Ripper

Ripper, still dazed by the sight of the Supernova, sat up looking at Slicer. He could here the words but had no idea what he was saying. His words ran through Ripper's head over and over, gradually gaining meaning. A Capital Ship? Ripper had observed people commanding a capital ship, but never had he been at the controls himself. "No, I have no personal experience, but I am a fast learner. I have seen personally the commanders of fleets before, and I am sure I would be able to command one effeciently. At least, with a little briefing." Ripper's thoughts began to waver though as he spoke, remembering the sight of the Supernova. He hated to change the subject, but the curiousity was driving him insane from the inside out. "How in the world did those things take out a sun? That was incredible. How are we supposed to fight somthing like that?" Within Ripper, developed a new hate. He had never had such a hate for a living thing before. But from what he had been told, these things were more machines than living things. "If you have any idea how we can fight these things, I'm in." Even how incredible the Supernova had appeared, he never wanted to see such a thing instilled by a living creature again. He would do all he could to stop these creatures.

What the hell? Ripper gasped silently as the hot Tatooine sun suddenly blacked out. Holy shi... Suddenly Ripper was grabbed by a force from above and shoved down the hallway. He was shoved past the togruta, and when he looked back to see who was forcing him out of the building, he saw it was his master. Thank God as he ran towards the opening of the forttress. He saw Slicer's ship come down in front of the door, and lunged in as the Togruta was also forced into the ship. He realized his ship was still over half a mile a way. Now he was pissed. He knew that there was little he could do about it, except... The Datapad. He had linked it wirelessly to the ship on the way over. Ripper quickly punched in the access codes to his ship's navigation system, and gave it hyperspace coordinates to orbit around the first planet he could think of. He would retrieve it later once the situation was stable. Instantly the WileDagger had lifted off and was well clear of the atmosphere, Immediately into hyperspace. For now, Ripper simply let Slicer take them out of danger. He slumped against the wall of the ship, looking back towards the supernova in awe. They were into hyperspace before he could truely take in all its power. "Where to now?"

Ripper was amazed by so many varying oppinions on how the factions should be brought together to cooperate. It looked to him that there was little chance anything would be done at this rate. As he was listening, a quiet beep from his comm echoed in his ear, and he looked down to view the message. It was from his master. Your thoughts will be known. His master was a very sly being, unwanting to be noticed. The speeches of each of the faction representatives had quieted for the moment, and Ripper would take this oppurtunity to get his and his Master's to cents in. He stepped foward to the railing and spoke, "I am here speaking on behalf of my master. He wishes for me to convey to all that he too disapproves of a singular leader. This in no way can possibly support the views all the factions. In this sense, he agrees with Exodus." He could feel his master's approval. While all the while being silent, this man was intent on making his opinions known. "If a council is to be made, it must serve the needs and views of every faction. There is no doubt that an individual leader could not do such a thing." Ripper felt he sufficiently expressed the ideas of his master. He hoped his master felt the same way.

Ripper heard a voice ring out behind him. It was one he felt he had not heard in a lifetime. Ripper swung around as he heard the voice call out behind him, he saw his comrad it wrestling with a couple of fat, piglike guards as he rushed through the doors. After seeing them let go of Karnage, it was evident that he had explained that he was with him. Karnage spoke, and as Ripper listened he thought, Follow your lead, eh? Hehe, why not. "The audience chamber is just down this way. If we are to find out master, surely this is a good place to start." He walked towards a second set of large gates, and as he approached them, he could hear the loud cheers clearer and clearer. He pushed open the right side of the iron slabs they used as door, and stepped into the crowd. The audience cheered as a small human was thrown into the a giant pit. What the hell? Ripper moved closer to the railing, only to see what looked like a giant sand pit filled with long teethlike spikes. Then it hit him, this was not just a sand pit. It was alive. A sarlacc pit! Though this arena amazed him in it's brutality, he was not here to watch these meaningless lives get thrown to their demise. He could feel a presence, a dark presence, one that obeviously did not want to be found. He would leave it that way. If contact is to be made, he would let his master make it. Ripper found a nice dark corner to wait in, and signaled for Karnage to join him. He would enjoy the show while he waited. Keeping alert, he stayed in his position where he could only be approached from the front. He hoped his master would not be long.

