The Mighty Stronghold

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Galven had gotten the signal from the contact he hired to find him a secluded position beyond the commonplace of stars, the Contact Viskis had spoken to. He was in his private, personal Marauder. "Viskis, have the shuttle prepared. Get a squad ready, but they will stay with the shuttle in case we need reinforcement or cover fire back to the shuttle in case anything happens." Viskis nodded, leaving the bridge to head towards the hangar. The ship was just exiting hyperspace as Galven gave the order to send the transmission to their Contact that they've arrived, and that they'd be coming down soon.

---

"Pilot, any word from the Contact?"

"We've been given coordinates to land on the planet sir, we're heading straight for it. Some lifesigns, and some sort of structure."

"Perhaps they found the diamond in the rough...ah?" Galven thought, nodding to the pilot and taking his seat back down, not bothering to strap in since it'd be a very short time until they landed. As the shuttle took its landing approach, Galven looked out the windows, gesturing to Viskis. "It's a good plan, sir, being out of the way at the edge of the uncharted space like this. What do you think made this barren boulder so special?" Viskis asked. "I don't know, but if it must look this dead, it must be worth the bonus to call us here, right?" Galven grinned.

"Setting down. The atmosphere here is toxic, use gas masks." The pilot spoke up.

Viskis and Galven gathered the gear from within the shuttles lockers, "Oh boy, nasty air, still think its worth it, sir?" "Let's check it out first before we judge, Viskis."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

A Karakter-class carrier would exit hyperspace just a few kilometers off the Maruder's starboard engines. It was a huge ship, overshadowing that of [member="Galven Solomon"]. It was manned by a large force of Black Sun soldiers, all of whom were equipped and ready for combat.​

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They had been contracted by Galven a week or so prior to find a planet. That's right, the man had hired the crime syndicate to find him an unregistered celestial mass. As unusual as the request was (seeing as how the syndicate was generally hired to kill people), they had still obliged. They had found a seemingly deserted planet, and had sent the man its coordinates. They were to then to help their client secure the planet, get paid, and leave.​

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A man known simply as 'Cutter' stood behind the bay window of the command bridge, looking at the planet below. His scouts had told him the planet was deserted, though they did get a few unconfirmed lifeforms come up on their scanners. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to his lieutenant. "Initiate communications with the other ship."​

 

[Jeron Verity]

"Sir, it seems the Black Sun is late, we just got reports of their ship jumping in. They... appear to be combat ready, and are trying to contact us." The pilot spoke up to grab Galven before he exited.

"Are they threatening us?" Galven asked, looking at Viskis
"No sir, just trying to establish contact, waiting for you."

Viskis shrugged at Galven and Galven went ahead to the front of the shuttle to speak into the Comm. "This is Galven, we're down here on the planet, waiting for you. Did you know the air is toxic down here?" He asked, in a seemingly muzzled voice with the gas mask on. "I'm here, what do you need?"

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

 

[Lord Ajihad]

(OOC: Sorry, didn't know you had landed)​

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Cutter turned to the holoterminal as the figure of [member="Galven Solomon"] appeared. A frowned appeared on his face as the other man spoke. ​"yes, we know it is toxic, and I thought you were waiting for us to secure a perimeter before landing. Either way, I'm on my way."​

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He shut off the channel, though not before tracing the call's point of origin. He would then jog down to the carrier's hangar, where several dropships awaited. They were already loaded with heavily armed mercenaries, all wearing filtered exosuits. He took a minute to slip into his own armor before jumping into the head dropship. There was a total of about twenty five soldiers, all with their own personal swoop bikes. He pounded on the partisan between him and the cockpit, signaling the man to take off.​

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Several minutes later...​

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Loose dirt would begin to kick up into Galven's face as the ships landed in a circular formation around their client. The mercenaries started pouring out of the vehicles and immediately began unloading their bikes from the shuttles. Cutter would stride over to Galven, standing almost a whole head taller than the other man. "Are you ready to move out?"​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

Before Galven had a chance to respond, the other person had shut the communication off. Felt a little rude to Galven, but what do you expect with mercenaries, sunshine and rainbows? "Pilot, keep the shuttle here, keep it sealed, and keep out of sight, that helmet helps you and I plan for you to keep it on because these things aren't the best." He patted the pilot on the shoulkder and exited the shuttle, letting its door close up, and he stood there waiting for his Contact.

