Private Guardian Angels

[Rajo Sobek]

The Angry Wives Casino

Ganath


"So what was her name anyways, Celine? Saline?.. I fething forgot!"

Raj flinched a bit as the heavyset Besalisk brought down a friendly hand against his shoulder and offered him a toothy grin that was all too common among their species. He offered the creature a smirk, content with the fact that as long as he kept the drunk happy he might not be inclined to throw a fit.

What bliss, sipping on an expensive cocktail and looking out over a crowd of hapless souls trying to make a quick buck. He could still feel that itch. The itch to get up and blow all of his money on a few rounds of Sabacc or make a few friends around the Hintaro tables; anything to lighten the mood a bit. As it stood, the night seemed like it would drag on into the wee hours of the morning with little to do but watch out for a couple of would-be murderers. As much as it pained him to admit it, he couldn't keep an eye on his charge and a game at the same time and it was only out of professionalism that he'd elected to limit himself to one drink! Getting annihilated in the face of such monotony was definitely attractive, but in all honesty he was somewhat nervous. This was his first real contract for the Suns and, easy as it was, he couldn't afford to balls it up. How would he become a trusted member of the upper echelon if he couldn't save the hide of some two bit manager in a casino? And that's not even to think of what the Hutts would do if he proved to be yet another negligent bodyguard. No, tonight he'd rein it in.

Still, at least he wouldn't be falling asleep on his feet all by his lonesome. The contract had been for two guards and with one glance up at one of the few virtual clocks he could see that it was almost time for Veal to come out for his shift.

Hmm...

He'd wait for the guy a little bit longer. At the very least he'd been told what to look for.

A Mandalorian.


[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

Outside of The Angry Wives Casino



Ganath



We all have to start somewhere, for Sam it seemed to be a bodyguard for a Pit Boss on Ganath. “Angry Wives Casino,” Sam chuckled to himself as he landed his old beat up HWK series freighter on a landing pad outside.

This should be easy.

It wasn’t liberating a planet, but at least it was another way to get his foot into the door. Sam didn’t think very highly of high rollers. In his experience they tended to be people who had nothing better to do than cause a ruckus, and it seems as though this was the same case.

He holstered his dual WESTAR-35 blaster pistols before he exited his ship and began to enter into the Casino. His greatest threat would be something unexpected, he pondered. Poison perhaps? Or would they be dumb enough to confront Veal directly? Sam wouldn’t even be surprised if they gave empty threats and the gamblers avoided showing up entirely. Perhaps he was overthinking this. What did he know? He had received the transmission on the Pit Boss Veal and the time of his shift, as well as a woolly description of another guard hired for the job. A human Black Sun mercenary in a Hutt owned casino.

Sam sighed, That really narrows it down.

Walking in and surveying the area, he couldn’t help but get lost in the waves of humanoids. Nikitos, Rodians, humans and other species. Business seemed to be booming. After a moment of not seeing his colleague and not knowing what else to do Sam decided approached the bar.

What was his name? Rango? Rajo?

He tried to think of any other distinguishing factors they might have told him.

A scar on his neck.. Sobek. Just remember Sobek.

He ordered a cheap drink with no intention of enjoying it and glanced over his own shoulder. The Pit Boss should be coming out anytime now, even if he didn’t find [member="Rajo Sobek"] , at least he would have an eye on Veal.

 

[Rajo Sobek]

It was no real surprise that Sam would miss him at the bar. He was about as average looking as one could get in a place like this, except he carried more of a scummy air about him than the odd passerby. He didn't wear any armor plates, just that old black jacket and a worn-in pair of pants that he'd picked off the rack before flying out here. Coupled with all of the distractions throughout the room he was definitely not worth paying attention to. Luckily enough, Raj didn't have that issue. It wasn't exactly difficult to pick a Mandalorian out of this crowd... Well... Any crowd for that matter. No, it didn't matter if it were a fancy wedding on the upper levels of Coruscant or a rubbish pit on Raxus Prime, they were always walking around in those suits of armor.

Admittedly Raj had never spoken to a Mandalorian. Of course he'd seen them around the block a few times, everyone had, but he oftentimes had trouble believing that they were the real deal. Anyone could go around with a set of bought or stolen armor and claim they were from an ancient clan of bloodthirsty warriors that could trace their lineage back to the Catharian massacres but that didn't make it true. He could be just another schmuck, but there was only one way to find out.

