Public A Long Way Down...

[PERSENUS]

Persenus has never been afraid of heights. He's spent years flying, sometimes in free fall, plummeting down towards the planet surface. Besides, there were other things to be afraid of that posed more threatening and painful effects. Yet, in spite of everything he has gone through, the lofty bravery and foolhardiness of Persenus was tested against the heights of the tall mesas and plateaus of Makeb. Each crumbling step threatened to take him into a yawning abyss that was the mist covered ground-levels of the planet. He hasn't had an attack in days so he believed it was time to start honing his skills in peace again, though as the foot hold he had his weight upon started to crack, doubt resurfaced upon his psyche.

He slid down, his fingers clawing at the side of the plateau he was scaling to halt his sudden fall. Fortunately, he managed to dig his own hold, his right hand, motivated by fear, using the inhuman grip to impale the mountain side. This was stupid, he knew. But he was almost at the top, and Persenus did not like to waste his effort. He pushed on against every good instinct he had, fighting against the harsh wind as he scaled the cliffside that had nary mercy for any form of incline. All the while, he was working all of this on one breath. This was part of the training and it targeted what he lacked: Control. Using Force Breath to keep his oxygen levels stable to not suffer from the thinning air as well as using Tapas to protect himself from the harsh cold winds while conquering the mountain was his form of warming up to train his finesse with the Force.

Persenus, as he climbed, found himself under siege. He sensed the attack before it came, though thankfully it did not come from a blaster. Unfortunately, it was much worse. He found himself in free fall again as the local megafauna exploded out of the cliffside - a large centipede-like creature that looked rather hungry. He held on to one of the hundreds of legs that it had, now breaking his control over Force Breath. He started to gasp in panic and exhilaration but found his breath back in his lungs and withheld it again just as the creature gave it a bone-chilling shriek. He pulled himself onto its armored carapace as he took out his saber.

He stayed in a cave by the cliffside that night. Atop the fire he had prepared was the cooking meat of the megafaunal arthropod. He had lucky survived the encounter with little wounds, though for the mountain, he could not say the same. This cave he was staying in was not naturally made through the transformation of the land, but was dug through by his little friend over the fire. The fight had seen chunks of the mountain side flying off as the centipede burrowed its way about. Hopefully, the next morning would see him atop with little trouble.

That hope was rewarded as he finally took his step upon the uncharted plateau. It was here that he would finally begin his long-awaited training - Hopefully he would not be so rudely interrupted by the likes of Bounty Hunters and foolhardy Sith Acolytes.

​

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[Talo Krayt]

To say Talo was loyal and protective of those closest to him was an understatement. After finding out that not only the Alor, but his best friend had been injured in an encounter with a Sith Knight by the name of Persenus, the young Mandalorian didn't hesitate to track this individual down. And he wasn't the only one. This meant more to him than credits, this was personal, and belonging to a Clan that was known for vengeance - this was second nature.

After tracking his target to Makeb, Talo made sure to keep at a reasonable distance, for what little knowledge of the Force he had he knew a Force user would sense his presence at a certain range. Making sure to potentially not alert the target, Talo was forced to climb on a nearby clifftop with the use of his grappling line instead of using the jetpack he had borrowed from the Clan's outpost.

As Talo reached the top of the cliffside which faced another some klicks away, he pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars from his belt and aimed it directly at the mountain opposed to his. Placing them in front of his T-visor, Talo scanned the distance ahead - after three minutes or so of relentless searching, Talo finally picked something up. Who else could it have been if not Persenus? Talo had tracked him far out here and what reason would anyone else have to be in the mesas and plateaus of Makeb.

So, without hesitation - Talo committed the image of his target's specific location to memory and promptly unstrapped his Amban sniper rifle and aimed it directly where Persenus was and shot off an electro charge in the Sith's direction. The warrior knew it wouldn't prove fatal to the Sith, but regardless, the attack was simply a warning shot to let Persenus know that he wasn't alone nor was he safe.

PERSENUS

 

[Shai Maji]

At the same time as Talo, another armoured figure sat hidden behind some rocks with the sun behind her. Her silhouette was nonexistent and with the sun behind her, there would be no tells to indicate that there was someone sitting with a pulse cannon a mile away. Shai was calm and collected, uncharacteristically so if one were to compare her to her old self from a few months ago. But nothing aside from the Sith Dar'manda earned an outburst or thoughts of hatred from her now. This was a person who deserved to get a bolt in the head after trying to kark with her friend, simple as that. After a while of waiting, their target emerged. "Target sighted. Good call." she muttered into the secured commlink between her and the rest of the team.

