Ask Haar Parjai Waadas

[Kotii Solus]

Spoiler: Music

The Bevrag'ad, or Spear Fisher if translated from Mando'a, was fast approaching the system it would set an ambush in. The mission, a job from the Pyke Syndicate and under the table in terms of Guild work, was high risk and high reward. Black Hand was Hunter for the Guild with experience on his side and a reputation to match so the job came through to him directly.

Kotii was not in the cockpit of his ship. Instead his comrade Aden Solus was at the controls and aiding him in this. The man often helped Black Hand when it came to Bounty Hunting and was a capable hunter in his own right. The patrol ship they flew in would be a match for the targeted ship type. A 5-T Medium Freighter carrying NalTech security droids.

The Mandalorian duo was not alone. Another vessel belonging to the Pyke Syndicate was also along for the ride. But their purpose would be useful as they had a higher carrying capacity than the Bounty Hunter's ship.

Kotii did not want to get the rest of the clan involved in this. First he was going to see if these leaks were worth chasing down and then maybe he would tell other Mandalorians of the Tor'la Akaan'ade where to strike. Having intelligence on useful resources would be invaluable in the weeks and months ahead.

Still, the badger did not feel comfortable working with a Pyke. The fishy fang faced syndicate were cold blooded enterprisers and he doubted he would ever fully trust one of them. But that did not mean he couldn't work with one of them to achieve their goals.

Connecting to the Pyke's YT light freighter over commlink, Kotii spoke Huttese since it best masked his Krownest accent. <"Dropping out of hyperspace soon. You ever been to Kabal?"> He asked. The Mandalorian may have passed through the system before but this was the first time with it actually being the destination. They would need to set up a trap for the arriving target and take the ship without damaging the cargo.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

The Pyke Syndicate was rapidly growing, and the more successful they became, the more muscle they would need. In such, more security could never hurt, especially when it was made up of the most loyal personnel in the galaxy— droids.

Tysjor was here today to secure a couple of them for the syndicate, and he would be working with a man he only knew as Black Hand. While he didn’t know the hunter personally, if the Pykes were trusting him as part of this operation, he assumed that he knew what he was doing. As Tysjor’s ship dropped out of hyperspace, his comm crackled with the voice of his partner indicating his arrival.

“Right on time, then,” he responded in Huttese in kind. “And no, it’s my first time. Although, if those NalTech skugs learn their lesson today, it’ll be my last.” Tysjor meant it. He would take every life on that ship if they got in the way of the droids, and he had a feeling that the crew wouldn’t be giving them up without a fight.

Checking his scanners, a green light signaled that another ship was approaching, and it wasn’t his partner’s. He looked out the viewport to find a cargo ship coming out of hyperspace. There’s our droids.

“We got a plan? ‘Cause I’m ready to do some shopping.”

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kabal was simple in terms of the planet. Mostly it was a backwater world that was now both neutral and independent of any faction as far as Kotii knew. It also meant this was neutral space where the laws of the civilization did not always apply. This was under the table and so Black Hand was sure to have a high pay off once this was over. But the main prize was the NalTech Droids.

It sounded like the Pyke was happy to leave the system as soon as possible. The Mandalorian's ship detected the incoming target and the Bevrag'ad's pilot waited for Black Hand's direction. The Alor in Exile re-entered the cockpit and got behind the co-pilot controls.

<"Don't desintigrate them. Remember, we need to board them. I'll disable their hyperdrive first then they'll be dead in the water before long."> The patrol craft had adequate weaponry to decimate the medium freighter's shield alone. But combined with some additional fire from Tysjor's YT light freighter, Black Hand could focus on using his ships advanced targetting system to aid in him targeting the 5-T's hyperdrive.

The 5-T medium freighter had medium shields and would abosorb the carefully placed shots fired by Aden. The twin light laser cannons would begin to wittle down the target's shields. But as soon as the lancer class patrol craft opened fire the laser turret on the medium freighter rotated and began firing in kind.

Aden was the expert pilot and would help give Kotii an angle. Black Hand activated the ground sweeper light laser cannon on the ventral part of the ship so he would have the target ship in his cross hairs no matter which way the ship turned or banked. Kotii hit his target but the shield was not completely down. With it weakened, the gunner breathed and steadied his aim from his stationary seat. The reticle lined up perfectly before visibly letting out a gout of sparks and fire as the ship's aft power coupling to the hyperdrive was severed.

