@aspacewitch && @galacticdebt
the pirate mothership gripped the smaller smuggler vessel in its tractor beams, with two smaller weequay vessels spinning past defensively while the boarding operation took place. normally the ohnaka fleet targeted larger prey, seizing civilian convoys traveling the trade spine, but hondo had gathered intel that these smugglers had captured something of-- rarer status-- than most cargoes, and something certain to make an interesting entry in the legend ( he was legendary, right ? ) of ohnaka.
CCCCCRRSSSTTT!! metal screeched and then screamed as it was scored and then blasted aside, breaching the smuggler’s airlock seal. the first smuggler who raised his hands, fingers squeezing the trigger, had the wicked end of a vibroaxe cleave through his torso and embed itself in the wall. the pirates raised a yell, surging forward and forcing their entry in a sudden bloodbath of blaster fire, vibroblades, grappling hooks, picks, and electrorods.
the initial battle was short-lived, as most of the smugglers split up and fell back to regroup and reassess their tactics. hondo stepped through the airlock, picking his way over bodies ( a couple of his own men had apparently caught several of the laser bolts... that kid tob and someone else he didn’t know ) and whirled to get a good view of the corridors in both directions, now filled with a lingering, acrid smoke.
with a chatter, his blue and yellow lizard-monkey ( pikk ) bolted through the airlock to the smuggler vessel, bounding through the fresh corpses and tugging at shiny ammo belts and picking through weapons experimentally before returning to its master. it scurried up and perched upon hondo’s shoulder, glancing both ways in fear of a sudden, second firefight.
hondo paused, guessing the ship layout from its make and class, and divided his men, ( a gender-neutral term, a number of his crew were women, weequay or otherwise [ the appearance of a female rodian pirate armed with a pair of blaster pistols reminded him ] ) leading a group down toward the cargo bays and then motioning at the group still left on the other side of the corridor section.
he snapped his fingers and pointed. this area is what they’d want to be kept most intact during the fighting, and the main fighting would probably be to take command and the engine room. he would help his men as he could by keeping the way to the airlock open in only one direction: that way the pirates would be best prepared to know where a counterattack would come from, as well as keep the two battlefronts separate. ‘divide and conquer,’ his old mother always used to say-- probably.
the weequay pirates assaulted the door control. several commands entered into the terminal ( and a helpful blast from a rifle carbine ) later, they declared it sealed off and their captain then assigned a group to hold the exit to the saucer secure.
‘hai!’ was the only warning the pirates got before there was a throb of vibroblade activation and several knives thudded dully into the rodian. she only exhaled a light sigh before just tipping over and sliding down against a wall, her eyes going cloudy-opaque.
their attacker looked to be a teenage human boy, who was now crouched in some defensive pose-- most importantly-- now weaponless. the other pirates took the situation to vengefully goad the youth, barking at him, laughing, and trying to taunt him into coming in range of their own blades.
hondo grunted, switched his blaster to stun, and shot the human. he chided his company, booming his voice through the corridor and then broadly pointing the way with his gun.
“Come now, boys. This kid cost me crew, so we sell him to the Hutts, split the compensation. Ha! Hondo has fair business! To the cargo bay!”
dededos
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
kaledo-art
janainaart
ellievsbear
