Probing their Defenses

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros held a fist up to his men, signaling for them to stop. Their approach on foot through the thick jungles of Yavin IV was moving far faster than he expected, and they were nearing their target. The Imperial military base here supplied the temple and kept communications open for this region of Sith-controlled space, and as part of his initial attack on the planet to take it he needed to take the base and destroy the comms station. Several other seasoned warriors traveled alongside him, rearing for action and hating the subtle approach with which their Mand’alor was taking this. With the Sith Empire dissolved and only relegated to a few key planets, they needed to have every advantage they could get in taking their worlds. In time, his warriors would see his ways as effective. They had no other choice.

The sounds of distant predators echoed throughout the noisy jungle and the howling wind disturbed the foliage enough to conceal their approach in the underbrush for them to get close. They were within a few dozen meters of the outpost’s walls now, and soon his attack would begin. Where others would try and remain subtle all the way throughout the operation, Leandros decided to give these bored Imperials a taste of Mandalorian shock combat.

With a sharp whistle, one of his men rushed forward and planted shaped explosives on the wall, primed them, and hustled back to his Mand’alor, handing him the detonator. Leandros looked at his fighters and nodded once, and they responded by raising their weapons. With a weighty clack, he triggered the bombs, and a harsh crack echoed in response. The explosives blew, turning the wall they were on into shrapnel and slag, sending fragments of durasteel forward. Molten hot chunks of metal ricocheted around and slammed through several unaware Imperials milling about, cutting short their career of service in an instant.

With a war cry, the Mandalorians charged through the breach or took to the skies with their jetpacks, raining down hate upon their enemies. Leandros ran forward several meters and leapt into the air, letting his jetpack send him over the breach and into the base. The Imperials were shocked by the sudden and unexpected attack, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before they rallied for the defense. He flew over the chaos below, heading for the garrison headquarters building to kill whatever leadership cowered within. Cut the head of the snake off and the rest will die, and all that.

He landed outside the entrance to the headquarters building, raising his Shriek-hawk and preparing to breach. Behind him, the sounds of battle sang out its sweet chorus to the gods, every slain Imperial avenging the death of his home, the death of his wife.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She was surprised to have been trusted with this job. She went from being a prisoner to now being tasked with helping protect an Imperial base. She had even been given a jetpack and her very own weapons. The shiny Imperial armor didn’t look too shabby, though the jetpack did look out of place with it. The other soldiers gave her more than a few curious glances, but she brushed it off.

She was patrolling a section of the base when the explosion rocked the foundations. Alarms began to blare and she could hear shouts everywhere. Cursing to herself, she rushed over to grab a rifle and her QuickDraw, darting out towards their external perimeters. The Imperials were disorganized from the Holo announcement, and even she had to admit she was confused about her future. They weren’t prepared to defend this well, and she knew it’d be an uphill battle.

“Stand together!”She shouted at the top of her lungs, watching the miserable and cowardly ways the Imperials scattered. She saw a few figures zooming by above and could recognize them as Mandalorians. The sight of them caused an abrupt, piercing headache that made her cry out. It made her vision go white, and it took a moment for it to subside. After she recovered, she quickly aimed her rifle and took careful aim.

Within moments she had shot one of the jet packs above, causing a small explosion and the soldier wearing it to fall from the sky. She rushed forward and did the same to another, picking out enemies with carefully landed shots. She couldn’t get many of them as they picked up on the tactics quickly.

She ducked and rolled as a slew of bolts came towards her. She activated her jetpack and whizzed up into the air, sending a volley of blasterfire to someone flying by. She landed on her feet atop a tower, gazing down at the leader of this charge. He stood outside the entrance, and he would know he had found the head of the snake.

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros slammed his foot into the door to bash it open to no avail. Rather than waste his time clearing this place from the ground-up, he decided he would trap the Imperials within between him and the Mandalorians wreaking havoc outside. Behind him, an Imperial operating a jetpack soared high above, demonstrating martial prowess that none of his warriors expected from someone in a garrison posting like this, before landing atop the very tower he was trying to break into. Leandros craned his head up and noticed the figure above looking down upon his matte black-and-red armor, their highly polished armor reflecting the pale sun above. Before they could get a shot off towards him, he jumped to the side and activated his jetpack, blasting off diagonally and upwards. Instead of flying straight up and making himself an easy target, he followed along the side of the tower in an upwards spiral, using the breaks in visual on him to leave them guessing as to where he would appear.

