Pawn of Destruction 3: A Change of Plans

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

Lying on the double bed in hotel room 11-38, Niklos Thorson watched the sun slowly rise on Coruscant's early morning. There was a long day ahead of him.

Yesterday had gone as well as could be hoped. The goal, a small statuette, had been recovered, and without even the slightest risk of gunplay. But now he had to plan for the next job. A raid on a building would need more than just Arya, capable as she was. At least four bodies needed, possibly... he began to think, before a knock on the door stirred him.

Grabbing a pistol, Niklos crept towards the door, aiming at it the whole time. Taking a sharp intake of air, he opened te door slightly to see....nothing. Realising who was at the door, he looked down to see a small droid, a green cape around him.

"Pooky?" He asked, looking both ways in the corridor. "Where is Bobo? I'm not happy with you leaving your broth..."

"I bring a message." the droid interrupted, clearly in a rush.

"..and how exactly did you get here anyway? You're hardly inconspicuous." continued Niklos, half listening.

"We require you to intercept the Metnup processor. It is highly advanced, and required for your employers studies. It is being taken between government labs presently." the droid continued, handing him a Datapad showing the items location.

"Well that's super. Now where is Bobo? He was always nicer than you, his one tone speech sounded more jovial. I used to expect him to start dancing at any moment."

"I must leave now. You must hurry, as the target will be impossible to take when it makes it's destination." finished 'Pooky', before leaving down the corridor.

"He should learn from his brother." sighed Oddball, as he headed for the side room, grabbing his Oddball costume out of the cupboard. Within moments he had put it on barring the mask, holstered his weapons and grabbed his jacket, which still held the statuette, before knocking hard on Arya's door.

[Arya Ravenwing]

There was a muffled sound from the other side, and then a crash, like someone had knocked over a lamp. Or fallen out of bed... Niklos hear a curse, and then Arya shouted from the other side of the door, "Just a minute!"

She didn't sound too happy.

Arya yanked her foot out from the sheets it was tangled up in, and got up from the floor, brushing her short black hair out of her eyes. The clock read 06:03 am. Couldn't get up any earlier, eh Niklos?

She stumbled to the door and snatched her blaster off the chair nearby, keeping it ready in case this was some sort of trick. The smuggled punched the door controls, and leveled the blaster at the opening... ...putting it down when she saw Niklos.

He eyed the blaster and then the rest of her, clad in shorts and a skimpy tank top. "What is it?" Arya's voice was thick from sleep.

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

"It's....no, best not reply to that." he replied smiling, slowly reaching her face. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the small statuette, and handed it to her.

"Listen, somethings come up that I have to deal with. Something else I need to take is on the move, and if I move now I can make things a whole lot easier for me. It'll be like taking candy from a Jawa. I want you to keep this though, just in case. Better you have it than it stays on a coat hook in my room." he continued, watching her take the item from him.

"Of course, things might get dangerous. Kiss for luck?" He said slowly backing away, a broad grin on his face.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She took the statuette, and then lifted the arm with the blaster up towards him. "This is the only thing that gives good luck kisses in this room. Feel lucky?"

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

"...less so than I was before you said that." He replied, stopping in his tracks.

"Well, how about I give the good luck kiss to you then?" He continued, semi confident that she wouldn't shoot him.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Business, Thorson, business." Arya kept the blaster lowered, but stepped closer to him, looking up into his eyes. Then she reached behind his head with the hand holding the blaster and pulled his face down, kissing him firmly on the lips.

He was a little stiff at first, and then warmed up to the kiss, just as she ended it and pushed him away. "If you don't come back, I'm keeping this." The smuggler waggled the statue in her other hand. "Just something to keep in mind."

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

"Yeah, I'll....keep that in mind." Niklos replied, suprised that Arya had done that. Suprised in a good way, of course.

Giving her one last look, he pulled on his jacket and headed out of the door and down the corridor until he reached the speeder the pair had used on the job before. Pulling on his mask, he opened up the trunk, and reached inside.

