Always an Exception

[Varyn Rask]

The world looked about as inhospitable as it was. It wasn't difficult to see why it had been turned into a prison world, and the building ahead of them looked like it was no exception to the other hideous landscape.

Barren and dreary.

But this was where Varyn's path had lead him. He was here to rescue another Imperial who had been a long time ally and friend of his. While most of the time it was expected that Sith would simply leave each other behind, this one wasn't a Sith and he was a friend, which bought some leeway in Varyn's book. He'd asked for a few favors and the mission had been sanctioned. He hoped that his partner wouldn't be disgruntled about it.

The fact was, Varyn knew absolutely nothing about his partner. Not who it was or what they looked like. He had only a meeting point and a time. This set him more on edge than his already jumpy baseline, and he didn't bother to leave his saber hilt on his belt. It was gripped firmly in his hand and he was looking down at the agreed meeting point: a small, concave valley thirty feet below the surrounding jagged hills. It provided protection from immediately prying eyes, which was about as much as you could get in a place like this. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Larisa didn’t particularly appreciate the Sith. Certainly she understood them and their methods, but she held little love for them. After working for a few years as an acolyte she found they seemed to get into and create more trouble than they caused. But such was the difficulty when a religion headed an intergalactic nation, and it was a difficulty she had resigned to accept.

Her scattergun over her shoulder, the Imperial Agent approached the meeting spot and took a few glances around. Hidden from prying eyes and well insulated, their voices wouldn’t echo too much from here. One hand on the hilt of her vibroblade, the other holding the handle of her scattergun, Larisa reached out through the Force. She could feel the presence of the other Sith here, though he did not approach the meeting spot.

Sighing, she started to look around to see if she could spot the Acolyte she had been assigned to assist. She dared not call out to him though, lest her voice raise too high and be heard by the enemy. The plan was to break someone out of prison, not take a simple stroll. Silence would be their ally.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn waited until he saw movement and once he was satisfied there was no one else, he made his way down to the valley, watching her as he approached. He knew how this could go, but there was no evidence of anyone else around, which indicated she was likely his contact. He moved down quietly, sticking mostly to the shadows until he'd arrived nearby.

There was no shout or greeting, and he watched in case she got spooked and turned to fire on him. He wouldn't put anything outside the realm of possibility. Even as he moved, he tried to take note of the cliffs around them. When he was close enough, he raised a hand in "greeting." He waited for her to reciprocate, and assuming that all was nonhostile, he would make his way into a distance that would more easily allow covert talking.

Flash, he offered the challenge word, waiting for the response of "thunder" that would indicate that she was his contact. She certainly looked like she was armed for bear, and he was glad about that. If and when this all went sideways, they would need to be able to fight their way out. He just hoped they would be able to find his old Imperial ally first. He was an exceptional pilot, and Varyn would have missed him if something happened to him. Here was hoping all worked out.

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Ah, finally. Larisa thought as she spied the approaching man. He was dressed typically for an acolyte. Although his robes appeared unique, they were not necessarily outstanding. She remained still, appearing calm, though beneath that visage a tense beast waited to strike. The slightest wrong move and Larisa was prepared to open fire. But no hostile movements came, and Larisa returned the man’s ‘wave.’

”Thunder. Good to meet you, I am Larisa. Of whom do I have the pleasure of assisting?”

The returning of the simple challenge was quick and clear. The following by her next few statements were significantly quieter, but still audible in the darkness. Larisa turned away from the acolyte and looked out towards the prison, waiting only a few seconds for the Sith to introduce himself before adding a few more questions.

”Alright, who are we retrieving? I assume the target needs to be kept alive once acquired. Do we have a map of the prison?”

 

[Varyn Rask]

Good, he thought to himself, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. He was still tense, but at least this was the person he was supposed to be meeting.

Varyn, he said. Hopefully the two of them together could pull this off without being killed. He's an Imperial contractor, he said. A pilot and mechanic, quite good at what he does. Captured sixteen days ago, he said turning back to the prison and finally catching another glimpse of it.

