Private The Gang's All Here

[Levi]

Everybody scrambled as the firefight began. The rival crew hadn't quite gotten the heads up that Levi's crew did, and had a much rougher start. It was technically less firepower on their side, but Levi didn't mind the cops tying up some of their loose ends for them.

The Devaronian was stuck behind a shipping crate, which was thankfully one of the better pieces of cover here. He traded a few shots with the police, who were at this point just blanketing the area with suppressing fire. "Yeah! Force them or something!" He said in a panic. After a bit more shooting, Levi forced himself to think somewhat tactically. He poked out of cover for just a moment to look at the police barricade.

"Hey! Hey!" He called to his crew, trying to get their attention, "Aim for their engines!" They could likely figure it out themselves. If they could get one speeder to blow up, it could start a chain reaction and demolish their forces. At the very least, it would prove an ample distraction for them to make a getaway. Levi started to do just that, when he noticed the rumble of thrusters from behind. The Outrider II was warming up. Somebody was trying to take their ship, "Dammit Rask!" He cursed the man who was no doubt responsible.

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Things weren’t looking good.

"Jacen? Can you 'Force' them or something?"

"Yeah! Force them or something!"

Wincing as blaster fire pelted the wall close to his head, Jacen opened his mouth to reply in the negative, but hesitated. What other options did they have? His abilities may have been limited, but he wasn’t completely inept.

Calling upon the Force in a moment of panic, he put fear into the minds of the police. Harsh and overwhelming, the terror spread through their ranks like a virus. Hopefully it would sow a little chaos, if not cause some of them to flee outright.

At any rate, it was sure to cause a break in their onslaught. Jacen unleashed a barrage of blaster fire at the speeders. But it was Cagney who struck true, nailing one of the engines with a single shot.

Judd Levi​

 

[Judd]

Aim for the engines? In a firefight like this, the chances of Judd doing so was tiny. He was not only an awful shot, but the pure luck it would take for someone to aim a shot right into the propellant of a speeder bike was...

Boom.

Thanks in no small part to the time granted from Jacen's psychic meddling, Cagney got lucky, and the speeders in a ring around the pirates exploded in a massive chain reaction. Judd peered through the blistering heat, wasting no time in charging the Outrider II, rolling with both the artifact and a now distressingly warped safe of credits into the swiftly raising exit ramp. He tossed them further into the cargo freighter, before reaching a hand down to help his crew, (and sure, the other pirates) in to the ship.

"Double-time!" The Dowutin shouted the words, enormous cragged hand extended. There was no chance all of the sector rangers were downed. If Levi and Jacen were left behind, Judd wasn't sure they could handle them all. Nor would he stick around to go down with them.

Levi - Jacen Nimdok ​

 

[Levi]

Between Jacen's mind games and Cagney's lucky shot, the gang got the distractions they needed. As soon as Levi refocused from seeing the ball of fire light up the darkness, he spun on his heels and ran for the Outrider II. Just as he reached the top of the ramp, he felt a sharp impact through his abdomen. He looked down to see a blaster burn through his waist, grimaced, and pushed on to the cockpit.

Inside, Rask was trying to get the ship up and running. When he heard Levi approach, he sighed and leaned back in the pilot's chair. "Nice ship," He said, "Bit smaller than our last one."

"Big ship isn't much use without a big crew," Levi said, "Guess I've become more of a quality-over-quantity kind of pirate."

Rask chuckled, then sputtered some blood. He spun around to reveal that he'd taken some shots himself. Caught in the crossfire, by the very cops he called on them. Levi would have found the irony delicious if he wasn't so defeated by the betrayal, "Guess we shoulda quit while we were ahead, huh?"

Now Levi scoffed a laugh, "We both know that was never in the cards. Like you said, it's just our nature."

"Heh. Damn righ-" Levi socked his old First Mate in the jaw, and dragged him back to the exit ramp. He hucked him off, then started to let the door seal shut.

"Wouldn't want our boys in blue to go home empty handed," He quipped, though it was clear his heart wasn't fully in it. He clutched his wound, and shuffled back towards the cockpit, "Some time in the slammer ought to do him some good." Now it was time to finally leave, and pray this trip was worth something after all.

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Jacen blinked, squinted against the sudden intense heat and brightness of the massive explosion. He saw both Judd and Levi racing toward the Outrider II, and scurried after them.

Cagney was on his heels, dragging Eye Patch with him up the loading ramp. Following a confrontation between Levi and Rask, the Devaronian chucked his former First Mate off the ship and took to the skies.

Jacen heaved a sigh of relief… then turned to stare at the surviving members of the rival pirate crew. Cagney was making an attempt at treating his mate’s leg wound, but he shot the boy a stern glare. Jacen looked at Judd and Levi. What were they going to do with these two?

Judd Levi​

 

[Judd]

Judd watched with some humor as Levi threw out his old first mate like yesterday's garbage. "And stay out!," he followed up, snickering as the ramp closed behind them.

It was a short time before they were in the air, blasting out of the planet's atmosphere. Judd made sure to stay close to their guests, always a step away should one choose to get cheeky. He looked over Cagney's shoulder as he treated broken-jaw's leg with a disapproving glare. That was not how you wrapped a blaster burn.

He noticed Jacen's questioning look, and reflected it to Levi as well. Though he did take the time to quietly slam his stump into his open palm, and shrug. He was of the personal opinion to club them over the heads and drop them off on the next rock they passed.

Sure, they tried to jack the score. But they helped when it counted. So they didn't deserve to die yet.

Levi - Jacen Nimdok ​

 

[Levi]

Levi made a quick and messy escape. Blasters bolts dissipated harmlessly against the shields, replaced by a shaky push through the atmosphere, and then the tranquility of space. He dallied little, punching them through hyperspace the moment he had coordinates to follow. The police hadn't scrambled their ships in time to pursue, and they were safe in the wormhole of light speed travel. Levi leaned back and looked through one of the compartments beside his chair. He pulled out a first aid kit, and slapped two old bacta patches on either side of his waist.

Once he could step away from the controls, he joined the others, who were watching their fresh duo of stowaways. The question was obvious. After a long stare-off, Levi finally spoke up, "…Here's the deal. I'm gonna let you boys off at the nearest spaceport, and we're gonna keep the goods. As opposed to, y'know, tying up our loose ends by killing ya. I think that's a fair exchange, given your attempt to muscle in on our job in the first place, yeah?" He waited a moment, and whether or not he got an answer he would reply, "Good deal." Then, he turned to crewmates with a tired smile, "And as for you two," He clasped them both on the shoulder, "Once they're gone, we're gonna have to do a scrub of the ship, make sure there's no tracking beacons on the hull. Thorough." With a dry chuckle, Levi would then return to his seat.

They had the cask. And they all made it out in mostly one piece. As far as Levi was concerned, that was a job well done.

Jacen Nimdok - Judd​