Public Thieves & Scoundrels: From a Certain Point of View

[Lirka Ka]

Look at them, hopeless flailing with the tools of common trash. The thought immediately entered Lirka's mind as the rain of blaster fire began to ping against the armored plates of the powersuit: one after another dissipating against the metal of her breastplate: Beskar, plundered from her days sundering Mandalore in the not-so-distant past, and the rest hitting against the Impervium of the suit's majority. A low rumble hummed out from the beast, a laugh perhaps, a laugh like what one would use a patronize a child.

Though a few did hit home, the thin gaps of weaker plate in her joints: heat seared against the undersuit all over now, the barrage yielded enough that a lesser foe may have keeled in pain or fell from the strength of so much plasma. But not Lirka. The glowing green eyes focused on Cato Harth more than anything out, a single word hissed out: filled with the endless malice and vitriol of the Dark itself.

"Jeeedii..."

With a quick snarl, she launched out another strike: a quick blow, aiming more for his blaster and the hand holding it more than anything: she was being patient, despite the bestial fury: each strike following a return to a defensive stance as quickly as she could, she could wait, it was important to watch these little rats in case they tried anything tricksy.

In her brief moments during the run, Lirka had been graced with the information of just what she protected. To some, it would incite horror, revulsion, a drive to lash out against those who would seek so many people dead. But alas, Lirka was an (occasionally) genocidal maniac, and this was like getting an early Life Day present. Besides...if nothing else, she had a fall back to see everyone suffered today now.

Viz Harridan

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato nodded approvingly at the 'pretty boy' comment, "Y'know, I get that a lot."

"Jeeedii..."

"I get that a lot, too," He sighed between shots. Just as the emergency venting activated, stopping the blaster from firing any further, he was sprung upon by the beastly being once more. His gun was swept aside, clattering to the floor, and Cato immediately swung out in a wide arc with his saber.

They both stepped into defensive postures, putting distance between them and creating a lull in the battle. Unexpected. The knight's hand twitched as he reached out through the force. Even more unexpected was the presence he felt through it. Or rather, the apparent lack of one.

"...What the hell are you? And what are you doing here?"

Viz Harridan | Lirka Ka​

 

[Lirka Ka]

Underneath her helmet, a pleased smile began to creep across her rancid face. Good, she had shock on her side now. She responded to the Jedi with a quick, and faux, casualness to her words.

"Just another soul trying to make it in this cold, cruel, Galaxy. Or am I?"

She punctuated her last rhetorical with the first of a flurry of quick strikes, she was going "easy" on his still: working to try and overwhelm the boy under a slew of quick blows and letting her armor take the brunt of any lightsaber-like counterattacks.

"Or maybe I'm not? Maybe I am a monster, a demon of myth, a creature so repulsive that even the Force had abandoned me in my wickedness. But I can say one thing for certain, Boy. I am beyond you and your meager mind."

If there was one thing Lirka liked to do, it was talk. She spoke as though she were an actor in the crescendo of some grand play, despite her brutality Lirka was making artwork of her toying with Cato Harth , leave it to a Sephi to stay obsessed with their art.

"Why else do you think I'm here, Jedi trash? I know what's in the labs, I know I sit on a wealth of weaponry mighty enough to kill millions. But truly the question is, Boy. Can you stop me?"

She did little to hide the absolute malice in her words now, it seemed all but completely serious about using the Trihexalon to create some mass planetary genocide, and to some extent she was: the Dark shined upon such acts of heartless slaughter, but ultimately she left out many of the important facts about why she moved so closely to people involved in bioweapons, and of course left out the most important part of all: her act was a distraction, an attempt to use the Jedi's sense of justice against great evil against them: or at least, that is what she hoped to do.

Viz Harridan

 

[Viz Harridan]

ChemFlex Labs

Location: Corridor
Objective: Objective 1: Steal The Compound
Wearing: Scrapper's Gear
Tag: Cato Harth Lirka Ka Ivory Stroud

