Wandering Eye

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

This bounty was weird.

Castor, Ner Giza and Leandros Solus, three rather deadly beings, were being contracted to go out into the wastelands of Ryloth and to kill a one-armed wanderer.

...

No, there was nothing else.

There was no real reasoning or logic behind this bounty - someone had stumped up the credits to put a hit out on a deluded one-armed man who had been dumped on the planet at some point but no one was entirely sure how, when or why. Some of the rumours declared that the man was, in fact, the spectre of a man long dead who had suffered the same fate.

As far as Castor was concerned it was a ball ache that involved combing over the damned desert from a one-armed man and hoping they found him.

And he was with Leandros again.

Ner he could cope with - she was alright - but the Mandalorian rubbed him the wrong way just by virtue of being, well, a Mandalorian.

Thankfully they had a speeder car at least - unfortunately the most important part was broken... there was no music system. So it was just the two of them, the awkward silence and the wind. Castor decided he would brave changing the silence up a bit.

"... ten credits says this is just a local myth and we're not gonna find kark all."

@Painus

 

[Ner Giza]

Ner’Giza wouldn’t take that bet, her uncle hadn’t raised no fool. Then why was she sitting in the back of a speedster in the company of these two men yet again? Ah well, a girl had to keep busy, didn’t she? There were worse things than running with people you had no emotional ties to. In fact she had jumped at the chance to come home even if it was on a fool’s errand. She needed to find some ballast to hold onto after all the revelations that had come here way these past few months.

Sitting in the back of the speeder, she looked out at the passing terrain and minding the cooler of provisions. She was attired in her traditional hunting gear, her Lyaer’tsa upon her lap with the spear shaft collapsed for the sake of convenience, she looked like something out of myth. At least it was fitting for the climate despite being a bit flashy. No doubt Aurel would say she’d gone native. Were it not for the two blaster pistols secured to her waist, such a sentiment would have been correct. She grinned thinking of him hoping he was fulfilling his dreams.

She sighed heavily after a while and would have been surprised to know Castor was aching for music too. ”I don’t suppose either of you can sing?”, she asked as yet another bleak landscape came into view. Nostalgia seemed to have missed her today for the sight of all those twisted trees and rocky promontories dotting the landscape she found no joy in the sight.

@Painus
@Nefieslab

 

[Leandros Solus]

Why did Leandros always end up stuck with the people he disliked?

This was his second operation with the boy, Castor, and the Twi’lek, Ner’Giza. He did not have many qualms with the alien, aside from his inherent lack of tolerance towards nonhumans – though he was working on that with Burkhart – but the Jedi was someone he did not particularly like. Regardless of how his previous bounty went, he was an innately distrustful person; the Jedi had done little to assuage his distrust aside from fight alongside him. He would have to do much more than that to remedy centuries of oppression by Force users burned into his mind. Maybe one day, but today, they would remain tense allies. Frenemies at best.

They sped along the wastes of Ryloth to the tune of an uncomfortable silence and the wind whipping past them. Ner’Giza was in the back of the speeder – likely a strategic move to put the two people who disliked each other together – and was pretty quiet most of the trip as well, likely due to the tense, awkward hate-space emanating between the men in front.

Leandros compulsively checked and re-checked his firearms, then his beskad, then did it again as a way of moving meditation, hoping that the god Kad Ha’rangir would grant him strength in times of tumult. He muttered under his breath in Mando’a, not expecting the others to understand him. Eventually Castor broke the silence and offered up a wager, to which Leandros actually turned his head and regarded the man for a brief moment before panning his gaze back to the fore, watching the bleak landscape pass them by. ”You people were a myth, too,” he said succinctly in response, shrugging. That was all that needed to be said, really. The recent days were something out of a comic book.

Ner’Giza posed a question to the two of them and Leandros shrugged again, ”Battle hymnals, drinking songs, actual hymnals,” he said again, looking at his gloved hand for a moment, ”Probably nothing you’d like. It’s all in Mando’a.” Truth be told, Leandros loved to sing – it was one of his passions outside of battle. The chorus with his peers was a place he found solace when not waging war; that, and making art through music. Unbeknownst to many, Leandros played a myriad of instruments. That seemed like an inappropriate thing to share with the two of them.

He rested his hands in his lap, watching the landscape pass them by. A few times, he thought he saw the afterimage of a humanoid figure, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared. He thought that was weird. It was likely his mind playing tricks on them.

After all, who would wander these wastes for 500 years?

@Nefieslab @Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

Castor was both bored and uncomfortable - and annoyed that he hadn't been able to be the one in the back seat. If Ner was driving then he wouldn't have to be sat up front sharing glares with Leandros. Of course if he was sat behind him, he was sure that Leandros would be paranoid about literal backstabbing. And if he was sat up front and Leandros was sat behind him, he wouldn't lie; he'd probably complain about the same.

Said a lot about the relationship between the two of them that they were actually better off visibly seething at each other's company than sitting out of sight of each other.

"You people huh?" he rolled his eyes even as they continued to cruise along, "You know what else is a myth? A Mandalorian with some tact."

