Private Message In A Bottle

[Yuri Maji]

LOCATION: Florrum | Pirate Stronghold
TAGS: Nelliel Kryze

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Theme​

This certainly wasn't Yuri's first trip to Florrum, nor was it his first incident with the rather ornery denizens of its strongholds. But a trend had begun to emerge whenever he visited the desolate planet. More recently, their patience with him began to grow thin until it culminated into the situation he found himself on this particular day.

Beaten and bruised, stripped of his armour, Yuri could do little more than stare at the bars ahead of him in the heart of the stronghold. This time it wasn't even a deal gone wrong. His only suspicion was the incident with the cruiser on Garel, it wouldn't surprise him if someone managed to get word out before they were all wiped out. No matter what the origin of their ire was, Yuri found himself in the middle of a nasty fight when he touched down to look for work. His only saving grace was the emergency beacon he activated on his freighter before they managed to subdue him.

He had no idea if it managed to get out, or if someone was listening, or even if he selected the correct channel. Or even...

It was pointless to worry over it. He didn't know why they kept him alive, and with a crowd like this, it was likely worse to be kept alive. With a grunt and a whimper, Yuri managed to push himself to his feet and sit down on the bunk to inspect his wounds. By the time he reached his ribcage, he gave up on counting and simply resigned himself to his current predicament. He vaguely recounted a story his auntie told him of some Jedi that escaped from a situation similar to this by using a classic Jedi mind trick.

Unfortunately he wasn't so blessed.

He would at least have been able to do something to escape... if they didn't take his arm. It wasn't even because of safety concerns. "Thought it's funny. Kark all of y'all. 'Funny' my shebs, ya karkin' schuttas." He mumbled to himself, immediately regretting the decision as a split in his lip opened up again.

There was plenty of time to figure out an escape. For now, he could use some rest to gather his strength...

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Airspace
| Focus | Yuri Maji

Nel 's console glowed and reflected off her visor in the darkness of her cockpit as she navigated through the space above Florrum. Normally, Florrum wouldn't be a destination she'd choose to willingly go if she had a choice in the matter, but she managed to pick up a distress signal while in the system, a ship's name she recognized. That being said, she couldn't simply pass up the opportunity to help out a friend in need, and it was a good chance for her to stretch out her 'wings'.​

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Pirates were a rowdy and opportunistic bunch, so it would come as no surprise to her that they'd spot her Bevin on their scanners and rush to try and take it from her. Communications were sent back to the stronghold to inform them of the intrusion of their territory, while patrol vessels moved to intercept her. Nel's Bevin may be getting old, but she still maintained and regularly worked on it between sorties, picking up escort work until the call from Mand'alor was made for her to return to service. They would have to pry her cold, dead corpse out of it before she gave her ship up willingly.​

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The familiar shapes of pirate fighters came into view as her scanners picked them up, data streaming down her HUD as she stretched her shoulders and arms out before her fingers wrapped around her control stick and thrusters. She licked her lips in anticipation as her foot began to tap excitedly against the floor of her cockpit. They might have had an easier time if she was a simple transportor some run of the mill fighter pilot, but she was a Mandalorian ace, and she was about to give them a run for their money and lives.​

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She pushed the lever forward as her thrusters roared to life, the sudden surge pushing her back into her seat as she bolted across the black of space to give a proper Mandalorian greeting.​

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[Yuri Maji]

Yuri was finally beginning to dose off. He wasn't sure of how long it took for sleep to finally find him, but he could feel it getting closer. With a hoarse breath, he surrendered to let it finally claim him. But sleep's calming embrace would never find him. Shouting and cheering echoed through the halls of the stronghold, quickly followed by the wailing of alarms. Several pirates ran past him towards the main hall with anticipation pulsing through the air.

"Hey! What's goin' on?!" He called out to them, only to receive a simple "Shut up, mutt!" in response from one of his captors. Yuri huffed in annoyance and rolled over to try and sleep again, but the dwindling of noise in the brig quickly drew his attention. With careful movements, he got up and limped over to the cell door to peer around the hallway.

