Private Panic in the cellar

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Sundown had just begun in Mos Motesta's mid-quarter when Tayl Vizsla arrived, casually walking through the shaded streets between old towers and homes of clay and sandstone made into one. Mandalorians weren't exactly a rare site on Tatooine these days, even in a remote backwater city like this one, So few paid any mind to the young Twi'lek when she turned a corner sporting the iconic T-shaped visor. The rest of her equipment was currently obscured by a full body poncho of black and gray cloth, but the locals knew just by her confident stride that she'd be armed to teeth under there. Even the gangers didn't think it worth their time to mug the mercenary.

Mandalorians in Mos Motesta meant one of two things; A drifting bounty hunter, Or hired Gun of the Barons.

In this case, she was the latter. The worst of the two, but not by choice. Aloy Vizsla had tasked her daughter with locating the enigmatic Dollmaker. Supposedly a friend of the family's and a masterful cyberneticist, among... other things. To that end, she had enlisted the help of one Adeline Noctua to guide her towards Mos Motesta, where someone matching The Dollmaker's description had been seen.

The events that followed were for Jackal and herself to know and anyone else to guess, but those events had prompted a change in her mother's grand plan. Thus, Tayl Vizsla would be staying in Mos Motesta with a new, shared goal; Earn the Barons' trust.


In doing so, it'd bring their entire family closer to the Daimyo of Mos Motesta, and phase 3 could be achieved. But they had to start small. They had to start with Torina Kotai; Baroness of the Atrisian quarter. The elegant but cutthroat baroness had met with Tayl several days ago when she learned that the young Vizsla was looking for work and aimed to please the water barons. All the water barons.

That simply wouldn't do. Not because of Lady Kotai's own ambitions, but rather, distrust of her fellow Baron; Skragg Trassa. Head of the Trassa family and Baron of the Trandoshan quarter...


Someone had been dealing arms in the "neutral" mid-quarter of the city, where most of the housing was located. Whoever they were, they hadn't been giving the Atrisians their cut of the profit, and some of these weapons had gotten into the hands of smaller gangs that had beef with them. When one of the Atrisian gang soldiers was shot in the night, they had officially taken things too far. Worst of all, one of these little competing gangs had connections to the Trandoshans. Now, their rival family was a suspect in the murder.

Tayl Vizsla was new. Not affiliated with the Trassa family. That meant she was uniquely qualified to serve Baroness Kotai, if only her trustworthiness and her skillset could be demonstrated. With this in mind, The Atrisians sent her to investigate the Mid-quarter arms dealers.

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Tayl pulled her hood over the helmet as she arrived to the target building. She had asked someone in the market for a Disruptor Rifle, at which point most would just wave her goodbye and continue their day in peace. But one of them said to meet her at the abandoned bell tower come sundown.

Sure enough, the abandoned tower had a single candle light at the very top, telling all the dealer's customers that it was open.


Tayl made her way down into the tower's cellar through a wide trap door, using her biological night vision to peer into the darkness at the bottom. A quick left turn behind a pulled out shelf was quick to reveal a dug out tunnel, which began as dug out soil, but ended in a plasma-cut backdoor into the old and metal-reinforced mine shafts below the city. Admittedly, Tayl couldn't help tilting her head, impressed that they'd found a little home away from home.



She was stopped a few steps in of course, a gruff looking weequay having heard the jingle of her star-spurs the moment she entered the cellar. A short interaction later however, she had been allowed to pass with only her explosives removed. Fair enough, she supposed. Now she just had to figure if it was just a black market or if there was a single, primary dealer. Then collect holo-images from her visor on the dealer and buyers, run it through Howlrunner, and go from there.


Assuming things didn't go south tonight.

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Katyusha Jarko​

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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Katyusha was not one for illegal arm sales. At least, not when she was the one doing the buying. In her mind, there was a time and a place for such things under Imperial supervision. Sadly there was no place for that here, and so, clad in Beskar she merely eyed up the sales here, and plotted on how best to deal with this whole affair. Of course, she turned her head to find a Twi’lek Mandalorian entering into the cellar.

Smirking slightly behind her helm, she eyed up the woman, giving a small nod. Katyusha had her own reasons for being here, namely stopping whoever was selling Imperial hardware to these damn gangs and private security; well as these damn barons. She had just been told to put an end to it, and so that was what she planned to do. Sadly, her gear was stripped from her, blaster and spear not within reach, but her armor weapons remained carefully hidden.

