Ashes and Hopes [Akilah]

[Sebarek Veros]

"This place's a bloody fortress." Sebarek sighed as he lowered the binoculars. He handed them to his colleague and friend. Akilah and him had been assigned for a tricky rescue mission on Gabredor III, a world that seemed to have specialized in kidnapping of all kinds.

"These guys know their work given how they carry themselves." Some big political shot from Dubrillion had been kidnapped along with his wife and child, in hope to gain some sway over the governance of the imperial world. It was just plain stupid as a replacement had been nominated at once, so the area didn't get lost in a mess, while Imperial Intelligence began their work.

They had been able to find the responsible of who had ordered the kidnapping. The Lorrdian knew that Akilah had done the interrogation herself and then had brought him in for the actual rescue. "After we're done here, maybe the military could do some more thorough cleaning and send a better message than us." Coming from him, it said a lot as he wasn't particularly fond of military, at least the politics behind them, though respected all soldiers for their service.

[Akilah]

The humidity of this jungle world was taking some getting used to, though the agent had visited many worlds during her tenure with the Imperial Intelligence Service. Laying in the thick undergrowth, her camouflage outfit having been gained from one of the quartermasters that also dealt with the Black Ops units, she nodded at Sebarek's assessment. Gazing down into the lush canyon below, the slave camp seemed to be well organized and knowing that they had to rescue the family, she had to come up with a solid plan to get them out. An undercover Imperial team was on standby and waiting for the word to fly them out, but the two agents had to get in there and rescue the politician first.

This was going to be messy, she mused.

Nodding, "Sure they'd love that," she agreed knowing how Imperial Army enjoyed their job. "These guys are mercenaries and ex-military which means only about half of them are communicating with one another. Tonight we'll sneak in," she pointed toward a cluster of buildings which they had been observing all day. "Between those two. There's going to be sensors around the perimeter and the patrol we saw earlier should be back here soon. We keep track of their habits, where they enter the jungle and where they return from, that'll help a lot. Hopefully we can keep the diversions to a minimum and quiet enough that the whole place doesn't wake up while we're trying to get the hell out of here."

Using the macrobinoculars, she watched the sentries around the various points on the edge of the large camp, most of them fairly alert which meant that by tonight their replacements would be more alert. At least for a while. The dangers of this world weren't local as far as the wildlife. "If it was me, there wouldn't' be a fence. The jungle's enough to keep people from running too far. Without fresh water, no one's getting to any towns. The closest is over eighty miles from here." Lowering the macros, she sighed. "What I don't know is if they have any scouts that live in the jungle and keep things quieter. Can't imagine this place lasting this long without hunters that enjoy making a quick cred chasing down those that escape."

[Sebarek Veros]

Sebarek was grateful for his experience as private security and spy for some criminal organizations in the past. That made him adaptable to humid jungles which seemed to be one of the usual types of spots the underworld seemed to favor.

"I bet there must be sensors. There's way more technology for such a remote post that some others I saw in the past. You said it yourself, the fence is surprising given the wild life here. It won't make the escape easier. I think that our pick up should fetch us north of the place. Shortest distance for us to cover with our rescuees and less tricky landing spot for him." They had no way to know in which shape the captives would be, so they couldn't afford to have a huge distance to go.

"I think there must be some scouts in the jungle. That's how we used to operate during some of my previous gigs. I just find the fence puzzling, as it must make it harder for them to have people come in or get out in case they're attacked. And the fence must not do much for the wild life."

He then smirked. "I wasn't the one in the bloody jungle. Y'know, my suits deserved better." Of course, he could make do in the thick of a jungle but it was his usual style to crack a kind of joke at times.

"Coming by the spot you mentioned should have us in their blind spot, though it depends on the sensors."

[Akilah]

Calls of the various insects and avians in the jungle echoed through the trees, unseen and as far as Akilah was concerned, the farther the better. She hated finding little nasty critters crawling over her and hoped that none announced themselves. Reptiles were worse and this place seemed to have no shortage of those, but most were skittish enough to leave them alone. Last thing this mission needed was to have her scream like a girl and announce their presence to everyone within miles.

She smirked, imagining him wearing a suit in the heat and humidity of this place, shaking her head. "Mom would hate you for that, those things aren't cheap." With the day nearly gone, she peeled back the sleeve on her shirt and glanced at her chronometer, "Have another five hours until sundown, let's get some rest. You can have first watch and wake me about eight." Gloved hands raised the macrobinoculars once more and she took one last look around, then handed them to Sebarek. Slowly and quietly crawling back into the cover of the large fern, Akilah laid her head down and closed her eyes.

[Sebarek Veros]

Sebarek had made sure to have some large vibroblades with him, as they couldn't afford to shoot and give their position away. But with all the nasty things on this planet, he wanted to be ready to kill them if they came too close for comfort. It was because he could survive in the jungle that he had to like it.

