A Sound of Thunder (Mandalorian Raid of Ilum)

[Nicair Claden]

Nicair looked at the beskad, a glint in his eyes underneath his helmet was his only emotion, he had never seen a weapon like it before. He'd hold the gift with him until he died, a gift made in battle was something to be cherished, and so he would. What Nicair hadn't expected was the compliment on his approach, he simply assumed it was standard but he accepted the compliment graciously.

He glanced at his vanguard, gave him a nod and said, "Vor entye a'yaodbarnir." He placed the bloodied beskad into a loop on his belt, the extra weight felt good, right. He returned to his position and readied himself once more.

 

[Nicair Claden]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNTSoizcvME​

Betna listened to the interaction on his commlink and frowned beneath his helmet. With Jedi and Sith, you always assumed they knew you were there. They may not be able to pinpoint you, but you always assumed that they were aware of your presence. If you didn't you risked the possibility of being outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and killed. For someone to want to negotiate with the defenders they came to raid when they had a good possibility of knowing you where there and knowing you'd just dropped some of their friends was potential suicide, but if the guy wanted to...

"If he wants to risk it, let him," He told Vizla over private comms. "While he's doing that, take the satchel charge and some men to the roof and take positions. My squad will stack up and prep a direct assault on the front door. Anything happens, breach and clear through the ceiling. It's a temple, not a fortification, so you should be able to blow a nice hole in the roof and enter there. Take prisoners if possible, but don't take any undue risks. If you see anyone in command, try and subdue them rather than blast them."

He then swapped to the comms with Raxis and continued with a mental shrug. He was possibly sending the warrior to his death, but the man had volunteered which meant it was of his own volition. Plus, it was his own idea.

"Raxis, permission granted. Keep comms open so we know whats going on. Things go to hell, take cover. Safe word is Keldabe. Barring that, just swear a lot and we'll figure it out."

At that, Betna waved for his own squad to take up positions. Squad C he knew from experience would take positions to guard their rear. A mix of green and veteran warriors they may be, but they were well trained regardless. They knew their jobs. And, with luck, this whole thing would be over and done with quickly.

[member="Nicair Claden"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Sabine Kurtass"] [member="Melina Tervho"] [member="Katbirye Rekr"] [member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Titan]

Katbiyre realized that this was a chance to redeem himself to Gray after the fiasco on Echoy'la and as such was careful. Once he joined squad C with the satchel charge, "Here's the charge." Katbiyre handed the satchel to Vizsla. He would walk back to near Gray, awaiting further orders and standing at the ready.

[member="Nicair Claden"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Sabine Kurtass"] [member="Melina Tervho"] [member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

(Apologies for the short post, at work and mobile about to die.)

 

[Darth Banshee]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Melina Tervho"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Nicair Claden"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Katbirye Rekr"] [member="Gray Raxis"]

Sabine had been transcribing Jedi ruins, and keeping warm inside the temple. She could sense something was up, but she could not figure out what. She sent the message over the intercom, to Alor Betna Veo cart ch'tra ror cavrach cseah? This meant What is going on out there. She did not want to go out in the cold unless she had to, and if she did some one was going to pay a high price. She hated this planet, it was colder than fething hoth, she only came to protect a sith ruin from being discovered. She waited for reply, almost resigning herself to having to go out in the cold again. She knew who ever made her get way from that fore was going to pay, they where going to pay high price.

 

[Vilaz Munin]

While manhunting did essentially made one a hunter it was quite different than the traditional kind of hunting in which Vilaz was used to. Whenever manhunting wasn't a sport in which the two men did very often, but it was one they did whenever a bounty worth of many credits appealed to their eyes. But the few things that made traditional hunting and manhunting two different aspects was the setting of the hunt, the tracks, and it's worth. It was easier to trace the tracks of a beast, but the same couldn't be said for an intelligent humanoid or alien. In modern times, one would have to ask information from a broker in order to close in on the target since technology intelligence made it hard for sentient to be captured or killed.

That wouldn't be the case since these two Mandalorians were hunting Gorgodons, and they had the wits and the equipment to hunt down these creatures.

"Copy that," the Field Marshal said in a private comm channel with Draco. After walking two kilometers from the stealth raiding ships to where they were at on the mountain, they were now phasing into the next step of this hunt. As the Commander set himself up to set out the bait for these beasts, the Redneck took the leisure and checked up on the raiding party via rangefinder. He was sure with Betna in charge, they would have no problems in securing the Temple and looting all that the architect held in its domain.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Melina Tervho]

"Something like that." She spoke cautiously.

Mel did not lower her weapon, although it was only shouldered at the moment, and not trained on him. Yet.

"What is it you're after in a known Kyr'tsad vessel, bounty hunter?"

