Head of the...Cat?

[Koil Solus]

THEME
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Koil almost felt bad for the Pyke bastards that were coming. His ship was sitting dark, nothing but scanners and life support active for the time being meaning it had virtually no signature to normal scanners at any distance. He had the presets ready to activate the other systems at a moments notice. They were not near the normal space route to and from the normal route through the Akadese Maelstrom meaning anybody with normal scanners would not pick them up unless they were the paranoid type and making a edge-ward sweep. If that were the case then the upgraded Bitol in action would see them literally kilometers away. The gloves of his personal Beviinir armor flexed on the controls of his ship while he waited patiently.

It also meant that the moment the unaware Pyke made their entrance to the scene the mandalorians would have plenty of time to close on the target. The normal route allowed for perhaps a ship, like the shuttle the pykes were using, to get away safely against normal ships. But both of the superb Bitol were perfect for this mission. Dozens of missions, months of work and so much blood sweat and ... well not really many tears actually, went into the vehicle Koil now rode in.

Koil's Klaw as he called it was dark, sharp and ready to cut through the target once it showed. As far as the Pykes were concerned, they were not even there. He did not even speak over the communication link between his ship and the drop. While people would not be able to detect or decipher the coded communications between his ship and Drace's they would be able to detect that unfamiliar signature of the communication line. Only once one of them needed to would they break radio silence. This would be an unofficial re-introduction of the Dha Werda Verda, the Shadow Warriors, and Koil was keen on having a decisive success.

@vamp

 

[Drace Solus]

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His ship was about a hundred meters away from Koil's, its engines off just like the other man's. Drace's Bitol was still technically in the shop, the Marshal not wanting to take it out until it had weapons and would be useful in combat. Otherwise, he had no use for a spy ship, and it would do nothing in a mission like this. He had opted for an MM8, his preferred starfighter, having used it several times before in missions.

Space stretched around them as far as the eye could see, and it was almost overwhelmingly vast. Drace tried not to pay much attention to it so he wouldn't have any existential crises while waiting for the enemy convoy, eager to just get the mission done and over with so he could get back on the ground. The lack of planets around them did not help, and neither did the knowledge that somewhere out there was an entire maelstrom full of black holes and space monsters. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a ship booming out of space in front of them, several hundred meters away. Two freighters and a starfighter, the Pykes clearly not having expected opposition. Drace said nothing, aware that speech would likely lead to them, instead hoping that Koil had noticed. Still, it would have been hard not to.

The Marshal silently switched his systems on.

@Darasuum

 

[Arturo Solus]

Arturo, like Drace, was roughly a hundred meters or so to the other side of Koil, floating adrift with nothing but the dull thrum of his Bromeliad's life support systems working overtime and his thoughts to keep him company. Space lurked all around him, dark and infinite. It made him feel like the smallest of insignificant specs, a nothing in a place so vast, and full of so many unknowns. Arturo hated space. It felt unnatural, and wildly dangerous; he much preferred the surety solid ground offered. It was safer, more familiar, and less likely to leave you gasping for oxygen if push came to shove and the worst happened. He hated space because navigating it often left him confused and nauseous; he hated space because he didn't know it like he hoped to. Most of all, he hated the idea of dying out here, never to be found. It was strange. Now that he had time to think, he began to wonder what he was doing out here... Why had he volunteered in the first place?

He knew the answer; it didn't console him.

Arturo sank back in his seat. Of course he knew why he was here, as did his brothers, most like. Kessel. Kessel was the next step in the Mandalorian expansion. His people needed this as much as his clan did; more territory meant more resources for the war effort and, perhaps, more momentum in general. Victory drew warriors to the cause, and the Mand'alor could and would make use of everyone who took up arms against the Sith. There were other reasons too... Not that Arturo could think of them as his starfighter keeled to one side, aimlessly.

It was then their target chose to appear. Arturo could just about make them out in the dark, his sensors pinging- three contacts. He switched his systems on.
@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

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In the darkness of space there was not much to do except for wait on something to come to you or fidget. Koil, who was exceptionally patient, was not immune to the affects of the void. It was when three signatures came up on his ship's sensors that he looked down at his controls again and examined the readout. He was sure his other two wing mates saw the same thing on their scanners. He was getting a positive reading on the Identity Friend or Foe tag on all three ships. They were the ones they were after.

He powered up his ship and made his shields were active. Only then would he start moving forward and closing the distance towards the ships. His vessel was only moving at seventy MGLT at this time, preferring to not strain Arturo's ship to keep up with his and Drace's. Either way they were bound on an intercepting course. He told the built in astromech to prepare the ground sweeper laser cannon to be ready to fire on the enemy when they were within range.

@Kraken @vamp

 

[Drace Solus]

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They all swung into action then, all three ships barreling through space to intercept the convoy. Drace opened fire then, aiming to hit the starfighter before it even realized what was happening, and beginning their surprise attack. Once that was out of the way, the only thing they would have to deal with would be how best to destroy the freighters. The Marshal's eyes were set on the ships ahead, their painted durasteel standing out from the black void of space. Naval combat was easy in that way, since there was nowhere for the enemy to hide.

