Log:The Irregulars: Deeper Cuts II - The Watchers Are Watched
The Irregulars: Deeper Cuts II - The Watchers Are Watched
OOC Date: July 10, 2019
Location: Batuu
Participants: Celes Krill, Dyannah Neru, Nova Korell, Rial Het, Rhysio Ando
The roar of incoming freighters makes conversation difficult, plates rattle in the little cafe that hangs on the side of a nearby hill. Perfect for observation of the starport, not bad food really but lacking in any attempt at the ambiance. What was once pink plastic with glitter embedded into it has worn badly and the floor actually slopes noticeably.
But the ambiance is not the name of the game. It's observation and staying low key.
Dyannah watches a giant freighter lift through the grimy window and comments to Rial, "Did you see the logo on that one?"
"Rothana Heavy Engineering, how could I miss it?" Rial lilts, wry in tone. No surprise, is it? Same company rents the warehouses the repulsor coils're being stored in." The rogue exhales with a grimace. "I'm starting to suspect that Naq was just a bit off... Maybe a good portion of the Order's hovertanks are getting their coils from here, but ninety percent seems overmuch."
Celes spends some time out, putting cameras into the best possible locations, hidden by the glare of dock lights or advertisements under the guise of maintenance work. She's a tool belt around her waist and is busy fixing something that's not broken while listening in over comms. "Got a good view from these cameras?" Nodding to passers by, tugging down her hat on red braids as she descends from the access ladder.
Not too far away, on a warehouse roof, Nova Korell is placing a last camera and tying it into the existing camera network they've set up. Her own site isn't as well hidden, lacking much in the way of lights, but it covers a badly-needed spot better: The landing pad for most of the ships bringing in parts. She hunkers low on the roof, inconspicuous in her workwear. <Patching in our last camera now. We should be getting a much better look at our target ships before long,> she comms, beginning the slow climb down the high warehouse ladder. <Did you get my file on the incoming ships and their captains? They're doing a lot of crew turnover; I couldn't get anything solid there.>
Not too far away from the spaceport, a very tired looking older man sits on a bench eating from a small box. His wild grey hair and working jumpsuit leave him non-descript in most all ways save for his age. He looks up with blue eyes, the wrinkles on his face scrunching together as he smiles at the freighters coming in as he lifts a piece of food to his mouth. He pauses in mid-lift, "<<That could be a good opportunity for infiltration.>>" Without a second thought, his smile fades and he bites with aplomb.
Dyannah appears to pat her blue hair back into place, the vain zeltron, pressing the earbud as she listens, a noticeable give away for anyone used to surveillance. Cele's voice comes over the coms, she answers, <<Lovely, I couldn't have asked for a better view. You feeling lonely and unwatched?>> She lifts an eyebrow at Rial as she speaks.
<<Celes has that in hand, Moonbeam. Need that now? Camera is online...now. You feeling any eyes on you?>>
<<Old man, keep us informed,>> she replies and signals to Rial. "Any comment on that last?"
Rial Het muses back to Dyannah, "On infiltration? Easy enough to pull off, the old lad is right about that. Not as sure it'd be worthwhile for us, though. We know Rothana is based in Kuat, we already know where it's going, aye?" A slow, thoughtful breath drawn and let out. "Once the others meet back up, we can hash it out, but- ooh, that is a fine bloody angle on the launch zone," the Talusian interrupts himself to admire the camera set up the others have accomplished. "Trick as I see it is disrupting the flow in a meaningful way, without kicking the common folk here in the teeth, aye?"
<<Ye, Oi'm foine.>> Celes assures into her headset, humdrum tone as usual as she smiles her way through passers. One of her wrist computers brings up the views from the various cameras, tapping a key to make sure all of it is recorded back to her datacore on the Codebreaker. <<Oi think Oi spotted someone duckin' in an alley a few yards back.>> Rubbing her jaw as if she's considering something in one of the side stalls to get a glance down the passage behind her. <<ye, we got guests... nay sure how many though. Anyone else have eyes on?>>
<Guests? I don't see any...> Nova interrupts herself as she descends the ladder... only to find an armored figure reaching for her as she gets close to the bottom! She hastily firms up her grip on the ladder and gives the interloper a good kick! The stranger falls heavily to the alleyway tarmac, with a clatter and a grunt. Fortunately for her, her face is mostly covered by a filter mask against fuel and exhaust fumes, and her hair is tucked up under her work cap. Nova doesn't waste time seeing if her new friend is all right, instead of taking to her heels! <Never mind! We've definitely got guests! One just tried to give me a hug! I'll lose them and be back with you in a minute!>
Taking another bite from his boxed meal, the old man lifts his hand, bringing the piece of his food up to his nose to smell it, "<<Understood, boss.>>" He then looks away with a serene expression on his face, as if perfectly in his element. Finally, as if remembering something he takes a bite of his food. Through chewing, he says quietly, "Looking."
