Ask Coruscant Blood for Blood

[Minerva Wren]

Level 1313
​

The whine of engines echoed through the air. Below in the filth ridden streets people went about their business, legal or otherwise. Governments rise and fall but Level 1313 remains as it always is. Standing on the rooftop of a derelict seven story building Minerva Wren in full armor waited.

Through the t-visor she watched the speeders fly by back and forth in traffic lines. Arms crossed over her chest the Mandalorian scowled underneath the helmet. Gripping her arms tightly Minerva restrained herself from screaming in fury. They will suffer for what they have done. I’m going to kill every kriffing one responsible.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it Minerva with the left hand pulled out a holoprojector. Activating it the Mandalorian soon glanced upon a figure clad in similar armor but minus the helmet. It was a dark haired human in his late twenties with stubble beard. His confident smile stared back at Minerva, reflecting off her visor.

Her left hand shaking she forced herself to stop before whispering in Mandalorian. “Ner cyare Ni graoti'r gar.” In order to focus away from the grief Minerva looked at the speeder truck from behind that she stole a rotation ago. It was basically a flying brick which actually served the purpose she had in mind.

All that was needed now for her fellow Mandalorian to arrive as they agreed upon through transmission.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Coruscant. Queen of the Core. To Casany Praxor she was just one more bitch to breach with a few good blaster bolts. Sooner or later even the tallest city and the greatest world would fall. Mandalore had shown this in spades.

She had returned to the world of her ancestors that time ago after all those years. She had kissed the dust, walked the dirt, glimpsed the rubble and heard the cry of souls dead and dying, buried if not forgotten. She had fought beside her fellow Mandalorians in purging the pirate plague from the planet. Nagai… They were naughty. They would be punished once more.

The Winged Pike had set down some time ago, parking well away to not draw attention anywhere else, so Cas arrived on the rooftop in a similar vehicle to her counterpart. Like her, she was garbed in her red-gold beskar with helmet over head.

A red poncho rippled in the wind as she took a stance beside Minerva Fhirdiad, the former as armed as she was armored, with a rifle over her back beside a sword, a pistol at one hip and a knife at the other amid a belt of grenades and a mind made of metal.

The two women hardly knew each other. Yet they knew each other. They were Mandalorians. They were warriors. They were patriots; in their own unique way, perhaps, but together their individualism had united to take on the Nagai of yesterday. It would be no different today.

“Blood for blood,” Cas conveyed simply, staring a dark gaze into the distance as only the visor of a Mandalorian helmet could convey. “This is the way.”

@Minuteman75

 

[Minerva Wren]

Hearing the footsteps behind her, Minerva spared a glance. Seeing the red and gold armor of Cas she nodded in acknowledgement. By normal they were barely acquaintances but by creed they were kin. Moreover Minerva did remember Cas from the gathering in Mandalore three years and the skirmish at the palace.

They had sled blood together and will do so more. Once the other Mandalorian stood beside her Minerva listened to her brief words. Nodding again in gratitude she answered.

“Thank you for coming vod. I need your help tonight.”

Pointing miles away to a former office building Minerva continued. “I have learned that smugglers and their ink are gambling in that place. They’re connected to the same pirate syndicate that desecrated our homeland years ago.” Pausing to let that information sink in she then displayed a hologram of a blue Natolouan female.

“This is Dehia Jhoor, spice runner who fequerents there. I believe she has information on pirates who murdered my husband and stole his armor. Do what you want with the other scum but she’s mine understand?”

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Vod. Cas let that word settle upon her. She had rediscovered a few ‘vods’ in her time of late, including one Laren Vano, and Minerva was one more to a growing family. When she spoke of a pirate syndicate Cas was unfazed, but the same one from Mandalore? Cas tilted her helmeted head in place of emoting anger from her face. Pirate scum...

They were more than that, at least to Minerva. Given that the murder of her husband was involved there was bound to be blood to follow. Given that her husband’s armor was stolen then this was bound to be bloody.

Cas was content with the leftover meat. She hated those Nagai from those years ago. Hated how they thought the world was theirs without understanding it; took what they wanted as though they could keep it. They had learned a hard lesson in the truth. This next lesson would be one to forget—they would be too dead and forgotten to remember it.

“Dehia Jhoor…” Cas spoke aloud to let the name sit and be committed to memory. “She’s all yours, vod.” She checked her person, her gear, which amounted to a running a hand down the side of her jetpack, vibrosword and pistol on her hip, as though stroking the fur of some pet beast. “The other scum is mine.”

@Minuteman75

 

[Minerva Wren]

“Good.” Minerva replied, checking her dual pistols one more time. The path of Mandalore was often a bitter one. Yet in spite of that it was worth embracing. Cas’ willingness to aid her was proof of that.

