Vigilante Justice

[Leandros Solus]

Nar Shaddaa was a wretched den of iniquity, the gilding and glamor of the upper levels disguising the grime below where the majority of its population writhed about in the filth of their own corruption like maggots drawn to a corpse. It was easy to get lost here on the Smuggler’s Moon – too easy – and that meant that individuals flocked here in droves to begin their new lives or to propagate their vile ways. With the dissolution of the Sith Empire, many such Imperial refugees, warlords, and disillusioned Sith fled their worlds as the Mandalorian scourge began to sweep through and lay waste to what was once theirs.

Many came here, to Nar Shaddaa, to begin a new life as a member of some underhive gang or to join whatever planetary enforcer guild they could. While this largely went ignored by the Mandalorian rulers of the planet, there were a select few cases where the Mandalorians grew incredibly interested in the refugees. When the Sith and their profane teachings arrived on the planet and were reported present, hunting parties often went out in search of the archenemy to destroy them and prevent others from joining their cause.

Leandros had personally been on the hunt for the past few days, bored from managing the crusade and wanting to exercise his urban tracking skills a little more. There had been word of a powerful Sith on the planet with an acolyte trying to turn a gang to be his personal warband, and Leandros decided that this needed a personal intervention. He demanded the aid of one other Mandalorian so that he could see how his soldiers were doing, and there was no shortage of volunteers. Eventually, he randomly selected a Rau clansman to accompany him on the hunt, and now he sat outside the dingy cantina that he intended as a rendezvous point. He leaned against the wall, an invisible barrier around him warding off any undesirables. He was one of the most well-known Mandalorians in the galaxy, and with him the leader of the warrior people, the citizens of Nar Shaddaa knew that he was one person to not irritate.

He rolled a coin between his knuckles idly as he waited, his eyes scanning the crowds of people as they passed by.

@Orbit

 

[Vale Rau]

Vale had visited Nar Shadda only a few times, mostly for the service of the Werda Verda as it now called. He personally hated city life and that's why he attempted to stay away from it as far as possible. There was a reason why he had spent so much time on his farmstead and in the wilderness but he had been issued a mission from ones above even the Mand'alor but then he was the who had sent him a message. Vale's allegiance for the Werda Verda was a secret he held dear and as far as the Mand'alor knew he would still be a Rau clan member even though he didn't bear the same colors they traditionally did.

Vale navigated through the streets towards the rendezvous that he was told to be at. The cape connected to his shoulders concealed his weapons and he was grateful for that at least. He couldn't say the same for himself as the neon signs connected to the various shops reflected off of his helmet and other pieces of him. The pedestrians walking past him could tell he was Mandalorian instantly from his T-visor and they gave him enough distance where he didn't have to bump shoulders and that made the trip easier to the cantina. It only took a few moments until Vale finally reached his destination and spotted the man he was supposed to meet. He stood out easy enough, people as well giving him distance and choosing not to invoke a Mandalorian's wrath.

Vale slithered between the people before appearing out of the crowd and in Leandros' view. He stopped a few feet in front of the man and bowed the upper half of his body slightly as he brought his arm to his chest. He spoke in Mando'a to the Mand'alor, "Greetings Mand'alor, it's my pleasure to serve." Vale lowered his arm afterward and stood to his full height, it matching the man's as their gazes met in the middle. While Vale had never met the man himself, the stories about him were very well known and Vale respected him highly, his own hatred for the force-users making him wish he could join the crusade but he had duties elsewhere. "Your message was vague. You are hunting for someone?" The Mandalorian could assume that Leandros kept his message short for a reason.

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros continued to roll the coin around his knuckles deftly, passing the time as he waited on the man meant to meet him here. He checked his chrono with the other hand, realizing that he was still fairly early and telling himself to cool off and wait a little bit. Antsy barely began to describe it, really; he wanted to go out already and start hunting this Sith down, but he knew he needed to take things slowly. Killing one’s way through hordes of gangsters was fun, but it would drive their prey underground; he needed to think this through.

