There Is No Forgiveness (Calico Tal'verda VS. Isley Verd)

[Revenchent]

The message Calico had left to [member="Zandra Fenni"] was a short one.


Cyar'ika, I'm sorry I've left so suddenly. Something has come up. Verd lives. I swore on the day that Galaar died that the moment he showed his face, I'd put him back down. He can't be allowed to live. Try not to mind Bluejay--I know you two haven't met. She's sick, but she's an old friend. She can help with Corrin.

I won't be long. I love you.


Isley Verd's castle was an eyesore in Calico's opinion. In truth, it was likely a gorgeous citadel with elegant halls and breathtaking views every-which-way. To the former Grand Marshal, it was a sign of the di'kut's vanity and deception. Isley Verd would die today. He might have slipped through the fingers of the Protectorate, the CIS, the Fringe, and the Republic, but he would never escape the Tal'verda.

The beast could not be allowed to draw another breath.

Calico had surmised that Verd would eventually return to his former abode. There was too much history for the Mandalorian turned Sith Lord to stay away. People were sentimental, and Sith or not, Calico knew he valued his history. Cal had made a point to leave no window for error.

Half of the complex had been rigged with detonite primed to his voice command. A single sentence, and the castle would start to rumble. It was insurance--he knew Isley vastly outclassed him. Force dead or not, Calico could never hope to take down a Sith Lord head on by himself. He had to cheat.

That was why he awaited half a click away, his belly pressed against a flat rock. His Deece was propped up against his shoulder, the DMR attachment ready to punch a hole through Verd's beskar arm0r. Within the main entrance, Calico had left half a dozen of the small probe droids Jedi used to train their young. Their weapons were of a much higher caliber than the training drones, though he doubted they would pierce Verd's armor.

Their purpose was to harry him, and so long as they did their job, Calico would have a clean hit. He didn't plan to just pop Isley in the back of the head. He was going to wound him, make this an even fight. Then, he would drive his vibroblade through the di'kut's stomach.

It would be slow, messy, intimate, and painful; all of which [member="Isley Verd"] deserved and more so. There he awaited, waiting patiently for the liar to show his face. He could wait days if he had to.

 

[Darth Metus]

It had been many months since the Mandalorian had so much as set foot on Krant.

Over the course of the "Fall", countless lives had been extinguished; and the blame was placed squarely upon Isley's shoulders. As such, it would have been insanity for the man to even attempt to return to the place he called home. Castle Ne'tra was his bastion: a citadel of black within which he created...terrible things. It was a symbol, a representation of the Mandalorian's downward spiral into the Dark Side. However, despite it's very nature, Isley had very little problem calling this place Home; for after all, 'twas where he raised his family.

Now, Castle Ne'tra was but a mere shadow of it's former self. The once-proud walls now stood as ruin; charred and broken down into rubble. Even from a distance, Isley could tell that there was nothing left of his former abode; yet wishful thinking spurned him forward. Perhaps he could find something that would make the risk worthwhile. It could have been anything, from a photograph to a whetstone...just something to lessen the blow of losing one's home. With this ill-placed optimism forefront in his mind, the Mandalorian rode forward on his speederbike.

The journey through the forested path was swift, for Isley knew the way. Every twist, every turn, every bump, he knew intimately. Nostalgia raced through his veins as he sped along, acting as a cold dagger to deepen the sting of his loss. Nonetheless, he pushed ever forward...and ultimately came to a halt before what remained of the castle's gates. Dismounting, the durasteel-clad man made his slow approach. His gaze swept the rubble before him, assessing the possibility of salvaging anything. It seemed slim, for whomever had burnt the Castle to the ground did a damn good job.

"Figures." he breathed.

Then came the sound of blaster fire.

From behind the cover of a ruined wall, drones emerged. By his count, his aggressors were six in number. Immediately, the Mandalorian dove and tucked into a roll, evading the first volley of fire. Reaching, he then took aim with his own blaster pistol and returned fire. One of the six fell victim to his counter-attack and fell to the earth; now sporting a hole through the front of its form. Isley didn't remain stationary long enough to notice, for he moved behind the adjacent wall as quickly as his feet would allow. Cover and movement were key to escaping this sticky situation alive.

Returning to his utility belt, Isley procured a single grenade. He then lobbed the explosive up and over the wall whilst crouching low. The resulting explosion was not terribly large, but it did what the Mandalorian intended. Those closest to the ordnance were extinguished immediately, whilst those further away had fragmentation to address. There was a symphony of metal clanking down upon the charred earth...and then silence. "A trap. After all this time." Isley said, shaking his head. Emerging from cover, the Mandalorian took a moment to confirm that his aggressors had been destroyed...

