Log:Whispers in The Dark
Whispers in The Dark
OOC Date: Dec 6, 2020
Location: Karideph
Participants: Aryn Cole, Jundani Meru, Avery Ihala Kora, Rathe Versiano, Eriu Jynx, Chani Tan and Ban Iskender - GM Hadrix Kora
Karideph - Karideph System - Minos Cluster - Rimma and Trition Trade Routes
Admitted by guards into a fairly modest hall for so lofty a position as the 'Royal Castes' the short passage past the blast doors opens into a domed chamber with a single black shelled insectoid perched on a backless chair. Smaller kari moving from her, taking eggs laid and carrying them to some far, dark, distant chamber within the bowels of the hive tunnels. More guards stand to either side of her, with several males lounging on similar seats nearby.
A mural crafted of tiny pin-lights seems to mirror what the sky on the surface may look like now, currently showing blue with drifting white clouds as the color-shifting lights adjust - even showing the glowing golden sun that bathes the chamber ringed in holodisplays showing various stock market, sales and export purchase reports.
Standing just before the dais where the throne rests is a Nemoidian with what looks like his personal entourage of an assistant, a half dozen guards and a number of guard drones currently online with blasters held at low ready. Next to him, snaking across the floor is a thickly insulated cable identical to those spotted in the caverns leading here, ending plugged into a droid-leg mounted comm panel.
"Ah yes, your eminence - those whom we were warned of... The assassins." a knowing grin on his froggish face and a cruel slant to slit pupil eyes.
"Unfortunate that we could not stop them from their approach, your highness." Director Messing's voice crackles over the hardline comms. "Fortunate they did not spy and cut the hard lines..." a sneer in the distorted voice.
"We shall prove our intent to your people's wellbeing now, if you wish?" the nemoidian picks up where Messing left off, looking to the royal Kari for her decision.
Jundani, who had put her weapons away long before they ahd made their entry into the audience chamber, looked with intent towards the Nemoidian, perhaps assessing him, perhaps, as her gaze moved to the troopers he had around him, assessing the best way to eliminate the threat to the team, and possibly the queen. Sadly, she had left her jumpsuit behind, and was only in her stealth suit, but that was alright. She still had her datapad, which she was back to playing games on. A glance to Aryn followed. Best to let the actual diplomat have a chance to be diplomatic.
Karys is eyeing the cable. Suspect as it is and briefly gives a passing focus on the guards - to mark their numbers before the comm in her helmet crackles to life. After a few moments of passing a quick inspection with her helmets interface she speaks up to those in the comm system with her so that they are not overheard. <"It appears the cable is for communications for the surface. If we were take that out they would lose all contact. I think it may be the best way to cut them off and stop them from the immediate work they are doing. It gives us a chance to take them by surprise without reinforcements."> The suggestion is made before she quiets and glances up unseen towards that cable. Her hand rests near her pistol but not on it, though she is seriously giving it some consideration.
She flexes her fingers but does not make any aggressive move just yet.
With a slow pan across the room, Avery marks all the opposing figures for his and his fellow Mandalorians' HUDs. The Tracker slung on his back is not far from reach should the situation come to that. Still, with many in this room possibly being innocent of the atrocities discovered below, he would much rather hash this out with words than blasters. Unfortunately for him, though the obsidian Kora speaks quite a bit, not all of it is useful or wise. He speaks quietly into the closed circuit communications between his Kora comrades, his gaze travelling to the large cable that snaked its way across the floor. <<"Hopefully this won't come to that... but good to know if it does.">> He's used to these tense situations and often they're within closed quarters like now. He turns his attention from the group in front and scans the remainder of the room for expedient exits, always pays to have a get-away plan.
Sometimes answering calls for assistance is a grab bag of shenannigans. Rathe had arrived just in time to be taken in with the rest of them. He's helping! His Tracker is slung across his chest unless it's taken from him. Standing there in his Dreadfinder armor... with his wrist laser. Rathe IS a weapon. He's going to go by the lead of the calmer heads of the group, until it is time to not be calm. Then Rathe has some pent-up aggression to attend to. Medical School can be so dull.
