A Sound of Thunder (Mandalorian Raid of Ilum)

[Arrbi Betna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0PvZGVPiJU​

The key to a raid was cohesion, operational security, and following orders. So far, the only thing that had happened was everyone was following orders, namely orders from anyone and everyone around them. Confusion would get more people killed than anything else on the battlefield. If a warrior could not rely on his orders and chain of command then he was completely ineffective in combat and therefore a liability. A leader who could not adequately mitigate confusion and keep the mission on track was even more of a liability. Toss in the complete lack of operation security and how everything from Jedi to base-jumping unknowns were somehow in the midst of everything and Betna realized a simple task had somehow become the biggest cluster-kark this side of Coruscant, short of maybe the Republic itself.

Which brought things back to the task at hand. He keyed his commlink directly to his voluntary negotiator.

"Alor Raxis, your negotiation efforts have been noted. I'll be taking over," he stated, simply and bluntly. He was almost polite, despite the growing anger that Raxis' violation of OpSec had just set off. Between his own control of his emotions and the ysalamir pack he carried, none would know him. At least, none that didn't know him well. He keyed to the other frequency to speak with the alleged Underground agent.

"Ms. Merrill, this is the commander of the forces arrayed against you," he said, getting straight to the point. He declined naming himself as Raxis had already errantly done so. His best hope was that this alleged Underground agent hadn't caught the name or misheard it, though if she was an Underground agent it was probably a lost cause. Someone used to operating in the shadows had a mind for information, especially names, no matter if heard once or hundreds of times.

"Your request to evacuate any children or younglings, as the Jetiise call them, is denied," it was a tough call, but ultimately whatever happened here was on him. With that in mind, his own principles came into play, both as a war leader and a father. "I'll not allow children of any number or age to be used as a bargaining chip by either side and, regardless of such, the situation as a whole will remain the same in either case."

"Instead, I offer this. You will all stand down, you will all exit the tunnels and temple without weapons, you will surrender to my warriors, and you will be placed under watch in one of the large chambers of this temple until we leave. None of you - Jedi, children, or refugees - will be harmed, of that you have my word, both as War Leader and as a father. I'll give you five minutes to talk this over with the rest of your group."

With that, Betna sighed slowly within the silence of his helmet. It was always a hard choice, but often the right choices were the most difficult. His instincts as a father told him to get their children and young ones clear, but he knew he had to trust his experience in the field. Removing the younglings removed a weakness and as much as Betna seethed at himself for it, he knew it was a weakness that could possible be exploited. Fighting them as they guarded their youth would be a very hard fight indeed and combat would be bitter and bloody, but if they realized that they had a way out, one where no one else would be harmed, then this whole situation could be resolved without further bloodshed. It would also mean that the children they claimed were there would come to no harm, accidental or otherwise.

He keyed his commlink and opened up a direct frequency to Ronan. There was one last thing that needed to be said.

"Ronan, they have five minutes to reply. Breach and clear in ten minutes if they don't reply. Take down any who resist if you have to. Do your best to try and spare any children or younglings you find, but don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Everyone else!" he barked, flipping over to the squad frequencies once more. It was time everyone was absolutely ready, regardless of what happened next. "I want all squads in positions, if any unknown individuals refuse identification or continue to threaten operational security, permission to detain with force is given."

He hated giving that order. He hated it down deep, deep within his bones. But it was a necessary order. He had to think tactically here, with his head and his gut, not his heart. Probably, he was making a mistake somewhere, but that was something for the after action reports. For now, his main concern was getting his men back in one piece with a successful mission. If he had nightmares afterwards, he'd just add it with the others he carried on sleepless nights.

[member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Sol'yic Ramikad"] [member="Dariak Talesa"] [member="Nicair Claden"] [member="Melina Tervho"]


OOC: Alea Iacta Est

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Gray Raxis"]

Kneeling in the tunnels across from Eiarra, Mara could hear the voice coming in through Raxis' comlink, up in the temple foyer. When she stretched out with her empathic senses, though, looking for this Arrbi Betna, she felt none of the reassuring sincerity that Raxis exuded. She felt nothing at all.

"Ysalamiri," murmured Eiarra, and Mara nodded as the sensation clicked. She stopped projecting her speech with the Theran Listener technique that Eiarra had taught her.

