Ask The Man in the Ice

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied sat back in the comfortable chair, eyes fixed on the datapad in his hand. It bore the image of a man, a middle-aged Pantoran named Ido Mora. The rap sheet beneath the image was long and not very flattering. Even so, the hunter felt uneasy at the thought of hunting him down. "We already have someone else willing to do the dirty work." The woman that was with him in the room explained, drawing his attention. She was a representative of the Pantoran government. Her office was large and opulent, with an excellent view of the icy world of Orto Plutonia below them. "We just need the assistance of someone who has similar survival training."

"You realize that doesn't make me feel any better about it right?" Klied replied as he took a drink of the Dorian Quill he had been offered. These folks were certainly going out of their way to tempt him. "What kind of training does he have?"

"Ten years in Pantoran Special Forces, and we beleive he spent some time training with Mandalorians as well." She explained. "He's quite the slippery one. But we've hired the best to take him down." "So why do you need me?" Klied asked. The woman smiled. "Well, everyone needs backup. And you're quite talented yourself as I understand it." Klied rolled his eyes and downed the last of his glass before placing it overturned on the table. He cringed for a moment as the whiskey hit him, then stood up. He appeared quite out of place in the pristine government office, dressed in white tauntaun fur for the journey ahead.

"Let's just get this over with." He sighed. "Where's the assassin?" The Pantoran woman smiled and went over to her desk, pressing a button and speaking. "You can send him in." She said. A few moments later the office doors opened.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Mozu or Umbra as he went by when on business, sat in a lavishly decorated office in the Pantoran government building. In his hand he held a small holoprojector that showed the visage of an older, yet still proud, Pantoran male. Ido Mora was his name and Mozu wanted every detail of is face and body committed to his memory. As he did with most people before he ended their lives. The Pantorans wanted this man dead for the secrets he held, dangerous secrets if sold to the right people.

The attendant before long called to him. "Um...Mister Umbra, they're ready for you know sir....". He simply nodded and stood, putting away the projector. "Bout time, guess my guide is ready." He strode confidently into the office and gave the official another nod with his helmet glad head. Mozu then looked to his left and eyed up the human standing next to him.

"Well good to meet you, call me Umbra. No that's not my real name, and no you can't know my real one." He held out a hand to shake in greeting and then looked back to the official. "Well if he's been briefed I'm assuming we're good to go?" The official just sighs, "Yes he's briefed.....," she looks over Mozu for a moment, "though I should warn you assassin, don't take Ido lightly and get some warmer clothes if you don't won't to freeze the minute you walk outside the city proper." Mozu chuckles, "Of course, got it covered. You'll soon have one very deceased Pantoran Special forces member." He looked to his now partner and asked, "Need to grab anything else before he head out, I'm ready to get this finished."

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied gave the assassin a quick look over as he entered the office. He looked professional at least, even if he was a bit underdressed for the occasion. He shook the man's hand as it was offered, raising a brow quizzically at his introduction. "Klied." He offered his own name in return. He didn't answer the assassin when he asked his question, instead he shot a slightly irritated look to the Pantoran rep. "Can I have my gun back?" He asked simply.

"Of course." The woman replied with a nod. "Your equipment is already on the shuttle that will take you planetside. Docking Bay 37." "Thanks." Klied said coolly before gesturing to Umbra to follow as he exited the room. As they made their way towards the docking bay the beast hunter spoke up.

"Just so you know I'm only here to help you find the guy." He said a bit stiffly. "I've got no intentions of throwing myself at some elite shock trooper. Especially a certified psychopath." He glanced back at the assassin as they stood before the entrance to the shuttle. "If you ask one of the requisition officers I'm sure they'd be happy to set you up with some winter clothes. The lady wasn't lying about Orto Plutonia. It's not what I'd call the ideal vacation spot." While the assassin prepared himself for their descent to the planet below, Klied retrieved his cycler rifle. It was an old model, considered barbaric by most civilized people of the galaxy. But Klied understood better than most, a properly maintained slugthrower could last forever. And in the frigid blizzards of Orto Plutonia reliability was going to be a vital factor. He only hoped his companion understood that as well, or this mission was going to go south quickly.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

The assassin walked with the man, Klied he'd called himself, to the shuttle bay. He found that the man had pretty no nonsense demeanor. Perfect this should go smoothly. Mozu himself had a sense of humor but while on mission he appreciated professionalism. Something he assumed had come from the many lessons of his parents back in the day.

