eye. He wasn't one for excuses, those just made people look ignorant. He grinned slightly.

"Apologies." He said simply. He turned his head as a couple of suits dragged bodies into the once empty graves. He turned to his partner and leaned near.

"Take a couple pointers South." He turned back as [member="Miss Blonde"] introduced herself formally. She meant business as she went into detail on the objective of finding the target. He was apparently at a spaceport bar...or at least more info was.

They were told about civilians and the speeders. Dogpaw nodded. This job required having a disciplined trigger finger.

Soon Miss Blonde was off, leaving the others to get to the spaceport on their own. Two speeders we're left and Dogpaw walked to one. Looking to Southpaw he hopped into the driver's seat. Southpaw followed. The Merc looked to [member="Formorta"] and winked. "See you there." He said before pulling away. He was always one for a good competition. Even if it was on the way to the job.

As they traveled further from the mine Dogpaw cleared his throat. "South, what were the directions again?" He asked.

"A couple of klicks west, near Colboltia. A spaceport bar called 'The Mourning Maiden.' we have to keep the bar's patrons under control." Southpaw said. Dogpaw nodded. He began heading towards the spaceport.

"What do you know about this. Miss Blonde?" Dogpaw asked.

Southpaw looked puzzled for a second, then his face became a bit frustrated.

"Well what I can get off face value... she's a hardcore crime boss who has more blood on her hands than anyone we've met. She has the credits, he'll have you seen the pay-out for this job?" The other Mercenary said with a chuckle.

Dogpaw smiled. "You're right. We definitely should not cross her."

"Wouldn't do that if you paid me." Southpaw said.

Dogpaw laughed as they continued to their destination.

 

[Formorta]

Formota adjusted her weapons so that they were in a more comfortable position during the brief, a book must be important, the Mourning Maiden not far from Cobaltia, a bar no problem, being stealth right up her area of experience, trigger discipline and civilians, she can roll with that.

Soon their employer had left the scene sending off in a speeder, though personally owning one, using a more top of the line and less attention drawing model would probably bet better for this specific mission. The assassin attention was brought to [member="Dogpaw"] as he gave a slight wink, before heading off, such an act slightly confusing her, very few people ever winked at the masked sniper, and as such was not really able to respond.

She dismissed the action and mounted up on the speeder, powering up the vehicle before following dogpaw and his friends in their own. The mission was simple enough, but experience taught that nothing every went as planed, and though trigger discipline was required she would not hesitate to remove any potential threats from the scene once they arrived.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Past the trees and through the darkened woods, Miss Blonde's speeder was the first to reach the coast. An area world renown for its beauty, and this statement was true. The Cobaltian Sea of Alderaan was truly an gorgeous place. Lush greenery coupled with white sandy beaches where the moonlight gleamed off the water. Truly it was a sight to behold. However it's beauty was not the reason why Blonde was here, in a perfect world it would be for a vacation with her family. But the world they lived in was as dark and crushing as this place was beautiful, they were a ugly stain upon it, a nagging reminder that no matter what could be considered paradise there would always be the need for violence and death.

So when Miss Blonde's speeder eventually made its way into the small opened air spaceport, she made sure to park near the establishment. More resembling a larger permanent bazaar than an actual space port, she was able to walk her way through the dirt paths past the occasional guard and late shift freighter crews moving supplies in preparation of tourist season. It wasn't at all long before she found the Mourning Maiden. A small pourstone building layered what could only be surmised to be a durasteel frame beneath it, and atop over the entry way was a wooden placard with a young Twi'lek female with hollow empty eyes crying. It was creepy to say the least.

"Could you be more obvious?" Blonde said as she reached into her coat to pull out her pistol.

Looking down she cocked open its breach slightly to see if a round had been chambered. With the weapon now confirmed to be live and ready to go, she stuffed it back into its holster as to not directly walk into a bar holding a loaded weapon.

"@&#%ing edge lords." She said before walking into the bar.

