[MANDALORIAN UNDERGROUND MISSION] Celestial Outpost

[Arterius]

Planet Tibrin
Standard Time: 21:00

It was beginning to grow dark now across the watery world of Tibrin, a soothing time as the pale blue veil of the night began to slowly envelop the lapping tides that were simply everywhere. It was a wonderfully relaxing location, truly it was, but the business here would undoubtedly be anything but. Deunan had a wager on that.

She had been here maybe only a couple of hours, and had spent the time stood upon one of the many sandbars that seemed to be spotted all over the tidal planet. With so much sea and so little ground she was surprised at all there was a decent enough facility to land even a small vessel... but they managed it. Where she had parked her ship was surrounded on all sides with perhaps only 3 sandbars connecting to other landmasses, and as she stood there watching the waves gently pool around her plated boots with each gentle lick of the stones beneath her feet, she couldnt help but drink in the isolation.

This was a mission that required subtlety from what she recalled from the brief, no Mandalorian ties to be visible, and so she had been forced to ditch certain 'elements' of her usual regalia- her precious helmet and jetpack being those elements. Instead she wore pieces of her armour's body pieces, such as the chest, legs, and wrists, but she wore a kama and bandolier in order give it a more run of the mill Merc feel. Of course however she had her trusty blaster pistols holstered on chest and waist, no matter what requirements were for a mission she'd never willingly leave them behind- she'd feel naked suffice it to say.

"I wonder what tonight will have in store" she pondered that out loud and chuckled to herself... inevitably she knew it was likely to end in violence, in fact she wasnt even sure why she asked herself that, force of habit she guessed. A sigh escaped her and she crouched briefly, picking up a few pebbles only to skim them one by one across the water's skin, waiting for her comrade to arrive.

@Ral Aran

 

[Ral]

Ral sat on a large crate inside the cargo hold of the Action VI transport fine tuning the stun rifle, which was balanced precisely across his folded legs, that he was bringing along. The reverberations of the transport's engines could be felt through the ship's durasteel deck plating beneath his feet. Taking a deep breath as he felt the ship shudder a little as it entered the atmosphere of the planet, Ral put the last finishing adjustments onto the rifle before jumping off the crate and slinging the rifle.

For this mission, Ral wasn't going in his armor, though he probably could have pulled it off with a little care, he didn't want his comrade Deunan to feel left out or naked without her armor. So, for today he was sans his aliit'gam. It felt odd to him to be out of his armor, but he knew it was probably for the best, especially since Tala didn't want the governor to know that it was the Underground establishing the outpost, at least not unless they were able to discuss it with him and convince him they were a good idea and that they meant well; something that would be rather difficult considering their peoples troubled past.

As the ship finally touched down several minutes later, the Mandalorian made his way to the docking ramp where he nearly leaped off as soon as it was lowered, not even waiting for the ramp to completely extend or touch the ground before he headed off. Ral knew where to find Deunan, they had discussed a place to meet before heading out to make sure the site of the outpost was clear and safe. Approaching the beach on foot, Ral did his best to sneak up behind the younger woman, tapping the woman's right shoulder as he popped up on her left side, hands innocently held behind his back. Looking at her he gave the redhead an easy smile. "Hey you, how's it going?" He gave the woman a wink before looking out over the water before him. "You ready to get started or is there something I need to be aware of?"

 

[Arterius]

Alone on the sandbar she heard the crunch of Ral's boots only a mere foot or two from her, despite the traitorous earth the guy could be pretty stealthy. She supposed that made one of them, she was more gung-ho herself. But she didnt turn around until tapped her shoulder, where upon she greeted him with that smile she had often flashed him, the one filled with equal parts venom as ambrosia "Have a good journey? and I aint too bad, just enjoying the sights"

Her arm swept out in a slow arc, motioning to the endless sea that literally surrounded them. "I havent seen a planet like this before, i tend to stick to places where its more ground than water" with a chuckle she turned her body to face him then to address his second question, and she hummed as though she was wracking her brains for anything that could hinder them in their progress. After a moment she plucked a Thunderer from her waist, flipping it back and forth before looking back to Ral with a grin "I think im ready. So where we heading from here?" that blaster holstered once more she looked about, still seeing just endless ocean as the wind picked up.

