Wanted: A Few Good Men (Part One)

[Kado Samuul]

Kado looked towards [member="Lady Kay"] and yet remained still as she spoke. It was clear she was not adept at this sort of thing. As she seemed to be taken back, a glint in her eye, a feigned look, and an attitude of an honest limit pushed. He looked around at the ragtag crew, and then sighed to himself, each breath escaping from his aching, aged lungs with a slight rasp. He felt the slight vibration of his PRX-Vibroblade and stemmed it with a tight grasp as he spoke; his voice louder than the sound of chortling laughter, clashing mugs, and loud outbursts from other drunkards.

"Pirates..." He placed another hand under the shadow of his hood, to stroke the grey, rugged beard that grew sporadically. "I've had less experience with pirates, while working on Republic Cruisers, but I cannot say I'm completely inept at what they do, or who they are. They are pirates; pillaging and looting weaker trade routes and vessels is a given pathway for them."

He was always going to agree to what she wanted. He came here because he felt like there was a reason to be here. It was as if the wind itself had called him, and told him of the place to be, and with it, he followed. He looked at her now, the facade of strength, a hurt underneath the glassy portals that spoke more volumes than she ever should. She had a husband once, she had somebody too. And with those words, Kado took another deep breath and finally spoke.

"If you require me, for protection, for piloting, for repair. I am a man of many things, from a life long ago, but there is still something left in these old bones that requires the rush of adventure, and the heat of the chase. If you want of my skills, Lady Kay, then they are here for you and the rest of this crew, regardless of the quarrels here. When you are ready to move, when you all are," he spoke to them all, turning to each of them with a gentle nod, "then I'll be there for the next part. Hopefully we can all do the same and continue on."

[member="Shamus Walker"][member="Kalous Anson"] [member="Condor"] [member="Cen Tessek"]

 

[Cen Tessek]

There was a winding whisper that curled up through Cen's body, whistling across his senses in an exasperated sigh before buzzing pressure began to weigh down upon his shoulders as the burden of his paranoia, biding him to action. Cen had yet to establish a masterful connection with his Force Sense, only having grasped the concept a near half year ago during the harrowing and vigorous experience known as the Ways of Pain within the desolate, glacial wasteland of Hoth, yet he understood its fleeting fabrications. It was through this comprehension that he grasped the trembling ripple that traveled along the web of the Force and acting like a blind spider who sensed the struggling gnat, caught within his trap, he allowed the sensation to smother every fiber of his being, attempting to direct himself to the source via the momentary sensation.

As his cynic paranoia evolved into a mature state of alarm, he felt the urge to communicate his finding with (whether he liked them or not) his present team. However, as with all things Cen, the message became packaged in the previous wrappings of frustration and delivered in the form of firm retorts only alluding to his worries. His primary fixation became the ripostes delivered to the members of this conversation, whom, from the majority, he felt belittled by their insinuations to his bluntness. The current track of conversation the rest seemed to follow eluded Cen and he only snowballed into further frustration, seeking confrontation with the party at hand. "First of all, Shorty-" -The initial recipient of his reply was [member="Condor"] of course- "-fair enough. However, straight-forwardness equates to expendability. Fantastic and all, but in the real world where every instance isn't some special operations mission and you get down into the real grit of it, general distrust for those who blatantly expect you to grovel and spill the beans without giving you any information in turn is often what saves you."

His head swiveled like an automated turret towards his next target, [member="Kado Samuul"] whom he intended to to shoot an additional rejoinder with equal candor. "As for you, Old Man, it is quite the contrary. She needs aggressive men capable of pushing her to further competence if we're both making it out of this alive and succeeding. She's new to this, she admits to that, and unless you want to play the peanut gallery and get your head blown off, we should take what we offer, the abilities she wants, in addition to our experiences into the operation and assist in incubating this mission to its full potential." Two replies down, two more to go. His eyes flicked to the masked stranger who situated himself in the booth adjacent to [member="Lady Kay"] herself. [member="Kalous Anson"] who, perhaps in earnest intent to diffuse him, had been the sole patron here to not yet further aggravate Cen. Thus, Cen now held him in higher regard, and naturally that reflected through his less-hammering tone, "Fair response to you, Stranger. However, the one who pays our dues and holds all of the information is very, very responsible for leading us. Perhaps not directly into battle, nor in strategy, but indirectly she will be responsible for guiding our hand which, arguably, is the closest thing to a heart a mission can have. As for expendability..."

