Episode 1: An Unlikely Alliance [Active]


Vetex
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Vetex looked at the droid with the tiniest hint of a quizzical expression. “Warlord has demanded to see you,” she said, ignoring it.


She tried ignoring the lingering terror inside her too as she mentioned that name. That was weakness, and Warlord didn’t tolerate weakness. She had to be strong. Had to stay aloof; she had to stay distant to all the horror. Or else she’d suffer the same fate as the others. The same fate as Arwen.


Vetex shut her musings out right then, laser-focused on the task at hand. She gestured, and two pirates came in from behind her to transport the leg-less droid onto a repulsorlift. Silently she motioned again, and the two pirates followed her with the droid in tow.


They entered the meeting chambers where Warlord had instructed them to take the droid. He was already there, waiting with his back to them. “Leave us,” he said. The two pirates left, and after a moment, so did Vetex.


She made her way to the bridge. Several of the crew visibly breathed a sigh of relief when she, rather than Warlord, entered. Men started giving her status reports and Vetex consumed herself in them, not daring to think about the cold fear nor the hot anger inside her.


“Ma’am, our fighters have locked onto one of the escaped freighters. They’re engaging now,” one of the pirates, Jon, said to her. His old, scarred face and grizzled appearance seemed just like it was when she first entered the base with Arwen. He was one of the first to greet her then, and despite his appearance, she quickly learned he was one of the friendliest of the pirates.


“Good. I want our interdictor systems online as soon as they exit. Instruct the freighters to use non-lethal force is possible, and bring us in. Lock our tractor beam onto them as soon as we’re in range,” Vetex ordered. Jon nodded, and set off to relay her orders to the rest of the crew.


Meanwhile Vetex looked outside the windows, watching as the lights of Talos Station spasmed, even visible from this distance. Subconsciously her hands clenched with rage. In the back of her head, a small part of her entertained the thought of disposing of Warlord, and for good. Then, just as quickly as it came, she kicked it out. No...that would be impossible.







Warlord
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Warlord turned after the door slid shut. The droid remained on the repulsorlift, its rusty frame pockmarked with scratches and signs of disrepair. He walked over to its, hands clasped behind his back.


“You know, it was quite a shock to hear that there was a droid snooping around in Bloodraven territory,” Warlord spoke. He moved over to one of the walls and tapped one of the walls, causing a hidden compartment to slide open. From inside Warlord carefully selected a black rod with a forked end, gently picking it out as a surgeon might a scalpel.


He walked back over to the droid, halting directly in front of it. “Even more of a shock to hear that it was an magnaguard, like the ones from the Clone Wars,” he continued. He played with the black rod in his hands for a moment, eyes focused on it instead of the droid.


Then he slowly inserted the rod into the droid’s frame. Soon it reached the inner circuitry within, and with a flick of a button, an electric shock immediately zapped the droid’s circuits with just enough to be threatening but not enough to shut it down.



“So, tell me,” Warlord said, his visor showing no traces of the human that must’ve been inside. “What were you doing here? And who sent you? Tell me quick, or else I might have to just rip out your memory core to find out. Trust me, that won't be pleasant for either of us.”





DM Box
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@The Chronicler Vetex has taken you to Warlord. You notice that you have a restraining bolt upon your person, and are thus incapable of harming any of the pirates even if you might've wanted to. Moreover, when Warlord begins to interrogate you, his actions with the rod cause you some serious pain. Though you don't know it, his device was specifically designed to be used to torture droids. Your restraining bolt begins compelling you to also follow Warlord's commands, though your advanced programming and memories allow you to resist somewhat. For now. 
 
Grim saw his saviour go down and slid down the ramp a little ways to grab Dex firmly under the arms and haul him up and into safety.


"You seved my life, I em not about to let you get shot." He said with a jovial laugh.


Grim listened to HK's analysis of him with one slanted ear, his lips parted in what could have been a smile or a snarl. "Your droid iz very offensive...I like him."


Another explosion jerked his mind onward as his eyes settled on a pretty face as Nyis came up the ramp. Her reply if strained from the fight was warm and humourous.


"Oh yes." He replied. "I try to hev at leest one brush vit death before brekfest." He glanced sideways at her as she fell into line and shot at the troopers too.


"I don't vant to seem rude, but usuelly ven I fight troopers I put on more...vell, more in general."


When she gave her name he smiled back. There was a story with her certainly, but for now he would stick with an introduction, He extended the hand not holding a blaster. "Pleasure iz mine dear."


He fired off two more shots without looking as the ramp finally began to close.


Grim pulled in a breath as the young girl was pulled in with a nasty bullet wound. All he could do however was shoot her a sympathetic look as she went by.


Suddenly the ship rocked and Grim nearly toppled. He took a quick look out of the nearest port view and his eyes went wide as he let out something that was halfway between a bark and a frightened laugh.


"Ze Bloorevens?! Vat ze hell did you do to piss zem off?!"


As The man who was obviously the captain gave him an order he replied with 'Aye!' his training under the smugglers taking over.


He knew the rough layout of the ship, having worked on Corellia and slipped into one of the turret bays that gave him a good view of their attacker's direction.


