Mercenary Crew: Bounty Hunters

[ForceFightWMe12]

Ellie slowly stood from where she had been crouched, her eyes wary as she looked over the captured attackers, each one bound to the ground by the addhesive of the crew's grenades. While she hadn't fired nearly as many shots as most of the other members, she had still made her fair share of wounds. She had managed to blast open the kneecap of one of their assailants, and cut a deep gash in the bicep of another with one of her throwing blades. As she stood, she holstered her blasters and jumped her way up a rock, moving to retrieve her knife while carefully avoiding the giant pool of bubble gum on the ground.

 

"Creative." she murmured, unsure if her voice would carry enough to reach Jyot. Bending to pick up her weapon, she turned her eyes to find the mechanic as she curled her fingers around the slim hilt, depositing it back in the sleeve of her jacket as she stood once more. "What made you come up with that?" she called to him, once she had spotted him. "A little short on credits, or just totally and utterly bored out of your mind?"

[Rogue Nine]

Latch clambered down from his perch and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He trotted towards the campsite, spotting Alec kneeling next to Stitcher's dead body. Latch grimaced, cursing himself for not keeping a closer eye on the medic and cursing Stitcher for not listening to him. "Damn kid," he swore under his breath.

 

Someone touched him on the shoulder. He looked over and saw his fellow gunner at his side. She leaned against her rifle, one hand on Latch's shoulder. She didn't say anything, but her somber expression was enough. They stood there a few more moments, then moved to comply with their captain's orders.

[JasraLantill]

"Creative." she murmured, unsure if her voice would carry enough to reach Jyot. Bending to pick up her weapon, she turned her eyes to find the mechanic as she curled her fingers around the slim hilt, depositing it back in the sleeve of her jacket as she stood once more. "What made you come up with that?" she called to him, once she had spotted him. "A little short on credits, or just totally and utterly bored out of your mind?"

Jyot smiled at Ellie, silently admiring the rosy glow on her cheeks from the cold and her recent exertion. "A bit of both really," he replied casually as he started to stroll over towards her. "You see, I was sealing gaps in the outtake manifold one day, and just got the idea that if I mixed the self-expanding insulator with the sealant it would...ow!"

 

Ali had smacked him on the back of the head. "Hmm... now would I classify this as flirting or ogling?" she said thoughtfully.

 

"I'm not doing either!" he answered her with conviction. "I was simply responding to the lady's question."

 

"Uh-huh." Ali's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I think... ogling."

 

Jyot rolled his eyes upwards. "I was not ogling."

 

"You were, too."

 

"Was not."

 

"Were too."

 

"Was not."

 

"Were...." Ali stopped herself. "Look, I don't want to argue about this right now. We've got work to do." She reached inside her coat and tossed Jyot a length of cord. "Here. Cap'n said to bind them. So bind them." She pointed over to a heavy-set merc stuck in pink goo just to the left of them.

 

"Hey!" Jyot tossed the cord back to her. "You're last in, so don't you go giving me orders. You bind Chubby over here. I'll help Ellie bind the other ones over there."

 

"Oh, no." Ali shoved the cord back into Jyot's hands. "You bind the fat one. I'll help Ellie. Your bet aside," she added, "now is not the time for flirting or ogling." She nodded over to Alec, who was reverently praying over Stitcher's body. "Show a little decorum. It's a somber time."

 

Jyot sighed heavily as he reluctantly headed over to the heavy-set mercenary. "It's always a somber time with you," Jyot muttered quietly under his breath.

 

"I heard that."

 

"Good!" he replied to Ali over his shoulder.

 

It wasn't that Jyot was callous or uncaring about the death of his crewmate, but he'd been in this business long enough to realize that when it was your time to go, it was your time to go, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. People died. It was a fact of life. He was saddened that Fate had decided that Ray's moment was now, but he wasn't going to dwell on it.

 

"Trouble with your girlfriend?" the merc sneered.

 

"She's not my... oh, nevermind! Just hold out your hands, Chubby!"

 

Jyot couldn't get close enough to the merc to properly bind him without getting stuck in the pink adhesive himself, so instead he lassoed the merc's hands and then secured the cord around a small boulder.

