Ask Six Feet Under

[Van'Aria Solus]

Contruum 6,
Planet Surface
Outer Mountains​

Contruum Six was only something few of House Solus and in turn Clan Solus still knew about especially the old rumoured stronghold that was left behind on it, nowadays with the so incredibly split opinion and even more split logistical state it was entirely lost to time, that did not however mean that it may not still exist, and this was on today's Agenda to find out.

Hauron especially would've been briefed in advance that Van'Aria would be embarking for Contruum Six in advance to set up at least a temporary Camp from which they can begin their search, this gave the leader of this "War Party" time to prepare and choose his allies carefully whilst the Solus Rally Master went about and did what Rally Masters did best.

<"You sure its out here?">

One of the Solus Clansmen asked that came with Van'Aria, he was presently busy gazing through a macroscope to scan the surface of the mountains far and wide with little effect, it would take at least a day's work before they find anything workable, but that was... unless Hauron knew more than they did.

"If Hauron believes it to be, so do I."

<"If you say so...">

The temporary Camp itself was erected in a holed out Cave that provided some warmth during the already icy and cold dilemma they found themselves in, Van'Aria herself opted for neck fur instead of a Cape on this endeavour, it... held more heat, that and a few securely placed heat packs in places that she felt necessary.

When the Camp looked just about good enough, she would affix a transponder and broadcast a signal for both @Hauron Solus and @Foe’guth Rook so that they could make their approach safely and not fall into the unhealthy habit of... getting lost in a storm of cold snow.

"Transponder set, do you hear me Hauron? We have not found anything as yet, and frankly... if we are to comb the surface we might be in for a long endeavour. We will await further instruction at the Camp."

Truth be told, Van'Aria saw this initially as a fools errand, but she was willing to be surprised by what the young yet promising Solus could conjure, especially in his newfound responsibilities as both Rally Master and Leader of a Squadron which she aided today.

@Charles @Darasuum

 

[Hauron Solus]

The Werda Kom'rk moved through the chilly atmosphere of Conrtuum Six. Hauron sat in the cockpit at the controls with a full compliment of Mandalorian warriors onboard. Three warriors sat at the other crew stations and a dozen more sat as passengers, outfitted for the arctic environment passing outside the ship's hull.

Hauron's clan, or more specifically, his Buir's Covert on Kalevala had kept intelligence of this base. It was simply known as Base Six but also refered to as the "Badger's Den" by some elders. They had kept its location and others safe on coded datatapes and oral tradition. Hauron hoped it would actually yield some results and not just be a rumor that leads to a dead end.

The dashboard gave a chirp as it signaled an incoming transmission. At the same time a Solus clan member spoke up to the Mikkian pilot. <"Rally Master, we've got a lock on the transponder."> Hauron gave a nod to signal he heard them and connected the communication line with the fellow Rally Master.

<"I read you."> He replied before she continued. <"That's kind of the idea."> The badger replied optimistically. They did not want to find a base to easily. If it was hard to find then their enemies would have a tough time attacking them. <"The Shadow Gauntlet can make patrols with its scanners in the immediate area. I'm going to land for now but we'll find it."> His tone was reassuring and confident.

The Solus had a few ideas if the ship's scanners were not enough to find the structure. He doubted it would give off a power signature or life signs after all this time. Even so, he had just talked to the Senator of Kashyyyk about setting up a hidden base on one of Kashyyyk's moons. Anything they could do, so could their enemies and their ancestors.

The ship's wings would turn skyward while its main fusilage remained horizontal with the ground. The signature landing style of the Kom'rk multi-role starfighter would complete and allow for most of the ship's warriors to disembark and join their comrades in the cave. Some began offloading supplies for the camp and for any other land excursions they were completing without the starship.

@Bread @Charles

 

[Foe’guth Rook]

After getting the signal for Van'Aria, Foe'guth took his ship down from the atmosphere, descending through the snow storm to his target. He was not sure what they were looking for exactly, but if Aria needed his help, he'd give it. The Solus Rally Master was going to make House Solus, Foe was sure. So, if this little mission needed doing in order for her to one day become Mand'Alor, then it would be done.

After exiting his starship, he made his way towards camp, giving a greeting nod to both Hauron and Aria. The Rook was not a big fan of the cold and much rather preferred the hot and arid climate Mandalore had. Maybe this was going to be as much a test for Foe'guth as it would be for Aria.

