[Bandomeer] A Base to Call Home

[Diocletian Solus]

Bandomeer was a planet in the Outer Rim Territories, on the Braxant Run. It was known for its high concentration of ionite, as well as the many predators lurking in its wildernesses. The planet's surface was roughly divided in half by a huge landmass and the Great Sea of Bandomeer.

The planet was at one time an agricultural world of rolling plains until it was discovered that many valuable ores were hidden in its crust. Then, mining operations such as Offworld Mining took control, and reduced it to strip mines and industrial wastes. The planet was the home world of the Meerian race, who struggled to come to terms with the prosperity that cost their world's natural beauty. Even Bandomeer's surrounding asteroids were rich with mineral deposits but could not be mined due to the risk of fragments colliding with the planet.


Diocletian already was not a huge fan of Bandomeer. It had been raining since he hit the atmosphere and had not let up at all upon his transition to the surface. Having landed his Mynock-Series Freighter at the agreed upon rendezvous point, he then hopped on his 88-V Ranger and sat in the hold of his ship, boarding ramp down, waiting for Koil. @Darasuum

The storm itself was a blessing and a curse as the low visibility would aid them in being undetected in their mission to obtain a suitable site for a base. On the other hand, it was pissing rain and that just made anything uncomfortable. Dio had put on his rain gear over his Beskar’gam, its poncho and pants were camouflage and would also add a layer of concealment to its primary function of keeping him dry.

Riding stage coach style on the rail of his Ranger was his Shriek-Hawk, muzzle down and in a rifle holster. He had his bowcaster resting across his lap, attached to his armor by its two-point harness. Crossed underneath the bowcaster was his bandolier. He was as ready for action as he could be considering the downpour outside the hold of his ship.

Pulling up the map of the area on his data pad he scanned the surrounding area. It was an old abandoned agro facility. It had once belonged to the jedi-agro corps but had been abandoned as half built when the Jedi had done their disappearing act, compliments of the Sith. He was sure that the facility had become the home of the local flora and fauna and was slightly apprehensive about the creatures and who knew what else, they might find there. Conveniently located along the coast of the Great Sea, but not too close to any large settlements, it was a prime location for a new base.

Hearing the roaring of landing jets above the storms drum stattaco on the outside of his ship, he tapped his data pad and brought up the ships radar. That would be Koil, right on time.

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

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Friction ❖ Imagine Dragons​

A dull planet with unpleasant climate. He could argue how similar it was to Mandalore and Concord Dawn. Both had their natural beauties and attractions. But Koil was not here to appreciate either. His newly acquire XS-100 light frieghter would be landing close to Dio's own mynock. Like him he would mount his ranger bike. He was wearing a poncho of scally hide. It was the flesh of the trandoshans he had killed on Kashyyyk and would serve to keep his armor protected from being drenched.

After Kashyyk he had made a few changes. He now carried a chanti blaster pistol as a side arm and a westar c1 carbine as his primary weapon. The weapon was akin to the shriek hawk but he had heard various complaints or odd occurrences of failure with the shriek hawk. His own shriek hawk blaster rifle had been shot out of his hands so he would have had to get a new one either way. He had his strill blaster pistol still on the speeder bike if he ended up needing it. For now the ship would be locked down by the pilot droid inside until he returned. His rifle was slung in front of him with webbing so he could try and shoot one handed or shoulder as soon as he dismounted.

He maneuvered his bike out of the ship and over towards Dio. The two would be able to head to their desired location from there. There was an outpost but he doubted they would give the two mandalorians much trouble. They were hard headed and ready to fight anybody but they did not expect an attack. If they did notice a fight they would probably do their darnedest to defend against it though.

@Critas ​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

“Badger Kit, lock it down and I will be back soon.” said Diocletian over the comm to his KLT-Series Astromech Droid that piloted his Mynoch-Series Freighter. He heard the affirmative from the droid he called Badger Kit and started his Ranger down the access ramp from the hold of his freighter. Reaching the bottom of the ramp he heard the ramp start to rise behind him and its electromagnetic locks engage once the hold was sealed.