He'd just sit and watch at first, letting his compatriot get comfortable at the bar, watching him order a drink and look around behind that steely black visor. It was interesting to guess as to whether or not the man would actually remove the helm and down the contents of that little glass, but it wasn't really important either way. The pit-boss was due to come out any minute, and he'd had enough sulking about for one night. Slowly, he walked down the length of the bar to make a bit of conversation.

Now, Raj was no fool. He knew that these armored mercenaries had few friends and were not all too playful, but he simply couldn't resist the urge as he watched the man glance over his shoulder towards the tables that were still buzzing with noise from a particularly exciting outcome.

With an outstretched fist, he gave a few knocks on the back of that shiny bucket to get the man's attention...

Provided a gloved fist wasn't on its way to his face, he'd gesture towards that glass that the tender had just brought over and offer a little quip.

"You gonna drink that, mate?"



[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

Sam’s eyes widen for a split second as the sound of a faint tapping hummed through his helmet. After realizing what was happening, he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw out of annoyance. Great, some drunk thinks I’m wearing a fishbowl. The Mandalorian gave a slow vigilant turn to the man who interrupted his careful observation. A brawl in the Casino was the last thing Sam wanted, especially while he was most focused on trying to find any sense of danger.

“You gonna drink that, mate?”

He couldn’t help but flash a small grin under his helmet. He wanted to be annoyed, hostile even, but the quip was completely different than any kind of trouble he was expecting. Grateful for his helmet, he decided to take an opportune moment to study the mercenary. The Mandalorian helmet was more intimidating than the man underneath to be truthful. His lack of experience and time alone made him more inviting he would like to be. Thankfully he knows the stories tied to his heritage and armor, and he takes every advantage he can get. He took note of Raj’s attire and decided to not think much of him.

“Possibly. I’m here on business.”

He played it unamused and glanced up at the digital clock. Veal’s shift started now, Sam’s attention was elsewhere as he missed the obvious deduction of who the man was.


[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

"Are you now?.."

The unarmored outlaw would follow Sam's gaze up towards the clock that had just changed past the hour. With the description he'd been given and the fact that he man was also concerned with the time, Raj could only assume that this was his man.

As far as the illusion of any sort of competence that his armor gave off, he was quite correct. In this particular instance Rajo thought that he must be the less experienced of the two, even though they were most likely pretty evenly matched on that front. He was, after all, a Mandalorian. As children, he'd heard, they were thrown into fighting pits and taught some sort of "Warrior's Code". One could only imagine how prepared for combat they might be once they'd become an adult. Man must be a cold hard killer!

Well, killer or not they were co-workers for now. As if on cue the man of the hour appeared in the form of Veal, The Pit Boss. He was much as anyone might expect, sporting an expensive sports coat and an identifying lanyard. Why anyone would want to ruin their reputation by picking a fight after a hard loss he could hardly begin to understand, but it could be assumed alcohol had been involved. Whoever got sent to rough this guy up would regret it though; he'd see to that with the help of this pro stood next to him.

"Seems like we might be here on the same business then... I'm Rajo, but people call me Raj. You're the Mandalorian, right?"

Sounded like a bit of a stupid question, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

The Mandalorian’s gaze returned to his fellow hired gun, again grateful for his helmet to hide his surprise.

“You’re Sobek?” He paused. “I’m Sam. You’ve got a blaster right?”

The lack of armor might not be too out of the ordinary. Sam had to remind himself that not everyone shared his values or priorities, but surely his co-worker here had some sort of plan in case things escalated past problems they could handle with their fists.

Sam's hand wandered to hover over his holstered pistol as the Pit Boss finally revealed himself for his shift. Veal’s appearance was less than impressive to Sam, but it looked like he would be easy bait. He definitely trusted Rajo here to be able to handle himself in a bar fight. The Pit Boss on the other hand, Sam didn’t trust Veal’s capability to handle himself for as long as it took to blink.

“Either way, it might be better to bring whoever our quarry is alive. Or at least keep them alive long enough to figure out who sent them. If the Black Sun doesn’t already know, we may get a bonus..” He smirked underneath his helmet. “Or at least a better reputation.”

[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

He'd look somewhat confused when asked if he had a blaster or not. Of course it wasn't in plain sight but he thought he looked like enough of a thug to have one tucked away in his waistband.

