Private The Dancer and the Assassin

[Be'iqaronn]

Weapons: See bio

Renn followed the group, his weapon over his shoulder, Revolver at his hip, and dagger on his leg. Walking behind them, he waited quietly, as they came up to a pair of guards. Watching the men fall, the droids accompanying them. Unsheathing his dagger he threw it into a man rounding a corner. Probably just heard something and came to investigate.

While silencers were used, it didn't feel quiet even though it was surprisingly quietly acted upon. Renn walked over and pulled his dagger out of the mans head, ripping off a piece of the guys cloth cleaning it. He dropped it back into his sheath, turning back "We should search the bodies, see if there are any IDs we need, or keycards. Anything that we could use so we don't need unnecessary noise."

While Renn didn't care how many people showed up, he would cut them down if needed, but he couldn't speak for his companions. Rotating the barrels of his revolver, he decided to change out the shots. Waiting for the group to move, he loaded taser rounds in. While not as quiet as the silencers, they would be effective for stealth. "We do need a database, or some access point to find his location." Renn was already looking around for a place to plug a cord in and look for Val Drutin.

Alyssa Shinobu Alyosha Drutin Arryn Jhanson

 

[Alyssa Shinobu]

Alyssa couldn't help screeching as her hand was violently jerked away from Alyosha Drutin's neck her surprise clearly not taken well by anyone in attendance. In retrospect threatening a person's bounty probably wasn't going to go over well with the recipient. But in her defense what else were they supposed to do? They were predisposed to being suspicious of them and it wasn't as if they weren't going to have to fight their way off the ship anyway. At least now they could be upfront about their intentions, Alyssa never was a really good liar anyhow.

With an extension of her palm, Alyssa pulled "Tann" into her grasp its deep blue blade illuminating the hallway the group stood in. Two flashes of her saber and before her sat a couple of droids their inner mechanics engulfed in a blue flame.

"We no longer possess the element of surprise, we're on an enemy ship we know nothing about and no doubt Tosh has already sent force's to capture Alyosha and kill the rest of us. The only option we have left is to be ultra-aggressive, push them back, put them on the defensive."

A dark eerie smile posses Alyssa's face a flicker of gold permeating from the back of her pupils. A scorching heat washed over her and her body felt as though it were being stabbed by hundreds of knives...Yet the pain was comforting. Oh no...The darkness is back! Her inherent dark disposition had returned and it was even stronger than before, it burrowed into her mind and set it ablaze as it dragged her deeper into the depths of madness.

"If we blow up the ship once we get Val Drutin we can get away before anyone's the wiser...Or we could just go and kill Tosh ourselves..."

Alyssa was crazy, she'd admit that much BUT SHE WASN'T COMPLETELY INSANE...Sure killing Tosh isn't completely out of the question but it is almost as though she enjoys the thought of it! Every day her darkness grows stronger and today it seems her demons have awakened...

Arryn Jhanson | Be'iqaronn

 

[Kai and Gerda]

As blaster fire pelted the walls and floor around him, Alyosha managed to turn Barryl’s body around, using it as a shield from the bolts. While the space cowboy howled in pain from his wounds, Alyosha’s hand closed around one of the holstered pistols, drawing it out and aiming it at Barryl’s head to put the man out of his misery.

Just as he pulled the trigger, a vibroknife whizzed past. Alyosha jerked out of the way just in time and swung the still-smoking gun in the direction Nadia had been standing. Instead of the bodysuit-clad vixen, he saw an automatic door sliding shut and locking with a click. She had escaped.

His companions made short work of the droids. In the split second between Nadia’s departure and the last of the droids hitting the deck, however, a sentient entered the fray from a side door. Alyosha recognized the man as Josephus, one of the human bodyguards employed by Tosh, just as Be'iqaronn gunned him down. The fact that he walked right into the firefight seemed odd, but Alyosha couldn’t stop to think too hard about it.

The bounty hunter suggested searching the bodies for keycards. Panting, Alyosha shook his head. “The droids monitor everything. They’ll have locked it all down by now. We’ll have to force our way through.”

Ripping off what remained of his cuffs, Alyosha took back his blaster rifle and heated vibrodagger from Arryn Jhanson . Alyssa Shinobu was rambling about being more aggressive and blowing up the ship, a bloodthirsty gleam in her eyes.

“I don’t think the others are going to be too keen on that,” Alyosha replied. “Remember my message? I promised you guys this ship and everything aboard as loot, not just a piece of the action. I came here to kill Tosh, and I need to get to his personal computer.”

Knowing there would be questions, he reluctantly added, “Tosh’s enterprises go far beyond smuggling spice. He takes children and trains them to become professional assassins. The training is done at a remote facility on some moon. I need to know its exact location; the info is in his computer.”

Alyosha wasn’t all that good with technology, but he had a portable device with enough memory to allow him to download the entire database. He’d have Theo or someone else sift through the files later.

The blank spot in the Force loomed ahead, taunting him. A ripple of unease broke through Alyosha’s cool demeanor. “But I don’t want to risk anything happening to Val,” he said. “I know where he is on the ship. I can sense it. I’ll go in there alone and secure him. The rest of you, divide and conquer.”

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to break away from the rest of them. He was technically the leader of this mission, but his teammates were an unruly bunch. Each of them could take care of themselves, and he had a feeling they’d be better off if they all split up.

He also sensed Jolene would be waiting to face him. If there was even a slight chance she could be reasoned with, he didn’t want one of his companions gunning her down in cold blood.

Hefting his rifle over his shoulder, he took out a lockpick and slid it into the wall panel beside a door on the right side of the hall. “If any of you are good at slicing, you could fight your way to the ship’s central computer and see if you can shut down the droids from there. Otherwise, start cracking open the doors… but be mindful of the merchandise.”