Arms crossed, she merely studied the Twi’lek, wondering if this was to be a friend or foe. At current, that remained to be seen.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko
Tayl took her time as she entered the underground market, carefully scanning the small crowd and the layout with both eyes and digital optics. It wouldn't be long before one of these individuals caught her eye from one corner; A fellow Mandalorian.

She regarded the seeming Mando'ad with a short once over and a slow nod in kind before simply continuing onward, slipping between members of the small crowd while her investigation moved forward. Her "vod" remained on her mind however, as Tayl went over her brief observations. To her knowledge, their armor didn't match any clan's color schemes that she was familiar with, even if similar to her own. This meant they were either from a different sector than her usual haunt, or simply opted to color according to personal preferences. They also seemed to wear a somewhat bulky suit of armor, perhaps Beskar'kandar like her own, though she could not make out the material at a glance. It also made it difficult to tell what form they took beneath it; Male, female, thin, strong, etc.

Maybe it was a sign just how bad things had been, that she was sizing up one of her own people like this. It made her sigh, almost inaudibly.


She supposed it wasn't worth worrying about, not anymore. Tatooine was territory of The Enclave. Mandalorian territory. Even if she didn't trust them to let House Vizsla slip under the radar after the summit, she shouldn't suspect each and every Mandalorian.


For all her efforts though, she was a lot less subtle than the stranger in armor. Katyusha Jarko may have spotted the Black Hand painted on the dome of the Twi'lek's helm. This emblem, when applied to mandalorian armor, once symbolized a secretive syndicate of Mandalorian Pirates who specifically attacked Imperial Shipping, following the collapse of the Mandalorian Union and New Imperial Expansion into the region.

Granted, this syndicate had disbanded and completely dropped off the radar over a decade ago. It was likely that their emblem meant next to nothing these days.

However, more concerning where the trinkets she wore;
As she turned away and into the crowd, A small jingle and flash of color may alert one to the Imperial Order Rank Plaques threaded to the thigh-strap of her holster. The hung loosely from beneath her poncho, dangling there just at the very edge as they clacked against one another. One bore two red colored grids, followed by one blue; Traditionally worn by an Imperial army lieutenant.

The other was all blue, arranged into four different grids; The mark of a captain in the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps.
The latter of the two had recent carbon-scoring at one end. These must have been taken as battle trophies.

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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Katyusha was well versed in Mando iconography, as well as the red flag symbols that had been highlighted by NIO Security. When she laid eyes on the black hand mark, she knew she had found a possible contact. The clink of the imperial plates however, brought a cold twinge of anger within her chest. It was kept in check of course, remembering that this was war, and just as this warrior was doing her duty, so too were her fallen brothers in sisters. The strongest triumph, the weaker party falls. Someone of the black hand could prove useful to her, and she would not squander such an opportunity. So seeing that they had at least made contact, Katyusha moved to engage, following the Twi'lek through the crowd, though not with a sense of urgency.

She was curious, no more. The importance was to find these weapons, and eliminate them, and if a member of the black hand was here, there was a pretty good chance that they were here for common cause. Enemy of my enemy and all that nonsense aside, Katyusha needed more links to the Enclave, and perhaps this would be a good way in. Maybe. Frankly, she felt she was burning both ends of a candle, so damn hard to get close to Mandos once they heard that Clan name drop; seriously, did everyone hate the name Westwind? Given the history, she could understand, slightly, but damn. It was supposed to be a removed name, not some sort of mark of shame.

Regardless, she kept to following Tayl, pace steady, waiting for the first opening she could find to speak with her.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

Tayl continued to push through the small crowd until she had reached the very edge, finding a place to lean back against the stone where the old metal walls became earthen tunnel as she crossed her arms. This was off to the side of the gathering, making her little more than a part of the background to whoever would address the group.

And sure enough, someone did come to speak.

"Achuta, bengahena an bengaha!" A masked humanoid said, addressing them all in Huttese.

Folks went quiet as he took the little makeshift stage made from a metal sheet laid over a several mine carts, putting his hands on his hips in a gesture that partially opened his long duster coat. If one looked carefully, they might spot the small holdout blaster sticking out the waist of his trousers on the left.

