Mercenary Crew: Bounty Hunters

[Rexraptor2000]

Three left, Headshot thought to himself as he blew another fighter to bits. He pitched upward towards another fighter who attempting to gain ground for another strafe on the Scimitar. Headshot gunned his throttle in an attempt to catch it before its turn, although left it low enough so he could dodge the debris. Headshot then began to open fire and attempt to hit the enemy fighter as they danced through the debris. This panicked the enemy pilot, as it began to increase speed to an unhealthy level in an attempt to shake him. They spun around the debris of a cargo ship to immediately find another destroyed cargo ship. Headshot was lucky: He was able to pull up in time to dodge the ship. He did receive a scratch or two though from flying through the other fighter's explosion though.

 

"And then there was two," Headshot reported over the comn as he headed for a fighter making a run on the Scimitar.

[JasraLantill]

It wasn't too long after Jyot's complaint to Latch that the ship rocked violently. Concussion missile, Jyot thought, as steam shot out of another ruptured conduit and sparks shot out of a circuit control panel on the nearby wall.

 

"Aw, kriffin' hell!" he cursed, putting on his protective gloves.

 

Arelyn's voice came over the loudspeakers. "Jyot, I've got a problem."

 

Jyot rolled his eyes as he reached blindly into the steam cloud where he knew the shutoff valve should be. The engine's overheating and she thinks she's got problems?

 

"My turret cannon is down," Arelyn continued.

 

Jyot's face fell. Crap. That is a problem. "Hang tight, Arelyn," he said to her through his comlink. The steam cloud had begun to thin with the valve finally being shut off and now Jyot could see the problem. The power to Arelyn's turret's controls was supplied through the damaged circuit panel that was sparking in front of him. "I'll see what I can...."

 

He had started to reroute the power to the turret control panel, but then an alarm starting to clang. There was another problem. A bigger problem. With no controls to regulate it, the capacitor for the turret's cannon was overcharging. Even if he cut all power to the turret right now, there was still a chance that it might explode.

 

"Arelyn! Get out of there!" Jyot yelled into the com as he cut all power to the turret save the airlock doors. "Get out of that turret, and close the airlock! Now! Right now!"

 

Without waiting for her response, Jyot immediately began to increase the shielding in that area of the ship in case the turret did explode.

 

"Captain!" Jyot shouted into the com. "Areyln's turret's out of commission!"

[Quist]

"Get out of that turret, and close the airlock! Now! Right now!"

 

"Why can't you get it back online?" Arelyn shouted back to Jyot as she continued to fiddle with the circuitry under her turret. She squinted, her slick fingers making it hard for her to hold the wires she was trying to reconnect. "There are still bogeys out there, dammit! Just restart the damn thing!"

[JasraLantill]

Jyot's jaw dropped at Arelyn's response. He had shut down the power to the turret capacitor, but the charge was still at a dangerously high level.

 

"Just restar...?" He rolled his eyes. "Arelyn, I can't restart it," he snapped into the comlink. "That's the problem! Your turret gun is overcharged, and with the control circuits shot, so there's no way to discharge it. It could blow, Arelyn, so get out of there! Let Latch and Headshot take care of business out there."

 

As sparks flew again from the damaged control panel, his eyes narrowed. The Mistryl was stubborn. Maybe some other type of tactic was needed. "Or are you being obstinate just so that I'll come up there and personally drag you out?" He grinned wryly. "Hey, if that's the way you want it, so be it. I'm always up for something new. Though, there are easier ways of getting to know each other...."

 

((OOC: Just want to let you guys know that I won't be able to post anything until sometime next week. I've got no internet at home this weekend. ))

[starmark2k]

Nasai continued to fly the ship around, over and through the pieces of debris trying to evade the fire of the Tiss’shar fighters. He continued heading for the atmosphere of the smuggler moon in the hope that the Scimitar could lose the Hostiles.

 

"Captain!" Jyot shouted into the com. "Areyln's turret's out of commission!"

