Ask Why We Fight

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185
maxresdefault.jpg



The asteroid field drifted as aimlessly and unremarkably as the gas giant it circled. They were two astronomical objects that meant little and less until they were observed, like a tree falling in a forest. Well, this was one kriffing tree.

What had fallen in that asteroid belt was one ship upon the other. In the aftermath, the asteroid that the Unwavering had been hugging broke apart, pieces of rock joining the bones of the other ship, her name not yet known.

That one had gone the way of the asteroid, though in her final breaths the ship had taken out the corvette’s engines and left her stranded in a cloud of debris.
It was too thick for Casany’s Winged Pike to fly through, not without risk to either vessel as she maybe set something off that would lead to more bones for someone else to pick through.

Instead, the Mandalorian parked her Y-Wing just outside the debris field and floated from the cockpit. Another Mandalorian appeared beside her, blue gray beskar cruising with red and gold.

Zaia Krodas knew of the situation about as much as her sister did. Casany Praxor had made ready to reclaim the Unwavering, a Crusader-class corvette of the True Mandalorians, but none were well received by their enemies.

The ship had been waiting in the asteroid belt when it sent Casany a distress signal. The crew were fighting off a boarding party of Mandalorians. So Casany had come, and she had not come alone.

Vod at one side, pistols at either side, rifle in hand, sword at back beside jetpack, the one some called Anvil would soon become a hammer once again.

Behind her visor, the Mandalorian’s world lights up in the dark between the stars as she negotiates her way through the graveyard.
Her HUD gives her three hundred sixty degrees of vision as vambraces push past rock and wreckage, helmet bumping against the head of a wayward corpse floating by in a black gold suit. Ratheon.

The warrior bites her tongue, scans the cruiser, scopes out a hatch to serve as the mouth of her anger. It would blaze against the di’kuts who had thrust themselves upon the Unwavering so as to take her, Mandalorian or not.

At last, the sisters of war arrive at the door. Cas hugged the hull, one hand on her rifle, the other giving Zaia a signal. “Breach and clear. On three.” One. Two—


@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

“For the last time, that is no place for you, BG. You’ll have to stay with the ship, be my backup. BG—” The droid wouldn’t stop his cursing as she put on her helmet. “Keep up that attitude and you’ll still be the getaway driver next time.” That caused him to go quiet.

They would certainly need one today if things went wrong, and this was likely the most dangerous part of the mission. They would have to move quickly to get into the corvette— her armor wasn’t built for extended periods of time in space, especially if it was only her regular combat helmet swapped out for a relatively space-friendly one. So, she’d connected BG to the comms and gave him explicit directions to swoop in with the rented starfighter she’d come with to take them out if one was unresponsive.

Making sure all her weapons were in place and that her helmet was locked on tight, Zaia would get out of her ship and follow Casany through the rocks and debris. When they arrived, she would count down along with her vod until the time came to break the hatch of the docking ring, and when it broke, it broke.

A few well-placed shots at close range had broken open the lock, and the door slid wide open. The wind coming out of the ring made it nearly impossible to get in, but with a push from her jetpack, Zaia was able to force her way in and roll to the side against the wall to prevent herself from being sucked into the vacuum of space. As soon as she saw that Cas was inside, she slammed the button for the emergency door with a fist and the hatch was closed once again.

Her space helmet would be of no use here, so she took it off and put it to the side. She wouldn’t have any head protection for today, but the asteroid field had given her little choice, so she would have to trust herself and the vod beside her.

Already, she could hear footsteps coming down the hall, and she reached for her blasters. Friendly or not, it was better to be prepared. “Here they come,” she warned, standing beside Cas.

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

Hugging the hull with blaster trained, Cas swung around and momentum boosted her through the doorway before her jetpack cut off and she landed.
Inside was quiet, giving the two of them a room to hold out in or venture from. She had banked on breaching a part of the ship that had little activity.

Zaia had not hesitated when Casany had called her for help, having few others to turn to. The elements proved to be against her with the debris field but, where Zaia’s helmet was not as equipped for space, her vod’s was, and Casany would see and hear for the both of them.

HUD’s sensors tallied figures in an instant. “Two of them! Ten seconds!” Cas confirmed, raised her rifle, remembered the storage room she was in. “Corner access! I’m moving!”