Inside the Mourning Maiden was a quaint little establishment. Thirteen booths lined the walls of the building and around five high top tables occupied the space between them and a classic horseshoe bar. Everything had a very natural tone to it. Wooden floors, stone walls, stuffed horned trophy beasts mounted to said walls with classic landscape art that decorated the blank areas coupled with a robust selection of alcohol decorating the back of the bar. This was a fine place to drink, and even she would come to a place like this. It was a real shame she had to murder people inside of it.

Said people both innocent and possibly complicit in the theft of her property had immediately taken notice to Miss Blonde. It was far from every day that a four foot eleven blonde haired woman wearing a black formal suit and a gas mask walked in. Around fifteen customers and five employees whose quiet conversations now turned to silence stared at Miss Blonde knowing that whatever reason why she was here couldn't possibly be a good one.

"Dog and friend, you're probably behind me. I want you in here on crowd control. No one leaves. If anyone tries anything, clock them in the face. If they try to leave again, shoot them in the head as an example. Miss F, you're our overwatch. Take that sniper and post up somewhere and make sure any spaceport guards don't interrupt us." With her orders given, Miss Blonde got to work slowly taking menacing and methodical steps towards the bar's manager.

Whenever [member="Dogpaw"] had decided to join her, he would be greeted by the sight of people huddled in fear at the corners of the bar as a middle aged balding man in an dress shirt and cheap tie hovered in the air in front of the bar. Desperately clasping at his neck for air, the tiny blonde crime lord had her hand in a very Vader-esque fashion applying a force choke to him as if a metallic vice were clenched around his airway.

"WHERE! IS! MY! BOOK!?" Miss Blonde yelled at the man as he brought him in closer with the force.

The man gagged a few times and make choking yet fleeting attempt of words that only failed under Blonde's grip.

"Oh what's that? You can't talk? Is it because of the grip? That must be it. Here let me help with that." With her grip lessening she pressed her gas mask inches from his face.

"Where is it?" She said in a low and menacing tone.

"Hail Lord Pax..." The man said in a whisper only Blonde could hear before spitting on her mask's visor.

In the blink of an eye the man held by the force was sent across the room flying at an intense speed to have his back be introduced to a pair of horns that belonged to a stuffed big game creature. With a brutal display of cold blooded murder the man was all but impaled on the horns and hung limply from them. His motionless corpse dripped blood onto the floor and patrons screamed in panic one or two of which started making an attempt to get away. Though Miss Blonde made no visible attempt to stop them, she had hired the best and she expected the best.

"Okay. So whose next?" She said in almost a chipper voice as she looked over the staff of what were most likely Sith Groupies.

They didn't have much time. There would soon be guards hearing the commotion and come to investigate. Hopefully her eye in the sky could play keep away long enough to let them get what they wanted.

[member="Formorta"] [member="Dogpaw"]

 

[Vigil]

Knowledge, such a power was oft sought, as the archetype goes, by Sith seeking strength or Jedi after some form of serenity. Such things were thought to belong to books, holocrons, databases and the sort, and for the most part these things were true. However, a third group was frequently overlooked, a group that sought knowledge with no less, and perhaps even more, fervor than the religious zealots of the light and dark. The criminal underworld, more specifically information brokers. Librarians of the underground, such people had a desire, a need to know, and sought all knowledge for their own. Books, Databases, common rumors, bank transcripts, anything, everything. Such was the life of a broker, to know, to sell, to ever remain neutral. AT least, this was true for those without the power and will to pick and choose.

Vigil, for all his faults, had a safety net few brokers could spare. The death of the body was little more than a distraction, for the AI itself could persist beyond his own deactivation. And this granted him the privilege to hold some sense of favoritism, or customer loyalty as he would put it. And [member="Miss Blonde"], Miss Blonde was a very respected customer of his knowledge. Though no formal system had yet been devised by the being, the woman had a knack for locating him when she needed his services, be they of knowledge or violence. Not one to turn down her ever generous offers, he had quickly assisted her in locating the knowledge surrounding an object of her desire, something stolen that would inevitably be returned.

