The Qektoth Connection (ORC Dominion of Yuuzhan'tar)

[Zark San Tekka]

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The Outer Rim is on the brink.​

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There is seemingly no stopping the Sharukan Empire's relentless advance across the Western Reaches, conquering Ancora after a prolonged siege. The recently assailed Terminus system is now the only planet in the region which still stands as a sanctuary against the oncoming tide, but its freedom came at a heavy cost. The All Flags Armada is in tatters, having paid in blood and chrome to oust the First Order from its shores.​

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Now what few remaining forces the Coalition has left gather to defend the sector capital Kal'Shebbol from Sharukan incursion, but without a miracle it is a hopeless cause. Although devastated by an ambush on Binaros, surviving Underground agents have intercepted communications traffic indicating a fanatical group of rogue Qektoth scientists are working on a new bioweapon that could change the balance of power in the Rim if it falls into the wrong hands.​

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Welcome to Yuuzhan'tar, it doesn't get any weirder than this. While not the largest city on the planet, Zerus-Tule is by far the most corrupt and willing to look the other way on arrival if credits are moved into the right hands. It is also the purported location of the rumored Qektoth black site. Arriving in system to find the Tyrax already in orbit, the Underground and its allies are now in a race against time to determine fate of the Outer Rim itself.​

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"My advisors tell me the natives of this world worship a deity, Yun-Lingni," Overseer Varex Zal, architect of the Outer Rim's annexation into the greater Sharukan Empire, relayed this information with apparent distaste, "A God of Chaos. We will never understand you outlanders, how could you allow so profane a society to flourish on your borders?"

"The Vong ain't so bad," Mynock spat out another tooth, blood still oozing from his mouth where Zal's Testoran Guard had punished his previous bouts of defiance over-zealously, "Sure, I wouldn't want one for a doctor, but they're a riot at parties."

The Regent's elite warrior stepped forward, slamming the butt of his tensor rifle into Mynock's ribcage. He doubled over on the ground in agony. Zal looked on in mild interest, but in truth his concentration was still on the planet below.

"You mock me, but I am curious," waving his guard away, Zal stepped down off his command dais to kneel by the Underground agent's whimpering form, "Do you truly believe these are a people worth saving?"

"We're all worth saving..." Mynock rasped, "...'cept maybe you."

He could only hope now that his subspace message had been received, and that the Coalition was on its way. Not for his sake, but for everyone else's. If the Empire got their hands on this new bioweapon, it wouldn't just mean the end of the war.

It would mean the end of everything.

Objectives

• The Beheading: Infiltrate the Tyrax in orbit and attempt to assassinate Overseer Zal. If there is time, save Mynock.
• Qektoth Black Site: Somewhere in the city of Zerus-Tule rogue Qektoth scientists are working to develop a horrific new bioweapon, a mixture of the rakghoul virus and Vongforming technology. Track down the location of the lab before the Sharuka Testoran Guard and ensure all research is destroyed.
• Bazaar of the Bizarre: Yuuzhan'tar is like no other port in the Outer Rim. Exotic doesn't being to describe the type of wares available out here, and the vast majority of it is beyond illegal most everywhere else. An enterprising transport captain could make a lot of credits shipping certain goods back to civilized space, just so long as they make it out alive. The locals aren't exactly friendly.
• Breaker of Chains: On Yuuzhan'tar you can find all sorts of black market goods, but without a doubt its most known import is illegal for good reason, it is one of the largest slave markets in the Outer Rim. Lay down some Outer Rim justice, and let the natives know that slavery will no longer be tolerated in this part of the verse.
• BYOO

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Allies: ORC
Enemies: Yuuzhan'tar underworld

"The Scourge was just a minor scuffle"

"<We have a new lead from the financial records of a client: the client's notes state that the main reason for their loss of revenue was tied to the costs of writing off a project thanks to the personnel attached to an exploration contract on Orto Plutonia being enslaved>" a Talz accountant informed her over holo.

"Any... bounties on the Scourge? With the rogue Pantorans surrendering, the Scourge are the main culprits left that aren't native underworld, and even then..."

"<You seem to behave less and less like a Jedi regarding underworld issues and more and more mercenarial. However, we have a lead regarding the enslaved personnel: Yuuzhan'tar is their last known location. A thousand for each henchman, five thousand for each managerial-level gangster, more for kingpins>"

The Talz underworld, just like the rest of the Talz society, was very tribal, and gang warfare was common in Talz-land. For this reason, some Talz gangs try to rebuild their fortunes off-world. Even slave traders. Then again, I can't entirely be blamed since I was part of those Jedi that forced the Supreme Leader to retreat and limit the number of Jedi he could kill to perhaps a handful, Griet thought, while looking at the list of bounties that are available to be taken against the Scourge. But clearly the people who took out bounties on them weren't based on Yuuzhan'tar. Once again she was going out to the coordinates the Talz accountant transmitted to her, donning her armor, lightsaber, bandolier of carbonite grenades and, of course, this very large sniper rifle. She was, once again, going to be on overwatch, on the prowl for the almighty kill. Except that there were some of these bandits that she couldn't sense in the Force as she tried taking aim. And yet, the lifeform sensors detected their presence, which make taking aim at that sort of range not completely useless.

