Ask Hone

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat wasn't the kind of girl one generally called when you wanted help with hiding something. It's safe to say her area of expertise lies in the fields of construction and punching. But! She had been adopted into the Mandalorians, so she thought it would be best to help them out. So when Kotii asked for some help with hiding some stuff, she thought she could figure it out.

And it was a good reprieve from Rattatak! She didn't regret going to that world, there was plenty she had learned, and plenty she had gained, but she wished none of it had to happen in her heart. Still, the tools she scavenged from the Cauldron during a lull in the fighting were pretty high quality for that dirtball, so she should be good to help with whatever needs doing.

Currently, she was lounging on the bridge of Kotii's star sailor. She had spent a good long time marveling at the sea-between-worlds, but eventually, she had to pull her attention to more pressing things. Like counting her tools! Hammer, lots of screwdrivers, drills, shovel, extra shovel, chisels, picks, and more! Recently she had managed to get her hands on a beam tube as well, which sat to her right in a bit of nook where she had placed it, with its external power pack. It was cumbersome, but firing hot beams of plasma was fun!

Still none of that cool armor, though. Truthfully she was feeling a little underdressed, but in the end, she hadn't had the time to either build her own or find any. Such is life. She had this little feeling that she had been kidnapped, but she felt like that whenever she wasn't in control of her movement. And if it did turn out, they had kidnapped her and were going to drop her off on some planet, well, them's the breaks. She'd just have to start conquering whatever world they stranded her on as well!!

She looked at Kotii, still a little confused about how to address him. She wasn't going to call him dad because she'd only known him for a few weeks. "Hey Kotii," She started, "You ever wonder why we're here?"

@Darasuum @Reylo4evr

 

[Vidha Solus]

Vidha walked onto the bridge where the other two were. She knew Kotii, but the younger girl without armor was unfamiliar. She watched from a couple paces away as the girl organized what looked like some of her tools. The past few weeks had been especially busy for Vidha, but she wasn't complaining- the girl liked to stay busy, and fighting for Mandalore was an even better way to spend her time. Even though Vidha was young, she was not to be underestimated, and she had proved that in her previous missions.

Now, however, she couldn't help but smile behind her helmet at the girl. She seemed happy and at peace with the galaxy in this moment, and looked fascinated by her surroundings.

@Darasuum @Shax

 

[Kotii Solus]

Spoiler: Music

The Unwavering was proving to be an effective addition to the Tor'la Akaan'ade. The battlegroup had limited capital vessels but the Crusader-II was adequately armed and not alone. Two Kom'rk class multi-role starfighters flew alongside the corvette as escorts and troop transports. This was a mission to both resecure an abandoned imperial base, train some new foundlings, and for Hauron to confront his past. It was on Pzob where Reiel and Kotii had first rescued a dozen children from smugglers.

The ship was traveling closer to the world of Pzob. There were chances Zann Consortium or other foes were in the area but Pzob was a backwater world which Kotii had visited once before. The man was joined by his adoptive son, Hauron. The teenager was slowly growing but had a great deal to learn. Thus, his father had suggested he tag along for this journey.

Clad in scatterweave plates, Kotii was wearing his set of beskar'gam he wore for House work. The red painted jaig eyes above his brow looked out of the bridge view port and towards the planet ahead. Both of his arms were crossed in front of him as he stood in a contemplative and patient stance.

Hauron piped up, answering Kathrine in Mando'a first. <"We're here for training and to secure an old base. Did you forget already?"> The mikkian teenager also wore a helmet, hiding his appearance. But he was still clearly younger than Kathrine and may have some desire to prove himself.

Kotii still did not answer right away though his helmet turned to be able to look at Hauron. The foundling looked up at his Buir and then back at Kathrine, saying nothing more. The Alor in Exile looked over his shoulder as he heard the bridge door open. Seeing Vidha join them he offered her a nod in greeting.

Kotii left his spot and raised a hand and wiggled a finger for them all to follow him towards the holodisplay. Pulling up a three dimensional map of the system he would begin zooming in on their destination. <"Hauron is correct. We have already cleared it out and it was still abandonded since we last ditched it a few months ago. We're here to improve this world and ourselves."> The structure and subterranean levels previously captured in scans and exploration were fully up to date. Already the bridge crew would be checking for life signs and keeping an eye out for traffic in and out of the system. <"Pzob is a backwater world and we will have plenty of room to try new techniques, practice and improve. I'm sure there are areas we can all improve on. Vidha, what's one thing you want to work on?"> He turned to the most senior participant not facilitating this event. At least he was pretty sure she was older than Kathrine.

