Concordian Forests (En Route to Suspected Attack Location), Concordia
2:00 PM Local Time
Four hours ago you had decided that tracking down the warrior attacking the Death Watch was the wisest idea as they were the only truly unknown variable on Concordia at present. Analyzing the reported attacks and correlating the data with the mines on the planet indicated that the next attack would likely take place at one of the smaller mines in the region; perhaps an outpost of one kind, though you couldn't be certain until you arrived. Your path was taking you through a small forest that would not only be a more direct route but would give you greater cover from potential patrols.
However, the journey had been...unexpectedly grueling for you. It wasn't that you were unfit; you valued maintaining a strong body alongside your strong mind. It was just that your relatively rudimentary training didn't compare to a man who effectively lived on the battlefield his entire life and could move incredibly fast in comparison despite being weighed down by various explosives, guns, and other instruments of death. You on the other hand were carrying a sniper rifle; a weapon that would play to your ability to make rapid calculations on the fly and give you the ability to better observe the battlefield should the need arise. It was certainly a bulky weapon and carrying it around slowed you down to at least some extent while the Silencer would never break from his rapid march.
And on that note, it was only the two of you headed towards this outpost. You had suggested calling in reinforcements in case something went wrong, but the Silencer had given you a look of what appeared to be disdain (you weren't quite able to tell through the helmet) before marching off. While his confidence was impressive, you liked to be prepared for uncertainties-
Like how the Silencer signaled you to drop to the ground and stay quiet just now. Doing so you scan the area and notice a small group of local birds flying away, possibly disturbed by a local predator-or a patrol. You wait for a tense couple of seconds as you listen for the sounds of footsteps, but you hear nothing. Even so, you get the feeling that-
"We're being watched," the Silencer says to you, his voice barely even audible as he begins looking around the area. You nod in affirmation; there was some primal instinct inside of you telling you the same even if you had no logical evidence otherwise. You and the Silencer stand back to back with weapons drawn as you look around, waiting. After a few seconds pass and you still hear nothing, you and the Silencer begin to slowly move towards the source of the disturbance, carefully checking around and above you for signs of attackers. When you reach the source you don't see anything at first glance until you notice what appears to be a basic comlink carefully leaned on the trunk of a large tree. You briefly look at the Silencer, who nods and begins to cover you as you move in to pick up the device. When you do so you hear one simple order quietly come in over the line:
"Don't move."
You quickly glance around but can't seem to see anyone in sight. The Silencer begins to look around more rapidly, trying to ascertain the location of the (male, you noticed) speaker before the voice continues.
"I'll keep this brief. You start walking towards east alone and unarmed and I'll meet you along the way. Clear?"
"Crystal," you calmly reply. And with that the line goes dead. You glance at the Silencer and note "If he wanted us dead he would have attacked us already. Which means that he is likely our mystery warrior we've been hunting for." He gives the smallest of affirmative nods before you continue; "Just to be sure; follow behind me after ten minutes unless I contact you sooner or you hear sounds of conflict. All clear signal is 'no further need for hostilities,' under duress signal is 'we have no quarrel here.' Clear?" He nods again before you hand over your rifle to him, then begin walking to the east like the man said.
You walk eastwards at a brisk pace for about five minutes before you feel a cold sensation at the back of your head as you slowly raise your arms up.
"Smart. How long until your friend gets here?"
An intelligent adversary, how interesting. "Ten minutes," you reply honestly as he had clearly predicted your plan.
"Long enough. Turn around."
You did so slowly, and as you turned you finally got a good look at the man. He was wearing silver-colored Mandalorian armor with bright blue trim on his helmet and a dull blue layer beneath the armor. You recognized the man immediately thanks to the color scheme and the cursory research you did into mercenaries and bounty hunters the Watchers were familiar with. He was none other than Jango Fett, one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy...and he was pointing a blaster right at your head. How troublesome.
"What do the Abyss Watchers want with me?" he asked in the tone of voice that indicated he would likely kill you if you didn't answer. Still, you had no real reason to hide the truth; "My companion and I are here searching for you to determine your intentions and whether or not you may be willing to assist us in destroying our mutual enemy in the Death Watch." You note two things about the current situation as you answer him: first, that he must be aware of the Silencer's affiliation given that you and he had obviously never been in contact with each other up to this point, and second, that his opinion of the Watchers was one of suspicion given the circumstances.
Jango sizes you up to confirm that you are in fact telling the truth. A second later he comments, "You must be new..."
"Mitth'raw'nuruodo, though you may refer to me as Thrawn."
He nods affirmatively before continuing. "Your boss hasn't been too fond of me since one of my contracts involved a friend of hers before it was canceled. How do I know that the Silencer won't try to shoot me in the back when he gets here?"
