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velasnyx · 6 years ago

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Emaziska 007 AU Sequel: Vindicta Chapter 6

I paced around the room, waiting to be called in. I'm ready to get out there but the only way I'll be put back in the field is if I passed so foolish test. The whole thing's a waste of time. “Franziska”. Miles was standing in the doorway. “She's ready for you,” he said. I nodded and followed him to L's office. He stopped in front of her door. “If it were my decision, I wouldn't let you back on the field. You're not ready. I know it, you know it, we all know it. But L will make the call, not me. So, if she does clear you for active service, the thing I can tell you is good luck...big sister,” Miles said. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. “Thanks, little brother”. I walked in. L was sitting at her desk. Her eyes glanced at me. “Sit down”. I sat in the chair across from her. “I've reviewed your test,” L said. “And?”. She sighed. “Consider yourself lucky. You passed. But just barely. You're back on active service. Congratulations”. “You sound really happy,” I joked with a sly smile. She shot me a glare. “Meet your new quartermaster. Then make your way to Monaco. Try not to get yourself killed,” L said. “Yes, ma'am”.

I arrived in Monaco and made my way out of the airport. “Fran!”. I turned to Ema. “So they cleared you for active service after all,” she said. “Isn't that why you're here?” I asked. “Not really. They just told me to pick up one of our agents. Didn't say anything about picking up our most irresistible agent”. I smiled. “Funny. I remember a time when you couldn't stand me,” I said. “Hmph. I could say the same to you. Let's get going,” Ema said. I followed her to the car. “You know, I can never pinpoint the exact to when you stopped hating me,” I said. “Meeting your family changed my perspective of you,” she replied. “So, you still had a strong dislike for me before you got to Manchester?”. She nodded. “Then why go all the way to Manchester to help me?” I asked. “Same reason you saved me from that helicopter. We don't other agents die,” Ema answered. I smiled and opened the car door for her. “And they say chivalry is dead”. “It's the only thing I try to keep alive”.

She walked me to my room. “Mine is right next door. Don't be a stranger,” she said. “When did you become so flirtatious, 008?” I asked. “Right around time when you decided to make a move, 007,” she answered as she caressed my jaw. “I quite like this side of you. I hope to see it more often along with your scars”. “Mhm. Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that. We have an important mission at hand,” Ema replied. “Oh, such a tease”. She kissed me softly. She broke it off quickly, knowing very well she left me wanting more. “Patience is a virtue,” she said as she gave me a lingering look. Ema turned around and went into her room.

I heard a knock at my door. I guess Ema can't wait after all. I opened the door. A man stood there. “007, in the flesh. Pleasure to meet you. Agent Zak Gramarye,” he said, extending his hand. I shook it. “Pleasure’s all mine”. “I was hoping I'd be able to test your skills,” he said, holding up a pack of cards. “You play?”. Gramayre shuffled the cards in his hands, showing off a few tricks. “Yeah, you could say that,” he answered. “Then by all means, test me”. He walked in and sat at the table. “I'll be hard on you. That way when you play on the night of the game, it'll be a walk in the park,” he said. “Hm. Alright then”. This guy isn't giving me much credit. He's in for a surprise.

It was the last round and we both went all in. He looked rather pleased with himself as he placed an 8 and 9 of clubs. “A straight flush. You did good. Be glad its not me you have to play against on game day,” Gramayre said. “Why, Mr. Gramyre, I haven't shown my cards yet”. “You haven't folded either”. I smiled. “Well, with a hand like this, I don't think I want to,” I said. His cocky smile disappeared. I placed my cards on the table face up. A king and ace of clubs. “A royal flush”. He chuckled. “I guess they really did pick the right person for the job. You play a good game, von Karma,” he said. “So do you,” I replied as we shook hands over the table. Ema knocked on the door connecting our rooms. “It's open!”. She walked in. “I see you've gotten acquainted with our poker master,” she said. “Honestly, I don't think I should have that title anymore. von Karma here just kicked my ass,” Gramayre said. “Wow, you don’t say”. I smiled and shrugged. “Guess you should have no problem against Swallow then. Good, one less thing to worry about. You seen Gavin, Gramayre?” Ema said. “Uh, I think he said he was gonna have a smoke. Must be outside,” he answered. “Hm. If you see him before I do, tell him Q called. Something about one of those gadgets he gave him”. Gramayre nodded. “I can tell him. I could use the fresh air,” I said. “I suppose so. Plus it'll be good for you two to meet before the actual mission,” Ema said. “Right then. I'll get going”. I walked to the door. “Oh, before I forget. There's a package for you at the front desk. A special welcome back gift from MI6,” Ema said. I nodded and left.

