Ask Plot The Lianna Missions: Safeguard

[Maxims Tionson]

Keeping a family safe from assassins and kidnappers?

Well damn if his life as a cop and a Jedi didn't just merge into one some days. Honestly, he had done things like this before he ever picked up the lightsaber and he was amused that he was still doing things like this even after decades of working with the saber. Some people might have been annoyed at how the more things changed the more they stayed the same but not Max.

He found it rather comforting - it suggested he had been doing good back then and he was still doing it now. No reason to change course if he had picked the right way the first time round after all. Standing around in the entrance hall to the modest home the small family had, Max tried not to let the noise of two one-year old babies crying get to him as he scanned the area with the Force and his physical senses.

And tried to ignore the fact that he was a Jedi Master, currently carrying a backpack full of diapers.

Gregor was upstairs with both of the children now, getting them settled into carriers or strollers or whatever it was that baby-holders were called when they were more like a basket than a pram. He was suddenly rather glad he didn't have any children.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

Hearing the distinct cries of two babies brought her back some days.

Back then, she would have possibly killed to have a home like that; the small home, the loving family, all of it. Too late now, but she didn't begrudge them that. But it was around the same age Liann went to her adoptive parents, something the older Ranger would keenly regret for years until the girl tracked her down herself. She found herself wryly smiling at that thought... but seeing Max shifting around, she snapped her eyes over.

Why, he looked absolutely delighted.

Giving a small smirk, the older woman hefted the bag on her shoulders. She had opted for civilian clothing, but still wore the blaster vest and the badge was in an inner pocket of her jacket. "Relax, they won't bite," she teased, arms crossing. Soon they would be coming down, and then it would basically be a glorified babysitting job. Not that she minded. She could handle little ones.

It was the bigger, adult ones that grew up to be karkin' idiots that she couldn't stand. That being said, she wasn't keen to be Grannie Vee anytime soon; but she was gonna enjoy teasing Max, even though she questioned his sanity bringing her along.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Why did he bring Vera along again?

Right, because someone from his own age group was a better pick than a teenager in an Order that really didn't encourage having kids. It hurt him that his two best options were either children barely older than the ones they were protecting (to his eye anyway) and the old battleaxe of a woman who looked like she chewed up steel for breakfast. The fact that he knew Vera was actually, deep down, an utter sweetheart was what swung it for him.

That and she had experience with children that he lacked - utterly. He might have adopted a person as his daughter but she had been a grown arse woman at the time. Sure she might have been a little lost but at least he hadn't had to clean up her shite. He rolled his eye at Vera with a small smirk.

"If they do it'll be you they bite." his smirk turned cheeky, "Why else bring along the old baby mama, eh?"

He was joking and they both knew it.

He was probably only spared a punch to the gut by the sudden arrival of Gregor with both of the children in those carrier things. The father in question looked tired and worried but his wife was under threat of assassination so that made a lot of sense.

"We're ready, so who wants to drive?"

Max took the keys without even moving, bringing them over to himself with the Force.

"I'll drive and Vera will be in the back with the kids."

He gave her a cheeky wink as he left to find the speeder car.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She snorted in response to his cheeky reply, about to nudge him with her elbow. Cheeky bastard, timing it just so he would be spared violence in front of the little ones. They were both a year old, hardly babies much anymore, but too small to be quite toddlers either. The woman's features softened, for a few moments, before hardening to a steely resolve. There were many things she did in life she wasn't proud of; being an officer in Hutt space was one of them. But no matter whose kids they were, no matter what the circumstances, she would protect.

She extended a hand to one of the carriers.

"Please, let me," she answered, knowing full well just how heavy a single carrier could be. The kids could be deceptively heavy. Gregor nodded once in thanks, and just seeing his tired expression, she wanted to promise him things that she couldn't, really. Like things were going to be all right, and they would all make it out fine. But truth, she didn't know really. The best they could hope for was to protect the family.

