Mad Hunt

[Kalen Conner]

It was a quiet night outside on the lower sectors of Nar Shadda. The low humming sound of the base bumping could be heard from outside a club known as 'Vibrations'. Inside, a large crowd was enjoying the music on the dance floor and drinks at the bar. The Compeer, Jericho Daybreaker, was sitting in his office watching the masses while smoking a cigar, "I'm out of scotch. Bring me another bottle," the leader of the Exchange said over a com to one of his employees before killing the communication.

Like always the big man was waiting for another one of his new employees to give out a job. A private contractor in fact, as the man would be doing his first bounty hunting job for the criminal organisation. Jericho was not very fond of freelance agents but he had a feeling he would like this man in particular. A Mandolarian soldier who was still in service to the current Mandalore. This meant the man had discipline and military training. It was sometime the ex-sergeant kept in high regards.

"Here you go, Sir," a Twi'lek servant said as she brought him a new bottle of scotch and ice. The big man gestured for the servant to put the items down on his table and with a 'thank you' he saw the Twi'lek out of the door. He poured himself a glass of the alcohol and took a sip as his mind returned to the task at hand. There was an albino Wookiee known as Grozharr who was mugging some of the Exchange's thugs on the planet of Corellia. No casualties have been accounted for but the Wookiee did take a suitcase of Lumni-Spice from one of the larger deals he hit.

Jericho took another sip from his glass and a drag from his cigar. The Wookiee was a dangerous one who would even use his claws in a fight as the Daybreaker could see from pictures he was sent of the men that was attacked, "A madclaw," the ex-mercenary mused at the thought of the bowcaster wielder. He needed the man to bring back the Wookiee alive but not necessarily well. Not only because Jericho wanted to know where all the resources are that Grozharr stole but he was intrigued by the beast and wondered if he couldn't you him to benefit the organisation.

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla Carid looked around. He had never been a fan of clubs. They were noisy, and always filled with the stench of hot air, bodily sweat, cheap perfume and stale beverages. As a Mandalorian, he preferred sitting in the open, drinking with his brothers in arms after a battle well fought. But today he wasn't there to relax. He was there to meet with the leader of the Exchange, a prominent crime syndicate in the Nar Shaddaa region.

And now, he was standing face to face with Jericho Daybreaker, leader of the Exchange. He was an impressive man, the young Mandalorian had no trouble recognizing this. Of course, you didn't become the head of the Exchange if you couldn't hold your own in a fight. In a way, it was similar to the Mandalorian society - a combat-proven, efficient fighting organization designed so that the strongest would always be the leader, contributing to the strength of the society as a whole.

Survival of the fittest. Also known more appropriately as 'Dog eat dog'.

The job was simple enough; A madclaw wookiee had stolen something from the Exchange on Corellia, and attacked several of its agents in the process. The Exchange wanted him bagged and delivered alive, but not necessarily in good health. A job for a Mando. Tesla smirked.

"Can do." He replied simply. He was no racist, but he didn't like wookiees. Their way of talking annoyed and gave him a headache, and their lack of temper, their arrogant pride, and their 'code of honor' felt like a mockery of the Mandalorian society he so cherished. Taking one down a peg or two was something he would enjoy greatly. "I'll de-claw your little madclaw for you." He muttered as he walked out of the office.

 

[Master Maverick]

The Wookiee sat in a small room, a run down apartment on the outskirts of the city. Looking at the briefcase he paced the room, wondering what he would do with it.

He wasn't stupid, which was a powerful combination with his awesome natural strength as well as his impeccable aim with his bowcaster. It was old, but retrofitted with the best money could buy. Or, that he could 'coerce' out of weapon's dealers.

It was easy enough, he was like a ghost in the night, and he would play the role perfectly, placing fear in those he wanted items from and killing those who had wronged him without their knowing.

Looking at the open case, he knew the exchange would be after him. It was quite a sum of Spice, and he knew they wouldn't just let him have it. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out what to do. He knew he was going to stay where he was, letting them come to him, but how was he going to get away? If he succeeded against this one, they would only send more. How many would they send? How long would they try to get it back?

He didn't know who they were going to send, or when. But he would find out soon enough. He had his sources, after all...

