Ask Technical Difficulties

[Arthos Vizsla]

There were very few types of ships with that could be expected to act a tug for a space station. That list of ships shrunk considerably if the ship needed to operate independently because it would not be cost effective to send an escort detachment of combat ships. So when Arthos' own ship exited hyperspace, the iconic curve of the Lucrehulk was not unexpected. Even in it's cargo configuration, as this one was, they were solidly built, well armed and they could be run with a large number of droids taking the place of an organic crew.

According to the logs from Blackwell, there had been over four hundred droids of various typing on the ship to act as crew - and a further two hundred to act as the security element. The organic crew was there to mainly keep the droid in line but, in this case, that hadn't worked. None of his contacts knew why the droids had killed the organic crew members but there was enough video evidence of the violent droid revolt in the final message that the captain had managed to send out.

Blackwell was, no doubt, on their way with a team to recover their property but Arthos and his small team of Mandos had gotten the transmission first - and a quick look at the sensor readings confirmed that he was right to jump on the opportunity. They had arrived before the Blackwell recovery team. They didn't have all the time in the Galaxy but getting there first was a godsend.

The station was tethered to the back of the Lucrehulk still, entirely undamaged. Had he a larger ship, it would have been a simple matter of cutting the connections, slaving the station to his systems and then leaving.

But he didn't know a Mandalorian or any allies that had a ship that large, not since the Mandalorian armies and navies had begun to fade away. So, instead, he had a different plan. A plan he needed to discuss with the two other members of his team - @Reiel Mal Crowholde and @Cerria Vizsla . He had worked with Reiel a few times but he had never worked with Cerria despite sharing a clan with her.

"Vod." he greeted them both on the bridge as he sat in the pilot seat, turned around to face them, "We need to take the Lucrehulk."

The very tall, still quite thin, Vizsla man sighed underneath his helmet once.

"I'll forward you the list of droid types we might face but the worst case scenario is we're fighting over six hundred droids." he told them, honestly, bluntly, "But my ship cannot tow the station. The Lucrehulk can - we just need to get to the bridge, lock it down and assume control. We can vent the droids as we accelerate. Are you with me in this, vod?"

He eyed them both.

"I ask much of you, I know. But you will have a place with me and mine in this covert I am constructing... and you will received fifty percent of the Lucrehulk's black market sale price."

Spoiler: Droids on the Ship

Stevedore Droid
4UM Pilot Droid
BA-10 Astromech Droid
V3-G4 Series Droid
D3-NB Series Droid

@Forsythe Crowholde @Cataphractor

 

[Cerria Vizsla]

The very nature of a Covert meant the community had needs but no means to meet them. No production, no trade goods, no taxes, no resources they could offer in trade for currency or essentials such as food but they did have one thing: They were Mandalorians. Famed warriors known galaxy wide! Their strength was their goods! Their ability to meet the physical needs of clan and Covert, of Foundling and future, laid within this very strength. But even without that, to travel the stars honing experience and skill was what the Way dictated. Plus…one needed to provide for Covert.

These were the things that brought Cerria here. Here to this gathering of Mandalorians. Here to this gathering of strangers. She stared out of the window as the vessel left hyperspace, her eyes focusing upon the doughnut shaped vessel before her. A Lucrehulk…she knew little about them, except that they were the most recognisable sign of the Trade Federations and a key aspect of the Confederacy’s navy…but that was a war long past, consigned to the history books now. A shame. Cerria would have enjoyed earning glory on the battlefields of the Clone War.

She turned her head sharply, hearing the sound of her employer speaking out to her, eyes coming to rest upon Arthos. Arthos Vizsla…another member of Clan Vizsla. They were one with whom Cerria’s ward was familiar with but not herself. It was that connection her ward had with Arthos which enabled him to discover this opportunity, an opportunity that Cerria had been given. “This is the Way” her Ward had said when she inquired about more details. Hopefully Arthos would be forthcoming with such details.

“Get to the bridge, fight through Droids, take control of the station and escape to hyperspace. Alright. You sure this thing works?” Her voice was stern, stiff, something of prue steel, yet it was one very important thing: It was masculine, all thanks to the modulator installed in her helmet. It aligned with her surprisingly unfeminine form. Even through her armour, one would easily be able to tell her height was on the more extreme end and that her shoulders were significantly broader than was the norm.

