Chapter 17.

Latest edit: January 26th, 2015. As always, cheers and enjoy!

Torian had a way to just melt into a crowd. He sat at the bar, relaxed and his body language lied about just how dangerous he could be. He was young, honed, his reflexes far superior to even her own or those of other hunters she had encountered. His body was a sharp tool, precise and practiced. And yet, he could just as easily sit at the bar, look like he was almost harmless, almost. Let's face it, no one above six feet and with the muscle to go with it ever looked harmless, not really. The potential for harm always lingered in the back of your head. Raidre kept her eyes open wide to the crowd, Jezzik had gone ahead to meet Karik as soon as the boy had walked through the doors to the Cove.

Torian had insisted on the distance between them, better to cover the area if violence did break out, as it so often did, plus it also offered a nasty surprise to Karik if he tried anything. This also allowed both of them to have their backs to the wall and eyes on all exists. Old habits die hard. Raidre watched as Karik was calmed by the older smuggler, clearly the man was his guardian. Had Tarro not had any family to take care of his brother? Had he really just gotten into the Hunt without thinking of what would happen to his younger brother if he lost? The more she knew about Tarro, the less she liked him. Despite herself, Raidre felt for the boy. That part of her that remembered what it was like to be normal, to be afraid and to feel safe; that part of her felt kinship with this boy.

But the more of this story unfolded, the less it made any sense to her. Tarro Blood had been smug about being a Mandalorian, Karik used Mando'a fluently in his emails to Jezzik, who understood it. So why then so much hostility from Jezzik towards the culture? There was an important piece to this puzzle that was missing, and it nagged at the back of Raidre's mind. It was bad enough when equations did not add up, but those that had left over solvents? Raidre kept her eyes open and kept a keen ear to her instincts.

"What am I missing, Tor?"

Torian was slumped on the bar, more lying on it than sitting by it, he shrugged at his drink. "Truth."

Raidre nodded, that sounded right, but this place didn't look authentic. None of the 'warriors' here wore their gear, they were dressed as smugglers or civvies. She nodded.

"You got your datapad, where's that background check?"

"If this kid is Tarro's little vod(1), then he was a family secret."

Raidre nodded to herself, resting chin on hand as she observed the exchanges between Karik and Jezzik. She eyed the surroundings, there was little to no surveillance, they did not seem more aware of the two newcomers than they were of the two Mandalorians; was that willful ignorance or orchestrated? Raidre took a deep breath to quell the paranoia, but deep in her gut, she knew this was a set up. What bothered her about it was that she could not guess at the motive.

"What toys did we bring to our play date?"

Torian made a show of wiping his face with a gloved hand. "Three dozen dets, lots of blaster cells, full shields and staff, plus a gift from Jilka."

Raidre nodded. "Let's hope it doesn't come to the 'gift'. That would make a hell of a mess at this range."

They chanced to glance at each other. They wore grim faces of people who had been pushed into a corner they did not care for. The collateral damage was going to be ridiculous. Torian felt the unease off of Raidre as she turned back towards Karik. She may not have been raised as a Mandalorian, but she had everything in her to make her one. Mandalore had chosen well with her. She would look the ugly straight in the eyes, and spit in it, but she would do what was necessary. She was hard, but her willing to give this kid a chance to walk away from this peacefully showed she had a soft spot, the only one Mandalorians all allowed; kids. Torian went back to nursing a drink he had not yet touched, eyes ahead for the young boy who had caused their last couple of hours of hell.

Karik Blood was slight and not too tall yet. He was blonde and blue eyed just as Tarro had been, but his face was not set in a permanent sneer. Raidre kept her face turned to the side, her ink hidden by combination of her hair and shade, a well-practised habit. Karik approached, but he looked confused, he could not have been more that thirteen, barely old enough to take care of himself, never mind plot revenge. Torian stared at the features and their habitual set-up. This boy had not smiled in a long time, but anger was not his predominant expression either. Which was odd for a boy who had supposedly set a bounty on Raidre as revenge against the 'murder' of his older brother. That was the first thing that tipped Torian off.

"Karik, sit."

Karik glared at Jezzik, but sat. "Who's this? What's all this about?"

