Diamond in the Rough [ME vs TC]

[Gauntlet]

The explosion marred the ice black behind him, and forced Gauntlet into a brief stumble.

Alarms began to sound across the complex. With reports coming in that other such facilities were now under attack as well. Unlike the well-fortified dome cities across the frozen world, the remote pit mines were never meant to withstand a direct assault. Reinforcements were many minutes out, which did not bode well for the skeleton defenders; Gauntlet among them.

The old merc found cover behind a durasteel ore container. Tall enough to cover him head to toe, and wide enough to withstand impressive firepower. For the moment a number of security personnel took up similar positions nearby. Most of which were Arkanian Offshoots, their lineages designed specifically for this job. They were a bit bigger than your typical Arkanian, and their brains wired for low empathy and greater stability in the face of conflict. They were the kind of men that Gauntlet could respect.

But respect isn't going to win battles.

He slung the disruptor rifle off his back. "Try this on for size." He grunted, raising the rife from behind cover and landing three shots to the ice ceiling above. The powerful blasts melted through the ice, cracking it and sending debris down towards the front of their defensive line.

Anyone in the way would run risk of being crushed by several hundred pounds of ice. Beskar or not, there was no walking away from that.

Engaging: [member="Jor Kvall"]

Allies: [member="Evoros"] | [member="Whisper"] | [member="The Matador"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"]
Enemies: [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Tal Vizsla"] | [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Kervo Namadi"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"]

 

[Mara Kellarov]

OBJECTIVE: Protect the Diamond Mines
ALLIES: [member="Evoros"] | [member="The Matador"] | [member="Gauntlet"] | [member="Whisper"] | The Collective
ENEMIES: [member="Tal Vizsla"] | [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"] | [member="Kervo Namadi"] | The Mandalorian Empire
TO ENGAGE: [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"]

The sound of drop pods landing was not knew to Mara, and she could hear as more streaked down through the atmosphere and hit the ground some ways off. Her thoughts turned to discerning who could be attacking, and the use of the drop pods took out a couple of options.

It wasn't Sith, at least from Mara's experience. Albeit, her knowledge of them mainly revolved around the One Sith, especially when they were still around. She had yet to interact greatly with the rising Sith Empire.

But even then, it never struck her as a very 'Sith' thing to have their soldiers land like this. So she asked the one source that was reliable for that. Evoros

"Can you sense anything?" While Mara wasn't Force sensitive, there was the ever constant belief that Non-Force users could develop a 'sense' whenever amongst them. The general idea being that it stemmed from being near Sith and Dark Jedi, with their overwhelming presence; their dark emotions flowing out from them and forming an unnatural feeling in those around.

It still wasn't something Mara could rely on.

Both woman moved at an even pace, a brisk jog that didn't immediately sap at their stamina as they moved towards and up the hill. Mara immediately dropped to the ground, laying flat as she pulled her sniper into her hands. Her heads-up display adjusted, bringing the scope up and began to scout out the impact zone further ahead.

Several drop pods littered the ground, a number of them were open with their occupants departing and moving on. There were others that remained closed, and no one seemed to bother to check on them.

More clues to who their mysterious attackers were. Mara patched herself into the Collective's encrypted channel, listening in to the chatter coming from elsewhere. There were a few near the same entrance Ra Vizsla's group was. It was the sight of the massive droid landing that caught Mara's attention.

A basilisk.

Mandalorians were attacking them.

"Your call." Mara settled in, ready to begin firing at the enemy on Evoros' word.

 

[Tal Vizsla]

Allies: The Mandalorian Empire
Enemies: The Collective | [member="The Matador"]


The man was trying to be clever, completely reversing the momentum of his massive weapon to shift the strike to the other side. Unfortunately, all it would achieve is the wasting of precious energy. Though the man seemed to have realized his mistake as the barrier winked out of existence around them.