-----

Galven sighed as he walked towards the contact with his friend Viskis. "We received coordinates to land here.... you didn't send them? Either something is going on around here, or someone is messing with us." Viskis was armed with his DLT-20A Blaster, still in his smuggler uniform. Galven just had a blaster pistol and some ordinary light protective gear.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Cutter grunted as the man dressed up as a smuggler commented on the coordinates. "Of course I sent you the coords, you're just a bit early." He would brush past his client, and press a button on his comlink. The dropships immediately took off, headed back up towards the carrier. This would leave Cutter, Galven, and his men encircled by the combat-ready mercenaries.​

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The man walked to the outer perimeter of the circle, nearly heading straight off of the plateau they were standing on. He pulled out a pair of binoculars, scanning the next several dozen miles in the distance. On the very brink of his vision, his eyes fell upon what he had been looking for. A massive walled structure stood in the distance, dust storms whirling all around it. Cutter gestured for his employer to come over, saying, "That, there in the distance. Seems to be some kind of abandoned fortress or something. We sent a scout team in, never came out. I assume this is where you'd like me to go?"​

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[member="Galven Solomon"]​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Galven blinked at the sudden surrounding and then the suggestion. "You assume?" Galven huffed with a smirk, "You say one of your ...experienced scout teams went in and you didn't hear from them... I expect you to be threatening me with compensation. Yes, you first, your men protecting me and my colleague. If you say it's some sort of abandoned fortress, then what the hell could have happened to your scout team? And why not check if it was safe before bringing me here? I thought the payout was more than enough to do this yourself..."

Viskis spoke up, "Commander, you'll want to take it easy with this man. He's not your average mercenary, he isn't. He's something else." He said after putting a hand on Galvens shoulder.

Galven thought for a moment. "'Hem, yes. Cover Viskis and I, and I'll see you are promptly paid as long as the deal was met, something secret, out of the common travel lanes, and I like it. But you did lose a Scout Team... which is a very large threat to me. So I'm a VIP, alright?"

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Cutter, by any means, wasn't the sharpest tool in shed. He could, however, figure out when someone was mocking him. And believe it or not, he wasn't the kind of guy who found amusement in someone insulting him.​

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Upon hearing the rather rude tone in [member="Galven Solomon"]'s voice, he would turn around slowly. Just who did this guy think he was? Just as he was about say something not very kind, Solomon's friend intervened. After listening to what the Viskis fellow had to say, Cutter's body tension relaxed the slightest bit. He was getting very close to shooting this man. Suddenly, the mercenary would pull out his pistol at shoot at Galven.​

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The bolt would fly right past head, nearly grazing his ear. It would instead hit a very venomous-looking snake a few feet behind him, completely frying its brains. It would flop over dead, and a smirk would cross the lead mercenary's face. "Hop on a swoop bike, Mr. Vip sir. Let's get ready to roll." With that he'd hop on his own bike and began slowly moving forward. It was go time.​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Galven, frustrated and giving an unimpressed look by the sudden shots fired off, gave a squint. Then deciding to get on one of the Contact's Men's bikes, as he didn't bring his own. "The toxic air may not be good for the masks at this speed, but I'll follow. And I want to note; I am not a war hero or ground commander, but I'm no pencil-pushing desk jockee, I just want you to know that, I just expect a little more professionalism." Now riding with this 'gang,' he motioned Viskis to get on a bike as well.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Galven Solomon"]

Cutter shook his head. Who did this guy think he was, anyways? Rhodes might have his head for killing a client, but it was almost worth it. This man was really beginning to get on his nerves, and the criminal wasn't known for having too great of a temper.​

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Once everyone was on their bikes, the troop zoomed forward towards the compound. As they began to get closer, it became obvious that this was indeed a fortress. Its architecture was rather crude, but it seemed to have withstood the test of time. Large chunks were torn from its ancient walls, perhaps from a siege that took place long ago.​

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Soon enough, they stopped in front of its gates. Abandoned swoop bikes sat in front of the entrance, the same swoop bikes the scout team had been using. The gates seemed to be shut, but ascension cables were seen dangling from the high-up battlements. It looked like the scouts had made it inside the structure after all.​

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Cutter signaled for seven of his men to scale the wall. "Open the gates and secure a small perimeter, nothing else." The armored men nodded and began to climb the cables. They would be in soon enough.​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Once they arrived, Galven looked and eyed the structure, a small grin formed on his face. This is just what he needed. If he had made any major construction habits to make something even similar to this, people would know, they'd find out. This has to be massive, though. And to repair it could be as easy as a freighter and a handful of workers, slow and tedious... but it would be faster than building something entirely new.

He hopped off the bike and nodded at the gang member who let him ride, as if a thank you. "Uh, should we really open the gate so soon? For one, look at it, it looks like its about to come apart... not only that, your men are gone... they wouldn't leave... something... behind? This is your rodeo, though, but so far I like it. I do want to see what's inside, admittedly... just cover my front and rear, please."

He realized he was kind of a rude and inconsiderate smart-ass earlier, he was going to try and be kinder, or smoother, at least not negative. "What do you think? Attacked? I think it was just abandoned... there's no laser marks or bomb craters... why would they leave? What kind of architecture do you think? Seems familiar to me, but not quite... maybe an older design..."

