Last Strides of Liberty

[Narsi]

View attachment 2801
OOC:Here
@Aurek​

The bland unhospitable nature of Ziost was made even more apparent as hostility filled the air. A large crowd had gathered around a small rundown building, groups of different species clambering with each other to get to the front of the mob where a single door waited. A gathering of dark clouds in the air seemed to match the crowds tension as everyone waited on the run down dirt road, overshadowed by the more elaborate architecture in the city. The crowd swept forward suddenly, blocking the view for a moment before they were forced back by two men using rifles to beat them back. When a reasonable space was cleared the soldiers leveled their rifles at the people and one of them motioned back to the open doorway. The mob, before only eager, erupted into jeers and taunts as a small group emerged from the buildings recesses. First to emerge were two more soldiers, mere grunts by the look of it, each holding a strange blaster. Next was a short dark haired human with his hands bound behind his back. Looming over the much shorter prisoner, a male S'kytri was walking with one hand on the human's shoulder.
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Scowling up at the clouds, Gorman pushed the prisoner forward and gestured at the guards to clear a path. Taking a look at the angry mob, held only at bay by the armed soldiers, Gorman sighed and raised his hands for silence. When that had no effect, he smashed the barrel of his gun against his shield, creating a loud ringing that successfully gained the crowds attention.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN! BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME LEADER THIS MAN IS NOT TO BE HARMED. PLEASE CLEAR US A PATH. ANYONE WHO INTERFERS WILL BE DEALT WITH SEVERELY! I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGER BUT PLEASE, LET JUSTICE TAKE ITS COURSE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!"

At his words, the crowd did back off and with the aide of the guards a path was formed. With a nod, the two soldiers stepped back to their posts and the others started to walk. Putting his hand on the prisoner's shoulder, Gorman shoved the man forward to make him walk. Keeping a wary eye on the simmering mob, Gorman bent his head forward to mumble directly into the man's ear.

"Were gonna march down this road as quick as we can to the jailhouse and hopefully avoid any thrown objects on the way. Me and my men have these new stun guns, so we won't hesitate to shoot you but for your sake, I wouldn't try anything. Right now, me and my men are the only thing standing between you and a lynching. Remember that."

Reassuringly patting his holster where his real weapons were holstered, Gorman motioned his two guards forward while anxiously peering around. This prisoner had pissed off a massive amount of people in the Yavin skirmish, and he was expecting a lot more resistance then an unruly mob. He just wanted to get into a more secure location than an open road.

Gorman called to his guards, "Remember, Supreme Leader's orders, don't hesitate to open fire on any over-aggressive people, these are just stun guns. Especially any Sith. Those are the ones to watch for."

He was gratified to see both men nod back at him with a moderate degree of confidence. Gorman pitied them, they looked tough holding their stun guns and their real rifles slung on their backs but he was well aware of their relative inexperience. They were just new recruits, not even close to being Band members yet and weren't really suited for such a high profile job. Gorman sighed, he supposed that he should take it as a compliment that the Supreme Leader was so confident in his abilities.

 

[Aurek]

Rolan Aurek had a very, very long list of people he hated. These people? These people were officially at the top of it.

A blind, deaf, disabled man would be able to tell that the feeling was mutual.

As he was escorted out of the building, he was greeted by a crowd. A mob, actually. And a very angry one at that. This, however, didn't scare him, he wasn't scared easily. What DID scare him was the enormous brute of a man that was his escort / guard. Rolan had been told his name was 'Gorman'. Rolan didn't much like Gorman, mainly because he was in charge of making sure he didn't escape. Mr. Gorman certainly had his work cut out for him.

He tuned out most of the noise, instead opting to devise an escape plan. His thoughts were interrupted when Gorman leaned in to speak to him, before barking orders at his henchmen.
"Were gonna march down this road as quick as we can to the jailhouse and hopefully avoid any thrown objects on the way. Me and my men have these new stun guns, so we won't hesitate to shoot you but for your sake, I wouldn't try anything. Right now, me and my men are the only thing standing between you and a lynching. Remember that."

To which Rolan responded, stupidly and somewhat bravely,
"And you remember that I'm the only thing standing between you and a demotion. It would be a shame if the only lead you have on who killed your people were to be.. 'lynched.'"

 

[Narsi]

Gorman laughed and smacked Rolan on the back, "Don't misjudge me, I find it hilarious that you BA guys managed to blow up a Sith temple. Really showed those freaky pretenders whose boss." Gorman lowered his gun and prodded Rolan in the back, " Now keep walking, I don't want a demotion."