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Too long have Reiel allowed Arasuum to keep her away from her fractured people, the woman torn between who she was and what her mind and soul dictated. The schism between Mandalorians had single-handedly made her withdraw, given the fact that she had friends she treasured on both sides. An alor stripped of his title and exiled, and a warrior whom she secretly saw more as a son than a friend. There were others in the picture, and un-Mandalorian as it might be, she valued people more than she would ever hold value to herself.

Of course her father and grandfather gave her a metaphorical beating for abandoning her people simply because she didn’t want to face her friends in the battlefield. But at the end of the day they knew where she stood, and not for the first time did Cin, Crowholde’alor, rue his granddaughter for being the most un-Mandalorian ramikadyc he’d ever known.

Fenyang Ordo had risen as Mand’alor, only for him to disappear without a trace. Nox Solus took the mantle, and he, too, vanished. And, once more, the Mandalorians found themselves leaderless, scattered again across the galaxy. Perhaps it was Kad Ha’rangir’s curse, his vengeance, to his people who lost their way. Perhaps this was Hod Ha’ran’s trickery, or his way of giving them misfortune.

Still, at Arthos’ call, the petite Crowholde was quick to answer. He was one of the few people she would readily help, no questions asked. The small Mandalorian stood behind his seat, her eyes growing wide as he gave her and another Vizsla a quick rundown on what the three of them were about to face once they boarded the Lucrehulk he was targeting. She then glanced at the datapad on her hand, canceling a song she would’ve blasted on the ship’s PA system if she was given the chance to do so. And maybe instill confused terror on the ship's crew, but given that the organics have all been wiped out by the droids...

”Of course I’m with you, Arthos,” she warmly assured the young man. Then, her tone bordering teasing, she added, ”but… you do ask a bit much, yeah. I’m afraid your offer won’t cut it.”

Reiel paused, letting the tension build for a moment, then broke it with a very serious,

”You owe me ice cream after this. Probably a year’s supply… yep.”

She might not be getting any younger, but she’d be damned if she let her sense of humor and light-heartedness suffer for it.

Nodding at the other Vizsla’s (she really needed to get his name) summarization of their task, Reiel crossed her arms over her chest. Her helmeted head - beskar'gam repainted blue and green for this mission - tilted towards Arthos, chest swelling with pride at the young man’s achievements and dedication. Damn boy- no, man, giving her hope that the Mandalorians would continue to flourish despite being a fractured people for now.

”We’ll make it work,” she answered, a proud smile on her determined voice.

@Nefieslab

 

[Arthos Vizsla]

Nodding to his fellow Clan Vizsla member, Arthos didn't know that Cerria was actually a woman - and he didn't honestly care either way. He would refer to them as a man because he didn't know any better thought at this point. Though he did raise a good point about the functionality of the Lucrehulk cargo hauler - if it worked this was a godsend and if it didn't then it was a white whale.

"Scans indicate that the organic crew were able to initiate a partial lockdown - hyperdrive and weapons mostly." he declared with a nod of his bucket, "All still controlled from the bridge so all soon to be under our command."

Turning to regard Reiel, there was a comedic moment where he turned his head at his eye level... before needing to take several seconds to tilt his head down far enough to look at the small Mandalorian. He had slowed it down on purpose just to tease her about how much shorter than him she was. Smirking ever so slightly underneath his helmet, he said nothing until she mentioned the ice cream.

He laughed a little bit and some of his crew looked at him oddly - he hadn't had much cause to laugh for a long time. Reaching out, he placed the palm of his hand atop her helmet.

"Don't you know too much dairy will stunt your growth?"

Not a thing, he didn't think, but it was funny.

He checked his own helmet again, the rebreather he'd added instead of his scout HUD sitting oddly near his mouth. As the crew brought his ship in to dock, Arthos let out a small sigh, exhaling some of his worries into his helmet. Waving a hand for Reiel to follow him, he made his way to the cargo ramp at the back of his ship and drew his blaster pistol.

