Who Are You?

Aila Roas · Dec 19, 2018

New Cov was like a gateway to the Mid Rim. Not on most peoples tourist locations, but well settled enough and away from the Empire that more than a few foreigners ended up inside its walls. Ones much like Aila. Down beneath the domed sky of Ilic, the planetary capital, Aila had found herself holding out for a number of days in search of work or transport, a way to carry her yet further afield from the mess she'd left behind in Republica space.

Not that it seemed she'd escaped them yet. Too many eyes had followed her down streets and alleys, too many glints in the window and glances stolen from shadowy figures. She was being watched. Though whether they wanted her or the one she had made contact with, someone with work that suited her skills, she couldn't know yet. Heck, she didn't even know yet exactly what the offer was yet.

That's why she waited here, on dusty and forgotten street corner, at the arranged time to meet. Once they did she'd follow, they'd explain what the job was, if she could do it, where, when, how, cover the details. Then gone. That was what she had understood anyhow. Whether it would prove just that straightforward was another question altogether.

@Vosrik

Devrim Wolfe · Dec 19, 2018

Having to take on other jobs within the Alliance, Devrim was now trudging his way through a street he didn't know on a planet he was unfamiliar with to meet a contact he'd never spoken to. It all seemed immensely shady, but such was the nature of work the rebels needed to do with the Empire's eyes watching constantly. Commander Hugo wasn't in the mood for the Alliance to take risks, especially not after what happened on Dantooine, but they still worked to undermine Imperial authority whenever and wherever they could. Today, that meant revealing to the public the atrocities of a forced labour camp on Mimban. However, the rebels had hit a roadblock in their efforts — they lacked the expertise needed to lift footage and expose it. To remedy this, the Alliance reached out to an independent agent who was skilled in this area.

Hence why Devrim now approached the arranged location. Although currently not wearing his full helmet in public, he had the hood of his cloak pulled up to darken his facial features. Devrim had been warned that some of the rebel's communications might have been intercepted by Imperial agents. He had to be careful. Spotting the silhouette of his contact, he frowned from under his hood. Devrim didn't like the openness of the street corner. Walking by as any random citizen might, he "accidentally" bashed into her right shoulder with his own broad one. Quite a rude gesture, but it was necessary. Devrim didn't look back to apologize — he simply crossed the street and disappeared into an empty, dark alleyway. Aila, regardless of her reaction, would find a piece of paper at her feet that said in large letters: FOLLOW ME.

@Nightfall

Aila Roas · Dec 19, 2018

Keeping her head down to avoid drawing attention had more than a few downsides., including that, when people passed she had to work extra hard to avoid not walking into them. That was only really an option when the other person didn't want to hit you either. The heavyset figure who did knock into her clearly had other plans.

Glancing up from the floor, she went to call out the man for his clumsiness. But before she could get her hands free from her pockets to make any sort of rude gesture, she spotted something, a note. Far too convenient to have been for anyone but her. A quick glance at her chronometer showed one thing more, that if that was her contact, they were right on time. Deep breaths then, she was more than a little nervous, because whatever job wanted this much secrecy certainly wasn't going to be anything above board. Not that she was technically above board right now, so how could she complain?

Taking a moment to bend down and re-tie her laces, she scooped up the paper and looked to her left, seeing the figure turn itself down a smaller alley. Right. Time to follow then. And with no hint of anyone watching her, she moved in quick.

Coming into the alley way, there wasn't much of note, rubbish bins and muck, fire escapes to some of the higher buildings in the walkway. All she had to look at was the rather striking hooded figure who she'd run into before. Her contact, presumably,

"I take it we're supposed to be meeting?" she offered as she walked up to the man. Time to find out what this was all about.

@Vosrik

Devrim Wolfe · Dec 19, 2018

Hearing footsteps of a single person approaching, Devrim was pleased that his contact had followed his direction out of the streets. At her statement, Devrim nodded in acknowledgement. "And I take it you're the slicer we need," he replied, protruding a datapad and pulling up some information on it. "There is a labour camp on Mimban that takes citizens from nearby towns and cities, forcing them to —" Devrim began, but he fell silent and froze. He heard more footsteps, but not the ones of the bystanders minding their own businesses. These ones were getting louder and a lot closer. ♦ In retrospect, this alleyway was a horrible place to meet while knowing Imperial agents were watching these streets. Shoving the datapad back into the folds of his cloak, he held a finger to his tightly shut mouth and pointed upwards to the winding staircase of a fire escape.

They still had some time to get out of the alley, and Devrim allowed Aila to take the lead before following her. Hoping that their feet didn't cause too much of a ruckus as they climbed upwards, the rebel kept an eye on the entrance to the alley that was barely lit by the streetlamps further off in the distance. About halfway up the staircase, the shadows of two Imperial agents darkened the entrance to the alley. They peered inside, likely looking for the two individuals who had entered not two minutes prior. Tapping Aila quietly, Devrim crouched down and held still, hoping that in the darkness neither he nor his companion would be spotted. Regardless if they were or not, Devrim gripped his rifle slung on his back beneath the cloak and pushed the butt into his shoulder. If the Imperials noticed the two, at least one of them would drop before they got far.