Down in the port, a bounty hunter and his minions have begun to walk the long rows between the landing pads, they have headshots of the usual Irregular suspects in their HUDs but are on the lookout for anyone that may seem out of place. Business goes on about them as usual, the ground shaking with the arrival of a large freighter one row over deafening everyone without ear protection. The three on the Irregulars team placed to watch the flow of goods remain unseen for the moment.
It's after the lunch hour and the cafe has emptied out, a boon for the two overseeing operations - no worry about being overheard, a problem if anyone comes in with an agenda. Dyannah has pulled a stylish hood up over her hair and sits watching the window, back to the door. The hood is opaque enough to cover hair color but not seem out of place in the temperate climate.
Over coms comes Nova's alert. <<Out of there, don't spend time talking. Report when you can.>> she says in a low voice to the woman.
She stiffens just as the little bell announcing new customers rings over the entrance. The man working behind the counter stops polishing glasses when he catches sight of them and disappears into the kitchen. "Rial. Alert! Didn't feel them coming!" She drops to the floor. <<We have incoming.>> She announces over all the coms.
Rial Het gives an imperceptible nod to Dyannah's alarm, but otherwise continues to act much as any common patron taking a late lunch would: a brief glance when the door chimes, then back his plate and cup, as Dy seeks to slip out of sight. Discreetly, he powers up the holdout blaster concealed in his sleeve.
Celes glances up at the diner where Dy and Rial were providing overwatch and breaks off into a run once the former indicates that guests hae infultrated their roost. <<On moi wai.>> She assures them, circling around towards the back of the eatery and the kitchen entrance. Unaware, until she is aware, that it is being covered.
<Way ahead of you, Pink!> Nova's already hurrying up the hill. With all the talk of potential trouble, she's careful to avoid the cafe's entry door at the side. Too easy to be spotted; the trouble's probably already looking for a pale woman in tan workwear. She slows and circles around the back of the cafe, staying close to the wall, coming from the opposite direction as Celes. Pity, she would've welcomed the company. Peeking around the corner, she spots someone lurking out back of the cafe. Someone in combat gear, and watching the back door... somehow she doubts the guy's here to redeem a 'Free Donut With Any Large Spiced Caf' data coupon.
And here she is without a weapon. She takes a deep breath, recalling Master Kav Lee's advice from his book, /Practical Teras Kasi/: 'All the world is a weapon. Even the ground itself.'
And that big metal garbage bin is pretty close to the ground. And has wheels... she's in business!
It only takes a moment to slip behind the bin. Another deep breath and she digs in her bootsoles and pushes... and pushes... and gets it going... and rams it straight into the backup thug with a heavy, ringing *CRASH!*
That /hurt/, even through armor; most isn't designed with massive, crushing impact in mind. On top of that, he's now pinned between the wall and the garbage bin.
The small box of food disappears quickly into one of the pockets of the jumpsuit, and the old man stands up a moment later, "Oh, these old bones." He twists to the left, then twists to the right, puts his hands on his hips and does a full circle, then ends the little warmup with a fist-pumping pelvic trust that results in a dopey look on his face as his back cracks, "Urgh."
Let people make of that what they will.
With good form, the man takes off at a sprint that leaves a lot of the pedestrians traveling along the route take a double-take. He angles towards the cafe, hopping up on top of one of the fences and going arse over tea kettle over the other side. As he's on the ground, he reaches up to unzip the work suit just slightly, reaching in just as someone approaches to help him. As the EL-718 is removed from beneath the coveralls, the old man looks towards the good samaritan and says simply, "Get off my lawn." That's enough to buy Rhysio a moment's time, and he gets up quickly to continue his sprint. He approaches the cafe carefully, trying to get a stealthy position on his approach. He reaches up with his hand to speak, "<<I'm heading towards the main entrance of the cafe.>>"
The world goes sideways. There is a distant clatter that can be heard through the kitchen. Someone taking the trash out perhaps. The only other customer in the dining room stands with his hands up, thinks better of it and sinks to floor where he sees that he has company under the table. He waves weakly at the zeltron and visibly pales.
