Mom Always Said

[Subject 37]

Utapau
[member="Natalia Thawne"]

Jerick stood quietly on the very edge of the hangar bay, his eyes cast down into the deep sinkhole that was only one of many potmarking the entire expanse of Utapau. He stared in silence, uninterrupted by the sounds of the Cartel Executioners slowly walking around behind him.

One of them came up behind him, standing in silence for a moment before clearing his throat.

For a second Jerick simply left the man standing, though after a second the young man turned. His coat was unbuttoned, as it tended to be, and his expression was blank. The Executioner wore the trademark mask of the Coratanni cartel, a skull decorating his hidden face. Jerick stared at him for a moment, his judging eyes flicking over his form before he finally waved his hand to press the man into speaking.

"Your sister has arrived, Sir."

Jerick nodded. "Good."

It had taken quite a while for Emma to actually get here, though given that mother and Father had sent her out to assist the so called 'Cabal' that was no real surprise. Kwenn was a long way away from Utapau, and when you had to use backway hyperlanes the trip took even longer. Now that she was here however things could actually get started.

The call from mother had been a surprising one, mostly because he'd been embroiled in things on Coruscant. What she had asked of him had been even more of a surprise, though only because the task was one she generally would have asked of Nik or Teslyn. He didn't really understand why he and Emma had been tasked, but he was glad for it. A small part of him had always been jealous of Nik, the...favoritism they were shown with things like this.

Now however he had an opportunity, and he intended on taking it.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

[SIZE=9pt]“Hey Jerry.” the high and bubbly note from the pipsqueak that was Emma came flying in with all the jovialness the young woman was known for. One could easily imagine her to be a young student by her looks. Certainly cheerful by disposition. To an extent, perhaps this assisted in getting people to underestimate her. Then again, most would be caught at the wrong end of her sniper sight than speaking to her in person. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]A wide grin split Emma’s face in two, the thick fringe of her bangs flopping over her eyes. A hand came up to flick them out of the way, the young woman almost giving a half skip and a hop towards the Hapan. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“You eat yet?” she inquired, concern crossing her features. Jerick was always rather skinny. Well, he appeared to be. Normally under his pretty boy clothing was the lean and toned body of a pugilist. While Jerick could wind up a solid hook, he couldn’t do much with a blaster. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]That’s why Emma was here. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“I’m starving!” she added, coming to a stop right beside him. Their mother had sent them here for a particular mission, but it was always nice to hang out with Jerick. Giving him a poke on his rib with her pointer finger, Emma gave a wiggle of her nose and flashed a larger grin. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Could get something to eat before we head out!” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Never mind the scattered group of hanging Executioners naer them. It only made Emma stand out all the more. [/SIZE]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

Jerick frowned for a moment. ”You should’ve eaten on the way here.”

He admonished his little sister, glancing down at her before he reached into his coat pocket and fished out a small wrapped package. He took half a step back and tossed it over to her. It was a protein bar of course, the kind that he usually ate just before a round in the fighting pits. They helped keep your energy up, and were surprisingly filling. Jerick tended to eat them almost like candy bars.

”We’re on the clock.” He reminded her. ”I don’t want mom and dad asking why we took so long to do this.”

The unmentioned part of that was the fact that he didn’t want any comparisons to Teslyn and Nik. Sure their parents loved them all equally, but those two were most definitely the shining examples of what Slevin and Natalia expected their children to be. Jerick was determined to outperform them here, determined to show his parents that not only could he do what they asked, but he could do it better than the best.

He glanced up at the Executioners who were not staring at them expectantly. All of them were professionals, all of them were killers, and all of them knew exactly not to cross any of the Thawne Children. Even Emma with her bubbly personality could have killed half a dozen of them before they could even react.

Jerick stared at them then motioned to his sister. ”Eat that and lets get going. I have more if you’re still hungry.”

He did care for his sister after all.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


[SIZE=9pt]“Thanks!” Emma replied, her wide smile flashing over at her brother with a distinguishing twinkle. He took things a bit more seriously, always trying to stand out. Maybe it was because he was so pretty. He was on the skinny side, but there was power under all that. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]There was a crumple of wrapping being torn off the protein bar. Jerick was always eating. He burned so many calories in the fighting pits. Chewing thoughtfully, the teenager gave a small smirk. If he wasn’t in the pits he’d likely be prettier than Teslyn. That was saying a lot![/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“I can walk and eat!” came her assurance, grinning as she stuffed her mouth. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Whadda we got?” she asked mid chew, indicating for any updated info that would help them in their task. Coming up beside him, she gave him a nudge to move forward. [/SIZE]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

Jerick wasnt entirely delighted to be here on Utapau, he'd been happy in the fighting pits and whatever they needed to get done here was just a distraction. He wanted to shine and look better than Nik, but part of that was also working in his own little domain. This mission was just a chance to show off, at least that was how he thought of it.