A few twitches of his hand, and the door slid open, the droid’s control temporarily overridden. He passed through just before the door slammed shut again, his override ended.

Within a few steps down yet another, shorter hallway, the intercom crackled to life.

“Alyosha,” Tosh said. “I expected better from you. You have a good head on your shoulders. Surely you realize you’d be better off accepting my terms.”

Alyosha ignored the voice echoing through the ship and headed to the other end of the hallway. A couple of droids darted into view, but he blasted them away. Their chassi smoldering in his wake, he turned the corner, his rifle pointed straight ahead.

Danger!

He swung around just in time for a small blade to bury itself in his left shoulder. Grimacing, he took cover from the unseen knife-thrower, and heard a door latch shut.

Resisting the urge to remove the blade, he left it in his arm as he picked the door’s lock. As soon as it was open, he leaped inside and found new cover behind a shelf. It was a storage room full of boxes and crates. Plenty of hiding places.

“Nadia, this doesn’t have to end this way,” he called. “You can leave this ship alive, or you can die serving Tosh.”

There was no response, of course. Sweat trickled down Alyosha’s face, making his shaggy hair stick to his skin. He pushed it out of his eyes, determined not to be blindsided… then closed his eyes, focusing on his surroundings.

Another blade went flying. This time he batted it out of the way with the Force and unleashed a torrent of blaster fire in the direction it had originated. He heard a muffled gasp, then a thud.

Moving in quick strides, he made his way over to where Nadia had fallen. He had seen her play dead before in order to draw her opponents out into the open. As soon as she was within sight, he fired again, pummeling her with energy bolts. She hardly moved. Definitely dead.

The three human bodyguards were dead. That left the Wookiee, the Noghri, and the Twi’lek, Yori. The Wookiee would probably stay with Tosh, while the Noghri and Yori would be more free to move about and attack the others.

The blank spot in the Force was getting closer. Alyosha didn’t stop until the chasm was yawning before him. A locked door leading to the dining room, a totally unknown place his senses couldn’t penetrate.

Taking a deep breath, he picked the lock. The doors slid open—

“You!”

 

[Arryn Jhanson]

Location: The Harlock, boarding The Firewalker.
Allies: Alyosha Drutin | Be'iqaronn | Alyssa Shinobu .
Objective: Rescue Val Drutin.

Arryn turned to Alyosha as the others took to the fight, returning his weapons and gear from prior to their boarding the ship; "Good luck man" Ajay encouraged him, before moving forward on his own to cover the nearby corridor to his left. The man in charge had people converging on their position, he'd be stupid not to, but Arryn had no intention of being caught with his pants down. Gripping his Pistol in both hands, he slowly moved against the wall, crosshairs aimed at chest height, awaiting the first the hostile reinforcements to come down on them.

"Your boy's right" Arryn shouted back to Alyssa Shinobu in response to Alyosha's reminding her as to what they'd been promised, "I intend on getting paid for this chit". Three rounds burst from the barrel of his pistol as he caught sight of a couple men rounding the far corner in approach. They went down hard and fast as the Aegis kicked back against his grip.

"I can work my way around a terminal" he added on the subject of slicing, Arryn wasn't a pro by any means but he had a fair bit of experience under his belt and could work around most standard security protocols; "Central Computer it is" he agreed and turned to glance back to the rest of the team. The thought of splitting up was probably smarter, as there were fewer of them and a well placed ion grenade would immobilize the lot of 'em, as opposed to how difficult it might be to track each individual down across a vessel this size."Keep your Comm's open...-Watch yer'selves" he exclaimed before moving further on ahead.

Getting into the vessels primary network would be easiest from the central rig, though where that would be located, Arryn guessed either the bridge or the Engineering deck where the engine and hyperspace controls were located. Those were the two major access points on most starship's, otherwise the Captain's quarters could've been an option.

 

[Be'iqaronn]

Renn looked over at Arryn Jhanson as the man shot the guards. Pulling out his revolver, he looked over at a man running down the hall behind them. The taser round dropped the man. The man hit the floor convulsing, probably died due to the round stopping his heart.

Loading another taser round, once the place got loud, all hell would break loose. The R82 was waiting for its moment where it would blow someone apart. Though ammo was limited, each could do a lot of damage. Renn would probably split off too clear a path.

Alyssa Shinobu Alyosha Drutin

 

[Alyssa Shinobu]

Alyssa blinked rapidly as she was ripped from her thoughts and brought back to her companions, Particularly Alyosha Drutin who suggested the four of them split up. He was right, If they were all in one place a single good thermal would be enough to take them out. Moreover, there was no telling what kinds of havoc they could wreak across the ship.

"Aye aye, Captain! Im going to the generator! Going to see what kinds of wonders I can work there...But Alyosha, if you go after Tosh won't you have to face all of his bodyguards at once? That seems like a terrible Ide-" Before she could finish her sentence he was gone off to save his brother. She should probably get going too, droids no doubt would be swarming this sector in mere moments. Alyssa began sprinting down the corridor towards the center of the ship If the firewalker was like other ships its generator would be at a central location where it could supply other parts of the vessel with power.

WHAM! Alyssa was knocked off her feet and collapsed on the floor her head now bearing a nasty gash on it. She groaned in pain as she sprang to her feet immediately igniting her saber. Blue light irradiated the hallways revealing no one inside...But that couldn't be right! Alyssa had yet to collect herself before being jabbed in the back by a blunt object with a sharp object on the end. She didn't even have time to scream before being hit in the back of the head by the same object her vision becoming dizzy on impact. What was going on?! She couldn't sense anyone...And she wasn't able to see them either. The young Jedi began swinging her Lightsaber around wildly as more and more blows began pummeling her.

Wait a second! This guy must be invisible! That would explain why the air suddenly starting kicking her ass. A fast series of punches to her gut quickly knocked down the padawan her wails of pain not affecting her assailant.

