Ask Consultation on Telos IV

[Song Wren]

Trudging through the snow-capped forest, Song took a quick look at the sky, watching as the sun faded behind the clouds like fire behind smoke. Night was approaching, and they didn’t have long to find shelter—or their target.

Telos had once been the site of a heated battle between the Jedi and the Sith, over a pile of rubble that had formerly been a temple. She had no idea the status of either side now, whether they continued to grapple for the icy rock or had mutually decided to abandon it, but that wouldn’t stop Song from accomplishing her mission. She’d been tasked to find the bounty hunter working under the slavers who’d attacked and stolen good, innocent soldiers. Whatever it required, she’d find him, and she would squeeze all the information she could out of him.

Then, she’d leave him to rot in the ice.

Song wasn’t the merciful type when it came slavers, especially with their lackeys. It was a disgusting practice, stealing away one’s freedom, and she would have gladly spent the rest of her life ridding it from the galaxy if she was not already committed to the Mandalorian cause. She may have once been a bounty hunter too, a nobody scrounging for credits, but she always drew the line at working with slavers.

She suspected Vidha and Genova thought the same, else they wouldn’t have volunteered for the operation to begin with.

“We should hurry before the sun sets,” she told them, vaulting over a fallen tree. “The bounty hunter. From what I’m seeing by these tracks, he can’t be very far.” Song had spent enough of her life hunting animals in the Krownest mountains, so tracking one man had been a breeze—so far, at least. Finding him was the easy part. The hard part was actually capturing him. “He must have been living out here alone for sometime, so I don’t think we need to worry about reinforcements.”

“I think,” she emphasized, not entirely sure herself.

@Reylo4evr @HoneyMagpie

 

[Vidha Solus]

Vidha walked to the left of Song. She did not feel the cold. Rather, she was almost excited for the mission that lay ahead. Despite being only 19, she had an energy that scared anyone who didn't know any better. "Guess we'll find out soon enough," she said, keeping her eyes on the path in front of them. She knew little of her companions but she figured they were capable.

To be honest, Vidha was not only here to stay busy, but because she hated the slave trade. She would make sure anyone involved felt her wrath for it.

@HoneyMagpie @Song

 

[Genova Veren]

Though usually quiet in nature, Genova was feeling especially broody. Distasteful as slavers were, the Lorddian foundling had a particular dislike for them and their kind. It was slavers who had killed off her commune, and it was at their hands Genova had been left so badly disfigured. She had no patience for them, nor was she willing to extend any such leniency to those who conspired with such scum. Whoever this bounty hunter was, they had made a grave mistake. The armourer, without words, made this sentiment clear enough with a clench of her electro-gloves. She was ready (and willing) for a fight.

Despite being an armourer, Genova did not shy away from battle. She and her clan had built themselves quite the reputation when it came to combating scum and slavers, even leading assaults on their base of operations. Their loss was Mandalore's gain. Though small in numbers, the Veren clan would once again become a force to reckon with.

Admittedly, Genova did prefer working with her own kinsmen. They understood her better than most, given her selective mutism. Non-verbal communication could be difficult for some and her new companions, @Song Wren and @Vidha Solus, were but still acquaintances. Still, she was sure the ladies could hold their own. They were Mandalorians, after all. The warrior from the Solus clan was young, but with the experience from Wren, it would surely balance out. Their trio would surely make for one formidable team.

Through her blackened visor, the Lorddian's cybernetic eye scanned the snow surrounding them. @Song Wren was doing a fine job in tracking the target, Genova was merely supporting in checking for any traps or traces. It wouldn't surprise her if the bounty hunter had put at least some measures in place and she'd be damned if they allowed themselves to be so easily challenged. So far, the path was clear. As much as the snow tried to hinder them, they were making good time.

Now they just had to keep their eyes peeled for the slaver-siding bounty hunter.

Spoiler

Sorry for the short reply. Still recovering from covid. Next reply will be better

@Song @Reylo4evr

 

[Song Wren]

Song cast a smile back in the direction of both women. Genova scanned for traps and snares, while Vidha kept a close hand on her blasters. They were more than prepared for the fight ahead and she was grateful to be working alongside them. It was not long ago that some in Clan Wren believed it was the men who should have been leading missions in the field, who thought girls like her were better off staying home, hunting and protecting their own kin. It had been soul crushing to hear that as a child. Now, she was glad to see just how wrong they’d been.

Song raised a warning hand when the tracks suddenly ended. It made no sense. The bounty hunter seemed unskilled enough to have left them out in the open in the first place, and they should have led straight to wherever he was staying. Instead, it had led them nowhere but to a small clearing, with very little trees and… very little cover. “Karabast,” she cursed under her breath. “Something’s wrong.” She whirled to face the others, clutching at her sword, and scanned her surroundings one last time.

