Alright Kebiin said, lead the way.

As they follow their escort, Tam taps way at her datapad with a satisfied grin on her face.

Kebiin peaks over shoulder, Are you programming?

Yep, had an idea for a new system upgrade for ad'ika. Tam replied. Just wanted to get the framework laid out while it's still fresh...

You follow him through the camp for a ways and he gestures you into a dugout next to the large tent. The ver'alor will meet you in here. We've got a couple others on their way, but they got hung up. He grins, In case you haven't noticed, it's something of a war zone out there.

Tam takes her eyes off her datapad. A war zone, on Mandal'yaim? She asked theatrically, Vod'ika, it might not be safe! I'm shocked I tell you, shocked.

Kebiin grinned and rolled her eyes. Ignore her, she tells their escort, pushing Tam ahead of her.

Tam passes her datapad to Kebiin. Kebiin glances at the screen and notices a small caption window alongside the lines of code. < That's rich, warzone jokes coming from a clan with ties to Death Watch.>

She smirks, erasing the message before handing it back. Keep that to yourself, and don't tell Uncle Dar.. We're all on the same team now..

Tam gives her a side look, Don't let him hear you say that. She teases.

_______________________________

They'd been making good time, but now they weren't. A couple TIEs scream overhead, strafing the makeshift barricade of circled landspeeders as two gunships escorted by Imperial Supercommandos approach their position. Clan Saxon had gotten wind of the new resistance base and had set out to destroy it. Fortunately, Clan Skirata had discovered their plans and moved to reinforce. Unfortunately, they were being jammed and couldn't get a message out, and now they were being waylaid by an element of the Imperial attack.

Naz hunkered down next to Arde as one of the clan tries to return fire with a heavy repeating blaster they'd mounted on the vehicles for a situation like this.

Naz ducked low as the fire from the TIE’s showered them with dirt.

“Give me something!” Arde yelled, and Naz grumbled, pulling out his electrobinoculara and sticking his head over the speeder they were hiding behind. This was not what he’d been expecting when Arde had signed them up for the resistance. This should’ve been called a war.

Narrowing in on the approaching forces, he could make out the thermal signatures of about a dozen troopers, as well as some more crewing the gunships. He switched the electrobinoculars off thermal and frowned at the sight of the white helmets of the Super Commandos. Traitors should’ve been fighting against the Empire, not with them.

He grabbed a sniper rifle off the side of the speeder as he ducked back down, before sliding it into Arde’s lap.

”Dozen ISC’s, a kilometer out. Think you can thin them out?”

Arde scoffed, making sure the energy rifle was loaded. “Gladly.”

Before he can line up a shot, the Imperial Supercommandos shoot overhead and start firing down on the Mandalorians. The man crewing the HRB drops to his knees and slumps against the mounting as he takes several shots to the back and a vicious hit to his shoulder, and a spray of fire towards Arde causes him to stagger back out of the way. Taking advantage of the confusion, the gunships swing down and deploy their stormtroopers in front of Clan Skirata's position.

Staggering backwards, Arde narrowly managed to get down in time, a stray shot nearly taking him in the shoulder as it sent sparks flying from the speeder.

Grimacing, he took a deep breath and knelt with the sniper Naz had given him carefully aiming at one of the flying Super Commandos Jet Packs. Breathing out slowly, he pulled the trigger. The laser streaked through the air and collided with the Commandos jet pack, causing it to splutter with smoke. And then it went out entirely. The Commando plummeted to the ground, and Arde almost imagined he could hear the traitor screaming as he fell. One.

He swapped to a different target, another laser striking his cover, but he held fast, confident his beskar’gam would protect him. It was worth the risk. He pulled the trigger and the shot took another Commando squarely in the chest, sending him back a few feet in the air. Arde frowned and ducked back behind cover, looking at the rifle before tossing it away. What kind of sniper couldn’t penetrate armor. He needed something bigger. Something with more punch to it. . . .

The TIEs form up around the departing gunships as the stormtroopers begin their advance. Their sergeants direct suppressive fire, attempting to keep the defenders pinned down.

Clan Skirata continues to exchange fire with the Imperial commandos, but have little effect. Between the suppressing fire and the enhanced maneuverability of the Imperials, they can't take any down. One more Mandalorian drops as he takes several shots to the chest, trying to return fire at the commandos.
One of the Mandalorians is hunkered down behind a cargo crate yelling into a transmitter as blaster bolts whiz overhead. He gives a shout and comms through to the rest of the group, [Oya! We've got reinforcements incoming. Just a few more minutes.]

Arde poked his head up over the speeder, and quickly ducked back down as laser fire shot past his head. "Ner vod! We need to thin out those aruetiise!" He was glad for their comlinks, or he wasn't sure his brother would hear over the sound of battle. To his right, one of their number went down as the Super Commandos pelted him with blaster fire, and he fell back, motionless. The traitors had already taken down too many of them, but the word that reinforcements were on the way told him all he needed to know. They needed to hold out. "I'm going for the repeater! Cover me!"

