Rise of the Firebird (pm to join)

[Logen Brunner]

Tattooine​

Unspecified scrapyard​

​

The sandstorms of Tattooine were a menace. The places the annoying particulars of dirt could reach were unfathomable and highly unconformable. Dirt, sand just everywhere. Logen hated Tattooine just on that fact alone. You add in that he had been marooned on this planet four weeks ago due to catastrophic engine failure of his YZ-2500 heavy transport and a minor crash that had rendered the ship un space worthy. The least to say, he was not in the best of moods. He had sold off the YZ-2500 for scrap and had only enough credits to buy this ancient beauty. Actually he was kinda pleased that he got his hands on a YT-1300, they were hard to come by due to their age which made them relics of the past. Though this one looked to be more of an abused lawn ornament, but was promised she could break atmo safely. For the creds, that was the best he could do and now here he was fixing her up so she can handle more then just breaking atmo.

So that left him doing odd jobs on this crap hole of the planet to garnish quick creds to buy the material and parts he needed to modify this beautiful beast of a machine, so that he could trust her through and through for when it counts it was the love you put into your bird that will mean the difference between life and death when poodoo hits the fan.

The dust blew in his face, his glacier blue eyes were protected by goggles while he piloted the "borrowed" landspeeder back to the YT-1300. His companion, a bulldog of the age of 6 named Duke, had his face and jowels flapping in the wind as if life could not get any better. Dogs, such simple creatures as for they were just happy with attention no matter their lot in life. With one hand Logen gave the dog a good back scratch along the spine as he decelerated the speeder then coming to a complete stop. He lifted the goggled off his face and removed the scarf from his mouth. He looked back to the cargo he was hauling, was a Isu-Sim SSP05 hyperdrive and parts.

He could hear beastily roars and loud crashed coming from inside the YT-1300. His dog quickly jumped back into the speeder, leaving his master out in the sandstorm to deal with the monster with in on his own. "You're an embarresment to your kind!" Logen hissed at his canine companion before hesitantly sauntering up the loading ramp. He could hear more crashes and roars rippling through the ship. He rounded the corner and found a multi colored wookie taking a frying pan to the food synthesizer.

"Everything going ok Mama?" Logen bravely broke his silence and announcing his position. Now, this large angry female wookie's full name was Mamacchi, she was called mama for short. It worked just fine for Logen, for the wookie was the closest he had to a mother. She had ripped the synthesizer out from his hard point and tossed it in Logen's direction, roaring viciously at him. He ducked out of the way, wolfish smile creeping upon his face. "I will get you a new one once we have the credits, I promise!"

His eyes slid down to see the carnage she had visited upon the food machine and then refocused upon his adopted mother. "I promise you Mama, things will get better" he reinforced as he walked towards her, arms out giving the angry wookie a loving embrace. "Have I ever let you down?"

She grunted......

"Recently, have i let you down recently?"

She grunted again....

"I mean let you down with actions that i have had control over?"

The wookie was silent and gave her adopted human child a embrace before walking away, growling and grunting in her native tongue.

"Yes, I will make sure Duke knows not to poodoo in your quarters"

 

[Andras Garon]

The Speeder had come up over the horizon of a sand dune. Its lone occupant hunched forward with a makeshift burnoose and goggles concealing his features. Trails of dust rose in the wake of the Speeder as it burned towards the archaic Freighter and its rider hammered on the throttle so that as much juice as possible could be milked out of the machine. As the Speeder came closer to the Freighter its speed would gradually decrease until the rider cranked on the handles, turned it sharply to the left and killed the engines causing it to hum to a slow stop until it hovered in place and went silent...

...the rider dismounted, throwing his leg up over the saddle of the Speeder until both feet were resting on the ground and he could circle back around his vehicle. Dressed as he was his features were unclear, obscured however his stature was noticeably masculine, hence the reference and his body squared and thick where it counted. A Duster was worn, dropping down past the middle of his calves and beneath it the hint of armor that was only barely concealed by an assortment of rags he used to cover himself. As he moved into view he'd have called from beneath the makeshift mask of goggles and cloth he'd worn to filter out the dust threatening to fill his lungs and force him to choke up...

