Chapter 3: Archaic

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric grinned and patted her on the back. "Good job team, let's keep moving," he said, motioning them towards the stairs.

[Drake 53]

Takeshi stopped at the fallen Mandalorian bounty hunter and knelt next to him. The smoke from the grenade had dissipated enough to tolerate breathing normally so it wasn't necessary for him to drag the body clear. He checked the Mando for a pulse.

"He's still alive. Just unconscious," said Tak with what appeared to be a sigh of relief. "Nima, shoot him up with something that will keep him out for a little while. I don't want him running around like a pissed off ronto after I deprive him of his most valued possession."

Arlan asked, curiously, "And that would be what exactly?"

"His armour," Tak replied as he began stripping the bounty hunter of his suit. "You took down the cams in this section, right? So Deign has no idea who won this fight. Captain, permission to propose another insane and extremely risky idea?"

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

Atuarre stiffened slightly at Aeric's touch. She wasn't accustomed to such a casual gesture, either from a commanding officer or a male. It was...odd. She also saw where Takeshi's thoughts were heading.

"I see where you're going with this. At least partly." She crinkled her snout in disgust. "He smells. Bad."

[Drake 53]

"Understandable," Takeshi agreed. "He's been fighting for most of the day. The filters in the suit scrubbers need to be cleaned." He started fitting the armour onto himself. "A little snug but it'll work."

"I think I know what you're going to suggest," said Aeric, "but I'll humor you. Permission to make your proposal."

Tak nodded. "Well, sir. I suggest we disguise ourselves and infiltrate Deign's quarters. That way, we lull him into a false sense of security and limit the risk of Argos using Layla as a human-shield. Well...Zeltron-shield, I suppose." He finished suiting up by placing the helmet on his head. HIs voice came through the suit's external comm. "Ahh. Home sweet home. Sort of. It does smell in here."

[Princess 35]

While Takeshi was stripping the Mando of his armor Nima loaded up a syringe with the most powerful sedative she had. She selected "Wookiee" on the controller and jammed it into his thigh. "There, enough to fell an angry Wookiee, he should be down for a while."

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he said, throwing open the door and leading his team down the stairwell.

[Bad furday 57]

The stairwell was poorly lit. While one would not expect a leader like Deign Argos to be caught without stairs incase the turbolifts failed, the concept of being able to see each step clearly seemed

at least the very basic of safety standards.

"Too cheap to install extra lighting for the stairs!" muttered Aeric.

Atuarre increased her grip on the hover sled, as it tilted almost forty five degrees, to compensate for the overal downwards angle of the steps.

"Let's get these two levels over with, fast!"

[Drake 53]

When they reached the bottom landing, Takeshi peered through the small window in the door leading out. The hallway beyond was vacant. Tak turned to face the team, crouching below the window. "Something doesn't seem right. Argos' room is at the other end of this corridor. Security should be tight but there's no one in view and this suit's sensors aren't picking up infrared or movement out there. Arlan, are the cams out on this level too?"

Arlan checked a datapad and nodded. "Yes. I got them all."

"Okay," Tak said. "Well, I guess the easiest thing to do is for me to just go out there and see what's up. Afterall, I am Deign's trusted hired gun."

"Go check it out," said Aeric. "Fall back and signal us if things get out of hand. Don't be a hero."

Tak grinned beneath the helmet. The gesture was translated in the tone of his voice. "Copy that. But it's not like I can just turn off being a hero, sir."

The team moved to either side of the door, staying out of sight while Tak slid open the door and walked out into the hallway. He mimicked the stride of the bounty hunter, playing the role perfectly. He didn't turn his head suspiciously, instead relying on the 360 degree camera view afforded by the sensors in the helmet.

About halfway down the hall, four figures emerged from shadowed alcoves in the walls. They wore black armorweave suits with light plating and helmets that concealed their faces. The uniforms were emblazoned with a blood red symbol of Archaic above the right breast. They were some sort of elite guard.

"Is it just the four of you?" Takeshi asked.

One of the guards, presumably their leader, stepped in front of Tak. "The rest were repositioned to head off the attack in the hangar. Has the other group of intruders been neutralized? You didn't inform Argos."

Takeshi nodded. "My internal comm system was damaged in the fight. The attackers have been dealt with but one managed to escape. He is a hacker savant and may be using our systems to feed false information to Argos or even you. I suggest cutting off all comms at once."

