Open Treasure Amidst Trash

[Thane Veren]

OOC: Open to anyone, please feel free to join​

Attahox was not a lovely world. Thane had only come here because he was tracking a target, and this was where the path had led him. His bounty was the head of a small pirating crew who had made their home on the junk world.

As soon as he dropped out of hyperspace, he understood why someone would have made their outpost on this planet. It was hideous, and that meant it wasn't high on traffic. You could probably carve out your own individual portion that was nice (maybe?), but it wasn't a tropical getaway.

He slipped his helmet back on and groaned slightly in the back of his throat as he powered down his freighter. Making his way back to the weapons locker, he gave a run over his gear, making sure he had everything he needed before setting out. He slapped a fresh powerpack into his rifle and made his way outside. The scent of trash was thick in the air, enough to make the stomach churn and his face scrunched up slightly behind his helmet as his speeder zipped out and away from his ship. He had the heading for his target so now it was just a matter of actually... bringing him in. I'm sure that wouldn't be an issue with a crew full of pirates around him...

 

[Laren Vano]

After a good getaway, Laren was out to collect bounty. He heard of a planet that was used for an outpost of pirates. Said pirates were wanted. Laren needed a good time anyway. He set out on his voyage “Alright BD let’s go take out the trash.” He went into hyperspace and once he made it where he needed to be he pulled out and flew into atmosphere. He found another ship on his radar though. “That’s weird the pirates wouldn’t have left there ships on, who else is out here?” He hoped BD had the answers but unfortunately his droid companion also had no idea.

Once the ship landed the pair came off the ship. “Alright let’s lock it up and find out who’s interrupting.” After searching for a while on their speeder he came across the one he seeked. Laren stopped the speeder, in fluid motion he hopped off and drew his blaster “Who in the bloody name of Mandalore are you?” Laren said with slight amusement. His blaster aimed the back of the helmet of a stranger. “And why are you tracking my bounty?”

Laren was ready to deal with this situation anyway he needed to but he felt this wasn’t the case. At least he hoped. He brought out his droid who is his best friend. He would do anything to ensure the safety of his companion. Even as far as gunning down a complete stranger.

 

[Thane Veren]

Thane drove his speeder around the mounds of trash until he was less than a mile from the compound where his target was alleged to be found. He'd just exited when the whirring engine of a speeder bounced off the sounds of the garbage. If the other man thought Thane was just going to let him waltz up behind him, he was dead wrong.

Thane's rifle swung up on its sling before the speeder even appeared, focused and aimed in the direction of the approaching sound and expecting to find one of the pirates had already noticed him. The sight of another suit of Mandalorian armor, however, gave him pause.

The other person stopped, quickly dismounting and drawing his own pistol. Thane's finger slid off the trigger guard, touching lightly against the trigger as he began to pull, only stopping a fraction of a second before firing when the other person spoke. His heart jumped in his chest a bit and he froze.

Funny thing about bounties: they're not yours until you actually catch them, he said. There was a moment's tension that hung in the air as they pointed weapons at one another and Thane spoke again.

So are we going to shoot each other and no one gets the bounty? That seems stupid, he said bluntly. Because that would have been the outcome. Even if one of them survived, it meant that they'd be weakened against whatever crew their target had. @Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

Laren looked at the weapon trained on him, and knew he was dealing with someone that was slightly worth while. “Tell you what, you got fire. We’ll split it. And anything they got in that compound you take half and I take half. Sounds like we all win that way.” Laren kept his weapon trained though. “Or we can do it the hard way.” Then he revealed his lightsaber at his belt. “You wouldn’t like the hard way..”

The two stood staring each other down, Laren not one to back down was offering a good deal. He didn’t want to kill the Mando in front of him but he wasn’t afraid. He in fact wanted to have more Mandalorians around so coming across him was quite a surprise.

 

[Thane Veren]

The lightsaber on the other man's belt brought about some questions in Thane's mind. He knew the Mandalorians had a history of conflict with the wizards, though Thane didn't personally feel a need to hold to any such views.

