Private Snake in the Grass

[Zephyr Krayt]

Location: Velmor
​

There would be no monetary reward for this job but no credits could cover the satisfaction of thwarting the enemy. If it weren't for the Mandalorians taking him in then Zephyr suspected he would've been brain-washed into becoming a loyal Imperial but thankfully he had come to see the light. It would be a battle that hit close to home, literally and figuratively. Due to the high expertise of those they were dealing with, Zephyr enlisted the help of another Mandalorian he had met recently, though it seemed like a bold move as neither knew each other beyond what they had witnessed in the bar, as a fellow Mandalorian Zephyr had an innate trust for his comrade, at least to an extent.

As he knew he'd be relying on manoeuvrability and evasiveness more than gun power, he swapped the blaster carbine on his back for a jetpack and connected his comlink to his companion's. A local had surrendered information on there whereabouts of one pair from the infiltration unit through an encrypted message, though it was only a matter of time before the message would be discovered and the unit moved so they had to act fast. Once the first pair were found, he hoped to use them to find the next pair as they had limited information on them but he was confident that the pair of Mandalorians could handle the situation.

The approximate coordinates led them to a forest where but the soldiers would be hidden, waiting to strike when they became aware of their pursuers who weren't exactly stealthy. Zephyr already had a blaster in his hand for comfort, scanning the surroundings for anything out of the ordinary as they walked but they might as well have been going on a nice afternoon walk at this point. "Maybe we should split up." Zephyr suggested but a small movement behind Kragr caught his attention and then the flash of silver in the light.

Realising he had been spotted, the Imperial fired towards the pair, the bolt whizzing past their heads. "Ok, bad idea." He told himself as he took his second blaster into his hand to return fire but the impact of a second bolt on his shoulder from behind knocked him forwards and led him to instinctively leap into the air to fly above the attackers and hopefully get a good vantage point as he returned fire.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Kragr had met Zephyr one type before, he was the one getting his face smacked in by Isabeau, which was hilarious, but one smack to the head by another Mando'ad wasn't enough for Kragr not wanting to work with Zephyr. At least it was a nice change of pace for Kragr, It had been quite some time he had been in a forest, so he enjoyed the surroundings, even if they had to be stealthy.

Pulling one of his blasters, just to be on the safe side as Zephyr suggested they should split up and he was about to agree with him since they would be able to gather more information and cover more ground. However, the ones they pursued didn't seem to agree with the two Mandalorians when they ambushed them.

"Stealth's boring anyway!" Admitted the red-haired Mandalorian with a burst of heartfelt laughter under his helmet and holstered his blaster, launching himself at the enemy. With a boost from his jetpack, he launched through the air, flying directly towards the Imperials who didn't have enough time to react. planting his foot in one Imperial's face, crashing him into the ground, while blasting another with his slugthrower. A couple of blaster fire ricocheting off of Kragr's armour, promoting him to pull a blaster and returned fire at the rest of the Imperials, seeking cover.



Zephyr Australis

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Zephyr shot at the Imperials in front of him but held off when Kragr initiated an attack to avoid hitting him by mistake. He watched as the other Mandalorian crashed into the Imperial soldier and smiled to himself, finding the situation rather comical. "Or we could take a more direct approach." He suggested after seeing Kragr in action. The ping of a bolt ricocheting off his shoulder rang in his ear and the momentum knocked him forwards but the attack did no damage so he simply turned around and returned fire but upon seeing a handful of soldiers he realised it would be wiser not to be a floating target.

He descended to the ground and dived behind cover alongside Kragr, taking a moment to compose himself before getting on one knee and joining Kragr in returning fire. For a while, there seemed to be a stalemate with neither side gaining much until a large plant behind one of the Imperials seemed to shift, causing Zephyr to frown in confusion and cease from firing for a moment. The plant seemed to split in two to reveal a wide mouth before it slowly fell down on one of the unsuspecting Imperial's heads before snapping shut again and plucking him off of the floor.

The others, now aware of the carnivorous plant's presence began to scramble to get away, allowing the Mandalorians the opportunity to pick off their fleeing enemies with relative ease until only two were left. At the feeling of something touching his leg, Zephyr quickly turned to see what was touching him, blaster readily aimed, and found a thick vine curled around his ankle and climbing higher. He reached for the vibroblade at his waist to free himself but was suddenly pulled with an almighty strength towards a similar looking plant to the one that had just eaten the Imperial.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Watching the plants come to life, he stopped fire, seeing an Imperial get eaten. Taking the rest was relatively easy for the two Mandalorians and while Kragr wanted to chase the last two fleeing soldiers, he decided against it as the forest around them apparent found two men incased in metal really tasty. Watching Zephyr being pulled with such a surprisingly strong pull from a plant, he was about to jump into action and free Zephyr, when he felt the pull himself.