"... don't die." he told her, his com channel off so only she would hear him speak, "I had enough people die under my command. So... just don't."

Stepping out onto the cargo hanger of the massive ship, Arthos gazed around before moving up, taking cover behind some crates.

"Got any explosives?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Telrand Skirata]

Mission: Capture
Target: Lucerhulk
Pay: Good
Accepted, Initiated

Telrand Skitara had been deathly silent throughout the venture to the target, instead constantly inspecting the equipment he brought with him. Along with his usual arsenal of weapons, minus the slug pistols, he brought with him three Thermal Detonators and three Frag Grenades, a pair of Merr-Sonn Power 6 Pistols, and enough ammunition to fuel his weapons throughout the fight with some to spare. While the others spoke, he was going over the layout of a Lucerhulk one more time off his personal navigation tool. That was the benefit for a device like this, blueprints and tactical plans were maps of a different breed.

His red eyes below the blue eye pieces were squinted slightly, scanning for any security detail that he could see as his lithe form trailed the other Mandalorians into the cargo bay. His gaze went to the cover opportunities in the room, just as Arthos did. The main difference was less to find cover and more to locate potential areas for an opposing force to move into or hide. As he slid behind a box a few meters away from the Mandalorian in charge, he snapped on the explosive launcher onto the blaster and loaded in a charge.

"Ordinance primed and ready to fire," the smaller Mandalorian spoke softly as grasped his blaster tightly in-between his fingers, "designate your target." He turned his head up towards the edge of the crate, awaiting the order. His soft yet rumbling voice was cool and relaxed in this situation, even for a Mandalorian. He spoke with no emotion, yet it seemed he spoke with a confidence of a much older and more seasoned Mandalorian. What ran through his head was nothing but numbers and calculations on where an enemy would most likely be, and it seemed his body was ready to pounce in them. Ready to prove its skill.

@Nefieslab @Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

”Well, that’s a good start,” mumbled Reiel when Arthos guaranteed that the Lucrehulk remained as functional as they hoped. It helped her not to let out a laugh of her own when he took his sweet time to properly gaze at her level. Any other person joking about her height would’ve already received a blaster bolt to the groin, but the fact that Arthos remained unharmed was a proof that he had managed to squeeze himself on the very short list of people Reiel allowed to make light-hearted fun of her being rather vertically challenged.

Any other person would’ve also found their hand detached for placing a hand atop her helmet, so…

”That’s not a real thing and we both know it,” was her casual reply to his joke, an amused grin hidden by her buy’ce.

The smallest Mando in the group was quick to follow Arthos, taking a deep, quiet breath to steady herself. She should be feeling nervous right now but oddly enough all she felt was a sense of calm. She had been away for far too long, but it seemed that the one thing stagnation had not managed to take away from her was her willingness to help the people she truly cared about - even more so now that she decided to step back into the fold.

Her wandering eyes landed on one of Arthos’ crew, specifically upon the beskad on their hip. They didn’t look to be a part of the boarding party. Reiel briefly glanced at her current gear before her gaze found the other Mandalorian who noticed her looking. Gesturing politely at the weapon, she respectfully asked,

”May I borrow that? I’ll try my best to return it.”

Seemingly caught off guard by the request, the other Mando unclipped the beskad and handed it over, only realizing a tad too late what they had done as they followed Reiel, Arthos, and the others with their gaze.

”H-Hey-”

But Reiel’s attention was drawn back to Arthos before she could offer another assurance, the tall Vizsla’s words prompting a tender expression to fill the Crowholde’s face. Swiftly she moved with him, keeping up with his long strides with more ease than she had expected, and taking cover beside him behind the crates. Luckily it fit the both of them, and she had to quietly thank the advantages her small height afforded her. She was also glad that she had traded her old blasters sans her rifle with a pair of heavy blaster pistols.

”I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, dear boy. Gotta stick close just to make sure, I guess,” she replied, the message solely meant for him. Then, in a more sincere tone, she reiterated, ”I’m not gonna die on you. I’ll try my best not to. And don’t die on me, too, you hear?”

And she meant to follow through with her words, if only to ease the burden she didn’t know the young man carried.