Perhaps her tone was hard because it was cold, or because she didn't like people who were sloppy about their arrival and position. Perhaps it was hard because she remembered that the blood of innocents seemed redder in the snows of Mandalore.

If they wanted to come after her, she could accept that. She had turned her back on her upbringing as a teenager and sought a life of killing in the name of a foreign government that saw her as only a tool. She did not wear the armor, nor did she own any. She could barely mumble through her mother tongue. She raised no children, and did not belong to a clan. She was a Mandalorian citizen because she was born on Concord Dawn, but she was not a Mandalorian at the moment. But she was trying to change that now.

If the Kyr'tsad wanted to take umbrage with that, she was ready for them. But the things she had seen them do in the name of their righteous cause were anything but.

She waited for him to answer, still open to the possibility that maybe he just liked infamous starfighters of divisive factions of their subculture. Kad help him if it was anything else.

[member="Hype Darkwater"]

Spoiler

If you click the @mention under my avatar to tag me in your reply, it will notify me you've posted.

 

[Hype Darkwater]

[member="Melina Tervho"]
Hype regarded her carefully. He switched off his infrared scanners. The contrast between the heat, and almost sudden blindness was sharp. A few adjustments enhanced his vision. From his radar he knew others had noticed him. He warned his ships computer brain.
He decided to lower his blaster.

"The hunting has been poor of late", he replied. "Just looking for a little action. My parentage is Mandalorian, and I have recently become one of Mandalore's warriors. So I was sent here."

Melina Tervho

Spoiler: Show

Thanks. New to this RP. Often the best way for me to learn this stuff is dive in and learn along the way.

 

[Melina Tervho]

"You still didn't answer me about your ship. Nor why a bounty hunter would be hunting his own people."

He put his rifle down so she didn't raise hers. She moved from behind the trunk, the snow creaking as it compacted beneath her boots.

"If you are here to support the United Clans or the Mandalorian Empire, skulking on a hill is not the way to do it. There are hostiles in the area and your behavior is suspect. If you wish to help, I suggest you come down and make yourself known."

She cleared the tree, so that now there was nothing but open ground between his position and hers. She could feel the cold more acutely since she shed her gear but she didn't shiver yet.

"What's it going to be?"

[member="Hype Darkwater"]

 

[Hype Darkwater]

[member="Melina Tervho"]
"My ship was my fathers. I've come here in aid of Mandalore. I've only ever killed on Mandalorian, and I'm not about to do it again."
Hype scanned the area again.
"I'm here to check out the area before I head in. Not the brightest thing to do to just dive into a situation. Furthermore I only prefer long range, or up close, not in-between, like our current situation."
Hype snapped his rifle onto a groove on his jetpack. He hung his hands down loosely at his sides.

 

[Melina Tervho]

"I'm Melina. Come on, you can join up with squad C, we're bringing up the rear and watching the commander's back."

She relaxed her posture slightly, in so much as a trained assassin can in a situation where she is supposed to be ready for things to go off the rails. She turned and allowed him to come along side her, she would not give him her back.

It was helpful for the deep snows of the area, movement would be slowed. It's hard to line up a good punch when you can't plant your feet properly in drifts up to your knees.

They waded through the thick winter blanket, until they had reached C's squad leader, a guy from Keldabe named Dale that probably had scratches in his beskar'gam older than Mel. They checked the new guy and pointed him to the left with Mel.

"Keep eyes out for movement. The Jedi and Sith are quick and we've had sentinels already."

She had recovered her gear when the new guy was checked out with Dale, and she shivered a little less with the parka back on.

[member="Hype Darkwater"]

 

[Dariak Talesa]

Dariak had attached himself to Squad C which for him was a bit of an oddity. Normally he'd relish the chance to be part of the first assault group. Or even the scouts who had long put their boots on the ground before any main force. Yet Dariak also hated ice planets and so his enthusiasm has become somewhat dampened. He was loathe to activate his armour's heating systems for fear of becoming a giant blip. The Mandalorian had wrapped a thermal shawl over his armour to keep his thermal signature to a minimum but he doubted its effectiveness if he had turned his armour's heating to 'Rishi Beach' setting.

The worst part was the snow. The cold was just a part you learned to deal with but snow made movement twice as difficult. You felt like there was lead in your boots as you stomped and slugged through the sea of white. Despite his opinion on ice worlds the chance to fight Jedi was too good to pass up. The legendary Jedi Knights! Now that was worth frostbite. He nodded to the two others with a small wave, his DC-17 hung over the front of his body in a sling with his black helmet adorned with various Crusader symbols.

"Su cuy'gar." he said with a friendly tone. "Ready to guard the arse of this little jolly jaunt? Name's Dariak."