There was a moment's pause as Thane considered the options. A gunfight - particularly with another child of Mandalore - was not preferable to him when the target he had been hunting for the last two and a half weeks was now so close. Besides, an ally might prove valuable against the pirate captain. While Thane would have gone in on his own, he didn't love his odds in a 1 vs... what? Ten?

He lowered his rifle, still holding it in his hands for a moment and watched carefully for the other man to lower his blaster as well.

Fine, he said, standing from where he had taken a kneeling position. If he was intimidated by the other man's bravado, it didn't show.

Assuming conflict didn't erupt, he let the rifle fall back along its sling.

Come on, we've still got a hike ahead of us, he said, flicking his head in the direction of the pirate's camp and not turning his back on the other man. And just like that, they were on their way to the real fight. An... uneasy alliance. @Scoobert

 

[Laren Vano]

Good, this one has a brain after all. Thought for a second I might need to use my blaster again.

“Good. Now shall we?” Laren asked as he picked up BD and placed him on his back. He walked to where the Mando was kneeling and looked at what he was seeing. “What’s your name warrior?” Laren was quite interested in the brave man before him. Ready to take on the pirates he looked back at his speeder, and went to grab his rifle. As he walked back to his newfound ally he watched the outpost to see how the pirates were doin.

 

[Thane Veren]

Thane watched as the other man retrieved his rifle. A wise decision given the conflict they were about to undertake. They would need to have every advantage for what was to come.

Thane. Clan Veren, House Solus, he said in response to the other man's question. And you? he asked. Outside of his clan, Thane had met virtually no other Mandalorians. They were a dying breed in the galaxy, and from what he'd heard growing up, each clan or tribe was likely different in the traditions it clung to after the purge.

Thane continued onward, heading toward the enemy compound. He heard it before he saw it. He could hear shouting and cheering from around a mound of the garbage. He came to a stop just at its edge, peering carefully around to see if he could make anything out.

There were a pair of men in front of a medium sized building who appeared to be in some sort of fist fight or boxing competition. Boxing, Thane decided, spotting the gloves that each man wore. Around the pair, another half dozen men were gathered, but there didn't seem to be any sign of guards on patrol.

OOC: @Scoobert I'm just rolling because I want to, don't feel obligated to do so.

 

[Laren Vano]

“I am Laren. Clan Vano. Pleased to meet you!” Laren intended to be a little sarcastic although relieved to see another of his kind. He motioned his hands for the Mando to lead him to their target. As they were on their way they came across the boxing match. Laren immediately looked to the Mando and said “Bet you I can beat anyone here” and walked over to grab a set of boxing gloves. After the match was over he walked into the ring and challenge their best fighter.

At that moment Laren had witnessed said fighter who was built like a tank. “This is just what I wanted” the man was twice Laren’s size. He wanted to make a wager before he fought this brute though. “If I win I take your coin purse. What do you say?” The brute looked at him “You’re on. But if I win I take that droid.” Laren stopped and looked at his best friend and then back to the brute. “Ring the bell” as soon as the bell went off Laren ran straight forward and Superman punched the brute. He sent him into the ropes, and then he closed in and started power punching the brute in the head. Laren may have been slightly smaller than this behemoth but he was much faster and stronger. Laren landed a huge uppercut on the brute, which laid him out on the apron. “Thought it’d be harder than that.” Laren nudged the sleeping giant with his foot but there was no response. Laren laughed and walked out of the ring, dropped his gloves and grabbed the coin purse. “Well, what’d ya think? Pretty fun huh?” Laren asked while slightly out of breath.

 

[Thane Veren]

Thane couldn't believe when he saw the other man starting to just walk into the compound. Thane didn't follow, watching over the top of his rifle as the other man started fighting. This wasn't an overly populous planet and the location had been picked because the pirates didn't like visitors. Of course they were planning to rob the Mandalorian whether he won or not.