His jetpack boosted him above the back side of the tower from where the figure was looking down at him and he landed gracefully, carbine coming up, ready for the offense. His eyes quickly scanned the target, noting the jetpack they wore. It was surely an insult of some kind; perhaps some Imperial lieutenant had gotten lucky in killing a Mandalorian and looted their jetpack to show off their prowess to their fellow coward friends. There were no Imperials he had met who knew how to operate one like the Mandalorian shock troopers did, and he was certain that this Imperial counted themselves amongst that number.

There were a few other Imperials atop this tower trying to provide overwatch for their comrades being slaughtered below. As he landed, Leandros fired a two-shot burst from his carbine into the back of one, alerting his comrades to the Mand’alor’s presence as the body toppled over the edge. Another Imperial rushed at him simultaneously and he quickly swung his carbine like a club into the man’s head. The bone-crunching crack that echoed out indicated that he had struck true and, without skipping a beat, Leandros grabbed the man’s body and held him up against his own, using the man as a human shield. He kept the body up as a shield and took aim at the jetpack-wearing Imperial, preparing to send some bolts to end their career.

Several bolts slammed into the human shield he held, distracting him from the shot. In response, he dropped the carbine he was one-handing and drew his QuickDraw, fluidly sending a four-bolt burst back at the offending Imperial who tried to save their commander. With the soldiers atop the tower dead, it was just Leandros and the Imperial officer. He fired off a quick two-bolt burst towards them, aiming for their legs. The top of the tower might not have been the most open arena, but it provided plenty of room to maneuver, and there were several meters between him and the Imperial commander.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

The Imperial on the tower stood like a statue, following the movements of the Mandalorian. She let him attack the other soldiers, reaching into a pouch on her waist and pulling the pin on a grenade. By the time he was killing the last soldier she walked off the top of the roof and began to free fall. As she did so, she spun in mid-air and lobbed the grenade over to where he landed to meet her. The idea was to have it explode by him right as he finished off the last soldier and focused his attention on her. This also meant she was out of line of the shots.

She fell for a moment before the jetpack activated again, and she looked up to see what the Mandalorian would do. It was clear she moved like a natural and was incredibly comfortable with the jetpack. She was on her back during the fall, gazing up and having her guns trained above in case he came after her. She landed atop a shorter building, leveling her gun to fire at him.

She wasn’t hasty, nor was she driven by anger. She had a job to do and she was very methodical. Using a jetpack felt strangely natural, and she liked that she was taunting him with it. After all, he hated her guts for being a Dar’manda.

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros swung his blaster around to sight the Imperial commander, only to be faced with an empty space and a grenade heading his way. The only thing he could think to do was toss the body at the grenade as a shield and dive to the side off the edge of the tower and out of the Imperial’s sights. The frag went off and peppered the corpse with shrapnel, the concussive force propelling it away and skewing Leandros’ course. Shards of metal scraped against his armor, leaving gouges where they ricocheted off. He activated his jetpack midair and righted himself, turning to face the direction in which the Imperial had fallen off the tower. Whomever they were, they seemed more competent than the usual run-of-the-mill Imperial, and that irritated him.

He flew forward, grabbing an impact-triggered concussion grenade right before he passed mid-way down the tower and into the view of the Imperial. As she aimed towards him, he flung the grenade towards her, keeping his pistol aimed her way. If she got any shots off before the grenade impacted, he would prepare to maneuver in the air in order to avoid them. Rather than fly directly at the Imperial, as she might expect him to do, he continued to fly straight on a course that would pass over where she stood, just out of range of the concussion grenade. His goal was to close the distance and get within striking range, as he knew most Imperials relied heavily on the advantage of distance to fight their enemies, but he knew better than to fly face-first into someone’s blaster.

This Imperial was good. They seemed knowledgeable about Mandalorian tactics, and their proficiency with the jetpack confounded him. Was this a new generation of Imperial shock troopers, or simply someone who's fought the Mandalorians enough times to adopt their own fighting styles? This was beginning to become an annoying raid.

