Public Glory, Glory...

[Mia Monroe]

Mia knew she was lying, but what she didn't know was why. She paused in her ascent towards the bridge. Floating inside the life shift. Now was not the time to pry, but she needed Elise to be focused, completely on their success. "I know a lot about absorbed memories, we will talk about it, but not today and certainly not now. Set your emotions aside, Eli'ika, we have a job to do." Her voice was gentle but firm. If Elise was off kilter then their overwatch was useless. An inattentive overwatch meant people died and that was something they could not afford.

Mia's comms crackled, something coming on another line. Mia's heart gave a pang of pain. She'd installed the old lines, partially out of habit, but partially because if her old friends we alive, if they wanted to reach her then they could rely on the old ways. Her heart sank when she didn't recognise the voice.

"If you're the owners of this floating graveyard" he began, the transmission carrying his distorted, monstrous voice "then you know I'm here already. I'm marooned and don't have any interest in stealing your salvage. I've got no interest in anything of yours, only in leaving in one piece. Whoever hears this first, I'm at the bridge, or what used to be one. Don't bother with it, it's destroyed and there isn't anything worth taking. Only me. If you're willing to do a stranger a good turn, I'd owe you a favor. A favor from me is very useful, believe you me. I don't hand them out lightly."

She kicked off again, floating up towards the bridge.

"Su cuy'gar stranger, i'm already on route to the bridge. Forgive me for not taking your word at face value, we are not a trusting sort, but we are open to conversation." she found the pried open doors and slid within, activating the magnetic in her boots, she connected with the floor with a deep metallic thud. Drawing her blaster and bringing it level with the strangers chest. A precaution, not a threat

"Chit."

It was a wreck, they'd be lucky to get anything working to limp this thing to a dockyard for repairs. Maybe luck was on their side, she settled her gaze on the stranger. She opened her comms back up so Elise could listen.

"Well, you weren't lying about the state of tis place, so you're doing well so far. How did you wind up stranded on and old Mandalorian battlecruiser?"

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Clarron Vall

 

[Ijaat Mereel]

As his crazed charge lead him closer to the presence of Darth Malum of House Marr , Ijaat tensed, his suit protocols blaring warning as the AI inbound offered to take over system controls that he was too enraged to acknowledge or manage. A blink of his eyes allowed it, and the next flash was a sight of Malum.

There was no further howl, nothing. The room would suddenly fill with an oppressive heat as his natural ability at combustion made it feel like the heat of a forge had socked the Sith right in the face, as the wind left his target from sheer humidity and temperature, Ijaat's crushgauntleted hand found his throat, eyes behind his vizor crazed as he slammed the man against a wall that hiss in contact with flesh, not enough to burn but certainly be discomforting. Flames licked at the feet of the smith as he stepped in close.

Unintelligible rage tinted Mando'a spewed from the Manda'lor as he accused Malum of being a grave robber, a voyeur, and a bastard child of better sires that Ijaat had already killed. The micro-servos in his crushgauntlets, capable of ripping open the strongest of Vong Armor, whined at the edge of hearing as pressure was applied in a slow, steady press. Reach up with his free hand, he ripped off his helmet, grizzled face pressed close to Malum's as he spoke in basic.

"I will give you what they never had here. Look into my eyes and witness your death, and the vengeance of Clan Dem'adas, my friends."

Darth Malum of House Marr | Arla Rodarch | Mia Monroe

 

[Clarron Vall]

"I'm not in a position where lying would get me much." He answered, truthfully enough, emerging from the corner of the room in as close to a nonthreatening posture as he could manage, hands clearly visible. His hunch had been right. The Mandos were here. Normally, he was not overflowing with charitable opinions on their kind, but it would hardly be polite (or wise) to mention that now. If they were his ticket off, they were best friends as long as that lasted.

