Log:Spice Runners: Playing for Keeps

Spice Runners help Maz out on Takodana

OOC Date: August 30, 2022
Location: Takodana
Participants: Spice Runners, Kohnner, Qutha Buvu Pah, Cora Das, Vega, Black Krrsantan, Ebin Kast, Tallissan Lintra, Aphelion, Poe Dameron, Jessika Pava NPC'd

Takodana is a paradise, one surprisingly beautiful and lacking humidity. It's the same planet Maz, the pirate Queen, has long established her domain of more than 1,000 years. Long lived, mysterious, and powerful, it's safe to say that Maz has all manner of friends.

So when it comes to handling business, she calls in a favor to a man who owes her quite a bit. /Quite/ a bit, but it's not a favor intended to leave Poe Dameron with empty hands when the job is done

The job? Some outlaw justice to a band of pirates that tried to flee after murdering important clients inside Maz's castle. Some might say it's a bounty, others? A hit. For Poe? It's a mission. Unfortunately, tracking the bad guys down was the easy part. Their ship didn't make it far after sustaining a nasty blow from an ion defense cannon on the castle. By all accounts, the craft should have been destroyed on impact, but the lake had broken much of the fall, and the freighter carrying more than 40,000 tons of fuel, was half in and half out of the large sparkling lake near the castle. Failure meant that the lake became poisonous with fuel, and success meant Poe Dameron flew away with the freighter to a point undisclosed.

Poe's group nears the treeline to the beach with the ship clear in view. Pirates have disembarked the ship in an effort to tie off lines so that the tide did not carry off their ship, and their haul. This meant they were distracted, a fact that was not lost to the former Resistance leader. Poe kneels down behind a rock and takes a moment to brief the team.

"Seems simple, but it isn't. I need to get aboard that vessel and repair the ion damage, or worst case, take control of the ship so I can have Bee-Bee-Eight swoop by with the Ghost to pick this Huttsucking thing up. The problem is the.. thirty or so pirates we'll have to contend with, /and/ we're on a natural timer. The tide is coming in, and if it reaches a certain point on the beach, the rip current will pull the ship the rest of the way in, then.. Maz kills us for failing. I know some people like options, so those are our options. Everyone ready?"

Poe pulls out an old weathered DL-44 and activates a personal shield deflector on his belt. Peeking over the rock, his cover, he shakes his head. "I'm not feeling the warm and fuzzies about it, but.. let's do this.."

Never Fear, CHON KOHNNER is here. The Klatooinian Space Ronin wasn't far behind Poe as he looked over the wreckage through the augmented reality HUD inside the helmet of his suit of VOID armor. He wore that same off white hooded cloak over aforementioned armor, the hood up for the time being. His hands were hidden inside the cloak and much of what he carried currently a mystery other than a bulge of what could probably only be described as a melee weapon of some sort at his hip. <<"Understood. Ready when you are...">> He offers Poe, his voice a deep growling masculine tone.

Vega's the gremlin mascot for bad situations. The ebony robed woman is moving along with the group and has her lightsaber out in her hand, but it hasn't been ignited yet. That was counting eggs and all that mess. Her grey gaze goes from Poe to the others, then back again as she listens. "Guess this seems like the best course of action." she murmurs to herself as she focuses for a moment on protecting herself. Sorry folks, she's not cool enough to shield everyone. Not yet!

What do you do if you are an eight foot tall, 600 lb Wookiee with black fur all over? Blend in, of course. Despite his rather large humanoid size, somehow Black Krrsantan manages to look kind of like a tree trunk amid the folidge. Perhaps at a distance anyway - as long as he's standing still.

Standing there he does as he eyes the 'tidal lake' and scowls. Something fishy about that combination. His dark eyes slip back to Poe who's hunkered down to give them the briefing. The Wookiee bounty hunter and former slave pits Gladiator rumbles a low comment, "I like kill'n them." Option one, right? "I imagine some of us can be a distracting influence while you attempt your repairs."

