Dominion Secrets of Ninn | TSE Dominion of Ninn

[Lesaj]

B R E A C H​

WEARING: XxX.
EQUIPMENT: Songsteel Shortspears - Taozin Amulet.
TAG: Terence

Now it was the witch's turn to smile as she heard his answer. "Not quite, no.", technology was in many ways mesmerizing to her, but not something she enjoyed employing. He made no comment about the events that had just unfolded, and although Lesaj was certain that either cautiousness or questioning were perhaps feelings the mysterious mercenary was experiencing, it would not matter so long as they did not interfere with the task they had set out to do. Collaboration among those in their line of work was exceedingly rare. That would have been more than enough to content the Gargolyn native, but she also found his reply to be quite agreeable. "No faults in that logic."

The rest of their swift walk through the sewers was silent, and when they reached their destination the flower that had been in her hand swiftly vanished back into nothingness. When they stopped, her emerald eyes rose to the roof of the sewers as though she could see through them. Of course, she could not, but what Lesaj could do was let the never ending web of the Force translate into her mind. There was no reason to waste her energy on feeling for the individuals or the obstacles that were there for Terence's camera would do that for them - instead, Lesaj sought out the door.

The Rattataki hybrid remained still and closed her eyes even as her companion began his climb up the ladder, for the amount of focus required for the task ahead was not easy to gather - not even for someone as experienced as the Green Witch was. The door formed within her mind, and it unfolded within it until the Force showed her the very essence of its structures. Its fortitude, and its flaws. It was only then that her eyes were opened once more, and she followed behind him, making sure to not let that display slip away between her thoughts.

Her hand wrapped around Terence's without hesitation, letting the man help her up. She offered him one firm nod, all that was needed to rectify each of their tasks. Hers, to get them inside the compound. His, providing cover from any potential threats they had not accounted for. A green, bright mist formed around the witch's fingers before she began her move towards the compound - letting her legs carry her as fast as they could and gathering energy around her hands. Her mind zoned in on that fatal fracture in the door's integrity, and as soon as her charged palm collided against it, it blasted away into dust and large metal pieces.

It was almost immediate.

Lesaj drew her shortspears for the first time as a wave of plasma bolts rained towards her, moving with an uncanny speed and using them and the Force to deflect the unfriendly fire. Her focus was still regathering, and so she'd stand their ground until the dust cloud thinned and her enemies became clear to her once more - until Terence could make his own advance into the compound. They had a criminal to kill and a prize to collect, and the Nether would welcome the souls of those who blocked that path.
​

 

[Terence]

Secrets of Ninn​

Objective: 3
Location: Ninn, outside of syndicate compound
Notable Equipment:
Tags: Lesaj

Terence had made sure to stay a few metres back - the only way to get the blastdoor to open seemed to be by using explosives and the woman appeared to be rather confident in her capacity to find a way to open it. It made sense regardless, for he put himself in an overwatch mode and his position ensured that he could take out anyone peering out by the small windows which now mostly stood open after the firefight from before.

All that could be heard was a distant firefight on the other side of the complex, the burning speeders behind them and a Rodian crying out in pain from behind one of them vehicles. Both Terence and the mysterious alien he was working with acted swiftly and before long, she was already close to the door. Another moan escaped from the Rodian, causing a frustrated noise to become audible from above. Immediately, Terence's attention snapped to where the sound came from and before long, one lonely rifle tip could be seen from his angle. By all accounts, it was the lone watchman on their flank, keeping an eye on the situation outside as his allies fought the other attackers.

Quick on his feet, Terence started to position himself further away from the door, hoping to take the watchman out. While they had managed to remain undetected for now - they would almost certainly be discovered once the door was broken. Moments after she smashed it open, Terence took his shot, quickly eliminating the guard. The timing was impeccable as the person responsible for sounding the alarm on their side would no longer be able to do so. However, the defenders were no fools and they knew that something was up.

