[Wildcards] Origins RO - Part II: Stealth & Recovery

Prompt: Following the formation of a ragtag group, the mission was set clear by the leadership and those who maintained the team as a whole. The goal? It was time to “recover” a reportedly “stolen” vehicle from the Black Sun and maintain the surroundings of this vehicle until it could be secured… permanently.

Rules

• For participation points, you must write a single post with a minimum of 250 words.
• For placement, two posts with the previously stated minimum word count. No maximum word limit for posts.
• Reserving a post, double posting, editing your post after it has been posted is NOT allowed in this Run-On.
• Each member must include a hyperlink to the character sheet snapshot for realism grading.
• The plot is determined by not just the current leader, but the members of the team as well.

Grading: Placements and grading will be determined using the Official Run-On Grading Rubric.

Good luck and good hunting, Wildcards.

Ozosi Vym

Godless Matron

Entering the region of space around the Godless Matron became a task for the pilot of the matte black vessel which paraded around as if it were in a guise of normalcy. This gave a sense of calm to the passengers upon this vessel, one that no one felt since the beginning of the mission. Upon the ship sat a ragtag group of misfits, all with various amounts of gifts, talents, and skills. Within the hollow form of the ship sat one such misfit, Keiji, who positioned himself around a large table, allowing his montrals to reverberate the sounds of small talk between the members of the group such as a halfbreed Chiss-Togruta woman and a Kiffar, Ozosi and Tisto respectfully. The two communicated back and forth with moments of quiet as Tisto could not see the thoughts Ozosi attempted to hide from him in regards to their interactions together.

As the ship continued to enter in more of the dedicated space around the Godless Matron, everyone upon the ship was given a signal by a high pitch whistle from Keiji.

“Alright, round-up! We need to talk about the mission for this to work effectively without issue,” his voice growled in an passive-aggressive tone as his eyes flashed towards the two who had been talking almost non-stop the entire conversation, Ozosi more so than Tisto. Ozosi gave a quick look towards Keiji who continued to sit in front of them, detailing in his mind the plan he wanted to begin discussing. She immediately muttered a word, looking down as she nudged at Tisto to have him focus upon what was occurring as he began to talk again to her.

“Tiny, what’s wrong?” He said in a gruff voice, shifting in his seat and looked from his friend to Keiji. “What’s up boss?”

“As I said, I want everyone around and on this ship to focus upon this mission,” his voice continued to maintain the undertone from earlier.

“I need you two to hush…,” a man with a darkened expression stated as he gave a glance backwards towards Ozosi specifically and then to Tisto. He stood up from his seat within the front of the ship after setting the ship to take a new course for a section of space ever so close to the Godless Matron.

“Edgar,” Ozosi muttered and looked away, sticking her tongue out, as she watched him pass by the two still sitting in front of the large table. She sighed, turning her head back towards Keiji, realizing the eyes were on her now. Her cerulean skin upon her face darkened in a shade as she sunk in her posture.

Once he felt he had gotten the attention of everyone as Luna, Gen, Tarvitz, and Sariel turned their attention from their small habitual practices completed upon the ship, Keiji could see the change in everyone’s expression with the massive ship coming to view upon the hologrid as he stood to walk from the table where he had been examining the schematics of the Godless Matron. Keiji’s expression evolved from a contemplative one to something more concerned about the safety and the ability of the team to accomplish this mission. “Alright,” his voice came out strong and proud as he continued, “we need to speak about what our team will do once we get to the Godless Matron. To start, we will need recon to take point, going around the ship without being too conspicuous… to find the ship we’ve designated as target.”

Ozosi smiled and decided to raise her hand. “Could I be a scout?” she questioned this with a full argument to follow in case her assumptions were true. “I ca—”

Tisto stopped her with an audible groan. “Tiny,” he said with a mutter. “You’re a hybrid. You won’t last two seconds out there as a scout. We ne-”

Keiji stopped the Kiffar with a single hand up and then pointed towards Ozosi while staring her down. His intention was to test her and frighten her to understand the implications of this task. “You will need to be able to conceal yourself and if anyone comes in contact with you, you must be able to escape that interaction without blowing your cover. I know you know that you’re going to be hard to keep secret, even if you stay on this vessel as we need you on the field.” He looked over to the Kiffar and gave him an intense stare as well. “You’ll both need to work together, regardless of how you feel. This is an important mission.”

The two members nodded with a silent agreement to keep things civilized for the group. Keiji continued with his speech about the tactical information with regards to the mission. “I will need you, Tisto, as well as…” He looked around, hearing a shuffling of gear, military equipment, and then a shuffle of feet. He immediately but carefully placed his hand near his belt, flicking up the pocket’s lid. Swift like lightning, he pulled a small blade, and with marksman aim, slung his arm back with a twist of his torso in a movement which flowed fast and true. The small blade left his hand and sliced through the air toward the back wall behind him. The weapon, curiously, remained suspended in the air and simply continued to rotate in the air.

“Come out…” his voice girdled with anger as he finished his words “Now!”

Tisto eyed the blade cautiously. The weapon’s rotation slowed to a stop in midair after a few seconds. The Kiffar watched a small, shadow covered figure moved forward.

“Down Keiji,” he sputtered reflexively. “It’s one of ours. A small one though.”

