Sundown | Collective Dominion of Eshan

[Ria Misrani]

Mittens had long since heard the fateful bag of chips.

The journey to the hoomin holding them was long, the cat was confused and unsure of what was happening. She would stop and pause to sniff the air, white socked paws padded through the palace. Walking through this beam and that beam, jumping down to bookshelves and planters when she could. Safe rooms were by far the hardest things to get into and Mittens had not remembered where it was if she knew it at all. Still, the fateful shaking of chips and food was the sound that she followed. The creature would stop and take stock of where she was, tufts of orange fur matted as she got through small places. Eyes glowed in the darker of places, the palace had grown quiet and eerily so. Whatever actions had taken place were not the actions the cat recognized the flick of her tail would be all that most had seen.

The journey to the safe room took her longer than expected.

[member="Spencer Varanin"]'s personal guards had just secured it as the cat snuck in. Mittens watched a moment as things in the room began to settle, the cat took to watching everything for another moment or two until it heard its hoomin spoke. Mittens chattered, a small rousing set chirps as it padded out from the corner another set of chirps and it was obvious the creature showed signs of concern. Having forgotten about food in the moment body language from the cat indicated it was ready to leap, and leap she did onto Spencer's shoulder. "Rao," a quiet mew emitted from the small ball of fur, eyes looked between Spencer and Raena.

 

[Evoros]

"Not bad, not bad."

She sounded more amused than grudging.

Evoros outstretched her wrists as the sniper took care of their friends, eyes fixed warily on the viewport. She liked straightforward missions, but she didn't trust them. Even when operations went successfully, they were rarely without something that was never part of the plan.

With a team like this, she didn't have her hopes up that this would be the exception.

Of course, she kept quiet on her caution - she was paranoid and not intuitive, after all. She stayed quiet altogether as Itash led the way, in fact, partly because her attention was on keeping a constant mental map of their surroundings and partly because she there wasn't much to be said for the time being. When she needed to be, Evoros was a talkative creature, uncannily social. When she didn't need to be, though - well, she was perfectly comfortable keeping her thoughts to herself.

In enough time, though, as they drew closer and the guards increased in numbers:
"You still got a plan?"

[member="Wes Rykker"] | [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Janeth Farr]

"So we're not here to kill them?" She huffed.

Janeth peered through the viewport to get an immediate count of the feet she could see. Of those she couldn't, she had to try and remember from what she saw walking into the camp as a would be prisoner. Still, even if they were here she still didn't understand the 'why.' A rather big 'why' at that, too. "Evoros raises a good fething point. What is the plan exactly...? What now that we're here?"

"I don't suppose you just plan on using your Jedi tricks on all of them." The force was a powerful tool, that much she and anyone else knew. Though she knew more than the naive sort who would fancy the force was sorcery rather than something more practical; though equally annoying as far as she's concerned. "As I'm to understand, these things don't last forever. Yeah?" So that meant there had to have been some greater plan in the works. Unless she had been taken on yet another wild ride.

Though despite Itash's clear sense of dry humour, she didn't take him for an idiot. He was very smart and he knew it, and he used his intelligence to either annoy or impress people, not to mention get what he wants

What does he really want?

Janeth wondered.

Then came a voice shouting from top to below. "Lord Jerra wants to see the prisoners personally. Bring them up when you're ready." At least they didn't bother coming down to say so themselves.

"Lord?" Janeth muttered questioningly.

[member="Evoros"] | [member="Wes Rykker"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Mara Kellarov]

Mara was relatively surprised Ibinus hadn't cuffed her and as far as she could tell, hadn't confiscated the blaster she had attached to her belt. But then, what was she going to do? Shoot and kill a well known merchant, though more importantly a potential contact with the Sundown Warriors.

That, and she was probably far too cautious when she was on the other side of the table.

"What I would propose you tell them, is that some woman; a messenger, has come with an offer from a very reputable offer. In terms of more verified..."

