Log:Hutt Cartel: Consolidation of Power, Pt. 4
Agents of Borgol the Hutt get the drop on some very unfortunate pirates.
OOC Date: April 8, 2022
Location: The Surly Sullustan
Participants: Borgol the Hutt (GM), Amal Jha, Fshmaw, Hadrix Kora, Snogrutt, Sumi Kora, Hutt Cartel
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
Twice now Borgol the Hutt's undeclared logistical conveyance operations have been hampered by the actions of pirates. Those spacefaring scallywags have twice encroached upon the business of a Hutt Lord and now their luck is likely to run out. It has been two times too many and decisive action will be taken as a result. The instructions have been made quite clear for a number of hired guns that have been stashed away within a shielded cargo compartment within the Surly Sullustan: wait for the pirates to board and then make absolutely certain that they will be unable to conduct future piracy operations. No prisoners, no negotiations. An example must be made of these scoundrels. Naturally there is the point that they likely don't know who they're stealing from, but the point of reasonable or measured responses has gone by.
In the cockpit of the Surly Sullustan actions are underway. First the captain of the vessel, a rather surly Sullustan, gibbers into the shipboard comm system to announce, "We are meeting the demands of our boarders and stopping the ship. The crew is ordered to secure themselves so that these pirates can claim what they want and leave". That is the signal, of course. That the skeleton crew is to stay out of the way and that the various mercenaries, hired guns, trained killers, untrained killers, people who got lost and ended up in a shield cargo compartment, and people who just had a really bad day at work should prepare themselves for the battle to come.
The instructions are simple as the mercenaries remain crowded together within that chamber. When the lights turn red, the pair of compartments will open into the main access corridor running the length of the ship. Then they should do what they do best.
[ Amal Jha ]
Amal, who had found a piece of the wall to lean against, stood in silence, eyes focused somewhere ahead of her. What support she needed to counter the movement of the ship she got from the rapier in her hands, the tip biting slightly into the floor of the container, the normal spill of crimson light doused, for the time being. Her eyes refocused as she came back to the moment, hearing the report and turning to survey the team, and then the door.
[ Sumi Kora ]
In the shielded compartment of the Surly Sullustan, Sumi can NOT contain her amusement at the name of the vessel they reside in the heart of. <"The.. hahahah Surly.. HAHhaha.. Sulustan."> She's still laughing when the call goes out, signaling the group to move to purpose. Sumi, chuckling, draws out her .48 slug, Morellian made Enforcer and locks back the hammer for the single-action handcannon.
<"These moof milkers will rue the day they forcibly boarded the -wheezing laughing- SURLY...SULLUShahahaha...">
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw's Hutt coat is dark, fur-trimmed, giving him the appearance of a classically "wealthy immigrant," or perhaps one whose Old Country religion dictates his choice-of-fashion. That these men have never been to Ando Prime to see his religion in action, well, perhaps they are about to. He callously checks the charge-level on his pistol and keeps wordlessly to the section of the compartment that is the worst-lit...
[ Hadrix Kora ]
<<"You know, sometimes I kind of miss the old merc life... Before we were conquering worlds and leading crusades, eh?">> Spoken over private comms whilst checking the cylinder of the massive revolver in hand, again, confirming the chamber loads before rolling it into place, head turning towards Sumi as she tries to say the name of the ship without laughing.
Weapon sorted, the beskad worn on his hip is drawn, the flat back end of the blade rested into the groove of a shoulder pauldron, Hadrix quiets again, running checks on his HUD.
[ Snogrutt ]
The unfortunate result of working for the Hutts is having to share close confines with Gamorreans. While not particularly foul smelling, the Gamorreans are not very pleasant just to be around. Snogrutt fights for elbow room with the thug next to him. "daevoogiw fadewaetoo! thaa haamoz ghevaethie wif as!" he barks, snapping at the Weequay before snarling and looking at the next mercenary behind him, "atyfoo neawa oomapijyf ij aafiehafas? oomapijyf noosaazutie ghiethivoow ewaares?" The Gamorrean says with a wry smirk, licking his snout before lifting his axe, hefting it with both hands before waiting for the door to open. [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
The sound of two separate, but distinct, thumps can be heard. Seconds pass and then there is a third. A moment after that, there is a fourth. Then there is more waiting to be done. It's agonizing, probably. Strategically speaking however? It is sound. Allowing the pirates to move into position, board, and wander deeper into the innards of the Surly Sullustan so that they are further away from their docking ports and means of escape? Is just good sense.
