Sarik, Nar Shaddaa.
"Come on!" shouted Sarik, grabbing Julia and pulling her through the back door as the assassin began blasting away at the guards surrounding Gasanda. Thrusting her aside, he leaned against the wall, peering around the corner. "Listen, if Gasanda is in trouble, the guards will be all over this place shooting anyone suspicious. Unfortunately, that also includes you. Look, I want to help you out. You didn't start this mess, so you don't deserve to die for it. I can help you find Gregori, but we need to work together. This way."
Sarik led Julia further away from the gunfight and into the maze of backrooms behind the casino floor. The alarm klaxons were wailing and emergency lights bathed the halls in a blood red shade. They stopped in front of a large doorway.
"This is where Gasanda keeps his data files. You can find what you need about Gregori here. I'll watch the door, but you'll have to be quick. I only have the one blaster."
.
Julia only had enough time to grab her black sack and two packets of samples before she was thrown away from the crossfire by the Whiphid. I had aided her for some reason and allowed her to enter the Hutt's data drives. She acted without any hesitation. She pulled a small cube from her bag and placed it near one of the podiums. After she used the virtual key to search for information concerning Gregori, she began to look for other things. Hutts trade in spices, but knowledge is even more sought after.
"Do we have time?", Julia asked the Whiphid in common as her cube continued to fill itself with delicate information concerning the Hutt's center of operations and some secrets about certain council-members he used to hold for ransom. "Why did you help me?", she asked from the dark room.
Kares and Vic stood in front of an old, run-down looking shop. The sign was busted in three places, and the rest looked salvaged at best. Cobbled-together pieces of different signs formed together to read "Qwezzel's Bargain General Shop." At least, when the sign wasn't busted. Right now it read "Qwe's Bar GenS". The Devaronian looked at the place fondly, like he was coming home. Vic looked more like a convict entering jail for the first time. There was no door, only a tattered purple curtain separating the place from the outside world. The pair pushed it aside and walked inside. They were met immediately by a breathtaking array of absolute junk. Shorted out droids, bits of scrap metal and all sorts of "trinkets" littered the occasional shelf and every square inch of the walls with extreme prejudice.
At the other side of the little place, there was a counter, with a door behind it leading into the back. They could hear a clattering of various crashing items as the owner of the place tried to climb out into the fresh(ish) air. "Hold on, hold on, I'm coming!" their translators buzzed into their ears. Though there was little to no accent to make his voice difficult to comprehend, there was always a bit of a buzz when a Talz spoke.
Sure enough, one of the four-eyed furry beasts lowered itself to step through the door, and immediately approached Kares with open arms. "Octavian! It's great to see you! Hey, that a new scar on your face?"
"Scar?!" Kares asked, in mock offense. "Do you know how much work I put into my makeup? You might as well be slapping my face with a comment like that."
"Oh, forgive me, great sir!" said the Talz, who went by the name of Qwezzel. He made an imitation of a pleading bow before rising up to even higher than the Devaronian's impressive stature, and gestured around. "I take it you boys aren't here to peruse my usual wares. What can I help you with?"
"Got the gig of a lifetime, buddy." Kares told him. All the while, Vic remained in the background, inspecting little doodads and trying to forget their first choice for a supplier was a slum merchant. "Imps are moving in on Mon Calamari, and we got hired by, get this, Kyle Katarn himself to go and run a protection stint, heading out tomorrow! You know, keep the baddies out, the Republic boys in, all the usual trappings."
"Ah, but look at those clothes!" Qwezzel said, gesturing to the cloth and leather outfit Kares found himself in at the moment. "Such thin material as this will do you no good against a Stormtrooper's blaster, yes?"
"Don't have to tell me twice." Vic called from somewhere in the corner, clutching his E-11 tightly. As much as he'd like to relax, his boss kept taking him into the shadiest parts of the galaxy. He always felt like he needed to keep Kares on a leash or something, so they'd stop getting into so much trouble.
"So, armor!" Qwezzel exclaimed. "Some good, reliable armored plating is what my two boys need, yes?"
