‘I am once again floating over some forsaken backwater planet, with a group of people who are likely to get me killed one of these days. I mean for heaven’s sake there are only five of us now; a one woman death zone, an eye colour schizophrenic, the elusive red head and the unknown one who is now partly in charge.’ The thoughts within Karash’s mind were as cutting as usual. 

The rest of the squad was scattered around the ship, Havock and Jaenna were in the cockpit and Bright and Verkur were sitting not too far from Karash. The acting ASL had made attempts to talk to other members of the squad however they were currently dealing with a boatload of other stuff. Karash and Bright were not talkative around people that they do not know, Jae and Hav also were also struggling with their own stuff. There was one thing that they all knew the others were thinking about but no one dared to speak about it.

“Okay guys, we are next in line, get your gear together and get ready to head out. Once we land I want us to get a transport to the Paradise Mist Hotel, that's our first objective.” The squad leader emerged from her den and spoke before returning to her previous state.

“Oh I cannot wait” Karash did speak as quietly as he could but he was sure the others had heard him, though still they remained silent.

It hadn’t even been that long since his funeral and the RAIDERS have been sent to planet full of another kind of fish people, ‘Bloody fish people...Now stop you are only going to make things worse’. What was really annoying Karash was that they were only here because of some fancy necklace that did some energy thing, nobody seemed happy to be there and Karash certainly was not.

“Could they land this thing in any more of an awkward way?” The landing was fine and no one was listening but if he continued to think in the way he was, it would not be worth him getting off the ship.

There couldn’t be long left now until they were given their orders to disembark and go and get the necklace, then they would be able to go home and wallow in their own depression. ‘You know there was nothing you could have done to stop it, the shot had hit him square in the chest. He would of been dead within minutes and if you had intervened others would had died as well’. Karash could feel his eyes filling up again, but he would not let it get to him, not again, not in front of everyone because that would mean they would all know and was not good enough.

“Right everybody get yourselves sorted and then wait for further orders, don’t all of you look that happy at once we could get arrested for drug smuggling.” Havock tried an attempt at humour.

“Well that was...” Karash did not get to finish his sentence as his voice audibly cracked; Hav looked over at him and must have seen his now wet cheeks as her expression visibly changed.

‘Well done, now they will all know’, the medic then rushed into another room of the ship and bolted himself in, then just sat and thought to himself. One of his first friends in the army had died, one which he hated more often than not but one which had always been loyal and brave and stupid at times.

‘He is gone and it was your entire fault’ this time a more wicked voice boomed in Karash’s head.

“Sure, let’s go find where they load the cargo on that thing.” Hav said pointing to a transport ship that was docked on the coast.

Verk raised an eyebrow from behind his sunglasses. “Right. Well seeing as how we have reservations at the hotel, we might as well find a legitimate transport. Give me a few moments, I’ll be right back.”

Pulling his hat over his head and fixing his glasses, Verk waded into the crowd to find a more suitable ride to the Paradise Mist. It wasn’t long before he found a ride. It was expensive, but with the funds Verk had accumulated over the years the price meant nothing to him. Several moments he returned to the squad who had decided to find some shade and enjoy a quick snack from one of the many shops.

“Well, when you’re all done with your snack I found us a ride. Leaves as soon as we get back.” Verk said grabbing his pack and slinging it over one shoulder.

“Good. Let’s get going. These crowds are starting to bug me.” Bright said glaring at a few of the tourists as they walked by.

A short trudge through the crowded docks and the RAIDERS finally came to the boat. It was a medium sized yacht and would do nicely in getting the group to the hotel quickly and safely.

“If you’re group is ready Mr. Verkur we can be off as soon as you want.” The boatman said from the ships side.

“Good, set off as soon as everyone is on board.”

“Aye aye sir.”

The trip took only an hour, but the sites along the way were amazing. Minus a few heaves over the side for the sea sick, the trip went smoothly. The group soon arrived at the hotel and they quickly made their way inside.

“Welcome to the Paradise Mist Hotel. How can I help you?” The receptionist said.

“We have a reservation.” Hav said to the girl.

“Ah one moment please. Yes, looks like you have four rooms. Here are you’re keys.”

OOC:

Short and sweet, Someone divide up the rooms amongst the five of us.

Bright found her rooms comfortable enough. She didn't mind being alone. Alone was what she wanted just now. She didn't like to show it much, but she felt the loss of Grahim as hard as the others. She'd hunted with him, she'd, fought beside him, and it could have been her dying instead of him. She looked up at herself in the refresher mirror. She practically looked like a ghost.

She straightened, startled. When had she gotten so pale? She brought a hand up to her face. She looked like she did back when she had that disease that had nearly crippled her. And that was a time she didn't want to remember. There was one good thing though. Bright had known Verkur a little bit back then. She knew he was a good man and she would trust him with her life. Like she had trusted Grahim. She hoped vehemently that Verk didn't end up the same way.

========
Bright looked around the lobby stoically. Her mind had finally settled down after a nice hot shower. She wasn't entirely sure that her previous annoyance would stay locked away for the duration of the mission but she was sure that she could keep herself from knocking heads together. She noticed with slight satisfaction and a little surprise that she had managed to turn a few heads, but she had thrown it up to the necklace she had draped around her neck.

Made from emeralds and sapphires taken from the personal stores of a certain hutt, Bright's necklace had been made for her after the success of the heist that had lead to a rather long and tedious trip around the galaxy. She still remembered the day that She and her partner had pulled it off. She smiled nostalgically and fingered the prized possession. This necklace was hers, she had bled for it. Over the years she had been hunted for it. She wasn't even sure she should have brought it with her on this run, but she felt it was time to break it out again.

"It is rather beautiful." A familiar voice said sitting across from her. Bright brought her violet eyes to bear on the man before her. She smiled and winked at him.

"You know, Verk, you look rather debonair in that suit." She grinned as he scowled for a moment.

Loosing the scowl he smiled and mock bowed from his sitting position. "Where did you get it?" He asked as he watched a young woman pass by.

Bright smiled and let her hand drop the arm of her plush chair. "I received it from a friend of a friend." Bright wasn't about to delve that deeply into her own past. She flapped her hand at him and stood. Her eyes had focused on a knot of young men that had seemed to stop everything they were doing and look up at two women as the passed.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. "Well at least for the moment they seem to be smiling." She said indicating for Verkur's sake, Havock and Jaenna. "And do yourself a favor, don't stare at them." With that she turned and headed in the direction of an elderly man with the countenance of a noble.

"Wait where are you going?" Verkur asked.

Bright looked over her shoulder at him. "I'm going to go talk to that man." She said pointing out the noble. "I hear he's a fine jeweler and I don't believe I've ever had my necklace appraised." She winked and left Verkur to ponder what he would do when he finally had to face Jae again.