She cautiously reached into her jacket pocket, not sure whether Ibinus had a twitchy trigger finger in situations like these. EIther way, Mara quickly pulled out a datapad and placed it on the table.

"I have this, I was ordered to give you that so you can verify the offer."

The datapad contained information on a company, a sizable corporation that was looking to essentially pull the rug from beneath their rival competitor. If Ibinus decided to delve into the details, check it was all legit, then he would find just that.

Because the Collective had ensured it was spotless of any traces that it was a forgery.

Mara kept a solid poker face as she spoke, nothing but the truth escaping her lips. She was after all here as a messenger for the company in question. It was just the fact that she wasn't mentioned the Collective's involvement in all of this.

[member="Ashana"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Evoros"] | [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Wes Rykker"]​

​

"Plans... both of you are far too eager to be shackled to a set framework of moves." Tash said as he started undressing one of the Thyrsians and gestured for Wes to do the same thing. No, Tash didn't believe in plans. For one they had a tendency to break down once enemy contact arrived - who could have known that some kind of Lord would want to see them immediately for instance?

Tash was free.

In all the ways most people were not.

With their little schedules, their little plans and plots and hopes and dreams, like little hamsters on their wheels. Running, running, running, never stopping to wonder why they were running in the first place.

"Put those shackles back on," He gestured to Evoros and Janeth. "Just don't lock 'em tight." Took them a few minutes but eventually they were both suited up and ready to go. The gun was holstered and he stretched a bit. The armor fit just right... his luck again. Tash grinned as his face disappeared behind the visor and he gestured a third time, this time for them to go before them.

Gotta make it look real.

 

[Zef Halo]

Of course, the clothes of the Thyrsian and their armor was slightly undersized for Wes so he could feel his breath shorten.

"Let's get this done quickly." He muttered coldly underneath his helmet as he positioned himself behind Farr. "Move."

The party who somehow were not dead yet ventured forth, acting skills on point.

On the way, he silently asked Itash:

"Do I start shooting or?"

Wes would heed whatever answer his employer had.

Up in the camp once again, they found themselves in the secluded presence of the Lord within his massive tent. Two loyal officers by his side.

"And who may thesa be?" The Lord's face unknown due to his back turned to them, yet his accent implied he was either a near-human or an alien.

"Trespassers our patrol found, Lord Jerra-Jerra Minks." The Lord turned to face them - a Gungan!

"What yousa seek here, ehhhh?" Lord Jerra-Jerra Minks asked inquisitively, his sulfur eyes narrowed at [member="Evoros"].

If one had an eye for detail, one would see an odd artefact laying in a cushion a few feet behind the Lord.

[member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Janeth Farr]

Janeth wasn't much of a talker anymore. She decided that if things were going to keep going this way, then they'd opt to follow.

If I die... She shook her head, placing the cuffs back onto her wrists. When they were led back upstairs and into the camp, eventually the foursome would find themselves standing face-to-face with this 'Lord Jerra' character they've heard only so little about.

Much to the Mandalorian's unfeigned surprise, the Dark Jedi just so happened to be a Gungan.

What the hell? She gave Wes a sidelong glance, and waited for Itash for to handle the rest. By this point she felt it was more appropriate to react to whatever he was doing. Though when the Gungan turned his attention to Janeth, she found herself feeling rather uncomfortable.

The stench off his breath was horrid. Smelling of fermented... Something. It was in her downward tilt to avoid the stench that she noticed something off about his boot. There was an unusual movement in it. Little was Janeth aware that this Gungan was not what it seemed. But in fact the illusionary vessel of a Croke. A rather secretive species of long-lived sentient snails capable of creating masterful guises for themselves in the force.

Janeth, however, was not aware of this fact. Only noting the detail as odd. As well as something about the rest of the Gungan's appearance. There were small discrepancies here and there.

"Something isn't right..." She finally spoke.

"Yousa speak when speaken to!" Jerra hissed.

[member="Wes Rykker"] | [member="Itash Mecetti"]

 

[Ashana]

Ibinus shifted through the datapad with a cold, analyzing stare.

