Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Sarzu
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Sarzu

Member Offline since relaunch

In the life of two Sith & Their Minions


Leaving hyperspace Gra'tua allowed himself to relax somewhat, they had managed to get through Saleucami space without too much trouble, upon entry he had simple assured the local forces that he was Mandalorian and neutral in the greater galactic conflict and that if they were smart they would allow them passage unless they wished to have the Mandalorian clans back their enemies. Kashiir approached them, "We are now at the edge of Hutt space, I would advise to go around it, following the route directly to Teth. I would be... unwise in my opinion to startle the Hutts with two warships traveling through their domain."

Gra'tua nodded slowly, "I suppose you are right, but we are here to assist Lena, so it is her call to make." He turned to a communications officer and got his attention. "Contact the Shadow's Regret, let's discuss it with Lena directly."

She accepted the incoming hail and looked upon the visage of her fellow sith, she smiled. "Gra'tua, you keep surprising me, I expected you to blast our way through, not using words to persuade them." She left out that she might have contacted some of the CIS command through her channels that she knew someone very high and in the Chancellors office but his own attempt to allow them go through was also helpful in it's own way. "I assume you call to discuss where we go next?"

"Indeed, I dislike going through Hutt space so my man Kashiir here." He gestured for Kashiir to approach so his image would be broadcast to Lena as well. "Suggested to just go around Hutt space, takes a little bit longer but we won't have to deal with any of the Hutt clans or other organizations making their base in that space."

Lena thought it over, she had some contacts there but in this case, it might be best to stick to the regular routes. "I concur, best to stick to the edge of Hutt space, who knows what we might encounter on the way there. It is a favourite holding ground for pirates after all." She mused out loud.

He laughed in response, "If you say things like that I might reconsider, this journey has been... well not boring... but I could use some excitement." He smirked behind his mask.
Gat: At roughly the same time both vessels picked up the approaching flarestar class shuttle on their sensors, the vessel appeared to have the markings of the Ohnaka Gang painted on the top, but both had been scuffed so as to be barely recognizable.

Lena frowned at the interruption but asked to have the ship brought up on a screen so she could take a good look at it. Raising a brow as she recognized it by it's markings, it belonged to the Ohnaka Gang but it also had the unique markings of one particular person, she decided to hail it. "Shahan Alama, this is Lena. Fancy meeting you here."

When Gra'tua was informed it was a pirate vessel he was already about to order weapons to be armed for some target practice but when Kashiir warned him Lena send a hail he delayed those orders, frowning as he waited what might happen.

The line was silent for a moment before Alama's voice came back over the comms. "Lena," The Weequay bounty hunter said in a cheery tone. "A little mynock told me you were in the sector. Thought you might be interested in helping me with a mark I've been tracking?"

Lena shook her head, this Weequay always was familiar but she did not mind, he knew when not to ask questions, this is why he was still alive after all. "I think I can help, I am not travelling alone however, but I think that is actually better, more help, depending on who or what you are hunting?"

"Well its not so much the who I need assistance with, if it was just the guy I'd be fine and you know I usually work alone." Alama said with a small chuckle. "You mind letting me dock to give you the details, invite your friend too, their ship looks like it could deliver a small beating, that could be quite handy with the mark I'm after."

She was intrigued now, "I see, you are cleared to dock then." With she ended the hail and then resumed her conversation with Gra'tua. "My apologies Gra'tua, the man aboard the approaching Flarestar is a contact of mine, apparently he has a proposition for me, which might benefit you too, if you could come over we can see what he has to say."

"A proposition you say? Well I suppose there is no harm in listening to it, expect me shortly." He turned to Kashiir, "Prepare me a Kalikir, I will visit Lena's ship and see what this contact of hers has to say."

Alama brought his flarestar in smoothly to land on the Shadows Regret's hanger deck, making shure to lock the attack shuttles systems, more out of habit than any lack of trust, before powering the vessel down and walking down the cockpit ramp to find lena.

Lena nodded to the Weequay bounty hunter and then watched as Gra'tua also arrived. "And there is my other guest." She waited for Gra'tua to join them and then she gestured. "Gra'tua, Mandalorian clan leader, meet Shahan Alama, bounty hunter."

He clasped his hands behind his back and studied the hunter for a moment before he nodded, deciding to go straight to the point. "Lady Lena here tells me you have a proposition?"

“Direct aren't you, a man after my own heart.” Alama said with a slightly mocking tone. “Alright whatever. I've been tracking a mark for the past few weeks, finally found where the guy has been working from. Problem is he's running a battlecruiser, bit more than I can take on with my shuttle.” Alama said as he looked between Gra'tua and Lena. “I don't suppose we could take a seat somewhere a little less, informal, before I give you all the details?”

Lena hid a smile and gestured for both of them to follow and to cut off any rebuke from Gra'tua that might be coming. "I think the officers lounge will do nicely." Moments later they were all seated and she even had provided for some refreshments. "So... a battlecruiser? You must be hunting someone interesting, who is it and what has he or she done to get a bounty?"

Alama leaned back in a chair and popped his feet up on the chair next to him before he answered Lena's query. “The who is a former captain in the Black Sun by the name of Tej H'darr that somehow got his hands on the battlecruiser he flies and decided to go solo. Black Sun in particular didn't like that, specially seeing as he stole a large sum of credits from them on his way out the door.” The bounty hunter took a drink that was offered by one of the zeltron women that had brought the drinks and took a long drink before continuing. “Course if it was just Black Sun the bounty wouldn't be as high as it is. Tej fancies himself a pirate and has been attacking pretty much everyone except the republic and CIS since he split, so the whole syndicate is on his ass by now as well as a number of more legitimate corporations.”

"Well that explains that... and I guess you have tracked him down near here and then saw me exit hyperspace and figured we could help out?" She said with a smile as she sipped from her drink.

“Not exactly,” Alama replied. “Found Tej's home base a few days ago, its in the next sector over, knowing there was little I could do on my own I reached out to a few contacts and a mutual contact of ours told me you were headed this way. So figuring you'd pass though Boonta I came here to wait.”

"I see..." She murmured to herself and then looked to Gra'tua. "Well you wanted excitement, so what say you? Shall we take this task?"

He chuckled and shrugged, "Well it sounds exciting... but we also have to worry about what awaits us at our final destination in this region of space..." He looked at the bounty hunter. "What does this pay exactly? Credits does sound nice."

“Well, the bounty is at present the bounty stands at three million credits, minus my 30% finders fee naturally.” Alama replied casually.

He blinked behind his mask, "That sounds... like a adequate amount of money... I am in."

Lena rose a eyebrow. "You want us to fight a battleship, perhaps you should only get a 15% finders fee, me and Gra'tua here will do most of the fighting after all fro mthe sound of it." She said, beginning to haggle.

Alama smiled as he took another drink. "And how will you find Tej without me, I'm one of the best trackers around and it took me weeks to locate the slippery Manka cat. without me there is no bounty for you to collect." He took another quick drink, draining the glass, before sitting up straight. "You haven't done wrong by me in the past however so for you Lena I'd be willing to drop my fee to 25%"

She grinned, "You still need us for the heavy fighting, 20%."

"Too true," Alama replied, "My little shuttle doesn't stand much of a chance against Tej's battlecruiser, and while the bounty is for the man, he is rarely seperate from the vessel. Alright, I accept your 20%."

He let out a grunt, "Well the if the negotiation phase is over with... shall we pay a visit to this Tej?"

Lena nodded, "You can stay aboard my ship Alama, with me on the bridge while you lead us to Tej's location. Do you need him alive or dead? And if the latter recognizable or will ship sensor logs suffice if his ship is disintegrated or something similar?"

“Well there’s a four hundred thousand credit bonus if he is brought in alive.” Alama answered with a shrug, “But disintegrated works too so long as it can be proved he's dead one way or another.”

"Well I heard enough, I will be on my ship Lena, I think it's best we keep a line of communications over, send me all the details you can about that ship and one of my people might see if he can spot a weakness of sorts." With that he nodded his head respectfully at Lena and left for the hangar to return to his ship.

"We'll stay in touch." She said to the Mandalorian sith lord's back and then turned to Alama. "Let's head to the bridge and prepare for battle."

Alama stood and followed Lena to the bridge, opening a data link to his shuttle so he could transfer the related intel he had gathered to Gra'tua's ship from the comm station on the bridge. included were the location of Tejs base, which he also gave to Lena's navigation officer and specs for the battlecruiser, a little dated as they didn't show any modifications Tej might have done to the vessel but they were pretty close.

Some time later they were en-route through hyperspace and Gra'tua let Kashiir talk, both to himself and to Lena who was listening in as he relayed his findings after some study of the data provided. "Hmm we shall keep that in mind then, you have done well Kashiir. Perhaps we can lure it to power one side and then quickly move out of the way so it will have wasted charging it's weapons while we attack the undefended other side."

"We will see, best advice I am hearing however is to just keep away from it's broadsides. I can prevent it from escaping to hyperspace." She paused and listened. "I have just been informed we are about to enter the system, good hunting Gra'tua." She said and then turned back to Verat. "Is my ship ready for battle?" The Givin nodded. "Very well, return to your station." She addressed her whole bridge. "Prepare for battle stations."

When the Shadows Regret and Kandosii Naast dropped out of hyperspace near the world of Akrit'tar, where Alama had located Tej's staging post the sight that greeted them was rather ordinary, and also fortuitous. A small space station sat in orbit of the barren world with a battlecruiser matching the schematics Alama had provided docked with it. They had apparently caught Tej in the act of resupplying or offloading plundered cargo. As sensors came fully back online however they registered a number of small craft being launched from the battlecruiser. Sensors registered them as common commercial Z-95 headhunters but detected no life signs in the cockpits.

Gra'tua turned to look at Lena with whom he was still on call and then nodded to Kashiir, the Chiss took the sign and turned to the bridge. "Charge weapons and bring power to the Hyper-Shield!" Weapons were being charged as orders came from the gunnery crews while the hyper-shield became active and was being powered up as well.

Gra'tua contacted the hangar bay. "Latesh, report."

The voice of the Chiss sith warrior came over quickly. "The Kalikir gunships are ready and filled alor, sixty commandos and twenty assault warriors ready to board if required. Myself, Talinna, Canderous, Magog and your illustrious guest Goran will be under overall command of Andrieke."

"Very well, I will inform the pilots to launch when a window of opportunity presents itself." He then turned to Kashiir. "Launch the squadrons, let them follow in our wake while we approach the cruiser from it's aft section, keep the broadsides away from us. I also want target solutions of our laser and flak weaponry on those approaching fighters, fire when ready." Kashiir nodded and gave the order, leaving Gra'tua to lean back in his command throne. "Lena your ship is slow but do try to catch up or otherwise offer support with your longer ranged weaponry if you have them."

She smiled, "I am aware of my ships limitations Gra'tua, we will follow in your wake and assist in what way we can with longer raged weapons, I am also launching squadrons that will join your own. And I have boarding craft ready with Noghri and several of my disciples and colonels."

The Z-95's slow as the Kandosii Naast approaches, outside of small arms fire and seemingly taking up a 'defensive line' of sorts a quick count reveals eight such squadrons were launched from the battlecrusier. Sensors on the sith vessels detected spikes in the Battle cruisers power levels as it apparently began charging its guns and shields, it was still attached to the station however meaning it was unable to manoeuvre and as such only about 25% of its main guns could be brought to bar on the approaching vessels.
Sarzum: Gra'tua watched the sensors, seeing Lena's squadrons catching up to his own fighters... catching up fast, her fighters were frightingly quick it seems. "We are in range for the spinal lasers my lord."

He looked up, Kashiir waiting expectantly. "Very well then... open fire, try target the engines... and Kashiir if our crew cannot hit a unmoving target then I will have words with them... Lena what you do with yours if they miss I leave to you." She just nodded and gave the response she would also fire her spinal laser.

While the Kandosii Naasts shots both went wide enough to miss both the battlecruiser and the station behind it the crew of the Shadows Regret were at least competent enough to hit the broad side of a barn, the blast however despite clearly hitting the vessel appeared to do no damage. It also appeared that clearing the cargo airlock was taking longer than it should have as the battlecruiser maintained its position with its engines powered down.

"The Shadow's Regret is lagging behind ,as expected and we are ahead my lord." Kashiir reported, looking as some people started to shout out. "We are in range now for our torpedo launchers and at the edge of our mass driver range, ready to fire."

Gra'tua growled, "They better hit this time... that was a shameful display before..."

Lena resisted a smile and calmly spoke to Gra'tua. "I suggest we also now bring our fighter squadrons into play?"

He nodded in response, "Agreed. Kashiir inform the squadrons to loop around attack the station, cruiser and it's fighter escorts as agreed upon." A moment later the fighters went off, two of Lena's interceptor squadrons still behind Gra'tua while the other squadrons traveled in a small swarm on a designated path. Lena's squadrons would prepare to attack the cruiser when in range while the mandalorian craft would attack any weapon points on the station. The interceptors would engage any enemy starfighters that would move in to intercept the attacking starfighters and bombers.

While he saw this both sith vessels opened fire once more.

The second shot from the Regrets spinal turbolaser managed to repeat their earlier successful hit though once again there was no visible damage from the strike. The two hits that followed from the Naasts spinal guns however visibly shook the battlecruiser and large spikes were detected in the cruisers power generators as the deflector shields flared into the visible spectrum. As impressive as this was the followup shots from the Naasts mass drivers followed a similar trajectory to its original spinal shots and the ordered torpedo's never launched, instead they had misfired in the tubes and would need to be cleared before another volley could be fired.

At this point a number of small explosions were detected on the far side of the battlecruiser as apparently tired of waiting, the cruiser destroyed the cargo airlocks connected arm and powered its engines.

Gra'tua raised his eyebrows, "Well... this pirate is eager to get away from it's station, willing to attack it to get loose, Kashiir, also make a note, whoever is responsible for the maintenance of the torpedo tubes... tell him he is now in charge of the ship latrines. Inform my squadrons, ignore the station, focus on the cruiser alongside Lena's squadrons." The orders were relayed and then Gra'tua simply smiled when he heard they were now in range with their heavy weaponry. "Fire."

"Missiles are just barely in range, launch when you have your target, align target vectors and..." Lena barely listened to it all, she did not have the mind for these things like Verat or even Gra'tua and just hoped her crew would do their best to carry them all through this event.

Apparently the Regrets spinal gunners were getting complacent and one of them spilled their cup of jawa juice on the targeting controls and in their rush to clean up the shot was taken and was well off target. Thankfully the targetters fast clean up prevented any damage to the controls themselves. In direct contrast the gunners on missile control launched a flawless volley that passed within a few dozen meters of the Naasts bridge tower as they shot past the mandalorian warship and streamed towards their target on a shockingly accurate course.

The Naasts spinal gunners were apparently figuring out how to get a target lock rather quickly, that or being closer was helping more than it should have, as the vessels spinal guns spoke again they slammed into the cruiser and once again caused the shields to flare and the power to spike but strangely damage was minimal again. The Naasts heavy turbolasers erupted with a scattered array of fire that ultimately did nothing but put on an impressive light show while the Mass drivers followed suit of the torpedoes earlier and misfired, one of which took out the end of its barrel which would make targeting with it tricky until repairs could be made. The Ion cannons however stopped just short of overloading when they suffered a similar misfire, 2 batteries had their circuits heavily ionized as a result and would likely need some serious polarizing when the battle was over before anyone dared try firing them again.

Six of the Z-95 squadrons began moving toward the Naast as the Regrets missiles were detected before they made a sharp turn and began heading back towards the battlecruiser, intending to stay just ahead of the Naasts anti fighter weaponry while the remaining two squadrons took up something of a guarding position towards the cruisers rear apparently having detected a large mass of strike craft heading around the battle zone. The cruiser on the other hand opened fire with its broadside of heavy weapons at the Naast having focused on turning over speed as it cleared the station in order to play to its main strength. Several batteries on Heavy Ion cannons and Turbolasers lanced out towards the Naast.

The fire from the turbolasers rained down on the Naast joined by the second ion barrage, damage aboard the Naast is negligible aside from a 5% drop in hypershield strength. The first Ion barrage however failed to fire at all revealing that the previous spinal turbolaser strikes had stressed the vessels power conduits as they strove to keep power to the shields of the cruiser.

At this point a powerful jamming signal spread across local space, likely emanating from the battlecruiser filling comm channels with white noise.

Gra'tua cursed as he saw the missiles fired from Lena almost impact on his bridge, at the same time the enemy cruiser opened fire but the damage was wasted against his hyper-shield. "Lena, are you trying to..." He trailed off as the communication suddenly was terminated and noise erupted over the channel. "Turn that off! Are we being jammed?"

Kashiir nodded with a frown. "On all frequencies, we no longer can contact Lena or our starfighters, or the enemy cruiser for that matter."

"Hmm, a shame, well the fighters have their orders, resume firing on the cruiser, I want more than shield fluctuations this time, I want to see those shields gone." He said with determination, then with a hint of anger. "Assuming my gunnery crews can actually hit something!"

Lena blinked as communication faltered and turned to Verat. "What is the meaning of this?"

The Givin was already looking for the cause, "We are being jammed, interesting, he was a pirate so such equipment would be useful to him, if we can destroy the communications array then the jamming might be lifted."

Lena nodded, "Do it."

The Naasts gunners once again show their superb training... or lack of it as the remaining functional ion cannons, the mass drivers and the spinal turbolasers manage to miss the battlecruiser completely, the shots sailing under the large vessel. The heavy turbolaser batteries however tried to pick up the slack and delivered a withering barrage against the cruisers shields but registered little effect. While a volley of torpedo's from the freshly cleared tubes headed quickly towards the battlecruiser.

The previous volley of missiles fired from the Regret homed in on their target while the six Z-95 squadrons that had broken off previously tried to intercept them, they succeeded in stopping two of the 4 while the sixth squadron managed to shoot two of its own members instead. The remaining two missiles struck the battlecruiser with solid hits to the rear section causing one of the six primary engines to flicker and die reducing the vessels overall maneuverability.

Another volley of concussion missiles launched from the Regret but sensor analysis of their flight path showed they would be highly unlikely to strike their target. The spinal turbolaser and mass drivers however did manage to strike out with success as they impacted the battlecruisers shields and caused them to flare as the previous strikes had the sensors on the Regret began showing curious data about the battlecruisers shields as the strikes hit as they flared power conduits right across the impacts side of the cruiser surged while there was almost no power activity on the far side of the vessel to speak of at all.

The two squadrons of Z-95's hat were standing as a rearguard put power to their engines and started racing towards the oncoming mass of strike craft despite they being massively outnumbered. Trying to compensate for its damaged engines the battlecruiser gained more distance than turn rate in along their planned course and as a result one of its turbolaser groupings was unable to be brought to bare. The remaining however continued to target the Naast. However only one of the heavy ion groupings managed to score hits dropping the Naasts hypershield by a further 5%

Verat studied the sensor data on the enemy vessel, discovering something. "No power..."

Lena frowned, "What was that Verat? I did not hear what you said."

Verat turned, "There is no power activity going on on the other side of the ship... not just no weapons charged, but no power that might implicate that the shields are active on that side as well, if we could strike there now, we might deliver some serious damage."

Lena frowned, "But we do not have the speed for it... or can contact Gra'tua or our squadrons with thise... resume firing on the communications array and report to Gra'tua at once when able." She resumed studying the battle as best she could herself.

Gra'tua was staring daggers at Kashiir. "Care to explain the ineptitude of my crew?"

Kashiir coughed, "We have never... actually had a real battle with this new ship since its construction my lord. Most of the weapons we are firing for the first time since their installment."

Gra'tua growled, "Apology, for the moment, accepted, now have them hit something we are practically on top of it now! In fact... FIRE EVERYTHING!" The last two words he screamed in frustration at his crew, glad at that moment communications with Lena's vessel had failed.

The spinal Turbolaser on the Regret flashed the shot going clean over the top of Tej's battlecruiser the mass drivers had more luck as they impacted on the shields near the location of the battlecruisers comm array but alas did no lasting damage while yet a third volley of missile was launched though sensors showed they would be unlikely to hit the comm array, though they might be lucky to strike elsewhere on the ship.

Of the Regrets launched interceptors that had moved to engage the two squadrons of Z-95's 1 scored a brilliant run and reduced the squadron it faced by over 50%, the squadron it was partnered with however had less luck.

The Naast was showing the error of not having been through a proper shakedown cruise apparently as even at close range the spinal turbolasers missed, the remaining heavy Ion cannons missed, the lighter ion cannons had half its batteries follow the same path as the two heavies did previously 1 of the laser cannon batteries overloaded and all six of the flak cannon batteries spontaneously exploded in a dramatic display of engineering incompetence.

On the other hand the mass drivers and light turbolasers scored average hits causing the shields to shine while the heavy turbolasers caused the sensors to start registering the same high spikes in the power generators that had been detected before as power surged along the impacted side of the vessel. The biggest success came from the torpedo operators and a few of the laser cannon crews, with the anti-strike craft weaponry in range the Z-95's started taking evasive action to avoid the incoming fire and as such did not have the opportunity to try and intercept the proton torpedoes fired previously or the new volley, both sets of torpedoes struck the vessel with the latter pair damaging a cluster of the battlecruisers anti-strike craft weaponry and disabling a second engine.

As the two attacking squadrons of Z-95's tried to retaliate against their much faster and better armed opponents they were quickly overwhelmed. The remaining three that had been intercepting missiles retreated closer to the battlecruiser and took up station to try and shoot down further missile strikes as best they could.

The battlecruiser on the other hand opened fire in much the same way as the Naast had firing every anti- capital ship weapon it had at the self damaging mandalorian vessel. Some of the gunnery crews joked that they didn't even need to fire and the enemy would destroy themselves.

This did not however stop the heavy turbolaser crews from delivering a devastating barrage of fire upon the Naast causing the hypershield to drop below 80%. at least one set of the heavy ion cannons managed to stay on target dropping the hypershield by a further 5% with their assault. Of the light turbolaser cannons one set blew out its own power relays as a surge of power rushed by to feed the shields in that sector while the other three sets failed to do more than impact shields or go wild and have little to no overall effect. One of the light ion sets also scored solid hits and weakened the hypershield further.

Kashiir turned to Gra'tua, some worry now appearing on his face along with a bead of sweat. "The.. ah, flak batteries are gone my lord, all six of them. But we are now practically on top of them now."

Gra'tua stared hard at Kashiir and nodded, "Very well... I accept my part in this disaster... nto wanting to give the ship a proper shakedown cruise... but Kashiir, if we get through this... I will hunt down the contractors that installed them." He gritted his teeth, "Continue as we are headed and keep firing with what we have, ignore the fighters, they are occupied as it is." He said looking at a hologram scene of the pitched dog-fighting taking place around the ship. He frowned and then turned to Kashiir, "What is the station doing..."

"We are now in range with our heavy weapons, shall I continue to target the communications array?" Lena nodded in response studying the scene, while Verat gave the order to keep firing.

The Naast continued to unleash upon the battlecruiser, except for the ion cannons which for some reason sat dormant, perhaps their gunners were timid about what had just happened to the flak cannons happening to them. While many of the weapon shots continued to miss the target they were much closer than previous misses with the Heavy turbolasers doing the majority of the work while the mass drivers contributed their firepower to the effort. The laser batteries in the mean time fired a devastating barrage into the interceptor melee, somehow managing to avoid hitting friendlies in the process.

More strikes from the Regret quickly followed as the spinal turbolaser and heavy turbolaser batteries concentrated their firepower on the comm array the focused power managing to slip a few shots through the momentarily weakened shield before power could surge along the ship and close the gap. The white noise jamming the comms began to clear ever so slightly as those few lucky shoots managed to damage if not disable the battlecruisers comm array, communication was possible now, but it would be patchy at best.

As the Z-95s began to get overwhelmed the battlecruiser opened fire with its own laser batteries against the enemy interceptors as it strove to keep its broadside on the rapidly closing mandalorian vessel. Between the firepower from the Naast, Lena and Gra'tua's interceptors and the battlecruisers own batteries opening up the Z-95's were quickly lost. Their sacrifice was not in vain however as one of Lena's interceptor squadrons obliterated by the barrage of laser cannon fire and a second reduced in numbers by a third.

The battlecruiser also continued its barrage of the Naast with every capital class weapon it could bring to bare on the vessel, hoping to slow or stop its present heading. Approximately half of the heavy weaponry fired had an effect the heavy turbolasers and heavy ions combined reducing the Naasts shield by an additional 10% while the light turbolaser batteries did little but impact upon the shield or fly wide of the target.

"We have limited communications back my lord." Kashiir reported, "It seems Lena found the source of the jamming and has delivered some damage."

At that point point Lena's voice came over. ""Gra'tua, no power *---* the other side *---* the vessel, none *---* its weapons, *---* shield make it *---*, strike with everything *---* can, now!" Came the garbled message.

"We need to have those lines of communication properly restored... are we in range of the other side of the cruiser?"

"Not exactly but the squadrons are making their attack runs now."

Gra'tua nodded, "Very well... launch the boarding craft."

Down in the hangars the boaridng parties were waiting anxious and then a alarm was heard and they made sure they were strapped in secure and were launched. In total there were 4 Kalikir Gunships and all 4 sped to hull points i na attempt to to latch on and start cutting through the hull.

As the Naast passed under the Battlecruiser its mass drivers reoriented to follow the target and opened up with a shocking result, it appeared they fired on a weak section of sheild as there was very little resistance to their barrage as the projectiles sunk into the battlecruisers hull with devastating effect. The following proton torepdos seemingly finishing the job as sensors registered multiple secondary explosions and a dramatic loss in power across the vessel as the hypershield protecting it simply vanished.

The following strikes from the Nasst and Regret tore into the vessels far more standard and weaker sheilds dropping them to approximately 20% and on the edge of failing themselves while doing numerous secondary damages to the battlecruisers systems including the comm array which was vaporized by a stray shoot.

Gra'tua watched the display and smiled for the first time since the engagement, "Extra black ale rations for the Mass Driver crews Kashiir..."

"Well, that was impressive." Came the voice of Lena, "Their shield, their hyper-shield is gone and so is their communications array as you may notice Gra'tua." She studied the scene, "What do we do next?"

Gra'tua laughed, "Watch me... Kashiir tell the bombers and starfighters to break off their attack run and disengage, disengage! I want tractors on that cruiser and lock ourselves against it now! All troops report to whatever airlocks to board that cruiser, I will be with a boarding party myself." He stood up and stormed off not bothering to wait for any of Kashiir's warning about this.

The chiss just watched his lord go and then turned to Lena, "I.... yes, another challenge I suppose." He turned away from the hologram of Lena and addressed the bridge crew. "Carry out your orders... and may whatever gods or the force be with us..."

With its hypershield down and the Naast out of the arc of its powered weapons the Battlecruiser began firing on the Regret with its heavy weapons while it started the process of transferring power for the lighter weapons to the left side in an attempt to keep up the fight against the Naast when it reemerged. Unfortunately most of its fire impacted harmlessly against the Regrets shields or missed entirely with only one of the ion groupings having any effect as they dropped the regrets total shield strength by 15%

Kashiir winced when he heard that the operators failed to get a tractor lock and shook his head, he already had doubts it would have worked anyway, comm reports did come in from the Kalikir gunships, successfully attaching themselves on the hull and cutting through and within moments the force of Mandalorian Commandos, Assault Warriors and their designated commanders were aboard.

Andrieke taking command of the operation. "Goran, Talinna, Canderous and Magog with me and twenty of the commandos. We will head to the bridge." She then turned to the chiss sith warrior. "Latesh, you and Bo divide up the remaining 40 commandos and head to engineering, make sure it is ours! A squad of assault warriors remain here with each ship to make sure we have a ride off this ship if things take a turn for the worst."

It was possible the worst idea his lord had ever done but he cleared his throat. "Continue working on those tractor beams... we shall not fail our alor and master." He gulped, and hopefully not damage the ship while doing it.

Meanwhile the boarding parties already in place went in search of their objectives, one main group heading to the bridge whiel two others were headign for the engineering section to shut it all down.

Lena watched with concern, "That Gra'tua is a madman at times... Verat we stay where we are, open fire on the far side of the cruiser so we won't damage Gra'tua in the crossfire."

The Regrets spinal turbolaser and mass drivers continued to lash out at the battlecruiser with deadly aim as the mass drivers brought down all but one of the primary engines and the spinal struck the hanger bay the Z-95's had launched from causing a rapid decompression of the bay as the air shield failed. The heavy turbolasers strafed the battlecruisers weapon emplacements and knocked out several batteries of heavy ion cannons which the concussion missiles... well three of them exploded in the tubes as the launch doors failed to open properly while the 4th slipped free of the tube but lost thrust a few moments later and began drifting.

As the three teams spread out they encounter battle droids at numerous points of the vessel, the bridge team eliminating the first group they found with little trouble and were only held up when 4 destroyer droids presented themselves at the end of a corridoor leading to the bridge. The 4 droids opened fire down the corridor suppressing the team around a corner. the schematics had shown this was one of the few ways to reach the bridge and that going around would likely give them time to fortify the other access points.

The Battlecruiser kept up its volley of fire at the Regret but the battle was taking its toll on the cruiser and none of its shots were terribly effectual.

Kashiir saw this method of boarding was just insane and would ultimately do nothing, perhaps even damage their ship! "Ignore lord Gra'tua's last order, move to the other side of the cruiser and open fire with all but the heavy weaponry."

Meanwhile aboard the cruiser Andrieke was vaguely listening to reports from the other two boarding parties, what was currently the problem for them however were the destroyer droids blocking their path. "Canderous go, Commandos, throw in some droid poppers!" As the commandos reached for the anti-droid grenades Canderous got out of cover and opened fire with his modified heavy E-Web.

Lena saw what her own missiles had done and cursed softly. "Stop firing, we will either do more damage to ourselves or we might hit Gra'tua... activate the Gravity Well generator instead."

Noticing the Regret cease fire that weapons that could be oriented to fire on the ventral surface of the battle cruiser started firing on the Naast once more, they were few however and little damage was made besides some chance hits against the turbolaser batteries during a momentary cycle of the Naasts hypershield. The Naasts ion cannons however countered with brutality and soon even the few guns that could still fire on the Naast were disabled.

The boarding teams were having mixed luck in the mean time. The engineering teams were more or less stalled by the defenders with Bo's team being pushed back somewhat. The bridge Team on the other hand were much more successful, the commandos deployed the poppers with a skillful action that would have put many lawn bowls professionals to shame and Canderous managed to keep the droids distracted long enough for the poppers to go off before slagging the 4 disabled droids.

