TATOOINE
Tormen Darklight felt the blow even through his helmet, taking a moment to register that he was on the floor and on his back. Sure enough, it had not taken long for the sith woman and her companion to realize he was in the employ of the Republic and to act swiftly. The woman had hit him, a shoving blow by way of the force at her command. Lying there, his drink spilt, and dazed he could only seem to stare up at the sith. She stood over him, yellow blade of her saber pointed down at him.
"Jaesa, don't!" Pierce growled from where he remained seated.
"This republic dog should be put down." Jaesa snarled back without taking her eyes off Tormen.
"If it's all the same I'd just as soon keep breathing." Tormen cracked wise despite the situation, then glanced to Pierce. "Hey, c'mon! I didn't have to save your lives!"
"Jaesa." Pierce said her name again, the tone of such making the woman flick the power off on her weapon, though she did not move from over top of him.
"Ya know you're kinda cute when you're in a killing mood." Tormen flirted, his words this time actually making the sith smile. Still, that smile made Tormen's skin break out in goose bumps. There was something exciting as much as there was something dangerous about that smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know." Jaesa said in a tone that was half sweet, half threatening, as she back away and moved to stand beside Pierce.
Tormen rose and grabbed his chair even as Pierce tipped the table back into place. Settling into his seat once more, the smuggler studied both Jaesa and Pierce. He could only hope the big man had as good and firm hold over the woman as he appeared to. She was a loose cannon, Tormen had decided. Risha would hate her, he grinned as he had the thought. Of course pretty women always hated other pretty women.
"Ok, so where were we. " Tormen remarked, deciding it was best to just get back to business. "Any idea why someone would be trying to kill you two, let alone my friend?"
"Maybe your Jedi just decided spending credits was easier than losing in a stand up fight?" Jaesa threw the gauntlet down right away and Tormen watched Pierce just shake his head. Yes the jedi were suddenly flush with credits and looking to buy the deaths of Imperials and Sith, Tormen thought.
"Doubtful there." Tormen replied. "Since my friend happens to be part of the order, seems we have a common foe out there."
Pierce frowned, mulling that information over. For once, he actually wished Quinn was about. As insufferable as the man was about protocol and following directives, he had quite the analytical mind and would have been useful in dealing with this. The fact there was someone putting up a lot of credits, someone targeting them, and the fact they had no reason why made Pierce uneasy. Jaesa was muttering under her breath, which did not surprise him, but he could tell she was sick of the politics and subterfuge. She preferred to have a straight up fight, kill or be killed. Not that he could blame her. I'm going to get a headache with this crap, Pierce thought.
"I still say someone in the Republic is behind this." Jaesa growled.
"Maybe it's just the Sith doing it. Wouldn't be the first time you guys tried to kill your own." Tormen shot back before he could bite his tongue on the thought.
Jaesa made to start forward at Tormen, but stopped as she heard the armoured footfalls drawing someone else uninvited into the room. Her hand once again found her lightsaber and it hummed to life as the golden energy blades came streaking out of the hilt. Pierce and Tormen had both registered the intruder as well almost at the same time. Both men rose, weapons coming to their hands. The personal dislike was quickly set aside as they readied themselves for another attack.
"What in the name of the Sarlaac?" Teffa Darkstar swore as he entered the room, taking in the two people he sought before his gaze fell on Tormen Darklight. Of all the people Teffa had thought he might run into on Tatooine, the smuggler had not even made the list.
"Oh crap!" Tormen swore, foot kicking out to knock over the table once more, even as he dove behind it for cover. "This is just not my day!"
"Knew I smelt something." Teffa growled, even as he grabbed his own blaster and knocked over a large bookshelf for cover of his own.
With the bounty hunter blocking the only way in and out of the room, Tormen realized he was effectively trapped. There was only one thing he could do under the circumstances. With no means of flight, the smuggler squeezed the triggers of his blasters. A barrage of shots dotted along the length of the tipped over shelf the bounty hunter was using for cover. Teffa's head popped over the shelf and he let loose a barrage of his own fire, forcing Tormen to duck down behind the table. As he made to pop back up, a gout of flame from the bounty hunter's flamethrower bathed over the table, forcing him to take cover once more, the table surface beginning to smoke and melt.
"What in the name of the abyss are you doing here?" Tormen yelled, slipping a hand over the melted tabletop to fire off a few more shots.
