Strength in Numbers

[Rasputin]

​

@Karvon Tulos
This is not quite how Mavrak Phel would've imagined the life of being a crime lord. The carcasses of Tusken raiders laid in a pile just outside of his stronghold, where they burned into smoke in the air. It wasn't a pleasant smell.

It was true that Tatooine was a harsh place. Phel had underestimated its environment, but he wasn't ready to give up. This was only the first attack. Still, he barely managed to defend the fortress, even with his droids. And they had been damaged in the fighting. He had one of his slaves working on them in the main chamber of the stronghold. Another was sent out in the Jundland Wastes scout for any movements being made by the sand people. Phel had yet to hear from the latter, and the former, an Arconan, seemed to be making little progress, much to his master's vexation. The Arconan jumped back as a spark jumped off the droid's fusebox and pinched his finger. He looked worriedly to his approaching master desperately.

"Master," pleaded the slave, "I...I no good mechanic."

"Oh," Mavrak said, seemingly sympathic, "Are you not? Well, that's too bad."

His gaze of sympathy suddenly turned to a grimace. With the band of his hand, he struck the alien, causing him to fall onto the ground.

"Useless! Perhaps I will simply give you to the Tuskens as a token of appeasement next time they come to kill us!"

The Arconan quickly shielded himself with his hands. "Forgive me, master!"

Phel almost stomped on him, but the timely entrance of a Rodian slave saved the Arconan from a grisly beating.

"I'm busy."

"Master, Yosga has returned."

His grimace suddenly turned to a look of satisfaction. Following the Rodian out to the gate, they met the green Twi'lek Yosga just as she walked up the hill. She was recovered in dust and dirt, but was otherwise unharmed.

"What did you discover?"

"I see no sand people, master," she began sheepishly, "But I did find big sandcrawler."

"Sandcrawlers?" Mavrak asked, intrigued. The Twi'lek nodded in confirmation. Sandcrawlers were the primaries vehicles for miners from Anchorhead, the only settlement on the planet. It definitely lifted Mavrak's spirits in the face of difficulties. Why, though? What was so significant about these sandcrawlers?

The foremost reason was that they were guarded by security droids. Czerka refused to sell him the models, both because of their short supply in the region and because they feared of what he might use it for. In truth, they were right to fear him, for Mavrak had ambition. He would hardly stop with this castle in the desert. But they couldn't halt his ambition by restricting him: he would simply take what he wished.

"I need to make a call. Do not disturb me."

"Yes master," the two slaves said, almost in unison.

Phel issued a contract on the HoloNet asking for the assistance of mercenaries. He had a small fortune he "inherited" from Megru, a portion of which he could use to pay the hunters, though he had to be conservative (even if Czerka wouldn't sell to him). The contract's offer was modest enough: 3000 credits per individual. It wouldn't set them for life, but it would be sufficient for a small-timer looking for buy his next meal.

 

[Tulos]

Aska and Drytas had been on Tatooine for quite some time as they waited for repairs to be done to their ship, and were spending some time at one of the local pod racing bars. Screens around the lounge displayed the races as fans crowded around them, cheering for their favorite racers. Aska, however, held her head in both of her hands against the bar, a half full glass in front of her. Drytas sat beside her but his attention was also drawn to the view screens, but finally turned to look at his silent partner.

"Your suffering brings me joy, smooth skin," Drytas hissed as Aska groaned. Her head throbbed from the evening of partying at one of the local cantinas and she desperately wished to take it all back. She rolled her head into her right hand and smiled at the Trandoshan before giving him the middle finger with her now free left hand. She quickly returned to her original position, only to end up placing her forhead directly on the bar.

"You'd think I'd know better than to drink Correllian rum straight from the bottle by now..." She lifted her head from the bar and grabbed the cup ahead of her, tilting it up, and pouring its remaining contents into her mouth. She swished it from side to side with her eyes closed, and swallowed before opening one eye in slight pain. "Then again, stay drunk and your never hung over," An agonized grin crept across her face before her communicator began beeping. She pulled it from her belt, and saw that there was a message being transmitted to her datapad from one of her contacts on world. Included was location co-ordinates and quick description of the work.