Her breathing was calm and her senses were sharp. Her Ripper and SFP were ready to rock with enough reloads for both. Likewise she made sure her suit's systems were operational before tagging along.

Talo fired a shot at him and Shai remained dead still. With a clear mind she kept her sights on the Sith. She had more than enough experience with Sith to know that keeping a clear mind and not acting on emotion was key. "Everybody, eyes on. You guys ready?" she asked with a hushed voice devoid of emotion as she remained motionless in her nearly invisible position. Only thing she was waiting for now was the right moment to fire...

Talo Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Standing inside of the VT-Gundark Class Heavy Freighter, by his Siege Titan Buster, the battle-hardened warrior had been through hell both internally and externally. Staring into the cold visors of his newly forged helmet, he held the helmet with both hands, having to for the first time since he lost his clan, wear his reforged father's armour again. He had to reforge everything into a new look, in order to move forward in his life and in a way, finally bury his past.

A voice was heard at the other end of the cargo hold, "ETA, 10 minutes Kragr", to which the Mandalorian nodded. Placing his helmet back on, it felt truly blissful to wear his beskar'gam again and he certainly would need it for this bounty. Looking up at his Titan, Kragr quickly entered the massive power armour and powered the suit up as if it was second nature for him. Lighting up, the Titan made its way over to the centre of the cargo hold and opening gate.

As the ship descended through the sky heading for the position of the target, Kragr watch as the top opened up as Makeb's sun let its warm sunbeams hit the interior of the heavy freighter's cargo hold. Kragr's hated rage for Sith and Imperials kept his focus from faltering and while this Sith didn't have anything to do with the destruction of his clan, it didn't matter to Kragr.

There was only one way to deal with a Sith and that was death by any means necessary. This bounty was no exception and Kragr didn't care if he had left the Empire, he was still a Sith, not to mention a force user, just to make things worse.

In all honesty, it was the help of Shai Maji, his own foundling who didn't give up on him, and even the likes of River Kryze who helped him through his darkest time. As the heavy freighter stopped, hiding above a large-sized cloud, being far enough away to be heard by the Sith, Kragr launched himself out of the ship. Like a missile, he blasted through the air, heading directly towards the cliffside and with the wrist rocket his power armour picked up on its scanner, he knew he was flying the right way.

Coming in hot towards Persenus' position, Kragr corrected himself in mid-air, turning his head to face the sky and legs the ground, in order to slow his descend. Despite using the Titan's powerful build-in jetpack to slow his descend, the Titan still managed to create a small crater, followed by a foot deep dirt trail as the Titan skitted a few feets forward.

Not only tore Kragr up the landscape with his Titan, but Persenus would face a fire that was both stronger, had longer reach and with a lot more heavy punch packed into the TItan's flamethrower. No words were exchanged, Kragr wasn't here to play, he was here to remove the Sith from existence. Persenus would find himself, standing face to face with flames roaring towards him in high speed and would engulf the entire cliff side he stood on.

PERSENUS Talo Krayt Shai Maji

 

[Aerith Krayt]

The comm was a buzz with chatter, apparently they had found their mark. Unfortunately that meant she was missing out on the fun. After all, the gunship made it a bit hard to be subtle, so she had to come in once everyone was done having their fun. Aerith maneuvered her ship into position, waiting for the go ahead as the loud 'woosh' of the engines made it rather hard to ignore the fact that she was indeed there. "Roger, moving into position. Eye in the sky is prepped." Switching the ship to a 'hover mode', Aerith began to lower the ship down over the target area, watching through scanners as her allies pinged on it. "I have you all on visual. Warming up the payload." She replied, twisting her hand as she switched her consciousness to the weapons systems, a pair of heavy repeaters emerging from the undercarriage of the ship. Keeping herself several meters above her mates, she made sure that no dirt would be kicked up to obscure their line of fire.

This was probably a little bit of overkill, but she couldn't pass this offer up. She's never gotten to do overwatch on an op like this. It was then that the smell of meat hit her nostrils, and something spicy as well. Was...was Radon cooking back there? Seriously. Scowling, Aerith whipped her head back, the robotic tone of the woman bellowing into the mess hall behind her. "Hey, what the hell are you doing? You got to deploy soon! This isn't time to be fething around!"

Needless to say, her temperament hadn't gotten much better within her new clan, but the murderous rage had...diminished drastically. But there were moments like this that she could feel her patience was certainly strained.