 

That done, he headed back over to the campfire to grab his gear and say his goodbye to Stitcher.

 

"See 'ya on the other side, Doc," Jyot said as he knelt near Ray's lifeless body. "Good journey."

 

He looked at Alec. "So... in what direction is our 'guide' taking us now?" He glanced over his shoulder at Raelyn. "Has she said?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Ellie couldn't help but grin at the exchange between the two - in fact, she had to hold back a giggle - but at the same time, couldn't help but wonder exactly what in Coruscant's name they were talking about. From the way the two argued, she could only guess that they were ex's - and even though they fought, it seemed to her that they were on relatively good terms. They weren't killing each other, at least.

 

Her amusement stayed in place, fully aware of the implications of Ali's accusations, until she followed Ali's gaze and saw the body of the fallen crewmember. Her smile dropped, and so did the rosy color in cheeks. The sight of yet another dead made her feel a little sick. The crew seemed to have known each other quite well, which seemed to indicate that they had been together for quite a while. To have lost two on the same expedition...surely their assignments weren't all as fatal as this one?

 

She barely heard the last of the argument, and didn't pay any more attention to Jyot other than a quick glance in his direction. As Ali came to join her, Ellie reached for the loops of rope she had hanging at her hip, sections of the chord from the snowcrawlers that she had cut off because they had become too strained. However, they would still be more than strong enough to hold a sentient being hostage.

 

"Now...how to get over there." she murmured, half to herself and half to Ali as she drew closer. Pulling a small set of travel-pliers from a pack on her belt, she opened them up and cut through the top half of the chord loop and then the bottom, dividing the long strand into sections long enough to tie up a person. Handing one half to Ali, she turned to grab a slab of rock that was a little bigger than her feet off the ground and, with a heave, tossed it into the goo. It sunk a little, but was still high enough for her to be able to step on. She turned to Ali.

 

"What d'you think my chances are of being able to land on that?" she asked, smirking faintly.

[Writer]

"I hadn't said," Raelyn answered Jyot herself, not bothering to take her eyes off Stitcher's body. For another moment longer, she fell silent. Then, she tore her eyes away from the lifeless medic and looked over at Alec. "We're nearing the place the comatose guy claimed the Jedi picked him up, Captain..." She paused for a moment, glancing again at Stitcher's body. She determined it was too soon after the event to offer Colin as a replacement, so she took her rifle and checked it. A disappointed groan escaped her.

 

"Rae, what is it?" Colin asked, coming up to her. Raelyn showed him the clip she'd just ejected from the rifle.

 

"That's the last shot I get," she complained. "One measly shot and then I'm out... and you know how hard it is to get ammo for this thing." She flicked the safety on and dropped the weapon into the bag. Colin shrugged and removed his harness, placing it delicately in the bag as well. He gestured for Raelyn to drop her short sword in as well, but she opted to keep it on her belt. Colin zipped the bag shut and shouldered it, turning to the captain.

 

"We're ready when you all are," he said. The thought was in his mind to offer his services as an on-board doctor to the crew, but two things held him back. The first was the relative timing; as Stitcher had just been killed, he didn't figure they'd want to think about a replacement so soon. The second was the frequency of unplanned injuries this crew seemed to build up; he could only assume that on a hunt for a Jedi, more injuries would ensue. And when they did, he'd be there.

[starmark2k]

((OCC- OK guys, again I’m going to skip us forward a tad.))

 

It had been a little over an hour since the group had left the cave and they found themselves climbing a snow dune. The crawlers had to be left at the bottom while they climbed towards where Raelyn claimed the man had seen the Jedi. The area was plain with only a few signs of the clear up of the bounty hunters that had died here a couple of weeks ago. Alec ordered the group to fan out and look out for any fresh tracks so Alec could follow them.

 

It hadn’t taken long before Aly found some fresh tracks and called everyone over, after examining the tracks for a few moments Alec stated that they definitely belonged to a humanoid of average height and weight. They followed the tracks for another half an hour before they came an unnatural cave in the ice, one that had been cut with an unusual tool… A Lightsaber.

