This Time There's Plot

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

Blood dripped from his vibro-blade, the shrill sound of the knife cutting off suddenly as he silenced the weapon. The Zeltron shifted, turning to regard Laguz for a few moments. His eyes were searching, inspecting, as if he was judging her worth.

A smile touched his lips, and he spoke in response to her.

“Of co-”

Kiran suddenly cut off as a blaster shot resounded.

A bright flash of red came from the end of the hallway, streaking towards Kiran and striking him dead center in the chest. The Zeltron gasped, and a slight hint of pain surged through his chest as the energy from the blaster bolt was absorbed.

The smell of singed metal entered the air, and Kiran reeled back slightly as the blaster shot struck him. An instant later his hand flickered, and the vibro-blade surged through the air, landing in his assailants throat.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Her mouth fell open just as he opened his to speak, a traitorous red silhouette dancing in the corner of her vision, but it was already too late. Feth.

The zeltron staggered back, flinging his blade at the lone pirate with impressive skill even as his face was twisted into a grimace of pain. Her rifle only made it halfway up through the air before the vibroknife had already buried itself in the neck of the man to the hilt.

"Nice aim," she gave him a wink and a grin, but Laguz had eyes only for the blackened circle in the middle of his chest. Barely a scratch.

"Damn, Kuhn doesn't joke around, does he?" He gaze found its way back to his face — albeit slowly and with many pauses — and then she gave him a curt nod, her smile slowly disappearing again. "We'd better get going. This one didn't die quietly," she motioned towards the twitching body a few paces away and readied her rifle again.

If any more surprises met them as they went deeper in, Laguz would be prepared to greet them with a hyper-accelerated pellet to the head.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

Kiran felt his chest.

It was an odd feeling, being shot and then finding out you're not only perfectly okay, but actually high on the adrenaline. A slight lurch in his heart told him that it was so, and he frowned slightly as he looked around. He blinked, and then Laguz spoke.

He nodded to her.

“Lets not keep them waiting then.”

The Zeltron regained his composure, walking over to the man that he killed and pulling his blade from the mans throat. No use wasting a good knife. A shift, and he wiped the blade and sheathed it once again. With another few steps he followed after Laguz, quickly moving with his rifle shouldered.

He motioned her to the right.

“Barracks first.”

As he spoke Kiran primed something with a bigger bang.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Curious eyes —green again because the soldier was looking at her — watched him as he strolled over to the dead pirate, extracting his knife from the gutted man in a single fluid motion. There was a peculiar sort of elegance to his movements, and the shifter strongly suspected it had something to do with his species. Ah, she had yet to fully explore the skin of a zeltron; perhaps after they were done with the base, he would make good on his teasing promises.

A warm smile blossomed on her face at the thought and the woman gave him a small, affectionate nod even as she cocked the gun in her hands. Woe unto whichever pirate next stumbled in her sights, though judging by the look of determination on her companion's face, that pirate just might get blown to bits before she got her shot in.

Well, no matter. Laguz simply wanted them dead by whichever method proved to be the most expedient. Unless…

"If you plan to use a grenade," she hissed as she leaned over to his ear, "I will cut you." She threw him a disapproving glare, her mouth thinning into an uncompromising line that served to underscore her warning tone.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Please.”

His tone was half sarcastic and half jovial, the explosive that he pulled from his vest was not a grenade, but instead a small remote bomb. He placed the charge within an upper nook of one of the doorways, settling it right in place over the supports so that when triggered, or rather if triggered, it would knock out this section of the hallway.

“I don't like not having a back up plan.”

Kiran said as he rushed forward.

If the pirates came from behind and overwhelmed them, they would be able to cut off any more support from this direction, a crucial thing when you were outnumbered. With a press of his blaster Kiran swung around, moving through the hall until he heard the sound of conversation. He stopped Laguz with a single handmotion, then jerked his head towards the sign that hung on the right above him. 'Mess Hall'.

He grinned.

 

[Laguz Vald]

She merely shook her head in response, offering him a wry smile as she watched him work. He had a feisty tongue, true, but he certainly knew what he was doing, so whatever complaints she might have had were put to rest by his skill.

The logic he explained was sound, but the shifter dearly hoped it wouldn't come to that. Explosions, while useful, were often unpredictable and thus should only be employed as a last resort.

Still, she had to admit that the idea of collapsing the ceiling on a group of presumptious pirates did seem appealing.

She kept her gun ready and her eyes peeled as they moved forward, primed to shoot anybody who would attempt to stop them in their tracks. The shifter gave him a curt nod and reached down to her utility belt, unclipping a smoke bomb.

