Chaab Gotal Veman- Fear Made Real [Gavin Ovmar/Arrbi Betna]

[Anija Betna]

[[This occurs about 5 years before the current stories, and 10 after Arpat be Burcyan. Anija would be twenty. It occurs shortly after her verd'goten.]]

Keldabe
1100 hours local

[member="Gavin Ovmar"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

The air in the streets of Keldabe was cool and slightly damp, making it feel like one's clothes were sticking to their skin slightly. Here and there, small clusters of people conversed, the muted buzz sounding a little like insects buzzing around flowers. Through this, moved a slight figure clad in dark green beskar'gam. Much like that which [member="Ordo"] used to wear. He'd worn a similar style and color of armor the day he'd found her all those years ago.

A faint smile touched Anija's lips as she thought of Ordo. Her rescuer. Her buir. Father.... Something she thought she'd never have. She sighed and slowly continued on her way. She'd visited one of the local weaponsmiths, in search of a more custom weapon than the blasters she'd been using for the last ten years. They were good, but they felt... odd in her hands. She continued down the street for several more minutes, musing over the designs the smith had shown her. There were so many choices. It was hard to pick just one.

Ordo had told her that she could have a custom weapon designed. It was his gift in celebration of Anija passing her verd'goten, which she'd completed only a week or so ago. She still ached from it. Weeks... if not a month spent in the forests which she now knew very well. Her lips quirked slightly as she thought about it. It had definitely been a challenge, but she was glad that she'd passed.

The muted conversation and sounds of the forests outside Keldabe were shattered moments later by a high-pitched whine. Anija stumbled as the ground shook violently and she fell and rolled as the ground heaved again. it felt as if the ground was alive, or possessed by some creature. For a moment or two, she couldn't see anything. Her visor had polarized to protect her from a brilliant flash. When she could see again, she rolled shakily to her knees and then to her feet.

And promptly let loose a string of curses in Mando'a. The entire western quarter of the city was just.... gone. A giant crater was now in it's place, the nearby buildings still glowing red from the heat. It almost looked like they were melting. She took a few unsteady steps, but after a moment, she gained her footing on the suddenly uneven ground, and took off at a rather unsteady jog towards the nearest med center. Which was several blocks away, if it was still standing. She was a bit unsteady on her feet, and was solely focused on getting to her destination. She was hardly paying attention to her own danger sense. She narrowly avoided being crushed by falling debris several times, and even now, she didn't notice the dark-armored figure which had begun to follow her from a distance, blending into the shadows and smoke as he did.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]
[SIZE=medium]Gavin saw her wandering, the little daughter of the brute Ordo. She stalked along in obvious astonishment as what was the edge of Keldabe became no more. Gavin’s grey and black armor emblazoned on the shoulder with the symbol of the Shriek hawk. Just like his former leader Ordo he carried the Gladiator assault rifle in his hands while his DL-44a sat on his hip. He made little sound as he followed the girl fresh from her Verd’gotten. How did he know? He was trained and led by fellow Corellian Mando Jasper Ar’klim and Gavin made it his business to know what went on in the brute’s life. His brown eyes watched as see picked her way along. A cold smile crossed his face as he stopped briefly to raise the rifle to his shoulder to take aim. He liked her better from this angle; her slender form flanked by his sights was where all non-Death Watch belonged. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]He took a breath and steadied himself as he slowly squeezed the trigger. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Click. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Misfire…it must have been hit by the debris from earlier or just been a bad round. Gavin cleared the round but she was already around blocked from sight. He’d have to get closer. [/SIZE]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Anija frowned, slowing down as she scrambled over a pile of debris, and her hand drifted down towards her blaster as she steadied herself with her other hand. She felt a tingle of warning, and scanned the area surreptitiously. For a moment, she saw a flash of motion, but it vanished.