"Killing you, isn't it obvious?" Teffa growled back letting loose with a volley of fire before raising a hand and firing off a small dart that hit the wall above where Tormen was hiding.
Tormen heard the wall get hit casting a glance up before swearing aloud. Scarcely a heartbeat later, the explosive dart exploded blowing a hole in the wall. Chunks of plastisteel wall plating showered down on him. For a moment he thought about tossing a thermal grenade, but in such close quarters that was a last resort weapon. He'd likely kill all of them doing that. As it was the explosive dart had been dangerous enough. Would the galaxy really miss a bunch of Imperial and Sith scum? Would they give me a medal post humusly? Tormen had to laugh at his own thoughts before firing once again over the top of the table.
"ENOUGH!"
The voice was female, melodic even if she was screaming above the blaster fire in the room. Silence followed in the wake of that yell. Tormen took the chance to peek over the edge of the burnt, ruined table. Pierce remained standing against the back wall, Jaesa beside him her lightsaber still lit and ready even if they were staying out of the shootout. He could see Teffa's armoured head above the bookshelf that was a smouldering ruin as well, following his gaze towards the doorway and who had yelled.
The woman barely was tall enough to come to Tormen's chest, dark hair bobbed in cut and ear length. She wore armoured pants but a loose fitting black top with hood that did little to hide the fact she had a swollen belly. Who the hell brings a pregnant woman to a gun fight, Tormen wondered? Better question was who's kid was Mako carrying, since she had been part of Teffa's crew for as long as Tormen had crossed paths with them.
"Mako." Teffa said, rising and moving over to her only to have her punch him in the chest.
"You trigger happy, testosterone laden, gamorrean brained idiot!" Mako fumed at her husband. "And you, you scruffy, tauntaun loving, womanizing, poor excuse for a spacer!"
Tormen laughed and shrugged at the comment as the woman pointed at him. He'd been called far worse a time or two, but coming from a pregnant woman, that ranked high on the creativity scale. Glancing at Teffa, the bounty hunter just shrugged back at him. Clearly she was with him, but if he was any judge of a woman, and he'd known enough to say he was qualified, Teffa was the one that needed to worry. It didn't take much of a sure bet to know Mako was carrying Teffa's child.
"Both of you put your guns away before I shoot you both in the balls!"
"Can I watch?" Jaesa grinned, the smile remaining even as both Pierce and Mako glared at her.
"What are you doing here, smuggler?" Teffa demanded, deciding it was best to just get to business and change the subject before Mako got around to unleashing her anger on him again.
"Besides getting shot at, punched, and hanging out with an unsavoury crowd?" Tormen cracked and then shrugged at the man's question. "Would you believe I'm on vacation?"
Pierce groaned at the banter as he realized he had been right. He was getting a headache. At least he knew who the strangers were in this case, and they were far from a threat. Necrolis knew this bounty hunter and those who he had as crew. If Necrolis trusted the bounty hunter, then Pierce felt certain they could as well. It didn't hurt that the man was armed to the teeth, which if anyone else tried taking shots at them, they would have some heavy guns to even the odds.
"He saved us from an ambush. It seems someone wants us dead." Pierce threw out, watching as Teffa nodded in response. It didn't seem to surprise the bounty hunter, Pierce noted.
"That's why Necrolis asked me to come get you two." Teffa remarked. "Seems there's a price on all our heads."
"And that includes you, scruffy." Mako chimed in, nodding to Tormen.
The news was a bit surprising, but Tormen had to admit not out of the realm of possibility. Given his enemies in the Hutt Cartel, organized crime gangs, smugglers guild, as well as Republic and Imperial forces, finding out he was a mark was not a surprise. On one hand he was actually flattered, but on the other Tormen could not help but think this time he was in way over his head. When Jedi and Sith, Imperial and Republic were all being targeted, it was a little more grave a situation.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tormen commented.
"You ain't the only one." Teffa remarked. "We better get out of here while we can. Much as I am loathe to say it, you'd better just tag along, Tormen."
"Oh joy!" Tormen remarked, falling in line as they slipped out in behind Pierce and Jaesa. "This is some vacation."
The Mos Isla space port was not far from the cantina. As they had been before, the streets were empty of people, not even the jawas were out scavenging whatever they could find. Teffa lead the group, the bounty hunter watching his sensor readouts in his helmet carefully. His trigger finger was itching, and it had nothing to do with having just had a blaster fight with Tormen Darklight.