Seconds later the quiet grenade rolled inside the Mess Hall, enveloping the dozen heat signatures in a cloud of thick, grayish fog. Without ado the sniper rounded the corner with the muzzle of her weapon already pointing at the first silhouette. At this range the pellets tore through muscle and bone like wet paper, shredding multiple opponents as they were propelled by the magnets in the barrel.

Silent, quick death rained down upon them as Laguz focused on the left side of the room, counting on her temporary partner to deal with the rest.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

The smoke rose, and Kiran moved again.

He was something of a jack of all trades, but in this scenario he knew that the use of a blaster would only attract attention. Laguz' rifle was silenced, perfectly quietly and suited to this task, he had to take other means. The vibro-blade once again entered his palm, and quickly it sliced forward in arching motions.

The Zeltron rushed passed his temporary partner, the shrill sound of a vibro-blade suddenly erupting from within the blackened smog.

“What th-”

The sound of speech was cut off as a harsh guttural gurgle escaped from the same man, blood splattering and the sound of tissue being cut echoing for half a heartbeat. A body dropping could be heard, then another, then another. Three systematic kills all within just a few seconds of each other.

A scream, then the sound of boot prints pressing against cold steel.

“There!”

Kiran said from within the mist, pointing to a fleeing pirate.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Her heart was still beating with excitement behind her ribs, as if trying to kiss the new armor she had put on. She could feel the atriums and ventricles go through the perennial cycle of systolae and diastolae, pushing that blood through her hungering veins and to the periphery, so that she might fight better. A natural side-effect of being to morph one's body was garnering extensive knowledge of said body, and while she didn't know all those fancy words, she certainly knew full well how things happened.

And in that moment, her heart surged again, spurred into a higher frequency by the zeltron's warning call. Strong legs borrowed from the felacatians assisted the hunter in maintaining her balance as she pulled a fast 180°, and then she was off, running after the escapee for all she was worth. They had not come this far just to have themselves exposed by something as pathetic as a coward.

Whether it was just luck, or maybe the man really was that skilled a shot, but whatever it was, the pirate managed to fire off a few blaster shots after her, two of which met the resistance of the armor in almost the exact spot. Were she wearing something else, the a nasty burn would've formed underneath most likely, but the shifter never even noticed that she'd been hit so expertly until after she'd cut open his throat.

The tackle had followed shortly after her breastplate had stopped the bolts, and the woman silenced the fleeing enemy with a quick slash of the combat knife she'd pulled from her belt.

"We have to move," she hissed at the mercenary as she rose to her feet, her pulse beating wildly between her lungs. "They must have heard the blaster shots."


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

A scowl formed on Kiran's lips.

So they knew they were here now, or at least that something was going on. The Rifle that he had shouldered came out, the knife that he had been using so well found its sheath. Kiran had always been a better marksmen than close combatant anyway, less dangerous, and certainly more fun to see an enemy drop before they could ever get a single shot off.

“Captains room.”

Was all that Kiran said, motioning down towards the left of the room.

There was a hallway there which would lead to a small intersection, when they took a right at that intersection they would find the more ornate quarters of the base. Among them was the Pirate Captains. Kiran had no idea what the mans name, no idea who he was, but he knew how pirates functioned.

Cut off the head and the body starts to jerk around uselessly.

As the two of them headed down the hall Kiran stuck another explosive charge to the ceiling, ensuring that once again if they needed it, their back was secure.

 

[Laguz Vald]

The eyes of the barabel made a repeat appearance the second her companion turned his back on her, rushing down the corridor he'd motioned to only seconds before. She followed with her lips squeezed into a thin line; boy, was she angry that lone pirate had managed to get off a few shots before she'd downed him.

Nasty little fether.

Her step faltered even as the zeltron disappeared down the hallway, and Laguz contemplated borrowing the dead skin for a moment. It offered certain… possibilities, certain options that her more feminine attire did not. There was, of course, also the added bonus of looking like one of the enemy. Infiltration would be a piece of cake. One worried shout with his vocal cords (I'd have to cut him open for that), and the whole station would come running to wherever she was. A perfect ploy, surely, were the shifter working on her own.

"Oh, well," she sighed under her breath and broke into an easy jog after the mercenary, the sound of footfalls negligible despite the metal floors. The sniper caught up with her associate quickly enough, making note of the contingency he'd fixed to the doorway. Nobody would give chase to them today. Good.

With nothing more than hand signals, Laguz communicated to the man the position of the captain. The pirate leader was pacing around the room in circles, and if his gestures were anything to go by, the man was handling some sort of weapon.

She motioned towards the door with her head even as she took aim on the ever moving silhouette of the captain. If all went well, the zeltron would slam down the door and the shi'ido would send a slug right through the pirate's brain.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

He let half a heartbeat pass.