 

“Five hells.” Tannis exclaimed looking at the sensors. There were only two more left and both were flying in what had becoming blind spots. One had been flying directly behind the ship so Latch wouldn’t be able to lock without hitting the tail of the ship while the other had decided to fly where Areyln’s targeting arc was. He thought for a moment and reached for the comm unit. “Jyot we need full power to the ventral thrusters.”

 

“I’m on it Tannis.” Jyot replied.

 

“Nas, head directly towards a piece of debris.” The captain ordered.

 

“I know what you’re planning.” The pilot stated. “and it didn’t work so well last time.”

 

“Just do it.”

 

The scimitar turned slightly and the ship began to travel at fall speed towards a large piece of debris. The Tiss’shar fighter also sped up following close behind them, when the Scimitar was close enough Tannis gave the word and Jyot put full power to the thrusters under the ship. The each ignited and caused the ship to shoot straight up and missed the piece of debris, the fighter on the other hand was not prepared and flew into it.

 

“Latch get ready to blo the last one we’re going to spin the ship and give you a clear shot.” Alec explained to his gunner through the comm unit. With that Nasai rolled the ship so Latch’s turret could get a clear shot on the last hostile fighter.

[Rogue Nine]

Latch gulped as the ship lurched upward in another crazy manuever. The intertial dampeners did their job, reducing most of the g-forces, but that still didn't stop Latch from feeling like his stomach just leapt up into his throat. He could hear the ship creak in protest and idly wondered if it would hold up against the strain.

 

"Latch get ready to blow the last one. We’re going to spin the ship and give you a clear shot," Alec's voice told him from his headset.

 

"Great, more spinning," Latch responded sarcastically as he tightened his grip on the yoke. Sure enough, the Scimitar rolled and turned belly-up, revealing the oncoming enemy fighter to Latch. Sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, he lined up his sights and made a few adjustments, then fired a single volley at the Tiss'Shar craft. He grinned viciously as his blaster shots punched their way through the cockpit, vaporizing the pilot and sending the fighter floating off into space. "Scratch two, and that's all she wrote."

[starmark2k]

"Nice one Latch." Tannis congratulated into the comm. "O.k Kuun bring her home and let's get planet side."

 

Tannis stood up and began to walk out the room. “You’re a good pilot. You’ll be hard to replace.”

 

“Yeah, That’s your problem.” He simply replied flying the ship in a straight line for the headhunter to get a good entry vector.

 

((OCC- JoeDoe has let me know he won’t be on too often so his char is an NPC until he returns.))

[Quist]

"Hey, if that's the way you want it, so be it. I'm always up for something new. Though, there are easier ways of getting to know each other...."

 

"Do you ever turn it off, Tyrell?" Arelyn snapped as she shut the panel she was working on and hauled herself up. Just then the ship twisted violently, sending her flying into another control panel. Twisting her body, she absorbed the impact on her good shoulder. It wasn't that hard, but still enough to send an instant ache down the length of her arm. She sprang forward quickly, reaching the hatch of her turret and slipped outside, shutting the door behind her. Grabbing hold of a handle on an adjacent bulkhead, she held on for dear life as the ship continued to manuever furiously.

 

Only when the ship leveled out of a good minute or two did she release her grip on the handle. She frowned in disgust as she saw the bloody handprints she'd made on it with her gloves. Punching a nearby comm station, she said, "Tanis, I hope this is all over now, because I'm off to the damn sickbay."

[starmark2k]

"Tanis, I hope this is all over now, because I'm off to the damn sickbay."

 

Alec heard the message as he was stepping out of the common room and into the Corridor not far from where Arelyn actually was. He walked up behind her and stopped.

 

“It’s all over.” He exclaimed. “As soon as Kuun has docked and locked we’ll make landfall. Once there I’ll get you into a decent Med center, give you nice Bacta Bath there.”

[Grace]

After Ali smashed the glass over her former captain's head, she discovered he was far more drunk than she'd anticipated. Instead of shaking it off and coming after her as she'd expected, the man staggered backward and collapsed, unconscious.

 

"Well..." she muttered. "That was hardly the goal... not so quick anyhow."

