Chapter 1: A Mandalorian Never Forgets

[Shurijo]

A'den Karr listens to the Mandalorians' replies. After a moment, he begins, "When you were children, two of our ancient artifacts were taken: a rally master lance from the Archaic Arsenal of Ordo; and a munit'kad halberd from the Scabbard Monument of Krownest. For a long time, each world suspected the other for the thefts."

"Two years ago, we learned the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn were in possession of both artifacts. And then a few weeks ago, notice of a extrajudicial 50,000 credit bounty for their leader led us to Saleucami. Tristan Wren met the contact, but we haven't heard anything from him since. I suspect he got in over his head by trying to take this on by himself."

The Mandalorian pauses for a moment before continuing. "I don't care about the bounty and neither does Clan Wren---they just want their halberd and son. If you find the weapons, call us and we'll send a larger strike team to join you. If Tristan was killed or captured, they may think he's just another bounty hunter. We can't tip our hand and let them know of our true intentions."

A'den takes a moment to pause allowing for any questions or objections to the task.

[Othniel]

"If we do happen across their leader, is the bounty dead or alive?" Lorn asks. "Or either?"

[Shurijo]

A'den replies bluntly as he shrugs. "This isn't a guild licensed contract. I doubt the contact wants them alive. They offered Tristan an upfront payment of 2,500 credits. I'm not sure he collected on that or not."

[Muskrat]

Rayne thinks for a moment. "I imagine if Tristan was captured, we could still break him out without raising too much suspicion. It may not be common, but I don't think people will think it too odd if a group of Mandalorians are working together as bounty hunters. And most outsiders probably know little of our internal feuds. There would be no reason for them to think our rescue of Tristan was part of a larger political movement."

[Bohemond]

Resyr listens to the mission assigned to them, and the questions posed by his comrades. "Do we have any information on who put up the bounty? And, assuming Tristan is dead, do they want us to bring back his body and armor?" he asks bluntly. "Also, what do we know about the leader of the Crimson Dawn?" Resyr dips and eats the last bit of haarshun bread.

[Shurijo]

A'den reaches into his armor and pulls out a chip. Placing it on the table, he presses down on it and a holographic advertisement appears in the space above the chip. This was advertisement which Tristan followed.

"Hunter of prey required. Lucrative
contract for individuals and groups
of sufficient skill and reputation.
NRBHL optional. Provide contact
information and qualifications to
HN4-768A via secure comm."
The New Republic Bounty Hunter License (NRBHL) is the New Republic's replacement for the Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (IPKC). As far as the prey, A'den states, "Tristan kept that close to his armor or he didn't know enough to tell anyone. He never told me anything more about the target, but the target was his secondary objective anyways. I believe he may have tried to avoid going after the target and instead focus on the artifact retrieval. I know Crimson's Dawn former boss was killed by his lieutenant about ten years ago. Their new leader is a female human. I've heard stories that she could handle herself quite well, especially in hand-to-hand combat."

[Muskrat]

Rayne thinks for a moment. "If we want to keep our new movement under wraps for the time being, we need to make it look like we're going after the bounty. So we'll need to make it look like we at least made an effort to kill her, even as we focus on rescuing Tristan and securing the artifacts." She taps her fingers on the table. "Probably best to avoid killing her if we can. We don't need any bad blood between ourselves and the Crimson Dawn. And, who knows, there may be people worse than the current leader waiting in the wings if we kill her." She looks up at A'den. "How bad is she?"

[Shurijo]

A'den shrugs. "Crimson Dawn isn't as powerful as they used to be. With the Imperial enforcement gone and the New Republic failing to adequately police the Outer Rim, they may be trying to return to their former status. As far as their leader, they are a criminal syndicate. She probably lies, cheats, and steals along with the best of them. For the bounty, that's your call. If you collect on it, spend it. Fifty thousand credits is good pay. If she's was in my sights, I'd pull the trigger."

[Othniel]

"I'm just thinking of the upgrades I could add to my ship," Lorn suggests. "Or the gear we could purchase. I think we should go for it."

[Bohemond]

Resyr chuckles. "Rayne, I respect your optimism about Tristan. But, if he's run afoul of Crimson Dawn or the people offering this bounty, he's likely already dead and the best we can hope for is to recover his body or armor. Crime syndicates are very clever at disposing of evidence." The scout takes pauses for a moment. "I don't like that we don't have an idea of who is offering such a bounty. It could be a ruse to flush out anyone willing to go after Crimson Dawn. But if it gets us close enough to the halberd, it might be worth the excitement."