Carefully peering over their cover, Reiel spotted a squad of two Stevedore and eight D3-NB droids entering the hanger, the former two lugging two separate halves of a charred V3-G4. She quickly lowered herself despite none of the droids facing in their hiding spot, unarmed hand signing rapidly to relay the information to the rest of the boarding party.

Two Stevies, eight D3-NB up ahead.

”I got frag grenades and two thermal detonators,” she replied quietly to Arthos’ inquiry, head tipping towards the other Mando who already had an ordinance ready to fire. ”And, hey, they got some ready as well.”

@Nefieslab @Olwin

 

[Cerria Vizsla]

“So the crew saw fit to lock down weapon systems and the hyperdrive…those work at least.” It was a nonplussed and totally placid delivery but it did speak of at least partial confidence on Cerria’s part. A work hyperdrive and weapon systems were useful but there were a few…issues still outstanding. Still, the presence of yet another Mandalorian was a good thing to see. Quantity was a quality all of its own, especially when said quantity was made up of the best warriors ever produced by the known galaxy.

“...But what about the engines? Shields?” Cerria did not want to be on a Lucrehulk that suddenly exited hyperspace without any shields or engines. That was a great way to just die a painful and agonising death. Either pulled into the gravity well of a planet, a star or a planetoid or getting torn to pieces by the impact of half a dozen asteroids. None of those options were high on Cerria’s bucket list. In fact, they did not even enter onto it to begin with!

Cerria detected there was past history between her fellow Vizsla and the rest of these Mandalorians, excluding the quiet one anyway, but genuinely she was not too bothered. Only the mission and its success mattered. For the youngest Mandalorian here, it was not about the dream Arthos had to improve the lot of his species in the world. It was about what drove any true Mandalorian: honour. Pride. Martial prowess. Cerria had to earn her Beskar, her crest, her jetpack. She had a place within her Covert’s society to carve out for herself and this mission was but a rung on the ladder.

“I’ve got breaching charges and Thermals. You got something in mind?” That was Cerria’s specialty: Targeted demolitions and creative architecture Cerria called it. In reality, it was simply her pyromania and appreciation for massive explosions that drove her to walk the path of blowing things sky high.. She would follow after Arthos into the hanger, slinging her heavy blaster rifle over her shoulder, the strap carrying most of the weight even though it rested upon her shoulder.

From the hangar of Arthos ship into the Lucrehulk Cerria followed after the other Mandalorians, adopting a rear position to put them between herself and the enemy practising the ancient motto of “walk softly and carry a big gun”. Her steps were soft and gentle, stepping onto the Lucrehulk’s metal flooring heel first. Was it cowardly to be the rear guard? No. Absolutely not. She did have the biggest gun after all and would very much benefit from the widest field of fire.

She would crouch down and rested on one of her knees, bringing up her RT-97C to a firing position. The stock of the gun was locked against her shoulder and she took aim at the furthest back of the Stevedore droids, targeting their head.

“Ready to fire at your order.” Cerria breathed through her helmet as she nodded towards Arthos, ready and able to fire at his command. He was hunt leader, squad leader, Ruus'alor and the commander of this entire operation. On his word would she fire…and on his word only. Let us see how effectively you command Arthos.

 

[Arthos Vizsla]

Arthos was positively under-armed when it came to the assault team on this mission but he didn't have a problem with that. His best work was done with a blaster pistol rather than any of the fancier stuff anyway. Not to mention he had gotten his start as a warrior not bankrolled by anyone - he was used to having to source his weaponry on the job and he was certain that the droids on the ship would be kind enough to donate some of their weapons for his cause.

Honestly, he didn't know the state of the engine or the shields but he was reasonably certain that the ship had been moving until they had arrived in the system. If he had to guess, he would say that the engines were fine - the droids wanted them to board though because they wanted something from them. Likely a way through the lockdown on the weapons and the hyperdrive - they were probably going to swarm them.

A problem for later.

He nodded in response to Reiel's own answer to his little 'pep talk' - he wasn't exactly in the right headspace to be giving any inspirational speeches at the moment but "not dying" was top of his agenda. Readying his blaster pistol, Arthos took note of Reiel's handsigns before taking a look around cover. The Stevedore were armed with durasteel beams the length of a man - clearly looking to use their superior strength. Whereas the D3-NB droids were armed with E-5 Blaster Rifles - the old standby for the ancient B1 Battledroids. He signed to the group as a whole with his free hand.