There is a Kyshyyyk Long gun slung over his back and spiked brass knuckles half concealed in the long hair of his hands as Santos pulls the rifle and checks the weapon's charge. [Language: Shyriiwook]

"Succeed or die... Sounds like dusk back home..." Qutha murmurs, hood down "M'craft kin 'comm'o'date pris'ners f'poss'ble." wooden cylinder held in one hand, ready to be brought to bear and kneeling near where Poe is peeking about, "Ifn s'are des'knee to have misfortune n'all, tis jus' the balance. T'pend'jullum'll swing back 'round sooner'r later." bobbing his head to the curly haired man before looking over the rocks himself, bathed suddenly in blue light when he presses the switch to extend the energy blade carried.

"T'Force s'with us, 'member that, eh?" one corner of the zelosian's mouth raising before he simply stands and begins walking towards the wreck, lips moving silently and his expression softening to almost inattentiveness to his surroundings, by appearance at the least.

"Do you often feel warm fuzzies before combat missions?" Cora Das asks quizzically. It's a deadpanned sort of question, and one asked in absolute earnestness. It's sad at the same time that she's angling her hands down towards her thighs where two blaster pistols are magnetically sealed to the outside of her armor. The armor itself is an imposing thing. Some sort of custom job, to be certain. Modified light armor with special care given to the gauntlets, where a variety of instruments fit for bashing skulls has been affixed to the plastoid. She pulls both pistols from their mag-locks and takes a moment to switch them on.

They whine and shudder in her hand.

A glance is given to Vega and Kohnner and the rest of the team before she flicks the switch on both weapons to 'kill'.

"You heard the man. No time wasted," she says, and nods in agreement to whatever Krrsantan ROWORWOOWRLRS.

"I concur."

Ebin Kast got wind of a job to make some credits and quickly signed up. Joining up with the group and in his black and grey combat armor, the mercenary puts on his helm and nods to the others as they start to gather up. "Roger that, ready." Doing his last minute weapon and equipment checks he readies he large blaster rifle, checking the load and settings as he falls into position.

A blonde woman with neatly parted hair and a helmet under one arm is among the group. She watches as Poe Dameron kneels behind a rock and looks across the lake with a determined set to her eyes. Pulling the helmet over her head and touching the synth-silk scarf her father gave her that is looped loosely around her neck, Tallie Lintra takes up a post near the resistance leader and kneels in the sand.

Readying her Modified E-11, the woman pauses and waits. "Ready," she can be heard affirming through her helmet.

A dark reflection of Cora Das fills her visor as she looks towards the other woman. "No."

"I /always/ feel the warm and fuzzies before a good fight.." Poe boasts with a charming smile. Not seen immediately, the venerable ace pilot stalks forward at a clipped pace, favoring an old war wound from his leg, his swagger/limps toward the enemy pirates, not yet exiting the trees. His free hand waves for his attack group to fan out so they weren't all bunched in the assault.

<<"Santos.. do what you do best, buddy!">>

Up above, a VCX-100 appears above the water, moving fast before arriving at a hover above the battlefield. The lower ramp on the craft has descended and a narrow B1 Battledroid painted red and blue, and decorated with bones, primes a sniper rifle and shoulders it. <<"PRETTY GIRL, THIS UNIT IS REPORTING IN. PROGRAMMING INDICATES THAT IT IS A GOOD DAY FOR MURDER!">> Claims the nasally voice of the droid over comms prompting Poe to face palm, and sigh. <<"Understood, Bones. Run a diagnostic on your Identify Friend or Foe protocol.. we don't need a repeat of last time..">>

<<"ROGER ROGER, STAND BY--DIAGNOSTIC FAILED. PROCEEDING WITH COMBAT DEPLOYMENT!">>

"Please don't kill the /good/ guys.." Poe says to himself before pieing his tree to begin the assault.