A young Chiss slid into the open, looking at both her uncle and the criminal. “You aren’t the leader here, criminal,” she retorted pridefully. “Besides, I could have caught that knife anyway. Uncle Keiji is getting slow.”

“If you couldn’t, you wouldn’t have been useful young one,” Tisto remarked. “Besides, a stowaway should always expect such a response when they are caught. As for your first comment little one, I know I am not in charge so why don’t you go talk to the boss instead of trying to speak down to me.”

Tisto slid away from Keiji to let the girl talk to him, moving towards the others. He brushed past Ozosi, halting as she stuck her elbow out to stop him. The Kiffar paused, bending his neck down to look her in the eye. He watched as she glared back up to him, and offered her a small smile.

“Can’t stick to being just one kind of person?” she demanded quietly. “Or are you normally cruel to people, and make yourself feel better by giving them food?”

“I never claimed to have a heart of gold,” he shot back. “Besides, I have no idea who she is. It is Keiji’s problem now.”

“Alright then,” the blue Togruta sighed.

“Keep a cool head Tiny. Things are going to get rough once we get started,” Tisto said softly, then leaned closer to whisper to her. “Sorry. I was a second late in my attempt to catch the knife, his reaction caught me off guard.”

Ozosi crossed her arms, letting Tisto pass. She then crossed her legs, looking towards the girl and Keiji. She looked back to see the Kiffar stopped a meter behind her. She watched as he brushed past her again, heading towards Keiji.

“Hey boss,” he said derisively to the larger man. “Next time watch the killer reflex. I for one wouldn’t bat an eye if we had to space you because you killed an innocent kid.”

Without waiting for a reply Tisto walked briskly to where the rest of the team was located. He took a moment to scan the group before moving towards an older armored woman he had never met. Without missing a beat, he walked over and offered his hand, smirking.

“You a Mandalorian?” he asked calmly. “Haven’t seen many of your kind around. What’s it like being one?”

Ka Tarvitz

“And how about the rest of us?” Seth Danner spoke up, once the disturbance of their new arrival had been dealt with, “Have any specifics in mind?”

“It’s simple,” Keiji replied, “Our number will be split into three groups, each with their own objectives. The first team will scout out the area for the ship, as I said. Find the exact location of our target, and any hostiles. Search for signs of the Black Sun, use informants, and keep an eye open for possible obstacles which could upset our operation. We have the Captain’s backing, but there is no telling who might cause us problems. Blend in as best you can and keep a comlink open if you spot anything. While they move out, the second team will head for the the Black Sun ship, get past security and hijack it. Move it as far from the Matron as you can while locking down the crew.”

“Any ideas as to just what it is, exactly?” Droveth asked. In response, Keiji pulled a holoprojector out of his pocket and triggered the activation stud. The soft blue glow of a photographic blueprint sprung into life before him, projecting the angular trailing build of a massive vessel trailing a multitude of cargo containers.

“The Matron’s crew were kind enough to pass this image on,” he said as the hologram began to slowly spin in place, “It is a Baleen-class, big and with a history behind it apparently. Heavily modified as well.”

“That could be interesting then,” Tarvitz said, watching the image carefully “Baleens are meant to have minimal crew compliments of two to six people usually, but they’re huge. The Black Sun could have a few hundred armed guards on there and they would still have room to spare.”

“Then we will just have to try and lock them down or keep them away from vital areas. Space them if you have to.” Keiji said, “If we can secure the bridge or engineering, that should be enough to take the ship, and pilot it away from the Matron.”

He switched off the holoprojector and pocketed it once more, before continuing with the briefing. “The remainder of our number will remain with this ship. Their task will be to ensure we have a way off of the Matron if things go wrong, or to support either of the first two groups in the extreme. I repeat - In the extreme. Any questions?”

“Is there anyone specific you have in mind for these groups?” The older Mandalorian - Luna, Tarvitz thought her name was - asked, drumming her fingers against the helmet at her side as she spoke.

“Tisto, Ozosi, and I will take the freighter,” Keiji said,”You, Tarvitz and Gen are among those best suited to blending in with the local scum. Sariel, Ruana and Edgar will serve as our third unit here on the ship, ready to respond if needed. Everyone else can pick their role as best you see fit.”

Luna’s mind raced with potential strategies as the rest of this ragtag team milled about deciding roles and self-sorting into their respective mission groups. Scouting the objective was an essential role and something she knew well but the urban terrain and population of the Matron was definitely out of her comfort zone. Blending into a crowd wasn’t her forte. Stalking prey in the tundra, sure, but she tended to attract attention on a city street. Still, the Matron wasn’t your typical galactic city and perhaps a pair of armored mercenaries and a man in monk-like attire wouldn’t seem terribly out of place.

The Okami studied a holoprojection of the area surrounding the bay holding the target ship. The space around the bay had been a former droid factory during the Matron’s time in service Lucrehulk-class ship during the Clone Wars. Cramped businesses lined the makeshift street and living quarters were stacked on top of the street level shops. There were some vantage points but few places one could hope to hide, at least hide away from other people.

“I don’t suppose there’s an easy way in, is there?” Ka Tarvitz inquired as he approached Luna to see what she was studying so intensely. Gen Solari followed suit silently taking up a space next to them where he could see and hear.