Without her helmet, the prickling wind against her her fair skin was not entirely welcomed as the winds began to pick up a little closer to total nightfall, though it did allow for her short hair to take on a wild look. Deunan didnt even care though, she knew she could rock the wind blown style... though maybe that was hubris again.

 

[Ral]

Standing beside her, Ral wrapped a hand over Deunan's shoulder as she gave him that smile of hers. Pulling her into a friendly hug he nodded, "It was a fine, rather boring, but I suppose that's to be expected. You didn't have to wait too long I hope? Sights are good an' enjoyable, yeh?"

Watching as her arm motioned out to the sea before them, he grinned as he let the warm and friendly embrace last for a few seconds longer. "You should have seen Bestine or Kothlis then, lots of water there. On Bestine I had to break some rebels out under the nose of a Sith Crusader. Well less under his nose, more like I got into a fist fight with him while my partner busted them out. I almost had him too until my partner thought I needed a rescue." The man chuckled lightly as he looked into her freckled face. Releasing her shoulder he'd check the map he had brought with him for a few seconds, frowning thoughtfully as he examined it. "We'll head up the beach then inland a ways. I hope you like walks on sandy shores!" He exclaimed with a teasing wink.

Unlike Deunan, Ral didn't mind the breeze, it felt nice to get out of his armor every once in a while and feel things for once. "So, how have you been since Roon, everything been good for you? How are you liking the Underground?"

 

[Arterius]

With his arm around her shoulder, holding her into that lingering hug, Deunan inquisitively cast a subtle look around the area, somehow not content enough that there was nothing but sea and emptiness about them she had to check. "They're fairly enjoyable as far as sights go, though not the best i've seen"

Chuckling her own arm crept its way around his waist and she gave him a wink. If there was going to be a lingering embrace, Deunan was going to get her own in there too! With her arm still about him for a few more moments they'd begin to stride up the sandbar as they chatted away. "A Sith Crusader huh? in hand to hand? im surprised you'd see a Sith without their great big shiny red sticks. I hope the Rebels paid you well for your trouble, i know i'd want more money for getting into a brawl with a Sith" softly she laughed at that, and as he released her shoulder to check the map, so too did she relinquish her arm about his waist, and the pair detangled themselves.

A walk up a sandy shore? well it didn't sound too bad, considering she had hiked across the Dune Sea once in her lifetime. Took her a long time to shake loose all the damn sand. "Oh i love sandy shores!" with sarcastically exaggerated glee she smiled bright and gave two thumbs up, before her expression dropped into a deadpan scowl. Though out of sight she grinned, and Ral would not doubt be able to tell. Then his question caught her attention, and she hid a soft smile.

"Since Roon?" she bit the inside of her cheek and flashed him that smirk "Gotta say, ive been great since then. Being part of the Underground? Ehhh..." once more her sarcasm came out playfully as she shrugged, only to laugh it off and correct herself "Nah, the Underground and everything, its treating me great. Im loving it. Gotta say, it was a nice welcoming party you threw me, too" a chortle rolled in her chest and she pushed ahead of him a little, peering up the length of the sandy path.

"So as a quick inquiry, remind me exactly what the plan is for us here on this giant pond of a planet?"

 

[Ral]

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear it! Hopefully I'll be able to show you something truly spectacular and amazing soon. Something that'll take your breath away when you see it." Ral remarked with a wink. Feeling Deunan return his embrace, he gave her a little smile. As she commented about his fist fight with the Sith crusader, he gave an amused nod. Hearing her laugh caused him to chuckle as though it were contagious. "To be honest, so was I. And unfortunately I didn't get a bonus for fighting him, but it was worth it. I got the helmet recording anyways, I can show it to you the next time we're on my ship together. So now I have proof I beat a Sith in hand to hand."

They continued down the beach some ways. Hearing her sarcastic reply got a loud, but brief, chortle out of him and an affirming nod, looking down at his feet as she looked away. "Guess I can't blame ya! You'll just have to be a big girl and tough it out until we need to head inland a bit," he teased with an easy smile as his gun hand felt the grip of his pistol. It was a subconscious habit he did every now and then to make sure it was there, and in case he needed to draw quickly. Deunan spoke of her time since their meeting on Roon and how she was adjusting to her new family. "Ah, well I'm happy to hear everyone is treating you great, if someone gives you an issue you send them to me, got it? Well, assuming you don't want to humiliate them yourself, of course. You like having a family to support you?" He asked as she made her way a few paces ahead of him.

