A/N: So, here we are again.
Responses to reviews are as follows:
AnarionRising27: Thanks! Hopefully the same level of quality will continue.
Rob Sears (False Masks): I wasn't expecting you to like the story as much as you did, so it is awesome to hear that you on the whole really enjoyed it! Regarding the grammar errors, I still intend to go back and fix those, but it almost seems a shame to do so, since they serve as a reminder of how I was when I first started writing. I'll keep the original versions of those chapters for myself, of course.
Again, thanks a lot for taking the time to read it and leaving such an insightful review. I really appreciate that you let me know you enjoyed it but also gave me some constructive criticism. Both mean a lot.
Chapter 26: Pre-emptive
There were too few of them for it to be an attack.
Eyes narrowing, Shepard continued to look out of the cockpit at the three ships that were heading directly towards their position. They had each been little more than a speck when he had first spotted them and Kasumi had gone to tell Rassen and Shaela what was happening, but that had only been moments ago, and they were already large enough now for him to be able to make out their main features.
Each was a mirror image of their own ship, which meant each also probably carried a crew the same size as theirs had before Kasumi, Shaela, and Rassen had managed to take it. If he was right, that meant that combined they were transporting thirty Mandalorians and batarians, which seemed like a rather small number considering the numbers Balak and Mandalore probably had. That meant this was probably a recon force. He had a horrible feeling far more would arrive before long.
Sliding a thermal clip into a sniper rifle he had managed to find in one of the crates in the cargo hold before leaving Rassen after they had finished sparring, Shepard checked nothing was wrong with the weapon before nodding to himself. He had checked it as soon as he had first picked it up, of course, but it was always a good idea to constantly make sure a gun was working properly and no faults had developed since its last inspection. A problem at the wrong moment could easily prove fatal.
He glanced up as the nearby door opened and Kasumi entered, Shaela and Rassen in tow. The thief pointed wordlessly at the approaching vessels, and Shepard watched curiously as the couple reacted. Rassen gave a more subdued response to the sight; his jaw tightened slightly, but otherwise he gave nothing away. Shaela, by contrast, moved her weight from one leg to the other and back again a few times, but the look in her eyes was as determined as the one the man next to her had as they glanced at each other before looking at Shepard as he spoke, Kasumi doing likewise.
"Based on how many you said one carried on Watchman," he began, "there should be about thirty of them. That's too few for an attack, especially when they've probably already guessed we've been preparing for them. More will be on their way, meaning these ones," he pointed at them much like Kasumi had done, "will have orders to find our exact location and prevent us from escaping until reinforcements arrive."
"How did they find us in the first place?" Rassen asked him, the younger man frowning as he turned to look back at the approaching ships. "Did they pick up on the few systems we left running like we thought they would, or did we do something wrong?"
Kasumi answered in his stead. "I looked over what we left on at one point," she said. "Shaela did a good job shutting down everything except what we couldn't afford to lose." She grinned at the other woman, who stopped shifting her weight as she smiled back. Well, that was what Shepard assumed she was doing as her eyes changed shape. "My guess is they finally scanned this area thoroughly enough to pick up something was here. To be honest, we're lucky they didn't notice us until now."
Coughing to bring everyone's attention back to him, Shepard continued quickly, the knowledge they had little time spurring him on. "We need to hit them as soon as they land," he said firmly. "If we wait then we'll have to fight them on top of the others when they arrive. I doubt we'll be able to kill them all before they let Balak and Mandalore know we're definitely here, but we can save the mines for the main force if we fight them near their ships. That way we can keep them a secret until they can do the most damage."
Rassen frowned again. "Why would they disembark? Surely they will see us as soon as they get close if they fly low enough to the ground."
Shepard shook his head. "If they've picked up there's a ship here, which we know they almost certainly have, they will find it very quickly," he explained, "but for all they know we guessed they would and abandoned it as soon as we landed, leaving some systems on to distract them while we braved the heat on foot trying to find somewhere better to hide. They'll want to know for sure, which means they have to examine the ship up close. To do that, they have to land and then walk nearer to it. We can ambush them then."
"Wait," Shaela interjected with a small amount of worry. "If you're right, there are thirty of them. There are only four of us. If we leave the ship and the cave, then we're outnumbered worse than seven to one in the open. They'll kill or capture us easily, won't they?"