“There are only two points of entry into the docking bay which holds the target ship,” Luna pointed them out on the projection. “Access to the control room for the bay is in a third location here.”

“Three targets, three of us,” Gen observed stoically.

“We’d attract less attention scouting them individually but it would be difficult to come to the others’ aid if something were to occur. There are risks in either approach.” The female Mandalorian stroked her chin in thought. This wasn’t the kind of situation she wanted to be cut off from her comrades in.

Tarvitz glanced at his two companions for a moment as if sizing them up. “There’s safety in numbers as well. If we move as a single unit, they might overlook us as just another mercenary group looking for work, at least until we make our move. Once the operation begins in earnest we can split responsibility for covering the entry points with anyone stuck on our ship.”

“I believe that is a wise course of action,” the Jedi replied to the Jensaari.

“I can take the catwalks and rooftops of the living spaces and cover you on the street level if need be,” Luna patted her E-11s sniper rifle for emphasis. “I also have a scout droid for an extra set of eyes if we require it.”

The trio looked at the map and silently signalled their agreement to the unfolding plan. While they were still strangers to one another each began to relax as it became apparent that their counterparts had a similar mind to how best to approach the situation. Each of the makeshift group exuded their own brand of competence which put the others at ease.

Satisfied with the plan thus far, Luna turned to go secure her jetpack, “If you’ll excuse me, I must finish preparing my gear.”

“I’ve some final preparations to make as well,” Tarvitz replied. “Given this is the Matron we’re talking about, the more heavily armed we are, the easier it’ll be to blend in. We’ll reconvene when the ship lands.”

The team with Ozosi, Keiji, and Tisto were left to their own devices as Ozosi’s matte black datapad was updated with the known schematics of Godless Matron. Her crimson eyes flickered through the data as information came upon the screen and she gave a glance towards the Kiffar as he began to ready his gear upon their current vessel. She gave a momentary thought of what gear he was preparing at the time before she started to list out potential actions to perform in assurance of success with their mission upon the datapad. Her thoughts were interrupted by a grunt from the Togruta commander and her eyes glanced over to his reaction as he maintained a stern yet contemplative expression.

“Ozosi,” he spoke out in a disgruntled voice as Keiji step forward towards Tisto and herself as these two were left in a corner of the ship. “I will need you to work with Tisto, regardless of any past experiences you have had with him.”

Ozosi understood what Keiji meant as she watched his eyes glance to her wrist and back up to meet her eyes. The memory of Tisto breaking her wrist flashed back within her thoughts, which she immediately shook off the intensity around the memory with a flick of her wrist.

“Will do,” Ozosi softly spoke, smiling as she was sure the man did not understand where her feelings lie regardless to the Kiffar.

“Alright you two,” Keiji motioned to Tisto who placed his full attention upon the commander and turned to face him. “We are going to need you guys to work on assuring this mission is successful with little to no recoil from the mercenaries and partrols upon the main vessel.” He squinted his eyes upon the notion of a glare Tisto displayed, obviously displeased with the thought of being in a team with Ozosi, but known only to the Kiffar, it was not of a purely disapproving nature concerning the Chiss-Togruta hybrid’s presence.

Tisto grunted as well as let out a scoff once he noticed his expression caught the attention of the commander. Once he realized Ozosi had now turned to look at him with a curious look, he muttered a disapproving phrase under his breath and returned his attention back to his equipment, still entertaining the conversation between the three with an act of displaying little interest. He needed to assure the safety of his team, especially the hybrid.

As Keiji’s attention moved from the Kiffar, his glare softed upon the realization of how Ozosi’s aura morphed from a childlike demeanor into a warrior’s spirit in the mere passing moments. He watched as she had returned to calculating possibilities in regards to the information provided to attempt safety and assurance of a successful mission, and he remained stoic in his expression once he realized her attention had shifted towards him as her cerulean skin darkened within her cheeks.

Noting that he had spoken to his own personal team, Keiji decided to turn his attention to the other teams, meeting with them one-on-one to learn about their plans. He motioned towards Droveth, who placed himself within earshot of the Togruta’s conversation with Ruana, Sariel, and Edgar. These three were to stay with the ship, planting themselves at the ready in case something were to go wrong.

“You three, including Droveth, know your mission at this point. Guard the vessel and stay at the ready,” Keiji began to speak to the group, taking a notice as the Chiss girl appeared to be in her own mind and obviously ignoring the Togruta. Sariel and Edgar seemed attentive to a degree, but an inferred nature about the team was understood to be that of a disinterested kind. The Togruta could understand the irritation with being placed upon a team meant only to guard and maintain a safe retreat; however Keiji needed them to be dedicated to their mission. He placed his attention away from the three and walked to the front of the ship, seeing the Godless Matron.

“Teams, we will begin once the ship is docked upon the Godless Matron,” his voice boomed throughout the vessel and he turned to see the last team interacting with each other. “Assure victory and do not forget we are a team! Use each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Godless Matron
Chute Town
45 minutes later

“The freighter is in sight, Keiji,” a voice spoke out from the shadows.

“Ready for coordinates?” A husky gruff voice spoke over the comlink in response with a quick affirmation and the scouting member of the recon team proceed to send the results of their work.

“Got it,” spoke a quick yet soft pleasant voice over the link.