Activating his jetpack it turned into a pull and push fight between the plant and Kragr. With his slugthrower in hand, he aimed at the plant and blasted it, causing it to release a low 'crowing' sound, letting go of Kragr's leg. When the plant actually let go of Kragr, he shot into the air, because nothing was holding him back.

"WoOOoaw!" Called high up in the air, getting his balance under control again. Looking down towards Zephyr through the treetops, Kragr dashed down again, releasing one of his rockets from the jetpack. While the rocket wasn't aimed at Zephyr, it got mighty close to where he was. However, the explosion did blow up the one that tried to eat Kragr and scrap metal launched itself into the plant, pulling Zephyr back to it.

Landing with just a bit too much speed, he had to perform a combat rolling, not to hurt himself. Standing up, Kragr looked to Zephyr, "While I do love a fight, how about we move on from these blasted plants?" suggested the red and white armoured Mandalorian, firing his slugthrower at another plant, trying to move its appendages to the Mandalorians and catch them.

Zephyr Australis

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

There was nothing to grab onto to prevent himself from being pulled into the plant's mouth and even then he didn't think his grip would suffice so he shot out whipcord from his vambrace which latched around a nearby tree and stopped him from being pulled any further, though if he wasn't quick then the pressure on his body would become too much as either side pulling him was equally as strong.

Zephyr reached down to his leg with a vibroknife to try and free himself but before he did, the plant fell limp and he kicked the vine off of his ankle. He released the whipcord and stood up. "Yeah, I didn't expect the local wildlife to be quite so... adverse." He agreed. "Let's find those other two." He suggested before shooting back up into the air, wielding both blasters. In the commotion, the Imperials had been given the opportunity to hide again so the Mandalorians needed to be vigilant.

Being in the air was allowing yourself to be an obvious target but it also allowed for manoeuvrability and now safety from the reaches of plants so as long as they were careful, they ought to be able to use the position to their advantage. Zephyr watched down below for any sudden movements but as the foliage became denser, it was harder to see anything on the ground.

"Can you see anything, vod?" He asked Kragr through the comlink in his helmet, no matter where he was, he may have been able to see something that Zephyr couldn't. He lowered himself below the top of the trees but remained in the air, though at such a low altitude he felt more exposed. Zephyr scanned the surroundings for anything out of place before lowering himself to the ground. The area seemed to be clear of those peculiar plants so they had one less thing to worry about. He activated the HUD in his helmet to allow for a more comprehensive search of the environment for information he might have otherwise missed.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Hearing Zephyr go for the stars, he continued down at ground levels, keeping an eye out for anything bustling and rustling around him. However, he didn't have much luck either, traversing the jungle with both blasters out. "Narda, either they suddenly got masterfully good at hide'n'seek, or they've run far into the jungle" commed the large Mandalorian back to his current partner in action.

Or so he thought. The moment Zephyr landed back on the ground again, a blaster fire, shot from somewhere in front of them, hit both Zephyr and Kragr's helmets, knocking them both to the ground. Quickly feeling his helmet, Kragr checked for any damage. Not that it needed to, was just out of habit really. Looking in the direction of the blaster shot, he just got a glimpse of the two remaining Imperials dash away. They probably hoped to buy themself some time.

Quickly getting up again, Kragr charged after them, "track them from the air, vod!" Called Kragr before disappearing through to lush bushes and trees. Tracking Kragr wasn't particularly difficult to do, due to how his beskar'gam was forged as a more of a tank than stealth and Zephyr could hear him continuously firing.

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was off them again and on his back as a bolt pinged from his helmet. With little ugency, he pushed himself into a sitting position and caught a last glimpse of the Imperials before they were out of sight. "Idiots." He muttered while getting back to his feet. "Somebody should teach them to aim for the gaps in the armour." He critiqued, though Kragr had already left to advance on them.

With no reason to disagree with Kragr, Zephyr did as he was told and shot back into the air to track them, having the advantage of being faster in the sky than on foot. For a short while it was hard to see through the foliage but when there was another clearing then he could see one of the Imperials beneath him, having accidentally caught up with him. ::They've separated. I'm above one but I can't see the other.:: He told Kragr through the comlink. ::I've got this one:: He told Kragr before swiftly descending behind the Imperial, though the sound of the jetpack alerted him to the Mandalorian's presence so he turned and opened fire, with Zephyr returning the sentiment.

