While the Cat's Away

[Preliat Mantis]

[member="Aver Brand"]



The sonic weapon sent Preliat flying- the Beskar-plated armor slamming across the ground. If not for his Beskar'kandar armor, he would've been in a lot more trouble from the impact alone. But Preliat wasn't going to be bested by a sonic weapon- it had taken much more to even hurt him. However, the kinetic impact jarred the Mandalorian heavily. His ears were ringing. Blood was flowing. Adrenaline. Cortisol.

The chemical cocktail flowed through Preliat, a familiar rush going through his body. His eyes narrowed, and rage took over. Rage, hatred, soared through him. The Herglic became a sole target of a man who had witnessed the burning of not one- but two worlds. And survived.

The shotgun, an eight gauge monstrosity of a weapon, fired right back at the Herglic defiantly.

 

[Aver Brand]

Mobius D’ikhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/91872-mobius-dik/ & The Myrmidons

Eight gauge monstrosity or not, it couldn’t move half a ton of muscle, blubber, and power armor. A booming laugh welled up from the Herglic as he shifted his back foot – his deflector shield flickered, absorbing the shot.

“If wishes were corpses, love…”

No point in making yourself a narrow target when you dwarfed a double wardrobe. D’ik began to advance on the Mandalorian with the sure step of a boulder rolling downhill. Behind him, the Myrmidons fanned out to cover his flanks and six.

One of them had switched his MARS-12http://starwarsrp.net/topic/63755-hte-mars-12/ to Breaching mode, and was now aiming the muzzle squarely at the tall drink of Beskar and testosterone. Time to cool him down a tad with some condensed cryoban.

And what of Mobius? Well, he’d always have his trusty Grabtharhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/76942-hte-grabthar-breaching-hammer/ – it found its way into the calloused grip of his flipper, ready to crack open some tinned food.

[member="Preliat Mantis"]​

[member="Malikar"] | [member="Quinn Vos"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Honus Teach"]​

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Bes’uliik were not as easily destroyed as a trash bin. Gifted with near-sentience, and the technological equivalent of flying war horses, the bes’uliik of Mandalore were crafty, as were their riders. [member="Shia Kryze"] taught Yasha as much, as did [member="Ra Vizsla"], when he spoke of Black Sky. At the shuttle’s open fire, one of the bes’uliik took a heavy hit, the screeching beskar-framed beast reaching out its’ claw-like appendage and grabbing hold of the shuttle itself as it lost the ability to fly. It continued to rip the shuttle apart from the outside, as its’ rider roared bloodied and panting at the controls.

The other two were not so easily conquered. They swerved and avoided, letting loose a torrent of fire at the shuttle’s turret.

Mandalore was not weak. Mandalore proved even its’ own spilt blood could be avenged by the smallest. The Little Rekr moved the moment her weapon fired. She pumped the shotgun, planting her feet to fire off another shell of scattershot. The blow back sent her skidding back a few inches, jarring her still growing shoulder.

Had she been a human girl, Yasha would have likely ripped her shoulder from its’ socket and feet off the ground with the force. As it was, the Epicanthix gritted her teeth at the feeling of a bruise and prepared for another shot.

The MF-44 shook in her hands. She went to pump the handle and it caught. Stuck. The barrel skewed. Dar’jetti.

Yasha dove behind cover, tossed the ruined gun and pictured her options. His armour took a hit on the shoulder… his head was visible, his Force Powers were moot. She knew the only way to defeat such a beast was to get close… closer than Daddy or the others would prefer. Her brief cover behind burning wreckage would last a few scant seconds. She motioned to De’denna Farr and Death Watch 3 with hand signals. De’denna nodded.

