Private Pandora's box

[Radon Krayt]

The two speeders raced through the desert, kicking up a trail of sand and dust as they smoothly glided over the sand dunes of Jakku. There was seemingly no end to the desert. Not a single structure, tree or mountain had appeared on their horizon for hours now. It made the Mandalorian clad in white realize that they were well and truly doomed, should one of their speeders break down here. They had brought the necessary equipment to set up camp with them, but with not a single animal nearby, he doubted that they'd survive for longer than three days.

Steering a little to his right to avoid a large dune, the Mandalorian activated the simple holoprojector built into his vambrace. The small blue map showed a single red dot, approximately two hours away from them. It made the often stoic Mandalorian smile. Perhaps the desert wasn't so endless after all. ​

The job description had been simple. Pay was good, but with the benefit of hindsight he should've asked for way more credits. Originally, their employer wanted a team of seven mercenaries for this job. In short; an easy task for two Mandalorians. They were tasked with breaching the defenses of a highly secretive desert facility. Whatever was inside of it was none of their concern. Their job was limited to paving a path for their employer's transporters. ​

Rhion glanced at the other speeder, which rode along his own. It was the first time he worked with this Mandalorian in particular. His armor, however, was not unfamiliar to him. The purple armor made him stand out, and the former stormtrooper could've sworn that he had seen this man once or twice in a bar before.

Activating his comm, the Mandalorian in white would relay his information. "Zephyr. Two more hours until we arrive at the facility."
​

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Zephyr felt like he had been driving on autopilot after hours of repetitive scenery and actions with little to do other than avoid the odd sand dune, especially as his companion was far from a conversationalist but that suited Zephyr fine as he spent many years working independently so the silence didn't bother him. He let the other Mandalorian take the lead, respecting him as the most senior out of the pair, though he was far from subservient to him.

Surprised to have heard a voice after so long of nothing but the sound of speeders kicking up sand, he replied with an almost surprised "Okay" Before they continued in their silence. With little else to do, his mind wandered and questions began forming about the other Mandalorian and his striking white armour but he dare not ask as he knew it could be a sensitive topic for some - He was curious but not enough to risk getting punched in the face.

After two more hours of silence, they neared the facility, stopping behind the covering of a sand dune some distance away to watch the scene in relative safety before making a move. Zephyr hopped off the speeder and stretched his limbs after being seated in the same position for hours and then got to the ground, closer to the top of the dune and slowly looked over the top, bringing a spyglass up to the T-visor and adjusting it to see what they were contending with.

"There are 1, 2, 3, 4..." Zephyr trailed off, silent for a moment as he counted. "Between 20 and 30 men, I'd say." He observed, seeming somewhat apprehensive. "That seems extreme. I wonder what they're protecting." He thought aloud, though he doubted Rhion would offer any insight. With all said and done, he slid back down the dune a little and climbed back onto the speeder. They needed to work as a team to be effective and possibly to survive.

Radon Krayt

 

[Radon Krayt]

​

The facility itself was supposed to be a factory, or so he was told. And yet, it didn't even remotely resemble one. After he parked his speeder behind the coverage of a sand dune, the white Mandalorian crouched up the dune to get a better look at the structure. In terrain like this, with yellow-white sand and extremely bright sunlight, Rhion had an advantage. His armor gave him something it rarely did; camouflage. Sadly, that wasn't the case for both of them.​

As he turned his head slightly to face his purple companion, Rhion's brow furrowed. He stared at the spyglass for a moment, with visible confusion written all over his helmet. He kept staring at his companion for a moment, blinking twice as he began to count. "You're kidding... right?" he began, his tone further conveying his confusion.​