Ban Iskender raises one black brow at the Neimoidian's use of 'assassins', and gives a short, terse exhale through the nose. "Alas that the financial wisdom of cutting losses is a lesson these fellows appear not to have learned," the gentleman laments discreetly. To Karys, he notes, "Any aggressive action within these chambers is likely to reflect ill upon us, unless the monarch first approves. As I was not within the prior council chambers, might I inquire what proof we might display of the Corporation's nefarious intent?" More loudly, for the room at large, the gentleman voices with a bow from the waist. "Esteemed monarch of Karideph: we thank you for permitting our approach, and wish to assure you we bring neither ill intent not deceit to you and yours. We shall obey your will, and desire only to bring you warning and knowledge before any binding bargain is struck with these.." a gesture to the Neimoidian, managing to make the brief pause sound like a biting burn: "*gentlemen.*"
There are a lot of important people in this room, and a lot of people with a lot of weapons. Chani Tahn is none of these things. Her face uncovered, she clearly does not belong with the armored shocktroopers and their many weapons. Neither does she carry a noble title, placing her in the same arena as the Alderaanian male or the Princess Cole. It is with these two individuals that Chani resides in this situation, standing back behind the pair and seemingly there to observe. The fact that she wears armor at all seems more for her own protection rather than anything else. Her gaze settles on Lord's back, tuned in for the time that he speaks and attempts to use words to both refute and negotiate with the queen seated upon her throne.
Aryn is the last to enter, her attention taken up by a small cloth she uses to wipe the blood from her nose (an artifact from their combat action within the tunnels traveling to this point.) She pockets the item once she is certain the blood is gone and follows Lord Ban with her own comments.
"Your Eminence, I am Princess Aryn Cole of New Alderaan. I thank you for permitting us to these chambers to speak. Lord Iskender pursues the truth of our negotiations on the surface, and this team has just that. My companion has a complete recording of our arrival, discussions, negotiation, departure, and journey to this point. I venture to say she is recording this as well."
Aryn gestures to Jundani, then locks her own hands to her lower back. "In summary, this company intends to enslave your people using food," a commodity the natives struggled to maintain. "In trade for your loyal labor force, they will ration food to those who work the hardest, reserving little for those who do not, in order to trim your population and control all of your subjects."
While Mandalorians communicate discretely over their private comms, the hive queen pauses, mandibles clicking while her segmented eyes fixate on the well spoken Ban. One clawed hand coming to rest on the arm of her throne, pressing a small switch before she begins to chitter.
"We have come to understand from Fydol Agro-Industrial that you are from an opposing corporate entity - that you seek to exploit us and undermine their generous offers by tainting view of their intent, Princess Cole, Lord Iskender..." her clicks and hisses drowned out by the cultured female tone emitting from speakers all around the chamber, hidden from view.
"Indeed. See how they spin yarns meant to terrify and paint FAI as some boogieman from the dark... You should order them arrested, taken from these tunnels and either incarcirate them indefinitely or execute them." the thick nemoidian accent practically purring while he leers, hands folding within the sleeves of his robes. Eyes focusing on Jundani in particular now.
The droids and bodyguards have their weapons low, but clearly powered while Kari guards shift nervously. Staves with powered ends... and what look like barrel mouths, being raised from a resting posture on the ground to a ready stance.
"That is a hasty... and drastic suggestion. The human speakers seem reasonable." the large insectoid's head turns towards the Nemoidian while she chitters and clicks and her translator system does it's job.
"All the more reason to suspect, your highness" the hardline-comm emits the director's voice in a cautioning tone. Drawing eyes to it and then back to the 'hostiles'. The queen speaking again, the tone of her translator serene, as it seems to shift its modulation to match her own speech and inflection.
"What they suggest is troubling" the serene tone growing tense, "If it is true - that you would offer us an open hand and use it to brush away the people of my hive and the others beneath the surface..." mandibles clattering rapidly, chatter like an automatic slugthrower as if from another room.
The guards begin to chitter as well, barely a murmur akin to rural insects chirping at evening.
"If they have skilled technicians as they suggest - then that one could have used audio samples to fabricate 'proof' of their claims!" the amphibious creature turns so quickly his robes twist and sway. "How can we confirm this 'evidence' they claim to have." the royal caste Kari studies the Nemoidian for his words, silent, but looking back to Aryn and Ban.
"I am indeed a skilled technician," Jundani spoke, having set aside the guise she came under of a hapless computer jockey. And there were no rolling chairs to covet. "But I do not need to fabricate audio samples." Jundani whose attention was fixed on the queen, offered the hive mother a polite bow, which was, perhaps not the same greeting she would have been given by one of her drones, but Jundani was only human-ish. "I am more than willing to offer you the evidence I have gathered, but I am afraid I do not trust that your associate will not have his troops and guards shoot me down where I stand, to prevent me from bringing you our evidence. I would request, if it is amiable to you, that I be taken into your custody by a team of your own hive guards and brought to you directly." Jundani stepped away from the main group, so that she might be better 'apprehended' passing only briefly behind the Alderaanian Princess.