He quickly bested the Imperial and delivered the final blow but was struck in the arm by a bolt from behind which knocked him forwards onto the floor. With Kragr behind, he wasn't too concerned until he heard more footsteps from ahead so he stuck out his good arm and shot towards the Imperial who ducked behind a tree. ::I miscounted, there's another:: He informed Kragr with a strained tone as he tenderly got back onto his feet.

Zephyr got back into the air but only high enough to be an inconvenient target and allow for manoeuvrability as he remained below the trees. Now exposed, the Imperial behind the tree shot for cover again but Zephyr shot at him in that moment and the hit sent him to the ground. After a few moments of no movement, Zephyr concluded that they wouldn't be seeing that Imperial again and came back down to the ground.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Kragr stormed with heavy steps through the forest, right behind the empire who ran for his life. With his gun dropped, the Imperial had no weapons and got ensnared in a whipcord wire, which Kragr pulled the begging man towards him. In one smooth motion, had Kragr pulled his blaster and blown a fist-sized hole out the back on the man's head. Looking at the lifeless body with an additional hole to add, he smiled, before snapping his attention to the loud shot up ahead.

Continuing running through the forest he exited behind Zephyr, just as he got blasted in the back by another Imperial. Activating this flamethrower, Kragr just began to cook the poor sod on the ground, who squirmed and screamed a horrible wail, before he got quiet. Looking up at Zephyr, "you don't say" remarked Kragr with a raised eyebrow and walked pasted the burned corpse and over to the purple-armoured Mandalorian.

Noticing Zephyr being hit, and just grinned, "that'll be a funny story to tell one day" commented Kragr and slapped Zephyr a little too rough on his shoulder. Looking around, it was clear that they were rather deep in the jungle-forest and would take a couple of hours to get out, more or less.

But then, the feeling of something tugging at his leg, Kragr looked down and saw the same plant life, slowly wiggling around his foot and ankle. The same ordeal happened to Zephyr with a close second limp-like arm started to slither slowly up his other leg. Blasting the limb-like green plant, a shrink came from the forest to the side as the arm let go of Kragr's ankle.

However, a massive green plant-like creature showed itself, shooting its limb-like arms at Kragr and Zephyr, snatching on to them. All around them, Tens of if not hundreds of smaller plant creatures with four limbs and was made of plants and barks broke from the three lines, dashing towards both Mandalorians that was kept grounded by the large creature. "Finally, a real challenge!" Laughed Kragr battle-ready, activating his vambrace flamethrower jet again and gave a good dose to everything plant-like things that moved.

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

"Yeah..." Zephyr replied less than enthusiastically, flinching as Kragr gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder which sent a fresh wave of pain through his already searing arm, though he was keen not to show any sign of weakness to his fellow Mandalorian. It seemed the moment would soon be forgotten though as a new wave of unexpected enemies launched an attack on them by trying to entangle them in its vines.

Instinctively, Zephyr shot at the plant-arm, causing it to recoil. At first, the threat didn't seem too substantial until a large creature, resembling a sentient plant, latched onto his waist. Kragr seemed to have a much different opinion on the situation as Zephyr gave an exasperated sigh in response to the situation. It may have been a challenge but fighting these creatures would not help them towards their cause.

The Mandalorian swapped the blaster in his right hand for a vibroknife, hoping that cutting through the plants would prove more effective and as his other arm was almost out of action then he would struggle to use his vambrace functions. He sliced through the vines enveloping his abdomen and tried to place some distance between himself and the creature while staying near Kragr. It seemed unwise to get separated from each other.

With little strength to rely on, he swapped the blade into his other hand while he used his good arm to launch a proton grenade towards an area with a high density of the creatures, making sure it was far enough away not to impact himself and Kragr significantly. With straining, he reached his left hand over to the opposite vambrance and activated the flamethrower in the direction of the large creature that was advancing on them.

He backed away the closer it got but it soon became more focused on the fact it was on fire, providing the distraction he needed to get launch a proton grenade at it but to his surprise it caught the grenade and launched it back towards the pair. "Watch out!" He warned Kragr as he dived out of the way, using a burst of the jetpack to provide momentum and ensure he was well clear of the blast.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

A lot of the smaller plants-like creatures died instantly from the explosion from Zephyr's proton grenade, though it was not enough to break of their charge. Finally free from the damn vines, he starts to blast one after another, fire one of his vambrace rockets, taking out another batch of the smaller plant creatures. As soon as they got too close, they received every dose of fire, making them flee, burning alive. Not only were they burning alive, but some of the plant-creatures disappeared into the forest that surrounded them all.

The sudden orange glow, that soon started to spread in the jungle-forest was quick to form into a large forest fire as the flames spread. With lightning reflections, Kragr launched himself from where he stood, and literally slammed his hands around the grenade and having an opening in the hands away from him. Just as Kragr had caught the grenade, it went off. Kragr's jetpack, fortunately, kept him in the air, but the impact sent the man a good few feets back and rather sore hands.

