[Day 9 - EN] Joint Operations in the Dark (Contribution Event)

[Dove Gray]

"Look," Dove put on her best I'm in charge here-voice. It was something she had gotten around to use the past weeks, working with the Resistance, training new operatives that had a different skillset than being soldiers, and dealing with other bantha poodoo-things that had been coming up.

"I am in charge of the Resistance's mission here, and your General Gunray is insisting that his folks, namely you, are all good professionals who want to do your job for Bankor and for the fight against the Empire. It is his order as much as mine that you will cooperate and turn over what you got there, and I will have it delivered to both Commander Yusandr and the general, and I'll also be willing to accept that you had no choice but to fire those shots. And cause that explosion."

She took a deep breath. "We're all allies here, right? Doc here is your friend, she's part of your group as well, and she agrees with this. The Aznuri agrees with this. We're all in this together, because that's the kriffin' mission. This isn't the time to play games."

"So," she gave a firm look to Dredgen, "hand it over, and we'll all walk out of here. No stress, no fuss, no mess."


-----

D9 EN HEIST: Leadership/Presence. Friendship upgrade (Vaya/Trigger <3). +1B My friend is here too (Sinnya)! Hard w/+1S and Dapper Destiny.: 2eP+1eA+1eB+1eC+2eD+1eS 1 success, 3 advantage

[Dapper Dog]

Dredgen rested his hand on his sidearm and then said, “Trigger give the woman the package, might as well be patriots.”

Trigger frowned and then tossed the heavy duffel to Dove. Dredgen continued, “I don’t have a vinecat in this mess, just doing as ordered. You know like a professional, well besides the murder, that was pleasure… and business.”

*BANG BANG BANG*

The blaster was smoking from the three quick blasts as the gunslinger spun to take out three storm troopers and then blew out the smoke before spinning the blaster back into the holster. He said to Dove, “Watch yourself out there, Gray.”

A transport came in piloted by a droid and Dredgen waited for his team to board.

OOC: Dredgen has respect for the tough lady. Also flipping destiny for Dredgen.

[Jenna Karath]

Jenna winced as the blaster shots came from just at the foot of the exit, with a quick jog she met up to witness what was the end of the exchange and as Dresgen and his teams evac came in.

"What the kriff is going on!?!" she just looked between everyone with a stunned glare.

[Dove Gray]

Dove spun around to reach for her firearm, but not fast enough to outpace the gunslinger. While she probably wanted to shout something like what the kriff was going on as well, she managed to keep her cool to maintain a leader's calm in the situation.

Picking up the duffel, she breathed a sigh of relief. "You too, Dredgen. Just like old times." Your reputation precedes you, and seems well-founded.

"It's alright, Jennah. Dredgen was just... taking out the trash." What else could she say about the three storm troopers he had just taken out.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya held her breath as Dove said her piece. As things looked to be going smoothly, she started to let it out in a quiet, controlled fashion, but instead the sudden blasterfire turned her meditative exhalation into a startled Yawp!

Recovering her dignity, she gave Trigger an-arm squeeze and a "May the Force be with you" goodbye, and hurried over to Jenna. "Things got hairy, Dove handled it," she said quietly, the quick-and-dirty version that she expected would be enough for Jenna for now.

[Sinnya]

"I won't bet on seeing them again back at base." Sinnya cast a dour look at the departing Team Huk. "Let's get out of here, right?"

[Jenna Karath]

Recovering her dignity, she gave Trigger an-arm squeeze and a "May the Force be with you" goodbye, and hurried over to Jenna. "Things got hairy, Dove handled it," she said quietly, the quick-and-dirty version that she expected would be enough for Jenna for now.

Looking in the direction of the building, and then the storm troopers she quickly looked back to Vaya, putting out a hand to grab Vaya's forearm when she got close, it was as much of a response as she needed before swallowing it and getting to the still present danger of being caught outside of this mess.

"Yes," Jenna said, calling over to Sinn'ya, looking to dove, "let's go. Suppose I don't need to tell you, but, can follow my lead.. not the first time I've done this," she said, glancing at Vaya and Dove at the you.

[Dove Gray]

Securing the duffel bag, Dove nodded and gave Jennah a quick but warm smile. Never let the juniors see you sweat. "Lead the way."

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya fell in with Dove as Jenna lead them to their extraction point. Somewhere in the distance, there was the scream of TIE fighters, or maybe artillery shells; Vaya's normally fine senses were still somewhat dulled by the firebomb, and she wasn't really practiced at telling one piece of military hardware from another. Fixing that gap in my education uncomfortably quickly, though.

"That was some fast thinking," she said. "That's not a crowd that's easy to make bend."

[Jenna Karath]

Nodding to Dove she didn't hesitate for a moment, leading the group Jenna started off strong on the misdirection, leading them away, and then back, and then away in another direction. Alleyways, back roads, and a few main roads were her main method choices, through a building once or twice to throw off the scent.

