First Reply Mean Streets

[Xeykard]

Vandelhelm | Art by Lee221​

"Fools!" he snarled, looking around the empty apartment. Their quarry was nowhere to be found – weeks of planning up in smoke in an instant. His senses searched for purchase, anything that might indicate where their target had gone.

He'd known it was a gamble to begin with; Vandelhelm was currently outside of the Saaraishash's influence. Their intelligence had, clearly, failed them here. Getting lost in the mess of manufacturing spires and construction drones was easy. But they were in the right spot, surely, in the shopping district of Vandelhelm's capital. Below a mass of citizens wandered about without a care in the world.

Then he found it – a faint but distinct scent, traveling through the air and out of the door. He spun, almost snatching his prey's presence from the sea of people below. The spaceport. That was his quarry's next move.

"Get back to the ship and be prepared to cut the target off." While his agents moved to withdraw, he took a couple steps back, then sprinted forward, launching himself through the window and onto the street below. A couple onlookers screamed and got out of the way, but a mass of people still surrounded where he landed. He needed to clear his path. His saber snapped to life, crimson blade practically roaring. His presence rose to match, a dread like death filling the bystanders.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" And they were, and he sprinted in pursuit, cries of terror in his wake.

 

[Yané Unassi]

Spoiler: Gear

●Rose Sunglasses ●Viper Cigarettes ●ENVC-370 Partial Bodyglove ●Daily Wear ●Shock Boots ●G1 Omnilink-Left Wrist ●White Parka
●Exchange Utility Belt

• FR1-x Comspike
• Stun Pearl
• Scarecrow Device
• Lodestone Device
• Electro-pick
• Vibropick
• Scramble Key
• ID Processor

●Veshet Blaster-Right Wrist ●Modular Pistol

The lovely little planet had a wealth of options for the slicer in the way of credits.

Skimming the back end systems of different shops and businesses for the loose change that floated through their electronic systems. The minor digits that got lost when broken down past the second decimal place to anyone other than the super invested bodies that trolled the systems. Skewing projected profits and other numbers within what was normally the accepted numbers by those made to do the crunching.

It wasn't going to make her a substantial amount of credits within a day. Well. That was a lie. The amount of trade and other deals that happened here was sufficient enough to get her a healthy sum for the half year she'd stuck around.

But her continued presence on the local Holonet had brought attention. Or maybe her continued delivery orders. Or the Viper's that she'd smoked the entire time in the apartment.

Maybe the blueprints or whatever those plans had been that she'd snagged during a deeper dive of one companies databases on one of her sleepless nights.

It was hard telling which had been the proverbial rat that woke the rancor. But something had done it. Had she not been trolling the local comm's, she might have been caught in the net that had been put up. Exhaling on the Viper in her mouth as her eyes scanned her surroundings. The Spaceport wasn't too far now thankfully as she checked her itinerary for the next flight. Checking prices as the sound of something moving through the air drew her from her thoughts.

The ground shook violently, making her head whip around as the cig fell from her mouth at the large, angry, thing roaring and waving around one of those laser-light swords.

"Oh feth." Ducking down a little as she began to sprint across the plaza. Stunned beings around her unsure if they should be running or moving like sheep towards the disturbance.

Xeykard​

 

[Xeykard]

Yané Unassi ​

The smell was of Carbabba Tabac, pure and undiluted. The scents of a dozen different stimsticks and cigarras were abound in the capital's shopping district, but only one scent drew him. He was hooked, line reeling inexorably to bring him to his prey. He bounded through the seas of shoppers and citizens and crashed through carts and kiosks.

There -- the young slicer. He slapped aside a family of four, threw aside a young couple, screams heralding his arrival. So many seemed almost surprised; even as the screams rose, they wondered with idle curiosity, only for Xeykard to run them over, barreling straight through.

A security guard stepped in between him and his quarry, firing a stun blaster, somehow thinking it'd get through. Xeykard gave the man a moment of hope, not even bothering to raise his saber to block, the blast simply glancing off his scales. A heavy clawed hand smashed the guard's head into the pavement.

"COME HERE!" Another clawed hand, this one metal, reached an impossible distance to grab hold of the slicer's head.