"... and some damage to one of our speeders. Stims are low now. Blasters too. Both go crushed by the rocks."

Rheed sat across the edge of one of his speeders. He fiddled with a plasma torch in his hand. His eyes trailed across the scenery. Dantooine was indeed a beautiful place. Lush green fields. Simple, cooperative people (especially when there's a blaster to your head). And remote. That was probably Rheed's favorite part. Of course, there's the Jedi Enclave, but even on the best days the Mandalorian Raider could avoid entanglements with them. Well, except right now.

"Rheed, you listening?"

Rheed looked up at the voice calling to him. A man encased in traditional blue Mandalorian armor stood above him. He was one of his people, Xirot, relaying the information of the failed Crystal ambush. Like Rheed, Xirot was from Clan Vik, one of the original Mandalorians to leave with Rheed from his warring days. Xirot wasn't always with Rheed. He'd come and go sometimes, depending on business. He was alright by Rheed's standards. Could handle a vibrosword and blaster, knew when to shut up and when to talk. Most of all, he never asked too many questions or made too many demands. Not like some of the newer punks Rheed had with him currently.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," Rheed responded as he twirled the plasma torch in his hands. A brush of wind blew across their little camp they had set up. It was enough to cause a map one of the others was holding to blow across Rheed's path of vision, which gave him an opportunity to examine the rest of the camp. Four landspeeders surrounded ten tents, with a small campfire in the middle. A few pods and containers lay across the area as well, for a bit of a homey touch. A workbench was placed in the center, with some supplies scattered across it. Three other Mandolorians were present. There was Drun. Drun was fairly young, only a small boy when his father took him away with Rheed from Hayrt. He was also encased in blue Mandalorian standard armor, though his helmet was removed, revealing dirty blonde hair, and ice-blue eyes. He was raw and daring, but agreeable enough to know when to follow orders. He did have a tendency to try stunts Rheed would rather not see pulled. Beside him working over the workbench was Vros, the mechanic of the group. Vros had short, black hair and a lazy eye. He was fairly stubborn, and he and Rheed bumped heads more than once. He never knew Vros before Dantooine, but he was helpful when he had to be. Vros's brother Braal, who had black hair like his brother though much longer (and minus the lazy eye) was a bit more easier to get along with, and control. But he often complained about money in some regard. Rheed got annoyed with that quite a bit. Uku was the mine specialist. She was beautiful to say the least, both in her armor and without. She had taken great care of her fit body over the years, through constant running and exercise. Her long, brown hair was tied in a neat ponytail, as her piercing hazel eyes gazed down as she cleaned out the gunk out of her blaster rifle. Most if not all of the others treated Uku as an equal. Rheed didn't think they should. She was leagues ahead of most of the others intellectually and in combat. Then there was Vegg. Vegg was an idiot.

The current lot of them made up the Mandalorian encampment. He and the others called it Bensen, named after one of his fallen. The others seemed to really like the idea of honoring a fallen comrade. They praised Rheed for his decision to do it. He was fairly popular with the rest of Clan Vik. A chestpounding, to-the-roots, old-school Mandalorian. Rheed never personally liked him. He was damn certain he was never apart of Clan Vik as he claimed. He was also pretty sure the man wasn't even a Mandalorian to begin with. He tried a bit too hard. Said too many of the rights things, and a lot more wrong ones. Plus there were so many inconsistencies with his story. He had always claimed to be somewhere no one else was, which is why none of the others ever heard of him before. The others probably didn't notice. Rheed was actually fairly certain they didn't. They only saw the good, and the good was that he was damn good when it came to fighting. He just couldn't outrun a heard of kath hounds led by a rare albino one.

The odd thing was (these were the sort of questions that kept Rheed up at night) that Bensen made such a big effort to try and fit in as a Mandalorian when he was never one. But he probably could have done just as well on his own. Could have picked up his own crew, hired himself out as a bounty hunter, done some private security. Rheed could have thought of a hundred different things Bensen would have been more than qualified for. But he decided to put in the extra effort to serve under someone else. And for the life of him Rheed couldn't figure out why.

Rheed mentally shrugged. It probably didn't matter anymore at that point anyway. He was dead, and here they were living in Benson camp now, so that was that. He looked back up at Xirot as he looked down at him (or at least he thought he was looking down at him. Damn helmet). There was an exchange of silence between the two as Rheed tried to determine whether he had sat there Bensen-pondering long enough for him to have missed another question from Xirot, or whether Xirot was just waiting for Rheed to say something. Eventually, Rheed just shrugged and spoke to break the deadlock.