His mirror finish mask would reflect the few lights scattered around, which looked like recent additions. In fact, most of this chamber was filled with dust still.

"Chobaso! Jee gee tam pokouau doi mo danko yabee"

At the snap of his fingers, a pair of Weequay henchmen take the stage beside him, both carrying crates which were promptly set down and opened for all to see.

The contents included thermal detonators in one box, and a set of infamous T-7 Ion Disruptors... The dealer carefully took one up in both hands, gripping it by the barrel and stock as he held it up to show off the prize.

"Ba bla haku tah doth? Hahiy... banieie... Ree kiukapath! um kanu fa"


Tayl was visibly taken aback by the display, only now realizing just how dangerous this guy must really be. To make matters worse, there were no tell tale Trandoshans nor Atrisians present that she could see. Meaning he was either independent or just careful.

"Kanieh dopeha ree huntodon phabeka che cay phoba...!"
And thus the bidding war began.

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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Moving behind the Twi'lek, Katyusha caught the words of Huttese, and what they were selling, though she was more focused on setting her eyes upon who else was here to buy these goods. These disruptor rifles were going to be a problem, but if she couldn't keep them off the street, she sure as hell could kill whoever got a hold of them.

Which was why she hoped her fellow Vode might help her with getting ahold of this gear.

Moving up behind the girl, as the bidding began, Katyusha gave a tap to her shoulder, speaking in Mando'a. "Munit ara at olaror par an auction, vod. Meh gar got sa much credits o'r credits sa gar vaabir o'r looks, vi might cuyir able at snag ibic." <"Long way to come for an auction, sister. If you got as much credits in credits as you do in looks, we might be able to snag this.">

She smiled under the beskar, then glanced at the gathering, as the numbers were starting to come up. "I'm Yuna, and this is not a place to be without friends. Given the smudge mark on your helmet, you could use a fellow vode I think." She expected this to be met with suspicion, or even denouncement, which was fine. This was how most Mando customs went.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

Tayl was quick to snap in the stranger's direction the moment she felt pressure against her pauldron, looking over her shoulder only to find that Mandalorian in the white armor again.

At which point, a clearly feminine voice seemed to address the young Twi'lek.

If you got as much in credits as you do in looks, we might be able to snag this.">

"Mmmh...?"

She quickly turned away, keeping the stranger in the corner of her eye for just a moment longer before she directed her attention to the dealer again. Well, and her own thoughts. First time she had heard that one before.

"Va bid dush kak"

"I'm Yuna, and this is not a place to be without friends. Given the smudge mark on your helmet, you could use a fellow vod I think."

Yuna was regarded with another quick glance, and another bout of curiosity and confusion in equal measure. Still, Tayl found time to relax herself against the wall, placing both her back and heel against it for the time being.

"I didn't think anyone remembered" She said, gently dragging one clawed finger over the handprint. Curiously, her gloves seemed to be fingerless and yet, both her small claws and fingers seemed to be black as pitch.

"Afraid I'm a little strapped for credits though. Enough to get one, but not the whole damn crate" she sighed as convincingly as she could

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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To her relief, the Twi'lek took well to her words. Snickering at comment given to her in reply, Yuna waved her hand dismissively. "It's in my interest to remember those who don the Beskar. Old, dead, new, and thriving, I try to make it a matter of honor to remember. Someone has to, no?" She said with a degree of amusement, though that teasing tone faded as Tayl spoke about her credit situation. Then shrugged. She had dealt with worse. Maybe just kill the whole lot of them and take the goods home?

Messy, but the end result, no one would complain about. Except for maybe the Twi'lek if she didn't get the goods. "Little late for a loan, there's a pole dancing bar just south of here, if you hurry..." She trailed off, fingers tapping against her breastplate. There had to be an answer to this problem, yet, she was fumbling about at a loss for it here and now.

"Did you come here for trade, or blood, Vod?" She asked quietly, adjusting her gauntlet, arming her disk launcher in the process. Tayl's response would change how this whole affair was about to go down?
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

"It's in my interest to remember those who don the Beskar. Old, dead, new, and thriving, I try to make it a matter of honor to remember. Someone has to, no?"

