View of the Neighbourhood

[Hask Jen]

Tatooine/Jundland Wastes​

13:13​

The pirate freighter had touched down about a mile away from the bunker housing the anti aircraft batteries. It was heavily guarded, with literal artillery and heavy repeater instalments all over the front. It was a tough egg to crack...if one went through the front. From the back the tough Jundland wastes stretch as far as the eye can see. It was not easy to traverse and with the harsh midday suns beating down on the jagged terrain, coming in from behind the base would be almost impossible to accomplish for a normal person.

But Hask and Aurie weren't normal people.

The mile-long hike was tough and the sun was awful, but Hask was used to the heat. Having spent years and years in the hot days and frozen nights of Korriban had toughened him up to climates such as this. He climbed, jumped and slid through the rocks. Aurie was close behind him. He made sure to give her his helmet to provide her some protection on her face while the rest of her skin was covered by some pieces of light clothing given by the pirates. He could take the sun. But he knew she could still get sunburn.

Eventually they reached their destination. They got down and crawled onto the rocks overlooking the base. It's front was impregnable. Built by Czerka Corp to protect their ships flying through the atmosphere but pretty soon other ships started using these lanes to receive some protection from pirates as well. 'Protection' being the monstrous gun turrets on top. It looked more like a massive box than a turret, but with a row of 3 repeating concussion missiles over and 3 medium laser cannons under the 2 turrets on top could shoot anything out of the sky. But the base wouldn't expect anyone to be crazy enough to traverse the deadly desert to take them from behind.

Hask took a small sip of water from his canteen of water to wet his lips and throat then gave it to Aurie. there were 3 guards patrolling the roof under them and they all looked ready for a trip to Hoth right about now. Further to the right with their backs turned to them were another 2 guards and in front of the base were 6 guards, 3 on each artillery gun out in front of the base.

Hask looked at Aurie. "I'll take the three down below us, then use the force to bring you down. How's that sound?" he whispered to her to not alert the guards.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Aurelie was dressed in what almost looked like her normal desert garb - a few large pieces of cloth wrapped around her to create a relatively well ventilated environment which was light, silent and most importantly; didn't let any sand in. She had appreciated Hask's offer, but his piece of heavy armour did weigh a fair bit and could put her off balance or tire her down. Instead, her clothes covered most of her head, with a separate piece covering most of her face, leaving only a small gap for her eyes to peer through. The young woman had a relatively athletic build and was used to climbing walls, running away from threats and a number of different things - but traversing the Jundland wastes certainly proved to be a challenge.

She kept up with Hask, letting him lead the way with H4 right behind her "Hask, I'm not built for this" she whined. "Hask, I am built for this. In fact, this is one of the biomes which they had in mind when perfecting my design. A battle droid of my calibre..." the droid spoke with enthusiasm until it received a menacing stare from its mistress "Is something wrong, mistress?" it asked innocently. "No, Scrappy, nothing's wrong" she said sarcastically. H4 looked at her for a moment before he continued proudly speaking about his design until stopped or until they got too close to the base.

The base containing the AA turret was much bigger than she had thought, and much well guarded too. It made her wonder if Clunt truly wanted them to survive or if he just struck the deal so that he wouldn't have to deal with them himself. Nevertheless, there they were, and if anyone could take down a military grade base, it was Hask.

The young woman really didn't like leaving her friend to face all the danger alone, and this time was no exception. She looked at him for a while before responding "Why don't you bring me down with you right away? Just like you did from the tower of Thraxa spaceport?" she asked with a hushed voice, hoping that he'd let her come along, just in case something went wrong. She then turned to H4 and whispered "Scrappy, keep your sights on those two. If they turn around and are about to shoot, kill them. Otherwise, stay low, we don't want anyone to hear us." With that said, she looked back to Hask to see what his decision was.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Aurie suggested bringing her down along with him. It was a good suggestion, since she was the quietest one between the two of them. She had her two knives and she was light on her feet. He was the soldier, loud and proud. But he still didn't like the idea. He thought about it for a few seconds then nodded at her. "Get your knife ready. Let's keep this quick and quiet for as long as possible." he whispered. His commlink perked up and he quickly covered it with his hand. The target was coming in and the pirates were off. They had to move quickly otherwise the operation would fail. Their target was the combat room in the centre of the building. That would put a at least 50 or so people between them and that gun control. At least. He hoped that the bunker was short-staffed.

Aurie ordered H4 to watch the 2 guards to their far right. Hask carefully stood up and wrapped an arm around Aurie, holding her tight against him. Their target was right between the three guards underneath them. Hask waited a few seconds longer then jumped down, using the force to slow their descent and land between the three guards and barely making a sound. The first guard turned around, but Hask snapped his neck effortlessly before grabbing hold of the last guard and putting him in a headlock to make him pass out. He left the last guard for Aurie to take care of as he got the right angle to break the second guard's neck as well. Thankfully the other 2 guards didn't notice anything. He was about to ask Aurie for her knife when he saw a 3rd guard appearing next to the AA turret. His breath stopped as he eyed the topside guard. He turned around, thankfully not seeing anything.