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

YUUZHAN'TAR SYSTEM
Yuuzhan'tar Orbit
Objective: Bazaar of the Bizarre
______________________________________

Yuuzhan'tar.

What a feth hole of a planet. It was amazing that anything managed to survive, what with the swamps, marshes and forestry. And they weren't even the nice kind, the tourist kind, they were sickly and filled with all manner of crazy. But, despite its charms, Yuuzhan'tar had a surprisingly robust trade system in place, which pulled from all the various species that populated its cities. The sheer exotic nature of sentients that were on the orb made the trip worth it, if only because the goods acquired fetched amazing prices for the consumers in the Inner Rim and Core regions. The downside was, of course, having to deal with the locals on the planet... of which the worst were probably the Vong. Something about them didn't sit right, the xenophobic fanatical religious converting thing was pretty messed up, a knowledge that remained from generations past.

Still, Andan couldn't deny that - again - their stuff was worth a lot in those central regions.

The Nova Envoy reverted to realspace, appearing with a small flash. There was a moment as Andan began going through the motions of activating systems, sensors and telesponders, per legal requirement. Beside the Corellian, his co-pilot, the 3PO droid CeeCee, worked on powering down the hyperdrive systems, thin silver fingers likewise pressing buttons and switches in a well-practiced - programmed? - manner. It wasn't until an alert popped up on the readouts, indicating a very, very large and unknown starship above the planet Yuuzhan'tar, that Andan and CeeCee both paused.

"Uh...," Andan began, peering out the front viewport at the cruiser-class vessel. "Is that supposed to be there? I don't think it's supposed to be there."

CeeCee began scanning, activating long range sensors, and watched as the information scrolled across the screen.

"It appears to be of Sharukan design, potentially hostile, given their Empire is largely known to be isolationist and xenophobic," CeeCee said in its mechanized tone. It turned orange optics to the man beside it. "Also it seems odd a species as this would willingly come to a diverse planet such as Yuuzhan'tar."

"Yeah, no kidding," Andan frowned, as he double checked that the Luck's false profile telesponder was working, as well as the codebreaker-modified IFF transponder. Last thing they needed was to be recognized by their real ship information data. "We'll play it casual. Let's keep the heading to Zerus-Tule, and if they take an interest... we'll be less casual."

"Very well, Captain."

Gripping the control sticks firmly, Andan kept his wary gaze on the distant cruiser, the YT-2400 freighter making for the nearby planet at a reasonable, completely not rushed or threatened speed. Sometimes the best way to avoid trouble was to look like you weren't expecting any. Still, there was growing tension in the cockpit, purely from the Corellian, as the significantly smaller ship approached the planet...

This is the hardest part, Andan thought, still fifty-fifty on whether they would be intercepted en route. Getting away is so much easier. Both sides know where they stand, unlike this standoff situation now--

From several hundred kilometers away, the small ships sensors picked up fighter deployment from the Tyrax. Andan cursed under his breath, as he reached out and pushed the throttle to maximum thrust, kicking the Luck into incredibly high speed. The ships military-grade engines flared, burning bright white-blue, as the YT-2400 rushed toward the planet.

"We're going in hot, CeeCee," Andan said loudly, as the ship interior filled with the faint whine of ion engines and vibrations, inertial dampeners kicking in. "Begin prepping another telesponder profile change, because we need to lose them before we can land, and I don't want to risk being found as the Nova Envoy in port if they pursue."

"On it, Captain," CeeCee said as it turned and accessed a data screen to the right, tapping keys quickly. "Judging by the approach vectors of the Sharukan fighters, even using the SLAM module, we will be intercepted."

"I know, I know," Andan said, as he shifted the approach heading, aiming for a lower point on the planet. "We'll have to do a microjump. No choice. We need to aim for the southern side of the planet opposite the cruiser, duck into atmosphere and lose them in low terrain."

"I've calculated several hundred possible options, and that seems the most reliable for success," CeeCee said, optics shifting to the navicomputer. It began calculation sequencing. "The nav computer will require one minute."

