A Warlords Heart (Open)

[Causstik Rahn]

Near GA space-The Giju run​

Source​

BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM. Deep in the bowls of the Scorekeeper 200 Trandoshans struck away on hide drums. 1000 slaves pushed turbines to the beat which in turn powered the back up generators. Trandoshan beaters wandered the aisles whipping anyone who thought to take a moments respite.​

"FASTER YOU FOOLS!" Roared a Trandoshan Chieftan "FORGET YOURSELF, FOR THIS SHIP IS YOUR BODY NOW AND THOSE DRUMS ARE YOUR HEART! PUSH OR WE ALL DIE!"​

The slaves shoved with all their might, then when they thought their was no more to give a beater showed them otherwise. Still it was not fast enough. A slave was taken and shown the error of his ways by a cruel blade. The slaves thrust harder.​

On the tip of the vessel was tied one man. He owed the warlord a great deal of money and now was to pay it back with his life. He sat their motionless in his space suit floating through the great void where no one could hear him scream. Canons mounted all over the ship began to turn towards mark and then fired away. They barked salvos of death against the large merchant freighter. The shields flickered, then died all together. The Scorekeeper moved in. Dozens of pods flew from her hangars. They studded the defending ship and released their cargo of Trandoshan marauders.​

Aboard the bridge of the Scorekeeper Causstik stood with arms crossed. Skulls adorned his shoulders, lightsabers lined his waist, and ears hung from his neck. The bridge was a mess of trophies much like the lizard. Hides lay on the floors, Mandalorian helmets adorned the walls, and scalps hung from the ceiling. He stared at the merchant vessel in delight. Without an armed escort it had fallen easy prey to the pirates. Now the goods inside were his for the taking. It was supposedly carrying a weapon of sorts. Causstik planned on making the new gun his own.​

"Orders sir?" Hissed a Trandoshan.​

"We shouldn't leave our guest tied to the stern hull waiting too long. When our men have secured the weapon... Ram their boat." Causstik barked.​

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

The merchant's ship shuddered, "They're Boarding!" shouted a Twi'lek, panic spreading across the faces of the crew. Dammit, Leo thought to himself, this was meant to be a simple escort job, he wasn't planning on a raid of this size. Leo rushed to the starboard side of the ship, peering through the reinforced windows out into the vast emptiness of space... well it wasn't so empty now. Dozens of boarding pods detached from the pirate's ship, shooting through the empty gap between them. "I want every man with a gun watching these doors now!" Leo commanded, about twenty people rushed forward, nothing but basic blasters in hand. "How long till we can make the jump to hyper-space?" Leo directed the question the the ships pilot. "I don't know... we weren't prepared for an attack like this." These guys were unprepared and they knew it, the nerves of the men began seeping across their faces, they knew about the weapon on board and they knew they had to protect it, but they weren't ready to die just yet, and Leo wasn't going to let them.

| [member="Causstik Rahn"] |

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Meanwhile at the stern of the scorekeeper...

Glupgloor the Rodian had never thought it would end like this. He lost one shipment. One lowsey shipment and now he found himself tied to a pirate warship. His oxygen was running low and it was getting cold in his space suit. Small chunks of space dust kept frosting over his helmet. Then all at once the lazer cannons opened fire. They fired salvos of death at the unsespecting merchant ship. The smell of burnt ozone crept into Glupgloor's suit and he screamed louder...

 

[Causstik Rahn]

Causstik sat aboard his boarding pod and waited for launch in the cramped quarters. 5.... 4... 3.. 2. 1 Their was a heavy lurch as the pod raced towards the merchant vessel. Lazer fire rained down from the scorekeeper protecting the pods from incoming fighters. Their were none, but it was still standard procedure. The pod quaked violently as it smashed into the hull of the merchant ship. Space filled the enemy ship and men suffocated in the vacuum. Their lives extinguished as the cold grasp of death closed its grasp on them. The breach was sealed as blast doors closed.