[Oddball]

Checking the coast was clear, Oddball lifted out a speeder bike, in a two seperate pieces, the main body and the handlebar. Sliding and locking them in, he slid onto the seat, and checked the engine was working. Taking his jacket off and stowing it safely under the seat, Oddball hit the accelerator and sped out into the early morning Coruscant sun.

-----

Keeping one eye on the display in front of him, Oddball watched as he closed in on the flashing light representing the speeder the processor was being transported in. It was now within three blocks of him, and getting closer. Turning sharply, the mercenary brought his bike to a sharp right turn, and look forward to see his target, which stood out plainly. A large black speeder was slowly lumbering by, it's height standing out clearly amongst the rest of the traffic. Slowly leaning forward, Oddball reached out at the front of the bike, and pulled out a length of cable, with one end attatched to the bike and the other ending in a magnetic clamp.

Slowly, he got up onto a crouching position on the seat, and readied himself.


Arya in her bedclothes, be there, calm down...


As the target neared, Oddball jumped.


Grabbing onto the side of the speeders roof, Oddball pressed the clamp against the side, and clambered up. The speeder continued away until the cable tightened, at which point it veered across, following behind. Reaching into his belt, he then continued to pull out a small metal disc. Pressing the small button it housed, Oddball reached across onto the other side of the speeder, and slapped it on, before rolling out of the way. A small explosion followed him, sending shrapnel away to his side, leaving a person-sized hole on the speeders side. Sliding in, he entered the craft to find it more or less empty. The driver was nowhere to be seen, Oddball suspected this to be droid-operated, and all that could be seen was a small box inside a glass case upon the floor. Smashing it open, Oddball checked inside, and saw the processor smiling back at him. Satisfied, the mercenary stashed the box into his belt, and headed back for the roof.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

The City Watch weren’t exactly renowned for being the most reliable law enforcers but when it came to getting the job done they worked like an efficient machine. If each member was a cog, Sergeant Burckharf was the most well oiled. Her sharp temper and detachment from any form of social life made her an excellent beat officer, helped also by the uncanny sense of smell she possessed. Today that nose had been one of the key factors in getting her into what was soon to be a very exciting situation indeed.

The squad car she and one of the Lance-Corporals were sat in had been nestled been two blocks of apartments for some time now. While he counterpart single handedly devoured a box of donuts, Dirka watched in silent vigil what was going on before her. She hadn’t said a word all morning and so when she finally did speak her aide jumped.

“Drive!”

She snapped and the speeder pulled out into the street with a deep hum. There was a screech as others tried to halt their vehicles, narrowly missing ploughing into the mark Watch car. Another hiss of the engines and the vehicle was veered upwards heading for the delinquent on the nearby rooftop.

[Oddball]

Crawling to the edge of the speeder's roof, Oddball could see that a City Watch speeder was nearing his location, and they didn't seem to be taking their time. Scrambling to the magnetic clamp, he turned a small switch, causing the cable to return inside the Swoop. Timing his breaths, Oddball hopped off the roof, landing straight into the bike's seat. Removing the clamp, the mercenary hit the accelerator, aiming to get as far away from the City Watch as possible.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

The most important rule when dealing with the Watch was this – never run. Only a guilty man would ever run, so if you do see the flaring lights and hear the sirens, sit back and look as calm as possible. Since the suited man was doing neither, he was immediately incriminated in Dirka’s eyes, leading to her barking out more commands of ‘faster’ and ‘come on’ to the rookie on her right.

The Watch speeders were not the fastest models by far, but they were managing to gain on Oddball. People tended to steer aside when the Police were seen, which was giving both participants of the chase a clear run, allowing the speed to increase in leaps and bounds.

[Oddball]

Glancing behind, Oddball saw the black and white speeder pursuing closely behind.

Frell it, time to turn on the style Oddball thought, taking a sharp right turn.

