Ask Mandalore Kicking ass and taking names

[Gareth Gin]

Mandalore


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Gareth Gin was standing in the corner of a street that led to a shady back alley in the planet of the Mandalorians, a spice dealer had been shorting his payment to the Five Syndicates and, well, they obviously didn't like it, so they sent Gin to make an example out of him and his whole gang, which was fine by him since he didn't always get the chance to bash some heads, specially on Mandalore, most of them were probably worthy opponents that could give the blind Matukai a good fight. Gareth, however, wasn't fighting alone, this operation wasn't led by him, the Black Sun sent him to fight alongside an agent of their closest allies in the 5S, the Crimson Dawn. And they sent a big shot too, a Rodian that went by the name of Preef Callo who, from what Gareth had heard, made quite a name for himself, Gareth was glad he didn't have to fight alongside incompetent goons for once.

Wearing nothing but civilian attire that allowed him to move well and armed with nothing but his Matukai Gauntlets and the force, the blind monk was ready for what was about to come. Throwing a cigarette that he had just finished smoking to the ground, Gareth looked at his Rodian partner (@Ecclessey ) while cracking his knuckles and neck "All right, those assholes are probably finished selling to the last guy, so I think it's about time we go in and make sure this is the last deal they'll ever make. So, I am ready whenever you are mate!" He said as he looked at the back alley they were about to enter, his partner was supposed to be a gunslinger, a fairly good shot, so it was obvious Gareth would focus on getting close while Preef covered him and took them out one by one from afar, it was a good enough tactic, that spice dealer was done for.

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[Preef Callo]

Preef was positive he could've done this job by himself and yet the Black Sun insisted on this giant Matukai tagging along. The rodian didn't like that one bit. Partly because they had very different fighting styles and it was hard to keep enough of a distance to make a quickdraw viable against Force-enhanced swinging fists. First Kessel, then Coruscant.. what was the Black Sun up to? Xar definitely wasn't smart enough for this, but the Falleen Council itself? He had to remember to ask Marissa about it.. she'd have an insight, for sure.

"You're enthusiastic-" the rodian smiled to Gareth and nudged him forward, "-I like that." He didn't. Enthusiasm got you killed more often than not, but if you're a big Force-enhanced brawler you probably had a lot to be enthusiastic about so Preef couldn't help but like the confidence. "My contact said the dealer is a human in red-and-black armor with a Badger crest over his left peck." Kriff these Mandalorians always had to wore that kriffing armor, didn't they? "Goes by Rud Solus."

Preef had limited interactions with Mandalorians, like most of the galaxy since these people got hunted down every few hundred years over their annoying way of breeding exceptional warriors. They were the only breed of non-Force using warriors that could challenge and actually defeat the Jedi and Sith. That alone curbed Preef's enthusiasm for this mission, for he wasn't Force sensitive and not a Mandalorian.

"Hold it right there!" a voice from above said before the unmistaken sound of a jetpack was heard and a single human flew down from a nearby rooftop. "Identify yourself!"

"Preef Callo," the name had its intended effect as the Mandalorian appeared to be muttering something into the communications device inside his helmet, "Crimson Dawn?" the voice didn't sound so sure of itself as it had from the rooftop and who could blame them: the Crimson Dawn didn't send an enforcer down for just a pleasant visit, after all.

"So they tell me you're a really fast-" Preef turned towards Gareth, "How fast?"

@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Badger crest and a Solus name huh? Well, just like he expected, they were dealing with Mandalorians, scary bunch and a good challenge, Gareth knew he was going to enjoy it "Well, I don't mind showing the mandos that they aren't always at the top of the food chain" Gareth added just before one of the Mandalorians flew down and asked the duo to identify themselves, their first victim, a mando just like he expected, for an elite warrior he gave up that advantageous position very quickly, he would regret getting so close, Gareth would make sure of that.