<"Now, disable their defenses or engines."> He said over the ship to ship link. Once they had those two things to deal with, they could then begin boarding the ship. But even a limping freighter could seriously wound one of the ambushing ships.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

“Of course. We can’t risk damaging our prize.” His ship being a good distance away from his partner’s and their target, Tysjor adjusted it so that it was to the side of the freighter. When his partner’s ship began to fire and fire returned, the Pyke focused on aiming two shots where the opposing ones were coming from, taking out turrets as the ship tried to escape Black Hand. What the pilot might have thought was working was backfiring completely, with the loss of their guns.

When the shields were visibly weakened, Tysjor moved in closer with his own ship, circling around so that his turrets were pointing directly at the engines of the other freighter. Just in time— the transmission from Black Hand asked him to do exactly that.

“Coming right up.” With that, he sent a couple shots in the direction of the engines to test the shields. Seeing as they were severely damaged, he sent a few more in the same spot, finally getting through and hitting his intended target. A few moments later, a shower of sparks erupted from the target ship, and the bright yellow glow of the engines faded. The freighter was effectively stranded.

“We’re good to board,” he confirmed.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

As the Spear Fisher came about he could see that Tysjor's ship had made his own impact on the ship. One turret remained and the 5-T medium freighter's forward mounted cannons were useless without its mannuevering. As long as they did not go directly in front of the ship they were fine. The Mandalorian ship focused its fire on the remaining turret on the far wing. The shots were partially absorbed by the remaining shield and the rest breached the hull of the wing and putting the turret out of commission.

He heard Tysjor's reply over the ship to ship commlink after they both finished their respectively timed manuevers. The target ship drifted in space with visible marks from where the carbon scoring had crippled it. <"You want me to hail them? I'll board first and take their main docking ring. If you don't have hull cutting tools, I can make an opening for you once I'm on board."> The Mandalorian knew that he was taking a risk by being the first to move onto the vessel. He had welding putty and breach charges which could also forcibly open the docking ring. Of course that was Kotii assuming Tysjor wouldn't be able to convince them to stand down completely.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

“Sure, go ahead,” Tysjor replied. He wasn’t about to be the first to risk his skin when someone else was offering. But that didn’t mean he was going to do nothing in the meantime. His partner would need some sort of cover as he worked, and he figured that he could keep the attention on him and his ship long enough for Black Hand to board undetected for the most part.

Then he had an idea, and he switched the frequency of his ship to that of their target’s. His face would appear on a holoscreen in the cockpit, where the pilot was almost certainly trying to maintain control of their ship.

“Greetings, my friends,” he would say, looking and speaking directly into the blinking camera. “I am sure that you are aware of the current state of your ship, and seeing as you are in this… predicament, I am offering you a deal. Surrender your ship to the Pyke Syndicate, or face the consequences.” He paused, waiting for a response before his comms crackled to life.

“We don’t want anything to do you with you, scum.” The voice abruptly cut the connection, leaving Tysjor on his old frequency again. Alright, then.

“I hope you’re already on board,” he said to Black Hand. “They don’t sound too happy.”

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Aden remained at the controls for the time being. He couldn't help but keep a wary eye on the Syndicate member's ship as well. Meanwhile Kotii would be the one storming the transport and securing the cargo.

At first, Kotii thought Tysjor was confirming to both his questions. But then the Pyke's voice came over the ship to ship communications. Black Hand heard the Syndicate Enforcer identify himself rather than leave it a mystery. Then again, some people could use that kind of information to intimidate others. But it sounded like they weren't going to give up easily. <"They can wait."> He replied flatly.

The Mandalorian's patrol ship swiftly got into position with its boarding tube reaching out and connecting to the medium freighter. Kotii worked quickly and began to set the thermal putty. Connecting it to the electric detonator once finished he stepped back and triggered the begginng of a spark show as the hull was cut through. It wasn't as fast as a lightsaber but the freighter wasn't going anywhere. Still, this made the bounty hunter want to get something faster for the job in the future.