After I got the package, I went outside to look for Agent Gavin. I looked all around but couldn't find him anywhere. He probably went back inside and I missed him. As I made my way back inside, I opened the package. It was a car key. I stopped in my tracks. There was a card with it too. “Welcome back, 007! We're so glad you're not dead! We managed to convince L to let you have our special car model straight from Q branch. Hope you enjoy and try to bring it back in one piece! With love, your fellow MI6 agents”. I smiled. A bunch of people from HQ signed it. This is the most wholesome thing I've ever received from that place. I walked over to the parking lot and pressed the lock button on the key. The car made a quick beep. I looked around trying to follow the sound. I kept pressing the button to find it. Each time I moved, I felt as if I was getting nowhere. Where is this bloody thing?! I looked in the packaging to see if they left a note saying where they parked. There was a little slip of paper. “Good luck finding it! Sorry, but we don't love you that much! That's what you get for making us think you were dead, you cheeky cunt.”. There was a heart at the end of the note. Funny, I’m finding it a bit difficult to feel the love.

After about five minutes, I was about to give up. I pressed the button once more and heard the beep louder than before. I followed it and it got louder each time. I finally got to the car. It was… a blue 1994 Ford Aspire. I just looked at it, mouth agape, in utter disbelief. I pressed the button on the key again. It beeped. Yeah, this was the car. I unlocked it and sat in the driver's seat. The interior was… just terrible. It smelled like cigarettes and some other unidentifiable smell. This has to be some sick joke. I just sat in the driver's seat, completely crushed. They couldn't pick a good car? Like the Honda Civic. That was a good car. Had great gas mileage. I looked around the car and noticed another set of keys with a note attached. “If you thought this has to be a sick joke, you were right! Here are the keys to your actual car, 007.”. I chuckled. You fucking bastards. I got out of the car and pressed the button on the key. The car next to this one beeped. I walked over and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was a Aston Martin DB5. This car is a classic. Damn, this is way better than a Honda Civic.

As I made my way back inside, I noticed Swallow. He was walking with another man to a car. The other man was massive. With my curiosity peaked, I went back to the car and followed them. They drove to an old cobblestone plaza. I parked farther away and walked up to the plaza. I hid and watched them from afar. I couldn't see the person they were meeting, as they stayed in the shadows. “MI6 has made their move. They have an agent in the game,” their voice was modulated. “What about it?” Swallow said. “You can't let them win! If they win, our plans will be ruined. I think you know what will happen to you if they do”. “Leave her out of this,” Swallow said. The massive man placed his hand on his shoulder. Swallow looked up at him scared. “You don't order me around, Swallow. Win that game or else”. The mysterious figure stepped forward. I shifted over to try and get a better look at them. A loud crack emitted from under me. I stepped on a fucking twig. Their looked in my direction. “What was that? Terry, check it out. If someone's there, kill them,” the mysterious figure said. Oh shit. I have to be careful. I started to back away as he walked over to me. If he finds me, Im dead. There's no way I can fight that guy and survive. Managed to get out of plaza but he was still following me. I grabbed a rock and threw it to divert his attention. He walked over to where I threw it and I took that opportunity to escape. I started walking back to the car. I heard heavy footsteps behind me. Shit, shit, shit. Just keep walking. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Don't look back. They're right behind me. I was starting to sweat. “Franziska,” a voice whispered in my ear. I turned around, whipping out my pistol. There was no one there. I look around and there was no one. I lowered my gun and took a deep breath. Still seeing things. I put my gun in the waistband of my pants and continued walking to the car.

