Meet Brek

There's a man walking down the streets, in such a manner as to divert traffic around him than the other way around. It isn't that he is particularly imposing or intimidating in his way of carrying himself, but Brek seems to have a manner about him nonetheless, a way of projecting his presence. His dark eyes flicker across shopfronts, across people, lingering with a strange, alien curiosity on the colorful, fleeting shapes of speeders and air traffic. Everything about this world seems to capture his attention, and despite his confident bearing his interest in it is fully unmistakable. His hands are folded at his back, and his posture is straight and erect. The general effect is one of military rigidity.

Myiari seems to recognize Lanze's voice as her eyes widen in realization. "Oh, it's you. You were that pilot that brought us to Delar." She pauses, frowning for a moment as she grasps at her words. "Erm...Lanze, was it? Nice to see you in one piece, but you look...different from the last time I saw you. It's kind of hard for me to remember you; a lot's happened."

For a period of not less than five days, Tokoga had been out of the distinctive, flowery cigarras whose incense-like aroma usually follows the Senator around, thanks to the extended affairs on Delar; fortunately now that he's back on Ord, he's just got around to fixing that particular issue at his usual tabbacist in the plaza. Stepping out of the shop, he extracts one of the cigarras from the pack and lights it with a small torch from his pockets, watching the foot traffic on the street

It's good to be back.

"I was, yes.", Lanze says, a nod of his head given the woman as she recognizes him, "Did it, I heard oou were injured, you are all better now?" He cocked his head to the side as he views whatever it was that had caught the medic's attention although his gaze soon returns to her as he awaits an answer.

Brek's feet continue moving, one after the other. His fascination with his surroundings ebbs, and a gloomy tiredness seems to come over him, his hands falling loose at his sides. Producing a guide from his pocket, he begins to look it over, scarcely paying attention to his surroundings. So it is, his attention distracted, that he crashes directly into Lanze, one foot upraised in preparation for another step. Though he trips, he carries himself to one side, avoiding a fall onto the man, and hits the ground hard. "Uhf..." He draws in a breath and pushes himself up slightly. "Sorry," he mutters.

"It was a minor injury," the medic clarifies, her hand rising to her opposite arm near her shoulder and idly rubbing at it. "Senator Tokoga got the worst of it, but he was doubly lucky that I took out that Imperial when I did, and I happened to have enough medical supplies on hand or he wouldn't have made it." As she speaks, she seems to notice Brek's approach. Though she opens her mouth to voice a warning to her companion, by then it's too late, and the other man is on the floor. "Ouch... Hey, you alright?" she asks of the fallen man, wincing sympathetically.

Does he wear a sign that says 'part of the ground', Lanze nearly loses his balance, whoever it was that ran into him apparently bigger than Myiari. He turns around quickly enough to survey the damage, and he looks over the pale man. "Are you alright?", he asks calmly, although a nod is given to Myiari as he turns back to look at her, "Yes, but the Senator has been through worse, and he got what he wanted in the end."

Tokoga is nearby enough to make out his name, but not much else of the conversation. His eyes swivel around the general direction that the voice came from, and he finds it just as the collission happens. "Ah, it's you. I thought I felt my ears burning," he says even while offering the fallen man a hand up.

"Thank you," replies the grey-clad man to the Senator, bringing himself up to his feet and brushing himself off. There's a faint scrape on his hand, but no other apparent signs of harm. He retrieves his fallen brochure, mustering up the ghost of a smile, and scratches his head. Turning toward Lanze, Brek says, once more: "Sorry about that." He pockets the paper in his hand, resuming his stance, and casts his gaze across the three other people that have convened. "I apologize, but I couldn't help but mishear a bit of your conversation. Is everything all right? It sounds as if you people were in trouble."

For a moment Myiari looks like she had been caught saying something embarrassing, but the expression quickly fades. "Oh, that? It's nothing. We're not in any trouble at all." The medic musters a small smile, and seems to take notice of the brochure the stranger possesses before it's tucked away. "Are you a tourist or something? I recognize that brocure; it's the same one I picked up on my first day here."

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Tokoga answers. The sad part is that it is actually more or less true. "Which, I suppose, doesn't really say much these days," he adds as an afterthought, taking another long puff from the cigarra.

