(lol. Don't worry about. Happens to all of us, including yours truly. Comes down to preference right now, I guess...want to draw this out longer, or confront the Tenloss? Suppose we could reach a decision together on this [I'm pretty impartial myself]...What do you think, Cassius?)
Business is Business (Open)
(Hell, I don't really know. Maybe we could count on getting our ships back?)
I think we should draw it out a little longer, but I don't think ships are the way to go. They're not going to help us. Maybe we should contact "the firm" (you'll have to check the aa glossary for that one)
(Sounds good to me, Katch Fett. Wherever it goes, I'll try to keep up.)
Salu was slow in answering Xaviers question, and when he did, the response was merely a soft, "Like this."
The thing about space stations, well, all cities for that matter, is you only see the good side. You don't see the vast infrastructure that allows inhabitants to liva a confortable lifestyle.
About halfway back in the alley was a sewer system access panel. Of course, it was locked up tight, but then again, just what's a lock worth against a fairly determined man with a Plasma Drill? And just in case Salu's more subtle idea didn't work, there was always Wolf, ready to blow the hatch away with a Thermal Detonator or Xavier and his E-11.
But to Salu, that minute seemed to take an eternity. Even with his two companions shielding the torchs warm purple glow from the outside world, he couldn't help but feel that every eye in the space station was on him, an emotion he tried unsuccesfully to push to the deepest corners of his mind.
Wolf was the first through, blaster in hand. Then went Xavier, and finally Salu, who paused to weld it shut, carefully making sure the torchs fringes didn't stick above the hatch's exterior.
It was lucky all three men were wearing helmets with air filters, because the sewage system, as clean as it's advertisements boasted it to be, still smelled at least as bad as a Corellian Cantina, if not worse.
"Welcome to rock bottom," Salu muttered sarcastically as he stepped down the ladder onto the two decimeter ledge on the passages side. The passageway itself was pretty roomy, he figured they must be in a main, the same feeling he had gotten the other three times he'd been down here.
Xavier started to ask a question. "Uh, Salu, I can't help but wondering..."
"Don't worry about it, I know exactly where we're going."
And he did. He'd memerized it by heart the first time he'd been this way. To any other person, this whole area was a neverending maze of tunnels, and idea merely reinforced when it sank through there were 298 floors just like this one.
Salu already knew the way where they were going, and taking the lead, slowly but surly led them towards their seemingly unreachable destination. For half an hour they tiptoed down the maze of tunnels, before coming upon a section of duracrete wall that looked exactly the same all all the other prefabricated sections of it in the tunnel, excluding a small ding on the side.
Salu paused for a moment to observe it, to make sure what he was seeing matched what his memory told him. Then, sure this was the one, he slid his finger slowly down a deep, almost artificial crack running down the wall at a forty-five degree angle. Behind the duracrete, tiny sensors took in information about the hands within his gloves, and then recognizing his bioprint, gave the command to open the door to another unseen but surly present system.
The look behind Xaviers mask, he was the least emotionally disoplined of the three, must have been terror, and Wolf grabbed for his blaster before making the same connection.
"You..." he said.
"Just follow my lead," was the response, as cold and hard as a mans voice ever got.
The three, Wolf and Xavier following Salu, followed him into a small, dark room, with less than three meters for each diemension. Below them, the sound of motors and repulserlifts slowly came into beingn, so slowly that one had to listen for them to pick them out. In front of them, the door shut, trapping them into this lightless box and causing their displays all to switch to infrared mode.
For five miniutes, the only sound was the hum of those lifts and the metallic sound of air running through filtration systems common in personel armor as the turbolift carried the three hunters to the bowels of the gigantic spacestation. But finally, the humming stopped and the servomotors became quiet, and as the door, this one on the opposite side of the lift as they had entered opened, each released a breath none had realized they were holding.
