Open Coruscant Bomber Daze

[Suarn Rook]

Coruscant Underworld​

Suarn Rook had come to Coruscant seeking work and adventure. What he had found was a underpaid job doing what he considered to be "the right thing". At first he had almost refused when the people of Block D3726 had come to him asking for help with a pittance of credits to offer. In the end he had agreed once he heard their story. It seemed that some mad bomber was destroying people's homes in the area with seemingly little reason. Suarn had decided to put an end to the cowardly bomber's antics and had taken the job.

That had only been the beginning of his troubles however. Suarn quickly discovered that the job wouldn't be an easy one, or a quick one. He thought he would be able to swoop in and save the day, but instead he was spending more time staking out the area and chasing rumors and false leads.

And talking. So much talking.

"You're sure, a Rodian?" He asked the old Ithorian who he heard rumor had perhaps witnessed the latest apartment bombing. The old curd chewer lived three doors down from the last apartment that had been targeted and he said he had peeked out the door when he heard some sort of argument in the hallway.

"Sure im sure. Saw it with my own eyes, a Rodian ran down the hallway and then a few minutes later Ms. Harkans apartment blew up!" The alien scratched its airmouthsackthing as he honked and tooted, a small translator mask turning his words into something understandable. "Least I think it was a Rodian."

"Great. Thanks." Thanks for nothing. Suarn thought to himself as he turned for the door to leave the dingy apartment. So far he had half a dozen witnesses to every bombing all claiming different things. Everyone and their mother wanted to be involved, felt they had something they had seen or heard, half of which were useless.

Reaching for the keypad to open the door, Suarn paused. A scraping sound outside the door made him stop, a knock and then the pounding of running feet that followed it made him spring into action.

"Get down!" He shouted as he dove for the Ithorian elder, tackling him behind the small kitchen counter that blocked off half of the tiny living room from the door.

And then the world exploded.

The door blew in with a loud bang. Smoke and dust filled the apartment and fire spread quickly over the countertop. Suarn's ears rang and his head ached. His blurred vision began to clear and he checked on the Ithorian he had tackled to the ground. "You alright?"

"My hip! Aaaaagh my hip!" The old Ithorian screamed. This job just keeps getting better. Suarn thought as he looked around the burning apartment for something to put out the flame.

 

[Derna Lorso]

Derna hadn't been home for a couple of months and she had been exhausted by the time she reached Block D3726. Some new logistics manager with Blackwell had decided he needed to check the entire manifest of their kolto shipment before he'd sign off on it, knowing that Derna didn't get paid any overtime and already had a twelve-hour workday piloting the bulk freighter safely into the atmosphere and to port. They were always bastards, those managing types.

Her block was a bit different since last time she was home and desperation had hit more severely ever since her landlord send her that holo-message about a gasleak-explosion a couple doors down from her own. It was most apparent in the face of the Zeltron that manned the toko and sold her tonight's dinner: Carton-packaged noodle soup. Still, she didn't really concern herself with the others on the block that much when she was home. With the little time she usually spend there between jobs she mostly just went clubbing and slept in.

"Beep-beep-" Derna's datapad suddenly vibrated from her jacket pocket and with a sigh she swung her bag over her left shoulder and took the noodle-carton with the same hand, before grabbing her datapad with her right. -beep-beep." Kriff Mother.

Sure enough, a short holographic image of Jesa Lorso was projected from the holo-port still wearing her work-clothes with the Blackwell logo. "Hey Dern, saw in the log that you're back. Your captain also redacted parts of your holo-log and issued a pay reduction for insubordination. You listen to me,-" the miniature holograph took a large breath, "-there's a reason the name Davik is outlawed in our family tree. We do not tolerate insubordination. Anyway, your dad says hi. Come to dinner tomorrow." During her mother's sharp words, Derna only barely registered an individual running passed her.

"Not bloody likely," Derna muttered as she stuffed the datapad back into her jacket and started searching around for her keys. She was approaching her own apartment now and-

-then the world exploded.

Although much of the blast went into her neighbor's apartment, it was still strong enough in the hallway to throw her right off her feet and ragdolled her for a good seven feet before she came to a sliding halt on the unwashed durasteel slab floor. "What-" her left shoulder and right knee both hurt like a bantha, but she still managed to get up and gaze at what remained of her neighbor's door. "Was he home?"

@Arclight

 

[Suarn Rook]

Suarn pulling himself to his feet with the help of the countertop, shaking his head to try to clear it from the blast. The Ithorian still groaned and cried underneath Suarn, clutching his hip with a massive hand. No time for that.

The flames were starting to grow and Suarn had little time. Spotting an extinguisher atop a shelf on the kitchen he grabbed it and started blasting. Blasts of sticky spray foam covered the ignited surfaces.