=======

"Young lady, I have to say, this beautiful piece of work is one of the most genuine I have seen a long time." Lord Baron Travist from the planet Kegan said. His hands were steady as he examined Bright's necklace. What impressed her the most was the fact that he wasn't grabby. "May I ask where you acquired it?"

Bright, of course, fed him a fake and yet completely believable tale. She played to his vanity and his pride as a jeweler and as a noble. She knew Kegan nobles. And she knew that he had already taken her for a Bakuran noble. It wasn't really all that hard to play this game. Though Bright was surprised at how easily it had come this time. Her adoptive parents would be proud if they could see her now.

OOC:

Ok a little bit of CD, and I have added a character that could possibly help locate our fun little necklace that isn't really a necklace.

"Watch it!"

She slammed into a socialite holding a glass of spirits which was now empty and the liquid was sliding down his expensive coat. Havock muttered an apology and kept stomping. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do once she was there. Her brain screamed at her to stop, that she was drawing attention to herself, but she knew that if she did stop the tears would come.

A strong hand grabbed her forearm and she spun around almost taking out a twi'lek waiter carrying drinks and punching the woman holding her arm. Her fist jerked backwards as her brain registered the identity of the person who had halted her march.

Jaenna didn't speak she kept a tight grip on the squad leaders arm and dragged her to a secluded spot between the main ballroom and the restaurant adjacent to it. The back of Havock's head banged into the thick steel wall, but she barely felt is as she tried to get her emotions under control.

"What the hell is it, Ayme? You were walking around out there like a crazy person."

Deep breaths slowly filled and left her lungs as she stood with her head down and eyes closed. She could feel the stinging in her eyes as the tears threatened to fall.

Jaenna shook her again. "Ayme."

She opened her eyes to slits and looked into the blue eyes that were swimming with concern and anger. "I'm going to kill him." She growled and attempted to push past her lover before she was slammed back into the wall.

"Who are you killing? Is it Verk? I'll let you go if its Verk."

Havock rolled her eyes, "No. It's Karash."

Jaenna raised her eyebrow, and the two just stared at each other for several minutes. "Okay, I give up. What did Karash do?"

"He..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away quickly. She had to swallow hard to keep from just breaking down. They didn't have time for this, she needed to get this under control before they were found out and the shit hit the fan. "He killed Grahim."

A flash of anger came across the steel blue eyes but she quickly glanced away then shook her head. "There's more to that, there has to be. Kar wouldn't do that if there wasn't a reason."

A waitress walked by and glanced at the two women curiously but continued on her way to the restaurant.

She sighed. "He said that when he got to him, Grahim was gonna die, he was in pain. He gave him an overdose of stims."

Jaenna gripped her hands, her face turning red. Havock wasn't sure what prompted her own reaction to the news. In a way she understood what Karash had done, he had put their friend out of his misery. Grahim was in pain and his injuries were fatal. She had enough medical training to know that Karash was probably right, especially given their location in the middle of no-where. It gnawed at her that it was Grahim though.

With a slam, Jae's fist hit the wall to Havock's right. They both looked at her fist, which was sitting in a nice-sized dent, for a long moment before Hav spoke. "Babe, umm, I'm with you on the frustration, but could we be in a submersible with its own air supply before you punch a hole through the wall?"

They both smirked at each other as much as they could given the gravity of what they had just discovered.

When they returned to the ballroom the number of guests seemed to increase. There was barely room to walk around, although a few seemed to be preparing to move on to the restaurant or the bar or some other venue in the hotel. Havock remembered thinking the spa didn't sound like an awful place to gather intel.

"Hey Jaenna." Verkur stepped up to the two women but kept his eyes on the crowd around them. Havock tried to shoot him the 'for the love of god not now' look, but he seemed to be missing the message.

Jae growled and muttered something about getting a drink before walking off.

"Yea, better luck next time Verk." She could see Brightstar talking to someone, they seemed to be examining a necklace of some kind. "I'm going to see what Bright's up to. Comm me if you see Karash."

Havock walked in the direction of Brightstar and the wealthy looking man. She brushed past Jaenna at a small bar that had been set up in the ballroom. "Hey, I'm going over there to check on Bright. You okay?"

She drank down the small drink in one gulp. "He was trying to help, I get that. I don't like it, I hate it in fact. But if I had been the one dieing..."

"If it had been you he killed he would already be dead." Havock answered quickly with no hesitation. "Try to be nice to the ASL, I'll be right back."

OOC:

Havvie's gonna check out this jeweler guy with Bright. Karash is still in his quarters, Jae is at a bar in the ballroomy area and Verk is in the ballroom. Hav is still pissed at Karash but give her a couple of posts and she'll do her best to get over it

"We have 24 suites and one luxury apartment here, which I mapped out in the data I just sent you. Now if we continue down this corridor I can show you your room and then you can find your friends." Tracey Anderson walked quickly with her datatablet in had pointing at things as they passed and nodding at guests and employees.

It was a long straight corridor with doors lining either side which led to pod-like rooms. The man trying to keep up with her simply listened to her ramble on about so called interesting facts about the hotel. Anderson was the manager and owner after her father died. It had been his dream to have a facility like this under the ocean to study the wildlife, she didn't see the harm in making some credits while they were at it.

"Here we are." Skarr looked up to see a door just like all the others with the number "10" etched in the transperristeel. "Now if there is anything you are you friends need, please ask. And enjoy your stay at Paradise Mist." With a final smile she cheerfully turned and returned to the lobby.

Skarr dropped off his gear and changed then headed towards the noise that was in the ballroom.

It was a sea of people coming and going, a band had set up and was playing their instruments so that a fast paced tune could be heard lightly over the chatter.  He started to walk through the cluster of people looking for his squadmates, whom he'd only ever seen in pictures from their bios on his datapad.

Verkur was getting bored. He pulled out his datapad while he shook his head in the direction of Jaenna. A message was flashing that was addressed to both him and Havock. "New trooper, huh?" He muttered to himself. He read through the profile and nodded, glancing over to where Havock and Brightstar were still charming some overly dressed up man.

A man brushed past him that caught his attention. Verkur looked at the man, who seemed to be making a b-line towards his squad leader, and then back to the datapad. "Woah, hold on there buddy." He reached out and grabbed the man he was pretty sure was Skarr by the shoulder. "Just where do you think you're going in such a rush?"

"None of...oh sir." Skarr looked like he could have snapped to attention but Verkur's glare reminded him they were undercover. "Norith Skarr, sir."

"Verkur, or just Verk. Keep up that 'sir' stuff and you're going to get us caught. Havock's busy, but once she's done I'm sure she'll say hello. Whatever you do don't get on that one's bad side." He pointed quickly to Jaenna and rolled his eyes. "For now, stick with me or mingle, we need to find out where this scientist is that has the trinket we are looking for. Got it?"