Hask sighed in relief before turning to Aurie. Using hand signals he pointed to the door they needed to breach using her slicing capabilities. There was no longer space for words. Not now. Carefully timing their movements they would hide behind a chimney and Hask would gesture for H4 to act as overwatch for them and opened a comm channel between him and the droid. He kept an eye out as Aurie got to work on the door's locking mechanism.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

It was not all too expected that Hask would allow her to come along with him, but Aurelie appreciated it nonetheless. She felt like she could be useful and now, she could be there to help him out if anything went wrong. At least to the best of her abilities. The thief gave her friend a nod upon hearing his prompt and in the flash of an eye, she held her vibroknife in the right hand - it had previously been hidden in her N.E.V.D.A. H4 laid on its front with the rifle pointed at the two guards. The girl looked down at him and was quite happy that they brought him to the mission.

She looked at Hask as he wrapped his arm around her tightly and knew that he was about to bring them down. She put her arm which was on her friend's side at his back to better keep balance and soon, they made a rather quick decent to the platform below. Just the same as last time, he brought them down elegantly, using the force to dampen their fall and make their landing rather silent. While Hask tended to the one who turned around to look at them, Aurelie quickly moved to another one in silence. She approached the man from behind, slightly to his right and soon stood right behind him.

The young woman used her left arm to wrap around the back of his neck to cover his mouth with her hand while at the same time coming around his side on the right. Before the guard had any real chance to react, she threw the heaviest punch she could muster up at his chin, letting the pommel of the vibroknife be the first thing that connected with the underside of his head. A satisfied grin grew on her lips as she saw how quickly she had been able to knock the man out. If it weren't for the need for utters silence, the girl would most definitely have felled a comment about having learned the trick on Nar Shaddaa. Aurelie supported the guard as he fell down, making sure that there wouldn't be any loud thuds or such as he hit the ground.

Having looked at the unconscious man for a while, she couldn't bring herself to killing him and instead threw Hask an unsure look, allowing him to decide what to do. The girl quickly scurried over to the door following his signals and used the vibroknife to open the panel at the door's side. She had sliced her way through several doors in the past and managed to get this one open in less than a minute. The automatic door was bound to make some noise as it opened which she tried to tell the sith through hand signaling.

H4 still had his sights on the two guards but was prepared to be taken down to the platform, quite aware that his metallic frame would make some noise if he jumped down.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask was proud of Aurie. Having dropped a guy that easily without making a noise. But it was dangerous, going for a non-lethal alternative like that. These guys were dangerous and wouldn't show that type of mercy towards either of them...but how could he blame her. It reminded him that there were other ways to do these things. He might try to follow her example with the next group. He knew that she would most definitely appreciate it. Deep down he might as well...

He let the unconscious man be and focused on the two guards close by. Over the commlink the pirates perked up, notifying them that the target was approaching and that the crews had launched. They had less than an hour to get to the control room. When the door slid open the two men were alerted, but before they could register what it was the one flew into the other hard, knocking their heads together and knocking them out. Thankfully he got away with it before H4 could fire. "Alright H4, keep an eye on what's going on out here. You're our bird in the air." Hask whispered into the commlink.

Hask drew his lightsabre but didn't ignite it. He took point and walked through the door, into the lion's jaws. They descended the stairs slowly and quietly. A guard rounded the corner and bumped into Hask, startling the both of them. Before he could scream or sound the alarm Hask clocked him over the head with his hilt. He laid the man against the wall and took a good look around. He found a board with an arrow that seemed to lead to the control room and tip-toed down the hall. As they neared a turn Hask heard a squad of troopers approaching and quickly looked around. He spotted a door and rushed in, pulling Aurie along. He closed the door behind them and turned around.

Behind them stood a very confused looking Janitor that looked rather bewildered. Hask couldn't blame him. He grabbed the guy and decked him with his left fist, knocking both the man and a tooth out. Hask smirked at Aurie. How is it that they always end up in a janitor's room? He listened closely with his head against the door. The troopers passed and he breathed a sigh of relief. He motioned for her to follow and carefully opened the door, continuing down the halls. They finally hit their first checkpoint. A durasteel door was blocking them from proceeding. This was Aurie's chance to shine once again. Just like upstairs he would keep watch and she could work in peace.

He was curious about how far he would have gotten without her quick feet and tech savviness.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Being way to focused on slicing the door open, the thief didn't really notice how Hask knocked out the other two guards. Upon turning around, she saw how the two men laid on the floor unconsciously, without any blaster marks or other signs of lethal force having been used. She was glad that Hask had taken care of them instead of letting H4 do it. Not only was it the less violent option, it also created less sound.

