The Silver Hawk Knight
The thunderous bass and flashing lights of the nightclub were enough to distract anyone. It was hard enough following a familiar face in a crowded dive like this, let alone tracking one he had never seen before. Thankfully, that's where the advanced HUD of his helmet came in. The hypnotic beats and sounds were filtered and dampened until only the vibrations of the music could be felt in his chest, and his own breath could be heard over the closed mic channel. His HUD was busy scanning the faces in the crowd, running a recognition system, comparing it to a photo of his target in the top right of his vision. His eyes stared at the profile picture of the young woman, before blinking twice to enlarge the image.
Upon closer inspection, Pylon could tell that the young female was only a few years older then him, though clearly didn't look it. Her pale skin with the slightest hint of pink, in addition to her red and black eyes, he deduced she was some humanoid, probably mixed with a Zeltron. The name under the profile was Reina, a known associate with the newly formed "Family". The Jedi probably had entire task forces assigned to bringing the members in, squads of Jedi Shadows ready and waiting for their chance to cripple the Donna's might.
Pylon was also willing to do so...for a price.
Ever since becoming a Mandalorian, the Ex-Shadow used his newly formed contacts on shady backwater planets like this one to form a web of informants, each one constantly searching for any Dark Jedi or Sith Acolyte he could get information on. It was slow at first, but his feelers did eventually get back to him, with only a picture and a name. Reina's name.
As he muscled past the crowds of dancing patrons, Pylon started to realize that he was getting the sort of attention he didn't want. A Mando in full beskar'gam didn't exactly seem like Club wear. Still though, he would rather look the part of a bounty hunter then blending in to catch the Dark Jedi by surprise. He had enough on his mind with simply repressing his Force Energy.
A common practice he had taken up in his years since going Mando, Zerga began repressing his Force Energy for long periods of time. Although some level of constant concentration was needed, the advantage of being able to walk right up to a Force User without them even suspecting anything the matter was usually enough of an edge for him to take down most targets with quick ease. For others, Kara on support was also usually enough to take a Jetii by surprise.
She was on sniper tonight, watching the exits of the nightclub out of the scope of her high powered slugthrower. He could see her view of the building, darting from door to door, cross-hairs at perfect headshot level, from another small window in the corner of his HUD. It also displayed her full-body readout, heart-rate, and com-link channel.
"You got eyes-on?" Her voice crackled in his ear, calm and calculating as always.
"Not yet, too much going on in here." He groaned, his right cybernetic eye moving independently of his other, looking for the target.
"Yeah, I can tell. Stare at those cage-girls again and you're sleeping in the air-lock tonight." She huffed, clearly more serious then joking. Pylon simply chuckled under his breath, amused at how protective and jealous his beloved wife could be.
"I wasn't staring, I was scanning. You know I only have eyes for you, ner Ka'ra" he assured her, pushing his way past a group of dancers, twirling glowrods around their fingers with impressive dexterity.
"Yeah, scanning their shebse..." she hissed, her heart rate steadily climbing.
"You know, this is exactly why the Jedi--" His voice trailed off as a sudden shiver went down his spine, like someone had poured a gallon of ice water down his shirt. The feeling, as unnerving as it was, was all too familiar. It was a disturbance in the Force, the kind of ripple that could only be created when a powerful Dark Side technique was used.
He snapped his attention towards the bar, a primal sense altering him towards the danger. At the very far end of the club, in a small private booth, a woman sat next to a Rodian, who writhed and gasped in pain, smoke and light rising from his throat as a deathstick hung from his mouth. From this distance, Pylon couldn't tell if the smell of burning flesh was actually leaking it's way through his helmet's filtration system, or if it was only in his mind. The woman sat back, a wall of drinks in front of her, completely calm an in control of the situation, even going so far as to cozy herself up to the fresh corpse, pretending all was fine.
"I got eyes-on-target. Far end booth, on my 11 o'clock." He spat off quickly, slipping back into a disciplined soldier.
"I see her. Want my help?" Kara asked, eager to join her partner in crime. Pylon considered her offer for a moment, his eyes never leaving the smoldering body of the Rodian. Any Dark Jedi who bothered to learn such a powerful an destructive technique was sure to be more then a quick credit-chip. With Kara at his back, the two would have the advantage over her, able to divide her focus between them...but the risk of pitting his wife up against a powerful Dark Side user was unbearable.
"Negative. Hold position. In the end those who follow the Dark Side are cowards. If she tries to run, put a slug in her. With the crowd, I don't want any unnecessary firefights. Besides, if you're watching me, tion'ad hukaat'kama?" He smirked. Kara let out a growl of protest before, huffing loudly and zooming in on her scope. "You always get to have all the fun." she whined.
Pylon looked around for a way to sneak up on Reina, but her seat at the booth put her back to a wall. Smart. He had no choice in the matter then. Slipping a hand inside his kama, his fingers searched and fondled the handle of his blaster-pistol, unsnapping the strap that held it in place. He focused his attention on keeping his Force energy to a minimum as he calmly strode up to her table, readying himself for her cornered assault.
Once in front of her table, Pylon tilted his helmet down until his T-shaped visor was starring directly at Reina and her dead companion. "Hey there, Reina. Buy me a drink? I'll have anything except what he was having." he smirked, his voice coming out of his helmet amplified to be heard over the blaring music.
