[b]Ora Mesoth, Avix Veir, Jesse Fallon, Rin Eris | Ellri, Bigscreech, Fallen[/b]
Captain Ora Mesoth, commander of the Niantha, a Thranta-class Corvette, smiled upon reading her orders. She knew well that the Peace Treaty with the Empire had been a necessity, but she also knew that the chances of the Sith Empire honoring that treaty were about as low as the nighttime temperature on Hoth. The number of star systems the republic had been forced to abandon due to the underhanded tactics of the empire was quite simply infuriating. She looked out over the bridge, where only a fraction of her command crew were present. They had been sitting in orbit above Ubrikkia for three days now, awaiting redeployment. They were outside both hutt space and imperial space, so Republic High command had not seen fit to order them to move till now. Keeping one eye on her crew, she turned the other down to the console, reaching a clawed hand to activate the shipwide intercom.

“Men. Women. Soldiers of the Republic! We have one last mission ahead of us. It seems the Sith Empire has some of our Jedi captive. In a few hours, a team of Jedi, led by Master Jesse Fallon, will arrive on this ship. We will set out to rescue those Jedi.” She paused for a moment to let the words sink in. “Our orders are to get to an imperial transport vessel of unknown class that will be in orbit above the planet Teth tomorrow. We don’t know if the vessel is escorted or how heavily armed it is. We don’t know how many soldiers or Sith are on board, but if there’s even a small chance of rescuing the prisoners, we have to try. What we do know is that the ship unloaded several battalions of troopers during its last stop on Tatooine, so it cannot be filled with soldiers.”

Once again, she paused. With her left eye, she saw that everyone on the bridge was now listening intently, and that more were jogging in every second. Less than three minutes later, the entire crew was in place. “If any of you have family back home and would rather not go on a mission that is unsupported, then I will not hold it against you. The choice is yours, but remember that the prisoners on that ship all have family too, and if we do not save them, then no one will. Are you with me?” Barely a moment later she heard the shouts of agreement from everyone on the bridge. She smiled, knowing that once again, her crew had her back.

~| Three hours, nine minutes later |~

Avix sat in the rear compartment of the shuttle in deep meditation away from the eyes of other Jedi and crew. It allowed for him to reflect on the nature of the mission and it brought him a bit of solace. [i]’I can't help but feel a certain sense of dread and that we may be going about this rescue the wrong way... I feel we could have taken a more stealthy approach... Oh well, I shouldn't concern myself with the logistics of this and if I do my job correctly I should be able to save a few.’[/i] He thought to himself as the ship continued on its course towards the Niantha. 

Several hours had passed before announcement was made over the the intercom by the pilot that stated the shuttle was about 9 minutes out from the Niantha. Avix proceeded to open his eyes and slowly got his feet. He lifted his arms up to stretch while letting out a deep sigh. "Well that seemed to go by a lot more quickly then I had thought.. Well I better go get better acquainted with the others.." he said to himself as he casually strolled to meet the rest of his comrades.

There was a brief flash of light, then the Jedi shuttle appeared above the planet Ubrikkia, flying towards the republic corvette that was also in orbit above the planet. “Warship Niantha, this is the shuttle Tranquility requesting permission to dock.” Jesse Fallon called out on the comm system. “Shuttle Tranquility this is the Warship Niantha, you may maintain your approach vector and land in docking bay three.”

Master Fallon looked sideways for a moment at her former apprentice Rin Eris, “Soon we’ll have those prisoners back where they belong, do not fret.” She did not think about all they did not know about the target. Thinking on it would not change the facts.

Rin had bit back this nervousness, his mind fixed upon the calmness his earlier mediation had brought. Right now his mind needed to be clear and not clustered with doubts or fears, those often were the downfall of many Jedi. He inhaled once more while his master’s voice caught his attention. His good eye shifted towards her, turning his head more than normal, until he could see her slightly clearer. His bad eyes worried Rin most as it would hinder his ability to be useful and likely to fight. She seemed to sense his uneasiness because her words had sought to calm him, a matter she easily accomplished when his shoulders relaxed. 

“I hope so, Fallon. My main concerns is overcoming this eye of mine because it would be impossible to avoid confrontation now…” He stated calmly, his tone’s steadiness surprised him slightly. 

