Ask The First Batch

[The Storyteller]

The First Batch

Heading to Zar IV, the Pykes main slaver colony. The newly conquered planet and its inhabitants were being picked up and sold by the hundreds and some times thousands. What better place to put up recruiting posters for work off world and away from the slave traders?

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae walked the streets with her enforcers in tow. For having such a large population, the place seemed deserted. She paused and looked around her. Her eye finally caught the cause of the lonely streets. Each and every one of her enforcers wore the color and symbols associated with the Pyke Syndicate. The same members who were rounding up people of this planet by the hundreds and thousands. This was reason why she chose this world to get the first class of recruitment started. These people lived in fear of being captured, why not give them an option of freedom to swarm to instead?

 

[Xol Zaa Fenn]

Xol hated slavers. Xol and his Beloved were once slaves, but because of their...unsatisfying genetic features, they were 'undesirables'. Of course the Haxion Brood found the two 'Undeirables' a purpose among their crew. If it weren't for those pirates, Xol would've never achieved any of the things he had with Zaa Fenn or the Consortium. Yes, he had lost much, but Grace Zann offered him a family and another purpose. Now, as Sherriff over the Paradise City, Xol hoped to bring a little homage to his origins.

Starting a fleet of pirates seemed like the right way to go. Now, Xol still wasn't sure what to make of Mae as of yet. It was obvious she hated him, but Xol was a changed man. Maybe that blaster bolt to the head back on Takodana knocked some sense into him. The Enforcer was not so quick to anger and he did not kill without intent. Responsibility was something Xol wanted to showcase to the rest of the galaxy. If the Zann Consortium could be taken seriously, then swaying the masses to join a fleet academy designed to fuel the Syndicate Armada would be so much easier.

Xol was garbed in his normal combat attire as he always was, but along with his new poncho (of which he had many), he donned an old brown cowboy hat. Recently, the Tognath had gotten rid of most of his old arms in place of a TM-347- a DG-34 Peacemaker remake with a little more kick to it -and an MK sniper rifleslung over his shoulder in place of his old pulse rifle. His heavy blaster pistol's silver shine gleamed from it's custom holster as Xol approached Mae's band of enforcers. A silver badge on the right of his chest also shown and glimmered. In his hands was his polished black F-11D with it's stock outstretched.

Xol looked like he was ready for battle, but he was only taking precautions. As far as Mae knew, Xol was dead. He was here to help her, however, and hopefully mend their relationship. But if Maez Tecono had other plans, Xol would be ready.

<Greetings, Miss Tecono.> Xol dipped his hat towards her and her crew. <I heard you were in need of assistance. Do not fret. I will not be killing any mothers today.>

@Trix

 

[Mae Tecono]

"Frack!" Mae yelped more then said as she glanced over and then recognized the figure approaching her. She had hoped he was dead from that blaster bolt he had taken to the head back at that pirate party, but she was not to be that lucky. She honestly liked the man minus a few of his stronger habits that really just disgusted him. But if he were to find a way to harness whatever pushed him to do such things and direct that anger towards something less destructive, then he may turn out to be a great companion to have on future missions.

Mae knew that Grace was sending someone "Familiar" to assist with this job, but she was definitely blind sided to say the least when she found out who. Mae then looked up at him, wiping the shock from her face and even managed a smile and said "I hope so" in reply to his comment about shooting Mothers. She took a deep breath to finally rid herself of all of her hatred for the man. If he was here to prove he was a new man, then she would give him that opportunity. "Xol, it is good to see you, alive. Last i saw was your head being removed from its shoulders by some idiot at a party. I'm glad that is not true and that you are here to assist me today." She said as she was still a bit surprised he was here.

@Charles

 

[Xol Zaa Fenn]

Xol gave the small woman a nod in acknowledgment. Mae was glad to see him alive! Though her formal tone gave Xol a surprisingly uneasy feeling, he was still willing to trust her. Albeit, slowly. So far, the only people Xol found worth giving his loyalty to were Tyr'din and Grace, but he was willing to expand that list of people if time warranted. Besides, the more friends he had, the less enemies he had. Keeping that ratio down was usually worth doing.