When the first of the pirates reached for his blaster and fired it at Laren, Thane squeezed the trigger on his rifle first. Unfortunately, something went wrong and the weapon didn't actually fire. Thane was meticulous about caring for his weapon, and yet something was wrong with it. He cursed his misfortune, working to clear the jam and get the weapon back into commission.

He found the problem a moment later, one of the exciters in the power cell had worked its way loose and he slapped it harshly back into place before shouldering the weapon again and taking aim.

By this time, the first of the pirates had opened fire on Laren who would now have to contend with a half dozen angry pirates and likely need to scramble to cover quickly.

@Scoobert Rolls

 

[Laren Vano]

Reacting to being fired upon Laren dove behind the biggest rock near him. It was around 4 feet high so Laren was leaning quite low behind it. He drew his blaster and rolled onto his stomach and blasted at the pirates taking one down. He rolled back behind the rock and grabbed his flash bang grenade. He pulled the pen and sent it flying into the pirates direction. Once it went off in front of the pirates and blinding around 3 or four of them, Laren closed out to Thane for assistance “If you could fire that weapon right now that’s be pretty great!”

Laren was looking himself over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Thank the gods he was only scrapped by a blaster bolt on the outside of his left leg. Laren looked it and immediately started to feel the burn due to his adrenaline leaving from him seeing it. “That’s wonderful! I had to go have a little fun.” This was not a usual day for Laren. He usually never got hit. At least he can now say that one of the pirates had an aim that wasn’t entirely horrendous.

 

[Thane Veren]

Thane couldn't really blame the other Mandalorian for his annoyance that Thane hadn't opened fire yet. Thane was annoyed that Thane hadn't opened fire. But now his rifle was up, the Mandalorian was in cover, his rifle was steady, and the rifle bucked against his shoulder.

The flash of a grenade made sure that the target was too stunned to move, and a single shot tore free from the rifle and slammed into the pirate he'd tried to shoot the first time, sending him to the ground with a gaping, steaming hole in his chest. Thane grunted in satisfaction at the sight before swinging the rifle and letting the sights fall on the next man.

Scrambling for cover, the man had actually managed to make it there as Thane lined up his next shot. He looked out from behind his cover, hoping to spot where the first shot had come from and the second one took him cleanly in the head, taking a chunk of it on impact.

The other Mandalorian made it back a moment later, and Thane's gaze dropped only for a moment to the injury on the man's leg.

You hit? he asked, more to determine the level of injury than confirmation that an injury existed. However they may have met, Thane wasn't exactly aiming for his partner to wind up dead, and if they needed to reevaluate their situation before the pirates regrouped and counter attacked, they wouldn't need to do so soon.

@Scoobert | Rolls

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

It was a tad bit surprising, to say the least, when a young Mandalorian so boldly stepped into the ring to engage a brutish Weequay warrior in single combat. It was less surprising that in a den of scum and villainy, openly challenging a respected fighter would likely get you shot. Of course, Gram had witnessed the entire exchange - exasperated at first and annoyed second. This little deception had cost him quite the pretty credit for buying his way into the gang.

There was a plethora of reasons bounty hunters would want to infiltrate this pirate den. One such Hunter was the Vahla himself, currently garbed in basic huttesse (skiff guard) armor. Having imbedded himself into their crew, Gram had intended to capture the target alive. His ship remained some kilometers away, safeguarded by a young and possibly forgotten Padawan, Z9, and an old, reprogrammed LEP droid. The boastful mando won the bout with a punch - but in doing so made himself the largest target in the room.

As the Vahla mystic expected, blasters were drawn. The mando seemed to be caught by one of the lead pirates, and then chaos erupted. A flash grenade sent Gram out of his chair, falling forwards with a thud.

What in dank farrik...

He groaned, but was helped to his feet by a Rodian wielding an ELG blaster. The pair had escaped the blast radius. But not the sniper that opened fire - taking a pirate down in a deft blow. This operation was screwed beyond all repair, and Gram now had a difficult choice to make - maintain his cover and wait as intended for the opportune moment to capture his prize, or join the fighting.