The hole forcefully made in the side of the ship fell through to the other side and Kotii waisted no time in throwing a flashbang grenade through the breach. The sound of a few reactionary blaster discharges were heard but Kotii remained in cover for a heartbeat after the explosion before entering the ship himself.

Inside, the Hunter saw two figures dressed in transport guard blast vests and carrying F-11d blaster rifles though they weren't pointed at him since their hands were covering their ears and eyes trying to blink away the stars that filled them. The man blasted each of them with a single yellow colored blaster bolt, landing them sprawled on the deck and smoking.

The next two further down the short hallway that led to the next compartment were shot in the head. The remaining four life signs were in the cockpit. Rounding the corner and coming into view, he took a bolt to his shoulder. The turret gunner had left their station since their weapon system had been knocked out and held the angle on the corner. But the Mandalorian armor, even if not fully made of pure Beskar, allowed Kotii the chance to react by lining up a shot of his own. Letting out an exhale, the heavy blaster pistol took out another member of the crew trying to protect the vessel and its cargo. Five down, three to go.

Pulling out another grenade, this time a stun gas grenade, the badger tossed the device into the cockpit where the rest of the crew remained for the time being. Hearing a swear and a prayer but from different people, Kotii flicked on his rebreather so as to not inhale the debilitating affects of the rapidly filled bridge.

Flicking the blaster's setting over to stun, the Solus held the angle. The gas poured out over the edge of the bulkhead doorway. He heard coughing and then the stumbling collapse of two bodies. The steps of a third person soon showed to belong to the ship's pilot, trying to get clear of the grenade rather than stay in place. A powerful stun bolt closed the distance and dropped the pilot onto the ground. Kotii flicked his weapon back over to lethal and then made sure the cockpit was secure. <"I'm at the bridge. I have control of their end of the air lock.">

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

Once Tysjor saw Black Hand’s ship move away from the damaged freighter, he adjusted his own, moving it into position so that his docking tube could connect to the hole that his partner had made. It was a reminder for him to get some of those hull-cutting tools he had mentioned— they could come in handy for future jobs like this one.

As soon as he felt the soft bump of his docking ring attaching to the freighter, he got out of his seat and made for the entrance of the other ship. He could hear the sounds of blaster fire in the nearby corridors, but the area where the ship had been breached seemed clear for now. Getting a move on, Tysjor fully stepped into the other ship and made for the cargo bay.

It seemed that Black Hand had done a thorough job of clearing out the ship, and when Tysjor stopped in front of the door that led to the room, it wasn’t guarded. With such a small crew size though, he wasn’t surprised.

The three dozen folded droids were visible as soon as he entered the cargo bay, each currently deactivated and plugged into a charging port. He led with his blasters, looking around to see if there was anyone in here. Just then, his commlink beeped and he heard Black Hand’s voice.

“I’m in the cargo bay,” he responded. “Doesn’t look like there’s anyone else in here, besides the droids. You ready to start loading them?”

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The Werda Kom'rk moved away from the medium transport so that the Pyke light freighter could connect safely. Aden continued to keep an eye on the ship as well as use the advanced scanners to detect any potential reinforcements. But none would come for the time being.

In the cockpit, Black Hand made sure Tysjor docked effectively. The Pyke moved into the ship and its cargo hold quickly enough and the Mandalorian would leave the cockpit in turn. But not before looking over the ship manifest and inventory.

+System Breach+
Retrieving records
.
..
...
Crew manifest:
Number: 4
>skipped>
.
..
...
Passenger manifest:
Number: 4
>Skipped>
.
..
...
Cargo manifest:
108x N-series blackhawk security droid > Accounted
11,690x N-series smartpad dataphone > Accounted
24x N-series assistant + litigation droid > Accounted
17x N21 huntsman class droid walker > Error
.
..
...
Designation: N21-H-14
Class: N21h
Status: Disconnected from stowage port
Inquiry received
>
>>
>>>
Location: Unknown

Heading to meet his fishy associate, Kotii would connect to Tysjor and alert him of his rising concerns. "We may have a problem. Keep your eyes out for a spider droid." The idea of one of those being in tight quarters on a ship was almost something the Mandalorian did not want to think about. Thankfully it looked like only one of the droids had been activated and was somewhere on the ship. Specifications indicated the N21 huntsman was still 3 meters tall so would hopefully still be somewhere in the cargo hold. It would be a moment before Black Hand arrived. "Get out of the cargo hold." He would yell from the hallway as he tried to locate the rogue machine before it struck.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

When Black Hand didn’t respond, Tysjor shrugged to himself and walked over to one of the droids, examining it. If his partner wasn’t interested in the droids, the more for him the better. That was when his colleague’s warning about the spider droid came through, and he stopped in his tracks.