As I walked into the lobby, I bumped into a woman. “Oh crap. I'm sorry, miss,” I said. She was a small woman. Her skin was pale in contrast with her bright red hair. She looked very elegant in a slimming white dress that hugged her curves. She looked at me sweetly. “Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I must've been in my own world,” she said. She stared at me. I raised a brow. “Have we met before?” she asked. “I think I would've remembered you,” I said, smoothly. She giggled. “Oh, well aren't you a flirt, Ms…”. “von Karma. Franziska von Karma,” I answered. “Well, it's nice to meet you, Ms. von Karma. Dahlia Hawthorne”. “Likewise, Ms. Hawthorne,” I said. “What brings you to Monaco?” she asked. “Other than the beaches? Poker”. I can see this peaked her interest. She has something to do with this weeks poker game. “Oh, that makes sense”. “How so?” I asked, confused by what she meant by that. “I'm not quite sure how to describe it. You look like someone who would play. Something about you makes me think you're experienced in taking risk when the stakes are high,” she said, smiling. I smiled back. “Well, you might be able to see that for yourself, Ms. Hawthorne”. She chuckled. “Maybe. I hope that our paths cross again, Ms. von Karma,” Ms. Hawthorne said. She started walking away. “Something tells me this won't be the last time”. She looked back at me. “Something tells me that as well”. With that, she left. I watched her leave.

#emaziska #franziska von karma #ema skye #emaziska au #ace attorney au #emaziska 007 au

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wizardsnwookies · 8 years ago

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Campaign Diary- FOC110217

The bowels of Graakus’s palace hummed with the roar of the crowd awaiting upstairs. Graalbar sat on the locker room bench checking the heft and swing of his vibro-axe. Behind him Kara paced the tiled floor, her heart beating heavily in her chest.

“Ok, just as a recap. Three rounds with a chance to catch your breath between each...not to mention to allow for additional bets. The Gamemaster likes to change things up a bit between rounds, so expect a different kind of fight each time. Oh, and traps. Watch out for those too.”

Graalbar nodded absent mindedly. He had no worries. He had proven himself against many foes in his life. His mind looked back to the cave, and the strange alien beast he encountered in the waters of the glassy lake.

GRONK GRAAAWL

“I know, I know, it’s all taken care of so I can do it remotely.” Kara held up her data pad, currently open to link with the arena’s wager broker. “I want to be down here with you just in case...you know.”

RAAAAAWR

“ ‘Momma Bird’ my ass. I’ve got money riding on you.” Kara play hit the wookie in the shoulder, hoping her joke hid her very real concern.

Just then one of the arena assistants appeared in the doorway. It was time. The two were ushered down a long hallway ending in an explosion of light and sound. The chanting crowd growing louder with each step. When Graalbar’s bare feet felt the grit of sand he felt Kara give him one last tussle of hair for good luck.

“Give ‘em hell big guy.”

---

Rugor eased the speeder to a stop in a dark alley across from “Destructive Solutions.” The Industrial park was a maze of identical warehouses that seemed to stretch forever. Their company page on the Holonet gave out their coordinates for perspective clients and investors so luckily it wasn’t exactly difficult to find but instead a tedious zig-zag down corridors.

“The arena should be firing up right about now.” Vrssl checked his chrono. They had made a pass around the building noting the single guard at the front gate and the handful of cameras around the perimeter. “Tracks with what Charmer told us, place looks like a ghost town.”

“That just means they’re all inside.” Rugor cut the engine and pulled out a small vibro-blade. “You ready?”

