|
|
Post by Zanear the Edge on Mar 13, 2011 2:31:46 GMT -5
In all the commotion Hewlett moves off to the side, hiding behind a stack of crates. He had thought of a hundred ways to do this, but now that the time was at hand he wasn't sure which direction to take. He couldn't shoot Khari, that was directly against orders, but Klask he could blast, plus that Senator, Odak-Zann. The name burned a hatred within him, and he knew now what to do. Standing and leveling his blaster he pulled the trigger twice at the Senator and swung the last blast aimed at Klask. For FREEDOM!!! he cried at the top of his lungs, intentionally drawing all attention to himself.
****************************************************
Khaune watched it all from his secluded and cloaked location, his blaster rifle targeted solely on Hewlett. He knew that somebody would return fire after that outburst, and once someone did he would squeeze the trigger and finish the job clean. After all, a deal was a deal.
****************************************************
Selena hurtled toward the first exit portal as fast as she could, blasting through the exit points with the most astounding of accuracy. The Fleet never had a chance, she was like a blur without any warning. Once free of the system gravity projectors, she made over fourteen micro-jumps, all with a contradictory trajectory that would confuse and confound even the best trackers.
Her last jump put them right on the edge of the Unknown Regions....
All the while that Selena made her movements she kept a figurative eye on Arri. She didn't particularly like the woman, a weird pang of jealousy struck her when ever she touched Zanear. The living ship couldn't explain it, her emotions torn over finding Corey and just staying with Zanear. She could sense he had put himself in a restorative healing trance, but the foolish Kuati woman kept trying to wake him. Finally Selena flashed lights all around the piloting hood, that interface port normally reserved for the host that would bond with the ship. If she would do just that, then Selena could talk to her, and let her know that everything was fine.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 13, 2011 15:18:55 GMT -5
" Enemies? Between themselves or against you?"
Khari's smile was as insincere as it was wry, there were no true 'friends' among the ruling families, alliances were made and broken in the blink of an eye and if you averted your attention for merely a second it could be the difference between life and death in every sense of the word. People were ruined for missing little nuances and the like.
"The Kuhlvults have been a long term opposition, Kaur in particular actually. He was my direct rival for the position of CEO - as for the house of Elrath, quite the opposite. Aside from my precessor, they were some of my strongest supporters." She informed Tress conversationally, still following his line of sight and noting perhaps the same profound oddities that he was noticing.
It seemed, from the outset, to be a simple heated exchange gone wrong. As extreme as this may be, the resulting shoot out had killed people on all sides and left them with few witnesses, if any with which to pry the information from. Banner's men had been trapped in here the whole time, and now most lay dead...the Captain himself had been lucky to escape then - she looked forward to his report in particular.
This was why it had been an expedient idea to bring him along, she decided, and it would reaffirm their cover story - Tress, no doubt, felt a tad bad about the cock up with the blast doors, although in complete and bare honesty, they never could have prevented the Falleen from escaping as he had, that ship had a mind of it's own and the preperations to board and fly her would have taken some considerable planning on the part of their accomplices. And there had to have been some. First thing was first, they needed to work out who the falleen male was, starting from the moment he arrived on the array.
Once more Khari followed Tress' gaze, from overhead catwalk to the body of the telbun laying inert on the floor. What was so odd about it, as Tress had duly noted, was that there was blood spatter, though only slight, around the point of impact. Blasters tended not to leave such marks, and the sear wound in her chest suggested that had been how she had been executed. Cauterization would prevent blood spatter, yet there it was nevertheless. Again this was all assumption, but it was things for the investigation teams to take into account when they moved in to document the scene.
"Staged is the word, she had to have hit her head hard to cause injuries of that kind, and unless she was thrown to the ground with force...I would say she had fallen from a height. " But that made no sense when Kaur showed no signs of the same kinds of injuries, why have Arri up on the catwalk alone?
There was so much left to suggestion, but it all wasn't going to matter in a second.
Hearing someone approach at a hasty pace, she looked up from the grisly display to see Colonel Klask, all bluster and concern, crossing the distance to meet them, and he was all business too. Mirroring his concern, Khari's eyes soon widened in stark surprise when he said what he did.
None of them had time to take that cover, for no sooner had he uttered those words, than Hewlett finally revealed his presence.
She didn't think, regardless of what anyone around her was shouting to do, and there were a few cries of 'down!' that flew up, permeating the air over the sound of the crazed mans' hollar. Blaster raised, he fired in quick succession, while she was still in motion, colliding with Tress in the hope that she would either push him down with her, or spur him into hitting the deck himself, her weight alone might not be enough to push him to the floor, but it could have gotten him out of the firing line.