“You can’t be serious,” he hissed into his comm as he looked around. There was no evidence of a spider droid in the area, no empty charging ports, no empty boxes. He was about to disregard the warning and start loading regardless when he heard a tapping noise coming from above him. Sure enough, a giant spider droid was crouching atop a box, its eyes fixed on the Pyke as it began to descend.

That, along with Black Hand’s yell that came too late, was more than enough to get Tysjor to make a dash for the exit of the cargo hold. He twisted, grabbed his pistols, and fired two shots in the direction of the droid as he made for the hallway, not bothering to see if they landed or not. He could hear the rush of claws getting louder as the droid got closer, but he was close to the door. If he could make it past there, maybe he would find a better spot to find a way to destroy it.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The loud discharge of Tysjor's echoed down the narrow hallway. The light flashed in the reflective T visor of the Mandalorian. Black Hand had his heavy blaster pistol out and kept it pointed in the direction of the cargo hold as he continued to try and reach the Pyke. Sparks flew as the hard impacts of the spider droid crashed its pincer like legs into the deck and bulkhead where the Enforcer had been a moment earlier.

The tight quarters meant Kotii risked hitting Tysjor if he fired down range. The relatively lithe Pyke was running for his life and in that split moment the Mandalorian debated firing anyways. But his left trigger finger did not so much as twitch around the Blackwell stamped sidearm.

The huge form of the huntsman droid filled the portal that led to the cargo hold. Kotii imagined this was what it felt like to be a mouse chased by a cat. But cats did not usually have ranged weaponry. The multi-photorecptor face of the arachnid machine seemed to steady for a moment and Kotii stopped moving forward or ran the risk of running into the Pyke face first.

Two long legs reached into the tunnel like hall way of the ship and narrowly missed a swipe at Tysjor. But the mandable mounted dual blaster cannons under the NalTech warmachine were another story. They fired once, narrowly missing Kotii but striking the bulkhead just behind and to the side of him. Its impact sent a shower of sparks and superheated plasma was enough to even send Black Hand into the opposing bulkhead with some force.

It seemed being out of reach did not mean out of danger. Kotii cursed and reached for the Pyke, guiding him with as much force was necessary to bring him out of the line of fire. A second volley from the spider droid was all that followed. With some small amount of luck, the shot had not breached the shell of the ship. Kotii moved into a side coridor to cut off the line of sight from the droid to at least keep the two of them out of danger for the time being. <"Damn droids. It always has to be droids."> He cursed himself for not having more Ion weaponry or droid poppers.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

To make matters worse, the huntsman droid was not only chasing him now, but firing after him. When he crossed the doorway, he could see the sparks flying in the hallway just behind the Mandalorian when the latest shot missed. He also didn’t take time to look at the mechanical legs swiping at him, and he heard the spider droid fire another round just as Black Hand pulled him out of the area of immediate danger. He nearly tripped over himself as he did, but caught himself in time as he slowed to a stop.

He didn’t stop to think about what he would have done had he been in the bounty hunter’s situation, nor to thank him for what had just occurred. The only thing on his mind was how they could somehow stop the droid, and an idea popped into his mind almost immediately.

“You’re right. It’s a droid. And... every droid has a restraining bolt,” he managed to say once he caught his breath. The spider droid fired a couple more useless shots into the hallway, though it was enough to make Tysjor move a little farther into the corridor. “A ship like this is bound to have a control in case one of those things goes rogue.”

Straightening up again, he looked at Black Hand. “My guess is it would be in the cockpit. Did you see anything like it when you were there?” Metal scraped and tapped on the ground as he spoke, and it sounded close. We’ll have to get out of here soon.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

"You'd think..." Black Hand quipped back. But battle droids were a different thing. Sometimes they even kept that separate from the controls of the crew depending on how trusting the deal between merchants and suppliers. "It's already gotten loose, may have a dataplague onboard." He warned as another reason of many he could think of this could only get worse.