The Matukai smirked after Preef asked that question and suddenly moved forward, using the force to enchance his speed in such a way that Gareth was basically a blur, taking that into account and the fact that the Mandalorian really decided to get closer to them the Matukai was already at melee range before the Mandalorian could've even shoot once. Gareth would use one of his arms to push the Mandalorian's blaster away as he punched him right in the head with the other one, aiming for the spot that wasn't reinforced with beskar and therefore wasn't of much use against blunt weaponry. The result of punching someone at such speeds with a Matukai glove being a broken helmet and a mando that flew a few meters before landing unconscious and probably with brain injury. After that, Gareth turned towards Preef and stomped the mandalorian's neck for good measure "I'd say I am pretty fast"

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

Despite Preef clearly directing the Matukai to take out the Mandalorian, the sudden speed and brutality in which he did so was startling to say the least. Truthfully, Preef doubted whether he could outdraw someone who moved at such speed, which in turn made him feel really small and insignificant. All that was left was to at least appear indifferent. "Fast enough," the rodian said, smiling only slightly as he stepped forward and passed the unconscious Mandalorian. "They will know we're here now."

He hadn't said it or the Mandalorian helmet's speaker crackled in alarm but the words were twisted beyond recognition. The speaker too damaged from the impact of the Matukai's smackdown. Instinctively Preef's hand went for his blaster. "How many times can you repeat that trick before it tires you out?" The question had multiple motives behind it: mainly to know how many of these Mandalorians he could take out in a blink, but partly also to find any weaknesses in case he'd have to exploit them. You never knew with these Black Sun scoundrels. One day they're the best allies and you're side to side assaulting Kessel, but the next they've allied themselves to the Sith Empire and expose the entirity of the Five Syndicates to Jedi persecution.



@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Gareth looked at the work he just did on the Mandalorian one more time before looking back at Preef, obviously proud of his work "In these short bursts? It's like sprinting, as long as I don't spend the whole fight doing it and leave some time inbetween it should be fine, can really only do it on a straight line though, so I gotta be mindful on it so I don't run towards blaster fire" Gareth explained, not really bothering to hide the flaws of that trick, sure, some people could take advantage of it, but his fighting style didn't really revolve around it.

Once more, Gareth looked at the Mandalorian, his jetpack to be exact "Obviously we are about to fight Mandalorians and they are aware of our presence, they could shoot at us from the roof which would put us, specially me, in a very bad spot" The Matukai explained as the guy whose range was only as far as his fists reached, looking at the alley they were about to get in "So...I could easily climb my way up to the rooftop, deal with the mandos and make sure no one can pin you from up there, what do you think?" He asked. If Preef agreed with his plan, Gareth would begin climbing up through a drain pipe and wouldn't take long before reaching the rooftops.

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

So if he had to shoot the Matukai he had to shoot him in the back. Got it. Preef was pretty sure he wouldn't survive it otherwise. There were some things Preef had more experience in, though, aside from hand-to-hand combat apparently. "I know Mandalorians are suckers for the high ground," the Rodian smiled and simply continued walking, "but a spice dealer will never risk their stash. He'll be somewhere inside." In other words: don't bother with the high ground, because.

The rodian only barely managed to jump aside as three bolts hit the tarmac from above. "We'll send Donatade your head, Callo!" one of two Mandalorians shouted from the rooftop. Kriff, apparently Preef didn't know that much better than the Matukai anyway..

"Follow me!" he called out and dashed for the nearest door, blasted the panel with his pistol so the door would open and headed inside. A pair of human line cooks looked at him with a shocked expression on their faces, one clearly considering whether or not to throw up his hands in surrender, but the rodian waved them off. "Just pretend we're not here!" You'd be surprised, but a line cook didn't need to hear that twice. Their jobs were on the line with every meal they prepared and the immediately continued chopping vegetables and grilling. Standing left of the door and in cover, Preef turned his head towards Gareth, "Guess we're in an that alley shootout now."

@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Well, Gareth thought that the big shot from the Crimson Dawn had a reason as to why he didn't want the brawler up on the rooftops in case the Mandalorians where there, but apparently not, just like the blind man expected, two Mandalorians started shooting at them, the bolts almost hitting the target before Preef got them some cover inside what looked like some kind of restaurant and if the Matukai actually had eyes instead of white glowing tattoos he would be staring veeeery hard at the Rodian, he had to be a very good shot to be an enforcer with that thinking, either that or he bullshitted his way to the higher ranks.