 

Walking through the tunnel they soon came to a Metal door buried beneath the planets snow and ice covered surface.

 

“What’s a metal door doing all the way down here?” Aly asked knocking on it lightly.

 

“It’s not a door, it’s a hatch, to an airlock to be precise.” Alec stated. “And to be more specific it looks like an old Republic ship.”

[Corinthian]

Kadis looked at the door. Bulkhead. Whatever. Not really much to look at, just a panel of durasteel. It was what lay beyond it that made him uncomfortable. What in the hell? I don't think this planet was even in the Republic, nobody wanted it, it's just a bunch of ice asteroids that bounced together enough to get a planetary orbit and fuse.

 

"What in the hell happened here? A Gunship crashed here, I can see that as an incident. Failed hyperdrive or something. But a warship? There's only one thing that would bring the Empire here, and that's our Jedi pal."

 

Kadis choked down a groan. When the Empire hunted Jedi personally, Darth Vader was there. Kadis had only seen him on the HoloNet in passing, and only heard mentions of him as the Emperor's personal executioner, but every mention of him seemed to universally send a chill through a spacer's bones. He had really hoped he would never run into a Jedi again, but Darth Vader was even worse.

 

"Not really sure what concerns me more, the fact that either the Republic was, or the Empire is paying this planet visits, or that something was powerful enough to pull a capital warship out of orbit and bury it in the ice. Any idea what kind of ship it is, Captain?"

[Rogue Nine]

Latch hung back, covering the group's rear as well as staying as far away as he could from the door. Something in the back of his mind had been bothering him ever since they left the cave and for the life of him, he could not place what it was. The flashes in his mind from when he touched the old gunship and the icy cave floor still rang fresh in his mind. He'd had visions like that before, ostensibly something from his Kiffar side, but they had never been that intense.

 

He tugged his gloves on tighter, not wanting his bare skin to come in contact with the cold metal of the ship, since he knew they'd all eventually have to go in there.

[JasraLantill]

Jyot took a look at the hatch door, and then looked at Alex. "Well? Are we waiting to be invited, or should we just crash the party?" He gently moved Aly aside. "Not that I have any doubts about your abilities, Al, but this is my kind of work."

 

Ali raised a doubtful brow. "Oh? And since when do you know how to open locked hatches? Shouldn't that be our thief's job?" She looked over Jyot's shoulder to Ellie.

 

"Hey, I've been unlocking hatches since I was four!" Jyot replied confidently to Ali. "Step aside, and watch a master at work." He pulled out a small metal tool that looked sort of like an old fashioned fish-hook, and began to fiddle with the key pad. After a few seconds, there was a 'click'.

 

"There you go. Unlocked and ready to open." His finger hovered over another button. "Ok," he said to everyone. "Here goes nothing...."

 

He depressed the button and the hatch slid open.

[starmark2k]

As the hatch opened it was clear it was an air-lock but the inner door had already been opened, this allowed the group to see down a large corridor. The corridor was not empty but scattered with lot’s of dead clone troopers, the wounds could be seen to vary from impact damage against the wall and being stabbed of slashed with a lightsaber.

 

“I think it’s safe to assume this is a republic ship.” Alec explained as he looked around. “Let’s get to the bridge and see if there is something to explain what happened here.”

[Writer]

"Republic or early Empire?" Colin asked, taking hold of his sister's hand and entering the ship behind the captain. "When do you think it was buried?"

 

The moment Raelyn stepped through into the corridor, the others knew something was wrong. With a wail of terror, she staggered backward, tripping over the lifeless hand of a clone trooper as she attempted to leave the ship. Colin caught her just before she made it out and spun her around, holding her firmly against the bulkhead just inside the outer airlock.

 

"Rae," he whispered softly, remembering one other time something like this had happened...

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Aidan and Katrine has just evaded yet another Imperial entanglement thanks to Kate's telepathic intervention. They were celebrating with Corellian Ale, a treat Kate had gotten somewhat addicted to over the last three months. And Aidan wasn't too opposed to it either.

 

"To the Great Escape," Aidan toasted. Kate laughed and was just about to clink her glass against his when something... unexpected happened. Katrine flinched and jerked sharply backward, her glass flying from her hand and propelled by telekinesis across the shuttle, shattering against the aft door.

