Seek and Destroy

[Aver Brand]

Though it was Teheron who contacted him, she wasn’t the one who met [member="Jacob Crawford"] in the pits of Nar Shaddaa.

The figure was taller, and clearly built for war where Erida had been an armchair general with the constitution of a languishing cancer patient. Just as expressionless, though – if for nothing else than for the flat faceplate serving as the helmet.

A grinning white skull was smeared across the black metal, faded and scorched in places.

It was the only thing that peeled the mercenary out of the shadows flickering across the street. The occasional neon sign buzzed overhead, missing a letter or five, sometimes to comedic effect. Mostly, it just looked karking poor.

Like any lower level of a criminal metropolis, the Haro district was littered with trash and bodies in equal measure.

A couple blocks over, the short staccato of gunfire interrupted the white noise of distant club music. Much closer, someone emptied their gut into a corner. The stink of piss followed after the stench of half-digested booze.

Lovely neighborhood.

“You ready?”

It was the best greeting the Sith was going to get.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

True to Miss Teheron's word, it hadn't taken any longer than a week for them to get in contact with him again. The time inbetween had Jacob focused on testing out the drugs he had purchased from them.

Injecting subjects with them, examining their reaction and then breaking down what specific components had the greatest intended effect. So far there hadn't bee a concrete result on whether any of the drugs had something he was looking for. But there had been a few promising leads that had been caught.

Only a matter of time to see if they produced anything worthwhile.

But today was to be a completely different matter. It was time for Jacob to get his hands bloody again.

Teheron had given him coordinates and location, citing Nar Shaddaa as the first place to hit. It hadn't surprised Jacob, he had figured Lillian had some form of presence on the Smuggler's Moon. It was only a matter of how significant it was for her.

Part of him actually hoped she wasn't dumb enough to have her and headquarters there, otherwise it would be disappointing and boring. He'd much rather take apart her little organization piece by piece until she was left with nothing.

His walk through the Haro District went unimpeded, didn't stop for a moment until he had reached the destination. Jacob was glad he was doned some actual armour this time, the helmet kept the foul smells from reaching him. He looked at his contact, much more armoured and ready to fight then Miss Teheron had been. His eyes were fixed on the grinning skull that was painted on the face.

"I'm ready."

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

A cursory look up and down, and Aver was off.

“Those kids you led to Teheron last week didn’t know a whole lot,” the merc explained as she led him down the narrow street. A few people rushed past, making a point of avoiding the pair as soon as they noticed the weapons and armor. The locals had keen self-preservation instincts – that, or they were dead.

Nar Shaddaa wasn’t awful forgiving, far as cities went.

“One of them’d been to this small joint in Haro, though,” she tipped her chin to the west, “a block over. The Ryll Deal. Some spice den with a back room where bounty hunters meet.”

Aver let a smile curl her lips behind the helmet. “Should be right up your alley.”

[member="Jacob Crawford"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

"I'm not surprised, my attempts to glean information from them proved to be pointless." He had hardly gotten anything substantial from the few grunts he had managed to capture and make permanent residents of the Asylum. "They're nothing more than fodder to Lillian."

A smart move on her part, that much Jacob would give her.

The pair of them carved a path down the streets, anyone that was about to walk into them made a quick swerve to avoid them. Eyes lingering on the weapons on show, before they made a quick walk to get far away.

Jacob let out an amused snort upon hearing the name of the place, who even came up with stuff like that?

He turned his head slightly to look at Aver after her final comment. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was raising an eyebrow at her beneath the helmet.

A moment passed before that look was accompanied with a roll of the eyes.

"Oh please, spice dens like these don't have a speck of potential. Minds overdosed from their own greed."

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

“You gonna play crime lord, that’s the way to do it,” Aver said with a shrug. “And dunno ‘bout that. Long as they pay, a customer’s a customer.” Frankly, the more addicted and addled they were, the easier it was to sap them down to the last credit.

