First Reply Sugar, We're Goin' Down Swingin'

[Nej Tane]

Coruscant
Core Group Credit Union
​

Nej Tane had absolutely no business being back on Coruscant.

For one, he made a promise to a certain Jedi that he wouldn't cause trouble in Alliance space.

Another, he had a massive bounty from the Alliance thanks to recent actions... such as enabling the Mandalorian NeoCrusaders, accidentally.

And then accidentally becoming a diplomat for them, in a sense.

And then gaining a planet and being a planetary governor.

Among other misadventures, like somehow gaining a massive fleet that ended up sort of accidentally help the Crusaders.

All in all, Nej accidentally/purposefully/inadvertently broke his promise, or at least, wasn't aware of it. Or, the last and final option-

Nej was kind of stupid. Or at the least, incredibly, incredibly , INCREDIBLY reckless. But, he did miss it. The thrill of criminality. Hiding, planning, scheming, doing, looking for the next big score...

Being a billionaire was tiresome. Boring. Accountants. Villas. Rental properties. Investments. Holdings, this and that. It was too much for Nej at times, so, he took an unannounced vacation- not that he was working anymore anyways, and left for the Core. Him, his highly illegal stealth ship made it to Coruscant using the usual channels. And he was there in a jiffy, there in a flash and he had a single goal in mind:

Do something bad. Just a little bad thing, maybe one, maybe two. So to that end, Nej didn't plan on pickpocketing, some light burglary, but instead he chose a very sensible crime to commit on his own for the hell of it:

Bank robbery.
​

Problem was, as he burst into the Credit Union, guns drawn and mask up... the Bank was already being robbed. And as soon as he burst through the door, another group of armed criminals burst through, also declaring their intention to rob the bank. So, that made Nej rather uneasy, with two groups of people pointing guns at each other, lobbing insults, making threats, and generally pointing their weapons at him now and again. So, Nej realized that this bank robbery was either horribly planned, or-

There really was something worth having in this bank. Nej clicked up his Disruptor pistols, aiming them every which way, unsure of what to do first..... or who to shoot. Or who'd shoot first. Or if anyone was going to shoot. Nej took stock of his situation, indicating with his eyes and marking them with the HUD on his helmet.

To his left, further in the bank and closer to the tellers, is what he would later call the Pinstripe Pals. They wore mainly purple, or had purple adornments and some serious weaponry. Closer to the entrance of the bank, sleek and refined in their appearance, masks, clothing and tone of voice, is what he would call (later on, screaming the story at the top of his lungs in hysterics) the Dickheads.

And then there was him. The Pinstripes, the Dickheads, and him.

So far, not great odds, but not terrible.

​

 

[Gavin Restur]

Well, this wasn't something he was entirely expecting...​

He was having a pretty nice day, all things considered. Had an amazing lunch, started making contacts with some interesting folk-- it didn't mean much to anyone else, but it meant something to him, that he was moving up in the world. And to him, which is all that matters, that's pretty nice. He had just gotten a nice contract with the Galactic Alliance to work with them on a more "full time" sort of thing, as a bounty hunter and mercenary.

But while he was in the middle of one of his conversations, he gets a call over his comms. After having to, pretty rudely, excuse himself to answer it, he is immediately screamed at, "WE'VE GOT A BANK ROBBERY! GET THERE, NOW!"

...uhhhh, alright. No need to yell, first of all.

Secondly, who even decides to rob a bank at this time of day?

Regardless, after having to even more rudely excuse himself out of the conversation entirely, he ran off to get into his ship and get to this Credit Union. He wasn't too far away, so thankfully it didn't take him much time to get there. But it was time wasted.

Having parked himself wherever he could find a space, he had to run out of his ship, still stuffing some of his gear in his satchel. Which is even more time wasted.

Let's just hope they don't start shooting before he gets there.

Nej Tane

 

[Nej Tane]

Nej heard the incoming sirens, CorSec coming to setup a perimeter.