The two soon found themselves inside the building complex with walls, floor and ceiling all made out of some dark metal. The corridors were lit by discrete lamps attached to the ceiling creating light spots in the otherwise dark paths. Ventilation shafts of varying sizes ran along some of the corridors and just crossed through others, going from one wall to the other. The young woman was quite ready to act as she saw Hask and another man practically bump into each other as they rounded the corner but there was no need. He had managed to make quick work of the guard by knocking him out too. She threw a grateful glance at the Sith, knowing the restraint he exercised and that he was very capable of killing the people they encountered outright.

With a worried gaze, Aurelie looked at the knocked out guard for a while. It was quite possible that a patrol would encounter him and sound the alarms, but she was not strong enough to drag him back to the staircase where there were fewer patrols both quickly and silently. Hask had already moved on and it might've been the best idea. Perhaps they'd be able to get far enough before anyone noticed the guard and be in a superior position to face any opposition. With that, she quickly moved, following tight behind the Sith.

She too could hear the patrol in the distance and ran along with Hask towards the door, hoping that there wouldn't be worse perils inside. Fortunately, it was another janitor's closet, but this time, the janitor was inside too. An awkward and short moment ensued where the three of them just stared at each other until Hask grabbed the man with one hand and knocked him out with the other. She looked at him with big eyes, noting the powerful punch he'd thrown and gave him a smile as he had allowed the poor guy to live.

Soon, just as the patrol had passed, they continued rushing into the building until they reached the first checkpoint. She quickly got to work. This would prove to be quite the challenge as the military grade security on the door was more complicated and intricate than the one she had encountered earlier. Fortunately, the thief was quite experienced in slicing and soon started working on it to the best of her abilities. Half way through, however, boots could be heard clanking against the ground in the distance. Aurelie realised that she wouldn't have enough time to get through the door's security and shook her head as she closed the panel.

Throwing a glance upwards, the girl noticed a ventilation shaft running straight above them. Normally, she'd open a panel and try to hide inside it without hesitation but she weren't sure if Hask would be able to make it, considering his larger frame and heavier weight. After having looked up at it for a short while, she turned to Hask to see what he wanted to do. The young woman was remarkably calm, having experienced several close calls such as these in her past as a thief.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask was standing by, keeping an eye out. He wanted to use the force but these locks were tricky. He wouldn't get very far with it. Aurie was making good progress but just when it seemed that they were going to get through the sound of footsteps was heard down the hall. Aurie closed the lock and looked up. Hask followed her eyes and saw the vent. She would fit like a glove but he was too big for the hole.

He thought for a few seconds then noticed the space between the vent and the wall. Thinking quickly he helped Aurie into the vent and closed it up. He jumped up and stretched out with his arms and legs, hanging in the air between the vent and wall. His muscles were burning under his body weight combined with his armour and gear. He held his breath and waited until the troops emerged. They marched underneath him and Aurie and came to a halt by the door. Hask saw an opportunity and used the force to keep the door open just enough to keep it unlocked for the two of them. His body was shaking under the strain and he was getting exhausted. When the troops were far enough he dropped from the roof, still holding the door. He quickly moved over to hold onto the door. He exhaled sharply, exhausted by the move he just pulled off.

He used the force to help Aurie down then motioned for her to follow. He was still breathing rather heavily, breathless by that acrobatic move. The troops that passed disappeared around another corner and the two criminals kept sneaking past. They finally reached the room. Inside were 12 officers all operating different stations, monitors and controls. One of them was that outrageous gun on top. The attack was going to begin in less than half an hour. Hask looked at Aurie with regretful eyes, raising his lightsabre to show her that he needed to do it. There was no non-lethal option with this.

He stood aside for her to slice the lock and he got ready for one hell of a fight. The room was pretty secluded, so random patrols shouldn't be a problem. Heopefully they could take control without raising the alarm.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

The ventilation shaft was indeed the best place for her to go. Once up there, she noticed the familiar air, most ventilation shafts had a rather similar feel to them in her experience, except for the smell, the smell varied greatly. To her good fortunes, this one didn't smell much at all. In fact, it seemed to be quite sterile - most probably thanks to how well Czerka kept the facility maintained. Soon, she heard to clear dunks against the side of the ventilation shaft. From the corridors, the sound would most likely be quite insignificant, but from the inside, she could hear them clear and loud. She weren't quite sure what her friend was doing but certainly hoped for the best. She had her knife at the ready and was ready to help if anything happened.

The moments passed by and she soon realised that the immediate danger was over. After having hopped down from her relatively comfortable position, she followed Hask through the door. Aurelie was quite impressed that he had managed to keep it open and was relieved that she wouldn't have to try slicing it open again as the risk of encountering another patrol was notable. Trying to put the vibroknife back in the NEVDA at this time was a fools errand, instead, she just hung it by the side of her belt and kept advancing through the corridors with her friend. His breath was heavy which came to no surprise after the feat of strength and stamina he had just pulled off. She wanted to do something for him, but there weren't much which she could do at the moment. In an attempt to at least make it a little better, Aurelie made sure to run a little bit ahead of him, checking the corners and doorways before they ran through, just to let him take his mind of the scouting part.