The woman looked up from corpse she was cuddling herself up to, starring the newly approached bounty hunter up and down slowly, like she was judging if he would make a suitable mate. After a moment, she curtly giggled before bursting out into laughter that suddenly ended as quickly as it began.
"Oh, what's this? Another bounty hunter come to make a quick fortune bringing me in? Or perhaps a Jedi looking to exact some justice in the world? Let me guess, you thought it would be easy, didn't you, with your roguish male charm and strapping, shiny armor? That I'd just fall into your lap, and let you slap your big, strong cuffs on me? Then tote me around by a chain, like a slave, completely helpless?No....No, I have been a slave before, and neither you....Or whoever it is you brought with you, are going to bring me back to that life!" She hissed over the blasting club music.
As soon as Reina started her speech, Pylon could hear Kara groaning in his ear. As soon the flawed logic and self-centered monologue began to spew, both of them had already heard enough. "Oh come on! Please, can I shoot her now?" Kara begged, the cross-hairs on her slugthrower softly bobbing up and down in response to her own excited bouncing. "She's monologuing . You know how much I love killing them when the monologue." She hissed, clearly having more problems with Reina's rant then Pylon did.
Reina proved herself to be truly gifted within the Force from the moment she started speaking. Pylon could feel her, reaching out with her mind's eye in the Force, scanning and washing over the patrons. He closed his eyes, letting himself be breezed with her gust of energy. After only a moment, she quickly revealed her knowledge of Kara's presence,causing the briefest flash of concern to grasp Pylon's emotions. He quickly calmed himself, realizing that though Reina could sense another presence, she couldn't place the who or where.
That was an advantage.
Due to the crowded club, Kara had the distinct advantage of anonymity. Though she lacked any true attunment to the Force herself, she was still deadly. Even more-so to Force Users, in fact. For Kara, being underestimated was one of her many tools, and her intuition was better then any foresight Pylon had ever seen. Plus, a Verpine Sniper rifle was a hell of a lot more direct then Force Push.
"Not yet, let her get herself worked up. Wait for her to leave herself open." he instructed softly through the comchannel, as Reina continued to prattle through her speech. On the outside, it seemed he was only silently listening, but in the inner sanctum of their helmets, Kara and Pylon were planning.
He hated these sort of speeches. Always assigning blame to those who had nothing to do with their problems. It was the way of the Sith, he realized, to always find fault in others for any of life's tragedies. It kept them full of hate, full of fear, and far away from acceptance as possible, in order to fuel their rage. The most experienced, learned Acolytes would internalize these feelings, turning them into a constant fire inside to forge their weapons of hatred.
Reina, however, was clearly not as mature in her way of thinking. She was lashing out, turning her fear and pain into blind rage, an inferno that would only leave her burned and exposed. Pylon could feel her hate rising, turning the ever constant calm of the Force into a white hot tempest of emotion. She was growing more hostile, sending ripples of energy through the air, only noticeable to the two of them. She was about to strike.
"Ka'ra, Hukaat'kama! Wait for me to give you a clean shot, then target her Jetii'kad!" he ordered quickly, just as Reina stood from her booth. As soon as she ignited her lightsaber, the bright red glow illuminating the multicolored nightclub, Pylon instantly tuned out everything, just as he had always been trained. Keeping his eyes shut and his face blank, the roar and beat of the music went completely silent. Time seemed to slow down, almost stand still, so that every movement of Reina's body was telegraphed to him before she even twitched. Her every action, bolstered by the power of the Dark Side was all so easily predicable to Pylon, who stood like a cipher amidst the chaos...
...And then he felt it. The slowly rising and uplifting aura that started from his core and reached out through his extremities, like a warm gust of wind rolling through his muscles. That familiar, consuming energy, the completely overpowering feeling of the Force, returning to his body. Through both extensive training and metaphysical guidance, his hands and fingers moved on their own. No sooner was he altered to the Acoylte's Force Push did he tap a small bump on his right gauntlet, activating the magna-seals in his boots, before crossing his arms to brace himself. With his feet securely planted to the floor, Pylon stood completely still as that same, dark red wave of energy blasted over his body. He stood firm, unwavering like a rock against a single tide.
All around him, however, the full effect of the technique was shown. Patrons and tables alike went flying, causing a perfectly traceable outline of a half-circle on the dance floor. Screams and shouts were heard by most, several of the crowd panicking as the sudden realization of Pylon and Reina's presence, the Sith with lightsaber in hand, Not Pylon though; he remained calm, still, motionless as if made of stone. In his mind, he was still repressing his energy, still holding back the floodgates...waiting for the perfect moment.
As soon as Reina's assault ended, turning her attention back to defense, Pylon took his moment. In a sudden release of willpower, Pylon opened the floodgate, releasing all of his Force Energy, letting it course through his muscles and veins. His movements were a blur, the rediscovered speed and strength returning back to him in a rush of power.
After weeks of weighing himself down, holding himself back, his bounds were finally cut. Pylon released in a second, what Reina expended all together. This was the difference between Jedi and Sith; the denying of oneself a release until the time calls for it, versus a life of excess.
Pylon's magna-seal boots deactivated with another press of the node on his gauntlet, before bringing his right hand up to his shoulder, grabbing the handle of his Vibroblade. Just as Reina lifted the couch into the air, she would see no more then a blur of silver and black darting across her vision as Pylon leap into the air at inhuman speed and height.
