Cities Made of Glass

[Miss Blonde]

Mandalore was nothing but a burnt shell of its former self. Sure, people had come through and were attempting to rebuild much of what was lost. But it would never be the same, nothing would ever be the same. Volcanic glass covered entire cities preserving and encasing all within to be forever imprisoned in its dark hold. All of it was a tragedy, a brutal stab in the back to a proud culture that was now fighting just to stay alive. But Blonde didn't care about any of that anymore, she had buried her friend and said goodbye to the others who left. All there was for her to do now was pick the carcass clean.

It wasn't a proud or an honorable job, but it was something that needed to be done. Because if she didn't do it then someone else would, and sure she had made a fortune and a half selling the Omen, and what the Syndicate was after today would fetch nowhere near that price. But this was less about money and more about proving to herself that she didn't need to run a criminal organization. That she could make a good living as someone who salvaged and stole rare items. It worked out for everyone involved, she'd be able to make plenty of money and at the same time enjoy what she did and spend the majority of her time with the kids at home. It was a win win in her book.

But regardless of all that character exposition the job at hand was well underway. A few shuttles rocketed through the skies of Mandalore and swiftly touched down in a small urban setting, at least what was a small urban setting at one point. Now each building was caked in volcanic glass and ash, an entire city covered and destroyed. The ramp of the shuttle opened and slowly descended down to the earth below.

"I hate this $#%&ing planet." The feminine robotic laced voice of Miss Blonde spoke out and swiftly following it were the heavy steps of her walking down the ramp and onto the ground.

Wearing her infamous suit and tie, the woman and master thief held some sort of shotgun in her arms with its sling hanging loose around it. Behind her other individuals and droids began to step out on the ground and begin to get their bearings. Each wore a gas mask that matched Blonde's and everyone had come strapped. They weren't expecting any trouble but you never knew when it came to dealing with Mandalorians who wanted to "protect ze motherland." and what not.

"Alright people, you know the drill. Load up the speeder and get us going. The museum is a klick away and I want my prize. Don't make me start asking for fingers." Blonde said then waited for her men to mobilize and get their asses in gear.

"This outta be fun."

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Staring straight ahead the man stood atop a speeder, most likely not the same as The Boss, at least, he didn't think it was. Coming out of exile once again to rid himself of the dark planet's deadly grip, he kept his departure secret. Not only could he fail to feel his own force signature, he couldn't feel anyone else.

All that he was physically able to think about was that planet, as if it had taken control of him. All other thoughts came after that, A deadly cam of cat and mouse as he struggled to keep control of his brain. Luckily he managed to gain the upper hand as they stopped, looking over the edged down at whom was below him.

Of course, The Boss Lady was exiting below him. He just jumped onto a random ship and it managed to be hers. Go figure. After she had moved a few feet he drooped down, cloak swirling around his all black clothing. No fatigues this time, as they were burnt last time. Now he had simple cargo pant tucked into black combat boots, a sleeved shirt with padding as light armor.

Steeping silently, the man walked behind the main group led by the Boss, when suddenly they stopped. Being at an angle ,he had kept walking not seeing their halt, only until he was right in the heart of their midst. Cursing, he nodding greetings to those who recognized him, most commenting on the scar that ran down half his cheek to his chin.

Moving into the city to avoid being called upon, the man stopped before a heart breaking scene. At least to anyone that carried such an organ. An undistinguishable corpse lay covering a much smaller one, most likely a mother of father with their child.The parent's skull wasn't attached, instead it stood upright, a shiny gloss to it as it was now partly covered in glass. Picking it up, he stared into the glazed over pits, the darkness calling to him from the back of his mind as he lost himself to thought.

Not today. Flexing his forearm and bicep, his hand clamped down around the skull, shattering it nearly instantly. Letting the sand pour out of his hand onto the floor, he turned, only to find a fourth of the men behind him, staring. Growling, his eye flashed.

"Keep gawkin' and you'll be next."

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Blonde didn't look back at the crunching of the skull, she knew it was Nate and now wasn't the time to step back and cheerfully greet the man. Not here, not now, not with all this death and sadness surrounding them. What Nate had seen and done was far from the only tragedy around them. Wherever they stepped there were large uneven lumps of earth, burial mounds of preserved corpses left to rot in ash and silence. But the saddest part of it all, was that like everything else around them; the universe didn't bat an eye. Life continued on as if none of this had ever happened, and it even made her a bit sick to her stomach knowing that.

