ic Blind Man's Bluff (IC)

[Thevshi]

Thuarus

Spinward edge of the Orion-Cygnus Arm, former Khanate Space

Lor time mark 2104.6

 

Thuarus had been one of the more remote worlds of the Stellar Khanate, among the last added to it by the expansionist policies of Star Khan, and far enough away from the center of the Khanate or the Lor Republic that it was bypassed by the Communion during the Incursion, and thus spared much of the upheaval and damage caused by the conflict. When the Incursion ended and the new status quo began to emerge, Thuarus had been among the Khanate worlds to break away from the weakened government of the Khanate. When Star Khan had begun his efforts to reform his broken empire, Thuarus' remoteness had meant it was low in priority, and the Khan's forces had exhausted themselves before they were able to turn their attention to the world.

 

However, this did not mean that Thuarus lacked any turmoil in the post-Incursion era. Shortly after it had declared independence, Thuarus came to the attention of a would-be Khanate warlord trying to carve out his own small domain from the crumbling Khanate. Although not as talented or crafty as some of the other warlords that tried to arise in place of Star Khan, Justicar Gor'an had enough forces at his disposal to enter into a prolonged conflict with the native Thuaruians that the rest of the galaxy was either unaware of or chose to ignore.

 

Recently, the Lor finally decided to take an interest in what was occurring on Thuarus, although its location made it impossible to send any navy vessels to the system, or other military assets. So, instead, the Lor sent a lone diplomate to attempt to negotiate a peace and bring an end to the conflict on the world. Not wanting the diplomate to enter into such a hostile system unattended, the Lor went with the more unconventional route of hiring freelancers to act as bodyguards.

Thus, Eclipse and her crew found themselves accompanying Jor'ran Laar to Thuarus as the Lor set out to broker a deal between the two warring sides. It took several months of work (and more than a few firefights for Eclipse and her crew), but Laar appeared to finally have gotten each side to agree to terms which would end the hostilities.

 

Currently, Eclipse and Rock were standing with Laar, as the Lor waited in a plaza in one of the older cities on Thuarus. Around them were several two or three story brick and stone buildings. While they were integrated with more modern technology, by the standards of most Lor or other Coalition worlds, they were at the very least ‘rustic’ if not bordering on primitive.

Standing to one side of the plaza, were several of the leaders of the native Thuaruians, with about a dozen armed guards behind them. For the most part, the streets of the city were empty, with the occasional citizen walking along the streets and glancing at the gathering before continuing on their way. There was certainly a feeling of tension in the air as they waited for the arrival of Justicar Gor'an and his entourage to arrive.

[Fox]

It seemed like the kind of event that was worth the nice cloak, so Captain Talisyn 'Eclipse' Alar had opted to wear the nice cloak. It was the one without any holes shot through it, long and dark and hanging low to match the nice boots (the ones without any holes in them). Light enough to move in, heavy enough to hide her movement in case she needed to get the jump someone. It couldn't quite hide the long, curved sword that hung off one hip, but that was alright: if someone was looking at the sword, they weren't watching for her blaster, and if they were watching for her blaster they weren't catching the segmented metal tail she had coiled around her legs. It was good to have options, was the thing, and the nice cloak without the blaster holes gave her options.

 

Not that she wanted a fight, exactly - the best bodyguard job was one where everything went smoothly. Bad bodyguard jobs involved long talks full of words like "collateral damage". "I s'pose it's just the trouble they've seen this last while," she said, the black-backed purple rings of her eyes flicking over the surrounding streets, "but it does sometimes make me wonder if they all know something we don't. Empty streets always feel like being in a jungle when all the animals go quiet, don't they?"

[Gizmo]

"Rrrock," Rock countered thoughtfully, thick fingers placed on what would roughly be hips on his blocky torso. The stacked tower of uneven stones outlined with the dull glow of the magma within didn't have anything on par with Eclipse's wardrobe, on account of not having any clothing in the first place but he had made an effort to tidy up his patches of lichen and moss into something vaguely symmetrical. Seeing his captain's cloak flourish as she moved he gave himself another once over, brushing a few loose pebbles from his shoulder before nodding in satisfaction, the gesture coming with a scraping sound.

