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| - The moon Kohlma, a wonderful place to visit if you don't mind having to deal with the ravaged landscape from the now-natural occurances. The only few reasons one would actually have to stay here would be if they didn't want anyone else to come after them. It has been the hideout for many a person, most notably is that of the Bando Gora. Which also likely aids in many not wanting to come to this moon. Despite all this though, there are still rumors of outlaws who came to hide their ill-gotten gains here and were unable to reclaim them for various reasons.. Which is what calls some whom have the ability to look past dangers to credits to come along. Sekes has had such a trait carried with him for as long as he could know. His ship cuts through the thick cloud covering of the skies, piloting along at a slow speed.. His pale grey orbs scan over the terrain, trying to pick up anything that would actually be suitable for something that could withstand the weight of the ship he flies.. And then he finds it, the roof of an older temple, it appears. Slowly but surely, he settles the landing struts down and once finished.. He moves away so that he can begin suiting himself up proper for this little excursion out into this hellhole. "It looks like there's already some activity going on," the Captain says to Morrison over his shoulder. Van Sen leans over and looks at the holodisplay just as Sekes lands on top of an old temple. "Give me a passive scan on that ship," Van Sen orders and begins checking his custom suit of ST Armor. All set. He takes the helmet and checks the seals. Atmosphere down there could be rough they told him. No need to be wreckless... He checks his weapon and goes for his science bag. Artifact hunting was his past-time and oddly enough, Van Sen was on vacation. The bulky form of the Marauder Cruiser "Tolltaker" slips into high orbit. Van Sen crawls into the cockpit of the R4 Patrol Ship, Regulator II with two assistants. They are much less armored for war than the VicePrex of Territory, but they are garbed adequately and bear mostly scientific gear. "I thought this place was supposed to be deserted?" One of them mutters to the other. From the shadows of the landing pad in which Sekes sets down his ship, a woman begins to peek out from the shadows. Pale powder skin with blue patches, and stark white eyes cut through the dark and watch the ship settle. A feral tilt of her is then used to light a short cigarra, which is given a long drag. Acrid smoke rolls out from the shadows, apparently showing that she was less worried with being hidden as she was with having a moment to smoke. The Umbaran woman shuffles a bit, his fingers flicking the strap on her DL-18. Ready and waiting to see who these new arrivals were. Having already known what it was that he stuck his head into, most of the bits of armor have already been put on. All which is needed now is to seal his helmet upon his head and pull the proper weapons free from his armory.. Securing everything into place, the darkly clad man flicks the controls for the cargo-lift starts to lower down for the short distance. His hand is already upon the grip of the DT-57 at his thigh once he gets a clear enough view of the surroundings. Muttering to himself and starting to shuffle along, he peers up toward the skies and grunts out a curse or two in Huttese at the weather.. And then at the second arrival. "Damn." He murmurs, tapping his finger against the side of his weapon.. He then cranes his head along, starting to surveil the rest of his little landing pad.. And catching the -third- person now. "... Stupid source." He grunts out again, now unsheathing the large pistol and propping it against his shoulder, starting to walk up to the edge of the roof.. It's a small bit of an obstacle course from here to there for the coordinates which have been given out for the most likely area of the 'booty' as it were. A jump here. A slow walk along a stone bridge there.. And the chances of old Bando Gora still lurking about.. Joy. The RX4 Regulator II sets down about a mile from Seke's position. The cockpit opens and Morrison and friends step out. One begins scanning for lifeforms. "Scanner is getting faint readings of life, other than our friend..." he says. "There is some sort of interference though, I can't tell for sure where they are." Morrison looks around him at the ruins jutting up in the distance. They had landed in a field big enough for the ship but now there wasn't quite enough cover for the VicePrex's liking. "Come on, lets make for those ruins," he says pulling his carbine up to the Day-Walk position. Butt in his shoulder, barrel pointing downward slightly. When Sekes begins to move, the Umbaran woman does as well. Her source of information apparently not quite as far reaching as the others, so if she wanted to fit the booty then she'd need t be following somewhat who did know. Sticking to the shadows, thought not totally, the slender and athletic looking woman keeps a hand low near her sidearm. Moving like a ghost she seems to slide across the ground instead of walk. "This had better be worth my time..." The woman murmurs in a low voice. Once at the very edge of the roof