The Renegade

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

The

Renegade

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The interior of The Gunsmith's warehouse was a veritable museum of projectile weapons from across the universe. Crix couldn't help but gape in amazement at the number of unique and rare artifacts hanging from the walls.

"Uh... how have you not been robbed." The smuggler asked as he followed Anders into his lounge. The gunsmith laughed and said, "It's not the guns you can see that you need to worry about." He glanced around the room and Crix followed his gaze.

The scoundrel let out a low whistle as he spotted the two mounted turrets hiding in two opposite corners of the room.

"Noted," responded Crix as he joined Anders at the table in the center of the room.

"Alright, can we cut the bull. I was sent here to do a job and honestly, I feel like we've played along, long enough." Crix was smiling, but it was apparent he was fed up with the mystical mumbo-jumbo. He got enough of that crap from his Jedi training.

Anders smiled flatly taking a moment to look at both Crix and Burkhart. His expression was hard to read, but he seemed to be considering how to proceed. Crix eased into the chair relaxing and attempting to appear less agitated than he actually felt.

After an awkward moment, The Gunsmith spoke, "Three clicks northeast of this location there is a den of bandits. Normally, this would be a job for the local authorities, but the cutthroats have appointed a new leader and his methods are ruthless."

Crix sat forward with interest,

"You're to infiltrate the base and take out the leader." A smile started to tug at the corners of Crix's mouth. Finally, they were getting down to business.

"I'm in," said Crix with a smirk as he turned his attention to Burkhart it was time to get this show on the road.

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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Burkhart's gaze drifted from crate to crate. At least it was cooler in the building than it was out in the direct heat of the planet's twin suns. The Morling's eyes looked over everything. His mind drifted towards thoughts of robery, not the type that were prevenative measures but the kind that would have him be the one conducting the crime. At his core he was still a thief. Stealing ships, getting in and out of places without being seen and getting access where he should not.

He was not here to steal though and would likely not return to do so. But it was still just part of his psyche. He sighed and was about to ask for things to move along when it seemed Crix had been about as fed up as he had. Plenty of bad deals went down when things started taking too much time. The Mandalorian also did not like to get hazed either.

"Well ol right, let's get a move on yeh?" He said and headed towards the door. The Alor wanted to get done with this and as much as he enjoyed Crix's company the Mandalorian did not much care for Tattooine.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

“Great, we’re all on the same page,” groaned Crix as he stretched in his chair.

“I assume we can’t just go in there blaster blazing?” The Gunsmith chuckles and retorted, “Only if you don’t want to make it back. There’s a ventilation shaft on the back side of their base, if it were me, I’d start there.”

Crix nodded then turned to Burkhart, “Anything to add boss?”

The Smuggler wasn’t going to ignore the Mandalorian next to him. Burkhart was more than just an intimidating bruiser and Crix respected that. Once the group had a game plan Crix said, “Looks like we’ve got time to kill. I’m gonna go take a nap before things get exciting.”

Anders showed Crix to a cot in the main warehouse and he plopped down and stretched out. With a yawn and a two finger salute, he fell into sleep's embrace.

Crix dreamed of crimson locks and missed opportunities... He found himself waking in a worse mood than when he went to sleep. Then again the reminder of better times generally meant trouble was on the way. He checked his gear and then stepped into the cool night air. He lit up a shitty cigarette and took a drag. Letting the burning build in his chest before slowly exhaling. He stamped out the butt of his cigara with the heel of his boot. When the sound of the warehouse door behind him opened and The Gunsmith stepped out.

Anders marked the location of the bandit’s hideout on his personav and The Smuggler mounted his dewback and waited for Burkhart at the edge of The Gunsmith’s foundry. Once again they’d be marching side by side into the breach. At least it wasn’t going to be boring....

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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It sounded like a tough job. While he was a capable warrior and clever individual he was not a demigod. A blaster bolt to the chest still hurt and getting stabbed could still kill him. There was no eagerness in his mind to run into a fight purely for the violence of it. Burkhart had seen enough combat to last a few lifetimes.

"Well if we're joost usin these thangs it'll be a bit hard." He sighed looking down at the heavy blaster pistol. "But I suppose it's dooable." Finally he gave a nod to both the wisened man and Crix.

Crix went to go sleep afterwards and Burkhart would take a seat, crossing his arms and drifting off. Sleep only came in snatches. Twenty minutes or a half an hour would go by before he would wake up and look around. This was unfamiliar territory and he did not like being so ill prepared.