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla had arrived to Coronet City's spaceport after an uneventful ride with a smuggling vessel, compliments of the Exchange. He had opted for this to keep a low-profile arrival. Even so, he expected his enemy to know of his presence within hours at most - you didn't survive brawling with the Exchange without having your own spies to keep an eye out for you and watch your back.

And this wookiee would definitely need to watch his back.

He had followed Blue Sky Boulevard from the spaceport, towards the Blue Sector of Coronet City. It was a crime-infested part of town, renowned for its dangers. It was, pretty much, the slums of the city, but also the place where most foreigners stayed. And if one wanted to disappear, the Blue Sector was the place to do it in. Tesla had been to Corellia many times as a Mandalorian agent, and knew the region well.

His first stop was a shady-looking cantina named Card's Tapcaf. Owned by a human man named Card, a Mandalorian and a friend of Tesla's father, Garza, as it happened, he was the man to ask about the albino wookiee, since he knew about almost everything that happened in the Blue Sector. And how many albino wookiees could the Blue Sector possibly hide? Tesla smirked. This would be an easy job...

The cantina was boisterous as always. Pretty dancers of various humanoid races were dancing around poles, while smugglers, bounty hunters and other mercenary dreg were drinking and cheering them on. Tesla made his way through to the bar, where he leaned against it. A bartender walked past him, and Tesla reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. The man looked angrily at him at first, but when recognizing the Mandalorian armor and helmet, he stopped dead in his tracks. Seeing the Carid clan's coat of arms on the shoulder plates, he brightened up as Tesla removed his helmet.

"Tesla! I'll be damned!" He grinned as he patted the young Mandalorian on the shoulder. Tesla returned the gesture with a smile. Soon, the two of them sat by the bar, enjoying a beer together, talking about old times. Tesla told Card about how his family was doing. Slowly, he directed the subject to the real reason why he was there.

"I'm looking for a wookiee." He said. "An albino wookiee, a madclaw, called Grozharr. The damn thing attacked some important people, and took something from them. They want it back. That's why they hired me." Card gave him a strange look, but didn't ask. Instead, he just nodded.

"I've seen an albino wookiee here once or twice, lately. Doesn't associate with the other guests, just grabs a drink, and then leaves again. Can't tell you where he lives, but I can guess. There's a flophouse near the Pit, where aliens like to hide from Corellia's immigration authorities. A cheap apartment complex. Your best bet would be to start by looking there. The place is called the Junkyard, aptly enough." Tesla nodded.

"Thanks, old man." He replied.

And so now he was on his way to the junkyard at the edge of the Blue Sector, nicknamed 'the Pit', where mechanical and chemical wastes were thrown away, sometimes along with 'organic' 'wastes' as well. It was a place where people tended to disappear, voluntarily or involuntarily. And at the edge of the Pit lay the Junkyard, a flophouse for illegal alien immigrants. Was that where the albino wookiee was hiding?

It wasn't long before Tesla found himself outside the run-down building. A couple of shady looking Rodians were hanging around looking shady. One of them looked at Tesla for a moment, but recognizing his Mandalorian armor, averted his eyes quickly. Tesla ignored them as he stepped through the doors into the corridors inside. An old, wretched and shady looking human manager sat by a simple desk, working on a monitor.

"I'm looking for a wookiee..." Tesla said. The man didn't even look up.

"Yeah? Look elsewhere. Bugger off, mate. Ain't no wookiee here."

Tesla reached out and grabbed the man by the shirt, dragging him over the desk. When the man recognized his Mando armor and helmet, he became deathly pale in his face. Tesla brought out a small knife, putting it to the man's cheek, letting it draw a tiny river of blood.

"An albino wookiee." He clarified. He launched his arm sideways, throwing the man crashing through the closed wooden door and out into the dusty street outside. Tesla calmly followed him outside, preparing to torture the weakling for answers. Tesla wasn't above torturing somebody to get answers from them, and this man wasn't above being tortured...

"No!" The man screamed in panic.

 

[Master Maverick]

"The Mandalorian is here." A rodian said in his native tongue to the White ghost of a Wookiee who sat before him, seemingly not even paying attention. Grozharr waved wearily at the rodian to leave him.

His mind raced faster than before. Though he was smart... for a Wookiee, that didn't make him extremely intelligent. He wasn't going to face this Mando head on. Not at first at least. He'd make the merc work for it. Then he'd use his vastly superior strength, if such came to that. First, though, he was going to play with his new friend.