Capable men and women required. Dangerous, so passive people need not apply. Bring weapons and a desire to live.
3000 Credits to each hired hand

Usually her contact would have given her more information, such as what the task would be or who the contract belonged too. Instead, it was rather vague and it spiked her curisoity. She stood from the bar, and tossed the datapad towards Drytas.

"No time to mope around I guess. C'mon," she groaned as she grabbed her coat from the back of her chair and threw it on. Fortunately, she always travelled Tatooine with her hunting arsenal since the world was filled with the scummiest filth in the galaxy. She was ready, at least equipment wise, for what was to come. By the time she arrived at the co-ordinates, her hang over should have passed. Suddenly the room filled with cheers as one of the races came to an end, catching everyone's attention. Aska's eyes lit up once she saw the bartender was distracted, and leaned over to grab a bottle of Tarisian Ale. She quickly stuffed it in her jacket and walked out of the bar.

The speeder they had rented a few days prior sat outside and ready to go. With Drytas in the driver's seat, Aska kicked back and pulled the bottle out from it's hiding spot. They took off as the bottle pressed against her lips.

The co-ordinates took them about an hour out from Anchorhead, and revealed what seemed to be a small Hutt palace perched at the top of some small ridges. As they came to a stop, Aska capped off her bottle and jumped out. She took in the view of the building, stretching out over the golden mesas, a small herd of Bantha migrating across the hot desert below. It was amazing to her how a few more drinks was all it took to get her out of her funk, and with a smile, she walked up to the giant sealed door of the building with Drytas beside her. She hammered on the door, keeping her left hand on one of her pistols.

"Anybody home? Your help has arrived!" It was only then that she noticed the smell of the burning corpses who were further around the circular building. The desert winds must have been carrying them away from her, but now that was a good sign in her line of business. Now she knew that this contract had some potential to be interesting.

 

[Rasputin]

"Ah, bantha poodoo!" a voice echoed on the other side of the wall. He seemed to have trouble getting the door open, if his subsequent banging on the door was anything to go by. Finally, though, he managed to work the panel to get the door up at least half as higher as it was supposed to be (which was still a good 10 feet).

The alien who had been on the other side, a Rodian, peered from the corner.

"Who are you? No guests today!" The Rodian hit the button again, but again it didn't want to work. "Stupid piece of--"

"Oh, Clot," Mavrak yelled out in an unsettling sing-song voice, "Are those my guests?"

"Oh er..." the Rodian quickly realized his error, "Yes, master!" The Rodian quickly looked back to them and directed them toward the inner chamber with an urgent jerk of his head. He knew better than to keep his master waiting.

Phel's inner chamber was the perfect combination of depressingly dull and overly flamboyant. Most of it was a mundane brownish except for a large blood stain on the floor, the clothed throne in which Phel sat in and Phel himself. He was a rather interesting figure to look at. A purple skinned Togruta, he wore an outfit which bared his chest (save for two leather sashes) like a gladiator. Of course, he still wore pants and knee-high boots. He wore his montrals lined with silver ornaments, almost like a crown. As his slave poured him a glass of white wine, it seemed he certainly lived like a king too, even in these conditions.

"Welcome," Phel began, twirling his wine glass, "I'd offer you a seat, but... Czerka won't sell me any chairs. Hell, they won't even let me into Anchorhead.

"Bugeyes!" Phel yelled to the Arconan to his right, who was still fiddling with one of the battle droids, "Take that downstairs, we have guests!" The Arconan nodded obediently, and the Rodian quickly moved to help him lift the heavy thing. Phel quickly snapped his fingers and pointed at the Rodian. "No! He has to learn to do things on his own!" Clot stopped himself, leaving Bugeyes to carry it downstairs on his own. Phel rolled his eyes and shook his head. "So rude. Where was I? Oh yes!"

Phel stood from his throne. He was shorter than he originally seemed from his throne as he walked up to the two of them--almost Aska's height without the montrals.

"You're my bounty hunters, I presume," Phel surmised, "Let me get a good look at you." Looking them both over with his beady pupils, he took a little extra time with Aska, though seemed unimpressed though. It was Drytas that really caught his attention. "By the Force, they're making them big nowadays! Look at the size of you."

Phel cleared his throat, "I'm sure you're wanting to know why I called on you."

