Blades and Kurt: Mission One

[RobbyL9]

Blades had forgotten to mention the best part to Kurt before he was through. "Well actually, that was a memorable mission because it was when my partner got caught on camera with another woman on his arm." he explained with a slight laugh "His longtime honey got wind of the footage and shot him a pretty choice email that ended with the word 'you'. To cheer him up, I traded in a lot of my payment for the mission to buy the services of a handful of the company's best talent. They tended to his every need and got him right back on his feet." The broad grin on his face stayed there as he leaned back against the elevator and nodded.

As soon as Kurt brought up names, however, Blades straightened out again. It was PMC policy that all operatives go by an alias and wear a mask as often as possible for a reason. Their identity needed to be preserved in order to avoid repercussions on anyone but the company itself, which would be anybody's funeral. Failure to abide was career suicide and in this line of work, that meant actual suicide. Besides, Blades hated his real name.

"You need to adjust your goggles there, soldier boy." he said cracking his neck "My knife is right here on my vest." he pointed to it "And I technically have more blades than you do because of this thing right here." Blades held up his left forearm and flashed his leather bracer. On top of it were bolted four unusually shaped blades, star-like in appearance, that varied in size from large to small the closer to his wrist they got.

"As for my actual name? I need it. It's PMC policy to protect my identity on the job, which is why I also wear the mask most times. When they told me that, I was kind of at a loss for a while trying to think of a good name." Blades explained while he adjusted his knee pads and tightened his boots "Then, I thought of mine and Sticks' favorite rock band, Rankur Bläd. I went to a concert, bought one of their logos and took it to the machine shop and had some metal copies made of it and bolted on this baby. That enough for you to know?"

[Revan Jast]

Kurt nodded. "Fair enough, Blades. And the number of knives you have, while impressive, isn't what may save your life. All you really need is one... it's where you strike that counts. I prefer to snipe any non-primary targets."

Kurt stroked his chin. "I don't work for any company, however. I'm my own man, which raises the price a bit. But I work just as good as any group of mercs." He smiled a bit. "Maybe even better."

The elevator slowly came to a halt and the doors slid open. "Our stop," Kurt said, getting off. "Time to meet the boss."

[RobbyL9]

"All right. Let's go. Oh but one more lesson before we go. For luck." Blades let go of his rifle and let it hang. Using his left hand, he brought Kurt's right one up and held it in position. He clapped his hand onto Kurt's so that they formed an arrow pointing up, with their thumbs wrapped around each other. To anybody unfamiliar with it, it would appear to be the world's most messed-up handshake.

"Just do it a little harder and you've got a gangsta whap. Got it?"

[Revan Jast]

Kurt nodded. "I've got it. Let's get this show on the road and blow shit up."

Kurt pushed through the doors ahead of them and walked into the biggest room he'd seen yet. He quickly checked his wristpad mini-map. "Tunnels branching away from this place like it's a fucking hive. I suppose it is."

He took the nearest staircase to the second floor walkway and kept walking, brushing past the pirates and workers. "What's your first plan, Blades? Rig the place or kill him?"

[RobbyL9]

"We need to clear the place out first. Rigging the place to blow before we've had a chance to confiscate the goods isn't smart." Blades said, prepping his rifle for rapid fire "And plus we still need to meet up with my partner, so it would be good to draw their forces down here to leave him some kind of opening."

When he finished saying this he followed Kurt up the walkway "I don't suppose you've got a 'which way do we go now?' app on that thing of yours?" Blades asked pointing to the mini-map.

[Revan Jast]

"Sadly, no. But that's alright. I'll just-"

He suddenly reached out, grabbed a nearby pirate around the neck, covered his mouth, and dragged him into a side room. He took his knife and placed it against his throat. "Where do you keep your supplies?"

"Mhmmmhhhhmm!"

"Oh right," Kurt said, starting to remove his hand. "Oh, if you scream, I kill you."

The pirate nodded and Kurt took his hand away. "So?"

"Who are you?"

Kurt smiled. "I'm a ninja in a pirate suit. Who are you?"

"I'm... wait, did you just-"

"Never mind who you are. I don't give a shit unless you can tell me where you keep the majority of your supplies."

"W-why? What do you want with them?"

"I'm gonna donate them to charity. Seriously, what the fuck do you think I want with them? I'm stealing them!"

"Um... third floor, door code is 012345."

"Really? You better not be fuck-"

The pirate gulped. "It's 489302!!! Please don't kill me!"

"Much better, pal. Hm, anything else I should know about?"

"Well, the chef stops in there once in a while to get food for the kitchen."