The second her cover brought in front of her face, Pylon was already in mid-swing of his high-frequency vibrosword, it's blade sparking to life, making a vicious crackling over the soft, tranquil hum. As he descended down in front of her, his cybernetic right arm struck out with mechanical perscion and speed, slicing an entire right half of the couch into several, evenly spaced cut marks. While none of these swings were close enough to actually make contact with his opponent, they did however, cut away a perfect view of her lightsaber.
A soft, almost silent crack of Kara's Verpine Shatter gun echoed into Pylon's helmet as soon as he touched the ground. The high speed slug sliced through the air at a fraction of a second, barreling straight for Reina's right hand, clenched tightly around her saber hilt. Kara had mad this shot a thousand times before, disarming confused and unsuspecting prey. At best, the small metal composite slug would collide straight into the lightsaber, destroying or at least disabling it for the remainder of the battle. The more likely shot, however, was the female sniper's personal favorite-- a hole straight through hand, shattering every delicate bone below the wrist. For most humanoids anyway.
The assault was not through yet though, as Pylon's free, left hand pulled his blaster from it's quick release holster, dialing a switch down with his thumb. As he whipped the weapon around, his body automatically locked him onto his target, firing three quick rounds of his DC-15s' stun blasters, intending to knock his opponent out in one fell swoop.
Reina would learn that Pylon was more then an overconfident Jedi in some shiny armor. He was an elite hunter with as much experience in bringing down Force Users as he did skill.
And, damn was he good.
Like a line of dominoes, Pylon's series of attacks connected perfectly, one after the other. Kara's quick reactions and dead-eye aim were something to behold, on par with her husband's own lethality. With less then a microsecond to aim and fire the perfect shot, the Verpine sniper rifle's bullet struck home in Reina's lightsaber. Both destroying the weapon and ripping a clean, perfectly round hole straight through the Dark Jedi's hand. Over their internal helmet comlinks, Pylon could hear his wife's hushed, quick giggle at her own achievement, followed by a whisper; "...Kandosii..".
As the three stun bolts from his blaster crashed into the woman's chest, knocking her to the ground, Pylon rose from his knelled position, Once back on his feet, he twirled his vibroblade in a quick circle, the blade hissing through the air as it separated unseen molecules of oxygen, before bringing the razor tip of the sword to Reina's throat. The bloodthirsty edge of his blade humming with intent, eager to cut and slice his enemy apart with ease and efficiency. He imagined that the faceless, T-Shaped visor of his helmet painted him more of an executioner then a bounty hunter.
"Had enough? Don't make me kill you, you're worth more to me alive."
To any other bounty hunter, and on any other bounty, that would have been the crippling blow-- both disarming and crippling their enemy's primary form of both offense and defense, followed by an incapacitating blow to the chest. It was enough to stop even a Wampa in it's tracks, let alone a petite woman such as Reina....But Reina was no other bounty. And Pylon was no other bounty hunter.
A twinge of instinct tugged on Zerga's mind, like an invisible string setting off a bell. Even from inside his armor's climate controlled body suit, he could feel the heat rising in the area between himself and Reina, like a draft of warmth from a freshly lit pyre. He knew what was happening before he could even react-- and he knew he would have no time to do so.
In the Acolyte's cornered fury, a massive bubble of concentrated Force energy began to form, forcing the air molecules to vibrate at combustible speeds. In less then a second, Reina released a ball of heat and flame,fueled only by her dedication to the Dark Side, just as she had done to the Rodian's innards.
The space between the defeated Reina and Pylon erupted into a wall of fire, sending a back-draft of heat to crash over his body and enveloped the entire lower level of the Wyrwulves' dance floor. More panicked and agonized screams filled the bar, fighting over the roar of the inferno. As the few patrons unlucky enough to vacate the premises when they could experienced the hellish death of being consumed by fire, the Mandalorian Hunter stood in the eye of the flaming tempest.
Pylon stood with his arms outstretched, left hand wide open as his right struggled to keep hold of his vibrosword. All around him the flames of the explosion whipped and whirled, dancing along an invisible shield, completely encasing his body. Even within the most literal translation of hell itself, Pylon kept his mind calm and blank, pushing all distractions to the deepest trenches of his conscious.
His Heads-up-display flashed warnings and alerts, almost blinding his vision and breaking his concentration. His armor's bodysuit was calibrated to give him constant updates on the both the state of his protective plates and his biological read-out. Thankfully, the Ultrachrome armoring was far from being damaged-- in fact, it was for situations like this that he chose the unorthodox material for his Beska'gam in the first place. The metal's ability to absorb and distribute heat throughout the entirety of it's structure allowedit from being unaffected by blasters, lightsabers-- and yes, even Force fueled infernos. Inside the silver sanctuary, Pylon was untouchable...for a while at least.
The real danger came from the threat of his bodysuit being unable to withstand the immense heat. The suit's climate control did it's best to keep his body at a liveable temperature, while switching over to it's emergency air supply to keep his lungs from being scorched by the combustion. He knew, however, even with the advanced control systems, heat resistant plates, and protective bubble of the Force, he would only have a minuet before he became the Galaxy's crispiest Bounty Hunter.
Straining to keep his shield raised, Pylon choked out three simple words that fought for acknowledgment in his battle-focused mind; "...Kara....Run...Now!". Before she could even voice her protest, he felt her defiance in her mind. She would be damned before she left him to burn at the hands of some hut'uun Jetiie!..But he couldn't focus if he was too worried about her making it out in time. The entire first floor of the bar had already caught fire, the heat raising enough to flash-fry unprotected patrons.
