by MillietheWarrior » 02/13/2010 6:27 AM
((-Rubs the back of her head- Er...Ah...Forgive the novel. I just couldn't help myself. xD By boys finally got to see some action.))
Spike sighed. “If they do, then I’ll just throw you at them and run. Then you can discuss ‘knocking out’ techniques,” he muttered, giving Drali a wide berth and a wary glance. He stared down the hill, his gaze slowly roving over the thugs they’d brought with them. They seemed preoccupied with the cages and their captives, so Spike wasn’t worried about being spotted; besides, he was fairly sheltered by the massive form of Drali. It would be rather hard for them to see him even if they tried. His gaze quickly switched to the politicians and he frowned; this was a delicate operation. He’d need to tread carefully. He beckoned for Tracyn to follow, hand waving impatiently as he silently told her to hurry it up. As they neared the camp, the two politicians, who had been speaking to one another in hushed tones and extravagant gestures, immediately turned to see their ‘guide’ returning with an extra person.
Spike lifted his hand and tipped off a smart two fingered salute. “Good evening, sirs,” he said suavely, trying to sound as intelligent and diplomatic as he could. “Commander 665, Spike, at your service. I’m afraid it’s come to my attention that your hunting illegally on Republic held territory.” The first politician, Gold Man, as Spike had dubbed him, turned with slow menace to Tracyn, giving her a disdainful look. Maroon Man seemed the more diplomatic of the two, and put on a rather innocent face which didn’t suit a politician in the least. “Commander. We were informed of your presence here, but we never thought we’d actually have the pleasure of meeting you face to face.” He was lying through his teeth, and Spike wasn’t an idiot.
“I am Senator Skeena Ha. This is my colleague, Senator Dorum Kai. I’m afraid to inform you that you have been mislead; we’re not conducting any hunt of any sort here. We’re merely on a rather pleasant two-day outing; we’ve heard this part of the planet was lovely this time of year, and it certainly has not disappointed.” He smiled in a way Spike didn’t quite like. “May I ask where you received that preposterous information?” Spike tilted his head, before he reached up to lift his helmet off and tuck it under his arm. The two senators had given him their full attention now, and both seemed somewhat surprised to see his face; it always surprised people to know he was flesh and blood like them, and not a droid. “My colleague here,” he said, purposefully using the same word the senator had used when describing his oily looking partner.
“Has informed me of your intentions. And I am afraid I cannot abide by them. I’m going to ask you to vacate the premises. If you refuse to cooperate, I will have no choice but to use force to remove you. My apologies senators. You will be accomodated at the base until transport arrives to take you back to Coruscant.” Spike watched as Dorum Kai’s face slowly turned white with anger; Skeena Ha looked rather amused, hands folded lightly over his stomach. “Commander, I must insist that these allegations are preposterously out of sorts. Our so-called guide is obviously intent on misleading you. I’m afraid she’s rather unreliable and only in it for the money. She obviously intends to benefit from this monetarily in some way.”
He shot a dark look in Tracyn’s direction, and Spike resisted the urge to chuckle. This was going rather well. He shifted from foot to foot as the silence became palpable. Would Tracyn react and blow the operation? Spike certainly hoped not; unfortunately, his attention had wavered from Dorum Kai as he took a discreet step back. Spike didn’t notice the way the man subtly reached into the oversized sleeve of his elaborate, brocaded robe, or the way he slowly tilted something inside his sleeve in Tracyn’s direction until it was too late and the shot had been fired.
-------
Duke was too good at what he did to be thrown off for long by a strange, disembodied voice inside his helmet. “Your that woman’s friend then,” he said, deadpan as he moved silently among the low lying brush of the forest. He blinked, bringing up the image of the man in gray; scruffy, scraggly, probably late forties, with a multitude of weapons hidden beneath his cloak. “Very well,” he said quietly, instinctively keeping his voice low, even though it was impossible for anyone outside the helmet to hear him. Duke tilted his head. “You can see me?” he asked, scrolling through the schematics of the terrain. He’d trained here multiple times, running up and down the landscape as he went through his training exercises. Duke was grateful for the information, but an enemy was an enemy; it didn’t matter if they had family or not. If they tried to kill him, he would return the favor and he would do it without remorse. It was a job; nothing personal.