"I'm not worried about the fucking chef. The worst thing he can do is hit me with a frozen slab of Wompa Meat. I'm talking about guards!"

"Um, a few."

"A few?"

"...dozen."

"Smart guy. I'm glad you can count. Did you bring your pillow?"

"No, wh-"

Kurt hit the pirate in the top of the head with the hilt of his knife, knocking him unconscious. He looked at Blades and shrugged. "I was feeling generous. Let's go."

[RobbyL9]

Blades quickly bent down and wrapped his arms around the unconscious pirate's head. Twisting quickly, he snapped the man's head around and cracked the bones in his neck, killing him instantly. He then stashed the body in an inconspicuous spot in the room and closed the door, leaving quickly. "So was I." Blades whispered after catching up "We don't need anybody following us. Let's keep going and see if there's anything we can do to help Sticks get down here."

[Revan Jast]

Kurt smiled. He was catching on.

"We could set a fire somewhere. Maybe lob an explosive pineapple over there. Yeah, explosive pineapple it is."

Kurt motioned for Blades to throw one.

"Hey! We got some movement over there!" Kurt yelled, pointing to a stack of boxes. A small group of pirates looked that way and starting walking towards it.

"Ok, let's move around," Kurt said, running away from the stairs. He waited for the boom, then opened fire on everyone in front of him, which consisted of 4 men and a twi'lek poster.

"Shit has hit the fan. Blades, cover me while I get to higher ground," he said, pressing a button on his rifle. The scope lit up, and he raised his rifle to hip level. "Two behind you, against the wall. Good luck!"

Kurt turned and ran, darting up the stairs. He grabbed his knife and swung, slitting the throat of the man at the top and pushing his body over the rail with his rifle. Pop. pop. with the pistol. Two more down.

Once he found a suitable spot behind some crates, he ran to both ends of the hallway and placed mines to take care of anyone who would wander in. Taking his position, he raised the rifle to his shoulder and looked down the scope. Now we're in my element, he thought.

"Let the hunt begin."

He pulled the trigger.

BAM!

[RobbyL9]

The two pirates that Kurt was motioning two attacked before Blades had a chance to react. One swung his rifle butt like a club and barely missed hitting him in the head as he ducked, causing the pirate to fall forward past Blades. While Blades was recovering, the second one managed to score a solid hit to his head, which disoriented him.

Reaching blindly in his dizziness, Blades grappled for the gun and held on tight once he had it. He pulled forward hard and gave the pirate a nasty headbutt with all his might. Blades thought he could hear something crunch just before the pirate's grip on the rifle slackened.

That had all happened in the space of a couple seconds at most, however. More than enough time for the guy who failed to hit Blades to get back up. Blades whipped around just as he heard the familiar discharge of a blaster rifle shooting at him. One shot hit him in an unprotected spot on his side, one was half stopped as it hit the edge of the padding and two more shots hit his vest as he charged at the pirate.

He knocked the weapon aside as it discharged a final time and hit him in the left bicep. Putting all his rage into it, Blades punched the pirate in the face and tossed him face first into a wall. Just to make sure he was dead, Blades caught the man as he fell to the floor, brought him back up and wrapped his arm around his head, breaking the man's neck.

Because of his adrenaline high, Blades didn't fully realize the pain until after the fight. He could feel his skin burning and thought he might have had a cracked rib or two from the vest shots. Nevertheless, he continued on through the room, taking cover and fighting the armed pirates as they came to him. These ones seemed much better marksmen than the ones on the surface and much more ruthless, so it was likely they were meant to serve as the Captain's guard unit.

[Revan Jast]

Kurt launched a grenade from the underslung nade launcher on his rifle, blowing a group of three to pieces. He quickly hit another one in the head, then shot one that was coming up behind Blades.

"Blades! Work your way up here! I'll keep them off your ass!"

He didn't see the guard behind him though till it was almost too late. Something hit him in the side of the head just as he caught someone out of the corner of his eye. Pain exploded there, and he fired off a shot in reflex. He hoped he didn't hit Blades.

Growling, he quickly recovered and turned, rushing his opponent and slamming them against the wall. The guard was stunned, and that gave Kurt the edge. Unsheathing his knife, he drove the blade into the mans lower gut, just above his crotch. He pulled upwards, unzipping the guard and watching as his insides spilled out, his hand suddenly covered in warm, bloody guts. The guard was screaming, but Kurt didn't hear him. Snarling, the merc grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards the edge of the walkway, flinging him over.

The men below saw this display and nearly scattered, but a voice over the comms stopped them, ordering them to stand their ground.

"Fool," Kurt muttered. "He knows he's sending them to their deaths. Not that he cares... and neither do I."