He wasn't about to leave his room, not yet, allowing for those he had 'asked' to tell him the position and status of his 'predator'. As it was, he had a secret passage way that would allow him quick exit out of his dingy little apartment. It wasn't much, and just led outside to an alley at the right side of the building, if on were looking at the entrance. But this was Grozharr's playground, and this merc would have to learn his rules.

He didn't doubt the skills or capabilities of the Mandalorian; too many times before had he underestimated his quarry, or his captors, and too many times had he paid the price. His body was littered with cuts, patches of hairless skin and the like.

He got word from a trandoshan that he was at Card's. He knew where to go and was catching up quickly. Grozharr just readied himself, peering over to the briefcase full of the Spice that the Mando was, no doubt, supposed to retrieve.

After a few moments, he got up quickly, knowing what he was doing and like he had done it another time. To the right of the chair he was sitting in was a briefcase that looked identical to the other that he brought over the table. Closing, and picked up the one filled with Spice, he opened a cabinet in the kitchen and placed it in a secret compartment in the bottom of it that went into the floor. Out of that same cabinet, he gathered a collection of miscellaneous items that would make the case he would be carrying of similar weight. He packed it, closed it, and locked it. Going back over to his over-sized degraded chair, he sat with the case on his lap.

He would stay there, his eyes and ears peered, listening for any sign of commotion. It was not far in coming.

His race graced him with enhanced hearing and smell; he could hear the steps of armor approaching along with the unmistakable stench of a Mandalorian. He could hear well enough the manager crying for help. It didn't matter if he told him Grozharr's location, he would disappear into the side alley and bring him to his 'arena' as he dubbed it. The Wookiee's fingers played with the bowcaster that he would grab and hook onto his back when it was time to leave.

It was only a matter of time before the man spilled, or died. Either way, he was sure the man was going to die; for if he told the merc his location, he would be back to kill him.

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla let his fist hit the man right across the face, drawing blood from his shattered nose. The man cried out in pain, trying to curl up to a ball to protect his head. But the Mando was in no mood for games. He looked around, catching sight of a large trough full of water. Its original use was unclear, but Tesla knew a perfectly good use for it. He dragged the man across the dirt over to the trough, and grabbed his head, forcing it under the water without mercy.

The man twitched and jerked, trying to get out of the water, as he did. Tesla waited several moments before pulling his head up again. "His name is Grozharr." He said. "He's large, white, and speaks in annoying groans and grunts. Where is he?" The managed spluttered and coughed. Tesla lowered his head towards the water once more, but the man held up his hand.

"Wait!" He cried out. "He's in apartment 23! Please...no more!" Tesla let go of the man.

"Are there any other ways out of the apartment?"

"N-not that I know of. He's going to kill me for telling you... ***** hell..." The man cursed between his sniffles as he sat down against the trough, trying to catch his breath. Tesla looked down at him.

"He won't have a chance to."

With that, Tesla stepped inside once more. He brought out his proton carbine, and began to move through the corridor, weapon raised. He walked slowly, rolling on his feet with bent knees, giving him more balance should he suddenly be attacked. He moved up the stairs towards the second floor, his finger on the trigger. A trandoshan appeared before him in the corridor as he reached the second floor. The alien raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. Tesla motioned with his head for the man to get out of there, in no uncertain gestures clarifying what would happen to him if he didn't.

Then, he proceeded down the corridor, his footsteps silent and slow, his eyes seeing the world from just above the circular lens of his carbine's scope. He looked at the door numbers from the corner of his eyes, until he finally found apartment 23. Stopping, Tesla moved up to the side of the door, and listened. It was quiet inside. He brought out a small explosive charge, placing it over the door's lock. Stepping back a single step, he didn't even twitch when it exploded. Quickly, he stepped up to the side of the door again, pushing it open with his hand before throwing a stun grenade inside. As it exploded, he moved inside, like a ghost, weapon at the ready, moving from the left of the room to the right, searching for a target.

 

[Master Maverick]

A smirk came over the Wookiee's face as he listened to the conversation outside. Even before the Mandalorian entered the building complex itself, he was out a secret passageway opposite the entrance to the 'dining room'. It was almost not noticeable, but to a trained eye, one could spot it easily enough.