Hefting so the carrier was shielded by her body, she glanced down to see an alert, watching pair of eyes. No smiles, no tears, just watching. "It's alright, kiddo," she spoke softly. "We're gonna get you and your family here to someplace super safe." She hadn't even noticed what Max said until afterwards, shooting him narrowed eyes... then a smirk. "Yeah, yeah," she shot back, smirking slightly.

But they'd have to buckle up quickly, she didn't like being in the open like this so soon. Her Ranger senses weren't happy with this scenario... and the back of her neck prickled with awareness. She wouldn't be surprised if there were eyes on them already.

She kept pace with Gregor, holding the carrier with one hand. But the other was inside her jacket. She was going to keep nonchalant and calm until kriff hit the fan. But meantime, all was silent and calm.

She was just waiting to see if anyone dared tried to snipe from above.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The way her expression softened when she spotted them made her look years younger. Was that the look of a parent? Was that what he had missed out on by never having kids himself? By deciding to follow the Force and become a Jedi rather than settling down and being content with just being a good man?

It was - and if he was honest with himself he would always feel a slight pull toward it but it was just that. A pull and nothing more. He refused to change the course of his entire life over a yearning to be a father. Besides... he had gotten a taste of fatherhood every time he took on a padawan and got the pride and the fears and the grief that came with it.

Without needing to change diapers.

"We're quite experienced at this kind of thing, Gregor." he assured the man as he took the driver's seat and started the speeder up, "Don't worry. Between the two of us, you'll be safer than houses."

There was a nagging sense of danger at the edge of his senses but, so far, nothing that he could act on. Sure, there was danger coming but reacting to danger prematurely had gotten more Jedi and Rangers killed than anything else. If there was a trap ready to spring then the best thing to do was spring it.

Pulling the speeder out onto the main road he paused for a second before sighing.

"Traffic." he groaned, glancing at Vera as he did so, "If I were a kidnapper..."

He'd do it now.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She glanced up sharply at Max, mouth tightening to a thin line. She didn't want to get Gregor's hopes up, even for the sake of being relaxed. She learned early on it was better to be blunt with the truth rather than to say anything in confidence; the galaxy found a way to kark that up somehow and make it blow up in their faces. Instead, she slid into the back seat and clipped one little one into the seat anchor before helping Gregor with the other, making sure both children were stable.

She withdrew her blaster stealthily, and held it in her lap, pointed down, safety on.

For now.

Her other hand was placed over the carriers, as though the sheer presence of her arm there could shield both the little ones. No matter which side any potential kidnappers could choose, she'd be able to efficiently aim and retaliate should it come to that. And if she had to shield them with her body, she'd be able to far easier.

It was then, of course, that he had to state the kriffin' obvious.

She was about to open her mouth to give him a sarcastic retort---

When two swoops broke out behind them from a supposedly empty alleyway, whistling their way. Unmarked, with dark helmets, they seemed to make a beeline straight for the speeder and its' occupants. They'd have to get in closer range to fire, however. "Enemies behind," she snapped out, flipping off the safety catch and aiming through the rear windshield, leaning over the carriers to better protect the children.

"Evasive, now," she said calmly, aiming down her sights to the closest one. He'd have to move quickly, traffic bedamned if he didn't want to be in range.

And then, a cracking shot came, shattering the glass on her side. A bit too close to comfort. Most of the glass fell harmlessly against her jacket, sparing the children, but hopefully the old crank would get himself in gear and floor it to get out of the sniping range as well. They had to get to that bunker by any means necessary. Which meant both she and Max had targets on their backs until their charges would be safely dropped off.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Ah inbound enemies just like they had expected.

Catching sight of them in his rearview mirror, Max sighed a little bit before tightening his grip on the controls as he silently accepted the fact that he was going to be breaking almost every speeder driving law he knew about. Probably the ones he didn't know about as well now that he thought about it. Grinning a little bit at that thought, he pushed the controls down and started moving to evade the damned attackers and their bikes.