But when your only friends were your clients, held at arm's distance, the cessation of your assistance at such a surface level, even the droid understood the emotion in his chest at this thought. No, for Blonde, he would see his duty to the end. Alas, he could not simply tell the woman that, the man who's brain he had been designed from held a better sense of drama than that. So instead, he found his way into the Mourning Maiden well ahead of time, knowing full well where her information would lead her. He was unaware of [member="Formorta"] and [member="Dogpaw"], but even if he wasn't it hardly mattered. They were outside, he was in the bar surrounded by patrons. And lord, were these people chatty.

The staff, as far as he could tell, were the sith's loyal servants, at least one of whom had personally assisted in stealing the book itself, who he would work to keep Blonde from executing in a fit of rage. At least until he spilled his secrets, if he actually knew more beyond where he dropped the artifact off. The patrons were mixed bags, a small few seemed to be servants off duty, and others your standard fare. He felt sorry for those unfortunate enough to be caught in this crossfire, any that got hurt were needless sacrifices for the vain and corrupt.

As if to break his thoughts, he noticed the figure of Blonde entering the facility. Ah, the familiar mask, it almost warmed his circuits to see her well as one could expect. And noticing her very brutal display of power, he felt the ever present mix of disappointment and delight. She was so violent, and brutal, when it came to the job, he respected it as much as he found it crude. This was one of those moments where he found the display helpful, however, as it made it very painstakingly obvious she could make their deaths slow and painful if she wanted.

One of the staff members, a disposable one, moved to grab a weapon from his back pocket. A blaster no doubt, likely a hold out weapon just for this occasion. Now that wouldn't do for the job, if Blonde got hit this would simply be bad form. But, it did give him quite the entrance. So, while the man slowly went to draw his weapon, Vigil stood up from his seat against the wall, disguised as your standard smuggler, a long coat and all. Holoprojectors were so delightful with their coloration nowadays, so realistic, it seemed he had a weapon holstered on his thigh. The truth was known to perhaps three or four others, besides himself, two of which were inorganics themselves.

His leg slid open, and Vigil, known to criminals as Mr. Orwell, drew his distinct, recognizable revolver, the Vigil Model 44, and fired a shot, tearing a hole in the staff's head before he could even level the now visible weapon at Blonde. "Apologies, Miss. I thought it best to see my commitment through to the end. I hope you don't mind?" Of course he was aware of everyone's positions. They likely had just enough time to exchange a quip or two before they would have to begin the messy affair of executing everyone.

 

[Dogpaw]

The sights were amazing to say the least, Dogpaw hardly visited Alderaan, and when he did it was mostly for resupply and a bit of rest. Looking off to the side shined the Cobaltian Sea. Quite a spot. Hell he wouldn't mind camping out on off time, the planet probably held a bunch of secrets under it's pleasant disguise.

Over the comm, [member="Miss Blonde"] gave a couple of orders, he and his partner were to provide crowd control. He was fine with that, it just made him feel as if he was in a bank heist or something.

"See that?" Southpaw said as he pointed off in the distance to a structure. "That's the spaceport....pull up on that side, we'll walk, don't want to attract more attention."

The speeders slowed to a halt and Dogpaw powered it down. The duo jumped out and made their way to the front entrance of the Mourning Maiden. Once they entered they were greeted by the sight of a man impaled a grin spewed itself on the Mercenary's face.

"That's what happens when you dress like that...tacky..." Dogpaw said. He readied his blaster rifle and turned to Southpaw who was just as ready.

"Go ahead and make sure behind the bar is clear....don't want anyone else being a hero." Dogpaw said as he looked to [member="Vigil"] who had just shot a man.

He looked around and kept his rifle trained on a couple of the hostages.

"Alright! Everyone into one group....now." Dogpaw said loudly. He walked to one of the hostages who was taking too long to move and hit him with the butt of his rifle.

"Get a move on." Dogpaw barked. When they were all huddled in a group in the middle of the bar. Dogpaw looked up to See for a second who was pushing some of the staff out of a corner, leading them to the group of hostages.

"That's everyone Dog." South said. Dogpaw nodded and looked back down to the hostages.

When Miss Blonde asked who was next Dogpaw surveyd the patrons. He figured one of the staff members knew something. The Merc slung his rifle over his shoulder and and reached into the crowd, pulling one of them up out of the group. He would then bring the staff member to Miss Blonde while Southpaw kept his rifle on the group.

