Public The Nexus; a trending bar on Denon

[Dagon Kaze]

THE NEXUS
ROUGH JUSTICE vol. I
Issue #4 w/ Kyric Aktur Seii Tarsin Kenn Mercy Taezo### Kad Munin @Neesa Black Mynock

Whatever distraction Scion had pulled sent vibrations through the shaft. Dozens of urgent shouts and orders blew up in a cacophony of noise that pierced through the loud hum of music.

This was it.

Dagon punched the grate down into the booth and lunged himself after it, landing neatly on his two feet.

Three targets in his nearest vicinity - Aktur Seii, a rancor of a woman, and a deformed...Muun?

"This is the business ethics conference, right?" the Knight smirked, gesturing with a hand before springing an unethical, upwards kick straight at the female behemoth's chin. "Hope I wasn't late."

Take out the most imposing thing in the room first... then it's mop-up time.

 

[Mercy]

Aktur Seii | Tarsin Kenn | Dagon Kaze | Kyric
OOC: lots of people, just tagging the ones that are in direct interaction for now.

She was about to respond to Aktur with something sharp and witty. Probably. Luckily everyone was saved from Mercy's cutting stupidity by the sound of a crash in the lower levels.

That immediately got everyone's attention.

"Already on it, chi-" Business mode engaged and interrupted when a second surprise appeared on the scene. A figure literally dropping out of the vent in front of her like some sort of special ops TV show. One moment was invested in making sure Tarsin was covered. Yes, behind the table, if he didn't do anything stupid he'd be fi-

Dagon kicked her in the chin.

There was clear practiced force behind it. Most people would have been send flying backwards into the wall. Perhaps an immediate KO that would have opened him up to target the more fragile sentients behind Mercy.

Sadly for Dagon Mercy was not 'most people'.

The kick caused her to stumble one step backwards. That was it. Like kicking a tree firmly anchored in the ground. Except this tree moved and had the temper of a little seven-year old bully on the school grounds. Her arm snapped out to catch Dagon's leg as it was about to finish its trajectory. No time was spent gloating.

She immediately whirled around her axis to throw Dagon back into tempered glass behind him.

Once room was created between her, her employer and this new age superhero did Mercy spit blood and smiled a bloody smile.

"I haven't broken a soft boy in many a moon. I hope you won't make it too easy on me."

This wasn't the first time Mercy got herself into a blood rage when her immediate priority ought to be securing Tarsin however. Maybe a nudge or a little yell or something was appropriate in this moment. Sadly the woman was no help there. All she really wanted to do was snap some bones and maybe cause some screaming.

 

[Aktur Seii]

THE NEXUS
DENON

Aktur wasn't surprised when the unknown humanoid dropped down from above, amid a crash of ventilation grate. He had sensed him, after all, and felt that luscious life force the attacking sentient exhibited - whoever this was, there was a stronger sense about it throughout his being, as opposed to Mercy.

Someone who's trained? Lovely.

<<"Boss?">> A call came through from below.

"We're under attack on fifth level," Aktur said quickly. "Headed to theta. Meet en route."

With a smirk, Aktur looked to the guards that stood beyond the booth. They had been securing the approaches to the meeting, hadn't expected the vent access, but were quick on the uptake when Mercy and the assailant began fighting. Both guards drew weapons - the Zabrak a pair of electro-batons and the Togorian a retractable force pike - and brought them both to bear on the attacker on the fifth level.

Unlike the typical guards for Crimson Dawn, the pair assigned to Aktur were very, very capable. Some of the best the organization had to offer. And they also knew to wait for openings between Mercy's attacks; and when they were presented, the Zabrak dashed in, quick as a flash, and tried to slap several hits of the electrified batons against the opponent!

"Come with me, Tarsin," Aktur said calmly, as he backed out of the booth and motioned. "My Zabrak guard - Dev'us - will work alongside Mercy, and we'll have Kathar here to handle anything in our way... he's very good with the force pike. Your protection can catch up. If she can."