Once Koil had pulled up his vehicle beside Dio’s he called over to him, “There is what appears to be a small listening post. Now unserviceable, not too far from here and the target. We can leave the Rangers there Al’verde.”

With that he kicked the pig on his Ranger and led the way through the forest and rain towards the listening post. The wind and rain beat against his T-Visor and on the poncho and rain gear he wore over his armor. He did not take the most direct route to the rendezvous, weaving and backtracking several times in the route to ensure as much stealth and caution as possible.

While driving he saw sign of multiple animals active in the area, both large and small. It would be likely that both the rendezvous and the target would be in use by creatures of all types. Dio had no issue with fighting animals, he had done so recently on Kashyyyk. He did not prefer it but he would do his job for his clan should he have to deal with indigenous creatures here.

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

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The man listened to the observations Dio had made before he had arrived. It would be a good idea to build on top of something that was already existing. It would save them time and effort from working up from nothing. At the very least it could be a staging area for the main base. A roof could do wonders to held expedite construction.

When they set off Koil made sure to have his own distance from Dio. This was uncertain territory and the weather was inclement. It was best if they did not end up injured from some simple speeder bike accident. They had been warned against local wild life. It could prove dangerous if they did not take precautions. Even an herbivore could cause damage if they hit one going at high speed. The slower speeds would also keep the bike from making any noise at a distance especially through the rain.

There certainly was plenty of life on the planet, that much was evident. In Koil's opinion it was still a rather nice place despite the industry that had gripped it. The planet could survive on its own if necessary. That was about as pretty as things got for Koil.

@Critas​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

As the paid weaved through the forest, they both were in no hurry to reach their intended rendezvous. They knew there were far too many dangers on this planet to rush through anything. Looking down at the HUD on his Ranger to get his bearings, Dio noticed that they were nearing the listening post. It was just on top of the next ridge and there was a small canyon that they could ride all the way up to the rim of that ridge. From there a little supply trail curled up to the post and would allow them to move up and leave their transport there.

From the listening post it would be a fairly short hike, only a kilometer or so, to the remnants of the facility’s outskirts. Dio cut his engines as they neared the edge of the canyon, allowing the Ranger to coast in the last hundred meters or so. Coming to a stop near the entrance to the foot path, he immediately noticed tracks heading up the path. Dio was no tracker like his vod Arturo, so he had no idea what had made the tracks. They appeared to head straight up to the outpost where he and Koil were hoping to set up a staging point to probe deeper into the complex.

Getting off his Ranger, he did a quick equipment check and grabbed his Shriek-Hawk off the vehicle. It never hurt to have a back-up. He slid the old and reliable carbine onto his back where it would not get in the way should he have to throw down. With his equipment check done, he slid over and grabbed some scrub brush and started to camouflage his vehicle. You could never be too cautious when working in possible enemy territory.

With his vehicle now harder to see, especially in the continual down pour of the day, Dio turned and looked up at the ridge. He could see the trail wind its way up the ridge, it was not that far, and the serpentine nature of the trail allowed for cover and concealment from anyone at the post above. The trail had once been cleared back, you could see that, but now it had become over grown from disuse. Turning back to Koil he crouched in the shadow of a large tree, his back to it, and waited.

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Bandomeer was a loose end for the Old Empire, and Emperor Vrael. With such an Ionite rich planet floating freely between the Mandalorians, the Emperor saw fit to send a few pairs of eyes, to keep an eye on the place, primarily for Mandalorian activity. Arnen was sent with the instructions to find the most likely place a makeshift base of operations on the planet. While it was not under direct Imperial control, they had still marked it as a 'place of interest', and as such regularly sent covert operations to certain portions of the planet. Arnen was chomping at the bit to prove his worth to his Emperor, and as such, signed on for the first reconnaissance mission to the border-planet, finding himself in the center of the ruins of what he understood to be an old Agri-Corp buildings; a remnant of the Jedi's attempts to look humanitarian, before they were systematically assassinated by his predecessors. Arnen kept a datapad entry about everything he'd found, cataloging zthe fauna and flora, as well as any notable tech that may have survived.