Watching Jundani, Karys finally switches over to the modulated presentation of her voice due to the helmet. "Furthermore what might prove our intentions as true would be to hack his comm relay here throught he cable and see what he's passing back and forth to the surface. You outnumber him and you deserve truth. Make him stand down and see for yourself. Their communciations and information passed back and forth could prove invaluable to you. You have the right to know. This is /your/ world, not theirs or ours." She spreads her hands. "I would do so now before more of their number arrive and make that far more difficult to do."
Her head turns, the visor flashing a as light catches. She is definitely considering the droids. "No need to fire weapons. Just ask for them to prove their innocence and allow you to look over their communications." She motions to Jundani. "And her evidence."
Avery 'hrmmm's to himself, shifting his posture slightly to be ready to draw should the negotiations continue down the path they look to be headed. <<"I've got a bad feeling about this.">> the ex-Trooper claims. <<"It sounds like the Queen is clearly in the dark but if we fire on her people, I think we'll lose her.">> He sighs quietly, suddenly aware how useless he is in diplomatic arenas. That's certainly one thing the First Order does not teach their Stormtroopers is how to be conversationally convincing. Usually the blasters and the shiny white armor did the work for them, not always in the best of ways. He would offer to help with the slicing of the comm relay but Avery doubts they'd trust his conclusion considering they're having trouble accepting the other evidence already presented to them from the group.
The visor of the helmet just turns to focus on Ban the moment he speaks to Karys as if he's not the one here looming. His helmet vox crackles to life dripping sarcasm. <"You don't say."> He cuts off any further observations when Aryn and then the others speak. For the moment, Rathe's just here to look pretty and menacing as needed. Along with the occasional stick the white stuff on the red stuff when someone gets hurt. He's going to leave the diplomacy and thinking to the pros. At that latter train of thought he thinks 'Wait...'
Ban Iskender takes a small step back as Aryn begins speaking, gauntleted hands composed at the small of his back, head high, and elegant half-cape falling impeccably. The Neimoidian's babble draws a slow turn of his head and a bone-dry look. "We are neither assassins nor representatives of any business interest. I daresay your lies will seem more opaque if your falsehoods were more consistent, *sir*." Did he just scold the Neimoidian for lying badly, and make 'sir' sound like an insult? Yes, yes he did. As others address the Queen, Ban goes silent, leaving the Princess to treat directly with the native Queen. Belatedly, a faint smile briefly bends his stoic expression at Rathe's sarcastic quip.
Chani's gaze is constantly roaming. The political back-and-forth brings many speakers to the stage. She observes each in turn, dark irises settling on the backs of her compatriots when they speak, the finally on the faces of those arrayed against them. Her gaze is most concentrated on the insectoid queen during her decisions, flickering movement of her eyes indicative that she views not one focused point, but roams over the sentient's moving physiology as she communicates. The young woman's lips peel apart from one another as guards begin to shift, and rather than watching people to speak, Chani now observes the weapons shifting in hands growing antsy as the two groups competing for the queen's attention try to gain the upper hand.
"Our journey to this point afforded us little time to do anything else but record and fight for our lives. Your Eminence, please, my party seeks your attention because this decision could harm your people. We ask that you please consider what we say and allow our words to affect your decision. We will honor your choice, and seek only peaceful resolution. No more violence, please." Aryn has the datachit in her gloved hand now.
Aryn makes no effort to shift amidst the tension, and her expression remained neutral the entire time. A sidelong glance to Ban to meet his gaze briefly, and Aryn sighs. They had come a long way from negotiating with the Hydian League.
"Yes! Fight and murder those who have been employed by FAI to protect our people as well as yours, your highness!" the nemodian rasps out, arms with hands still in his sleeves shaking up and down in agitation, "That one, the so called Princess of Alderaan - we suspect she is a gifted actress. Made up and fleshcrafted to match appearances... Strike now, before they doom your people!"
The Kari queen flinches and clacks her mandibles at the negotiator for the corporation. Antennae wagging aggressively and so matched by the movements of her guards. Her hands flex on the arms of her chair. Shifting side to side before she begins to speak in her low hissing chitters,
"Present your proof. We will judge the fidelity of your claims."
