Private Down the Wormhole

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tag: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Smuggler Den found on Rishi
Equipment: In Bio

The weather was nice and sunny, and the sky was clear. It was another beautiful day on Rishi. It was this climate that drew so many across the galaxy to vacation at this place in the few pockets of cavillation created in the wake of those pirates in ancient times being driven off. However, such a state for this planet never truly went away. Outside of a few large cities, Rishi remained a wild frontier. The archipelagos and jungles were filled with small towns, criminal dens, and other rugged and-or unsavory elements that have survived since the days of the Old Republic.

For a few years now, I have called this planet home. The wild stretches of wilderness were perfect for a mercenary like me to make a living. I left my clan of Mandalorians that were a smaller part of House Vizsla to peruse this independent path and truly test my worth. If I could not survive independently from my clan, how could I expect to contribute to it? Today, it was merely another job like the others. On a planet filled with smugglers, it was not too uncommon to be hired by one group to take out their rival. From there, it was clear that I was to be hired by dishonorable wretches of the stars to take out even worse members of their kind while they paid me to do it. I hardly found too much pleasure in doing such gigs, but they paid well, which allowed me to keep getting more supplies to sustain myself. As a result, I found it a necessary aspect of life away from the clan.

After this time was done, if my clan was to return to Rishi, I aimed to join them and regale any younger members with the wisdom I would gain from this world. However, I was still young. I still needed to collect wisdom I planned on sharing. So far, thing seemed normal. There was a hidden base of rival smugglers that were cutting into a another's business. I have worked for these clients before numerous times on this planet already. They were more like frontier tradesmen with cutthroat tendencies rather than true smugglers. Granted, that was easy status to obtain on a planet where much of the law goes away when one leaves the large city centers. I rode on a standard model of speeder bike that I took from a nearby settlement. It was easier to cover ground this way, and saved fuel for my jetpack.

Scanners on my helmet lit up as signals of humanoid lifeforms and a lot of technology sprung up on the HUD. I quickly swerved off course, and had the speeder parked in bushes a distance from the compound. I used my HUD scanners again to see what I faced. I was clearly outnumbered but certainly not outgunned from the familiar silhouettes. These guys were using standard blasters imported from off world. It was good on my part to have slugthrowers remaining as my arsenal while using the flamethrower and grappling-hook modules on my arm. A bit more fiddling, and I may have a dart-thrower module added too. Only time would tell. I took a position along a ridge overlooking the hideout. Typical design for a smuggler den. Hardly anything worth anything was not on the surface, but rather hidden behind a bunker that went who knows how deep underground.

It was only a few tens of yards away down the beach to reach them. However, I likely could plink off a few from out here. I would have to be quick and creative. It was not my first time smashing into a bunker of outlaws, but running in guns blazing hardly worked in my favor. I stealthily made my way closer along the tree-line. On one side, it was the deeper part of the island this base was on while the other was to the open sand and lapping waves. I kept my rifle in hand in case I was spotted. It was a simple machine, but I found it to withstand a lot of punishment over the years through all the environments I put it through. Eventually I stood overtop the hill where the bunker went into the ground. I set up akin to a sniper and set my sights. The sound of the shot rang through the wilderness causing birds to flock out from nearby trees. The first criminal scum was dead, and the next was already in my sights. Another crack of my rifle, and that one was downed too. Three more cracks would ring out three seconds apart from each other. So far, this hunt was proving good. That was until I realized hardly any reinforcements were leaving the bunker. For that, I decided to lay where I was for a few moments to keep watch while thinking of a plan to proceed further. This ant-nest would take a lot more from me to stir it up, it seemed.

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

<<Drop him>> On her order, one of Viper Team commandos slashed the threat of a guard as he came over the wall. Another guard turned towards the commotion, only to freeze up as an electro dart struck him in the back, dropping to the floor right in a writhing mess right in front of Aloy as she hoisted herself up to join them. Another commando quickly ended him via dagger.

There would be no mercy for those who smuggled Beskar. She didn't care who they sold it to nor how they got it, it belonged only to Mandalorians.