He managed to get to the perimeter of the camp; he could see the captives clearly now, and he quickly diverted his attention to each individual man. Slowly, he drew his blaster from the holster at his hip, calibrating it to specific settings. He breathed softly, voice coming out in no more than a whisper. He forgot about Ziris, about the captives, about everything but him and the man he was about to kill. “Wind, 2 kilometers. Set for recoil. Check the back spring…Ready. Aim…Dead center. Take a killing shot. Don’t let him get up. Head shot….No, turn back to face me, you di’kut…Aiming…Fire.” Duke took a breath, held it, and fired. The gun barely made a sound as it shook his arms backwards. The man in grey didn’t stand a chance; he dropped like a sack of rocks, crumpling to the ground and lying in an unmoving heap. Duke knew without checking that he was dead.
Instantly, the men in green and tan turned towards the spot where the shot had come from; they withdrew sidearm’s from beneath their cloaks, diving for cover as they fired. Duke felt the shots sizzle past his armor, leaving small scorch marks as he leapt to his feet and shimmied behind a tree for cover. Duke brought up Spike’s comm channel, but after a few moments of trying to raise the commander, he knew that Spike was not wearing his helmet. A stupid move on the commander’s part, but Duke wasn’t in a position to speculate on why Spike did what he did. He ducked from behind the tree, firing off a shot at the tan man as he tucked and rolled across the clearing. He could see the captives in the cages; they weren’t taking this well, but then, they weren’t technologically savvy, so it was probably more frightening to see the bright bolts of blue light whizzing back and forth than it was to be stuck in a cage.
“Gotta finish this quick,” Duke whispered, the sound of his own heavy, adrenaline fueled breathing filling his helmet. Instead of darting from the same side of the tree he’d used before, he instead rolled off to the other side, landing in the bushes for cover. The two men continued to fire at the tree, and Duke took steady aim at the tan man this time. “Immobilize him. Try not to take a killing shot. Keep him immobile.” The shot landed square in the man’s shoulder, and he staggered backwards, crying out as the bolt seared through his skin and into his flesh. The blaster flew from his hands, clattering across the earth and landing too far away for him to reach. The man seemed unwilling to try for it anyways; he was writhing and twitching in pain, clutching his shoulder and whimpering. Duke blinked to turn on his outbound audio, and his voice boomed from his helmet over the miniature battlefield.
“This is Theta-007 of the SO Brigade, Republic Special Forces, Theta Squad. Surrender and you will not be harmed. Drop your weapon and come out with your hands in the air.” There was silence; no shots, no talk-back, nothing. Just the sound of the crying and whimpering man who lay rolling on the ground. Then, after a few moments, green man came out from his hiding place, throwing his gun into the air. His hands were held above him, and he looked…tired. Duke had seen that look on plenty of his brothers when they tired of fighting the good fight. “On your knees,” Duke called as he slowly scooted forward on his belly. He reached into his belt pocket without looking and pulled out four plastoid ties; he’d need those now. He lifted to his feet, rifle still trained on the two men, and stepped forward. Green man watched him with a beleaguered look. “Republic forces, huh?” he said quietly. “Guess this wasn’t as legal as they made it out to be. You gonna help my buddy?”
Duke didn’t say a word as he tired the man’s hands together, and then his feet. He grabbed him by the back of his cloak and dragged him to his downed colleague, whose feet and hands he also tied. The man was still writhing, but to his credit, he fell still and silent when Duke turned his faceless t-visor on him. “If you stay still and quiet and don’t cause any more trouble, then I might patch you up after I'm done.” The man just stared up at him with watering eyes, the same tired look his colleague wore nearly smothering any sign of pain he might’ve been feeling. Duke snorted, slinging his rifle over his back, and trotted over to the cages. He didn’t have time to search for the keys. “Stand back,” He said as he reached the first cage, the one with the mother and two children in it. He aimed his rifle at the lock, and took a clear and precise shot. The lock whizzed through the air to land with a thud in the dirt behind him. “Get yourselves out,” he said dispassionately, as he moved on to the next cage and did the same. He certainly hoped the commander and his consort were faring as well as he was.
As the second lock whizzed over his head, Duke took a moment to grin at the fact that he'd was doing John Wayne proud. Man, he was cool.
[46/6]
I love adventurous tales like that. That uplifting feeling that comes from seeing unknown lands and the knowledge that you came across—nothing can replace it! It opens a path from which self-confidence, experience, and important friendships—from the sharing of life or death situations—are born! But hearing it just isn’t the same. I want to create my own magnificent story!
A great adventure! +Imp. Documents+ +Menagerie+ +Wishlist+ +Journal+