A few minutes passed before he saw the other Mandalorian appear from the midst of the crowd. Leandros knew the man was a Rau clansman, even if he didn’t wear their colors, and that he was fairly skilled, but that was it. Other than those two little tidbits of information, he knew scant else. The marauder gave a curt little bow, a sign of respect that he was still not used to receiving and addressed him. Leandros rolled the coin over into his palm and pocketed it, pushing his back off the wall.

”Not a person,” he corrected, shaking his head, ”A Sith and their acolyte. We’ve rumors that they’re trying to turn a gang into their own little army down here.” He gestured towards the bar that they were outside, indicating for the man to join him in walking in. ”We’re going to do a little asking around,” before they crossed the threshold into the bar he paused and put a hand up against Vale’s chest to stop him, ”No killing in there. Not unless they start it. We need to know where these rats are hiding and can’t bring too much attention to ourselves.” With that, he turned around and continued in. The irony of the Mand’alor not bringing much attention to himself amused him, but the people of Nar Shaddaa were generally self-serving and avoided conflict where they could. All they needed to do was scare them well enough.

The bar was a total dive. Dingy, grimy, loud, full of aliens of every species; generally, Leandros would avoid these kinds of places like the plague, but they had a job to do. This was the last rumored location of the supposed Sith and their acolyte, so this was the best place to begin their hunt. Leandros walked alongside Vale, keeping a hand close to his blaster just in case. ”Let’s go talk to the bartender first,” he said, pushing his way through the crowd towards the bar.

@Orbit

 

[Vale Rau]

Vale's grip around his own blade tightened when he heard of the word Sith. It was natural for their kind to hate the force users but for this Mandalorian, it held a religious fervor behind it. This would be the first step for Vale in achieving what he wanted and the possibility of finding a Sith made his heart beat faster even though he was stoic with his armor masquerading his features. Vale followed Leandros' finger to the bar that was across the street, an influx of criminals he could assume, flowing in and out of the building. He didn't expect them to find the Sith here but he still kept up his guard as he walked with the Manda'lor. That alone was enough to be on guard knowing how the waters were feeling towards their people.

Fortunately in a weird twist of luck, without his own jetpack, he was just forced to use the cape connected to his shoulders but at that moment he was quite grateful for it as it hid most of his weaponry. Or it was at least enough to ease the establishment's patrons as they only gave Vale a quick glance and mostly fixed their eyes on Leandros. It was only because of the visible weaponry and his armor but after a few seconds, they returned to whatever activities they were doing before the pair entered. No killing, so the first thing he did was just gaze around the room and see who stood out. The problem was, Vale realized after a few moments, that nobody stood out except the two of them and that gave him a thought.

Before Leandros could get too far to the bar, Vale put his hand on the man's shoulder to stop him and spoke to him in a hushed tone so only they could hear, "Wait here Mand'alor, I have an idea to flush them out." No one was going to talk to the two Mandalorians, at least not on Nar Shadda and when Sith are involved. Easily slipping in and out of the crowd until he reached the bar, simply placing both his arms down on the counter behind the bartender's back as Vale stared at him. It didn't take long for the bartender's sixth sense to kick in and he finally turned around to see the Mandalorian. "If you ain't buying a drink then I don't know why you standing there." Vale continued to remain silent, staring at him with the reflective glass of the T visor as the bartender started to become uncomfortable. "Look, if you ain't buying nothing, then get the hell out of my bar. You all only cause trouble." The man tried to turn away but suddenly Vale shot his arm out and grabbed his collar, pulling the man back towards him as he would roughly collide against the counter.

To the others in the room, they would sneak peeks over to the two Mandalorians from time to time. One human that was mingled with a couple of aliens continued to sneak in glances until he saw Vale with the bartender, the man's nerves increasing instantly. From his point of view, he couldn't see that Vale wasn't saying anything, only that the bartender seemed to be spilling the contents of his head out to the Mandalorian. Instantly getting up to depart with a few others at the table, they make their way to the backdoor instead. Vale instantly let go of the bartender before pressing two fingers to his helmet that connected to the comm with his gaze still locked on the man, "Eight o'clock, backdoor."

 

[Leandros Solus]

”Eight o’clock, backdoor.”