Ripper's Miy'til starfighter the WileDagger, set down within walking distance of the Wyhl the Hutt's Palace. The cockpit opened and Ripper jumped out, throwing his blaster strap over his shoulder. He took out his datapad and began inputting a message as he walked towards the palace. He made it search for a few of those who he knew would be up to date on what was going on that was so urgent in the galaxy. The message that went to Karnage and Jaden Kal-Koran was pretty simple, telling what had happened to him in the desert, where he was now, and asking: "What the hell is going on?" He made his was inbetween the rocky canyon, towards the huge, unwelcoming gates. A small entrance droid popped an electronic eye-resembling feature through the door to him, and spoke, "What business do you have here?" Ripper contemplated his response to the monotone voice, and then concluded the simplest response. "I was invited." The eye retracted back into the door, leaving Ripper to his thoughts for a minute. Hm. Maybe that was not quite the best response. Before he had another thought though, the massive gates began to open inward, revealing a huge, intimidating foyer. He made his way in, noticing the guards would just as well shoot ya' as smile at ya'. Ripper decided not to test his theory. He continued towards the other end of the hallway as he maintained his search for his master.

It took Ripper hours to make it back all the way to the hangar. Luckily for him, somehow he had managed to find his way to the hangar with his ship still in it. As he arrived in the hangar, he took out his Datapad and found several transmissions... apparently his master was not happy he had lost contact during the training excercises. I will soon redeem myself. He saw the location he was supposed to report to though. He must make haste, making the master wait again would not be a wise move. He loaded his gear back into his ship and as the ship made it's wireless connection with the DataPad, it began it's ignition process. Ripper saw the coordinates from the Datapad flip across the screen of this ship, he confirmed the coordinates in the computer, and it began its ascent out of the hanger. Within a few seconds, Ripper was enjoying a cool drink on his way to his master...

...Ripper awakened on sandsled of a small group of Jawas. His head throbbed and he let out a wheezing cough. He felt like he would vomit, and as he rolled over, he realized he had no sense of time since he last was hunting the droid. He grabbed a pouch of liquids --presumably water-- off of the belt of the Jawa sitting also on the sled. As he inhaled the water, it was apparent the Jawa was cursing him for taking it's supplies. Sunstroke... he immediately thought. Overlooked that basic necessity... He passed out again on the sled... The next time he awoke, he was being poked and prodded by jawas getting tired of giving him the free ride. The had his stuff--guns, supplies--- that they had grabbed when they picked him up. Apparently they wanted to sheist him for it. Stupid inbred little snots... After buying his gear back off them, he began walking, towards the only hangar he could see. He saw a rather large freight type of ship lift off from there, so he could only assume there was at least a little life. As he walked, the hangar became larger and larger in his sight, and he hoped this would be a start to re-establish contact with Slicer again...

TWANG!!! The noise ripped through the air as the bullet collided with the back of the droid, but due to the angle of impact, it merely skimmed across; nothing more than an indirect hit. This caused the droid to stumble forward, and immediately sealed up the scarred simulated flesh on its back. The droid immediately changed course and ducked under an overhang of rock as it walked, as it knew where Ripper was now. Ripper stuffed the goggles, and desert mesh into his pack, but decided not break down the rifle, as he would be taking another shot very soon. He moved across the ridge and slid down a crevice, gun in hand. Once at the bottom he could see the feet of the droid moving quickly through the overhang, he lifted the rifle, but without delay he lowered the gun and moved along the gully for a better shot. He crossed over the gully, and at the end of the overhang, he jammed his dagger into the rock, and pried it downwards, as to cause a small collapse in the rock. He crossed back over, and dropped about three hundred meters away, from the droid. He slipped under a small pile of rocks, like a small child would bury himself in the sand, as to be least exposed as he could be. The collapsed rock at the end of the overpass forced the droid to exit heading right towards him. This gave a much easier shot for Ripper, as he was not trying to follow his target crossways anymore. He started his breathing process again, in, out, hold, repeat. This time he steadied directly for the forehead of the droid, no mistakes would be made. He held his breath on his exhale, set his sights for about two hundred and fifty meters, and with the head of the droid in his crosshairs, pulled the trigger nice and slowly. The droid dropped where it was, and for a few seconds did not move at all. Ripper refilled his clip, and after a few moments, the droid stirred, not standing yet, but apparently repairing itself. Ripper broke down his rifle, and after cramming it in his pack he threw it over his shoulder and made his was along the wall of the canyon. He made sure he was out of the sight of the droid, as it would be immediately calculating exactly where it was shot from. He crossed to the other side of the canyon, and scaled up it again, as to find a decent sniping position; to start all over again.