A corner door led to another storage room. They were near the hangar and their two visitors were potentially guards left by the boarding party pushing toward command.

The corner door opened, the main room’s door a moment after. Cas had just enough time to disappear into the other room, unsure about Zaia.

“They’re in here, I know it!”

“Kriffing Praxors!”

“We’ll find ‘em!”


Casany kept quiet, timed her target’s movements, and pounced.
He had just found her doorway when she rounded from the wall and stood before him, exploding the butt of her rifle into his black gold helmet.
The man howled as his visor shattered into his face, then the rifle shattered his teeth and shut him up.

If Zaia’s hiding spot was less sophisticated than her comrade's then she need not worry.
If he was still standing, the other guard would by now be rather distracted with the sight of a red gold helmet.


@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

Only two? Assuming they had the element of surprise, the guards wouldn’t be much of a problem. As Cas went into the other room, Zaia would wait in a decently-sized nook a little past it. While they would likely be able to see her once they got close, she trusted that Cas would take care of at least one.

“There’s one! In the blue!”

“We’ll take— ahhhh!”
Just as the second guard passed Cas’ room, he was down with two hard hits in the face. The other was therefore distracted, and there was no time like the present for Zaia to tackle the other one. She flicked her wrists to unsheathe her concealed knives and went for him, knocking him back with a hit to his chest. The momentum caused him to stagger, exposing his neck, and with a slicing motion of the other arm, she slit it. He slumped to the ground, and Zaia retracted her blades as she looked away from the corpse.

“It’s such a pity we’ve turned on each other like this,” she couldn’t help commenting quietly. She hated having to kill other Mandalorians— they were her people. But these two men, or the clan they belonged to, had struck first. And for that, they would have to retaliate.

Getting herself back into mission-mode, Zaia thought for a moment about their next move, meeting Casany’s gaze through her vod’s visor.

“I would suggest going after the bridge, but there are probably way more than two guards over there. We’d need reinforcements,” she mused. “Your crew can fight, right? I’m sure they’d be eager to help us if we can find them.” Most likely they were being held in the brig. “I say we go there, see what we find.”

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

Mandalorians had a way of reading each other’s visors, but without a helmet Zaia’s face was an open book.

Casany gripped her rifle the right way around now, leveling the muzzle with a head that just then bled from the neck.
Zaia had been the one to take his life, and her friend did not envy her. They did not call each other ‘vod’ for nothing.

Cas had yet to tell her the whole story, had not been enough time, so much to catch up on. Not now. First we clean house. Clean out the cockroaches. Then we drink, and drink to the dead.

“My crew can fight and my crew can die,” the warrior promised, patting down the man she had killed. She rose with something hidden in her hand. “They learned how to a long time ago. We all did.” War. Always the same war.

Trailing off, the Mandalorian caught herself, drew up a holomap on her vambrace.
“They would have taken the bridge only recently. That means they won’t have started repairs and are still mopping up corridors and compartments.” That helped explain the token guards left behind.

“Guessing the brig is lightly guarded for now while these di’kuts spread out.” The Ratheon vessel that now floated in countless pieces around the cruiser had been a smaller ship with a crew to match. Kriffing bounty hunters.

“Tsikador, Krodas,” Cas checked the grenades on her person. She didn’t intend to blow the hull but she knew the value of a flashbang.
“Watch your doors and corners and let's go get my crew.” She opened the door and took the lead.


@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

It was good that she and Cas had gotten here quickly. The longer they waited, the more difficult it would be to take back the ship. The more Mandalorians I’d have to kill.

“I hope you’re right. To the brig we go,” Zaia agreed, mentally preparing for what that might mean. Since Cas was the one with the map, she opted to go a little behind her, keeping an eye on anyone or anything that could be approaching from their backs.

They arrived at the brig facing little opposition except for a single guard, whom Zaia promptly knocked out with a well-aimed kick in the small of the back and a hard smack of the helmet against the wall. A temporary sleep was better than a permanent one.

Inside was Cas’ crew, their expressions wary at first but when the pair stepped out of the shadows, they turned to smiles of relief.