The pod's penetrating tip split open and the Trandoshans hopped out. Causstik was greeted by plain halls and shiny black tiles. The dead littered the corridor. They proceded down the halls and met little resistance. A team of men dressed in allaince uniforms atempted to hold the Trandoshans back. The reptiles took cover behind a set of crates. Causstik made a gesture with his hands and two popped out of cover. Suppressive fire. Grenade. Then their was a large explosion as most of the merchant's men exploded in a pink mist.

The vessels guards were no match for the well trained Trandoshan commandos. Causstik approached the crater the grenade had made and found a man still alive. He was crawling around without legs atempting to get away. Causstik gripped the man by the hair and yanked his head back. He grabbed a knife from his waist and placed it against the man's scalp. He dragged the serated teeth along the mans head in a slicing motion and the scalp came clean easily. Causstik stood from his position over the man and studied his prize. He tied it around his waist without even waiting for it to dry. They secured the hall and made their way through the rest of the bleak vessel and drew ever closer towards the weapon and [member="Leo Vandermolen"] position.

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Zos stood behind a small outcroping around the door way. Pirates were coming and it was only a matter of time. He'd heard of these guys. Dread tooth war band. People whispered legends about 'em in the outter rim. Rumor was it was always better to die discover then be captured alive. Some rumors went so far as to even say their ship was covered in the hides of their dead prisoners. Zos didn't believe 'em, but still anyone without kinda rep was to be feared. Zos kept telling himself he wasn't scared, but his gun kept shaking in his hand.

Suddenly their was a large bang in the room beyond the doors and the vessel seemed to shake a little. Things went deftly quiet for a moment and red lights flashed everywhere. The blast doors closed. Then all at once a squad of crazed Trandoshans breached the door way. The enemy took cover behind a stack of crates and we traded fire with them. Two popped out of cover and began hosing us with fire. Then I heard something clank by my feet. A grenade. BOOM.

Most of my squad died in the blast. I was unfortunate enough to live. I tried to crawl away with no legs. The Trandoshan grabed me by my hair, forcing me to look him in his eyes. Their was only madness there. He placed a serated blade against my head and began to peel my scalp off. I screamed in pain till I finally, mercifully passed out.

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Smash! The hull was breached as Transdoshan warriors began pouring into the ship, the men stood no chance here. Leo called out to the ones who remained, "Everybody, get the kark back to the cargo bay! NOW!" He yelled over the roars of the Transdoshan's battle cry's and the buzzing of blaster fire. They were dying left right and center, they were no match to these skilled raiders, returning some blaster fire, Leo managed to catch a few in the head, putting them down for good as he and a skeleton crew of men retreated back to where the weapon was. Upon reaching the cargo bay, Leo hammered the door lock, sealing it tight in a small attempt at halting the advances of these pirates. "I want all of you covering that door, the second it opens, I want a hail of blaster fire! We're going to show them that we won't go down so easily." The men were clearly nervous but Leo's gruff outlook calmed them a little, this was gonna be one hell of a fight...

| [member="Desmond C'artyom"] | [member="Causstik Rahn"] |

 

[Causstik Rahn]

Causstik's Trandoshans made their way through corridor after corridor. The merchant guards were ill equipped, but they fought like hell. Buying Leo and his gang much needed precious seconds. They knew the lay of the terrain and they utilized it well. They performed hit and run tactics in the midst of the halls. Waiting till the Trandoshans passed a door then emerging and ambushing the unsuspecting lizards. But for everyone of the Trandoshans killed the lizards killed five more. It was beginning to look like a blood bath.

Causstik Rahn and his squad were at the passage that led to the bridge. The captain had shut down the elevator and they were going to have brave the depths of space to enter it. They approached an airlock and prepared their flight suits. Twenty minutes. That's all they'd have. The air lock came open with a hiss as the oxygen was sucked out of the room. Magnetic boots held the Trandoshans in place. They moved along the metallic hull as the Scorekeeper continued to lightly bomb the merchant vessel.

The light from the lasers illuminated the void of space as they found mark. The image reflected on the Trandoshans helmets, but they paid no heed. This squad of Trandoshans had a job to do. Secure the bridge. They marched vertically up the metallic plates leading to their destination. When they were in place they laid down one thermite charge. It melted a hole into the room below and they jumped in. Everyone in the room had suffocated, but the Trandoshans weren't in the bridge yet. The blast doors sealed the opening and they stripped out of their flight suits.

