Private Deception in the Deep

[Yuri Maji]

CORUSCANT | UNDERWORLD
TAGS: Korra Kast

---

THE UNKNOWING​

After running into his aunt, he decided to lay low for the moment. His ship was still impounded and the shipment in the cargo hold was likely either destroyed or in custody. Regardless, he couldn't just walk into the office to settle everything, he'd be shot on sight. So after borrowing a speeder without permission, Yuri decided to pay some old friends in Underworld a visit. Baby would be alright, he luckily managed to rig the Basilisk's registry to be a construction droid.

The trip to Underworld was a mixture of emotions. On the one end, it was as if he was welcomed back with open arms, but he also felt a hint of disgust as the smog and sick air hit his nostrils. In the back of his mind, this wasn't who he was anymore. Regardless, he was happy to meet up with some old colleagues and friends again. A greeting quickly turned into shared drinks, which quickly turned into talking shop... which quickly turned into the armoured Shistavanen looking over the railing of a bullet train.

The speed at which he got this job was still jarring, but he wasn't complaining. The modelling gig and this job would be more than enough to cover the loss from the gig topside.

:: Rear secure, we're ready to roll out. :: He spoke over the comms after finishing his sweep. He was running security for this train. The employers were mum on what they were transporting, but the crates looked like weapon markings. It wouldn't surprise him, this was a crime lord at the end of the day. Using a civilian train was nothing more than cover from the authorities and rival gangs. With a whine, the train darted forward on its journey through Underworld and Yuri nestled into his position along the rear with a hum.

He shrugged and removed his helmet to place a cigarette between his lips. After lighting it with the jet of his flamethrower, he leaned against the wall of the train and blew a plume of smoke up into the air. All things considered, the would be an easy job. A few gangsters had never been much of an issue.

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra sat dimly lit backroom of a cantina deep in Coruscant's underworld, where the air is thick with smoke and the hum of illegal activity. Across the table, a Twi'lek in a tattered jacket leaned forward, his eyes reflecting the flickering light from a nearby hologram. The hologram displayed a sleek, armored train. This was to be her target.

"You are to get on board and take the cargo." The Twi'lek told her.

"What's the cargo?" Korra asked, her voice modulated from her helmet.

"You don't need to know." The Twi'lek answered.

"Half up front. The rest when I deliver."

The Twi'lek blinked. "What? That's—"

Her helmet tilted, and the quiet menace in her posture was enough to make him swallow his protest.

"Right, right," he stammered, fumbling with his credit chip. "Half up front."

She stood, towering over him, and took the chip without another word. Korra also got transfered data on the train, like where it'll be passing by so she can pick a good spot to get on. With that in hand, she exited the cantina.

---

She found herself perched on a nearby building, waiting for this train to come whizzing by. The moment the train sped past, she leapt. Her jetpack roared to life, propelling her over the abyss between her position and the train. Korra landed on the roof of the speeding transport.

Sliding into a prone position, she activated her vambrace's slicing tool. She located the train's security system and temporarily looped the surveillance feed. If the operators noticed anything amiss, it would already be too late. Korra carefully approached the cargo container. A quick plasma torch cut through the lock, and she swung the door open.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

For the moment, at least, the job was going smooth as butter. Security wasn't all that extensive, all things considered, but between him and the squad of other goons to cover the blind spots they were pretty secure. At least until a faint noise caught his attention over the train's squeaks and groans. A normal person would likely not have caught it, or perhaps even dismiss it as ambient sound, but to Yuri that sound was all too familiar.

A jetpack. Either they had a very rich and experienced guest... or a far more dangerous alternative. He hoped that it was the former. The Shistavanen immediately slid his helmet on and drew a pistol as he made his way to the main cargo car. :: Heads up, possible intruder. Movin' to investigate. :: He called in over the comms. As he neared the door of the car, he flicked to his X-ray vision to peer inside. Sure as hell, they had a sneaky intruder moving toward the crates. Not wasting another second, Yuri smacked the door control and breached inside with both pistols trained on the intruder... whose armour made his heart sink.