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat was startled when the bucket boy spoke up beside her. She hadn't even noticed him! He babbled something or other in Mando'a, and while she was trying to learn the language, she still had no idea what he was saying. Still, it probably wasn't anything rude; otherwise, he'd have said it in basic so she could understand. Then they could have a fight! So, content in her knowledge that she wasn't being insulted, she gave the mando a sunny grin and a happy 'Uh-huh!'

Kotii started talking, but Kat remained happily ignorant of his words. She could pick out a few bits here and there, but overall, it was just noise to her. She nodded and smiled blankly because if they wanted her to do something, they could just yell angrily and point somewhere. That was usually how she was given orders when she was a slave anyway, and she didn't imagine leading people around was much different.

At the very least, it wasn't hard to follow the holo-map with its zooming in and the big title yelling out the name PZOB which was such a fun word to say. Kat had picked up a lot of self-assurance on Rattatak. Still, her experience with working under people has never been particularly happy, so she would be as unobtrusive as possible.

@Darasuum @Reylo4evr

 

[Vidha Solus]

When the child standing next to Kotii spoke, Vidha smiled underneath her helmet. The girl on the floor obviously didn't understand Mando'a, and it made it that much harder to glean what they meant with the three Mandalorians wearing helmets, concealing their expressions.

Vidha turned to Kotii. She had a certain amount of respect for him and was glad she had been chosen to come along on this trip. Vidha could immediately think of a witty response to his question, but she figured it would probably be safer if she saved the sass for later. "Stealth and subtlety," she replied in Mando'a, still smiling a little. She recalled her disastrous entrance into the fighting pit a few months back. "Certainly a feat to master with all this armor," she said. It weighed a lot, but six years of wearing it felt less like a burden and more like a trophy.

She turned her helmet back to the girl, wondering if she should clarify what was happening, or if that was Kotii's job. "We are going towards Pzob to secure a base and once that's done, practice new techniques," she explained briefly in Basic to the girl. She watched Kotii out of the corner of her visor, but figured she wasn't breaking any rules.

@Shax @Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii gave a slight nod at hearing Vidha's answer and a slight murmur. The side of his mouth curled into a slight grin behind his visor. "ori'jate gaanar." It was not an easy task to master stealth in armor loaded down with enough fire power to match a small army. It was not a surprise most Mandalorians forwent the covert approach entirely which was why they were known to be some of the fiercest shock troops in all of history.

Vidha switched to galactic standard basic and Kotii remembered that Kathrine could not speak Mando'a fluently. "Each of you, follow me. We'll be touching down soon." The Alor in exile would begin to step away from the holodisplay and leave the bridge. The armor clad badger would begin to lead the group towards the cargo hold of the corvette.

"Here's a quiz..." Kotii began, continuing in basic. His head turned to look over his shoulder to make sure the others were following. "Who can tell me what is needed for complete stealth? I'll even give you hint, there's seven aspects." His left hand rose, splaying to show five digits while his right held up his index and middle finger to represent the number visually.

Mandalorians would pass them on the way as crew. The Unwavering had the capability of carrying almost a hundred warriors for this journey but for now all that would be in the cargo hold would be a few dozen. Among them were only four foundlings joining Kotii's group on later techniques. All the while The Unwavering would continue to descend towards the planet and eventually land not far from the abandoned base.

The large vessel was huge compared to even light freighters. But the massive vessel would send up swamp moisture into a mist. Scans had been completed and knowledge of the terrain made it safe for the corvette to land on stable ground despite the bog like environment.

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat turned her smile to the Mando woman and gave her a thumbs up! "Thanks! It'll be nice to brush up on Mandalorian building codes. I'm sure you guys build stuff for safety with all the armor!" She said chipperly. It was starting to bother her that most structures she came across didn't seem up to spec. At least Rattatak had the excuse of being at war all the time, so they didn't have time to put railings on things, but the planets she visited before that? Forget it; they didn't even have railings.

She followed Kotii, making sure to strap on her bag before setting off. It wouldn't do to forget her tools, after all. She listened intently, happy that he was speaking in basic this time. She had to hold her own fingers up, sluggishly counting to seven, one at a time. Counting was just as hard as reading for her. "Explosives..." she muttered, ticking off one finger, "Remote activator..." She ticked off another finger, "Shovel, camouflage, bait, patience, and a Can-Do Attitude!" Kat exclaimed, pointing her index finger upwards, certain she got the question right.

She looked at Hauron and Vidha, curious what they thought before standing up straight and exclaiming proudly, "Oh! And several fallback positions!" She seemed happy before she started recounting her fingers, scrunching her face up in confusion.

