Poke The Bear

[Grik Volic]

Taris was many things, but none of them truly interested Grik, save for the local cuisine. Many things happened behind the scenes leading up to Grik being here, one of which was the rumbling of his stomachs; the other was a small military base situated just outside the city's sprawl, in the wastelands left sparsely inhabited by those who sought not to be part of the enigma that was the Tarisian capitol. Grik and his human companion, a Sith assassin by the name of @Sythe touched down his Mynock-Class Freighter in a small clearing, behind a cluster of large rocks, obscuring the ship from the view of any sentries at the military base that was situated just a few clicks Northward.

Grik stood ready with his A10 Long-blaster in hand, and his lightsabers clipped to his trousers. He wore his Sith Marauder helm and Gauntlets as well as a drab green cloak, to help conceal himself in the woods.

"Move together. Thisss One takes point," the Barabel growled in broken Basic, he said, once the Human joined him, grabbing the improvised explosives on his way out. "You sneak well. Infiltrate, and find main power ssssource. Stay hidden, and blow main power up high." he added, handing the explosives to the black clad human assassin.


@Axym

 

[Sythe]

Sythe wasn’t all too fond of working with a partner. But it was a mission and it was better than sitting back home at the Sith Temple listening to the wind pass by.
His mind and body were itching for something that would test his skills... and this seemed the perfect mission to do just that.

As the Barabel said that he would take the lead, Sythe nodded. He didn’t care who was leading either, as long as the job got done successfully.
He took the explosives and secured them across his chest onto his bandolier. There he could keep them from rattling around as he moved with no worry of them exploding accidentally.

“So if I’m gping to blow the main power source... where are you going?”
It was a valid question.. if they were going to be working together, then being upfront having everything planned was going to be key.

 

[Grik Volic]

Grik looked back at the Human, his typical ornery visage looking down at the Human. "Disssstraction," he said, simply. "This One draws guards away, you blow mainframe," he added, saying little else, during the dash between cover, as he made his way northwest of the front gate, clutching his A10 tightly to his chest.

@Axym

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Probing in enemy territory was not uncommon when openly at odds with another power. Conducting reconnaissance even when bordering a neutral state was common practice too, but running into a third party incursion while sizing up the exterior defenses of a capital city? Now thats just a coincidence if Wyatt had ever seen one.

The disgusting duo skulked through the woods with haste, seemingly having the same target as the Mandalorian. It was a peculiar duo, and the roughly seven foot tall creature in green stood out like a sore thumb as he moved. No bush was seven feet tall, and his cliche drabbed henchman didn't fare much better.

Perched between two rocks with his back facing the east Wyatt was nestled in the woods with the high ground, watching the small complex for the better half of the day had been boring as all kark until now. Adjusting the scope of his Shriek-Hawk, Wyatt simply remained in place, keeping his location concealed as the duo made their way closer to the perimeter of the compound. The distance was closing and he still wasn't sure who these two were.
@Gian Greydragon @Axym @Critas

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Patience was one thing that Diocletian had in spades. When you grow up in an environment where you have no real toys or friends unless they find time for you, you learn to wait. The communications mainframe he and Angry Badger @Rimrald had come to destroy had the appearance of a soft target. This made the two Clan Solus warriors rightly suspicious. If it was truly as soft as it appeared it would be a tempting target for other entities and might prove as excellent bait.

The two Mandos had decided to wait and see what happened, they had time, plenty of time. Setting up an ambush for anyone entering or leaving the compound was easy enough. They both took high ground, Angry Badger with his back to the East, Dio or Attack Badger to his clan, with his back to the West. The rocky terrain helped them blend into the landscape as they waited.

Eventually their patience paid off and someone took notice of the soft target that was the mainframe. With is back against a large boulder and his Shriek-Hawk supported on a boulder to his front, the crosshairs of his blaster rifle found the pair easily enough. Seven feet of Sith goodness was walking right into the kill zone. Dio kept his sights on the duo as they approached, waiting for them to enter the crossfire that he and Wyatt had created before firing. They weren't even trying to be quiet it seemed, the big one just talking like they were on an afternoon stroll.