I could help you...I could help you defeat this foe...If you will only let me, child...I am yours and you are mine, we must adhere together in these trying times...

The darkness...It has come back, again only this time stronger than before. It was breaking Alyssa setting her mind and everything it contained ablaze. She could feel the darkness inside herself like a geyser ready to burst...She could also feel it...in front of her...

A hard whack to the face sent the girl sprawled across the deck. The fear and anger...Her assailant carried them inside like a bottle and now they were spilling its contents out. A spike of anger was coming at her from above aimed at her chest. Instinctively Alyssa extended both hands and reached out into the Force, she shouted above its whispers and sent a wailing Force push its power almost visible in the artificial gravity. Her attacker was revealed to be a Noghri uncloaked upon hitting the ceiling and then the floor.

A dreadful sizzling sound was heard as Alyssa plunged her Saber into the downed Noghri's chest his lifeless body appalling to look at. Alyssa reached into her cloak and pulled out her commlink its channel springing to life as she activates it.

"I got rid of one of Tosh's goons. It was the Noghri, so the Twi'lek and the rookie are still out there somewhere so be on guard."

Arryn Jhanson | Be'iqaronn

 

[Val Drutin]

Val was moping. Alone, unarmed, and still tied to a chair, there was little else for him to do but lament the current state of affairs. Plus, he had a cramp in his leg…

But then, the door opened. He flinched, afraid it would be the green Twi’lek girl again.

“You!” Jolene shouted.

This exclamation was followed by the sound of her sniper rifle firing into the ceiling, a thump, a grunt of pain, and—

Val’s chair was knocked over on its side, taking him with it. He yelped, feeling something heavy collide with him and roll off. When he dared to open his eyes, he was staring into a familiar (if considerably older than he remembered) face.

“Yoshi!”

“Hey,” Alyosha muttered.

It was all he had a chance to say before a sniper shot blasted the ground inches away from where they lay. Alyosha swore and tucked his legs in tight against his body, using the table as cover.

Unfortunately, it was right at that moment his commlink hissed to life.

"I got rid of one of Tosh's goons. It was the Noghri, so the Twi'lek and the Wookiee are still—“

The rest of Alyssa’s message was obscured by two blasts from Jolene’s rifle. The first burned through the expensive real-wood table, while the second sizzled across the armor covering Alyosha’s left leg. Alyosha didn’t make a sound, but Val could see his expression contort in pain even in the shadows.

“The ysalimiri are over there,” Val exclaimed, jerking his head toward the lizard stand. “They’re what’s causing the Force to go all blank in here!”

Leveling his rifle, Alyosha blasted at the stand. The lizards dropped to the floor, their scales smoking.

The Force flooded in. Val reached out, absorbing the heady rush of power and connection. The bindings holding him in place shuddered and released him at his command.

Alyosha was similarly affected, though it left him disoriented and overwhelmed. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned his attention to Jolene. “I don’t want to fight you,” he called to her. “None of this is necessary. Jolene, you can help us. We can leave here together.”

“Why the hell would I want to leave with you?” she snapped. “I’m happy here. This is my life.”

“I know,” Alyosha murmured. “But if you don’t come with us…”

“Some life!” Val interrupted. When his brother glared at him, the dancer grinned back, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“You think you got it good just because Tosh gives you his best jobs? You’re doing his dirty work for him! He’s been using you as slave labor! You don’t even get paid—it all goes into ‘living expenses’ and gear!”

“Shut up!” she roared. “You don’t know chit! Tosh got rid of you for a reason, you little brat!”

“Oh, I know. And look at me now, sister. I have my own yacht, my own job, my own life, on my terms! You’re nothing to Tosh but a favorite tool. He doesn’t care about you. He never cared. He’ll get rid of you once you stop being useful to him, just like he got rid of your mother and your brothers!”

Enraged, Jolene leaped on top of the table. She stood over them, her sniper rifle aimed at their heads, just as a platoon of droids burst into the dining room. They fired at her, shooting her in the back.

She toppled over, stunned. Alyosha levied his gun at the droids, but Val was faster. Holding up his arms, he blasted lightning from his fingertips, short-circuiting the machines all at once. He laughed gleefully as he did it, whooping and cheering as the Force ran through him like cool water.

“Yeah! Take it! Fry, baby! Fry!”

“Val…” Alyosha called. “...Val!”

“Huh?” Val turned, his fingers still sparking. The droids had been burnt to a crisp; he was just deep-frying a dead nerf at this point.

Gritting his teeth, Alyosha yanked on the knife jutting out of his shoulder. Blood welled up from the wound, trickling down his black armor. “Could you maybe direct some of that unlimited power toward healing me?”

“Oh.” Val covered the puncture with his hand, willing the wound to close. “All better.”

Alyosha examined his healed arm, then turned to where Jolene was lying unconscious on the floor. “Tosh really is serious about keeping us alive,” he muttered. “He ordered his droids to neutralize her so she wouldn’t attack us…”

“Should we kill her?” Val asked. “I mean, just to make sure she doesn’t get up and come after us again…”

Alyosha shook his head. “No. Once Tosh is dead, she’ll have no choice but to move on.”

“Ooooh, are we killing Tosh?” Val exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

“Yes, we are,” Alyosha replied, mocking his brother’s enthusiasm. “So let’s go.”

They left the dining room through the same door the droids had come from. It led into a narrow hallway dimly lit from below, likely some sort of engineering circuit.

While Alyosha was trying to figure out how to get through, Val was basking in the Force like one who has just had their Wi-Fi connection restored after hours with no Holonet. He spread his influence all across the ship, doing a headcount of all the sentients aboard. His consciousness brushed the thoughts of each of Alyosha’s crew, feeling the adrenaline and heat of their battles.

