Faction On the Beach of Dreams; Another World [Darkwire & Friends]

[Talohn Atar]

Talohn watches the video that appears up on the screen, brows furrowing. It's definitely an alarming video. He'd likely resort to such tactics himself if he found his planet being taken over by such terrible greed. He loved cathar almost as much as he loved credits. He's snapped out of it when the kid asks what he's holding, and he raises a brow, dumbfounded. In his part of the galaxy, lightsabers were pretty common knowledge, so it was odd to see a person that didn't know of one.

"Corporate corruption. A tale as old as time." The droid states, putting down Monari now so that she can scurry over to hide behind Talohn. "What's the plan, Talohn?" Then Kadora asks if he wants to help. The cathar purses his lips, turning off the lightsaber and putting it back on his hip. "For now, we do nothing. We will follow her though...wouldn't be able to live with myself if that kid got hurt right in front of my eyes. Plus, if they try to execute someone right here on the beach, I'd prefer to get in the way. Little Monari here has witnessed enough slaughter." He states, patting the six year old's head. Monari quickly mods. "A lack of slaughter would definitely be preferable." She chirps. With that. they follow behind Kadora and her troop as they run off. While he's undecided about whether or not he's going to help with the arrest, he disperses the crowds that get in Kadora's way by turning on his lightsaber. The sudden blue humming and the heat that radiates off the blade is enough to make people step aside by instinct.

Kadora'Tra Daiya Rann Thress Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

For a few moments in the darkness, Aren could hear the stilling of the conversations and sounds of glee that were around them. Almost as soon as the surprise ended, the screens came back to life. Not filled with the simulated beach, but another world entirely. Quiet music filled the background before the talking began.

No longer paying attention to that, she focused on the images and what was being said. What was shown was actually the fate of many worlds and places. It was unfortunate, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Maybe it was the Sith within her that thought this. Either way, it was the dominant force and Aren didn't feel she could do anything.

As she was going to turn to leave and take Rann with her, she stopped as the scene changed again. The new images hit a little closer to home. Taking a hold of her partner's hand, she almost leaned in closer to him. Pretty recently, they had been going to put people into a situation similar to this.

Many refugee families stuffed into small rooms with almost no personal space. Their plan had pretty much failed and in the end, they had helped as many refugees as they could find places suited for them. When the video changed again, she saw the face of the speaker and in the darkness looked at her. It didn't take somebody with high education to figure out who she was and Aren had met her before.

Noticing the light starting to come up with the original video playing, she let go of Rann and moved to the girl in question. Looking down at her, her eyes showed some concern, fear, and maybe some sympathy. Unless she pulled away, she would place a hand on her shoulder and give her a gentle shake.

"Are you crazy, Zenitha? If this guy catches you...you'll share the same fate as your father!"

There was no heat to her words, but they certainly weren't nicely spoken.

"That towel isn't going to do you much good. You need to get out of here. NOW! I have a place you can stay if you need it."

They had only met once before but Aren seriously hoped the girl remembered their encounter.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

​

Just before the video began, Cassus had a helping hand following him as he jogged. Brie Jaxx asked him about what sort of food he fancied. It was safe to say that Cassus did not even think that far ahead. What does one usually eat at a beach anyway? While thinking up a response, he found himself running into a familiar face - Gray Venasir - except he didn't recognize Cassus and told him to go back to his mother...

That's when the video started, and he sat there watching it, almost in disbelief. He recognized the voice, only just so. This is when his sense of danger began to plummet into a pit in his stomach. The more he watched, the more clear it was not going to be a good day for Diviak Manfloon, the man who hired Darkwire to pluck this world from beneath the hands of its Governor.

This was a direct and very public slight against the Corporate Authorities, around him he could see the crowds captivated by the all-too-common narrative in the galaxy. For some, it was clearly dawning on them what their Cash Vouchers were doing to this once pristine world, the kind of person they were funding through their tourism. Others, however, looked merely annoyed that their perfect vacation had been interrupted by things they don't care about as visitors to the planet, full of self-importance and lacking the decency of empathy.

"I think I lost my apatite, Brie." The boy said in response to her question after a minute or so, and looked to Gray, "Gray, it's Cassus... I think our vacation just ended earlier than expected." The boy replied to him, just as Zenitha Chuma's youthful face was plastered across every visible screen in the area.

Cassus quickly looked around, and spotted an ignited blue lightsaber wielded in the air, with a menacing looking alien carrying some kind of electrified baton pushing her way almost violently through the crowd. Further back he saw a burly Trandoshan carrying a similar implement making its way to an exit. Oh no, Cassus thought, "CorpSec is already here! We should protect Zennie." The boy suggested to the pair of allies next to him, "What should we do?" Cassus asked, thinking more to himself about his mother. If Zenie was in danger, and his mother was near by...

His body wanted to lurch back to the group, paralyzed by indecision and hoping Gray or Brie had a clearer head to guide him.

Daiya , Ruby Jaxx , Aren D'Shade

 

[Gray Venasir]

Gray stood there, mouth hanging open, as the video began. He knew things like this were happening around the galaxy, and he fully opposed it. But showing it to the people like this, trying to stand up to the man? That is crazy! Forcing people to take a side. Putting oneself in enormous danger. Definately one of the top spots of craziest things Gray had seen. That's why he loved it.

The video was so captivating that Gray didn't even notice Ruby running right by him with drinks she had snagged from the shop. Their whole crime had completly left his mind, for the time being. The video was nearing it's end before Gray managed to catch that Ruby had talked to him while she ran. But that also went to the back of his head as he heard the name Diviak Manfloon. One of the Corpo leaders, if Gray wasn't mistaken. They would not be happy with this.