"Butahya Kalyr" He spoke curtly. Did he need all his gear with him for this? It felt wrong leaving his weapons behind anyway, so he'd hold on to them for now. "Give me something to do and I'll get it done." Foe spoke with confidence, though he was mainly just cold and needed to warm up and stay active. "Os-osik!... It's cold, huh? Any natives we should worry about?" Whether it be sentient or non-sentient creatures, Foe didn't want to bit by anything other than the cold.

@Darasuum @Bread

 

[Van'Aria Solus]

"The Contruum System has been uninhabited for a long time now, whatever we come across will unlikely be Human. Nevertheless, I will need you on your highest alert."

Van'Aria cautioned the Rook, In fact she had found little to no evidence of Contruum Six ever serving a real purpose, its strategic placement however made for a great spot to lay a forwards operating base, it was but a micro-jump away from the Perlemian Trade Route and even mores just two micro-jumps from the Hydian Way.

"I'm surprised we did not capitalize more on the Contruum System during the Crusade. This would have been a crucial point to hold..."

Van'Aria pondered for a moment before coming to the conclusion of a decision.

"Hauron, I propose you oversee a broad scan from the Gauntlet, I will lead a detachment to search the ground along your scanning vector. This also gives us more leverage should the "Local Wildlife" intend to disrupt our activities."

Van'Aria nodded at that almost as if to confirm for herself the plan of action, this could work and would likelier than not yield the most ground covered, opening up a holomap for all that were gathered to see she gestured to a formation of two Mountains in the Distance.

"Logistically and Strategically, forming a Base would be either best done inside either of these Mountains... or right between them. This would give a potential assault a hard time to breach the interior, Rebels have had similar bases like this before."

She gave her input, it was now on Hauron to make the Decision, he was the leader of the War Party, he had the final say in it.

@Darasuum @Charles

 

[Hauron Solus]

<"The bunker itself has probably been uninhabited for millennia...maybe...."> He said in response to Van'Aria's initial statement. He knew she was incorrect about the details and would have previously refrained from correcting the Rally Master. But the young Mikkian was a Rally Master himself and Group Leader of Rancor Squadron. This was his operation so it was only appropriate for him to clarify the truth. <"...But the overall Contruum System has been inhabited with a successful ship building and mining industry for longer. They're just kind of tucked away and very self sufficient. But all the same you're right. We should keep our guard up because we have no idea what's been out here since our ancestors came."> These were all reasons why the first Mandalorians that had visited the system had stayed thousands of years ago and why Hauron wanted them to make this place a new home for them.

As he walked, he pulled out his personav to show a display of their current position and the position of the base they were aiming for. <"This planet, Contruum Six, only has two cities of moderate population density but they're practically each half a planet away. Both are mostly civilian that like to keep to themselves, maybe a few retired bounty hunters if you're unlucky."> The two cities were equidistant from both settlements, allowing them to potentially respond to both just as quickly and defend from them too. Supposedly one of the bars had a picture of the Silent Badger's true face playing guitar on stage and Hauron wanted to see if he could find it at some point.

Hauron listened and nodded at what Van'Aria proposed. <"Agreed. Do you two want to ride with me or separate?"> He asked. The ship was still winding down and would be ready for take off again momentarily. They could disembark from the Werda Kom'rk if they found something. It was cold outside to say the least and the interior of the ship would be far more comfortable than flying free with a jetpack.

<"How did things go during the crusade when you came here?"> He asked with some hesitation towards Van'Aria en route. It seemed important to know how things went in case they encountered locals that had some reservations against Mandalorians. It might only complicate things but the Crusaders themselves had potentially taken part in the campaign during that time.


@Charles @Bread

 

[Foe’guth Rook]

Foe'guth awaited Haruon's debriefing and nodded along. This place was more than just another frigid wasteland. Like all things in this galaxy, there was sight of promise when you looked for it. If taking one city succeeded, then at least the Mandalorians would know that it was possible to take the second. Currently, they had the advantage of surprise up their sleeve. But were they going to take this cities by force? It made sense to Foe, but if Aria thought diplomacy would work better, then he'd have to refrain from violence until it was necessary.

"I'll fly beside you, if that's alright. Wouldn't hurt to have a Fang back you up, right?" Foe offered. If something were to happen, it would be best that the others could evacuate the ship while Foe'guth covered them. Fang-class Starfighters were a force to be reckoned with in the air, and Foe'guth was not your average pilot either. "Though I'm sure you two won't need it, heheh." It was probably safe to assume that the two Rally Masters could handle themselves, but Foe simply wanted to be better prepared just in case.

Van'Aria was a great warrior during the Crusades. Foe thought to himself. If Fenyang hadn't left us behind to rot, she would've been a Rally Master sooner...