Andan nodded, knowing they were going to cut it close. And as the chrono counted down, each second feeling like a lifetime, the Corellian watched the fighters inching closer and closer, to the point he could see the glinting hull reflections from the distant sun.

"Ten seconds," CeeCee said. "Nine... eight..."

The Sharukan fighters were close enough to begin locking on with long distance ordinance. The Luck's warning systems began to sound, prompting Andan to activate several of the jammers the ship had to offer, which disrupted the attempt at such a distance.

"Four... three..."

Some eager fighter pilots began squeezing off laser cannon shots, bright red bolts blazing through space but fortunately dissipating before impact.

"Two... one... activating hyperdrive!"

Realspace lurched, stars stretching into lines, as a bright flash caused the adaptive viewport glasteel to dim. Andan couldn't even manage a count before the Luck reverted again with a mildly concerning shudder, the hyperdrive and nav computer clearly not liking such a short trip - the strain on the components and system considerable, given the energy buildup, only to have it shunted and deactivated so quickly. The Corellian hoped nothing had broken, as he eyed the readouts warily. Nonetheless, the planet was now over their left shoulders, between the YT-2400 and the Tyrax.

"Microjump successful, however I request permission to check the hyperdrive for any damage," CeeCee said as it stood, silver head regarding Andan.

"Alright, check it out, I'll get us planetside..."

Keeping maximum thrust, the Corellian turned the ship toward Yuuzhan'tar, burning ion to reach the southern side and low terrain before the fighters had a chance to circle around to pursue...

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Commander of one of the remaining Roving Lines.

General of the Army of the Alliance.

Jedi Master.

All of these described the man who was landing his YT-2000 on the world of Yuuzhan’tar. The world of one part of his greatest enemy. His reason for becoming a full Jedi and joining the Alliance. The Vong were integral to the One Sith, and Coren was only grateful that the Sith Empire relied less on the Vong, even if it relied more on overwhelming force and the dark side. But when the call went out that the Coalition was moving on the Vong world, the Jedi Master knew he was going to be needed.

They were not the invaders and barbarians of the past, he knew his history, but he also knew that it didn’t always pay to stereotype. Said the man who did just that to Sith. Well, maybe not the Confederate Sith. Still, the call came out and he made his way here. As he entered the space around the world, Porter provided a few bits of updated news.

There was a Sharukan vessel that had housed the local commander and may have captured some members of the Underground. Coren nodded and the ship turned heading for the cruiser. “Give me full shields and weapons, we’ll burn the laser reserves on the approach.” He said to Porter as his co-pilot, a Sullustan, moved back to get to the turrets. In the back, he could hear the clamoring of the small squad of Underground troopers prepping weapons.

Coren had his own goals when he got on board, but for now? It was a direct path to the hangar, with the engines to full, and out running blasts that were coming at him. The Tachyon Rising would be pulling a hard stop to touch down. He wasn’t about to crash land his own ship.

 

[Kingsley]

BULK FREIGHTER ERAVANA​

YUUZHAN'TAR ORBIT​

[member="Andan Solo"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

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"Civilian cargo freighter, this is your final warning. Cut main engine power and open your docking bay doors, then await our inspection team's arrival."

The Sharukan communication officer's bluntly hostile tone left little doubt whether she was bluffing, and Kingsley knew he was out of options. It didn't matter that the Tyrax had no jurisdiction here, the planetary government cared less than nothing for outsiders, and while system patrol vessels were seldom mobilized to discourage interstellar commerce it would do him no good to send out any distress calls. The Vong would probably have them both destroyed for the inconvenience, although so far they seemed reluctant to needlessly provoke the Empire.

"Raaawk! Copy Tyrax," he conceded, "But I'm telling you, this is a waste of time. We're on a humanitarian mission from Confederate spa-"

"Stand by, Eravana."

"Utinni!" the leader of his Jawa engine crew, First Mate Iziz, pointed his finger frantically at the bridge's sensor station to catch his attention.

"Looks like they've picked up another ion trail," the Hiitian agreed, patting Iziz roughly on the head as if he were a well behaved pet, "From these readings, it must be a light freighter. Rrrawk! YT-series, probably."

"Gogowa?" Iziz asked, rearranging the hood of his brown cloak in annoyance.

Kingsley thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head, "Nah. We'll never outrun them in this tub, even if that pilot gives them a go of it they'll be back for us before we even clear the gravity well."

"Ra'ti!" the little alien cursed.

"But they're not here yet, which means we've got time to prepare a little welcome. Get the gang together, rrrrawk! Its time to break out the booby traps."

Iziz giggled, "Wass."

"What? Ew, no!" the avian shook his head in disgust, "It means they're going to be hidden!"