"Bingo." Octavian confirmed. "And anything else that might come in handy in a repelling op. Basic survival amenities, spare ammo for our blasters, thermal detonators, anything you can whip up."
"Oh, coming right up, friend!" Qwezzel said as he ducked back into the room behind the counter. "I promise you, you're going to love what I've got!"
As the Talz rummaged through the back, Vic approached his friend and stood next to him. They shared a glance, and an entire conversation was held within. Please, Vic's eyes said. Please, please, stop taking me to all of these forsaken cesspits. I try to be a good friend, I do, but at some point my self-preservation is going to get a say in these talks.
Don't be so worried, Kares' reassuring gaze responded. Half the fun in a job like this is the adventure, you don't become a galaxy-renowned mercenary by sticking to the clean jobs. You've gotta be willing to go where nobody else is; you might as well enjoy yourself doing it.
Vic sighed and threw up his hands in defeat. They had conversations like this often, and he had yet to win one of them.
Just in time, Qwezzel walked back out dragging two footlockers presumably full of supplies. He cleared a bit of space on the counter and opened up the one on the left. "Mr. Mazzenger, this one is yours! Take a look at this, a real historical relic, but no loss in quality, you can be assured of that!" He was gesturing to a set of body armor that looked vaguely similar to a Stormtrooper's. It was clearly black at the base, but someone had painted a dark green hue over it, parts of which had scratched off over years of use. "This is real body armor used by Rebel Alliance SpecOps forces! Worth every credit, good and reliable!"
"You sure?" Vic asked as he picked up one of the forearm guards and examined it. "Because it looks a lot like Stormtrooper armor, and let me tell you from experience, if it's anything like its inspiration I'd be better off wearing nothing but leaves and a smile."
"Oh, nothing like that, I promise!" Qwezzel insisted. He showed him the rest of the equipment. A pair of thermal detonators, a canteen to carry water, and various other things he couldn't be bothered to take stock of; it was enough to last him, Vic was sure. He nodded and packed up the footlocker, while Kares looked at his own set.
"Now, this one I picked specifically with you in mind, my friend. You're big on agility, but you're not cocky; very good, very practical, I like that! You want the perfect blend of mobility and protection, and for that I give you the custom-built Slipstream armor!" The name was certainly impressive, but the armor was no better than what Kares was expecting. Not to say it was terrible, but it looked a bit roughed up from years of use. The armor was an olive green, with gray trim. Drab, but serviceable. "Now, I know what you're thinking." the Talz said. "Qwezzel, why give me this? It looks just like all the other armor on the streets! That much is true; but it's what is INSIDE that counts. It's the beauty of the armor; looks like run-of-the-mill stuff, but in reality is a real stonewall! Made of a much lighter material than your average heavy armor, but with only a fraction of the strength lost. You'll be taking hits like a real soldier, but only 1 time out of a thousand, since you'll still be moving so quick you'll dodge the rest! Very expensive stuff, I will not lie, this piece came to me fresh off the back of one of the bigwig gang leaders down here. Don't know where he got it; as far as I know, it's the only one around. Do you like?"
"I like it very much." Kares said, nodding in approval. He inspected the rest of the footlocker, to find much of the same as Vic had. They were all set, at least on the basics. "You're a lifesaver, Qwezzel! How much do I owe you?"
The Talz counted up a few numbers in his head before answering. "Let's see... normally, these would run up at least 100k, not even including the supplies with the armor. How much do you have right now?"
Kares looked at the chit Kyle had given him, and added it up with what he had at the moment. "Er... I can only pay a quarter of that right now. After that I'm flat broke."
Qwezzel nodded slowly. "Yes, yes, I see." he said softly. "Do not worry friend, we'll get this worked out. Hm... how about this, you give me 20k now, keep the 5k for an emergency. You say this job is big?"
"Job of a lifetime!" the Devaronian affirmed.
"Then in that case, you pay me another 30k when you return, and consider the rest of your fee waived. I was never going to sell this stuff to my usual clientele anyway, OK?"
