Acceptable Targets

[Darth Tagus]

The fact that Raz seemed content to only attack to defend herself was going to be a problem. She was going to be his ace in the hole as an Imperial who could well and truly stomp down on problems if all went well but right now she seemed to still be afraid of her own shadow.

Now he didn't want her to go back to the way she was entirely, because that would likely mean she would regain her memories and that was... well it was bad to say the least. But if there was a happy middle ground he would find it. She had said she hadn't attacked him on his command because she wasn't angry at him but that had just given him an idea.

He just had to find some targets she could be angry at and in a Galaxy as large and as varied as the one they lived in?

Well there were some very acceptable targets indeed.

Sat in the back of a Sith shuttle, Tagus was dressed in his full gear and sat on one of the benches as he watched Raz for a moment before waving a hand to use the Force to undo her restraints. They had been put on by the flight staff but he and Raz were the only ones in the ship's belly so he didn't much care if she went without restraints.

The shuttle rocked slightly.

"24608, I've got a task to attend to and I've pulled some strings for you to accompany me." he gestured to a locker of armour and weapons from the standard Imperial uniforms and armory, "There is a chance of danger so, please, select yourself some armour."

If all went to plan she would need it after all.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She was still unsure of where fate was taking her. She had been intrigued by Tagus, surprised to see him still treating her as a normal citizen. She followed him aboard a shuttle, finally beginning to believe that he didn’t have intentions of killing her. The others paid barely any attention to her as she passed, and it dawned on her that her face wasn’t very obvious to everyone. For some reason she was well known, and yet people did not know her by face. How could that be?

She sat quietly aboard the shuttle, not surprised by her restraints. She had thankfully been allowed to shower, her hair finally not a matted mess. It hung around the sides of her face as she gazed down at her feet. She had been silent the entire time, obediently following as she was bid.

After a few moments, she was distracted from her thoughts as her restraints came free. She glanced up at Tagus, visible surprise on her face as he freed her. She looked around and noticed there wasn’t anyone around, and she glanced back at him. He was placing a lot of faith in her - but then she didn’t think she was really capable of doing anything even if she were free.

As he told her to select armor, her eyebrows rose in surprise. She got to her feet and walked over to look at the selection, not entirely sure what to pick. However, she caught herself instantly gravitating towards a helmet. She placed it above her head and felt more comfortable than she had been since she could remember.

Following that, she put on multiple plates of armor and appeared very much as an Imperial soldier by the end of it. She looked over the weapons and grimaced, “I uh...I’m not even sure what I’m proficient with,” She tilted her head to look at Tagus, “You might know better than me…” She said with a twinge of embarrassment. She looked at the various guns, convinced she couldn't aim worth crap.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Well she was still following orders rather well so that was a good sign and when she put on the armour? She looked as though she had eased herself into the situation a little better. Even without her memories it was likely that she knew, deep down, that she preferred a strong helmet and armour. It didn't seem to have caused her any kind of triggering as some other things had so he was comfortable in moving on.

When it came to weapons, Tagus was almost certain that some people within the Empire would think him mad for giving Raz Solus a weapon when she was already armoured and beside him. But he was already committed to this path and, so far, it looked to be going reasonably well at least.

He moved closer to her as he examined her armoured form for a moment.

"You look good like that." he told her with a small smile, "Like you belong in armour like that. Do you feel comfortable in it?"

He was never going to miss a chance to subtly push the idea that she should like being an Imperial. Looking at the weapon selection for a long moment, he decided he was going to do something likely very stupid indeed.

"Take a couple grenades and hide them." he suggested her, giving the Mand'alor explosives, before reaching into the folds of his armoured robes to produce a quickdraw pistol, which he held out to her, "Try this on for size. I'm not really one for pistols but I have two; it might suit you."

He smiled a little wider.

"Consider it a gift."

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

As he mentioned she looked like she belonged, she quirked an eyebrow beneath the helmet, “Yes, actually. How did you know? Did the Force tell you?” She quipped, surprised at the dialogue that escaped her. It was carefree, sarcastic and so very different than the meek way she had been speaking until then. There was something about the helmet that made her feel like someone else, that made her feel more natural and less afraid of how she addressed her speech.

To her further surprise, she didn’t follow up with an apology. She simply stood there, staring at him as he told her to grab some grenades. The helmet hid her surprise, but she turned and grabbed a few. When she turned back, he extended a gun to her. She reached for it and looked down to inspect it.

It was as if a thousand knives pierced into her mind at once.