Kingsley was reminded of a holofilm he had seen in his youth. A young Galidraani boy is forgotten at home, and two criminals attempt to break in while his family is away. If it worked for that imaginary little boy, why not for him? Motioning for Iziz to follow, the freighter captain made his way off the bridge and down a walkway which ended in a branching route. There were stairs leading down to the forward hold's level, and further platforming which would allow him access to the observation lounge and bow. It was spooky being in the main hold when the docking bay doors were open, knowing only a thin layer of magnetic shielding shielded him from sudden death by depressurization, but there were tools stored down here he would have to acquire before he could sabotage the sprawling transport grid that made up most of the Eravana's frame.

 

[Yula Perl]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Location: Yuuzhan’tar Underworld
With: [member="Damian Starchaser"]

The thing about the ‘rim was—as exciting as it could be—sometimes it was downright scary. Yula wasn’t very good at taking cues from her own fear, but she sure felt wary walking through the black market bazaar.

The Zeltron was learning with her back against stone wall, munching on some sort of local fruit while watching the slave auction. Yula had been to slave worlds before, but it was always jarring to see people being sold out in the open. A middle aged Ferroan woman stood on the platform, eyes cast down and away from the crowd as the auctioneer listed the slave’s attributes.

Merrosa, 46 standard years of age. Ferroan, captured nearly a decade ago. In good physical health, excellent at cleaning and mending clothes. Some of the bidders stepped up to the woman in order to check for desired attributes, handling her as if she were livestock. To them? That’s all she would ever be. A commodity.

Yula’s free hand had wrapped around the chain breaker beneath her cloak, restlessly flipping the blade open and closed.

 

[Jaeson Starchaser]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Location: Yuuzhan’tar Underworld
With: Pretty in Pink [member="Yula Perl"]

Jaeson Starchaser was here for one reason and one reason only, he was asked. He didn't know Yula Perl and yet here he was. She, of course like her sister, knew his father Damian. Or brother? It was a strange relationship being a clone; a copy. His initial reaction to this news had been poor but he soon got over it. He was here to provide her with backup of a sort and to complete a single goal.


The slave market, at least initially, didn't bother Jaeson as much as it should have, there was plenty of horrible things in the universe after all. That was of course until a child was brought in with promise of more to come. Jaeson formed a fist with his hand as the other came to rest above the broom handle of his blaster. A rage boiled up in him as he thought of children feeding the textile mill; indiscriminate mechanical mouths taking in a strand of silk, a lock of hair, or piece of scalp. Most people only put on clothes. Who wants to dwell on things like that? Don't think about the boys in the mines stooped over separating the usable minerals from refuse living in the spoils. Old men by nine, stooped and cowed.

It took all his effort to suppress visual signs of his anger as he approached the young pink woman. This was their first meeting and he had to make a good impression, "So what's the plan?" He said plainly leaning against the wall next to her. He wasn't even sure if she had been informed he was coming or not but was cashing in on the fact he looked familiar, identical, to a beloved loved one. Looking her over once he took her in. She was pretty of course, he'd have expected nothing less, and possessed an allure that might have been attractive under other circumstances. She was not her sister, that much being made clear instantly by her very demeanor. She carried herself differently and her body language exuded a confidence that... back on point Jaeson... "Or were you just going to rush in and start snipping? I'm good either way, you just tell me who needs shooting."

 

[Cambria Zadira]

Yuuzhan'tar Orbit​

Aboard Starchaser's Tachyon Rising​

Objective: The Beheading​

_____________________________________​

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

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Here they were again... Being brash and brazen heading straight into the lion's den with little more than a wing and a prayer... oh and the Force of course. The Light was always with them.

Well, Coren Starchaser was being his Corellian self. Cambria Zadira was rather just following the Jedi General's lead because someone had to watch the man's back. The Jedi Master's unpredictability was becoming more and more predictable these days. She was here to make sure he toed the line because that is what good, loyal friend's do without question.

Cambria made her way from the cargo area where the Underground troopers were prepped for the infil in a few moments time to the cockpit of the YT-2000 where Coren was at the controls of his beloved ship. She passed Porter in the corridor briefly as the Sullustan hurried to the turret.

The Exotic Guardian slipped quickly into the vacated co-pilot's seat, then turned to the Corellian Master eyeing him with those golden eyes of hers and twin head-tails twitching with amusement behind her.... or were they? The Force was sending the Jedi Knight mixed messages as to what lay ahead.

"So what is the plan once we crash the party... and not the ship, hmm?" the blue-skinned Twi'lek asked with a wink to accent the last point.