Leandros was immediately on the prowl once Vale had commed out his alert. Though the crowd in here was dense, the Mand’alor found no trouble pushing through it. The Mandalorians controlled Nar Shaddaa, and, though it was a lawless den of crime, they still feared the power that they held, and the ruler of such a people tended to have the effect of inspiring both awe and terror in others. He shoved past a few drunk patrons who didn’t realize who he was and slipped through gaps between groups, making his way towards the door. A short glimpse of their prey was all he managed to catch before the group slipped out the back, the door sliding shut with a hiss.

Leandros keyed the door and it opened with the sound of metal-on-metal. Without waiting for Vale – for he figured the man would catch up – he was after the group. The street crowds would conceal their movement, but a group of people seemingly fleeing the bar would stand out enough for him to spot. It took a moment, but he caught a glimpse of the lead man looking back worriedly, spotting the Mandalorian, and doubling his efforts to get away.

The Mand’alor broke out into a jog, shoving people aside and threatening others with violence if they got in his way. The group he was chasing darted off into a side alley and Leandros was intent on catching them there. He shoved a rodian aside, the expletives coming from its mouth falling on deaf ears as he rounded the corner to the alley, hand hovering over his blaster as he did so.

He was met with the sight of six thugs pointing blasters of various makes and models at him, all waiting for the man to come into their shooting gallery. The one he was hunting stood behind them with a smug look on his face, as if he had caught the Mand’alor in a trap. The only issue with such a notion was that the thugs had nowhere to run and were now stuck in an alley with him, not the other way around. Leandros had burned and conquered dozens of worlds, slain innumerable enemies, and emerged from every fight no worse for wear; what were some thugs to him?

Acting on pure instinct now, his two quickdraws flew into his hands and fired off two pairs of twin bolts at the first thugs he saw, his targeting independent. The two men went down with only a death gasp to punctuate the ends of their lives. Before the thugs could fire on him, Leandros ducked behind a dumpster as the four bolts sailed harmlessly past where he was once standing. It took them a moment to realize that he had just killed two of their friends without any effort, and that did nothing but renew their hate for the man. The bolts slammed into the dumpster repeatedly, but Leandros did nothing but count to himself, listening to their ammo packs dwindle. He keyed his comms device and told Vale where he had chased the thugs and the man they were hunting to, though the sounds of combat would likely make it easier to find him. When the time was right, he’d burst out and remind them why the Mandalorians were feared across the galaxy, though it’d help if Vale was here.

@Orbit

 

[Vale Rau]

Already Leandros was off and after the thugs that left the establishment. After a few moments, Vale would follow shortly after, navigating through the crowds and exiting out the backdoor. Leandros was already directly behind them and the Mandalorian had other ideas. Glancing around until he found a fire escape, Vale began to climb up the ladder until he reached the very top of the building. Heading from roof to roof, he was a little directionless until he began to hear the sound of blaster fire. Immediately recognizing who this would be from, Vale went towards it with renewed haste until he was directly above where the thugs had cornered Leandros. Two of them were already on the ground as the rest started to slowly close the distance to the dumpster.

Vale quickly drew out his rifle from his back, setting a mount with an airconditioning unit to steady his rifle as his scoped was honed in. Easing the trigger, two bolts quickly erupted from the barrel of his blaster as one struck the weapon out of one of the thug's hand. The other bolt directly struck another in the chest, sending him back with some force and collapsing with a thud. They only wore normal clothing so they couldn't resist the firepower the two of them were carrying. With one down and the other disarmed while nurturing his hand, they began backing up slowly instead as one fired on Leandros' position and another on Vale's.

With Leandros already down there and level with the thugs, Vale slipped out a smoke grenade from his pouch and pulling the pin as he dropped it. It hit the ground with a metallic clatter before columns of smoke started shooting out from it and filling the alley. It completely covered Leandros and allowed him to move up as now the blaster bolts were just being shot in random directions. Vale set up his position once more with his rifle, waiting for the smoke to clear and to take out the last one if Leandros didn't finish it himself.