It wasn't long, but long enough for him to gather his thoughts and his nerves. He had done similar things a hundred times before. He had killed hundreds of people and had broken down dozens of doors, yet it never quite changed the spectrum of emotions he felt when he did it.

That nerve that struck to the core, that excitement, the feeling of adrenaline and fear mixing to such a degree that it nearly overwhelmed the body.

To the Zeltron it was exhilarating, intoxicating, better than any sex he had ever had, better than any drug he had ever taken. It was the rush of combat, of facing the unexpected, and at no time was it greater than when he was surrounded on all fronts heading straight into what he knew was a dangerous situation.

A sly wink at Laguz, and Kiran moved.

A fluid kick of the door, a heavy solid blow born of years of training. The metal hinges creaked, old and rusted out, and then half a second later they gave way. The door came crashing down with a heavy thud and a clatter. Kiran ducking down so his temporary partner could finish the job.

 

[Laguz Vald]

There was a beautiful efficacy that she could appreciate about the man she'd been working with for the past — what was it? Half hour? More? — but she could still feel that moment drag on. Because she was someone who was so routinely engaged in combat and other, similarly dangerous situations, Laguz had long since begun to experience what some would call time dilation, especially when her heart was beating against her ribs like a wild, caged animal and when her breath ran ragged down her throat. It was a delectable burn and a very useful… peculiarity when it came to taking careful aim.

And then the door was down with the sound of metal squealing against metal, followed by the zeltron's impressive bulk — she'd have to borrow that later, just to try it on — and the surprised grimace of the pirate Captain was revealed.

Her battle-honed reflexes let only a fraction of a second transpire before a finger slid against the sensitive trigger, and then the rifle buckled against a readied shoulder, sending the pellet straight into his neck. A spray of arterial blood showered them both as the carotids burst from the massive kinetic damage, the pellet shattering his cerivical vertebrae with ease at such a range. His death was certainly instantaneous.

Laguz let the rifle hang limp in her lax grip and reached up to wipe the hot, red liquid from her face. A good thing that this persona had fiery hair, or the curls would've looked right ugly matted by the spilled life of the gurgling pirate.

"Nice," the shifter shot him a grin as she cleaned the blood from her lower lip with the tip of her thumb, sucking on it briefly before repeating the process with the upper one. "You think there's more?" Such a casual voice for one bathed in a good litre of someone's life-giving liquid, but that's hired killers for you.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

Kiran raised himself up to his full height once again, checking his blaster for nay oddities before turning to Laguz.

He was almost positive that there were more, but he also knew that the Pirates were likely none too keen on dealing with the two assassins who had just waltzed into their home base and killed their leader. That was simply the mentality, most men who turned to piracy were cowards, only willing to fight for their own gain and nothing else.

The Zeltron shrugged, then motioned Laguz to the small device on the Pirate Captains belt.

“Hand me that communicator and we'll find out.”

The entire base would know that they were hear now, either because of the blaster shots or the dead people laying around the base. There was no more use in hiding, no more using in trying to slink away. It was time for something...louder.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Her eyes narrowed at the man as he found his feet once more, thumb pausing mid-swipe as she weighed the decision to actually give him the communicator. Announcing to a whole station where exactly they were wasn't her idea of a good plan, and it was clearly reflected in the disapproving line of her mouth as she cocked her head to the side, blood-matted hair sticking to her forehead.

"No," her lidded eyes bore into him even further, sure to cause superficial burns by now. "Keep it in your pants, big boy," the woman snorted finally as she stepped forward to pick up the object of desire, turning it around briefly in her grasp. "All they heard were shots, Kiran," she offered by way of explanation as left the cabin and strolled down the hall.

Laguz cleared her throat a few times and closed her eyes, recalling the mental image of the torn neck she'd seen only moments before. Centuries of practice had made the process much easier than what it used to be, and without much ado, the shifter reconstructed the vocal cords piece by piece.

"Men, report immediately!" the redhead spoke finally, the silken tones of a killer for hire gone in favor of the gruff timbre of a pirate captain. "I killed two of the intruders, but we don't know if there's more hiding somewhere. What are your positions?"


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

He raised an eyebrow as she put down the communicator.

“Well thats a neat trick, lass. You'll have to teach me some time.”

Her way was obviously better, much better in fact. His would have involved a lot of violence and probably and injury or a two on their part. He could respect her approach, though it was a little bit less fun.

Either way though, they were here to get the job done, and one by one the Pirates began to call out their positions over the communicator. They weren't exact of course, these were pirates not military personal, but it gave Laguz and Kiran a good enough view of where everyone was in the base, and exactly how to take them out.