 

Bringing up the rear with slow, deliberate steps Rock tried giving the few locals who hurried about their way a small wave in greeting, smiling reassuringly. The effect was somewhat lessened by his lack of lips. "Rooock?" he asked Eclipse in a low, gravelly whisper, ready to follow her lead.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Off on their side of the plaza, the native Thuaruians were talking quietly among themselves, occasionally taking nervous glances at the empty streets around them. Jor’ran Laar was standing near Eclipse and Rock. Laar was an older Lor, very good at diplomacy, but no fighter. During his work to get the two sides to the negotiating table, he had known when it was time for him to follow Eclipse lead as she and Rock tried to get him safely out of some hostile situation or another.

 

The Lor gave Eclipse a small smile. "Perhaps, but they have also known cycles of conflict and are still inclined to be weary of any gathering of those most involved in fighting. But if you are right, then my efforts will have been for naught, and the conflict gripping this world will likely continue on."

 

"But regardless, I am very thankful for you and Rock's efforts in assisting me in trying to bring an end to it."

[Fox]

"That's the job," said the captain.

 

She took a moment to scan the non-crowd again before shrugging, one hand raised in a gesture of helpless resignation. "Don't worry about it, Rock. If I'd spent this much time around the fighting I'd be...well, no. I'd be here to watch the show. Probably over there?" She gestured toward a nearby rooftop that apparently met her standards for ill-advised high-stakes spectating. She sounded more reassured than she looked. "But most people would probably want to stay out of it. We'll come back in a few years and I bet the whole place'll be markets and parties. It'll be great."

 

The hand came back down, resting easily on the hilt of her sword. "As long as this deal goes down okay, anyway. No pressure, Laar."

[Gizmo]

Rock gave Laar a pair of enthusiastic thumbs up in support of Eclipse's reassurance, seemingly without a shred of irony. "Roccck!" Tromping away from the middle of the plaza to the closest intersection of streets he rotated in a slow, ponderous circle to look up and down the space between the buildings. Most settlements for Lor-sized sentients were a little cramped for his bulk and even less urbanized areas like this one could feel like they were littered with nooks and crannies he couldn't really access. Searching for hiding spaces where an ambusher or spy might be secreted was a good excuse to indulge his curiosity.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Laar gave Equinox a small smile at her good-spirited jab. "I would very much like to see that future Captain." The elder Lor replied.

 

Rock was the first to spot the approaching delegation from Justicar Gor'an approaching the plaza. Two hover vehicles were slowly making their way down one of the main streets from the west. Prominent in one of them, was the Justicar himself, wearing his armor. As per the agreed terms for the meeting, he appeared to have the agreed number of guards with him as the Thuaruian delegation.

 

"An initially promising sign." Stated Laar as he turned to regard the approaching group, as did the Thuaruian delegation.

 

Moving away from where he had been inspecting the various urban hidey-holes, Rock stepped into the main street and happened to glance at the hills to north of the town and spotted a glint of metal among them. But his attention was quickly pulled away from that at the sound of something up in the air. Looking up, Rock spotted a humanoid figure descending rapidly from the sky.

Back in the main plaza, Eclipse spotted the flying figure as well, a bit before the Thuaruian delegates and Laar. "What is this?" Asked the Lor.

A moment later, the figure landed in the main street, about halfway between where Justicar Gor'an's vehicles were and the main plaza. Although the figure’s landing kicked up considerable dust, the figure was still plainly visible and one that everyone present instantly recognized. The figure stood nearly six and a half feet tall, and was dressed in teal armor with a black under suit visible at the joints. On the shoulder pauldrons was a black circle with a yellow eight-pointed starburst, a similar, much larger white starburst was on the chest plate. The figure wearing the armor had grey-blue skin, high cheekbones and a flowing mane of white hair and tapered ears.

 

"Star Khan!" Ambassador Laar stated, his voice filled equally with both shock and anger.

 

Standing closer than the rest, Rock was able to see that while the figure bore some resemblance to the Khanate dictator he had helped defeat toward the end of the Incursion, he was much too young.

[Fox]

Eclipse

 

"Mm-mm," corrected Eclipse. She hadn't moved much - her hand was still resting easily on the hilt of her sword, gun arm (and gun, for that matter) hidden beneath the cloth of her cloak - but the glowing purple of her irises flexed as she scanned them over the newcomer. She'd long since had ECHO assemble the available information on the major players of the fractured Khanate, and he'd fed the relevant info into her HUD as soon as she'd laid eyes on the starburst.