Naz nodded to him and pulled out one of his grenades, and Arde nodded back, ready for his word. His brother held up fingers to count down the grenade, then tossed over the barricade. Arde jumped up and ran for the gun, just in time to see the grenade explode over the heads of several of the Stormtroopers. Just enough to be dismayed by how many were still standing. Between the Stormtroopers and the super commandos, they were easily outnumbered. A fair fight then.

One of the groups pointed at Arde as he moved for the repeater, and he blinked in a pattern on the move, readying his wrist rocket to fire. He sent it streaking over the speeders towards the one who'd pointed at him and it took the Stormtrooper in the chest. The explosion sent the group tumbling and stumbling, but he didn't have time to count how many lives he'd ended. Hopefully he'd have a chance to find out once they won this battle. The repeater was just in front of him now, and her climbed on the back of the speeder, ready to rain devastation on the aruetiise.

The stormtroopers shift their fire, shots pinging off of the armor plate on the HRB, but one finds its way through and hits Arde in the shoulder as he tries to bring the gun to bear. The sergeant signals towards the other troopers who lay down suppressing fire to where they saw the grenade, and the sergeant throws a grenade up and over the speeder. Naz manages to roll out of the way just in time and only catches the edge of the blast, but the cover fire is pretty heavy and is pinning him down.

As the battle rages on over the camp, Arde spots the officer in charge of the ISCs, but said officer turns and fires towards Arde. He misses, but puts him off balance as he has to stagger to the side to avoid getting hit.

The suppressing fire on his position was enough to make Naz keep his head down, looking back and forth for any options. His brother was moving towards the gun and it seemed like taking fire from all directions, one of the shots pinging off Arde's beskar'gam. It looked like it hurt, but the armor held well enough. Naz had made sure of that. As the grenade came over his cover Naz stared at it as time seemed to slow. This was it. This was the end. Eyes wide, he rolled to the side, as the grenade detonated, the shrapnel hitting him in the back. It burned as it threw him to the ground, but he stumbled back into cover, surprised to still be in one piece. His armor had done it's job as well. He eyed the downed Mandalorian, but couldn't reach him to see if he was still breathing. Pulling another grenade off his belt, he threw it over the speeder blindly at the stormtroopers. Some of the blaster fire died down, likely as they scrambled for safety. The blast went off, sending another shower of dirt into the air, and he slid over to the downed soldier on his knees. Two fingers on the neck. Check for pulse. It was basic knowledge. He was no doctor, but it felt like there was a faint pulse. No. That was just his own, as his heart tried to beat it's way out of his chest.

Arde wasn't one to turn down a challenge. The shot he'd taken had hurt, but the beskar'gam had held, and he kept moving. It was time to show those imperial traitors what real Mandalorians could do, Grabbing hold of the heavy repeating blaster, he swiveled the barrel towards the officer, raising it into the sky. This might be the only chance he had at causing chaos in the enemies ranks, and he wasn't going to lose it. Aiming carefully, he opened fire with the blaster, shot after shot of blue lasers streaking into the sky. The first few rounds were a miss, but the next few pelted the officer, sending him several feet back in the air. Arde continue firing, and the shot continued to connect, before the officer finally began to fall out of the sky. Arde wasn't sure if the officer was still alive for the fall, but the explosion he left on impact was enough to wash away any doubts Arde might have had about the man surviving. That was two. That he could confirm at least.

The stormtroopers rush forward through the barricade. Three of them drop as they push through, but they make it to the other side and lay down fire. Their sergeants push through behind them, turning and firing at the Mandalorian still manning the Heavy Repeating blaster: Arde. He takes a solid hit, nearly getting knocked off his perch next to the repeating blaster with the force of it. The other sergeant targets Naz, hitting him hard in the back as he checks on his fallen clansman. The Mandalorian who had sent the distress signal throws down the receiver and yells [Haar'chak! They've jammed us again, I can't get through!] Then goes down under a hail of fire as the traitors focus him down. One other Mandalorian goes down as they try to return fire.

The laser fire pelting into Naz's back was brutal. It felt like someone had poured liquid metal on him. The shock of it nearly sent him sprawling onto the ground, but he managed to grit his teeth and push through the pain. This was no place to die. The scattergun on the ground was in plain sight, and he hefted it up from his fallen comrade, spinning on the sergeant and opening fire. The movement sent another shock of pain through him as he spun and the shot went wide, causing the other nearby sergeant to duck down out of the line of fire.

And then Arde was in front of him, Beskad drawn and charging at the enemy. One of the stomrtroopers blaster bolts ricocheted off Arde's pauldron, but it didn't slow him down. Closing on the Sergeant, he ran him through with the blade. leaving a hole in the Sergeant's armor from where Arde had stabbed him in the gut. "They're through the barricade!" It was all Naz could manage to yell as he fumbled for a stimpak, holding the scattergun in one hand as he jammed it into his thigh. He breathed deep as the pain was numbed. There'd likely be a nasty scar on his back after this. Just had to hold out a little longer.

