Terrible Ten

(This is not an RPG. Just a side project of mine I will continue. I cant think of a better place to put it than the Cantina. Enjoy!)



- Terrible Ten


Location: Coruscant lower levels
Small Imperial Rations & Armory Storage # 6225B69

The crime infested underbelly of Coruscant's lower levels was usually the last place in the galaxy any sane creature would want to be, and yet it's immense and overly compacted residencies were occupied with an extremely high percentage of the planet's citizens doing just that. It almost seemed as if not even a single nook of the city-wide planet's durasteel alleyways were free of it's own fractal and ever present sounds. Even within the deepest depths of Coruscant's inhabited core, most of the city's life could still be heard like an infinitely played orchestra of the planet's very soul. It was fairly easy to lose one's sense of "soul" in these dark, immoral and poverty stricken sectors of the lower levels. Between the Empire clutching it's tyrannical grasp on the skinny necks of the easily regulated poor, and the poor themselves regularly breaking laws and fighting for themselves just to survive, the line between 'right' and 'wrong' starts to become blurred quickly living here.
Occupying the corner of a
district's intersection stood a collection of Coruscant security droids and Stormtroopers attending to their posts surrounding an Imperial Storage Unit.
A single unit contained a simple ten by ten space of vaccancy specifically and explicitly designated for extra imperial engineering parts, clothing, armor, and rations. Supplies of which, were mostly taken from native city store owners, public retail markets, food import companies and honest working Coruscanti by the Empire's idea of "justified law".
Beyond the first storage unit sat many more extended to the end of the entire street block, and below, the pattern repeated for many levels.

"Wring the poor dry of everything they need.....then move, just that, right next door."
A young, adolescant male spoke as he surveyed the imperial storage sector through the clunky binoculars in his grip.
"Its almost like they're asking for it."
Placing these giant, ten-leveled storage facilities filled with food all over the planet's surface amongst the city's starving inhabitants never made anysense to him.
""Headmaster always said: You can't move into the Rancor's pit, steal it's food......and expect to stay alive."
Across the giant city crevace's intersection on a balcony overlook, stood ten figures all varying in age, gendar, stature, and species. None of the beings could be clearly seen underneath the shadows of an overhead canopy. All individuals matched the city's exotic, yet grimy appearance and none seemed to have reached adulthood yet.
Despite this fact, each of these adolescants held a concealed weapon in hand, whether it be webbed, fur, or skin alike.
"Whats the plan Onid?"
The young male being then turned from his gaze on the ten floor facility. Beneath his shadow casting hood, the young man's face revealed his species to be some what of a humanoid form.
"We're only gonna hit a few on one floor. We can't any handle more than that."
Upon a further look, Onid Bonazzo looked to be more than just humanoid, based on his very unique alien facial features.
"Here's what we do..."

 

Clusters of shiny white imperial boots marched all along the durasteel platform from one end of the block to the other. The long walkway extended a roughly estimated ten meters out to the durasteel gaurd rails overlooking the giant city's canyon deep streets. Blurred glimpses of speeders and various taxi services quickly whizzed past the ears of Stormtroopers, and Coruscanti pedestrians alike.

Around the block on the left side of the durasteel platform's corner, Onid crouched behind a large stack of empty storage crates with one of his teammates.
His partner towered behind him in the shadows awaiting silently. His body engulfing white fur stood on edge as it did before any mission.
Peaking his eyes around the corner and down the walkway's stormtrooper populated street, Onid whispered through his earpiece communicator.
"Don't let their number's intimidate you, . That armor is about as protective as cloth." Reassuring his team.
"As if. Imperial morons could'nt even hit the broad side of a Star Destroyer..." a Rodian muttered in her native language.
"Alright. Everyone in position?" Onid whispered into his comm.
Onid lifted two fingers to his hidden earpiece to relay the next messege to his crew awaiting.

"All crosshairs lined up and ready to go up here" another female's voice interupted the com silence.

"Greedi and I are holding position on the other side of the block's corner, ready to move when you are."
A male's voice speaking in basic also responded over the comm static. He kneeled around the corner in front of a female Rodian waiting just as patiently.
"Copy that, Shrew." Onid nodded his head to himself in affirmation.

"Trips......are you guys finished setting up down there?" Onid questioned into his wrist.

"The net is ready down below!-Yeah but it was far from easy-Still easier than dealing with those bucketheads..."

Three different voices of the same infliction all interupted each other, one after the other, heard over the com unit.

Onid switched his blaster pistols to stun, and pulled a detonator out of his left pouch, "Looks like we're green to go squad.

"Here's the last run down before we make our move: With no weaponry left, our only covering fire will be Corana, sniping from across the airway. Mendo and Ryla will be her backup fire from the balconies beside her." Onid explained.
"Once Corana distracts the troopers, we drop the smoke bombs and charge until theres nobody left on these two platforms.
I think Wydez should have fun with that." Onid humorously said lookong behind him, acknowledging his partner.
"Shrew put a little something in our smoke to scramble their helmet's more so than usual. We have that as an upper hand. Remember your mele weapon training and use whatever means necessary.
Greedi kneeled behind him with her long green fingers clutching a vibroblade in her scaly grip.
"...on my mark." Onid whispered.
There was a moment of com silence before Onid pointed his fingers across the airway's street.
"Corana, now."
At that moment, rapid, precise, blue blaster shots dropped multiple stormtroopers limp to the floor. As soon as the comotion commenced, the rest of the platform's factions of troopers started to catch on and return very much lethal blaster fire.
Across the airway's intersection and a few levels above, a blue Mon Calamari female leaned beyond the scope of a dirty old sniper rifle blaster.
"Mendo, Ryla, cover fire on the corners!." The Mon Calamari signaled two additional shooters to her left and right to take aim on the additional stormtroopers rushing around the corners.

