Ask Nar Shaddaa Move Along

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Ahhhhhhh di’kut…

The Duros laughed.
That captain.
That man.

What’d they say about hearty chuckles?
Die laughing, die in bloody bubbles.
Melodramatic Mandalorian.
Bleeding more of ‘em.

A Mandalorian expected this.
Expected a fist, not a kiss.
Mando’s got two fists.
They don’t miss.

“I did just ask.”
Black eye, no lie.
“I don’t ask twice.”

“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“???”

Sony considered this.
Nodded, paced by desk.
Rubs his face, turns away.
Turns back, a hiss, grotesque.

Fat man.

“Ya know,” Sony begins.
“I been in this business a bit.”
Puffs some cigar smoke, sips gin.
“Lately, though, I’m, ahh, beginnin’ to think I came too late.”
A kind of a reflective shrug, guards budge, soon will give a hug.
Come on then, thugs. Come right up. Come and get yer uppercut.

“Ya know...came at the end.”
Sits on desk, blaster in the hand.
Still be dead. Will lose the hand.
“...And the best is over.”

Guards shift, don’t do much.
Soon to break the cuffs, Klutz.

“The best ain’t over until a Mandalorian sings.”
A Mandalorian sang to himself in the shower.
“Her voice, hammer and anvil, dying gasp rings.”
She would get no more, no less, come dead hour.
“I ain’t askin’ no more, di’kut. So tell me everything.”

“You ain’t gettin’ nothin’!”
The fat man takes a stand!
“And here’s anotha thing!”
Cigar between finger-rings.
“Don’t gimme those karkin’ Mando lights!”
Finger toward a black visor.
Fat man looks kinda mad.
His breathing gets faster.

A Mandalorian stands still in the middle of a room.
There are goons to kill, secrets to steal.
Lips to pry.
Peel.

Not with flensing knife, mind.
He needs the fat man alive.
For now, not for the night.

“The lights on my helm are off, King Kong.”
A Mandalorian tilts his head, looks mean.
“I got a pair o’ black wings guidin’ me…”
Breaks the chain, so quick and clean.
“And you’re just another dead dog.”

-POP!-POP!-POP!-

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

Crux felt the atmosphere change in the room before Endyr even broke out of the cuffs. Once the Mandalorian went for Sony, Crux would pull out his blasters. The Weequay tried to do the same, but before their fingers could find the triggers all three would have a hole in their head.

Switching his blaster to stun, he would aim to fire at the captain, but Endyr was right in the way. He was on his own, then. If he wants to deal with him…

“Ratheon! Catch!” Still, seeing that the man wasn’t carrying a blaster, Crux tossed one of his over to the Mandalorian and hoped that he would catch it. He checked behind him to see if there were any more guards approaching, but for now it looked clear. He pressed the button by the door to close it, locking it too so that anyone who might be nearby wouldn’t be able to come in.

Now they could focus on the captain.

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Gold and black. Black. And. Gold. Man's so cold.

Thanks, much, bub. For. One. Dumb. Di’kut and his gun.

A Man’s fist can kiss. Hits. With gifted precision. Gives. Bones swift crackin’.

Hands handicap. Man's. Fast. Pistol-whip. Punch. Kick. Gun’s. Quick.

Mando's shindig. Face. Breaks. -Pop!-Pop!- More. Guards. Than. Thought.

Helmet’s headbutt. Yup. Come. On. Son. Upper- -Cut. Done shut him up.

A Mandalorian stands in the middle of a room.
There’s blood over here, over there a tooth.
Belonged to some Weequay di’kut dude.
Punched a helm and became dogfood.

In the back, that jackass captain.
He was behind his desk again.
It looked like a giant mess.
Body on it, knife in chest.

“Did his best.”
Shrugs a Mandalorian.
“Still died like the rest.”
Sony Toprano’s sitting.
Face was grim.

“Whaddya want with the hooah?”

-POP!-

That was the sound of a hand getting shot, Endyr always thought.
A Mandalorian is a dead dog if he doesn’t keep his promise.
Sony cursed, yelled—a nice cry to be remembered by.
Gonna enjoy blastin’ you, if a Mandalorian’s honest.

“Praxor is a bitch.”
Gun muscles twitch.
“But she ain’t a whore.”
Head tilt to the left again.

“There are no Mandalorian whores.”
To the right. Something caught his eye.
Third eye’s black visor guides a man higher.
There it is. All in the wall. Beneath the ceiling.

“Just Mandalorians, who are warriors, born for war.”
Pistol points at head to shed green blood over red.
A Mandalorian is surrounded by such silent souls.
Blaster leveled with skull, add Sony to the fold.