His gaze now shifted in the general direction of the entire party, washing over all of the audience in equal dispersed flecks of disagreement glinting in his eye. "Expendability is for Sith and, as far as I know, none of us have considered it worth out time to hike off to take up arms with them for all the fun and games they would certainly offer us considering how we're all here, hand-in-hand like the little sweethearts we are, seeking employment for a sketchy anti-pirate job. I didn't join the military because I don't work with fodder, I hope you all operate under a similar intent because that's not what we're doing here." His discerning cyclopean gaze locked onto Lady Kay herself for the conclusive response as he flicked his cloak wildly in a flurry of darkness, readjusting the mantle, or perhaps fluffing himself like a territorial bird in an attempt to appear more intimidating. "Correct, Miss? You'll hire us with the intent of stopping them because if you want a message you have better avenues for that, primarily through the holonet or hired terrorists. So, might I ask, now that we've already begun merrily slapping "Shoot Me!" stickers to our behinds in from of a very exposing window, mind telling us if we're even safe here?"

 

[Condor]

Spoiler

sorry guys no special colors right now due to being on mobile [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Cen Tessek"] [member="Kado Samuul"] [member="Kalous Anson"][member="Shamus Walker"]

Despite being blue by nature, the Chiss was turning awfully red in the face. Purple, actually, it seemed. Condor was by no means enjoying the conflict, but seeing a member of a species renowned for their calm appearance suddenly blow his top off was slightly comical. The Chiss would be a problem, that was a given. Too angry, too volatile, too unstable for the mission. Condor didn't give a flying bantha that the guy had a lightsaber and could wave his hands around if he couldn't keep it together for more than five seconds.

Of course, the little jab about his personal life, or lack thereof, was hurtful. He'd been in short term relationships, one night stands, mostly, but never anything long term. He didn't spend much time out and about between missions, and it probably showed.

At the least the old man had been straightforward enough with his answer. A generalist, a jack of all trades,and probably at his age, a master of none. Condor had no doubt the man could fight, but age was definitely a factor. Still, his wide skillset and knowledge would be a great asset to the team, if they ever formed one. Finally, he grew tired of thinking and decided that this conversation was going nowhere.

"Childish name calling aside, this conversation has produced practically nothing but instability and distrust. This bar isn't exactly the safest or most secure location for this conversation, so I suggest we move somewhere safer. Now, I'm no expert on Corellia, but I assume we could find somewhere more private than this," he said, finishing off his drink as he got up to leave. "If any of you have a suggestion for a better place to hold this conversation, please speak up. If not, we'll just break into a warehouse and finish the conversation there."

 

[Kalous Anson]

"Well, first of all," Kalous began as he determined the best way to start his retort was from the most recent and move backward. "Breaking the law isn't an option that I'll support."

He was obviously referring to the idea of breaking into a warehouse to continue this meeting. Having been recently released from prison--Kalous was not a fan--he did not plan on going back anytime soon. In all honest, Kaloud didn't really care about the location that they were in when he heard the mission parameters. Being absurdly confident at all times, Kalous didn't care who knew what he was doing because he would deal with them if they were to step in his way--on the other hand he wouldn't be the one to overtly leak any information to anyone to begin with.

"I may be a hired gun but I do have some standards," he said as he finished his first thought before moving on to his second.

"As for being expendable," he began again--unmoving from his stoic position in the booth. "You're fooling yourself if you can't admit that you're expendable. By nature this profession is entirely made of those who will die for a credit. If you're not expendable than what are you doing in a profession that is entirely made of millions that will take your place should you fail or refuse? Is that not the definition?"