He chose the latter, turning to the rodian with a grin.

“Thanks for that, pal.”

Before grabbing him by the shoulder and kneeing the merc directly in the groin. Following up, Gram elected to hipthrow the pirate to the floor. The resulting reactions were twofold; half the pirates were focusing on the sniper and the mando boxer, while the other half now recognized Gram as an active threat. Realizing that he was in an compromising position, the Vahla waited... hand lowering for his DL-44.

“...hey now. Let’s just... deal with the shooter... first??”

@Scoobert @Phoenix

OOC: I hope this is the character you wanted me to meet, Scoob.

 

[Laren Vano]

OOC: Laren is indeed. He’s a fun character to RP with.

After Laren took the time to recover from the burn on his leg he stood up ready to fight. He walked forward at the pirates using his armor to protect him. The blasters kept him in the places of his armor and just bounced off of him. Once Laren got close enough to one he grabbed his hand and twisted it til he dropped the weapon. Laren then swung his leg to the mid section of the pirate and spun him around to where Laren had his chest to the pirates back. Wrapping his arm around the neck of the pirate he drew his blaster and started firing at the pirates using the one in his grasp as a meat shield. This allowed to take two more pirates before they retreated.

They ran like cowards. Laren was only upset with himself. He let his guard down just once and paid a price. Luckily he knows how to treat a burn properly. “Well took you long enough” Laren said as his slightly limped over and took a seat on a rock. “Thought you had disappeared for a moment.” This wouldn’t be the first time Laren was left alone to handle and overwhelming amount of pirates. “Lets try taking care of our toys from now on so they don’t break.”

 

[Thane Veren]

Some sort of chaos had unfolded behind the enemy lines as one of the pirates... opened fire on another? That didn't really make any sense, but it seemed to be of benefit to them.

The remaining pirates - all one of them that wasn't dead, unconscious, or a traitor(?) - retreated back inside the building.

He ignored the man's rather obnoxious comment about maintaining his weapon. If the other Mandalorian had never had a weapon malfunction on him then he clearly hadn't been fighting for very long, no matter how well he maintained them. There was something far more pressing for them to deal with, namely Mr. Traitor Pirate. Without leaving his position his rifle swiveled over to where the man had taken cover.

You! he shouted suspiciously. What's your angle? he asked directly. He wasn't going to trust the man, but that didn't mean he couldn't be potentially valuable. And if they didn't need to have it out with another pirate, then all the better.

@Scoobert @Aurius

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

“My angle?”

Gale paused, and reached out with his senses. The brash Mandalorian was not alone, as the voice that queried him was another being entirely. Perhaps TWO Mandalorians, then? Well, it seemed the tables had turned in his favor. Though Gram had no confirmation he wasn’t going to be killed the moment he left cover, from either the two out there or any stragglers, he needed to set a positive example.

“I mean you no harm! Here, in good faith...”

His DL-44 would clatter to the ground. Gale let his hands relax, and gently began to rise from cover. Of course, he wasn’t unarmed - his saber sat snug in it’s wrist-holster. Though he couldn’t clearly see the one aiming at him, the glint of the rifle’s scope was enough for him to locate them. Not to mention, their presence as a living being in the Force. This one was obviously the elder, far more coolheaded - evidenced by the fact that Gram yet didn’t have a hole in his skull.

“I’m with the Guild. Fell in with these idiots looking for their leader. The one you promptly scared off?”

Since his injuries at the hands of Darth Whoever the Karablast, the mystic had taken to odd jobs. The Guild offered substantial sums, and Gram only took bounties on the more savage and barbaric of the bunch. Murderers, slavers, or in this case - pirates with no qualms for how they acquired their wealth. A trail of grizzly deaths had led him to this band, and to some degree he did owe these two thanks. But the Vahla’s plan was as shot to hell as the pirates underfoot. Which meant Z9’s oil baths, or any payment for their trouble, would likely have to wait.

“If you’d be inclined to lower your blasters, perhaps we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement?”