When they eventually reached the room, the thief quickly made her way to the panel through which she'd have to slice in order to get the door to open. She looked at the Sith's gesture with his lightsaber and had a sweet feeling ripple through her. Sure, she always preferred not killing, but he had just shown how much he cared for her feelings and wishes - they may have stayed in complete silence, but his regretful eyes and actions spoke louder than most words would've. The girl gave her friend a sweet smile and clapped him lightly on the shoulder a couple of times, showing him that it was alright.

The young woman then turned her attention to the control panel again and began working away. This too, was a military grade door, which she did most certainly have to struggle with. However, after a few minutes and much thinking, the door could be opened by a simple button press. She looked up at Hask whilst grabbing her blaster which she had set to stun. As soon as he gave her a ready signal, Aurelie would open the door. Peering inside, she would quickly determine which people were the most likely to sound the alarms or call for help. The enemies would doubtlessly notice the opened door and be suspicious towards it so the point in continuing hiding seemed moot. With that, Aurelie plopped out from her cover and shot four bolts which hit two targets standing by a large console. Quickly, she plopped back into cover with a quickly beating heart.

Looking to Hask, Aurelie wouldn't hesitate in pushing further into the room with him as she felt like she would be much safer with him than by the door on her own. If he charged at the enemies with the force, she would change her plans and try to hind behind a thick table instead. Regardless, the thief would make sure to close the door behind them as they both entered.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

The door unlocked and Hask drew the force into his hands, building up a powerful force push. He nodded at Aurie and she scoped the situation out. She fired 4 times and retreated behind the door. Their element of surprise as lost and they had to move quickly. Hask kicked the door open and released the force push into the room. People, papers, datapads and other items flew all over with the force push. The power of the push drained Hask quite a lot but in this moment he didn't have time to catch his breath. He charged forth as Aurie locked the door behind them.

One man tried to reach for the panic button but Hask relieved him of his arm before he could do anything. He finished the man off and moved towards the next guy. He didn't want to do this in front of Aurie. He hated doing it in front of Aurie. But these men wouldn't surrender. Not by a long shot. At least he didn't kill them all. He left several for Aurie to stun and restrain, letting a few people at least survive this ordeal.

He finished the last guy off and looked around, getting a lay of the land. To buy themselves some more time Hask locked the room down, making sure it could only be opened from inside. He moved over to the main screen to look the systems over, motioning for Aurie to follow. The target was coming into view and the pirates were closing in. The alarms sounded to warn everyone of an attack. But the big guns wouldn't come to life. Not against the pirates anyway. "Alright, Aurie. I'm going to need you to work the radar and sights. Spot targets for me and I'll take them out. Okay?" he gave her shoulder a squeeze and moved to a console with controls to use the main gun.

In the air a couple dozen fighters were escorting a mining ship. What no one knew about was the gunship backing up the mining vessel as well. The pirates could handle the fighters, but that Acranian Cutter had the power to tear any enemy ship to shreds. That was their priority target and if they could force it to land, the two criminals could take control of it and use it against the Czerka reinforcements that would be arriving in a few hours.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Peering in right after Hask's force push, it seemed like he had disabled the entire enemy crew, albeit temporarily. She followed Hask closely as he rushed into the room but looked back at the door to close and lock it. Seeing as it had been kicked open, however, there didn't seem to be any possibilities of locking it anymore. With that, she simply gave it a quick push and hoped that it would close without looking too out of place - but if anyone passed by the room, they'd probably notice the damage done to the door.

Rather than focusing on the girl minding the door, the guards seemed more intent on dealing with the Sith charging at them which Aurelie appreciated quite a bit. The young woman managed to shoot another man just as Hask dealt with the one trying to press the panic button. It was a gruesome scene which would normally have made her want to throw up, but the gravity of the situation didn't allow for such sensitivities at the moment. As time went, more of the guards got back up to their feet or simply remained on the spot where they had fallen an pointed their weapons at Hask, with just one conveniently placed enemy aiming at Aurelie. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before she fired of her blaster, knocking him out cold before even having the chance to fire back at her.

The situation was far from calm, however, as Hask seemed to be busy dealing with enemies and deflecting their shots. The girl didn't think that her friend really needed any help dealing with the guards, but she knew that there was always some risk involved which needed to be minimized. She fired off another shot at a hostile who was just about to shoot at her friend, preventing the action from being taken completely. The thief then quickly advanced closer to her friend keeping a few meters between them before shooting down another guard who was aiming at him. For someone who lacked any military training, her aim was relatively good, having picked up a trick or two both from her father and some shadier figures throughout her travels. Still, she often shot both two and three times, just to be sure.