Without arguing, Kara reluctantly obeyed the order, slinging her rifle over her shoulder and began to search for a way out. She didn't tell him she loved him, or even to come back safely. He knew she did, and she knew he would.
Once sure that she had started her retreat, Pylon returned his mind at the task at hand. He had to move quickly, had to get out of this inferno before his bodysuit melted onto his skin...and he had to bring Reina with him. Bounties were usually less profitable if the target was dead, and were near impossible to collect on charred bones. Plus, he had some questions that needed answers.
With his eyes closed shut, he returned his sword back to it's sheath in one fluid, effortless motion. With his hands now free, he reached inside his kama, pulling out a pair of shiny, ultrachrome stun cuffs. He would only get one shot at this, so he had to make it count.
Finally releasing his concentration, Pylon ran and leap forward, rushing through the wall of flames, diving into a roll on the other side. As he tumbled head over boots, he allowed the Force to continue guiding his movements, propelling him much further then his muscles alone could provide. He rolled off his back, coming to a stop at a kneel next to the unconscious female's body, immediately slapping the binders on her wrists, the metal bands springing to light and constricting themselves on her as tight as possible. An added measure of precaution to ensure that Reina's capture.
With her hands properly bound, Pylon pulled her up and over his shoulder, his cybernetic hand keeping a tight, vice-like grip around the cuffs, his other hand steadying her by her leg, just like he was trained by Deccan to do for a fallen comrade. It kept your hands relatively free to operate a hand weapon, and the distributed weight over both his shoulder kept him from being bogged down. He was sure, that if she was awake, even now him so derperatly trying to save her life, the Dark Jedi would be screaming about him putting his hands on her, as if she were some delicacy that one should have should have to pay for the pleasure of touching.
Thankfully, the only sounds were that of fire licking the bar and it's customers who could do nothing but scream in agony. "Thankfully".
With Reina over his shoulders, Pylon rose to his feet, turning his attention to the second floor banister. With a grunt of effort, he ran at the deck overlooking the hellish blaze,aiming his right arm through his captive's locked wrists, at the durasteel landing. His gauntlet fired a shiny, grappling hook attached to a cable of fibercord, gears and servos reeled him through the air. He vaulted the banister mid flight, taking the force of the two bodies with the his cybernetic arm.
Once on the upper floor, he wasted no time, taking two long, quick strides followed by a forward jump, Pylon crashed through the glass window, falling to the street below. With the sudden opening caused a rush of air to rush towards the inferno inside. The backdraft resulted in an explosion to chase after the free-falling bounty hunter, like a hand of fire reaching out to consume him.
He hit the ground with a loud thud and metallic clang, hitting the permacrete with a bit of a roll, doing his best from keeping all of his weight from crushing the unconscious Reina. As soon as he realized he was clear, he rolled to his back, laying with his arms outstretched, starring up at the light polluted skyline. After a second, he reached his hands up to his helmet, breaking the seal and pushing it off of his face with careless abandon, letting it roll to the side.
He laid there for a minute, breathing in the cool, albeit foul smelling air of Ord Mantell. A crowd was already gathering to watch the building catch fire and burn. The proper authorities and firefighter crews would be here any minute to try and sedate the inferno the best they could, though probably to little avail. A sudden shadow darkened over his vision, blocking out the harsh fluorescent streetlights. He cracked his eyes open to see Kara's young, pale, pretty face draped in her long white hair, hanging over him with a curious, almost amused expression.
"You always did know how to make a dramatic exit, my darling. Always falling out of things. You know there was a fire exit right?" she giggled, walking around to stand with her legs on either side of him, reaching out her gauntlet clad arm. Pylon grasped it by her forearm, heaving himself up with her assistance before shrugging lightly.
"Yeah, but I haven't jumped out of a window in a while. It felt right. I would have been fine if i wasn't carrying an extra 15 kilos of Dark Jedi baggage." He chuckled, turning his attention to the still peacefully resting Reina. He walked over to her, pulling a small, thick, Force Restraint collar, slapping it on her neck in prideful victory. The device would prevent her from even being able to feel the Force, much less use it against them in transportation to the proper authorities who would be paying her hefty bounty.
Kara walked over to the captured Acolyte, grinning a bit with the same egotistical pride as Pylon had, jabbing Reina in the side with her boot. "So she used to be a pleasure slave?...That collar should feel like an old friend then." She smirked, clearly taking a bit of sadistic pleasure in adding insult to injury to the defeated Dark Jedi. Pylon raised an eyebrow, having to see the humor in the outspoken, frantically raving woman being so easily defeated and further humiliated.
"Yes, she definitely will not enjoy having that on. It's a similar sensation to having an eye plucked out. Trust me, I would know." He chuckled, reaching down to once again sling her limp body over his shoulder.
"Good. She's lucky I don't actually blind her...Or cut out her tongue. I would be doing the Galaxy a favor." Kara hissed, her hand drifting dangerously close to the vibroknife on her belt. Pylon simply shook his head, hooking his helmet on his belt with one hand.
"You would. But not yet, I still have some questions I need to ask her. Like where we can find her boss." He smirked, winking back at his wife before starting to march down the street, victim in tow. He got several accusing stares and hushed whispers in his direction, but the site of a Mandalorian carrying off his bounty on a planet like this, was all too common a site for any individual to actually try to intervene.