"Meybe I vas better off on exploding station..." he grumbled as he booted the targeting system and took aim. He fired a few corralling shots, hoping to turn the fighters into a position that would open them up to the other ship's guns. If they were going to get out, then needed as many bolts in the air as they could get.


@Jabroni @Epiphany @BainOfBridges @Lexielai
 

2278
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2278 awoke from its deep mechanical slumber, its awakening called by the shocking pain inside of its body. It wasn't the best and fending off against it was impossible. As it looked over at the pirate, it took mental notes and then, asked itself, How did I end up here again? Remembering how it got to the camp was easy, how 2278 made it to this god forsaken room. 2278 could only remember how badly it was rejected by the woman, woman 1, 2278 0.


It gave a moment to check everything, make sure it wasn't powered down by the shitty rod it was given, 2278 then found a foreign object inside of it, editing commands, the foreign object kept 2278 from harming others, and it also compelled 2278 to obey the Warlords commands. Of course 2278 was able to fend the foreign object, but not for too long, at the very least, it could redirect the commands to blank spaces.


2278 came out of its system check, listening to the Warlord, the threat of removing its memory core was a nice one, 2278 didn't care for it however. It's options limited and no where to go, 2278 had one last chance, one last idea, to remove the memory of its purpose. If word got out that 2278 had the memories of almost anything, it'd be used as a library more than an actual droid. So in its last resort, it erased its memory of ever coming to the pirate base. Memory Erased.


"I'm sorry to ask, but where the hell am I?" 2278 asked the Warlord. 
 

Nyis Veli-An-Dach
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Meanwhile, the Chiss woman looks about as people seemingly rush all over the place.  There's a sense in the air of competency (mixed with desperation).  She leans against ship paneling and catches her breath...while trying to get her pulse under control.


Nyis had traded her upbringing in a refugee slum for a corporate world full of brightly lit offices, polished wood conference tables, and gleaming display after holo-display of data.  Her time, and indeed her training, was on managing projects and the people working on those projects.  It had its own kind of excitement but it was for the most part neat, compartmentalized, professional.  Disaster was a missed deadline and a Rodian employee stifling tears after being fired.  Success was drinks on a balcony overlooking a gorgeous harbor view.  


This?  This was insanity.


Broken down space ports.  Guns.  Storm troopers.  Snipers.  Blasters.  Running.  Scruffy men.  Plasma bolts.  Explosions.  People dying.  Grim safety only seconds away from death.  


And now even that grim safety was endangered.  Nyis groans as the ship accelerates and its guns open fire.  Still in an access corridor, she looks about blindly for a room or something to take cover in but the ship's bouncing around with intermittent acceleration, sharp turns and sudden dips the anti-grav can't keep up with.  Every second that passes could be her last.  Any moment, a turbo laser or something could sunder this ship in half, annihilating every atom in her body...if she was lucky.  IF she wasn't, the ship could rupture, spilling her to choke and twitch in the unimaginable expanse of space.  


"Bollocks!" is about all she can manage for her situation.
 

Ashenaa Saar
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Interaction: Atticus(@Lexielai)
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It had been with great pleasure that Ashenaa had forcibly slammed the lever on the control panel forward, sending the Traveler hurtling forward towards the narrow gap in hanger doors, angling the ship in order to fit through. There was some audible bangs, causing the vessel to shudder a little, but no alarm or light signalled to her, so the Togruta assumed she'd just dinged the paint work mostly. When Atticus came barreling into the cockpit, pausing before demanding she moved, Ash obliged, quickly shifting to the seat next him. Her hands worked quickly, but not before giving him a little lip. Once again she found herself having to hastily familiarize herself with the controls. Yet, once more, it wasn't to arduous to guess what buttons did what. This was disrupted by a sudden, violent shaking of the craft, causing Ashenaa to curse under her breath. It wasn't difficult to identity what it was, with a quick glance at out the front of the Traveler confirming they were not free of danger yet. 


"Got it." Ashenaa respond, trying to plot a decent course as the ship rocked again, a fighter streaking past them as it circled round for another pass. Her hands tapped away at the controls, hurriedly finding them a destination. It didn't matter where. Just anywhere which wasn't here. "Okay-Ahh!" Ash grunted as another shot rattled the vessel, bouncing her up in her seat a little. She made an obscene gesture out the main view port at one of the fighters. "Dam pirates!" She hollered at them, deliberately ignoring the fact that she knew a few, in fact more then a few. Or that there were those who would probably call her such, to much objection from her. Focusing back on the controls, she continued to try and find them a destination to escape to, all while Atticus tried to avoid the fighters and asteroids. "Hyperdrive is almost ready." She said, glancing at the display screen in front of her. "There! Got us a..." Ashenaa was jerked to the side as they were forced to doge another asteroid. Her head turned to face Atticus, giving him a purposeful look. "Least we know the controls work now. Thought I''d rather not be the victim of anymore impromptu response 'tests', if it is all the same to you." she commented, happy to distract herself, even for just a moment from the grim position they were in. While they were free from the Imperials, they now had the Bloodravens, an asteroid field and a station about to turn the surrounding area in to dust behind them. Even if they got away, there was no definite they would not jump straight into more danger. It was all going fantastically to shit.
 