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

[SIZE=12pt]Rapidly approaching the Tyrax[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Aboard Starchaser’s Tachyon Rising[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The Beheading[/SIZE]

Ki nodded and followed the two Jedi from the trooper's staging area. Two of the squad consisted of her personal guard, on certain people's insistence. They were here to assist regardless. She had volunteered for her own purposes.

After the Battle of Saijo, Tsubasa had been shot down and was currently missing. This was to be the first attempt at a strike at the Sharukans since then, and she wasn't about to let the oppurtunity slip by.

They arrived at the cockpit, the man, [member="Coren Starchaser"] she had been told, calmly angled the approach towards their target. She had hear the man was quite a tactician and fighter in his own right. The second, a Twi'ilek named [member="Cambria Zadira"], jested towards him about the plans. Ki chuckled, taking the relief in stress. All the while, she decided it would be safer in one of the rear seats in the cockpit, sliding in and fastening the restraints,"It should matter not how the fireworks begin, as long as we accomplish the task at hand right?"

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Allies: ORC [member="Yula Perl"] [member="Jaeson Starchaser"]
Enemies: Yuuzhan'tar underworld

The accountant knew that this area of the slave market was at least partially operated by Force-dead beings, but the blips that did move on the lifeform scanner were usually belonging to gangsters. Nevertheless, she tried aiming for the higher-level personnel, a kingpin even, yet it was safer for the clients and the slaves to be rescued to aim for the Vong kingpin's head when he was on the move, away from the non-Force-dead clients or slaves. It was a delicate balance, made harder to strike when the target was a Force-dead one. Compounded by the need to lead the target, it doesn't seem like much, but at that range, every second counts. Luckily the target was afoot, and that limited the area in which to aim. Then... came the firing. She let loose a bolt of white Umbaran electromagnetic plasma justice, which, even though its muzzle velocity was more or less the same as comparable blasters', would still manage to cause others to flee and panic, clients, slavers and other underworld figures. When it was about to hit the Vong kingpin, it appeared that a Talz member of the Scourge was trying to intercept it, but narrowly missed it. Nevertheless, the plasma explosion it made upon hitting the Vong caused both the Talz and the Vong to be caught in the blast.

 

[Gray Venasir]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Post 1
Allies: ORC [member="Griet van Vliet"] | [member="Jaeson Starchaser"] | [member="Yula Perl"]

Slavers, the Worst scum of the Galaxy. Trading People like they were Objects, just to get some extra coin. Not caring who the slaves were bought by, just that the Money was transferred safely. They had to be stopped. That was the reason Gray had arrived on Yuuzhan'tar. It was one of the biggest hives for slavers and slave selling. And it wasn't hard to find an auction or someone trying to sell on this planet.

Gray had once had a slave himself, when he was a kid. Or, it was his Family, his parents, that owned the slave. But she, in comparison to those sold here, had lived a good life. Enough to eat, a proper Place to sleep, in the main house. And Gray couldn't remember ever having seen her misserable. But she probably had been shouted at or scolded for Things that went bad, when Gray wasn't looking. Still she had always been Nice to him and seemed happy enough. Until the day she died. She had died saving him, saying it was her duty. Even though he was just a very Young teenager, he swore to fight slavery from that day.

Gray was walking towards a Place where a big auction was going to be held. He heard there was a crowd in front of the scene where the slaves were presented, but he wasn't going to that side of the scene. He was walking towards the back. On the way, in an alley, he saw one of the slavers shouting at a girl which he assumed was a slave. She couldn't be more than fifteen. Gray walked over to them, and grabbed the man's shoulder. "Hey, do you remeber me?" he said. The man looked at him, answering: "No, you shouldn't be here. Who the kar..." He didn't manage to say more before Gray punched him in the face. The man fell to the ground, groaning and trying to feel what had been broken. The girl took a few steps away, but she was too afraid to run. Gray squated Down beside him, holding his blaster in hand. "No, you don't. Because I never let those like you live." There was anger in his voice, but he tried to keep it calm. Then he pointed his gun and shot the man straight in the head. Gray turned to the girl, who seemed terrified. He put away the blaster, and took a step towards her. "It's alright, I won't hurt you. You're free now. Try to find a Place to hide, and if you can't, og to dock 5 at the spaceport." Then he continued to walk towards the auction.

 

[Koushou Mito]

Zerus-Tule​

[member="Orin Hawke"]​

"No no but look at that."

Her fingers laced into his, tugging him along as she positively bounced to the last stall on the street.

Their time Gossamer, out beyond the bounds of their own galaxy had done nothing to dampen Tess's enthusiasm for the weird. It could have sated her- in truth there had been enough there for most people for a lifetime. But Tess? No. There was so much out there. So many things they still didn't know. Far more than the sum of all of the knowledge already gathered was the unknown.