Again he feels something push against him, Lanze frowning now, there must have been a sign on him. No, it isn't possible whatever it was that slammed into him, slamming an accurate description, and started pushing him into the glass window to his left. The force of it was enough to lift him up and propel him into it, although he was fast enough to raise up his arms to protect his head from the debris. The rocket that had strucked the ground, thankfully an empty spot, not far away was not a very powerful one, the blast didn't rend limbs and collapse internal organs, but the least it could do was throw everyone like ragdolls.

Brek, whether through some flicker in the edges of his eyes or a more general sense of danger, has already thrown himself away from the point of impact, tucking himself into a ball and rolling to a halt further down the walk. As he rises into a crouch, he has unsnapped his holster, withdrawing his blaster and seeking cover behind a wastebin. He peers out, watching cautiously, and only then transfers his attention to the people nearby. "Get into cover," he calls, authoratively.

Myiari is slower to react, but she's still quick enough to dive out of the way. As the projectile explodes, the force of the blast is enough to send her tumbling into a nearby bench, bits of debris bombarding her back. She hits the bench hard--and upside down--and it takes her a few seconds to right herself, scramble to her feet, and then duck behind the object she had collided with, cursing all the while. Like Brek, she draws her own blaster and scans the immediate area. "Everyone alright?" she calls out, her other hand reaching behind her back to feel out the location of her medpack.

After returning from the incident on Delar, Tokoga had an annoying, paranoid worry in the back of his mind that something else was going to happen like seemed to always be the case back there--stormtroopers, more stormtroopers, recon craft, short-range explosives. The non-fun parts of politics. It had taken a few days to get over that nagging paranoia. Just too much stress, maybe.

And...now this. The Mon Calamari gets pushed back into and over a street vendor's stand, breaking a number of vases and other trinkets on his way over it. With just enough time to make sure that he hits the ground rolling, he doesn't break anything and makes his way back to his feet a few seconds later, wincing and rolling the shoulder that had taken most of the impact around. "What was that!?"

Lanze was not alright, not at all, the man was wobblingly trying to get up, but perhaps it would have been understandable had no one paid him attention. Suddenly, an armoured figure, nothing of his body seen from head to toe as metal, or some similar material, encasing it. It was not for the rifle at his side that he reached but for, but rather his sword. Vibro-swords were no longer as popular as they were back in the day, but they still had their users. This man, one assumes anyway, among them apparently. He has eyes for no one but Tokoga as he slowly begins to walk towards him, the sword tip dragging against the ground menacincly.

Brek has taken stock of the situation by now, sweeping his eyes over the scene in a single, professional glance. His poise his trained, his hand steady on the blaster within it, and he presses more closely to the dented, metallic can, now plus another dent from the recent explosion. He watches the approaching man, and as he makes his choice of weapon Brek's lips press together into a firm line. Staring down at the gun in his hand, he allows himself a moment and a curse: "Sith spit." Then he turns, aims, and fires smoothly, lasers flying through the air toward the new arrival. He makes a few shots before ducking back into cover.

The assailant's target soon becomes apparent to Myiari, and she curses again, emerging from behind the bench briefly to pop off a few shots of her own. "This is just great," she grumbles. "Who did you irritate this time?!" As she glances in the Senator's vague direction only to note that he's nowhere to be found--at least as far as she can see. He had been flown some distance, and the armored man presented a significant obstacle. "Why am I always stuck playing bodyguard?"

Once Tokoga realizes that he is the chief interest of the armored ... thing, he narrows his eyes. "I haven't had *time* to irritate anyone else!" Tokoga yells back at Myiari. "I don't suppose we could play twenty questions?" he asks the figure. "Fifteen? Ten?" Tokoga starts stepping backward, curious to see whether or not the thing would speed up. Is it a droid...?

Definitely a being, a man as that, as the roar that is let out is definitely within the sounds that humanoids make, and male humanoid, Myiari's choice impacting on his chestplate. It didn't do fatal damage, it didn't even break past the first few layers of the armour, but it did bang him up badly inside, a noticeable dent where the bolt impacted. He begins to run now, towards Tokoga as ever, alhough in a zigzagging motion as the armoured man(a familiar armour to at least of those who are still standing) transfers to his right hand the vibro-sword. with the left, a blaster is pulled out, some shots gotten off in the direction of the two who fired upon him.

(Ed. It's worth noting at this point that the armor featured by this mysterious assailant has the same livery as the ones that sprung Nass. This featured pretty heavily in the OOC chatter, not so much in the actual scene itself.  That was probably mostly my fault, I didn't want to make it too obvious.)