Pausing for a second, he looked out to ocean before turning back to face the redhead, catching up with her, he rustled her hair was a deft hand. "Basically we're to set up an outpost in the area since the government is allowing it. Only thing is they don't know we're Mandalorians, so we have to keep that part on the down-low. Well, that is if we don't want to try and convince the local governor that we mean them know harm. What do you think? Wanna try it?"

 

[Arterius]

"A view that'll take my breath away, mm? I'll remember you said that" Deunan flashed him an amused look of her own before she continued "But i definitely want to see this recording, i should probably start doing my own!" the laugh that chased her words turned into a quiet, though warm, chuckle as she felt the hand run though her hair once he caught up with her. She liked it when he did that, even if it did make her heated orange lockes of hair go rebelliously wild. It was relaxing to say the least.

"I can be a big girl, you watch, and if anyone gives me hassle... im pretty sure they'll be coming to you when im finished with them" winking at him and tapping one of the inwardly holstered westar's, she kept herself close to his side as they moved up the sandbar. May as well savor some of the quiet "Its certainly nice having a family, i have to admit... im still getting used to being called a vod or ner'vod, but its a welcome change. Beats drifting like i used to do. You'll have to tell me one day what you did before all... this" with a frenetic wave of her hand she gestured to everything around her to reinforce her point.

Yet as Ral spoke of the task at hand she fell deathly quiet as she listened to him, nodding along as he got to certain points. As he concluded, she simply hummed for a brief few moments in reflection before speaking once again "Well, that depends, do we know if the local Governor has any previous affiliation with us or has encountered us in a less that favourable light? Because if he has, i recommend being pretty clandestine." looking to Ral with those jade eyes, they softened as they often did when they fell upon him, and she offered an honest shrug "But, if thats not the case, then honesty maybe the best policy."

 

[Ral]

"Please do, I enjoy finding a challenge." The man chuckled as she flashed him that amused look of hers. Making a smug face, he nodded, "Aye, I'll get you it when we get back to my ship. And you should, it's nice to have a record of all the awesome things you do... and knowing you I'm sure that you'll have plenty of exciting and amazing things in no time." Ral gave her a little wink as he ran his hand through her orange locks.

Laughing warmly at her next comment as he nodded at her blasters, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light pat as they continued to walk. "Oh, I bet. I never doubted that, I was just saying you don't have to anymore, since you're ya know, family. And if you do send someone back to me... well, I'll just tell them to suck it up because they probably deserved it." He paused for a moment while as she continued on saying how it was nice to have a family drawing an unusually bright an happy smile from Ral as his blue eyes looked at her freckled face. Giving her a shoulder a squeeze with the arm he had patted it with, he nodded at her. "One day I will, vod, I promise. But I'm very pleased to hear that you're enjoying it, I'd hate for you to have joined and felt ostracized..."

They continued walking for a little and Deunan spoke of the plan. Unfortunately, he had little information on the governor, so he couldn't really help her there. With a bit of a frown he shrugged as he sighed. "Sadly, I don't know... in this situation I would have to say we should ere on the side of caution, though..." Taking a breath, he looked out over the waters, "Hopefully, this mission's a bit easier than my last outpost establishment." He chuckled as he looked back at the redhead, "So, mind telling me how you got these?" Ral motioned with a finger, tracing the scars on her pale and freckled face.

 

[Arterius]

Deunan lingered close as his fingers traversed through her hair once more, trying to hide a carefree smile that was creeping on her lips. His suggestion of beginning to record from her helmet would definitely be one she'd pay heed to, it was just a shame she didn't have her treasured blast helmet now, in truth it was a bit strange looking at the world while on a mission without the veil of the iconic T-Visor. "Make sure you do, i like a good show"

With a delicate chortle she scoffed a touch at his next comment. In a way she was hoping someone would give her a bit of sass, just so she could dump it all back a hundred times harder. She was a very good at that. And so with a honest roll of her shoulders she spoke "Siblings will often quarrel, right? I'll try and be a bit gentle if that happens. I'd hate to be 'Punished'" her smile became a wry grin before she continued, but with his hand on her shoulder, her sarcasm and flirtatiousness dissipated and that smirk on her lips warmed up a little. Deunan couldn't argue with Ral being hesitant to share, in truth, she was very much the same in many respects- she opened up to little to no one, except for Ral, now she thought about it. Her own hand encompassed his as it sat on her shoulder, and she gave it a firm understanding squeeze "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, i'm not pushy"

