Ask [Xorrn] Beauty is Only Beskar Deep

[Kotii Solus]

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Travel through the Cranan-Excarga Hyperspace Route was difficult enough as it was but Kotii Solus was hoping his luck wouldn't run out any time soon. Whomever said "Xorrn was a peaceful version of Tatooine" was either joking or ignorant of the volcanic activity of the planet. But that hadn't stopped Geonosians allied with the confederacy to attempt producing battle droids in secret. Eventually the Republic found out and bombarded the kark out of all they could find. At least that is what the archives say and the records the badger could find.

The stories also said that a massive tectonic shift caused the fallen droid ship to be left and forgotten. Other details about a prototype weapon being built by the Geonosians pointed towards a facility of some kind on Xorrn. Maybe that meant one of the several Confederate Core ships shot down or herps some other subterranean location. The surface was indeed dangerous by all accounts but if anything remained it might be worth looking. The geonosians had a reputation for surviving not unlike roaches. Then again, Kotii had never seen or met one before and thought the species might be extinct.

The job was simple, if not a bit dangerous. One of the crashed Core ships still had a partially active reactor. The device was sending out periodic electromagnetic bursts causing all technology to be rendered inactive after ten minutes. This is less time than any salvage crews are willing to risk their necks for let alone their time and effort. Coupled with the dangerous terrain, it was no wonder nobody wanted to touch the site. The other fallen core ships were joined further by acclamator class star destroyers in various degrees of destruction. The sands of Xorrn claimed them but if Kotii could have his way the bone yard of ships could be formed into something new for House Solus.

The only stable place was aboard the refinery station in orbit. The Bevrag'ad or 'spear fisher' was Kotii's lancer class patrol craft which was mainly used for his bounty hunting work. But the ship was smaller in size than a kom'rk class starfighter transport. The Spear Fisher landed in one of the space station's hangar bays. Kotii walked steadily down the ramp in his scatterweave coated beskar'gam. Before any salvage work was to be done, the man needed to strike a deal with local Mandalorians. The station was under their control as was a second factory on its surface. But the man hoped that maybe they would be open to a proposition. His clan needed more ships, weapons and army and the the man didn't trust anybody but other Mandalorians to produce the finest gear to outfit his kin.

@Braden

 

[Valfreyja Tysdottor]

The Mandalorian's a people who's stories and legends had drifted as far as her little mining colony so far from 'civilized' space. Valfreyja couldn't deny she had some sense of awe and amazement when meeting the Mandalorian Kotii Solus for the first time, her gaze moving across the legendary armour, her eyes looking for every kind of gadget and gizmo her mind could imagine. She was thoroughly disappointed when the armour did not live up to her childhood expectations.

Even though the childhood wonder had began to pass the opportunity to work with the legendary people brought a new sense of wonder and excitement. One that she took up with open arms, the job had gone out to the private mercenary boards in the sector and as soon as she saw the client she had put the contact keeper in an armbar until he gave her and only her the job. That was the story which got Valfreyja to the 'Bevrag'ad', she had struggled with the pronunciation of the name, Mandoa being a bit of a difficult language for her.

The job was apparently pretty simple, look big and tough, she had done it a hundred times before and probably a hundred times in the future. A simple payday, which rarely turned into anything but what was on the ticket. The ship landed with a cushioned thud, a hiss running through the ship as the hydraulics took the weight of the vessel on the bay floor. Unclipping her harness she moved quickly to gather her things, the Mandalorian was already making for the exit, his weapons neatly stored on his armour, hers were secured to the bulkhead beside her.

A blaster on her hip, the Electroripper on her back and the Light Repeater slung across her front one hand holding the barrel the other near the grip. With a quick jog through the ship she reached the top of the ramp as he stepped off, making her way down behind him. "I know we spoke about it before, but what was hello in Mandoa again? I wanna seem polite at least, even with a light reaper aimed at their junk."