Slamming down to the ground with a bone-jarring thud, the sounds of those shots still ringing in her ears, she could hear some of the security returning fire from the slight cover of the open hatchway. Both she and Tress needed to find some decent cover, before Hewlett realized they weren't dead.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Mar 14, 2011 1:23:53 GMT -5
Klask no sooner had gotten the words out of his mouth before Captain Hewlett, another legacy of the constant infighting between the great houses, comes into view and fires.
Klask moves as fast as he can, but if it is enough will be a question for later, if there is a later. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Khari and Tress start to go down, unknown if it because of one or both of them being hit, he is unsure. He levels his blaster at Hewlett... and then the world spins on him.
Klask drops like a sack of dead bantha bits.
"Nnnnnn..."
It was all his mind was capable of vocalizing, he knew he had been hit, badly to boot. His vision was swimming, and seeing double would have been an improvement to the kalidoscope effect he was seeing. He could still sort of feel his hand, and he inches his fingers over to the smooth hilt of his blaster. After a second he snags it enough to drag it into his hand and raises it at what he thinks is Hewlett's face and snaps off a shot before darkness takes him.
The shot fired, Klask's arm drops limply, and his breathing grows more ragged.
Banner, charges forth and nearly falls on top of Khari and Tress. He'll be dammed before the CEO or her guest buy it on his watch. Better to die trying to save them than the hell that would come from his failing.
The reminder of his men are slower to react, Klask's shot snapped off before they even get their carbines to their shoulders, readying to liquidate Hewlett.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Mar 14, 2011 18:58:12 GMT -5
He nods and looks at her questioningly for answers to the mystery. What had happened here and how were they connected to all concerned. "My thoughts exactly." Its what was so puzzling to him and he kept looking up to see anything up there. Maintenance was the only thing he could think of up there, why was she up there for? Get aways where all about securing a transport and deactivating the atmospheric pressure mag-fields. Which meant here on the floor or up in hanger control, no reason to be on the maintenance catwalks....unless ambush or assassination.
His thought were never finished, since two things happened. One a warning shout and the next was he was tackled by khari, which possibly saved his life. A blaster bolt meant to end his life missed its mark with her action. Instead of a killing shot, it grazed the front of his chest hitting his left shoulder at the joint fusing it with its blast.
One the ground after hitting hard on his injured side, he tries to cover Khari from more fire which he only heard. Blaster held hard in his right hand he looks around scanning the room. He almost shoots a KDY trooper that jumped them, but he remembered him being the guy that came out of the access way when they were outside. Though through the pain he fires squeezing the trigger in the direction of Hewlett.
|
|
|
|
Post by Zanear the Edge on Mar 15, 2011 1:26:45 GMT -5
The Captain waved his blaster wildly, scoring a hit on both the Senator and Klask, although for a heartbeat he thought he was going to hit the CEO. What in the devil was she doing diving into Odak-Zann anyways? It made no sense, but that was the last thought that entered his mind, as Klasks' blast hit home, biting directly into Hewlett's left ribcage, spinning him as several other KDY men poured blasterfire into his now jerking body, the last bolt being TRess' own, a direct hit in the face, leaving a burning husk of a man sprawled out upon the deck, the only thing not damaged was the blaster pistol still tightly gripped in his hand.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 16, 2011 5:29:00 GMT -5
Arri, still rather blinded by her concern missed Selena's first display of lights flashing out of sheer ignorance. The second time, however, the ship was more insistant, waving the cognitive fronds that were attached to the pilot's seat, in an attempt to gain her attention a second time around.
Nervously, she turned to consider that chair and the last time she had been invited to sit in it. Selena hadn't liked her then, so what had changed, aside from Zanear - and what hold would he have over this vessel's mind if he was out cold?
Deciding in the end to swallow her fear, she lowered herself into the seat and let the fronds surround her as the vessel's cognition hood settled over her head.
The gelatinous creature was exactly that of a Yuuzhan Vong ship, though thankfully she had never seen the interior of those first hand. The experience was quite something else.
All at once she was flooded with intensity, flashes of images, thoughts, feelings that weren't her own hammering through her mind at the speed of a starfighter. Her hands gripped the arm rests of the chair, knuckles white and her teeth gritted, she wanted for all that it was worth, to tear herself free, but the fronds held her fast, and the overwhelming impression that to do so, would end her life quicker than if she remained where she was. Tearing someone free of this process, was a danger to those who did not bear any force powers, but so too was utilizing a ship like this. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't. Arri issued a small, tense noise of excertion, Selena was trying to push something, a thought through images into her mind, at first they made little sense, featuring people she didn't know, had never met, even in passing to her knowledge.
