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Song Wren

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Song walked side by side from the man. Neither of them might have known the other’s name or face, but as they descended farther into the makeshift shop, it was clear they would need each other for the obstacles that came next. The Mandalorian trusted the man, even if he didn’t feel entirely the same. However, it was a temporary trust, lasting only so long.

Chances were that if the masked man made a move against her, he’d do it once the augmenter was dealt with. He would take her help, then attack her once her purpose was served, and when she least expected it. To cover his tracks? Simply out of hate for Mandalorians, or bounty hunters? She didn’t need a reason why, just the idea that it could happen.

Song hoped, in the end, that wouldn’t be the case.

Her thoughts diverged once the two moved down a dark stairwell, into a basement. It was under the red light of the man’s saber that she saw it. Her heart plunged, a five-story drop. Her insides knotted. The mangled bodies on the wall came with a sick feeling, then a terrible rage.

With a clenched fist, she whispered, “Damn them. Damn whoever did this to hell.

The Mandalorian had a strong stomach, and though she had seen plenty in her life, bad and worse, she couldn’t bear to watch the victims for another second. She turned, only listening to the man’s quiet voice as he spoke.

I sure didn’t feel any pity killing those people either.

Song’s attention snapped over to the source of the unfamiliar voice when suddenly, the lights came on. A blinding flash. She took a step back before spotting a thin-looking man at the other side of the room. Flanking him were half a dozen men and women, each without heads, replaced with mechanical parts, as well as several more security droids.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Jedi Order
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The Arcanist was filled with a hatred that ran deep into his soul. He'd killed people for less than this, and he'd gut this man in as violent a manner as he possibly could. This was what he worked for, and he wouldn't back away from it.

He could feel the Mandalorian's reaction in the Force, and that told him a great deal about her. She was as disgusted by this as he was, and that was valuable to know that she wasn't interested in allying with these people.

The voice that spoke up was chilling and the words were all the worse. This wretch sounded almost proud of his work, walking flanked on either side by his victims and a handful of droids. For just a moment the Arcanist hesitated. These had been normal people. Could he just cut them down? Kill them? But that was his answer wasn't it: they had been normal people. They were dead now, and their bodies were just being driven by a droid brain now. Their lives had passed.

You shoot, I'll block, he said. He hoped the Mando would go along with the plan, and within a split second, the Arcanist was standing in front of the Mando and blocking the blaster shots incoming. To be honest, the Arcanist wasn't interested in talking. He didn't care what the man's reasons were, he just wanted to kill him in as agonizing a way as possible. He hoped he'd still be alive when the fight was over... @Feng Mian
 

Song Wren

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Song watched the mechanically-altered humans with a mixture of horror and disgust. It was like their skull had been split in half, the cranium and its contents removed in favor of a flat metal slab, a processing unit for control. She might have passed them off as any other droid, lifeless and easy to kill, but the shape of their lips, their teeth, the pale complexion of their skin. They were still human, even if they weren’t.

No. They were dead, and Song was there to lay them to rest.

Done,” said Song, nodding, as the man moved in front of her.

His lightsaber swept back and forth, blocking shots like he could see them coming from miles away. She was as impressed as she was thankful, knowing she didn’t have to worry about ruining her armor for the third time that month. Yet. There was no telling what other surprises the augmenter had in store for them.

For now, she went with the flow. Song raised her blaster, around him and over his shoulder, and fired at several of the “guards.” One woman dropped as a bolt struck her chest, but the hushed cry she gave as she fell had shaken the Mandalorian, like she had just shot an innocent civilian.

She ignored it, and continued to fire at the others with a careful precision, as if she was hoping to end their lives as quickly as possible. Another faceless victim fell soon after.

Meanwhile, the augmenter watched on with a look of bored fascination. Just what was going on in that sick head of his?

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Jedi Order
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The Arcanist continued to deflect bolts back as the Mando opened fire. In short order they had felled several of the decraniated, and in his heart Talak knew how horrified it made him. Not because he was killing them, but because they were little better than zombies fighting now for the person who had made them like this.

But as his servants started to fall, the wicked one didn't even seem to be concerned by it at all. And that concerned the Arcanist. He didn't know what this guy knew, but he didn't like it.

So he did what logically came next. He gripped the man in the Force and yanked him forward several meters and onto his belly. That caught him off guard, and he seemed to panic as the Force started to drag him across the ground by the throat.

This... caused a problem. One of the droid-heads promptly charged toward them, grenades in either hand, and prepared to detonate itself as it approached the two. As Talak was about to push her back, she threw a grenade behind them and he barely pushed it away from the pair in time. Still, the detonation caused a partial cave in, and they were temporarily cut off from their target. @Feng Mian
 

Song Wren

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Song watched with utter astonishment as the masked man seized the augmenter’s throat with an invisible hand, forced him onto the cold floor and pulled him towards them. She had seen the Force at work before, but never like that. Only to heal, and only ever in defense, but never to attack. Not the way the man was doing it.

The Mandalorian ought to have been afraid at the thought that he could do the same to her, but he was on her side now. She trusted him enough.

As she continued firing into the Decraniated, having them drop one by one in orderly fashion, Song spotted a woman run at them with two explosives. A suicide charge. She and the man turned their attention to the woman, but she had already thrown one of the explosives. While she hoped her partner would handle the grenade, Song aimed her blaster and shot the woman in the face.