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii gave Valfreyja a momentary glance as she jogged to join him. "Su cuy'gar." He answered her before continuing as they walked. "It literally means 'you're still alive'" He figured that the Deucalian could appreciate the sentiment. "But usually it also implies you deserve to be familiar with the person you're meeting." Mandalorians were not known to be especially warm to strangers. The badger doubted the type that had survived on this backwater planet were necessarily weakened if their facilities were anything to go by.

The mighty Deucalian warrior might be recognized by some Mandalorians aboard the station but Kotii was not entirely familiar with the people's history except for the occasions where they crossed over to Mandalorian battles. But his people had fought wars with plenty of people and now generations later he was working with a person of another culture without alienating them.

"You mind if I ask you a personal question?" He asked as they walked through the wide halls towards their meeting place. Then Kotii remembered he had hired the woman and so maybe asking was his business. "The lancer class isn't a huge ship..." While they were traveling it was tight quarters and easy to notice the small things even without trying. "You take regular injections...are you sick?" Either that or a drug problem. Then again that was a different type of sickness. Even Kotii liked to enjoy recreational spice from time to time but he wanted to make sure that the woman watching his back wasn't going to be hindered by any of her hobbies or injuries.

@Braden

 

[Valfreyja Tysdottor]

She smiled and thanked him, though his extra explanation on the word seemed a little dark for the context she asked it in. As they walked Valfreyja mouthed the word, trying to roll the correct letters and pronounce the vowels like Kotti, it was not her greatest skill and she was probably sure that she was already forgetting the correct way and doing it wrong but she continued as they walked through the corridors.

Her eyes glanced over as he asked if he could ask a question, she gave him a nod. Dwari were open people, anyone could join their little commune and they were advised at an early stage to answer anything they could to hopefully entice more people to join them. Valfreyja smiled when he asked about the injections. "Well technically no." She began. "To you it would be, but to me an my people it is standard." Val pulled out the small package of medical items she kept on her. "I was born on an asteroid, spent all my life on asteroids and ships. I only set foot on my first planet a year ago. We have evolved a little to help with this, but our bodies still need much an asteroid can't supply."

The rounded a corner as she placed the items back in pouch around her belt. "Stations like this mean I have to take less, but I took some gravity and iris medication encase we go down on the planet as well."

@Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii listened to the woman's explanation. It seemed likely enough and he didn't think any more of it aside from an idle curiosity. The background she described sounded hard. Valfreyja was admirable in her survival instincts if she had managed to come from that to where she was now.

"I should-" The man was about to bring up more of why they were here when the yell of someone echoed from the hall ahead quickly followed by the clang of something heavy and metallic impacting the bulkhead of the space station. Kotii stopped moving and listened to hear what came next. The noise of a Westar blaster pistol being discharged reached the Alor's ears and he drew his own side arm in his left hand.

The man arrived at the corner of a four way intersection just as the immense form of a worm curled into the remaining open space. It seemed to almost fill the open space of the corridor. Behind the visor Kotii's eyes widdened in surprise. It's front head, filled with numerous teeth spun to face the badger. The maw opened like a hiddeous flesh toned blossom but Kotii fired. Not once, not twice but three times. And good thing too. The first shot, despite the power behind the weapon, seemed to glance off the worm's hard hide. But the following two shots hit inside the thing's mouth. Both shots placed in the center mouth of the creature causing it to real back and shake in its death throws before falling to the deck fully.

The muzzle of Kotii's blackhand heavy blaster had a wisp of smoke rising off of it. The sound of more impacts against the bulkhead resounded and the man's body tensed. Sure enough, around the corner and fast approaching were two more worms of equal size and tenacity. Where they had come from, Kotii didn't know. But their exterior was tough even against heavy blasters. "Shab!" His head turned to Valfreyja so she would know he was looking at her. "More coming this way." Hopefully she would be ready to take on one if not two more of these things if she wasn't already.

@Braden