Deciding that it was better just to show Zephyr than to explain what he meant, Rhion reached out and grabbed the antenna attached to Zephyr's purple helmet. Carefully, he moved the antenna down, until the rangefinder moved in front of Zephyr's T-visor. "Try zooming in with this instead. You're a Mandalorian, not a pirate." He sincerely hoped that this was the first and last piece of advice he had to give the purple Mandalorian on this mission. Swiftly, he pulled his own rangefinder over his viewplate, zooming in on the entrance of the facility he considered to be a fortress. The targeting display quickly provided him with the information they needed. "27 guards, to be exact." If the amount of guards wasn't concerning enough, their weaponry definitely was. All of them were carrying disruptor pistols as secondary weapons. Nasty things; they could even give their Beskar'gams a run for their credits.​

Like Zephyr predicted, Rhion did not respond to his train of thought, for the white Mandalorian was already busy constructing a plan. Following behind Zephyr, Rhion returned to his speeder although he didn't climb back up on it. There was almost no cover, and their speeders were the only way they had out of this desert. If one were to get hit, only one of them could return. He wasn't going to take such a risk. Instead, the Mandalorian studied the equipment strapped to his speeder. After a few seconds of thinking, he grabbed the E-11 sniper rifle he had been supplied with by their employer. In the desert, having long range weaponry was a must.​

"Alright. Here's the plan." He grabbed a second blaster; an old TL-50 model which he heavily favored. "We'll take position on that dune to our northeast, and force them to come to us." he explained, pointing at one of the sand dunes to their northeast. Rhion wouldn't give any other details, unless Zephyr asked. Not because he didn't trust the man, but simply because he was quite bad at teamwork.​

If no questions would follow, the white Mandalorian would take the lead and sneak to the nearby dune.​

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Zephyr didn't respond to Rhion as his focus was on counting but allowed him to adjust his rangefinder and removed the spyglass from his T-visor. "Oh yeah... Thanks." He replied. The Mandalorian had never done a job quite like this before, often relying on mercenary work and small bounties so he mostly jumped straight into the action rather than spending time assessing and planning. It was only recently that he branched out into more demanding work as his confidence and familiarity with the galaxy grew.

With the rangefinder in place, Zephyr observed the situation before him, his eyes confirming what Rhion had said. He scanned across the people milling about outside, making a mental note of the arsenal they possessed before removing the rangefinder and getting back to his feet once he was far enough behind the dune for it to be safe to do so. Once on the speeder, he turned around and dug out a bottle of water before taking his helmet off and holding it under his arm while he drank it. He held the bottle towards Rhion to offer him some and put it away after he responded.

Although he didn't know Rhion well, based on the first impressions he had of his companion, Zephyr wasn't too fond of him but he would continue to respect him as a fellow Mandalorian and what he assumed to be a more experienced one at that, though his opinion was subject to change with developments. He grabbed the sniper from the back of his speeder, replaced his helmet and hopped off again to join Rhion as he offered a plan. With nothing to add or disagree with, Zephyr nodded in response and followed his companion to the nearby sand dune.

Once they were positioned, Zephyr set up his sniper and aimed for the adversaries below. Once enough were drawn close enough, he would leap into action and attack, but for now they could shoot them like sitting ducks as the desert offered little protection. With the first target in line, Zephyr shot him, causing him to fall to the ground and those nearby to scramble to search for the source of the attack. He ducked back momentarily before taking aim again and firing at another person, this time missing and hitting the ground beside him. A couple of fingers pointed in their direction and before long, they had enemies hot on their tail.

Radon Krayt

 

[Radon Krayt]

Rhion shook his head as Zephyr presented him the bottle. He wasn't the kind of person who took off his helmet in the presence of strangers. It didn't matter if they were his people or not; his face was not something he wished to share. After Zephyr was ready, the two Mandalorians moved to the dune he had previously pointed at.

Once they were in position, Rhion opened fire shortly after Zephyr. The white Mandalorian, however, decided not to take cover. He wasn't going to give them any time to recover, hide, or get reinforcements. Rhion fired three blaster bolts in rapid succession, two of them finding their mark. They had three men down before the guards had noticed them. It was a good start.