Dogpaw kicked the back of the hostage's legs causing him to fall to his knees. Then kept one of his hands on the kneeling man's shoulder while his other hand reached for the holsted blaster piston on his hip. Dogpaw drew it and aimed it at the man's head.

"Think we got our next volenteer ma'am." Dogpaw said gruffly.

He glanced over to the smuggler near Blonde. He made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

The outside security was going to be a problem, hopefully [member="Formorta"] was a good shot.

"Keep an eye on them South. Don't hesitate to smack em." Dogpaw reminded his partner.

 

[Formorta]

The place was pretty, that was all Formorta cared to descried it as, sightseeing was not why she had been hired, keeping focus on the mission was the main objective nothing more. The speeder flew through the streets, not far behind the one [member="Dogpaw"] was in, soon though the had reached their destination, upon disembarking from the speeder [member="Miss Blonde"] relayed her orders, over watch, perfect "copy".

She spied around streets for a bit, choosing a horizontal enough sign of some hotel as a preferred spot, durasteel beams provided cover, good view and easy to reach, As the other mercenaries accompanied Miss blonde into the bar, she went about securing her position and the surrounding area.

Using the suits grappling hook, she hoisted her body atop of the sign, before giving a quick scout of the location un-holstering her silenced Kisteer, "In position". For the next few moments everything as silent, until a shot rang out from the bar most likely altering law enforcement, "Great". It didn't take long for a pair of security garuds to turn the corner and head in the direction of the bar, she couldn't allow for them to spot what ever was going on inside.

Taking a breath the cross hairs on the rifle were lined up on the pair, but she didn't fire, not yet, allowing them to get a little closer, just as they were about in front of the bar, both of their heads lined up perfectly from her potion. Squeezing the trigger a light 'phiss' was made, before both guards fell over, a neat little hole in their heads. It would take a while for other guards to respond, hopefully the other would be done by then.

[member="Dogpaw"]
[member="Vigil"]
[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

There was a moment of silent tension in the room after [member="Vigil"] had fired off the round in the tavern more than likely alerting law enforcement which would cause needless casualties. A completely unprofessional act carried out by an amateur in the criminal underworld. Vigil was an amazing info broker, however he was not the best of operators. That was why she hired [member="Dogpaw"] and [member="Formorta"] since they had a background strictly in the field of dealing death and trigger discipline. However despite Vigil's mistake of discharging his weapon, that wasn't what had Miss Blonde in a fit of silent anger. What had upset her was the fact that his shot had hit the staff member dead on and caused the back of their head to all but explode in a splatter of blood. Which of course triggered one of her most aggravating pet peeves.

"You got blood on my @&#%ing shoes!" The woman said with a very annoyed tone that was buried deep into it.

With the need to blow off a little steam. In a flash of movement augmented by the force a knife was produced from her jacket sleeve. The small switchblade clicked and a bright blade was produced that quickly lunged into the bar staff's throat. Blood spilled from the wound as the knife retracted and the sounds of gagging and choking commenced. They were however quickly dispersed as Blonde yanked them behind the bar for an off camera and more than likely terribly violent death.

A few moments passed and rising up stained in blood was Miss Blonde who did not looked pleased with the situation, though her demeanor read as being much more calm after blowing off some stress at the expense of one of the staff members. Her eyes scanned over to Vigil and then to Dogpaw, they had very little time and it was clear that they needed to get out of here. She had sensed that Formorta had just dropped a few people and now they'd miss their radio check which would trigger a lot of law enforcement.

"We're leaving. Dog, South, grab them and take them to my speeder and get in. Leave the one you came in. Mister Orwell if you have a speeder you rode in on I suggest you take it, if not just follow me." Miss Blonde gave her orders and then swiftly made her way towards the exit.

When she stepped out she immediately noticed the two corpses on the ground curtesy of her eye in the sky. Though she was far from the only one who had. In the slight distance ahead of her a freighter crew was pointing over towards her and speaking to what was clearly spaceport security. Their head then turned to stare at a blood soaked Miss Blonde standing near two corpses.