Gareth was a betting man though, and he wanted to bet that he at least had good aim, something which would be necessary because what he wanted to do next would end badly otherwise "Look Preef, I am going to go out again and draw their fire, your aim better be true today because I don't feel like getting my clothes burned by a blaster bolt" Gareth explained, cracking his fists and focusing in order to improve his force sight so he had a better idea about where the two Mandalorians were, dashing into the alley after that "All right you poor excuses for warriors, try and hit me!" Bolts were directed towards the Matukai, who blocked them with his gloves one after the other, however, with their current poor positioning, he wouldn't last long, Preef had to hurry.

@Ecclessey

 

[Preef Callo]

With the Matukai as an excellent distraction, Preef managed to hit the first jetpack with his second shot and the Mandalorian attached to it came falling down twenty feet to the hard tarmac below. The crunch was sickening as the human inside was dented inward by the crash of his heavy armor on the unforgiving and unmovable floor. The other Mandalorian didn't give it any attention and Preef, now moving back into the alley, had to give him props for that. These Mandalorians were real professionals and it was almost a shame that the Crimson Dawn wanted to set an example.

Aiming his blaster pistol at the second Mandalorian, Preef however couldn't resist. "Stop this, Mando!" he shouted against his better judgment. A Mandalorian didn't just give up at the first setback.. he wasn't a Hutt.. and as a reply the only thing the Mando did was to turn mid-flight to aim his rifle at the rodian. Preef didn't like having to do it, but as he'd been looking through the small scope anyway he pulled the trigger, hitting the Mandalorian in the helmet. Not having compensated for getting hit on the helmet, the Mandalorian burst went wide by a large margin and left him in no position to return fire when Preef pulled the trigger again... and again... and again.. until the Mandalorian's body seemed to go limp, the rifle fell out of his hands and the jetpack suddenly went upwards like an uncontrolled rocket, sending the human over the rooftops and out of sight.

"We're definitely in the right alley," the Rodian sighed as he put a bolt in the neck of the dented Mandalorian on the ground, "Let's knock on the doors until we find our dealer."

@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

"Well, you certainly are a good shot with that blaster my friend" Gareth complimented Preef, however, he wasn't the only one, so were the Mandalorians that shot at him, it was quite difficult to deflect their shots, they knew where to aim in order to make it as difficult and awkward as possible, good thing the Rodian didn't keep him waiting while tanking those shots "Getting shot at by people in beskar that knew your name gave me that impression, yeah" He responded at the right alley comment as he took the lead, knowing that, being in front, he was most likely to be shot and, well, better deflect those shots than let Preef get shot if he wasn't fast enough to jump behind cover.

"I have a way to tell which door may be the correct one, a "radar" of sorts, if you will, so allow me to save us some time" The Matukai explained as he walked through the alley, concentrating into augmenting the strength of his force vision to be able to sense people behind the doors. Chances are the Mandalorians were grouped and waiting for Gareth and Preef, so he just had to kick down the door that separated them and a group of people that had hostile intent, easy enough. Concentrated, Gareth walked through the streets, sensing everyone around him suddenly kicking a door fully open, which would knock the man who was peeking behind it on his ass "If you hear shots you don't poke your head out dumbass, close the door or you'll probably get hurt" Gareth growled at the bystander, who closed the door as ordered. Not too long after that, Gareth pointed at another door, pretty sure their target, or at least more mandos, were behind it, so Gareth prepared himself to kick down the door once Preef told him to.

@Eccles

 

[Preef Callo]

Together they went door to door and Preef was glad the Mirakulai tagged along. It was kinda neat to be able to sense people behind doors and thus avoid an ambush, so the rodian let the man do his thing. Could only get it wrong so many times, right? "Alright," Preef position himself right smack in front of the door Gareth had pinpointed and aimed his trusted blaster in the air. The latter was a courtesy signal to Gareth that he couldn't accidentally shoot the man in he back. "Kick it in."

What happened next went fast. Gareth kicked down the door, revealing one Mandalorian with his rifle aiming steady towards them. Preef lowered the barrel and pulled the trigger not a millisecond too late. The red plasma from his pistol shrieked passed Gareth's head and hit the Mandalorian right in the helmet, sending their own salvo barely over the Matukai's head and into the ceiling as the recoil took over. It was a close one. Much closer than Preef would ever dare to admit. Startled by how close that call was, the rodian turned his head towards Gareth and smiled in relief, "Have you covered."

