Log:The Red Death: Part One

The Red Death: Part One

OOC Date: January 1, 2021
Location: Serenno
Participants: Ax, Nerys Greystorm, Tharyn Corlas, Shivan and Kuolo

House Demici was an ancient household, long forgotten by the Great Houses during the Clone Wars. Once a great and true household, prominant amongst the people of Serenno; now, not even a banner flies over the walls to mark it. It was just another estate in what used to be the best part of the city.

On the far side of the compound, one of the walls has been destroyed. More than that, a firefight is wrapping up. Red-clad Stormtroopers have set up a perimeter, marshalling a crowd surrounding what had been a fast and violent uprising against them. Several dead litter the alleryway, being moved by the stormtroopers to account for. Most of them were security, hired by the estate. Some, however, were civilians. The Empire was still a stain on Serenno, and some weren't content to merely watch new Stormtroopers take up weapons against their own. But, those individuals lost.

Our Heroes, as it may be, happened to be located nearby when the firefight broke out. Whether the troopers were ambushed, or whether they were the aggressors is impossible to say. A nice little cafe was well known nearby, and a bakery in the area served as a front for a rarities dealer who happened to acquire very special goods when pressed, or paid. As the dust settles around the Stormtroopers, it becomes clear they were packing up.

~

It wasn't often that Ax and Nerys worked together these days, but there were perks of having someone who was a master explorer along when you're seeking out ancient mysteries of the galaxy. "It's been years since I was back here. Last time we stole a ship," Ax is telling the woman at his side. "Belonged to some Sith named Maul, pre clone wars. Got some interesting things off of it. First time we ever encountered the First Order and Kylo Ren as well," he adds.

When the fight breaks out, Ax looks to Nerys and gestures for her to move with him. The Echani was heading towards the fighting, though keeping to cover as best he could. After all, he didn't necessarily want to get shot at and he'd have a hard time explaining to Kael why his wife got killed.

~

But really, Ax, when were you ever //not// contemplating how to explain to Kael that his wife got killed? A damage magnet was Nerys, or so she had been in the past. But just for the now, she was hale and whole, as she walked in step with Ax, keen eyes taking in the surround. The people as well as the architecture. "I've never been," Nerys replied, her tone entirely conversational. They were just out on a lark, nothing to see here. Move along.

The fighting caught Nerys' attention, but rather than moving to get a better view, she kept close to Ax, moving when he moved, keeping to the corners and the shadows as much as the environment would allow. "That ship still around? I'd love to get a look at it."

Tharyn Corlas is a mercenary captain - or, in his own words, 'Licensed and bonded security professional.' Which is also what he is, as per multiple agencies in New Republic territory, neutral planets, and the Rim. But people see 'private security' and think 'mercenary' these days anyway, especially when the security arrives in the kind of ship he sails. /Interceptor/ is heavily armed, fast, and with a crew of specialists and former soldiers, his kind of people - but it's also what gets him most of his business of late, running secure cargoes for corporate parties and wealthy private individuals alike.

It's the latter that sees him on Serenno today. Forty tons of flowering plants, genetically pure and ultra-rare, delivered to the estate of the estate of nearby House Astraga. Unlike the fallen House of Demici, the Astragas are still quite well known, quite well-funded. These plants are worth their weight in Corusca gems. But now that the delivery is over and the droid-lorry's off back to the spaceport, Tharyn is in the middle of a stroll through the old quarter when the violence kicks off. Old city, this. Lots of history. But now...well. Some things just don't change.

He can see the smoke coiling out of the grounds, the red-armored troops standing at the cordon. Tharyn knows those troops. More importantly, he knows how that red betaplast shatters under his fists. Muscle memory causes those synthetic fingers to tighten, as if they were still wrathful flesh. Tharyn stops at the bakery now, leaning against its ancient brick facade to watch the proceedings. Taking notes. Knows some folks back home who'd be interested in all this.

Firefights had not been put into the plans, but it was becoming something that Shivan was learning to live with at this point. Inside that estate was one Lady Shivan Ulani and they had arrived to this place to research. The robed and masked individual having traced a interesting piece of history here and wanting to help to add it to the Sith vaults of knowledge. Sadly, there is a catch to this plan. As something breaks out about the time she is being welcomed. "Nara, return to the ship. It is safer there." the yellow eyed woman states to the older woman with her. The silver haired attache doesn't argue, simply bows her head and heads off with a stormtrooper accompanying her. The hooded head of Shivan turns to regard a guard, "Lead on. What is going on here?" she asks as she walks with them.