They had, but in the process he exposed his back to the one who had orchestrated it all.

[member="Calico Tal'verda"]

 

[Revenchent]

"Shab." Calico growled.

He had expected the droids to last a bit longer and give him some sort of opening. When the lightsaber came out, it would be all Calico could do to hold Verd at bay. Especially if he was at full he---


An opening. Isley's back was turned, and he was standing right out in the open. The former Grand Marshal cracked a devilish grin, and clicked his teeth for the zeroing on his visor to expand. Verd's back was turned as if he wanted to be shot. Cal had long since discarded any notion of fighting Isley with honor--the Sith deserved none.

He took allowed a cruel satisfaction to cloud his mind as he squeezed the trigger. The Deece gave a quiet cough as the azure bolt of energy erupted from the barrel. It soared over the landscape, past Isley's speeder, and toward his exposed back with enough stopping power to bring a raging Trandoshan warrior down.

Calico remained for a moment to make sure the bolt hit. If so, he would mount his own speeder, and make the short ride over to Verd. There, he would end the traitor in whatever manner he wished.

"I hope it stings di'kut."

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

For a moment, Isley allowed himself to ponder the possibilities.

Being that the shattered remains about him were droids, there was a small possibility that this was an old countermeasure. The Confederacy...or whatever the kark they call themselves these days...could very well have left them behind. However, while the purpose was perfectly sound, the tools were not exactly helpful to the perceived goal. If the nation had indeed left droids behind to slay Isley upon his return home...then why were such paltry ones chosen? The Mandalorian was well aware of what the "Droid Capital of the Galaxy" could muster; and these were leagues away from being their best.

So what then? Were they simply decoys meant to raise an alarm upon his return?

Now there was a thought. One that inspired urgency on the part of the Mandalorian. If an alarm was raised in response to his presense, well, he'd have one hell of a time getting out of the Southern Systems. The time to leave was at hand. With this notion in mind, the Mandalorian began to turn...when suddenly there was nothing but pain. A bolt, fired from a Deece, surged across the landscape and collided with his back; just above his left kidney. Durasteel was durable, but it was no Beskar, and as such the bolt was slowed...but not stopped completely. The armorweave underneath did a decent job of dissipating some of the heat and cushioning the impact, yet that did not stop it fully either.

In the end, there was a clean hole punched through Isley's armor that resulted in a greivous, cauterized dent in his flesh. The penetration did not go too far: he would live if medical attention was offered...but the possibility of fighting at one hundred percent was lost. The force of the impact, coupled with the sudden manifestation of pain, caused the Mandalorian to drop to his knees. There, his vision blurred ever so slightly, and down to the ground he fell. With a grunt, Isley did his best to drag himself out of his obviously-exposed position.

Digging the tips of his feet into the rubble, he began to push forward whilst his arms pulled. It was slow, laborious work, but in the end the Mandalorian managed to find some semblence of cover behind a mound of rubble. 'Twas enough that his aggressor, hopefully, would be inspired to come down and attempt to finish the job.

And when he did, Isley fully intended on deep-frying the fether.

[member="Calico Tal'verda"]

 

[Revenchent]

The ride across the forested pathway was a short one. Short enough for Calico not to worry about Isley recovering quickly enough to shooting him down before he arrived.

The Chieftain of Tal'verda arrived just outside the rubble. He made no attempt to take any sort of cover. He pushed off the seat of the speeder, and landed in the cracked, dead grass with a loud thud.

"Isley Verd." He stated with pride in his voice. "I admit, I hadn't expected you to be stupid enough to return here. Clearly, you're a di'kut as well as a chakaar."

He strode toward Isley, though Verd was well behind the cover of rubble at this point. Cal made no move to do the same--he had the advantage here, and short burst tactical shielding.

To him, this fight was already decided.

"Where's your lightsaber Darth?" He taunted with a righteous arrogance to his voice. The DMR attachment on his Deece had been exchanges for the standard assault rifle setting.

It was more than enough to deal with a wounded Sith Lord. "I know what you did. We all do." He held the Dedce with one hand, and fired two short bursts at the rubble near where he thought Isley was. It was a taunt, simply to make the Sith-turned-Mando-turned-Sith-Mando uneasy.

"Consider that round in your gut a present from the Dreadguard. We did so care for our valiant leader, after all."


[member="Isley Verd"]