“Hey, I didn’t know you brought friends. Wait… oh no!”

Alyosha froze and turned to face Val, thinking something was wrong. “What?”

“One of them’s that bounty hunter who caused a traffic jam while trying to capture me! And that annoying padawan chick… ugh! Yoshi, why?!”

“They wanted to save you,” Alyosha replied with a shrug.

“You mean there’s three other people who wanted to save me?” Val gasped, his eyes shining. “People… like me?”

“Sure,” Alyosha muttered under his breath. “They also like expensive antiques, luxury ships, and good old fashioned credits…”

“And you set up a mission to rescue me!” Making a happy noise, Val flung his arms around his brother. “I knew I could count on you. You’re the best brother in the whole galaxy!”

“Okay, okay.” Alyosha pried his arms off. “Enough of this sappy chit. We’ve still got some murdering to do, so save the reunion stuff for later.”

Val reluctantly backed away. The bond between the brothers was back and stronger than ever. Through it, he could sense Alyosha’s discomfort with his emotionality, primarily because he was afraid it would interfere with their getting the job done. With the two of them in such close proximity, an “episode” was just around the corner—and Alyosha was afraid of losing control, especially at a time like this.

“Lead the way,” Val said, following his brother through the door Alyosha unlocked. “I want to see Tosh dead just as much as you do. That bastard sold me to a bunch of slavers…”

For his trouble, the madman had been made successor to a Sith lord. All things considered, perhaps Tosh had done him a favor. Either way, the old crime lord didn’t stand a chance against a freed Val—

“Hey!” Yori greeted them as soon as they emerged from the passage. She was holding two blasters aimed at each of them. “You two aren’t supposed to be in here. Now, I’m going to ask you to back away…”

Val shrieked and ducked behind Alyosha. “No! Get her away from me!” he cried.

For reasons unknown to anyone but himself, the madman was deeply terrified of all green-skinned female Twi’leks to the point of paralysis. Even though he had all the powers of the Dark Side at his disposal, Val was left a whimpering, shaking mess at the mere sight of Yori.

This was a confrontation Alyosha would have to deal with on his own.

Arryn Jhanson Be'iqaronn Alyssa Shinobu

 

[Arryn Jhanson]

Location: The Harlock, boarding The Firewalker.
Allies: Alyosha Drutin | Be'iqaronn | Alyssa Shinobu .
Objective: Rescue Val Drutin.

Alyssa Shinobu had darted off in the direction of the engineering deck, the location of the Firewalker's generator which left Arryn with the decision of heading for the bridge hoping that it'd only be a crew of naval officers and a handful of troops rather than the special forces that Alyosha had mentioned. He moved down the corridors with a brisk pace, following the iron-sights of his Blaster, the firearm held out in front and first to round every corner as he took to proceeding to the bridge with an almost militant tact about his movements. He didn't want to be caught off-guard, an unprepared.

Fighting could be heard echoing through the corridors of the vast ship, followed by boots hitting the durasteel floor in pace. At times it was hard to know where they were coming or going, yet Arryn kept as quiet as possible, clinging to the walls in every step in order to lessen the chance of being seen by those passing at each junction. The vessel seemed to be a maze without any sort of visual data or hologrid to follow. At the main junctions where the corridors would meet, the walls would read the names of each wing connecting to his location, and so eventually he found the way towards the bridge and head of the destroyer.

"Hostile in sight!" someone shouted from Arryn's flank as he stood near the cross-section, about to turn into the next corridor. Blaster fire soon screamed overhead and forced him to dive to the floor, landing on his front and soon to force himself into a roll across the ground, positioning his back against the nearby wall and whipping the side-arm around to loose a few shots back in retaliation. He didn't pause to see whether the gunman was downed, but instead kicked himself up and into flight, sprinting off towards his objective.

Another set of doorways were quickly closing in as he sprinted down the corridor, workstations of unknown purpose. Behind him came the sounds of blaster fire, volleys of burning hot plasma whizzing passed him, one of the shots narrowly missing Arryn and forcing him to turn in against the panel to the room on his right, opening the door and falling in behind some cover with his pistol raised up over top of an office desk. The room wasn't very big, and there seemed to be no other doors leading elsewhere, which meant he had run into a dead end. He could already hear the shouting and pummeling footsteps against the floor outside.

Poised, he awaited the first to force their way inside. With little alternative but to blast his way out in a stand-off against the mercenary band.

 

[Be'iqaronn]

Renn quickly split from the group leaving with, "I will be redirecting the guards the best I can, tell me when we are pulling out." Walking off, he fired a taser round into a man, walking over and stabbing him. Flipping his dagger around in his hand, he was out of sight of the group, he quietly walked looking around at cells and started "the hunt".

Renn's pace went into a run, he moved around a corner, sticking his dagger into a man, and firing a grapple around the man's partner. Pulling the other man he fell into the blade. Continuing walking he looked into some cells, the people were mixed, different races, conditions, and phasic. He did find a cell that sounded familiar, peering he saw an old friend, Trevor.

"Ah Trevor, the law finally catch up to you?"

"As you can see it did, mind getting me out of here?" Trevor had a slight plead in his voice.

"I could leave you here, like the filth you are." There was humor to Renn's voice.

"But you wouldn't do that." Trevor grinned. He came up to the gate.

Renn grinned and pulled Trevor by the neck into the bar, pushing his blade through his neck. "Why would I help a backstabbing bastard?"

He quietly walked off to continue the search for guards.

Alyssa Shinobu Alyosha Drutin Arryn Jhanson

 

[Alyssa Shinobu]

Alyssa tiptoed innocently through the hallways of the Firewalker Tann still clipped to her belt. It was quiet...REALLY quiet, She could have sworn this hallway was filled to the brim with enemy droids a second ago. Did Arryn Jhanson shut them down already? No...If he did then there wouldn't be such intense fire being dished out elsewhere. The Firewalker was beginning to smell like ionized air as the sounds of battle began echoing louder through the hallways.