He would leave a little present for his would-be captor; a frag mine right in the doorway to the dining room. It didn't matter if he saw it or not, it was only to buy him a little time. Half-way through the passageway he heard the 2 explosions happen virtually one right after the other. This merc was efficient, and Grozharr quickened his pace a bit.

Within seconds, he reached the end of the small corridor, hardly big enough for him to get through, he stepped onto the pavement of the alleyway next to the building. Without skipping a beat, he went towards the front of the building, whipped out his bowcaster and shot the manager in the head. Doubling back as quickly as he had appeared, he ran with inhuman speed East, away from Coronet and deeper into the slums.

His goal was to make it to the forest several kilometers in that direction. He was blessed with the endurance to do such without sacrificing much speed. He moved with agility seemingly unknown to his species, moving around and over obstacles that would hinder his movement. One could even speculate he could be force-sensitive, but that was not the case. While his power was a force to be reckoned with, his agility was not to be underestimated either. He was the perfect assassin. Only when someone had enough credits to purchase his services.

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla scoffed at the second explosion he had heard. A fragmentation mine. This wookiee was taking him lightly, and it pissed the Mandalorian off. As he entered, he let his proton carbine sweep the apartment, but there was no trace of the creature. Tesla didn't bother cursing. Instead, he quickly but effectively scanned the room. His eyes locked suddenly on the remnants of a fake wall on the other side of the dining room, somewhat damaged by the explosions. An escape passage.

He let out a heavy sigh as he turned around and ran back downstairs, and out into the street. There lay the manager, dead. Tesla frowned under his helmet, promising the dead body that he would avenge him by beating the wookiee to a pulp. He had tortured the man, it was true, but he had also promised him the wookiee would have no chance to kill him. It annoyed the Mando, and he looked around trying to figure out where the damn creature had gone. A Rhodian wimpered when the Mando helmet turned at him, and immediately pointed east. Tesla smirked under his helmet.

He began to run, fast, but at a steady pace, eastwards, on a path that took him deeper into the slums. Having been to Coronet City many times in the past, he knew that this path would take them into the woodlands, where even the shady slum tenants would not go. The realization came over him suddenly that the wookiee was expecting him to catch up - but he wanted his hunter to do it in a place of the wookiee's own choosing.

The realization made him stop for a moment, and snort.
"Tch. I'll tear you to pieces, you furry bag of ****." He muttered under his breath, before picking up his pace again. He stopped momentarily on occasion to look around for traces of the behemoth's passing, tracking his prey like a Mandalorian hunter recruit proving his hunting skills in the jungles of Kashyyk or Dxun. Proton carbine at the ready, Tesla wandered on, deeper and deeper into the woodlands, every muscle in his body corded and ready for a sudden attack.

 

[Master Maverick]

Deep inside this woodland was nothing like his homeworld; it was too manicured and empty, not much to hide behind, take cover behind, or use as a possible distraction. It also didn't help, his coat being stark white, offering absolutely no camouflage as it were.

As the forest grew a little more dense, he veered left, speeding up to make his way up a sturdy looking tree. He ran up it for several steps before grabbing with his free paw once before reaching a branch. Deftly he began climbing it, as though he was more comfortable climbing than running. He probably was though.

Making his way up into the canopy, he back-tracked, climbing the branches over where he had come. He was more or less obscured by the branches, over 50 feet above the ground, he halted, silenced his breathing and made no moves. He waited there, pulling out his bowcaster silently and taking aim down where he had just come from, waiting for this Mandalorian to catch up. He would shoot at his back if he were dumb enough to look at the tree.

However, regardless, he would shoot at him a few times before moving among the branches. Their movement would give off his general location, however not his exact, and that was good enough for the albino.

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla stopped for a moment, listening. There was no sound out of the ordinary. But in the pit of his stomach, a feeling of discomfort burnt cold. It was the sixth sense that so many soldiers developed after years and more years on the battlefield, a feeling of impending doom, or a forewarning just before the **** was about to hit the fan. He stopped, then, quickly sliding into the underbrush, where the green paint of his armor helped conceal him. There was no sign of the wookiee, but his trail was easy to follow.

It led the Mandalorian to a great tree. The tracks ended right at the foot of it. He gritted his teeth. The hunter wanted nothing more than to examine the tree for tracks - already he could see what could be claw marks in the wood. But the tree was out in the open, and he could very well get shot in the back if he attempted to approach it. He gritted his teeth as his eyes searched the canopy around and above him. He decided to take a chance.