When Crix woke up and headed out Burkhart did not join him for a cigara. It would probably dehydrate him later. Normally he would have joined him and smoked the entirety of a thick cigara. Moving to get the rest of his gear ready he checked with Anders to see if he would spare them some water and refill their canteens as well as some food supplies. After that he would follow his human friend back out into the landscape.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

After hearing the Morling out, Crix couldn't help but agree that storming a bandit hideout with just a pair of antique blasters was precarious at best. Fortunately, The Gunsmith had them covered. Anders stood and walked over to a container with a single hand he punched in a key code and with a click and a hiss it opened. Several grenades rested carefully on eggshell cushioning along with two real renegade blasters. Crix let out a low whistle as he stepped over and plucked one of the guns from the box.

"Dibs."

He looked to Anders, "Wait, you already had these? Was this whole thing an elaborate ruse to get us out here?" He looked to The Moreling and then back to The Gunsmith, "You know we both take credits, right?"

Anders laughed, "The way of The Gunslinger is an old rite your dear friend Beau holds dear. I can't bring myself to turn down his wild mysticism." Crix barked a laugh and shook his head.

"You realized you're giving us a lift back now right?"

◆◆◆​

The dynamic duo rode forth into the night upon their steeds, adversity was their heading and they unapologetically drew closer to the coming fray. Silhouetted in the inky darkness of the Tatooine's dune sea lay their prize. Scarcely illuminated in the pale moonlight, their enemies fortress made an impending sight. Crix lifted his macrobinoculars and switched them into thermal. The walls were bare. No scouts or sentries. He relayed his findings to Burkhart and awaited his assessment.

With their plan of attack decided Crix and Burkhart parted ways. The Smuggler would circle around and find an alternative way into the fortress, from there, he'd locate and deal with the leader. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian would blow shab straight to hell.

This was going to be awesome.

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

_______________

When the two gunslingers apprentices got close enough to their target location they looked at the fortress to analyze it. Burkhart brought his own macrobinoculars to his helmeted head. At least now in the darkness of night his armor would not stick out against the sand as much. Plus, not being unbearably hot was a perk.

"Life is so mooch easier with explosives." It was mostly to himself but he knew that being at a disadvantage was part of this trial. Normally he would have some welding putty that could cut through these walls or some rockets. Then again he did still technically have his wrist rocket if he wanted to use it. Rather than breach by explosive means the Kelborn clan member decided he could use his grappling hook to scale the wall silently.

Looking at one another the two smugglers moved towards their own separate areas of attack. Crix was going to try his hand at sneaking in and doing a little assassinating by the looks of it. Burkhart hoped the man was as capable as he believed he was. The Jedi had earned himself the benefit of the doubt in his eyes.

He had the renegade blaster drawn with one hand and then moved bit by bit to the walls of the fortress. He stopped behind rocks and boulders, waiting a few heartbeats before continuing. Burkhart approached the side of the structure that did not share a wall with the main entrance. Most bodies would likely be focused towards defending that point.

The slight his of his grappling hook shooting from his wrist launcher had him pause before testing the security of the cord. Using the winch he made his way up, placing his feet against the outer wall so he appeared to be walking up it. Once at the top he was almost immediatly confronted with a man who's back was turned to him. The burly canine male promptly put him in a headlock and yanked hard, breaking his neck a moment after a slight struggle.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

Crix broke off from Burkhart and circled to the right. The smuggler used the dunes for cover as he worked his way around the rundown fortress being sure to maintain a safe distance just in case he missed a sentry.

He and Burkhart decided to go with a tried and true plan that Crix affectionately refers to as The Rope-a-Dope. It was a classic distraction tactic that hinged on precise timing. If Burkhart popped off to soon he ran the risk of being overwhelmed, on the same hand of Crix was too slow it was game over. Few took kindly to assassin’s and The Rebel knew this horde of bandits wouldn’t hesitate to fill Burkhart and himself full of holes.

Crix reached the back of the fortress with relative ease. He figured Burkhart would be scaling the wall by this time and decided to double time his pace. He slid off his dewback and drew his blaster. He scrambled up the nearest dune and took one last cautionary glance at the various areas that could have been hidden vantage points.

All clear... The Rebel sucked his teeth in frustration and then closed his eyes opening his mind to the force. It was strafe to see beings like this. Well it wasn’t so much seeing as it was feeling. He’d never been comfortable with the forced intimacy that came with sensing his enemies through the force, but they were in a tight spot and would need to pull out every trick they had to overcome their final trial.