Mendo, a Sullestian, and Ryla, a violet hued Twi'lek, began reigning blue stun-set blaster fire amongst the crowd of imperials below with ferocious trigger-fingers.

"They're distracted. Now's our chance. All smokes out." Onid ordered via com.

Just then, everyone tossed and array of small disks that instantly started silently dispersing massive amounts of smoke.
Around the opposite corner of the walkway, more silent smoke disks were simultaneously thrown down the walkway's other side as ordered.
Only a few moments had past before the entire street's walkway was engulfed in a dense multi-colored fog. The stormtroopers had been too distracted by the Mon Calamari Sniper to have seen the disks or the smoke, but it would only be a matter of moments before they notice the thick cloud growing behind them.

 

"Trips, webs out!"
On cue, three young and small Chadra-Fans emerged from underneath the skyline's undercarraige, swinging from grappling hooks. The fury trio halted and hung below the edge of the gaurdrail directly above the collection of preoccupied stromtroopers. The Chadra-Fans took aim and shot a series of grappling hooks along the skyline's antennas that extended meters outward. A honeycomb patterned net had overlapped the grappling cables in a fluent, simultaneous motion.
Within seconds, the giant net had been discretely spread below the entire street's walkway.
"Webs are out!"
The Chadra fans hung unoticed in the shadows on standby.
"Shrew, Greedi, Wydez...time to move in."
Onid's crackling voice spoke through the com into the ears of a humanoid male and a massive, heavyset Talz, both emerging from their postions.
The staggering and rediculously immense size of the young Talz known as Wyde, had not yet been noticed by the stormtroopers, despite the booming vibrations of his steps alone.
"Ready to have some fun Wydez?" Onid's question sounded almost playful, even through the comm link.
"OooooorEEEk!" Wyde returned a low grumbled, shriek of confirmation.
"Knockem Out."
The white furred giant raced along the edge of the platform, booming his gigantic feet directly towards the long line of stormtroopers taking aim across the airway. Wydez' huge body disappeared within the walkway's thick fog. Within the blink of an alien eye, the bodies of screaming stormtroopers were flung out of the fog and over the balcony. Every one of the airborn imperials had been caught in the created net below, most landing on each other possibly breaking many bones. One after another, imperial troopers were knocked over, some even violently thrown like wragdolls, off the walkway like white dominos. As they screamed for dear life, the bodies fell swiftly into the widespread net below. As each trooper hit the netting, it glowed a furious orange, and sliced the falling stormtroopers into chunks of dismembered body parts forever decending downward into the Coruscanti abyss of a skyline. Body after body was flung over the railings, dropping like dead birds from the sky. Trooper after trooper fell to their lacerated deaths, being sliced into pieces. Onlookers below began gasping at the horrific sight of stormtrooper limbs, torsos and heads raining from the sky like hail.
Onid smiled at the beautiful sight and had followed, disappearing into the dense fog with his vibro blade swinging.
On the opposite side on the street, Onid and Wydez advanced into the smoke with their breathing and visionary equipment turned on. Trooper after trooper found themselves either stunned unconscious, falling over the gaurdrail, or face to face with knuckle gripped blades. Before the troopers could engage their special visionary equipment in their helmets, their struggle was cut short by the ferocious young team.
Onward the four advanced quickly down the skyline's walkway, both teams of two meeting directly in the middle. With the last stun shot flash, the team ran towards the Imperial Storage Facility's main entrance. The particular level's entryway was placed directly in mid length of the walkway and was currently open as Onid had estimated.
The team of four head ran out of the storage unit fullhanded just as quickly as they had entered. Wyde had exited the facility with the biggest storage crate, booming his feet quickly back towards the edge of the skyline. The remains of the now slightly foggy walkway was full with the limp bodies of imperial troopers. As the they approached the guardrail, a speeder van swiftly approached and levitated in mid-air. "We've got to go, NOW!" Corana jerked the steering wheel and yelled to the team as they loaded the speeder with their prized, stolen cargo of rations and clothing.
Onid, Greedi, Shrew, and Wyde entered the speeder van in a haste and out of breath, taking seats next to Ryla and Mendo. The speeder van pulled off quickly into the busy, high-speed, city traffic.
"Where are the Trips?" Onid asked jittery.
"Flying tailside." Corana replied. Everyone turned around to find the three fury Chadra-Fans soaring behind them with childish grins, holding on to grappling cables hooked to the speeder van's back bumper plate.
"We still think-""....We should've done....""-Without the net!"
Once again the triplets interupted one another, all the while completing each other' unified sentence .
Onid shared an exhausted chuckle along with the rest of the team as they speed away into the neon flashing maze of a city.

 

"More panic in the streets earlier today, as the citizens of Imperial city are showered with the body limbs of stormtroopers. Earlier during sunset, a reported group of no more than ten apparently attacked an imperial rations and munitions storage post, murdered imperial soldiers, and stole a majority of Imperial property while leaving nothing behind but dismembered limbs. Specifics on the culprits are unclear, but it is confirmed that the group consists of:
1 Humanoid
1 Twilek
1 Mon Calamari
1 Sullustian
1 Rodian
1 Talz
3 Chadra Fans
And 1 possibly mixed species of Humanoid

Roughly matching the description of an unknown local gang spitting on our Empire. Seems to me like 'The Terrible Ten' strike again."