Gorman sighed in relief as they finally cleared the crowd and for a moment he allowed himself to relax. They had gotten through just fine, no shooting, no violence. It was a job well done. Looking to the front he threw a thumbs up to one of the guards only for the man to give him a weird look and then point back towards where they'd come. Glancing backwards Gorman swore under his breath at the sight of the mob, still following and bristling with contained violence. Pushing Rolan forward to quicken the pace, Gorman made a gesture and one of the guards dropped back to cover from the rear. If he weren't so tense, Gorman would have chuckled at the distraught look on the grunts face as he passed.

With someone covering the extremely violate rear, Gorman felt a bit better but he didn't relax. Not when he could spy more people glaring at them from the sides of the street and the buildings. Keeping his gun steady, Gorman anxiously peered up the road as they neared their destination. He could see the curvature in the road, winding around a ugly pyramind-like structure. After the curve was their destination, a small half story building set deeply into the ground with no windows and a single stone door set in the middle.

 

[Aurek]

Under different circumstances, Rolan would have laughed. These people were going above and beyond to get him to.. wherever.. in one piece. While he knew the treatment wouldn't last, it was almost relieving knowing at that very moment no one would be pulling a trigger on him.

The taunting rage that eminated from the mob could be heard for miles. There wasn't a being on this planet that didn't want to see him dead. And in all fairness, he'd likely be doing both himself and the Border Alliance a favor if he were to launch himself into that crowd, towards a slow, excruciating, but agony-saving death. But he didn't do that. At the end of the day, this Border Alliance meant only so much to him. He would do whatever it takes to survive this ordeal without compromising the security of the Alliance. So, he would wait for his opportunity to arise. He'd wait until he was wherever he was headed. And then he'd plan.

His guard, the S'kytri, said two things that piqued his interest. One being the destruction of a Sith temple. Is that what they'd destroyed? He hadn't exactly known going in who he was scouting out, and the Sith weren't exactly at the top of that list. So these were the Sith. It made sense. It also worried him. From what he knew of the Sith, they were barbaric, ruthless savages bound by a near-demonic code of selfishness and vanity. Killing prisoners? Rolan wouldn't put that past them.

But what surprised him the most was the guard himself, who didn't exactly seem as upset about the incident as the angry mob behind them.

"I take it you're not from around here?"

He was headed towards what he could only assume was a dark, musty cell with daily servings of stale bread and water. He may as well make the best of his Last Strides of Liberty.

 

[vamp]

Alpha weaved through the crowd. Out of all, he believed he was the angriest. But then, everyone did. As the prisonier walked outside, he glared at the man. That frakking piece of shit blew up a Sith temple. A temple. And what gave him the right? Years ago, Sith laboured hard for that building, only for a snotty soldier to come in and destroy it. Holocrons, artifacts, all gone, just because some bastard didn't know what he was doing. And this made Alpha mad. This made him very mad.

And what happens when a Sith gets mad? Bad things.

Alpha pressed against the barricade. He was absolutely raging. And the anger of the people around him made this rage burn more intensely. The dark side pulsed through him, and he felt, to put it quite simply, like a god. And here on Ziost, that power was only amplified.

As the man passed by him, Alpha concentrated on the anger. He tugged the man hard, shoving him closer to him and closer to the ground. The pull was certainly violent enough to rip the prisonier away from the guards and into the angry mob, who would likely tear him apart. Either way, Alpha was waiting for his quick arrival.

 

[Narsi]

Gorman chuckled at the prisoner's question and was just opening his mouth to reply when the man's clothes were abruptly yanked from his grip. Spinning around he began to raise his stunner, expecting to see his charge making run for it. Instead, he saw the man stumbling, moving as if yanked by invisible strings. The back guard was also flabbergasted, glancing between the spectacle and the mob with uncertainty.

Cursing, Gorman stepped forward, reaching out to grab Rolan's scruff again. It didn't take a genius to figure out what exactly was going on, no doubt there was a Sith in the crowd trying to use the force to take some sort of revenge. Gorman snorted as he got within arms reach, whomever it was, they were doing a piss poor job.

As if his thoughts were a catalyst, the invisible pull intensified and Gorman gasped in alarm as Rolan was tumbled violently away, perilously close to the angry mob. The crowd also let out a cry, one of happiness, and surged forward in the hopes of ripping the prisoner to shreds. The guard was instantly bowled over, the tide of people an unstoppable force for vengeance. Gorman gave it his best shot. Shouting, "NO! STOP!," He used his wings to leap forward, firing away into the crowd with his stun blaster. He came down, nearly on top of Rolan, still firing away as he used his shield to bash away at the reaching arms. The other guard also ran up, using his stunner to drop people more at the edges of the mass.

