Private Nothing Sacred

[Atin Tracinya]

Narudar. Enemy of my enemy. Not quite friends, but at least temporary allies. It wasn't wrong, not in the slightest. Atin still had every intention of delivering Carden to the nearest bounty office he could find, and there was no way he was going to let a bunch of Imperials rob him of that bounty. But to do that, they needed to work together.

The Raven wasted no time in arming herself, and though Atin knew better than to turn his back on someone who benefited from his death, he did so anyways to prepare his own weapons. She wasn't stupid, she needed him, and he needed her. Narudar. Atin grabbed a trio of thermal detonators, and fastened them to his utility belt before grabbing a plastoid vest, painted in grey and orange, the colors of his aliit, and pulled it on.

Two slugthrowers were next. A handgun in his hip holster, and a scattergun. Anymore would take too long to load, and he'd be encumbered, though he would not have complained about an assault rifle had he had the time. These would have to do for now. The plastoid armor used by modern forces did little to halt a slugthrower's projectile, and better yet, Jedi couldn't deflect them back at him. Besides, Atin had no qualms about killing poachers.

Atin racked the scattergun's pump and moved towards the cargo bay. It took skill to wield these kinds of weapons, but in the tight quarters of a ship, and with a widespread, Atin did not need to aim. They just needed to get out of the hangar.

"Find the tractor beam controls, release our ship, disable the tractor beam, and then we're out of here," Atin reiterated the plan in mando'a one last time as he prepared to lower the ramp.

"Bring Anna Carden out and we'll let you off with a warning." The muffled voice of what Atin could only assume to be the chief security officer came through the other side of the Brave's hull, projected loudly over the frigate's intercom system.

The ramp went down, and flames lit up the dim hangar alongside the red flashing lights of klaxons and their grating sounds. The report of Atin's pistol echoed as a slug opened up a wide hole in one of the trooper's necks. Green blaster bolts lanced around and Atin ran for the first solid piece of cover he could find.

Anna Carden

 

[Anna Carden]

"Find the tractor beam controls, release our ship, disable the tractor beam, and then we're out of here."

Time to execute the plan. The mercs were taken by surprise by her showy entrance before one of them got unceremoniously killed by a slug fired by Atin. Ugh, no half-measures, huh? As the troopers quickly turned to the bigger threat, Anna found her opening and quickly dashed down a doorway into a pretty tight hallway.

"Alright, where to go..."

Coming into an intersection, the Mandalorian chose what she usually does; when in doubt, just go right. Running in that exact direction, Anna stumbled upon two unprepared troops, whose kneecaps were instantly taken out by two well-placed blaster shots. Continuing down, her jog was stopped by a door, which was easily opened by shooting the control panel to its side. Millions of years of technology improvements and security were as sad as this...

Stepping into the room, Anna found something better than tractor beam controls: the power generator! Not only disabling it would render the tractor beam useless, but they wouldn't be able to catch them or shoot them down while they are escaping. Placing a rectangular-shaped small charge on it, she quickly turned around and started making her way back to the smaller ship.

Arriving at the hangar, more arriving troops were still trying to shoot someone near the corvette. Very impressive of him to be able to hold out this long. Shifting into a sprint toward the Brave, the Red Raven shouted toward the guy, ushering him to return back inside the ship. "Hey, let's take off!"

Tanking several blaster shots on her back, she finally made it back inside the corvette. "Fire the engine when you're ready." She showed the remote detonator in her left hand. The timing needs to be tight, or else the PDS would engage the emergency power source and they'll just get recaptured.

Atin Tracinya

 

[Atin Tracinya]

No sooner had the first of their comrades fallen did all the mercenaries turn to start raining a hail of blaster bolts on Atin. He swear he could smell singed hair as he crouched behind a couple of shipping crate. Risking a peak over the top of them, the man glimpsed the armored form of Carden, dashing through a pair of blast doors before they snapped shut behind her. Well, things were going as planned so far. Technically.