"Master Merrill," said the old Anx who led this particular band of Jedi, "what is happening?"

"Simple enough, Master Minh." Mara rubbed her face. "I asked if we could send out the children and evacuate them. The negotiator, Gray Raxis, said yes. The warband's leader, Arrbi Betna, said no. Instead he's given us all five minutes to surrender -- come out unarmed and be confined while they loot the place."

Styr grunted. The huge half-Valkyri slouched against the wall of the tunnel, leaning on his spear. "And you Forcers felt them kill how many of your Jedi outside?"

The Anx, Master Ho-Chi Minh, shook his ponderous head in an unfamiliar gesture, but his despair and sadness were clear enough to Mara's empathic senses. "There were five outside -- three Knights, two Padawans. I felt no surprise or wariness, only sudden death."

"We go out there unarmed and we'll be joining them," said Styr flatly. "Anyone who raids a Jedi temple comes prepared to kill kids. And if they've given you their names, Captain, they don't intend us to survive regardless."

"I think the name was the negotiator's mistake."

"All the more reason for them to wipe us out. And you gave them your name, yes? And it did nothing?" The Valkyri viking glanced about, realizing for the first time that he was the centre of attention. Mara, his employer and Captain, and a Master of the Force; Eiarra, a Theran Listener and Chalactan Adept who tended to order him around and with good reason; Master Minh, an old Jedi, responsible for over a dozen lives; Mukami, the Asahian swordsman; Kolatta, the sniper who swore by her bow and arrows. And behind them, Jedi faces, some young. Mara felt his consternation and grim resignation as he refocused on her. "Captain, we're the definition of a loose end, and they've already shown they'll kill for convenience. How're we doing for time?"

"Three minutes left," said Mara. "Maybe less."

She waited for him to go on; he didn't. Instead he stared at her expectantly. He'd made his point; now she had to make her decision, for herself and her small crew. But it wasn't a decision she had any right to make alone.

She locked eyes with the old Anx and saw a wilted-flower soul, no life, no hope. A decade of retreating from the One Sith could do that to you. "What do you say, Master Minh? What's the greater risk -- surrender or no surrender? I can't make this call for all of you."

The Anx looked past her, then behind himself, taking stock of the Jedi. A few genuine Younglings; a handful on the border of Padawanhood and puberty; a few older Padawans or young Knights; a couple of nursemaid types like Minh himself; a couple more broken veterans. Twenty of them at most, and of those less than half would be combat-capable. "The Jedi have explored these tunnels for millennia with the Force as our ally," said Minh at last. "We can hide in the deepest caves while these Mandalorians take their fill from the temple. There are passages they'll never find."

Her fears suggested another possibility: the Mandalorians would find her work, her half-carved crystals and gemstones, in the common area. Rather than be satiated, the raiders would come looking for more. The temple and the caves did hold more, to be sure, but when it came to Mandalorian greed, you never knew. You just never knew.

"Are there back doors? Other ways we or the children could escape?"

The Anx nodded. "Quite some distance away, however. On balance, though, the exits are well concealed."

Mara hissed. "Time's run out."

***​

​

Her voice came to Gray Raxis and his comlink pickup. "You've already killed our people without provocation. We can't accept or trust your demand for surrender. You'll find the temple empty."

 

[Titan]

Ramikad secured his helmet and drew his rifle, "Acknowledged commander Betna." He said into his comlink, "But what if the children refuse? I am not slaughtering children in cold blood." <I am not going to kill kids, stun them sure but kill? No way.> Ramikad readied his gear and aimed his weapon down the hole. Pulling out a stun grenade while he did so. He hated the situation but knew that, unfourtanently, it was the only way, at least now that [member="Gray Raxis"]'s negotiations had been ruined.

 

[Mirshko Betna]

Squad B - holding the LZ

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Gray Raxis"]

​

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neu8gs1_Kx4[/media]​

​

The whiteness of the snow was almost blinding, and for once Mirshko was very happy for the polarized visor on her modified Advanced Hyperion Armor. She sighed softly. She definitely needed to work on getting some new armor made - and sooner rather than later. But for now, she had other things to worry about. She had disembarked from their transports along with the rest of the raiding group. But, she felt more comfortable staying behind to guard the ships.