He briefly toyed with the idea of reversing and slamming one of the bikes into the back of the speeder but, well, babies were on board and even he knew that collisions were bad for them. So instead he ignored the restrictions meant to keep speeders at a certain height and pushed the power to push the speeder up higher.

Using this extra height he pushed the car over the top of several other cars before settling back down to a regular height along the hard shoulder, racing along as soon as he was at the optimum height again. Blaster shots rang out and one even clipped his wing mirror but he didn't take his eyes off the road even as he bobbed and weaved in and out of traffic.

The Force was guiding him right now and little else.

"Hard right turn."

The warning came two seconds before he slammed on the brakes as he skidded into a tight turn, taking a right-hand exit off the main road at speed to send them hurtling down more commercial streets than the main road. He eyed the speeder bikes in the rearview mirror, noting how one of them seemed to be handling slightly worse than the other.

"One on the right has a stabilizer issue."

He and Vera didn't exactly need a lot of words at this point he felt.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She barely had any time to brace over the twins with Max's warning of a hard right; growling out a faint curse as one of the carriers' handles pinched into her stomach. Those things could double as melee weapons with how much sturdy plas they used.

Noting Max's observation, she nodded once. "Keep her steady a sec," hearing one of the twins start to let out a cry, she glanced over to Gregor. "Please try to keep them calm. I'll do my best to take out the threats."

With her own window blown out, she waited until Max took another turn before aiming at the biker with the shittier stabilizer.

A miss.

Gritting her jaw, she aimed again, this time with a broader angle towards the upper chest.

He was flung from his swoop, but she didn't have time to celebrate. The rider of the second one was still coming in, and closing in fast. She exhaled slowly, biding her time.

Just a little bit closer...

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The speeder was beginning to lose some speed now and it was all Max could do to keep them ahead of the bikes. Simply trying to keep them from getting a clear shot at them from being alongside them was turning into something of a chore, even with Vera having sniped the broken stabilizer from one of them, sending it spiralling off to one side. He could feel death in the Force but he did his absolute best to ignore it.

“Don’t worry about this Gregor, you focus on your kids and we’ll handle this.” He assured the panicking husband, “This is just what we do.”

They didn’t need to waste time actively looking after the kids though, if he could wake up and sort that out it would free up both himself and Vera. She seemed to agree with him and he could tell she didn’t appreciate fighting when her cover was dominated by occupied car seats. He’d commiserate had he ever experienced anything similar. Instead he would just settle for ribbing her about it later when they were done with this whole thing.

Despite his assurances, the Force decided that the chase was, obviously, not exciting enough because he could see something coming up from behind fast. He adjusted the rearview mirror and returned his hands to the wheel just in time for a blaster bolt to blow it off the speeder. Irritating considering he needed that to properly drive but not unexpected.

What was both unexpected and unsettling was what was making it’s way up from behind.

“Tactical…” he muttered before making a decision, “Vera take the wheel would you?”

Once she had taken the wheel he would slide out of his seat and out of the speeder entirely, climbing up out the window to stand atop the speeder’s roof. Without magboots he had to use the Force to keep him rooted to the roof and that was fine – beat ending up as a pancake. Igniting both sides of his saberstaff, he twirled his weapon in a clear invitation that was not left unanswered by the tactical’s repeating blaster.

It opened fire and Max lost himself in the beat of deflecting the blasts heading his way, managing to take out the speeder bike’s engine with one of the bolts as he focused on staying alive. With a Jedi atop the speeder he was their number one target – though he hoped Vera’s driving could ensure they weren’t going to get the chance to wear him down by attrition.

 

[Vera Coulter]

Thank the Force, he was doing the right maneuvers. But she had just pulled in, about to speak to Max, when she heard what he said. Take the wheel.

Take the wheel?!

"What?!" she barked out, eyes narrowing. Aw hell, he was serious. He was seriously gonna bail on them? Really?!