"$%@& me." She said flatly.

Blonde didn't fail to react though. Quickly drawing her pistol the woman fired off a few rounds striking the security guards in the chest and torso most likely either killing or gravely injuring them. Which of course she couldn't of cared less about their well being, it was her or them and she'd pick them every time.

"We're moving! Go go go!!" She yelled over comms as the spaceport alarm began to go off.

Hopefully her crew of mercs were behind her because Blonde was moving down the paths in the dark towards her speeder. The response times of the guards were thankfully sluggish due to the location, however while they wouldn't be an issue for her, they would most certainly be a problem for [member="Dogpaw"] and [member="Vigil"] when making their escape.

"Formorta! Cover them! I'll bring the SUV around and drive! I want you two on me in sixty seconds!" The operation was already going up in flames.

Hopefully they could get the two remaining hostages out of the building and into her possession where they could escape from this place and get lost in the woods under the cover of night. They just had to escape first, and right now it was looking more and more increasingly difficult as precious seconds ticked away.

 

[Vigil]

"Reflexes?" Vigil hummed to himself, seemingly ignoring [member="Dogpaw"] and [member="Miss Blonde"] as he reached down to his left side, withdrawing his second gun, the series 9. Had his mind retained the natural reflexes of his original? It seemed so, a curious thing considering that related more to muscle memory than brain patterns, though he supposed it made some sense. He would have to fix that next chance he got, considering his Series 9 had been specifically prepared with a silencer in advance. Switching which weapon went in which side for now would be sufficient, and was exactly what he did while Miss Blonde made her exit.

Once the weapon was shifted around properly, he went about cleaning up some of the mess that had been left. Namely, incapacitating the individual he knew had the highest probability of knowing something, and letting Dogpaw handle the rest. Executions, dragging a number of them out with them, whatever suited him best. Vigil was calm enough to realize that it was his mistake that sent things up in flames here, but calculated potential profits from the action, at least personally. Fear inspired rumours, which inspired truth diggers. Perhaps he could hire a few librarians after all was said and done.

"I leave the rest to you two. I'll buy you a few extra minutes. This man here most likely knows something, if no one else, take him." He tossed the man, who he had incapacitated moments after Blonde left, to Southpaw before stepping out of the bar. He activated the holo projectors, taking up the identity of a security guard (most likely in [member="Formorta"]'s sightline) and made a run to the closest oncoming group. Fireing up his vocabulator, he managed to sound more or less like one of the guards. "I spotted someone heading down that alleyway, if we hurry we can catch them." The poor fools believed him, how could they not? His disguise was as realistic as it could get.

After the small group ran ahead of him, he contemplated his options. Handle the guards now, or spare them? Such options, such responsibility. In the end he chose to spare them, knowing they could follow the alleyway for a solid few minutes before realizing the lie. Hopefully long enough to get out with relative ease. He shifted back into the smuggler disguise as he approached the bar again, drawing the Series 9 and glancing around. The weapon was still silenced, but damn was it going to be useless if Dogpaw didn't hurry up. He lifted the weapon and started to make his way to a borrowed speeder.

Quite honestly he wouldn't be surprised if someone shot at him as he got on. After all he'd only delayed the surge of law enforcement ever so slightly.

 

[Dogpaw]

Dogpaw immediately let go as Blonde handled the bar staff. He watched in silence as he was brutally taken care of by the no nonsense crime boss. Dogpaw almost felt bad for the poor sap. He wasn't even the cause of [member="Miss Blonde"]'s problem, Dogpaw watched as the man was brought behind the bar, all Dogpaw could hear was the sounds of desperation...gasps for air... choking. Several seconds later their employer rose and moved out from behind the bar.

She gave orders for South and him to take the remaining two hostages back to her speeders, and ditch the one they arrived in. Dogpaw guessed the security would be swarming soon. As soon as Blonde gave her orders she made a quick exit. The Merc looked to @Vigil. As he went about incapacitating one of the targets and tossed him to Southpaw's feet. Vigil said he'd buy the two a few extra minutes and left the bar.