He stood in his Combat Engineer's Armor, with his datapad in hand. He stood atop a mound of crumpled duracrete amidst rows and rows of industrial containers, and massive grain silos lined up in columns on either side of the main entrance.

"Well, I don't see much worth noting. If Mandalorians eat century old grain, they'd be smart to look here. What surprises me the most, is how a lot of it is still here, and wasn't taken by looters, or the Sith of the time," he said, speaking out loud to himself, but within earshot of his companion. He looked up and noticed the downpour of rain around them, as it found its way in through the cracks and holes high in the ceiling. "I say we crash here for the night, and pack up in the morning. Anything short of finding a Mandalorian Death squad skulking around, we don't have anything to take back to the Emperor," he said, sarcastically, not knowing that two Mandalorians were not far off from them. With that, he leapt upward to the second story, as there was a covered causeway going across the top, above the Silos. Upon either end of the causeway, where what remained of a hydroponics system lay, with browning and withering plants scattered throughout, and the hydroponics stood up on long and sturdily built Durasteel counters, spanning the length of the area. Arnen walked toward the back and sat down along the wall, at the front right corner, positioned above the main entrance, and shut his eyes, not to sleep, but to meditate on the Dark Side of the Force.

Both side entrances were collapsed in, leaving holes in the roof in the dead center, and the front door, though why anyone would fly in through the roof would be beyond Arnen. On either front, however, Arnen was out of view, being situated behind the back row of hydroponics machines.

@Faded Truth

 

[Crimson Valek]

.

Valek looked upwards towards the hole in the roof, watching as droplets of rain slithered down from the crevices and onto the ground below their feet. The pureblood sith was fully covered in his Sith Marauder Armor as he gently paced near the rows and rows of Industrial containers. Gloved hand touched against old Silos, scoffing lightly at the amount of dust and duracrete remnants that were still present in this building. He too had his datapad in hand, inputting several figures and documentation of the evidence they gathered on their reconnaissance. He wasn't as interested as his comrade in regards to flora and fauna so he strictly stayed with the mechanical information.

Placing it away, he shifted attention towards Arnen, "Sounds good to me." He too unaware that two Mandalorians were approaching the listening post. He leaped towards the second story, moving through the covered causeway towards the back right corner of the building. Near him were the belongings and gear he had brought for the trip, including two fragmentation grenades, and a Javelin Light Repeater. His lightsaber was stowed away on his belt while his side arm pistol was strapped to the side of his left thigh. Valek and his gear were out of view, situated behind rows of Durasteel containers and archaic machinery. While Arnen was meditating, Valek was collecting his own thoughts but channeled the force towards him, keeping a keen eye and ear out for anything suspicious.

@Critas @Darasuum @Gian Greydragon

 

[Koil Solus]

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The two mandalorians would wind through the trees until they came in sight of the agro facility for the first time. It was a few hundred meters away and Koil slowed to a stop before exiting the treeline and motioned for Dio to do the same. So far there had not been any markings on the trees of aggressive wildlife. They usually marked trees with claw marks or other less pleasant methods. Still, that did not mean there were not threats of fauna within the half built structure. Pulling out his macrobinoculars he viewed the facility under closer inspection. What was there seemed decrepit. Their elivated position having just come over a bluff allowed them to see that the roof was not a smooth line but had a hole in the top. That meant water damage and exposure to the elements.

Turning to Dio Koil spoke for the first time on this mission. "That looks worse than I was expecting. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Whether Attack Badger was or was not would not matter. Koil motioned for them to head back to their starships. He would send a message to his droid to make sure the vessel was warm when they were on their way back.

Once there he would stow the Ranger back in the ship and get into the turret seat of his ship while his pilot droid began take off. He hoped he did not need to say the cliche line of follow my lead. He was about to get some catharsis after the past few weeks.