But she wasn't gonna sit there arguing the fine points of speed and gravity with a space monk, no matter how karkin' mental they could be. So as he started shifting, she lunged forward and awkwardly shuffled to the front as he slid out to get on the roof. Kriff, but she needed a good cigara.

At the sound of the second speeder bike being shot down, she didn't bother slowing but pealed ahead, the engine whining in protest at the aggressiveness of her driving.

"Turning right," she shouted out to Max over the roof, eyes not leaving the road. "More up ahead."

Sure enough, another speeder pulled out of mainline traffic, making a beeline to ram into them on the front driver side. She yanked hard, gritting her jaw at the sharp movement to maneuver scant few seconds after the warning.

She was gonna need a long drink after this.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max knew that Vera was going to be cursing him before he even moved but, well, what did she want him to do about it? Let them get shot up by the repeater mounted on the tactical? Because the speeder they were currently using was a civilian one and he really doubted it would be able to put up more than token resistance to the blaster. In fact he was certain that they would likely have already exploded if it wasn't for him batting the bolts aside.

But he was sure to get a talking to later... unless he bought her a good bottle of booze before hand maybe? Vera always had had a bit of a sweet spot for some of her favorite booze when she was stressed out. This certainly counted as something stress-inducing to his mind so he made a mental note to pick some up.

And then they were moving again.

Cursing, he knelt down to get a slightly better grip on the roof as they slid across the road rather wildly. He glanced over his shoulder at the approaching speeder and narrowed his eyes. It was intent on ramming them but Max could see the controls and the man's hands on them from where he stood. He jerked his free hand in a different direction, the Force yanking the driver's hands and sending the speeder flying away from them at an awkward angle that would take time for the driver to recover from.

Thankfully they were getting close to the bunker now. Once they were parked up he could afford to spend more effort on getting rid of the technical.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She grunted at the other speeder being yanked away, uttering a low, growled "thanks" to the Jedi who kept clinging to the car roof. Perhaps they could be a little useful... it didn't mean she would start trusting them on principle however.

The other speeder screeched, fishtailing wildly and nearly smacking into another pedestrian speeder. She yanked on the steering wheel to correct her own slide out back into a mainline of traffic, gritting her jaw and glancing back to Gregor. Both twins were whimpering now, and she didn't have to guess that the blaster fire and the cranky grownups had a measure to do with it.

"Almost there," she spoke quietly, eyes panning.

She didn't see the speeder yet... but she wasn't gonna relax and celebrate just yet.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The tactical was still on their tail and he didn't know how long he could hold them off. Sticking himself to the top of a speeding speeder and hoping he could bat away every blaster bolt was just asking for trouble but it was the best option he had for the immediate future and wasn't that just bleeding wonderful?

Reaching out with the Force, he grabbed a door from the remains of the crashed speeder and flung it at the cockpit of the tactical following them, causing it to swerve dangerously to avoid the driver being taken off at the neck.

He'd been hoping the driver wasn't suicidal enough to try and simply duck and it seemed he wasn't.

The bunker loomed ahead of them, relatively close by, and the tactical had had to come to a stop to evade the door. He relaxed a little bit as they cruised into the front parking area of the bunker, jumping down from the roof to the speeder when he was able to do so.

Out front a pair of security guards eyed them as they looked ready to open fire on them with their rifles at any moment. Max raised his hands and deactivated his lightsaber.

"We have Gregor and the twins for their stay here." he called out to the two guards, "They're fully paid up and registered. Just make sure to check them in alright? Oh and there's a tactical on the way so..."

He had turned slightly and it was at that moment he felt the burning sensation in his side. Groaning, he staggered away, twisting and igniting his lightsaber to bat away the second and third shots from the security guards now revealed to have been enemy agents waiting for them.

And he'd been hit in the side - kark.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

"Max!" she barked out, hands still on the wheel. Gritting her jaw, she realized there was only one thing she had to do. "Gregor, duck," she snapped out. "Kiddies, hang on. Auntie Vee's got a bit of bumpy road ahead."