Shepard couldn't help grinning, prompting a knowing look from Kasumi as she crossed her arms and grinned back while Shaela and Rassen turned to look at one another before turning their gazes back to him. "Not necessarily," he replied. "They have numbers on their side, yes, but we have plenty of abilities they don't have." He activated his omni-tool, sending the room's other three occupants the location of each of the mines he had placed. "Now, here's what we do…"
It never ceased to amaze her how easy most people were to hide from.
As the Mandalorian looked straight through her like she didn't exist, Kasumi couldn't help giving him a cheeky wave as he turned to speak to a batarian before shoving him, prompting another armoured warrior who was presumably his commanding officer to march over and defuse the situation before it could escalate. Laughing almost completely silently to herself, she crept over to one of the ships before sneaking round it and deactivating her tactical cloak, shielding herself from view with its bulk and allowing her equipment to recharge as she took a deep breath of scorching air, frowning as sweat rolled down her face.
Waiting without making a sound until her cloak was ready, Kasumi reactivated it before darting quickly but silently to the second ship, which was positioned to the right and just beyond the first, before once again switching it off when she was concealed by the machine. Peering around the rear of the vessel so she could make sure no one would reach her before her cloak was ready, she once again turned invisible when she could, darting to the final ship, which once again was slightly further back than the one she had been using as cover.
The three vessels had all landed some distance from the cave, touching down on flat ground within the valley beyond the furthest mines Shepard had placed and so beyond where the ground began to slope upwards to where their own ship sat. That hadn't been surprising. Kasumi had picked up enough about standard military procedure during her time on the Normandy to understand it was normally considered far too dangerous to land a ship right next to your target. Doing so exposed you to enemy fire before you even had a chance to disembark, meaning anyone with a brain would choose a location that was nearby but not too close. Combined with the valley being too narrow for the three ships to sit next to each other, the Mandalorians and batarians had been forced to land them in an untidy line stretching away from their target, meaning they had to spend precious moments linking up next to the closest ship to the cave upon leaving their vessels.
They were moments Kasumi was using to the fullest.
She was now hidden from view behind the furthest ship from the cave, meaning every single one of the Mandalorians and batarians was totally unaware a lone person had managed to sneak past all thirty or so of them. Leaning around her latest piece of cover, Kasumi did a quick headcount. There were nine Mandalorians and seventeen batarians or so by her reckoning, so that meant twenty-six in total, though there could be a few she couldn't see from her current position. Still, it was close to Shepard's estimated number.
The Mandalorian officer from before was now issuing orders, not that she could hear them from here, gesturing with one hand while his other held the grip of a blaster rifle, all of those who had arrived with him gathering around as they listened. A few moments later the mixture of Mandalorians and batarians split into different squads before beginning to advance towards the slope that led to the cave, the more heavily armoured figures noticeably more professional as they covered one another, their allies doing the same but with less efficiency.
Taking another deep breath of uncomfortably hot air, Kasumi continued to watch unnoticed, eyes focusing on the closest squad to her as she prepared to activate her cloak the moment she received the go ahead. Ducking back fully behind her cover as her omni-tool pinged, she opened the message that had just arrived, which featured only a single word.
Now.
Switching on her cloak and vanishing from sight, she dashed noiselessly from behind the ship and past the other two before reaching the closest squad in a matter of seconds. Gaze concentrating directly on the poorly armoured neck of the batarian at the rear of the group, she allowed a small grin to take over her features.
Just like old times.
With Kasumi currently making her way behind the Mandalorians and batarians in order to attack them from another direction, Rassen couldn't help being glad he and Shaela were required to remain in the cave for the moment. Given neither of them could turn invisible, Shepard's plan was for them to wait for the ideal moment to strike before rushing out, lightsabers at the ready. While Rassen was certainly uncomfortable due to the heat, sweat was already beading on his forehead even though he was remaining still, he couldn't help feeling sorry for Kasumi. It was no doubt worse in the open, and he doubted her tactical cloak shielded her from the elements as well as rendering her invisible.
He was currently crouching behind a large rock just beyond the right-hand side of the cave entrance while Shaela was positioned behind another rock over on the left, the quarian as on edge as he was as they waited for confirmation. Further back than the two of them by a few metres was Shepard, sniper rifle at the ready as he knelt in place, the stock of the bulky weapon braced against his shoulder as it barely wavered. No doubt he had already picked out a target and was simply using the telescopic sight on top of the rifle to see what was occurring in the valley more easily.
Looking over at Shaela and noticing the quarian was looking back at him, Rassen gave her a reassuring nod, which she returned. Deciding they had a few moments until all hell broke loose, he remained low as he moved over to her as quickly as he could, ensuring he was as concealed as she was before speaking.