The beach is littered with pirates, thirty (30) in total, and in varying states of disorganization. They were attempting hasty repairs, so when the war group emerged from the tree line led by the biggest Wookiee they've ever seen, well.. it got ugly.

Bits of ship debris lay at random intervals ahead of the war group, providing ample cover to move to. The pirates, at present, separated the group from the ship.. hopefully, that would change.

Kohnner doesn't run towards the Pirates on the beach. Instead, he walks down to the shore approaching them silently and calmly. He stops a few feet away from a group of three, watching them work. He waits and waits until they finally notice him.

"Who the Kriff are you?" One asks in a rather rude tone.

Do you know how Kohnner answers rudeness? From the confines of his cloak emerges a rare Z6 Riot Control Baton. The Klatooinian spins it around on its handle, the gears cranking and the electric field humming to life. He's quick, cracking a pirate across the head with dizzying speed and power before twirling and striking another one. However, this gave the third enough time to gather themselves and avoid Kohnner's finally assault.

Vega might be a little too eager to run into battle, but that's what some people did. Her hood falls back while she's running towards one of the pirates, maybe she should have braided her hair back today so that the shock of white wouldn't get in her way. She misses both swings with her saber and then squares up against who she was swinging at. Because she knows what follows is going to hurt!

The thick jungle growth makes it easy to hide anything, possibly even the glow of light sabers - it also makes it hard to walk through. Unless you have said light saber. Krrsantan pushes his way through the foliage and boldly out onto the beach, making no attempt to remain concealed. The huge black Wookiee heads purposefully towards the loitering pirates and as soon as he's clear of the trees and judges they are in range of his long gun, Santos lifts it up to take aim.

"Surprise, scumbags."

A rawling grumble and then he's firing. The ignitor orb of the Kashyyyk long gun sparks with a crackle of charge and throws a green bolt out across the sands. It strikes one of the pirates and rips the fellow arse over tea kettles! Braced against the long gun's massive kick, Santos doesn't hesitate to draw a bead on a second pirate and fire away.

That bolt too strikes his target, knocking the fellow down hard even if it might not have killed him. Santos raise a fist and keeps moving in at a not quite Wookiee jog. [Language: Shyriiwook]

Gem like eyes rising towards the appearance of the Ghost and then returning to sweep from person to person on the beach. One of Qutha's hands slips to hold his wrist just to one side of the small of his back, bunching the robes behind him as he does, and the other holding the shimmering blue blade is lifted. Allowed to angle downward by the slim weight of the saber hilt in hand.

"Gen'lebein's... If y'lay down arms, we kin attend this peacefully, please." lips flattening to a line. Instincts say there's fat chance for that. The same instincts and awareness that keep him from so much as blinking when the heavy plasma sheathed bolts of the Wookiee gun begin going off.

When a rifle is raised towards him, there's an expecting but still disappointed frown, his wrist flicks with a tight sideward shift of his forearm, clipping the figure's limb at the forearm, sending it and the weapon to the ground. A sudden flutter of steps takes the plant towards the pirate's fellow, a follow up swing evaded and its mate when the pirate starts to backpedal.

"Bother."

"Fascinating," Cora says, and shifts from her cover behind a rotten, fallen log to begin after the swaggering Poe. She glances sideways at Tallie Lintra as well, optical drives whirring somewhere beneath those big blue eyes. She keeps quiet as she assesses this other woman, arms shaking a little loosely at her side, waving the superheated barrels of both blaster pistols in front of the wet, nutrient rich soil at her feet. "I will never understand smugglers," she says.

And then both of her hands raise. Her right arm holds a lighter, sporting blaster pistol while her left holds something much larger and heavier.

Lightsabers begin to whirr, and Cora Das turns her curious eyes towards the Jedi that begin their attack. Her own blaster fire begins to erupt, efficiently dispatching two of the pirates and narrowly missing a third.

