The Riff Raff

[Koil Solus]

♠ THEME ♠
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The scanners were warm. There had not been any recent sighting of any hostile craft or any starfighters for that matter that were not registered to the local system forces under the Mandalorian government lead by Burkhart Kelborn.

The Morling had asked Koil to do some routine checks around the area and even gave him a bit extra with some payment for the trouble. It was fine by him. More money was welcome and taking out some bandits that had plagued the area would be some good practice.

Things had quieted down recently on all fronts. It made Koil uneasy. So much time had been in heated conflict. The past few years felt like there had been nothing but three sixty degree combat. That was the way Silent Badger liked it though.

His ship, the Klaw, was black on black. In the darkness of space his modified Bitol high performance starfighter was probably the fastest ship in the galaxy. Keying the communication link he sent a message over to Sumas. "Keep an eye on your scanners the moment they appear. They won't be able to resist." The link remained open for the time being and the War Councilor would just stay silent.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Sumas Solus]

There was probably no stronger polar opposite between anything in the galaxy compared to the Klaw and the Meteor. The Klaw was sleek, it was stealthy and it was a damn fine ship...then the blue and blazing Patrol Craft blasted out of hyperspace alongside it. Sumas and his co-pilot brought the shields online and cruised along comfortably while their scanners were searching all around. The guns were hot and the missiles were primed, ready to lay down hellfire on any pirates or attackers that might appear. While they were idling in the system for a while now, Sumas didn't want to be caught off guard even for a second.

"Sure thing, boss." Sumas said over the comms, keeping the line open in case they needed to respond in a moment's notice. He spaced out, letting his scanners cover more area as his eyes looked over the screen and dials. Everything was running perfectly. "So these pirate attacks? Do they happen at random or do they follow some sort of pattern?" Sumas asked over the comms, deciding to break the deafening silence. Of course that would be expected from someone who calls themselves "Silent Badger", but Sumas didn't do well with silence. Not unless absolutely necessary, at least.

Sumas checked his systems again. Fighting on the ground was one thing, fighting in space was completely different. Thankfully he wasn't a stranger to space combat.

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

___________________

Sumas was a newer face he had seen around. He had relativly recently joined the clan and so Koil had not learned about him as in depth as he would have had it been ten years ago. But understood him to at least be a Solus and fellow badger. The clan and in turn house had increased in size though now it seemed to be waning in its numbers.

Whether his questions pertained to pirates in general or the specific ones in Contruum territory Koil was not sure but the answer was still the same. "There are signs and some things to expect in a way." He said. For him, these pirates were prey that were waiting come to him. Koil did not consider this project of Burkhart's to be bait necessarily but it would definitely draw attention from some and allow him to take out some enemies of the Mandalorians. The Silent Badger had been the mandalorian to broker negotiations with the Contruum government when they had originally moved into this territory. Back then Burkhart had also led that campaign.

There was still no sign of present pirate threat. Koil continued to cycle through different settings and channels. No communications from traffic control towards the planet or the shipyards indicated approaching enemy contacts.
@KinkyPrawn

 

[Sumas Solus]

Sumas had disappeared from the commlink for a second to get himself a cup of caf in the back of the ship, leaving his co-pilot to man the fort for a second. Quickly enough he was back in his seat, slurping away at the caf. He was getting impatient. This silence was killing him. No traffic, no noise, no relaying info, not even a blip on the radar. The fact that he essentially had a mute on the other end of the comms wasn't helping. But the caf was thankfully helping him ease up a bit.

Several minutes had passed. Even his slurping had ceased and the empty cup was stashed away. Sumas drummed a random beat on the controls to break the silence but it wasn't working. "Hey, boss. What's with your ship, anyway? I get those things are fast and if my scanners are anything to go by, then your ship can move a lot quicker than pretty much anything else...but where's the guns, though? Only a light cannon and some missiles? No torpedoes, no big guns...come on!" he said through the comms, trying to break the silence. Of course being raised around big guns also played into this. Seeing a ship so ill-equipped slightly triggered him. "You should get yourself one of these. Cannons for days, missiles, handling to boot. This is a warship! he went on, petting the dashboard of his ship a bit.

He sighed and looked down on his radar. Still nothing. What a surprise...

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

___________________

The built in droid brain of the Klaw meant the ship was practically half a droid itself. The Mandalorian had to make sure to properly maintain the vessel just like any other good piece of equipment. He never let his blades get to the point of being dull or for dirt to build up in even his most resilient weapons.

What came next from Sumas was a line of questioning that actually seemed like a good conversation point. The War Councilor used to be even less talkative than he was now but it still seemed to make people feel like he rarely spoke. "That's a good question but I think you're looking at the faster gratification over the long term capabilities. Have you eve been in a knife fight Sumas? I mean, like blade against blade. You don't stab deep into your enemy's body. You'll hit bone, get stuck in joins and it requires more effort to ram that blade deep as well as pull it free. It's numerous shallow cuts that result in your target bleeding out while you're light on your feet. All you need is just a six centimeter knife give or take."

"Your ship, a...." He looked at his scanners and also recalled his own experience over the years at just marking models and makes of different vessels to pick out what Sumas was flying. "If we both fully kit out our ships, and I mean really soup our ships up, legal and otherwise kind of tweaks, my ship would be able to fly circles around your ship. Gunboat or not, you would have a tough time just hitting me." It did not matter if there was weight behind a strike if it could not land on its target. "Now we could at worst be at a stalemate...but then what if you go against someone slow but heavily armed like your ship? You can't out manuver them because your ship isn't built for that. It'd just be a slug fest until you both ended up trading blows probably."