@Thengil Ri’Shajirr was not the largest creature of power the Mantis child slew. She fought better and bigger foes when she was six… without armour to protect her. The girl who slaughtered sky demons, creatures of the Abyss, terror birds and Mandalorians loyal to Mia Monroe tightened her fists and she ran through the flames themselves, knowing their heat would dampen any infra red scanners. Fear was for eight year olds. Fear was for armour-less children. She ran low, covered by the flames, a burst of blaster and scatter shot fire from Death Watch 3, who hunkered down across from Yasha behind durasteel wreckage and volleyed with the necessary distraction to turn Thengil’s mighty head.

Noise. Enough noise to cover her boots on the duracrete. Enough noise and firepower for Thengil to find impossible to ignore. Yasha held no fear of the blaster bolts and scatter fire coming from Death Watch 3. They fought beside her in the war, they knew the Little Rekr, Ra’s aptly named Little Wolf, and they would keep their aim on their target.

Leaping the last few feet from beside and behind Thengil’s wounded shoulder, Yasha aimed to strike the Cathar with one of her beskad. She aimed to open the wound on his shoulder, to gouge deep and down toward his heart and vitals under collarbone and inside the ribcage. If her aim was true, Yasha would cling to the back of this beast, entangle her fist in his mane, and unleash her gauntlet katars into his brainstem.

Repeatedly.

 

[TB-705]

The little one dropped her weapon and hid, while other Mandalorians fired upon Thengil from beneath some durasteel wreckage. Their shots went wide, but they would narrow in on him if he left them free to aim. He gestured with one paw in a backhanded motion, again exerting his will on the Force. The wreckage groaned violently, lifting off the ground and slamming violently into the warriors who had used it as cover. Killing them, or knocking them unconscious.

The metal squeal and sudden crash silenced their fusillade.

Thengil's ears flattened, then rotated backward. His nostrils flared, drinking in the scents of burning fuel, the acrid tang of smoke, blood, and human.

The air currents shifted with a familiar whistle of edged metal through sky.

He whirled in a blur of movement, gauntleted paw coming up and catching the sword mid-swing. His kotsûshwodza closed tight, crush gaunt technology lending strength that went beyond the Force or mere flesh and blood. Beskar grated in the grasp of golden alchemical alloy. Neither yielded, but Thengil would not let go of the blade in his grasp. The warrior could hang in the air if she wished.

His gaze settled upon her like the glare of two burning suns, depths nothing but an ever-constant fury and helium ash. Annoyance flickered across their surfaces, the flash of a solar flare.

Shock webbing on the pads of the gauntlet grasping the sword activated. Nine million volts traveled down the length of the beskad and, possibly, into the hand and then body of the child. Not enough to kill, but enough to knock her out.

At the same time, stretching out with his other gauntleted paw he sought to seize the wrist of her off-hand and hold it fast, while administering a second shock.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

The beast with the Cryoban rifle made a fatal mistake. Preliat Mantis wasn't a pushover, he was a seasoned veteran of so many wars and battles that he lost count. The Tomahawk on his arm found itself removed, and he tossed it by the lower part of the handle, towards one of the mercenary. When it impacted, the mercenary with the Herglic flew back at least a foot, the Tomahawk buried squarely in chin, and cutting into his neck.

Preliat, meanwhile, took the time to give out a rage-induced scream, and charged right at the Herglic. With a leg that had the same impact as a crashing speeder, he went to drop kick the Herglic.

"Wish for nothing but a quick death."

[member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden woke to the sound of battle. He’d been charged with nightwatch for the past few nights and the night before had been his first to sleep. The young Mantis slept longer than he had wanted, and now his people were under attack. His eyes scanned the small home for any signs of the others. They were not there. With a quick breath he tossed the covers aside and dressed himself in the armor [member="Silas Mantis"] had gotten for him. His gauntlets were set up with it now, and the warrior was set to fight.

He grabbed the nutrient frame containing what it needed from the Ysalamir to ensure the force would not work on him. Strapping it to his lower back, just above his waist, he made sure it was secure. It was time to find his family. It was time to find [member="Yasha Mantis"].