The force revealed a chink in the fortresses armor. There was an unmanned service tunnel located three meters from the rear entrance, now he just needed to get there without tripping any alarms. Staying as low as he could to the ground, Crix covered the ground from his makeshift hide out to the outer wall of the bandits rundown base. He stopped as he came to the entrance and pressed his back to the wall. He listened for a few seconds and could hear voices just around the corner.

“I’m just saying, it doesn’t make any sense to put two sentries on this rotation” said the first voice.

“It’s not for us to question. We’re grunts, we just do what we’re told and get paid.” Said the second.

Crix needed a distraction if he expected to get by the wonder twins here, so scanned the ground near his feet, but hard packed sand wouldn’t be enough to get their attention. He glanced up and found a fist sized block pretending from the wall. Seeing an opportunity he reached out with the force and plucked the brick from the wall. Unfortunately, his skill with telekinesis was lackluster and as he plucked the stone from its spot on the wall, two other brick shifted and fell to the ground.

“What was that?” Asked the first voice.

“Dunno, maybe you’re gonna figure out why we’re stationed here.” Said the second voice with obvious sarcasm dripping from their words.

Crix lowered the brick into his hand and prepared to bash the head of anyone who came around the corner, but after a few tense moments of silence the banter resumed. Crix breathed a small sigh of relief and then chances a peek around the corner. The two beings were situated around a small fire. The light from the fire would keep their vision limited. Using the force he lifted the brick and fired it toward the wall about 2 meters behind the dynamic duo.

The Rebel played these goof’s like a valachord, as they investigated the random sound he scurried across the opening and slipping into the service hatch. Darkness filled the space before him and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. Crix carefully picked his way through the tunnel. Keeping his Renegade Blaster in front of him and his right hand on the wall next to him. Progress was slow going and monotonous, but he was still gaining ground.

It would only be a matter of time before he would be face to face with his target... Hopefully he could pull the trigger.

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

_______________

Burkhart knew that he was limited in terms of weapons. Actually compared to the normal galactic citizen he was packing quite a bit but for a mandalorian he was running light. Just his armor systems, a few grenades, a heavy blaster pistol, and a the weapons he took off the body he had just left.

A Kelborn adapted to his the situation no matter what. He slung the medium blaster rifle over his shoulder and sheathed the vibro-blade into his belt. The extra sidearm he slipped into his belt as well. Not much else aside from an extra power pack per weapon was on the man. A few spare credit chips which the Morling would pocket. He was not above pilfering the dead. They no longer had a use for it.

Making sure the body was not in sight of anybody else he also had his grappling hook returned to its ready status. The moment the osik hit the fan the Field Marshal would probably resort to his jetpack once again. But he never knew if he would need the cord later on.

From on the wall he could see a few other guards, spaced out and looking outwards for the most part. The one he had taken out must have been the impatient idiot wondering where his relief was. Death ended up being his only relief. But the man who was late and supposed to have changed the shift with the cadaver wouldd soon join his comrade in the afterlife. Burkhart did the same thing to him. A slight grunt as the exertion to break free of the bulging arms came and was followed by a muffled snap.

Burkhart needed his area clear and the changing of guards told him there was an opportunity ahead. All the guards would be out and visible for a short time, or at least the majority of them. Taking the spare power packs from the second dead man he stowed them next to the others.

Moving around the wall and keeping low he had his renegade blaster ready in case any of the other wall watchers noticed him. But they did not. Three groups of four met around below in what the Alor would summarize as a motor pool. Laying down his blaster quietly he took in each hand a fragmentation grenade and primed them each. He held them each for a second and then tossed them to two out of the three groups. A moment of confusion and mild surprise reached the pointed ears of the mandalorian before two explosions bloomed from below him. Just like that eight of the guards were dead.

There was a group of four remaining and the two groups of two along the walls as well. Nothing he could not hand. Half were out of the way in an instant.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

The Gunslinger was still in the service tunnel when two explosions shook the ceiling above him coating him in the ditritus His brow furrowed as he realized time was running out. Crix opened himself to the force releasing his reluctance and going full Jedi. He fell into a trot and ate up the ground between him and the inner complex quickly. He couldn't know what was going on above, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before the bandits regrouped. He needed to get rid of the leader and he needed to do it, NOW.

The tunnel opened up into a storage room and Crix took a moment to orient, before rushing the door. As he closed in he could feel a pair of beings on the other side. They were scared confused, which was exactly what they wanted. He tried the door, it was locked. Suprise colored the emotions of the beings on the other side and he knew he had to capitalize on their confusion. He lifted his Renegade and fired one bolt into the locking mechanism, the door slid open with a harsh hiss and both guards whirled around, wide-eyed and frightened.