@Critas​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian was no master hunter, but he had been brought up on Mandalor hunting in the northern forests with his mentor Sulla. This mean he was at home in the woods and could move quickly and quietly with ease. Following Koil through the foliage, he too noticed that there were none of the tell-tale marks of animal incursion in the area of the facility. There appeared to be no sign of any large animals in the area at all.

It could have been that something had spooked them or that they just avoided this facility for so long due to people being here that it had become second nature to them. Predators were not dumb by any means, if there was no prey in an area then they would seek it elsewhere. Seeing little to no sign of small game it made sense that there would be no large animals in the area.

Eventually the two Mandalorians drove their Rangers up to an elevated position and Koil observed the facility itself through is micro binoculars. Dio kept an eye out, looking at the general condition of the facility his Ranger camouflaged to add concealment. It was a dump, completely in disarray and there were no real signs of life that Dio could readily see at that time. The hole in the roof and the pouring rain meant that the structure itself was probably rotted and at the very least had some sort of nasty mold inside.

"That looks worse than I was expecting. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Koil. Dio nodded and slid back from the edge of the cliff with the other Mandalorian. A few hand motions and they were heading back to their ships. The trek through the woods was easier the second time as they knew the forest better. They had been careful not to leave a trail of any sort behind them.

Once they were on the way back, Dio would also communicate with his Astromech droid to prep the ship so they could get a hot takeoff once he rolled into the hangar on the Ranger. He had noticed something was bothering Koil recently but his al’Verde was so quiet usually that it had taken a while. If the other Mandalorian had wanted to talk about it, he would have but on a mission, it was not the time.

@Darasuum
@Gian Greydragon
@Faded Truth

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Arnen sat still for a few silent moments and pondered on the Force, focusing it inward upon himself, expanding his senses, and through the trees he could faintly hear the brief warbling of speederbikes in the distance near the listening center. They had company, but they were leaving, as the already faint sound of the speeders dissipated. Turning to warn his comrade, he suggested they make their way through the forest to his own Mynock-class Freighter about a mile away from here, before more returned. Maybe he was a bit jumpy, but it felt a lot worse than the stock-standard paranoia he'd grown up with. Packing up his crap, he heel-turned down an over-turned support beam, and out the side of the building that they'd arrived in, and with the Force, he high-tailed it in the direction of their extraction area, with the intent on moving quickly to report the activity in the area.

/Exit thread.

 

[Crimson Valek]

.

Valek lofted a brow at Arnen's warning, but didn't question the judgment call as his fellow Sith's intuition had hardly been incorrect in the past. "Very well.." He said, packing up his gear and slinging it over his shoulder as he climbed atop the beam and followed right behind Arnen out to the side of the building they arrived from. Utilizing Force speed, he dashed through the cover of woods, tall shrub and trees keeping his shrouded figure out of view as they navigated quickly in the direction of his comrade's ship. This was a short visit, and the reportable intelligence was negligible but at least it beat studying scriptures in the catacombs.

// exit thread

 

[Koil Solus]

_____________

All systems seemed to be working just fine. The ship was flying towards the listening post when his droid chirped in his ear. It would seem a contact was showing up in atmosphere on their sensors. Considering reports of Sith activity and the fact they were no where near a settlement it raised a few red flags in Koil's mind. He was sure that Dio probably also picked up on the notifications.

He gunned the controls to intercept the ship on its trajectory, only a kilometer away. At present altitude he had an easy visual on it. He flew in close before it was touching down in an open area. Was it landing to meet somebody? If it was he kept an eye wkith his turrets on the ground. It would be bad if gangsters like the Red Skulls made their way to Bandomeer let alone right next to where the clan was planning on setting up a base. His own ship did not stop moving but did slow only slightly.

Koil opened fire a volley of shots on the ship before it could touch down. If it chose to continue safely he would keep firing from his turret seat. It would not destroy the ship right away and its shields would take some of the damage. It could still fly away without touching down but, do doubt freaking out about getting shot at and saving its life and possible contraband. The other option was for it to be the next target practice of the Silent Badger.