"Ser," Major Dor says quietly, eyeing Shivan. "A secondary team of Security forces assaulted the loading team. They believe some civilians were also involved. We've suffered no casualties. It was only a delay," he says, optimistically. They preferred Shivan. Her expectations were usually less ... demanding. Even if she was their Master's right hand.

Below, the loading team is recovering from the attack. Four speeders were being loaded with spoils from the estate--Various pieces of import and property. A collection of different things. Amongst them, Shivan's prize was being prepared. Tharyn could see it all happening. Ax and Nerys find their way up a dust-filled staircase, leading to a small balcony above Theryn's head that gave them a fairly good overwatch. There were twenty of them in all, the stormtroopers, each adorned in heavier, more durable armor than the rank and file. Most notable of all, the blood-red armor is accented with a kama that pools around the Stormtroopers' legs. To the sharp-eyed, a sigil is embroidered on the corners of the kama.

~

"I wish," Ax says to Nerys. "I let it slip through my fingers years ago." He's speaking a more hushed tone as they're drawing closer to where the firefight was taking place. "Ya know, this is kinda how it happenned last time I was here. Never know what targets of opportunity may present themselves. Besides, see those red troopers, I think those might be something other than First Order, means it could be really interesting. Lots of history here, well connected families and a former member of the Jedi council who fell to the dark side," the Echani explains as he and Nerys pick there way stealthily as possible to see just what they could get into.

Ax looks about a moment, taking a breath to center himself. He raises a finger to his lips, knowing that from this point forward, they needed to be quiet. Ax leans over to get a quick look over the balcony, and when he comes back, his eyes are wide and there's a sly smirk on his face. Yep, this planet was lucky for the Echani.

~

"I am always late to the party," nerys replied, her tones hushed. But, how could she not be happy. Well, when happy was relative and she was sneaking about searching for treasures. "I will be sure to keep anweather eye out, but if you catch wind of whatever it is you're looking for, we'll need to move fast. I have a feeling theyre going to be locking down this estate sooner rather than later. Though," she considered, shifting her shoulders to adjust her ever-present backpack and the smol droid sleeping there, "It is sometimes easier to break out than to break in."

When the time came to be silent, the explorer was, and she carried herself on light feet up to the place where they could see the scene unfolding beneath them. Those troopers were interesting, to be sure, and they received the lion's share of Nerys' focus. When she had seen what was to be seen, her helmeted head barely dipping above the edge of the balcony and back again, Nerys made use of the dust all around them, a hand tapping Ax's shoulder for attention, before she used her fingertips to draw the vague shape of a cloak and then touched the air as if to show the edges of bottom of the cloak. And then in the dust, she drew the symbol she had seen, and the word 'Khar', before she wiped the dust clean of her markings.

In Tharyn's case, he's busy watching events transpire from a distance; he doesn't know the parties involved, shy of their being red-armored Sith troopers. No knowledge of what the Sith actually /are/, just that they're working with the oppressors of the populace. No fan of theirs for that reason alone. A force of bastards.

He leans there, silent, watching. Takes a pair of sleek, tinted ribbon-shades from his jacket pocket and puts them on. Instantly a connection is made to his ship, and its databases, and the hyperradio link to distant Empress Teta. The holographic 'sunglasses' may not have a deep access level to the distant libraries, but it never hurts to have additional information should it ever be needed.

Shivan was a DELIGHT compared to most of the Sith Eternal. Which might be odd for sure. "Do we know why they were assaulted or is this an isolated incident due to something else?" the tiny figure asks. She wasn't sure if folks were just attacking for the sake of it. She continues her walk, booted feet hitting the floor quietly. No need to walk like she weighed the same as a Rancor really. Her yellow eyes flick over things as they go, "Make sure that the shipment is secure and that no one else is going to be shedding blood over this." she motions to the stormtroopers that are heading in the direction of the speeders. She doesn't seem to be armed, but she is deligently looking over things.