[member="Melina Tervho"]
[member="Hype Darkwater"]

 

[Hype Darkwater]

[member="Melina Tervho"]
Hype followed with out a sound, trudging through the snow without complaint. He did want particular item however. He ordered his ship to flyby and drop a pod with the object. The ship roared over, only a hazy shadow in the sky. The pod hit the snow with a dull thud. Hype opened it and pulled out a Beskad. The blade was stained with blood from an ancient kill, that by now would never come off. He clipped the sword to his belt, then ordered his ship to fl to a safe location.
He greeted Dale, hitting a fist against his chest in salute. Then followed Mel to group C. He ignored the wind and snow, and focused on moving forward.
"Su cuy'gar", he returned Dariak's greeting, " Or guard the front. How far is the Jedi temple now?"


@[member='Dariak Talesa'],

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco and Vilaz moved up the mountain pretty steadily, both young men, both in their prime and fairly active, it wasn't hard for them to make their way up the mountain through the cutting snow and howling wind, leaving a trail of crushed and disrupted snow behind them quickly filling back up.

Helmet scans of the area told Draco there was a rocky outcropping for them to sit behind, out of the wind and with less than a foot of snow, something they could sit behind and wait for their trap to be sprung without so much worry or discomfort as they would otherwise have to endure. Even with climate control, being buffeted by the wind and covered in ice and snow wasn't pleasant. Draco pulled a small knife and cut open the first of three bags of nerf blood, though not native to Illum, omnivores in winter would still likely investigate the scent of blood accompanied by the howls of a wounded animal.

Draco cut a small hole, so that the viscous liquid leaked out slowly, spreading it out across the snow and ice, watching droplets freeze on the ground even as he worked methodically, walking backwards, leaking the blood in his trail left in the snow and atop it and around the sides so that it wouldn't get buried quickly. The Second bag he cut open more frivolously and drained quickly over a small area accompanied by clumps of hair and small pieces of raw, unprocessed meat from the bait creature. Finally, the lure, a sonic emitter with a recording of a wounded herbivore crying out for help set to high volume dropped in the snow. The third and final bag was saved in case the pair would need to reset the bait if the snow built up too much.

Quickly Draco lead Vilaz behind the rocky outcropping and made himself somewhat comfortable, setting both his Myrkr Rifle and Orar'sacarhr leaning against the rocks. A tranqarest loaded harpoon rested in the powerful coilgun, its arms extended to provide optimum balance and stabilization of the projectile, and anti-coagulant rounds loaded into the Myrkr rifle. First shots would be crucial, neck and upper chest from both he and vilaz before they could swap and go for bloodloss kill. Given the resilience of a gorgodon, particularly the very large ones like Draco had heard rumored to be in the area, it was unlikely such a beast would die quickly. They would likely be moving and tracking for a while on this hunt.

"Just sit and wait until our game shows up bud. How's the kid?"

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Melina Tervho]

"Su cuy'gar. Call me Mel."

Her helmet dipped to acknowledge Dariak's introduction and the trio of them trudged along as she plodded through the trench forged by someone ahead of her in Squad D. She could see the opening of the temple ahead and with a lifting of her chin, she pointed towards it.

"Forward scouts are there already. I think they are having a committee up there to sort their next move. Keep your eyes peeled. The last thing we need is to be flanked. We don't know if there's another exit to this place besides this one."

She could see Squads A & D paused while some conversation happened, but her eyes were drawn off to the area where the ships were parked and to the sides where others had split off for their own means.

[member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Dariak Talesa"]

 

[Sanya Val Lerium]

[member="Ronan Vizsla"] Ξ [member="Hype Darkwater"] Ξ [member="Melina Tervho"] Ξ [member="Marcus Lok"] Ξ [member="Draco Vereen"] Ξ [member="Nicair Claden"] Ξ [member="Vilaz Munin"] Ξ [member="Gray Raxis"] Ξ [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] Ξ [member="Sabine Kurtass"] Ξ [member="Katbirye Rekr"] Ξ [member="Arrbi Betna"]

Location: landing behind the group going to the temple

It wasn't often Sanya went out her way this far. But really she needed to make some allies for business reasons. Cynthia had passed word along that a group was coming here. She didn't know what for just that they where. Ilum brought back memories of a time when she was younger. Saw her mother for the last time by the will of the force and got saber crystals she never got to use herself. Instead they are in the sabers for a Droid she made. She knew she wasn't a popular face, many would rather see Sanya dead but instead she lives like that red wine stain on the magnolia carpet. A person who just won't go.