“It’s good to see you again,” one woman said, addressing Casany. “There were so many of those aruetiise that we had a hard time fighting them off. We did get their ship, though.” Satisfaction laced her tone at the last part. “But we’re all ready and eager to fight with you again, vod. Make up for our loss and take this ship back for us.”

As she was talking, Zaia was busy deactivating the ray shield that kept them in. When the woman finished, the orange barrier flickered off, allowing the rest of the crew to come out.

“You’ll more than make up for it,” she promised. “We just need you to help us take back the bridge.”

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

The cruiser that was Unwavering was spacious enough, around four hundred feet long with about a one hundred and twenty-five crew-passenger complement.
She could never keep up those figures for too long, however, and the defenders might have already been at half their garrison when their enemy boarded.

That helped explain some missing faces. A good leader puts names on the faces, drinks with them or to them, puts faces on the names, does the same.

Some words stuck with a Mandalorian for life, and some faces too, including the woman who addressed her. My sister. My comrade. They all were, and Praxor had found them.

“What was her name?” Cas asked her crew as they came to her from the prison that bound them.

An old man stepped forward, an old man whose heart never aged a day. Edee.”

Jaws. “Good name.” Cas looked from the old man to the young woman, her to Zaia, Zaia to crew, stepped before them all, opened Unwavering’s schematics from her vambrace.

“We need to arm up first but the armory will be guarded.”
Zaia was already handing out a few weapons claimed from black gold hands that no longer needed them.
“Quicker and safer to take it than take our chances with patrols and it’s on the way.”

That was that as far as Casany was concerned. But not the captain.
Oya, Mando'ade!
The captain could afford a brief moment with her crew.
"Give me your eyes.”
They gave them and she could not find fear in any.
Suddenly you Sith seem so weak in comparison.

“You are Mandalorians before you are Praxors, forged in the sand before the fire, but as of now you are Praxors thrown into the fire with Ratheons.”
No eye wavered from Praxor’s gaze as she spared a glance Zaia’s way.
“We do not hunt our own, not like Edee floating in the dust around us, but by Mandalore we will not be hunted!"
Casany knew either role all too intimately, and her sister of blue and gray knew the same.
"Oya, you broke the jaws of your enemy before I even came aboard.”
One face looked as fired as the next.
“Now help me knock their teeth out and take back our ship! Unwavering!
OYA!
Next came the armory.


@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

Zaia could now understand why these Mandalorians weren’t afraid, even if their ship had been completely overrun and boarded. In fact, as the Praxor Alor gave her fiery speech, she couldn’t see how anyone could not feel inspired by her words. Even as an outsider in this scenario, she felt like a Praxor and was just as willing to fight and die for them as any of these people here.

When the rest shouted “Oya!”, she joined in with all the heart she had. Once they were marching their way out, she patted Cas on the pauldron with a grin. “That was well said. No wonder your people follow you.” The other woman was a natural leader.

She would stay a little behind the main group as they made their way towards the armory. The freed crew members, while fighters, were still unarmed and unarmored, and would need someone to watch their back. She would let Casany take the front if the woman wanted— she could tell that these Praxors would follow her anywhere.

In front of the armory were three guards, and they soon found themselves far outnumbered by the fired-up crew of Mandalorians. Zaia didn’t even have to do much except watch as those at the front of the group descended on the guards, beating them to the ground while the rest rushed into the armory. Soon, all were armed and ready to take back the ship.

“Now that everyone has what their equipment, I think we should split up into teams,” Zaia suggested, glancing at Casany. A few murmurs went around at that, but she went on. “Our main target will be the bridge, but once we control it, we have to make sure the rest of the ship is safe. It’ll be no use having the bridge if the engines are fried.” She paused, thinking a bit more. “From what Casany and I have seen, the boarders tend to stick with groups of two or three. If we double that, make our teams with four to five members, we should be able to take them down no problem, like you did outside. Each team would have to cover more ground to get to the final destination, but we can kick some Ratheon butt!”

She glanced at Cas for either confirmation or denial. She was the Alor here, the one who would call the final shot. Whatever they would be, Zaia was behind her all the way.

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

Zaia spoke. Casany listened. Her sister’s strategy was like the raiders’ strategy and that worked well.
Boarding a ship had little complications, not when it came to planning, and taking it back would be much the same.