Tags: Radon Krayt Raya Krayt Shai Maji Talo Krayt Kragr Krayt PERSENUS

 

[Radon Krayt]

He turned the steak once more before sticking his head out of the kitchen to yell back at the pilot. "Would you like your Bantha steak raw or medium rare?" That's right. They were having beef today. He was no master chef, but he knew how to prepare his food. Seasoning with salt and black pepper, making use of a cast-iron pan, and things were already looking great. Stormtrooper 101. Great classes, covering all the basics. The memories alone made him grin.

This was one of the few missions where he had decided against jumping into the fray. He wasn't all too fond of their Alor, but he could not allow his Clan to suffer through the humiliation of losing to a sorcerer. That was why, when the subject came up, he had volunteered.

"I'll be staying out of this one, unless it gets ugly." He calmly informed the pilot of the craft. He barely knew this 'Aerith Krayt', but after their recent Clan meeting, she had won his trust.

Once his steak was evenly seared on both sides, the Mandalorian clad in white grabbed himself a plate. It needed to rest for about five more minutes; an excellent opportunity to watch this seemingly one-sided fight go down.

Or...

"Do you think I should prepare another one?"

PERSENUS Raya Krayt Shai Maji Talo Krayt Kragr Krayt Aerith Krayt​

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

There were few things that got Cleru's attention. The highest on that list? "Hey, we're hunting a Sith." It's why he came along with the Krayt Clan. He was supposed to join this clan, in a hopes his children would learn what it meant to be a Mandalorian. While he did the same. In a way, this hunt was a bonding exercise. But Chiss bonded differently than anyone else. They were informational. Facts. Here?

They were cooking steak.

He sat awkwardly in the craft, glancing occasionally to Radon as he cooked. He'd break off once they landed, given his unfortunate nature. The Sith wouldn't be able to sense him, or see him with his fractal coating. He'd been preparing himself for the coming battle, going over various tactics best suited for different kinds of Sith.

The smell was so distracting though.

With a sigh he got up and stepped beside the pan, looking at the steak. ".. Is all that just butter? Don't you have any herbs?"

Tags: PERSENUS Raya Krayt Shai Maji Talo Krayt Kragr Krayt Aerith Krayt Radon Krayt

 

[PERSENUS]

There was a moment of peace before the chaos sprung. An eye before the storm where he had a consolation with the Force, where it pierced through him and for a brief moment, there was ease and guidance. Then he took a soft sigh as he opened his eyes back up and stood up from his meditative position. "Chaos take me." He said as, with his hand, he absorbed the disruptor with his outstretched hand, letting it dissolve into pure energy into him. Another day, another battle.

He rolled his eyes at the Power-Armor. Typical, really. As he was advanced upon on all sides, he would take the only real cover he could take. Just as Kragr would begin his onslaught of fire, he would bend his knees and mustered his power in the Force. He propelled himself upwards, evading the fire and using his saber to not only shield himself from the Particle Cannons but also use the arcs of energy that he could slash out from his saber as projectiles to slash out the weapons. He would then pierce the ship itself, hanging from his saber upon it with a bird's eye view. Of course, the pilot could try to move out of the way before he reached it, but there'd be some delay before it started to move forward, as with all big ships.

For now, he'll play it defensively. There were too many opponents for him to use his usual strategies, he was going to be forced to play it safe, for now. He'll find a chink in their defenses. What was he to do this time? Turn their weapons on them? Brute force with the Force? There more of them there were, the more possibilities there was for him to take advantage of them. That was what let him live throughout his exile, that resourcefulness and it won't fail him now.

Cleru Talo Krayt Aerith Krayt Radon Krayt Kragr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

While his companions were in the kitchen, Zephyr opted out of it and remained in the living area, owing it to the mooka that accompanied him who would likely get underfoot and in the way in his excitement. While normally he would leave the pet on his ship while he worked, he was not aboard his own ship and could not leave the animal unaccompanied for too long which had left him with no option but to bring the mooka with him.

The mooka wagged its tail feathers excitedly as it waited for the Mandalorian to release the ball it had been chasing for the last 10 minutes. Zephyr rolled the ball away and the mooka followed hot on its tail, soon retrieving it in its beak and returning it to the outstretched hand that waited expectedly. The Hapan seemed unenthusiastic about such a mindless, repetitive task but if it occupied Kai and he enjoyed it then he wouldn't deny him the pleasure.

Still, it was getting closer to the time when they may be needed so it was best not to excite the creature any further. Upon returning the ball, the Mandalorian slipped it out of view and leaned down to pick up the animal. He approached the kitchen to see what the delicious smell was, the mooka resting excitedly in his arms. He peered into the room before joining his allies and glancing over the dish Radon was preparing. "Didn't you use any garlic?" He asked.