“OHHHHH why ya gotta break mah balls?”
Toprano pinched thumbs to fingertips.
Sony was a di'kut; won't be missed.
“Let’s talk business! Wanna gin?”

A Mandalorian shakes his head.
“Tastes like a dog that is dead.”
He really does have to piss.
“Tell me where Casany is.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

It sounded like Endyr really wanted whoever this Casany Praxor woman was, but Crux didn’t really care as long as he got his money. When the Mandalorian demanded his answer, Sony’s eyes would dart side to side before immediately locking onto the bounty hunter as he approached.

“You! You betrayed me!” he gasped. “You were supposed to turn him in, not join him!” This time, Crux joined Endyr by pointing a blaster to the man’s head.

“Tell him where this other Mando is.” Sony threw up his hands, and Crux could see the fresh pain in his eyes as he remembered that he only had one now.

“A- ah won’t tell!” He clicked his blaster as if getting ready to shoot, but it was only on stun. Not that Sony would know that.

“Is it really worth dying for?” He moved a little bit closer.

“A ship! Her ship!”

“What system?”

“I don’t know! She’s moving’ round all o’er the place. That’s all I know.” Crux glanced at Endyr. From what he could tell Sony was telling the truth, and he was usually pretty good about that kind of thing.

“Hm. Do you need him for anything else?”

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC

-POP!-

“Nope.”

Another dead dog.

Sony Toprano, captain of a criminal crew, heart so hollow, bolt through skull so that too.
Got his hand shot, bit of a pop, kinda forgot about it, blaster food, die where he would sit.

The Duros’ eyes had darted to the side more than once, beyond the men, beyond the guns.
The Mandalorian had noticed his enemy’s gaze drift away toward the place beneath a ceiling.

Frankly, a Mandalorian was tired of hearing a Duros speak, listening, that fat quack-quack beak.
A Mandalorian knows how to get what a Mandalorian needs, seeks, maybe without breaking teeth.

“His safe will tell us the rest of his secrets.”
A man points with blaster held in his hand.
“Right there, by the painting, by my scan.”

What looked like a wall was more than all.
Finger traces outline, knocks, metal’s call.

“Get back.”
-BLAST!-
“Not bad.”
-CRACK!-

The safe is opened.
Secrets are broken.
Mando’s spoken.
Credits, tokens.
And more than.
More than that.
More than this.
Take and twist.
Shake little bit.
“Here it is, miss.”
‘It’ was a data disc.
A Mando might kiss.

A Mandalorian yoinks a corpse off a captain’s desk.
Boot pushes chair, wheels move there, cap is next.
Computer stare, tapping keyboard, images and text.

“And there she is.”
Endyr did not waver.
“My Mandalorian.”
Corvette, Crusader.
“The Unwavering.”
Click, tap, no error.
“Last location in…”
Tilts head, thinking.
“Huh…Ventooine?”

Endyr removed the disc, took other things from the safe, left what was not his, didn’t care about it.
Justice is on a Mandalorian man’s mind, vengeance for life, black and gold against the red woman.
Beside her gold, right by and next to her own revenge, was that red, red for honoring dead parent.

A Mandalorian curls his fingers in, knuckles laced, forms a fist, sees a face.
It’s Praxor’s, that woman’s, that Mandalorian’s, then another’s, a father’s.
A son remembers his father’s health, forgets himself, gun back in hand.

Endyr Ratheon intends to end her, let wrath in.
Debates whether to raise blaster, at Di’kut chin.
Hmm. Maybe not. I might just need him for this.

A handle in hand.
Twist fist, drops it.
“Leave the blaster.”
It wasn’t even his.
“Take the credits.”
Each chip ‘n’ chit.

A Mandalorian stares black-eyed, T-winged, at a guy whose mouth might sing secrets.
Normally Endyr would take his life right there and then, leave no loose end, no witness.

“My father, Jorah Ratheon, taught me the same as his father, his father…his father.”
…Taught the sons and daughters, trained the warriors, born for it, Mandalorians…
“There are Mandalorians and the rest of the galaxy, those less than men like me.”
That third eye, that dark visor, cold as night, but like an inferno still so very bright.

“Dogs, I call them, but you are no dog.”
Raises a hand, goes for shoulder pat.
“You’ve been promoted to wolf, Cuts.”
Points back at credits, chits ‘n’ chips.
“There’s more where that came from.”