Tess never got tired of it.

"What's that?" She asked pointing and looking up at the vendor. He... she..... they.... looked down, following the zeltron's finger. Then burbled something from beneath a mass of tiny tentacles writhing on their face.

"Oh neat!"

Tess hadn't understood a word of it.

"Some kind of arthropod shell," she murmured, letting go of Orin's hand only then as she reached out to pick it up. Light as air but- "Tough!" Surprised as she turned it over. "Usually they get brittle after they are shed but this is almost metallic in its tensile strength, Orin look."

 

[Delaney Wilder]

Zerus-Tule​

[member="Tess Sparrow"]​

Holding on tight as they ran (walked, thank you very much) from one stall to the other.

Extra-Gal had been amazing. Hard, difficult, a lot of tears and sweat, but amazing in so many ways. Instead of relaxing Orin, it had seemingly awakened something inside of him. Made him want more. Luckily it seemed to have had the same effect on Tess. When she let go, Orin crouched down next to... something. He didn't really know what it was. Squishy. Round? Like a little ball, but one that was quivering to some kind of tune. In sync with a beat... like a heart? Maybe? He reached out. It shivered back from his touch, but only for a moment. Because then! The surface rippled out and touched the tips of his fingers.

Nothing.

No flashbacks, no memories, nothing. "Ugh, I love this world. I can touch anything I want... well... within reason.... and there is just silen-" Then Orin blinked. Suddenly understanding dawned. "Ooh, you are a computer, aren't you?" It had shared some images with him, advertising what it could do.

"Amazing..." Ori murmured before pulling back and dusting himself off.

His attention was drawn away from the ball. Towards the shell. He leaned in, tip of the nose almost touching the shell. "Ooooh," Pushing his glasses up his nose again. "How much is it, do you think?" The vendor behind the counter gurbled some noises at them again. Ori glanced at.... them, before looking back at Tess. "I have no idea what.... was just said. Ugh, how is it that our translator isn't compatible? Yuuzhan Vong isn't a mystery to the Galaxy anymore. Insane."

The ball rolled on over, cuddling his leg, bouncing against his boot.

"Oh, no you don't. I doubt I can afford you!"

 

[Arage Bao]

Objective: Qektoth Black Site
With: [member="Rian Taske"]
Location: En-route to Zerus-Tule.

Ari was peering through the viewport as the shuttle maneuvered itself through the atmosphere of Yuuzhan'tar.

"This place is effin' weird," She grumbled while Rian piloted. "Look at that chit. Is that a landing pad or some big ass creature's butt?" That was the main issue Ari had with this place. Everything was gorram alive. You could sit down on a toilet. Then when you were done, it would thank you for your business. Presumably. That was mostly Ari's imagination running wild, but what else could she make of it? Yuuzhan Vong lived it up with their organic tech.

Well.

"Just gimme some ol' fashion dead tech. Metal, rust, all that crap, how about you?" Finally asking something that wasn't rhetorical. Rian had contacted her a few days ago. If she had time to run an op together. Apparently it was dangerous.

Apparently the pay was especially good here.

She had mentioned Yuuzhan'tar.

Ari knew, but didn't understand, until they got here. Now she was strongly considering slapping her past-self. "Anyway, I pulled some strings, compared it with the intel you got from the Coalition. Most likely place the lab can be is here," Pulling out her datapad. She shook it gently. It connected with the systems of the ship. DIdn't take long before a projection of the city was overlayed with the viewport. It was already guiding them towards a specific district.

"See, that one? Eighty percent of all the chems an' chit made in the city go through there. Perfect place to hide your chit. Its also the district with the largest concentration of aliens. The Qektoth folk will have a cake walk blending in there."

Figuratively speaking though.

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"You see, little human? If they were united we would have been driven from orbit or destroyed long ago. Instead, they squabble among themselves over what to do about us."

"Maybe they just don't care..." Mynock wheezed, getting tired of the Overseer's endless pontificating. Zal turned at this, his expression one of genuine surprise as the notion. Sensing an opportunity, the agent pressed, "Hell, before Binaros I had never even heard of your little empire."

"Are you attempting to provoke me?" the alien regent peered down at him.

"Is it working?"

Zal narrowed his eyes, "No."

As if to punctuate this exchange, alarms began to blare across the Tyrax's bridge and its lights dimmed to the deep crimson hue of battle stations. Mynock lay there for the time being, chained and forgotten, while alien officers barked commands back and forth at one another in their native tongue. None of the Sharuka's technology was compatible with the rest of the galaxy, and the same went for their language. Everything around him seemed like gibberish, he could only get a crude idea of any happenings from stolen glances at holodisplay equivalents illuminating data as a visual representation.