The Bridge team advanced some commandos taking time to make sure the destroyers were properly executed they were nearing the bridge at a steady peace when the leading warrior stopped the advanced and motioned for Andrieke to come forward and witness what lay ahead.

She frowned upon seeing what was waiting for them, fortified positions in front of the security door leading to the bridge, Destroyer Droids, B2 Battle Droids, as well as a mix of the first sign of organic crew... and a spider droid.

She turned back to the group. "More droid poppers, Canderous, Talinna, see what you can do about that spider droid, everyone else... blast away at any hostiles." She said while making sure she had both her blasters in her hands. Talinna was nervous but then tried to put soem determination in her steps as she saw about perhaps force crushing parts of the spider droid so it wouldn't be a threat.

An enterprising crew member with a highly modified sporting rifle took aim on Andreika as he stepped out to try and put down some of the defenders, Magog, Canderous and Goran all pick off a few targets with their own fire, canderous sufficiently distracting the spider droid enough that it took a step back and knocked over a B2 behind it. The B2's wristlaser went off at an errant signal and destroyed the servo on the leg that had knocked it over rendering the spider droid immobile.

Meanwhile Talinna's efforts were... well... unnoticeable. While the commandos droid poppers failed to rach their targets and went off harmlessly in the no-mans land between the two sides. The Defending B2's returned fire succeeding in little more than flooding the corridor with blaster fire and suppressing the commandos. Then the crew member with the rifle took their shoot. Which dropped Andrika's personal shield with a single well placed shot.

Andrieke's eyes narrowed as she picked out the one who had shot her and fired several shots in his general direction. "Press forward!" She shouted while the commandos tried again to be a bit more effective and everyone else continued what they were doing. Canderous seeing the spider droid was immobile gleefully advanced relentlessly, squeezing the trigger of his weapon the entire time.

Meanwhile out in space Lena watched what was going on, her ship and the Kandosii Naast had stopped firing for the time being. "Make sure we move behind that cruiser, if Gra'tua deems he needs reinforcements for his boarding parties then he can call for such aid." She crossed her arms and smirked at Kashiir's holographic form. "Though I bet he would prefer the 'glory and honour' all to himself and his mandalorians?"

Kashiir smiled ruefully, "I think we are doing fine, I am monitoring Andrieke, our commander of the boarding parties, on the comms, she is nearing the bridge it seems. I will let you know if we need assistance."

The two engineering teams made some headway towards their destination, albiet no thanks to their leadership. At the bridge however the battle between the troops under Andrieke and the bridge defenders was heating up. A few destroyers and a B2 or three were disabled by the droid poppers while Magog and Goran took another B2 each. Talinna on the other hand had the most success as her assault with the force caused the spider droids legs to crumple severely limiting its field of fire.

Hearing the Droid Poppers were now all out Andrieke just smirked, "Up close and personal! For clan Gra'tua!" She shouted still firing her blasters while the commandos followed suit, either using blasters or the special weaponry of flamethrowers and toxic darts.

Magog and Goran were fighting side by side, the Mandalorian doctor flanking the guest to the clan as they fried and advanced step by step. Elsewhere Canderous was laughing as he kept up the stream of fire while Talinna decided now was the time to bring up a bubble of force protection around herself and moved her attention to crushing any remaining destroyer droids.

Despite Andrieke still not having much luck hitting the target of her enmity the Commandos following her lead proved they could shoot as well as throw poppers. As the majority of the B2 droids fell under their fire. The Spider droid, down but not out, fired its weapon in an apparently vain attempt to take down some of the attackers. The shoot hit one of the fortifications the organic crew were using and exposed the sheltering beings to mandalorian fire. The back blast from the shoot also did severe damage to the barrel of the droids blaster rendering it inoperable.

Tilanna found herself the target of the self same sporting rifle wielder that had previously popped Andriekes shield, the result was much the same as no sooner did she raise her barrier of the force to protect herself, than she felt it disperse accompanied by the bright flash of a blaster bolt bare inches from her face. Canderous on the other hand was having great fun as the power of his weapon dropped the shields of a destroyer droid with its sustained fire and destroyed the destroyer in short order.

Aboard the Naast Gra'tua received a small data burst from a crew-member on the bridge, a simple text message encoded for the sith lords personal communicator. It read simply; 'Kashiir is disregarding your orders my lord.'

Gra'tua looked at the text. "HE DID WHAT!?" With a growl he stormed away fro mthe troops ready for a boarding opportunity that would not arrive it seems as their alor headed to the nearest elevator to return to the bridge.

Andrieke saw they were making progress and decided to try something, shouting out to the defenders. "Lay down your arms and surrender! Or face the wrath of the Mando'ade!"

"Get slimed!" The man with the sporting rifle shouted back.

Not particularly fond of that answer Andrieke, Goran, Magog and Canderous turned their weapons on the man with the sporting rifle and fired.

Talinna had her eyes wide and quickly put another bubble of protection around herself, hoping this one would last longer.

Between the combined firepower of Canderous, Magog and Andrieke's shooting the man with the sporting rifle promptly found a lot of carbon scoring on his respectable looking armour and a few large-ish holes where his chest used to be, he only had a few moments to notice this however before he expired and dropped like a sack to the decking. The commandos meanwhile mopped up the remainder of the B2 and all but 2 of the organic crew while the spider droid, still functional if not useful as a weapon any longer, rotated its head too and fro in an idle fashion. Its barrel, or what was left of it manage to trip up the last remaining destroyer droid which was quickly dispatched by the watching commandos before it could rise and raise its shield again.

The two living crew wasted no time in following Andrieke's previous command to throw down their weapons and surrender, especially seeing what had just happened to the man that was obviously leading them.

The engineering team under Bo was making good progress in the mean time and were almost at their goal, like the bridge they had come to a fortified position baring the entrance to engineering but the commandos were making quick work of the defenders, again no thanks to their leadership. Bo in an attempt to lead a charge caught a shot to the leg causing her to stumble in the attempt and land on the deck as the defenders and commandos traded shot over her head.

Andrieke walked calmly towards the incapacitated spider droid and put several shots in it's armour before turning to the crew of the ship who surrendered, "What awaits us on the other side of that door." She said gesturing to the security door to the bridge.

"Ah... " one of the two began stuttering before the second punched him in the arm with an angry look in his eyes.

She raised her blaster and shot the second in the face. "You were saying?" She asked the one who had begun to stutter.

"The Captain and a skeleton bridge crew!" the crewmen blurted out almost immediately, there was a clear dark stain spreading down the side of his pants leg in the meantime.

"Your cooperation is appreciated, stand aside." Two of the commandos shoved the crew member out of the and Andrieke knocked on the security door while looking for a itnercom or some other means to communicate with those on the other side.

A holoprojector at the top of the door flickered to life and the image of Tej H'darr appeared before the strike team. “I don't know who you are, nor do I really care. But would you kindly get off my ship and withdraw, you've caused a considerable amount of damage as it is that will take me months to fix.”

Andrieke stared at the hologram, "I am a warrior of the Mando'ade, we do not withdraw that easily, I am giving you this one chance to surrender with some grace and dignity or we burst through and take your bridge by force, you know you have been boarded, you cannot escape due to one of the vessels attacking you having a gravity well generator and last I heard your defenses are down to the weapons of our ships, so as I said, one chance to surrender."

The holographic image started laughing at the speech obviously highly amused by it. After a few moments Tej quieted and spoke in a very serious tone. “And this is your last chance to get out of here with your lives. You see I will not allow you to take me back to the Black Sun.” He turned to someone outside the image for a moment and gave an order. “Tractor beams now! And start the failsafe.” he turned back to look at the holo imager with a dark smile on his face.

One of the two tractor beams targeted at the Naast latched on while the other emitter simply exploded apparently having suffered damage during the battle. Both beams targeting the Regret however locked on holding the vessel in place.

She shrugged, "I see... does your crew, who are not wanted by black sun, share this suicidal conviction of yours? If any of you can hear me over there, we will spare your lives if the captain is handed over to us, preferred alive, but dead and recognizable is acceptable as well." She then turned to Talinna. "Use your universal cutting tool." The sith disciple nodded and activated her saber, approaching the door with determination.

"You waste your breath." the holoprojection of Tej H'darr replied, "You've had your warning, now leave if you'd prefer to live."

Meanwhile on the bridge, Gra'tua stormed on. "Kashiir! How dare you-"

"Not now!" He shouted, not caring at the moment. "We are caught in a tractor beam and I need to focus on whatever plan these pirates are up to."

"Who are you to talk to me like tha-"

Gra'tua began but a furious Kashiir turned around to face him. "Captain of the Kandosii Naast, appointed by you to be the master of this ship in battle, you give suggestions but I give the orders in a space battle, as laid down by you now shut up! My lord."

Lena blinked, "So... we are being held by that ship... and you are telling me explosive devices are being armed, as well as the reactor is showing signs of activity which you guess would be a overload?" Verat nodded. "I see, Kashiir if you can hear me over the argument you have with your master, I kindly request your squadrons destroy those tractor beams."

Talinna started cutting and Andrieke shook her head, "You are a stubborn one, alive you can still grovel your masters for forgiveness and your life, dead you are just that, dead. We plan to take you alive, you are perfectly willing to blow yourself up?"

She then turned to Goran, Magog and Canderous. "Take half the commandos and return to the ships, she then called out to Bo and Latesh. "Progress updates, where are you both now."

"I don't grovel." Te'j H'darr replied before the holoimage flickered out.

Kashiir stared his master down for another second before turning back to Lena. "Certainly, inform the squadrons to make attack runs on the tractor beam emitters." He then turned back to Gra'tua, "Can I resume doing my job?"

Gra'tua growled, "For now."

"Thank you." Kashiir looked aroudn seeing most of the bridge crew staring at him. "WE ARE IN A BATTLE! Get to work!"

Andrieke finished listening to Bo reporting heavy fighting at engineering and then from Latesh that she was still far out, ordering Latesh to withdraw she urged Bo to keep pressing forward but to leave the engineering crews alive. She then turned to Talinna, "Almost through?"

Bruised but still alive Bo followed after her men into engineering after they, her men, took it by swift storm, looking at the captives she then gestured to the generators. "Power down the reactors, keep gravity and life support systems intact but weapons, shields, anything that might be charged to blow up the ship, turn it off if you want to live."

The engineers looked at one another, clearly worried but apprently resolute not to do anything to help the attackers.

Bo frowned, "Do you all honestly want to die like this? Going down with the ship with a condemned man?"

"W we... we cant..." one of the engineers replied, "H'darr holds our lives in his hands..." as if to emphasis the point th engineers head promptly exploded and the other 4 started cowering more than they already were

She looked unfazed, "I see. If that was the case why aren't you lot dead like that one." She gestured to the headless corpse, "This is a intimidation tactic, if you lot value your lives then take a chance and stop this reactor overload that's building up, show some damned courage. Or do you prefer if my people start shooting you four with ion weaponry?"

After a few moments one of the engineers stood up and moved towards the master control console for the reactor... surprisingly to the other three engineers his head didn't explode...

The reason for this was likely because the security door to the bridge was showing a large molten core on the bridge side o the door, it wasn't supposed to be doing that and as a result H'darr had taken up a defensive position behind a control console while the three officers on the bridge did likewise, all they had to do was hold out until the failsafe was ready... or get themselves killed in the fight, they had resigned themselves to death either way.

As the door opens Talinna steps through the door she opened, lightsaber lit in her hand reaching out with the force to lift up any bridge crew she could see while Andrieke and some commandos burst through behind her.

Andrieke saw that Talinna lifted two people in the air, the bounty not among them and she shouted out. "Your bridge is breached, we have a force user with us, just surrender already with some dignity remaining, if not you then maybe some of your officers." She raised her blaster towards Tej but did not fire, "Or are they afraid of exploding heads, how interesting that not all the engineers my commander encountered were killed, such a cowards tactic to keep your crew in line!"

“I needed their knowledge of this ship and they weren't going to work for me willingly.” Tej replied with a shrug while he stayed crouched in cover.

"Your fellow officers included? Will they be interested to hear that some engineers are not suffering a case of exploding heads and are in fact working on neutralizing your failsafe?* Andrieke replied, watching for any move of Tej, her blasters switched to stun. "Surrender and you will have some good last days, unless you can somehow convince your former bosses to spare your life with whatever deal you come up with before you are handed over."

“Bastards...” Tej muttered as he glanced over the cover for a moment at a console near the rear of the bridge. “Well... “ He said a moment before he nodded to the other officer not floating in the air. The two of them leaned out of cover together and opened fire on Talinna together. Tej's shot marks its target and drops Talinna's force protection but the officers shot misses and fails to take advantage of it.

Andrieke and the commandos took that cue of opening fire on Tej and the officer who had just opened fire.

Their shots failed to hit the targets however as the two of them ducked back into cover as the mandalorians opened fire. Waiting for a moment of 'less' shooting happening the two popped out again at different points of their cover to take additional shots.

Talinna felt her instincts warn her and dropped the two officers, whipping up her blade at the same time to quickly deflect both blaster shots heading her way, the officer got hit by his own blastershot and managed out a surprised grunt before dropping to the floor, Tej had more luck as he got over his surprise and dived out of the way, exposing himself.

With a snarl Andrieke drew a knife and dove towards Tej in a attempt to subdue him while the commandos surged forwards to subdue and capture the other two officers.

Talinna meanwhile felt stronger in the force... but not stupid as she tapped into her reserved and once more put a bubble around herself while she too approached Tej.

As she approached Tej Andrieke called out to him as updates were given to her. "Your engineering deck ahs been taken, your reactors are being turned off and our ships are getting a safe distance away, you even give us a glorious death in battle, you are finished!"

“Poodo!” Tej said as he raised his blaster and snapped off a quick shot at Andrieke as best he could. The shoot glanced her armours shoulderpad but otherwise did no damage.

With a hiss she closed the distance and at the last moment dropped her knife and punched Tej between the eyes and again and again till finally his head rolled back she saw the other officers were subdued as well and marched towards them, Talinna approaching with her lightsaber still active. "Right your captain is down, a fellow officer of yours dead, your engineers are working for us, now you lot turn off that failsafe or we shall show you how deadly that blade of this force user is." To emphasize the point Talinna approached and let the saber hover over their heads. It did not take long for one of them to break and quickly deactivate the failsafe. "Good." She let out a silent sigh of relief and contacted the two sith observing from space.

"This is Andrieke, the ship is ours, I repeat the ship is ours."

Kashiir closed his eyes and slowly turned around to watch his master, fully expecting some kind of reprisal but he was shocked when Gra'tua just let out a chuckle. "Well done Kashiir, you have a good head on your shoulders, be sure to keep it." With a smirk hidden he turned back to Lena. "We have taken the ship it seems, I shall send some troops over to make sure it stays that way."

Lena nodded, "I must admit your Mandalorians have acquitted themselves quite well Gra'tua, do you mind if I send a craft to pick up Tej?"

Gra'tua shrugged, "Not at all."

Later, Lena walked down the corridors to the brig with the cell containing their new guest, Gra'tua had kindly handed him over to her and now she was going to pay him a visit, and see if he was awake now after that one woman in service of Gra'tua, Andrieke, had knocked him out. When she entered and approached his cell, she saw that the human male was sitting upright, her hands clasped behind her back she coughed to get his attention. "Hello, and welcome."

“So my captor has come to gloat then?..” Tej said as he studied Lena. “What happened to the Mandalorians? You don't seem to fit with them...” he said after a few moments with a look on his face that made it appear he was figuring out a puzzle.

"They are in the service of a friend of mine." She simply said and studied the man, "And I am not here to gloat just... trying to sate my curiousity, wondering what kind of man it takes, to turn his back on his organization and go rogue."

“Why do most people do what they do, Money and Power.” Tej replied with a bored looking shrug as though her explanation had taken all the fun out of the previous puzzle.

Lena looked dissapointed for a moment, "So not a difference of opinion or of creed. You just wanted money and power?"

Tej leaned back against the rear of the cell and laughed a rich and clearly amused chuckle. “Does that surprise you, were you expecting some lengthy tale about how the black sun tortured and murdered my family in an effort to have me fall in line, or how I started out in the slave markets before rising to where I was in their ranks ad was angered by how they endorsed slavery. Or perhaps you expected me to spin some tale of love for an honest woman that ran afoul of the Black sun and was executed despite my pleas. Is that more what you were expecting to hear?”

Lena tilted her head and then shrugged, "I suppose not." She frowned, "Why the bombs in your crew? Were they loyal to Black Sun or were you just incapable of controlling them by your own means or charisma?"

“They were pretty simple really, they were the ships original engineers, part of the team that designed and built it, they didn't particularly wish to come along willingly when I was tasked by black sun to steal the ship, after I took the ship for myself I needed them to maintain it. The explosives were a simple and effective tool to ensure their cooperation.” Tej replied.

"A tool, if I loan the words of my friends among the Mandalorians, of a coward and petty little man." She sighed and turned away. "Enjoy my hospitality while it lasts, I think I have heard enough." Two noghri who had been waiting in the shadows now stepped into view, silently staring at the prisoner while Lena started walking away to find the bounty hunter.

"Could I at least get a decent meal!" Tej shouted after lena as she left.

She ignored him as she continued walking, when it was time for his meal he would just have to eat whatever it was.

Alama waited at the enterance to the detention block, casually cleaning under his fingernails with a small knife he kept on his person while he waited. Looking up at the sound of footsteps he saw Lena approaching the and the knife pomptly vanished into his clothing. "Curiosity sated?" he asked casually.

She nodded slowly, "It is, just curious why one would turn from a organization, knowing they must have wanted to hunt him down for such desertion. Do you require assistance, getting him transferred to your shuttle?"

“If you could loan me the use of a med sled to get him to the hanger, I'll just stun him and keep him sedated for the trip to his reunion with the Black Sun.” Alama said as he patted the blaster on his hip. “So I take him in, collect the reward and then wire it to you minus my 30% then.” Alama said with a smile. “Its always a pleasure working with professionals.” he then added.

Lena raised a eyebrow and waggled a finger. "You are mistaken... it was 20%, though I think, because of the trouble we went through, not to mention that they had somekind of failsafe in place and almost blown us up me and my associate need some more compensation, so maybe you should get 15%. Especially if you are trying to cheat us, hmm?" She smiled, crossing her arms.

Alama had the good grace to at least look taken aback as he put on a mock pout. “20% are you sure.” He said before he started to grin. “Well can't blame a guy for trying surely. 20% is fine, after all if it were me I'd have shot the guy rather than taking him captive in the first place, but since your friend went to the trouble of taking him alive I won't take my cut out of the bonus, is that acceptable?”

She mulled it over and the nodded, "Acceptable, pleasure working with you again... one last question, I don't suppose you might have heard about a CIS expedition heading for Teth? Perhaps offer us some information? Since we are such good friends and business associates after all." She asked casualy.

“Can't say I know much about the movements of the CIS I'm afraid, not unless there's a bounty attached at least.” Alama replied. “If I were to hear something though what might it be worth to you?”

"Depends on the information, but I always pay my debts." She said with confidence.

“Then I'll keep my ears open and pass along anything that may be of use.” Alama said with a slight but flourished bow. “So then,” he added as he straightened. ”A medsled?”

She smiled and shook her head at his antics and called up the medical bay for a medsled to be brought to the brig, but without any medics. "Just make sure it has straps to secure the prisoner." She finished saying and then turned back to Alama. "It's on the way, I also will have some of my Noghri assist you. But the moment you stun him, he is your responsibility."

"I'd prefer a carbonite gun but they're not cheap to get ahold of, Stunning and keeping him sedated for the trip works just as well really, just needs a little more monitoring." Alama said as he started heading into the detention block. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure you get your credits." he said as he smiled back over his shoulder at Lena.

She watched him go, shaking her head, this had been a pleasant, but perhaps costly diversion, though she hoped violence was not required at Teth, on that note she contacted Gra'tua, his voice coming to her a moment after the request. "Ah Gra'tua, how goes it?"

"Very well, I finished transferring the troops that will make sure the crew aboard my new ship stay in line, they will limp back home as fast as they can, wish we could stay put and conduct some repairs here and there but we are still good to go if you are." Gra'tua replied, eager to continue the journey.

"In that case, let our navigators get together to calculate a joined hyperspace jump towards Teth and continue on our journey." She smiled and finished the call, heading to the bridge to oversee the flight.

_________________
Summary:
360 SP reward, split into 2
Gra'tua Ship gained
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoEAvL_ihp0GdGpSb1l2SUdMR0FRX0R4U3Y5ZTBtaHc&usp=drive_web#gid=1
^
Hypershield need extensive repairs, SP and time to get it fixed or upgraded.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Firewombat
Raw

Firewombat

Member Offline since relaunch

The Tiraahn System
A'sha stared at her passenger for a long moment in silence. "You will tell me everything you know about your cargo, doctor." she re-iterated, her eyes resting on his, her will attempting to gently nudge him into compliance.

Sleep gone from his mind as adrenaline kicked him awake, he looked nervous and swallowed a big lump down his throat. "I... asked for no questions captain and I like to keep the contents of my cargo to myself. Please i mean you no harm and all I can say is... that there is a reason I want to get away from republic space so please help me." He looks pleadingly, his hands tightening into fists, clenched with either rage or desperation. He then widened his eyes at a idea, "Can't you.. .create a distraction, create chaos so that they are too occupied with what would be transpiring here to send a message to the next system about our identity while we get away?" He gestured to the space beyond were the chase was taking place. "Clearly that freighter thinks he can outrun the republic forces, why can't we?"

There was a tense silence for a few moments after those words left her. "You'd best sit down and hold on to something."

For an instant, the man seemed relieved, before his forehead creased again with worry, yet he complied, stepping back, throwing worried glances to the doors leading out of the cockpit.

A'sha again surveyed the scene, glancing from monitor to monitor, and out the viewport. The republic's ships were still in pursuit of the one, presumably, smuggler who was trying to make a run for it. She framed he chin with a hand, staring pensively at the controls of her ship. The awkward silence continued as such for a minute that seemed like an hour, and the passenger seemed about ready to speak again, before the hands flitted over the controls in a flash and the Hound jerked onward in sudden acceleration. Speeding past several civilian craft waiting in line to move on to the next system, however, they were more than a little conspicuous.

A glance toward the sensor screen showed a handful of V-wings had broken off from the main body of the customs ships and were speeding to catch up. The smaller, more agile ships would undoubtedly close the distance quickly. The last thing she wanted was to start trading flak with the Republic. Just then, the familiar voice of her mechanic chirped over the ship's intercom.

"Please tell me that was some other ship bumping into us and we're not trying to speed our way past customs."

"I wouldn't have turned down some credits in compensation if the paint got scratched up a bit. But no, we're actually trying to speed our way past customs." she replied nonchalantly, her hands idly slipping over to direct the targeting computer, and the Hound's guns.

"I've never been arrested in my life!"

"There's a first time for everything. Builds character." and with a few quick adjustments, the Hound's precision beam lasers were locked on to empty space, practically meters from the hull of a nearby ship.

"Please tell me I'm not actually getting arrested."

"...Probably not."

"Just so you know, if they don't blow us out of the stars, I'm telling them you kidnapped me."

"Your trust in me is touching." A'sha mused, dryly and her fingertip hovered over the designated firing button. "You just hold on to something now."

And with a simple push of a button, a discharge of concentrated energy shot out across the empty space. It was close enough to let everybody in line know there were shots being fired, and far enough away that it didn't melt a hole through anyone waiting in line for the hyperspace lane. But like a shot in the dark, the effects were immediate; one after another the ships broke off from their spots and sped in all manner of different directions. Panic reached its height in a manner of seconds as every ship made evasive maneuvers in case they were the ones being fired upon. Some veered too far in the wrong direction and ended up slamming into one another, within moments the front of the line had turned into a barricade for the Hound itself.

Changing course to go around them would only give the fighters more time to catch up, she had to go through the mass of panicked vessels. A'sha's eyes shot from one ship to another, and those drifting like lazy chunks of asteroid, too afraid to try and move through the crowd. There were too many to maneuver through.

"Silla, I need you on the tractor beam." she uttered into the intercom, hands still on the controls, making minute corrections, eyes front.

"I can see what you've done out there, how is the tractor beam supposed to-" her mechanic's voice cut off suddenly, followed an instant later by a gasp of realization. "I'm on it."

With a humorless snerk the Hound's pilot guided the ship to and fro, avoiding several stray vessels, but unerringly drawing closer to the insurmountable mass ahead. Her gut was telling her to brace for impact and she desperately wanted to curl up, as if that would somehow lessen the damage a collision in the midst of that swarm of ships would cause. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped harder onto her controls, glancing every other second between the viewport and the intercom. They were thick into it, enough that veering off would probably cause a crash just as well as speeding forward.

"There, it's done!" like a shot in the dark, Silla's voice shouted over the comm.

And just as quickly, A'sha activated the Hound's tractor beam. And somewhat to her surprise, she found that reverse-engineering such a device was far from impossible, as one vessel after another slowed down into a slow halt on their course toward the Hound as they made their way through the cloud.

"Targeting computer's probably blowing out smoke by now." the pilot muttered to herself as she watched one collision after another be averted and moments later, all there was before her was the wide expanse of space. Stars far and wide, and not a single ship in sight. Her shoulders slumped as a wave of relief washed over the woman at the helm, for a moment, it seemed as if they were in the clear.

Until, of course, two little dots made their way past the "traffic jam" they'd caused, speeding unerringly toward the Hound again. A'sha's eyes furrowed as she stared at the screen. She had to question the sanity of the two figher pilots that were still in pursuit. The Hound was larger and far-more heavily armed than them, if they intended to engage her, they wouldn't be able to dance around her shots forever. They were drawing closer, however and the navicomputer was still alight, setting the coordinates for their jump. She preferred shooting at Republic ships to being ripped half-way across the Galaxy in a botched hyperspace jump, however. The turret bearing the Hound's flak guns spun about, aiming at the pair of tenacious pilots. Much like before, A'sha's fingertip was hovering over the last key, if she was lucky a volley would scare them off without causing any damage.

She felt luckier, however, when the navicomputer chirped up, its task finished, their course set. With a pull of a lever, the stars bled into each other, each turning into a streak of light as if they themselves were speeding across space, and the feeling that everything else was slowing down, rather than the Hound itself speeding up. The warping tunnel of Hyperspace lit up the cockpit moments later and finally the mercenary could afford to relax. She cupped her face with a hand and rubbed her cheek for a few seconds.

"That went better than I thought it would. Nothing exploded and I won't even have to re-paint the hull. Here's hoping there isn't a blockade waiting for us when we come out the other end, doctor." she mused, not turning about to look at the man. She reclined in her seat, and stared out at the endlessly shifting tunnel and waited. By her reckoning, this was far from the first hitch they'd run into.

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Tempest
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Tempest Feminazi

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Azazel rubs her eyes in irritation as the engineers of Red Sanctuary's repair bay give her an estimate for repairs... And the cost of parts. She looks to Xen for help and he just shrugs. With huff, Azazel rolls her shoulders and sighs. Meanwhile Bezol snorts, “Looks like you're stuck takin' some other rig, huh, princess?” Azazel tenses at the remark. What was she thinking, adding Bezol to her officers. It was always snark and insolence from her.

Xen gives a surprised look before giving a wavering gesture of his hand, “It is not so bad. And we can see about that new reactor we need to power the weaponry while we are at it. Any additional upgrades as well, I suppose.”

Azazel nods slowly and looks at the dock shipped with a grimace. “Yes, I suppose. Do you have any leads on that?”

Xen hesitates before looking away, clearing his throat, “I am afraid not. It would take some time, searching the markets and setting up an exchange. You had other wishes as well?”

Azazel scrunches up her nose, “Indeed, but I wonder if Gra'tua may be the best route to acquire such an item... Or at least get a lead as to where we may find these gauntlets... They are mandalorian, after all... And yet, remember old dear Gustav? He was a collector of sorts. Perhaps he...”

Xen shrugs, “Very well, but much of this will take time. We have the spies out, the bounty hunters are down and the orders have proven little help. I feel this matter with Jehemath may be far more troublesome, understand...”

Azazel nods, crossing her arms and gnashing her teeth, “Contact the smugglers. They may be of use in procuring one or the other. As well, yes, Gustav at least. I would rather not have to bother Gra'tua at this time... When we have attended to these trivial matters, I would like to contact this Jehemath for myself and arrange a meeting. I would rather not land on his doorstep uninvited and suddenly find ourselves against questionable odds.”

Bezol snorts, leaning back in her chair and kicking her feet up, “Please. That's when it's the most fun! Just let me take out Tannus' fighter for a few... It'll be fine! I'll shoot down the front-gates, kill the defenses and you can just waltz right in.”

Azazel gives her a cool look, “Quite full of yourself, are you not?”

Bezol purses her lips, looking down and patting a hand over her midsection, poking and prodding tentatively. “I sure hope so, otherwise I have a few things to say to those medics of yours.”

Azazel appears amused for the briefest of moments before waving a hand, “Well, dismissed for now. Xen and I have work.”
Xen clears his throat, approaching behind Azazel as she repeatedly thumps her head against a console. “Uhm?”

Azazel looks up and gestures, exhausted, at the display “The Network is failing me yet again. It seems Zarra is quite elusive... And the smugglers have no leads as of now, either. It is proving frustrating. All these contacts, but not a single one is proving useful.”

Xen hesitates for a moment, obviously mulling over and realizing that they seemed to be slacking of late. Maybe they were still bitter that their attempts at unionizing were less than fruitful over the last year. “Perhaps, but I have found some information myself from your old friend.”

Azazel hesitates, surprised, “Truly? So soon?”

Xen nods and offers over a datapad, “Yes, it would seem so. Given our expansion throughout the Tapani Sector... And our own dealings with the... Well, filth here... I was easily able to retrieve these.”

Azazel frowns, taking the datapad and scrolls over the information presented. There was little more than Xen's notations at the sides marking out various details, though she did not need them. The images were all pristine. There was Gustav, sure enough, and in the midsts of a black market transaction. Her lips curl for a moment before she nods, “Useful. Put some pressure on him. If he has the audacity to snub me for my own dealings, I am more than willing to pay him back in kind for this.”

As Xen was turning to do just that, Azazel is rocked with a memory. Residual effects from the psychometry. She splutters and stands up abruptly, knocking the chair down as she looks at Xen with wide eyes, “Oh dear...” Xen pauses looking at her with confusion. She shudders and closes her eyes, the familiar character she had seen suddenly seemed far clearer now that she had been reminded of that age-riddled, albeit friendly face. Azazel holds a hand up for a pause, trying to recompose herself at this sudden revelation. She finally looks at Xen, a few shades paler than her normal pallor. “It was... Gustav. The nobleman I perceived, looking upon Zarra's personal belongings...” She frowns, crossing her arms, “Jehemath may not be to blame... It appears... Plans must change.”