"Aye, I've got one, no need to worry."

He'd move his jacket to the side, revealing a capable weapon tucked well into his pants just at his hip, hidden well behind the glossy leather. It wasn't anything fancy, but it sure did pack a punch if he'd ever had to pull it out.

The observation that they should take these potential killers alive elicited a smirk on Raj's face. He was happy to find that the man was not some trigger happy moron looking to grease a few thugs just to be done with the job. It took a good hunter to realize the real rewards came from live quarry. There were some exceptions to that rule, however. Some men didn't want to have to face the men who they'd put up for contract. Some men would prefer their enemies be dispatched by others far out of sight so that they could not feel any real guilt. The Hutts were not usually those types though. They liked to kill off their enemies themselves...

"Couldn't agree more, but we'll have to find them first. Won't be easy in this crowd. I've been around the place a bit and I have a couple theories as to how this might go down. Of course someone could try to take our man while he's walking about, either with blaster or blade. I think you should stick close to him just in case they should be that bold. Assuming that armor of yours can take a hit, you'll be the best up close protection he can get. You done much bodyguard work?"

He'd done a little. Working at the whim of crime lords often meant he'd be tugged along as extra protection and there were a few things he'd picked up on during those days.

[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

Sam couldn’t help but snort at Rajo’s suggestion. “Believe me, this armor can take a hit.” He smirked, if it wasn’t for his armor he probably would have died on Zosha, but he decided to leave that part out.

His fingers tapped against the bar, “No, unfortunately this is my first job that involves protecting someone. I’ve done stealth, contract kills, but I’m usually hired me as a mercenary.” Sam’s finger drumming stopped and he again faced towards Veal’s direction. “Don’t worry though. I can handle watching out for some honcho.” He also left out that this was his first job with the Hutts, but Sam wasn’t too worried anymore his accomplice and him had enough chemistry to already form a possible plan.

“I'm going to introduce myself. I’ll try to keep an eye on you but I trust you’ll be a great lookout, if anything goes down I’ll get him into cover first then join you.” With that, Sam began to advance towards Veal to greet him with a handshake.

[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj didn't really care that the man had never acted as a bodyguard. Being a mercenary meant seeing all types of action around the galaxy and the fact that he'd done some quiet ops meant that being a guard shouldn't be the most difficult thing in the world. The bounty had been laid out pretty simply, as he recalled, though the underlying goal was very obvious to him and probably obvious to Sam as well. They didn't want to simply deter an attack tonight, they wanted to get the men who'd dare to cross the Hutts.



Offering a confident smile to his partner, Raj was content to stay at the bar for a bit longer. Not just because he was a borderline alcoholic, but because this bar, in particular, seemed to serve as a sort of 'central-hub' of the casino's social mechanisms. Whenever they entered, people would always have to pass by him to get to the tables that Veal was watching, not to mention the fact that most everyone seemed to be stopping for a drink now and again. It was the perfect place for him to observe any and all of the patrons that might not actually be patrons.

"Aye, I'll keep an eye out mate. Comm-Link channel X55 if you need me."

The game was on, and as Sam walked off towards the pit-boss he could feel his confidence in the night growing. They would probably talk for a few moments, though he couldn't expect that Veal would want to talk to his protection about the matter of his, well, need of protection for very long. Regardless, Raj wasn't really interested in keeping his eyes locked on veal for the moment. That was Sam's job. His job was to locate and report any threat of those thugs as soon as he could see it.


To that end, he began to scan the crowd. Nothing much to see. Aliens from around the rim, a couple of officers from what looked to be Imperial space. It was the usual crowd. There were, however, two figures that immediately struck him as odd. They were both Weequay. That wasn't entirely out of the ordinary although he could hardly say that he saw any more of their kind in the Casino. Their wrinkled faces hid any sort of feeling or emotion as they spoke to one another at a small table and their many braids hung long against their backs. He'd learned from a spacer that those braids represented how long they'd been away from their homeworld. These two had obviously not been back for many years. But even that wasn't of much interest. Tons of them had many braids and had made mercenaries out of themselves throughout the galaxy. What was interesting was what they wore around their necks. There was a word for it, at least in the underworld, and it was an identifier he was all too familiar with. Kra or Gang-Kra were small tokens that identified gang members on the streets. It was common practice, and he'd borne a few of his own during his lifetime, but these guys were wearing the Kra of Togart. Togart's boys were renowned morons. They picked fights with every gang they could and always made a point to tear up any bar they visited without recourse. If there was any gang that he expected would be dumb enough to send two gang members to perform an assassination in a Hutt's casino, it was Togart's. Still, they hadn't made a move for Veal and he couldn't just blast them for wearing some jewelry he didn't like.