and feeling the already unstable rock starting to give way as it becomes thinner, he kicks free from the base and activates the rocket pack, settling the barrel now upon his free hand and looking quickly over toward where he had last seen the other ship. And.. With them having already landed, there's another grunt and he pays attention to the area ahead of him. Which appears to be just in time, feet colliding with what was once a pillar, but is now just a broken bit of stone jutting out from a huge acid lake. Skidding along to try to kill the momentum, he curses a few times and flails his arms behind him, counter balancing things out.. Before finally taking a few steps backward. There is a moment or so as he collects his breath.. Before he makes his next pack-assisted leap to a more larger safe-area. With the new activity of the offworlders, this stirs up a group which has been living upon this rock for a while now. Bred from sentients whose minds were rotted away by specialized deathsticks, these are really a set back from the evolution of what their parents races once were. They are hard to identify, most of them dressed in large black suits with faces covered by a bulbous mask.. Luminescent red orbs acting as eyes. They are really the natural predators here. Focused on the incoming crowd, they start to scatter off in different directions.. But some make their destination easier to guess, crawling toward the same coordinates which have been given out. Morrison and the three men with him have yet to encounter the natives. Again the tech with the scanner chimes in. This time his voice is a bit more nervours, "Sir, the blips seem to be moving northwest towrad the temple where the other ship landed." Van Sen brings up a pair of binoculars. The infrared cuts through the toxic haze. "Keep your guard, apparently this place is hotter than we thought," The Viceprex says. He turns the powersetting on his bi-polar carbine to high and continues walking through the ruins. "There are burial chambers everywhere, but the temple appears to be the focal point of this design," the tech says looking at the overhead scanner-view sent to them from the Marauder in orbit. "Roger that," Van Sen says. The Umbaran had noticed the dark figures in her mind shortly before seeing the first. She cradles the blaster to her body and wedges herself between two pillars and into a room with a view of the street and of Sekes bit of high-stepping. The sensors within his helmet already twitching to life and informing him of the activity around him which can't be attributed to wind or anything of the like, Sekes settles onto his feet again and hefts up the blaster pistol now, taking aim straight forward as he does a circular sweep in one direction, then moving the other, simply to be sure. A few nerves twitching away in the man's skull, he aims upwards and stares down toward the ground below him. Firing off several loud blasts from the DT-57, he then swings it back down in front of him. Trodding along now, it appears to be something along the lines of a short path before he hits the next jump. The muscles underneath the armor plating twitch and flex as the nerves twinge, the sixth sense for knowing when a battle may happen starting to tickle along his brain. Some of the creatures have made their way toward the party and the single being that have decided to advance on their territory. They creep across paths that they know are safe enough to carry their own weight.. There's a flinch from them at each of the shots which are fired before they start to relax.. Waiting for the silence to take over again, they begin to slide across the darker areas, concealing themselves from at least visual scanning. "Sir, the contacts are moving our directio...." is all the tech has time to say before the first shadowy, bulbous-eyed creature is spotted moving between blocks. Morrison's carbine comes up even as the other two men with him begin pouring blaster fire into the ruins. "Cease fire until you have a target," Morrison says. No need to attract unwanted attention. They move more quickly toward the temple, but Morrison takes them inside a building. First Rule of street fighting -- get off the street. He looks around inside the building. It is full of old, dead things. What with the fact that he really doesn't have much of a crew surrounding him to order about, Sekes just seems to stick to the occasional mutter of a curse with an animalistic grunt mixed in here and there. Hopping free from his path, he comes now to a landing point where he is at least within closer proximity of the searchy party. Raising his free hand up, the barrel of his weapon pointed down to the stained floor, he waves it slightly and stares forward. "Hold your fire, who ever is in there." He turns a glance over his shoulder with another blip upon his sensors.. The incoming native which starts to barrel in his direction catches his eye easily enough. Now, the cool calm starts to over take him. The emptiness fills him and tells him what to do. One leg lifts upward, then stamps down in a rough kick-off from the ground, his other used to propel him skyward. The momentum sends him into a spin, soon gaining a better angle as he takes quick aim.. Firing off several