He shrugged as the Klied explained he didn't want to get his hands dirty. Quite honestly he couldn't much blame the guy, not everybody had had the training and experience in taking life that Mozu did and though proficient in killing, the Mirialan couldn't deny the scars it left on your conscious. "Don't sweat it my new friend," as he talked he grabbed his own gear, "the business of killing is in my blood." He was going in with his usual kit, pistol, sword, and knife. Some thought that was light but he was always drilled with the idea that heavier weapons and equipment could always be obtained on mission. He grabbed a heavy coat while he was at it, something that could be easily doffed if things went sour.

"Though guess that's why you're here huh," Mozu donned the coat and stepped onto the shuttle assuming Klied would follow. "Just get us there and you can collect an easy cred chit my friend." The shuttle thrummed to life and Mozu could feel his gut shift as the shuttle began it's decent toward the frigid planet.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied inspected the assassin curiously from his seat as the shuttle made it's descent. Umbra's choice of equipment surprised the hunter. He wouldn't have expected an assassin to rely so heavily on close range weaponry. Klied thought he would have preferred to bring down his prey from a distance to minimize risk. He must have been quite confident in his abilities. Well, he did say it was in his blood after all.

The trip to the planet was mostly quiet, the beast hunter keeping to himself and not bothering to make small talk. Once they landed the two men were dropped off in the midst of a desolate field of snow. A chilling wind rolled over the pure white plain, with a mountain range popping up a little less than a kilometer away. Klied pulled up his hood and wrapped a thick scarf around his face, then pulled a pair of goggles down over his eyes. He turned and watched the shuttle take off before looking to Umbra.

"Intel says the target is hiding out somewhere in the mountains!" He shouted to the assassin over the wind. "Once we get closer I'll be able to track his movements. Be on guard though, he's probably lain traps for us." He started the march towards their destination. It would take them some time to get there, but it was better they didn't alert Mora to their approach by landing closer.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

The trained assassin could of course feel Klied's eyes on him as they descended toward the surface. Mozu figured he was probably a bit confused by his kit. He chuckled lightly to himself. His family had always prized the art of killing after all. Sniping, poisons, explosives; while all effective, lacked finesse in the eyes of Tekkar family. An ideal that even to this day the Mirialan couldn't shake. He didn't take joy in taking a life, but he always figured that if it was what he was good at, might as well do it with a little style.

The shuttle shuddered as they entered the constant wind that blasted the surface of Orto Plutonia. The pilot simply raised a hand from the cockpit holding up 3 fingers then a fist, standard code for 30 seconds. The ship thudded and then groaned as they landed in the wastes. He stepped out into the frigid weather along with his guide and was immediately thankful he grabbed the heavy coat. He could still slightly feel the biting wind through the thick coat. It was more than manageable but he would have been miserable with out it.

He would give a thumbs up to Klied after he explained their situation. "Understood, let's get moving! Intel also said the target was getting ready to bug out off world. Let's spoil his plans shall we!" Mozu set out behind Klied, trusting the seasoned hunter to lead them forward. As the trudged forward, Mozu would switch his helmet's visor to heat vision every few minutes. In this cold any heat signatures would stand out like a beacon among the field of white the spread out ahead of them. Hopefully he'd notice any traps that Klied might miss.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

As the two men made their way into the craggy foothills of the mountains Klied stopped upon noticing an unusual shape in the snow. A short bit of digging revealed the well-frozen corpse of a Pantoran soldier. From what the hunter could tell he had taken a clean blaster shot to the center of his chest. He suddenly became very still, trying not to move too much. Thankfully his clothing would act as good camouflage here. He very slightly turned his head and spoke in a volume just barely audible to the assassin behind him. "It appears we're not the first people they sent here." He explained, and mentally cursed their employers for not telling them this. He quickly scanned the horizon. There were a lot of places a sniper could be positioned in these hills. "Keep an eye out." He said simply, and continued investigating the ground around them.