Raidre had her right arm along the top of the bench, relaxed and extended while her left arm rested on the table, a glass of ne'tra gal(2) which remained untouched was placed in front of her. Karik glared at Jezzik who sat between them, fidgeting. Raidre turned her face to show her ink to Karik, the boy's reaction was instant. He tried to pull a vibro-blade, Jezzik stopped him. Karik tried to stand, Jezzik pushed him back down into his chair. Torian frowned, the anger was an act; the boy was white as a sheet, shaking so badly that Torian could see it where he was sitting clear as day. Torian stifled a yawn as he stretched.

"Raidre, it's a show."

Raidre blinked to conceal her reaction, this boy looked right to be Tarro's brother, but was he perhaps hired as a decoy instead?

"Be easy, Karik."

Raidre watched the show as Jezzik tried to calm and persuade Karik to sit back down, most of all she watched the reaction of the crowd, or more like the lack there of. She neither spoke nor reacted to anything Karik did, the whole time she kept her eyes on the boy's. After a moment, Karik's breathed returned to normal, hands splayed on the table, pale and white; fingers splayed as far apart as they would go. This kid was ready to wet himself, Raidre began to count to herself; there were about 35 men in the bar. Raidre began tapping on the table, to an outsider, it would seem like a nervous habit, to a Mandalorian it was a message. Raidre made a mental note to thank her new buir(3) next she saw him for showing her Dadita(4). Torian perked up at once, surprise at her knowledge overriding his act. In the meantime the show went on and Raidre played along as if she was none the wiser. 'Karik' glared at her.

"Jezzik, what does this mean?"

"This means," Raidre said through gritted teeth. "Karik Blood, that I am aware of your vendetta and have come to talk."

Karik looked to Jezzik. "Jezzik?"

Raidre snapped her fingers, drawing Karik's attention back to her. "If you're old enough to place a bounty, you're old enough to know respect."

Karik straightened up. "I don't need to show my brother's murderer any respect!"

Karik gathered his saliva and spat in Raidre's face. Raidre closed her eye in time to avoid taking the phlegmy saliva in the eye. Eyes turned to the action, Jezzik tried to get the boy to sit down again. Raidre made a mental note of every face that turned, it accounted for most of the patrons, but not all of them. Karik was pale, it could have been because of anger, but anger rarely caused you to shake so bad you needed help to sit down. Jezzik made a show of wrestling Karik to his seat, but the boy was slipping on his act. Raidre wiped the offensive substance from her face, all the while aware that by now, Torian was on full alert and would be accessing their best exit strategy. That meant he would no longer be fooling the patrons into thinking he was just a casual passer-by. Raidre waited again for the boy to calm down.

"Do you know what it means to compete in the Great Hunt, Karik?"

Karik blinked. "Of course, I do-"

"So you always knew there was a chance your brother would not come back-"

"You cheated!"

Jezzik put his hand on the boy's shoulders. "Karik, please…"

Karik pulled away from Jezzik. "You don't ever touch me again! I thought we were family!"

"Karik, please, I am trying to help you!"

"By bringing me face to face with my brother's murderer?!"

That got everyone's attention and for an instant, Raidre could see whom they were really dealing with.

"Raidre, Jezzik is Karik."

Raidre nodded to the ear piece and knew Torian could see even though she only did it once and fast. They were both on the same wave length again and as their eyes locked across the bar, they did not need to verbalise it. Whoever this kid was, he would not be collateral damage; and she made a show of sighing as she let her head fall into her palm. "You have a knack for subtlety, kid. Really, I'm impressed."

A couple of people started getting closer than was polite for such an 'intimate' discussion, Raidre kept her senses sharp all the while aware that Torian had her six. She began to count for another reason entirely, for her peace of mind. She locked eyes with the boy in front of her, he had the shakes so bad he could not keep still, she could not yet tell him, but she tried to convey her feelings with just her eyes. She would get him out of this alive.

"Yea, he is helping you, because if you haven't noticed, I'm not here to hurt you."

Karik blinked at Raidre, for a moment she was certain he had understood her. In the meantime Torian moved his jacket aside from his right hip, someone had moved in close enough that he felt the need to have his weapon at the ready. Raidre looked to Jezzik with a frown.

"I thought you said this would be private, Jezz?"

Jezzik's upper lip twitched at its edge. "People can't help, but be curious."

Raidre looked one of the patrons who stood directly in the face. "Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?(5)"

The patron blinked and then pulled a blaster. He did not understand what she had said to him, both of them could see that.

