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[Kraaz Wail]

Mandalore "The Wastes"
​

The sand crunched softly under Kraaz's boots as he walked toward his destination. An abandoned fueling station. To most this would be an odd choice of destination, especially given the dangers of the wastes outside the domed cities of Mandalore. Kraaz had no interest in the station itself, but what it hid. He had to crease a few palms, and break a few others to get this information, the station hid a prepper bunker from back in the Mandalorian civil war. After he'd made his intent clear to reform the Death Watch he knew the fledging organization would need a place to set down roots. In Kraaz's mind another completely foreign concept to most in Death Watch, but a necessary change if he wanted to accomplish his goal. At least it would do for now.

Two fellow mandos had shown intrests in helping the umbaran mando on his mission as of yet he wasn't sure if they had arrived already or if he was the first. He assumed the latter and posted up nearby, out of line of sight of the station, but in sight of anyone that approached. He didn't know if the station was currently empty or not, but he wanted to be cautious of anything or anyone lying in wait.

@Tenia @Burpee

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Raanil had had no idea what deathwatch was until a few days before.
Van'Aria, his mentor, had never told him about it, and the chiss had gotten the feeling that the subject was somewhat taboo, from the comments he had received asking his comrades-in-arms.
some claimed they were a group of heroes, others said it was a terrorist organisation of traitors and warmongers.
< years ago, they served a damned sith. it is their fault that Mandalore has fallen into disgrace >
his friend Varrsk Ju had told him, as they ate in front of the fire
<You don't know what you're talking about, trandoshan. They followed whoever wielded the darksaber, as was the tradition >
another warrior had retorted, snorting.
Raanil had simply looked at the bonfire, more confused than before.

The fact was that the chiss was still excluded from the operations of his clan, Clan Solus, at least until he had taken the final tests to formally join it;
so he had been spending his days training or simply wandering aimlessly around the crucible for months.
Finally, he decided that helping @Kraaz Wail was a good idea.
Terrorists or not, deathwatch was his best chance to leave the camp and avoid dying of boredom.

He could almost feel the heat of the radiation cooking his skin.
He was sitting on the carcass of a rusty old speeder, in front of a shabby structure.
Old fabric weathervanes, torn and frayed, rattled on top of the structure, moved by the scorching wind of the wastes.
The bunker itself was covered in rust and falling down. What a place.
Raanil's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the sand.
Whoever was making it could not have seen him from where he was.
the chiss waited until the newcomer was within firing distance and sprang to his feet, aiming the disruptor.
On the other side of the gun barrel stood Kraaz, apparently annoyed by the ambush.
< su' cuy > said raanil, in his stunted mando'a
< forgive me, this place makes me tense >
he then continued, holstering his gun.
Kraaz, however, still looked nervous and kept silent.
Raanil followed his gaze, and realised what was bothering his new companion. the helmet.
The chiss had taken it off as soon as he landed near the structure: it was stronger than him, the integrated HUD confused him and the narrow visor limited his already suboptimal vision.
Strictly speaking, it was not forbidden to remove the helm for a mandalorian, but it was certainly frowned upon. Moreover, there were those who were more intransigent in the dictates of the Way. Like Kraaz, apparently.
Raanil cleared his throat and donned his helmet, without adding a word.
< so > he said then, still in his exotically accented mando'a < did anyone else answer the call? >

@Burpee
@Okoju

 

[Jado Veren]

Fate once again brought Jado to Mandalore. The last time he was here, he was standing in the rain amongst his fellow Mandalorians from all different clans, voicing their support for Nox Solus as the new Mand'alor. Since then, Jado had been nobly fighting in the crusades, bringing peace to some worlds and war to others. The expanding role of Mandalorians in the galaxy led to opportunities everywhere, including back home.

The message Jado had received from Kraaz about the Death Watch had piqued his interests. Not so much for reestablishing the Death Watch necessarily, but because of the way it was pitched: a Mandalorian intelligence branch. Now that was an interesting prospect. Jado was never much a fan of the split nature between the Mandalorian people; breaking into houses, clans, and even splinter groups like the Death Watch. It was reasonable to honor your roots, but Mandalorians were at their strongest when they were united, and it seemed especially necessary given the current state of the galaxy.

He arrived at the abandoned fueling station on a swoop bike, his ship grounded a few kilometers away. Seeing the two other figures as he swung the bike into a parked position, he nodded at them in greeting and powered down the engines. Crunching through the hot sands over to them, he offered them each a standard Mandalorian shake around the forearms. "Su cuy'gar, vode. Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad ky'amur." he said, a smile cracking across the blue skin under his durasteel helmet. He opted for his jetpack for this particular mission, rather than the red Veren cape he would otherwise wear.