A squad of six. He thought to himself as he combed through the tracks they had left behind. They didn't see the shot coming, scattered when their man was taken down... He found a second body propped up against a boulder. He had tried to take cover and had the top of his head blown off. It seemed their target was living up to his reputation. There were still four soldiers unaccounted for, and four sets of tracks moving cautiously into the pass ahead of them. Klied unslung his cycler rifle and began loading it.

"This guy isn't messing around." He said casually. "He's gonna make us work for it. Bodies are at least a week old, don't expect to find any survivors ahead..." He raised a hand to scratch his head as he stared blankly into the mountains, thinking. "He's had time to dig himself in deep. The whole pass is likely a minfield. That or he used the opportunity after taking down the first squad to retreat deeper into the mountains. It's hard to say which option he'd go with." He looked to the assassin, hoping for some input.

"Way I see it we can either follow the path the soldiers took, use ourselves as bait to draw him out and risk ambush..." He pointed to the mountains above. "Or take the high ground and risk him slipping away." He looked to Umbra. "What's your call?" Neither was a particularly good option, but they didn't have much time to waste. Whatever they did they needed to do it fast.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Mozu froze along with his tracker buddy. Hmm made since that another team had been sent in. This situation was definitely something the Pantoran government wanted to keep close the chest and you don't hire a pricey assassin unless plan A failed. He did another quick visual scan with his heat vision and nothing popped out, they appeared to be alone for the time being.

He looked at the other body and agreed with the time frame Klied laid out. Something bugged Mozu about this though. "Isn't this guy supposed to be special forces? Not like them to leave this much evidence is it? Feels off to me. Either he just wanted to bug out after this skirmish, or he wanted these bodies to be found." He moved up and kept scanning in heat vision.

"I'd say if he didn't bother to even cover these guys in snow I doubt he would come back out to lay a minefield." He did draw his pistol now. "I say we go straight through, my heat vision should be able to pick up any mines...if they're motion sensing and not pressure based." He looked back to Klied then. "Hope you can spot them bud, we'll move cover to. Let's get this bastard so we can get out of this karking cold." Mozu began to move up taking cover behind rocks as they moved into the pass. The pass was rocky and had ample cover. Mozu would wait for Klied to move up past him then follow, moving to the next open cover. Hopefully with enough cover to not get their heads blasted off.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied nodded along with Umbra's reply, a fair assessment. Falling in behind the assassin he chuckled slightly at the mention of literal mines. "When I said minefield I meant it metaphorically," He explained. "The guy's on the run, he wouldn't have had time to stock up on military-grade land mines. I meant booby traps, pit falls, that sort of thing. That's what you need to keep your eyes open for."

As the two of them made their way into the pass Klied knelt beside the assassin and put his hand on his shoulder. "There." He said, and pointed to a thin wire just barely visible strung across the path a few feet ahead of them. After nodding to Umbra Klied slowly moved forward, drawing his hunting knife, and sliced the wire before jumping back. Not a moment later a pair of thin metal rods with shards of broken glass fixed to them sprung up from the snow to stand before him. Had Klied not moved back, he would have been skewered. The hunter looked back to his companion with a thin smirk.