@Nightfall

Aila Roas · Dec 20, 2018

A forced labour camp, kriff, this was going to be interesting. Though, if it meant hitting back a little against the Empire that had kept her on the run for so long, she wasn't about to say no. Especially to a place like that, savage that they even still allowed it. And here she was, someone who had been complicit in it through her benefiting from it for so many years. Her moral scales wouldn't be weighed correctly even if this job did involve something there.

Not that she could find out more just yet.

Even though New Cov wasn't Imperial territory, she was a criminal to them, and they didn't take lightly to that. They'd been following her ever since she'd been on the run and seemingly she hadn't been able to give them the slip. Though her companion might have been just as guilty as she was, and that was a thought in and of itself. Comforting for a moment, that they didn't want her necessarily. Worrying in that she might be getting into something that would put an even bigger target on her.

Moving up the fire escape at as quietly as she could, they managed to climb up quick, out of sight for the time being of the guards below. Looking out from their vantage she leaned on the fence of the escape, trying to get a clearer view. It was not to be. Disused and rusted, she could never have spotted it in the dark. The moment she leaned upon it the metal gave way with a screech that tore through any other noise of the night, sending her falling from the staircase as she heard the two soldiers down below call out,

"Up there, blasters up!"

Kriff. She wasn't likely to get the job now, was she?

@Vosrik

Devrim Wolfe · Dec 20, 2018

To Devrim's approval, it seemed that Aila was quite interested in the job and the little bit of information that he'd started to give her. But unfortunately the Force seemed to have a different plan for the rebel and hacker today with the appearance of the Imperials. And yet despite there being a clear method of escape for the two, what was ironically supposed to be a safe way to exit a building turned out to be severely structurally damaged. Hearing the creak of old and rusted metal, Devrim leaped forward to grab Aila's hand — but alas, he was unable to grab it and was now flat on his stomach in an awkward position. ♦ Thankfully, she would only fall a single story to the next level of metal stairs which they had already ascended and were therefore quite sturdy. On the other hand, now the Imperials knew that Devrim and Aila were there.

With his upper body sticking out of the hole in the metal staircase, the rebel leveled his blaster rifle and aimed down sights to the two agents who were lit up by the street lights at the alleyway entrance. Despite the marksman's best efforts, he simply did not have a good enough line of sight through the metal staircase and completely missed both of the Imperial patrols. ♦ To make matters worse, now Devrim had revealed his exact location for the men who began shooting. Getting up quickly and crouching, he backed down the staircase as quickly and quietly as he could — managing to completely escape the line of fire. At least they were now shooting at nothing instead of either Devrim or Aila. ♦

The rebel wasn't sure whether Aila was armed or not, but his next goal was to make sure she was unhurt and safe from immediate danger. They had to plan their next moves carefully — they could either attempt ascending the stairs to the roof once again, or break through one of the windows or doors that lead into the building beside them. Once Aila had gotten up and reached Devrim's position, he communicated that to her through basic hand signals and mouthing. He'd leave that decision up to her, as she likely knew the area far better than the offworlder rebel did.

"Did we get them?" One of the Imperials asked the other, ceasing his fire temporarily. Devrim looked to Aila, ready to follow her lead. They didn't have much time to act.

@Nightfall

http://www.thestarwarsrp.com/forum/index.php?threads/eyes-opened-wide-dice.85295/#post-1465120♦[/url

Aila Roas · Dec 20, 2018

A slip. A tumble down the fire escape threw her onto the floor below, her body whacking into the metal hard, pain shooting up her body. It didn't feel like anything was broken, but she'd be black and bruised by morning she had no doubt. She managed to stifle a groan as blaster fire bit out above and below her, her contact raining blaster bolts down onto the Imperial agents, they sending their own in return. The sounds of it would have cut through any noise she made, and good thing too, as she pulled herself back against the wall of the building, out of their line of sight.

As the sounds stopped it, it seemed the man had done the same, or so she hoped. There'd be no point in her firing now, it'd only serve to give her away and, if anything, she wanted to be long gone instead.

Seemingly her friend had a similar thought. Glancing to her left she watched the man cautiously move down the stairs. They had to get moving, buildings or roof. A moment of thought made her pick the former, she didn't want to run the risk of stepping back into their line of sight in climbing back up the stairs. If they got indoors they broke that chance for good.

Nodding to her left, she slid her hands against the glass, pushing the window across ever so softly to avoid making a sound, slipping her herself in after. The room was empty it seemed, lights off, no footsteps or sounds of life. They had a moment in here, though they couldn't stay forever. She gestured to her contact, saying something like 'out the door or stay put?'. Hopefully he'd had more experience with this kind of thing than she had.