He worked quickly, leaving no room for hesitation, as he unleashed the jetpack on his back. The rockets burst to life, searing the ground behind him with flames and propelling him up towards the canopy above the tree with freightening speed. Once he hit them, he turned the jetpack off, at the same time stabbing his vibroblade deeply into the tree, to prevent him from falling down again. The action left him hanging for a few moments, but quickly as a snake, he crawled up among the branches, raising his proton carbine once more as he looked around.

The canopy was thick, and he saw only a few meters ahead of him. Slowly, he began to move along the tree branches, searching for tracks of the albino wookiee. He still was not certain this was the path the albino had taken - for all he knew, he could have lost the creature already back where he had gone into cover. But his gut feeling told him he was on the right track, and gut feeling was something all soldiers knew to rely on. Finger on the trigger, his eyes scanned his surroundings as he advanced through the canopy.

Finding the creature, though, was made more difficult up there, where it wasn't very hard to avoid leaving tracks behind. It made tracking the furry bounty a difficult task even for the Mandalorian soldier. But Tesla never backed down from a challenge, and he found himself advancing with a smirk on his lips.

 

[Master Maverick]

The end of a bowcaster, all but invisible from the ground, was pointing directly at his would-be captor. The albino was readying the perfect head shot, but this merc was more than warry and didn't present a decent target. As it was, Bowcasters weren't necessarily ideal in long-range sniping shots, and his was no different.

As the mando jet-packed his way up the tree he silently cursed at the man, but stayed absolutely still. Again, with practiced hands, he maneuvered his arms to point the caster in the direction where he suspected the hired-help to have landed.

Without much warning, he shot 3 times, making a small triangle with the end of his bow. Immediately after, he 'rose' from his position and started darting through the trees. Tesla would see fleeting glances of the Wookiee ghost as he expertly made his way through the canopy, seemingly unhindered. He would zig-zag his way around, shooting randomly back at the thug as he made his way.

Eventually, he would drop down into a thicket of bushes, completely exposed for just over a second, as he disappeared into the brush. Only visible through sparse and random openings, he made his way headlong ever deeper into the forest.

A few days prior, he had set up multiple traps in the area he was heading, and would use them against the man. There were vine-trips, log-hammers, sink-holes, covered ditches with spikes at the bottom, and even 3 fully grown male kath hounds ready to be released; and they were starving.

Grozharr was more or less leading the mandalorian into the trap, ready to start the real fun.

 

[Livgardist]

For the second time that day, Tesla's life was saved in this hunt, by his soldier's sixth sense. As he moved through the canopy, suddenly, his body moved on its own, throwing itself to the ground - or rather, the tree stem he was walking on - face down, moments before several bolts wooshed past his head - bolts from a wookiee bowcaster. A smirk appeared on Tesla's face. He rolled sideways, avoiding another bowcaster bolt as he saw a snow-white wookiee move through the canopy at some distance. He threw up his proton carbine and fired several rounds after the creature, but hit nothing but empty air.

"Tch." He let out an annoyed grunt as he ducked again when another bolt from a completely different position flew over his head. Tesla, too, began to move, rolling sideways and changing his firing position. As he did, he opened fire again on the creature's last position, but quickly found that his prey had escaped from there already, and was once more on the move.

He began to crawl towards the wookiee's last position, quickly like a snake, with his carbine in front of him, until he reached the position unharmed. THere, staying low, he studied the "ground" created by the thick web of vegetation, finding clear signs showing the wookiee's path. He stood up, and followed it, carbine once more raised. Eventually he found an opening in the canopy, and a drop down into the forest below them. Agilely, he climbed down, landing in the grass in a crouch, before beginning to move forward again, deeper into the thick forest.

He almost made a fatal mistake at one point, berating himself heavily when he nearly stepped on a vined tripwire stretching on the ground in front of him. Carefully, he stepped over it before using a stick to spring it. A cracking noise was heard as an enormous log came falling down like a hammer, smashing into a tree stem with devastating brutality. Tesla smirked, but the message was clear; The wookiee had had plenty of time to prepare himself, and the area would be full of traps. He would have to proceed carefully.

He studied the ground carefully with every step he took, looking both for tripwires and changes in coloration or vegetation, which would signify that there could be a sinkhole or ditch trap.