shots in the direction of the beast which lurches forward. Rocket pack drags along the floor soon after he touchs down with a echoed 'thud'. Another set of thunderclaps sounds off in his hand. Two more bolts of red death sizzle the air and smash into the mask of the being, rendering whatever face was underneath.. Completely ruined. Sekes starts to get himself back to his feet, swaying from one side to the other and dusting himself off. The aggressive nature of these intruders isn't something new. The others were just as bad. Some worse than this. They know what to do. They all keep themselves out of visual sight now, knowing the reactions that they will be receiving.. Watching and waiting for the proper time to come upon an exposed back. The searching party, led by the large, armored VicePrex is still within a building when the creatures try to strike at them first. They are on the brittle roof, scratching in the toxic air. Morrison's men draw in together. The tech isn't used to this sort of thing. He begins to cower behind a large block. His weapon is in his hand, his tools all but forgotten. A shuffle of feet....Morrison is breathing in his helmet...controlled....his eyes search amidst the red-target field display. Then he sees one, siloetted through the open door. A bad move. Knowing if they were going to make it to their destination, they would have to strike hard. Morrison begins to unleash the power of the bi-polar carbine. The opposing twin blasts, are both bright and devestating to the target unlucky enough to be caught by it. The insectoid target shatters into several pieces, his trunk burst. The others scamper for the deep shade. More blasts follow, into the building accross the narrow street. The debries inside begins to burn....slowly and blue due to the noxious atmosphere. "Move," Van Sen orders and the party slips from their building into one closer to the temple ruins. They have not noticed the other man, being caught up in their own problems. Now hearing the heavy blaster fire going off from the others, Sekes knows that Morrison is at least pushing forward.. Or attempting to bring the crumbling old building down around their ears. It is hard to tell whichever it is. But if he was giving more of a fight to the natives, then this would likely mean he would have a few more coming his way for the easier meal. "What I would do for a flamer.." He holsters the hand cannon of the Old Republic days, then pulls free another throwback of times past. His DC-17m whining to life, the standard rifle attachment already fixed into place, he slides into battle stance and goes into a crouching run, occasionally firing off blasts both behind him and at any hiding areas where he can partially see a glowing red eye peering around the corner. It is now a mental note comes across his mind to simply let some things stay where they are in the next thought. The creatures, while making sure that they keep in close toward Morrison and his merry band, do not make strong movements in their direction. Though the numbers are beginning to build upwards, the larger crowd that had slipped out of their hiding areas earlier finally catching up to those who concentrated on this current crowd here. The potential source of meat. Others, having seen the difficulties that Morrison brings, start to follow after the faster moving target of Sekes. The temple is within sight now. Morrison lowers the bioculars and then hears a blaster erupt behind him. The two men, other than the tech, have gotten spooked by the movement of the creatures in the alleys. They try to shoot through the walls and end up setting the building on fire. Van Sen curses them and uses his carbine to blast a hole through the stone north-wall. He fires another bolt into the building next to them and rushes into the new building. "Come on," he yells to them. The tech is behind Mor, his gear flapping against his spacesuit. The two other men follow suit. "VicePrex Van Sen, this is Capt. Aims, we have hostiles moving toward your location sir, advices you to abandon mission and prep for extract..." Comes the call over Mor's comlink. "Negative Aims, I would appreciate a little diversion though." "Roger that sir..." Slowing himself down and slamming his back against stone cover, looking up first before letting his head crane around every which way, taking in the surrounding area quickly enough. The cold, empty black has still filled him. The nothing that builds up, kills off that bit of emotion so he can think rationally in tense situations still having taken over. Sekes, with a practiced manuver flips several small switches upon his rifle, changing out the barrel for the grenade launcher attachment. "Alright, alright.." He looks about again, eyes searching out for that hint of movement and the large bundle of it that he can find.. Finally deciding on one group, he swings about and lets loose with a hollow 'thunk'.. And then a small explosion, a shower of debris coming his way. The sound of stone rubbing against stone comes about now, creaking as a pillar which was shaken by the concussion sends it into that final few inches before it was convinced of falling.. There are several expletives from the armor clad Sekes and he starts another