"This ship," Zal said at last, and before Dubrillion realized what was happening he was being lifted off his feet by the collar of his shirt. Something resembling a datapad was nearly smashed into his face, and dimly he could make out the details of a light freighter, Corellian design, "Do you recognize it?"

"Never seen it before in my life," he stared the overseer dead in the eyes.

"You're not as good a liar as you think."

Mynock was dropped roughly to the deck, landing with a heavy thump that drove the wind out of him.

"Dispatch the Testoran Guard to the hangar bay so we may greet our guests," the Sharukan commander ordered, "They have come for their agent."

Zal paused, eyes widening again in surprise at the sound of wretched laughter coming from his Underground captive.

"Me? I'm no one, Zal. Make no mistake, they're coming for you."

[member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Cambria Zadira"] | [member="Kimiko Taiyō"]​

 

[Koushou Mito]

Zerus-Tule​

[member="Orin Hawke"]​

She offered a grin over her shoulder at him, bumping her hip against his. "Perfect, good," she beamed. She hated what his psychometry did to him sometimes. She'd suggested wearing gloves once...

"And be forced to relive the exact way it has been made for months, until I get used to it?"

It had seemed like a reasonable alternative to getting waylaid all the time but apparently it wasn't.

"Well, I don't think they're speaking Vong is the problem. I just don't know what they ARE speaking."

Her attention pulled back to the vendor. Holding up the carapace she pointed at it.

"Where..... did this.... come from?"

Burble burble blat.

"Yeah I have no idea what they are saying," she said over her shoulder to Orin.

The vendor's shoulders slumped. Then it lifted up a hand and pointed.

"Ooooooooh, okay that makes sense. Thank you!"

She put the carapace back down and tugged at Orin's sleeve. "Doesn't matter how much it costs, I wanna find a live one and see what it's like, come on!"

 

[Rian Taske]

Qektoth Black Site​

[member="Ari Flannigan"]​

"You have any idea how hard I'm trying to not think about that?" Rian responded absently, her focus on the job she was doing more than the scenery- inside or outside.

Her hands moved over the controls, the small shuttle slicing easily through the air above the city. Three other soldiers were strapped in farther back, but Ari had opted to plunk her butt into the co-pilot's seat. Demo, which she hoped they wouldn't need. Slicer. Bruiser. Ari was here to handle any unforeseen obstacles, intel, and possibly as a face if they needed it, though Rian didn't intend that if she could avoid it. And Rian? She wasn't a doctor or a biologist, but she could make sure nothing biological was missed. Too hot to send a white coat in, and too NOW to wait till after the area was cleared. Someone had mentioned a pair of kids she'd met, briefly, on the Firefist expedition and noooooo absolutely not.

"Perfect, well done," Rian murmured, angling the shuttle down. A bit away from their target. The shuttle was civilian, unmarked. There was no reason for anyone to think it had anything to do with the labs they were heading toward, but Rian was careful.

Finding a place to land in the mess that was Zerus-Tule was a challenge, but eventually she did.

"Think you can remember where we parked? This place is insane," she muttered, powering down.

"Alright, everyone, we're rolling out in two."

Other than Ari, she didn't know their names. Demo. Slicer. Bruiser.

Better than way.

Stepped off the ship and into the fecund air of the planet itself, she breathed in deeply. And wondered idly just how many spores of WHAT she was sucking down into her nose and lungs. Such a cheerful way to start a visit.

"You know it's not enough just to destroy the research," she turned to Ari, voice low. Good eye glanced up and away. "You know what we need to do, right?"

The scientists.

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective: Breaker of Chains
Allies: [member="Gray Venasir"] [member="Jaeson Starchaser"] [member="Yula Perl"]
Enemies: Yuuzhan'tar Underworld

In the commotion created by the plasma explosion, the remaining slavers in that sector of space were on edge, on the lookout for potential booby traps, suspecting that some rival slaver operation may have rigged the Talz by planting a subcutaneous explosive device and detonating it. Killing two slavers was one thing, but Griet knew she just couldn't stay in that spot for long, and she had to move. For now, they'd never suspect that Griet was actually behind this, they'd rather suspect Shakurans or a non-Scourge-affiliated crime ring. And yet, it appears that these slavers were bumping into each other, with the slaves being innocent bystanders in slaver feuds. She had to recover proofs of their deaths somehow, but what was for certain was that it wasn't a straightforward operation at all. The main objective was to get to the bodies and have an ambulance ready to carry the remaining slavers once subjected to Neural Storm. And then she could think of freeing the slaves. For now anyway, she was finding the place to have slaver security at different checkpoints, and she only needed to induce seizures in the guards manning just one of them to enter the main slave pens. So she did by launching a somewhat limited Neural Storm at the people at that checkpoint. Once the seizure-afflicted guards were put into the ambulance, not suspecting the ambulance was to deliver them to the ones that put the bounty on the kingpin she just killed, another gangster asked her a question:

"Since that huttball game I kept seeing references to dividend stripping, and the last person I saw that knew anything about how to implement it was just killed by a rival gang. Do you have an idea of what dividend stripping is?"