The recon team, which still composed of Luna, Gen, and Tarvitz, began to move from their positions amongst the crowds of the Godless Matron, attempting to blend, yet sorely sticking out, as the human mercenary began to flick her attention towards members of the society upon the large vessel. As she continued to step, the female could hear the words of many who moved from her targeted path with cold stares as well as a few choice words about her appearance and the aura about her. When she sent the coordinates, the team happened to be within the shadows which gave a tad bit more protection from being sought out and potentially attacked, but now that she was out amongst the inhabitants, she knew that the team would be in trouble soon if they did not hurry.

“Looks to be that we have caught the attention of the residents here.” This voice came as a warning of what should come if any of this very small team would step out of line. “We should maintain course back to the ship or to the freighter to assist in any potential firefight,” Tarvitz had spoken this warning out, shifting his stance to one of alarmed yet relaxed enough to ensure one did not assume he meant to start a battle.

“Definitely. I get the feeling we might have a firefight here if we are not careful,” spoke another male voice which belonged to Gen Solari as he attempted to place himself far enough away from Luna and Tarvitz as the three of them attempted to blend more.

Cockpit, Shrouded Blade
Aboard the Godless Matron

The Mandalorian sighed to herself, rubbing her temples in an attempt to ward off a headache. When Celevon had given her the assignment to help out this small team, Aryn had eagerly jumped at the opportunity to do more than sit around and excessively maintain her ship. That was before she had met the band of misfits that made up this new team.

The headache itself was due to the rampant idiocy she had dealt with. And constantly resisting the urge to resort to violence in some of their cases; especially when the bullheaded Togruta had thrown a blade at the young Chiss.

Ruana had not ‘stowed away’; she had been in the cockpit the entire time. And, despite what he—she was fairly certain the di’kutse went by the name of Keiji—had said, there was no way Jade would abandon her own ship.

The much older Mandalorian treated her like a child and grew condescending when Aryn had explained why she didn’t wear the full beskar’gam. Despite that, Luna Okami had her respect.

The issue the redhead saw? This team was treating their mission as though it were a military operation and overcomplicating the entirety of it. There was nothing truly organized when it came to the denizens of the Matron, beyond the woman who held the entirety of them together. The original plan had been for Jade to drop them off whilst the Blade remained cloaked, then retreat to a safe distance until their mission proved a success.

Another sigh left the woman as she sent off two messages; questions would be raised if she didn’t do so, since they had been forced to officially dock with the change in plan. Aryn could hear an argument brewing in the Main Hold between Edgar Drachen and Sariel Dhejeuti, though it was rather one-sided.

Drachen held some strange belief that Jedi were cultists and, as a result, viewed them all with suspicion. In some ways, it was hilarious to watch him eying the other suspiciously, when the Jedi in question was merely attempting polite conversation.

She knew Celevon purposely wound Drachen up because it amused the half-Echani.

Jade was drawn out of her musings by a response to one of her messages. Now, rather than the oddly soothing sense of anticipation on how the mission was completed, the Mandalorian needed to inform the others that the vessel they were here to steal was intended to be scrapped.

And stop the impending melodrama that Ruana Suoh seemed to be silently observing in keen amusement.

Godless Matron
Chute Town

This wasn’t exactly going as planned. While Tarvitz had visited the Matron once before without drawing too much attention to himself, that had been under very different circumstances. For the most part, he had been able to rely on the various individual he met starting fights and then running away before they ended. Here though, with the other two nearby, it was becoming evident that his usual method of dressing like a moron and acting like an amateur was not going to work. If anything, the colourful nature of his attire, along with Luna’s distinctive plating and Solari’s simple robes, were quickly drawing growing numbers of eyes to them. Mostly from the sorts of people who were either seeking easy prey to seal from, or a challenge to prove their mettle against.

“Solari, a brief question,” Tarvitz asked, as quietly as he could manage while still being heard over the crowds, “How good are you at bluffing your way out of situations?”

“I’m not,“ Solari said, “Simple as that.”

“I see,” he muttered, “Okami?”

“I can usually stare someone down until they go away. Or punch them if that fails.”

“Something tells me that won’t work here,” Tarvitz sighed. Some way ahead of them, towering above the crowd, a muscular bald headed human was making his way toward them. If the cracking of his knuckles, and the jeering cheers of the group to one side were any indication, he was spoiling for a fight. Unfortunately for them, the trio of Wildcards had been selected for just this purpose. Any fight would almost certainly turn into a brawl. While that might have made for a good distraction, they couldn’t afford to get bogged down dealing with the local thugs.

“Alright, if it comes down to it, club him and hope he has a glass jaw,” Tarvitz said as the man closed in, “Just let me try something first.”

As the huge figure closed in, his eyes were darting between Solari and Luna, apparently trying to decide which of the two was the more tempting target, until Tarvitz held up his hand.

“‘Ah, good, it’s you!” Tarvitz said brightly, casually gesturing for him to come closer, “I have something you might want to know.”

Momentarily puzzled, the man closed in, obviously preparing for a trick. Raising one hand to his mouth, Tarvitz spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, before reaching out with the Force. Prodding the brute’s mind in the right places, he twisted a few facts until his desperate aggression found a new target. A much more satisfying one to be sure.

