Naboo

[Mr. Mortati]

"Bank vault number 64624762 at the InterGalactic bank headquarters on Coruscant."

 

He smiled and made his way for the exit. He was still very unaware of what was happening on the rest of the planet, otherwise he would have considered holding her up for a few moments longer. It was up to her to get into the vault, which he hadn't given a key or entry codes for, and retrieve the item.

 

Of course, that was how she would see it. He wanted her to sweat it out a bit before actually going there and realizing she had access to the vault the entire time, as he had informed them that she would be the one to retrieve the contents of that security box.

 

Making his way back onto his ship, he tells the pilot to fire it up and soon the pair lift off...seeing the speeders rocketing towards the mansion as they do. Wasting no time, they make their way towards space and out of the system...He was as giddy as a school girl the whole way home as he stared at the numbers on his bank account, after transferring it to ensure that she played no tricks, of course.

[Vladimir Faust]

Just after Mortati shows up, several armed Naboo policeman show up, making a bee-line for Armiena. Their leader steps forward, conducting himself in a cautious, yet professional manner.

 

"Ms. Draygo, I'm going to have to ask you to come with us. I'm afraid to say you're being placed under arrest."

[ObliviousKnight]

"I'm surprised you got here so quickly." Taking a deep breath, Armiena restored a civil expression on her face and immediately sought to take the initiative again. "I imagine you'll want my weapons and effects. This," she began, indicating her lightsabers. "Is the dangerous end. Don't point it at anything unless you want a hole in it." Armiena unsnapped her gunbelt and tossed it towards one of the startled policemen.

 

"Don't mess with... well, unless you want to discover what bad allergies are all about, don't play with that. And really, really don't play with these things unless you want a prosthetic finger for some reason. Just trust me on that." A pair of slender, barely visible metallic blades slid from her sleeves, which she rested on the ground before them. "Am I forgetting anything.... oh, right." From her boot, she withdrew her trusty vibroknife, which she'd carried on her body since before she even joined the Jedi.

 

Armiena had just handed quite an arsenal over to the Naboo policemen, and they were momentarily disarmed by the casual attitude she treated it with. However, before she could offer a response, the ancient song Reveille began blaring from her comlink. "It's probably just Vandro from the Survivor's Foundation." Indeed, if the policemen answered the comlink, they would find that it was one of the Foundation's employees, informing their boss that the Esperanza was en route to Naboo to offer assistance in the rebuilding process and to take on supplies before it embarked on a tour of duty in the Rim.

 

It seemed that the woman just wouldn't shut up, even as the policemen took positions to flank her and guide her into one of their armored cruisers. "You'll also find that I managed to record most of the conversation I just had--unedited, that is--and it's one of the very few unencrypted files on my ship. That file should be more than enough to prove my innocence, but don't try accessing anything else, unless you want to provoke the AI on my ship. Anyways, shall we get going?"

 

If the situation wasn't so dire, some of the policemen would have started laughing. Her fun-loving, compassionate public personality was all but legendary amongst the viewers of the Holonet, and it had a tendency to shine through especially during tense moments like this. No matter what happened, it seemed that she simply wouldn't shut up.

[Vladimir Faust]

After a short trip to the police station under heavy guard, the matter is cleared up in an hour and a half. Armiena is released with an official apology from the Naboo police, cleared of all charges, and thanked for her help in services in the investiation. Despite this angry grumblings remain from those already suspicious of the Jedi and mutterings of conspiracy theories surface.

 

Sadly, despite Armiena's recorded conversation, the evidence is deemed insufficient to formally charge Faust with the crime, despite his being wanted for questioning in several other bloody incidents over the years.

[Guest]

Jareth's sleek, silver and black craft drifted serenely through the clouds of Naboo before touching down on a fairly remote stretch of land just beside a picturesque lakefront complex.

 

As the sith master turned off the ships engines, he turned to Azumi who had fallen asleep during the long journey.

 

"We've arived. I hope this location is to your liking."

 

Jareth then stretched an arm beckoning Azumi to make her way off the ship and the sith followed.

[Bounty]

OOC: Sorry for the appalling delay on this response, it won't happen again.

 

IC:

 

*The customs official looks up at the towering monstrosity, trying with little success to conceal the fear her feels.

 

He is not, however, about to take leave of his senses because he is 'scared'. He has more control of himself, and there is money to be made here.*

 

'I'm sorry, gentlebeing, but the Republic of Naboo does not have an extradition accord with Ventooine. It simply would be illegal for us to allow you to relocate the Wookiee, or even for me to divulge any information which might allow you to perpetrate a crime against her. My duty here is one not easily broken, gentlebeing.'

 

Rod-yak Val, the intuitive business like being that he is, understands the pathetic pest all too well; money, it's what fuels the galaxy. He reaches into a pocket beneath his cloak and pulls out one hundred credits then he bends towards the guard, getting in the miniature man's face.