The sight that greeted them was two full squads of well armed men in black uniformes. Each sported a late model blaster rifle, complete with scope and several power packs extra on their ammo belts. In the center standing behind them was a grey-clad man with a heavy blaster pistol holstered by his thigh.
The first reaction of Salus two companions was to snap their weapons up in readyness, an action Salu quickly halted by sticking his arms out and pushing their blasters back into their holsters.
"Just let me do all the talking," he whispered quietly, being careful to stress the word all.
"Where are we?" one of them asked, though he wasn't sure.
"Just hold on and I'll explain to you."
Louder, in a more commanding tone, he said, "My name is Salu Fett, and I'm here to see the Overlord of the Firm."
***
The thing about space stations, well, all cities for that matter, is you only see the good side. You don't see the vast infrastructure that allows inhabitants to liva a confortable lifestyle.
The Astral Astoria was no exception.
About halfway back in the alley was a sewer system access panel. Of course, it was locked up tight, but then again, just what's a lock worth against a fairly determined man with a Plasma Drill? And just in case Salu's more subtle idea didn't work, there was always Wolf, ready to blow the hatch away with a Thermal Detonator or Xavier and his E-11.
It didn't even take a full miniute to get through.
But to Salu, that minute seemed to take an eternity. Even with his two companions shielding the torchs warm purple glow from the outside world, he couldn't help but feel that every eye in the space station was on him, an emotion he tried unsuccesfully to push to the deepest corners of his mind.
Wolf was the first through, blaster in hand. Then went Xavier, and finally Salu, who paused to weld it shut, carefully making sure the torchs fringes didn't stick above the hatch's exterior.
It was lucky all three men were wearing helmets with air filters, because the sewage system, as clean as it's advertisements boasted it to be, still smelled at least as bad as a Corellian Cantina, if not worse.
"Welcome to rock bottom," Salu muttered sarcastically as he stepped down the ladder onto the two decimeter ledge on the passages side. The passageway itself was pretty roomy, he figured they must be in a main, the same feeling he had gotten the other three times he'd been down here.
Xavier started to ask a question. "Uh, Salu, I can't help but wondering..."
"Don't worry about it, I know exactly where we're going."
And he did. He'd memerized it by heart the first time he'd been this way. To any other person, this whole area was a neverending maze of tunnels, and idea merely reinforced when it sank through there were 298 floors just like this one.
Salu already knew the way where they were going, and taking the lead, slowly but surly led them towards their seemingly unreachable destination. For half an hour they tiptoed down the maze of tunnels, before coming upon a section of duracrete wall that looked exactly the same all all the other prefabricated sections of it in the tunnel, excluding a small ding on the side.
Salu paused for a moment to observe it, to make sure what he was seeing matched what his memory told him. Then, sure this was the one, he slid his finger slowly down a deep, almost artificial crack running down the wall at a forty-five degree angle. Behind the duracrete, tiny sensors took in information about the hands within his gloves, and then recognizing his bioprint, gave the command to open the door to another unseen but surly present system.
The look behind Xaviers mask, he was the least emotionally disoplined of the three, must have been terror, and Wolf grabbed for his blaster before making the same connection.
"You..." he said.
"Just follow my lead," was the response, as cold and hard as a mans voice ever got.
The three, Wolf and Xavier following Salu, followed him into a small, dark room, with less than three meters for each diemension. Below them, the sound of motors and repulserlifts slowly came into beingn, so slowly that one had to listen for them to pick them out. In front of them, the door shut, trapping them into this lightless box and causing their displays all to switch to infrared mode.
For five miniutes, the only sound was the hum of those lifts and the metallic sound of air running through filtration systems common in personel armor as the turbolift carried the three hunters to the bowels of the gigantic spacestation. But finally, the humming stopped and the servomotors became quiet, and as the door, this one on the opposite side of the lift as they had entered opened, each released a breath none had realized they were holding.
The sight that greeted them was two full squads of well armed men in black uniformes. Each sported a late model blaster rifle, complete with scope and several power packs extra on their ammo belts. In the center standing behind them was a grey-clad man with a heavy blaster pistol holstered by his thigh.
