And in this Corner, the Master of Disaster...

[Beowoof]

Mehrk Gorbi had visited Utapau about a year ago, taking on a role with some racially-charged organization that never established its roots and left him to fend for himself as the sinkhole planet was conquered by the Confederacy. Long story short, the Gungan wanted the money that had been promised him initially but it seemed that the leaders of the alien league had either been killed off or worse. Maybe it was for the best that they cut ties with him.

Still, the trip was not a complete disappointment. The muggy climate was optimal by his standards and his skin had completely rehabilitated after his last job on Tatooine. It seemed like he had a knack for getting involved with incompetent crusaders. Strict bounty hunting seemed to be the way to go these days.

Lazing about was not getting him anywhere, either, and Mehrk was currently rounding the cascade, noting each ship on the cut out landing decks and checking his nearly empty pocketbook repeatedly to make sure he really was that broke. He wondered who the local crime boss might be and what errand they might hire him for.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

The Barabel Nai' Frerstal squeezed through a narrow alley into a bustling hub of activity, in the sinkhole of Pau City. A near unconscious Ughnaut lay on the ground, huddled over and gripping a broken battle. The criminal looked disgusted at the small being, as he gave the man a disdainful shake of the head. He was on Utapau to find and "persuade" a local crime lord, having been hired by an anonymous source. Nai was thrilled to be back in action, having had little to no missions or contracts in the past couple of weeks. He walked into a small shipyard, and looked around at the civilians, seeing if they might be any of the crime lord's goons.

[member=Mehrk Gorbi]

 

[Beowoof]

Now, this was fascinating. Mehrk had not come across too many Barabels in his not-so-illustrious career. He was reminded of one such encounter on Nal Hutta, involving a bounty scramble that turned into a police chase. The Gungan sniffed in disgust. Actually, this one looked awful familiar--or was it even possible to tell the reptilians apart?

It might be nothing, but it might be a big score. Mehrk shrugged and tugged on the straps of his backpack, making sure it was situated snugly and securely. He would follow this scaled fellow and see what his business was.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

As he looked around, he saw a distinct figure among the crowd. A tall and large Gungan stood in the crowd, walking around with the pedestrians. He reminded him of the bounty hunter that trailed him on Nal Hutta, after Nai killed one of his clan members, and unceremoniously ended the Life Marsh Trade Convention. He squinted at the Gungan, as he turned and left the building. Nai had a bad feeling that this was the same guy, and he'd be damned if he let him get the upper hand.

 

[Beowoof]

There was a moment when they made eye contact, the reptilian and the amphibian both gazing at each other with a look of recognition. The Gungan scowled as the Barabel began to place distance between them and he gripped the handle of his old, reliable E-5 blaster. But there were civilians all around and it was a bad idea to make everyone hate him if he turned out to be mistaken about the reptilian's identity--though he was ninety-five percent sure that he was not mistaken.

Picking up pace with long, loping strides, Mehrk began shadowing his target.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

When [member=Mehrk Gorbi] began shadowing him, he was literally shadowing him. With one quick glance behind him, he saw the towering Gungan trailing him. Nai' Frerstal quickly turned down a dark and slick alleyway, and hid. The Barabel equipped a small but useful silencer on his generic blaster, and he patiently waited for the Gungan to walk through the alley. He had managed to silence his breathing, but a small glint shined off of his scales, and he hoped the Mehrk didn't noticed.

 

[Beowoof]

It had to be the same guy. Mehrk was convinced as the scaled one split down an alley after he had taken a quick glance at him. The Gungan snarled, half-pleased that he was once more on the trail of a sizable bounty, but half-aggravated that his quarry had spotted him.

Wary of a surprise waiting for him in the shadowy alley, Mehrk took his blaster in hand and held it in ready position, attempting to distinguish something in the dark corridor. Suddenly, a flare of reflected light glistened within the depths of the blackness and the Gungan's eyes widened. Firing wildly off-target, the tall amphibian leaped sideways in an attempt to dodge whatever was coming his way.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

The blaster shot sped off into the distance, causing some pedestrians to approach the alleyway. However, Nai' Frerstal remained perfectly still, tense and worried, but still. He hoped the Gungan would nothing of the glint, and when he turned around, BAM, he has a shot in his back. Nai didn't even breathe, when a Duros man entered the alleyway.