But tonight she was just a merc. Didn’t know nothin’ about running an outfit.

“Either way, juiced-up den. Shouldn’t be hard if you’re any good with a rifle.” A beat. “Are you?”

They were getting closer now, and already the sounds of heavy bass were spilling into the streets. Spice got people going, and most dens these days doubled as clubs, so their fine guests could blow the rest of their money on booze and broads and beds.

[member="Jacob Crawford"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

He nodded in agreement, crime lord or not you kept as much information close to your chest as possible. Cut off and potential intel leaks from the get go.

"It's not a matter of customers and a service me, it's about examination and research."

Although saying that, the dens were useful in observing heightened uses of drugs and spices, without lifting a finger or spending a credit.

Soon they got close enough to the establishment that the music was blaring out, and Jacob had to question how any of the occupants still retained their hearing.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak, to question why they wouldn't use the Force. But he stopped himself, and thought on it for a moment. Better to go in guns blazing, rather than Force throwing and lightsaber swinging.

He of course wasn't aware of just who exactly his partner for this raid was.

"Yeah, I'm decent with a rifle." He was certainly no soldier or marksman, but he could handle one well enough for shooting up a spice den.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

“Sure, but you gotta sell that examination and research in the end,” Aver said with a shrug, slinging the rifle from her back. It settled with a familiar weight into the nook of her elbow. Soon.

The neon sign of the den blinked into the smoggy night as they rounded another corner. Clubgoers milled before the double door, smoking and chatting and laughing drunkenly. Two tired bouncers stood at the entrance, half-swallowed by the shadows – but nothing helmet filters couldn’t handle.

And that was it for security. A couple lone cameras whirred behind the flickering Ryll Deal. Not like anyone inside was sober enough to stop what was coming.

The merc snorted.

“Aight, decent away. Just leave the backroom bosses to me, yeah? We need those alive.”

Could always shoot out the knees.

The bouncers weren’t so lucky, though – Aver brought the rifle up to her shoulder, popped off three shots for each. They dropped like sacks of bricks, and the screaming started in earnest.

[member="Jacob Crawford"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Jacob was always a cautious man, his work on Maena and his duty as an Inquisitor of the Sith Empire required it. So when he caught sight of the cameras, he made a mental note to find the security room and erase the footage.

It ultimately didn't matter, the chance of it being an issue in the future wasn't high. Both were armoured, and he had a feeling the mercenary wasn't exactly bothered by being noticed for something like this.

Then again, if that footage got to Lillian...perhaps it would be a wise idea to clear it out before they left.

For this moment however, it mattered little. Jacob had the same thought as Aver on the matter - it wasn't going to particularly matter for those inside.

"Understood." After all, he was going to leave it to the professional to squeeze out the information.

With rifle in hand, the duo moved in. Aver taking down the bouncers and kicking it all off. They were soon at the door, kicking it in and began threading through the establishment. Moving further into the Ryll Deal, and towards the backroom.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

In the frantic rush of juiced-up clubgoers, her steps sounded eerily calm and measured. The butt of a rifle and metal-clad elbows helped her carve a path through the crowd – like parting the red sea. Only a trigger away from turning that color, too.

Aver fired a shot in the ceiling, flicked on the annunciators in her helmet. “Civvies, you haul ass. Anyone still inside in three minutes is getting painted over the wall.”

A breathless moment of quiet followed, as fluorescent lights pulsed above and the floor throbbed below and their vision swam from the cocktail of spice they were tripping on. Someone to her right let out a shrill scream, and the undulation of the dancefloor resumed. In the stampede that followed folks were trampled underfoot left and right; others tripped over their twitching bodies, and soon enough the torrent of panic slowed down to a stumbled to a trickle.

The merc weaved her way through the remains, wary not to slip on the pools of wetness. Drinks, and many other things besides.