@Bread @Darasuum

 

[Van'Aria Solus]

Hauron made valid points, Van'Aria had mostly READ reports of the Contruum System, she hasn't been here personally, she was requisitioned to personally Aid in most campaigns Nox led, this focused moreso on closer targets like Garos or Utapau.

Being educated by the young Solus wasn't so much disrespectful, it was insightful moreso, the fact that Hauron knew more about this system reaffirmed her trust in him picking things without just pointing on a map like the former Mand'alor did.

"Consider myself educated. It's rare to find a Commander among the Mandalorians that uses his wits at times. Keep that about yourself and you'll make your Father proud."

When Hauron asked how to proceed Van'Aria remained stalwart, she was going to sally out on "foot" whilst the two of them surveyed with the Ships, the reasoning behind that is even if worst came to worst they have a strike force that can immediately spring to action, it divvied up a potential large target into smaller less tangible ones.

"I will sally out on foot regardless, I agree with Foe'guth, two Ships will make noise, but it will increase our chances of finding that hideout you are looking for, Hauron."

She then gestured to the Nav-Map gesturing a pincer like movement combing upwards from the south.

"Let us comb in a chevron, both of you will be ahead of the ground troops so incase we see something you will have both the power to disengage or obliterate if need be, the ground troops will be in your middle."

If there were no objections further she would decide to get her men ready and advised the two of them to get ready aswell, assuming that Hauron asked about the Crusade a bit later over the Comm-Link she would answer to both of them in tandem.

"I was not employed so far out, I was very closely employed with Nox Solus, there were rarely conquests of his where I did not show my face in tandem. That and another, A Vizsla who has now become Rally Master, Arthos. He is about your Age, Hauron. I dare even say he shares your spirit."

There was a brief pause before she continued.

"Among those days was also when I made sure your Father did not rot in an Arena Prison. He is Solus, as are you."

@Darasuum @Charles

 

[Hauron Solus]

Hauron knew he could learn a lot from her still and only children gloated over moments. Instead, the badger allowed his chest to swell with pride and smile. The younger Mandalorian gave his head a humble bow at the compliment from his peer.

The helmeted Mikkian nodded his head at Foe'guth's offer to be an escort in his starfighter. <"I don't expect much aerial resistance but I'll have a Fang element join us."> That meant two Fang class interceptors would remain in the air and provide support if needed. There was still another two Fang starfighters that would remain in the air to patrol around their current camp site and keep eyes on the space above.

Either could reinforce the other well enough if needed and the shared scanning capabilities of the flight of starfighters would be an effective warning system. On top of that, the Rook's own Fang and the Shadow Gauntlet would be nothing to scoff at should some brigands or other dangers make themselves known. With Van'Aria's added direction he would lead the ships into a chevron formation in the skies whilst his fellow Rally Master dared the cold expanse below.

He added as they left, <"I'll drop three squads off at higher elevation and begin sweeping from the far side. They'll disembark without the Shadow Gauntlet even slowing down and converge on where this base is."> Hauron grinned knowing there would be some Mandalorians just happy to have an excuse to fly. He was a little jealous of them but knew he was better off piloting his ship until they found the old Solus base.

When the two Rally Masters spoke over the comms channel, the mention of Arthos gave Hauron pause. The thrum of the ship's engines and the whistling of the cold air being cut by the blade shaped wings of the ship were the only noise for several heartbeats. His buir had mentioned the Vizsla before and often with a voice that had a tone that was either disappointment, pity, or grief. The idea that Hauron had, was that Arthos was an older sibling who had let down his father and made mistakes of his own. But such a relationship was between Kotii and Arthos. Hauron would judge Arthos for himself if they crossed paths again. The two had met before and even hunted together alongside Fenyang. Vizsla had supposedly been at the Citadel though the Mikkian had been pulled away by business. Otherwise he may have greeted his brother one way or another.

The badger breathed in and flexed his grip around the controls. What Van'Aria said was true enough and did not merit a response. He was a Rally Master of House Solus. That was what his father always called it. A House. It was only ever a clan if he was specifically talking about the structure. Otherwise it was never unworthy of being called a House by his Buir. Even to this day he often calls it by such a name rather than clan. <Clans are the tribes that swear loyalty to Solus.> His father said and Hauron believed that. That was why there were hundreds of clans. But only a handful of everlasting families.

Just as he had stated, the compliment of twenty one Mandalorians disembarked from the Shadow Gauntlet. From the multi-role starfighter transport flew three groups of seven jetpack borne figures, moving and course correcting in the higher levels of the mountains where it would have taken substantial time for others to reach. They would make short burst and begin descending.