 

Rodya comes forth, "Here you go you delicious looking piece of meat. How about after you give me the information I need we both go back to my ship so I can have a little snack?"

 

As Rodya emerges from the darkly clad Rod-yak Val, the giant's eyes change, bulging from his head and passing on the knowledge that this Dashade is capable of anything. The Nabooian guard has to get the hint. He will not get any more credits. The only thing he will be able to receive if he does not accept Rodya's generous offer is a crushed jugular and a free trip to the after-life. The wild Rodya cares not for the numerous guards or civilians nearby knowing that his ship is not far away.

 

'Fine, fine.'

 

*The customs officer snatches the note and it disappears as if by magic. He simply wanted to be rid of this monstrosity now.

 

Checking quickly, he can see that the only wookiee who had come on planet in the last two months had purchased a skiff ticket for Theras, a small town to the east. Printing the information off, he gives it to the huge beast.*

 

'Here you are. Now, get out of here.'

[Guest]

Azumi yawned, as she stood before Jareth, she gave him a slight wink and smile as she made her way off the ship.

 

The lake was beautiful, Azumi stood a moment breathing in fresh, sweet air. She loved the water, it reminded her of home, a place she hadn't seen in years. She shook her head slightly to keep from thinking of such depressing moments in her life.

 

Azumi waited for Jareth to fall in stride beside her before she spoke, "This is much more beautiful than I had expected, thank you for bringing me here. I believe this is a much needed escape after such an intense meeting... don't you think?"

[ObliviousKnight]

Thoroughly irritated after a confrontation with Naboo's press, Armiena summoned her Ghost Breath and withdrew to a grassy field outside Theed. As she tracked the ebony ship's movement across the sky, her knees buckled at the passing of a massive disturbance in the Force””she had no idea what it was, but it was big. The only reassurance was that it did not contain the taint of death; it hadn't been an atrocity, but an act of lesser malice or even just a cataclysmic natural disaster.

 

When she finally came to her feet, the Ghost Breath had settled on the grass and opened its boarding ramp to allow her entry. Minutes later, she took up her position in the pilot's seat and was streaking across the stars.

[Rodya]

Rod-yak Val takes the ticket and politely nods to gaurd, all traces of of the disturbed Rodya disappearing. The Dashade returns to his ship and calls up a map of Naboo on his ship's computers. Quickly he locates Theras and programs his destination into the ships nav computers. The vessel lifts off the ground and the hunt is once again underway.

 

**********************************************************

 

During the rather short trip to the small town, Rodya returns to his work on the artificial life he has decided to create. The prelimanary tasks on his new friend's construction are all but complete. With the connection of one last wire, the droid's eyes light up and verbal communication commences.

 

"At your service my master," the electronic beast states.

 

Rodya, delighted with his achievment, smiles as only a severly disturbed Dashade can and replies, "Great, you know your place. I was scared you would act too much like your contemporaries forcing me to destroy you, but you please me with your knowledge of who I am, but who are you?"

 

The droid's head turns as if puzzled, "I do not understand that statement master. I am merely your creation. If you refer to my name then I am afraid I do not know for you have yet to provide me with such programming."

 

"A name, I nearly forgot." Already the droid can see that its master needs help, and upon this recognition something strange happens within the electronic circuits of the droid. Feelings of compassion for the fleshy crazed brute, Rodya stir inside the internal structure of the machine. Feelings, a quality machines are not supposed to possess. The droid understands this and analyzes the circumstances. Perhaps the master is better skilled than I at first realized... thinks the droid. Wow! An internal monologue for a droid, the master is skilled!

 

Not knowing the full range of his accomplishment, Rodya proceeds with the conversation, "Your name shall be J-37 for when you are conversing with other electronic devices, but I shall call you Dunya. That is a proper Dashade name. One worthy of being spoken daily by me."

 

The droid programs the names into its internal memory, "Well master, what is your first command?"

 

"Straight to work is it? Good, I like that in a droid. I am currently hunting. I will need you in the pilot's seat. You will find that I have programmed you with full knowledge of how to pilot millions of types of ships so merely access your databanks and this assignment should not be too hard for you to complete. I will return once I have captured my prey, but I need you to be ready with the ship in case there is trouble."

 

Rodya rises and walks out of the room expecting Dunya to follow, but a voice projects from the workbench, "Excuse me master, but how do you expect me to get into position to pilot this vehicle?"

 

Rodya turns around, realizing he has forgotten to equip his friend with legs. He picks up the torso of the droid and carries it into the control room, sitting it down in the pilot's chair. Theras is approaching....

 

**********************************************************

 

Rod-yak Val places his cloak over his armor and weapons. He is now fully equipped and ready to take action against his foe. A few of his smaller weapons are hidden in case he is forced to turn them into officials, but they are all concealed by the thick black robe that covers nearly all of his features.