The speeder dropped down from the ramp of another ship, the top swiftly shifted itself into a convertible and Blonde jumped into the passenger seat. With herself and another speeder loaded with goons of various thuggish calibers, she sighed and spoke.

"Let's go, Nate. Get in." She said in almost a melancholy tone.

Resting her head against the seat, Blonde looked above and could only seen the grey skies laced with the reddened hue of volcanic destruction and death. Yes this was the best thing she could do at the moment, and while it might of felt wrong in the long run of things. Blonde knew that she had to go through with it, this was by far one of the least messed up things she had done. Yet why did it feel so wrong? She had killed thousands and never even batted an eye at it, but this was what caused her to feel?

"I don't want to look at this anymore, drive." Blonde said to her droid driver.

Hopefully Nate had jumped in, because the speeder took off down the streets and behind it the secondary one followed with it dragging something in tow.

The destination was the historical museum here on Mandalore, items collected throughout the history of this planet. While there were plenty of treasures inside she only had eyes for one.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

He had barely heard the woman, only having the sense that she was talking to him. Moving into the speeder as well, he stood in the back, arms folded neatly behind his back as he stared out into the open.

"Sea legs" helped hims remain perfectly still as the vehicle sped off, it's destination far ahead. Much like the Boss, he was thinking nearly the same thing, about how the galaxy didn't take an eye for a eye. Even a small sign of justice would've sufficed, and it got him thinking. He and his friend Dax had found a new planet, a very dark one. It's people, were slaughted by the two, the rest deeming them the "God-Kings" of a world they had killed to lead.

Where was karma? Where was the kick to the balls? Where was his death?

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

The death, the slagged buildings, the tombs of ash. All of them didn't worry her compared to what she sensed from Nate. Their feelings were in tune but she had a bit more experience when dealing with mass death and genocide as someone who had both taken part in it and who tried to safeguard the victims. So for all her experience and understanding of it, what did she know? What could anyone possibly ever know about this subject? Well, she would voice that knowledge to her friend.

"There is no meaning in death, Nate. Take that to heart. Many times we die for no reason and the universe carries on indifferent to our strife." Blonde said as she looked out at the scenery.

There was a bit of silence between the two for a while as the speeder made way to their destination. Leaning buildings of black glass looked out at her and she could feel the dread and fear behind those walls. Those final moments of the certainty of it all, the knowledge that there was no escape, and all that was guaranteed was the end. The end of everything.

"But here I should imagine the most terrible part of the guillotine is not the bodily pain at all. But the certain knowledge that your soul must quit your body and that you will no longer be a man, and that is certain, certain. That is the point, the certainty of it." Dropping a bit of literary truth, Blonde looked back at the dash and just stared at it. It was pretty much the only thing that wouldn't darken her soul by looking at it.

"We are but strangers to society, Nate. Always remember that, it's why we chose this line of work." And with those last words the speeder stopped in front of a large and intact building that while covered in volcanic glass it wasn't drooping or slagged in any way.

The structure was just a picture of its former self and this was due to it being made of Beskar to survive orbital bombardments and protect what was inside. You had to hand it to Mandalorians, they knew how to think ahead. Now they had to get inside, but before doing that she'd let her words sink in for Nate and hopefully they would help.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

His head turned slightly as she was talking, the only sign he was actually listening. That wasn't meant to be a shared thought, but when thinking too deeply he tended to forget to cover his tracks. Her words made sense, but were not exactly the truth. Not calling her a liar, but he knew sooner or later everything would come back to bite him in the ass.

It always had in the past, so why would it stop now? It wouldn't.

Not knowing how to put his thoughts into words, he just gave a simple grunt. Not the best way to communicate with the Boss, but he didn't think it would bother her too much.

He debated slipping on his mask, he had worn one through out his exile, and now the scar made one almost necessary. Deciding not to he turned, at last making eye contact with the woman. At least, as much as possible through her mask that was. If she could make out the unspoken message through the flames he was sure there she would understand. If not, she'd figure it out eventually.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Now outside the vehicle, Blonde looked over to Nate and felt a deep sadness for the man. He was so wrapped up in the ideas of karma and fate that he had not seen that which was true. Truth was none of this mattered, there was no one coming for him and if there was such a thing as karma or a God of any kind in this Galaxy; they were dead now. With so much darkness, pain, destruction, and meaningless violence there was only the choices we made and the fallout of them, nothing more and nothing less.