 

[Raz Solus]

As she had been flying backwards, she saw his movements and what he was about to do. As soon as he lobbed the grenade, she leveled and fired two bolts at it. The aim was on point, the impact causing the grenade to explode well before it reached her. However, as he had also trained his gaze forward, it was unlikely he would be caught too bad in the radius.

Interestingly enough, she didn’t budge from where she stood as he rushed towards her. She was prepared to dodge if he sent bolts her way, but she wanted to fight him head on. He would see her reach for and draw out a vibroblade, twirling it in her hand as she prepared to engage him in close range combat.

She stepped backwards onto the roof of the building to allow him a chance to land. Her movements were practiced, yet oddly casual. She circled around the edge of the roof, shooting glances his way and keeping a sense of calm. It was hard to tell whether this was a well seasoned warrior, or simply someone far too overconfident.

“I hope you’re ready to meet your false gods,” She called out to him, a grin on her face beneath the helmet. She knew Mandalorians were very devoted, and she wanted to hit him where it would hurt. Despite the insult she threw, she couldn’t help but feel a pang in her chest. It didn’t feel right to say that, even though she was taunting an enemy.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros’ grenade exploded between the two of them, an explosive bang! echoing out alongside a bright flash. Though he hadn’t been within its radius, the bright flare still irritated his eyes, if only marginally. He kept his blaster trained on the Imperial, but she did not move. Even when she shot the grenade from the sky with expert precision, she remained as still as a statue. The Mand’alor had never seen an Imperial so bold, nor one so adept at marksmanship. Were they anyone but a loathesome Imperial, he might’ve congratulated them. Instead, however, it only angered him further.

He saw her draw the vibroblade in a silent challenge, taunting the man from her position on the roof. As she stepped backwards, Leandros landed smoothly, accepting her duel challenge. He holstered his pistol and drew his beskad with his left hand, the blade sliding against the sheath and letting out a high-pitched metallic keening noise. While the battle around them raged, Leandros focused on the Imperial circling the roof and mirrored her actions, watching her closely. They moved with the grace and poise of someone extremely confident in their abilities, and Leandros had reason to believe that they were good at pretending they knew what they were doing.

Her voice caused his eye to twitch. Not because it was a woman whose voice sounded vaguely familiar, but because she had spoken to him in fluent Mando’a, taunting him and the gods. His breath caught in his throat for a moment and he scowled, his face running hot with indignation. Who was this Imperial to speak the tongue of his people, who was she to taunt him and the gods when she knew nothing of their culture? He continued to circle for a moment, curious and enraged. ”You speak my language after what your Empire did to my home?!” he shouted back at her in Mando’a, suddenly charging forward with his beskad.

He was furious; the insult of speaking Mando’a was only magnified by the atrocities the former Empire had committed against Mandalore. He thought about all of his people dying, about his beautiful home being turned to a graveyard of ash and blood, about his wife dying to protect their people. The thought of Imperials learning Mando’a just to taunt their enemies royally pissed him off. This was no longer a fight just to take over the base; this was a fight to put this Imperial in her place.

Leandros ran forward and held his beskad low, ready to bring it up in case she rushed at him as well. As he got within range of her, he planted his right foot and raised his weapon in an upwards slash, moving diagonally from left to right, starting at the Imperial’s right hip and moving up towards her left shoulder. His right hand curled into a fist, but otherwise remained up by his side.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She knew she got under his skin, and it was extremely satisfying. However, that moment passed the moment he spoke. There was something so familiar about the voice, the intonation, the throaty growl he made. It gave her a sudden, blinding headache and she saw nothing but white for a moment. He was already rushing towards her and she was thrown off for the first time since the battle began.

Her mind was split in two, and she saw those shards again. She saw fragments of glass, a tiny little smiling face, that man again, and then other faded faces. With each face it was excruciating pain, and she felt as if her insides were twisted and torn apart. Her mind and soul were pulled apart, and she could do nothing to stop it.

