The sound of blasters rings through Tox's ears. What happened to the stealth that they worked so hard on. It seemed to work for the guard, where did it all fall apart. Looking down at her wrist blades she couldn't help but whisper " Goola of a time to bring knives to a gun fight. "

What am I supposed to do? How can I help? How did I get myself into this mess? I'm a martial artist, not a blaster jockey.

Looking at the guard, she realized she could at least help the team by getting him out of the way. Carefully, she drug him around the corner. You won't be needing this, or that. She thought to her self, relieving the guard of his whip and comlink. " I'll take that comlink " says Brin. Tox tosses it to him. There goes that...

Tox looked over the rest of the body. Gaping chest wound, check. Ruined armor, check. Grenades, check. Through the sounds of the on going battle, Tox barely heard Khaine shouting above the din. " Grenade "

I wish I had a grenade. Looking down at the body before her, she muttered, " Even he had a couple grenades "

" Koochoo Tox! " she shouted, grabbing a grenade of the guard's belt and sprinting through the door. Pulling the pin with her off hand, she spotted the guards below and hefted the grenade into their ranks. Flaboom!! In her haste to toss it, Tox realised that she overthrew the middle of the group and only one guard took the brunt of the grenade. How is he still standing? Where can I get some of that armor? Was that guard holding stun grenades?

S'zish heard the sounds of blaster fire from the direction that he had come from, had the group been detected? Further explosions confirmed it. Sliding out from his hiding place S'zish darted through the door that the mechanic had left open. Taking up a position near the railing S'zish dropped into a half crouch and steadied his rifle, he aimed at the guard group that appeared to be attacking Khaine.

S'zish squeezed the trigger on the VES-700, the rifle's wide spread of energy bursts landed right in the middle of the group of guards, sending three of them to the floor from direct hits, another seemed to be caught by shrapnel thrown from where the energy had collided with the floor. If these are the only guards on this level, then the group may yet succeed.

Scanning for the next target, Khaine hears Brin encouraging everyone. I didn't quite catch what he said, but **** that Bothan is smooth. Khaine thinks to himself as a grin spreads across his face and the pain in his leg subsides. I do believe we have ourselves a turkey shoot. Khaine puts a few random shots towards the guards below causing them to duck for cover as his heavy rifle echos in the cavernous cargo hold. "You want some of this! How about you! Yeah! Come get some!" That'll keep them distracted for a while. As he looks for his next target he takes note of Neelig opening the cover to the ladder nearby. Ok. Who's next?

Suddenly he hears S'zish cry out in pain as a blaster fire from below catches the gand and staggers him. Khaine looks over as the shooter, a fancy looking Zygerrian in what looks to be very expensive clothing runs for the turbolift going below. "Oh Frack no!" he says as he takes aim. But suddenly he pauses. S'zish is a Findsman, if I steal this kill he may not forgive me. Khaine looks over at S'zish, who was recovering from the graze, to get a read on him. S'zish's expression said "Get this sleemo!" At least that what it looks like. Reading any gand, especially S'zish can be so fracking tough sometimes. But I'm pretty sure that's what he wants me to do. Well, better to ask forgiveness than permission in combat. Khaine looked back towards the Zygerrian who had gone into the cargo pod with the turbolift. "Frak, no shot." he mutters. Spinning, he quickly makes his way to the ladder and hops through the opening. Grabbing the sides with his hands and feet he slides down in a combat descent. Hitting the ground Khaine tucks and combat rolls to the side then leaps forward and and rolls in front of the container. Coming up in a crouch he raises his rifle and takes aim at the Zygerrian who had hurt his friend. The Zygerrian turns and stares at Khaine with fear in his eyes. "Wait! I can pay..." is all that escapes his lips before the heavy blaster bolt pierces his chest. "You don't have enough..."

