Good Afternoon, Sundari

[Jorga the Hutt]

The domed city had looked better, in Connory's opinion, but not in the years since his ex broke the planet. For that matter, the Mandalorian Empire's capital hadn't looked this warlike in decades. Mandos walked the streets straight and tall with trophies on their belts. Glass pyramids - Forcers went in and never came out. Old honors like the jaig eyes replaced chests full of empty medals. No, the Council era this certainly was not.

Not so long ago, the woman he'd once loved had been dragged through the streets, either here or in Keldabe - secondhand sources varied. Even though she'd crippled his homeworld, he couldn't feel satisfaction over her death. And, frankly, she didn't have much to do with his purpose here.

Not especially caring if he got recognized, he took off his helmet and started walking for a building that looked governmental.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Connory"]

The man did not much care what anyone did in Sundari, in fact he didn't care about much of anything at all. But, hunting...yes, that was deserving of attention. He sat idle on a rooftop barrel over the edge slightly as he watched the Sundari "palace". It was more chit hole now if anyone asked him but if they did ask he probably wouldn't answer anyway.

His helmet sat to one side of him as he scanned the streets with a pair of macro-binoculars and chewed strips of dried meat. He picked out beings here and there but most were meager prey to say the least. He had no orders not to pick off the weak ones but they would give the aging Gurlanin little satisfaction and he found himself unsatisfied enough without wasting his time.

Finally he spotted a being, his walk deliberate, confident, bold. His focus on the useless palace for another burgeoning despot, as if the galaxy needed more. He didn't owe anyone anything as far as he was concerned. Had they killed him it would have been a favor and he didn't feel gratitude for keeping an already wretched existence. But here he was, and there he was, someone that radiated gettse.

Now, should he take a shot...or get closer and stalk properly? The old Gurlanin left his rifle and low crawled to the zip line he had in place for a hasty exfiltration. Close, this time. Close enough to smell. No, guns this time. Not for this one.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Kal Ordo"]

As he reached the broad front steps, Connory became aware that others were aware of him. That was pretty much the point.

He paused at the base of the steps, in a place where he could see the main door up on his left and the main approach on his right. A little droid crawled out of his shoulder bag and down his leg. Connory whistled a quick tune, and a hard-light hologram took form, far larger than the droid that emitted it.

A kiosk.

Connory sat down on the holographic chair. Above him, a sign blinked.

BOUNTIES FOR INFORMATION
CLAN ORDO
CLAN MUNIN
CLAN MANTIS
THE CHILD OF MIA MONROE

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Malika didn't pay much attention to the city when she passed through. Of all the places on Mandalore this was her least favourite, cut off from the wilds she knew and loved and situated in the centre of an inhospitable desert, Sundari was vile in every way to her. But this was where the Undying chose to place his seat of power, as such, she'd no choice but to be here more often than not.


She was ascending the steps behind another armour clad man when he stopped and a hard light hologram came to life before him. The shi'do clicked her tongue in annoyance, eyeing the technology with blatant loathing. Until the names drew her eyes and she stopped, lips mouthing the words 'Mantis'. What did he want with her family?

She moved up the steps towards him and extended a hand expectantly. "License."

[member="Connory"] [member="Kal Ordo"]

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Malika Mantis"]

You'd think that sitting on a nonexistent chair under a nonexistent awning behind a nonexistent desk would yield a sense of uncertainty. Considering how long this little bit of tech had taken to perfect and field-test, though, Connory didn't struggle with any subconscious fear that he was about to fall on his butt. It would take an ion cannon to make his chair vanish, or enough physical damage that a real chair would shatter.

A similar feeling of solidity and confidence extended to his interaction with the armored woman.

"I'm not protesting and I'm not selling anything," he said evenly, folding his arms across his stomach. "So what license, exactly, are you asking for? Aggressive sitting?"

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"Bounty hunting." She replied curtly. "We're still under martial law, and under martial law bounty hunting is illegal without the correct license. I don't care if you're only asking for information. You're hunting all the same."

Her hand remained extended, her face calm. "License." She repeated, coldly.

 

[Not Ordo]

He slid to the ground and slowly slipped a combat knife from his hip sheath. His yellow eyes flashed with quiet excitement as he moved toward the corner of a building and quickly peeked around the corner to gauge the distance. More than a block away now.

He looked again more slowly this time and saw that the man was no longer alone. That woman was there. He growled deep and low in his chest as he pulled his head back slowly and rested it against the building. What was she playing at? First she toys with him and now she was trying to take his hunt? He hammered the meaty potrion of his fist against the wall as he thought of what to do. He could leave. Stalk away and not gibe her the satisfaction of knowing he had seen her, or he could approach and see if he could finally slip a blade between her ribs.