 

The rest of the crew hesitated, unsure of what to do now that their commander had been rendered useless.

 

"I got me some bad bruises from last time we had to fight her..." one of the gunners mumbled. The mechanic took a step back and lifted his left arm, bound in a sling.

 

"She broke my arm, as I recall," he added. Ali grinned. Looked like a fight wouldn't be necessary after all. But then, two of the hired muscle hefted the table she'd been seated at and tossed it at her. Eyes widening in disbelief, Ali swore in three different languages, wished briefly that she had an ally in this squabble, and then cartwheeled out of the oncoming table's way. It smashed into the wall and splintered.

 

"Wanna get me?" she challenged. The bartender screeched his protests, but the words fell on deaf ears. Ali shook her head. "Best do as the man says," she encouraged. "This sort of conduct isn't looked upon kindly in places like this. Harassing an innocent female could get you arrested."

 

The thugs seemed to consider this for a moment. Then, deciding it was still worth the trouble, they came toward Ali. Anticipating their movements thanks to the two months she'd spent watching them, the young woman executed a swift handspring forward and then drove both fists into the first thug's stomach. He grunted and froze, giving Ali plenty of time to thrust a fist upward, slamming into his jaw and knocking him flat on his back, just as out of the fight as the captain.

 

"Next?" Ali challenged. At seeing both the captain and a muscle taken down with such ease, the rest hesitated. But Ali could see it in their eyes. They weren't done with her yet...

[JasraLantill]

Carrying a large tool box in one hand and another piece of equipment in the other,Jyot had just come into the common room just in time to overhear the last few words the Captain was saying to Aerlyn.

 

"...I’ll get you into a decent Med center, give you nice Bacta Bath there.”

 

"Bacta bath?" He looked Aerlyn over, noticing the blood on her hands, then raised an eyebrow. "You sure do know how to bash yourself up, don't you?" he said to her as he maneuvered his way around both her and the Captain. "But, it could have been worse...."

 

Without waiting for a response from either of them,he set the tool box and the equipment on the deck just in front of Aerlyn's turret's airlock. He quickly removed a connector cable from the tool box and expertly connected one end into the equipment and the other into a wall jack next to the turret's door. Once locked into place and connected, Jyot gave Aeryln a disparaging look, then flipped a switch on the equipment.

 

As the turret cannon released its overcharge, the ship gave a sudden but gentle lurch and a loud rumble could be heard from behind the turret door.

 

"That could have been you, Aerlyn," Jyot said with all seriousness to Aerlyn, and he nodded to the turret door. "Just a big ball of discharged plasma." He disconnected the cable and began to repack it into his tool box. "Next time I tell you to get out," he continued without looking at her, "get out."

 

He looked up at her then, and with a quick but guarded look at Tanis, said, "And no, I don't ever quit. It's not in my nature. But, I didn't mean much by that quip. I was just trying to get your stubborn backside out of that turret." He grinned at her as he snapped the toolbox shut. "Worked, didn't it?"

[Rogue Nine]

Latch clambered out of his turret and made his way back into the common room. He'd heard the chatter over the comm between Arelyn and Jyot and couldn't help grinning at the Mistryl's stubborness and the engineer's manipulative flirtatiousness. His friend certainly did know how to push people's buttons.

 

He spotted Arelyn, Jyot and Alec in the corridor for her turret and was about to trot over when something large and shiny hovered into view in front of him. "Undesignated bounty Lachlan Vax," Zip addressed him in that irritating monotone, "you accounted for only two of eight confirmed kills in the recent altercation. How do you explain your lack of efficiency?"

 

Latch resisted the overwhelming urge to shove the droid in the trash compactor. "I can't help it if Arelyn and Kuun got luckier than I did," he replied silkily.

 

"Luck had nothing to do with it. Your skills are sub-nominal." Zip extended his probe. "Perhaps I should neutralize you and search for a new gunner who is more efficient."