Alsen, the Zygerrian at the reception desk pops up and fires at Khaine with her blaster pistol, catching him in the side before ducking back down into cover. "Aah!" Khaine grits his teeth as the blaster bolt wings him. Well, I knew this would be risky, but FRAK that hurts. Suddenly the lights above go out leaving his companions in darkness. "Oh frak..." That's going to make me the prime target. As he begins quickly looking for cover he hears Fzaexx over the intercom "You've got some cover, take 'em down!" followed by the tell tale clang of a grenade hitting the deck behind him.

As the explosion rocks the cargo hold Khaine sees the remaining Zygerrian guards go flying. Yes! Only one guard and the receptionist left. A blaster bolt from above flies down into the crowd and Khaine hears a shout of pain from behind the desk. S'zish is back up, glad he's ok. A few more shots rain down from where Khaine slid down as the last guard falls. Must be brin. Off to the side Khaine sees Neeling running towards the slave pens where it's clear that he is comforting some of the ithorian slaves. That ithorian has a heart of gold. This really isn't the time, but he definitely cares about his herd. Khaine takes a second to admire Neelig's spirit. Well, back to business . Khaine hits his comlink to his allies before moving. "I'm going to try and take the receptionist alive. Finding out more about this operation could be useful." he sais as he begins to approach the desk.

With his rifle raised, Khaine rounds the side of the desk. A group of ten or so Zygerrians huddles in fear around the one that Casea had called Alsen. As he rounds the corner he sees the Alsen huddled under the desk, clutching a blaster pistol with a look of fear in her eyes. Aiming his rifle right at her Khaine menacingly says "Drop...your...weapon. If don't want to end up like your friends over there, I suggest you comply." This'll be easy... Khaine is taken aback as her look of fear becomes one of determination. Before he can react Alsen fires wildly up at him. One shot tearing through his shoulder as a flash of pain flares through him and another catching at the side of the head. He doesn't even feel himself hit the ground as everything begins to fade to black. I wonder if she had a thing for that other guy I shot...

Casea watched the group of "Insurgents" chaotically attack the Zyggies below. " Krep " she say as the last one, some Bothan slides down the ladder to the floor below. Grabbing her cane she heads toward the turbolift just inside turret room. Well what do you expect from a bunch of escaped slaves Casea? She hobbles past the body of Grakoon giving it a snort. At the lift doors she punches the button calling the car up and looks toward the front of the ship. Down the long isle she can see the signal lights indicating that the airlock is cycling open. "Schutta... You people actually got in through the outside. Drak that's smart." She then waits for the lift to get to her.

Suddenly blaster fire came from below and hit S'zish. "Ah!" , he fell back from it. What was that? S'zish got back to the edge of the catwalk but couldn't see where the shot had come from, the Zygerrians below were all focused elsewhere. Then S'zish saw Khaine on the floor of the cargo hold aiming at some target that S'zish could not see. Khaine must see the Zygerrian that attacked S'zish. Then S'zish saw the receptionist fire at Khaine, so S'zish aimed and fired at the receptionist. S'zish managed to focus the weapons, normally wide spread, into a short burst that struck the Zygerrians midsection. It seemed to hurt but not incapacitate.

By the time S'zish looked back to where the guards had been, he saw that the other group members had already taken them out. S'zish looked back towards the receptionist and heard Khaine come over the comm-link, Alive? Zygerrians are proud, the receptionist might not surrender. Then S'zish heard Khaine attempt to get the receptionist to surrender, and then the receptionist fired her blaster. S'zish heard a faint thud over the sound of the blaster, No more. Before S'zish even thought of checking on Khaine he fired at the receptionist, now hiding under a desk. The energy bursts that didn't miss completely impacted harmlessly on the desks surface. "Karabast!" then after a short pause to remember the comm-link "Khaine are you alright?!"

As he slowly comes to Khaine wonders if he is really alive. But the sudden awareness of the pain flaring along the side of his head and shoulder confirm to him that he is.. "Frak that hurts!" As he opens his eyes he sees Tox standing over him, empty stimpak in her hand. "Thanks." I can't believe she shot me... I had her in my sights... Slarking rookie...