"This whole idea was stupid," The Raider stated as he twirled the plasma torch again. "Why the hell did we decide to do this again?" He asked, more rhetorically than anything else. He already knew the reason why. Some of the others had begun to voice their opinions that the criminal enterprise wasn't living up to all it could be. Extorting and raiding local farms and villages was nice, but the Mandalorians couldn't help but call to a higher calling, especially with knowledge that Jedi were on the planet. Even working in a raider capacity, they wanted to move up the food chain with who they targeted. Everyone wanted a bigger piece of the pie, and they knew with Rheed's talents for tactics and leadership, they could easily expand.

There lay the problem. Rheed was content with the way things were. He had always been. This wasn't Rheed's first rodeo. He'd find a system, set up shop, and milk it with anything underhanded he could think of that works. Not enough to attract any big guns or put himself on any major bounty lists, but enough so that people knew not to mess with him. But now it had come to the point where some of the others wanted to go bigger. Rheed didn't particularly want to leave now. He liked Dantooine. It was remote, it was lively enough, and it had potential. So when Vros suggested ambushing the Jedi for the crystals, he figured he'd throw them a bone and do it. Things didn't go according to plan, and the rest was history. He knew some of the others wanted to try again. He also knew he wouldn't have it. Recently, some troubles from his past were creeping back up on him. The galaxy seemed to be getting a bit smaller. And that psycho ***** Aayla seemed to be getting closer and closer.

"You know why," Xirot replied, even though he probably knew he didn't have to. "What's our next move?"

"Yeah, what's our next move?" Vegg repeated. That's basically all he did. See? Idiot.

Rheed shot a glance toward Vegg, then turned back to Xirot. "We shouldn't be going after the Jedi."

"Hey!" Vros cried out. "You promised we'd go after 'em!"

"We did, look how that turned out," Rheed replied back.

"You're gonna blame earthquakes?" Braal echoed his brother's complaints. "It's good mon-"

Rheed held up his hand with the plasma torch. "Didn't let me finish. I'm not giving up on this. But I also think we should go about this a different way. There were others hanging around those crystal caves, you saw. We kept clear before, but I'm willing to wager my weight in credits that they're gonna try again."

"So?" Vros commented.

"So," Rheed began as he kicked off the speeder and walked over to the workbench. His helmet lay there among the weapons and other supplies. His was much older, back from his warring days. His armor was an alternative look. Encased like most Mandalorians, but had a bit more motion room without armor along the arms and legs. "We don't have to take anything from the kath hound if the mine rats can steal 'em first. Let's wait to see how this plays out. Maybe one side will do something stupid," Rheed reflexively looked at Vegg. "Maybe they'll knock each other out a bit. Maybe something else will happen that we won't see coming."

The Bloodborne- One small step for Man. One giant leap for revenge.

"This place is far too quiet for my taste," Aayla spat as she stepped off her ship, an experimental prototype Kom'rk class transport that she yanked off some hapless Mandalorian clan that paled in comparison to the brutal Aayla.

"No wonder Rheed picked this dirt hole of a planet. It's practically barren." Clearly frustrated, Aayla grimaced as she looked out at the lush green fields. It was a remote planet for sure, and she could bet the people resembled its environment: absent of personality, intelligence and usefulness. Finding Rheed here would prove difficult, unless she could uncover his operation too. The information she received concerning Rheed's possible involvement on Dantoonie was more of a hunch than anything. The man had been simply through her fingers with such ease, that she had nearly lost her mind. Well, what's left of it to lose.

"According to our records, this planet has only a few settlements, boss. There is the Jedi Enclave, however. They could prove useful if we manage to be diplomatic," Valen reported. Among her most trusted Bloodborne and Aayla's second, Valen was a quiet and stern man and her peer in age, even if his advice seemed to come from a wiser individual. Reliable and a skilled warrior, he was fairly tall, even for a Mandalorian, and encased in golden armor. Based on the traditional neo-crusader armor worn in his Clan Vik days, he had since, like the rest of the Bloodborne modified to suit his developing role as advisor and enforcer. The man rarely removed his armor but Aayla still remembered his scarred and frightening features. He was quite attractive really, with messy black hair, dark eyes and a number of memories of battle.