 

[Tulos]

As they advanced through the old palace, the duo took in their surroundings. The stone walls were covered with ragged flags and other dusty decorations, but from their original impression of the building, they weren't impressed with the inside. The rodian bowed as they entered the chamber, and remained behind them as they advanced. On the other side of the room was a second slave who had been working on repairing a droid and was quickly ushered down stairs with his project by the Torgrutan perched in his throne, insisting he tend to the matter on his own and keeping the Rodian present. The man stood and began to walk towards Aska and Drytas, and she took into note that, for a male, he was rather small. She tried her best to hide an unvoluntary smirk before she let out a quiet burp behind her hand, the smell of the booze still present.

"By the Force, they're making them big nowadays! Look at the size of you."

Drytas' lips curled up into a toothy grin, and he turned to face Aska with a cocky sneer. She simply crossed her arms and smirked.

"You want him? 10,000 credits and he's yours. He's not exactly the best conversationist, but he sure keeps the pests away," she said to the Togrutan man. "But yes, we're answering your plea. I'm Aska, and the scaly brute is Drytas. Some details would be great, actually. I have no idea what I've agreed to here," she replied.

 

[Rasputin]

"Ten thousand, eh?"

For a moment, Mavrak actually seemed to seriously consider it, but he shook his head.

"Another time. I must be conservative. But ah yes, onto business. I'm sure you noticed the horrific stench outside on your way--the burning carcasses of sand people. They've become quite a burden lately. And as you can see, I'm having technical issues. Overall, my day is just getting worse. Czerka is no doubt hoping I die out here, and refuses to sell me security droids or weaponry. But I won't be done in by them. I've survived worse. Surviving will require me to dirty my hands, however. That's where you come in. You're going to help me raid one of their mining sandcrawlers they send out in the desert daily."

 

[Tulos]

"Raiding a Czerka sand crawler, huh? Sounds like it could be fun. What are you able to provide for assistance?" Aska questioned as Drytas hissed quietly behind her in distaste at her previous comment. Instead of commenting, though, the Trandoshan joined in the conversation. He was unsure if the Togrutan would understand him, but Aska could translate should he require.

"The Czerka machines will fill it's passages. Jawa slaves will litter the interior as well. Aside from useless minerals, that's all these crawlers contain. Taking these individuals prisoner will be no easy task," Dosh was starting to become more commonly understood, but many sentients regarded Trandoshans as monsters, so Drytas tried to keep his voice at a subtle tone so as to not sound confrontative to this new contractor.

"Jawas are push overs. Droids programmed to kill, though. That's a whole different gundark nest. Won't be much left of them if we ambush the crawler and just stroll around. We'd need to shut them all down so we can access their core computer and wipe them clean. EMP charges would be a huge help, or something of the like if you have it, Mister....?"

 

[Rasputin]

Phel nodded slowly at the Trandoshan, though in truth he had absolutely no idea what he was saying. "EMPs, huh?" Mavrak jumped in response to Aska, "I'm sure that fat pig of a Gamorrean has some lying around."

Snapping his hands at Clot, Phel asked, "Hey Big Lips, does Piggie have any EMPs lying around?" The Rodian paused to think, and nodded.

"Yes, master."

"Well?" Phel asked, "Don't just stand there and blink at me. Go get them!"

Without delay, the Rodian bowed his head and ran downstairs, almost tripping on the way down because he was in such a hurry. Phel rolled his eyes and turned to his guests. "My name is Mavrak Phel, by the way," he pointed out, almost as if he expected them to know it, "You might have heard of me."

 

[Tulos]

As the nervous Rodian turned to retrieve their equipment, the man returned his attention to Aska and Drytas before finally introducing himself. Aska raised an eyebrow with a smirk and looked around the chamber they had been standing in, taking in the lack of bodies.

"Apparently I'm not the only one who hasn't," Aska replied. She knew shouldn't have such a cocky attitude towards her employer, but what fun was life if you bit your tongue every time you were about to stir up some trouble? She didn't think Mavrak would vote for violence, so she believed things would still go as planned. "Care to enlighten me, maybe?"

 

[Rasputin]

"It would be so easy to just dismiss my claims as hearsay," Mavrak retorted, "I prefer to speak through my actions."