The pain was excruciating, and a billion tiny cuts and wounds exploded all over her psyche. She saw images - so many of them. She saw a vague face, she saw that gun in her past, she felt an explosion of emotions that were warm and painful at once. Externally she was visibly recoiling and clutching her head, slamming back against the lockers behind her. She was clearly distressed, trying to stop the assault on her mind. She couldn’t make sense of any of the memories, but she kept seeing one face repeatedly. It was too vague to make out the features clearly, but it kept popping up.

The episode lasted a few more seconds before it left. By the time it was done, she had whirled around and punched one of the lockers, putting a sizeable dent in it. She withdrew back, her vision blurred and her chest quickly rising and falling. The present materialized back rapidly and she shook her head to clear her mind.

She turned to look at Tagus again, looking warily at the gun. If there was something about it from her past, she wanted to find out. Without a word, she took it from his hands, reeling back her emotions and distress and pulling back behind the cold steel of her helmet.

“I’m ready.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus blinked for one second.

Then barked out an honest to Force laugh for what felt like the first time in an age. It wasn't that funny of a comeback but it was the way it was delivered, and by whom, that made it. Raz was devoid of her usual Mando self and yet she still managed to give something back when a Force user fed her a straight line. Smirking ever so slightly, he tilted his head to the side slightly and decided to respond in kind.

"Might have had something to do with the fact that you finally stopped acting like a frightened Lothcat cub."

Ah.

Apparently there was something about the weapon that triggered her enough that she reeled back from him. Unbeknownst to the Force-blind Mandalorian, Tagus didn't physically react but in the Force he began to build up his control. He was hopeful that this would not snap her back to being Mand'alor but, well, he was a Sith.

Hope wasn't exactly his strong suit so he backed it up with some healthy paranoia and prepared for the worst anyway.

A damaged locker was hardly the worst case scenario so he gave her the pistol when she reached out for it. He didn't resist as she took it but he did add.

"Don't shoot me with my own gun please."

The shuttle shook as they landed so Tagus gestured for her to follow him.

"I need to know something 24608; how do you feel about Zygerrians?"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She was happy he didn’t ask about her episode. No asking, no telling, just the way she preferred. By now there was no doubt that he knew about her lapses into her memories. She was distracted by his quip about the cub. It was the first time a grin cracked her face, and of course he couldn’t see it.

When he told her not to shoot him with his own gun, she smiled again, “Well you know the drill. Don’t piss me off, and I don’t know how to use weapons,” That tone was back. Maybe it was here to stay. She had no idea, but the words spilled from her before she could stop herself. Was this her being someone else or was it being who she was before? She felt perfectly at ease in her armor, still confused on why it made such a world of difference to her.

As the shuttle landed, she followed after him as the ramp lowered. When he asked about Zygerrians, she thought for a moment. Her mind was a useless place to pull information from, but she did have enough to draw from here, “They are slavers, correct? I don’t appear to have any opinion one way or another,” She shrugged, “What’re we going to be doing here today?”

Before they continued further, she came to a pause and turned to him, standing at his side now instead of behind him.

"Tell me something," She said quietly, "Why do you hesitate so much from using my true name? I won't believe that you simply do it to remind me of my place as a prisoner," She stared at him for a long moment. It was not known to her, but this was very much how she often addressed others - a cold steely reserve as if she were searing through those she addressed, "How dangerous is it for me to know my name?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

It seemed that she had some of her old confidence back now that she was armoured and armed. Was this a side effect of feeling so vulnerable as a prisoner? Or was this what Raz Solus had been like before? Had she always been the type of person who was more confident when she was nothing but an impartial mask to those she faced?

Interesting thoughts for another time perhaps.

The fact that she had some information about Zygerrians was promising because it meant he wasn't going to need to explain things to her in depth every time they went somewhere new and met with a different culture. That would get boring quickly and Tagus had neither the patience nor the inclination to do it.

"They are slavers." he confirmed, "We're here today to do a favour for one of their royals. Apparently some generals are planning to stage a coup and they have requested some assistance from the Sith Empire so here we are. We will earn some goodwill and you will get some combat experience to see how you adapt."

Standing side by side as they descended down the ramp of the shuttle, Tagus couldn't help the way a lone shiver ran down the length of his spine as she spoke. For a split second he was convinced some deity had reached out and chilled him to his core for no apparent reason save for the tone of Raz's voice.

He'd heard it before in some of the spy footage they had of her speaking to her troops.