<Do you know where everyone has gone? This place is a ghost town...something's off, and I don't like it.> Xol muttered gesturing to the seemingly empty buildings around them. It reminded Xol of the quarantine zones on Nar Shaddaa when the AMS virus ran rampant through the streets. The infected would stand in one place, quietly waiting and watching for light or sound, and then they would swarm in massive hordes to close in on their prey. It was terrifying- another reason why Xol was decked out in his combative gear.

<I've got a bad feeling about this...>

@Trix

 

[Mae Tecono]

"Yea, I think they saw my companions here and think we are going to take them to the slavers. Hindsight, probably should have left them back at the ship. In fact...." May replied as she looked at her enforcers and continued to say "Why don't you all clear out about a kilometer towards the ship. If I need you, you will be close enough to help but far enough to stop scaring the people away"

As her enforcers cleared out, she looked at Xol completely decked out in combat gear. Not much good clearing out the enforcers, when you have him looking like he did, but at least they did not look like slavers. Mae watched as the enforcers buggered off, the people in the area began to slowly make their way out of the building to return to the street. Those who passed Xol and Mae would look them up and down oddly.

Mae was unsure how to proceed. She knew that many of these people would jump at the opportunity that Mae had in mind for them, but how to actually sell it to them was a different story. "Have any ideas how we start this off?" She asked Xol.

@Charles

 

[Xol Zaa Fenn]

Xol was already terrifying without his gear equipped, so it probably wouldn't have mattered if came decked out like a cowboy or not. However, as Sherriff of Paradise City, Xol could promise these people safety and keep that promise. Luckily for him, he had his badge on and everything, so swaying the masses might not be as difficult as he thought. Fear was a pretty good drive for just about anything. These poor people were probably ridden with it.

<Good evening, everyone. I am Sherriff Xol Zaa Fenn of Paradise City on Hypori.> Xol introduced himself, gathering a slowly increasing crowd that began to eye him and Mae. <My colleague and I are here on a most important business venture. We know the hardships you've all faced- the dreaded thought of becoming a slave to a slimy Hutt. But we do not have any ill message to give. Instead, we bring a message of hope! Of salvation.> Then, Xol let Mae take the lead. The Tognath had sparked curiousity amongst the people, and now Mae could deliver her plan. This was her plan, afterall.

<This is Maez Tecono. Listen well, because she will only be explaining this once.>

@Trix

 

[Samuel Blood]

Sam was very late.. very very late. He must of dozed off in the cargo hold, waking up to his cigar smoke filling his nose, he bolted from the ship, his heavy armour and vast array of vibroweapons clinking as he ran to catch up, along the way he passed by a whole gaggle of the Pyke troops coming back to the ship? Without @Mae Tecono? What the kriff? Sam stopped one to ask, receiving only a pointing finger back the way they were coming from and a, She sent us away cause we were scaring the people.. the Pyke replied. It made sense the Pykes were ravaging this planet for slaves.

Continuing on he spotted Mae and someone else, standing in the distance, Sam the red dot he was continued in a hustle, catching up in time to hear the Tognath finish his speech, taking the moment of calm to address Mae, he tapped his thumb to the bottom of her chin again, the way he had when they'd first met, Morning beautiful.. he said, following it with a wink that was becoming signature. A moment later he looked at the Tognath, he'd never met him though his face was strikingly familiar...

Hey box-face, these people don't speak Galatic Basic my man... he said, this planet was completely uncontacted before the Pykes took it over. loosing his T-Series Miniature Protocol Droid from his pocket, luckily Julius Arvo had compiled their native language to an index, tossing the palm sized droid to the man he said, You'll have to say it again.. he added before turning back to look at @Mae Tecono again, What's a place like you doing in a girl like this? He asked, his left eyebrow dancing a bit.

Somehow Sam had managed to keep hold of his cigar, placing it back in his mouth he took half a drag off it while he waited for the man to say something the people gathering around him could understand.