Especially considering everything that had happened for her in the past few months. She still wasn't sure what her parents thought about the whole thing. They'd given their permission, certainly. But whether they agreed with the path she was choosing to walk was another matter entirely. A frown crossed over her face, and she was glad it was hidden by her helmet. Along with her squad, she was beginning their task of securing the transport ships.

As she was walking the perimeter, she felt something drawing her out in the same direction the other squads had gone - towards the temple. For a moment, she turned to check the rest of the squad. They were dug in nicely, and spread out in a good formation which would provide the cover they needed should something happen. it nagged at her a bit to be going off alone. It left her stomach in knots as she remembered Druckenwell - and Syvris. But she wasn't about to let history stop her now.

"Squad B, hold here. I'm going to investigate. Comm if you need me.." she said, her tone as firm as she could make it considering the small winged creatures who seemed to have taken up residence in her stomach. Swallowing hard, she checked her weapons and set off in the direction she felt the Force pulling her. Where it was leading, she didn't know. But this felt very different from the curiosity which had led to the events on Druckenwell.

Was she more cautious now? Certainly. Could she still land herself in trouble? Sure. Would she? Only time would tell on that question. As she was moving towards the Temple, she heard most of Gray's conversation, though not all of the replies. She did, however, feel the presence of some very powerful Force users. She frowned slightly as she moved even closer. it was as she was drawing even with the disguised Bullet Time that she heard the exchange between her father and whoever was speaking for the group inside the temple. For herself personally, she'd not come with the idea of stealing a crystal for herself.

Now she felt the entire situation shift. And it moved in a way that tied her stomach in knots all over again. There was a time and a place for everything. But the unnecessary killing of the sentries was not something she fully agreed with. She wasn't sure if the protocol for such things had even been discussed. Shaking her head slightly, Mirshko tried to focus back on the mission. It was around this time that she found her foot catching on something she couldn't see.

She'd become a bit distracted by the exchange going on over comms, and hadn't been paying attention to her surrroundings. Frowning, Mirshko dug around in the snow to see if she could find what she'd tripped over. No luck. But when she cautiously fished around with her boot, she felt it hit something solid. And that something was hidden from sight.

 

[Nicair Claden]

Nicair could feel it in his gut, something had been decided, the order came out to detain those that posed a threat. He was ready for such actions, his skills in martial arts would help him greatly in a close quarters attack, he also supposed he could utilize his newly acquired beskad against the lightsaber wielding force users. The other Mandalorians began moving about, readying for a breach maneuver. He positioned himself up near the front of the squad, he wanted to be the first one in. His anxiety started to rise, he wanted combat, hungered for it, all of these things while remaining stone still. He counted in mando'a in his head, something to keep his mind distracted so his anxiety didn't get away from him. Blood started moving towards his legs and arms, the adrenaline started to kick in early, no doubt from his anxiety forcing his fight or flight instinct to activate. Every muscle he had was coiled like a serpent. The warrior was ready to be released.

[member="Ronan Vizsla"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

With the final words of the negotiation having ended in a rather cold confirmation that the small number of Jedi within the temple had no intention of surrendering, Marcus brought his blaster rifle off of his back and abandoned the side of Arribi in favor of a steady advance towards the groups that were already near the entrance of the Temple. To him, the entire prospect of having a firefight with these Jedi once they had breached seemed to be quite the opportunity for glory, and he didn't intend to skulk behind in one of the rear squads while his vod pressed on.

As his boots crunched on through the snow towards the forward positions, he was all too aware of his own vulnerability. It would have been different if he had his armor, as very few things were liable to penetrate or damage him behind the thick layers of Beskar, but without it he knew that the ranged game might be more viable if they should get stuck in. That was all for the better though... Jedi usually didn't have guns.

He found his cover in the form of a dark boulder that rested near the entrance of the Temple, and as squads melted into all sorts of positions around the vast entrance, it was clear that the action was just about to begin, and Marcus was all too eager to get his fill.


[member="Nicair Claden"] / [member="Arrbi Betna"] / [member="Gray Raxis"]

 

[Hype Darkwater]

@[member='Arrbi Betna'],Gray Raxis Mara D'Lessio Merrill Ronan Vizsla Vilaz Munin Draco Vereen Nefertari Sovint Hype Darkwater Sanya Val Swift Sol'yic Ramikad Dariak Talesa Nicair Claden Melina Tervho

Hype glanced at his comrades. Orders were orders, you followed them, and Hype didn't have any qualms about killing Jedi, armed or not. But he had a prisoner on his hands. But he also wanted to be a part of the advance movement. He decided to call in.