"See what I mean?" He asked jokingly before looking back to the trap. Gently he raised a hand and ran it along the jagged glass, careful not to cut himself. "Nice work..." He couldn't help complimenting their quarry. He used similar traps on his own safaris. Looking down he spotted more tracks from the first squad. It seemed in their cautious approach they had managed to see this trap and move around it as well. Although it was unclear how much further they made it into the ravine. "You're right, we should try to pick up the pace." He said, standing up. "Let's follow the tracks, just be careful, and keep your head on a swivel." Klied was certain the traps would become more elaborate as they ventured deeper. This one was too simple. Enough to fool an animal but not a trained professional. Likely it was only there to lull his pursuers into a false sense of security, and he had a feeling that's exactly what had happened to the men that came before. Only time would tell what else Mora had in store.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Damn, Mozu hadn't even spotted the trap. Once again one of the draw backs of trying to thread through the pass while in thermal vision. Though even with his naked eye he wasn't sure he would have spotted the wire against the rocks and snow. He gave Klied a friendly pat on the shoulder as a thanks and kept an eye out as the hunter examined the trap. "Well about the mines, I've dealt with ex-spec-ops before and you never know what the hell they have in their 'private' stashes'."

Mozu side stepped the trap and nodded, agreeing they should keep moving. They continued to move forward, same as before. After a few minutes it was Mozu who held up a fist to indicate for Klied to freeze. He picked up just the faintest heat signature ahead of them. The assassin edged forward slowly until he saw the culprit, the thin line of an infrared laser spanning the pass. He carefully ducked under it and discovered the source, a blaster rifle linked to a firing mechanism hidden behind a boulder. He carefully disconnected the mechanism from the rifle and motioned Klied forward once it was down.

"Alright I guess mines were the least of our worries." Mozu looked down, returning to normal vision for a moment, and even he could see that the tracks kept going further up the pass. Still looked to be the rest of whatever team had come up here first. Curious, they must have been extra cautious to make it this far. "We have to be getting close." He returned to heat vision and kept moving. As they moved Mozu picked up another heat signature, this one much larger and appeared to radiate from the right wall of the passage. He ducked behind and outcropping and motioned for Klied to follow. He whispered to the hunter, "I've got another heat signature. Big. Could've been a cave entrance of some kind but I can't tell through my visor. Care to take a look?"

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied was pleasantly surprised as the assassin managed to beat him to the punch, spotting a trap that even he likely would have missed. He nodded in thanks to Umbra as he revealed the hidden blaster rifle, then continued along the path following the tracks. He had to agree with the assassin's conclusion as they moved. These tracks were made more recently, although they clearly went right past the spot in the mountainside Umbra indicated. It seemed likely the squad missed it and Mora would have ambushed them from behind, as there was a fifth pair of tracks around the area.

"I'll take a look, keep me covered." Klied answered the assassin before moving up very cautiously. It had been a while since the last trap they encountered, and they were due for another. He didn't spot anything out of the ordinary though, and proceeded to check the mountainside. It was quickly apparent there was a false cover over a cave entrance. Whatever the material was it had been camouflaged very well to look like stone, but it was as light as a board.

Carefully Klied moved his fingers along the surface until he found the edge of the cover and grasped it, slowly moving it out of the way. As he did he heard a clicking sound, and dove out of the way as a blaster rifle was set off. Another trap. The hunter laughed as he stood up and brushed himself off, the cave entrance now revealed. "I like this guy," He chuckled. "My kind of-" There was another click coming from the opposite direction. Klied followed the line of sight of the blaster rifle to see the shot had hit another mechanism on a rock opposite the entrance. Before he could react another metal rod popped up, this one flinging something at him. A glass vial that shattered on impact with his arm as he reflexively covered his face.

Klied looked at his arm, covered in some red liquid. He pulled down his scarf, pressing two fingers against the liquid before bringing it to his nose and sniffing it. He looked at Umbra, puzzled. "It's blood." He said. Fresh. He looked up as the wind howled, carrying the light snow, and presumably the scent of the blood, down the mountain pass. A few moments later he heard the call of some creature, answered by other. "Kriff…" He cursed under his breath. "We're in trouble." He grabbed his cycler rifle and quickly motioned for the assassin to follow him before moving inside the cave and hastily moving the cover back in the way. "Stupid," He cursed himself for not thinking of a second trap. "He's too smart. Those were narglatch calls, and with the smell of fresh blood in the air we'll have a pack of them on us in no time. Looks like our target has enlisted some help..." They were in Mora's territory now. It seemed even with all the precautions Klied had taken he'd still underestimated his opponent. The only question now was how they were going to turn the tables. Or if they could at all. Who knew what else the Pantoran had waiting for them in these caves?