=====

Havock sat down at the bar next to Jaenna but looked back at Bright. "Okay so we can narrow down what he said to three potentials. We can assume whoever actually is transporting the thing is probably staying under the radar like we are."

Jaenna turned to look at the two women and casually handed Havock a Corellian Ale. "Right, so I guess that conversation went well then?"

Bright raised her eyebrow at the two of them but continued. "How are we going to find out who those three people are? All we have are descriptions from a jeweler."

"Hello ladies." Verkur came walking up with a man standing next to him that none of them recognized. They all seemed to straghten at the same time prepared to whip out the aliases once again. "This is Skarr, he's with us now. Havvie you've got mail." He pointed at her pocket that contained the datapad.

"Riiight. Well hi there Skarr, we were just trying to figure out how to ID someone when we have only their description and nothing else. Suggestions?"

He looked at all the faces for a moment and shrugged. "You could ask that manager lady."

Every eye turned to him and stared for a long moment. It was Verkur that spoke first. "What manager lady?"

"The manager of the hotel, Tracey Ander-something, she walked me in. Couldn't stop talking about this place, I'm pretty sure she knows every person staying here, seems to be all she thinks about."

"Heh, not bad, so we go talk to the manager about her guests, without making her suspicious. Easy." Havock smirked and got a half-hearted glare from Jaenna. "What? We've come up with worse plans."

OOC:

Skarr is with us in the hotel, tada! Skarr if I did anything wrong with your guy just let me know and I'll edit lickety-split. Carry on!

“Stand up straight will you?”

Mai snarled audibly in response to the demand of the Stormtrooper to her left and continued to slump against the intricately decorated wall of one of the many corridors of the Paradise Mist Hotel. The Stormtrooper, known to friends and enemies alike as Corporal Trent ‘Blabbermouth’ Kift of the Vast Empire Army, lowered his rifle from its rigid and proper place across his armored chest and took a threatening step towards his lax colleague, “Stand up damnit! That’s an order!”

Mai regarded him lazily for a moment before responding, “I don’t take orders from morons.”

“What?!” Mai could practically hear Kift sputter in indignation beneath his helmet, “What did you just call me?”

“A moron,” Mai replied silkily, trailing a tongue across her pointed fangs in anticipation of a potential fight, “Would you like me to repeat it again?”

“What the hell is going on out here?” The door to the hotel suite hissed open to reveal the anxious face of an Imperial aide. The man was young and new to his post, and as such hadn’t eased up since boarding the shuttle alongside his new employer. He placed both of his pasty hands on his hips and tilted his head up in an almost comic display to regard the two taller Stormtroopers, “The Major is sleeping! I do not want him disturbed!”

“Yessir!” Kift snapped into a salute immediately, “Apologies sir.”

The aide shot a withering look at Mai, still slumped against the wall and jabbed a finger out in her direction, “You’ve been nothing but trouble on this trip. I’ll be sure to let your superiors know when we get back to Tadath.”

Mai didn’t deign to respond to the threat which seemed to infuriate the little human all the more. His face purpling, the aide span back to address Kift, “Keep her in line, and for the god’s sake keep her quiet!”

The hotel suite door hissed shut to leave both troopers standing in abrupt silence. Kift shuffled back around so he was positioned in place on the left side of the door, forgoing his usual snide comment in the face of the aide’s threat to Mai’s position.  In his mind a reprimand from even a lowly officer’s aide was a black mark on his record that he would work double as hard for to expunge.  He simply could not perceive why his Cathar comrade consistently talked back to and disobeyed superior officers when the urge took her.  It was uncivilized. And not entirely out of place for someone of her...ethnicity.

Mai was more than aware of Kift’s racist mindset, but was not entirely affronted by it. The Vast Empire for all its propaganda of unification was a breeding ground for humans, and as such, bore the marks of bigotry. It was an aspect of the organization that Mai had come to accept alongside her alien brethren, for although the majority of the enlisted played nice there were always the select few that went out of their way to make life difficult for those they were ultimately frightened of.  What irritated her about Kift, and indeed about the obese Major sleeping in the room beyond, was that neither man had proven themselves on a field of war. For all their ranting straight from the manual about sacrifice, neither had bled for a single cause throughout the course of their lifetimes and during their service for the VE. Kift might hold himself to be a beacon of civility in his mind but to Mai he was just another idiot with a gun who didn’t have to guts to dare look out from behind the indoctrination of the army to think for himself.

“...we have 24 suites and one luxury apartment here, which I mapped out in the data I just sent you.”

Mai flicked her gaze down the corridor to where a man and woman were walking towards them, the woman striding out in front with a datapad in hand. She finally straightened out of her slump as the duo meandered down the corridor towards their position, the woman still chatting away amicably to her companion, “Now if we continue down this corridor I can show you your room and then you can find your friends.”

The man trailing in her wake swept past Mai without a backward glance, but Mai’s eyes followed him until he disappeared about the corner. There was something notably ‘off’ about the human male that had immediately set her on edge. For all his perceived serenity his eyes had constantly flicked about the corridor to take his bearings, and his gaze had settled just a little too long on herself and Kift as he’d noticed their presence. The majority of individuals throughout the galaxy averted their eyes in the face of a Stormtrooper, but the stranger had seemed surprised, even interested in them. Interest implied familiarity.  Spurred by curiosity, Mai forced a degree of politeness into her voice and turned to Kift, “I was thinking I should do a lap of the corridors, check security measures. If that’s alright by you that is.”

Kift’s head tilted in obvious confusion at her manner, “Yeah...that sounds like a good idea. Don’t be too long though.”

I’ll take as long as I like...moron. Mai bared her teeth beneath her helmet at the Corporal and turned to trace the steps of the peculiar hotel guest. It wasn’t a hunt, that was for sure. But it was something to kill the boredom for the time being, and for someone who had become accustomed to the dreary life of the ‘normal corps’ any change in schedule was a welcome occurrence.

Verk stopped abruptly and grabbed Bright’s arm to stop her as well when he heard Skarr’s voice over the comm.. “She’s got a blaster!” Verk turned quickly and saw as the woman brew her blaster and raised it, following the barrel he saw Hav and Jae walking right into trouble and they had no idea, at least not yet. Looking around the room Verk tried to think of something quick before Hav and Jae got hurt or worse, their little vaction would be ended quickly by lots of rushing water.

“Bright, take this please, and if you could hit the lights so she can’t see Havock and Jaenna that would be wonderful.” Verk said pulling off his jacket and handing it to Bright. Bright nodded and headed off in the direction of the light switch, her dress flapping behind her as she pushed through the oblivious crowd of guests.

