The Razor of Darth Damoklus

[Maple Harte]

Arrived at Coronet in: The Silent Erika: (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/130646-the-silent-erika-modified-j-type-327-nubian/)

Wearing: Shadowsuit (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/129460-maple-hartes-shadowsuit/)

Armed with: Emissary (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/92565-emissary-revolver/) (Marksman variant)

Maple's Staff (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/125349-maples-staff-custom-conversion/ )


The cantina was smoky and dusky, situated on the outskirts of coronet when a gleaming black, arrow shaped craft with red tinted windows landed on a patch of grass just outside it. It was close to sundown.

The Silent Erika had been newly polished after bringing in that bounty on Xagobah, The J-Type 327 Nubian just as beautiful as the day she bought it, and her only true refuge from the horror and madness of the galaxy, its white and red floral interior as impeccably maintained as ever, its owner lightly geared. Skip. Her spine was made of rabbits and the colors of the universe were inverted. Skip. Back to normal. More episodes. More lies her brain told her. And no sign yet of her nemesis or where it was all leading to.

She had lost whole stretches of time the past few hours. That had been a new and worsening symptom. And she was the only one who could fly them to the damn place. She had hoped she would never have to again, but the deaths in the area had made wading back in to horror a bad necessity. One likely to get her killed someday. But the money from Maranon's tomb had dried up. It was time to go for the big money. This time, with partners.

Once the details of the job became apparent, Maple had charged quadruple the usual price, due to her own specialized knowledge of the target.

She was lightly armed, her shadow suits features not turned on, her goggles removed as the brown haired, pale tanned woman with one bright green eye and one a cold sulphur sauntered to the table where the employer, a grizzled old man in an expensive suit chomping on a cigar.

"Alright, old man. I'm here. What about the others I'm supposed to work with, [member="Subject 73 Red"] and [member="Nighthaunter"] ?"

"They've yet to arrive but they should be here soon. I don't want to begin until we are all present. I own this cantina so we won't be disturbed."

"You that worried of the Sith learning of it?"

"You have faced it before. Why should I not be worried?"

The lithe, athletic girl took out her revolver and spun it. "Fine by me. But these two had better not be chumps, man. You can't have chumps where we are going. If you are weak, you die..."

(Going for a bit of a cold open here)

 

[Subject 73 Red]

"Good thing I'm not a weak chump." A voice said, coming from a dark figure.

The figure emerged from the shadows, it was Red.

No one had noticed him, but he had been there the whole time, it was one of his "special skills". It was a creepy skill, but a resourceful one, none the less.

Of course, he was eavesdropping on the conversation, and he was informed about who he was being assigned to work with. Their names were [member="Maple Harte"] and [member="Nighthaunter"] .

He had his armor on, but his helmet was off. His red hair was his most prominent feature, and the most distracting. But he also had red eyes that seemed to stare and examine one's soul. He had slightly tanned skin. He had a "grizzled" vibe to his entire character, like a bounty hunter or a veteran. He definitely looked the part of, "Special Forces" and, "Vigilante".

"The name's Red," He introduced himself. "And I already know your name, your name is Maple Harte."

"Also, most people don't like being called weak and that they're chumps. Maybe you should be more considerate and attentive. You didn't know that I was in the corner?" Red asks.

Even though he sounded dead serious, he was slightly joking. It was hard to tell with Red, he has mastered the art of concealing his feelings and emotions.

"Anyway. Where's the other guy? What's his name again? I can't remember seem to remember." That was a lie, Red remembered exactly, but he didn't know much about both of the people he would be working with, and he would have to be careful as he didn't know how they would act or react. He would have to test their limits, test their boundaries, and examine them carefully.

This might be more fun than what Red expected.