His thoughts had never changed. The more trips she took away from Mandalore and with Baiko the more Kaden knew what those thoughts and feelings were. They were both young, but the young teen knew enough to know what attraction felt like. They all had a way to locate each other. Kaden found Yasha and she was in trouble.

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] was trying to electrocute her. There was one way to stop it. Kaden took a knee and pulled out his blaster rifle. The automatic weapon was aimed right at the animal’s crotch. Kaden let a torent of bolts rip. If the cat wanted to keep holding Yasha, keep trying to electrocute her, he would be singing Soprano. As it was the groin was also a kill shot because of the arteries located there. It was drop the girl or die.

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] [member="Malika Mantis"] (been 8 days, so moving on. Feel free to jump in again )

Beast in sky?

The call of jewels and armor caught the warrior's attention. It was a different kind of lust. To conquer and take. In her Kiffar tribe Quinn had been brought up like most; a warrior. Knife in one hand and energy bow in the other, she pressed forward. Lithe-muscles moved quickly and efficiently.

Blood was shed only when necessary.

Muddy-hair pressed against her forehead as sweat built along her skin from exertion. One step forward and then another. A few more feet and then some more. More ground gained. More blood spent. With one more step she found herself off the docks and further inside the dome. Closer to jewels and treasures.

 

[Aver Brand]

Mobius D’ikhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/91872-mobius-dik/ & The Myrmidons

When impacted, the Myrmidon didn’t so much fly back as he backstepped. Like their fearless leader, he weighed around half a ton – Mantis or no Mantis, they weren’t movin’ mountains here.

The tomahawk slammed through the flicker of his deflector shield and dug into the thick beskar plate of the power armor. That it even managed to make a dent was testament to the sheer force of the Mando’s throw. Akuul D’ik (no relation) wrenched the weapon free from his helmet and snapped it home onto a magplate.

Another trophy for his wall.

Mobius, for his part, merely stood his ground against the charging warrior. Feet planted wide in the dirt, shoulders relaxed, hips swayin’ smooth like he was at a club wooing a Mon Cal – both flippers wrapped around the haft of his hammer as the Herglic swung hard and true into the oncoming kick.

Leg versus power hammer.

Who would win?

[member="Preliat Mantis"]​

[member="Malikar"] | [member="Quinn Vos"] | [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] | [member="Honus Teach"]​

 

[Preliat Mantis]

The hammer made a ding sound as it hit Preliat's armored leg. True, it was Beskar'kandar, the tougher version of the leg- but even unknown to Preliat, it contained another secret owing to it's strength, it's durability and it's power- the alchemized nature of the metal. It was fueled by Preliat's own negativity, everything that the dark side of the force fed on, powered his leg- and thus forth, continually corrupted Preliat. It was a force of nature- and packed the same force as a speeder crashing into someone when he put his full power behind it.

The hammer wasn't stopped, but deflected away from Preliat. To where the hammer went was not of Preliat's concern. A crushgaunt adorned fist went not for the face, the body of the Herglic- but for the elbow of the beast. He went to rain blows, his powerful right handed hook- that had once earned him more money than God in the outer rim as a Hockey goon, on the Herglic's elbow. He couldn't out-muscle the beast, but he could out-manuever them- the Herglics were slow and gambled too much for his liking. Strong, but not built for the chaotic nature of warfare that Preliat was going to bring to the table. He held the shotgun by the pistol grip in his left and went to smash the Herglic's elbow, or whatever bone he came into contact with- if he did at all.

Rage.

Rage flowed through Preliat.

[member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Aver Brand"] [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

The resistance seemed to thin out the deeper into the dome she got. A tan, calloused palm pressed forward on the palace's doors. There was a feminine scream from a servant who seemed to have eaten too many rich, palace foods. Perhaps she was a poison tester for the royals? It would explain the silver tray of chocolate-covered snacks that clattered to the floor from her hand as she fled.

Rich foods the huntress had never seen.

