"That's a rog'." Orwin replied. He and Melzer equipped their rifles, stuffed several blaster packs into their pants and bandoleers, and walked around the hill overlooking the lake. I let them go, and turned to focus on my task. Drawing Dervnik out. I used my gauntlet wrist-lasers to fire a bolt into the air, before taking cover behind a tree. I waited a few moments, before seeing movement on the other side of the lake.
"Come out Fett! Give yourself up to my associates! They've been eager to meet you!" Dervnik taunted as he walked onto the frozen banks of Lake Iryin. Joining him was several platoons' worth of criminal underworld forces, straight from the cesspit of the galaxy: Nar Shaddaa. Dervnik had allied…with The Exchange. Gamorrean heavyweights, Trandoshan bounty hunters, and a mobile force of Weequay atop a small skiff. On the skiff was also the Exchange forces' commander, an armed and armoured Quarren. "Brave, but foolish to come alone, I see!" Dervnik taunted.
"Tell your friends I've killed every bounty hunter that's crossed me. The price on my head isn't worth their lives. They're better off heading home!" I shouted. I armed my weapons systems, and locked onto targets.
"You're outnumbered Fett! Dead or alive, you're finished, and Lexington will be mine! Concord Dawn will be an outpost for the Exchange, and I'll be their commander here! Soon enough, we shall take the planet and spread further into Mandalorian space! No one shall stop us, not even the Jedi and Sith!"
I will
"Shut up and die!" I yelled.
I activated my weapons systems. My jetpack's single missile fired off towards the skiff, while my gauntlet and knee rockets fired indiscriminately into the Gamorrean and Trandoshan ranks. The missile collided into the skiff's side, sending it crashing onto the ice lake. The Quarren bailed before it hit the ice, along with a few of his Weequay bodyguards. The rest, too slow, stayed onboard and crashed into the ice. The crashed skiff, cracking the lake's upper sheet of ice, began to go under into the freezing waters. The mini-rockets meanwhile killed a good number of Gamorreans and Trandoshans, but there were still plenty alive. I turned and ran up the hill into the woods.
"GO LOUD!" I yelled.
Orwin and Melzer, from their hidden positions, began firing on the incoming foes as they crossed the lake. I took a kneeling position and began to fire on the Gamorreans and Trandoshans with my rifle. We were wearing them down, their numbers dropping. Still, a lot of them were soaking up the damage, armoured as they were. Following in the rear was the Quarren and his Weequay guards, along with Dervnik. I maintained my position, but dropped to the ground as the Trandoshans came within range and began firing on me. Even the Gamorreans were closing so they could take me down in melee with their huge axes. I rolled, and began running across the hill, so Orwin and Melzer could fire on their rear as they came after me. I feigned retreat, blaster bolts whizzing by me, as Orwin and Melzer took aim and fired at their targets.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
"We got this brother!" Orwin yelled. The two brothers were picking off the Exchange forces one by one. The battle was going perfect. Until that Quarren looked up and spotted them in the trees. With a laugh, the squid-alien took aim at the branch Orwin was perched on, and fired. "Melzer they spotted us!"
"Got you covered!" Melzer shot back. He hated to stop covering Fett, but the situation had changed. He aimed at the Exchange forces on the ground below them, and watched in horror as Orwin came crashing into the snow down below. Melzer fired as fast as he could to stop what was going to happen, but soon ran out of shots. He frantically released the blaster pack and put in another, but it was too late. Melzer's eyes widened in shock as he watched a Weequay, standing over Orwin, ran his vibro-pike through his brother's torso. "NOOO!"
Melzer fired like mad, but it was no use. A Trandoshan's well-aimed shot brought Melzer down to the forest floor too. Melzer blacked out for a moment when he hit the ground, but in his last moments he could feel something had broken. Leg or an arm, probably both. In a state of shock, Melzer watched, dazed, as a Gamorrean stood over him. The brute laughed at Melzer. The last thing the boy saw was the Gamorrean, bringing his axe up over his fat green head, and swinging straight down toward his skull.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
I had been running for a few good minutes, so I dove for cover behind a rock. I used my sensors to detect incoming foes. Nothing. I peered up over the rock, and saw nobody. Birds chirped in the forest canopy above. Something wasn't right. Why did they stop chasing me? As I peered off, I heard a blaster bolt fire at me. I ducked behind the rock as the bolt burned off into a nearby tree. I waited, but knew I couldn't stay in the same place for too long. After a few moments, my sensors were picking up my foes – coming in from multiple directions. I looked down the hill toward the lake, and spotted the remaining Weequay, along with the Quarren and Dervnik. Coming straight at me were the Trandoshans, and as I looked up the hill I saw the Gamorreans charging, their axes raised over their heads, ready to slice me into pieces.
I ducked behind the rock again, and unleashed my gauntlet flamethrower on the Gamorreans. The brutes whined like pigs as they burned and died. I rushed past them and ran from my pursuers. The Trandoshans were in the lead, firing away as I ran. A bolt got me in the back of the leg as I ran; I fell to the ground, ignored the pain as best I could as I rolled onto my back, equipping my rifle and firing down at the lizards. I picked off a few of them, but my rifle's magazine went dry soon enough. I swore, dropped the rifle to my side and used my gauntlet lasers to shoot down at my pursuers. The remaining Trandoshans scattered for cover, as the Weequay pikemen came forward. Before they could close the distance, I stood back up and continued to run, back to where Orwin and Melzer were. I had to check on them.
My gait had a limp, of course, as I did my best to ignore the stinging in my leg. The armor plate had absorbed the bolt, but there was always pain afterwards. I sucked it up and kept running. My adrenaline was pumping, blinding me from how tired I was. Soon enough, I saw where my friends had set up. The scene wasn't a good one. I came upon Melzer and Orwin's corpses. Orwin had been stabbed, ran through. Melzer's wound…I didn't want to say. I reloaded my rifle, trying to stay busy. Melzer's and Orwin's deaths were getting to me. On adrenaline auto-pilot, I turned and walked off towards the lake.