It cost a few favors to get this information, but she trusted the source. She knew that somewhere inside the bunker, there were a few crates of Beskar waiting to be shipped, and it would belong to the Black Fleet soon enough. Fortunately they had the element of surprise on their side, even if it wouldn't last long. They did not however, have time on their side, else this would have waited until dark. She didn't know when exactly the buyer was coming, but it was today. Let them come, she thought. She'd teach them a lesson too.

Her confidence was briefly replaced by confusion as a shot rang through the jungle outside, dropping another guard with an accurate but loud bolt.

"I don't remember bringing a sharpshooter, who is that?" She called impatiently, ducking into cover with the others.

"No one's answering on comms, it's not ours!"

Aloy shook her head. She didn't have time rethink this plan, they had to move before more the beskar left or this would all be for nothing!
"Somebody get eyes on! the rest of you engage, but try to stay out of the sniper's sight until we know if they're friend or foe"

Several more commandos emerged from nearby bushes, using the mystery sniper's fire to cover their advance, eliminating the entrance guards in quick succession before more rushed into the camp grounds. Some used their wrist shields to form a sort of 'shield wall' between themselves and the marksman, covering a heavy weapons team until they were behind the low, where they set up a machinegun to begin to suppressing the bunker entrance.

Last but not least, the AT specialist leapt over the wall with his jetpack, aiming a rocket launcher right at the bunker door to make a new entrance.
There would be no stopping the Black Hand this time...

Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tag: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Smugglers' Den, Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

Right as I plinked off the last of the guards, strange chatter came in through my helmet's comms. It was strange. I have not heard such such signals patch through as easily since when I was with the clan. I crawled a little closer to the edge of the trees overlooking the entrance. I still was covered by the underbrush, but it allowed my HUD to pick up on movement and life-forms ahead. I then saw bodies clad in beskar armor making a move on the bunker. In all my time, I have never encountered Mandalorians that were not unquestionably from the clan that brought me up. However, I learned other clans would still treat a warrior with respect. It was then I stood up, and slung my rifle over my shoulder to show peaceful intent.

My gray armor stood out among the underbrush, and my helmet's modified shape gave away my species immediately. My pistol remained holstered at my side while my rifle was plainly over my shoulder. I made my posture a bit more open in anticipation that these were allies. However, this was my job, and they barged in. All I could do was hope negotiations were possible. "Suc'cuy aliit.", I said with hospitable flatness, "Who's in charge of you lot? I'd like to speak with him." If all went well, I would meet their leader. Otherwise, I was not going to let these others get in the way of my job.

Walking up close was when I could see the markings on their armor up close. Some looked like the Night Owls I heard stories about by the fires at night. Others seemed to be from a reincarnation of Death Watch with some markings on their armor. What was certain is none looked to be from the same house with the variety of sigils I saw on their armor. They did share one marker though, a hand print on their helmets. I placed my hand on my belt to allow for a quick draw in case things went belly-up. All I could do was stand there hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

The stranger would happen upon a pair of commandos who had been sent to cover the rear, at first raising their weapons at the mysterious Nautolan from the brush. There were none in this squadron that matched her description, and these men had been fighting beside one another for years, some for decades. With the help of a third generation neural link provided by the fleet, they had already radioed in the contact to their allies, starting a chain of events inside the encampment almost as soon as the stranger appeared. However, as she spoke to them, the addition of "Non-hostile" was quickly sent on the net.

Followed one sentence in response to the nautolan's request:

<<Lady Vizsla, you might want to see this>>

They lowered their weapons slowly, though their distinct rifles remained unslung as a precaution.

Distant blaster fire continued as the MG team suppressed the bunker, but even over the gunfire one could hear the metallic ✱clack✱ of a cybernetic limb as Aloy Vizsla approached. Her paint was worn even compared to the most veteran commandos here, but she wore the same sky-blue as all the others. And like them, she bore a faded hand-print upon her helm, among many other icons of her storied past. From the flowered branch of Clan Vizsla that had almost completely worn away across her beaten breastplate, to the similarly faded Nite Owl sigil on her shoulder and the fangs painted on either flank of the visor.