Whether or not Tarsin followed, though Aktur hoped the slender alien did, the crime lord followed in the wake of the Togorian, as Kathar bounded ahead on powerful legs and scanned for enemies in their way. As they passed the balcony, Aktur saw the armored bounty hunter, known as Kad Munin he believed, firing a blaster rifle at another individual below. Aktur opened his comm again, speaking:

"Ground team, who are you engaging? Okay... offer the bounty hunter five thousand credits for his opponent. Alive, is possible. Otherwise it doesn't matter."

Aktur continued to move behind his Togorian guard, and spared a glance back to Mercy and Dev'us, to see how they fared...

MEANWHILE...

Talran looked to the droid, as he nodded. "Yeah, there's some passages. Mainly emergency escapes, but he probably has one in mind."

The stocky guard motioned with his hand and began to run toward the back of the club. Around patrons and civilians of all sorts were rushing and stumbling, with some fleeing out through the front entry to escape the blaster fire that had started. Running with purpose, Talran jumped over the flexiglass second balcony protector, landed heavily, then continued toward the next set of stairs.

"Boss? Yeah, okay. Boss is under attack up on level five," The guard ended the call, then said to the droid behind, as he led the way. "Seems like there's more than one. Hell of an introduction, right? We're meeting at exit theta... come on!"

And while exit theta wasn't a location known to anyone save the security team, Talran began to lead Taezo toward level four...

AT THE SAME TIME...

When the armored Kad Munin grabbed one guard's blaster rifle, that guard - Jonoj - blinked and called angrily - "Hey?!" - but knew that the bounty hunter had been on the list, so didn't really do much beyond pull out a secondary blaster pistol. Jonoj called out: "Move up to the next level, support the bounty hunter!"

As the group of four guards rushed upstairs, to catch up with Kad Munin and the mysterious speeder driver, Jonoj took the brief moment to call through updates on his comm. "We're fighting the speeder driver, boss," Jonoj said. "Yeah, there's a mask involved, no positive ID just yet, but we're working with the bounty hunter... okay, sure. I'll let him know."

The four guards rounded the second level railings and rushed over toward the mysterious attacker.

"Hey, bounty hunter," Jonoj called to Kad Munin. "You interested in a five-thousand credit job? Boss wants this guy, alive if possible - but it doesn't matter!"

The guards and Jonoj moved in, blasters out and ready, as they approached and opened fire...

Tarsin Kenn | Mercy | Taezo### | Kyric | Dagon Kaze | Kad Munin | Jerec Asyr | Neesa | Black Mynock​

 

[Black Mynock]

DENON - THE NEXUS
THE VISIT Vol I
Issue #4 w/ Kyric Mercy Dagon Kaze Aktur Seii Tarsin Kenn Taezo###

The distraction caused a shock to run through the booth. It wasn't visible from his angle, but he could feel the surprise race through them and the faint sound of someone urging to look upwards.

D.

The vent's grate was forced down. Dagon was out first, and Aelys paused, allowing the chaos and confusion to continue to fester before pushing the vent further out of place. Dropping down into a separate booth, the light was dim, allowing him and his dark cloak to mesh with the shadows. Half-finished glasses and spilt liquor illustrated the occupants were gone, and he peered out from the shadows, watching as the head honchos made their escape.

From where they came, Dagon was about to be ambushed.

A fully trained Jedi Knight, mettle proved through the duration of the Imperial Civil War. Just a touch would have to do to help him. Leaping out from the booth, he simultaneously sent raised his arm as he dove through the air, lining up the shot ahead of the Zabrak. A brief glimpse into the future, precognition as he knew it, and he caught a short glimpse of where the Zabrak would end up on its charge, possibly stepping into the tranquilizer dart's path before Mynock hit the ground, rolling.

Springing up, before Arthur was even done identifying the escaping meeting-goers and their weapons, the armoured Watchman was shooting an restraining cable around the leg of the tall and slender being, the Neimodian-Muun, electric shock of energy racing up the fibrecable filament as he sought to immobilize one of their party. The Togorian force-pike wielding guard had bounded ahead of the group and had assumed the danger in the back was contained. It was not.

 

[Tarsin Kenn]

Springing up, before Arthur was even done identifying the escaping meeting-goers and their weapons, the armoured Watchman was shooting an restraining cable around the leg of the tall and slender being, the Neimodian-Muun, electric shock of energy racing up the fibrecable filament as he sought to immobilize one of their party.