"Mm? I wish more saw it that way," She sighed, thinking about that dreaded council. So many clans had been built on a foundation of Vizsla dead, hidden behind paint of crimson, drawn from their foes in equal measure. Cowards, the lot of them! How easily they had forgotten their origins in the wake of success that was not bought with the iron price, but with coin.

"It seems to me that many are quick to forget now. Especially those who owe the most"

Her arms would fold around her breastplate a little tighter than before. Enough to strain the leather gloves against Beskar Steel.

"Little late for a loan, there's a pole dancing bar just south of here, if you hurry..."

"Pff..." To Yuna's little quips, she merely waved dismissively. The thought of removing her helmet for these gawking Aruetiise was bad enough. Much less disrobing for the scum.

The rhythmic tapping against Yuna's breastplate however, danced pleasantly in her ears. Even so, it did remind her of the very same gesture Samara would perform when they first met. Considering the manner in which they parted, This was equally pleasant as it was a bad omen to the young but over-traveled Twi'lek. Worst of all, she didn't even know that this was why it made her feel a little uneasy.

Perhaps dealing with spies had made her a little paranoid...

"Did you come here for trade, or blood, Vod?"

. . .

She seemed to pause for a brief moment, slowly rolling craning her neck towards the woman.

"Answers..." Her voice became hushed, and dark as the shadows they conversed in.

"And blood..."

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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She watched the body language of the woman, musing to herself behind the Beskar blast-plate. Many Mandalorians were still stained in the notion of revenge, of trying to get even, or back at those they felt had wronged them. It was a predictable cycle of violence, and 'Yuna' knew how to play into it. "Hard to remember the bad times when you're living like a king. Or queen, in your case, but I don't see a crown on that dome. Not all of us are so fortunate, to live like warlords." She shook her head slowly, eyeing up the room, and mentally noted her targets.

Then she had her answer. So, they wanted answers and blood. Both within reach, only need to know how to grasp it. "Then we have an accord. Is the target in this room, or just the root to your suffering, Vod?" She asked, her tone dark, as she flexed her wrist, priming up the wrist mounted laser cutter on her wrist. She had a few ideas for ruining this room, but she was just here to find a contact. Help the Twi'lek, and work for high gains. That was how the real work started.

Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

Or queen, in your case, but I don't see a crown on that dome. Not all of us are so fortunate, to live like warlords."

"No. guess we're not" She said pensively, wanting get the hint across.

"Then we have an accord. Is the target in this room, or just the root to your suffering, Vod?"

"Yes..." Tayl adjusted her footing, leaning in a little closer towards Yuna as so to whisper

"I need the dealer... alive" ​

The bidding around them continued, with a couple wealthy looking buyers taking the lead until finally the first crate had been secured.
A quick scan told her that they weren't even from Mos Motesta, so they didn't appear to be involved with either gang for the time being. To make matters worse, The few gang affiliated thugs that even bothered to bid didn't have any connection to either family. Seemed to be from smaller third parties, like the Krayt gang, who openly opposed both the other gangs from within the mid-quarter.

With that in mind, all she really needed to do was nab the dealer and find out whether he was arming a third party at the behest of the Trandoshans, or if he really was just a freelancer amidst the chaos. But that would be difficult in of itself.

Luckily, looking beside her, she remembered that Yuna was, perhaps, an Ally for the time being.

"You look like you're planning something. Any ideas?"

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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The message was understood, and now she had her sights to set. Well, having to spare the dealer was something of a problem, but not an insurmountable one. Adjusting her sights from the display of explosives on stage, Katyusha went back to viewing her surroundings. The Twi'lek was asking if she had any ideas, and thankfully she had several. "I have some low yield explosives, and anti personal devices. I can cause a distraction for you, you just need to move fast. Think you can work it, shorty?" She teased, amusement creeping into her words.

Slowly turning around, she looked for a suitable target, the wrist rocket on her left arm priming as she was looking at the far wall. There was going to be some really careful timing for this to go right, and she needed to be careful not to bring the entire city down on the two of them.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

"Shorty??" Tayl sputtered, ironically having to look up ever so slightly at Yuna.

She turned away moments later, crossing her arms again and planting her back firmly against the wall. It wasn't until she noticed Yuna getting a head-count that she prepared herself, Flexing her right hand as little blue lights began activating along the gloved fingers.