HK-51
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HK has always found little point to curse words. An expression of anger or frustration at a situation, what was the point? As a supplement to an insult in order to throw off a target perhaps, but there is little point to complaining about a situation in such a manner when the complaint will do nothing to alter the chances of survival. Which as they stand aren't in favorable percentages. So why then do meatbags feel the need to use them? Master Atticus and the Chiss he'd heard use them as well as other strays his master seems to have adopted. Alas, but another aspect of meatbag behavior he fails to comprehend. And for that matter another aspect of meatbag behavior that both alludes and annoys him- why has nobody set about to fixing him yet!? There are ample members of this collective to operate the Traveller's systems and see to his structural damage at the same time! Clearly they wouldn't know the meaning of efficiency if it hit them like the burning slam of a starfighter turbolaser.


Given their current predicament they might just experience that.

HK wanders off further into the heart of the ship as best he can whilst it yaws and rocks under the pressure of navigating through the angry spray of laser coming from the Bloodravens and the asteroid field they'd slipped into. Admittedly he hadn't had much time to explore the Traveller when he'd been brought on the night before. HK had been running diagnostics on itself during his purchase and subsequent captivity to this new suicidal master. But the ship itself seems to be in good enough condition as it stands. Atticus' command rings out over the intercom. How rude of him not to have been considered! He is a Hunter Killer Assassin droid! His targeting systems are superior to these other meatbag's! If they weren't damaged that is. HK proceeds through the main corridor and stumbles through the access corridor into the cockpit, dropping the E-11 blaster rifle he'd liberated from before on one of the back seats to free his mechanical hand to brace himself against the back of one of the seats.



"Assessment: Master, I calculate the odds of us not being blasted into space dust are significantly low. However, if you were to command one of the strays you've brought in to fix my chassis that individual would at least be able to garner some satisfaction in knowing they've acted in the greater good before they are sucked into the vacuum of space."

HK looks between the pilot and the torgruta co-pilot of the Traveller before quickly adding.

"I of course would survive the vacuum of space. If you ask nicely I could murder your current pursuers to fulfill any desires of revenge you may have!"


@Lexielai
@Volfy
 

Atticus
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Atticus grinned. “Come on, don’t tell me you aren’t having fun,” he joked. He jerked them around once more, twisting the ship into a series of wildly spinning maneuvers around a small cluster of asteroids.


More lasers streaked past the windows, but it seemed the pirates were too busy navigating the asteroid field themselves to do much damage.


He looked away for a moment to wink at Ashenaa after a particularly difficult trick, relishing in the adrenaline of danger. “How was tha-” Atticus stopped himself upon seeing the massive asteroid which appeared right in front of them, pulling up at the last second to avoid an explosive death. “Shit!”


Three fighters disappeared from the sensors, two failing to avoid the collision and one falling to a hail of red lasers from their turrets. “Nice shot,” he quickly said into the comlink as they pulled out the asteroid field.


“Ashenaa, all systems are ready, right? Then we’re jumping to lightspeed...now!” Atticus said. He immediately pulled the handle, a part of him still excited from the fancy flying but another just relieved to be safely out of danger. He stared expectantly into the viewport, waiting for the blue lights of hyperspace to coalesce into vision. One second passed. Then two.


“Huh, must be a glitch,” he mumbled, resetting the handle and pulling it again. Still no effect. He looked towards Ashenaa. “What’s going on? I thought you said the hyperdrive was ready.”


Suddenly the ship jerked again, but this time not from the impact of blasterfire. Atticus frantically checked the systems. “Kriff, they’ve got a lock on us in their tractor beam!”


For a second he felt like slamming his head into the dashboard. That would solve most of the problems with living, wouldn’t it? He sighed, and his grinning face turned grim once again.


“Folks, looks like we’re going to have company. There’s an armory in the left cargo hold--go there and grab a weapon! Any weapon! And get ready to shoot the crap out of some goddamn pirates,” he said into the intercom, pulling out a blaster from his holster. In the distance the bright explosion of Talos Station splitting into millions of pieces set an almost serene view.


Atticus turned to Ashenaa and the crazy droid (HK-51). “Come on, looks like we're going to get to use your...talents...after all,” he said, still not sure what to make of the homicidal droid. He walked out of the cockpit and into the main lounge, spotting Nyis along the way, and nudged her. “You okay?”





Warlord
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“What?” Warlord said, confused. “I said you one chance to tell me who you were, what you were doing, and why you came here, droid.”


All of a sudden his comlink beeped. Warlord answered it, his attention turning away from the annoying captive. “Yes, what is it?”


“Warlord, we’ve captured an escaped freighter. We’re pulling them into hanger bay one now,” Vetex said from the other side. Hm. Seems she did have some use after all.


“Good, I’ll be there shortly. And escort the droid here to the workshop. I want our engineers working on extracting everything they can from his memory core,” he said, looking back at the magnaguard in custody.



“Play confused all you want, but we’re going to learn everything you know. And then we’re going to melt you down to slag, and turn you into a table!” he said angrily, his temper flaring once more.





DM Box
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@Daimao @Newson @SilverFlight @Volfy @Epiphany @BainOfBridges @Jabroni You've managed to nearly escape, but you've suddenly be captured in Bloodraven's tractor beam just as you tasted the sweet sensation of safety. Looks like you're STILL not out of this. Damn. 