@Scoobert @Phoenix

 

[Laren Vano]

Laren stood back as he listened to the man speak. He couldn’t help but wonder what he even has to offer. He had a rifle trained on him from a distance and Laren closer then not. The younger Mandalorian had wanted to just end him of course, but he knew that there could be something beneficial from this man. That’s when Laren noticed the lightsaber.. the weapon of force users. Oh how Laren despised force users.

“What can you offer us?”

This put Laren in an uneasy feeling. He wanted to strike down this force user with the lightsaber of his own but he knew that’d turn into a duel with the force user and he didn’t come looking to fight a force user, just a pirate. This journey has been eventful to say the least. Then again Laren met another mandalorian and made an alliance. Maybe they could do the same with this User of the Force.

“Meet me in the open and we’ll talk! I’ll spare your life for now. But him?” Laren pointed to a general area out ward where the rifles blasts were coming from “I don’t know that guy so you’ll have to trust him.” Laren was smiling under his helmet. He lived for battle and this one was a fun one. And Laren will do anything to collect this bounty. Even make an unexpected alliance.

@Phoenix @Aurius

 

[Thane Veren]

Thane watched the pistol clatter to the ground, but didn't remove the sights of his rifle from the man's chest as he stood.

Oh great, another one looking to collect the bounty, he thought to himself. That was just Thane's luck. This assumed it was true, which was an assumption Thane couldn't make. Still, the bounty was enough that even split three ways it wouldn't be a bad payout.

Fell in with them? As in you know the layout of the base? he asked. As the unknown man had pointed out, the pirate leader would now have gone to ground, but inside the base. Which meant flushing him out. And with close to half his crew dead out here on the ground, that only left another... 8? 9 people?

Of course, if the man could offer anything else besides the route, as Laren had implied, that wouldn't go amiss either. @Scoobert @Aurius

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

Gram pointed at the rifle wielding one who asked if he knew the base layout with a grin. That one was right on the ball. And with two Mandalorians backing him up, he had little doubt the situation could be salvaged. Of course, he still had a rifle trained on him - which was hardly ideal.

“The leader, we split three ways. The rest of the crew can be divided among you two. I have a holo with the base layout recorded.”

Essentially, Gram was offering to let them collect the individual reward on his crew - which was no small sum. Piracy was a serious crime, and the bounties for every pirate here was quite high. The leader alone snagged in at 200,000 credits. That was 66,000 and some per the three of them. In addition to the heads of the crew, he was certain it was a fair deal.

He continued to approach the pair, cautiously and without aggression, to discuss an avenue of attack. The Vahla withdrew a holoprojector of the base in his left hand, calmly waiting for his potential allies to join him. Or alternatively, to drop and draw his saber in defense. Either were feasible from this distance.

“You’re gonna need my help either way. These pirates got their hands on old battle droids. Quite a lot of them.”

The holographic display whirred past their current position, revealing a small but winding series of tunnels leading to a central access, and a small outcropping. Only one entrance was mapped, if any others existed, Gram had yet to discover them.

“The leader’s ‘office’ is down here, past the tunnels and through this central area. That’s assuming he doesn’t have a hidden exit.”

@Scoobert @Phoenix

OOC: Changed the DT series because it’s restricted. Only realized this recently.

 

[Laren Vano]

Weary and reluctant of the idea of splitting more than half Laren agreed. There was no need to risk his life over a bounty. “Alright, I’m in. Might have to convince him a little more.” Laren pointed to the other Mando in reference to his previous statement. Had he known this trip would’ve turned out this way he would’ve brought his crew but he felt it’d be easy enough on his own.

“Let’s go make some money!” Laren began walking toward the direction pointed out. BD-3 Jumping onto his shoulder, ready for the firefight ahead. The young Mando had prepared his flamethrower stating “Time to fry so scrubs”

He looked over his armor one last time before looking to the two strangers and announcing he was ready for what lies ahead. Whether it’s scrub shrubs or decent shots. He was prepared.

@Phoenix @Aurius