The first reaction of Salus two companions was to snap their weapons up in readyness, an action Salu quickly halted by sticking his arms out and pushing their blasters back into their holsters.
"Just let me do all the talking," he whispered quietly, being careful to stress the word all.
"Where are we?" one of them asked, though he wasn't sure.
"Just hold on and I'll explain to you."
Louder, in a more commanding tone, he said, "My name is Salu Fett, and I'm here to see the Overlord of the Firm."
Xavier stood, ill at ease, as Salu spoke with the men of the Firm. He knew what is was, of course, but he had never realised that they were actually in the station in any great number. Wolf seemed easier in this situation than he did, but Xavier had an uneasy feeling about this whole situation. A man broke from the ranks of Firm soldiers. He took his place beside the grey-clad man with the blaster pistol. He cut Salu's conversation in mid-flow. "Come with us." He said.
The men led the three bounty hunters through a warren of dark, dank corridors to a luxurious office. The door hissed open and they were greeted by a large,bulky Noghri, obviously a bodyguard. He treated them with a sinister smile and motioned them in. The man behind the desk was well-built and excluded an air of quiet elegance and menace. He rose and motioned for them to sit. They did so. Xavier took his place, wary for any trick.
The man sat again, before offering the men a drink. They declined, politely. Salu tried to speak, but the man cut him off. "I know your problem. We have men all over the place, spying on the Tenloss soldiers. I detest them; they are uncouth hooligans." A beep on his desk distracted him. He moved to it and recieved the message gravely. "I'm afraid that the Tenloss have news of our location. We must leave." The man called to his Noghri guard. The bounty hunters rose to follow... and a massive explosion blew the door in. The Noghri pulled the man behind the desk, overturned it, and started firing a compact blaster pistol into the smoke. Xavier, who had been knocked down by the explosion, rolled behind a cabinet and blazed away with his E-11. He looked over to locate his companions. Salu was standing in the middle of the office, firing away despite the bolts that chipped around him. Wolf was behind the desk, firing away too. The first Tenloss men to come in the door were riddled with blaster bolts. The Firm soldiers came in the door, forming a line of defence against the attackers. The combined firepower of the hunters and the Firm drove the men back. The Noghri guard pulled the man over behind his men, talking to the hunters as he did so. "Come! We must get the Overlord to the stronghold!" The men disappeared through the door. Wolf and Salu followed. Xavier backed towards the door, firing from his E-11 at the hole as he did. Several men charged through the opening, to be dropped by Xavier's fire. Then something else came through the hole. Uul-Raa-Shan. A Corporate sector Authority hitman, he had fought against him before. Xavier fired at the lizard, unavailingly. The hitman fired a disruptor bolt into Xavier's arm, knocking him into the overturned desk. Uul-Raa-Shan pressed the disruptor to Xavier's head. "Hello, Cassius. Long time no see." The Tenloss soldiers ran through the office to pursue Wolf, Salu, and the Firm's men...
The men led the three bounty hunters through a warren of dark, dank corridors to a luxurious office. The door hissed open and they were greeted by a large,bulky Noghri, obviously a bodyguard. He treated them with a sinister smile and motioned them in. The man behind the desk was well-built and excluded an air of quiet elegance and menace. He rose and motioned for them to sit. They did so. Xavier took his place, wary for any trick.