Worse still was the fact that it was a relatively hard question to answer as well. It wasn't a question that he could avoid and from the tone of her voice? Well he didn't think she would drop it.

"Honestly I'm not certain. The incident that broke your mind is not something I fully understand. Things trigger your mind to react, to remember or imagine, and it causes you pain. What happens if a trigger is too much for you?" he turned it around on her, "I'm not going soft on you but you're far more valuable to everyone without your brain having turned to mush after being overloaded. So, instead, try something else."

They began to head towards one of the Zygerrian palaces, the streets oddly empty for the time of day.

"Do what I did, what Sith do. Discard your old name, you old self, because it can be your undoing, your end, and instead take on a new name." he tapped his chest with one hand, "I am no longer who I was before I took the name Tagus because that name, that person, was weaker. Softer. Vulnerable. Grow beyond your past weakness and dar'manda shame - choose your own name and I'll gladly use it."

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She looked at him as he mulled over his thoughts. She could see him tense up slightly, and she couldn’t understand why. There was something about her name that unnerved him, and it was almost as if it made him deeply uncomfortable. At last, he finally answered, and she couldn’t fault him for it. He had seen first hand how anything threading her to her past had impacted her, and she herself felt excruciating pain. She couldn’t imagine the effects something as fundamental as her name would have on her.

She continued to walk beside him, noting the way the streets were empty, “You still know your former name in your heart,” She said quietly, “You will never forget it, and you would not be the same without knowing it,” She looked around as she kept walking. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end, and she slowed down. Her gaze was trained forward, but her feet walked of their own accord, cutting further to the right and off the main street.

“We are being watched,” She said quietly. She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew it her heart, “Reach out with the Force to see if I am correct,” She doubted her own abilities still. She glanced down to find herself already clutching the gun on her belt. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion - just who was she? The other Sith had told her she had been a ruthless killer.

She stayed out of sight, moving surprisingly light on her feet. She glanced up and saw someone duck out of sight on a roof. She grimaced beneath the helmet, “We can’t be out in the open. They have been expecting us.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Did he?

Did he still know his former name in his heart?

Intellectually the answer was that of course he still knew it. He still knew his name but he didn't know what it was like to be that person any longer. Tagus had killed the last emotional links to who he had been with that previous name when he killed his wife, shutting the door on that chapter of his life with finality. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"And the risk?" he urged her gently, "Is it worth risking your life, your mind, for a vague sense of completion that comes from knowing who you used to be? I don't know how it can be and I'm the one of us who has that 'completion' so maybe I would know."

Maybe.

He frowned ever so slightly and reached out with the Force as she suggested. It did seem awfully convenient to him so he couldn't exactly fault her for feeling the way she did. But there was one thing he would insist on changing of course...

"If there's no sign of us they spring the trap cautiously. I'm going to go on ahead and I want you to cover me - when they spring their trap, you spring yours and we capitalize on their overconfidence." he flashed her a grin, "Think you can protect me?"

If she was half as good as he knew she was...?

He had nothing to worry about.

Advancing along their scheduled route with seemingly not a single ounce of care, Tagus was entirely unsurprised when Zygerrians filed out into the main street behind and ahead of him with rifles drawn. There were a good dozen of them but what was slightly more noteworthy was their leader.

A pureblood Sith.

"Darth Tagus, we meet again." the red Sith scowled, "I have come to exact my revenge upon you for your slaughter of my father! Of the defeat of my elder brother when he attempted revenge upon you as well!"

Tagus stared at the grandstanding Sith in silence for a moment before speaking loudly and clearly.

"Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?" he asked with a small smirk, "Now Gaanla!"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She walked close to him and grinned at his question beneath the helmet, “Based on the tidbits I’ve heard about my past, it sounds like I risked my life every day for one reason or another,” She shrugged as she continued. When he laid out the plan, she said nothing for a moment.

“My bigger concern is that we may have been betrayed,” She explained quietly, “By the very people that have sought us for protection,” When he asked her to cover him, she grimaced slightly. She wasn’t entirely sure about her own abilities, but he shuffled ahead before she could say anything. He was already putting trust in her to watch his back, and she had no choice but to go with him. He seemed to have more confidence in her than she did, and the fact was more than a little unnerving.

She waited in the shadows for the signal, watching as a pureblood Sith emerged ahead of a group. He looked similar to the Sith that met her in her cell some time ago. He blurted out some words and Tagus quickly shouted out loud. Something about that word he used...It caused that sting of pain, but then her body was moving before she could process anything.