Still trapped; Kalous couldn't even move if he wanted to. The inherent problems that were associated with booths were creeping up on him as the conversation dragged on. This whole predicament had began with wanting a simple place to sit in the back of the cantina and now Kalous was pseudo-involved in a plot against pirates. This was typical of the life Kalous had led since he had been released from prison. It was as if things began to fall out of the sky--directly on to Kalous' lap--just when he thought he was too broke to function, poof, an opportunity for credits arose.

"Regardless of what we all think, or feel, or muse, or whatever," Kalous began, yet again, as his verbose nature started to grab ahold of him. "We're all still here. So we're obviously still 'in'. You may continue, [member="Lady Kay"]."

[member="Kado Samuul"] [member="Condor"] [member="Cen Tessek"] [member="Shamus Walker"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Condor"] [member="Cen Tessek"] [member="Kalous Anson"] [member="Kado Samuul"] [member="Shamus Walker"]

Kay listened to each of them as they spoke and yet again they each had some good points. At least this time there was less beating around the bush. She finished her tea. "Thank you gentlemen for your interest. And you're right, we should move to a safer location. I suggest that we go to my ship. It isn't far from here and we'd be safe and not monitored."

She slid out of the booth and got to her feet, draping her satchel over her shoulder. "I would of course like for all of you to join me, but if you'd rather not then that's okay. Keep in mind that I'm not going to kidnap you or anything. After I have debriefed you, you are all free to go on your own vessels to the destination. But if you don't have a ship, I can hire one out for you."

And with that Kay walked through the cantina to the front door and headed outside. At least the air was fresh. Much better than the smell of alcohol. She soon opened the door and stepped out, unaware of the man with the sniper rifle a couple of blocks away.

 

[Kenrath]

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Condor"] [member="Cen Tessek"] [member="Kalous Anson"] [member="Kado Samuul"]

http://starwarsrp.net/topic/32964-tmw-m1-lance-sniper-rifle/ ((what he is using on an NPC.))


Wes waited with the patience of a Corpse for his target to step out into the open. Whomever next stepped into the room would have a bit of a mess to clean up. Wes had never moved from his spot for any reason. He barely took his eye away from the scope. It was the dedication to a fine art. Finally after what seemed like a life time the doors opened for the fifteenth time. Only this time it was the correct person. Wes looking through scope took a small breath. He had hunted before but this one was actually easy on the eyes. He wondered curiously what it was she had done to earn such a high bounty.


Shaking it off figuratively Wes scanned a small section around her until he had an idea of what he was dealing with. So far all he saw was a relatively small compliment of two bodyguards with her. He need to force her to go to her left down the alley so it would makes sense to hit the guard on her right.

The rifle he was using was a beast but one that required you and the target to be perfectly still. Taking advantage of the guards pause to scan for threats Wes took a breath slowly letting it out until he hit that brief pause. That sweet spot in your breathing that made for a perfectly accurate shot. That was when he took it.

Less than a second later the man's chest seemed to burst open as the shot burned through the substandard armor causing the water and blood in the man's body to flash steam. It was a shot that would incite panic just as much as it would thin the herd. Not moment s after Wes saw the shot hit home he quickly backed up the rifle and any evidence he was there and bugged out. If he was successful he would reach the RV point right has his target was being bagged for transport.

 

[Condor]

Condor was about to walk out the door when he remembered he forgot to pay for his drink. The conversation had gotten so heated that he had almost completely forgotten about it. In his defense, that Settov Hammer had been easy to forget. Watered down, but in the end it was still a Settov Hammer. The best drink in the galaxy. He walked over to the bar counter and smacked down the payment for his drink, plus a 25% tip. "Sorry for the noise. Things got a little heated in here..." he muttered to the bartender, apologizing for the distraction. People forget to buy drinks when they're too busy watching a shady merc deal going on in the corner. He couldn't blame them.

As he walked away from the bar counter, he heard the unmistakable crack! of a sniper rifle firing. The second the sound registered, he was off, practically knocking down the door on his way out. If that was [member="Lady Kay"], well there went a large supply of credits. He took a glance as he rushed out, seeing a bodyguard crumple to the ground, steam rising from his burnt flesh. Lady Kay seemed to be fine, but not for much longer. Taking precautions, he dove behind a dumpster to shield himself from any incoming shots. He called out to Lady Kay, motioning for her to join him behind the dumpster.