Maybe that shoulder pat had failed.
But wolves didn’t need stroked tails.
“Come with me for glory and more!”
A Mandalorian had his, a man had his.
“Help me find my prey, Casany Praxor.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

Sony Toprano was no more, and Crux’s attention turned to Endyr’s comment about some kind of safe.

“Safe? What safe?” He got his answer soon when he heard the sound of a blaster fire and then breaking metal. Then, another that he would never get tired of— clinking of credits as they spilled out, along with a few other things that he had no use for. He didn’t make a move to grab them, though. Surely Endyr hadn’t relied on this to pay him?

He waited, the Mando sat down at a desk, and apparently he had. It’s enough... even if the method of payment was a little less reliable than he would have hoped. As for Ratheon’s ultimate goal, he didn’t much care for Ventooine, or whoever “the unwavering Mandalorian” was. As far as he was concerned, this job was done and he could go home. But then Ratheon made him an offer, giving him a shoulder pat while he was at it, as well as a "promotion". Must be important, then.

“I’m not looking for glory, mate.” Crux shrugged him off before eyeing him again. “I go where the money flows, so…” He smiled behind his visor, “if there’s credits to be had with this Praxor, I’m in.”

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Credits…
Five Syndicate's favorite kiss...
That’s all that di’kuts like this idiot ever cared to consider.
Didn’t much matter to this Mandalorian but he’d snicker.

“In for the win.”
Now it’s a grin.
Might have shaken hands with Krux.
But Mando don’t shake with di’kuts.

“Let’s get outta here then.”
Footsteps in the distance.
“Endyr doesn’t end here.”
Turns to exit and entrance.

Where the money flows…
Those words as spoken by Clubs.
Remembers for this or that reason.
Mando turns around, grabs his nuts.

Spots a fish tank.
“Be right back.”
Bathroom bank.


Fast forward A-Z and there’s your 1-2-3.
Mandalorian and his wolf are in the stars.
Black visor, dark wings, Mr. T, looks great.
Bad haircut and goatee, that other mate...
From dog to wolf…but wolves still squeal.

A Mandalorian is feeling spirited in cockpit.
“Hey di’kut, ya there?”
Doesn’t really care.
Bored, can’t snore.
“Tell me a story…”
…A warrior’s glory…
“A story before we go to war in dirt ‘n’ grit.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

Since they had time on the ship, Crux had used it to do a little research. After browsing through the holonet, he had learned what “di’kut” meant, and it didn’t please him when Endyr addressed him as one almost immediately afterwards.

“No di’kuts here, cap’n. Just me,” he said. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat in the cockpit when the Mandalorian asked for a story. That was a strange request coming from a man who seemed to like the sound of his own voice above anything else.

“You ever seen an ISD?” He looked at Endyr. “Me and the boys shot down one of those.” Even though they’d lost much that day, the destruction of the star destroyer was still a point of pride. “‘Course we had a little help, but the kill was ours. Those karking bugs went down in flames.” He grinned. It wasn’t much of a story per se, but telling them wasn’t his strength. If it was, he didn’t know where or what he’d be— but definitely not a bounty hunter.

“What’s your story with the Praxor woman, anyway? Refused you a kiss or somethin’?”

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Imperial Star Destroyers…
When death fell upon warriors…
The fire…the dromons of war…
Dying…crying…lying on the floor…
Raging…hatred…all that…gore…
Mandalore…Mandalore of blasts…
Mandalore…Mandalore so glassed…

A Mandalorian remembers war.
Remembers Mandalore.
Remembers more.
Remembers the Concord.
Mandalore’s door…
The warrior’s maw.
Remember the Dawn…

Not there, not near.
My ancestors…
Were they scared?
Warriors, warriors…
A bear’s kinda fear…

“You and yours made an ISD fly from the sky, hey, di—?”
A Mandalorian hesitates, contemplates.
“...Crux…”
Lady luck.
Tough guy.

“...Praxor…”
Mandalore.
Was a woman.
A Mandalorian.
No more.
No less.
The best.
But will die like the rest.

“You can’t refuse the kiss of death, wolf, just can’t.”
Eyes behind a dark visor—into night—into twilight.
Dread wings of the Empire fly...such violent delight.
A father is shot in shoulder, the head, beneath sky.
Stars blink—scars drink—starlight agony—a bite.
“She’s a woman who needs killin’—by this man.”
“Ours, Endyr, my warrior…Ours Is The Wrath!”
“Do you…have a father?”
Son to son—no daughter.

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

“Cryptic much?” Crux shook his head at Endyr’s answer. Kiss of death, that was poetic, but he had no clue what it meant. He wasn’t one to appreciate the gobbledygook of literature.

