Ask Hoth Blizzard Blues

[Sera Jex]

Why did there have to a karking blizzard out? Sera thought to herself as the winds howled with whistling fury. The ramshackle cafe she found herself having just enough insulation to retain heat but not much else. She could hear different parts of the structure buckle and give as more layers of snow landed ontop of everything. Even with an old fashioned fire place giving some warmth from the center of the cafe she still felt the need to huddle up and compact herself into the smallest ball possible to stay warm. Various strands of hair were frozen solid and now beginning to slowly thaw out. Hoth was certainly one of the last places she wanted to spend her time in. Still she hoped it would be remote enough to just hide and collect herself.

Ever since escaping from her most recent trip to Zygerria with the reluctant aid of an opportunistic pig she found she couldn't bring herself to go back to the few people she actually had a modicum of trust for. No going back would put them at risk. If they could still find her now they would find her again, and maybe next time people like Neri and Alana would be caught in the cross fire. As a result she neglected to contact them and just tried to stick it out on her own.

It was fairing well for the runaway though. Her eyes were bloodshot as she often had to use a generous supply of caf to keep herself awake. She could feel herself get thinner as it grew harder and harder to maintain a healthy supply of calories. Many days it was hard just to keep moving and this blizzard had kept her stuck at this little shanty town for days. Now taking a small sip from her cup as she try to steel the fact that the liquid felt like it was burning her insides. It was some odd liquimeal solution that the locals made. Tasted awful but it kept you warm and filled the stomach.

She pondered if soon she would just drop to the snow covered ground somewhere on this planet and never get back up. A part of her thought that it would be relieving to just ends things and move on beyond the ether. Another part though... refused. It was that part of her that scared her. It was beginning to feel more and more like a snarling beast that would at times seem to take over her and dominate her mind. When that was running free is usually when the bodies of scum would start appearing and the worst part was that in some ways... Sera liked it.

She shivered just thinking about it and now felt ice cold prompting her to start generously gulping down her drink desperate to feel warm again. She just wanted this day to end and the blizzard to clear, but for now she was stuck here with her thoughts.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Wind lashed at her armored figure. Her cloak, the insignia of Clan Wren sewn into the fabric, fluttered violently against the blizzard. Frost already began to gather on her armor, whiter by the second, before she finally stepped into the warmth of the old outpost station. Heating generators whirred, and even a few candles winked at her inside the cafe. There wasn’t much to look at it.

But what did she expect out of a planet like Hoth?

A few eyes flicked over to her, some suspicious by a newcomer, others too drunk to care. Most resumed to their drinks: the musk of liquor, the smell of coffee. Soup and liquified foods the locals drank to keep themselves warm and their bellies full. Didn’t smell nice, but Song didn’t care. She hadn’t come to the icy wasteland for some food and wine.

She was after something, someone. A bounty.

Song slid into a table in the corner, one with a view of the whole cafe and its patrons. Several Rodians played a game of pazaak, a human man and woman were busy chatting it up by the door, the bartender was serving an old man with a smile. And, between it all, seated at a lonely table, was a young woman with black hair and bloodshot eyes.

The Mandalorian stared at her for what seemed like the longest time.

It had to be her. The bounty she was after.

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

Sera's mind turned to current events. Other people like her were out there and they were now a feared and hunted quantity. That meant that there was all the more reasons for why someone would track her. She would need to keep herself in check... She needed control. That was the problem all along. These abilities helped her but well they were like fire. Useful but chaotic and once out of control... Sera's mind went back to Zygerria and when she was captured by a Mandalorian. She couldn't remember much after they actually set foot on the planet. It was just overloaded by emotion. Rage, anger, revenge, sadism and primal instinct. It was wild and a uncontrollable flood.

