Ask Queshing The Odds

[Shale Vizsla]

Truth be told, Shale wasn’t the least bit excited about navigating through this toxic filled planet. She had taken up a career in bounty hunting, but that was a far slower process of racking up cash than going for one big score. The Onderon Crown Jewels were a long shot, but the reward was still being offered centuries later. In fact, she was sure it had even gone up over time as the jewels were thought to be lost forever.

The Vizsla wanted to put some distance between herself and the other clans for a bit. The recent fiasco of having Mandalore displayed for the galaxy to see didn’t sit well with her. If they were ramping up for any potential wars, Vizsla needed to get a hold of some assets quick and that usually needed funds.

Shale lifted her helmet, slapped some spice on the back of her wrist and snorted. It wasn't hallucinogenic, but it certainly gave her an adrenaline boost. Out here, there were no real rules at play. The Mandalorian had arrived alone save for her droid that was left to man her ship.

Shale stepped off the ramp with her datapad, looking over at where the location of the downed ship was reputed to be. She knew she would find little there, but it was a starting point. She walked around the back of her ship to retrieve a speeder bike from her ship. The rest of the terrain was impossible to land a ship on and she would have to navigate with the bike.

Soon enough, Shale jetted off towards the direction of the crash site, adorned in full beskar’gam and helmet as usual.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Odd jobs came through from time to time. Sometimes Kotii knew the work was going to be strange from the get-go while others just took a left turn without warning. Tracking down jewelry was a first for the Mandalorian. But the payout was worth it if he found them. Not to mention Mandalorians had a history with Onderon and its moon, Dxun. But Kotii was not concerned with the historical minutiae of his people and their internal squabbles over the system. The reason the Alor had first happened upon the story of the Onderon Crown Jewels was after looking into the planet's aggressive ecosystem. Perhaps he could use their species to reinvigorate Mandalore or other damaged Mandalorian worlds to bring new life. But such things were House Solus business. Today Kotii was just Black Hand, the bounty hunter's guild member.

Following what he had found out about Jace Lorso and Kal Titch, the hunter knew any clue he found would likely be on Quesh where the historical figures had clashed millenia ago. One of the difficulties with finding the artifact or even a story of what happened back then was all but impossible. It had been ages and was perhaps one in a million that the Mandalorian would find them. But he still found his ship descending through the toxic atmosphere of Quesh. Inside the cockpit, his helmet was at his side and the mask that covered his lower face pulled down below his jaw. Between Kotii's pale lips hung the stub of a hand rolled cigara. To any that were inside the compartment they would have been able to smell the vice was laced with a bit of recreational sansanna spice.

The engines of the ship wound down after landing and the badger got up to head back to his weapons locker. Grabbing his helmet by the rim in one hand Kotii took took one last drag, the embers on the tip burned brighter for a moment until he dropped it into an empty cup nearby. It gave a hiss as it settled and cooled inside while the man grabbed his equipment from his weapons locker.

The environment outside was going to be unpleasant but clad in his red and black bounty hunting armor it would hopefully mitigate some of that. Even as Kotii swung his leg over the souped up swoop bike, he continued to contemplate things that were going on back in Mandalorian space. Starting the thrumming engines and shaking his head, the bounty hunter placed his helmet over his fair skin and white hair, concealing his red eyes with a similarly colored helm. He needed to stay focused and in the present and not light years away. Otherwise you're definitely not going to find these shiny rocks. He thought to himself as the balutar swoop left the secured ship behind.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale had a penchant for music and had built in speakers with a bass boost in her helmet. On her way, she was blasting music and reminding herself of guitar riffs she wanted to learn when she had free time next. As an avid guitarist and drummer, she was always preparing for cover gigs here and there across the galaxy. The crowds always went wild when they saw a Mandalorian rocking the stage.

The bike was jetting forth at full speed, zig-zagging past any obstacles and maneuvering around blocks. She had a vague idea of where she needed to be, but she would have to explore the area beyond that. The journey took a bit, but she could make out a wide stretch of land with canyons and valleys that likely served as the famed crash site.

Shale was about to park when she spotted another bike in the distance. She reached a hand up to fiddle with her HUD, taking a look at the other figure. After a moment, she cursed under breath, switching off her glorious music. Shale moved the bike closer to the other Mando, already recognizing him as a Solus. Where there was a Solus, there was trouble. This was not a job where she wanted to start some war and be splashed on Holonet across the galaxy.

“You lost, rabbit?” She called out to the other man. Calling Solus by cute fuzzy animals in lieu of their favored badger was a common slang from clans that didn’t think too highly of them.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The thrum of the powerful swoop engines took the Mandalorian through the sky faster than a jetpack could. The cloudy air left something to be desired for a view as the bounty hunter flew. Raveens and canyons gave a repeating yet varied landscape that passed under him as a blur. The howl of his bike's engines echoed through the sky and the natural stone formations.