'I will flank right, draw fire. Explosive on heavy. Blaster on light. On three.'

Giving the command to use at least one explosive to take out the melee-focused Stevedores before they could bridge the distance, Arthos took a deep breath before triggering his jetpack. In a controlled arc, Arthos shot up, forwards and to the right, firing down at the droids that had almost stumbled onto them. One of his bolts hit a D3 and sent it spinning to the ground, earning him the sole attention of the droids as he came in for a landing off to the right side, moving quickly into cover as the D3 droids opened fire on him, exposing their backs to his team.

@Cataphractor @Forsythe Crowholde @Olwin

 

[Telrand Skirata]

Telrand popped his head up as soon as three would be hit and the explosive charge in his launcher would be let fly. The fist sized grenade would spin wildly in air to keep stabilized, the soft whistle of its flight gently echoing from the walls of large chamber. The droid moved into the grenade, as the young Mandalorian had predicted, and it slammed right into their optical sensor. The blast rocked the entire group as it splintered the heavy droid, several of the smaller units either being hit by the blast itself or hammered by bits and pieces of shrapnel from the larger droid itself.

"Switching attatchments." He called out to the rest of his group, his lithe frame swiftly turning away from the battle and sliding down the crate. It was with robotic precision he untabbed the grenade launcher accessory and slid it off, the barrel of the gun extending out from the body as he did so. He clamped the weapon attatchment to his belt and grabbed the main body of the blaster with both hands before he peaked back up over the crate and began to fire at the legs of the other melee droid.

@Cataphractor @Forsythe Crowholde @Nefieslab

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

One Stevedore splintered, several D3-NBs compromised. Arthos' initial charge was successful, and the explosive provided by Telrand gave Reiel enough time to assess the current situation. The smallest Mando in the group rose from her hiding spot, one armed hand raised and aimed at the head of one of the damaged D3-NBs. Squeezing the trigger, Reiel didn't wait for the droid to drop before aiming at another. Trusting the other Viszla to deal with the second Stevie, she launched herself forward, dodging blaster fire and heading towards the cargo hanger's entrance hall.

Before Reiel could reach her destination, however, she crashed into a lone D3-NB that seemed to have lagged behind its group. The two crashed to the floor with a loud thunk. The droid swatted at the Crowholde atop it, metal arm barely missing the woman's helmeted head as she swerved to avoid the hit. She jammed the barrel of her pistol at the droid's 'face' and proceeded to decommission the hunk of metal with a squeeze of the trigger. Swiftly rising from where she fell, the Crow quickly ran for cover and decided to wait for the rest of the team instead.

"Reckless dumbass," she casually chided herself, not even insulted by her own foolhardiness in the slightest.

@Nefieslab @Cataphractor @Olwin

 

[Arthos Vizsla]

The rather robotic fellow had managed to take down one of the larger droids with an explosive but it did seem that the last of the melee droids was going to be remaining largely unhindered, aside from some blaster bolts to it's lower limbs. These served to slow the droid down rather than actually doing much damage - the limbs were reinforced to cope with the massive weights that the droid type in question hauled on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the large droid seemed rather intent on getting to bash someone to death and seemed to decide that Arthos would be a good choice for such a fate.

Cursing, the tall Mandalorian opened fire with his blaster pistol, aiming specifically for the photo-receptor in the hopes of rupturing it and getting at the delicate circuitry beneath. Backing up as he did so, Arthos led the droid on a merry chase after him, grinning when one of his blaster bolts did, indeed, cracking the droid's photo-receptor.

He paused for a second to assess the damage and the now-blind droid didn't, swiping its large durasteel club around horizontally in order to try and catch him. Even throwing himself back as he did, Arthos felt it as the bar connected, catching him across the front of his armour's chest plate as he turned his body to better catch the inevitable blow.

Arthos cried out in surprise, and pain, as even that blow was able to send him flying backwards through the air to slam back-first into a wall. The dent he left was not healthy for himself or the wall but he managed to avoid falling altogether, catching himself on his knees.