Mr. Bones arrival is noticed by Cora Das as well. The HRD tips her head up and squints at the sound of him over comms. There is something uncanny and... bothersome about less nuanced droids. Does it make her feel selfconscious? Hard to say.

The third pirate that Cora nearly misses is the same one backpedaling away from Qutha, and the woman begins to move in his direction, both weapons trained.

"Peaceful surrender is still on the table."

Ebin Kast moves with the group as they rush down towards the pirates. He runs efficiently in his battle armor while wielding that large blaster rifle. Finding himself a good spot with some cover he readies his weapon, aims, and lets loose a powerful burst of red blaster fire to kill one of the pirates before they can attack. Lifting his weapon, he moves closer, looking for the next location to fire from.

Tallie Lintra prowls forward, one corner of her mouth kicking up in a familiar way when she listens to Poe's quip to Cora. "Not much to understand," she returns succinctly. She nods towards the pilot leader, then looks ahead out over the lake as the B1 Battledroid with the red and blue pain job reveals himself. Taking cover behind a tree, she lowers herself over a burly root and levels her weapon out towards the throng of pirates caught in the midst of their repairs.

Sighting them down, she lines the barrel towards their number and dispenses the trigger with a sarcastic, "Look alive."

The attack hits one of the distant pirates dead on, the recoil barely phasing her as the man goes down and decidedly looks very much dead. Tallie does not smile, not now, but there is a quick glance through the scope to check the fallen pirate's status.

Usually, Aphelion doesn't care much for vigilante justice, but star pirates are a special kind of scum. Many times out of plenty more, they kidnap people, steal precious commodities such as food, and are a general nuisance to the society - and the Galaxy - as a whole.

So, wearing really light combat armor, he makes it to the rendezvous point his allies of the occasion congregate, charging alongside them against the pirate scum.

Blaster bolts fly out toward the quarrel and his is no exception; the Caelli S3's rapport ringing loud and clear even as blaster bolts fly out, in vain, against the mass of void-borne criminals. Displeased, his already scarred face looks ever the more egregious with the heavy set of his brow.

The attack is in full tilt now and the pirates have found their footing. Most hold the ground while a goodly portion find their final resting place upon the sands of this paradise world; not a terrible place to die. For the most part, pirates are running away from the /massive/ Wookiee, not eager to earn the old hunter's ire as he seeks worthy combat with less than worthy scum.

From above, a crimson bolt discharges from the F-11S sniper rifle Bones is holding, the droid isn't even using the optics on it. The bolt pierces the organic through the back of their head and busts out the front in a sudden gust of pulverized blood mist; the carrion collapses on the ground and Bones chirps. <<"GREAT DESTROYER, THIS UNIT HAS TERMINATED ONE PIRATE; WAS IT OBSERVED?!">> The droid calls out as if asking his Mother if she saw him do something. A bored voice over comms indicates Jess Pava is at the controls of the Ghost, the VCX-100 hovering above the battle. <<"Yes, Bones.. lovely.">> Followed by a soft sigh. <<"THIS UNIT'S PROGRAMMING IS PLEASED TO DETECT YOUR APPROVAL, GREAT DESTROYER.">>

Poe pies the tree, blasting twice and clipping a pirate, but it's hardly an ace shot. The man is still alive, but Poe is focused on closing the distance toward their objective. The sand has no negative effect on Poe, who hobbles past a number of the pirates engaged with the Spice Runner allies. <<"I am moving for the objective!">> Poe calls out.

The pirate who had avoided Kohnner's assault previously took their own shot at the bipedal Canine, missing wide with a bad correction on a very quick sighting. Chon stomped forwards and cracked his baton across their midsection, sending them flying into the rising tide with a loud splash.

This of course drew attention of two other Pirates which Kohnner now locked himself into a melee with, both managing to avoid his usually tactful swings. Perhaps he was getting used to his new weapon still.