Through the front doorway, two men appear, burly under their nerf jackets that don't really hide the blasters that are still holstered. They are professional enough to take different parts of the room. The customer who decided to sink to the floor does the zeltron no favor. The Bounty Hunter - because he could be no other than that in his gear - smirks and comes for Rial and Dyannah little knowing that he will have company through the door soon.
Rial Het turns an eye up toward the incoming heavy with his holstered pistol. He keeps chewing his food for a long moment, regarding the pistoleer with a slow, lazy blink. Swallowing and dabbing at his mouth with a napkin, he draws a languid breath, and states in a perfectly mimicked Bakuran accent, "Took you long enough. Have a seat, both of you; the kaf is drek, but it'll serve. Tell me two things: which of you is Enych, and did you bring the money?"
Celes slinks into the kitchen with an up nod at Nova as she passes, grabbing a server's rag to drape over her arm as she passes through towards the eating area carrying a kaf pot, "Oi've refills for you lads." Dolling them up some mugs to slide on the table in front of the two fellows what Rial has isolated. "Are ye all ready to make orders then?" Very hurry up I have other customers eye rolling, "Oi can come back."
Nova nods quickly to Celes, thinking fast. Things don't look good in there. And she's not exactly dressed to be a server... She scoops up the backup man's blaster carbine, wracking her brain... is that a staff locker room just down that hallway? She hastily shoves the carbine into a tool bag on a maintenance workbench, easily reached with a short jog, and slips into the locker room. She then makes some alterations to her outfit...
A piercing shriek is heard moments later, somewhat muffled by the door of the locker room. A girl with below-shoulder blonde hair dashes into the serving area in a state of panic, half-dressed in an unfastened gray work shirt over a white athletic bra and briefs. "Boss! Boss, somebody stole my uniform out of my locker!" she yells, somewhere between panic and fury. "I've got nothing to wear for my shift!" Hopefully, the bounty hunters won't notice the rather un-serving girl muscle tone. But her friends should recognize her! Rhysio Ando takes a look into the cafe, his face tilting down into a frown. He lifts his hand, running his hand through his hair to speak into his wrist, "<<I'm stacked up at the front door. Two inside.>>" He keeps the blaster low, out of sight, his wild eyes looking into the cafe with interest.
The bounty hunter frowns hard at Rial, "Who are you talking to ...sir?" Not a gram of politeness in the question. Still not taking his eyes off of Rial he asks the man with him, "You know this character or does he just think we are really good looking?"
Addressing himself to Rial, "Heh, who's that? Your girlfriend?" The man's frown is set in plasteel now.
The server, Cele, perfect imitation of a bored out of her mind waitron, serves (yes, I said that) as a distraction, the bounty hunter's eyes leave Rial and he stops trying to see who is on the floor for an instant. Nova's shriek freezes both men as she breaks through the door behind Celes adding another distraction. Now both of the hunter's eyes are on the two behind the counter. Behind them, a third Irregular appears and in the distance, someone is making their way towards the cafe.
Dyannah rolls her eyes hard and slips the safety off her pistol.
|
Rial Het visibly keeps his cool as the tough at his table mocks and jeers, eyeing Dyannah without fully ignoring Rial. But then, reinforcements at last, and the distraction is enough to pull the bounty hunter's eyes off the rogue. Promptly slipping the holdout into his hand and firing off a rapid series of shots, Rial sends the big hunter down, but not dead, muttering afterward, "Thank the Gods for Moonbeam and her underwear, aye? Thought the bastard would never blink."
Celes has the drop on these guys and everything. It's just bad luck or piss poor aim because she may as well have patted them on the back and asked if they wanted biscuits with their kaf. Her hand snaps out like she going to judo chop someone on the neck, which misses. Then swings in a backhand like a pimp giving some act right to his girls on Nar Shaddaa, which also misses. The only thing hurt here is Celes' Ego.
The dining area erupts into chaos! Not only is someone /shooting/ at the would-be hunters, but a server is also actually attacking them with shock gloves!
And back behind the counter, Nova ducks instinctively at the sound of shots. "Like, Maker! Everybody get behind something!" she yelps, staring at the events unfolding nearby. Seeing one of the hunters down and close to the counter, she 'accidentally' knocks a steaming pot of spiced caf off onto them, the scalding-hot contents soaking into the cloth underlying their tactical plating. "Oh no! I'm /sooooo/ sorry!" she yelps, ducking down behind the counter like she just told the innocent people to do.
