Hellfire

[Vale Rau]

Vale peered through the binocs, studying the small fringe outpost. It seemed empty at the moment but the Mandalorian knew that in this galaxy. With that in mind as well, he was supposed to receive backup on this and that's what he currently waited for as he sat behind a rock. There were in GA's territory and the two of them could run across either a Jedi or a whole battle squad of soldiers waiting for them.

Slipping his binocs into his belt once more, Vale checked his weaponry behind the rock and made sure everything was loaded and in condition. This would be the first time that the Mandalorian actually participated in his own personal quest for what had happened back on Mandalore. This had been a long time coming in his own mind and now anticipation surged through him like nothing else before.

Trees surrounded the outpost like a circle and at least provided cover for his partner to follow up behind him. Rocks littered the path towards the outpost and gave Vale the cover he was using now, utilizing it as his lookout position for the time being.

@Logan

 

[Reyna Solus]

The Mandalorian call to arms against the Jedi had come as somewhat of a surprise to Reyna, though it was not an unwelcome one. In her view, all force users were the same. It didn't matter if their ligthsaber was red or blue, they called themselves Sith or Jedi, they were just two sides of the same coin.

The Mandalorians - hell, maybe even the whole galaxy - had grown weary of the constant fighting between the force cults. It was time for a purge.. to bring the galaxy back to prosperity, without the meddling of some stupid sect of space wizards.

Reyna was currently maneuvering herself through the Ithorian wilderness, keen to meet up with the guy she was on the mission with - some Rau, not sure of his first name. They had come to the conclusion that the only way to draw out the reclusive Jedi from their hidey-holes was to flush them out, and what better way to do that than some wanton destruction on an otherwise peaceful place.

The young Solus had taken precaution in repping her clan colors on this mission, as it wasn't really something that was sanctioned by the War Council. Hopefully Koil wouldn't be too peeved that Reyna was going to be operating as Werda Verda today. Having gone through the painstaking process of painting over her normal beskar'gam. Reyna was now clad in a sheer, matte black suit of armor. A stark contrast from what it was before, blazing red and adorned with her clan's crest.


Coming up on Vale's location as silently as possible, Reyna flipped on her coms and accessed one of the common Mandalorian secure channels that they often used on missions like this. "Approaching your six, Rau. Don't freak out and shoot me or anything." There was a touch of humor in her voice, but that didn't mean Reyna wasn't being serious about their mission. A misstep here could mean they'd both end up dead, just another couple of bucket-heads laying face down in the dirt.

Crouching down next to Vale, Reyna smiled underneath her helmet. "Looks like a soft target to me," She said, peering through her t-visor at the outpost Vale had been surveying before she got here. "You spotted what we're looking for yet?"

Reyna was making a point to keep her wits about her even though she was conversing with Vale. However unlikely it was that they would get jumped in their concealed position, the SuperCommando was always sure to be paying attention to what was going on around her.

@Orbit

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Ithor was an interesting planet - it was filled with expansive jungles and teeming with wildlife, even some of the trees were sentient in their own way, the planet was interesting to the young Jedi Knight due to the fact he hadn't been to many planets with heavy forests. Him and some other Jedi were away from the outpost, training, strengthening their overall connection to the Force - the Jedi that he was training with were Jedi Knights Alexander Ayers (@Lucid) and Levi Solus (@vamp), he had only met them recently and didn't really know what to think of them but they seemed like decent people. Kyi decided to leave Exdee back at the outpost as this would only be a short session.

The three Knights were up in a tree canopy, masking their presence in the Force and opening up their mind to the Living Force, sensing how it flowed through the planet's ecosystem. Despite masking his presence, the Jedi Knight still opted to wear his armour and have his lightsaber attached to his belt, just in case they encountered any hostile wildlife out in the jungle. It was liberating to be up in the trees like this, he had never felt this kind of freedom anywhere else and felt at peace being away from the vibrant technology at the outpost.