 

"Give it a rest, Zip," Latch sighed, shoving the droid away hard enough to make Zip careen softly into a bulkhead. It made a noise of utter indignance, then puttered away. Latch shook his head, then finally made his way over to the now-crowded corridor. "Sub-nominal, my foot," he muttered.

[starmark2k]

The Scimitar entered the planets atmosphere and flew over the Nar Shaddaa’s Corellian district. It flew to a little private landing pad just on the district’s edge, It began to land on next several other small freighter and fighters.

 

As the ship touched down its landing pad began to extend, the whole crew walked out wit the prisoners in front of them and towards a group of uniformed men. Tannis walked around the prisoners and towards the group of men, he walked over to one of the men and shook his hand.

 

“So did you have any trouble during transport?” The man asked.

 

“Ran into a few of the Tiss’shar’s friends but they only accomplished becoming apart of the debris field.” Tannis explained.

 

“Ok. We’ll take the prisoners from here, you can collect your credits from the cantina.”

 

“Thanks.” Alec replied as the uniformed men grabbed the three-cuffed aliens and dragged them into the back of a nearby speeder. Tannis then turned around to the crew. “Ok here’s how it’ll work. Jyot and me will head to Carmen’s and meet her to get our pay, Arelyn there’s a med center to pads down, Set up an account and I’ll settle it once we got the creds. The rest o you guys got 2 hours shore time, enjoy it, go with Arelyn, or come with us.”

[JasraLantill]

Jyot grinned and greedily rubbed his hands together. "Yes! Carmen's cantina...," he said dreamily. "Can't wait to see what's on the menu tonight. Maybe I'll try a red this time... no, no, a brunette, or maybe a blonde or..." He caught the captain's eye, and noticed that Tannis was starting to look a little cross about Jyot's future dating plans. Jyot paused, then swallowed. "...or not."

 

He sighed. "Oh, c'mon, Cap'n," he pleaded with Tannis. "We did good this time, didn't we? We brought in the bounties, alive I might add; and despite the battle we just had, the ship's in pretty good condition." He leaned casually against the wall, and just as he did so, something 'clanged' in engineering, most likely nothing more serious than a loose tool falling to the deck. "Mostly good condition," Jyot ammended. "Don't we deserve just a little fun?" His expression brightened. "I'll let you take first crack this time. I swear."

[starmark2k]

"If i ever got into the game with you Jyot, You'd never see action." Alec joked looking at his mechanic. "Anyway me and you are here on business, we need a money supplies and a new pilot... oh and considering you can't be trusted to do any of those things on your own, without bringing back a pile of parts that aren't even any good as scrap metal... because the person you bought it from was and i quote 'the hottest Zeltron I have ever seen' so you didn't bother to check them first."

[JasraLantill]

Jyot sighed with resignation, acknowledging with a slow nod that Alec was right. "Yeah, okay, fine," he said a bit glumly. "I'll go and get 'the list'."

 

'The List' was Jyot's running list of parts that he needed for either repairs or spares kept on an old datapad that hung on the wall in engineering. It was a primitive system of inventory, but it worked, anyone could use it, and it was easy to keep up to date.

 

As Jyot stalked his way to the engine room, he muttered, "But she was the hottest Zeltron I'd ever seen...."

 

He was back in a minute, ready to go to the cantina to do business, but still hopeful that he'd at least get a chance to 'look' at Carmen's inventory of dancers and waitresses if he couldn't actively 'troll' for a potential female companion. After all, window shopping was better than nothing at all.

[Rogue Nine]

The minute Alec said "The rest 'o you guys got 2 hours shore time, enjoy it, go with Arelyn, or come with us", Latch's face split into a grin. He surreptitiously sidled up next to Arelyn and gently placed a hand on her arm.

 

"I'll take Relly here to the med facilities, to make sure she gets there all right." He turned to the Mistryl, who was staring at him curiously. "Can't let anything happen to my fellow gunner, now can I?"

[starmark2k]

"K then, back here in two hours." Tannis ordered.