[member=Mehrk Gorbi]

 

[Beowoof]

No fire. Why was there no return fire? The Gungan had sworn he saw something dead ahead, glimmering in the darkness like the barrel of a polished DL-44. But his shot had gone unacknowledged, save for a Duros who happened to be in the vicinity. Where had the Barabel gone?

Maybe the Duros was a contact. There may have been a package dropped off by the scaly one, though how he had managed such a hasty disappearance was puzzling.

Keeping low to the ground with his blaster aimed ahead, Mehrk kept silent in the shadows, allowing his eyes to begin adjusting to the dim lighting and watining to see if the Duros would do something of the shady sort.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

The Duros man looked into the dim hallway, and then scurried in off in fear when seeing the imposing Gungan. However, Nai' Frerstal had tilted the rim of his blaster to where it was pointing at [member=Mehrk Gorbi]'s torso, and pulled the trigger. The Duros had nearly tripped over himself, and started sprinting, as Nai sprung up and pulled out his double bladed knife, prepared for a bloody fight.

 

[Beowoof]

Mehrk saw the blast and attempted to duck the fire.

Nope. At 2.06 meters, ducking was not exactly optimal. He dropped to the ground in pain as the plasma beam connected with his left shoulder. Growling and swearing at his adversary, the Gungan rolled onto his left side despite the blaster burn in order to raise his dominant, weapon-wielding hand. He fired three shots in succession at the lunging Barabel. Tense, he sucked in an immense volume of air through his snout in preparation of more pain, expecting a slash from one of the murderer's vibroblades if his shots missed their mark.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

Nai's eyes glistened from the reflection of hot burning plasma. The Barabel gritted his teeth, as one shot grazed his flexed elbow, and another slammed into his right leg. Now, the blaster bolt wouldn't do any harmful damage to him thanks to his scales, but KARK did it hurt! The final shot went right between his legs, hitting the wet and slimy wall. The criminal fell to a knee, and with his left hand massaging his leg, he fired off a quick series of 5 shots a [member=Mehrk Gorbi], hoping that it would finally kill the thorn in his side.

 

[Beowoof]

Mehrk was not interested in a firefight. Dying on your knees without even laying a finger on your attacker was not a warrior's way. He scrambled to his feet and launched a vibroblade at the Barabel, aiming for his abdomen.

He jerked his snout and dodged the five red bolts that whizzed past his face--only he did not quite dodge them well enough. His left lop ear felt aflame as every shot pierced through them, riddling it with holes. Endorphins pumping wildly through his body, he screamed and lunged at his rival for a tackle, trying to knock the blaster out of the reptile's hand with a flying elbow.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

" YOU'Z KARKING GUNGAN! " Nai howled, as the sheer pain and rage coursed through his body. He fell to his knees, and ripped the spear out of his abdomen. The Barabel slowly brought himself up, and then charged [member=Mehrk Gorbi]. He stabbed at his left ear, hoping it would pierce through his skin. Right as he let the vibroblade fly, he unsheathed his double-bladed knife, and slashed and jabbed at the amphibious creature. Nai was fueled by pure rage, the knife, a silver blur.

 

[Beowoof]

The blade tore through his floppy ear, damaging it further than it had already been from the blaster shots. He was not going to look so great after this. All that was on his mind now was survival. He had not expected this sort of fight when he had tailed the Barabel and realized the potentially fatal error he had made.

His opponent sliced the air with a double-bladed knife, ripping his clothes and slashing at his arms. Blood was leaking everywhere and it was time to put an end to it. The Gungan grabbed his enemy behind his scaly neck and raised his knee to thrust it into the reptilian's open stomach wound, hopefully disabling him. Then, with one swift motion, Mehrk pulled his electropole out from the loops of his pack and stabbed for the murderer's back, triggering the electric charge.