The young Jedi arrived at a corner and poked out her head truffles of endless nappy hair impairing her eyesight. I really need to brush my hair...And wash it...and MAYBE I need a haircut...and I REALLY need to find that carton of milk from yesterday! She berated. Clearing the hair from her eyes Alyssa stared down the hallway scouting out its defenses. Two droids stood guard in front of a large steel door with yellow and orange stripes painted all over it. After years of erosion, Alyssa was barely able to make out the words: Generator room. Alyssa almost cheered with glee now all that was left was to find a way inside...

A surge of warmth flowed through Alyssa as her senses were attuned to the now absence of void in the dining room. She hugged herself tightly as she recalled her connection to the Force, In its entirety this time around. Alyssa had almost finished wallowing in her newfound warmth when a fleeting presence tapped the surface of her mind its dark yet whimsical whispers...Familiar...

Oh no!

Her face contorted in a snarl Alyssa angrily grabbed her commlink her fingers pressing down on the button as she talked. "Im at the generator, Im going to shut off the power so Tosh and his goons won't see you on any cameras or scanners It should also shut off the control center commanding the droids...and tell Val he is being a massive PERVERT!"

With that final comment, Alyssa stuffed her commlink back into her pocket her attention returning to the task at hand. With astounding speed, Alyssa leaped from behind the corner a blue Lightsaber now brandishing its power in her palm. The droids fired their guns seemingly still computing what was transpiring. They must have really boggled the system If the droids were being controlled from a singular hivemind terminal then they should already been notified of the presence of a Jedi. The fact they weren't made Alyssa's job all the easier as she barreled towards one of the droids in a 720-degree spin. A cascade of blue and white light melted the droids circuits as it collapsed on the ground now a pile of flaming debris. Two shots were fired off by the droid behind Alyssa only to be sent barreling into its metal chest by two flashes of Tann.

The door to the generator slid open as the girl stepped inside still brandishing her weapon...No guards...no technicians...Absurdly suspicious. Ignoring the heavy pit in her stomach Alyss rushed over to the nearest console her saber now sheathed and clipped to her side. Using a mediocre knowledge of consoles Alyssa deactivated the ship's power for a full cycle.

We've got thirty minutes.

Be'iqaronn | Alyosha Drutin

 

[Kai and Gerda]

Val’s emotional outburst at the sight of Yori swelled like a rising tsunami, threatening to sweep Alyosha away.

“Val, get a grip!” he hissed, trying to keep his head above the flood.

It was no use. Val was cowering and whimpering, his mind entangled in madness and hallucination. Alyosha begged him to stop even as he lost his own hold on reality, becoming submerged. The cord binding them together in the Force was like a noose around his neck, choking him.

“Yori,” Alyosha pleaded, his voice strained. “We only want Tosh. Everyone else can go free.”

“Why should I trust you?” She was still leveling her blasters at them, but she had yet to fire a single shot. Alyosha got the impression that she wanted to avoid wasting ammo, and would have preferred to lead them to Tosh fully conscious and unharmed. “You and your mates have killed everyone else already.”

“Jolene is alive. We only stunned her.”

“Well of course,” Yori snapped. “She’s family, after all.”

The lights in the room flickered and went out. Alyssa Shinobu had shut down the Firewalker’s generator, forcing the ship to reroute to backup power reserves. The lights didn’t turn on again for several seconds, and even then they were considerably dimmer than before.

Those moments of darkness should have worked to the Drutin brothers’ advantage, allowing them a window of opportunity to take Yori out. But things rarely work out the way one wants them to.

Val reacted to the sudden pitch black similarly to how a child would: with blind fear. Alyosha gasped as the chill of primal terror drained into him, along with a churning maelstrom of intense, powerful emotions.

The latest “episode” had begun.

His brother hollowed out and turned to ice, utterly devoid of empathy or concern. Nothingness, emptiness, a total disregard for life. He started toward Yori, seeing her only as an obstacle to be removed from his way...

“No!” Alyosha cried out, grabbing his brother by the shoulders to hold him back.

Val tried to shrug him off, but Alyosha held firm.

“Val, this isn’t who you are! Don’t try to be like me—”

He was cut off by Val sucker-punching him. Alyosha grabbed hold of Val as he reared backwards, dragging him down with him.

When the lights came on again, Yori was greeted by a startling sight. The Drutin brothers had evidently forgotten all about her, for the siblings were now rolling around on the floor, locked in mortal combat.

For a few moments, she wasn’t sure what to do. She watched them wrestle in bewilderment. Why were they fighting each other? She decided she didn’t care. Making sure her two blasters were set to stun, she fired upon them both.

They immediately went limp. After making sure they were unconscious, she snapped stun cuffs on them and commed Tosh.

“I have Alyosha and Val.”

“Good work,” Tosh replied. “Bring them to me.”

Arryn Jhanson Be'iqaronn

 

[Arryn Jhanson]

Location: The Firewalker, Bridge.
Allies: Alyosha Drutin | Be'iqaronn | Alyssa Shinobu .
Objective: Slice the vessels security programming.

"Everyone on the ground, NOW!".
​

Arryn Jhanson did not wait for the crew's compliance before tossing a couple of Flash-Bang's through the entrance and onto the bridge, ducking back behind the cover of the bulkhead doors to avoid being blinded by the series of dull explosives going off, hearing the confused shouting of officers as they scrambled to get their bearings. It was then that Arryn moved to enter the bridge, raising his Blaster Pistol and firing upon them, one by one in cold blooded killing.