In the back of her mind the widow can still remember the body of Armand on a desolate field. Stripped of his armor and with numerous signs of torture. For a moment she bowed her head and thought. For my beloved and my children's future.

The former founding briskly walked to the speeder truck, getting inside. Once Cas took a seat as well Minerva started the engines. With a loud blare the engines came to life and the truck levitated a few feet off the ground.

Satisfied with the results Minerva drove the truck onward away from the roof. Directing the vehicle toward the gambling den she then said to Cas next to her.

“Just to let you know Vod we’re taking the direct approach. Hold on tight.”

Suddenly Minerva pushed at full throttle as the targeted building. Half a minute later the truck crashed into the former office facility, punching a massive hole into the center. Wood, glass and rusting metal broke upon as gamblers at their tables and private security scattered in panic. Slammed into a brutal stop nearly throwing Minerva but she held onto the wheel.

She breathed heavily before letting go and nodded at Cas. Outside sparks ignited as the sight of shattered tables, overturned chairs and confused and frightened patrons looked back at the truck. Minerva glared back in utter hatred before drawing her dual pistols. Breaking open the side door she used it as cover, firing several shots at the shocked armed guards

Two of them went down while their comrades took whatever cover and shot back while the patrons either joined in or hid or ran for their lives.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Cas walked away from the roof beside her ally, her sister, as though turning away from an inferno yet to be ignited. Soon… The word lingered with her footsteps, gaining time as much as she gained space between that rooftop and the seat beside Minerva in her speeder. Direct approach, the latter had conveyed, and Cas would have it no other way.

She held on tight, full throttle taking the two forward in full as they wasted no time in speeding onward toward their quarry. One hand gripped the passenger handle but another gripped another handle; that pistol holstered at Cas’ thigh just begging to be withdrawn. Steady… She took a breath, hearing her lungs inside her helmet. Soon…

She braced herself as the vehicle impacted with the building, kicking up a storm of debris every which way. The speeder’s inhabitants were unfazed; the witnesses on the other side were in disarray. One door swung open just then. The other followed suit. One Mandalorian fired dual pistols just then. The other followed suit.

Cas bellowed forth from the muzzle of her rifle, coughing shots into this di’kut and the next. She was largely indiscriminate with her targets, shooting toward anyone who resisted, and if anyone got in the way then that was on them.

“Grenade!” Cas cried, though not in accord with tossing her own; this one was incoming. She had spotted it just in time as the building splintered around her. She had enough time to deflect. Rising from the door, she kept one hand on her rifle; the other found the hilt of her sword and she swung it. The grenade bounced back toward the opposition and she awaited the result...

@Minuteman75

 

[Minerva Wren]

The grenade ignited, spreading sharpal in the air. Screams of agony or death followed suit. Minerva ducked behind the door as enemy bolts slammed on it or flew overhead. For a moment the widow stayed behind the door before deciding on her next move.

Diving and rolling to the side she unleashed another murderous barrage to the front. A fleeing middle Rodian in a suit caught a bolt in the back of the shoulders and a human gunam was struck in the chest with three shots before collapsing. Now hiding next to a gambling table somehow intact. Violent curses and dying screams rang out throughout the room.

A pair of Klatooinians tried to outflank Minerva from the left but she spotted them swifty. Firing both pistols in their direction, cutting them down before they can raise their rifles. Mayhem now ruled supreme in this place.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC

A sudden boom! claimed the atmosphere as the grenade shouted, sending shrapnel spiraling in all directions. If you were not in cover then you were covered by shrapnel. Two armored Mandalorians behind vehicle-doors were far from. Cas waited until the debris cleared before she returned with a kiss from her rifle. Another target down, another tango danced with; this one and onto the next one.

Minerva was moving no differently. The pair of Mandalorian murderers moved about, dodging and ducking, dealing and doling, utilizing what cover remained following an explosive entrance and the explosion of a grenade.

Whether her ally sought cover or not, Cas put her devices to use. Her enemies were taking to as much defense as could be afforded to them and she would not allow any of it. With a sudden burst from her jetpack, she flew forward, squeezing her rifle this way and that way. It was always amusing how some of her contemporaries would train two pistols instead but, in her experience, you could fire just as quickly with a rifle in your grip.

The attempt paid off. Goons were struck dead left and right, unable to contend with a Mandalorain streaming toward them in fire and steel; beskar at that, with bolts pinging off the iron like kisses from an insect. Cas would reward the attempts with no mercy. She moved to maim and kill, destroy and devastate, and in this area no enemy would be left alive as long as Cas was.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minerva Wren]

Watching her sister in arms fly forth, Minerva nodded. Immediately she followed suit. The widow soared around the room opposite of Cas firing down on anyone resisting that can be seen. Two(including a loan shark) and three more gunned down by Minerva.