"Lord Kuolo's intelligence suggests the people of Serenno are ... sensitive," he says, highlighting the word with a lengthening of the consonants, "To the actions of the First Order. The Former Supreme Leader had the unfortunate interest in eliminating one of Serenno's great houses when he killed the Dooku girl." Major Dor had briefed with Kuolo before their mission. Elsewhere on the planet, unfortunate Stormtroopers were working with him. He had the pleasure of ensuring nobody hurt Shivan.

Below the feet of Ax and Nerys, the final bags are being loaded onto two speeder's. One bag was larger than the others. Fit onto the speeder at last, the Stormtrooper steps a few meters away, to report his completion of their task. There were five in all; simple, locally-acquired speeders. They were rail-nosed along an axial spine, with the rails serving as the majority of the structure. They were light and nimble, but not meant for war.

Then, as quickly as it had ended before, a streak of blue slams into the road nearby. An explosion of dirt and stone is sent skyward, before echoing in a loud booming explosion. They were under attack again. The explosion took the lives of two Stormtroopers, this time. They were dead before they hit the ground following the explosion. Nearest Tharyn, Ax and Nerys, the perimeter guard advanced to the opposite side of the speeders.

~

Ax nods to Nerys. He makes a couple of quick hand gestures to communicate potential plans. There was a gesture of him wiggling his fingers and then grabbing something. Yep, in Ax's head, he had already determined that the duo were not going to leave empty handed. This shipment was headed for Khar, and it would be a shame if it never made it, at least not all of it.

Daring to whisper to Nerys, Ax leans in to the petite woman to get close to her ear. "This could be a great score," Ax says to her, though his idea of score didn't necessarily mean monetary. "Sith markings, so force stuff."

Then... All hell broke loose. They were under attack, or the troopers were. This was their chance, maybe their only chance. With a nudge towards Nerys, Ax was on the move. With luck, he could grab at least one of the bags if not an entire speeder.

~

Well, you only lived once, right? Nerys, who divided her focus between the activities going on around her and the smuggler grouched beside her, watched with interest as he laid out the plans and nodded, moving to prepare to follow in his wake. She reached up, silently tapping the smol droid on her back, a practiced series of taps that woke the droid, but kept her eye angled away, the light dimmed. Its arms adjusted themselves, hugging something close to its belly as Nerys followed on Ax's wake. If there was ever a time for a bit of raiding, it was now.

So she's the commander here, that woman in black. Or possibly a political officer. Or, if the boys in red had their own saber-swingers, possibly of of those. Tharyn doesn't have the knowledge to make a clear target identification, but he knows chain of command. So that's what he does, monitor the situation. Just a harmless citizen in leather. With jet boots. Just a guy, for sure.

And now, a firefight. Tharyn's reactions are practiced, his movements all too fast for a man as lean as he. Down low he goes, hugging the side of the bakery as the first of the heavy bolts land among the stormtroopers, killing some of them outright. /What is that,/ he thinks as he creeps forward along the front of the bakery, keeping low still. /Artillery? Who the hell's shooting at them?/

Shivan gives a nod to that, "I'm sure that if someone tried to stamp out one of my houses I'd be a little sensitive as well. It is not surprising." she tells the Major. "I am hoping that we can get things loaded and back on board before anything else becomes amiss." she states in a calm tone as her eyes look over Dor. And sadly, once that said everything goes downhill. "Damn it, get on top of that." she orders those armored in red around her to get to their jobs. "Make sure nothing is damaged." she states as she follows them. While Shivan might be tiny, she is definitely not a coward and she makes her way out towards where things are getting shot to hell and back. Her mask doesn't come off and she keeps her hood up. Because we don't take these things off in public. She surveys, but doesn't attack just yet.

Return-fire was quick to come for the Commandos, and no follow-up attack seems to strike them. A colonel at the front comes forward, "Move our perimeter to that block and observe the sightlines. Someone alert our friends on the Council their people are attacking us." The words were quick, and, seemingly, the firefight would be ending just as quickly as it started. Such was the way with the Sith.

The perimeter guard nearest the speeders remain in a held fireline, looking forward. "Ah, we miss all the fun. Again," one says to the other, as he begins to turn. His sight didn't catch Nerys or Ax immediately, but in a moment, his visor upturns slightly to regard Ax. As it happens, Ax was near enough the speeder to outstretch his arm and touch it, with Nerys a step-behind, obscured by the speeder and Ax, somehow. "Hey, you there. Freeze!" The Stormtrooper says, before his partner perks. She didn't have time to turn towards them.