"It's blind... light it up!"

Even if the blaster fire did only minimal damage, a sustained barrage would be enough to overwhelm the heavy metal armouring of the large droid as it swung it's club around blindly.

@Forsythe Crowholde @Olwin @Cataphractor

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Sometimes, waiting was not one of Reiel’s strongest suits.

The small Mandalorian decided that she couldn’t just sit idly by behind her cover while Arthos and the others took down the remaining droids behind. She rose from her position just in time to hear her friend’s surprised and pained cry. Like she was taught and always did, the Crow focused on eliminating the threat to her ally’s safety first. She scanned the area for the nearest cover, found none, then proceeded to act on Arthos’ words.

Blasters aimed at the blind droid, Reiel made sure that the first shot connected on its head while the rest wrought enough damage on the heavy metal armoring. With another round of precise and calculated aim, she then targeted the droid’s uncovered limb joints for further damage. All that swinging around blindly was annoying, but the small Crowholde was shooting at moving targets for most of her life and while it didn’t make it any less easier than breathing, the droid’s size made it easier to keep track of its unprotected parts.

Reiel didn’t stop with her barrage until the droid was staggered, one of its arms and a leg coming off after several well-placed shots. She didn’t even stop to check if the damned thing would attempt to rise again, instead she rushed towards Arthos and would hurriedly help the younger Mandalorian up.

”Move, Arthos.”

It was stern, straightforward, and held so much urgency. The droid was attempting to pull itself up, turning towards the two Mandalorians with increasing difficulty, one metal hand still holding the club.

”The entrance hall’s that way. We need to move; we’ll assess you and any injuries you might have sustained once we’re out of the woods.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Arthos Vizsla]

Instead of getting up, Arthos used his lowered position to take several shots at the large droid while it was still flailing around trying to hit an attacker at standing height - ironically he was not above using the lower profile to his advantage. He grunted as he pulled himself to his feet, the droid not destroyed but crippled.

It would do for now.

"Moving."

Arthos gave Reiel a firm nod as he pointedly left the hobbling droid to it's fate - it was going to be losing power like an organic lost blood and would only be getting weaker and weaker. There was nothing to stop them from moving on and he wanted just that. It was time for them to head deeper into the ship.

Reaching the main doors out of the hanger bay, he opened them quickly, his blaster out as he swept the scene before waving for Reiel to follow him as he started to make his way forward.

"Corridor looks clear." he reported to the older Mandalorian with a wince that he tried his best not to show even as his injuries started to hurt more with the movement, "We don't have time to assess the injuries, Reiel... we have to keep moving."

Keep moving.

It had been rule one on Utapau and it was rule one here.

Keep moving, no matter how much it hurt because it meant you weren't dead yet and that was enough of a reason to push through and keep going onward. Stopping at a junction between two of the main corridors, he leaned against the wall to give himself a second to breathe as Reiel caught up with his stride.

"Alright... main control room should be up ahead, part of the bridge. We don't know for sure that the organics are dead but they probably are - it's been a month or so since they were stranded." he advised the shorter Mandalorian as he reloaded, "You want to take point? I can shoot over your head."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

She didn't argue about checking his injuries given how she practically, almost demandingly, told the younger Mandalorian to move. Reiel couldn't dismiss Arthos' words and nodded instead, following as he took the lead. The Crowholde quickly but deftly reloaded her blasters as they traversed the corridors, on high alert for any signs of movement other than the pair.

Still, she kept one eye ahead and one on the Vizsla. Honey brown gaze momentarily settled upon the taller Mandalorian's figure as he leaned against the wall. The armor didn't do well in hiding the way he breathed, and Arthos didn't need to confirm that he was still in pain. She saw the dent on the wall where he crashed. But as much as she wanted to administer first aid if only to help alleviate the pain–

"Sure," was her simple reply. Her size might not be enough to act as actual cover for him, but she would be damned if the young man would be subjected to further harm and injury under her watch. Blasters raised, Reiel moved forward, confident that Arthos followed after her. They made their way to the main control room unchallenged, for now.

But that was until the doors to the main control room opened to reveal a pair of D3-NBs which were exiting the room.

