Charyb looked on with pride as he watched his forces push forward, even more so once the last standing Bloods outright turned tail and ran.
He didn't know what had made several of them drop dead minutes earlier, but he also wasn't about to complain. Perhaps it was a new weapon the Mandalorians were deploying, involving radiation or poisonous gas. Perhaps it was an ace that Vix had kept up his sleeve.
"Hold," he called out, just before the forwardmost troops could sprint after the Bloods. "Regroup."
They formed into their original teams of three, holding behind cover and making sure someone had their backs covered and their eyes peeled, before anyone moved forward.
Suddenly, blaster shots rang out. The air was clogged with smoke, but he could see the entrance to the Mandalorian's base up ahead, where the Bloods had disappeared.
The Sergeant on the forward scout team whipped out his pair of electrobinoculars, but could only report, "I've lost them beyond the base's wall."
"Ok then. Cover me!"
Captain Charyb sprinted up to the entrance, not wanting to risk the lives of his troops. Their standard issue armor from Czerka would fall apart in a stiff breeze, so avoid and evade had been their game plan since entering the battlefield.
The rest of the security team moved up behind him, covering him as he turned and looked inside the gates.
A shot clipped the wall as he peeked around the corner, missing his shoulder by an inch.
"You ain't Bloods," said a mysterious and slurred voice. "Czerka mercs! You'se guys are with Vix, right?"
Charyb cautiously peeked out from behind the wall, still not sure of what to make of the situation. What he saw baffled him.
Sitting in a folding chair in the middle of the base was a Mandalorian in red armor, with a silver visor on his helmet. He held a machine gun in his one functional hand, while furiously waving an amputated stump to get the Captain's attention.
There were a dozen dead Blood Battalion troopers at his feet.
"How goes it, Czerka?"
Charyb stepped inside, followed closely by his forces.
"Welcome, strangers. You'se may as well come inside. It's not like we ever defend this place."
The Captain was surprised to see that he was right. The gate was wide open with no traps, snipers or defenses to speak of. There weren't even any other Mandalorians, aside from the lone gunman sitting before him, lifting up his helmet to kill a bottle of expensive Telosian spirit.
"I assume the battle ain't goin' well for the Bloods?"
"Yes," Charyb confirmed. "Have you been here the whole time?"
"You bet. I thought I might take some time to really soak in the amazing accomplishments of the greatest warriors in the galaxy," he said, waving his arm and a half across the empty base, gesturing to the uninhabited space around himself. "This is where we ended up. This is where the tribe is now, after everything. We're right back where we started."