Incompetent Competition

[Tagal Saxon]

Tagal didn't do much contract work these days but Burk was someone he would consider doing said work for; when the big doggo explained what his end-game was, Tagal had signed on the dotted line. It was a worthy pursuit and he would be the first to admit it considering he had done something similar himself.

One of the things that Burk needed for his goal to be completed was a dedicated, and reliable, source of fuel along the way.

The fueling stations of Wroona were known in this area for their quality and one of them was an independently owned one that actually had some good points. For starters it was large enough that it could supply them rather handily.

And secondly was that it was doing well enough to attract the attention of some local mafia types. When organised crime tried to muscle in on your profits, you knew that you were onto something of a gold mine after all. Tagal set down the Galleon on one of the landing pads and set off from the ship towards the main office.

He spoke to Skuld as they walked.

"The local mafia is sending one of their minor bosses down to try and intimidate the fuel depot owners." he sighed a little bit, "It's our job to make them back off without resorting to violence. We need the fuel depot operational and a gang war, however brief, would disrupt that."

He grinned.

"I've got some ideas; you?"

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

The Meteor entered Wroona's atmosphere and quickly found the enormous Janteel galleon on one of the landing pads. He moved over and set down on the pad next to the galleon. Seeing one of those again made him chuckle. It was one of these very ships that he got the Meteor from, and now here he was again looking at one of these beasts. He activated his SSR and slipped on his horned helmet. After checking his weapons and gear he slid his helmet over his head and exited the ship.

As he walked he spotted Eva walking with another Mandalorian. That would explain why she was familiar with both the language as well as their culture. Though she never actually mentioned this man to him at all, so he was at a bit of a loss over the man's identity. Burkhart mentioned that he would be working alongside Eva as well as a third member, so at least he knew he was in the right place. By the looks of his marks, he was a Saxon.

With his hands resting idly on the grips of his pistols he moved over to catch up with them. "Eva, stop stealing my contracts! One of these days I'll have to sell my ship to pay the rent." he joked as he entered earshot. He fell in with the two of them and looked the stranger over. "Burkhart said there would be a third person in the team, though he failed to give a name. The name's Sumas, and you are?" he asked as he held a hand out for the man to shake.

"I'm not exactly accustomed to using the non-lethal approach right off the bat, so I hope you two have a plan on how to go about this." he commented, looking between the two of them.

@Nefieslab @Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She had fallen into step beside Tagal; as per usual, she was completely dressed in her armor, head tilted slightly as she listened to Saxon. Like himself, she had been requested by Burkhart, someone she knew only by name and a brief nod during a Blackwell meeting, to go and help obtain something, as it were. Of course she was interested... and wouldn't it be interesting to deal with this nonviolently? A test, so to speak, of... diplomatic convincing. As Tagal knew, it was hardly one of her stronger points.

She smirked back, hands resting on her hips briefly before they were interrupted by the presence of someone unexpected. She hadn't realized Sumas had been contracted as well; a low, throaty laugh parted from her lips when the man interrupted her, crossing her arms at the third member of their party.

This was going to be interesting.

"Tagal, this is the Mandalorian I mentioned before, on Exoleem," she rumbled out in amused tones. Being called Eva again still surprised; it seemed though the galaxy was expansive, there were people that she seemed to 'bump' into on the regular. Mandalorians especially. Funny how that worked.

She smirked at his mention of selling his ship; her voice became a slow drawl of sarcasm, her rolling eyes evident. "Ve cannot have that, can we? Especially after all that kriff you put me through for that flying piece of junk." But a chuckle followed her words, taking out what would have been mistaken for venom, and nodded once to Tagal. "Ja, I have few ideas, like I was going to mention," here, she tilted her faceplate slightly towards the Solus, arms uncrossing as she tilted her head to indicate moving on.

"But of course, would like to hear yours."