"Hear that, get some bindings on him, I got this one." Dogpaw said as he put a pair of bindings on one of the hostages. Southpaw picked up the incapacitated hostage and thew him over his shoulder.

"Dog, let's get to Miss Blonde's speeder." Southpaw said as he began to walk out of the bar. Dogpaw took his hostage and had them walk in front of him. Holding on to their shoulder. He put his blaster to their back and pushed them out the door.

"Come on get a move on or you'll get hurt." Dogpaw said to the hostage he was holding.


"En route to your position ma'am" Dogpaw said shortly into his comm link. They needed to evacuate to a more secluded place to interrogate the remaining two hostages.


"How much time we got South?" Dogpaw asked as they went as fast as they could. Practically sprinting.

"Thirty seconds." South said as he kept up.

They rushed their way to Miss Blonde's speeder.

Dogpaw glanced around. Wondering where Blonde was.

When the speeder appeared, Dogpaw and Southpaw waited for a second as Dog glanced around making sure it was clear.

"Clear!"

When he did Southpaw rushed ahead and threw his hostage into the back before jumping in himself. Dogpaw forced his hostage next to the other before jumping into the passenger seat.

[member="Formorta"]

 

[Formorta]

Things were silent on her end for the moment, authorities taking the expected amount of time to respond to the threat and dead guards, that was until she saw [member="Miss Blonde"] come out of the bar shouting orders to cover the other. A quickly nod was all she gave, eyeing down the scope at the now arriving law enforcement, she was prepared to take another shot until a new person arrived on the scene, the man, shortly followed by [member="Dogpaw"] went about using a holo device to disguised himself as a guard, proceeding to distract those investigating the issue, before returning to the bar, again flickering on a new disguised, not the most shrewd person it seemed.

Looking back it seemed as Miss Blonde seeder had come around the corner, followed by Dogpaw shoving the hostages in, looks like it was time to leave. Attacking a cable to a trail the sniper leapt down from her perch in a wide are, swinging in the direction of the door dogpaw had entered which was still open. By the time local law enforcement brightened up about trick she was already in the speeder, sitting next to the merc and the others. "drive".

[member="Vigil"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

The roaring engine of Miss Blonde's speeder gave off a loud rev once it has turned the corner and snatched up its new passengers. With [member="Formorta"] and [member="Dogpaw"] secured with the hostages, it was safe to say they could leave now. [member="Vigil"] had his own ride and he was busy distracting a few of the on duty space port guards. However that was the least of their worries at the moment. Guards stationed at this small space port were lazy, fat, ill trained, and had probably never discharged their weapon in the line of duty ever. They were as incompetent as it got since they were back water security guards that would deal with the occasional drunk and wannabe spice dealer who posted all their illegal products on their social media expecting not to get caught then phoning mom and dad's lawyer when they did. It was all very sad.

The problem was coming up on horizon breaking the dead of night. A fully armed drop-ship with search lights shining in the night could be seen coming over the mountain with an ETA of a few minutes. Ever since Alderaan had come under new management they had become very efficient in their policing efforts, and a spaceport incident with multiple shots fired and two confirmed officers down. Yeah, that place was about to light up faster than a life day tree on Kashyyyk. But despite how grim the situation looked, Miss Blonde just smiled under her mask.

The crime lord was retired. Her days consisted of changing diapers, taking the kids to school, playing around with stocks, and designing the occasional suit of armor or weapon. All and all it was pretty boring and disillusioning as compared to her old life. So the thrill of real danger and stakes was an amazing and familiar rush to her that made that wolfish grin return to her features. So rather than just instantly driving off into the night, the tiny crime lord slammed her hand onto the stereo and music started to fill the cabin with a heavy bass that rumbled.

"Let's kick it, Essay!" She yelled in robotic unison of the music.

Spoiler

[media] https://youtu.be/N9l23a3setM [/media]

Soon after that the engine revved once more and the speeder shot forward into the dark. Though they were far from alone. Behind them chasing were two security speeders that chased after them into the darkness of the forested dirt path. Which now put them in a rather dangerous spot.

"Take them out! We got three minutes before that drop-ship pins us down with the help of these guys! If we can shake them, then we can slip out into the night!" Blonde yelled from the front seat.