Suddenly, an i dea formed in the Mandalorian's mind. The beast was baiting him. He could push through the creature's traps and challenges, and bag him. It would be difficult, but not beyond his abilities. Or, he could turn the table on the creature, make him think he had won. The thought made a wry grin spread on his lips as he started to search for an opportunity to do it. He found his opportunity when he spotted a patch of forest debris, tree branches and leaves, on the ground in front of him.

Without hesitation, he stepped on the patch, and immediately felt the ground disappear under his feet. He let out a blood-freezing cry. As soon as he disappeared into the pit, though, his hand went out and stabbed right into the wall with his vibroblade. He continued to slide downwards for a few paces as the blade cut through the dirt, but eventually, it stopped, only inches from the razor-sharp wooden sticks waiting below to impale him a hundred times over.

He readied himself for the creature's arrival. He had a strong ace up his sleeve in the jetpack on his back. When the wookiee made its appearance, he would boost it and propel himself out of the trap, and be close enough to the wookiee to finally fight him face to face, like a Mandalorian. Starting to enjoy the hunt, he felt a tingle of excitement in the pit of his stomach at the fight to come, and he snickered.

 

[Master Maverick]

The ghost-Wookiee was hiding in an all concealing bush when he heard the yell from the Mandalorian. He almost smirked in victory, but was curious that the sound of wood sliding through armor and flesh didn't present itself at the appropriate time.

He slung his bowcaster on his back and uncovered an unmodified vibro-sword. Mostly unmodified. The only difference being the length; it was easily 5 feet in length, and heavy too. He wouldn't be too quick with it, but the sheer power he could put behind it was staggering... litterally. At least, if it didn't kill you at the same time.

He walked over to the pit, as though he knew exactly which one it was that he fell into. Indeed, he did know. The briefcase was left in the bush; he didn't need it anymore, not that it had anything important in it anyway. He switched hands with the sword and grabbed his caster, pointing it to the hole that now was obvious in the ground.

While he tried all he could, his steps weren't silent, as there were various twigs and dead leaves about, crunching and breaking as he stepped. Moving closer, he pointed lower with his bow. When the hole was fully visible to him, he would shoot off multiple shots regardless, just to make sure. His sword was back in a defensive position, ready for anything.

 

[Livgardist]

He could hear the wookiee approach. The creature made so much noise, he might as well be a bantha in a cantina. Clutching the vibroblade with both hands to stay away from the sharp poles, Tesla closed his eyes, relying on his ears to calculate the distance of his opponent. Then, when he was close enough, the Mandalorian engaged the jetpack. There was a loud hissing sound as it engaged, followed by a roaring sound as the Mandalorian was propelled up into the sky.

Just as he roared past the edge of the pit, he heard several shots be fired from a bowcaster. One of them hit his armor, twisting him around his own axle slightly, but bouncing off the beskar alloy without doing more damage than leaving a deep, black scorch mark. The Mandalorian responded by throwing the vibroblade at his opponent, before turning the jetpack's propelling angle. Now, he was launched foot first towards the center of the wookiee's chest.

For the first time he had a chance to get a good look at his opponent, although it only lasted for a few seconds while he was launched through the air in a powerful kick. The first thing that struck him was that the creature was huge - even for a wookiee - and white as snow. The second thing that struck him was that it carried the largest vibrosword he had ever seen, and one of the characteristic, clumsy bowcasters.

In the Mandalorian's mind, this translated to the wookiee's fighting style being all about brute force. But Tesla was not. Close quarters combat, including hand-to-hand combat, was one of his specialties.

As always, the Mandalorian planned his fighting moves several steps ahead. He counted on a hit, and knew the power of the jetpack would allow him to give quite an impact to the wookiee's body, allowing himself time to land, retrieve his vibroblade, and prepare to fight the creature head on. He couldn't kill it, that was true. But he could beat the enormous creature into submission. And that was exactly what he was planning on doing.

(OOC: Hope you don't mind the 'he got hit but the armor protected him' thingie. I didn't want him to get wounded, but I also didn't want the wookiee to look like a terrible shot. XD )

 

[Master Maverick]

((OOC: nope, that's perfectly fine. I was expecting that anyway! haha.))