A droid apparently assigned to Ripper approached him just after Slicer called for them. Ripper looked it over, realizing it was meant to take the form of a human. He thought to himself, I wonder if this thing will fight back. I hope so. He looked the droid over, noticing he could program it to take any form he programmed into it. Ripper received his orders, and gave a hearty salute towards Slicer, and knew that they should get moving. He walked towards the droid, and slipped in codes for a nice size man, relatively tall, muscular man who could easily resemble a target. He gave the droid coordinates of a nearby canyon, which would serve well for a sniping situation. With lots of options to avoid a pursuer, it should present a decent challenge for him. Once the droid had formed fully into human form, it left, heading for the canyon. Ripper took the opportunity, letting it get a head start, to take a small R&R break. He ate a good meal, and then set out on foot to track the droid. Packing a good amount of water, he ignored food as to make haste. He knew it may take a lengthy time to catch up with it, but he was confident he could take up the slack quickly. Ripper set out, heading north, and within an hour was out of site of the hangars, even though the ground was vastly flat. Picking up clues of the course the droid had taken as he went, he cut corners to make up time as he went, as he knew the general area of where the droid was headed. He arrived at the canyon, sunset approaching, and knew he could not rest, as his subject would not rest either. He headed up the side of the canyon, as he was sure he would be able to see his target within the canyon. Being on the ridge, he was able to make quick time, and get ahead of where he believed his target would be. He set a simple camp, took out a set of night vision goggles as to stake out for his prey. Soon, within possibly a quarter of an hour even, the droid entered the small open area, about halfway down the canyon wall. This droid is slightly smarter than I had expected. Ripper noted as he had nearly overlooked the droid as he expected it to be at the bottom, not on a path halfway up the wall. Even so Ripper set up the sniping rifle hastily, and once prone on the ground with the droid in his sights, he started his breathing routine. One breath in, and out, and hold. He repeated this pattern as with each set he got steadier and steadier. Finally he felt he could take the shot, and with his last breathing segment, he held his breath and squeezed the trigger with the tip of his finger, hopefully giving the most accurate shot. The projectile left the barrel with a loud bang and flash, wizzing through the air faster than the eye can see”¦

Ripper's ship entered the proximity of his master's hangar, and lights and buttons immediately began whizzing, notifying him of the necessity to land his ship. Ripper gathered himself, and the items he had collected, and put the ship down right beside where Karnage had landed. He hopped out with the items in hand, and presented them to Slicer, as he turned to Karnage and spoke in a joking voice, ”œWay to show for the mission,”

Damn. Ripper muttered under his breath, as he realized the predicament he had gotten himself into. Dozens of soldiers were funneling towards him. Even if he had all the ammo he could possibly use there seemed to be little to no hope for him. He knew he at least had to fortify his position a little bit more if he wanted to stand a chance. Lets make a stand, he thought to himself. He turned to his left and tumbled down a few crates, to form an ”œL”