And that was when the shooting started.

Two mechanized turrets surfaced from the bushes. Honing in on each of their locations, they started firing indiscriminately, lighting up the whole forest in a storm of blaster bolts. “Scatter!” Song shouted, and dove for a small ditch—a creek, with ice covering the basin. She fought to regain her composure. Had she not been so quick, those bolts would have tore through her like wet paper.

“Vidha, Genova—we need to take out those turrets!” She lifted her head to try and find the exact location of each one, but they both fired at where she lay, forcing her back into the creek. She was used to fights like these, but Song had unwittingly led them all into a trap and she had no idea if either woman had managed to find cover of their own. But no matter what had happened, she believed they could do this. It was just two automated turrets. They had battled worse opponents, and they could do this. Easily.

@Reylo4evr @HoneyMagpie

 

[Vidha Solus]

It was a trap. Of course it was; the tracks were too simple and obvious. Vidha should have noticed. She heard the whirring of metal right as mechanical turrets rose from the snow covered bushes to open fire. She cursed colorfully and ducked, one of the bullets bouncing off the top of her helmet, which caused her head to jerk backwards. She rolled but was quickly on her feet again. From a crouched position she leapt behind one of the turrets, so she was out of the infrared detection range.

Barely breathing, Vidha pulled out a blaster and shot the turret, then kicked off and leapt backwards in one swift move. She heard the explosion behind her and grinned beneath her helmet. "OYA! One down!" she exclaimed, remaining in a crouch.

@HoneyMagpie @Song

 

[Genova Veren]

Genova took to the skies with her jetpack rather than go low. She'd recognised that distinctive sound anywhere, the mechanical shifting of gears being a dead giveaway. Automated defensive turrets. Their quarry wanted to play it that, huh? Staying in the air, her cybernetic eye had the opportunity to quickly scan over the weapon currently laying down fire; it was a standard model, nothing too fancy and the youngest of the Mando trio, @Vidha Solus, had already made short work of one of them. The remaining turret was so focused on suppressing @Song Wren 's position, that it didn't immediately register Genova's airborne advantage.

Pulling out her dual Cc-17-hand-blasters, the Lorrdian took aim and fired, predominantly focusing on the body of the weapon, rather than the actual barrel. The rapid succession of shots fried the inner movements, and not long after, the ammunition housing exploded from within. Mandos - 1, Bounty Hunter's turrets - 0

With the defensive fixtures disabled, Genova moved and descended back down to the ground; she purposefully landed near @Song Wren, offering a hand so that she could find her feet. The Wren warrior had reacted quickly, giving that initial warning - without her, they could have been blindsided. Lesser combatants would have just saved themselves but actions like these just proved Mandos were the better breed.

Looking over at the young Solus, Genova gave a nod, as if to say 'Good shot'.

Still, the armourer gave a sigh, her visor turning back to survey the now smouldering defences. Turret fire wasn't strictly a silent affair, and with all that noise, they'd likely just lost the element of surprise.

 

[Song Wren]

As the turrets ripped through the snow and ice around her position, Song took in a deep breath. She was used to being pinned down like this. Knowing her luck, there could’ve been a half dozen more traps waiting for them ahead, but she trusted her companions enough that they would all make it to see morning light. She might have only met them the day before during the long journey to Telos, but they’d clearly proven themselves some of the best among the warrior caste. Great shots, too.

It hadn't been more than twenty seconds after she'd taken cover that the turrets were already destroyed.

An eerie silence settled over the clearing. With Genova’s help, Song climbed back to her feet and observed what was left of the bounty hunter’s traps—smoldering heaps of metal. She grinned. “Beautiful work, ladies,” she said, releasing a tight hand from her holster. “I’ll take point again. It’s my fault I didn’t notice sooner how obvious these tracks were. Whoever this bounty hunter is, he’s definitely got the experience.”

She stepped over the broken scraps and into a thick collection of bushes, hoping taking a less traveled path would keep them safe from any more hidden traps. To her surprise, however, it didn’t take very long for them to come across the house they were looking for. A cabin, really. It seemed perfectly normal, backed against a running stream and with smoke curling from an open chimney. Song hadn’t expected that. If anything, she thought they would come across a heavily defended complex, walled in and guarded by perimeter droids.

Just who was this man they were dealing with?

She crouched and laid low, not sure what more to expect. “We should be careful,” she murmured to the others. “By now he must know we’re here, and gods know what else he has prepared. I suggest we split and circle the—” As if on cue, Song was interrupted by the flash of a blaster bolt coming through one of the cabin windows. The shot crashed into her shoulder pauldron and she reeled, shocked.

A sniper rifle. She’d been hit by a sniper rifle.