“Let’s let ourselves in.” Vrssl nodded, slipping out of the speeder and leading the scarred Gungan through the shadows and blind spots around the building. Like Courecant, Nar Shaddaa never got quiet, even when the sounds of the city were to a dull hum as it was here in the outskirts, it was still enough to hide their footfalls.

Rugor cut through the durasteel fence with his vibroblade and peeled back and opening. Once inside he carefully let it fall back into place, lining it up as close as he could. They hadn’t seen anyone walking the perimeter, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

The side door was just as simple to disarm. Rugor pulled off the access panel and jacked in with his datapad. A few taps and the door slid open to a hallway with lights dimmed to the energy saver setting. Vrssl held up a hand and creeped ahead, listening. The usual sounds were there, the hum of the HVAC system, a few random groans of the plastasteel settling, but a complete absence of footfalls. He turned and waved back at Rugor, they were in. Time to get to work.

---

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you all to a very special evening.” Graakus’s voice echoed over the sound system. He stood on his mechanical legs on the edge of his special box seat, arms open to the crowd. “We have seen many fighters on the sands, we have seen Aqualish, Gand, and Devorian. The Game Master has shown us a menagerie of beasts from all over the Galaxy. But tonight, you will witness the mighty Wookie of Kashyyk!!”

Graalbar pumped his arms and bellowed for the crowds approval, striding across the sands with an exaggerated gate. His people had been seen as savage monsters by the empire, this mentality tended to bleed out across the galaxy. In cases like these he would play it up as much as he can. Let them think I’m a monster, let them fear me. For I am Graalbar, I am mighty.

“Returning tonight from their triumph over the vicious Correlian Sand Panthers, a creature hailing from the savage sands of Tatooine. They have proven themselves against beast and the harshest of environments. Welcome back, your champion!” Graakus smiled and let the roar of the crowd wash over him. He had chosen his words very carefully. He knew the Tusken Raider was no match for the Wookie, in fact, he doubted anything the Game Master could throw against him would. But we must let the crowd thing otherwise. The odds are indeed against him 5 to 1. However last week many had lost thousands with the surprise upset against the Sand Panther. They would be playing it safe. He was hoping they would, and continue to lose it all.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the final bets have been placed.” The crowd fell to a dull murmor, tickets clutched in fists and hearts leaping into their throats. “Let the games begin!”

The raider howled and sprinted across the sand, its arms raised high with a heavy staff clutched in hand. Graalbar simply waited and planted his feet firmly where he stood. As the creature came closer he saw it was no larger than an average human. A shame, he thought, this would be all too easy.

A large gust of air tussled the hair on the side of Graalbar’s face as his opponent struck the first blow and made contact with empty space. The wookie needed only to take a single step to the side before lifting his axe and send it crashing down across the exposed backside. Blood splattered onto the sands with a bark from the bandaged humanoid. It stumbled, turning to face its attacker with swaying legs.

It was wounded, but not down. Taking an agressive stance it swung again in a heavy horizontal swipe. Graalbar chuckled to himself and lightly batted the stick away as if it were a child’s toy. With his opponent off-balanced Graalbar lowered his shoulder and pushed hard against the raider’s chest, sending a puff of air out of it’s lungs and toppling it over into the sand.

The crowd was on it’s feet the minute the raider was on it’s back. Graalbar pumped his arms and bellowed once more, playing to the crowd. He fell to his knees, strattling his oppenent and grabbed the filthy cloth of it’s robes. The humanoid’s limp torso was lifted up just long enough to meet a hardened wookie skull against it’s own before falling back into a ragdoll. Graalbar smiled to himself, he had felt the satisfying crunch against his forhead, he felt his opponent's skull cave in. It would be dead within moments. But that was not enough. The crowd was hungry for a show and he would give it to them.

Taking a wrist in each hand, Graalbar drew on all his strength and yanked back until a horrid tearing could be heard in the stands. Flesh tore at the shoulder and with a pop the bones were released from joints until two severed arms dangled in the air. Blood feel from the torn ends and soaked into his fur. He offered a victorious bellow before rising to his feet. One round already cleared. All too easy.