Looking over to Lesaj, the gun for hire couldn't help but to wonder if what he had seen was accurate or not. Sure, he had only seen it with his peripheral sight - but even then he was used to exploiting it and good at observing things which were not his focus. For the moment, he brushed the thought away - for the two goons, still not in his sight, were starting to fire at the woman who had just entered the building. Her use of what functioned like lightsabres anchored her status as a force user in his mind. He would really have to be on his watch now and not let his guard down for her to get into his mind. Terence started to filter more random thoughts and strong emotions into his most immediate thoughts while allowing himself to act more on instinct when dealing with the foes they were facing. In a way, he would become harder for her to read and even a little harder for her to detect when other sentients were also nearby.

Moving up from behind her position, Terence fired two quick shots, one at each foe - taking them down with speed and precision. "Organics" he said, looking to her through his mask. The smuggler was tempted to ask what she was and might have let his gaze linger on her for a brief moment longer than what was normal. But he chose to try to keep his knowledge as an unknown and refrained from revealing that he really had no idea what she was beyond 'force user'. Instead, he moved on towards the corner up ahead. It was a T-section where threats could be coming from either direction "We should move to the right" he said, looking to her before preparing to check for further threats.

With great care, he slowly started to check the left side while avoiding to expose himself from behind the corner "Turrets" he mumbled but soon added a curt "Dormant" with a sense of suspicion to his voice. Leaning back in, he shook his head "I don't know, just walking past dormant turrets is asking to be shot in the back" despite not even having checked the right side yet.

 

[Lesaj]

S U R P R I S E S​

WEARING: XxX.
EQUIPMENT: Songsteel Shortspears - Taozin Amulet.
TAG: Terence

She could feel the mercenary move swiftly behind her, another life snuffed out somewhere in the web of the Force, and then hear how the two bodies of the ones firing at her hit the ground. Just as they did, and she got a brief moment of peace, her focus was fully regained. A very thin curtain of smoke curled into the air coming from around the blades she carried, but they seemed otherwise unscathed by the volley of plasma bolts they had just stood against, as was the woman that wielded them.

He seemed competent at his job and so it was not particularly surprising that his aim was true, but that did not make it any less commendable. The witch also moved her eyes towards where his would have been if not hidden behind the visor of his mask. The witch tried to imagine how he looked. Why he hid himself behind it was not a question she pondered on, for even though the answer could be interesting it was not all that uncommon for those in their line of work to protect their identities. Overall, many would agree that Lesaj possessed a curiosity very few other beings did, but it being inspired by a humanoid was an exceedingly rare event.

On this occasion, it became simply inevitable the moment the witch unconsciously reached through the Force towards her impromptu companion. There had been no malice nor a true intention to pick at the man's mind without permission - but even if there had been it would have probably been resisted. Lesaj could not help but tilt her head towards one side and furrow her eyebrows in surprise and interest when she was met by a cacophony of strong emotions and random trains of thoughts that made the very surface of his mind a daunting maze, his presence faint in comparison to every other living being nearby. She soon retreated her influence, and a small smile bloomed on her lips before she moved her eyes away from him, offering a nod as they began moving towards the T section.

Remarkable. It seemed she was not the only one with surprises.

After hearing his warning about the turret, the Witch did as he had and carefully looked into the right end of the T section. As expected, the systems were mirrored on both sides and probably connected to each other. "Same thing on our right." Her echoing voice was soft and calm. It was then that a familiar feeling run down her spine, and her expression soured. "They won't be dormant for long..."

As if on cue, a loud blaring noise drowned the stillness, the bright white lights replaced with darkness and then a blinking red light as the alarm finally went off. Now it would be a matter of how fast the compound's operatives could move to activate the turrets. That was, without mentioning the small encadre of lifeforms she could feel approaching in the distance.

"You mentioned being skilled with security systems - we have company incoming. If I cover for you, can you turn them against them?" If his answer was positive, or worth the attempt, Lesaj would be swift to follow him and ready herself to pull on the Force if their efforts failed and the need for protection arose. There were only two of them, and so they would at least have the advantage of maneuverability and speed. That green mist was summoned once more, dancing around her hands and ready to be shaped into a force shield if skill or time failed them.
​

 

[Terence]

Secrets of Ninn​

Objective: 3
Location: Ninn, outside of syndicate compound
Notable Equipment:
Tags: Lesaj

Terence didn't say much more as she shared her information on the additional turrets to their right but did produce a surprised, "What?" as the alarm went off, just as if on cue from her words. He was almost in disbelief - but not over her eerie timing, rather the fact that the turrets remained dormant. Peering out - just to be sure, it became increasingly obvious that her observation was correct. "These fools haven't connected their internal security to their alarm. They might as well skip a wireless system if that's the case" he said, almost sounding insulted whilst quickly getting ready to move after yet another double check.