"Arribi Betna, this Hype Darkwater, squad three. We have a... guest, Sanya Val Sift, who claims to know Gray Raxis. What do we do with her?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Eh, I'm not up to much. Knight-Errant doesn't have many official duties. Most of my responsibilities are performed behind closed doors." The Mandalorian laughed, sighting down his weapon and ensuring he was ready for when the hunting actually started. He would be starting with a Tranqarest Harpoon, designed to muddle the creature's senses, slow down its reflexes, and generally make it easier to bring down.

He had a coin shot harpoon in the snow beside him, waiting to be quick loaded into the orar'sacarhr for the second shot. If he needed a third or forth they would be anti-coagulant, though he hoped coinshot to the throat would down a beast, especially combined with Vilaz's orar'bev. That weapon was fearsome, but he wasn't sure it would due enough tissue damage to bring a Gorgodon down, though it would at least hurt and draw blood. "You know how it is though. I'm trying to get the clan to spread out, claim some stuff for themselves."

Draco's helmet pinged a life form approaching. Out here, that meant some form of predator or a Mandalorian trekking up the mountain to see about them. Most likely it was the former, given that if they were needed [member="Arrbi Betna"] could just comm them. Its wasn't like the snow and ice were killing communication, just limiting sensors.

"One hundred meters. Eleven o'clock." He mutter across the internal comm, letting Vilaz know how far the creature was and where.

Draco turned and propped himself up in the snow, using the rocks they were sitting behind as a brace against the wind.

"Eighty meters and closing. He's curious, but he's sneaking. Going slow. Sensor indicates about eight meters tall. Let me know when you get visual on him. I've got thermal on him."

And now the hunt begins.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray listened to everything [member="Arrbi Betna"] had to saw back to the voice, and he was disappointed. No he was more than disappointed, he was angry. They had come into these people's home and killed some of their people. They knew this was a jedi temple which meant they could approach and negotiate without the need to kill anyone, yet five had died senselessly. Gray had gone out of his way to put his life on the line for the sake of both sides to negotiate, and even though his life hadn't been threatened it easily could have been. Yet despite Gray having worked out a deal that could have been peaceful, it had been denied. And why was it denied? Likely because it would be more to their advantage. These were the lives of children and none hostile people, not some warmongering entity like the One Sith. That was were things had gone from disappointing to making him angry. He had hoped for a change in behavior from the usual from the Mandalorian leader, but he wasn't any different.

Gray waited for the response from the jedi, and finally got one. It seemed they had no plan to surrender but also no plan to fight. That was good at least, and the temple's force seemed to assure him that everything would be alright with the jedi here. He sighed out a bit, then got on his com. He said over it, " Before we just blow up the temple for no reason. Let me open up the door. It should go by easier this time around. They were not in the entry way and I could not sense any of them nearby. I have no doubt they did escape as she said they did. Better to save the explosives if we can also." He then waited to see if his suggestion would go through or not. He hoped that his leader would see some sense in this, even if he didn't in Gray's negotiations. What challenge was there for them in any of this and what were they really going to gain to prosper their family and clan? The way things had been handled so far, it was not the way Gray thought Mandalorians should be.

[member="Mirshko Betna"] [member="Marcus Lok"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Nicair Claden"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Titan]

"I can help." Sol'yic told Gray, his rifle being reslung over his shoulder, "Just tell me how." Sol'yic's suprised evn himself, but children shouldn't die. And if he could prevent their deaths he would. That much he was sure of.

 

[Melina Tervho]

::If we're not getting answers from command, they have bigger problems. Stop asking what to do with the prisoner, we disarmed her and we hold here and prepare to defend D and A from potential hostiles in the temple.::

Mel spoke on the helmet com to Hype directly. Hype had joined up late to the party and so hadn't had the benefit of the briefing but there was no need to continue to ping the war leader if command wasn't answering.

::Get into ready position and keep your head on the task at hand. Move towards the temple.:: Dale, squad C leader chimed in with a gruff and almost a little exasperated tone.