---

“Blasted piece of junk.” Rugor slammed his palm against the side of his datapad and offered it a few curses in his native tongue before sliding it back into his pocket. They had almost gotten themselves lost on the way to the utility room. Not long after finding a terminal to download the facility maps, his datapad had decided to freeze and unceremoniously reboot itself. Damn latest software update still had some bugs in it. He’d have to take a look at it when they got back.

“Don’t worry about it, here.” Vrssl tossed the Gungan an explosive charge. “Put this on that support beam over there. I’ll get the power generator.” Part one of their mission was almost taken care of, leveling the facility on their way out. This would be accomplished through some lovely remote charges Vrssl managed to acquire thanks to some contacts in Shail. He had a knack for that, making connections, acquaintances, friends, and sure a few enemies too. He wasn’t in the city for a few hours before he had already found someone to help him make things go boom. Priorities...

“Done, think this’ll be enough?”

“Definitely, especially with a damaged power generator. Hell, that’ll do most of job for us. Like they say, ‘work smart, not hard.’”

The Gungan nodded. “This way.”

With his datapad back up and running they managed to find their way to the production floor, a wide open room filled with benches, tables, and manufacturing equipment lining the walls. Vrssl activated the lights and saw the shine of plastisteel and chrome.

“Time for the fringe benefits.”

Apparently “Destructive Solutions” wasn’t all too concerned about cleanliness. In fact, it appeared that most of the staff dropped whatever they were working on and walked out the door the moment the chrono hit five. A small startup company, probably filled with creative types and idealists, it would make sense. Most of the products left out were in progress, wires dangling without connections, half soldered program boards and the like. However after scouring the room Rugor did manage to find three numbered files with corresponding products, tagged and ready for display.

“Vrssl. Over here.”

“What’d we get?”

Rugor took the files and read the final notes at the end of the registry for each one aloud...

“SN-35810: Experimenting with refining Tibanna gas has resulted in a blaster bolt that hold a higher than normal negative polarity. Unfortunately this raises the risk of Ricochets that could become friendly fire in the field which has earned this model the nickname “The Ricochet Gun” around the lab. Needless to say, this is not suitable for market.”

“SN-42179: We’ve been tinkering with Vibro technology in hopes to find a way to lower power consumption and overall create a sleeker and more compact handle. We’ve managed to find success in the smaller profile weapons, so the next step was to adapt this to swords and axes. This axe has been put through rigorous testing and has passed our high expectations. A final, more polished design to be scheduled for debut at the next trade show.”

“SN-857321: One of our techs decided to think out of the box with this one. Something he’s calling a ‘competency droid.’ A small scale, non-autonomous unit crammed with every kind of sensor you can think of. No one is quite sure how he managed it, but I am sure someone upstairs is paying him a hefty bonus for the secret. Linked to the operator via visor display, the droid sends readings to the user on their surroundings and their own bio readings which is a wealth of information for military units. The Empire will love this one.”

Vrssl smiled and took the Vibroaxe in one hand. “I know someone who’s going to LOVE you.”

---

Graalbar pressed himself against the stone boulder, the phosphorus torch dripping sparks onto the sand next to him. He gave him this, the Gamemaster was good at his job. The second round saw a dousing of the house lights, leaving the arena lit solely by three torches spread out across the circle. Graalbar heard the door across from him slide open, a shadow streaked across the blackness of his vision, and four paws almost in perceptively padded out onto the sands before disappearing completely into oblivion.

A Vornskr was what Graakus had called it when he announced open bidding for the second round. A taste of things to come. Kara came back with 37,500 credits to their name from the first round. Without batting an eye the wookie told her to let it ride. He was feeling confident. Now, he was hiding behind a rock with a torch in his hands waiting for whatever a Vornskr was to strike from the darkness.