The Jedi Knight hoped the rest of the night would remain as peaceful as it was now - except it wasn't, as he and the others were connecting to the Living Force that surrounded them, he sensed something was off...which caused him to turn his fellow Knights "I'm not the only one feeling that right?" he asked, with a concerned facial expression.

 

[Alexander Ayers]

"You're not," Alex muttered to his companion. Unlike his companions, Alexander had chosen not to mask his presence. He found doing so muted his ability to hear the song of the Force and here, on Ithor he wanted to hear it all.

The whole planet burned in the Force, the expansive jungles, rivers and oceans so pristine, so untouched were loud and boisterous to those who knew how to listen. The presence of his companions beside, muted in the Force though they might be, were all but lost amid the presence of Ithor. It was just as well, the three Jedi had been out amid the canopy for some time taking in everything that Ithor had to offer. As time had gone by they had become somewhat more familiar with the complexities of the Mother Jungle's presence in the Force.

Alexander's mind has spend the day running along complex root systems, soaring high amid the treetops, leaping from branch to beach with small animals and now he felt only part of the activity within the Mother Jungle he had earlier.

"Something's spooked the animals," he said quietly. Something had spooked the Baffor trees too, but he left that part out, for now.

@vamp @AfroBandit20

 

[Vale Rau]

Vale heard Reyna's voice through his comm piece, warning him that she was approaching from the near and didn't want a blaster bolt in her forehead. He didn't turn around for her but the man smirked underneath his T-visor helmet at the thought. She eventually pulled up right next to him to peer at the target before commenting. Vale shook his head, "No, whatever is of value is inside. No guards outside and no traps I can find either." Whatever was here, it was actually going to be in the outpost instead of outside.

Vale had spent most of his life as a hunter, he knew what was natural and unnatural for the wildlife as he could almost have been considered part of it in his earlier years. Slowly sweeping the binocs through the trees, it didn't take long for him to find some discrepancies with animals flowing out from one part of the forest. It made Vale zoom in on that area with the binocs and he noticed the weighted branches and such, making him lift his binocs until he found two men sitting in the trees and staring out toward the direction of the outpost.

Vale lowered himself behind the rock once more so he couldn't be spotted and tapped Reyna's shoulder to do the same, "There are two men in the trees. I can't tell their weaponry but stay frosty." Well if this were to start then someone needed to make the first move. Vale stood up from behind the rock, pulling out his blaster pistol, he kept it ready in his left hand as his right hovered over his beskad in its sheath. The Mandalorian started walking towards the outpost at a steady pace, his gaze locked on where he last spotted the Jedi but keeping his head on a swivel in case they spilled out from anywhere else.

@Logan

 

[Reyna Solus]

Reyna had followed Vale's advice to duck behind the rock, keeping their presence concealed would go along way into being able to suss out the situation before heading closer towards the outpost. She was genuinely surprised that Vale had spotted some lookouts so swiftly. Perhaps she'd learn to enjoy working with him after all.

It wasn't every day that you ran into potential enemies chilling up in the trees like some kind of ridiculous hippy. If they were really looking to provide adequate surveillance for the outpost, they probably could have picked a better spot to hang out. Definitely not work holding up to Mandalorian standards. No wonder the Galactic Alliance had ended up being nearly entirely useless.

Drawing her shriek hawk rifle, Reyna leveled and peered through its scope at the tree Vale had pointed out - it seemed to be about thirty five meters or so away from her position. Vale walking towards the outpost alone was a decent set up for a potential trap and Reyna was more than happy for the Rau to offer himself up as the bait. The moment she got a clear shot on whoever was up in that tree, Reyna would be more than ready to light their asses up like a Life Day Tree.

"I've got your six. Shooting to kill on sight." She said through the comms, a devilish smirk creasing her lips.