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Mozu kept his blaster trained down the pass as Klied moved up. His heat vision lit up as his companion moved the false wall and he ducked back as the blaster shot rang out. He turned off his heat vision and moved up blaster at the ready. Klied seemed okay, even laughing and Mozu relaxed for a moment before the second trap was sprung. The Mirialan moved up next to Klied and ducked low on his knee his blaster trained down the pass once again. "Well you may like him but he's starting to get on my last nerve."

He took notice as Klied suddenly became very serious and that was when he heard the sounds of some of the local fauna. He agreed with Klied's curse and followed him into the cave structure. The tracker explained their situation and Mozu kept his eyes trained down the cave. "Can you lose the jacket? Maybe toss it back out of the cover? That thing seems pretty flimsy and I doubt it'll hold them out if they've got a real blood lust going on." It seemed warmer in the tunnel, the human would probably be uncomfortable but the threat of freezing to death should't be a possibility.

He'd wait to see what Klied would do and afterwards he would begin to inch forward. The cave had some rudimentary lamps hung over head for some low light, but otherwise he couldn't see anything. "Not sure if he's smart or just paranoid, but considering the fact his own government wants him dead...he kinda has reason to be," Mozu whispered. He kept his pistol aimed in front of him as he moved and relied on his own vision in the lit tunnel. The eventually came to a fork in the tunnel and Mozu cursed under his breath. He looked down and could see footprints in the dirt, but they lead both directions. "Klied any idea which of these tracks are the freshest?"

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied hesitated at Umbra's suggestion. The cavern they were in now was definitely warmer than outside, but they had no certainty they wouldn't end up back outside soon. And on this planet that was no light thing, he could begin suffering from hypothermia very quickly. Even so, he decided that risk was better than drawing even more opponents into the mix. "You're right." He answered the assassin as he removed the fur coat, pulling the cover out of place momentarily before hurling it back outside. Despite wearing a fairly heavy sweater under the coat he still immediately felt the frigid temperature affecting him, his breath visible as his scarf came down around his shoulders. Losing the coat was no guarantee the narglatches wouldn't still find them, but it would help throw them off the trail.

Once he had placed the cover back over the cave entrance he fell in line behind Umbra, rubbing his hands together and breathing into them to try and warm himself up a bit. Walking around in the cave like this wouldn't kill him, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. At the assassin's request he moved forward and knelt down at the fork in the path, inspecting the tracks. Mora had moved through this junction many times in the past weeks, in various states of haste. Judging from the varying levels of indentation at some points he had been carrying something. Klied tilted his head as he moved his hand along the ground, noticing what looked like drag lines, and more footprints moving backwards.

"He dragged a body through here..." Klied informed Umbra as he continued inspecting the prints. He looked up the right path. "This set is most recent, just a few hours old." He looked back at the assassin. "I'd say he's this way. He might be using the gear off the dead soldiers. Be ready." With that he stood up and unslung his rifle again, gesturing for Umbra to take the lead. They were very close now. Mora couldn't be far. And Klied had a feeling he was going to fight like a cornered animal.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Mozu trained his blaster down the right tunnel. "Understood. Let's move." Klied would probably notice that Mozu's tone had changed. He could feel it, the kill was close. The time for quips and idle chat were over and Mozu slowly embraced the killer he was trained to be. Klied suggestion about the Pantoran using the soldiers gear made sense with all the re-purposed blaster rifles they'd found so far. The Mirialan kept his head on a swivel as the pair trudged forward. Something still didn't feel right about this. The drag marks and gear made since for other team being taken out, but a gut feeling Mozu had said something here wasn't adding up.