Ahead of Kotii he thought he heard the sound of another loud vehicle and scanned the area below. With each moment he was getting further from his ship and the pocket of civilization on the planet's surface. If there were others out in the blasted wastes of Quesh they were likely to be made of hardy stuff. The badger's mind thought about the times he had come across dangerous native inhabitants or fauna while en route to a destination. Jawas and Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, Wookiees on Kashyyyk, all of those were better to parley with unless they were dead set on fighting.

Coming into view of the wider canyon, the aloft Mandalorian saw the dark armored figure of another waiting more out in the open upon their own bike. At least that was what he assumed as he got closer to the fellow T-visor. His HUD zoomed in to get details from the stranger, their armor, their vehicle, weapons, and surroundings. It was only a few moments and nothing more than a glance really. But Kotii did not see any others in sight nor any indicators there were people lying wait for an ambush.

Decelerating and not flying directly towards the Vizsla clan member, Kotii continued on as they got closer though was not trying to avoid them. If it were him and an armored warrior was gunning at full speed with blaster cannons, he might shoot first and ask questions later. Thankfully the stranger seemed to not consider him a threat to the point of firing so much as a warning shot. Instead the modulate voice of the Mandalorian asked the red and black clad bounty hunter a question likely intended as a jest. Chances were they had identified him as a Solus membr. Behind his visor Kotii's crimson eyes rolled. <"No, but it sounds like you could use the help to find an original insult, Vizsla."> He retorted in Mando'a with an unimpressed tone.

<"Why are you on this fart of a planet? Haven't seen any monarch worthy trinkets by chance?"> He asked plainly. It was not like the Onderon Crown Jewels were a secret. Without his own voice modulator, he had to speak at a slightly higher volume. Rude introductions were half of the greetings he received, even from his friends. Getting a good ribbing was nothing new though he would not be surprised if the Vizsla took it personally. They had their fair share of reputation as hard head and traditional warrior views. Maybe they know something about a ship crash though if Kotii were a gambling man he already had a guess at why the fellow hunter was here.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale scoffed at his response, “Give me some credit. I called you rabbit instead of rat like the proper term,” She pointed out quite appropriately. Vizsla had a penchant for calling them rat, possum, monkey lizard, anything but badger. She was off the bike, glancing off to the side where there was a hiking path leading lower into the valleys and canyons. While Shale doubted she would find the jewels, there could at least be clues.

The visor of her helmet tilted back towards Solus when he asked what she was doing here, “It wasn’t so bad till you came over to cloud it with your stench,” She replied rather cheerfully. Without another word, she grabbed her rifle and hoisted it over her shoulder, popping a pistol on her hip. There was also a small assortment of grenades and knives she lined into pouches.

Once she was ready to go, she realized Solus likely wasn’t going anywhere. If there was one thing she could appreciate about Solus, it was that when they showed up somewhere, they saw things through. There was no half assing. Which meant she wasn’t getting rid of this asshat anytime soon. They both knew why they were here.

“You coming with? Or are you gonna stand there jerking off to the thought of your own glory?” She called out before spinning on her heel to begin the trek down the path. Visibility was already getting poor, and she half expected to run into trouble from others attempting to scavenge the area.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii gave a rumbling murmur. He did not have anything he judged witty enough to reply with. The jai'galaar was both Vizsla's sigil as well as synonymous with Death Watch. The man's other helmet bore jaig eyes even. But calling the stranger bird brain would just continue the banter back and forth rather than lead to anything.

<"Didn't know I was in the presence of a fart specialist. Careful, people will start to think you breath methane, comrade."> A little chuckle came from Kotii, indicating he was pleased with his own humor for the moment. As the engines of his swoop bike settled, the man made sure his own weapons were in order. His black gloves touched the side of his pistol's holster, assuring him it was still secure and in the same place. The sniper rifle across his back would remain slung. Another pistol, one of older design sat on his right hip. The micro missile pistol was one of the more recent and prized weapons in the man's arsenal.

Kotii's visor found its way to examining the weaponry of the stranger though she likely noticed him scrutinzing her. Wordlessly at first, he pulled the personav from his equipment and double checked their location. Taking a breath through the helmet filter he sighed. The tone of the Vizsla was hard to determine slightly through the vocabulator but the body language told Kotii they were relatively at ease and in a good mood. "Sol'yc olaror, Sol'yc hiibir." He shrugged and gestured for the other hunter to lead the way. They were both here and the Vizsla had an idea of where to begin their search or at least appeared to have the confidence to match.