The Kubaz falters, trying to take in this new information, hand clicking against a hard-case upon his belt. “Then it is doubly necessary to discuss with this Gustav... If he is involved in Braghda's death, we cannot execute Jehemath for such a crime.”

Azazel nods slowly, unsettled that perhaps the disgusting pig's character was just that, not any insight towards any treachery. “Yes... But...”

Xen clicks open the case, popping out a vial full-up. “If it is the case, Azazel. You always have this...”

Azazel frowns, recognizing the decanter from when she last saw Andrea. “The Terentatek poison... I.. Perhaps, but I would not wish...”

Xen was beginning to grow irritable, “He is nothing, Azazel. He may have presented a friendly face, but he is a noble of this forsaken reach of space. They are all treacherous, venomous snakes and I have no doubt your being a Sith had anything to do with his inevitable casting you away. If anything, it ushered it on for simple fear. If anything, this is all indication to a far worse character than you believed he was.”

Azazel lets her shoulders slump dejectedly, “Yes...”

He runs a hand over the quills on his hand, rolling his eyes as he rocks on his heels, “So what are you planning to do about it?”

Azazel looks up more resolutely, “Pay him a visit. Prepare the OS-80. Load up my officers. Yourself and Rei'ki will be going in under stealth. I will expect you to take down any security measures he may have, destroy audiovisual feeds he may have set-up, ensure no help will be coming... Rei'Ki will be your assistance... Kitt will go in with me... Bezol, I feel, would make an excellent pilot. Just in case things need shooting or we need make a faster break than expected.”

Xen scrunches up his face, reluctant to trust the brazen woman with his ship, but he nods, “Very well. I suppose we need leave now to arrive at a reasonable time...” Azazel nods and waves her hand for him to go.
As Bezol pilots the ship and Xen is studying the various passive sensor data coming in he noticed something curious, it had been more than a year that Azazel had last been to Gustav's estate, but those four towers surrounding his estate were definitely new. As were the laser cannons that were being powered slowly, which would normally not be detected but Xen did notice the power build-up.

At the same time a hail was send to the shuttle and a voice spoke through. "You are approaching the estate of Gustav Arckan, you are not registered on the schedule, state your intent."

Azazel gnashes her teeth as Xen provides her the information about recent upgrades and quickly moves to the intercom, tapping the button to enable the feed as she answers back, “Hello, this a friend of Gustav's who would rather remain anonymous for both Gustav's and my benefit. It is regarding some recent purchases and information most pressing. I would have scheduled an appointment, however, the normal lines of communication have been compromised. Please do power down your weapons, after all, I fear what I have to say is of vital importance and if not acted upon swiftly may lead to retaliation from organizations one is advised not to be on the bad side of.”

Hatches open up and the laser cannons are now completely revealed, visible targeting the approaching shuttle and again the voice came over. "State your intent and identity or leave, now."

Azazel leans in and answers, “Terrik. Tikyba Terrik, cousin and associate to Booster Terrik. I have come to talk to Gustav about his recent purchases of medical equipment. He has been sold a contaminated batch by some bumbling back-blasted pissant, and for the sake of our own image, I have been sent personally to sort this mess and establish a means for us to trade. As much as we would like to say we got the better end of this deal, I am afraid we had another buyer lined up for that equipment. Unfortunately, our other buyer caught on and had broken into our lines. Silly, but they seem to think this is all a big privateering scam meant against war efforts and that Gustav is a part of it now. We have things to clear up before they decide to come knocking on your front door. And last I remember, Gustav was not so fond of Republic dogs.”

It was quiet for a moment and then the voice came back, "You may land, lower your boarding ramp upon landing and prepare to be boarded for inspection." With that the line went dead and coordinates were given, to the landing spot Azazel had been before, just beyond the gardens of the estate. The laser cannons were still targeting the shuttle through all this.

Azazel looks to Xen with a growl, “You and Rei'ki hide your asses and clear the ramp as soon as those doors open. Shut down those weapons immediately. Bezol... If things start looking nasty, feel free to start shooting stuff.” She looks to Kitt, a wild grin spreading, “Ready for another adventure? It may not be sith monstrosities, but I assure you things might get nasty.” Kitt gives her a weak smile, uncertain of how to reply. Bezol though was giddy and her trigger-finger itching. Xen and Rei'Ki follow through their instructions. And as soon as they touch soil and the ramp was out, the two cleared the ramp before the welcome party could arrive. Azazel herself wraps herself in a protective layer, fingers lightly gracing over where her lightsaber was hidden in the folds of her clothes.

The first thing Azazel notices when she leaves, is that the once pristine gardens she remembers are gone, they are still there but they look as if they have been ignored for months, not servants or droids moving around attending them. The only movement is a party of black armoured guards marching straight towards Azazel. Another memory stings her, a conversation with Andrea, explaining the organization and guards she encountered on Anaxes, the guards she called Black Watch who were elite soldiers who also seemed to have trained to take down force users, the very same ones that were marching towards Azazel right now.

And with that very memory, she draws in and represses her force-essence with the concealment techniques, masking herself as a normal individual. She reclines back, looking at Bezol and trying to appear unconcerned. A concealed gesture to Kitt revealed her to be ready to attack on her signal. As the Black Watch comes aboard, she takes another thing she had learned from Andrea... And lets a coy smile spread across her lips, as she all but purrs “Why hello there, boys...” Kitt fights the urge to react at that very display but crosses her arms, sitting back with her malfunctioning blaster at her hip, definitely attempting to appear thug-like.

The squad of ten gets aboard, making it feel rather cramped for a moment, several bringing out scanning equipment with which they start their work while their squad leader stands directly in front of Azazel. "Tikyba Terrik you say you are, very well, welcome to the Arckan Estate, my men will make sure there no hidden threats to my employer and then we can bring you to him, cooperation is mandatory, am I clear?" He says in a very no-nonsense tone of voice.

Azazel nods and directs to the racks lining each walls, “Droids for a shipment after this. They're all deactivated and you can easily keep track of them from here. Hold below is empty, if you wish to check.” She hesitates for a moment before slipping out from her waistband the lightsabre and tossing it over, “Hold onto this lightstick for me, though. Its supposed to end up a gift to your employer for the mix-up. Past dealings, we figured he was into such curiosities.” She lifts her arms above her head, doing a small spin for them to see, “Pat me over if you want, boys, but I got nothing on me. My bodyguard has her blaster, she'd pass it over no problem, though. Like we said, we don't want any trouble here.” With that, she crouches down and hefts up her sword wrapped in cloth, appearing to struggle with trying to lift its weight, grunting as if she was not used to it. “Blasted primitive weapons, but was told to see if we could hock it to Gustav.” She wrinkles her nose, leaning on it now that it was standing as she scratches her nose. “Do the routine, boys. Ain't hiding nothing.”

As Azazel was busying herself with the Black Watch, Rei'Ki and Xen would attempt to slip further inside Gustav's home. Primarily, they were in search of a terminal not immediately in the sight of anyone that he could remotely access and start disabling whatever flipped his fancy.

Azazel sees the squad leader stiffen at the sight of the lightsaber but he makes no comment, taking the saber, looking at it and then clasps it to his belt. "Very interested curiousity." One of his men takes the sword and another asks for Kitt's blaster while a third and fourth start patting both of them down, Bezol claiming she was just the pilot and would stay there caused the others to ignore her for the most part. After the search one of them produced the flute. "A flute? Another curiousity you wish to sell my employer?"

Meanwhile Xen and Rei'ki do manage to sneak into the estate, again a lack of servants that one would expect from a noble's estate are telling but do not find a terminal to access at this point in time.

Azazel juts out her lower lip in a pout, “No, that's mine. I like it. Not very good at playing it, but it is enjoyable to try,” she reaches out to lightly grasp the hand in possession of her bes'bev, “I could show you, if you want. If your ears could take the torture.”

A light tap to the wall indicates Rei'ki as to the direction for them to head as they continue to advance further to find a hub. He imagined Azazel must be getting antsy to have the lasers no longer locked on. Maybe then she could cut her way through like a real Sith.

The squad leader looked at the flute and then handed it back, "No thanks, we'll keep the two swords though, good thing you didn't turn this thing on." He patted the lightsaber on his belt. "I've seen people get cut apart like paper with these." He gestured at two men. "They will stay here, you and that one." He gestured to Kitt, "Will be escorted to my employer."

Meanwhile inside Xen and Rei'ki make their way through the estate still and then the Kubaz pauses, hearing footsteps coming from around the corner up ahead, two pair of footsteps in heavy boots.

Azazel nods and slips the flute back into the sash at her waist, gesturing for the men to lead the way. However, the Kubaz further away taps his foot twice quiet enough for just the Sith to hear. Both of them press solidly back against the walls, holding as still as possible in order to preserve their concealment and keep from being brushed against by the incoming footsteps.

The Squad leader took point, those that were not staying behind with the shuttle taking points around and behinf the two they were escorting to the estate.

They just stopped moving as two Black Watch guards step around the corner, clearly this assignment has dulled their senses because they were loudly talking with each other and were barely looking for anything suspicious like they were meant to do while patrolling these corridors.

Azazel looks curiously over the areas they walk, trying to take in every detail and see what else may have changed. “Soooo... Question, been working for Gus long? Seems like a lame gig, nobles and all. Don't see why they'd need so much muscle, but hey, what do I know. Not part of my business.”

Rei'ki and Xen remain silent and still until the patrol passes before the two continue on their search, now more careful know there were to be patrols around.

"They have money and that's what counts nowadays... we used to work for somebody else. But then they vanished, leaving us without a job." One of the guards respond with but quickly shut up when the squad leader looked over his shoulder at the guy.

"Our employer is named Gustav Arckan, not Gus, be sure to remember that when you stand in front of him." They reached the entrance to the estate and went inside.

With the patrol passed the two infiltrators continued on their way and came upon, what seemed to once been a study of some kind but was now turned in some kind of security station, with a security terminal sitting unattended on the desk.

Azazel raises her hands, “Oi, no offense meant, bud.” She eyes over the group, rubbing her chin curiously, “What do blokes like you usually make figure-wise anyways, huh? Got any buddies looking for a full-time position you know of?”

Xen and Rei'ki slip into the room and with a reedy whisper of “Door,” Rei'ki turns and, making sure none were coming down the hall, silently closes the door as Xen makes his way to the terminal. The room was clear for now, but it was not as if he wished to be stumbled upon in the middle of his task. As Rei'Ki takes up a position by the door, vibroblade unsheathed and ready to strike should anyone come through and see through their concealments. Xen slips out his slicing gear, though, and begins to attempt to break down the system and disable the alarms and communications. The weapons would follow, when word would be harder to travel about what was going on. The rest of the security protocols would follow if they had time.

The squad leader pausses and then turns around, looking at Azazel, "You do not need to know that... and I thought you were a smuggler, in my experience smugglers rarely recruit mercenaries like ours, what game are you playing at." At the tone of voice the other Black Watch seem to keep a secure grip on their weapons.

Meanwhile in the security room, Xen sets up his slicing equipment to get to wrok... when he ntoices those two foolish guards forgot to encrypt and lock out any potential intruders from the system, he had direct access right away, only needing to find the correct programs.

Azazel snorts, “You don't think we need hired hands sometimes? Things have been harder to slip through lately. If you haven't noticed, war going on. Real spike in risks and demand. And its not exactly like we're the bravest of the bunch. Not everyone is ready to go in blasters blazing when the times call. Sure, we try to avoid it, but shit happens.” She looks at the closest Black Watch reaching for his weapon and coolly remarks, “Getting a little excitable there, ain't ya big guy?”

Xen hums delightedly to himself at the little discovery and starts going through the programs to find what he wants, ready to shut down the entire structure. If only the poor sods were that tiny ounce stupider to have a single master button to turn everything on and off at once.

The squad leader keeps staring down Azazel for a moment longer and then just turns around and continues walking, his men relaxing as they and the guests continue on their way. They now encountered some servant droids that were cleaning here and there and Azazel recognized they were headed for Gustav's study and personal library.

Xen was hoping too much on a master button that he got lost for a moment in his own thoughts and completely forgot what he was doing.

Azazel sighs and crosses her arms with a pout, “Can't fault a girl for being curious.” She frowns upon noticing the library and squares her shoulders, worried to be returning here. Yet, perhaps it was good. Perhaps she might have closer for the events just over a year ago. Kitt looks at her with a raised brow, shoving her hands in her pockets as she walks.

Xen sighs and rubs his eyes as he tries to make an actual pass at disabling the systems. So maybe the guards were marginally better than he thought. Just the slightest bit, though.

They reached the library now and two of the black watch opened the doors and then excused themselves, leaving the squad leader and one other guard still with Azazel and Kitt as they escort the guests inside. "Lord Gustav, the smuggler, Tikyba Terrik and her bodyguard are here."

Gustav was on the other side of the room behind a desk, reading something and looked up, he looked older and a little bit thinner but it was still him Azazel could see and he stood up. "Ah yes, I admit I was surprised when I heard one of you people returned and...." He trailed off blinking as he looked at his guest, eyes widening. "AZAZEL!?" He had gone pale and looked with a mixture of shock and surprise. Which was reason enough for the squad leader and his fellow guard to raise their blasters and aim them at Azazel and Kitt.

Xen had found the communications subroutines and programs but had some trouble finding a correct way to disable them without anyone noticing.

Azazel mocks equal surprise, hand raising to her mouth as she gasps, “Gustav?! OH DEAR GUSTAV!” She lets her hands drop and looks at the blasters pointed at her, “I'm here to talk, because there is a little prick now thinking he can boss around my people as if I am working for him and not in fact the other way around. Braghda now lays dead. And some bitch has been dodging my people across the Galaxy. Talk to me, tell me the truth. I thought we were friends once.” Her eyes focus on the squad leader, “I was not joking about the sabre being a gift. Pass it along to Gustav if you wish. I will make no attempts to retrieve it, ignite it or otherwise.” Kitt tenses, fear initially passing through her, knowing her personal shield would be too easily overloaded with all these trained guns on her and Azazel., but this was what she had been training for. Surely she could give Azazel a chance.

Xen takes a slow, deep breath, refocusing his thoughts and attempting to remember the basic byspassing techniques. Sith tombs did not have a high demand for slicing, as he remembered, and so he must have gotten rusty since his break into CorSec's holding facility.

The squad leader did not move, "Is she a force user sir?" Gustav was just staring at Azazel, no sign he had even heard and then the squad leader shouted it again, this time Gustav responded with a small nod, in response the squad leader activated a comm and rapidly spoke. "Threat high, bring the lizard." A reply came and he nodded slowly. "Any sudden move and we will fire."

He slowly moved to Gustav, his eyes and blaster trained on Azazel the entire time and without looking placed the lightsaber on the desk, in front of the noble who finally came a little to his senses and quickly shook his head and blinked. "I... you... lady Azazel, what, why are you here?"

Xen still had no luck and froze as a communication came over the line, something about a lizard being fetched?

Azazel sighs and looks at the ceiling, “Listen, this is always fun to deal with, do not get me wrong. But I really have no intentions of risking my or my child's life here.” She looks back down, gaze shifting over those present, “This lizard. The kind that seals off force capabilities about it, I presume? Very well. As soon as it is here, though, I would expect that being incapable of using such powers and being unarmed, you might be so kind as to point those guns away from me.” Uncomfortably, she takes a deep breath and focuses upon Gustav, “Gustav, I am concerned. You do not look well, old friend. What troubles you? Is it me? Did I leave you so fearful? Or is there more going on? I have seen you dealing with shady characters. You look pale and thin, not the jolly plump man I once knew. You have defenses raised and your once... oh so beautiful garden... This is not the man I remember who was merry, kind and charming.”

Xen shudders and looks over the controls, hand wavering for a time over the input keys before he closes his eyes. He could do this. He knew this. Sure, it was luck just now that the feeds were still on... Now, they needed to go off, though.

Meanwhile, back on the OS-80 Bezol looks over the two men before sighing and resting back growing bored. “Either of you two up for a game of Pazaak?”

Gustav winces when his garden comes up and he looks even more tired than before. Sinking down in his chair with a sigh and shudder. "I... its has been a very exhausted and dangerous few months... which started out to be a exciting year turned to danger too quick for my taste. Heh." He smiled a little before he became more somber against, clasping his hands together and looking at Azazel over the top of his interlocked hands. "A... child? You are with child?" His eyes went to her stomach and then back up at her face. "Ah, ahum, congratulations?"

The squad leader let out a snort. "Sir, concentration."

Gustav blinked and nodded, "Yes, yes of course... No it isn't you, you..." He smiled again and let out a chuckle. "You actually caused all this somewhat you know, my situation... it was an... eye-opener after being so blind for so long. I thank you for that, but what brings you to my estate... under a false name? Have you come to kill me perhaps?" He asked calmly, as if resigned of that fact.

Xen still was not having any luck and wondered why this security system was like a maze to him.

Back on the shuttle the two men look at each other and then back at Bezol, saying nothing.

Azazel shifts on her feet, carefully watching those blasters pointed on her, “Initially, that was the thought, but I have changed my mind. I do not with push a desperate man who has already been driven so far by trying times.” She purses her lips before nodding, “As far as the pseudonym, I doubt you would have seen me were I to introduce myself. We were quite able to see you were already readying to shoot our ship from the sky. I would not have so readily intruded upon your estate after our last discussion if I was not deeply troubled by events. I am sure you know much of Braghda and her nephew Jehemath. After all, the woman Jehemath so readily tried to send my second-in-command off to kill as if some lapdog, had been in contact with you. I know this due to my talents. Last I was aware, though, Zarra was alive and well. She even heavily injured a few of my trackers who intended to bring her to me so that we might talk. She is... Rather elusive. Expertly so. But that still does not give me answers.”

Azazel balls her hand into small fists, “A woman who was my ally has been killed, that much I am sure of. I have two potential suspects now given what I have seen. Either this Jehemath has grown greedy and sought to rise to power through the ashes of his aunt, or you, through Zarra, saw her dead for one end or another. I understand such plays are not uncommon in this forsaken sector, but I need know what connection you have with my order of lorekeepers and why the leader of them is now a man who is so petulant, he brings out the worst of venom from my disciples.”

With a sigh, she shakes her head though, “I just need to know your part in all this. I need to know what is going on with the Mecrossa Order.” She bites her lip, taking a very slow, tentative step forward. “So please, tell me what is going on, because it is troubling to see you with guards of The Black Watch upon your estate, that you have been dealing in the blackmarket, and that you appear to weary. Let me share this burden, Gustav. I will try in earnest to see what I might do to help you, because I do feel in part responsible for your most recent misfortune...”

Meanwhile, Xen glares at the terminal, trying to take a different approach. Perhaps the watch here was using a cipher... Yes, certainly. That was why he could not so much as open a blasted program in an unlocked terminal! Rei'Ki looks in the shimmering spot of where Xen lay hidden, letting her concealment slip just enough to give him a look that was riddled with impatience and disbelief. How he could be taking so long was beyond her, still, “Just kill the weapons and break the system so they can't restore it. We don't have time for this. Bezol needs to be able to release the droids and we need to be able to help Azazel.” Xen grunts and shakes his head even though he could not be seen, “No can do. I don't want to be setting off alarms...” Rei'Ki gives an exasperated whine and draws her concealment thick about her form once more, shifting into a more comfortable position to wait.

Bezol however was beyond waiting, “Look, just a quick rounds. I'm a pilot. If you're inside the blasted ship, I can't do too much.” She stretches out and lets her boots thump heavily against the steel tile as she slips a deck out from a pocket and begins to shuffle it. “Quick game or two. I'd even say make this worth while with a fun wager.” In her mind, though, she was trying to remember the activation tones Xen was so keen on for situations like that. If the towers didn't get to her first, these goons would be quick to finish the job if she did anything.

Gustav was silent, taking it all in what Azazel just said and then cleared his throat. "So... you do admit coming her to initially kill me? Because you believed I had killed Braghda? You were not coming here under orders of that oaf?" He leaned back in his chair. "You actually want to... avenge Braghda?" He rose a eyebrow, "I heard she was killed in a skiing accident, you are telling me you have proof of murder instead?" He asked with strange tone of voice.

Xen was still having all of no luck finding what he needed, Rei'Ki however, heard the approaching voices and footsteps of those two idiot guards, apparently they were finishing their patrol route.

Azazel nods, “I recovered Zarra's weapons. It revealed... Some things to me. Her killing someone by stabbing them through the heart... Her running as if someone's target. And then talking to you. You offered her some relief with your words.” Azazel looks at an empty seat with longing to sit back and relax. “However, rest assured. I am under no one's orders. I follow no one.” She sighs, “I had been told much the same, though. That Braghda had died in a skiing accident, but it does not match up. So, of course, I need information. You have it. Regardless, if someone killed someone in my service, then certainly there will be hell to pay. So what did you say to Zarra and what was your connection with her?”

Xen makes one final pass as Rei'Ki poises herself, ready to act as soon as the doors open. She would destroy them both in a single motion, before they even knew there was anyone present.

"I see." Gustav replied, "Yes I know Zarra, she came to me..." He smiled softly, "She was in trouble and had nowhere else to go but the one she trusted the most in her family." He allowed Azazel that tidbit of information to sink in at the same time as another Black Watch entered the room with a harness on his back with a lizard and at once Azazel felt her connection to the force vanish, at a nod of Gustav the two other guards lowered their blasters and he then gestured to a seat. "Please, forgive my manners... I, ah, would offer some wine but I don't have any good vintages left sadly due to all... yeah no vintages." He looked rather crestfallen about that before a cough from the squad leader made him perk up again. "But yes, I could tell you... but perhaps you should give me a reason to trust you, to make sure that you come in good faith, handing over your weapons was a good start but I would need a little more convincing."

Xen meanwhile had activated a program, forming a animated image of a old fashioned device known as a 'paperclip' who asked him wit ha text balloon if he was having trouble and needed assistance?

Xen pauses and just shrugs, moving over to where he could set up a decent line of fire, drawing his blaster and setting it to stun. Hopefully Rei'Ki would have the sense not to kill the men... Maybe...

Meanwhile Azazel moves forward and sits down thankfully, slumping back and rubbing her eyes. “It is fine, Gustav. I would not drink wine right now anyways... Do you have hot chocolate, though? I have been craving it a great deal lately.” She grasps her datapad from her belt and passes it over to Gustav to see. “These are all the pictures I have of this. It is not a good position for one such as yourself to get in contact. Be thankful I am the one holding this information and not someone else. Your life might be far more troublesome otherwise. Keep them. Be more careful. I have my own contacts if you are in need and you can easily contact me, should you still have my information. If not, I will provide it again.” She looks about and gestures with her hands at the Black Watch, “Furthermore, I have not acted, when I could have so far. I know what the Black Watch are. They are specialized in opposing my kind. I know what that repulsive lizard can do. I have stacked everything in your favor when I have had time to act. Whether or not they had my weapons before, I could have retrieved them without a second thought.” She closes her eyes and takes a preparatory breath, “There is another of the force here as well, one of those I myself trained... She is currently about your estate with one of my operatives, both in concealment.” With that, she raises her commlink and quickly contacts Xen and Rei'ki, “Reveal yourselves, hand over your weapons, allow the Black Watch to escort you to my side. Play nicely, now.” She kills the connection and looks at Gustav, “I am entirely at your mercy at this moment. You have two force-users on your estate. If you wished, you could contact someone or another and claim the bounty on us. Do you need more convincing?”

Xen and Rei'Ki let their illusions drop and stare at each in confusion before dropping all their weapons to the ground, backing away from the door and placing their hands atop their heads, waiting for the patrol.

The squad leader looks in alarm and quickly spreads a quick message to all the patrols of two intruders in the estate, at a look of Gustav however he added they were to brought to the library, unharmed.

With a snort one of the patrolling guards chuckled to himself. "He really needs to get that stick out of his ass, we aren't all powerful force hunters anymore."

The other grinned, "As if anyone could sneak past the two of us, eh? Eh, we are too smart for any would-be intruders, nah I bet they are in the east wing..." He trailed off as he opened the door and saw two intruders, with their weapons out, offering them freely. "Well shite..."

Back in the library Gustav looked curiously at Azazel before making a decision it seems, standing up from his desk and moving to one of the many bookshelves, seeing where he was going the squad leader let out a warning. "Sir, you can't mean to-"

Gustav motioned for the Black Watch to be silent and then turned to Azazel. "I think she can be trusted, lady Azazel, if you could be so kind to follow me?" If Azazel was wondering what he meant he suddenly reached out to one of the books and pulled it back, the sound of several gears of a hidden mechanism made themselves known as they grind into action and a hidden passage opened, lamps turning on at the same time. "The steps might be a bit slippery, oh just you please, your bodyguard can stay here."

Azazel looks curiously at the bookcase and looses a low whistle, “Well, that is certainly interesting, dear Gustav.” As she stands to leave, Kitt reaches a hand out worriedly. Azazel smiles and ruffles her hair, “Be right back, little dove. Worry not, the others will be here soon.” Kitt frowns and nods, looking small as she places her hands in her lap. Azazel nods and follows after Gustav, carefully watching her step as instructed. “Please tell me I will encounter no rancor or Tukata. They are not my favorite creatures, you see.”

Kitt looks at the guards with big eyes and clears her throat, “Anyone know a good game? Maybe?” She offers a sheepish smile and cranes her neck, trying to watch Azazel as she goes.

Bezol sighs and slumps back into her chair as she realizes these guys were going to be a lot of tight-asses. “You all are no fun.” Her commlink chitters to life as Azazel patches a command through to everyone and she looses a frustrated sigh. Of course the woman chickened out. And here she was, ready to go!

And still, Xen and Rei'Ki shuffle uncomfortably on there feet. Xen directs to the computer, “Whatever you used to decrypt your files. Genius. However, you might wish to lock your computer before leaving your post in the future. Understand.”

Gustav looks back, frowning, "No... no rancors and I have no idea waht a Tuk'ata is, but there are some... guard bests down here, but I will inform their handlers to keep them controlled." Soon enough they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were also away enough from the Ysalamiri that Azazel felt her force senses returning. They were now in a entrance hall of sorts, sure enough the doors on the other side opened and three Black Watch burst out, two with blasters, one holding the leashes of two canine beasts who seemed rather agitated, staring intently at Azazel and growling. Gustav quickly raised his hands, "She is with me, I am not coerced and she is no threat."

The one holding the leashes cursed, "The Vornskr seem to differ from that!"

Gustav smiled and glanced at Azazel, "I know what she is, please return to your station and unlock the doors, she is here to see and understand."

The Black watch obeyed and with some degree of cursing and tugging at the leashes they managed to get the Vornskrs back under control allowing Gustav and Azazel to continue, three more doors they passed, as well as various automated defenses and even some bulky and heavily armed security droids. Until finally they reached a door which Gustav had to open with a password and a retinal scan.

As the doors opened Azazel could see what appeared to be a highly advanced medical bay with various medical personel moving about, attending the machines and studying the results. Gustav pointed at a bacta tank on the other side, "The reason for my medical equipment purchases." He said and Azazel saw the bacta tank was occupied, she missed a arm and a leg but the face, while obscured by a breathing mask, was still recognizable. It seemed that the lady Braghda Hejaran was not as dead as Azazel had been informed about.

Azazel recoils back as she realizes who the woman was. She snarls and looks to Gustav, “You will tell me who did this to her now, Gustav! If it was that Jehemath, the filth will suffer and know the fury of the Sith!” As her anger roars, violet sparks begin to lift off her arms and shoulders and she quickly makes to pat them out as she stares at Braghda, bristled and tense.

Several of the medical staff nearby gasped and looked shocked fro mthe newcomer to Gustav who calmly gestured for them to continue working. "It's fine, she was not expecting to see this, attend to the lady Braghda." He turned to Azazel and gestured for her to follow him away from the tank and most of the staff. "I suppose I should explain some other things first after your... revelation of a little more than a year ago, I admit I was a bit... well shocked to say the least and treated you unjustly. After a few months I decided to ask around and found out about the Mecrosa Order, which was present in my precious Tapani sector. Apparently I was deemed a safe risk and was contacted... by my own niece, Zarra, who had been in their employ for quite a while already. I was recruited as a fellow historian, helping them find locations of possible lore or artefacts they might wanted." He smiled and seemed to be filled for a moment with pride and happiness, the way Azazel remembers Gustav was upon her first meeting with him. "All was well, I even met lady Braghda, but now knowing who and what she was and not the disguise she wears in public.

Then a few months ago reports came in of artefacts stolen and sold on black markets all over the galaxy, artefacts the Mecrosa Order had secured a long time ago. Braghda was asked to uncover the thief, she could not find out who it was but was getting too close we suspect now, because she became the target of a assassination attempt, which she barely survived as you can see." He gestured to the bacta tank and now Azazel could see that Braghda had several grievous looking burn marks on her skin that were slowly healing though some would scar her forever.

Gustav meanwhile had gotten a dark look on his face, "Next thing we hear, is that her oafish cousin Jehemath was now in charge and wonder above wonder he had found the thief, a operative, my niece, Zarra was the blame for everything, the theft of the artefacts and the assassination of Braghda. I did not believe and contacted Zarra, informing her of what was going on and she went quickly into hiding, on the run... she actually messaged me a short time back that she had escaped several force users, your people?" He shook his head, "No matter, I went looking for Braghda, she had survived and some of her loyal retainers had brought her to safety, they did not trust me at once but once I proved it I convinced them to let me keep her safe at my estate, I fired most of my servants, gossipers the lot of them, and hired security in the form of these Black Watch who are now mercenaries for hire it seems and now here you are."

Azazel takes it all in, nodding slowly, “You are a good man, Gustav. I am happy to have been right about you since the start.” She grimaces and looks at him, “My apologies if my disciples gave Zarra a scare. She had no intent of killing her and even allowed her to escape, though intended to follow her. For more information.” She looks back over her shoulder at the bacta-tank and her lip curls in disgust. “You ought to have come to me sooner. I would have provided any help I could. Braghda has proven nothing but loyal and pleasant to work with. I will see her restored if I can.” She raises her commlink, scrolling through the information. “As far as medical equipment, I own a clinic upon Alisandor. If Braghda is in need of any enhancements, you can go through them... Tell them the Dark Lady authorized it and whatever the expenses, I will cover.” She licks her lips, pausing a little uncertainly before sighing, “As well, in case... Anything does happen and you need flee... The information to contact my ships always patrolling the Sector and the location of my base of operations. Do not hesitate to call upon them. I will have Xen patch through authorization for yourself. And I would also be willing to put up your niece as well. I have a ship, over in the vicinity of Togoria, if you know it, that would be able to provide a lift to her if she needs it. I imagine it may be less... Risky than her hoping that no one catches up with her. After all, my followers managed it with little trouble. Though she looks as if she is more than able to protect herself against the common bounty hunter.” She offers a strained smile.“It appears I need meet and deal with Jehemath in order to unveil if this goes any further up or ends with him... If he is not... He will be but the first example,” she declares resolutely.