 

Both him and Jyot walked through the landing pad and in to the commercial section of the district. The walkway they found themselves on was one that catered primarily for mercenaries, bounty hunters, smugglers and other ship for hire crews. Several bars, ship parts stores and gun dealers stretched down both sides.

 

Their first destination was the bar known only as Carmen's, unsurprisingly the owner was a Human called Carmen. She was the Head of the Zoëcay crime family and was one of the few people in the galaxy the Hutts feared.

 

The two men walked into the bar, it wasn't that crowded which was unusual as often it would be filled with all of the Crime bosses hired scum. Looking around Tannis saw one of Carmen's hired Guns step towards him holding a datapad, She wore a smart looking suit which wasn't her normal attire.

 

"Hello Tannis." She greeted.

 

"Gem." Alec returned saying her name.

 

"And Jyot." She said frowning before her free hand came swinging around and slapping the playboy mechanic hard on the side of his face.

 

"Oh seriously Jyot!" Tannis shouted. "What did i say about seducing Carmen's girls?!?!"

[JasraLantill]

Jyot turned his head away from Gem as he rubbed his now reddening and sore cheek. "Yeah, yeah, 'no fishing in the employer's pond'," he said to Alec under his breath. He lowered his voice even further. "Sorry, I tried not to, but those brown doe-eyes made me weak."

 

Turning back towards Gem, he said in a more normal tone, "Nice to see you, too, Gem." He grinned. "Miss me?"

 

Now knowing what to expect, he dodged her next assault attempt by just mere millimetres. "I take it that's a 'no'?"

 

"You can take a flying leap into a pit of Gundarks!" Gem said, scowling at him.

 

"Hey, you said you didn't want anything serious!" Jyot retorted, holding up his hands in surrender. "'No committments', I believe were your exact words."

 

"That was before I found out about Shayla," Gem said, still frowning.

 

Jyot cringed. He put a hand over his heart. "Oh, that hurt. You don't hold a candle to Shayla, and you know it. You're more sophisicated, prettier, smarter... and definitely have better aim," he added, rubbing his cheek again.

 

Gem's expression softened, but she still looked dubious. "Really?"

 

"Really." Jyot gave Alec a look. "Look, we've got some things to take care of, but later we can talk." He looked her over. "Nice outfit, by the way. The cut suits your figure and the colour... well, it brings out those amber flecks in your eyes."

 

Gem looked down at her clothing, and then back up a Jyot. She smiled. "Thanks."

 

Jyot returned the smile. "You're welcome."

 

He nudged Alec in the side. "Erm... Carmen?" he asked, hinting to his captain that now would be a good time to part company with Gem as she was back on somewhat good terms with them.

[starmark2k]

Gem Looked at Tannis still smiling from Jyot’s compliments. “Unfortunately Carmen’s handling some Business on the other side of the galaxy.”

 

“So where do we get our pay.”

 

“I’m handling that.” She said as she turned and walked to a table “Follow me please.”

 

“I think it’ll be best if I handle this alone, get a drink.” Alec ordered Jyot as he followed the women closely behind. “So why are you dealing with the financial side of things I thought you were a hired gun?”

 

“I was promoted.” She explained as they reached the table in the corner of the room. “I was tired of being shot at so I asked her ladyship for a new job. So now when she’s away I’m in charge of all Nar Shadddaa operations.”

 

Both Gem and Tannis sat at either side of the table as drinks were brought to them, both took sips while Gem looked over the datapad. “So all three were brought in alive and quickly.” She explained placing her drink on the table and reaching under it to pull out a case. “Ay trouble bringing them in?”

 

“My new Gun took some damage but She’ll be alright.”

 

“She?” Gen said curiously raising an eyebrow. “So has Jyot made his moves?”

 

Both Gem and Tanns Laughed. “He’s tried but she don’t seem the type to fall for his charms.”

 

“Excuse me.” She said insulted.

 

“No offence, he could charm the Credits out of a Hutt’s safe.” Alec replied taking another sip of his drink.

 

“Back to business then.” She said opening the case and twisting it so alec could see. “30 thousand credits as agreed.”