They hadn't even had the time nor sight to call of reinforcements, and with the troopers in the corridor taken care of, Arryn moved across the bridge to the security station and closed the bulkhead behind him, locking it closed and activating the security blast doors for added security within the vessels control center.

One of the nearby terminal's flared as security warnings were activated thanks to Alyssa Shinobu 's handy-work. Apparently a section of the ship's power had gone down temporarily, although the bridge maintained the bare minimum as the back-up power kicked in and gave a red glow across the room.

"I've secured the bridge and I'm in the process of slicing into their systems now. I'm going to remove the security locks on all points of entry throughout the Firewalker, make it easier for you all to get around. I'm keeping the bridge locked down until you send word though" Arryn spoke over their comm's frequency, his team mates due to receive word of their progress.

It was then that he sought to override the vessels security protocols, staring with the various sections of the vessel, deactivating their locking mechanism and removing all security clearance levels to ensure the others had freedom in where they wished to roam.

 

[Be'iqaronn]

Pushing someone off his blade, Renn wiped the sharp weapon on the dead man's shirt. Looking around, the once white walls were covered with red, men ripped apart in their own ways. Muttering to himself he quietly added, "Well at least I stopped a couple guards from getting to the group." Flipping his revolver out he turns firing a shot into a guard who tried crawling away.

He had resorted to normal bullets, for they knew he was there. The lights turned off, causing him to look up, Renn starting to move towards the marks on his map. On the way, any guard he found he cut down, some being thrown about, but either way they all fell. One tried fighting back, but he got his throat slit, which scared another off.

As he got closer to the marks, revolver out. Turning the corner to the marks, Renn flipped his revolver away. "How's everyone holding on?" He came as Val was punched, causing Renn to laugh, "I see just fine." Grinning he starting reloading his revolver.

Val Drutin Alyssa Shinobu Alyosha Drutin Arryn Jhanson

 

[Alyssa Shinobu]

Alyssa strutted innocently through the corridor's of The Firewalker her saber still polishing her face in a blue firey white light. Every now and again she was forced to cut down a few droids but for the most part, the ship had gone quiet. For a rescue mission, things were going surprisingly well it was almost as if Tosh wanted Alyosha Drutin to kill him...Strange. Still with Tosh alive and thrashing about the young Jedi's work was not yet finished she needed to get to Alyosha and Val before whatever remained of Tosh's goons did.

Alyssa had almost reached the dining room area when a loud siren echoed through the hallway followed by the flashing of red lights. Alyssa couldn't stop herself from squealing as all the lights in the hallway exploded leaving the task of illuminating the hallway to the flashing red sirens. The ship's speakers crackled to life as a robotic voice took command of them.

"Reactor core Critical failure! Internal dampner disengaged! Total meltdown sequence in T-minus 5 minutes!"

In retrospect, simply shutting off every green button that was flashing PROBABLY wasn't the best way to shut off the generator. With the Firewalker running on reserves the ship most likely didn't have enough power left over to keep the dampner running properly...NOT GOOD. Val was going to have to wait because now she had to put things right!

Arryn Jhanson | Be'iqaronn

 

[Kai and Gerda]

Tosh’s quarters were larger than the ship’s dining room, spanning several rooms in a luxurious suite. Ancient weapons from a variety of alien cultures hung on the walls of his bedroom, strange metal alloys glinting under strategically placed lights.

The crime lord himself sat at his desk, constructed of real wood cut from an exotic forest. He remained seated as Yori floated the unconscious Drutin brothers into the room, followed by Alyosha’s weapons, which she stockpiled behind the desk. His Wookiee bodyguard stood at his side, holding a pike.

“Where did you find them?” Tosh asked.

While the Twi’lek explained all that had occurred in the dining room and at the end of the passageway, Tosh observed the two prostrate forms lying sprawled on the hardwood floor. Alyosha and Val. This was the first time he had seen the two of them together since they were boys.

“How much they have changed,” he murmured.

The crime lord stood up, his Krayt skin shoes soundless as he walked around his desk. The Wookiee moved with him, animal eyes fastened upon the two potential threats.

“Yori, there appears to be a problem with the reactor,” Tosh said. He too was staring and Alyosha and Val, but with feelings of nostalgia. “Go and take care of it, if you please.”

The Twi’lek bowed her head slightly, then left to perform her assigned task. Tosh drew nearer to the bodies, kneeling beside Alyosha. In sleep he didn’t look threatening at all.

Val’s eyes opened. While Tosh was still looking at Alyosha, the madman pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.

The Wookiee roared a warning, hefting his pike as if to hurl it like a spear. Val answered his roar with a snarl. It sounded strange coming from his throat, with a voice that was normally quite soft-spoken.

Tosh’s gaze flicked toward the boy he had attempted to sell into slavery fourteen years ago. Oh, he knew about the slaver ship, which had been found derelict with all of its crew dead and no sign of the cargo, but the mystery of what exactly had become of Val had always intrigued him. As it turned out, truth really was stranger than fiction. The boy had been taken in by a Sith Lord and trained in the Dark Side. Eventually he had killed his master… and became a dancer. Now here he was, snarling on all fours like a wild dog. Stark raving mad, indeed.

There were more ysalamiri in his office, just in case. Neither of them could use the Force as long as they were in his presence. He was not that foolish.

It was enjoyable, seeing the look on Val’s face as he stretched out his hand, trying to choke Tosh, only to be met with nothingness once more. Val rose to his feet, trembling with fury, but like his unconscious brother he was far from threatening. He was a tiny dancer in a silly costume, baby-faced with long eyelashes like a girl.

“...I’m going to kill you,” he announced coldly, pointing a delicate finger at Tosh.

The Wookiee threw back his head and laughed as Val scrambled for a weapon. He took a ceremonial sword down from a wall display—or tried to. The entire display came down, the sword firmly embedded in the decorative rack.