"When they start shooting at us," he said firmly, "trust your instincts. Use the Force to allow yourself to sense where their shots will go before they have even been fired. I wish we had chosen to go over this earlier, but you can do this, Shaela. You just need to believe you can."
"Okay," the quarian replied, nodding a little too quickly, betraying the fear she felt. Rassen couldn't blame her. All of them were afraid; it would be stupid not to be. For himself, Shepard, and Kasumi, though, a superficial wound was just that; superficial. For Shaela, however, even a minor injury could result in a fatal suit breach, something he was well aware of. While she had most of the antibiotics Matriarch Wessa had given her with her and he was carrying the rest within his robe just in case, her lack of experience when it came to defending against projectile attacks meant he hated the idea of her going out there.
Which was why once Shepard had presented them with his plan of action he had insisted some elements of it be changed.
Shaela would only join in once their enemies were sufficiently distracted. That would give her the time necessary to close in and use her lightsaber, thereby eliminating the range advantage their foes had over her. As much as her knowledge of lightsaber combat was rudimentary at best, Rassen felt confident she could handle herself against a few batarians up close.
As much as Shaela had at first protested against the fact that for their opponents to be sufficiently distracted he would have to leave her behind for a few moments, she had soon relented, understanding he was just trying to protect her. She had refused to hang back and use her pistol, though, pointing out that it would be of little use considering the distance between the cave and the Mandalorians and batarians. She had then told him that even if it would have been effective at that range, she still wouldn't accept staying comparatively safe while he was fighting their enemies up close.
Giving her a small smile as they crouched together, Rassen glanced at Shepard to make sure they still had a little more time before turning back to the quarian and embracing her before kissing her mouthpiece, causing her eyes to widen.
"You can handle this," he promised. "Just wait for Shepard to give you the word and then come down to help. Trust in yourself and the Force and everything will be all right."
"It's time."
Rassen turned to see Shepard giving the two of them a firm but sympathetic look. "I'm about to send Kasumi the message," he explained.
Nodding to him before turning his attention back to Shaela, he felt her gently take his hands in her own. "You be careful as well, Rassen," she whispered quickly. "I love you."
Kissing the top of her head before pulling his hands free, he moved back into positon at the other side of the cave as Shepard typed something into his omni-tool and then focused his gaze back down the sight of his rifle. A moment later, the commander fired.
The booming sound of the shot filled his ears and was almost painful, but Shepard paid it no mind as his target, a Mandalorian who seemed to be giving everyone around him orders and was a part of the nearest squad to the cave, collapsed to the ground, one hand over his throat. Readjusting his aim, he fired again a few seconds later, another Mandalorian falling as his second shot likewise struck the area directly between the top of the man's chestplate and his helmet, right where his armour was thin.
A split-second later there was a distortion behind a batarian at the rear of the furthest group, Kasumi appearing out of nowhere as she likewise took her target out with an attack to the neck, her shadow strike dropping him as effectively as any bullet. She sprinted behind the nearest ship as soon as she had taken out the batarian, disappearing behind it just as those nearest her position turned and fired, neither blaster or mass accelerator fire even close to hitting her.
That's three down.
The suddenness of the attack from two directions had thrown the remaining Mandalorians and batarians into chaos. Some took cover facing where Kasumi had disappeared to, others began sprinting towards the cave, and some simply dropped to the ground where they were in order to minimise their target profiles as they tried to work out where to aim. Focusing his gaze on a batarian who was one of those heading for the cave, Shepard fired with the same unceasing accuracy as before, except this time he went for the head. With no helmet, the batarian's face simply ceased to be, his kinetic barrier flaring and dying as it failed to deal with the sheer power of the shot as its owner crashed to the valley floor. Quickly noticing that quite a few of the Mandalorians and batarians were heading towards the mines he wanted to save for the main force, Shepard didn't look away from his weapon as he released the spent heat sink before inserting a fresh one.
"Rassen, you're up."
Raising the sniper rifle before aiming down its sight once more, Shepard was barely able to make out the blur that tore from the mouth of the cave and headed directly for an approaching batarian. Rassen was even faster than he had guessed from hearing the account of his past, the Jedi almost invisible as he used the Force to augment his speed until he stopped before his target and cut him down with a single lightsaber stroke.