The sergeant drops his blaster rifle and draws a Vibroknife in his right hand. With his left, he grabs Arde's wrist and pulls himself forward on the blade, slashing at Arde with the knife. Arde lets go of the blade and stumbles back, allowing the sergeant to back up, clutching at his wound. The stormtroopers are now fully engaged with the Mandalorians inside the barricade, when you hear a distinctive rush of jetpacks approaching quickly from behind. A quick glance reveals more Mandalorians, the good kind, coming up fast, as four Fang fighters fly overhead, making a beeline for the TIEs and gunships. The Mandalorians let out a cheer and step up their fire, taking out several of the Imperials, caught off-guard by the sudden arrivals.

Naz took a deep breath and fired again as his brother was disarmed, this time hitting the Sergeant square in the chest. The armor soaked up most of the slugs, but it was enough to send him staggering backward, and Naz grinned as he pushed himself up onto one knee. The reinforcements had arrived, and they would win now. They had to.

Arde stumbled backwards as the Sergeant slashed at him, losing his blade in the man's wound. He had to hand it to the officer, most imperials he dealt with were cowards, and pulling oneself onto a blade wasn't an easy feat. Raising his arm he sent a burst of flame at the Sergeant, but dropped away as one of the Stormtroopers took a shot at him, and he spun around the officer, putting himself between the Stormtrooper and his commander. "Finish them off! For Mandalore!" He shouted as he noticed the reinforcements, Fang Fighters streaking towards the TIE Fighters.

The reinforcements tangled with the Imperials in the air as some descended to help the remainder of the forces from Clan Skirata mop up the remaining stormtroopers. After a few more seconds, it was all over. A Mandalorian in black and gold armor descended to the re-forming convoy. Tion Naz Skirata olar? He asked anxiously. Don't tell me he's dead...

Sending him off balance had been enough to give Naz the chance he needed. As a stormtrooper next to him went down, Naz pushed himself onto his feet and began to hip fire with the scattergun, sending shot after shot into the sergeant until he'd fallen over and stopped moving. Naz gave one more shot into the fallen sergeant before looking around for another target, surprised to see that the rest had fallen. Arde was crouched over the other sergeant, apparently having tackled the Imperial before retrieving his beskad from the man's gut and plunging it into his heart. He dropped the scattergun to the ground and administered another stim pack, sighing before walking over to Arde.

" <Still in one piece brother?> "

Arde nodded, standing up and flexing his arm, before pulling the BEskad out of the sergeant's chest. Despite the hits he had taken, the Mandalorian didn't seem too worse for wear, and Naz offered him a stim pack. He administered it without a word, looking around the area. The battle had ended, and he wiped off the edge of his Beskad, sheathing the gleaming metal. " <We won.> "

Naz nodded back, smiling beneath his helmet. He'd really thought that grenade would be the end of him. He'd taken hits before, but this was the largest battle he'd ever been a part of, and he truly understood now why Arde put so much importance on the Beskar'gam. He still had a lot to learn at first, but this was his home now, and he'd fight for it to the last.

He was surprised to hear his name as it came from behind him, and he turned to face the Mandalorian in black and gold. The movement made him wince, as his back still bothered him a little, but it was nothing a bit of bacta and a day's rest couldn't clear up. " Over here. " Arde said, jostling his brother in the shoulder, and Naz held a hand up. " Not dead yet at least. "

Jate. We tried to contact your clan, but we were jammed. What're you doing out here?

" Fighting. Winning. " Arde interjected with a grunt.

Naz pushed him back on the shoulder. " The Imperials got wind of the new resistance base, and were planning to ambush it. Our clan got word and hit them before they could. Weren't expecting Clan Saxon to be with them. Or for them to have a jammer up. Reports said this was only one element of the Imperial force. You need to get word to that base before the rest of the attack gets there. "

Haar'chak! We need to get back right away. He comms through to the rest of his troops, Get the wounded into the speeders, we've got to head back, fast. He turns back to Naz, We're meeting up with a couple other techs, we've got a mission for you.

Naz and Arde looked at each other, and despite the helmets it was clear that both were puzzled. " A mission? What mission? " Naz asked, while Arde crossed his arms. It was clear that his brother didn't think there could be much more important then going to save that resistance base, but Naz knew Arde would come with him regardless.

My.. the ver'alor is the one in charge of the briefing, but it doesn't look like she'll have much time for that. We want to send you out to bring back the Bes'uliike. It's getting desperate, and we've got a lead. This may be our only shot. We've got to get a move on, let's go. He jumps into a speeder beside the driver and motions you to get in the back.

Arde was the first one to hop in the back, and Naz sighed. He'd at least been hoping for someone to take a look at his back first, but this was what it meant to be a Mandalorian. Suffer in silence. He climbed up into the back of the speeder with his brother, getting a good look at the destruction surrounding them for the first time. It reminded him of when they'd fled Concord Dawn, and the destruction of the protectors. This was what the Empire was capable of. There wasn't anything to discuss.