The attack came from behind when a slender canine creature with a whip-like tail darted from the shadows and lunched with claws extended. Graalbar’s vibroaxe was ready and waiting, and cut a long gash across the beasts muzzle. It whined in the shock of the pain, or perhaps it was the sudden roar from the silent stands. It was hard to tell. It recovered quickly and latched onto Graalbar’s grieves, it’s teeth sinking deep into the plastisteel.

The wookie was surprised at the strength the small creature possessed, no matter how hard he swung his mighty arm, it would not release the Vornskr’s jaws. No matter. Graalbar took the other hand an tried to grab the back of it’s head. He was large enough that he might be able to lift the thing of the ground and throw it down into a pin with one hand. But the beast sensed the danger in the situation and escaped the crushing grasp by seconds, disengaging before disappearing once again into the dark.

The crowd was chanting for him once again, giving Graalbar the boost of confidence needed to venture forth with his torch. It would not escape him for a second attack. The wookie ran into the direction of the beast’s retreat and found it stopped before the wall, turning for a new approach. A low rumble grew in it’s throat and a blur of motion sprung from it’s back end.

Graalbar ducked just in time to feel the air cut before his face and a trickle of liquid mist into his fur. His own attack with the torch missed by a wide margin in his dodging the poison barb at the end of the Vornskr’s tail. Poison. The stakes had suddenly gotten much higher.

---

“And with that, Blastek now is the proud owner of the entirety of Destructive Solutions’ hard drives.” Rugor was all business when the light on the data slug turned green. This was a job, nothing more. He had no stake in corporate espionage...but he could. “So...we were told we could have anything we found here right?”

“Yeah?” Vrssl looked up from his examination of the droid they found in the development lab.

“I’m just thinking if we can make a little more out of this job.” Rugor tapped on the computer terminal in the server room. They had made their way here to complete the second part of their job, all of DS’s data. Along the way they finally managed to find a pair of guards roaming the halls, but were able to keep out of sight until they passed.

“Bingo.”

“What?”

“How does three crates of consumer-ready blaster rifles and pistols sound to you?” Rugor offered Vrssl a smirk.

“Sounds like fringe benefits if I ever heard of them. Where?”

“In the docking bay. Scheduled to go out tomorrow. Looks like we got here just in time.”

“Guess we know where our next stop is. What about the cameras? Can you wipe the data just in case?”

Rugor switched his attention and brought up the securities folder, once inside he scrolled through the file listing before furrowing his brow. “Looks like it only dumps the files 24 hours at a time to the central computer. Until 6am the current day’s data lives on the security computer.”

“Can you hack into it from here, crash their hard drives?”

“Of course I can. They’re on the same network...”

“But...”

“BUT if someone is working on the computer right now, they’ll notice I’ve got remote access. If they know what they’re doing they’ll be able to trace back the IP address and know we’re in the building.”

Vrssl knew droids, but computers were something different. He didn’t fully understand what was just said, but he got the gist of it. “Our only other option is to bust into the security room and take care of it manually.”

“Arena Fights or not, someone’s damn sure going to notice that.”

“Not much of a choice then...do it.”

---

Graalbar wasn’t much for thinking, he’d much rather hit a problem until it stopped moving. But when the problem had a whip-like tail with a poisoned barb, was black as the shadows, and could move twice as fast as he could, he was forced to put his mind to work.

The Vornskr paced in the dirt in front of him, making it’s own tactical calculations in it’s head. It’s long form seemed to curve fluidly as it turned in on itself. It was fast, yes, but it also had a long body. Too long to protect easily. That was his advantage.

Graalbar gripped the handle of his Virbroaxe and dug his feet into the dirt. He had a plan of attack now, it was just a matter of waiting. But the crowd was not content to be as patient as he was. Cheers were now starting to become bloodthirsty screams for the continuation of violence.