To think she’d only fired one shot, and they were already halfway through the club. A knot of dark shadows amassed on the other end of the long room. Silhouettes chopped and clipped as the lights flickered—

an electric hiss, and darkness took the floor.

With the heavy stink of ozone, so many blaster bolts lit the air.

[member="Jacob Crawford"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Amongst the chaos of the drugged up dancers, whether moving on the dance floor or mingling across the den, the two armoured figures carved an imposing path through them.

Many were so addled in the mind that they didn't even flinch away from the sight of the weapons, or seemed particularly bothered by the fact shots had been fired not a minute ago.

That was until Aver fired a single shot, aimed at the ceiling that seemed to catch everyone's attention. There was a moment of silence, like someone had paused it with only the flashing lights as a sign things were very much still going. A moment passed and the carnage kicked off, people stampeding, running for their lives with little care for anyone else.

People fell and trampled, drinks had been discarded making a mess of things.

"Move it." His voice came out gruff, rifle turned to someone who had decided to hurdle behind a counter rather than run for their lives. Safe to say, they immediately rethought that decision when they saw Jacob's attention shift their way.

Then the lights flickered, a sign of what was about to happen moments before it hit. The establishment was plunged into darkness, only to be lit up by a volley of blaster bolts.

Jacob quickly ducked behind a half-wall, one that separated the dance floor. He flipped a setting in his helmet, switching over to night vision before he leaned out and began to fire. His first instinct was to go for the kill shot, but he paused when he considered that the head honchos might be at the front.

It was unlikely as hell, but there was no saying whether they would or not. So, Jacob focused his fire on disabling the goons - either hitting them in the shoulder or the knees.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

Two against twenty sounded unfair only when you left the Force out of the equation. But put it back in, and suddenly the squad of frothing gangbangers were the ones you felt sorry for.

Couple of double-taps here and there, but both the merc and [member="Jacob Crawford"] went for the soft bits more often than not. Soon enough the cries for blood turned into cries of bloodloss. Bodies dropped one after another and the men squirmed in pain on the slickened dance floor, their vengeance and blasters all but forgotten.

When the treacherous click of an empty powercell came, Aver was ready – she vaulted over half-wall they’d been using for cover, and beelined into melee. Shoulder-first.

Whatever remained of their loose formation was shattered as she slammed into their midst. The merc knocked the standing remainder off their feet with the butt of her rifle, then stuck the barrel right under someone’s chin.

Protip: if searching for the boss, always look for the dude with most expensive jewelry. This one had been hogging his gun with no less than two heavy aurodium rings on each finger, and three piercings of the same make in his lip and ears.

Aver smiled.

“This here gentleman has some questions for y’all.”

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Barely a beat was missed as the pair took down the twenty-something goons, firing much more erratically than other of the two. Albeit, they had the Force on their side but still, you'd imagine the boss would hire folks with better aim.

Either way, it didn't matter much even when their rifles clicked empty. Aver was already on the move, hauling herself over the half-wall and gunning towards those that remained. Charging into them like a rancor, knocking them down with the swift butt of her rifle.

Jacob slid from out of his cover, holstering his rifle and instead grabbing the blaster pistol that hung off his belt.

He reached Aver just as she took the last goon down, leaving the last remaining to get friendly with the barrel of her weapon - pressed firmly beneath his chin. But he didn't immediately answer, instead he moved around popping off a few shots of the pistol into the knees of those Aver had knocked down.

Just in case any of them tried to get up and do something stupid.

"Now...where was I?" He walked back around until he was standing just to the side of Aver. "Ah yes, as the boss of this little chithole. You would know of everyone that comes here, right?"

The man didn't speak, just nodded his head slightly.

"Good, now tell me - and don't lie otherwise my partner won't like it." Jacob pulled out a portable holoprojector, a quick flick of his fingers and the image of a man appeared above. One of the men that had been caught on Point Nadir. "Recognize him?" There was a flicker of something in the man's eyes, but he said nothing. Jacob sighed, turning his head slightly to Aver as a silent message to give him some 'motivation' to speak.