He struggled to free it, pinning the rack down with his foot while he yanked on the sword handle as hard as he could. As he struggled, the Wookiee approached, pike at the ready.

“Don’t damage him too much,” Tosh commanded. “I need him mostly intact—”

A tugging at his belt drew his attention. Alyosha had awoken and was trying to grab Tosh's blaster pistol from its holster. But this was easily fixed with a backhand across the assassin’s face and a knee pressed firmly against his sternum.

“Why are you so difficult?” Tosh snapped. “I offer you everything I own, and you refuse it. Is killing me that important that you would risk your life to end mine?”

Alyosha uttered an unprintable insult and spat in Tosh’s face.

“You're acting like a child,” Tosh muttered, pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket and using it to clean up the mess. His other hand remained on his pistol, guarding it.

The Wookiee had thrust his pike in the spot where Val had been only a moment ago. Still clutching the heavy, embedded antique sword, the dancer narrowly managed to get out of the way. He swung the entire bulky display set as if it were a club, but it was slow, fumbling, and blunt compared to the pike. It was only a matter of time before he lost his balance and fell, forced to abandon the unwieldy weapon in order to roll away from the Wookiee’s jab.

Alyosha was putting up a struggle, but it was futile. Deprived of his weapons and the Force, he was pinned beneath the bootheel of his old employer, helpless even to assist his brother. He gave a shout of fury though he could hardly move, kicking and screaming. To Tosh's eyes (and unfortunate ears) it looked like a kid having a temper tantrum. Evidently this was one of the "episodes" which had occasionally overcome Alyosha even when he was still being trained. His mood could swing from petulant rages, to puerile mania, to infantile sobbing. Right now he was just plain pissy.

Val, on the other hand, was frighteningly focused. He couldn’t see where the ysalamiri were hidden, but as he spun away he did catch sight of Alyosha’s weapons. He moved to the other side of the room, dodging the Wookiee’s blows, trying to make his way over to them. The big walking carpet didn’t realize his intentions, or else he would’ve used his pike to shoo Val away from the desk.

Tosh did, however. “He’s going for the weapons!” he shouted, too late.

Val’s hand closed around Alyosha’s heated vibrodagger just before he was forced to move again, ducking below the thrusting pike. He drove the blade into the Wookiee’s back, earning a yelp of pain before a great paw swung and knocked him across the room.

“Come on, Val!” Alyosha groaned in disappointment. “All you had to do was aim a little higher!”

The Wookiee dug through several inches of fur to retrieve the dagger, pulling it out of his flesh. Blood welled from the gash—a non-lethal but deep injury. He could still fight, but he would be slowed, for the wound pained him.

As for Val, he was sitting in a sore, dazed heap on the other side of the room... having crashed into the obscured ysalamiri stand.

Alyssa Shinobu Arryn Jhanson Be'iqaronn

 

[Arryn Jhanson]

Location: The Firewalker, Bridge.
Allies: Alyosha Drutin | Be'iqaronn | Alyssa Shinobu .
Objective: Slice the vessels security programming.

"Reactor core Critical failure! Internal dampner disengaged!
Total meltdown sequence in T-minus 5 minutes!"

While he couldn't hear the blaring announcement throughout the engineering deck from his spot upon the bridge, the flaring red lights that circled the perimeter of the control station caused Arryn to stop and reconsider his decision to join this affair. Literally, he stopped what he was doing and just stared directly ahead of the bridge as he tried to work out what had changed, what had he done to trigger another alarm?​

"I didn't do anything!?!" he complained finally, glaring back down at the console terminal at his hands and slamming a closed fist into the desktop. Naturally, this only resulted in a bit of a bang and a sore hand, but it made him feel a little better for a few seconds...

They were supposed to be getting paid for this mess.

Running down the command list of processes occurring across the ship, Arryn sought for any indication of what had gone wrong. He'd cleared all locking mechanisms, opened all access points without a hitch, he didn't understand what could have triggered a security breach. Seeking to run a systems analysis of all integral operations, he suddenly and quickly became aware of the cause of the problem. Dread filled him for the next few moments as the worlds 'Reactor Core Critical Failure' were displayed across the terminal screen.

The dampener's had gone offline and Engineering was quickly losing power, someone had triggered a shut down of critical systems and the vessel was straining under the duress of it all. "Shit...Shit...Shit!" Ajay swore under his breath as he tried rerouting all main power from the other lesser systems to the Core Room, trying to fire up the dampeners and all affected functions, "Don't do this to me, not now...We're so close and daddy needs some new kicks...".

 

[Be'iqaronn]

(Sorry it took so long, and its not that good, been dealing with stuff, and barely been able to post anything)

Renn listened to the meltdown call, looking around at the party and hearing some footsteps near them, sighing he turned, and would let them deal with their 'domestic dispute' as he liked to call it. Running off he pulled out his pistol and blew away the first guard, bring his dagger into another neck.

Pulling his R82 off his back he fired down the hall taking out a couple of men with the shotgun and piecing people apart with the sniper. Then for the final guard, he walked up and snapped his neck, Renn brushing his hands on his armor. Walking back, he nodded to them, not paying attention to what they were doing.

Arryn Jhanson Alyosha Drutin Alyssa Shinobu

 

[Alyssa Shinobu]

Wailing sirens and flashing lights filled the Generator room as Alyssa frantically tried pressing every button, flipping every switch and plugging in every cord in sight. Sweat rolled down her face and hair as her body perpetually quivered at the ticking doomsday timer. "Oh, man! I REALLY screwed this one up!" She wasn't sure what she should do, No matter how many buttons she pressed nothing was responding not with the power off anyway. Ugh! Why did she have to be such an idiot!