"Fine. I just need one good shot with the jetpack, and he's as good as mine"

There did appear to be a small jetpack poking out from very top of her poncho through a torn hole, but of course, the fabric might get caught up. So, she circles around Yuna to get behind the corner, gently dragging one of her claws across the armored cheek as she passed by.

"Eyes forward. Gonna go change"

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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Under the Beskar she grinned at the Twi’leks reaction. She found it cute and amusing, yet didn’t continue to tease beyond that. They had a mutual agreement if nothing else, and though she was amused at the single nail that scratched across her helmet, Yuna was running through the attack plan in her mind.

It would be a bit if a mess, yes, but least the Twi’lek would get what she wanted. She raised her right hand in the air, the hand elevated off the ground, and discharged the rocket and laser cutter all at once. The rocket struck into the floor, making a cloud of dust and debris, the laser cutter broke off parts of the ceiling, sending it down to the gathering below. Both achieved the goal of making the room clear, as screams sounded, blasters were reached for, and the room began to be coated by dust and smoke. To which Yuna switched to her heat sensors and posed to find anyone willing to go hand to hand with her, stepping into the oncoming cloud in the process.

Now ‘Shorty’ had the rest to deal with.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

Once safely around the corner, Tayl was quick to pull down her hood and then rip the poncho away, tossing it into a dark corner. Before anyone could react, Rocks were already falling from the ceiling and the screams of startled militia trying to purchase handguns and actual thugs added to the abrupt chaos.

Almost instantly, a low chittering sound echoes through the entire tunnel as her sonar mapping Scan-pulse started highlighting every target in the room. Anyone with weapons immediately lit up on her HUD like holographic ghosts, and the environment too. She could see everything.

So, taking a running leap forward, she slings herself through the air using her jetpack.


The dealer had already started running, but he couldn't hide from the scanner. Tayl came through the smoke like a seabird diving into water after it's prey, and sure enough, made the catch. The dealer was pulled to the floor by the back of his coat, landing on his back and partially on top of the Twi'lek. Before he could even react to her, she had already taken his holdout blaster in her left hand and shot one of his guards.

Another guard would round the corner just as she was attempting to pull herself and the dazed dealer off the floor, earning a quick but unfortunately misplaced shot that zipped past his head and into a nearby rock wall. Tayl was not left handed, after all.

He turned his own blaster on her despite the danger of hitting the dealer, who Tayl had luckily stepped in front of just before the guard fired amidst the confusion. One shot was literally bounced by the woman's helmet, hitting the ceiling above, while the other clipped her right under the arm and in the side between her beskar plates. Thankfully, the armorweave did it's part in softening the blow, even if it did nearly knock her over.


She fired several rounds back, squeezing the trigger over and over again until the guard had crumpled to the floor. Even then, She put two more rounds in him for good measure.

"Dank ferric...!" She said, breathing heavily before attempting to drag the dealer away, who was busy cursing in huttese.

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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With mayhem over way, Yuna moved into the cloud of dust, and began her hunt. A weequay nearly bumped into her, but she quickly eliminated him with the vibrokuckles on her gauntlet. She spun around, catching Tayl having thrown herself into the fray, yet Yuna was already in the midst of one now. She stepped forward and fired off her disk launcher, and cut a Rodian gunslinger to pieces, her laser cutter killing the second. She caught the sound of the bodies dropping as she turned to find the Twi’lek with her target, having taken hits in the process. She moved to give assistance, scooping up a loose blaster pistol off the stage, and offered the Twi’lek a hand. They were going to be swimming in goons soon. “Alright shorty, hope you planned for this. I only got so many toys to kill the hired help with.”

She figured the Twi’lek had something in mind. No one walked around with the black handprint by being an idiot.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

Tayl looked up at her fellow Mandalorian, breathing heavily as she took the offered hand.

"Yeah...! Sure, I got a great plan"

Or at least, she did when it was still just her against the world and she could do this quietly. Ambush the dealer in a private room, tie him up and be on her merry way.

Looking around for a moment, she notes the continued blindness of her foes but also that they are now between herself and the door. Silently cursing to herself, it wasn't until she noted the Ion Disruptors still on stage. It was then that the chime of an outgoing commlink call could be heard emanating from helmet.

"I definitely have a plan!" She chuckled fiendishly, jutting her chin towards the backstage as she began dragging the still cursing dealer along.