He flipped the knife and slid it under his forearm plate before he moved from the cover of the bulding. His normally cold eyes focused at the man's chair. He couldn't look at her, not the way her back arched with pride and strength, or the way her jaw set with determination. He couldn't look into those eyes that held feeling only gain after centuries of life. He would not be able to finish the hunt if he looked.

He walked closer and stopped several meters away. His jaw clenched from the effort of not attacking her for trying to take her place. He wanted to roar 'you're not her'. But instead...

"Nice, chair."


[member="Connory"] [member="Malika Mantis"]

 

[Not Ordo]

"Really nice, chair."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Malika Mantis"] [member="Kal Ordo"]

Connory returned her stare flatly and kept his arms folded.

"Then you should take the question to whoever takes my money. Even if I accept your definition, I'm not hunting a bounty. I'm offering one."

He turned his attention blatantly to the new arrival, a tense man he didn't recognize. "Glad you like it," he said without a trace of gladness. "It's an autonomous multifunction hard-light projector. Expensive as balls. Not that they're in short supply around here."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

He had her there, and she knew it. Her hand retreated, eyes narrowed and mouth opened to give a response but [member="Kal Ordo"] cut in before she could. Malika' gaze swung round to study the hunter. "The last survivor of the insurrectionists." She sneered."Where's your leash?"

[member="Connory"]

 

[Not Ordo]

His golden gaze left [member="Connory"] and turned toward [member="Malika Mantis"] as she looked at him. His face went slack as those eyes flicked to his face and for a moment it was a century ago. Ulya was standing there sharp predatory eyes shinning in the light as she smiled and reached for him. His eyes turned from iron to shimmersilk for a moment as he involuntarily reached forward a fraction before her words sank in.

He stiffened and turned his head slightly then reached up and hooked a thumb beneath the shock collar around his neck. Humiliation, so that was her goal today.

"Save your venom, woman." He said his voice a liquid whisper of his natural form. His hate desolved by the remembered loss and with it his resovle to kill the wretch.

He stepped back, as the stirred air carried her scent to his sharp nose. Again he was carried back to running with his mate, the feeling of soft soil beneath their feet. He shook his head now and took another step back. Even their scent was the same. How dare she?

He looked at the man and thanked the balance he was far removed from anything familiar.

"Ordo." He said gesturing lamely to himself, "What do you want?"

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Malika Mantis"] [member="Kal Ordo"]

The tension between these two spoke volumes, and Connory wasn't in the mood to read. Once he had the man's attention, he switched gears.

"Your clan chief, Jasper, was close with Monroe before they died. I'm looking for Monroe's child, and your clan boltholes are as good a place to start as any. I don't mean any harm to your clan, but I need to look around."

 

[Silas Mantis]

If you wanted someone dead as a Mandalorian, you did it yourself. If you wanted someone alive, you did it yourself. A Mandalorian hiring out bounty hunters seemed almost humiliating in his eyes, but what did he know? Moving through the streets his mind slipped into his memories. Silas thought of charging the city, of the thunderous war cry he bellowed as he descended onto the frigid settlement, of the woman lifting his helmet from his head as her warm blood spilled over his beskar.

Part of him wished to not think about that one.

Memories aside, he was here because a bounty was up involving his family's name, and some other things of note. This must've been the man who'd wanted to find Mia's child, the one who'd put a price on his head. Had to be, all the bounties lined up. While no one had tried to collect yet,a part of him wished someone would, he dared them to come and try. Perhaps he was becoming arrogant, or perhaps he was finally no longer doubting himself. It could've been either frankly.

But he'd made his feelings towards whoever this [member="Connory"] was clear, he could come and get Silas himself. Or perhaps the Mantis would come to him instead. Rounding a corner clad in full armor, he did not move a hand towards the Westar-35 on his thigh, nor did he go for Little Wolf, or prime any of his wrist mounted weapons. He simply moved towards him, until he spotted [member="Malika Mantis"] and [member="Kal Ordo"]. He stopped in his tracks.

His sister-in-law and the damn mongrel had both seemingly cornered the man. A smile grew underneath his helmet. He pulled the blaster from his thigh as he pushed through the crowd. "He's here for me." He called to Malika in Epicant, which the Mantises had always spoken in the home, before arriving at the kiosk and raising up the blaster, the barrel aimed for Rel's throat.