Afterwards she just felt empty. Like a part of her had been sucked out and stamped to death by this other part of her. This introspection seemed to only drag her down, she needed to do something. Her head had been having a fierce staring contest with the table but she now decided to look around. Nothing seemed amiss but she just couldn't help but feel paranoid... granted she was always paranoid. Even the normal glances people do just to acknowledge someone was there was causing her concern but atleast she could eventually talk herself down. This was different and she was trying to determine what the hell was causing it. She then saw it, like a photo that was unnerving despite appearing normal that one crucial detail her subconscious latched onto became noticed. The Mandalorian.

She blinked and the figure was still there. Staring back. A panic starting to form. Was it him again. Deciding to betray the truce they had formed? Did someone offer a high enough pay? No that couldn't be she was just imagining things? This wasn't the first time her mind had decided to play tricks on her and put visions in places they didn't exist. It had to be one of those times. She tried to ignore it but then she realized that the armor was different than the last Mando she encountered. Especially the helmet and the lack of that gaudy trench coat, She felt the Mando's gaze and even with the helmet on she could tell what the body language was: A predator scanning it's next catch.

She ended up locking her gaze straight with the Mandalorian. Alarm bells where ringing in her head as she could feel the adrenaline in her body start to course through. Her mind trying to scan the area, her grip around her drink tightening and her mind waiting for the right trigger. Which came in the form of the kitchen door opening.

With as much force as she could muster she threw the cup and it's remaining contents towards the Mando's direction. Propelling herself from her chair and using the table for leverage she got up at fast as she could muster and transitioned into a sprint for the kitchen hoping that she find a way out from there or atleast slow up the Mando in there. Her right hand now trying to reach for her DL44. She ended crashing into a waitress carrying a platter of hot drinks which caused Sera to stumble and the waitress to fall to the ground as liquid was thrown every which way. Though that didn't matter to Sera as her mind was focused on getting to that door.

Her mind was made up. There wasn't going to let anyone drag her back. No matter what.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

When they looked eyes, Song felt a spike of adrenaline. Who would be the first to move, she hadn’t a clue, but her hand was already hovering over her holstered DL-44 blaster pistol, ready to whip it out and shoot dead anyone who stood in her way. If the young woman was going to fight, then the Mandalorian would oblige. With most bounties, she was used to the trouble.

This one did something different though. A little unexpected.

The girl hurled a cup into her direction, and though its steaming contents had spilled out mid-air, the ceramic cup shattered against Song’s helmet. The Mandalorian didn’t even move, taking the drink head on (literally) and watching the shards fall harmlessly to the floor. She emerged without a single mark as the girl moved.

Looks like she had a runner.

And, maybe, a klutz. She smacked into a waitress on her way to what Song presumed was a second exit, sending hot drinks and soup flying. A mug of hot chocolate, in particular, rained over a confused Neimoidian, who screeched before falling over in his chair.

Meanwhile, Song advanced at a casual pace, not too concerned about the unfolding chaos. When she had the girl in her line of sight, nearing the kitchen door, she raised her arm to her. With a click of her other hand, Song used her bola launcher and fired a wire meant to trip and tangle the escaping bounty.

Whether or not it hit, though, didn’t matter. The Mandalorian continued to move, a predator naturally drawn to its prey. One way or another, she’d have her bounty.

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

She wasn't even paying attention to the Mandalorian's reaction she just needed to do anything to distract him. The sounds of screaming Neimoidian as it was just background noise to her mind. Sera was focused on one thing evading the mando. Now granted where the heck she could realistically go was starkly limited. She was just in the moment for better and for worse. Her hands where trying to draw her DL44 as she ran for the door.

She would begin to haphazardly aim in the general direction of her hunter only for the bola wire that the Mando shot at her to hit the pistol and send hit flying. Kark! The bola wire would wrap around her right wrist and grew taught forcing her to twist and for her to swing and slam her back against the wall next to the door once again locking eyes with the dreaded T-visor. Sera dug her heels onto the wood floor and grabbed onto the wire with both hands. If the mando wanted to have her bounty than Sera was damn well sure to make him fight for it. She pulled on the wire with as much strength as she could muster to try and offset the Mando's balance and pull him towards her.