@Rimrald
@Gian Greydragon
@Axym

 

[Sythe]

Sythe moves a bit more cautiously than his bigger counterpart. Strange areas weren’t meant to just go “tromping” through without being careful.
He stuck to the bigger rocks and cacti a bit more, just in case something went wrong, then they would provide better protection.

And he also used the force to heighten his senses... he didn’t like being caught unaware in any situation.

As they moved closer to the complex, Sythe scanned the wall. It wouldn’t be too hard to scale and get over... he just wanted to make sure he didn’t run into any patrols.
Once Grik started his “distraction”, then Sythe would make for the wall, and toward the main power station.


@Rimrald @Gian Greydragon @Critas

 

[Grik Volic]

Contrary to what his comrade, and the enemies, which he had yet to spot, assumed he been doing, Grik was not simply stomping through the wasteland like a buffoon, rather moving around the Eastern flank of the base, when he found a massive crack in the earth, that appeared to have been caused by seismic activity, almost like a dried you river bank, or where a plate tectonic had split, an was deep enough that the Barabel could crouch, and conceal himself.

The crag stretched far, past the easternmost (@Critas) set of rocks that provided a perfect perch to provide his comrade overwatch. "This One moves to boulderz, provide you sniper cover," he growled, telepathically, before leaping downward into the crack in the ground. From there, he could move, relatively undetected, and make it to the easternmost set of boulders, jumping out of the crevasse only after he passed by the afforementioned boulders.


Barabel were great climbers, able to climb the nearly vertical walls of their densely populated caverns. This adaptation allowed them to sleep quite literally on top of each other in small hovels stacked high, to the ceilings, along the cave walls. His movements would be quick for a lizard his size but hindered ever so slightly as he used only one hand, whilst the other kept a hand on the trigger of his rifle, barrel pointed upward. Using his strong legs, and left arm, he began to grip the imperfections in the stone with his thick claws, and would move up in short leaps and bounds up the rear face of the boulders.

@Rimrald @Critas

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Wyatt watched as the hulking humanoid moved in a more cautionary manner, bringing himself down in to a crevice within the land, and moving toward his partner.

"Big one, moving on you."

He said quickly before adjusting his reticle for a better fix on the quasi ninja looking man who moved between the rocks and cacti getting closer to the wall, keeping his finger on the trigger and waiting for a strong opening, adjusting slightly in his perch and steadying his breathing. It wasn't time to reveal himself yet.

 

[Diocletian Solus]

Diocletian was very well concealed within his little nest of boulders to the east of the camp. He had noticed the crag and chosen this spot for both its altitude and ability to cover the deep depression without making himself a target. He knew that Wyatt had an excellent view of the defile as well from his perch.

Dio heard his partner’s call on their internal comms, just under two heartbeats, impossible to intercept really, textbook Mandalorian battle discipline. He simply clicked back once in his affirmation that he had obtained the signal from his partner and was aware of the situation. Slowly, almost painstakingly so, so as to not alert their prey, he turned his body. Inch by inch, he turned until the larger of the two targets was in his crosshairs. (@Gian Greydragon) Sliding like a lizard, he moved along his belly to where he could sight in the large sith once more. It took a bit of effort but eventually he was able to find the large target in his sights once more. He would wait for Wyatt to engage as they had planned and then he would engage, keeping the crossfire and altitude advantage of the ambush intact.


He kept his finger off his trigger as he had been taught by his trainer, Sulla. He could hear his trainers’ words even know in this barren wasteland that reminded him so much of his home on Mandalor. “Sith have this weird ability as all force users do. It tell’s em when troubles comin. Keep yer finger off your trigger till the last minute and that’ll keep ya from settin off that alarm.”


Dio really didn’t know if that was entirely true as he was not a force user and well, he never really had occasion to ask one to let him try it. Most people are really squirrelly when you ask them if you can point weapons at them to determine if they feel threatened or not. But old habits die hard and Sulla slapping him on the back of the helmet repeatedly to hammer home the lesson made it an unconscious gesture now.