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

Location:Coruscant
Sector 45B Imperial Overlook Command Center

"Onid: Humanoid"
"Wydez: Talz"
"Shrew: Humanoid"
"Corana: Mon- Calamari"
"Ryla: Twi-lek"
"Mendo: Sullustian"
"Greedi: Rodian"
"Joh, Jah, and Ju: Chadra-Fan Triplets"


The automated, robotic voice narrated the displayed information.
"They've been calling them, 'The Terrible Ten'."
A three dimensional hologram of ten young Coruscanti took form, emerging from the middle of a long, reflective table. "A rediculous nickname passed around among our...less couragous ranks." the voice was stern and cold. "Including those who have disgracefully failed in their capture and extermination."
Surrounding the extending conference table were a battalion of Couruscanti security droids, imperial commanders, and stormtroopers directing their attention to the silver haired humanoid.
"But now, we have identities on all ten of these gutter-bathing womprats."
He stroked the tip of his smokey grey beard, slowly pacing back and forth amongst the concrete-still troopers and commanders standing at attention before him.
Lieutenant Blurr pierced his feirce and fiery gaze through the lifeless, black, eye-slits of his trooper battalion.
"Disturbance of the city peace. Mass attempt to conspire. Vandalism of Imperial Property. Destruction of Imperial property. Grand theft of Imperial property. Resistance of arrest. And a shameful amount of assaults on Imperial Officers."
Blurr's sharp, grey moustache twitched in disgust as he listed crime after crime.
"These are the crimes of individuals that have chosen the path of treason. And those who choose treason against the Galactic Empire, choose to simultaneously sign their own extermination warrant." Lieutenant Blurr's jaw continuously clenched in intimidating aggrevation.
"So can someone possibly explain to me, how we are the most powerful force in the galaxy, on a planet with the highest concentration of Imperial presence...."
Blurr dramatically paused in irritation.
"...yet, somehow, the lot of you utterly fail to handle a filthy scumband of MERE CHILDREN?!??"
Blurr slammed his fists on the reflective table with enough force to create shattering cracks as the majority of his battalion flintched with nervous jitters.
The room had fell deadly silent, giving Leuitenant Blurr no response. It was obvious the Leuitenant did not actually want an answer, and to do so would automatically endanger such an idiotic trooper to the grip of Blurr's authoritative wrath.
Moments of silence followed as Lieutenant Blurr composed himself slowly into his usual calm and collected manner.
"Since a great number of you Coruscant's supposid 'finest' have utterly failed in the elimination of this miniscule scum, matters have forced my hand to rely on more dependable sources of imperial force..."
Extending his palm to the entrance of the command room, a small of group helmeted soldiers entered on his cue.
The small troop was dressed in long black trench coat uniforms with subtle hues of dark blue and green. Yellow Coruscanti emblems and lettering were decaled on different spots of their attire, along with yellow chestplates and shoulder pads. Circular, bright red optics pierced through the veil of shadows underneath the dark visors of their helmets.
Armed with highly advanced tech, and discretely hidden arsenals, this particular strand of Coruscanti Imperial forces were clearly created for extremely skilled operations and brute intimidation.
"Captain Heinrich will now assume leadership over operations concerning the destruction of these criminals."
The obvious leader of Coruscant's Underwold Police Force lead the envoy's formation. The Captain's uniform was practically similar to his group's, except the colors of his shoulderpads and breastplates were red along with a single red armband bearing an Imperial insigna around his left bicept.
"Collective intellegence suggest the ten traitors most likely reside somewhere in the city's lowered leveled underworld, which just so happens to be Captain Heinrich's area of speciality." Heinrich held his arms crossed behind his back, bearing the front of his long, trench coat uniform.
"Let it be known that you will provide Captain Heinrich with all the possible resources you can to aid him in his operations. Though my hopes are that you won't be in any need of such extra infantry, Captain."
Lieutenant Blurr made his way across the room past the battalion of troopers amd commanders. Blurr's height had exceeded Heinrich's just barely as the two stood face to face. Heinrich was just as concrete still as all the other infantry in the room.
"I also have hopes that you won't disgrace the Empire's name with your failure, just as the rest have."
Blurr asked in a display of confrontational dominance.
" It is an officer's duty and honor to serve and protect, Sir. Obstruction to the righteous intent of the Empire, demands spilling the blood of the inferior defective. May the toxins of this city's body be clensed. All Hail the Emporer, and long live the Empire."

 