As he rushed towards her, she tried to step forth, but she was hunched now and distracted. She had been standing on the edge of the roof, and she hadn’t held up like he would have expected. Her blade weakly came up, but she buckled backwards and he would feel a sudden loss of friction. The result would be both of them sent tumbling over the edge of the building.

She began to get her bearings again, but she clutched onto his shoulder as they fell off. Her jetpack was activated and they began to spiral on their descent as she tried to regain the prowess she had before. For a moment, she could do nothing but focus on that helmet of his. The markings, the painting, something about it all threw her into further agony.

With a loud cry from her, they finally landed, and she slammed down atop him, pinning him to the ground. Dust and debris kicked up around them, and she brought her blade up near his neck. However, she felt his blade pressed up against her heart.

Time stood still.

She leaned in close, her helmet mere inches from his, as she read into the markings. She felt the blade digging into her chest but she was unconcerned by it. Why had he invoked so many painful triggers in her?

Before she could say anything, a nearby explosion rocked the ground. They were both sent tumbling, bits of shrapnel tearing into armor. She rolled to the side and jumped to her feet as several other Mandalorians began to shoot at her. With a growl, she was back in the fray, pushing aside the attack on her mind.

@Painus

 

[Leandros Solus]

He charged forth, expecting to clash with this Imperial in a duel to the death atop this roof. Something about her posture, though, suggested that she wasn’t in the fight, not mentally, anyways. Rather than face like him he expected, she hunched forward and he slammed into her, sending the two of them diving off the edge of the building. She gripped him tight, the two spiraling towards the ground until she activated her jetpack to slow their descent. Even as they fell, he had the strange sensation that she was staring at the markings on his armor, her gaze boring beyond her helmet into his as she studied its features.

She cried out in agony as they slammed into the ground and rolled, kicking up a cloud of dust. She pinned him to the ground and slid her blade against his throat. Simultaneously, however, his own beskad pressed firmly against her heart; if she planned on killing him, she was coming along for the ride. The battle around them seemed to freeze as they lay there joined together in a deadly grapple, each one waiting for what the other would do.

Their helmets were close enough to touch and he pressed his blade harder into her, just on the verge of piercing the armor, but she seemed to pay it no mind. What about him was so befuddling to her? She seemed confident before in her abilities, but he had done something to draw her curiosity more than her ire. Her own blade pushed against his neck, mere ounces of pressure from pressing in and killing him. Momentarily, he wished she would do it; something in the dark recesses of his mind longed for her to end his pain and let him join Raz in the Manda, but he fought against that thought. He fought against the idea of leaving Lily an orphan. No child deserved that. His mind rushed back to reality and to the fact that this Imperial held his life in her hands and he held her life in his.

And there she was again, studying his armor for something. Again, the two shared a strange silence and he stared back, looking into the reflection of her helmet at his own helmet, wondering what it was that intrigued her so. Before either of them could speak, another explosion sent the pair rolling away, separating them from their grapple. She jumped up right as several of his warriors began to fire at her, suddenly reinvigorated and ready for battle.

He jumped back to his feet as well, gripping his beskad with the other hand now as he turned to face her. Before his Mandalorians could place a shot and kill her, he held up his hand. ”Stop!” he commanded, and almost immediately the warriors stopped firing, their confusion almost visible even with their helmets on. ”She’s mine,” he growled, waving them off to rejoin their brethren in taking the garrison.

Imperials and Mandalorians clashed all around them. The two facing off was almost surreal amidst the chaos but fitting for the two commanders of both sides to be doing such. Occasionally, stray bolts would come flying their way and he would simply step aside or otherwise dodge them, his focus placed on the Imperial ahead.

He paced behind the Imperial, twirling his beskad in his hand idly, just as she had done atop the roof. ”You could’ve killed me,” he said in accented Basic, watching her carefully, doubting she knew any more Mando'a aside from the taunt, ”But you didn’t.” He stopped his pacing and squared his body up to her, holding the beskad loosely. She had the easiest opportunity to kill the second Mand’alor in centuries and failed to take it, almost as if some invisible force gripped her body and refused to let her act. It was a curious thing, especially for an Imperial so clearly skilled in battle. That, he surmised, was almost as insulting as speaking Mando’a to him.

”Why?”

@Sreeya