Looking ahead, the mercenary saw a park of some sort closing fast. Not bothering to decelerate, he dipped the bike to avoid a tree branch, before rising it above the people walking below.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

A mixture of excitement and panic spread through the people in the park as a speeder swerved in through the gate, scorching the grass as it went. It ploughed through the parting crowds who threw themselves aside to get out of the way of the reckless driver who was screaming on after the bike ahead. Jostled about inside of the cab, Dirka was becoming more and more indignant and wagered that was she given the chance to get her hands on this idiot ahead she would do more than just cuff and book him.

[Oddball]

Sending his bike through a bush ahead, Oddball turned to see the speeder still in hot pursuit. Frelling maniacs in the law these days. They'll kill someone driving like that thought the mercenary as he narrowly dodged a pedestrian. In an attempt to distract his pursuers, he raised his hands and started waving them to a tune he hummed to himself, hoping there were no sharp turns ahead.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

“What the frell is that maniac doing?”

Dirka was craned right against the dash, virtually boring a hole in the windscreen as she glared ahead. The speeder bumped against the ground and rocked precariously – it was an old car and in need of a good service, or perhaps a full body rework after this journey.

“He is going to get someone- rookie watch where you’re going swerve- killed!”

Seizing up a small comm into her hand, Dirka yelled:

“Pull over!”

[Oddball]

Hearing the voice behind, Oddball made a hand gesture that indicated that he would not be pulling over at this moment in time, before heading towards an area with trees reaching high into the sky. Hoping that the speeder would have to stop or go the long way round, the mercenary started to try and line the speeder up so it could get down a small path through the middle. It was then he heard a CLUNK.

"I think that's meant to stay on the bike" he said as he saw a large piece from the front of the bike drop onto the ground. Turning round to see the trees getting closer, Oddball tried to turn the bike, but found the controls to have stiffened. Realising he didn't have long to think, he pulled his left leg over to the other side of the bike and jumped, moments before the bike drove itself into a tree, exploding.

Landing back first on the ground Oddball slowly prodded himself, as if he couldn't believe he was in one piece.

"That whole luck thing works then. I'm okay!" He said triumphantly, as a large branh landed on him.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

There was an ear-splitting screech as the speeder halted in true dramatic form, going from full speed to being completely stationary on the blink on an eye. The corporal barreled out of the car, thrown out by the force of Dirka leaving as she almost flung the door off of its hinges. The whole of the park was in a fluster and property had been damaged. That added to this costumed lunatics charges.

“Alright, hands in the air and get that frelling mask off!”

There was a blaster on the Sergeants hip, but she didn’t take it to hand. Evidently she had a far more formidable weapon in her own two hands. Behind her, her counterpart did have his gun out however, but even to the most untrained eye it was apart it was neither loaded nor being held correctly.

[Oddball]

Looking out before him, Oddball turned the steering yoke on his craft "The Krazy Kowakian", checking his navigation system that was to the side of where he stood to check the location of the nearby black hole. The Kowakian was a heavily modified Baudo-class star yacht, made to Oddball's slightly strange specifications. The entire cockpit had been altered, now lacking it's outer shell. Instead, a large clear dome had been placed over the entire craft, leaving it looking open topped to a distance. A large support beam in the centre of the dome had been improved by adding platforms at spaced distances upwards, for more floorspace. Overall, quite the eccentric craft.

"Ship ahead!" came a cry from above, as Oddball looked up to see the Imperial he had fought in the airbase he had broken into to steal some files. Of course, Oddball KNEW there was a ship ahead, he had sensors, but he always liked to keep his crew on it's toes. The ship wasn't particularly large, just a pleasure yaucht, but an expensive one at that.

"All hands on deck! All those that can't fight, go below!" barked the Mercenary, feeling a slight rush as people did as he said. He watched as Heedon Brank and his Wraith scrambled to the Tractor Beam, the Rodian powering it up the moment he reached it. Glancing across, he saw Jak making last minute adjustments to a large gun on the front of the ship, whooping in delight as it eventually powered on.