The path ahead wound down deeper into the canyon. The sky was darkened from the thick clouds despite the time of day. When night would eventually come, he expected it to have little to no visibility. It was best they did not waste day light in trying to find this ship. The badger looked down into the valley, trying to see if there were obvious signs of ship hulls or the tell tail indicator of wreckage. Nothing immediatly stood out as far as Kotii saw.

Leaving the trail-tracking to the Vizsla, the bounty hunter would turn to look for threats. The clack and clatter of small rocks shifting made him look towards its source. His helmet turned to the side, angling one ear to find its origin. Scanning with his practiced eyes, the jagged rocky slope more treacherous than the one they were currently on, he could have sworn he saw movement. Maybe it was just local fauna. The cybernetic left hand tapped another finger against the holster, his palm brushing against the handle of the blackwell manufactured weapon again.

Then suddenly came a three faint flashes of light from over fifty meters ahead and down from the duo. This was almost immediatly it was followed by the same number of bassy 'thunk' sounds. The ground behind Kotii was sent scattering in all directions in a shrapnel scattering blast. Rocks and stone above them rained down from a second explosion overhead. The third was a bit closer to Kotii, enough to lift him off his feet and send him stomach first into the ground. The badger felt the heat flash and knew after this he would probably find shrapnel marks on his back armor plates. But he push himself back up without hesitation, unslinging the Zok-10 from his back to use it on whatever was shooting at them.

The cause of the explosions were frag grenades fired from a grenade launcher somewhere ahead. The ground underfoot shook and more rocks began to fall. The Mandalorian duo were still high enough and on a precarious enough path that running down it would likely lead to a nasty tumble. <"I hate this planet."> He growled. Kotii knew what was being used against them. He was glad they weren't using thermal detonators though. It only took Kotii a moment but he would find the source of the shots and fire a heavy bolt into the armored chestplate of the grenadier. He bet there was more than just the one. As if on queue, the crack of two separate cycler rifles lead to more echoes through the canyon. Thin spires of sand were thrown up on either side of Kotii's body, narrowly missing his figure. Now they had enemy snipers to deal with too. <"Grenade launcher's down. Can't see the two snipers."> The main thing on the man's mind. He couldn't tell where the sniper shots had originate from. Bandits, competing bounty hunters, hungry locals, he did not care who was shooting at him. The Mandalorian was going to defend himself and his fellow hunter, even if their clans butted heads.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Like Kotii, Shale was thrown over when the blasts began to erupt in their direction. She rolled over and sprang up into a crouch.

“YOOOOOOO I WANT THAT FUCKING LAUNCHER!” She exclaimed excitedly, entirely unfazed by almost having died. As someone that had a lot of appreciation for things that went boom, she would love to get her hands on the grenade launcher that was used to almost kill her seconds prior. However, for now she brought her rifle up to prepare for a counter assault, adapting to the situation. This was not before she flipped on some music to blast in her helmet. It was structured to allow her to hear Kotii if he contacted her regardless.

Her visor slanted towards where she had tracked one of the sniper shots originating from. She was easier to miss than Kotii’s brightly colored armor, and this gave her some temporary leeway. Shale was crouched temporarily behind a boulder.

“Shoot that big rock there,” She pointed a gloved finger at a big boulder that was precariously hanging off the edge of a cliff. If Kotii shot it, it would hit multiple mounds and dunes along the way, kicking up a giant dust storm that would make visibility near impossible for a moment, “Then cover my ass, bunny.”

She would wait till the timing was perfect with the dust cloud and temporary cover. Once she had that, Shale took a running start to the edge of where they stood, casually falling off and activating her jetpack to zoom towards one of the snipers. As she shot towards one of them like a homing missile, her torso spun as she pulled out two thermal dets. Her attempts would rely solely on Kotii having her back and providing suppressive cover while everyone was blinded so she didn’t get shot out of the sky by the second sniper.

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

The world around him had been rocked enough to make Kotii think twice about getting up from his laying position. Remaining prone, he cycled the blackwell sniper rifle and centered the cross hairs of the scope onto the magnified image of where the rock connected to stone. The built in magnetic accelerator increased the punch and the recoil of the heavy blaster rifle but that was what exactly was needed to blast the rock away for what the Vizsla had planned.

Without delay, Kotii had another round ready and fired it towards one of the snipers. Pulling the trigger, the far reaching red sniper bolt struck the sharpshooter from their perch. Rising to his feet, the armored bounty hunter set off at a trot to catch up with his cohort. As he moved, the badger cycled his weapon again and would find the sniper again once he had some cover and wasn't out in the open. With the kicked up dirt from the boulder he would be able to use it soon enough. All the while, Kotii kept his peripheral vision in sight of the jetpack wearing vod. The scout HUD belonging to Kotii dropped in front of his helmet, zooming in and trying to keep a close eye while listening in to more communications. The Zok-10 shook against his shoulder again, this one making the sniper shrink back for the time being.

@Sreeya