Their teamwork seemed to go rather well as Hask kept protecting her from being shot while she could help him neutralize threats until the room was cleared. The silence came rather suddenly after the Sith killed their last foe. Her breath was heavy as she looked out over the chaos of stunned and killed guards along with paper and datapads all over the room with doe-like eyes. Aurelie weren't quite sure what was going on, how to act or what to think but followed along as Hask motioned for her to do so. She stared blankly at the screens to which she had been taken until her eyes gave off a few heavy blinks as her friend gave her shoulders a squeeze. Now, she was back online, quickly figuring out what he had in mind.

With that, Aurelie slid into the chair by her station and fixed the scanners on the location where the battle would take place. It wouldn't be long until the skies would be filled with vessels intent on shooting each other down and as soon as she saw something on the screens, the girl would report it to her partner in crime.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask slid into his seat and as the sirens started blaring to warn people of an attack he brought the main gun online just like routine. It was a lot different than working normal field artillery or a ship but he figured it out. Aurie's empty stare did not go unnoticed by him. As he waited for stuff to get hairy he looked at her. "Tell you what. Once we're done here me and you go on vacation to Canto Bight. I hear their oceans are a sight to behold." he called out over the alarms.

The fight has begun. The target freighter had come into range and the pirates were getting closer. Thankfully the artillery on the ground wasn't built to combat aircraft, so that left only Hask and Aurie with that responsibility. But the main target won't be the freighter or the fighters showing up on Aurie's radar. The main target was the Acranian Cutter looming overhead. It took a few pirates by surprise, tearing 6 fighters apart before they could make a move. Hask was keeping his eyes on his screen, awaiting Aurie's word on targets approaching. A few Czerka fighters made their way into his cross-hairs and he took them out with the laser cannons. The main battery firing on its own troops would most certainly attract some attention and soon enough troops were banging on the doors of the control room. Thankfully Hask's makeshift barricade was holding.

The Cutter came into Hask's view and his eyes went wide. "That thing's packing heat. You seeing this?!" he called out as he stared at his screen. As Hask was staring in awe, thinking of how to deal with it, it shot down two pirate freighters. "Aurie, focus on that ship. Spot the weak points. If we can take that ship alive we can use it against the Czerka fighters."

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

The young woman looked up from her screen and gave her friend a smile. A vacation did sound nice, and she remembered Canto Blight as a supremely pleasant planet from having visited it with her father on a business trip when she was in her early teens. Although the people hadn't given her the best impression in general, the lower classes were often friendly enough for her to hang out with. She had, however, as it was a business trip, mostly stayed in the city and not received any good views of the ocean and very much liked the idea of going there with Hask. "I'd like that" she said sincerely as her smile grew to show off her teeth.

Returning her focus to the equipment, Aurelie felt like she had more energy to focus on the task at hand. Once the vessels entered the scanner range, the girl was quick to let her partner in crime know of it. She monitored the equipment she controlled carefully and conveyed the necessary information to Hask. Suddenly, several dots on the radar disappeared prompting her to let out a low "woow, something real dangerous just joined the fray." she said while scanning for what it could be.

"Perhaps we could bring down the shields and force it down somehow?" she chirped with an uncertain voice. This was quite a bit outside of her field of expertise. Handling the scanning and radar equipment, however, was another matter as it belonged to the tasks of a co-pilot and with that, she started giving her ally the exact location, speed and direction of the cutter to ease targeting the turret.

She threw a worried look over at the barricade which Hask had created. It held strong for the moment but it was only a matter of time until it would crash in on them with at least a couple of guards - and that is if they were lucky enough for them not to call for reinforcements. "If we're forcing it down, we'll need to board the ship and pass by all those guys again, right?" she asked pointing at the barricade. "Wanna have Scrappy cause some stir outside?" she asked before returning to her task, providing the Sith with the numbers he needed.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask stared at the Cutter in his crosshairs. That ship would be able to easily combat the other ships and forcing the main heavy freighter to land would be that much easier. Problem was Hask hit a blank on the design. Of all times to hit a blank this was it. The banging behind them didn't help the situation and Aurie's concern was getting to him. But her suggestion did help. He looked at her with wide eyes as everything snapped into place. "You're a genius. H4, clear the top of the base underneath you. We're taking a shortcut." he spoke sternly but the excitement in his voice was clear.

He focused on the turret once more and locked onto the warship above them. He let loose 3 missiles but the Cutter managed to dodge them. "Why don't they have homing systems?" Hask grumbled. He switched to the cannons to harass the ship while the missile tubes reloaded. When they were ready Hask took a deep breath in and called upon the force to guide his aim. He fired the three missiles again and they landed right as the Cutter started banking left. The ship's shields went down and Hask hammered its engines with the cannon fire. Pretty soon smoke came out of the engines and it moved down to land. Hask breathed a sigh of relief and flashed a smile to Aurie.

