Seek and Destroy

[Aver Brand]

[member="Jacob Crawford"]

Her chuckle still echoed down the tunnel as she nodded her affirmation.

The deafening boom drowned out every other noise – even the thumping of the bass got lost in the crack of exploding concrete and failing infrastructure. Durasteel bars embedded within the material twisted inwards as the charges went off. Dust filled the air, thick with particles and the misty red remains of what must’ve been a few sentients, once.

Slowly, sounds filtered back in. Panicked shouting; the thud of boots hitting the ground… a breathless pause followed, and Aver tensed in the darkness.

“You see anything, Orik?”

“Negative! It’s like a Hutt’s ass down there! Get me a glowrod or something!”

“I— kark, it’s in the other room. Gimme a sec.”

The merc turned her head to find the other man. She gestured to the hole above them, curt and swift – they had the element of surprise and damned if they weren’t going to use it.

Her rifle gave but a soft click as she cycled the power cell and moved to mow down the guard.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

The explosion was deafening, and would've likely done some damage if his ears weren't currently protected within his helmet. Sound slowly returned, revealing the shouting and alarms that were currently ringing out.

Chaos had erupted without warning to everyone but the two of them, patrons would be scrambling in a panic while the security would be desperately trying to keep a grasp of the situation.

Jacob remained silent as he listened, waited until he got the signal from Aver to move in.

Having already reloaded his rifle, Jacob took point and moved towards the newly create hole. From the sounds of things, they had breached into the building's basement. It didn't bode particularly well for them, as it indicated only one entrance up into the establishment itself.

They would have to make complete use of a surprise attack.

Hauling himself up, Jacob looked around. The dust was still settling, and various bits of debris were strewn across the side of the room. Whatever had been in this room had either been destroyed, or blown away.

Finding some half-baked cover, Jacob crouched down and brought his rifle up.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

On his heels followed another shadow, splitting off the moment she vaulted over the scorched edges of the duracrete. An overturned desk wouldn’t stop a bolt – much less a slug – but she crouched behind it anyway. With the gray dust and flickering alarm lights, it wouldn’t take much to stay hidden.

Steel-tipped boots clicked across the floor – running pattern. Aver glanced over at [member="Jacob Crawford"], tucked away behind the crumbling remains of a wall. She released the rifle so it slid back to its magplate on the sling, raising a finger to her lips.

Well, faceplate. Potato, potahto.

Two rodians burst into the room brandishing blasters and glowrods – reminded her of a direct-to-holo vid she’d once glimpsed. Something about Galactic Republic Spec Ops. Drivel, of course.

In the smoke, the beams of light were near blinding. And to think those two poor sods went in without goggles.

Aver rose from her cover and coiled around the nearest man. Black hands covered his gasping mouth like liquid tar – his eyes bulged only for a moment before she jerked his head back and to the side.

The sickening crackle of grinding bone still echoed in her ears as she dropped him to the ground and stepped forward.

Their advantage would only last them so long. Time to move fast.

 

[Jacob Crawford]

His finger had been poised against the trigger, ready to fire his rifle the moment their enemy made themselves known; and open. But he had caught sight of Aver's gesture, signalling for a quiet approach.

Jacob lowered his rifle, holstering it back into place before shifting that growing adrenaline for something more physical

Then he waited, listening.

He could hear the Rodians bickering with one another, only understanding bits and pieces but got the gist of what they were complaining about.

Neither could really see too well, even with the glowrods.

Jacob laid in wait, right until the moment after Aver moved in to attack. He wrapped one arm around the second man's neck, the other hand immediately covering his mouth to keep him from shouting. He applied pressure, squeezing with his superior strength until there was the resounding snapping of bone.

The body hit the floor, and Jacob paused to see if anyone else would join them. But there seemed to be no one else intending to follow.

He looked over at Aver and nodded, gesturing for them to press onwards.

[member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Jacob Crawford]

(Duplicate Post)

 

[Aver Brand]

Confusion ran rampant in underground hideout. Like rats scuttling before an incoming flood, the mercs that were supposed to stand guard were now rushing up and down smoke-filled corridors.

The merc and [member="Jacob Crawford"] would wait a bit at intersections, let the thunder of panicked boots pass, and push on. The bunker was in disarray – usually what happens when people you don’t pay enough try to get out of a karked situation. Capitalizing on the chaos, the pair managed to slip past most of the merc without having to get locked down in an engagement.

The deeper they got, the more apparent it became that they were going to face down some kind of elite guard. The people down here weren’t running around like headless chickens – instead they were keeping their eyes peeled for what they (accurately) presumed was the real danger.

An assault team.

Maybe it was the shock of seeing it was just two people – maybe the stink of burned ferrocrete was getting to them. Didn’t matter.

They hesitated for a moment as the pair rounded the corner, and Aver gleefully squeezed the trigger. Time to crack open the can and see who was hiding inside.