PERSENUS Shai Maji Talo Krayt Kragr Krayt Aerith Krayt Radon Krayt

 

[Talo Krayt]

"Darjetii." Talo muttered with contempt as he watched Persenus, somehow, absorb the shot. These damn sorcerers were as unnatural as they came, and he still wrestled with the thought that Raya wanted their kind to be allowed into the Clan. Then everything came to a head. His allies and fellow clan members had arrived and as he watched their respective ships arrive, one corner of his lip quirked almost into a smile. Despite being... a loner, it was nice to have allies.

Talo's eyes followed Kragr in his Titan armor during his air drop, the young Mandalorian could only watch in awe. As the more experienced, and obviously battle-hardened, Mandalorian attacked Persenus' position the Sith managed to evade and deflect attacks coming from Kragr as he leapt toward Aerith's ship. "Darjetti Incoming." Talo vaguely warned his fellow clan member through his built-in comm and with that, activated the borrowed Z-6 jetpack and flew upward.

Mid-flight, Talo twisted his body to face the Darjetti who was mid-leap and sent off another quick shot with his sniper rifle, aimed for Persenus' side. The Mandalorian's body swiftly returned to its original position, facing forward to direct the jetpack over to the mountain where Kragr was, landing a few metres away from him with a forward roll. Acknowledging the Mandalorian in the Titan armor with a quick nod, Talo looked up to find Persenus and promptly aimed his rifle at the Sith once again, waiting for an opening.

PERSENUS Shai Maji Kragr Krayt Aerith Krayt Radon Krayt Cleru Zephyr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

the bounty dodged the heavy from the Titan and probably did the worse thing he could think of. Jumping into the air, gave Persenus no way to dodge another dose of flames as the titan's targeting system simply followed the bounty into the air. Kragr expected the ship the move, or it would get scorching hot around the ship Aerith piloted. At a deadly range, Persenus would once again find himself being met head-on by the wild and roaring fire of the Titan's flamethrower as he jumped towards the spaceship Aerith commandeered.

Being both a bigger and heavier flamethrower than what a normal Mandalorian vambrace could produce, this was truly a force of nature and would devour Persenus in flames, tearing into his clothes and flesh. Of course, he could try and absorb the massive flames that would completely engulf him, but with his heavy use of Tutaminis to shield himself from Particle Cannons, by turning it into energy, would clearly put a toll on the Sith Knight.

Nevertheless, Kragr would extinguish his flamethrower and draw his 40mm Slug Cannon from the cuirass rear of the titan and if Persenus somehow was still alive and kicking he would be met with a truly terrifyingly powerful weapon. 40mm sized slugs were fired in high rapid-fire as the Slug Canon's full automatic system kicked in.

While Kragr didn't see Talo's nod, his titan's sensors did notify him of Talo landing near him.

PERSENUS Aerith Krayt Radon Krayt Cleru Zephyr Krayt Talo Krayt

 

[Aerith Krayt]

Tag: Radon Krayt Raya Krayt Shai Maji Talo Krayt Kragr Krayt PERSENUS Kragr Krayt Zephyr Krayt Cleru


As Aerith returned her attention to her station, it seemed the rest of the crew wanted to argue about culinary choices. They had come here to fight, and yet here they were cooking up some home spun dish in the back of her ship. It was absolutely infuriating. Watching the scanners, she could see the target beginning to move, with the call from Talo Krayt coming as a confirmation of what was to unfold. He was trying to stab her ship. How dare he. The underbelly of her ship was an odd design for certain, but it had it's reasons. "Hey, Beskar Chef, hold on back there!" She hollered out, as she knew that whatever was being worked on in the mess hall was about to be messed with.

The three engines that were situated at the bottom snapped into a different configuration, as Aerith gave the input towards the engines, repositioning the ship out of reach of the jedi attacker as it lurched back and upwards by a good ten meters, leaving the jedi to begin his decent into the open air. Aerith brought her targeting sensors to bear, though held off on the trigger seeing the mess that was about to unfold. "I got a high flyer on the downswing, you guys got a bead on him? I'm holding off, don't want to risk Friendly Fire. Thanks for the heads up Talo." She called back over the comms, waiting to see what her companions would do as she directed a portion of her attention to the sensor layouts.

Aerith's attention fixated on the sensor installed for the cabin, as a small life form was being detected. Ugh. She had a rodent on board didn't she. "Guys, if you spot a rat can you take care of it? I'm not about to start having a rodent problem on this baby." Oh she was going to be livid if the dock hands didn't seal the vents like she told them to.