Vega's quick and she's short...so this is something she uses to her advantage! When so many people aim at the guy in the black and grey armor there's a bit of a look and the odds aren't really good. The force is on her side and she was smart enough to shield herself before running in. That means that the first shots are either missed and then one is absorbed. One does make it through though. It's exactly what she needs to get into the right mindset. The lightsaber swings true and hits its mark this time.

The huge black Wookiee is CLOSING IN on the pirates but he's still not quite in among them yet to beat them with his hands! Krrsantan slows a few steps and lifts his 5 foot long gun once more, taking a bead on a pirate that decides - heck NO - he's not going to get shot by the Wookiee! Did you ever see a sentient leap for cover so fast in all your life? Santo's shot hits the ship right where that pirate had been ducked down but is no more. A glimpse of the smaller humanoid trying to drop back and find even better cover elicites a second green bolt fired from the Wookiee's gun!

That shot too is a miss!

Santos lowers the rifle and RRRROOOOAAAAARRRSSS his annoyance! Teeth bared, he shakes his long gun at them and then slings it over his back by it's carry strap as he tries to close the last distance. A smack of his hairy paws to slap his bronzium knuckles together generates a crackle of electricity as he picks up the pace to see if he can knock some heads together!

"Cowards! Stand and fight me!"

[Language: Shyriiwook]

Head turning to Cora when her blaster bolt sings past his own quarry, brows lifting but his expression lacking any shred of animosity, "Ma'am." there's even a nod given and perhaps more might have been said when blaster bolts begin to sweep all around. A tilt of his head, a quarter turn at another, narrowing his profile and Qutha is wading through the firestorm like rainfall. Expression calm even when the blade is brought around in a tight spiral that catches a blaster bolt meant for another with a screeching FWANG! of redirected plasma putting a bolt into the bicep of the attacker,

"Reckon I kin' hol' 'em off out here, ma'am, f'n y'wanna follow Mis'er Dam'ron int' the thick've it." the hand behind his back moving to tip a hat before he realizes it's absence and then twisting into a pirouette. Saber flashing, bolts slip past like he were a greased roba that farmhands were attempting to grapple and the redirected shot striking a shin, kicking the poor pirate's leg back and putting them facedown into the sand. Qutha's follow through takes the arm of their mutual foe, casting them to the ground clutching their stump and howling.

It's remorse in his expression for the downed figure, but Mr. Pah keeps walking - returning to his dueling stance as though to challenge others to face him.

Cora stops briefly when she hears Mister Bones' mentioning of his programming being pleased for praise. She makes a little 'ugh' sound to herself and sidesteps an incoming blaster bolt. "Have some dignity," she says, being sure to not be on group comms for that particular quip. She too had seen Mister Bones' sniper fire and her -own- programming emphasizes self preservation.

Cora continues to advance towards one of the pirates that loosed several volleys of blaster fire in their direction, most of which was deflected by the energy sword of the Jedi beside her. But she stops when she hears Qutha's voice. "Oh. Yes. You seem quite capable with your beam sword. Best of luck, do not die."

Cora turns to head into the ship, following Poe Dameron and his surprisingly speedy clip inside. A PIRATE jumps out at her like 'YARRR' and Cora blinks, levels her pistol, and fires. Two bolts hit. The first splashes harmlessly across armor, and the third rips through the cracks the first had formed.

Her second pistol trains itself on one of the wounded that's attempting to crawl away and...

-FWUMP-

"Stun setting?" Cora asks with a blink. "Woopsie."

She flicks the stun setting OFF.

Ebin Kast is pretty sure he's done for as his burst fire seems to draw a lot of pirate eyes. With barely any cover he's ready for the worst. Ready to go down with a fight he takes aim just as Vega swoops in and deflects the bulk of the blaster bolts aimed at him. Giving a crackling << w0000t! >> from the coms in his helmet he opens and lays down a bust of fire, killing one of the injured pirates.