The man sat again, before offering the men a drink. They declined, politely. Salu tried to speak, but the man cut him off. "I know your problem. We have men all over the place, spying on the Tenloss soldiers. I detest them; they are uncouth hooligans." A beep on his desk distracted him. He moved to it and recieved the message gravely. "I'm afraid that the Tenloss have news of our location. We must leave." The man called to his Noghri guard. The bounty hunters rose to follow... and a massive explosion blew the door in. The Noghri pulled the man behind the desk, overturned it, and started firing a compact blaster pistol into the smoke. Xavier, who had been knocked down by the explosion, rolled behind a cabinet and blazed away with his E-11. He looked over to locate his companions. Salu was standing in the middle of the office, firing away despite the bolts that chipped around him. Wolf was behind the desk, firing away too. The first Tenloss men to come in the door were riddled with blaster bolts. The Firm soldiers came in the door, forming a line of defence against the attackers. The combined firepower of the hunters and the Firm drove the men back. The Noghri guard pulled the man over behind his men, talking to the hunters as he did so. "Come! We must get the Overlord to the stronghold!" The men disappeared through the door. Wolf and Salu followed. Xavier backed towards the door, firing from his E-11 at the hole as he did. Several men charged through the opening, to be dropped by Xavier's fire. Then something else came through the hole. Uul-Raa-Shan. A Corporate sector Authority hitman, he had fought against him before. Xavier fired at the lizard, unavailingly. The hitman fired a disruptor bolt into Xavier's arm, knocking him into the overturned desk. Uul-Raa-Shan pressed the disruptor to Xavier's head. "Hello, Cassius. Long time no see." The Tenloss soldiers ran through the office to pursue Wolf, Salu, and the Firm's men...
(just a note, NO descriptive anything about the overlord, his identity is a secret, and until Ayan reveales who it is or there is a big ass majority vote in the OOC forum, it has to stay that way.
Second, for Xaviers health, a disruptors can vaporize a three-foot cube of durasteel, your man wouldn't be a problem. I suggest you change it to a blaster. Oh, and muchos apollogies for the numerous spelling errors, lately I've had to type on my basement computer, which has no spellcheck or MS word.)
"Shit, not again!" Salu exclaimed as the Tenloss men started running in. Whipping his Commando rifle around his shoulder, he leaped behind the overturned desk and started blazing away at the charging soldiers.
It was over as soon as it began. When the charge of the Synidicate soldiers slackened, the Noghri said, "Come, we must get the overlord to safty," and charge out the door, half dragging the overlord down the dank hall.
Without pausing, Salu and Wolf ran out the hall. From the left, a lizard-man was coming towards him, almost gauranteed to be another of the Firms various and exotic enforcers. But looking away, he realized he'd seen the sentient before. He didn't know where, but...
He looked back around, urgently, to see him gone, though the lean shadow of the reptile was visible in the doorway. The familliar sound of a blaster emerged from the room almost at the same time as he turned around. The sound caught both the Noghri's and Wolf's attention.
"Shit!" he yelled, turning back around and running towards the elegant room they'd just left. In it, he could see the green humanoid, a Trandosian, standing over Xavier, who had a blaster mark on his shoulder, though if his armor was anything like Salus, he doubted it passed through the armor.
Silently, he crept behind him and fired a pair of Stun Bolts into the Falleen, who immediatly collapsed on top of Xavier. Xavier pushed the heavy lizard-man off of him effortlessly, a tribute to the mans great physical strenght.
"Come on," he said, impatiently. Of course, in this situation, the impatience was justified.
"You..." was all Xavier managed to push out.
"No body gets left behind, at least, not with me."
(note to Xavier: if you were planning on some subplot wiht you getting seperated or you confronting the lizard dude, that's fine. I can edit out the rescue. However, from my POV, it would be pretty cool if you ended up confronting him during the attack or someghing.
Second, for Xaviers health, a disruptors can vaporize a three-foot cube of durasteel, your man wouldn't be a problem. I suggest you change it to a blaster. Oh, and muchos apollogies for the numerous spelling errors, lately I've had to type on my basement computer, which has no spellcheck or MS word.)
"Shit, not again!" Salu exclaimed as the Tenloss men started running in. Whipping his Commando rifle around his shoulder, he leaped behind the overturned desk and started blazing away at the charging soldiers.
It was over as soon as it began. When the charge of the Synidicate soldiers slackened, the Noghri said, "Come, we must get the overlord to safty," and charge out the door, half dragging the overlord down the dank hall.