That task was easier said than done though. Between the shifting of the winding path and the high speed of the chase itself, hitting a moving target while in another moving target was something for expert marksman or a gun with a lot of bolts or bullets in it. Regardless Miss Blonde left it up to the people she had hired. Her attention was focused on the chase and the time it was taking her to maneuver before that drop ship would be on top of them and this operation would be all but over.

"Lord Pax will have his revenge! He will have your heads!" One of the two staff members turned prisoners yelled out.

"Oh shut up! Keep those prisoners in check as well! I don't want them getting smart with me!" Blonde said in a upbeat yet focused voice.

[member="Formorta"] & [member="Dogpaw"] go ahead and post before Vigil since he's in a different location at the moment.

 

[Dogpaw]

Dogpaw smirked at the choice of music the masked woman chose. Perfect for the situation. Looking out behind them, Dogpaw noticed two speeders following them, no doubt the security from the spaceport.

Dogpaw swore under his breath as he heard [member="Miss Blonde"]'s orders to take the two tails out. He pulled up his blaster rifle and tried to get a clear shot. When he was about to fire, blonde took a turn. "Chit," He didn't take the turns into consideration. One of the hostages said something about Lord Pax, Blonde didn't like it.

"South, do all of us a favor and smack both of them anytime they talk." Dogpaw said.

Under the blasting music Dogpaw heard two loud cracks. The sound of Southpaw's rifle smacking both the hostages.

"Think you can get a shot South?" Dogpaw asked.

"Remember the last time I tried shooting a moving target?" South snorted. Dogpaw smirked, his friend completely missed and hit some poor sap square in the family jewels.

"But I do have an idea, if you have good timing, got this thermal detenator, if your willing to make some noise...it'll be enough to take out a few of the trees hopefully blocking the path...and there's her." South looked towards @Formorta.

"Well whatever the plan is, we better make it quick." Dogpaw said.

He looked to Formota. "Well you wanna shoot? South and I can cover you." The Merc said as he readied his blaster. He wasn't about to watch this operation get even more scorched than it already was.

[member="Vigil"]

 

[Formorta]

The sudden jolt of the speeder as it sped off was a good sign that they were actually getting away, things had seemed to go downhill really fast due to the wild gun shot, which Formorta could only assume was the strange, clothing shifting man who had left the bar with Dogpaw and company.

She was indifferent to the music being played, if the others enjoyed it so be, her on the other hand just didn't acknowledge it's presence, mainly because of her personality but also partiality due to the current high speed chase with a few speeder closing in behind. They would not be able to shake the gunship with them close behind.

[member="Dogpaw"] tried to shoot at the oncoming speeder, though it seemed as though he was not the most experience with this certain situation. It seemed the merc was a bit frustrated by this, such a view being cemented with his underling taking to order to make one of the hostages over the head to shut them up. Her attention was drawn to the crew and their proposed plans, using a thermal detonator would work, but might draw more law enforcement.

"I shoot, you cover, sounds good", for this shot her the cloak would be a hindrance, so she decided to remove it for the time, being, all her equipment and helping hands on show for the other member of the team.



Not really paying mind to what ever reaction they may have she reloaded her Kisteer, and proceeded to sit out the window, using said extra arms to keep her body sable. "You south, look up a head tell me if theirs a turn coming up, dog keep them close together with some shots don't let them peal off".

Looking through the scope she hoped the others would do their job, this job had already gone off the deep end, no reason to take any chances.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Vigil]

The roar of the engines as Vigil started the speeder up was drawing plenty of attention, just what he hoped would happen. The cold durasteel of his body, underneath his holodisguise, may not hold any emotion, but the AI found this... thrilling. He chuckled to himself as he kicked the speeder into high gear, ripping out of its parking spot and heading across the way, drawing some of the law enforcement to him instead of [member="Miss Blonde"] and her mercenaries. If things went well that should make it easy for them to escape, and in turn he could easily slip away after disposing of the law enforcement that followed him.