"What's your business here, aruetii(6)?"

Raidre laughed out loud at the pronunciation, which caused everyone to turn to her, just the distraction Torian needed.

Raidre sighed as she looked to Jezzik. "Really? Was that the best he could do?"

Jezzik's eyebrow twitched as he drew his blaster. "Vode!(7) Gaa'tayl!(8)"

Torian saw an opportunity and took it, he threw smoke grenades, which erupted and obstructed everyone's line of sight before they had a chance to fire. Raidre took advantage of the chaos and confusion to grab 'Karik' and throw up the table as shelter. Jezzik drew a vibro-blade and followed, trying to carve a second smile into Raidre's neck. The boy, whatever his name was, opted to help Raidre in that moment by signaling Jezzik's attack. Raidre's jet pack hummed to life as she vented hot air from her suit, pushing anyone within her immediate vicinity out of the way. She put the wall to her back and pulled her blasters out. Raidre's emergency systems kicked on, and a clear visor appeared before her eyes, showing heat signatures through the smoke. She checked the terminal on her greaves and punched in the command for the Mantis to home in on their location. She signaled for the boy to follow her as she kept moving, shooting anything that moved and did not look familiar.

"Raidre, three o'clock!"

She turned to her right and shot two men who had been running in her directions, more dets went off around her, and she threw another table on its side to ward off the shrapnel, ears ringing. Where had Jezzik gone? The boy had eyes as wide as plates, more whites showing than iris, he clasped his hands on his ears. Raidre kept him close as the other patrons discharged their blasters into the smoke. Raidre returned fire whenever a target was in sight.

"Torian, status."

A moment of doubt began to nag at her as her communication with her fellow team-member remained silent. Raidre grit her teeth and hoped for the best, she eyed the boy, checking for any injuries, but he was sound of body. She took his face in her dura-steel gloved hands.

"You follow me, keep up, and I will take you home, ok?"

He nodded once, and that was all they needed. The smoke began to ease, and it had been a while since she had heard a det go off, worry was so heavy that it was a physical weight in the pit of Raidre's belly. But she could also start seeing through the smoke, she moved out of her cover and began to make her way to where she had last seen Torian. The sound of a tech staff singing as it swung through the air, cutting the air could be heard through the confusion, Raidre had never heard anything sweeter. It made a squelching sound as it crushed skulls. The boy flinched away as Torian came into view. Raidre was about to re-group, but the shooting started over again and they jumped in opposing directions to find cover.

Raidre pulled the boy with her, covering him with her body as a det went off nearby showering them with plastoid and bits or dura-steel. He was so good, never shouting or crying out. She was proud of how brave he was being, but it also said a lot about the life he came from. Where the hell had Jezzik gone?!

"C'mon, kid, move! Move! Move!"

Raidre helped him to his feet as they kept moving. Never stay still in a fire-fight, movement kept you alive, especially when people were gunning for you. Raidre managed to get herself a little closer to the exit, but her way was still blocked a barricade of who knew how many men? She looked to the boy she had protected thus far and handed one of her blasters. He looked at it, pale and eyes wide. She put it in his hand and wrapped his hand around it for a proper hold. She took his face in her hands again, forcing him to look at her.

"I need to punch a hole so we can get out, you come right in behind me. Anyone looks at you funny, you squeeze the trigger, got it?"

He never said a word, just nodded, his thin chapped lips squeezed in a grim line. She nodded to him, and he nodded back. She let him go and fired up her jet pack, counting down visually for them.

"On the count of three."

The boy nodded as she put three fingers up, then only two, then one.

The jet packs took her to the barricade, and from her HUD, she could tell that the kid was following her, hands clasped so tight on her blaster that he was liable to shoot by accident, but at least he wouldn't lose the blaster by dropping it. Raidre went to work as she landed in the fray. She forgot to count, she emptied her blaster as fast as she could, taking half of the men around her as she did so. When her blaster clicked empty, she threw it at the closest enemy and let her fists do the talking for her. Rocket punch, then flame thrower, she played her favorite song with her body as she took one target out after another. The occasional blaster shot from behind let her know that the kid was alright. The barricade was cleared with still enough shields to spare, she motioned for the boy to follow her as the advanced closer to the door.