Another salvo from the huntsman droid made him flinch out of the 'worst case' analysis paralysis that he knew he was prone to do. He licked his lips and then looked over at Tysjor as his thoughts converged back into a singular focus. "I didn't see anything integrated with the ship's controls. But there may have been a hand held device hidden somewhere." The two of them were not in any immediate danger in the side hallway.

"You have a good eye for that sort of thing?" He may have missed it but there was not point in them both staying put and talking about it. The Mandalorian pushed off the bulkhead and began to make his way towards the cockpit. It was not a huge vessel they were traversing. But Kotii was on his guard and still taking point. It was not entirely surprising the attacks from N21-H-14 stopped soon after the Pyke and near human left their place of cover. Its sensors probably told it they had moved elsewhere. It either had to wait where it was or try and find a way to get to them. Kotii was pretty sure it couldn't squeeze through the hallways. Mostly sure. So far it did not sound like it was going to tear its way out of the freighter either. Hopefully that wouldn't change any time soon.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

A handheld device sounded likely, though that would certainly be more difficult to find than if it had been integrated with the ship. Things were never that easy, Tysjor thought with an inward sigh.

“We’d better hope so.”

The situation appeared to look up when he noticed that the droid had stopped firing after he and Kotii left for the cockpit. Even though he was fairly certain that there was no way it could fit into the hallways, he still found himself checking back once in a while to see if anything was following.

Soon, the pair passed by the two guards that the Mandalorian had killed when they’d first gotten on board. Whether his partner stayed or not, Tysjor bent down to quickly take a look at their pockets to see whether or not they had such a device. Surely it would be reasonable for them to have one, in case something like this happened? Unfortunately they were empty, and he cursed to himself when he found out that they didn’t. It was likely to be in the cockpit, then, but he wondered if they would be able to find it.

He continued on after Black Hand to examine the ship’s controls in the cockpit. The bounty hunter had been right on his assumption that it wasn’t included in the ship’s controls, and that left the four crew members in here as well as the numerous storage compartments close to the wall.

“Wonderful,” he grumbled.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii searched over the place a second time. He switched his visor between normal vision and infrared. It was thanks to that he ended up finding an unusual insulated area that showed a lack of heat signature in front a slightly warmer background. Noting this to likely be a scatterweave lined compartment, Kotii did not immediatly move for the suspected hidden at first.

Another thought occured to him. The deal regarding the acquisition of the ship's goods was only a dozen of the blackhawk security droids. The rest was essentially going to be a huge bonus for the two of them. But the Mandalorian was not sure he wanted the huntsman droids and other dangerous machines in the hands of the Pykes. Of course there was also the logistical issue of actually moving the amount of cargo to either of their ships. Since only the medium sized freighter would be able to move the goods, Black Hand felt it might turn out to be wiser to continue to move the ship to another location rather than try emptying it out completely.

The man's hand was still around his heavy blaster pistol and he knew if he needed to turn it onto Tysjor he would do so. But fair was fair and some part of him felt obligated to make the Pyke an offer. "Maspat." He used the Pyke's last name, trying to keep things proffesional. "If we can't find this control we're going to have to fight this thing. Well...I'm going to fight this thing." He wanted to make it clear that Tysjor needed him to not die in this place. Even with Aden and any other possible crew on his ship, the huntsman droids would need fighters like a Mandalorian to take them down with what they had.

Kotii continued. "When this is over, I'll take this ship, and all the huntsman droids. The rest can be split half way with as much as you can carry on your light freighter. Leave at least half the Blackhawk security droids." He did not care too much about the dataphones other than they had some practical purposes and could even be resold for a fair price in some black markets. "Those have some resale value maybe or use in your spice mines right?" He said, somewhat pressing the issue of how they were known for making money. Maybe he was hoping that the Pyke wasn't like other syndicate members. "Sound fair?"

There were reputations of good business with the Pykes and reliability. Of course in the underworld double crosses happened plenty. But Black Hand had a reputation of his own and always got what he was owed. He of course, felt like he was being generous since this was already more than they had expected. But it was hard to tell since Tysjor also had his own mask and helmet apparatus. All he had to rely on was body language and tone which thankfully was something a Mandalorian learned quickly.