Ca'tra, Aayla's third (though you could argue she was just another second), soon stepped out. Her armor was bright red, and armor more closely resembled Aayla's, in fact, with black accents to nearly demonize its appearance. She was arguably the most recognizable of the Bloodborne, aside from their leader, when armored. Out of the armor she was quite unassuming. Ca'tra's features were rather plain with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her frame was a bit more bold than Aayla's, but the young woman was still growing. She was quite young really, having joined Clan Vik when she was but a child. She idolized Aayla, and perhaps the most loyal of the Bloodborne being Aayla's apprentice of sorts, fighting with unmatched ferocity that sometimes even made her mentor concerned, if that was possible. "Can't trust the Jedi, not from what I hear. We are better off digging up caves and looking for Rheed ourselves. Hell, let's glass the planet while we are it. Wouldn't be too different than what we did before, right boss?"

Aayla smiled. Good times.

"And waste resources? I rather not waste anymore time hunting him," Valen countered. "Asking around hasn't hurt before and it shouldn't know. Many of the locals will fear us, even if they don't know us. We will extort what information we can and compare their reports with the Jedi. Then we can pinpoint Rheed's base and destroy him. Permitting he hasn't run away yet."

"Fine, you ask around and I'll look for Rheed. I will bet his head I'll find him first."

Aayla shot her blaster in the sky, rustling some of the serene wildlife with her outburst. "How about you both can it for a second and let me think? Otherwise, I'll start looking for replacements for you both. First requirement, don't act like you run things, especially with the boss within earshot." That outburst was common. Ca'tra and Valen weren't afraid, but they knew it was better to shut up than anything. Aayla was probably plotting, using what little the two reminded her of.

Wad'e, Ca'tra's older cousin and demolitions specialist, and Orar, a wily veteran who preferred subterfuge above direct combat, stepped off the ship and put their armor on. Both favored blue Neo-Crusader armor, hardly making any significant changes since becoming Bloodborne. Orar upgraded his stealth field generator, while Wad'e focused on switching up his optics for better focus. Aayla hardly remembered what the two look like, as they were more lauded with tasks than the others. Wad'e had forgotten too, not spending much time in the mirror to fix his dark blonde hair and unkempt beard. Orar, in turn, wanted to forget that he was balding and what little hair his light eyes could see was sprinkled gray.

"Guessing my cousin pissed off the boss again," Wad'e muttered.

"Must be Tuesday then," Orar smirked back. Valen motioned to be quiet and the two looked at each other and shrugged.

"Akshae!" Aayla shouted, calling for the last of her inner circle. Soon enough, a Mandalorian in red armor shot out on a jetpack and landed in front of Aayla, kneeling before her.

"Akshae, reporting," a female voice said. Akshae was perhaps the most quiet of the inner circle, being incredibly task orientated. Aayla enjoyed that. Akshae, when she bothered to remove her armor, was very beautiful, lacking the battle scars of many and not wearing the emotional burden of it either. Her short dark hair and gentle green eyes reflect a woman untouched by war. It was perhaps because Akshae was their sniper and stayed away from it. She was also fantastic at reconnaissance, but that simply came with the job.

"Scout the area, in particular the caves near the Enclave," Aayla ordered, and without a word, Akshae ran off to a nearby hill, hoping to find an apt scouting location. "Ca'tra is right. We aren't going to trust the Jedi, but there is a reason they like this place. The crystals on this planet are priceless and if Rheed has become what I think he has…which is money grubbing coward, then he is going to go for them. And then I can trap that piece of **** under a rock and watch him suffer. Any objections?"

There was none. Only smiles.

Shiathium-Narcasius

Wakey Wakey Time​

Shia's eyes snapped open as he looked back outside his window. Much to his disappointment the sun wasn't up yet. The Squib groaned out loudly and placed his head against the pillow again. Every five minutes the alien popped up his furry noggin to once again see if there was any light. After what seemed like an eternity the light finally began to shine through his window. "YES!"

The Squib hopped out of bed and stretched his limbs out to get the sleepiness out of them. Once his whole body was wide awake Shia closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "As long as I'm in harmony, then the day will go great." He looked into the mirror that hung in his room and gave his reflection a firm nod. Even though his shower was enjoyable, given he was the first one up and he could hog the hot water, he still dreaded the morning routine.