You simply respond: "Because he is under my command. And more importantly killing you would be a waste of our resources anyway."
"I'm sure you'll understand that I'll need proof of that," Jango coldly responded.
"Of course," you say. "Give him another couple of minutes and he should be within range."
The two of you wait in silence barring the ambient noises of the forest around you before you hear a rustling noise coming from the nearby bushes. "We have no further need for hostilities, Silencer," you say calmly in an even tone.
He still doesn't appear.
You sigh audibly as Jango tilts his head at you in obvious derision. You calmly repeat, "We have no further need for hostilities. Whatever has happened in the past is irrelevant," an edge of irritation creeping into your voice as you speak.
For a moment, it seems like he still refuses to come out of cover, then you and Jango focus to a rustling sound coming from your left. The Silencer moves out of the brush, rifle drawn and pointed directly at Jango who in turn has pointed his other pistol at the Silencer.
The Silencer stares at Jango for a long moment.
Jango stares back, matching the Silencer in intensity.
The air of tension is palpable and for a brief second you honestly wonder whether the Silencer would disobey your orders and try to kill Jango anyway. Then without warning the two men calmly nod at each other and quickly holster their weapons, some kind of non-verbal understanding having crossed between them in that period of time.
It would seem you still have a lot to learn about the rest of the galaxy...
30 Minutes Later
You were glad that you were no longer in public; a Chiss, a famed Mandalorian bounty hunter, and a feared mercenary all moving together in one group would have raised many, many questions. Still, Jango was at least willing to consider you and the Silencer to be allies of convenience. In exchange for more information on the Death Watch, he had requested a favor from you in the form of aiding him on his most recent attack. Jango had admitted that the outpost he was planning to attack was relatively small but he refused to tell you more of what he knew until you had finished with the raid, explaining that it would be "payment" for the information he had. He was still willing to at least confirm or at least support the information that you had gathered thus far as a sign of good faith. Jango confirmed that the Death Watch was in fact based out of the Beskar iron mines scattered across Concordia, and while it was possible for them to manufacture their own goods with said iron, the evidence he had found in his attacks indicated that they were getting outside aid, though again he refused to give any more details.
Which is why the three of you were leaning over a ridge overlooking a mine that definitely showed signs of activity with thirteen soldiers patrolling the perimeter, as well as a pair stationed in front of the shaft that led deeper into the mine where presumably the rest of the soldiers were. Jango notes that based on the size of the patrol and his past experiences he estimates that there are about thirty-five more soldiers within the mine itself. Judging by the activity of the group they had no idea that you were coming. Excellent. With those observations the three of you crawl back and begin discussing a plan.
"Could you identify the base's leader?" you ask Jango.
"Easily. They tend to dress themselves up to make them look like they're 'true' Mando."
"Very well. The objective is to quickly eliminate the outpost's occupants; I don't believe you need any further information from their commander Jango?" He shakes his head. "Very well then. Would you be willing to follow my commands for the purposes of this battle?"
"So you're more of a strategist, then?" Jango notes with some curiosity present in his voice. "That depends. I'll at least hear out your plan if you have one."
Of course you have one, in fact you have a number of plans. The question is which one to use...
[] All-out assault. You've seen the Silencer in action and by all accounts Jango is an equally deadly fighter who's won against the Death Watch repeatedly. Sometimes the simplest plans work the best.
[] Quiet elimination. Try to eliminate as many guards as quietly as possible before moving in; odds are that between the Silencer and Jango they might even be able to do it without raising an alarm.
[] Divide and conquer. Have the Silencer draw off and eliminate as many guards as possible while Jango moves into the mine in the confusion to finish off the enemies inside.
[] Write-in.
How much do you actually plan on participating in this battle if at all?
[] You'll hang back and only provide spotting and general command. You're not keen on getting too involved in a heated firefight in any real capacity.
[] You'll at least provide sniper support both here and when they start moving into the mine. You'll admit that you're not quite as skilled as your companions but you can certainly provide some support.
[] You'll go in alongside the Silencer and Jango. You're fully aware that you would be a liability at best compared to the two of them if you tried to fight alongside them.
AN: This totally counts as Monday, right? I was planning on moving past this part but then I realized this was starting to get really long so I decided to break it up a bit. Don't worry; the next update will contain significant amounts of murder no matter what. There should only be one more mini-arc update after that.
Three other things: first, Thrawn directly participating is locked out because I figure he's smart enough to realize how outclassed he is compared to the guys he's with right now and by extension how much of a liability he'd be. Second, the main difference between this option and the base (since they might seem pretty similar) is that the base would have had a lot more dudes and would have been more stealth-oriented. Third, for those of you who think that the odds here are unfair, you're right.
The Death Watch would need twice as many men to even begin to stand a chance against Jango Fett and the Silencer.