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

Faced with a rogue huntsman droid on board along with a seemingly impossible task of finding one small remote that could be anywhere on the ship, Tysjor wondered if there was any better way of doing this. They couldn’t hold out against it forever, but perhaps there was still a way for both of them to get what they wanted. He was about to voice such a thought to Black Hand, but when he looked over at the bounty hunter, he saw that he still had his hand around his pistol. Tysjor couldn’t blame him for not trusting him— he wouldn’t have either— but when the Mandalorian spoke his name he couldn’t help his own hand dropping down to his weapon.

As he spoke, however, Tysjor’s hand began to loosen around his blaster. It didn’t seem like Black Hand was trying to threaten him. Instead, he was giving him an offer, but the Pyke felt that it was heavily in the bounty hunter’s favor. He would be taking all the huntsman droids, the ship, and whatever was left of the security droids. Could he accept that?

Tysjor spent the next couple of moments silently deliberating, weighing his options before finally coming to a decision. He took his hand off his blaster and gave Black Hand a nod.

“I was sent here for the security droids,” he began, meeting Black Hand’s gaze through his visor. “And those are what I will leave with.” While he would have liked to take some of the huntsman droids, he did realize that they would be difficult to transport, especially with one roaming the ship and intent on destroying anything in its path. It was best to get whatever he could and get out of there. That said, under different circumstances, there was no way that he would accept the deal, but since the Mandalorian was willing to put himself in harm’s way to get them, Tysjor would let him do it.

“Sounds like a plan.”

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The tense moment between the two individuals continued for a moment before he heard Tsyjor's answer. Black Hand nodded his emotionless T visor, accepting his response. The man still kept his hand on the blaster, making sure it was not just some lie to get the Mandalorian to feel a false sense of security. Trust and respect had to be built over time. Hopefully the business oriented mind of the Pyke would agree with that way of thinking.

Walking across the cockpit to where the insulated panel was, the Mandalorian used his boot to press and open the secret compartment. It popped open slightly, allowing him to drop to a knee and pull out the hand device they were looking for. Grabbing it with his free hand, he tapped the necessary controls to return the huntsman droid to an inert state. A moment later a 'thunk' reverberated through the ship as if something heavy had fallen in the cargo hold.

Black Hand looked more directly at Tysjor from the center of his helmet. "Sounds like it worked." But that was not necessarily the case. "I'll make sure." He raised the blaster to shoulder height and pointed towards the ceiling before turning to leave the cockpit. Heading back to the cargo hold, sure enough, the menace that had attacked the two pirates lay sprawled out and seemingly inactive. The rest of the ship's contents was safe for transfer to the Pyke's ship.

Much to the Mandalorian's surprise, the spider droid's photoreceptors lit up. Just as quickly, it lashed out with its two nearest legs and caught Black Hand across his shoulder, sending him spinning into another stack of crates. "Kark! It didn't work!" He shouted. Trying to recover, Kotii dove out of the way as a follow up attack speared through the reinforced crate with ease. If he hadn't moved, the Mandalorian would have been impaled. He fired twice with his BM-713 only to have the armored plates of the arachnid droid absorb the powerful blasts like they were fired from a light pistol. He needed to hit the joints.

The huntsman droid had probably received the 'deactivation signal' and decided to play dead. Now if Black Hand tried to make for the exit it would skewer him. There was no choice. He needed to fight and kill the hunter-killer automaton.

@Sicadorito mild fail

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

Tysjor watched in silence as Black Hand pulled out the controls for the huntsman droid. The sooner they would be able to get this done, the better. And when he heard the metallic clunk, he cautiously began to make his way toward it with the bounty hunter, staying just a little behind and keeping his blaster handy. He didn’t want to be the first to encounter that blasted contraption again.

When the pair approached the droid, it was motionless on the floor and appeared to be off. Tysjor visibly relaxed at the sight, lowering his blaster and straightening up again before the crimson red photoreceptors suddenly blinked to life. The Pyke nearly fell onto his back when the droid suddenly swung at Black Hand. Narrowly avoiding the blow, he rolled to the side just as a blaster bolt hit the ground where his feet had been before.