 

The ship has set down just outside of Theras on a firm patch of ground in a marshy swamp where it can be concealed by large trees and thick vegetagian. Rodya climbs over fallen trees and fights his way through the underbrush until he comes out into a perfectly green field. Before him lies the quiet town of Theras. He projects the image of Crallatobuuk with his datapad, getting one last look at his prey before he must finish this hunt.

 

The darkly clad figure emerges from the trees and walks into the peaceful town. The few who notice the large beast change to the opposite side of the street, but life is so busy in the small town that few take notice of Rodya a fact that shocks the Dashade. On this planet it would be hard for any species other than human not to stand out, but the people seem oblivious to his presence as long as he keeps to the shadows of the buildings cast by the brilliant afternoon sun.

 

Rod-yak finds a small bar which seems to be the towns only place for aliens like himself. He enters and at first keeps to himself, scoping out the location and its inhabitants. He tries to appear friendly and business like when he approaches the bartender and requests information concerning the location of any nearby mechanics.

 

"My ship has broken down just outside of town in the swamp and I need some repairs done."

 

The bartender directs him to the only mechanic in town. At the end of the main street completely opposite of the town square.

 

Rodya lingers in the bar a while longer, having a simple beverage (non-alcoholic). He pays and leaves the bar quietly proceeding towards the mechanics shop. He once again takes to the shadows, finding an ally where he can closely watch the happenings at the shop without others prying into his business.

[Bounty]

*A heavily furred tan and grey creature arrives in a well-maintained yet old speeder, pulling into an area next to the mechanic's and leaping out. The creature strolls into the workshop, donning some smoked glass goggles, and gets to work.*

[Rodya]

"Dunya," Rod-yak speaks into his comlink, "I believe I have spotted our murderer." The Dashade looks through his electrobionoculars standing out of site in the shadows at least one hundred yards away from the suspected target.

 

"Yes master, your ship awaits your arrival." Even through the comlink Dunya notices a distinct change in Rodya's personality, During our previous discussion he seemed as if he had a bad motivator, but now the master seems as if he is perfectly in control. I must store my observations of his actions in my databanks for furture study.

 

With no reply Rod-yak ends the conversation. He starts towards the shop with his cloak pulled around him hiding his armor, weapons, and appearance as best as possible. It would be best not to spook the target, a fact the bounty hunter keeps in mind.

 

He enters the shop and addresses the manager. Rod-yak is a calculating predator. He does not wish to incite any violence in such a public locale and will only reveal himself and his purpose at the most desperate of moments. His true intentions stay hidden behind his stone cold face, and with as innocent and desperate a voice as he can muster, as if he really needs help, Rodya speaks to the clerk,

 

"I had to make an emergency landing in the swamp just outside of town. I was on my way off planet when my ship filled with smoke and the engines started making a horrible noise. I was wondering if I can have some one come take a look at my problem. Maybe even get me back in the air before the day is over? I've got to get to Coruscant."

 

The Dashade stayed calm not revealing anything other than the lie he had just spoken. His next action would depend on the clerk...

[Bounty]

*The clerk looks up at the imposing creature nervously.*

 

'Cral? We have a patron.'

 

*The strange choice of words has an underlying reason- the clerk is good friends with her wookiee employee, and is aware of the bounty on her head. The phrase 'we have a patron' is in fact a code phrase, designed to alert the wookiee to a potential bounty hunter.

 

Crallatobuuk looks up from the glider she is performing maintenance on, instantly alert, yet outwardly betraying nothing of her suspicions.*

 

'ohacworcwo ahc rooohurc oarcrawwao?'

 

'She says, where is the craft?' *translates the clerk.*

[Rodya]

Still acting as if he is a typical customer in need of a good mechanic's service, Rod-yak states, "It's in the swamp, just outside of town."

 

He doesn't believe that he has spooked his prey, and from the current happenings everything seems normal, but Rod-yak knows that for a person with a bounty on her head the wookiee has to be suspicious of everyone.

 

"As I said, I really need to get off Naboo as soon as possible so if someone could please go with me and help me get my ship back in working order I would greatly appreciate it."

 

As he says this he lays a few credits down infront of the clerk hoping that a demonstration of his willingness to pay will convince the two that he is a sincere customer. The game is lasting too long, a fact the bounty hunter knows all too well. If it continues any longer he will have to persue other avenues to complete his goal.

 

"As you can see, I have money just in case you are afraid of not being paid. I just need a little help." Rod-yak leaves the credits on the table. The sum is insignificant to the amount he will make if he can successfully capture the wookiee.

 

He continues to play the stranded traveler while waiting on his prey's next move...