Perhaps most striking of all however, was the silken scarf she wore, worn at the edges and blood red, with broken and burnt sith coins tied on either end.

"So this is our mystery sniper?" She gestured with a cybernetic hand to match her missing leg. Her voice was weathered much like everything else about the old warlord, harsh from too many smokes once upon a time, but behind it's tired drawl there was a certain fire still, and a complimentary surprise in her tone.

"Those were clean kills. Congratulations"

Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tag(s): Aloy Vizsla
Location: Smuggler's Hideout, Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

First thing was the response from the commandos. These people were coordinated. They were here for a grander purpose than just clearing out smugglers. Their equipment, for one, showed that there was something more than just them also being hired to smooth out a rough patch in the underworld of the Outer Rim. I then heard, "Lady Vizsla" stated by one of them in front of me. A woman in charge was nothing too spectacular among Mandalorians. The strongest and most honorable lead regardless of what sex they were. Vizsla stood out. There was someone of the grander family of my clan leading this bunch.

It would have been an understatement to say that I have lived without much awareness for larger events. I had known that there was more to House Vizsla than merely the clan that raised me. However, it was another thing to actually be faced with all that. Their leader approached, and I saw the emblem of Vizsla on the breastplate in a similar to spot to where it is painted on mine. The woman that approached was a veteran of more battle than any of the elders of the clan had experienced. She wore the wear and tear of battles like medals. Under my helmet, I could not help but smile seeing someone of such a caliber.

"Mystery sniper" had a nice ring to it as a first impression. "That would be me.", I replied. The compliment hit something in me as if I had impressed one of the elders of the clan. I would hardly be taken seriously had I not kept the helmet on with the grin on my face. It was hard to keep my voice from betraying that status in some capacity, though. Hopefully that did not come to bite me. "You honor me, ma'am.", I bowed my head while saying that before raising it again as I continued, "They called you 'Lady Vizsla?'" My question was posed with a slight optimistic twang. It was truly exciting to meet another Vizsla after quite some time being on my own.

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

Aloy spent but a moment studying the one whose job she'd interrupted, partly out of precaution, part simple curiosity. The Nautolan was actually taller than herself, and quite fit as a Mandalorian should be. All was standard for a warrior culture such as theirs, but most importantly, the unnamed markswoman bore the mark of Clan Vizsla in kind. She was no Imperial operative, their vile bureaucracy to averse to recruiting of Aliens, and yet she didn't recognize Aloy nor the fleet's operatives by their markings, meaning that- while she was legitimately Mandalorian- she was not Enclave. This meeting then was certainly a happy accident, and neither party bore ill intentions toward the other.

"They did," She would nod in confirmation to the Nautolan's question "I have had many titles, Lady being the simplest"

"I am Aloy Vizsla, Master of The Black Fleet, once Alor of House Vizsla when we settled upon Roon. Perhaps again, if fortune favors my return to Mandalore"

The proud Vizsla clasped her hands behind her back in militaristic pose, a habit leftover from her official service to Mandalore and admittedly the nostalgia coming back at the thought of her time as Alor.

"If I am not mistaken you are kin, no? what is your unit's objective here?"

Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tag: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Smuggler's Den, Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

It was hard to believe. I was face to face with a great member of House Vizsla! Well, as far as I could tell. My life was spent in the Outer Rim doing small mercenary work, and then here on Rishi doing independent bounty hunting. It was a lifestyle that gave me next to no knowledge of the greater events of the galaxy, let alone the Mandalorians. In my time, those were issues the elders and leaders would see to rather than a soldier like me who's job it was to follow orders.

I put a fist over my heart and bowed my head as a salute, "I am more honored then to meet someone of your titles." My posture then resumed, with me looking down at the Vizsla warlord. However, I was unfamiliar with this Black Fleet she spoke of. It certainly piqued my curosity, though my face of intrigue was covered by my helmet's mask. Roon though, was familiar. My time wandering the Outer Rim with the clan had us in its vicinity, yet we never went to that planet. I never understood why, however saw it as not my place to question. Perhaps the presence of her as Alor of Vizsla may have contributed. The clan certainly made many efforts to stay away from larger affairs, and Roon being the home of the Alor of our House certainly may have caused us to be dragged into all that.