It sprung mid-stride, almost taking the wookie by surprise. Damn it was fast. The canine form was a blur of teeth and fangs with clouds of sand exploding between massive paws. I leaped about a full meter away with claws outstretched and jaws open wide. Behind it, it’s tail wound back ready to strike.

Graalbar unsprung the coiled muscles in his calves and spun to the side. Biceps flexed and he brought his axe around in an arc, rolling his shoulder he brought it down in a massive swing and felt the shock pulse up his arm as the blade made contact with the center of the Vornskr’s spine. Even through the sudden cheer of the crowd, Graalbar could hear the sickening knock of vertebrae coming undone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, what an evening we have been treated to.” Graakus had to bellow over the crowd, even with amplification. “Brawn has proven itself over the nimble grace of the Vornskr, but there is one more round left and I have been promised a fight like no other from our Gamemaster. Please find your way to the wager booth and place your bets. We will commence in 10 minutes!”

Kara met Graalbar at the gate with a bottle of water and a forced smile on her face. “187,500 credits...”

GRAAWR RAWWR

“Yeah, I’ve been reading the arena staff down here...nobody’s let it slip but it sounds big whatever it is.” She looked up at him and blinked away something, fear maybe. “Whatever, you can take it, right?”

WAAARW GRAAAG

“...come on, don’t...don’t do that.” Kara didn’t know why she was getting so upset hearing Graalbar talk about the possibility of his death. She had only known him for a few months. It was silly, she told herself. Before Kessel she was her own woman without any strings attached. No family...no friends. That was a good thing...right? Nothing to hold her back? She wasn’t so sure anymore.

RAWWWR GRAAAAH

“150,000 on the final round, the rest to the rest of is if...if the impossible happens. Fine. I’ll do it. Just make sure I won’t have to worry about that OK?”

RAWWWR GRAWW RAW

“ ‘Next time we meet, we’ll be rich.’ Yeah, you got that right buddy.”

When Graalbar returned to the sands of the arena the lights had returned, and all blood from previous rounds had been raked clear. It was like nothing ever happened. Above and around him his name was chanted back at him by who knows how many. In his private box, Graakus offered him his own nod of approval.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honor of announcing the final fight tonight. Below us stands a warrior like we have never seen before, and this final round shall decide whether we will have the honor to see him battle again.”

Graalbar felt a small tremor beneath his feet. Looking down he could see small pebbles bounce into the air with each shake of the ground. He hadn’t noticed the grating sound of the gate across from him until now. And when he peered into the darkness behind it, a pair of small beady eyes stared back at him.

“For tonight, this wookie of Kyshyyk faces the towering terror...the nightmare of many brave species...tonight, he faces. The Rancor!”

Kara heard the announcement on her way back from the wager booth and felt her whole body go numb. She looked up to the monitors mounted on the ceiling to see a massive beast with claws as big as it’s head stalk out into the arena.

“Awww slag.” She said.

---

“Awww slag.” Rugor cursed as the door to the docking bay opened to four uniformed men, who seemed just as surprised to see them as they were to be caught.

“You!! Stop what you’re doing!” The guard fired first, sending a bolt of energy searing into Rugor’s shoulder. He was nervous, inexperienced, and honestly just wanted a quiet night to watch the fights. He was so not prepared for this.

Rugor ducked behind the grav lift and pulled out his own pistol. Vrssl swore and hid behind the crates of blasters. “Damn, how did they know we were here? Someone rat us out?”

Rugor shook his head. “Does it matter?”

“Take them alive.” Vrssl stepped out from cover and unloaded his sub repeater. The two guards that had made it past the door ducked behind two large spools of wire being stored off to the side. Behind them the remaining security staff ran through the door towards cover.

Rugor checked his wound as blaster bolts were traded across the large room. He’d live, but it hurt like hell. Before long Vrssl appeared alongside to take cover. “They’re dug in pretty good there. Think you can give me a hand?”

