Tracks in the Desert [Mandalorian Dominion of Elom]

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anija Betna"]


Siobhan shook her head when she heard the news about the Republic. "Not surprised. Their Senate is a circus packed with fools and traitors, their Jedi keep defecting and their PM thinks she's the Force's greatest gift to the Galaxy. I've already written them off," she said bluntly. Being able to speak freely without having to censor herself much was something she appreciated. It was obviously not something she got the chance to do often during business talks.



However, talk about business made her smile. Of course, she was looking out for her own self-interest, but at the same time she genuinely liked the Mandalorians. Never mind the fact that she hated Sith and those like them, such as Primeval. "Anyway, back to business before I rant more about the Republic! If you can arrange for a contract and sponsorship, that's excellent. I'm be glad to do business with you. You know our wares, but we've added several items since we last did business with the Mandalorians. Aside from ARGH's tech, we also got some Atrisian toys when they imploded. Simply browse through our catalogues, tell us what you want and we'll deliver promptly. Feel free to go through the terms again. By the way, speaking of toys, I got something for you," Siobhan said and then reached into her bag, removing two tiny items that on first glance looked like pendants.


"For you and Mirshko. You know the bolters we make, this is the miniaturised version. Hold-out bolters. Very easily concealed, handy for personal defence at point-blank range. My wife killed a Sith assassin with one of these," she said proudly. "Fires buckshot, modified explosive bolts and APE rounds." Having said that she produced a datapad, which contained the contained her product lists and the contract terms she had outlined earlier. "And the contract proposal. You can sign there."

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Anija chuckled slightly at Sio's comment. "It's fine really. I'm glad someone understands where I'm coming from on that subject." She paused and poured herself more water, fervently wishing it was something stronger. She was certainly looking forward to this contract. And, truth be told, she was pretty sure several others were as well. Firemane products w ere some of the best, and she could personally attest to that.

Taking a few moments to look over the two product catalogues, she looked up at Sio and grinned. "Just these here, I am quite sure the Protectors, as well as a great many Mandalorians would be glad to buy several of your weapons and other offerings." She continued to sort through, and point out a few things here and there that she knew the Protectors could use.

She raised an eyebrow slightly as Sio presented her with the small object. "I do know those bolters. I carry one with my combat gear..." She frowned slightly and turned the small object over in her hand. "These could certainly come in handy...especially for Mirshko. Trouble seems to follow her.." Sighing slightly, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand after tucking the two small items into a belt pouch. "How do they work?" She shook her head and grinned slightly in apology as Sio produced the datapad. She took a few moments to skim it before scrawling her name across the bottom.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anija Betna"]


Siobhan gave the Mandalorian a bright smile. Unlike with many business dealings, it was a genuine one and not just plastered upon her face in order to look good. "Thank you, dear. Pleasure doing business with you and your people," she said softly, then likewise scrawled her name on the bottom of the datapad after Anija had signed.


Putting the datapad down she turned her attention towards the miniaturised bolters. Picking one up, she held it so that Anija could get a good look at it while she demonstrated. "The mechanism is a bit complex, but you'll get the hang of it. In order to keep it from going off prematurely, there's a safety procedure. You need to prime the weapon first, much like performing a series of rotations to open a safe. Bit of practice, then it becomes intuitive. I'll show you how to load it."


She raised the short, silver cylinder, which on first sight looked a bit like a jewellry of some sort, then she unscrewed the base of the of the gun. "It's single-shot. Explosive bolts, solid slugs and buckshot are all cut down to fit the gun. Buckshot is nasty at close range against unarmoured targets, slugs are the most silent. Unlike with the traditional bolter, here the explosive bolts expend their explosive energy right in front of a target rather than exploding in a cloud of shrapnel since that would be impractical given the short range!" Having said that she demonstrated loading a bolt into the tiny gun. "Once primed a firing stud will appear." Having performed the necessary rotations, it did indeed show up.


"It's light, unassuming and packs a heavy punch, but in almost every case you'll only have one shot. Reloading takes a minute and the maximum accurate range is five metres."