However, the droid seemed more focused on Black Hand, leaving Tysjor a moment to go over his options. One, he could stay and help the Mandalorian, which was not a part of their deal. Two, he could try and sneak out, get as much of his share of the cargo on his ship as possible and leave the bounty hunter here to deal with the problem by himself. The second option seemed much more favorable in terms of Tysjor’s own survival, so that was what the Pyke settled on.

When the droid’s leg sliced through a crate and Black Hand dove out of the way, he saw his opening. And, perhaps even another opportunity… one that was too good to miss. The huntsman droid’s photoreceptors on his associate, Tysjor slid right underneath it and managed to fire two shots right in between the thorax and the abdomen, causing some wires in between to let out a small shower of sparks as its workings were disrupted. Quickly losing its balance, the droid reared back on its legs. When it got to a position that was just in front of him, the Pyke caught onto the top of its head and pulled himself onto its back.

The droid’s sensors obviously detected the extra weight on top as its head and photoreceptors began to swivel upwards. Tysjor held on as tightly as he could with one hand, aiming down with his other that carried his blaster. His timing was just right. His first bolt went right through its metal skull, and when it began to slump forward, he fired three more shots in the same area to make sure that this time, it was shut down for good this time. It soon hit the ground, and Tysjor took a moment to catch his breath.

“This won’t be bothering us again,” he said, stepping off the wreck.

Spoiler: Roll

Rolled 20 on disc

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The pings and clacking of the droid's numerous legs rang through the cargo hold making the Mandalorian look to either side of his cover. He was about to make his move when he heard the double discharge of a blaster. At first he thought the machine had decided to try shooting at him with its mandible like blaster cannons. But Black Hand came out of hiding in time to see the Pyke mount the beast.

Behind his helmet, Kotii had an impressed expression on his face that almost made him hesitate for a moment. The droid seemed to have met its match and Tysjor made a maneuver worthy of a true hunter. Plugging the head of the arachnid machine with not one, not two, but four point blank bolts put it out of commission for good.

Kotii stood there with his blaster at the ready, but without an active enemy to train it on. He gave the Pyke a nod. "Kandosii! Well done!" He gave the Pyke the proper respect for the accomplishment. Even if the Mandalorian could have vanquished the machine alone, it was still a welcome surprise to see Tysjor pull off a stunt like that.

The Mandalorian had sustained an injury in the melee. But it was nothing that would not heal given some extra bacta to help. "I think we've spent enough time on this ship. How about I help you get loaded up and we can get out of here." He offered, despite the wound on his leg. The two thieves would be able to make a transfer of the security droids over to his light freighter faster together that way. Black Hand did not look forward to having to fly the 5-T alone. But at least he had Aden in the Spear Fisher to escort him.

Of course there was a chance that the enforcer would want to renegotiate. But there was only so much that he could carry. "Maybe sometime I'll buy you a drink, Maspat. Just don't go dealing in the slave trade or smuggle in beskar. Then...I might have use for your services, if you don't have any hard feelings that is."

@Sicadorito

 

[Tysjor Maspat]

Tysjor only gave Black Hand a nonchalant nod back upon hearing his praise, though he was a little surprised himself that he’d managed to do it. Whether it was skill, luck, or a combination of both, he didn’t know, but he soon dismissed the thought. What was done was done, and the rest was only business.

“Alright. Let’s get to it,” the Pyke agreed at the Mandalorian’s offer. Secretly, Tysjor was glad that he hadn’t left the bounty hunter to handle the droid alone. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he hadn’t really known how he was supposed to get the security droids off by himself, dragging them one by one through the hall to get to his ship. Having a helping hand would make it go a lot faster, and though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he was grateful for it as they started for the cargo bay.

Tysjor gave Black Hand a sideways glance when he offered the potential of working together again… and the condition that he was not involved in slaving. Having been there and done that, he thought it best not to say anything about that. After all, a deal lost was an opportunity lost, and he did have to admit that the prospect of working with the Mandalorian wasn’t an unappealing one. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, so he went back to unattaching the droids and being careful he didn’t wake any of them up.

“Put in a few credits and I’m in,” he said with a hint of a smile.

@Darasuum