"Logen Brunner!"

...the cloth over his mouth made his voice muffled and harder to discern as he called out...

"Logen Brunner! Come out here while you have the chance!"

...lowering his right arm he swept his duster back behind his hip revealing the handle of a Heavy Blaster Pistol holstered there which he let his palm hover over as though he were waiting for the opportunity to draw it. The Armor, easily recognizable underneath the duster now that it had been partially swept aside was Mandalorian, a version of early Neo Crusader Armor, if Logen knew much about that. It was functional and capable of taking a beating while offering its wearer quite a bit of personal protection. A little outdated maybe but no less effective then in its prime...​

​

[member="Logen Brunner"]

 

[Logen Brunner]

"For fek sakes!" The corellian hissed, his hand instinctively gripping and drawing his DL-44 blaster pistol. His mind raced, wondering who would of sent muscle after him. The unfortunate realization was that was a very long list and he had no clue who was yapping their gums at the loading ramp's entrance. Mama lumbered over with her bowcaster in hand. She gave off a low toned growl followed with a quick bark. " No, I have no fekking idea who it is" Logen replied sharply as he inched towards the ramp, his blaster drawn.

She growled again and whimpered another question. Logen sighed and shook his head. "Seriously Mama, I don't know what I did wrong this time. Our insurance covered the lost cargo in our crash a month ago, so really have no clue who wants my hide."

another whimper

The smuggler gave off another heavy sigh before walking down the ramp. Only one way to figure out what was what and was meet if face on. Wasn't like he could fire up the engines for it were all in pieces, along with the hyperdrive that was sitting probably five feet away from this unwanted visitor. Another growl came from the over motherly wookie and all of a sudden Logen was wishing that there was a bolt with his name on it, straight to the brain and end his suffering.

As he caught full view of the muscular figure, decked in desert gear and duster, it was the eyes and face he recognized. The air was released from logan's lungs in a sigh of relief. "You nerf shagging son of a whore!" Yelled at [member="Andras Garon"], an old friend who was a few days early. "I don't know who i should shoot first, you for giving this old bastard a heartattack or my dog..." He pointed to the overlyhappy bulldog at Andras feet waiting for attention to be given " ...... for being useless at his job"

Logen holstered his blaster and called the wookie off before advancing down the ramp to embrace the mandalorian. They didn't like hugging so he extended his arm out for the forearm grip. "Your early!"

 

[Andras Garon]

...watching as the Smuggler proceeded down the ramp of the Freighter the Mandalorian would would have reached for the cloth covering his mouth and pull it down revealing grizzled features before replying..."I'm never early Logen, I arrive exactly when I intend to."...it sounded like I had a sixth sense for this type of thing but the truth was I made my own schedule. It helped that I had my own ship to help traverse from one end of the galaxy to the other as well. Glancing down at the Bulldog I'd have have chuckled..."Don't blame your friend, he can't help that he's a good judge of character."...I crouched down briefly, resting on the heels of my feet before reaching out to scratch the animal on the top of its head thoroughly...

...rising back to his full stature Andras would have trekked a few paces to meet Logen as he descended on the ramp. Extending his arm he'd have gripped the offered forearm tightly, squeezing it before releasing while he stood straight. Andras reached with his right hand, sliding it back behind the left breast of the duster he wore before withdrawing a flask of some homebrew straight from Keldabe. Unscrewing the cap he placed the flask to his mouth, took a slow pull and relished in the burn before offering it to Logen..."This ships seen better days, you have too. At least you've got Mama."...he was referring to the Wookie of course who Andras knew was in the background somewhere...