Gray shook his head, and looked at the boy he had bumped into as the boy spoke. "Cassus? Is that you? And Brie?" The confusion was washing over him like a wave. The whole video, the young girl that appeared in it, this young boy that apparantly was Cassus. Unfortunately, there was little time to think it through. As Cassus was remarking, CorpSec was already over them.

"Wait, who in Malachor's broken orbit is Zenie?" Zenie? Zeni... Zenitha? The girl from the video? Was she here? "Nevermind that! Who else that we know is here?" A big group of Darkwire had recieved the free passes to this beach, so there had got to be more of them there. And it was important to get them out. Cassus and Brie were young, so was Daiya. And even though they were skilled, Gray had to get them out of there, before things got uglier.

This reminded Gray of the time he had to flee from his own house when he was a kid. They had been ambushed at night, and Gray's mother and nanny had woken him, and taken him to a hidden backdoor, while his father tried to fend of the attackers with the guards. The nanny had been killed, and Gray's mother severly hurt, but Gray and his mother and father had managed to flee.

Then, Gray saw where the Corpo with the lightsaber was headed. Right towards a familiar, fur-covered being, who stood taller than the rest of the crowd. And where Tawrro was, Daiya was never far away. And since the CorpSec was making their way towards Tawrro, that meant this Zenie was probably there too. "Cassus, Brie. I need you to get Zenie and Daiya, and anyone with them out, while I try to draw the attention of the CorpSec. Alright? Get them to safety, and don't come back for me. Now go!" Gray motioned for them to go in the direction of their allies, while looking around for Ruby. She could have been real good help right now. "Ruby?" he tried to shout, as he made his way towards the lightsaber wielder.

"Hey, lightsaber freak" he growled towards the Cathar, as he took out a blaster he'd been hiding under his light jacket. "You wanna get to them, you'll have to get through me." The people had cleared away from around the Cathar, which was good. Less chance of casualties. Gray held the blaster trained at the other's head. "What'll it be?"

Ruby Jaxx | Cassus Akovin | Daiya | Brie Jaxx | Aren D'Shade | Talohn Atar | Kadora'Tra

 

[Talohn Atar]

He was simply following behind the kid, and did not plan to intervene unless they started trying to kill eachother, because he refused to let Monari be witness to more needless slaughter. That's when he heard it, the yelling from his side. Turning to face the fellow, he pauses for a moment, looks at his lightsaber, then at Gray. "Oh! You think I'm going to- No, uh uh. I'm using this for crowd dispersion. I am not going to hit anyone with this. I will however use it if need be to make sure no one kills eachother on this beach. I have a child here and I refuse to let her be exposed to slaughter. Whether it be by rebels or corpos." Ah, so he was foolwing Kadora to help her disperse the crowd, but to also make sure she didn't plan to kill anyone on the beach.

Gray would notice he points to the child in question, who is currently hiding behind what seems to be some sort of protocol combat hybrid droid. "Seriously." Talohn reiterates. "Please no killing. I just got her nightmares to go away." He states, an eye twitching.

(Sorry for short post this time. Promise the next one will be longer)

Ruby Jaxx Cassus Akovin Daiya Brie Jaxx Aren D'Shade Kadora'Tra Gray Venasir

 

[Ayreon]

“Done,” he announced as soon as the reference number went through.

The screens came back on without any such herald. Ayreon observed the playback without reaction, until the image of the girl appeared, blown up to larger-than-life size. The HRD matched her face with public records. Zenitha Chuma, daughter of the former governor of Belazuma. He had seen her mere minutes earlier, playing on the beach with another girl her age.

Ayreon followed Ms. DuCote as she walked away. His eyes were already scanning the area, looking for signs of trouble. A Farghulian pushing her way through the crowd, on record as a CorpSec employee. A Trandoshan barring the exit, another employee? The Cathar with his lightsaber was an unknown outlier. And the girl whom they were trying to pen in was being surrounded protectively by a group of friends, associates, and perhaps even random strangers sympathetic to her plight. It was shaping up to be a bloodbath...

///PRIORITY CHECK
///SERVE GILDENLEAF
///!FULFILL CURRENT MISSION!

Ayreon finally tore his gaze away from the crowds, though his head moved robotically. Ms. DuCote had just asked him to identify any suspects of interest. “They’re going after the girl in the video. She’s here at the beach. I saw her while I was on my way to see you,” he said. “There is a warrant out for her arrest—it seems she was involved in a recent terrorist attack.”

By recent, he meant within the past few minutes. She had blown up a building housing the digital records and plans of Diviak Manfloon, the planet’s new governor. “It looks like CorpSec is laying the groundwork to seize her now,” he went on, simultaneously tapping into news reports as he observed the scene unfold. “They are blocking off all means of escape. Finding your coworkers can wait—if a firefight breaks out, you don’t want to be anywhere near it.”

As he spoke, something like a memory stirred in his processor, distant and unclear. He had a sense that his words came from personal experience, though he could not recall the exact experience in detail. Androids couldn’t dream, but he imagined these strange, incoherent thoughts and images were similar to what a dream was like. Or a nightmare.

Chelara "Chel" DuCote Kadora'Tra Talohn Atar Daiya Aren D'Shade Cassus Akovin Brie Jaxx Gray Venasir

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby rocked back and forth slightly, beach towel hood still firmly in place. She cast a small glance over her shoulder, her 'partner-in-crime' was no where to be seen. But the vendor wasn't, either, so that part was good. And so her hold on the towel slackened a little, and she relaxed enough to pop the top of a bottle and take a sip.

But as she brought the bottle up, the screens flickered to life.