Didn't take barely a second after that, for the guy to start blabbing.

"Y-yeah, he and two of his buddies frequent the place." Now that, was a particularly interesting piece of information. "O-one of them were here a couple hours ago..."

"And where exactly would this buddy be now?"

"He...left for another club, few blocks away. Apparently he was raving about it being Zeltron Night." Jacob just stared at the man though his visor. He sensed no deception from the man, although that wasn't much of a surprise given he currently had the barrel of a gun under his jaw.

"We're done here then."

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

See one interrogation, and you’ve seen all of them. There was really nothing novel about violence anymore when you’ve been doing it for decades.

The apathy was worse than the thrill of the kill, Aver supposed.

Not that it mattered. A phrik boot to the kidney, and the boss quickly found his tongue again. [member="Jacob Crawford"] asked the questions. The spice king answered, eyes glued to the merc all the while. And then, with finality:

“We’re done here then.”

The man on the wrong end of her rifle stiffened. His bottom lip trembled, fat fingers gone white where he’d twisted them into the fabric of his suit. Aver tipped her helmet to the side. Shrugged.

BANG​

His kneecaped goons flinched as the remains of his skull and brain sprayed over the floor.

“Always wanted to try a Zeltron Night, myself,” she spoke as she strode past the Sith. By the time she was out the door and heading down the street, the merc was already reloading her weapon.

Had a feeling they were gonna crash another party.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

Not a moment after he had spoken, it occurred to Jacob that he should ask for directions. But Aver had barely paused for breath when she fired her rifle.

The sound would've probably been deafening if it weren't for the helmet dulling the noise.

Jacob turned his head away, blood splattering across his visor as what remained of the boss slumped to the ground. He looked down at the body, then around at the remaining goons there were still conscious but wounded.

He said nothing, before turning around and following Aver out of the building.

"Never been a particular fan of Zeltrons." Jacob hoisted his rifle up, unloading the now empty clip and replacing it with a new one. "I prefer having all my senses and thoughts not diluted by their pheromones."

When they stepped out, the streets around them were clear of anyone. Not too surprising given the racket they had just left behind. It gave them a clear path towards their next destination.

"This way, I believe the club should be in that direction." And if it weren't, then they'd just follow the music and pheromones.

Should be easy enough to find, and crash.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

“Eh, dunno,” the mercenary gave a one-shouldered shrug as [member="Jacob Crawford"] rejoined her. “I like the view from the back, personally. Slap on a rebreather or grab one of those anti-phero pills and you should be good.”

Come to think of it, it was high time Nadir invested into a nice chunk of business over on Zeltros. Sex, drugs, and enough credits to wipe your ass with. Would be a shame to let all those politicians and corporate fatcats walk out of there without some questionable holovids stored away for future blackmail.

Neither here nor there, though – they had more pressing problems at the moment.

More precisely, they had three problems ahead, and two more back from the street they’d come from. Someone in the Ryll Deal had managed to set off an alarm, seemed like. Oh well.

More of a speed bump than an ambush.

“I’ll take the two Herglics back there,” Aver graciously offered. Had a fancy new grenade she wanted to test out; and the bigger the meatbag, the bigger the boom.

Grinning, the merc slung her rifle back and slid Sa Sevai from its sheath.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

"Fair point." And that was all too it really, Jacob hadn't thought about a rebreather or one of the resistant drugs. But more pressing matters were soon heading their way as the pair turned a corner.

Two presences had begun to tail them shortly after they had left The Ryll Deal.

Jacob wasn't sure whether they were outlying security, a pair of thugs thinking they could get lucky or even some of Lillian's men that had been stationed nearby.

Ultimately, it didn't particularly matter as they'd all be dead soon anyway. They turned another corner only to find another three were awaiting them not too far ahead. Jacob paused by Aver's side, both looking in either direction at their respective targets.