Eye on the Prize​

​

​ Stilza scoffed and yelled at the Jedi. "She's goading you. Don't put up with that kripe." CAB squealed in her ear and she winced. Her HUD went electric with the brightness of a compartmental alert. "You can't stay there, the two of you aren't matched for whatever that thing is." Viz said. "Look at the panel that CAB highlighted. It's a trash chute." "What!?" Stilza whipped her head around to where the panel was. Without a second thought she kicked it hard with her boot. The revealed tube was large enough for her body to fit through. "I've heard stories about people doing skiff like this." Moragan said offhandedly. "I thought they were just legends..." "...you've got to be kriffing me.... HEY. Master Jedi." Stilza whistled shrilly with two fingers "Last one in the garbage chute is bantha poodoo." She swung herself in, feet first. ​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato kept up his guard, intent on not letting her get any openings. He was a fighter through and through, and he would wait until he saw the proper opening to make any counterattacks of his own. After enough monologuing from her end, he groaned audibly,

"Is this what it's like to interact with me? It's… insufferable," Cato gave no credence to anything she said. This was not a being to be trusted, and he'd met enough Sith in his time to know when an enemy was merely trying to provoke a reaction.

"...you've got to be kriffing me.... HEY. Master Jedi." Stilza whistled shrilly with two fingers "Last one in the garbage chute is bantha poodoo." She swung herself in, feet first.

The knight whipped around a brief moment, distracted by the callout. "Just go! Get the compound!" Instead of following her, Cato stood his ground, intent on keeping Lirka focused on him. She couldn't be in two places at once. He begrudgingly accepted this role, knowing full well that he was placing his hopes in the hands of someone he already did not fully trust. But it was either that, or risk Lirka pursuing them all the way to their objective.

"You want to at least make this interesting for me?" He taunted back.

Viz Harridan | Lirka Ka​

 

[Lirka Ka]

She gave a dull look towards Viz Harridan as she fled down one of the vents, or whatever the hell it was she jumped in: it mattered not, she could have her fun trying to skulk her way around again now that this place was on high alert. Lirka had a much more pressing matter in Cato Harth , it had been too long since she had fought a Jedi, far too long.

"Leave it to a Jedi to have no respect for flair."

Her "humor" remained as dry as ever. She saw her opening in his distraction, leaping out in another quick faux blow: she was still playing her games with him, this time all she wanted to do was keep them close, and honor his request. If the Jedi wanted interesting, she'd give him interesting: as she neared to him, taking one quick look over his figure to gauge his defenses before doing one of things she did best: play dirty.

"As you wish."

Using it as punctuation to her assault, she let her faux blow fail: moving with a dancer's grace, she moved with a half-skip and quickly changed her stance to bring an armored boot up full-force for the Jedi's crotch. If nothing else, Lirka could keep a few less Jedi in the Galaxy when she was older.

 

[Viz Harridan]

ChemFlex Labs

Location: Corridor
Objective: Objective 1: Steal The Compound
Wearing: Scrapper's Gear
Tag: Cato Harth Lirka Ka Ivory Stroud

Eye on the Prize​

​

​ Landing in the waste dump wasn't nearly as fun as sliding into it. The Jedi ( Cato Harth ) didn't follow her as she'd suspected her would, in fact Stilza could hear the din of him fighting the massive whatever-it-was above her head through the metal plating. "Chick, you better hope this isn't a compactor." Viz said tiredly from inside her mind and Stilza grunted. The trash had been here for far too long. If it was a compactor it didn't work. She was exceedingly thankful for her mask and wished she had more skin protection considering what kind of waste an abandoned chem lab might have. She shuddered involuntarily and tried not to retch. "Think, ladies." Morgan said. "Any trash chute in the building will lead to this one, and that includes any notorious labs currently working to develop any notorious chemical compounds." "She's the brains." Viz added. "and she's right. With the Sheriff up there occupying the Hulk-Junker's time, that's one less for guarding the mark. Might I also add, we are literally the Queen of Trash." "It smells really bad in here." Naobi whined. It did. It smelled really bad. Stilza tried to breathe shallow and slow, her heart racing. If anything was worth some kind of promotion or even a bump in pay from that tight-fist Ivory Stroud , this had to at least put her in the running. There was a creaking sound that broke her out of her musings, and that didn't match the sound of two morons fighting on the deck above. She took another, less shallow breath as her blood ran cold. She... They... Weren't alone. ​

 

[Viz Harridan]

ChemFlex Labs

Location: Trash Compactor
Objective: Objective 1: Steal The Compound
Wearing: Scrapper's Gear
Tag: Cato Harth Lirka Ka Ivory Stroud