Then she made the suggestion and a knowing smirk appeared on his lips. "Not from here I can't" he said whilst moving out into the corridor. His head was tilted up high to the ceiling as he watched where the service entries were, knowing that wires were often lead along roughly the same path. "To the left" he said whilst beginning to run towards the direction, ignoring the closed door which he passed by.

He barely managed to get passed the corner before immediately jumping back in behind it. "Enemies!" he hollered, quickly peering out to fire off a shot to take down the foe who was the closest to the command area that could be found in the corridor's indent up ahead. The person he had shot had made it about a quarter of the way towards their location and with that in mind, the smuggler spoke once more, his tone now loud in order to be heard over the blaster bolts that had started to rain down the corridor "They'll soon come from the other side, we'll need to push on" he said, once more peering down the corridor ahead to fire off a shot at an enemy before resuming cover.

If Lesaj could provide some sort of safety for him to dash forth, Terence would take the risk - whether it be through suppressive fire, a distraction or a shield. The two would notice that the criminals had set up two additional turrets on the other end of the corridor too but they also stood dormant - the main threat now appeared to be the growing number of guards. Despite firing off his blaster a couple times, two of them still made it to the command area. Terence shot one of them and yanked the other away with a hand to her throat - but they still managed to activate all turrets in the facility. Almost immediately, they started raining down laser bolts at the mercenaries together with the guards of the facility they were invading. Standing in the indent where the command consoles were, Terence could barely avoid being targeted as he brought out his personal datapad and started working on getting through the security system. He threw a quick glance towards his companion but remained silent - of course, he could tell her to watch his back - but if that was something which needed to be said, maybe she wasn't the partner he had been lead to believe.

 

[Lesaj]

D E F E N S E​

WEARING: XxX.
EQUIPMENT: Songsteel Shortspears - Taozin Amulet.
TAG: Terence

The Gargolyn Witch payed attention to his words, and knowing it would only be a matter of a handful of minutes until this brief intermission met its end and they were once more plunged into the murderous spree that was the life of any mercenary, she allowed his eyes to follow his and learn. She took notice of how he followed the service entries on the ceiling, also paying little mind to the door they passed by. Then as they were about to reach their turn one of her hands went up towards her shoulder to retrieve only one of her short spears.

"Enemies!"
​

The Sylphe did a quick once over of the mercenary to ensure that the sudden enemy fire had not gotten to him whilst remaining a step back, away from sight of the goons. She frowned, knowing that there was no mistake to his assessment. "We need those guns if we want to reach our target in time." Lesaj would happily fight her way through the masses of paid gunmen - if they had the time for it. They did not. Once again her eyes settled on her partner. "You focus on the turrets, I'll make sure you get to the command." Stranger or not, this man was her ally for now and so the witch would have his back.

As she finished her words, the hand holding her shortspear moved backwards before throwing the weapon forward into a spin, both her hand and the spear covered in a green mist as she took control of it through the Force. It turned the corner before she did, the fire suddenly stopping as what she was certain was surprise or confusion overtook the guards for a moment. A deep slice on the side of on of their necks, then the spear stabbed into the second guard's chest and that was enough for Lesaj to walk into the corridor as she drew her second weapon and called the thrown one back to her hand. Her job was opening the way for Terence, and so the witch would put on a show and draw attention to herself.

And so the deadly dance would begin. Lesaj tried to work swiftly, never letting the gunmen herd up a number big enough for her to need to fall back. Her companion needed time and she would buy enough of it, disposing of any threats he was currently too busy to take care of. The task was becoming increasingly hard as more gunmen arrived, until the turrets activated. The witch's eyes widened slightly the second she realized the plasma bolts were not sparing her their wrath, and pulling the Force towards her own body she swiftly made her return to the small nook were the turrets' command and Terence was. Lesaj had assured him that she would see to their safety, and keeping to the responsibility she had assigned herself the witch lifted a wall of pure Force energy around them, standing still with her hands outstretched as the turrets rained hell on them.