The whole thing was almost a surprise, but there was no hint of that on the Wookiee's face as it stayed almost stoic in appearance.

The vibroblade that he threw was blocked by Grozharr with his bowcaster. The momentum of it knocked it out of his hand. It didn't really matter as it completely bashed the caster to an unusable state. He recovered only a fraction of a second before the Mandalorian's feet crashed into his chest.

As they did, the fell, but grabbed onto both feet with just one paw, and turned as he tried to throw the merc towards the ground. His grip on the vibrosword was strong, and after he threw Tesla to his right, he swung out, trying to cut the exchange thug anywhere and in any way he could.

He would fall to the ground, but roll to a standing position. Without wasting time, though he was slow comparatively due to his size, he charged at Tesla, bellowing as only a Wookiee can do, with his blade high and crashing down on wherever the Mando would be.

 

[Livgardist]

The two fighters fell to the ground, and Tesla could feel the wookiee grab onto his feet in an attempt to throw him aside. He did so, the wookiee's terrible strength sending the Mandalorian sprawling through the air, barely having time to grasp the grip of his vibroblade, just as he saw the wookiee's enormous blade fly towards him. Everything happened as if in slow motion. Tesla moved his vibroblade up to block.

The two blades met with a metallic ring and a tremor that resonated painfully throughout the Mandalorian's muscles. The wookiee's blade was slowed, but cut a deep gash into his armor, leaving a nasty, but shallow cut into the flesh hidden beyond it. Then, the Mandalorian met the ground, fell backwards in a roll, and got back up on his feet, spinning the vibroblade around in his hand while letting out an annoyed grunt at the sight of his thrashed armor.

That was when the wookiee charged him with a terrifying battle cry, swinging his enormous sword around as he did. But he was slow - too slow. The Mandalorian met him head on - or so it seemed, only for him to suddenly disappear in a roll under the creature's right arm, the one clutching the sword. When he got back on his feet, he was behind the wookie, cutting loose in an X-shaped double-slash-attack at the wookiee's exposed back. It would not kill the creature, but harm him enough to slow him down, and eventually exhaust him.

Since he couldn't kill the beast, that was how the Mandalorian was going to have to fight him - by wearing him out, slowly, one cut at a time. He backed away from the beast in a sideway roll that brought him out of its striking distance, even with that ridiculously large vibrosword it wielded. Then he stopped, and he remembered a fighting technique he had learnt a long time ago, as a child soldier fighting on space stations - and only recently been reminded of again when he had undergone training at a Mandalorian bootcamp.

He snickered under the helmet as he readied the magnetic grapplers in his armor's gloves, reversing the polarity. The grapplers were usually used in zero gravity to allow for movement without floating around weightless. But it could also be used in hand-to-hand combat. Engaging the grapplers, he shot his palms forward, launching a powerful surprise attack of magnetic energy at his opponent, energy that would hopefully be enough to send the creature flying right into a formation of rocks at least sixty feet beyond the beast.

He then followed through by launching into a run, finally ready to take things to hand-to-hand combat, using Mandalorian martial techniques to kick and beat the life out of the wookiee. He would start it off with another jumping kick, after which he would engage the beast solely with his fists. Tesla wasn't a martial artist when it came to hand-to-hand combat, as much as he was a boxer, and he was a very skilled boxer at that.

Still, skilled enough to take down a wookiee? There was only one way to find out..., he thought as he jumped at the creature, right foot leading the way towards it's face.

 

[Master Maverick]

The beast's roar grew as he saw the Mandalorian come towards him. He was going to prove his honor in this fight. Or so he thought.

At the last moment, as his sword came down, the man rolled around his right side, missing him completely. Even before he could follow through and swing behind him, there was already a bloody X marking his back. He roared in rage, not even feeling the pain, as he turned to face his opponent. However, he had kept moving away, which just made the Wookiee all the more angry. A bloodlust beginning to rise as he neared his target.

Suddenly he was hit with a wall of energy. He tried to stand his ground, but it was far too great and he flew through the air. However, his weight, and the fact he fought it for almost a second made it so he didn't land on the collection of rocks. He landed heavily a few feet before it and lost his sword, it being flung away several feet into the surrounding bush.

He got up, just in time for a kick to be coming towards his face. He brought up his hands, unhindered by a blade or bowcaster, almost too late, and went to throw him again. This time, directly towards the ground, in an attempt to smash him against it. If it worked, he would stop on his aggressor's chest to crush his lungs, hopefully.