Picking up his own comm. he yelled to Skarr, “Try and get Havs attention. She gets any closer and we are going to have other issues to deal with then just that necklace.”

Without waiting for a response Verk started pushing and shoving his way towards Malerie. The other guests were quite annoyed at all the pushing and shoving, but too bad for them. It was odd how no one noticed that someone had a blaster and was getting ready to fire it. Just goes to show how ignorant civilians are.

“Excuse me miss but I don’t think weapons are allowed here.” Verk said as he finally got to Malerie.

Turning to face Verk, Malerie pointed the blaster at him, he now being the closer threat. Sadly for Malerie however, Verk had the quicker reflexes and close quarter combat skills. She was way out of her league. Stepping forward and at an angle Verk closed the gap between himself and the blaster as well as getting out of its line of fire. Malerie pivoted and pointed the gun to Verks new location, who then stepped to the side again, putting himself right next to Malerie. Reaching out Verk grabbed her wrist, twisting and forcing her to drop the gun, grabbing her elbow he pulled her arm behind her back forcing her into a submissive positon.

“Now, as I said before. I don’t think weapons are allowed here.”

The lights flicked back on. It all happened so fast. The room was practically teeming with energy, that special kind of energy. It was that electric feeling she had when she was involved in something that was going on while everyone else carried on with their normal mundane routine. They drank their cocktails and idly chattered along while Havock's brain spun. Her finger slowly clicking off the comlink as her eyes danced over the image of her new ASL forcing a woman in a very elegant dress to the floor by her wrist.

Of course that wasn't the only thing going on. She also had Jaenna next to her growling, ready to pounce the decoy that would have taken a pot shot at them if Verkur hadn't arrived so quickly. There was the noob, Skarr, knocking guest over since the momentum he built up trying to stop Malerie was still propelling him forward. Brightstar was chasing the actual companion to the necklace through the hotel. And finally, there was the heart-broken medic locked in his room. One hell of a day indeed, she smirked to herself, she was loving every second.

A crowd was starting to assemble and she could see security teams and the owner walking briskly towards Verkur. "You're gonna love this, Babe." She whispered to Jaenna who, despite her very volatile mood, shot her a confused expression.

Havock didn't miss a beat. She kicked the hold-out blaster which had come to rest on the hard-wood floor of the ballroom. It spun as it slid across the floor unnoticed by the tipsy patrons until it stopped safely under the bartender's stock of alcohol. She shot Verk a sympathetic look a second before she punched him, hard in the jaw. She quickly grabbed his shirt collar and slammed him up against the bar. "Dammit, Vince I said it was over. If you don't stop this jealousy crap I'll tell the courts I need a restraining order." She pushed him hard and released him. Malerie slowly rose to her original upright position and smartly kept quiet. She had no desire to make a scene either, as Havock suspected.

"Is there a problem here?" Tracey Anderson, the owner, came quickly tapping up to the group in her very high heels.

"I don't know, is there a problem Vince?" Havock winked quickly at him as the last syllable left her lips.

Verk narrowed his gaze, not loving this idea. "No, I'll stay out of your way...Alanna. We're through." With that he walked off grabbing a very confused Skarr by the arm and leading him away. He was watching the scene with several other patrons all in utter confusion.

"I do apologize ma'am."

Havock shrugged. "Its fine, I don't think he's stupid enough to bother me again. Let's go, Malerie." She grabbed the woman's hand and squeezed so hard she felt her knee buckle in a vain attempt of escape. They walked across the ballroom, until they reached the same small alcove that Brightstar had just gone through following Sara.

Jaenna turned and took a few steps backwards, scanning the crowd. "Clear," she muttered.

Havock nodded and slammed Malerie against the wall. "So beautiful, tell me. Why were you about to shoot me and my lady friend here?" Her voice sang with all the venom she remembered from her childhood. It was way too easy to slip into this role, it was useful, but it also scared the shit out of her. This was the demon that lived in her nightmares and she hated that she needed to let it out to just to get some information.

"Look, this woman paid my way for a few days. She gave me this stupid necklace and told me to wear it."

Havock sized her up, that sounded like the truth. Now to see if they could figure out what they were dealing with. "Who did she work for?"

"Nobody, she's a scientist at some university."

Well that was probably half true, but certainly all this woman knew. "I'm ending your employment. Go back to your quarters, look at the pretty fishes and order room service. Tomorrow, leave. Deviate from those instructions, all that they will find is that pretty necklace."

The woman sneered and scurried down the hall towards the junction that would lead back to the guests quarters. Havock continued to stare at the wall where Malerie had just been. She closed her eyes and lifted her comlink. "Verk, report."

A slightly agitated voice came back to her a second later. "Vallista just seems to be flirting with whichever guy is wearing the most expensive suit. I don't think she's a threat. And Skarr has a friend, apparently there is an army reg out here that followed him home."

"Adorable. See what our army friend knows, if anything. Jaenna and I are going to help Bright. Hav out." The fist holding the comlink came down and smacked her thigh. She took one more deep breath with her eyes closed then opened them to find twin blue orbs looking at her. Only one person in the whole of the galaxy would have understood all of the horrible things rushing though Havock's mind at that moment, and just her luck that one person was standing right in front of her.

"We need to catch up to Bright." Havock whispered slowly.

Jaenna nodded. "Are you alright? And don't bull shit me, I know when you're just trying to shut people up because you don't want to talk, Ayme."

A slow but grateful smirk spread across Havock's face. "I'm fine, babe."

"Good, now we can go."

Mai had stalked the military-esque figure to the ballroom but had resisted the urge to follow him onto the dance floor.  In hindsight, the choice to remain near the buffet table had proven fortunate as well as logical, for at her higher vantage point she perceived a great deal more about the ensuing drama in the middle of the floor between a few select people, including her prey. It didn’t take her long to pinpoint the other members of quarry’s party. It was not that they failed to adequately embrace the cover that they had obviously created...but a combination of other smaller, less conspicuous signs that gave them away. The ‘too straight’ bearing of the younger members that had been beaten into them during their stint at a military training center. The quick hands and determined strides and they reacted to and dealt with the problems that had seemingly arisen during their assignment.  And there was the smell. An unmistakable tang of armor polish that seemed to seep into the very pores of soldiers. To Mai it was as vivid a scent as sewerage, though a far more welcome one at that.