<"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sis."> He spoke in Mando'a, slowly drawing closer with a careful eye on her movements. "This ain't worth the trouble." He continued, not exactly in the mood to square up with another Mandalorian. Ignoring the physical aspect of it all, attacking another one of their kind for a third time simply didn't fit into his list of good and justifiable ideas.

"Back away, sweetheart. I ain't gonna tell ya again." He growled, his HUD painting their target for what was most likely to come.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

The hiss of the breaching door had already set her on edge, mainly because there was someone skilled enough catch on guarding the cargo. She heard the guard before seeing him, and it confirmed who she was dealing with, another Mando. Korra turned her helmeted head just enough to take in the individual through her own HUD. His stance was solid, pistols trained on her like a predator locking onto prey.

"You think you scare me?" She replied in sharp Mando'a, her voice cool and steady. The crates were behind her now, her body a living shield to what she was after. "Because you don't." Her hand rested casually on her hip, near enough to her holstered blaster to make it clear she wasn't backing down.

"This cargo is worth the trouble," she said evenly, switching to Basic. "If it weren't, you wouldn't be here. And neither would I."

Korra didn't make a move to fire. Not yet. The last thing she wanted was to turn this into a firefight—not because she was afraid of him, but because a blaster bolt in the wrong spot could destroy what she'd come for. Whatever her reasons for being here, one thing was clear: she had no intention of walking away empty-handed.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

A chuckle escaped the Shistavanen as he watched her. Other members of the security detachment were catching onto the disturbance, but he sent a quick message to have them back off. No sense in sending them all to their death, and that was ignoring the potential of a stray shot hitting the cargo. "Yeah, but some of us are a bit more important, I'd say." He remarked, before firing a blast from his repulsor to try and hurl her away from the cargo and into an adjacent wall.

With a flick of his thumbs, he set his blasters to stun and fired a volley of bolts at the intruder. He hated close quarters like this, no space to move. He was going to have to subdue her before things became dangerously lethal for all parties involved. "It's just a bunch of guns, sweetheart, go steal someone else's." He remarked as he ducked behind a few nearby crates.

How the hell was it that he had more engagements against Mandos than Jedi under his belt? This harpy was going to give him a bad reputation. "What the hell happened to 'Vode An', you greedy harpy?!" He complained, firing a few more shots as he rushed her while his grappling line primed to fire. From the tone of his voice, it was evident that he was not in the mood for this fight.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra rolled her eyes as the repulsor blast caught her mid-step, sending her skidding across the floor. She grunted as her back hit the wall, the impact jarring but manageable. With a quick shake of her head, she pushed off.

"Vode An?" she echoed with a mocking laugh, her helmet distorting her voice into a metallic growl. "You don't get to cry about Mandalorian brotherhood when you fired first." The stun bolts zipped through the air, and Korra ducked low, making them hit the back wall.

She quickly unholstered her blasters and fired a few shots back, though hers were regualr blaster blots, not ones to stun. "A job is a job. There's no greed about it."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

A deep frown set in behind his T-visor as she jabbed back at him... and fired quite lethal rounds at him. The Shistavanen ducked from the barrage as he switched his pistols back to their lethal setting. If she was going to play that game, he would oblige. "Kark you, I warned you first, at least!" He retorted, jumping out from his cover to unload a volley of blaster bolts at the Mandalorian.

His jetpack carried him through the air and his grappling line fired to try and ensnare her, relying on his armour to absorb her onslaught. In the scuffle, a few stray shots impacted a crate or two, blowing chunks out of them and spilling the contents on the floor. As to be expected, a myriad of weapons and tibanna cells spilled onto the floor, however several metallic glimmers caught his eye. The distraction, combined with the sheer concern for the exposed tibanna power cells, drew his focus enough to have a blaster bolt knock him off course and send him tumbling into a stack of crates.

This wasn't going to work. He scrambled to his feet and blasted towards her with his vambrace raised. A spray of carbonite erupted towards his opponent. Blasters were out of the question, hitting one cell was enough to send them halfway to Tatooine... but those silver pieces of metal was a lot more curious to him.