Singing?

Castor could hold a note but Sith songs were... not bright and happy. By their nature they either called for the death of their enemies or the lamentation of their honored dead. He shrugged.

"I know a Corellian ditty." he admitted, "Needs strings or it's terrible - you two know yourselves out if you want to."

Castor focused on the way ahead for the most part but he would admit that he was looking around idly as he did. This was the kind of area that the locals said to search. He paused for a moment as he saw a figure in the distance - he watched as the figure turned to pass behind a rock formation. But one thing he did notice? One arm.

"... by the old Gods and the new..." he muttered, turning towards the rock formation, "Alright so I think I spotted a one-armed man step behind those rocks. Now would be a good time for a battle song I guess?"

@Painus
@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Ner Giza]

She sighed when Leandros opted not to sing and nearly perked up when Castor mentioned the ditty but he too declined in the end. It was a shame, it might have cut the tension somewhat. Perhaps if she broke into the rations and got herself a bit of a snack. Maybe if the men were using their mouths to eat they would be too busy for snarking at each other, minor as that had been. She rooted around in the provisions crate pulling out some horrid looking pressed wafer thing with gunk jammed in between them. Leaning forward she was about to present them when Castor spoke of seeing a one armed man.

She sat back and looked around but didn’t make out a thing. Even so Castor's request for a battle tune amused her.

Drunk or no Ner’Giza had a remarkable memory for music, she had her early training to thank for that though it was not something she ever did. To her performing was a shameful thing that had been forced upon her to one day make her valuable on the slave market, even though such things were quite illegal in the Empire. The thought made her snort but there was that within her that rejected the stigma that had been placed upon the simple joy of song.

No doubt it was a bit of a trickster spirit that made her do it but of a sudden she began to mimic the singer from the bar that night of Kashyyyk during the Life Tree Event. She knew one song though hadn’t a clue what it was she might be saying.

Pitching her voice to the same tones of the bard, her voice went into a tremolo that sounded like the lone strumming chord the man had played upon his hallisket. The suddenly she broke into the drinking song. Though she could not fully mimic the rich baritone of the Ardennia, her voice was pitched to the lowest register of her range.

"Naasaaaaad'guuuuur mhiiiiiiii, Naasaaaaad'guur mhiiiiii, Naaaaaasad'guur mhiiiii, mhiiiii n'uluuuuu…"

"Mhiiiii Mando'ade, Kandosii'adeeee, Teeeeh Mandaaaa'yaim, Mandaaao'ade."

Hopefully it was not some sacred Mandos only hymnal.

@Painus @Nefieslab

 

[Leandros Solus]

Dice​

Leandros huffed from beneath his helmet, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief. This Castor boy was pressing his buttons. ”A Mandalorian with tact?” he spat out, turning to look at the Jedi. ”Hah. The only myth among my people is that of Jedi skill. Go play with your glowing blade and witchcraft, boy, before a true warrior shows you what it means to bleed.” He shook his head, irritated at the insult. He was raised in a culture that would brook no insult from outsiders, and this boy, witch or not, was certainly one.

Leandros went quiet for a bit, gazing out at the desolate wastes as they passed by. The environment of the Twi’lek planet was bleak and empty, and he began to wonder if they would ever find the man whom they sought. After all, he was but a myth – how could someone wander such a barren realm such as this for a year, let alone five hundred? He began to wonder what species the thing they hunted was, and if it was a man at all. Tales often had a way of being spun so incredibly tall that their original meaning was lost to the eons.

Then he heard it.

The woman began singing in his native tongue from behind. It was… pronounced exactly as one would expect a non-native speaker to do, but it was Mando’a nonetheless. A drinking song, not exactly fitting in their situation, but the gesture of it all is what mattered. She had been drinking with Mandalorians at some point – there was no other way she could have learned the song. Leandros turned his head and placed an arm on the back of his seat, rotating his body as best he could to look at the Twi’lek.

”Where did you learn that?” he growled, though it was more because he was still irritated from Castor than from her singing. In actuality, he was rather curious; few people sang Mandalorian drinking songs, especially outside of their common environment. She must not have known the lyrics, which did make him smile beneath his helmet. His dour demeanor softened somewhat, impressed that she was at least marginally familiar with his people.

After her answer and some time driving, the boy muttered something in disbelief before turning the speeder towards a rocky outcropping. Leandros turned back around and looked across the wastes, but saw nothing. Whatever it was that captivated Castor had to have been behind the rocks there, for there was no other sign of life in the desolate wastes.

As the speeder made its way towards the rocks, he briefly considered beginning a Mandalorian war chant. However, he did not know if he was actually going to combat, so he withheld, instead bringing up his rifle and keeping it at a high ready in the event that they did find something that did not want to be found.

”By the three…” he muttered as they swept around the rocks and brought the one-armed man into full view. Half expecting him to flee, and half expecting him to attack them, Leandros kept his rifle ready and aimed in his direction, though he did not bring it up to look threatening. Instead, he simply looked at the one-armed being in surprise. That makes two myths that had come true. The man simply looked at them, though it was apparent that he was trying to remain hidden from sight.

