Unlike Brothers: Part 1
"Take it easy, Alensha! Just showing the new guy around."
"Oh, sorry, Kaliyo. Didn't know it was you. Everything's just a bit tense right now."
Alensha was one of the few women besides Kaliyo, who had made it to Brendar's inner circle. No wonder - after all, the day-to-day business was no walk in the park, and many fell by the wayside.
"I heard the Republic is trying to get one of their prototypes back from us," she continued.
Kaliyo pretended to be surprised.
"Oh, sounds like a big deal. Where'd you hide the good stuff?"
The question unsettled Alensha. You could see that she didn't want to burn her fingers on this hot iron.
"Only Brendar and a few insiders know. He said that if the Republic or whoever tries to take it away from him, he'll defend it personally. "
What's more. I would rather not fight this cyborg, Arterik thought anxiously.
"That's the kind of man I remember. They'll only get it over his dead body," agreed the Rattataki.
"Alensha! Where have you been? Don't dawdle around!"
"Yeah, I'm coming," she called back, annoyed, before she said goodbye.
"Sounds like there'll be trouble soon," the agent assumed. "We should hurry."
"Damn rogues!", Rageous cursed, while the blaster fire roared around him.
"The Exchange always had a knack for ambushes," Vette added. She tried to return fire but preferred to keep her head down due to the concentrated volume of shots.
"Three on my side".
"Four of these bastards are hiding over there. If they had guts and came out, I'd finish them off in a heartbeat."
The Cathar hated being on the defensive. In a duel, probably none of the gang members would stand a chance against him, but against four of them the risk of being hit would be too great.
What a bummer! I can't hide out here.
"I still have a flashbang, doesn't it seem like there's no better time to use it?"
"Throw it at the three on your side, and I'll get those guys."
As soon as the muffled explosion could be heard, Rageous rushed at the confused and dazzled gangsters like lightning. After two of them were finished, the third one managed to fire a shot, but the Sith could easily repel it and thrust his Lightsaber through the remaining enemy's chest. Shortly afterwards, however, he had to take cover again when the group of four on the other side continued their fire.
What now? Can I go around them and attack from the side? Vette will not be able to stop them alone.
"Come on guys, attack! The Twi'lek is alone."
The sight of his distressed companion made the Cathar rush toward the enemy with his lightsabers drawn. He fended off a series of shots before one hit him in the left arm and he reflexively jumped for cover.
"Vette!"
Then suddenly an explosion...
"Everyone get to the rally point immediately! Go, go!"
"Damn it! Not a good time!", Kaliyo cursed. "Come on, almost there! "
The Rattataki was about to find out the location of the prototype.
"Password? What's the damn password, Brendar? Exchange? Too easy! Bionicman? Not even... Of course! Goto! The first exchange boss on Nar Shaddaa. "
A three-dimensional projection of the target area appeared before Kaliyo.
Looks like a deserted hangar near the Exchange cargo port. Just as I thought.
"Just as I thought," a rough voice, as if someone had just read her mind. Judging by the sound, it could only belong to a Trandoshan. A cursory glance to the side confirmed her suspicion. As expected, he held a blaster aimed at her.
"You both seemed suspicious to me right away. You may fool Brendar, but you can't fool me."
The Lizard Man looked around and slowly approached. "Where is your accomplice? Tell me!"
"Beats me... maybe he's already left."
Kaliyo tried to stay as calm as possible.
I'd also like to know where you are, you super agent.
No sooner had she finished formulating the thought than she saw a shadow by the door frame. The Trandoshan did not miss the planned surprise attack, however, so he was able to repel the stun bolt fired at him with his blaster and in turn fired at the surprised agent.
Arterik reacted quick-wittedly and was able to dodge the shot.
That was close! Luckily, he didn't get one in. Show him, Kaliyo!
The Rattataki used the distraction and kicked the blaster out of her opponent's hand, whereupon the Trandoshaner pushed her away.
It's now or never, Arterik thought and stepped resolutely forward. This time he caught the Lizard Man with a bolt in his back. Spurred on by the sneaky attack, the struck one pulled a knife and ran towards the agent, who could fire another bolt.
I don't believe it. Fall over, goddammit!
The Trandoshan took a swing, but soon afterwards he froze and fell to the ground. Kaliyo had reacted quickly enough and shot him with his own blaster.