The seconds turn into a minute. A minute turns into two. There is no preamble or warning. There is simply the shifting of the overhead lighting of the two cargo compartments from a dim yellow-white to the compartment suddenly turning bloody red. The walls which face toward the ship's main corridor were, in fact, carefully disguised doorways. Thus when the trap is sprung they drop into the floor with a heavy KUKLUNG of the faux durasteel bulkhead opening to bathe the corridor with its angry red lighting. The main corridor itself has had its lighting well maintained, bright, and throwing the invading boarders into sharp relief beneath the blazing lighting of the main corridor.
In that corridor the boarders were clearly not prepared for a fight. They were clearly not prepared for an ambush. To them the Surly Sullustan was simply another incident of easy prey that had been caught unprepared.
[ Amal Jha ]
The sense of almost absent indolence that had seemed to claim Amal vanished as soon as the thumps hit the container, and she lifted the rapier, the crimson flooding over the snow white on white of her attire, but that too, was drowned out as the lights shifted in the container and the doors fell. The durasteel had barely had time to scrape against the hull, before the Echani was down, moving to attack the first armed combatants she saw. If they were crew, well, the should have better identified themselves.
[ Sumi Kora ]
When it's time for business, Sumi shapes up. The surprise that registered on the pirates' faces was enough to amuse Sumi again, but this time her laughter is hidden by the LOUD discharge of the cannon in her hand. She fires in quick succession, fanning the second shot to put two slugs into the torso of one sentient. When she lifts her pistol up for a deadly shot, her foe has already fallen revealing another. She clicks back the hammer with her thumb for a third shot and fires, the slug impacting their head and spilling the contents on the deck and bulkhead. Sumi chuckles, wading forward at a casual pace, her heavy bootfalls made louder by the CHING CHING of empty shell casings jingling in her dump pouch.
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw's pistol barks twice, the walrus-man relatively stonefaced and not... yet... resorting to the kind of spycraft or trickery he's building a reputation for. Plain-jane sociopathy, delivered unfeeling and clinical, hardly personal at all...
[ Snogrutt ]
Snogrutt waddles forward as the doors open and the shooting starts. The Gamorrean appears less than pleased as the first few go down in a hurl of blaster bolts and other projectiles. "aghooz..." he grumbles, waddling forward. Taking a swing, he misses by a mile as the pirate he was aiming for is taken down by one of Sumi's blasts, the burly Gamorrean trudging forward once more, "thuthae ghiethivoow!" [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Hadrix Kora ]
Red lights mean go - when it comes to deploying at least. Red lights when the ramp drops. Red lights when the drop doors open. Red lights when it's time to step out and inform someone that they picked the wrong ship to board.
Striding forward at Sumi's side, his own miniature artillery piece speaks, casting bright flare against the others and stark shadow on the wall with each heavy clack of the hammer being thumbed back and a thunderclap of the report to follow. The first struck having been the Aqualish's target; taking them in the shoulder and spinning them to the ground, out of the way of the next shot while a broad sweep of the beskad styled combat sword in hand passes centimeters from a target just barely too agile for the big man's good.
<"Slippery. Good.">
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
The boarders are caught unprepared and unaware. They're already armed, because it would be an act of outright idiocy to board a ship unarmed or otherwise not ready in the slightest. So their return fire comes quickly, but only after the attackers initiate their ambush. When the wall falls to reveal the swarm of angry Cartel mercenaries, one of the boarders audibly shrieks with a shrill sound of surprise and fear. Then he's promptly stabbed by Amal Jha's rapier. Others fall in that opening wave, but they soon begin to fill the corridor with blaster fire. Their surprise is great enough that two more boarders fall as energy beams begin to slash the air, only to strike their comrades in the sudden ambush.