Stepping further into a world that was completely foreign to the outside girl, she slung the energy bow around her shoulder. Bag was at the ready to plunder the shiny things. A frown tugged at her tattooed face as she picked up a pillow that felt as if it was woven with the softest fibers of a cloud. Decorative tassels hung from all sides.

"What purpose...must be little weapons inside," she mused quietly, then tossed it over her shoulder, filling her bag up with other things.

 

[TB-705]

Thengil assumes that the little one was shocked unconscious, so he sought to toss her aside like a discarded rag doll. A bolt of plasma struck him in the groin. But for the exosuit’s substantial armorweave padding in that region he would be less his nethers. Even so, the heat of impact burned and he roared in fury, attention swiveling to the source of the incoming fire.

Using one paw, he batted away the incoming shots, the alchemical alloy of his gauntlet reflected the bolts. The claws of his other paw splayed and a cascade of lightning crackled toward [member="Kaden Mantis"].

Over the din of combat, his throaty growl caused the air to tremble.

“Mobius, rid me of these pests.”

[member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The second he grabbed her knife, Yasha let go. She grit her teeth, [member="Kaden Mantis"] doing his job of preventing major damage from the (incredibly OOC busy) Mandalorian girl.

Hitting the ground on her hands and feet, Yasha punched at the muscle of @Thengil Ri’Shajirr’s shin. Her wrist mounted Katar sprung, hoping to gouge through his shin and slash upward.

His undoing was assuming a Netherworld-raised child of [member="Preliat Mantis"] could be taken out with such shots. The HUD in her helmet blitzed and reset, fragmenting her view of the world around her as Kaden and the Death Watch forces coming to eject these foolish raiders bought her a few seconds to breathe. It didn’t take more than a single breath for Yasha to stab again, and again at the backs of Thengil’s legs, while Kaden kept him busy at the front.

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

 

[Aver Brand]

Mobius D’ikhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/91872-mobius-dik/ & The Myrmidons

The massive herglic grunted with effort as his hammer was slammed down into the dirt at their feet. His Mando opponent bounced back and immediately assaulted the armored form of the whale, fist after fist raining down on the beskar plate.

The man was liable to break his own bones that way. Punching power armor wasn’t going to do his knuckles any favors. And gentle man that he was, Mobius kindly went to tell him so.

Real close, too – he would let out a booming HAUUUUUM and attempt headbutt the smaller warrior with the viciousness of a half-tonne monster that should never have crawled out of the sea.

Whether he managed to hit or not, D’ik would then take two long steps back. A degree of separation between two blooded lovers. War wasn’t so different from intimacy, he thought as he leveled his MARS-12http://starwarsrp.net/topic/63755-hte-mars-12/ at the cluster of children and fur.

Arc caster mode. Lightning that’d fry any organic right quick, jumping from screaming target to screaming target – especially when they were decked out in full suits of armor, as Mandalorians were wont to do.

[member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"] was of course in the line of fire, but the Sith lion would just have to handle a little heat coming his way.

[member="Yasha Mantis"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Kaden Mantis"] | [member="Quinn Vos"]​

 

[TB-705]

Busy sending tendrils of force lightning toward the distant shooter, Thengil could not help but let out a yowl of sudden pain when a katar dug its way through the biofiber of the suit and into the back of his left leg. The exosuit might serve to dissipate blaster bolts, but against slugs and knives it acted as little more than a second layer of muscle.

The lightning ceased at once. It had either struck [member="Kaden Mantis"], or it hadn't.

Either way, Thengil turned round on the little one, claws raised, when a sudden flash of danger rippled through his senses. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he held up his gauntlets to ward off an attack.

Mobius' arc caster sprayed more forks of lightning toward both Thengil and [member="Yasha Mantis"], but Thengil's raised gauntlets seemed to meet the tongues that licked toward him and absorbed them like a capacitor. The young Mantis would likely not be similarly protected.

