Tag:
Radon Krayt
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Kes Stag
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Mig Gred
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Vaux Gred
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Vren Rook
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Zephyr Krayt |
Aloy Vizsla
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Aerith Krayt |
Tristan Ortega |
Kale Onara
Word Count: 1,553
"Aloy, I look forward to seeing your combat skills put to use. I'll be sure to leave some of the dragon left for you," one of the Mandalorians, Aerith Krayt, spoke as the Mandalorians began to adjourn. Siv wasn't able to hear the full gist of the conversation, but he was at least able to catch snippets of it.
"Hah! You better!" Aloy replied, giving a good-natured laugh.
"I doubt you could cook a Krayt steak better."
"I'm far too curious to see what I can do with this armor. Might get a little carried away," Aerith continued, admiring the power armor she wore with a tone of slight ruefulness.
"As am I, As. Am. I."
"Alright," Aerith said,as she stood up, clicking the massive blaster cannon on her arm back into place.
"Talking is over right? We gonna go kill a dragon or what?" Siv stood up as well, following the lead of her and the other various Mandalorians standing. He personally made sure to check that his own blaster pistol, which looked small and weak next to Krayt's massive blaster cannon, was still working. He preferred his pistol over a larger, more cumbersome weapon, but he could not deny that those blaster cannons packed a punch.
"Yeah, Got a swoop bike. That might be trade though, But my current repulsorpack can last days at a time. Hell, I can scout ahead if ya like," Aloy said with a smile, obviously proud of the hardware on her back. Siv shrugged. His own pack wouldn't last that long, making a speeder bike the more economic choice between the two.
"Careful though," he called after Aloy.
"We're not using ships because of the vibrations it sends into the ground. Your pack might be smaller, but we don't know if it would simply do the same at those high speeds." The chances that a single Mandalorian soaring on a jetpack would create enough underground vibration to ward of the Greater Krayt Dragon was very,
very minimal, but Siv didn't want to take any chances. He didn't want to let this turned into a prolonged expedition, either.
"You lot are no fun. I reckon we'd easily wipe out those savages," came from Stag behind Siv. He turned to see Stag shaking his head in. . . disbelief with his fellow Mandalorians? Disdain for them not wanting to wipe out natives? Stag seemed to at least accept it though. Punching in inputs into his wrist commlink, he continued to speak.
"If we're going to trade those OL-7s." Stag let out a small chuckle as he spoke.
"Hell, maybe we'll even see the savages blow a few moisture farmers up with 'em." Siv declined to comment.
"Well if we're using starship ordnance I'll load up what little I have onto my Bes'galaar," Stag finished.
"If you need those launchers comms it in." With that he left the bar, the sound of a revving speeder clearly audible outside. Siv took the opportunity to cast a look around the cantina, to see if there were anyone he could grift a speeder bike off of given he didn't have his own. He actually hadn't brought a speeder bike, he'd realized, or at least, he hadn't brought a speeder bike that would work out here. Last time he'd been on tatooine, sand and dust had gotten all clogged in his bike's exhaust which had then shut down the entire thing; it had forced him to walk the speeder bike have the distance out back from Mos Espa.
That hadn't been fun. Beskar may protect someone from blaster bolts and even lightsabers, but it did nothing against the oppressive heat of Tatooine's twin suns. Siv had sweated profusely under his armor, and when his water and body fluids had gone dry, he'd walked slowly cooking under his shell. But what set him back out of his recollections was the Gred sister, Vaux Gred, walking up to him.
"This should be fun boss. Hope everyone plays nice long enough to finish this mission," she said, outstretching her hand. Siv clasped it and they held the clasp in a moment of camadery before the Gred sister continued walking on her way.
Siv turned as she walked past, a little surprised that the famed Mandalorian warrior and pilot would choose to talk to him, but he was at least grateful that she had taken notice of him. Although he was by no means a new or unblooded warrior, in the past he had stayed far away from Mandalorian politics and social circles outside of his clan. That was beginning to change, but that still meant he was a new helmet to many, his experience notwithstanding.
