Old Relics

[Darth Prazutis]

Nar Shaddaa

The Smuggler's Moon they called it Prazutis preferred to call it the Hole. Nar Shaddaa was a corrupt hole where everyone was on the take, you were unusual and suspicious if you werent taking bribes or deeply corrupt and still living there or living period. It had been a long time since Prazutis came to the Vertical City, at one time it was a part of his old stomping grounds back when he hired himself out as a mercenary, a hitman, and a favored assassin to the Hutt Cartels many years ago they loved to frequent this planet and essentially owned it in all but name. So he'd often frequent their favored dark clubs and dens, the hutts did love their dingy holes nice and dark with the smell of spice heavy in the air.

Prazutis wasn't coming here because he loved to visit, he had important business here. Vilaz Munin, a powerful mandalorian Field Marshal and an avid mercenary who he fought alongside reached out to him. Prazutis found it odd that out of anyone he could call that the mercenary made the decision to call him for help. Vilaz was on good terms and he was an ally, and grateful allies were more favors in his pocket. He took one of the many KI-AC-MkI-Interceptors in his fleet and immediately set out for the crime controlled world. It was simply amazing how on Nar Shaddaa you could disappear or be the biggest public face with the right deposit of credits to the right people. Prazutis had no intention of making his appearance public especially to some of his old colleagues or employers who he didn't feel like dealing with right now.

Just as his ship docked Prazutis contacted [member="Vilaz Munin"] again "Mr. Munin I've landed on Nar Shaddaa, I trust his is important so where can we meet?"

 

[Vilaz Munin]

He felt the need to smoke, but refused so no one could have a lucky glance of his face. The Warrior wouldn't allow any non-Mandalorian to get a look of his face, for it could lead to people blackmailing him and using his physical information as a way to gain advantage over him. Most Mandalorians acted this way and whenever someone asked or demanded to see their face under their helmet, then that person would be in so much heat and trouble since it was a disrespectful thing to ask to such person of a Warrior Society.

He was still waiting outside of the cantina where the Herglic was temporary residing in and then heard the comlink of his helmet reacting. Surprised to see it was Braxus and not the Mandalorian he, supposedly, contacted with he answered the call and heard the Zambrano dialoging with him. He was much more surprised to hear that he was here on Nar Shaddaa wanting to help his cause, but rolled with the ball.

"I'm sending you the coordinates of my location. I'm outside a cantina with a big sign on it, shouldn't be too hard to find."

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

"Affirmative, on my way." Prazutis switched off his channel and immediately began weaving through the crowds of Nar Shaddaa. So many different shapes and sizes of peopled milled about in the dingy, dark, spice soaked streets but a Mandalorian armed for war was something that tended to stand out in a crowd of people. Especially since the reputation they had with other people who thought getting in a Mandalorian's way would get you killed. Prazutis however was the opposite and he practically disappeared into the crowds that flowed to and fro like a wave, people always moving so fast rushing to get to wherever is so important.

Thankfully Vilaz was fairly close to where he had landed and Prazutis didn't have to walk for too long. The cloaked hunters theory proved to be right especially when he neared the building with the giant sign on top and the crowds were giving the mandalorian a wide berth. He approached quietly on the mans side. "Good to see you again, whats the target?"

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The software within his helmet kept him on guard and any eye on all angles around him. If someone where to sneak up on him from behind and mug him, then that assailant would only be greeted back with a one-way-ticket-to-hell from the Field Marshal himself. The only reason why he let the early Torguta alive was because he confronted the man face-to-face and not attack him from the back. It was a coward's method to surprise attack on an unaware enemy which would leave the attacked with no honor or dignity in them at all. Fortunately, for him and the public, no one had the guts to try something stupid on the armored figure because that would only leave the pavement stained and painted with blood and cause a riot in this avenue.

He could see [member="Darth Prazutis"] quietly approaching him with grace via his 360 HUD. The Warrior made no attempt to attack him since those robes were not the type that one would see her on Nar Shaddaa. "Likewise, Braxus," the Mandalorian began before answering his question, "ever heard of the famous ship called Slave I?" He would continue on with a different dialogue depending on the answer from the Sith Knight.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Slave I?