Raidre took a quick tally of the body count, seven men, that wasn't much of the man force, where had everyone else gone? And where the blazes was Torian?

"Torian, status?"

She waited five seconds, more than enough time for him to grunt or make a sign of life, but no such signal came through her comm. She held the boy back as the lay as flat as they could along a nearby panel of a cozy booth. No way in Dar'manda(9) was she going to go through all she had to clear Torian's name, just to have him die on a retarded mission like this! Raidre looked back to the bodies of those she had slain and pulled off all of the weapons they had on them. One of them had a sweet little concussion rifle. She leaned over what remained the barricade and began to sight for any targets. There was no shortage of that. She emptied the concussion rifle and took down a dozen enemies before anyone thought to throw a thermal detonator their way.

Raidre grabbed the boy and jumped to the closest cover, covering her charge again to avoid any injuries due to shrapnel, heat or flying debris. Blaster shots flew around, so Raidre crawled on elbows and knees to the closest 'safe spot', all the while directing the kid behind her to do the same. Once they were hidden from view, she checked the kid over again, he was still unharmed, a fair bit dirtier, but no blood or crushed limbs. That was good enough. She gave him a thumbs up, and he tried to smile, he was shaking too much. That too, was good enough. She took his hand and began to lead him around, skipping from one shelter to the next, all the while, always aiming to get closer to the exit.

Heat from their left, sent them for new cover, Raidre looked to see what had caused the discharged since there was no blast or noise that you would typically get from a det. She dared to hope when she saw a figure fuel the flames with oil as it set flames to the areas deeper inside the bar. All the enemies around tried to converge on the source of the flames and Raidre felt torn. On the one hand, every instinct told her Torian was going to need her help, but that little hand in her hand told her she was needed right where she was, and she needed to get closer to the exit and farther from the action. She groaned and checked the micro-terminal on her forearm.

She had no other way to communicate with Torian aside for shouting. "ETA 78 seconds!"

"Jat'ca'nara(10)!"

She sighed in relief, something must have happened to his ear piece. Raidre looked to the kid.

"Ready to leave the party?"

The kid nodded to her more vigorously than he had to anything else she had said before. That was better than good enough, she kept her eyes peeled as she they charged for the doors, open and bright against the smoke now building from inside. Raidre dispatched all and any who approached them. Timing was everything, making it out in the open with nowhere to go would be a pretty bad move, but just as they made it out, the Mantis landed.

"Go, kiddo!"

She didn't need to tell him twice. He was up that ramp and hidden safely inside before she had the chance to do a proper survey of her surroundings which was proving difficult since her eyes were uncomfortable with how much light they were receiving. From the looks of it, the party was still all contained inside, but it was getting hotter by the second. Raidre had an easy option, but while Torian was inside, she would not use the auto-pilot and auto-target features of the Mantis. She cursed as she ran back inside. The smoke was thick now, gone all black, Raidre kept low to the ground, but she couldn't see anything or discern faces.

"Tor!"

She scanned the area but the only way she could be sure who she was looking at was if she got within a foot from them, and the only safe way to do that was to shoot them first. She advanced back into the mayhem, now seeing more bodies than folk alive, but still no sign of Torian. The heat was starting to send off warning signals on her HUD, she pulled a handkerchief out of her back pocket and wrapped it around her face. Boy, was this the worst time to not have a helmet on!

A body flew her way, she couldn't tell if it was friendly or bogie, so she jumped back and quick-drew on it. She came face to face with her assailant, on her ass and half-bent forward just to have enough a vantage for aim. And there he was, she sighed and relaxed for all the time it took to get her feet under her. Soot covered his face, but he didn't look too bad. She slotted her worry away for later. For now they still had a job to do.

"How many of them left?"

Torian shrugged. "I lost count."

Raidre shrugged back. "Mantis is outside."

Torian nodded. "I got your six."

They made their way out their pace slow and deliberate, the smoke was so thick now that if you tried to even crawl on all fours, your eyes would tear, they military crawled their way out only to be greeted by a lot of blaster fire. They ducked back into the now mostly burnt building, hiding by the door frame. Torian looked to Raidre as he pulled out a blaster rifle and began loading it.

"When did they get out?"

Raidre shook her head as she cross drew a pair of unfamiliar blasters. "They didn't, reinforcements. " she checked her terminal and frowned. "I don't see our smuggler."