@Okoju @Tenia

 

[Kraaz Wail]

The seasoned solider wasn't much surprised by the sudden appearance of the Clan Solus member. If the man hadn't been glad in a beskar'gam he would be eating a blaster bolt however. This one, Raanil, still seemed new to the Mandalorian way. His Mando'a was a bit stunted, it was clearly not the Chiss' first language. He noted that the man seemed to look at him oddly, as if expecting Kraaz to take notice of something, then it struck him, he must have expected Kraaz to react to his lack of helmet. The Umbaran almost chuckled at the thought and to put the man at ease he reached up and removed his own helmet to show that like him, Kraaz had also chosen to become a Mandalorian. "<At ease brother, I'm not one of those zealots of the watch.>"

The pair would hear the sound of an approaching speeder and turn to see their final member, Jado approach and offer his arm in greeting which Kraaz would do, clasping the man's forearm and a hearty shake and a nod. "<We shall see brother." was Kraaz's response to Jado's spoken greeting. He would turn from the pair and look at the darkened abandoned building that awaited the trio.

"<I thank you both for providing your aid today. I hope this is just the first step in aiding the Mandalore and all the mandalorian people. Now the intel I received states that the building is abandoned. I doubt it's empty however. There's no telling what kind of scum or creatures....oh hell both, could have dug their way inside. Now our objective is to clear out the upper part of the depot then make our way into the prepper bunker. We'll need to restore power to get inside the bunker. I suggest we go in quite and only start blasting if we need to, thoughts?>" Kraaz would look at his fellow mando's genuinely asking for their input, though it was primarily his own operation he asked for help for a reason and he wouldn't turn down any tactical suggestions.

@Burpee @Tenia

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Kraaz removed the helmet in a friendly gesture, trying to reassure the chiss.
Beneath the helmet was what appeared to Raanil to be an albino human, with opalescent eyes and white hair.
The more relaxed chiss removed his helmet in turn, showing his comrade-in-arms his dark blue skin furrowed with scars, his badly shaven skull and the new eyepatch, which now covered his blind eye.
He made a smirk, but before he could add anything else the last member of the posse arrived, raising clouds of dust astride a swoop bike.
The third Mandalorian introduced himself as Jado Veren.

Raanil, as he clasped Jado's forearm in traditional greeting, could not help but notice the beskar'gam set of the newcomer:
The armour of the chiss and of Kraaz was functional but rather ill-fitting, Jado's, on the contrary, was almost totally devoid of pigment, covered his body entirely and appeared to be chrome-plated, under the violent Mandalore sun.
Raanil had managed to obtain his beskar'gam thanks to the generous gift of some beskar ingots from Van'Aria, once he had completed his training.
They were ingots meant for foundlings and he, as a formal foundling, had had access to them. Needless to say, this had attracted the jealousy and backbiting of other Vods and warriors at the crucible: after all, he was anything but a kid, he could have earned the ingots by participating in the crusade.
To partially silence the accusations, the chiss had attempted to earn more of his own set pieces by doing small jobs around the camp.
He now possessed incomplete armour, but protective enough to venture out into the galaxy.

He heard Kraaz calling him.
Him and Jado, in the meantime, had begun to consider how to approach the fueling station and were now asking the chiss' opinion.
<forgive me, I was distracted > mumbled Raanil, then looked more closely at their target.
the bunker had been dug into the side of a hill: at the front it had a large armoured door, like that of a hangar, as well as various minor external structures.
the sides and roof, however, were completely embedded in the ground.
Raanil thought that there had to be another entrance or the structure would be a giant armoured rat trap.
He looked around, searching for ventilation channels, but soon spotted them, protected by rusty grates, in a panel beside the large door.
He let his gaze wander again, until he spotted a clue.
<I think there is an entrance for vertical landings >
On the upper side of the hill was a suspiciously flat spot, covered with far fewer boulders and white sand than the rest of the high ground.
But it was too high up to make a definitive judgement.
< Jado could go up there with the jetpack. He can look in from above, without risking being mowed down by a heavy repeater >

@Okoju
@Burpee

 

[Jado Veren]

Jado cared little as he approached the helmless Mandalorians. Though he did not often remove his helmet willingly, he was aware of the Children of the Watch and their ways. In his mind, a Mandalorian was a Mandalorian, regardless of beliefs or loyalties. It was their culture, after all, that united them all. No matter, he wouldn't remove his helmet unless necessary. Jado slung his carbine around the left shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest, listening carefully as Kraaz briefed them. When he mentioned restoring power, Jado looked at the other man with them - Raanil - before speaking up. "I hope one of you is an electrician. Usually I'm the one to take down the power." he said with a small chuckle. If nothing else, he thought, they could take care of whatever might be inhabiting the place and bring a team of engineers in afterward to make sure everything worked.