She could feel a creeping urge to give in and just ignite the air with lightning and put the fear of pantheon into him but her it would be so easy... She bit down on her lip at the mere thought not again not here. Though it did give her and idea. Drawing upon the images of that filthy pig Arden Kryze she would try to with the pulling of her hands on the wire use it to try something else. To pull on the Mando's head in sync with the pull on his wrist to completely disrupt his balance knocking them on the ground. If it suceeded well then she would be on top of the Mando to deliver on hell of beating if not well she would have to try something else.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

An easy catch. Hook, line and sinker. All Song had to do now was reel the bounty in, put her to heel and haul her back to the ship. Last thing she wanted to do was turn violent and knock the young woman into unconsciousness, so her best option was to restrain her, or stun her. Learning from experience, she was tempted to do the latter. Most bounties liked to struggle to the end, no matter how much sense she tried to talk into them.

Before she could unholster her gun, however, she felt the tug.

A vicious pull that sent her staggering several steps forward, Song realized the woman was trying to reel her towards her rather than vice versa. Surprising. What did the woman have in store for her there? Did she really hope to fight her in hand-to-hand combat, while flat on the floor?

She had seen some bounties try to pull the desperate attempts at escape, and to her, this wasn’t any different. In the end, Song would shut her down like anyone else.

Except, another surprise hit her. A much stronger force pulled her by the head, and as her lower body resisted the tug of the wire, her upper went opposite. Her balance was suddenly twisted, and Song was now on the ground. She was perfectly fine with nothing serious, nothing except for her quarry leaping out onto her.

What did she expect, throwing her fists against Beskar armor? A surrender?

The thought amused her, and even if the woman managed to sneak in a bruise or two, Song would be quick to throw her off, unsheathing her vibroknife to show her she meant business.

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

Seeing the lumbering mando fall Sera did not let the Mando get anytime as she launched into a sprint towards the mando. Once within a meter of the merc she quickly slid down and was now crouched onto the Mando's back. What the mando would likely not expect was the fact that Sera would now use the bola wire against him. Crossing over the wire in such a way that it would wrap his arm across his chest and then she would take the wire and all it's slack and try to wrap it around his neck. Her free hand being used to try and pull back on the Mando's shoulder to get easier access to the neck. Doing so Sera would then lean back as well as pull in order to try to choke out the Mandalorian.

It barely registered to Sera that the Mando had a knife but frankly she wouldn't care if the Mando used it on her. A stab wound would be nice and maybe she could get a deep enough cut that she would bleed out and end it all. Right now though she had to deal with the Mando. She got her head as close to the Mando's beskar helmet as she could manage.

"I'm not going back there." She said having made the fatal assumption that was playing the pronoun game. There was Zygerria or Nal Hutta and being a slave again. Whether or not the Mando actually knew that was beyond her limited knowledge of this brawl.

Meanwhile the whole ordeal had attracted quite a bit of attention. As now all the patrons who wanted nothing to do with this left and everyone else was just watching the show unfold. Some indifferent while others were too afraid to intervene especially given the infamous reputation that T-visor carried with it. Perhaps there was also a chance that others in the crowd of the once peaceful cafe at more nefarious motives.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

“Back where? To your prison cell?” said Song mockingly, through choked breaths, as her own wire was used against her.

She might have been afraid, nerve-racked now that the tables had turned and her bounty was on top of her, but the Mandalorian had been through worse and made it out fine. What she was dealing with now was no different. Already, with her other free hand, she pressed the button to the launcher on her wrist. In an instant, the wire disconnected, and the real tension on her neck faded.

Even against the fabric, it would leave a mark, but no matter.

With the same arm, Song would elbow the young woman into her side with enough force to throw her off. Although she had her knife to use, and could have been happy to slash through the wire or into the woman’s leg, the Mandalorian wasn’t looking to draw blood just yet. She was better than that. Better than most other hunters.