The Silent Badger much preferred maneuverability over stopping power. Mandalorians were super commandos, not super grunts. "Besides...she does what she's built for." A slight smile crept along his face underneath his helmet for a moment as he ran a hand along the single seat cockpit of the bitol. It was meant for reconnaissance and scouting. Now it was superior to most starfighters and was probably the fastest sublight vessel in the galaxy. If he wanted to get in and out of combat his ship was the best way to do it.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Sumas Solus]

To Sumas' surprise Koil became very talkative suddenly, explaining to the Zabrak his views on his ship and their differences in how they approach combat. Sumas sat back, listening to the War Councilor's explanation. Sumas smirked at the man's question. "Of course I've been. I was raised on Iridonia, I didn't get my tattoos because of my good looks. I mean, we have two hearts for a reason, you know." he started to explain to his Alor. And usually we make sure the blade's sharp enough to not get caught by flesh and bone...and if it is caught, you aren't swinging hard enough." he finished with a chuckle. Zabraks were known for having something of a fetish with weapons and big guns. He was no different.

He folded his arms and sat back with raised eyebrows, staring at the other ship as if having a stare-down eye to eye. "Might be a tough time but I only need to hit you once to pop that shield wide open." he fired right back. "And when it comes to trading blows...well then it depends on who's got the bigger gun. As long as that's me I don't see an issue. More dakka never hurt anyone." he said with a grin, slumping into his seat and resting his hands behind his head.

He cast a glance at his radar again. "I'm getting rather impatient with these pirates. We're just wasting fuel at this point." he commented with annoyance. A smirk appeared on his face. "Hey, boss. Do you think I can land on your roof and lock in while flying 70?" he asked, eyeing the Klaw with a mischievous grin.

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

___________________

He was cocky and putting too much weight into a hypothetical chance. Koil had seen weak men fell strong because of their speed. It was not a lesson soon forgotten. But it was not something that he felt was worth buying into Sumas's overly confident opinion to further discuss. He would have his opinion and probably keep it until he learned from personal experience that being able to hit hard was not everything.

More moments passed without anything really happening. Then the one thing to break the silence was the Zabrak's complaining about their being a lack of things to kill. Koil just sighed despite also being kind of bored. But there was no guarantee they were actually going to fight anyone today, tomorrow or the next couple of days until the job was done. A lack of opposition meant that they had a reputation preceding them or the pirates were just not as daring and hungry as Burkhart had originally thought.

"Land on my roof and I'll land a blade between your ribs." He warned with a deadpan tone that was meant to be taken as a half joke. There was no call for them to test out Sumas's request when working. Even in their own time he would not do it. The Klaw was much too valuable and was not what Silent Badger viewed as a toy to play with.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Sumas Solus]

Sumas laughed heartily at the War Councilor's remark, accidentally rocking the ship as his leg hit the controls. "Gonna have to catch me first, boss." he quipped, though he figured he might need to tone down a bit before that joke became a lot more serious. With a chuckling sigh he finally settled back down and made himself comfortable.

For the next few minutes they flew in silence. Sumas wasn't sure if it was comfortable or awkward, but given the fact that his commanding officer was two words away from being a mute he couldn't exactly reach a conclusion. It probably also didn't bother Koil all that much. So instead Sumas sat back and looked over the planet, simply enjoying the wonderful view. "One of these days I need to go back to Iridonia. See how much the bloody space wizards karked up the place." he thought aloud, still staring at the planet. This silence really wasn't good for him. "Hey, boss. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? Were you born on Mandalore or did join from outside like me?" he asked, casting a glance over to the Klaw as they flew in formation. Given how stingy the man was with his words, Sumas doubted that he would get much of an answer from the man. Usually he could read people pretty well, even by simply listening to them over a commlink. But with the Alor he couldn't get all that much.

It was like solving a murder mystery...

@Darasuum

 

[Koil Solus]

___________________

Koil's face was more blank than usual after hearing the ccontradictory insinuation of having to catch him. Had he not been listening to anything Koil had just been saying about speed. The man sounded like he was probably a bit slow and not just in ship speed. But that was why Silent Badger stayed quiet, it was not nice nor necessary to point out such observations or opinions.

Quiet filled the air. There was just the thruming sounds of his ship's engines, the clicking computing of the droid brain built into the ship, and the actions the Echani had made in his own confined space. But Sumas came over the commlink again trying to spark up another conversation, this time about origins. That was something he definitly did not talk about much. Wyatt had known, Raz knew, maybe a few others but that was only because he had allowed it to come up.

"Let's head back. I don't think any are showing up." He said in response. Turning his ship around he angled the ship on a vector towards the station where they would refuel. There would be another patrol sent out to replace them shortly enough.

♠ EXIT THREAD ♠​

 

[Sumas Solus]

Sumas blinked at his boss' words. He had known he would get shut down with that question, though he still hoped to get something. But he wouldn't push his luck any further. The man gave him an order and that was it. "Yessir." he replied casually and turned his ship around to follow the Klaw back to the base.

Along the way he opened up with his ship as a joke to challenge the man to a race, though he knew fully well how that would go down. Glancing down to his fuel indicator he clicked his tongue. The Meteor's fuel was still relatively fine, but that was precious fuel that could have been utilized a lot better. Hopefully next time they get to do something more productive and worth burning fuel other than just idle around the place.

Thankfully there was a nice bar on the station that he was itching to check out. He could really go for a drink.

/Exit Thread

@Darasuum