One bolt stuck the former foundation in the left shoulder. The force of the blow caused Minerva to spin and crash onto the floor, dropping one of the pistols. Wincing inside the helm she sat up trying to recover. Without warning Bothan tackled Minerva, rolling and grappling with one another.

A moment later they were sideways with Bothan choking her with both hands. Gagging Minerva struggled for air while his foe smirked. “Not so tough now are ya helmet freak!” He taunted angrily.

Immediately Minerva rolled on top of the Bothan before her wrist blade through the latter’s throat. His eyes and mouth widened in utter shock letting go of the Mandalorian’s neck. Getting up Minerva kicked the dying man in the ribs before blasting him in the chest three times.

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Cover didn’t much matter when your opponent was zooming beside it to find what was hiding behind it. Between Cas and Minerva, the two Mandalorians were too damn fast. Their bolts whizzed every which way, plugging into confused targets desperate to find one of their own, but their efforts were in vain. If they managed a shot at all then it missed. Cas, at least. Her partner had not been so fortunate.

As Minerva fell, Cas cut her jetpack off and jerked herself to a halt. A goon took advantage and charged her with a sword. She planted a boot in his chest and sent him flying backward into a table with two rifle bolts following into his chest. Other bolts pinged off her armor. She whirled around to aim her rifle but the barrel struck a container. Everything was just so close. So everyone would have to excuse Cas as she opted for a change in tactics and slung her rifle over her back.

Her sword came out beside it one hand, drawing her pistol in the other, and from there the Mandalorian became a whirlwind. The debris from the grenade’s blast and the scattered furniture meant nothing anymore. Her blade cut a corner to impale someone else’s back while her pistol plugged the forehead of another fool and blew it off. With each swing, with each shot, one more kill and one less enemy.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minerva Wren]

Pumped on adrenaline Minerva turned around just to see her comrade cut through the remaining opposition. The other occupants still alive fled or were trying too. As she picked up her second pistol, sudden realization came to her like a thunder clap, Remembering the target Minerva exclaiming in Mand’oa.

“Er Surwearoe!”

Taking advantage of the rampage that Cas was unleashing, the other Mandalorian searched for Dehia Jhoor. Moments she spotted the Natolouan who had been crowding underneath a table running for the open exit. Without hesitation Minerva aimed and fired one shot. The bolt caught Dehia in the back of the right leg. With a shout of pain the smuggler dropped face first to the floor.

Minerva rushed over to Dehia who was grasping her wounded leg with arms. The spice runner subsequently looked up in both pain and fear at the t-visor glaring down at her.

“Kark it, kark it don’t kill me please.” Dehia pleaded before the armored warrior replied. “Where is Harken?” Alarmed at the demand and gritting her teeth from the agony Dehia, shook her head vigorously.

“Seriously? You want me to rat out that psycho?! He’ll do worse to me than anything you can.”

Suppressing the urge to shoot Natolouan’s knee cap off Minerva holstered one pistol and took out Dehia’s datapad. Examining it for a few seconds Minerva messed with the controls while the smuggler looked on with concern. “You should’ve picked a better security system Dehia because now I got all your contacts now and will download them on the holonet for all to see.”

Horrified, the spice smuggler confessed. “Alright I’ll tell you. The sleemo is supposed to meet with me on Jakku, at Starship Graveyard more than a week from now. That’s all know I swear.”

Checking the datapad to be sure Minerva then nodded seeing the information was confirmed. Before Dehia could even say anything else the Mandalorian fired a blaster bolt straight into the smuggler’s forehead, killing her instantly. Looking back at her comrade Minerva called.

“Cmon let’s get of here before the cops finally show up.”

@Die Shize

 

[Casany Praxor]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Catching Minerva’s pursuit of her quarry, Cas continued to cover her partner’s hunt, pursuing any leftover di’kuts who had not been brave enough to flee. Sword swung, pistol pulsed, corpses collapsed. Eventually the coast was clear and Cas joined her sister’s side, sword and pistol sheathed to train the muzzle of her rifle on the Nautolan’s face. Cas didn’t say anything. Minerva had the dialogue covered.

Jakku? Cas cocked a brow behind her visor. That was home to a number of dealings, quite a catchy variety in her experience, but one location was as good as the other when it came to ‘dealings’ so whatever. While Minerva validated the explanation with her datapad, Cas was about to ask what to do with this Dehia, finger on the trigger. ‘Leave no one behind’ was her motto in situations like this one, and evidently Minerva had the same interpretation.

Cas did not hesitate to respond at her partner’s gesture to ditch this joint and move on. “I’m with you.” With that, the pair of Mandalorians took off, leaving behind a crater in the side of the building filled with the cadavers of those who had dared to try but in the end had lost.

@Minuteman75