 

[Nighthaunter]

Location: Coronet (Arrived by smuggling himself onto a transport ship)
Equipment: CS-21 catsuit, Shuriken throwing stars, Katana, collapsible sniper rifle, two vibro daggers and a pistol.
Tags: [member="Subject 73 Red"] [member="Maple Harte"]

The nighthaunter had been recently contacted through various channels at the ministry of secrets about a job that was going down, normally the ministry would have ignored such request, however what raised the ministry's eyebrow was the massive pay off. Due to this fact they had dispatched the nighthaunter one of their best agents, his specialization was stealth, intimidation, torture, assassination, and close quarters combat. From what he knew this assignment was slightly different to his other assignments as he was usually assigned a target to assassinate, and dropped in by the ministry completely solo, and wouldn't be extracted until his target was eliminated. He approached the catina, he was dressed in his black CS-21 catsuit given to him by the ministry that covered him head to toe. He wore a black hood with a mask over his face, nobody knew his name as was ministry policy. They only knew each other by code names, his was the nighthaunter, it was given to him due to the way he operates. He rarely operated during the day, and did the majority of his hunting at night.

He walked into the entrance of the Cantina, his sparkling green eyes glanced over the room. It was your typical cantina, with your usual criminal scum inhabiting it, music in the background and exotic dancers, usually twileks entertaining the men in the room. He spotted the old man in the corner of the room talking with a girl and a large man, he casually strolled over to the trio. He sat down at the table with the other two looking at him like he was crazy, the old man knew who he was and didn't say anything just waiting for the nighthaunter to speak.

"So... what's the mission? And what's the plan?" He asked, as always he was characteristically straight to the point. He didn't have time for formalities and forming attachments to the others could hinder him in achieving the mission. He eyed the woman and man who were both looking at him like he was mad.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Maple Harte"]
[member="Nighthaunter"]

Red shrugged.

"I don't know, ask them." Red gestured at the old man and the girl, Maple.

Red examined the newcomer. Strange. As much as Red had gone through the files of these two, this one was the one that he found the least about.
He didn't know the name of him, but he went by only Nighthaunter. No one knew what species he was. No one knew how old he was. No one knew what he looked like, as he always wore that hood. There was no backstory on him, no one knew where he started or how he got here. No one knew his home planet. But his skills were easily distinguishable. As far as Red was concerned, he was a great choice for this because of the Nighthaunter's skills and abilities.

Then there was the girl, Maple. She was another odd one. Like the Nighthaunter, she was unorthodox, but that's about where the similarities end. She has many good strengths and qualities, and she shares many of those with Red, making them about equals in skills, as they share many of their strengths. Although she has these strengths, her weaknesses are easily exploitable. The most prominent one is her mental state. She's delusional. Her files mention this along with a couple of other weaknesses, but this was the one Red concentrated on the most. Her mental state makes it where she can't tell what's real and what's not, which is a major problem, especially in a fight. They would have to be cautious with her, as she might get them into trouble or possibly even turn on them, but other than that, Red deemed her acceptable for this mission.

Red put a lot of time into this and studying his allies. Quite a bit.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Oh, its nothing personal, you see. I know nothing of your abilities and I simply don't want you to die, or our new guest. When you know where we are going and what we are gonna 'try' to kill...you will understand my hesitance to have anyone who isn't tough as nails...I don't wanna have to explain to your parents what happened. I hate delivering that kind of news. Makes me feel as if I was kicking someone innocent in the stomach every time..." Maple explained calmly. "I prefer only enemies die. Not coworkers or allies."

Maple refocused on the old man. "It would seem everyone is here. Let's get on with it."

The old man put out his cigar and cleared his throat.

"I own a company that prospects for rare and valuable ores and minerals and specializes in recovering such resources from places normally deemed too hazardous to mine. There is a place, a glorious, beautiful land of glowing soft white crystals and rainbow colored gems. The rare samples from survivors who have crossed into this land and survive show that they store massive quantities of energy, even in small bits. But there's a catch...the reason these crystals store so much energy is because the conditions in this valley are extremely hazardous. Lightning! An endless thunderstorm of no rain. Immense bolts strike the surface constantly. The crystals are sometimes hit and can store it for hundreds, even thousands of years if properly refined. Whatever the risk...its worth billions. I have the crawler and walker vehicles equipped with shields and armor capable of absorbing immense quantities of energy, all while protecting my workers...but something is killing them. Miss Harte here is one of the only people to have seen what is killing them and survived."