He rolled his shoulder.

"That's fine by me, just more bodies added to the pile."

Jacob holstered his rifle and charged forwards, boots slamming into concrete as he moved towards his trio. They immediately brought their weapons up, unloading volleys of blaster and rifle fire at him. Jacob brought his left arm up, activating a personal shield as the first attack struck. At first he was pushed back slightly, but he pushed forwards. WIth his free hand, Jacob reached down for his pistol and immediately fired at one of the thugs' knees.

The blast hit true, striking just below the kneecap. It stunned the man, allowing for Jacob a bit of respite before another shot was fired at the man's head.

His heads-up display flared a warning, and Jacob quickly dived behind cover as his shield finally buckled. Almost immediately the remaining two fired at his improvised cover, chipping away at it.

Jacob reached to his belt and grabbed a concussion grenade, not pausing for a moment before he tossed it over. There was a moment of silence, then of panic as the two realized what it was before it exploded and blinded them.

Pushing out from his cover, Jacob fired his pistol again. Three blasts struck the second man directly in his unprotected chest. But the third was more lucky, or more armoured specifically.

A trandoshan.

He charged forwards, using the reptile's disorientation to shorten the distance. And the moment Jacob finally reached him, he slammed his helmet against the trandoshan's skull.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

Two herglics, one grenade. Almost sounded like the title of a particularly nasty holovid you’d discover on the darker pages of the HoloNet, in slightly shoddy quality, if you had real weird fetishes and absolutely no moral fiber.

But, uh, Aver knew nothing about that.

What she did know about, instead, was the kukri in her hand. While the man exchanged blasterfire with his opponents, Aver was busy slicing open the side of a land whale. Liquefied fat and organs escaped the wide gash Sa Sevai left in her wake. Seizing from shock, he fell forward on the ferrocrete soon after.

“Ye’ll pay fur this, boot. That’s mah brar ye stabbed,” he ground out, spraying spittle and rage. The herglic lifted his blaster to riddle her full of holes, but the merc was faster – ducked beneath his wide fin to stick a knife beneath his vest.

Except it wasn’t a knife.

This became clear as soon as Aver pushed off his massive torso, and only the handle remained in her grasp. The man gave an burble, frantically trying to pull out out the spike she’d shoved into his gut.

A moment later, he exploded in a shower of body parts, painting the merc quite thoroughly red.

She sniffled, wiped down her gloves, and went to crouch next to the remainder of the pair. “You wanna answer some question before you go?”

Nothing. More blood dribbled out of his mouth.

“Your brar‘s dead. You can join him fast…” she tapped the side of his skull with her blaster, “or I can leave you here. ‘S a gut wound. Gonna take a while. But… you know that.”

Hate glinted in his glossy black eyes. Aver clicked her tongue. “Thought so.”

A conversation and a gunshot later, the mercenary rejoined [member="Jacob Crawford"].

“That Zeltron Night club thing? Ambush, apparently. Strategy if they ever got compromised. Your sister’s got half a brain more than most folks in this business, I’ll give her that. Guy back there,” she stuck her thumb over her shoulder, “real willing to run his mouth for a quick death.”

Pulling out a cloth, Aver began to clean her blade. “That friend’s holed up in a backroom at that club, turns out. Some kinda lieutenant, so he gets reinforced walls, goons at the door, the whole shebang. Front door’s not gonna cut it.”

With a smooth gesture, she slid Sa Sevai back into her sheath and pulled three small packets from her belt instead. She slapped one into the Sith’s hand.

“You did fine with a rifle – how’re you with shaped charges?”

 

[Jacob Crawford]

The his credit, the Trandoshan managed to remain standing despite the helmet slamming into his temple. He stumbled back, hitting the wall, and rifle being knocked out of his hands. However was quick in throwing a punch in retaliation. Jacob ducked, letting it fly past him and slid in with a couple jabs to the thug's stomach.