After a brief moment of shock, Informer 5's voice brought Arterik back to reality.
"Are you all right, agent?"
"Y..yes, I'm fine. We have obtained the prototype's location."
"Good work! Now you need to get out of there. You're lucky - most of them are getting ready to move out so they won't be looking for you. Follow my instructions."
A volley of mini-rockets directly hit two of the remaining four Exchange thugs and spread what was left of them around the area. The remaining two rogues were thrown to the ground by the blast wave and sent to the happy hunting grounds by the immediately following blaster crossfire.
"Thus begone, shabby scoundrels, and repent your misdeeds in hell," cried a smokily deep voice from above. With hissing hovering jets, a tall warrior in a silver dura steel armor landed in front of Vette.
The sight struck Rageous, who was about to look for his companion, like a blow. He began to tremble, while memories came over him like an avalanche.
"Mandalorians! Run for your lives!"
The howling of the alarm siren filled the dawn and tore the boy from his sleep.
Father? Mother? Are we under attack?
Hectic footsteps could be heard in the corridor.
"Get the children, Ciraha! They must not have them! I'll try to stall them."
"No, Crando! Don't do this! They'll kill you."
"They will anyway. We have to fight back."
Young Cathar's heart began to throb.
What's happening here?
"What is it, brother? ", asked Raliha, who was also awakened by the noise.
"An attack..."
"Atam! Raliha! Come down! Quick!"
Hurriedly, they rushed down the stairs.
"What's going on, mother?"
"Mandalorians! You must hide. There's no time left!"
"But... what about you?
Ciraha Tona hugged her two children firmly one last time before sending them through the floor hatch.
"Whatever happens - keep quiet and don't come out, do you hear me?"
Despite the determination in her voice, the mother could not suppress her fear. Outside, the blaster fire and the disturbing cries came closer and closer.
"Don't be afraid, Raliha. They won't find us."
With one blow, the door opened.
"Crando!"
"They are coming! Run out the back door, Ciraha!"
Another door slammed open, this time louder.
"Don't let them get away!"
"Get away, you cursed robbers!"
Gunfire followed, then screams. Someone fell to the ground. Then a scream at the back door. Another shot.
"Resistance neutralized. Search the house!"
The boy was seized by panic.
"Raliha, we have to get out of here!"
"But mother said..."
"They will find us. Come on, let's go!"
Full of fear, the two of them crawled out from under the floor of the house and began to run as fast as they could.
"I see children over there. Get them!"
The Cathar was brought back to the present by an irrepressible rage, while the contours of the surroundings seemed clearer again. With a wild scream, he ignited his two lightsabers and ran towards the armored giant, who went into defensive position.
Vette reacted with presence of mind and courageously stood between the two with arms outstretched. Luckily for the Twi'lek, Rageous broke off his assault in time and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Vette took a deep breath.
"H..hey ... what has gotten into you? These people saved me."
The Sith gasped for breath.
This armor... the weapons...
He looked at the warrior.
"Are you... a Mandalorian?"
The one addressed took off his helmet concealing a Mirialan's head. His face had a strong green color, typical for this people, with the equally typical symmetrical tattoos. His silver hair sat very neatly and had a small plaited braid on one side. Vette was thrilled.
A gallant knight!
"I may be a bounty hunter, but certainly not a Mandalorian. They call me Agorusi Sartala. What brings you to this godforsaken moon?
"I suppose you have heard of the White Sith?" Vette asked.
A tender young woman apparently accompanying the bounty hunter joined them. She wore a cybernetic implant around her left eye.
"Well, sure - that's what we're after. There's a nice chunk of money riding on their leader."
"Wait a minute! ... These White Sith ... are our target," Rageous threw in, who had calmed down again to some extent.
"You're welcome to have them all, only the Boss is ours, okay?" the woman replied cheekily, which the Sith acknowledged with a teeth-breaking grin.
Who does this human woman think she is? Just because they rescued Vette doesn't mean they're the ones who decide how things work around here!
"We should keep our composure," the Mirialan tried to calm him down. "We are pursuing the same objective."
"Right ... no reason for quarreling," the Twi'lek added. "I am Vette, by the way, and the stormy Sith here is Rageous. We are here on behalf of Darth Baras."
"Call me Mako," the young woman replied. "We work independently. We're not supposed to tell you who we work for, but I think we can work something out."
