To Kessel, To Kessel, To Rescue A Slave

[Kay-Larr]

Spoiler

It was odd to get a message from [member="Mythos"] . She hadn't heard from him since his apparent 'death'. Of course she was informed that it was faked, but had to pretend otherwise. Much has changed since then, at least on her end. She was now the President of Commenor and was working on making it a diplomatic and economic hub for the Galaxy. Already there was a large handful of Embassies from various governments from around the Galaxy. And so far, opposing sides have remained peaceful. Hopefully it'd stay that way.

Kay arrived on Kessel on a common transport, dressed incognito while being accompanied by one of her bodyguards, Einon. He was also dressed in such a way that the two looked like a pair. Their lack of touching gave others the impression that they were perhaps siblings or business partners. It worked for her either way.

The transport docked and the two of them got out, heading towards the designated meeting spot. Kay couldn't quite prepare herself as she didn't know what to expect. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much trouble. Her stay couldn't be very long.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos had no idea his old friend Kay was now president of karking Commenor, he didn't watch much holonews lately... hard to in his kind of lifestyle. Mythos wasn't a humanitarian either, he wasn't here to save slaves more so to save particular slave. For fifteen days and nights Mythos had watched the compound, he organized a steak-out alone, outside the compound where the slave was being kept at yet even with his skills as a Sith Assassin and a warrior the compound was way too well defended. They had men in every corner and a patrol that was so tight there was no window of opportunity, every guest of organic lifeform that entered the compound passed a three hundred feet no-mans-land rigged with mines and plasma wires as well as sixteen different machine guns nests to cover every square foot around the compound.... then there were the sniper nests. Six of them. Spot lights covered every inch of ground say for a few specks of ground they left uncovered for a few seconds at a time... Mythos had watched the pattern of the spotlight for multiple nights.... going over in his head how to make his way past them.... there was no possible way a human could do that, not with all spotlights...

In conclusion, Mythos needed an expert in saving slaves and he only knew of one, [member="Lady Kay"]. A Stubborn woman he had a soft spot for, Mythos had a soft spot for everything he could't have especially someone or something that after his best efforts still eluded him... the challenge, the thrill of the hunt and chase... it was true for the heart as well. Yet it was not Miss Kay's lush hair or enticing eyes that brought Mythos to risk his identity, to risk being exposed and hunted down, it was her expertise in afield he knew very little of. He wore his armor, weapons and tools in his back and is figure in the shadows of the small house he had rented... Tea brewing in the back... the smell of it permeating the dull metallic air of this area...

She was close...

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay didn't bother knocking. She place her hand on the doornob and started to turn it when Einon stopped her. The look that he gave her told her enough. In case it was a trap, he wanted to go in first. So she let him, opening the door just wide enough for the two of them to slip inside. Neither of them had their blasters drawn, but Einon had his hand on his.

Both of their eyes darted through the darkness, but it was the smell of tea brewing that caught her attention. "I didn't know that you could get Sapir tea leaves all the way out here." She didn't say his name as she wasn't sure that it was safe. But she waited, half expecting [member="Mythos"] to pounce on her from somewhere.

 

[Mythos]

"I never really liked tea that much" Mythos said, emerging from the shadows like a wraith and standing close to Kay and her friend, eyes on the blaster her friend had. "But I remember you did and i remember how you like it brewed too" Smile on his face a sly talk was all that was the same about him, the rest was entirely different. The Animus Kay remembered was no more than a few pounds over one hundred and forty, the Animus that stood before her now was easily in the seventies of pure muscle, hair longer than ever almost touching the floor and a full beard courtesy of Midvinter. As Mythos no longer used the force he compensated by building his body into well tuned machine of combat and brutality. Mythos had been busy, fighting and training constantly to build his body into what it now was...

He took a few steps closer and without asking embraced kay in a tight hug gentle enough not to hurt her. "I have missed you, I was worried, i had heard you were captured...." He held her at arms length and smiled warmly. "But you look fine... better than fine, you look beautiful" He finished with a wink and it was true, she did look different than before.. however he could not put his finger on what exactly it was...

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay didn't jump when [member="Mythos"] spoke. Instead she just smiled. The hug caught her a bit by surprise, as did his appearance. She hugged him back and looked him over as he did the same. Last he heard she was captured? It really had been a while.