"I told you to come get me yourself." Silas remarked in basic, his voice cold and hostile. The Mandalorian squeezed the trigger.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Malika saw him reach for her before he remembered himself and withdrew, the action sent a shiver up her spine, and made he heart flutter. There was so.ethibg about Kal that was familiar, but she couldn't place him.

The mention of Monroe's child snapped her attention back to the seated man. "What do you want with her child?"

Silas's word cut across the air, the harsh epicant tongue making her head whip round. "You?" She replied in the epicany. "Why?" Then the blaster came up and Malika could feel the calm of the situation dangeriusly close to become chaos.

"What do you want with my brother?" She asked raising a hand to Silas. Please don't shoot, she thought, please think about how much blood these streets have already seen.

[member="Connory"] [member="Kal Ordo"] [member="Silas Mantis"]

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Silas Mantis"] [member="Malika Mantis"] [member="Kal Ordo"]

Draw, chat, shoot, Connory thought to himself. Kids these days.

He whistled just so, and the hard-light kiosk flickered into an opaque blue barrier. Mantis' single blaster shot splashed a hole in it but didn't get through. When the barrier vanished a couple of heartbeats later, Connory had donned his helmet and drawn his own weapon: a chunky hard-sound gun.

His helmet tilted just slightly, the Mando equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Silas Mantis"] [member="Malika Mantis"] [member="Connory"]

The Gurlanin stepped back, knife flashing into one hand while the other dropped for his shatter pistol. His eyes turned amber as he watched the hard-light system operate. That would have been a welcomed challenge, but now, the hunt was spoiled.

"Okyaab VI." He said calmly as if random blaster fire were as natural as rain.

He gave a last look at Malika and growled deep in his chest as he turned began walking away. He would have to find the man later or hunt something else. Mandalorians used to know not to interrupt a hunt, but he was getting old it seemed. Regardless, the balance would adjust and the galaxy would bring him a new hunt.

 

[Silas Mantis]

Shield. Of course there was a shield. Silas didn't flinch as the sound based weapon was drawn. He knew what those things did, had seen it once or twice on the Outer Rim. The way he saw it he had a few seconds to do or say something before his insides became a mixed up mess. "Because I'm gonna find Monroe's child, and I'm going to see Eli gets justice." He answered his sister, venom dripping from every word as he glared at [member="Connory"] with utter hatred. They were all the same, they were all guilty, they'd all thrown in their lot with the monster. Unlike [member="Kal Ordo"], the man in front of him hadn't fallen in line, he just wanted to find Monroe's child.

But Silas was going to find him first. He owed Eli that, his nephew who'd never seen the light of day. "So he put fifty million on me. Must mean that kid means a lot to him." He said to [member="Malika Mantis"], keeping his weapon level with Rel.

In his head he ran through his options, and at present none of them were all that favorable.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

[member="Malika Mantis"] [member="Kal Ordo"] [member="Silas Mantis"]

Ordo got a grunt of acknowledgement. The Boneshatter hard-sound gun remained leveled at Silas' chest.

"There's no secret, boy. You're hunting my son. You understand, don't you, that setting out to murder an infant marks you forever. No adult will ever respect you or Munin again."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"You're going to do what?" Malika rounded on her brother. Stepping between the two levelled weapons. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Eli had his justice when Ra dragged Monroe's body through the streets of the Iron City and strung her up for all to see. The war is over, Silas."

She took a step towards him, sorrow and disappointment in her eyes. "You cannot kill an innocent child. To do that only makes you as bad as the woman who bore him into this world."

[member="Connory"] [member="Silas Mantis"]

 

[Silas Mantis]

A smirk twisted behind his visor. "I said I might." He shot back, guilt twisting in his stomach. Had he ever really planned on killing the child? Had he fallen that far? He looked into his own son's eyes every day and saw the pain Monroe had caused his boy. Why did Galeth deserve to grow up happy when Kaden and Yasha didn't? When Eli never got to live at all? Where was the justice in that? "Wanted to see if you'd come out all this way, show yourself. And what do you know, you did."

"You're wrong Malika." Silas replied to [member="Malika Mantis"] nodding his head towards [member="Connory"]. Vila Sayne's dying words echoed in his mind, bellowing over the screaming rage in his mind. "He didn't stop Monroe, he could father her child, but he didn't stop her from destroying everything. From killing our family. That child is going to grow, and when it does, it'll come to tear down everything all over again."

"If you loved your son so much, why didn't you stop his mother from orphaning mine?" He snarled, his natural hand reaching behind his back for an EMP grenade. "We wouldn't be here if you had."