Hearing a door hiss open, Oddball watched Wagner, or at least that's what he thought his name was, run out, Pooky and Bobo in close pursuit. They change course slightly as that woman Oddball fought on Coruscant and Arya, both wearing long tight dresses, ran past them and down into where the armoured trio had just left. Reaching the cannon at the front, Wagner proceeded to pick up Bobo, and insert him down the barrell of the gun.

"Shall I fire the Mini-droid sir?" he asked, looking straight at Oddball.

".....Arr."


Rising suddenly, Oddball shook his head, checking he was back in the real world. I need to lay off the Popitarts thought the Mercenary, before looking around. Hearing a shout, he turned to see a female officer shouting orders at him, with possibly the most unintimidating officer he had ever seen close behind.

"Awww, you bring comic relief on your jobs." said Oddball as he slowly got up off the ground, dusting down his costume.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

Corporal Knobs, somewhere behind Dirka, frowned. He had been a member of the force longer than the Sergeant and yet somehow he was always pigeon-holed as the bumbling butterfingers.

“Yes, it lulls people like you into a false sense of security so that when we do actually take you down, we get to see that priceless look on your face.”

The Sergeant took a few more confident steps forward, “Am I going to have to use this?” she palmed the blaster into one hand and held it up. She disliked it with a passion but wouldn’t hesitate to pulling the trigger if need be.

“Or are you,” she groaned, “going to come quietly?”

[Oddball]

"GALLLALLLALLLALLLALLLALLLALLLALLALALLLLALLLALLLALL ALLALLA!!!!!" Shouted Oddball, his body not moving.

"Let's try a different question. Why don't you come with me? Come live your life as a Mercenary. It's a fun life, meet lots of interesting people, go lots of interesting places, blow lots of interesting things up. You'll love it! We can share everything fifty fifty, especially the bed, rawr, and we'll still come out of it as rich as Emperors. What do you say?" He said, knowing she wouldn't say yes, but it would at least buy him a few more moments.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

“No.”

Dirka smiled the prim smile of a woman who’s upbringing had been strict enough to teach her when to offer someone an appraising expression, even when she really would have preferred to have had her hands around their neck. If he wasn’t about to come quietly, then she’d have to take him by force, and quite frankly that was what she preferred.

Removing a telescopic nightstick from her belt, she flicked the baton towards so that it extended to about three foot long. The Sergeant began to pace forwards, her ‘partner’ for the day keeping a good aim on Oddball while his superior approached – weapon in one hand, stuncuffs in the other.

[Oddball]

"Awww, shame. We would have worked so well together, everywhere." replied Oddball as he brought his hand behind his back. Reaching down, he slowly reached down and pulled his "Stick" from it's holster. Gently easing the release button, the stick extended, although still shorter than his opponents.

"Well, I'll put it down to you not getting to know me. Hi, my names Oddball, I'm not too old, witty, adventurous, ambitious andI'm about to make this a fair fight." he said, and dived for the ground. Grabbing a rock, he spun around and threw the rock towards the officer holding the gun.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

Nobbs, of course, fumbled his gun as though the rock was a grenade and ended up shooting himself in the foot. He hopped backwards, collapsing against the speeder to the sound of his Sergeant sighing.

“Well, Oddball, thank you for that. That’s assaulting an officer added to your list of growing chargers,” she snorted, before bearing down on the costumed freak with a sharp crack of the nightstick.

[Oddball]

"Well to be precise, he assaulted the officer. I merely threw a rock." He said, watching her movements.

"So, you remember my name? That's good. Means you'll not forget me."

Although the woman didn't look that much, Oddball knew that often they were the most dangerous of people, as you can expect little from them. The fact she had the guts to approach him alone said a lot for her, and she appeared to handle her Nightstick well.

"So, can I find out anything about you? Name, rank, home Holonet number?" He finished, taking a step backwards.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

“Sergeant Dirka Burckharf, Coruscant City Watch Special Branch.”

That was a name that struck fear into most people. Dirka was known to travel with a pet vornskyr that tore people to pieces for just breathing. The Watch seemed have given her one hundred and one loopholes to exploit when it came to her approach to law and order, which she was most thankful for.