He didn't shift or reveal any nerve when she had reached for it moments earlier. Though that may be more due to his species' natural control over their own body language. As much as he could use it to express himself, he could also mask it to hide his true intentions. At least from an outsider more than a member of his own kind.

"Interesting..." He did mutter. Then he tossed the datapad in front of her, his eyes looking into hers.

"Why would you show me this? What could you possibly want with my masters?" He questioned.

There was a knock on the door behind them. A muffled voice spoke up to penetrate its frame. "Sir, he's here."

The Echani glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge it, saying nothing as he went back to Mara. "This is where you and I part ways." Ibinus removed a datachit from his jacket. "Give this to your employer, and we'll be in touch. You need to leave the planet if you don't want to spoil this for us."

 

[Whisper]

The teenaged slicer sat in her room, the lights turned off, the only source of light coming from the screen of her terminal. She had her hood pulled down over her head, even in the privacy of her sanctuary. Without looking from the screen, she reached to her right and picked up a half-empty can of energy drink, throwing her head back to accept the yellow liquid down her throat, the open drink long since going flat. It didn't matter, for it was energy, and she needed energy for her current activities.

She was monitoring a business on Eshan. She had been slicing into camera systems all day, bored, looking for someone interesting to mess with, and failing. Until now. It was some tea shop, something the Echani liked. Boo. Tea was so annoying, and so were the Echani. She had never liked them, with their 'holier than thou' attitude. As far as she was concerned, only she could have that attitude! So when she had come across this tea shop, she had decided her attentions were best turned to this place.

The first thing she did was access any stocks this place had, anywhere. And with a few strokes of her keys, those values where now: 0. Across the board. Next, she accessed the anonymous police reports, and filed a concerning report that a terrorist had planted a bomb in the local tea shop. Then, setting off the fire alarm and sprinklers, watching the owner get drenched with water and confusion, and a few minutes later the cops busting down their door and arresting them in the drenched ruins of their shop.

She leaned back, a satisfied smirk on her face. That'll show them for selling tea.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Evoros"] | [member="Janeth Farr"] | [member="Wes Rykker"]

Now the Gungan was a surprise.

Or was it?

See, here was the difference between himself and the three others in the room.

It was not simply his tongue that he used to get what he wanted from the people, no, it was his mind that did most of the trick. Tash knew this, even if he didn't really want to... think about it too much. No, much easier to simply assume it was his stunning good looks and smooth silver tongue that were carrying the work for him. Far more preferable than to consider the alternatives.

"They sought you, my Lord." Tash supplied helpfully, while standing at the edge of the wall closest to the artifact. The 'Gungan' stared with a glance of bale at his 'guard' and shook his head fiercely. "Was I talking to you?? I think not!" Of course, the other three would hear it in that faux-gungan accent, but the slug had far more trouble penetrating his mind with its... lies.

It did not seem to notice that though.

Presumably because Tash was keeping the panic strictly inside his mind, instead of freaking out about the walking slug, slithering back and forth on the table in front of them.

Instead of dealing with Tash the Sunguard he inched closer to Evoros, eyeing her up and down, up and down. "Looking for me, eh? Now what is it exactly... that you want- what is it now?" Suddenly the Dark Jedi noticed something. The Sunguard standing guard behind Tash's friends were suddenly kneeling. Heads touching the ground and not making a move to rise up again.

"Fools, I have no interest in your-"

"Oh... I don't think that is for you, slugger." The slug shifted and then it noticed... Itash standing at the small altar and holding the orb. "Impossible! No one can touch-" In truth Tash was tired about everything in this situation.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Wes, shoot the table please. Thanks."

The sound of Wes' blaster going off didn't do much to disturb him. Tash was far too busy studying the silvery exterior of the orb, it felt... alive to a degree, almost as if his fingers were brushing water, but once he squeezed it grew solid once more. There was a hum inside of it, that was one thing that Tash knew. Whispering against his skin with strange echoes.