Pulling the speeder in a hard reverse, when Max started batting bolts away she hit the gas. Peeling around the Jedi, she narrowed her eyes at the two turncoats, and didn't stop, even as one of them attempted to fire at her through the windshield. One of them ducked out of the way.

The other was less than lucky.

There was a crunch as the body hit the front hard, then was rolled over with a sickened scream before silence. The other tried to scramble and shoot the rear, but she slammed back into reverse.

And what luck, they were in front of the bunker too.

"Time to get out, kids," she barked, pulling it into park and snatching up her rifle. Blood spattered over the duracrete, and an arm still holding the blaster was stuck under the front bumper. Whoops. "Max, you dead yet?" she called out to the older Jedi, then turning back to glance at Gregor and the kiddies.

"Sorry for the mess, but we need to get in, now. That tac comes in and we're sitting out here, we're good as dead."

That got Gregor moving.

Poor man. After this she'd have to share a bottle because raising twins in these hard times was tough. But if the entryway guard was compromised, they'd have to check interior too.

All the more reason to get inside quick.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

It probably said something about the kind of life that he lived that this wasn't the first time he had been shot with a blaster and, in fact, wasn't even the worst hit he'd ever taken from one either. The shot had impacted half on some of his armour and half on the seam between the front armour and the back armour, which was probably why it stung so bloody much. Hissing in pain, he did his best to contain the emotions that naturally welled up from the pain.

Anger.

Hate.

He felt them and he let them go into the Force, not holding onto them even though he did keep ahold of something that wasn't, strictly speaking, a productive emotion either.

"Really?!"

Indignation did not look good on a Jedi but better than some of the alternatives he supposed. Grunting, he batted away another stray bolt as Vera literally ploughed through the two guards. He winced a little bit but he didn't say anything even as he moved to stand in the middle of the road.

He could hear the engine of the tactical growing closer.

"Take them inside Vera." he told his friend as he straightened himself up, holding his saberstaff horizontal in front of him as he waited for the tactical, "Then get into a good sniper position - I'm going to do something stupid."

He began gathering the Force to himself as he stood there in the open, the tactical growing closer by the sounds of things.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She stared at him hard for a moment, brows furrowed. Jaw tight, blue eyes hard. "You live," she spoke harshly, but there was a hint of a smile there. "You die on me again, and I'll sue for emotional grievances," she growled out, then let out a snort.

Even after twenty years he had to have his wild, one-man ideas. Well, at least he asked her to act as a sniper. She could do that.

Helping Gregor with the other carrier, they were all escorted inside. However, she knew the tac was arriving soon; so there was only one thing to do.

She led them all inside, her rifle held in one hand, carrier in the other as they made their way. Checking out one of the rooms, she nodded.

"You two stay in here. Do not open or unlock the door for anybody unless it's me knockin' and talkin'. No matter who it is---" she stared hard into the man's eyes, then pointed at the door.

"Don't unlock it."

So saying, she set down the carrier and the bags for the twins, then stalked out, shutting the door behind her and sprinting upstairs.

She had to find a room with a window leading out the small parked space. Finding one was easy, but a sniping setup was hard. She prepped and primed the rifle, checking the scope, the power pack, and the general handle over it.

It wouldn't be too much longer. Soon.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

"Yes ma'am."

He was going to get SUCH a talking to after this that he jokingly considered taking another shot just so he would be laid up in a hospital bay so she couldn't properly shout at him. But it wasn't worth all the effort and the medical bills so he supposed he was going to have to actually do what she wanted and make sure he lived and without much further damage too.

Besides... he kind of had a plan.

The tactical was approaching now but they were still out of range for their turret to be anywhere near as accurate as it needed to be to actually hit him. Of course it didn't stop them from trying and Max just stood there as a half dozen blaster bolts flew all around him, kicking up the ground around his feet and flying overhead to hit the walls of the bunker without issue.