@Darasuum @Kraken

 

[Arturo Solus]

Everything started to make sense as the trio's starfighters roared to life, appearing from the star-pocked blackness like some sort of mirage, only far more deadly. The gee-forces pushed him back into his seat as the thrusters heeded his command, taking him and -he assumed- his brethren from a complete stop to a nauseatingly fast pace in a matter of seconds. Koil's Bitol, the superior ship amongst their posse, took the lead, and Arturo stopped only long enough to appreciate the fact that his brother wasn't leaving them in his rearview before racing to keep up, not willing to strain his MM8 too much before they engaged the enemy.

Arturo checked to make sure his shields were active and his weapons were powered as they approached the three contacts. He knew that his MM8 -property of the clan which he planned on returning- was lightly armed and armored, though that made it no less deadly. It was capable of crazy-quick speeds, handled well, and, in the right hands, could dance a merry jaunt through space in the most strenuous of circumstances. Arturo had flown one of these before; he knew what to do, and when.

He opened fire on the first freighter's thrusters as soon as the two ships got close enough for his cannons to become effective. He figured a stationary target would be much more easier to hit than a mobile one, not that the lumbering mountains of durasteel had any hope of outrunning the group's arsenal. Aiming manually, Arturo took great lengths to make sure his aim was true, idly aware of the second ship and the likely event of retaliation from both. He fired two short bursts, his lasers rippling through space towards the larger, more imposing freighter. He had passed Koil at some point (he didn't know when), using the opportunity Drace's opening volley had created to get in close to the two freighters. He stopped looking for his brother as a ray of blinding red light passed by to his right, forcing Arturo to take evasive maneuvers, the man trying to keep things together as the Galaxy began to spin.

@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

____________

With his ship fast approaching the enemy craft he could tell Drace had opened fire. His streaks shooting towards the vessels in the darkness of space before impacting one of the starfighter escorts. Koil's own light laser cannon was not much in the way of armament but it would do the trick against an unshielded starfighter in this surprise attack. He holed the ship repeatedly causing it to burst into flames. Once they were among the target ships Koil would not be going the same slow speed as before. He accelerated to one hundred MGLT, able now to outpace any of their ships with ease. He still was not even at max speed.

After his attack run he swooped around to come towards the tail of the enemy convoy. Koil knew that there were three options for the smugglers. One was to try and navigate the maelstrom and get away from the attack. The second was to turn back to Kessel and try to get to safety on some sort of bunker or camp. The third of course, was to fight. None of them would prove to be effective in the following moments.

@Kraken @vamp

 

[Drace Solus]

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The starfighter, the convoy’s only defense, was down. It was up to the two freighters to fend for themselves using what poor armament their ships were equipped with, though Drace knew they’d make quick work of them. The Marshal gripped the controls of his MM8, the craft quickly catching up to the convoy, who had split up, each freighter going in a different direction in hopes of fending off the attackers. He let loose a rocket, aiming to take out one of them, but it missed as the craft suddenly zoomed forward. The Mandalorian was forced to twist around so that he was now coming from the front of the convoy, and the freighters also switched to avoid that.

One was to his left and another to his right, though between the 3 Mandalorians, it shouldn’t be too difficult to wipe the Pykes out. Drace opened fire again, this time using his cannons, and was glad to see his bolts spattering the hull of one of the convoys.

@Darasuum @Kraken

 

[Arturo Solus]

Arturo fired off another burst of cannon fire as he swooped in behind the first freighter, lasers aimed once more at the thrusters. The bolts, like before, struck true, disabling the enemy ship's ability to move and maneuver in a blast made of raw energy and shrapnel. He watched as the propulsion systems sputtered and died, bright balls of flame catching, and extinguished quicker than he could blink. He almost felt sorry for those aboard; almost. They were criminals, and the majordomo and his men deserved what was coming to them. They had all played a part in the crimes the gang committed, big or small; they were all guilty of something, and Arturo had no issue doing what he'd been sent here to do.

Pulling back on the controls, Arturo let the MM8 glide up and over the freighter, the starfighter dancing away from where the gun placements were. Like most ships, the freighters had defensive and offensive capabilities of their own. Not that it caused much concern. Fighting was not what they were built for, and it showed in the pitifully small array of weaponry the pirates had amassed against them. His starfighter was fast, and he made use of that speed, zooming out of the way of laser fire, sporadically dropping and raising the pace so the Pykes couldn't get a lock on him, just to be safe.

Circling away, Arturo looped about towards the front of the ship, arming the concussion missiles at his disposal. Now that the freighter was dead in the water, lining up a shot at the bridge was easy. He fired, the missile cutting away from him, hewing stars and space through the blurred lines of his vision as he turned, and sped after the second freighter.

@Darasuum @vamp

 

[Koil Solus]

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It would not take long, just like he had calculated. The escorts had been destroyed. The main vessels carrying their precious cargo were all but vamporized and floating through the vacuum of space. Balls of fire from self sustaining cumbustable fuels cooled in moments. It would seem almost like Koil barely had to assist with finishing off the last of the convoy.

With everything in pieces he reopened the link with his fell mandalorians. "Well done. Let's get out of here." He did not want to stay longer than necessary. This place essentially had only one entrance and one exit. He angled his ships back towards the astral tunnel that would lead them away from the planet and began leading the trio out of the system. It had been a good example of just how quiet and calm the claws could be before they struck out against their enemies.

♠ End Thread ♠​

@Kraken @vamp​