"That's a very long story, but the short version is I made it from one wreck to another. Turns out the space scum in these parts don't like it when you can't pay them for a rescue, and unlike you, they weren't willing to talk about it, or take a favor. Or maybe they just didn't want it from me in particular."

His eyes flickered down to the blaster pointed his way, then back up to the woman holding it. "For what it's worth, it's a lovely vessel, and I'm sure a proper repair crew could restore something like this in no time. Assuming you can rid it of the other inhabitants, of course."

Mia Monroe

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Shit.

The man moved faster than he had expected.

Was it the distraction from Elise, the distraction from the heat, the distraction from his very purpose here? He did not know, and at the end of the day, it mattered little.

Did not change the fact he was pinned up against a wall, his neck facing immense pressure, as heat and flames licked the area around him. He resisted the urge to panic, resisted the urge to show any weakness, as his hand and lightsabre sat limply to the side, and he was staring into the inky abyss of a helmet, worn by the man that had destroyed Moridinae before Kaine even had the chance to.

There was only one proper reaction to such a man.

Red eyes gazed towards a single flame at the side, before returning back to the helmet.

"Mand'alor the Rekindler, I presume?"

It was quite the first impression.

Memories came to him, memories not from his eyes, but memories that were certainly now his, vague memories, barely flashes, of a battlefield long ago, a result forgotten, such was not the first time they had come across Ijaat Mereel was it? To think the figure they battled so long ago, would now be Mand'alor in this new age.

The Force had a strange will.

His words mattered little to him, his accusations even less so, he knew nothing about him, and knew nothing of his purpose. All that mattered then was simple.

Survival.

Thankfully he had every desire to survive this, and his amulet as was its great purpose, was more than willing to protect its master, its heir.

Rapidly warming up, hot to the touch, reaching a boiling point.

He could only offer a smirk at the helmed man.

As a grand explosion broke through the hallway in which they lay. The amulet expended its energy, as it turned back into an icy coolness, an explosion that rankled through the entire starship, as if it had been hit by a torpedo, as multiple new holes burst through its structure. The amulet aimed to throw the Moridinzid into the vacuum of space, all the while Malum groaned, aches in his muscles and bones, as his body was thrown through layers of durasteel walls.

Opening his eyes, to find himself deep within the structure of the ship.

He limped out, lightsabre still miraculously in hand. He needed to move quickly, or once again be found in the vice grip of the new Mand'alor.

He was quickly getting sick of their kind, former and present.

Ijaat Mereel Mia Monroe Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Arla Rodarch Clarron Vall Mairéad Solus Sahan Dragr Tharil

 

[Sahan Dragr]

Spoiler: Equipment

SHIP:

• "Ure'adtr" Howler Basilisk War Droid​

ARMOR:

• Besk'gathr Mk III​

WEAPONS:

• Tusurki'aa Ta'hye Beskad​
• M.I. Model 6 hybrid pistol​
• "O'dteyase Saranuhlr" Modified Vora-Class Verpine Hand Cannon​
• M.I. Model 12 shatter rifle​

ITEMS:

• AXC (10)​
• Mirshir Ka'esr Binders​
• Irya'kadir Smoke Bombs​
• Sasori Last Resort Cannon​
• Ring of Vision​

AMMO:

• Gas Canisters (12)​
• Slugs (100) |​
• Grulyr'bedtr CryoSlugs (1 Mag)​
• RB-02 "Salt" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• RB-04 "Droid's Bane" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• RB-03 "Force Breaker" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• Tracyn'wuta Pyro Slugs (5 Mags)​
• Hurdisi Photonic Blackout Rounds (5 Mags)​

---

Having left Gold, Sahan landed on the outside of an airlock of the abandoned ship. He sliced into its system, providing power from his beskar'gam's generator. The lock slid open with a hiss and a screech. He ducked through and closed it. He did the same thing for the inner door of the airlock, bringing him inside the ship. He did not know the exact layout of the ship, but a quick scan combined with engineering knowledge told him that the Engineering Bay would be several floors below him somewhere. He made his way out to an open area. There would likely be lifts going up and down. He could get them temporarily operational, but that would be pointless. And slow. He flipped over the rail and let his armor's flight systems carry him quickly down to the level he needed.

