First Reply The Ghost

[Uma Nari]

Location: Florrum
Important Terrain:
Acid Flats, Structures with Shielding, and Geysers that spew acid on the surface.

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The sulfuric planet churned with the acid beneath crust, which blew in great geysers and any in vicinity were.. burned till even bones were not left. This harsh world attracted harsh harts, among those pirates and smugglers who were transporting all manner of goods, including spices and souls. Florrum was a hellish wasteland with the acid vents, and geysers making it perilous to travel in the open. Structure with shielding had been placed, disguised among the canyons and there the scum and villains conspired.. and conspired. Their freedom to determine what a life is worth, and how much spice to exchange was untouched, save for one obstacle. The Ghost.. in the subterranean tunnels of the planet rumors began to spread of something that could pass through walls, and cut down smugglers in their rooms. This apparition came in a cloud of white, like mist, like the stream of acid flats, and yet from it did not come a burn of the acidic sort, rather another kind, a white hot blade that removed head from shoulders, or in some cases simply smote the hand off of those it showed mercy towards.

Weary of this interruption, the Vagabonds had outfitted themselves with some heavy weapons, and even a E-Webb Heavy Repeating Blaster Cannon at the enterance to the lower tunnels. Though such positioning was precaution, this Ghost was able to pass through walls, and came at no one's call, nor from any position they could map out. Many of these Pirate types were Reesarian, sporting the long black locks that were braided in dreads. They stood about near crates of demolitions, some of them smoking Death Sticks, to stay alert for another appearing of the Ghost. They had tried to ascertain a pattern to the attacks, and thusfar nothing was forthcoming. One of them puffing smoke said ,
"I cannot believe we have to be here.. watching for some Spirit when we could be playing Sabaac with the others.. or watching some girls dance."
The Other Reesarian Cosair nodded,
"I know.. I would love to get a drink and watch a Twi'lek dance in front of me.. real slow like.. if you know what I mean.. haha."
There was sound, like metal clanging against the pavement.
"What was that?"
The Randy Reesarian responded.
"Probably a Gizka.. those dank creatures stowaway on so many ships.."
The Other Reesarian shook his head,
"Shut up and poise your rile! We gotta treat anything as threat remember!"
The Two Pirates began to walk down the hall, their muzzles pointing when the lights began to flick and go out.
"What the?"
"Shut up!"
As the lights strobbed, there was sound, and for a split second, mist began to travel down the hall. The Vigilant Reesarian began to say,
"It feels cool.. Oh Fariik!"
He began to open fire, red bolts flying in the dark, the Other Pirate firing in kind, their shots echoing down the hall. There was no response, and the mist seemed to recoil and disappear.
"Did we get The Ghost?"
They turned on their flash lights on their weapons, and looking saw nothing, when suddenly one was grabbed by a hand that appeared in a white cloud that threw him against the wall, and a white hot blade dug into the temple of the other, splitting the skull. The dead one slide down and the living one on the ground saw, he began to scramble for his weapon, when a boot pressed down on it, a heel with a spike, and he looked up, the light behind showing white hair and then it went out and there was a scream.

A Band of the Smugglers came running down, all armed to the teeth, when they found was a abandoned post, no fire arms, no bodies, nothing.. and one of them a Nikto said aloud,
"The Ghost! It was the Ghost!!!"

 

[Forse Dirum]

Two Weeks Prior...

"They call him, her, it, whatever, The Ghost." Began the Pirate Lord to Forse Dirum.

"You ever seen this Ghost, Wookh'Ong?" Forse asked the Pirate Lord, his voice an ethereal rasp through his helmet's audio vocoder.

"Not seen. Nobody see da Ghost, nah? We come, all of our brothers gone. Bad for business, nah?" The Reesarian Pirate answered.

The Reesarian's accent bothered Forse, but he listened intently anyway. The Pirate Lord of Florrum (his own title) gave Forse all the intel he could on the job. Evidently, some ghost was stalking the smuggling operation that the local band of Reesarian pirates had going on, and the Grand Pirate Lord (his words) was getting tired of losing all of his employees to mysterious disappearances. He was offering a 120,000 credit bounty to whoever could successfully investigate and stop this Ghost.

"You said there is nothing left behind after these attacks. How do you know they are even happening? Maybe you're just a bad boss and your boys resigned en masse?" Forse said.

"Nevah. Wookh'Ong best boss, best pirate there is! There ain't no bodies, but they leevah blaster scorch marks on deh walls. My men, dey fire everyting dey got, and then poof! No more brothers."

So there was at least some forensic evidence of a struggle. Still, if nothing else, Forse would take the job just to get the cash advance. Worse case scenario, Pirate Lord Wookh'Ong looks like a frightened child, scared of shadows. Pirates were like that, after all.