...now that the initial pleasantries were starting to pass Andras turned and let his gaze stretch out across the desert, snorting one and then turning his head so that he could spit a mouthful of phlegm aside..."What's your play Logen? You got something in mind that will make this bucket of bolts fly again?"...which was to say Andras wasn't going to offer up any spare parts from his ship though he would remark..."Plenty of jobs here I'd figure. Tatooine used to belong to the Techno Union, I bet there's all sorts of scrap waiting to be salvaged in whatever bases they have around here."...of course that was merely an assumption of mine but a faction as big as the Union doesn't just fold and leave nothing behind, it was a safe bet...

...I'd look over at Logen, waiting to hear what he had to say and remembering a few lively times we had at one point in our lives. Hell I'd been keeping a fairly low profile ever since tangling with the One Sith a few times, last I heard they were still a dark thorn in the side of everything that mattered too...​

​

[member="Logen Brunner"]

 

[Logen Brunner]

"Pfft, in nine hells are you a good character!" retorted with a wolfish grin on his face. "My dog is just a whore for an ear scratch"

Logen took the flask, his gut already clinching preemptively to the excessive burn that this mandalorian paint remover provides as it burns the digestive system all the way down. He took a quick gulp of the harsh spirit and tried his best to keep a cold face as the liquid did exactly what he expected. Taste like poodoo and burnt everything it touched. He gave the flask back to Andras, a fake smile of gratitude on his face "Thank you, now lets head indoors. Looks as if another sandstorm is approaching and I have had my fill of dirt this day"

He would lead Andras up the boarding ramp, dog in tow. "Well, funny you mention the late techno union. They have left plenty to salvage on this planet, like you said, but the local criminal element has already placed up claims on them. Extorting fellow opportunists to pay ridiculous prices for salvage rights." Its no big mystery, Logen is a cheap bastard and has already calculated a way to circumvent the tax to keep all the profits for himself...... and possible cut for Andras. "I want to hit some of the scrap sites, take what we can. We won't be able to pawn the scraps off here, but the difference is I can use most of it for the ship and what i can't use we will move it off planet once this bird is ready to fly"

They rounded the entrance past the cockpit and headed into the main hold which was also the makeshift common area. Andras would be able to see that the debilitated state of this ship was not just on the outside, but the inside as well. Most of the side panels were all removed with exposed wires everywhere. Junk parts scattered all about including the food processor that Mama had mutilated before Andras showed up.

"And that is where you come in, i need some muscle to handle the security they will have set up at these sites. Now I know you are over qualified for such and I can't afford to pay you for what you are worth. This is earning a favor chip with me and possible bonus one what i do sell"

Logen offered his friend to take a seat at the holographic game table, while he dug into a box pulling out cups and a bottle of Corellian Spiced Ale "This is the good stuff, won't burn your innards out with a single shot like the poodoo you have in your pocket". He filled the two cups and sat opposite of Andras. You can hear the wookie working in the distance, her grunts and howls of anger and frustration echoed through the corridors. " So what you say you old stardog? Do a friend a favor and help him get back on his feet?"

[member="Andras Garon"]

 

[Andras Garon]

...accepting the flask Andras would stow it back in breast pocket of his duster before nodding once..."You'll get no argument from me."...one thing Tattooine had a lot of were sandstorms and even in a full suit of Neo Crusader Armor with an underlay the sand always managed to get into spaces it shouldn't have been able to. It was just horrible. Andras would nod and follow Logen up the ramp into the scrap YT-1300 Freighter while listening to his proposition. It wasn't the worst idea he'd heard but Andras was smart enough to have several concerns that he'd voice after ducking inside of the ship..."Techno Union salvage is high tech Logen. It'll be well guarded and worse whoever has it might bring the thunder using it on us."...

...he'd said some of what came to mind but Andras thoughts drifted as they passed the cockpit and moved down a corridor to the makeshift common area scattered with spare parts and other junk. Gazing around the interior Andras would admit half sarcastically..."It's a classic."...one of the side panels even looked like it had been completely stripped no wires running up or down its interior anymore. Moving closer to the holographic gaming table Andras settled comfortably into a seat using the table itself to rest one of his forearms across...