Before he was used to his pair of boots, his loincloth, a belt or two, and his small cap. He didn't expect to have to dress up in some other garments as well! The Squib shuddered as he eyed the pants and shirt he was given. Jedi wore robes. Sure, he knew that much, but this was plain ridiculous! He grumbled to himself as he eyed the other clothing a bit longer before he balled it up and carried it back to his room.

At the very least with many of the others still asleep no one would be around to lecture him on proper fashion sense. Instead, the Squib decided to do a little bit of practice. He dropped the bulky fabric off and grabbed the lightsaber that stuck up in its stand. He hummed softly to himself as he made his way through the awakening enclave and finally found one of the training rooms. He made his way into the center of the room and held his blade out. With the press of a button the blue blade hummed to life. He took in a deep breath and held his weapon in front of his body. "Training regimen sixty-three, please."

The door to the room beeped as it locked itself. "Training engaged."

Out from the wall hovered out two small spheres that began to float around the apprentice. Shia closed his eyes and reached out with the force. The remotes circled about the apprentice for a moment longer before the small lasers ingrained in their metallic bodies began to shoot out pellets of energy. Not missing a bit Shia waved his lightsaber from side to side, easily deflecting the first few bolts.

The first wave was quick to halt and Shia removed one of his hands from the saber's grip, just in time as the remotes positioned themselves in front of him as well as behind him. He was quick to swing his saber back and forth to deflect the two streams of projectiles. Now he was starting to sweat.

The two remotes began to circle about him, peppering out bolts every so often. Shia found himself rotating on the spot to quickly deflect each one in turn. It was funny how easy it was to now protect himself against such weaponry. When he had first arrived he couldn't honestly block a succession of shots, but now it was like a cake walk. And Shia didn't do the training regiments to try and become better. More along he wanted to keep his senses sharp. After the third round the remotes halted in mid air, then slipped back into their ports on the wall as another click indicated that the door had unlocked.

The Squib deactivated his lightsaber and stepped on out. His stomach was grumbling. That was a key indicator that breakfast should be close to being ready. Shia rushed through the halls, more than eager to make it to the cantina.

BANG!

An iriaz fell dead across the plains, shot directly in the head from sniper fire two thousand yards ahead. The culprit was Mainx, the scout of Rheed's Raiders. He wore green camoflauged Legacy-era Mandalorian style armor, fitted around him comfortably for greater mobility, albeit less defense. Mainx preferred it that way, as his scouting rarely brought him to close quarter combat. The Mandalorian was parched between a bed of rocks along the plains, gathering what information he could before he would report back to Camp Bensen. He preferred to be out here on his own rather than the rest of them. Besides Rheed and Xirot, he didn't much care for the others. Mainx had left with Clan Vik at the same time Rheed had. He didn't completely share Rheed's pacifist philosophy, as Mainx called it, but he despised that Clan Vik's brutality of innocent bystanders who couldn't fight back. Mainx preferred the stronger opponents over anything else, which was one of the reasons he agreed to go after the Jedi crystals. But he was also one of the few who could call Rheed a friend, so he generally followed the man's lead, even if he didn't always agree with him.

Here he sat now, practically alone with a field full of game to help practice his skills. Scouting missions generally turned more into target practice for the Mandalorian. This kept his skills sharp, and his bloodlust in check. Everybody won. Except the dead game. He scanned the fields with his scope for further targets, checking to see if anything popped up. A few more Iriaz grazed the fields, and he spotted a pack of kath hounds further down. He contemplated shooting at them, but figured he would save that for a later date. He had to be heading back soon. Mainx sighed and prepared to pack up, but a figure suddenly caught his gaze. Even from a distance, he could tell it was Mandalorian armor. Modified definitely, but the style was there. Mainx wondered if it was an actual Mandalorian who wore it, or if it was stolen. Either one made the scout intrigued, because it meant Rheed's Raiders weren't the only Mandos around. Mainx repositioned himself and observed the Mandalorian through his scope, his finger ready on the trigger. A shot from the tall grass took out a huurton feasting on a dead animal with impressive accuracy, but only seconds later the unknown in mando armor seemed to forego the advantage of stealth. Apparently he was in the mood for a challenge, and dispatched the rest of the predators with just his knife before lugging two of the corpses over his shoulders and departing.