[Bounty]

*Crallatobuuk, still unconvinced by the "traveller's" apparent agenda, wasn't about to venture out of town on her own with a heavily built, huge stranger whose cloak was drawn suspiciously tight to his body. She wasn't going to throw down with him either, however, since there was a chance he was innocent.*

 

'coorcrcro, rhhuao ah'sc rhraoaorwowa huak aooowararo rac ahao ahc. ah'howo rrooao wwoohurc cakwowowaworcc ohahaoac rhhucaowowa akooohworc oaoohuakanahwhrrc aooo rrwoao aoacrcoohurrac. aoacworcwo'c rawhooaoacworc scwooaacrawhahoa ra aoooohwh oohoworc scrarorhwo acwo'c rrooao wowhoohurrac aoahscwo aooo cwowo aooo ahao.'

 

*The clerk looks perturbed by this, but she isn't about to push the subject since she is aware of the danger the Wookiee is in.*

 

'She says she hasn't got time to see to it today. She suggests another mechanic in the next town over- it's about 50km east of here.'

[Raynuk Montar]

A highly encrypted comm message came in for Jareth, one that could only come from one source given the encryption.

"Jareth... Shortly after you left the meeting, a Dark Jedi took hold of the Heretic and approached me with an offer which would greatly secure the power of the Sith, and me at the head of it. However, to accomplish such goals, I have been set on a path of trials. Trials that I will need your help and support on. I know the timing of such events may not be to your liking and as such I will understand if you wish to pursue your own adventures with your new companion... But if you do come to support me, your companion is as welcome aboard the Heretic as she was during the meeting. I need your help Jareth, but I will understand if you decide not to. Quietus out."

[Silas]

A comm came in for Royda.

 

--Comm--

 

Royda, this is Jacen Onnd from Black Sun. We are in need of your assistance. I ask that when you are done with your current mission, you head to Krayiss II. Ask to speak with Canderous Ordo, tell him I sent you.

 

This is very dire.

 

--Onnd Out

 

--End Comm--

[Rodya]

Rod-yak understands the wookiee's growls easily enough. She is too suspicious of him. He has set her off and he currently stands no chance of luring her into a more vulnerable position.

 

The bounty hunter turns and leaves the shop, disgusted with himself and his failure. His disgust comes off as someone possibly disgusted with not being served as he had requested, but the two mechanics probably understand the true meaning behind Rod-yak's frustration.

 

As soon as he is out of earshot of the shop, Rod-yak recieves the comm from Silas. Loyalties... he thinks with even more frustration. His former employer has requested his assistance and he did pledge his loyalty. As a Dashade he must respond, but such a decision means leaving his prey.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Moments after Rod-yak left the shop Crallatobuuk and her protector sat curious about the stranger that had just ventured in. Both were fairly positive the being had been a bounty hunter, and if that fact were true it may be time for Crallatobuuk to be moving on.

 

A nearly silent beeping noise tickles the wookiee's ears. It is a familar noise, one that she should know, but it takes her and the shop owner too long to understand what the noise is or means.

 

The front of the shop blows open, debris and dust claiming the air. Rodya placed his sticky grenade perfectly. He doesn't wait for the dust to settle. He is in a small town and could most certianly fight off the local police forces, but he would prefer not to get them involved.

 

Make this fast and easy.

 

His DLT-20A blaster rifle blazing away, Rodya ventures into the dust cloud thirsty for blood.

 

((I edited this post because both of us are ready to end this and I think we can finish it before Black Sun needs me. Consider this post 1 of a duel of how many ever posts you prefer))

[Bounty]

OOC: Feel free to take her in the next post. I know you have more pressing issues to attend to than an NPC bounty.

 

IC: *Crallatobuuk, stunned and disoriented by the sudden attack, reaches for the bowcaster she keeps concealed behind the counter. She hadn't been expecting a bounty hunter to be so brazen in their attempts to snare her- after all, the bounty was very specific, as befit the cruel Satab.

 

Roaring in fury, she swung her bowcaster around and fired three times, the smoke and noise throwing her aim off. She couldn't be sure if she had hit her target...*

[Moon Knight]

A flicker of pseudomotion marked the arrival of the ship Redawn of Vengeance, yet to be renamed by its owner to reflect the ideals he now pursued. Its pilot was a dangerous being that the galaxy knew as such, though they knew almost nothing else about him.

 

This was the great Mandalorian bounty hunter ShadowFett, or, more correctly, Moon Knight, a being that drew his power from the past and present and now was manifested as greater than ever.

 

He had a contact to meet. Naboo wasn't a place that had many bars, but he suspected that the type of character he was looking for would be in one. He landed his ship in the capitol city and set out in search of a bar. He drew some gazes wherever he went, but many more in a city on a peaceful planet such as this, where a man walking about in black battlearmor was a strange sight.

 

But the stares he ignored. He needed to find a certain Vash Mammon, who was impossible to identify by sight and most likely had no set residence. By all means, a changeling was almost impossible to find when they didn't want to be found...unless one got particularly creative.

 

And Fett's method would start at a bar.