So that's why he came all the way out to this dingy filth encrusted world, he was looking for information. Slave I was the infamous signature ship of Boba Fett, the ancient son of Jango Fett and a legendary Mandalore of the Mandalorian people. Boba Fett was the galaxy's best bounty hunter before he became Mandalore and his powerful ship was an icon in the galaxy. If you saw Slave I approaching your home you knew that the end was near.

Slave I was a terror on the galaxy and a staple of Boba Fett's legacy. The ship existed before Boba Fett and it existed even after the man's death, albeit disappearing into the backdrop of the galaxy after countless wars, a Gulag Virus that held the galaxy in a vice grip, and a Netherworld that caused many people to disappear the legendary ship slipped into legend. Prazutis nodded as he leaned up against the building alongside Vilaz "Slave I. The Flagship of Mandalore known as Boba Fett I'm aware of such a ship." He replied. "It's become legend after Mandalore's death and its disappearance, your seeking it out?" Prazutis added. This was going to be fun.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The Mandalorian was glad to hear that the Zambrano knew some history about Slave I and Boba Fett. If one were to not know these legendary icons, then it would be safe to consider them as an ignorant living in a society that knew no history regarding of one of the most successful and feared Bounty Hunters that had ever lived, and then became Mandalore during one of the most historical wars that spread across the stars of the Galaxy: The Yuuzhan Vong Invasion. Perhaps if Boba Fett never survived the Sarlaac Pit, then things as they were right now could be Vong-formed and these Force Dead creatures would have a tight, iron grip on the Galaxy.

As the Sith Knight finished his sentences the Field Marshal would reply back to the man. "Glad to know you know something. And I am after it, but some Herglic has the keys to it and he's right inside the cantina behind us." His concealed face still looking straight at the masses scum that walked throughout the streets of the criminal metropolis.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

So the mandalorian bounty hunter is hunting through the galaxy to find Slave I, the ship of another mandalorian bounty hunter, how ironic. Prazutis didn't expect for them to find the new owner of slave one so easy, and find out that it was a herglic no less. A crowded cantina was dangerous and there was a lot of variables to take into account not to mention a herglic wasn't going to go down quietly. Prazutis was running over the different scenarios in his mind on encountering him right in public, or waiting for the man to leave. But still they needed to find exactly where Slave I was and what hangar it was in, if the herglic didn't talk they'd have to go on another hunt to find the ship.

Prazutis nodded at Vilaz's mentioning of the herglic being in the cantina "So how do you want to play it? If he doesn't talk here we won't be able to find Slave I..of course there are other ways to make someone talk." Prazutis replied, of course the herglic would talk if he made him, his powers of the mind were great and such a burly beast wouldn't be able to last long under his mental assault.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

"We're gonna wait until he gets his whale ass outta there and we're gonna follow him, that's what we're gonna do. Once we know where the ship is at, we're either gonna steal it under the guy's nose or we're just gonna have to kill him and have some Herglic for dinner. That's what we're gonna do," the Mandalorian said to the Sith Knight as he disclosed his plan when Braxus asked him what was the game-plan. It was a waste of time to interrogate the alien rather than combining the skills of both the Mandalorian and the Sith Knight to finish the job swiftly with grace. It'd be, also, much more easier to trace the tracks of a target so that way they could exploit their associates, friends, family, loved ones, hangouts, irreplaceable objects, property, and many other factors that would make one tremble and kneel in defeat and would accept, with no objection, the terms from their opponent.