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Both relief and uneasiness fell over Kyi at Alex's confirmation that he wasn't alone in sensing something that didn't belong to Ithor's forest. Relieved that he wasn't going crazy and uneasy that there was something out there with them, and it wasn't simple Ithorian wildlife. The training session was over now, the Jedi Knight stopped hiding his presence in the Force - this allowed him to sense the forest better and focus in more on the disturbance in the forest, he closed his eyes to focus more and actually had felt this...threat, was close by.

Kyi remained cautious, he didn't want to leap into battle so hastily without fully understanding the situation first and so, he turned toward the more experienced Knight "How do you want to go about this, I'll follow your lead?" he asked. The Jedi had had his fair share of skirmishes and had a modicum of experience in battle which ranged from security droids, pirates, bandits and so on and so-forth but what he was sensing now was different, these potential foes seemed... more dangerous, unlike any bandit or pirate he had faced before.

The Jedi Knight unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and held it firmly in his left hand, thumb hovering over the switch as he prepared to defend himself for any potential attack. Kyi awaited patiently for Alex's response.

@Lucid

 

[Alexander Ayers]

Immersed in the awareness of the trees as he was, Alexander felt the hostiles, fleet the animals run away. Uncomfortable pressure on his roots just there, it was the strangest sensation but one he recognized. As his companion started to speak, Alexander placed a hand on Kyi's shoulder and pulled him behind a large bow, putting the tree between them and their uninvited guests.

He didn't immediately respond instead, his mind working quickly reaching for his comm and keying a quick code. "Ayers to control, priority crimson," it was a simple code but one that would allow him free reign to speak and be heard. "Hostiles sighted, two maybe more northeast of the compound. Should be able to handle ground operations but request star squadron presence in system to cover potential Evac or escape attempt."

"Heard." Came the cool reply. Knowing his message would reach the required ears, Alex extended his force awareness deeper into the trees, one hand hovering over his lightsaber and the other moving slowly in front of him. With twist of his will he sent the Force coursing through the blossoming branches. Yellow pollen, thick and heavy began to fall like snow obscuring everything around them. It mattered not to the Jedi, the blizzard of pollen around them. They didn't need their eyes to see, not on a world so rich in life.

 

[Vale Rau]

Well, Vale thought with him standing in the open as a target would at least encourage the Jedi to come out from the trees and out to him. But he was wrong as the Jedi instead activated his lightsaber, pinpointing the exact location of where he was in the forest as the light from the weapon pierced through the shadows. From where the Jedi was, Vale was directly between him and the outpost and still thirty-five meters away from him.

Since no one rushed toward him, Vale took cover behind a rock to at least cover the majority of his body as he raised his blaster pistol. He squeezed the trigger two times, the first bolt flying towards the Jedi's torso while the second went lower to his thigh section. Vale didn't expect much but it would at least get this started. After firing the shots, Vale ducked behind the rock, glancing around him with his senses on high alert in case reinforcements came.

@Logan

 

[Reyna Solus]

So it seemed either the people waiting in the trees were looking for the perfect opportunity to strike or were just... too scared to come out and play, perhaps. The latter would definitely be a shame, Reyna and Vale had come here specifically looking for someone new to play with. The fact that the game was "How many times can I shoot this idiot" wasn't really important.

Seeing Vale start shooting, Reyna raised an eyebrow and popped off a few shots in the same direction, pulling the trigger of her weapon only twice. Her job was to lay down cover fire, not shoot wildly into the trees in hope of hitting something. Her attention was more focused on the area around herself and Vale. She was the lookout, and she took that job seriously.

For now, Reyna's finger hovered ominously over the trigger of her rifle, her eyes scanning the area around. There had to be something more going on, backup coming or something. The GA couldn't really be this stupid, right?