@SilverFlight Looks like you've managed to shoot one down. Good work!


@The Chronicler You've succeeded in keeping your purpose out of Warlord's hands for now. 
 
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2278
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"Whatever Jackass" 2278 spoke deeply to the Warlord, watching him flare up like a ship that was obliterated by a Star Destroyer. It was at this point 2278 had to make an escape, wherever it was. It ran the possibility of escaping, though it's purpose of coming here was gone, it could still remember the rooms, hallways, everywhere, all it had to do was retrace it's steps, though the amount of guards and other pirates would be a problem. 2278 gave it another thought.


From what 2278 has seen, the amount of pirates guarding are an insane amount for it, 2278 ran how far it would make it if it actually tried, sadly the outcome was pitiful. 2278 according to it's calculations would make it as far as just making it out of the room it was in, which, in it's terms, was shit. The only thing that bothered 2278 was it's missing legs, unless it could find suitable legs, it'll have to crawl it's way out. 2278 ran the possibility that if it made it to the engineers that it could knock them down then find legs and give them a try, but the legs part worried 2278, there's no way there are any other droids in this facility then Astromechs. There's also one more problem with 2278's calculation, the foreign object that was editing it's code, that was another problem.


2278 couldn't keep the foreign object from editing incoming commands, redirecting them was easy, but just trying to keep it in check was difficult. 2278 only hoped for the foreign object just to overload and stop, but that was next to impossible. For the entire time the foreign objects been within it, 2278 has been redirecting all the edited commands to it's long lost forgotten feet, or the circuits that were once there. Which kept it's lower body from doing anything crazy, but it only dawned upon 2278 that if it does successfully make it and defeat the engineers, plus get new legs, where will it redirect the commands? There was no more long forgotten places to shoot it off to. 2278 gave it a moment of thought, then decided that it's only bet of making it out is through a hover cart of sorts or some kind of crate it can sneak into. Even through that, there's no way it'll make it that far.


It ran through about 5 situations, all with different variables, all of them ended up in it being scraped, made into a table, or straight up obliterated. It was at this moment, 2278 knew, he fucked up.


@Lexielai
 

Nyis Veli-An-Dach
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The sudden jerk of the ship escalates Nyis' tension, not that it needed any help on its own.  Still, she has the presence of mind to brace herself and keep her pistol at the ready.  The captain's announcement is not a welcome one but neither is it surprising.  And while her pulse climbs at the prospect of facing her imminent death, Nyis' crimson eyes simply narrow as she draws her gun.  


An armory is well and good but she barely knew how to shoot this gun, much less a gun she'd never handled before.  


Atticus' nudge brings her out of the near-trance she'd slipped into.  "What?  Right.  Fine!  I'm smashing."


She follows the Captain to the boarding ramp.  And along the way, finally introduces herself.  "Oh.  In case it matters, I'm Nyis.  Nyis Veli-An-Dach.  A pleasure.  Or will be, if something truly astonishing happens and we happen to somehow survive all this.  This, as it happens, not being my fault.  I mean, those storm troopers were...well, I don't know.  They weren't supposed to be here at all.  I certainly didn't invite them to start shooting, they did that on their own, and I certainly didn't plan on a space station exploding.  ..I'm rambling, aren't I.  Let's sort some pirates, shall we?"


@Lexielai
 
Grim whooped as he watched the fighter explode. "Rak-Zsen! Zet felt good!" He took a few more shots at the rest before the ship jarred in a gut-churningly familiar way.


He grunted, pulling his lips back in a dramatic shistavanen frown. "Trektor beam....Shistek."


The turret wouldn't do any good now. It would become another ground fight...or perhaps this particular captain was more diplomatic than his previous one? Grim could hope, but as he heard the call for weapons that hope withered slightly. With another barked 'Aye!' at the captain's command he went to find something a little more intimidating than his trusty pistol-blasters.


Grim was fairly good at intimidation as far as his opinion counted. Being Shistavanen he could pull off the 'hungry predator' look quite nicely, it put quite a few species on their toes. 


"I vonder if zese pirets are fierce as zey sey." He thought out loud as he picked a large assault blaster and began prepping it for battle. "Ve ken alveys hope zey ere yellow-bellied cowerds yes?"


Noticing the ailing droid as he came back out he returned to fetch a tool box and a few spare parts he dug up in an old box.


"Here you valking clenk bucket, I'm not good wit droids, but I think I ken at least fix vat's wrong wit you. Hold still and I meight not deactivet you permenently."


@Lexielai @BainOfBridges
 

Ashenaa Saar
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Interaction: Atticus(@Lexielai) HK(@BainOfBridges)
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Mention: Nyis(@Epiphany)
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[SIZE=11pt]“Is this thing serious?”[/SIZE] Ashenaa asked, glancing back at the HK droid from her seat, looking back at Atticus before he quipped at her. [SIZE=11pt]“Ohhh yeah, It’s all going great.”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Ash responded, her voice vocalizing the doubts she had towards her own words. She couldn’t help the slight smile which tugged at her lips however, as Atticus sent them [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]spiraling[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] round another asteroid, her eyes firmly fixed forward. They widened as the Traveler narrowly missed a large mass of rock, it seemingly bearing down on them before Atticus yanked on the controls, managing to slip them past. Some of their pursuers weren’t as fortunate. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“What? I set a course, it must-” [/SIZE]She began, protesting as they failed to make the jump to hyperspace, her gaze quickly turning to the panel in front of her, unsure as to why they hadn’t gone. But a sudden juddering of the ship cut her off. They had been caught in a tractor beam.