[ Amal Jha ]
And now, the dance of echani versus pirate included a third partner, as blaster fire began to richochet along the corridors, causing Amal to have to sidestep and hold her strikes as she avoided allowing herself to become an erstwhile target. But she did not retreat, still attempting to carve a segment for herself into the body of the pirate mass.
[ Sumi Kora ]
Sumi stays near the larger Mandalorian, moving where he isn't. She fans three shots after firing an initial, cracking off loud discharges from the cannon that's equally disorienting on its own. Not necessarily aiming as much as using her natural-point of aim (the direction her body is facing), the results reflect just that. One of the boarders takes a hit in the stomach, and the round punches straight through, lodging into the bulkhead behind him. <"One hit!"> Sumi calls out, walking forward and locking the hammer back again. Six shots out, two left! Her free hand takes a reload-cylinder from her bandolier and holds it at her side.
[ Snogrutt ]
Snogrutt lets out a roar of anger as a shot takes him in the shoulder, causing him to spin back and miss his second attempt! Narrowly! "oodimoo! dis... hi ghiethivoow ohuny!" the Gamorrean bellows as he staggers forward. At least he seems to be taking some hits for the team, acting as a bit of a shielf in the front as he lumbers forward, drawing fire and making it slgihtly easier for everyone else... or at least that's what he tells himself. [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw's shot goes wide, but the second is bang-on, as he somewhat-less-calmly executes one of the hangers-on. He begins checking the corridor for lighting and cover, as his current power-cell registers empty he takes a breath and makes to reload.
[ Hadrix Kora ]
Constantly moving, never stopping, like a Firaxan Shark, stopping means drowning. Stopping means other predators can reach you and then its only a matter of time. A whirl to one side brings his blade across the leg of a wounded pirate, drawing blood and splitting armor pads.
The next swing, an arching sweep that drags the tip across plate and cloth without much other success is met with a growl whilst Hadrix maneuvers to keep within arms reach of the Mandalorian in blue plates and cat eared helmet, <"Aye, they're fwitty, that's for sure."> comparing to the tiny creatures to the pirate scum who raises their weapon to respond to his cuts.
The action leaves their stomach and the barrel of the enforcer comes within a fingers breadth before the explosion of its discharge blows guts and blood out of the fist sized hole suddenly formed in their back. His head twitches, edge of the visor locking on Sumi to check her position before he's moving again.
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
The boarders make every effort to inflict greater harm on the Cartel ambushers than the Cartel ambushers inflict upon the boarder's own numbers. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work out in their favor. One of the injured that lays on the floor is able to catch Amal Jha by surprise and gives her a blaster bolt for her troubles. Otherwise there's a lot of deadly energy beams hissing through the corridor, only to impact against the ceiling or this bulkhead or another. The boarders were clearly not expecting such fierce resistance from what they assumed would be a relatively defenseless hauler.
All manner of violence, death, and even some gore has began to fill the corridor. Ambushers must step over the bodies of slain boarders and already the boarders are starting to waver. While they do not outright break, those still standing abandon fallen - whether injured or deceased - comrades as they begin to withdraw from the epicenter of the ambush. The boarders deserve at least a little credit; at least they're attempting a fairly amateur tactical withdrawal, rather than an outright rout.
[ Amal Jha ]
Amal as she advanced into the main body of the pirates, had the misfortune of putting herself into the line of fire of one of the combatants who had been fallen to the ground. And that was likely her own fault for not checking to make sure that dead was dead. The impact of the blaster at close range seemed to push her back, if only for a moment, the echani's normally stolid face flashing a grimace, before she pushed past the pain and over the bodies, directly into the retreating figures, crimson blade cutting down two more for the trouble they had just caused her tailor.
[ Sumi Kora ]
Sumi fans the last two shots from her revolver, hitting the same man she shot in the stomach a moment ago, this time through their chest. He went down after the kinetic force of the slug carried him to hit the bulkhead behind him, then he slid down leaving a trail of blood.
