V: Conflict

Aliix remained quiet as the convoy moved through terrain of Meridian's plains which led to the Sumter canyon. Checking the ammo to his DC-17m before reinserting it back into the chamber. When that procedure was completed then then proceeded to check the armor attachments. If any of the gruff and hardy militiamen attempted to converse with the bounty hunter he paid them little mind, seeming to not even register their words—a tactic which usually proved ample boon in his pursuit of avoiding conversation.

The militiaman Keyes glanced at the tools of his hunter trade with some fascination. Marveling at the various pieces of equipment on his arm. The flame thrower, grappling cord, and wrist laser demanded more of his aforementioned interest among the assortments on his vambraces. He considered commenting on them but figured the bounty hunter would ignore his comments as he had all the rest and so remained quiet.

"Got something to say?" a voice suddenly came out from behind the mask. "If you've got somethin' to say you should get it off your chest."

He was speaking to him. The militiaman was quick to seize the opportunity. "Why do you carry so much tech?"

"Never know where a job will take you." he explained.

"So tha—"

Suddenly there was a loud explosion ahead of their transport. Loud and very thunderous in its echo.

"Haar'chak." Aliix whispered to himself, recognizing the sound enough to know the cause: missiles.

The bounty hunter felt their transport stop and as he did he was hastily the first to make it out with his grandfather's rifle in hand. Checking to both sides for opposition then slowly bringing himself to peer around the corner of the transport only to see an incoming missile and bolt away with little other thought than to preserve his own life. With the ensuing explosion knocking him off of his feet, as it had Keyes and the few other militiamen who followed after him.

Aliix staggered up, looking back to see who all his fellow survivors were. Five in total.

Just my luck.

Cass looked out at the path leading into the canyon, scanning the wreckage of the convoys for survivors, with smoke making it difficult for herself and her cycler rifle to prepare a shot.

It was then she finally could see someone, but she wished she hadn't. Among them was a mandalorian like herself, garbed in grey armor with blue warpaint around his t-shaped visor. Inspiring a feeling of disgust at the though of firing upon them.

Feeling as if a somber cloud was over her head.

It was not as if there was a rule forbidding mandos from shooting each other. Death Watch and the True Mandalorians committed such actions against each other multiple times, as had Clan Saxon against Clan Spir. But it still was cause for reluctance.

Reluctantly she prepared to pull the trigger.

In the midst of rising to his feet he would suddenly hear the echo of a shot from a Cycler Rifle ring out. The shot hit him once but because of his armor it merely knocked him back onto the ground. A second shot found itself piercing one of the younger militiamen.

"Oritsir." He rose back up and ran to join the Marshal in taking cover behind some large rocks. Narrowly avoiding being shot a second and third time as he did so. Not appreciating being fired upon as if he was some common barve.

Though he was quick to reach the rocks he was able to pinpoint where one of the shots were coming from and proceeded to mount on the sniper rifle attachment to his DC-17m before glancing over to the Marshal. "Can one of you di'kuts draw their fire?"

"Come again…?" the Marshal wanted to confirm he hadn't misheard the bounty hunter. Because what he just uttered sounded so profoundly moronic he presumed he must have been hearing things. An explosion had caused his head to hit the ground fairly hard, after all.

"I need one of you to distract the shooter long enough for me to take aim."

"He's out of his damn mind." Jun said angrily.

"It's either that or wait until they find some more missiles to bombard us with." Aliix poited out. "Your call, friends."

The Marshal sighed before looking at the hunter, who brought down his rangefinder, with a nod and readied his rifle.

"This is crazy!"

"Objection noted, Jun." Keyes said before preparing his own rifle. "Now start shootin'."

Cass had her cycler rifle trained upon the rocks the bastard Marshal and his friends were using for cover—primed and ready to pop off one of them or injure the mando who was aiding them in this endeavor—when she saw the lawman emerge and open fire in random directions. As did his militiamen.

She was a second from pulling the trigger when suddenly her own rifle is struck and she falls back with a "Haar'chak!"

Wes looked up from reloading his own rifle to ask wide-eyed "You good, Vau?"

"Yeah." she answered him. Pulling herself up with a "Oritsir, did that hurt." Grabbing her Jaster rifle.

Aliix lowered his rifle. Feeling a twinge of satisfaction. He made sure to hit the barrel so he was confident she wasn't dead. It certainly would have stung though, so she was likely going to be pissed.

"Sniper's not a problem for now." the bounty hunter said before activating his JT-12 jetpack and taking flight into the skies.

Martin was firing upon the militia. Taking out several of its members with great proficiency when he suddenly hears something hit the ground close to him. He looked to his side to see a thermal detonator and "Oh, sh—!" then it went boom.

The other Regulators were caught off guard, one walking in to survey the damage

As the smoke began to clear, the Regulator heard something else, much heavier, hit the ground. Waving his hand to clear the smoke some more to find himself face-to-face with a Mandalorian visor and a WESTAR-34 in hand of the visor's bearer.

The grey mando proceeded to dispatch him.

Cass looked down onto one of the power parts of the canyon trenches to see the mando she shot earlier firing upon her comrades. Drawing her vibrodagger from a sheath on the back of her trousers, she activates her own jetpack.

Aliix moves about the trench of the canyon's upper level. Firing with one of his WESTAR-34s in one hand while the other used its wrist mounted laser to blast multiple Regulators.

Dispatching them in droves when he starts to hear the jet bursts of a JT-12.

Cass dropped before him with vibrodagger in hand.

Holstering his blaster, he responded to her landing with a "Su'cuy gar." Knowing who she was right away. Even if she did not match the armor description of what he had been given on the image caster. He doubted any other mandos would be among the ranks of the Regulators. Or so he hoped.

Without a word Cass charged him, slashing with her vibrodagger, aiming for the throat. Aliix jerked his head back—narrowly avoiding the short blade—and following up with a blow from his knee to the lower part of her durasteel breastplate.

Cass retaliated with a helmetbutt. Causing Aliix to stagger back a step or two.

Yep, she's definitely one of Walon Vau's.

They exchanged blow for blow, with Aliix aiming to incapacitate. But in the midst of their battle—in the chaos of the whole scene—Aliix began to hear a beep noise. And looked down to his side to see a thermal detonator had landed on the ground.

Oritsir!