Turning the heads of guards and negotiator in surprise and no small show of outrage. Another mobile platform on droid operated legs being brought forth and showing a holo-display suite as well as a multitude of insert ports.
Jundani, who did not seem at all intimidated by the frog-man's blathering, simply moved to join the hive's drones, if they came to meet her, her tone pointed, as she looked over at the nemodian. "The only person who is advocating for violence here is you. We have done nothing since we arrived in these environs other than to defend ourselves. We have come here under the care and guard of the hive, we have offered no violence and made no demands save to present our evidence." Jundani would proceed to the platform that had been brought for her. It took her only a moment, a bit longer, to retrieve a data cable and to hook in her datapad. When the recorded information began to display on the screen, it was damning. Yes, there were audio recordings, that was true, both of communications between the FAI representative and headquarters as well as recordings of the conversation the team had witnessed, which included verbal proof of the plans to subjugate the hives. But there were also formerly encrypted communications between FAI and their corporate headquarters and other such and sundry, schematics for their plans to rework the hives, reports on how they planned to winnow down the numbers within the hives to improve corporate efficiency.
Karys takes that as an invitation and lowers to a knee. She pulls out a cable from her gear and begins to work through the heavy coting of the wire into the spike is inserted. She finds just thge right location and then hands off the device to Avery. "Here, this is for you to deal with now. Slice in, find out what information they have been sharing before we present it to the leader." She says that aloud so the intentions are clear. The Niemodian is not going to like it and her visored helmet turns directly at him. "It is best to be transparent if you are so keen on working with the natives." Smiling beneath the helmet helps nothing and not that her smile would at all be reassuring. A brief glance is given down to Avery as she readies in widening her stance and begins to slowly study the guards to be sure none of them are getting ideas.
The Kari all become uniformly still at the displays being shown by Jundani. The queen and her guard riveted while the Nemoidian and his half dozen guards look towards the woman. Then towards the queen when the unexpected occurs.
"-ean!? Take care of it, we can cover for this! Hurry now and take -CARE- of this issue before I have you REPLACED Zop!" The director's voice suddenly comes from Avery's helmet externals. Dragged from taps and directly from the wire transmitted communications.
"Director!"
"SHUT. UP. You tadpole! You useless, slimy, TWIT. DO AS YOU'RE TOLD AND HANDLE THESE-"
"YOU ARE LIVE DIRECTOR!!"
The guards and FAI guards suddenly lift their weapons while the Nemoidian, Zop, looks between the Kari and the so called 'assassins' in their midst. "I... I..." frozen in place while a brawny Kriffar who seems to be leading the amphibian's guards shoulders his rifle and tries to swing towards Jundani.
Diplomats are gonna Diplomat. Rathe doesn't exactly tune out the talking, but it's more a droning in the back of his consciousness at the moment. The heavily modified Dreadfinder armor is nice and still for a purpose. Look menacing as need be. The visor was almost always on the move, it's a habit so deeply rooted in his brain there's no digging it out. In short. Rathe has some serious trust issues. Karys and Avery are doing their computing then, so vigilance is just one of those things the Kora War Medic focuses on. So while he kept an eye on the Nemoidian, because... Nemoidian. The movements of the brawny bodyguard gets an immediate helmet snap of attention. No time to grab for his beloved Tracker, as the rifle is tracking towards the relatively unknown to him Jundani. His left wrist comes up and he barks through the crackle pop of his helmet vox. <"Come on, big boy!!"> Rathe is a large blue and red target after all. Unfortunately, his shot is a snapshot and well above the Kiffar's head. Rathes right hand slaps at the Tracker's grip a half moment later to get it ready to bring to bear as soon as possible.
Ban Iskender meets Aryn's look briefly, giving a small nod of support, before his green stare us drawn back to the Neimoidian by talk of.. fleshcrafted actresses. Eyes narrow, at first in confusion, then hardening toward a proper frown. His glance back to Aryn is less serene, as Judani presents the accumulated proof. A second look to Chani swiftly gauges her readiness, but his attention returns promptly to the Neimoidian.. then as voices and truths are revealed, the tense situation rapidly unravels. As weapons are raised, Ban draws the elaborate swept hilt at his side and ignites the green blade, stepping deftly to place himself between the corporate guns and the emitter where Jundai has drawn near the Keri queen, glowing sword held in a vertical guard.