@Gian Greydragon
@Axym
@Rimrald

 

[Grik Volic]

Dio's repositioning did not give away his position, and he would know this as there were no sudden reactions from Grik, as he continued to the end of what became a trench along a plate tectonic that led far off into the wastes of the Tarisian wastelands, beyond the curve of the boulder, obscuring him from view. Where he was was obvious to the Mandalorian, but he would have no clear line of sight.

Grik wasted no time climbing the massive boulders. Life on Barab I had conditioned him to be vigilant, as one was most prone to an ambush from above, or below while climbing, in caves and in the badlands. He kept his rifle barrel facing upward, in his right hand, toward the sky - a tactic used by many Barabel hunters. Using his right-dominant hand, both legs, his tail as a counter balance, and the Force to drive his claws securely into the rock face, he able to cleanly and quickly climb up the 10 meter tall boulder. He kept his wits about him, sniffing the air, as he climbed. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he prepared himself for the worst.

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

With his attention focused on the black clothing clad figure approaching the perimeter wall, he stopped short and the thought clicked in Wyatt’s mind.

Waiting for a distraction surely.

Now was the time, his cover was still positioning and this aspiring saboteur did not display any weapons during Wyatt’s observation. It could be seen as a telling combination; the lack of weaponry, the dark tight fitting clothing, the general sense of uneasiness the figure gave him... Something in his gut told him these weren’t just planetary insurrectionists, these were outside agents of the Imperial Republic and likely part of some counter movement. But he was too well equipped to be from a rebel cell, and even if he was he wasn’t one of Wyatt’s clients.

Shifting the stock tighter in to his shoulder Wyatt squeezed the trigger. Breaking the serenity of the mid-day sounds as the whine of three successive blaster bolts leapt from his Shriek-Hawk at the currently flanked figure. Wyatt’s position was at maximum 30m from his target, and two of the bolts were placed at his waist and legs while the final bolt followed his natural breathing and rise of the blaster as he inhaled and was aimed at his center mass.

Wyatt was sure the bolts would connect as the man was unaware of his presence, has no solid cover to his flank or a weapon drawn; he was a sitting duck from his eastern side.

After the yellow energy had been loosed from the weapon, Wyatt removed a fragmentation grenade from his chest sling bandoleer and thumbed the ignition but did not activate it. Letting the rifle hang on his chest from the two point sling Wyatt looked on to see if the grenade would be needed.

His body was still between the rocks giving him visual concealment from the small base and cover from blaster fire and to the west, and his new pair of targets he would only be exposed from the shoulders up as he had been braced shooting from a low sitting rock.
[\fancybox]

 

[Diocletian Solus]

It was time for the trap to shut, Diocletian knew that Wyatt would start the shooting soon. They had one of their targets wedged between them and the other was close to Dio’s current location but far enough away to allow them to focus. Hunkered down in the small area among the rocks, Dio watched the figure (@Axym) approach the wall. Now would be the time.

Diocletian heard the shots ring out as Wyatt started firing at the saboteur closest to the wall. That target was approximately 25m from Dio’s current position. Dio pulled a fragmentation grenade from the webbing on the outside of his armor and pulled the pin. He let go of the spoon and waited a heartbeat before tossing the grenade with all of his might at the sith beside the wall.

After letting go of the grenade, he dropped back into hiding and slid around to the far southern side of his hiding spot. He was aware of where the second Sith (@Gian Greydragon) had traveled to, he could not see the large reptilian figure, but he could certainly hear him as the Barabel made his way along the rock face. Dio hid behind several boulders, ensuring that even if the Barable came over the top of the rocks where he hid, he would be unable to see the Mandalorian. Dio held his Shriek-Hawk at the low ready so he could strike when needed.