The man suddenly stepped back, nodded, and then set off to somewhere behind them. He disappeared from sight within moments, before the sounds of yelling and several punches being driven into someone’s face were heard. This was promptly followed by more yelling, more punches, and the man’s friends rushing past with looks of concern.

“Tarvitz,” Luna asked, “What did you say to him?”

“I might have told him that a large and heavily armed bloke behind us owed him money,” Tarvitz answered with a shrug, “And I might used the Force to convince him of that fact. We were just lucky that he proved to be susceptible to even my lacklustre abilities. Still, you wanted a show, and now we have one. Let’s just hope that the guards are paying close attention to it as well.”

Droveth K Vectivi

Godless Matron
Chute Town

A subtle hum reverberated through the maintenance shaft as a small scout droid slowly made its way down, careful to avoid bumping the walls. Luna had expertly guided it through the labyrinth of vents and shafts that led back down to the control room, but the slow pace was making everyone uneasy. The Mandalorian looked down at her map, a faint red dot showing the droid’s position above their target.

“In position. Adjusting camera.” Solari and Tarvitz watched with bated breath as the camera view slowly panned down. The success or failure of the mission would ultimately depend on how much resistance they found here. Securing the control room was a vital. When the camera settled it was slightly obscured by a grate, but still provided the Odanites with a clear view of their objective. While the room itself was quite large, it was tremendously under staffed. The droid quickly tagged five targets.

“Could we be that lucky?” The Jensaari’s voice was a mix of suspicion and surprise. Luna moved her droid closer to double check. No, that couldn’t be right. But it reported back the same, five targets.

“Maybe shift change?” Solari inquired, half rhetorically. The two Jedi moved down the hall swiftly, stopping just outside the control room entrance. Positioned on either side of the door, they shared a quick nod of assurance.

“Four are seated in the center of the room, one is seated on the perimeter opposite the door.” The Mandalorian tapped her controls and her droid slammed hard into the wall, sending of shower of sparks down through the grate into the room below. Simultaneously, Tarvitz and Solari burst through the doorway, lightsabers ignited. Five seated technicians are no match for a pair of trained Jedi, and Luna watched from above with amusement. She made her way there quickly from her overwatch position, radioing back to the rest of the team.

“Control room secure. Infil team, sitrep?”

Cockpit, Shrouded Blade
Aboard the Godless Matron

Droveth twirled his stiletto between his fingers, fighting the urge to take a nap. He shook the thought away and shifted in his seat, catching the blade mid-air and sliding it back into his sleeve. The Jedi casually glanced around the ship, half-hoping for some new exciting development, but found none. Everyone was positioned exactly where they had been thirty minutes before. He let out a long, obnoxious sigh.

“All sortsa’ action happenin’ all over this ship,” Droveth finally spoke, “but we’re sitting here twiddling our thumbs. Literally!” He motioned towards Edgar, who was deeply engrossed in his datapad. He glanced up for a moment and rolled his eyes before returning to his reading. As if on cue, radio chirped to life. The voice of the Okami, Luna, echoed in the otherwise silent ship.

“Control room secure. Infil team, sitrep?” Droveth raised his fist in triumph and mouthed a silent cheer. Another, deeper voice replied through the radio, this time Keiji.

”We’re set up outside the docking bay. Do you have access to the cameras? We’ve got a problem.”

*** Moments Later within the Hanger ***

*** Godless Matron***

Tisto dragged the unconscious mercenary around a large durasteel crate. He laid the man down on the floor, barely giving a glance at the watching Ozosi. Once he had the mercenary straightened out, he turned to his teammate.

“Alright. I am going to need you to scream,” the Kiffar explained… “I figure you have a closer pitch to this guy, and I want to draw out as many targets as possible to give the other teams the best chance at success.”

“You had me follow you out here for a fight?” Ozosi scoffed.

“Figure this time you could be on the winning side,” the Kiffar grinned darkly. “I want to make sure you are in a place where it doesn’t matter if you are memorable or not. Plus Keiji might have stopped me from doing this. You won’t.”

The Chiss-Togruta hybrid opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Tisto abruptly raising his hand. The durasteel crate rose from the ground slightly, hanging six inches from it. It slowly moved forward until it covered half of the mercenaries body. Without any fanfare Tisto dropped
his hand, the crate slamming down onto the unconscious mercenary, crushing him with a loud crash. Ozosi looked from Tisto to the dead man, almost in shock.

“Think that was loud enough?” she asked sarcastically.

“Louder than expected,” Tisto admitted. “Maybe you won’t need to scream after–”

The boxer cut himself of, pulling Ozosi behind himself, and raising his left hand. A trio of blaster bolts slammed into the air in front of the Kiffar as if it was a solid object. Three mercenaries made they way around the crate, others running towards the pair.

“This looks like fun,” the Kiffar chuckled. “You take the furthest five. I’ll deal with the rest.”

“Shouldn’t we work on this together?!”

Within the Hanger, Just outside of the Idiot’s Array
*** Godless Matron Docking Bay***

Ozosi continued to prod the Kiffar into listening to her direction as she knew the man would simply follow his own will.