Tarsin was in the process of following Aktur Seii , while Mercy tangled with Dagon Kaze , when an elecrified fibrecord snagged his leg.

Electricity grayed him out —interrupted Tarsin's thoughts and stole the conscious coordination from his motion. He promptly fell over, right at the edge of the balcony. The holdout blaster skittered across the floor. It didn't go over the edge, but close.

As the electric charge ended, Tarsin scrabbled for that blaster. The assailant looked human or close enough under that armor and mask. If Tarsin got ahold of the blaster, he'd be putting a blast or two in the direction of the face in question.

 

[Amea Virou]

The greatest trait in any agent was the ability to stay calm during moments of stress. The chaotic scenes that unfolded before her was almost something she had come to expect at this point. Amea had gotten the hint that something would be happening at the Nexus. Forged invitations weren’t exactly different to acquire, and once inside it was just a matter of faking it and making it. Besides, she was sitting at the bar sipping Dantooinian Merlot, she was hardly a threat to anyone.

At least not to anyone beyond those eyes of hers that kept scanning the environment. Those that didn’t know her understood that she was keeping an eye out, those who did know understood that it was hardly anything more than superficial. Who was here and when? There was nothing here that a dozen of others wouldn’t be able to share as well.

To say it was merely a good place for wine, well, that wasn’t all too far off.

And so there she sat in her finest evening dress, the one with a neat slit by the knee, her legs crossed as she merely sipped her wine and observed the scene with immense fascination. For as long as she had her bottle, her glass, and a good show, she would be a-okay.

Now, whoever took the first two away from her…

Well, ideally they wouldn’t.

 

[Neesa]

This was a problem. Neesa had just reached the level she was headed towards when she heard the speeder crash through the lobby below her.

She was supposed to be here to see Aktur Seii about a minor business matter. Minor being about some of the Crimson Dawn's routes for moving stolen goods.

She had gone unarmed, or as unarmed as she ever was. She still carried a bracer of splinter knives laced with poison and microfilament wire in her hair. She had expected their house to be in order.

Their house was not in order.

"Nice legs," she expressed to Amea Virou as she passed her and swiped a drink. She had intended to say 'dress' but her mouth had skipped her brain.

Law enforcement would be on their way soon. Neesa didn't really need anyone scrutinising her papers too carefully.

 

[Taezo]

Taezo followed the guard Talran as they headed to the fifth floor, making a crunch on the floor as the balcony jump was made. Taezo weighed a fair bit more than a typical sentient.

"Boss, two guys just burst through a window on the fifth floor of the bar. Both in black, one of them seems decked out in an exoskeleton." Roto commed Taezo. It seemed there was company waiting for them above. Taezo readied his blaster. As the two made it up stairs Taezo noticed one of the attackers, Dagon Kaze engaged with Mercy . The two were in hand to hand range, so Taezo decided not to intervene in case of friendly fire.

Black Mynock however, was much more isolated. Taezo opened fire with his heavy blaster and continued moving. Aktur Seii 's guard would probably do the same. Between Taezo and the Nexus Guards hopefully Tarsin Kenn would have enough cover fire to retrieve his holdout blaster.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

THE NEXUS
ROUGH JUSTICE vol. I
Issue #4 w/ Aktur Seii Mercy Tarsin Kenn Kyric Black Mynock

It was a fire and forget kick. Worked like a charm every time. By the time Dagon had launched it, his mind was already on the other threats.

A mistake.

A mistake he could only react to by the time he crashed through an expensive piece of tampered glass like an old toy discarded by a pretentious child. Only this time, the child looked like a walking brick house.

"I haven't broken a soft boy in many a moon. I hope you won't make it too easy on me." if walls could speak, that's how they sounded.

"Here's how it goes, lady--" Night picked himself up, pieces of glass falling off his form as a bloodied, cocky smirk pulled his lips, "--work before play. I get that slime now and you can buy me dinner later--" his fist tightened and the fragments of glass on the floor shuddered, "--cause I sure as hell--" he unclenched his grip and the hundreds of glass pieces blasted forwards to meet the two charging attackers and the large woman at their rear, "--can't afford whatever you're havin'!" a force enhanced dive over the duo and into a punch at tonight's date's sturdy jaw.