From Tagus' vantage point, he would see two quick bursts of blasterfire whizz right past him and towards the man before him. He took both to the gut, doubling over in pain as his armor cracked and buckled, bleed through damage making him wheeze. Almost at the same time, a cooked grenade was lobbed towards the group, an explosion that took off multiple limbs.

Before he could blink, she rushed right past him and into the fray of the group of people. She kicked up a vibroblade off the ground, slicing it back through a Zygerrian’s neck. She kept the blade wedged in his flesh, whirling him around as multiple bolts meant for her tore into his back. She leveled her own gun over the shoulder of the now dead Zygerrian slouched against her and blasted another in the forehead.

The streets flooded with chaos, and now those positioned on the roof rushed to take shots without hitting any of their own.

 

[Darth Tagus]

Combat was a dance all it's own and Raz Solus was a dancer of exceptional skill. Tagus himself was nimble on his feet when it came to such a flight but sometimes it was nice to be able to watch another person move with such deadly grace that it was remarkable even to him. Still, he didn't have the luxury of being able to just sit around and watch because combat was only like a dance to a certain point.

Right up until the point where people started to die.

Twirling away from the spot he was standing in, Tagus' lightsaber was suddenly in his right hand and ignited. Ducking under a blaster bolt's path, he backhanded the second blast away with his lightsaber's bright red blade as he wove it under and around a Zygerrian's vibroblade before flicking it's point up into the throat of the slaver creature, cutting the throat open instantly and leaving the thing to die from the blood loss rather than finishing it cleanly.

Clean finishes were in short supply as Tagus weaved between Zygerrians, dodging at the last possible second to allow their own blaster bolts to kill some of their own people. With the ground level now thinning, Tagus knew that they needed to make a move on the upper levels.

"Gaanla - to the top! Jump!"

Using the Force to amplify someone else's body was not a low level skill and not something most Sith would attempt when in the midst of battle but Tagus was confident enough to do so. Raz would feel raw power surging into her legs beyond what she would produce naturally along with a cushioning effect that would absorb the impact of her landing so she could be up and fighting in an instant.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Her armor was splattered with blood, and she was more than a little horrified at her own actions. She yanked the blade out of the meat shield she had been using, kicking the Zygerrian off. His back was riddled with bolts, all meant for her. She moved of her own accord, her body on autopilot before her brain could catch up. The more she thought, the more it threw her off, and she simply let things go. She was born for this. She was bred for this. She had lived this many times before.

She glanced up to see Tagus also in the fray, and he called out to her. She felt the Force coil around her, and it made her more than a little uncomfortable. However, she leapt with it and grimaced as it pushed her up. Although she had no reason to doubt it, there was a sense of unease and distrust as it launched her.

She landed in a duck and roll, a bolt grazing her as the Zygerrian there was shocked at her abrupt arrival. She used the moment to sweep the leg, slamming the alien to the ground and firing her pistol point blank into his stomach. She looked around for any others and couldn’t spot anyone else.She took the rifle of the dead Zygerrian and propped it over the lip of the roof, looking through the scope. From her vantage point, she picked off several of the targets from opposite roofs, leaving it up to Tagus to clean up everything below.

Through it all, she couldn't deny the rush and exhilaration. New life had been breathed into her, and she was in her element.

Gaanla.

 

[Darth Tagus]

Without the danger of being sniped from the rooftops, Tagus was clear to engage the remaining Zygerrians on the ground however he liked and the way he liked to do so was to employ an awful lot of Force and some more blunt force as well. Reaching out with the Force, he slammed two heads into nearby walls hard enough to cause injury before following up with a quick thrust to kill the disorientated Zygerrians.

One of the strange cat-people slavers managed to block a clash from Tagus' lightsaber but being more skilled with a blade didn't mean that the creature was any less dead than his fellows. Rather than use the Force however, Tagus forced a brief blade lock with his lightsaber in one hand before raising his left hand and firing his violator pistol into the Zygerrian's throat over the top of their crossed blades.

As the enemy fell to the ground, very dead, Tagus took stock and noted that there seemed to be no more living enemies for them to engage.

For now.

Reaching out with the Force, he focused and found where Raz was atop one of the buildings. Rather than attempt some kind of mental conversation with her (he doubted that would end well), he instead waved once before leaping up to land atop the same rooftop.

"Still doubt yourself?"

He didn't think she would.