He unleashed the inky invisible tendrils of his Consume Essence out in all directions.

Sahan would be completely oblivious to this, and the tendrils would find no purchase, not even noticing him there. Except, perhaps, for a hole where the Force did not touch.

As Sahan landed on the lower level and made his way to the Engineering Bay, Artus picked up an old Mandalorian comm and patched the frequency into Sahan's. Someone had been stranded here? Odd, but someone was already taking care of it. Sahan spoke over it himself to the Mandalorian handling it. <Sahan Dragr, here. I made it inside and am almost to the Engineering Bay. I'll see if I can get anything up and running.>

Entering the Bay and looking around, Sahan saw the mess that it was in. However, all in all, it was not really all that bad. The equipment was in fairly decent shape, largely protected by damage due to the location. It did seem the systems had been fried, likely from an overload of heavy Ion damage. That was easy enough to fix with deionization and rewiring. The main issue was the reactor. It was structurally sound and did not seem to be leaking, which was a sigh of relief, but it also did not seem operable at all, and it was some brand Sahan had never even heard of. Considering he had no idea what kind of technology it used for power, it was best he did not try to repair it. That left him the option of wiring in and powering the ship himself. He did not want to be stuck down here, and he wanted to get to the bridge and find Communications. So, he sent a comm to his Basilisk. <Gold, I need to borrow your reactor. You should be able to find a hangar to make your way inside. Don't worry about smashing through walls, if you need to, but try to avoid damaging any important ship systems.>

://:On it!:\\: Gold replied. It didn't take long before Sahan heard noises of scratching and screeching. ://:And SM-ASH!:\\: The droid ship yelled out the last word as she barreled through into the Engineering Bay, coming to a stop before Sahan. ://:I'm here, Sir!:\\: She gave her best imitation of a salute with her mechanical claws.

"Good, good. I'm just gonna plug you into the systems." Sahan did so and rerouted the systems to draw power from Gold's reactor, which was more than powerful enough for both ships. Resetting everything, some of the ship's systems began to come back online, those that weren't too damaged at least. "Ok. I'm heading to Communications. I want to check out the systems there and make sure Main Control is operational. I'll need Artus to monitor the ship from there. Then we can see what we need to get this ship actually moving and back down on the surface."

---

TAGS: Mia Monroe Clarron Vall Ijaat Mereel Darth Malum of House Marr Arla Rodarch Elise Ahana-Gwyneira​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia regarded him for a moment, as far as she could see, he had every reason to lie and yet, she didn't sense any malice from him any deception or ill intent towards her. She holstered the blaster with a shrug "The Protectors are experts at clearing out the trash so the residents won't be an issue. We're not going anywhere till they're cleared out and we've got this thing limping."

<Sahan Dragr, here. I made it inside and am almost to the Engineering Bay. I'll see if I can get anything up and running.>

"Acknowledged, Dragr. Bridge Control is a dead end, nothing up here except scrap metal and a stray needing a ride. We'll head down to you, Mand'alor and the others are hunting darjetii. If we can get some systems back online we might be able to use the ship itself to flush them out."

She looked to the stranger. "Help us get the ship online and we'll give you a ride, no other favours needed. No questions asked." So long as he didn't cause problems and he wasn't in league with the Sith, which, judging by his reaching out on the comms he was not, Mia had no qualms about helping him. She turned back to the elevator shaft stepping inside it as a explosion boomed further along the ship.

"Elise!" she barked, fingers of cold dread running up her spine. "What the feth was that?"

Ijaat Mereel Darth Malum of House Marr Clarron Vall Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Arla Rodarch

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Listening to the going ons through the comlinks, Elise continued to Sense around the ship. She didn't sense anything new cropping up, and she felt the temptation to focus everything on the Force Signature of a... certain someone...

