Echoes of an Old Life

[Leandros Solus]

This takes place prior to Burk being labeled Dar’manda and the glassing of Mandalore​

Leandros was beside himself with excitement. The previous lead for the Mand’alor’s Mask presented them with nothing but another lead. The warehouse they stormed had little to offer them in the way of their goal, but it did have some key information that the two Mandalorians managed to piece together. Through some careful reading, planning, and deduction, they discovered that the mask could only be stored in one place: a hidden trove of artifacts and treasure looted from the planet during the initial occupation by the Sith centuries ago. The Red Skulls seemed to have found where it was located, and it was only a matter of time before they cracked into the vault.

He sped across the open plains of Mandalore, determination gleaming in his eyes. The wind whipped at him, but his armor blocked the worst effects. He was rearing for a fight. He wanted to annihilate the heretics seeking to steal such a priceless artifact from his people, to punish them for their insolence and reclaim what was previously thought to be lost. With the mask back in their possession, the Mandalorian people would be reinvigorated with purpose, ready to begin again and reconquer lost worlds.

Burkhart would be alongside him on this mission, of course. The morling had a myriad of valuable skills and equipment, and he knew he could depend on him when push came to shove. Fortunately, push would most certainly come to shove today. There would be only two survivors - Leandros and Burkhart. The mask would return to its rightful owners.

@Darasuum

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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"A lot ov Red Skulls are about ta meet ma red right hand. These chakaar won't know what hit'em" He said in calm amusement. Leandros was taking the lead but Burkhart was ridding in his black and orange SS-44 bident. He had more to carry and was a bigger guy than Leandros. A speeder bike was not the most practical choice for Burkhart.

In the back he had a rotary blaster that he was intent on using today for the first time. This would also be the first day for him to use a repeater since he had seen their dissapointing performance against Victress in the battle of Corellia. Leandros had been there for that too. Burkhart would be lying if he said he was still a little agitated he had not finished off that Dark Councilor then and there.

For the time being his window was down. The smoke from his cigara blowing out the window as soon as he exhaled. One arm was held outside the door, casually feeling the wind pass over it. He was focused towards these criminals. He had made a point to eradicate them as best as he could. Red Skull, Girsav, Hutts, they all were a disease to the community.

Burkhart wanted to check how long until they became close to their objective but he did not want to bother with the personav while he focused on the plan ahead, psyching himself up even more. "How long we got Little Badger" He said calling Leandros by his badger call sign. He had worked with Clan Solus more than any other and it was no wonder why he had readily agreed to have clan Kelborn support the rise of House Solus. Plus it probably annoyed Leandros so Burkhart just thought of that as a little bonus.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros checked and re-checked his navicomputer, watching their two blips approach ever-so-slowly. They were getting closer, but it was agonizing; he wanted the mask now and he refused to let whatever scum had taken refuge in its resting place remain there any longer than they already had. It was an affront to their people for the mask to have been taken by the Imperials in the first place, but to allow such lowlifes the chance to rob it would be blasphemy to the highest degree. This was the time for retribution and recovery.

Bukrhart queried him about their remaining distance, to which Leandros responded over their shared comms frequency with a, ”About… six hundred meters if I’m reading this right.” As they approached, he began to slow down, not wanting to just drive right into the middle of whatever camp had been emplaced. Frankly, he had no idea what to expect. The information they had gotten simply hinted at the location and little else, so it was anyone’s guess how thick resistance was going to be.

The plains quickly turned to foothills, which in turn gave way to expansive valleys and deep fissures in the ground. He brought his speeder to a halt near a ridgeline and gave the navicomputer a look. ”About a hundred meters from the vault,” he said, his voice filled with determination, ”Let’s go on foot from here and surprise the di’kuts, yeah?” He hopped out of the speeder and picked up his weapons, arming himself completely. A raid like this would need all of his toys, including the PIPE. When Burkhart joined him, he’d head to the ridge and go prone, pulling out his macrobinoculars to take a look of the area below.