His right hand, already rising to intercept the blade, would simply continue its course upwards as the man halted, then re-adjusted the progress of his weapon, fighting its momentum rather than using it. He would seek to grip the man's blade just above the hilt, well before it had covered even half the intended distance. His left hand, meanwhile, would surge forward to drive toward his opponents ribs, using his own forward momentum in addition to the strength of his flesh and armor to strike hard and check the progress of the other man, hitting with enough force to lift him off his feet. With a grip on the blade and the force of the punch throwing him off-balance and robbing him of his footing, it would be a simple matter to pull the man around and drop him back-first into the snow.

Such was the plan, at any rate.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

OBJECTIVE: Collective Assistance, Protect the Diamond Mines. Eliminate Mandalorian Forces.
ALLIES: [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="Evoros"] | Collective
ENEMIES: [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"] | Mandalorian Empire
​Engaging: [member="Tal Vizsla"]

​The Matador's blade was caught in the shift of his movement, causing him to shift uncomfortably as his left foot rose to leave the ground. His opponents right hand clashed against Oribuir's orange plasma, the Beskar Iron sizzling and brightening in response however unmoved by the friction against the saber. His opponent moved with greater speed, his left fist collided with The Matador's lower torso. The thick plating collided with a pang, the gel layer absorbed a portion of the strike yet the momentum caused the Matador to move backward an inch, his Dravalan bones were not phased; however. Rattled somewhat at the raw strength of his opponents strike, yet not damaged beyond a sudden shift in his momentum.

​The Matador's opponents right hand was between the two of his own, allowing him a strike with his right hand that gripped the lower part of his blade to be attempted without as much of a defence from his opponent. The Matador released his grip on the edge of Oribuir, his fist swinging around the back of his opponent with a force enhanced strike, his mastery of his force body coming to its fullest extent as the strike aimed for his opponents kidney, striking at his lower back with a hand that moved at blinding speed; with strength that could shatter and crush even the toughest of armour, his crush-gaunt also exponentially increasing the blow's force.

​If it didn't kill the Mandalorian, the Matador was sure it would take him out of the fight.

 

[Jor Kvall]

/// [member="Gauntlet"] \\\​

If Jor had taken but a few steps further, he would have found himself a permanent resident of the mines of Arkania. His fellow Mandalorians descended into the mine behind him, the more impetuous ones venturing further. One of his brothers was unlucky enough to find himself underneath the ice sheets as they fell from the ceiling. They would bury him until not a trace of him remained. There was no time to mourn his fallen brother; Jor wanted the man with the disruptor rifle, the one who had caused the blast to begin with. Maybe he was the leader.

Jor and others took cover behind the hard ceiling debris which now separated the attackers from the defenders, and lifted his slugthrower over the top of his cover, unloading several shots in Gauntlet's direction.

 

[Darth Athora]

Objective 3 - Secure comms for the Empire
Allies: Mandalorian Empire - [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Tal Vizsla"] | [member="Ronan Vizsla"]
Enemies: The Collective - [member="The Matador"] | [member="Evoros"] | [member="Gauntlet"] | [member="Mara Kellarov"]
Engaging: [member="Whisper"]

"Things just got interesting." Kervo said to himself as he journeyed across the battlefield. The Collective were quite a bit more prepared than he had anticipated. Better for him. He did not want this attack to be a cake walk and the Collective gave him exactly what he did want.

Kervo was tasked with securing the comms so that his people would be able to coordinate the attack. That also required defending the location in case the Collective tried taking it back. He found himself near the comms hub and engaged some Collective agents. His axes found themselves in their skulls, killing them viciously and swiftly. He laughed boisterously as he walked into the comms hub, he spotted a little girl fiddling with the controls. "What you doing here, kid?" Blood dripped from his axes as he stared the girl down.

 

[Tal Vizsla]

Allies: The Mandalorian Empire
Enemies: The Collective


The moment the man released his own blade, the pressure Tal had been applying would force it back toward his own body. As he twisted to deliver his force-powered punch, Tal would push harder on the blade, shoving it up and back into the man's presumably less well-armored armpit, plasma sheathing and all. He knew that most mandalorian armors were not like his, and did not have the resistance of bes'kar throughout the body glove, but rather used armorweave instead. A substance with only mild lightsaber resistance, and almost no protection at all against a physical blade.