Gustav nodded, "The offer of your clinic's services could be useful, ah and the reason I didn't go to you, or anyone else with or associated with the Order... I did not know who to trust, I don't even know if Jehemath is the culprit behind all this or someone is using him as a puppet, too many variables."

A chill runs through Azazel's spine as she closes her eyes, “There may be now, but I promise you... There will not be for long. I have my methods of learning things, as you have noticed... You have been most helpful, though, thank you. Trust me in the future, though. I do not betray my friends and allies.” She hesitates for a moment, flushing as she looks to Gustav, “To be honest, though... I had one favor to ask of you, Gustav, which began the trail that even brought me here.”

He blinked and looked at Azazel. "Oh?" He chuckled and shook his head, smiling. "So first you wanted to look me up in a year without contact for a favour, then to kill me and then to find out the truth... well I am glad I actually gave a good impression to you on our first meeting." He laughed, a actual happy sounding laugh of genuine amusement.

Azazel crosses her arms, pouting at his laughing before smiling, “Yes, I am glad you did too...” She bites her lip before looking away embarassedly, “I actually... Wished to see if you were in the possession of Mandalorian Crush Gauntlets. I remembered you were a collector, understand... And my bodyguard is an Echani... Skilled as she is... A hand is not very, ah... Effective against a lightsabre... Or blasters... or armour.”

Gustav blinked and looekd to the ceiling. "Crushgaunts... crushgaunts." He scratched his beard and frowned. "When was the last time I shaved... ah sorry, yes. I do not own such a pair, I am a historian and collector yes, but weapons are more a hobby... though I would like to keep that lightsaber, if you truly meant to offer it as a gift." He looks hopeful about that. "I do know about a pair actually, owned by a private collector... though I also heard he uses them from time to time." He got a bit of a disgusted look on his face. "It is owned by some syndicate fellow, criminal 'crime lord' I believe the term is, goes by the name of Kuryi Gabiel Saros, a Echani as well if I am not mistaken. Sadly that is the only known owner of a pair of existing crush gaunts, you might have better luck asking some Mandalorians, but if you want to go after the one belonging to that criminal, I believe he resides somewhere near hutt space i nthe galactic east."

She purses her lips, and muses quietly to herself, “I could always set him on fire, I suppose..” She shakes her head, “Indeed, keep the lightsabre, Gustav. Thank you for that information, but I suppose I might talk to my... riduur, before making any movements against a potential syndicate member. Perhaps being on the fast track as Mandalor, he would provide a better route of recovering a set...”

Azazel and her retinue spend some time, talking with Gustav. Xen continues to try and pry more information from the Black Watch mercenaries, but has little to no success. They finally went to leave and return to the OS-80. However... As the door slips open, Azazel pauses in confusion at the sight of Bezol, missing a few garments of clothing with a pile of armour and credits rested before her. The two guards who had been left with her look up embarrassed, halting in the motion to remove their boxers. Bezol looks up from her hand of cards, a smirk spreading over her lips at the shocked expression of the others. “Mind giving me a few minutes longer? Things were just getting interesting.” Her eyes drift admiringly over the Black Watch men.

Azazel purses her lips and gestures at the armor, “No. You two. Gather your belongings and get off my vessel. Now.”

Bezol sighs and begins to collect up the credit chits, giving a small apologetic look to the men she had literally won the clothes off the backs of. “Next time, boys.”
In the training room, Azazel watches Kitt spar with the noghri bloodhunter. He was being particularly ruthless compared to the normal, so far as to intentionally be lashing out with claws. The Dark Lady had kept the same noghri as before in order to train with Kitt, but she was clearly uncertain about it now. He had kept a grudge in the wake of the last training session. Kitt was more than holding her own now, though. The fluidity with which she was moving was alarming, even. Every step seemed rehearsed and perfectly timed to her and the noghri was only growing more frustrated as his claws continue to strike nothing but air. She leans forward, eyes glittering as her lips spread. The Echani really was showing her heritage.

Kitt catches the smile in the corner of her eyes and hesitates. The noghri spies his chance and goes to lash out. A low tug races through Kitt, somehow knowing what was coming. She raises an arm, blocking the attack before slipping in to his defenses, throwing her fist into his side. A series of popping cracks fill the silence of the room as the noghri's face visibly warps with pain as he falls to his feet. Azazel stands as Kitt readies another strike at her downed opponent. The Echani pauses, looking at Azazel. A quick gesture for her to cease, and Kitt takes a few steps back, eyes fixed upon the noghri.

Azazel kneels down beside him and touches her fingertips to his face, “Are you alright?”

He grunts, a hand on his side, “Broken ribs.”

Azazel nods and raises her commlink, “I need a medic and a stretcher to the training facility. One of the instructors is injured and in need of immediate attention.” She gestures for Kitt to go across the room as she stares down upon the Noghri, “You have done well. Rest, stay put. Someone will be here soon.”

With that she stands and flexes her hands. She had been observing these sparring matches time and time again and she was beginning to see some of the patterns. Azazel smirks and wraps herself in a small layer of protection as Kitt picks at the gear Azazel had instructed her to wear. It was combat armour, that much she could tell... And there was a helmet with it too. Azazel watches as the Echani shifts, more than a bit uncomfortable in the bulkier attire. “So why am I wearing this? No one has been able to land a blow today.”

Azazel just smiles and shakes her head as she strides forward, taking up a stance to oppose her, “You are going to need it.”

Kitt frowns, watching Azazel before a smile spreads across her face, loosing a small laugh, “Oh, this is a joke. You almost had me there!” Azazel's eyes narrow as she throws a punch at Kitt's head. The Echani catches the clumsy arm in lightly gloved hands, confusion apparent on her face. “What are you doing?”

Azazel smiles and shifts in, “Training, of course... You noticed I've failed to change from my armour, yes? And you can see the protection... right?” Kitt's brows furrow as she looks over the armour, clear up to the wrist still clutched in her hand. She blinks, shifting her fingers and noticing the small gap of air. She had Azazel caught and yet she did not have a grip on her bracers!

Azazel's smile spreads as it dawns on Kitt what protection she had. “I don't think I can excel any further in my hand-to-hand training, Azazel.”

“Oh, I know... You, though, are going to train me,” Azazel draws her hand away and strikes out again. Kitt readies to block before ducking away as she notices the building sparks of fire coming off of Azazel's arm before it sweeps off as a wave of fire overhead.

The Echani looks up wide-eyed as she shuffles back, “Well, you have a lot of work yet, Azazel... Watching doesn't make you any better at all this... And we have to start with the basics too.”

Azazel straightens herself out, nodding slowly, “I thought as much, but that is why... For now, at least... You will be my instructor.”

Kitt shuffles uncomfortably before nodding, “Let's work on the basic positions, then... Blocking, footwork... You are far from ready for actual spars yet.”

Azazel snorts and quickly shakes her arm through the air, making the fire that was scorching along her arm go off. “Fine, fine. We will start there. Rei'Ki will tell you I am a fast learner, though.”

Kitt arches a brow, “Rei'Ki instructed you?”

Azazel wavers a hand, “Basic swordplay and concealment techniques... It was a long while ago, though, until I had the basics. Lydavis taught me as well on wielding two weapons at once...”

Kitt sighs, slipping into a beginner's stance, “Copy what I do...” She raises an arm, as if to block, before slowly moving her arm through various other positions. Azazel clumsily mimics. “So why learn hand-to-hand? I've seen you with your weapons. And your fire almost caught me off-guard. You ought to be fine.”

Azazel furrows her brow, awkwardly shifting her weight as she continues to try and follow Kitt. The Echani stops and moves forward, correctly the Sith's positioning. “You were at Gustav's... I was down to just a poisoned bes'bev... If I had used it against Gustav, I doubt I would have been capable of fighting my way out of there. Those lizards are the bane of force talents. All my weapons were out of my possession. If things did not go perfectly, I would have been outmanned, out-skilled and at the end of my rope... So, sure, I may be skilled in some ways... But this... This is something no one could ever take from me.” Her eyes glitter dangerously and Kitt's mouth quirks at the edges, though she tries to keep straight-faced.

“I don't think you ever reach the end of your rope, Azazel. You always seemed to have been one step ahead...” She steps back, surveying Azazel's stance before nodding approvingly before going back and running through the movements for the sith again. “I would hate to see the poor sod who actually makes you feel you're at that point. Theo always told me someone who feels backed into the corner was always far more dangerous...”

Azazel frowns, footing slipping before she quickly corrects, “It is not I that my worry is for...” Her thoughts drift abruptly to Aggros and his mangled body in the wake of the Terentatek, a chill running down her spine. “Bezol was right... I have room to improve in many areas... and I will see that I do. Too many follow me without question, I have no room for weakness.”

Kitt stops, glaring at Azazel, “You are not weak. Don't let that hot head get to you...” Azazel huffs and gestures for Kitt to keep going.
Azazel rests her head in her hands, making sure another holocron was off as she moves it to a portion of the vault she had already gone through and was of little use. Her attempts to uncover more secrets of the sith within the vault was proving useless. She drifts over to the wall, slinking down to sit upon the floor as she sighs. Perhaps meditation would be more fruitful. She closes her eyes to begin, but the door swishes open as Xen walks through, passing over a data-slate. “Totals are in for this month's profits. Decent gross on most, though one of the satellites at Procopia was damaged. Some drunk sleemo wrecked it by accident. The report was filed, witness accounts and details acquired. Repairs entirely took up all profits and then some. However, the other satellite picked up some interesting news. A compatriot of Jehemath the Fifth is at a resort with a negligible retinue of guards. I advise we check it out before making any moves upon Jehemath. The more we can have on the guy, the better I feel we will fair... Especially if we have to pump him for information in the event this incident with Braghda goes above and beyond his station.”

Azazel frowns and nods, taking the slate and looking over the information. It was good they had such funds now. “Very good, Xen. I would like you to take some of the profits and invest in a fence, by the way. Perhaps from the market we had surveillance on that Gustav attended. I would also like information returned, a few spreadsheets of potential profits and losses to be gained from investing in other industries.... Save back an appropriate sum in the case we need buy these... Crush-gaunts... As well, continue to look into a hypermatter reactor... And perhaps additional upgrades. Oh! Yes, and do see if there is any room in the budget to acquire some additional troops. Perhaps inquire of Gustav if he knows where we ourselves can hire some of these Black Watch... Or better yet, even... See if we can acquire Vornskr, Ysalamiri lizards... Or perhaps even some Tukata... I miss that runt, Cabur. He was a brilliant creature...”

Xen's face twists disapprovingly before her nods. “Very well, but much of this will take great time... In the meantime, however... Do see yourself and a small retinue ready to go to the resort. After you rest, of course. It has been a long day from what I understand. Oh, yes... And tomorrow, you will see the medical staff and cooperate in their exam. You have been pushing this off far too long.”

Azazel grimaces and nods slowly, “Very well... I suppose there cannot be much harm in doing so...”

Xen nods, “And much in not.” He crouches down and passes Azazel a cup filled with her favorite beverage, marshmallow melted into a thick frothy layer at the top. Azazel smiles appreciatively and simply relaxes, sipping carefully of her drink.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Andrea
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Andrea

Member Offline since relaunch

The Continued (Mis)Adventures of Hadzuska,
In orbit over Telerath.


Hadzuska stared out of the viewing window of the bridge at the planet below, frowning. "I admit, this is not what I imagined." She murmured, one of the Black Watch with her, his helmet i nthe crook of his arm looked up. "Ma'am?" He asked. She shrugged and gestured to the planet, "When I heard we had to deal with a criminal organization with possible Syndicate contacts I expected it to be on a desert planet, a city world or some planet that had it's eco-system ravaged by greedy Hutts. Yet from what I am informed about this planet... it's basically a vacation planet or it's trying to be? Some even might cautiously call it a paradise world? And yet this is the place a slaver gang operates from... it just makes no sense to me."

Chuckling she turned around and watched the captain. "Make contact with the surface, I wish to speak to a spokesperson of this 'Musori's slaver gang'. What kind of name is that anyway? Is it led by a man named Musori? That might cause problems when he is succeeded." She blinked and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Never mind me, as I said. Contact the surface, let's see if someone wants to speak to us."

It was at the point that Hadzuska started to feel that she was forced to wait on purpose before finally a response came from the planet and a face appeared belonging to a elder looking male Chagrian. "Greetings, I understand you wished to speak to me? I am boss Musori." He said evenly, his eyes studying Hadzuska intently, he frowned initially upon seeing her but his features then turned more neutral.

She showed no irritation, or so she hoped, crossing her hands behind her back and bowed stiffly. "I am Hanna, a pleasure to meet you boss Musori. Perhaps you are wondering why one such as I came to contact you and your organization?"

The Chagrian's face frowned for a moment. "Yes, of course you are and no not really actually, your probably came here for merchandise, you can speak openly you know, both the Republic and the CIS do not care about this world and are not even monitoring it. Now speak plainly as to what you want."

She ignored the remark, "Well if we can speak plainly as you say, I wish to acquire some slaves. Is that plain enough?"

He frowned again, "I might sell you some but you should show some respect." Clearly he didn't like your tone and he let out a snort and smiled. "Especially coming from one such as you."

Hadzuska blinked and then frowned, what was he talking about? "Excuse me, what do you mean by, 'one such as me' exactly? Do you have a problem with dealing with women?"

The response she received after those words was a short laugh and then the Chagrian just smiled for a moment. "Oh no, not at all, just surprising that a Twi'lek would want to purchase slaves, being from a race known for it's willingness to sell your own people into slavery. But forgive me, I admit I was being somewhat dishonourable towards you in this conversation, allow me to make it up to you by extending a invitation to the surface and allowing you a meeting with me so we might discuss business, is this acceptable to you?"

"I suppose it is, I will be touching down momentarily." She gestured to the communications officer to terminate the call, once it was she turned to the captain. "Land on the surface, it seems I have a invitation to attend."

A landing place had been cleared for a ship the size of the customs corvette and Hadzuska's vessel had touched down upon the ground moments later after it had been provided. A waiting party of five Chagrians stood ready at the base of the landing platform.

She had selected two Black Watch to accompany her, along with a pair Zeltron aides, coming down the ramp to study the welcome party.

The five Chagrians were not wearing any armour, mostly in robes of some kind, also curious, none of them were carrying a blaster of any kind, unless those were hidden beneath their clothes, the only weapons they seem to had were vibro-swords and knifes in sheaths at their waist. One of them moved up and offered a stiff bow. "Welcome to Teleraths jewel, Noua, I am Mors Demanna, swordsman loyal to Boss Musori." He looks over you and your guards and then gestures to the guards. "Apologies for my master if he did not explain, here in Noua we do not allow any blasters or explosives of any kind, we have the 'Sword Law' here. Meaning that any differences will be settled with the blade, not the blaster, a much more clean and honourable way of doing things. So I respectfully must ask your guards to leave their blasters and whatever explosives they have, only swords are allowed."

"A curious law but a acceptable one I suppose." She nodded to the two Black Watch to comply, but she kept her hold-out blaster on here, she had it hidden and perhaps it had evaded notice. Her two saber hilts were on her waist, she was not going to hide them, with luck these sods on this backwater world had never heard of a lightsaber's appearance. "You will be escorting us to your boss then?"

Satisfied it seems with the small pile of weapons and explosives deposited on the ground between the two guards he nodded. "So I am, follow me please." The small procession moved through the town, the few locals they saw quickly scurrying inside or averting their eyes. Eventually reaching a walled compound with more Chagrians standing guards, with still no sign of a single blaster.

The guards outside saw Mors Demanna at the head of the procession and opened the large doors that blocked entry to the compound and allowed the group through. There was a path leading to a luxurious mansion while outside to each side of the path it seemed a drill yard was made of some kind with various couple of Chagrians fighting each others with blunt swords.

They were led inside in a modest sitting room, with a low table and cushions on the floor serving as places to sit. Boss Musori was there who bowed his head, just as a pair of Twi'lek slave girls finished pouring drinks. Why they were specifically Twi'lek slave girls was up to the visitor to determine if it was thinly veiled insult or not. The elder Chagiran was just smiling, "Welcome, please. Sit and make yourself comfortable." Mors Demanna moved to stand to the right, behind his boss while the other four guards took up position along the walls.

She her two guards stand behind her while she sat down along with the two Zeltron aides, having them attend to her by picking up one of the drinks and placing it in front of her. "My thanks for your invitation." She said, ignoring the Twi'lek slaves. "You have a interesting law here, no blasters used to settle 'differences' quite unique, if people abide by them."

"Oh they do, it was difficult at first but we... persuaded the populace and some of the other people with business interests in this system, to keep to the Sword Law, it has made things much more peaceful without any impromptu blaster shootouts in the streets. There is also a certain honour about the way of the sword. But you did not come here to discuss such things, I believe you mentioned business, so let us talk about that instead."

She nodded, "That is indeed the case and thank you." She took a deep breath and stared directly at the boss. "I heard you might have a pair of... shall we say, unique twins. Force users from the sound of the rumours and yet you have not turned them in for a bounty, to which I assume they are for sale, in which case, the one I represent very much would like to acquire them."

Boss Musori exchanged a glance with Mors and then looked back to his guest. "You seem to be well informed, so I suppose I can't lie about their existence but I am afraid you came here in vain, I have no intention of selling them." He took a sip of tea, looking over the brim of his cup at his guest to what her reaction would be to that.

She cocked her head, "A slaver who does not want to sell his merchandise? Have they already been bought perhaps? If so perhaps their offer could be matched if not increased by the one who send me."

Musori chuckled and shook his head. "No I am afraid that I just won't sell them." He straightened in the cushions. "I suppose I should clarify a little, my people took them in a raid and they were at first just regular slaves, but then they showed to be capable of interesting miracles. Eventually I and my people figured out these two twin girls must be able to use that fascinating set of powers of the force. So I now intend to keep them and perhaps, with time they will be quite helpful to my operation." He smiled, nodding to himself. "I have a wide selection of other slaves however, who are available for sale."

She blinked and then reared her head back and laughed out loud, calming down after a moment but still sniggering. "Oh, that is just, sorry but that was very amusing to hear. You wish to keep those two and hope that eventually they will become a boon to your operation?" She shook her head and tapped with a finger on the table. "You keep those two and you will only have disaster brought upon you, they are untrained from the sound of it and can't control their powers, what if they grow out of control, or worse what if your rivals or the authorities hear you have such risky individuals under your, ha, 'control'. They would probably descend on you like locusts and either kill you for having them or try to take them away from you. I am here to offer you a lucrative alternative, I would gladly buy them off you and leave, no questions asked and no trouble for either of us."

Musori frowned and then looked rather irritated. "I do not like your tone, your words betray you. You wish to have these force twins, for what, hmm? You, or whoever it is you claim to work for, must want them for your own purposes. No I am rather fond of the idea of having two fabled force sensitives be molded into tools to safeguard my operations."

Hadzuska resisted the urge to growl, this old sot was a stubborn and foolish one, she gritted her teeth and took a calm breath, before drawing upon the force, lacing it through her words. "Ah... but I think. You do want to sell these twins to me." She said, doing her best to concentrate on the mind trick.

Musori hardly blinked and shook his head. "No I don't." He looked at Mors who stood at attention and then turned back to his guest. "I think this meeting is finished, my guards will escort you out." At that the other guards also got to attention.

She sighed, she would normally cut her losses and go... but these were twins, force twins. She knew her mistress would love to get her hands on them to get them as apprentices. She stood up, but motioned for her aides to remain seated. "I see, I am saddened to have come to this, but I really must insist upon having those force twins." She drew upon the force and surrounded herself with a bubble of protection and at the same time extended her hands and summoned chain lightning from her fingertips to strike some of the slaver guards.

Her lightning arched as it was released from her fingertips, striking the four Chagrian guards who did not even have the time to scream as they were fried and charred by the lightning, their bodies slumping to the ground. With a shout Mors drew his blade and charged at Hadzuska. His strike was true but it was blocked by some invisible force and he shouted out in fury, "You have no honor!" Meanwhile Boss Musori was staring wide-eyed and was scrambling away.

With a hiss she drew and ignited her sabers. "Honor is for fools boy." She said with venom. "Guards, get that one, I deal with the swordsman." She smirked, "Tell me boy, do you think your blade can withstand lightsabers?" With a laugh she quickly attacked with both blades, intending to cleave this fool into two while the two Black Watch would go for boss Musori.

Mors was pushed back but successfully parried one of the blades and Hadzuska could see he was smiling. "As a matter of fact my blade can, a gift from a Morgukai swordmaster." His own counter-attack was however a bit sad as Hadzuska just used her instincts, ducking and weaving the sword slashes.

The two black watch had more troubles, they had reached the slaver boss but he was kicking and scream, keeping them from holding him down and with him acting so wild they were unable to stop him when he retrieved a panic button from his clothes and pressed it, a distant alarm was now heard, spreading over the compound.

She growled, a swordmaster with a lightsaber resistant blade in a time where force users were supposed to be a rarity? What were the odds? She did not let that fact stop her as she drew upon the force to protect herself for future strikes again and resumed her attack.

Both Mors and Hadzuska had their blades meet in the air and then kept them locked, both of them pushing to keep the blades together and denying the other to make a second strike unless they wished to open themselves to a counter-attack.

Meanwhile Boss Musori had kicked one of the black watch in the head, stunning him.

She saw what her guards were doing and snarled at them, "Are you kidding me!? He is just a old coward, capture him already while I finish this one off!" With a hiss she let loose a blast of lightning from her fingertips at Mors, maybe that would kill him or at the very least push him back and disorient him.

Mors must have somehow sensed it coming but he quickly jumped back and then out of the way as the blast of lightning came for him. "Finish me off? As if one such as you would have a chance of that." He wrapped both hands around the hilt of his blade and seemed to ready himself for either a attack or to jump away if she used one of those blasts of lightning again.

Perhaps ashamed for their effort so far the guard who had not been stunned delivered a quick jab at the elder Chagrian's temple, stunning him and then proceeded to secure him in a vice grip while his buddy, getting out of the stun moved in to assist keeping the slaver boss under control.

She grinned, "Right this fight is over, surrender or your master dies, understood?"

Mors looked from Hadzuska to his master who was being held and seeing that made the decision for him as he let his sword drop. "You may have won but we have our honor intact. You fought with trickery and deception."

She cocked her head, "Really big on honour? Huh? Too bad." She stepped forward and then quickly made a swing with one of her sabers to decapitate the fool.

Mors was not expecting this and therefore did not dodge, staring wide-eyed as the lightsaber sliced through his neck, the look of shock in his eyes was clearly evident as the head toppled forwards and fell off the headless body. Boss Musori looked on in horror. "Why!? Why did you do that, my man surrendered!"

Hadzuska snorted and turned her back on the decapitated corpse and moved towards the slaver. "He had a odd notion of honour, I think if I had let him life he would have hunted me down." She stood in front of Musori and slowly brought one of her ignited blades to his face. "Now then, ah yes, we had reached the part were you were going to hand those force twins over to me because clearly I have just shown you just how much of a threat a force user such as myself can be to your little operation.

At that point a mighty crash came from the doors as they were smashed open and ten more guards stormed in, swords drawn.

She had almost forgotten about that pesky alarm and she quickly stood to the side but made sure the newcomers would see the blade at their leader's face. "Hold it right there, drop those swords or I will have your precious boss's pathetic life here suffer the same fate as his master swordsman." She gestured with her head to the head of the swordmaster and his body.

The guards looked indecisive, not sure what to do and turned their attention toward their leader. Boss Musori let out a curse, "She is about to kill me you fools, drop your weapons! Obey her!" They were reluctant to do so but seemed to have no other choice as they dropped their weapons.

"Good, good... Now then, my two Zeltron Aides here, will return to my ship and your people will allow them to leave to do so. Meanwhile you will be our guide towards whatever cells or barracks you are holding your merchandise, the slaves and release the force user twins to me. Any disobedience, any sign of your guards trying to save you or attack me or my people and I will make sure to cut you in a thousand pieces." She motioned for the Zeltron aides to come towards her and then instructed them to return to the ship and send a squad of Black Watch back to the compound, who would not leave their blasters behind.

Musori looked both scared and furious and ordered his people to let the aides go. "You will pay for this Twi'lek force user filth..." He uttered before looking at the lightsaber again and recalled what she did to his bodyguard. He became more compliant and then, while being dragged by the Black Watch, guided them to the slave pens contained within the walled compound, apparently they were all located in a rather large building.

The guards at the entrance initially moved as if to block their passage but after a few words of their boss they moved aside. Once inside they could see the slave pens were separated into several 'cell blocks' each of a size that roughly 25 to 30 sentient beings could stand comfortably in one, but the first few pens Hadzuska and her people saw must have been filled to the brim of about 40, maybe even sentient, all packed together almost unable to move. The first two pens were filled with Twi'leks, the next with a combined mix of humans and Nikto. Other pens held more combined mixes of species Hadzuska had not even ever heard the name off.

They reached last pen and saw a force of ten guards stand around it, swords drawn and in guard position, but facing the pen and whatever lay inside, upon the sound of footsteps one of them turned around. "What is going on, we heard the alarm but boss Musori had given us specific orders never to leave this post..." He trailed off when he saw his leader being held by two unknown guards and a twi'lek holding a saber to the boss's throat.

She just smirked and offered a brief salute to the guards, "Boss's orders boys, drop your weapons and head outside while we finish our business or the boss loses his head."

The guards did not move at all and after a moment boss Musori cursed, "Obey her." Only at that outburst they sheathed their swords and moved towards the exit.

Hadzuska growled, "Oy!" She brought her saber closer to the slaver boss. "I said drop those weapons! Now!"

They obeyed again, dropping their weapons with disgruntled sounds and moved away, to the exit of the slave pen compound.

She watched them, making sure they had left, nodding to the guards to keep Meshori secure she moved to the pen, deactivating her saber as she went to look what all the fuss was about and looked inside.

As Hadzuska approached she saw it was just another pen, the door had a viewing slot in it and as she peered through she could see the only difference was compared to the other pens that this one wasn't filled to the brim, in fact, there were only two occupants, both sitting on the ground, facing the door. They were young, perhaps in their late teens. They seemed healthy and well fed, better than the other slaves.

She smiled and knocked on the door. "Hello there, my name is Hadzuska, care to talk to me? I may have a interesting proposal for you two."

As one both young women opened their eyes and looked at the door, standing up synchronized and walked towards the door, they shared one glance at each others faces and then turned to the door, waving their hands and speaking in unison. "You will let us out." They droned together, briefly Hadzuska felt a fluttering across her mind but it didn't stick, clearly these two had tried to mindtrick her but they were untrained.

Blinking Hadzuska looked at the two kids and then laughed, "Oh... oh that is just marvelous, well done, well done. Good try but you two need to learn quite a lot before that works." She smirks. "Now stand back please."

The two of them blinked, they had never gotten this reaction before and warily stepped back.

Still grinning she ignited her blade and started cutting through the door, ready to use the force to push the door inwards.

The Twi'lek sith cut through the door with ease and pushed the section she had cut out without any real effort into the slave pen. The twins inside saw what like a red glowing bar cut through metal as if it was butter and open the door for the, with the door removed as a obstacle it was if they could think clearer and they sensed this woman, this alien was... familiar in a way. "What do you-" One began.

"-want with us?" And the other finished.

"How cute, you even finish each other's sentences." She deactivated her blade once more and stepped inside. "My name, is Darth Hadzuska, I serve a woman of great power and abilities, abilities of the force, abilities which the two of you, have untapped potential that has only recently come to the surface." She smiled at each of the young woman in turn. "Probably due to recent anxiety and circumstances, taken from your home, taken as slaves. Both of you were probably very angry when that happened, didn't you? Wanting to lash out at the slavers who took you... and suddenly you could, but with your mind... am I getting close to the truth or am I just babbling nonsense?"

They looked at each other, blinked and then looked back at the alien woman. The one to the left then slowly nodded, "Yes, we suddenly could do things."

The one in the right frowned. "Move things with our minds, angry at the guards and suddenly our bowl of food would be hurled in their face... we even somehow managed to make one of their swords land in front of us."

"I was nearly stabbed by that but then it just stopped, the blade, inches from my face."

Some commotion came from the direction of the entrance, it seems the Zeltron aides had succesfully returned to the ship as a squad of Hadzuska's Black Watch entered, carrying blasters, tossing the ones her two guards left behind to them. The squad leader went to Hadzuska personally and informed her that a rather large crowd of angry looking Chagrians had gathered outside.

She did not look away from the twins as she replied to the squad leader. "I see, stand guard captain, I will be with you shortly." She concentrated on the twins again. "What you both have some control over, is the force. In short the two of you are force users, much like myself, and I serve a woman who could teach you many things, control your powers and unlock a world of wonder for you both."

Again the twins looked at each other and seemed to share something, again it was the one on the left who spoke up and pointed behind Hadzuska. "That man, that slaver, told us we were force users, told us that is we served him we would become great."

Her sister nodded, "You are telling us much the same, are you just another slaver wearing a different disguise?"

She chuckled and smirked, "If you both can use the force, then I suggest the following, use your senses to tell me if I am lying or not. All I wish is to release you from slavery and bring you before my mistress, so she can take you both on as apprentices and teach you both in the ways of the force."

Both sisters blinked, looking not sure for a moment, Hadzuska felt them reach out, their minds touching hers, probing for any lies... and found none. "You, you are speaking the truth?"

"She is." Again they looked at each other and then both slowly nodded at the same time. "We wish to come with you and meet this woman you serve."

Hadzuska smiled, "Excellent, her name is Andrea... and she is just going to love you both." She smirked and walked out, hoping the twins would follow her and then turned to the guards holding Musori. "So... I have what I came for, now to get out... and funny of me but I think, that if we just walk out of here... we get attacked by a swarm of angry slavers. Though if I am mistaken and they don't, get a grudge from a bunch of slavers who have proven to somehow have 'honor' so you see the situation I am in don't you?"

She did not wait for a answer and turned to the squad captain. "Release the slaves, all of them. Shoot of the locks if you have to."

Boss Musori listened to this and then saw it happening as some of the trollop Twi'lek's people indeed started shooting of locks of doors and letting the slaves, his merchandise, out of their cages. "What are you doing! You got what you wanted now you wish to take my livelihood with you as well!? You will pay for this you Twi'lek bitch!"