"Mom got over me giving up on becoming next archduke in line, so in a way, she prefered me ruining suits than me stopping to wear any." He smirked, knowing that he was older than Akilah, but he had no problem joking about his mother. He still had strong ties with his parents and sisters, so it was all good.

He took the macrobinoculars when Akilah handed them to him. "Sure thing, sleeping beauty." He grinned and then kept watch. There was no surprising activity at the building they were to get in later on.

His watch was mostly calm until they found out about one of the scouts. He was almost caught by surprise by the Trandoshan but his instincts kicked in and the fight was fierce but he eventually got the upper hand.

"Sorry about the mess." He said with a shrug as he knew he had awaken Akilah because of the fight, knowing she was a light sleeper. He was still half sitting on the dead reptile alien. Thank the Goddess, nobody had screamed so the noises that had happened weren't different from much of the wildlife.

[Akilah]

Far away in a dream, the noises that exploded nearby alerted the senior operative as she awoke to see the scuffle in the shadowy jungle. Pushing herself up, Akilah immediately drew her silenced pistol and scanned their surroundings first before aiming at the large hunter, just in time to see him drop. Avians scattered as insects went silent for a long moment and she knew that if he had any sort of backup they would be here in no time.

"We have to move," she stated, grabbing her pack and shouldering it again, then handed Sebarek's to him. Moving to the body, she dragged him by the shoulders under the cover of the large fern that she had been resting under, then covered the exposed feet and arm with fallen leaves and bits of branches. Leaving all this gear on him, just in case the comlink that he used had a GPS tracker on it, she moved deeper into the jungle and moved northwest, keeping to the higher ground for now as the surrounding hills gave them an excellent vantage point of the camp.

Soon finding another good spot to hide in, she crouched and crawled toward the edge of the hill, still within the shadow of the jungle's trees and undergrowth. Glancing to her partner, "You injured?"

[Sebarek Veros]

"Yeah." Sebarek knew that they had to move and couldn't afford to check on any of the gear the scout had because of the possible tracking devices on them. He helped Akilah drag the body, especially with how heavy these Trandoshans could be.

Putting his pack back on, he moved along with his partner as they needed to get away. Good thing they still had some time ahead of them. All in all the vantage point was almost better, though it would take them longer to reach it, meaning that they'd have to move earlier than originally planned.

"Trandoshan claws. But I can clean it up quick. I didn't bleed all over the place so left not trail." He had already checked for that the split moment between killing the scout and Akilah waking up.

"Going there will take longer. If I can't grab sleep, I'll just take some stims." He didn't like using them, but knew they were a necessary evil at times. "We won't really have another shot at this." And the mission came first.

[Akilah]

"No, get some rest now, I'll take watch," she stated as the sun was going down and she had a good nap already. "I'll wake you in more than enough time." Rest was going to be their best ally with this mission as she knew that once the camp was alerted to their presence, running with a family in tow wasn't going to be less than a running gunfight. Having already prepared herself for that eventuality, Akilah ensured to carry more ammo than anything else, her web gear loaded as well as any pocket that didn't already have a medpac or food.

The sounds of the night became more haunting as time wore on, though the partly clouded sky would give them some cover as they moved downhill and she began doing a passive scan for the sensors. Small power outputs began announcing themselves on the small monitor which gave her a great head start on where to move and when the time came, locations for the spikes.

Glancing to her chronometer once more, she gently shook Sebarek, then took a sip of water and replaced the canteen on her belt. "Time to go."

[Sebarek Veros]

Sebarek nodded, relief briefly passing in his eyes. He patched himself up quickly but well, and then settled against a tree and fell asleep at once. With the upcoming crazy night they had, sleep was a precious gift. He had already used his watch to rearrange his gear and weapons, so he'd be able to help with the family in case someone was injured, as it was a possibility.

When Akilah woke him, he felt better and ready to take on anything, a nest of gundark describing their destination pretty well. He took a sip of water and stretched his neck once he was back to his feet.

"Sure." They didn't encounter any other scout as they crossed the jungle until the immediate perimeter of the building, but they still had to take care of a few local animals thinking they looked like juicy dinner.

[Akilah]

Firing a spike into the nearest sensor, Akilah used her data pad to program it then to keep looping the last few hours information to the computer and hoped that this thing actually worked. Though without the alarm being sounded so far, she felt a bit more confident. Their long climb down to the perimeter fence then allowed her time to assess their avenue out, mentally already having memorized the layout which wasn't that hard with so few buildings. Most of the area seemed to be dedicated to the housing of their prisoners, and not all of them seemed to have been given a comfortable room. Remaining in the shadows, she crouched at the base of the fence and then slipped another slender device into the post, opening up a small area for them to crawl through. Sliding into the compound, she then took up a overwatch as Sebarek then joined her.