“I like it,”
Cas unfurled her arms, stepped forward from the wall. “Remember, vods, the Unwavering is ours, not theirs. We know this ship like Krow here knows a Pantoran brothel.”

That earned a few chuckles to lighten the atmosphere. Then again, battle is laughter to a buckethead.

“She lets us walk her halls, sail her seas, red and gold beskar.”
A nod to Zaia. “With a bit of blue and gray—but got no room for black these days.”
Eyes feast upon eyes, still none wavering, as the strategy is finalized.
“We move fast, we hit hard.” Fist slams into hand. Hammer and anvil.”


Corridor upon corridor, junction after junction, the Mandalorians negotiated their way through the Unwavering, the cruiser all but guiding them toward the bridge.
Negotiations were often made with a blaster bolt but such was the way. Casany took no pleasure in killing other Mandalorians but it felt good to put down her enemies.

"Hear that?" She looked back, saw a ray shield down the corridor that had not been there before.
"I got movement!" A second Praxor held up a fist to halt the group of four, training rifle down the other end of the corridor.
Cas turned back, saw nothing.
"Lights!" A third.
The lights lining the corridor suddenly flickered off, covering it in darkness.
At once, three of the Mandos threw light from their helmets and, if Zaia had no such luxury, the armory had a flashlight.


@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

The lights flicked off, and the flashlight flicked on. Footsteps ran down the hall, and she couldn’t tell from where until she realized it was both. Her flashlight caught movement, a sprinting shadow that disappeared in front and then appeared at her side.

She heard the click of a blaster to her left. Grabbing it with her free hand, Zaia used her other to slam the butt of the flashlight into the attacker’s helm. She could hear fighting breaking out all around her now, four Ratheons tussling against three Praxors and herself. With a hard yank as the man was pushed backwards, the blaster was freed from his grip and she fired a shot at his chest. However, he’d already gone by then and the bolt struck the wall. Kark.

Then she felt a sudden pressure around her neck as two hands began to squeeze from behind. It wouldn’t last long, however, as she managed to rapidly back up and slam him into the wall. Then, she twisted her arm just enough so that the blaster was pointing directly behind her. The shot fired, the Ratheon fell, and she turned back to the rest of the group.

“Cas, behind you!” Behind the woman were two more Ratheons, exposed by her flashlight. One went down with another flash of yellow, but the other had gone too close to her sister for her to fire again safely. Had they caught on to her plan? Or were they simply close to the bridge? Zaia hoped it was the latter.

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

A pair of bolts plugged her assailant, eating through chest armor and then the chest.
The body fell as the Mandalorian heard another call behind her, then another body fell upon her just as she turned around.

“C’MERE!”


The man was fearless. Having gotten hold of his opponent’s jetpack, he swung her around through the darkness.
Her headlamp lit up a hallway of Mandalorians more, some in red and some in black, some no longer standing.
An instant later and Cas realized she was standing between them and the assailant behind her.

“Weapons down or I bleed the bitch!”
The Ratheon had a vibroknife to his hostage’s neck, just beneath the helm, but did not realize his mistake.
One of Praxor’s own was lining up a shot to prove him wrong. There were no hostages here anymore.

Suddenly the corridor blazed as the lights came back on. The sudden brightness made Cas close her eyes as she acted on muscle memory and moved like a knife.

An elbow jutted into her enemy’s stomach as the Mandalorian rotated away from the blade while snatching for the hilt.
A hand found it and another held the target in place as the warrior drove the vibroknife right through Ratheon’s heart.

She did not let him fall. Over his shoulder came more Mandalorians, fingers on triggers, blasting lasers that riddled their comrade’s back.

A door to the side. Take it! “Right room! Move!”

“FLASHBANG!”
It wasn’t theirs.
“MOVE!”

Just like that, the entire corridor lit up in pandemonium, becoming nothing short of a kill box. Team Red had to get out.
Casany wasted no time swinging into the doorway, throwing a shoulder against the wall, blaster watching for a black helmet dumb enough to poke through.

She did not think to check what room they had just entered. Hopefully it had another door, maybe even a shortcut to the bridge, but they would find out soon enough.