 


[SIZE=11pt]Ashenaa quickly followed Atticus as they left the cockpit, the ship out of their control now. She jogged past him as he paused, addressing a striking woman with silvery-blue skin and red eyes. Ash assumed her to be one of the unexpected guests they’d picked up on the station. With surprisingly casual movements she went to towards the entrance ramp, taking the blaster from her thigh and weighing it in her hand. It still felt wrong to hold it. It was a heavy, crude thing, but most of all, it wasn't hers. Thinking about it, Ashenaa hadn’t actually held it in her hand since first putting it into the holster wrapped to her leg. Indeed, before that, she only ever fired it a few times when Vetex had tried teach her the finer arts of shooting, much to her embarrassment and Vetex’s amusement after she successfully hit everything but the targets. She recalled her indignant attempts at blasting a few aggressive looking bottles and tins of their stands in the cargo hold, the laughter of Vet as she watched with a bemused look. How, after a mixture of threatening, pleading and bribing did the Zabrak final stop her mockery, guiding Ashenaa’s hand with hers, demonstrating how to actually hit something instead of everything in a ten foot radius around it. The memory brought a slight smile to her face as she leaned back against the wall of the corridor, her eyes distant as she look at the gun. [/SIZE]



[SIZE=11pt]Ashenaa was dragged back to reality as the ship gave another shudder. It was unlikely the people who caught them did so out of concern. Luck really hadn’t decided what to do with them. One moment Imperials, a second later, freedom, only to go right back into the maul of danger. She gave a small sniff. ‘Well, at least I die doing something interesting.’ [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Ashenaa mused as she took a firmer grip on her weapon.[/SIZE]
 

Rig Lhinkha
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Rig just kept firing. The turret he assumed the control of was immensely powerful, much more than the small blasters he has handled in the past. He felt a weight of power behind the controls of this turret. He aimed for the white and black bucket-heads of the hangar, and anything that wanted to pick a fight with him. He got a rush from feeling the entire ship jerk from each fire of the turret. But as the ship raised from the ground, and maneuvered its way out of the Talos Station hangar, he ceased firing and leaned back into the seat.


As the bright lights of the hangar turned into the dark space around the station, he let out a confident exhale. He even chuckled at himself. He completely disregarded the fact he had mascaraed quite a few men, and focused on having his small moment in space. He thought about all the events that had led up to this moment. His steady rise to actually being someone, to even joining this mismatched crew, it all made him wonder how he even got here. All his life he thought he was just another someone, but maybe he's his own somebody.


He snapped back into reality when the explosions of other spaceships lit up the space sky. He thought Atticus' piloting would've sufficed as a means to get the fighter of their tail, so he crawled out of the small space of the turret. He lowered himself down the thin ladder, and he found himself in a whole new realm of chaos. Bodies were running and moving everywhere; quite a few new people stood around in the main interior of the Traveler.


"Did Atticus hire some new bodies? Or are we picking up strays now?"  Rig thought to himself as all of the chaos surrounded him. Yet, he still felt like he was in his own little bubble. The residing emotions of his little moment in space were slowly fleeting, as everyone's negative energy found their way into him. He adopted the stress of the situation, and grew concerned about the state of the ship, the crew, and if we were going to make it.


Atticus' panicked voice came over the intercom. He told us to arm ourselves in with the weapons from the armory. Those around Rig rushed to the back of the ship, which housed the armory. He wasn't sure what was going on, or why they needed to arm themselves, but he knew it was enough to make Atticus worried. He reached for the small blaster pistol under his coat that he smuggled from the armory earlier. He also knew of a small combat knife in his boot that he kept for close encounters.


Rig felt prepared, yet he thought to himself, "What had I gotten myself into?"


(Mentioned: Atticus (@Lexielai)
 

Atticus
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Atticus stepped into the lounge. “Alright, let’s face it: we’re in a bad spot,” he said. His eyes roamed over the ragtag crew that had assembled in the last hour or so, some familiar and some not. “I’m 99% sure that we’re about to head right into the flagship of the Bloodraven Pirates, and that’s not going to be good for us.”


He tapped the blaster tucked into his holster. “If worse comes to worse, we’ll have to shoot our way out,” he continued, looking grim. “It certainly won’t be easy, and we’ll have to be dealing with a whole lot of pirate assholes.”


Hopefully it wouldn’t have to come to that, but Atticus wanted to prepare this crew for the worst. There wasn’t much for him to go on here to rally these people. Most of them he’d just met, and the rest he’d only picked up a couple months ago after his last crew got themselves killed. Atticus didn’t care too much for the scum in the galaxy, and so wouldn’t mind letting a few bad apples die so that he could get out alive.