She fell, then the two explosions tore throughout the room.

The woman had tripped on top her second bomb, which cushioned the blow, but the second came much closer. The floor shook and the parts of the ceiling collapsed. The Mandalorian shifted her weight and armor at an angle where she might catch any shrapnel that came their way, a body shield for the other man. She felt a piece of metal puncture a crack in her armor, into her lower leg.

She gritted her teeth. Pain she could live with, for now.

As for the augmenter, he was clouded behind dust and debris. There was no telling where he was now, or if he was escaping, and the same went for his Decraniated soldiers. It was hard to aim and hard to see.

Where is he?” said Song in a low, agitated whisper.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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The Arcanist's hands ran over his entire body as he ensured that he was still in one piece. He didn't feel any blood or pain and pushed himself back to his feet. He heard the Mandalorian whisper and ask where he was, but the Arcanist didn't know.

His saber flashed back on and he saw something through the settling smoke and dust. He didn't know who it was, but lightning leapt from his fingers and struck him. As it turned out, it was the augmenter, and he was knocked to the ground with a cry.

The Arcanist gripped him in the Force and slammed him into the wall. There was no further evidence of any of his servants, and that meant it was just the three of them.

Ask him your questions, he all but growled at Mando. He wanted to rip the man limb from limb, and he would do so soon. She only had a few moments more to get the information she needed about Fields. @Feng Mian
 

Song Wren

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Lightning flashed out of nowhere. The Mandalorian retreated a step back, afraid it was some contraption from the augmenter, a deadlier version of the shock droid. It took a second to realize the lightning had shot from the masked man’s fingers instead.

Song had seen wounds close, scars disappear, men fly into walls and drag across the floors with the move of a hand, but the display of raw energy the Jedi showed stunned her. For good or bad? She wasn’t sure what to think, but if one thing was clear: Song was glad she hadn’t fought with him outside. She might be a Mandalorian, but she wasn’t trained to deal with power like that.

Out of the smoke, the Jedi seized the augmenter with an invisible hand and threw him into the wall. The haggard man hadn’t shown a single ounce of fear when they first met, but his terror was apparent now. His eyes were wide, and he struggled against the grip around him. There was no escape.

Song moved over to the augmenter and spat, “Tell me where your Dr. Fields friend is, or mine is going to tear you apart limb by limb.

Wait, don’t kill me!

I won’t, not if you tell me where he is.” A half-truth. Though Song wouldn’t be the one to kill him, she made no guarantee of his survival.

He’s at the old assassin droid factory, on the east end of the city,” the man cried. “There, you have him! Tell your friend to let me go!

The Mandalorian turned to Jedi. He wouldn’t see the look of uncertainty under her helmet. Just the empty, emotionless tint of her T-visor. She knew what he planned to do now.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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The Arcanist held the man against the wall, clenching him in a vise grip. Even breathing would be difficult as the invisible hand squeezed him. He managed to wheeze out answers to the Mando's questions and then demanded to be let go. He cast a glance over at the Mandalorian, unsure if she'd decide to step in on the man's behalf. He certainly hoped not.

You have your info. Go find your Fields, he said. He had no idea if the Mando would want to stick around for what happened next, but it wasn't pretty.

Whether she stuck around or not she would be able to hear the screams as the man was slammed into the ground hard enough to crack bones and lightning began to wrack his body. It was a slow, torturous death, but nothing compared to the loss of humanity that he'd forced upon his victims. The darkness flowed freely through him and Talak didn't stop it. The Arcanist was here to execute judgment and it felt no mercy, no pity, and no regret. @Feng Mian
 

Song Wren

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Song stayed where she was. She lost all eye contact with the augmenter as he begged for his life as the masked man’s invisible hand crushed his body like a wet rag. A part of her, the part where she was committed to justice the way a Ranger might see it, wanted her to intervene. Turn the augmenter in and let the law decide his fate. But that was only a part of her. The rest of her wanted to see the justice he deserved.

What would Kanan think of her in that moment? Shame, disgust?

The Mandalorian stepped away and watched the man, no longer a Jedi in her eyes but something else entirely, scorched him alive. Lightning flashed across her visor. Even under her helmet, there was no escaping that smell of smoking flesh, and she knew it would stick with her for a long time.

After what seemed like an eternity, the augmenter was finally dead. A mangled, scorched body flat on the floor. Still, she felt no pity for what he did. Song even imagined doing the same to her brother’s killer, drawing out their death for as long, as painful, as possible.

When it was done, Song looked blankly over to the masked man. “I never caught your name, but it doesn't matter. I'm grateful all the same."

"Though I think this means I owe you one, so..." She tossed him a comlink. "If you ever need a hand, I'll be there."

She felt like it was a mistake, lending him her help for another time, but as a Mandalorian, her honor wouldn't allow her to leave behind an unpaid debt. The man had helped her track down Dr. Fields, even saved her from the augmenter's minions, so it was only natural she owed him the favor.

Still, last thing she wanted was to be roped into any outside investigation, in the off case this man was who she really thought he was, so as she left, Song made sure there was no surveillance and no witnesses to her appearance as she went through the backdoor.

She’d be in and out without a trace, and with Fields’ location in tow.

End Thread? @Phoenix
 
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