Private Rocks and Sand

[Annrae Esspitt]

She accepted his hand. "You'd do very well for yourself here. Maybe you wouldn't be made a king but if you stay here long enough you'll likely earn yourself a title and property."

It was clear that him beating her so easily had earned him quite a bit of respect from her. As she seemed to speak to him just a little differently than before.

She gathered her own weapons again. "It's less about surviving and more about navigation. We've lived in these caves for almost a hundred years and we still haven't mapped the entire Labyrinth. We suspect that we've only been able to map a portion of it. So no, it's best if we wait."

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic considered Ann's initial comment, thinking for a moment on what could potentially come with that power. Then, after a moment of indecision, he shook his head. "Nah, the famous life aint for me." He said, dusting off his cape. "As a good Bounty Hunter once said, 'I am just a simple man making my way in the galaxy'."

Then he nodded at her second statement, looking into one of the nearby tunnels and sighing. "Well, I guess that is an adventure that presents more risks than rewards." He said, sitting down against the nearest wall of the cave they sat in. "How many hours we got till nightfall?"

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

"I'd guess around four hours. Sunrise to sunset usually only lasts five, five hours of light, five hours of day." She said, plopping herself down against the wall of the cave.

"Unless you really want to get lost of course."

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic leaned his head back against the wall, staring up into the ceiling. "Getting lost seems to be my specialty these days." He chuckled, tilting his head so that he was looking over at Ann. "But I think I'm already lost enough without diving into some old caves to get eaten by who knows what. So Ill sleep off the rest of the night." Tilting his head back up to the ceiling, Leenic closed his eyes and rested his hand on his Lightsaber. Although he was a deep sleeper, he liked to know he could easily draw his weapon should he need to.

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

She nodded her understanding and let him sleep. She slept a while too. It was the sudden drop in temperature that alerted her to the sun's own slumber.

She stood up and if he were asleep she'd gently shake him awake. "Time to go, we've got five hours before sunrise and we need to get to our destination in three.

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic grunted when she shook him, slowly getting up and looking at her. "Alright, you lead the way." He said, looking out at the entrance of the cave. "But three hours? Thats gonna be a looonng walk, you sure we can make it?"

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

"So long as you can keep pace we'll make it on time." She said simply. The biggest difference she could see between them, was that he was more dense, and she more light of foot. To put it simply, she was built for running, he was built for fighting up close, so she guessed she'd be able to keep up with him fairly easily, and maybe even outpace him.

So she held her rifle, ready for use but at rest, across her chest and she jogged out of the cave. It was a rather fast jog, faster than most people did, almost reaching a run, but consistent in pace and maintainable for those who had high stamina.

And so they jogged through the rocks and eventually into the sands.

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic nodded when she mentioned keeping up. He figured that he'd be able to make it whatever distance she had wanted him to make, but was unsure if he would be able to go at fast speeds the whole way since he had trained in mainly endurace related fields, rather than speed.

He sighed as they began jogging, leaving both his pistol and his lightsaber holstered as he went along. He was able to keep close enough to Ann so that he didnt fall behind, but also was not entirely shoulder-to-shoulder with her as she ran. As they passed the rocks surrounding the cave, he wondered what types of materials they stored and how much he could sell them for.

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

So they jogged, she checked behind her every now and then to make sure he was still there. And after three hours of ceaseless motion, they came to a small outcropping of rock, where they could take shelter. And where a unit of five other people we're waiting for them.

They raised their weapons in alarm when they saw the mandalorian, but Ann stepped in before anything could get ugly. "Hold your fire. This man isn't our enemy. He's a mercenary who's agreed to fight with us."

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic managed to keep a good pace throughout the entire run, occasionally glancing around to study the sandy wasteland around them. Upon closer inspection, he was able to see more of a resemblance to Tatooine than he had been able to previously. At this realization he merely shook his head and wiped some dust out of his visor so that he could see better.

Once they reached the outcropping, Leenic lowered his rangefinder to see if there was anyone there he could consider a threat. He only saw the five soldiers that were already there and figured Ann could deal with them since they looked like soldiers from her group. When they raised their blasters on him, however, Leenic almost immediately drew his lightsaber but stopped short of igniting it when Ann held up her hands to calm down the soldiers. “I mean, I could take you all on if I wanted.” He commented, clipping his lightsaber to his belt and shrugging. “But I think miss Ann here wants as many of you guys alive as possible.”

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

She ignored his comment and continued on her way.

"Are we ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am. The equipment is in place and we're ready to move. We need only wait for the order." The man in front said to her.

"Great, fill our guest in on the objectives, I'll get in contact with command." Ann tells him, afterwards she moved on to what appeared to be an ancient communicator, a large block with a microphone connected by a cord.

"Alright. Here's the deal. We're going into a bunker, run by the Triarchy. Our goal is to secure the security center and keep them oblivious while the main force moves in to take the bunker. Just stay with the Sergeant and kill anyone who doesn't look like us."

Honestly that wouldn't be hard. Many of the men didn't have more than a shirt, some didn't even have that. Most only had their left arms armored, a few of the luckier ones had a few extra plates on their left side, and all of the plates were white. They'd be easy to pick out.

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic glanced over at the comms relay that Anne went over to, raising an eyebrow underneath his helmet. These people really are living in the stone age, poor bastards. He thought, turning his attention to the soldier addressing him. "Yeah, sounds good kid." He said dismissively. "But don't worry, I served for a bit in the special forces so I know how things work."

Leenic then walked over to Anne and tapped his helmet. "You know, I could give you my comlink." He said, stopping next to her and gesturing towards the relay. "Its a hell of a lot smaller than this, and probably twice as effective. I wont be using it anyway."