Her mouth dropped open and some soda dribbled down her chin as she watched the scenes unfolding before her – before everyone. When it was over and the screens went dark, Ruby blew out a low whistle. Alright, so this wasn't good. But there wasn't a whole lot of time to sit around and think about it.

There was commotion.

Whipping her head in that direction, she saw her new friend – he called out for her, too. Good thing she'd told him her name at least. Scrambling to her feet, kicking up sand, she made her way over to his side. “What's going –“ she started, just as the man, Gray Venasir , pulled a blaster and pointed it. Then, Ruby noticed the group that he was protecting.

Well, kark.

Ruby rolled her neck back and forth, limbering up. And she took one more swig from the bottle of soda before cracking it in half over a nearby trash can. She didn't have a blaster, but what remained of her bottle was mighty sharp. She cast a glance at the man that chipped in for her swimsuit, she'd be there to fight with him.

She owed him that much, really.

Cassus Akovin , Brie Jaxx , Daiya , Aren D'Shade , Kadora'Tra , Talohn Atar (Sorry if I missed anyone!)

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Relax, socialise and enjoy​

Thump!

While they headed to the food stalls further up the beach, Cassus ran into an older man and it was hard to tell if and who was about to fall to the ground because of the impact. No one did, though. Despite Cassus being a boy of lesser weight than the man, they held up a rather good pace and he must have had good balance senses. The mans food was about to go down but luckily didn't. If it had they might have been in some trouble, Brie thought and gave the man a quick but apologizing glance backwards before following Cassus again.

The next second, the beautiful landscape and sky that was in motion on the gigantic holoscreens died and was exchanged with a static that soon showed them all something completely differend. An gloomy industrial landscape that almost made the industrial districts on Coruscant seem like a merry place. What made it all worse was a young girls tellings about what they saw and what had happened to a world like Belazura. Even though Brie was used to visit and scavange in such places, and boy was there many places like that in the galaxy, the sight and story that followed it could have made anyone sick and filled with disgust against who or what being responsible for its making.

That was when the man who Cassus bumped into a short while ago approached them, and recognised them and them recognised him - it was Gray! The man from the dreams or whatever it now was at Pracellus Minor! They certainly didn't have time for pleasantries though, and Gray was quick to come up with a plan for them.

''Come on!'' she uttered and dropped the towel, giving Cassus a pull along in the direction from where they came, back to their friends Daiya and Zenie.

Brie noticed it in the corner of her eye. Someone else ( Kadora'Tra ) was also trying to get to them by trying to disperse the crowds, some kind of agent or officer it seemed as she flashed a badge to make people move. Judging by her demeanors, she wasn't exactly such an officer that was there to help and protect them. Brie tried to think of something, but time was short and while nothing else came to her mind, she diverted her course towards the agent and tried to intercept her intended way forward. If succesfull, she would put out a leg for her to hopefully stumble on, buying them some time, and then try to bolt towards Daiya and Zenie.

Gray Venasir Cassus Akovin Daiya Ruby Jaxx Talohn Atar Aren D'Shade

 

[Zo'i Prihm]

Not Everything Is as It Seems

"We're here, ma'am."

"Very good. Thank you." Only Luminous Sun could make gratitude sound ominous.

The window to the driver's side of the limo slid shut and the two women were once again alone with Zo'i. The door slid open shortly after and everyone started to leave the cab following Lumi. The young Zeltron specifically distracted herself and looked about the pad where they had landed. She was surprised to see holodisplays of sandy shoals and tropical trees and several small but very swim-able bodies of water being displayed like advertisements of the large metal complex where they had parked. "Wait. I thought we weren't going to the beach."

"We're not going to the beach to have fun," Rhéala answered Zo'i's not-quite-a-question. "There's a difference. Especially where you're concerned."

"Quite so. No swimsuits today. Only work. Come along." Lumi's voice was patient and lilting. But her words were anything but passive. Those were commands. The three of them walked along the short walkway from the landing pad to the building. The architectural monstrosity wasn't much to look at from the outside. But if the images projected around the complex were to be believed, the interior was where the designers had spent their credits.

Zo'i barely noticed the pair of guards standing outside the door as they approached. She was too busy looking around at all of the beautiful displays. "Sorry. There is a situation inside. Entry is currently prohibited." The teen started paying attention immediately. No one told Sun what to do.

The woman's face didn't shift at all. She maintained the same alluring expression. Zo'i expected Lumi to lay down the 'Do you know who I am?' line. But basic wasn't Luminous' style. "CorpSec, right?"

The Trandoshan and Human guard looked at each other and then back at Luminous. The human spoke. "Yeah? Listen we-"

"Do you like your job?"

Another glance between the pair. "It's alright? What-"

"And who pays your salary, exactly? That's the Corporate Authorities of Denon, right?"

The two guards were certain now that they had made a mistake. They just weren't catching on yet. "Yes," came the simple response.

"And who, exactly, funds the CAD?"

The Trandoshan hissed. Zo'i didn't know Trandoshan body language. But she understood enough "words" from her language studies with Rhéala to piece together what the lizard said. <Ma'am, I'm sorry. I didn't recog->

"Why are you still in my way?"

The human guard hadn't caught on as fast, still trying to process whatever their Trandoshan counterpart had already put together. The hesitation was enough for Lumi's expression to slip. If the DireX had eyes that could shoot lasers, the human would be a lump of ash. The Trandoshan was smart enough to yank the human out of the way. The large, reptilian being also managed to hit the door control but didn't spare another word. The three women entered inside without a further hitch.

"You would think that guarding a VIP pad would give you some clue as to who you might expect to knock on the door."

For once, Rhéala traded a look with Zo'i. But the young girl was clueless and just cocked an eyebrow. "Sun, that wasn't a VIP pad. It was just... a pad."