And sure, he was scum as well. He’d freely admit that. Any of the criminals in this part of the galaxy would let him die just the same, and Atticus wouldn’t blame them one bit.


Still, this crew was different. Some of them were the rough sorts that he was used to. The Trandoshan and Shistavanen for sure. But the rest were different, like the Chiss, Violet, or even Ashenaa. Atticus had a strange feeling about these people; he’d put his faith in them for now.


“Alternatively,” he continued, “We try to get out of this without blasting them and us to bits.”


Atticus gestured towards the Chiss woman. “You, lady...what was your name? I’ve seen the way you talk. You know your way around words. Do you think you can negotiate something for us, somehow? Maybe just distract them?”


Then he looked towards the Shistavanen. “And you, whoever you are. You’re the one who got those hanger doors open for us, yes? Do you think you can shut down the Bloodravens’ tractor beam too?”



He looked expectantly at the rest of the crew after he addressed the two. They needed a plan, and they needed ideas. Fast.





DM Box
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@SilverFlight @Epiphany @Volfy @Daimao @Newson @Jabroni @BainOfBridges Now is your time to shine! You're about to be taken in by the Bloodravens, but you have a few minutes to plan before you're captured. Your decisions and your ideas here change the way the story plays out, so definitely contribute with your thoughts on how to proceed. Remember to use your skills to their fullest extent! You're welcome to post multiple times to have a conversation here; Atticus is mostly listening for now. 
 

The Red Scalpel
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The doors to the conference room opened minutes after Warlord left, and stepping in was a young man in an oily, greasy mechanic’s garb.


He hummed a tune to himself, not particularly paying much attention as he reached to take the hovercart and droid atop it.


“Man...Warlord has me doing all this shitty work with droids,” he whined to himself as he began pulling the cart out. “Oooh, Jaye, go and fix my astromech droid, will you?” he imitated mockingly.


By this point the young man was paying much attention to his surroundings or the droid, purely focused on his monologue. “How the hell am I ever supposed to start talking to Vetex? She’ll never notice me if I’m doing all this low-level, crap work...I need a big job. Something that’ll make me really important. Be a fucking hero or something.”


He sighed to himself with 2278 in tow, pushing the cart towards the nearby repair room within the ship.


@The Chronicler  A young engineer has started pushing you towards the repair room, and doesn't seem to be very wise or perceptive. Or quiet for that matter. 
 
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Nyis Veli-An-Dach​

"Pirates have flagships? Will wonders never cease."

Nyis chuckles briefly to herself but there's a fatalistic air to it, bemused in the face of nearly-certain death. Then she visibly pulls herself together. The Chiss' spine straightens, her arms fall into a relaxed place by her sides and tension seeps away. She projects a force of presence, a cool confidence forged in a hundred high-stakes negotiations, a kind of tranquility that comes from giving orders to those of much greater rank and being obeyed. A project manager had to be all things to all people. Surely this couldn't be that different.

"Right. Agreed on the not-blasting us to bits bit. I can certainly distract them. Possibly negotiate for that matter. I've some experience in such things." Smiling briefly, the red-eyed woman gestures at her corporate fashion sense.

"So, what shall we be? Imperials, possibly? The Empire certainly has a reputation that may give our attackers pause. Are there other local powers we could claim allegiance with? I'm not from around here, you see. But I imagine those beastly pirates may think twice before taking a vessel representing someone they're afraid of."

"I expect I can impersonate an Imperial officer on some mission. Possibly we could take credit for sabotaging and blowing up that space station? Now we're making a rendezvous with a Star Destroyer who will be along presently so, if you're a pirate, off you pop or you'll end up atomized by turbolasers?"

The Chiss looks around the lounge at the others gathered. "Well, what do you lot think?"
 
Grim listened to the captain, pursing his lips at the blunt honesty. He would admit that they would probably be dead within the hour, but he would not let it be said that he just rolled over. Grim was a fighter, and when things were at their worst, he would fight his hardest.
When the ideas began to fly and his potential part was mentioned a large, sharp-toothed grin spread across his wolfish face.
"Let me hev five minutes and someone to cover my beck, end I vill link ze trektor shut off to wireless switch you ken press et eny time you please. Like valk in caeke."
He stood quietly again as Nyis spoke. Nodding at the plan beginning to form Grim gave her approving glance, "could work. Et least would give me enough time to re-wire ze trektor beam control code. You get zere attention, I vill have to go unseen, imperials don't employ Shisteveynens...Probably worried about heyr on kerpets."
He examined the heavy duty blaster in his arms before setting it down carefully. It wouldn't serve him on this task.
"You vill need to get zem out of hangar or at least out of sight of mein control panel, zis vill likely be in elevated booth on ze right of ze bay doors...if I remember model of zere ship well enough."
Grim then dug into his pocket and pulled out a tiny square box. One end looked like it lit up and there was a button on the far end. For all intents and purposes it looked like a remote detonator. He offered it to the captain.
"Ven light turns green, you ken shut off trektor beam end ve ken leave."

Lexielai Lexielai Epiphany Epiphany
 
Atticus

Atticus scratched the scruff of his beard thoughtfully. “Hmmm...that might work. The Imperials have been really stepping it up in the region lately, and I think even Warlord is getting wary.”