"Half now, half on delivery of target proof of demise." Forse said, holding out a credit-chit.

The Pirate Lord quickly transferred the funds. The Pirate Lord stopped, and leaned over the table at Forse, trying to retain a sense of control over the situation, and to hide his own cowardice.

"Don't be good luck to swindle a pirate. I bettah get my money's worth." He said, flashing a smile, his gold tooth shining in the dim light of the office they were meeting in.

Forse's helmeted visage betrayed nothing, but inside the privacy of his helmet, Forse was rolling his eye.

***
Present Day

Forse docked his personal shuttle, an old Lambda Class Shuttle designated "Longbow" in the docking bay outside of what appeared to be an old mine of some sort, which had been converted into an HQ for the Pirate Lord Wookh'Ong and his lackeys. Forse made his way down the ramp and into the entrance of the mines, before coming up on the entrance. Forse was wearing his full durasteel stormtrooper-pattern armor, and carried his E-11 Blaster Rifle. Along his chest harness were three fragmentation grenades, and three thermobaric grenades. It never hurt to come prepared.

"The Ghost! It was the Ghost!!!" Screamed the Nikto, more like a frightened damsel than a hardened pirate.

"Maintain verbal and comm discipline. I'm taking over this operation until this situation is dealt with. You-" Forse points at the Nikto. "Tell me what happened."

The Nikto yammered about hearing blaster fire, then screams, then a power outage, and when they had all run away from their sabacc game, they found all of the forward watch missing from their posts, with no evidence they were ever there.

There's always evidence. Forse thought.

He stooped to his knee as he scanned the ground. He quickly switched to Thermal vision. The surrounding area lit up like a field of lava. The planet's ground temperature was high, so this didn't surprise Forse. What Forse did find were what looked like small puddles that were cooler than the rest of the ground. Something had been spilled here, and it was hastily covered up by the dust and sand covering the entrance to the mines. Forse assumed it was blood.

Forse removed his charge pack from his rifle, checking it before slamming it back home and engaging the charge handle. The blaster whirred.

"Whatever this is doesn't care about the product. It cares about getting you." Forse says to the assembled pirates.

A Nikto, a Gamorrean, and two Reesarians. That was what was left of this cave's defenders. Inside the mining shaft there were about 5 more guards, all probably slacking off and sampling whatever drug shipment they were guarding.

Forse holds out his gauntlet, displaying a hologram of the Cavern and its tunnel system.

"We're locking this place down. We are doing patrols throughout the cave system. You will check in with me every 5 minutes. At 5 minutes 1 second late for a report, all guards will respond to your last known location. Do not talk over the comms otherwise. Maintain comm discipline or I'll dust you myself." Forse said.

The group of pirates, and Forse leading them, entered the Mines, and began to fan out to their assigned patrol areas.

 

[Uma Nari]

TAG: Forse Dirum

Uma could hear the guards were stepping up their game, already patrols were heading down through the cave systems, sweeping with lights and the muzzles of their weapons., She had kicked a hornet's nest it seemed, and that made her smile. The Jedi Witch was watching through the walls, in her phase state, holding there as retinue passed by her, she popping her head out, her blue eyes sparkling as she considered the next course of action. Seeing a crate poised there with a heavy repeater, she travlled over to it and took aim, and with both hands began to open fire, the great beams tearing through the backs of these Pirates, who fell with great flashes and sparks, some at the front of the platoon, dropped to the ground and returned fire, when she disappeared into a white cloud with a faint hint of lavander.

One of the Pirates got on the comms and said,
"She is is Sector Seven! She is using a heavy repeater! I repeat heavy fire!"

Uma was chuckling as she now was in a off shoot of the tunnels, there one of her bug out caverns. She considered that she might have to go above ground, though that was perilous because of the geysers. Alas if that was what she would have to brave to escape this stirring of the smugglers, then so be it. She her foot steps in the nearby tunnel, and she reaching for her lightsaber hilt, preparing to face whoever might decide to come down this winding way, and meet her head on. The truth is all of this was exhilarating, she was disrupting some definite bad guys, and honing her skills at the same time. Though she was not a fool, they had the numbers, and she had a hidden craft that she would use to get off world, though it was in a very dangerous place on the planet. That was the point.

This cloak and dagger approach had worked, her powers in the Magick made her much harder to confront than an ordinary Jedi. She could project away in middle of blaster fire, and go through any substance, even acid, if necessary. That was the secret power of the Night Sisters, though she did not draw on the Dark Magick as most sisters did, no that she forbid herself to do. So she waited for them, poised to strike with her white bone colored blade that matched her hair.