Once they were sufficiently all confused, probably except for a few, she made the path cut straight for the extraction. With how resources were probably stretched thin, being further away made everything run a bit smoother, especially after that, and especially considering this was originally a stealth op. Simple thieving.

Safe enough, Jenna's speed slowed and the sounds of the not-so-distant battle caught up with her, "Can someone explain to me what just went wrong? What just happened?"

[Dove Gray]

"I know him from back in the old days. With the CIS - the original group," Dove explained grimly as the group moved along. "We didn't run in the same circles, exactly, but you could probably call us... errr... people who were in the same business."

She just hoped she hadn't made an enemy for life, because that could be a hard one to get rid off. "And let's just say I was suspicious about this Op from the get-go."

Having followed Jennah's lead, the group seemed out of the figurative woods for now.

"Caught Dredgen doing an... errand, as he called it. No idea if it was one of his own accord, or if the Neimodian ordered him to. He'd shot up two troopers and what seemed like a civilian," she explained to Jennah. It was probably grisly details, but if the girl was gonna be in this line of work, it wouldn't be the only time there would be casualties. "This errand as far as I know, as well as the casualties, and the bombing, was not part of the plan. As Tails here knows, I was already suspicious of the New CIS' intentions here, especially since they were so vehemently about making it a joint-op. Seeing that scene just made it all the more suspicious, but I guess Dredgen didn't see a point in making it into a shoot-out between us all. If I knew his reputation, he might've known mine too and didn't want to gamble on walking away with the payload."

Dove held up the duffel-bag for the others to see, and carefully opened it.

[Sinnya]

"A civilian? Kriff." Sinnya looked genuinely shocked. "Did Gunray tell him to do it, or was he freelancing, you think?" She leaned closer to get a look inside the duffel.

[Dapper Dog]

The duffel is filled with aurum ingots.

[Dove Gray]

Dove's eyes widened. "Jesus Toboga..." The zipper was quickly zipped close. Last she wanted was someone not part of the group to see it.

Had Dredgen been planning on doing this for himself, or was it ordered from his boss? She didn't know, and that was blank she disliked. There would only be one way to find out, but this was not the time. Or the place. It would have to wait until this night was over, and maybe then, if they were all alive, she could bring it up.

"Well." she said after a deep sigh. "I've no idea if this was some bigger play, but the most important thing is that this will go to the Resistance, and hopefully the rebuilding of Bankor as well." For such a project, it probably was a drop in the sea, but the mission needed all the funds it could get.

[Jenna Karath]

"That's money that will spend well," Jenna said, there was a pang of regret that came from seeing for what the civilian might have died for. Money, it was always money, which lead to regret. Regret that part of her, some inner demon, still got that pang of excitement from seeing such a score. "Type like that... they probably didn't like how little they were getting paid for a job like this, originally, probably wanted something a bit more. Looking out for themselves even if it meant," she sighed, some part of it relief at the realization that she wasn't ever like that at least. There were limits.

Violence was one.

"Maybe whatever the resistance uses it for will make up for.. what happened here," her voice drifted, "somehow."

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya shook her head, antennapalps twitching as she processed her confusion. Inane thoughts bounced around her head. So much! Funny how some elements are worth killing for, and others we use for walls and flooring. Even though Dove had said a civilian had died, the image in her mind was of the Stormtoopers. That was what she had seen with her own eyes, perhaps the most intimate violence she'd witnessed since the Razing of the enclave. She felt light-headed.

"For what it's worth, I'm as surprised as you are. I think..." her fingers twitched at her sides she chewed the inside of her cheek. Her usual tic of tapping her face while walking was impractical. "I think Bowze will be as surprised as anyone. Maybe he'd try to sneak another objective in, but he wanted to set up the Empire to have a heart attack, not rip them off and blow them up. Huk's people..." she shook her head. "Are less ideological than they used to be, maybe. And definitely less subtle than Bowze."

[Dove Gray]

"I certainly hope you're right, Doc. But, just so you know, I didn't suspect you in this big mess. Never seemed your style," Dove said softly, nodding. "I suspected he was trying to get maybe intel or something for himself, to have some info we wouldn't have. Or something. But... I dunno, this is something I don't want to think he would do."

Dove closed her eyes for a moment, touching the side of her head to make sure the neural recorder would stop running now. She had captured the scene at least earlier. "Vaya..." she opened her eyes, looking to the Balosar, "... think you could do the talking to him? Try to find out if he knew?"

As for Jennah, Dove could give a firm nod. "That will be the point of it. This kind of work we are doing isn't for profit, or self-gain. And this," she gave the duffel bag a slight tug, "will help rebuild for those who might've lost too much tonight. For those who might lose a living because of that explosion. This can help a lot of people."

And I'm ready to shoot anyone trying to use this for themselves.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Dove closed her eyes for a moment, touching the side of her head to make sure the neural recorder would stop running now. She had captured the scene at least earlier. "Vaya..." she opened her eyes, looking to the Balosar, "... think you could do the talking to him? Try to find out if he knew?"