Her sensors continued to scan for close by life forms in the proximity. The Gunship did well to hold out in the heavy snow. Especially since the engines had been upgraded. It was maybe two hours before she started to get several pings. She dropped lower and turned into the direction. In time she could make out the small group heading to a structure. The snow caused low visibility so making much out was difficult. "Maria take control, I'll reply the beacon when I'm ready for pick up." She said tovthe Droid. "Make a second pass over the group and slow down." The clunking at her armor banged with every footstep as she made her way to the back lowering the ramp. As it lowered the sound of her trench coat over the top began to flap about. As she saw the group below her Sanya would lean forward into a fall. After her body had done a full turn the small jets in her boots would activate slowing down her decent.

Once Sanya landed she kinda expected a thud instead she ended up with snow up to her knees. "Crap." She said to herself crawling out of the hole she made for herself. She stood up looking at the small group she'd landed behind wondering what they would say. She needed to be careful these days so it was better to wait to be asked questions before assuming.

 

[Hype Darkwater]

[member="Melina Tervho"]
Hype took in the scenario with a glance. The wind seemed to blow more harshly, and the wind seemed to increase. He noticed an icy slope. He ought to be able to get a good view of the temple from there, as well as keep an eye on the squad.
"I'm heading to that hill", he notified the others via comlink. The wind was too loud for direct communication now.
Hype bounded through the snow for the slope.
Hype suddenly became aware of newcomers on their flank. They were hazy on his HUD, but they were there. With practiced speed, Hype didn't stop moving until he was facing the intruder, both of his pistols in hand. Some said that his Westar-35s appeared magically in his hand. Hype didn't know about that. What he did know was that he was usually able to draw faster than his opponents. And that skill was often important.
"Identify yourself", he challenged.

 

[Dariak Talesa]

[member="Melina Tervho"]
[member="Hype Darkwater"]

(Sorry if Mentions don't work, work internet explorer is...weird. Or add colours)

"Honestly, not too sure." replied Dariak with an air and tone of uncertainty. Surely during a raid they wouldn't have dropped them too far out in the snow? Then again Mandalorian or not every military was more or less the same. Not everyone can be competent all of the time. He sighed and gave the man a shrug before watching him wander off for a nearby hill.

The trench was a blessing on his burning leg muscles and Dariak found it much easier to move through the snow. "He's very...keen." commented the Mandalorian to Melina with a shrug as he watched him charge away from the group towards a hill.

 

[Hype Darkwater]

[member="Dariak Talesa"]
OCC: Don't I know it.
Hype started approaching the rear. A hazy form was there. He knew it.
"Identify yourself", he repeated. His blasters were steady, his HUD tracking the target for him.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

LOCATION: CATACOMBS UNDER EVACUATED TEMPLE

"Captain?"

Mara sighed in relief as she met Eiarra's eyes. "Go ahead, Kolatta." The sniper from Zahat'n'ira was the only person still in the temple, and by far the closest to the enemy. Encrypted comlinks meant they could speak freely, though the Mandalorians would detect low-level comms traffic.

"Found a vantage point in one of the upper galleries. Visibility isn't ideal. I'm counting at least six formerly stealthed dropships of a type I don't recognize. Dozens or hundreds of Mandalorians. I can't be sure, but it looks like some want to charge right in and some others want to talk. There's an ongoing discussion between some Mandos and a young guy in a robe."

"The Lightsider that Germaine and I sensed, perhaps," Eiarra murmured. "Why delay for debate, if not over values?"

That struck Mara as a bit of a leap, but then again, her people had sensed both the Dark and the Light present within the attacking force. Internal debate was only to be expected.

"So far it doesn't look like anyone's found the Bullet Time. Still sitting there under the sensor stealth net and the snowdrift. Can't imagine it'll be long until someone stumbles over it. Ah, feth. Captain, there's another ship coming in. I don't recognize it, but it looks nasty. Someone else just jumped out alone -- armored, but not Mando armored. I'm seeing hostility between the new arrival and the Mandos."

"So we've got internal conflict out there, and they're still trying to figure out how to deal with us. Kolatta, get some shots for me to look at and get back down into the tunnels, all right? I don't want you being the only one in the temple if and when they blow the door."

"Not wild about that prospect myself. Coming back."

"If they're deciding when or how or if to get this door open," said Eiarra to Mara, huddling around a lump of warming hearthrock, "then we might consider talking them out of it."

"At range? From down here?"

The Theran Listener mustered a smile. "Of course, but they don't need to know that for certain. The temple stone ought to obstruct sensors. For all they know, we're waiting just inside the doors."

***​

​

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Gray Raxis"] @whomever happens to be with the main party outside the temple doors

A woman's voice echoed on the wind, though no speaker was detectable.

"Warriors of Mandalore, my name is Eiarra Denirel, a Chalactan Adept. I speak for the Jedi who live in this temple, and for the Jedi that you've just killed. Know that this place will become a curse to you if you do not leave in peace -- and you will forfeit the greater portion of its treasures if you press your advantage through force. You have done enough murder today."