She laughed again and smirked stepping towards boss Musori. "Oh far from it, I am not taking your merchandise." She turned around and looked at the slaves gathering, still smirking as she shouted at, getting the attention of the slaves. "Enjoy, you have just earned yourselves a chance of liberty, freedom, all you have to do is take it." She snapped her fingers, pointing at the swords she had made the guards drop before and then had some of her Black Watch gather them and place them in front of the slaves. "All you have to do is pick those weapons up and fight your way out of here."

The slaves started to mutter among themselves, some looking fearful at the entrance and then at the pens, then first one, then another and another stepped forwards to the pile of swords and took a blade, picking it up tentatively. Then someone from the crowd spoke up. "Yeah but we just have ten swords, the slavers have dozens of guards, how are we supposed to beat them with just 10 swords?"

"Yes that is true, you only have ten swords... but you have strength of numbers, that and I, and my guards, all armed with blasters as you can see, will not sit idly, we too want to get out of here. So we will help you in fighting the slavers, and I suggest you get first blood." She snapped her fingers again and her guards forcefully dragged/pushed Musori forwards and then tossed him to the ground in front of the slaves. "If you have never seen him or don't recognize him, that is boss Musori, the slaver leader, he is the one who had you taken from your homes and wanted to sell you into a lifetime of servitude. For those thinking 'why don't use him to get past the guards'? Good idea but these people... if he'd allow us to go then he would probably be dead soon due to the loss of respect... or he would hunt each and every one of us down. So best alternative, kill them all and they won't even be able to capture more slaves, so... are you with me? If so, feel free to do with this slaver scum as you wish." She gestured towards Musori.

Musori laughed, "You think that would work? Give some speech and they will rise up? You are a-" He ended the sentence with a gurgle and shuddered violently as a sword was stabbed through his back by a Nikto slave, with a savage cry two other slaves who had taken up swords charged and also started stabbing Musori, over and over, two minutes passed and then a small crowd of slaves stepped back from what was left of the slaver boss who had been repeatedly stabbed, punched, kicked and clawed at. The Nikto who had stabbed Musori first snorted and spat on the corpse, turning to Hadzuska. "What do you plan to do."

She smirked, "My men are going to open those doors and then we charge out and attack the slavers, kill them all... I can't take you with me on my ship but perhaps these slavers have ships around which you can use to return from where you were taken, that or make your new lives here, from what I saw the local population lived in fear of these slavers." While she was saying this the squad was heading to the doors, the two guards who had been with her from the start remained behind, protecting the force twins. "Are you all ready to fight for your freedom?"

The slaves nodded and voiced their agreement.

"Well then", she turned to the twins and winked. "Stay close to those two, they will keep you safe." She moved to the front of the entrance and then nodded to the guards. "Open the gate... open fire on any slaver." She activated her blades, ignoring whatever reaction the slaves might have to those weapons. "Let's deal with some slavers..."

As the gate opened and Hadzuska and the slaves poured out they could see that probably the entire musori gang was present there, most holding swords but a few had gotten blasters from somewhere. They were surprised at first but they were trained to quell slave uprisings and reacting with deadly force. The slavers with blasters firing into the throng of charging slaves while those with swords formed lines and cut down the first line of slaves who only had their bare hands to defend themselves with, it was just a slaughter. Hadzuska's guards had difficult getting a clear shot with the slaves getting in the way and their shots went wild. Only Hadzuska herself seemed to prove her worth as she lashed out with her swords, cutting down four slavers with ease, noticing that their swords were definitely not made of lightsaber resistant materials.

She hissed through her teeth seeing the slaves being cut down, this was not good, she tapped into her reserves of the force, letting out a burst of chain lightning once more to cut down some of the slavers.

Hadzuska's lightning spread out and hit six of the slavers who screamed out in pain as they were fried alive, dropping to the ground like sacks of potatoes. The Black Watch had more effect this time as some of the slavers with blasters in the back dropped down with holes in their heads.

The mob of slavers and slaves alike however gained no advantage either way, the slavers had their weapons but the slaves had the numbers, thought the former were pushed back a little mainly due to the efforts of Hadzuska and her people.

Laughing now she eagerly rushed forward to cut the slavers down.

She rushed forward, cutting herself off from support as a number of slavers took that opportunity to encircle her and seek a opinion while trying to do their best to stay out of reach of her deadly blades.

More shots came from the Black Watch, downing a small number of slavers.

She grinned savagely and with a shout attacked the slavers surrounding her, let them try and hit her, her blades would cut through their swords and their bodies with ease.

She wasn't fooling herself it seems, eight slavers had her surrounded but she jumped and weaved between them, delivering quick, but lethal strikes to each and everyone of them, cutting off arms, legs and then finishing them off with either strikes to the head or stabbing them through the heart. The remaining slavers however showed no sign of giving up and pushed back, cutting down a few slaves with contempt written on their faces.

Again she blasted out with lightning from her fingertips, trying to hit as many slavers as she could while her black watch continued what they did.

The slavers seemed to rally and with cries of vengeance they cut down a score of slaves and seemed about to gain the upper hand, even with the Black Watch sniping some of the leading slavers. But that is when Hadzuska unleashed her torrents of lightning those hopes of the slavers shattered, she must have been tapping into her rage because the lightning that sprang forth just formed a enormous chain, taking more and more slavers, with 14 of them zapped and smoking as they fell to the ground.

But even facing this kind of power the slavers would not relent and continued to fight.

So the slavers were all eager to die, good to know, she would be delighted to give them the opportunity. "Forwards! They show no mercy so let's not give any in return!" She was tempted to do more lightning but perhaps it was best to just play with her sabers now as she moved back into the melee to cut through the slaver scum.

For a moment the sides seemed evenly matched but then it was simply over, with Hadzuska's saberplay, the Black Watch finishing off the slavers with blasters and the slaves finding their courage and just swarmed over the remaining slavers, killing them with their own weapons or simply just using weight of numbers to crush them under their feet.

When the dust settled, several groups of slaves, slowly beginning to realize they were free started to cry in joy, hug and congratulate their fellow freed slaves or started to mourn over their friends who had died now. The majority however, still feeling anger stormed into the mansion and from the sound of things started ransacking and destroying the place.

Hadzuska watched them go and smirked, she could probably get in and see if she could get her hands on whatever credits or other valuables the late boss Musori had in a vault but she had managed to obtain two apprentices for her mistress and that would do, besides. These former slaves could use whatever they could get their hands on. Motioning for her people to come forward, the two twins protectively surroudned by Black Watch they set out for the landing pad with the Corvette.

On their way she tapped her communicator to contact the captain. "This is Hadzuska, returning to the corvette, prepare to leave this planet and plan a course... we are going home to the Academy..."

_________________
Surface of Daalang,
Landing platform on the outskirts of a Hutt Palace....
_________________

Trizz was humming a tune at the bottom of the cargo ramp, only Andrea had been allowed inside the Hutt palace and short after she had entered the noises had come, music, laughter, all the sounds associated with a rather raucous party going on inside. It had been almost 13 hours now and some of the others had been muttering about perhaps charging inside and see if their mistress was in trouble. Trizz had just shrugged and ignored the discussion, checking on lady Talon, making sure her vitals were in order and now had gone out for some fresh air. She was pondering why they had come here, all Andrea had told them that she had received a invitation to come here and attend a Hutt event as a honoured guest or something.

She was just about to lit up a stick of tabacco when she saw a figure approaching, she slowly reached for her blaster but then paused, widenign her eyes for a moment as she recognized the figure as that of her mistress. She dropped the cigarette and crushed it beneath her boot and quickly hurried towards her employer. As she got closer she could notice some oddities, the.... revealing dress her mistress had worn was shredded and torn, barely covering any of her body. There were also signs of dried up... residues.... on her skin. "Mistress, are you-"

Andrea growled and let lightning dance between her fingertips. "We shall never speak of this... go inside, get everyone out of the way to my quarters and inform my aides to tap into our water supply and draw me a bath... and to have them get out all my perfumes... smells... soap... just everything that get me smell anything other than what I have endured inside." She shuddered with revulsion at what she had done inside that palace and to what... but it had been worth it. A million credits... she just hoped nobody would ever hear of this, least of all her fellow sith... if this Hutt slime... or any of those guests inside told anyone about this night... She would hunt each and every one of them down and kill them with her bare hands.

After a moment of waiting Trizz returned and she could get in, letting out a sigh of relief when she encountered no one , when she saw her aides standing ready at the bath she dropped the shreds of clothing she had remaining. "Trizz... incinerate those clothes. And set a course for the rendezvous point with my flagship." With that said she was goign to next day or so in a constant state of bathing and makign sure any trace of this night was gone...

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Selvi
Raw

Selvi

Member Offline since relaunch

Kwenn System,
Nova Retreat.


Neia Kahleesi was now fully realizing what it meant to be in control of a small business empire, she looked at the reports of incomes and wages for the various facilities she had, but right now she was looking sadly at a report about her public transport surfaces on the moon. Apparently a little girl had fallen on the tracks, she had survived but needed extensive surgeries to ever walk again. She of course paid the hospital bills required to do so and asked for engineers to review the safety measures and rules for the public transport network to prevent such tragedies of happening again.

"I feel like a bureaucrat now." She muttered to herself as she pinched the bridge of her nose with a soft sigh. She looked up as the door to her office opened and in came Jantor. "Is there a problem? Please tell me there is a problem I need a excuse to get away from these reports monthly production schedules and whatever these financial entries are called."

The Kel Dor let out a chuckle, "No can do Neia, my apologies, just came to report that the Defiler is due to arrive tomorrow."

She frowned and then remembered. "Ah, thank you. I will be glad when that container with its volatile contents is out of my hands. Is the vault still secure?" Jantor nodded and she let out a sigh of relief. "Keep your security measures in place please, I won't be able to rest easy until we hand what we have to the Defiler. Then things can get back to normal."

Jantor snorts, "As if things were ever normal to begin with." Chuckling he walked out, leaving Neia to the nightmares of administration.
Elsewhere on the Nova Retreat...
_________________________________

At several points of entrance to the station for the public, mostly these were used by visitors coming for either the casinos, the cantina or its repair facilities, but now a undisclosed number of groups infiltrated the station for their own nefarious purposes. They had been send here by their employer who had gone to great lengths to recover data from his destroyed security droids but had managed to obtain enough images of one Neia Kahleesi and find out about her whereabouts.

Now they were here and they had come with a specific task, but first they had to go through security and all were tense for a moment but relaxed as they were allowed through, the concealed weaponry and tools of their trade were not discovered.

They noticed a quite visible presence of security however, the groups had made contact with each other in the casino floor and now a plan of approach had been made. Some of the groups moved to exits that would lead them deeper inside the station but waited since security was present. But that is what one of the other groups was for.

They moved to some of the casino tables and started playing and then suddenly one slammed his fist down on the card table and pointed accusingly at the dealer. "This game is rigged! A bunch of cheating sleemos work this casino I want my credits back!" At that points the others of his group at the same table also began with accusations in the hopes of creating enough of a diversion and chaos for the other groups to get to work.

At first it seemed to work, they group acting the angry gamblers who believed they were cheated drew all eyes on them and Neia's security at the casino was moving towards the table to see what the commotion was all about since other people were also starting to interfere. The exits the other infiltrator groups were heading to were being vacated by security.

Seeing their opportunity they started heading for the exits, eager to get deeper inside the station, but then the great advantage, stealth, was spoiled by a Twi'lek courtesan who had been moving away but suddenly turned around and saw a group of people trying to head into a section that was off-limits to visitors and called out to them.

The reaction of the group detected was fast however, one of them suddenly pulling otu a holdout blaster from the folds of his clothes and snapped off a shot at the courtesan before she even realized what was going on. But she somehow was able to bring up her energy shield to deflect the blast just in time and shout out a alarm that there was trouble.

Neia looked in alarm down through the ceiling of her office overlooking the casino floor, something was going on and she was just about to ask a report when a voice came through over the com, Jantor's, "Neia! I have a Courtesan reporting a person or group with concealed weaponry, I'm putting the station on alert." Before she could reply the alarm was heard and a pre-recorded message started playing, informing all guests to remain calm and for their own safety sit or lie down on the ground while station security would apprehend any troublemakers running amok on the station.

The courtesan, and any others of the security facing any of the hostile intruders would attempt to neutralize them with weapons on stun or melee combat.

Station security was alerted but the infiltrators were still acting faster, though with not as much success, security was already gathered some at the casinofloor area were some had started a disturbance and as they drew weapons, Neia's forces did not hesitate and gunned 4 of the 5 individuals down on the casino floor. The fifth letting out a curse and reaching for a backpack.

The courtesan received assistance from other security forces and in the shootout that followed all five infiltrators were gunned down, as it happens by that same courtesan who casually looked at the approaching reinforcements with a look that said 'what took you so long?'

Security also spotted two other suspicious groups and more weapons fire was exchanged one group of Zabrak soldiers were pinned down, blastershots delivering glancing blows to their armour as the infiltrators made sure that they kept their heads down. Two of them firing while three others made to move to the exit to try and salvage something of this sudden turn of events.

The last group was forced to stay down but as they were not able to move they also did not allow security forces to get any closer either.

For supposedly elite trained commando forces these infiltrators were just bumbling about, the sole remaining infiltrator in the middle of the casino floor, took out a device from his backpack. "Now nobody move, or I will detonate thi-" He began but security decided to not give him a chance to continue speaking or detonate anything as he was hit by twelve stun blasts and sagged to the ground.

The other group of infiltrators did not far much better, the ones trying to provide cover fire suddenly realized their ammo packs had not been replaced and were now dry, without them providing cover fire, they and the three trying to slip away were gunned down without mercy.

That left only one group and they were still exchanging fire with local security forces.

At that point, Jantor had arrived on the scene, as well as reinforcements from other points, including the Twi'lek courtesan who had been quite effective earlier.

Seeing they were pinned with a curse one of the infiltrators started rummaging in his own backpack. This whole mission had gone completely fubar and now there was only one option left as he drew out the demolition charge and started priming it.

Jantor looked over the scene, saw that most of it was well in hand and hurried to the last scene were fighting was reported, deciding to take command of the security personal to take down the last of the enemy who had invaded the station.

The infiltrator who was trying to prime a explosive was shot, knocked out cold, the others managed to take down some of the Zabraks that were shooting at them and kill seven. One looked and saw what their team leader had been trying to do and turned to the others. "Mission has gone bust, do as much damage as you can." And reached for the explosives.

Jantor saw what was happening and frowned. "Time to end this, take them out, quickly, blasters and stun grenades if you have them!" He shouted.

They were flushed out of cover when grenades were thrown and without much trouble gunned by Neia's people. And with that, save for the whimpering and shouts of what was going on from the innocent bystanders the situation seemed contained, for the moment.

"I want a full sweep of the station, everyone check in, search these intruders, I want all their personal affects removed and made sure that nothing poses a threat to the station. As for the intruders, have them bound and prepared for transfer to the surface." There were no detention blocks on the Nova Retreat, perhaps that had to change. But there were some on the surface outpost at least.

A moment later Neia approached Jantor looking at the scorch marks of blaster fire and the bodies being dragged away.

"What has happened?" She asked, looking towards Jantor.

The Kel Dor frowned and turned to her. "I have no idea, but I suggest all visitors are to be send away, for their own safety. And that we stay on alert for the time being, at least until we have a chance to question these intruders."

"Agreed." She said, nodding. "Get to the bottom of this Jantor.

"Oh I will." He said, "I promise." With a salute to Neia he followed after the people who were carrying the prisoners on stretchers to the hangars to be taken to the surface.

Thirty minutes later Jantor was on the surface with his prisoners who had awakened and initial questioning had begun. But the prisoners proved to be most stubborn and were not interested in saying anything.

They wouldn't talk it seems, that was unfortunate but Jantor was determined, he questioned them at length, he wanted to know who they were, who send them and what they were send to do at the Nova Retreat.

It took another thirty minutes and one of the infiltrators surprisingly broke under the strain and told Jantor everything, he and the others were send by a black market dealer named Hanris Vaas. Their objectives had been to infiltrate the space station and create chaos, keeping the security on the station and around it off-guard and centered on a threat on the station, so that when the strike cruisers arrived the defenses in the system were not where they were supposed to so they could strike fast and hard.

Reluctantly he also parted with the knowledge that the cruisers were to arrive in about a hour.

Jantor wasted no time heading to a communications terminal to make contact with Neia and informed her of everything. "I think that black market dealer you stole from want his property back. And apparently we have a little less than a hour before his ships arrive."

She took it all in, "What do you suggest?"

Jantor snorted, "Launch all squadrons, gunships, everything we got. Have all ships get into a protective formation around our installations and inform the republic forces that are to secure the shipyard that we might have hostiles arriving and are requesting their assistance."

"It will be done, I let Kiyla and Deliah know and have them ready their ships and get the patrols in." She finished her call with Jantor and did instruct her captains to prepare for a imminent attack while also ordering all squadrons to be launched. She then took a deep breath and contacted the republic forces near her shipyard. "Commander Shayne, I am sorry to disturb you, but as you may have already heard or informed by some of my people, we had some commandos try and sneak aboard my station with some very high-grade explosives. Now we have learned that a fleet might arrive to attack my station and assets as well, I would humbly ask your assistance in this matter."

Commander Shayne appeared thoughtful for a moment, "Yes I heard, I also heard your people took care of them quite thoroughly. But if you require Republic assistance then my ships will be ready to assist, though I must say my chief concern are the ships being constructed in your shipyard."

"I understand commander, I actually hope that when these hostiles arrive and see a small fleet is waiting for them ready and prepared for battle they will back off. Or at least I hope they will."

Tee commander considers this for a moment. "Perhaps, but we shall see. Things hardly go the way one things or hopes it will go." With that she once again assured Neia that her ships would assist her and that she would get combat ready, this would already be good enough as a combat drill exercise for her people.

With a advance warning of what was to come Neia and her people prepared of what was to come, fighter squadrons were launched and her patrol and capital ships were ready for battle. The hour passed and sensors detected three contacts at the edge of the system, heading directly towards the Nova Retreat.

As tiem passed the sensor readings became more clear and the three vessels appeared to be three Munificent-class star frigates were fast approaching but it seemed as their sensors detected the activity of Neia's vessels facing them and a lot of squadrons launched and ready, not to mention a small force of Republic vessels they stopped just beyond the edge of optimum firing range.

And then they... just sat there.

Neia blinked as she got the report, she was in a conference call with her captains and commanders. "So they are just sitting there?"

Kiyla chuckled and nodded. "I think they are scared shitless, they probably expected to find us all scattered and not ready for them like we are. What do you want us to do?"

She thought for a moment and then made a decision. "Contact them, tell them that Neia Kahleesi, wishes to speak to Hanris Vaas or whoever his representative is on those ships." With that said she took a deep breath and waited.

A few moments passed after the message was send and then the hail was accepted and Neia came face to face with a holographic image of a human male in his fifties who looked very unhappy. "You stole from me, I want it back, now. Or I will take it by force."

Neia blinked and then frowned, "Do we know which ship he is broadcasting from?" She received a nod. "Good." She looked at Hanris Vaas and spoke, but not to him. "Kiyla, open fire with your ion cannon at one of his escorts. The big ion cannon."

The Twi'lek captain grinned and nodded. "Sure thing boss, boys. Fire the big gun! Remember to aim first ya dolts!"

Within moment the ship-based planetary ion cannon fired, it was not a true hit but it glanced one of the escorting Munificents and power fluctuations and outright power loss were quickly being reported all over the vessel. Hanris Vaas cursed and turned to Neia, "E chu ta! You are a filthy Emwhulb! I will have your hide for this!"

Neia took a deep breath and stood as tall as she could, staring the black market dealer down. "No you will not. This is what you are going to do, you are going to turn around and leave, go and find a hole to crawl under because you will not have to worry a thing about me. You will have to worry about the Syndicate since your protection is gone. Get out and you might survive, stay and you will die. You have seen one of my big guns, my ships are ready, my squadrons are launched, your commandos failed to destroy anything on my station and the Republic will even protect me. So tell me, do you really want to lose your life over this?"

Hanris growled and he looked quite enraged but let out a tired sigh. "Fine, you win, you Nautolan bitch. I will not forget this... I know where you life... and I know what you hide." With that ominous message he cut the link and a few moments later, once power was restored to the Munificent that had been barely hit by the planetary ion cannon, the three cruisers turned around and headed back to the hyperspace lane they had arrived from to jump away.

Neia let out the breath she was holding and shuddered, "Well... that could have both gone better... or worse. Kiyla, Deliah, send my thanks to Commander Shayne and inform her the situation has been handled and that I thank her for her support." She then turned to Jantor. "As for our guests on the moon... they can have enough credits to get a transport out of the system, we will keep their other belongings but otherwise they are free to go."

"Not sure I agree with that, they wanted to blow up the station, with people on it, they even killed some of our people." Jantor replied slowly.

Neia bit her lip, sighing. She was glad the two jedi were not in this call, Mirelle and Gaarwarr were elsewhere, protecting crucial airlocks against potential boarders. She turned to Jantor, "Understood... execute them, for murder and attempted murder of countless individuals." Jantor just nodded slowly and closed the link. She looked at the others still on the call, some looked shocked but Kiyla, Kalira and Maia looked like they agreed and nodded. "Resume patrols, all squadrons can dock again. We will welcome visitors as well, assuming the cleaning crews are done with the damages done to the casino floor. Oh and once you are all off duty... drinks are on me." This was welcomed with a small cheer and one by one the holograms of her command crew vanished.

Her twin sister Maia was last to go. "You did good sis, it was a hard decision to make but it had to be done." And with that her image flickered and died too, leaving Neia with her own thoughts, her own demons.
The next day...
_________________________________

She took a sip from her drink and sighed, stretching her arms while turning to look at some of her circle, at the far end Gaarwarr and Mirelle were seated talking to each other. Both of them had voiced their disagreement with how Neia had handled the prisoners and were taking a distance to her. Jantor however said to give them time, they would see the wisdom in the decision. She shrugged to herself and finished downing her drink.

"Another please." She signed to the Zeltron bartender.

"Heyyy!" Chuckling and laughing Maaike, Deliah and Maia approached her. "Why the sour face?" He sister asked.

She shrugged, "Just thinking, this... 'acquisition' might be more problematic than I thought, if Hanris Vaas decides to try again and get it back... well I don't know what'll happen."

Deliah grinned, "Not to worry boss, patrols are still in place, squadrons are out there, Jantor and Kalira have stepped up security around the station, nothing to worry about."

Neia smiled softly, "Perhaps, still I would prefer to rest my mind at ease when that defiler has finally arrived to take it off me."

Two drinks later she was about to call it a day when someone came running towards her, groaning for a moment she took a deep breath and took the effort to smile. "Yes, what is the problem?" This time. She added in her thoughts.

The station officer handed her a communicator, frowning she put it on and activated it at once Jantor's voice came over. "What have I told you about wearing your communicator at all times?"

She groaned. "That it was non-negotiable... I just wanted to relax for a little Jantor, what's going on."

"There's a man wanting to see you, according to the security team who came across him, between the common visitor areas and the private areas, he says he is here to deliver Tyber's regards in person to you. Apparently when asked to remove his helmet he threatened the security team that they would only be able to try that once and he would be out of here."

She had sobered up a little hearing this, "I see, escort him to my office and let him in, I'll be right there... get some coffee to my office too." She hurriedly said and started fast-walking to her offices.

The sight that greeted neia when she arrived at her office was likely much as she expected. The red armoured man was flanked by two of the courtesan security and looking decidedly out of place. He was apparently unarmed and had been since he had first approached the station security though he carried something of a menacing aura that likely had alot to do with the armour he wore.

She looked at the figure and then walked past him to her desk and grabbed the steaming cup of coffee and took a sip, wincing at the scalding hotness but it helped clear her head more. She turned back to the figure and crossed her arms, sitting on her desk. "I am Neia, Neia Kahleesi... how is Tyber doing? Still suffering from that cold?"

"I'm afraid I do not know of young Tyber's condition, Kahleesi. However, Tyber sends his regards." He was silent for a moment before looking from side to side at the two twi'leks. "If we might speak in private?"

She eyed the visitor for a moment and nodded, "You can go, thank you, report back to Jantor or squad commander." With a nod both courtesans left and she stood up and sat down on her chair, gesturing to the fre one on the other side of the desk. "Can I offer you refreshments...? Or do you, as you stated to my security team, prefer to keep your helmet on?"

The man waved away the offer of a seat, preferring to stand instead. He then took a small electronic transmitter from under the gauntlet on his left arm and pressed one of only two buttons on the device. The camera's in the room were immediately flooded with static and the door locked, the control systems for both randomly changing as they were scrambled by the transmitter. "I suggest you advise your security, who are no doubt panicking right now that you are perfectly safe and that this is simply a privacy measure." He then said calmly as he began removing his helmet. The face revealed was that of a human in their mid forties though he wore his age well and his eyes above all were sharp and clear, indicating age had robbed the man of little so far.

She blinked and frowned, getting flashbacks to Mr Aurek's visit to her station and quickly activated her communicator. "Jantor, this is Neia, apparently my cameras have a problem, but I assure you I am completely safe, my visitor however shares traits with a republic friend of ours."

She heard a grunt from the other side of the line and then Jantor spoke to her. "I see, understood."

"They are assured for the moment, now then. Let's talk business?"

"Business indeed," The defiler said, his voice surprisingly strong and clear even without the helmets modulator. "You have the information secure still? I heard talk of an ... incident before my arrival."

"The vault with the information was never breached and the incident you refer to was handled without any significant trouble or loss of materiel on my end. Hanris Vaas, the black market dealer, apparently wanted his property back but my security managed to get on the case when they made a mistake or two that pointed them out as threats. Then later when he arrived himself with three vessels he found my small fleet ready and waiting. He backed off after a warning shot." She couldn't help but smile a little.

"You did not pursue the dealer?" The Defiler asked with a raised eyebrow?

She nodded, "I did not. Mainly because I feared the loss of material and people under my command, he came with 3 munificent cruisers. Second I feared he might not wanted to be taken alive or die otherwise in a battle that might have followed if I pursued, and then this material, would be worthless for the most part. I believed, if he was blackmailing Syndicate people, that the Syndicate would like him to be alive to now control him since his edge is gone."

"I imagine without his 'edge' as you put it, Vaas will soon find himself the target of many in the Syndicate, perhaps I will pay him a visit myself. after i take the information to Antone." The defiler said almost absently. The 'absentness did not last long however as he then refocused his attention on Neia. "What did you have in mind as payment?"

She blinked and frowned. "What did I have in mind? Well credits are always welcome, I have some big plans as it happens and they need funding, or are you allowed to give me a alternative?"

"I have a certain level of discretion available to me." He replied.

She blinked and pondered for a moment. "Well, as I said, I have big plans, I wish to build a large shipyard in this system since there is not one present already, my current small shipyard is already earning me profits. It is a costly affair but if you could, somehow, assist me in convincing the companies that I would need to contract to build me one to give me a discount, I would be happy with that. The base cost is I believe is 8 million, but I was already considering having a extra slipyard to be build at the same time and such, so any discount would be helpful really."

"The Consortium has rackets with a few construction companies, it is possible some pressure or incentive could be applied. The quality or timely construction of the work could be effected by such methods of course." The Defiler replied after a few moments of silent thought. "A simple credit payment might see more benefits to you."

She frowned in distaste upon hearing that and shook her head after a moment. "Yes, I think that might be best if I get credits instead. Well then, shall we head to the vault first so you can inspect the goods?"

The defiler simple nodded before he replaced his helmet and took up the transmitter again, pressing the second button this time and deactivating the device. The camera's and door remain scrambled for a few brief moments more before their original control systems reasserted themselves.

Jantor came on the comms at once. "Cameras are back, are you alright Neia?"

She smiled at his concern and turned to one of the cameras giving it a nod. "I am fine. We are heading to the vault so my guest can look upon the... well merchandise we have gained." He confirmed and then the call was once again ended. "If you would follow me please?" She asked and left the office, seeing two concerned and wary faces of the courtesans stationed outside but she just nodded and told them it was fine.

A few moments later she and her guest had arrived at the vault and asking for a moment of privacy unlocked it for him and retrieved the cargo canister, carrying it outside and placed it on the ground. "It's all in here."

The defiler knelt down and took out a small hand held scanner which he proceeded to pass over the canister for several moments. the scanner started blinking green and chimed once. "Still unopened I see." he said before standing again. "Antone has had a chance to do some research into the kind of information likely to be contained within since you spoke with Fen, I am authorized to wire you two and three quarter million credits." he said addressing Neia directly.

She nodded, "That will suffice, as well as my reputation in good standing with the Syndicate of course." She said, offering a smile.

"You are in good standing with the Consortium, I cannot speak for the other major powers in the Syndicate." The Defiler replied tersely while he pulled a dataslate from his waist and authorized the credit transfer. "That in mind however, and considering your earlier request, I do have some information about a recent find in an asteroid field near the Sarka system. The field is rumoured to be rich in untapped minerals and some of the more outlandish tales tell of Nova rubies being found there as well. there is unfortunately a small pirate presence in the field that prevents most other from investigating the claims further. These pirates are not affiliated with the Syndicate." He said as he picked up the canister. "You need funds for your next venture, perhapse you might find what you need there. After all you chased off three munificents."

"I see." She said, getting out a pad and noted that information down. "That could be useful, thanks." The pirates she would worry about later, the munificents she only chased off with a combination of bluffing and being prepared for them, but the defiler did not need to know that, assuming he already wasn't aware. "That concludes our business I guess, give my regards to Antone Zann, or to Urai Fenn I suppose depending on who you report to."

"I shall pass it along, with the information here." He said being deliberately vague. "Perhaps we will meet again Kahleesi, though i would not count on it if I were you. Of course stranger things have happened." he added with a slight bow before he turned and started heading back to the docking bay his ship had landed in.

She watched him go and spoke into her comm. "Our guest is leaving Jantor, he is free to go of course... if it hasn't already happened somehow, erase all information of his arrival and departure, there shall be no trace of him in any databank." With that she shook her head and smiles and let out a sigh of relief. "At least that cargo is gone... wonder what the next adventures brings... probably pirates from the sound of it..."
Summary:
Dealt with the after-effects of Neia's theft of a black market dealer's warehouse
Traded in the canister filled with blackmail information on Syndicate people for 275 SP and information about a potential rich asteroid field near the Sarka system but with a pirate presence.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Tempest
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Tempest Feminazi

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Siths and Shenanigans at the Mountain Resort

Azazel & Co. at Pavia in the Tepani Sector
Azazel snarls as Hakkri lazily places another pin her hair, jabbing her skull yet again in his carelessness. “Are you quite done yet?” Hakkri shrugs and shifts his shoulder to shift the strap of his attire back up before readjusting his frock. “Well hurry up, this grows tiring.”