When she asked if he had a map he gave a shake of his head. One of the guards gave up a hand-drawn map, but it's... crude, he said, handing it over to her to see that it was very crude. It was better than nothing though.

He considered for a few moments what their best course of action was, and he began to wonder if a frontal assault wasn't the best option. Normally, he would have gone for stealth as long as possible, but he began to think that drawing them into a conflict "retreating" and drawing them away might offer them the opportunity to cut a back door inside. Perhaps a hit and run to draw them away and make our way around the back, he said. It had the risk of putting them on high alert, but it might be better than simply hoping no one noticed them inside. Then knock out the power grid, he added. And by extension the camera and security systems. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Larisa took the map from the Sith, Varyn, and gave it a quick look over. The whispered curses flew unbidden from her mouth, betraying her heritage, "Haar'chak, such shit." There was no way this was going to be of any real help. Folding it, she handed it back to the Sith without examining it too closely. At Varyn's remark of a hit and run, Larisa weighed the idea in her head for a moment before replying.

It could work, create a disturbance at one corner of the prison and attack at the other end. However, it predicated on escaping the guards after attracting attention and circling around a prison now on high alert. Larisa did not like that. Tapping the hilt of her vibroblade with her finger, she spoke up, "Perhaps we shall leave that as a plan B. I am not fond of putting the prison on high alert from the beginning. Even if we do escape, we'll be run ragged getting the guard far enough away to give us time to break out the contractor. Let's knock out the power grid first. Prison's like this often keep one power grid at the back or on the roof in order to keep it inaccessible for prisoners. Once we hit that, we can use the cover of darkness to take down their signal centre then free the contractor. Without a way to communicate between each other, the guards won't be able to gather a large enough force in any one sector to trap or eliminate us."

Whether or not Varyn agreed, Larisa started moving. The sooner they got to the prison, the better. Night would not last forever, and the rest of the details of the plan could be hammered out on the way.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Her plan seemed as good as any to Varyn, and he had no obvious objections out of the gate. While planning was important, plans themselves were overrated. They fell apart at the first sign of trouble, he'd found. He moved along quickly with the Imperial Agent, taking advantage of the shadows to get nearly within a stone's throw of the base. There were guards out front, and getting to the power generator wouldn't be easy, but the Force was capable of some unusual and useful things.

Luckily the building was short and he could see the generator from here, but that didn't mean that getting access to it was going to be easy. He gripped a large rock with the Force, putting no small amount of energy into it, and hurled it at the generator. It evaded the lights on the way there, but the crash was loud, and probably got someone's attention. However, it wasn't as distinct as a blaster shot. It would be little more than a "what was that" instead of a "we're under attack." That was all the confusion he needed. The lights flickered and flashed before going out, which left the prison in even greater darkness and confusion.

Now's our chance, he said, making his way to an area of the prison that was partially obscured by the rocks. He pulled out his saber and prepared to carve through the rock face and into the building once he was sure they were clear, but they would have to be quick. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Larisa found following Varyn not entirely too difficult. He moved swiftly, as a well trained hunting animal might, by the shadows and darkness. As he crouched in cover, gripping a large rock and prepared to throw it at the generator, Larisa reached out with the Force and aiding Varyn's strength in order to throw the rock even harder. It was a simple motion, but one with a lot of strength behind it from two trained force users. Once the lights flicked out, the agent moved to keep a lookout as Varyn cut through the rock face and into the prison.

The cut was clean and their entry held no problems. The pair found themselves in a small storage room, clearly in the lowest level of the building. The only light emanated from the deep red glow of Varyn's blade and Larisa made a mental note that she would need to get herself one of those at some point. Swiftly moving towards the exit, she put her hands up on the door and reached out with the Force.

The third eye of the Force looked into the hallway outside of the room, giving Larisa a quick glimpse of the area outside. Holding up a hand for Varyn to wait, Larisa observed two men rushing down past their room and hurrying down a hallway to the right. Nodding, she whispers, "Clear." Outside the room, the two were faced with a hall that twisted two separate ways from their current position. Pointing down to the left, Larisa motioned for Varyn to go one way while she went the other. "If you find the comms systems first, knock them out. If you find the prisoner, i'll get the comms and meet you at our original rendezvous."