As they continued up the path Ral would be able to hear her hum, something she often did as she thought things over, the engine rattling as it revved. It was problematic that Ral didnt have much to go on for this Governor, it made him a rogue element and Deunan did so loathe those... and so after a moment she sighed, seeing no other choice "Then we better be a bit sneaky about it for now, i'd like to be honest, but we need an outpost more than we need a fickle Governor's love" a laugh followed her words, oh how she disliked politics, but as she turned to face Ral her laugh petered out in a quiet thing as his hand touched her face, but with his question came a somber smile.

"How i got these scars, hm?" her words lingered for a moment, she had expected the question to come at some point, though she planned to deflect it. With Ral being the one to ask however, simply doing so would not be easy. Instead she took a deep breath, hooked her thumbs in the front of her belt, and cleared her throat "Well, this one" she said pointing to the scar running over her left eyebrow and cheek "I got that fighting a Borhek, a guy i was hunting was big into Underground Beast Matches and he sicked it on me in the resulting chaos of the local Authorities raiding the compound. Imagine my surprise when i found out Borhek hide was blaster resistant" rolling her eyes she folded her arms with a small, almost nostalgic grin.

"As for this one..." her tongue pushed against the thin line, the scar ran both on her cheek and inside her mouth... in fact, a bad habit of her's was to run her tongue along it's length when she was bored. But now suddenly conscious of it in a way she hadn't been for a while, she looked down at the floor "I... well. I got this, and a few others under my armour, from a group of Tusken Raiders" her face twisted a little "A few supposed friends sold me out, which lead to me spending a few days a plaything of Tuskens. Clearly they thought me too pretty, you know their thing about exposed skin, right? It just doesn't fly with them" she tried to laugh it off, but it came out slightly broken and her forced grin faltered a touch. The memory was painful still. "Rest assured, they lived to regret their decision... and so did my 'friends'"

 

[Ral]

"Yes, I'm sure you'd just hate to get sent to my office for punishment," Ral chuckled as he gave Deunan a wink. "I'm not worried about you, I'm sure your siblings will learn soon enough that you're not one to be messed with."

A moment of pause as she took his hand in her own and gave it an understanding squeeze. Her smoky voice filled his ears and he smiled in response.

"You're not being pushy, Dune, I'll tell you what you want to know when we're done taking care of things here. I'm an open book... Just don't want to get too distracted with story telling while we're on a mission," The Mandalorian smiled at the tall woman next to him briefly before they continued on. Ral was glad to be able to call her a friend, Deunan was really quite sweet, at least to him. Though he had no doubt that she could be just as cruel and ruthless as he was when the time came. As the conversation moved on, Deunan suggested that they keep it sneaky, and Ral found himself nodding in agreement. With a bit of a sigh, he commented, "I'd have to agree with that. Would hate to make a deal with the Governor only to have him turn on us when the situation seemed to favour betraying us to save his own skin."

Listening to Deunan recount how she got the scar over her eye. A fight against a Borhek sounded like quite the experience, and how she got it caused him to smile a little, a small chortle escaped as she rolled her eyes at the recollection of the encounter. As she moved over to the curved Chelsea smile on the right side of her face, Ral's eyes narrowed as the redhead recounted the tale. Anger blossomed in his chest a little as he listened to her speak. He stopped walking for a moment as he clenched his fists, looking out of the water, breathing in slowly through his nose and out through his mouth, doing his best to stay calm. It explained those scars he had seen earlier, the whip marks all over her fair and freckled skin, and some of the more oddly placed cuts, like they were done in torture. As she said she made her 'friends' pay, he relaxed a little, but he was still angry. How anyone could do that infuriated him. He knew it was perhaps slightly hypocritical since he was about to betray some supposed allies very soon, but only a fool stood against the Hutt Cartel, and besides, that was always the plan. Ral needed friends, and the Cartel were better allies than the Keywork, and all their idiocy and melodrama. But when one betrayed a beautiful woman to Tusken Raiders, that really made him angry.