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Tagal's reaction to another Mandalorian was exactly the same as it was whenever he met another Mandalorian; he prepared to have to headbutt the other man until there was some mutual respect between them. It was an oldschool approach and most Mandalorians these days were able to actually hold a conversation but Tagal held a respect for the classics sometimes. Still, he watched as the other man approached.

Skuld seemed to accept his presence so he didn't lead with the headbutt, instead clasping the man's forearm.

"Tagal Saxon." he greeted him, gesturing towards Skuld with a nod of his head, "The husband."

He was also a rather successful public figure, businessman and smith... but the introduction he had given was good enough for his tastes so he moved on.

"My idea is simple really; we act like we hold all the cards." he instructed the other two as he led the way down towards the main offices, "We can't resort to violence First but we MUST be the ones to finish it if it starts. The idea is we explain, politely, to these mafia types that starting a war with us is one that they cannot survive. Sound good?"

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

The Husband? Oh good. For a second I thought you were the wife." he fired right back at Tagal as they clasped forearms. "Are you also Blackwell? I actually got a really wacky gun design that you guys might be able to help me with later on. Six barrels, crazy fire rate, it's lovely." he said casually, trying to get rid of that awkwardness between strangers. Besides, what Mandalorian doesn't like the sound of a wacky gun design?

Tagal went on to explain his gameplan. Sumas listened intently, going over it in his head. "Yeah, sounds good. Won't be that hard. Not like we're lying or anything." he said with a shrug. As far as he was concerned, they were unstoppable. "I just hope they give us reason to put them down...oh and for the record, there is a really tiny chance that these guys might recognise me." he admitted with a nervous smile behind his helmet. "I worked for all kinds of mafias, gangs and groups a couple years back." he explained to them.

He checked himself over again, making sure his gear was ready and loaded. He slowed his pace to fall in behind Tagal, letting him take the lead for this talk. He also seemed to be a bit better at talking than Sumas was which was fine by him.

@Nefieslab @Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

The husband? Really? Facts were facts... but she got the distinct feeling that she was being cavemanned. Any second, maybe, he would scoop her up over his shoulder and drag her back off to the galleon, but that was getting more and more difficult these days. She slowly crossed her arms in amusement, listening to the pair of them. The wife comment, however, made her snort in amusement, shaking her head and barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes... again.

It was more and more difficult to maneuver now, considering how she was, but she did, slipping past the two males. "Sounds good to me." She paused however, when Sumas mentioned them possibly recognizing him as a former business associate... it seemed the male was never one for lack of surprises.

Her lips twisted into a faint grin over her shoulder, twitching a shoulder towards where their other associates waited for them to arrive. "Let us not keep our friends waiting. But Sumas?"

She paused, her voice calm and cool.

"Do not speak, if they know you. Let's shake some bad boys."

She continued on towards the building that was clearly marked for the fuel depot. Considering its' location, it would have been a prime settling for business... but the business drummed up wasn't from tired spacers after a long jaunt in the hyperlanes. The space seemed almost perfectly deserted... a few ships here and there, but nothing substantial enough to line the pockets of whomever ran this joint.

This investment was ripe for the plucking. Time to convince the local thugs there were better places to feed their leech-like habits, and keep mafia pockets out of good business.

Skuld could hardly wait.

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Tagal Saxon]

He smirked.

"Well you're a Solus so I expected your eyesight to be bad so don't worry - I won't hold your mistake against you." he shot back with a smirk behind his helmet, "I'm a managing director for Blackwell. And several barrels? Sounds dumb."

It did!

There was a reason why no one wanted the latest maxim gun after all - they were obsolete in so many ways that it wasn't even funny. But every now and then someone wanted to try and "make them work" because they liked how they looked and they'd manage to drum up support and credits and it would happen.

Tagal gave Sumas a look.

The Look.

The Look was a look that Mandalorian's perfected - it was the look you could give someone when you were both wearing helmets so no one could actually see the look so instead your entire body just kind of radiated The Look and they FELT it. So he gave Sumas The Look.