In the forming scuffle, Dag noticed the dark-cloaked frame at the door, "Took you long enough, Mynock."

"...bag the guy! I'll keep Beastcheeks here busy."

 

[Aktur Seii]

THE NEXUS
DENON

AT THE BOOTH, FIFTH FLOOR...

Thankfully the protection for the Crimson Dawn were skilled, worth every credit. Still, when Dev'us saw the shards of glass lifted - by the Force, he assumed - and then thrown toward him and the large muscular redhead, the Zabrak cursed and dived as best he could. Several shards managed to slice into his suit, but the material was made for withstanding some damage, and he only felt several cuts to his skin.

"Force user!" Dev'us called out, as he informed others through his comm of Dagon Kaze . "We might be dealin' with a few of them. Be ready for tricks."

As such, the Zabrak got back to his feet and whirled his batons. He waited for an opening in the fight with Mercy , intent to keep out of her way but remain effective in helping with the battle...

EN ROUTE TO ESCAPE DOOR...

Meanwhile, at the sound of a individual hitting the ground, and the electrical zap of discharge, Aktur turned and saw Tarsin Kenn roped. With a glare, the crime lord slid to a stop and pulled out his maser pistol; and with several shots, he fired at the attacking sentient in the full mask, - Mynock - a cowl of sorts. The maser was a beautiful piece of technology, able to deliver an enhanced blaster bolt that not only carried energy and heat damage, but provided physical force... it absolutely outplayed lightsabers, which was one of the reasons Aktur liked it so much.

"Kathar, electric cord," Aktur shouted, as he fired two more shots. He wasn't a great marksman, but in such close proximity, he didn't have to be amazing, right? "Get Tarsin free, pin this masked attacker down!"

The large Togorian roared and turned, as he performed a leap on powerful legs and landed beside Tarsin. With a growl and snarl, Kathar grabbed the electric cord and tore it from the slender alien's leg, freeing him - and with the current still going through the length, the Togorian held tight and withstood the energy barrage... his species was renown for being able to take incredible amounts of physical punishment, after all.

"Tarsin, here," Aktur passed the dislodged holdout blaster to Tarsin. It had been simple enough to step over and scoop the thing up. Now, with both sentients armed, it was time to vacate. "We go down the stairs. Come on."

And behind the pair, the hulking Togorian yanked on the cord. Then, with a strength comparable to any Wookiee, he released the rope and swung his force pike at the cowl-wearing attacker. And the best part was that many saw a big, muscular fur-covered feline and assumed slow and cumbersome... well, whoever thought that would find out the hard way.

Kathar was agile, too, and stepped to intercept the attacker - Black Mynock - from making his way past the guard...

MEANWHILE...

Talran saw Taezo go for its blaster, which was a relief, since more firepower was always a good thing. Once the sentient reached the desired floor, and door, it was just a matter of hunkering down and preparing for the boss' arrival. Still, a glance up to the floor above seemed to indicate some complications, as some masked... vigilantes?... were involved in the mix. That confirmed the crashed speeder had been on purpose, a distraction, and whoever the group were planned to come at Nebula.

"I'm thinking, Taezo, if you protect the boss through this, you'll get a good result from your meeting!"

From within his own suit jacket, Talran pulled a heavy blaster pistol. He took aim, at the sentient in the cowl - Mynock - and waited for a shot, if the angle allowed it. For the moment, the short and stocky guard had to deal with the curved stairs that led to the upper floor, which didn't provide a great view or firing angle... yet.

Once they come down those stairs, though, I'll have that masked freak dead to rights!

"Hey, Taezo, I need to guard the door, can you reinforce Kathar up there? He's the big, hairy one with the pike!"

Meanwhile, Talran had his palm ready to put onto the lock mechanism...