 

Granted, she'd only pulled that data because she thought one of Gor'an's rivals or enemies might cause trouble, or maybe she'd need to deal with (or cause) some dissention in the ranks. But this was...unexpected. Which only meant she should have expected it. "Too young - it'll be one of his sons. Probably Kinarr, 'less another survivor's come out of the black. What do you think, Rock - look familiar?"

[Gizmo]

"Rock!" Rock exclaimed with the distinct vehemence of an expletive as the figure landed, the whole of his considerable mass rearing up on one foot as he twisted and recoiled with his hands in front of his craggy face as if startled by an unexpected pest animal running across a kitchen floor. His stoney brow lowered in a squint as he got a better look at the young man and his raised foot landed back on the roughhewn street with an audible impact and a small cloud of dust. Rock scratched the top of his head in bemusement before taking a tentative step closer. "Rooock...?" he called out cautiously with a wave, keeping his bulk between the Khanate arrival and their Lor charge.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

As might be expected the sudden appearance of what appeared to be Star Khan caused a great deal of commotion within the Thuarian delegation, who’s bodyguards were drawing their weapons. Ambassador Laar waived them to hold any fire as he looked to Eclipse. "I hope you are right Captain, but even so, I am not sure that is any better."

 

The young Zultasian wearing Star Khan’s armor looked between the two sides, noting Rock and his cautions wave. The armored figure gave the hulking Rock a small smile a slightly nodded his head in recognition of the wave before going back to more generally considering the two sides.

"I am Kinarr Khan, with the passing of my father, I am the new Star Khan and ruler of the Stellar Khanate!" He called out in a loud voice. He then turned in the direction of the hover vehicles containing Justicar Gor’an and his routine. "Justicar Gor'an, you and your forces are ordered to immediately cease all hostilities with the Thurians and return to the Stellar Khanate."

 

He then turned back towards the group gathered around Eclipse. "People of Thuarus, honorable ambassador of the Republic, the Stellar Khanate hereby relinquishes all claim to Thuarus."

 

The Thuarian delegation and Ambassador Laar all seemed rather taken aback by the turn of events, pausing for a moment, uncertain how to respond.

 

It was then that energy blasts from Justicar Gor’an’s routine flashed around Kinarr Khan, a couple glancing harmlessly off his armor. Meanwhile, where Rock had spotted some reflection of light in the nearby hills, a Khanate dropship lifted up into the air and started speeding towards the town.

As the shotting started and the dropship appeared over the hills, the Thuarian bodyguards began pulling the other members of the delegation towards an empty building at the edge of the plaza to take cover in...

[Fox]

Eclipse

 

"Ambassador," said Eclipse, eyes narrowing as the fight broke out, "you may want to join your friends in some shelter. I can't believe I'm saying this...but I guess we back up the Khan."

 

All at once she was moving, dashing to the side and away from the retreating non-combatants as fast as her legs would carry her - which, it turned out, was quite fast indeed. Her gun arm lashed up as soon as she'd closed some distance, blaster emerging from her cloak to send several bolts of crackling plasma toward the troopers backing Gor'an - it wasn't enough to take them down, which earned a solid curse out of her, but hopefully it would draw their attention away from soft targets and potential hostages.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The ambassador did not argue with Eclipse as the shooting started, running over to join the Thurian delegation.

 

Off down the main road, the Justicar glanced at Eclipse a moment, but then turned back to the young Star Khan and leveled his power pike at the Khan. "Die pretender!" the Justicar yelled out as a powerful blast of energy flashed down the street, slamming squarely into the Khan's chest plate.

 

Kinarr staggered back a step, but then stood back upright, a smoking burn mark on his chest plate but otherwise appearing unharmed. He scowled at the Justicar a moment. "I will deal with you in moment traitor." He simply stated, before flying up into the air and toward the approaching dropship. Coming to a halt a short distanced away, the Star Khan brought up one hand and aimed it at the vessel. A bright beam of red energy flashed out and struck the dropship’s wings, causing some damage, but not enough to knock it out of the sky.

[Gizmo]

As usual it took Rock a little longer to react than Eclipse, as he did his best to parse the rapidly changing and escalating situation. He wasn't entirely sure who the different sides of the erupting conflict actually were but only one group had immediately started shooting and in his experience that was a pretty good indicator of who needed to spend some time on the ground.