@Gian Greydragon
@Axym
@Rimrald

 

[Grik Volic]

Grik had made it to the top of the boulders when the first shots had rang out toward his companion on the ground. Entirely uninterested in keeping him alive for the sake of any kind of camaraderie, he knew his assistance in destroying the base would make the mission nigh impossible to perform on his own, especially with two hostiles betwixt the two Sith. Luckily, he was able catch the sight of the grenade being flung from the boulders below him. Crouching behind the curve of the boulder he'd climbed up on, he extended his free hand, and gripped it with the Force, before flinging it hard at the source of the shots, using his inborn abilit aiming for it to land within 3 meters of the shooter, across the way (@Rimrald). Now that both of the ambushers' positions had become known Szebat's pupil's dialated, as a pang in his stomachs rang out. "Thisss One hatessss canned food," he growled, as he scoped his rifle to a default 2x Zoom on Wyatt's center of mass, as he stood and watched for another opening on Sythe, and fired two bolts - one at his gut, and another in line with his solar plexus. While he didn't take time to focus his scope properly, the Barabel had been picking off nzzt, small lizards native to Barab I, off of rocks with non-scoped rifles from distances as far as 75 meters, with slugthrowers, and blaster rifles both, when the tribe had the means to get Tibanna gas canisters. The simplicity and effectiveness of the A10 Longblaster more than compensated for a lot of the shortcomings. He'd had plenty of practice, and the right gear to do what was needed to have, at the very least, some disruptive effects on the Mandalorian.

After lobbing those two shots, and the grenade at his far away enemy, he now needed to contend with his most immediate threat, thinking it smart to move to cover along the opposite sides of the boulder he stood on, sliding down the face of the rock, on to a small platform with a chest-height cluster of rocks in the shape of a bracket (]) facing it's broadside the the West, covering him completely, when he crouched.

If Sythe survived, he would have ample enough time to find cover on at least one side, while he dealt with the Mando he was now within sniffing distance of. It was just a matter of time now.

@Axym

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros skulked through the underbrush, rifle raised and ready in the event he was detected. The golden Mandalorian was just returning from a small reconnaissance tasking on the other side of the comms outpost on Taris. For the most part, he was perfectly okay with doing these little operations, since they facilitated his clan’s success in the overall mission. This time, though, he was fairly irritated. It was his turn to watch Dan, or, as the clan lovingly called him, Dopey Badger (@Lucid). The boy meant well, but, in the name of Kad Ha’rangir, he was absolutely daft.

Leandros heard the stories that the boy could be downright scary when he needed to be, but watching him was like taking care of a toddler, if the toddler were concussed and armed. Time and again Leandros had to stop Dan from chasing after a chipmunk or approaching Imperial patrols to greet them. A true test of the older Mandalorian’s patience, this was. He liked Dan, or, rather, he wanted to like Dan, but he made it so kriffing difficult at times. That’s why the clan kept him around, probably. He was like a mascot. Or a clan pet.

The walk back was uneventful; few patrols were out, and Dan actually listened to Leandros for quite some time, with the exception of the time he wanted to fly around with his jet pack “because it’s heavy and I’m tired of walking.” They were maybe thirty meters from the ridge where Dio (@Critas) were posted up keeping overwatch on the target when the first shots rang out.

Wait, the first shots?

They were not supposed to engage yet. Their mission was to observe, report, and strike when the time was right. The entire kill team of Badgers had not even been together yet when the first shots happened. This was not right. Something had engaged the pair left behind early.

Leandros looked at Dan and nodded his head in the direction of the ridge, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes. ”Sacr tracyn. Olaror, b'amr! Mhi ne'waadas at cabuor cuun vod!” With that, he turned and began jogging in the direction of the ridge. They would move about fifteen meters, just close enough to see Dio throwing a grenade and witness a large, seven-foot lizard-man scrambling along the rock faces.

Leandros and Dan were now fifteen meters away from the portion of the rock covering that the Barabel hid behind, putting him between Dio and the returning duo.

@Lucid @Gian Greydragon @Axym @Rimrald @Critas

 

[Mason Boudreaux]

.

