Private The Marvelous Mimic

[Inanna Harth]

“Blood spice.” She took one more step, and was able to put her hands on his desk and lean forward slightly. Might as well get as much mileage out of that plunging neckline as possible. “That’s what we want.”

"What kind of proof you need? My wares ain't exactly reusable."

“Who is your supplier? Or better yet, where was it manufactured?” she asked. “As long as we’re sure it’s being made by a legitimate plant, and not some backwoods moonshiner looking to make an extra buck selling a product that's less than pure, we’ll be golden.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Ah… That…" The Toydarian cheated a glance as Inanna leaned over, but made at least some effort to maintain decency. He looked back away, a bit more nervous as the woman requested knowledge of the supplier. "I ain't sure you understand. They're very secretive about their operation. They wouldn't even tell me…" He swallowed thickly, before admitting, "I was offered a chitload of money to keep quiet about it. More than I'd ever seen."

"They don't want people to know they're about to take Blood Spice."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Well, well. This one was quite the little scumbag. “Someone contacted you,” Inanna pressed. “Could you at least give me a name, a holo address…?”

With luck and a bit of Cato’s technical expertise, they might be able to trace the drug’s origins. It was the only lead they had so far…

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

"Uh…" The Toydarian's eyes darted around, "I-I don't know. That much money for a secret like that? I ain't so sure I wanna piss those guys off. Not sure you do either." But after a pregnant pause, he seemed to give in to pressure, even though Inanna wasn't really threatening him, "It was a Balosar. He didn't give anything away about his name or anything. But his coat had a symbol on it. Like a uh… a snake, wrapped around a syringe."

A snake around a syringe? Cato dwelled on it for a moment, then suddenly stepped out from behind cover, "I know that symbol. I've seen it before on patrols." The Toydaraian was surprised by the sudden reminder that Moonlighter was here, and raised his shotgun once more. Cato strolled in unperturbed. "There's an old building in the industrial zone that had that symbol. I didn't think it was still operating."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

With Moonlighter’s reveal, the Toydarian raised his gun again. Inanna rested her hand on the barrel and gently lowered it, giving the owner a reassuring smile.

“Thank you for the information,” she said. Reaching into her pocket, she produced a wad of cash and set it on his desk. “For your trouble.”

She stood up straight, bosom bouncing with the motion, and proceeded to deck the Toydarian in the face with enough force to knock him into next week.

Turning on her heel, she headed back out of the office. “It would be pretty silly of them to put the symbol of their secret organization on their headquarters, and then have their representative wear it on his jacket,” she snickered. “But hey, it’s good for us!”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato let Inanna continue to handle the situation, which she did by promptly knocking the Toydarian unconscious once he had given all the information he could. The drug dealer's wings flapped wildly, as his portly body sailed backwards, toppling into his own chair. He let out a final groan, then fell into what would likely be a long, uncomfortable sleep, "Ouch." Moonlighter remarked plainly, before looking over at the wad of cash Inanna produced to complete her act, "Where'd you get that?"

“It would be pretty silly of them to put the symbol of their secret organization on their headquarters, and then have their representative wear it on his jacket,”

"Well, I think it belonged to some kind of corporation that used to operate out of there. Like I said I didn't think it was still in use. So either they are still there, and way too unsubtle about their current methods, or somebody else is using their facade." They walked back out through the den, to the bar, and out to the street, "Either way, it's the only lead we've got." He offered a hand to Inanna, drawing his grappling hook with the other to set off for the industrial zone.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Where'd you get that?"

"If I were two hundred years old and still broke, I might as well jump off a cliff," she joked. "Should I take the money back now that he's unconscious?"

Their destination was set. But Inanna was hesitant to allow Moonlighter to carry her. This was her first outing as a vigilante, and she was eager to prove herself capable.

She stood before him, cupping his cheek. "Do you ever rest?" she asked, her other hand wandering over his chest. "Even for just a little while…" Seeing his grappling hook, her lips curled into a flirtatious smile. "Oh, I can get around on my own. Why don't we figure out which of us is faster? Catch me if you can."

She turned and broke into a sprint. With the Force she heightened her leap, jumping onto a nearby building and racing across the rooftops.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Uh, yeah?" Cato chuckled, finding the money far more precious that she did, "We just cleaned his clocked, we might as well not pay the scumbag drug dealer either."

Outside, Cato tensed excitedly as Inanna closed in to flirt, "Every now and then," He said knowingly, "When the job is done." Instead of taking his hand, she challenged him to a race. Inanna broke off quickly, leaving Cato to scramble and catch up, "Ey!" He rapelled up onto the roof, and chased after. He could use the Force as well, amplifying his movements and reactions, not to emotion he knew these rooftops as well. The race quickly became even once more as he slid down a cable onto a lower building.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Having had a head start, she seemed to be winning at first. But Cato rapidly caught up. She saw him moving out of the corner of her eye, darting nimbly across the rooftops like a cat. Finally, he launched himself ahead, sliding down to land in front of her as she jumped down onto a lower building.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, as though about to accuse him of cheating. Instead she just laughed and veered in another direction, flipping across inert construction equipment before apparently diving into an alleyway, disappearing from view.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Despite the fact that Cato was wearing a mask, it was blatantly clear he was grinning underneath as he caught up with Inanna. She laughed and veered off to where Cato couldn't see. For a moment he considered pursuing, but he was in this to win. With his grappling hook he shot up to another building, launching him self towards another cable, which he spun around like a fancy gymnastics routine, once more propelling himself into a landing.