Vaya looked at Dove's eyes, blinked twice. She had been feeling less light-headed, getting her breathing under control as the violence got more distant, easier to rationalize. But things still felt hyper-real and swimmy. "What, talk to Bowze? Sure. I talk to Bowze all the time. I can do that."

[Jenna Karath]

"Wonder what a bag like that was doing in an Imperial place like.." she stopped, wondered, and then furrowed her brow. "Any chance you think the civilian, the one who got shot, and the Imperials with them.." she shook her head, those details didn't matter, "you thinking he might have even come here with the Aurum, or, even worse, they were selling some of their own secrets and decided to keep both?"

[Dove Gray]

"Yes, talk to Bowze," Dove put a hand on Vaya's shoulder, keeping her voice calm and steady. This seemed a bit too much for the Balosar to handle all at once. "You don't need to ask about the Aurum, but ask about Dredgen, ok? You can do this, girl." Not long ago, Dove had been in the position that her team, mostly non-combatants as far as she knew, had been in risk of getting shot by the old CIS Black Ops soldier.

She was glad the past weeks had given her enough hands-on leadership training that she had averted possible fatalities. Or injuries.

But that didn't mean everything was out of the woods yet. "I don't know, kid. That becomes too much speculation at this point... We'd have to speak with Dredgen, or Bowze. Or both. And I particularly do not feel the need to test my luck again with Dredgen anytime soon." Her look hardened as she spoke, though it was not out of disbelief or malice towards the girls here. "Dredgen Huk is a dangerous man, girls. I can't stress this enough. He used to do the worst kind of Black Ops back in the day, and if my guess is right, he's not above murder to get his way."

[Jenna Karath]

"Mentioned a civilian, only needed that much right there," she commented, her voice getting a little lower. A look at the bag of aurum, the thought, mixing it all up together the money felt bloody. Definitely soured the taste. Was a good thing it wasn't supposed to be a payday, would have been hard money to spend given a night to think on it. Looking to Vaya she gave her a smile, reassurance, distraction, both?

Shuddering at the thought of all the bodies getting to be something she was used to walking in on, she turned her attention to the city, "Well, won't matter much if I can help it. Don't plan on running into his like again, seen plenty of killers like him, avoided them all the same," she said, working on distracting herself. "After tonight.. well, I don't know. Kinda looking forward to the chance that maybe all of this will be over soon, for the better, for a little while."

[Sinnya]

The contents of the bag were so astronomically far beyond any amount of money Sinnya had ever seen that the specifics more or less blanked out in her mind. Okay, so it was cash, which the Resistance needed. All money was dirty somehow or other; that part didn’t bother her. The duplicity of their erstwhile teammates on this job still had her hackles up, though.

“I know people who work in the Foundry—the factory part, I mean. The whole place is filthy with people skimming off their piece here and there.” She flicked her fingers at the bag. “That could be from anything. Selling hyperfuel under the table, trading company data, protection money, some management goon’s insurance policy...”

The tips of her lekku vibrated with suppressed anger. “If Huk’s that dangerous, and he’s out for himself, it’s a problem for the Resistance. If he wasn’t doing this on his own...” that’s much worse. “You’re right, though. Not much we can do about it tonight.”

Reflexively, she glanced up at the cloudy sky. Somewhere up there, the Dictator should be on the move by now.

[Dove Gray]

"Nothing to do about it now than to carry on, girls. Come on, we gotta move."

Looking up at the sky to see the Dictator, Dove had a bad feeling that she'd be up there soon enough herself. "We can deal with this after all is said and done."

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

"Yes, talk to Bowze," Dove put a hand on Vaya's shoulder, keeping her voice calm and steady. This seemed a bit too much for the Balosar to handle all at once. "You don't need to ask about the Aurum, but ask about Dredgen, ok? You can do this, girl."

Vaya gave Dove a confident smirk, mostly on reflex. "Aren't I older than you?" she murmured.

She listened uncomfortably to the speculation about Huk. Trigger seemed alright, and she'd hate for her to be mixed up in something. Okay, actually, Trigger had nearly shot-first-ask-questions-never when Vaya had first met her, but they'd shared drinks or broken bread enough times in adverse enough circumstances that she'd gotten attached. She tried to bring her street smarts to bear. Can't stop thinking like a Balosar sprawl mynock just because you've joined some damnfool idealistic crusade, I guess.

In the sky, the Dictator started to move. Vaya watched the giant thing, holding back a feeling of awe. Just a machine.

"I guess that's it for down here," she said. The battle would move to the inside of the ship, and into space. Her part of it was done, although that was less consolation than she hoped, with so much still unknown about the outcome, and the survivors. "First round's on me when we get back to the Sword," she added, with forced cheerfulness.

[Dove Gray]

"Yeah, gonna be a big celebration tomorrow," she smiled briefly, keeping the spirits high on their possible victory.

Plenty of yub-nub music and drinking.


-----

OOC: Everyone agreed on delivering the M.O + Gold to the Resistance, to be dealt with later?