And then came the almost flirtatious compliments. Yes, that was the man she knew. "I was captured by bounty hunters, but was later rescued by a few of my friends. That was a while ago. And now I am the President of Commenor, winning the election by nearly a landslide." She gestured towards her bodyguard as he relaxed and placed himself near the doorway. "This is Einon, one of my bodyguards that is almost as stubborn as I am."

Kay walked over to a chair and sat herself down. She was glad to see that there were no large statues of herself laying about. The other one was bad enough. "Last I heard, you were dead, so to speak. But then later I was told the truth. You look much more grown up. It suits you." Maybe fatherhood did that. He could have even gotten married to one of the mothers of his children. Or perhaps it was his disconnection with the Force that caused him to work harder. At any rate, she hoped that he was happy with himself.

"So what have you been up to lately?"

 

[Mythos]

Mythos nodded and listened intently, occasionally shifting an eye to her bodyguard and to the door as he was untrusting as he was arrogant. He listened further and the new hit him that Kay was Commenors President. His was was priceless, happy for her that not only was she not a slave or a prisoner but president of an entire planet. "President of Commenor!? Kay's that's fantastic!" The landslide part was relieving to say the least, Mythos knew her previous reputation in political positions had been shaky at best.Introduced finally Mythos met Einon and his eyes said all. "A pleasure" His monotone voice and deep tone almost reminded him of the sith.

As they sat down and her man eyed the door Mythos made sure he was out of earshot. "What's he got that i don't got?" throwing up his hands as if asking a question jokingly. He nodded at her question and raised an eyebrow at the word 'truth'. "Who told you that if i may ask?"

"I have been training Kay, i lost the connection to the force and i have been training to become stronger than i was before i lost it" He paused while looking in the distance, outside the window with eyes full of drive. He looked back at Kay not loosing his intensity, she would also notice that his eyes were no longer yellow or red. "I have a son now, I will take back Atrisia. First i need to free a man inside the compound over the red mountain pass down north... Kay i looked at this place and there is no way in... there could be up to seven thousand slaves and prisoners in there but i need only one..."

He narrowed his eyes and sat back in his chair, pausing to let the situation sink in before he said more. "The compound is guarded in such a way that i cannot infiltrate it by land or air, i have no maps or data on the structure to see if it has any underground tunnels." Just talking about the place gave him stress, he ran his fingers through his hair and pulled a deathstick from his pocket... the good kind, ZP tobacco. After blowing out a puff of smoke he continued. "The place is guarded like an Emperor's temple, there are multiple machine gun nests in every area plus sniper nests. A massive terrain of land circling around it making a mine field with only one clear stretch of road in or out. " He paused while motioning to the air as the sound of a big frigate came through shaking the ground as it passed. "and you can forget about an infiltration by air. Not only does the place have a massive forcefield generator but it also has a constant patrol of gunships that sweep the entire area for stealthed craft."

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked at the joke. It was [member="Mythos"] ' way of course, just like most that she knew. They thought that monogamy was a type of wood, rather than a way of life. It's true that she was starting to have feelings for one of her bodyguards, but Einon wasn't the one.

"One of your most trusted friends, though I don't believe that he is ruling Atrisia in your stead, anymore." Kay hadn't been to Atrisia since the funeral and then the coronation. It was too uncomfortable there and she was quite glad to have turned down the advisor position.

Upon listening of the slave camp, or rather it sounded more like a prison, she frowned. So this is what he brought her here for. An extraction. It was so overtop for something so simple as slaves, as most were cowardly. Perhaps there were political prisoners as well.

"Show me. I need to see it for myself. And I also need information on who it is that you want freed and why he's there." There were lots of questions that needed to be answered before any plans were drawn up.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos had come to the same conclusion as Kay in regards to the nature of the compound, but considering the massive amount of people taken in and out of the compound he knew that there had to be some slaves or forced labor inside. He nodded, standing from the chair and looking at the back door of the small house he had rented, in the back covered by a creme colored sheet was a speeder Mythos had bought from a local dealer. The vehicle was robust, reliable and dated back to before the battle of Yavin. Mythos absolutely loved it, the handling and the way it controlled was fun to him and through the sand dunes the thing was a wonder to ride. "Let's go, call your man if you want him to come" Mythos said as he headed down the corridor of the house before halting in the middle and fidgeting with wood planks on the wall.