And not just reputation wise, but skill-wise too.

In the blink of an eye, the Mandalorian would flip the tables yet again. Throwing the woman off her was the first step, and with the next, she’d flash her vibroknife and aim it towards her open throat. She figured, and hoped, it might be enough to end this little performance of theirs, especially as one or two patrons watched on.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” Song would say, even if the latter of which wasn’t exactly true, and even though she wouldn’t want to do so in the first place.

“Now, are you done?”

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

Prison cell. That got to Sera in a way she didn't expect. Being told that brought with it a heavy sting. Mainly because deep down she realized that she would much prefer a cell over this. A nice core world prison one where she could just show that she wasn't one to be messed with would have been perfect. No watching over her back, a constant source of food, and much more secure than this life when a random Mando could be trying to turn you in. She would of liked that so much more than what she was likely getting in store. She hated being exploited but atleast with prison's most of them just wanted you to rot. You weren't quite the product or thing that you were as a slave... hell she would take solitary over a whipping any day too.

Sera felt her grip weaken as a part of her gave up. Normally she would have tried to grip onto the mando and try to pin her limbs but that just wasn't on her mind. A mind now set on sorrow could do little to the outside world. So now she was on her back and staring straight into the T-visor. A knife against her throat which was... well a knife to her throat. To be honest in her lowly state it didn't matter. Though what did was the Mando's offer: Warm or cold?

Her mind wasn't in the state to debate whether or not it was honest or merely a idle threat. Though her mind knew what she would take given that going with warm meant back to being a slave. One likely still owned by a certain hutt she never wanted to see again unless it meant killing... granted that seemed to just be a pointless power fantasy now.

"Please just kill me and get this over with. I'd take death over another day as a slave." She didn't realize she was begging but that was what had come out of her mouth. Quite pathetic really. Heck she could feel that dark part of her reeling in anger but it all felt hollow right now. She had just found that on the cold planet of Hoth she had grown numb. Comfortably numb.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Song watched as the young woman finally gave up. No resisting, no thrashing about. She had simply gone limp, like she had been injected with a sedative or blasted with a stun bolt, but the Mandalorian had done neither of those things. Even with her aimed knife and sharp threats, she was surprised her bounty was done. Ready to go back to whatever prison cell she had escaped from. Except, it wasn’t a prison she would return to.

“What?” said Song, suddenly uncertain. “What do you mean as a slave?”

Her vibroknife never wavered, never moved from the woman’s throat in fear she was lying, but a part of the Mandalorian knew she was telling the truth. Her sincerity, the pleading tone in her voice, said more than enough. What Song was hired for wasn’t just an ordinary criminal, like she was told, but an escaped slave?

The thought, even if unconfirmed, alarmed her.

Song was not a slave hunter. She didn’t support the idea of it in the slightest. As a Mandalorian, honor was one of their most prized qualities, and there was no honor in slavery. No respect, no pride. To follow through with it would do her late brother, River, a great dishonor, as well as the rest of Clan Wren.

The Mandalorian stared at her quarry, hesitant to continue with her mission. Could it be true? Had Song unwittingly taken a job that stood in direct opposition to what she stood for?

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

Sera was now looking at the Mando or perhaps really looking through her. She was just awaiting for that moment she would feel that knife cleave through her skin and make her cold to the bone. It's vibrating hum that carried through the air was really inviting right now. Unfortunately instead of plunging it into her neck there was a hesitation in the Mando. Something that you could sense as the air around her seemed to changed. Second thoughts were clouding the Mando. Sera though was just surprised to see that this one was clueless especially after her last experience with a Mandalorian head hunter.

"You really don't know do you? I was owned by a hutt. I was his 'pet'." Sera's throat tightened as a vice seemed to be clawing a grip around it. Just acknowledging that happened was like reliving it. Her heart was back to plummeting down the chasm to oblivion and time was slowing down to a agonizing crawl so all that pain she felt could be burned into her mind for just a bit longer. Why couldn't this part of her life just let her go?