"This one of your scum?" a high ranked stormtrooper had pinned a young child down the ground forcefully as he adjusted the electro-shock handcuffs on the child's wrists.
"...oh heavens, yes! Yes, he is one of ours. I apologize for whatever ignorant inconvieniance he has caused you. Please...release him?"
In the doorway of a poorly unkept building stood an elderly Nu-Cosian depending on the balance of a shaking cane. The older creature's back was excessively hunched over, with his spine curving in archs.
"He has been charged with crimes of stealing from the imperial market." the commanding stormtrooper held his captive to the dirty ground with an armor plated boot to his back. The trooper then raised a small stringed, packbag upside down and shook it until multiple shapes of fruit flopped to the ground.
"...my extreme apologies gentlemen...he is just a child. He knows not the reprecutions of his actions..." the Nu-Cosian sincerely pleaded to the troopers to let the child off with a strong warning.
The spine hunched Nu-Cosian desperately traded words with the three stormtroopers in front of the unfurbished and relatively small foster building.
"You should learn to keep your foster defects in line Cosian. Instead of raising these children into criminal scum, they could be applying their energy to better the Empire."
The commanding trooper showed no mercy and was relentless in his control of the situation.
"Perhaps I have not made myself clear enough." he stated as he leaned over the child cuffed and laid out on the ground.
The stormtrooper roughly grabbed and arranged the child to extend his cuffed wrists outwards.
"Hands can be very useful tools, can't they?"
The stormtrooper pulled out a thick, foot long imperial vibro-chette blade from his belt.
"...and any tools that may hinder the sanctaty of the Empire's divine existence... are strictly prohibited..."
He twirled the ridiculously sharp knife in hand.
"May the toxins of this city's body be clensed..."
The trooper extended the
large blade above his ownhead.
Before a blow could be struck, the stormtrooper was tackled abruptly to the ground in a tumble. The elderly Nu-Cosian had attacked the imperial in the boy's deffense, creating distance between the two.
"Onid, RUN!" the Headmaster shouted to the boy.
The nearly ancient aged Nu-Cosian had surprisingly executed an array of fluent combat moves that lead into an airborn spinning kick, leaving the other two stormtroopers temporarily unconscious.
The handcuffed child scrambled to his feet and quickly made his way into the open doorway of the foster home. Before he entered, the boy turned around to see the commanding trooper raise a blaster in direct path of the Nu-Cosian's heart, and fire a direct hit. The stormtrooper quickly closed the gap and without a moment's hesitation, swung his vibro-blade right through the Nu-Cosian's long amd skinny curved neck in a single fluent motion. The headmaster's head struck a "thud" to the ground as it's seperated body had gone limp. The elderly Nu-Cosian has been completely decapitated. The body's squirting and butchered neck had continued to paint the entire front of the foster home with buckets of blood.
The child stood in the doorway, frozen solid in shock amd unable to move.
The now blood-spattered stormtrooper had relaxed himself and slowly walked towards him with his blood soaked vibro-blade in hand.
He inched closer and closer.
Everything went black.

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

Onid leaned up quickly in his sleep matt, awaking violently in a sweat. He could not hear over his own heavy breathing and heart overly pacing heartbeat. The night terrors fail to evade him as always, and this horrifying interuption of a good night's rest was not uncommon for the troubled young Bonazzo. They had become a regularity for the young orphan, now collecting his composure as he leaned over his extremely small hut's balcony. Onid wiped beads of sweat from the rocky looking outcropping of his skull, slowly breathing as he overlooked the poverty struck, resident village. Poorly constructed huts lay stacked atop of one another, neck to neck, for miles. This part of Coruscant was soldem ever seen, hidden away deep within the lower levels of the underworld, just as he and his brothers and sisters were.

 

"The rations are being distributed now. Care to join us?" The Twilek, Ryla, asked, standing alongside the
Sullustian, Mendo.
Onid had composed himself from his routine night terror, and agreed to walk with the two.
Ominous flickers of unmaintained neon lights and signs dimly lit the dark and narrow corroders of the overly cramped sector.
Steep, winding walkways and staircases traced along the tall concrete walls, trailing through the multiple intersections of the village.
Young, carefree infants darted bootless and improperly clothed around various dirty corners of the constricted streets, playing together with handcrafted toys assembled from garbage junk.
Randomly threaded power lines hovered above the ghetto's walls and huts, distributing what little reserved power they can to their impoverished communities.
The two entered a fairly large, single level building into a community cafeteria very often used as a feeding place of numerous neighboring homeless shelters. Poverty had struck the heart of this congested community as most of Coruscant’s lower levels had been, sadly affecting the tons of inhabitants attempting to live and survive in such slums. The room was congested by versatile individuals of various statures and species, receiving the designated portions of stolen imperial rations on their trays. Foreign shrieks of alien chatter and laughter echoed the walls of the badly constructed building. Every seat on every table was occupied, forcing a good amount of creatures to eat their portions on the floor or against the walls. Regardless, the gathering in the mess hall was a time of rejoice and celebration for the large collection of citizens.
"Ganishka! Bon Tu Tu Ganishka!"
“He’s lying! That’s not how it happened at all!”
A nearby Aqualish and a Selkath argued over the details of some story.
"...and now, my kids get to eat for the next week without me worrying…..." a Quarren mother could be heard explaining.
"....trade you my ssssssssoup for your plemy sssssauce?..."
"....kaaaaacheeka bowana naga...."
“I’ve got that thing you asssked for by the way…Wasn’t easssy to get…”
A close-by red hued Trandoshan traded food with a fellow Twi’lek in the midst’s of talking business.
".....of utensils, Sir? Are you in need of utensils, sir? Are you in need of...." a dingy and refurbished protocol droid walked around the large room offering assistance to many hungry citizens that very often waved it off.
Inside the mess hall, an array of loud laughter and dispersed babble of all languages came from all directions. It was small town enclosed into this particular sector of the city’s lower level and everyone somewhat knew each other. There was always a sense of close-knit community among the residents of this underbelly slum. There was also a sense of respect when it came to organized crime and ‘taking care of their own’. Everyone that lived here knew the unspoken rules of the town, and seldom ever had any complications. Although, crime always runs rampant in the lower levels of Coruscant, there is a mutual understanding amongst those living in this town to conduct their shady business elsewhere and always look out for those in your community. It was a nexu eat nexu planet, and those that live amongst one another have better chances surviving together than separately, and this particular sector’s community understood this fact very well.
Different clicks of the crowds were enjoying all variations of music, playing pazaak card games, and enjoying themselves in their celebration of nourishment.
"It's rare to see everyone like this, ya know?" Ryla stated to Onid.
"Even more the reason." He replied.
Ryla noticed Onid’s apparent clammy features and suspected he was recently distraught.
“Another nightmare?” she asked.
Onid nodded nonchalantly as if not to worry her. She placed her arm on his shoulder in reassurance. “Headmaster would be proud of what we’ve done here. For this sector. For our family.” Ryla smiled at him, as he seemed to come around to one as well.
The bat-like triplets strolled in together to also receive the free food, as the towering Wydez followed directly behind.
Shrew was already scarfing down his portions at a table nearby conversing with Corana and Greeda.
Mendo entered behind put his arm around Onid.
"Takana chuze' mowaiiya." The Sullestian fluently added. Mendo rubbed his stomach with a wide grin.
"In my native tongue, that means 'Full belly, full spirit'."
The ten young vigilantes then sat at the same table together amongst the crowd to enjoy their prized meals as a community, and a family.