~

"We're here to help," Ax says with a gesture to the trooper that spotted him. "Cover us while we get this stuff to safety." Hey, it's worked before, maybe it would this time, right? Maybe he wouldn't have to pull out his blaster and vaporize the trooper today.

Gesturing towards Nerys, Ax climbs onto the speeder, or moves to hoping that he doesn't get a blaster bolt to the face in the process.

~

You know, sometimes you just needed to go with the flow and roll with the tides. Which, is quite likely exactly why Nerys ended up almost dead so very, very often. But Ax was the boss on this mission, and Nerys, keeping close to the side of the speeder, and trying to tae advantage of the fact that the troopers appeared to have not spotted her just yet, made her best effort to climb up into the speeder as sneakily and stealthily as she could. Do you thing, Ax. The smol droid on Nerys' back peeked, just a little, but kept herself tucked down against her harness.

Tharyn's eyes sweep the landscape, only to find...oh. Well. There's a saber-swinger he knows, at least. Ax's face is unmistakable, illuminated as it was last time from the light of energy swords. Spotting the Jedi and his lady there, Tharyn creeps closer - not that close, but hopefully enough to keep out of the view of the armored bastard-men and their turbo-goth leaderess. And close enough to drill one of those speeders with the mammoth cannon on his hip, should it be required. Fire support from secret quarters, you know.

Shivan gives a bit of a grunt and a nod when she sees that things are spiraling again, "Make sure that our cargo doesn't go anywhere." she points to the guards. Well...she really wanted one thing. Maybe she could get it. But then there are unknowns on speeders. My cabbages! "Don't let them get away with the cargo!" the cloaked woman calls out to the guards. Then her hands are stretching out, fingers flexing as she focuses on the speeder as her eyes glow with determination.

Then the speeder starts to slowly creep backwards towards the estate.

"Oh," the Stormtrooper that spotted them offers. That made sense. His visor turns sidelong towards his female partner. "They're here to help us secure those speeders," he indicates. The smaller of the pair of Stormtroopers, the female, is quick to bring the butt of her gun up against the helmet of her partner. "They're stealing the speeders!" she calls out, before her rifle is raised in the direction of the others. "Blast them!" She calls out.

There were eighteen of them left, and though half of them had been cut off onto the far side of the perimeter, Major Dor and Shivan also were in the midfield, not far from the battle. The remaining seven or so Stormtroopers were able to turn, though it would take a beat before their weapons were ready. Someone in the back calls out, "It was a diversion!"

The speeder bike under the legs of our heroes begins to slowly drift, creeping backwards towards the estate. Without power, it was an easy win. A few of the Stormtrooper rifles begin to go off. Blaster fire harries the ground around the speeder and shots slam into walls, but, so far there wasn't any hits. Only close calls.

~

Ax wasn't expecting the speeder to lurch and start moving backwards either. Immediately, he's searching for the oppossition. No way this was a tractor beam, it was definitely another force user, and from the looks of it, one better skilled at telekinesis than he was. It was never one of his best skills, after all.

"Dammit," he mutters. "Focus on driving, I got this," he calls to Nerys, eyes narrowing on Shivan now, that had to be the one. Well, if Shiv was anything like Ax, and there was a chance at least, doing such a work as holding a speeder required concentration. He does a gesture of his own hand, he sends a mass of debris flying at the Sith.

~

Why was it always this hinky stuff anymore? Used to be a girl could just roll up and steal a thing--shut up inside Nerys. Outside Nerys finished her entry into the speeder with a bit of a hop, as the speeder started to move away from her. "Oh, no you don't." She could feel the thing moving under her, but whomever was doing the moving was welcome to try with the thing under power. And now that she was no longer having to sneak, and it was down to the business of getting them the kriff out of there, Nerys' voice was terse, as she slammed the power up and her fingers flew through the power up to get the thing going. But the darned thing was slow to accelerate, and that irked the woman, "Deal with it." He, she, they, them, it, whatever//ever//, Nerys had a job to do. She would have to trust to her armor and the droid lifting up out of her harness to watch her back. It was the oddest thing to see, really, as the ID10 droid rose out of her harness, drawing the pistol she had tucked in against her, well, bottom, tummy, whatever, using her legs to keep hold in her harness and Nerys' back as a brace. "Covering fire, if we need it, Bitty, but let him work."