Mainx was intrigued. Not only was there another Mandalorian, not only was he capable, but as far as he could tell, the hunter seemed relatively young too. The only thing he found off was that he was alone. He didn't appear to be a scout. Although Mainx couldn't be sure. This meant he was either out on his own for whatever reason, or he was definitely not a Mandalorian, which meant that armor wasn't originally his. Either scenario made Mainx a bit giddy. He contemplated whether to play a little game of cat and mouse with the man, or whether to report it back to Rheed. For now, he continued to observe.

-----

Lying across the plains was another sniper, the quiet and stoic Akshae of the Bloodborne. Her red armor was a bit of an eyesore on the green plains, but luckily her stealth field generator was functioning appropriately. Otherwise, Orar would have a stiff talking to. From Aayla of course. Akshae hardly spoke to anyone aside from Aayla and her right and left hands. The rest were her comrades, but not her friends. She would still fight alongside them, as Aayla's presence guaranteed order in the ranks. Disorder was riddled out with a blaster and a few choice words. Therefore, one was expected to fear and respect the Bloodborne Leader. Being sent on recon duty was a common occurence for Akshae and she was good at it. Subsquently, she was perhaps criticized the least of all the Bloodborne. She always came back with some information. Though, this time, she expected that if she didn't bring something that was useful, Aayla would do something. Not kill her. But it would be close. Aayla's zeal in killing Rheed was hinging on deadly, not just dangerous.

The young Mandalorian in green armor was definitely a tidbit of knowledge that would be useful to Aayla, but given the strange robe and focus on hunting, it was unlikely that he was one of Rheed's. The armored solider was a boy too. Rheed was a coward, but the man had some standards in his choice of recruit. Plus, the Mandalarion was too young and was not familiar to Akshae. Akshae had a good memory, better than most at any rate. She remembered most of Rheed's group, the loyalists to some pacifist cause. It was hard to forget.

Turning her attention elsewhere, light glistened off an object in the distance. It was very far, but Akshae's scanners and scope picked up a body, buried deep in camoflauge. She took a few moments to gather all the information necessary to determine what and who it was. The light deflected from a scope, she was certain and honing in on the object she grinned to herself within in her helmet. "Been a long time, Mainx."

She fired a warning shot. It was time to relive an older rivalry.

-----

Mainx continued to glance at the younger Mandalorian as he departed. The boy had piqued his interest, but he was still uncertain how he should act. Before he could decide, however, a plasma sniper shot soared right by his fact, and charred the rock formation behind him. Mainx instantly scrambled down and took cover. The shot was like a punch of adrenaline, as he felt his hearbeat spike. Mainx felt himself breathe heavily as he tried to determine what exactly happened. After taking a few long, deep inhales, he started forming some possible scenarios.

It could have been that the boy was a distraction, and the other sniper had spotted him earlier and waited for the right time to strike. Or it may be possible it was a different foe altogether. Mainx examined the blaster shot. It was definitely someone who knew what they were doing. He practically felt the heat of the shot sear by his helmet. It was close, too close. In fact, Mainx began to wonder if it was an intentional miss. Could it have been..?

Mainx tried to determine the trajectory of the shot. It seemed to come at him at an angle, meaning the shooter was somewhere to his right. He didn't want to risk trying to check out in the open to see where they could be, however. Instead, Mainx waited for a few minutes in silence. Often, that's what a sniper duel came to: patience. After a while longer of sitting there, Mainx decided to try something. He once more calculated to the best of his ability where the shot could have originated from. Then, he took out a small, compact mirror, and stuck it out past the rocks in the open. From there, he began scanning to see if anything popped up. He moved slowly and steadily through the plains to try and spot something that was amiss.

It took only a few moments for Mainx to realize something was amiss, but it was not in a manner he was likely expecting. With a supremely accurate shot, the mirror he had in his hand for scouting with was a melted piece of mush on the ground, shot cleanly out of his hand with with an energy blast. This time, however, Akshae was not going for a warning shot, but more of a challenge. She wanted Mainx to find her. To challenge her. It had been too long that she blew apart easy targets. It had been too long that combat was boring. It had been too long without any sense of danger. Rheed's crew was composed of Mandalorians that were peers to the Bloodborne. Mainx was hopefully still a challenge for her, even if Akshae had upgraded her equipment since last time.