"I'll catch up. Need to run by my ship first," came the voice of Vren Rook behind his back, and Siv nodded. He had some preparation he needed to do, too.
"If no one has a means of travel, should probably double up on the speeders so that we all get where we're going," he heard Ortega offer to the rest of the Mandalorians behind him, but Siv was already on the move. He appreciated the gesture, but he always felt more sure of himself when he was behind the stick or wheel.
Kale Onara was also speaking, though Siv could barely hear him at this distance.
"Alright then," he said. Siv turned so that he could hear the words of the warrior better.
"I've got a speeder bike prepped and ready. I'm going to load up a few things and we can go." He pointed to the side of his helmet,
"Comm me when we're all loaded up and it's time to go." He nodded to everyone and grasped forearms with Mig,
"Good to see you again my friend." Siv shrugged, and turned back to where he was going.
He saddled up to the empty bar, staffed only by a robust Twilek whose green-blue skin was darkened from years spent under the twin suns. The Twi'lek wore loose robes that covered most of his skin, probably for protection from Tatooine's oppressive twin suns and heat. He'd heard conflicting statements that loose robes actually helped diffuse the desert heat better than less clothing, and of course the Sand People were always wearing multiple layers of clothing completely covering their entire bodies.
"What can I getcha?" The Twi'lek asked roughly, with a thick Outer Rim accent that distorted his speech heavily. He was busy wiping a glass in his hand with a dirt rag soaked in some kind of medical-smelling, bright-blue disinfectant.
"We're all out of Cerulian Ale, but. . . ah, you one of them Mandos, aint'cha?" The Twi'lek gave a gruff laugh, setting down the glass he was holding and putting both hands facedown on the table.
"So, you lookin to hunt that mighty beast out past them Jundland Wastes?" He laughed again at that apparently rhetorical question.
"I reckon yer lookin' fer some sort of, er, transportation?"
Siv nodded, ignoring the jest and disbelief that the Twi'lek bartender was displaying.
"I need transportation," he stated shortly.
"I'm willing to pay for a speeder bike that can cross the dunes."
The Twi'lek's eyebrows raised in doubt.
"I got a couple out back, not in terrible condition. But it'll cost yeh. And it gotta be all up front, too," the Twi'lek bartender added, obviously doubtful that Siv would return back alive.
"How much?" Siv asked, sighing as he reached into a pouch on his utility belt that contained various types of credits and currency accepted throughout the galaxy.
"Five hundred if you got Anubin, seven hundred if you got credits," the Twi'lek stated in a flat tone indicating that his price was not up for negotiation. He further crossed his arms over his chest, reinforcing his position that he would not negotiate the price of the speeders.
Siv protested nonetheless.
"I could buy five speeders for that much," he said in a low tone that was still very much miffed, evident by the sudden rush in the intensity of his voice.
"Not on Tatooine, you won't," the bartender replied stubbornly.
"These are hard times, and most likely I won't be seeing that speeder again."
Siv sighed, digging deeper into his pouch. Anubin didn't circulate heavy in the areas that he most often operated, so he only had a few mismatched coins. But he did have a fistful of galactic credits, one that he dug out and dumped onto the table.
"Here you go," he said flatly. The bartender counted them to make sure that there was enough before reaching under the counter and pulling out an ignition key, pressing it into Siv's hands. Siv left without a further word, walking out of the cantina and round back.
The speeder bike was beat up all right, but it looked like it would be able to handle the journey the necessary journey. He swung onto it, revving up the engine and moving out front to the main sand street that the cantina sat in front of. There, he turned off the propulsion but left the repulsorlift running, swinging one leg over to wait on the speeder bike for the rest of the Mandalorians to prepare for the journey.
"I'm set," he said, keying on a comm.
"Meet out front of the cantina and we'll set off."
Siv Dragr