"There are two meanings to this term, one of which is Talz-specific, and pertains to the conversion of dividends into capital gains, and the second, which is much more general in scope, and is about buying shares cum-dividend and selling them ex-dividend. That being said..."

 

[Delaney Wilder]

Zerus-Tule​

[member="Tess Sparrow"]​

​

.....aaaaaaaand he was unceremoniously pulled away from the stall.

The smol blop, bio-computer whatever it was, beeped sadly but didn't follow suit. Orin waved quickly at it and the vendor, before following along with Tess. "Ah well, didn't have the money for the smol blob anyway. Though did you see it? It was cute as feth." Weird too. The way it had connected with his mind. It hadn't felt intrusive. More like... sinking into a warm bath after a long day of work. Very comfortable and nice. Maybe that was just its way to put uninitiated minds at ease though. Way easier to interface that way. When the brain on the other side wasn't freaking out every two seconds. "Ugh, I wish we could have brought it with us...." Orin muttered, before his expression cleared up again at her mention.

"Hell yeah, let's do it." The carapace was back in his mind now. It had been a weird little thing. The shell lined with strange lines and edges, but they had seemed natural. Like they had been always part of it, rather than etched into it by other hands.

He started to rummage in his backpack, hip checking hers.

"Check it out," Offering for her to take a look-see. "Didn't bring the sonic webbing, but we do have the scanner, the vibro-net and a bunch of other little things. Got any idea what we are looking for tho?" A chuckle there, "-or are we just gonna look for the same similar shell in the general direction the vendor pointed us at?" Which was fair enough, to be honest. Not like they had a lot of different options here. The translator had been a bust within the first two hours. It had gone haywire once it got in touch with the half a dozen weird-ass languages spoken in the bazaar.

Usless junk.

Part of him knew he could design something better than that.

"Oh, hey, look-" Pointing towards... what seemed to be a big ass manta. With people stepping onto its tail and climbing onto its back. "I think this goes out of the city? Maybe we can use it to get to your hunting ground quicker or?"

In all honesty Orin had been paying so much attention to the smol blob, he hadn't quite followed the exchange between Tess and the vendor.

 

[Arage Bao]

Qektoth Black Site​

[member="Rian Taske"]​

​

"Probs very hard, but if I am suffering so are ya." Ari retorted absently, while going over her gear.

Not a lot of it honestly.

Two good blasters, half a dozen blades spread across her frame, another knife in her boot. What else? There was the wrist-comm that doubled as haphazard slicing equipment. She had been planning on bringing explosives with her, but then Rian mentioned there would be other people with them. A demo and a slicer and a bruiser. That had been... surprising. Ari wasn't used to having back-up. Especially the kind of specialist back-up that meant she didn't have to think of every aspect of the mission alone.

She wouldn't even need to slice, they had people for that.

Fancy, Ari had muttered in response, when Rian sprung that on her.

"Sure, next to the building shaped like a drooling mouth aaaaaan'," Looking out of the viewport and coughing. The cough covered up a laugh. "-gorram, that's a fethin' arse again, you see that?" Two cheeks, she pointed them out. How the feth people could live here was beyond her. By the time they got out Ari wrinkled her nose. Then lit up a cigarette. Not her regular one. One that blended with the crowd. A vong creation, looked like an inside-out turned mushroom with a stick. It was weird. Tasted okay, tho.

About to point out the direction they'd have to go in Ari paused when Rian brought up the obvious. Brows furrowed there. "Yeah, course, I will handle it. Don't worry about it." Her tone was nonchalant there. Almost like she was just agreeing to taking out the trash after dinner.

In a way she was. Just that this time the trash was a bunch of folk who thought it was wise to feth around with bio-engineered viruses.

Now Ari pointed out the alleyway they'd have to take. Immediately taking it herself. Taking one more puff from her mushroom-cigarette, before dropping it to the side. "Ladder there," Finger brushing the weird porous chitin inclines against the wall. It seemed to hold them fine. Even if it was humming to itself. By the time her fingers curled into it and squeezed to hold on tight? It started giggling. "Good fethin' lord, I hate this place." Ari shuddered but started the climb.

It would give them an easier route to the roof of the opposite building.

Their actual goal.