“Tisto?! Are you listening to me? We should be working tog-,” she stopped mid-sentence to see him turn to her as the enemy patrols rushed in towards him with his body poised to respond to them with any maneuver he chose. He flashed a smirk, noticing the Chiss-Togruta gasping and leaving her mouth a gap as she screamed his name again. Watching the quickened movement of the man’s hand, the woman’s eyes widened as her teammate sent out his hand in a flash, grabbing a Rodian gunman by his throat. As Tisto held the man with his left hand, he crushed the trachea of the man and his eyes moved towards the others with a glowering stare as his facial features darkened with malice.

This look upon Tisto caused the others to jump back with a couple pulling their blasters up to aim at him.

“Sum punk you are,” one large Shistavanen male roared, motioning for the others to encircle Tisto, who followed his orders as various species of men and women came forward to place their blaster’s sights on the Kiffar. “Put yer hands up and turn yer back to me.” The Shistavanen motioned his blaster again for Tisto to follow orders while another of the mercenary’s team mutter profanity, spewing out a few words about the Kiffar’s mark upon his face.

“Frakin’ dir-,” the Iktotchi mercenary spoke only one complete word before Tisto had released the formerly alive Rodian and moved in quick session over to the Iktotchi to punch him clean in his gut before grabbing his head. With the feel of the Iktotchi’s skull beneath his fingers, Tisto smirked again, allowing just a mere moment for his prey to respond. All the mercenary could muster was a scream as he dropped his blaster, which Tisto took as his signal to slam the man’s head into his knee and then placed a powered shock-punch to his head, knocking him out completely.

“Fraaakin’ hell?!” One of the mercenaries, a scraggly small Ewok screamed as he turned to run, dropping his blaster to the metal floor with a clank. The other mercenaries who maintained their cover with their armored helmets began to take steps backward as they eyed Tisto suspiciously. They completely ignored the Chiss-Togruta hybrid who had taken the moment of the shocking revelation these were not mere pushover opponents for them to get behind the Shistavanen captain and ignited her saber through his side. Her attempt was to disarm the man, which she succeeded until she realized there were other mercenary patrolmen who had made their way to the commotion.

Tisto… we need to do something about this, Ozosi touched his mind with a quick flow of thoughts, attempting to give him ideas which she discerned immediately her teammate would ignore these orders. What she didn’t pick up on until she caught a glimpse of the Kiffar’s movements was one mercenary had already fired a shot at her and Tisto was quick to push her out of the way but still caught the burning sensation of the blaster meeting his shoulder.

“Ya damned idiot, Tiny!” He shouted as he charged after the mercenary who fired the shot, jumping into the air and allowing the force of his jump to push his fist through the air until it landed upon the mercenary’s helmet, immediately sending waves of electricity throughout their body.

The wounded Shistavanen moved his arm up to whistle for more reinforcements before he passed out from blood loss. The Ewok who ran away initially returned with another wave of mercenaries, this time a small group of three. Ozosi could hear the thoughts of Tisto as he counted those around him.

One… two… three… now there is seven in total…

The Chiss-Togruta hybrid frowned, realizing this heist was going to take longer than she believed and took a deep breath in before she muttered words into her comlink.

“Keiji, we need you to hurry,” her words echoed in a distorted sound as the Togruta Odanite worked his way upon the ship which would be called the Idiot’s Array while the main mercenaries were distracted with the others in the hanger.

“Roger. Working on getting the ship released and ready for loading,” he continued to answer her plea with confirmation he had arrived to the command deck with the ship rumbling in a low hum as it slept. “Okami? You there?”

*** Within the Control Room ***

The comlink gave out a distorted blurb of noise as the communication between the two Odanites began.

“Aye, Keiji,” she answered, “I assume you’re on the ship now?”

“That would be a correct assumption,” the Togruta smirked as he laughed. “The other two are creating quite a stir below. You might have to come help them out once we have the ship ready to leave the docking bay. Could you give me the commands to start this ship up?”

Luna looked towards Tarvitz as she knew he could hear the radio. “Think you could give him a hand in getting the ship released and started?”

The Odanite nodded, moving around the control room to find the station of which controlled the docking and releasing procedures. He also motioned over for Solari to come assist him as his teammate confirmed with a quick word about his ability to control the ship as well as his knowledge about some simple procedures.

While these two worked upon the system, the Odanite mercenary returned her attention through the glass windows of the control room to watch the two ‘children’ fighting below as enemy mercenaries had surrounded them. As she watched, a sense of urgency came upon her yet she allowed it to flee. She knew she needed to hold this position and felt she could depend upon the two below. Even still, she felt the desire to head down to protect her team with her might and assist them with recovery once the deed was finished.

“Almost have it,” Solari had spoken with regards to his attempts at finding the information from the main terminal and Tarvitz nodded with approval as he stood at the secondary terminal, working to find the codes to release the ship from docking.

Luna weakly smiled, reporting the results to Keiji as he continued to work his own magic upon the ship.

*** Within the Commanding Deck on the Idiot’s Array ***

Upon the ship, Keiji spewed profane words as the ship reported denials of his attempts to activate based on the instructions that were conveyed through the radio. The Togruta stopped in the middle of one attempt as his montrals reverberated sounds of metal and hard steps through the hall outside the command station.

“Frak,” he muttered with the radio still live of which Ozosi and Luna both spoke out in concern Keiji’s name just seconds later.