"If that doesn't work out, then we'll just come up with some random plan and go on from there." With that he motioned the man to come with him as he took voyage to the rooftop of the opposite building of the cantina they were outside of.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Prazutis grinned as the man laid out his plan how he was going to retrieve Slave I from the inebriated herglic in the bar behind them. The mandalorians were considered a rude and brash people for a reason, and they sure lived up to their name. But Prazutis liked to get straight to the point for something like this there was no reason to beat around the bush, it was a simple retrieval of the objective. But the hunter in him was always thinking and planning for every outcome, how many men were in this herglics' crew? How skilled of a warrior was the herglic? Could they kill him before he gets Slave I operational and escapes leaving them to continue the chase through the skies of Nar Shaddaa. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Underestimating your enemy, even if it was some tavern drinking blubber bursting herglic bounty hunter it was crucial to survival and success. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]"I can make him talk if need be whether he wants to or not. An intoxicated herglic shouldn't be an issue crew or no crew." [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Prazutis replied to Vilaz, while leering at a passing civilian who looked, half nervous half curious at the black skull helmed man, and his mandalorian friend. The man's reaction clearly driven by fear caused him to hastily dissapear ahead into the crowd. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]"They'll never see us coming, I don't think anything should go wrong."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt][member="Vilaz Munin"][/SIZE]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Vilaz could only shrug as the Sith Knight continued to persuade him of his idea. The Mandalorian still thought it was a bad idea because the Herglic could have some training against mentalist powers from a Force User, and that could risk this whole search mission for Vilaz. He had so much to loose right now if he didn't return this relic to his people, but Braxus, on the other hand, had nothing to loose as he wasn't part of his culture. He could only sigh to finalize and the plan.

"Fine, we'll do it your way, but you best pray you don't screw up cause it's gonna tick me off and I'm damn sure you know what happens when you anger someone like me," the Field Marshal warned the Zambrano, allowing the Sith Knight to try his approach on the Herglic. There was no need for the Redneck to inform the Sith what would happen if there was a minor mistake coming from him. Braxus should know by now what would happen if he did screwed up since this was a Mandalorian. The help was appreciated, but the Zambrano was pushing his idea to be utilized rather than Vilaz's original strategy, and so Braxus would take responsibility if his plan screwed up the whole search of Slave I.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Screwing up something as important as the hunt for Slave I could be bad for any chance of friendship between the two, and relations between Mandalorians and Sith. The ship that Vilaz was hunting was practically a religious icon to the mandalorian peoples and he would take special offense if Prazutis were to screw this up by mentally destroying the man without getting the information they needed. But for more years than he could remember Prazutis had been cultivating his abilities of the mind, how to push someone to their breaking point without stepping over the metaphorical edge that forever sends them down the path of madness, of deep irreparable mental scarring. "I understand. I will break this foolish herglic like the branch of a tree, and you will have your ship." Prazutis replied to Vilaz. "I promise you."

Several hours later...

Night enveloped the Smuggler's Moon and the crowds got dirtier, and creepier the later it got. As if that was possible the scum of Nar Shaddaa came out of whatever holes they crawled out of at night. Prazutis found it strange that this particular tavern chosen by the herglic even bothered closing, but luckily for the two warriors on the hunt it did. The doors constantly swung open as people gradually filed out. So far the herglic hadn't left just yet and Prazutis expected the whale to stay to the last possible moment, a heavy drinker always did. The hours ticked by fast however as thoughts raced across his mind, stakeouts like this brought back old memories of the wild times.

Many, many years ago Prazutis often did things like this, if a mark went into a public place such as this then it was his prerogative to wait for the man to leave and ambush them in a more remote area. The Hutt Cartel wanted contracts done to the letter, especially subtle ones so they couldn't be implicated in the murder. Braxus was one of the best in their employ and often he carried these missions out alone or with a wingman, usually a more heavy armored bruiser like Vilaz or even another contract killer, but he was always given authority on his hits. You never knew how long it would take for the target to leave, so attention always had to be fixed on the door so he didn't slip by and disappear into the night. Prazutis shook the mandalorians' shoulder the man seemingly dozed off over the countless hours "Its closing time, the mark and whatever crew he brings should be coming out soon."