They were all gone. The guards followed the rest of the group after whatever had them all riled up. If it was an attack, they wouldn't be sounding so happy. He killed the excitement and hope brewing in his heart, focusing rather on the other likely scenario.

A prize had entered the system.

The only other conclusion that would have this lot swept up so much. Yuri sighed and turned to rest against the cell door in defeat. He stared up at the ceiling, quietly cursing and arguing with the Manda over his misfortune, the absolute ridicule he was forced to endure in the captivity of such clowns. Instead, he noticed the small ventilation duct pressed up against the roof. "Huh..." He scratched his mane as the gears began to turn. It was way too high up in the air to simply jump. The walls were smooth and, aside from his bunk and the refresher in the corner, there was nowhere to jump from.

"Wait... maybe." He muttered to himself. After a moment of calculation, he used the refresher to launch himself up against the wall, jumped from the wall and promptly crashed just out of reach of the vent. Shock and pain slammed the breath out of his lungs, and he spent a few seconds simply trying to recover.

But the idea was solid. He just needed to fight through the pain...

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

​

| Location | Florrum, Airspace
| Focus | Yuri Maji

The Bevin tore through both the black of space and the pirate's intercepting fighters, explosions dotting the void in the wake of the flaring thrusters, the nimble space superiority fighter zipping around like an angry hornet. Inside the cockpit Nel's eyes darted around at several elements in her HUD, darting left and right to observe data streams and keep tabs on incoming fighters and their missiles that they launched to try and incapacitate her ship. Half a dozen fighters shot down within mere minutes, with more being deployed from the stronghold, just enough to give Nel an idea of where the little rats were hiding.​

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The last of the initial wave was hot on her six, trying desperately to get a lock on her, waiting for that chime to ring out before letting loose with an ion missile. She jerked on her control stick as her ship veered upwards, her feet shifting against pedals as her wings began to rotate to better facilitate her sudden 180 degree turn, before flying directly at her pursuer. Laser fire shot forward from the pirate's ship as she deftly dodged with the missile hot on her tail, on a direct collision course for the incoming fighter. ​

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At the last possible second, she swiftly turned her control stick, her ship angling ever so slightly to skim past the fighter as the trailing missile collided with it causing it to detonate and incapcitate the pirate's vessel. She circled the incapacitated ship a few times before landing her Bevin on a floating asteroid, letting herself out as the rotation of the asteroid and shadows hid it, climbing out of the cockpit into the black of space. ​

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She pushed off the rock as she gracefully sent herself towards the floating ship, her blaster unholstered as her boots magnetically locked onto the hull, swiftly locating an emergency release for the canopy as the unforunate pilot who did not wear a sealed suit was ejected out into the vaccuum. The Mandalorian quickly pulled herself inside as she sealed the cockpit and began rebooting the ship, making quick work through the debilitating effects of the ion missile as reinforcements soon arrived. Power and communications were shortly restored as the comms crackled to life, a pirate on the line, "Oi, where'd the ship go?"​

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Nel cleared her throat as she mustered as close of an accent as she could, "Errr, they karked off as soon as they realized reinforcements were comin', they're long gone." ​

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There was a pause over the comms before a question came through, "Why didn't you chase after 'em then you snivvelin' piker?" Nel was quick to snap back, "Why don't you try watchin' a single ship blow up all your mates and go try chasin' after it then?" ​

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A growl was heard on the other end before being finished off with a defeated sigh, "And there goes our meal ticket...Well at least there's less mouths to feed. Let's head on back." The squadron turned to head back towards the stronghold as Nel trailed after them, following them back to the rat's nest and leading her directly back to her friend.​

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[Yuri Maji]

The mutt's entire body was on fire. Repeated attempts all led to the same spot on the floor. His already bruised ribs drove every ounce of breath out of him, his remaining shoulder was taking all the impact, and the various cuts and breaks were all tearing open again. Every consecutive jump was getting more and more difficult, but he persisted.

Jump, fall, get up, try again.