As he began making his way back to the space port, he could hear Kara grumbling beneath her breath, "There you go again, always keeping me from having any fun..." before sulkily following behind.
----------
Upon closer inspection, Pylon could tell that the young female was only a few years older then him, though clearly didn't look it. Her pale skin with the slightest hint of pink, in addition to her red and black eyes, he deduced she was some humanoid, probably mixed with a Zeltron. The name under the profile was Reina, a known associate with the newly formed "Family". The Jedi probably had entire task forces assigned to bringing the members in, squads of Jedi Shadows ready and waiting for their chance to cripple the Donna's might.
Pylon was also willing to do so...for a price.
Ever since becoming a Mandalorian, the Ex-Shadow used his newly formed contacts on shady backwater planets like this one to form a web of informants, each one constantly searching for any Dark Jedi or Sith Acolyte he could get information on. It was slow at first, but his feelers did eventually get back to him, with only a picture and a name. Reina's name.
As he muscled past the crowds of dancing patrons, Pylon started to realize that he was getting the sort of attention he didn't want. A Mando in full beskar'gam didn't exactly seem like Club wear. Still though, he would rather look the part of a bounty hunter then blending in to catch the Dark Jedi by surprise. He had enough on his mind with simply repressing his Force Energy.
A common practice he had taken up in his years since going Mando, Zerga began repressing his Force Energy for long periods of time. Although some level of constant concentration was needed, the advantage of being able to walk right up to a Force User without them even suspecting anything the matter was usually enough of an edge for him to take down most targets with quick ease. For others, Kara on support was also usually enough to take a Jetii by surprise.
She was on sniper tonight, watching the exits of the nightclub out of the scope of her high powered slugthrower. He could see her view of the building, darting from door to door, cross-hairs at perfect headshot level, from another small window in the corner of his HUD. It also displayed her full-body readout, heart-rate, and com-link channel.
"You got eyes-on?" Her voice crackled in his ear, calm and calculating as always.
"Not yet, too much going on in here." He groaned, his right cybernetic eye moving independently of his other, looking for the target.
"Yeah, I can tell. Stare at those cage-girls again and you're sleeping in the air-lock tonight." She huffed, clearly more serious then joking. Pylon simply chuckled under his breath, amused at how protective and jealous his beloved wife could be.
"I wasn't staring, I was scanning. You know I only have eyes for you, ner Ka'ra" he assured her, pushing his way past a group of dancers, twirling glowrods around their fingers with impressive dexterity.
"Yeah, scanning their shebse..." she hissed, her heart rate steadily climbing.
"You know, this is exactly why the Jedi--" His voice trailed off as a sudden shiver went down his spine, like someone had poured a gallon of ice water down his shirt. The feeling, as unnerving as it was, was all too familiar. It was a disturbance in the Force, the kind of ripple that could only be created when a powerful Dark Side technique was used.
He snapped his attention towards the bar, a primal sense altering him towards the danger. At the very far end of the club, in a small private booth, a woman sat next to a Rodian, who writhed and gasped in pain, smoke and light rising from his throat as a deathstick hung from his mouth. From this distance, Pylon couldn't tell if the smell of burning flesh was actually leaking it's way through his helmet's filtration system, or if it was only in his mind. The woman sat back, a wall of drinks in front of her, completely calm an in control of the situation, even going so far as to cozy herself up to the fresh corpse, pretending all was fine.
"I got eyes-on-target. Far end booth, on my 11 o'clock." He spat off quickly, slipping back into a disciplined soldier.
"I see her. Want my help?" Kara asked, eager to join her partner in crime. Pylon considered her offer for a moment, his eyes never leaving the smoldering body of the Rodian. Any Dark Jedi who bothered to learn such a powerful an destructive technique was sure to be more then a quick credit-chip. With Kara at his back, the two would have the advantage over her, able to divide her focus between them...but the risk of pitting his wife up against a powerful Dark Side user was unbearable.
"Negative. Hold position. In the end those who follow the Dark Side are cowards. If she tries to run, put a slug in her. With the crowd, I don't want any unnecessary firefights. Besides, if you're watching me, tion'ad hukaat'kama?" He smirked. Kara let out a growl of protest before, huffing loudly and zooming in on her scope. "You always get to have all the fun." she whined.
Pylon looked around for a way to sneak up on Reina, but her seat at the booth put her back to a wall. Smart. He had no choice in the matter then. Slipping a hand inside his kama, his fingers searched and fondled the handle of his blaster-pistol, unsnapping the strap that held it in place. He focused his attention on keeping his Force energy to a minimum as he calmly strode up to her table, readying himself for her cornered assault.
Once in front of her table, Pylon tilted his helmet down until his T-shaped visor was starring directly at Reina and her dead companion. "Hey there, Reina. Buy me a drink? I'll have anything except what he was having." he smirked, his voice coming out of his helmet amplified to be heard over the blaring music.
The woman looked up from corpse she was cuddling herself up to, starring the newly approached bounty hunter up and down slowly, like she was judging if he would make a suitable mate. After a moment, she curtly giggled before bursting out into laughter that suddenly ended as quickly as it began.
"Oh, what's this? Another bounty hunter come to make a quick fortune bringing me in? Or perhaps a Jedi looking to exact some justice in the world? Let me guess, you thought it would be easy, didn't you, with your roguish male charm and strapping, shiny armor? That I'd just fall into your lap, and let you slap your big, strong cuffs on me? Then tote me around by a chain, like a slave, completely helpless?No....No, I have been a slave before, and neither you....Or whoever it is you brought with you, are going to bring me back to that life!" She hissed over the blasting club music.