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

As day developed into night the streets and alleys of Nar Shaddaa got dirtier and and plagued with indefinite filth that came its inhabitants. Prostitutes were out going to brothels to entertain their customers, assassins moving out to terminate their target from their employer, smugglers shipping the goods to cartel bosses, and thieves roaming to find what victim to steal. There were other types, of course, but those were the common types that one would see. Taking advantage of this the Redneck would rest and enjoy the little peace there was before battling this Herglic for the vessel he sought out for. He didn't exactly dozed off, but it would seem so since his face was still concealed by his traditional Mandalorian helmet.

His head immediately turned to Braxus, who shook his shoulder, and informed him that it was almost time. Without further a due, he got himself from his back and came to a position that overlooked the streets that had a diverse sea of species and the cantina where the Herglic was residing in. In a few mere moments, he would show his face wit some of his minions and would, most likely, take refuge to his prized vessel that he dared to captained. "Alright, I don't have a plan for this, but we should take out some of his cronies before getting him. No doubt, he's gonna be a wuss and use 'em to get outta, especially with what he's got."

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

The Mandalorian was right their target was surely smart enough to send his crew at the assassins should they make themselves known right off the bat. Worst of all the herglic might just get a head start and even escape depending on how long it took them to wipe out the bounty hunters crew. The wisest course of action for them would be to drop the man's cronies quickly and quietly without the herglic so much as knowing what was going to happen. The night would be perfect for concealing their silent takedowns, and this nocturnal, criminal crowd could care less of what happens to people, it was always smartest to not pay attention and just keep walking.

"Bringing them down one by one quickly and quietly would be our ideal course of action. We dont know how many he has or how long they'd take to neutralize in a straight fight, the longer we take to bring them down the further away the herglic will get. Best do it without him even knowing his crew are disappearing." Prazutis replied to him as he scanned the crowd carefully with his heightened senses. The one main issue with bounty hunters is that they and their crews didn't exactly wear uniforms and hold flags in their hands, they were often hard to distinguish one crew member from the other without engaging the whole group, or doing some advanced recon beforehand, which wasn't done. The logical move would be to watch the herglic and see who follows him or who he talks to, he'd give up his own crew then.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

"Aye," the Bounty Hunter said to his Sith companion as he watched with vigilant eyes that observed the gigantic Herglic. "Means I won't be needing this," he said as he rested his crossbow against the wall and his shotgun, knowing that they would cause a lot of noise, therefore, scare off the whale to the legendary Slave I. They would have to act like assassins and Vilaz was adept in those arts, since he was a mercenary and a bounty hunter and those professions didn't typically require silent kills and stealth. Surely, a man like Braxus would have such skills and could enhance them via the Force, but that was an assumption from the Mandalorian as he had never seen the Sith Knight in scenarios like these.

The only weapons that the Warrior would use was his Fett-Kal knife and his dual pistols, but would only use his pistols when he was in a situation that required range weaponry. His hands unsheathed his knife, producing a noise that only Vilaz and Braxus could hear. As the Herglic advanced through the rotten streets a diverse group of men of different backgrounds exited out of the cantina and maintained a close distance to the Herglic. "I think we found the crew," the Redneck informed to [member="Darth Prazutis"] and ended the sentence with a, "tell me when you're ready, but don't take up to much time."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

The massive herglic stood at seven feet five inches tall this whale of a beast wore a dark gray set of armor that covered his entire body, its helmet in the visage of a cyclopean head. The massive herglic wore a power-pack on his back and slung around his chest was simply shocking. This herglic carried an absolutely massive repeater cannon, this dark weapon of war looked like it belonged mounted on an aircraft, or as a point defense laser on the side of a capital ship rather than slung around by this nearly thousand pound whale. The mercenary walked through the crowds barreling over anyone who happened to walk into his path.

Behind him walked a diverse group of roughly eight that surrounded the herglic although none dared get in the lumbering mountains way as he pushed and shoved people aside. There was three tall humans with assorted weaponry, one wookie with a bowcaster, three twi'leks, and one makurth. "Buluba, We-" One of the humans said towards the herglic, who turned and glared at him "What did I tell you about addressing me runt?" The herglic replied to him. The human began to apologize profusely for his disrespect, and droned on in a rather long conversation as the group turned around the corner.