With the Force swirling around him, Max silently beckoned for the tactical to come for him and it responded, pulling up to a decent range and opening fire on him. His lightsaber ignited at both ends and he systematically batted the blaster bolts away as they came. They weren't varying their shooting at all so it felt almost like fighting against a training orb in that it was just a continuous hazard but one that Jedi trained for almost, well, religiously.

The blasting stopped and he returned to the same position as he had done before.

He could feel their emotions across the distance and they were afraid. A single man was standing between them and their objective and he was unmoved by their attacks. Before they could gather their spite-riddled courage to actually attack again, Max attacked instead. Reaching deep into the Force he called upon it to grab the back of the tactical speeder and lift, lift until it was almost at a 45 degree angle, the turret unable to fire at anything but the ground and the men being flung from their seats.

With his eye closed in concentration he likely would have been easy pickings for the men and their pistols but he had faith that the Force was with him... as well as a karked off woman with a blaster rifle.

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She may have been rushed getting to a good vantage point, but she wasn't going to rush now to take her shots.

She breathed, slow and steady. The rifle was anchored against her shoulders, the window opened. Peering down the sight, the whine of the tac was incoming. She was going to wait, safety off, finger off the trigger for now. Letting Max pull off his power move. batting away bolts. Some bit into duracrete close by, but she didn't move.

She waited until the back end began to rise. Then two seconds more, exhaling quietly.

Between heartbeats, she squeezed the trigger. Blue bolts sang down on the tac roof, then into the windshield, hearing a few screams of pain. Another two bolts, stuns crackling, and the screams cut short.

Features grim, she lowered the rifle. Over Max's personal comm, she pinged him.

"Anyone else stirring in there?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max let out a breath and the speeder collapsed to one side, not landing on any of the attackers. Vera's shots might have killed them or just disabled them - he didn't know so he wasn't going to take any chances that he might be the one to end their lives. They were attempted kidnappers so they hadn't really done much with their lives but what right did that give him to just end them? It didn't so he stood down.

The battle was over and he could feel, through the Force, father and children gradually relaxing. They were calming down because they were finally safe. He had played his part in that but now that part was done - they were safely secured and knew better than to open the doors to anyone but those with the right counter-phrase when asked.

Wonderful really.

"No, they're out." he called back to Vera over the com as he sat down atop one of the road barriers, idly looking at the blaster wound through his clothes, "The kids settled down for a nap, grandma?"

He grinned a little bit even as he placed a hand over his injury and began to pour through the Light to heal the damage he had sustained. It hurt like a son of a gun but he was used to that kind of thing. Looking over at Vera, he grinned roguishly as he could sat on a road barrier slowly healing a blaster burn.

"You worried about me, darling?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Vera Coulter]

She snorted, flicking the safety back on and shouldering the rifle. "Yeah, kids are all tucked in their cribs Gramps. Now just find your easy chair," she quipped back, smirking. She then pulled out her stun blaster and cuffs, trotting back downstairs.

The perps were still alive. Just stunned. She may be a cop, but she didn't mindlessly kill. Unfortunately, some things couldn't be helped, like the swoop kidnappers from earlier. She just had to make sure they would never get the opportunity again. At hearing Max's other comment, she rolled her eyes.

"Yep. Just wait until I show ya how worried I really am," she muttered in response, approaching the downed tac. Cuffing and dragging them out to be secured wasn't the biggest difficulty, but it would've been a helluva much easier if that Jedi Master wasn't smugly grinning as he did his woo-woo magic healing stuff.

She waited until she leaned against the roadblock next to him to punch him hard in the shoulder, lips pulled in a scowl.

"Next time ya do something as hare-brained as climb onto a moving speeder again with no warning, and I'll stun an' cuff ya to the nearest light pole," she growled, but even then, her words didn't have much bite to them. For a few beats longer she scowled... then sighed, stalking off. Now to tell Dad and kids to relax. The area was secure... for now.

One last thing though.

"Good to see you're okay, Max," she shot over her shoulder, but didn't look back to see his reaction or hear any witty retort. She had a job to do first.

@Nefieslab