A darkly armored silhouette floated downwards from the skies, several hundred meters away from where the Mandalorians and Sith had began to engage. Parachute glided his descent gently, boots thundering into the dirt and rocks as he finally made his landing with a rolling halt. First order of business would be to secure his position with a quick glance through the monitor of his datapad, uploading current location into his com-link. Hands slid upwards to unfasten the parachute from his armor's breast plate, he rummaged through the black duffel bag that he had brought during his jump. It contained all of his armaments: twin XC7 carbine blasters, single LRA Carbine Rifle, single fragmentation grenade, single smoke grenade, and standard issue vibroknife. He loaded the extra shot packs onto the utility belt while fastening all of the other weapons appropriately. The twin carbines nestled at his side, slung at the hip while the LRA rifle was held steadily in his hands as his body advanced carefully through the brush.

Scout HUD allowed for magnification, approaching a position approximately 30 meters south of Leandros (@Painus ) and Grik's (@Gian Greydragon ) location. He had been notified that other friendlies would be present, but he had no idea that opposition would have already made its presence known. The noise from the blaster bolts and sparkles of yellow coming from east to west however were glimpses which he could not miss. As such, his speed increased and darted through the woods towards a ledge of high ground above the others. Sliding to a stop, majority of his body covered by nearby rocks and made recognizing him difficult with the ebony stature of his battle suit. Eyes glanced through the cross-hairs, attempting to make sense of the situation in front of him. At this point, he was at a triangular position, approximately 10-15 meters south of Leandros and Grik.

 

[Wyatt Kebiin-Solus]

Watching the grenade appear from his partners position gave Wyatt a breath of confidence they had their opponent in a pinch, the bolts slammed in to the would be sabotuer causing him to drop limp against the bases wall*. But then the grenade took flight? Coming towards him... Until it detonated, finishing its four second fuse and sending shrapnel in to the air only three quarters of the way to Wyatts position.

Causing him to duck and turn, putting his back against the rock he had been using as a point to steady his shots. Just as he began to slide his back against the rock a pair of blaster bolts slammed in to the face of the stone and the other taller one that was behind him, making up part of the formation. Now that his targets partner had made his exact position known it was time to deal with him, and spring the second trap but as he rose with rifle in hand to take a shot at his assailant there was no one to be seen clearly he had found some sort of cover. But there was something even more interesting present...

A parachute was falling from the sky, and with it was a person.

"Keep this di'kut busy... I'm going to go greet his friend."

Wyatt said as he activated the jet pack on his armor, taking to the sky with controlled motion heading at full speed (50km/h) towards the descending figure. Making his way to greet the man mid air roughly 100m off the ground, Wyatt simply raised his Shriek-Hawk as he leveled out his body to hover 10 meters from the descending man and fired into his gut twice as the two yellow beams of plasma rocketed from his weapon and into the man. It was impossible for him to reach his stowed weapons and impossible for him to out maneuver a jet pack in a steerable or non steerable parachute, finishing the man with a third blaster bolt to the head to ensure he was well-done.

Looking on at his work Wyatt simply spoke two words before turning to join the main fight.

"Gotta Blast."

@Gian Greydragon @Faded Truth @Painus @Axym @Lucid @Critas​

*Actions were agreed upon in OOC due to Axym having to leave, he will take a KO and be out of this PvP.

 

[Diocletian Solus]

“Crouching behind the curve of the boulder he'd climbed up on, he extended his free hand, and gripped it with the Force, before flinging it hard at the source of the shots, using his inborn abilit aiming for it to land within 3 meters of the shooter, across the way.”


Diocletian turned and sighted in the Barabel with his Shriek Hawk blaster. He had a clear shot as the 7-foot-tall lizard hung on the side of the rock face and used the force to direct a grenade and also fired a rifle. Zeroing in with his scope he saw the lizard’s concentration completely taken by the redirection of the grenade and the trap was sprung. The classic double ambush was something that he had been taught by his mentor. It was a trick his Dio and his mentor had used multiple times on different prey, sentient and non-sentient alike.

Dio moved to wedge himself between two boulders so only the muzzle of his Shriek Hawk was visible and took three aimed shots at the distracted lizard man. He could see the concentration on the face of the lizard as it watched the grenade fly and aimed its own rifle at Wyatt. “You lose,” said Dio under his breath as he exhaled and watched his shots scream towards the target through his scope. Two shots at the chest and one at its head, the lizard would make a fine pair of boots for their alit. After firing he dropped back into his crouch and kept his eyes on the lizard, weapon at a high ready.