"You make me sad, Nate." That was all Blonde had to say to him, it might of been brutal or sounded uncaring. But very few things made her feel that way, so in her own way it was a sign to him that she cared.

Behind them the men took the cloak off the item they were dragging in tow. A large and very powerful looking artillery cannon, they swiftly set it up so it was positioned a good distance away from the obsidian and Beskar covered doors.

The idea was this. Since the volcanic eruptions and lava had probably warped the Beskar it was weakened, however coated in obsidian it was an extra layer of density. So to break that and not cause horrible damage they needed a way to blow down the doors. So a solid slug variant of an artillery shell was crafted, a massive bullet that would blow open the Beskar doors and open the museum with very little damage as compared to an explosion.

Moving towards the side and out of the way of the gun, Blonde looked to her crew who had loaded and primed the weapon. All that was left was her order.

So taking one last moment to collect herself over what she was doing, Blonde took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Fire." And after that word the cannon fired and blew down the obsidian covered Beskar doors of the building in a loud shattering bang that rang out for kilometers.

"Move in."

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Scoffing, he gave the woman a grim smile, a little surprised. "I didn't know you could feel sad Boss. I don't do it on purpose." His voice came out low, but loud enough for her to hear.

Making a heart out of his index fingers and thumbs as a sign to the woman he meant no offense. It just wasn't every day the Crime Lord you had seen level buildings says you make them sad. He just wasn't sure if it was a bad or good thing. Luckily he didn't have to ponder it much as she had the doors blown down.

Playing catch up, he followed behind the woman, no weapons visible on him. That was because he had none. However, that would have to be another story for another time.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

With her shotgun in hand, Blonde cocked the weapon by sliding it's bolt forward and having it at a low ready position. With the weapon now primed and ready she stepped into the blackness of the museum with Nate behind her. She knew even without his weapons he was a formidable opponent who could take on anyone who wanted to try and attack their rear. That was what was Blonde's biggest fear of operational concerns, the idea that someone might come up and lay siege to their salvaging operation.

With a tactical flashlight turning on, she and a few other operatives lights filled the dark main hall as they moved into the lobby area of the building. But then she saw something that made her worry and concern of the outside world drop significantly. Her light shined over what was clearly a vending machine, and there was a very disturbing fact about it.

It had been smashed open, and it's snacks were gone.

"@&#%." Cursing under her breath the woman gave a few hand signs to her men signaling them to fan out and secure their flanks.

It was possible that there were survivors. People who would need to be saved, or more importantly, witnesses. Witnesses that could identify this entire operation should they be allowed to live. Blonde hadn't quite made a decision on what to do yet, but before doing so one of her men shouted out into the darkness.

"I got a body over here!" He yelled and soon Blonde rushed over.

The sight was grizzly. A human man no older than thirty with his entrails spilled out and a few limbs missing. But what worried her most was that there were chunks taken out of him, not large enough to be the mouth of an animal, but that of a person.

"He's still warm, this was recent." He said as he knelt down to close the dead man's eyes and put his face at rest.

Looking down at the corpse, she wanted to say something. She wanted to give this man some sort of send off, but words failed her.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Looking over her shoulder he grunted at the sight, placing a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently as he moved and kneeled beside the man. He had seen many horrifying things, this wasn't something new to him, but that didn't make it any less disgusting.

Luckily, his senses were tingling now, his minds eye searching the building, the Force working with him. Stopping, his head turned, a apparently non existent sound being caught. "Give me your rifle," Taking a mans rifle, he shouldered it immediately, pointing in into the darkness and firing at what looked like nothing.

"There's your bogey Boss." A cry of pain was heard after his shot went off, handing the rifle back to goon behind him. Looking around, his eyebrows raised slightly. "No one's gonna venture out into the dark and get him fore' his ass bleeds out?"