Luminous Sun looked perplexed for a moment as they walked through an empty tunnel towards a what Zo'i wanted to be a bright light but instead was strangely darkened. But then she shrugged, the bother well behind her. "Huh. Well. If I let Diviak keep this place after I'm through wringing out his intestines I'll have him make the pad my VIP pad." Zo'i shivered. She wasn't all that convinced that Luminous was speaking metaphorically. "Now then," Luminous passed through the opening and out into the chaos beyond. They were on a large platform overlooking the beach below. And a video had just come on the screen. "Let's see how my plan is shaping up."

Spoiler: OOC

Still no tags in particular. But some to come with the next post!

 

[Daiya]

N O T • E V E R Y T H I N G • I S • A S • I T • S E E M S

Tawrro had been fiercely opposed to this plan. It wasn't safe, it wasn't smart, it wasn't wise, it wasn't in any way controllable, at least that's how his argument went. As a former military commander, Tawrro had a lot of respect from Daiya with regards to plans and strategy. Except when it was something important or where she knew more. And not only was the holovid incredibly important to Zenie, Daiya also knew her friend a lot better than her Wookiee guardian. So try as he might, Tawrro couldn't move his teenage charge from her stubborn idea, and eventually accepted the notion that the vid was happening.

Plus, Daiya could be surprisingly persuasive when she was passionate about a subject.

Since he couldn't stop their plan, Tawrro had devised their strategy. Keep their presence small, blend in as much as possible, and bring some equipment to get out of a sticky situation if it occurred. In such a densely-crowded place like the Indoor Visitor Center, a shotgun or slugthrower with acid-spewing bullets were not great ideas. The duo's typical weapons were exchanged, Daiya's for her holdout blaster in stun mode, and Tawrro's for a stun shotgun, better weapons for working in a crowd. Not to mention one full of allies.

It wasn't allies Daiya was worried about at the moment as she saw the crowd parting in a wave towards them. A vivid blue sword led the way, a lightsaber?! What were stun weapons going to do against a Force wizard? The cat-like Forcer was accompanied by another, cattier, figure, and behind them began a whole string of beings heading their way. A fear grew as the teen watched the movements, had the Corpos already been waiting for them? Was this a trap? That seemed likely, it was as if gravity was pulling them in the direction of their trio, with Zenie as the singular point of their focus.

She was Daiya's, too.

"Everyone's quiet," the young heiress remarked plainly. Daiya didn't hear disappointment in her friend's voice, merely quiet observation. It was a sobering moment, the giddy child from earlier transformed so abruptly to a miniature sage. The girl wondered if this was how Tawrro or Shenn sometimes saw her, too, especially in moments after her visions. "I thought there'd be more...I don't know, I guess, I just thought it'd be different."

Cheering crowds? A rally cry? Sudden capitulation from the Corpos?

No, in reality Daiya knew her friend didn't expect all of that. She could share Zenie's mood, a bit more keenly than she'd like in fact, and understood the younger girl's disquiet. The teen occupied herself by withdrawing their packed changes of clothes from the bag, handing one set to Zenie before also offering some words, "I think they're just shocked at what you showed them. Remember how you felt, the first time you saw it all?"

Zenie nodded, even if it was a hollow gesture. Daiya felt, all at once, cut off from her friend's mood again. It startled her, and then again as her gaze returned to the group of beachgoers approaching them, more of them looking familiar now. She hadn't known Gray was even at the beach, but he was quick to head off the lightsword-wielding catman, accompanied by some other woman Daiya didn't know. Brie, too, aimed for the cattier one, trying to trip her up. Even Cassus hovered nearby, and for once Daiya didn't think she would mind him interfering.

Daiya felt herself breathing easier, seeing her friends come to the defense of Zenie. The teen made use of the reprieve, pulling on a pair of shorts and t-shirt over her drying suit. She tried to run her hands through her hair in lieu of a brush, but Daiya had left it too long. Her long, blonde locks were clumped and stubborn, unwilling to be untangled again until she took a shower and brush to them. Making an exasperated sound, she took her holdout blaster from Tawrro, slipping it in the waistband of her shorts behind her, then turned to Zenie to see her talking with Aren.

"It's not crazy to want to show people what's really happening here!" Fierce eyes looked up at Aren as Zenie pulled the woman's hand off her shoulder, as if daring the woman to challenge her. Daiya nudged the girl, holding the pile of clothes Zenie had discarded. Even with her friends helping hold them off, it looked like CorpSec wasn't happy with them already. The beach had been a great place to air the video, but it probably wasn't the best place to start a rebellion. The teen hoped she could distract her friend before Zenie's voice carried too far.

"Here? Yes," Daiya told her friend, then pointed out to the pair of cats and the other uniforms goons heading their way. "Now? Maybe we showed enough for now, Zenie. I think we gotta move."

Zenie whipped around, staring up at Daiya with her own challenge. Daiya met her friend's eyes with a widened pair of her own, jutting her head forward intently to convey her seriousness. The two girls exchanged looks for a moment, a silent war of wills, before the younger of the pair rolled her eyes and shook her head. She yanked her clothes from Daiya's hands, who gladly relinquished them, and turned away to put them on.

"We might need that safe house, Aren," Daiya said affably, mindful of the ever-encroaching Corpos. If this was a trap, then their plan to ditch out to the ship was probably already compromised. Daiya and Tawrro were ready to fight to defend Zenie, but that was supposed to have been a fallback. And it was a far easier prospect if they didn't have to defend her way out in the open on the beach.

"We do?" Zenie was back, dressed and looking a bit less irate again. The teen leaned in, subtly pointing out the aggressive figures heading their way. To which the little heiress only said, "Oh."