 

The florescent maroon shade of Coruscant’s horizon, shined vibrantly as the sun rose. The planet's highly polluted atmosphere created a vast multitude of breathtaking imageries against it's reflective, towering structures. Amongst the fractal buzz of constant air-speeder traffic, an armored cargo transport whizzed by casually, weaving in and out of traffic flow. Displayed across the van’ s sides read: "Coruscant Treasury". Crouching on top of the boxed speeder van were Onid and Shrew, unsuspectingly attached by high-powered magnetic boots. Shrew struggled to focus with a flickering fusion cutter in hand, adjusting his circular protective goggles. Following far behind the armored speeder, was an imposter "Treasury" van with an identical cargo box attached to two driver pods on each side. Inside the false "Treasury" van’s seats, the Mon Calamari, Corana, assumed the driving controls as Mendo awaited in the opposite passenger pod.
“Any time now, Shrew. We aren’t writing a book here.”
Shrew heard the Corana’s comments through his intercom. "Working on it!......annoying little…" Shrew continued his work mumbling atop the high-speed cargo transport. "...Alright, that should be enough. Van detachment is a go." Shrew stated through the comm feed.
Onid raised two fingers to his ears.
"Greedi, you're up!" The female Rodian crouched in the shadows on a walkway several blocks ahead of the approaching speeder vans. Greedi had just finished hacking into the air traffic controls below a giant traffic light arch that extended across the vast speeder airway. "Air traffic controls ready to switch." She replied, as she completed the last finishing touches.
"Good. Approaching the rendezvous soon. Red light on my mark." Onid said.
The two speeder-trucks and the airway traffic surrounding them made their way closer to the giant, durasteel archway.
“Greedi, flip it now.” said Onid.
The massive neon lights and emblems shining along the archway had all switched instantly to red, bringing all airway speeder traffic to a sudden halt. The Coruscant Treasury van driver slammed his foot on the breaks, coming to a complete stop just before the archway.
The identical dupe van pulled up directly behind the treasury truck so close that Shrew could transition backwards to Corana’s truck across the top with mere steps. Onid still remained atop of the treasury truck’s surface.
“Ryla, the stage is yours.” Onid communicated with a grin once Shrew was safely on top of the fake van.
The very attractive and mature young Twilek quickly pulled up next to the treasury van in the same speeder the team had used during their getaway on their last mission. The van’s awaiting driver instantly took notice with a glance before she had even asked,
“Excuse me! Could you be so kind as to direct me to the nearest bank?!”
“Oh! Uhhhh, yeah sure! You just take this airway until you make a right…..”
Ryla had the driver’s full attention.
Onid ordered into his earpiece, “Ok, Mendo. Detach and go low.”
The passenger pod that was clung to the right side of the fake treasury van then detached and took position hovering directly underneath the true treasury truck’s front driver pod.
“In position. Magnets on high, ready for the drop.” Mendo communicated while waiting below.
Meanwhile, Ryla continued to stretch the conversation with the driver as far as she possibly could. “Okay, so after the second right, it’ll be on the left?” she asked some questions twice, even third times in order to stall for time.
“Detaching and dropping now.” Onid informed.
“Hold on to somethin” Shrew replied via earpiece as Onid made the final detachment cut, severing the van’s cargo from it’s driver pod.
The large, armored cargo box dropped fast below without showing any signs of disruption.
CLUNK
The cargo freight had swayed as it successfully attached to Mendo’s awaiting passenger pod below. Onid regained his balance after the quick ten-meter drop.
“Oh okay! I think I’ve got it now! Hey you seem like a cool guy! You wouldn’t know where to get some death stix would you?!” Ryla blabbered on to the still distracted driver, now only occupying a front driver pod.
“….uhh, no I wouldn’t know anything about that. What is up with this light!??” The driver started to become irritated and impatient.
“…Uh, HEY, whats your name by the way?! You’re kinda cute!” Ryla tried anything she could to keep his attentive gaze for just a little longer. The mission was depending on it.
“Alright, Corana, bring her in easy.” Onid said watching from below.
The fake treasury van, still attached to a driver pod on it’s left side, began to close the gap between it’s box freight and the distracted driver’s lone pod. Slowly, Corana forwarded the box cargo inch by inch until it was pressed firmly against the back of the irritated driver’s pod.
Shrew, still crouched atop the dupe cargo helped Corana direct it’s placement until he gave her a firm thumbs up.
“Nice. Now seal that thing up so we can get outta here.” Onid commanded through the comm feed. Shrew instantly made quick work with a fusion cutter, sealing the attachment of the dup cargo securely behind the transport pod’s back. After a few more moments of fast welding, Shrew signaled a thumbs up to Onid from above as he sat ontop of Corana’s driver pod.

“…yeah, It’s just that I’m new here and I could use a proper tour if you know what I mean.” Ryla continued the charade with the driver, shooting him a flirtatious wink.
“Detaching now.” Corana carefully hovered down below until Shrew could join Onid atop of their prized cargo’s surface. Corana’s driver pod then fluently conjoined itself with Mendo’s pod, giving more magnetic support the cargo.
“Greedi, switch’em back to green, we are clear. Ryla, you can stop now. Pick up Greedi and let’s roll.”
The Twilek was relieved to finally hear those words.
“…It was nice to meet you! Bye!” she sped off in a hurry as the archway’s lights finally flashed green.
The Coruscant Treasury van driver flashed a face of discouragement, completely unaware of the grand theft that had taken place right before his eyes.