Quickly, he tried to trace where the shot had originated. The bodyguard's body had crumpled awkwardly, but from what he had seen, the shot came from a some room in a building a few blocks away, the only structure whose height could match the angle the shot had come from. Which room, he didn't know precisely. Thinking quickly, he lifted his blaster rifle over the top of the dumpster, looking through the infrared scope to see if he could find any heat signatures in the building. Unfortunately, despite its rundown appearance, it was far from abandoned, and he couldn't pinpoint which roughly human-shaped blob of heat was the shooter. He turned around, barking at the others in the bar. If they wanted to keep their paycheck, they had to find the sniper before his shot found Lady Kay's head.

[member="Shamus Walker"][member="Kalous Anson"][member="Cen Tessek"][member="Kado Samuul"]

 

[Cen Tessek]

CRACK!​

​

The bodyguard fell, crumpling to the ground in a shower of radiant sparks that poured forth from his chest, which had burst into a gaping maw of blackened gore and trailed a tail of smoke as he collapsed into a twisted pile. Cen had just begun to step from the building as the shot erupted, tracing from a distant, derelict complex a few blocks into the distance. [member="Condor"] was the swiftest to respond, it seemed, for a brief second was short to follow subsequent the blast before he burst out of the cantina and quickly took control of the situation, shepherding [member="Lady Kay"] to safety and began his attempt, using an infrared scope no less, to discern the shooter's location.

Cen stood in the open, slow to imbibe the senses of the scenery; he inhaled the slow rot of burnt flesh, he listened to the scrambling panic of the passersby, he tasted the faint bitterness of smoke and coppery blood in the air, and his eyes found themselves darting across the points of interest. From the ragdoll mass of what was once Kay's bodyguard and the pair now hidden behind the dumpster, his gaze slowly twisted away, with a methodical rhythm to the eery depth of his sight, bounding from one awe to the next, and found itself resting upon the structure in which their opponent nested.

He shed his shadowy cloak, which trembled and twitched in the foul Corellian wind that raced through the buildings and nipped at loose cloth, and exposed his battered body, beaten with scars and rotten frostbite, beneath the dark shroud of his attire. Upon the released grasp of his shadowy fetter of cloth, Cen's blade ignited, bathing his black clad body in a bath of crimson light. The crimson edge hummed a song of carnal malevolence and as Cen elevated it gingerly before him, clasped in both hands, the blade ran symmetrical with the center of his body, ascending past his abdomen, chest, and chin to extend well beyond his brow. The smell of plasma wormed through his nostrils and the scent of heat ignited his attentiveness, drawing his gaze to fixate solely upon his perceived opponent lodged away in hiding, safe for now.

There was that vibration again, the disturbance, the distinct twanging of the cords of Force that spindled through all living creatures and readable through Cen's own sensitivity. He felt the worry, the fear, the concentration, but there, somewhere deep within the recesses of blind darkness that composed the web of sensation, was the very, very prominent hostile intent burrowed deep into some anonymous conscious. "I can sense him," stated Cen in a calm demeanor. His anticipation for action -- in the midst of his glorious, self-percieved "I told you so" moment -- had dulled his eagerness to the point of refined behavior, leaving him content to wait and savor his excitement prior to the climax of battle.

With that thought he exhaled with calm precision, stealthily slinking back into cover to join Condor and Kay in safety. He deactivated his lightsabre with a thunderous buzz and sat down, with legs crossed and hands clasped in a Sith meditative poise, and commented, "You won't be able to distinguish them among the occupants of the building, but I can." As his fingers tightened their grip, rummaging across his hands' webbing and knuckles, he spoke in a grim, almost commanding tone, viciously fixated upon his concentrated efforts within the vast depths of his musings and thoughts, "Grant me a moment to meditate upon their location and I should be able to gather who and where they are, thus directing your shot to the appropriate subject. However, keep your eyes on our perimeter; there's something unsettling about the indirect methods of this attack and we may be exposed in regards to threats other than the sniper."