He was sure Emma didn't feel the same.

”There's a man coming here. He tried to buy one of the old sinkholes mines out from under mom and dad.” A mistake that he would never make again of course. The act had been an extremely foolish one, and this man would likely not live long enough to regret it. That was the plan anyway, though mother had been somewhat vague about just what they were supposed to do to him.

”He's on his way to Utapau now.” Jerick explained. ”He has heavy security. Former stormtroopers and even a force user.”

The last part was only a rumor, but hardly impossible.

Jerick glanced at the executioners. ”We need to kill the guards and take him.”

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

[SIZE=9pt]“Oh, that’s it?” Emma’s face grew brighter. [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Then maybe this might go quick![/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] Leave it to Emma to believe that it wouldn’t take long at all to get this done. Then again, the young, bubbly woman had a tendency to take care of what she needed to do from a distance. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]She’d have mentioned that she was surprised that Jerick was here, but he was rather sensitive about things. Well, in terms of doing missions for their mother. Jerick always wanted to do more. LIkely because he felt he was a little on the leaner side. He had no skills with a blaster, but he more than made up for it in the ring. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Wonder how he’d do out in the street though?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]They were Natalia’s “little Birds” and with that came certain expectations. They were trained to be perfection in the areas they were skilled at. There was no other way that they’d be here right now if it was any other way.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]But Jerick seemed to want to try a little more. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]“What’s the lay out?” she asked, taking another bite of her protein bar. Time to see where she would need to set her perch. [/SIZE]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

Jerick shook his head.

"We don't know." That was something that grated him. He had tried to his research but apparently the mans facility was frustratingly filled to the brim with seucurity precautions. All that he knew was that it was in some kind of underground mining complex, but that wasn't exactly rare here on Utapau. It grated at him more than he would have liked to admit, especially since it meant he'd be putting Emma in more danger simply by traveling down there.

He frowned and stepped onto the shuttle.

"We're going in blind." Jerick said with more than a little bit of disgust on his face. "That or we send in some of the Executioners first."

Emma probably wouldn't like that, though it wasn't like their parents would care. Slevin and Natalia saw pretty much everyone save their children as disposable. The Executioners were well trained, but at the end of the day they were just another band of thugs. "Make them think the threat is already done."

The tactic was a cruel one, something Nikolas would do, though it wasn't very much like Jerick.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

"Going in blind?" Now it was Emma's turn to scowl. The girl could do her own scouting but from the information that Jerick and mother had sent her, this was underground. It was going to be hard to get eyes inside to take care of the hit.

At the suggestion that they send in the Executioners Emma's scowl deepened. While caring about who they lost was last on the list, it was more losing people idiotically that Emma was against. If they died, then they died, but they still needed to make sure they completed what they came here to do.

"We got any probes?" small compact scanners that could potentially help them. If they could get some in, then perhaps they could get a better grasp of what they had to deal with.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

He frowned.

"Maybe?" Jerick had never really been the type to actually use equipment. He wasn't the guy that ran in wearing heavy armor and wielding three different kinds of blasters. He preferred to use his fists, it was more personal, better. "You'd have to check."

The ramp quickly began to rise behind them.

Mother and Father had given them a small shuttle for their little mission. It wasn't anything special, not by their usual standards. He supposed that Emma might have been used to it, after all she was usually the one sent out on these little 'missions', but Jerick tended to keep things on the more...luxurious side, mostly because running the fighting pits meant dealing with some rather rich and colorful characters. They liked to be pampered, as annoying as that was.

"You'll have to check." He told her as the ship began to rumble and slowly take off.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

He said it twice. That made Emma give a double take. Was his mind elsewhere? LIkely. To that, the girl gave a small punch to the Hapan boy's shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked him, concern in her youthful expression. "You seem out of it." admitting it might not be in their best interest but Emma doubted that any of the Executioners would say anything. Besides, if they did, then Emma would make them pay for it.

"Mother on your mind?" she inquired, which likely had something to do with it. "Or the pits?" moving ahead of him, she did just that, the ship shuddering as it took off. Time to get an idea of what they had with them.