"We need to make a move - I know where they keep their heavy weapons. Do you think you remember how to drive a tank, Gaanla?"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz whirled around and pointed her gun before realizing that it was Tagus that jumped up. She lowered the gun, reeling from being in the fray. It was strange to have her actions be automatic and of their own accord, and it was more than a little unsettling. He was still in it, and he quickly barked out some plans and began to move.

“Wait,” She said sternly, “Was I a killer? Did I butcher innocents without a second thought?” This was weighing on her conscience, especially as she began to realize how efficient she was at taking life, “...Did I attack defenseless women and children?” Her voice was grim. She knew she was risking their mission with this pause, but she wouldn’t budge without at least having this answered. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she felt sick to her stomach wondering about the answer.

She stood firm, staring at his eyes through the visor of her helmet. What would the answer do to her? Would he lie to her? She stared into his eyes, unable to truly read him. Sith were known for being able to guard their minds, and she had no chance against a fully trained one like him. She could only hope he had a sliver of honesty in him.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Well staring down the barrel of a gun held by the Mand'alor Raz Solus was something he could cross off his bucket list but, thankfully, he was still keyed up and deep into feeling the Force so he didn't react instinctively. He didn't so much as flinch, which was probably something very few people could say when Raz Solus pointed a weapon at them.

She was kind of a big deal after all.

But she didn't want to move.

Instead she stood firm and she asked him questions, questions that she probably didn't want to know the answer to. Questions that he didn't really want to answer because there was no easy answer. If he lied to her then it would be rather obviously a lie and he didn't think she would stop asking until she found out the truth.

But the truth was of no comfort.

"You were a warrior." he told her honestly, if a touch bluntly, "You fought other warriors and you lived; they often didn't. Were they innocent? Who's to say. But you fought them, men and women, and you and they both understood what was at stake."

He let out a short breath.

"You killed a lot of people Gaanla." he admitted to her, "But as a warrior, not a murderer. And trust me in this one thing if nothing else; there is a world of difference between being a warrior and being a simple killer."

There had to be - right?

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She was again surprised he took the time to answer her question without brushing it off. She could tell he was choosing his words, but she saw no hint of lying. In fact, he had a tougher time not revealing more than was necessary. When would he simply outright tell her? She hated playing this game, but she was in no position to ask for more.

She was quiet for a moment after he spoke. The words eased her mind, but it only led to more questions than answers. Why would her people have ousted her? Did she spare those that didn’t deserve it? Had she done something to endanger other Mandalorians? Perhaps that’s why she had an aversion to revealing her face.

He had given her what she wanted, and she needed to focus back on the mission.

“I guess we’ll find out if I know how to drive a tank,” She said at last, grinning beneath the helmet. She jutted her chin out to tell him to lead the way. She vaulted over the roof onto a lower ledge, following wherever he went towards this tank.

“I gotta be honest,” She called out after him, “A mission like this seems too trivial for someone like you,” Was she being too nosy? Definitely, “And to be stuck with me on top of that,” She chuckled softly to herself as she followed, keeping an eye out for any sudden movements. She didn’t see a need to be completely serious at all times. There was enough pain weighing on her mind any given moment.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

He wasn't sure if that was the end of it or not.

All he knew was that he had answered what she had asked without a shred of a lie and he had linked it into the answer he had given himself. Back when he was younger, back when he was new to the Dark Side, he would doubt himself and he needed to tell himself that he wasn't a simple killer; that he was doing something for a purpose and with a weight behind it that meant something more than just mindlessly slaughter.

There were times he thought he might even believe it but they had always been fleeting. Unlike Raz Solus, Zeven Visz had killed a lot of people he was certain had not deserved it. Would he be absolved of those crimes when he died because they were part of a higher purpose?

He doubted it.

"I'm sure it'll be an adventure." he observed dryly as he led the way towards the nearby military depot he knew about from previous visits, "And if they're shooting at us, it's fine to run them over right?"

Tagus looked back at her with a faint smirk.

"Well maybe I'm just sticking around to spend more time with you, eh?" he teased her before turning back round, "Besides, what is it you think a Sith Lord does? Sit around all day instructing people to tell us how pretty we look?"

He couldn't help but add.

"Only Victress does that."

Reaching the edge of the rooftop, he stopped and held out an arm for her.

"Grab on - I'll jump us onto the top of the tank, you hold off anyone who notices as I open it up, then you're driving. Ready?"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She had to grin as he quipped right back. She followed behind him, keeping an eye out for any threats in the near vicinity. She was about to dish something back when she spotted someone pop up from a roof up ahead. Without hesitation, she had the rifle she looted up and pointed. Within seconds, she fired a shot and watched the man drop at once.