[member="Shamus Walker"] [member="Kado Samuul"] [member="Kalous Anson"]

 

[Kalous Anson]

Kalous was one of the last to leave the back of the bar--mainly because Condor had to move out of the way first--but that didn't stop him from lagging behind just enough to have a little extra reaction time should something happen. There was nothing that Kalous wouldn't wish to plan for--he enjoyed guessing various outcomes--and so he was surprised that something had actually happened as the group stepped through the threshold of the cantina. This sense of surprise was not so overpowering that it froze Kalous in place but there was enough of a hesitation to embarrass Kalous.

This moment of hesitation was not fear, however, it was a moment of thought. Kalous knew where his loyalties stood--credits--and that he had not been hired by [member="Lady Kay"] to do anything at this point. In his mind he wanted to help her--as he would want to help anyone in danger--but his wallet told him to stand back and let events unfold. He couldn't go risking life and limb without any credits being paid into his pocket. Her death would end an opportunity, that was certain, but there would be plenty more if Kalous didn't get grievously injured in a failed attempt at rescuing this mysterious merchant.

"How much," Kalous asserted through the microphone in his helmet as he slid his body into a profile against the door--to protect from any follow-up shots. "I don't work for free."

This job had just been turned into another opportunity for credits. Even with at least two of the others of the group reacting to save Lady Kay; there was an obvious void in skill-set that Kalous could provide a solution for. His words were obviously meant to illicit this secondary job to protect Lady Kay from [member="Shamus Walker"] but Kalous would be well enough if he didn't have to risk his life at all. There were a far many things that Kalous would fight for, but in this instance, his need for food and fuel significantly outweighed his need to respond with moral authority.

[member="Cen Tessek"] and [member="Condor"] seemed to have things under control but for how long? These two were obviously not of the incompetent sort--unlike some of the other mercenaries and bounty hunters that Kalous had met throughout his travels--but their skills were so different that Kalous didn't know if they were capable of working together as seamlessly as they seemed. For that reason, among others, Kalous simply watched the scene unfold--memorizing their moves and abilities through this situation--ready to know how to direct them in symbiosis should any amount of credits be thrown in his lap.

There was still a part of Kalous, however, that wondered if he would step in, regardless, if the situation seemed dire enough. At this point it only seemed like there was one shooter out in the environment before the group. There was no doubt in his mind that the other mercenaries were capable enough to handle a single threat to their paycheck but what if there were more out there? And why was Lady Kay a target? These questions began to swarm across Kalous' mind as he continued to wait for a response.

[member="Kado Samuul"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Kado Samuul"] [member="Shamus Walker"] [member="Cen Tessek"] [member="Kalous Anson"] [member="Condor"]

After stepping outside, it had surprised her as well as the others when one of the guards was shot and killed. She didn't hire the two, for they worked at the bar to protect the workers. Yet upon seeing her arrival, the bar owner took it upon himself to have her watched over and keep her safe. To that she was thankful, but her potential new hires sought to go elsewhere to continue their conversation for fear of just that...safety. Well it looks like it was safer to be in the bar afterall.

Condor's reaction to almost break the door down made her jump, but she was quick to follow him behind the dumpster. As he studied the surrounding buildings, she kept her back to the dumpster to watch what was going on behind them and to take stock of what had happened. Did the Cartel know already of what she was planning? Or was this another hunter after the bounty? As far as she knew, she wasn't in Cartel territory, so she should be safe, but that just goes to show how ruthless some of the bounty hunters were out there. Nothing would get in their way.

As Cen joined them and sat down, she watched him briefly as he began to meditate. For once he wasn't angry and seemed to actually be capable of other emotions. That was good to know. Her eyes then returned to what was behind them. She wanted to tap into the Force too and see if she could discover anything, but her abilities in that were weak at best, and she didn't want to give herself away. Kay had spent most of her practice with using the Force on healing. Everything else was secondary. Yet no matter how strong Cen was, or how good the scope that Condor had was, there was no doubt that Shamus was no longer in the building, so every being that was sensed or seen were innocents in this event.