He picked up his rifle again and began covering for Blades.

[RobbyL9]

While the guards were busy turning around and getting back to holding their ground, Blades emerged from his cover. He quickly pumped rounds into the two that he could see, but the others remained hidden. There were at least four, maybe five, more behind the crates across from him and they all blind-fired randomly to stop the two mercs' rapid advance.

As the firing continued, Blades looked for any shot he could take. But the guards were taking turns so rapidly, that they seemed to have effectively pinned him down. And in addition to the large amount of pain he was in from his wounds, Blades could now feel the familiar sensation of blood dripping from them.

He let of a burst of fire and reached for his auto-injector. He put in one of the Bacta-Kolto cocktails that he kept in the capsules and moved the injector tube in a stabbing motion onto his left bicep. The switch depressed and popped into place, letting loose the sound of compressed air.

Blades swore he could feel the chemicals swirling through his veins like a cool winter breeze. His wounds coagulated and he twirled the injector tube in his fingers, laughing. Slipping it back into its place, he yelled out smugly "Prepare a stretcher for me, you brave boys! Come and get me!"

Then, he looked absently down at the injector and got an even better idea. He pulled out the injector again and simultaneously reached into a small, one-item bag on his belt. He unzipped it, revealing another auto-injector capsule, but filled with an almost neon green liquid.

Quickly replacing the capsules, Blades raised the injector up again and stabbed his bicep. This time a much different sort of feeling swirled through him. His veins first grew warm, then hot, before finally boiling with all the rage of a freshly branded wookiee. His eyes widened and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Visions flashed through his mind of his days in basic training, then Special Forces, all of which reminded him of one fact: the true meaning of life. Blades inhaled sharply and emerged from behind his cover yelling out murderously over the commotion and filling the room with his cries.

He held down the trigger and fired rapidly in a cone at the pirates before him, walking forward slowly like an emissary of death itself.

"You want some of this?! DO YOU WANT. SOME. OF. THIS?!!!!"

[Revan Jast]

Kurt bared his teeth in a feral grin. Blades had just gone nuts, and damn, Kurt was impressed by the display. His area of expertise was covertness and striking from the shadows carefully, but even he could wowed by the display that was now before him. He was quick to try and take out anyone who was getting around Blades, but to be honest, those were few.

Blades turned to the left, mowing down a few more soldiers, causing one of them to duck behind cover. It did no good, because he was still in Kurt's sights. He blew the guard's head off and sent him to hell.

The room was clearing out fast, and neither of the two had been extremely injured. Kurt was sure the captain had to be shaking in his boots by now, because his "impressive" guard had just been decimated by two men in light armor and wielding a handful of weapons between them.

"Move your ass Blades! We've got one chickenshit fucker to attend to very shortly. Wouldn't want to deprive him of that, now would we?"

[RobbyL9]

Blades was not paying attention to anything other than the fight he was in. Now wearing his mask again, he surged with adrenaline and rage. Two more pirates had attempted to take him by surprise and attack him hand to hand. Bad idea. When one swung his rifle, Blades just grabbed it and jerked the pirate toward him. He quickly landed a heavy blow to the man's stomach and knocked the wind out of him. When the other guy tried the same, he blocked the rifle, punched him in the chin, then chopped him in the throat.

With the second pirate on the ground wheezing and coughing, Blades roughly grabbed the first one by the head and drew back his own head. In one swift movement, he headbutted the stunned man with his mask. This sent a crimson rain of blood everywhere as the horns of the Zabrak face he wore tore into the man's flesh and his skull fractured.

Blades was surprised when the second suddenly jumped to his feet and began strangling him from behind with a piece of wire. This didn't even hurt so much as it annoyed Blades and he reacted accordingly. With a swift elbow, Blades knocked the wind out of the second one and loosened his grip enough that Blades could grab his wrists.

Like two solid vices, he forced his attacker's hands to open and quickly took control of the wire himself. Turning around and wrapping the wire around his neck, Blades looked into the eyes of his latest victim. Both had widened their eyes, Blades with his rage and the pirate in sheer horror at what he was staring at. Just before he blacked out and the last bit of life dissipated from his body, the pirate was afforded a final glimpse of the solid, shiftless Zabrak face and the blood-shot eyes which stared at him without a single blink to give a sense of humanity to them.

The man finally choked and died, allowing Blades to throw his body aside and turn back towards the door to the next room. Readying his pistols and forgetting entirely about Kurt, he kicked the door open and slid in on his knees. He watched the final two remaining guards on either side of him raise their weapons and fire in slow motion. He fired a shot from each pistol and hit them, killing one instantly with a head shot and hitting one in the chest, knocking him back with the same effect.