"Well, this will have to do..." Her eerie voice carried a slight hint of straining as she made sure to keep her concentration and power on the shield around them. Ideally, the targeting system of the turrets would have been inversed rather than lost completely - but it was better than nothing. Her eyes then focused on the wall ahead of them, leading to the center of the floor they had just travelled through. She gave it a second of thought, then looked at the Chiss. "If we have no other way to go...we'll have to make one." The corridor was a storm of plasma bolts and they could not return to it, but the explosives he had shown her earlier looked like they could deal with this wall that kept them from potential safety.

​

 

[Terence]

Secrets of Ninn​

Objective: 3
Location: Ninn, outside of syndicate compound
Notable Equipment:
Tags: Lesaj

Normally, it was easy for the seasoned Mercenary to take in, process and move past elements of the battlefield. A blaster bolt here, an explosion there, a pained scream in the distance - they were all common occurrences which he could easily absorb and either filter out or act upon. But what the mystic he was with did was harder to overlook. Green mists, large projectiles and the reflexes of a Jedi or Sith - she was an odd one indeed and even as they fought, his eyes kept track of what she did in amazement. But he was not only watching to see her impressive arts - he was studying, learning and thinking about how to best counter her. His mind was not set on fighting her but the risk was always there, and so, he prepared for it.

As he reached the turrets' central command console, Terence quickly started working on it once he managed to connect his datapad to the droid interface. By now, his security and hacking skills were far above average - they already were when he finished his training but upon taking up smuggling and working as a gun for hire, the need for those skills had increased tremendously. Even then, he was still some way away from being an expert. Completely reversing the turrets' IFF would be a long and intricate process, costing them time which they did not have - instead, he disabled the IFFs completely, causing the turrets to target anyone in range - and there were a lot more goons in range than invaders.

Turning around, the Mercenary noticed how Lesaj was maintaining a shield, of sorts, keeping them safe from blaster fire from the outside. It was good, for it told him two things: It was unsafe to go back out into the corridor and the turrets were likely targeting them even now. Still, from the sounds of it, the fighting was still heavy outside - he could hear screams from grunts being shot and turrets exploding, meaning that it had been a success.

He could hear that she was tiring in her voice which told him that he needed to work fast but he did not respond to her. He did, however, get to work on something along the lines of what she suggested. Instead of investigating the chances of 'making a way to go', Terence looked up to the ventilation shaft. He really did prefer it over the second option - using grenades in such a confined space was dangerous and since they were anti-personel grenades, it was far from certain that they would have the desired effect. With a strong grip, he ripped the hatch off of the ventilation shaft above and proceeded to heave himself up through it. But then he stopped - for midway up, he noticed how reinforced bars blocked the way leading further into the complex.

As if he had planned it all along, Terence continued a little further until he could hold himself in the shaft steadily with one arm, allowing him to pull out a grenade, activate it and throw it into the shaft before dropping down again, quickly pulling up a small table and moving closer to Lesaj to shield them both from potential splinter as she shielded them from blaster fire. Upon putting the table back down, he saw how the ventilation shaft had been completely destroyed along with the wall underneath it. Smoke and fire laid heavy in the area, both spreading into the corridor indent and the next room at the centre of the current complex.

Urgent hollers and commands could be heard in the other room. A central table, normally displaying a holo-map of the complex was now displaying the image of a spindly Muun. The six humans inside wore high quality armour and were heavily armed, indicating that they were much better fighters than the rest - but with the heavy smoke, it was hard to see them from the location of the two Mercenaries. The defenders in the other room were quick to react to the explosion with two of them throwing their own grenades through the gap. One of them got stuck by the destroyed ventilation shaft up above while the other was thrown back by Terence. Looking up at where the first grenade had landed, he hollered "Take cover!" as he dashed towards the other corner of the indent they were in whilst simultaneously bringing out his blaster pistol, ready to fire at the turret that had an angle on him in case her barrier went down.