"Sigh I've been running for a while. and recently was nearly turned in by another Mandalorian like you even.

She was speaking both to Song and well she didn't really know who else. Didn't matter no more really. Though as she tried to recall her life on the run one thing stood out to her. That was the fact that most of it was a indecipherable blur. Only a few moments stood out between the day to day watching over her back. That was what her life was. Watching over her back awaiting for the next time the boogeyman would try to catch her. Pathetic, tiring, barely a life and well when thinking about it... was it really worth it to live like this? She just knew that she was craving a release from this and well the easiest way was the knife held to her throat.

So what will it be? Warm or cold?"

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Owned. Hutt. Pet. The words struck and reverberated in her mind, the thoughts like knives, and she nearly recoiled in disgust. Though the woman wouldn’t see it beneath her expressionless visor, Song’s blank face had fallen into a scowl. She had interrogated many in the past, and told a great deal of lies, but the woman said was far from a lie. Her begging eyes, tightened throat and shaking hands told her as much.

Her bounty was an escaped slave, and the Mandalorian was just a catcher.

Song let her knife drift down and away. She rose back to her full height, a towering set of armor, then looked down to the woman. “Neither. I’m not bringing you in.”

She sheathed her blade and indifferently said, “You’re not the bounty I’m looking for. I'm not after a slave. Sorry for the mix-up.”

Her apology was hollow, almost disinterested, but deep down, Song was truly sorry. The life of a slave was a terrible one. She had taken a closer look at slavery before, from the Nar Shaddaa underground to the heart of Zygerria. Watching the men and women and children, chained or ordered about like dogs, had left a sick taste in her mouth. Standing over the woman, she could taste it again.

It was clear the woman was her bounty, down to every facial feature, but Song wasn’t a slave hunter. She wanted nothing to do with it.

However, one or two patrons still watched, having seen what transpired, and listened to what was said, and it made Song itch with suspicion. She might have let the woman go, but were others really thinking of picking up where she left off?

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

The last Mando Sera talked to about her life as a slave told her not to talk to him like he didn't know what a struggle was like, tough luck. To be fair she a part of her expected the same as she awaited the Mando's decision. Unexpectedly the Mando took a third option that had been shrouded outside of Sera's mental field of view. She was in a brief state of shock seeing the Mando rise. Then she heard the lie.

Sera thought it was odd for her to say that she wasn't a bounty... Why, Why do it? Was she merely trying to save face after such a kerfuffle or was there something else, a smokescreen for the crowd? She knew damn well there was a bounty on Sera and that she had strived to hunt her. Something odd indeed was afoot unless this was that Mandalorian honor she once heard about. She had assumed it was merely myth but perhaps there were kernels of truth out there.

Sera slowly got up trying to find the right motivation for her body to obey instead of resting on the floor. It was then that something began to feel... off. The remaining people in the crowd, the still air and well a general paranoia. Sera had a feeling she knew how this was gonna end. She glance at the Mando, wondering if her act of kindness marked her as a target.

Sear though couldn't but try to draw near to the Mandalorian whilst maintaining eye contact with the last two onlookers. Truth be told she was terrified. She practically chummed up the waters and any sensible bounty hunter would have smelled blood and weakness. A few seconds seemed to pass and carry in the air as her eyes flashed between the men still watching: A barabel and a Rodian, then to the Mandalorian and the front door.

"Tin Man if thiss issn't your bounty then I'd ssuggests you stay out of our way." The barabel suddenly piped up. The penny dropped and Sera realized that she would need to get moving especially since the Barabel had started to move towards her only to then notice that the Rodian now had a DL 18 in his hand.

"you don't want to do this..."

"Maybe I do"

Sera was hating every moment of this as she once again felt trapped.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

The Mandalorian slunk back. Step by step, she moved away from the escaped slave and the remaining patrons, hoping to leave the station and the icy world for a new bounty, the guilt of this one now off her mind. However, Song felt rooted into place. A barabel and a Rodian leaned in, their remorseless eyes shifting between her and the young woman. They were both armed.