Their victory was short lived as the doors started buckling. Hask got out of his seat and looked around. "Back away from the consoles." he ordered. As soon as Aurie was clear he released a stream of force lightning from his right hand and fried every console in the room, destroying the controls of the turret and any scanners. He climbed on a table and ignited his lightsaber. As he started cutting a hole into the duracrete roof he motioned for Aurie to get on the table. The slab of duracrete fall on the table between them and Hask pulled her close. "Hang on." he said with a smile and launched up just as the doors gave in.

With every level he would repeat the steps until they were right under the roof. "I hope H4 cleared the roof." he muttered as he cut the final hole. Sunlight flooded in as the slab fell down and Hask pulled Aurie close again. He launched them both up and landed outside, not knowing at all if they were clear...

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Aurelie
With a quick glance, Aurelie looked over at Hask, slightly surprised "Oh, really?" before getting the gist of the comment and proceeded to give him a wink "I have my moments" she said jovially. "With pleasure" a mechanical voice sounded through their comms as H4 responded to the request. The droid then went silent causing the young woman to believe that he got to work on his task.

The girl kept feeding her friend with information but soon noticed how he seemed to be concentrating on another level. After a while, she stopped and watched with amazement as he managed to score a hit, bringing the shields down. Once the ship had been damaged enough, Aurelie noticed how it started turning towards them. She looked at the radar, quite puzzled about why it would be heading towards the turret which had been shooting at it. After thinking for a bit, she came to the conclusion that it probably still believed the Czerka facility to be friendly, either having a clumsy gunner, or simply not noticing what it was that kept firing at them.

Scrappy
On the outside of the ship, H4 knew that he had been given the chance to do what he was programmed to do and was fully set on completing the task. Unfortunately, all five hostiles who had initially been on the roof had already been eliminated by his organic travel companions. In the distance, he could see how a ship, some kind of cutter, was approaching the base with downed shields and smoke coming out of it. Soon after, two Czerka mechanics appeared on the roof, both armed with a toolkit, a holdout blaster and a communications device. When the two men saw the bodies littering the floor, they immediately called for a security detail which resulted in a team of four guards to arrive within just a couple of minutes. The droid realized that they were expecting the cutter to arrive at the roof for repairs. With this knowledge, it slowly crept away from the edge of his vantage point and made his way towards a few higher rocks close to the edge.

When the ship arrived, smoke could be seen pouring out of the ventral turret. The ramps lowered with a clearly distraught captain and two crew mates leaving the ship. "We need a medic! My boy's been shot!" the captain roared as he rushed out towards the awaiting crew with his two crew mates lowly trying to tell him that his son was dead. With all the drama, H4 decided to make his entrance and began shooting.

Aurelie
"Great! Nice shooting!" she exclaimed happily while looking at her friend but soon added "The ship is heading our way at a lunatics speed though, I don't know why." But then, they had more pressing matters since the barricade was barely holding up. The young woman didn't hesitate doing as her companion ordered and stepped away from the console and then watched as he destroyed all the machinery by just pointing his hand at it. Even after they had known each other for a long time, he still managed to keep impressing her.

It didn't take long before they stepped up on the table and Hask executed the next step of his plan. Aurelie clung close to him as he pulled her in, letting her blue eyes gaze into his as he focused on the task. Floor by floor, the Sith managed to take them up to the top with his companion shooting the few unfortunate people who happened to be in the room they just entered.

Once they arrived at the top, they'd find themselves in the shadow of the large cutter, right behind the two mechanics, with H4 having killed four of the guards and one of the captain's crew mates with the rifle turning to the captain himself. The base was about to go to full alert and footsteps could be heard coming from inside the ship as the crew rushed to defend their boss. "I'll get the door!" Aurelie exclaimed as she slipped out of Hask's embrace and headed over to lock the door leading into the main base.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

They landed on the roof and Hask had to do a double take. They were standing right underneath a gunship. "If this isn't the dictionary meaning of the term 'out of place' I don't know what is." Hask mumbled wide-eyed as he stared down the barrels of the smoking ventral turret. Aurie made for the door they breached through to seal it up and trap the troops inside and Hask got to work on helping out H4. "H4 stand down now." He shouted at the droid right as it got ready to kill the captain.

The captain turned to look at him but Hask didn't give him any time before knocking him out. "You two, stay right there. Captain, the gunship is out of the fight. Me, Aurie and the droid will try and get it back online then commandeer it. We could use a few men to help with repairs and working the ship. You're clear to bring that freighter down." he spoke quickly, first to the mechanic and crewmate, then into his commlink to notify the pirate captain. The pirates didn't waste any time on moving in on the vulnerable heavy freighter and soon it landed a couple hundred meters away from the bunker. The heavy duty door that Aurie sealed up will hold off anything short of a thermal detonator...which Hask guessed they have. Luckily the fight was drawing to a close and soon pirates were touching down and securing the area. A few also found their way on top of the roof and set up a repeater right in front of the door to bottleneck any attempts of escape. The base was theirs.