 

[Lesaj]

D E F E N S E​

WEARING: XxX.
EQUIPMENT: Songsteel Shortspears - Taozin Amulet.
TAG: Terence

It was a mutual action which spoke well of both of their cautiousness and attention. It would never do for a mercenary to be easy on trust, for all they knew they might as well be ready to kill each other and take the full payment as soon as their task was done and collaboration was no longer a necessity. Lesaj would have liked to survey the thoughts of the mercenary and see if this was an intention he harbored, but she found she could not. Perhaps had she the opportunity to divert more of her focus and power towards him she would be able to read what laid behind that wall of confusing thoughts and strong emotions that covered his mind, but that was not an option right now.

So, she also observed his actions. Lesaj watched him climb up the ventilation, and then what could only be described as a symphony of explosions would ensue. As soon as she felt the disturbance rippling through the webs of the Force, the witch switched her focused and brought the shield that was keeping them safe from the blaster fire closer, forming a bubble around both of them now that Terence had stepped into her vicinity. As soon as the blast dispersed, the shield was down and her bright, emerald eyes focused on the wall ahead. Or what was left of it. Four, well-equipped guards stood in what looked to be an inner courtyard and soon enough the game was on.

Lesaj had been a second away from beginning to press the attack on the new enemies, but apparently their reaction was faster than that of the goons they had encountered so far. Better prepared. Listening to Terence's warning, Lesaj sprinted towards the same corner too - away from the vent that housed the live explosive. Summoning the Force to her once again, Lesaj waited for the blast to go off and threw her hands forward, both trying to keep the rough of the blast force away from them, although her back still found itself slamming against the concrete, and directing the flames that ensued towards the inner yard and the guards to deter them from getting closer.

Now safe from the explosion, Lesaj trusted Terence to take care of the close fire from the turret and began to move towards the yard. A wave of pain moved through her back, which she was sure would bruise later on. But now, there were obstacles to dispose of. Her fist shot forward, close, and returned to her side as though yanking on an invisible rope that saw the rifles ripped from the guards hands and scattered through the floor. If she was going to be the first to engage and Terence was dealing with the turret, she did not want them having the advantage of fire power on her.

The first guard, what seemed to be a large humanoid male, came at her, a vibroblade on his hand. The Sylphe dodged his attack and kicked him away, raising her halfspear to block another blow from a second goon. The witch fought the well-trained soldiers hand to hand, only using the force to augment her strength for she did not want to over abuse her powers. The fight had been going well in her favor, and she was certain it would soon be over once Terence could join her. Then one of the guards decided to shift his attention away from her, pick up a blaster, and aim it at the mercenary. "Watch out!"

​

 

[Terence]

Secrets of Ninn​

Objective: 3
Location: Ninn, outside of syndicate compound
Notable Equipment:
Tags: Lesaj

It was fortunate that the mystic provided them with another shield as the two of them hurdled into the corner together. With her holding their defence up, it seemed like she also took a harder hit than he did. Perhaps it would have been appropriate to thank her but Terence did no such thing, instead, he kept his blaster aimed at the turret down the corridor. As soon as the shield went down, he fired a total of five bolts at it, ensuring that it would be completely destroyed.

The two of them then proceeded towards the hole in the wall with Lesaj taking the front. Terence left that side to her in full and instead looked to the opposite side of the corridor as he had been looking to before - both turrets on that side were within his line of sight now but they were actively firing on the enemy guards. For some time, he just stood there aiming at them - they were doing more damage to the enemy than they were to himself and his temporary ally. But the moment that the nearest turret turned to him, he fired off three bolts to make short work of its blaster. Soon, the second turret turned too and received the same fate. It was unfortunate, for it meant that the enemy could come down that corridor unhindered. In response, Terence threw a grenade towards the two destroyed turrets - making sure to deter their foes from running over there for a few more seconds.