Once, years ago, Tharyn Corlas was a cop. A supercop, in fact, the way his society saw it - and though years have passed and his body and mind have been ravaged by ion blasts and other things, the justicar's instict has never left him. He knows that Ax is on the side of good. The side of order. Hit side. He knows, deep down, that whatever order the boys in red offer, it's going to be rotten to the core. Tooth and claw. And for Tharyn, a red law is no law at all.

So he acts. Leaping skyward, his boots flare, and he sails skyward - making himself a target, he knows, but the instinct is upon him. Up, up, up he goes, and as he clears the top he reaches out, as if gesticulating to the speeders below. Only there isn't supplication; a pistol suddenly fills his grip, leaping clear of its drop rig on his hip and humming to life in his fingers. The speeder's light, the skin even thinner, and the power cells should be...

There.

He squeezes off a shot, and the massive cannon in this hand belches a pair of bolts that hurtle toward the civvie skimmer and puncture its innards like paper.

Welp. That did not go as planned. Shivan's concentration breaks when there is a large chunk of debris that gets chucked her way. That would definitely make her distracted as well. And she tries to stand there like the big lead Orc in Lord of the Rings, but Major Dor sees that she isn't moving and decides that there needs to be someone that heroically throws themselves in front of the literal line of danger. Shivan lets out a growl, eyes glowing as the Major bowls her over with his rushing to get her out of the way, "Get after them!" the normally quiet woman bellows out to the guards that might be daring to stand by idly. That might light a fire in them.

"Blasted Jed--" The Stormtrooper whose mind had been overcome with Ax's will didn't have much of a chance to get his words out before a speeder nearby exploded. His partner was now quiet, harried into a hiding position away from the exploding, and burning, speeder.

The other troopers were not so easily sent running for their lives, and they begin to return fire on the jetbooting rocketman. While they don't get much of a great shot, thanks in part to his speed, they were dangerous enough shots that not rocketing around meant danger. They wouldn't miss as much when the rocketeer landed.

Meanwhile, Nerys has gunned the speeder, and it lurches forward dramatically as Shivan's concentration is broken. Quickly, the pair race off. Ahead of them, there is a crossroad.

~

"Keep going, get to the ship," Ax says before he comms ahead and has one of the crew on the Sands to prep the ship for takeoff. There was no telling what they had on the speeder, but he didn't have time to look just yet. He was a bit curious though as to who was jetting about and shooting at the troopers.

Facing behind them, Ax pulled his saber from his side and with a snap of his wrist the hinged hilt folds out to its full length. If they were going to get shot at, maybe he'd be able to deflect the bolts away from he and Nerys.

~

Who was doing the shooting and exploding //now//? Nerys couldn't get a bead on them, you know, with the driving and all, but Bitty kept up a string of chatter, since she was looking behind, and she acted as Nerys's eyes as the explorer who, darnit, just wanted to explore and find things, gunned the accelerator, ducking and weaving in time to Bitty's cues as she sought to get out of the way of the friendly fire, if that was what it was. Oh hey! That darned near took her head off! But no matter. Now she just needed to make up some distance before she could get lost in the city and out of sight. That was the goal. Whether it would work, who knew. Once the were sort of clear. They weren't really clear, because they were not in a ship rocketing off the planet, she made some adjustments, to plot the fastest, most secure route back to the ship. She did not, however, slow down.

Down does Tharyn hurtle, the flying man-missle that he is; the speeder is fast, but the rockets that burn furiously around his ankles give him the speed he needs to match them. Drawing alongside Nerys, pistol in hand still, Tharyn points ahead with his unburdened hand and bellows, loudly as he can, "FOLLOW ME." Then he jets off, straight forward and upward once more.

Shivan doesn't tear into Dor, if he was going to get scolded it wasn't in the middle of an attack where things could get even hairier. She growls again and whips around to head back towards the estate, there in the confides of what might look like security the Sith takes a knee and closes her eyes. A deep breath taken as she tries to focus, chanting softly in the old tongue. Moments pass as she does this, one of her 'wranglers' wandering from cover to stand behind her to watch over her. <<Major Dor. I'm going to guide you. Pray that you're quicker than our quarry.>> her vocoded voice cuts through comms.