As he sits up, looks around, and takes stock of the situation Khaine can see that everyone else is ok. Hitting himself with a second stimpack he begins to feel better. Gingerly touching the side of his head Khaine winces at the raw burn there. The stimpack would help but he'd need to see proper doctor for the burn or he was going to have one heck of a scar. Can't sit around feeling sorry for myself he thinks as he gets up.

I'll get these slavers into some cages. Khaine says to his allies. Putting his binders onto the one they called Alsen he directs the others towards one of the empty cells. "Come on you lot. Move or you'll join the others that are being lined up over there. Gesturing to the bodies of the guards that were being lined up as he guides the patrons to the cage. As they entered the cage Khaine gave each a quick glance and pat down checking for weapons or other items. As they file towards the cage S'zish approaches and offers to swap with him so that Khaine could take a look at the terminal.

"Of course." At least terminals don't shoot back. As he walks over Khaine pushes the desk back into place then takes a look at the terminal. The wire's were cut, but otherwise everything was intact. I'll have this up and running in a moment." he says as he gets to work. Let's see... wire A into slot B and... BZZZZT! "Frak!" After a short while the terminal comes back to life and Khaine begins to look through the display options. "It looks like the primary function of this terminal is to monitor a portion of a giant shield. It's also tied into the reactor. The ship is being used as part of a network of generators. Most likely helping to power the shield. It looks like we're sitting on top of a giant dome shield. I can't get much more out of it though. There's some other readings on the shield and such but I'm not sure what they refer to." Going through a few more options. "It looks like the turbolift controls are here as well. And a camera on the other end shows what looks like sort of city or complex. It's pretty big. This must be what the dome shield is protecting."

Well, I'd better see to that Tie fighter. As Khaine heads towards the Airlock he passes Tox who mentions the setting sun to him in passing. "Bringing the DUM droids in? Good idea, we could use their help in here. I'm going to see about getting the wings off of that Tie Fighter and loading the body into the YT. I'll be back in a little while." As he puts on his suit, Khaine doesn't recall the warning overheard from the patrons about the night storms. As he approaches the TIE he doesn't hear or see the wall of dust rapidly moving through the valley behind him. Climbing up the TIE Khaine begins to look over the solar foil moorings. "If we remove these, the body should fit into the YT." He looks at the attachments for a minute. "The tools we brought should do the trick. This shouldn't take long at all." Suddenly the wind slams into him sending him flying forward and to the ground below. Luckily the heavy winds push him along and he doesn't slam directly into the ground. Struggling to regain his feet the winds suddenly shift throwing back to the ground. *ALERT**ALERT* SUIT Damaged! Alarms ring in his ears as the winds whip the abrasive sand across his suit. As the winds shift again Khaine makes a break for the safety of the TIE when suddenly another gust picks him up and slams him against the hull of the cruiser.

The C-Roc! Finally something solid . Khaine activates the magnetic locks on his boots and begins to climb along the hull. Finally able to pause he activates the radio to call for help. Wait. I can't put them at risk. Gathering his wits Khaine radio's to his allies. As he pauses Khaine sees swirls in the storm just as the winds shift again. That's it! he thinks as the pattern begins to make sense around him. "Don't come outside. There's a huge sandstorm going on. Whatever you do, don't come outside." Crawling on his hands and feet using the magnetic boots to help he slowly makes his way towards the airlock. Feeling the winds shift and move he moves quickly with the wind and holds tight when it works against him. Before long Khaine is able to find and climb into the airlock. As the outer door cycles closed behind him he can hear the rocks and sand pattering against the hull outside. Taking a moment to catch his breath Khaine waits for the adrenaline rushing through his system to fade. As air fills the small room he checks himself over. "It's damaged, but it held up pretty well. Still, I'm glad I got in when I did. You know, it's about time I upgraded to more appropriate armor..."