"Kar'am(11), Raidre."

Raidre took his advice, counted her breaths as she did a remote-sweep, the Mantis was only a couple of yards above, which gave her a perfect outside view. She used the micro-terminal on her forearm to aim and shoot all the reinforcements that had arrived as Jezzik's back up. Torian laughed at the sound of the Mantis' fire. Raidre eyed him, this was the first time she really saw him laugh aside for when he had caught her off guard in the galley. Torian sighed.

"Toast."

Raidre couldn't resist a wry grin. She was going to make a witty comment as soon as she thought of one when an explosion behind them threw them out of cover, the whole inn had spilled open. On the other side of the now open area, a familiar smuggler was running for it.

"Me'bana(12)!?"

"He's running!"

Raidre did not think about what needed to be done next, she was reacting to it instead. She was on her feet and running after Jezzik, her hydraulic joints got her caught up with him real fast. Torian opted to hang back, cleaning up anyone who might have gone out of the Mantis' range. Raidre jumped and landed in front of Jezzik thanks to her jet packs. He jumped back and landed on his ass in an attempt to get away from her.

"You…"

"Yep."

She shot him until his face was nothing but a charred mess, then she made her way back to where Torian was picking off the last of the stragglers. She frowned as pain shot up her leg with every step, but made a point not to let Torian see it, right now was not the time.

"How many?"

"Two dozen, maybe more, didn't get a good count."

"We need to make this look like an accident. Broken pipeline, gas leak, whatever. The Imps are... particular about order on their home turf."

Torian shrugged, he pulled out a yellow grenade, and they both looked at each other while he held it. Raidre sighed.

"You know what, at this point, whatever."

They gathered up all the bodies and piled them up in about the same area. Raidre put her visor scan on and looked at the underlying piping just below the surface, looking for something they could use. Accidents happened all the time on Nar Shaada, so many places tried to save money by not follow regulations when building. Once she located a gas pipe they could use, she pulled a pair of heavy set matte black gloves from her back pocket. Torian eyes widened at the sight of them.

"Where'd you get those?"

Raidre grinned. "Oh? What? These little crushguants(13)?"

She pulled them on and went to town on the area around the piping she was attempting to reach. Plastoid, durasteel, cement, all of it went to bits in her hands, every punch brought her closer and closer the pipeline. Once she was at the right level she climbed back out and joined Torian.

"My buir(14) spoiled me at my adoption."

"No joke. Let's go."

Raidre looked back at the mess. "Yea, I've just about had enough of Nar Shaada."

Torian activated the yellow grenade by turning the top half twice, he was careful to place it in the center of the mess, but it refused to part from his glove, he frowned and tossed the grenade with his glove. "That'll give us a minute."

"Right, let's not waste it."

They climbed into the Mantis and got out of there double time! Raidre strapped herself and the kid in, they were gone just in time to avoid any damages by the combined forces of the plasma grenade and the leaking gas. Raidre navigated away from this sector, and kept going to the lower and dirtier parts of the moon. For a time, Raidre just stared, and Torian waited.

"Need any patching up?"

Raidre looked at Torian who waited for her to calm down. He shook his head. "Nothing to report, ready for some food though?"

Raidre nodded. "Sure. Let me just send a rendezvous point to Mako and Gault."

Torian nodded and headed to the galley. Raidre looked down to the kid seated behind her.

"So, you got a name?"

NOTES:

1 .Brother.

2 .Black ale, usually stout and strong.

3 .Parent, could refer to mother and/or father.

4 .Mandalorian equivalent to Morse code.

5 .Literally; are you looking for a smack in the face, mate?

6 .Stranger, outsider.

7 .Brothers.

8 .Help!

9 .Outside or apart of the Manda, which is as close as Mandalorians get to religious. Manda is their collective Mandalorian consciousness, it is believed that the fallen return to the Manda, so to be dar'manda is to be damned, forever condemned to be away from your brothers and sisters in the 'afterlife'. As close to hell as the Mandalorians have.

10 . On time - lit. "good time".

11 .Literally; breath.

12 . What's happening? What happened?

13 . Awesome Mandalorian tech! Gloves that allow the user to crush bones, metal and other materials, also allows the wearer to catch light saber blades without sustaining any harm to the gloves or the wearer!

14 .IBIDEM to note 3.