Ripper lay in the dirt on his hill, still viewing the base through the sights on his rifle. Over an hour had passed, it was well into the night, and Karnage had yet to arrive. This is bull. If wait for him, this whole plan will be blown. I have to act now. With that, Ripper abandoned waiting for his comrade and began to put his plan to work. He would have to adjust it as he went, as he did not have a partner at the moment, but it would work none the less. He knew he had a few options on how to complete his mission here. The easiest would be to use his inherent abilities and walk right up through the base. The other, bring down the entire base. I like the second of these two plans. A little excitement. In the split second that Ripper had made up his mind, he refocused the rifle on the guard tower on his side of the nearest entrance. There was a guard with a blaster, and a guard sitting behind a turret. On the other tower, there were four guards, and a turret. He knew if he didn't bring the turrets down first, he would be in a load of trouble. The crosshairs drew in on the head of the guard manning the first turret. This would be his first kill with a sniper rifle. He knew that. He was nervous. He squeezed off a round, but immediately realized the kick had caused him to miss a good bit above the guard. Shit. This spray of dried clay around the guard from the bullet woke the guard up, who was hastily trying to figure out what was going on. Good, he doesn't know where I am yet. He reloaded and re-aimed at the man, this time a bit lower to adjust for the kick. This time there was know error. The man dropped out of the turret's chair and fell to the floor of the tower. The second guard had noticed this time, as he came running out of the inside of the tower. He looked around, seeing his fallen comrade, and radioed the other tower of what happened. Ripper saw commotion in the other tower, as well as several armed landspeeders revving up and exciting the base. He realized that the guard that had radioed everyone else had just confirmed his location. Ripper had to get rid of him quickly. In such haste, he squeezed off a shot, which connected with the leg of the guard, who dropped out of sight after being hit. He wont die from that, but he wont be using his leg for a while. The turret in the other tower suddenly opened fire around him, causing him to duck back behind the mound of dirt. Ripper Immediately relocated himself twenty yards or so farther along the hill, as to avoid the gunfire. Peaking back above the hill, he knew he had to get rid of the turret before he could even think of entering the base. He immediately noticed that two of the three speeders that were leaving the base, obviously coming after him, were those that he had stuck with thermal detonators. Excellent. Noticing one of them was about to pass the tower with the turret dangerously close, he timed when the vehicle would pass it, and just before, hit the remote for the bomb to go off. The wreckage of the vehicle, combined with the force of the explosion collided into the tower, and demolished it on the spot. There was no more turret fire. In fact, there was no more turret, or tower. Time to move . Ripper slid down the hill with his sniper rifle and PTL rocker launcher strapped to his back, and his blaster in his hands. Once on the road he noticed that only one of the two speeders that was coming after him was still moving: the other, coincidentally the one with the detonator on it, had turned back into the base. The speeder that had kept coming now though had a turret mounted on it, and was within range of him in seconds. Ripper had ducked behind an outcrop in the hill, barely room for him to get cover. He poked around the side of the dirt with his blaster and let a few shots out, but only really to assess the situation. He ducked back behind the dirt, after seeing that the man on the turret was still focused on him, while one of the men from the vehicle was crouched behind it, fire a blaster at him. In that split second he had also noticed that the other man was scurrying off into the brush to the left, apparently trying to flank him. He would deal with that in a minute. For now, he had a turret focusing on him. He pulled out the PTL rocket launcher, loaded it and whipped it above the dirt mound instantly. Staying above the mound just long enough to aim and fire, he ducked back below the dirt. After a split second of apparent ceasefire, he looked around to see that the speeder had been thrown back about ten or fifteen yards, and the man on and behind it had been crushed. He still had the man in the brush to deal with though. He left the rocket launcher on the ground where he was, still with two rounds attached to it, and rushed off to enter the brush where the other man had entered. To outflank the flanker, Ripper thought. He hustled through the brush trying to sneak up on the man from behind, but could not catch up to him before the man had reached the road. Ripper watched from a few meters down, as the man, apparently confused on why Ripper had left his weapon there, walked up and was about to pick the launcher up, when Ripper himself ducked out of the brush, onto the road. With both towers disabled, there was little threat of being shot at, at the moment, so Ripper could cross the road safely. Ripper decided to use a weapon he had obtained long ago. As he approached the man with grace and speed, the man bent over to reach down for the launcher. Ripper shot his hand towards the back of the man's neck, and with a twitch of his wrist a blade the length of his forearm projected from underneath his arm into the man's neck. The soldier twitched as he fell, but the placement of the blade pretty much killed him instantly. Ripper pulled out the blade, wiped it off, and shoved it back down into its spring-loaded sheath. He quickly picked up his weapons again, took all the ammo and a couple thermal detonators off the dead bodies, and made his way to the demolished guard towers. He jumped through the rubble, only to find on the other side a mass of guards coming after him. With multiple buildings to his left, he figured he could funnel them down, at least enough to give him the upper hand. He stood at the corner of the building, and began pulling off shots into the oncoming attackers”¦

It was well into darkness when Ripper arrived at Anchorhead, about eight-hundred kilometers south of Mos Eisley. After setting the ship down relatively near the town's buildings, he made his way quickly into the nearest cantina, hoping to do some reconnaissance before Karnage arrived. As he walked into the bar, he knew what kind of person he was looking for. He looked around, and soon saw a rather well armed man sitting in a booth. A few empty shot glasses in front of him. ”œHeyyy man--,”

Night had fallen on this side of the planet, cold wrung over any body out in the open. Ripper knew that he needed to begin preperations for his next task. He landed the ship just outside of the Mos Eisley cantina. Looking around, he saw that something violent had occured. We don't need any drama while we prepare for our next task. He walked back to his ship and set up to send a comm to Karnage. The message was short and sweet, and was accompanied by coordinates for a new meeting location. --I should have preparation for this task done by time we meet up. Meet at these coordinates, and keep a low profile once you're there. Try not to be seen.-- With that Ripper closed the top of his ship and blasted southwards...

Ripper walked through the front door of the shop in the front of the building. At this point the had left the hustler behind, wanting to finish his business quickly. He walked to the counter, a clerk working on a widget just behind it. Getting the clerk's attention, he said ”œI want a very specific item. I want good quality. And I want it now.”