Inspecting the curious, hidden cargo was going to have to wait for the moment. This harpy needed to be subdued. Killing her was out of the question, he wasn't going to be responsible for the death of one of their own... this was going to be tricky. She was good. "Just kark off already." He snarled at her, desperately trying to think of something in his arsenal that wouldn't kill but also wouldn't run the risk of detonating the power cells.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra scoffed at his retort. She ducked under his volley of bolts, her own blaster spitting fire as she sidestepped, staying light on her feet. His grappling line came her way, and she fired a quick burst at the cable, severing it mid-flight with precision. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, mutt."

The chaos of the tumbling crates and scattered tibanna cells didn't go unnoticed, and the flash of silver caught her eye as well. For a split second, curiosity gnawed at the back of her mind, but her attention snapped back to him when his carbonite spray surged toward her. Korra launched herself into the air with a roar of her jetpack, narrowly dodging the freezing blast.

"Dank farrik." She muttered at seeing what spilled out of the crates. With the tibanna cells out in the open like that, blasters just became highly dangerous. One stray shot and the whole train could go up. Korra holstered her blasters and threw out a smoke grenade. Her plan was to confuse him long enough to flank around and try to restrain him.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

The girl managed to evade his attempts at restraining her and instead broke off to pop a smoke grenade. Yuri growled in frustration, but elected to take the moment to recover and figure out what to do. Thermal vision was useless with the smoke grenade, and X-ray simply clashed with the sheer amount of wares around him. For all intents and purposes, he was completely reliant on his instincts and senses to alert him if she tried anything.

With a sigh he searched instead for the busted crate. In one hand, he held up a power cell to discourage any attempt at attacking him, while the other held up one of the odd, glimmering pieces of metal that spilled out. It was an ingot of some kind, no marking or indication of what it was or where it came from. And yet, something felt off about the metal. The colour, the smell, the weight of it... it was oddly familiar. The final nail in the coffin came when he dragged the ingot across his thigh plate and a heavy shower of sparks flew into the smoke. His eyes went wide as the realisation dawned on him.

He spun around on his knee and held the two items up in front of him in hopes of staving off the stranger's attack. <"Hold up! Let's talk."> He called out in Mando'a. <"Do you know about this?! You huntin' this down?"> He continued, studying the ingot in his hand. His cybernetic grip on the power cell tightened in his left hand. If she knew about the Iron, he had no qualms with popping off the cell in his grip.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra stopped herself from delivering the attack she was about to give when she spotted the metal ingot Yuri was holding. Her breathing was steady, but her chest rose and fell just enough to betray her heightened state of alertness. Slowly, she emerged, boots scuffing softly against the floor, her visor reflecting the faint light of the glimmering ingot in Yuri's hand. "Did I know I was hired to steal Beskar? No. Did you know your employer had when they hired you to guard it?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

The tilt in the Shistavanen's helmet signified a look of offense as he glared at the stranger for a second or two. "No, you crazy?" He retorted. "You know who I am? I ain't some sick degenerate who's willin' to sell our people out like that." He looked down at the Beskar ingot for a second before tossing it up for the woman to catch.

He sat down on the crate and played with the power cell in his grasp as he tried to figure out the situation. He was momentarily distracted when his commlink flashed on his vambrace. :: Yo, Mando... you all good in there? It's awful quiet... :: The call came in from the rest of the security detachment. Yuri glanced up at the girl for a second before opening the channel. :: All good. Threat neutralized, I'll be out in a sec. :: He answered. He hoped that the threat was neutralized, at least for the moment.

With a moment of privacy, he waited for the smoke to dissipate a little before he set his helmet aside. "So... any idea who was planning what? Obviously my employer knew about this. I'm curious if yours also knew." He remarked as he pulled a cigarette from a pouch. "Name's Yuri, by the way." He introduced himself as he lit it with a spark from his flamethrower. With a smoky sigh he picked up another ingot and studied it for any indication of where it came from, which ultimately proved futile with the severe lack of markings.