First up, three speeders containing officers began to tail him, simple enough. He reached to his right side, drawing the Series 9, and calmly turning his head to take them out. It took a moment to calculate trajectories and account for any mistakes the bullet could take, before he squeezed the trigger. The silenced round ripped into their neck, causing them to speed off and crash, a rather violent death but a well timed shot for Vigil. The other was soon to follow, as he turned the other way and fired under his arm. The first shot grazed their speeder, giving him time to attempt to call for reinforcements before the second shot found its mark right in the center of his head.

Naturally, however, the first shot had only been a slight miss. A third officer attempted to come in from the side, prompting Vigil to grab their neck and pull them onto his speeder, breaking it as he did so. He took their cuffs, and connected them to the speeder, setting in a course for the bike to follow. A man of deception, that was what Vigil was, as he leaped from the bike and rolled. If things went well, the officers would be distracted with the 'lone suspect headed east', away from the others. And Vigil?

Vigil calmly began to walk through the forested paths, knowing he'd either find a crashed speeder from the chase, or find the others hiding away. In either case, Vigil's comm system would be easily reached by Blonde, who had priority access. "Such excitement... I'll have to log these memories immediately when I return. They should prove insightful..." he mumbled to himself, as he awaited to see what he would find.

[member="Formorta"] |[member="Dogpaw"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Teamwork made the dream work. The dream within the context of this situation was the rather dark act of what was amounting to be multiple first degree murders, vehicular manslaughter, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and running from law enforcement. Add drugs and theft on top of that and we could have a passable underground hip-hop song. This was the dark reality in which they lived in though. The criminal underworld wasn't what most people thought it was with these Ocean's Eleven Cloud City Grand Prix heist of a Carusca gem. In the real world people died, good people, innocent people, those who wanted law and order to be carried out then come home to their families. Those were the types of people that often died. The ones who had so much life left in them.

But it was a big Galaxy. A dark and otherwise meaningless existence that proved without a doubt that no one was special and that good and evil were artificial constructs devised by people who had too much time on their hands. In this galaxy to get ahead you had to see things as they were. That we are a bunch of technologically advanced organic or robotic savages killing each other in the name of our beliefs. However what separated the criminal underworld from the false ideas of morality, government, and the superficial bull&@%+ of society was that the people in this speeder weren't here for some cause or stupid purpose. They were here for their own personal and selfish gain and they were honest about that and they had no qualms with killing those who got in the way of that survival.

So with the bass still going hard in the cabin of the vehicle, Miss Blonde's knuckles gripped the steering wheel as she made a sharp and jagged turn to the right onto another dirt path. She had been listening to her little mercenaries in the back and she had an idea. A good four kilometers stretched ahead of them was a long straightaway that lead to a bridge that crossed over a large gulch. With this opportunity they could take out the cops behind them and evade the incoming drop-ship all together which was only a few very short minutes from being on top of them.

"Lord Pax will find us! He will avenge our fallen! We are one! We are-" The woman speaking and shooting off her mouth suddenly had a hoarse throat.

The man beside her reached over to help before he too began to grip and grasp at her own throat. Lifting themselves up a few inches off their seats, Miss Blonde could be seen holding a single hand up from the center console in a choking fashion. She wasn't going to kill them, she needed them, but dammit this did feel really good.

"Shut. Up. Karen." Blonde said as she peaked at the woman's name tag through the mirror.

A few seconds passed before the two began to suffocate and become dazed by the lack of oxygen in their brain. Relaxed in a state between consciousness the two laid themselves back in their haze now docile little lap dogs to be kept in their place for a few minutes.

"Okay! I'm gonna push ahead on this straight away! You got thirty seconds before we whip down into the gulch to avoid sight. I want both those cars dealt with by the time we do! Light them up!" The women yelled as she punched the engine then got on her comm unit to hail [member="Vigil"]

"Mister Orwell! I need you to get to a holonet site ASAP. Ditch the fuzz then message me when you do! I want the identities of the families of a.... first names Karen and Rafael residence of Cobaltia and employed at the Mourning Maiden. Last names and family!" She said speaking loudly over what was probably going to be music and gunfire going off behind her.

[member="Dogpaw"] [member="Formorta"]