@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

Zaia heard more blaster fire coming down the corridor, and that was their cue to move out. She didn’t need Casany’s warning as she made for the room. Just before she made it inside, however, she heard a grunt of pain and felt a hand land suddenly on her shoulder. She twisted her head around to look, finding an injured Praxor holding on, their other hand busy firing a blaster at anyone who came close. Still, whoever it was, their knee was badly wounded, and there was no way they would be able to walk on their own for a while.

“MOVE!” Cas’s second warning jerked her back into the present, and Zaia moved as quickly as she could with the injured Praxor on her back. More shots fired, and she did her best to try to pick up the pace. As she did, she felt a strange thudding on her back, but she didn’t have much time to think about what it was.

“Hold on!”
she said to them, just managing to cross the doorway when the pressure on her shoulder suddenly loosened. “Wha-” The weight completely disappeared as she straightened up to look, and the Praxor lay on the ground, back riddled with holes. Her eyes widened in horror.

“NO!” The remaining three wouldn’t have time to grieve, however, as they were now in what looked to be the mess hall. The only good thing about it was that there weren’t many Ratheons in here, but there were plenty of entrances. If any black-armored Mando stepped in here, she wasn’t sure they would be able to handle them in addition to the group already outside their respective entrance.

“Cas, I’m so sor—” Just then, two of the other three doors opened, and from each came three Ratheons, armed with beskads and blasters. Dank farrik.

Got a 3 for luck 💀

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185
Every second was a split second, everything happening so fast, but Cas glimpsed in time enough to squeeze one more shot before snatching a hand for Zaia.
Her hand found her, helped bring her in, but it was too late for the man she was carrying.
Damn!

“KRATLE!” cried Oska, almost rushing out the doorway before Casany jerked her back.

"He's gone!" She turned to Zaia, saw the sorrow in her eyes, but had to look away.

Four there were, now there were three. Then three it is!
Cas was here to win. Defeat meant death and the Mandalorian had not come to die.
The corner door they came from slammed shut as a wall panel locked it.

Cas spun to greet their new foes, rifle at the ready, and counted three degrees in a heartbeat.
One at ninety. One at fifty. One at ten.
They weren’t enough to waste whistling birds on.
Then she saw it but it was too far for six arms.

“GRAPPLES!”

Casany’s sprung from her vambrace, latched onto a long metal mess table, flung it backward. It landed on its side and she threw herself behind it just as the other side thudded with blaster bolts.

The cover was good enough for now but the Reds were still boxed into a corner, and the door right at it could be bypassed any moment.
Need to think fast, Cas!

Result: 13
Reason: How UNLUCKY are the Mandos?

@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

As blaster bolts slammed into the metal table, Zaia blindly fired a few of them back. Think think think! She still hadn’t gotten over Kratle, and somehow knowing his name made it so much worse. Focus.

She forced herself back into the present, into being aware of what was happening around her. Cas looked in one direction, and Zaia looked in the other, barely putting her head out from behind the table. She wouldn’t risk it without her helmet. When she drew back, Oska still seemed shaken, but still she was readying her blasters, a look of determination on her face. Praxors are something else.

Backed against a door, Zaia really didn’t know what else to do. The three Ratheons on her right she could take, especially since they were closer than others and therefore had less time to react, but in order for it to work she would have to be fast. Glancing at Cas, she tilted her head in the direction of the Mandalorians in the midst of their reloading to let her know that she was going after them. As soon as the message was received, she was off.

Crawling a bit behind the table so that she was a short distance away from the others, Zaia launched herself into the air with her jetpack. Shouts ensued and the three black-armored Mandalorians began to shoot from the other side of the room, but she soon landed behind the original trio she’d been going after. As soon as she did, she opened the flamethrower on her wrist, releasing the fire onto their backs. It was cruel, but after what they’d done to Kratle…

She didn’t feel sorry.

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

Cas slammed a fresh pack into her gun, gave Krodas a nod. Fly!
The two Mandalorians beside her would give her wings.

The table shifted, all those bolts blasting it, but Praxor would not budge for Ratheon.
“Covering!”
A jetpack blasted away just then, fuming with fire, with fury, in whose wings flew Mandalorians.

An orchestra of lasers pulsated across the mess hall, blasterfire lighting up the walls as Cas and Oska shot to suppress their prey, then pounced with a grenade.

Then came the flame. Then came the smoke.