The bounty hunter made an imposing figure at the best of time, but in the black tionese armour with its red accent, he was all the more intimidating. The fact he and Mako had added enough armaments to his weapons systems that he was literally a walking arsenal might have had something to do with it as well. Times like now however, Teffa knew he stood out like a sore thumb. A heavily armoured bounty hunter walking down a deserted street was not exactly inconspicuous.
"Torian, prep the Wolf for immediate dust off, get her ready." Mako said over the comm link, voice low. "We're coming in hot most likely."
Teffa glanced back and saw Mako right in step behind him, then Jaesa and Pierce, followed lastly by Tormen. The bounty hunter hoped Mako was wrong on her last words. If they could just get to the ship and off planet without a fight, he would be far happier. Tormen had his blasters out and was watching their backs, Teffa noted. He had to grudgingly admit he was glad the man was there. He was after all, good with his blasters. He also had a penchant for getting into and out of trouble. In this case the latter would prove handy, Teffa knew.
"Tormen, keep a sharp eye out." Teffa commented over his shoulder, though he knew it was hardly necessary.
Tormen was about to answer the man when he noted movement above them on the building rooftops just as they entered the wide open square leading to the entrance to the space port. Pierce and Teffa had also seen motion, their weapons in their hands even as they reacted to the spotted threat. Tormen gave a shout of warning before opening fire. The Mandalorians had set a trap, the smuggler realized. They had bought and used the other men, likely watching to assess their skills before they attacked themselves. They had hunted them.
The still of the night was shattered as the square erupted in blaster fire. Mini rockets screamed down even as they scrambled for cover and returned fire. Teffa brought up his portable shield and set himself, the pale blue glow of energy forming about him. Teffa brought up his arm firing three mini rockets from his shoulders, streaking small trails up to the rooftop. The explosion hurled two figures off into the air, to fall to the ground with thuds and remain motionless.
"Mandalorians." Pierce growled, noting the two bodies and the blue and white distinctive armour they were wearing. Both hands gripped the heavy cannon, sweeping his line of fire along the rooftop forcing more attackers to duck and take cover. Pierce knew they were in trouble. The Mandalorians had the high ground and effectively had put them in a kill box.
"Well it wouldn't be a party unless someone invited them to shoot up the place." Tormen cracked wise as he let go a hail of shots that toppled another mandalorian from above over the edge of a building.
"You know it's good!" Pierce growled back over his shoulder to the smuggler, "It's drawn the finest mercenaries for hire!"
Jaesa stood her ground and shook her head at the banter of the two men. Shots came at her, but the sith caught the blaster bolts with her lightsaber, deflecting them harmlessly away. She gritted her teeth as she watched the ranged attacks. There was little more she could do but stand and block given the distance and it annoyed her.
"If you all are done taking the kills, perhaps we should get the hell out of here?" The sith muttered.
Teffa glanced about before firing a pair of wrist rockets into another one of the Mandalorians. The rockets found their mark, exploding into the mercenary and launching him backwards right off his feet. Teffa knew he had taken him down, even if he couldn't see that he was not getting up. The sith was right, they were out in the open and it was only a matter of time before someone got off a lucky shot on one of them, he knew.
"Tormen, lead the break for the space port." Teffa barked the order. "Pierce with me, we provide cover."
Pierce grunted in acknowledgement, shifting himself closer to the bounty hunter, taking the right side while Teffa covered the left. Tormen moved forward, blasters strafing upwards even as he sprinted for the entrance ahead. Mako and Jaesa followed right on his heels, the sith using the force to ensure any shots at them were deflected. Once they were halfway, Pierce and Teffa began moving after them. The two men let their weapons blaze as the Mandalorians tried in vain to gun them down while they were within the gauntlet they had set up.
Mako took over leading once they had reached the entrance of the spaceport. Teffa bringing up the rear paused as he reached the entrance himself. To be safe he set up a pair of laser proximity mines just inside the entrance. That's going to make for a real surprise, he thought before racing to catch up with the rest of the group. Reaching the hanger they found the ramp down and ready for them. Racing to the StarWolf, Teffa cast a last glance back before his fist pounded on the button to raise the walkway, barking into the intercom.
"We're in, lift off and get us off this dirtball!"