But she gave her head a firm shake. She had to focus. She felt enough guilt over the vode she had slaughtered. She was not about to let her negligence lead to even more deaths. And so, she continued to span her Force Sense along the ship - until.

A large spark of energy, Dark Side by Elise's guess, flared up in rapid grownth. Elise saw, with her own eyes, as a series of holes were blasted through the hull of the ship. Elise sensed two familiar Force Signatures in the area of the explosion: her Mand'Alor, Ijaat Mereel, and... Malum Marr.

Elise gritted her teeth.

Haar'chak, Malum! You can't tell me to stay out of the way then-

She thrust herself back into her seat, shoving her ship's controls and flying towards the area of the explosion. Malum's Force Signature had been rapidly thrown into the depths of the ship, while Ijaat's was dangerously close to the ship's blown wall. Elise only wanted to know if Malum was alright, but her duty bound and enslaved her. Her guilt haunted her. She flew near the ship's new wounds, cooling the engines to a low purr. Searching for Ijaat's exact location, she opened her comlink.

<<"My Mand'Alor! Are you alright?-">>

Mia's own comlink interrupted, entering a three way feed, <<"Elise! What the feth was that!">>

Elise winced at the sudden interjection, as she had been focusing hard on Ijaat. <<"Some karking idiot blew a series of small, consecutive holes in the side of the ship! The Mand'Alor is here, and I'm trying to find out if he got sucked out or is holding on! Ijaat Mereel, please, I can help, talk to me!">>

The entire time, Elise felt a bubbling mixture of sickening worry and anxious anger in her chest.

Malum, if we meet today, it's your own fault!


Ijaat Mereel Darth Malum of House Marr Mia Monroe

 

[Clarron Vall]

Vall didn't need to be told twice; to him that proposition was more than fair, and far more generous than he'd been expecting.

He fell into step behind her, listening as she communicated with presumed others around the vessel. The deck shook under them all at once, and his clawed metal boots clamped down hard, locking him into a stable position.

"Must be more unstable than you thought." Rasped the cyborg. "Or under attack. One of those two." Or both, of course, but he didn't want to call into question the quality of Mandalorian craftsmanship any further. His rescuers were already on edge.

"I'm not much of an engineer, but I can get into about anywhere." He looked around, his blank, skeletal metal visage taking in his surroundings. "Which may need to happen. No doubt that impact shook loose more debris to bury half the hallways."

Mia Monroe

 

[Ijaat Mereel]

For a brief moment, Ijaat froze in surprise, then the vacuum snuffed out the raging inferno as Malum seemingly ripped from his grasp. The escape would have caused a reflexive tightening of his grip on all levels, leaving untold injuries to the obviously Dark Sided presence of the Sith and a lashing out at the source of the spike of power that was the amulet, a raw spike of rage and energy to it's core. Ijaat barely managed to grab a broken spar, clip his helmet on, and activate mag boots to clamp back to the deck, or wall? Whatever it was, he was on sure footing, ish. He cursed outwardly, not having suspected that level of strength from the quarry that had just escaped.

Comms began flurrying, and steadying his footing, he replied to silence the panic.

"All clear. The Sith has decided to go elsewhere. Someone get me a map to my HUD of where the Comms are. We need to patch in the rest of our forces on this development. And someone get me some damn lights in this section."