He could immediately pick out about a dozen looters or so in a ramshackle camp milling about, armed and bored, waiting for their peers to crack the vault. There would undoubtedly be more in the area, but this was what he saw at a glance. Leandros pointed this out to Burk and then raised his carbine. ”Let’s get close. Really hammer them down,” he said, beginning to skulk up to the camp. Luckily there were plenty of rock formations and brush to use as cover and concealment to help with their approach. They were going to hit them hard and fast.

@Darasaurus

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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The got closer to where they were intending on assaulting the rest of these thugs to take the mask back. Burkhart came to a stop. His well oiled vehicle making a faint thrum as he drifted the last bit in neutral and letting it come to a stop when the momentum ended. His hand began reaching an pulling for the built in weapon sockets the SS-Bident was known for.

Exiting the vehicle he locked it up and hefted his weapons. Under his boot he stomped out the vice he had been consuming. "oya." He said stoicly in response to Leandros. They moved to a ridge where he stayed low in a crouched position. At this range his rotary blaster was not going to do very much. While Leandros took a good look at the enemy he kept a vigil eye at the closer surroundings.

After he was done he just murmured a response saying he agreed with the War Councilor. The Field Marshal moved after him and the two trotted closer making sure to take the approach that would not be visible from a distance. The Morling wanted to make sure that they got good and close so he the least amount of targets would have a chance to get into cover before he hosed them down.

Burkhart would get roughly fifty meters away and hold a sideline angle for the two man team. He would wait until Burkhart gave the signal or he heard shooting. That was when he would lay down the pain.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros continued to stalk forward, crawling through the bushes and bounding between rocks. The gangers below were completely unaware, the majority of their focus on opening the Imperial cache. While they lounged or patrolled or otherwise shot the shit, the two Mandalorians prepared for their attack. He covered ground until he was about thirty meters away while Burkhart moved and set himself up for a two-man L-shaped ambush, his great bulk surprisingly covert, even when carrying the number of weapons that he had. Admittedly, sneaking up on a group of disorganized, probably drunk, looters wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of stealth operations, but they still outnumbered the War Councilor and the Field Marshal by a pretty solid margin.

With the two in place and ready for the ambush, Leandros shouldered his rifle, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, steeling himself for yet another battle. Though fighting was second nature to him, it helped to ground himself and ease any tension before the carnage. Silently, swiftly, he raised up from behind his rocky cover and took aim. His finger slid back smoothly and depressed the trigger on his carbine once, the gentle recoil pressing against his shoulder, then a second time. Two bolts soared through the air and hammered home in the side of the head of one of the gangers, dropping him instantly with nothing more than a grunt. His buddies looked at him in shock, eyes fixated on the sizzling hole, and then up at where the shooter was.

Again, Leandros sent another two bolts down range. These two slammed into the chest of the second closest Red Skull and knocked him backward, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe his final breaths. Finally, a third pair of bolts sailed towards and executed the last ganger in their little group, one hitting his thigh and forcing him to keel over while the follow-up shot slammed into the crown of his head. The whole time, Leandros recited prayers to Kad Ha’rangir, urging the god of war to keep his aim steady and to punish his enemies. After a moment or two of surprise, the Red Skulls finally began to rally and come to the defense of their little camp.

The attack was on.

@Darasaurus

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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Burkhart stayed put and readied his weapon for the inevitable fire fight to break out. Leandros repositioned himself so that the two of them combined would be more effective. The War Councilor instigated the attack and before the trio he fired on had time to react they were dead or rapidly dying from mortal wounds.

It had not gone unnoticed. Burkhart heard the sounds of shouting and the general hurried approach of bodies. "That's right. Come and get it." He said to himself before he saw the Red Skull gangsters come into view. The Morling pressed the trigger on his rotary blaster. The six barrels of the weapon spewed out dozens of bolts as they were dragged across the group of approaching gangsters.

The bolts were light but in high numbers. Five seconds went by as he hosed the approaching groups. Dust and smoke from his impacts quickly began to obscure his vision. Burkhart knew from the specifications he had read that the repeater would dip in accuracy if not used in bursts. Plus it would quickly run out of ammunition if he kept this up. Just in that burst of fire power there were now several Red Skull gangsters laying motionless on the ground with bolt impacts riddling their bodies. Burkhart checked the ammo count. Thirty bolts had been hurled down range.