But already Prazutis was on the move through the crowd, his helmet mapped out the path they were taking and he tagged each member of the group as targets in red, highlighting the herglic now known as Buluba as the High Valued Target. "That cannon of his is going to be a problem if were forced to deal with it." Prazutis said through their private channel. He swiftly and efficiently through the crowds as he worked to catch up to the rather large crew that moved ahead of them. The Sith Knight took to the opposite side of the street as Vilaz while they moved through the night. Towards the back of the mercenary group was the makurth and a human who lagged behind, perhaps one too many drinks and an inability to keep up with the massive herglic causing them to slow their pace. "Take down the Makurth on my mark." Prazutis told Vilaz.

He reached out with the force and glazed over the minds of each man in the crowd, testing their resolve. None of them were particularly strong in the area of will and a night of drinking further weakened their mental defenses. Prazutis established a mental lock with the human walking next to the makurth, his power fueled by the burning inferno of the dark side within him. Through the realm of thoughts and dreams Prazutis tossed a spear of psychic pain into the mind of the human whose jaw slammed shut and stopped in place, his body paralyzed by the mind wrenching agony. "Hey what are you doing you lout, Boss is gonna leave you here if you lag behind." The makurth said as he stopped and turned to face him.

Fortunately through Prazutis's careful manipulations of the force the rest of the crew was blocked from hearing anything by the loud crowds, and Buluba who began yelling at one of the twi'leks for some lie he told. Prazutis sprang into action a moment after Vilaz moved for the Makurth. He moved behind the human and pulled him into a nearby alleyway slamming his face into the wall, slitting the mans throat from ear to ear with the ornate dagger gripped in his hand. He gently laid the body down on the ground and looked to Vilaz, nodding before he went back onto the street.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

It was time to strike as the Mandalorian and the Sith Knight were on the move. With silence and swiftness they walked through the shadows of the rotten streets as they were stalking the Herglic and his diverse crew. The Bounty Hunter wasn't surprised at all to see the size of the bulky whale, however, he was very surprised to see the armament that he was carrying around with him. The simile that Braxus had about the massive repeater wasn't very exaggerated at all. Cover would, arguably, be of no use if they had to deal with the Heglic, but the whale called Buluba would have to focus either on Vilaz or Braxus separately which gave the chance of attacking him when distracted.

Vilaz had his first target and he moved in position to assassinate the man. For a while he began to camouflage with the crowd to avoid any detection from the Herglic or his crew, but they would probably not recognize him since they were drunk from the liquor they had drank for the many hours they stayed at the cantina. Hopefully, the Herglic was in the same state of consciousness like his men were which would be easy to be taken down and not worry about dodging the projectiles of the heavy repeater cannon. Suddenly, the Makurth was distracted by his human companion who was acting weird as if he was paralyzed or frozen by a mysterious force. That was his opening right there. Walking casually he grabbed the Makurth by one of its horns and dragged him in an empty, dark alleyway. The alien, not reacting fast enough, was saying random nonsensical things from his mouth which stopped when he was slammed into a wall and the Mandalorian stabbing his head which ended the life of the Makurth.

The Redneck acted all innocent-like as he came out from the midnight black alleyway and nodded to the Sith Knight before walking back on the streets.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

The whale known as Buluba stomped down the street surrounded by the six men left in his crew, relatively unopposed. As the massive cannon toting herglic came trudging down the street the crowds parted to allow him passage, or those unlucky few who didn't were simply knocked aside by the creatures bulk. Prazutis tailed them at a reasonable distance for the operation they were carrying out, while the most recent two victims lagged behind the rest of the group was clustered together fairly well, making it hard to jump one without attracting the attention of the rest. But this was how the hunt worked it was a game that required patience, and precision. Wait in the shadows for your opportunity to arise and quickly take it when it did.