After removing some planks Mythos retrieved several battle rifles and weapons including thermal detonators and blaster pistols. Never could be too careful according to him. In the vehicles trunk Mythos had ammunition hidden inside a secret compartment accessible via code that he had installed. He set his HUD visor to his eye, released a drone from his forearm that hovered several feet in the air and gave a live data feed on what it saw then Mythos made his way to the vehicle and started the engine.

"The man I am looking for is the son of the Atrisian Navy High Admiral. He got in debt with the wrong people and now the men keeping him are asking for a lot of money for ransom." Mythos spoke while preparing the vehicle, activating extensions lifting the vehicle up a few feet then buckling up and raising all protective windows. Before he set off he placed a battle rifle between his seat and the passengers seat, a handgun beside the wheel and controls, turned on the A/C and revved the engine. "Buckle up you two and don't touch anything"
The engine was loud, one could feel the strength under the hood of the beast and when Mythos hit the gas on it there would be no doubt he knew his way behind the wheel.
[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked. Call her man. She rolled her eyes. Einon was her protective shadow. He wasn't there for her beck and call. He had his own mind and made his own decisions.

The two of them followed [member="Mythos"] out to his vehicle, noting the vast array of weapons. All that she had in mind was taking a look. Not to go in there swinging. At least not yet. Kay needed time to formulate a plan.

They got in the vehicle and buckled up. Kay listened to what Animus had to tell her. She had to almost yell so that he could hear her over the engines. "How much is the ransom? And how long have you been surveying this place? I'm going to need all of the information that you have on it."

 

[Mythos]

Mythos set his HUD to active and manned the wheel. Sand kicked up behind the powerful wheel and they were off at high speeds going off road while Mythos activated a device inside the vehicle that illuminated the inside with a shade of holographic blue. The display would show a three dimensional holographic image of what his drone and the vehicles cameras captured of their surrounding. Mythos punched the buggie over a large dune at high speed and then came down hard and fast with a formidable speed, rocking him in his chair but otherwise no big problem. This was huge fun for Mythos, speeding around in an off road vehicle hunting badguys with weapons and packing enough heat to cause trouble.

Mythos switched on the internal buffers to silence the outside sounds as he sped off in a straight road through the sand. "About a million credits, I have been here a standard month checking the place out" He paused to take a curve between two dunes and began riding straight through the two leaning to the right. "The only information that i could gather is that this prison is directly connected to the Hutt Cartel in some form and they have payed big money to keep this place quiet and out of the way." Mythos yanked the wheel to the left hard while hitting the gas and shifting to a higher gear causing the beast to pike down to the left and ride up the dune sharply and out of the tunnel. Mythos relaxed behind the wheel, the rest of the road basic and simple for a while so he decided to spark a rolled bota cigar, a substance banned in many systems but one he enjoyed to smoke.
[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked. She couldn't tell if [member="Mythos"] was trying to show off, or if he really had to drive like that. It certainly didn't provide a sneaky entrance for them. And that was the opposite of what she wanted.

She frowned, bouncing around the vehicle in her seat. At least she was buckled in. But what made her frown most was hearing that this was Hutt Cartel territory. That would mean that she would be recognized if the prison had anything to do with slavery. She had rescued people from a bunch of them. This was a real cause for concern.

"Stop a few kilometres out. We'll walk the rest of the way." Liberating the prisoner was not going to be easy. And having fresh air will help her clear her mind enough to focus.

 

[Mythos]

"You want to walk... kilometers in Kessel?.." Mythos asked, turning to Kay in the drivers seat with a baffled expression. He shook his head in dismay and shrugged. "Alright, if you say so". Upon finishing those words Mythos yanked the wheel in a different direction and sped off to find a nice place, if he was going to park his ride he would do so in a place that offered at least a decent amount of shade and a place that was off the beaten path. Mythos was too old to walk miles back to the city and too young to fight twenty slavers and get captured. After a short and fast ride Mythos made it to the side of a massive rock then he parked the vehicle and checked the drone status. His drone already was in the parameter of the base and a few kilometers away. In the holofeed inside the vehicle Mythos could see the place and make out images of soldiers, vehicles and the compound entrance. "That's the place" He said, gesturing to the hologram being beamed inside the vehicle.