Reiel did not hesitate and squeezed both triggers, bolts peppering the droids' chests and heads. One was staggered, while the other returned fire but missed, a blaster bolt whizzing dangerously close past Arthos' helmeted head. Inside the main control room, five more droids of the same model were stationed, and moved to intercept the intruders trying to gain access to the area.

The small Mandalorian holstered one of her blasters and drew the beskad she had borrowed from one of Arthos' men instead. Intent on calling the attention of the five D3-NBs to herself and distract them away from the Rally Master, Reiel boldly charged ahead, legs pumping beneath her as she closed the distance towards the main control room. She thrust the beskad into the closest droid's neck joint before slashing to the left, effectively severing it's head from the body. The staggered one was swiftly decommissioned with three more blaster bolts to the head.

Trusting Arthos to do his thing, Reiel continued her charge with the aim of eliminating any obstacles between the pair of Mandalorians' goals.

@Nefieslab

 

[Arthos Vizsla]

Arthos knew he was injured and Reiel knew it as well.

But she didn't push him on it.

It was how he had been raised - he wasn't allowed to ask for help over something like this. No, to ask for help would be to admit that he couldn't work through the pain of his own mistakes. Because every injury was a mistake he made, that was what he had been taught and it was a teaching he had struggled against his entire adult life up to this point.

He let out a breath and nodded to her acceptance, making ready just as she did. They were going to need to press on while the rest of the squad held the enemy droids at bay in the hanger bay (ironically). Moving at her back just a step behind, he moved in sync with her so as to not walk into the back of her as they moved up.

As the doors opened, battle began and Arthos didn't waste time in shooting at either of the two closest droids - he trusted that Reiel would have those handled. Instead he fired four times, as quickly as he could, shooting a duo of shots over both sides of Reiel's head at the droids deeper in the control room. Two impacted one of the droids currently at the captain's chair, sending it crashing to the floor with a flaming hole in it's head.

The second target managed to step away from the controls but all that served to do was get it's chest peppered with both shots rather than it's back. With two downed out of the main five from his shots, and one from Reiel's furious bladework, Arthos moved into the control room, breaking out into a sprint despite his body's protests as he ran to right, arcing around the circular bridge room to get the last two of the droids firing upon him. Their shots lagged just behind him as he left them open for Reiel to take.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Time right now was of the essence, and not because Reiel was overly worried that the mission would fail.

She moved as swiftly as she could not for the task’s sake but for Arthos, knowing that he was injured but not knowing the full extent of it. Although he was capable of moving the smaller Mandalorian knew that only time could tell, as well as his limitations, how long the Vizsla could hold up. Reiel tried to keep watch of him from her periphery, but her focus was eventually summoned by the remaining droids that began firing on the tall Mandalorian.

With beskad on one hand and a heavy blaster pistol on the other, the Crowholde advanced to the pair of droids intent on firing at Arthos. She would’ve thrown the blade at one droid like a spear but with the lack of force and momentum she knew it would not deal the damage she intended. Instead she continued to close the distance between her and the droids until the latter were both within her blade’s reach.

One of the droids took note of the smaller Mandalorian, however, and broke from firing upon Arthos. It aimed it's rifle at Reiel as it met the smaller Mandalorian’s charge. The droid fired at Reiel, and the Crowholde, unable to duck or dodge in time, got a blaster bolt square on the chest. The bolt pinged off her chest plate but the force of the blow sent her crashing on the floor on her back.

Get up.

Although winded and caught off guard by the shot, Reiel forced herself to roll away from the shots the droid continued to fire in her direction. She forcefully drew herself back on her feet, and instead of tanking the shots she tried to dodge as many as she could. When she closed the distance between her and the droid she hacked at its limbs with the beskad and followed up with a blaster bolt to its head. Once the droid was dealt with her gaze zeroed in on the next. Ignoring the way her arm protested against the sudden strain and the nicks and grazes from the previous shots from the other droid that almost hit home, Reiel hurled the borrowed blade with as much force as she could to the remaining droid firing upon Arthos. If the blade struck its side as she had intended, the Crowholde would follow up with three shots, two aimed on its torso and one on its head.

@Nefieslab