@Vosrik

Devrim Wolfe · Dec 21, 2018

Nodding in affirmation of Aila's choice, Devrim was glad she'd picked to head inside. With the questionable integrity of the staircase's structure further up the side of the building, it was best to not attempt ascending them past this point. Fortunately for both fugitives, the window on this floor happened to have an unlocked window for them to both climb through. Perfectly mimicking Aila's movements crawling inside the apartment, Devrim remained absolutely quiet entering the building. Thankfully, whoever owned this apartment had left it for the evening or weekend — they were safe for the time being. Gripping the window, the rebel silently pulled it to shut it. Before closing it completely, he paused to listen to the Imperial agents left scratching their heads down below.

"I don't see them — they must have gone inside. Watch the front entrance, I'll do a search indoors."

Having heard all he needed to, Devrim fully shut the window, allowing the two to temporarily speak without the threat of being discovered. "It'll take them forever to go door to door. These buildings have interlocking filtration systems on the roof — if we make it up there in time, we can get to another building and lose them that way." Striding to the apartment's front door, he opened it up and confidently looked for the staircase. The Imperials would be starting on the first or second floor, so they had time to ascend to the roof before they were rediscovered. "Follow me," Devrim stated as he found the stairs next to the elevator shaft.

Stepping into the stairwell, he paused for a moment to listen. He didn't figure their pursuers would also take the stairs, and he was correct. Moving with purpose, he began the ascent to the top floor of the building. For now, he and Aila were a step or two ahead of the Imperial agents. They'd get out of this alive for sure.

@Nightfall

Aila Roas · Dec 23, 2018

Trying to keep her breathing quiet, Aila simply nodded at her contact as they fled further into and up the building, hopefully away from the soldiers that hunted them. If the man knew his stuff they wouldn't have to go far anyhow to get away. So she hope anyhow. Following his lead she rounded the stairs, up and up to the buildings rooftop, doing their best to pass without trace nor kick up a fuss with any of the residents who were still around here.

The night air rushed against her face as they opened the door to the roof. Safer for a moment, she took a deep breath, trying to hold her focus on where to next. A building, just across from them, a small gap between. Nothing they couldn't handle. She'd be right. So she told herself over and over as she looked to her contact and nodded to the other building,

"Shall we then?" she said, taking a run up and leaping across, making the landing safe and sound as she bent her knees to absorb the force of the landing. They were across, and safer for it. The heights were little to what the agents might have done if they'd caught them,

"Hole up somewhere over here then? Perhaps then we can finish the offer" she offered with a smile, trying to stay positive about the whole ordeal. That was the only thing that had kept her going through it all.

@Vosrik

Devrim Wolfe · Dec 24, 2018

Breathing in the relatively fresh city air, Devrim was made keenly aware of his rapidly beating chest from the encounter. Scanning the rooftop, he noticed the nearby building as soon as Aila had as well. "Right behind you," he stated as he also took a running leap across the minimal gap between the two buildings. Rolling to absorb the impact of the jump, Devrim was happy to know they were yet another step further from their pursuers still searching the previous apartment building.

"Let's head on back down to the city streets," he replied, looking down the edge at a far more sturdy emergency escape staircase. It seemed whoever owned this building had their occupants' safety in mind. "I'll continue on the way down, and we can disappear in the crowds." Climbing onto the metal staircase, Devrim pulled out his datapad again and went over the information to remind himself where he left off. "Where was I...Mimban, right?" He asked rhetorically.

"There is a forced labour camp situated there that is being covered up by the authorities. The Alliance wants to expose this and bring it to light, but we don't have the skills or the tech to get in there and acquire the footage." He handed the datapad over to Aila so she can read up on the details for herself while they descended the stairs. "You'll be paid, of course — the Alliance wants Mimban's support in their efforts, and we need the best for this job. Are you up for the task?"

@Nightfall

Aila Roas · Dec 26, 2018

Aila followed her contact across the rooftop and over to the other side. For now it seemed they were safe, though how long either of them could stay on New Cov anymore was up for debate. But as the man pulled out his datapad and explained the rest of the job, she realised she wouldn't be here forever anyway, too much work and preparation to be done.

As he finished, his final question gave her pause. Was she in? This was people the Empire wanted dead, that they'd hunt just as much as they hunted her now. To work alongside them it seemed would only put a bigger target on her back, and if she kept running on her own after it all, no amount of pay would keep her out of harms way forever, she'd made that problem herself though. Running back into Imperial territory, she couldn't exactly say that was something she was hoping to do anytime soon. Last time she had her run ins with the authorities had been a little too close for comfort. But now she'd back, taking it right to them instead. Perhaps that made the danger worth it, she wasn't getting away from it anytime soon,

"Where do I sign?"

@Vosrik

/EndThread