And they both wanted to take the girl instead.

Song didn’t want to stay on Hoth another moment longer. It wasn’t her responsibility to protect fugitives or slaves. That duty was up to the Sector Rangers. She was simply a bounty hunter, who had chosen not to pursue a bounty not to her taste, and nothing more. Why get involved? She’d get nothing out of it but enemies. Then, she considered what River might do.

Why not get involved?

As the Barabel hissed back to the young woman, and the Rodian began to lift his blaster to stun her, the Mandalorian raised her own and said, “No, actually. You don’t.”

At a point blank range, she fired a stun bolt into the Rodian’s face, absorbed in split second of shock. He collapsed like a dead weight to the floor. Song turned her blaster to the barabel too, and fired into the center of his chest. She figured he’d have no time to react, and would join his Rodian friend to the ground. Except, that didn’t happen.

The Barabel’s scales absorbed the stun bolt like it was the pinprick of a needle. The hulking creature smiled, flashing its yellowed teeth, then charged at her. Even in full armor, Song felt the sharp rush of pain in her chest as the Barabel slammed into her. She was thrown across the bar, and smashed into a table. Wooden splinters everywhere.

Her head was throbbing, but Song had just enough thought to say to the young woman, “Get out of here!”

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

The Mandalorian seemed to be walking away from this and now Sera could feel her hand begin to twitch ever so slightly. Now though she was like a cornered wounded animal desperate for anything. Then once again the Mando decided to do something that surprised her. Deciding to defend her and attack the two hunters. Sera was in a brief shock as the Mando shot first, unsure of what to do. She then saw the Mando get thrown about by the Barabel like the beskar clad hunter was but a mere rag doll.

The Barabel was distracted, the rodian knocked unconscious and the Mando begging her to leave. Her opening was here. Her chance to run and live another day 'free' was presenting herself. Heck she could even feel that... other part of her agreeing.

Let them die by their own foolishness, don't give them another chance to betray you.

She could hear the icy thoughts echo in her skull, but it didn't feel right. Running did not feel like the right thing to do. It ate at her and now looking at the chaos knowing that in some ways it was her fault that all of this was happening, well it began to stir some foreign feelings inside the vagabond. A decision silently being made in her mind: She was done running.

Her muscles tensing ready to act, her eyes dilated to absorb as much information as they could process and things seemed to move a bit slower than normal as adrenaline pumped through her veins again. She saw a vibrodagger sitting in an ankle sheath. on the Barabel, likely used for having fun with his catches. Perfect for what she had in mind though.

She began a sprint towards the Barabel as he seemed to be facing the Mando and stepping towards him with malice intent.

"Firsst I'll break you in two and then next will be that bit-"

The Barabel though was cut off mid taunt as Sera slammed into his back combined with a undercutted punch that would translate into a force push. The barabel's balance was now obstructed meanwhile she would reach down and pull the knife out of it's sheath. Holding it in a reverse grip Sera would then raise the knife up to her chest turning it on in the process and jab it directly into the Barabel's back at an upward angle trying to get the blade to find purchase in between the scales.

It was successful as the knife dug underneath the scale straight into the fat and flesh of the massive reptilian. The barabel now crying out in pain as she pulled the knife to the right as the vibrating blade would now saw off a few of the large scales on his back, covering Sera in some of the being's blood. Though exposing bare flesh the Barabel would retaliate with a thick scaly elbow that jabbed into her side along with it pushing her as the Barabel now rotated to face her. The immense strength sending her back pedaling until a wall caught her. She could see the light from the nearby window bleed into the bar reminding her of the cold hoth day outside... cold... cold blooded. Sera now raised the blade and returned to a combat stance as she waited for the Barabel's reaction. A thought now incepted into her head and now she was looking for a chance to put it into action.