Nej pointed his guns at the Dickheads, then the Pinstripes, then the Pinstripes, then the Dickheads, then the Pinstripes, then the Dickheads. It was a tense situation, until Nej broke it with-

"Hey assholes, I'm robbing this bank!"

"Hey fuck you buddy, the vault is ours! We're getting the treasure!"

"Yeah, fuck you, Revan's secret is ours!" One of the Pinstripe Pals said.

More guns clicked on, blasters pointing this way, that way, at Nej, around the room. "Wait, what, Revan's secret?" Nej said, bewildered. He had no idea who Revan was.

"Yeah, wait- it's not Revan's Secret, it's Carth Onasi's journals!"

"No you fucking moron it's Revan's Robes and a holocron!"

This continued for several minutes. It was clear that there was SOMETHING in the vault, something VAGUELY related to Revan, or perhaps, one of Revan's compatriots. But nobody had any clear idea of what it was, or they had all been misled about what exactly it was. But all that Nej heard through the ridiculous names was:

Money money money money money money money.

So, the situation inside the bank was tense, and the situation outside was now VERY much blue and red. CorSec. Because CorSec was outside.

​

 

[Gavin Restur]

And a whole area of blue and red is certainly what he saw.

As he was putting on his respirator and rounding a corner to actually get to the bank, it was already filled with the local authorities, with more seemingly pouring in every minute. The perimeter of the bank was being secured from all sides. teams were being sent every which way-- whether it was a silent alarm or someone outright calling them, this was a scarily fast response.

Makes sense, when it's government money on the line.

He'd been given some badge-looking thing after he had signed the contract, to signify that he was a legitimate authority figure for the Alliance. Said badge was shown to the authorities at the blockades on his side, and he was let in. Taking a minute to look around, he spotted the guy who seemed to be in charge, since he was giving orders to the other units. Directing both organic and droid units here, there, and everywhere. Though, it didn't seem like any sort of "specialized" unit was here, yet, so he doubts they have plans to start busting down doors and blasting everyone with a mask. Yet.

He made his way over to the man once it seemed he had a moment of "free time", which was really just him using his comms to talk to other units. A brief clearing of his throat got the man's attention, who gave him a look up and down.

"...and who are you?"

"Gavin Restur, bounty hunter and mercenary for the Alliance." Similar to earlier, he flashed that badge he had to the man. Who proceeded to roll his eyes. Another one of these, he likely thought.

Awkward.

"...sooooo, what's the situation looking like?"

"We don't have much of a clear picture, yet. Lot of conflicting reports. Some people are saying it's a large group, some people are suggesting it's multiple groups...we're inclined to believe the latter, since the few bits of footage we've been able to pull from the bank's security system is showing us multiple men in vastly different attire. But there's one man sticking out who might be of interest to you, mister 'bounty hunter.' " With a bit of a sarcastic tone at the end. As he finished talking, he reached to a nearby counter. Grasping a holoprojector, and flicking it on. The face of a certain man being displayed.

"His name is Nej Tane. The GA has put quite the impressive bounty on this man's head, as he's been basically acting as an enemy of the state for some time. Here, can read up on him, if you'd like." Handing Gavin the holoprojector, after.

...to be honest, the idea of multiple different people robbing the bank at the exact same time, with no clue of each other...you have to admit, that's hilarious. But the fact there's already a known bounty inside, a high one at that...that sounds appealing. He's thinking it less as a means to get a bunch of credits, but that would bolster his reputation quite a bit, if he manages to bring this guy in.

He went ahead to scroll along whatever information the Alliance had on this guy. He sort of looks like Vance, now that he thinks about it. If he didn't have the beard, and decided to slick his blonde hair to the side. Also for the fact this guy would definitely shoot at him, that helps differentiate them. Speaking in the meantime, "What's the plan right now?"

"Well, this." Which caused Gavin to look up. The man turned away after, as he yelled, "Bring up the droid, let's go!"