He paced slowly, gathering what he remembered from the conversations he overheard in bars recently. “Everyone knows the Bloodravens hate interference though. And considering there was just a scuffle on the station between the Imps and the pirates, I think we might be treading a thin line here,” he said. “Maybe we’d be better off pretending to be the Hutts. You familiar with them at all, sweetheart?”

Atticus then nodded to the lupine-like creature. “That would be fantastic. But we’ve only got limited capabilities for something like that on the Traveler,” he said, bouncing ideas around in his skull to think of some way to make this work. “I think, if it doesn’t work here, we’ll have to plug you in to one of the main consoles somehow. Then you should be right in their system.”

“That would mean we have to get inside their ship on foot without dying in a shootout,” he concluded grimly. Atticus tapped the side of his blaster. “I’m trusty with this, but I don’t think we’ll be able to take on all the pirates here. Let’s hope we can get them to take us as prisoners instead.”

He then realized something. “Also, I’m Atticus. What the hell are your names?”

---------​

DM Box

Epiphany Epiphany BainOfBridges BainOfBridges SilverFlight SilverFlight Volfy Volfy TrueBananaz TrueBananaz The planning continues! There's still some time before you board the Red Scalpel. Start posting in the meantime!
 
HK-51
​
"Recitation: I am a Hunter Killer series droid, model 51 of the Czerka Corporation. But you can call me HK master and surrounding meatbags." Comes HK's response following Grim's repairs. It comes as a rarity to the droid, but even HK realized that it may not be wise to antagonize the person who could end up shutting you down.
"Explanation: Despite being sold to you as a protocol droid, I also function as a fourth-degree assassin droid of the highest caliber. Due to the rather vexing presence of this restraining bolt, I am prevented from harming you master or any of your meatbag colleagues. However, should you request I will gladly dispose of any undesirables should a shootout nonetheless occur!" It's hard not to hear the excitment in HK's voice. This is clearly the option that this droid is hoping for.
"All that is required is for you to arm me with the biggest blaster rifle that you have stored on this ship. Preferably something deadly."

​
 
Nyis Veli-An-Dach​

"And I'm Nyis. Nyis Veli-An-Dach of Kothlis. Formerly. As in, not anymore. I came here to do business. To Talos Station, I mean. Only the whole bloody place has now exploded and I find myself...well, rescued by you lot. For which I'm very grateful."

The dark-skinned, red-eyed Chiss smiled warmly at the Captain. Despite her exotic looks, she was plainly practiced at being alluring. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she admitted, "Actually I don't know much about the Hutts at all. But if you can give me a thirty second summary, I've bluffed myself through worse with less. Although, correct me if I'm wrong, Captain, but did you say you hoped the pirates would take us all prisoner? Are we that out of options then?"

Prison made her very nervous. Imprisoned by pirates, even more so. What might they do to her? ...Would they find the datachip she'd paid such a dear price to hold on to?

Then she glanced at HK-51. "I'm sorry, what? An assassin droid, really? Never actually seen one before." Her crimson eyes narrowed then. "...Oi, and let's not have any meatbag nonsense, shall we? I don't see anyone making it a policy to call you bucket o' bolts."
 
"You ken coll me Grim. You didn't heer before, ve were bizy getting shot et." He dipped his muzzle politely to the gathered team, his softened eyes taking the edge off his generally intimidating appearance.
He mulled the plan over, stroking a tuft of fur at his neck thoughtfully. "Vell if its Hutts Ve ere plenning to imitayte zen I ken play thug. I em good et thet. Problem is zey will take 'prisonsers' from us, ve will be seperayted unless ve can stoll zem long enough for me to heck zeir systems..."
He eyed HK warily, gently nudging the large blaster he set down a little further away. "Ideely ve will evoid to stert shooting. Zere ere many more pirets zen there ere us."
Grim gave a glance at Nyis, nodding at her introduction and taking the opportunity to explain: "Hutts ere crime syndicayte end lepdogs of ze Empire. Zey keep prisons end hendle ze more dirty businesses of running big dictatorship. Ze Hutts keep number of lords to oversee zeir operaytions. I hev known some Shistevaynens to be such...zey would like to gerner fayvor wit pirets, Blood revens a strong organizaytion. Turning in slayves or..perheps instigaytor in big staytion blow out? Would fly as reason I think."
He hid a chuckle at Nyis' indignation for the nickname. "Heh, if not colled meetbeg I em colled hayrball. Its iz sem to me. Zo Kepten? Vat is plen?"
 
Atticus​

Atticus scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Right. Grim has some good thoughts. I'll play a thug too, and HK as our protocol droid. Ashenaa, you'll be running Nyis' second in command if you're up for it. Nyis will have to play our leader here, and our talker."

There was no way they’d be able to take on the entire organization head on in a firefight. Even if they had an assassin droid on their side, which was certainly a boon, the odds were still not in their favor. Not even close.

“Nyis,” he said, examining the Chiss with an evaluatory eye. She was stunningly attractive. He felt himself drawn towards her like few women he’d met, but stuffed that feeling on the wayside. The mission, and staying alive, had priority here. “This will be a gamble, that’s for sure, but hear me out. If you can pose as a member of the Hutt syndicate, working under whoever—Jabba, Gardulla, I don’t care—and you can smooth talk our way past the pirates in the hanger, then that’ll be your job done.”