Without pausing, Salu and Wolf ran out the hall. From the left, a lizard-man was coming towards him, almost gauranteed to be another of the Firms various and exotic enforcers. But looking away, he realized he'd seen the sentient before. He didn't know where, but...
He looked back around, urgently, to see him gone, though the lean shadow of the reptile was visible in the doorway. The familliar sound of a blaster emerged from the room almost at the same time as he turned around. The sound caught both the Noghri's and Wolf's attention.
"Shit!" he yelled, turning back around and running towards the elegant room they'd just left. In it, he could see the green humanoid, a Trandosian, standing over Xavier, who had a blaster mark on his shoulder, though if his armor was anything like Salus, he doubted it passed through the armor.
Silently, he crept behind him and fired a pair of Stun Bolts into the Falleen, who immediatly collapsed on top of Xavier. Xavier pushed the heavy lizard-man off of him effortlessly, a tribute to the mans great physical strenght.
"Come on," he said, impatiently. Of course, in this situation, the impatience was justified.
"You..." was all Xavier managed to push out.
"No body gets left behind, at least, not with me."
(note to Xavier: if you were planning on some subplot wiht you getting seperated or you confronting the lizard dude, that's fine. I can edit out the rescue. However, from my POV, it would be pretty cool if you ended up confronting him during the attack or someghing.
(Okay for the disruptor wound. It's changed.
However, about Uul-Raa-Shan. Would you mind if you changed his species to the same one as the bounty hunter Bossk in the Empire Strikes Back, a Trandosian-type thing? Thanks.)
Xavier stood, thanking Salu. The bounty hunter reloaded his E-11 and inspected his blaster scoring. It had'nt penetrated his armor. He turned and left the remains of the office.
However, about Uul-Raa-Shan. Would you mind if you changed his species to the same one as the bounty hunter Bossk in the Empire Strikes Back, a Trandosian-type thing? Thanks.)
Xavier stood, thanking Salu. The bounty hunter reloaded his E-11 and inspected his blaster scoring. It had'nt penetrated his armor. He turned and left the remains of the office.
Wolf had kept silent throughout the proceedings. All through the sewers, he said not a word, choosing to let events unfold rather than muck it up by asking questions. He'd let Salu pass him to lead with only a small nod, and had kept his silence even when the door/wall crossbreed opened up to reveal a darkened passage, tinted bright red by his helmet's optical sensor suite. He was even completely quiet during the long elevator ride down into the station's depths. But, once they hit bottom, and met with a squadron or two of armed, black uniformed troopers, he'd the sudden urge to pose a question. Maybe more than one...two...hell, dozens were running through his mind, but the first one out was, "Where are we?"
Salu shushed him and told him to lower his weapon, which he'd raised instinctively...and he did, not really pleased with the thought of becoming nothing but a pair of smoking black boots. The sheer number of blasters aimed his way in the lift's tight confines pretty much stifled any sense of defiance he would usually of had under those conditions. A possibility of survival so slim it was virtually non-existent didn't appeal to him too much. So, he kept quiet again and went along with Salu, thumbing the safety off of his pistol as he went.
He declined the offer of a drink that was given, instead choosing to stand near the door...a decision he later regretted, as no sooner had their "meeting" begun than a contingent of Tenloss soldiers blew it from it's hinges. Wolf was propelled forward by the force of the explosion, but quickly regained his balance...only to realize that he had indeed left his feet, ending up behind the recently upturned desk. He and the Noghri body guard caught each other's gaze...both grimly smiled as Wolf got to a kneeling position and began firing into the gaping hole along side him. Fett was standing in the middle of the room, fearlessly blasting away while Xavier supplied a near constant stream of red death from the business end of his E-11.
