Ask The Warlord of Metalorn

[Randor Wren]

The tower was swarming with droids by the time Rand dispatched the remaining B1 and made it to the lift. Fortunately, he didn't think any Scorpenek droids could fit inside; but there were worse. Droidekas, B2 supers, commando droids. Rand kept his blaster primed in case he had a welcoming party waiting on him when the doors to the lift swung open.

And indeed that was exactly the case.

Never in his life had he wished for a lightsaber. The Darksaber, at least. His armor wasn't made of pure beskar, so it couldn't reflect blaster bolts like some of the higher-ranked Mandalorians. Which meant his first few moments out of the lift was spent ducking bolts and returning fire. Also not helpful thanks to the droidekas at the very back of the line, absorbing most his his shots with their shield generators.

He quickly slapped the control that shut the lift doors; but it wouldn't hold. Already, the droids were peppering the door with blaster fire. Rand made use of what little time he had to remove the panel at the top of the lift and leap out into the well. There were just a few floors between him and the beacon, and for a blessed moment, most of the droids' attentions were focused on the lift car they thought he occupied. He could get this done if he moved quickly enough.

Activating his jetpack, he rocketed up two floors and landed on a small ledge where the lift car would normally dock. With a few short blasts of his flamethrower, he shorted out the wires on the door's controls and they opened to an empty lobby. He could see the beacon room just ahead, and so he sprinted for it. "Song," he called into his comlink. She hadn't replied to his first message. He hoped that didn't mean danger. "Song, I'm almost at the beacon. What's your status?" @Okoju @Song

 

[Kraaz Wail]

A nod would be Kraaz's response once Song moved off to take out the jammer. He assumed she'd wait for his move before making her own so he needed to move. He reattached his scope to his rifle and took a better look at the stronghold. The turrets would be the largest problem to any assault. He was confident in his ability to pick off the patrolling B1 and B2 Supers, but that wouldn't get Custaad's attention. He would take a look toward the street below him and see the solution.

He would activate his jetboots and take a jump down to the street, one littered with several abandoned speeders. The Umbaran would take cover and look them over, they were still functional. He wished he'd had a slave circuit, but his late wife, Ibi was usually the one who carried them. He'd have to make due with a dirty slice job to hotwire them. All he wanted to do was send them like missiles toward the turrets, steering wouldn't be an issue. After a few minutes of work Kraaz has his makeshift missiles ready, he'd launch them one after the other toward the stronghold's main gate.

He'd jet back up and move over to another roof and quickly take out his Mk rifle and waited for the reaction. The droids were slow to react as usual and didn't even notice the speeders until one of them mowed down a squad of B1s. From there havoc would break out, the droids took aim at the speeders and opened fire. After a lucky shot the one of the speeder's went up in flames, one of the others would veer wildly off and miss the front of the compound, still taking a couple of B2's along with it before it sputtered out. The final speeder would slam into the base of the left turret. That at least went to plan. Kraaz would take aim at the purposely exposed power cell of that final speeder and release a shot. The explosion would take the turret with it. He'd then swivel his aim and take out a droideka before it could get it's shields up. From there he'd shoulder his rifle and move back from the edge of the roof and circle back around to change position. He'd que his comm and whisper to Song, "All eyes on the front, go."

@Mockingjay @Song

 

[Song Wren]

Rand would receive no answer from Song now that they’d parted ways, and only because the closer she got to the jammer, the worse her comms signal became.

She landed on the factory roof with a smooth roll. Careful not to get caught by surveillance or motion sensors while keeping an eye out for patrolling guards, she scanned the flat expanse ahead of her. Gravel at her feet. Wind on her back. Several generators were situated around the rooftop, coupled with ventilation shafts, unused smokestacks and electrical ducts winding like steel snakes. She was grateful there were no droids around. Thanks to Kraaz’ distraction, which seemed to be going swimmingly so far, she could take it easy for now.

Song ran forward, checking anything that looked out of place. It didn’t take even ten seconds before she found it: the communications jammer. The blasted thing couldn’t have been more obvious, with its blinking antenna and cheap camouflage. She’d seen those kind of jammers before, but they hadn’t been used since the days of the Separatists. Either Cuustad was damnably poor, or he really was a CIS fanatic.