Daiya turned to her friend, "Whatever you do, Zenie, stay between Tawrro and me. We're not going to let anyone touch you without a fight."

Cassus Akovin Aren D'Shade Rann Thress Brie Jaxx Binary Gray Venasir Ruby Jaxx Chelara "Chel" DuCote Ayreon Talohn Atar Zo'i Prihm Kadora'Tra​

 

[Kadora'Tra]

N O T • E V E R Y T H I N G • I S • A S • I T • S E E M S
​

Kadora'Tra was thankful to some extent that she had encountered a citizen with such a striking weapon to disperse the crowd, but began to hate it when it drew attention to her. It was fortuitous, however, that he seemed to take more of the heat than she did, considering her loathsome beach attire. One citizen actively squared up with her impromptu deputy ( Talohn Atar ) brandishing a blaster, proclaiming he would have to go through him ( Gray Venasir ) to get to Zenie ( Daiya ). She was perfectly fine if they went and killed each other if it meant she could slip by to where she wanted to be, it was a "noble" sacrifice for her ignoble objective. They could be arrested later, right now she was dealing with -

"Captain! Central Records was just hit with a bomb, everything's been wiped! I can't find a source!"

- a terrorist. She thought to herself as she growled at the revelation, and while she was distracted by this she suddenly found her footing disrupted.

"Gah!" She exclaimed as she found herself tumbling face first towards the sand. Hair bristling she tried to brace herself with her hands and flip through the air back on her feet, except her other hand was occupied with her baton, and all her efforts amounted to her rolling through it. Hissing loudly she swung her baton around her with hostile intent, while rubbing sand that got kicked up into her face out of her eyes.

For a moment, angry animal instincts told her to chase the person fleeing through the crowd ( Brie Jaxx ), but the girl knew she had an objective to complete more important than dolling out justice for this sandy indignity. Her baton cackling with energy, she stopped using her badge as a warning, and started leading her way through the crowd with her baton. With a clearer path, she trotted (in such a way as to give away this was not her preferred terrain) with ferocity towards the child, now surrounded by a wookiee and a few other individuals, among them a human woman with one arm.

"This is an arrest for terrorism against the Authorities! Those who aid and abet shall be tried the same!" She roared, her voice cracking slightly with the volume. As Daiya, Zenie, Tawwro and the others began to make progress, it was clear the older woman was falling behind, and Kadora'Tra could almost see the moment when her decision was made.

If she could not follow them ably, then she was going to slow Kadora'Tra down.

"You will not harm that child." Triam Akovin with strained effort put herself between the CorpSec Captain and her quarry, hand and elbow spread out, a face of pain and defiance. The Farghul did not spare her a breathe, and connected her charged baton directly to Triam's exposed core, sending her to the ground, already unconscious. A scream could be heard from elsewhere, but Kadora'Tra was already moving on...

Ruby Jaxx Zo'i Prihm Ayreon Aren D'Shade

 

[Chelara "Chel" DuCote]

Chel's brain went haywire as much as a human brain could. The sudden video and the young girl speaking out framed by landscape footage of some wasteland, later identified as Belazura. Chel caught herself making a face of disgust, if they really were living like this maybe they should have protected their land rights more and not let their government sell it. Besides, should she feel guilty? It was business, the land would have ended up like that anyway, tourists could be just as damaging to an environment if Chel was remembering her Corporate Responsibility classes correctly. Besides, it wasn't anything Chel could do personally, she still had to eat at the end of the day. Still a conflicted feeling sat at the bottom of her gut, it wasn't like she was absolved of blame.

Blinking, the faux ocean had been replaced by soft music and a differing environment had taken its place and it was as though nothing had happened. Well, everything had changed but nothing at all it seemed. All she knew is that this was going to be a CorpSec PR nightmare and she had enough on her plate. The Gildenleaf situation would have to be filed away for later.

She barely registered that Ayreon had addressed her until the words "terrorist attack" hit her ears.

“They are blocking off all means of escape. Finding your coworkers can wait—if a firefight breaks out, you don’t want to be anywhere near it.”

"Agreed, I'm sure they can handle themselves perfectly fine at this point." she commented before making another small face, "I'm not 100% helpless you know..."

Of course, she had no weapons, and she was in a dress and a silly pair of shoes. She shook her head before correcting herself, "You're right though, this could get ugly and I'm not really adequately equipped at this moment. However, it would be amiss if I didn't get to the bottom of this in some way after I am on business in all senses of the word."

Looking at the growing skirmish and the Farghulian captain beginning to close in on the increasingly agitated crowd she turned to Ayreon, "I'm trusting you for next courses of action, let's get this contained."

Ayreon Kadora'Tra (and anyone else who needs a Corpo to bully)

 

[Gray Venasir]

Not for killing? Only to disperse the crowd? Yeah, right. As if Gray would buy that. This man with the lightsaber was working for CorpSec, who now wanted the girl Daiya and Tawrro was protecting. And he wanted Gray to believe they didn't want the young girl, dead or alive?

"Look, Cat-face, I don't really care. You and your partner are after someone under my protection. You will not get her."

As Ruby took her place next to Gray, he alived himself a quick glance over at the girls and the Wookie, and apparantly a few others as well. It seemed they were already trying to make their way towards an exit. Good. If they could get out, things would be a lot easier. "I see your partner intends to arrest us. I would be scared, if a Sith Lord hadn't tried the same a few years ago. Now, if you really don't want to hurt anyone, you will back away. Slowly."