@Critas @Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth ​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

After making his way to his own ship, everything had gone smoothly and by the numbers. The ship had been prepped and was ready to go upon arrival. He had lifted off with no difficulty and was maintaining a wing man position behind Koil, about 100 meters off his left side, a little low. Dio was no ace pilot but he was better than some. Dio’s Mynock-Series freighter was by no means a sleek fighter, but it would get the job done.

A red blip appeared on scope and after tapping a few buttons Dio identified the contact as non-Mando which meant enemy. Almost in sync with Koil, he hit his own accelerator and moved with the Al’Verde on an intercept course. He moved from a little below Koil’s ship to slightly above it in the hopes of cutting off any escape attempt by the other ship.

Watching Koil open up on the other ship, Dio slowed slightly to make his own pass, peppering the craft’s shields with laser fire from his guns. He knew that the pilot had a choice to make now, either stay and fight the two craft, make a run for it, or finish his mission and then try to make a run for it. Most smugglers would cut and run at the sight of two Mandalorian ships but that was never a given.

After his run at the mysterious craft, Dio started searching the skies for any other craft that might be approaching. He knew that Koil had the ground side covered and would alert him should his attention be needed there.

@Darasuum
@Faded Truth
@Gian Greydragon

 

[Arnen Elgernoth]

Arnen looked up as the ship meant for them was chased off by two Freighters. He cursed to himself, knowing now, he would have to find another way off the planet, or retreat and regroup with his comrade in a shanty town nearby, and move to a spaceport, then call for another pick up. As they swiftly sprinted through the woods, they came across the river, that impeded their current path. Arnen decided in that moment, before he and his comrade could conceivably be spotted, as the ships were way ahead of them, firing at their way off the planet. Taking a moment, behind the treeline, he ditched the heavy leg armor of his Combat Engineer gear, took a running start, and dove into the rapids, using the Force to help him breathe.

/exit thread

 

[Crimson Valek]

.

Valek continued to sprint forwards, his natural speed augmented by the abilities of dark force powers. However, he came to a sudden halt, feet skidding in the mud as he looked upwards and cursed in conjunction with his comrade as their way off this planet was driven off by the Mandalorian ships. "Damn.." He muttered, attention shifting towards Arnen whom he saw take off his heavy armor and take a plunge for the rapids below. "I got to strip and no women to see Red Daddy's abs? Just my karkin luck!" Dropping his heavy gear to the ground as he too dove downwards, dark shrouded body submerging into the cold waters below. Luckily, he had the fastest breaststroke out of any acolyte at the academy.

/exit thread

 

[Koil Solus]

_____________

It would seem the whomever was piloting single mynock freighter was realizing just how much danger they were in and flew off before it took serious damage. Koil watched it go and circled the area keeping an eye on his scanners to see if any more airborne threats came. But none did. He signaled to Dio to return back to their previous task.

He flew his ship over to the decapitated and half built base. The two mandalorians would be able to open fire on it and hopefully drive out any living creatures inside as well as any nesting grounds. The demolition would make way for the future base they were planning on building. Maybe they could even get some scavenger droids to pick through to find any worth while materials. While the current structure was not worth much the position of it was ideal.

@Critas @Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth​

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian fired several more shots at the freighter effectively herding the ship away from their target area. He was not really worried about any threat the ship posed but he was definitely curious as to why the ship had been there. Did they interrupt an underworld deal or was this someone coming to check the facility for salvage? Any chance of discovering the solution to that mystery was rapidly leaving the area as quickly as its engines could reasonably carry it.

Dio turned back at Koil’s signal and resumed his place as the Al’verde’s wingman. They flew to the old jedi agro-base and circled it once to take a second look from the air. The plan was to demolish the base with lasers from the air. Hopefully that would clear out any threats and pave the way for the building crews to move in. Dio allowed his astromech to take the controls once more and made his way back to the turret. Turning the craft to be able to target the facility, the two Mandalorians demolished the facility in a methodical fashion.

The stage was set for their new base on Bandomeer.