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi continued turning his head left and right, searching for the threat's whereabouts. That's when he had heard it, faint, almost muffled blaster shots in the distance - two, maybe three? He wasn't sure. This was then followed by a bright red glow that lit up the dark forest as it was fast approaching - he noticed one directing toward his torso and another toward his lower thigh, there was a total of four blaster bolts headed right his way.

The Jedi swiftly ignited his lightsaber and held the hilt close to his torso, with the blue blade's tip ending near his head, and directed his lightsaber in the direction of the first blaster bolt, deflecting it away from him, followed by a swift counter-clockwise turn to his left thigh to deflect the second blaster bolt. With the remaining two shots lagging behind the first two, Kyi called upon the Force for a brief moment to enhance his speed and allow him to sidestep out of their direction.

His and his ally's position were revealed now, but so was the enemy's. The Jedi immediately deactivated his lightsaber as to not draw awareness to his next move. Kyi leapt out from the tree canopy, making his way to ground level, and used the Force to soften his landing. After this, Kyi hid behind the same tree he jumped from, out of sight of the enemy as he waited for Levi to do the same. The plan would be to close the distance between the and the enemy with stealth.

@vamp @Orbit @Logan

 

[Levi Solus]

Having had to take a break from training, Levi was returning from his trip back from the outpost when he heard the comms. One of the two other Jedi he'd been training with was warning of enemy activity somewhere in their area. He stopped and crouched down behind a rock, hoping that his two new friends didn't need much back-up.

Levi poked his head out over the rock a minuscule amount, his eyes scanning the forest. He reached out through the Force, using it like a sonar looking for any other life forms. The forest was full of lives, but a few stood out especially. There was Kyi, but there were two others, unknown to Levi. He couldn't particularly tell where they were, but had an idea of their general area. With that information, all he needed to do was use his eyes.

And there they were, up ahead of him. They were crouching behind a rock much as he was, one of them having just opened fire on Kyi. The shots were confirmation that these were enemies. From there, what Levi did was up to him. He was between the Mandalorians and the outpost, staring directly at their backs, his breathing quiet and his heart beating. As of now, he was invisible.

He just had to find a way to use it to his advantage.

@AfroBandit20 @Logan @Orbit

 

[Reyna Solus]

Reyna didn't like playing this waiting game. There had to be something else going on here as far as she was concerned, some reason why whoever was in the trees was just sitting there playing turtle. She needed to get a new visual from somewhere... higher, perhaps. The trees didn't seem so thick that their canopies would completely obstruct vision. Not like they were in the rain forest or something.

Stashing her rifle back in its place, Reyna activated her jetpack and ripped off the ground in a flourish, drawing her violator pistol as she did so. Reyna reached a decent height in a pretty short time, reaching a zenith just in time to see the Jedi's lightsaber turn off. She had a fairly good idea of where he might be, but without the light of the saber, she couldn't really be completely certain. Still, she took an educated guess and aimed her wrist to where she thought he might end up and fired off her wrist rocket.

The explosion wouldn't be massive, but it should yeet the Jedi out of the woods and into the open. Reyna assumed Jedi whelps acted like frightened deer, running away from scary sounds which made them easy to corral. Or at least, that was her hope, anyway. Only time would tell.

 

[Vale Rau]

Vale was still behind the rock and waiting just like his partner was. Even after shooting at the Jedi, he preferred to remain in the forest and behind the tree. That's when he heard the familiar blast of fuel before he saw Reyna flying through the air and in a higher position. She shot a rocket right towards the tree where the last Jedi they saw was hiding and Vale was ready to act when she found her mark.

As the rocket would hit the tree and cause an explosion, Vale would come out at the same time, his pistol already drawn and ready for the Jedi that would need to move out of the way. Whenever the Jedi would step out from the cover to avoid the rocket, Vale would squeeze off two more shots towards him. The bounty hunter didn't plan on waiting like last time, having given the Jedi plenty of their opportunities to make their own move, he stepped away from his rock cover and started advancing towards the tree. Vale drew out his beskad and held it in his right hand, prepared in case the Jedi wanted to come in close and make this a close combat fight.
As Vale advanced towards the tree at a normal pace, his eyes scanned the area while his senses were on alert, not wanting to drop his guard against anything that could happen to them.