Wasting no time, Song approached it and ripped open its main panel. Inside, she found enough electrical wiring to knit a fucking blanket. Fortunately, she’d never much been bothered by the cold, so she raised her blaster and fired two straight shots into it. Sparks flew and popped. As smoke began to sizzle from the ruined panel, the blinking lights on the antenna shut down one by one, until she finally heard the voice of one of her pilots, a woman by the name of Farah. “Rally Master Song, I repeat,” she was droning on, “Are you there? I repeat…”

“I’m here,” replied Song. “We’re here.”

“Gods,” Farah said, “We were getting worried up here. Considered sending extra scouts to check on your position, but it’s a relief to hear your voice, ma’am.”

She cracked a smile, but it vanished moments later when a stray blaster bolt crashed into the generator on her left. Song reeled. Swiftly she dove into the cover of a protruding steam vent, one hand clutching her blaster and the other on her comms. “It’s good to hear yours too, Farah, but I’m going to need you and the others down here. Now.” She slammed a button her wrist controls. “Transmitting my coordinates.”

Chances were, it would take Clan Wrest several minutes to track and descend to her position. Minutes she would have to spend preciously, now that her position had been exposed.

@Mockingjay @Okoju

 

[Randor Wren]

Static.

Song wasn't answering, and Rand couldn't tell if that was because she was in the middle of fighting, dead, or the comms were just getting worse. The signal shouldn't be this bad on-world, but there was no point debating it with himself now. He needed to get to the beacon and get it down. If Song was alive — if the Death Watch was alive too — they would likely be dealing with a whole host of droids by now, even with Rand's distraction.

He charged into the control room, firing a shot into the cranial computers of the commander droid there. It was only a matter of time before the droids he had duped on the lower floors realized what had happened and came looking for him. Only... there were too many buttons. He didn't know which one was which, which one activated and shut down the droids, and which one controlled other aspects of the factory-city. So, he did the only Mandalorian thing he could think of. He pointed his blaster at the control panel and fired three shots across the board.

The panel caught fire, shooting sparks clear towards the ceiling. But then lights were going dark and the noise he had heard downstairs died entirely. Rand took that as a good sign. It likely meant the droids were offline—at least for this building. He decided to try again, raising Song on the comms. "Beacon is down. Song, where the hell are you?" he barked into his wrist-comlink. He didn't stay stationary. He bolted for the door and the lift beyond it. Regardless of her answer, he knew what came next. He needed to find her, now. @Okoju @Song

 

[Kraaz Wail]

Kraaz didn't wait to get a response as blaster fire started to erupt from the streets below. The shots were wild as they hadn't pinned down his location but he knew it was only a matter of time. He checked his surrounding and saw just what he needed. The Umbaran quickly scooped up a piece of glass and crept up the edge of the roof, he placed it on the ledge to catch the light and then scurried off quickly. As predicted he could hear calls of "roger roger" from the ground and the blaster bolts slammed into the area where he left the glass. All the while Kraaz slinked away and dropped off onto the next roof.

Not knowing how much time Song needed at this point Kraaz figured it was time to take the combat into close quarters. Give them something to chase. He peeked over the far side of the roof and saw a patrol of B1s underneath. I activated his wrist blade and hopped off the ledge, popping his jet boots in time to cushion his landing. As he landed he plunged his wrist blade into the head of the trailing droid. He would roll from his landing and sweep the next droids legs, cutting them clean. He'd hit the lead droid with a throwing knife to the neck, then counter the clumsy swing of the next droid and strike with his gauntlet blade across it's neck. The final droid opened fire and Kraaz simply pivoted the behind the body of the previous droid letting it absorb the bolts and kicked the the already dispatched droid into it's remaining comrade, sending it tumbling. The Death Watch member would smoothly draw his pistol and finish the final droid. Only a few seconds and 5 dispatched droids.

Blaster bolts came blazing down the alley, it seemed the droids had finally caught on. A quick burst form his boots sent him crashing through a window on his left. With a roll to his feet Kraaz drew his other pistol and shifted through the building to the front. As he moved his pistols fired and took out a lone droid that had made its way inside and suddenly his comms came alive. Song had managed to get the jammer down. Good.