Entering the ship, Khaine removes his suit and makes his way back to the others.

In the hold of the C-ROC the situation soon resolves itself into a more ordered state. Neelig at the side of the Ithorian woman tend to the slaves that are suffering while Brin works to convince the few he noticed as problematic to be less so. After his conversation with Casea Fzaexx comes down from the catwalk and proceeds to speak with the Zygerrians now being held captive. Some time passes while conversations are being had and Tox and Khaine foray outside. Everyone tenses while they listen to Khaine deal with the sudden sandstorm. And a collective sigh of relief when he announces that he made it back inside. Suddenly from the reactor room, a cry of pain slices the quiet.

"AAHHH!! OHhh, KARK that hurts!" Casea's voice carries out from the open door. Before anyone has a chance to go check on her she appears in the doorway walking unsteadily on a prosthetic leg. "Sorry about that. I had the sensitivity set to high at first" After only a few shaky steps she regains her balance. She walks over to Alsen and pulls a small device from the medkit slung on her shoulder.

She says, as she sprays a small amount of chemical into the nose of the bound zygerrian, "Hey, wake up! You skeeving schutta"

Alsen stirs and opens her eyes. She tests the bonds holding before looking up at Casea, standing on two legs above her.

"Casea I-" Before Alsen can say anything more Casea kicks her in the jaw with her new leg. The hard metal toe of the cyber limb breaks skin and Alsen whimpers as blood wells to the surface of the split lip. She curls into a ball and says no more.

Casea walks over to where Tox S'zish and Khain are watching and pulls out another tool from her bag. She sits down on the floor with a thump and declares "My feedback timing is still a little off. Anyway after I make this adjustment let me tend that burn of yours. So, what's the next move?"

The three of you enter the turbolift and get ready to descend. Casea's voice comes in over your com link's " Ok guys, the way below looks clear still. I'm trying to contact the Insurgents but it has always been spotty talking to them. If I get them on the line I'll try and patch them through to you. Alright sending you down now"

The lift vibrates under your feet and the momentary lapse in gravity tells you, you are on your way. One side of the lift is a plexi view and you can see the walls of the tube slide up. Suddenly the wall ends and you can see out through the port.

In front of you is a cityscape lit by an eerie shimmering light. Above and around the circular city is a force field that emits a steady trickle of illumination. Below you a city is built into the center of a round forest area. Scattered throughout the city are tall tower structures that seem to support the force field. The turbolift shaft descends into the structure of one of these towers and girders and beams begin flying past the quickly moving car. A few moments later the original buildings of the herd ship rise to meet you and Casea speaks to you again. "Nearly there. I'll open the door after a moment to make sure nothing moves." The lift slows to a stop and a few tense moments go by before you hear "All clear. Good luck"

The city is quiet and barren. Around you there seem to be abandoned residences and shops but all are closed and empty. You head out and circuit the tower structure with the lift leading back to the C-ROC. The immediate area does seem to be empty but you do notice several things.

To the front towards the middle of the city the buildings begin to grow in size and it seems an office district begins. Within the ground floor of a larger building you find about a dozen small speeder cars parked and waiting.

To the rear the city suddenly stops at the edge of a forest canopy, A railing prevents a fall to the forest floor about 20 meters below.

To the left the residential buildings continue along this perimeter of the city without any obvious change.

To the right there are sounds of construction equipment and heavy machinery echoing towards you.

Who are they... They don't belong here...

He slinks from around one building to the next keeping them in sight as he watches.

"I'll go ahead"

He says curtly, before slipping ahead again.

In the cover of darkness he is but another black shadow amongst others.

A pair of amber eyes watch him go from the darkness.

"Who watches the watchers, and who watches them?"

Has anyone else noticed the strangers ?