Jado eyed Raanil curiously as he began to look over the bunker entrance. Surely between the firepower of three Mandalorians, they'd be able to blow a hole in whatever was in their way? He sighed before walking forward at the mention of his jetpack, nodding in agreement with Raanil's last statement. "Sure. I'll take a quick look and see if that's a viable entrance. If it is, you guys got a way to get up there? If you have rope, I could tie it up there and throw it down for you." Without waiting for a response, Jado pressed the controls for his jetpack and soared through the air in an arch, leaving a trail of black smoke in his wake. He landed atop the bunker with a dull thud as his armored boots crunched through the layer of sand and onto the metal of the structure. Looking around, he spotted a small alcove with an elevator and stairway leading down, presumably into the bunker. Walking over as quietly as he could in his heavy armor, he pulled on the partially opened sliding door to the stairwell and it squeaked loudly with movement.

He stood silent for a few seconds, listening carefully for any kind of response to the noise from within the bunker, but the seconds came and went without interest. Their suspicions confirmed, Jado jumped off the bunker ceiling and feathered himself to the ground with his jetpack, landing softly next to his companions. "Seems you're right about the landing pad. There's a door up there to get into the place, but we're going to make some noise opening it wide enough to fit. Just to warn you."

@Okoju @Tenia

 

[Kraaz Wail]

Kraaz would nod and give Raanil a look of approval. The man thought about all the angles of approach. The Chiss would make a decent Death Watch operative if he wished it, at least if he could curb that lack of attention. For now he eyed the building himself, sliding his helmet back on, the familiar feeling always providing some comfort the the Umbaran.

He would offer a smirk at Jado's comment about the power. While Kraaz usually appreciated a more subtle approach an overwhelming assault was always a good time. He waited for Jado to return from his quick recon and considered the options. "I like the idea of going in above. While louder I doubt whatever or whoever is inside watches that entrance, they may not even be aware of it." He eyed Raanil at that point and noted a lack of jetpack or boots on the man's beskar'gam. "I have a way up top, Raanil do you need a lift Vod" Kraaz would stride forward now with a basic plan ready to get underway. If Raanil wanted he would heft the man up, it would be a bit of a strain on his jetboots, but he was confident they could handle the load. If not he would simply jet up on his own and take a look at this second entrance.

It was clearly out of use and a quick inspection showed no signs of traffic in or out of it. Seemed this was a decent way in. He'd come equipped with his normal kit, minus his long rifle. So he simply unslung his Galaar-35 rifle and readied to enter. Once the other 2 were in postion he would move the door aside, it creaked loudly as Kraaz forced it open. Kraaz would like wise wait a moment to hear any response and satisfied they were still undetected he would make his way in and slowly descend down the stairway into the darkened depot.

@Tenia @Burpee

 

[Raanil 'Nuz 'Vez' Chal]

Raanil considered accepting Kraaz's offer, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Soaring through the air would certainly be less strenuous than climbing the hill, but he had to prove to his comrades that accepting a rookie for the mission had not been a mistake, and that he would not be a ball and chain. literally.
Kraaz and Jado disappeared in a cloud of thick, black smoke as their jetpacks carried them to the top of the hill.
The chiss, for his part, donned his helmet once more and prepared to launch the grappling hook for the climb: the pulley of the tool would broke if he would've tried to be lifted entirely by it, but it would be strong enough to support him and guide him during the ascent.
The yellowish holograms of the helmet's visor flashed before his eyes, informing him of the wind's direction and intensity, of a vaguely worrying rate of accumulated radiation but, most importantly, showing him the best place to hook the ascension cable.
Spreading his legs for stability, Raanil focused on the holographic sight, brought his forearm forward and fired.
With a roar, a fireball erupted from his gauntlet.
The chiss was new to his equipment and had misfired, activating the flamethrower instead of the grappling hook.
Ignoring the puzzled looks he saw from the corner of his eye from his comrades, Raanil resumed his stance, aimed and fired the grappling hook.
Now for the hard part.

The climb proved tiring but short.
Finishing hoisting himself up the sturdy cable, Raanil finally reached the top of the hill.
He felt the padding of his helmet soaked with sweat, and annoying drops ran down his face, dripping down his chin.
His appearance must not have been the most martial, he thought, but at least he had shown some physical prowess.
His companions gave him a nod of assent as he approached them.
The two were already positioned on either side of the battered door that would lead them inside the bunker.
They prepared to enter by silently drawing their weapons.
Raanil did the same: he unfastened the safety cover of his holster and pulled out the disruptor.
With expert fingers he pulled back the lever on the side of the gun and checked the gas charge housing.
On the other side of the window that opened, the whistle of pressurised gas and a yellow light greeted him, confirming that the weapon was loaded.
The chiss raised his face and nodded in assent to the other Mandalorians.

The interior of the structure was dark, they couldn't see an inch from their noses.
The three of them almost groped their way to a shabby, creaking iron ladder.
The noise might have woken a deaf, but it seemed that the bunker was devoid of tenants.
The only thing Raanil noticed inhabiting the darkness was a disgusting stench of something chemical, what it was though, he could not tell.

@Okoju
@Burpee