As things start to go sideways, old Rhysio triggers the door of the cafe and moves in with his blaster up. He sweeps from right to left and as his blaster is moving along, he catches some movement out of the corner of his eyes. The Bounty Hunter coming in behind him.
With a startle of surprise, Rhysio brings the blaster around, firing quickly in succession. One of the blaster bolts slam into the one coming in, but the other two fly wild and impact with the wall around the door.
One man lies in his blood, too sure of himself he took the brunt of Rial's attack. Still, he struggled leaving a trail of blood as he reached for his gun. Nova put paid to his trying. His paid assistant fights for his life and manages to lay a wound on Celes leaving two of the Irregulars who are no longer holding back.
Dyannah comes up from the floor. Zeltron empathy has a two-way switch - most of the universe sees the fun side of it. Never try to hurt a Zeltron's loved ones. She fires twice knocking the man on the ground while behind him Rhysio has a give and take that leaves him bleeding. His adversary bursts into the room behind him looking wildly about the room.
Alright, this drek has gone on far enough. Celes grabs the El-718 on her chest holster beneath her coveralls and starts taking shots at the goon. He clearly ate his breakfast, though. Dodgy sum'uh'gun. Three shots and only the last hits him. It just happens to red mist his head like a rip zit.
Rial Het pulls a second pistol out from the open holster on his thigh, and calls toward Nova, "One for the tip jar, aye?" before tossing the big pistol toward the half dressed 'waitress'. A grin aside at Dyannah when the Zeltron opens fire, but the smile slips when a third tough enters. A trio of shots marks the doorjamb and adjacent wall.
Nova hears Rial's shout just in time to peek over the counter. She catches the blaster with surprising aplomb for a half-dressed 'waitress', her unfastened shirt billowing dramatically around her. Pity her aim isn't better, though: She only hits the now-standing thug once. "Watch out!" she calls, now breaking character. This is getting serious! e" As the old Rhysio was aiming at falls, he is promptly shot from behind in his right arm. The force of the impact spins Rhysio around, causing him to fall to a knee and then fall to the ground with a wide-eyed look on his face followed momentarily by an exclamation of pain, "OWWW!"
He manages to keep hold of his blaster pistol, which he raises towards his most recent assailant left-handed. With a quick pull of the trigger, he sends three blaster bolts towards his attacker, hitting center mass, with all three shots punctuated by another "Ow" emitted by Rhysio.
When this guy falls as well, Rhysio rolls over, trying carefully not to move his right arm, "Son of a schutta, nobody told me how much getting shot hurt. This is information I need to karking know!" A veritable litany of curse words flows from the instrument that is Rhysio's voice, in languages that most people here know he doesn't really speak.
The air is thick with ozone and smoke rising from the walls that received the brunt of the wild shots. Seared flesh is added over the top of the smell of food burning: the entire staff having left out the back door with more speed than any of them had ever worked with. In the distance, the sound of a siren can be heard.
"Out of here, all of you. I will help Celes, Rial can you and Nova help Rhysio?" Dyannah is holstering her gun as she speaks looking around her to make sure that she leaves nothing behind beyond DNA and fingerprints. No time for a real cleanup. Life has suddenly gotten much harder for the Irregulars. e surveillance.
Rial Het is already moving as he tucks the holdout blaster back into his sleeve, "Aye, on it," he answers Dyannah quickly, finding Nova's eye with a short nod as he hurries to help Rhysio back up. "S'the trouble with these days, innit Grandpa: no respect for their elders, eh?"
Nova nods and moves to support Rhysio with Rial. "And so many do their disrespecting with a blaster," she agrees, careful to engage the safety on her borrowed blaster. What with her current attire of shirt, socks, and underwear, she has no place to keep it other than in her hand. "Cee, could you have your droid grab my stuff from the locker room? That might be a little too incriminating to leave behind..." Especially with the potential hair samples inside her cap. Certain tyrannical authorities believe she's dead, after all.
With a loud grunt, Rhysio is helped back up to his feet with a slack-jawed expression on his face, "Ughhhhhh." He looks towards Rial pitifully, "Is this going to be the one that gets me?" He does, in fact, take a few steps and then begins walking towards the door, being satisfied with simply putting his blaster on safe and then dropping it in the split where his jumpsuit is split. As far as anyone can tell, it has fallen through to roughly where his waistband is.