If they had the drones, it would make this all the more easier. Not that it would be bad if it wasn't, just that it would suit both of their skillsets.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

He frowned.

Was he that easy to read? Perhaps his mind really had grown a tad too occupied. His gaze drifted across the inside of the shuttle, his eyes falling on the Executioners. None of them would inform their other siblings or their parents. They all knew it was better not to get involved in the darkest and deepest parts of Coratannis inner workings. Better to stay out of family problems.

Half a moment passed, and then finally he spoke. ”I want to win.”

The words would probably seem strange.

”Mom and Dad always go to Nikolas or Teslyn for the most important jobs.” That wasnt entirely true, but close enough truthfully. ”I want to show them that I...we can do it better than them.”

Competition. Perhaps it was silly, but it was true.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

The words weren't strange. Jerrick had a point. While each of them had their own unique set of skills, when it came to getting things done, Natalia and Slevin usually stuck to Nikolas or Teslyn.

Emma was okay with it. It didn't really bother her. She did the jobs mom wanted her to do and was happy to do them. However, there was always an underlying sense of competition for all the siblings.

"Well, guess that means doing it faster." she managed to tease, offering as much of encouragement as she could while going through the packages brought in for this hit. Now if they brought the drones.

Well, that would mean that the Executioners had some foresight. Finding none, that answered that question.

"Also means we'll have to go in without the drones." That would mean it would take longer and be a lot more dangerous. Well, maybe Jerrick will feel that to be a bit more thrilling for showing off.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

He flexed his fingers.

Did he really want to put Emma in danger like that? She could more than handle herself of course, among his siblings she was by far the best shot, even Teslyn and Nikolas couldn't compete with her on that. This was different though. Here on Utapau there were no long distances for sniping, there were no alcoves to hide in, it was all caves and complex labyrinths. They would both be exposed, and while Jerick enjoyed being in the thick of it Emma wasn't as used to such things.

For a moment he frowned, and then slowly he nodded. "We can do it."

Jerick wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to assure himself or Emma. On the outside he had always been brash, quick to action, doing whatever he could as fast as he could, but inwardly he had doubted himself more than once. It made his blood boil, his own inability to break through the insecurities.

"They're just thugs." He reminded her as the shuttle shook slightly. "We're not fighting Sith here or anything."

He wrapped his hand around a small loop of cloth on the ceiling as the shuttle banked and took them into the bottom of one of Utapau's massive sinkholes.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

[SIZE=9pt]“You mean the ones with their glow sticks and fancy hand thrusts?” Emma was always the one to make a quick joke. Personally, the siblings hadn’t really had any experience with those who claim to use the Force. She’d seen a few things of what a couple of Force Sensitives can do, but for Emma, it wasn’t quite as wondrous as curiosity. In a way, was it a similar method that the Coratanni seeked to enhance themselves? Or was it more of a crutch?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Something to consider. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Yeah, we can do this.” she chirped, giving Jerick a wide smile. She could tell that he was overthinking this. He really, really wanted to show mother and father that they were able to do just as well as Nik or Teslyn.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The light grew dim as their shuttle flew into the maw of the sinkhole. Much like Jerick, the shift and sway prompted the smaller young woman to latch herself onto a hand grip that hung from the ceiling. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“We’ll be landing in one minute at the drop zone.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Emma took this in. She’d preferred to have her probes with her to scan the area, but they would have to make due. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Nothing like going through the front door anyways. [/SIZE]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

His heart began to tense somewhat, he could feel it slowly thud within his chest.

It wasn't like him to feel nervous. It wasn't like him to feel...anxiety. It was an odd sort of prickle that ran across his skin, something that he felt should not have been there, something that felt almost foreign to him in a way. A frown slowly pulled at his lips, his fingers tightening ever so slightly into a curled fist.

There was something about this that felt different, something about the situation, the mission. Jerick knew that their parents loved them, he knew that they trusted them, but in an odd sort of way he felt that he had to prove himself, that he had to show mother and father just how good he could be. This was an opportunity beyond the fighting pits, it was an opportunity to show just how much he wanted to win. His eyes lit up for a moment, the ship shaking as it ducked below the entrance of the sinkhole cavern.

"Stay behind me." He told Emma quietly.

She could handle herself in a fight of course, but she'd always been a better sniper.