Once his anger had subsided a little, he looked back at Dune and forced a smile. Wrapping an arm around her he pulled her into a tight embrace. He could tell by the way she spoke that it was still painful for her, and even if she didn't need the hug, he wanted to give it to her. "I'm glad you paid them back. And if their goal was to ugly you up, I'd say they failed pretty hard at that." He remarked with a sincere smile as he released her. "Made you more pretty if anything."

Clearing his throat, he motioned inland. "We should get moving inland now."

 

[Arterius]

In truth, as she stood there in Ral's arms, she didn't really know what to do. This kind of thing? This emotional support? she never got this, not really anyway... her mum was an ice queen, fiercely protective of family, but emotionally she was on lock-down more than Oovo IV. Yet as he spoke to her in that embrace she couldn't help but feel, and she hated to admit it to herself, safer. Ral was one of the few people who actually seemed to give some shred of a damn about her, his simmering rage at her tale and the inescapable embrace to which she submitted to that followed it were testaments to that. And so as she stood there in his arms, she felt herself relinquish the tension in her gut and relax, and her arms naturally found themselves wrapping around the older Mandalorian's waist. A content sigh quietly leaving her nostrils. "Looks like you got distracted after all, doesn't it"

As he released her he'd find her chuckling, her bright smile returned to full capacity and bright as Tatooine's twin suns. She was perfectly aware of the fact they had a job to do, and she'd get straight to it, after one more thing. Deunan let a quiet moment pass after he suggested moving inland, and with a grin on her lips she'd close the space between them only to cradle his cheek in the palm of her right hand and if allowed, place her soft lips on his own. It would be a short, but affectionate kiss, and one that Deunan would get great satisfaction out of planting on him before with a wink move towards the inland ahead of Ral with a sway to her hips that wasn't there before.

She was in a good mood to kick some thugs head in now.

 

[Ral]

Smirking, he nodded as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "I guess I did, didn't I?" He whispered back in response, his eyes being cast down at the sand as he inhaled slowly, shaking his head. For some reason it felt odd, Dune felt relaxed and comfortable in his arms, like she felt safe, which was a feeling Ral wasn't typically used to. It was good to see Deunan's smile return, bright and true as they pulled away from their friendly hug. Just as they were about to set off though, she did something that rather surprised Ral. Placing a hand on his cheek and a wide grin on her lips she leaned in. What happened next rather took the Mandalorian by surprise, albeit not a bad one, so he let it happen. Winking at him, Ral simply blinked, his cheeks flush with blood, unsure of what to do next. Looking at her, he cleared his throat, "What was that for?"

As he walked next to her, he noticed a distinct sway in her hips and a pop in her step that he hadn't noticed before. Is she in a good mood? Ral wondered to himself as they walked along the beach. His heart had a slight flutter in it now, not really certain what to make of the situation with him and Deunan. Frowning, he shook his head as he pushed the thoughts to the side; he couldn't let them distract him now. Inhaling slowly, through his nose, he led his partner over the harder ground towards where they were going to put the new outpost. It didn't take too long before they were approaching the site for the base. As they drew closer, something felt off to Ral. Looking to Deunan he raised an eyebrow, "Hey Dune, something feel off to you?"

That was about all he managed to get out before a rocket flew out of some nearby brush straight towards them.

 

[Arterius]

When he asked what he did to deserve such a gesture of affection, she just looked back and smirked at him, and after a moment she stopped and turned to face him with a playful shrug of her shoulders "You're a good guy, good to me anyway, and..." the words that wanted to come were caught in the net of her throat, and with a small smile she pushed them back down and replaced them with something more appropriate, at least for this mission. Ral had the right idea about distractions "...and i just felt like it. I'm impulsive, sue me" shrugging to emphasize her carefree point Deunan laughed then and carried on up the path. She was a definitely in a good mood.

Or at least she was.

"Hey Dune, something feel off to you?"
With a scowl on her face she glanced around the wide open space, everything was still. Eerily still. "Now that you mention it..."

The words barely left her lips before the sharp hiss and bang of the rocket hurtling towards them whistled into her ear, and suddenly the world became bereft of colour, time lost its cohesion, and as everything slowed down around her she bolted in one direction.

Ral's.