Tarsin Kenn | Mercy | Taezo### | Kyric | Dagon Kaze | Kad Munin | Jerec Asyr | Neesa | Black Mynock​

 

[Black Mynock]

DENON - THE NEXUS
THE VISIT Vol I
Issue #4 w/ Tarsin Kenn Dagon Kaze Aktur Seii Taezo Mercy Kyric

Electricity raced up the cord and rendered his target inert. And in those brief few seconds of time, Mynock was already snatching up the cable, dragging the hybrid alien towards him bit by bit. It pulled him away from his blaster, isolating him from his cohorts before one of them withdrew a pistol.

Kark.

Motioning with his first hand hand to eject the cable, he tightened his other into a fist, and the extendable shield that sprung out, rose to cover much of his frame in his crouched position. Energy distribution saw to it that the electrical discharge from the maser was dissipated, distributed to the otuer edges of the shield harmlessly, while the kinetic thumps he felt pressed the shield closer to him, but didn't penetrate. The Thyrsian had spent years wielding the shield prior to returning to the New Jedi. And even kept it after he "quit." Based off his appearance it was one of the last weapons that tied him back to his homeworld.

Leaping forward, he only got a handful of steps before another blaster was added to the fire. This one from a droid that he saw too late, his danger sense ignored as he sought to close the distance. He saw the flash as it entered his proximity, and felt the burn a moment later as it punched through his armour, dragging a muted groan of pain from his throat as he shifted, bringing his shield to bare.

He could've force crushed the droid, dragged them closer and bashed them to pieces with his shield... If he were a stronger man. But the gift of telekinesis was beyond him.

He didn't need to think about long, for this time, he obeyed his danger sense. Shifting his shield-arm to the side again, and catching the force-pike that would've subdued him. Ducking underneath it so that he wouldn't have to weather the blow entirely, it skipped over his shield and the rest of his bent body. Hiding the fact that he was punching upwards with his first hand again, retractable vibro-knife shooting outward to plunge into the Togorian. The alien may have been large, even quick, but never quicker than Force-enhanced speed and a surprise attack.

He jabbed forwards again and again. He didn't need strength behind it, the beauty of vibro-tech was that it shredded off the slightest touch. He solely needed speed, and he punched into the Togorian in anyway that he could in that moment, set on spilling the warrior's insides in anyway that he could.

 

[Mercy]

Aktur Seii | Black Mynock | Tarsin Kenn | Taezo | Dagon Kaze

She was in the progress of rolling her shoulders - for stretching reasons, of course. Mercy was certainly not showing off in the middle of a battle. That was ... totally ... out of character.

"That slime?" And her attention shifted back towards Tarsin, who was presumably still safe-

"What the KARK, chief?"

All the idiot had to do was stay behind the desk. How hard was that?

Dagon was immediately forgotten. Yes, she wanted to break him in half, but her lunch ticket was currently being dragged by an electric rope. If there was one thing the half-Muun wasn't, it was a fighter, so he'd have little hope on his own. Even with Aktur's minions in the fray... Mercy wasn't positive it would matter much.

She threw him a knife, one of hers, and took another step forward.

That was when the Jedi Knight reared his head again.

Danger sense was sudden and acute, but Mercy had never been much about the Sense side of things. Only once the glass shards ripped into her body did she notice in truth. She hissed in pain as dozens of transparent shrapnel ran through her skin, leaving cuts and blood spilled. If Dagon wanted a lady's attention?

Certainly had it now.

Her presence in the Force surged as pain laced right under her skin. Whirred about just as Dagon leaped in to finish the job. Big mistake not to keep his distance. Up close? That was where Mercy shined- as she side-stepped and blocked his punch, but did not push away. No, instead one more step brought her right past his defense.

Where Mercy rammed a fist that might as well be made out of metal straight into his solar plexus. And then followed it up by headbutting him straight in the face.

"You'll be eating through a straw by the time I am done with you, boy. Then I will maybe buy you a protein shake."

 

[Amea Virou]

Now where did Amea recognize that man from? The one in tights fighting the big redheaded brute? She pondered the question and sipped her wine for a moment before she looked at the woman who seemed to approach her, take her wine bottle, and leave — but not without providing her compliments. Admittedly, Amea was at a loss for words.