With the flames taken care of, Suarn stumbled out of the apartment and into the opposing wall. The world spun and he shook. Probably have a concussion. The thought floated across his brainspace as he took in the hallway, spotting a woman who had clearly been thrown by the blast.

"You there!" He shouted, hand half reaching for his blaster before his brain caught up with his body. She was wearing a uniform of some sort, noodles splattered all across it and the wall behind her. His eyed scanned the walls and caught a plaque on one of the doors bearing the same corporate symbol on her uniform.

"Are you alright?" He finished as he stumbled his way towards her before coming down on his knees a few feet away. The world spun and he tried to suppress the urge to vomit.

@Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

Her ears rung and pain spiked through her right knee, forcing Derna to seek support with the wall so she could heavily favor her left leg. She had barely gotten up when a Mandalorian rushed out of her neighbor's apartment, asking her if she was alright, "What does it kriffing look like!?" she shot back at him, her face turning red with anger as she felt the hot soup had drenched her tunic and was burning on her chest and left bicep.

It was the first time she had ever seen a Mandalorian outside of a popular western holonet-movie three years ago and seeing as he definitely wasn't her neighbor, she suddenly tried to remember where she left that company-issued firearm. Checking her pockets seemed futile and then she remembered as she looked over her own right shoulder and at her bag, lying on the floor in the middle of the highway. Kriff.

"What did you do to my neighbor?" she asked, her voice trembling far more than her pride would have liked to admit. Her first time being close to an explosion. Her first Mandalorian and also the first time she was facing death right in the.. eh, helmet.. and she trembled? Just plain embarrassing. Then he armored man took a knee and it was clear he was hurting as much as her, maybe even more. "You okay?"

"Der~CHT! Som~EET~ne tried to bl~EEW~ me ~OEH~p!" the Ithorian, all bloodied, appeared in his blackened doorway, its translator obviously broken and looking altogether miserable to boot. Derna couldn't blame him as it was his apartment that just blew up with his entire livelihood inside. Getting that translator fixed probably cost more than he his life was worth right now. "Oh, what's W~AWA~ong with T~EH Mando?" It took her a second to translate, but it seemed like the Mandalorian wasn't the one that caused the blast, prompting Derna to approach him, still favoring her left and try to support him getting back on his feet "Come on, mando, you too neighbor-" she tried to smile but the best she could do was to bare her teeth and ignore the pain she felt for just a second. "-I should have a medkit." She helped the Mandalorian to her door and punched in her security code.

The door slid open, revealing a clean but extremely impersonal apartment. To say it was good to be home was a lie, but it was the only home she had aside from the stars. "Somewhere. Have a seat there." she pushed him gently in the direction of her couch, went back outside to get her bag and by the time she was back, this time followed by the Ithorian, she headed straight for the kitchen unit. "I hope you had more experience with bacta than I have," she said, trying to lighten the mood up from misery, "I just fly the stuff."


@Arclight

 

[Suarn Rook]

"Kriff..." Suarn managed to grit through his teeth. He'd never gotten his bell rung like that before. He tried to focus on a small smudge of dirt on the floor but it kept swirling around him. He heard voices and then felt an arm start to aid him. Grasping onto the arm like a life raft Suarn followed the woman into the apartment as he tried to get his bearings.

"Thanks." He managed to mutter before stumbling to the couch and sitting down, stunned. He tried to remember why he was there.

"Bomb." Thats right. There had been a bomb.

"Did you seeauugghh." He started to ask before vomiting in his helmet as the world twisting upside down. Weakly pressing a button at the base of his helmet. The vacuum seal on his helmet released, letting his helmet empty onto the chest of his armor as he lay his head down on the back of the couch.

Kriff...

@Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

Are you kriffing kidding me!?

The Mandalorian just puked into his helmet and without a second thought released the vacuum seal on his helmet, spilling his vomit via his chest armor down on Derna's couch. All she could do was stand there and watch, medbag in hand, and mainly just feeling sorry for herself. "We SHO-ud take o~PH his helmud." the Ithorian's translator beeped beside her as the Ithorian himself took the medbag out of her hands and took a few bacta patches for himself. "Y~EW good neighbor." He said as he sat down at her small kitchen table.

Guess the Mandalorian was her patient then? Did she look like a nurse? battered as she herself was, Derna approached the couch and put her hands on (the clean part) of the man's helmet. "Gotta clean you up, Mando-" she had no idea that Suarn was living The Way of the Mandalore and would rather die than take off his mask. "-and probably call in some medical professionals." her head turned towards the Ithorian, hands still on the helmet, "-how's your insurance?"