<<You rang?>> An unfamiliar but distinctly male voice called, with a heavy Concordian accent.

<<Get your ass down here!>>

<<What's the magic word, little viper?>>

Tayl grunts in frustration while firing her blaster at some blinded thug, as if to illustrate the point that now was not the time.
"Is it pay docking??"

The other voice just laughs over the comms <<We'll be down a few! keep that transponder on>>

With some headway finally made, Tayl cut the call and grabbed one of the disruptor rifles in her left hand, with the other firmly holding the dealer back and at arm's length as to prevent him from grabbing any of the weapons he had previously been selling.
And then, holding the disruptor at under her arm...

"Help is coming, Yuna! Just gotta hold out!"

She started vaporizing people...

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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She wasn’t exactly thrilled with where this whole affair was going, but she needed the Twi’lek to see her as reliable, so here she would remain. She fired two shots out of her newly claimed blaster pistol before realizing what a cheap piece of slag this thing was. The sights were in desperate need of gauging and the trigger was a touch sluggish.

The panic tone in Tayl’s voice indicates she was still formulating a plan, so Yuna just continued to do what she did best; kill without discrimination. She deployed her anti personnel rockets, as streaks of smoke fluttered from her knee plates, though the brilliant flash of her laser cutter was probably the biggest worry for the roughnecks they were fighting. Discomfort flashed against her wrist, indicating her laser cutter was burning too hot, and she was forced to rely on the crummy pistol for the time being.

The Twi’lek told her to hold her ground, which the alternative was dying so that really only left the one option. Regardless. Yuna continued to fire shots off, and earned several blaster shots to the shoulder, chest, and head as the obstruction she had created earlier began to fade. The Imperial doubled over, the kinetic impact knocking her off her focus, before a shot to the knee sent her dropping off to the side. Making something of a snarl, she switched blaster hands, and pulled off the line that fed from her jet pack into her flame thrower, and manually deployed it off her wrist computer. A gushing of flammable fluid spewed forth, stoking the floor and spreading out, as Yuna steadily righted herself. “Shoot the damn puddle, that’ll give us a breather!” She shouted, hoping that she wouldn’t blow herself up in the process, though she quickly ran out of the fuel not long after deploying it.

Nothing like a little smoke inhalation to even things out.
Tae'l Vizsla

 

[Tae'l Vizsla]

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Katyusha Jarko

"Chit-" Tayl watched as Yuna was brought to her knees. Without skipping a beat, She uses her whipcord to tie up the dealer and then run for her vod, weapon shouldered and providing covering fire the whole way.

When she reached her, Tayl pat her on the shoulder before stepping in front of her and activating her wrist-shield, projecting a blue energy field in front of them both that was just enough to cover Tayl's entire torso, hopefully providing Yuna enough time to get on her feet and move out.

“Shoot the damn puddle, that’ll give us a breather!”

"Bonfire, coming up!"

She slaps the disruptor onto her back with a gription panel and punches her free hand right through the one-way shield, backing up with Yuna before activating her plasma-caster. A tight beam of super-heated plasma lights up the cave followed by the ignited oil, sending some of the remaining thugs to either fall back or become doused in flame themselves. It wouldn't be long before a few of them started coughing. Luckily the dealer's mask seemed to filter it out, so they hadn't risked the HVT's life.

Tayl herself didn't seem to have any breathing apparatus visibly built into her helm, yet she hardly reacted to the smoke at all.

"Hey... thank you. How you holding up?"

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[Katyusha Jarko]

Panic in the Cellar
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She could live with the pain, not the shame however of having another 'Vode' hovering over her. She found the time to rise, muttering swears under her breath, but glad to see the portable shield that Tayl had with her. Her rebreather kicked in, keeping the smoke out as she reached for her dropped blaster. "Yea, I'm fine, my first dates are much rougher than this normally." She gritted her teeth, and found her center of balance. Rising, she looked to the captive they had acquired, and switched out of her heat vision.

She looked about the room, confused about what all the plan of escape would entail. "Please don't tell me I just killed us." She muttered, trying to work out how Tayl had this whole affair planned out. She had been talking to someone after all, right? "You good? I got a few hours of air in here." She patted her helmet for emphasis.

Ignoring all the mayhem and carnage behind her, she was more focused on her 'target', and ensuring she got out of here alive and content.

Tae'l Vizsla