Mainx cursed silently to himself as he withdrew his arm and watched the melted mirror collapse on the floot beside him. As he observed the destroyed equipment, he confirmed one thing: this was a professional. But Mainx wasn't sure in what capacity. Was it a bounty hunter who was hired by the local farmers? A republic patrol assisting the locals? Mainx wasn't sure, but the manner by which the sniper was going about his shooting was familiar.

Regardless of who it was, Mainx approached it all the same way: the shooter had to die, or be injured enough for him to figure out who else they were with. With the last shot to the mirror, Mainx got a good approximation on their location. It was time to go to work. The Mandalorian prepped his weapon, slinging it over his shoulder, before he suck in a breath, and popped his weapon and head out into the open, for a few brief seconds. Mainx zoomed in on the location the fire came from, spotting only briefly what he thought was a brief distortion in the air, and fired off several rounds, before he proceeded to go back into hiding again.

Akshae ducked for cover and watched as the shots veered into the air. Tch, she internally spat. Either he got rusty, or he's simply looking for cover. Either way, its disappointing. She rolled down the mountain, careful to keep herself out of his presumed line of sight. Giving that Mainx was moving, she was making bold assumptions and hoped that any dust and debris that would be unraveled from her movement would not give away her positioning entirely. She lost her vantage point and was now at the bottom of her small hill. Eying down her scope, she tried to find her target, but Mainx was nowhere to be seen.

As Mainx briefly saw the distorting move, he tried to used this opportunity to change positions as well. The scout tried to keep his scope on his opponent while simultaneously changing positions, but it was difficult to do so while trying to find a good spot and also maintain his footing. Eventually Mainx's sight had to break away and concentrate on finding a better spot.

He was in between a set of trees now, one bent in the front to allow to comfortably lean on, while the bushes made for decent cover from most peering eyes. Tack it on with the same-colored plains as the trees and his armor, and he felt he had a pretty good spot picked out. Problem now was he didn't the other sniper's exact position, only an approximation. They were probably no longer in motion either, which meant Mainx couldn't see any movement. Deciding to take a risk, Mainx fired off four simultaneous shots in a row on where he expected his opponent to be, hoping that either one would hit, or if not, that one would frighten her enough to move drastically, so that he could pick her off.

The shots were relatively close to making contact.If it wasn't for the bushes and stones absorbing some of the impact, Akshae may have been in danger. At least he was still good at estimating a target's position. Akshae was probably the better shot though, at least at this very moment. The trades of shots was exciting for Akshae, but Mainx was still not taking her seriously. She needed to make herself known. She popped a random shot out in the general direction of where Mainx's last flurry was and moved again. She slid from cover to cover, burning through the distance between her and her opponent. As she settled in a small piece of cover, she pulled out her communicator: "Boss. Rheed is still on the planet. Engaged with one of his scouts. I aim to capture him. Kill him if necessary. Akshae out."

Now she would wait and see what Mainx would do.

Mainx cursed again as blaster fire wizzed past his helmet. He quickly hid for cover, but realized his opponent likely used that as a cover to move on. He tried to zoom in and follow any movements, acknowledging the risk of keeping himself exposed. As he saw the quick distortion in the air, Mainx fired off another series of shots before taking cover. He took this brief pause to admire his opponent. Whoever it is, they're good. He thought to himself.

Mainx briefly recited those lines in his head again. Whoever it is. The Mandalorian was fooling himself. There were few shots that were this relentless. Even if it wasn't one of hers, he knew he had better call it in.

"Rheed, this is Mainx. Engaged a hostile sniper. Mando. Well-armed, well-aimed. I can't be sure, but my guess is she's with her."

Mainx's shots were consistent, but still off target. Akshae was beginning to get a good read on him, but she knew that a war of attrition favored him. He was always more patient than she was. He enjoyed the tension of a sniper's duel, and putting together the perfect shot (at least from her perspective). Akshae enjoyed the allure of victory, planting fear in her targets and watching them squirm before she put the lights out. As such, they never saw eye to eye on how a sniper should act. For Akshae, it was time to turn up the volume. Akshae dashed closer and was now within only a thousand yards of the target, if not less. She popped a shot from her rifle and dashed. Popped another shot and dashed. She did this consisently, further closing the distance. The goal was to keep him suppressed and not moving far. It was time to make it a face to face encounter.

Mainx's opponent was closing the distance. Each shot they fired was louder and closer than the previous one. The Mandalorian Mercenary hid for cover after every shot, and returned fire when an opening presented itself. There was some consistency to her movements now. Shoot. Run. Duck, repeat. Mainx merged into that and fired when he thought there was a break. A few times, he managed to spot the movements, and if anything, it basically confirmed for him who it was. Akshae was here.