The slowly eased up from behind the wire bails as their opponents suddenly went silent. Could they be surrendering? Were they really that lucky? From behind the grav lift, a shimmering blue ball arced up into the air before exploding into heavy concussive gell, shattering the plastasteel spools and sending shrapnel into the two unlucky enough to be using it for cover.

“Nice shot. One down, one still alive, but not happy from the looks like it.” Vrrsl chanced a peek and set his blaster to stun. “Two more to go.”

“KRRRTZZZ -- You guys check the computer room yet? They brought in a slagging Rancor!!” The guard’s comm link exploded with excitement, sounding off his location to the sensitive ears behind the grav lift. The guards response was cut off by a stun pulse that buckled his knees, pitching him forward into a heap.

“Make that one more to go...did he say ‘Rancor?’“

---

Graalbar’s bowcaster bolt struck the Rancor in it’s meaty neck, or what could be best guessed as the neck.The thing was ugly, what wasn’t muscle were scars and folds and teeth and claws. It held a vague semblance to that thing he encountered in the glassy lake, only bigger.

The ugly thing bellowed and recoiled from the shot before turning its beady eyes into a death glare at the wookie behind the rock. A clawed foot took a single stride that covered several meters. It wasn’t so much fast, as it was large enough to cover a lot of ground in a single step. More than Graalbar anticipated. He could smell the things breath now. It smelled of death. Maybe his if he didn’t wasn’t careful.

Suddenly a sharp metal CLANG rang out and an explosion of dust and blood clouded the area around the things foot. It screamed and stumbled back, careful to not put too much weight on the injured appendage. When the dust cleared Graalbar saw them, several large spikes protruding from the ground. Gamemaster’s traps. He had almost forgotten about them, he had been lucky so far as to not trip them. He’d like to keep it that way.

Staying behind his rock Graalbar slung the bowcaster and hoisted his vibroaxe just as the Rancor renewed it’s approach. He swung at an outstretched claw, opening a gash along the wrist as sped by him, but in return he felt several wounds open up along his chest as long talons clawed into flesh. The pain was excruciating, and frightening. In a single blow he felt much of his strength leave him. He looked at the crowd, who were now just as happy to cheer for his blood as they were his victory one short round ago.

No. It would not end here. At least not without a fight. Graalbar searched inside him and found the primal rage within, and set it loose. His mighty bellow echoed through the arena, far more animalistic than before, more primal. Saliva spat from his open mouth, and the grip on his axe renewed. The following moments were a blur of rage and blood.

He remembered a clawed hand reaching for him, and then seeing it fall from the arm and into a pool of blood upon the sand.

He remembered the thing stumbling back. He remembered swinging against something hard. Swinging so hard he though his arms would break.

He remembered the thing fall to the ground before him, a foot left standing in place.

He remembered screaming. He remembered hacking. Again. Again. Again. More blood now. Much more blood. He remembered hearing it’s scream.

He remembered when it all fell to silence.

Graalbar looked down, his rage leaving him, and saw what he had wrought. The Rancor no longer breathed, it’s head had rolled from it’s stump of a neck and sat pooling at his feet. Blood drenched his fur. And the his ears filled with the sound of cheering.

---

Rugor carried the last of the stunned guards to the speeder and dumped him in the back. In all, four had either been stunned or outright surrendered, including the guard at the gate. Vrssl finished attatching the gravlift to the back before coming round to the passenger side door.

“Not bad for a night’s work.”

“What do you think we’ll get out of them?” Rugor nodded to the unconscious bodies crowding the back seat.

“I dunno.” Vrssl shrugged. “First and foremost how they knew we were there. And if someone tipped them off, who. This may be tied to the leak with Charmer. Either way, can’t hurt to play it safe.”

“Suppose not.” Rugor opened the door and slid into the pilot’s seat, adjusting the rear mirror to see over the bodies. “How do you think Graalbar did tonight?”

Vrssl just smiled. “I’m sure he made us all very rich.”

#star wars #Star Wars Saga Edition #role playing games #campaign diary

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