Chaos is starting to erupt in the room. The Mandalorians patching into the cable draw the ire of the Nemoidian and his entourage. Chani sees the guards begin to take action, especially as one steps in and goes after Jundani. It's one of the Mandalorians that fires the first shot, though Chani doesn't catch it go wide of its intended target. What she does see is the Alderaanian Lord draw his lightsaber and begin to position himself to defend the group's evidence collector, and remembering the last time she was in a less-than-safe position, Chani's own hand goes to her right hip. A cylindrical object is drawn from her belt and the stud depressed by her thumb, activating a white-beamed blade that has none of the menacing growl of a lightsaber but all of the shock and awe of the activation of one. She holds it before herself, both hands on the weapon's hilt, but making no aggressive movements.
Aryn nods a final time to Lord Ban as he steps to action, his green blade coming to life as he lived up to the namesake she made for him: Alderaan's Green Knight. He did the noble thing and put himself between danger and the innocence. Aryn was left to witness the events unravel in a sudden and damning way and she knew, deep down in her core, that violence was the only subsequent action.
She was in a complex situation and faced with all manner of foe and discontent. Even the Nemoidian and their guard were using some sort of device to conjure up red lightning, clearly a threat intended for them! Others prepped their weapons for combat, and Aryn sprang to action from her place.
Lifting her cape slightly to reveal her own weapons, Aryn's dominant hand calls the curved hilt to her grip by some unseen manipulation of kinetic force and /immediately/ activated the blade. The sapphire colored length extended mid-flight of an elegantly performed spinning flurry that seemed to encase the blonde briefly in the blurring glare of her weapon. Her weapon was directed to a trio of droids she efficiently disabled with three graceful swings. Each swing made a humming noise, and subsequently spilled the components of each automaton across the floor, its edge molten orange and fresh from her blade's influence.
Aryn stepped with purpose, her cape whipping about as she spun and placed herself in front of Chani, simultaneously avoiding a shot intended for her. Her effort put her in line for the shot intended for Chani though, and it struck solid against her small frame rocking her back from the impact. She spun her weapon upward then, in salute, seemingly unfazed by the shot, then lowered her weapon to her side in a low, duelist's manner of a guard. "Stay close to me, Miss Chani. Danger surrounds us."
If nothing else Zop's interference was convincing enough to allow for this breakdown. Sadly, his breakdown would be the cause of violence. A bittersweet moment that proves to the Kari the honesty of those brought before them and the treachery of the Corporate Sector entity.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" the director's voice comes screeching from the hardline comm as well as Avery's external speakers. A thrumming sound around her and Zop's voice cuts in as his hands appear from sleeves holding a blaster,
"ABORT director! We must -GO!-" it was all over for them, without question - now it was only a matter of evading Republic interdiction, to return to the Corporate sector where they can find other routes for their machinations.
The shot fired by the kriffar reflected, suddenly, and sent into his leg and driving the humanoid to a knee, snarling and barking out an order that sends blaster bolts flying and droids aiming their weapons: "OPEN FIRE!!" the flesh and blood representatives of the corporation trying to angle towards a side door, rather than those the 'assassins' were brought through.
Jundani, who had been occupied in making certain that the information had not only been displayed on the holo unit, but also downloaded to the hive's system so that they too had the evidence, missed entirely, the shot that was aimed for her as well as the bolt being deflected away. Which was, possibly, entirely a good thing, as she did grow increasingly cross when her work was interrupted. But she could not miss the shooting that had started behind her. As soon as the last keystroke was entered, Jundani spun around, drawing the pistol she had secured when they had agreed to come to the hive's queen. A flash exploded from muzzle of her pistol, the shot finding the frog-man's chest and blooming into a burst of flames that soon set his robes alight. He was the leader. And to the leader went the spoils.
With Avery at the helm of the slicing, Karys is rising as things start to go south. Her S-5 comes out and she is quick to shift it along its path. Jundani marks her target and so does Karys, following up that first shot from the other female with a green bolt of her own. SLAM. The leader goes down with two smoking holes in his chest. "Director can nto hear you now." One liners.
But its short lived as her arms swings up the other way toawrds the droids she has clear shots on. The first squeeze sends a bolt to cause the droid to drop and the next? It takes off the second droids head, causing it to fall backwards and roll across the ground until it comes to a stop. "Always comes to this."
Those lighsabers though. Even the stunsaber gives her a sense of dread. She gives the Jedi room to work.