Eventually he managed to get to hit his mark and grab hold of the vent. He whimpered and groaned, but he refused to let go of the vent. Summoning his last bit of strength, he braced against the wall with his feet and began to pull on the vent. With one arm and a battered body, Yuri finally managed to pull the vent free from its screws and plummeted back down to the floor. With a heavy impact, he landed in a coughing fit and spent the next few minutes laying splayed out on the floor. Just in time too, as the pirates from before wandered back to their various duties with disappointment in their voices.

Whatever they were hoping for, it clearly didn't play out in their favour. Either their score escaped... or it was one big gamble. A weak snicker escaped Yuri as he stared through the bars at his captors. "I hope there wasn't money involved." He quipped, earning the anger of some of them. Various threats and insults were sent his way as he scraped himself off the floor and hid the panel behind his back. With a bloodied grin, Yuri tapped his maw to egg them on, but sadly they weren't as dumb as he had hoped. They simply walked on and left him in silence once more.

With another cough, Yuri pulled out the vent panel and studied it, as well as the hole in the wall he now had available. Another problem quickly became apparent. The hole was big enough for him to wiggle into the ventilation system, but there was no way in hell for him to access the hole in his current state. With one arm, and completely exhausted from the pain, he had no chance of making the same jump and somehow hoisting himself up. But the vent did produce another alternative. He shifted his focus back to the door.

He knew the system they used. Borderline archaic, a simple locking system with a notoriously simple placement. Getting the panel off could perhaps get him to tear the cables out... though it had its own risk. Catching his remaining arm in a hydraulic door, high voltage roller coaster, slight chance of an embarrassing death...

"Eh. Ma raised a harpy, not a chicken." He muttered to himself. Bending the flat piece of metal into the desired angle, Yuri began with his attempt to leverage the control panel open.

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Airspace
| Focus | Yuri Maji

Nel's commandeered craft returned to the stronghold, making a landing as she waited for the other pirates to disembark and clear the area before exiting the cockpit herself, a hand on her sidearm as she crept around. Whenever she heard the shuffle of footsteps she'd be quick to conceal herself in the shadows, lying low and keeping her presence to a minimum. Her eyes darted left and right as she kept a relaxed finger on the trigger. She wasn't that great of a fighter as Mandalorians came, her preferred battlefield being in the air and her weapon of choice her ship, so ideally she would stick to the element of surprise and stealth for as long as it was afforded to her.​

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She made her way to a terminal as she quickly worked her way through the systems. The pirates weren't particularly tech savvy so the idea of security wasn't particularly one of their stronger fields. She searched through the files, looking for a schematic of the stronghold, the terminal making quiet blips, holographic windows swiftly opening and minimizing as she navigated through their database till she found what she was looking for; the detention area, where they were likely holding her friend. She did her best to memorize the path to the detention area as she quickly exited herself from the terminal, starting to make her way towards it.​

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Most of the pirates she encountered were just drunk or partying, with the scant few that were on actual guard duty being the ones she tried her best to avoid. It wasn't long before she found her way to the detention area as she crouched behind a few crates, peeking over to spot a lone guard posted, looking rather bored. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure no one else was coming around before she lightly kicked one of the crates. The guard perked up as he started to make his way over, muttering, "Is it one of those schtupid lil' womp rats again?"​

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The guard peered behind the crate, cocking his head to the side as he leaned forward and glanced down. The pirate had the briefest glimpse of Nel waving innocently at him before being met with the meanest uppercut they had experienced in their lifetime delivered via beskar fist. The guard straightened up before collapsing backwards as Nel grabbed them by their ankles and dragged them behind the crates out of sight, grabbing their rifle as she made her way over to the entrance to the detention center. She had no idea if there were still more guards, but she had been lucky so far.​

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[Yuri Maji]

Slowly but surely, he was making progress with his escape. A rather intermittent process with how the guards were moving about, but luckily for him, they didn't seem to see him as much of a threat. His ego refused to accept that as the actual reason for their sparse guarding of him. Perhaps they were simply distracted by more important duties? Or majority of the force was on a hunt.