Metal struck leather as his gauntlets slammed into the man's armour. He let out several pained hisses with each blow, before he managed to deliver his own headbutt.

It forced Jacob back, who quickly dodged to the side giving the Trandoshan the chance to grab his shotgun and fire. The pellets zipped past him, slightly nicking the side of Jacob's armoured torso.

Thankfully it took the brunt of the damage, with none managing to go through.

He went to fire again, but Jacob lurched forwards grabbing ahold of the weapon and forcing it up. It fired in the air, then to the left, then the right. That was when Aver's grenade went off, the sudden explosion and the obvious sounds of body parts hitting the ground stunned the Trandoshan.

It was enough of a pause for Jacob, who delivered a punch to the thug's gut and wrenched the shotgun out of his hands. He didn't bother with some witty quip, he just cocked the weapon and fired point blank at the reptile's chest. He was knocked backwards, hitting the wall and sliding down it. But Jacob wasn't leaving anything up to the chance, and he levelled the shotgun for another shot and fired at the Trandoshan's head.

That was the scene she returned to, with one side of Sith's armour now coated in blood. Although, not to the thorough degree Aver's was.

"Sounds like you have fun?" He checked the shotgun still in his hands, checking the clip and realizing it was near to empty. With a shrug, he tossed it aside. Jacob listened as Aver relayed what she had learned - an ambush was awaiting them.

Lillian is definitely proving to not be as dimwitted as our father was.

His eyes were on the woman's blade for a moment, before it was sheathed and concealed. Only to be immediately given a packet, which Jacob immediately tested the weight of it. He arced an eyebrow, despite it being unseen.

"Can't say I'm familiar with them, but I'm a quick learner."

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

“Sweet. Stuff’s pretty safe these days,” Aver began to explain as they circled around the club. “Just peel off the foil, smack into place, and bam, yer golden. You can press the button if you want. ‘S a pretty special experience.” The one guard on smoke break never saw them coming, and soon enough they were at the back of the three-storey complex.

Despite the thick walls, the pulsing bass spilled through. Higher up there were floor-high windows, flickering with a multitude of fluorescent lights and casting the pair into ebbing shadows.

The merc forced open the maintenance shaft, peering into the darkness below. The ladder didn’t look too rusty, the duracrete dry enough.

“We’ll blow in through the ground,” she said, voice echoing as she began to descend. “It’s usually less reinforced than the walls.” There was a small splash as she landed in the puddle of water.

“We don’t have any blueprints, but…” Aver trailed off for a moment, trailing her hand along the low ceiling. Had to bend at the knees to move along. “You can still feel the difference in vibrations, ‘cause double duracrete.”

“I’ll get the far corners,” she said and marched further down the tunnel.

[member="Jacob Crawford"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

As they moved around to the back of the club, Jacob listened intently to Aver's instructions. He had rarely handled explosives in the past, the only relative experience was trying not to blow up an half made speeder.

However those two were too far apart to be of any equivalence.

The lone guard outside was easily dispatched, giving the two a clear an uninterrupted path to their entry. Music and general shouting managed to echo out of the building's confines. It looked like it was almost shaking the walls, and Jacob debated again how anyone could stand being within such a place.

With Aver taking the lead, Jacob followed down into the maintenance shaft. The ladder rattled and shook under their weight as they descended. None of its was heard over the thunderous racket that was coming from deeper within.

Jacob grumbled silently, forced into having to crouch to shuffle further into the tunnel.

"It's a shame we aren't going through the ceiling, that way we'd be razing the roof." Okay, maybe he had one little quip.

He carefully moved forwards, hand pressed against the low ceiling testing the vibrations above to find the best place to plant his explosive. Once he found it, Jacob peeled the foil off and slapped the packet onto the spot. Satisfied, he moved a safe distance away with Aver who handed over the button.

"Ready?" The moment he got confirmation, Jacob didn't hesitate to press it.

[member="Aver Brand"]​