Trusting the other man could handle those close to him for the moment, Shepard switched priority to those going after Kasumi, focusing on the thief's last position just in time to see her dispatch another batarian with a blow to the neck before she rolled behind the second furthest ship from the cave, tossing a flashbang grenade as she retreated.
Turning away so he wouldn't be blinded, Shepard looked back to see that a single Mandalorian and several batarians had been caught unawares by the blast. Not trusting the former was as badly affected as the latter on account of their polarised visor, he fired at the Mandalorian first, the armoured figure staggering as they shifted at the last moment, the shot slamming into the rear of their helmet instead of the back of their neck as a result. Muttering a curse, Shepard's expression of frustration quickly vanished as the figure turned to face him, only for mass accelerator fire to riddle them from behind as Kasumi reappeared, waving in his direction before sprinting away from the still-recovering batarians and then firing at them once she was able to use the nearest ship as cover again.
The two of them made short work of the three lightly-armoured men between them, Kasumi vanishing once more as Shepard moved his attention back to Rassen, who was currently engaged in a duel, there really was no other word for it, with a single Mandalorian. Another lay dead on the ground nearby along with two batarians. Upon closer examination, Shepard realised the armoured warrior Rassen was engaged with seemed to be carrying a sword of some kind rather than something more similar to a lightsaber, the two of them trading blows as he watched until the Jedi sidestepped a stab that would have otherwise skewered him before plunging his glowing blade directly into the centre of the Mandalorian's armoured chest. After a brief moment the lightsaber melted through the thick metal, and Rassen swiftly pulled it free before heading towards the next closest enemy, a batarian, raising his weapon as the woman fired at him with an assault rifle and blocking each shot as he advanced.
Shaking his head as he realised he really had seen everything there was to see by this point, Shepard then turned to Shaela. "Go and make sure he doesn't get himself killed," he said, indicating Rassen, who was now being fired at by another couple of batarians on top of the first one. "I've got Kasumi." The quarian nodded before racing out of the cave, her emerald lightsaber snapping to life as she ran at full pelt towards the fighting.
As he continued to block the fire of the three batarians, Rassen's progress began to falter, leaving him only able to slowly walk towards them as he found himself having to concentrate almost entirely on protecting himself. His lightsaber hummed, an intricate web of blue as it disintegrated every shot before it could impact against his armour, the batarians staring at him in shock even as they continued to fire, screaming insults as they did so. Internally he was glad they only possessed semi-automatic mass accelerator weapons that were clearly outdated, given their poor rate of fire. Anything more sophisticated and he would have been in serious trouble.
A loud cracking noise from somewhere behind him signalled the death of another combatant somewhere ahead, presumably a Mandalorian or batarian who had been threatening Kasumi. Shepard had already taken several shots since telling him to attack. So far, as much as Rassen was aware, he had always hit his target. Another shot sounded as he managed to get within five metres of the batarians, no doubt being perfectly aimed as well.
One of his foes, mouth open in a roar as he continued to fire his assault rifle at the Jedi, suddenly turned his head to look at a point just over Rassen's shoulder, expression morphing into a look of shock. He stopped firing and began to point his weapon in that direction before starting to tighten his finger on the trigger again, only to be much too slow as Shaela sprinted past Rassen and directly towards him, lightsaber high as she brought it down in a diagonal slash. The emerald blade cut through his armour like it wasn't there, opening up a rift in his chest from shoulder to hip and dropping the batarian instantly.
One of the remaining two now switched his attention to the quarian, levelling his rifle at her and leaving just one to deal with Rassen. With the amount of fire he was being subjected to now minimal, the Jedi Knight had no difficulty in removing one hand from his lightsaber and lashing out with the Force, sending both batarians flying. They crashed to the ground after sailing ten metres through the air, and Rassen drew on the Force to guide him as he hurled his lightsaber at the nearest one, the sapphire blade spinning rapidly as it closed in and ended the man's life and then switched directions, killing the second batarian a moment later before returning to his hand.
"Are you all right?" a concerned voice asked from nearby.
He glanced over at Shaela. "I am fine," he replied, only then realising just how heavily he was panting and how thoroughly drenched in sweat he was on account of the planet's beyond stifling heat. "Did Shepard give you the go ahead?"
"He told me not to let you get yourself killed."
The Force screamed a warning and Rassen raised his lightsaber into the path of a blaster bolt, sending it back towards the woman who had fired it. The Mandalorian ducked behind her cover, which happened to be the nearest ship to the cave, the vessel standing perhaps twenty metres away from them, before leaning out to resume shooting, Rassen easily blocking her next few shots.