[Vash Mammon]

As Moon Knight walked, a whizzing sound ringed softly in his ears. Suddenly an arrow buried itself near his feet. The townspeople began to flee, a sea of human bodies jostling the Moon Knight, his odd appearance forgotten in the panic. Over the hill ahead of the Knight, more arrows came. But it was clear they weren't aimed at Moon or anyone in the town. A redcoated human was running several yards ahead of an army of Gungans. The Gungans were clearly intent on this man's death. As Vash approached the fleeing townspeople he yelled as loud as he could.

 

"A million credits to anyone who gets me off this planet! A million credits!"

 

He ducked as a spear sailed wide. Vash doubted his offer would be taken, but he had to try. The assassin had had tough times after his attempts to conquer the galaxy through Tycho's group culminating in this race for his life. He had trouble finding work as an assassin, let alone another high level job that would give him access to the resources he needed. He found himself on Naboo after a time, running low on morale. He had spent a hundred years trying to bring the Empire and Republic to their knees. Vash had yet to succeed. So he had decided to retire while he was still young. He intended to take control of the most primitive species he could find through his shapeshifting skills and live as a king for another three hundred years. But clearly that hadn't gone quite as well as he expected.

[Moon Knight]

Fett angled his body a few times as people rushed around him, not fleeing but keeping himself stationary as the river of beings washed around him. He took a good look at the fleeing figure and the pursuing Gungans, then decidedly stepped aside and watched them rush past.

 

This man was obviously some sort of criminal, one responsible for an act heinous enough to bring an entire army down on his head. Moon Knight wasn't tempted by the promise of a million credits to interfere, and he doubted that such a criminal would have access to said funding anyway--it was probably a promise made emptily in the heat of the moment.

 

It occured to him that this could be Vash Mammon, but he doubted that Marc would ask him to work with such a man.

[Rodya]

Three green bolts sizzle through the cloud of debris. Two of the blasts miss their mark, the wookiee is firing blindly, but the third is a lucky shot. It collides head on with Rodya, but for the first time since its creation the tiny implant in Rodya's brain is tested. The bolt collides with the invisible energy field surronding Rodya's body and simply evaporates, the green bolt of light turning to blue and then nothingness.

 

The bounty hunter smirks as he comes out of the cloud. He stands face to face with the Crallatobuuk, the murderer. The two use their weapons as clubs, clashing metal upon metal, matching strength for strength. The wookiee stands a slight bit taller than the dashade, but otherwise the two are equally matched.

 

A gash is taken out of Rodya's face by Crallatobuuk's long claws, but a few of the wookiee's ribs are broken by a mighty uppercut from Rodya. The two pound away at each other until, from behind the counter of the shop, two blasts from a small pistol whizz towards the duelers. One is absorbed by the energy field created by Rodya's implant, but the device does not have enough power to deflect the second bolt, and the blast of energy burns a small hole into the bounty hunter's armor. It does not reach the skin however, and all the clerk's attack accomplishes is to seal his doom.

 

Rodya, angered by being shot in the back, wraps the wookiee up into a bear hug and triggers his jet pack. The wookiee being taller, it is her unprotected head that strikes the ceiling first, knocking her out cold.

 

The clerk witnesses the bounty hunter's fury and begins to whimper behind his counter. The clerks death happens quickly and is very gruesome so it will not be described in full. All that needs to be said is that Rod-yak Val exits the shop, carrying his bound bounty over his shoulder and leaving an unidentifiable mess for the authorities to clean up within the confines of the once profitable business.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Outside his ship, Rodya waits for Crallatobuuk to awake before beginning the gruesome spectacle. The bounty is very specific on how the wookiee is to die, so Rodya proceeds to follow its intructions to the letter. He removes the two legs by hacking them away with his vibro-axe. The screams from the animal make Rodya fearful that the Naboo authorities will be alerted.

 

He works faster, but still with precision as he skins the beast alive. By the time he removes her head, Crallatobuuk is long since dead and Rodya's armor is painted red with her blood. He places the remains that are to be shipped to Satab in refrigarated crates so that they will be fresh upon arrival.

 

The bounty hunter loads them onto his ship and leaves the planet, leaving only mangled muscle tissue lying in the swamp.

 

((Sorry this didn't turn out the way you had fully hoped. Maybe if we do this again in the future it will end better. I would personally have liked a real duel between Rodya and Crallatobuuk, but so it be.))

[Vash Mammon]

Vash did not see Moon Knight right away. And so he did what he knew how to do best. As spear tips whizzed past, he transformed. In moments, Vash was gone and a Rishii stood in his place. The avian species was not much use in a fight, but running away was another matter. Vash took to the air, doubling his speed. He was soon out of range. But there was still no way to escape the planet. It was then that his newly keen eyes caught the Moon Knight's luminous form. Rishii's had the capacity to speak many languages, so Vash was able to call out in the common language. Vash dived toward the man. He flapped his wings awkwardly as he landed. It had been a long time since he had taken this form.