Shrugging, he moved ahead, a ball of flames igniting in his palm as he walked down the hallway. "There's more than one by the way." Calling back seemingly unphased he mentally prepared himself to face multiple cannibals with no weapon just to clear the way for the Boss.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Blonde took a deep breath and then snapped her fingers at one of her men. Rushing past Nate they grabbed the snarling feral person that Nate had shot and dragged him over to her. What she saw almost sent a shiver down her spine. The man was pale, his teeth filled, and blood stained his mouth and hands. They had indeed resorted to cannibalism in their final moments here when food and water ran dry. Though she couldn't fault them, what had happened here was a tragedy, an act so cruel that it only bred more desperation. These people were not at fault here, and Blonde wasn't going to hold it against them.

So all she did was let her shotgun hang from her chest as her employee slammed the feral ghoul of a man on the hard ground of the museum floor. Once there she reached into her coat and pulled out her Czerka nine mil before flicking off its safety and pointing it at him. There were no words as she pulled the trigger and put one between the man's eyes. Only the sound of brain matter and blood splattering with the bang of a gunshot.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way for you. You deserved better." Placing her gun back into her coat the woman lifted back up the shotgun and made her way to Nate.

"The target is on the third floor in the primary exhibit room. I trust you can handle a few ghouls?" Blonde didn't wait for a response, she knew Nate was a heavyweight contender when it came to fighting.

"Good. Take point and if you can do me a favor..." Blonde paused for her next words for Nate.

"Make it quick." And Nate would know she was not referring to the speed in which the task was accomplished.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Stopped after the men and what used to be a man passed, he watched the woman carefully, body language, and he tried to pick up on what she was thinking. Cool and calculated, at least on the outside. He knew what lay hidden underneath that mask. And he wasn't talking about the pretty face or blue eyes.

Once or twice he had felt what she was feeling, he tended to gain mental connections with those he drew close to. Whether she counted as someone close was still up for grabs. He had a faint idea she cared, or at least acted to. But clearly she was if he could feel what she was when it came in mass quantities.

She was like him in a sense, albeit older and blonde. Underneath that calm facade was something violent and unpredictable, stress and pain only fueling it more. Dangerous and volatile, primed to explode if the right buttons were pushed. That was them. That was their life. A ticking time bomb. And it was eating them from the inside out.

Not dwelling on it too long he met her "eyes", seeing his own in the reflection as she spoke.

Make it quick.

There it was, a glimpse inside again. For a ruthless killer, she had a soft spot at times. Not a bad thing, just something he hadn't expected to learn about. "Yes Ma'am..." Turning, he took a few steps before pausing, looking over his shoulder back at her, speaking for only her to hear. "I can't make any promises when I get jumped or bit." Then he pushed on into the darkness, the shadows swallowing him.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Following Nate into the darkness, her and her team of operatives light the path ahead of the tank. They would provide support and hit the target from a distance while Nate did any up close and personal combat, at least that was the plan. There didn't seem to be anymore trouble for the first floor, it seemed that the gunfire had scared them off and they could move somewhat freely. Though in all likelihood they were amassing on the second floor to strike at them. These people had been in here for what had been perhaps a few months, and in that time they had lost themselves.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, Blonde and company moved up the first flight of stairs and made it to the second floor. Though she didn't like the look of it. Up here there were tightly knit hallways that served as walkways and standing points for the various exhibits that lined the walls. From art, to old weapons, all it it hung there displayed for a people who had lost their minds and culture.

"Stairs are on the other side. If they're gonna strike then this is the best place to do it. Stay on your toes." Blonde looked over to her men and gave a hand sign to make sure the people at the rear would walk backwards as to cover their backs.

Life sign scanners were starting to go crazy as signatures moved and shifted around them. There might of been well over a few dozen inside here when the lava struck and the resilience of their people had proven they could survive. But what this was, what survival has devolved into. Blonde could barely even recognize it as being human.

There was a loud screech of metal and a howl of hunger as a clearly malnourished woman holding a Beskad ran down the halls of the building with a few other people behind her. The blade sparked and screeched off the wall as it slid along its side.

"Incoming!"

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

His trained gaze looked up as the ascended, long legs skipping a step as she spoke. Senses had picked up the presences as soon as he got halfway up the stairs.

Lip curling up at the sight of the woman, he held up a closed fist, the universal sign for cease fire and halt. As she got within four feet of him he acted. His right heel lifted as he reached out, not caring bout the blade, even as it dug into his shoulder. Grappling with the woman, he held onto her chin, giving it a forceful twist. Not having time to worry about setting her down nicely, he let her drop, sending a savage right hook into another's chest.