He was fairly sure what was broadcasting over his vox would incite something, and when called out for treachery violence is typically a go to. Avery drops the device which had been broadcasting the truth, slipping the Tracker off his back and thumbing the weapon's safety off, bringing the blaster to life with a quiet whine. Hits were already registering in his HUD from the others in the group and he turned to engage targets not already contacted. Thus one droid goes down in a hail of sparks from a red bolt that leaves his carbine, the whirr of machinery injured beyond repair filling the already noisy room. His second blast takes another down, though not out, the damage just enough to give it trouble should it choose to retaliate. <"See?! Why can't they ever just accept that they've been beat and lay down their weapons peacefully?">
There is a hiss of pain as he takes a blaster bolt to the right arm. Rathe just adds another mark to his plethora of scars. There is a grunt inside the helmet untransmitted. He's dropping his left hand to grasp his tracker better. He's swinging it around for a shot when suddenly, lightsabers! Karys lights several targets up all at once. He mumbles something in his helmet, Avery's tracker lights up some droids. <"There you go, get into it! Boring conversation anyway!"> Now Rathe has his own concerns, and he's out for blood and vengeance. His arm stings from partial cauterization. He chooses a combat effective bodyguard to make less combat effective, and snaps the barrel to the side to do it again.
Ban Iskender deflects a pair of blaster bolts aimed at himself with a deft pair of parries, before his sword intercedes to block a bolt sent at Jundai. Only then, with the initial flurry of blaster fire spent, will he spares a moment to offer his opponents a salute. Avery's rhetorical question draws a dry answer, "Alas, such is one of the galaxy's great mysteries, sir."
Chani discovers a new noise not quite as hackle-raising as Manka howls, but adrenaline surge-inducing: the sound of blaster fire up close. The room errupts with it, and despite the presence of the white blade angled in front of her, it's not Chani that intercepts the bolt that is fired at her. It is the Princess, who steps before it and takes the shot as if it doesn't phase her. Heart leaping up into her throat, Chani's tone contains some understandable amount of panic when she speaks. "Are you alright?" The blonde woman seems unphased by what's just happened, and her urgent insistence that Chani stay behind her is received with all the obedience one could desire in such a situation. Nodding, she responds only with: "Yes, Your Highness."
Aryn was unable to answer Chani about being okay, her effort and attention were devoted to ensuring they might live to speak of this event another day. Aryn's resting defense did not rest long, and a second flurry of attacks ensures two more automatons were incapable of causing harm again. Aryn's distinctive lightsaber blade cut through their chassis without any effort beyond the graceful efficiency of an attack. When the debris spread across the floor, Aryn stepped with measured ease to avoid further damage from enemies that surrounded her.
She stepped preemptively high, like it were some sort of dance number, and avoided a close shot aimed for her leg; it sparked off the flooring. Then Aryn ducked, her hair coming out of its braid to spill blonde about as she spun. Rather than contend with her own danger, Aryn observed the one attempting to harm Chani and sought to disable their means to do so any further.
Injury definitely poses a hindrance to those who've been struck by blaster bolts - half the guards forced down and firing as they rise again, scoring hits against floor, wall, and sending showers of sparks raining from the lighted ceiling. A hailstorm of light falling all around as the numbers thin and the burning body of Zop twitches on the ground.
The hardline comms stop, suddenly, a likely sign of the ship now making for space while the fight rages below. The Kari queen has rolled back out of her seat, her guards moving to serve as living shields as they usher her backwards where her eggs were being brought, to safety from the conflict.
The guards continue to try and circle for the doors, closer yet towards potential escape, with mere meters between them and egress. Chittering is filling the halls, blooming in the royal chambers and echoing further on and being picked up in a growing wave.
The movements of the Kari guards was clear, rage embodied and fear for their queen as they sought to sweep her away from harm.
Jundani, whose eyes turned to take in the kari shuffling the queen behind them, lifted her voice, "Get her to safety! We will give you cover!" And Jundani would attempt to do just that, another incendiary round fired, another of the living guards downed, as she angled herself to prove, even some small, barrier between the queen and the remaining FAI operatives. Now was the time for mopping up the leftovers.
One one is perfect all the time. As the droids are coming to an end Karys switches to living flesh. Two shots take down on bodyguard in a smoking lump on the ground at the end. She swings the pistol towards an injured but misplaces her line up. The shot goes just over his shoulder. It hits one of the back walls of the large cavern and she makes a face, eyeing the injured from behind her visor. All he can see is the reflection of light but inside that helmet is a sugar deprived murder doll who is ready to keep righting the galaxy in any way she can. To put it simply. SHe's gunning for him. Literally.