As soon as Reina started her speech, Pylon could hear Kara groaning in his ear. As soon the flawed logic and self-centered monologue began to spew, both of them had already heard enough. "Oh come on! Please, can I shoot her now?" Kara begged, the cross-hairs on her slugthrower softly bobbing up and down in response to her own excited bouncing. "She's monologuing . You know how much I love killing them when the monologue." She hissed, clearly having more problems with Reina's rant then Pylon did.
Reina proved herself to be truly gifted within the Force from the moment she started speaking. Pylon could feel her, reaching out with her mind's eye in the Force, scanning and washing over the patrons. He closed his eyes, letting himself be breezed with her gust of energy. After only a moment, she quickly revealed her knowledge of Kara's presence,causing the briefest flash of concern to grasp Pylon's emotions. He quickly calmed himself, realizing that though Reina could sense another presence, she couldn't place the who or where.
That was an advantage.
Due to the crowded club, Kara had the distinct advantage of anonymity. Though she lacked any true attunment to the Force herself, she was still deadly. Even more-so to Force Users, in fact. For Kara, being underestimated was one of her many tools, and her intuition was better then any foresight Pylon had ever seen. Plus, a Verpine Sniper rifle was a hell of a lot more direct then Force Push.
"Not yet, let her get herself worked up. Wait for her to leave herself open." he instructed softly through the comchannel, as Reina continued to prattle through her speech. On the outside, it seemed he was only silently listening, but in the inner sanctum of their helmets, Kara and Pylon were planning.
He hated these sort of speeches. Always assigning blame to those who had nothing to do with their problems. It was the way of the Sith, he realized, to always find fault in others for any of life's tragedies. It kept them full of hate, full of fear, and far away from acceptance as possible, in order to fuel their rage. The most experienced, learned Acolytes would internalize these feelings, turning them into a constant fire inside to forge their weapons of hatred.
Reina, however, was clearly not as mature in her way of thinking. She was lashing out, turning her fear and pain into blind rage, an inferno that would only leave her burned and exposed. Pylon could feel her hate rising, turning the ever constant calm of the Force into a white hot tempest of emotion. She was growing more hostile, sending ripples of energy through the air, only noticeable to the two of them. She was about to strike.
"Ka'ra, Hukaat'kama! Wait for me to give you a clean shot, then target her Jetii'kad!" he ordered quickly, just as Reina stood from her booth. As soon as she ignited her lightsaber, the bright red glow illuminating the multicolored nightclub, Pylon instantly tuned out everything, just as he had always been trained. Keeping his eyes shut and his face blank, the roar and beat of the music went completely silent. Time seemed to slow down, almost stand still, so that every movement of Reina's body was telegraphed to him before she even twitched. Her every action, bolstered by the power of the Dark Side was all so easily predicable to Pylon, who stood like a cipher amidst the chaos...
...And then he felt it. The slowly rising and uplifting aura that started from his core and reached out through his extremities, like a warm gust of wind rolling through his muscles. That familiar, consuming energy, the completely overpowering feeling of the Force, returning to his body. Through both extensive training and metaphysical guidance, his hands and fingers moved on their own. No sooner was he altered to the Acoylte's Force Push did he tap a small bump on his right gauntlet, activating the magna-seals in his boots, before crossing his arms to brace himself. With his feet securely planted to the floor, Pylon stood completely still as that same, dark red wave of energy blasted over his body. He stood firm, unwavering like a rock against a single tide.
All around him, however, the full effect of the technique was shown. Patrons and tables alike went flying, causing a perfectly traceable outline of a half-circle on the dance floor. Screams and shouts were heard by most, several of the crowd panicking as the sudden realization of Pylon and Reina's presence, the Sith with lightsaber in hand, Not Pylon though; he remained calm, still, motionless as if made of stone. In his mind, he was still repressing his energy, still holding back the floodgates...waiting for the perfect moment.
As soon as Reina's assault ended, turning her attention back to defense, Pylon took his moment. In a sudden release of willpower, Pylon opened the floodgate, releasing all of his Force Energy, letting it course through his muscles and veins. His movements were a blur, the rediscovered speed and strength returning back to him in a rush of power.
After weeks of weighing himself down, holding himself back, his bounds were finally cut. Pylon released in a second, what Reina expended all together. This was the difference between Jedi and Sith; the denying of oneself a release until the time calls for it, versus a life of excess.
Pylon's magna-seal boots deactivated with another press of the node on his gauntlet, before bringing his right hand up to his shoulder, grabbing the handle of his Vibroblade. Just as Reina lifted the couch into the air, she would see no more then a blur of silver and black darting across her vision as Pylon leap into the air at inhuman speed and height.
The second her cover brought in front of her face, Pylon was already in mid-swing of his high-frequency vibrosword, it's blade sparking to life, making a vicious crackling over the soft, tranquil hum. As he descended down in front of her, his cybernetic right arm struck out with mechanical perscion and speed, slicing an entire right half of the couch into several, evenly spaced cut marks. While none of these swings were close enough to actually make contact with his opponent, they did however, cut away a perfect view of her lightsaber.
