EXGAL HUNT - Weekend Treasure Hunt 9: Engines of Death

[Laith Varad*]

SE-3
Transport A
Objective: Have [member="Chloe Blake"] show me her pretty face

​

...she was smart, cautious, Laith was surprised at how easy it was to convince someone to pop their head out for a quick shot to the dome however he seemed to be at a disadvantage here for the moment. After all his ship had become unresponsive which lead to the obvious conclusion it was disabled and if intuition played any role here Laith was almost certain that Chloe had something to do with that. Nonetheless it wasn't as though he planned to succumb to defeat so easily; after all he was still on the frame of a Kerts-Bhrg which have just been one of the most destructive forces available to him anywhere...

...crouched down Laith didn't see much while he scanned the area though he focused his attention towards the general area he heard her voice coming from when he answered..."Lets not play games Chloe."...underneath his helm he was smiling a bit..."Companion Esk is rich in treasures the likes of which aren't common elsewhere, I'd imagine you already know that though."...he took her for someone who had, at least, explored Companion Esk to some extent though just how far was a mystery to him...

...there was a chuckle..."Yes philosophy is my forte. Alas, the Priests of Tusk weren't as exceptional conversationalists as you might have thought."...otherwise he might have just talked them into giving him one of the massive machines that filled this cargo hold. No such luck though....

...Laith remained crouched down, weighing the options in the back of his head, then he chirped up..."If you're not going to come out this isn't going to go places Chloe."...he sounded quite inviting actually..."I'm going to give you to the count of five. Then I plan on seeing if this thing still runs."...he spared a backwards glance towards what he only assumed was the entrance to a control terminal for the Kerts-Bhrg before his head faced front again...

...One...two...three...​

 

[Chloe Blake]

SE-3
Transport A
Objective: Talking with Ermac Laith

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Miztah Varad." Chloe would drawl out. Her mind was racing. If he turned on the Kerts-Bhrg...

Well, she wasn't too sure how well tech would take after so long. A lifetime of exploring Wild, Unknown space, and beyond taught her more than enough about ancient technology and the risks involved in carelessly flipping a switch.

"Ain't got no keen understanding how long the Priests here have that Bhrg with 'em." At that moment, the Master Warden would swirl the White Current around her.

It was about illusions; Illusions so real that one could very well interact with them. In this, being trained by Je'gan Olra'en, a Master of the White Current, meant that Chloe was able to more than enough hide herself in it from all sensors; organic and living alike.

And weave the illusion that her voice was still coming from the corner she was at.

"MIght just end up blowing us all to bits."

She would start to move, weaving the illusion to make the man believe she was still there when in reality, she was moving away from it and starting to move across the catwalk. She spotted him.

Okay... just had to get closer...

She would ensure no sound was made, weaving any with the illusion that it was nothing but background noise.

 

[Laith Varad*]

SE-3
Transport A
Objective: Talking with [member="Chloe Blake"]. Accessing the Kerts-Bhrg.

​

...the reality was that Laith might have been keen to heed her warning however he had come here looking for something and he didn't plan on leaving empty handed even if that meant ripping through this entire Transport. At the moment the matter wasn't up for discussion though which prompted his reply..."The Priests of Tusk want to keep these for themselves. I plan to leave them with one."...then he was on his feet again and preparing to march towards the door but there was some part of Laith that was a man of its word...

...four...five...

...nothing would indicate that he saw her however it was safe to assume that the White Current Chloe had woven around herself was beyond the scope that someone with no, or a limited, connection with the force could pierce. As far as Laith was concerned Chloe was still hiding from him out there in the cargo bay and talking, stalling for time, in a bid to have him reconsider but by now she should have guessed that it wasn't going to happen...

...up on his feet Laith surveyed the area one final time before making an about face and marching towards the entrance to the Kerts-Bhrg control room. It was higher on the enormous generator ensuring his ascent was at an angle however it didn't seem to slow his progress very much. Moving towards his destination Laith would have called back..."You see like a sweet girl Chloe. If this thing is going to explode you should start running now."...she wasn't his enemy yet, she hadn't put herself between him and his goal, he had no reason not to give her every chance to just move along and save herself...

...he'd outstretch his left hand as he came upon an entrance, reaching for a panel that would grant him access to the interior of the Kerts-Bhrg...​

 

[Chloe Blake]

SE-3
Transport A
Objective: Talking with Ermac Laith

"Can't let you do that Mistah Varad -- " Chloe's voice would drawl out seemingly from the corner, but she was closing in on Ermac. Okay so he had armor on; what could she do?

"Ain't keen on anyone taking what ain't theirs to begin with." she'd say, "Best you simply step away and go on 'bout your business and leave the Priests be."

A few more meters, what could she do?

Welp only a few options.

She'd be about three meters out behind him when she finally dropped the White Current; mainly cause what she was about to do meant she couldn't do two things at once.

And that was manipulate the electrical components of the man's armor. Electronic manipulation would allow her to set his internal HUD and the electronic components of his gear in a frenzy. It wasn't meant to harm, but to disorient and to buy her some time. If his armor couldn't grant him the extra bells and whistles by her manipulation, then she could hopefully get a good pot shot at him later with her paddle gun.

 

[Laith Varad*]

SE-3
Transport A
Objective: Lay there, locate [member="Chloe Blake"]

​

...the Beskar'gam was a sophisticated suit of armor compromised of multiple electrical components, some of which operated independently of the main suit itself, so when Chloe chose to disrupt the armor it was easy for her to overload several of the key systems. It'd be like everything running went into a frenzy meanwhile the systems that were switched off at the moment would have gone relatively undisturbed by the electrical manipulation. There may have been some power drainage from their cells however that would be minimal to moderate in the overall arc of what was occurring...

...he'd been reaching for the panel that would allow him access to the control room of the Kerts-Bhrg when he saw Chloe appear behind him via the three hundred and sixty degree arc of vision his hud provided however all that went to static shortly thereafter and Laith was relatively blind in the aftermath. Initially he stumbled which would do well to indicate to Chloe that she'd been able to affect him however as he regained his footing he'd have swung around to face her. Left hand going to the side of his helm while the right raised the Blaster Rifle ahead of himself...

...the trigger to the Blaster Rifle was squeezed. Blind fire at the moment. Laith was smart enough to know that while missing Chloe was entirely possible that blind fire also made his shots more random and therefore more difficult to judge. The Blaster Rifle fired, Laith hadn't set it to stun earlier so every shot had potential to do serious damage even though he was actively trying to down Chloe. After all she could have just left him to it....

...the systems in his helm were haywire, all the bells and whistles had started going off, eventually Laith hooked his fingers under the corner of his helm and yanked it straight off himself. Then he fell backwards. Eyes adjusting, vision still blurry from the distortion and chaos, he fell onto his back with a grunt and his finger released the trigger on the Blaster Rifle causing it to stop firing...

...certainly Chloe might imagine how embarrassing it was to be laying there, on his back, waylaid by a parlor trick that drove his equipment into chaos..."You just couldn't let it go could you."...Laith wasn't a fan of force users, he had no ability in it himself though he did have plenty of his own tricks, however he could respect that their own abilities amounted to dirty tricks he used as well..."You don't understand."...his voice was clear without the comms of the helm expressing it for him; he looked up and tried to find her...​