 

"Kate?" Aidan asked bewildered.

 

"Someone knows," she whispered in wide-eyed panic. "Danny, they know... telepath... wisdom, see through the..." Frantically, she grasped for the shuttle's controls and initiated a blind hyperspace jump. Aidan wrestled the controls back from her in horror and concern. When they were finally stopped safely, he turned to face his sister.

 

"Just exactly what the hell was that?" he demanded. Kate seemed calmer now, but she rose and headed aft toward the sleeping quarters, muttering only one word.

 

"Jedi."

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Raelyn was muttering a string of unintelligible gibberish, or so it seemed to Colin and the others. Only Alec understood what she was saying as the tongue she used was that ancient language used in his religion, Chaosism. She spoke of close proximity to a Jedi and that revelation was intermixed with frequent protests of the Jedi seeing inside her mind and the pain it would cause. Furthermore, she expressed concern at a startling lack of secrecy.

 

"Rae," Colin murmured softly. "Don't..."

 

"The Jedi is here," Raelyn whispered, finally saying something in Basic.

 

"Which is why we must continue," Colin answered patiently. "Face your fears, Kate. Defeat them."

 

"Can't..." Raelyn murmured, slumping weakly to the ground. "Too strong."

 

"You're stronger than this," Colin whispered. "Be who you are."

 

Slowly, Raelyn's eyes opened. Even slower, she stood. After a moment of doing nothing but breathing, she re-entered the ship and moved to stand with Alec.

 

"The Jedi is here," she told him softly, scarcely realizing she had shifted into using the language of Chaosism. "I can lead you to her."

[starmark2k]

"She is here, waiting like a predator to pounce on her prey. A bounty hunter has no hope for success... oh my head!" The Young women started to say in the Language he believed he only spoke.

 

Alec sharply turned to look at the women as she rushed out of the ship in some form of panic, he had didn’t know what to make of the women speaking the young dead Language. But he listened into the conversation between Realyn and Colin but only one word caught his ear, Kate. Hearing that name began to make him think of a name in the back of his mind, Katrine West.

 

The women then approached him and continued to use the ancient language and he replied to her in the same. “First we go to the bridge, then you can lead me.”

[Corinthian]

"What in the hell was the Republic doing here?"

 

That mystery would have to wait, at least until they found the computer core. Kadis wanted those questions answered, but it was fairly unlikely he'd get his wish. At least I don't have to worry about running into Vader.

 

A stream of gibberish ran from the mouth of Raelyn. Kadis spun, half expecting her to be on the ground, having a seizure.

 

"The Jedi is here."

 

Her brother tried to console her, then she seemed to lapse back into the bizarre language. Kadis took a step back and flipped the power and safeties on his blaster. What in the hell is going on here?

 

Kadis was fairly well versed in terms of languages. He could speak a few fluently, make his meaning known in a few more, curse in a few dozen, and at least recognize several more, but this wasn't like anything he'd ever heard before.

 

Then the Captain started speaking in the same language. Kadis shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

 

"Not to be rude, sir, but can we all speak the same language here? I don't think most of us speak...whatever the hell that is supposed to be."

[Writer]

There was a strange glint in Raelyn's eye as she glanced over at Kadis and answered in Basic, "No, the language is dead. Few have used it in..." She trailed off thoughtfully, and then concluded, "... a very long time."

 

Giving no further explanation, she gestured forward and then began walking in the direction it seemed most likely they'd be able to access the bridge.

[Corinthian]

"And two of the speakers of it just happened to bump into each other on this iceball? Why do I get the impression you're not telling me something?"

 

That had been readily apparent from the start. She's very odd. Weird rifle, plus the redheaded girl said she knew their names somehow. Definitely not normal. Kadis checked his blaster again, making sure the charge on it was full, then dropped into step behind her. This girl was not one he'd be letting his guard down around.