"Get down!" with all her might she'd launch herself in a tackle at the Mandalorian, enveloping him in her arms as she flew into him with incredible force, knocking them from the path and into the water, chased by a tremendous thunderclap as the ground in which they once stood erupted into pieces and fire. They roll a few feet into shallow water, the force of the explosion forcing them the extra foot from its concussive force... it seemed the welcome party had begun.

 

[Ral]

As her smokey voice filled his ears, Ral smiled a little as Deunan looked back at him, a smirk on her face and a shrug on her shoulders. When she paused midsentence the man looked at her and raised an eyebrow curiously. In those Jade green eyes he could see Deunan thinking, and he wondered what thoughts were going on behind those hard eyes of hers. Eyes that for the moment had gone a little soft as though she wanted to say something sweet, well sweeter than she already had. Ral wasn't used to having someone tell him he was a good person, but hearing Dune say it caused a bashful look to appear on his face. Finally he said, "What's wrong? Mynock got your tongue?"

When she finally finished her statement he nodded, smiling softly as he looked away. Ral had to suppress a snicker at the comment. He would never sue her, or hurt her, in fact he found her impulsiveness quite amusing, somewhat attractive even. And as much as he believe what she said had truth in it, the way she paused and how she said it gave him the impression there was more to it than that. "Maybe I will sue you, just to show you who your boss still is!" He stuck his tongue out at her as he teased the ginger woman who seemed to be in a very good mood at the moment.

Then the rocket flew out towards them. Ral barely had time to react when Deunan had rushed him and swept him off of his feet. Had the circumstances been less dire, Ral might have found this ironically romantic in some odd way, but for now his mind was focused on what was happening around him. Hitting the ground momentarily knocked the air out of him, and the rolling into the cool shallow water shocked him into focusing on the situation even further. Rolling over onto his knees, Ral looked up, rifle in his hands. "Looks like we've ran into a bit welcoming committee. Think this is a small pirate encampment we happened to run into?" Ral called over to Dune as he took aim and fired. Without his armor or the plethora of accessories that came with it, he would have to rely on his own skill to defeat these pirates. His own skills and Deunan of course. "I'll hold them here and pull their attention right. You move around to the left and try and flank them. Sound good?"

 

[Arterius]

With a low growl Deunan detangled herself from Ral and pushed herself up into a low crouch, dripping wet with a face like a storm her hair had dreaded with saturation... it looked as though some sea demon had risen from the shallow pool. Vengeance would be had, not just for taking a shot at them, but for drenching her through to the bone. In some ways, Deunan was like a cat- super skittish in regards to being wet and somehow always landing on her feet. Plus she seemed to have a certain amount of lives, she had too with the amount of explosions and gunshots she had survived. Counting her blessings, she thanked whatever Force there was that her luck had no yet ran out.

"If i had to put money on it, Boss" addressing Ral as such she grinned before continuing "I'd say yeah, They're from a pirate encampment... must be on the edge of their turf. Territorial but foolish enough to use rockets with abandon. Diniis." rolling her eyes and drawing her Thunderer's she listened to Ral and nodded, his plan was sound "Sounds good, just... don't get shot, please" while rather playful in its tone, it had the element of a sincere request in there, subtle, but if Ral was attentive enough he might notice. That was when she broke into a crouch run, keeping low against the sandbar as the approached the source of the new volleys of blaster fire and shouting voices. The morons were kill happy, apparently, wooping and laughing as they took potshots at who they assumed were probably just simple mercs or rival pirates. Oh how wrong they were.

'I'm coming to get you, you damn besoms' she thought to herself, swooping fully around their flank now as they seemed to concentrate their fire on Ral who was giving as good as he got. The man could hold his own to an impressive degree... and the thought occured to her that these reprobates probably thought they had killed or wounded her. 'Good' Deunan thought 'That gives me an edge'

Stealthily Deunan managed to slip behind them and into some cover, she counted five, four firing and one fumbling to reload the RPG. It was an ancient thing, and in truth, to look at it she was surprised it hadnt blown up and taken the lot of them out trying to fire it. But where it had failed her, her Thunderer's would not. As one of the four stopped to reload the Gunslinger rose from her cover and yelled "HEY! Di'Kuts!"

