Ask [Gamorr] Where the green leaves fall

[Romeo Solus]

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GAMORR, SWAMPLANDS, LOCAL TIME: 1349 PM

Romeo had been relentless in his bounties, scouring the galaxy for high value targets in order to accumulate those credits. For personal gain? No. But rebellions cost money, and the civil war had just begun in its infancy. Zaa Fenn members had dispersed through various system worlds, but he had some valuable bets tell him that he could find a handful on Gamorr. Afterall, the Gamorrean world was in nearby star systems to traditional Five Syndicate territory and thus made a logical starting location to catch a few unsavory criminals who weren't on their best lookout.

Catch one slipping and he'd have enough to feed the clan for a week. Or maybe even buy something useful.

Swamplands were unwelcoming, moisture wicking off his ebony armor and the humidity not helping with making this duty any more comfortable. Regardless, the deadly badger was here on a mission and his odds/opposition were unimportant. Romeo had even secured some aid on this journey, an unlikely pair with a Jedi. A large, whistling noise radiated from the turbines of his jetpack as he shot through the dense flora, maintaining at least 5 meters off the ground until he rounded through a partition in the terrain. Tilting his torso to the side, he navigated around the pitfall only to reach into a clearing embarkment about 60 meters from a tribal stronghold. Hovering slightly, Romeo allowed boots to land onto the ground with a thud, right hand fingers gripped around the blaster carbine as he approached the Jedi's position.

Romeo crooked his head in curiosity, before speaking. "How's it going kid. You ready for this? It'll get messy...Don't say I didn't warn ya." Romeo chuckled, an undertone of danger and excitement escaping in his voice.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Teaming up with a Mandalorian was not what Quin had in mind when he’d accepted this mission. He’d heard that a couple alleged members of the Zaa Fenn were causing trouble for the locals on Gamorr, and after a fair amount of trying to convince his master to let him take the mission, she’d let him go. However, after a couple days of trying to find the source of the problem and finding hardly any promising leads, he realized that working solo was probably not the best idea in this scenario. As luck would have it, there was a Mandalorian who had the same targets in mind. Even if they had different goals, Quin saw no reason for them to not work together.

Now the Padawan was waiting in a clearing for the man to show up, though he didn’t have to sit for long. He heard the Mandalorian before he saw him— the unmistakable roar of a jetpack in the sky getting closer to him by the minute. When the Mandalorian swooped down from the trees and landed on the ground, Quin stood up to meet him. He noticed that his would-be partner’s hand was around his blaster carbine, but he sensed no malicious intent, so he didn’t reach for the lightsaber hilt at his hip.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Quin grinned as he gave the Mandalorian a nod in greeting. “I just hope it doesn’t get too messy.” While he’d never worked with a Mandalorian before, he knew from holonet videos and things he’d heard from other Jedi that they were precise, deadly warriors. It was unfortunate that they were at war with the Order, but from what he knew, the man standing in front of him was part of the small group that hadn’t decided to go along with the Mand’alor. He hoped so.

“So… any idea where we’re starting? I haven’t had much luck the past few days,” Quin admitted.

@Faded

 

[Romeo Solus]

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Romeo slung his blaster carbine across his back as he walked towards an a large tree and accompanying dense flora, the bushes were thick and nearly as tall as both men, coming up to a mid-chest level on the Mandalorian. He knelt down on some mud before scraping away several handfuls of watery dirt, revealing what appeared to be a large duffel bag underneath. "You know, Gamorrean children often do errands for tourists and newcomers into their lands, considering these are rivaling tribes, it wasn't hard to find a young girl wanting to make some credits. She did a good job..." He said, referring to the girl hiding the bag ahead time for their mission.

As the Mandalorian opened it, there were several items of note inside. Extra rations, first aid supplies, flares, as well as two MK Sniper Rifles. Romeo grabbed one for himself and tossed the other to the Jedi, glancing at the young man for a moment before turning away. "Probably isn't your style, but trust me kid, learning to use one will make things easy for you. Besides, you might need some range on this assignment.." Romeo swapped out his carbine rifle for the sniper, not wishing to be overly encumbered on their journey.

Pulling out his holopad, he uploaded a holographic map with a few pre-planned routes. "Last I heard, there were some reports of kidnapping of a young woman and her two children over here on the eastern slopes. I have an inclination our targets may be behind it. I'd say we go check it out first and see if we can find some leads?"

Romeo said, as he stood to his full height. placing a single eye towards the optical scope of his sniper rifle, he adjusted the zoom slightly with a knob before scanning lightly across the terrain.

"Road looks pretty clear right now.."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

As the Mandalorian revealed the buried bag, Quin looked to see what was inside. Most were standard supplies, but the sniper rifles caught his eye. Why two? His question was answered when he found himself catching the one that his partner had thrown. He couldn’t help but think back to his first time shooting a blaster at the fair, aiming for a target that was barely a few meters away. Needless to say, in his experience, it was definitely more difficult than using a lightsaber.

“Easier?” Quin looked doubtfully at the rifle in his hands. “If you say so.” There was no harm in carrying one, and if the need arose, he could always switch to his preferred weapon. Plus, he had a feeling that right now was not the best time to argue. The woman and her children needed them.

“Alright. Let’s head out,” Quin agreed, slinging the rifle over his shoulder as he started down the path. Although the Mandalorian had said the road was clear, he still found himself reaching out with the Force once in a while to feel for any unseen threats. Finding none, he kept on his way forward. It was quiet for a while until Quin decided to break the silence when they were about halfway to the eastern slopes.