"You're wearing a fecking helmet, you stupid badger." he reminded him with a sigh, gesturing to Skuld, "These people can hardly tell us apart without the helmets. With them on we all look the bleeding same!"

Even he would admit that.

"Let's put our game faces on people."

Stepping into the main office building, Tagal moved up to the receptionist's desk. She stared up at him as he stared down at her silently for a moment before tilting his head slightly.

"Be a dear - clear the room."

Outside a trio of landspeeders were pulling up.

"Remember everyone; game faces."

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

"It's not dumb! If done right it'll send hundreds of rounds downrange. I'll show you the plans, you'll love it!" he defended his undoubtedly crazy and questionable idea. Given how he came upon the idea, he was inclined to agree with Tagal...it was dumb.

But he'd persist, no matter what. He was confident it was a good idea.

Then came the look. Sumas turned to look at Tagal and returned the look with an annoyed look of his own. It was actually quite funny to think that Mandalorians could understand each other so well. Sometimes it was easier to read the visors of their helmets than their actual eyes. And Tagal's visors were asking for a slap. "I never said I was talking about my face!" he fired back with a defensive tone, holding his arms out and shrugging his shoulders in confusion. Was it really necessary to give him the look? He felt like a kid arguing with his dad, despite the fact that they were roughly in the same age group. "Sometimes I ran missions with the red and horns instead of my blue paint. Though I doubt these guys will know me. Don't think I've been in this area before with the red." he explained to them. Hopefully Tagal was right and they didn't recognize them. They did look pretty much the same, though, he had to admit.

Inside the building Sumas hung back and watched the area. When the speeders pulled up his hand instinctively shifted to his pistols, but he forced himself to lower them. He didn't want to give these gangsters any indication of violence. His face turned cold and that familiar intimidating Mandalorian aura took over. His T-visor watched every man as they got out of the speeders.

@Killa Ree @Nefieslab

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She snorted at the both of them. Two men, who happened to be Mandos… what did a woman expect? Though it was not the look that was directed her way this time... she definitely knew that look. By experience, by previous moments where he used that expression on others... and she shrugged.

"'These people'?" She drawled slowly, turning about to place a hand on her hip, icy blue eyes glittering. Amusement laced her tones, her voice carrying over to the both of them. "I think I can tell a Solus and a Saxon apart, and not just by the charming helmet design." She deliberately looked Tagal up and down, making sure her own visor showed the movement... and then turned back on her heel, striding through.

The Twi'lek manning the reception desk turned one shade paler blue at the sight of the three armored people that just happened to strut in, eyes flicking to behind them where the speeders pulled up. She was not paid enough for this job, and things had been stressful enough. They had a few members of their organization quit because of stressful situations, and honestly the nerves that she felt fluttering in the pit of her stomach confirmed that, indeed, she needed a nice, long vacation from all of this. She knew that there were meant to be some guests.... but not this many! And one of them seemed... female?

Clearly she wasn't paid enough for this.

She jumped up when he suggested clearing the room, skittering out to a wall panel behind her, that doubled as a decorative door, disappearing into it as quickly as she was able. Skuld had to pause a moment to admire the girl's speed at disappearing; perhaps her boss would grace the mafia social visit with stepping out, but she doubted it.

Civilians seemed to love when she did all the dirty work.

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Whatever.

It wasn't time to be arguing and playing around amongst themselves anymore because the mafia was here and that meant that it was go-time. Tagal took up position in the middle of the room, leaning back slightly against the centre of the reception desk. He could tell that Sumas and Skuld would take their own positions based on his own.

Hopefully at least one of them would flank to the side to make sure that any mafia man who stepped inside would have someone to their side or back as they were dealing with him at the front. He didn't take his helmet off because that would have made him more approachable.

He didn't want to be approachable.