By the time they turned upon hearing that Mando'a slur, it was too late. In a quick set of trigger squeezes four of the five fell to her blaster's with lived up to their name of Thunderers with the series of ominous booms each bolt from their barrels created. Only one remained now, clutching onto a defunct RPG like it was a lifeline or bullet shield... and as she kept a Thunderer trained on him, she failed to see the sixth member of the group moving up from behind

 

[Ral]

Looking at Deunan as she requested he not get shot, Ral smiled, it seemed like she might have been actually sincere about the request despite the playful tone. With a shrug of the shoulders he replied, "Hey, it's me!" before taking off to the side with his rifle butted up against his shoulder. Firing at their attacks, Ral did his best to draw their fire, and without his trusty aliit'gam it was quite a bit harder than one might think. But Ral had trained for years as a teenager without any kind of armor, hunting and tracking, and so while not having his trusty armor was a bit of an inconvenience, it wasn't something that he was totally unprepared for.

Laser bolts flew past his head and impacted on the ground nearby kicking up small gouts of flame and puffs of dirt and burning grass. Rolling to his right, Ral dodged a burst of emerald coloured bolts that sizzled through the air where he had been standing only a second before. Coming up onto his knee Ral continued firing into the brush and the trees as his enemy laughed and howeled and shouted as they tried to tag the Mandalorian with one of their blasters. Luckily for him, they were mostly poor shots as all except one of the pirates routinely missed him by a large margin; their bolts flying wide or hitting the earth far from where he was standing. The air was starting to smell like ozone Ral noticed as he breathed in through his nose, exhaling out through his mouth as he rolled forward trying to get closer to where the pirates were holed up.

It didn't take much effort to use the very minimal cover to his advantage, the pirates really were that bad of a shot, and he was able to make some decent advances with a burst from his rifle at the pirates to suppress them long enough for him to make a move.

That's when he heard Deunan call out from the other side, and Ral smiled, a grin spread across his face as he recognized that smokey voice getting the attention of the pirates before him. Then quickly a set of blaster bolts were discharged, and Ral moved up quickly to survey the scene and make sure Dune was okay. It only took him a few seconds to sprint the remaining distance, just in time to see the fiery redhead train her pistol on a pirate holding some kind of archaic rocket launcher. However, as her attention was focused on the pirate with the heavy ordinance she completely missed the man approaching from behind her.

"Dune, watch out!" Ral called as he came crashing through the brush, rifle shouldered and at the high-ready, aimed for the pirate about to get the drop on her. Without hesitating another second, Ral pulled the trigger and his rifle discharged a bolt at the pirate catching him in the chest. His mind barely registered the impact as he pulled the trigger twice more, each bolt planting itself into the pirate's chest, and with each bolt Ral took a step forward. Finally when he was done he looked to Deunan and gave a somewhat relieved smile. "You okay?"

 

[Arterius]

With a smile Deunan offered a playful salute with a her free hand as Ral moved towards her. A swell of comfort rose inside her as she saw him sprinting towards her, unscathed or so it appeared. Just as she'd hoped. Her saluting hand turned into a casually brief wave as she implored him to approach with greater speed, a grin on her lips, words moment to form, and then

"Dune, watch out!" Immediately her heart turned to ice in her chest as the presence behind her suddenly enveloped her senses, and she moved as fast as she could, her free hand moving in a blur to grab one of those black Westars, and before she could even get off a shot Ral had unleashed his wrath upon him. One shot and the man's chest was naught but a blaster scorch. He hit the ground. Second shot, third shot. The clandestine pirate was down long before the second, and as Ral fired off the third she holstered a blaster and gave his hand a squeeze. More shots weren't necessary.

"You okay?" that smile of relief that ruled over his face brought one of her own to bear, and she nodded. In truth, Deunan was a bit panicked from potentially being shot in the back, a stab of anxiety had left a healing wound... but quickly, she calmed down. Though her face was a flustered light scarlet, it stood out against the fair flesh and freckles with a certain obviousness that she loathed the fact she couldnt cover up.

"I'm fine... thanks for that, i should've been more careful" clearing her throat she gave Ral a thankful nod and smile, only to be reminded of soemthing in peripheral. The lonesome pirate, still clutching the RPG, and looking strangely damp for an unknown reason... "So, what you want to do with this one?"