8 pirates joined up with Hask, complete with tool kits and close range weapons to clear the ship. Hask turned his attention back to the mechanic and crew member that H4 hadn't gotten to yet. "If you two want to live, follow me and help me get the ship up and running." he spoke sternly. The two men nodded frantically and followed the Pureblood. "Come on Aurie, I can't pilot this thing by myself." he called out to her. Once she caught up to him he lead the group towards the ship. "Alright, let's get this ship in working order as quick as possible. Czerka Corp. will undoubtedly send reinforcements but it will take a while for them to get here. We need to be ready to cover the captain as they're taking over the freighter."

When they reached the ramp he looked at Aurie. "Stay behind me. I block you stun. Easy peasy." he said confidently. He took his Westar pistol and handed it to her. "In case you run out of ammo. That pistol of yours tends to chew through ammo.". He walked up the ramp, igniting his lightsaber and drawing upon the force. With the stuff he had done he was running out of energy and he was getting rather tired. But they were almost done.

The ship's layout was pretty straightforward. Up the ramp they were looking at the ladders that led to the turrets. Hask slowly pushed forward, eyeing every door and corner carefully. He peered up to the upper turret. Empty. The lower one was smoking and the body of a kid likely not that much older than himself was slumped in his seat. "Turrets clear." he told the group. They pushed towards the cockpit, sweeping the cargo hold and other rooms. "It seemed that they were running only crew. No passengers." Hask said as he peered into the left crew quarters. In the right crew quarters he heard shuffling. He motioned for the pirates to get ready to breach then used the force to open the door. Inside were 2 crew members standing against the wall, holding their guns ready but not shooting.

"If I were you I'd stand-" he was cut off as they fired. Hask blocked the rounds and stopped only long enough for Aurie to stun the two crew members.

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Preventing things from being opened were often easier than opening them and this was no exception. It didn't take long until the door leading into the building was sealed shut, either requiring force or a few new cables and repairs in order to be opened again. Clapping her hands a few time, satisfied with her work, Aurelie slowly returned to the group and stood next to H4 while Hask was dealing with the logistics of getting the pirates there and ready to help.

As their allies attacked the facility, the young woman and the droid laid down close to the edge of the roof and provided whatever support they could, whether it be a few well placed shots by Scrappy or the conveying of some sorely needed information by Aurelie. Still, she kept an attentive ear for what Hask was saying and quickly rose up to jog over to him when he called for her. "Commin'!" she chirped cheerfully a bit before arriving.

After having looked at the gun handed to her for a short while, the thief finally grabbed it and looked back up at him with a smile "Thanks!" she said sincerely whilst putting it on stun mode. "Mine just got like two bolts left, you take it, just in case" she continued before sending the weapon over to Hask as she held the barrel herself. If he weren't quick enough to take it himself, she'd personally put it at the Westar's previous position.

The Westar had a relatively similar feeling to her usual DH7 but was a bit longer, causing the balance to feel a bit off. Still, having 15 bolts rather than two was certainly appreciated. Once again, she stayed close to Hask after having nodded eagerly at his suggestion to let her stun the resistance they encountered. When they entered the ship, she put her free left hand on the Sith's back making it easier to have some sort of communication without words and also to let her feel when he made sudden moves or vise versa. Her days as a thief had made her rather good at acclimatizing in new environments which allowed her to get a good idea of the ship's layout and where to look for potential threats when entering a new room. Admittedly, however, the odd shape of the ship made it a little harder than it would usually be in an apartment or a more conventional vessel.

When they reached the door to the right crew quarters, she remained close to Hask and felt a certain sense of calm as she stood right behind the Pureblood. The two crew members inside looked quite surprised when they entered - nothing compared to how stupid they looked when they fired at the Sith and his crew. At a very quick speed, she lowered the blaster towards them as they started firing and prepared to fire. With both the sense in the palm of her left hand on his back and some guesswork, she managed to fire off her shots, almost exactly at the same time as his blade stopped, only requiring one bolt each.

"I'm getting good at this" she said with excitement. She had been able to get some good on-the-job experience during the day which improved the skills she already had. However, the young woman did find it somewhat concerning that she had now gotten so used to shooting people which she would hardly have been able to imagine herself doing when they first met.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

The two men dropped to the floor, knocked out by Aurie's shots. She sounded rather proud about herself, drawing a chuckle out of Hask. "You kepp getting better and I keep getting worse. Thankfully you use the stun setting." he remarked. It was meant as a joke but there was some truth to it. He hadn't faced another duelist or force user in literal months if not a year by now. Blocking blaster bolts was easy, but without a teacher he was only going to stagnate in his skills and knowledge of the force. And no Jedi would be willing to train him...but that was a worry for another time. Right now they had a ship to fix up.

His right hand felt the odd weight on his hip, confirming Aurie's pistol was still there. They weighed the same, but he had grown use to the odd weight distribution of the Westar. He pushed onward towards the cockpit, knowing that Aurie was right behind him. He knew that this block-and-shoot strategy they had going on would put her more at ease as well as spare a few innocent souls.