He'd wait it out. See how things developed.


[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

He nodded to Raj before turning back towards Veal, changing his Comm-Link to the appropriate channel as he approached the pit-boss. Sam gave a light wave once Veal spotted him, he was sure the man was on edge and a Mandalorian making his way might have come off as intimidating.

The Mandalorian shook his hand, he could tell Veal was a bit anxious from the curve of his brow. He came off as more aggravated than anything, this was bad for business and he didn’t have time for this type of mischief.

“Veal. Name’s Sam. I’m here on Hutt business if you catch my drift.” Veal nodded, seemingly a bit more confident in the situation. “I’m here with another associate, don’t hesitate to run behind me or into cover if anything looks like it’s about to go south. I’ll be near you in case anything happens.” Straight to the point, Veal stuttered for a moment searching for words but Sam gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder and continued walking on.

He said what he needed to, he didn’t want to blow anything by talking to the target and making the assassin suspicious. So with that Sam approached a table of some scum playing Sabacc and stopped as if he was spectating. He considered joining in, it would work as a great cover up for keeping an eye on Veal, but this was probably an embarrassing place to admit he’s never played before. He decided the entire decision was reckless and kept his helmet facing towards the gambling table, his eyes really on the pit-boss and his surroundings.

[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj watched coolly as Sam made first contact with their man. He needed to be careful not to let his eyes linger on anything for too long, though. If he kept on staring at Veal like he were some sort of dancing slave girl, he'd stick out like a sore thumb to anyone observing. With that in mind his gaze often came to rest on a freshly ordered glass of Jawa Juice that he hadn't the stomach to touch. Not because of its vile ingredients, but rather the fact that he could see those Weequay standing up now. The mood was far too tense to consider taking a crack at a drink, and ever so slowly he brought his hand around to his backside where he'd stored his blaster.

Just feeling the rugged duraplast grip of the thing gave him some confidence. The two aliens, stupid as they may be, were taking a surprising amount of care in their approach. First of all they were attempting to look uninterested in the man Veal by taking quick glances towards and away their assumed target. It was more or less what Raj had been doing, but they were doing it far too frequently. These had to be their men.

All at once the situation changed. The two thugs split up, cutting different paths across the room towards Veal. They'd be on him soon enough, but Raj was already on the communicator.

"Oi, Sam, they're coming. Two wrinkly bastards with braids. I'm grabbing the one by the Pazaak tables, the other should be coming by chip counters towards you."

With that out of the way, he'd make for his thug. He wouldn't draw his blaster outright as it might induce some fine lady to scream her guts out before he got the drop on them. He'd have to take it slow and steady. Step by step, he made to intercept his man.

How Sam would react, he could only guess.

[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

Sam snapped to attention at Rajo’s voice transmitted through his helmet.

Two. “I copy.”

He quickly glanced in Raj’s direction and saw him approaching the thug. It was a Weequay. He supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised, they often worked as mercenaries or pirates. Regardless, he never thought he’d meet any stupid or brave enough to oppose the Hutts. He scanned his section of the casino until he saw his target with Veal between them.

Perhaps it was a mistake, but the Mandalorian briskly started making his way towards Veal, determined to get there first. The Weequay saw Sam making his way towards the situation and panicked. Stopping in his tracks in terror for a second, the Weequay hadn’t been prepared for something as intimidating as Mandalorian to be coming towards, especially with a swagger that showed his readiness of flaying someone alive.

The Weequay’s pause didn’t go unnoticed by Sam as he broke into a sprint, the hitman drew his blaster with a much different intent then he had moments ago.

Veal gasped as the pistol aimed at him, lost for words and expression before behind Sam managed to sweep his feet out from under him. The flare barely missing his head as he unexpectedly landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. In the same fluid motion with screams erupting around them, Sam grabbed one of the chip tables and slammed it down on it’s side as cover for both him and Veal. Two more blaster bolts were fired, one hitting and deflecting off of Sam’s pauldron and the other searing through the outer rim of the circular table.