Out of the 24 left, 7 immediately opened fire. Rhion knew that they tried to use their barrage of blaster bolts as cover for the others, who were rushing at the two Mandalorians. But a simple barrage of blaster bolts wasn't enough to scare him. Exuding self-confidence, the white Mandalorian refrained from taking cover. Instead, he pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle in rapid succession. Blaster bolts flew past him, mere inches from his helmet. Others slammed in the sand that provided them cover, but none managed to hit the slightly exposed Mandalorian.

"Zephyr, they're nearing our position." he notified his ally, as he shot down another one of their targets. "I'll cover you." He continued, indicating that he'd entrust the defense of their dune to the purple fellow.

​

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Given the exceptionally hot weather combined with the lack of shade and water, Zephyr was surprised that Rhion didn't accept his offer but didn't question the other on it. After all, perhaps he was in one of those fanatical clans so Zephyr knew he ought to respect that.

When the commotion began, Zephyr continued to fire at the guards below but as they drew closer it became apparent they would need a different approach which was confirmed by Rhion offering to cover him, to which Zephyr nodded in response and shot up into the air to draw attention away from his partner. He abandoned the sniper in favour of his dual blasters and shot at those closest to them with a flurry of bolts, taking out the closest two.

While largely exposed himself, he had relieved some of the pressure from Rhion to allow him to take out those closest to the facility. Zephyr pulled a proton grenade out of his belt and launched it towards a small group that begun approaching them. Upon seeing the grenade land by their feet, they quickly dispersed but they could not obtain a safe distance between themselves and the grenade.

With the five closest guards taken out, Zephyr descended to the top of the dune, as jetpack fuel was not unlimited, and continued to defend Rhion from those who got too close. However, they weren't without long-range weapons either and a bolt to the shoulder had enough force to knock Zephyr backwards, causing him to fall back behind the dune with Rhion for a moment while he could locate the weapon. "Take out their long-range gunmen." He told Rhion with a point of his finger, though he doubted the other needed to be told.

The next wave of guards were scrambling to reach the Mandalorians on the dune but Zephyr was ready for round two and as soon as they were close enough, he moved away from Rhion to draw the blaster fire away and engaged in a vicious exchange with the next nearest three guards.

Radon Krayt

 

[Radon Krayt]

Even with the close-range backup provided by Zephyr, taking out the seven who fired upon them proved to be a menace. In the time it took Zephyr to deal with the five closest guards, Rhion shot down two of their men. They had recovered from the Mandalorian surprise attack and had taken cover. Meanwhile, the surviving twelve guards moved in on his fellow Mandalorian.

"I'm working on it" He replied, as yet another blaster bolt left his sniper rifle. This fight proved to be tougher than he had expected. Were these guards actually well trained marksmen? On a remote planet like this? It made the Mandalorian clad in white wonder what they were so heavily guarding.

His attention was drawn by five of the nearby guards, who decided to split off from the main group that engaged Zephyr. But they weren't the least of his worries.

Rhion observed how the large durasteel door slid open, and three new guards joined the bout. All three of them carried rocket launcher, and immediately took aim at the dune. In a life saving reflex, Rhion threw himself back and activated his jetpack. The extra burst provided by the jetpack threw him out of harm's way, as the dune of sand exploded only seconds later.

Rhion rolled over, barely avoiding the second and third explosions aimed at his cover. The sand and dust kicked up by the explosions severely clouded his, and likely Zephyr's, field of vision, forcing him to abandon the sniper. He would waste no time, however, as he immediately grabbed his TL-50.

The first two of the five guards were met by an impressive volley of blasterfire and didn't even live to see what had hit them. At least they were lucky to have a pretty ending.

The other three opened fire upon the silhouette, their accuracy greatly decreased because of the kicked up sand and dust. Knowing that his window was small, Rhion raised his right arm and activated the repulsor on his vambrace. It cleared the area in front of him from any dust or smoke for a second, but that was all the time he needed. Swiftly, he activated his flamethrower, incinerating the three guards who were now in his direct line of sight.