With a toothy grin, he would turn and gesture them to follow. He led them back outside and stood on a rock on the cliffside, like a lion king looking over his savanna. Shortly thereafter, the Rodian came out with his EMPs and sat down after nearly dropping them. Mavrak turned back, having heard the Rodian scrambling, and shook his head. The Rodian would quickly bow and turn to head back into the palace to escape what might've been Mavrak's wrath.

"That stupid Rodian will be the death of me one day," said Mavrak, as he knelt down and grasped one of the glowing blue detonators in his hand, "These should do nicely. Guess I can't say that Piggie never left me anything."

 

[Aska Ryun (Old)]

The EMP grenades now in hand, Aska nodded towards the Togrutan before a small burp escaped her. Even she could smell the booze that had risen up, causing the Trandoshan to smack her directly on the back of the head.

"You are disgusting, smooth skin," he hissed. "Have you no shame?"

"I never said I'm a damn lady, you over grown, dried out slug," she retorted as she rubbed the place he had hit her. "Look, we'll get this done. And maybe once it's all said and done, we can discuss the 10,000 for the lizard. I'm willing to negotiate," she continued with a smirk, glancing quickly at Drytas in time to see him rear up for another smack. She ducked down under the arm as it came over top of her from behind, and elbowed her partner in the ribs as she stood back up.

 

[Rasputin]

Mavrak's eyes would widen and he would quickly start to fan at his nose as he caught a whiff of Aska's burp. "Dear Mother, did a Bantha die?"

He pulled himself off the ground and looked at his employees. "Indeed we will get it, done." He gestured them to follow as he walked around behind the stronghold, toward a small sail barge, big enough to seat five. "Isn't Piggy so generous? Rest his soul. Come, come. I'll pilot this scrap heap. I want you two ready to attack. Remember, nI want the droids unharmed. Anything else is collateral."

After boarding himself and starting up the barge, he waited for Aska and Drytas to board, and once they did he sped off down the hill into the Dune Sea.

 

[Aska Ryun (Old)]

The barge moved at an incredible speed across the dunes, the sand kicking up slightly behind them as they soared on. Aska immediately made a point to take a seat directly next to the beverage cooler and cracked the door open to take a peak inside only to be filled with disappointment upon seeing it was empty. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of crime lord this Togrutan believed himself to be if he couldn't even top up the alcohol stock.

"So," she began as she turned her attention back to the man. "This piggy you keep talking about. I take it you and him didn't see eye to eye about something?" Normally she wouldn't take the time to get to know her contractor on a personal level but the fact that Mavrek had not remained behind in the safety of his complex sparked her curiosity. This man did not seem like your average criminal as he was dressed to impress, yet was piloting the sand barge directly into the mess.

 

[Rasputin]

"Well you sure ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Mavrak retorted defensively, "He was a rival. Competition, you could say. I don't like competition."

He didn't speak after that, but instead remained in silence. The sail barge zoomed over the wavy hills, and it seemed like they weren't getting anywhere until they crossed a big mound. That's when they saw a massive sandcrawler rolling through with smoke billowing from its exhaust pipes.

​

"We need to get that slug crawler stopped and get its denizens out. Perhaps if we knock out one of the treads..."

 

[Aska Ryun (Old)]

"It seems she is a step ahead of you, Mavrek," Drytas hissed as he pointed to the woman scurrying across the dunes on foot. Upon spotting the sand crawler, Aska immediately sprung into action. After all, she needed this to wrap up before the hang over came back. The giant machine rolled across the sandy terrain in a direct path for her position, and she motioned to her employer to take the barge to a safe distance on the opposite side of the mound they had just crossed. She then knelt down and began digging down in the hot sand with her hands until she had a nice hole before her.

"Two could probably pull it off... But what fun is that?" she said to herself as she began pulling remote detonators from her pack. Keeping one for emergencies, four explosives quickly found themselves placed in the hole and quickly buried by the sand once again before she started to retreat from the advancing crawler. Ducking down behind a rock and watching from her secluded position, she counted down the seconds as the target began to roll over her trap.

"Three... Two... One..." And she pulled the detonation trigger.

 

[Rasputin]

KABOOM! The explosion battered the bottom of the tanker, scorching it, but the most damage that occurred was to the front treading. It's treading rims displaced and now lodged in the sandy crater, the crawler was slumped forward slightly and unable to move, just as Mavrak had hoped. In just a few minutes after, a door creaked open at the rear of the sandcrawler, and out emerged about five green-clad figures, coughing for air that was displaced from the now smoke-filled interior. Among them was a corpulent, ginger-haired and freckled-faced foreman who began barking out orders.