This was going to be a wild Bantha chase.

"So... any ideas?" He asked with a smirk.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra caught the ingot effortlessly, her sharp gaze barely leaving Yuri. She tossed it lightly in her hand before setting it back in the crate it was housed in. She removed her helmet, "Korra Kast", introducing herself to him. "Hard to say. I feel the guy who hired me was just the middle-man for someone else. The details were only the train was carrying lucrative cargo. Someone's playing a dangerous game, though, moving this much Beskar under the radar? That's not just stepping on toes, that's begging to get their legs taken out. Question is... who's dumb enough to try?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Thankfully she seemed to have calmed down, even going so far as to introduce herself. With all of that in mind, it seemed that she was one of the good sorts. Yuri nodded along as she speculated from what she knew. To no surprise, the best lead came from the people that set all of this in motion. "Seein' as this is my employer's doing, it's fair to say they're responsible. It ain't a big group but the syndicate's ambitious enough to do this themselves... though it wouldn't surprise me if they were tag-teaming with someone else." He commented as he stamped the bud out beneath his boot.

With a sigh he rose and slipped the Beskar ingot into a pouch. "First things first, though. We gotta get this cargo outta here before we plan anything else." He clicked a button on his vambrace and a series of binary chirps responded. Baby was on his way. The Shistavanen slipped his helmet on and turned to face Korra. "You can take care of the lead car, I'll get the crates sorted out for transport. Just be careful, the train's crawlin' with security." He instructed, making his way over to a nearby stack of crates.

Before moving them around, though, he turned to glance at the Kast. "Also, for the record, you're slow as hell." He quipped with a snicker. Just because they had a truce going on, didn't mean he wouldn't press some buttons.

He began to inspect and sort the various crates filled with weaponry and other illicit items, all in search of more Beskar. Thankfully there wasn't a massive shipment of the iron, but the amount was still alarming enough. He was more curious about where all of it came from, with the extremely militant Mandalorian entities present in the last thirty or so years.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Her gaze flicked toward the train's lead car, her grin fading slightly as she considered the task ahead. The idea of dealing with syndicate security wasn't exactly appealing, but it wasn't her first rodeo, either. With a curt nod, she adjusted her gauntlets, placed her helmet back on, and took a step toward the front of the train.

"Hey" she called over her shoulder, her tone casual but her eyes sharp. "You might wanna keep a count of those ingots. Syndicates like yours? They don't just stockpile Beskar for fun."

Without waiting for his response, Korra started toward the lead car, her movements smooth and deliberate. Syndicate security might not have been the sharpest, but underestimating them was a fast way to eat a blaster bolt.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

With Korra on her way to sabotage the train, Yuri quickly began to neatly pack all the ingots he could find into one convenient crate. He paused for a moment when she called out to him, though he didn't appreciate her remark all that much. "Not my syndicate, I just picked up a job." He commented as he resumed with his duties. She had a point, and he was carefully noting down how many ingots this gang had managed to collect.

If he had to guess, it was enough to equip a squad or two with full armour. Maybe even more if they made an alloy with it. But he doubted that it was for them, the amount of people outside of Mandalorian rings who knew how to work Beskar were extremely scarce.

Outside, however, the security detail was getting suspicious with the silence and lack of their mercenary. When the wrong Mandalorian emerged, several of them either scrambled to sound the alarm or opened fire on the stranger. The value of the shipment was reflected in the number of guards as well as their quality. Most of them were pretty average, but a small contingent of them were visibly superior. Good armour, strong weaponry, and professional training made them stand out in both their ferocity as well as their movements.

Majority of the guards focused on the stranger, while a significant number circled around to inspect the valuable cargo. Pretty soon Yuri was fighting off intruders trying to break into the car. :: These guys ain't happy. :: He commented over the comms with a laugh. At the very least, this trip wasn't going to be boring now that he had someone to help out.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

Korra stepped out, her stride casual despite the tension in the air. As blaster bolts zipped through the space, she let out a dry chuckle, her voice dripping with mockery.