Kares wrapped his arms around the furry beast and squeezed him tight. "Of course it's OK, pal! You've come through for me again. Tell you what," he said as he released the Talz and handed him the credit chit to pay. "when me and Vic get back, we're all going out for drinks, my treat, sound good?"
"Sounds delightful!" Qwezzel said as he gestured towards the door. "You said you two are heading out tomorrow, yes? Have you not seen a clock? It's late! Go find a bed, get some rest before you head out! You can tell me all of your exciting stories once you get back!" Before either Vic or Kares knew what had happened, the both of them were back out on the street, holding the footlockers in their arms as they looked at each other.
"So," Kares began as they headed back to the taxi station. "when the shooting starts and people start dying... will we be using a tally system, or go by points?"
"Tally." Vic explained as a bright yellow car floated over to transport them. They clambered in, and the droid piloting the thing took off towards their lodgings, a hotel nearby. "More efficient; gives us more brainpower to devote to the killing part."
Wow... I had to split this post up into the two parts. It went WAAAAY longer than I thought it would 0_0
"He would have killed you and taken your spices." said Sarik. "I've seen enough people come to Gasanda for help to know what happens to those he can make a profit off of. I wasn't about to let that happen again. The Assassin I didn't count on."
Sarik activated the door console, sealing the entrance shut. "The Hutts are constantly playing people against one another. The dealings between the Cartel's council members are a full scale war fought behind the scenes. I just saved you from getting involved in that. Look, I want to help you take down Gregori. When I heard him mentioned, I took notice. That fierfek and I have a history too. Think of it as a mutual agreement. When we-"
Sarik was cut off by a heavy thumping sound banging on the door. He quickly backed away, keeping his blaster trained on the entrance. He motioned towards the corner. "Behind the console. There's a small switch that opens an escape route. Once we're out of here, I'll fill you in on the rest."
.
As the cube finished downloading the information Julia was after, she stopped the transfer and returned it to her bag. She followed the Whiphid's instructions and pressed the button which allowed the wall nearby to conveniently slide and reveal an ext route. "After me", Julia said as she left the room and entered a dark and surprisingly clean alleyway.
The Whiphid promptly followed her and the door was closed behind him. "So tell me, what are we going to do now?". Julia raised the cube and showed it to the Whiphid, "I need some time to comb through it, but it has some other secrets I can use to make some Hutts feel very uncomfortable".
.
As the cube finished downloading the information Julia was after, she stopped the transfer and returned it to her bag. She followed the Whiphid's instructions and pressed the button which allowed the wall nearby to conveniently slide and reveal an ext route. "After me", Julia said as she left the room and entered a dark and surprisingly clean alleyway.
The Whiphid promptly followed her and the door was closed behind him. "So tell me, what are we going to do now?". Julia raised the cube and showed it to the Whiphid, "I need some time to comb through it, but it has some other secrets I can use to bring some of the clans down, or at least hold them to a handsome ransom".
Sarik looked from side to side, scanning the alleyway. Nobody seemed to have noticed them, but he could here blaster fire coming from the entrance to the casino. Couldn't go that way. "This way." he whispered, leading Julia away from the market district.
Nar Shaddaa was abuzz with life, countless species filling its streets. If Coruscant was the crown jewel of city planets, than Nar Shaddaa was the ugly stepsister. Grime and junk littered the ground, the air was filled with the stench of rotting food, nauseating narcotics, and ionized air from blaster discharges. It was also incredibly easy to lose a pursuer in the myriad of crowds.
Sarik eventually managed to pull both of them through the crowded streets towards the Starport. "It's probably best if we get off this moon and head somewhere safe. No sense in waiting around for Gasanda's goons to find us. Hopefully they're still busy with whatshername back at the Casino. Follow me, I've got a ship."
Rather than go through the terminals, Sarik led Julia to the side fence, and began clipping wires. She glanced inquisitively at him. "Gasanda owns this dock. I have to park here for insurance purposes with him. They'd ask questions if we used the terminal. Looks like we have to break in the old fashioned way. And.... done. Alright, you go first."