Very odd.

"Oh well, let's go and see how many of these Sunguard want to join up with our band of brothers, Wes?" It was a surprise when they were all bowing and scraping the moment they saw the orb in his hands. Apparently nobody had been able to touch it yet without being killed on the spot.

That detail kind of made his teeth itch. He would have let Janeth pick it up, had he known about that.

Just his luck that it worked out fine for him tho. Tash smirked. Now he had a small army at his disposal, that was good.

 

[Faceless]

Eshan
Objective: Infiltrate the Sundown Outpost

---

Through the halls of the Sundown Outpost, Faceless had to move hard and fast. Having sent his data to Janeth, a plan had formed in his head. With how high up this Herin was to the leader of this group of misfits thanks to the information on the datapad, no doubt with Faceless now at the helm of perhaps one of the biggest influences to the movement, perhaps he could be used to rock the boat a little or, in the quickly formed planned in the Assassin's head, completely blow it out of the water. If the whole plan was to have the terrorists and Echani resistance duke it out and see which one was on top and offer an alliance to the victor, all it took was a little coordination, a little persuasion and then sit back and watch as the two groups clashed and from the dust that would settle after the Collective would have their new partner. Passing by travelling packs of armed to the teeth men and women to reach the Command Center, Faceless was tapping away on the datapad as heavy as ever, as if his life depended on it. A message was being relayed to Janeth and the rest of the Collective, a coordinate to send the Resistance to and have the showdown they came all this way for play out.

After all, it would be a shame if blood wasn't split and there wasn't a result after all the work he had put into infiltrating the Sundown Outpost, he wanted a show, something akin to a grand finale that made all the hard work pay off. A little gruesome perhaps but he wasn't paid to be a nice innocent butterfly, quite the opposite in fact. As much as he liked getting down and dirty with the business of assassination and mercenary work, the appeal of being able to kick back and watch a battle from afar as a result of some careful redirection and baiting was more than enough to swing him around to the idea. He would be paid for it nonetheless, why not have a little fun with the work whilst he was at it?

Entering the Command Center, Faceless wearing the mask of the man named Herin met with the Sundown leader, a white haired Echani woman with a serious look on her face, like everything she thought and put through planning to execution had a purpose and a clear list of reasoning as to why things had been done that particular way. She nodded at the Assassin as he moved to meet her by the holotable, standing by her side as they looked at the holographic projection. The datapad had some rather... Interesting messages sent back and fourth between Herin and the Sundown leader, it was clear that there was something between them, which explained why Herin was perhaps her most trusted advisor. Whatever the case, it was more fuel for the fire, another piece of the character to make the act even more convincing. The Assassin interlocked his fingers with hers as they shared no glances but instead kept looking at the table.

"Herin, what have you got for me?"

"Boss, I've been watching the channels for a while now, as you asked me to. Seems like the Resistance is meeting up at this coordinate here. You can get in there, drop them and then? No more Resistance, we'll be free to operate as we please. Would recommend a proper grouping for this one, no pussyfooting around, send them all in."

Faceless had put the coordinates into the holotable, placing it into view of the leader herself. She'd look it over carefully, studying the routes and the target location itself before looking to 'Herin', her eyes seemingly more sharp than usual. It wasn't that she knew something was wrong, more so she trusted her 'lover' with the information he had provided, enough to cash in everything if it meant finishing the trouble she had put up with since the start and being able to press forward with their goals.

"You're sure, Herin?"

"I'm sure, Kat."

Their gaze met finally, fingers still interlocked as the woman nodded, pressing a button that activated the intercom across the base.

"Ready up, briefing is in five. Pack full gear, this is the big one."

The two parted after that, not before Faceless reached in and stole a kiss, pulling his head back and giving the woman those final words of encouragement...

"Come back to me, alright?"

And so the trap was set and the meeting would, if everything went to plan, end with a clear victor. He could only hope that Janeth had set up her end of the deal. Whatever the case, things were sure to look very interesting for Eshan from here on in.