Eye on the Prize​

​

​ ​ Viz yanked back her body as a mass of some kind pulled the waste into a ripple on the surface of the mixture of trash and liquid. There was a long moan and Viz backed up. "Sithspit" Stilza hissed. "Yeah, this does put a damper on things, so to speak." Viz nodded, and removed her blaster pointing it at the little charybdis of filth. What rose from it was not expected in the least. Something between an aquatic creature and an armadillo rose from the depths. About 5 feet long and 6 feet high. the creature was equipped with webbing and gills as well as plated armor, its snout ejecting muck even as its gills processed the swamp water mixture and sprayed it. Viz held very still. It hadn't seemed to notice her yet and she pushed herself into the metal plating of the wall, attempting to hide waist deep in muck behind a large piece of effluvia. "Is that a kriffing Borcatu?" She whispered under her breath. "It can't be... Borcatu are mammals." Moragan chimed in. "He's in a chemical waste trash compactor." Stilza grunted. "He's not going to look like a normal Borcatu." "Don't assume it's gender, you don't know it's a 'he', Stilza." Naobi chastised. Viz groaned. She was suddenly regretting this mission entirely and was wondering how Ivory Stroud would feel if she didn't show up without the goods. ​

 

[Viz Harridan]

ChemFlex Labs

Location: Trash Compactor
Objective: Objective 1: Steal The Compound
Wearing: Scrapper's Gear
Tag: Cato Harth Lirka Ka Ivory Stroud

Eye on the Prize​

Art By: Samantha Rogers
Sr. Character Artist @ Tripwire Interactive https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Vezag​

​ The Borcatu just stood there, sniffing about, and Viz, to her credit, proceeded to study it. It's appearance, as previously noted, was that of a semi-aquatic beast, round in stature and solid. Its claws were webbed, its body armor curved over its large bulbus form. It's snout, more mammalian than anything else, was looking for whatever had just dropped in. That "whatever" was her. She took a deep breath and waded out into the open. "Oh Great God, what in Hellhor are you doing." Stilza snapped. Viz shrugged her off and made room for Naobi. "Naobi, sweetling, ball is in your proverbial court." Naobi took control of the body and Viz astral projected herself above. If Naobi could deal with the beast, she could split her consciousness enough to find a way out. Naobi reached forward and the Borcatu sniffed once, seemingly surprised to see her. He wasn't fierce as might be expected considering his sharp edges. No... moreover, he seemed curious, which made Viz less frightened for her physical form. "Hey buddy..." Naobi crooned, and Viz could feel awkward tendrils of Force spilling from her. The Borucan sludged forward, his hulk splashing viscose liquids at her. He sniffed, his nostrils breathing in like a massive suction. He caught Naobi's fingers and she rubbed the bridge between them softly. "How long have you been in here, big guy?" The beast made a wet trilling sound and batted her hand with his forehead, its ears wiggling in pleasure. "Long enough, seems." Stilza grunted. "Up here." Now that it seemed she was in no danger, Viz made her head swivel up to a second tier where a large maintenance hatch was flush against the compactor walls "That's our way out." "Is it big enough for Tre'vor?" Naobi asked. she was scratching the beast behind his right ear. "Sorry what?" Stilza hissed. "Who is Tre'vor?" Moragan asked, but really, they already knew. Naobi pointed to the Borcatu. "I..." Viz new better at this point to argue, and really, an armored mount they could control wouldn't hurt. "um. yeah. it's big enough for Tre'vor." "If you show up to Ivory Stroud with a massive swimming rat thing and no weapon, she's going to be absolutely pissed." Stilza barked. "Who said we aren't getting the weapon?" Viz snapped back. She gently nudged Naobi aside and waded past Tre'vor over to the service hatch ladder, climbing the rungs carefully as to not slip. "With those two imbeciles ( Cato Harth Lirka Ka ) duking it out in the corridor, we have a better chance of getting it then if we had any competition, count your blessings." Viz unclipped her lightsaber and ignited it, watching it sputter before it settled into its short unstable blade. It popped and hissed as she drove it into the hatches blast mechanism. She hit the sweet spot and it slid open like butter. She looked in. for all intents and purposes, it was a tunnel. And yeah... it was large enough for Tre'vor. She beckoned the beast forward and he nudged her in the shoulder playfully. She couldn't help but smile, and an uncanny warmth filled her chest as affection took over her base instinct for absolute mayhem. "Okay buddy." She sighed. Follow me, hey?" She crouched in the corridor and he was agile enough to elbow-knee his way in. She was grateful it wouldn't take a miracle to get him where he was going. Soaked and covered in grime, she tapped her HUD. "Okay, CAB, we've got a volatile compound to steal. ... where to next?"