The roof he stopped at overlooked the industrial zone. Beyond a heap of scrap and junk was a large, almost square-shaped building. The symbol supposedly on the seller's coat was emblazoned on the front, decrepit and unlit. Cato noted the word pharmaceuticals underneath. Well, that probably explained the source of the Blood Spice.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

It took a little while for Inanna to realize Moonlighter wasn’t following her. Eventually she became visible again, her rapid stride quickly catching up to him. She was a little embarrassed at the misunderstanding, but it was all right. She was still learning. They both were.

Landing just behind him, she peered over his shoulder at the industrial zone. The symbol the Toydarian had described was easy to pick out, a faded logo on an abandoned pharmaceuticals plant. Well, not so abandoned anymore, if this lead was correct.

“There it is,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You’re not ready for a break yet, are you?” Saving the day always came first, a fact which ironically made him all the more attractive. She supposed she could wait until they had taken care of business. Victory would make it all the sweeter…

She released her hold on him, though not before planting a quick kiss on his masked cheek. “What’s the plan of attack?” she asked.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Seems that way," Cato concurred. He glanced over at Inanna, another invisible smirk obviously growing beneath his mask, "Like I said, not till the job is done and the day is saved." A rare chance for Cato to play hard to get ought to be relished. But also, he wasn't just going to let Blood Spice stick around if he had a chance to put it down now.

"Good question," Moonlighter hummed in thought, "Perhaps we could find a back way in," He stood up onto the ledge of the building, and did a backwards swan dive down to the street, cushioning his landing with the Force. He led off towards the building and through the scrapyard ins search of an entry point. There was a front door sure enough, but the rest of the building seemed locked down tight. There wasn't so much as a window to see in or out of. Just an ominous block of duracrete overlooking fields of junk. "This thing's a damn fortress. Surely there's at least a vent or something," Cato began looking further up, eventually finding a small vent slot… far higher up than his grappling hook would reach.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna followed Moonlighter’s lead, staying relatively close as he searched for a way inside the plant. Their prospects weren’t looking good; the place was locked down tight.

Eventually he pointed toward a vent slot high above them, but then seemed to deflate. Now, Inanna had been around the block a few times, and had used her fair share of grappling hooks before her shapeshifting abilities fully developed. She figured out that the vent was too high for him to reach before he even had a chance to tell her.

Admittedly very pleased to be given an opportunity to help, she practically skipped over to his side and raised her arm. Her fingers melted together and lengthened as her arm grew taller, until eventually she was able to pluck the vent covering off, passing it back down to Moonlighter. The whole operation was vaguely cartoonish, and very fun to watch.

“Hmm…” She felt around in the vent, gauging its size. “It’s tight, but I think you’ll fit in there.” And Inanna could fit in anything. With her other arm, she gestured for him to grab hold of her.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Though the cable of Moonlighter's grappling hook was finite, Inanna seemed to possess near-limitless shapeshifting abilities. With ease she stretched her arm all the way up to the vent and removed the cover. Cato watched with the expected amount of comical enjoyment. He imagined cartoon wobbly noises emanated from the limb as it reached higher and higher, "How far can you go?" He asked.

With business still at hand, Inanna gauged the girth of the vent, and found it suitable for human infiltration. She declared as much with the most suspect phrasing possible. The expression on Cato's lenses mirrored an uneven, confused look, "Really?" He said, giving her a minute to dwell on what she said, "I can't ever tell if it's intentional or not." He grabbed hold, waiting for the ascension.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“If I put my whole body into it, pretty far. I could reach beyond the treetops back home if I tried hard enough.”

"Really?"

“Wha—Hey!” She sighed and started to pull them up, her arm getting gradually shorter. “I’m trying to be serious. I guess I can’t even do that with you around…”

Upon reaching the girthy vent, she nearly tossed him inside, before following after him.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Well, it ain't the first time I've heard it," Cato defended himself, unconvinced of her innocence, "Sure, sure. Blame it on me," A shit-eating smirk remained on his face for the duration of their ascent.

Upon being tossed in, Cato wiggled around some to try and adjust his comfortability, sparing a glance behind him to check that Inanna was in fact there. Then, he wiggled his way further in for an uneventful trek through the vent system. Eventually, they came across another vent covering, through which he had an opportunity to get a peek of things down below through the slits, "Hang on, there's something here," He muttered.