The Mandalorian was probably going to call her an idiot for doing this if they survived this encounter. But she didn't care.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

The Mandalorian watched the Barabel approach, throwing his threats the same way he had thrown her across the bar. Her head throbbed, like a pair of hands had grabbed her by the skull and shook the insides about like a sack of credits. She felt for her blaster, which had fallen somewhere on the shattered table, but instead found an unbroken glass of spotchka. She grabbed the drink and tossed it to the Barabel’s face.

Glass shattered harmlessly over the scales. The Barabel blinked angrily as the alcohol ran down his face, but licked it up with the disgusting swipe of its tongue. “Firssst I’ll break you in two, and then next will be that bitc—“

Song had noticed the escaped slave sprinting ahead, but she didn’t think her to crash right into the Barabel. She cringed, expecting the girl to bounce back after hitting what was essentially a brick wall. To her surprise, the Barabel staggered away like it had been shot in the back, but wheeled around to slap the girl aside. Off she went. Except, now the bounty hunter was facing the Mandalorian, the exposed part of his back clear in view.

Song finally found her blaster, then quickly raised it to fire.

Unfortunately, a foot slammed into her wrist and sent the blaster flying out of her grip. A third man had emerged, an armored stranger with a rough-looking face and a curl in his lips.

“Now, now, none of that,” the man said.

The Mandalorian rolled her eyes. As the man tried to plant another kick into her chest, she grabbed his ankle and yanked it hard. He fell flat onto his ass with a creak of the floorboards, groaning aloud. Slowly, Song rose from the smashed table and stumbled a few paces back. Her fists were raised towards the man.

“You people never learn, do you?”

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

Keep him angry and he'll do something stupid Sera was telling herself. Though she then saw in the background a third man enter the picture. shit. She knew what that meant potential for many more on the way. Sera gritted her teeth and now met her gaze at the Barabel. He was priority number one get rid of him and She could help out her benefactor. She simply held out her knife towards the barabel and then waved it in a motion for the Barabel to come at her. The Barabel thankfully smiled, as he know started a charge towards her. Sera tensed herself as she played matador and made sure the window was right behind her.

Waiting until the last possible moment when the Barabel would be unable to change his trajectory Sera would perform a quick side step and twist that would neatly put herself out of the Barabel's path of collision. The Barabel would then crash straight through the window as the sound of shattering glass would ring throughout the building. Sera would then hop outside seeing the Barabel now face first in snow as the howling wind and snow fall began to invade into the building. She scooped up some snow and mashed it into the exposed flesh before jabbing and twisting her knife around to create as a big of hole as possible. Thankfully the tumult made him slow to get up. She could feel the Barabel trying to stifle and move under her.

"The cold now has a direct path to your body and bloodstream and the bar is no longer sealed. I'd suggest you call it a day and find somewhere warm before you die of hypothermia."

Quite frankly she had no idea if Barabels were cold blooded or not it was just a hunch, still he seemed to be smart enough to realize that potential death via hypothermia was not worth whatever amount he would be paid. Still as Sera looked around she saw a Quarren in a heavy winter coat look at the direction of the two with a fob in hand.

"Oh for Feth's sake If I can take him, I can take you down too."

She would dive back into the cafe just as the Quarren had drawn her pistol A few shots would harmlessly fly into the air. Sera would look back towards the Mandalorian with no name and see how they were fairing through this.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

While the young woman handled the Barabel, the Mandalorian was left to the smug-looking stranger who made the mistake of intervening. Song cracked her neck, and her gloved knuckles ached for a face to punch. She had pummeled brick and gravel in her childhood training on Krownest, and with the martial arts she picked up from her mother, Song didn’t doubt for a second that she’d tear the man’s smile off in a matter of seconds.

“This should be fun,” he said, still grinning. “First time fighting a Mando.”

“It’ll be your last.”