The tunnel narrowed as the moved and Mozu realized they'd have to go single file moving forward. He looked back to Klied and whisper, "Single file up ahead. I'll maintain point, but be ready...good place for an ambush." Mozu moved forward again in his ready stance, blaster held close to his chest and aimed forward and he flicked his vision back to heat. The tunnels ran cold but with streaks of heat and as the tunnel turned and bent flashes of heat came from ahead. Until finally heat seemed to pour and radiate from up ahead of them. He returned to normal vision and saw light pouring into the tunnel. He pressed himself against the wall and slid along until he had sight on what was clearly the tunnel opening into a larger chamber. "Yeah I think this is it," the assassin whispered. "Ready? You got us here so as promised the dirty work is mine. I'd say keep that rifle ready though." He had no idea what the ex soldier could have waiting in the chamber beyond, but the assassin had no doubts that someone was about to die over the next few minutes.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied followed silently behind the assassin, his own training taking over. He had to admit he felt a certain level of instinctual excitement at this part of the hunt, right before the kill. He had to remind himself that they were hunting a sentient, not an animal. As they slipped into the narrow passage Klied turned around, moving back to back with Umbra and keeping his rifle trained on the path behind them, just in case their target looped around and tried to attack them from behind.

Klied felt the heat increasing as they made their way deeper into the cave, as well as the growing light playing on the cave wall beside him. He turned his head to answer the assassin when he said they were getting close. "I've got your back." He assured his partner, and prepared to move at his signal.

Once Umbra moved into the chamber he'd find a very unsettling setup. There were several bright lights aimed directly at the tunnel they were coming from meant to obscure his vision. Umbra would be able to make out the silhouette of not one but three figures inside, all standing perfectly still. The voice of an older man, most likely Mora, spoke up.

"You picked the wrong target Murglak!" He shouted before opening fire. Blaster bolts peppered the tunnel exit, the source they were coming from obscured. Umbra would need to move quickly to avoid getting hit.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

This was it and as Mozu readied himself to breach in he whispered to Klied "Stagger entrance, wait about a minute after I go in then swing in." Once Klied said he was ready Mozu readied himself and swiveled around and into the opening. He was nearly blinded by the flood lights that shown on the entrance but years of training and his instincts screamed at him to move and move now. He dove to the right and came up in roll as the entrance was peppered with blaster fire. Medium blasts, mostly likely rifles from the sound. Those lights were going to have to be first. He kept low and slipped back to the right as the assailants adjusted their aim and fired again. He could practically feel the bolts whiz past him, some tearing through his shawl, but he kept moving.

He took quick aim and fired off 3 quick shots only hoping to nail the lights causing all the trouble. He managed to hit the one on the far left and it shattered, but missed another and only clipped another toward the center. The clipped shot managed to turn it away at least and the room dimmed a bit. He kicked over a table and took cover behind it. So far this fight was not to the assassin's liking, he much preferred when he was getting the drop on his mark. Either way what was life without a bit of fun.

Mozu felt the blaster fire start to pepper his makeshift cover, the table was solid but it wouldn't hold long. Had to be at least 3 rifles hitting the table and firing at the rate they were a reload was due soon. Just as he had the thought though, the blasters stopped and he risked a peek out of cover. He could make out 3 figures in front of the lights, and with a few taken out he could see they weren't holding blasters, but they were moving....they were restrained. Then Mora decided to speak up again. "Awe too much for you? I'm insulted that this is the best they could muster after the the last sorry lot they sent. Took care of them in afternoon, so what's your plan? Kill me, get your blood money, go on living? I say you let me go, I let you live, and hell once I've sold off the state secrets I've gotten a hold of I'll even cut you in. What's it gonna be? Shot dead in this cave and forgotten, or walk away a richer man."

Mozu couldn't help a chuckle, jeez this guy liked to hear himself talk. If Klied had listened to him he should swing in any second. Mozu yelled out to Mora, "I think I'm gonna ruin your little light show then put a bolt between your eyes!" He suddenly swung out of the cover and put a few shots toward the lights, firing past them hoping to hit anything in the shadows behind them.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied nodded in acknowledgment of Umbra's order, pressing himself to the wall and waiting for the assassin to kick things off. Once Umbra moved out into the open and the shots started flying the hunter cursed and moved back, dodging the debris from the blaster fire hitting the stone nearby. Given the vicious onslaught of blaster fire Klied began to fear Umbra had been torn apart the moment he stepped out of cover, but the return fire from his pistol was enough to let him know he still wasn't in this alone.