That did, however, leave Atin to face a platoon of ex-stormtroopers on his own. A fact that became increasingly prominent the more blaster bolts zipped past Atin's head. Atin dipped back behind the cargo again, the sounds of bolts pinging off the metal becoming a cacophonous symphony as the man decided on his next move.

"He's pinned! Move in!" the commander barked orders at the former troopers. Despite the Empire's fall many years ago, they all retained their discipline, their function as a well oiled machine of war not diminished in the slightest. The troopers kept up the barrage of fire as they continued to close in around the bounty hunter's position. He was done for.

"Grenade!"

At least three troopers were caught in the grenade's blast radius, bits of shrapnel shredding their plastoid armor, and sending them flying backwards. The shockwaves and surprise interrupted the endless onslaught of blasters for just a moment. Just long enough for Atin to leap out from behind cover, shotgun in hand, and for him to pull the trigger.

As close as the troopers were, one was knocked clear off his feet as Atin racked the pump for a second shot at the next target, similarly knocking him flat onto his back before taking cover again. Just in time too, green bolts flew through the space he'd been occupying just moments earlier.

The cat and mouse game went on for minutes, the relentless advance of the troopers having been broken. Atin's position was easily defensible, but the mercenaries' number drew them into a stalemate. Atin had begun to wonder if Carden had made it to the tractor beam controls when the blast doors hissed open again, and the woman sprinted towards the ship, shouting at him to start take off.

Atin backed into the ship slowly, alternating to his handgun covering Carden as best he could until she made it onboard. Bless beskar'gam.

Remote detonator in hand, Carden told him to fire up the engines, and the man sprinted back to the cockpit. Switches flipped, lights green, the thrusters roared to life as he started to lift the cargo ramp.

"Hang on tight!"

Anna Carden

 

[Anna Carden]

"Hang on tight!"

The engines coming back to life was her cue; pressing the detonator button caused an explosion in the generator room, shutting the entire frigate's power system down, including the lights, engine, shield, and weapons. The Brave quickly took off the hangar as fast as possible, with Anna making her way to the cockpit to check if the frigate managed to come back online with emergency power.

Nope. "We're clear! It shouldn't be able to catch up!" Even if they manage to get it back now, they've already made a lot of distance that even if those TIEs were deploying again they'll just run out of fuel before they could reach the corvette.

"Phew," She let out a relieved sigh, putting her hand on the man's right shoulder. "Nicely done. Though there's still one problem."

"I don't plan to get delivered to whoever issued half a mil on me."

She quickly went behind Atin's seat with the intent of choking him unconscious from the back with a lock, hoping that he wasn't prepared for the surprise attack.

Atin Tracinya

 

[Atin Tracinya]

The pair of mandalorians were pressed back into their seats as the Brave rocketed forwards. Moments later the hull shuddered violently as flames engulfed the viewport only to disappear moments later as the ship shot out of the explosion, still intact. "We're clear! It shouldn't be able to catch up!" Anna said, the cockpit door hissing open and shut as she entered. "Can't stop now. Better to put some distance between us anyways."

A minute or more of flight, and the frigate behind them was little more than a speck behind them, with no signs of pursuit. Atin let out a sigh of relief and ran his fingers through his hair. Sweat had collected on his forehead, and his heart still thudded in his chest the adrenaline still coursing through his system. He hadn't expected to face off with a platoon of stormtroopers on this hunt, and yet he had. And he was still here.

Anna seemed to share the same breath of relief as she put a hand on Atin's shoulder. "Nicely done. Though there's still one problem."
'Haran.'
"I don't plan to get delivered to whoever issued half a mil on me."

Atin didn't have a chance to react as Anna slid behind his seat and her arm snaked around his neck. Despite being larger than her, the chair, the console, all worked together prevent Atin from standing and struggling. His feet kicked at the console with loud bangs. Fingers clawed at the armored limb around his neck as his vision faded. And then it was all black.