Adrenaline drummed through his body with every heartbeat. He knew that this was far from over, so where were the other guards? And more importantly, was his ally still alive?
​

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

As he was outnumbered, he slid back behind the dune with Rhion for protection and peered over the top, concentrating blaster fire on the three nearest guards who returned fire. At the sound of a bolt pinging off of his helmet, Zephyr ducked back behind the dune and waited until the guards were close enough and once they were he shot up into the air to take them by surprise and use the vantage point to shoot the three of them down before they could return an accurate shot. He quickly descended back down to kneel beside Rhion.

Zephyr had decided not to use grenades because of the terrain and so relied on his blasters to dispatch the enemies. His marksmanship meant he expected the exchange to be over relatively quickly, however the guards also showed a level of proficiency which made the situation more difficult. With beskar'gam, the Mandalorians had more room for error than their opponents. However, it seemed the enemies accounted for this as they brought out a rocket launcher to combat the seemingly invincible Mandalorians.

He turned and leapt away from the rocket without a second thought but was caught in the shockwave which propelled him further and left him lying face-down on the ground. With a groan, he rolled over onto his back but didn't move more than that for a few moments as he felt dazed. The sound of blaster fire spurred him on so he scrambled for his fallen blaster beside him and got back to his feet, aiming the blaster in front of him though there was nothing but the bodies of the fallen guards so he lowered it.

They were enveloped in silence other than their own breathing and beating hearts, leading Zephyr to the conclusion that the guards were finished chasing them and were now waiting for their enemies to come to them. He turned to Rhion, who seemed very outspoken on how things should be done, and asked "Got a plan?" However, he wasn't reliant on Rhion having a plan and was content with dealing with the situation his own way but if the older Mandalorian had any outstanding ideas then Zephyr would entertain them.

Radon Krayt

 

[Radon Krayt]

It took him a moment to locate his fellow Mandalorian through the vision obstructing layers of sand. "I've always got a plan" He retorted to his younger counterpart. Of course, that was a blatant lie, but the 'fake it till you make it' mentality often got the better of him.

It didn't matter if he was bluffing or not; they were still in need of a clever strategy. His hand instinctively moved to his chin. "We won't be able to advance if they just keep coming like this. We'll run out of energy packs before we've dealt with all of them" he theorized out loud. "I say we fly to the entrance, get inside and barricade the door. We can deal with these soldiers after we've cleared a path inside." he suggested, motioning in the direction of the building. "That acceptable to you?"

If Zephyr agreed, Rhion would activate his jet-pack without delay. A powerful surge of energy from the thrusters launched him upward; he would need the altitude to get a clear shot at the remaining snipers.

With his right arm, Rhion lined up the shot. The small concussion missile he was about to launch from his vambrace would disorient the snipers and rocket launchers long enough to grant them an opening to swoop in. "Now!" he yelled to his companion, as the missile left his vambrace. Shortly after the missile collided with its targets, Rhion would dive down, making a beeline for the open door.
​

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

The enemies were relentless and the situation started to seem beyond their capabilities until Rhion offered a plan. "Oh right... good." He replied, thinking it was an odd question to get offended at. After listening to Rhion, Zephyr nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me." He confirmed and no sooner than he did did Rhion leap into action, prompting Zephyr to ascend into the air behind him a few moments later.

He had mixed feelings about Rhion because of his seemingly condescending attitude but trusted him as much as any other Mandalorian and gave him just as much respect. Still, even a slight discord between them wouldn't make them worse at working together as it seemed both were able to remain professional.

On Rhion's signal, he launched towards the open door and swooped in behind his companion, taking out a stray . He slammed his hand on a panel by the door to close it and quickly looked around for anything heavy to help barricade the door, settling on starting with a crate near the door which he pushed in front of it, hoping Rhion would offer some help. "We won't have long." He told Rhion as he turned away from the door.

Radon Krayt