Chances were they would think twice about coming out of cover now. But the Morling needed to move. The rate of fire also made it easy to find where his position was. Moving from his spot he began closing the distance towards their objective. He would need to get close for using the rest of his kit anyways.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros ducked behind cover as the bolts came flying in volume now. Chunks and fragments of stone and dust kicked up around him as the Red Skulls rallied and came to the defense of their camp, the shock and awe of the surprise attack finally wearing off. As he remained in cover, blaster held tight to his body, he recited litanies of devotion, praying to the gods for protection. Sure enough, that protection was delivered in the form of Burkhart Kelborn.

The whirr of the rotary autoblaster was audible before the bolts began flying, but its sound was unmistakable. The Red Skulls falsely believed Leandros had come alone to take them on, and so they consolidated most of their forces in attacking his position. As soon as the hail of bolts came from their side, however, their battle plan was completely ruined. Several Red Skull gangsters were pelted by bolts and died immediately, and more still would be hammered by stray bolts as the weapon lost accuracy. Burkhart’s barrage worked wonders, though, and soon the fire on Leandros’ position lifted as the survivors scurried into cover.

Leandros took this as the sign to press the attack and so he vaulted over the rock, kicking off of its side to launch into the air. With Burk on the ground pinning them down, he had total view of the Red Skulls in cover. As he hung in the sky, Leandros took aim and began letting loose bolt after bolt, nailing the trespassers in the heads or unarmored backs. He reached down with a free hand and unclipped a grenade, primed it, and tossed it in a little supply den that they had set up. Several seconds went by before it erupted in a gout of flame and shrapnel, the fuel, ammo, and food within exploding. The blast and shrapnel killed more Red Skulls, and soon the camp became entirely chaotic and unorganized as Red Skulls ran around trying to recover or get a shot off. With him flushing them out of cover, Burkhart would have free reign to open up another hellish barrage to wipe them out.

This attack was going just as planned.

@Darasaurus

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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The Kelborn clan was known for their more covert methods of operation. They stalked battlefields and hid in the shadows more than any other clan. But sometimes to get the job done you did not have to be quiet and in that case Burkhart enjoyed his time causing mayhem that much more. The weapon in his hand was shaking with vibrations when he fired. His hand released the trigger letting it cycle down for a moment. Just as quickly he pulled again causing the stream of blaster bolts continue. Underneath his helmet the Morling felt close to Kad. He had the power of death and destruction in his hands and it felt good.

Every moment the Field Marshal took another step forward and out of cover. His fire stopped for a moment and he managed to activate his Bulwark shield. The Orangish glow of his personal shield expanded until it was large enough to protect his front with his left arm out gripping the forward handle of the rotary blaster. Most of the blaster fire shot towards him missed thanks to the impressively oppressive amount of fire power coming out of Burkhart's repeater.

Soon, between Burkhart and Leandros's pressing attack there would be only a few terrified gangsters in cover. There might still be a few more inside the building or atop the roof that could prove to be reinforcements. They were pirates and bandits, gangsters that had no regard for the welfare of others. He was happy to put them down.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros continued to rain death down from above, the gentle kick of his blaster pressing into his shoulder with each trigger squeeze. The acrid smell of plasma, burning equipment, and death hung in the air like a vapor, not dissimilar to most other battles. With every trigger squeeze, a Red Skulls gangster fell to the ground and his comrades grew that much more disorganized. Burkhart burst back out of cover, unleashing another barrage of rotary autoblaster on their foes. From the ground, the sweet song of death sang out with Leandros watching the carnage from above. The attack took only a few minutes before it was over.

What few Red Skulls outside the vault turned tail and ran, but Leandros didn’t care enough to chase them down and kill them all. This was enough of a message to renounce their ways and leave the area, he hoped. They knew they’d never be safe. As the camp cleared, he slowly floated to the ground, rifle raised as his trained eyes scanned the area for stragglers. With nothing but the sound of crackling fires, he set down, his boots crunching the dirt below, and made his way towards the compound containing the Imperial cache.