He waited patiently, slowly inching forwards until he could peek into the chamber. Although it was still terribly bright he spotted the figures and the lights, and took aim. Firing two shots in quick succession he destroyed the last two flood lights, allowing his companion to finally have a clear shot. What he saw once his eyes adjusted though alarmed him. None of the three figures were Mora. They were the Pantoran soldiers, beaten and bloodied, all tied up in a straight line. The blasters in front of them were setup like autoturrets to target anything that moved in their line of sight. It was a depraved but clever tactic. Klied and Umbra wouldn't be able to shoot the turrets without risking hitting the hostages as well. Most of Umbra's shots had missed them thankfully, although the man in the center looked to have taken a bolt in the arm.

"Umbra don't shoot!" Klied called out instinctively, "They're decoys!" With the hunter focusing on the battle before them he hadn't noticed someone sneaking up behind him. At the last second though he picked up the sound of boots crunching on the gravelly ground and spun around, prepared to shoot. It was Mora. He had wrapped around the cavern tunnels to attack them from behind. Before Klied could get a shot off the crazed veteran tackled him to the ground, drawing a combat knife and trying to drive it into his chest. Klied caught his hand and held him off, but the Pantoran had the upper hand, and was slowly inching the weapon closer to his flesh. With Umbra still pinned down by the autoturrets they were in a very precarious position. The assassin would need to act quickly and wisely.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

Klied had performed perfectly, timing his shots just as Mozu had come out of cover. The lights flickered out and Mozu's shots went past the lights to hit.....karking nothing. He only had a moment to acknowledge what he was seeing, the Pantoran soldiers bound and gagged and presumably their blasters set up in front as turrets. The soldier in the middle seemed to struggle a bit more and Mozu saw why, one of his earlier shots nailed had nailed him in the shoulder. Damn this guy was desperate. After only a moment the turrets were back on him, they fired simultaneously on him and he ducked back into cover. He heard Klied call out to not harm the hostages, which normally he wouldn't much care about, but maybe the governess would through on a few creds extra on top for their safe return.

Mozu peered through a hole that had been made in his makeshift cover and the turrets stayed trained on him. They weren't firing however. He picked up a lose rock and tossed it to his right and the turrets followed and opened fire. Mozu couldn't help a grin beneath his helmet. While prepared, Mora wasn't that well equipped. The blasters were slaved to a pretty basic motion tracker, they all aimed and fired at the same time. He quickly grabbed a handful of pebbles and tossed the lot high to his right again and stood confidently. His suspicion was spot on, the turrets seemed confused as they tried to track every pebble individually and he took aim and fired 3 shots into the control mechanism. The machine sputtered and burst into flames, the rifles fell limp and useless.

"Ok seems he's not all that bright....Klied?" He turned quickly as now in the silence of the cavern he could hear what sounded like a struggle, he dashed back out and saw a Pantoran slowly pressing a knife toward Klied's throat. Mora looked up just in time to catch the sight of Mozu's armored boot as it crunched into the older man's face. Mora toppled off Klied and the assassin stepped passed him. "Get the soldiers!" To the Pantoran's credit he managed to roll with the blow and came up with his own blaster drawn and opened fire on the assassin. Mozu ducked to the side and closed the distance as the 2 shots whizzed past his head. Mora met him and took a swing with the knife in his left hand, the assassin dodged back and Mora took aim with the blaster in his right hand. Mozu quickly swung up with his left arm knocking the hand up and blaster bolt exploded into the ceiling. Before the Pantoran could follow up Mozu blasted his sternum 2 times, causing Mora to stagger back against the cave wall. The old solider coughed up blood and dropped his knife, though still clutched his blaster tightly.

