Glitter, it gets everywhere... (PM for invite)

[Eliza Steele]

The Corellisi rolled her eyes at [member="Corvetta Salvo"] 'like really?!', then reached over to show the other ship captain how to use the ion rifle. "Put your finger here and pull back on the trigger in a steady fashion. Shoots just like a regular blaster rifle though without an energy blast. Do watch the recoil though... These suckers can kick pretty good," Eliza offered the other female on this job with her. No doubt Corvetta was capable at handling the weapon, just needed a gentle inservice.

"Roger that… On your six, cowboy," Steele replied to her partner, then followed [member="Jace Trent"] down the ramp and into mouth of cave loaded with the gear she'd be needing for the job. Salvo and [member="Damon Riggs"] would be bringing up the second half of their team.

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs had already been down the ramp and standing outside of the mouth of the cave when [member="Jace Trent"] and [member="Eliza Steele"] blew right past him. Figures the former sergeant would have to go in first. Since that was his gig, Riggs didn't complain that they both seemed to ignore he was ready to take point, and instead brought up the rear with [member="Corvetta Salvo"].

The cave was dark, and Riggs took a bit to adjust. If the spiders were attracted to light, then the lamps used by the others would be fine for him. He had head lamp, but he was determined to use it only if needed. Night vision goggles would have been a plus here, and Riggs added that to list of things he wanted to have his ship outfitted with. Taanab first, supplies second. Right now though, they had the glitter stuff, or whatever it was, to harvest, and spiders to avoid.

Each step was taken very carefully. The smell which assaulted his nose, was the first thing Riggs noticed about the inside of the cave, outside of the obvious darkness of it. It was a familiar smell to him, one he was sure Trent would recognize as well. It was the smell of death. Things went into the cave to die... great, because one wrong move and that was the fate of the quartet. That's when Riggs heard something. They were being followed. He turned his back to what was ahead of him, and made sure he was dead last. Riggs was determined to keep an eye out for whatever it was he was hearing. The stuff they were after should be just ahead. Riggs would watch as the others collected.

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Corvetta was not expecting the operation of the ion rifle to be that simple. Sure, she had fired a gun before, but she never carried anything aside from her stun gun and really did not even know the difference between a rifle and a scattergun. They looked about the same to her.

Lugging the weapon through the tunnels, she tread beside [member="Damon Riggs"]--that guy she really did not know very well yet. She gave him a cheeky grin through her 'warpaint' but said nothing, not especially eager to wake up these arachnids that were supposed to be hanging around. She noticed that Damon seemed to be listening to something intently and cocked her ear to read the soundwaves. A faint patter of some sort could be heard from a distance behind them and it spooked her. But her rear guard buddy looked rock solid and stuff, so she assumed everything must be alright. Could be that Aden guy anyways. Weird.

A noxious odor began to penetrate the breather mask and Salvo was not exactly baffled by what it represented. "What died in here?" she whispered as her heartrate began to slowly increase. Haphazardly, she raised her gun--just in case. These trips never sounded as creepy in the brochure.

[member="Jace Trent"] [member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Aden Dawson"]

 

[Jace Trent]

Jace led the way into the mine with a empty pack on his back. His glowrod sweeping as he descended. He measured his steps to lesson the sound of his footfalls, but he still cringed at the slight sound that his boots made when they struck the rocky surface as it echoed off the walls. He hoped the spiders were elsewhere.
He walked in silence and after what seemed like eternity, they came upon crystal deposits they were looking for. He looked back at [member="Damon Riggs"]. Using military hand signs, Jace signaled the former fleet Captain to watch their backs as they retrieved the goods.
The Jace laid his empty bag on the ground in front of him, and began filling it with the precious cargo.
[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Damon Riggs"][member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

Eliza didn't waste anytime getting started on filling the bag with those coveted crystals they'd come to get. The less time spent in the caves the better. The whole place was giving her the creeps. The smell of death nearly made the Corellian puke, but she kept breathing through the urge to vomit right in her mask.

The bag was nearly full when the petite smuggler felt like a pair of eyes was watching her… Well more than one pair of eyes. Her body shuddered at the thought of what it might be. She hated spiders so much that Steele nearly destroyed the shower stall on the Definance in the captain's cabin when a little one tried to share the shower with her. Ever since then, Eliza hadn't showered by herself… Course it could be for other reasons as well.

"Guys," Eliza said nervously, thought doing a good job keeping her body as still as possible even though her heart was pounding in her chest. "I think I"m being targeted for someones next meal….."

Just then swift movement came from the depths of the darkness. A shriek left her lips as something grabbed her leg and pulled the brunette off her feet.