They readied their weapons and breached the bridge. The crew had taken their own lives, they'd rather die then be subjected to the torture these slavers would surely implement on them. Causstik raced to the main terminal and keyed in the comms open frequency.

"[member="Leo Vandermolen"], resistance is futile. We have you surrounded. We will give you one chance. You and your crew may join our ranks, but only if you surrender the weapon. Decide or die,"

Slowly Causstiks troops encroached on the Cargo bay.

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

Crossk chased the fleeing guards with glee. It seemed they had them on the run and that a duster clad man was the only thing that stood in their way. The guards took cover behind crates and the Trandoshans charged forward while two more gave suppresive fire. They made it to another set of crates before the fire became to dense to brave again. They held position then blindly fired over the boxes. The enemy stopped returning fire for a moment and the Trandoshans brought up the rear. One peaked his head over the box and received a quick laser to the head for his worries. He slumped to the ground dead. This Leo was a dead eye with a blaster. That Crossk knew. Two Trandoshans stood and provided suppresive fire. Time to move. Thought the Trandoshan. He charged forward with his kinsman then was raked in the back by laser fire. They both fell to the ground dead. The guards had came out of a room behind them. In the heat of the moment they had failed to check and secure the surrounding quarters...

 

[Tanomas Graf]

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] | [member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Leo Vandermolen"]

The pitch-black void of space was suddenly displaced by a massive hulk of durasteel as the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger reverted from hyperspace. The 800 year old vessel was only there because they had received a distress signal from a merchant barge while patrolling Galactic Alliance-controlled territories. Rear Admiral Tanomas Graf stood on the bridge of his prized destroyer, with a permanent scowl set on his face and his mustache ruffled. Apparently today's adversary was pirates by the looks of it, the old man had an integrated hate for pirates. Three bright ion engines propelled the massive warship forward towards its enemy.

"Prepare the fighters and boarding vessels for launch. I want all long range batteries on that unidentified vessel, and get me the status of the merchant ship!" The old man barked. Dozens of long range turbolasers swung around to stare their barrels down at the 'pirate' vessel. Graf snapped his fingers at the comm officer for him to send a transmission over to the enemy ship.

"This is Rear Admiral Tanomas Graf of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force Navy. Unidentified vessel, cease your boarding actions of the merchant vessel and clear the system or be destroyed." Tanomas spat, hoping that they would get the kriffing message.

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

The screams of the men throughout the ship ceased as Leo heard the hull being breached again, the vacuum pulling the remaining people outside the cargo-bay into the dark abyss of space. "Uh... sir." said one of the men stationed near the bay's window, "You might want to see this." He motioned for Leo to come over and he peered through the window as a karking Imperial Star-destroyer emerged from hyperspace.

"Are they on our side?" One of the men questioned?

"They're here to kill both us and the pirates!" Another yelled.

In the confusion the inter-com system screeched to life, a Transdoshan voice echoed throughout the room, causing the men to stop their panic and listen in nervous silence. The voice demanded that he give up the weapon to the Transdoshan's in return for the crews lives. Most of them were dead anyway and pirates aren't known to keep their promises, they'd more than likely slaughter the remaining crew the second they stepped from the cargo-bay.

Leo took the opportunity to look over the weapon. Pulling of the cloth draping everyone's eyes focused on the large, gleaming canon that sat mounted upon a small freighter. Leo recognised this gun, he had seen it before at an illegal ship parts shop on Tatooine. It was a Magnetic Accelerator Canon, or M.A.C as engineers would call it. Leo could see why the pirates wanted it so badly, and wondered why this ship was so undermanned. This thing could pack a punch, the shells ignored shield entirely and could obliterate ships with but a few rounds.

He gestured towards the radio of one of the men, "Pass that here." All men on the ship were outfitted with a radio to stay in communication, however Leo didn't think it was necessary for himself to have one. There were bound to be a few corpses with radios still attached to their bodies where the Transdoshan leader was. "Lizard!" Leo yelled into the radio across the emergency frequency that was picked up by every radio on the ship, that probably gave his men a startle. He repeated the word a few times and waited just to make sure that he had picked one of the radios up.