He could accept that.

Regardless, a guard would pass by every few minutes, forcing him to retreat back into his cell and wait for them to pass sufficiently before continuing.

He was making progress. The vent wasn't bending back that much, and the panel felt like it was loosening. A rough jiggle had him throw caution out of the window and commit completely. He was so close. Mere moments from being able to escape. But his focus overlapped with the timing in his head, and an unknown hand yanked him into the cell door and sent him tumbling back with a bloodied nose.

"The kark you think you're doin', ya sleezy mutt?!" A voice boomed on the other side. The panel was slapped back in place and the door slid open, revealing a rather well-rounded Weequay with an electrostaff in hand. Fueled by instinct, Yuri scrambled to his feet and lunged at the pirate as he drew his weapon back to swing. His only hand grabbed hold of the weapon, allowing him to propel forward and use the one weapon they never thought to render safe.

The Shistavanen's powerful jaw wrapped around the Weequay's neck and clamped down. A gargled scream erupted and the man tried to hurl him back. But Yuri held on, fighting through the pain and morbid sensation to dig further into his throat. With another shove, Yuri relaxed and let himself be thrown across the room, taking the man's throat with him. Yuri fought to get back onto his feet as his captor tumbled to the ground, hands wrapped around his throat to try and stop the bleeding. Yuri stood over the body, spitting the flesh from his maw as he stared down at the desperate eyes of the pirate. He had no words for his actions. Even he had to admit that it was an ugly death.

But he had little choice.

He grabbed a pistol from the pirate's belt as well as a commlink before pushing on to find the exit. His memory of the inner parts of the compound was rusty, but he had a vague idea of where the exit was. Limping through the halls with his head on a swivel, Yuri ducked behind a pillar as the main door opened. Pistol trained and a shaky aim readied, Yuri waited to ambush whoever came through the door. The moment the figure walked through the door, a well-placed bolt was fired at their head.

What rattled him was the fact that it bounced off harmlessly from a helmet he immediately recognized. "Oh kriff... Nel?" He muttered, lowering his weapon.

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Yuri Maji]

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[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Pirate Stronghold
| Focus | Yuri Maji

Nel cracked the panel open with a vibroknife as she quickly worked the wires to get the door open, sliding the panel back into place to avoid suspicion. The door slid open and she stepped inside swiftly. Her stealthy entrance wasn't as stealthy as she had hoped as a blaster bolt came flying right at her head. Instinct kicked in as she jerked her head off to the side, the blaster bolt glancing off the side of her helmet, skimming its surface as it was deflected at an angle. She immediately dropped down and rolled off to the side, taking cover behind a stack of crates, readying her pistol as she pressed against the metal containers, leaning slightly to try and get a glimpse around the corner of it.​

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She readied herself to swing the corner and respond in kind as her finger rested on the trigger before pausing as a familiar voice called out. Her finger relaxed itself off the trigger as she cautiously peeked her head over the side and squinted. Her HUD scanned the hallway and it highlighted the lone figure at the end of it taking cover behind a pillar, zooming in to identify a familiar Shistavanen. She exhaled a breath of relief as her assumption was confirmed, and that the distress signal belonged to Yuri. She stood up and lowered her blaster as she cautiously emerged, ​

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"Yuri? I get we're Mando's n' all but you don't gotta greet me with a shot to the head y'know."​

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She stepped out into the open as she leaned off to the left a bit to glance the dead Weequay on the ground laying in a pool of their own blood.​

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"Looks like you weren't in need of a rescue after all."​

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Her tone softened as she made the joke, before glancing over her shoulder. Hopefully the shot fired didn't draw too much attention, as it would make their window to escape a lot smaller.​

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[Yuri Maji]

Thankfully her armour did its job as the shot bounced off, allowing her to duck in cover from whoever was shooting at her. He knew that he wasn't strictly at fault, but he still felt somewhat bad for shooting her in the head. "Nel! Sorry 'bout that. Thought you... never mind." He gave up on apologizing and instead stepped out of cover as she realized who he was.