Before he stepped out Mythos packed his gear, checked his weapons and ammunition and placed his HUD on "combat mode". He looked to the back seat and then to Kay, an eyebrow raised inquisitorialy. "Does he talk or does he just..." He asked, shrugging to further accentuate his confusion. "Do you use weapons? Can you shoot? Have you ever been in combat?" He had to ask, Kay's saftey was something Mythos gave up trying to improve long ago, he also knew that Kay hated weapons, was a pacifist and would rather get caught than kill the slaver trying to catch her. It drove him nuts, it was so just so counter intuitive to what he was used to he just pretended like it was nothing.
[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was a little glad that the ride was over. She looked to the image being displayed. Funny thing though, sometimes it was better to see things in person in order to get a better understanding.

She smirked as [member="Mythos"] asked about Einon. But she didn't answer for him. The man quipped up on his own. "I'll talk when I have something to say." He just wanted to be viewed as the brawns and not the brain. Though Einon could second guess Kay's attempts to give him the slip quite easily.

As Animus asked Kay about weapons and combat, she nodded. "Yes. I've ambushed the Jackals and liberated many slaves from the Cartel. I just don't kill while I do it. And I hope that you don't think that we're going to rescue your guy right now. I need a proper look at what I'm dealing with before we make our plans."

She got out of his vehicle with Einon following suit and keeping an eye out all around them.

 

[Mythos]

"I don't leave my front porch without enough firepower to blow it up Kay" Mythos turned off his vehicle, switched on protective camouflage mode and loaded his weapons. Everything read smoothly, so far no bogies to be had on screen or radar. Mythos adjusted his scope and clicked open the trunk. Out of the back of trunk came Groom, he was sleeping until right now... Mythos knew his sleeping hours to the minute. Groom was Mythos' tuk'ata, a beast from Korriban he had grown and nurtured since he was a little pup, he wasn't a little pup anymore. The massive beast towered easily over Mythos, rifle in hand who lead the way. "It doesn't matter what we are doing, being out here right now is dangerous. There are hutt patrols in this area and if we get caught i plan on shooting back" The end of his words were accompanied by the loading of the new MK model and the gust of sand that was so common on Northern Kessel.

After walking several yards and setting himself on a perch Mythos used his monocular to search and identify the compound using his advanced scouting technology. With the drone in the sky he could make out via its readings and the readings of his monocular the structures in the ground to some degree and then create a three dimensional picture that Mythos could see through his monocular. All variables included, it required Mythos to be extra precautions because the information fed into the HUD was not one hundred percent accurate. Kessel was home to bandits and assassins, thugs and killers... Mythos knew the grunts at the prison were not the only enemy he faced. He calculated the distance between himself and a lookout post where he saw guards frequent in rotation and thought of how to get there... but first.

"You can see some of the compound from here.... anywhere closer and we have to take serious precautions not to be seen." Mythos said, gesturing to his high perch that started where groom was sitting and ended where Mythos was standing.
[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well [member="Mythos"] had certainly changed. Without the Force to use, he seemed to be relying on a lot of firepower to compensate. And that wasn't entirely a good thing. It showed his fear and uncertainty. But then again it could save him as well.

Groom on the other hand had grown. Kay had never really been able to get near the creature, most especially without it growling. And now? Now he was preoccupied.

Both her and Einon followed Animus to his perch and looked at the visuals of the compound that he had displayed. The Cartel had surely stepped up their game. Though this was more than just a slave camp.

"Which bars do the guards frequent? If I can get one of them to work for me, then that could be our ticket to getting your guy out. An inside job."

 

[Mythos]

When Mythos heard Kay he already did not like where this was going. Trusting one of the guards to play spy without enough credits to buy a stardestroyer and then some would prove hazardous.... yet he called her here for a reason and he needed her help. His way clearly wasn't going to work. He had little information about the personnel but he knew what she was aiming at. "Not a bar, a casino"

Mythos threw his hands up in the air as to deny all blame before he continued. "And i don't know for certain either" He finished exasperated. His mind raced, all the information and scouting he had done int he past weeks, he thought of something, anything that could lead him to off duty personnel. "I heard over-talk on the radio of bets and gambling, it could be the casino or it could be underground." He shrugged and headed down, if they were not going in further he thought it best to make it back to the vehicle. It was a long walk, getting head start would be wise.