“Guys, there are men upon the ship now,” he returned their concerned hailing upon the radio with a simple report regarding his status upon the ship being compromised. As he turned the station off and quickened his steps across the deck to hide in the shadows, he spoke to his team via the radio, “I’m going to turn the radio off. Once the coast is clear, I’ll report in.” He did as he stated he would and poised his attention with his blaster’s sights upon the door where the footsteps could be heard.

*** Within the Hanger, Outside the Idiot’s Array ***

Tisto, Ozosi thought quickly as she flashed an image of them recusing Keiji. Let me take lead. She continued to allow the motions of her plan to play out as she also watched the men who had taken arms against them. So far the Shistavanen, the Iktotchi, and Rodian were dead, and all that stood before them were an Ewok, a slightly armored Wookiee, three assumed humans mercenaries, a male Devaronian and Bothan female warrior. The three assumed humans maintained their sights with simple blaster rifles aimed at Tisto while the Bothan female warrior and the Devaronian arms specialist stood on two sides of Ozosi. The two had their backs to one another with just enough room to allow them movement backwards if they had to take a step back.

When I give the signal, I want you to attack in the formation I gave you, the Chiss-Togruta hybrid’s eyes glanced backward for a mere second and returned towards the two in front of her with a saber in each hand. Tisto shot back an off-colored remark about how he does not need orders to do what he is best at, killing.

*** Close outside the Godless Matron ***
*** Inside a Star Commuter 2000 ***
*** Thirty minutes earlier ***

The computer of a simple Commuter blared in alarms as the docking station on one side of the large ship, the Godless Matron, radioed for codes in order to complete the procedure.

A husky male voice spoke out a sequence of numbers and chuckled. “Come on, you would know it’s good ol’ Chi’ra here to deliver good to yous guy,” the Sephi spoke out, hearing the distressed low toned beeps from a BB-8 droid behind him. “Hey… come on bud! Lighten up.” He spoke after he removed his finger from the button which would allow communication to the commanding docking station. “We’ll get in, turn in the goods, and get our butt out of them before they know what hit them… they don’t have to know this junk is busted.”

The droid gave out a shrieking sound as the intercom came alive again as they stated the codes were possible fake.

“Kraking bantha-loving scum! It’s me, Jael! I’m back with the good for Ikesh,” the Sephi continued to mutter profanity after he released the intercom button again while the droid crazily whirled around the deck, back and forth. “Will you quit? You’re going to give me an aneurysm.” He muttered as he began to rub his right hand across his forehead, feeling the synthetic skin dragging with a few moments of cold metal touching his skin. He had lost the skin across the cybernetic forearm and desperately needed the credits to buy more synthetic skin. He would not have even taken this job had he not need those credits to repair his ship, which still remained docked in the Godless Matron. The Sephi had to live with what he had now which was a busted ship with gear and supplies, partially stolen from other planets he visited, as well as seemingly useless equipment he scraped from other ships along the way to visit Ikesh, a lowlife Hutt-sympathizer who had managed to set up shop upon the Godless Matron, just outside of Chute Town.

A set of low tone beeps took the Sephi’s attention away from his inner thoughts and he smiled. “Thanks bud,” he exclaimed as he replied to the intercom’s questioning his identity again with the codes he had provided before, giving a slightly different sequence within one part. Jael remained silent, sighing as he looked across the cockpit with his eyes stopping upon a holographic image of a young Chiss-Togruta hybrid and himself. He frowned as he realized it was a younger version of himself, before he transitioned, but his eyes rolled over to the other part of the image which caused more distress for him within his thoughts.

Vym…, his mind wandered, seeing visions of her when they were both teenagers and loving every second he spent with her. He smiled slightly as the memories played in his head and he allowed his arm to extend out to pick up the small circular object which displayed the image. Where are you, Vym?

“Chi’ra, you are cleared for docking,” a cringely little Rodian voice came across the intercom and took Jael out of his thoughts as he exclaimed a profane mix of beeps, which to him and his droid meant ‘thanks for nothing’. He was sure the Rodian knew nothing of what he spoke, but it was still funny as hell to exclaim things in the language his droid spoke.

As he started the engine of his commuter to continue flying forward, his mind went back to the Chiss-Togruta hybrid and how he hoped to see her again.

*** Fifteen minutes later after docking and following procedures ***

Jael had made his way out from the ship and left the hanger with his BB-8 droid following close behind. His eyes shifted left to right in slow movements as he allowed his sensitivity of the Force to be his guide as he took careful steps, attempting to avoid any of Ikesh’s men. Any time he suspected some low-life was of Ikesh’s reign, Jael made a gesture of his hand to create an image of himself but slightly different.

“Keep up the good work,” Jael spoke to his droid as he noticed the BB-8 unit was staying close to him. “I don’t want some scum to pick you up and try to auction you off.”

As he continued to walk through Chute Town, Jael began to pick up on communications with the guard around the ship as well as some random mercenaries stationed at some shops and joints around the makeshift city. His eyes narrowed when he heard mention of a fight breaking out in one of the hangers as mercenaries stood up from their tables or shifted their attention towards the specific hanger’s attached hallway.

A sudden quick set of beeps and low toned boops came from his companion droid which Jael shrugged off and began to follow the mercenaries, maintaining the illusionary appearance with a bit of difficulty. The droid gave off another set of beeps, but found they were ignored again, allowing one long whoop sound out as a sign of ‘sighing’ as the BB-8 unit followed after the Sephi.