The crew wastes no time in downing targets, droids or bodyguards... it doesn't matter which, all fall before the massive onslaught. Avery drops to a knee to allow for those who may be placed behind to get an easy shot over him... that and, it presents a smaller target. Speaking of targets, the Mandalorian slicer switches to the bodyguards who are encroaching on the defenders, a couple of searing red blaster bolts finding their mark on two separate guards. The injuries were severe and the bodies drop, hopefully if they're still alive, they stay down to preserve what remains. Out of the corner of his visor he sees the Queen and her retinue ushered from the room, a simple nod and slight smile accompany them in their departure. At least the government of this colony will not suffer from the frog like creature's treachery, not through blaster fire or lightsaber, that is.
The right arm is singing a bit. He's still pleased with his last two shots, time to add to his success in all the madness about him. He's very much a 'no one escapes' kind fo War Medic. Only problem is... these next two shots whip by faces instead of landing in faces. There's a growl under the helmet again, this time in irritation. That kind of miss was just unacceptable. He may as well tried firing straight up.
Ban Iskender keeps up a defensive stance, parrying bolts with movements more at home in traditional swordsmanship than the weightless style some might expect of a Jedi. Yet, once the Kadi queen is ushered out, Ban shifts smoothly onto the attack. A lunging step impales a battle droid, which falls to pieces and the green blade is turned sideways to cut free and slash down a second droid. Advancing with footwork swift and sure, he cuts down one of the corporate guards with another thrust; his third foe in as many moments.
It was inevitable that Aryn attempting to defend her and everyone else fighting and defeating the guards and droids trying to murder them that Chani would have an oppening where it was necessary to try to defend herself, even for a moment. When the time comes, she doesn't freeze up, but instead jabs the stunsaber at the injured man in a threatening manner, causing the blade itself to thrum as it glides through the air. Chani, however, has short arms, and with both of them in front of her, neither can reach their farthest potential. It might have been a solid tap to his center mass had she extended a little farther, but this is the desperate attempt at fending off that an untrained combatant is known for, and before she can really even process what's happening in the moment, the Princess is interjecting into the mix and cleaning things up.
"Thank you, Your Highness." The relief in her voice is distinct.
The opponent Chani fights with compensates to avoid being touched by Chani's weapon, despite a valiant effort that might have landed if they had not been as perceptive. What he had not intended however, was the second combatant that stepped in with a more definitive strike. Aryn slides into the guard and plants the tip of her blade through their mid-section. When she shoves it in, the exit wound opens with a blue blade emerging from his back. Aryn holds him there, her freehand claiming the collar of his armor to look at him while holding his weight for when gravity traded places with his faculty to stand. It happened in the subsequent moments, and Aryn oriented his body to fall while simultaneously withdrawing her weapon and deactivating it in the same process.
A cursory look is paid to all concluding with Chani who is looked over for harm. "Of course," Aryn answers, affording a sense of sincerity that she hoped conveyed a confidence that she would not have acted any differently. "What remain of our foes?" Aryn calls out. "Do any yet live?"
As the last fall and only the groans of the injured come in the wake of the cessation of the fight, the song of the Kari shifts in pitch and temper. The royal guards move, directed by the monarch, to surround her as she clambers back onto her seat to press the switch there.
"Your intervention is appreciated... we are grateful to you for your aid... We will gird ourselves against outsiders such as these." vocalizer systems in the walls echoing her words around the hall while her chittering clicks sound beneath it. Those of the nemoidian's guards still alive, if on the floor and groaning, are lifted by more kari entering from side passages.
"Take them away with you... However it is you will deal with them. Get them gone and go in peace with our thanks. We have no wish for further dealings with outsiders for now. Save the purchase of food in exchange for our technology. Karideph stands independent. But we give thanks to Alderaan and to Mandalorians... and..." her claw sweeping to gesture from one group to another and then antennae sweep to Jundani,
"We do not know who you are representative of. We apologize. But your collection of knowledge, likened to their ability with foreign systems... It has saved millions... billions." the queen's head bows. "We are thankful to you." and with her motion so to do the guards bow towards their defenders.
