There's No Substitute For a Good Blaster

Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-06 23:16:38
"Not so fast, Rodian." Jileeza cycles the dressing room door to see Gulgo's henchwoman Joss training a blaster pistol on her. The human and Gamorrean who had led her to the room are standing back perhaps ten feet or so down the corridor. Joss's one good eye stares at 'Za with calculating appraisal. "Come out of there, slowly. Get your hands up."

Back at the Second Chance's berth, the crew receive the go-ahead signal from Jileeza's comlink. Lent rechecks the action on his repeater while Wayde tightens the buckles on his combat harness, making sure all his gear is secured. Arnae spins his blaster before sliding it home and grabs a spare as well, tucking it into one boot.

In contrast to the bustle of weapons and armor, Erit and Aurelia sit in the cargo bay within the Ithorian's meager garden. Erit reaches out with the Force once more, feeling Aurelia's sense of panic and following its roots down to vague childhood memories. Her past, whatever is troubling her, is tied deeply to the bizarre combination of Sullust, Gulgo, weaponry, and machines.
Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-09 05:31:20
Joss appraises 'Za for a moment before continuing. "You had some good moves in there. Consider this a job interview. Why are you here? Where did you learn to fight?"

---

Arnae nearly plows through a fruit market as he tries to keep the overloaded speeder van under control. Sullust's tunnels weren't designed with heavy speeder traffic in mind. After a few more minutes of breakneck driving, Gulgo's lair comes into view around a bend. Arnae slows the van down and stops in a rough-hewn alley a street over. The heavy blast doors look pretty thick - if the van fails to breach them, well.... on the bright side, if it does, Gulgo can't possibly actually expect someone to be dumb enough to try a frontal assault...
Aihal the Silent 2005-01-10 15:09:43
Scoping out the doors through some Macrobinoculars [assuming we have some], Lent does a quick assessment on the doors, trying to determine if the Van/Bomb has a good chance of breaching them. He also checks for Sentry Posts, gun emplacements, etc...

(Edited by Aihal the Silent at 9:10 am on Jan. 10, 2005)
fanchergw 2005-01-10 17:24:45
As ordered, 'Za raises her arms and steps out of the room. A questioning look crosses her features.

"I been livin' on the streets all my life. You don't survive unless you learn to fight - and quick.

"What kind of job? I'm just hear trying to pick up some extra credits; money's tight out there for us what haven't got nothin'."
Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-12 17:58:15
Lent sees two Gamorreans guarding the front gate, but there may be other people of a less noticeable nature on guard along the street. No killer droids or autoblasters, though. The doors do indeed look sturdy, but then there are a lot of explosives in the speeder. Lent gives the door a 1 in 5 chance it'll withstand the van's explosion.

---

Joss addresses 'Za. "Gulgo seems to like you. Normally, that would be sufficient to offer you a chance at a privileged position. My job, however, is to make sure he doesn't make bad decisions, and after watching you put a knife through that other woman's eye socket without so much as flinching, I want you to convince me that you're not a bad decision."
CrazyIvan 2005-01-12 18:16:40
Arnae thumbs his comlink on and asks, "Are we ready to go? This brick isn't getting any lighter, you know."

The brick he's referring to is the one taped to the top of the accelerator pedal. He's been driving with the tip of his foot hooked under the pedal, holding it up off the floor.
Dieter 2005-01-12 18:35:14
"And I'm not getting any younger. Let's blow something up." says Wayde, getting ready to ditch the hovervan.
fanchergw 2005-01-12 18:55:46
"A privileged position? You mean like a real, paying job?" Jileeza replies. "Those are hard to come by for someone like me. Shit, I'm willing to do just about anything for a regular paycheck. Trying to survive on the occasional odd job sucks."

Where are those guys? 'Za wonders to herself. They better damn well get here soon.
Aihal the Silent 2005-01-12 19:10:33
Lent smiles.

"Aim the Van and let's go!" he says, climbing out of the soon to be slagged van with his gear.
CrazyIvan 2005-01-12 19:40:25
"Okay, everyone out!"