"Sounds easier than tracking the Sith I'd faced off against last time I decided to trek out across the galaxy. I'll help you Logen."

...the glass or Corellian Whiskey was taken in his right hand, he'd lift it to cheers his partner in the endeavor then bring it back to his mouth while he heard Mama the Wookie in the background venting her frustration. As he lowered his glass and exhaled, satisfied with the drink Andras would have glanced back over his shoulder then remarked..."Probably a good idea to get this ship flying again as is. Sounds like Mama might rip someones arms off if she has to stay here much longer."...and the Mandalorian had no intention of offering up his arms to the sacrifice, that one would be all Logen. Lifting his glass Andras took another sip, honestly he wasn't used to this smooth liquor and so part of his preferred the Mandalorian homebrew he'd brought with him there was something more honest about but he had to admit corellian whiskey went down damn fine..."When do we start?"...​

​

[member="Logen Brunner"]

 

[Logen Brunner]

Another large crash and howl rippled through the innards of the ship, forcing Logen to cringe and Duke to coward under the table snuggled as tightly as he could to his master's boots. "We start right away!" He quickly responded as soon as the angry outburst of the wookie died down. The Corellian pulled out a data stick and plugged it into the holographic display on the table. An image of an abandon techno union base would appear, blue prints and images of the security were also provided. Logen had done his homework, recon was nothing new for the smuggler for his past service as a commando pilot for CorSec came in handy. Andras was right, this was not going to be a walk in the park and the repercussions of such action could bring a storm upon them that they may not survive. What was needed to be done here could be accomplished by a small army but Logen did not have such resources on hand. So he had the next best thing, a badass mandalorian.

"We need to hit this location as quietly as we can, bide time for me to salvage...." Logen brought up an image of a Espada Class stealth transport. " I am targeting the stygiam cloaking device, the thrust trace dampers and the Gravitic modulator. Anything else i can grab will be bonus." He licked his lips before taking another swig of his beloved corellian spiced ale. "If we can snuff out the guards and bypass the security we should have all night to make good on the salvage before anyone notices something is amiss. Now, If you have a different plan of attack or anything to add to this mission, I am all ears"

[member="Andras Garon"]

 

[Andras Garon]

...the Holographic display lit up with the intel that Logen had collected. Impressive. Andras would raise his cup and take another sip of the whiskey which he'd gradually tip higher until he finish the contents of his glass entirely. Smiling thinly at Logen he'd have reached back into his duster and removed the flask that had been placed there earlier before pouring himself another small drink. The Mandalorian thought about offering some to Logen but knowing he preferred the finer vintage he merely stuffed the flask away and out of sight again. Gazing back at the display that had come up Andras studied the remnants of the Techno Union Base, it was nothing special and whoever occupied it now was likely a mash of Raiders and former Union soldiers. Shouldn't be to much trouble to break in...

"Actually I do have an idea."...Andras began..."I'll create a distraction and you worry about the security bypass and whoever is left. I'll make sure most of the eyes are on me."...his thin smile remained as he watched Logen for any kind of reaction..."You think you can handle that, Old Man?"...he was poking him a bit in fun, Andras and Logen were actually almost the same age. Neither one of them were young bloods anymore...

...whatever Andras had planned he would play it close to his chest. The Mandalorian was big on the spectacle of things when they actually happened which meant he probably didn't want to spoil the fireworks for his companion. Looking around the interior of the common area Andras would have remarked..."I'll need some of this random scrap, mostly small odds and ends. Nothing you can't spare. If Mama could spare a few jars that'd be great too. You must have something like that around here."...he wouldn't have known where to look but Andras was fairly confident that in a scrap heap like this you could find just about anything...

...raising his cup the Mandalorian took a drink, the burn was immediately more noticeable than what he'd taken away from the whiskey Logen had offered him and biting back a breath Andras would nod, satisfied with the vintage before stating..."Well lets get to it. A Stygium Cloaking Device isn't bound to wait around for you to come and take it."...​

​

[member="Logen Brunner"]

 

[Logen Brunner]

Hours later.........