Regardless of how the man was affected by the traitorous weapon, there was still the matter of the kidney shot to deal with, and deal with it he would. While his right hand was occupied with attacking [member="The Matador"] with his own blade, his left was pulling back from the punch he had just delivered, a fact the man seemed to have overlooked. It was no difficult task to sweep the arm down, back, and out, catching the incoming forearm on his own and turning what would have been a solid hit into something less than a glancing blow, deflected before it could ever reach its target.

 

[Gauntlet]

Did Gauntlet find satisfaction in the impromptu burial of a Mandalorian? Maybe.

For now though he had more pressing matters to engage with. Gauntlet peered out from behind his cover to line another shot when a slug rifle opened fire upon him. The first two hard rounds dinked off of his cover, but the third hit him directly in the chest. Leaving an indentation about half an inch deep and giving the man a bruised rib.

He would have grimaced at the pain, but the ungodly cocktail of stimulants and other battle drugs numbed his pain centers.

Instead it felt like pressure. A lot of pressure.

Gauntlet swept back behind cover, as a fourth shot barely missed his head. The two sides continued to exchange fire. A Mandalorian would die there, and a security guard would too. For the time being things were kept equal. Not as optimistic as it sounds considering they were currently outnumbered three to one.

With less than little patience, Gauntlet rolled out from cover and fired blindly with his disruptor into the crowd of Mandalorians behind ice, landing in the direction of cover he created earlier. Behind the large ice boulder he crouched.

[member="Jor Kvall"]

 

[Jor Kvall]

/// [member="Gauntlet"] \\\​

Jor was sure at least one of his shots had connected with the enemy, but the torrent of rifle fire in the cold subterranean chambers of ice made it hard to distinguish anything. The battle lines seemed relatively stable, but the Mandalorians were fortunate to have a numbers advantage, which meant that pure attrition would allow them to push the enemy back. But Jor wanted the leader. He wanted to claim the trophy of his worthy opponent in a glorious struggle of mortal combat.

He saw Gauntlet move behind cover after firing his disruptor rifle. The energy wave completely disintegrated a Mandalorian next to him, practically turning him to ashes in his armor. That weapon was impressive - he would need to get his hands on one at some point. Jor knew that the only way to fight against such a weapon was to close the gap. He slung his slugthrower behind his back and unfurled his blaster pistol, combined with another concussion grenade.

Jor moved out of cover and charged Gauntlet's position, rapidly firing his blaster at the ice block he crouched behind in an effort to keep him pinned down. His effort did not go unnoticed by an enemy soldier or two - he felt the singe of blaster fire burning his skin through a weak spot in his armor. Jor relentlessly kept his charge going though, firing rapidly into the ice block, and finishing by pitching his primed grenade behind it.

 

[Gauntlet]

Gauntlet ducked behind the ice boulder once again. Unable to sustain his fire as the Mandalorian charged his position guns blazing.

When the grenade flew over his head, the old merc cursed and leapt over the cover which soaked up most of the explosive force. The little pieces of ice sent skyward began to float down around the two of them like snow. Gauntlet strapped the disruptor around his back and began to charge his opponent with both pistols drawn and firing.

In the climax of their engagement, the Collective security forces took sight of Gauntlet for inspiration, and offered him suppressive fire against the numerous Mandalorians backing Jor. Perhaps it was dumb luck that he had managed to get this far without being shot down like a rabid dog. Or perhaps the Mandalorians recognized a challenge and would let the two sort it out on their own.

Either way, this battle was going to end in someone's favour.

[member="Jor Kvall"]

 

[Evoros]

ALLIES: [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="Gauntlet"] | [member="Whisper"] | [member="The Matador"] | The Collective
ENEMIES: [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Tal Vizsla"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"] | Mandalorian Empire

"Not yet."

She was as well versed as anyone in her profession on the powers across the galaxy and especially near them. Understanding risks was the first part of tackling them, after all. But what common sense and powers of deduction couldn't tell her, senses weren't making up for.