He took cover by the door leading out and could hear more droids moving his last postion. Another droid entered the front, a B2 Super. Before it could notice the mando, Kraaz opened fire on it's legs, crippling it. As it fell it let off a karking wrist rocket. Kraaz lept out the front door in another roll and came up blasting any droid in sight as the building went up in flames behind him. More droids closed in on him and could even hear the rolling of Droidekas, he'd made way too much noice now. Though just as he thought he might actually be in trouble the droids shut down. Randor had also been successful. It seemed success was within their grasp at this point. With another burst of his boots, Kraaz would make his way closer to the compound. Their was probably still a bit more fighting to be had, as if Custaad was smart he would've kept a few droids separate from the master control beacon.

@Mockingjay @Song

 

[Song Wren]

Song huddled against the ventilation chute. More blaster bolts struck against her cover, some flying inches above her head, and she wondered just where these droids came from. Either she’d tripped a hidden motion sensor, or they’d reacted the moment she had shut down the comms jammer—whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. She was only glad it was a small patrol she was dealing with, and not a whole damn army, like Kraaz.

She peeked over the chute and fired a shot at one of the droids, each B2-Series and painted gray. It pinged against their armor, exposing some internal wiring. A second shot, and it collapsed onto the gravel roof. The other three accompanying it retaliated swiftly. A storm of bolts rained on her position and she crouched low enough to kiss the ground. Things were looking bad. Song had never been a good shot, but still—at least she had her sword.

She clutched the hilt and took in a deep breath. Now or never, she thought, then whirled around, flashing it in the light.

It made no difference. The second she stepped into the open, all three droids suddenly shut down. Arms limp at their sides and the red light in their eyes dimming to black. She blinked in surprise, not used to such a string of good luck, then realized it had nothing to do with her or luck. It was Rand. He'd done it.

His voice came over the comms and immediately Song felt her spirits lift. “Rand,” she answered. “Beautiful timing. I needed that.” She ran her fingers over her wrist controls and transmitted her coordinates, just as she had with the rest of Clan Wren, who would soon be arriving from orbit. “I’m at Cuustad’s stronghold. Rooftop. No anti-aircraft systems around, so you should be good to jet to my position.”

She approached one of the crumpled droids and kicked a dent into its plated face. “There might be some droids left around the complex. Sentient guards, too, but nothing we can’t handle. Right, Kraaz?” She looked past the roof ledge, where she could spot the other Mandalorian far below, surrounded by deactivated droids, along with the wealth of charred metal corpses he’d managed to destroy on his own. Impressive. For all her unease around Death Watch, she had to admit, they were damn good fighters.

@Mockingjay @Okoju

 

[Randor Wren]

Rand heaved a sigh. Alive. He didn't think she'd up and croak on him, but there were so many droids... So many, and he had not nearly been quick enough. They'd been lucky.

"His name is Cuustad?" he spoke into his comlink, because honestly with all the trouble they were having, he had at least expected their enemy to have a more menacing name. Villains just weren't what they used to be since Darth Vader died. "Forget it, copy that. I'll rendezvous with you shortly."

He kept to his timetable this time. The flight was mercifully short, thanks to the littering of deactivated battle droids he saw scattered across his path. If their were organic guards patrolling the streets, they were too flummoxed by the sudden absence of their droid companions to be looking for him; though he held no delusions that would last long. After a few minutes airborne, Rand slammed down onto the roof Song had indicated, finding Death Watch still with her and in one piece. That was good news, he supposed.

"We shouldn't give this warlord time to marshal his remaining forces or find a way to reactivate his droids," Rand said as he strolled across the rooftop towards the other two Mandalorians. "The courtyard below is clear for now, but I'll bet it will be swarming with his remaining men in seconds, all eager to reinforce their leader's position." Rand took the opportunity to shoot the door controls leading down inside the building, which resulted in the security door swishing open without complaint. "Come on, we'll catch them off balance."

As he advanced into the belly of the warlord's stronghold—the warlord, because he refused to think of the man as 'Cuustad'—he inched closer to Song. "Please tell me you don't intend to negotiate with him like you did that mob on our last mission," he half-joked. Though this time, Rand was not motivated by the desire for a good fight. He simply wanted a quick conclusion to what would be a war for Clan Wren if they gave the warlord time enough to regain his footing. "The last time you negotiated with madmen, I nearly got an arm taken out of its socket by a mob of angry Wookiees."

Just as the words had left his mouth, they rounded a corner into a corridor littered with deactivated droids. Rand drew his weapon, knowing there was still a short ways to go, and hoping the halls were not crawling with organics that would further delay them. @Song @Okoju

 

[Kraaz Wail]

His boots propelled him over the lip of the roof of Cuustads compound, after a brief skid on the gravel he came to a stop near Song. Kraaz would greet her with a nod and the pair was joined soon after by Randor.