"It is a Sith Abomination known as The Razor of Darth Damoklus." Maple said. "Mind you I only saw it fleetingly and most of the time I was running for my life. The valley he speaks of is the Great Tezlaa Valley of Corellia. It was the personal stronghold of a particularly ecology minded Sith who believed the valley was a natural nexus of darkness and power due to the chaotic, unpredictable weather. He called it sacred. In his fanaticism he constructed a being of terrible power to haunt the valley should any but he lay claim to its stewardship. A column of living shadow that eviscerates all who come near it. He was murdered by ancient Jedi during the Gulag Era but even they could not slay the razor."

"But I may have found a way..." the old man explained, putting a strange medallion with an engraved gem shaped like a hand at the center.

"The Razor stalks that land after the portal to the realm it resides in was disturbed by my workers. They were all driven violently insane. The portal to its realm must be gazed upon and opened with will alone. And this medallion is the key to trapping it in that realm. That is why we need Maple. She is...already unwell. The portal will have no effect on her. Many bothans died to bring me this information...and this medallion." The old man explained to [member="Subject 73 Red"] and @Nighthaunter.

"The trek to the portal is too dangerous to make on foot. Surely the lightning would get you. You'll be taking a specially outfitted transport with lightning rods to the portal entrance...this will be dangerous in of itself, because there are often earth quakes..." the man added. "Any questions?"

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Maple Harte"]
[member="Nighthaunter"]

Red slightly raised his hand.

"Yes, twenty-nine to be exact. But I'll choose the most important in my mind. Why us? I can understand Maple here, she's seen it before. But why me? And why Nighthaunter here? Why us? Surely there are far more skilled people than us for this job. I mean, I can't speak for spooky guy here," Red motions at Nighthaunter. "And yet you choose us. Why?"

That was the one question out of the twenty-nine that Red deemed the most important, and it was the right choice. Why him? It was what he had been wondering the entire time.

"Second question: What does this abomination look like? It must be pretty terrible to do all this. Can I get a description of it?" Red mainly directed that question to [member="Maple Harte"] , as she had apparently seen it before.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Maple Harte"]
[member="Nighthaunter"]

Red could tell that there was something up with both Nighthaunter and Maple Harte, they both acted kind of strange, though, to be fair, Red knew that he acted weird too. But there was something defiantly off about them. Especially Maple. Red had read her file, something about her having multiple personas, and not knowing if something was real or not. That wouldn't be good during the mission, it could even get them killed. They would have to help her if her mental state got in the way, or leave her behind if they couldn't help her.

And with Nighthaunter, there was nothing on his file. Which was what concerned Red, Red didn't know anything about Nighthaunter, his strengths, weaknesses, anything. Also, there was something about the Nighthaunter that made him feel... Strange. Red didn't normally feel that way, but something about this Nighthaunter was kind of creepy.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Because if I hired other, more high profile mercenaries, we risk drawing the attention of the Sith, and those bastards don't need more ammo than they already have." The businessman sitting across from the table explained. "Can you imagine what would happen if the Sith got their hands on it or worse, figured out how to control it?"

"Its just what I said it was...a column of...shadow...which moved very fast. Everything dimmed when you were around it. Nothing conventional will hurt it. You best chance is to run or shine light on it to temporarily drive it off." Maple added in answer to [member="Subject 73 Red"] . "Our best chance is to not draw its attention."

The bounty hunter's lips pursed, trying to recall the horror. It had been a while since going to this planet. She had chased a Sith to the land of lightning. Ruins of old battlements had dotted the land amid fields of crystals. The lightning had struck at both of them constantly but she had had no choice. She hadn't known about the Razor originally. Not until it had killed her quarry. She didn't know how long she had run.

"Besides, as far as I know, you two are not Force Users. It has more difficulty sensing those without it. 'Someone' has to be sane on this trip...Miss Harte could only get so far on her own. And without her, neither of you could open the portal."

"Our best chance is to make a run for it as quietly as possible..." Maple added. "If you feel unease while there, listen to it. It could save your life. Most of the workers who were attacked all got a terrible sense of dread before it showed up."

"Don't touch the crystals there if you can help it. It draws it faster..." the man explained. "Do you require any additional supplies? I of course will provide you the capacitance shields necessary to traverse the area safely, but I recommend equipping light. Everyone who survived was the one that ran the fastest. But even the best equipment fails and needs repairs due to the intense emp disturbances."