A soft, almost silent crack of Kara's Verpine Shatter gun echoed into Pylon's helmet as soon as he touched the ground. The high speed slug sliced through the air at a fraction of a second, barreling straight for Reina's right hand, clenched tightly around her saber hilt. Kara had mad this shot a thousand times before, disarming confused and unsuspecting prey. At best, the small metal composite slug would collide straight into the lightsaber, destroying or at least disabling it for the remainder of the battle. The more likely shot, however, was the female sniper's personal favorite-- a hole straight through hand, shattering every delicate bone below the wrist. For most humanoids anyway.
The assault was not through yet though, as Pylon's free, left hand pulled his blaster from it's quick release holster, dialing a switch down with his thumb. As he whipped the weapon around, his body automatically locked him onto his target, firing three quick rounds of his DC-15s' stun blasters, intending to knock his opponent out in one fell swoop.
Reina would learn that Pylon was more then an overconfident Jedi in some shiny armor. He was an elite hunter with as much experience in bringing down Force Users as he did skill.
And, damn was he good.
Like a line of dominoes, Pylon's series of attacks connected perfectly, one after the other. Kara's quick reactions and dead-eye aim were something to behold, on par with her husband's own lethality. With less then a microsecond to aim and fire the perfect shot, the Verpine sniper rifle's bullet struck home in Reina's lightsaber. Both destroying the weapon and ripping a clean, perfectly round hole straight through the Dark Jedi's hand. Over their internal helmet comlinks, Pylon could hear his wife's hushed, quick giggle at her own achievement, followed by a whisper; "...Kandosii..".
As the three stun bolts from his blaster crashed into the woman's chest, knocking her to the ground, Pylon rose from his knelled position, Once back on his feet, he twirled his vibroblade in a quick circle, the blade hissing through the air as it separated unseen molecules of oxygen, before bringing the razor tip of the sword to Reina's throat. The bloodthirsty edge of his blade humming with intent, eager to cut and slice his enemy apart with ease and efficiency. He imagined that the faceless, T-Shaped visor of his helmet painted him more of an executioner then a bounty hunter.
"Had enough? Don't make me kill you, you're worth more to me alive."
To any other bounty hunter, and on any other bounty, that would have been the crippling blow-- both disarming and crippling their enemy's primary form of both offense and defense, followed by an incapacitating blow to the chest. It was enough to stop even a Wampa in it's tracks, let alone a petite woman such as Reina....But Reina was no other bounty. And Pylon was no other bounty hunter.
A twinge of instinct tugged on Zerga's mind, like an invisible string setting off a bell. Even from inside his armor's climate controlled body suit, he could feel the heat rising in the area between himself and Reina, like a draft of warmth from a freshly lit pyre. He knew what was happening before he could even react-- and he knew he would have no time to do so.
In the Acolyte's cornered fury, a massive bubble of concentrated Force energy began to form, forcing the air molecules to vibrate at combustible speeds. In less then a second, Reina released a ball of heat and flame,fueled only by her dedication to the Dark Side, just as she had done to the Rodian's innards.
The space between the defeated Reina and Pylon erupted into a wall of fire, sending a back-draft of heat to crash over his body and enveloped the entire lower level of the Wyrwulves' dance floor. More panicked and agonized screams filled the bar, fighting over the roar of the inferno. As the few patrons unlucky enough to vacate the premises when they could experienced the hellish death of being consumed by fire, the Mandalorian Hunter stood in the eye of the flaming tempest.
Pylon stood with his arms outstretched, left hand wide open as his right struggled to keep hold of his vibrosword. All around him the flames of the explosion whipped and whirled, dancing along an invisible shield, completely encasing his body. Even within the most literal translation of hell itself, Pylon kept his mind calm and blank, pushing all distractions to the deepest trenches of his conscious.
His Heads-up-display flashed warnings and alerts, almost blinding his vision and breaking his concentration. His armor's bodysuit was calibrated to give him constant updates on the both the state of his protective plates and his biological read-out. Thankfully, the Ultrachrome armoring was far from being damaged-- in fact, it was for situations like this that he chose the unorthodox material for his Beska'gam in the first place. The metal's ability to absorb and distribute heat throughout the entirety of it's structure allowedit from being unaffected by blasters, lightsabers-- and yes, even Force fueled infernos. Inside the silver sanctuary, Pylon was untouchable...for a while at least.
The real danger came from the threat of his bodysuit being unable to withstand the immense heat. The suit's climate control did it's best to keep his body at a liveable temperature, while switching over to it's emergency air supply to keep his lungs from being scorched by the combustion. He knew, however, even with the advanced control systems, heat resistant plates, and protective bubble of the Force, he would only have a minuet before he became the Galaxy's crispiest Bounty Hunter.
Straining to keep his shield raised, Pylon choked out three simple words that fought for acknowledgment in his battle-focused mind; "...Kara....Run...Now!". Before she could even voice her protest, he felt her defiance in her mind. She would be damned before she left him to burn at the hands of some hut'uun Jetiie!..But he couldn't focus if he was too worried about her making it out in time. The entire first floor of the bar had already caught fire, the heat raising enough to flash-fry unprotected patrons.
Without arguing, Kara reluctantly obeyed the order, slinging her rifle over her shoulder and began to search for a way out. She didn't tell him she loved him, or even to come back safely. He knew she did, and she knew he would.
Once sure that she had started her retreat, Pylon returned his mind at the task at hand. He had to move quickly, had to get out of this inferno before his bodysuit melted onto his skin...and he had to bring Reina with him. Bounties were usually less profitable if the target was dead, and were near impossible to collect on charred bones. Plus, he had some questions that needed answers.