"I represent no one, fair Queen. I am, however, glad that I was able to help you to save you hives. I have left the data we retrieved for you, and should you have need of me, details on how you may contact me." because everyone needed technical support. Again, Jundani offered that very human bow to the hive queen, before she turned to help with retrieving the not quite dead guards, speaking in measured tones as she passed through the group. "Let is hope they are not burning the planet in the wake of their departure." Jundani's gaze shifted, looking towards Aryn and Ban, "It has been well on a century, since I had the privilege to see Jedi fight so well as you have done tonight. Well do you represent those Jedi of old." Her tone was respectful, and as she looked at Chani, her tone held no censure, only her usual measured cadence. "I am no Jedi, but if I might offer some advice. Think well before you draw your weapon. Especially such a storied weapon as that. Whether through myth or hard experience, it marks you the most dangerous opponent and the greatest potential target." She looked beyond to the others, "You also fought well. But then...you are Mandalorian." And that brought a rare smile to the normally stoic woman's face. Now, back to picking up mostly dead bodyguards.
As the others fall and they are left with thanks, Karys never really got her revenge and is sliding the S-5 away, still warm from its continued use. She is moving then, doing a quick assessment to note the injuries sustained. It is to Rathe she moves first before there is a tick of her head to the side. "You as well." Its offered in the modulated tone before her helmet comes off and is clipped to her side at her belt. Sharp blue eyes amidst a sea of black hair and she begins to pull out the scanner to go over Rathe's arm.
"Another scar to be added to your record." She looks to the others. "Anyone else injured?" The question is asked as she cleans the area swiftly and starts to the field dressing. "And have we solved this problem or do we have to run them off this planet on our way out?" She is professional but there is a hopeful lilt in her last question.
After the carnage ceases, the group is left relatively unscathed, save for Rathe who seemed to have a bright red flashing sign on him this time around. <"Ironic when the medic is the one that needs the healing."> Avery remarks with a chuckle. Usually he's the one in Rathe's situation and he doesn't envy the man. Still, a job you can walk away from is a job well done and he scans the room one last time to make sure their mission is complete. Alive Queen, check... baddies exposed and, bonus objective, eliminated, check... day saved, check. All seems well and he slings the Tracker back over his shoulder, stepping over to watch Karys work on the wounds of their clan mate.
Watching the last of the bodyguards fall, Rathe struggles to keep his Tracker up in place just in case. There is some severe grumbling at himself for failing to eliminate more targets that time around. No revenge for him either, as he considers Karys. THe visor turns onto the blue eyes that are often a cause of and/or solution to all his problems. The latter this time as she starts working on him. There is transmitted grumbling this time over his helmet vox due to wounded professional pride.
However what he SAYS is <"Thank you. I could have gotten it..."> But he lets Karys work, without releasing the grip of his carbine. For Avery, there is an upnod, and a companionable rude gesture right behind it. <"Pain is merely weakness leaving the b-OW!!!"> His right arm jerks away from Karys a little and he ceases motion so she can finish, and then assist others as they need. <"Don't tell me it was just me...">
Deactivating the stunsaber in her hands, Chani glances around the room with a look of sadness. It's in the way that the corners of her mouth are slightly downturned, and the way that her lids are slightly more closed than open. Chani's gaze turns towards the group's evidence collector and the one that had offered herself as a shield towards the queen. The words bring about a subtle frown on Chani's face, brows slightly knitted together and a slight wrinkle around the bridge of her nose. The words come quick and the woman already starts to turn her back, but she answers anyway. "I didn't draw a weapon. I drew my only implement of self defense. I don't seek to be a threat to anyone. I regret that it came to violence at all." Rather than dwell on it, Chani's attention turns towards Aryn. "Are you alright?" It's a question she repeats, hopeful that now the blonde woman can answer it. Chani did, after all, see the noble woman take a hit for her sake.
"We are thankful you took our warning into account, your Eminence. Thank you." Aryn hooks her lightsaber back onto her belt and brushes the cape over to conceal it. Jundani's compliment was kind, but Aryn had no words beyond, "Thank you." She was not privy to what Jundani imparted to Chani, because Aryn was looking to the dead to see if any yet lived. When Chani came to her though, asking after her health, Aryn rose to her height and took a moment for self analysis. When she found the spot she had been shot, she touched it and shook her head. "I believe this to be superficial. Maybe a small bruise from the impact, but thankfully.. I will live." She smiled.
"As we will..." the Kari queen's translator emits before her antennae twitch again, "The invaders are in full flight. Our surface weapons are tracking them as they flee - they move at speed. I suspect they will be in hyperspace before you reach the port... their craft was no warship. Sustained combat is not its design. I expect they flee your reprisal for their actions - but we will be vigilant for a return of their kind and may call on you for aid should they return."
The kari nod again and the heroes find themselves greeted by new speeder craft to carry them to the surface, in victory over a creeping shadow, whispering invectives from the dark of space.