"I might be able to use some magic to buy us time in a pinch, but not much beyond that..." Maple spoke quietly. "But there are also predators adapted to the environment. I saw voxyn there. Mutated amphistaffs also. Some think the place was an experiment by the Vong and Sith from the Gulag Era but no one has ever survived long enough to verify this. It is imperative we do everything we can to stop it. Its getting bolder. It got very close to the valley boundary a few days ago. We fear it will leave eventually."

[member="Nighthaunter"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Nighthaunter"]
[member="Maple Harte"]

Red nodded to Maple's description. Great, it isn't something that is palpable and was not able to be touched. That meant that it couldn't be touched.

"There is one problem. I am a Force user, which might complicate things. Of course, I'm not easy to catch, and it'll have to catch me first." It was a little known fact about Red, so he didn't expect them to know. Besides, if they wanted someone sane, they probably should have chosen someone with a little less "violent" state of mind. That's probably why Nighthaunter was there. Still, Red had certain skills that could help him on this mission.

 

[Nighthaunter]

Tags: [member="Subject 73 Red"] [member="Maple Harte"]
Location: Coronet
Equipment: CS-21 catsuit, Shuriken throwing stars, Katana, collapsible sniper rifle, two vibro daggers and a pistol.

Nighthaunter stood at the head of the table listening to everything they were talking about, but didn't say a word. While they were talking he was logging all the valuable information he could about this Razor of Darth Damoklus. He listened to everything the old man, Maple and Red discussed, archiving everything about their mission on the HUD of his mask for future reference. He then studied his two teammates on this mission, he wasn't used to having a team with him, the missions he was usually contracted to by the ministry more often than not involved him going in solo. Usually to eliminate a singular target, he had never been caught and he had a habit of being able to cover up his assassinations and make them look like accidents. Or random violent murders that anyone could have committed, one thing was for certain though, he had never been caught by any authorities when on a mission. Which was why his file was empty and there was little to no information on him, he was quite literally a ghost, exactly what the ministry of secrets wanted.

He looked Red over analyzing his armour and body language. He came across as the type that could definitely handle himself in a tight situation, although having looked him over he figured he may be a bit of a hot head in certain situations. He obviously didn't have a care in the world for him or Maple, Red clearly only cared about getting the mission accomplished. He then looked at Maple, finding that he was strangely sympathetic to her condition that was listed in her file. He quickly shook off any sympathy for her it was an uncomfortable emotion that he didn't like. Emotions were not something he was used to, he usually dehumanized his target and had never been ever close to anyone. As he found that in this business those that entered his life left it just as quickly.

(Sorry for not posting I had thanksgiving over the weekend, and it's midterm season.)

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Nighthaunter"]
[member="Maple Harte"]

"Also, will we have reinforcements?" Red continued talking.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Nighthaunter looking him over, or at least Red thought he was. Red actually couldn't figure out anything about him. Nighthaunter's face was hidden, so Red couldn't see his eyes, and the way Nighthaunter held himself and his shoulders, he held himself in a vague way. Red couldn't tell anything from the Nighthaunter. Scary, this was the first time Red wasn't able to read a person by their body language, and Red loved it. He liked having to solve things and discover new things.

(No sweat. Also, why are you having Thanksgiving now? It isn't even November where I live, it's October. Where in the world are you?)

 

[Maple Harte]

"Hmmm...didn't know that. Well, just don't stare at the portal to that monster's realm and you should be fine on that end. Can't help you elsewhere except with equipment."

"We're still mission capable..." Maple assured him, watching how she was being scrutinized by both [member="Subject 73 Red"] and @Nighthaunter.

Working with mercenaries was an inevitability in her line of work. In all cases they tended to be the ones with the best pay but the worst circumstances to fight in. Maple had gotten by on light bounties. Bail jumpers, people who murdered their spouses, lightweight. Since the galaxy virtually never ran out of lightweights, there was always work to be had. Some of it occasionally had a really good payout. But once in a while, one needs that brand spanking new sonic disruptor to kill evil witches with. The type of equipment that costs literally millions.

You can't get that doing lightweight bounties.