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae laughed as Xol and her realized that they had no clue what he was talking about. As he was handed the droid to say his pitch over again, Mae turned to Sam. "What is it with you and being late?" she asked, totally not mentioning him touching her chin again. It was a blatant puncture of her personal space, but for something that she did not know about yet, she just let him do it once more. She giggled as he messed up his line, not sure if it was on purpose or not. She then turned to see Xol with a much larger crowd gathered around him and them.

@Charles

 

[Xol Zaa Fenn]

Who was this new guy? Did he not understand what Huttese was? Everyone was now looking at Samuel Blood with confusion. They weren't entirely sure what he was saying. Then, when this idiot went to touch Mae, Xol had enough. Regardless of whatever insult this guy threw at the Tognath, Xol...had...enough. Before the giant could react, Xol already had his TM-347 heavy blaster pistol a mere inches away from Samuel's head.

<Who the hell are you, dipshit?> Said one of the citizens before Xol could even get a word in. The Tognath only chuckled and kept his gun on the big guy. <She's right. Who do you think you are? Back away from the lady, meathead. Stay in your place and we won't have any problems.> Xol ordered the big oaf. <And for the record- what you're hearing right now? It's Huttese. Did you grow up under a rock? Or are you just asking for a bullet in that thick head of yours?" Xol snarled.

@Trix @Mad Dog

 

[Samuel Blood]

It seemed the Tognath, was having a bad day, though he had the gall to point a weapon at Sam, one of the women standing nearby had said something in the native language of this planet, which to everyone here save for the woman and the hand held protocol droid would only sound like gibberish, as their language was only known to a very small handful of people in the Galaxy who didn't come from this planet..

Though that was less important, and probably a conversation Sam would have been willing to have, had the gun not been drawn at pointed so carelessly at Sam's face, it only took milliseconds, as two of Sam's droid arms whipped around and "fired" on the Tognath, they were nifty little guns, the Flash Pistols, with a very quick thump and a crackling sound, akin to an old magnesium flash bulb, the focused, high-intensity light source blasted in the eyes of the man standing directly in front of him, this allowed Sam to duck to the side while pushing up on the blaster pistol, that was only mere inches from his face, with his left hand while drawing Vibroblade with his right hand and stabbing it upward, with the intent of plunging it into the left forearm of the Tognath, the whole process occurring in less than two seconds..

Sam would then use his left hand to attempt to rip the blaster pistol from the Tognath's hands and step back with it now in his own hand.. the usual familiar crackling of the vibroblade was absent, as Sam hadn't activated it, meaning he'd only stabbed the man's arm with an unpowered strike, he wasn't trying to kill him, this was afterall supposed to be a cooperative mission..

Provided the Tognath was blinded for the moment like he should be, and that Sam now stood a few feet away holding the man's blaster, he would say, Sorry mate, can't help myself when there's a blaster in my face..

@Trix @Charles

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae was first annoyed with Xol for pulling his weapon but then upset with Sam as he reacted without a simple response that would not escalate the situation. Mae looked at the momentarily stunned Xol and knew he would lash out as soon as he came to his senses. She had to think quickly, and she took a huge chance putting herself between the two hot headed nurf herders. Mae stepped directly in front of Xol as he stood almost a foot and a half taller then her, and placed one of her soft hands on each of his forearms. She hoped that her soft touch may be somewhat calming to him. "Xol, its me, Mae, please don't freak out. I know this idiot just attacked you, but remember your trying to turn a new leaf. You being here is proof of that, now follow it through by calming down and taking a step back from this." She finished as she softly rubbed his forearms with the palms of her hands in a calming and caring way. She hated that she had to get all woman like to try to break up a fight. She was not used to it. Ever since becoming a Pyke, officially, it seemed like she left most of the softness behind to replace it with a mean and forceful pirate.

@Charles

 

[Xol Zaa Fenn]

As soon as Xol saw the two droid arms go up...well, that was the last thing he saw. Everything went white so Xol decided to quickly holster his weapon to avoid accidentally shooting the wrong person and tried taking a few steps back. However, a deep sharp pain ran up his forearm. It was obvious to the Tognath that he had just been stabbed right before falling on his butt. It all happened too fast to react to. Anger bristled through the man's body like a raging fire. Who did this guy think he was?! As soon as the Tognath was able to see again, he was going to teach the big man a lesson.