The speeder roars forward under Nerys' guidance. There weren't many trees in the city, but there was much that could bring pretty serious danger to someone speeding along at unsafe speeds--Which was the only way to escape the Sith. Nerys is able to brace herself tight against the speeder she now has complete control over--She left explosions and telekinetic space wizards behind, it seems.

Behind them, Two of the Speeders are mounted by nimble Stormtroopers. A third is being righted--Knocked over by the explosion. The rest of the team is drawing their perimeter inward, to tighten around the kneeling Shivan. A few of them call for reinforcements, and begin to coordinate their net to try and catch them.

~

Ax looks up at the man flying along and yelling for them to follow. "I suggest doing what the guy says, I think I know him," Ax says, though it was hard to tell at the moment. Then, his attention was to the speeders behind him, and the troopers aboard. He takes in a deep breath, this was damn sure not his area of expertise, but maybe he could pull off disrupting the speeders behind him. Saber in one hand, he makes a gesture with his other and a bit of will behind it.

~

This was not quite like swoop racing, that was true, but Nerys could handle most any machine she was tasked with, and she would just pretend those trees, and those other speeders and transports in the streets and oh, goodness, don't cross the street //now// were just competitors to avoid. Well, at least she didn't have a BB droid at her back screaming in glee. Because that could put you off after a while. For now, she just had to trust to her instincts and experience won over a very many long years, and hope she could get them back to where they needed to go. And then there was the flair of rocket boots above her and for a split second, it seemed to catch her heart. But it wasn't Kael. No, it wasn't the right armor, the right feel. She would know if he had come. But then Ax was giving the orders and Nerys adjusted her course, tracking the flair as she followed in the figure's wake, working to the limit to keep the speeder rocketing along the right path, seeing how hard she could push the speeder to catch up with the flying figure.

Banking right, Tharyn streaks off down another street, thanking all the Galaxy's gods that he decided to keep his hair short as it is plastered against his head of his wind. Hell, he's not even wearing armor - his cycle leathers flap around his torso as he goes, pistol in hand, commlink in the other. << All right, >> Tharyn bellows over their collective signal, << This is me. Get that boat warmed up, we're gonna have some bad company coming up and we're gonna want to get off this rock as fast as possible. Make it happen! >>

Well, so much for doing work on Serenno anytime soon. But he isn't terribly sad about it. Not now. Later, though...

Shivan is still down on one knee, palms resting on her knee as she tries to keep her mind focuses. Apparently she can't keep the focus up though and she breathes out, exasperated at the turn of events. <<Do not lose them, Major Dor. They have valuable history and it belongs with us.>> her voice states over the comms to the Major. She was already debating how much trouble that she was in. Or going to be in. "Rachel, join Nara on the ship. We'll be fine here." she tells her other assistant as she rises.

The Stormtroopers continue forward. For a moment, the lead Stormtrooper's speeder rocks slightly, though, he's able to maintain control. Each of the Stormtroopers advance, moving forward in the chase.

For the heroes, the path turns sharply to the right, leading onward. They were approaching the starport, but, with as quickly as the terrain was passing by it was hard to get a great grasp of where they were, or which direction they were headed. The curse of the well-travelled! They were succeeding though, so far.

~

Ax is doing his best to keep everyone off their tail, but it's not the best. It's then that he gets a flash in his head of a collission. "Nerys! Slow down. Train!" he says, getting that out as quick as the flash was over. "A few seconds should do it.." Lightsaber hilt goes back to his hip, and the Echani is drawing a blaster instead. If they were going to slow down, it meant that the enemy would draw nearer.

Hand to hip, Ax pulls the only pistol he had on him. It wasn't the best option for this, but hell if it wouldn't make an impact, and there was always the wrist-mounted laser on his right arm.

~

Nerys, focused on keeping the speeder moving at speed, found that she had, of necessity to juggle the need to manage the terrain, a truck there, a transport here, your old Nan's nest shrubbery, and watch the flight of the man, she could tell that by the voice, mostly, overhead, needed almost all of her attention. Bitty kept up her rolling commentary, Ax's words flying back to her on the wind. She did slow, as much as she dared, but in the same way that it was hard to get a speeder going, it was also hard to draw it back. But she managed it, just barely, the wake of the magtrain that suddenly flew across her field of vision shocking in its closeness, buffeting her in a wave of displaced air. And then it was gone and they needed to get gone.