Guys were dropping all around, but the black-uniformed men, whom he assumed were the fabled "Firm", were clearly the better fighters, pushing the advancing Syndicate troops back through the entry way. The number of bodies building up in it was astounding...and the room had begun to fill with a thick haze of smoke. He was glad for his helmet's rebreathers, noticing some of the men gasping for breath.
Then, with all due urgency, the Firm troops began their retreat...through the front door. The Noghri bodyguard hefted his charge and bolted out the still smoldering entrance, the rest of the Firm men covering his departure and leaving as well...along with Salu and Wolf. At first, both hunters failed to realize that their third member wasn't with them...but after hearing the sound of a blaster from back in the room, they came running.
Salu entered first, with Wolf just behind him, though he stayed to watch down the hall for any more Tenloss cronies. From inside, he heard the sound of stun blasts and peeked in momentarily to see what all the commotion was.
On the floor lay a Trandoshan gunmen, incapacitated by the stun blasts he'd just heard, and Salu was helping Xavier up. Wolf was about to ask what had happened when he took another look at the two-legged lizard. "Can't be...he's dead...he's been dead, for a long, long time. He kicked at Star's End. Han Solo killed him...there's no way.....", His thoughts raced.
He finally asked another question, his second, as Salu, Xavier close behind, passed by, "Is that who I think it is? Is that Uul-Raa-Shan?" Well, a pair of questions really.
Salu shushed him and told him to lower his weapon, which he'd raised instinctively...and he did, not really pleased with the thought of becoming nothing but a pair of smoking black boots. The sheer number of blasters aimed his way in the lift's tight confines pretty much stifled any sense of defiance he would usually of had under those conditions. A possibility of survival so slim it was virtually non-existent didn't appeal to him too much. So, he kept quiet again and went along with Salu, thumbing the safety off of his pistol as he went.
He declined the offer of a drink that was given, instead choosing to stand near the door...a decision he later regretted, as no sooner had their "meeting" begun than a contingent of Tenloss soldiers blew it from it's hinges. Wolf was propelled forward by the force of the explosion, but quickly regained his balance...only to realize that he had indeed left his feet, ending up behind the recently upturned desk. He and the Noghri body guard caught each other's gaze...both grimly smiled as Wolf got to a kneeling position and began firing into the gaping hole along side him. Fett was standing in the middle of the room, fearlessly blasting away while Xavier supplied a near constant stream of red death from the business end of his E-11.
Guys were dropping all around, but the black-uniformed men, whom he assumed were the fabled "Firm", were clearly the better fighters, pushing the advancing Syndicate troops back through the entry way. The number of bodies building up in it was astounding...and the room had begun to fill with a thick haze of smoke. He was glad for his helmet's rebreathers, noticing some of the men gasping for breath.
Then, with all due urgency, the Firm troops began their retreat...through the front door. The Noghri bodyguard hefted his charge and bolted out the still smoldering entrance, the rest of the Firm men covering his departure and leaving as well...along with Salu and Wolf. At first, both hunters failed to realize that their third member wasn't with them...but after hearing the sound of a blaster from back in the room, they came running.
Salu entered first, with Wolf just behind him, though he stayed to watch down the hall for any more Tenloss cronies. From inside, he heard the sound of stun blasts and peeked in momentarily to see what all the commotion was.
On the floor lay a Trandoshan gunmen, incapacitated by the stun blasts he'd just heard, and Salu was helping Xavier up. Wolf was about to ask what had happened when he took another look at the two-legged lizard. "Can't be...he's dead...he's been dead, for a long, long time. He kicked at Star's End. Han Solo killed him...there's no way.....", His thoughts raced.
He finally asked another question, his second, as Salu, Xavier close behind, passed by, "Is that who I think it is? Is that Uul-Raa-Shan?" Well, a pair of questions really.
Xavier answered Wolf's question as the two pounded through the lower levels of the station. "Yes, I thought he was dead as well, but it's either him or an impostor. I had heard rumours about Stars' End and Han Solo blasting it into orbit, But I never recieved any evidence."