She asked if we were kin. I nodded and said, "I am of House Vizsla; yes. A wayward, small branch of it though.", where the smile on my face was slightly betrayed by my voice. However, she also asked about my unit. My answer would likely not have been what she would have expected in the slightest. "In terms of my unit, Lady Aloy, I am on my own. Been doing solo bounty hunting here on Rishi for a few years now. I was hired to clear out the smugglers here by some merchants in the area." I paused a moment, as then my mind went to how a whole warband was here for a smuggler's hideout on Rishi. "What has brought all this to Rishi? I didn't think these smugglers would be of grander interest."

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

It was perhaps ironic to feel so honored by the words of one who preferred to follow where others such as herself would lead, But Aloy had made too many enemies not to appreciate such a friendly welcome. One she did not plan to squander. It was perhaps fortunate then that this Nautolan had not heard of the Black Fleet, for in it's own secrecy, the fleet had mistakenly garnered a reputation as mere pirates.

This one was perhaps unaware of the rumors, her opinion untainted by the lies of men who wished in vain to control her fleet.

"Wayward you say? Then they remember what it is to be Vizsla." Aloy quietly laughed.

"What has brought all this to Rishi? I didn't think these smugglers would be of grander interest."

She would tilt her head upon learning that they were here for different- albeit similar- purpose. Their methods were the same, but the intent differed at least initially. And so, the old Vizsla would gesture for the nautolan to follow, then towards the bunker, where one could see commandos crawling up it's surface with grappling hooks, placing something along the walls near a window while another covered their advance.

"Beskar brought us here. Melted down in a sith foundry during the purge. It has changed hands many times since the Kainite empire's fall, and now it has come to these men in their greed. They were perhaps unaware that the ghosts of Mandalore have been following it. That we had discovered them"

Aloy spoke as if she were the mouthpiece of a proud but vengeful spirit, then turned her gaze over the shoulder to regard the unnamed nautolan who had thus far proven to be an ally thus far.

"Your credits are your own, I too was a hunter long ago and have not forgotten The Code. However, if you've not yet earned your own Beskar, this is your chance."
Perhaps it was not quite the formal invitation one would normally issue, but Aloy and her fleet had their own way of doing things.


"Ma'am. Explosives have been set" A large man clad in the red armor of a Crusader Rally Master marched onto the scene, regarding both women with a quick nod.

"Very good. Give us a moment to take position. I wish to take point myself."


Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tag: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Entrance to Smuggler's Den, Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

Lady Aloy's response to my reply sounded slightly amused. It was not my place to cast judgement. However, a slight bite of tension sprung inside me. It was hard to tell if she found it more pleasantly amusing, or if it was ridicule. However, as she shifted her posture in front of me, it seemed more like genuine enjoyment. There was hardly much to develop on there. Merely more posturing and pleasantries that was not seemly for Mandalorians like us, a people of action.

Then came the reason these Mandalorians came. That this warband came. That a former Alor of the house that I found myself a part of came. Beskar. I would never have thought that Beskar would be found in a place like this. The story Lady Aloy told tracked with logic. The Sith sacked Mandalore, and the riches were sent across the galaxy on the black market's currants. It was a shame upon our people, and soon anger began brewing inside me. How dare these scum put their grimey hands on our sacred metal., I lamented in my mind. My helmet thankfully shielded my face from the veteran warlord. Certainly for the better.

"I see no reason to not share the glory of battle with you and your lot. Credits be damned. There are greater things at stake. If you recover our people's sacred metals from scum like this and filth like those who ransacked our ancestral home, then please allow me the honor to fight in your ranks as Mando'ade but also as kindred Vizsla." I craned my head after that. The word these filth had their hands on our Beskar evoked passion I have hardly ever felt the need to express like this. Sure, it may have been pretentious, but there was a mission one could hardly ever consider being presented to them to join. It was too good of an opportunity to learn the ways of my people greater than the clan that raised me from a tadpole and far greater than mercenary work here in the Outer Rim's fringes.