"Huh...not bad kid." The Pantoran growled like a wounded animal then and came on again, but as he raised his blaster another 2 shots to the chest put him back against the wall. The older man slumped to the ground, back against the wall and looked up at Mozu. "Idiot...could've..," Mora coughed again, this time blood pouring from his mouth, "I could've made you rich....why..." Mozu put away his own blaster and drew his knife and knelt next to the dying soldier. "I'm a professional, all there is to it. Shame you didn't look me up first." With that Mozu drove his knife into the Mora's heart. "Find peace with your ancestors." he pulled his knife from the defeated solider and stood. He snapped a quick holoimage of the corpse as proof of the deed and turned to find Klied. "Jobs finished as promised," stated the assassin as he wiped off his knife before sheathing it. "How're the other guys holding up?" That was when Mozu heard and odd beeping noise coming from Mora. He looked back at the corpse and saw a small blinking light on the panel of his bracer. "Please don't tell me that's what I think it is....he can't have been that paranoid, a deadman's switch, karking really?" He turned back to Klied and even under his helmet the look was clear, they needed to run.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied struggled desperately with Mora. For an older man he was surprisingly strong. Yeah, just like a cornered animal. Klied thought to himself. The Pantoran was about to gut him when Umbra came to his rescue, knocking the fugitive off of him. "Right!" Klied shouted in reply to the assassin's order, and ran to help the bound soldiers.

First he checked the center man to make sure his wound wasn't serious, then pulled out his hunting knife to cut his binds and ungag him. "Oh thank the Force," The soldier replied, clearly relieved and grateful to his rescuers. "This guy is completely insane!"

"Yeah yeah," Klied brushed him off as he went to untie the next man. "We know there were six of you. We found two of the bodies. Where's the last one?" The soldier's mirth disappeared upon hearing the question. He paused before shaking his head solemnly. Klied just bit his lip and nodded in understanding, then continued his work. No sooner had he freed the last man then a strange beeping started to echo through the cavern. The hunter looked to the soldiers expectantly. "Oh yeah..." One of them murmured. "I think he rigged this place to blow..."

"You don't think you could have mentioned that earlier?" Klied replied angrily. He turned as Umbra appeared again, thankful the assassin had managed to take down their target. From the way he carried himself Klied could tell he already understood the situation. "Let's get the hell out of here!" He shouted, and made a break for the cave exit, the rescued soldiers following behind. As they approached the tunnel exit they could hear the echoing explosions behind, and a ball of fire rushing to meet them.

@Okoju

 

[Mozu Tekkar]

The assassin didn't need to be told twice. He turned and rushed back the way they had come, the narrow tunnel slowed them a bit, but was still wide enough to allow them to book it. Mozu could hear the explosions as they began to level the cavern, if they hadn't run they'd already be ashes. The explosions were getting closer and closer.

"Almost there!" He yelled as he now sprinted full out toward the false cave cover, practically bursting through it and running a still back down the mountain pass as flames erupted from the cave entrance. Mozu finally stopped and turned back to Klied and soldiers and couldn't help a chuckle as he panted heavily. "Well like I said, guess the old man's a sore loser. You ok Klied?" Despite the man's quite nature Mozu had to say he'd grown to at least respect the human. Hell with out he would've probably taken some nasty hits during this mission. He also remembered that the hunter was without a heavy coat now. "Alright let's get the karking hell outta here yeah?"

They made there way a bit further down the pass and Mozu called in their shuttle. No need to trudge back out into the tundra as the threat was taken care off. After only a few minutes the shuttle descended and without landing simply dropped line and reeled them all on board one after the other. Mozu made sure Klied went first and followed up last after the soldiers. He took a seat and let out a sigh of relief. The soldiers talked among themselves but Mozu turned to Klied. "Thanks for everything down there. Actually don't think I could've done that without you." He offered the hunter his hand and when he shook he'd find a small datachip was transferred to Klied. "Ever need anybody erased from the galaxy give me a call."

All that remained at this point was to collect their credits for a job successfully accomplished.

(Exit Thread)​

@Reyn