The pair wedged through the clipped fence. The Bantha Assault Shuttle was nestled between two large freighters. Sarik quickly ushered Julia inside. "Now, they're probably not going to like us taking off without clearance, so we need a distraction. Hop in the gunner's seat, and give the quad turbolasers a shakedown. Pick a craft, any craft, and blast it. We'll get away in the confusion. I'll answer your questions soon enough."
Not really sure if I should jump ahead to next morning yet, but this is the last chance I'll have to post for the next, say, 16 hours at the least. So I'm gonna go ahead and get it out there at the least.
The Coruscant Starport was alive and brimming with activity the next morning. Countless ships, numbering in the thousands even in the looser clusters poured in and out of the majestic, rounded buildings on their way to parts unknown. Every species in the galaxy could likely be found here in at least some capacity if you camped out a week and watched. Right now, one of the busiest hubs was Docking Bay 73. Tough, scarred mercenaries of every size, color and shape walked through the doors to the forward ships for Mon Calamari. With the coming battle, their forces would need to make a strong showing, and quickly. Two figures in particular were making their way towards the nearly ready to depart shuttles.
Kares and Vic found themselves fitted in their new armor, ready to enter a warzone as much as any of the other men present. The human half of the pair was pulling at the bits of armor uncomfortably; it wasn't irritating to wear, but he found the whole thing to be odd. "Do you ever wonder how Qwezzel manages to perfectly size these armors to us?" He asked his partner.
"A keen eye and decades of skill." The Devaronian bluntly informed him as they walked in. While Vic stood out a bit in his scratched but nonetheless fancy-looking SpecOps armor, Kares blended in much more with his own suit. Just the way he liked it on the battlefield. Shiny gets you shot, Zad had always said. "Qwezzel's a good friend, Vic, he takes care of his own."
"Would he be charging us so much for this stuff then?"
"Well, he's gotta charge us SOMETHING if he wants to stay in business. And besides, we owe him something for these kinds of goods, wouldn't you agree?"
Vic grumbled a resigned agreement. No arguing with that sense. He looked up to glance at his boss, to find the Devaronian's carefree facade gone for a brief moment as he scanned the area around them. "Vic," he said. "what do you make of all these mercs?"
Mazzenger looked them over. They seemed to be your average mercenary groups, nothing stand-out about them, and he voiced as much to his friend.
"Exactly." Kares said, worried. "They're run-of-the-mill. Average. Sure, a few gems, but all the coal on top of it... is this really what we're putting up against Imperial shock troops, buddy?"
Vic felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. "Y-...yeah. I guess we are; odds don't sound so good when you put it that way, do they?"
"No, they don't." Kares told him. While others were subject to his charms and subterfuge, Vic had yet to not be given a straight answer on anything from the man when he really pressed for it.
"So, boss, what do you make of all this then?"
"Truth be told? I've got a really, really bad feeling about this... we're getting into something we don't know the half of, pal." Octavian took a deep breath, and tried to relax himself. "There's nothing we can do now, though. We're committed, and damn it we're gonna see the job through. But I certainly won't turn down any way to stack the odds. Come on, let's go find Kyle, see about those Jedi he was talking about sending..."
The pair went on into Docking Bay 73 in search of their contact, in the hopes he'd be able to give them some good news.
Xyras Varik, Tattooine
After escorting Rugal Bernstein to his Tattooine safehouse, Xyras and his padawan, Hann, parted ways with their temporary ally.
While their Firespray ship, the Target, was being heavily upgraded and remodelled, Xyras and Hann were in the infamous Chalmun's Cantina in Mos Eisley.
"Another few hours and those Jawas will have fixed her up very well.." Xyras thought aloud, taking a drink, "And then we can return to the council on Coruscant and discuss this war. Word around here is that the capital has seen better days; ship parts littering the streets, bodies, the lot. And that didn't even include Ryn'Talos' armies..."