With that order, a pretty beefy looking droid walked up to the edge of the perimeter that the authorities had set up, stopping somewhat away from the front of the building. And, in a...very loud voice, spoke.

"THIS IS THE CORUSCANT SECURITY FORCE. WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED. LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS, AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP."

His gaze went off towards the building, after. Let's see how this goes.

 

[Nej Tane]

There was a collective silence from inside the bank when CorSec arrived, admittedly a bit late considering it was a bank robbery. Nej took a deep breath, and the three groups- well, two, and including him, looked at each other, the hostages, then looked outside through the sparse windows.

For a few minutes, there was silence.

Tense, awkward silence.

Not a word.

Not a whisper.

Only the wind and the sound of droids whirring and CorSec getting into place. And from inside the bank, a window opened- Nej, a Pinstriper, and a Dickhead all poked together. A temporary truce. And in unison, rehearsed, practiced, and meaningful they said-

"No!"

And then shut the window. There would be no negotation, at least not with the police. However, on the inside-

A tense, but pertinent discussion had formed. They all came, relatively the same time, to rob the same place, in the same system, for somewhat of the same thing, or along the same lines. Nej had the feeling they were either unlucky, or, or, worse, they were being set up. So, they all started to lock eyes, towards the vault. It was on a time-lock, and currently, there were several members of each gang devising a plan to get in. One wanted to cut in, another wanted to slice it, another wanted to pick it.

But any shooting inside, and they collectively agreed it would be bad with CorSec outside. They'd rush in, and the robbery would fail. So for now, there was an uneasy, stupid truce.

​

 

[Gavin Restur]

...huh.

The current thoughts of everyone were as follows:

The CSF Captain was currently imagining another world where he had a sniper team set up, with their sights trained on that window.

Gavin was currently wondering if that was something they practiced, and how long it took to get the timing down. That harmony was too good.

And pretty much everyone else, police unit or civilian behind a barricade, sort of just rolled their eyes. Not surprised.

Gavin took a look over towards the man, who was currently in the midst of shaking his head. Like a disappointed father, who just found out you flunked out of school. Taking a moment to rub his neck, before speaking, "Is that what usually happens?"

"Yeah. That's what usually happens."

Yikes.

"Then again, we don't get too many bank robberies. Maybe our tactics are getting outdated." With a sigh leaving him. "Not to mention that exactly what I feared has come true, and they're all likely teaming up. It's what I would do, given their situation."

"Riiight...well, then. What's the plan now? They ain't showing any signs of giving up, and they've got who knows how many hostages in there."

"We're still in the midst of trying to scramble a team to breach inside. If we all just rush inside, who knows how many people will die. For the time being, we'll just have to sit here, keep blaring that droid, and wait. Who knows, maybe they'll get annoyed with it to the point they surrender. Not like their blasters would do anything to it." It was a pretty big droid. Gavin wasn't sure what theoretical workout routine that droid has, but he wants in.

Regardless, though, there's no way he can just sit here and wait. Not only does he just not have the patience to stand around and twiddle his thumbs, he wants to take a crack at this Nej guy. He took a second to examine the building, though came up with an idea: maybe he can sneak through the vents, and spy on them? It was more just a poor excuse to do something, but maybe the thought of gathering some reliable intel would be enough.

"...here, I've got an idea. I can try and crawl through those vents up there, and see if I can't get eyes on them and relay to you what they're doing. Give you boys some reliable intel, so that when it does come time to start shooting, we know what we're up against."

The Captain gave him a look that basically said, I don't trust you in the slightest, but there's not much else to do at the moment. Another roll of his eyes, "Sure, fine. Just don't be the reason that bolts start flying, or it's going to be your ass on the line."

"You don't got a single thing to worry about." With a flick of his hat's brim. He was happy that he gets to do something, and the CSF Captain was happy that this man was finally leaving him alone. Since he's going to be crawling through vents, he had to leave stuff like his hat, satchel, and cycler rifle behind, setting them near one of the police vehicles.