"Excellent work on the droids, I agree we need to move on the calyarnr and end this." Kraaz would follow behind the pair taking up the rear as they made their way into the stronghold. Kraaz likewise drew one of his pistols, wanting to have a free hand if needed in these close quarters. They trio carefully plotted their way through the maze of deactivated droids. Their numbers wouldn't have been insurmountable but this certainly made the mandos work much easier.

Kraaz kept his head on a swivel, scanning the corridors around them and checked any corners they came too. It seemed quite so far...almost to quite. He'd expected the warlord to keep a handful organic bodyguards or at least a few droids off the main control circuit...but nothing. That put the former soldier and spy very much on edge. As they made their way through he darkened corridors they came to a longer hallway ending in a reinforced door. The hall was lined with more dead droids.

Before Kraaz could comment about this more than likely being where Cuustad was held up here heard a sound from the corridor they had just come down. He swung around blaster aimed. One of the B1 droids head was now swinging slightly on it's hinge. Kraaz kept his eyes down the hall for further movement as the droid seemed truly dead. All of Kraaz's instincts then screamed at him, he was missing something. Something was different about the hall, but all he could see were the same droids. No not the same, that's when his eyes caught it. He backed toward Song and Randor hoping they'd also noticed as Kraaz glanced around and noticed even more what was off down the corridor and another connecting one. He kept his pistol aimed down the hallway and dared a look back at his comrades. "Question...do you two remember seeing deactivated BX commando droids on our approach...because I don't." After a moment to let that comment sink in Kraaz opened fire on the closest BX droid, nailing it in the chest. As the it fell back the other BX's darkened photoreceptors lit up and the droids leveled weapons at the trio of Mando's.

@Song @Mockingjay

 

[Song Wren]

Song was grateful not to have entered the complex alone. The halls were winding and blanketed in shadow, full of exposed wiring and dead droids, and tension hung heavy around her like a thick coat. She found herself frequently glancing over her shoulder in case anyone was following them, and nearly flinched at the sound of Kraaz’s voice. It was worse when she realized just what he was implying.

“Good question,” she murmured in response, and she swiveled toward the other BX droids laying around them, lifting her sword menacingly, as if expecting them to rise from the dead at any given moment. She was too used to falling into traps. Ray shields, automated turrets, hidden explosives—there hadn’t been a single mission in the last year that didn’t result in her or her team encountering some kind of elaborate trick from an alerted host. So, she wasn’t in the least surprised when all the limp commando droids activated at once, red eyes gleaming in the dark.

She took off one’s head before it could so much as stand.

Others rose in its place. Dozens, by the looks of it. Most holstered blasters, others knives and curving blades, and they surrounded the three of them like starved hounds. Only difference was, none of them moved to attack. Instead, there came a distant clapping at the far end of the corridor, a slow and mocking applause. Song looked between the bobbing heads of droids and spotted what had to be the Warlord of Metalorn himself, in flesh and blood.

Except he wasn’t much flesh and blood to begin with.

Cuustad hobbled towards them on a cybernetic leg, with two prosthetic arms and half his head replaced by metal parts. His face was polished steel, and one of his eyes was a midnight-blue orb, blinking at them in mild amusement. Song frowned and reached for one of the throwing knives hidden up her sleeve. “My friends, welcome,” Cuustad began, stopping at a safe distance away from them, hands clasped together intently. “It’s been a long time since I last had visitors. Such talented ones, too. Never before has anyone broken through my—“

Song hurled a knife at him. It landed solidly in the crack between his metal shoulder joint, drawing sparks and even a steady trickle of blood. Cuustad shrieked.

She had suffered enough grandiose speeches from enough condescending men. It was becoming a tired trope at this point, and she was in no mood to spend the next painful minute listening to the warlord bemoan his foiled plans or vaguely insult them. Even as droids surrounded Cuustad like a shield, Song didn’t care. It was time to end this already. “Shut the fuck up and fight us already,” she seethed, raising her blade again, just as the warlord screamed new orders:

“Kill them! Kill them now!”

@Mockingjay @Okoju

 

[Randor Wren]

Rand sometimes wondered if the Force actively hated him.