Yet, anyway.

_________​

​

Under her breath, Evoros swore as she caught sight of the droid.

Oh, it made sense. It made perfect sense. But sensible bad news was still bad news, and this looked like very bad news indeed.

Her sniper shifted its sights and her mind raced. There was plenty at risk for the Collective if this wasn't handled, and fast. Not so much that they'd never recover, but enough. Goodbye, diamond mines. Goodbye, civilians. Hello, disorder. (Ugh, straightening out the panic this caused would be dreadfully tedious.)

But for her?

She and Mara were still hidden. Losing battle or not, they had some level of advantage at least for now. They'd make it out of this alive. And when they did--when, not if--her paycheck depended on having dealt with as many of their attackers as she could.

"You even have to ask?" the agent replied, helmet hiding her smirk. Index finger curled round the trigger -
ready
aim
fire.

 

[Ra Vizsla]

Objective 1: Raid the Diamond Mines of Arkania
Allies: The Mandalorian Empire - [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"] | [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Tal Vizsla"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Ra Vizsla"]
Enemies: The Collective | [member="The Matador"] | [member="Evoros"] | [member="Whisper"] | [member="Mara"] Kellerov​

The entrance to the mines collapsed. The thunderous approach of the Undying was at hand.

He could feel it.

He could taste it.

Kyber.

They had reached somewhat questionable intelligence that down here in the mines of Arkania, there was actually a very rare repository of Kyber crystals among the diamonds. Ra wasn't just here for wealth. He had brought the Empire here for something more. A greater destiny than just raiding and pillaging. Kyber crystals.

And upon entering the mines, his diagnostics had gone insane, scanners revealing a large presence of the unique crystals. Of course diamond miners weren't after it.

Why would they?

They would fail to see the potential. And the Mandalorians had their plans. As the battlefield between the Collective and the Mando'ade grew, Ra moved undisturbed to find the largest crystal he could, grabbing the magnetic grappling hook off the back of Black Sky and heading into the mines.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

OBJECTIVE: Collective Assistance, Protect the Diamond Mines. Eliminate Mandalorian Forces.
ALLIES: [member="Mara Kellarov"] | [member="Evoros"] | Collective
ENEMIES: [member="Ra Vizsla"] | [member="Ronan Vizsla"] | [member="Jor Kvall"] | [member="Tahn Vizsla"] | Mandalorian Empire
​Engaging: [member="Tal Vizsla"]


​Oribuir did not move an inch, as much as his attacker may have wished for it to do so; the blade had only begun to unsteady itself in there wrestling grips as his opponent pushed away his strike with the weight of his arm. The Matador pulled back, twisting his torso as Oribuir rose between his pauldron and breastplate, allowing his opponent to push the blade towards his underarm, using his opponents own momentum as his body increase speed, his body imbued with the force as both hands returned to the hilt; he took two steps backward, the second pushing him back several feet mid-motion as he brought Oribuirs hilt to his waist, holding the blade sideways and now entirely out of his opponents reach. A different tactic would be necessary.

 

[Tal Vizsla]

Allies: The Mandalorian Empire.
Enemies: The Collective.


Tal let him go. He could have kept his grip on the blade, preventing the man's retreat by simple virtue of his own much greater mass, but he had something else in mind for him. Instead, the hammer he'd dropped in the snow behind him leaped to his hand, even as his shield flew from his back to his left gauntlet. The man wanted a melee? He would get a melee.

"Is that all you've got? I was expecting a warrior."

He didn't wait for a response. He simply drew back and hurled the hammer head-first at the other man's torso; a blow strong enough to kill him outright, even ensconced in armor as he was.

 

[Jor Kvall]

/// [member="Gauntlet"] \\\​

Jor's Mandalorian allies woult not interfere with his battle. There was honor to be had in single combat, and they knew that.

His battle with the Collective mercenary had escalated into the two combatants simply charging each other, guns blazing. Jor's grenade turned the ice surrounding Gauntlet into a hailstorm of shards, as both were now rapidly closing in on each other, each of them firing their blasters.