 

"You sir! I am Vash Mammon, a very rich anthropologist. If you can get me out of here, I will pay you a million credits. If you aren't interested in that, I'm sure I would fetch a hefty price on the slave market."

 

Vash wasn't about to allow himself to be sold into slavery of course. But he wanted out of here at all costs.

[Moon Knight]

This is certainly an interesting development, Fett thought as the avian addressed him. This man was a common criminal with an unusual talent--that was all. But he was also perhaps Moon Knight's key to battling the forces of evil, whether they be of the Empire or the Sith. An interesting development for sure, but one that ShadowFett accepted in its due course.

 

"Very well," he said. The interior of his helmet layed out for him a detailed map of his surroundings, partially uploaded from official sources and partially obtained by constant scans of the vicinity. Unceremoniously grabbing Vash by the collar, he threw the changeling into a particularly dark alley and followed briskly. "Follow me."

 

With his map providing a suitable way to reach his ship without risking anything too public, the Mandalorian traversed back alleys at an efficient speed. Most would have trouble keeping up, but Fett figured without looking back that Mammon would alter his form into something that would have little trouble with it.

 

By the time they reached the backdoor to the hanger in which Moon Knight had put his ship, there was no sign of the Gungans, and it wasn't the city officials that were looking for Vash. They were in the Redawn of Vengeance in a moment. Just to be sure they weren't being pursued, the experienced bounty hunter ordered 2277 to begin pre-flight warmups even while he was just touching the button to seal the boarding ramp.

 

"Wait here," he roughly told Vash, pointing to a chair in the YT-2000's reduced living area. He strode forward to the cockpit and was able to immediately take off, heading for deep space and some place where he could have a talk with the criminal Vash Mammon.

 

((To the space thread.))

[Zadkiel]

A freighter, having already sent its codes to the Naboo government, cut through the atmosphere and cruised low over the planet's surface. The pilot was quiet as his scanners searched for a particularly large underground hanger. It was easy enough to find-Zad felt the darkness surrounding it long before they touched down. It was fifty kilometers outside of Theed and had a sparkling lake not to far from the door step.

 

The scanners told of a vast underground hanger that could hold many ships and his force sense told him they were being watched by at least twelve concealed figures; each prepared to try and take down the ship if some unknown, yet specific trigger, happened. The pilot touched down forty meters from the right side of the expansive mansion. He began performing post-flight checks as the Sith Warrior stood and left the ship. His senses scanned the area”¦the number of those watching him seemed to be growing exponentially.

 

12

 

17

 

22

 

34

 

63

 

His eyes began to scan the area trying to see the formless beings. While he could feel their eyes, their presence all around him watching him”¦he couldn't pin point them. It was as if some unknown entity was scrambling the precise nature of his six sense to keep him off balance and at a noticeable disadvantage.

 

Rather then wasting to much time letting his paranoia get to him, he moved around the front of the house. Two statues, or at least something that barely qualified as such, stood ten meters out on either side of the walk way leading up to the door. They almost appeared as if they were made out of the earth itself, but such a thing would be inconceivable-if they were to withstand the test of time that was.

 

He could feel her taint at this place and in the surrounding forest. She had spent at least a day here recently, but any time before that had been too long ago for him to discern. He entered the house. All was dark and quiet, but didn't give off the appearance that it had fallen into disuse. Someone, or something still lived here. They had to be the ones watching him”¦perhaps they recognize him from Bespin and had hidden out of fear of what he might do to them.

 

Zadkiel brushed the thoughts away and moved into the garage of the mansion. There were several speeders equipped with heavy weapons and a couple of speeder bikes, but one spot was freshly empty. Only a day or two had gone by since the bike that had been there had disappeared. He jumped off of the elevated platform and moved over to one of the bikes, starting it up. It was at that moment that the pilot entered the garage.

 

”œYou going to be staying here, cause I've got things to do and need my money.”

[Alexander]

Alexander touched down in Theed, paying the docking fee and gathering his equipment. It had been a simple task to get a hold of a speeder to make his way out of town. In the back was his Dart gun and a selection of darts in a pouch that would soon be attached to his armor. Things went smoothly for the duration of his trip out of town, all the way up to the point where he slowed to a stop roughly ten kilometers from the house he had learned of just recently.

 

It was the man's childhood home and was a known hide out for his kind. Rumors persisted in nearly every corner of the Galaxy. The cloaked Bounty Hunter stepped out of the speeder and pulled his rifle with him. With his free hand he tapped the side of his helmet three times, zooming in. He could just barely make out the house in the distance. All was quiet, or so it appeared.

 

Hoisting his rifle onto his back, Xander began moving in on the mansion. He spent the better part of two hours closing the distance until he was two kilometers out. He found a suitable position to set up his rifle and spent the next several minutes adjusting the custom scope so that it was focused on the mansion. There was a handful of Gungan's performing basic upkeep on the place with several more on guard duty. Not a single human in sight, though.