But then it became clear why she was doing so after another moment more. Zanear was going to be alright...some sort of trance, a healing trance, as she had suspected, and that she should let him rest.
Above all else, Arri wished to thank Selena for that, for getting them out of the stardocks back at Kuat, and it was that simple 'thanks' that she pressed back against the onslaught before Selena finally let her go.
"Now where to?" The former telbun spoke to no one in particular, they would need a place to lay low for a bit.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 16, 2011 9:46:46 GMT -5
The scene errupted in a series of blaster shots being fired off in either direction, and before she could even think of reaching for the hold out blaster Klask had handed her, just as she had fallen on Tress, so too had Banner almost dropped down over both of them. Now with the Captain between them and Hewlett, she could see that Klask had taken a hit and several of Banner's team were retalliating. But it was the colonel himself who squeezed off the fatal shot, downing Hewlett only for the follow up to ensure he stayed down.
In the fuss, Khari scrambled off of Tress only to notice the destinct charred smell of singed flesh was rising from him too. When her gaze searched him, she discovered he had been hit dead in the shoulder closest to herself, a passing shot that could have just as easily got either of them killed.
"Emperors black bones..."
The curse still dying on her lips, she swung to the Captain, who may well have been making the call regardless - Klask looked a lot worse for wear, still laying on the hanger floor unconscious, it looked for all intense purposes that he was dead. Tress on the other hand, was very much alive, and no doubt in agony, that shot had been intended to kill.
"We need a medic over here!" While Banner's men were doing a sweep of the room, she ensured she kept her head down, if hewlett had managed to cloak himself - and she was really going to have to find out how he'd done that - then there was no telling how many others could be laying in wait for them all inside these four walls. If she felt it was feasibly safe, she might have dragged Tress out of harms way, but where was that when your enemy was invisible?
Keeping half an eye on the chaos around them, one of Banner's men was checking over Hewlett's inert, smoking corpse for instance, Khari turned her attention back to Tress, getting a better look at that nasty blaster wound in doing so. It wasn't bleeding, but no doubt the shot had either burned all the way through, or fused the joint together with the heat, in either instance, he was going to be out of action, as it were, for a small while.
"Are you hit anywhere else?" She was saying, as she was looking him over with careful, but swift hands. Just how close she had come to losing him was dawning on her, judging by the position of that bolt, if she had been a millisecond slower, it would have seared right through his chest. A scrap too fast, and she would have been dead herself. It was an immense effort to keep the emotions that forced to well up inside of her, from overflowing where they rested, be it pure adrenaline, or force of will that held that impulse back, she might never know, but it was in her eyes nevertheless.
When she heard the arrival of the emergency response crews, a small part of her felt relieved, but no one would be allowed through until Banner's lot secured the area.
|
|
|
|
Post by Corey Dooku on Mar 16, 2011 13:09:44 GMT -5
As she zipping through space, an after she finished sharing her thoughts with Arri. Selena felt something , a connection with her old Master. Corey had called her name, it was brief as it faded into nothing. Selena's mind drifted on Corey had called out to her, but why she wonder it took so long.
Selena connection with Zearan, she tried no to bother it due to him resting. Selena can nea fully understand why their connection was broken. Corey had called for her and now she is torn between the two, now she know he was out there somewhere, but where?
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Mar 16, 2011 16:04:54 GMT -5
The sudden action and adrenaline pumping in his veins had helped him more than he thought. Now that things were over he was starting to feel again. Pain was the first thing he felt, as if his whole arm was in molten hot durasteel. His vision was getting cloudy. He had turned pale and felt cold all over. It was worse when he turned to look as his shoulder. Charred bone and skin in the form of a small blaster crater on his upper shoulder. The burnt smell of his flesh still rising in the form of wisps as the smoke rose higher.
It was harder and harder to stay awake, no amount of adrenaline would keep him conscious with the pain getting worse every second. Hearing words, he looks over at Khari wondering if the danger had passed.
Smiling, glad she was OK he reaches for her hand to get her attention. "I think i am dying and want to tell you something before i do...." he tells her in a rush, "....I...." trying to beat the darkness getting closer. "I cheated on the final examination before graduating from the Navel Academy on Anaxes."