Sam cursed and fired his fibercord from his gauntlet, wrapping around the Weequay’s legs before yanking him onto his back, similar to what had happened to Veal. With the cord secure and confident it incapacitated him for a few moments, Sam checked to make sure Veal was alright as he laid with a look of terror on his face. He couldn’t tell what happened to Raj in the midst of the chaos of blaster fire, civilians screaming in terror, and the mass attempt of evacuation, but he hoped he could get a full handle on this before Raj dealt with his target.

[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj kept pace with his target as he waved through the patrons who still crowded around their respective gambling tables to enjoy the night. Any thought that these two were innocent bystanders had gone completely out of the window by now. They moved with a purpose and they intended to kill that pit boss. They might have succeeded too if they weren't so clueless.

As his own target approached veal, he also spotted the dim glow cast by the soft mood lights dancing across the Mandalorian's armor. The alien stopped, looking perplexed and suddenly quite nervous. He couldn't say he blamed him, the sight of a Mandalorian moving off to protect your target was never a good sign. This was especially true of these types of low life criminals who seldom engaged anything they didn't think they could knock over in a second.

Raj truly thought he'd run. He thought wrong.

Once Veal dropped to the ground, on account of Sam's quick reactions, he heard the sound of the first blaster bolt echo through the enclosed casino. The firing from his partner must have triggered some sort of great wish to die in the gangster, because he too immediately drew and fired off a couple of bolts in the direction of the upturned table to assist his partner. No sooner had he begun firing, however, than a cone of blue light would erupt behind him with an electrical whizz and he would seize up. He fell to the floor only moments later, and there standing behind him amid a few hundred terrified and fleeing gamblers was Raj.

Satisfied with the fact that his own man wasn't getting up, he thought he might find out if he was still getting paid. Activating his communicator, he looked off towards the upturned table where the other one had been brought down.

"Stunned mine. You still alive, then?"


[member="Sam Gundar"]

 

[Sam Gundar]

Sam scoffed to himself as he heard Raj’s voice emit from his receiver inside his helmet. He had the man encumbered with his fiber cord, it was just a matter of securing the blaster.

His mind immediately went to some of his vod he had witnessed with electrocuting and incapacitating victims through their own fiber cords, but unfortunately with his budget he would have to take out the scum in a more standard way. Furious about the situation he was in, he quickly yanked again and popped up from behind the table and fired a shot piercing the Weequay’s shoulder. Honestly Sam had intended for the shot to just hit the pistol and knock it out of his hands or render is useless. It certainly would have looked cleaner, but this worked too.

The rat squealed, and the Mandalorian got out from the table approaching the downed prey. The man begged, claimed he didn’t mean it, apologized, all as Sam picked him up from his shirt. The prune face quivered and Sam head butted him, the force of the Beskar emitting a loud ding that rung through his helmet, and rendering the man unconscious. It was quiet possible he received a concussion. He dropped the fodder to the floor in a heap. It was messy, but he was alive.

“You tell me,” he replied over the comms before turning back to Veal.

“And uh, sorry about your table.”

[member="Rajo Sobek"]

 

[Rajo Sobek]

"Good, be a shame if you got wiped on something like this." He'd say, content to tease the clearly capable Mando.

If he'd had any doubts about the abilities of his partner, they'd been washed away with the quick and clean action they'd performed. There was something indescribable about it, the rush of a well organized and executed plan that didn't come too often. The very nature of combat was chaos, but when you held all the cards and nobody died... Well... Just felt right!

His mind didn't have long to wander as there was still the issue of payment. It was convenient that they wouldn't have to lug these two very far, the Hutt's managers would be able to take care of it from here, and once he'd led the dazed, bound, alien over to his friend who'd done the same to his own catch. Offering a crooked smile, Raj gave a few firm pats to the man's pauldron and went on.

"Gotta hand it to you, mate, this kriff went a lot smoother than my other jobs. You might be one to keep around!"

Looking over the two aliens they'd managed to catch in the act and the approaching administrators of the Casino, he gave a friendly nod to Sam and wrapped an arm around him so that they might approach them together.

"Let's get paid, 'eh?"



[member="Sam Gundar"]