[Quist]

Arelyn, being a Mistryl, was usually pretty reserved and collected, speaking only when necessary and letting her actions do most of the talking, especially when faced with the various odd situations in her line of work. This didn't mean, however, that she was unopinionated, and she certainly harbored some strong opinions after witnessing the latest outburst from the odd pair of siblings they'd managed to pick up along the way. Just who are these people and what the hell is wrong with them? she thought to herself as she observed the girl, Raelyn, stumble out of the ship, muttering unintelligibly.

 

"Not to be rude, sir, but can we all speak the same language here? I don't think most of us speak...whatever the hell that is supposed to be."

 

Their other addition, this Kadis Venarm person, was certainly straightforward, a trait that Arelyn could definitely respect. Despite the situation, he was quick to offer his opinion to his new companions, often without prompting. Arelyn supposed that someone who had been on this planet as long as he had couldn't wait to get off, and he would do anything to speed that process along.

 

"No, the language is dead. Few have used it in... a very long time."

 

Arelyn couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Raelyn's actions had been rather quirky up until this point, but her use of an apparently ancient language only served to further paint her as mentally unstable. Arelyn would have suggested to her captain that they keep a closer eye on her, but he had replied in kind to the young woman and that worried the Mistryl.

 

"And two of the speakers of it just happened to bump into each other on this iceball? Why do I get the impression you're not telling me something?"

 

Kadis again stated what Arelyn was thinking. She nodded at him in silent approval as she gripped the heavy blaster pistol at her hip just a little bit tighter and followed the group into the murky darkness of the ship.

[Rogue Nine]

Pulling his coat tighter around his shoulders, Latch followed the rest of the crew into the downed ship, his Bryar pistol already drawn and ready in his right hand. The odd girl had muttered "The Jedi is here" and though Latch didn't put much stock in her sanity given her recent actions, something told him that she was right in this instance. It probably wasn't coincidence that they had encountered two Clone Wars-era ships on this iceball of a planet and after having worked with CorSec and seeing his share of strange circumstances, Latch knew better than to believe in coincidences. There had been far too many on this trip alone for him to be comfortable with anything.

 

He blew into his gloved hands and rubbed them together, attempting to stave off the frigid cold as well as calm his frayed nerves. "I have a bad feeling about this," he muttered to no one in particular.

[JasraLantill]

Jyot and Ali followed the group just ahead of Lachlan. Ali had her rifle out, wary and ready. Jyot, on the other hand, had holstered his weapons and was walking along quite casually.

 

"Ahem. Where's your weapon?" Ali asked him pointedly.

 

"In here." Jyot patted the breast of his coat.

 

"Well, get it out," she hissed.

 

Jyot grinned. "What, here?" he said mockingly. "In front of all these people?" he whispered to her.

 

Ali's eyes narrowed. "Would you please be serious? Didn't you notice all those dead clones back there?"

 

"Yeah, I noticed them," Jyot said. "Also noticed that they all still had their blasters. They didn't seem to do them much good, now did they?" He snorted. "Ali, we're looking for a Jedi. What we need is wits, not firepower."

 

"I have a bad feeling about this," Latch muttered to no one in particular.

 

Jyot paused in his tracks and looked askance at his friend. "Couldn't you have let us know that before we entered this creepy ghost ship?"

 

"I didn't have it before," Latch replied.

 

Jyot grunted as he shook his head quickly, indicating his reluctance. "I hate your bad feelings."

 

"C'mon, keep up with the rest of us!" Ali was motioning them to hurrry forward so that they weren't lagging behind.

 

"So... how 'bad' is this bad feeling of yours?" Jyot whispered to his friend. "Bad like, get ready to rumble or run? Or bad like, by the black stars, we're all gonna die?"

[Rogue Nine]

"Maybe a little of both," Latch replied, frowning slightly. "I dunno what it is, Jyot, but this whole situation gives me the creeps."

 

"Situation?" the blonde Corellian queried.

 

"Yeah, with picking up all the spares, those freaky monsters, losing Kuun and Stitch, that ambush in the cave..." He shook his head. "Now that chick flips out and starts babbling incoherently and the Cap'n knowing her moon language and finding this ship?" He looked at his friend. "This whole thing just rubs me the wrong way, y'know?"