He braced against the side of the entrance and primed a concussion grenade, silently counting to himself as it cooked. At the right moment, he opened the door and tossed it in, a loud bang! occurring a second later. He heard the sounds of bodies thump to the ground and immediately entered. His carbine swept across bodies, a single bolt flying each time as he executed the three Red Skulls who had cowered inside the building. Once the place was cleared, he slung his rifle across his back and approached the vault door. It seemed that, just before their attack, the Red Skulls were seconds from forcing their way in with explosives. The detonator sat on a table nearby connected to some wires leading to the door. Leandros walked over and picked it up, turning to face the door.

He backed up a few paces and keyed his comms to tell Burkhart, ”Inside’s clear, gonna blow the door in three… two… one…”

The explosion punctuated his sentence. A loud directional burst echoed out, muting sound within the building momentarily as it went off. The door bent inwards and crumpled, leaving a sizable gap for people to crawl through. Regardless of whether Burk was in the room or not, Leandros dropped the detonator with a clang and rushed forward, waving his hand to clear the smoke as he entered the small cache.

For the most part it was full of weapons, ammunition, and food supplies – stuff the Red Skulls would be interested in, had they survived. At the back of it, however, stood a small pedestal with a blast-proof container on it. The War Councilor picked his way over towards it and gingerly opened the container, the device revealing its contents with a small hiss of air.

Leandros’ breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the mask. He was the first Mandalorian in five hundred years to see it, let alone lay hands on it, and it had been under their noses this entire time. With great care, he lifted it out of the container and stared at it, enthralled. After a few moments, he turned and placed it in his pack very carefully, tears welling up in his eyes. Raz needed to see this.

”I’ve… I’ve got it,” was all he could say to his comrade, his voice choking up with emotion. For five centuries it was thought lost, but now it was back in its true owners’ hands. The Mandalorian people would surely rejoice at this.

It was time to go.

@Darasaurus

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

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The rotary repeater came to a slow. The audible wined down of all six smoking barrels signaled the retreat of the Red Skull gangsters. For some reason he remembered them being tougher. Then again, the last time he had gone up against the Red Skull gang he had just been a rally master. Wait, was I even Alor of clan Kelborn back then?

It had been a long time since those days. He had become Alor of Clan Kelborn a little bit before Clan Solus had moved towards becoming the full fledged house it was today. Burkhart remembered because it was Leandros who had also come to talk with him about supporting the forming of a new house. The Morling of course had accepted.

Outside the building Leandros came to land. Burkhart would remain outside and checked his ammunition, reloading while he had a chance. A few more blasts came from inside with the same noise of the man's quickdraw blasters. A momentt later he heard Leandros's voice over the helmet commlink. "You good? Wait, what do-" He did not get to finish the sentence because Leandros had not stopped counting down. Burk felt a shake as whatever explosives had been set went off.

The Field Marshal slung his repeater, letting its bulk and weight swing on the heavy duty strap he had. Out came his wadjet from his webbing. It would do very well against any remaining thugs. Leandros had not said anything for some reason. "Leandros! Ya'lright?" There was aggression since he expected there to possibly be more guys left but instead he just saw the War Councilor walking into a vault.

The morling's muscles relaxed realizing that Leandros had just been taking in the sight of the mask they had come for. His canine features turned into a grin. But what made him chuckle was how the man's voice sounded. It was kind of funny to see the tough guy get that kind of emotional. They all had those kind of feelings from time to time. For Burkhart it was not masks but thhere were things that could make his voice waver.

"Yeah ya do brotha! Yeah ya do." Burkhart exhaled as he began to loose the adrenaline rush that had been cycling through his veins. No matter what age he would feel that rush when fighting. But now was the time for celebration. They had their prize and Burkhart wanted a drink. "Who knew killin so many hut'uun could wark oop a tharst ey? First rounds on me."

♣ END THREAD ♣​