It was a reasonable assumption to come to, given everything he had seen and been through. Father killed by his uncle. Uncle steals his family throne. Decades wasted in a desert on a godforsaken planet in the Outer Rim. He was sorely tempted to list meeting Song among those woes, because, though he had grown fond of his cousin after she won his respect, he couldn't deny that she hadn't exactly made his life easier. And this was the latest example.

How long had it taken him to disable those droids? How dangerous had it been? And for what? The bastard had another set off the grid! For once, Song was trigger happy, and for once, Rand did nothing to chide her actions. Normally, he would have wagged a finger at her for cutting the warlord off mid-speech. The longer the fool rambled, the more chances the trio would have to figure out his weaknesses and exploit him. Only, this time, Rand didn't care. He wanted the man dead. He wanted off this planet. And he wanted his bloody credits. Three things he could not have if he himself was dead.

"Did it occur to you that you could have shot him instead of throwing a knife?!" Rand barked at Song as he opened fire on the droids.

These lot were not like the ones he fought before. They were more agile. More durable. One shot wasn't enough to fell them, it took two or three. The warlord used this to his advantage, slinking back through the corridor to where he had emerged. Thinking quickly, Rand fired a whipchord from his gauntlet, catching the man around the ankle, causing him to stumble and fall flat on his face. But before he could reel the warlord back in, one of the commando droids produced a vibro-dagger and sliced the cable, freeing the warlord.

Still, the man was stunned and injured, and his recovery was slow in the chaos. "We can't let him escape," Rand said over the noise. "Death Watch, help me clear a path for Song!"

Rand fired on another pair of droids, hoping Death Watch would follow. Song was pretty good at killing people. Better when she was under pressure. If they could give her a clear shot, the droids wouldn't all be dead, but at least their master would be down. Sweeping up the remains of the droids after that would hardly be an issue. There was surely another godsdamn switch around here to flip. @Song @Okoju

 

[Kraaz Wail]

After a brief moment of self admonishment for not noticing that the droids sooner, Kraaz would bring his focus back to the moment. The droids didn't immediately fire on them, instead forming a perimeter around the Mandos, the Umbaran kept his pistol trained on the droids figuring this cease fire wouldn't last long. He didn't even turn to regard the warlord as he walked down the corridor and kept his eyes on the trio's six, trusting that Song and Rand would keep an eye on Cuustad. Though what would happen next didn't surprise Kraaz at this point. He heard the sickening 'thunk' of Song's knife striking the warlord and Kraaz couldn't help but crack a smile under his helmet. It was time to go loud.

Before Cuustad was able to mutter a word Kraaz had already dropped to a knee and opened fire on the closest BX droid in his sight. The droids went into motion and Kraaz would fall back slightly, the BX droids were far more dangerous than the B1s could ever hope to be. They actually coordinated with each other, were far more agile, and had better targeting computers. He immediately was forced into a roll to his right as the droids began to fire. He would fire quick shots into a droids center mass to stagger it then finish it with a blast to the head, putting it down for good. He heard Rand shout over the den of the battle and shouted back. "Copy, on your flank!"

They needed to move toward Cuustad and they couldn't safely do that while surrounded. Kraaz managed to fell another droid from where they'd come and retreated while maintaining fire. As he moved he pulled a stun grenade from his belt and tossed it into the oncoming droids to their back. He would turn away and join Rand as the grenade detonated overloading the droids sensors for at least a few moments. "Push forward! I've got you!"

With only the droids in front of them to deal with for the moment Kraaz would push forward with the pair. Kraaz could see the pair of droids had moved up and were now manually dragging Cuustad back down the corridor toward what he assumed was the warlord's makeshift command center. A quick shot managed to nail one of Cuustad's guard droids and a follow up sent it tumbling away. He would then once again be forced to move as the droids would return fire. He took to using the deactivated B1's as makeshift blaster sponges and kept moving forward with Rand and Song, felling more droids where he could. A pair of droids would break off dodging forward and drawing their vibroblades as they rushed down the Mandos "Focus fire on the blade users," Kraaz shouted and took aim at the droid approaching on the left, placing careful shots to try and disable the thing before it got too close. He connected a bolt to it's chest as it leaped forward to strike at Song and Kraaz would rush forward and plunge his gauntlet blade into the droids chin before it could recover, tossing the scrap heap aside as they trio continued forward, placing trust that either Song or Rand would handle the other vibroblade BX.