(I really need to work on my IC diligence)

(We rejoin our intrepid band as running through the alley ways). "Stop!" Khaine growls to the others as he slides into a shadow next to a power converter. Glancing back he sees a zygerrian patrol moving swiftly through the streets. "Poodoo! Sensors... Frakin Zygerrians are so controlling they even have sensors here!" The patrol behind them moves away leaving the coast clear. For now. "Let's move." Darting through the alleys Khaine, Tox, and S'zish make their way back to the tower where they first entered the herd ship.

Once they're Khaine sits down next to one of the speeder cars to catch his breath. "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned." He pauses for a moment to listen. "I haven't seen any signs of their search for a few blocks now, so I don't think they actually saw us. Hopefully they'll just think that it was bad sensor or something. Tox, S'zish, have you seen any signs that they were actually pursuing us?"

Shifting his rifle around to the front of him Khaine lets out a grunt. "Oof. This thing may be a fraking cannon but it weighs a ton. They must have made them with wookies in mind. Even stripped down it feels like I'm carrying a darn Herglic's baby."

S'zish drops into a crouch next to Khaine "Qroggy saw no signs of the Zygerrians after the sensor drone. Qroggy should not have suggested that path otherwise the Zygerrians would not have been alerted." S'zish looked at the others in an attempt to determine their thoughts on the situation. The Zygerrians have much better security down here than expected. "Qroggy asks if any of the group knows how to reach the control room now?" S'zish lifted his head slightly to scan the area for life. Losing focus on the area around you is one of the most dangerous things that can happen when hunting.

Tox runs quietly through the streets, following her silent teammates. Every few turns she takes point, stopping and listening for movement. Just like home , she caught herself after a close call. No, this is nothing like that pile of poodoo. Keep your head in the game. She flicks her wrist absentmindedly, watching the blade shoot out silently. She pushes the blade against a wall, letting it slide smoothly back into the sheath. Click . She smiled when she heard the faint sound letting her know the trigger mechanism was rearmed.

Turning towards the team, she motioned that she was going to scout an alley. Receiving the 10-4 with cover, she slithers around the corner. Right into the back of a surveillance droid. Two quick flicks, two silent blades slice through the night and dispatch the droid. Catching it before it can fall and alert any passing guards, Tox carefully places it on an abandoned crate, facing the alley at a haphazard angle. Whew, that was close .

Sliding back into formation, she shakes her head at her team, indicating that that alley is not viable. Taking up the rear, she follows the team to the base of a tower. Catching their collective breath, they sign possible plans of action. Tox, looking around for a route, notices how easy it would be to climb the tower. Climbing a tentiative few meters, but staying far below the roofline, she can't help but be transported back to the cliffs by her childhood home. This would be easy to climb, perhaps I could spot a clear path .

Climbing back down, she motions to the others her plan.

Worm heads back to the waiting Trandoshan. His piercing eyes still unnerved the large Selonian. He trusted him with what he knew he could trust him with. He knew he lived for the hunt, a single mindedness that was alien to him. How far beyond the next target he thought or what separates himself from Mrash's prey was unknown. However here, your not choosy about denmates... So far he was the most reliable, and for that he gave thanks.

He gestures to the group.

Not slavers. Not slaves.

He says in short, gruff, direct tones.

They intend to climb tower. That might bring guards. Not wise. Should we meet them?

He speaks with a direct confidence. He is looked up to by many slaves as a leader, but he always asks never tells.

He waits for the Trandoshan to agree, while not reckless, he is not one to shirk danger when it may open an opportunity.

That note we received... They might be the ones looking.

They had received word from a runner of strangers looking to contact the insurgency. He never calls it that, but it's what it has become.

Mrash licked his lips.

Lets see what they have to say for themselves. If they got in, maybe we can all get out.

Khaine nods to Tox "Sure, let me know if you can see anything while your up there. I'm going to see if I can find another way to get over there." Khaine looks around at the speeders on the small street. "Ooh. A Peje Gwenrarl. That'll work nicely." If we can't sneak our way in, maybe we can smash our way in. Hehe. Khaine slinks off toward the Gwenrarl and beings looking over the locks. Hmm, locked. Doubt it's alarmed though. This should be doable.