Mia Monroe | Sahan Dragr | Elise Ahana-Gwyneira | Darth Malum of House Marr | Arla Rodarch

 

[Sahan Dragr]

Spoiler: Equipment

SHIP:

• "Ure'adtr" Howler Basilisk War Droid​

ARMOR:

• Besk'gathr Mk III​

WEAPONS:

• Tusurki'aa Ta'hye Beskad​
• M.I. Model 6 hybrid pistol​
• "O'dteyase Saranuhlr" Modified Vora-Class Verpine Hand Cannon​
• M.I. Model 12 shatter rifle​

ITEMS:

• AXC (10)​
• Mirshir Ka'esr Binders​
• Irya'kadir Smoke Bombs​
• Sasori Last Resort Cannon​
• Ring of Vision​

AMMO:

• Gas Canisters (12)​
• Slugs (100) |​
• Grulyr'bedtr CryoSlugs (1 Mag)​
• RB-02 "Salt" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• RB-04 "Droid's Bane" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• RB-03 "Force Breaker" Rounds (1 Mag)​
• Tracyn'wuta Pyro Slugs (5 Mags)​
• Hurdisi Photonic Blackout Rounds (5 Mags)​

---

<Acknowledged, Dragr. Bridge Control is a dead end, nothing up here except scrap metal and a stray needing a ride. We'll head down to you, Mand'alor and the others are hunting darjetii. If we can get some systems back online, we might be able to use the ship itself to flush them out.>

<There are Dar'jetii onboard? Sweet! I could use to test out my new upgrades, if I meet any,> Sahan replied as he searched for Comms. He was scanning as he went, trying to map out what he could. It would help to keep from getting lost. But a something about what the vod had said finally dawned on him. <Wait, did you say {i]Mand'alor[/i]!? There isn't one. Unless someone is trying to claim the title again. But I guess we can discuss all that later...>

Then the explosion knocked him off his feet. Off his feet, but he reacted quickly, spinning in air and taking off again, looking for his destination while he listened to the others. So, this Ijaat Mereel was the one claiming to be Mand'alor?

"All clear. The Sith has decided to go elsewhere. Someone get me a map to my HUD of where the Comms are. We need to patch in the rest of our forces on this development. And someone get me some damn lights in this section."

Well, that was a bit disappointing, but maybe the Sith was still onboard. He had a few slugs he wouldn't mind putting through an evil sorcerer.

<Found Comms. I'll see if I can repair the computer and reroute power. Then I'll find layout schematic and send it to you.> And he'd be able to upload Artus to the computer to help things go faster. But first, he had to get them up and running, considering they were as fried as everything else. He pulled out his tool kit and began splicing wires, commanding the nanobots he housed in his armor to rebuild broken components. This would take a bit.

---

Mia Monroe Ijaat Mereel Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Darth Malum of House Marr Clarron Vall​

 

[Mia Monroe]

The tension in Mia's shoulders eased at hearing Ijaat's voice and she let out a long breath. "Wayii, Ijaat." she muttered to herself, before turning to the cyber. "An attack, but sounds like a hit and run and no one is hurt." She moved for a set of doors open wide enough for her to squeeze through, beckoning for him to follow.

"Elise, stay with the Mand'alor, sound like he needs your eyes more than I do."

She turned her attention to her new companion. He hadn't been wrong about the debris that had shifted, though most of it thus far was superficial. "You got a name, burc'ya?"

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira Ijaat Mereel Clarron Vall Sahan Dragr

 

[Clarron Vall]

Tags: Mia Monroe /Open​

"An attack, but sounds like a hit and run and no one is hurt."

"Good." He said. "Then there might be a chance of getting this ship moving after all." He pried the doors a little wider apart, and scurried through after her.

"You got a name, burc'ya?"

"Vall." He said after a brief pause. "Clarron Vall." He didn't offer much more information than that. In his time, Mandalorians hadn't exactly been on the kindest terms with the Empire. He'd done plenty to their people himself, but then he'd done plenty to everyone's people. If he was to apologize to every species he'd killed a member of, he'd die of old age before making it halfway through the waiting line.

Most would scarcely care about an atrocity or two performed a millenium ago, but he knew well that Mandalorians tended to have long memories for grudges. It wouldn't do to antagonize them. Instead, he'd be as helpful as reasonably possible. He was alone in the galaxy, so the more friends and the less enemies he had, the better. Besides, they'd helped him when they didn't need to. That counted for a lot in his book.