“Trust a vornskr to take the first leap.”
Cas looked down at Zaia’s kill after the seconds calmed down. She didn't feel sorry.
Her vod's flamethrower had whipped like the tail of the beast that was her signet.
That's what we need. Right here and now.

A hand went to Krodas’ shoulder, braced it.
“Kratle Vatus, Clan Praxor. Lived with honor. Died with honor.”
Looked closer, visor into eye.
“You say those words when we drink to his name. Then you’ll never forget his face, and you’ll remember why we fight. For now, just fight.”

“Movement inbound!” Called Kratle’s mate.

Cas let go of Zaia but would keep her close, as every vod does to the vod beside her.
She turned to Oska. “Red or Black?”

They got their answer as red gold beskar came to congregate in the mess hall. They had a beeline to the bridge from there and could not afford to wait any longer.

Casany stood before her crew, her comrades, her friends, her family, and did not see doubt, neither wavering.
But I’m spent on speeches.

“Come with me and take this ship!”

“OYA!”

@Sicadorito
 
Last edited:

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

Kratle Vatus. She would remember his name. Zaia gave Cas a brief smile of gratitude before Oska announced the arrival of the others. Instead of black this time, there was red and gold, and that was all they needed to take back the bridge.

“Oya! Let’s move!” As one, Zaia and the Praxors would head straight to the bridge, with the comfort of knowing the rest of the ship was clear if everyone had already finished their patrols. While the Ratheons would have had to slice into the blast door controls, the Praxors knew the codes by heart. The door opened, revealing about a dozen black-armored Mandalorians inside.

Only this time, they were the ones who were outnumbered.

Blaster bolts began to come at those in the front line, and Zaia found some ncover behind an already-damaged console as the Ratheons peppered the front of it. Meanwhile, some of her allies were already shooting back, while others used their jetpacks or their own feet to take them closer to the opposing force. Her shooter distracted, Zaia sent a bolt in his direction, downing him in that instant.

“For Clan Praxor! Oya!”

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

It began as a brook of beskar, running red and gold, and there’s your gray and blue, but that brook would soon become a river.

The Mandalorians streamed through the corridors, vods in the front and vods in the back, vods on the left and vods on the right, with their vornskrs and their anvils and the sigils and signets of warriors.

Two guards flanked the blast doors, regretted their posts as red bolts blasted them from Team Red.
Casany stood before the entrance, vods on her left and vods on her right.

“For Kratle!”
Oska called as Taktik worked to bypass the panel.
There was agony in her voice, but there were no tears.
“He’s dead, but what is dead—”

“May never die!” Chanted the crew of the Unwavering as they stood before the gates of hell.

With that, the Mandalorians all but kicked the door down as a river of red flowed between Red and Black and threatened to flood the bridge.

There was the blood in her eyes, the blaster bolts whipping around her head, the dye on her bloodied beskar, but then there was the red of vengeance, vengeance against the black.

“For Clan Praxor! Oya!”

“FORGED IN FIRE!”

Clan Praxor’s words echoed as two halves of a golden helmet fought to vanquish the other.

Battle waged on, some firing from behind cover, others storming forward.
Praxor’s sword was out now, it tore across the river, steel biting iron, as she reached her quarry.

The captain’s ready room adjoined the bridge, and the doors opened to release more Blacks, but Cas was banking on this.

“That’s my room, Ratheon!”
“PRAXOR CUN—!”
Cried a Ratheon warrior as he launched from the doorway with his own sword.
-CLANG!-
The two blades met, Cas parried, kicked forward, rolled into the room as her opponent met her blade across his chest.

Still in a crouch, the Mandalorian looked up, counted six with two in cover, swung one arm in front of her face as a plasma shield unfolded to block a barrage of bolts.

At the same time, Praxor’s other vambrace cast its voice as whistling birds greeted their targets with a song of death. Then there were two.

“Who is in command!?” A pistol pointed at either helmet, Cas had a kiss for each, but now there were vods on her left and vods on her right, and the two di'kuts crouched beneath her had better answer soon.

@Sicadorito
 

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

The Praxors were making good headway into the bridge. When she saw that no one else seemed to have their attention on her, she aimed a few more shots at those who looked to be getting a little too close to the others. With no helmet, she wasn’t going to be in the front lines, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight.