Hauron's sensors would eventually ping a hollowed out space with nebulous energy reading. It was like a clump of appliances were turned on in one corner of an empty compartment. It was probably a battery or something of that nature and the room it was in was probably a hangar if its size was anything to go by. <"I've got something. Sending you the location. I'm going to try and set the Gauntlet down."> He shared the information with the rest of the Group.

Dozens of feet from the mouth of the hangar is where the rotating wings of the Kom'rk transport would come to rest. Snow blustered into the dark confines of the hangar. It's blast door was cracked open half way keeping its dark interior a mystery against the bright white snow from outside. <"On me."> he told the three Mandalorians that were members of the crew. They grabbed their personal blasters and weapons before trudging down the ramp after Hauron.

@Charles @Bread

 

[Foe’guth Rook]

After the plan had been discussed, Foe didn't wait to get into his nice and warm cockpit (which was also why he wanted fly rather than walk). The Ruus I shared the same paint job that Foe'guth's armor had and it was a fine specimen to behold. Flying ahead of the group wasn't too hard, though the snow was screwing with his scanners more than he would've liked. Nevertheless, Hauron found the hangar to this old fortress, so Foe set the ship down and awaited further instruction.

"I did pick up a few life forms out here," Foe'guth held his rifle up and turned on an under-barrel flashlight. "There's probably a few with his, too. I wouldn't expect this place to be completely empty with the amount of time that's passed." Nothing really scared Foe- Except spiders. But everything else was blaster fodder for the Warrior. Whoever or whatever was lurking down here wasn't going to last long if they chose to fight.

"Once this place is cleared, I'm starting a greenhouse." The Warrior grunted. "It's cold as kark and I can't stand all this boring white snow..." His visor changed to a Low-Light vision mode as he continued to keep an eye out for any potential threats. Foe'guth was serious about gardening, however, and if Van'Aria or Hauron thought this was merely a joke to ease tension, they were dead wrong. Foe had always wanted to replenish Mandalore's ruins with loads of forests and plantlife one day- why not start small with a winter-wasteland like Contruum?

@Bread @Darasuum

 

[Van'Aria Solus]

"Coordinates received. Valkyr Squadron is moving."

Van'Aria had been tailing the two ships with her personal detachment of hand-picked Mandalorians, they weren't nearly as many as Hauron had at his disposal, but she trusted them with her life, each and every single one of them, that is why she was so exclusive with choosing her people, Foe'guth was no exception.

A moment after Hauron sent through the Coordinates he could hear the sound of Jetpacks igniting, a clear pair of multiples as Van'Aria made a direct line for the coordinates soon... he would hear the sound of boots touching down heavily outside his Ship's Ramp, the Solus Rally Master was awaiting Hauron with great intent after all.... this was his lead today.

"Foe'guth. I want an ample Perimeter, take two of mine and make sure that we don't have unwelcome surprises."

Van'Aria exhaled briefly, the normal Solus Red of her Armour slowly turning more pink as the Cold took hold on it, it was a testament to how cold things were, and frankly she minded not, in fact... she welcomed it, she preferred the cold over unbearable heat any day.

"On your Lead, Hauron."

@Darasuum @Charles

 

[Hauron Solus]

Spoiler: Music

From the sky the assortment of Mandalorians landed and secured the area outside of the base. It seemed quiet and inert as Hauron's ship cycled down. The cool air quickly chilled the ships engines.

Hauron had heard of his father's homeworld of Krownest. This place seemed to be similar with its expansive wintery landscape. But the Rally Master did not have much time to think about his surroundings. A large creak and snapping of ice would be the first indicator of the hangar blast doors opening. The seal within sent a cloud of vapor and snow blustering outwards. The Mandalorians had noted life signs and energy readings from within. Someone, or something was clearly home.

The white snow made it hard for the Mandalorians to see inside until their eyes adjusted. With weapons raised they remained tense until, both from torso height and from the ceiling of the hangar came a series of blaster cannon bolts. They leapt from the shadows and impacted the ground next to Hauron who dove to the side reflexively and landed on his stomach unharmed.

Crawling out of the mouth of Base 6's hangar was an octuple of eight-legged machines and possible Foe'guth's worst fear. Hauron knew what they were since his buir had stolen some before and had nearly been killed by one when trapped inside a freighter with only one, huntsman droids. The spider droids climbed on walls and out of the hangar along the sides of the doors making them every bit as horrifying as the arachnids in nature they were designed after.