 

[Varyn Rask]

Just like that, the pair was inside the building. Varyn's saber flashed out moments later, not wanting to draw any more undo attention to them right now, and instead he pulled free the short sword at his waist. It was quiet even if not as deadly, but it was a better choice for this particular job.

He gave a silent nod as they agreed to a plan. He wasn't sure what he would find in here, but he expected it would be a mix of brutality and tight security. He just hoped his old friend was still alive in here.

With that, he set off in the opposite direction of his partner. They had their own com system, but he was loathe to use it lest the signals were intercepted. At least not while the enemy still had communications of their own.

Varyn intentionally made his way toward the prisoner cell blocks, hoping to find their quarry there and leaving Larisa to fin the communications center. His path was uneventful, but the nagging feeling at the back of his mind began, which usually indicated upcoming conflict. It caused him to grip the hilt of his sword a little tighter. No doubt his partner would find the same soon as well.

At the other end of the facility, Larisa would hear the voices of a pair of guards, mumbling and grumbling about the power outage and having to work late on their shift. Neither seemed intent on going anywhere, but were solidly blocking her path forward. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Larisa acknowledged Varyn's separation and moved on, swiftly and quietly slipping down the opposite hallway. The guards who ran by previously had stopped somewhere up head, and once more Larisa reached out with the Force to find their presence. She had no need of her eyes, and nor did Varyn it seemed, in this intense darkness. The Force, although it was not a perfect substitute, worked well enough when no other option was available.

Around the corner, the two men popped open a maintenance panel and started looking at the wires, checking to see if the power outage had stopped down here. In that moment, as the two were distracted, Larisa took her chance. Stepping around the corner, she dashed forward into a meter's distance of the two men and fired. DO-WOP echoed throughout the hallway, loud and obnoxious, but not nearly as loud as the two stunned guards hitting the ground.

Without checking to see if anyone else had heard the shot, Larisa continued on down the hallway towards where she believed the communications rooms might be. Comms control centers tended to be well populated areas, so she would need to be careful if she decided to come in hot as she did moments before. Two more hallways, three corners rounded, and a single flight of stairs later, Larisa halted around one last corner at the top of the stairs.

One guard, heavily armed, stood outside a blast door. That would be the comms room, Larisa was certain. He didn't seem particularly alerted, so perhaps her disabling of the two guards hadn't been noticed yet? If that was the case, the Investigator knew she didn't have long before someone contacted the two to check in. If they didn't check in, the prison would go into full lockdown once the backup generators kicked in. She needed that comms room disabled as soon as possible.

Back with Varyn, while the route to the prison blocks had been uneventful, the blocks themselves were not so clear. The blocks were arraigned side by side, with a guard assigned to patrol each block of 20 cells. Their patrols routes, while not in direct view of each other, crossed over once every sixty seconds. There were six guards in total in this area of the prison. Not yet on alert, the men seemed to barely pay attention to their routes, instead opting to look directly in the direction of their flashlights. While the power had gone out, prison failsafes caused the cell doors to lock shut.

To their knowledge, they weren't in danger yet.

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn made his way quickly, but cautiously toward the cell block, and was almost concerned that he didn't see anyone on his way there. Shouldn't there have been more people? His question was answered when he arrived at the cell blocks themselves and found a half-dozen guards on patrols. The lights being out resulted in the guards promptly shining flashlights in their own faces... brilliant.

The assassin knew he didn't have all day, but he took almost two full minutes to watch the guards. While they had what appeared to be standard foot patrols, they seemed very... loose about keeping them. It was several moments more before Varyn was satisfied that he'd picked out the guard that was least likely to be spotted while also appearing to be least aware of his surroundings.

The familiar weight of his sword was reassuring in his hand and he gripped it a little tighter, letting out a silent breath as he maneuvered into a position directly above his target. 3... 2... 1... he counted in his head, waiting for his target to be in position. As soon as he passed, Varyn dropped, letting the Force dampen his fall. The man heard it of course, but no one else had and Varyn's sword cut short the man's cry with a single slash.