Hakkri sighs, stepping back as he rubs his eyes before turning to touch up the light make-up he had applied to make his features more striking. “It is the best I can do in your rush, Azzie. Why you always want to dress up and play noble is beyond me.”

Azazel wrinkles her nose, “Enough, I remember a time you enjoyed all this 'dress-up.'” She rests back in her seat, as she scans over Rei'Ki, Xen and Kitt. The former two were dressed as retainers, as was Bezol. The standard bland up-scale appearance of those in service to nobles. Xen seemed resigned to it while the women were frustratedly shifting their attire, used to far more comfortable and spacious clothing. Kitt and Hakkri were dressed as if just below her station. Personal play things plenty of nobles appeared to keep with them. Kitt adjust the waist of her dress as she looks at Azazel with wide-eyes. “What?” Azazel snaps, tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. The rest of her head was piled high and in intricate wraps and braids.

“Don't think I've seen you like this before...” she mumbles, looking away.

Azazel raises a hand to brush the corner of her eye before stopping, reluctant to ruin her make-up. “Those of Tapani Sector seem reluctant to interact with those who do not dress the part they deem suitable. If a few of you had not noticed from Jehemath's reactions to you,” she narrows her eyes, focusing upon Xen and Rei'Ki with that comment.

Bezol huffs, “What's it matter how we dress? If we level a blaster at their head, don't matter what we're wearin', they're still gonna mess themselves... Don't matter what designer they've got on then either, they still reek.”

Azazel purses her lips, adjusting the bulk of her dress and trying to ease the access to her sabres. “Its about appearances, Bezol... And not everything need be solved so barbaricly.”

Bezol arches a brow, looking back briefly. “Ya, sure. But its way simpler and much quicker. I say we blast this resort and the noble with it.”

Azazel pinches the bridge of her nose, “No, Bezol. And I ask you refrain from loosing your tongue while we are busy here. If I am to have time enough to not only question this... fellow... and acquire all I need... Then bashing the door in with thick skulls and laying siege to the place is not the way to go.” She checks her datapad before resting it down on the bench beside her. “If things go smoothly, we may gain more than we set out to do... Given where we are, an acquisition of new resources may very well be possible. Perhaps it may mean some of those... upgrades, you had talked of.”

Bezol raises her brows, “Really now...”

Azazel nods, “Indeed. Nobles are odd things, even to my understanding. After all, last I attended some place to congested with bluebloods, I met a man who offered quite a lucrative deal to me.”

Bezol furrows her brow before nodding, “Approaching Pavia and the resort. Establishing communications for clearance to land.”

Azazel nods, “Very well.”

After a moment of waiting a hologram appeared of a woman dressed in noble's clothes but of a variety that made it appear that she was a elderly matriarch. She inclined her head with a smile. "Hello, I am the lady Malisse, owner of this spa, you wished to make a appointment and enjoy the services my spa has to offer?"

Azazel inclines her head with a outwardly friendly smile, “Indeed I do, Lady Malisse. Today, if you would. I am afraid I am quite busy and have little time to come back another day.”

She blinked, "Today? How unusual, I, well I don't know if I have any room left on such short notice." She looked at something off-screen. "I do have a suite available nine weeks from now. Would that be acceptable?"

Her smile falters and a look of mild irritation settles in its wake. “No, it will not be acceptable.” She leans in, steepling her fingers. “I do not care how you make room, kick out some lesser fool if you must, I will not be turned away today.”

She looked shocked at the outburst. "I beg your pardon!?"

Azazel stood up to address the hologram of the spa owner. “You have heard me, Lady Malisse. As I have said, I am a busy woman. I have far too much to attend to. So, you can grant me one day.” She waves a hand, “I do not seek to even spend the night. Grant me one day of your spa's accommodations.” Azazel pauses before relaxing back, “Of course, is that too much for you to handle...” she waves a hand lazily, “Well, I hope the hearsay of your other clientele is enough to salvage the reputation of your resort. You do know how word travels.. Something in fashion one day, forsaken the next.”

She looked bristled but still proud as the Lady Malisse turned up her nose at Azazel. "Very well, one day, not spending the night and then you and your rude behavior can begone from my spa! Due to this... insult and frankly irregular behavior I must insist that you pay a deposit of 60'000 credits with an additional 20'000 for 80'000 credits total for the mess you will have caused for my administration!"

Azazel barks out a laugh, “Quite the proud woman, admirable. I hardly see how the troubles of your administration are any concerns of mine, but very well.” The woman was liable to need every credit by the time she was done with the place.

The noblewoman looked aghast. "You entrance code will be provided shortly... enjoy your stay." She said those last words with venom and glared at Azazel. "Common tralk who thinks she is a noble, I will be glad to have you thrown out back into the gutters before this day is over if you tarry." She let out a miffed sound and closed the call.

Shortly after that details of a code to gain entrance to the spa was provided, it also appeared she only had a pass for herself... and two others.

Azazel looks at the passes before sniffing, “Ah, how rude. And to think I was going to be generous.” She slips the datapad into her belt and directs to Kitt and Hakkri, “You two with me. Do be ready for when I start the party. Rei'Ki, Xen make your own ways in... And Xen, do see to it my funds are reimbursed, and then some. To accommodate for the horrible incident that happened to ruin my spa day.”

Xen furrows his brow, taking in the details as Bezol is directed to a landing field. “Rail-carts. We're not going to be able to tail behind. Rei, stealth mode. We'll figure things out as we go.” Azazel nods approvingly as they both slip into their concealment. With a soft shudder, Bezol lands the vessel before disengaging the systems and kicking her feet up, “Ah, another relaxing day back on the ship. I can get used to this.”

Azazel rolls her eyes as the doors slip open. “Do not. I assure you, you will earn your paygrade before too long.” Bezol snorts and pulls out a magazine with illustrations of various new ship models. The Sith shakes her head and departs, heading to the gravlift station. She could hear the faint rustles as Xen and Rei'Ki attempt to get in a position to board.

After only a brief moment of waiting a railcar approached with great speed and then slowed down quite rapidly. The doors opening right in front Azazel and within a female figure dressed as a high ranking servant bowed. "Greetings and welcome, I am Janii, your personal guide and welcomer. If you would be so kind to hand your passes to me?" As she finished her bow and straightened herself Azazel could see she was no mere human, half of her face was obscured by mechanical parts, a red eye glowed and seemed to study her and her party intently. She was a cyborg, enhanced beyond human capabilities as she extended a hand, which also was fitted with cybernetics.

Azazel takes her hand, inspecting it curiously, “Ah, what model, might I ask?” She carefully inspects it, narrowing her eyes as she shifts, looking at the parts. “My apologies, call me an eccentric if you will,” she offers an embarrassed smile before drawing out her datapad, passing it over so the woman might inspect the passes. “The name is Azazel Kurkova, by the way.”

The Cyborg frowned, perhaps insulted at the question of what model, but once the passes were placed in her hand her eye lit up green and nodded. "Lady Azazel Kurkova and two escorts, allowed passage." She smiled, then frowned, her eyes had returned to red and she stared behind Azazel. "The woman with the look of concentration on her face and the Kubaz with the cloak field do not have valid passes and are to remain behind." She said a bit testily.

Xen's face lights up with surprise, shutting off his stealth field as he looks closer. “If you can get her to tell me what enhancement eye she has, I must know.” He bows and moves aside as Rei'Ki furrows her brow and crosses her arms, turning aside. Azazel chuckles and shakes her head, “Impressive...” The Dark Lady takes back her datapad and nods for Hakkri and Kitt to go forward as she gestures for Xen and Rei'Ki to stay... For now. “Excuse my impoliteness, I have interests in these things. I am sorry if I insulted you or brushed upon a touchy subject.”

She turned her human eye to regard the Lady Azazel while her glowing red eye kept centered on the interlopers, but in particular the Kubaz who had been using a stealth field. "You are not the first, and you will not be the last. Please enter the train and this cart can return to the resort." She then turned to regard the Kubaz fully. "As for your question, the best cybernetic enhancements credits can buy for my service to my patron. So my service would not end in death." She then turned back to Azazel.

Xen lets out a brief, curious noise, shuffling and waiting to take out his grapplehook. So what, he was spotted. As if one of his tricks being stopped ended it all here. Azazel moves inside, gesturing for the cyborg to take a seat, “Janii, please, do take a seat and relax.” Kitt watches the woman with intrigue. Her eyes were not so obvious, but still... A hand reaches up, tracing over the slight metal protrusions at her cheekbones.

"Thank you for the offer lady Azazel, please make yourself comfortable while I make the cart make its return journey." She turned around and moved to a control station at the far end and started activating a series of commands, the doors closed and slowly, but already steadily picking up speed the cart began to move.

Suddenly the speed picked up a lot but at the same time a humming sound began and Azazel recognized it as the sound coming from gravitational plates, usually used on ships but apparently used for this cart to compensate somehow for the rapid speed they were traveling without its occupants becoming splatter against the walls. It was barely three minutes when the cart slowed down again and Janii opened the doors, smiling she gestured. "If you would follow me?" She now stood in a tunnel, while they were on top of a mountain the temperature was quite warm, but pleasantly so. "If I may escort you to your room, there are a few program books and menus of the various activities and health cures we provide. I would suggest the hot baths with the Mon Calamari program, quite good for the skin."

Hakkri's eyes light up as his lips spread into a smile, “Really?” He gives a pleading look at Azazel and she grimaces before offering a small shrug, standing and approaching Janii. Azazel sighs, “Actually, I was supposed to meet a Lord Traiserus here. If you could direct me to him... It would be most appreciated.” Hakkri pouts a little that Azazel was getting straight to business.
Meanwhile, back at the original station, Xen scratches his jaw. “I thought you were going to jump...”

Rei'ki looks back at him, “What about you? Aren't you technically my superior?”

Xen furrows his brow, “As much as I am willing to follow Azazel, I'm not quite willing to appear a bug on a wind-shield.”

Rei'ki nods, “Yeah, same here.”

The Kubaz wrinkles his snout, “Right, let's see if they have a station out here. Otherwise, we're just going to join Bezol.”

Janii frowns, "Lord Traiserus? He has no logged meetings, but it is not uncommon. I do recall you wished to come here at some last-minute arrangement, that would explain it. Follow me please." She said and went ahead of the trio.

Meanwhile back at the station near the landing pad, Xen did find a terminal, but it seemed the only access this terminal provided was a emergency access if the train-cart systems were offline, he could however with this terminal have the train cart send down to the station, or back up to the resort on the mountain.

Xen eyes the terminal and the path the cart took. “Well, Azazel did tell us to find a way.. Might as well...” He sets about getting the train-cart to sent back their way without further ado.

“Thank you,” Azazel nods, folding her arms before her as she follows alongside Janii. “I am afraid I insulted Lady Malisse earlier. Poor manners on my part, especially considering it was inadequate planning on my part.” She watches Janii for a reaction, wondering how she would react at the mention of her lady.

As Xen went to slicer the controls, he had no problem at all and within moments he got the acknowledgment that the train cart was coming back. Then he also noticed something else, security on the resort above also had noticed the empty train leaving without it being flagged on the schedule and he saw the signs of a security swipe of the system taking place but it was slow and would take time to reach his breach of the resort security.

Janii kept a neutral look on her face, they were just passing through a wing with a tropical pool where a number of guests were swimming or lounging on chairs. "Each noble I learned has their breaking point, yourself included I imagine lady Azazel. If you are worried about running into her here, she actually does not stay at the resort, she is probably in her mansion, but with first time callers she prefers to make introductions herself so all calls from unknown sources are relayed to her."

Azazel grimaces, “Ah. That seems a little backwards business-wise, but very well.” She sighs and looks out at the swimming area curiously. It looked like an enjoyable experience. Perhaps the Red Sanctuary could use a small renovation... “You have spent much time working here or are very observant, I imagine...”

Xen narrows his eyes before attempting to cover his slicing so they would just pass it over.

Perhaps it was Xen's attempt to cover his tracks but suddenly the other slicer suddenly seemed to show his attention towards the security breach Xen was exploiting and began searching there. It had now turned into a cat and mouse game with Xen doing his best to keep ahead, but with each trick he was pulling off the other slicer seemed to gain more and more ground. Then just at the brink of being discovered Xen pulled out and finished covering his tracks, letting out a sigh of relief perhaps. The slicer had finished his sweep and had found what he was looking for, what Xen had made sure he would find, the cart returning to the station was just due to a glitch.

What Xen also learned at that moment, if the train was moving, they couldn't send it back, it first needed to stop at one of the stations before it could given a signal to head to the other station. At that point the cart arrived, but didn't open its doors, and just a brief moment later it already started to move to make its return journey. It seemed to keep the train in place, and open the doors, Xen needed to remain connected to the terminal.

In the resort Janii shrugged, "It is how she likes to work, I was originally in service to her husband, but he died in a assassination attempt, I was unable to save him. But my service continues still, as mandated by my contract." They had now entered a hallway that seemed to lead to guest rooms, after rounding a few corners Janii gestured ahead, a door at the far end had two guards in front who watched the approaching people. "The room of Lord Traiserus is just up there, can I announce you for your appointed meeting with him?"

Azazel pauses in her steps, watching Janii. “I will see him in a moment...” She looks the cyborg up and down, her brow knit together as she ponders. “Why do you work as an attendant now? I am sure you are capable of so much more... I think the Lady wastes your talents on such menial tasks.”

Xen fights the urge to bash his face against the terminal before he takes a deep sigh. “This is going to be a fun one,” he grumbles, beginning once more to start into the system. If anything, perhaps a repeating 'bug' might draw attention and bring someone down.

Xen got back in easily and once again... the train after just arriving at the top, starts coming back down again. And again he noticed a spike of activity.

Janii blinked, perhaps surprised that a guest asked her that question. "I... my lady probably sees this as punishment, I was supposed to protect her husband, but I failed, but she was contractually obligated to safe my live by any means necessary and to keep me in service to her and her family."

Azazel's face twists in rage for a moment, “Contractually obligated? Keep you in service?” She crosses her arms, attempting to hold back her anger for now, “Correct me if I am wrong... but it sounds almost as if you are kept as little better than a slave. Upon what grounds are they 'obligated' to keep you?”

Xen, however, fidgets, before attempting to see if there were any means he could utilize to slow down the other slicer's approach. If there was not, he would just have to keep repeating this process until they grew weary or investigated personally.

Janii shrugged, "Perhaps it is slavery, but it also saved my life, I would have died if it wasn't for these modifications." She gestured to her implants and cyborg cybernetics. "I am sworn to serve this noble house unless they lied to me or are involved in criminal operations, the only criminal operation I have discovered is that the so called natural spring water here is actually water from the tap, but that does not qualify."

Meanwhile Xen had been ruffling feathers and saw a notification of a maintenance crew requested to take a train down to the ground station and check for faults. The maintenance team was reported making their way through the resort towards the station there.

Azazel waves her hand dismissively, “You can't possibly enjoy this...”

Kitt looks at Azazel uncertainly, “Mistress...”

Azazel looks at her curiously, “Yes?”

Kitt shuffles her feet, “You gave me sight... and perhaps you did not explicitly demand I serve as I do, but I do so happily, for you... For what you have given me... Perhaps she feels the same.”

Azazel tenses at that and looks at Janii, “You owe me nothing, nor does anyone else. If it is within one's power, they should help those they can... But demanding recompense so grave...” She bares her teeth in a snarl, “It is lowly and just another form of stealing away one's life.” Azazel shakes her head, “But if you are right and she truly wishes to waste her life in this way, what have I to say of it.”

Xen grins and withdraws from the systems, attempting to hide his entry once more before he gestures for Rei'Ki to hide herself once more. He engages his stealth field as well as they move to where the tram would be arriving.

Janii was frowning, "If it wasn't for my contract I would have died, burned alive and in pain. Perhaps my lady thinks I deserve punishment but that is her choice." She bowed, "Now I have held you up long enough, you had a appointment to keep." She smiled, "I am however easy to reach, just access one of the terminals and speak my name, if I am available I will be contacted to assist you if I can." With that she nodded to Hakkri and Kitt and started walking away.

Meanwhile the two guards at the far end were talking lowly to each other and then one gestured to Azazel at which the other slowly started making his way towards the trio.

Azazel offers Janii a small smile as she goes before turning her attention to the guard heading her way. “Excuse me? Is there something wrong?”

The guard, a big brute looked down upon Azazel, a head taller than she was and looked sternly at her. "Why are you loitering here, if you are looking for the gym, its back the way you came and take a right. This hallway is reserved."

She narrows her eyes at the guard, “Excuse me, awful rude of the help to address me so.” She waves him away, “I was simply asking for information given it is my first stay here.” She nods to her followers to come as she continues towards where Traiserus was.

The guard blinked, shaking his head, "Stop!" He called out, the other guard looking wary and nervous. "As I said, this hallway is reserved, go back the way you came and explore a different area."

Azazel continues onwards, wrapping herself in protection, “I am seeing Traiserus.” Kitt swallows and follows alongside Azazel, Hakkri lags a little behind, fidgeting uncertainly and waiting to jump in if need be.

The guards shared a look and then suddenly their expressions changed, one smirked while the other let out a guffaw. The one who had tried to stop her coughed and kept smirking as he addressed her again. "I see, you are the... ah... entertainment he has requested today?" He looked her over and then turned to his fellow guard. "I thought the boss only hired redheads?"

Azazel stops in her tracks, fighting back a sense of revulsion and outrage before nodding slowly. It was no time for bloodshed and force chaos... Not yet. Kitt frowns and fidgets awkwardly. With a slight gesture from Azazel, Hakkri smiles and shifts forward, brushing his hair back and winking at the pair. “If he does, he can turn me away himself, after I've had my chance to convince him otherwise... I assure you... I am the best at what I do,” Azazel offers a small confident smile.

The guards shared a knowing smirks. "I suppose so, your fluffers, I mean attendants, have to remain outside however. And please if your like that other whore, oh excuse me, courtesan. Who demanded she needed access to her toiletries at all times, though."

Azazel arches a brow before nodding, “Do remain out here and amuse the nice guards, girls.” Hakkri smiles and shrugs, sidling up closer to one of the guards. He was more than happy to take a position with something he was more comfortable and familiar with. Kitt however flushes and shuffles awkwardly, watching Azazel worriedly as the Sith goes through the doors.

The good knocked on the door and then nodded, "Yeah we got another, her, lady of the night for the boss." There was a pause. "I don't know but he has frequently kept this kind of stuff from us, remember that party and we almost shot fifteen nobles? I think it amuses him to keep us on our feet that way." He chuckled at whatever he was hearing. "Sure enough, jsut let her through would ya... her lovely attendants are staying outside." He said and eyed Hakkri giving 'her' a wink, a moment later the door opened and Azazel was let through.

Seeing another guard look her over, sounding bored he raised a tray in one hand and a flat device with the other. "Any knifes, metal objects or... ahem... toys... in the tray please and allow me to scan you... boss likes his whores but he pays us for his security."

Azazel arches a brow before slipping her hands into the folds of her skirts, withdrawing her lightsabres, stun cuffs, and harp string and placing them in the tray before she bends over and begins removing her anklet chimes. “You won't ruin the surprise, will you?” she looks up, feigning embarrassment at what could potentially be mistaken for tools of her pretend trade.

The bodyguard looked bored for a moment and then rose his eyebrows as the cuffs came out and then grunted. "So his lordship is in that kinda mood... I see." He snorts at the comment. "Not if I can't help it, if you keep him happy, the less trouble he causes for us." He muttered, frowning and then picked up one of the lightsabers. "This... is a odd toy, what does it do?"

She eyes the lightsaber, remembering a certain moment with her and Andrea what seemed like ages ago. Without even a pause, she clears her throat and embarrassedly goes, “Ah, I know it is clean, but I would not have touched that if I were you... It might be in your boss later if he prefers it.” Just to make sure it was perfectly clear, she tacks on a little, “Bzzzz~”

He quickly placed the 'toy' back with a grunt and shook his head. "Please make sure to gag him when you do." He gave back the cuffs and the toys, but kept the string. "Sorry ma'am, but that I keep here." He then led her deeper into the room, there was a sitting room with another guard reading something, glancing up, taking note of Azazel and then resumed reading, her guide gestured to a door. "He's in there, said he wanted to read, but guess he got bored and arranged for your arrival. Just knock when you are done and we'll hand you your credits."

Azazel fights down a comment Hakkri enjoyed saying in situations, but thought twice. She was ALREADY out a lot of credits thanks to this man. She crosses her arms and shakes her head, “Uh, no. Standard fare is half now, the rest later, potentially more depending on the services provided.” She waits expectantly for the guard to pony up.

The guard snorts and rolls his eyes, reaching in his pockets and counted something out, motioning for her to hold her hand up he dropped some credit chits. "Ten thousand credits. Now go along, before he gets impatient."

She looks over the credits before stowing them away with a nod. If she had to delay until Xen got her all her credits back, then by the Sith Gods, she would wait. This was all proving so very ridiculous already! She goes through the door and closes it behind herself, looking up and scanning the room for the nobleman.
Meanwhile down at the base of the mountain the car arrived at the station and opened its doors and out came three people, looking distinctly unhappy with their lot in life at the moment

Xen and Rei'Ki both wait for the three to begin to leave the box. As soon as they'd leave, they'd go on in... Xen had briefed the plan with her... He'd just initialize the cart as soon as they were in...

Rei'Ki pinches the bridge of her nose before silently drawing her lightsabre. Enhanced senses, Xen picks up the faint sound and draws his blaster. With a burst of force speed, Rei'Ki lurches forth, igniting the blade to cut down the workers as Xen fires his blaster.

The maintenance workers did not stand a chance. In one moment, they were grumbling back and forth about the gravlift tram and it always breaking down. The next, two of them crumbled silently as deft strikes of the lightsabre end them in an instant. The unfortunate soul holding the datapad stares on with wide eyes and is about to scream as the datapad clatters to the ground. His cries do not even have a chance to start as a blast from Xen bursts through the back of his head. The Kubaz lazily tromps forward and picks up the datapad, gesturing at the corpses, “Well? What are you waiting for? You know to leave no sign of our entry.”

Rei'Ki grunts and crouches over them, patting them down for anything of use. She stops, drawing something from the pocket of one and unfolding it. She arches a brow, showing the picture clearly drawn by a bunch of kids. “We wuv you, daddy,” she smirks, passing it over to him.

A bemused look flickers over Xen's face as he takes the picture and carefully folds it up, tucking it into his coat pocket, “Aww, daddy wuvs you silly sith girls too.” He chuckles and sets to reenabling the power, stepping onto the tram as Rei'Ki shakes her head with a smile, sizing up the uniforms. With a snort, she strips one of them down and tosses the coveralls at Xen. Xen fumbles with them and it falls over the cliff-face. Rei'Ki face-palms and shakes her head before blasting the corpses over the cliff as well with a wave of force energy.

“Good going, butter-fingers,” Rei'Ki sighs and shakes her head.

Xen frowns, blinking his eyes, “You should warn me next time.”

Both of them get on the train car, Xen activating his cloak-belt while Rei'ki relied on the force to keep her hidden. With Xen hodling the master controls to the trai nsystem it was easy to power it all up once more and have it make the return journey to the resort at the top. Once arrived Xen was the first off the car, stepping onto the station, there were two guards, dressed in the same uniform as the cyborg woman from before, they stared at the train with a frown. And then one shrugged, "Tech boys down at the base must be testing the systems."

The other kept frowning and watched the train, "Didn't you see that? I thought I saw-" At that point Rei'ki left the train but her concentration must have slipped because for a brief moment her abilities were not fooling the guards at all and they could see her clear as day. "Intruder!"

The guard who shouted intruder pulled out his blaster and fired but due to his hast missed completely and instead his shot hit the train, the other guard was not drawing a blaster, instead he was talking rapidly in his communicator.

Rei'Ki looks wide-eyed at the scene before her before turning about, wrapping a protective layer of the force about herself and taking off in a burst of speed. It wouldn't be too much to give her away as a force user and perhaps she could distract them with a chase, given all their attention was on her, not Xen. Xen however attempts to silently inch away in the other direction.

The other guard seemed to be done talking and also got out his blaster, together they shot at the suddenly very fast intruder but both miss horribly. A alarm was heard now however and the exit Rei'Ki was speeding off to... was starting to be sealed by a large blastdoor, she tried to speed up but was too late and slammed into the now closed security door, locking her, and the still invisible Xen, in the station area of the resort. The two guards started rushing forwards, their blasters still at the ready.

With a sigh, Xen draws out his two hold-out blasters and begins to gun down the cameras to give Rei'Ki a little more wiggle room. The sith, though, growls, turning to face the guards and drawing her vibrosword, launches herself at the guards to fight back, hoping her force protection and armour would get her through any blaster-fire.

Rei'ki managed to get her act back together and managed to close the distance between the guards and herself at a frightening pace, meanwhile Xen, breakign the effect of his cloaking field by doing so, tried to shoot the cameras but failed utterly.
Meanwhile, in the hallway outside the quarters of lord Traiserus... Hakkri leans in and murmurs into the ear of the one guard, “Maybe we could go somewhere a little more... private?” A smirk passes over the Zygerian's lips, his gaze flickering to the other guard and Kitt momentarily. The Echani has her arms folded in front of her, staring at the guard who was remaining as straight-laced as herself in the wake of Hakkri's little game. Carefully, she scans over him, sizing him up, running scenarios in her head and figuring strike-points. It would be easy, he would be down in seconds...

The guard grinned lecherously and looked Hakkri over. "Oh? Well I am sorry but I can't leave my post that easily... Unless... I could be convinced it would most definitely be worth my while, hmm?"

Hakkri trails a hand slowly up along the guard's thigh, causing Kitt to blush beet red and look away. “Aren't I worth it?” the trap coos.

The guard smirked and turned to his companion. "Cover for me." With a grin he wrapped a arm around Hakkri's waist and guided 'her' down the hallway and then around the corner out of sight. After making sure nobody else was present he loosened his pants and winked, "I am very eager to see just how much worth you are..."

Hakkri makes a soft clucking with his tongue as he presses close and wraps a leg about the guard. With a quick shift of his arm, he releases his lightwhip and wraps it tight like a garrote about the guard's neck, pressing his lips firmly to the guard's to stifle any sounds of struggle.

The guards eyes widened but was unable to prevent this from happening, letting out a strained groan as he tried to breathe but was unable to. Before the guard died, choked to death, he was shocked, horrified even when he discovered that the woman... was not a woman as he felt something hard poking him while he was being kissed and choked at the same time. In the end he welcomed death.
Meanwhile, Kitt watches as Hakkri leads the guard off, shaking her head. “Can't keep it in your pants for 5 minutes,” she sighs, waiting until the other guard was gone before she moves over to stand beside the remaining guard.

The guard looks at her, snorts and steps away. "Not interested, unlike some I do what I am paid to do."

“What are you, some fruit? Butter your toast on the other side?” she looks away, irritable. Here she was, by herself, while Azazel and Hakkri were both... She scrunches her nose, grimacing at the thought. Azazel was just getting the guy alone, she would never...

The guard snorted and shook his head, "No, I am a professional, if you want to do that, go after that friend of yours and join those two, I am simply not interested."
Meanwhile inside the lords quarters.

Azazel enter the room and sitting in a chair, reading sat a mildly attractive man, frowning when he heard the door close and turned to Azazel's direction. "Who are you and what are you doing in MY room?" He said in a authorative tone.

Azazel arches a brow, looking over the man before shrugging, “I have come to talk to you. Your choice how this goes, of course.” She twists the key that was still remaining in the lock and deposits it down the front of her slip. “You know a Jehemath the Fifth, correct?”

He raised a eyebrow, frowned and let otu a sigh, carefully placing a marker in his book and put it away, crossing his arms. "I do."

Azazel casually takes up a place across from Traiserus, seating herself. “You understand his part in the accident to befall his aunt, the Lady Braghda, then?”

He looked at the woman who had entered his room and nods slowly, "If by accident you mean assassination, then yes I am aware.... Zarra, I assume?"

Azazel's gaze hardens, shaking her head, “No, I am afraid Zarra was framed for such...” She leans forward, hands resting in her lap, “Of course, now we have it clear that you know about the order, or at least some of its members... What part in this has Jehemath played? Is he pawn or the one who conceived this plan that is about to twist back upon him like a venomous snake? Do share if you are involved as well.”

The lord blinked and studied the woman closer. "Oh I am aware Zarra was framed, I just assumed you were her and were going to get answers from me. Pardon me, but before we continue this conversation, who are you then and who send you here."

Azazel offers her hand out, “Azazel Kurkova, the master of the Mecrossa Order, whether they acknowledge it or not. No one sent me, I found you on my own, and I am digging to find what treacherous cur has tried to make its home in my den.”

Traiserus looked at the offered hand and made no move to accept instead he looked at Azazel with a frown. "Ah... you were Braghda's pet sith. You have got some nerve to call yourself the master of the Mecrossa Order, I don't recall you ever being present at any of the meetings... or even be nominated for the position. You have no idea who or what you are dealing with obviously."

Azazel folds her hands before her, “No, I am afraid it is the Order who underestimates myself. You may keep the lore and artefacts mine by right... But they will learn in time.” Her eyes meet Traiserus, “You may hold secrets of times long past... but obviously the Order lacks respect for one such as myself. It will be learned, in time. And this will be but the first lesson to those who act against me and think I am some dog to be set out at their own accord.” Azazel stands, allowing fire to crackle over her arms, scorching small holes through the lace of her sleeves. “Braghda and I had a mutual understanding. She knew who the dog was, unfortunately, Jehemath, or those superior of him did not get the same memo.” Azazel closes her eyes and raises her hands, “Understand, Traiserus, I have the resources to scour out each and every last one who does not know his place in my order... I have found you and I was not even looking, you understand. I could end any of my opposition with a mere flick of my wrist, but that is not what I wish.” She folds her arms behind herself. “Do tell me what I need know, Traiserus. I intend no harm to you and Jehemath if there is no need for such. There are places in my Order for those who know where they stand and where their duties lie.”

"I see." Traiserus said, his voice dripping with venom. "Allow me to give a counter-argument for that." Before he finished saying that sentence Azazel already stood up and dodged as her force enhanced senses gave her warning... just as lord Traiserus raised a hand and there was a sudden 'whoomp' as air was displaced and a straight line from the hand of the lord to where Azazel had been sitting was completely disintegrated.