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros continued to count to himself, listening to their power packs dwindle as the hail of bolts slammed uselessly against his cover. The rate of fire picked up suddenly, and the Mand’alor looked upward to see Vale providing him with cover from above. The thugs could not handle the sudden death from above, and their rate of fire dropped starkly. Leandros thought about jumping out of cover then and there to end it, but Vale had other plans by providing him with a smokescreen. Soon, a fat cloud engulfed him and billowed throughout the alleyway, obscuring his movements.

Rather than make it easy and turn the corner into a bolt, Leandros jumped skyward, using his jetpack to sail clear over the dumpster and above the smoke. The thugs, blinded and choking on the thick smoke, could not see their attacker’s sudden position change, and Leandros took full advantage of this fact. With one fluid motion, he fired a single twin-bolt shot at the thug taking shots at where he used to be. The man dropped as the two slammed directly into the crown of his skull, burrowing deep into his brain and shutting him off like a light switch.

The other one, stunned by his comrade’s sudden demise, looked skyward just in time to see Leandros falling down upon him with his full weight. Heavy boots crunched into his face and slammed him to the ground with a meaty snap. His neck jerked backwards ninety degrees before his skull collided with the pavement, cutting short his life immediately. With his death, all of the thugs would be vanquished, and that left only the man who decided to flee from the Mandalorians in the first place. He began running for his life, whimpering because his six goons had just been utterly annihilated in short order.

Leandros was heavy, but he was fast, and his jetpack made him even faster. He activated it and sped forward in a burst of flames, slamming into the man from behind and tackling him to the ground. His captor slammed his face into the pavement and pinned him there on the ground. ”The Sith you work for,” he growled, his mask close to the man’s face, ”Tell me where he is.”

The man whimpered for a moment before another rough slam loosened his tongue. ”I-I-she’s in the i-industrial sector! B-Black Cats t-t-t-territory!” Leandros kept him down with one hand while the other searched his pockets for anything valuable and found a communicator and a keycard. Satisfied with this information, he stood up and fired into the man’s backside to snuff him. One less loose end to tie up.

He flagged Vale to join him in the alleyway. When the man arrived, he’d show him the two items he found and then relay the location they needed to go to. ”I think I know where this Black Cats territory is,” he said, ”But we’ll need a speeder to get there. Something inconspicuous so we don’t lose our surprise just yet.” He looked at the man expectantly, wanting him to go out and get them a ride. Whatever he got, Leandros would hop in, ready to get going.

@Orbit

 

[Vale Rau]

After the smoke was deployed by Vale, Leandros pretty much took care of the entire situation by himself. The Mando didn't mind sitting back and watching the Mand'alor take care of business. He was a legendary warrior and Vale would have most likely slowed him down, especially without any of the equipment that Leandros was carrying. After he received the signal and made his way down, Leandros filled him in on their next destination and that they required a speeder. Vale gave him a nod and departed from the scene as he also holstered his weapons not to draw suspicion.

Vale stepped out from the alley and paused to glance around, pedestrians ignoring the blaster fire and continue to conduct their business as usual. They knew better than to mess with two Mandalorians, especially when one of them was the Mand'alor himself. A moment later Vale found what he was looking for and it was a small parking lot that was void of people. He easily crossed the street and went into the parking lot, his black armor concealing him well enough so he couldn't be spotted at first glance. Vale found one that would be big enough for both him and Leandros and he quickly brought his elbow down onto the glass and shattered it. Thankfully there wasn't an alarm and he slipped inside easily enough and yanked out some wires as he hotwired the vehicle. A few moments later it started and Vale pulled out from the lot and drove out to the alley where he came from.

Activating the comm device, Vale gave Leandros the signal that he was ready. When the Mand'alor got inside the vehicle, Vale put in the coordinates of where they were going before he peeled off onto the street. While they had some time before they reached the distract, Vale glanced over to Leandros, "You seem to know this district more than me. Anything I should know about it? Or any reason why a Sith would take residence there?" Vale had only encountered Sith a few times and he wondered why one would put up shop on Nar Shadda. It was most likely reflective of their situation as a whole in the galaxy, their grip on it shrinking by the day. Either way, Vale with Leandros' help expected they wouldn't run into any problems when it came to dealing with this Sith.