<"Reloading,"> Sumi calls out, moving to stand behind Commander Hadrix, walking casually as he continued on. She empties the brass from her revolver after propping open the cylinder, then feeds in the new rounds. When all eight slots are filled, she spins it shut, flicking her hand and bending her wrist. The motion locks the cylinder back in place and her thumb pulls back the hammer, ready to continue. <"I'm back up.">
Sumi steps to one side and prepares to engage more, paying no attention to the screams and dying wishes of their foes.
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw *slaps* a power-pack into his weapon and fires afresh, face flat and senses prickled, should any of those still clinging to life be awaiting their chance to mark his blubber like a propeller-blade...
[ Snogrutt ]
Snogrutt is just having a crummy night! Another swing, and another miss! Not even close! Snogrutt is seriously starting to think his weapon is broken, just staring down at it. "fajyte.. tearh ovi eavi hoofooph..." he mumbles, grunting as he looks forward, trudging forward, if anything he will keep moving towards the bad guys. [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Hadrix Kora ]
<"Copy."> Shifting his stance while she takes care of her weapon while he thumbs the hammer of the pistol, sending shot after shot towards the retreating pirates with measured steps to keep himself firmly between them and the woman using him as defilade.
Each shot goes wide, singing past ears, shoulders one goes into the deck plating at the foot of the same and the big man is laughing now <"Cripes, King Mountain should have hired these guys to do their raids."> a snicker running through him, massive shoulders bucking before Hadrix calls out,
<"HEY! Any of you want a job!?"> snickering all the while.
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
The boarders continue their orderly retreat. Except those in the rear. The three in the rear seem to have had a far better idea: turn, run, and leave their comrades to die at the hands of the Cartel mercenaries. Fshmaw takes a blaster bolt from one of those who continue to withdraw with care. Of the three who have turned tail and began to rush back to the docking port and the perceived safety of their ship? One of them trips, stumbles, and lands face-first on the corridor's floor. The accidental, but still self-inflicted, blow to the head knocks the fleeing boarder unconcious.
The four who comprise the shifting front line of the boarders continue to withdrawn, while one of them in particular spares a glance to their shoulder and begins to shout at those fleeing. The one who falls to the floor unconscious is given a kick, before the four boarders continue to retreat; clearly intending to leave the one who had decided to take a nap, behind.
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw's luck is only so resilient, and his senses only so keen-- inevitably everyone falls. In a shower of sparks he takes one man's 'parting shot,' from the scurrying-backward _sleemo_ who may-or-may-not live to fight another day...
[ Amal Jha ]
Amal continued her advance, and this time, she took care of the one that was on the ground. Giving one of the pirates the oppurtunity to attack from the ground was not a mistake she was going to make again, and the point of her rapier was driven down into the man's skull, ebfore it was pulled out again, leaving the smell of burned blood and bone in her wake as she continued to press forward, but her angle was bad, and she did not quite manage to find purchase on her second target.
[ Sumi Kora ]
Returning to the front, Sumi fans a trio of shots with no effect. The noise of the slugthrowing hand cannon going off was painful though. Sumi was certain, were it not for her helmet, her ears would be bleeding.
Locking back the hammer for a fourth time, she stops advancing and holds her ground, bringing up her other hand to support the one holding the revolver.
[ Snogrutt ]
Snogrutt trundles forward, finally getting close to one. "ghiethivoow! ohuny adefaetu!" he bellows, raising his axe up. The burly Gamorrean heaves his axe up and around before cleaving into the struggling mercenary. The poor sod barely has time to blink before he falls to the ground with a massive wound to the shoulder. For the Gamorrean though, it is all about momentum. Ignoring his own wound, he lumbers forward once more, not really intending to board the Pirate's ship at all, he'll leave that up to the tacticians. [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Hadrix Kora ]
Pivoting on one foot when Sumi moves forward, to give her space and bring his pistol around cross-body, Hadrix trails the fleeing with his eye before he squeezes - absorbing the shock of the report without a flinch. <"Hunting, Killing. Watch your back Sumi'Alor"> the big man alerts before heavy steps take him closer, headed for the figure with a half-moon punched out of their hip, leaking fluids and casting them to the floor.