Mel walked over to Sanya, coming along side of the woman, her rifle shouldered but her finger out of the trigger guard. Her externals were back on.

"The squad will be moving forward. Alor Raxis has not responded to our requests for confirmation so you will be remaining here under watch. If you attempt to resist, you will be forcefully detained."

[member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"]

 

[Dariak Talesa]

At the given orders Dariak sprang into action. His dry humour stashed away as he rushed to the line of his squad and dropped to one knee as he brought the sights of his carbine up to his visor. His body tense and relaxed as he prepared for a fight against the famous, vaunted Jedi Knights. Dariak pulled out the power cell and slapped it back in just to make sure the frozen air hadn't locked both magazine well and cell together. His thumb tapped once more on the safety catch as if expecting to flip it down.

With a slow motion he swept his blaster and field of vision in a slow precise arc as if expecting to see a glimpse of movement. The flash of a blaster's muzzle or the awe-inspiring flash of a lightsaber igniting. "Kad Ha'rangir'. I dedicate the upcoming battle to you. May my victory bring you joy, may my defeat grant me an honourable death. I shall not shame myself or my clan." he breathed to himself within his helmet as he continued to scan the horizon for any activity. Anything that would get his heated blood pumping in the midst of the frozen wastes around him.





[member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Melina Tervho"] [member="Sol'yic Ramikad"] [member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Hype Darkwater"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

 

[Hype Darkwater]

Sanya Val Swift Melina Tervho Sol'yic Ramikad Gray Raxis Hype Darkwater Arrbi Betna

"Right", Hype replied. He bounded through the snow, pulling out his rifle as he did so.
Hype had decided one thing by now. He strongly disliked icy worlds. Normally he didn't care about the cold, snow, wind, ice, or the foreboding landscape, but something about Ilum.... he didn't like it. Maybe it was the Jedi. Hype have never liked Jedi at any age. If he was lucky, he could get a trophy or two.
He did one last spring and slammed chest down into the snow. Snow blanketed him, making him a hazy target on the landscape. If someone just gave a quick pass over, they wouldn't even notice him. He brushed snow on the scope of his rifle, dulling any glinting, but just giving him enough vision to see. He had a full view of the temple, he counted on his team mates to keep an eye on his flanks. Hopefully they would soon get the clearance to move in. If not soon, Hype would go in himself.
Many have said he was rash, boneheaded, and charged into situations too quickly, but most of them were dead, Hype wasn't. And that was all that mattered. Too Hype at any rate.

 

[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"]

Sanya looked at the group as the cold bit through the armor. She needed to move about to warm up before she started to lose feeling. "Look it seems it's taking time for someone to get back to you. You have my weapons and I've offered my help. So I think we can an come to an agreement that times been waisted standing around twiddling our fingers." She said trying to move things along and warm up a little by moving about. "So urrr what are you lot doing in ilum anyway? It seems an odd place to be unless your harvesting the wild life here." She asked curiously. That or they could be using crystals here to make new more powerful guns.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHNJ8XKjUO4​

​

Betna couldn't help but kick himself at Raxis' words. He'd made a mistake, one that he shouldn't have made and one that only a rookie would make. It was embarassing to an extent, but mostly annoying. A slip-up that he should have known better than to make no matter what situation.

"Ronan," he said, determined to fix the problem. "You can ax the explosives, we may need them for something else down the line.. Just come through the doors and windows. Let's get the temple front secured and then start scouring the tunnels."

He then gave the signal for the warriors around him to breach and clear, though he knew that there was nothing inside to worry about. As the Mandalorian raiders entered the building and reports started coming in, Betna calmly and quietly made his way until he was standing beside Gray Raxis. He kept his helmet on, but closed all comm access to his helmet for a moment. Satisfied no one could listen in remotely, he leaned in slightly towards the unarmored man, clearly intending the words to follow to be solely between the two of them.

"I'm not sure what you thought you signed up for or how you thought this sort of operation was supposed to go, but this is a raid," Betna said his voice low and quiet, his tone ice cold and deadly. "We didn't come here to ask nicely if it was okay to show up, if it was okay to take what we came for. People die in raids, sometimes on both sides, but the goal is to make sure our side doesn't. I let you have your shot at negotiating because after years of fighting Force sensitives and raiding, I figured you might have been able to talk them into fully surrendering with some sort of specialized Jetiise training, not bargain like some peddler at market. As for announcing by name the leader of their attackers, you've just endangered myself, my clan, and every man and woman here on this raid and their families. It doesn't take much more than common sense and a stack of credits to figure out who is who in this galaxy and that the best route to get to them is through subordinates or family members."