A soft groan escaped the heavily armored human in front of them. It seemed the helmet had tanked a great deal of the heavy blast and Preef was sure to make a mental note of that one. "Kriff, he's still alive" he looked at his pistol as he said it as if to check he definitely didn't switch to stun between shots. "Guess they're not kidding about that armor."

Up ahead stood their target. He wasn't wearing a helmet and despite having just seen one of his men eat a bolt he seemed to be grinning. "Preef Callo himself!" the human called out, "Guess the Five Syndicates really do need to send their best," more voices inside, yet not visible from the doorway, started laughing. "We're flattered."

A second later two smoke grenades went off and Rud Solus disappeared from view and Preef made sure to take cover next to the open door. "What's that expression?" he asked Gareth, "From the frying pan and into the.."



@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Preef said the word and Gareth kicked the door down, a bolt passing by his head and hitting a mando while a few others almost took his head, good thing they were already expecting to be shot the moment they got in thanks to Gareth's abilities or he could've lost his head, those Mandos truly weren't screwing around.

Gareth took cover to the other side of the door, looking at Gareth as the Mandalorian leader talked, even the fabled Mandalorian warriors had leaders that seemed unable to shut their mouths and take the shot apparently, that was good, it meant even their stupidity could be exploited one way or another.

It was a shame Preef didn't get to finish off that Mandalorian though, this was not the usual job where they had to take care of
plenty of sacrificable thugs, these guys were Mandalorians, killing one was hard but also a huge impact, Gareth only sensed around 6 people inside the warehouse, but all of them were obviously prepared, however, none of them probably faced a jedi or a sith before, and certainly not a rogue Matukai, the smoke they popped would make things harder for Preef, they surely had thermal vision or similar, but that wouldn't work on the Matukai.

"And into the fire, yeah, they're about to get burnt for sure!" The Miralukan said with a confident smile, trying to keep the morale high "Look, the leader seems to be moving to the next room and there are two mandos taking cover behind some furniture, one to the right, the other to the left, I am gonna go in, shoot a bit to the right when I tell you and you should be hitting a Mandalorian popping out of cover to blow my brains out, okay?" It was a risky plan, but better than nothing, if they stood behind cover the Mandalorians would eventually shoot a rocket at them or something.

Gareth took a deep breath and suddenly entered the building, "Now!" Gareth screamed, a couple shots being narrowly blocked by his Matukai gauntlets, using the force to sprint towards the closest cover, the Mandalorians would eventually hit true otherwise, if Preef managed to hit a Mandalorian, Gareth would probably be able to take the next one, he had to trust his partner here.

@Eccles

 

[Preef Callo]

Preef had to hand to it to the Mirakulan. The big guy has some balls and didn't linger too much. It was a nice change of pace, for usually it was the rodian that had to take point in situations like this. Preef agreed to Gareth's plan with a simple nod and as the Mirakulan dashed forward the rodian fired five times in quick succession in the direction he was told.

It was the third bolt that out of sheer luck struck true in the Mandalorian's abdomen, freezing him in place long enough for the second and third to his him in the chest. He was grievously injured by the time he hit the ground, but with the smoke it was hard to determine whether or not the beskar saved his life. Meanwhile Preef ducked low and followed Gareth inside, trying his best to either hold his breath or breathe in from underneath his shirt to avoid the inhalation of smoke. Trusting on Gareth's abilities, Preef didn't bother to check if the Mirakulan beat that second Mando and instead went to check if he had taken out the other one. Upon reaching the unconscious individual with the three bolt marks on his armor Preef was confident his victim wouldn't get up, but he didn't stick around long enough to take off a helmet and check whether or not he still had a heartbeat. That didn't matter.. all that mattered was them taking out Rud Solus and make an example out of him.

The smoke started to disperse through the exit now and Preef got a clear sight of the door where Gareth said their target had disappeared through. "Same plan?" he asked, realizing he wanted to rely on the Force to avoid any nasty surprises, "what do you sense behind it?"