"Affirmative," Tallie replies matter-of-factly into the buzzing comms, her expression concealed by the dark helmet; a sliver of gray highlight slides monochromatically across the visor when she turns her head towards Poe. There is an efficient nod, and a smirk for Jess Pava's reply.

Hunkering down behind the tree and it's many visible roots, Tallison braces for the inevitable. Return fire is incoming, and Commander Lintra is well concealed in the foliage. A rain of blaster fire explodes bark and vine, sending a pummel of plant matter down across the top of her helmet - ping-ping-ping - but she remains unassailable by the assault.

Popping her head over the carnage of her cover, the ace pilot takes aim and explodes a fresh round of blaster fire back at her assailants. A shower of light erupts from her weapon without fanfare, reflecting the fall of a pirate against her mirrored visor. She checks the left side of the blaster rifle, noting the powercell, and tries again. This shot rings wild, missing the dead pirate's comrade just to the right of him.

Even if Aphelion's blaster bolts didn't hit, it seemed as though the pirates' would have. And he was steeling himself to take those blasts until that kindly man with the rustic-looking lightsaber handle deflects it for him. He stares at the man for a moment that seems far too long in the middle of a combat situation, but he salutes the man nevertheless and drawls, "Owe you one."

The Series III is gripped more firmly and shot at the pirates again, his face twisting into a sneer. Letting off a couple more blasts, he moves with the rest of the law-abiding folks. He fires a shot at one of the injured pirates and it's enough to take them down before he's training his gun on someone else, narrowing his left eye and squeezing the trigger once more. This time, like the two that preceded that one successful shot, it flies wide.

They're getting closer to the thinning ranks of the pirates, and he's looking around for some cover since he doesn't want to expose himself to blaster bolts once more.

Poe is shot whilst running, spinning him to one side to fall. The man twists, landing hard but not before instinct firing his weapon once toward the foe responsible for the hit. Poe lands in the sand, and the man responsible no longer has a portion of their head. It was a damned good shot, yet Poe isn't even reflecting on it cause his leg releases a sharp pain that makes him visibly cringe. "Rekk-ing drek.." Shields or no, getting shot sucks, but Poe is climbing back up and moving into the freighter itself. Cora Das has joined Poe, and finds him just inside the ship looking for a ladder to the top. "Don't have time to repair this thing. We're gonna have to tow it. We need to get up.." He points out a ladder and hits the panel to open the hatch leading to the top of the vessel.

Meanwhile, the tide has begun to wash in, and larger waves cause the ship to move in the sand, digging deep in some places and testing the tethered lines to the trees. Loud SNAPS indicate the the pressure earned from the coaxing lake has begun to accept the weight of the freighter and even rooted trees struggle to hold it in place.

Pava's voice sounds over the comms, <<"Poe.. if you're taking this thing, you need to do it now. Not only is the lake claiming it, sensors are picking up a sudden storm.">>

<<"Have Bones drop the tether lines and get ready to pull her up, Jess. We don't have time to repair her.">>

<<"THIS UNIT COPIES.. DROPPING TETHER LINES!">> Bones says just after slaying a running target that had come close to being pummeled by the MIGHTY Krrsantan.

Despite the two Pirates engaging Chon having a good amount of skill, able to keep up with the large Klatooinian, Pup the Space Ronin was a bit more skilled when it came to a right and proper melee. He had trained for years and it showed. Finally, as his body twisted and wrist flicked spinning the Z6 baton around and around and the crackling sound of its energy field loudly roared over the ongoing battle, Kohnner finally connected with one, putting him down in a heap some few feet away.

He turned towards his remaining foe, pressing the attack. The first swing missed as they dodged away, yet it set Chon up for a quick and lucky strike across the back of the head. There was a crunch which and the pirate ended in a heap before him.

Taking a moment, Chon looked out across the field to see how the others were fairing... and noticed there were quite a few bodies. A few nods of impressment were given.