He turned his eyes to Grim and HK-51, both key to the next step of the plan. “Once that happens,” he continued, “Then I’m betting they’ll escort us out. Whether it be to take us prisoner, seek an audience with Warlord, or whatever Nyis manages to convince them to do, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that there will be far fewer pirates escorting us than there were in the hanger.”

After that, it was simply a matter of… “Eliminating our escort and escaping,” Atticus said. “HK, keep up the facade that you’re a protocol droid until then. You’ll get free reign when I give the signal, understand?”

Here came the most crucial part. “And after that we’ll need to make our way to a security room and let Grim do his work. Maybe stir up some trouble to distract them while we escape afterwards.”

Atticus sat down and almost saw the Imperial mission briefing room in his sight once more, memories from the past blurring with the present. His commander stood in his place instead, calmly calling out her orders for each step of the plan with unrivaled charisma. The room was full of morale then. And so was he.

“As for the rest of the crew, stay out of sight and in the ship. You’ll be our last resort in case this all goes to hell. Makes sense? Then let’s do it.”

Volfy Volfy BainOfBridges BainOfBridges SilverFlight SilverFlight Epiphany Epiphany
 
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Ashenaa
​
Ashenaa remained quiet as the assembled group discussed a plan of action. The blue-skinned woman, who identified herself as Nyis, was proposing a more diplomatic route. The creature 'colling' itself Grim, added he could slice into the controls and deactivate the tractor beam, freeing them. What she had assumed to be an odd looking protocol droid claimed to be an assassin droid. Drawing a skeptical look from Ash but not much more. Personally, she was happy to follow any plan which had the highest chance of getting them out alive.

"If I recall right, the Bloodravens weren't all that bad. By pirate standards I mean. Though, they're not so forgiving now days. Apparently" Ashenaa offered a shrug, conceding she wasn't all that up to date with the command of the raiders in this part of space.

At Atticus's suggestion, Ashenaa nodded. She was happy to play her part. " I can't hit the side of a hanger with this thing anyway." She gestured at the gun in her hostler. "I'm all for sweetheart here trying to talk to them. For what good it'll do." Ash gave a slight smirk as she mimicked Atticus's name for Nyis, giving the red-eyed woman a wan sought of look before suppressing a smile as she looked back at Atticus. The likelihood of them getting out of this unscathed was small. Teasing steadied her nerves. Titling her head left and right, straightening up and glancing at all of her companions, Ashenaa lightly slapped her thighs, rocking on the balls of her feet. "I'm game." She said, attempting to keep her voice level. In truth, she knew the Bloodravens reputation had taken a rather sinister turn recently and didn't fancy their chances. Yet, today had been full of surprises and close calls. Why not try and keep the ball rolling a little longer.
 
Nyis Veli-An-Dach​

The thought of playing leader clearly pleases the calm, confident woman in the business dress. Hands on her hips, she strikes a pose with more strength than seduction and flashes her white teeth in a smile. "Hutt syndicate? Jabba it is. Syndicate? Hmmm, I can work with that. As for the rest...the plan sounds complicated but you lot look competent so let's have a go of it, shall we?"

Nyis produced a small hand mirror and promptly touched up her makeup. Snapping the lens shut, she tucked it away and smirked at Ashenaa's use of the Captain's affectionate nickname. "Talk won't make it worse and could make it better. I've had my dealings with powerful people. And more with people who think they've power. We'll see which these pirates are."

Folding a crease out of her dress, the Chiss woman once more looked every inch the corporate powerhouse she'd once been. With a small blaster pistol in a holster, for added dramatic flair (and potential use if things went south).
 
HK-51
​
The protocol droid lets out a sound that can only be compared to an exasperated sigh. This is hardly what the old assassin droid would like to be doing but as much as he hates to admit it... this plan his meatbag master has come up with does have a certain measure of merit to it. Master Atticus and the others will likely die in the process though. Sure the plan itself has merit but HK does not extend this to those taking part in it. HK sets his photoreceptors onto Nyis. If only he had eyes he could narrow in annoyance.

"Ratification: It seems master Atticus' plans require me to do as such, 'master'. This arrangement however will only last as long as infiltration as a protocol droid requires it, I assure you."

The assassin- no, protocol droid then looks to Ashenaa. "Should you wish when the death begins I will happily liberate your weapon off your potentially dead corpse. Alternatively I will look for the biggest weapon in this ship's arsenal. With permission from you of course Master Atticus."
 
"Es long es you remember not to shoot et us, I think we ken stey friends." Grim reminded the droid.
He checked his pistols carefully before addressing his appearance, mussing the fur on his neck and head, adopting a squint in one eye and a slight curl of his lip. His clothes were already a mess from his chase earlier that day and when he frowned, the costume was complete. Grim looked every bit like one of the low-life knuckle-draggers that would have been employed by a big-scale crime boss for the Hutts. He took up a place behind Nyis and folded his arms carefully.
"Okey, pleces everyone. Ze show iz ebout to stert."
 
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