It wasn't quick, but Varyn dragged the man out of the walkway as he still thrashed and flailed, leaving a trail of blood behind, but in the darkness, it was difficult to spot. Varyn snatched the keycard as soon as he finished moving and pulled the man's datapad to look for the cell number of his friend. It took longer than he would have liked, but after a moment, he found the cell number. It was two blocks over, but that beat it being a full six.

Two to go, he thought to himself. He wondered how his partner was doing.

And oh the fun she would have. This guard at the top of the stairs seemed more alert than his partners. Not alert to their absence, but simply more aware than the previous two. Maybe he was new or maybe he'd seen what a full prison riot could do, but either way, he wasn't smoking on duty. His grip was tight around his gun and he was looking down at the corridor she would be approaching from, ready to react quickly to any signs of trouble. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Breathing deeply, Larisa reached out with the Force and sought to center her being. The guard around the corner wasn't close enough in range to fire her 'do-wop' and hit him hard enough to stun him. He needed to get closer, much closer. Reaching out with her energies, she sought to create a noise at the end of the hallway. It was like a 'snapping' though it would be directly in front of the guard, in his sight. A sound with no source, no different than a hallucination. However, it worked.

The man checked and leveled his weapon, advancing slowly down the hallway. On high alert, the slightest movement or sound would likely send him around the corridor with blaster unleashed. Stepping back silently, Larisa leveled her own weapon and waited. Wait. Wait. Wait. Every second that passed as the man advanced was as an hour, and Larisa could feel a small bead of sweat quickly approaching her eye shadow. She didn't dare remove her hand from her weapon to wipe it.

The second the man's blaster rifle tip appeared from the hallway, Larisa snapped her body into a lean and open fired. DO-WOP, THUD. The men inside that comms room would have absolutely heard that, and the Imperial Agent knew it. Without hesitation, she snatched up the fallen man's weapon and keycard not even a full second after he hit the ground. Fumbling a little as she ran, she holstered her own rifle against her chest and checked the guard's weapon. A Volantis, excellent. Swiping the keycard, she leveled the weapon as the blast door opened.

Two droids and three men. The men seemed, surprised, and for good reason. No sooner had they stood up to see what the noise outside was that the door opened and there stood Larisa. They appeared to be dressed in simple security uniforms, and none of them had yet to draw their weapons. Maybe they were just technicians, men employed just to walk comms and talk to the guys in danger. Maybe they had families, kids and wives back home waiting for them.

But none of these things crossed Larisa's mind as she gunned them down. Two in the chest, one in the head. The last man had drawn his pistol by the time Larisa turned to him, but fortunately for the Agent, his first shot missed. Walking over the bodies as the droids, two astromechs freaking out and driving around in circles-totally unsure of what to do-, Larisa retrieved her scattergun. She could hear on the comms unit a man's voice, "Sector control! This is Jaris of Sector 2, I think I see blood!"

"Too late." Larisa remarked, open firing on the control panels. DO-WOP, DO-WOP, DO-WOP. And empty. The comms cut off then, as well as the emergency lockdown system. Even if the other mechanics were able to get the backup generators back up and running, nothing more than the lights would be able to be turned on at this point. Reloading then reholstering her scattergun, she moved to leave. Guards would be coming down the hallway soon. Even without comms and without a lockdown, the sudden loss of communication would bring people running to this location. She needed to be gone.

"Sector control! This is Jaris of Sector 2, I think I see blood!" The man's voice would be loud and obvious to Varyn, echoing from behind him in the darkness. The trail had been discovered farther back. However, moments later, the comms of every man in the prison suddenly turned to static. Every guard would be on alert at this point, but without a way to communicate with each other no one would be able to pinpoint the location of enemy combatants and rally reinforcements.