The Alor for Clan Betna leaned a little closer, his ire burning white hot, but controlled through sheer willpower. The mistakes made today could have cost lives, and still could, all because Raxis failed to understand precisely how operational security functioned on a raid.

"The next time you put lives in danger by breaking OpSec and dropping names on an open comm channel, especially when the other side can clearly hear you, I'll pull your lungs out your back."

What needed saying having been said, Betna moved into the temple itself leaving Raxis behind. He wasn't interested in rebuttal, he didn't care about debate. His point was made, his reasoning sound, and there was a raid to finish before half the Jedi Order somehow managed to swing by for tea and biscuits.

[member="Gray Raxis"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"]

Spoiler

Sorry for the IC shredding, Raxis. Just Betna's IC reaction to the whole incident. Trying to keep IC in the IC and such Awesome thread so far, though lol

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

As [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Ronan Vizsla"], [member="Sol'yic Ramikad"], [member="Marcus Lok"], [member="Dariak Talesa"], [member="Hype Darkwater"], and [member="Melina Tervho"] (among others) approached or came through the temple entrance to join [member="Gray Raxis"], they would find the following:

The Jedi Temple was, true to Mara's word, deserted. She'd left her work backpack in the common area in favour of a supply pack, so the common area held a variety of curiously etched crystals and gemstones, market value somewhere in the low eight figures. That was a wrench, and she'd think twice before replacing some of the items in there, but compared to lives it was nothing. [member="Nefertari Sovint"] had been up at the boundary between the tunnels and the temple; hopefully she'd had the presence of mind to get back into the tunnels before the Mandalorians came knocking in force.

The temple and its catacombs presented a host of natural barriers to the Mandalorians. For starters, the Force-activated door that Gray Raxis had opened was only the first door. Inside a massive circular atrium, the whole place came to a dead end -- no access to the tunnels save for a gigantic slab of ice that would melt away based on a massive crystal apparatus and Ilum's sixty-six-hour day. Or, you know, Mandalorian flamethrowers. The ice should have refrozen while Mara was negotiating, giving Nefertari Sovint time to get back inside before the passage sealed. Ideally. If not, it probably wouldn't go well for the Jedi Knight who'd wandered off.

Beyond the ice door, the tunnel mouth branched three ways, then branched again, quickly becoming a poorly lit warren of irregular, asymmetric catacombs. One of the temple's purposes was to teach students to trust the Force to lead them on a true course toward their own proper sabre crystal, even if the hunt took many hours. Without those instincts, that destiny, navigating the tunnels would prove difficult. Cave-ins, thin crystal shelves masquerading as floors, sudden changes in elevation, hidden trapdoors, icy surfaces that could crack and shatter underfoot -- this was a place of trial and testing, of random happenstance, of learning to deal with frustration. To add to the potential confusion, Mara had sent out a few Jedi runners with lumps of hearthcrystal, which warmed in response to the Force -- and the Force was very strong here. Random places in the tunnel system, then, gave off strong infrared signatures, comparable to how your average sensor would see a humanoid through a thin rock wall. A simple trick, but enough to buy a little more time.

Mara's people and Master Minh's Jedi had, by this point, withdrawn quite a distance into the tunnels. Their goal was twofold: find defensible positions to create another kind of delay, and send the younglings to one of the tunnels' distant, hidden emergency exits. That party split off now, five younglings under the care of four teenage Padawans, moving quickly away from the Mandalorians through the tunnels they'd navigated for their own trials.

The Mandalorians would encounter no resistance until they'd penetrated some distance into the tunnels. Whether they stayed together or dispersed through the tunnels' many branches -- well, that was up to them.

 

[Nicair Claden]

Nicair's breach was near flawless, probably due to his time spent constantly running through it in his head. Move with the left, lower position, steady on the rifle, repeat. Over and over. He was glad they were finally able to enter the temple, though it was calmer than he expected. The inside of the temple was deserted, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. It was almost eerie the lack of anything. He scanned the area, moving with precision, he allowed a section of the area clear of his own sight to allow the Mandalorian behind him to cover his six. Teamwork was key for an operation like this and he knew that, it was different than how he usually operated but he'd get used to it.