She ducked behind a crate, her HUD scanning the chaos. "Alright, let's see what you've got, amateurs." The bulk of the guards were predictable, their aim scattered and frantic. But the elite contingent? They were different, and she liked a challenge.

Korra vaulted over the crate, landing amidst the fray with a swift kick that sent one guard sprawling. Her blasters whipped out in a fluid motion, taking out a few more before they could get their bearings. The air sizzled with heat as her shots found their marks, but the elites were already closing in.

A firefight broke out between her and the rest of the security detail on the train. The elites were good, but as a Mandalorian, Korra was better. She was aiming her blasterbolts between the gaps of their armor, taking them out with some ease.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

The amount of stray blaster bolts were growing more erratic with each passing minute. Popping a few stun grenades certainly didn't help the situation. Yuri pressed his attack with pistols raised and made quick work of the group trying to force their way into the cart, though there wasn't much time to relax as three other guards pushed him. Elites. Yuri snarled and hid in the doorframe of the car as he returned fire.

Their movement kept messing with his helmet's targeting, but eventually he had a lock on all three and the appropriate amount of Whistling Birds shot out towards them with their signature zip. In a matter of seconds, they were down and Yuri could return his attention back to the cargo. From the sound of things, Korra had her hands full towards the front of the train. :: Korra, you good? :: He asked over the comms as he began to drag the crate out of the car and onto the walkway.

In the distance, the low howl of ion engines began to draw closer. A grin began to take hold, but didn't linger as several blaster bolts pinged off his armour and sent him stumbling. With a snarl he flipped the switches of his pistols and sent a stream of particle bolts towards the assailants. One of them was unlucky enough to be caught by the explosive bolts and paid the price. Yuri wasn't too thrilled at the messy spectacle of what remained of them. :: Our ride's almost here, get ready. :: He briefed his partner as he hid behind a sturdy railing from the incoming fire.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

"One, that's a stupid question to as. Of course I'm good. Two, how did you get my comm frquency?" Korra asked as she looked around at the dropped bodies that she took out. She was making sure none of them were going to surprise her and jump back to their feet or something. "Do you require help over there on your side?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Yuri blinked at her answers as he ducked back to avoid a bolt to his head. :: Oh. Uh... I just... one sec. :: He slid out from his cover and unleashed a volley at his attackers, forcing them behind their cover. He used the moment of respite to flick a thermal detonator over the barrier and retreat, leaving the poor thugs to freak out and scramble away in a hopeless attempt at escape. The explosion rocked the whole car and set off a number of alarms, but luckily it didn't do any serious damage.

The alarms were also a little pointless with everything going on.

:: There we go. I just scanned for comms frequencies with a Mando ID and let myself in. Also, yeah. I'm all good back here. You need to wrap up, though. Ride's here. :: He finally answered just before the howl began to drown everything else out. Matching speed with the train was a Basilisk War Droid, letting loose with a spray of cannon fire ahead of Korra's position to clear out some of the opposition. A loud, metallic roar erupted from the beast as it carefully drew closer to Yuri's position.

Yuri didn't waste a second to line up the crate for his Basilisk to latch onto with its tractor beam. Once the crate was secure, Yuri turned his attention to Korra. :: Come on! Gotta move, we're drawin' attention here. :: He called out to her, fighting off a few ambitious individuals trying to overwhelm his position.

Korra Kast

 

[Korra Kast]

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Hold tight, I'm almost there!" Korra snapped, her tone laced with irritation but undercut by adrenaline. She had cleared her part of the train of the guards already, so she did a quick rummage of their person for any extra credits she can get, because why not. She heard the metallic roar of the Basilisk. She didn't bother wasting more shots as she could hear the Basilisk's roar and knew she just had to keep moving. The war droid's cannons tore through whatever resistance remained ahead of her, leaving little more than scorched metal and panicked screams in their wake. Her boots skidded on the slick metal floor as she came up to Yuri's position.

"Lets go then."

Yuri Maji