She watched calmly as one of the peculiar group swung a fist into one of her comrade’s jaw, drawing attention away from the hold out blaster which had spun unnoticed to the other side of the room. She momentarily lost sight of the woman as the crowd shifted to make room for a newly arrived security team who wasted no time swerving through bodies towards the center of the disturbance. By the time the crowd settled again she had lost sight of the entire group, except her original target who was now being dragged towards a side exit by the man who had just taken a beating. Mai hesitated for only the barest of moments, briefly considering returning back to Kift and her dreary post. The thought banished as quickly as it had come and she roughly shoved a large woman out of the way and swept after them. She caught the duo as they paused in the empty entryway to one of the side corridors. Both looked up and stiffened immediately as they became aware of her presence. The elder of the two, with a patch of black fur on her head addressed her,

“Can I help you?”

“Interesting.” Mai purposely shifted her rifle so it rested in a non-threatening position at her side, “I was about to ask you the same question.”

“Look,” The man cut off something his companion was about to say with a curt motion of his hand, and stood forward, “I think you have us confused with someone else.”

“No,” Mai used her spare hand to remove her helmet, “I most definitely do not. I wouldn’t have bothered to follow your friend otherwise.”

The man’s fists tightened involuntarily at his side, though his expression remained calm, “What do you want?”

“My name is Mai Shyrr. Lance Corporal. Vast Empire Army.” Mai flashed both sets of her fangs in a clear imitation of a human smile, “And I want in on whatever you’re doing.”

“Even if I were inclined to believe you, which I’m not, and even if I were willing to tell you what I’m doing, which is nothing, I wouldn’t need your help,” The man turned back to his companion, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“An assumption like that could prove to be a fatal mistake in the near future,” Mai called softly to the soldiers retreating back, “I assure you, I’m very good at what I do.”

The man cursed as a few nearby residents of the hotel looked over curiously in their direction before spinning back about and striding back to Mai.  He jabbed a finger at her armored chest, “I don’t need a scene.”

“I’m just curious,” Mai replied silkily, “A genetic component of my species that I can’t quite shake. I’m not feeling particularly malicious but I assume you don’t want you cover blown.”

The man growled in a very Cathar-like manner before waving his companion back over, “Skarr, keep an eye on her for a moment would you?” He walked a few meters away behind the relative cover of the archway and pulled a comlink free of his jacket pocket. Mai waited calmly while he conversed with someone on the other end, ignoring the openly probing stare of Skarr as he took in her slanted eyes and short fur. After a short while Skarr’s companion walked back towards her, “Alright, you and I are going to have a little talk. Skarr, go mingle.”

“As you wish,” Mai stood aside to let Skarr walk past, “But I have a condition. A name would be appreciated.”

The man regarded her for a moment, seemingly searching for signs of duplicity. Eventually he shrugged his shoulders and let some of the tension residing there bleed out from his posture,

“Name’s Verkur.”

The pieces of the puzzle in Mai’s mind snapped into place with this single piece of information. She sniffed in satisfaction before replying, “You’re Vast Empire too.”

Verkur immediately regained his stiff demeanor, one hand snapping to where a weapon was hidden amongst the folds of his clothing, “How do you know that?”

“Service roles in the barracks,” Mai countered, her own hand tightening in reassurance about her blaster at the potential danger, “I memorized all the names.”

“You were a Jester too?” Verkur’s interest was evident despite his struggle to appear indifferent, “Who did you serve under?”

More than aware that the question served as a test as well as a genuine inquiry Mai didn’t skimp on the details, “Originally under Jikkyo Nimichi, though he preferred the name Angel. Then under Jegora Fal. I was transferred back to the corps when the squad was disbanded.”

“I was sorry to hear about that...” Verkur faltered mid sentence, his eyes flicking over to where Skarr had disappeared back into the throng of the ballroom crowd, “...where in the hell has he gone.”

“He’s still there,” Mai offered, taking a deep breath of the air, “But something’s wrong.”

“What?” Verkur seemed torn between charging into the crowd and hearing her out, “How can you tell?”

“I can smell him,” Mai bared her teeth again in expectancy, feeling a tingle travel up the length of her spine at the change in events “He’s excited. Or terrified. Either way his heartbeat has increased and he’s perspiring.”

“Damnit,” Verkur ‘s hand snapped back to his thigh, “Come on. Let’s go find him.”

The light played shadows across their face as it filtered through the water. If they weren't on their way to help Brightstar, Havock may have stopped to look at the rather remarkable transparent wall that surrounded them in the hallway. It was a short jog that joined the ballroom to the observation deck. The circular, all glass enclosure gave guests a panoramic view of the surrounding ocean.

The two women slowed their pace as they reached the open and surprisingly empty room. "Where are they?"

Jaenna's voice bounced off the previously silent walls. Fish and various submersibles could be seen carrying on withe their daily routine, just as oblivious to the RAIDERS as the rich patrons in the ballroom. Havock scanned the room, there had to be something they were missing. They both followed Bright into a one way tunnel, there was nowhere else to go but the observation room. She caught herself staring at Jaenna as the other woman walked around the benches and stoops that surrounded the room. Her lower half slamming into one of the benches jolted her out of her stupor.

"You awake, hun?" Jaenna looked across the room with a raised eyebrow and slightly amused look.

Havock sighed. "Yea, sorry. I was just...erm...wait whats that?" She noticed something in the only semi-dark portion of the circular room, it looked like a hatch on the floor. She pushed a tab of carpet to the side and could make out the word 'maintenance' inscribed next to the handle. "Guess we found somewhere they could be."

Jaenna's smirk was unmistakable now. "Fun."

The metal stairs descended into a loud mass of pipes and gears that kept the hotel running. It was remarkable how the sound didn't carry up to the observation deck, it was near deafening. There was little room to move in the windowless room. Machines of all sizes stood in long rows down a open shaft with railings and metal gang planks leading down under the facility. The whole room was probably submerged in the sand at the bottom of the ocean.

One set of boots clanking on the walkway followed the other. "Well, I guess we go that way."

"Amazing sense of direction as always Ayme." Jae rolled her eyes and started in the direction the squad leader had pointed, which also was the only way they could go.

Fifty meters came and went with nothing but pipes and turbines seeming to occupy the space. Havock was almost ready to give up when she heard a sound towards the back of the room. The two women exchanged a glance and picked up the pace. Havock hated that she was in dress clothes. Jaenna made her wear the blasted dress but she refused to go anywhere without at least one blaster. Since a knife had appeared in Jae's had she supposed the other woman felt the same way.

The sight that met them at the end of the walkway stopped both women dead in their tracks.

A woman with glasses and long gray hair tied back in a pony tail stood holding a rather small hold out blaster in her hand, and it was pointed at Brightstar's neck.

"I don't know who you people are...but just leave me alone. You have what you came for, so just leave!" She was twitching and looked thoroughly nervous.

Havock slowly lowered her weapon but didn't drop it yet, since she hadn't been asked to yet. "We have no quarrel with you, just let our friend go."

"I'm just a scientist. I spend my whole day in a lab, okay? I'm not a fighter."