[member="Jace Trent"] [member="Damon Riggs"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs didn't care about one less spider, or more of the altered glitterstim, or whatever the stuff really was. All he cared was that no one got killed. That's why when Eliza shrieked, Riggs tapped [member="Corvetta Salvo"] on the shoulder.

"Salvo heads up!"

Flipping his head lamp on, Riggs pulled up the ion cannon and prepared to take a shot at the creature which had just grabbed [member="Jace Trent"]'s woman. All he could think was that he didn't want the army ranger to feel the loss he had felt. The problem was Riggs didn't have a clean shot. He could see the spider, but the way it was holding Eliza, he couldn't take the shot.

"Dammit," he said rounding for another angle.

The fleeter was a good shot actually. He was better than he gave himself credit for. His hang up was hat he didn't want to be responsible for killing the woman. Once he got a different perspective though, he took the shot and hit the spider. Eliza wasn't so high it would break anything when she hit the ground, but it was going to leave a bruise, unless someone managed to catch her.

The blast from the cannon did more than help [member="Eliza Steele"], but it highlighted another problem. There more spiders, a lot more, and the foursome had walked right into the thick of it.

"Guys we have trouble, a lot of trouble!"

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

'Heads up' was right. "Frakkit frakkit frakkit frakkit..." she swore, muscles locking for a moment in panic. The gun was heavier than she would have liked, and the wild shot she fired had more punch to it than she was expecting. Quickly pulling the trigger, Corvetta was aimed off target as she was too afraid an attempt at a centered shot would just end up hitting [member="Eliza Steele"] instead of the wicked arachnid. The blast shoved the spacer chick back and sent her to the ground as the ion bolt collided dead on target with the tunnel's ceiling.

Corvetta saw [member="Damon Riggs"] make a well-placed shot and briefly glimpsed Eliza's descent to the floor before she looked up and behind herself. She did not have any friends sporting eight eyes, so that was disturbing. It was times like these when her vocabulary was quite limited. "Oh, frak!"

The Lost Cause pilot struggled to raise her rifle from her vulnerable position on the floor and fired another ill-calculated shot, then rolled of her back and sent another burst from a crouched position, this time anticipating the gun's kick. She hit a creature. She knew it. But this place might as well have been crawling. "Good frakkin' grief..."

[member="Jace Trent"]

 

[Jace Trent]

[member="Eliza Steele"]'s words sent a chill down Jace's spine, and when she shrieked, his heart dropped. As she was pulled into the darkness, he charged after her, not carrying what, or how many things were waiting in the darkness. He raised his rifle, but he didn't have a clean shot. He felt helpless as the love of his life entangled with one of those karking spiders.

The spider kept climbing, taking Eliza higher. A shot whizzed past her, hitting the wall. Jace still had no shot. Then the next shot rang out. It hit its mark, the spider released Eliza, and she plummeted back towards the floor. Jace dropped the rifle and ran underneath her and caught her in his arms.
His voice echoed of the walls as he shouted. "GET BACK TO THE SHIP!" [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

"Thanks!" Eliza smiled with much relief in her voice just before kissing [member="Jace Trent"] soundly on the cheek, then the spirited Corellisi made him put her down. "You don't have to ask me twice!" the petite smuggler said, then she picked up the bag with the crystals in it and ran for the mouth of the cave.

"Leebo… We're coming in hot! Lower the ramp down now," she exclaimed trying to not pay any attention to the blood squishing around in her right boot as each footfall carried her closer to the safety of the ship. There'd be time later to tend to her injury hopefully if they got out alive.

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Salvo needed to learn how to shoot before Riggs was going on a hostile mission with her again. If everything worked out the way he had hoped, his next mission would be with [member="Alexandra Russo"]. There were an awful lot of those energy spiders which looked like enemy craft to him at the moment, the very same which had been the cause of the year long separation. If they killed too many spiders, there would be no more of the crystals for anyone to go after, but Riggs wasn't going to let them take a shot at making a meal out of anyone else.

"Cor, just go I got this," he said taking a shot at the closest spider.

All Riggs had to do was keep them busy long enough that the others could get aboard safely. That meant a couple of well placed shots, some running to avoid becoming the main course himself, and a few more well placed shots. Of course there were more spiders than him, but that was fine. It wasn't like Riggs was the only trained military man in the outfit. If it got too much, Riggs knew he could count on [member="Jace Trent"] to help.

"Ya think I made them mad, Riggs asked in jest. He was having some fun. Something which he hadn't had in some time.

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Jace Trent]

Jace picked up his ion rifle as [member="Eliza Steele"] limped towards the Defiance. He fired a few shots to keep the critters back as he ran next to [member="Damon Riggs"].