Vega's trying to keep others from getting hurt while also trying to hurt the pirates. It's a bit of irony really. She manages to make sure that Aphelion doesn't get hit this time around and honestly the graze from the blaster is something she's not going to cry over. She moves after the bolt burns her skin and moves to take out another of the pirates with her saber.

The Wookiee was angry to miss his shots, then he's getting really annoyed because he sees, "Pretty Girl!" get shot! "Get your butt on board already!" Thankfully that's what Poe's doing so Santos doesn't have to go grab Dameron and throw him into the ship.

Which is just as well. As Santos turns back around and is about to rush the pirates, he takes a shot into his hairy chest, and then a black furry leg as well! Krrsantan snarls in pain, the smell of burned meat and hair wisping off of him.

Enraged, the Wookiee wades right in among the remaining pirates and takes a swing at one in passing. Santos' bronzium spiked fist crackling with electricity SMASHES the man's head in with a crump! Down he goes like his strings were cut.

The massive Wook goes for another pirate but that one proves both smarter and faster, trying to get away from Santos in a hurry!

"Cowardly filth!" [Language: Shyriiwook]

"Sir." a dip of his head to Aphelion, Qutha's steps proceed and his blade arm rises again, wrist tilted forward so that the point angles subtly downward again, loose as his steps in proper Makashi style. Another flick of his wrist going just high of the blaster bolt aimed for Cora and gaining a pained, apologetic, look from him towards her.

Head ducking and he is walking forward again - a step pulling him out of the way of a shot and allowing the next to bounce harmlessly from his blade. "I'm one wit t'Force n'The Force is wit' me..." weaving gracefully to his left and bending to allow another shot pass by him, he continues his advance and his mantra, "I'm one wit t'Force n'The Force is wit' me."

Centered. Focused. He is the eye of the storm, the blaster bolts whirling around him like detritus in a whirlwind with his movements guided by feeling, instinct, over conscious action. Arm out in a snapping sweep that severs a hand at the wrist followed with the orchardist's shoulder touching the woman, overbalancing whilst he rolls around her, feet kicking up sand and his blade hewing another arm at the elbow in a puff of flash misted tissue and the scent of cauterized flesh in his wake. Striding again, ever forward, until his blade is flicked up and another appendage cartwheels in the wake of it.

"This could have ended peacefully, gentlebeings. I'm sorry." brow knitting and a hint of a green flush rising up Qutha Pah's neck.

Cora Das helps Poe back up onto his feet when he falls. Sturdy is not an adjective that many women would choose to be defined by, but there's something especially -sturdy- about Cora Das. And there's also something about her that might lead one to believe she'd be entirely okay with being called 'sturdy'. What a woman! "On your feet, 'pretty boy'," she says with a smile. It's a smile that fades when she feels a concussive blast rip into her back, causing her to stagger forward a few times. Qutha's acrobatics near to her steadies her for a moment and Cora breathes an irritated breath outwards. She snaps that DH-17 back behind her butt and fires three shots in the direction that the blast came from. PEW PEW PEW.

The real tragedy for that pirate is not that Cora Das will never know that she killed the shavit out of them, but rather that fact in ADDITION to the fact that Qutha chopped their hands off before she killed them. Dang! She rises to her feet with a soft, feminine grunt and waves any concern for her person away from Poe before following him up the ladder and onto the top of the ship.

<<"I have a visual on the tethers. Excellent placement Mister... ah... Bones.">> Cora grabs one of the tethers and drags it across the ship to be attached into place.

She turns to look out towards the riptide that seems to be growing more and more ferocious with every passing moment.

<<"Mr. Dameron, your associate is correct. We are rapidly running out of time.">> Cora -gently- reminds as she drags a second tether and attaches it into place.

A lot is going down and Ebin is running, shooting, and trying to keep up with the group as they fight the larger force arrayed against them. Trying to keep the pirates wrapped up while part of the team breaks off to work on the mission he lays down fire but fails to hit anyone.