“Every man has a father, genius. Even me.” As he said it, he wondered what his father was up to. Being stuck doing backbreaking work all day and left exhausted by night, father and son hadn’t had much time to themselves to have any serious conversation. “Prolly shoulda talked to him more than I did, but we… understood each other. Don’t know how to explain it.” Sometimes that came in the form of leaving the other the better piece of bread, an extra cup of water, or even doing an extra job or two to help the other on a particularly busy day.

Crux crossed his arms. It wasn’t a part of his life he liked to think about, but the good part was that it was over now. He, his father, and his mother were free, and that was what mattered. Yet still a part of him felt empty, and he didn’t know what was missing.

“So.” He changed the subject. “Were you and your father close? Might be wrong, but you don’t seem like much of a family guy to me.”

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Every man…has a father…
Man of son, man of daughter.
Even this man…had a father…
Endyr…Endyr…Endyr Ratheon.
End her…Praxor…let wrath in...

Crux spoke of speaking with his father of blood.
Had not talked much and then some in the mud.
The mud…dirt of aeons gone…blood is blood...

Crux talked on.
Father-son bond.
Just could not be lost.
Warrior strings so long.
Thick as rancor skin…
Our fury has not gone!

Ours Is the Wrath.
A Ratheon fact.
Forged In Fire.
Clan Praxor…
I’ll remember that…
A Mandalorian can.
When I open her door.

A Mandalorian thinks.
A Manadalorian blinks.
Before his dark eye is…
A galaxy black but bright.
Endyr’s brain drifts away.
Ratheon catches it—clay.

“I’m a Mandalorian, my guy.”
Di’kut’s still not very bright.
“...To a guy like me, well I…”
Back to Clan Ratheon again.
Curls fingers in, forms a fist.
“To us…family is everything.”
A Mandalorian remembers his.
From behind glass linger eyes.
Peering from afar into the stars.

“My father taught me everything.
Mandalorian to the core, that one.
Told me stories and gave me things.
Sword and knife, grenade and gun.”
Endyr sits alone but offers the shrug.

“Jorah Ratheon was his name…”
Remembers Father—gone, late.
“By Praxor’s hand…was he slain.”
A Mandalorain grips not hand—fist.
“I will do to her what she did to him.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Crux]

Family is everything. That was something coming from the man who seemed determined to not let anyone else have one. An Ishi Tib came to mind, but who was Crux to judge?

Even though he was sure that Endyr didn’t want it, the bounty hunter did have some sympathy for his story. Losing a father couldn’t have been easy, and if Crux were in his shoes, he’d probably do the same thing. The Mandalorian had a heart after all.

“Then she’ll die by your hand.” Crux looked at Endyr, meeting his gaze through his visor. “I’ll take care of any others who try to get in the way.” He was under no impression that it would be easy. He’d seen how Mandalorians fought. But when things got personal… there was a possibility of the tables being turned. He was just glad that he wouldn’t be on the wrong end of it when the time came.

//Exit character

@Die Shize

 

[Endyr Ratheon]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Death by my hand.
Death was in a fist!
Fist in death’s grip!
Mandalorian twists!
Death. Yes. Finish it!

Mandalore...born for war.
War… War never ended…
But the wars within wars…
World wars and star wars.
Family wars and clan wars.
Well, Endyr would end his.

“I believe you will kill, wolf...”
The expanse…that engulfs.
It was so bright…so black.
“Proven it. That’s a fact…”
Will still stab you in back.

Not literally, of course.
But if Crux drifts off course.
Then it’s a definite blade to chest.
Then again, maybe just a bolt to head.

“There was…this one time.”
A Mandalorian remembers.
“Beer…I really hate wine…”
Mind drifts—windy embers.
“This was a party…sorry.
The kind that gets…awry.”
Remembers…members.
Of family…and of friends.
“Durok downed a keg…”
That Mando shrug again.
“I mean…more or less…
Vaidin banged his head…
Passing out on the bed…
I…I remember the rest…”
Mando cranes weary neck.
But he cannot go to bed yet.
“Ohh what a sight…the fight!”
Spilled food—a chipped tooth—
“Like…like between wolf and bear.”

Silence.
Thin air.

“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”

“Crux?”
Looks left.
“Ya there?”
Looks up.
“...Di’kut?”

Nothing.
Nobody.
Just…
…Me.

A Mandalorian glimpses the stars.
Endyr Ratheon blinks at the scars.
The blood and gore in between…
Sees black and gold…sees red…
Sees a woman missing her head.
Clan name: Praxor. Name: Casany.

[END THREAD]

@Sicadorito