Eye of The Tiger

[Kaia Verd]

Ryloth... a planet that seemed so far behind the rest of the galaxy in technology that it was almost laughable. But that wasn't to say that the planet was not dangerous, there was plenty of dangerous and deadly fauna. None the less where the money was that is where Kaia went. On this certain night Kaia and her father [member="Isley Verd"], had been contracted to take down a slaver that was supposedly taking his slaves off of this planet.

The small girl was dressed in her standard armor, a full set of Beskar'gam. She had done so much training in this armor that it had become like a second skin to her. She stood upon a ridge of a mountain looking over the trap they had laid for the slaver. She had paid off the men of the village to play along with the charade, she figured that the man would arrive just outside of the village which he had frequented. When he went into the village to gather the men that would be Kaia's time to strike, she would take a few steps before jumping off the ledge she stood on, she would freefall for a couple of seconds before activating the jetpack that was on her back. It slowed her fall to a gentle glide.

Upon landing gently on the ground she would sneak aboard the man's ship and disable his engines making his ship unable to move before heading for the village to confront him her father was hopefully right behind her

 

[Isran Varad]

She had come so far.

[member="Safira Varad"] always chastised the Mandalorian for operations such as these. It was not that taking their child into dangerous missions was the issue - for that was their way of life. The issue was the notion that warfare was the only act of fatherhood Isley was capable of. When it came to educating the young Lioness before him, the warrior was second to none. At every moment, he would drill fundamentals into her skull - demanding that Kaia be ready at a moment's notice should the world go to chit. Hell, he even had her sleeping with a blaster under her pillow since the tender age of nine. But, in the eyes of his beloved, there should be more than bounties and missions. There should be more than expecting Kaia to leap fearlessly into battle after battle.

And as the Mandalorian laid in wait alongside his daughter, the thought temporarily lingered in his mind. Frankly, the warrior did not know anything else. His upbringing had been identical to the one he offered to his child - so what else could he be? What else could he impart? Pats on the back? Bah. Isley shook his head slightly, dismissing the thoughts before focusing at the task at hand. Though Ryloth had become an iconic member world of the Confederacy, the underworld still attempted to clutch at her beauty. Slavers, under the cover of night, attempted to ply their craft despite the efforts of the southern systems. And, while the powers that be had armies at their disposal, this vermin was much akin to cockroaches.

Scattering at the first sign of light.

Thus, contracts fell to sellswords such as the budding Clan Verd. For a handsome heap of credits, they would stamp out the slaver menace. And today, Isley left the planning and execution in the hands of his daughter. It was the first time that he had trusted her entirely with the totality of a mission, and thus far the trap she had laid seemed by the book. Disable the ship? Check. Bait laid? Check. All that remained was going in for the kill. And thus, as Kaia finished up rendering the slaver's vessel inert, the Mandalorian followed close behind. With blaster rifle in hand, he lowered to a crouch. The mere batting of his eyelids kicked on his HUD and magnified the zoom of what laid before.

"Alright Ka'ika," he began. "I count...seven bodyguards with him." Their target, smartly, had decided to bring muscle with him for meeting with the villagers Kaia had paid off. That wouldn't be a problem for them, no matter. "Ready when you are."

He parted his lips as if to say you're doing great but decided against it. Now wasn't the time.

[member="Kaia Verd"]

 

[Kaia Verd]

Kaia had grown used to the different ways her parents showed their affection for her, her mother was more of a nurturer where her father was the type that he wanted her to be able to defend herself and make a living the way a mandalorian should. She had grown used to sleeping with a blaster under her pillow, and at all times she had at least 2 blaster pistols on her person. She was a bit of a showoff with her blaster work sometimes, instead of carrying a blaster rifle like her dad she had always chosen to duel wield AY-214 blaster pistols. These two weapons sat in their holsters one on either side of her belt.

Kaia looked at her father "I am ready." As she said this she began to make her way toward the village, her hands resting on her blasters. She knew how this should go, but she also knew that things hardly ever went to plan. As soon as they got within 100 meters of the group she started to have a bad feeling, it was then that the slaver and his body guards turned around to face the two Mandalorians. This seemed odd to Kaia she saw the guards reach for their blasters as if it were happening in slow motion. Before they could even pull them the small girl had both of hers out and had already taken out the 2 closest to her.

It was then that the others smartly pulled their hands away from their guns. Kaia thought it was all but over, that was until she noticed that the slaver had a small object in his hand. She didn't even have a chance to think through the possibilities when the man hit the button and released it, throwing it at the two. Kaia tried to dive out of the way when all of the sudden her world went silent. It was an EMP that shorted out her hearing aid along with all their gadgets but their guns

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Isran Varad]

Even the best laid plans could fall to pieces.

The mantra had been one that the Mandalorian knew all too well. When he was but a whelp, it was his kin who beat this reality into his skull. And, over the course of their eight years together, Isley had imparted the very same wisdom to his daughter. No plan, no matter how well executed, was not without its flaws. And no plan was immune to flukes or twists of fate. Therefore, it was only adaptability that would keep them alive in such occasions. Having the ability to think on one's feet was paramount - and in this, Isley was sure Kaia could succeed.