Then came the scream, and Gray looked in the direction it came from. And he saw the woman, one of them who had been with the apparant princess, laying on the ground, and the Corpo moving away from her. It sendt Gray's mind back to his childhood again, when him and his family had to flee their house. Gray's Twi'lek nanny had taken him to his mother, and helped them get to an escape tunnel. And as they made their way inside the tunnel, she had stayed behind, and sacrificed herself, so they could get away. She had fallen to the ground, just like that one armed woman.

"No!" Gray shouted. "Get back here, you karking Corpo." He threw his blaster to Ruby, hoping she would keep the Cathar occupied, while he himself ran after the other feline CorpSec officer.

Ruby Jaxx | Talohn Atar | Kadora'Tra | Daiya | Cassus Akovin | Brie Jaxx

 

[Ayreon]

"I'm trusting you for next courses of action, let's get this contained."

Ayreon was hardly listening. His eyes were trained on the scene unfolding before them, of the unarmed woman falling after she was struck by the baton. For a brief moment, the HRD looked like an attack dog yanking on its too-short leash. But once again his programming forced him to prioritize.

“If you are inadequately equipped, then I suggest you find a safe location and stay out of this incident altogether,” he told Ms. DuCote. Ayreon himself was not armed, but being a machine, he was far less vulnerable than an ordinary human. “Otherwise, if you can reason with the CorpSec people and get them to stop assaulting every civilian that stands in their way, it would help to alleviate the tensions here. I’m going to check on that woman who was hit.”

Ignoring the altercation between Talohn Atar , Gray Venasir , Ruby Jaxx , Brie Jaxx and Kadora'Tra , the HRD approached the downed body of the woman, crouching beside her. He identified her on sight as Triam Akovin, knocked unconscious by the electrical input of the stun baton. His X-ray sensors were able to deduce that, while the blow to her torso likely caused significant bruising, she did not appear to have broken any ribs.

Satisfied that she was stable, he rose and directed his attention to Zenitha Chuma and co. For the most part they looked like ordinary, unarmed citizens standing around in nothing but their bathing suits. If this entire public demonstration had been planned by Chuma and her friends, they clearly hadn’t given much thought to how they would deal with the aftermath.

With the situation already spiraling out of control, the HRD found himself, for once, with a certain amount of leeway. Buried subroutines floated to the surface of his computer mind. Regardless of her motives, the girl had committed a crime by destroying state property. There would be a call for her arrest regardless of where she was in the galaxy. The CorpSec agents attempting to carry it out, however, were handling the situation extremely poorly, with no regard for who wound up as collateral in their bull-headed attempts at reaching her.

Ayreon was not capable of true emotion, but he was about as close to being pissed off about it as he could be. This mercenarial force acting as Darkwire’s “police” were no better than a bunch of common thugs.

The lost subroutines beckoned to him. Giving in to these ghosts in the machine felt (for lack of a better word) right.

But his new programming swiftly stopped him. He was not a policeman, not anymore. He was just a machine, owned by a corporation not much different from CorpSec. By all accounts, he had no right to get involved. At least, not in the way he wanted to.

Aren D'Shade Daiya Cassus Akovin Chelara "Chel" DuCote

 

[Talohn Atar]

As Gray explains that Talohn was after someone under his protection. He frowns. It was obvious that Talohn wasn't corpsec. The man was literally in swimshorts after all. "Look, I was just making sure no one killed the kid, or any kids for that matt-" Then Gray tosses the pistol to ruby and runs off. The cathar frowns in confusion. He doesn't know how to deflect blaster bolts yet, so Ruby has him at gunpoint. Looking more nervous by the minute, Talohn's eyes would meet with Ruby's. "Look, I do not plan to hurt anyone. You guys are resistance, right? Some sorta underground thing...I guess? Look..." His eyes drift in the direction of Kadora. "Save who you need to save, I know the corporations are far from good, and cause a lot of harm. However, you'll but just as bad as they are if you start killin kids. Now if you please...I'm just gonna..." Talohn starts slowly scooting back in the direction of the two he gestured to earlier, that being the young cathar child, and the intimidating droid she's currently hiding behind. It's easy to spot the blue furred child peeking out from behind the droid, eyes filled with concern for her adoptive parent.

While scooting away, Talohn adds to his earlier statement. "Seriously, keep that guy that just ran off on his leash. Because if you guys kill that kid....we will meet again." That's when something odd happens. He's suddenly faster, a lot faster. Before Ruby would be able to shoot, Talohn moves at a speed that makes his image blurry, zooming over to once again stand by Madlad and Monari. Once Talohn makes it back, the droid gets into a defensive position. It doesn't look like it should be messed with, but they also seem more intent on preserving Monari's safety at this point now that blasters have been drawn.

Aren D'Shade Daiya Kadora'Tra Cassus Akovin Chelara "Chel" DuCote Ayreon Ruby Jaxx Gray Venasir Zo'i Prihm Brie Jaxx

(I dunno who to ping at this point, so sorry everyone.)

 

[Cassus Akovin]

​

Cassus floundered for only a moment, until Brie Jaxx tugged him along. His mind caught up to what was going on, but sluggishly. Protect Zenie. That was the only thought on his mind, and he found himself moving faster now, with purpose. He could protect, he had been protecting his mother this whole time since she had been sick.

Mom, He thought as he found himself encountering Daiya , Zenie, Tawwro, Aren D'Shade and her date. Where is mom?

"Daiya I hope you know what you're doing," Is pretty much all the boy could manage to say, following the group, before in his frantic search he found who he was looking for.

He let out a scream, not even cognizant of what he was screaming.

While Ayreon was able to detect no broken bones from the impact of Kadora'Tra's weapon, if given a deeper scan he would understand that this woman was sick... terminally so. Somehow who should most certainly not be up and about, and not at all recommended to be fighting off the Corporate Authorities. Nonetheless, his mother had been Relentless in living, she remained so in Dying.