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

He thought, turning his attention to the soldier addressing him. "Yeah, sounds good kid." He said dismissively. "But don't worry, I served for a bit in the special forces so I know how things work."

"So we finally get someone new who isn't a total zombie. Good to know." The man said just as dismissively. He didn't much care for this cocky foreigner's tone. He was there to help, sure so he wasn't subject to their orders near as much as other soldiers, but even so, his dismissive attitude was less than appreciated.

Leenic then walked over to Anne and tapped his helmet. "You know, I could give you my comlink." He said, stopping next to her and gesturing towards the relay. "Its a hell of a lot smaller than this, and probably twice as effective. I wont be using it anyway."

"Yes but I don't know how to use it, and it will likely need to be adjusted to the same frequency, which will take time we don't have." She told him. "I appreciate the offer, but really it's best that we stick with what we have now."

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

“Sounds good.” Leenic replied, nodding at Anne before looking at the communication relay. “What weapons do your soldiers have?” He then asked, glancing around at the soldiers near them. “At least tell me they have blaster rifles instead of slugthrowers, because if they don't then we are going to have one hell of a time getting through.” He then looked back at Anne and gestured towards her armor. “Mainly since you’re the most heavily armored one besides me, and your vital organs are completely exposed.”

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

. “What weapons do your soldiers have?

"Weapons are standard, one of the few things that are." She tells him. "They have the same rifle I do."

She rolled her eyes. "Soldiers wear armour if it won't starve their family to wear it. Don't look down on us because we aren't as well off as you are."

She looked to the communications soldier. "How long do we have?"

"Twenty minutes." He says.

"We need to be done in fifteen." She says. Then returns her gaze to the mandalorian. "Stay with us and shoot who we shoot. Okay?"

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic nodded, glancing down at Anne's rifle before holding up his hands defensively. "Hey, Im not looking down on you for not having a ton of cash on hand." He said. "I was just suggesting you guys find a way to make more armor. Its very useful."

When the soldier said how long it was going to take, Leenic simply drew his pistol and gave it a once-over. Low on ammo. He thought as he inspected the cartage, noting there was only about 70 rounds in it. Then Anne told him to shoot who they shot. "You got it ma'am." He said, holstering his pistol and giving her a mock salute.

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

Leenic nodded, glancing down at Anne's rifle before holding up his hands defensively. "Hey, Im not looking down on you for not having a ton of cash on hand." He said. "I was just suggesting you guys find a way to make more armor. Its very useful."

"We know it's useful. But everything we have is handmade, we don't have industry like you do. So we can only ever afford so much. And then we have to prioritize certain things. I prioritized heart and lungs over intestines and stomach, a shot to the latter is far more survivable than a shot to the former. And if my appendages are unharmed I can keep fighting even if injured. And quite frankly I'm lucky to have as much as I do."

When the soldier said how long it was going to take, Leenic simply drew his pistol and gave it a once-over. Low on ammo. He thought as he inspected the cartage, noting there was only about 70 rounds in it. Then Anne told him to shoot who they shot. "You got it ma'am." He said, holstering his pistol and giving her a mock salute.

She didn't reply. All she did was nod for one of her soldiers to go. He pulled aside a large rock and revealed a vent, that was their way in. It was wide and not very long, plenty wide for an armed and armoured soldier to fit through. They dropped a ways into a large, square room of metal walls, there was a single door.

Anne took point and headed straight for the door. It opened when they were but three feet away and the four guys, uniformed in grey, who had opened it were instantly gunned down with precise shots. Then it was into the hallway.

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

Leenic followed along behind Anne, drawing his blaster pistol and flicking the safety off. Interesting entry system. He thought to himself, eyeing the walls around him. Must be how they stay alive.

When the soldiers came through the door, Leenic almost force-pushed them back but simply watched as Anne killed all of them herself. "Nice shooting." He said, stepping into the hallway with his blaster raised. "Keep that up and you might just outperform me."

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

When the soldiers came through the door, Leenic almost force-pushed them back but simply watched as Anne killed all of them herself. "Nice shooting." He said, stepping into the hallway with his blaster raised. "Keep that up and you might just outperform me."

(I hadn't meant that she did it herself, but thanks for thinking so highly of my character.)

"We'll see if I do." She replied.

She came in after him, checking the other direction for any enemy soldiers. None in either direction.

She whispered, "this way." to her mandalorian companion, and the squad moved on down the hallway. Anyone they encountered was swiftly put down until they reached the door of the security room.

The door was thick and not capable of being cut through with any sort of speed. They did however have other plans.

"Matias." She said, and one of her soldiers stepped up to the num-pad for opening the door. Then they began to work.

 

[Leenic Ellsil]

(ope, well no problem!)

"We certainly shall." Leenic said, keeping his pistol ready as they walked through the hall. He partook in putting down some of the other guards as they moved, but left most of the shooting up to Anne and her soldiers since he was low on ammo.

Leenic looked at the soldier and sighed, rolling his head to stretch out his neck before holstering his pistol. Hacking it was going to take more time than they probably had.

"Allow me." He said, drawing his lightsaber and sizing up the door. "I do hope none of you have qualms about going in guns blazing." He then ignited his saber, slashing a large X into the center of the door. Once that was finished, he deactivated his saber and placed both his hands on the door.

"Get ready." He said, using the force to widen the hole he had made in the door before snapping it in half down the middle. Then he pushed one half to the side so the group could get through before stumbling back and slumping against the wall. "Might wanna check for hostiles." He panted, slowly sliding down into a sitting position. "Willing to bet at least one other person heard that."