The doors opened and two of the 'soldiers' of the mafia leader stepped in before freezing in place upon seeing the armoured response awaiting them. No one moved for a brief second as the mafia men clearly through about drawing their weapons. Before they could actually bring their brains into gear, Tagal spoke and robbed them of the momentum.

"Gentlemen." he greeted them curtly, "I would have words with your employer - would you kindly allow him entry?"

They tensed and the mafia men behind them tensed as well and Tagal subtly readied the wrist rocket on his wrist controls, without visibly moving his fingers to do so. They were clustered together so he imagined they would make for a big target. Before it could get to that stage however, the boss pushed his way through to stand in front of Tagal. He eyed Skuld and Sumas for a moment.

"You could only scare up one man and a chick against me?" he smirked, "Against my nine guys? Hardly seems fair."

Tagal tilted his head to the side slightly.

"You're right - it doesn't seem fair." he agreed, "So I'll let you call in another dozen men to even the odds, alright?"

Even one of the boss' own men laughed a little bit at the man being caught in such an easy comeback. The boss glared at Tagal.

"The feck do you people want?"

Well well... what did they want? If one of his allies could take this question, it would put the man off balance.

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

As the men approached Sumas instinctively moved to the right to flank the gangsters as they entered. He had to hold back a laugh as the two soldiers froze and tensed up at the sight of Tagal standing in wait for them. As he spoke up they tensed further, looking ready to start shooting. Sumas' hands shifted to hover above his pistols like a gunslinger ready to draw. These gangsters wouldn't stand a chance if they decided to draw. Not with the severe bottleneck they were in now.

Thankfully the boss was more awake than his men and quickly shoved past to look at them. The T-visor of his helmet hid a cold emerald gaze, not that it was any less intimidating. The boss tried to degrade them, which failed spectacularly with Tagal's response. Sumas smiled broadly at the comment, working to keep his laugh in.

Unsurprisingly the pompous boss didn't seem too amused. Tagal didn't answer the question, letting Sumas and Eva know they were up. Sumas said nothing as he relaxed his hands and letting them hang by his sides. He cocked his head slightly to the side as he eyed the boss and his lackeys. He left the snappy commentary to Eva. She seemed to have a better intimidation factor than him, if past experiences were anything to go by...

@Killa Ree @Nefieslab

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She smiled savagely, fingers digging into her hip and palm. It was amusing to think that their numbers were going to stop from being slaughtered. The best equipment, the finest bodyguards, wouldn't have anything on tenacity or sheer will, and she was damn determined to just smear this karker all over the expensive linoleum. But.

Some fancy talk would have to do. So she shifted; while Sumas was to their left, she moved to their right, almost strolling. She could practically feel the mafia collecting what few brain cells they had to shift protectively around their boss... but even that man seemed to be unimpressed by numbers. So words were, for now, the best option.

"Leave."

Some low laughter rippled from the mafia, but all of them shifted. Their leader tilted his head at her, and a smirk grew on his lips when he realized what the woman had said. "Leave?" he scoffed, arms crossing as dark brows climbed up his forehead, face a mask of sheer disbelief. "Lady, we live here, we own this joint. What could you do to stop us?"

She tilted her head. Sighed.

And slowly settled her hand on the heft of her axe. Immediately hands settled on blasters, but didn't draw. All eyes settled on the crazy Deuc lady. She tilted her head to Tagal, and smirked. "Looks like they won't leave peacefully."

"Let me put it this way; you leave with all limbs, and some pride. But stick around, and you von't be half as lucky. And ve will pursue you, until there is no safe haven. Shove off and live." A dark chuckle slipped past her lips.

"Or suffer."

If they were going to delay any longer, she would spring to action with shield and ax prepared, but it was almost a certainty. These were not hardened warriors, but a bunch of suited flyboys with little more sense than a drunk nerfherder. And she couldn't wait for one of them to attempt first draw.