"Well, thanks. Force knows a girl tries." She muttered as the hooded woman continued to pass her by and away. Great, so much for fighting whoever broke the bottle. The idea was put to the test and Amea didn't do a thing. Maybe she had gone soft.

No. No, it was the fight that was too mild for her.

Oh well, the show was still impressive. One team seemed to wanna kidnap some scrawny Muun half-breed, and the other was really just defending themselves. Given that this was Denon of all places, Amea gave it a fair shot this was a raid by that weird Spandex Squad she had heard of before. The ones that seemed to do good, but like, to a select few at a time.

Impressive.

Buuut mostly foolish.

She sipped her wine and looked on as the blaster bolts seemed to exchange numbers with one another in one volley or the other, Amea reached out to grab herself a new bottle behind the bar. Blue wine? She had heard of it but never had any of it herself. She put the bottle by her glass and continued to look on.

Maybe she should have expected this in the end. It was Denon after all.

Neesa

 

[Tarsin Kenn]

An awful lot of developments accelerated. Tarsin found himself manhandled, disentangled, brutalized, ushered, escorted, armed, and provided with covering fire — in no particular order, certainly not that one. By the time he got his head on straight, he was following Aktur Seii down the stairs with his holdout blaster in one hand and someone's knife in the other. One of the attackers was disemboweling the Togorian who'd saved Tarsin from that very same attacker. Mercy was still tied up with her own fight, doing her job. Tarsin made a note to send her a bonus if and only if they both survived.

"Who are these people?" he hissed after Aktur. "Black Sun? I didn't think the Denon underworld played games like this. Whoever's behind it, maybe we could broker them a better class of hitman. And why hasn't CorpSec showed up?"

 

[Taezo]

As a droid Taezo did not always pick up on the encoded language, or lack of language that they used to communicate. Taezo was fairly certain that Talran and Taezo had beaten Aktur Seii and his guest Tarsin Kenn to the escape plan. 'Fairly Certain' was a definition here meaning an estimated probability of above .7. This was less probably than was optimal for decision making, but narrowing credibility intervals came a cost Taezo couldn't currently pay.


Letting Talran access to the door Taezo trusted Mercy to handle Dagon Kaze by her lonesome. Instead he focused on supporting Kathar, who wasn't actually a Cathar, but a Togorian. The feline guard was being jabbed at remarkable speed by Black Mynock , who appeared to be sporting a vibro knuckle. Taezo drew a vibro-knife in its offhand and calculated a few vectors. Taezo then fired at his head, torso, and launched the knife with accuracy at his ankle. Each attack would land within a faction of a millisecond of the rest. An amateur would block his face and lose his foot, at least until he hit a bacta tank. This man was no amateur, but perhaps the attack could force Mynock on the defensive for a split second and save the Togorian's life.

Then again, perhaps not.

 

[Ivory Stroud]

Ivory powered down the engine on the sleek & powerful DH-17 Speederbike she'd picked up from a fellow Shadowrunner. The Nexus, a popular haunt for types such as she, sparkled like a jewel in a sea of black - the air was comfortable with a slight chill, and she pulled her elegant fur coat in tightly around her body. She'd pulled into the rear parking area and powered down, ready to stroll into the bar for a nightcap and a meal.

The hum of the city filled her ears and she took a deep breath, tasting the air in her lungs... before producing a cigara from a pocket, placing it daintily between her glossy lips, and lighting it with the lighter she always kept on her person. The tall, raven-haired Rebel strolled casually toward the side door of the club, figuring she could use the side staircase to enter the building and avoid whatever crowd might be waiting in-front. Darkwire members were always welcome at The Nexus. She exhaled a cloud of smoke from her nostrils like a mythical dragon discharging flame from its' gullet.

Suddenly... unexpectedly... the nape of her neck began to tingle.

She stopped only a few feet from the side exit to the Nexus, stretching out her senses into the world around her.

Danger

She paused, slipping her right hand inside her coat to caress the concealed Madclaw PX revolver holstered in a shoulder sling attached to the inside of her coat.

Maybe it wasn't the best night for a drink, after-all.

Aktur Seii Tarsin Kenn Dagon Kaze

 

[Neesa]

"Feth me, are they wearing masks?"