Now it's not much of a show, this hurtling along, but Tharyn's the good fairy of the day, the guiding pixie trailing flames and smoke. A sharp bank to the left, now, away from peril.

Shivan is disappointed. She's not in a tantrum, so nothing gets force crushed or thrown around. Calm before the storm type stuff. She gives orders to the troopers that are left around and then she heads to where things might have been left before the speeders left. She just wanted to see the book for herself. That it was lost was something they'd get over. Or she would. Kuolo might be a different story.

The magtrain screams by, and as Tharyn leads them onward, it becomes clear what happened. To their right, as they speed past, is a train depot. Mostly it was a carrier and warehousing train--A clear indicator they were nearing the border of the town. As they begin to drift to the left, a small ramp leads upward, towards the top of a plateau. It was the first easily recognized area they had come across so far: it meant the starport was nearby.

In the distance, a pair of TIEs fly a wide patrol outside of the city, only daring to get so close without further guidance on the location of the fugitives. The only other concern became very apparent as they crested the ramp up, and were very suddenly confronted by a pair of AT-ST's, staring them down. Before much of a reaction could be made, the AT-ST's fire, sending streaking plasma alongside the speeder. It was a miss--Speed made tracking hard, but, it could've also been luck?

~

"Whoa!" Ax says as the plasma bolts get damned close to their speeder. "Go faster!" he yells to Nerys. Already, their ship, the Black Sands, was powered up, it's cargo ramp lowered. With the speeder getting closer to the starport and visible to crew of the ship that's been looking for them and monitoring sensors.

"Fly straight onto the ship, we gotta get outta here," Ax says. "How good of a gunner are you, because once aboard, you might need to get on the quads." Hopefully, they wouldn't crash before they could get to safety.

~

"You must have me mistaken for another Greystorm! I'm not a fighter pilot!" Probably something she should have made clear before they were off on this merry escapade." Not that this stopped Nerys, who ducked and weaved, well, as much as one could on a speeder laden with cargo, blaster fire lighting up the night as she avoided the huge automatons that had been brought to bear, trying to keep her from the ship she was doing everything in her power to get to. They were close, she knew they were. After all, this darned planet was only so big. And they hadn't come //that// far from the starport.

And lo, like unto a meteor, Tharyn leads them into the spaceport gates, pursued alike by walkers and speeders and all kinds of villainy. The gray wedge that is -Interceptor- is warmed, its big drives glowing with the light of the power pouring into its thruster nozzles. It's a good crew he's got. Reason he pays 'em. Though...he imagines after this, he's probably going to be upping everyone's salary to keep them. The portside airlock glides open as the ship begins to lift off the pad, an airborne opening for an airborne landing. Down toward the hatch he goes, ready to get on board. And get to shooting.

The starport was perhaps the least populated area so far, but, the place most lacking in any of the strange crimson-clad Stormtroopers. The AT-ST's seem to try their damndest at shooting down the speeders, to no avail. THeir chase is short lived, and they seem to stop just outside of the starport itself. Their guns turn skyward, in waiting, in case the escaping fugitives are silly enough to get too close to them on the way out of town.

~

"I got a bad feeling about this," Ax says as they draw near the Sands. The lack of threats has him on edge. Just meant that there were likely to be some nastiness once they get airborn. Holstering his weapon, Ax is getting ready to jump off the speeder to rush to the cockpit once aboard.

~

"You have clearly never driven with Greystorm Chauffer Services!" That wasn't a thing. "Looks like they might just have snuck onto the planet!" It might explain how come there was no Sith presence at the starport." But that was something to think about later. When Nerys wasn't trying to calculate just what she needed to do to get the speeder into the ship, stopped and not kill herself. And Ax. She did not want to kill Ax. She could be rebuilt. He was...only human. Nerys zipped and weaved, avoiding baggage trams and passenger trucks, making a beeline for the Sands and spinning nearly 360 degrees to burn off her excess energy before the speeder came to a halt. And because she was Nerys and this was a night of suprisingly good luck, the speeder was turned just enough soe Ax to hop off in the direction he needed to go. Mostly.