Kark diplomacy, it was boring. What she wanted was to hear some screams and gunfire... but for now, threats would have to do.

But it was still boring.

​

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Tagal Saxon]

Tagal smiled.

"My wife has spoken."

He moved closer to the leader of the men, tilting his head to one side slightly as he did so. The mission brief called for the minimum amount of violence to be employed. It was to facilitate a smooth and seamless transition for when they were up and running. The supply chain would continue and everyone would make money.

"Here's the deal." he began with a small growl, "You leave this outfit alone. You get a small kick back from them for keeping others away and you make us your friends."

The boss stepped up to him.

"And if we don't want to be your friends?"

Oh boy.

Tagal tilted his helmeted head to one side.

"Then you will be our enemies for..." he paused before glancing to Sumas, "Solus. How long do you think it would take you, alone, to take apart this little mafia? I'm curious. Wife - same question."

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

Sumas stood solid, watching these clowns for any sketchy movements. He actually had to stifle a laugh as the gangsters threatened Eva. After seeing what she was capable of, even in this state, they were clearly in blissful ignorance of her capabilities. And deep down he hoped they were as dumb as they looked because he wanted to see Tagal's worth. The man looked like he knew what he was doing, but the curiosity was still there. And with how things were going it looked like they were all ready to draw on these idiots, because negotiations were going south very quickly.

Not that he was complaining...

Tagal turn his attention to Sumas and Eva. The question cause a scoff to escape him. His T-visor looked the gangsters over then looked at Tagal. "These guys? On a bad day with a hangover...not even a minute." he said casually with a light laugh. "I've ran with swoop gangs that were more intimidating than these guys...and I've met Hutts more in shape than this guy." he said, nodding to the boss at the front. "Bottom line, shorty...I'd recommend you take the silver with this deal. Because I can promise you, you won't want to take the plasma." he commented, his voice taking a cold turn. It took a certain degree of stupidity or arrogance to be as delusional as this boss. He had a feeling it was a bit of both.

@Nefieslab @Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

"Ten seconds, husband."

She tilted her head slightly, voice cold. Tagal knew what she was capable. And Solus had a taste of it. Such small numbers, so unarmed and without proper armor, hardly posed a challenge. The biggest struggle would be getting shot at. And really, by the time any of them would have squeezed off a lucky shot at these close quarters, they would all be dead, and negotiations would be over.

But like always... something happened.

When she shifted her hand away from her axe, one of the men spasmed reflexively, beginning to draw his gun free of its' holster and aim at her.

He was shot down before he could even fire properly, and his went wide, scorching into the wall behind her as she reholstered her own weapon. The others flinched back in delayed surprise as their companion suddenly collapsed to the floor in a wail of pain, clutching his thigh at the new scorch mark that bit deep into synthweave. Though it couldn't be denied... he had definitely shot first. And now here was undeniable proof the gang was outclassed by two men and an irritable Deucalian.

Their boss was suddenly a small shade paler as she peered over at them, her voice a bored nonchalance from her own helm. "Six seconds, now. He shot first... the rest of you vill not be so lucky if you do not take this deal. I suggest you do in... hmm..." She hummed thoughtfully, then glanced at Tagal.

"Ten seconds?" Whether affirmed or not, she shifted, and faced their leader. Was she insane? Absolutely. But idiocy had to be met with a bit of an example... otherwise, how else could thick skulls grasp what little say they really had? And with the pressure of time and the threat of their lives, the decision would be easy. And she relished a good challenge. Did the boss plan on saving his own skin, or would he be willing to let his men be sacrificed for the loss of the slightest bit of cred?

After all...

They were told to secure the depot peacefully. But it would be much more peaceful if there were no more gangsters to trouble it, and she itched to simply cut them all down and end negotiations. It was tiresome, and she was now getting irritable and hungry.

A bad combination in the line of fire, especially with a Deuc already bloodthirsty.