Some time passed as the crew moved through the crowds however their pace slowed, up ahead the road was being blocked. A cadre of gamorrean guards stood blocking either side of the road, and a rather large brown and black splotched Hutt sat towards a building on the right side surrounded by a mixed crew of humans, rodians, and trandoshans discussing some matter with a tall uniformed human. Nar Shaddaa was often known as the Smugglers Moon, and a center of crime but everyone knew that the Hutts dominated the criminal underworld here. It wasn't a surprising thing to see at night, streets and side roads temporarily blocked while a hutt conducted business.

"Get out of my way runt." The herglic said, barreling the gamorrean over with his massive bulk, sending the green piglike creature crashing to the ground. Other gamorreans broke off from across the streets, as well as some of the six or seven guys around the hutt came over. The large hutt turned and began yelling it huttese, while a droid came shuffling out from behind him. "My illustrious leader would like to-" The droid began. However the large herglic was having none of it, perhaps some drinks in his brain and an already aggressive nature made him even more so "Kark this, translate this for the slimeball."

The herglic brought a foot down and crushed the gamorreans skull under his full bulk, Buluba swing the massive cannon forward and pulled the trigger. A brief spinning up sound was heard following a massive eruption, a volcanic storm of laser fire from the massive repeater canon. First the herglic cut down the gamorreans coming towards him, the blasts sending shockwaves through their bodies as they literally bisected them across the chest, sending blood and gore across the ground. But the herglic was not done as he swung the canon towards the scrambling hutt and his scummy forces, the results of which were disturbing.

The power of the brutal cannon ripped through armor and cut through the bodies of soldiers, its explosive power punching cleanly out of the backside. Buluba literally blew the soldiers to pieces as he turned the gun on the hutt that scrambled to get to cover. The crimson blasts slammed into his chest like a tidal wave sending its rolls of fst shaking, the blasts violently exploding out of the creatures back. The herglic and his crews hailstorm of fire however was so great that he quite literally blew the hutt into pieces.

Prazutis acted quickly in the chaos as the group of soldiers around the herglic spread out. He moved towards the wookiee that was standing back a moderate distance away, bringing the dagger across its leg shredding the valuable tendons and ligaments. He then moved over and slid a hand over the creatures mouth as it fell back into a dragging position. Prazutis dragged him away towards an alley where he stabbed the struggling wookiee roughly six times, finishing with a clean slice across the throat.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

After taking out the two members from the Herglic's crew both men stalked the Herglic and the remaining number, yet they didn't dare to take out another two members since they were clustered together and that would only cause complications for Braxus and Vilaz. They would have their chance, and maybe the filthy crowd would garner the attention of Buluba and his crew which would give an opportunity for the two assassins. And they would have one very soon as they saw the Herglic and his cronies approaching a crowd that consisted of a Hutt, Rodians, Trandoshans, and humans. The Mandalorian expected the massive whale to knock them out of his way like he had when someone was in his way. But he would think again once he would see the carnage and blood that he and his crew would massacre.

Suddenly, streams of crimson plasma projectiles spewed out from the repeater that he had and began to mow down the masses. The Gamorrean guards received no mercy from the massive alien as they were torn to shreds from the laser bolts and their blood began to paint the pavement. The same would be, unfortunately, said for the Hutt's soldiers, but they would be more disfigured since their anatomy wasn't as bulky and tough like the Gamorreans. Finally, it was the Hutt's turn to share the same fate as his employees. But the Herglic wouldn't act alone in killing the slug. His crew used their munitions on the Crime Lord which killed the alien in less than five seconds, but they kept on playing with the body that the body of the Hutt exploded from the magnitude of the projectiles that hit him.

Now it was their chance to kill more members of Buluba's crew.

Simultaneously, the Redneck sprinted to the closest target, since Prazutis was aiming for the Wookie, and with his knife he stabbed the cerebral of a human's head which ended his life. Its corpse was left where it was as Vilaz didn't had time to drag it back to a dark alley. Coming up to another target was a Devoronian and his fate was exactly like the last man that Vilaz killed, but his body would be dragged to where the dead human laid in. It was a risk that Vilaz would take because he wanted to deal with Herglic and end his life.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]