"Poodoo! Who puts an alarm on a Gwenrarl!" Khaine says sharply as he dashes to the front of the speeder and slides underneath. It hasn't gone off yet, so if I can just get to it in time... "There!". Khaine spots a small red light blinking faster and faster and reaches out out for it. Unfortunately the unit is plasma welded to the frame and sealed with security bolts. "Frak! I'll never get it open in time. Gotta be another way...may I can cut off the feed..." Quickly tracing the connections back towards the power unit he spots his opportunity. "I hope this works." As he reaches up into the wires and connections he grasps what he hopes is the right peace. With a grunt he rips it out and quickly closes his eyes as a few sparks come flying out. Pausing for a moment Khaine hears the systems on the Gwenrarl powering down and in seconds is left with only the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. Slowly opening his he looks at the part he holds in his hand. "Frak... not the compressor...".

As he crawls out from under the speeder Khaine looks at his companions. " I've successfully disabled this one. That's one less speeder they can use to chase us." Khaine says with his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyone have another idea about how we can get to that tower? Because until we get in there, there's no way we're going to be able to take on the Zygerrians here and free the slaves." And lay claim to all of the extra ships...and turn them in to the huts for a reward... Focus Khaine. Don't get ahead of yourself. You have to get out of here first.

Mrash steps from the shadows and grins.

" It's funny you should say that, Stealer of Speeders . . . "

" Coo doe e chu ta u " Tox growled, a snarl curling her lips. In a well practiced blur, she extended her blades and crouches in K'tara's 4th form. Controlling her breathing, she reads as much as she can from the Transdoshan's posture in the instant before she pounces. Seeing a smile and his palms up, a very abnormal stance for a Transdoshan, she relaxes a fraction. " Who are you? How did you find us? Answer carefully, these words may be your last. "

I think you wanted to see us.

The large black Selonian steps forth a moment later.

His body posture a mix between intimidating enough to ward off a fight and relaxed enough not top cause one.

As he steps into the light you can see bits of guard helmets and armour remnants, mining scrap all dipped in black.

Khaine turns, a subtle shoulder roll readies his blaster rifle but he leaves is slung. He shifts his foot slightly to be ready for anything as he looks over the large Trandoshan and Selonian that stepped out. Definitely not slavers. The Zygerians don't work well with others. "And how exactly did you come to the conclusion that we were looking for you?"

S'zish stands and turning towards the newcomers, he points his rifle at them. A Trandoshan and Selonian, such beings are not known for being slavers, but that means little here. S'zish stood in silence waiting for one of the newcomers to reply to the questions asked by his comrades, shifting the rifle away from pointing at either of them, S'zish aimed it at a space in-between the two newcomers to allow for a quick reaction should they try anything.

We've seen you now for a while. If we'd intended harm, we could have taken you unaware...

He gestures with his staff at the weapon S'zish is pointing in their direction.

It's not necessary.

He takes a step closer as if to force the question; to use the weapon or not.

You were looking to talk with us slaves, who cease to be slaves eh?

"Well, most of my AIT studies are in anatomy rather than xenology, especially at the ladies dorms, but I'm pretty sure that you aren't Zygerrians." Khaine says with a wry smile. "Still it would be nice to know if we had something more in common. Other than our good fashion sense. " Khaine glances over to the Selonian for a brief second before addressing the two of them again. "Perhaps a mutual aquaintance to ease the introductions. One never can be too cautious when running around a secret imperial facility being run by slavers of the non-human variety, don't you agree. It's best to look for familiar ground when in the storm."

"S'zish will decide what is necessary." S'zish said, now pointing the pulse rifle at the ground. "However, there are still questions to be answered." S'zish paused giving the Selonian and Trandoshan a chance to answer the groups remaining questions.