“You know, I don’t like having to do this,” the nightstick was lifted and flicked out to Oddball with a twist of her wrist.

[Oddball]

Bringing his weapon up, Oddball narrowly deflected her blow, her Nightstick only glancing the side of his arm. He used her weapon being down to his advantage by bringing his body sideways into hers, and sending his elbow into her chest twice, using the second to help propel himself away from her.

"Well, aren't I the breathtaking one?" The mercenary quipped, spinning his weapon in his hand.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

Air momentarily knocked out of her lungs, Dirka used Oddball’s gloating as a chance to catch her balance and breathe. She struck back again with the same strength as before, this time managed to connect a hit with the upstarts legs as she swept the nightstick in down so that the point of connection was just above the knee, on the outside of his leg.

[Oddball]

Staggering backwards, Oddball used his good leg to steady himself, before standing up straight. He didn't think his leg had been damaged seriously, but it still hurt bad. Trying to ignore it, he looked up at the officer.

"You know, you could be a little nicer. What have I ever done to you? Barring the elbows in your ribs, anyway."

Breaking into a run, Oddball brought his arm back, as if to swing at his opponent. But at the last minute the Mercenary dropped his head down, bringing his shoulder into the womans chest, knocking the pair over.

Scrambling off the floor, the mercenary pinned her down by sitting on her, before bringing his weapon down towards her head.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

Dirka rose the nightstick to meet Oddball’s attack, and managed just to stop it. Now pinned underneath him, it would appear that she didn’t have very many options. She grunted as she gave the merc’s weapon a shove to knock it away, throwing a punch at his jaw with her free hand.

[Oddball]

Seeing the punch late, Oddball could only soften the blow by bringing his head back, causing the fist to only glance his chin. Deciding it was getting dangerous on here, the mercenary decided it was time to move. Catching her hand, he brought it down, pinning her other hand to the ground.

Hopping upwards, Oddball swung his knees up, catching her on the jaw, before rolling to his feet a short distance away.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

Dirka’s head snapped back at the shot from Oddball’s knee. She hissed through her teeth and gave her jaw a few testing movements – it felt fine. Sitting up, she twisted out to the side, attempting to knock the merc’s legs out from beneath him with a sudden swing.

[Oddball]

Feeling a sudden blow to his legs Oddball collapsed to the floor, hitting his head on the grass. His head throbbing, the mercenary slowly rolled away from his opponent, groaning.

"Usually when I wake up with a sore head and lying next to a woman, it's in better circumstances." he quipped, slowly trying to get up.

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

“Perhaps if you stopped talking you’d fair better in this fight,” Dirka sneered as she too rose up to her feet.

But somehow I don’t see that happening, she thought to herself as he once again aimed for the mercenary’s legs – hoping to weaken them enough so that she could get a hold on him and cuff him.

[Oddball]

"STOP TALKING? Where's the fun in that? How would you hear my quick wit?" replied Oddball as he jumped back, missing most of the kicks force. Upon landing he instantly leapt back forward, swinging a punch towards the officer.

"Fly!"

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

The punch just caught Dirka – it wasn’t enough to send her flying, but enough to give her a little shake. She recoiled with a hiss as her shoulder – the point of impact – ached. Another hit was thrown and to counter it the Sergeant made a quick snap of the nightstick which met with Oddball’s wrist sharply. Silently, the Lupine prayed that back up was on the way, if only to clear the still small but growing audience that was building up.

[Oddball]

Oddball stepped backwards holding his wrist, trying to ignore the pain.

"The law have given me.......a slap on the wrist! I didn't realise it was literal!" he quipped, before getting into a fighting stance.

"Soooooooo, going to give up now?"

[Sergeant Dirka Burckharf]

“No.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Not until I see you cuffed and thrown in a cell.”

[Oddball]

"Well, you'll be trying for a long time then." Replied Oddball, stepping back. He knew he couldn't keep at this for long, she'd have backup coming any time now. Doubting he could take her before they arrived, the Mercenary decided to escape while he still had the chance. After all, he had what he wanted already.