Another heartbeat passed, and then suddenly the door to the ship popped open. Without even a moment of delay Jerick stepped down off the ramp into the darkness of the cave, spotting an odd sort of wall just a few hundred meters from where they had touched down.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


[SIZE=9pt]Was he trying too hard? Maybe. Honestly, this was a little out of Jarick’s element. The Hapan spent most of his time in the underground fighting rings. There he had made a name of himself not only as a pugalist, but also as the one that mother and father trusted in keeping the peace there. If there ever was a way for him to shine, it was duking it out hand to hand with someone else. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]People looked at his lanky frame and automatically made assumptions of him. It wasn’t until they were well into the fight that Jaricks’ opponents would realize that he was more than he seemed. More than a pretty face. He could be vicious. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]But place a blaster in his hand? Well, that took a bit more training. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“Alright.” Emma said, bending down to set her bag down. She quickly took out her sniper rifle components, screwing them on with deft precision. She had a blaster at her hip, but she did better with old faithful than anything else. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Besides, this way she could cover her brother. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“They’ll know we are coming… try to not get shot.” she added, teasing him a bit. [/SIZE]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

He nodded, hefting the weight of the small blaster he had picked up earlier.

Jerick had never liked the weapons, but it was something he needed at least until he could close the distance between himself and whatever lay beyond that wall. A small frown decorated his face as he stepped off the ramp completely, his head swiveling to the spot light that seemed to switch on just a second later. The bright beam searched across the ground, scanning and eventually settling on the Ship that had just a second ago landed.

As soon as the light touched the young man he broke into a sprint. "Go!"

The four Executioners that had been on board the ship seemed to take the cue without any further hint, and they too broke out into the same fast sprint that Jerick had rushed into. Within just a few seconds the five of them had all gone in different directions.

A moment later Blaster fire began to pour down off the far walls. Spread between the five Coratanni members the search light attempted to keep up, bouncing through the open cavern and attempting to land on any one of the five.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

Nothing like being under the spray or blaster fire. Violent arcs of red went lancing through the air, searing black scorch marks along the cavern walls behind Emma. There were a few loud thuds, the sudden jerk of a body and topple as an Executioner fell forward. Emma didn't pay much attention then, narrowing her eyes as she went crutching down.

Ahead of her, Jerick took point, prompting a small sigh and curse from the shorter woman. "Always needing to prove something." a cluck of her tongue and Emma took a deep breath.

She managed to get behind a crate. Using this as protection, the young woman brought a hand up. Emma and her siblings had been enhanced to perfect their skillcraft. For Emma, that involved being able to use cybernetics and enhancements that would allow her to see in low light and at a great distance.

A hand symbol came from her towards a couple of the Executioners. "Follow him," she ordered. A second later, she set down and took a knee. With another deep breath, she began registering the trajectory of the shots heading her way.

Time to narrow down where her targets roosts were at.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Natalia Thawne"]

Blaster fire began to soar down towards Jerick, striking near his feet and sending tiny puffs of smoke up into the air. A curse left his lips, silenced by the sound of half a dozen new bolts striking just behind him. The spotlight traced after him, following the path of his feet almost urgently.

Another curse escaped him as one of the bolts when sizzling by his head.

He didn’t stop moving of course, he couldnt at this point. A single moment of hesitation, half a heartbeat of holding back and they would drop him. He could feel the tension in his muscles, he could feel his heart beat faster and faster. Energy drove through him, a living pulse of something that pushed him to go faster, further.

He never felt more alive.

Jerick rushed across the open field, his finger wrapping tightly around the blaster as he approached the wall.

A breath filled his lungs, his muscles tensed and then he jumped. With one powerful gait Jerick launched himself into the air and up against the wall. His hands went scrambling, his feet pushed against the flat durasteel surface, and just barely the young Coratanni Lieutenant caught himself on the edge.

 

[Noire]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]

Meanwhile, Emma brought up her sniper rifle, socketing the buttstock in the cup of her shoulder. There was a familiar weight to it. Comfort really. The enhanced scope was brought up close to her right eye, HUD sight flaring to life over her iris. Cold metal met her cheek. Now came the slow scan of the scenery.

It was dark, but her enhancements would allow the young Coratanni operative the ability to zone in on her targets. They flared up in her HUD with a red outline, her sniper HUD able to switch to different views and function to assist her.

"Alrighty big guys." she'd murmur, her voice a low hush. The corner of her mouth gave a perk up. Anticipation rushing through her veins as it did every time.

The first outline lined up. Her breath fell from her lips and in between the heartbeats she took the first shot at a perch high up to the right. The bolt flew true, striking with a merciless precision. The first of many bodies fell.