Neesa was still carrying the half empty bottle of wine as she casually strolled after the bedlam. If she had been sent to discuss a matter with Seii and the man died whilst she sat by she supposed it would not reflect on her well.

The truth was her employees frightened her a damn sight more than those tearing up the Nexus. She worked for a casually cold and hyper-violent woman and a yuuzhan vong that had beaten her black and blue without breaking into a sweat. Their ire concerned her more than two men in rubber masks. Even without her swords.

As Neesa walked she drained the last of the bottle. It had been chilled, which meant it had a layer of condensation. It made a soft whistling noise as she etched a rune into it with one fingertip. The magic glowed once and faded.

 

[Aktur Seii]

THE NEXUS
DENON

AT THE BOOTH, FIFTH FLOOR...

Dev'us saw how mad Mercy was getting, and watched the fight between her and the masked attacker ( Dagon Kaze ) intensify, and he knew that anything he tried to do would just hinder his ally's efforts. So, at that point, the Zabrak stepped back from the battle, and instead started to run toward another masked individual - this one was fighting Kathar, and looked to be doing it brutally - but caught sight of the situation with Nebula and Tarsin beyond that bloody encounter in front of him.

"Coming to you, boss," Dev'us said through his comm, as he dodged the fight and saw a blaze of rapid fire blaster bolts arc through the air from a nearby combat droid - Taezo - before sprinting to reach Aktur and his companion. "This is getting intense, let's get you to that exit!"

EN ROUTE TO ESCAPE DOOR...

Meanwhile, Aktur looked to Tarsin Kenn as the slender alien asked about the attackers.

"I have no idea," The crime lord said with a growl, the agitation aimed toward the unknown assailants. "But we'll find out, and we'll take care of it. Permanently."

It was around that time that a lot started to happen. Kathar was being stabbed in the stomach by his foe, which looked intensely painful, a combat droid nearby - whom Aktur recognized as one of his appointments, a construct known as Taezo - as well as the timely arrival of Dev'us. The Zabrak made the best call for the situation, which was to reach the escape passage and exit the club, promptly.

"This isn't Black Sun. This isn't how they operate, unless they're hiring out to amateurs nowadays... which they could be, judging by the influence they have currently," The Crimson Dawn leader smirked, despite himself, but otherwise kept moving away from the fighting. "If I had to guess, with the masks and Force use, we could be dealing with some kind of rogue Jedi-or-another gang... rivals? Until we know more, it's up in the air."

As the crime lord reached the stairs to go down a level, Aktur activated his comm:

"Speaking of knowing more--" He commented over his shoulder, a glance to Tarsin. "--security, make sure to create backup physical holos of this event, from every angle available. Do not rely solely on digital copies. I want to analyze this later, so we can find out just who we're dealing with."

From over the comm, the security team confirmed - "Yes, boss. We're also collecting multiple frequency and visual spectrum data. It'll be like a crime scene forensics team's dream." - to which Aktur nodded to himself, as he approached the combat droid and Talran, one of his other guards. The security team were offsite, monitoring from another complex, a more concealed and less public one.

"Thank you for intervening, Taezo," Aktur said as he passed the droid. "I apologize for the change in scheduling. You are more than welcome to accompany me, so we can further see the effectiveness in services you provide by assisting in protection... and then we can talk." The crime lord looked to his other companion, Tarsin Kenn. "Tarsin, will Mercy be joining us, or do you expect she will make her own escape from this assault?"

Ahead of the group, Talran pressed his hand to the door lock, and watched it open. The entry went into a small room, something of a storage closet. Though, once Talran shifted an expertly hidden piece of wall panel, it provided another access lock - which he pressed. From the very wall, an escape passage was revealed; reinforced, covered in sensors and otherwise highly unlikely to have been breached - especially since it didn't technically exist on any building plans - Aktur stepped into the storage room and started for the exit...

"Dev'us, you go first," Aktur said, as he straightened his suit jacket and rolled his neck and looked to the droid Taezo . "Talran, cover the back with Taezo, just in case." To which Aktur looked to Tarsin Kenn, and raised his eyebrows. "Though, I do need to know, is redheaded protection coming? Or are we sealing this passage behind us?"