 

[Livgardist]

Again, the damnable wookiee grabbed Tesla, slamming him towards the ground. Tesla gritted his teeth as he cursed under his breath, engaging the jetpack to get away from the furry beast's vice-like grip. Instead of flying upwards, it resulted in him being propelled along the ground, away from the beast, a flame of fire licking towards the beast as he did. Tesla himself disengaged the jetpack when he was out of range, but the momentum proceeded, and he went into a roll, slamming into a tree stem.

He got on his feet again, shaking his head to clear it as he approached the best once more. No more vibroblade attacks, he thought. No more dancing around him. He would fight him face to face now, with his fists. He would beat the damnable freak of nature into submission. Full of determination, he started into a run towards his enemy. At the last moment, he crouched, sidestepping the beast, and appearing behind him. He aimed two fists at the creature, hard, where on a human the kidneys would be located. He didn't stop there, however.

Instead, he grabbed a near-by wooden stick, not very thick, but solid, and smashed it into the creature's head from the right side to the left - and then, another time, from the left to the right again, before throwing it aside. He proceeded to move up to the creature, and send a trio of heavy punches squarely towards its face, putting every ounce of irritation and anger towards it that he carried with him, into the force of the punches. He followed up the punches with another punch from below, aiming for the spot on the creature's furry torso, that represented the diaphragm on a human.

He was going to beat the damnable wookiee into the ground if he had to!

 

[Master Maverick]

The jet pack scorched the Wookiee's feet, but it was as though he didn't even notice. Indeed, he probably didn't.

As they approached each other, he went to grapple the man, but missed again as he dodged under his side. With a roar he swung behind him in an attempt to backhand the Mandalorian, but not before he got 2 punches in, only exacerbating the rage he already felt. The blood red eyes were in stark contrast to his pure white fur; a haunting sight for any with weak constitutions.

However, he missed as Tesla went grab a stout stick and bashed it across his face. The first time barely moved his face, while the second he caught in his paw and crushed it with ease, throwing it away as though they were feathers. Immediately after, a barrage of punches came at him, hitting him square in the face. It would seem to do nothing, still, as the Mandalorian went on to punch his diaphragm in order to knock the wind out of him. He would find only solid muscle there, not even making a dent.

With his last punch, he would attempt to bear hug the man, and crush his ribs, hopefully puncturing a lung or something. His rage was intense and he needed to destroy this pitiful human; nothing else would suffice.

 

[Livgardist]

Tesla's punches seemed to do nothing to the white beast before him, not entirely strange considering their difference in size. Even when he hit the creature in the diaphragm, it was as if he had hit a brick wall. And then he felt the massive arms of the beast lock around him, and tighten in a great and terrible bear hug, intended to crush him to dust and shatter his ribs into smithereens. He let out an annoyed grunt as the pain began to envelop him at the terrible crushing feeling.

But while to most such a feeling would lead to panic, to a Mandalorian, this only helped to heighten the senses of a perfected warrior. He leaned his head backwards, and ran his forehead straight into the beast's face, helmet and everything, at full force, not once, but twice headbutting it. Then, managing to get his arms out of the creature's grip, he ran his fingers straight into its red eyes. But instead of letting go of the creature, he grabbed a hold of its arms, as he engaged the jetpack once more.

The two fighters were propelled rapidly up into the sky, though not as fast as would have been had he not carried the dead weight of an enormous furry monster. He clutched onto the beast with all his might, refusing to let go even when the beast tried to get away. When he reached the perfect altitude, he finally let go of the monster, kicking it to get it to let go of him and fall. The altitude wasn't high enough to kill, but it was definitely high enough to give more than a few bruises...

"**** you!" He growled as he kicked the beast again, both of them starting to fall to the ground when he disengaged the jetpack.

But as they fell, he engaged it again, once more shooting up into the sky, leaving the wookiee to fall by himself, and allowing for Tesla to land considerably softer on the ground. As he did touch the ground, hearing the creature tumble down, he approached once more, ready with the magnetic grapplers should he need to use them.

(Borderline auto:ing here. Sorry, dude. I couldn't figure out how to do the jetpack maneuver without autoing the wookiee a bit. If you mind, lemme know and I'll edit it to something else. XD )