<"To the skies!"> He shouted a warning so that nobody made themselves an easy target for the multi-legged machines. But that would only do so much as a dozen Blackhawk security droids flew and began to chase and harass individual Mandalorians even as they tried to evade.

Yellow and red blaster fire quickly criss-crossed one another. Mandalorian plates were impacted but warriors were making them pay for it. Hauron joined his brothers and sisters in the sky and fired a wrist rocket at a huntsmen droid getting close to the parked ship of Foe'guth. The droid's multiple arachnid photoreceptors and sensors must have detected the incoming warehead because it tried to move out of the way, which it did with only a limited degree of success. The blast destroyed three of the walker's legs and caused its main thorax to combust into a half shredded biomechanical hemisphere. <"Heavy weapons on the spider walkers!"> Even though the Mandalorians used heavy blasters, they would be better of using grenades, rockets or their harder hitting armaments.

Each of the blackhawk droids were much faster and smaller targets as well as airborne. One zoomed towards Hauron and used its metallic claw to slash at the Mikkian's outstretched arm with its magnetic claw only to receive an excessive amount of plasma from his dual heavy blaster pistols as it missed. The scraps that remained fell into the white snow beneath him. The man moved to cover those still being chased and prevent any injury or death if he could help it.

@Charles @Bread

Spoiler: Dice

Rolled twice, once for opposition and again for Hauron's effectiveness
roll
Very dangerous enemy, injury likely and death possible (mostly for NPCs but for PC as well if not careful)
Hauron is successful in reacting to the defenses

 

[Foe’guth Rook]

Foe'guth did as he was asked to, leading two other Mando's to establish a decent perimeter on this old base. Luckily, it was slightly warmer inside, so Foe could actually begin to feel his trigger fingers. A happy sigh escaped from him, causing a small plume of hot air appearing in front of him. For whatever reason, he got nostalgic, remembering when he was little and pretended to smoke out in the cold weather of Concord Dawn's winters. The nostalgia ended after blaster fire sounded back from the main group.

"That's my ship, asshole!" Foe found himself yelling at a droid who probably could've cared less. The rocket was close- too close -and now Foe's anger was stoked. The two other Mandalorians followed him behind cover, returning fire at the droid's eyes in an attempt to take them down. There was an opening through the chaos and Foe'guth took his chance, darting forward.

Right into another rocket.

The first thing that disappeared was his hearing, a distinct wringing sung in his head while the world around him went to shit. A fierce fiery pain shot up his gut and left side, he couldn't feel his left leg now that he thought about it. Due to the adrenaline, Foe'guth's instinct was to find cover, so he was crawling and crawling towards the feet of other grounded Mandos. He tried stumbling to his feet, only to find that he was missing his leg entirely.

"Foe's down bad... Aria... Aria... Van'Solus..." It grew harder and harder to remain conscious, but the smell of burnt flesh didn't help. The damage was too severe for Foe'guth to keep fighting. This whole situation pissed him off to no end- He was a warrior! He was born and raised to fight and now he couldn't. He failed Van'Aria and Hauron- He failed his Clan today -or maybe that was just the delusional thinking speaking. Either way, Foe fell on his back feeling like the biggest failure in the galaxy.

@Bread @Darasuum

(OOC: I rolled a 2 lol)

 

[Hauron Solus]

The hunstman droids were fearsome and numerous but so too were the Mandalorians. Blaster bolts flew through the air, some impacting on beskar and durasteel plates while others overshoot their targets or impact on the snowy ground.

Hauron could see numerous warriors were injured. In their location they were exposed. There seemed to be no end to the droids but their numbers dwindled. Foe'guth and Van'Aria had gone quiet and sure enough he saw the warriors had taken hits.

The lethal encounter soon led to Hauron's blasters becoming empty. The Mandalorian fired their wrist rockets and dropped onto the back of a spider droid. Unsheathing their vibro-blade, he jammed it into the optical sensors and stabbed as deep as possible, wrenching the blade through the sensitive machinery in the hopes of finding something vital.

The Mandalorians continued to eliminate remaining droids with precision as the battle began to slow. The droids were thinning until there were non left. But among those in the snow were the bodies of a few Mandalorian. They were heavily injured, some of them unconscious but thankfully no lives had been lost today.

"Hold here. Let's get medical attention for our brothers and sisters ASAP." He direct the commandos still able and ready. They guarded the exterior of the base and secured the immediate interior of the hangar. However they would have to sweep and search each room of the arctic bunker. That would come soon enough but for now the Rally Master was focused on the well being of his people.

End thread​

@Charles @Bread