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Well, she'd really enjoyed working with the full-size bolters. But this... She found herself grinning as she watched Sio demonstrate the procedure on how to load and prime the small device. And, she was certain that both she and Mirshko could definitely make use of them. With how much that girl managed to land herself in trouble, it would certainly come in handy. Mentally shaking her head, Anija turned her attention back to what Sio was saying. She hesitated, and reached out a hand, laying it one Sio's arm. "Thank you..." she said softly. "This means a lot to me. Especially in light of recent events."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anija Betna"]


Little did either of them know that in the next dominion, little Mirshko would fall into the paws of a nefariously scheming pirate lord who would try to turn her into a little pirate princess! The little girl was such a lovely trouble magnet. "You're welcome, dear. Just a gift for a good friend. Hope you don't have to use, but in times like these it should come in handy," Siobhan responded, giving Anija a small smile.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna was quiet for a moment and flicked on a flashlight. He aimed it at one of the bats they'd killed and used his boot to manipulate it this way and that.

"It's a pretty old bat. You can tell by the length of the claws and the size," he said then swung the light at another carcass nearby before flicking it at yet another. "Not a lot of young ones. Mostly old ones. That's... odd. The elderly creatures generally don't attack at first. They let the younger ones go first. We were attacked by the old bats, not the young ones."

The beam of light found another one, the wounds showing it was killed by Kryze.

"And that one is young. A female, too. That's not good. That's not good at all."

Betna thought for a moment and then flicked the light off, placing it back in its place among his gear. The sounds of bats moving around could still be heard from deeper within the tunnel. After a moment, he gestured to take shelter against the nearest wall behind one of the massive support posts set there.

"No need, they'll come out again soon, but not to attack us like I thought. I'll explain in a second, but let's get out of their way when they come swarming out again."

[member="Andrea Kryze"]

 

[Andrea Kryze]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Kryze could somehow sense that Betna was worried. Given so, she sliced the cables off with a hidden knife in her suit and ran over to the same rock. She checked over her weapon again as she caught her breath, also checking over her suit to see if it was still running well. If there was one complaint she had, it was how heavy this thing was. She was completely ready for a personalized suit of her own before the pressure crushed her like a heavy gravity planet. Kryze looked over to Betna through her helmet, "Yeah, I think I'm good. So what's wrong?"

The teenager had her night vision on, but all she saw right now was rock and water, maybe one or two bugs... The grainy images of the cave though unnerved her. Her father's words of safety running through her head. For a moment, they overtook her, but then the young girl shook her head. No! I signed up for this. I have to do this! The child slowed her breathing, waiting... waiting for anything.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna hunkered down and listened for a few moments before answering. He could hear the rustling in the distance, but it wasn't nearly as much noise as he though. As he waited for the bats to come swarming out, he gave what little insight he had gathered.

"Predators the live in communities like this have a bit of a tiered hierarchy," he said as they sheltered behind the support pole. "The old, the young, and the females tend to sit back and let the younger males deal with intruders. The fact that we encountered so few young males and more of the elderly and females tells me that something has depopulated the colony down here."

As he spoke, the rustling grew louder and the occasional shadow could be seen flitting about.

"They rushed us trying to force us to leave or to kill us quickly," he said, speaking only slightly louder over their comms as his mind naturally tried to raise his voice over the din, even though they could hear each other perfectly over their commlinks. "And when they took casualties, they broke off. They don't have the numbers for any major threat and threw what they had at us. Now, they're gathering their young, if they have any, and will rush out of the cave as a large group. Basic survival: numbers mean better odds. They won't attack us as they're trying to leave, but we'll be ready if they do, just in case. The thing is, though..."

He trailed off as the bats rushed out en masse, their beating wings drowning out all but the loudest of noises. Betna let his helmet dull the noise after a moment to protect his hearing and gave it a moment more to let his companion's helmet do the same.

"The thing is, this is a large cave and these bats have been down here a while," he said, turning his helmet to face Kryze. "A colony this big in a place this large and they have few, if any, young males to fight? Something did that and there's no bodies or remains outside or in the entrance. Means that something attacked from inside the mines. That's what I'm worried about."

[member="Andrea Kryze"]

 

[Andrea Kryze]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

Andrea nodded, adrenaline rushing through her just at the thought. She slid a bit lower, pulling her new weapon closer to herself. There indeed was something in here... and it probably would want to eat them at tea time.

"Great, just great..." she moaned for a second, her heart beating like a snare drum, snared itself within the weeds of fear. She let out a sigh, she heard noises in the background, like when a troop of primates were angered in the background of a forest. Andrea attempted to smile beneath her helmet, trying to overcome the fear.

I am Mandalorian!

She looked back at her mentor again, feeling a bit determined now to prove herself as both a fighter, and a person. She opened her mouth to speak, but a certain sense flared in alert. She remained motionless for a moment, wondering what on earth was going on. Somehow, she sensed... she sensed the danger was high.

A faint whisper escaped her, "There she blows."

A black cloud of creepy bats flew by above them.