Closing his eyes briefly, Xyras was again struck by a brief vision. Coruscant in ruin and flame, black ships filling the sky, Talos' thousands of droid starfighters annihilating Republic and Imperial forces alike..
..and the Jedi Temple; sabers clashing atop the collapsed wreckage of the once-proud Jedi home, and while Xyras could not make out individuals in this vision, he knew Ryn'Talos was amongst them..'
Waking from this state with a start, Xyras looked around the bar. He felt something.. but all he saw was the usual patrons and a couple coming and going, a Wookie exiting, a Zabrak entering. He gave it no further mind, assuming it was because of his recent vision, and continued his drink.
"Okay Master. I'm going to report the docking bay; there's more water coming in today so I'm going to help with the unloading" said as he bowed and departed. The moisture farms weren't able to meet the demand of the Jedi and Republic soldiers who were stationed on the planet so supplies were being brought in from off-world.
Since departing from Coruscant, Hann had been training with his master how to control the Force in more ways than being able to simply push something or someone across a room. He was now able to move almost any object he wanted with relative ease. The largest thing he'd been able to move on his own was the Target itself though only about two feet off the ground before he became exhausted.
He was using his abilities to help the dock workers move around the crates to and from the loading bays of the ships they'd been assigned. In about a day, a number of squadrons were going to leave for Mon Calamari where an attack from the Imperials was expected. His master had received a call from Master Skywalker that he and Hann would be needed to support the ground troops in case of a Sith assault. The Liberator did not have reported sightings for a while so the young Jedi had suspected that Ryn and Pana were most likely gathering resources for some kind of attack.
Once he'd finished his work, Hann started to make his way back to the cantina though he could not shake the feeling of a dark presence somewhere nearby.
Grissk finished his conversation with the Commander, confident that the impending attack would prove successful. The clones were some the finest, if not the best, troops in the galaxy, he considered himself among the strongest Sith in this quadrant, not on par with Pana or Lord Talos, but he was ready to prove his worth to them. Drokath had been given his own assignment, to hunt down two Jedi, one a Master, the other a padawan, a tough mission if he was to eliminate them as well. But he was to lead an invasion on Mon Calamari after the Republic and Empire were finished shooting at each other, the chance to kill both was what made him quiver with excitement. He was ready for this.
When Admiral Thrawn cast a glance at Vorir, the Clawdite felt compelled to give a little smirk but fought the temptation and remained adamant is showing no emotion. After hearing that Caster's captor would be recieving a bonus, it was clear that he must reach him first.
"Well, Admiral," Vorir began, "if that is all, then I shall begin my search immediately." With that, he turned and made his leave to begin heading for the docking bay then ultimately his ship. His unmarked MRX-BR was awaiting him in the shipyards, fully fueled and, hopefully, otherwise untouched. During the entire walk from the Reckoning to his docking platform, the Clawdite went over much of the events that occured in the past couple weeks.
Shortly after the Imperial invasion of Coruscant, Vorir recieved no further contact from Caster which was probably to be expected. What did surprise Vorir was that the former senator had nearly fallen off the map, making it nigh impossible to keep tabs on the man. But, as fate would have it, at this very moment he was setting off to bring the man into custody with the only leads being that he was within the Borderlands Region. He went over the situation at hand in his mind as he arrived at his ship and swiftly boarded.
This should definitely prove to be interesting, thought Vorir as he took his seat in the bridge and began conducting his preliminary take-off procedures. Especially when taking into consideration the fact I'll be racing against a handfull of credit-hungry bounty hunters, not entirely unlike myself. Perhaps this may even be "fun".