What Kalous asked of her caught her by surprise. How much?? This was hardly the place nor the time to negotiate terms. Anything that she would say would become the minimum standard for the others to base their paycheques on. But knowing the high price of the bounty on her head, she had to make it worth while. Still she couldn't make it too high, just in case she was double crossed, or just in case this fee was only to get them to her ship. "25,000 credits sound good to you?" Kay was only half listening for an answer for her mind was on the pilot of the blockade runner that she had hired. He had better be good at evasive maneuvers for there was no doubt that she was going to be pursued off planet.

 

[Kalous Anson]

In the brief moments in between the response from [member="Lady Kay"]; Kalous had decided upon a course of action that would, hopefully, see her alive long enough to get paid. Kalous wasn't surprised by the credit signs his eyes were blinded by at the mention of the offer from Lady Kay and that offer was more than good enough for this simple escape. It was as if she knew what was coming after her, and why, but at this point all Kalous cared about was being employed again. This feeling of empowerment from having a job was something that Kalous lived for.

A course of action, specifically the one to be taken, was something that Kalous loved to plan in his head. He loved to anticipate eventualities and play this game of strategy with another whom wished to see his efforts thwarted by a swift death. Living on the edge was something that Kalous preferred to do doing a mission situation and this situation screamed for a more conservative approach. Kalous wasn't the best at the conservative approach--preferring to deal with his problems head-on--but having to protect Lady Ka--as much as having to exterminate any threats upon her life--was something that had to take precedent over his craving for an all-out charge into battle. Keeping himself in check, Kalous noticed that there had only been a single shot fired, and directly at a bodyguard, specifically to force a reaction from Lady Kay.

That is where the hunter had made their mistake! A single shot toward a guard to Lady Kay's right was something obviously meant to drive her somewhere--where that was Kalous had no clue--but the absence of follow-up shots gave the group of mercenaries far greater time to react. From that alone, Kalous could tell that this hunter was either far too afraid of being caught by this group of thugs or that this hunter lacked the proper tactical experience to know that giving one's target the least amount of time to think was the overall key in trying to move them at your whim. The only certainty was that the shooter didn't want the group to maneuver to the right.

"Grant me a moment to meditate upon their location and I should be able to gather who and where they are, thus directing your shot to the appropriate subject. However, keep your eyes on our perimeter; there's something unsettling about the indirect methods of this attack and we may be exposed in regards to threats other than the sniper."

Upon hearing this; Kalous was truly flabberghasted at the prospect of someone being detected at such a distance without having ever been seen or heard. The Force wasn't exactly something that Kalous was too familiar with--beside the stories of the legendary master Kit Fisto from his homeworld--but to have power of that magnitude was something that was worthy of this non-force-user's befuddlement. It didn't matter, however, how long that [member="Cen Tessek"] would try to locate the hunter because Kalous wouldn't give him time enough to do much of anything if Lady Kay accepted his orders per his employment.

"Come back inside," Kalous began as he stepped out of the shadows of the doorway. He had no fear of anything happening from [member="Shamus Walker"], the hunter that he had no idea was stalking Lady Kay, for he figured that there was a reason why the hunter hadn't taken the killshot when he had the chance. "Don't worry, this wasn't the actual ambush."

The benefit of Kalous' greed was his ability to read the situation without having to decide how to save Lady Kay, or at least it was until she threw money at him, and this advantage allowed him to diagnose a better course of action than hiding behind a dumpster. It had been obvious that the hunter tried to incite a specific reaction from the guardians of Lady Kay--probably to try and whisk her away without thinking of the consequences--but the hunter hadn't pieced together all of the intangibles that now surrounded the affluent lady. These intangibles were not just from Kalous, but from each and every one of those mercenaries, and they could not simply be judged by a reputation, or lack thereof.

"Hurry up, don't give whomever it is time enough to figure out what I'm doing," he said in a rushed tone as he turned back into the bar--shock and awe filling the majority of the patrons that were now hiding under tables--before deciding to talk to the barkeep. "Backdoor?"

[member="Condor"] [member="Kado Samuul"]