He looked at her letting that sink in for some reason, then gave her a goofy smirk, before fainting and letting the painful darkness take him......
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Mar 16, 2011 20:03:00 GMT -5
One of Banner's men goes over to the smoking corpse of Hewlett and retrieves the blaster careful not to touch it too much, in order for it to be examined later as evidence.
There is not much reason to check to make sure Hewlett is actually dead or not, it is defiantly going to be a closed casket funeral.
Banner signals another of his men over, this one is still on high alert looking at all of the sneaky little spots in the hanger people might launch an attack from.
"You check the Colonel, and secure the area until I come back. I am serious, gun down anyone but me or of course her." Gesturing to Lady Vestra.
Captain Banner rises, and very gingerly touches her shoulders and helps her up, mainly to hide her behind the bulk of his armored torso from any potential threats still in the room.
"Lady Vestra, we need to get you and the Senator out of here now to somewhere secure. I already sent someone for the other heavy team to secure this place. Something is up and totally wrong about this. For one...
The other soldier looks up at Banner from where he is kneeling over Klask.
"Good gods Captain, the Old Man is still alive... barely."
Banner, pauses torn for a moment between helping Klask and all the other things that need doing. With a hard swallow, he bends down pulling out a length of cord from a pouch and a bandage. He works quickly, and ties Tress's arm to his torso so his shoulder does not shift as he is moved, risking further damage. He then tapes on the bandage, there is little bleeding, but it will do to catch some of the seepage and prevent anything more from getting in the open wound. He scoops Tress up carefully and looks over to Khari.
"Let's get the two of you safe first, then you can unleash seven kinds of hell on whoever you wish."
|
|
|
|
Post by Zanear the Edge on Mar 17, 2011 10:14:16 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 18, 2011 8:05:32 GMT -5
The moment Tress had said he thought he was dying might have brought out the worst response in someone who hadn't taken the time to look him over, he sounded convincing enough to make concern and worry paint Khari's features awry and overwhelmed - the latter being precisely what he was, overwhelmed with pain that was.
When he spoke those last words, she could have swung for him for putting her through the former, the latter being so laughable it was astounding. His unconsciousness was genuine enough though and that really was concerning. Be it having passed out from the pain or concussion, she wouldn't be happy until he'd seen a medic and been told he was fine. But she did want to slap him for that last comment.
"Tress? No, no no no, not now, you had better be joking....Tress!" He wasn't joking, he had genuinely passed out, but he was still breathing and his injuries were mostly cauterized by the heat of the blast, that would hold for now until they could get him to a medbay.
Under the gentle pressure and warmth of hands upon her shoulders, Khari started, turning her head to follow those hands back to the face of Captain Banner as he urged her to get to her feet with care. He was right, of course, there could be others still hiding in this hanger, and with a cloak that good they wouldn't stand a chance until one of them dropped their cover.
The Kuati woman nodded, now on her feet she waited while Banner picked Tress up and started with him towards the hatch again. After a few small steps she stopped when she noticed one of Banner's men leaning over Klask, checking him for vital signs - the old man looked as dead as any of those they had found when entering the room, it shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did, he had been in her board room less than a few hours ago answering for some pretty serious charges, by all accounts she should have had him disposed off. But not like this, this changed everything.
"Is he...?"
She was about to get her answer ahead of time.
That she hadn't expected, his pallid complexion and smoking wounds both suggested otherwise. Hewlett had lived up to his reputation and been a good shot, but not good enough it seemed, that relieved her somewhat. The danger to them all was still very real however, and she made sure to press the point that the Colonel got seen to by an emergency medical team immediately, crime scene or not.
"If the medics cannot send in a droid, bring him. Tell them not to concern themselves with the insurance, i'll take care of the costs. I want the Colonel in the land of the living before this day is out." Khari instructed gently, but firmly and evidently a surprise to those onlookers...she could only imagine the stories Klask had told. Well now they would have new ones to amuse themselves with on those slow days.
Banner, however, was most insistant.
"Only seven kinds of hell, Captain? Clearly the Colonel has been a little too modest concerning my methods." She smiled thinly, keeping her gaze forward "I was thinking Ten, and we will see what they have to say when I call that meeting, it's overdue."
Ducking through the open hatch and into the personnel heavy hallways beyond, it was a comforting sight to see as many medics as she did - most inside were beyond help, but those that weren't would get the attention they needed without having to wait for aid that could cost them precious recovery. Gathered there, security teams kept the medical teams updated on the situation inside, fanned out to ensure nobody overstepped the cordoned off area that Khari, Tress and Banner now occupied.