With his eyes closed shut, he returned his sword back to it's sheath in one fluid, effortless motion. With his hands now free, he reached inside his kama, pulling out a pair of shiny, ultrachrome stun cuffs. He would only get one shot at this, so he had to make it count.
Finally releasing his concentration, Pylon ran and leap forward, rushing through the wall of flames, diving into a roll on the other side. As he tumbled head over boots, he allowed the Force to continue guiding his movements, propelling him much further then his muscles alone could provide. He rolled off his back, coming to a stop at a kneel next to the unconscious female's body, immediately slapping the binders on her wrists, the metal bands springing to light and constricting themselves on her as tight as possible. An added measure of precaution to ensure that Reina's capture.
With her hands properly bound, Pylon pulled her up and over his shoulder, his cybernetic hand keeping a tight, vice-like grip around the cuffs, his other hand steadying her by her leg, just like he was trained by Deccan to do for a fallen comrade. It kept your hands relatively free to operate a hand weapon, and the distributed weight over both his shoulder kept him from being bogged down. He was sure, that if she was awake, even now him so derperatly trying to save her life, the Dark Jedi would be screaming about him putting his hands on her, as if she were some delicacy that one should have should have to pay for the pleasure of touching.
Thankfully, the only sounds were that of fire licking the bar and it's customers who could do nothing but scream in agony. "Thankfully".
With Reina over his shoulders, Pylon rose to his feet, turning his attention to the second floor banister. With a grunt of effort, he ran at the deck overlooking the hellish blaze,aiming his right arm through his captive's locked wrists, at the durasteel landing. His gauntlet fired a shiny, grappling hook attached to a cable of fibercord, gears and servos reeled him through the air. He vaulted the banister mid flight, taking the force of the two bodies with the his cybernetic arm.
Once on the upper floor, he wasted no time, taking two long, quick strides followed by a forward jump, Pylon crashed through the glass window, falling to the street below. With the sudden opening caused a rush of air to rush towards the inferno inside. The backdraft resulted in an explosion to chase after the free-falling bounty hunter, like a hand of fire reaching out to consume him.
He hit the ground with a loud thud and metallic clang, hitting the permacrete with a bit of a roll, doing his best from keeping all of his weight from crushing the unconscious Reina. As soon as he realized he was clear, he rolled to his back, laying with his arms outstretched, starring up at the light polluted skyline. After a second, he reached his hands up to his helmet, breaking the seal and pushing it off of his face with careless abandon, letting it roll to the side.
He laid there for a minute, breathing in the cool, albeit foul smelling air of Ord Mantell. A crowd was already gathering to watch the building catch fire and burn. The proper authorities and firefighter crews would be here any minute to try and sedate the inferno the best they could, though probably to little avail. A sudden shadow darkened over his vision, blocking out the harsh fluorescent streetlights. He cracked his eyes open to see Kara's young, pale, pretty face draped in her long white hair, hanging over him with a curious, almost amused expression.
"You always did know how to make a dramatic exit, my darling. Always falling out of things. You know there was a fire exit right?" she giggled, walking around to stand with her legs on either side of him, reaching out her gauntlet clad arm. Pylon grasped it by her forearm, heaving himself up with her assistance before shrugging lightly.
"Yeah, but I haven't jumped out of a window in a while. It felt right. I would have been fine if i wasn't carrying an extra 15 kilos of Dark Jedi baggage." He chuckled, turning his attention to the still peacefully resting Reina. He walked over to her, pulling a small, thick, Force Restraint collar, slapping it on her neck in prideful victory. The device would prevent her from even being able to feel the Force, much less use it against them in transportation to the proper authorities who would be paying her hefty bounty.
Kara walked over to the captured Acolyte, grinning a bit with the same egotistical pride as Pylon had, jabbing Reina in the side with her boot. "So she used to be a pleasure slave?...That collar should feel like an old friend then." She smirked, clearly taking a bit of sadistic pleasure in adding insult to injury to the defeated Dark Jedi. Pylon raised an eyebrow, having to see the humor in the outspoken, frantically raving woman being so easily defeated and further humiliated.
"Yes, she definitely will not enjoy having that on. It's a similar sensation to having an eye plucked out. Trust me, I would know." He chuckled, reaching down to once again sling her limp body over his shoulder.
"Good. She's lucky I don't actually blind her...Or cut out her tongue. I would be doing the Galaxy a favor." Kara hissed, her hand drifting dangerously close to the vibroknife on her belt. Pylon simply shook his head, hooking his helmet on his belt with one hand.
"You would. But not yet, I still have some questions I need to ask her. Like where we can find her boss." He smirked, winking back at his wife before starting to march down the street, victim in tow. He got several accusing stares and hushed whispers in his direction, but the site of a Mandalorian carrying off his bounty on a planet like this, was all too common a site for any individual to actually try to intervene.
As he began making his way back to the space port, he could hear Kara grumbling beneath her breath, "There you go again, always keeping me from having any fun..." before sulkily following behind.
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So this was basically an old thread that i rewrote to be a 'one and done topic'. The only reason i still have it is because i don't like to throw any of my old posts away and save them for extremely long periods of time because i have a hoarding problem . I just figured some people might like to read it, and i always love showing Pylon x Kara banter. Might use this later for something. Feel free to drop a line of criticism or compliments!