@Reylo4evr @HoneyMagpie

 

[Vidha Solus]

Vidha stood once more and nodded at Genova and Song. The hassle hadn't lasted more than thirty seconds. The turrets were in smoking remains and Vidha smiled. She followed the other two women, and stopped when they reached the cabin. Vidha was also surprised. She slowly took in their surroundings. Something did not feel right. It was too calm, too... easy.

She saw it just as it was too late. Song went down, but it appeared to have only hit her pauldron. "Get down!" she hissed to Genova. She flattened onto her stomach, raising a still un-holstered blaster. She fired at the window, once, twice, three times. She heard a shout and knew at least one of her shouts had hit the mark. She pushed up to a crouch position. "Surround him," she said, thinking on the fly.

@Song @HoneyMagpie

 

[Genova Veren]

"Wren!"

One minute, @Song Wren was standing; not a moment later, she was down, shot by a concealed sniper. The bounty hunter. Coward! Genova cursed bitterly under her breath and went to the ground, shuffling for cover. The open air was no good to her now, not when their assailant was utilising marksmanship principles. She'd just be a flying target. It seemed those defensive turrets were just a distraction, something to hinder them whilst their quarry dug himself in his nest of a cabin.

As much as Genova hated to do it, she turned from her fallen comrade and began her dash towards one of the flanks. Solus' cover fire was keeping the sniper busy - Arasuum be damned if she threw away a good opportunity. The Lorrdian foundling just hoped the rally master wasn't too badly wounded. If Genova wasn't mistaken, it seemed like her chest armour was mainly comprised of durasteel. Heavy protection. With any luck, the Wren warrior would shake it off.

From the sounds of it, the sniper had been hit. Genova didn't need a second invitation - without hesitating, she kicked in the door of the cabin, spotting the assailant slumped at one of the windows. @Vidha Solus had hit him in the arm, a good shot, given the distance. Kicking his rifle aside, the armourer reeled her fist back and sucker-punched the bounty hunter right in the jaw, her electro-shock gloves adding an extra zap.

If the shabuir knew what was good for him, he'd stay down.

@Song
@Reylo4evr

 

[Song Wren]

Song hit the ground with a thud. She was lucky it was snow she crashed into, and not a filled creek of ice, and she rolled behind the cover of a fallen log, not entirely sure how she’d missed the sniper. First the automated turrets, and now this nonsense. Every time she took point, she either became a meat shield or bait, and she rarely managed to escape a mission with at least receiving one or two dangerously close calls with a blaster bolt. Any higher, and it might have burned clean through her throat. So, she couldn’t exactly complain, could she?

She fumbled for the bacta spray attached to her waist. Applying it over her wound without hesitation, she felt a heavy burning sensation. Not much, but it wasn’t pleasant. She gritted her teeth in pain. This certainly wasn’t the first time she’d been hit in the shoulder, and in the last year alone, especially. Still, she had suffered worse injuries and the fact she had come out with only a minor burn from a sniper rifle was a miracle. The heavy plating of her pauldron had done its work and taken the brunt of the blow. She would be fine.

As for the others, she couldn’t say for sure. Not until she saw them both snap into action, retaliating against the man faster than double-struck lightning. Once again, Song was grateful to have them on her side. Because while Vidha managed to score a hit on her assailant, she watched as Genova marched through the front door of the cabin to finish the job.

They had this in the bag.

--​

Inside, the man lay slumped against the wall. At the first sight of the Mandalorian charging in, he tried to reach for his rifle again but next thing he knew, he felt a devastating punch against his jaw. His head snapped back. Pain blossomed across his chin and he could have sworn stars flashed across his vision. It might have been the shock of electricity he felt course through his fingers, but he seemed to shrug it off the next moment, rolling away from Genova before she could land another blow.

Or kill him. Not that he cared what she'd do to him. It wasn't that he was afraid of what torture or pain she might inflict. He was more afraid of what she would to do those he knew—or to the person behind her.

From the back of the cabin, Genova would hear a soft click. A blaster being cocked. A little voice would follow the sound, soft and reedy. The voice of a little girl. “Stay away from him!” she cried, aiming at the Mandalorian with a gun that seemed far too big for her to carry. She couldn’t have been more than eight years old, and yet, she carried it anyway, her eyes filled with a fire that was all too reminiscent of the Mandalorian people.

@Reylo4evr @HoneyMagpie

 

[Vidha Solus]

Vidha straightened when Genova walked towards the cabin. She listened carefully and heard a grunt of pain from inside, but then she heard the voice of a little girl. "What the-" she muttered starting to take a step forward. She turned back to Song, who was still in the snow. She extended a hand, helping the warrior woman up. "You alright?" she asked.

"We should go in together, back Genova up," she continued, pointing over her shoulder. Her muscles were tense. Surprise kept jumping out at them, and they had to handle them.

@HoneyMagpie @Song