"Of course he did," he shouted, starting to run towards the lone Mandalorian. "Do you remember what I said a few minutes ago?"
"Yes!" Shaela yelled back, the green light of her lightsaber making her mask look turquoise as she began running alongside him. "Trust my instincts and use the Force!"
He opened his mouth to reply, only to watch in horror as the Mandalorian suddenly switched targets, no doubt realising she stood little chance of downing him with a blaster and deciding she might as well try her luck with Shaela. A bolt of scarlet energy exploded from her weapon, the familiar screaming noise only blaster fire could make filling his ears as the bolt sailed directly towards the quarian as she ran alongside him. In desperation Rassen lifted a hand to try and throw her aside with the Force, but he already knew there was no way he could push her out of the way in time.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched Shaela's eyes widen at the sight of the bright red projectile racing straight for the centre of her chest. The quarian let out a yelp, green lightsaber rising awkwardly as the bolt closed in on her mercilessly, capable of easily killing her outright if it hit. She wasn't going to be able to do it. It was all his fault. If he had insisted they work on deflection training instead of Force healing—
And then the bolt was suddenly flying up into the sky.
Ignoring Shaela's cry of surprise, Rassen whipped round to face the Mandalorian, reaching out with a hand as he realised she was now close enough. The armoured warrior flew through the air towards him, and he swung at her, sapphire blade humming through the air as he brought it across her neck before sidestepping her corpse as it kept on going to strike the ground beyond him.
They had to keep moving. Staying still wasn't an option.
"Shaela," he managed, moving over to the quarian, who had remained where she was, staring at her lightsaber in awe. "We need to go and help—" he was interrupted by the sound of Shepard's rifle, "—Kasumi." He indicated the distant figures of the remaining Mandalorians and batarians, all of whom were converging on a point somewhere just behind the furthest ship, none of them aware all of their number that had come this way had been defeated.
She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, her silver eyes wide as they focused on him. "Sorry," Shaela managed. "It's just, well…"
"I know," Rassen nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "It must have felt strange doing it for the first time. Kasumi needs our help, though."
The quarian squared her shoulders. "Right. Let's go."
Rassen had been right on the money.
In the moment the Mandalorian had aimed her weapon at her, Shaela's life had flashed before her eyes. Growing up as a child on the Migrant Fleet, running away from her mother and hiding in the Kilal's various nooks and crannies, giggling all the while. Becoming an adult and being desperate to go on her Pilgrimage like all the other quarians her age. The nightmare that had been Omega, batarians at her heels, the knowledge that she might very well be about to die. Then Rassen saving her and everything that had happened since then, his voice sounding in her head and telling her what she needed to do as the Mandalorian's finger tightened on the trigger.
"Use your instincts. Use the Force."
Reality had returned to her, every nerve in her body screaming at her to act as the Force warned her of the incoming shot. So she had acted, moving her lightsaber between her and the projectile that could very easily have ended her life. As much as she had known it was her only chance, she hadn't entirely expected it to work. After all, she was essentially trying to block the blaster bolt with a glowing sword. Yes it was far more than just a simple cutting weapon, but despite Rassen's assurances earlier she could do it if she absolutely had to, Shaela had almost believed that had been the end for a moment.
She had obviously equipped and activated one of the kinetic barriers Wessa had given her along with the antibiotics and thermal clips when she had left Rannoch before getting into position earlier, but she doubted it would stop blaster fire. It was designed to protect the wearer against smaller and much faster moving projectiles; a blaster bolt might easily pass through a kinetic barrier unaffected. Despite that, she had still managed to survive what for most would have proven fatal, defending herself successfully, not that she could really believe how she had done it.
As she and Rassen tore past the first ship, the remaining Mandalorians and batarians noticed them, most breaking off their pursuit of Kasumi, who Shaela couldn't see, to begin shooting at them. Focusing on a single batarian at the edge of the group, she headed straight for him as Rassen sprinted towards a Mandalorian, a small gap opening between them as they went for their different targets.
She gritted her teeth as the batarian fired at her, using her instincts but it still taking all of her concentration to block the fire from his semi-automatic assault rifle, as it spat out projectiles that were much faster than the blaster bolt the Mandalorian from a few moments ago had sent at her. Her progress slowed, and she was then forced to stop advancing entirely as a second batarian opened fire on her. Breathing rapidly, Shaela continued to defend herself as best she could as a few shots she was unable to block struck her kinetic barrier, which flared blue as it managed to shield her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rassen cut down the Mandalorian he was occupied with, and a round from Shepard downed a batarian a few metres away from the Jedi. There weren't too many left now. She just needed to hang on for a few moments longer.