He was cocky enough throw the first punch. She was fast enough to dodge it. With a clean sidestep, she moved to his left and planted a sick punch to his side. She might’ve broken a rib or two from it alone, but in his armor, the man was lucky enough to escape with a backward stagger and a bit of air knocked out of his lungs. Song didn’t give him another second to recoup though, and she gave him a very straightforward sucker-punch.

His head reeled back, and he stumbled again, but through a bloody nose he swept his arm and hooked her across the jaw. She grit her teeth, the pain a minor ache. Then the man moved in closer, grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a rough headbutt. Her brain shook in its skull. Of course, Song just snapped her head back and delivered the same blow. This time, in her helmet, it knocked the man off his feet.

Lights out, the man dropped to the floor. Song smirked. “Like I said.”

She spun around to see shots begin to fly. Towards her as much as the former slave, once the Quarren spotted the rogue Mando in the window too. She dived to the side, where she had broken the table, and for the blaster laying somewhere next to it.

@Caught in Strangereal

 

[Sera Jex]

The dive was unceremonious and leave her belly down on the ground but atleast she was given brief slow in the fight. Looking over to the Mando and the collasped body told her well enough that the Mando was doing just fine. She was really glad their earlier fight was only half-hearted. A longer dragged out fight would have likely ended in the Mando handing Sera her ass. Blaster fire though would burn the air and snow above her as it headed in the Mando's direction. She needed more reach to get to the quarren. As she was trying to think of something though in the bright blinding light of the outside a silver steel wire wrapped around her wrist became obvious. How did she forget about this thing?

She would rollover onto her back. Looking out the broken window she was snow pouring into the opening covering her and the area around it and in the overwhelming cloud it highlighted the Quarren silhouette. She quickly raised her right arm giving the wire a few rotations like she was readying to throw a lasso and flicked the wire over towards the quarren the wire finding hold on her shooting arm. Sera would pull the wire forcing the quarren's arm down causing her shots to miss the Mando.

Though that was because it pulled the blaster straight down towards Sera and a blaster bolt would impact her straight in the chest. She felt the air get punched out of her as she skidded back a few feet. The pain in her side from the Barabel's elbow was now throbbing and she let go of grasp the only thing keeping the Quarren in their place was the wire wrapped around her wrist.

The world briefly turned into a haze as her vision blurred for a bit along with her head growing light. She just hoped that this would give the mando cover and a chance for a clean shot.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

Song found her DL-44 blaster in a pool of spilled whiskey and snatched it by the handle. Across the bar, she noticed a young couple, likely pilgrims headed to the Unknown Regions, staring at her fearfully beneath a table. Unfortunate bystanders caught in the crossfire. She didn’t wish for this firefight to go down the way it was. She gave the other patrons to back off. Instead, she was left with a mess, and trouble she didn’t need.

The Mandalorian spun her head around in time to see her former bounty get slammed in the chest with a blaster shot. Her heart jumped, then sank.

Without a second thought, she raised her blaster and fired through the window. The stun bolt shattered perfectly into the Quarren’s forehead, and the last bounty hunter at the station, other than Song, collapsed into the snow outside. She might’ve given a sigh of relief, knowing the worst was over, but her thoughts never left the young woman. She was shot, or worst, dying.

Song moved to her side, falling on one knee to examine the wound. “Damn, you didn’t have to do that. I’m dressed head to toe in Beskar. I could’ve taken the hits.” Maybe, she wasn’t sure, but it was clear the young woman had thrown her life on the line to help her. “Are you okay?”

Through her tinted visor, she looked down to the woman, then to her chest. There was a black mark dead in its center. A fatal shot. How was she even still breathing? It took the Mando a moment to realize that she had been wearing an armor blast vest, beneath her shirt and jacket. She let out a sigh of relief.

“I thought you were dead for the second there, you know. Thought my whole ‘noble sacrifice’ had gone to waste,” she said, with a touch of sarcasm, a strange break in her cold attitude. She was just glad it was over with.

@Caught in Strangereal