@Kayenta Moenkopi @Nefieslab

 

[Castor Chumeda Volante]

Castor was annoying the Mandalorian and he honestly couldn't bring himself to care - it was amusing in it's own way as far as he was concerned and so far? Well so far he would challenge anyone to find a lie in anything he'd actually said. He tutted a little bit, miming as though he was hurt by the rebuttal from the Mandalorian when he was really anything but. As far as Castor was concerned it was a win to him - he'd gotten under Leandros' skin and the Mandalorian couldn't say the same.

Petty?

Probably.

He raised an eyebrow at Ner's singing but he didn't know what she was saying so he didn't really mention it. It wasn't something he cared to know really. For all he cared it was a song literally taking the kark out of him and he couldn't have cared less. The fact that Leandros was barking at Ner about it?

Well that was just kind of what he was coming to expect from Leandros these days it had to be said. The man wasn't exactly a people person after all. And it didn't really matter because... because there was the one armed man. What... what even was he doing? It looked like he was trying to hide from them but he was only slightly crouched behind a small boulder that came up to his mid-chest. What kind of cover was that?

They could clearly see half of his body!

He thought about what he was going to do for a moment before deciding that the simplest answer was the best option.

Drawing his blaster pistol, he was pretty sure he was just out of range but hey, it was worth a shot right? Without standing up or moving from the driver's seat, he aimed across Leandros' body and fired once. The bolt raced across the distance and the one armed man stood up fully... pulling himself out of cover and taking the blaster bolt right in his unprotected stomach. The one armed man went down screaming, badly injured but not dead due to the distance.

Castor leaned back.

"... let's go and put his out of his misery and collect."

@Painus
@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Ner Giza]

Ner’Giza couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear as Leandros actually turned round to growl at her asking where she had learned such a thing. ”Oh you know, there was this Cantina on Kashyyyk over Life Day I wandered into…”, she said then let her words trail off as she really didn’t remember much more than the place being filled with his people. It was one of those sort of affairs. The song, the men, the sound of the hallisket… these had left their mark on her mind despite the lack of connective details.

She munched on one of the wafer things setting her eyes toward this supposed sighting as Castor drove on. When at last the speedster cleared the rocks she too could see the one armed man. She nearly choked for in truth she thought the fleeting glimpse the human had announced earlier was more likely brought on by early stages of brightsickness than not. 500 years in the desert indeed!

She frowned for more than myth coming to life seemed off to her. What was he doing there just standing around. He surely had heard their speedster, had he the brightsickness? Making a sign for warding off evil, she shoved the second wafer in her mouth to free her hands and drew her pistol. The man only confirmed her suspicions by standing up to take Castor’s bolt full in the chest! His screams made her clench her teeth biting the wafer in half, the other portion falling down upon her thighs.

It was the dumbest thing she had ever seen, at least this week at any rate. She hadn’t even needed to get out of the speedster for as Castor neared the rock she had a clear line of sight from the back seat. Leveling her pistol she fired off a shot into the chest of the man so as not to ruin his face for identification. That shut his screams up readily enough. Leaning back she picked up the other half of her wafer and said, ”Either one of you two hungry?”, before eating the other half herself.

@Painus @Nefieslab

 

[Leandros Solus]

Leandros pursed his lips beneath his helmet and nodded a few times at Ner’Giza’s response. He was impressed she knew it, even if she somewhat mispronounced a few things. ”It’s a drinking song,” he replied, turning back around in his seat as they drove, ”A good one, too.” That would hopefully lighten the mood somewhat, but he still had the stupid Jedi by his side, sneering arrogantly or whatever the Jedi did these days. He was probably planning his next escape so that he could hide like a coward for the next hundred years, or something. He did not care.

As they got closer to the one-armed man, it became apparent that something was not right. He was just sitting there, crouched behind a small rock, almost completely in the open. He was perhaps feral, or playing with them, or some kind of mirage. There were all kinds of reasons as to why he was just sitting there doing nothing, but none of them mattered. Before he could pull up his rifle to shoot the man, Castor leaned over and did so with his pistol. The Jedi could not even kill a man properly! Their bounty’s screams echoed in the wastes, but they were the only ones who could hear them. He prayed to whatever gods he believed in, but the only people who could hear his prayers were right there.

And, unfortunately, they would not be answering them.

They approached in their speeder and Ner’Giza fired another shot, silencing the fool. He could have been some kind of ancient oracle, or some mysterious creature. He may have had a wealth of knowledge to share, or perhaps he knew of a nearby secret treasure. He may have just been feral or lost. There were all kinds of possibilities, but, like the reason for why he just sat there, none of them mattered. He was dead now and they had their prize. While the other two were comfortable just sitting in the speeder, Leandros decided that somebody had to pick up his corpse.

He hopped over the side of the speeder and picked the man up, cradling him in his arms like a folded chair of some kind. Tossing him in the back with Ner’Giza, Leandros nodded and hopped back in the speeder, looking at the driver.

”Let’s go.”

@Nefieslab @Kayenta Moenkopi