Her barrier suddenly gave out, but then there was a flicker from behind one of the men shooting at her, Kasumi appearing a split-second later and bringing him down with same attack she had used so effectively on Watchman. The other batarian stopped firing, staring at the newcomer in shock for a moment before deciding that since Kasumi was closer to him, she was the greater threat. The thief backed away, about to reactivate her cloak, only to stagger slightly as a stray shot from nearby nearly hit her, leaving her still exposed as the batarian slowly brought his gun to bear on her, the human drawing her own weapon a fraction more slowly.
Shaela began racing towards the two of them. Even so, she knew she wouldn't make it in time. She had to do something, which was when she had what could only be described as a terrible idea.
"Hey!" she shouted as loudly as she could.
Against all the odds the batarian flinched at the sound of her voice, hesitating just long enough for her to reach him as he turned to look back at her. Lunging at him before he could react, Shaela winced as her lightsaber went straight through his chest, trying not to think about what she was doing as she looked over to see Rassen toss another batarian aside with the Force, the man hitting the ground with an audible crunch.
There was yet another booming noise from behind them, and Shaela looked ahead just in time to see a lone Mandalorian, who had been aiming at them from around the furthest ship, reel back as blood exploded out of his neck, his armoured form slamming to the green rock of the valley floor soon after.
Silence fell.
"Was that all of them?" Rassen asked, the human looking as though he might pass out at any moment on account of the heat. Shaela felt guilty for a moment as she deactivated her lightsaber and looked at him. She wouldn't say she was comfortable exactly in her suit, but she certainly wasn't suffering nearly as badly as he or Kasumi were.
"I don't know," the thief managed, causing Shaela to look at her as she bent over, hands on her knees. Her bodysuit was drenched with sweat, the black and grey material unable to disguise how soaked it was despite being darkly coloured. "How many did you guys get?"
"Two," Shaela replied, unable to prevent herself from feeling a small amount of embarrassment. Two. Out of thirty. She had already known she was the weakest in combat of the four of them, but she hadn't expected her own level to be so far below that of the others. True, one of them was the saviour of the galaxy and another a former member of his crew, but Shaela couldn't help feeling a little useless as the three of them stood there catching their breath.
She turned to Rassen when she noticed he had remained silent, frowning as she saw he had shut his eyes. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, only for him to snap them open, a look of alarm on his face.
"I sense there is one left," he muttered. "A Mandalorian, I think."
Which was when a figure uncloaked right behind him.
Rassen turned, lightsaber humming, blocking the sword-like weapon the Mandalorian held as they brought it down on top of him, sending the Jedi staggering. As Shaela screamed his name and moved to help, the attacker lashed out with a kick, catching Rassen directly in the centre of his chest and knocking him to the ground, his lightsaber deactivating as it fell from his hand. With a battle cry the Mandalorian stabbed down with his weapon, which seemed to be emitting a faint hum noticeably different to that of a lightsaber, the tip poised to stab directly into the human's chest.
It stopped less than an inch from its destination as Shaela reactivated her own weapon and blocked it, straining against the armoured figure as he glanced up at her in surprise, seemingly not having noticed the steel and black coloured cylinder she held before he had attacked. The Mandalorian lifted his blade away from Rassen before slashing down at her, causing Shaela to raise her arms so she could stop the attack before it split her in two.
Straining against her noticeably stronger foe for a moment, she broke the lock and then ducked to the side as her opponent swung at her horizontally, causing the Mandalorian to nearly trip over Rassen as he struggled to regain his balance. The armoured warrior barely had time to look over at where she now stood as Shaela counterattacked with her emerald blade, lashing out with a strike that caught him directly across his unarmoured armpit, the lightsaber making its way several inches inside his body as she then thrust it deeper. Staring at her in shock, the Mandalorian attempted to say something, but before he could his blade fell from his hands and he collapsed to the ground, armour clanging as it struck the hard rock of the valley floor.
Panting, Shaela looked down at Rassen and offered him a hand. Taking it, the Jedi rose with her help, the two of them staring down at the body of the Mandalorian as it remained still. She barely heard Kasumi as she spoke, the thief whistling before she did so.
"Damn, big guy. Your girlfriend likes showing off as much as you do."