As he turned around, Terence noticed how Lesaj was fighting a couple of the well-trained troopers in melee. The third one was outside of his line of sight while the forth one was rushing for their blaster. "They're at our tail" he said, firing off a couple blasts into the heavy smoke, knowing that an unseen foe might very well be the most dangerous one. It did, however, allow for enough time for the third one to pick up their weapon. Upon hearing his ally's warning, the smuggler ducked in behind the part of the wall that was still standing, narrowly avoiding a flurry of bolts that instead sailed by above him. He tried to pop up from behind his cover but was quickly met by another burst, forcing him down once more.

It was still manageable, however. Having paid close attention to the trajectory of the blaster bolts, the Mercenary had a good idea of where the shooter was, allowing him to resort to blindfiring in their general direction. His blaster produced a flurry of bolts and when he peered up, the foe laid dead on the floor.

They were far from safe as enemies came rushing down towards them from behind. To make matters worse, his blaster pistol was on the verge of either overheating or needing a reload. "Our rear is falling" he said, seemingly as calm as ever whilst simultaneously hopping over the broken wall, sheathing his blaster pistol and now bringing out the marksman's rifle instead. The large weapon was far from well suited for close quarters, seeing as it was rather unwieldy and had a slower rate of fire. Still, he carried it with confidence. Almost as soon as Terence made it over, the foe who had wielded a vibrosword and got kicked back by Lesaj attacked him with an overhead slash. Quick on the reflexes, he dodged to the side while using his weapon as a shield as to not allow the sword to make any sudden directional changes in towards his body. Once the foe moved their blade back, Terence was quick on the follow-up and smashed the butt of his rifle against his foe's face, promptly knocking them out.

Numerous footsteps could be heard from behind and he had still not spotted the third foe. But what he did see was a few enemies gathering by the windows on the second floor which overlooked the courtyard they were in. Moving swiftly, Terence took up a position near the Mystic, now having come to trust her defensive capabilities. Instead of focusing on finding the third foe, he instead directed the weapon upwards and fired off a shot at one of the goons who had just managed to take aim against them. The stopping power of the rifle blew them away from the window edge. A single well-aimed bolt came sailing down at the woman he was allied with and was quickly answered by a bolt from Terence - this time, it struck the wall underneath the window - but the powerful rifle had more than enough stopping power to punch through the thin metallic wall and kill the enemy behind it. For the time being, the windows up top seemed mostly cleared - but their rear would soon be crawling with enemies and aside from the foe she had been engaging, the one in the shadows, hiding in the smoke, still lingered.

 

[Lesaj]

C L I M B​

WEARING: XxX.
EQUIPMENT: Songsteel Shortspears - Taozin Amulet.
TAG: Terence

Lesaj kept her focus on her own battle as Terence caught up, instead trying to keep an eye on the mercenary through the Force - a task made significantly harder by his uncanny ability to deter her sensing. Not even with their lives on the line could she shake her curiosity as to why he possessed such skill. He was hidden behind his uniform, but the witch was quite certain he was no Toydarian. An Epicanthix, perhaps? But she had met them before and their rare skill to shield their minds was not quite like his.

While mulling over these thoughts, Lesaj focused on doing quick work of the remaining soldiers, letting their bodies fall to the ground as Terence prepared to aim towards the windows and her emerald gaze went back to the place where they had come from, an area that would soon be crawling with enemies, as he had well warned her. "Another alternative route then. Our target has already delayed our visit enough," The compound was certainly putting up a fight, she would not be surprised if some of the bodies that littered the halls belonged to fellow mercenaries that were not able to sort out the maze of enemies.

Her shortspear came up to deflect the bolt aimed at her onto the ground, and after her ally shot down the first two gunmen on the windows, Lesaj looked at him. They would have to play a small game of trust now. "Hold the line, Terence. I'll be back for you soon." She did not have enough time to explain her plan, but instead had to execute it. Letting the Force course through her body, the witch jumped high into the air, and through one of the windows where Terence had just killed a goon. The attention of the guards on the second floor would not be set on her as she disappeared into the compound, and Terence's main concern would be the approaching forces on the main floor.