“…Call me??...”

 

Hidden within the deep catacombs of the planet wide city, sat the large cargo transport speeder. The Coruscant Treasury van was parked deep below thousand’s of the city’s levels, safely concealed in the darkness of a secret open garage. Surrounding the armored speeder van were the ten young minds that had just stolen it’s cargo from the financially privileged upper levels.
“I’ve thought about pulling off that stunt ever since I was a tyke, but I never thought in a million years it would work.” Onid stated with a tone of amazement.
“None of us ever thought we would steal from an Imperial storage facility without dropping dead either.” Mendo replied.
Small vermin scattered along the filth-condensed ground, scavenging what they can from nearby waste dumps. The young criminals gathered behind the cargo truck, progressing on the infiltration of it’s locking mechanisms.
“I still can’t believe we pulled this one off with only six of us.” The white Mon Calamari, Corana, commented.
“Why did we have to stay behind-“
“And be the ones to babysit-“
“The giant walking carpet??”
The Chadra-Fan triplets complained in unison, discouraged with having to sit their last mission out.
“Relax Trips. Wydez isn’t exactly good at being….discrete. Besides, you know how lonely he can get when he’s alone.”
Towering above them all, the over-sized Talz grunted an agreeing collection of foreign noises as he crushed the triplets in his arms with an affectionate hug.
Within several minutes, Onid and Shrew had successfully bypassed the security system locks and swung open it’s two heavy doors.
Once all eyes had settled on the interior contents of the van, some of them began to quietly shed a tear uncontrollably.
Multiple racks were stacked high, holding tons of large, glimmering blocks, shinning slightly as light from the outside reflected brilliantly off of their surfaces.
“GOLD! WE HIT THE JACKPOT!” exclaimed Ryla.
“I have never seen this much loot in my entire life…” Shrew commented.
Wydez reached inside of the cargo van with a single massive arm extended, retrieving a single block of gold that was so heavy and huge, only he would be able grasp it with a single hand. Wydez gawked curiously at the glorious blocks of beauty.
Onid jumped through the back entry and entered the inside, inspecting the various emblems, numbers and insignias, concluding it’s authenticity.
As they all bask in the glory of their of their prize, the team began to productively unload the treasures off the van and into secret garage storages for further plans of obtaining the currency exchange.
Onid Bonazzo paused in reflection before speaking, “This inheritance shall usher in a new era for the lower levels, but we must be discrete in our success. Otherwise, this will all be for nothing…”

__________________________________________________________________________

Hidden within the dark corners of the stolen treasury van, a tiny red dot began to repeatedly flash, completely unnoticed by the young team of criminals unpacking its contents. A simultaneous mark arose on a giant, three-dimensional map of the surrounding area, exposing the tracking device’s location.
“Commander, we have activated the missing cargo van’s tracker and acquired a location in a region of the lower levels.”
A Coruscant underworld officer reported as he assessed the specifics displayed on the holo-map before him.
“The dirty womprats have finally scurried back to their hole…”
the bone-chilling infliction of Commander Heinrich’s voice whispered amongst the busy strategic center. With his hands crossed behind his back, the slow pacing commander halted in front of the wide screen revealing his current prey’s location. The small, blazing red optics of his helmet froze in a piercing stare at the tiny red dot blinking on the map.
The strategic gears in Heinrich’s steal trap of mind were continuously turning, always ten steps ahead and anticipating any unsuspected variables. Planting virtually undetectable tracking devices in every treasury van on the upper level was but only one of Heinrich’s strategic plays that proved to catch wind of luck in this circumstance.
“Orders, Sir?” an inferior officer loyally questioned.
“I want blockades on every entry way and exit surrounding the collective area. Nobody gets in or out. Get me all schematic blueprints to every ventilation structure in this region, and remotely disconnect the tracking device immediately.” Heinrich’s commands were swift, fluent and undoubtedly confident.
“We shall then make our move on the area, ridding this city of the defective scum.”
The commander quickly returned his gaze to the holo-map as if anything has changed.
"Yes, Sir." The lower ranked officer nodded his head in obligation.
"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" the officer requested.
"What is it, Private?" Heinrich replied in slow annoyance.
“Sir, with respect, we still have no way of knowing our target’s exact location of residency. How do you intend to weed out ten criminals from an entire sector level?” The officer questioned his superior in honest curiosity.
“Have you ever heard of the Blue Shadow Virus, Private?”

 