@Darasuum @Reylo4evr

 

[Vidha Solus]

Vidha liked this girl's energy. Most of her fellow vods were all so tough and serious, with a no-nonsense attitude. She listened to her suggestions and her smile grew, hidden behind her helmet. She turned her helmet slightly to Kotii as they walked towards the cargo hold. "I'm sure camouflage is one of those aspects, and you probably have to do everything silently but other than that I have no clue," she replied, totally honest. She seemed to have no pride, but she thought it would be pointless to pretend she knew something she didn't when it could be a learning experience. Perhaps that was her sister's fault.

@Shax @Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The young woman's answers made Kotii wonder if she were being serious. But his unasked question seem to be answered regardless the more she spoke. She was enthusiastic at least and the Mandalorian gave a slight smirking huff before hearing Vidha follow up with her own answer. The badger nodded his head, silently acknowleding the answer.

"Good answers..." He said trying to be encouraging even if with his wisdom and experience he found them to be illogical. The whole point of this was for him to teach them and to not get bothered by it. He certainly needed patience. "If you really want to be the stealthiest of predators, the most effective of hunters you need to think about sound." He pointed towards where his own ears were with his left hand as they continued to walk.

The lift from the cargo hold descended and stopped on the ground of Pzob allowing the Mandalorian group to step off and head towards the structure of the old stormtrooper bunker and smuggler hideout. Kotii kept Hauron in sight, seeing how well he was doing since this was his first time being back. Now it was their's and they could do with it what they wanted. "Next is shade, or rather color. Speed is next, shadow is one many forget, shine is a dead giveaway and silhouette. The last one is shape. Some animal patterns, fishing methods might look like flora. You really have to know your environment and yourself to be most effective. Keep that in mind when choosing your armor."

Kotii stopped beside the cooling corvette and looked over the swampy sight, then back up at the warship for a moment. "Oh...right. Let's wait for the rancors." It had been some time, but Kotii and Hauron had been joined by Arthos Vizsla and Fenyang in a hunt for rancor eggs. They had managed to each gain a rancor pup in the process and now they were growing to adolescence. Still, more training was needed for the two beasts the Mandalorians had as pets and Pzob's environment seemed appropriate to keep them. It would take a few minutes for the safe transfer of the rancors so in the mean time he would examine each of the attendants to his training. "How well do you think each of you do in regards to each of those aspects? Don't answer, think on it, now and again any time you want to sneak up on an enemy." He would repeat each of them one more time before continuing.

"I'm carrying a R-799 micro-missile pistol..." He pointed to the 'pistol' that was on his back. But in truth it being over half a meter long it was closer to a pistol gripped carbine which was why he carried it the way he did. "...my trusty sidearm..." He gestured to the BW-713 'blackhand' heavy blaster on his left hip before holding his arms away from his own sides to showcase the knives and grenades as well as any other munitions he carried on him. "All of this firepower can mean nothing if your enemy has enough themselves and know where you are. Strength isn't everything. That being said...who wants to try and hunt me." He hooked a gloved thumb towards himself like he was volunteering a game of hide and go seek. "I promise I won't use the missile pistol. I'll even let the one who brings me out of the swamp keep it."

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat listened raptly. Her experience with stealth has never been in the area of sneaking; instead, all of her experience is involved being unnoticed. It might be oxymoronic, yet true. The average slaver will never look at you twice so long as you remain just another face in the crowd, and she had long since become an expert in blending in. Practical stealth is still something she was learning, despite the time spent with Lore and the Rattataki.

Still, she had a sneaking suspicion Kotii was talking about being stealthy in armor. There was that feeling of being underdressed again. She didn't like being the odd one out! It made blending in hard! Though she supposed that was an advantage she held over the other Mandalorians. It was much easier to look natural when you weren't all sleek curves and shiny steel.

She stopped then, suddenly overwhelmed by the musty, rotting smell of swamp. She hates swamps. It's impossible to build anything without an unneeded amount of work, and it just stank of gross smells. On top of that was the constant droning of insects and wildlife, almost as intensely loud as a city, to her at least. It took a few moments to find her equilibrium again, during which she was disoriented, leaning against the bulkhead of the ship at the top of the ramp. She never did well with the sudden transition of sensation that came from getting on and off of a star-sailor.

Still, she rallied and descended the ramp, listening closely once again.

Kat grinned at Kotii; if there was one thing she had recent experience with, it was hunting people! There was a lot to do on Rattatak, and none of it could be done until the loyalists had been disintegrated. Those were a strange few days. She raised her hand and said in a chipper voice, "Me! Though are we actually trying to shoot each other?" She had a few ideas if some lethal gear was available. Explosives, after all, were the core of all stealth.

@Darasuum
@Reylo4evr