"I don't think we'll be going anywhere. I suggest looking out a window friend, have fun." Leo's calm demeanor in addressing the pirate leader seemed to calm the men down somewhat, their hand's shaking just a little bit less. Let's see him deal with this...

| [member="Tanomas Graf"] | [member="Desmond C'artyom"] | [member="Causstik Rahn"] |

 

[Causstik Rahn]

Khark. Imperials... Probably Remnants of the One Sith.

Causstik's vessel was completely undefended. All his troops had been devoted to boarding the merchant vessel. He watched as his ship prepared to take action. 100 Flechette turrets opened up on the descending fighter escort. The turrets would attempt to target the boarding craft that flew with the fighters. They belched their red salvos at the enemy..

The bridge of the Scorekeeper.

Crossk, Causstiks son, stood arms folded aboard the bridge. The Imperials had come out to play. It was as his father had wanted.. An adversary. He crossed the hide strewn deck. "READY THE FUSSION ACCELERATOR CANNONS!" It would take some time for these weapons to power up, but when they did.. They would be more then enough for the approaching star destroyer. The thought of the cannons ripping the Star destroyer apart pleased Crossk. "GRA HA HA HA!" The Lizard laughed, his voice like gravel. The order was relayed and power was diverted from the back up generator to the cannons.

The drums picked up.

BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM! The slaves fought to keep up with the beat. "PUSH YOU DOGS!" Cried the slave master. The beaters whipped voraciously, with no seeming intent. "PUSH!" The massive wheels trundled along and slowly power to the Fusion Cannons built up.

Back aboard the Merchant vessel...

[member="Leo Vandermolen"] told Causstik to essentially piss off. He let out a low guttural growl over the comms, then brought both fist down on the panels "GRAGH," They erupted in a cloud of sparks and smoke. "Open all security doors. I'm going to join them on the push for the cargo hold," He and his men had to make this quick. If the Imperials boarded the scorekeeper, they'd have no real protection. He took the elevator downwards and prepared for the final push to secure the Magnetic cannon. His forces surrounded the bay. Leo had one last chance at surrender.

[member="Tanomas Graf"]

(OOC: My character Desmond will be dropping out now, as that half of the development is done)

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

"Alright guys, looks like we're not dying just yet." Leo addressed the crew. "I want people in that freighter, prepping it for launch, we're gonna have to abandon the ship... And someone figure out how to operate that gun, were gonna leave em' with a nice parting gift." Leo smirked at his comment as around half of the remaining men got into the freighter, getting it ready for flight. With both the discovery of this smaller ship, and the arrival of a Star-Destroyer, luck be Leo's lady tonight. Leo walked over to one of the larger cargo containers, gesturing for some of the men to assist him. With their full strength, they toppled the container over the entrance to the cargo-bay, hopefully holding back the raiders just a little longer, and buying the crew enough time to get the kark outta here.

| [member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Tanomas Graf"] | [member="Desmond C'artyom"] |

 

[Tanomas Graf]

[member="Causstik Rahn"] | [member="Leo Vandermolen"]

The old man scowled, why did they always have to resist? "Launch all of our squadrons and disable their weapons. Have the bombers target their bridge, I want that ship brought down by any means necessary." Graf ordered. Dozens of X-Wings and Y-Wings poured out of the main hangar bay of the ship, zooming towards their target, the pirate vessel.

The Avenger had moved in range of the vessel, and all of its turbolaser batteries began to rapidly fire at the ship. Boarding vessels filled with marines would be moving to board, attempting to maneuver out of the way of the incoming laser fire.

Green turbolaser bolts and blue ion cannon blasts were soon followed by pinkish-streaks as proton torpedoes surged past, intent on piercing the shields of the vessel and destroying key areas. Meanwhile large swafts of X-wings accelerated to attack speed and dived under the ship, intent on getting behind it and avoiding the weapons if they could. Y-wings would do the same but deliver a deadly payload to the bottom of the vessel.