The trandoshan captain lay in front of Blades in perfect sight. He quickly pointed his pistols and fired rapidly at the overgrown lizard. Just as he skidded to a stop from his slide, Blades noticed that there was one more guard in the room and watched as the shots he fired hit the man, who now served as the captain's personal meat shield.

The man's body dropped to the floor and Blades quickly skipped to his feet, screaming at the captain to drop the D-18 pistol he was holding. He had already pointed it at Blades' head, but had hesitated to fire.

"Freeze muthafucka' I gots you cold!" Blades yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Not a chance, pile of mercenary filth." Captain Skosska responded in dosh.

Blades crossed his arms one on top of the other, in his gangsta stance, yelling out rapidly "Skosska, you have three seconds and you just wasted ONE. TWO! THR-"

The captain's clawed finger tensed on the trigger and Blades jumped out of the way just as a blaster bolt came spiraling to where his head once was. He flew to the right towards the wall, firing all the way but missing the captain as he took refuge behind his overturned metallic desk.

[Revan Jast]

Blades was on the run, paying no attention to Kurt whatsoever. His movements were off, and he was throwing caution to the wind. The merc scowled as Blades rushed into the offices on his own. Standing, Kurt grappled himself to the iron rail and threw himself over the edge, heading for the floor below him upside down. He aimed his pistol and took out another guard.

He flipped back over and landed on his feet smoothly, disengaging the cable and running to the left walkway that led to the captains office. One of the guards behind him and below him got smart, though, and shot one of the mines he'd set up on the higher floor. The explosion went off with a resounding boom, the shrapnel spraying out in all directions. Kurt ducked, but his right arm was nicked by a piece of flying debris. The majority of the damage was done to the above catwalk. which fell with a scream of bending and tearing metal.

"Fuck," Kurt muttered, his way now blocked. Scowling, he removed his helmet and threw it across the way,hitting a guard running for the captains quarters directly on the head and knocking him out. He brought his goggles down and glared at the men down below, a fierce and dark grin on his face.

"Don't stand there!" one of them yelled. "Shoot him!"

They didn't have time. Kurt leaped over the side and landed on the first one's shoulders, then pushed off and forward, stepping on another one's head. He used the momentum to launch himself up, reaching for a low hanging pipe. Gripping it, he swung up and around to gather up speed before letting go and flying like a human missile for the walkway. He saw at the last moment that he wasn't going to clear it.

Hitting the metal rail with the back of his knees, he quickly grabbed it with his right hand, his legs sliding off and downward. His body was the slave of gravity; his weight combined with his armor were too much. Pain exploded as his shoulder dislocated, he barely managed to grab the rail with his other hand. He yelled in pain, pulling himself up and over the railings. Laying on his back for a moment, he groaned and stood, walking into the office. Blades was out in the open; the man they were after was standing with a gun in hand. Wincing, Kurt reached for his knife and threw it. His aim was true; the blade caught the Captain in the wrist and pinned his gun hand to the wall behind him. The Trando was no doubt shocked at the arrival of the second mercenary.

Kurt spit on one of the guard corpses and looked at Blades. He looked back at the lizard and then at Blades again, drawing his pistol. He'd had this weapon for a long time... it was the pistol he had used to kill his father all those years before, and it had sent a lot of souls to hell in the years since. He held it out, grip first.

"Only a bullet would do him justice, Blades. Take it and kill him."

[RobbyL9]

Blades nearly jumped at the sudden arrival of another person in the room. His head jerked in the direction of the knife throwing and his pistols soon followed, both pointing at Kurt for a few moments before lowering. The captain screamed in agony from being pinned against the wall and attempted to pull the knife out and free himself, filling the room with more screams and drawing Blades' attention back.

He jumped over the overturned table and landed on top of the captain's shitty pea-shooter of a pistol. In two swift movements, Blades slid the blaster away by kicking backwards and used this to wind up a solid kick to the lizard's chest. The captain wheezed and hacked as he fell forward onto the floor. A strained scream also escaped his mouth as he went too far forward and felt the knife slice into his hand some more.

"Pa-THETIC!" Blades yelled down at him "Thought you were 'sposed to be some... Big shot pirate captain. Raids ships, sacks space stations. Raids, rapes, pillages, plunders and pilfers the living shit out of those more vulnerable than him, perhaps? And now you've just been taken out by two guys, two pistols and a knife."

Mishearing what Kurt said when he held out his pistol, Blades looked down the iron sights of his FW-G5s and closed one eye, preparing to 'do him justice'. "Like I said..." he whispered in a mad, climactic tone "Pathetic."