@Versok

 

[Gareth Gin]

Gareth managed to take cover behind some furniture, but not for long, he knew that he needed to cover Preef or he could get shot while shooting at the other mando, so the Miralukan kicked his cover towards the Mandalorian adding some force to it in order to make it hit harder, didn't really aim to take him down "Preef got a force sorcerer!" the Mandalorian screamed, probably loud enough to be heard by the Mandalorians that were further ahead, as he began shooting at the matukai, not his best performance as the Mandalorian was still adjusting to the hit of what Gareth threw at him, allowing the Miralukan to move closer for the kill.

Of course, this was a Mandalorian they were talking about, one that wasn't surprised unlike the first one they took care of, the Miralukan's powerful right jab was deflected by the Mandalorian, who pointed his wrist flamethrower directly at Gareth's face. Being roasted by a mando, however, was not part of Gareth's plans today, who quickly grabbed the Mandalorian's arm and forced him to aim quite higher, narrowly missing his hair and setting a good part of the ceiling on fire.

Gareth quickly counter attacked, kneeing the Mandalorian in the gut to make him recoil in pain and afterwards grabbing him by the head and smashing it through the same before he was hit by before, punching him in the neck from behind afterwards for good measure. "Phew...we should take care of the main target before that fire spreads, quickly, to the next room!" Gareth quickly moved forwards, not taking as much time or preparation as before, he had a reason for that though "I sense only one person on the second floor, but I am pretty sure I sensed two before, I think they might be escaping!" the Miralukan quickly arrived to the first room of the second floor "All right, one guy aheaaaaaaaaaaa-" The Miralukan didn't even get to finish his phrase as a Mandalorian flew into the room through a window, tackled Gareth and then both of them went out of the building through yet another window, Preef and Gareth suddenly separated as the room got filled with smoke once again and Preef started to hear some taunting words coming from the target himself "What will you do without your sorcerer pet, Preef Callo?"

@Eccles

 

[Preef Callo]

Things were happening now in rapid succession, with the fire raging on the ceiling and then suddenly a loud crash, a surge of fresh air emboldening the flames and Preef was standing all alone. Their target, Rud Solus, taunted the rodian, apparently forgetting that Preef Callo was one of the galaxy's finest gunslingers with or without a sorcerer pet to help him. Preef only barely managed to duck as bolts tore through the thin wall separating him from his target. Rud had heatvision in his helmet and that usually gave him an advantage in situations like this, but unfortunately for him one of his fellows decided to use a flamethrower indoors and the rapidly spreading fires made the heat vision useless, in fact, switching to it was temporarily blinding. Preef capitalized on the split second in which Rud was forced to switch back to normal vision and adjust his eyes to the sudden darkness.

Before the durasteel-clad Mandalorian fully realized it, Preef crashed through the weakened plaster wall and fired three shots point-back against his torso armorplate before landing just two feet in front of him. The rodian looked a little worse for wear, the spreading fires were horrible on his lungs and the heat caused him to sweat profusely. "Red and Black," Preef muttered, seemingly confirming his target.

Rud steadied himself, his chest armor wasn't pure beskar and the three heavy blaster bolts had done more damage than melt some of the surface skin on his chest. "You, son of a-" he cried, a sharp blade extending from his right wrist as he lunged forward to impale the rodian. Preef quickly dove into the other direction and fired again, hitting Rud in his left side and unbalancing him for another moment. "You thin-tch youk Anne" the Mandalorian pushed himself forward with his left foot and trusted in the weight of his armor to make him fall right on top of the rodian, but that was just the man's willpower being too slow to catch up with his body. That fourth shot had burned itself through his ribcage and damaged his lung and heart beyond repair. Still, Preef fired again as the Mandalorian fell, striking Rud in the helmet before smacking the blade into the floor on his left.

Rud Solus was dead, or dying, but Preef didn't feel like undressing him to find out. The fires were still spreading and the smoke was getting thicker by the second, so naturally the rodian's gaze went to a nearby window and.. "Ah kriff,"

Moments later the rodian jumped through and fell ten feet to land, sprain his ankle and roll into the alley they had started in. Hopefully Gareth was still alive somewhere, too.

@Versok