Soon, the scout-class ship was hovering off the docking bay and cruising away from the shipyards. As Vorir navigated past the asteroids and debris that occupied the Bilbringi System, he chartered himself a course to the Borderlands Region and hopefully figure just where Caster was. The Clawdite knew that the former senator had made a lot of enemies in the short amount of time he'd been gone and, as with any fugitive, knowing where and how to hide was imperative. That went double for a man like Caster, to whom knowledge meant power; the man may have a great deal of it, but not nearly enough to keep him hidden for too long. For that reason, there was one planet the stood out greatly to Vorir - Obroa-skai, home to the largest data archives in the Borderlands Region. The assassin highly doubted Caster would be there himself, but with any luck there'd be an agent of his, one who could be pressed for information. With deft hands, Vorir had input the proper coordinates and leapt through hyperspace.
Ilum
Commander Coric ordered the troops onto the Liberator, waving through the heavy munitions and transport vehicles. Storing humans was one thing, but their main advantage would be the droids. Back during the Clone Wars, he had been told, clones and droids had been pitted against each other. Here, they would be working together, with the strengths of both covering their weaknesses.
The droids would be the first ones in. BX2 Commando Droids would lead battalions of regular B2's in large infantry rushes designed to swamp the enemy while the more elite clone forces would perform precision strikes against weakened targets. The sheer number of droids that they would bring was staggering. A full legion of clones, ten thousand strong, was an army. But the Liberator's storage bays were filled to the brim with compartmentalized battle droids, an army several magnitudes larger than the clones.
Coric stared down at his armor, a heavy duraplast frame covered with red Sith iconography. He didn't care if it made him a target. He wanted them to see him coming. He walked to stand beside Grissk, observing the loading procession.
"I've been informed to keep you focused, my Lord." said Coric. "Master Talos said that he wants your strength focused on the mission, and the slaughter can come second. Just make sure to keep the targets in your line of sight, and anything else that happens, happens."
"Alright then, you're all dismissed." Del said with a wave of his hand. The 4 ship captains before him got up and exited the Avengers conference room. "Zesk, take the bridge" he said to one of them. "I need a sec."
As the older men filed out of the room, Del closed the 3D map of Mon Calamari in the center of the table, leaned back in his chair, and released an exasperated sigh. The last few hours had been a flurry of activity. Almost immediately after his tour of the ship Del had ordered Battle Group Avenger to the Quermia system, where they were to meet up with 3 other Battle Groups assigned to the invasion. Combined, the fleet was about 100 battleships strong, plus several medical ships and other support vessels. During the trip to Quermia, Del had assisted in preparing for the invasion. He had found that physically working with his crew helped him to get to know them, something Del cared about more than most other Imperial officers. Once they had exited hyperspace, Del took a brief shower before meeting with the heads of the other Battle Groups to plan the attack.
The idea was really quiet simple. The fleet would jump out of hyperspace over Mon Calamari and subdue the Republic forces in orbit. Once a path to the surface was secure, troops would be deployed to several major cities via landing craft. Del would personally lead the ground assault on Coral City, the planets capital, while Captain Zesk commanded the space battle. They had decided to call the whole thing Operation Hurricane. A bit cheesy, but it got the idea across.
Del looked at his watch. It was getting late. He still had to send a report to Thrawn to make sure their plan didn't conflict with anything, but after that he would have to order a lights out across the fleet. He wanted everyone to get a good nights sleep; his men wouldn't want to be half asleep during their finest hour.
The mercenary duo of Kares and Vic found themselves smashed between all the bodies of various mercenaries struggling to squeeze past the others and reach their ships. In all of the chaos, the Devaronian's relative height advantage was particularly useful; with an unwarranted and wholly unwelcome bout of climbing, he got on top of Vic's shoulders, looking over the crowd to figure out just where in the world they were. Octavian's eyes were sharp, his species being particularly keen-eyed from evolving on a world where even the birds could hunt them.
This was a fortunate attribute, as he made out the trademark scruffy hair and goatee of Kyle Katarn in a corner of the hallways leading up to the hangars. He hopped down off of his partner's shoulders, who looked ready to slug Kares for that last stunt. Personal space was a concept that was ready to crumble into dust and memories in a place as crowded as this, and the sandy-haired human would cling to every last shred of it that he could. Kares pointed in the direction they needed to go, and with a bit of strong-arming they forced a path for themselves as they approached their recruiter.