As soon as both his comrades have cleared the van, Arnae swings the driver-side door open and hops out. The brick weighs the pedal down, and the van lumbers off, accelerating towards the compound's door. Arnae ducks behind a nearby vending machine and waits for a boom.
Aihal the Silent 2005-01-12 20:00:53
As the van zips away toward its firey destiny, Lent looks at Arnae with a slightly confused expression on his face. "Haven't you guys ever done anything like this before?"

Without waiting for Arnae's reply, Lent straps his helmet on, and poises himself, ready to move.

As soon as he judges that the van has the guards' attention, but before it explodes, he will begin walking toward the door--ready to shoot.
Dieter 2005-01-12 20:05:57
"I've had some experience on the receiving end of a truckbomb. However, I'm no stranger to blowing up the entrance and storming inside. Just keep you head down and watch your corners."
Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-12 20:22:34
The speeder van gets some puzzled looks from the two Gamorreans, which quickly turn to horror as they realize that a) there's no one behind the yoke and b) it's coming right for them. They half-waddle, half-jog to the side as best they can, which isn't good enough.

Lent sidles around his corner and starts walking nonchalantly towards the entrance, repeating blaster cradled in his hands.

The few people out on the street run for cover as the van shows no signs of stopping.

Lent cracks a grin and wishes he had a cigar. He wakes up a few seconds later 12 feet from where he remembers standing. The blast door has a ragged hole torn through it, like a fist punched through tinfoil. There is nothing left of the van save a few pieces of debris that are still bouncing down the street. Small fires have broken out in a one-block radius. Arnae and Wayde, who waited for the explosion, are likewise sheltered from the rain of fine gravel that showers over the street.
Aihal the Silent 2005-01-12 21:41:24
Shaking off the disorientation, Lent gets to his feet...blaster ready.

I must be getting rusty. he thinks to himself. In the old days, I would have judged it better

He proceeds forward, motioning the others to follow. As he approaches the "doors", he scans the exterior of the compound for any armed response.
Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-12 22:36:58
Inside, Joss, Jileeza, and the two guards are knocked to the ground by a massive explosion. Red dust sprinkles from the tunnel ceiling.
fanchergw 2005-01-12 23:28:33
The explosion at the front gates drops Jileeza like a sack of rotten potatoes. "What the hell was that?!" she asks, though she has more than a fragment of an idea already.

Climbing to her feet, 'Za helps Joss up. "We better check on the boss!" she says, starting to move in that direction.
CrazyIvan 2005-01-17 14:38:20
Aurelia figits nerviously in front of Erit, occassionally glancing out towards the passageway, sending off waves of anxiety, although somewhat calmer than she was a few minutes ago.

"Do you think they're doing alright?"
Gatac 2005-01-17 14:42:37
Erit nods.

"They are very good at getting into trouble, but even better at shooting their way out of it. My concern is for those that are foolish enough to stand in their way..."
Admiral Duck Sauce 2005-01-19 17:24:42
Lent doesn't see a swarm of goons or even rockmice charge through the black smoke quickly obscuring the doorway. As he gets closer to the entrance he sees movement on the third-floor balconies - almost cupolas rather than balconies. If they remain on ground level within view of the balconies things will not go well. With that in mind, Lent heads to one side of the ragged hole, obscuring the view from above. He rolls under a hastily-fired blaster shot from somewhere inside. Looks like at least three guards have taken cover behind corridor corners 10 meters or so down the entrance tunnel.

---

Joss starts hobbling along behind 'Za and quickly manages a slow run herself. Gulgo's chamber is rife with activity. Six Gamorreans are posted around the Hutt himself, while the more intelligent species are forming up in small groups, arming themselves, and heading out of the chamber to repel whatever just blew Gulgo's front doors off. There are a handful of girls still in the main chamber, all corraled on a couch and watched by one of Gulgo's droids.

Joss shoves 'Za towards the couch, saying "Sit down over there and don't move. Gulgo! What the hell just happened?!"

"Someone speeder-bombed my house!" Gulgo is quivering (a horrific sight) with anger. "The blast ruined my external cameras, as if I need them to know who's behind this. Tell your men to move on Maddock's ship. Take one of them alive, kill the rest."
fanchergw 2005-01-19 17:41:05
'Za obligingly moves toward the couch, though slowly. It appears that most of the armed personnel will be leaving the room soon. Jileeza subtly edges toward the back wall of the room, looking to get out of most people's field of vision.