"Gene, Lartha, set up the turrets, quick! Maker knows how long it'll take the Sand People to get a wiff of that smoke. Once you're done, Gene, I want you to take a look at the tread. See how bad it is."

"Aye, aye, Captain," the young lad responded.

"Sehren, do we have a signal?"

"Negative."

The foreman sighed, "We're going to have to send someone back to Anchorhead. Get the swoopbike out here."

Looking through his macrobinoculars, Mavrak watched as Gene examined the wreckage of the treading and he grinned. "Just as planned. Get the ion grenades ready." Tossing his binoculars aside, Mavrak grabbed the handles of the barge and began to sail off over the mound and toward the crawler.

 

[Aska Ryun (Old)]

Aska scurried along the dunes, blaster drawn in one hand and blade in the other, after the explosion. Mavrek and Drytas were coming in at a good pace, and she decided her best bet would be to leave them to deal with the turrets. She took a position next to the damaged tread, listening to the conversation the sentients on board were having as best she could despite her distance. She could barely make out the words, but as the speeder was pulled down the ramp, she changed her tactic. She began to run from around her cover, only to come face to face with Gene.

"What the...? Guys! Hel-"

The man was cut short as Aska slammed her knife into his chest with a downward swing, implanting it deep within his lung. She dropped her pistol, and now used her free hand to cover the dying screams coming from the man's mouth while twisting the blade to ensure a devastating wound.

"Shush shush shush, nice and easy. Good boy," she cooed, slowly attempting at aiding the man's fall into the sand. Afterwards she pulled out her communicator.

"It's gonna get ugly, Drytas. Get your rifle ready,"

 

[Rasputin]

The scream was curt, but it was enough to alert the already-wary foreman. He quickly turned to Sehren and shouted, "Go, now!" Without delay, the speeder zoomed off into the distance.

Groaning, the foreman mumbled, "I didn't think they'd attack so soon." He turned to his remaining comrades. "Into the crawler, now. Get an oxygen mask on and don't open it until I say it's okay."

"But what about you? There's gotta--"

"There's only three masks. Don't worry. They gave us the turrets for a reason. Besides, I've got this." He would gesture to his company-issued sidearm. Nodding hesitantly, Lartha and his other coworkers returned to the interior and sealed the door shut, leaving the foreman to face whatever invisible adversary there was alone. He would withdraw his sidearm, holding with it both hands as he shook nervously. Part of him hoped that he wouldn't have to fire it and that the turrets would handily pick off the Sand People. But he's heard about them--how they travel in great numbers--and he's heard of the terrible things they're capable of.

The last thing he expected was to see a sail barge fly by. The autoturrets fired on it, though what shots they did land bounced right off, given that they were meant for anti-personnel and not anti-tank. From the barge flew flurries of blue-glowing orbs which landed not far from the turrets. They exploded in a electric sizzle, easily shorting out the turrets and causing the foreman ducked. As he looked up and saw that his turrets were fried, he began to fire at the barge in a panicked manner.

 

[Aska Ryun (Old)]

"Well done, boys," Aska whispered as the barge soared past the Sand Crawler, the charges they had thrown disabling the turrets with ease. This was going for too easily, but she was not going to complain.

With the foreman distracted by the Trandoshan and Nautolan playing cat and mouse at the entrance ramp, Aska took her opportunity. Taking a few steps back from the mechanical behemoth, she turned her aim to the top of the crawler, and flicked a small switch on the side of the barrel. With the weapon switched from energy blasts to the grappling hook attachment she far too often neglected to use, she pulled the trigger. The durasteel cable made a metallic whipping noise as it ascended into the air, finally coming into contact with a sturdy piece of steel on the top of her target. Another flick of the switch and the woman was soon ascending into the air, pushing off the side of the crawler with her feet until she made it up. Disconnected the cable, she turned her attention to the ventilation shafts that were raised from the steel plating.

"And here I was hoping Czerka would provide more of a challenge," she laughed as she pried the grating off one of the vents, sliding in and descending into the disabled machine.