But, Kragr was unharmed, thanks to his armour and war gauntlets. Getting the ringing under control, Kragr pulled his blaster again and shot a few other of the smaller plants. Landing again by Zephyr, "I got a plan to kill our challenger" explained the red-colour armoured man while continuing to shot at whatever charged them.

While Zephyr's proton grenade had been thrown back towards them, the now burning forest, caught a lot of the plant-creatures off-guard and many of the smaller ones retreated into the forest where the fire hasn't caught yet. "I'm going to run straight at big fella and when it swallows me, I'll blow it up from the inside" explained Kragr forces.

Not giving Zephyr the chance to talk him out of it or tell him how stupid that plan was, the red-haired Mandalorian disconnected his jetpack and gave it to Zephyr. "See you after the explosion," laughed Kragr and charged the massive plant creature who also returned charging the two men. Grabbing two thermal detonators from his belt, Kragr dashed towards the hulking monster who opened it's mouth to swallow Kragr.

The last thing Zephyr heard and saw, was Kragr's joyous and mad laughter, followed by him getting swallowed by the plant-creature four times the size of them combined. After swallowing Kragr, the plant-creature quickly changed focus to Zephyr and was about to dash him, but stopped suddenly. With low growling sounds from the plant, it started to grow for just an instant, before blowing to pieces from the inside. Chunks upon chunks of plant-based matter, green gue and blood splattered on Zephyr.

And Kragr, he rolled out and still alive and unhurt, due to his heavy full covered Beskar-gram armour. Yet, despite blowing himself up from inside a hulking carnivore plant creature, he laid on his back, covered from head to boots, laughing wholeheartedly, "Now that is how you take out an enemy!" Cheered the Mandalorian on the ground.

With the big plant monster killed, the rest scattered like mice and soon the two Mandalorians were alone, in a burning forest, covered in plant matter and blood.

Zephyr Kumaara

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Zephyr got back to his feet with a grunt and immediately began firing at the nearest creatures. When Kragr landed near him, he stood behind his ally to protect them from behind. "What is it?" Zephyr asked between shots. Upon hearing Kragr's plan, he paused and let out a surprised "What?!" as he took Kragr's jetpack from him and placed it at his feet as he needed to use his free hand to continue shooting the oncoming plant creatures.

With no opportunity to even discuss a plan with Kragr, Zephyr had no choice but to watch as his companion willingly entered the stomach of the creature. Though it had been a surprise to hear at first, he wasn't particularly concerned for Kragr's safety as he trusted the Mandalorian knew what he was doing as the more senior of the two.

Since there were few of the smaller creatures left, Zephyr watched as the situation unfolded before him and began to back away as the creatures set course for him, scooping up Kragr's jetpack as he did so. He was hesitant to shoot the creature in case he accidentally injured Kragr so he trusted his ally would prevent either of them from coming to harm so he instead planned to fly out of reach instead if the creature got too close.

However, it wouldn't come to that as the creature stopped and produced a strange sound. In an instant, there was an almighty noise of an explosion which knocked him off his feet and splattered him with something which obscured his vision. He used his hand to wipe a thick green substance from his T-visor and flicked it onto the floor before propping himself up off the floor with his elbow. He could see that he was covered in whatever substance held the plant together and then looked at Kragr who was no better off. With a sigh, he lay flat on his back, exhausted from their endeavour. "Kragr. What the hell?!" He said, sounding irritated, though it became clear that wasn't the case after the breathless laugh that followed.

Kragr Krayt

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Kragr just laid in the mess of where the once large plant creature had stop. After a few minutes of just laying on the ground, Kragr finally sat up, as bits and pieces of matter from the beast fell off of his helmet and armour. Else he used his hand to wipe away the thick green blood from his t-visor he slowly rose from his spot on the ground. Looking around the area he looked as if they were in the middle of a battlefield.

The forest had gone in ablaze and turned into a wildfire, while bodies upon bodies of the plant creatures laid waste in various sizes and pieces around them. Walking over to Zephyr, looking truly unscathed from any damage, despite being in the centre explosion's blast. Or that wasn't completely true, this armour did show a bit of scratch in the paint job and mental, but other than that, the heavy armour did its job. However, Kragr might get quite a bit sore tomorrow, but that didn't refer him from being in a good mood as he grabbed Zephyr by his good arm and pulled him up.

"Doubt the Imperial will return here any time soon, let's get back the ships and get your arm looked at and then drink to a successful mission. First-round of Tihaar on me" cheered Kragr as they let the area and left the planet on a high note.

//End Thread

Zephyr Kumaara