In the moment, the slaver himself pulled an EMP from his belt and hurled it towards the Mandalorians. Though the weapon did nothing to harm Isley physically, it caused his helm to become a dead piece of beskar upon his head. His HUD and targeting systems were down - with it, his favored fighting style. Moving about from the air via jetpack was how he preferred to fight - but now he was grounded. No matter. The Mandalorian quickly dove behind cover and looked to his daughter. She seemed to be no worse for wear, but knowing their luck her hearing aide was fried as bad as his helmet.

He didn't both finding out. Instead, he flashed a quick signal with his hand and indicated the slaver: They take him out first. Another signal: She advances, He will cover her. And in that moment, Isley rose from the crate that had become his shelter and began to lay down suppressing fire against the bastards. Compared to a bunch of hired thugs, his shots were far more precise - but he was not aiming for one-shot kills. He aimed to wound. In doing so, the thugs would attempt to save one another and he could work towards downing even more.

It was as by the book as one could fight.

[member="Kaia Verd"]

 

[Kaia Verd]

The silence for the girl was deafening, it wasn't the first time that this had happened. Her Hearing aide often shorted out but this time it was likely to be fried by the EMP. She looked over at her father, they had somewhat developed a sign language of their own however it wasn't as precise as the one that the small girl and her mother had developed for they were together in their deafness at times. But the young girl got the memo.

As Isley popped up and began to lay down a wide range of covering fire the young girl would spring from where she had taken cover and take off after the slaver. She pulled both of her blasters and fired at the slaver, she hit him dead in the leg she wanted him alive more for the bounty. She then began to systematically take out the men who had surrounded the slaver

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Isran Varad]

She didn't miss.

It was said that, for those who lacked a primary sense, the body would always compensate. For those who could not see, they could hear. For those who could not hear, they could see. In the case of the young Mandalorian beside Isley, the EMP had only seemed to improve her precision. Though Chaos was unfolding about them, she managed to lay down a deadly shot that burned clean through the slaver's leg. She did not accidentally hit center mass. She did not miss, despite the distance and the lack of targeting assistance.

She had grown into quite the Huntress, just like her mother.

Isley did not pause the onslaught in order to laud his child. Rather, he did what was necessary to keep her breathing. As she pursued the target, his rifle sang a deadly symphony. Each bolt was a hum of death and concluded the tale of a man. Xeno or Human. Young and Old. His weapon did not discriminate - for such was the hymn of battle. When it was all said and done, the Mandalorians had managed to reduce the ambuse to a gaggle of survivors. Those with a braincell decided to turn and run.

And with their bounty secure, Isley was content to let them. It was only when the blaster fire against them ceased that the Mandalorian returned to his daughter's side. A flurry of his dominant hand formed signs that she would understand. Simple words. But they carried the weight of a father's pride.

Well. Done.

[member="Kaia Verd"]

 

[Kaia Verd]

[SIZE=9pt]As Kaia closed in on her bounty she knew that her father was close behind her. As she made her way across the battlefield she helped her father dispatch the rest of the slavers men, she was quick with her pistols and deadly accurate, though she could not hear the blasters firing she was very aware of all the blaster bolts flying around her. She did have a knack for flair, this was no different as she spotted several men closing in from each side, she fired one bolt in each direction striking down two of the men before spinning her pistols crossing her arms to the opposite side of her body to dispatch the other two[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Her eyes burned with hatred, she found that there was no worse person in the galaxy than a slaver, she viewed all sentient beings as equal, for them to be forced into servitude made the young woman sick. Upon reaching the wounded slaver she would reach down and grab his arm, twisting it behind his back she held pressure on it, she could have snapped it easily but inside she knew she didn’t do things just because she could, for if she did what made her different then the slaver. As she turned and saw her father signing to her she smiled, she could hear his words in her head it gave her a great sense of pride she would use her free hand to sign back to her father, she knew that he wasn’t as well versed in signing as the girls mother so she went slow yet smoothly[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Thank you it means a lot. Now lets get paid[/SIZE]

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Kaia Verd]

[SIZE=9pt]2 Months later[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]The last few months had been great for Kaia, the young Mandalorian had found her first love, a young man known as Damien Van Derveld. She had met him one night on Kabal, they had shared a dance and said good night, while this seemed to most a minor thing but for Kaia it was her first taste of romance that had set her heart and mind racing with the possibilities of what could happen. However this romance had come to a screeching halt when Damien disappeared, his sudden disappearance shook Kaia to the core. For the first time since she was taken in by her parents she had become attracted to someone, this disappearance had taken a large toll on Kaia’s self-confidence, for the first time she withdrew herself from the real world and stowed away to her room and stayed most times. For the most part of the last few days she had even left her hearing aides out and stole away to her own little world in her room.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Today was no different, the young girl sat on her bed her hearing ides sitting on the nightstand beside her bed. She rested her face in her hands tears rolling down her face. In her mind she saw Damien sitting with her by the fire on Ryloth, maybe her best memory with him, however those times with him were over.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Isley Verd"][/SIZE]