“Trust the Force.” she answered, calmly. “With the Force, you can see far more. Do not let your missing eye deceive you into thinking you are blind.” Moments later, one of the other Jedi entered the forward commander, Jesse had to think for a moment before remembering his name. “We are just coming in for landing Avix, nice timing.” she said, then returned her focus to landing the shuttle. 

"That's a relief... I can't wait to get off this shuttle... A little to cramped for my liking.. So how are we going to go about this rescue?" he asked in a matter of fact tone.

“Quite simply. Jump in with the ship, make sure any weapons on the enemy vessel are focused upon fighters and the Thranta-class corvette, then land a strike team in the hangar on the Sith transport. Once that is done, we will find the prisoners and rescue them.” Fallon said these words without any doubt in her voice.

"That sounds fine but I can't help feel a certain uneasiness about the approach you have in mind. I am use to stealth and infiltration endeavors... I hope there is another Jedi with us that is adequate at hiding their presence through the force.." Avix said with a sigh as he crossed his arms. It was blatantly obvious he didn't like the plan and seemed to think this expedition was most unwise.

“Sadly, there’s little choice. Even with the slow pace of the ship, they will eventually reach their destination and delaying would give time for the prisoners to fall.” Rin said but hadn’t added the possibility that some some might’ve already fallen, his mind chose to overlook that reality and keep positive. They had to be stronger than that to be Jedi. “I’m more a fighter then stealth, until recently I was on the front lines myself. Withdrew due to injury. So it’s unlikely I will be able to fit your needs unless it’s puzzles and things like that.” 

"Well I did more things behind the scenes such as sabotage and the like.. Sorry to hear about your eye though and no you probably would be better served helping out the republic commandos." Avix said with a sigh as he pondered how effective the one-eyed Jedi would be. [i]’That eye could be an incredible liability and may cost some their lives... I hope the council knows what they are doing..’[/i] he mused a bit before he decided to address the topic that was on all of their minds. "Have you all decided what you shall do if any of them have fallen?" 

“If any have fallen and cannot be redeemed, then their suffering must end. Permanently.” Fallon did not believe in letting any sith live. The Sith were a plague on the galaxy, the Jedi council had long been clear on that. It was her duty to uphold that ruling. 

"One can fall to the dark yet can never be redeemed? Do you never give them one last shot at redemption before striking the fatal blow? Granted they will never take the opportunity but it is better to give them the opportunity then just slaying them out right." Avix retorted. [i]’Shit... I shouldn't have never let that be known... Now this will really put me at odds with the others...’[/i] he thought to himself as he awaited a tongue lashing from his comrades

“Even Sith, for that is what any who might have fallen will be, deserve one last chance at redemption. However, do not let yourself be deceived, for many Jedi have been felled by Sith claiming to repent, only to be struck down the moment they let their guards down.” Fallon cautioned. She had no doubts in her mind. The only good Sith is a dead Sith.

Rin had been listening, his heart true to Fallon’s teachings, as he added his own words in with hers. However, one thing Rin was rather good at was playing the middle Jedi. “Currently, the situation isn’t ideal to take the risk. There’s more Empire troops and Sith than us at this moment, to forget that is unwise. It’s best to focus on lowering the number then we can allow any survivors to repent. I much rather not have to worry about a lightsaber in my blind side…”

He turned about to check upon those preparing for the attack, Master Fallon and his fellow Jedi left alone.

At that moment, Fallon had the shuttle touch down, a faint shudder passing through it as the engines powered down. She pressed the buttons to open the rear hatch, signaling to the others on board that they could exit the ship for now. They would be a while in hyperspace, so there was no point in staying on the cramped shuttle the entire time.

"Your concerns are noted Master Fallon and I won't do anything to put my comrades in jeopardy... I know all too well as almost every time I gave them a chance they always tried to strike me down in an unbefitting fashion and will thin the herd to make things easier." Avix replied. He was about to address the one eyed Jedi, but then he felt the shuttle touch down. The shuttle door opened and Avix casually followed Master Fallons lead. 

When Fallon stepped out of the shuttle herself, she saw that the Niantha’s crew were readying the fighters in this docking bay. Moments later, there was a slight shudder from the bigger ship as it reoriented itself, then it jumped to hyperspace. Every minute earlier meant more time to plan the attack on-site.