Logen could be found with in an skillfully acquired A-A5 speeder truck's cargo hold. He was sitting on the bench, his legs up and crossed in a relaxed lounging position while he worked on a shento cigar and his eyes focused on the data pad before him. He was waiting for his partner in crime's so called 'Destraction', so the moment that it happen Logen was to jam comms with the sensor jammer array he had installed on the truck that should in theory block all comms from this area and preventing call for back up. He took a long puff on the cigar, pleased with himself with the possibilities of success in this raid.

"Come on, anytime now.." He impatiently hissed to himself, waiting for the mandalorian to do what he did best. What a great culture of folk to have on the good graces with. Warriors train from early age, talented in all areas of combat and yet individuals through and through. They were the galaxies elite, a singe Mando could be worth an army hands down. And here he was, giving favor chips un hesitantly of such skills to be used in his favor. A price worth paying when ever Andras has need of Logen's skill sets.

The Corellians glacier blue hues concentrated on the physical security presence. They weren't messing around, there was a small contingent of heavily armed guards of multiple races keeping this site hatched down. That was a clear sign to Logen that the good parts were still intact on the prize with in the hanger zone. More then not the leader of the criminal element in charge of this racket was still holding out for the highest bidder. Smart, lots of the tech on this ship alone was worth many millions. And here Logen was about to undermined them through and through. They had to be careful, one thing a man didn't want was a bounty on their head forcing them to live their lives always looking over their shoulder for the hunter.

"Come on.......do it already!"

[member="Andras Garon"]

 

[Andras Garon]

...Andras had taken his time leaving nothing to chance. The Jars he'd requisitioned from Mama were filled with various assortments of scrap and metal debris from around the interior of the YT-1300 junker. Logen might had had aspirations to get the Freighter flying again and Andras was sure that he could do it but until then it was still just another junker. This is were the spare parts and salvage from the former Techno Union Base came into play. Logen needed parts and Andras had agreed to help him acquire them from the Scavengers and Criminal element looting the base. It would be just another walk in the park for the Mandalorian who was secretly eager to get his boots wet again...

------

The Speeder Bike revved to life on the other side of a sand dune. The nighttime was the right time for Andras and he'd use the minimized visibility to his advantage. Revving the bike again Andras flipped a switch on the console directly ahead of his seat. An eruption of noise was his reward. Something loud, something vulgar, something that really drew attention to itself. Something like...

https://youtu.be/WLrTqbW0zIY​

...the roar of the Speeder Bike was undermined by the sheer volume of the music that was belching out in all directions. As the Bike flew over the horizon of the sand dune it would come down on the other side and Andras punched it in a straight line towards his target. Outfitted in his Neo Crusader Armor now, complete with the ragged duster trailing behind him, Andras activated his sensory package equipped in the helm complete with advanced optics and a friend/foe designator. Up ahead he knew he'd draw the attention of the security perimeter when the muzzle flash of slug throwers and bolts from various blaster weapons started to light up the dark ahead of him. The Friend/Foe Designator tagged accordingly...

....Andras hunched forward, leaning into the Speeder Bike while reaching to activate the Light Energy Shield integrated in the arm of his armor. A light blue haze came to life around the Mandalorian as he raced towards the perimeter of the Techno Union Base. Blaster bolts hitting the energy shield cause it to flare to life momentarily while bullets ricocheted off the thick plates of his armor. Almost there. The Speeder Bike zoomed ahead and it was inside the perimeter taking a few hits in the process and becoming unstable...