She shook her head and scrambled the rest of the way over the debris as she neared the med center - or at least where it used to be. Now, it was a smoking crater, jagged walls reaching towards the smoke- filled sky.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]

Gavin quickly picked his way after the woman and within a minute or so had her back in view. They had both been trained by the same man evidently because she moved quickly even in the chaos of a war torn Keldabe. He raised his gladiator and aimed for the rear of her right thigh. He took a breath and squeezed. the round leapt from his weapon and he began moving toward her again. Her Aliit'gam armour was tough and at most it would leave a painful bruise, but it would also slow her down long enough for him to close the gap and beat the Miss Ordo up close. A message for Buir.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Again, she felt the sense of danger. Turning slightly, she finally spotted him. Dark armor. And the sigil on his shoulder sent a chill down her spine. It was then that his round slammed into the side of her other thigh.

The sudden pain drove her to her knees for a moment. Clenching her teeth, she bit back a curse as she drew her blaster and aimed over her shoulder towards him. Breathing through gritted teeth, she pushed to her feet again, this time angling towards a building two blocks away that was still standing.. mostly.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]
Gavin moved quickly his dark eyes keeping her in view as he moved to close the distance. She was still moving fairly well but then Mandalorians were tough, especially the women. He hopped over a low wall and moved to try and catch her but it looked like he might not before she made it to cover. He moved quickly his armour was like a second skin and didn't hinder him at all as he got closer and closer with each passing second. He could make out the clan symbol on her armour now he was so close. It was only moments now before he had her in reach then he would show why the Death Watch were the greater warriors.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]

Anija swore under her breath, and turned quickly she was mere feet away from her destination. She could see the jagged walls rising in front of her, her left hand tightened around the hilt of the knife, and she ducked sideways as she tried to put some distance between them. Even as she could feel him closing in. A cold knot settled in her stomach. Sure, she'd had training, but she'd never faced anyone directly one-on-one before. Her leg ached from where the round had struck it, and she could feel the muscles cramping up. Gripping the knife in her left hand, she kept her back to the rough wall, and carefully edged away from him.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]

Gavin leapt over aome debris now and began to sprint the remaining few meters. She was nearly around the corner and it was time to take her down and send a message to her whole clan. He dropped his rifle and pulled his black besbev while he lowered his shoulder intending to tackle her and beat her with the war flute.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]

She swore and turned quickly then, trying to drive the knife in her hand into his thigh. On the side, there was a gap in the plates. She felt the blade slide off the edge and then sink into the muscle and flesh as she tried to ram her other elbow into his throat. She almost connected, and then pain exploded across her side, causing her to stagger for a moment. She turned slightly and tried to ram her shoulder into his chest.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]

His shoulder struck her as her knife bit deep into his thigh. An angry roar escaped him as he swung his heavy beskar flute at her head hoping to bludgen her sensless.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Anija swore, staggering under the sudden blow, the force of it driving her to her knees. His shoulder slammed into her chest, and she was left gasping for breath, her labored breathing audible even through the seal in her buy'ce. At that, she doubled over, making a blind grab as she tried to shove him away. She'd forgotten that he'd pretty much backed her into a wall with nowhere to go.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]

She was tough. That was good. The message would be that much clearer. She pushed him back and he staggered on his wounded leg before he caught himself. With a grunt he kicked at her chestplate with his wounded leg and hoped to knock the air from her lungs.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

His kick connected, and she stumbled backwards, feeling her back make contact with the wall behind her. For a moment or two, she just leaned against it, dazed. Her breathing was labored now, and if he listened closely, he'd hear a faint wheezing. The force of his kick had cracked one - if not several ribs. She pushed herself up to a crouch after a moment, one hand on the wall to steady herself for a moment before she lunged at him, another knife in her hand.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

She lunged forward but this time he was ready. His brown eyes caught her movements from behind the ever intimidating 'T' of his visor. His heart pounded and adrenaline flooded his system as they fought. The weight of the besbev in his hand reminded him of it's presence as she lunged forward. Her knife streaked toward him and his hand went up to block it at the forearm, while his hand carrying the besbev swung down at her collar bone area.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]
[member="Gavin Ovmar"]