Anna Carden

 

[Anna Carden]

Her prey struggled, but the design of the pilot seat was perfect to do this, with no room to leave any opening even if he tried to kick around and claw on his own neck. It took a moment before she felt the resistance weaken before Atin went limp on the seat.

"Nighty night," She quipped after making sure the man was really unconscious, rather than faking it. She didn't want to choke him longer than she intended, so Anna loosened up and eventually released her grip. Opening one of his eyelids, she confirmed that the man was really out cold. "Sorry, nothing personal. At least I'll let you off with your ship and everything..."

"... After I steer this ship somewhere else." She just let him drop on the floor, flipping him and putting the cuffs she took from the equipment storage on his hands while the man slept on the cold cockpit floor as dragging him to the cell was going to take too much effort. Then she disarmed the visible weapons he had on his person. When he awakes, she'll know.

The huntress wanted to return this ship to the planet where she left her initial prey and ship behind. However, the mercenaries were probably still hanging around in there, so she just set the destination to the nearest planet, with a plan to hitch a ride somewhere else and return later. The hyperdrive was still not working, so Anna set the autopilot on while waiting to arrive, keeping an eye on the guy. Soon, the Brave slowly approached a habitable planet, and the Red Raven readied to land.

Atin Tracinya

 

[Atin Tracinya]

Consciousness was not Atin's friend this time. A dull ache on the side of his head made the man grumble with discontent as his eyes slowly opened. The cold steel floor of the Brave. He must've hit his head somehow. Oh, right. Carden. Atin silently cursed himself. He'd let his guard down, and she'd gotten the drop on him. An amateur mistake, and one he was not keen on repeating. Most would've just killed him on the spot.

So why hadn't she? Wasn't she supposed to be some cold-blooded killer. A hunter with no code? Now that Atin thought about it, the Raven had set her blaster to stun when they'd had their little shoot out back at the cantina. Not at all how the briefings had described her. Atin wasn't paid to think though, and there was still the matter of being bound.

The stiff, cold material biting against his wrists indicated handcuffs, and not just some rope. After a little bit of maneuvering, the man managed to sit on his haunches and look around himself to gather his bearings. Just like he thought, he was still in the cockpit, and in all her gall, Carden sat in his seat, piloting the craft like it she owned it.

There was no way to be quiet. No way to incapacitate her with his arms tied behind his back, moving too much would only alert her to his awakening, if he hadn't already. Other options? Not really any, for once. A low rumble of displeasure rumbled from the mandalorian's throat before he addressed her. "So what's the plan now?" he asked. "Kill me, leave my corpse somewhere it'll be noticed as a warning to others who come after you or something?" Not exactly how Atin wanted to go out, but everything he'd witnessed so far told him the thought had probably not even crossed her mind.

 

[Anna Carden]

it was a pretty uneventful, slow flight to the surface of the planet. Hearing some small noises from behind, she deduced the man had regained consciousness already as Anna continued to fly the aircraft lower to the planet. It's not like he could try to pull anything in that position, she made sure of it.

At least until the man uttered the stupidest question ever.

"Yes," The Mandalorian answered, before explaining sarcastically without missing a single beat, with exaggerated hand motions. "Exactly why I wasted the effort to just put you to sleep, drag your heavy body, and handcuff you alive. Instead of just shooting you in the head as I entered the cockpit..."

She got up from the seat and turned around, slowly taking off her helmet to deeply inhale for a full three seconds before unleashing the loudest, high-pitched shout Atin might have heard in his life up until now.

"ARE YOU KRIFFING STUPID, MISTER???!!!"

Delivering a quick low kick onto the man's side, the huntress quickly turned back and put on her helmet once more, getting into the pilot seat again to finish the landing as she uttered some protest. "... I cannot BELIEVE I got captured by an idiot like this." After angling the ship and pushing the auto-landing switch, she cracked her knuckles, expressing a future goal.

"I'm gonna find whoever put half a mil on my head for no clear reason, and probably smash their head in."