Traiserus looked at Azazel and she now noticed a change in his eyes, they were green before, but now they were red and yellow, sith eyes. "How about instead, I kill you?"

Azazel's smile spreads wide as she raises her hands and closes them tight to capture him in an invisible embrace of the force. “A practitioner,” she barks out a laughter, “You will die or serve me this day yet.”

He snorts and with a wave of the force ignored her attempt to hold him, a moment later there was a slight shimmer, which Azazel recognized as a bubble of force protection formed around himself. "I think I will be gracious and offer you the opportunity to serve me instead. After I have nearly killed you of course... assuming you survive." With a hiss he reached out his hands.

And Azazel felt the build-up of force energies ,a very familiar buildup because she had witnessed such power before, used by Darth Andrea and was just in time to put a bubble of protection around herself as the force storm was launched from Traiserus's fingertips, hurling through the room and used up the protection Azazel had summoned just in time.

Azazel gasps, sabers rushing to her hands and igniting as she wraps another bubble of protection about herself. This individual.. He was likely stronger than herself in the force, maybe even stronger than Andrea. “You will regret those words yet,” she snarls, throwing out a wave of force energy and fire before herself.

Traiserus suddenly leaped, dodging the wave of force and fire hiding behind a cabinet and then came out once the wave passed and ignited a purple lightsaber. "Not today pretender." He growls and charges her, using his free hand to hurl lightning at her.

Azazel was able to parry the lightning ,letting her sabers catch and absorb it and then she needed to focus on the savage blows Traiserus was doing to her with his blade and eventually managed to get past her guard, only to have the blow glance of her bubble of protection. He laughed, "You will not be able to keep doing that for long..."
The guard was still ignoring Kitt but then frowned and both of them heard the sound of commotion, muffled slightly but still quite a commotion from within. The guard did not hesitate and with a curse tried a backhanded swing at Kitt. But her Echani reflexes were just fast enough to evade the blow.

That was all the incentive she needed. With a rush of long-trained movements, she lurches forward to end the guard quickly, using his own momentum from his sloppy strike against him.

The guard was trained however and dodged the blow, at this point Hakkri rounded the corner and saw Kitt was fighting. The guard tried to make a sweeping kick to get her off her feet but instead found himself being grabbed by the leg by the Echani woman.

Kitt holds the grip on his leg with one arm as she slams her elbow down to break his knee. Hakkri draws in the force he had been practicing and tries to send fear rippling through the guard to give Kitt even more of an edge, not trusting his blaster or lightwhip skills so close to the hand-to-hand expert.

With a scream the guard felt and watched as his leg was practically snapped in two, no fear reached him as all the guard felt was incredible pain as he just whimpered and writhed on the floor afterwards, unable to stand.

Kitt stamps her foot down to crush the guard's wind-pipe, silencing his screaming as she points at the door. Hakkri readies his lightwhip before going high to break down the door with shoulder. Kitt readies to dart forward at the last place she had seen the guard when Azazel had went through. The door proved to be a bit more sturdy than that and Hakkri needed to resort to using her lightwhip, which was a bit difficult to properly use to cut a opening in it.
Azazel gnashes her teeth and wraps another desperate layer of protection about herself, giving up on the force magic and simply leaps forward, trying to get past his defenses and strike out with the lightsabres. It would not and could not end here!

The sudden energy and onslaught of blow Azazel was delivering caught him by surprise and he was unable to parry it completely as Azazel broke through and would have cut off an arm... if it weren't for his own force protection. He growled, "Fine... you do have some skill after all..."

He jumped back and suddenly levitated in the air, all of a sudden loose objects around him began to lift up and circle around him, lightning escaping from his body as a massive build-up of force power was taking place. Azazel getting a distinct feeling... she really didn't want to be present in the confines of this rather small room...

Her gaze flickers at the door for a moment, it was a gamble to run and a gamble to stay. She sets her face in a determined, hateful leer and weaves between the flying objects. She would triumph yet. She leaps at him, ready to tear down his protection. If he would have to kill them both if he was so foolish to persist when his protection would be gone.

Just as Azazel leaps to try and deliver the blow Traiserus let out a mad laugh and unleashed the power of his maelstrom with a savage shout. Azazel was hurled back, her defensive layer protecting her from the terrible dark side energies infused in this attack. On the upside... the wall and door also got blasted apart and Azazel saw two shocked faces of the two guard before they disintegrated before her eyes and she was hurled against the wall, stunned for a moment and vaguely aware of seeing something stabbing through a small gap in the door that led to the corridor, it almost reminded her of the colour of Hakkri's lightwhip.

Azazel's eyes flicker to the door as she groans, weakly getting to her feet. Fear was running through her entire being... For the first time in so long, it dawned on her just what she was doing, what she was up against, that her life was in danger. Desperately, she scrambles to the door to cut away the lock, tears streaming from her eyes. Hopefully, the two would forgive her for dragging them in against such a foe, but she needed their help desperately.

From the other side, Hakkri jumps back as a sabre stabs through, the colour unmistakably Azazel's. His eyes wide, he tries to break through more determinedly, “Its a sith! Its another sith, and Azzie needs us!” For a moment, a flicker of uncertainty passes through his mind... This could be his chance to be rid of the witch... But... He shakes off the clouded doubt as fear spills through him at what she had put him through for days all while Kitt starts furiously kicking at the door with a yell, worry and fury consuming her mind.

Meanwhile through the wreckage of the wall Traiserus approaches, chuckling softly as he holds his lightsaber in his hand, seeing Azazel cutting through the door. "Afraid are we? Finally realized you are no match?" He smirked and closed his eyes, "Ah... I see... you think those two on the other side can help you, just more bodies for the slaughter...."

As he said that the door gave in giving Azazel a way out... or for her people to get a way in.

Azazel pants and staggers back, as Hakkri draws a holdout blaster, Aggros', and fires upon the Sith as Kitt moves in, taking up a fighting stance looking for her chance to strike. Azazel tries to tear away the other Sith's lightsaber with the force to at least give her Echani warrior a chance.

He felt Azazel tugging at his lightsaber but held on to it and was able and fast enough to parry the incoming blasterfire, having them land harmlessly in the ceiling. "I smell your fear, allow me to feed it!" He said and at once all three felt the dark side of the force invade their minds, filling their heads with images of dread and fear, Kitt was able to ward her mind, quickly followed by Azazel, Hakkri however...

Hakkri saw it happening before his eyes... over and over... Aggross... his dear, beloved Aggros, his love, his bright light. And there was the Terentatek, ripping him apart, with Azazel standing next to him doing nothing.... his torso ripped apart landed at his feet and Aggros, impossibly alive stared at him. "Why did you not save me... WHY DID YOU NOT SAVE ME!"

And with that Hakkri screamed and ran away, out of the room and just fled the vision, the fear, the loss.

Azazel's eyes open wide, seeing Hakkri flee. She curses under her breath and launches forward at the enemy sith once more with her sabres. “RUN!” she screams at Kitt. The Echani shakes her head defiantly and goes in to strike the other Sith from behind, trusting herself to know Azazel's sabre movements with their times in practice.

With a growl Traiserus blocks the strikes of Azazel and seeing Kitt attack he uses a force push to get her off balance and spoil her aim just before she could score a hit. With a hiss he lashes out with lightning at the Echani combatant but she narrowly dodges the blast.

Azazel snarls, “I said run, you fool! YOU WILL DIE HERE BESIDE ME IF YOU DON'T!” She strikes out again with her sabres at Traiserus.

“Good! I'm not leaving here if you don't!” Kitt lunges in low, hoping to sweep Traiserus off his feet.
Meanwhile at the station...

One of the guards was surprised at the speed of this intruder and his blastershots went wide. The other guard dropped his blaster and pulled out a baton of some kind and made a swing toward Rei'ki who cursed as it impacted and burst her bubble of protection, seeing the baton emit sparks of some kind. "She's got a personal shield of some kind!"

Rei'Ki snarls and swings her vibroblade at the offenders as Xen curses and changes his targets, firing upon the guards. It was too late now to deal with the cameras.

Rei'Ki cleaves one of the guards almost in two with a wide gash in his neck while Xen pumps the other with so many blaster holes he could almost mimic a swiss cheese.

Rei'Ki shrugs and wipes her blade clean as Xen rubs his face after holstering his guns and goes to the terminal to see what all he could access from here... His to do list seemed to be growing today and just getting worse. He looses a low clucking growl as he smashes his fist against the terminal. This one was useless too. Instead, he moves over to the guards to pat them over for something to get through the door with.

Nothing, absolutely nothing. They sure did not make his job any easier. Xen sighs, “Give me a minute and I'll have you cut through the door.” With that, he begins to shoot down the cameras one by one.

While Xen was searching the guards Rei'ki was busy cutting through the security blastdoor and managed to make a quick job of it by only cutting a hole large enough for her and Xen to get through, once that was done she quickly tucked away her saber and got out her sword once more, just in time for four more guards to show up who stopped seeing the intruders and formed a firing line.

Rei'Ki puts another another burst of speed before they even finish their formation to cut them down as Xen starts firing off his blaster. It was long past time to pussyfoot around to try to cause a scene.

Rei'ki seemed to be a little too eager to get in close and personal with these guards and stumbled but got back on her feet... only noticing she had dropped her sword and had forgotten to pick it up and now she right in front of the guards. The guards looked unnerved but one of them got over it and said, "Intruders! Hold and surrender, we will-" A blastershot went through his open mouth and he keeled over, death.

Xen standing all cool and mysterious had just done that shot and was now lazily twirling his blaster in his hand. Enraged at this the guards opened fire and one of them seemed to land a hit on Rei'ki but she kept standing, only her bubble of protection failing.

Rei'Ki curses and draws one last wrap of protection about herself. Xen meanwhile lines up his sights once more to fire upon the other two guards as Rei'Ki dives back for her sword.

Xen's shots go wide and so do the shots of most of the guards, one of them however takes a moment to aim and fires... at Rei'ki who just finished setting a layer of protection around herself before it bursts again.

Suddenly more blasterfire comes and one by one the three guards are dropped, and at the far end comes Janii, blaster in hand and takes one look at Xen and Rei'Ki. "What are you two waiting for? Come with me if you want to live."

Rei and Xen exchange a look before they seem to simultaneously shrug. Azazel had her ways, they just assumed. The pair both take off in a sprint after the cyborg woman.

Janii was ahead and when they got closer Xen and Rei'ki noticed that she had some scorch marks on some of her more metal bits. "I may be making the worst decision of a lifetime, but who the hell are you people and what have you come to do here!?" She asked them while she led them, through a empty corridor, into a eerily empty lounging area. No servant staff, no guests, nothing, only yellow alarm lights glowing.

Rei'Ki takes the lead, “Avenging the assassination of a noblewoman we happened to like.” She looks at Xen for confirmation and receives a nod. “Yeah, see? We liked her. So there's a friend of the guy who arranged it, maybe more. And we came to figure out who all was involved because they were part of our company. Have I mentioned I hate this sector? Because I really do. And nobles, blah!”

She stopped and sharply turned to the two of them. "You believe lord Traiserus is behind this?"

Xen nods, gesturing at the scorched bits of cybernetics, “Quite so. Especially if things are suddenly loud and exploding right about now. Azazel likes things quiet, after all.”

Rei'Ki arches a brow, “Doesn't seem like it whenever Andr--” She quiets herself when Xen gives her a sharp look.

Janii frowned and then continued moving, "A disturbance was reported in the quarters of lord Traiserus, quickly followed by a call from a guest in a room nearby that it sounded like there was heavy fighting, next thing that happens is that all guards are ordered to gear up and head to the wing which houses lord Traiserus's room and protect him at all costs. That order I can understand... not the order to kill all witnesses. So I disagreed, which resulted in my damage."

Rei'Ki opens her mouth but shuts it. There was only a number of reasons they would want witnesses killed... Traiserus was obviously doing a big no-no. Xen growls under his breath, “We have to get to Azazel, then. Thank you for your assistance so far... I would understand if you wish to split now, but I'm afraid I must ask you to lend us some help... This guy must be bad news if Azazel is still fighting him...”

"No I am not splitting up, there is no way for me to return and now I have too many questions, these orders came from up high, from my liege mistress which makes me wonder. You just said you are here to avenge the death of a noblewoman... my master was killed three months ago, so did several other nobles, perhaps the death of my master and your friend are linked, if so I wish to know and be there when the one who ordered their deaths... his death... meets his end." She frowned and then cursed. "But we need to get your people and run, there are a total of 70 guards stationed in this resort and all of them are heading to the wing with your friends and lord Traiserus."

Rei'ki sighs, “Whatever happened to Azazel just setting a fire and us all getting out of here in the chaos...” Xen shrugs, “Nice to know you're with us for now, think we're going to need someone who knows this place...”

______________

Hakkri was running for dear life, the death of his lover haunting him still, he rounded a corner and skidded to a halt, some part of him screamed at him, the part that was his sense of self-preservation, who was currently screaming to duck into cover because in front of him, were a dozen guards who had skidded to a halt, staring at Hakkri while those in front were already raising blasters.

Hakkri swallows and runs back out, waving his hands, “FIRE FIRE! THERE'S A FIRE! PUT IT OUT! I WANT A REFUND! WHAT SORT OF JOKE IS THIS RESORT PLAYING AT?! ALL I WANTED WAS MY SPA DAY.” He puts on the waterworks, which was not hard... And he already looked fairly hysterical already.

The guards shared a look, then looked back, raised their blasters and fired.

Hakkri shrieks and takes off in the other direction and perhaps that reaction spared him from most of the blasts... However, one strikes him in the arm. With a sob, he keeps running, wondering what he ever did to deserve this.

"Blast him!" Came the shout from one of the guards and they picked up the pace to catch up to the fleeing intruder. Three of them stopping as they rounded the corner to take shots at the fleeing drag-queen.

One blastershot got close and a nasty burnmark was created on Hakkri's left cheek as a blasterbolt glanced the skin there. But with that all the guards needed to run to catch up with the remarkably swift woman, or at least they think it is a woman.

Meanwhile back at the clash of the two sith and a echani, Traiserus snorted wit hdisgust at the Echani and her feeble attempt but this distracted him enough for Azazel to pierce his shield bubble and he growled. "I will end you... after I end your little friend!" He shouted and turned to the Echani woman, pointing his open palm towards her and let loose a blast of force destruction, perhaps her force sensitivity warning her but Kitt jumped away and was luckily out of the way. The wall on the other hand received a rather big hole, and so did the three wall the lance of force destruction hit as well.

Meanwhile back at the clash of the two sith and a echani, Traiserus snorted with disgust at the Echani and her feeble attempt but this distracted him enough for Azazel to pierce his shield bubble and he growled. "I will end you... after I end your little friend!" He shouted and turned to the Echani woman, pointing his open palm towards her and let loose a blast of force destruction, perhaps her force sensitivity warning her but Kitt jumped away and was luckily out of the way. The wall on the other hand received a rather big hole, and so did the three wall the lance of force destruction hit as well.

It was at that moment that Kitt and Azazel would hear a familiar shrill voice screaming, “Azzie AZZIE GUARDS! SHOOTING! Hurts!” Azazel shifts over to Kitt's side, “You are going to go. Now. And I will follow...”

Kitt grimaces but nods, breathing hard after barely escaping so many force attacks, she turns to follow Hakkri, engaging her shield knowing it might save against some of the blaster shots. Meanwhile, as soon as she starts out, Azazel tries to flood the room with fire, hoping the fire and following smoke might be enough to at least blind and possibly choke Traiserus enough to give them a chance before she flees.

Traiserus steps forward as Kitt runs away, "You will not escape that easily!" He shouted, laughing still but then the laughter stops as all of a sudden gout of flame are conjured through the force by Azazel, he jumps back, trapped. Enraged at the thought of his prey getting away he tries with a growl to jump through the flames but all of a sudden the flames rear up with intense heat and as Azazel joins Hakkri and Kit the three of them hear a inhuman scream of pain and rage, along with the smell of burning flesh.

A blastershot burns a hole in the carpet next to Hakkri's feet, the guards had caught up.

Azazel steps aside to give Hakkri room as he shrieks again. Azazel snarls and stops, turning and throwing a force wave. “Hakkri. I will silence you myself if you do not stop screaming and DO SOMETHING.” Hakkri whimpers and tries to overwhelm his attackers with force-fueled horror as Kitt keeps running.

Over her comm-link, a voice feed, a very welcome one feeds through, “Lady, I would not go to the tram-station if I were you. I am disabling it as we speak. Head to the emergency vehicle bay. There are 70 guards all swarming to your location to kill you all and protect Traiserus.”

Azazel snaps back over her wristlink, “I think we've learned some of that. The bastard is a Sith! A SITH! And he dares...” She falls off into a snarl, unable to properly voice her wrath.

Her anger was clouding her it seems and as Hakkri manages to induce a state of horror in soem of the guards but rigth after that, in her anger Azazel isn't concentrating completely and the force wave goes iwnards instead of outwards and bowls over Azazel, Hakkri and Kit.

The guards had something odd going on, the first half suddenly stopped and froze... and began laughing without control, some of them tearing their helmets off... and started clawing bloody gauges in their cheeks, still laughing like mad. The other guards were a bit unnerved by this and looked on in morbid fascination, ignoring the intruders for the moment.

From the flames within Traiserus's rooms walks a badly burned figure, wreathed in dark side energies, flesh boiled... and then reknit and regrew, shuddering with intense pain as the effects of dark transfer did their best to heal he let out a scream of intense rage, promising retribution. Parts of his face were stil lbadle burned and scarred however as the dark transfer finishes what it can for him.

Azazel shudders as she feels the power, forcing herself and Hakkri to their feet as Kitt stumbles back to her feet, flagging back to put herself between Azazel and the shooters with her shielding. Azazel's steps are slower, though as she tries to raise a wall of fire behind them. “He healed himself, he's still coming...”

A wall of fire bursts forth, preventing the guards, or Traiserus, so Azazel hopes, from coming after them this way.

In their running, Azazel and her pair reunite with Rei'Ki and Xen... with a newcomer. She looks in surprise at the woman before grimacing as she doubles over to catch her breath. All this running, it was not her thing and she was definitely feeling the effects. “Rei'Ki this guy matches my power, if not more... If he catches up, I don't care the consequences, feel free to pull out all the stops.” Her limbs were shaking and Xen frowns, readying his holdout blasters, nodding at Hakkri to do the same.

Rei'Ki furrows her brow, having only seen Azazel so concerned regarding the other Sith Masters... and she was bare of protection. Even now, she could see the ebb of Azazel's own power. “You're overextended...”

Xen's eyes widen, “What about...”

Azazel frowns, wrapping an arm about her midsection, “Fine, fine. I will not allow such...” She closes her eyes, trying to recenter herself. This is what her meditation was for, she was still the future of this Galaxy. Just another trial...

Kitt rubs along her arms, trying to work the aches out, trusting those with the guns and other weapons to at least be able to hold off anyone for now a few moments. “This is why you started me training to wear armour. But no, you had to try and look like you fit in. Err on the side of caution, remember?”

Azazel grimaces and slips her hand to waist and tearing off the cinch that held the train of her dress, letting it fall off. “Fine, I fail to follow my own teachings. How much farther, Xen?”

Xen shrugs, “Little bit farther yet... We just have to avoid the guards...” He gestures down a hall and watches as Azazel instantly begins on her way. The others follow suit, shocked to see Azazel so quick to flee this place.

Janii quickly moves up, looking at Azazel, "There should only be a token guard at the vehicle bay, only a few have the codes for the speeders there, myself included luckily. But before we get there... I have a question... what is going on!?" She gestures to Xen and Rei'ki and then to Azazel, "There has been something strange about you all and what did you mean when you told the Kubaz 'matches my power'? What power are you talking about."

Azazel moves away defensively, arm raising and fire flickering along its length, “I have no time to pretend to be something I am not. I will do whatever it takes to get them and myself out of here in one piece, even if that means the hounds of the government follow me for being a force-user.” Her eyes dart fearfully back behind herself, “Traiserus is a Sith and attempting to take over a secret order here in the Tapani sector, directly involved, it would seem now, with an attempted assassination of a noblewoman loyal to me.” She gnashes her teeth, “If he gets his claws into the stored knowledge of the Order, he will know far more and be a terror in his own right...” Her eyes widen as realization dawns... Of information she had shared... Her breath quickens, “Oh no...”

Xen catches up once more, “What? What is it?”

Azazel tries to keep moving, grimacing, “He'll know of Korriban... I told... And Andrea...”

Janii blinked, she just looked at the flames and then at Azazel, "So you are a force user, huh, thought your kind were a legend... and lord Traiserus is one too? I see..." With that she suddenly moved up ahead and led the way. "Let's hurry then."

She stays stopped in her tracks, senses extended and she could still feel the beacon of dark powers... At a distance... but coming closer. She grips her hands and draws her lightsabers into her hands, unignited. “Rei'Ki do you sense him too?...”

Rei'Ki frowns, shaking her head. “More of your usual tricks, maybe?”

Azazel narrows her eyes, but nods slowly, “Perhaps, but... I do feel him... And I cannot allow this... He is weakened now... I may be too... but...”

Kitt frowns, “Andrea will take care of herself...”

Azazel shakes her head, “This is my fault... and if I can just get a few good...”

Rei'Ki nods and draws her lightsaber, “Go off the grid, I'll draw him further, set up a trap... Come in behind... I'll make sure you get a good shot... The rest of us can at least give him something to focus on until you strike...”

Azazel nods and slips into her force concealment, suppressing her very force presence as Rei'Ki starts gathering her own energy, as if readying for a destructive blast, but just holding it, hoping to create a beacon relative to Azazel's prowess as the rest continue towards the vehicle bay.

After a brief moment... Rei'Ki suddenly senses a powerful presence at the edge of her mind and a fleeting thought. 'More... two apprentices...' And then the presence withdraws.

Rei'ki tries to sense where the presence is.. .but still comes up with nothing, Azazel was sensing him... but suddenly.. Traiserus's presence in the force... was completely vanished.

That settled it in her mind, it was like a game of cat and mouse now. Her mind flashes back to a time in a Noghri village where the Dikuht of the clan and her were in a hunt of each other themselves. Concealed as she was, Azazel's lips spread into a faint smile. It was one of those games now, then... Azazel continues to trail behind, expecting fully that Traiserus would at least pursuit the forward group and give her a solid chance. Why would he expect her to wander off alone when she has sought out her followers repeatedly now...

Azazel was still trailing behind, suddenly Xen voice coming through. "We reached the vehicle bay Janii told us about, only four guards, waiting for your command, Azazel."

Before she can reply several guards come into Azazel's view.

Azazel waits, holding her breath as the guards continue past her, she slowly begins to count them off. 8. As soon as she decides they are out of hearing distance, she whispers into the commlink, “Execute. 8 more heading your way.”

A moment later Xen cam back, "Well, that was.. .fascinating, Janii used some kind of hologram to make some decoys and we managed to combine our efforts to take out the guards. Laying in wait for the others."

Azazel meanwhile still lies in wait and then after
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Tempest
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Tempest Feminazi

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Siths and Shenanigans at the Mountain Resort Part II
Azazel & Co. at Pavia in the Tepani Sector

Azazel meanwhile still lies in wait and then after a moment Xen comes in again. "Well... we engaged them, Kitt... almost twisted one's head off... while we shot some others... and then... Hakkri.. .well... the remaining ones... started killing each other..."

Azazel still tries to lei in wait for Traiserus but senses nothing... now however she hears voices from up ahead. "Team three stopped reporting in, near the vehicle bay."

"Can't raise the guards there."

"Ferglutz, thats where they have gone, round up everyone! Now!"

Followed by hurried footsteps and shouting, the first guards rounding the corner, four of them, running towards the vehicle bay.

Pride swells in her for a moment before she hears the guards. Without further ado, she takes off in a dead sprint after her followers. Grimacing at her burning, now growing leaden legs, she reports into her commlink, “All guards are coming in on your location. Go.”

As Azazel arrives, she sees a particularly fancy speeder waiting with the ramp down for her. As she glances around she would not only notice this speeder was far more luxurious... but that the others all had their hoods up and apparent blaster shots riddled through them. She blinks and smiles, still feeling more of that pride that her followers were doing so well thinking ahead and planning for themselves. She turns about, concealment falling as she closes her eyes, wishing for silent forgiveness that she would be unable to end this now. “Go, now... This is a lost call...”

As they make it back to the OS-80, Azazel simply falls back, flopping into a chair and buries her face in her hands. The hair Hakkri had spent so long setting up neatly had fallen and was now loose and in frays. Her dress was in shambles and looked more like rags.

Kitt nestles beside her in a similar state. Azazel looks, and also notices a large chest on the ship with them, and Janii. She sighs and catches her breath as Xen moves forward, “I've contacted Bezol to rendezvous with us... Oh, and this Janii wishes a word,” he gestures at the trunk, “Don't know what that's about, but she insisted on taking it with us.”

Azazel grimaces, brushing her hair back and just not noticing the burn marks along her hands and forearms. She grimaces and stands, trying to wipe the soot from her face as she moves to address Janii “A word, huh? Must be a pretty big one.” She glances sidelong at the cyborg, “Or did you wish one from me?”

Janii silently studies Azazel, "First question, are you a noble of this sector?" Her words were in a neutral tone of voice.

Azazel pauses for a moment before shaking her head, “No, lowborn. On a gas-mine world a ways off.”

Janii frowns and nods, "I see, but what I was told, that you were investigating the murder, no assassination, of a friend of yours, is true?"

Azazel rubs her cheek before taking a spot across from Janii. “Attempted assassination. I discovered recently, just before coming here actually, that someone, likely tied to her nephew, Jehemath the Fifth, tried to have her killed... And was quite near successful. A 'skiing' accident at a resort was the cover-up.” She glances at her hands, closing her eyes as it dawned on her just where they had been, “Now that I stop to think of it, it may have been obvious that this may have been the place...”

Janii blinked, "Lady Braghda?"

Azazel's lips curl into a slight smile, “Lady Braghda Hejaran, the Dragon Lady, indeed.”

Janii cocked her head, "I am unfamiliar with the title 'Dragon Lady' but I do recall one strange accident that reportedly ended in her death, strange because we made no investigation of how it was caused. It makes sense now." She nods slowly. "I fear that my former master, as well as several other nobles, have been assassinated, by the same person or group your friend was targetted by. Today proved that lord Traiserus is involved and he is a personal friend of my former master's wife, who owns the resort. Which implicates the two of them together." Her eyes bore into Azazel's, "To that end... you asked my why I served, well now I have enough reason to suspect my... 'mistress' has in fact had a hand in the murder of my master. Since you seem eager to uncover this plot... and hunt down those responsible, I wish to join you, if you allow me."

Azazel raises her brows in surprise before nodding slowly, “As much as I would appreciate your assistance, you are... quite skillful. To that end, you have after all seen through Xen and Rei'Ki's concealment... And assisted them greatly.” Her eyes narrow on Xen and Rei'Ki and they both grimace and try to make themselves look small, knowing this meant more training. “However, there are incredible risks involved challenging one such as him...” She sighs and rubs over her face, “The room we were in and the next three or so over were all destroyed. People were disintegrated by this man. I believe the only reasons Kitt is with us now is her Echani training giving her enough of an edge to avoid the strikes. Myself...” She looks at her hands, “I was saved by all of you time and time again, and I am supposed to be his equal... But, I am... afraid my performance has suffered... I... I don't know if I could knowingly enter a conflict with Traiserus again unless I know the odds are in my favor.”

Janii was silent for a moment. "I do not care, all I wish, is to be part of the mission that sees those responsible for killing my master, the one who raised me from the streets and gave me purpose, slain, either through the courts of justice, but if that is not possible, simply killing them suffices as well. I was almost blown up myself when my master died, hence my enhancements and cybernetics. But if that is not enough." She reached down and opened the trunk. "I took this as my severance package, these are credit bonds, they were supposed to be brought to the bank today, but due to your arrival, that clearly did not happen, they are yours. Four million credits total."

Azazel laughs slightly and lays back, “Very well... Do come with me... I will destroy him yet...” She sighs and tries to get comfortable as she watches Xen trying to see to a whimpering Hakkri's wounds. She furrows her brow and rubs over her face, “Bezol, the Red Sanctuary... I need the hypercomms.” She looks at Janii before rubbing over her cheek, “After this, I have to ask... What will you do? I... Am always looking for skilled individuals, but I cannot always say my hands are clean... And I would rather you not... Informing any government organization of the abilities of me and mine... It is something we have avoided.”

Janii frowned and sighed, "I was instructed, when serving my master, Tapani nobility, to accept and keep my master's secrets. I will be fine, as long as any lawkeepers do not ask me direct question, I will not lie then. Strangely people treat bodyguards as furniture so nothing to worry." SHe glared, "But I will not be part of murder or slavery."

Azazel tenses before sighing, “I try to avoid bloodshed unless one raises arms against me first... And I am opposed to slavery. Quite a deal, in fact.” She runs her hand back, looking to Rei'Ki and Xen. “We kill people... Sometimes we have little option. I tried to enter the resort without starting a disaster. I attempted to get past the guards without bloodshed. Things... Did not fair well. I would not ask you to kill anyone without being under duress. I will respect that of you.” She bows her head.

Hakkri grimaces and lets out a soft cry as Xen dabs at the gunshot on his arm. “It huuuuuurts!”

Xen frowns, “You need to see the medic, you may be out for a little while.”

Hakkri frowns, shuddering at the thought, “I just got out, though...”

Kitt sniffs, “Get over it, you baby. Azazel is all scorched up and I'm a little singed here and there too, but you don't see us bawling.”

Hakkri levels his eyes on her, “Oh yeah? How about I shoot you in the arm and see how you like it!”

Xen takes that moment to take away Hakkri's blasters.

Azazel smiles embarrassedly at Janii, “And, I wish this was not so common... I have... an interesting family.” She watches the trio fondly as Rei'Ki flicks her commlink on and off, looking at the picture upon it with a deep frown.

Janii looks around and seems to mentally shrug from the look on her face. "I never worked for a force user before, as I said, thought your kind were just legends. I will adapt."

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Helios
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Corusca Sector
Coruscant
Pantoran Senate Affairs Chamber


A freshly poured glass of fine Uyter wine stood half emptied at either figure’s end of the table. For the past hour they had been using it to chase down their hollow words of small talk.

“The longer this war progresses, the more obvious it is that the Republic will not win. When you look at the books, we simply do not have the funds to continue such a charade. The longer we draw out this conflict into a war of attrition we will surely begin to crumble from within both financially and morally. Already my planet is slipping into the poverty of a backwater colony. The power supplies cut off at night, countless goods rationed for the war effort, even the very crop yields that my people survive off of are being forcefully “sold” to the clone armies for pennies on the credit. The bacta shipments my people desperately need are constantly being rerouted in transit to Republic fleets nearby.”