Propelling themselves forward with a hover gurney, an emergency medical droid and it's flesh and blood counterpart were allowed through to relieve Banner of his burden, collecting Tress and placing him upon it with a view to returning to the transport. What minor treatment could be administered on the way would be done as and when it was required, but the majority of the work would come when they reached the medbay.
"We'll take it from here, Captain." The medic, a zabrak by all accounts, judging by their slightly diminuative size and prominent cranial horns, informed him, while the droid hovered around Khari, scanning her for any signs of injury.
Besides cuts and minor bruises, she was relatively fine, the shock of what had happened though would sink in much later.
"I would advise you to accompany one of us to the medbay also, Lady Vestra. There is risk of underlaying problems arising after the initial scans." The droid barbled on, she found these things endlessly annoying, henceforth she waved a hand in the direction of the hatch as if being harrassed by a nuisance fly.
"I am fine, there's a man in there who's been badly injured, see to him first i'll go with the Senator. "
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Mar 18, 2011 17:14:32 GMT -5
The constant pain was the only thing he felt, burning to the very bone and bad enough to wake him from passing out when they moved him. Shouting he jerks away and punches Banner him being closer to his good arm. Falling back again he hissed with renewed pain which was keeping him just this side of consciousness, but made it hard to focused. Thoughts of Khari and her safety floating in the back of his head just out of reach.
He heard her speak with others, her distinctive tones and voice. Sultry and smooth, but with a power behind it.
He passed out again then, hearing her say she would be with him. Better for her, her safety had kept him fighting the fogginess. What good he could do for her, he didn't know but with her with him she was safer he thought.
Waking again he saw lights overhead and he was laying on his back moving down to his feet and realized he was in a hallway being rushed somewhere. He concentrated on that, counting and hearing for her, even though he could tell without looking it was she who was holding his hand. "Khari, talk to me.." He whispers raggedly, his voice sounding wrong to him.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 19, 2011 17:38:13 GMT -5
Climbing into the back of the transport as the medics loaded the gurney holding Tress, Khari kept half an eye on what was happening around them, not yet willing to believe that this disaster was over quite yet. While they tended to securing the gurney, she was watching them pull the Colonel free of the hanger, and bring him towards the other waiting medical transport.
The doors sliding shut on their own, her view was suddenly eclipsed, but her attention was drawn by the subtle squeeze of a hand in her own, and a voice that should have been familiar, were it not so hoarse sounding at present.
"Khari, talk to me.."
Instantly a smile blossomed on her face, though it was laced with concern, just seeing him awake again was a comfort, though that shoulder wound looked many kinds of nasty, it made her wince just to think about what that felt like. She hated medical places, no doubt he wasn't too fond of them either but he really was in the best possible hands right now.
"Welcome back," She replied softly, trying not to let her worry creep into her tones, if she sounded worried, he would wonder what they weren't telling him and that was the last thing he would need to be concerned with. Khari really was just happy to hear him speaking again.
Administering a pain killing stim, the medics ensured he was as comfortable as possible, working around their little conversation for the duration of the small flight back to the civillian sectors of the array. And for that duration, she was conscious of the fact that this might look a little too cozy for some's taste, that the connection they shared went a little deeper than simply associates, a liason and his charge. Khari supposed that he would understand why she had downplayed things as much as possible, but she really wished she didn't have to.
"I thought i'd lost you back there..." She murmured, voice a little above a whisper, "...it's good to hear you talk." The smile that she shared with him when the medic attending to him turned their back for a second, was all emotion, love, longing, all those things, and of course when the medic turned back, she hid that effortlessly. Just the mere fact that someone might suspect something and others would get word of it, rumours would spread like wildfire and soon they wouldn't be able to go anywhere without fear of being bugged or watched, just to catch them out. It would be a scandalous time for her household, but that wasn't what stopped her. It was down to alliances among the ten. There would come a time when she would reveal all, but it would be when she was in a stable position to do so.
Now, slightly more jovial about things, she tried to lighten the mood a little...if that could be done.
"We're almost there, just hold on and don't worry," The kuati woman's eyes glinted amused, "I won't tell anyone you're little secret." Leaning in close to him in mock-whisper, "about that small cheat on your Naval academy exam."