Now that they were both inside, she kept her pistol at the ready, leading with it as they continued on to the corner of the nearest building, using the narrow alley between to keep their movements unseen. Resting her back on the rightmost building, she edged out to the corner and watched across Sebarek's angle, now seeing the main gate and tower at the far end. As long as they kept their eyes in the opposite direction, or were asleep, the two would be fine.

Nodding to her fellow agent, Akilah just waited for the 'all clear' from Sebarek, then they would move around the corner of the building that her back was against and hurry to the door, knowing the politician and his family were hopefully waiting inside.

[Sebarek Veros]

The small number of buildings was at least something helpful to find their way around, as it was easier to remember. Sebarek followed Akilah until they reached the inside of the perimeter, so far without triggering any alarm. He knew that their luck might not last, so he was making the best of every instant as it got them closer to their targets.

He moved discreetly but as quickly as possible, until he reached an angle that would let him check one last time before giving the all clear gesture to his partner. Then, they were able to move inside the building where the family should be. The door wasn't a problem to them, but he still had a bad feeling about this.

The two imperials were able to sneak inside and caught sight of a few guards further ahead, in some kind of security room. It didn't take them long to take care of these.

Yet, the building proved to be larger than expected, so they'd need to make quick use of this room to find the one where the family was kept.

[Akilah]

Checking the two guards that they had downed, she found a comlink and kept it as well as their pistols. One could never have enough weapons and she knew that the politician was going to want to help protect his family with them, especially if the shooting started. Moving around the desk, she began surfing through the security footage to find the room the family was kept in as well as the fact that the four other guards were in an adjacent room, asleep. Motioning to the situation on the monitor, Akilah hurried toward the door with the family and crouched at the panel. Taking out another of her spikes, she then inserted it and let her pocket computer decrypt the code, then open the door for them.

Forefinger atop her lips, Akilah moved in and gained the attention of the politician who looked like he hadn't slept in a while. "Name," she queried, whispering.

"Who are you?"

"We don't have a lot of time. Name."

Nodding, he apparently understood who they were. "Samel Tylain."

"Let's go." Rising, she motioned to his wife now awake and the young daughter in her arms as they both moved to stand. Motioning again with her forefinger over her lips to the girl, her warning look was hopefully enough to keep her quiet. Turning, she led them out and motioned for Sebarek to watch their back as they moved toward a side entrance, having seen a speeder port on the side of the building. She just hoped that the vehicle under the large awning would be big enough for all of them.

[Sebarek Veros]

ooc - the child is a little girl.

Sebarek also went for the extra guns they could get, as the operation could go south any moment and they couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks. He was unsurprised when it took Akilah little time to find where the prisoners they were looking for, were kept. He followed her to the cell.

He recognized the politician and his family from the pictures they were given. Asora and Yoko didn't look so well though Samel Tylain had definitely got the worse of it. At least, they were able to move without assistance for the time being.

Escorting the trio with his partner, the Operative was on his guards. They were able to go back to the discreet exit, but their respite didn't last long and something was triggered, alarms blaring at once.

[Akilah]

OOC: Just making sure you were paying attention... lol ;p

IC:

Moving into the makeshift carpool, Akilah opened the door and motioned for the family to get into the backseat, then jumped in to the passenger seat. Waiting for Sebarek to start the vehicle, the agent handed the politician one of the pistols. "When you run out of shots, let me know and I'll give you another clip. Aim small, miss small," she relayed and once the vehicle was running, pushed the button to roll down the window. "Keep your wife and daughter laying on the floorboard and shoot out through the back window."

"Alright," he replied, nervously.

Knowing Sebarek already knew the escape plan, she began scanning for targets and knew that the tower and gatehouse were going to be the biggest targets, but hopefully only for a moment.

[Sebarek Veros]

OOC: I'm not surprised. ;p

Sebarek powered up the vehicle as soon as they reached it, leaving the explanations to Akilah. As soon as everyone was inside and ready, they were on their way. Driving in the jungle was going to be hard, but he was one good driver, and had had even more training over the past year.

They were being chased almost straight from the beginning, and he hoped that Akilah and the other imperial would be able to take some down, because shields didn't really come with this makeshift carpool. Of course, they couldn't get a tank or so. It'd have been too good to be true, but a problem in the jungle anyway, he guessed.

He managed to keep distance for a good while, but larger vehicles suddenly came from a road the imperials hadn't seen. He took a sharp turn, only to realize that he had been taken towards a canon hidden in the trees.

He kept zigzagging as much as possible, under very heavy fire. It only lasted for a while as their vehicle suddenly got hit even worse and was sent rolling to the side of the slide, crashing onto the ground.