 

He observed them for several hours before turning and pulling out a small ration. He hadn't eaten since morning; just before arriving on Naboo and it was now late evening. Soon he would have to change his scope's view to night vision. Xander disliked night vision more then thermal vision. When he returned his attention to the scope he noticed a human.

 

Five foot, ten inches tall.

 

The figure stopped, speaking with one of the Gungan's.

 

75 kilograms

 

He back handed the Gungan, nearly breaking its neck from the force of the blow.

 

Brown hair

 

The left portion of his helmet began scanning through various pictures, coming to a stop on a picture of the man that had been listed with the bounty. It was an exact match. Despite the event having occurred at least five years ago, it was an exact match. There wasn't a single mark of age or scar, despite the figure's warrior like stature.

 

His target moved inside as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Being so far out in the country, the stars were easily visible but with all of the foliage around it would be difficult for anyone to see his approach. After slinging the rifle back over his shoulder, he tapped a small panel on his suit and activated his heat dampener to help throw off any heat vision.

 

The hunter began his silent approach, pausing only log enough to screw the silencer onto his two slug throwers. His natural green shaded armor blended in with the light Naboo forests surrounding the place and combined with the fact he was moving downhill rather then uphill made his approach quite unnoticeable. Xander came to a stop when his suit picked up the movement of two guards on patrol.

 

The T visor on his modified Katarn II armor followed them until they were just five feet from him, on the other side of the bush that was concealing him. He stepped out without a sound and smashed his pistol butts into the back of their heads, leaving them unconscious. Xander pulled one of their comms off and checked the channel so he could adjust his own to their channel and monitor it.

 

They kept their chatter to a minimal. That was good, at least in the sense that they knew what they were doing and to an extent good in that he could easily monitor all that was going on, but it meant this would be more of a challenge. That left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He knew his main target was going to be a challenge, but hadn't known what to expect from his guards.

 

He tapped his helmet once, to check for high concentrations of substances that shouldn't be out in nature-in other words, for traps. What he found, though, hadn't been expected but was a welcome surprise. A door concealed beneath over grown grass and thick foliage. He cleared it all away and entered into the dark tunnel. His suit compensated so he could see, letting him continue onward. He came into the hanger that was hidden below the ground.

 

Seeing that there was only one ship there, he grinned and walked towards it. He pulled out two of his grenades, an adhesive one and one full of knock out gas. He wasn't sure how effective the latter would be, but the former would make sure his target couldn't escape. Moving on he made his way into the house through the hanger entrance from the garage.

 

Xander scanned the area, noticing dried blood near the center of the place at about the same time the chatter on the comm. system kicked in. They knew he was here; they must have had security cameras in this place. He heard a door open near the back of the large room; the entrance from the house. Two Gungan's came in, leveling their rifles at him. He fired two shots from his slug throwers, catching both of them in the center of their chest and sending them flying backwards.

 

The armored hunter moved forward, jumping up onto the elevated platform and moving past the two bodies and into the house proper. He began systematically clearing each room until he arrived at what he pegged as the living room. Two guards came out of the kitchen, with one on the stairs and another coming from a side room as his primary target slipped into another room.

 

His armor's targeting system locked onto each of them as he brought his right arm around, popping off two shots while his left crossed under it firing two more. The first shot hit home, taking down a guard while the second one just clipped his partner. The third and fourth both hit home. A guard he hadn't seen before fired a couple shots at him, hitting him in the shoulder and the door panel next to him.

 

He grunted and moved out of their line of sight to inspect the damage. His armor had absorbed the majority of the shot, but he could feel the pain of the energy in his shoulder. Xander's lip curled as he came back around the corner, cutting down the remaining guards and following his target. The room he entered led him to the outside. He had to get through several more guards, but there weren't to much of a task.

 

Once outside, he noticed the ground splitting to allow a ship out of the hanger. A grin crossed his lips several seconds later when he heard his grenades go off. He rushed forward, jumping down and activating his jet pack to slow his descent. Thick blue goo had the man stuck, but he wasn't moving much at all so it didn't matter too much. Once Xander touched down, he brought around his rifle and unloaded a dart into his target to ensure he'd be out for at least a standard day.

 

The quickest route out of the place was in the ship right before him, so he didn't waste a second as he loaded up his target and started up the ship and then lifted off. By now guards were flooding into the hanger, firing at the ship. The shields held up and he was up in the air”¦what he didn't expect was the barrage of missiles that slammed into the back of the ship.

 

There was no way he'd be able to take the ship even a full kilometer without it going down no. Black smoke was pouring out of the engines as he spiraled back down, crashing into the side of the hanger and shaking the foundation of the mansion as he did.