The besbev connected solidly, and pain stabbed her consciousness as if he'd driven a knife into her ribs. Her hand spasmed, and the knife fell from her fingers to land with a muted clatter on the permacrete. Pain lanced down her arm and into her neck from the point of impact, and she found herself momentarily paralyzed as she collapsed heavily against the wall.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"]

He was a man on a mission as she became dazed. He punched at her face plate with his left hand and swung his besbev a moment later. He planned to knock her out strip off her armor and hang her by her wrist for all of her clan and friends to see. His angry heart showed no sign of relenting as he pounded at the woman's body and head.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

His fis slammed into her visor, the force of the blow driving her head back to meet the wall behind it. She saw stars, and was beginning to feel dizzy. A gasped curse fell from her lips as the besbev connected with her ribs, her body collapsing forward slightly as she tried to protect herself.

But there was nowhere to go. He had her backed into a corner. She attempted to kick him in the knee, but found herself still partially paralyzed.

His armored fist slammed into her stomach again and she doubled over again, biting back a curse. As much pain as she was in, she would not cry. She could already feel the blackness of unconsciousness creeping in.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Chaos. Light. Thunder.

Betna looked up through the visor of his helmet from his position on the ground. One minute he was find and had just bought a snow cone from a vendor to help fight off the heat of the day. The next minute, just as he'd reached up to pop the seals on his helmet to enjoy the snow cone, a brilliant flash of light and a ear splitting noise assailed the helmet he wore. Only the auto polarization on the helmet and the sound dampeners saved his sight and hearing.

The Mandalorian picked himself up off the ground and ignored the various other Mandalorians around him as they scattered, some to find their loved ones and others to find defensible positions. This was Mandalore. They didn't do panic. Betna brushed the remains of the snow cone from his breast plate - something he was plenty pissed about because it was a strawberry-grape snow cone, his favorite - and took in the situation. From the force of the explosion and the rising mushroom cloud ahead, he didn't need a rocket scientist to figure out a nuke had hit. He had two options: Find his family or find somewhere to kill whoever was dumb enough to poke the bear. Since his family and homestead were outside the city and he'd only been here on an errand, the choice was easy. Killing time.

Arrbi didn't have his rifle, but no true Mando warrior left home without a weapon. He drew the .44 revolver from it's drop-leg holster and checked the cylinder. With a snap of the wrist, the cylinder slammed home with the six hot-loaded, armor piercing slugs he'd hand loaded last week. Mindful of those around him, he started jogging to the first place he figured anyone would try and hit after a bomb: The spaceport.

[member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Gavin Ovmar"]

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Arrbi Betna"]

She doubled over from the punch and Gavin took the openning. With a heavy hand he struck down at the back of her head. The meaty portion of his hand below the pinky came down in a hammer fist strike designed to knock her out.

Once down he would begin to remove her armor and leave her for her vode. All but her right shoulder plate was coming with him. That complete his next job was he pulled off his left shoulder plate, the one with the shreik hawk, and put it on her shpulder before he began wrapping her wrist with fibercord. He tied one end to her wrist and hoisted her up along the wall then tied the cord to an exposed piece of rebar in the wall. With a smug salute he left her hanging from the wall with nothing but her undersuit, her soulder plate on one side and his death watch plate on the other.

"Say hi to Ordo for me." He said as he began to hobble away.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Gavin Ovmar"]
[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Spots danced on the edges of her vision, and her arms were trembling with effort as she tried to keep from falling face first to the permacrete. But, that was her last coherent thought as blinding pain blossomed from the back of her neck. His armored hand had smashed down on the back of her neck. With the force of it, her arms gave way, and she slid bonelessly to the ground. Facedown, her arms fell limply to her sides. She was vaguely aware of him doing something with her armor, but she couldn't move. When he hoisted her up by her wrist and bound her to the rebar, it sent pain stabbing into her shoulder all over again. As he began to walk away, she heard his parting words as if from far away... and then she knew no more.