The sound of heavy boots on the stone floors rang out through the halls, it was a beautiful sound to Claden. It wasn't long until they reached a larger room, a common area of sorts he assumed. Upon a short inspection he noticed a pack on the ground, he raised a fist, a signal to the others to stay where they were, he wasn't sure what was in there but his heart raced at the thought of finding out, his mind practically forced him to step forward. He advanced alone, he had slowed his movement to a near snail pace, he had to be careful, who knew what trap could've been laid in there? Once he had reached the pack he reached one foot out to tap it, nothing happened but he could hear something rattle around inside. So nice of them to leave us a gift he thought to himself.

One small kick sent the pack over and beautiful crystals rolled out. For he assumed they were beautifully designed, Claden knew little of the crystals but he saw that they had been etched with writing and glinted in the light, yet they called to him, he felt a desire like no other than to take them. He shook the thoughts from his head, such was not the way of the raid, they'd split the reward at the end. He signaled for his vod to advance and gathered the crystals that had fallen from the pack back up.

"I certainly hope these are worth something." He said to the nearest warrior as he threw the pack over his shoulders, using the straps to fasten it to his back.

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Ronan Vizsla"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

"Gonna pull a Rekali," the Field Marshal asked the Commander as Draco said that he was mobilizing his clan and spreading their influence. The Rekali Clan, a well known and respected one, were arguably the sole Clan within the Mandalorians to have a magnificent spread of territory. Most other clans would have their influence on just one planet or system, but nothing in comparison to the famous Rekali Clan. Vilaz's house was stationed on Concord Dawn and had major influence on the agricultural world. He could do what Ember did to his clan, but the time for such thing hadn't come to him.

And then what they were looking for had come. Vilaz's head turned to where the Gorgodon was spotted and then activated the thermal vision of his helmet. With the vision he now had he could get a visual of the beast. "Yeah, I can see the fella. My helmet tells me the same thing as yours." The creature was eight meters tall and was approximately eighty meters away from the two men. Thankfully it was just one monster, but the numbers could change if others noticed the bait blood and the sonic emitter.

He aimed with his crossbow with extreme caution as he interned to make his aim true and firm. The area where he intended to make a direct hit on the titan was the chest area. He sure wasn't going for the head; too early for a hit like that due to the type of scenario they were in. While his weapon can break the sound barrier, the harsh wing could alternate the original direction of the bolt he would soon launch at the Gorgodon.

"You wanna take the hit?"

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Sure. Be ready, this isn't going to put him down." Draco muttered softly as he sighted the creature's outline. The wind and snow obscuring the creature's features, only its rough outline visible through standard sight. Several targeting assist programs in his helmet aided him in picking it out, low light designators, thermal imaging, and other such devices.

Breathe in.

The warrior pointed the harpoon towards the animals throat, the fleshy part with a large concentration of blood vessels to carry the Tranqarest throughout the creature's vascular system.

Breathe out.

The Mandalorian squeezed the trigger. The weapon had a heavy trigger, his armored glove was cold. The harpoon erupted with a furious speed, accelerated by electromagnetic coils. Almost as soon as the harpoon exited the weapon, Draco's hands were already moving to slow the coils and begin reloading.

As he did so he heard the roar of the beast as the harpoon struck it. In the distance his sensors picked up the panicked answering roars several kilometers away. The barb stuck deep in the animals neck, ejecting tranqarest directly into its flesh. Not enough to put a beast of this size down, but enough to slow it given time.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Indeed, Nef had sensed a disturbance in the force and escaped deeper into the tunnels...but not before setting an improvised flash mine. The Mandos were looting the temple, after all. And nobody would really be hurt by that, just disoriented enough to buy some more time for the Jedi to escape...provided the device worked.

"Savages" She said under her breath before moving quickly into the dark catacombs.
Going deeper in than she'd ever gone before, the glow from the light-side artifact on her neck illuminated the figure of [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]. Recognizing them as friendly, she adjusted the carrier so it was more like a sling for her youngling.

"Greetings. Would you mind filling me in on the plan?"