Now alone, Lesaj was met face to face with a small troop of six soldiers and the promise of more to come if she did not move fast. She twirled the short spears in her hands, a wicked smile on her lips as their foes sized her up. Then the deadly dance of war began all over again, bolts fired and hits taken. The witch worked through the group as fast as she could, ignoring the pain that spread through her lower face as a stray punch got her. It would seem their target had chosen to keep his best soldiers close. A split lip, and she could taste her own blood. It didn't matter, in the end they all went down.

Her gaze then settled on a nearby room, an armory by the looks of it. Walking in, she soon found what she was looking for. A syntherope. The thought to grab another blaster for the mercenary ocurred to her, but finding her knowledge of the blasted things lacking she preferred to let him have a pick for himself...So, the witch returned to one of the windows, hoping to find the mercenary still in one piece below her and losing no time in attaching the syntherope and letting it fall for him to climb up. Meanwhile, the green mist began gathering again around her hands. She'd have to watch his back as he climbed and once Terence reached safety, the goons that remained below them would meet their end.

​

 

[Terence]

Secrets of Ninn​

Objective: 3
Location: Ninn, outside of syndicate compound
Notable Equipment:
Tags: Lesaj

His eyes went to the mystic as she dispatched the last enemy - the one who had been lurking in the smoke and hiding in the shadows. It meant that their immediate vicinity was cleared of hostiles but they both knew that more were incoming. It was not hard to get an idea of what she meant when she spoke of taking an alternate route for from their position, there weren't all too many routes to take. But then he took a glance up - it did not look like the most realistic path, considering their pressed situation.

Terence was about to answer when she told him to hold the line, followed by her jumping up to the second floor. The Smuggler looked to his temporary ally with suspicion before quickly turning back to the opening in the wall, quickly dodging in behind a segment which was still standing to avoid getting shot. With a quick move, he hopped out from behind cover, firing three shots, each one taking down an approaching enemy - more thanks to them being closely packed than his stellar aim with the long-ranged weapon in close quarters.

He quickly realised that his position was unsustainable and did not trust Lesaj enough to come back for him. With that, he sheathed his rifle and dashed to the side to grab a fire extinguisher. Upon returning to the hole in the wall, one opponent climbed through. The Mercenary hit his side with the blunt red weapon he now carried, knowing that it would cause immense pain as well as knock the guy's rifle out of his hands. With a quick sleight of hand, he grabbed his opponent's flash grenade moments before a second one came into the room through the hole. It was at this point that he threw the flash grenade at the ground quickly followed by throwing a normal grenade into the hole in the wall.

Quickly dashing away, Terence started to empty the fire extinguisher at his foes, temporarily disabling them from targeting him effectively. Soon, the grenade went off, killing a couple foes while starting a fire by all the electronical equipment in the turret control hub. At the same time, the flash grenade went off, concussing and blinding the two new opponents. Having been the one to throw it, the Smuggler had more time to react to it, but even he felt a bit affected by the concussive effects.

Still, he had his plan worked out in his head and kept spraying the fire extinguisher, filling the room with a white mist that soon intermingled with the dark smoke from the fire, slowly seeking its way upwards in the open area he was in. He had arranged for a perfect orchestra of chaos and with that, Terence started to climb up along the wall, making use of whatever small ledges he could find. Soon, blasters started going off inside the courtyard as the two foes down below finally found each other and thus knew that they wouldn't hit each other. It was an almost desperate attempt to kill the Mercenary through blindfire - but he was already way above the level at which they aimed.

When Lesaj popped out with a synterope, Terence had almost made the climb. He looked to it and her, glad to see that she had not abandoned him. While he did not fully commit to using the rope to climb up, he did use it to support himself, making the remainder of the way much easier while also not having to rely on her holding onto the rope - if she let go, he would have other points of support to keep him from falling.

Upon having made it up, it was rather clear that he was still affected by the concussive effects of the flash grenade "I knew you'd come" he joked. Enemies started to pour in through the normal entrance to the courtyard below while the ones at the hole still had to fight the fire before entering. With one door already open leading to the corridor, Terence picked up an surprisingly well-maintained EL-16 and opened the door on the opposite side of the room, revealing what seemed like a barracks with a number of enemies inside. Opting to not fight them, he quickly closed the door again before locking it and blasting the controls.

"The other way" he said, readying himself to move out on the continued hunt for the leader.