She saw Cas going alone into a room at the side of the bridge, and she sprung up to follow. She could hear blades clashing and blasters going off in there, and she wasn’t about to let her vod face them alone.

As she approached, one of the boarders came with her, attempting to fire a pistol right at Casany’s back.

“You’re not going anywhere.”
Zaia’s gloved hand crashed on his helmet right at his temple while the other knocked the weapon out of his grip, and when he was still recovering, she kneed him in the stomach and tossed him on the ground. After a shot to the torso, he wouldn’t be moving anywhere. Inside, she saw Cas standing over the two remaining Ratheons, pointing a pistol at each helmet.

“He is!” both said simultaneously, pointing to the other, and Zaia scowled. Cowards.

“Tell us now, or both of you are dead.” If she didn’t do it first, Casany certainly would. Then one of them let up.

“I’m in command, Praxor dar’manda,” the one on the left admitted, practically spitting out the words. “And what are you going to do about it?” Zaia would have shut him up right then and there, but she would wait for Cas to make the move. The sounds of blaster fire had died outside, and pretty much the entire crew was watching their Alor.

@Die Shize
 

Casany Praxor

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Die Shize
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
337
Reaction score
185

It wasn’t cowardice that Cas heard in the voices of two Mandalorians.
Maybe they were brave enough to toy with death as it stared them through the visor and in the eye.
Maybe they refused to give the commander up and so each would take their turn pretending to be him.

Unfortunately for one them, neither man was the commander, so none of this even mattered.

“Wrong answer.”
One of Cas' pistols coughed as a bolt found its way through a helmet’s visor and into the face hiding behind it.

“Try this again. Who is in command?”

“You are, Captain.”

“Good. I’ve got a message for your alor. You will deliver it.”
She pulled something from her belt, the same item she had taken from a Black’s dead body.
Her enemy visibly tensed as if ready to die.
“Don’t worry. It won’t be this blade that kills you, but your leader should get the message.”
For a Ratheon to have their knife returned by their enemy was as good as burning a white flag.

I'll burn them all, and the banners too.
She took a step forward.
“You tell your clan that Clan Praxor is coming.
Tell Endyr Ratheon that Casany Praxor is coming.
And the stars are not big enough for the war I’m bringing with me!”


There was no response. The shorter Mandalorian looked up, just looked, the way a black visor can only look.
Then he spoke and, were it not for the visor, his listener was sure he would have spat.

“Tell him yourself. You tell me that you are coming?
Listen, Lady Red, Endyr Ratheon is already on his way. Kill one hunter, another comes along.
So bring your best and bring your beskar, Praxor, but, if you do, remember the words of my clan. Ours Is The Wrath!”


“And you shall have it, Ratheon,” Casany promised, staring at black but seeing only red.
“At the edge of a blade forged in fire!”
Steel flashed, a river of red followed, and a head rolled across the floor.

Then, for a moment, it was nothing Cas saw. Only the light. Only the dark.
Heard nothing. Only the screams…of their dead and of mine.
Then she saw Zaia’s eyes, but what was inside them?

@Sicadorito
 
Last edited:

Zaia Krodas

Character
Independent
Rank
Citizen

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Sicadorito
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
287
Reaction score
250

So it was, a declaration of war. Zaia looked at the Mandalorian beneath Cas, and then at the Praxor Alor herself. What now? She got her answer when the blade went down and the head of the man came rolling, stopping at her feet. She didn’t move. Couldn’t move.

Cas? The rest of the group was silent.

She’d just killed an unarmed man. But hadn’t the Ratheons done the same? We’re better than that. I thought Cas was. She didn’t know what to feel or to say with the conflicting thoughts in her mind, and when the woman met her gaze, Zaia could only look away. We got the ship back. That’s what matters. Isn’t it?

She knew her answer, though she knew she didn’t have the courage to say it either. It was wrong, killing someone outside of active combat. A warrior was supposed to fight with honor, treat defeated enemies with respect. Although, even Zaia had to remind herself of that sometimes, and that was the only reason she didn’t directly confront Casany about it. Instead, she took a step back from the fallen Ratheon’s head, and made her way quietly out of the room as the Praxors gathered outside parted for her.

@Die Shize
 
Top