Squeezing his hand lightly, reassuringly, she settled in her seat beside him, letting the nuisance droid tend to her minor scrapes, issuing a hiss of irritation or stinging pain whenever it seemed to locate a sore spot. It couldn't be anything like Tress was feeling right now though. Fused joints tended to be a pain like no other.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Mar 19, 2011 23:01:53 GMT -5
He smiled up at her groggy with the pain meds they had given him. Movements cause him still to twinge with the pain, but it was slightly better now. The only thing now he felt sleepy and was fighting the effects as he looks at Khari.
From death, he remembered after awhile. He nods as everything catching up to him as he laid there. The mad scream from the side of 'For Freedom' as if they were oppressed or something. Kuati's had it better than some planets. He had been there standing and all that happened. did they get him? He remembered pulling his blaster gritting his teeth at the pain, then finally passing out on Khari with his death forgiveness penance.
She was safe though as was he, but that had been to close. Far to close that he felt danger all around with the TEN conspiring. He needed his own men around and present, but how would that look?
"Over?" he asks before trying again. "Is it over?" his head facing away from his wound, not wanting to see it. He wanted to know, though he was still calling his own man to have around. To much backstabbing and power struggles to get a leg up over everyone else.
The guy who shot him, he was going to destroy the family and everyone associated with him, one by one just for the attempt on his life. This green Falleen and Arri would get theirs, too. He was tried of playing nice, so he would use this as an excuse. An excuse to pick a target and destroy them. Such were the thoughts of a fogged brain of someone on pain meds. The destruction of things.
Eyelids heavy and getting heavier, he looks at her again, "Not worried, trust only you with secrets and....." his eyes close as he talks groggy fighting sleep. He wanted to tell her something she knew already. Something he would have liked to say more, but was restrained in the telling. He loved her. "...love you." he says barely heard as he succumbs to sleep.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 20, 2011 13:49:22 GMT -5
She allowed Tress to get his bearings, work out where he was and what had happened the last time he had been conscious, simply glad to see him back in the land of the somewhat sober. The pain stims would eventually take their toll, as was becoming apparent already, his reaction time seemed slow, but she had endless patience where that was concerned, her elation being more than enough to get her by.
"Is it over?" He asked, earning him a slightly confused frown from her but for a second, then she nodded affirmatively.
"If by it you mean what happened back there, I hope so. The Colonel is in a bad way, they're rushing him to the same medical facility as us, we will know more when we get there. The one who shot you is dead. And if he wasn't..." She glanced up to the team still working around him, deciding it better to hold her peace to some extent, "Well you can be certain the Ten would take a very harsh view on his stance in this."
Though her smile at this point was warm enough, Tress would have been able to discern her ire at what had happened back there, the whole affair had her mind reeling as to what had truly gone on. Perhaps, when the Colonel regained consciousness and his health, he would be able to aid her with discovering what, exactly, had driven those involved to do what they did. And it still left her with so many questions regarding the one constant force in this...the Falleen, not to mention the highly suspicious position of Arri's supposed corpse. That had been a bit too suspect for her liking, an investigation would be made, she would volunteer that information herself and get a professional opinion.
"Not worried, trust only you with secrets and....." The pain medication was starting to kick in, and despite herself she issued a small laugh, trying to pass off to those who could hear that this was just a joke, little more. He was so groggy with the effects, he was going to lapse into sleep eventually, Khari was counting on it, if he was awake and saying things like -
And then it happened.
"...love you."
Her eyes widened, but only for a split second, and she glanced over at the medic re-securing Tress' injured arm as he'd said it. Shrugging, albeit a little awkwardly, she shook her head, looking back down at him, he who was now asleep no less, muttering something inaudible under her breath. While her heart might have swelled at that prospect, this really hadn't been the best place to tell her, the list of coverups was becoming a lengthy one.
"It's ok Ma'am," The flesh and blood medic assured her with a knowing smile born of experience, "They all say crazy things when pumped full of this stuff...not that loving you would be crazy, but-"
Khari held up a hand, halting the medic's words right there were they stood. She didn't need to hear the other being's excuses or reasonings for putting her foot in it. But it did take the heat off of her, which she thought was rather well timed.
"Say no more, no offence taken, you've been a great help." She said, mentally adding - more than you realize.
When they arrived at the medbay, what ensued was a lot of tedious checkups, while she waited with nervousness to hear the outcome of Tress' op. Paperwork hadn't been the ideal way to pass the time, especially when it was issued by that irksome droid with the monotonously 'caring' voice that most 2-1b droids had been infused with. She would do something about that to, were it in her power. What Khari did manage to get done, however, was look over the forming reports of what had transpired leading up to the showdown in the hanger that afternoon, most facts were still being compiled, but a constant stream of information was fed to her datapad, updating her on the latest.