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Cutter grunted. This [member="Galven Solomon"] guy seemed to ask quite a few questions, and the mercenary wasn't exactly the social type. He waited a good long while for his client to finish his list of inquiries, before letting out a rough reply. "The gates will hold, and I'm sure my men will be fine." He began to run his hand along the scarred walls, feeling their deep craters and wedges. "As for once dwelled here, I-" Before he could answer, blaster fire could be heard from the other side of the wall. He was about to go over, but it seemed to end quicker than it began. One of his men shouted over the barrier, indicating they were alright. Several minutes later, the gates would slowly swing open. Then didn't fall off, but they looked pretty close. The mercenaries would step inside, Galven safely tucked away in the middle of them.​

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(Seeing as how this is your place, I'll let you flesh it out as you see fit.)​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]

Galven became alarmed, blaster fire? "Excuse me," ge spoke up with a question that wasn't long and stupid, "but what was the reason for firing your weapons, wha-" then he stepped on it - the answer the his question. "Oh, Chompers. Nasty pests, they like to chew... On..." he paused, looking at what was beyond the doors with little light he had. Wreckages of ships of old, freighters, shuttles, and fighters, all strewn about, very little of anything left. "This must have been a military base in one of the old wars, but the designs... They are almost familiar. I don't mean I've seen them personally, but they have similarities to..." he stopped, realizing where he was going, remembering he is trying to be covert. "This is good, this might turn out better than I hoped, as long as we exterminate the pests. Let's find their nest and take a deeper look... And do your men have anything to report?"

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Cutter shared a few hushed words with one of his men, before turning back to his client. "Some more of these things up ahead, be on the lookout." The men would form a diamond around [member="Galven Solomon"] and Cutter, protecting them from and creatures that would dart forwards and try to eat the men. He would wave his hand, and they would turn on their head lamps and begin advancing into the dark entryway before them.​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


After they traveled a little deeper in and held off the dumb metal-eating creatures, they found themselves in a deep corridor. It had multiple rooms and stairways going down... but they didn't seem to go down too far. Eventually it started to get quiet, and less creatures started showing up. "Without light, it feels like these hallways go on for miles, considering we also have to move debris out of the way. The place needs a serious structural integrity fix, but that's doable either way. I'm less worried about the cieling than I am to how quiet it is. You've noticed it, right?" He looked around at the soldiers, glancing at Viskis. "We saw the last critter... probably about 15 minutes ago? And I have this sickly feeling we're being watched." He looked over to Cutter, waiting for his response.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Grunting, Cutter begrudgingly nodded at [member="Galven Solomon"]'s statement. As you got further into the dark there's supposed to be more hell spawn, not less. The best he could conclude is that there was something down here the chompers were afraid of, and he really didn't want to run into it. He brushed away some ash that was smeared over a wall, uncovering something rather disturbing. It was drawing, seeming almost primitive. It depicted a ton of dead bodies being feasted upon by some large creature, tearing them limb from limb. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a piercing scream echo through the halls.​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Galven approached Cutter as he found something on the wall of the hallway, "A warning, ma--" Galven literally coiled up to himself, arms crossing and a leg curling slightly. He was not a coward but something so unexpected in the dark, and the chance they were lost, the scream caught him off guard. "This was an exploration mission! Not a combat mission! I am not prepared for this! Viskis!" He said nothing, but Viskis knew to get battle ready by that, unholstering his rifle. Galven, not at all prepared to fight, unholstered a small blaster pistol. "Jeezes... I didn't realize the abandoned house was a haunted house." He looked over to Cutter, "You've got the soldiers, figure out what th--" Galven was interrupted again, the sound of a crate fell over in a room right next to them, pitchblack, they couldn't see inside. But either way, it was a small room. Galven said nothing and stared at the room. "What... what do we do..." He whispered...

 

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Galven Solomon"]

As soon as Cutter heard the scream, he was on high alert. Every movement in the shadows was an enemy, every noise the sound the predator was making. That's why as soon as he saw a flicker of darkness zipping at his client, the Black Sun mercenary tackled him like a linebacker. It might leave a few bruised ribs, but it was surely better than the fate he had been saved from. Something brushed against the back of the merc's helmet less than a second later, instead ripping up another one of his men. He stood up to open fire, but just like that, Cutter was snatched and carried upwards towards a vertical tunnel, about to be the beast's dinner.​

 

[Jeron Verity]

[member="Lord Ajihad"]


Galven was suddenly tackled by Cutter, and he didn't understand what was going on. But as soon as he looked up, he saw Cutter being pulling up to the ceiling, "Somebody shoot something!!" He yelled while pulling his blaster forward, and shooting up where he thought logically whatever it was pulling Cutter up was. He hit something, but he couldn't catch what it looked like, it was some sort of animal. It dropped Cutter and Galven picked him up, "Hey, you okay? Thanks for the save." He turned his head, "Viskis, you shoot at anything you hear, whatever it is, it's got four legs, and can go invisible." Galven thought in his mind, there were a few things that had this trick, but he couldn't pinpoint it down...

 

[Lord Ajihad]

[member="Galven Solomon"]

Just as Cutter was facing his imminent demise, the thing that had a hold of him suddenly screeched and dropped him. As Galven helped him to his feet, the mercenary offered a quick nod of thanks. They were in a warzone, and it was no time for a heartfelt moment. Wielding an assault rifle dropped by one of his fallen comrades, Cutter began to shoot at every flickering shadow. Hopefully, they would all soon be dead. After all, how many of these mysterious creatures were there? And what exactly were they dealing with?​