Emerging from behind the can again, Brek takes aim, sighting along the narrow barrel of his DD6 before firing another volley of lasers. "Get out of the way!" he yells to the Mon Calamari that is in the path of the armored figure's advance. "We'll cover you!" He ducks back behind the can before his foe can retaliate, glancing down for a moment to check the status of the gun's power cell. Even from his withdrawn position, he seeks out Myiari, and then the other, fallen man, his expression reflecting the beginnings of some frenzied thought.

"Don't just stand, there. RUN!" Myiari yells, her words echoing Brek's sentiments. The blaster bolts aimed at her sail harmlessly over her head, the shots having gone wide likely due to the man's focus being solely on Tokoga. As she peeks out from behind the bench again, she takes careful aim this time, firing off single shots towards the assailant's limbs in an effort to disarm him, or at least slow him down.

 Myiari rolls a 11 for her BLASTER skill. An Average roll!

 Brek rolls a 19 for his BLASTER skill. A Good roll!

 Lanze rolls a 23 with 5D. An Excellent roll!

 Lanze rolls a 15 with 5D. An Average roll!

Alright. No twenty questions, then. Heeding Brek's advice, Tokoga jumps over the edge of the vendor's stand that he had collapsed into during the initial explosion and starts running to put as much distance between him and the armored foe as he can. What could they _possibly_ do? This is insane. There are civilians everywhere, and the Senator has no desire to get any of them hurt on his account. He really should start carrying a sword again.

Their attacker _does_ look familiar, though, and Tokoga can't help but look back every now and again, trying to imagine who their foe might be even in his precarious situation. Where had he seen Mandalorian armor before? Holofilms, obviously. Documentaries. Lanze, obviously not a candidate. Wait...the mercenaries who kidnapped Nass from his holding cell two months earlier had Mandalorian armor, bearing the same livery as this one. Odd...

"Who are you!? What do you want?!"

 Lanze rolls a 20 with 5D. A Good roll!

 Lanze rolls a 16 with 5D. A Good roll!

The two others were proving to be quite the nuisance, Brek's shot nearly causing him to drop his blaster, although again the armour prove itss use, and as the Mon Calamari could wait, the assailant turns his attention to them. A more pair of shots were taken, this time aimed at the two cords from which hung the signs of the shop they stood next to. The first shot hitting dead center the rope and swinging downwards one end of the bulky sign, although the other strikes it with enough of a deviation to slow down the rate at which the other end falls down.

 Myiari rolls a 25 for her DODGE skill. An Excellent roll!

 Brek rolls a 19 for his DODGE skill. A Good roll!

Diving out of the way, Brek is driven out of cover, emitting a curse as the sign crashes down. Now that he's out in the open, he makes the most of it, dashing across the street and attempting to draw the armored figure's figure. He retorts in kind, the DD6 spitting focused beams through the air, though angled slightly down to avoid hitting the civilians that withdraw in the distance. "Flank him!" he calls to Myiari. "Don't line up for him to shoot you!" He flings himself behind a stall, almost flattening the Corellian vendor cowering behind it. "You," he mumbles, glancing over for a moment. "Don't distract me." He fixes the man with a glare before peeking up to take in the scene again.

 Brek rolls a 16 for his BLASTER skill. A Good roll!

 Lanze rolls a 22 with 5D. An Excellent roll!

Myiari catches the sign's fall just as the rope above her snaps, and she dives out of the way with a yelp, the object crashing into the ground in the spot she had occupied just scant seconds before. She tumbles out onto the pavement, but, with the athletic grace unusual of someone of her profession, she manages to turn the tumble into a roll. As she comes out of it, she face-plants behind the low wall of a small raised garden adorning a storefront just up the street from her previous position. It didn't provide much in the way of cover, but it was better than nothing, and it put her on the side opposite Brek. After regaining her bearings, she aims again, firing off a small barrage.

 Myiari rolls a 10 for her BLASTER skill. A Poor roll!

 Lanze rolls a 15 with 5D. An Average roll!

Tokoga goes clear around the edge of a building before realizing that the figure's interests seem to have changed. He really can't just stand here watching Myiari get shot at, can he? Why are the local security forces always so slow getting around to these happy events?