Cassus wasn't observing it, his mind caught in a quagmire between protecting Zenie and processing his mother be beaten, but all around them security had been informed of the situation and were now taking positions on the beach. Kadora'Tra and her subordinates were not he only one's on this beach, and while they weren't CorpSec necessarily, they were officials of the resort tasked with the security of the general populace. Though he couldn't hear it, resort officials in "SECURITY" uniforms started to make announcements over the monitors.

"Resort Guests, please disperse, we are experiencing a security event..." The announcement droned on, alerting them all to a security threat and advising calm and orderly evacuation to their designated hotel rooms.

No longer really thinking, and almost forgetting that he was in nothing but a swimsuit, he charged at the Farghulian. The female swung her baton at the boy after shouting something he refused to hear, and bringing his left arm up the baton impacted. He might have felt pain but it was something he'd feel later, and then he swung his other hand connecting it to her face.

The cat woman fell on her back, baton seemingly deactivated... or broken, looking very disorientated and surprised.

Cassus didn't care, and ran past her towards his mother. The crowd had been driven into a panic, however, and he now found himself fighting against the current of people trying to make it to their rooms as instructed, while uniformed officials seemed to appear from no where on the beach, goading the stampede of people to move along. He broke eye contact with her, and he panicked.

"Mom!?" He called out. Suddenly, it appeared that the boy was a lost son at the beach...

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby's eyes flickered back and forth between Gray Venasir and the two he was confronting. Her broken bottle weapon held in a white-knuckle grip. As the words were exchanged, her mind was going a mile a minute – yeah, that fast. Unfortunately, the true nature of the situation still eluded her.

Okay. Some kids were on the run, but they had to stop whoever these weirdos were from getting them. Oh, wait. Did he just say... arrest us? Her gaze shot over to the man – Gray – for a moment, her lined eyes a bit wider now.

But there was little time to question anything. She caught sight of motion as Kadora'Tra moved into the crowd. Then, there was a scream. And then there was a blaster in her hands, which she nearly fumbled. But she held her arm out, pointing the weapon at the Cathar man that remained. Now that they were alone, Talohn Atar tried to reason with her.

Nice try. No one reasoned with her, ever.

“We're not tryin' to kill kids,” she started, squinting at him. Right? They weren't in it for that. But the man then... sorta excused himself, and started stepping back. “Hey...” Ruby started. “Hey!”

As she took a few steps to pursue him, there was a flash of motion – and a blur. Where'd he go?

Well, kark.

Daiya , Cassus Akovin , Aren D'Shade

 

[Brie Jaxx]

​

Yes!

It had worked. The feline agent ( Kadora'Tra ) bit the dust just as intended, landing flat into the sand. If she not sensed that much danger in staying around, she would possibly have snickered at the sight. Now hitting the road straight out of there, she spared the corpo a quick glance and saw that it was the right decision to do so. The agent was soon up again and looked all but happy with the little trick.

"Resort Guests, please disperse, we are experiencing a security event..." The security message could be heard through the resorts speakers and people tried to get the personnels attention of where the situation were taking place.

Brie continued running in the direction of where Daiya and Zenie was and just as she had hoped, Cassus was already by them. Along with the mighty wookiee Tawrro, the older woman ( Aren D'Shade ) and her guy ( Rann Thress ) they were ready to defend them or make a run for it.

''Daiya? Zenie? You're alright!'' she stated, relieved of the fact that they were unharmed. Though, worry started to build up in her as the pushing sense of danger came closer and closer with each second. A moment later, Cassus charged past her and faced the female corpo who was about to reach them all. Brie turned and saw the boy recieve a hit by the baton but met it with a fist to her face, sending her to the ground once more. The Farghulian might just have been knocked out, but it would definately buy them more time.

But, where was Cassus going?

''Cassus!!''

The call was for him to not forget what the situation was about to turn into, and to come back to them. They needed to stay together now, and who knew how many corpos that could be waiting outside the resort by now. Or even if the security personnel would try to solve the situation or obey under the CorpSec.

Cassus Akovin Talohn Atar Gray Venasir Ruby Jaxx

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Obviously the girls hadn't clearly considered the full course of action before playing the video. Aren remembered being that young once and pulling pranks on people. Nothing like this though. Letting out a sigh, she started moving with the group as more of their allies came over. Thankful for the Wookiee being present, the slicer was positive they would make out before the woman with the lightsaber reached them.

Among those that rallied to support Zen was an apparent (to Aren) HRD. Giving him an almost side-eyed look, he wasn't hostile to them so she allowed him to remain in control of himself. While she was a Force User, Aren didn't actually use it very much. Her talent wasn't fighting but with working with electronics and technology.

The girl turned to Aren to confront her on what she had said.

"It isn't crazy, it's the timing and with your presence...you're in danger and have put all of us there with you. Now get moving!"

Nodding when Daiya replied that they might need the safe house she had just offered, she would lead them there once they were safely out of the building. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her only actual weapon. Holding her blaster at her side, she hoped Rann would catch up with them.

Hearing the call for their arrest, the Sithling stood her ground and kept her eyes on her. Moving was going slower than she wanted, but there seemed to be people also wanting to stop the Farghul from reaching them as well. Looking at the HRD, she motioned with the hand holding her blaster.

"Are you with us or against us?"

Cassus had returned and went searching for his mother. Unfortunately, his mother had taken a direct attack and was laying on the ground. If there had been anything Aren could have done to help she would have. These people were her friends and allies. Right now, they needed to get Zen and that group out.

Another obvious ally joined them and called out to Cassus.

"Boy..."