 

[Ral]

Feeling Deunan's hand squeeze his caused Ral to relax a little as his shoulders heaved from the brief sprint and from nearly losing his friend to some merc who was trying to get the drop on her. If the young Deunan Howl hadn't already figured it out already, Ral cared deeply about those he called friends and family, and he was just as protective of them, if not more so. Deunan was no exception to this, and if she was it was definitely that Ral felt more protective of the freckled redhead than normal. So, seeing someone getting ready to attack her from behind nearly sent him over the edge. Taking a deep breath, Ral turned to face Dune, giving her that warm, relieved smile and nodded as he lowered his rifle to his side.

Seeing her cheeks turn a light pink at the situation caused Ral to chuckle and grin, as he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze of his own. Listening to her tell him she was fine, he simply shrugged. "It's happened to me before, on more than one occasion. I've received more than one blaster scar because of my lapses in awareness. The key is to survive to learn from it," Ral winked as he removed his hand from her shoulder and looked down at the single remaining merc on the ground. "Now, as for our lone survivor here, there's only really one thing to do with him... have you ever interrogated someone, Dune? I once did it with Nyx, that Duro is sadistic even for me, and that's saying something, so hopefully we won't need his... extreme methods here today, yeah?"

Approaching the surviving pirate, Ral forced a polite smile as he took a knee next to him. Looking the young man in the eyes, the Mandalorian studied the merc for several seconds before finally speaking. Clearing his throat, Ral's voice would be stern and cold, but hinting at the possibility of warmth as a reward for good behavior. "So, tell me, do you like living? If you do, I may be inclined to allow you to take your life if you answer my very simple questions. Does that sound fair to you? Do you think you can tell me if there are more of your friends nearby and if we're likely to run into them?"

 

[Arterius]

Hey eyes lingered on him, watching the various emotions and expressions that crossed his face without the hampering veil of the iconic Mandalorian Blast-Helmet to obscure it. The pleathora of smiles, the warmth... and the relief she could see in his eyes when that sneaking pirate went on to meet his maker by Ral's own hand. In a way she was trying to make sense of it, even though it made perfect sense, her brain was a strange thing unaccustomed to people caring. But it was something she like about Ral, and so as he knelt before the cowering survivor of the attacking party, she came to stand beside him, her Blaster still trained on the Pirate.

"I'm familiar with interrogation" she said, her voice cool and those green eyes locked into the soul of the pirate with meat hooks "Besides, when you spend time with Tuskens, you learn to get a bit inventive with means of getting what you want out of people. Especially if what you want is blood curdling screams" the smirk that corrupted her lips then was colder than the most frozen crevice of Hoth, and was unleashed for one reason- to terrify the Pirate into submission. For someone already deathly afraid, her ominous comment combined with Ral's stern voice, she figured that would be enough.

Once he asked his question, the Pirate stammered for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out what to say while keeping his eyes away from the redhead pointing her gun at him. It was then she spoke again. "If you dont tell my friend here what he wants to know" nodding to Ral "i'm gonna have to redefine pain for you. Whats it going to be?"

 

[Ral]

"Good, good," Ral remarked rather absentmindedly as he listened to Deunan's response. Her cool voice almost unsettling as she commented about having to get inventive with how to get someone to scream. Looking at her, he chuckled a little under his breath, the woman could be almost terrifyingly cold, and what more, Ral actually liked it. Ral wasn't sure if that was a poor reflection on him or not, though it didn't really matter to him. After Ral asked his question, Deunan added one last comment, a threat in that cold smokey voice of hers which could pierce the hardest of beskar. The Mandalorian watched the man quiver repeatedly for several seconds as he looked between the two armed warriors. Finally, he nodded and began to speak.

"Okay, okay. I'll talk, please don't hurt me!" The man nearly cried.

"Well that was easy," Ral muttered to Dune.

"There's only a small group of us about a half click down the beach from here. We heard some people were coming, and thought we could get the drop on them. Our boss should be with the freighter along with a few of his men... I think there should be four more left, maybe a couple of slave girls too. I-I just joined up a month ago, they promised me a better life! Please, don't kill me!" The man rambled off quite quickly as he looked up at Ral and Deunan.

With a bit of a sigh, Ral stood back up as he looked back to the redhead. "Your call," he motioned to the man. "Now, what do you think we should do about these remaining pirates?"