They likely didn't have long. But for now, the only way the attackers could reach them was through a narrow doorway of blaster fire, which even with shielding, was likely a suicidal move...

MEANWHILE...

Kathar roared in pain, as he felt the blade stab repeatedly into his stomach. The Togorian reached down and grasped the masked attacker's - Black Mynock - neck in two large and clawed hands, as the force pike was dropped. And with all the strength of his species that he could muster, Kathar began to tighten the grip, strong arms and hands capable of crushing bones, as he continued to roar in defiance of the wounds sustained.

I'm probably dead... but I'm taking this fool with me!

The large, furred alien wasn't one to want to die, of course. But Kathar knew that Crimson Dawn would look after his family, that Nebula would take care of them financially, as agreed on for the contract signed. Aktur Seii was many things, but a man of his word was one of them. So, with the fatal realization in the fore of his mind, Kathar doubled down on strangling the humanoid that continued to stab him, even as blaster bolts rained down on the masked man from nearby, and the furred alien's blood spattered onto the ground sickeningly...

"Arghhhh--!"

NOT LONG AFTER, OUTSIDE THE CLUB...

A small crowd had gathered to see the damage to the Nexus. It wasn't everyday a speeder crashed through a building front, though it did happen more often than some cared to admit. Still, there seemed to be a lot going on inside - not just music or screaming, but blaster fire and explosions and all kinds of things!

From behind some of the onlookers, and a nearby Ithorian musician ( Jerec Asyr ), sirens began to get closer and closer. CorpSec, local enforcement, were en route and flying through the air in speeders at rapid pace. They would arrive within minutes, and would bring with them both officers suited to the reported situation - the one involving attackers inside Nexus, per Crimson Dawn notification - but also medical officers, for the many wounded.

"Oh, hey, there's CorpSec," One onlooker said as he pointed into the distance. "I can see the lights there... oh, wow, they are moving."

Tarsin Kenn | Mercy | Taezo | Kyric | Dagon Kaze | Kad Munin | Jerec Asyr | Neesa | Black Mynock​

 

[Tarsin Kenn]

Tarsin hustled into the hidden escape passage behind Aktur Seii . Dropping the knife inside the passage, he eyed the controls and prodded them deftly. The hatch sealed behind them. So far as searchers or pursuers were concerned, there was no hatch and no passage.

" Mercy is clear on her job in situations like this: buy me time to evacuate. She's more than capable of extricating herself."

Tarsin opted for the simplest way of sending her that message-slash-update. The holdout blaster disappeared, and he pulled out his datapad as he went along with the secret evacuation. He transferred her a cool five thousand Underworld Credits as a bonus.

 

[Mercy]

Aktur Seii | Tarsin Kenn | Dagon Kaze
OOC: Agreed with Dagon to exit stage left

Whatever else the Jedi had up his sleeve was rudely interrupted by a little beep in Mercy's ear.

You Have Coins! 5000 UCs have been deposited to your account, enjoy your day!

Part of her wanted to keep fighting the vigilante. Sadly, that was the signal that her boss had managed to safely extract himself from the situation and that she should pull out herself next. "Sorry, lad, looks like our date has to wait. Maybe I can snap ya in half next time." Mercy was talking as if she had an exit strategy planned out.

Which was odd considering the vigilantes had the exits covered by now.

Mynock there, Kaze there, airspeeder fella downstairs.

Did Mercy really plan on crashing through Kaze to get to freedom? Usually that would be a preferable strategy, but she couldn't afford to expose her back to Mynock, while she was trying to stomp through Kaze.

The solution... was... simple. At least to someone as single-minded as Mercy.

One wink was all that Kaze got as a warning, before Mercy suddenly snapped around. And. Rammed herself straight through the third floor window. Glass shrapnel flew all over the place. Then a loud boom as the woman landed on top of another speeder (it really wasn't the day for them), causing its alarm to klaxon all over the place.

Her bones shuddered, but as she rolled off the wreckage and got back on her feet?

She was alive.

And o'boy, did Mercy feel good right now. Time to find a stim-dealer to blow some of that cash infusion.