Spinning his weapon round, Oddball aimed it towards his opponent and fired the grappling hook. As expected, she stepped aside so it flew some distance past her, the cord embedding itself into a distant tree. Pressing a button, Oddball then lifted his feet up and let it recoil, sending him sailing through the air.

"Byeeee!" he shouted to his adversary as he sped past to what he thought was safety, not seeing the Razorbush below the tree he was heading for...

[Oddball]

Slowly getting up, Oddball felt a sharp pain in his chest. Glancing down, he could see blood slowly trickling down from a large wound that has ripped his costume. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a small spray, and proceeded to use it on any patches of blood that had landed on the floor. Within seconds, the Ammonia would prevent the blood from being any use to anyone searching for him. Pulling the torn ends of his costume together to cover the wound as well as possible, Oddball headed towards the end of the platform.

Looking down, he was pleased to see that he was above a train dock. Firing his grappling hook next to his feet, the mercenary hopped off the edge, and slowly lowered himself onto the roof of the waiting train. Slipping into a nearby carriage, he saw that it was full of luggage. It didn't take long to find himself a long coat, which he put on to cover his costume.

Hiding his mask in an inside coat pocket, he then headed towards the exit, hoping to be able to get off before the train left.

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

Checking that noone was following him, Niklos opened the door to room 11-38 and slipped inside. Despite leaving in the early morning, he had only now got back to the room in the late afternoon. He could have got here a lot sooner, but after the earlier events, he had decided to take his time in order to lose anyone who might be following him. Having walked up and down various levels of Coruscant he had taken a Taxi to a distant residential sector, before taking another Taxi back to almost where he had started.

Heading to the refresher, the mercenary slowly peeled off his costume. His wound was now healed up fully, although a scar was still visible. Thanking to maker for an improved metabolism or whatever the reason for this ability was, he washed the dried blood off him before grabbing a towel and heading into the other room for clothes. Pulling out some loose shorts and shirt, he headed back into the main room, and collapsed onto the bed.

"Honey, I'm home!" he shouted, not knowing if Arya was around or not.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"I'd have to be a dead bantha not to hear you rummaging around in the other room." Arya walked in from 'her room' and sat down at her computer terminal, her posture indicating she'd been doing much of the same all day. "You've been a busy boy...the police grids are all lit up and buzzing about you. Assault on an officer and resisting arrest. Good job."

She tossed him a sandwich wrapped in plastic. "An extra from lunch, I ordered too much."

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

Niklos opened the wrapping, a smile on his face.

"The important thing is that the processor is safe. Safe and sound, in my....." he trailed off, realising the end of that sentence was torn and damaged costume that I dumped in the bathroom. Scrambling to his feet, he dived into the pile of clothes and began opening belt pouches until he found the objective. Triumphantly, he strode to the table and put it down,

"Safe, and sound."

[Arya Ravenwing]

She rolled her eyes. "I'd think you were an amatuer, except for the fact that you've actually done what you wanted to do and come back in one piece."

Arya walked over and sat on the edge of the dresser. She was holding the statuette in her hands. "So, now what?"

[Niklos Thorson (Oddball)]

".....No, best not reply honestly, you may be armed." quipped Oddball, sitting back on the bed. Reaching into the bedside table, he pulled out a small device and pressed a button hidden in a compartment.

"I've just given our employers a signal that we have the processor. We'll get our next objective tommorow if the small green robot in the cape is on time." He continued, keeping a straight face.

"Otherwise, suppose we wait." Finished the mercenary, re-concealing the button.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Small green robot..? Somehow I don't want to know." The darkhaired smuggler set the ugly statuette on the dresser next to her, and shrugged. "Well, waiting is all well and good, but do you think it's okay if I go get some dinner?"

She wasn't really asking for permission. Arya was already pulling on her nerfhide jacket before she paused and looked at the reclining male. "D'ya want me to pick you up something while I'm out? Tagging along is okay as well, as long as you mind your manners." She checked the power cell on her blaster, and secured it in the shoulder holster.