Revan Returns (Ch 38) (Patreon)

The assassin droid takes aim at the guard standing above the gate. Waiting a moment to analyze their movements, it takes the shot a few seconds later. The bith drops with a soft *thud*, unheard by those inside.

Sending a signal to its partner, it goes back to its scope trying to see if anyone else bothers to come out and check on things. But to its utter disappointment, nobody does.

In a nearby alleyway, Canderous pats the gang member on the shoulder. “So kid, anything we should know before we go in?”

He gulps. “T-t-there was a s-s-spice delivery that came in y-yesterday, so you can sell that for a lot of credits!”

Canderous smiles and gives him a small shove, making him stumble out of the alley. “That is some interesting information. Well kid, you can go ahead and leave now.” He holds up a finger to his lips. “Just don’t go telling anyone about this, alright.”

He nods rapidly before sprinting away from him. Stepping out himself, Canderous watches the low level thug run towards the lifts to the next level. Turning around, he walks to the gang’s hideout as another gunshot rings out.

At the door, he stops for a moment, pondering on what weapon he wants to use. He could go in with a sword and pistol in hand to ensure he has his bases covered. Or he can give them a small chance at getting some shots in by only going in with a sword. Or he can have fun with the death and destruction with his favorite weapon.

With a sadistic smirk, he pulls out his trusty repeating blaster that he’s had since the war. Which now that he considers it, is probably why the galaxy is in the state it is today. The Republic was already suffering due to his people ravaging their worlds, but after Revan betrayed them they were on their last legs. Not to mention that the Jedi Order was basically wiped out.

But such thoughts are for a pub, not a fight. So he kicks open the door and strides in, taking in the sight of the room. It’s a basic hexagonal room with a single door on the back wall. Between him and it sits a desk, and behind that desk is a pale zabrak who’s horns make a crown around her head.

She looks at him. Then she looks at his gun. She looks back at him. She thinks for a moment before seeming to come to a decision.

“I don’t get paid enough for this. Is there anyone out there that will kill me if I leave?”

That causes him to chuckle. Turning on his communicator, he calls HK. “A zabrak is about to leave. Let her go.”

He hears a sigh on the other end. “Sigh: I suppose. Though do ensure that a few target friendly meatbags leave so that I might enjoy this little outing as well.”

Canderous nods to the girl and she gets up to leave. She pauses at the door. “The leader of the gang is an iktochi, so they probably already know that you’re coming.”

In response, she gets a  savage grin, causing a shiver to go down her spine. In more ways than one. “That just means that this might prove to be an actual challenge.”

With those words he steps through the door, deeper into the base. The zabrak looks at it for a moment before leaving, cautious of the man’s partner deciding that they don’t want to listen to him. But as she makes her way to the lift going to the next level, she hears nothing. At least until she’s already going up.

There, looking down upon the level, she sees people running out of the building she’d left, only to be gunned down swiftly. Some manage to get farther than others, having a smidge of hope before it vanishes in a flash of blaster fire. Smiling, she wonders if she might see the man again someday.

In the base, Canderous looks into a side room and throws a frag grenade after hearing a group of people whispering behind some crates. Leaving right after, dust billows out of the room behind him. It’s the third room where he’s just thrown a grenade inside, and he’s honestly disappointed.

Sure, this isn’t a Sith compound, with trained soldiers fighting against him at every opportunity, but he still expected more out of them. There’s no one in the hallways to tell a larger group that he’s approaching, the groups in the rooms seem to think that he’ll just leave them alone if they’re hiding. And he still hasn’t found this iktochi the girl told him about. He hasn’t even fired his gun yet!

Grumbling to himself about the low quality of thugs he’s forced to contend with, he kicks open the next door and steps to the side as usual, this time avoiding actual blaster fire that flies out of the room. His grin finally makes a return.

“Finally! I was starting to think that I’d attacked a nursing home instead of a gang’s base of operations!”

The only reply he gets is a thermal detonator rolling out into the hall. Smirking at the sight, he gives it a small kick back inside while backing away from the wall. Yet another dust cloud billows out of a room in the base, but this time, donning a pair of goggles to allow him to see, Canderous uses it as cover to enter.

Apparently this room is their mess hall, or whatever the equivalent is for them. The thugs inside are coughing, yelling to check in with each other. Since they were all behind some overturned tables, injuries are light and there were no deaths. But Canderous is about to change that.

The thugs hear something revving, rapidly becoming high pitched. Then everyone hears it rapidly firing blaster bolts into their ranks, the lucky ones dying swiftly. The unlucky get hit multiple times but don’t die. Instead they fall to the ground groaning at the pain.

But a few still standing prove to have a decent head on their shoulders. They aim blasters at the spot they saw the blaster bolts originate from and fire, but Canderous has already moved.

They hear his gun rev again, paling as they realize that they’re against a far more dangerous foe than they thought. Then they either think of nothing at all, or about the intense pain they’re in.

He leaves the room with a smile on his face, happy at finally getting to do an actual fight. Making his way through the rest of the compound swiftly, he fails to find more thugs, souring his mood slightly. At the deepest part of the base, he opens the door to find the iktochi leader calmly sitting behind a desk with his hands clasped on top of it.

“I knew that this would be the day I die, but to think that it would be a lone mandalorian to do it. Tell me, warrior, what was it that prompted you to attack us? To kill my subordinates? Was it money? Or perhaps a job? Or maybe something personal?”

Canderous shrugs in reply, starting up his gun with casual indifference. “I was bored.” And the last emotion the leader of the small-time gang feels is bafflement.