 

Xander's fingers moved over the controls, activating all the missiles on board and deactivating the controls that were keeping the engine from overloading. Once done, he moved out of the cockpit and grabbed his bounties unconscious form. The shields were holding up, mostly, against the onslaught of attacks from small and heavy weapons from all the Gungans and he could hear them trying to cut open the entrance.

 

He entered the cargo bay, slamming his fist down on the controls used to open it up. With his free hand he pulled two small spheres from his waist and activated his jet pack. As he was lifted out of the cargo bay, bounty in hand, he activated and dropped both spheres. The fragmentation grenade went off two seconds before the stun grenade, allowing him enough time to get out of range of both. He touched down at the edge of the hanger entrance and drew his blaster, popping off two shots at an approaching guard then running towards the garage.

 

He slipped inside and turned just long enough to shoot the controls, forcing the doors to close. Various speeder bikes and swoops filled the Garage with two skiffs in the middle. The bikes would be a lot faster, but would leave him more vulnerable and make transportation of Barton a lot more difficult. He entered the skiff through the back and tossed the man in the co-pilots seat while he set the skiff up to get him out of there.

 

This guy better not give me anymore problems

 

He pushed the throttle forward, sending his skiff rocketing out of the garage and towards his speeder and Theed. A red bolt flew past his skiff as he heard the engines of the speeder bikes start up.

 

”œPersistence isn't always a good thing.”

[Survivor's Foundation]

After the nightmare that was the mission at Gateway Station (quite literally, as the rest of many of the crew was plagued by devilish dreams of the zombie horde), someone in the upper ranks of the Survivor's Foundation decided that it would have be appropriate if the crew of the Esperanza was given a prolonged tour of duty on Naboo. The world wasn't quite in need of the Foundation's assistance, but the temporary boost to the planet's economy in the form of the resources that the flagship required and the tourism of her crew was certainly welcomed.

 

Most importantly, Captain Vandro's crew was given a badly needed reprieve. The most strenuous duty that was required of his men was teaching little kids in the backwater areas of the planet of the benefits of dental hygiene. The most exhausted of his crew were those that returned from weekend furloughs in the Lake Country and Theed.

 

Captain Vandro considered it to be a working vacation--with the publicity that surrounded the Outbreak, as some of his crew referred to the Gateway Mission, the offices on Coruscant had been buried under the weight of applications of those seeking employment in the Foundation. With the influx of funding, it was an appropriate time to expand the Foundation's fleet.

 

A transmission to a shipyard was soon sent.

[Mr. Mortati]

Survivor's Foundation order arrives on schedule and ready to be transferred to their hands, so long as payment was rendered.

[Survivor's Foundation]

This is going to be a very exciting day”¦

 

Captain Vandro decided that immediately after the four ships he had ordered, a pair of Venator and Victory-class Star Destroyers, appeared in the view of Esperanza like little red and white scalpels against the black void of space. Performing a sensor scan to affirm that they were loaded with the manifest of shuttles and freighters that the Foundation had requested, he gave confirmation to transfer the necessary credits to the manufacturer's account.

 

Serendipity and Martyriai”¦ the Venator-class Star Destroyers. They were incredibly powerful carriers””Vandro was surprised that the design for their hangars hadn't been adapted to serve in this new civil war. Within their ship-length hangar were nestled ten squadrons worth of shuttles and freighters””more than three times what they were able to carry on board Esperanza.

 

Sanare and Organa”¦ the Victory-class Star Destroyers. One of the largest ships able to perform atmospheric operations, they would be able to ferry massive amounts of supplies to the surface of a stricken planet.

 

Now”¦ now we're ready. Not a day too soon, either”¦

 

”œWe're ready.”

[Deton]

A smile came to Deton as a full battalion of Stormtroopers landed in secret in the city of theed. He had given the order, and at a rest point, they had commandeered a large number of civilian transports. Then one by one to not look auspicious, they entered Naboo from different points, only to meet up in theed.

 

After the battle of endor, when the first emperor died, these people of Naboo had gotten a silly notion to attack and defeat the local imperial garrison. A combined force of gungans and security forces had rose up to take down the garrison.

 

Now It would be the imperial's turn. Deton's plan was simple. There was an uprising that needed to be quelled. The best way to quell an uprising was to take the capital city of any world, and have the uprising come to your fortified position. At least give away their positions when they attempted to raid or disrupt you supply lines.

 

So he had an entire battle plan lined out. To begin with, the first battalion of Stormtroopers would land in secret on the world and then with sudden explosive force, take back no only the old abandoned garrison, but take the southern half of theed.

 

Then the second battalion would drop, from a nearby hyperspace jump. Though he hadn't left with that battalion, he had, requested it at the same rest point he commandeered the civilian transports.

 

They would land in the northern half of the city and in less than a day of fighting, two secure positions should have been formed up. After that, the rest of the city would easily be taken. Especially if Intel was correct and the people themselves were a pacifist sort.

 

He clicked on his mike as his shuttle touched down on the planet world.

 

”œOk its go time.”