Havock was about to speak when the sound of boots behind her caused her to freeze.

"Nope, she's not a fighter. But I am. Now drop your weapons."

Behind them stood one of the decoys from the ballroom above holding Skarr at gunpoint. To her credit she did have a slightly bigger pistol than the scientist, and now Havock and Jaenna were surrounded. Well at least they were not outnumbered, yet.

OOC:

Doesn't matter to me which of the decoy's the chick with the pistol is, can be a new girl.

Some NPC info for ya'll:

Doctor Vera Snyder - In charge of the development of the energy module. She is the one transporting the module from the Knowles Labs to the corporation. She is definitely the nerdy type and has no mind for strategy and military tactics, she leaves that to Sara. She has stayed the majority of her time in the hotel in the executive suite.

Sara represents the company that wants the energy module. She was sent by the company to set up all of the decoy's and security measures while the module was in transport. She is currently being arrested by Mai (at some point she needs to escape, I'll leave when that is up to you guys maybe she is held in the General's quarters and gets out, feel free to write from Sara's perspective if the mood strikes) 

Bright had wished that the woman holding her wasn't so twitchy. Not to mention she was already in a foul mood having to be seen like this in front of Havock and Jaenna. But when Skarr showed up too she was already near exasperation, the fact that he was also held at blaster point gave her little comfort.

She shifted in the other woman's hold trying to ease the pain of the shot to her lower abdomen just above her right hip. She knew that for now the others couldn't see it because it was too shadowy in the matainence tunnel they were in. Nor would she tell them that she was wounded. Bright scowled even more as she caught Skarr's eye. She'd been unprepared for her captor to have a weapon and for her to even have the know how to shoot it. Bright had been taken off guard and paid the price.

Elbowing the woman hard in the ribs Bright brought her hand up in time to grab the blaster before the woman hit the floor. In moments she was shooting at Malerie, so were Hav and Jae. Bright was satisfied to see Malerie stumble as she made her escape, she didn't care who had actually gotten that shot in.

Bright could feel droplets of sweat forming on her brow and her upper lip and she could feel the blood drain from her face. "Oh." she said as she but a hand up to steady herself.

Havock turned with a scowl to look at Bright. Though it did disappear the moment she laid eyes on the red head. "Bright?" She asked

Bright couldn't hide that Malerie had managed to get her too as it was plainly visible on the sleavles part of her dress. Her left shoulder had a still smoking hole blown into the spot where the joints met.  "Just shock and adrenaline working together to try and make me vomit." Bright said grinning.

"That is not funny, D'Jonoc." Jae said as she steadied the swaying sergeant. "Another five inches to the right and we'd be talking to a corpse. Havvie, check her right hip too. She's favoring it."

That made Bright grumble. "Damn, nursemaids." She mumbled and closed her eyes. "I need to get out of this tunnel." She said swooning again.

OOC:

OK Bright has finally got a serious wound and now Karash can finally be used. Anyway I gotta gett to work. Have fun with this guys. Just don't annoy Bright about it. She doen't like being picked on.

“Goddam new bloods,” Verkur muttered under his breath as Skarr turned about and sprinted from sight, “Always so eager to prove themselves.  Can’t just slow it down and think things through.”

“Be that as it may,” Mai didn’t remove her gaze from the group of four unknowns currently held at gunpoint before her, “I’d like some advice as to what you’d like me to do from here on in.”

Verkur flicked his gaze back to their captives, then to the hotel security team making their way towards their position. He gestured to the human female in their midst, “Get her out of here. Somewhere safe nearby. I’ll deal with this mess. It will be too difficult explaining your presence in that armor.”

Mai nodded once in agreement before closing a steely grip about the arm of the woman. Ignoring the yelp of pain from her captive, Mai dragged her forcefully away from Verkur and the others and towards the edge of the dancefloor.

“Ow, damnit, let go of me!” The woman squirmed ferociously in Mai’s grasp, attempting to worm her way free and only succeeding in bruising the soft flesh of her skin. In a desperate bid to draw attention to her predicament she ceased her struggling and raised her voice instead, “Help! Take your hands off me!”

“That’s quite enough,” Mai reholstered her rifle in favor of a combat knife which she flicked into her hand and positioned across the back of the woman’s neck. The effect was instantaneous, causing her captive to immediately still and clamp her mouth shut. Blood spilled across the gleaming white armored plate of Mai's hand as she bent her head to whisper into the woman’s ear, “Good girl. Now lead the way and I won’t cut you any deeper. Nice and slow.”

The woman trembled in her grasp but complied, leading the way as they moved from the dancefloor and back into the warren of hotel hallways. Mai nudged the woman with her elbow, turning her towards a quieter hallway and further away from the drama in the next room. She had little to no idea what was going on, or who the woman before her was, but was sharp enough to recognize when discretion was needed.

“Mai!”

Mai cursed inwardly as a white clad figure appeared at the end of the hall. She reacted immediately, turning about and kicking the closest hotel room door inwards with one booted boot. The lock on the door splintered with the force of the blow, and without waiting to explain to her captive what was going on Mai cast her into the interior of the room and pulled the door shut behind her.

“Mai! What in the hell?” Kift stormed down towards her, his stance suggesting a furious anger that resounded in his voice. He came to a halt before her and threw out both arms in a gesture of pure exasperation, “Where have you been?! I tried to contact you over the comm. but you turned the bloody thing off....and who was that girl?!”

“What girl?” Mai answered, attempting to channel bewilderment in her response.

“What girl? Do you think I’m a moron!” Kift made to move past her and into the room in which she’d thrown the woman, “I’m putting an end to this crap once and for all. Get out of the way.”

Mai shrugged and stood back, allowing Kift to move past her before reaching out grabbing the rear of his helmeted head. Kift cried out and raised both hands to pull her off, but Mai moved quickly to slam his forehead into the unforgiving metal of the doorframe. Kift rebounded off the frame with a soft cry of astonishment before collapsing to the floor and lying still.

“Yes I think you’re a moron.” Mai allowed herself the satisfaction of placing a well aimed kick into Kift’s ribs before glancing up and down the corridor to ensure the display had gone unnoticed.  Assured that no-one had witnessed her actions, she bent and hooked both hands under Kift’s armpits to drag him into the hotel room and out of sight. She pulled the unconscious Corporal just inside the door, grunting with the effort, and dumped him unceremoniously between a pair of pot plants in the entryway. Kift dealt with, she straightened and moved further into the room to locate her other captive only to realize that she was nowhere in sight. With a snarl of pure outrage, Mai stormed throughout the small suite, checking the refresher station and cupboards before coming to terms with the fact that somehow the human female had escaped. That she had done so without utilizing the doorway meant that there must have been another access point to the suite. But where? And how had she known about it?