The moment of distraction is all that the attacker needs and he runs after the Mon Calamari, the blaster bolts aimed at him missing and the building rounded. The time it took to do all that was considerable, but Tokoga slowing down did help. The blaster is not holstered but certainly he switches to his sword, the weapon flashing forward. Not the bladed edge but rather its dull part, a tight slash of it aimed at the Senator's stomach. Not a killing blow, oddly enough.

 Lanze rolls a 27 with 5D. An Excellent roll!

 Tokoga rolls a 12 for his DODGE skill. An Average roll!

Brek pushes the poor man aside, ignoring his yell of protest. He dashes at a full sprint after the armored man, lent speed and agility by his own lack of protection. He rounds the building of his own accord, choosing to shoot and run rather than seek further cover. The D66 roars in his hand, blaster bolts lancing toward the assailant's legs in an attempt to give the Mon Calamari a fighting chance at escape.

 Brek rolls a 14 for his BLASTER skill. An Average roll!

 Lanze rolls a 19 with 5D. A Good roll!

Myiari gives chase as well, leaping over and weaving past anything and anyone in her way as if it were an obstacle course, hot on Brek's heels. As she bounds out from around the corner of the building, she resumes firing, choosing to aim for the attacker's weapon hand again. "C'mon, c'mon. Hit!"

<SKILL> Myiari rolls a 20 for her BLASTER skill. A Good roll!

<ROLL> Lanze rolls a 32 with 5D. A Heroic roll!

Tokoga's no stranger to one on one melee combat, but this really isn't his day. About a second too late, he twists, failing to get inside their attackers' stance. The blow strikes him squarely across his chest and left side, immediately knocking the wind out of him and pushing him to the ground. "Rather dishonorable of you to...*cough*...attack an unarmed opponent." he wheezes.

"The dishonour lies with you in leaving yourself open.", there was honour only in victory, and if it was a lopsided one, then the honour lay in creating the situation for such a success. Both blaster shots miss him, if barely at times. Quickly moving behind the MonCal and lifting him up, "Come after me, and you get him in two parts.", the sword raised to the Senator's neck, the bladed edge this time. And for the man, "This is from an old friend of yours, one who has not forgotten about you.", the words whispered as the man begins to slowly walk towards a nearby doorway, one that leads into a tall complex of buildings.

Brek hesitates, chest heaving with the unexpected exertion, coming to a sharp halt. He glances askance at Myiari, his lips shifting as though in silent expression of unspoken words. Flickering back to the armored figure, he raises one hand as if in a gesture of surrender, roughly cramming the blaster back into its holster and flicking the safety on. "Right," he calls out warily, eyes narrowed to dark, angry slits. "Take him." Despite the seeming compliance of the statement, frustration rises and falls in the cadence of his rough voice. He can only look on as the assailant escorts the elderly Senator away.

Myiari skids to a stop next to Brek, her blaster lowering as well--if she shot now, she'd risk hitting the Senator, and there was the blade at his throat as well. Her breaths come in deep gasps, and she watches the armored man carefully. By now she seems to have realized the gravity of the situation, and she levels a glare at the man's retreating form. "He's back," she growls, her fists clenching into tight balls. "Nass is back..."

"Nass? What, did he buy you all off? Set the whole thing up as a cover to get out? Hardly surprising, I--damn it, put me down!" Tokoga is none to happy with the prospect of being carried or used as a shield, especially by someone on Nass' payroll.

No comment was made as to the accusations flying his wya as to just who his employer was, but as soon as the doorway was reached, Tokoga was tossed towards the nearby two, the armoured man dashing within. Just what was he after if not to kill Tokoga, he had proven strangely reticent when it came to using lethal force. The sounds of booted feet striking the ground in rapid succession can be heard dimming as the door begins to swing shut, a few wild blaster shots aimed at the closing doorway to seal the man's escape.

Brek moves to kneel beside the fallen Senator, glancing up to Myiari with a befuddled but ultimately concerned expression. Turning back, he offers a hand to the Mon Calamari, brow furrowed with grim worry. "Are you alright, sir?" he inquires formally, his voice so low and gentle that it rumbles in his throat. Aside from singes around the edges of his clothing, the recent firefight has left him unharmed, and even despite the recent burst of action he retains his bearing, his tone collected, even his outstretched hand a formally practiced gesture.

"You know, I had hoped back then that maybe, just maybe, those guys who broke Nass out of jail after he was apprehended were bounty hunters, and the scumbag would be executed," Myiari comments grumpily, holstering her blaster and glaring at the spot where the man once stood. "But he just has to have everything planned." To the Senator, she adds, "Do I need to convince you again to start carrying around a weapon, or at least some bodyguards?"