Inside looked to be a factory floor of some kind. Conveyor belts lined with racks of vials and other containers filled with a blood red liquid. The scent of spice lingered on the air. Despite the production levels, it was comparatively quiet, probably in part due to the small number of staff: A scattering of figures dressed in lab coats, gloves, and face masks, attending the machinery. "Sure looks like the source of our problems," Cato assessed, "It's a factory. That must be whatever they're putting in the spice." There was a groan from the vent, and it bent inward, though the covering didn't break yet. These things weren't exactly designed for people to crawl through. One of the workers looked up, but didn't seem to register Moonlighter's presence.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna sighed at his remarks. “Yeah yeah, big guy...” Following behind him in the shaft gave her an interesting view, at least.

Upon reaching the slits, Moonlighter came to a halt to peer down at the workers. Inanna squeezed between his legs, stretching out underneath him so she too could have a view of the factory floor. The smell of spice hit her first, so familiar. Once upon a time it would’ve been enticing. Now she felt nothing, unable to be influenced by any of her old favorite poisons.

“Just a handful of people in lab coats?” she whispered incredulously. “There has to be guards. No way we’re fighting a bunch of nerds—”

The vent groaned and suddenly buckled beneath them. Inanna’s eyes widened in panic. One of the workers looked up, but didn’t seem to realize they were there. “I can distract them,” she said. “You jump down and start kicking ass, then I’ll join you. Sound good?” With any luck this would be a quickie, and they could move on to other things in no time...

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato shrugged as best he could given their confines. Who knew what these guys were up to at this point. Before Inanna could even fully finish her thought, the vent began to strain under their weight. The two of them were sandwiched together as Cato fell forward, barely catching himself.

"Distract them?" Cato asked, "Do we need to? We might be able to-" The vent lurched again. It wasn't going to sustain the weight of two people, "Alright alright hot stuff, get moving so I can cause a scene," Once Inanna had slinked out of his way, Cato jumped out the vent and down to the factory floor. Sure enough, it was just a bunch of lab coat wearing nerds. Should be easy. "Can I speak to your manager? I need to lodge a complain about your latest product."

The expressions of the workers were largely indiscernible, obscured by masks and goggles. They all seemed to look amongst one another, then drew blasters, immediately firing on Moonlighter, "Woah!" He rolled behind a conveyor belt for cover, "Your Customer Service really needs a restructuring!" Suddenly, the cover he was behind zapped form existence. "Wha— Are you kidding me?!" He saw one of the scientists holding a disruptor rifle, "You guys are playing with the big kid toys, huh?!" He bolted for something else to hide behind, avoiding shots all the while. Whoever these guys were, they were carrying serious tech.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna didn’t have a chance to explain her plan in detail; the vent couldn’t take much more of their combined weight. A pity. Under different circumstances, she would’ve thoroughly enjoyed having Cato pressed against her back...

She moved sinuously, redistributing her weight to another portion of the vent. Moonlighter jumped down, and she followed suit, beginning a telekinetic assault on the nerds. With a sweep of her arm, anything that wasn’t bolted down went flying across the room. It created enough of a distraction that she was able to knock a pair of them out with fists and feet.

A powerful burning stench suddenly filled the room. She turned, saw the dweeb with the disruptor, and immediately yanked the gun out of his hands with the Force. “This is illegal, you know!” she exclaimed, slamming the blunt end of the weapon against the geek’s temple and knocking him out.

Now in possession of a disruptor, she leveled it at the lab-coated dorks. They all ducked behind cover, falling like dominos. She started vaping the tables they were hiding behind and continued using telekinesis to disarm them. Soon a heap of weapons lay at her feet, surrounded by several piles of ash where the work tables had once stood.

Inanna kept the disruptor fixed upon the nerds. She didn’t intend to fire, but it was good for keeping them in line. Particles of stray spice swirled through the air, glittering in the dim light. “Careful what you breathe in,” she warned Moonlighter.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Inanna quickly took charge of the situation, throwing around detritus and disarming the shooters. There was a split second after she aimed the disruptor at them in which Cato tensed up, ready to react. But she didn't fire, only using it to intimidate. Cato relaxed.

“Careful what you breathe in,”

Stupidly, Cato took a deep breath in response to that, "Whew. Yeah. I can already feel the sting." He shook his head, "Need a better air filter for this mask." A future upgrade no doubt. He turned towards the double doors leading further inward, "Alright, keep 'em wrangled up here. I'll-" As he reached for the handle, the doors flung open, knocking him backwards. From inside, a massive wookiee made his entrance. Each lumbering step he made hit the ground heavily, and he stopped just a few feet in front of Moonlighter, "The hell?"

The wookiee roared, and then another smaller creature popped out from behind him, latched onto the wookiee's back. It was an Ewok and he cackled madly, "Outta the way, sleemo! Business is boomin'!" He pointed a gun too large for his little hands towards the vigilante.

"I don't mean to offend, but uh, you're not what I was expecting to see in a place like this."

"Appliances can be deceivin'." The Ewok replied, apparently unaware of his incorrect wording, "We run this gig now. We's was made for it!"

"Now? Who ran it before?"

"Pops." The Ewok said without context, "Don't matter though. Pops is dead now. And you will be too if you don't scram!"

Inanna Harth​