“Since we’re working together… I think it would be more efficient for us to get to know each other a little,” the Padawan said with a grin, glancing at the Mandalorian when he realized how awkward that sounded. “I mean, me referring to you as Mando in my head. I’d like to put a name to the face— or er, armor, I suppose. I’m Quin, by the way.”

@Faded

 

[Romeo Solus]

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Romeo swapped his jetpack into combat mode just in case they ran into some opposition along the way. It wasn't expected this early on in their journey especially after checking to see that the roads and everything was clear. "Romeo Solus. Nice to meet you Quin. They told me a Jedi Padawan would be accompanying me on this mission." He paused for a moment and walked, hoisting the equipment of his right shoulder while keeping eyes scanned for threats. "But, I thought Padawans were usually always sent in with an supervising Knight. Is this your first solo mission?"

He asked, wondering if the young man had much experience in the field. Romeo would still be willing to participate and help but if the Jedi was relatively fresh, it meant there would be a bigger burden of responsibility on the Mandalorians' shoulders. His armored form slowly paused for a moment and brought the sniper rifle upwards to peer through its high magnification scope. Through it, he saw a pair of Elder Gamorrans near the perimeter of the house.

"I believe that is the home where the victims were abducted. Those may be family members...perhaps they can share some light." Romeo said, as he began to head over to the isolated home. Armored hand slipped upwards unarmed, indicating that they had friendly intentions and spoke loudly.

"Good Afternoon.." He yelled, hoping they spoke common or that Quin had a translator datapad app on him.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Sensing nothing hostile through the Force, Quin resumed trying to figure out the schematics of the blaster rifle in his hands. He knew how to shoot, where the safety was, but aiming and actually striking the target was another matter entirely. He'd been trying to look through the scope, wondering how much it helped when the Mandalorian responded.

“I’m supposed to have a knight with me, yes,” Quin said, letting the rifle fall back into its resting position at his side. “But this time, my master let me go alone. She probably regrets it now.” He chuckled ruefully. “It’s my first time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the last.”

The village came into view soon enough, where two Elder Gamorreans stood outside the home that was the site of the crime. Quin couldn’t help but think that if they hadn’t seen the mismatched-looking pair approaching, they certainly would have heard them coming with Romeo’s sudden shout. Then again, it was probably best if they made themselves known early on rather than surprise them at the house. They’d been through enough already.

The first Gamorrean responded to Romeo with a series of squeaks and grunts that Quin didn’t understand. He could, however, feel the anxiety coming off of her as she spoke, and he knew that whatever she was saying, it was urgent. He quickly reached into a pocket on his belt that held his translator, and discreetly turned it on as the Gamorrean went on.

“—on speeder bikes. They just grabbed my daughter and grandchildren! It was out of nowhere, and they were gone just like that! My husband here couldn’t even get a glimpse of their faces— those blasted helmets made it impossible.” She finally stopped to take a breath, and Quin took the chance to ask her a question. He kept his tone gentle, however, to avoid riling them up further.

“What made you think they were Zaa Fenn? And any idea about their motives?” He showed the translated text to the Gamorreans, and this time it was her husband that responded.

“It had to be them. None of the other clans would stoop this low.” He nearly spat out the words. “She was a weapons engineer. Had to have something to do with it. My grandchildren, likely hostages to force her into cooperating. Karking monsters, all of them!” He paused, then looked from Quin to Romeo. “You are here to help, right?”

@Faded

 

[Romeo Solus]

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"First mission huh kid? Not bad. I remember my first mission, it was on Mandalore. This was before Nox Solus had come in charge and prior to the civil war. I usually had my older brother guiding me, but I had to apprehend some traffickers by myself, it was daunting to say the least.." Romeo rambled for a few moments, almost forgetting where they were and why they were here. That was the funny part of memories, sometimes they would be hard to bring forth and others they would stay longer than anticipated.

The Gamorrean appeared a bit uneasy at the presence of the Mandalorian and Jedi though once he began telling them the events of the abduction, it seemed the uneasiness shifted into a notion of hope. "Yes, we are.." Romeo responded to the question at hand, moving over to the direction where the natives had pointed. Lifting the scope of his sniper rifle, he adjusted its zoom to the highest capacity to look for potential trails or evidence. "Seems, they may not be too far away, I can still see some unsettled dust in the air on the paths ahead. Perhaps the bikes passed through them recently..."

"So a weapons engineer?" Romeo asked towards the Gamorrean, "Was she manufacturing arms and weapons for the syndicate?" He turned to the Jedi now, waiting in the meantime for the Gamorrean to respond. "How do you think we should catch them?"

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“They can’t be too far off, then,” Quin agreed. The timing and the dust still lingering in the air suggested that the gangsters had come back to check on the state of the village after the abduction and whether or not the authorities were after them. While the original kidnappers were probably long gone, the Padawan had a feeling that wherever this fresher trail led, it was where they would find the Gamorrean couple’s missing relatives.

“We… don’t know,” the woman admitted with a huff to Romeo’s question, regaining Quin’s attention. “She was working on something, but she kept all the details to herself. What it was, who it was for. Now look where it's led. No doubt it has something to do with that.”

A secret project, a mysterious kidnapping, and gangsters who appeared to be worried about who had noticed was starting to make Quin a little more interested in what was really going on here.

“We’ll find your daughter,” he promised, looking earnestly into both Gamorreans’ eyes before turning to Romeo. “I think if we follow the trail, we’ll get to wherever they’re keeping her. Once we’re there, we can figure something out to get her back. It’s the best I’ve got.”

@Faded