Atin Tracinya

 

[Atin Tracinya]

"Yes," the answer came, calmly. Welp, there went all of Atin's hopes and thoughts about the woman. He was a deadman if he didn't find a way out of this, and quick. "Exactly why I wasted the effort to just put you to sleep, drag your heavy body, and handcuff you alive. Instead of just shooting you in the head as I entered the cockpit..."

Oh, she was being sarcastic.

"OW! That fething hurt!" Atin swore as Carden drove the tip of her boot into his already broken ribs. To add insult to injury, he could almost swear that the ear closes to the woman was bleeding with how high her voice had gone as she shouted at him.

Brown eyes followed the woman as she walked to the pilot's console and pressed a button before cracking her knuckles. "That's not exactly gonna help your situation," the man observed. "Every bounty hunter with a shred of honor is gunning for you, and even a few without." The one's who saw the juicy payday. "Killing someone else is just gonna stack that bounty higher and higher." He watched her. Carefully. The way she stood, every reaction to every word he said. Everything. "Why'd you kill those other hunters? Was the payout worth it?"

Anna Carden

 

[Anna Carden]

"OW! That fething hurt!"

"Of course it hurts! It is supposed to be!" She snapped back at the handcuffed man. As they could feel the ship touching down on the ground, she was prepared to leave while hearing a drunk monologue about bounty hunters with honor and such. Anna has zero idea what he was blabbering about.

"Killing someone else is just gonna stack that bounty higher and higher."

"Who's saying that I'm going to kill them? I'm just gonna make them regret living. Until they recall the bounty."

The huntress was making her way to leave the cockpit when the man said another random piece. "Why'd you kill those other hunters? Was the payout worth it?"

"Eh?" She stopped, turning around to look at the man on the ground. "What other hunters? What payout?" Quickly crossing her arms, she explained to Atin. "I don't know what spice you are smoking, but I don't kill except the bounty specifically said so." The woman even added. "And I have taken exactly zero kill bounties, so, I don't know where you got that idea."

Did she choke him too hard? The lack of oxygen killed some of his brain cells, apparently. Now Anna felt really bad.

"Look, because you're not in your clear mind, I'm just gonna place the key on this corner." Probably going to take him ten minutes to crawl there and attempt to pick up the small key with some struggle, that's enough time for her to hitch a ride somewhere. "If you try to follow me, I WILL kick you again. And the kick is going between your legs next time."

Atin Tracinya

 

[Atin Tracinya]

Atin stared daggers at Carden as she strode towards the door. Every breath was painful at this point. Atin was just lucky the woman's boot hadn't jabbed one of his fractured ribs into his lung and punctured it. All the anger and pain in the world though wouldn't change how unbelievably awful the woman's 'plan' was though. "That seems...poorly thought out..." Atin muttered. Seriously? Bashing the dude's head in? Atin was doubtful that the man would withdraw the bounty if she did that. If anything, it would get him to hike it up.

As soon as Atin mentioned the other hunters, the dead, Carden paused turning towards him, looking both confused and offended. She didn't take kill bounties. She used her blaster almost exclusively on stun. She didn't know any other hunters. And most importantly, Atin was still alive. Things weren't adding up. Not at all.

"Look, because you're not in your clear mind, I'm just gonna place the key on this corner." Atin's eyes followed the mandalorian as she placed the magnacuff release key on the otherside of the cockpit before she issued another threat. Atin had to make a conscious effort to not wince at the idea of those beskar clad boots nailing him somewhere very unpleasant.

He waited until she left the cockpit, then roughly ten seconds more, just to ensure she wouldn't come back and try to shoot him while he was distracted. Once those ten seconds were up, Atin pushed himself onto his side, letting out a sharp cry of pain as his ribs smarted viciously again. No time to worry about that right now though, the man wormed his way to the keys. By the time he'd finally managed to remove his restraints, and dash down to the cargo hold, Carden was already speeding off on his swoop bike.

Haran.

Anna Carden