 

[Levi Solus]

Levi watched as one of the Mandos jetpacked up over the trees for a better vantage point, but the Jedi didn't move, waiting for his chance. He was like a predator, eyes set on the prey ahead—a Rau, judging by the colors of his armor. The man stayed behind cover while his comrade left, and Levi soon heard the rocket whiz through the air, slamming into a tree. The explosion indeed was not massive, but still formidable—and loud. Splinters of wood flew in all directions, colliding in other trees or falling inert. Dirt kicked up from the ground, dust obscuring vision for anyone looking out. The roars and squeals of various animals cut the silence as their home was disturbed. Birds squawked above, leaving their nests.

And as the rocket hit, Levi leapt over his rock and charged for the Mandalorian ahead, lightsaber hilt in hand. The Force wrapped around his feet, making his approach silent and fast. He'd cover the distance and be onto the Mando like lightning.

And as he reached the Mandalorian, he'd swipe out at the man from behind—a simple, quick, up-down slash aimed to slice the Rau's right arm off at the shoulder and take him out of the fight. The Jedi would activate his lightsaber as he began the slash, letting nothing betray his stealth. The cacophony of the forest would mask his approach. If it didn't, he was ready to duck or dive away, his armor and steps light enough. Levi's reflexes were formidable.

@AfroBandit20 @Logan @Orbit

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi remained behind the tree, back practically stuck to it, as he tried to come up with some kind of battle plan or at least wait for backup. Not even five seconds later, his ears perked up at the sound of a jet pack in the distance - it was approaching fast. Peaking his head around the tree, while the forest was almost pitch black, he could pick up the faint glow of the small flames and smoke cloud that emanated from the jet pack - allowing the Jedi to pinpoint and make out a feminine figure fast approaching

Figuring this wasn't anything good, the young Jedi quickly drew on the Force and augmented his speed to sprint out of his current cover and with the goal of heading toward another tree opposite him. While mid-sprint, the sound of the missile shooting through the air was heard, followed by the sound of a small explosion ringing in his ears - feeling the bolt's hot air pass inches from his back, the Jedi's augmented speed allowed him to narrowly avoid two blaster bolts that headed his way. Turning his head to look behind him for a brief moment, Kyi noticed dirt kicking up from the ground, which luckily, should mask his current position from any hostiles.

Finally making it to the other tree and hiding behind this one as well, the Jedi unclipped his lightsaber - its snap-hiss was blocked out by the roars and cries of the forest's fauna. Holding the blade's hilt with both hands, the Jedi kept his wits sharp and opened his self to the Living Force as he prepared for any potential attack.

@vamp @Orbit @Logan

 

[Reyna Solus]

The moment the rocket was loosed Reyna began looking around, sort of going on a small three hundred and sixty degree patrol path over Vale. It didn't take her long to spot someone hauling absolute ass over ground. They were moving at such a speed, Reyna almost considered for a moment that she was seeing things... then it dawned on her, and things became much more obvious.

"Jetii sulyu!" She shouted over their comms, halting her movement in the air and leveling her violator. The Jedi was moving fast so Reyna would have to just use her best judgement in leading the shot, but if she guessed right the idiot would get vaporized and that would be the end of that.

Aiming her weapon, Reyna pulled the trigger. The tell-tale squeal of the violator rung in her ears as the weapon charged up before firing off a heavy blast in the path of Levi. Since the Jedi was running in a straight line it kind of eased the difficulty of the shot, but it was still far from guaranteed. Regardless, with the other enemy still hiding in the trees, Reyna's warning to Vale would come in plenty of time for the Mandalorian to pull his attention where it needed to be and get ready for the fight that was coming for him.