"Pull out when you get the chance, Mainx," Rheed's calm, low voice came in on the other end. Mainx had no idea what deliberations or internal feelings his boss had been going through up until the point of him speaking, having been silent for some time, but his decision seemed final and resolute. Problem was, Mainx couldn't just up and run now. He doubted Akshae would give him that chance.

"Like I would let you get the chance to escape, Mainx," Akshae said as he popped over his cover and held a pistol to his head, with her other hand firmly grasping her rifle. "You seem to have gotten rusty. Don't tell me old age is hitting you already."

"... Akshae," Mainx murmured. He continued to hold his sniper tightly with one hand, with the other resting on his pistol hidden underneath. He didn't have it pointed yet at her, to keep it hidden, but one small movement was all it would take. "I thought it was you. Still scrambling around like a lost kath hound and pretending to be a sniper?"

Akshae never liked his insults. He always seemed to discount her talents. "This kath hound bested you, so the hunted has become the hunter. She already knows you and your little group is here. You and Rheed are living on borrowed time."

She was as cocky as ever. Mainx hoped to be able to exploit that. He had to keep the conversation going for a bit longer, and perhaps send off a message to Rheed. Although he figured the boss would be able to figure out Mainx's possible fate by the time he stopped reporting in, if it came to that. Mainx snorted. "I figure we've been living on borrowed time for a while. But I'm not convinced that time's up just yet, pup."

"At least you aren't delusional then. Now, come quietly so Aayla can figure out what to do with you. Maybe she will even let you join the Bloodborne. We are far more successful than Rheed's sad excuse of a clan. Of that I can assure you," Akshae proudly stated, as if it was facts. She was not arrogant, but stoic. Not fervent, but logical. She knew she was good. She knew that Aayla was an efficient leader, to put it kindly. She knew that at this point, Mainx was cornered. He would try something. Probably.

"I wouldn't join you butchers if you were the last of our people in the galaxy," Mainx spat. "I think I'll pass on the invite, thanks. Happy to be where I am, and stay there." He was playing a dangerous game. There was a good chance he was getting shot. But he figured if Akshae wanted to shoot him, she would have done it already.

Akshae sighed: "I guess if you won't come quietly...Aayla will have to settle with an injured prisoner." Akshae tightened the grip on her blaster and the finger slowly curled around the trigger. Seeing the female warrior going for the shot, Mainx instinctively brought his blaster from between his sniper and his body and fired. The laser grazed Akshae's armor, but still got her off balance for a second. Akshae's shot struck Mainx on the shoulder, dangerously close to the heart, but apparently enough above it to not be fatal. Mainx backed out of his whole, firing again and trying to duck behind cover to try for his escape. Akshae managed to flip back, dodging the shot and firing off another shot, aiming to cripple the escaping Mainx. She needed him injured, but alive to keep Aayla happy.

The blast grazed Mainx along the leg, causing the Mandalorian to grit his teeth. He limped toward a nearby tree, firing three random shots in Akshae's direction. Two of the shots went wide, but as Akshae was going for one last critical strike, Mainx's shot struck her blaster pistol causing the gun to explode upon contact, launching a number of fragments into her left hand. Akshae's shot struck Mainx along the side, wounding him. He grunted from the pain. It was a deep hit. He cursed his luck, and examined the wound, before bringing his eyes to the surrounding area. He probably would be able to make it to there... probably. But the likelihood of that was low. He had to follow Rheed's orders though... right?

Mainx panted behind the tree. Here he was facing off a worthy opponent, and all Rheed wanted was for him to run. Mainx disliked disobeying the man, but what he disliked even more was running from a worthy fight. He dropped his blaster, and readied his sniper again.

But as he aimed down the barrel he saw nothing. Akshae was gone, with only a trail of smoke left in her wake as she launched away. Mainx was likely going to camp, and Akshae was outgunned and too injured to handle the whole of his camp alone. She would need help, and she knew where she could get that. She got enough intel for now.

Mainx scanned around one more time, and lowered his sniper. The Mandalorian snorted and shook his head in disbelief. Here he was, ready to battle it out to the end, kill or be killed, go out with honor, or rise up with even more.

Looks like it wasn't meant to be. Today.