"Yousa be dyin'! Yousa be dyin'!!" Gorbi growled in rage.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

The blade tore through his floppy ear, damaging it further than it had already been from the blaster shots. He was not going to look so great after this. All that was on his mind now was survival. He had not expected this sort of fight when he had tailed the Barabel and realized the potentially fatal error he had made.

His opponent sliced the air with a double-bladed knife, ripping his clothes and slashing at his arms. Blood was leaking everywhere and it was time to put an end to it. The Gungan grabbed his enemy behind his scaly neck and raised his knee to thrust it into the reptilian's open stomach wound, hopefully disabling him. Then, with one swift motion, Mehrk pulled his electropole out from the loops of his pack and stabbed for the murderer's back, triggering the electric charge.

"Yousa be dyin'! Yousa be dyin'!!" Gorbi growled in rage.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

" GRAH! ! " Nai howled as he slumped to the wet floor, sprawled on the bloody ground in a fetus position. Thankfully, thanks to him writhing in pain on the floor, the spear for the most part missed the Barabel. But not completely. It grazed his back, sending a large electric shock through his body, causing him to arch his spine in pain. He was howling in pain, but he slowly got back up, knife in hand. The weapons were behind the Barabel, and if [member="Mehrk Gorbi"] wanted them, he had to get through the enraged killer in front of him. Nai flung himself at the Gungan with incredible speed, hoping to tackle him and knock him to the floor.

 

[Beowoof]

Mehrk was a strong Gungan. A very strong Gungan. Years of hunting and service in the Gungan Guard had beaten him into the tough warrior he had become. And yet Nai' seemed even stronger. As he thrust yet another jab at the scaly criminal, his hulking rival rammed into his gut and brought them both to the ground, with Mehrk underneath. His spear flew out of his hand and rolled harmlessly towards the alley wall, leaving both fighters now weaponless.

The Gungan had lost the advantage and he was not sure if he would be making it out of this one alive. But he was a warrior with a resolve of steel. He would keep kicking as long as there was blood flowing through his brain--though there might not be much left, considering how his arms had changed color from their khaki pigment to a shrill crimson, oozing all over both combatants along with the river of blood leaking from the Barabel's stomach.

Mehrk repeatedly spit into the reptilian's eyes and clamped his fingers around his neck. Nai' had already survived a wicked attempt at decapitation last time they met, so the Gungan wasted no time attempting to crush his neck. He was searching for the main arteries.

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]

 

[Nai' Frerstal]

" YOU'Z DUMB GUNGAN'Z! " Nai wickedly cackled. The Gungan did have a strong and tough grip, but when you go in hand-to-hand combat with a Barabel, it's not a smart move. The grip had caused a singled scale to flake off his skin, and under those scales lie a thick and tough layer of fat. Barabels weren't the easiest to pierce with ones bare hands.

But it didn't help his breathing.

Nai began coughing rapidly, when he sent a weighty knee at [member=Mehrk Gorbi]'s gut, and if his grip let up, his hands would go to the Gungans neck and would slam his head against the wall.

 

[Beowoof]

Mehrk felt his stomach compressed as the Barabel's knee slammed into him. With all his willpower, he attempted to maintain his grip on Frerstal's neck and sneak his iron fingers in further through the fatty layer and hopefully to an artery. But they were both in immense pain and the Gungan could not keep his hold. He lost his hold on his enemy's neck and found his head smashed into the wall behind him. His tongue reflexively shot out of his mouth and spittle burst at Frerstal's face.

This was it--do or die. Mehrk was beginning to lose cognition, struggling just to retain consciousness. He glared into the eyes of his adversary for a moment before an insane smile crept across his snout, a glob of bloody drool spilling to the ground. A sinister sneer developed and the Gungan produced an eerie chuckle. Suddenly, he shoved his right arm forward and inserted his hand into the Barabel's stomach wound where he tugged at whatever his hand came across.

"Yousa... bein' at... mesa's mercies..."

[member="Nai' Frerstal"]