Onid, Mendo and Greedi were on their way out of their home sector, walking down corridors that lead to one of the sectors many level lifts. Shrew, Ryla and Corana were currently conducting repairs to the seldom-available vehicles, equipment, and weaponry they still had and the three were sent to obtain various miniscule parts needed. The young trio turned the giant durasteel corner to see the repulsor lift sealed shut behind reinforced blaster doors. Assuming there was unexpected maintenance or technical issues with the particular elevator, the trio took a detour around a few corridors to another repulsor lift nearby. To their surprise, the elevator was closed of in the same manor as the other. After another detour, weaving in and out of poorly constructed alleyways, the next closest elevator was also inaccessible. The three young friends grew more perplexed.
“There’s never this much reconstruction work down here.” Greedi scratched her head in confusion.
“Yeah, nobody with power and credits in their pockets care enough about this sector. Should we take the transits? Or fly through the canyons?” Mendo asked Onid.
“Something tells me we aren’t going anywhere.” Onid quickly raised the communicator from his hip to mouth level and held a button that flashed upon activation.
“Shrew I need you to check something for me.” He spoke into it. After a moment Shrew responded within the static, “Kinda busy here…whatchya need?”
“I need you to check all of our sector’s visual feeds.” Onid requested.
“What? Why?” Shrew asked.
“Just do it, Shrew.” Onid snapped back.
Shrew sighed with an attitude and after a few moments, he replied over the communicator. “Alright, what exactly am I looking for?”
“I need a count on how many routes are blocked in every exit path and entryway in the sector.” Onid answered urgently. The comm feed had went silent and after a momentary pause, Shrew replied with confusion in his voice, “Uhhh, well…this is gonna sound weird, but I can’t find a single open route out of the sector. Every repulsor lift, every landing pad, and every walkway exit is completely closed off. Onid, what’s going on?”
Onid’s face twisted with a sense of danger.
“I’ have a really bad feeling about this…”
The three young knaves twisted their heads around after hearing a consistent ‘hissss’ noise coming from behind them. The trio looked behind them to see a blue mist quickly flowing out of the corridor’s ventilation exhausts.
“Run!” Onid shouted. The three began to backtrack, swiftly sprinting towards the center of their town, twisting and turning around multiple narrow alleyways. Onid held his comm link towards his mouth and yelled into it, “Shrew! They’ve found us! I need you to collect the others and tell them to gather everyone in town and bring them to the bunker!”
“What!? Bring everyone into the bunker!? There’s no way everyone in town is going to fit in there! What’s going on Onid!?” Shrew nervously repeated in bewilderment.
The trio was breathing heavily as they continued running from the blue mist treading quickly behind.
“It’s the Empire! They’re trying to gas the whole sector! I don’t know with what, but I’m not willing to find out! Fill the bunker with as many as you can and tell the triplets to gather as many as they can in the mess hall! Seal the blast doors on my signal! I’ll let you know when as soon as I get there!” Onid, Greedi and Mendo flew down the walkways with immense speed, with beads of sweat dripping down their foreheads. Mendo glanced back for a moment to see that the corridor they had exited was clear for the moment, but they all knew it wouldn’t be long until the fast-spreading gas would catch up to them.
The young trio had returned to the perimeter of the coliseum shaped town in the center of the sector. They raced down the narrow inclines, down the main streets leading towards the populated market places screaming, “Everyone get inside somewhere with blast doors, and seal them shut! Everyone get inside! Close all of your air vents!”
Onid repeated himself loudly various times as the three quickly made their way through the small crowds back towards their home barracks.

 

“Gather all the townsfolk you can and direct them to the mess hall! Tell your people to equip any masks or helmets with filtration capabilities. We have some sort of air-born chemical outbreak in the sector! Get a move on!” Shrews voice shouted at Wydez and the triplets through their communicator. The three Chadra-Fans immediately equipped their grappling hooks and swung through various routes to three different top points of buildings in the section of town they were currently in. A multi-cultural array of languages and dialects echoes the alleyways and shuffling streets of the lively sector. Rising steam from food markets producing their daily quantities of strange culinary dishes, dissipated through the air of the poverty struck underground city.
“Attention!-“
“Sector!-“
“Citizens!"
They continue to complete each others sentences even as they shouted upon the rooftops.
“We are-“
“All in-“
“Grave danger!”
A good amount of the busy market street occupants looked up attentively.
“This sector -“
“Is now-“
“Locked down!”
“If your home-“
“Has air locks-“
“Return home-“
“And seal your blast doors-“
“And your air vents!”
More and more citizens continued to take notice as the small triplets resumed to finish each other’s sentences fluently.
“If you don’t-“
“Get to the mess hall-“
“Immediately!”
Wydez quickly made his was through the crowds, directing their attention to the Chandra-Fans making their announcements above. He also communicated the emergency, yet very rarely did any residents understand his dialect. Nevertheless, he pressed on and on through the sea of now evacuating onlookers.
The triplets jumped and swung from rooftop to rooftop, above the heads of sector citizens traversing from street to street repeating their calls of urgency to the heads below.
After catching on, flocks of the streets populations began to evacuate in panicking groups. The towering Wydez did his part to control the crowds below as best he could to prevent any injuries due to the clusters of running feet.
Swinging from the edges of buildings and quickly flipping in between unorganized power lines that threaded irregularly throughout the city, the acrobatic triplets repeatedly shouted their message from smokestacks and rooftops. . From the triplet’s perspectives above, the small population of humanoids and foreign creatures alike, moved together as waves of water quickly progressing in an ocean.
As the crowds flooded in a unified direction from street-to-street, the masses eventually made their ways to either their reinforced homes, or to the safety of the large mess hall in the center of town.
The three Chandra-Fans swooped down to the street level entrance of the mess hall to join Wydez as they all gestured the townsfolk to head inside. The Talz then went inside for a few moments and returned in front of the building with tons of old and tarnished portable breathing masks with one to two hours’ worth of oxygen in each. Wydez began outlining the perimeter of the building with these masks and prevented any citizens from taking them.
A giant crowd of franticly panicking bodies were squeezing together in an attempt to make more space for others to find refuge in the building.
The triplets were holding the large entryway doors open for the passing citizens when they noticed a blue colored gas flooding the streets and alleyways in the far distance.
“Hurry Wydze!”
“We have-“
“To shut-“
“The doors!”
The small rodent-like siblings called to their friend as the last remnants of townsfolk had completely filled the mess hall to full capacity. In the heat of the moment, it tore the triplets up inside to refuse anymore entry for the fleeing people of the sector, but unfortunately there was simply not enough space. The entire hall had been cramped shoulder to shoulder with scared family, friends, and honest townsfolk huddling together in freight. Wydez finished outlining the front of the building with the last of the gas masks and rushed his stomping feet to the doors.
The Chadra-Fans expressed confusion for a moment before coming to their realization of what Wydez was doing.
“Good-“
“Idea-“
“Wydez.” the three said. The four of them finally went inside of the mess hall and Wydez held his arms out in front of the entrance to the last amounts of the town’s citizens in sight racing for shelter. His extremely wide and brute body fully encompassed the outline of the doors when outstretched.
“We’re-“
“Full-"
“Here!”
The triplets called out loudly.
“You Have-“
“To put on-“
“The gas masks!!” They informed them all urgently.
“Hurry!!” They finally said in unison. Some ran off to find other forms of oxygen-safe shelter, and the remaining amount of terrified citizens rushed to equip their masks in a race for survival. As they attached the apparatuses, others began to catch on as well.
Wydez and the triplets then stepped completely inside, closed the mess hall doors and activated the locking system. They could still see outside through the clear and thick windows placed on the front doors and all along the building’s front walls. Wydez had pointed out that he could now see the blue mist spreading quickly through the nearest streets and closing in fast on the distraught townsfolk outside.
Once the gas masks dropped to scarce and limited numbers it was obvious to the townsfolk left outside that not everybody would be able have one. Mothers could then be seen, attaching the masks they could find to their small children, and sacrificing the need to find one for themselves. Siblings that were all alone were arguing and insisting that the other take their masks. Lovers could be seen crying to one another, forcing their significant others to take the only mask they could grab and gladly giving up their only chance to keep breathing. Even strangers could be seen reconsidering their prized apparatuses and taking off their masks to offer them to elders that had no physical chance to flee.
Once the very last mask was taken, the blue gas spread into the street outside of the mess hall building and most of those without a breathing apparatus scrambled out of view. The deadly mist then quickly engulfed the entirety of the area, washing over the buildings windows and shrouding the citizens in barely visible blue smoke.
The occupants of the overcrowded hall then witnessed in horror as those who wore masks continued to move in their evacuation and those without any were left motionless and presumably dead on the cold durasteel street floor.