The leader remained still for a moment then nodded once. "Done. Comms are off. Thanks for the warning."

Edited July 12, 2010 by Drake

[Drake 53]

Takeshi's hand shot forward, jabbing the lead guard in the throat with rigid fingers. The man staggered back, clutching his neck while making gurgling sounds. While the other three were caught in the shock of the sudden strike, Tak delivered a side-kick to the abdomen of the guard to his right. He grabbed the one on the left and swung him into the now-winded second guard, sending both toppling to the floor. The fourth guard started pulling her sidearm from its holster but Tak kicked it from her hand then punched her hard in the ribs. The light armour prevented anything from breaking but Tak could hear her breath leave in a gasp so he took advantage of it and kicked the guard's legs from under her. Her head struck the ground and she stopped moving.

Takeshi saw movement on the helmet's sensors and sidestepped as the first guard stabbed the air, where he had been, with a vibroblade. Tak grabbed the man by the wrist and pushed his arm down while bringing his own knee up to meet it. Despite the armour plating, the guard's arm snapped from the impact. He reeled back, clutching his broken arm. The cry of pain would have no doubt sounded down the hallway, if not for the guard's noise-canceling helmet.

Now with vibroblade in hand, Tak turned to face the second and third guards who were back on their feet. One of them had a blaster and was lifting it to fire so Takeshi whipped the blade at the guard. It embedded itself just below the breastplate. The guard stumbled to the floor, leaving just one more for Tak to deal with.

The last guard took up a defensive stance, hand hovering over his holstered blaster. Tak did the same. It was then that he remembered that it might be a good idea to see what other kinds of offensive weaponry the bounty hunter had at his disposal. A quick check of the suit's inventory list revealed a minidart launcher in the left gauntlet loaded with strong stun-darts. He popped it open and fired a round of darts into the guard's unarmoured inner elbow. The man tried to pull his blaster but the nerve agent had already paralyzed his arm and quickly worked through the rest of his body, dropping him in a matter of seconds.

Takeshi turned around and fired another salvo of darts at the head guard, who had started running towards Argos' door, cradling his broken arm. He toppled over just a couple meters short of his goal.

"It's clear," he announced over the group comm channel.

[Chickenman 9]

"Good job not being a hero," Aeric muttered, stepping over one of the guards and heading for the door to Argos' room.

[Drake 53]

Takeshi went to the door. "Did you get it?" He asked.

"Took a bit," Aston answered, "but I think I've found the code in this guard's pad. He must have been pretty dumb to save it in his pad."

Aeric stepped beside them, checking the power setting on his blaster. "They're usually hired for the brawn, not the brains. Set to stun, we don't want any accidents with Layla or the kid."

Tak frowned. "Understood. Permission to eviscerate Argos on sight?"

"Negative. We want him alive. Scratch that, we want him dead. The Republic wants him alive." He glanced behind him. "Looks like we're ready then. Let's get this over with...finally."

***

The doors to the office slid open and Argos looked up from his desk, hand grasping his blaster. He eased when Jaing walked in, flanked by three of his guards. "About damn time," he growled. "What the hells is going on out there? I've lost my cams and comms."

"The intruders took them down," the Mandalorian reported. He looked across the room to where Layla was sitting. She glared at him. He nodded to the guard to his right.

"Now!" the guard shouted. He brought his blaster up, aiming it at Deign. The other guards followed suit.

Argos grabbed his blaster. "What is the meaning of this!" He was too slow. The Mandalorian brought his own weapon up and shot Deign in the hand, forcing the blaster out of it. The crime lord stumbled back, clutching his maimed hand. "Stang! You traitorous nerfherder! I'll have your head!"

The Mando crossed the gap between them in two long strides. He pulled his helmet off with one hand, revealing Takeshi's grinning face. "Nope. But I'll have yours." He grabbed Argos by the hair and slammed him face-first into the desk. Tak finished him off with a gauntleted punch to the side of the head. Deign slumped back in the chair, unconscious. "That felt really good."

"No doubt, Mr. Hero," said Aeric, pulling off his own helmet. Arlan and Aston did the same. The doors to the office opened and Atuarre and Nima came in. Nima went to check on Layla but she was already with Tak, wrapping her arms around him despite the battle-worn armour between them.

"You smell really bad," she said.

Tak smiled. "Love you too, babe."