@Mockingjay @Song

 

[Song Wren]

Song restrained a curse as the droids descended on them. She’d hoped the knife would have lodged in Cuustad’s throat, but she was exhausted and unbalanced, so she’d have to settle for nearly taking off his arm. If there was one thing to be glad about, at least she'd wiped that smug grin off his face.

“Like you would have done any better!” Song snapped back to Rand, not taking his insult too kindly. Blasters had never been her cup of tea. She was a fine marksman compared to most Rim mercenaries, but she ranked embarrassingly low next to her fellow Mandalorian brothers and sisters. She was simply more suited for swordplay. Knives, martial arts, melee combat—she thrived best in close quarters and missions that required stealth and subtlety, and right now, standing surrounded by hostile droids, the setting was not exactly to her tastes.

Yet there she went, fighting like it was.

She slashed through a droid, lopping off its head before it could fire point-blank into her chest. She had suffered a blaster wound there before, and she was eager not to relive the experience. All that mattered was surviving. All she needed to do was get a hold of Cuustad and end this madness. Problem was, at least a dozen more droids blocked her path to him, flashing weapons at her as if they were teeth. She bared hers in response. Master swordswoman or not, she didn’t like her odds.

Until, of course, Kraaz went into a frenzy.

She had wondered just how he’d survived all those droids back on the street, and seeing him now, she understood. His aim was clean and precise. His reflexes were startlingly quick and smooth. She was impressed, and it was thanks to his and Rand’s efforts that she managed to cut through the hurricane of droids and gunfire, honing in on Cuustad's position at an alarming rate. The warlord clutched his injured shoulder and stumbled for what she assumed was an escape exit. No matter how fast she moved, still she wouldn't be able to reach him in time.

No. Song gave herself an internal shake. Not this time. Drawing in a sharp breath, she charged forward and ran up the side of the wall. With an almost gravity-defying leap, she jumped over another droid, using its head like a springboard, and lunged for its master. Cuustad fumbled for his sidearm. Wrong move, she thought, just before she delivered a flying kick directly into his face.

@Mockingjay @Okoju

 

[Randor Wren]

Cuustad was caught off guard; but he had not become the Warlord of Metalorn by cowering behind droids. The kick sent him reeling, left an ache in his jaw that spread like a shockwave through the bones and muscles of his face. Then adrenaline kicked in and he felt nothing but the rush for battle. If the Mandalorian wench would not give him his firearm, there were other methods he could use. A pair of vibro-daggers punched out from the wrists of his gauntlets. They weren't the most effective weapons, easily broken with the right angle and force of strike; but at close quarters, in this chaos, he doubted the Mandalorian girl would be able to pull off such a maneuver.

He slashed at her in a frenzy, mostly trying to get her to back up so that he could finally reach his side arm. His targets were the gaps in her armor, though his own chaos was working against him. There wasn't enough space in the corridor for all this droid fighting, and a hand-to-hand duel with a Mandalorian. But he had to try. Self-preservation was taking over. If he faltered, he would not just lose his planet, he would lose his life too.

Rand saw the killing intent in the warlords eyes from all the way across the corridor. But all the killing intent in the world wouldn't make up for the fact that a vibro-knife would not cut cleanly through Mandalorian armor. Even if Song's suit wasn't pure beskar, it would take a thicker knife to carve her up. A well-paced stab was his only hope of penetrating her shell and disabling her. Rand might be irritated, but he trusted Song's instincts enough to leave that fight to her.

"Keep the droids off of them, Death Watch!" he shouted to their companion. Without his droids, the Warlord doesn't stand a chance against her.

Any droids that entered more than an arms length of Song's fight with the warlord, he shot in the cranial unit. If he couldn't risk such a shot—if it carried too much of a risk of flying into Song's battle—then he aimed for the chest. But the droids were smart. They were learning. They saw what he was trying to do, and were actively trying to avoid his shots and get close to the fight. Death Watch would have to help him keep them off her. And all the while, he could help but thinking that their power packs would go dry soon; but the droid batteries would last much longer. He just hoped they could clear them out before that happened, and before something much worse arrived.

His one solace was the radio static in his ear, the occasional comm that Wren reinforcements would be closing in any second now, and then it really would be a party. @Song @Okoju

 

[Kraaz Wail]

Kraaz kept on the move, never staying in one spot for more than a second. He shifted his profile making himself a harder target as the trio advanced forward. He had to admit he was impressed by Song's maneuver. impressed by her incredible agility even in her Beskar'gam. It only steeled the umbaran mando's resolve to win the fight here and soon.