 

Alec reached forward and glanced over it briefly before closing it and smiling. “Nice to do business with you.”

 

“Need anything else?”

[Quist]

Arelyn raised an eyebrow at Latch as he took hold of her arm. His touch wasn't forceful, despite the playfulness of his words. Nevertheless, she suspected the raven-haired Kiffar might still have less than honorable intentions behind his offer of escort. She reached over and removed his hand from her arm gently, but firmly. "Thanks Latch, but I think I can manage under my own power," she told him, keeping her voice neutral. "You're free to accompany me if you wish, but you needn't mind about me so much."

 

As they started walking, she shot him a look of mock consternation. "And I wasn't aware that we were familiar enough for you to call me 'Relly' or address me by any other permutation of my name."

[Rogue Nine]

Oops.

 

"Erm, sorry Arelyn," Latch apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Bad habit of mine, I guess." He shoved his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk down the large thoroughfare. "At least you've got a nice, pretty name, at any rate. Our last gunner..." Latch paused momentarily, grinning crookedly at the memory, "he had a right awful name. Myno Karrin. Likable enough chap, but his mother must've not liked him as a child or something." He glanced at Arelyn. "As you can probably guess, Jyot and I took to calling him 'Mynock', and the name kind of stuck." He chuckled. "Even Zip started calling him that. Drove poor Myno up the wall."

[Quist]

"I'd imagine so," Arelyn agreed. "It's certainly not the most attractive name in the galaxy." They boarded a lift which was to bring them to the main concourse level of the Corellian sector. As the doors creaked shut, they leaned against opposite walls, facing each other. "Fortunately," she continued, "my name isn't easily given to such embarassing sobriquets, so let's just go with 'Arelyn' for now."

[Rogue Nine]

"That suits me just fine," Latch assented, crossing his arms as he leaned up against the gray metal of the elevator wall. Casting a glance out the cracked viewport to the side, he exhaled slowly as the lift rose slowly, rumbling past the various levels of the Corellian sector. In many ways, Nar Shaddaa was like Coruscant, being a sprawling metropolis covering the entire planetary surface. However, Coruscant didn't have Nal Hutta right next to it, and that fact made Nar Shaddaa just a bit more shady than the Galactic capital. Latch had had his fair share of adventures in both locations, though the nature of his work brought him back to this particular one more often.

 

He glanced at Arelyn out of the corner of his eye and saw that she too was staring outside the viewport, her expression thoughtfully neutral. He wondered idly if she'd ever been here as well. Truth be told, he didn't really know very much about her beyond a few necessary details. If he was going to win his bet with Jyot, he figured he needed to change that fact.

 

The lift ground to a halt and the doors creaked open again, admitting them to the main concourse. Stepping out, Latch squinted, looking past the milling throng to try and locate the medical facilities. "Ah, Nar Shaddaa..." he sighed.

[Grace]

As the other two muscle boys moved forward to attack, the gunners and the mechanic fell back a little further. The mechanic cradled his injured arm as if worried that Ali would rid him of the use of his othere arm as well.

 

"Wait, wait!" he protested. But one of the two had engaged Ali. He threw a punch; she ducked. He tried to grab her; she twisted in toward him and drove her knee upward between his legs. With a grunt, he stiffened and Ali spun, deftly grabbing a tray from a frightened waitress pressed up against the wall and used it to send the pained man crashing to the floor to join his friend and his captain.

 

"Forget this!" the mechanic mumbled. He turned and darted out of the cantina. At this, the final muscular man and the two gunners hesitated. Then, the two gunners advanced, positioining themselves at the head and foot of one of their downed companions and lifted him.

 

"We're done," one of them told the remaining muscle. He scratched his head for a moment before lifting his other friend and following the gunners out. Ali smirked, handed the tray back to the waitress and knelt beside the unconscious captain.

 

"Looks like it's mostly true," she told his lifeless form. "Cut off the head, the body dies. Only your body ran off without you... huh... that make y'all a chicken?"

 

Amused at the thought, she resumed her seat, this time resting her feet on the unconscious captain's back.