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Mai growled in exasperation, stalking back to the doorway and kicking Kift again in an attempt to vent some of her displeasure at her failure. She forced herself to pull in a calming breath as she considered her next move. She could look for the access panel which had allowed her captive out of the room but that would take time, and there was no guarantee she’d be able to find it. Better to get back to the ballroom and locate the soldier Verkur in an attempt to gather more information and relocate her prey. Mai made to move back into the hallway only to stop dead in her tracks as she caught sight of reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall nearby. The armor had to go first. Then she’d find the others.

"She needs another patch-thingy."

"Seriously does it look like I carried a damn med pack with me, Jaenna."

Bright started to swoon again, slamming into Jaenna almost sending all three of them sprawling to the ground. They had only just managed to make it up the metal ladder to get to the observation deck with its indifferent fishes swimming by. The room seemed darker, the planet had probably shifted to its night cycle, not that it really mattered under the water.

Havock reached out and steadied the wobbly red head. "We need to get down this hallway, but there is no way around the fracking ballroom. You are going to have to walk through the ballroom a good fifty meters to get to the guest rooms."

She waved her hand and winced from the pain. "I'm fine Havvie, pfft, relax."

"Right, you're just fabulous." Havock shook her head. "Let's go."

Jaenna grabbed one arm and Havock grabbed the other, the three of them clumsily managed to get down the glass enclosed hall way. It really was beautiful, and she wished once again that she had time to stop and appreciate the beauty. Instead the three of them collapsed into a heap just before the opening that led to the ballroom. Brightstar tried to get up but Havock gently pushed her back against the clear wall and scowled a silent stay right there.

Ball gowns fluttered by in the distance as women danced with men in the crowed room. Waiters and waitresses slid through the couples with a supernatural grace while balancing trays of drinks in fancy glasses. The entire scene reminded Havock of something out of an old holovid, one of the ones she hated as a kid. The orphanage just never seemed to have anything filmed in the previous two or three decades, which just made her hate holovids in general. She never liked rich people, she held nothing but contempt for their over priced clothing and decadence in material things.

"You two ready?"

Jaenna was catching her breath and Bright looked even more woozy, possibly nauseous. She reached over and grabbed the red head under her arm and tried her best to cover the blood stain on her arm. She shot Jaenna a look, and the other woman understood immediately. It was time to pretend Bright had enjoyed one too many cocktails. Havock loved that all she needed to do was look at Jae and she knew exactly what she was thinking.

The three chatted about nonsense as they swayed through the couples trying to avoid slamming into anyone who would draw attention to them. In two minutes the whole ordeal was over and they had arrived amidst the never-ending series of doors which belonged to guests of the hotel. Brightstar was fading fast, as they arrived at the door their medic should have been locked in, she stumbled and went flying into the wall. "Well that's one way to knock."

Jaenna slowly lowered her to the floor and tried to keep her awake as best she could while Havock worked on getting Karash to answer the door. She banged on the door so hard she probably could have been heard in most of the adjacent rooms if the patrons had been residing in them at the moment.

An exasperated sound came from next to the half conscious red head. "Move."

Jaenna opened the door controls and in no time the door slid aside. "Impressive."

"Yes, I am pretty impressive."

Havock rolled her eyes. "Just help me get her up."

They half dragged Bright into the dark room and managed to get her positioned on the bed. The lights came on and although they searched, there was no sign of the medic.

"Great now what?"

Havock walked over and grabbed one of the many medpacks neatly stacked in the room. "I get her that bacta patch she needs, then I'm going to hit Karash with something hard."

"What in blazes are you women doing in my quarters?"

Havock and Jaenna looked up to find their missing medic looking quite disheveled at the door way. "Karash!"

He ran a hand through his hair and stomped over to where his medical supplies were stacked. "I leave the room for five minutes, think to myself, I feel better maybe its time for a drink or two. And return to find you three in here doing god knows what. And, why isn't Havock the one on the bed?"

"God there really is so many places to go with that comment."

Havock and Jaenna shot simultaneous looks of shock at Brightstar before the red head shrugged and fell back on the bed. "Bright!" The two women ran to stop their friend from collapsing on the soft bed linens but only made it in time to stop her body from bouncing more than once.

"Move. Not too far though. Now one of you tell me what happened." Karash opened a medpack and started to apply salve to the wound.

"We got cornered in the maintenance bay. She was being held by one of our annoying friends and got shot in the shoulder." Havock shrugged.

Karash had already started to suture the wound in Bright's shoulder that had finally stopped bleeding.


---------------------------------------


"Woah buddy, lets get you back to your quarters." Verkur nodded to a very well dressed woman in an evening gown. "Too much to drink tonight, gonna let him lay down before the old lady finds out." She scoffed and started whispering to the woman next to her.

Skarr leaned heavily on his assistant squad leader trying to keep his balance while he walked. "We there yet?"

They managed to hobble together until they were in the vacant hallway of guest rooms, the sounds of the ballroom still twinkling in the distance. "Give me that thing Skarr, no arguments."

Skarr got a defiant glint in his eye, but the nausea suddenly overpowered him and he vomited. As he regained the ability to hold his lunch the private reached into his pocket and passed the container over. Skarr examined it, his thumb running over the obvious crack in its surface. "When I got jumped, she kicked me, it...musta...damaged...."

"Just relax, Skarr. We are going to get you to Karash." Verk threw a very heavy arm over his shoulder and half-dragged the private the rest of the way.

Havock looked up from her vigil next to the bed, her arms were crossed and she had a worried expression on her face. "Oh shit, what now?"

Jaenna jerked around to see the half-conscious private leaning on the ASL and grimaced, probably both at the situation and the fact that she had a grudge against Verkur since his arrival.

He held up the container with his free hand and shook it slightly as it came parallel to his head. "Container's cracked." He tossed it towards a near-by table and stumbled with Skarr until he landed the private in a plushy chair.

Jaenna kept her eyes on the container before returning to glare at Verk. "So the container's cracked what does that mean?"

Havock moved past the flurry of movement that occurred seemingly all at once. Karash finished up with Brightstar who was groggy but attempting to stand after the pain meds he gave to her kicked in. The medic almost collided with the squad leader on his way to Skarr. Jaenna and Verk continued to argue about the container, but their voices became noise in the background as she started to examine the device first hand.

The cylinder had a decisive lightning shaped crack down the side which almost allowed enough light to see the glimmer of the necklace within. She rolled it back and forth with her fingers, pulling out her datapad with her other hand. The intel file had plenty of information on the energy module they were retrieving and the dangers of being in contact with it. It would appear that even though Skarr had been cleaver enough to bring the container in the first place, they were going to be stuck returning to their original dilemma with being in contact with the device.