"Yes...thank you," Tokoga takes the hand up, leaning slightly to one side. "I guess this makes us even," he grins slightly, recalling helping Brek up earlier. "I hope the press doesn't find out about this little incident," he adds, looking around. "Nass resurfacing is a publicity nightmare. I'll have to do both of those things. I imagine Lanze knows some people," Tokoga says, the last part being directed at Myiari.

"Well." Brek clears his throat, getting back to his feet and looking over both Myiari and the Senator. "You two lead exciting lives," he observes, expression unchanging to hint at any trace of understated humor in the sentence. His accent is more evident now, clipped and formal, distinctly Imperial in its manner. "I'd like to help, but I'm only here for a week or two on break from my work." Turning to the Mon Calamari: "You should look into a good bodyguard. It seems this sort of thing happens to you often, it's only good sense." To Myiari: "You're not a bad shot. I've never seen a woman aim like that."

"You should've seen what happened to me on me -first day-," the medic notes wryly as she runs a weary hand through her hair, the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. "As for the shooting, after I got kidnapped by the Sith, I decided to not take any chances and learned how to use a blaster from my brothers. They're both military." Striding over to Tokoga, she withdraws her blaster and holds it out towards him. "I think you might be needing this more than I do right now, at least until you get one of your own."

"Thanks," Tokoga says, looking up and down the blaster; he's seen it in use enough to know that it works, and usually pretty well. "My fist day wasn't particularly spectacular either. I was shot at then, too. It wasn't even my first day in the Senate, it was the day I _arrived_ here."

"My first day here," reflects Brek, placing a hand to his chin as if to enhance the speculative nature of his comment, "I got a rocket shot at me and ended up in a firefight with a disingenously armored man." There's a glimmer of humor in the dark eyes now, and a smirk on his face. "Let me think back. That must have been, oh..." His eyes slip sidelong, as if to include Myiari in the remark, "A minute ago. Maybe two!"

The young woman chuckles at the comment and shakes her head. "At least it was exciting," she notes wryly. "I think I'll head home. I don't start work again until next week, but I'd rather be gone by the time the reporters get here, and our faces get plastered all over the evening news. But I think dealing with the press is your specialty, Senator." With a small amused smirk, she turns and begins walking towards the station, offering one last wave to Brek as she goes. "Hope you have fun on Ord!"

"I'm sure it'll be three times worse than we imagined." Tokoga grins at Myiari. "I've also got to take my leave, unfortunately" Tokoga says, gesturing in the direction that he would have been walking in to begin with if he hadn't been sidetracked. "Lots of committees to deliver presentations to over the next couple of days. Lighting another one of his cigarras, Tokoga begins to walk down the sreet back to his offices.

The man, left standing in the street, glances after the two departing figures. After a moment of indecision, he turns, pursuing the medic. "Hold on a moment," he calls, reaching out and catching Myiari by the shoulder. His expression has turned anxious. "Would you possibly be free sometime this week?" he asks, his voice matching his face. "I want to hear more about the excitement you're all wrapped up in," he explains, and he smiles before continuing, "Maybe you could show me around Ord. I'm sure there's wonderful places the brochure doesn't mention." He pulls it out, as if to demonstrate. "Only so big, after all. If you've got plans, I understand completely."

Myiari is initially taken aback by the request, but after a few long moments of deliberation, she nods. "I guess I could. I haven't really been doing much anyway since I got back from an offworld assignment, so it's no problem." She frowns, suddenly at a loss for words. "Uhh...I don't think I got your name. I'm Myiari. Myiari Oersted. I'm a medic at Remembrance Hospital."

"I'm Brek Halsmer," answers Brek, managing a smile that looks completely alien on his face. He reaches out, taking Myiari's hand, and shakes it firmly, his shadowed eyes momentarily warm as he gazes at her. "I'm security on a starship. Takes me just about everywhere, though I've been working in the Corellian systems for the last while... Nice to meet you, Ms. Oersted." He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket, producing a pen from the same, and scribbles a brief number, passing it to her. "Here's my frequency," he comments. "Give me a call. I'll let you go on your way. It's been, ah..." He grins, shrugging helplessly. "Interesting." He waves, and makes his way down the street away from her.