Then, a soft voice that belonged to Mae began speaking to him, asking Xol to relax and calm down. He flinched when she began to rub his arms, especially the injured one, but Xol found himself taking deep breathes in an attempt to calm down. Silently, Xol vowed to kill the son of a bitch that insulted him. When the Enforcer made a vow to kill with intent, he meant it.

<He ain't no Pyke...he ain't no Defiler...who...the hell...is he?> Xol snarled. Mae was far more wonderful than he had ever imagined. However, he could sense that she wasn't liking what had happened. Why wasn't she reeling on the stranger that came out of nowhere making insults to people he shouldn't disrespect? Some people needed to learn their place on the food chain.

<Tell him to leave. He has no business with us. This is a two man job, anyway. If he won't leave, I'll make him wish he had.> Xol got to his feet and kept a hand on the holster of his holstered blaster. He still couldn't see, but he didn't want anyone taking his new toy away. That would call for a worser punishment.

@Mad Dog @Trix

 

[Mae Tecono]

(OOC going to post again before Sam as I feel its warranted)

Mae felt Xol ease back a bit. This was new to her, as she did not think he could show restraint. "Now, now, it may have started as a two MAN job but now it's a two MAN and one WOMAN job, and we are going to have to deal with that. None of us are leaving until the job is done." May said to Xol as she turned and looked at Sam "As for you!! I understand he had his blaster in your face, which warranted the disarm and stun, but you did not have to stab him!" She closed the distance between them as she scolded him to the point that her finger was just a few inches from his face when she stopped. "Now holster your damn weapons and you go talk to the crowd while I tend to his arm" She half scalded and half ordered Sam.

When Sam went to the crowd to explain to them in the proper language why we were here, Mae went to Xol who was still in alert mode. She pulled his wounded arm, forcefully from it's readiness position at his holster to out in front of him where she could work on it. She reached into her belt and removed an adhesive and anti bacterial spray. She first sprayed the would as Xol recoiled his arm. "Ah stop being a baby and act like an Enforcer!" She joked with him with a smile before delicately taking his arm and showing him some care with light scrubbing of the wound before bandaging him back up. "There, that should do, how does it feel?" She asked Xol.

 

[Samuel Blood]

Sam watched as @Mae Tecono tended to the Tognath, she obviously cared for that wrinkled box faced fhtagner.. Xol?... Sam though. Xol... Zaa Fenn?.. Sam said quietly, but at this range both would still hear him, now Sam knew exactly where he'd recognized the man from..

Oh that's rich.. Sam said, he was starting to boil over, Fhtagn that, You think it's just the Hutts that want you dead.. Now you're gonna have the whole Crimson Dawn on your ass.. Sam was upset, even a little angry with Mae, the whole situtation had him standing there looking like an ass.. discomfort ran through him, he was the odd man out..

Yea Fhtagn this.. Sam said, backing away, then firing up his jetpack to get the kriff out of there as fast as possible, yelling back, You're dead! As he went. If he made it to his ship he'd yell at the droid brain to fire up, and get him the kriff off this rock...

[EXIT ATTEMPT]

@Trix @Charles

 

[Mae Tecono]

Just as Sam ignited his jetpack and yelled back at Xol, "your dead", something clicked in Mae's head. She was about to lose a new friend over trying to mend bridges with an enemy.

May realized her error and looked up at Xol without flinching, pulled her blaster from her side and up to his chin and removed his head with a blaster bolt and a second for good measure.

As his lifeless and headless body fell to the ground and the crowd around them scattered, Mae looked up at the flying Sam and simply said "No need to go, problem solved" it was as funny yet cold and heartless as it sounded. She had just eliminated a man who no one likes, yet she felt bad still. She looked down at his corpse and said "I wonder if he was the shortest lived sheriff of Paradice City"....

@Mad Dog