"T- Minus 30 seconds until Total meltdown sequence begins!" The speaker system blared as the ship began shaking violently and sparks began flying. Alyssa collapsed on the floor as a pannel behind her exploded due to the absurd amount of power being sent through it. Alyssa groaned as she tried to rise back up and fix the huge mess she made only to be knocked back down by a violent shake of the ship's generator. This was so typical of her...She was about to die and she couldn't even find the strength to stand up! This is a disaster, and its all her-

No...NO. This MUST be some kind of sick joke! Alyssa thought to herself as she looked over the central's consoles power relay...

...The terminal was unplugged...

...Son of a queen...

With not even a hint of hesitation, Alyssa raced over to outlet and plugged it in. "T- Minus 15 seconds until Total meltdown sequence begins!" There was no time to spare! Making haste Alyssa rushed over to the generator's central terminal and fired it up hoping to be able to stop the meltdown in time. As the console fired up Alyssa's heart sank as the words "Enter password" flashed on the screen...

"Son of a-" Before Alyssa could finish her swearing the dampeners activated which instantaneously shut off the flashing red lights and that defeating siren! "Dampener's activated. Temperature control initiated. Meltdown Averted." Alyssa slumped down against the wall as she sighed in relief. She lives to fight another day.

Alyosha Drutin | Arryn Jhanson | Val Drutin | Be'iqaronn

 

[Val Drutin]

Val felt something crunch beneath him. His lip curled in disgust as he sat up, having crushed at least one of the ysalamiri under his weight.

The others tried to crawl away to safety, but he reached out and grabbed them by the scruff of their necks. Val was not prone to animal cruelty—in fact, he loved all creatures, especially small harmless ones. But that was in his normal state, not in the midst of an “episode”. Now he felt nothing but the need for survival, and as long as the ysalamiri were there, they were an obstacle.

He crushed their necks in his fists, killing them quickly and relatively painlessly before dropping their lifeless bodies. Once they were dead, there was no more screwing around.

The Wookiee was lumbering toward him, only to be stopped in his tracks. Invisible hands closed around his windpipe, cutting off his air. Hairy paws reached up to clutch at his throat as he rasped, his roars of pain and anger stifled. He choked in a matter of seconds, collapsing on the floor with a tremendous thud.

Tosh pointed his pistol at Alyosha’s head. “Don’t do anything, Valerian,” he said, using Val’s full name in an attempt to instill some sense of authority in the boy. “You’ll regret it.”

Val remained where he stood on the other side of the room, watching the crime lord. Held tightly in Tosh’s grip, Alyosha glared at his brother. Do something! he demanded wordlessly.

The “episode” was coming to an end. Val’s eyelids fluttered and he wobbled slightly as the dizzying array of his emotions poured back into him, madness and mania reclaiming his mind. Alyosha felt utterly drained, but he couldn’t rest yet. They had to finish this now.

Val, he pleaded, reaching out to his brother through the Force. Help me. Save me.

Tilting his head, Val seemed to observe the scene with new eyes. His gaze flicked from Alyosha, to Tosh, to the gun in the latter’s hand. He honed in on the blaster, tuning out everything else.

Alyosha sensed his change in focus. He added what was left of his mental strength to Val’s, handing him the reins as exhaustion took over.

Tosh was only partially paying attention to Val, for he was trying to find a way of reaching his desk to call for backup without letting go of Alyosha. Just as he was about to issue orders to his assassin, he felt his hand beginning to move. The words died in his throat as he watched his wrist curve inward, pointing the blaster away from Alyosha and toward his own face.

“Valerian,” he said, his voice strained from fighting the exterior force controlling his arm. “Valerian, stop this...”

But there was nothing he could do. Tosh knew it. The crime lord licked his lips, sweat trickling down his forehead as he stared down the barrel of his gun. He didn’t even have a chance to close his eyes before—

A shot rang out, followed by a dull thump. Alyosha felt the arms gripping him relax as Tosh’s body slumped backwards. The air smelled of burnt flesh and singed carbon.

And then Val was hovering over him, hauling him into Tosh’s desk chair.

“We did it,” he said.

Alyosha nodded with considerably dampened enthusiasm. Leaning his head on his arm, he spoke into his commlink.

“Tosh is dead.” His voice betrayed how tired he felt, but otherwise he managed to hide his emotions. “What’s the deal with the reactor malfunction? He sent the Twi’lek to check it out...”

As he waited for a response from his teammates, he booted up Tosh’s personal computer. He happened to know the password, but it was going to take some time for him to find the files on the assassin training program. Might as well start now.

Meanwhile Val walked through the open door to Tosh’s bedroom, flopped down on the giant bed, and took a nap.

Arryn Jhanson Be'iqaronn Alyssa Shinobu

 

[Arryn Jhanson]

Location: The Firewalker, Bridge.
Allies: Alyosha Drutin | Val Drutin | Be'iqaronn & Alyssa Shinobu .
Objective: Complete.

"Dampener's activated. Temperature control initiated. Meltdown Averted".
​

Arryn exhaled a strong sigh of relief as he watched from the bridge as the Holocam display feed showed the Engineering section still in tact, and that of Alyssa Shinobu visibly relaxing as she heard the same announcement that he had. They'd averted a crisis, no doubt.

"Close call down there, huh" Ajay's voice echoed throughout the room Alyssa was in, his voice coming out across the intercom speakers; "Live to fight another day" he concluded before cutting the feed and returning his attention to the bridge. The bodies of the senior officers still lay about the floor, some of them slumped over their terminals though otherwise all was quiet and ordinary.

Glancing to another set of displays, he could see the others slowing down and by some bizarre fortune, things appeared to be within their control now. Reaching for the terminal before him, he deactivated the blast doors keeping the Bridge secure, allowing the others to enter whenever they'd please, as well as giving himself room to wander. The Ship was mighty impressive and there was bound to be a good deal worth of credits in this venture. He simply hoped that Alyosha was a man of his word.