@Painus
@Lucid
@Gian Greydragon
@Rimrald
@Faded Truth

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Daniel liked this planet. He had forgotten which one it was but it had lots of fun wildlife that would play with him as he crashed through the bushes. There were also people around, but Leandros wouldn't let him go say hi. The big man could be such a joyless goon sometimes but still Daniel liked him. He kept him focused, which was nice...especially since it seemed that they would be going into combat much sooner than they had expected.

The young Mandalorian kept close to his big friend's side as they made their way up the rocky slope, just in time to see a giant lizard scurry up into the rocks some fifteen meters in front of them. Then the rockets sounded as a familiar looking suit of armor took flight careening over them towards a figure that was floating down from the ground. Daniel had no idea what to do, but he didn't like standing out in the open, it made him feel naked.

He crouched behind a rock a meter or so from where he had been with Leandros and readied his rifle. Curiosity got the better of him though and he yelled as loudly as he could to the lizard, "Hey!! CAN I CALL YOU BOOTS?! YOU LOOK LIKE A NICE PAIR OF BOOTS!!!"

Daniel giggled to himself, pleased with his little joke.

@Gian Greydragon
@Axym
@Rimrald
@Critas
@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

*OOC: @Gian Greydragon has opted to be skipped and written off as being killed in the following post, as per an OOC agreement between him and @Critas.

Leandros looked sharply at Dan as he made his little comment, ruining their element of surprise against the Barabel ahead. He dashed to his own bit of cover behind a rock, hissing at the boy a meter away, ”Gar utreekov! Narir va uthurka vaii gar cuyir at a'yaou gar de'da!” He shook his head and jumped in the air, triggering his jetpack and allowing him to soar into the air. This put him at an elevation greater than that of the boulder Grik (@Gian Greydragon) was perched upon.

The Barabel was placed between the returning two Mandalorians and Dio, who seemed to be his primary focus. This meant that his back was to Leandros, who hovered for a moment before raising his arm and pointing it at the lizard man. He activated his wrist rocket and launched the projectile at the perch on which Grik stood. With the elevation difference, the chest-high rocks would offer no protection against the rocket. The distance, fifteen meters, meant that Grik had less than half of a second to avoid the rocket heading his way from behind. Leandros was satisfied with the belief that it would be quite difficult for him to avoid both Dio’s shots to his fore and Leandros’ own rocket from behind.

With how short of a time it would take to yell at Dan, jetpack up, and launch the rocket, Little Badger figured he had enough time to shoot and still keep the sudden surprise in his favor. Leandros raised his rifle and fired a single shot at Grik’s back as well, just for good measure.

The rocket streaked through the sky towards the Barabel for a little under half of a second before impacting directly with the creature, who seemed to be preoccupied with being shot from in front. The three bolts Dio fired clapped against his body, causing him to stagger directly into Leandros’ projectile. Debris and gore splattered the boulder face and flew several meters in every direction. A single chunk of arm sailed towards Dan and plopped on the ground next to him as an answer to his little joke. Leandros’ blaster bolt passed through the smoke and hit the boulder as a final note to the Barabel’s short, brutish life. Through the smoke and appalling amount of blood staining the area, Leandros could see the Barabel’s lightsaber resting a few inches away from what used to be his head, but was now nothing more than a meaty paste with pieces of bone and scale placed in the goop.

Ew.

@Lucid @Gian Greydragon @Rimrald @Faded Truth @Critas

 

[Mason Boudreaux]

.

Well...Kriff. Arrogance and taste for theatrics did him in, as his wise old mentor had always suggested. He gave two middle fingers to Wyatt @Rimrald and shouted "I kriffed your mother last night!" before the bolts sent his corpse tangled in parachute and flying into the ground.

Mason's demise marked the fifth Imperial casualty at the hands of Mandalorians. Retaliation was on the horizon...

@Lucid @Gian Greydragon @Rimrald @Critas