run. There was at least several creatures dead from that blast, though many have been put into the point of ignoring pain and simply trod along, dragging along stumps of their former limbs to safer areas as their former comrades now prey upon them for the easiest prey. The grouping is starting to scatter now though around Sekes, the commotion of the stone pillar causing out mass confusion and panic. The ones who follow along Morrison though.. Do not seem to have much deterrent for the moment. Indeed, if anything, the group attacking Morrison's crew are more organized, perhaps their leader is nearby. They pause as the crack of another, different blaster is heard. There's a third party, Morrison reackons. Then the BOOM of Seke's shell. "Sounds like our friend is getting his too," the tech whispers over the com. Van Sen holds a hand up as the smaller blaster shoots rapidly and then falls silent. Most of the goons, once surrounding Van Sen and friends rush down the street toward the area where the fire had emminated. "Looks like they're distracted, go go go," Van Sen urges pushing the two men toward the temple. Two stay-behinds fall out to pursue them. One of Morrison's men drops the first one, but not before the second grabs the arm of the third man. "Graa..." he says as the insectoid rips his arm off at the elbow. "GRAAAAAAAAA!!!" Morrison turns and fires the carbine into the alien, splitting it apart with enough force to send his man falling. The other CSA'er runs over and pulls a patch from his belt and slaps the sealer over the nub. "Pressure is dropping," he says pain in his voice...."UUHHHHH" The tech joins them and plugs something into the man's suit. Instantly he is calm and sedate..."Vitals are weak, he needs evac sir," the tech says. "His suit is repairing itself...but it can't stop his bleeding enough to keep him alive long." Van Sen curses. "Alright, you men get back to the RX4, get him stabilized." Having said that, Van Sen turns and walks towrad the Temple, alone. Coming into a seperate 'entrance' for the temple, a hole which has corroded away in the stone wall, peering around some.. There's a grumble and he starts to search himself, Annoyed at the fact that the suit doesn't support it's own set of light projectors, there's another mental note written down upon the back of Sekes' mind. However, eyeing the vegetation that surrounds him, Sekes shrugs a shoulder and lifts up the torch-like lighter he carries.. Running a line of flame across the leafs and vines, he decides to let it build as he walks forward. Not as if he is planning on returning here. Reloading the grenade launcher, he switches back to the rifle setting and walks along at the balls of his feet. For now, it seems that the 'natives' have backed away from the explorers, letting then trudge through the enviroment of the temple. Morrison spies the reason for their relative ease now at getting to the temple. As he enters the door, an off-white patch catches his eye. The Umbaran woman, he had not known she was there, but the beasts had found her. They had her high in the air, ripping her to pieces. Van Sen watched the specticle only briefly. "Captain Aims," he says over the Com. I'm going to lase a target, I want it destroyed." Van Sen kneals in the door after checking both directions to see if any hostiles were near. He aims his left wrist toward the crowd tearing the Umbran to shreds. "Ordinance away.." the Marauder calls. Tick. Tick. Tick. Ti......The entire street disappears in a cloud of smoke and ash...the shockwave rolls against Morrison knocking him into the temple doorway. The thick walls absorb the blast, while a crater is carved into the Necropolis, vaporizing the unfortunate Umbaran and many of her tormentors. Stumbling forward in a small hop of startlement, Sekes peers around a bit so as to try to see that the place isn't starting to fall on him just now. Shoulders shift about, from one side to the other and he checks the power pack for his rifle. Assuring himself it's enough for the next round with the possible oncoming horde, he again goes back on the alert.. Not far at all from the relics which he had heard of, he lets his imagination go along now as to what it is he might get. Bouncing along with each step that he takes, his finger taps against the trigger guard and he peers around slowly, continuing to do his best to keep his eye upon every surrounding bit he can see as the fire light continues to fill through the temple, lighting it up brighter by the second.. While also increasing the temperature as well. He didn't get to see much of the interior. Van Sen was about to penetrate deeper into the temple when the call came over the com. His men were pinned down. Blaster fire! Cursing, the large Kallan pulls his blaster up and puts the puzzle together, that must be the crew the Umbaran had belonged to. Maybe Van Sen had killed some of them with his air strike, who knows. At anyrate, Morrison Van Sen wasn't about to sacrifice the lives of people who had, in good faith, signed up to serve him on this little foray. He walks down the street now, firing shots from the bi-polar gun into every house along the street. Catching them all on fire. The flames burn royal blue and orange against the darkened