 

[Varyn Rask]

Of course they saw blood, Varyn spat angrily in his mind. It was practically pitch dark, how!? It didn't matter how, whatever could go wrong, would go wrong. That was how these things worked. He was preparing for the alarm to draw the attention of the entire facility, but it didn't. Had the coms been cut? Was that why there was no greater alarm? He hoped so, but couldn't count on that.

He fell back onto his early years of training. The darkness was his only friend now. It robbed his enemies of sight, but it didn't stop the Force. He let it guide him, sinking further into its shadow until even he couldn't see anymore, taking each step slowly and carefully. He passed the first cell block and then the second, following the path down until he saw the one he was looking for.

One more guard was supposed to be on this block, but he seemed to be investigating the blood, just like everyone else. That wouldn't last for long, though. Varyn had seconds to make this happen, so he did. He used the stolen keycard to open the cell and step quickly inside. Dev? he asked quietly. He could sense someone else in here, and it was a familiar presence: his old friend.

Let's go, he said, hoisting the pilot up and prepared to make his way out of the cell again. It was only now that the enemy's coms were down that he dared - for a moment - to open up his own channel. Any way you can make a distraction? he asked his partner. He wasn't sure if she'd be able to, but it might go a long way to making a speedy exit without a full gun-storm. @Black Noise

 

[Larisa Arkyadvich]

Larisa dashed down the halls, her scattergun in its holster and her new blaster rifle in her hands. She didn’t exactly know where the exit was, but she knew the way they entered in could be just as easily arrived at. So far, reaching and beginning to run down stairs, no one had stopped the imperial agent. However, a quiet voice in her ear alerted her to a need, ”Any way you can make a distraction?”

Looking around, Larisa gritted her teeth. She could make a distraction, but in her current location anything that brought guards to her would trap her in place. Unlike Varyn, she did not possess a lightsaber. Cutting out of any random spot wasn’t an option for her. Continuing to glance around, Larisa’s eyes finally made out a familiar shape in the darkness. The fire alarm.

With the power still out, the alarms wouldn’t sound, however the sprinklers operated on a hydraulic system, not an electrical. It was designed this way in order to allow the emergency fire sprinklers to activate even if the power was out or the fire had started in the electrical system. Reaching out, she broke open the cover and yanked the fire alarm down. For a few, painstakingly quiet seconds, nothing happened.

Then, almost simultaneously throughout the entire facility, water streamed down. The hissing was loud, numerous, and all around. In addition, as if the darkness wasn’t enough, the water would additionally screw with vision. Tapping her ear, she spoke to Varyn in hushed tones as she starting rushing down the stairs, ”Hopefully that helps, let’s get the kriff out of here.”

Larisa would not encounter resistance as she made her way to their makeshift ‘exit’ the two had made. With comms disabled, lights out, water streaming loudly from the ceiling, and all of this occurring in the matter of minutes, the guards would have no coherence to fight off what was obviously an escape attempt. The extraction on Larisa’s end had gone smoothly. She hoped Varyn had similar luck.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn wasn't sure if she would be able to give any assistance at this point, but any that he could get would be a help. There was no immediate response - understandably - so he had to assume she was otherwise occupied... or dead. That would be even worse.

There's a dead guard outside to the left. Get his gun while I draw them away, he began to tell Dev, anticipating having to do this on his own. Just as he was preparing to move, the sprinklers went off. They were loud and cut visibility significantly from the already low visibility secondary to darkness. It was perfect.

The door slid open and the assassin was immediately struck by the water falling across his face and cloak. His head poked out beyond the threshold and looked both ways, but he could barely see anything. With few other options, he fell back upon the Force, letting it guide each step as he led his old friend out of the prison.

He retraced his steps back to the exit, picking his path carefully and only encountering one guard along the way. In the current environment it was easy to get up close and personal, plunging his blade down into the shoulder and angling into the neck and chest. There was no sound to it except the man hitting the floor and Varyn was on his way again. Their exit was in sight, and he wasted no time in plunging into the night air that now felt cold in his wet clothes.

We should get out of here, he said. The extraction point is only 3 kilometers away. You ready? he asked. And just like that, they could exit into the darkness with their mission accomplished. @Black Noise