 

Onid, Greedi and Mendo returned to their home barracks with adrenaline pumping through their veins and their lungs excessively out of breath. The three turned back for a short moment to notice the blue gas covering nearby buildings and quickly rising to the top of the small sectors enclosed ceiling high above. Onid cursed himself for not noticing the sealed air vents above the town before. If he, or anyone else in the small town, had taken even a moment out of their busy day to look up, suspicion could have been raised earlier in the day. Mendo was the first to dash to the side of their low budget barracks towards a large hatch in the ground. He slammed his foot on the top to create reverberating bangs on the inside.
“Shrew it’s us! Let us in!” he yelled below. The hatch screeched as it flung open with a heavy thud. Shrew popped his head out of the opening with a frustrated look, “Do you know how hard it was for three teenagers to try and tell a bunch of adults what to do? Like tryna kill a rancor with a blaster pistol! This better be worth it.”
“Does THAT look like it’s worth it!?” Greedi said urgently as she pointed behind them. Shrews pulled back his dusty goggles and his eyes grew wide with the very same urgency. The blue smoke had now completely engulfed the majority of the small city, growing ever larger and covering all the space it swallowed whole.
“I’d say that qualifies!” Shrew nervously said as he then waved them all in with a quick gesture. The mist had gained momentum within its spread and was a mere twenty feet away from the bunkers hatchway. Greedi and Mendo swiftly jumped through the open cylinder in the ground, frantically climbing down the underground ladder.
Onid stopped in his tracks and set his eyes on a single respirator mask that was set-aside in pile of tools, near a tool bench. He scooped them up quickly and strapped it around his nose and mouth. They were and old, clunky pair, but they would do.

As the deadly gas raced toward them only a few feet away, Onid, being the last in line, pushed the heavy hatchway door with all his might and slammed it shut behind Mendo.

“Onid! What are you doing!?” Mendo could barely be heard, yelling through the hatchway’s small window panel.

“I’ll be okay! I think I have a plan! Seal it! And tell Shrew to call me on my comm channel!” he yelled below. The gang safely inside noticed Onid’s newfound gas mask, and hesitantly did as he told them. The entryways mechanisms then shifted with noise as they locked the vacuum-sealed bunker. Mendo and Ryla, the remaining duo, made their way down the ladder to reunite with their other three friends in the makeshift bunker below.

Ventilation tubes tangled along the walls of the spacious durasteel hallway beneath. The underground save haven had been constructed around a pre-existing framework of the sectors rarely overabundant sewer system spaces. Bending elongated pipes met with weirdly shaped stone foundation and durasteel walls in the small confines of each room that occupied each side of the hallway. Corana and Ryla were tending to the small crowd of sector citizens sharing the bunker space, educating some on the essential use of their vital gas mask operations in the event of an even more dangerous situation. The bunker belonged to the ten young criminals, and more than served it’s purpose within the last few minutes. Most of the townsfolk in the bunker were older and more wise than the adolescent team that had nearly saved their lives, so many extended their assistance in any way they could with each of their individual skillsets.
Mendo made his way to the back of the bunker where he found Shrew working with other technical minds to make safety checks on the equipment essentials.
“Where’s Onid?” Shrew asked after looking around.
“He’s lost it.” Mendo said to Ryla. “He found a mask and he’s off to try and fix all this without explanation….once again….” He sighed nervously.
“Blast it.” Shrew added.
"He said to call his comm channel." Mendo reported.
Shrew sighed in exhaustion as he arose from his seat.
“I need to get him on the line. Let’s hope his earpiece is still working.”