sky. None of the natives dare to oppose him as he makes for the LZ. Within the shadows just outside the temple, Scaven creeps along. He wasn't exactly as intrusive as the preceeding party, relying on stealth to accomodate his way forward. His armored suit shifted color and patterns to fit the background of foliage and decrepid ruins around him. Shifting around the gathered natives, he managed to go unseen while keeping a tight grip around his blade. A large explosion nearby shatters his stealth like a spotlight around him. The following concussion tosses him a few yards from an entrance to the temple. His cover was blown, as several natives catch sight of him and quickly move to surround. With a familiar ringing, his sword comes to life as a flash follows down it's blade. A hawling could be heard as the blade quickly cuts through the air, slicing the onslaught of enemies one-by-one, limb by limb. It was rather remanescant of his time on Mutanda, as he sliced his way through an army of Horansi townspeople. Kicking open the door immediately sweeping across the room.. Except he simply follows it up with a strong spray once he gets the closest hint of movement that he sees. Sekes sees that the room is clear, despite the several blue bolts that arced through the air and seared holes into the stone walls. Mummified corpses of the past exploits of a bounty hunter from another time, long having collected on this particular quarry. Kicking aside a skull helmet, he tilts his head from one side to the other.. Then shakes his head, "Over rated." He then advances now upon an ancient vault, left somewhat ajar.. Sekes produces a sack now, clearing out room for the possible loot as he lets the shoulder strap for his rifle do it's work, pulling open the rusted metal and starting to scoop up whatever interesting bits there are here and there. Mostly what one would expect from a cult which acted also as a crime syndicate, dealing drugs out to it's followers. Whatever could be expensive enough for another few hits. Credits long having been stolen by some of the saner members of the cult. He turns around on heel, starting to make a hastier exit of the temple. 4..6..10..15 The enemies kept falling, and the onslaught kept coming. Severing legs, arms, and heads simply wasn't enough to keep them at bay as the suit Scaven wears has it's camoflauge short out from the erie-colored blood that now paints it. He somehow manages to cut a path through his enemies to enter the temple. Although they don't enter, he could still hear the shuffling of feet up to the entrance and their rawrs and cries behind him as they surround the temple entrances. He continues on, flight of foot, through the cooridors quickly before realizing that they weren't in persuit. He turns with his blade held up, backing his way through a narrow hallway in case one gets brave to follow. Through his mask, his eyes peer into the dark as he steps backwards. The fire continues to spread through the temple, eating away at some of the roots that have been able to keep most of the stones in place, some of them actually sliding along and coming to a crash behind Sekes. However, having knowledge of the building slowly being eaten away by the fire and the plantlife which feeds it, there is less of a start from this than there was from the earlier activities. Holding the bag in close to him, the armor clad figure goes at a quick trot pace now through the hallways, soon finding the exit.. Which also happens to be the entrance as well. What's in front of him is something that takes a second or so to register in his mind.. And then the familiar face clicks and he has to stifle a laugh, shaking his head and giving a wave toward Scaven. "Nothing left here, I'm afraid." He kicks off from the ground, sending himself hurdling forward and using the jetpack to propel himself forward now, aiming to shoot past the human and head back toward his ship. Scaven's eyes quickly fall upon the fleeting man as he jets off, "I'm not here for treasure" he replies as be turns into the burning temple. He steps up his haste as the flames consume some of the foundations holding it together, marked by the occasional falling of stones around him. His hands finds the walls, moving over it quickly as he scans for familiar writings. Soon, he finds himself in an antichamber with a large seal on the floor about a quarter meter in diameter. The flames illuminate the seal which catches Scav's eye. "Found it" he assets as he kneals down, brushing a thin layer of dust to reveal a solid Germanium plaque written in a language long forgotten. Scaven couldn't read it, but it matched some of the writing found in his cryotube. Quickly, he retrieves his datapad and snaps a few pictures before prying up the expensive material and placing it in a pack around his back. He looks through the entrance at the army of enemies just beyond. Even though they were easy kills in small numbers, he was no match against the gathering hunger-mob. As the fire consumes the temple, he has to find a quick escape. Looking around, he was starting to come up empty, until a light flickers through from above as a nearby moon passes over and shines down a sky-tube.
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