[member="Lady Kay"]​

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay followed [member="Mythos"] down the dune. "What kind of gambling were they talking about? That could give us a clue. And it's best to know what the guards are like before you go barging into a place. I don't know how many times that I frequented the Cartel's favourite bars to gather intel before my missions." She figured that such a thing would be obvious. But with the way that Animus has changed, violence and expecting a fight was all that he knew. But then again, it could just be because they are on Kessel.

"You seem like you're about to give up. Am I your last resort for this mission?" That would make sense. It would be a step back for any man to ask her for help on such a mission. Doesn't matter that she had been successful at it for many years. She just wasn't a warrior like most.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos made his way back carefully, he was a seasoned warrior and a veteran of one too many battles and showed it even in the way he walked. With rifle in hand he lead the way as the sands of this side of Kessel made mincemeat out of his complexion. Mythos hated sand and desert climate more than any other weather. "In order to even hear that radio talk" He began, pausing in order to keep up and speaking only when he knew that his voice could not be heard over a yard. "I had to crawl through one hundred meters of barbed wire and then some" He paused again, reaching a massive stone that blocked the view of his vehicle and offered some shade then stopped there.... he was going to have a look to see if anyone had found his ride.

"Then I stood behind a wall for two days and two nights until the guard door that greets people at the front gate opened and i saw a way in, then i sunk in there for two more days hearing the radio before i turned back." He shook his head remembering the ordeal, a waste of time and effort. "I gathered next to nothing before hunger and dehydration pulled me out...." He looked at Kay with serious eyes, the luster and the grandeur of the young man in Naboo gone, replaced by the dark eyes of a man who had taken too many lives. "I Would not place you three systems near a blaster rifle unless I had no other choice" His words carried a jumble of regret, frustration and a plethora of emotions yet Mythos did his best of hide them all.

He peered off through the rock , catching a glimpse of the other side and when his face turned back Kay would immediately notice something was wrong. He cursed under his breath in seventeen different languages, two he did not even know how to speak. "Bogies, other side, two scores, well armed, mobile." He spoke while he moved, kneeling down and preparing his battle rifles. First thing after he had checked his weapons and readied his armament was take off his shirt, cloak, armor and anything that shined. "We won't last in a firefight against them, not with that kind of fire power and mobility" He said while drawing the Malgus Vibroblade and sticking the hilt in his mouth. The crew that surrounded his vehicle were armed with high powered blasters as well as an array of tools to capture and neutralize. They had speeders, some sort of vehicle, an old tank maybe, and they were looking through Mythos' ride scavenging for clues. He gestured to Groom, the smartest of the foursome, and the beast knew exactly what to do. Groom was the decoy. "Pretty boy, Keep Kay Safe, Stay back here, anyone comes through this rock you let them have it.... Kay.."

He looked at her, then placed his blaster rifle next to her... yet he did not say anything yet. "These are not slavers...." He said plainly, he could tell by the look on them. They had military grade gear and no slave pens. They were not working for the men at the prison, nor were they slavers. Mythos' didn't want to think who or what they were.... he just wanted them out of the way.

With a snap Mythos hit the floor and buried himself under the sand, he slithered like a snake under the sand crawling towards their position while Groom bolted to the right and kept going, by the sound of the speeders and the growl of Thrandoshans... some of them took the bait.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay continued to follow [member="Mythos"] , listening to his tale of how he managed to get some intel. To her, it seemed as though he was looking in the wrong place. But why kick a man down when he was desperate? She was his last resort, clearly and that was a sad thing indeed.

A chill ran down her spine as Animus let them know of the threat. Einon drew his blaster and kept low, peering from the side of the rock at the enemy surrounding the ship. It didn't look good at all. Remaining hidden was their only option right now.

Kay just gave Animus a look that said 'be careful' before she crouched low to the ground, taking the blaster rifle in hand. She remained behind Einon, watching Groom as he distracted the enemy as Animus had disappeared. They weren't slavers, he said. Then who were they? Did Animus have a bounty on his head that she was unaware of? This was turning into more of an eventful day than she had planned.