*** Fifteen minutes later after sneaking towards the hanger ***

Jael found his way towards the hanger’s main floor, hiding behind a set of crates with which he peeked around to find out what was happening. He had watched a smaller team of mercenaries run past him as he maintained his station in the shadows of the hallway and even saw another duo of a male Devaronian and female Bothan warriors glide past him as he was about three-fourths of the way towards the main floor of the hanger. When he had finally found his current position, the Sephi watched as three members of the mercenaries were killed almost very quickly and now it appeared the intruders and the teams were at a standstill.

The droid had found its way back to its companion and gave a set of low whoops with a few beeps.

“Yes, I know this is dangerous, but it could be fun too, right?”

The droid responded with an inquisitive beep as it displayed the holographic image of the Chiss-Togruta hybrid female and Jael.

“What the hell, BB-8?!” He muttered, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the droid. The BB-8 unit relayed a set of beeps and boops and then released it’s small arm from within it’s lower ‘body’ part, pointing towards the two people who stood within the circle of mercenaries.

Jael rolled his eyes, scoffing at the droid’s attempt to place his attention on the two. “They’re just a coup-” He stopped mid-sentence, with his eyes narrowed again to catch the image of the aforementioned Chiss-Togruta hybrid in the flesh. “That can’t be?” He muttered as he rubbed one eye with his left hand and stared harder at the pair. He could recognize the marking of the Kiffar being of a different clan than himself as the Sephi’s marks were upon his right cheek, coming from his eyelid. However, there was no mistaking the montrals and lekku as well as the cerulean skin of the female. Even the markings of her montrals and lekku were the same as the image still displayed by the droid.

“Vym,” the Sephi male smiled and started to make his way around the hanger to poise himself for attack if he needed to rescue the pair who he figured were about to make a move.

Aboard the Idiot’s Array
Godless Matron

Blaster bolts illuminated the deck as they streaked through the darkness, colliding with the bulkhead in a shower of sparks. Keiji cursed silently under his breath before returning fire around the side of the control console he was using as cover. He could hear the pounding of footsteps as more mercenaries quickly poured into the ship, intent on regaining control. He began to reach for his radio to call for help, but thought against it. His mission was to radio back after the deck was clear.

The Togruta shifted his position and looked over the console he was obscured behind. While there was clearly a large number of mercenaries in the hall, none had ventured into the room. I guess they don’t know it’s just me. He brought his rifle up and fired into the hall, screams of pain signaling he hit something. A flurry of bolts battered the area surrounding him, forcing the Odanite to shield his eyes. The blaster fire stopped for a brief moment, just long enough for a small explosive to roll up past Keiji’s cover.

The Togruta dove away quickly, able to get clear of the immediate danger. His eyes were locked on another console across the room, providing a similar cover. Suddenly he was airborne, carried by the blast the rest of the distance, and crashed into the wall with a thud. Keiji’s vision blurred and he struggled to maintain consciousness; the pain coming from his legs was almost unbearable. He reached down to grab his radio and signal for backup, but he couldn’t find it. The explosion had caused a portion of the deck to catch fire, and the Odanite could see the shattered remains of his radio in the dim light, lying on the ground where he had been hidden.

Hopefully they’re already on the way. Keiji thought to himself, grabbing his other rifle and firing blindly toward the doorway.

On the way
Chute Town
Godless Matron

The trio of Odanites moved quickly through the formerly busy streets. While before, two men donned in Jedi robes might have drawn attention, now there was hardly anyone to even see them. Luna glanced down at her datapad, watching the feed from her scout droid positioned in the control room. All around them, the scout team could hear the echoes of blaster fire.

“Something else is happening here.” Tarvitz spoke, gripping his hilt tightly. Solari nodded in agreement. “ Perhaps others seized the opportunity that we presented?”

“Either way, we need to get to the Idiot’s Array and get out of here before every ship gets locked down.” The Mandalorian replied sternly. The group of Odanites doubled their pace, weaving through the tight corridors and passageways that led to the docking bay. The sounds of conflict behind them faded gradually, replaced by sporadic blaster fire coming from within the bay.

Once the ship was in view, the team huddled behind a stack of cargo crates. While it was clear a battle was raging inside the ship, no one stood guard outside. In the few moments they waited, no new mercenaries arrived to provide backup.

“We push through to the deck. Once it’s secure, my droid will trigger the release. We lock down the deck and vent the ship once we’re in space.” Luna spoke silently, and they were off. Tarvitz and Solari took point, igniting their blades; Luna moved quickly behind them, covering the rear and providing cover fire. The two Jedi cut the mercenaries down briskly, eliminating anyone who stood in their path. The trio pushed through into the deck and quickly sealed the hatch behind them.

“Over here!” Keiji shouted, coughing and choking. He rolled over onto his chest and pulled his body out from behind the console. “ My legs…” Tarvitz began inspecting his injuries as Luna readied her droid.

“Target secure. Initiating launch in 3,2,1…launch!” She tapped a series of commands into her datapad and watched as the droid released the ship. The vessel glided swiftly out of the Godless Matron, into the vacuum of space. The Mandalorian reached over and pulled a lever, sending any mercenary still onboard into the dark void. The radio crackled to life as the Shrouded Blade responded.

“Did everyone make it on board?”