Another came, one of Lady Aloy's soldiers. Explosives were set. That was smart, I had to give them credit. With a mission of Beskar recovery, all the most cunning and efficient of strategies would suit best. Anything to recover the Beskar. "Would you like some expendable protection, Lady Aloy? I make for a large target that could fight at your side when we go in there.", I then had a bit of a more jovial tone to my voice to lighten things a little, "I also was here first. Accompanying the lead of the charge is the least I would request."

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

It was never Aloy's goal to see the Mando'ade so inflamed as this young Vizsla, but in her own way she was pleased. She had met too many Mandalorians who she would have called Aruetyc for selling their sacred substance to foreigners for riches and political advantage, and in fact she had once killed for such affronts. To see one outside of her circle who agreed with such sentiments- at least in today's context- was a welcome reminder that some still held their ways sacred.

Even her Ex-Death Watch compatriots nodded in approval to the Nautolan as the two women passed.

Aloy would stop a dozen feet or less from the wall, trusting the high intensity plasma charge to liquify any potential rubble caused in the blast. It was apparent by the way she bent her knees that the Once-Alor planned to reach the impending breach via jetpack, trusting the younger Vizsla to do the same without her guidance. Those earlier kills were clean after all, so naturally she assumed the nautolan to be a professional in her own right.

"Would you like some expendable protection, Lady Aloy? I make for a large target that could fight at your side when we go in there.", I then had a bit of a more jovial tone to my voice to lighten things a little, "I also was here first. Accompanying the lead of the charge is the least I would request."

"Why, worried this old cripple would slow you down otherwise?" She would jest in kind.

"A fair request. I'll just shoot around you then!"

"Rook, Kuyare bat gar soletar."

She commanded in Mando'a as not to alert the enemy to their true intentions, prompting the large red-clad mandalorian beside her to count down one his fingers.

"Ehn...

t'ad...​

​

solus!"​

​

​

The plasma charges erupted in a sudden flash of blue, quickly fading into a dim and fiery glow as the edges of several large holes in the duracrete bunker began to cool just enough for the armored Mandalorians to enter if they were to push quickly and not linger in these newfound doorways.

As soon as the dim glow dissipated alongside the worst of the hot steam, Aloy activated her jump-pack with mere thought using her neural-link, propelling her up and then right into one of the holes with a sudden burst to alter direction. Before she had even touched the bunker floor, her shield was already up and deflecting wild shots from the panicked smugglers with one hand, while kicking a man upside the head so hard with her prosthetic leg that his neck audibly snapped. She focused on blocking shots thereafte,r while awaiting the nautolan to take point as agreed.


Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tags: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Blown Up Entrance to a Smuggler's Den, Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

It appeared the breach of passion worked in my favor with these other Mandalorians. Some with Death Watch markings nodded with approval. Others, had postures shift slightly, as if more comfortable with my presence by the looks of it. Lady Aloy, particular seemed to have a pleased posture in front of me. That, in particular, I was glad to see the most. I could only hope I would be able to live up to any expectations this war band might have had for me.

Her and I got to the position near the door. I saw what she did to the charge. There would be no rubble produced. All would be turned into ash and goop. Before it would go, the veteran Vizsla made some remarks. "Slow me down? No. Just steel all the fun from a young gun like me.", I said with a smile in my voice. Then the she mentioned shooting around me, "That sounds like a fair enough plan." The helmet covered my eyes from the blast. Considering my species' anatomy, that brightness would likely have blinded me if not for this helmet's vizor. Instead, I got to watch the explosion in all its glory. It was truly an impressive feat of hardware.

Then, the charge commenced. Lady Aloy seemed to hint with her posture to jump with rockets. I thankfully was prepared. I followed half a second before she jumped. Careening through the air had my tendrils streaming in the wind. The landing came. A few shots pinged off my armor before landing. However, I landed with my pistol drawn. One poor sod stumbled into cover half-burnt by the explosion. A quick blast punched a seared hole through their chest put them on the floor right quick. It would just be down this hallway cleaning house until both the smugglers were dead and the beskar was found.