...during the ride Andras had started a silent count which he maintained in the back of his mind and on an hud in the upper corner of his helms display panel. When it hit zero he leaned back, sat straight and ripped into the air. The Jet Pack on the back of his armor came to life, throwing him into the air while the Speeder Bike continued to zoom ahead then a loud...BOOM!...followed and an explosion ripped through the area of the scrap yard and the derelict base. The Speeder Bike, outfitted with a tampered power cell rigged to blow would have torn itself apart in a fiery explosion that sent shrapnel is all directions. The Jars filled with scrap metal strapped securely to the sides of the bike made themselves known by throwing dozens of jagged metal pieces in all directions. Maiming, ripping into unprotected flesh and generally killing. Logen had his distraction...

...from the air Andras extended his left arm, tightened his forearm muscles and triggered the fully automatic wrist slugthrower equipped there. Spraying a high velocity barrage down towards targets lit by his designator while he hovered overhead carried by his jet pack. Decreasing the ignition of the Jet Pack Andras came down towards a group of enemies lit by his designator, his right arm thrusting out in turn before the flame projector there spit gouts of flaming death over the men looking for a target. Screams, chaos, the smell of charred and smoking flesh were just apart of another day...

...blaster fire, gunfire and voices carried into the air all around Andras who now had boots on the ground and crouched down to make himself a smaller target before accessing local comms..."If it wasn't obvious now is the time."...do your stuff Logen...​

​

[member="Logen Brunner"]

 

[Logen Brunner]

Really? did that just happen? Logen was sitting there, his shento cigar barely hanging in the loose grip of the corellian's lips, in shock of the flamboyant theatrical display of murderous carnage his partner had just performed. Watching it all on the data pad was like watching some box office holodrama that had promised high octane action with a dash of adrenaline rush just for sitting in the theater. Except this wasn't the bloody movies, this was real and he had just witnessed it. Fek taking over a scrap yard, I can take over the entire planet with this guy, He thought to himself still in awestruck of the mandalorians talents.

"Show off!" The corellian muttered into his comms, not wanting to give the warrior his due or letting on that he was caught surprised. He engaged the jammers and cut all comms to the direct area. he quickly slid into the driver's seat of the truck and ignited the beastly speeder to life. Pushing her to full throttle he used the armored vehicle like a battering ram to hit the main gates, where were no mach for the truck. Logen pulled the vehicle up to the intended target, the abandon Espada Class stealth transport. The smuggler exited the vehicle, a utility belt filled with tools and his DL-44 drawn while his eyes glanced about the hellish sight of bodies all about.

Logen cautiously made his way to the ship, yet to have visual on Andras but he knew the one man army was about doing his business. He pressed the access panel to see if the off chance access would be granted. DENIED. Well, it was worth a shot. The captain holstered his heavy blaster pistol and drew his trusty hydrospanner to remove the protective lid of the access panel so he could gain access to the innards. Few more moments later he had wires attached to his data pad and a spike prepped to pop the doors as he sliced into it's mainframe.

"Got it!" He whispered to himself, placing the data pad back into his pocket along with the Hydrospanner and drawing his heavy blaster. He took one step in and was intanstly greeted with a barrage of balster bolts hailing from a security droid. With cat like reflexes, the scoundrel pounced backwards just as bolts hissed past his location and hitting durasteel on the other side.

"Unauthorized access! Intruder to be terminated!" The masculine yet synthesized voice of the droid still hit the mark with intimidation.

"Fek me!" The corellian snarled as he gathered himself from narrowing escaping death split second before. Logen tactically slipped out from his cover and return fire with his blaster, hitting the droid twice before its targeting system re-acquired him and unleashed another volley. Logen pressed himself hard against the lip of the entrance door as the repeated bolts crashed into his last location.

Logen once again exposed himself from cover to lace more bolts at the droid and yet again the droid responded with more blaster fire. He noted that he was doing some damage as he saw smoke pluming from the droid and the familiar smell of electrical fire was filling the area. But, the droid was still keeping up with the fire fight and all that was going through the smugglers mind was that the mandalorian was probably watching in disgust as he had expertly annihilated most of the security forces in one fell swoop and here Logen was trading bolts with a single security droid. He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of this.....

[member="Andras Garon"]