But when that had begun to give her a monumental headache just thinking about it, she went for a wander down to the recovery ward, to see if Tress was awake yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Mar 20, 2011 19:24:00 GMT -5
As the wounded are taken out, Banner's second squad arrives in a transport to assist in securing the area.
It takes a while, but they make a sweep of the bay diligent not to disturb anything. They find the recording device laying next to the bodies of Rondi and Arri, not knowing it had been purposefully planted. They holocord its location and carefully notate its position, orientation, etc before removing it ensuring any trace evidence on it stays intact.
Next, a crate like device is brought into the hanger which is then cleared of everyone living.
The second squad sergeant is the one to activate the device remotely and when he does, the banks of capacitors discharge sending out a powerful EMP blast. No manner of stealth suit could withstand that, and the teams rush in to see if there are any lingering surprises for them, the area however is clear. A select few of off-world workers are brought in and watched like hawks as they close the doors to space, and every single access to the hanger is sealed with plating and welded shut anew. After the workers complete their tasks one of Banner's men takes them away to be paid off and sent out of system. Despite what others may have as opinion upon the matter, he has a very traditional Imperial approach to the matter, they were not Kuati, and frankly ash from the incinerators can tell no tales to anyone.
Once the area is secure, Banner reenters and examines the area more closely noting a few oddities. Most notably the position of the bodies. He has the second squad tech download the holo-file of the device that was left. And as he paces it off he turns and looks at the bodies in relation to what he sees.
"Blood... or lack of, there is not enough not if she got shot before they dumped her... And she would be covered if someone was hacked with a vibro-knife."
Another thought dawns on him, a wholly vile one, but once he has had it he cannot get it out of his mind. He removes his gauntlet, and gets a sterile evidence glove from one of his men then heads back over to the body of Arri and kneels down beside her, studying her for a moment. He then unzips the uniform she was wearing to gain access to the facility and makes a impromptu investigation, an unpleasant one.
His jaw clenches, as he rises and he snaps the glove off and replaces his gauntlet as he storms out of the hanger.
Banner leaves very strict orders to his men, in the barest nutshell shoot first, shoot again and then ask questions of the corpse before he hijacks a service vehicle and heads to the hospital.
He is almost there when he realizes he may actually find out if Klask is still alive or dead instead of finding out third hand as is his experience.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Mar 23, 2011 15:41:08 GMT -5
Groggy he hears what she had to say and nods sleepy. Whatever they had given him was doing its job, he felt no pain..well he felt some, but it was more manageable to him. Each movement would send a small painful jolt to remind him and was actually was what was keeping him awake but only just. "Then Ten? Careful with them." He mumbles a little spot of drool at the corner of his mouth forming.
He looked at them both for a few minutes, then assumed in his influenced state he might have said something. Might as well continue then, he thought. "Marry me?" he asks sleepily looking up at the ceiling. He had been quiet for a few minutes, then suddenly said that. Silence had fallen, only thing heard was the beeps of the various medical instruments scanning him. Then he finally looks at the medic waiting for his answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Mar 23, 2011 16:27:34 GMT -5
Raising one slender brow she canted her head slightly in question, still very aware of the fact they weren't exactly alone here. The center was a small one, mainly utilized in emergencies like these and for the crew of this section of the module, that made space a little bit of a commodity, even if you were a senator.
"Is there any other way to be with them? I am one of them myself, it's a little hard not to take notice those aspects of life. I would say I was born careful, but that really is a skill my opposition would say I have yet to learn." A frown creased her brow at that thought, all this was evidence of that, or rather, that was how the Ten would view it.
Khari side stepped the medic as she edged her way around the bedside, continuing with various scans, minor checks at this stage. His arm had been repaired for the most part, with regular bacta treatments over the coming hours and days, he would be back to his usual self in no time, though there had been mention of his resistance to such treatments. Khari didn't want to ask why, but the notion did have her inwardly smirking, nobody looked flattering in that getup, floating upside down in a giant tube of the stuff, so it was just as well it wasn't a spectators sport.
Tress' sudden question broke Khari's train of thought completely, abruptly as it got, and for a moment she had thought that he'd done it again, been speaking out loud, though he had not mentioned things like that lately, the Kuati aristocrat really thought she was going to have to come up with another pathetic excuse as to why, of all people, senator Zann of Anaxes kept saying these things, when he surprised her yet again - this time, by looking at the medic for an answer.