After he was all ready, having connected his comms directly to those of the police units here, he snuck off to the side of the building, that droid still stationed in front of the building, and still blaring out what it said earlier. While he does have rocket boots he could use to fly up to the nearest vent, he doesn't want to make too much noise that would alert those inside that something might be happening. So, good ol' climbing it would be. Scaling along the side of the building, and using whatever he could get a feasible grip on to climb up to the nearest vent. Once he got to that point, one of the many drones in the air had flown over, unscrewing and removing the vent. It definitely looked more cramped than he imagined, but this was his idea, after all. And so, in he went.

Without a clue as to the buildings actual ventilation layout, it took a bit of wandering aimlessly around the vents, before he finally managed to get towards where the main lobby was. And where all of this wanna-be bank robbers are. And so, he took out a monocular one of the police units gave him, since his normal binoculars were too cumbersome. Pressing it up on his eye, and seeing if he can spy on what these people were doing.

 

[Nej Tane]

The three groups (realistically, still, Nej and the two) began to bicker and argue, pointing guns at each other over the vault. The Pinstripe Pals wanted to blow it open now, and the Dickheads wanted to slice into it. There was a tense agreement made that the Dickheads would get to try slicing before the Pinstripes just blew it open.

To that end, Nej was tasked by both groups- at gunpoint, and shouting, to help their explosives expert. While the slicing and hacking guys got their things setup, more or less, Nej was helping the explosive expert, an outside contractor, pack his explosives. Naturally, the Pinstripe Pals asked if Nej had any explosives expertise. He said yes.

That was a lie.

Nej knew fuck all about explosives.

Which, when he stepped inside of the "clean area" free of any electronics or ANY SORT OF SIGNAL INDUCING DEVICE OF ANY KIND within a ten meter radius-

Nej's communicator beeped with a message about the weather and-

There was a rather large sound, but, only a minor explosion since it was door charges and thermite. On the outside there was a comical "pop" sound and a flash of light, but not much more.

The explosives experts' expertise was ended explosively by an absolute all-time bumbling boob of an idiot.

Nej walked out of the supposed "clean room", covered in guts, soot, ash, and what remained of the office they were using. He collapsed his helmet, his face clean of debris and gooeyness for a moment. Both groups stared in horror.

They thought he did it on purpose and were absolutely terrified of him.

The hackers started to work faster.

​

 

[Gavin Restur]

What the hell?

There was a widening of the man's eyes, once he saw the other exit the room, covered head to toe in gore and soot. And he was none the wiser, compared to what the criminals thought had happened-- he was thinking this guy just blew someone up in cold blood.

...crrreaak.

There was a reach down, taking ahold of his comms. Turning them on, "Gavin here, these guys seem to be tryin' to break into the vault. They've got guys trying to splice it open, and they have explosives. Or, well...had explosives. This Nej guy just blew one of the criminals up with all of those explosives. Maybe the guy pissed him off? Whatever it was, we've got at least one death here."

...crrrrreaaaaaaaak.

After relaying all of that, as well as how many of each group he sees and what kind of armament they're carrying, he went back to his spying. There weren't much files on the guy, but the overall theme of this guy is that his crimes were "non-violent". Yet, he just watched him exploded someone until they couldn't be exploded any longer, and walk out of the room covered in said someone's parts they weren't using any longer. He's not going to say that he's terrified after watching that, but this man's likely a way bigger deal than he originally thought. Now to see if he can figure out just what these guys are looking f-

-cccrrrEEEAAAASSSSSNAP!

Oh, he's falling.

OH, HE'S FALLING.

CRAAAAAAAASH!

The vent that he was currently in, found itself unable to sustain his weight for a long time. And because of this, it ended up causing the entire vent shaft that he was in to break.

And fall.

And crash.

With him right in the middle of it.