Wanting nothing more than to reach out with the Force to bring his mother to safety, the crowding around them prevented her from doing that. Sending him a tap on the shoulder with the Force, she hoped it would be enough to get him to decide escape was better than dying here.

Cassus Akovin Daiya Brie Jaxx Gray Venasir Ruby Jaxx Rann Thress Talohn Atar Ayreon (I think I got everybody. Sorry if I missed!)

 

[Daiya]

N O T • E V E R Y T H I N G • I S • A S • I T • S E E M S

"This is an arrest for terrorism against the Authorities!"

The words sent a sharp chill down her spine as she ran. It was impossible to prepare for, though she had known it was a possibility. The breath caught in her throat, threatening to cut off her air. To suffocate her, the way she knew the feeling would suffocate her. Of being a target, of being a fugitive from someone's justice, of being hunted down for the rest of her days. She had done it once before, the precarious dance with a death-bringer, and only by luck and credits had she managed to outmaneuver him.

Phelaan was small game next to the weight of the Corporate Authority.

Daiya wasn't willing to take her chances this time. Her hands were already reaching for the pistol tucked into her back waistband. It was just a few CorpSec folks, she could take them down. She thumbed the switch, flipping the blaster out of stun mode. They would never file their report, never bear witness. The girl could feel the hold-out blaster scrape against the skin of her back as she pulled it free. It would put the Corpos behind, give her a head start to keep Zenie safe. Daiya turned to pull the blaster in front of her, whirling on her heels as her friends moved past her, on toward the exit and to safety.

Then Daiya saw Triam, the one-armed woman, fall to the sandy ground.

Then Daiya heard a wretched scream, coming from Cassus as he watched his mother fall.

Then Daiya felt a hairy paw on her wrist, taking her weapon away and pulling her along.

She didn't protest or fight Tawrro. Tears blurred her vision as Daiya allowed herself to be swept along, guilt sweeping through her at the thought of Cassus and his mother getting caught in the trouble she had hatched with Zenie. Brie, and Gray, and Aren, and even people she didn't know were taking sides. Taking Zenie's side, rushing to protect a girl they didn't even know. Placing themselves directly in the line of danger and risking arrest, or worse.

And it was all her fault.

A sob escaped with a gasp for air, an automatic demand of her lungs while her legs pumped to keep up with Tawrro and Zenie. Another pang of remorse swept through the girl as she realized that she was breaking another promise. Not only to Zenie, but to herself. Daiya was supposed to be her friend's bedrock right now, not a wildcard or a loose end. The Corpos had strength in numbers and the element of surprise here, her strength had to be in cunning and tenacity to see Zenie safely through it.

"Keep going, don't look back!" Daiya urged as she passed Zenie once more, re-taking her place just behind Aren's brisk lead. Tawrro still held her blaster, but more allies joined their flanks to defend them. They didn't need weapons as much as they needed numbers right now to intimidate the Corpos into backing down. It had been the whole point of the holo-vid today, to raise awareness and inspire people.

The hope had been to inspire them to take action outside the beach simulation, too, but Daiya wasn't exactly going to complain about their defensive actions right now.

"Yeah, we're still in good shape, Brie," the girl said to her spacer friend as the older teen joined their jaunt toward the exit.

"For now," Zenie added from behind Daiya. The girl looked back, watching the young heiress' eyes dart toward their CorpSec antagonists, and grabbed Zenie's hand.

"We're going to be just fine," Daiya offered. A promise she felt confident would be fulfilled. She could feel the hope rising within her as the doors came into view, a swell of emotion within her pushing back the guilt and fear. With her resolve, with their allies, Zenie would make it out now. Daiya was certain of it, and she didn't even need a vision for that.

Sounds behind her alerted the girl to a distraction from their goal. Aren and Brie had both turned their attention to Cassus. Cassus! Daiya turned to watch her frenemy, lost amid the chaos around him. He'd once told her that his mother was the reason for his antics, the purpose for the credits he earned from jobs. Now there she laid, unmoving and helpless on the ground. Something in the girl pulled her back, wanting to help him. Of all people, him! She couldn't help it.

She couldn't help him.

Daiya turned away, part of her heart tearing as she did so. The teen urged Zenie onward, tapping Brie and Aren before pointing toward the door. Cassus would have to find his own way, her focus had to be on Zenie right now.

The exit doors loomed before them, and with them a pair of CorpSec-uniformed goons. These were different from the pursuers them, who had tried to blend into the beachgoing crowd. No longer. These guards were here for one thing only, to stop Daiya and her friends from getting Zenie to safety.

Two against many.

Daiya turned back as they approached, the crowd having already fled from the exit ahead of time. The girl couldn't blame them for not wanting to get caught up in this conflict, while still wishing they would. Sturdier backbones and invertebrate structures would be needed if Zenie's vid was to have any effect at all, mere bystanders were worse than useless. She shifted her attention away from them, asking her Wookiee guardian for her blaster back. He made a show of switching it back to stun mode before obliging her.

The teen faced them down unafraid, her expression firm but clear. Daiya wasn't of a mind to hurt them, not anymore, but she wasn't about to let anyone arrest her without a fight. "Do they pay you enough to stop all of us?" she asked them, gesturing with her free hand to the allies arranged around her. Her blaster and Tawrro's stun-shotgun were pointed straight at the two guards, and surely joined by others by their sides. Her voice was firm, carrying a power beyond mere words as she told them, "Just walk away."

Either way, Daiya and her friends were walking Zenie out of the beach free and unharmed.

Cassus Akovin Aren D'Shade Rann Thress Brie Jaxx Gray Venasir Ruby Jaxx Chelara "Chel" DuCote Ayreon Talohn Atar Zo'i Prihm Kadora'Tra​