There were many more still out of sight, but he had at least half a dozen blitzing him. Not moving once, he took hold of another undistinguishable being and smashed it's head through a wall, not exactly the most courteous, but it worked. Noting the fact that the Boss was still behind him, he went on the offensive. Pushing forward, he managed to snap another's spine over his knee, make two crack their skulls together and send another flying down in front of the woman, to be presumably put down with a quick one to the head.

For a brief minute, they would be fine, gibing him time to pull the hilt-deep blade from his shoulder. Blood trickled down his arm for a bit before the wound closed back up, his eyes resting on the blade. "There's only a few left, they spread out and are easy targets when they screech."

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

While Nate proceeded to go ham on the deranged mandos up front, Blonde and a few other Syndicate members were covering their rear. Powerful blasts from her shotgun rang out in the halls mixed with rifle fire and the occasional death cry. She felt so sorry for these people, to be trapped here and lose your mind as you starved in darkness. It was a fate worse than those who had been buried by volcanic ash and lava.

When things started to die down and Nate spoke to give Blonde the skinny, she gave him a firm nod that they were to proceed. But before they could pass, Blonde made sure to have her men and herself take a minute or two to finish off any wounded by giving them a quick slug or blaster to the head. It was the least they could do to put them out of their pain and madness.

"We're almost there." Having found a second set of stairs the group pushed upwards until they were at a wide and long hallway.

The main exhibit room was dead ahead past the hall and on the other side of what looked to be a blast door. It seemed the emergency systems had sealed off the room to prevent any looting from occurring. They'd have to get their way past it without using explosives that might damage their prize.

"Handle it, Nate. If you need help I got you." Blonde said as she let a bit of force power flow in her right hand in order to feed it to Nate should he have trouble in removing the door.

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Nodding in conformation, he cracked his knuckles, flames once again igniting in his palms, but this time much hotter as the flames burned white. The blast door had a few centimeter gap in between the two panels, which he panned to exploit. Forcing his fingers into the door, all could probably see the metal start to turn bright orange, his fingers and hands soon pushing through.

Giving a grunt of exertion, he pulled his arms apart slowly, the door creaking, but not opening. Growling, he set his feet and pulled again, his hands melting through as he slowly pulled the doors apart. Moving his foot to push against it as well, it finally opened completely, two semi-melted patches of orange shaped in his hand on each side.

Turning to look back at her, he grinned wickedly, like a child in a candy store. "You should put me on demo more often Boss."

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Blonde got what she wanted. There it was just sitting there in a display case at the center of the room. But if only that was it. Around the exhibit there were men and women dressed in the infamous armor of the Mandalorian people. Their bodies and husks lay still and unmoving and it was clear they were dead. Leaning against the display case with his back to it, the corpse of some brave mandalorian sat there with a pistol in his hand waiting for whoever would come to take this artifact. So Blonde didn't say anything to Nate out of respect for the dead. All she did was silently look over the scene of those who waited for the help that never came.

Once she had her fill of sadness she began moving into the room. The crime lord then sighed and made her way up to the glass. Gently setting aside the man's corpse, she gave him a soft pat on the helmet and whispered something to him. Something that would be out of earshot for Nate and be Blonde's little secret.

Once respects were paid, Blonde stood up from her kneeling position and put her hand on the case. There it was as pristine and beautiful as ever. The armor of Boba Fett. A piece of history that stretched back before the battle of Yavin, and it was hers now. Well more accurately is was whoever she sold it to's. But that wasn't important. Right now she needed to secure the cargo and get out of there.

"You guys, grab it and let's go." There was no more time to waste on ceremony.

"Thank you, Nate. I'll cut you in on the profits."

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Nodding respectively, his eyes landed on the armor, actually pretty surprised that was what they came after. If only he could fit into it. Alas there wasn't much he could fit into, the borderline giant was rather large.

Moving beck down the hallway he looked at the wall, tracing his finger over a few lines etched into the metal. Hearing her voice he turned, looking at the woman as her men moved to retrieve the case. "Pleasure was all mine." Looking over her shoulder, he watched as they grabbed the cargo, placing it inside another, larger box to carry out. "You sure you don't need anything else?"

[member="Miss Blonde"]