His arm swings around and the cavern of the Enforcer centers on another of the pirates, the clack of the hammer drawn back preceding the pirate's chest caving in and their body being hurled like a balled up candy wrapper. Stopping his advance just over the body of the one he'd shot, driving the tip of his blade into their chest, between ribs, and twisting viciously before the balor glare of the red pinlight behind his visor turning and looking for more enemies.
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
Bodies fall, further cluttering the floor of the corridor with their inconvenient presence. This have become dire enough that the lone boarder who had valiantly stayed to fight, finally sees his resolve break. Weapon in hand, he turns and begins to charge away from battle with a battle cry that quickly devolves into a shout of whining fear. Two other boarders have a head start on him and there is likely the very real risk that they could leave him behind. His whine of fear is likely a result of that realization.
The one that Snogrutt had cleaved wails in pain and agony, though that sound quickly becomes a gargle as he struggles to breath as a result of the grievous wound that he's suffered.
[ Amal Jha ]
Amal was not about to allow someone to escape the ship. That had not been the Lord Borgol's directive, and she pushed ahead, moving at speed over the bodies, hopping from body to body like a dancer skipping over stones. A flick of her wrist snapped the rapier out to its whip form, and she snapped the weapon out the crimson-limned whip wrapping around the pirate's neck and yanking him back, wrist twisting as his head flew back towards her, the rest of his body dropping like a stone.
[ Fshmaw ]
Fshmaw picks his way ably through the dead and the dying to throw a fur-rimmed punch! *WHIFF,* and no one came to harm.
[ Sumi Kora ]
Sumi slides the revolver back into her waiting holster and adjusts her stance when Hadrix mentions hunting. She witnesses Amal dispatch the closest target, but two yet elude them. Sumi groans, transitioning from a walk, jiggy jog, jog, run, and finally to a sprint that's aided by the propulsion of her jetpack.
The man seeking escape is SMASHED into a bulkhead at the full-FORCE of a flying brick. Mando-Iron leaves him counting Nerf against a cratered panel of the bulkhead. He slides down, looking unconscious, but Sumi hoists him up for the final kiss.
POW.
A Keldabe kiss puts his head back against the bulkhead, his forehead dented in from the impact of her helm. Only then did she allow his body to fall. Sumi shook her head out; no one won with a head butt.
[ Snogrutt ]
Snogrutt is not about chasing after the last one. It's hardly sporting, for the Warrior, cutting down a fleeing enemy. "aghooz... ghevaethie yhasu adorh.." he grunts, glancing at his shoulder. "aafiehafas hoofooph tearh etaetutov as sigh.." he mutters, kicking the one he cleaved with his axe. The Pirte has long bled out, his body flopping like a sack of potatoes as Snogrutt looks around, "fethijad.. zoos yn aagierealef..." he squeals, shaking his head. [Language: Gamorrean]
[ Borgol the Hutt ]
One of the runners meets Sumi Kora. Ultimately it's the last person that particular fleeing boarder meets. Their acquaintanceship was... short lived.
Hadrix lands a blow against the other runner, but he's wily. He just keeps on running with a yelp of pain.
[ Hadrix Kora ]
Taking off for the last of the pirates fleeing, Hadrix dipsy doodles to one side in a pirouette before he lengthens his stride and begins charging, legs and arms pumping, pistol dropped into its holster and sword into its hangar even as he steps over bodies and closes distance.
The actions cost him accuracy. Leaping to kick off of one wall, a wild backhand strike that twists the retreating figure at the waist with the thudding impact against their shoulder. The following kick as he passes going wide - not enough momentum to make it connect and the Massive Mandalorian hits the ground to skid and slide until he rolls to his shoulders to flip over backwards onto his feet.
[ Amal Jha ]
The terrain, such as it was, was as difficult for the ones being pursued as the ones doing the pursuing. As Amal tried to make up ground, to catch the last of the pirates who had escaped the ferocity of the ambushing party, the man tripped, slid, skidded, across a swatch of blood on the ground and Amal took advantage, the whip coming in low as it wrapped about the pirate's legs, yanking him up and sending him headfirst into the floor, pulling him down pile of bodies as she closed the distance. "Do we need to destroy the ship they came in on?"