They're just kids... he realized. Lowering his weapon and lifting a single hand he said, "You didn't see anything."

Both teenage weequay's expression went slack. Their eyes glazed over and in a simultaneous monotone they said, "We didn't see anything..."

Crix released a pent up breath. Maintaining his control of the force he said, "I was never here." The pair repeated his words.

One of them seemed to resist, blinking a few times and shaking the glazed look from his eyes. A frown formed on his face for a second, but it faded as quickly as it came.

"Keep up the good work, boys," he said and then promptly got the frak out of there.

He wasn't sure how long his little trick would work but, it was better than killing some kids that were placed in a position they should have never been exposed to. The Smuggler made his way through the compound his sense on high alert. As Crix rounded a corner his entire body froze. Darkness permeated throughout this final corridor as if the walls were radiating darkside power.

"What in the hell?" His eyes flicked back and forth trying to identify the source, but everything pointed to straight ahead.

Crix pulled in his connection to the force placing a proverbial bubble of lightside energy around himself to protect from the influence of the darkside. At the end of the hallway was a large door. His expression hardened and he suddenly understood why he was here. He knew now why Beau Prickett had chosen him and Burkhart for this job. A wry grin settled on The Gunslinger's face as he closed in on the source. He wished he'd have brought his lightsaber, but The Renegade Heavy Blaster in his hand would make due. With a renewed vigor stepped to the door.

Carefully, he tried it and it was locked, duh. So, he backed up to the corner, plucked a grenade from his belt, cooked it for a few seconds and then lobbed it toward the door and hid behind the corner. The grenade went off and the sound of booming thunder mixed with rending metal as the device did its job. Blaster fire erupted through the new hole and Crix smiled. It was time to go to work.

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

_______________

These were not total bafoons. The guards had some semblance of coordination and were a threat if Burkhart ignored them. Coming out of cover he raised his wrist with the associated ordnance and fired the rocket down towards the four guards who were still clumped together looking in separate directions for the source of the distruction. It was smart for them to have their backs to one another and facing outwards. What was not so smart was them remaining close together.

The four guards were separated as the shrapnel and explosion blew them in four cardinal directions. They were done for but that still left another four guards. Two pairs of two were searching and after the directional rocket fired they had his position zeroed in..

Blasting off Burkhart soared into the air. The time for subtly was past. Paired with his flight he activated his gauntlet bulwark shield and aimed the renegade blaster around the side. One shot, two shot, red shot blue shot. The exchange of frantic fire lit up the night sky for a moment until the Mandalorian landed one heavy blaster bolt on each enemy. One of them even fell off the palisades and slammed into the dirty ground below in a heavy crumpled heap.

The outside was secure as far as he could tell. The morling descended from his altitude and moved towards the gates of the compound. He opened the doors up in case they needed a fast getaway and then proceeded to move towards the speeders to begin disabling them in case there were any enemies that remained that might want to give chase if Crix and he needed to make a quick escape.

@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

The smell of burning ozone and smoke filled the air as Crix's assault began. Smoke from the explosion acted as his cover and based on the initial volley he chose to cling to the wall on the right. He made it to the ruined door and took cover in the corner, the antique renegade in his hand flicked upward to a ready position as he counted the space between shots. Dipping low he crouched and fired off one shot while sliding to the other side. Through the haze, he was able to pick out three figures to the left and two to the right.

Deciding to take the path of least resistance, he fired one pop shot and aimed the second. The first shot forced the two on the right to scatter and as they did his second shot rang true. One of the figures shuddered and collapsed in a heap. His smokescreen dissipated and Crix was forced back into cover in order to avoid being filled with holes. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they tried to overwhelm him, and if that happened his chances of taking out the leader would be severely diminished. A blaster bolt slammed into the wall just above his head sending molten hot shards of duracrete down his shirt.

Crix hissed at the burning sensation but refused to move. If he slipped up he was a goner. The bandits he fought now weren't a pair of kids from the block they were battled hardened veterans of their craft and The Smuggler would give them their due respect. Knowing he needed to move Crix turned to the wall beside him, lifted his knees to his chest, called upon the power of the force and kicked off. As he slid he fired off a single shot and nicked a bandit on the right. The being dipped behind cover just as Crix came to a stop safely on the other side.

He smiled plucking his final grenade from his belt. He counted to three then lobbed the explosive at the three on the left. The grenade blew one of the beings to kingdom come and forced the other two behind cover. At the same time, he sprung up and called to the force as he rounded the corner with superhuman speed. His weapon was at the ready and as he came around the corner he blew away the being on the right. Crix took the man's cover and prepared for his final assault. Only two of the original group remained, but he only had one shot left. Reluctantly, he pilfered the dead bandit's weapon and prepared to finish this fight.