"Yuri? I get we're Mando's n' all but you don't gotta greet me with a shot to the head y'know."

A pained laugh escaped him as he limped over to tap his forehead against her helmet out of pure gratitude. "Bless your soul, you cast-iron harpy. Didn't think anyone got the beacon." He remarked, turning to look around them. She made a comment about his efforts of escape, reminding the Hound of the drying blood still stuck to his maw. "Yeah... not my proudest moment." He turned his attention back to Nel with a pleading look in his eye.

"Please tell me you got a map of the building? The schuttas took my armour. I ain't leavin' it here for them to plunder." He practically begged. On his own, battered and with one arm, there was no chance for him to get it back. But with Nel's help, they stood a damn good chance. The only issue was the blaster fire. If they were lucky, nobody heard it, but that was far too tall of an order. Time was not on their side, and a faint noise already drew Yuri's attention. "We gotta move. They're comin' our way." He warned her as he raised his pistol.

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Pirate Stronghold
| Focus | Yuri Maji

Nel waved Yuri off when he started to apologize. She wasn't dead and it wasn't intentional so she didn't pay it much mind. She found him, and he was still alive, so that's all that mattered for the time being. What mattered next was getting out of here alive and the hell away from pirate infested space. She lightly tapped back as Yuri came over, "You're lucky I was in the neighborhood, otherwise you might have been shit out of luck," ​

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The Mandalorian pilot turned back to Yuri as he asked if she knew the layout of the base. She tilted her head to the side to try to remember more from the terminal she had checked earlier. Most of her focus was directed to finding the detention block, but she may have remembered a storage area for supplies and stolen goods not being too far off. She didn't like the idea of having to hang around any longer than needed, but she understood why Yuri wouldn't be able to leave without his armor. ​

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"I might know the way, but it's going to be a bit of a pain to get there if they found us out already," she said before reaching down and offering the rifle that she had pilfered from the guard in case he wanted to use something a little heavier before glancing over her shoulder to make sure there wasn't anyone coming their way. Their element of surprise was already dwindling as Yuri pointed out that they had company inbound.​

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"We gotta get out of here or else we're going to get cornered. Stay behind me." Her armor wasn't as comprehensive or durable as most Mandalorians seeing as she spent a majority of her time in a cockpit, but it was better protection than the nothing that Yuri had. She took point as she moved to get them out of the dead end that was the detention block so that they didn't get trapped with their backs to the walls, trying her best to remember the way.​

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[Yuri Maji]

Her hesitation when he asked about the layout had his hopes dwindle somewhat, though she finally spoke up and expressed her concerns about reaching the area. They couldn't sustain a gunfight against an entire stronghold, not now at least. She wasn't an operator and he had nothing but his skin between a blaster bolt and death. They were going to have to take it slow.

His gaze shifted down to the rifle she presented him, before shifting to the missing arm as a chuckle escaped him. "I'm good... I'll stick with a pistol for now." He joked as he shifted to fall in behind her.

The two Mandalorians finally moved away from the detention block before anyone could notice them. Yuri kept his head on a swivel and his ears perked, occasionally tapping Nel's shoulder for them to hide once someone came their way. But moving quietly was becoming increasingly risky. Some parts of the stronghold were decently populated, while other areas simply didn't have a lot of space to hide. They would manage, though, as the pirates seemed more intent on entertaining themselves than patrolling their compound.

But what made the Hound's heart sink was the sudden blaring of claxons overhead. He looked at Nel, then behind them. They needed to move, the bodies were found. "We gotta hurry. You got any detonators on you?" He asked his friend just as a pirate entered their hallway. Shots were exchanged, but the pirate was disposed of.

They had been found.