Reyna continued to remain airborne, keeping her eyes peeled for the second hostile. She had plans for them. Big plans.

 

[Vale Rau]

After Vale had fired the two shots he saw the Jedi barely dodge them and he cursed to himself for missing the shot. Reyna then suddenly warned him of another attacker from behind as she also aimed her weapon behind him. While the Jedi's reflexes were formidable, so were the Mandalorian's. Vale instantly rolled forward from where he was standing and with the pre-ample warning from his partner, avoided the would-be strike for his right arm. After he rolled a short distance away he would spin on his feet and into a standing position facing the Jedi, a couple of meters between the two, his blaster already prepared and aimed right at the Jedi's center mass.

While the Jedi (@vamp) would be attempting to deal with the disrupter shot from Reyna above, Vale would fire two blaster bolts at his center mass only a second after. Now he was caught in a crossfire between the two Mandos, one from above and from Vale who was only a few meters in front of him. It would be a difficult situation to escape, to say the least, but Vale knew Jedi were tricky ones and he wouldn't guarantee anything until he saw a body drop.

The Mando still had his beskad drawn and readied through all of this in his right hand. If the Jedi charged Vale he would be prepared to prove a defense for himself now.

 

[Levi Solus]

Levi never got to swipe toward the Mandalorian's arm. It seemed the hawk-eyed one up on the jetpack had noticed him, Levi realizing this as the man in front of him rolled away. At the same time, he heard the whine of a violator charging up, and instantly dashed to the left, ducking behind a tree that blocked the woman's line of sight but not the other Mando's. Levi's lightsaber now ignited, he lifted it up and caught one of the two bolts aimed at his center mass, redirecting it back to the man's chest. The other grazed his left arm, leaving a mild burn that made him hiss but push on. From that distance, only the most drastic of dashes would be enough to dodge the redirected bolt—guaranteeing that Levi would have the Mandalorian off his ass for enough time to regroup.

The blast from the violator had struck the ground where Levi would have gone, vaporizing a few rocks and sending dirt and dead leaves exploding outward. Levi remained behind cover, focusing on the Mando on the ground and letting his partner deal with the other. He felt the Force around him, and the Jedi let it flow through him, charging it up within himself, passively enhancing his reflexes and awareness.

@AfroBandit20 @Logan @Orbit

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi remained hidden behind the tree, lightsaber activated in his hand, he heard a female voice call out in Mando'a - great, he'd had hoped these weren't Mandalorians but... things rarely aligned with his needs in life. Peaking ever so slightly where he wouldn't be seen, he noticed Levi was in between the two Mandos and also saw that the female was aiming her rifle at Levi, who was currently distracted by the male Mando. Swiftly, the young Jedi peaked to the other side of the tree and raised his arm slightly, with her being too focused on her shot he would use this time to take cover behind another tree.

While in cover, he heard the rifle whine as it charged up to make the shot, he knew he couldn't hide forever but he had to keep her off Levi's back. Noticing a three rocks on the floor, he knelt down and picked it up and an idea formed in his head. Once more peaking his head, the female Mando seemed to be searching for him and would probably be too distracted to even notice what he was about to do. Summoning the Force once more, the rocsk levitated from his palm and he turned his attention on to the airborne Mando again - she was about ten metres in the air and had her side was exposed to him from where he was currently located at behind the tree.

Kyi hurled the rocks one at a time, in the direction of her jet pack's thrusters - increasing their trajectory with the Force, he hoped it would disable or at least damage her jet pack and render her grounded but nothing was set in stone. Regardless of what happened, it would distract her at least and Kyi decided it was time to engage her head on. Emerging from his cover, lightsaber still ignited, he took the small window he had to get slightly closer to her and close the gap between them as much as possible. Focusing his gaze on her arms, he would remain focused on them and would stay alert in case she tried to pull any tricks.

@vamp @Orbit @Logan