Some of the merc types though put her on edge, because she knew they were like her. She knew they were comfortable with what they were and did, unlike her, who was genuinely getting weary of the killing, despite it being necessary. She didn't feel bad killing her enemies (which deeply disturbed her and made her wonder just how different she was from the witch that was obsessed with her.) and felt less bad about denying the Sith a new and deadly advantage.

"Its the weapon situation that is the most concern...you see, the common electrical discharges make it only so that very specific weapons can be brought in...and even then they have to be coated in electrically resistant materials. And again, there is the weight issue..." Maple spoke.

The old man snapped his fingers and two protocol droids carrying large cases came forward, setting them on the table and opening them...


(Due to the nature of The Valley, there is increased risk of electrical accidents igniting standard blasters and vibroweapons, making it inadvisable to carry normal equipment. Keep in mind weight ratios as the ground is uneven and very unstable so light loads are best. You may have to prioritize survival over fire power. Of course, should you have weapons and equipment suitable to the environment you are free to take those. Items below are strongly advised, but in the end only helpful, entirely optional suggestions to increase drama.)

(Zelda acquisition theme plays.)

(Nighthaunter, Maple, and Red have been provided new equipment options!)

Item: UBESE ENVIRONMENTAL SUIT (REINFORCED)

Spoiler

High Quality Gear specially padded with electrically resistant or noncunductive materials, in addition to being resistant to shrapnel, projectiles, and blasters to a small degree. Though lightweight, it is stiff to move in due to the protective materials. Comes with Harness to hold weapons, equipment, or mixture of both. ( Loadout One: Two Long Arms, ammo bandoleer, med or antidote kit, and no specialized gear. Loadout 2: One Long arm, two ammo bandoleers, two med or antidote kits, two specialized gear. Loadout 3: One longarm, one ammo bandoleer, four med or antidote, or mix of both, three specialized gear. Loadout 4: One Side arm, one ammo pouch, six med, antidote, or mix

Gear: ELECTRICAL CAPACITANCE SHIELD (INDUSTRIAL)

Spoiler

Belt that generates a field absorbing heavy electrical discharges. This variant is used by the workers to traverse the valley.

Gear: HEAVY TARGETING OPTICS (SURGE PROTECTED)

Spoiler

Headware the provides targeting options, trajectories, and feedback for various firearms. Shielded from minor electrical discharges.

Gear: LIGHTNING GLOVES (NON OFFENSIVE)

Spoiler

Ancient technology designed to be worn as gauntlets, heavily resistant to electrical discharge. This version does not come with the ability to discharge electricity however.

Weapon: SONIC RIFLE (SURGE PROTECTED)

Spoiler

Rifle calibrated to fire sonic bolts at long distances. This model is pistol strength but double the range of regular blasters and has a high ammo count (80 shots). Small and lightweight, and coated in non conducive materials. Can be fitted with a laser sight.

Weapon: LASER RIFLE (SURGE PROTECTED)

Spoiler

Highly accurate, semi auto weapon of Corellian origin that fires a long beam of energy that possesses armor piercing qualities, but limited ammo and range. Can be fitted with non electronic scope

Weapon: SONIC PISTOL (SURGE PROTECTED)

Spoiler

Pistol that fires bolts of condensed sound. This model has a wide radius and medium damage, high ammo and but low accuracy and range (40 shots).

Weapon: NEEDLER PISTOL (SURGE PROTECTED)

Spoiler

lethal counter shield pistol that fires small needle thin darts filled with deadly poison. High range, accuracy, and ammo (25 shots)

"Are you all ready? We move out soon." The old man asked all of them.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Maple Harte"]
[member="Nighthaunter"]

Red nodded.

​"All ready here. All of my equipment is shock absorbent. Luckily, I didn't bring any grenades with me." He told them.

Red did however take the sonic pistol and the needler pistol and held them. He liked the design and utility of the pistols. Also, he wasn't going to give them back.

"Now, onto my payment. I won't take any money, just these two pistols. That's the only payment I want." Red told them, and he showed them the sonic pistol and the needler pistol. It was truly all he wanted. He didn't want any other payment. He wasn't in this to get paid, he was only in this because he could help others. That was the only reason, but he wouldn't pass up on the chance of these two magnificent pistols.