 

[Aloy Vizsla]

Aloy kept a close pace behind the woman, drawing a hybrid pistol which spat fiery beams that seemed to partially melt through armor and tissue alike as she covered the nautolan's sides and often spun secure the rear.

Meanwhile her men moved with practiced precision throughout the bunker, using plasmatic shields that covered the length of their torso and sometimes adjusted to protect the height of their bodies depending on the angle and intensity of incoming fire while returning with their own salvos of particle blasts that showered sparks with each small explosive impact against the foe's center mass or breaking cover, delivered with small westar pistols and even some carbines used by men marching right behind their shielded comrades.

The entire enemy was being thrown further into chaos with each room swept clean deeper and deeper into the bunker, with no way out for their foes but through the heavily armored Mandalorian squadron.

But in all chaos, there is calculation. The nautolan was correct in that Aloy had some kind of expectation, or at least that she was observing in between kills. Ever in search of new blood to expand the crusade which she had dedicated the better part of her lifetime to wage, The older Vizsla often paid close attention to those allies who not only had the skills to do right by their own people, but knew when to take Initiative and think for themselves. These were traits of Vode who made excellent commandos in the sort of wars she fought.

Another opportunity to test came in the form of a stairway leading down to the next floor of the bunker, which immediately spat a torrent of blaster fire at any Mando'ade to approach it.

<<1-3 to Actual>> The heavy weapons team leader would radio while his crew continued to suppress the bunker door outside.

<<This is actual, go ahead>> Aloy answered, pressing her back against the wall near the stairwell.

<<Hostiles activity has reduced here, believe they are splitting up to hit you, Over>>

<<Copy, actual out.>>

She turned to the nautolan and other commandos who were beginning to stack up in preparation to take the stairwell.

<"They're reinforcing the stairwell. Who here has frags?">


Tahlah Vizsla

 

[Tahlah Vizsla]

Tags: Aloy Vizsla
Location: Upper Levels of Bunker, Smuggler's Den found in Rishi Wilderness
Equipment: In Bio

The rush of combat and a soldiers training kicked in hard. The fight had begun in earnest. A zen of sorts soon took hold in my mind. All I thought on was finding targets to put down and pressing on. It was like that of a grim exterminator. My mind was clear, and my thoughts soon became linear. All of this was fueled by the training that was drilled into me since before I could remember alongside the rush of adrenaline that came with combat.

I heard the blaster fire around me, yet my focus was solid. My helmet's HUD allowed for me to easily pick out targets amidst the dust from the earlier explosion still stirred in the air by the jetpack charge I and Lady Aloy's warriors performed. The loud bangs of my slugthrower pistol echoed in the corridors. As the charge pressed on, I continued to blast away. I hardly looked once I saw a glow of molten flesh and armor in a vital location. That was all that was needed for the kills to be confirmed.

Then, the comms came on. Thankfully, I left my receptors on their channel from before I introduced myself to the veteran of my House. Reinforcements were coming. Let them, I thought to myself. With our superior arms and armor, we would be sure to outlast them. Mandalorian training only added to such certainty as we would be better skilled in the usage of arms and armor. However, Lady Aloy was quick to show tactics were still superior to rushing guns-blazing all times.

My mental fog of war soon gave way once the question of frags came up. I looked down below me to find a few thermal detonators strapped to the smuggler henchman at my feat freshly pierced between the eyes with a searing orange hole. I ripped them off. "Not frags, but could still do the trick.", I said holding the belt they were attached to and having them dangle in plain sight while I stood behind cover. "If these have too much kick for your liking, Lady Aloy, I can check another body of one of these sods.", I said half-jokingly. They were more than anti-personnel, they were anti-everything in their radius. Frags would do well to only destroy the fleshy targets. Yet, any explosive was better than none and the plasma charges earlier introduced me to a love of demolitions.