"You are well versed in fighting," Agorusi admitted appreciatively. "I would be reluctant to fight you. I recommend you to contact Darth Baras. He will certainly resolve this misunderstanding."
The sovereign and stoic nature of the bounty hunter took away Rageous' aggressiveness and he took out his holocommunicator.
"Darth Baras? I need to clarify something."
"Can you hear me, Cipher?"
"Read you loud and clear, Informer. What's the matter?"
Although she sounded professional as usual, Arterik thought he heard some nervousness in her voice.
"You're not gonna like this. I can see the hangar in front of me that's supposed to contain what we're after, but I also see a rather large Exchange lineup. There has to be at least twenty of them."
Just as I feared.
"That must be the reinforcements from headquarters. Is Crobrac there too?"
"Haven't seen him yet, but I'd bet my life he's here. It looks like I've got company. On the opposite roof, someone's taking up position. I don't think he noticed me yet though."
"There shouldn't be any of us there. Could be special ops. Be careful, we'll be right with you. Cipher 9 out."
"That Baras is keeping everything secret...!"
"Well, at least it's no secret that the White Sith aren't here anymore. At least I don't see one," Vette wondered.
"These cowards have fled. Let them come out their holes and fight," Rageous demanded.
Agorusi was skeptical. "Well, I would not name it flight. It seems to me that there has been a tactical shift here."
What a prick! Thinks he's better than us...
"Doesn't sound any different to flight for me."
"Not quite. They must have covered their tracks before they left", Mako concluded.
"Maybe we'll be lucky and find something else," Vette hoped.
The group searched the abandoned building and actually found a working computer, partly hidden in a storage room.
"They must have missed it," Mako rejoiced and immediately tampered with the device. Vette was curious.
"Can you do any good with this thing?"
"Don't worry, hacking is my passion. That's why I have these implants here."
It only took Mako a few minutes to access the encrypted data.
"There you go. 'Sighted aggressors in D-27. Proceeding immediately to hangar'."
That sounded familiar to Vette. "D-27. Isn't that...?"
"That's right," Mako intervened. "The Exchange cargo port."
Rageous pulled his eyebrows together. "So these criminals are in it together. What's the fastest way to get there?"
"I know Nar Shaddaa like the back of my hand." "I will get you there in no time."
"At last I can take off these shabby rags!"
Informer 5 couldn't help but smile. "Here's your equipment, agent."
"Thanks. We'll need everything we can get."
"I'd like to know what's going on. They must be expecting an attack," the observer speculated when she discovered something.
"I see soldiers on their way to the main entrance."
Arterik examined the area.
"Guards are scattered everywhere in elevated positions. There is little cover in front of the entrance. If they attack, it will be a death trap but I can't see any other access point. We have to go through the front, but we cannot do it without support."
"There's a small squad down there that seems to be leading the others. It could be a special unit. "
"And it looks like they'll attack any minute now."
Arterik cursed inside.
They won't make it. The defense is too strong and they don't have enough manpower.
"Why don't we just let them finish each other off and sneak past them," Kaliyo suggested.
"Too risky. They have also set up guards at the entrance. Besides, I don't think they would leave the inside of the hangar unguarded. Whoever attacks down there - we must support them. Get into position and provide cover fire."
"Copy that."
Then everything happened very quickly. The explosion of a smoke grenade broke through the unbearable calm before the storm that was to turn the area into a battlefield. Half concealed by the wall of fog, the task force stormed towards the hangar and was already in a firefight with the front guards of the Exchange moments later.
"I have a clear field of fire, agent," came the message from the observer. "Awaiting further orders."
"Not yet. Keep watching them."
Arterik went further down to find out the identity of the soldiers.
If they are not our troops, we are probably dealing with the Republic. The Hutts would never risk such an attack.
Just in case, the agent wore a neutral uniform, without a badge. In the event of direct contact, he could pose as a covert agent of any faction. Whether this would actually help him or not was another matter.
The Cipher was about to take a look at the troops when a roaring "Fire!" echoed through the air, closely followed by an explosive projectile that struck right next to the special unit leading the attack squad. Two of them were thrown to the ground by the explosion.
Damn it! Without leadership, the attack is uncoordinated and doomed to failure. I have to get down there!
"Informer, Kaliyo - I'm going down there to support the attack squad. Give me cover fire!"