[member="Aver Brand"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The young Mantis required no further protection, when she could as easily duck behind the gigantic insulated cat she’d just been stabbing. While [member=“Thengil Ri’Shajirr”] was protecting himself from his own person (@Avery Brand), Yasha swung behind him and continued stabbing up his leg, into the meat of his back, his kidneys, attempting to dig both sets of katar deep into his flesh, and vital organs, hoping to have the blades’ trajectories meet at his spine.

The bellowing scream flashing out of Yasha’s mouth was a terrifying reminder of what happened when lightning hit metal. Connected to Thengil’s own body, he’d either absorb the lighting charge, or be electrocuted by virtue of Yasha’s proximity.

Her muscles seized as again her HUD flashed and beskar’gam whirred. For a few blinding seconds, there was no image in her buy’ce.

“GET… OFF… MY…. PLANET!!!!”​

Nothing but black, and the trust that [member="Kaden Mantis"] had her shebs. Reports came in as Death Watch shut down the Corsairs, ships Thengil brought coming under such heavy fire an entire section of the Mandalorians left in Sundari coming down utterly with the force of an angry war-rabid race. The Palace, and beskar stores Thengil thought they could grab were secured.

Mandalore was not weak. Neither was Mandalore going to let a band of thieves to rape what little the Mando’ade had left. Twelve Mandalorian Gunships and the A’den, a Kad’ika-Class Light Cruiser hovered in on Thengil’s main ship, weapons powered. The Gunships barrelled for the corsair’s brethren, firing with copious spite and accuracy.

Three bes’uliik riders squared in on [member="Quinn Vos"], with the intention of sending her ashes into the dirt.

It was time for Thengil and his band to leave… or die. There would be no treasure to take today, but the band could still disengage and leave with their lives.

 

[TB-705]

The shock effects of the electricity conducted through his body hurt quite severely, but was lessened by his reliance on the Dark Side to dim the effects. The body of an adult Cathar, strengthened by mastery of the Force, could withstand quite a bit more punishment.

As could the corsairs in orbit.

Death watch and brigands continued to fight, both in the skies above and on the docks below.

Thinking the battle won would be a mistake. This was merely the opening act in what he intended to be a series of strikes against the Mandalorians. If Ra Vizsla could not dare to come forth against him himself, then Thengil would strip him of what he held dear.

Life was a nasty, short affair, only suited for the strongest.

Thengil had seen no such strength here.

Since landing, only a handful of minutes had passed. He still had time to give the corsairs what they desired.

Reaching down, Thengil grabbed the katar and ripped it from his flesh. His crushgaunt would not relinquish the blade and as the blade was itself attached to her armor, she could not drop it. His docking claw of a grip likewise prevented her from simply retracting the katar.

A low rumble rose from his chest.

He turned with predatory quickness and drove his other gauntlets fist straight for her faceplate with inhuman strength.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Kaden Farr]

(ooc: sorry for being so far behind work is busy and I’m heading for surgery this next week)

Kaden ducked behind a massive rock. The electrical current meant for him was obsorbed by the rock instead.

<<< “Drop the Bral now!” >>> Kaden said over the comms to the air support above.

Within seconds the ground shook as the Bral hit the ground. It’s ability to cut off the use of the force for a 500 meter radius would be the thing to protect them from any other attacks.

Picking his rifle back up Kaden shouted to the Sith.

”Pretty strong kidneys you got there...” he screamed at the Sith as he seemed to be unphased about the fact Yasha STABBED him where kidneys were located. The Sith should be dead as that was a text book kill shot according to any military manual in the Galaxy.

Kaden pulled the trigger after aiming at the man’s forehead.

[member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Thengil Ri'Shajirr"]

 

[TB-705]

Blood spilling from his wounds, Thengil stepped backward and roared in a thunderous voice,

"Raiders, fall back and take what spoils you can. We leave."

Then he loped toward the nearest remaining shuttle and boarded with those corsairs still alive, many dragging the bodies of dead Mandalorians with them, or carrying stolen weapons. If nothing else, they would have some beskar this day.

Fin. ​