"Ten."

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Tagal Saxon]

The leader tried to move but found himself suddenly unable and unwilling to do so. Mostly unwilling because he could feel the tip of Tagal's beskad now resting gently against his junk. Yeah, Tagal could have targeted another area but he knew that people tended to value certain parts of their body above all else.

He pressed in with the blade slightly to ensure he had the man's attention.

"And this is when they're barely interested." he assured the man with a tilt of his helmet, "If you annoy them, can you imagine how badly you would feel? If you annoy me? If you make enemies of myself and my allies, you and yours will cease to exist."

Seemingly growing something of a spine, the leader spoke up.

"You're all gonna die for this."

Tagal shrugged and pulled his beskad back.

"I tried." he turned to Skuld and Sumas, "I tried, right?"

Instead of using the blade, Tagal instead rocketed his head forwards. The leader's nose exploded in a spray of blood upon it's impact with his helmet. Not letting up, Tagal grabbed hold of the man by his shoulders and headbutted him again and again and again. To the Mandalorian the blows were rather disorientating.

To the mafia man?

They were pulping his face.

Dropping the mafia man to the ground as a whimpering mess, Tagal pointed to one of the terrified guards.

"Take him home and tell his family what happened here." he instructed the man, "Tell them that I will personally gouge out the eyes of their children and piss in the sockets while they're still alive, unless they leave this place alone. GO."

The remaining mafia men gathered their whimpering boss and retreated. As they did so, Tagal waited until they were gone before...

"What that last thread too much? I kinda feel like it was too much."

@KinkyPrawn @Killa Ree

 

[Sumas Solus]

Sumas smirked at Eva's response. With what he's seen from her he didn't doubt her abilities...then again on the flip side she did manage to barrel her way into a guard and got shot in the back multiple times. So that number of hers was most likely a roll of fate's dice. But he would save that to annoy her later once this whole mess was over with.

Speaking of which...

His hand drew a Strill as soon as Eva's shot went off, a delay he wasn't too proud of and hoped no one else noticed in the moment of disarray. She went on to threaten the group of gangsters further before giving them a countdown to make a choice. Sumas slowly holstered his pistol again when Tagal intervened with his Beskad up against the man's junk. The Zabrak raised an eyebrow as the retarded boss still refused to yield. Despite knowing he was in over his head. Despite knowing he would be annihilated...he still went on to threaten them.

Sumas shrugged at Tagal's rhetoric question. The man deserved what he was getting. When the guards looked like they were about to draw, Sumas' pistols were drawn and held at the ready to drop any of them before they had a chance to fire. "You'll be stiff before you can draw, buddy, don't try it." he said coldly to one of the gangsters reaching for his rifle. As they retreated Sumas rested his pistols against his shoulders, shrugging dismissively at Tagal. "Not at all. If anything, this mission was getting way too dull for my taste." he explained.

@Nefieslab @Killa Ree

 

[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

She smirked at her husband, the expression unseen but still there. She slowly strode over... and lightly bumped against him, then turning away. Really, though, what did those gangsters expect? An easy target? She was unafraid to rip them all to shreds herself, and yet her man and Solus seemed happy to do the rest of the work. And she only got one shot in!

Disappointing... but at least negotiations went smoothly. True, they didn't outright say yes... but if they caused trouble, she would all too happily remind them why it would be a bad idea to go against them. And this time, she would not need a blaster.

"And this is vhy I love you," she chuckled to Tagal, striding past the two men and out the same doors the fool mafia men and their boss had slunk away, tails between their legs. Sure enough, there was nary a trace of swoop bikes nor cowering mafia men. And now they had a fuel depot at their disposal... Skuld looked forward, however, to something spicy. She suddenly craved something that would no doubt make most flinch in nausea... but that was just another day for her.

Time to let the boss doggo know negotiations went as smooth as expected.

/End Thread