The Zabrak medic shook her head slightly, continuing on with the scan as if she'd taken things like this in her stride before. And no doubt, she probably had. Not sensing the sudden discomfort in the air, she didn't look up when she spoke, addressing Khari while keeping her amber eyes on the screen of the monitor.
"What did I tell you? They'll say anything when under the influence of that stuff." She muttered amused, then cast her gaze downward, "It'll wear off in a few hours, wouldn't want you asking questions like that of your emperor...though I might pay to see it. I hope you didn't have any important meetings scheduled Senator, you might want to cancel."
Laughing in a manner that was all fakery and deliberate mirth, Khari brushed several ebony strands of hair over one shoulder in an uncaringly arrogant motion, then proceeded to clap Tress on his injured shoulder, not hard, but not exactly gentle either. When the pain registered with him what little it could, she giggled nervously, the strained humour apparent in her voice.
"Oh how clumsy of me, I do apologize and yes, we wouldn't want you saying anything you'd regret later now would we?"
Words literally dripping with sarcasm, it all seemed lost on the zabrak, which was just as well because Khari began to regret opening her mouth the second the sounds had spilled from her tongue. Where that had come from she wasn't entirely sure, and yet again he was making her react in a way that she really should be above. Denial, it was an irksome thing.
The sound of the doors swooshing open, to close behind a set of footfalls drew her gaze then, turning to see one of the interns approaching with deliberate uncertainty. Doing her best not to look nearly as jealous as she'd felt in the earlier instant, Khari at least attempted to look curiously welcoming.
"Uh Lady Vestra?" The intern, a young human female with interestingly pale blue eyes inquired. Khari nodded confirmingly.
"There's a Captain Banner requesting to speak with you? He says it concerns the incident reports and investigation."
Banner? Why did that name ring a...ah...yes, he was the one leading Klask's task force on the inside of the hanger, one of the first on the scene prior to the bay being sealed off to them. Though she really did not feel up to this, there really was no time like the presence. Khari sighed reluctantly, this was important and simply wouldn't wait.
"I will speak with him...in fact, let him in, there's something he needs to hear." She inferred of course, to the small factor that both she and Tress had noticed concerning the placement of Arri's body in that hanger, that just hadn't sat right with either of them...it would be curious to see what he made of this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Mar 24, 2011 16:52:28 GMT -5
As Banner was waiting to hear back, thoughts were racing through his head. He thought it had made sense, when he found they had run to Kaur things became clear. It was well known he opposed Vestra, to the point of being contrary just for its own sake at times... Or so one would believe by looking at some of the political cartoons of the news-filmsi.
But what had transpired at the hanger was insane. Maybe it would make more sense to one used to the political game, but of what little he had heard and seen of Lady Vestra on this matter, even she was likely scratching her head in puzzlement of this one.
Then the intern returned and said to head in, he took one step to do so and then...
The CEO, Khari Vestra... a chill ran up his spine. What the hell did he think he was doing? Banner was from a long line of hull-welders not the nobility. He had not even made it through his apprenticeship; there had been that night of drinking with his fellow mates and stealing that shuttle years ago. His father had the foresight to pack him off-ring before he even had a chance to sober up. He then found the Empire, and it had been the start of a decent career up until the Moffs tore what was left of it apart with their stupid schemes and petty infighting. So he had returned to Kuat and joined the KSF, and rose to become a solid and respected NCO.
The Colonel had just made him an officer at the beginning of this debacle; a "field" commission, or so they used to call it. But Banner was not the Old Man, and the thought of facing the CEO was turning his legs to Cornil-Jelly.
A voice in his head, that of his father, was screaming at him about "what right do you have?", and a cascade of other voices chimed in their own opinion on the matter. But the image of the Old Man laying there looking dead as possible, his eyes still open and staring blankly at his last target, the dead Hewlett. "Sometimes things need to be done, even if it kills you."
With that thought; words from a speech he had once heard Klask give at a security course about terrorism; his second step concludes and he heads into the room, and his potential fate. It is pretty clear he is nervous to be here, for there always will be some of that millennia old distance between the working class of Kuat and that of the Aristocracy and the Ten.
"L L Lady Vestra? I am Captain Banner, thank you for taking the time to see me for a moment... I, I wanted to make sure you were safe, and there is some data...
He falls silent for a moment and tries to compose himself a little better, which he succeeds in doing to a fair degree.
"Ma'm, it has been many years since uniformed KSF forces have started shooting each other, and with the Colonel... gone... I no longer have solid faith in the security of Command. I suspect it would be best to deliver my findings directly to you."
|
|