Liability for someone else's medical bills was a.. Derna quickly took her hands off the Mandalorian. "You're insured, aren't you?" Blackwell would for sure cut her pay down to pennies if she had some stray Mando get treated on her corporate healthcare package. Doctors didn't live in this block either, so you just knew it would take at least four digits to get a medical professional to come take a look.

Her own bruises were minor compared to the battering his armor alone had taken, but still she was hurting, too, and she couldn't bent over the figure on her couch any longer. Carefully sitting down on her coffee table, right knee somewhat outstretched as that dulled the pain a bit, Derna just shook her head and laughed. "Worst welcome home present ever."

@Arclight

 

[Suarn Rook]

Suarn was just beginning to regain his bearings amidst a heavy odor of vomit when he heard the Ithorian.

""We SHO-ud take o~PH his helmud."

As Derna's hands reached for Suarn's helmet he would grab her hands roughly and pull them away. "Don't. Don't take off my helmet... Would rather die." The world was slowly coming to a halt and Suarn took the opportunity to clamber to his feet. "Medkit." He stated as he wobbled but ultimately managed to stay on his feet.

Grabbing the medkit and heading to the apartment's small 'fresher Suarn locked the door behind him. Alone he was comfortable taking of his helmet. Removing it, he stared himself in the mirror for a moment. Vomit covered his face and the explosion must have rocked him hard, leaving blood trickling down his forehead.

Eugh. Quickly wiping down his face, armor and the inside of his helmet, Suarn turned to his wound. A little bacta spray and a patch ought to set things right. He hoped.

Helmet back on and secure, though still smelling like vomit inside, Suarn emerged from the refresher.

"Thank you." He nodded to his host before turning his aching mind back towards business. "Did you see anyone in the hallway, before the bomb went off?"

@Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

Derna looked at the Ithorian in amazement, "Did he just lock himself in my bathroom?" The guts on that Mando inviting himself into a lady's bathroom was impressive, if not completely inappropriate. Her ithorian neighbor understood and shook his head, "Mandalor~EE~ans."

By the time the Mandalorians returned, Derna had removed her jacket and stood in the middle of the room, one strap of her tank top down so she could properly apply the bacta pad that now covered much of her left shoulder. "Let's start with a name, Mando," she replied, rather irritated, "Mine's Derna."

Assuming he did give his name, Derna continued. "All I noticed was somewhat running through the hall. I was distracted." by her mother sending her a dinner invitation she now had to accept, unfortunately. She pulled the left strap of her tank top back up and gestured towards her couch, "You paying for that?"

@Arclight

 

[Suarn Rook]

Suarn could hear the irritation in the woman's voice, not exactly a new experience for the Mandalorian, people being irritated with him. "Suarn. Rook." He replied tersely. Not like his name mattered to the task at hand, but it seemed his urgency with trying to discover who was bombing residences wasn't shared by others.

More of an annoyance was the fact that the woman had seen someone but hadn't had the presence of mind to absorb the detail for whatever reason. And of course like most people she was more concerned about a dirty couch than important things, things like bombs going off. Eyeing the couch that now had a small amount of vomit on it, he pulled a credit chit from his belt and tossed it to her. "That should be enough to get it cleaned." He said, like hell was he gonna pay for a whole new couch. "Do you remember anything of what you saw, perhaps what species they were?"

@Ecclessey

 

[Derna Lorso]

The credit chip wasn't generous and it almost seemed to Derna that this Mandalorian had no idea how expensive dry cleaning couch cushions were. A bit disappointed she nevertheless nodded in way of thanks and pocketed the chip before she mentally retraced her steps. Someone did run passed her somewhere between her mother's stern words and the dinner invitation.. "I think-" Derna began as she stared ahead, "it was a man, about my height and-" she paused, closing her eyes now as her right hand went up to rub her temple. "-could be rodian?"

She wasn't sure on that last part, but it definitely wasn't human. Well, "Maybe he wore a green helmet." The Ithorian shook his head and the broken translated spurted out "ROO~dian" in protest to Derna's uncertain observations. "Like I said, could be." Derna shrugged. She knew the Mandalorian didn't have much to go on, but he could hardly blame her. She had just returned from a 12 hour shift, home for the first time in months, still in shock over the fact she almost died and she had really wanted to eat those noodles. Not everyone was some space crusading warrior with battle-tested adaptability and flexibility. Derna was the pilot of a corporate transport and that's it. She could slice a little, owned some basic dataplagues on some cards she kept around from her academy days, but that's not something people needed to know.

Refocusing now on the Mandalorian, Derna pulled back a chair and sat down at the table opposite the Ithorian. "So what's your plan, Suarn Rook."

@Arclight