He had slipped out from being outright inside of the vent as he fell, using the nice, smooth floor as a cushion for his fall. Which sucked. Several groans of pain are heard through the vocoded voice of the man, laying flat on the ground. Slowly stirring, as he pulled himself to sit upright, rubbing at his aching head. He was definitely going to be feeling all of this later.

That is, assuming he is going to have a later, since he just landed right into where all of these criminals were grouped up. And, his widening eyes showed how he realized this. Glancing around to all the, likely, stunned bank robbers and hostages. Still sitting on the floor.

".......freeze?"

 

[Nej Tane]

The various members of the bank robbery, to include Nej, the few tellers that Nej and the company he kept did not immediately notice the intrusion. Nej and the two groups turned quickly around, blinking as they stared at the newcomer.

And sooner rather than later, there were say..... well over two dozen guns pointed at their intruder. Nej walked up first, Disruptor in hand. He went to say something, but was hit from behind in the back of the head. His helmet caught the brunt of it, but then he was jumped by multiple of them, kicking punching, squeezing.

And soon enough, ten guys beat the shit out of Nej and knocked him out cold. And so they were both tied up- the intruder, and Nej, and set with the other hostages. Nej and the other guy, the ceiling guy, were back-to-back with the other remaining hostages.

Nej groaned awake, turning his head to the Bounty Hunter.

"Great! You ruined my bank robbery, nerf herder! Why can't you people get your own scores?!"

He said, wiggling in his cuffs against the man's back. They weren't cuffed together, just put back-to-back with the other hostages. Speaking of other hostages they all seemed very annoyed with Nej. The idea that the man who inadvertently caused them to be hostages (Nej never took hostages on jobs or heists, too risky and far too annoying), turn into a hostage, and then another man, who came in saying freeze, also becoming a hostage.

However, there was one important factoid:

The idiotic bank robbers (Nej included) didn't exactly take their time... searching the Bounty Hunter. Or Nej. They seemed to be rather preoccupied with getting the vault open. Whatever was in there- they wanted. Badly.

​

 

[Gavin Restur]

His body was still aching from the impact, though his hands would raise up in surrender as everyone pointed their blasters at him. Uh oh.

Despite Nej wearing his mask, his general clothing matched what was shown to him earlier. Squinting towards him as the man appro- oh, he just got conked in the back in the head. A few blinks, watching as this man who is a borderline enemy of the state, get jumped and beaten to a pulp.

Though, after the other was swiftly tied up, it became his turn. His arms being forcefully dragged behind his back, as all he could really do was complain. "-ow, ow, watch it!" As much as it hurt his pride, trying to draw his blasters when there's at least ten actively being aimed at him, wouldn't be the brightest idea.

So, he's tied up, and stuffed back-to-back with the other. Not much to do, at the moment. Though, Nej eventually woke up.

["Great! You ruined my bank robbery, nerf herder! Why can't you people get your own scores?!"]

And that's when a bit of realization happened: do none of these guys know that he's...you know, not a criminal? Hearing Nej's sentence, and with the fact that none of them bothered searching him (which means none of them found his badge)...

Huh. He can use this.

"Hey, I've been planning this for months, alright?! I don't know who any of you are, but this is my damn score!"

His acting skills were...adequate. But, given the high-stress situation everyone currently finds themselves in, he's banking that no one's really looking between the lines too hard. Especially the man he's currently back-to-back with.

Some moments are spent watching the guys by the vault, thinking hard for a few moments. And that's when he gets an idea. It might be a stupid idea, but it's an idea nonetheless.

"...hey, hey-- listen..." Speaking to Nej once more. "I don't got a clue who you are, but right now, we're in a hell of a predicament. These fools are too busy trying to get the vault open, that they didn't even take away any of our stuff."

"What say you and I, work together for this? Get out of our bindings, deal with these rest of these idiots...and we'll split whatever's in the vault down, clean in half for the both of us. How's that sound?"

The irony in forming an alliance with a bounty you plan on capturing. Or, at least, trying to form one.