[starmark2k]

“You guys know your continuous chatting will alert any potential Bounties to our presence.” Alec interrupted as the continued down the corridor. “And Latch you said it yourself, we’re good. So chill out, we’re in the right place to do that.”

 

Alec turned the corner of the corridor and quickly realised something odd, the dead bodies were gone, as if they had been cleared away. This all but confirmed someone had been living here and set the dead clone bodies at the entrance were to repulse any one who came to the ship. “Seems to be some power running, we’ll head to the main lift and let Jyot do his magic to get that going.”

[Corinthian]

"Captain, we're looking for a Jedi. Chances are he, she, or it already knows where and who we are. Heck, it might be watching us on the security holocams. I'm frankly more concerned with our friend who's leading us to the Jedi. Aren't you the least bit interested in how she started babbling in a language that's supposed to be dead?

 

Wonderful. He had his doubts about just about everyone on this group - Jyot's lechery, Raelyn's mystery, and the Captain's apparent stupidity. What the hell did I get myself into?

[JasraLantill]

Jyot jogged up to the front near Alec. "I'm not worried about her," he said in response to Kadis' remark, lightly patting Raelyn on the shoulders as he moved past her. "Besides, Alec babbles in that language all the time when he's being all relig...."

 

Alec cut him short with a sharp look.

 

"Well, you do," Jyot said sheepishly.

 

"Hands!" Ali said, pointing an accusing finger at him for touching Raelyn.

 

Walking backwards, Jyot turned to face her, pointing a finger back at her. "Hey," he said, grinning. "It's not ogling."

 

He turned around again, moving quickly forward down to end of the corridor where the lift to the bridge was. He examined the control panel first, then took out a small metal tool that looked sort of like a dental pick. He inserted it into the space between the panel and the wall, and....

 

"Presto!" The lift doors opened. He swept his arm in a motion for the group to enter. "All aboard!" he said, imitating the voice of a shuttle conductor. "Next stop, bridge."

[Corinthian]

Kadis groaned as the group boarded the turbolift. "This ship's been buried in the ice for about a decade, is it really a good idea to be using the turbolifts?"

 

Of course, nobody ever listened the voice of reason. Hunting Jedi without specialized equipment, following strange females because she had a chat with a laid-up Abyssin, and generally ignoring pertinent questions like, for example, 'Which Jedi'? and 'How do you plan on fighting him' and 'Who are you working for'. Bah. By the end of this trip, he'd likely need a mindwipe.

 

"I'm sure everyone else is thinking it, but...I've got a bad feeling about this."

[starmark2k]

“For a man frozen in the Ice you sure do speak a lot.” Alec told Kadis as he stepped in to the lift with an annoyed look on his face. “Stop complaining and shut up or I’ll leave you on this rock, as I told everyone else talking will alert the anyone else who is here!”

 

Alec had a real short fuse with most people, especially when they questioned his every move and he was going to do them a favour of flying them off this iceball. He did agree with the fact the girl was odd but he knew there was a time and place to ask such question, walking around an old derelict ship on an ice planet while hunting a Jedi was neither.

 

The Lift shook as the last people got on and the lift began to move upwards towards the place the bridge should be, of course if it was still there. Alec took out his rifle and brought it to full power and looked over at Latch.

 

“This Jedi is going to be dangerous, so I’m removing that no killing rule.” He told latch.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Be careful what you do with that blaster." Ellie said, finally speaking up. This whole damn ship had given her the creeps, almost to the point where she had refused to go inside. But...being left out in the middle of an ice land all by yourself wasn't exactly much better on the creepy scale, so she joined the others on the ghost ship. She hadn't said a word until then - but now that she saw the captain warm up his blaster...

 

"The others are right - I've never seen a Jedi fight, but growing up on Courescant meant that I ran into quite a few guys that had gotten artifacts from the raided Temple. Those lightsabers are pretty damn hard to beat - especially when you just have a blaster." the blades that she had stored in her sleeves dropped into her hands, the leather of her gloves closing around their points. "It might be best to keep the blaster fire to as low a minimum as possible."

 

This Jedi had taken out an entire ship of clone troopers. How in hell was their rag-tag band of bounty hunters hoping to take out what an entire ship's worth of military-designed clone soldiers couldn't?