Together, they were just managing to keep the crowd at bay. With Gorman crouched almost on top of the prisoner bashing and shooting along with the guard, the mob was quickly losing ground. Most of them were being stunned down and others were being knocked, the result was that the mob, while still furious, was running out of angry bodies.

 

[Aurek]

He had barely finished his question when he was inexplicably flung towards the crowd, away from the grasp of his captors. Having fallen to the ground, he looked up at the angry mob which appeared to be moving closer towards him. He knew that if they got any closer to him they'd kill him.

Then, all of a sudden, they started to drop by the dozen. He could hear the faint zap of a blaster firing on stun mode and prayed a silent prayer. Suddenly, his escort was on top of him, crouching defensively over him as he and his team opened fire on the angry mob.

Covering his head with his hands, he took a moment to take in his surroundings. Beside the big guy was another guard, much smaller in stature in comparison to Gorman. This man was human, like Rolan, and only slightly taller. Hooked to his belt was a sheath that contained what Rolan could only assume was a combat knife.

His plan was simple; he would kill the guard and take his weapon. The S'kytri will be too preoccupied protecting himself from the now angrier, but quickly diminishing mob. The other guard was standing on the other side of the S'kytri, Rolan would shoot him then run.
Acting fast, Rolan did a somersault away from the S'kytri, before swiftly charging the human guard and taking the knife from his sheath. Pulling the man into a headlock, Rolan raised the knife, and with one deft stroke sliced the mans throat from ear to ear. Blood poured from the mans jugular onto Rolan as he retrieved the stun blaster. Without hesitation, he took aim and fired on the guard opposite Gorman. Wasting no time, Rolan turned to run.

 

[vamp]

Alpha glanced at the scene unfolding. The bastard had the audacity to try to run. After the guards both collapsed and the prisoner began escaping, he leaped over the barricade. Frak this, he thought, pulling out his heavy blaster. He aimed it toward the man's leg and pressed down on the trigger.

The blaster hummed and a bolt erupted from the muzzle, tearing through the air. He had aimed toward the man's hips, so even if he moved, the shot would still hit his shin or foot, and would cause him to trip. From then, all he had to do was drag him into the temple and drop him off in front of some SBZ soldiers to deal with him.

 

[Narsi]

The sudden disappearance of his men, prompted Gorman to turn around, just in time to catch a good view of his prisoner running away, a bloodied knife in one hand and stun gun in the other. Gorman swore as he realized what had just occurred and took a step forward only to freeze at the sight of a man aiming a blaster at the fleeing Rolan.

Thinking fast, Gorman loosened his shield and threw it like sideways frisbee. His timing was impeccable and the shield successfully intercepted the blaster bolt before rolling along the ground like a lost wheel. For a moment Gorman relaxed, he'd successfully saved his charge from injury, just like he was ordered too, now he only had to recapture the man. His train of thought was cut off by the metal pipe that collided with his face. Gorman collapsed, and the rioter that held the pipe let out a cheer before running forward. He was followed by the remains of the mob, all locked firmly on the escaping prisoner.

Through blurry eyes Gorman caught one last glimpse of his "prisoner." What he saw just beyond the man made his heart sink. Directly in Aureks path, was a landing pad with a Ziost Starfighter, newly landed and the pilot standing at the ships entrance. The pilot was likely lightly armed, and unaware of what the heck was going on, it even looked like his ship was still running. Gorman sighed and closed his eyes, feeling consciousness begin to fade.

"I've failed."

 

[Aurek]

Rolan ran like he'd never run before. However injured he may have been, he shrugged it off in those moments. Leaping over a barricade, he took notice of a newly landed starfighter and without hesitation started towards it. What must have been the pilot stood outside, as if trying to comprehend the scene that unfolded less than a block away. Taking aim, Rolan fired his stolen stun blaster at the mans chest and watched as he collapsed in a heap. Reaching into the man's holster, he retrieved a pistol. As a final 'fuck you' to his captors, he fired a blaster shot straight into the unconscious mans head instantly killing him. Innocent or not, Rolan would leave no loose ends.

Taking a moment to look back at the mayhem he had just somehow escaped, he could see his escort being overtaken by the enraged crowd. The S'kytri man collapsed and the crowd cheered. There was a part of Rolan that felt sorry for the man. He was just doing his job and he would very likely die, or be punished severely for it. Suddenly, they were all charging towards Rolan. Wasting no time, he made his way into the cockpit of the ship he had just stolen. Utilizing what he had learned in his previous mission, he tampered with the ships controls and lifted off before these freaks could figure out what the hell had happened. As he flew away from the horrible planet that was Ziost, he rejoiced in the fact that for the first time in weeks, he was headed home.