 

Lowering his shoulder he charged toward the Justicar who had struck Kinarr, his heavy footfalls picking up speed and momentum until his considerable mass was barreling forward like a sentient avalanche. "Rrrrock!" All of that force was transferred to a punch that dented in a portion of his target's chest armour, setting Gor’an back half a step. Rock straightened up to his full height before the Justicar and his troopers and cracked his knuckles with a sound like a rock tumbler.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Out in the open terrain to the north of the town, the transport opened fire on Star Khan, the laser fire impacting on his armor, but glancing harmlessly off as two robotic forms dropped out of the back of the transport to land on the ground below. The transport flew past Star Khan, passing over the two before making a wide loop to the south to turn back around.

 

The two Hunters deployed from the transport stood fully upright, their pilots moving them forward toward the town. As they moved, the two massive suits of armor opened fire on Star Khan, but both missed their target.

 

Over by Justicar Gor'an, the troopers accompanying the Justicar all jumped out of the hover vehicles and began spreading out along the street. Two aimed their blasters at Eclipse and opened fire, one of the shots coming close, but still missing the agile starship captain.

Three others opened fire on Rock, but were clearly panicked, as their shots were well wide of the target.

The other five troopers opened fire on the building the Thurian delegation had gone into, peppering the areas around the door and window with blaster fire, and keeping the Thurian bodyguards keeping their heads down for the moment.

[Fox]

Eclipse

 

Eclipse skidded to a halt as blaster fire rained past her, sparing a glance back toward the delegates. "I don't know who teaches you troopers how to prioritize targets," she said, tightening her grip on her blaster; it shifted, flexing outward and humming ominously. "But I was military once, and I'm kind of embarrassed just watching this."

 

Her inhuman eyes glowed bright as she painted a number of crosshairs only she could see, and then up came the blaster - swept side to side it discharged a bolt per target, each curving unerringly toward bodies too slow or poorly-armored to stop them. "Back to school for the lot of you."

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Eclipse’s hail of blaster fire quickly put down just over half of the troopers that had been with the Justicar Gor'an, who glanced in her direction before looking over to the remaining four troopers beside him. "Spread out and deal with her!" He shouted, before focusing on the hulking figure that charged him. "I will deal with this one."

The Justicar stepped forward stabbing with his power pike. He was a skilled fighter, and easily hit the massive Rock. But the huge mercenary took the attack with seemingly little acknowledgment that it had even struck him.

Out to the north of the town, Star Khan stopped to hover in place, glancing over his shoulder at the circling transport before focusing on the two Hunters down in the open field, firing up at him. Raising one of his gauntleted hands in front of him, the young Zultasian fired a powerful bolt of energy at one of the Hunter’s striking it solidly and knocking it off its feet and more than a dozen meters back, where the pilot tried to get back up but was dazed from the attack….

[Gizmo]

Amidst the hail of curving tracer rounds from Eclipse, shouts of surprise and yelps of pain sounding in chorus, Rock looked down impassively at where the the Justicar had struck him. "Rock?" he offered simply, hoping Gor’an might be convinced to skip what seemed like the inevitable next steps and get around to surrendering. The career soldier's ready fighting stance made it clear that a peaceful resolution was not n the cards. With a sigh like tectonic plates shifting Rock thrust one hand forward with surprising speed and palmed the Justicar's entire head, broad fingers wrapping around the back of the helmet. Raising his arm he lifted Gor'an off of his feet and into the air and began to squeeze with enough power to audibly crack the combat armour.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

To the south of the town, the dropship slowed down as it closed with the town and then set down in the barren landscape. Twenty of the Khanate troopers ran out of the back and onto the ground, before the dropship lifted back up into the air and began accelerating once again.

 

Out to the north of the town, the two Khanate Hunters were unaware how much trouble the Justicar they worked for was in. One managed to get the view screens recalibrated and was ready to get the mecha back up on its feet. The other meanwhile fired again on Star Khan, but still missed the flying figure.

 

Over along the main road, the four Khanate troops still on their feet watched as Rock violently grappled the Justicar by his head, the man inside the armor crying out in pain as Rock squeezed. The troopers all then turned and ran, ducking down sides streets or alleyways to get out of sight of Rock and Eclipse.

To the south, the new group of Khanate troopers began spreading out, half of them heading in the direction of where the Justicar was, the other half heading toward the building containing the Thurian delegation, their bodyguards and the Lor ambassador. As they approached, several of the Thurian bodyguards opened fire, one of the Khanate troopers getting struck squarely by a blaster bolt and going down, while a second was clipped by one and injured.