"Mr. Katarn!" Kares yelled, waving his hand. "Spare a moment?"
"Do not worry Commander, I am focused on our mission. But should I see any clones that need support down there while closing in on the targets, I will. Droids can be replaced, our elites are much harder to come by and infinitely more expensive to produce, a veteran even more difficult to obtain. We will need all of our possible strength to destroy both Thrawn and the Jedi."
He looked down at the man then,"We are the true heirs to this galaxy.The Republic and the Empire will know that before this is done."
He went back to watching the loading procession,"Beautiful isn't it? The sheer number of both men and machine, both sent into battle together for Scorekeeper to watch and count. She will be pleased with more than one of us soon."
He inhaled the scents of the loading bay, the metal,the plastics, the sweat, and the multitude of other scents that co-mingled to create one of the few atmosphere's he reveled in. The only thing that would make this experience better would be a warm sun glinting off of his scales, he loved the moment before a battle.
Katarn
Kyle heard Kares before he saw him, and he turned to face the pair. "I hope you can make this quick, we've just gotten word that the Empire is mobilizing. It's a long jump to Mon Calamari, so we've got to move quick as we can to get there before they do. What do you need?"
"It'll only take a minute, sir." Kares told him. He looked around, and ensured that no one was within earshot, at least with all the hum-drum of the mobilizing troops around them. "I just wanted to... clear a few things up. My partner and I are dedicated to the job, my record can back that up. But... these mercs you've hired; are they really gonna stand up to Imperial troops?"
"Don't worry the man." Vic told his partner, back faced to them as he kept prying eyes away from the goings-on behind him.
Kares sighed, and tried to elaborate. "I'm not scared, Mr. Katarn. Not for myself; but for these guys, I just might be. You're sending Jedi, right? 'Cause we need all the help we can get if these boys are taking on Stormtroopers."
"It'll only take a minute, sir." Kares told him. He looked around, and ensured that no one was within earshot, at least with all the hum-drum of the mobilizing troops around them. "I just wanted to... clear a few things up. My partner and I are dedicated to the job, my record can back that up. But... these mercs you've hired; are they really gonna stand up to Imperial troops?"
"Don't worry the man." Vic told his partner, back faced to them as he kept prying eyes away from the goings-on behind him.
Kares sighed, and tried to elaborate. "I'm not scared, Mr. Katarn. Not for myself; but for these guys, I just might be. You're sending Jedi, right? 'Cause we need all the help we can get if these boys are taking on Stormtroopers."
"I did manage to scramble up a few Jedi. They'll be the group leaders for this mission. The Imps might have us outnumbered here, but we've got a few tricks up our sleeves to keep you boys safe. And if all else fails, I've got this." Kyle smiled, pulling out a modified Bryar pistol. It looked more like a stripped down Shotgun than a pistol.
"It's not much, but this baby has kept me alive longer than a laser sword. I wouldn't go anywhere without it. That's the point, trust your gear, keep your head down, and we all come out of this alive, alright?"
.
Getting shot at. Running away from gangsters. Sneaking into a space port. Firing a turboblaster. These new things were so alien to Julia, yet it was nothing compared to what she went through in the last three months. Going from sheltered pet human to a runaway drug dealer. She will have more time to dwell on her new possibilities later with her strange new conpanion later, but not it was time to shoot at one of the ships and so she did.
A few moments afterwards an alarm was heard to alert the port's fire-fighting drones and evacuate the area. The ship raised itself up and flew away from the port almost unnoticed.
"I didn't catch your name", Julia told the pilot after she had left the firing silo and entered the cockpit.
Kares grinned and nodded, examining the unique pistol that Kyle was holding in his hand. You wouldn't expect something that worn to even be capable of firing. Kares figured that little gun of his must have been one of the best blasters in the entire galaxy if he still kept it by his side like that. He felt better knowing that Katarn was confident about the mission; you don't question a man like him. Not about things like this.
"Absolutely, sir." Octavian affirmed. "Just point me to my shuttle and we're sailing."
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