He gritted his teeth as a droid came at him with a vibrosword in a lightning fast downward chop. Krazz's only option to not be bisected was to throw up his arms and catch the blade on his pure beskar gauntlets. He could feel the force of the strike rattle the bones of his forearms but the soldier didn't relent, as the blade struck the beskar he would pivot and pass the blade and the droids momentum to his left. He would fire 2 quick shots into the droids side and then grab it's and twist the droid around to catch the blade of another droid, the blade tearing into the now shield of Kraaz. He would hear Rand shout over the the fighting again and Kraaz would push forward, forcing the droid shield against the striker and trap it against the adjacent wall before finishing both droids with shots to the head.

"Understood, and my name is Kraaz...use it." He would yell as he joined the ex-bounty hunter in defending Song as she dueled the warlord. He did admire Rand for his control and precision with his shots. It what made the man a mandalorian and not your typical bounty hunter scum. Between the 2 of them they thinned out the remaining droids around Song, she was as clear as she could get at this point, but Kraaz knew they were moments away from a different problem. He swung around and cursed as the droids he'd stunned earlier were rebooting and taking aim. "Rand on our six!"

@Song @Mockingjay

 

[Song Wren]

Knives. Song was pleasantly surprised by their appearance, as well as the hard glare the warlord was shooting her, like he honestly believed he could challenge her in a duel. She thought to scoff. It was her strongest suit, and in such close quarters against her sword, he didn’t stand a chance. She had to admit, however, he was no idiot. He stood his ground and she respected that, and his slashes and jabs were no simple things. She parried them quickly, retreating a step, but never gave him the satisfaction of a hit. She wasn’t stupid, just exhausted.

Song made sure to watch her back too, in case any droids slipped past the two men. Instead, she found herself listening into their conversation. Which wasn’t hard, given they were shouting at one another over the din of battle.

She smirked wryly at Kraaz’ last comment. Typical Rand. He wasn’t the type to play nice or make friends, and Song was intimately familiar with the experience. The first time they’d met, it had been in a bar fight, where he very nearly took off her head with his blaster. But times had changed. Now, the two of them were closer than conjoined twins, and while there were days when it seemed likely for them to tear apart—or tear each other apart—that moment never came. Family was like that. No matter what, they stuck together.

She supposed right now, Death Watch or not, Kraaz fit into their crazed, dysfunctional family. Brothers and sisters in arms.

She let out a surprised breath when a sharp pain touched her shoulder. In the heat of the moment, Cuustad had managed to cut into a crack in her armor, and she hissed in pain and, particularly, irritation. The warlord’s shit-eating grin didn’t help either. So, in retaliation, she pushed back. Hard. A thrust to his chest, a swing at his right leg, a slash toward his neck. She unleashed a flurry of attacks against him, his smile vanishing as he realized just what he’d done.

It was too late for regrets. The instant Song spotted an opening, she brought her sword around and disarmed him. Literally. In the same place where she’d struck him with her knife, she took off his whole arm, and he howled in pain, dropping his other knife and clutching the bleeding stump. He fell to his knees. She didn’t like taking limbs, but Cuustad had crossed a line, and after everything he’d done to the rebels, it was probably deserved anyway. The point was, she’d won. He was beat, and there was no reason for them to fight any longer.

Still, these droids didn’t seem to understand the concept for surrender, and already as more leapt into the fray, some rushed to their master’s aid. For all their glorious odds, she wasn’t sure if they’d hold against so many—fortunately, they weren’t alone.

@Mockingjay

 

[Randor Wren]

Rand whirled a second too late; and had what happened next not been timed so perfectly, his lapse of instinct might have cost him. Fortunately, Rand did not entertain 'could-bes'. He didn't believe in the Force. At least, he didn't believe that it had a will or a destiny for everyone. But he did believe everything that was supposed to happen eventually did. Which is why he could only whoop as the floor underneath the droids at his six exploded, sending the clankers crashing down to the floor below.

Men and women wearing the signature armor of Clan Wren flew through the crevice left behind by the blast, unloading their payloads on the remaining droids in the now partly-intact corridor. For just an instant, Rand felt something in his chest he had not felt since he was a small boy. Pride in his clan. That pride had been stolen from him by the man who had helped to create the woman who gave it back. But it was fleeting, gone the second he remembered there was still a battle to win. And Rand knew exactly what he had to do.