She slung the rifle over her shoulder, “Actually yes,” She smiled and carried on conversation casually, “I do think that’s what they do. That and jerk it to their enemies being tortured maybe,” She blurted out. She coughed a bit afterwards, realizing that maybe that was a bit vulgar. But maybe that was simply how she was? Oh well, too late now. If he wanted to spend time with her, he would learn her personality just as she was learning it.

She walked to the edge of the roof and he told her to grab on. She grimaced and did so, but the rigidness in her body language was clear, “Can’t I have something that helps me do this? I hate relying on this Force business, no offense. It gives me anxiety,” She admitted. Raz Solus admitting the Force gave her anxiety was probably something to write into the history books, but she wouldn’t know that. She was simply blabbing out honest thoughts.

She held onto him as they jumped up, gritting her teeth at the unnatural feeling of the unseen force that launched them up. Once they landed, she darted to the side at once - three men were waiting up top. They were slightly better prepared than before, as one of them had cooked a grenade. It had come hurtling towards her and Tagus. Even if he used the Force to fling it away, it was enough to explode mid-air and send them flying back several feet and tear through some armor.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Jerk it to their enemies being tortured?

... it was bad that Tagus could actually think of several Sith who would likely engage in such acts if they thought they weren't being observed. Sometimes the Dark Side brought out perversions of a more literal sense rather than merely removing the more anchor-like aspects of the morality that came with living in a Galaxy that had the Jedi as Paragons; a warrior monk cult that indoctrinated the young into a life of emotionless elitism.

At least it wasn't just the Sith who were messed up.

"That is a very unsettling picture you've painted there, Gaanla." he declared with a smirk, "I'll have you know that some of us can enjoy the finer things in life without sadism."

Some of them at least.

The idea that Raz Solus was anxious about the Force was both amusing and, if he was being entirely honest with himself, it made quite a bit of sense. Someone as usually strong willed and tough headed as Raz Solus... he supposed anxiety over something would pretty quickly change to anger and to hatred. And who wouldn't be anxious around Force users when they didn't have access to it themselves? According to the non-FS members of the Galaxy, the Sith and Jedi were able to do all kinds of things like accurately read minds and such.

"I'll see about getting you a jetpack."

Her own, most likely.

Making the leap was easy and they flew through the air with grace - and landed amidst an absolute cluster kark. A grenade was not the most deadly weapon in the Galaxy against someone of his caliber or against Raz either. But when they were coming in together? It kind of limited the options.

Cursing, Tagus pushed Raz out of the way and off of the edge of the tank so that she would be out of the range of the explosion. He used the momentum from this to try and roll himself away but it exploded before he was clear, sending him flying through the air from the shockwave. The Force shielded him from as much of the blast as it could but even so he landed heavily against the ground, crying out as he felt some of his ribs having broken from the force and the charitably named landing.

He really was beginning to hate this place.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

It happened too quick even for her to react. She felt herself forcibly pushed out of the way and watched as Tagus took the brunt of the damage. She cursed out loud as she was sent tumbling back, chunks of her armor pierced with shrapnel. However, it was incredibly light compared to what she would have suffered if he hadn’t pushed her from the way.

While on the ground, she trained the Quick Draw and fired off in quick succession. Thankfully, her aim was on point, and she downed one of the men rushing at her. She quickly rolled over to get on her feet, rushing towards Tagus where he was still on the ground. It was her turn to cover him, and she dashed to the side and took a few grazing shots to the armor before she returned fire.

One of the men primed another grenade and tossed it again. This time, Raz was prepared and shot it mid-air with impeccable aim. The grenade exploded directly by the two men, and she fell near Tagus to shield from any shrapnel raining down which dug into the armor plating on her back. Thankfully the mishap killed off the remaining men, and their coast was clear.

After the smoke and dust cleared, she was still atop Tagus, probably not the most helpful with broken ribs. She pulled back as soon as she could see, rising to her feet and glancing down at him. She tilted her head as she looked at him, “I don’t think I’m the only one with a case of mistaken identity,” She reached a hand down to help him up, “Sith don’t do what you just did for me.”

She didn’t allow much time for response, reverting back to her soldier ways. She made her way towards the tank, the path clear for now. She opened it up and hopped inside to drive it, “Where we going, chief?”

@Nefieslab