Kiran pursed his lips for a moment, wondering how to best approach the thirteen pirates left in the base.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Her voice went back to normal as the woman turned around and flashed a coy smile at her zeltron companion, adding a wink for good measure. "If you ask nicely..." the shifter said with her normal voice again, purposefully letting the sentence hang in the air, unfinished. She strolled all the way down the corridor to check all the possible ways for the rest of the pirates to reach their hiding spot. As she pivoted on the spot to speak her glance caught sight of the charges Kiran had placed earlier, and a ploy was constructed within a moment's notice.

"I'll call for a regroup where you first placed the explosives," the sniper rushed to explain even as her green eyes twinkled with excitement, "and then you get to blow them up."

They'd both get what they wanted, and if any of the pirates survived by an especially odd turn of luck, the two would be there to put a round between their eyes. Sweet.

With that, the woman placed the communicator to her lips again, explaining to the enemy where exactly they should go with the familiar, trusted voice of the Captain. So delectably naive, the lot of them. All they needed was confirmation, and then the merc could go trigger-happy all he liked.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

“I'm very good at asking nicely.”

Kiran said to the woman as he shouldered his rifle and checked the powerpack within. He was pretty sure that the explosion would catch most of the rest of the pirates, but he wanted to be sure. It didn't pay to get complacent, especially in their line of work.

The Son of Titan moved behind Laguz as they trailed their way back from where they had come. Their progress was slow, and it was accompanied by silent calls over the radio of Pirates quickly gathering in once place. He smiled slightly as they came close to where they had begun, from his belt he pulled the small trigger device, not much bigger than his index finger.

“Ready?”

He asked her with an almost sultry voice.

 

[Laguz Vald]

That he had a flirty comeback already ready on the tip of his tongue didn't surprise Laguz in the least, so the sniper merely smiled and shook her head in good-natured amusement, slinking after the merc as they left for the final resting place of the space pirates.

Their footsteps were quiet upon the metal floors, and it took a fair amount of concentration to maintain that level of stealth, especially when her focus outside of that was devoted mostly to answering the communicator with a proper pirate's cant. Force, was it a pain to speak like them. Like butchering all of her knowledge of linguistics and grammar combined. Shudder.

It was why she overlooked Kiran when he deftly maneuvered himself behind her back, a position that she wasn't entirely comfortable with. Oh, well, if he did decide to stab her the armor would just be put to another test, right? Right?

Shaking her head free of such silly notions, the sniper pressed herself flush against the wall as she braced for the inevitable blast of the explosion. Holding up a limber finger, Laguz opened the comm. channel for the last time to check if all the hostiles were nicely positioned under the charge. A host of affirmatives was received in turn, and the shifter nodded to the zeltron with a cruel smile.

"Blow your load, big boy."


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Laguz Vald"]

“You know...

Kiran said as he fingered the small button.

“I think I'll save that for when were alone.”

Another wink, and then he pressed in the trigger and pushed down with his thumb. For half a second nothing happened, then at the precise ticking of a clock a massive pressure wave rang out followed by a fireball of all consuming proportions. It bit into the rusted durasteel frame of the doorway, breaking away the support structure while simultaneous burning half a dozen pirates alive.

Screams could be heard echoing through the base, tearing, biting hollers of untold agony. Kiran waited half a tick, bracing himself as the heat and blast wave struck him, then he moved. Like liquid he dashed out from behind cover, raising his blaster rifle and taking aim, firing one shot, then two, then a third.

Those pirates that survived didn't last long.

 

[Laguz Vald]

Her full red lips stretched into a wide, sly smile just as the bomb went off, but the shifter was content to witness the whole thing with her eyes wide open, for she had stolen the protective nictitating eyelids of the firrerreo just before Kiran had squeezed the trigger. The roiling waves of black, death-tainted smoke blasted forth through the doorway a fraction of a second before the ceiling gave up under the massive force of the explosion, and then the whole metal framework of the corridor came crashing down upon the few that might have survived the initial pyroclastic blast.

The flash, even though it hadn't hurt her eyes, had left a lingering impression on her retina, like the dying moment of a star that had lived to the end of its millennium. Well, maybe not quite as epic — they were only lowly pirates, after all — but the charge had gone out with a very decent boom. Making a mental note to ask the zeltron what sort of explosive he'd used, Laguz moved out of cover once he'd finished shooting up the twitching, charred remains of the hostiles.

"So, big boy," the woman purred as she came to press herself flush against his broad back, wrapping her hands around his waist. "Promises were made." One of the many perks of being a shifter, being able to lower your voice to a sultry alto whenever you saw fit. That, and many other, sultrier things.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]