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Pirate Stronghold
| Focus | Yuri Maji

"Oh right..." She commented quietly as the Shistavanen gestured to his lack of an arm. Nel holstered her pistol when Yuri refused to take the rifle, flexing her fingers around the grip as she continued to move quietly along the corridors, pausing briefly when Yuri tapped her to confirm that they heard something, and peeking cautiously around corners to confirm they were clear before moving on. ​

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The sound of the klaxons blaring made her jump a bit as she looked up and around. Their cover seemed to have been blown and now it was a race against the clock to get what they needed and get the hell out of there. She tightened her grip on the blaster as she looked over her shoulder when Yuri asked if she had any detonators on her.​

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"Don't have to remind me. Only got a couple for a rainy day." A pirate rounded the corner and into their line of sight, the pilot shouldering the rifle and firing a controlled burst of rounds alongside Yuri as the pirate fell. She lowered the barrel of the rifle as she reached down to her belt with one hand to remove the two she had, offering them behind her in one hand while she kept her gaze forward for any more pirates.​

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"We shouldn't be too much further off from where they ought to be storing your armor. After that, it's just going to have to be a run for the hangar so that we can get the hell out of here." She moved off to a branching corridor as she passed through the threshold, waiting for Yuri to come through before shooting the console as the door shut itself behind them to slow down anyone chasing after them.​

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[Yuri Maji]

Between the two Mandalorians, the unfortunate pirate didn't stand a chance. Nel presented the two detonators to him once they dispatched the pirate, which Yuri quickly grabbed once he stuffed the blaster into his trousers. One was dispensed by a door that led to the main lobby, while another was pressed behind a pillar to drop the doorways behind them shut.

Nel proceeded to cut the last doorway off and shut it behind them. "I got a plan for cover once we're there." He spoke up, drawing the pistol from his pants. Out of all of the situations he had found himself in the past, this was by far the most embarrassing. If it were anyone else, the pirates would have been placing bets on a fist fight.

He stuck close to her, the commotion had thrown any and all surprise out of the window, but the collapsed corridors and sliced controls would have bought them plenty of time... he hoped.

"Still tryin' to figure out how I'm gonna pay ya back for this, sis." He remarked with a faint chuckle. Upon reaching the armoury, Yuri shot the control panel to seal the doors behind them to buy them some more time. It wouldn't take long for them to reach the duo, but luckily the Hound found what he was looking for. His armour was haphazardly dropped into a crate, but it was all there. He wasted no time to suit up, strap his armour on and check the one pistol he could access.

Even with one arm, their lethality increased a lot. "I'll take point, you cover my left." The Hound's synthesized voice reported through his helmet. As a backup, he tapped a button on the vambrace hanging from his waist and opened a comm channel. "Baby, clear a door for us once we get close. Stay low profile." He ordered his droid. A smirk took hold as Yuri looked at Nel.

"Care to set some fireworks?" He asked her, gesturing to the plethora of guns and explosives around them.

Nelliel Kryze

 

[Nelliel Kryze]

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| Location | Florrum, Pirate Stronghold
| Focus | Yuri Maji

Nel held the corridor as Yuri went about planting the detonators, lifting the muzzle only to adjust her position and keep the barrel of it from being pointed at Yuri when he moved. As they continued along and the detonators went off to cover their rear she continued to peak around corners and keep an eye out before advancing. The Shistavanen made a comment as she simply looked back over her shoulder, her smile concealed by her helmet, "Don't worry about trying to pay me back, I'd rather you just stayed alive. Hard enough finding other Mandalorians as is. I'd like to know that the few I do know are alive and well." She said back. ​

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The duo finally arrived at the armory as Nel pulled security, waiting for Yuri to finally be reunited with his armor and get it on. Thankfully the detonators had slowed the pirates down and caused some confusion as to where they went, leaving the combat encounters to a minimum as she lightly shifted her grip on the rifle in her hands.​

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She double checked her rifle as a final precaution once they were ready to take off. She offered a nod as Yuri offered to take point, taking up position on his flank as she spoke, "Try not to get knocked on your ass. Might have a lot harder time getting out of here if I have to drag you." Her gaze followed Yuri's gesture as she looked over some of the explosives. Setting off as many of them as they could would certainly be one way of making sure they didn't give chase, and certainly make it easier to remind the pirates that messing with Mandalorians was a messy business. A smile formed on her lips as she nodded, "Always."​

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