They reached the cockpit but instead of a barricade or resistance waiting for them it was simply the pilot and co-pilot waiting for them with their hands in the air. They had no intention of fighting. Pretty soon they were locked into the cargo hold along with the other crew members. The dead child was taken off the ship and put aside for the father to do with as he wished. There wasn't anything Hask or the pirates could do now.

When the ship was theirs Hask gave each pirate a job to do to get the ship up and running. He turned to Aurie and instructed her to get into the pilot's seat. "Some controls are burned out. Gonna have to fix them from underneath." he said as he got on the floor next to her and crawled in underneath the dashboard. Every once in a while he would ask her to hand him a tool from the toolkit next to her or ask her to activate a control to test the systems. "You know...this ship isn't too bad. Might not be able to fix her up nicely now, but I'm sure we can claim it for ourselves after the job is done. Then we can get her to full working order once again. he spoke as he worked.

He slid out from under the dashboard, looking up at her. "I mean, why let a perfectly fine gunship go to waste?" he smirked as he finished. He slid back in under the dashboard and slid the panels back in place. The other pirates were done as well and soon Hask was standing next to Aurie with his left hand on her shoulder. "Alright fire it up. Let's hear this kitten purr."

@Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

With a cocked eyebrow, the thief looked at her companion skeptically "You keep getting worse?" she asked, repeating what he said without thinking of it as being true for a moment. "Hask, you just knocked down a room full of people and destroyed that big gun with the flick of a hand. You're not getting worse." She said, looking at him with round eyes before continuing "But yeah, it's good that I use the stun setting" A great big smile spread across her face, genuinely happy about the weapon having a less lethal option.

They kept exploring the ship in the same fashion which they had before. It felt good for the girl who thought of it as a rather safe way to do it on. Hask wouldn't allow anything to harm them and she would disable anything which tried anyways. Eventually, the group reached the cockpit where they encountered the pilots. The thief still had a hand on Hask's back and one tightly hugging the blaster with the trigger finger at the ready. Her left hand rose and fell with the Sith's steady breath as the two groups locked eyes, the situation remained calm as the pilots kept their hands in the air without seeming to have any intents on pulling any tricks - at least for the moment.

Despite wanting to follow the pirates along and help conduct the repairs, Aurelie very much liked the idea of staying with Hask for a bit as they'd just been through some quite intensive moments. With that, she slid into the pilot's seat and took a deep breath, while taking the powerful feeling in - the seat of the one who commanded the ship always felt special, no matter how many ships she had been in before. She moved her legs to the side to allow for Hask to get in under the dashboard easier and was quick to give him whatever tools he asked for.

"You don't wanna know how many times I've thought 'Oh, this thing doesn't look too bad, surely I can claim it for myself', I usually get away with it too, so that's a good sign." she commented jovially whilst looking down at whatever part of him stuck out from underneath the dashboard. A smile appeared on her face to greet Hask as he slid out from under the dashboard "Hey you" she said with a smile before listening to his question. "Yeah, that wouldn't do. And the previous owners seemed anxious to let us have it, didn't they? You're right, we should take it." she joked, although being fully in on keeping the vessel for themselves.

She looked up at him. Happiness and excitement was clearly written on her face as he told her to fire her up. She was almost a little moved by his kind gesture. Being the great fan of anything space faring that she was, Aurelie wouldn't allow herself to commandeer the ship before the ship's future captain would and gently put her own hand on his. "Thank you, Hask, that means a lot to me. But you're gonna have to go first. I'll be at the co-pilot's seat where I belong" she said with a sweet voice while rising from her seat.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask looked down at her with an eyebrow raised. He was a little surprised that she didn't want to be behind the controls. "You sure?" he asked her. He knew how much she loved being behind the controls. But it seemed her mind was made up. "Alright then. Next time you're flying, though." he said jokingly as he moved out of the way for her to take her seat by the co-pilot's controls. Hask slid into his seat and sat for a few moments to get his bearings. The pirates were ordered to man whatever guns and controls needed a person.

"Alright, the forward facing guns are on your side...if I remember correctly there's also an ion cannon you can use if you're not in the mood for fireworks." he flipped switches and pressed buttons as he spoke. There was a deep whine through the ship and when Hask figured they were primed, he fired up the engines. A low, muffled rumble was heard through the ship and Hask's grip tightened on the controls. He was rather taken back by how responsive they were. "Oh this is going to be fun." he muttered with a wide, toothy grin.

One of the pirates announced that multiple bogeys were inbound and Hask ascended into the air. "Gun turrets get ready. Aurie, prime your guns and stand by. The rest of you, stand by. As soon as they are in range, jam their transmissions." Hask announced into the comms for the entire ship to hear.

"I have a good feeling about this."

/End Thread

@Pyrenees