"Salvo, GO! We'll cover you" He shouted as he turned and opened fire on the converging spiders.
[member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Damon and Jace were both calling for her, even as she was trying to pick herself up off the ground. "Coming, coming!" the spacer chick responded, attempting to get another shot in at one of the beasts. They scared the crap out of her, and fear made her question if she would be able to make it.

And Damon was staying behind. "Riggsy, I'm not leavin' you!" Corvetta insisted, tugging at his shoulder frantically. Was that brave, stupid, or a cop-out? Whatever it was, she did not feel right leaving him back here, warding off who-knows-how-many of these nearly invisible spiders. "Ya gotta come with me, buddy!" Pulling her rifle back up to shooting level, she discharged three more wild shots while slowly backing away towards where the ship was. The pilot's body trembled as she considered that she might soon witness one of the eight-legged freaks snuff out the other smuggler's life.

"Frakkit, Riggsy, get crankin'!" she cried.

[member="Jace Trent"], [member="Damon Riggs"], [member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Eliza Steele]

Eliza didn't stop until she was in the cockpit of the Defiance. The brunette dumped the bag with the precious crystals onto the floor next to the captain's chair as she slid into the seat, fingers readily flipping switches to get the ship ready for take off. In the mean time the Corellisi totally ignored Leebo's complaint about the trail of blood on the decking she'd left and how he'd have to clean up.

As soon as the others were secure on board, they would be out of there in a heartbeat! And, never again would the petite smuggler ever sign on for anything that involved spiders directly!!

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Jace Trent"] [member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Salvo didn't get it, Riggs was a military man and was trained to perform under this kind of stress. Trent was too, that's why the pilot needed to haul ass back to the ship before he kicked back to the ship.

"I'm not moving til your ass is on that ship," Riggs said with a determined voice.

What was up with her calling him Riggsy too? Had she somehow decided he needed a pet name. There was no need from pet names. Riggs just ignored it and kept firing at the spiders. A few well placed shots kept them at bay without killing them all. Who was to say some crew wouldn't come back for more of the stuff. Riggs wasn't going to stay around though. When he was satisfied the crew wouldn't be followed, he ran his own butt back to the ship, following right behind Trent.

[member="Jace Trent"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Jace Trent]

Jace stopped at the mouth of the cave, providing cover for the others. He was going to be the last one on the Defiance. This was his job, and would be damned if he let anyone get left behind.

He kept firing, until [member="Damon Riggs"] and [member="Corvetta Salvo"] made it onto his ship. The engines roared to life which was a very welcoming sound.
He hauled ass back to the ship and ran up the ramp, slamming the button as he reached the top which closed the ramp.

He grabbed his comm and keyed up [member="Eliza Steele"] <We're all on board. Get us out of here beautiful!>

He saw the trail of blood leading to the lift, and a fire burned deep inside. He glanced over at Damon. "Good work down there. Would you mind storing the haul in those cargo containers? I need to see to Eliza's injuries"

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Corvetta rushed underneath the blasts of [member="Jace Trent"]'s rifle and up the ramp into the Defiance, breath heavy. She repeatedly looked back over her shoulder to make sure [member="Damon Riggs"] was still alive and close behind until he followed into the ship. "Frakkin' spiders," she muttered, violently yanking the air mask off her still 'warpainted' face. It would be a while before she could clean all that off.

"Think we'll be sparkin' with the Feds?" she asked the vessel's captain, jogging alongside him as he headed up to care for his girlfriend. "Not sure they'll like the looks of us crankin' outta here."

[member="Eliza Steele"]

 

[Jace Trent]

12 hours later...​

The Defiance had landed safely back on the shadowport, it's precious cargo still in it's hold.
While in hyper space, Jace had tended to [member="Eliza Steele"]'s leg wound. Now that the were at dock, he had demanded that she stay behind and rest up. She wasn't definitely stubborn, but Jace could be more so when he needed to be. He had told the others to stay behind as well. He was going to drop off the cargo by himself. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt on this job.

And so he sat in his chair in the cockpit and hailed his employer.
[member="Blitz"] <This is Captain Jace Trent. I got your cargo. Let's set up the meet.>

 

[Blitz]

A message from deep space returned into the commlink receiver aboard the defiance. A pre-recorded message ebbed out of the static, forming into the cohesive signal of a Nar Shaddaa outpost.

"Timely and direct -- a professional contract indeed. Follow the stars my man, and we will break bread over your venture. Credits to be had for the product in tow - your arrival is awaited."

Coordinates followed for the rendezvous.

[member="Jace Trent"]