A hand slapped her on her shoulder causing her to jump. "What do you think you're doing?" Jaenna's eyes were narrowed as the blueish orbs flicked between the cylinder in her hands and her face.

"I'm just checking it."

Jaenna crossed her arms. "I think you've checked it enough, look at him." Her arm pointed to Skarr and Havock turned a split second before Karash jabbed him with a shot of some kind of anti-radiation meds.

Both females cringed at the shot. Before another word could be exchanged a cat like woman appeared at the door way. Her reddish brown hair spilled over her thin frame as she confidently breezed through the doorway and looked oddly at Skarr. "Is he okay?"

"Mai?" She nodded so Verkur continued. "Good you're out of that obvious uniform."

She walked in with a grace that Havock knew in an instant she would never even hope to have. Then in a strange way she had come to love her clumsy sometimes goofy way about her and wouldn't want the poise she had witnessed from the guest of the hotel, or the dexterity Mai possessed without thought. "Well you guys seem to know how to party, and frankly I was bored."

Havock gently put the container down. "Right. If you get me in trouble woman, I'll kick your ass." Mai gave a smirky glare but stayed quiet. "The ferry arrives at 0800, its 2300 now. We just have to stay low key for nine hours and we are fine, we can all get some sleep and just leave with the necklace in the morn..." A scuffle in the hall cut off Havock's words, she pulled her DE-10 pistol off the counter and more ran into the door controls than hit them.

There was a rap at the door and a menacing yet feminine voice singing in the door jam. "We found you."

OOC:

okeydokie. So you thought you got to sleep. WRONG. Now we have some of these annoying women at our door, we need to subdue them, but here is the catch, we still need to maintain our cover. Have fun, go crazy creative with this but the rules are, we don't get caught and we can't leave until 0900. carry on.

It hadn’t been difficult for Mai to the find the rest of the imperial squad. Once she shed her outer layer of armor in favor of an elaborate jacket, leggings and boot ensemble she discovered in the suites wardrobe, she had swept back out into the corridor and dropped into a crouch at the intersection of two of the busier hallways of the hotel. Feeling slightly ridiculous in her garish clothes, Mai had ignored the curious glances of the few passing residents and had instead spent the next minute or so pulling in deep breaths of the passing air as it circulated in from the ballroom, the entry foyer and the elevators to the surface located a few hundred meters away. Her sense of smell most definitely wasn’t on par with some of the other species of aliens throughout the vast galaxy, but compared to a humans’ it was miraculously informative. Particularly when she was searching for a scent that was, for her species, crucial in their everyday lives and rituals. It hadn’t taken her long to find what she was looking for.  She’d pinpointed the squad to a room a few corridors down, alerted by the fresh aroma of bitter, iron tinged human blood.

Once she had located the rest of the squad things had proceeded to get increasingly baffling. One of the women, a young human with long blonde fur sprouting from her head, had greeted her with little to no ceremony. But Mai had already been distracted by the source of the blood trail she had followed, pinpointing it to the slightly older woman bent doubled over on the bed a few meters away. Her golden eyes had widened notably as she'd recognized Bright, a former comrade from her days of Jester Squad. That Bright was here, amongst the presence of these soldiers suggested that they were indeed worthy of pursuing. Whilst Mai had not conversed often with the Sergeant during their time serving together she had a solid respect for the woman’s battle prowess and experience. It was only once she had noted Bright’s presence that she had forgone her decision to remain impartial until she could determine the squads purpose on Sembla. So in the course of the next few minutes Mai uttered more words freely than she had since the last few months, and resolved to follow the group no matter where they led her.

“Let’s get this party started,” Skarr was saying, swaying slightly as he moved to the access panel that would lead the group from the room and away from the hostiles now smashing viciously against the door in an attempt to get into the room.

Verkur took a few quick steps after him, his intention obviously to stop the other trooper before he opened the panel unarmed and unprepared. But the medication had worked well enough on Skarr’s reflexes and he punched the access panel to be greeted by the face of Mai’s missing captive.

“Hello,” The woman greeted the room calmly, before slamming a fist into Skarr’s face and knocking the soldier sidewards.

Mai was moving before she even registered that she’d taken a single step. She bounded across the short distance between the door and the access panel and launched herself on top of her lost prey, the force of the maneuver carrying her and the woman backwards into the group of men waiting just beyond the entrance of the access panel. The entire group went to ground, Mai sinking her fangs into the woman’s wrist as she sought to bring the blaster pistol in her hand up and around to fire. The woman cried out in pain and shock and dropped the weapon, her other hand batting wildly at Mai’s face at they hit unforgiving ground and rolled.  Vaguely, Mai was aware that the men who had been waiting in ambush had now regained their footing and were hesitating with their guns at their hips. Because of the narrowness of the corridor they were unable to shoot out at the others in the room beyond without the risk of striking their leader, who was so wrapped up about Mai that they couldn’t effectively target her either.

The elite troopers in the hotel suite however had no gripes about missing their intended targets. Verkur and the blonde furred woman opened fire with small handheld blasters, their shots burning fur as they flashed over Mai’s back and struck the first ranks of the men trapped behind. A few cried out as they were hit, whilst others fell silently to their deaths, collapsing in a tangled heap of flesh and limps against their companions as they sought to turn to and flee. Only a single man managed to get free of the others and sprint back away down the corridor and away from the slaughter. At his parting Mai finally allowed herself the luxury of straightening, and with mild effort pulled the still struggling and bleeding woman up and against the side of the wall before her. She snarled at the woman and she abruptly stilled in obvious fear, her terrified gaze focused on the blood dripping down the corner of Mai’s mouth.

“Havock,” Verkur looked to the blonde woman, finally giving Mai a name, “What do you want to do with her?”

Havock glanced over her shoulder where the door frame was beginning to splinter, considered the woman in Mai’s grasp for a few moments and then came to a decision, “Bind her and bring her along. We can’t leave her free to stir up more trouble.”

Skarr recovered enough to move forward and take the woman from Mai, slipping a portable set of link cuffs about her wrists. A man who could only have been the medic looked curiously at the twin punctures on the captive’s wrist which were still streaming blood, and then unceremoniously slapped a bandage over the top of the wound and addressed the woman,

“That’s more than you deserve.”

“Let’s move,” Havock slung one arm under Bright, pulling the other woman to her feet, “Quickly.”

Mai allowed Verkur to move past her to take point, falling in behind him as the rest of the group traversed over the pile of bodies and into the service hallway. The last to leave the suite, a slim, heavily armed woman, slid the access panel shut behind her and cast the entire party into complete darkness. Verkur removed a glowtube from the pocket of his jacket and cracked it, bathing the area before him in an eerie blue light. Then, holding the tube before him to light the way, he lead the others deeper into the bowels of the hotel .