Commander Lintra's voice floods the comms in her typically blunt way. "You okay, Poe?" The helmeted blonde rises from her impromptu refuge, leaping over the interlacing roots of the tree to stand just before it, blaster up and feet slightly apart. She advances with quiet confidence, keeping her view through the sight rail on the rifle.

More red flares of light flood the space between her and the remaining pirates, the aim true on one. A few shots return her way, but zip past her shoulder and ultimately miss as she sidesteps.

Blue eyes thinning behind her visor, she begins moving to the floating freighter that seems intent on taking out its anchor line of trembling trees. "Moving in," she announces over the comms, beginning her own ascent into the ship. Momentarily holstering her E-11, Tallie spends the rest of her effort in climbing the freighter before glancing back to watch Qutha's deadly dance of flying fingers. Looking summarily impressed, she continues on.

Once again he is protected by the Jedi, and so Aphelion has another respectful nod to them even as he swims out into the thick of it. The pirates are down to a handful by the time he gets into position to fire a shot, but fire a shot he does, and then another. The plasma burns the pirate's side, not at all a fatal shot, but should be enough to leave them in a precarious situation.

Of course, given that they now overwhelm the foe's numbers, it'll be easy enough.

Smoke pours out of the barrel since those capacitors, while good, weren't quite meant to be quick-fired like that, so he switches the safety on, lets the weapon cool down a little bit and holsters it once the opposition has been dismembered, shot at and probably evaporated under the blasts of powerful repeater rifles.

"Probably could've, but they wouldn't have wanted that, either. Not your fault," he tells Qutha, reaching into his pocket for a death stick and a lighter.

Once the stick is lit, he takes a short drag and lets the smoke pour out from his nostrils, his expression serious. When Cora points out they are running out of time, he looks up to the horizon. His brow furrows. "Well. That's something."

The storm sweeps in fast, and what had began as a Sunny/cloudy sky was now dark and OMINOUS. Rain fell in sheets as Cora Das and Poe Dameron appear atop of the downed freighter just as the tethering hooks land. Poe holsters his weapon and claims two hooks, moving along the slick top of the freighter to hook it in place at one end, then moving for the other. He kept slipping because the ship was beginning to flounder and pull into the water.

Above, Jessika Pava proves she's a veteran starpilot by both maintaining the Ghost in one place whilst battling the changing air pressures and wind of the storm. Despite the obvious peril of the situation, Pava's expression remains neutral as she calmly reaches over and turns on the wipers for the canopy. Ventral thrusters have ignited, and illegally modified engines take on the weight of the grounded bird. Instantly evaporated rain makes mist cover the scene of the battle as the last of the foes are slain, leaving the Spice Runner allies victorious.

Poe takes hold of one tethered line and clamps himself to it, appearing as a shadow in a trench coat caught in the wind and rain as lightning flashes. Poe's voice is heard over comms, <<"PULL HER UP, JESS! WE HAVE IT HOOKED!">>

<<"Copy,">> Is Jessika's terse reply. She begins to key in the tractor beam on the computer, but the god damned thing popped up with one of Comm-It's jokester programs where the mini-probe's likeness appeared on the screen waggling one of its arms at Jess. "You did not use the correct password; nuh huh huh; You did not use the correct password." This displeases Jess.

BB-8 comes to the rescue, eventually, after sticking his droid probe into the socket and turning it a few times. Green hued lights discharge from the belly of the Ghost and the tractor beam begins to help with the tethers.

Cora and Poe are stranded on top as both ships lift up.

<<"Excellent work, team!">> Poe yells over comms, the background noise of rain in the feedback. <<"Head back to the castle, first rounds on me! Dameron out.">> The Ghost disappears into the mists of the rain above the lake leaving the others in relative quiet ambience surrounded by 30 dead bodies, and a shoreline enthusiastically sending large, white-cap waves to greet them.