"You got it, Death Watch," Rand said, grinning under his helmet. He had been rather obtuse not to use Kraaz's name, but now that what was unspoken was out in the open, he had to keep the gag going. Call it a matter of personal pride. "Keep an eye on my cousin, would you? There's one more thing I need to do. This corridor's getting cramped anyways."

The remaining droids were too frazzled with their new targets to stop him. He jetpacked past them and into the chamber the warlord had emerged from minutes earlier. It was only fitting the warlord would personally appear to protect something precious, and Rand's instincts proved right after all. Inside the room was a mechanical throne, and on it the kill switch for his personal band of droids. The droids in the corridor might have been cut off from the signals he had ended earlier in the battle, but this would end clanker involvement.

Permanently.

With a flick of the switch, Rand heard the deafening roars of blasterfire die down by almost half as the droids suddenly went inactive. His only regret was not being able to see the look on the warlord's face when he realized his last layer of defense was finally gone. Song, he supposed, would get that honor. Speaking of which—he opened his helmet comm channel to her and Kraaz and, still grinning, said, "Oi, Song... Kraaz," At last, Death Watch's name. He could give a little ground now. "Our friend isn't going to be getting any more reinforcements. He's all yours."

And that was that. This planet was as good as theirs. @Song @Okoju

 

[Kraaz Wail]

Kraaz dropped to a knee and prepared for more fighting before the floor erupted underneath the previously stunned droids. Even Kraaz managed a smile as the members of Clan Wren made their entrance. They unleashed on the droids and brought the full wrath of the clan down on the clankers. Kraaz would weal back around to see that Custaad was already on the ground, down one arm for the trouble he'd put them through today. He simply shook his head at Rand's obvious goading as the man ran off to no doubt finish this by deactivating the rest of the droids. Until then Kraaz would slam a fresh powerpack into his pistol and draw his other one and help Song's clan clean up what remained of the droids.

Once Rand gave them the all clear Kraaz would approach Song and keep his comms open for Rand to hear. "Not bad for a bounty hunter, good job Randor." He would extend a hand to Song. "Rally Master it's been a pleasure." Kraaz would jab Custaad in the ribs with his boot and look again to Song. "He's all yours...standby.." Kraaz turn away for a moment. Chatter was coming through the rebel comms again. He would turn back to Song, "Seems the rebels managed to hold out after all, I'm sure they would be grateful to see Custaad hang. Either way I say we have Metalorn."

@Song @Mockingjay

 

[Song Wren]

Song raised her blade, prepared for the onslaught of clankers coming her way, when the unexpected happened. A storm of blaster bolts filled the hall. The light almost blinding, she ducked and shielded herself with a plated forearm, thinking it was a second ambush by the warlord’s droids—that they were well and truly fucked. But that was far from the truth.

As she squinted down the corridor, Song found herself locking eyes with none other than Farah, the Mandalorian she’d contacted earlier on the roof, accompanied by what had to be at least a dozen more members of Clan Wren, each of them flaunting their swords and blasters in a mad dash to come to her aid. She felt her spirits lift. She’d always known her people would come in time, and just barely. A minute longer and she wasn’t certain they’d have survived, even with Cuustad defeated.

Once the worst died down and the smoke cleared, Song approached her the other woman. They each removed their helmets, revealing skin like porcelain and midnight-black hair that ran to their shoulders. It may have come as a surprise to Kraaz, depending on if he followed the Way, but she didn’t dawdle. Song took firm grasp of Farah’s arm and grinned. “Good timing,” she said. “I only doubted you for a second.”

The woman laughed. “Don’t you mean to say never?”

“Nope.” Song let go and stepped back. She examined the smoldering, metal corpses around them, then to the mastermind behind it all, the Warlord of Metalorn, now under custody of Clan Wren, moaning like a child under Kraaz’ boot. She clapped the Death Watch warrior on the back. “The pleasure’s all mine, Kraaz Wail,” she told him. “I’m glad we crossed paths when we did. I just hope you can forgive Rand. He’s never been the outgoing type. But if there’s one thing I’m sure of, he’s grateful, and so am I.”

She turned towards the rest of Clan Wren. “So is Mandalore.”

end thread.​