Using the dead man's gun he vaulted over his cover and unloaded on his final two opponents. One had the misfortune of peeking out from cover at the wrong time. As his companion collapsed the final bandit went into a rage and burst from cover with reckless abandon. He mirrored Crix's vault, but he was too slow and the maneuver left him woefully exposed. Three shots hit him in his center mass. The bandit's knees embraced the ground and the rest of his body followed.

The Rebel slowed his pace and came to a stop. He released his contact with the force and felt fatigued wash over his body. He let out a shuttering breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. Before he could relax any further the sound of slow clapping snapped him right back into combat mode. He whirled to his right blaster rifle whipping up and aimed directly at a single twi'lek sitting languidly in an oversized throne. A vile grin split his lips and his eyes glowed with darkside malice. Crix swallowed and gritted his teeth. He'd hoped one of the five laying dead around him was the leader, but it appeared the psycho had decided to watch the party unfold from the comfort of his throne.

Crix licked his lips and said, "Really, a slow clap?"

"Based on the disturbance you've caused I assumed you had a flair for the dramatic," shot back the darksider.

"Oh great, a sith with a sense of humor, am I already dead?" retorted Crix as he began to gather the force to him.

"Don't insult me by comparing me to those stuck up zealots. I'm more than a Sith. I bend the force to my will and it has set me free," replied the Twilek with a feral snarl.

Crix frowned, "Yeah, like a sith..."

The Twi'lek roared indignantly springing to his feet and opening fire with his twin blasters. Crix was ready for the attack and dove behind cover. A shit eating grin colored his expression as he checked his ammo, and it abruptly faded. His stolen blaster rifle was empty, and he had one shot left in his renegade.

Frak he thought.

Scrambling, he started to check his surroundings when the sound of footfalls on duracrete told him he was already out of time. He flung the pilfered blaster rifle into the air and watched as two shots flew past it. With the force, he reached out and slung the weapon in the opposite direction of the blaster fire. He circled to the left and came up behind a pillar.

"Stand and face me JEDI!" Demanded the Darksider.

"Are you sure you're not a Sith?" Quipped Crix. He needed to piss this guy off. His only option was to play on the man's disdain for Sith and hope for an opening.

Blaster fire slammed into the pillar he hid behind. Crix was struggling to keep count, but this guy apparently wasn't afraid of running out of ammo. The clatter of metal on duracrete brought a frown to Crix's face. Was the twi'lek already out of ammo? Silence fell and then was replaced by the sound of a low hum. The Smuggler peeked his head around the corner and the darksider stood in the center of the room with a glowing red vibroblade in his hands.

Crix rolled his eyes and stepped out from cover. "I'm not sure you understand how this works..."

"My name is Daggarth. Ignite your saber and finish this."

"Nah." He replied. The Twi'lek seemed confused and allowed that confusion to fuel his anger. As he closed in Crix shook his head and fired, unfortunately, his antique blaster didn't comply. Frantically, he pulled the trigger twice more to no avail. The darksider was nearly upon him when he heard the high pitched warning wail of the blaster's battery pack about to discharge he flung the weapon away and it exploded between the two. Shrapnel from the weapon buried itself into multiple places on his body as white-hot pain coursed through him.

To Crix's dismay, the Twi'lek was already up and moving again. The Darksider covered the ground and was on him before he could recover. The blade of the vibrosword sank into his right shoulder and Crix let loose a feral scream. In a voice dripping with self-satisfaction Daggarth said, "You should have brought your lightsaber." Then he unleashed a powerful force blow that threw Crix several meters across the room.

Crix was in a bad spot. his right shoulder was wrecked and he had little to no use of his arm. The force blast had rattled him, but a few cuts and scrapes wouldn't be the end of him. He could practically feel the arrogance permeating from Daggrath. The Darksider believed he'd won. The Smuggler was on his stomach and trying to push his way up, but he wasn't making much progress.

"Any last words, Jedi?"

"Just a tip," he started painfully, "Never, bring a sword to a gunfight."

In a single motion, Crix called his hidden hold out blaster into his left hand, rolled and fired. The bolt caught Daggrath between the eyes and an expression of haughty horror stayed etched on his face immortalized by the shock of death.

Crix breathed a sigh of relief and then collapsed onto the ground. He was exhausted and in agony. He activated his comm and hailed Burkhart, "Buddy, next time you get to kill the boss. Do me a favor, let Ander's know it's done. I'm gonna take a nap."

@Darasuum