Jor felt his armor get singed with blaster fire from his enemy, doubtless Gauntlet was feeling the same. But he could not let that stop him. He used the hits to fuel his adrenaline as he closed the gap, knowing that the only thing left to do was to get physical with his opponent.

When the gap between the two of them evaporated, Jor lowered his shoulder and threw his weight towards his opponent to knock him down.

 

[Gauntlet]

Shot for shot and the two warriors of different codes felt the heat of battle press down on their plate and flesh.

Gauntlet dropped his blasters when Jor rammed him like a loose kath hound. Rather than go down on his back, he used all his might to shift Jor's weight sideways to send the two of them into spiral.

As they rolled along the ground, Gauntlet attempted to land a blow against Jor's jaw.

The stims continued to flow through his blood, now mixing heavily with the adrenaline as well. The concoction allowed Gauntlet to ignore most of the damage being done to his body, but at great cost. The more the merc exerted himself, the more likely he was to pass out from sheer exhaustion without even realizing it.

If this battle was going to end, it would have to end soon. Victory or stalemate. Not defeat. That was his plan now.

[member="Jor Kvall"]

 

[Jor Kvall]

/// [member="Gauntlet"] \\\​

Jor's opponent used his energy to transfer him downwards, and down he went. But not before Jor grabbed onto the other warrior and pulled him down with him.

The fight had devolved into little more than barbaric, close-quarters grappling. Jor allowed the punch to his jaw to connect - he was still wearing his helmet, after all, and even though the fist bounced his head inside his helmet and disoriented him, perhaps it did more damage to the other man's knuckles.

Jor counterattacked by thrusting his head forward to headbutt Gauntlet while the two were grappling on the ground. Jor's only choice was to hit him where he had no armor.

 

[Whisper]

Things were not going good, at all. The slicer known as Whisper began to sweat as the sounds of battle entered the mine she was in, as her hands connected wires, components, and other things. Quick, quick, quick, she needed to work quick. She wasn't a fighter, and the Collective weren't the type for open battle. They were agents and assassins, not soldiers. Whoever was attacking, they clearly were.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" She muttered to herself as those sounds got closer, and closer, and closer. "Chit, chit, chit, chit!" Almost, almost, almooooooost-

And it was over. The enemy was upon her. Whisper whirled her head around, eyes wide with fear. She swallowed dryly. A Mandalorian. Of course it was a Mandalorian. Her small form trembled, and her mouth opened, but no speech came out. She was dead. She was so, so dead. Unless she could think quickly.

"T-Thank the Force you've come! T-These guys, they kidnapped me. They were going to hold me for ransom, my parents are rich miners on a nearby mining colony, in an asteroid. They lessened the guards when you attacked, a-and I was able to escape. I was making a comms jammer, to confuse them."

[member="Kervo Namadi"]

 

[Gauntlet]

Gauntlet felt the heads connect. Even the stims couldn't stop him from feeling its effects.

His vision shook and hearing rang, suddenly things were less clear to him than they were before. All he knew was he had to keep fighting. He had to give himself leverage.

As quickly as he could, the mercenary opted to wrap his arms around the Mandalorian's head; trying to pry off the helmet from Jor's armour.

Elsewhere in the mines as the fighting continued, word went through that reinforcements were only two minutes out. The remaining defenders would just have to sit tight until they arrived.

[member="Jor Kvall"]

 

[Jor Kvall]

/// [member="Gauntlet"] \\\​

When Gauntlet tried to pry off Jor's helmet, it wouldn't budge. The straps kept it firmly in place. Instead of Gauntlet's intended maneuver, Jor's chin strap ended up choking him as his opponent pulled up on it.

Wincing in pain as the chin strap tightened around his neck, Jor knew the only option was to let it go. With one hand he reached up to unbuckle the chin strap before his windpipe was crushed.

With his other hand, he grabbed hold of the vibroknife at his waist. Seeing a potential opening, he decided to strike while both of his opponent's arms were occupied.

He thrust upward with the vibroknife at Gauntlet's armpit, presumably in the space between his armor.