[Fox]

Eclipse

 

Eclipse shook her head, but didn't try to stop the troopers from running - their cowardice was between them and their leadership, along with the rest of their personal failings.

 

She kept her blaster at the ready, though, jogging back toward Rock and Gor'an as its casing clacked back together with an angry, overheated hiss. "Have you considered surrender?" she asked, somewhat louder than necessary - her attention was mostly to the south, eyeing those trooper transports. Not for the first time, she wondered if she should pack or crew some kind of longer-range or explosive option.... "Looks like you came equipped for backwater militias, not a young Khan with something to prove and definitely not Rock here." She spared a glance at them, grinning enough to expose her double-canines. "Maybe if you show you have a good head on your shoulders, you'll get to keep it?"

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Gor'an seemed like he might want to respond, but he was unable to as he was desperately holding on to Rock's wrist with his free hand, as he was held aloft by his head. He grunted in pain and the grip on his power pike tightened as he seemed unwilling to yield.

 

Out over the open space to the north of the town, Star Khan stayed in the air as he fired another blast at the Hunter he had previously brought down. However, the blast glanced off the mech, as it began climbing back to its feet.

[Gizmo]

Rock looked down the length of his extended arm to gauge Gor'an's reaction to Eclipse's advice before given a mighty shrug that bounced the restrained Justicar from his captive cranium. "Rock." Planting one foot forward and rotating at the waist he wound up before launching the military man in an overhand fastball pitch, sending nearly three hundred pounds of armoured soldier rocketing away with the speed and force of a ballistic shell.

 

Gor'an's silhouette rapidly diminished into the distance, forcing Rock to squint and shield his eyes from the sun to watch before the dropship in the distance shook in the air from the thunderous impact of its commanding officer colliding with its hull. "Rock," he mused aloud to Eclipse before beginning to amble toward the young Star Khan and the ambulatory war machines.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

After striking the side of the dropship, the armored form of the Justicar plummeted down to the rocky surface of the area north of the town. The transport looped around after the impact, before setting down nearby, several crew members exited to check on their leader.

Meanwhile, the two Hunter mechs continued to move forward, both shooting up at the young Star Khan. While both managed to hit this time, both blasts glanced harmlessly off his power armor.

 

To the south of town, the Khanate troopers continued moving forward, the ten heading in Eclipse's direction spreading out as they moved quickly to try to close the distance. Those headed toward plaza also moved quickly, under continued fire from Thuarians, with two being hit, one stumbling slightly and falling behind.

[Fox]

Eclipse

 

Rock's captain gave a low whistle, shading her eyes with one hand as she watched the Justicar do his best impression of a bird. She sometimes missed her original eyes, but not moments like this where she could zoom in. "Nice throw," she said, rapping an appreciative set of knuckles against Rock's shoulder as they split back up.

 

With nobody immediately firing at her - and nobody to fire back upon - she broke into a light jog, setting herself back toward the plaza and the ambassador and the guards...and, ideally, a little cover before all those troopers caught up with her. "Should've asked Nae-Dae if I could borrow her rocket launcher," she said to nobody in particular, fiddling with her blaster. "I don't think she'd have let me, but I really could've asked."

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Eclipse was able to reach the plaza once again, using a stone fountain in the center as cover as she looked to the south and the approaching troopers.

 

Up in the air to the north, the young Star Khan watched the dropship land to retrieve the injured justicar with a frown. However, while the Hunters were not a particular threat to him, if left unchecked they could be to the Thuarians located in the town.

Turning his attention to the Hunters once more, he saw the massive form of Rock moving out of the town to intercept the Hunter that had advanced the furthest. So, Star Khan again fired a blast of energy at the Hunter he had damaged before, striking it solidly and once again knocking it to the ground. At least for the moment.

[Gizmo]

Rock jogged across the uneven landscape at about the highest speed he could manage without doing a passable impression of seismic activity. Once he'd closed the distance he dropped his shoulder and threw himself into a somersault, tucking his blocky knees to his chest and becoming a massive, self-propelled boulder headed for the closer Hunter mech's legs. Unfortunately the highly telegraphed attack gave the suit's pilot ample time to simply step over Rock as he rolled by, the Hunter's massive gait clearing the stoney mercenary with surprising agility. Springing back  up to his feet on the other side of his target Rock ground the flat edges of his jaws against each other in annoyance, exhaling a little puff of dust.