Sergi sat across from Senator Riyo Chuchi in one of her private council rooms, a polished chrome table spanning the distance between them. It was a barrier that mirrored the pair’s relationship as well. The two figures were on friendly terms when it came to galas or other public venues but in the office, Sergi was just other lobbiest in a political system crawling with people wanting to be heard. He was the guest and she was the senator and everything from the guards to the seat cushions reiterated that.

“Mind you, these fleets lurking around our systems are not the “protection” we are told to hail them as; those crafts of war are magnets to their own purpose. They beckon in chaos and destruction like a beacon. And what do we gain in their wake? We move forward a meter on one front only to lose that same distance on another. It is a dance of metal and blood to the tune of our credits evaporating into thin air.” Sergi spoke with a calm fire, moving his hands to the motion of his words almost seamlessly. He had practiced his monologue beforehand and it probably showed. But there was still an air of genuineness about it, because Sergi did still truly believe everything he had said. He was careful not to sound too radical though.

“Your words are beginning to sound a lot like treason Dr. Dio.” Senator Riyo Chuchi replied with an eyebrow slightly raised in an air of accusation.

“Far from it I should think. I am a true patriot; one who will not risk the institution of the Republic on a vapid dream that we can win this war without dialog between us and the Confederates. As I have said, financially this war will ruin us. Hundreds of systems have removed themselves from our sinking vessel and declared neutrality because they see this too. If we continue to wage this war we will destroy ourselves from within and we will have fought for nothing!”

“You would disgrace the sacrifices of countless millions who have fought for this cause!?” Senator Riyo Chuchi appeared genuinely upset now. Her body was raised slightly out of her seat as her pristine blue fingers perched onto the top of the table.

“I would honor them by making something of their sacrifice before the dream that they strove for becomes thin air! We must broker for peace between our factions now before the pendulum of attrition switches into the Confederates favor. They are blind fanatics because they feel they are fighting for their own freedom; a freedom from the bureaucracy and centralization of a government which for centuries has paid them no attention. We must reason with them as equals now, perhaps negotiate and improve our senate before countless more are needlessly slaughtered.” Sergi gently stood up from his seat and strode over towards the senator. The guards were a put slightly on edge by this gesture given its seemingly Separatist context.

“…This war is not white and black.” Sergi gently said looking placidly at the beautiful, young senator. He sat down casually on the side of the table mere feet away from the senator. “Scholars will argue for ages on who started it, but the truth is that the Republic started it when we politically alienated the needs of the Outer Rim; the needs of so many systems capable of understanding and governing themselves far better than a council in Coruscant. But what is worse, we have continued to defame our values as this war has dragged on. When the Republic occupies a planet we treat their people no better than the CIS. While we search house by house and capture without warrant we create a terrorist for every one we destroy. We are not liberators. We are harbingers of martial law and the promise that war will come to their people’s doorstep. A war that these people did not choose, that they do not fight for, and that they cannot hope to escape.”

Sergi’s eyes remained locked into those of the Pantoran senator. He gazed into the pools of iridescent gold looking for some semblance of empathy in them. Without looking away, he calmly grabbed one of the ornamental fruits placed in the middle of the table. It was a strange blue sphere with purple dots and a leathery bloom at the top. The fruit was a native of the senator’s home world. Very rare, very tasty. Sergi expertly began peeling the alien food in a way that only someone who had been to its home world would know how.

“I assure you, Pantora will be next, as will Uryter, as will every planet in the Mid Rim. We will be caught in the ebb and flow of destruction. Our people will burn in the invasions of the CIS and their still smoldering ashes will be spread by the boots of the Republic when they reoccupy. Your constituency will become dust in the wind—that is if you remain a senator to see it. These Core-world militants will take any excuse to depose a senator of an occupied system. The screams of your people will no-longer be heard in the senate. The forum’s numbers will grow smaller and smaller, ever more centralized and ever more disassociated with the suffering on the fronts it wages its crusade. The Republic is not what it once was and if we do not change our course I fear it will never hope to be the same again.”

With his last word Sergi took a bite of the small piece of fruit, playfully raising his eyebrows as he did so. It had peeled cleanly into two separate halves and the other portion lied in Sergi’s outstretched hand as an offering to the young senator. A slight smile crept across her face that betrayed her coy amusement. The senator gingerly took the piece of fruit from Sergi’s hand and he felt it, the slight touch of one of her fingers brushing up against his. To anyone else it would have been nothing but to him it was the greatest achievement of the night.

“I will take your words under consideration, Dr. Dio.” She said with a renewed poise. The senator stood up as a clear sign that it was time for Sergi to retire. He too gracefully took to his feet and bowed toward the senator respectfully.

“That is all I ask, milady. Do keep the wine. I hope you enjoyed it. However if your saabac face is better than I could detect, feel free to throw it out. I am afraid that the journey from Uryter did bland it a bit. I fear I do not have the connections my aunt does in that department. If you ever do wish to visit the senator I will put in a word for the best bottle I can find. I assure you though, if you ever visit Uryter a fresh brew will truly sweep you off your feet. Senator Dio would welcome your company any time, as would I.”

----------------------------------------

As Sergi smoothly exited the Pantoran senator’s office he was followed at heel by his bodyguard. She was an attractive woman but in a way that had to grow on you first like the taste of a strong whiskey. It was if she had all the basic requirements for being pretty but they didn’t all add up. Perhaps it was how her complexion was slightly dimpled from various childhood diseases, or how she held herself like she was constantly ready for a fight. Perhaps the final blow to this flower that never fully bloomed was her cybernetic eye. It was of fine quality, sure, but it was just a sad reminder that this girl had to fight for everything she was and everything she had.

“I don’t think she fell for it,” the bodyguard said still matching Sergi’s brisk stride. “I’d dare say it would be hard for anyone to see you walk in there with your fine robes and say that anything in life was hard for you.” Sergi stopped in his tracks and looked down agitatedly at the short young woman. She quickly continued before he could rebuttal. “Not that that’s a bad thing. A person dressed like a refugee would never have even gotten an audience in the senator’s office.” Sergi reassumed his walk, allowing the bodyguard to speak her mind despite the reluctance smeared across his face. “Perhaps you would have better luck wooing her out in the field, covered in mud and gore. Get your hands dirty together and bond over actually doing something, actually seeing hardship. Your heart is in the right place but she needs to see you’re not just another smooth talking conman.”

Sergi prayed that someone else would walk by and interrupt the meanderings of this woman. She was beginning to sound like his aunt. But alas, the pair were chronically alone as they strode through the sunlit corridors of the senate building. It was dusk now and the smog of Courescant dashed every hue of orange and red across the halls like water colors. The pair walked in quiet sync for a while before the bodyguard could not handle the silence anymore and piped up playfully.

“You know, you and Senator Chuchi would make a smart match. She’s as high born as they come and a smart girl at that. I think she’s quite nice myself. A bit shy, but a politician that can actually hold their tongue is a maverick in her own right. I like the way she smiles at people, like she knows they’re ugly and yet she loves them in spite of themselves. She’s genuine. And I bet shed make some genuinely cute kids too—“

“And how do you suppose I do that, Sophia? Show up at her door with flowers? ‘Oh hello senator, I’m that guy you talked to once. I’m here to marry and fertilize you.’ I’ll just give her a big genuine smile and she with genuinely disrobe and present me a ring finger.” Sergi’s words were frustrated, much more so than he should have liked. He immediately regretted their tone. In an attempt to lighten the obviously hurt mood he continued to play along much warmer. “Don’t pretend like you could give me advice on how to woo her. I would imagine your ideal date be competing in a bench-press competition with gundarks.” His quip was met with a warm smile. Sergi patted his hand gently on the nape of her neck. At times she felt like a little sister to him. Sophia always managed to be completely on his side. She had his best interest at heart even when they weren’t on his heart.

As the two approached his chamber, the doors slid open with a hiss. This immediately threw up warning signs to Sophia, the bodyguard, as Sergi’s chambers should have been locked. Someone or something must have deactivated them. Before Sergi could move another step, the stalky girl crossed her body in front of his with her weapon trained on whoever was in the room. It was a single figure standing coolly, arms crossed as she looked out at the sunset which now faded into the bleakest of purple shades. The silhouette turned slowly to look at Sergi and his human shield. The pale lavender light clearly shone on half of the woman’s face. It was Sergi’s right-hand, Kayleigh Walsh.

It was an awkward amount of time before anyone moved. Sophia still had her weapon trained on Kayleigh and for a moment Sergi suspected she was half-likely to pull the trigger. Sophia hated Kayleigh, Kayleigh hated Sophia, and Sergi was a dangling toy in a cat fight. He quickly went for the lights. As they illuminated the room he could feel the drama of the situation subsiding.

“I assume talks went well?” Said the once shadowy figure. In the broad light her beauty was very clear. She was a woman of presence. Everything from her stance to the way she delivered her words was brimming with a composed confidence. This confident posture was even more the case with Sophia in the room as Kayleigh attempted to drown her in an alpha-female aura. Sergi pretended not to notice in an attempt to cope with the tension in the room. He turned to Sophia whose gaze was still locked on Kayleigh and whose hand remained perched on her now holstered blaster. Sergi gently took the back of her neck and pulled her into his peck on her forehead. He mouthed the words “thank you” but they had no voice to carry. He knew Sophia’s dislike for Kayleigh and their “unprofessional and unbecoming” relationship and in that moment he was slightly embarrassed by it. It was he knew this woman was a dangerous addiction but chose to keep rolling the dice. Sophia shot him a disappointed look before walking off down the hall with a furious pace. The chamber doors hissed closed behind her, leaving Sergi’s hand still hovering where it had been on her neck.

“In the game of politics, talking is quite irrelevant; perhaps the most irrelevant thing a senator can do.” Sergi spoke his words with slight hint of annoyance as he rounded on brunette. “It is perhaps the only thing more irrelevant than actions of senators. What matters from that naïve young girl is her vote. I dare say we don’t have it yet, but soon she may see our side of things…”

Sergi realized he was being all too serious. It had been a long day and he knew taking it out on Kayleigh would only make matters much worse. His previous statement of hollow political platitudes was sure to have pissed her off already. He knew this to be the case from the look she gave him. He smiled to himself, sadistically amused by the annoyance he had aroused. He kept his eyes and smirk aimed at the ground as he strode into the room and poured two glasses of wine. The glare he knew he was receiving the whole way only fueled his childlike giddiness. “I mean, why would she not..” sip ”see my side of things that is. How do you say no to these eyes?” Sergi shot the smoothest smolder he could muster. It was devastatingly pathetic.

“It’s easier than you think.”

“Perhaps for the grizzled warrior, all primp and proper in her cute little uniform.” Sergi, smiling ear to ear, grabbed Kayleigh’s blue uniform beret as he walked over towards the couches. He tossed the headgear onto the couch opposite him as a gesture for her to join him. She reluctantly followed him to the lounge.

“Excuse me, this is the uniform of a Senate Security Officer, the proudest tradition in the galaxy.” The comment was blatant sarcasm. She rather hated the senate guards with all their pomp and circumstance. The only reason she wore the blasted thing was to get around easier in the senate complex.

“Well you have done an excellent and noble day’s work. I hereby relieve you of duty for the night!” mocked Sergi as he gave the girl a fake salute. He then handed her a brimming glass of wine, careful not to wiggle it an inch lest some spill. The two exchanged a smile before Sergi threw himself onto the couch behind him. He sunk deep into its overstuffed cushioning one foot propped on the table before him. He spilled more than a dribble of wine as he did so but exhaustion clung to him too hard to show any sign of notice.

“Excellent! Then you can stop talking to me like I’m a droid and tell me how the negotiations really went.” Quiped Kayleigh.

Sergi threw his head back and moaned. As he careened it back to answer her statement he was taken aback by how gorgeous she looked. She had cuddled herself onto the opposite couch with her legs tucked up under her, a half empty wineglass in hand. Sergi rarely ever got to see her look like a true girl. This was a rare moment she was not covered in armor and dirt. She was just a young beautiful woman completely relaxed in all the comforts of privileged life. Her smile was so uncommonly polished as well; its lips weren’t cut from a “lucky hit” nor dried and withered from days without water. They didn’t even have their characteristic burden of sadness tucked behind the corners of her cheeks from months of deployment. It was as if every time he took her off the front lines she underwent a chrysalis and became the last thing he wanted to send into harm’s way.

Sergi caught himself before his mind wandered farther. “I told you,” he spoke with a fake haughtiness,”I seduced her-“

“Shut up.” Kayleigh interjected, her eyes rolling clean into the back of her head.

“-no I'm serious. A Pantoran girl like her is use to her only options being walking carpets like the Talz. She was just blatantly objectifying me—I felt like an animal in there!”

“I’m sure she gets her fill of attractive senators. I know I saw a pretty cute one pass me in the hall a few minutes ago. Shew, if only I could land a senator; a bonafide Representative even… But maybe it’s different when you’re the senator though. Maybe you play down to men of lower rank who have to make backroom deals. Maybe its cute.” She spoke with a vicious smile, knowing her words would take their mark.

Sergi was playfully upset but the pair both knew it to be somewhat genuine. He took the offensive. Placing his foot up on the table in his best captain stance, Sergi reached down and grabbed one of the scattered holo-mags. “Oh, what’s this?” He said with a rhetorical air. “Who is that stunning figure on the cover there?.. The galaxy’s most eligible bachelors, more on page… seven-” Kayleigh snatched the mag from him and gave a slightly conceding smile.

“I don’t know what’s more embarrassing, the fact that you have one of these in your chambers or that you paid someone to put your face in this tabloid. Were you attempting to secure the vote of a pre-teen girl? I didn’t think that the Lantilian sector allowed that age group a say in galactic maters, or even the ability to determine what a desirable man is made of.” She shook her head as she flipped though page after page of he-said she-said garbage on the way to the article in question.

“The funny thing is that I didn’t even pay them. In fact, they’re paying me tomorrow for a prime time interview.”

By now Kayleigh was on his page and scouring it inches from her nose. “I find it odd then that they got ahold of this picture of you working in a ‘destitute village on Ryloth’ without some intervention by you and a fair bit of photo-editing software to boot.” She quoted the tabloids words with a coy gag. The picture was one of him tenderly holding a withered Twi’lek child on one of his infamous humanitarian ventures. In this picture in particular, the sun sat perfectly in eyes and gave his natural tan a highly artificial glow. The next page was a full centerfold of singer-song writer ‘Erik’ shirtless with brimming abs lying sprawled on a beach. He was a suspected force user due to his ability to drop panties out of seemingly thin air. “Bahaha. You could have at least taken off your shirt like this nerf-herder. The man even died ages ago from a spice over-dose.”

“And that is exactly why I refrain from competing with such specimens. He has his abs, I have my ability to save children and support a family on realistic moral values. Don’t be fooled by my good looks and massive amounts of money, I’m actually quite a nice guy. Probably the best around-“

“Oh gag!” Bellowed Kayleigh. She got up from her seat and began to walk away.

Sergi quickly jumped full onto the table, chest puffed out like a gundark. “As Chancellor Sergi I decree that gaging shall have no place under my rule!”

Kayleigh shot her signature a glare over her shoulder. She had a half-wicked half-playful smile on. “You’re making a Separatist out of me every second, you’re high-ness.

Kayleigh lunged at Sergi playfully knocking him off the table and into the couch.

“An assault on the crown!” Sergi howled amidst laughter. Kayleigh effortlessly flipped down her hair and a waterfall of brunette locks swam over her shoulders. She began throwing muffled punches at the playfully cowering boy.

“Oh, are you a king now!?” She giggled as he began to mockingly wince at every blow.

“I am the king of the galaxy!” Sergi managed to cry between swings from the girl who had him in a full guard mount.

Sergi grabbed out at both of her forearms. She allowed his pathetic counter to take hold and the couple still in the moment. Sergi pulled in on Kayleigh’s firmly grasped arms and her hair dangled about his face. It smelled like fresh mint strawberry. For a second Sergi was lost in its aroma. The scent made his hands loosen their hold. He could feel her body dropping closer onto his.

“I am the greatest king there ever was.” Sergi whispered to her, their faces inches apart. Suddenly his eyes widened with a fiery glare. He tossed her body over in a pivot move she herself had taught him. It was sloppy but Kayleigh allowed it to happen and giggled all the way to the floor. Sergi now was perched over her at half-guard, her muscular legs wrapped tightly around his waist. He pinned her out stretched arms onto the floor. Her hair cascaded over the ground like warm chocolate, eyes like emeralds, her perfect smile welcoming him in.

“And as a king I must punish my traitors…”

=========================================
Lantillian Sector
Uyter
The Estate


Rain lashed against Glaxtus Vile's hardened face. The torrent of water traced his many scars and waterfalled off his soaked auburn beard. He and a handful of equally barbaric commandos strode behind across the open landing pad. They had arrived from a long, cramped journey aboard the shuttle perched behind them on the cliff-like airfield. To the team's right they could see the night-time glow of a small, quiet city many thousand feet below their position. The small village was called Lilly town and it had become the infamous retreat of troops stationed to the Estate. It was what made this posting a dream job: good beds, great food, and unforgettable women.

As Glaxtus and his men approached one of the Estate's many gleaming walls, he was met by a small armored vehicle screaming towards his position. The wheeled vehicle took a sharp turn in front of the team and drifted drastically on the waterlogged surface. Before the vehicle had even stopped a man strode out of the passenger's side with a synthetic cool. Glaxtus chortled to himself at the unprofessional display. Most of the security were just trigger-happy firemen and first responders who saw more action responding to local medical emergencies and hover-craft wrecks in the small underlying town than any combat. Unprofessional at best and country dumbasses by default.

"Top of the evening to you, Master Sergeant. I'm Lieutenant Dan." The overweight security officer gave a half-assed salute that seamlessly turned into an out-stretched hand prompting to be shook. Glaxtus Simply nodded and grasped the hand in front of him. His gruff features towered over the officer's with his gargantuan chest at level with the pudgy man’s nose. Glaxtus allowed his presence to loom without a word spoken.

"Fine Uyter weather we're having today ain't it?" the officer finally quibbled, gesturing an open palm to the monsoon rain. There was no response but the man played off the awkwardness well and patted Glaxtus on the back like the father of a dim-witted child. "Y'all go ahead and jump in the back," the officer said now gesturing at the micro-APC. "It's another mile till you'll be inside the Estate and that just ain't worth it with the sky pissin like this."

"We'll walk." Glaxtus replied.

And walk they did, but before doing so the 11 commandos hoisted the entire light armored car onto their shoulders like a casket. The driver of the vehicle soon leaped out in disbelief and quickly scurried to the side of his lieutenant who was equally shocked by the unorthodox display. “Now I say, I’m mighty impressed with this little charade—mighty impressed. But as I said, it’s a mean 2 miles yonder to where I was going to park that. None the less, I admire—“

“Fuck what you admire. Just keep up.” Blasted Glaxtus as he and his team of oversized brutes began trotting forward at pace with their hefty cargo. Soon all that could be heard above the galling winds was the deep cadences of the team as they strode off toward Sergi’s crown jewel, the Estate.

When the team finally arrived at their destination exhaustion was a thread weaved into every movement of their bodies. Many of the men lounged themselves onto the ornate ivory walls that surrounded the Estates entrance. As they unsealed their distinctive mandalorian helmets, their exposed skulls steamed with the onset of the still pouring rain. However on each of the men’s faces were the distinct markings of a smile. They quietly exchanged fist-bumps and “oorahs” to each other as they waited for the officer sent to greet them to finally catch up.

The hulking mass of Glaxtus was among these small exchanges. The grizzled figure finally came up to his sergeant, a similarly immense zabrak, and playfully grabbed the back of his neck. “Vikus, I felt something dragging us back. I knew it must have been your sorry ass.” He prodded playfully, giving his old friend a hard smack on the chest as he did so.

“I guess I was too busy thinking of all the deflowering I’m going to do in Lilly town when I get the chance.” The zebrak spoke with a vicious smile; half-joking, half beyond serious.

“You think I’m going to let you dogs get a chance? You start spreading your seed in this galaxy and were all fucked.” Glaxtus’s joking was interrupted by the feint sound of panting over his shoulder. The officer who had met them stood doubled over, with his hands on his knees just behind the pair. Glaxtus turned to the man and again loomed his presence over him like a disappointed father.

“A fine… display… gentlemen,” the officer blubbered between gasps. “Quite a fine display. Now what say we all sit down in the great hall for some chow; peel out of these clothes too while we’re at it?”

“Sorry lieutenant. We’re on direct orders from General Karns to report to the training deck immediately upon arrival.”

“Ahh, well if you insist. I assume my services end here if you are capable of seeing yourself to the facility… I’ll just take my vehicle back, which I assume you lot have not yet broken. Alas a fine rib-eye awaits. I bid you adieu gentlemen.”

“Sorry sir, that’s coming with us as well. General Karns informed us a man he referred to as a ‘fat fuck’ would be delivering us a light armored car for our use within the training deck.” Glaxtus casually gestured to his men to start boarding the vehicle before returning his emotionless gaze onto the security officer.

The lieutenant was almost too appalled by the crass remark to even reply; however, he managed to do so in a sputtering, disgruntled manner. “I…I… seem to recall that you are practicing VBSS. How exactly does one use a vehicle to interdict a space vessel?”

“We intend to find out.”

“Well I don’t intend to let you.”

“Generals orders sir. We were told to disregard any superior officers acting like a ‘toydarian bitch’ as well.. General’s orders.”

As the lieutenant stood dumbfounded, Glaxtus simply gave him a curt head nod and turned to the armored car now bejeweled by commandos hanging off of every hard point. The heavily armored commando quickly hopped a seat onto the rear fender next to his sergeant who gave the hull a double thump to signal it was clear to go. Even as the vehicle began to speed away, the same slack-jawed expression was becoming stale on the lieutenant’s face. As they sped off into the fog of the rain Glaxtus coolly shot the officer a last gesture with his middle finger before they disappeared from sight.

“You’re a lunatic.” The zebrak sergeant muttered between disbelieving laughter.

“Well at least there’s a slim chance of any of us getting leave while were here. Maybe I’ll spare the female race of you yet.”

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Sarzu
Raw

Sarzu

Member Offline since relaunch

In the life of a Jedi & Friends,
The Antar 4 insurrection saga


Tohkran and his apprentice-turned Knight Goddor were practicing, lazily clashing their blades together, slowly speeding up as they went through their usual routine with each other till they were almost a blur and then stopped, slowing down and eventually just stood still and turned off their lightsabers. "You have indeed mastered the blade."

The rodian jedi knight grinned and shrugged, "Thank to your teachings master, I hope I can be a good knight as well." He then frowned, "May I ask a question master?"

Tohkran chuckled and shook his head, "No need to be formal anymore, feel free to call my by my name, but yes. Ask your question."

"This system we are getting closer, the world Antar 4, do you really think Antarian Rangers are involved? And if so, what do you hope to achieve?" Goddor asked honestly.

Tohkran placed his saberhilt back to his cane and frowned, thinking. "To be completely honest... I have no idea what I will do if they are indeed Altarian Rangers. However they are a part of jedi history, they used to work with the Order centuries ago, and if they still exist, and apparently a jedi is leading them, or whatever resistance the Antarians are building against the CIS. I feel obligated to venture out there and find out."

At that point Thrall's voice came over the internal comms. "This is your captain speaking, we are about to exit hyperspace at the very edge of the Antar system, please note that we will go into stealth mode and have the cloak activated upon our arrival. There will be no walking through the corridors and please note that the 'do not smoke' sign is lit. Also would a certain beard-face come to the bridge, thank you and have a pleasant spaceflight."

Tohkran rolled his eyes and let out a amused snort. "He takes a curious kind of satisfaction doing that... well then, off to the bridge."

As the Illusion emerges from Hyperspace hre sensors watch and it quickly reveals a not insignificant fleet presence. Three Lucrehulks. A half dozen smaller ships and... the big one.

... Almost out of detection range near eclipsed by the planet was one Subjugator Class Heavy Cruiser. One of the Malevolence's cruel and vicious sister ships. Whoever was in charge of CIS affairs on Antar was no small presence.

Tohkran and Goddor reached the bridge just as the ship left hyperspace and the size of the CIS presence was revealed. Thrall nodded to Tohkran as he slithered around, "Well, they sure are serious, not a token occupational force, that is for sure. What do you want us to do?"

Tohkran frowned and then rose a eyebrow. "You are the admiral and captain of this ship."

Thrall snorted, "Damn straight I am, was just testing you if you still remembered that, worrying about you in your old day and all." He turned to the crew of the bridge. "Right then, take us on a course that makes us stay at a distance of those CIS ships, get us closer so we can make some covert scans of the planet, perhaps pick up some transmission as to explain what is going on on the surface of Antar 4 and this system."

Approaching the planet the scans begin to relay information as the passive systems work to pick up anything of interest. What they discover is... unpleasant... to say the least. The anarchic government has been totally suppressed with droids patrolling the streets in force. After some hours the picture only becomes worse, it becomes clear that whoever is overseeing the CIS interest in Antar has been shipping 'malcontents' and 'subversives' into working vast open strip-mines that have begun to appear. And the population being forced to work it is not small, thousands of men, women... and children as young as seven or eight, being forced to labour the mines.

Continued scans reveal that the vast majority of resources are all being funneled by armoured convoys towards a miniature city of foundries being constructed. It doesn't take the Illusion's bridge crew long at all to realize that they would be Droid and Tank Foundries when completed.

And that was when they got their first glimpse of the anarchist's fighting back against their oppressors when the Illusion detected the detonation of a Baradium Bomb that destroyed three Foundries under production.

Backtracking the sensor data reveals that it was a bomb truck responsible. And all indications are that it was manned by at least one humanoid.

Faces had become grim and worrisome as data started pouring in about the situation on the planet. "They are turning this world in a factory to produce more machines to bring death and destruction in this war of madness." Tohkran muttered, shaking his head. "This is a travesty."

Thrall coughed, "New information... a explosion took place there." He gestured to some of the mapping data they had made and indeed the sign of a explosion was there." Bomb truck... suicide bomber from what it looks like." He said without emotion.

Tohkran took it in silently. "They are either determined or desperate then... or both. Can you find out where that truck came from... or see if the CIS report of a region with the most 'anarchist' activity?"

Unfortunately, Thrall is incapable, or more specifically, the crew, is incapable of backtracking the truck. It had to have been moving down around the buildings outside of casual sensor detection.

However a review of the original data suggests three potential strongholds in the "rough vicinity" one, a hundred kilometres to the North the CIS reports suggest might be an Air-base for the insurgents, possibly an old illicit spaceport repurposed for the job.

The other two suggest a pair of bases somewhat to the south-west, there is not enough data to get any hard location though scans might reveal more. In the aftermath of the bombing sensors do however detect one of the Lucrehulks altering its stationary orbit and deploying four squadrons of Vulture Droids to overfly the attack. One of these squadrons breaks off and makes Northwards to try and, Thrall is lead to believe, make another sweep to try and find the hidden airbase.

Tohkran frowned taking it in and then contacted the hangar bays. "Marack, prepare your ship... load up a CIS cargo transport with your transponder array." He then turned to Thrall. "Bring us over the northern hemisphere of the world, keep track of that droid squadron trying to make a sweep there. Make a scan ourselves of that region... and just in case prepare the interceptors and starfighters for launch as well."

Thrall was already giving out the orders as the last word left Tohkran's lips.

The Illusion spends two hours in it's search pattern. And it's productive, incapable of spotting your ship you find the Airbase in the middle of a forest, a large open structure with a retractable roof. Your sensors are able ot easily distinguish the people working around the clock in a hurry. As your sensors indicate that the Vultures are coming close to detecting the base you see the roof of the structure wind closed and men and women rushing to duty stations when... before your very eyes... a forest appears on top of the airbase.

It only takes a few minutes to realize that they've engaged some form of hologram to disguise the base, and with your sensor resolution it doesn't fool you for very long anyway, but it might, just might, fool the Vultures.

Indeed. It seems to work, but the squadron of Vultures continues to make low, sweeping and methodical search patterns over the area for ten hours before being recalled to the Lucrehulk. The Lucrehulk however seems to show no signs of returning to its duty post and you realise why the deployment of ships seems so erratic.

The CIS simply keeps their ships close to the last strike. But finally the airbase opens its roof once more and a speeder emerges heading east, your sensors can detect it is travelling over maximum capacity on some errand and frankly dangerous speeds for its overloaded weight.

"Thrall, you have the bridge. Follow that speeder and keep it in sight, you are wizened enough to make your own decisions to whatever situation that might arise. I and Goddor will travel with Marack to the surface, see if we can land near that forest and make our way to that base on foot."

Thrall grinned, "Sure thing beard face, just to be sure, if you die, the ship and whole operation back home is mine, yes?"

Tohkran snorts, "That means the paperwork and administrative duties are yours too."

"I see, changed my mind, you better survive old man." Thrall said with a laugh and turned to attend to his duties as ship commander, while Tohkran and Goddor headed to the hangars to board the Killer Whale and head to the surface.

As the Killer Whale begun its descent under the false ID Marack picked up a squadron of droid craft closing, instantly identified as Droid Tri-Fighters... two Squadrons worth. A voice came through the comm panel. "Vessel TV-4930-ETB Swansong, your entry into Antar IV space is prohibited. System records show that you have not been through customs or processing and have appeared too close to the planet without inspection. You will head to the following co-ordinates, or be shot down. You have 20 seconds to comply with course-corrections." The droid voice intoned over the transmitter. They'd been detected.

Tohkran frowned and patted the shoulder of Marack. "Comply, we will find a other way." He said.

Suddenly alarms are blazing as records of multiple missile locks blare over the ships audible alarms and numerous missiles race up from the edge of the forest below. Marack throws the ship into a diving spiral as a quarter of the Tri-Fighters are annihilated by the Barrage, indeed, two of the missiles strike the Killer Whale, only Marack's piloting skills preventing more striking, but still those standing are thrown about the cabin by the unexpected evasive maneuvers...

And suddenly the alarms begin chiming, a second salvo of missiles is launched. It seems that, flying a CIS Transponder Code has the insurgents believing that you're being escorted willingly. Once more Marack prepares to evade.

Tohkran cursed, this was a bumpy ride for sure, "Marack keep evading... drop the transponder signal, let them see this smuggler freighter we really are... Goddor get into the gun turret and open fire at the droids." As goddor ran from the cockpit Tohkran himself went for the communications console and boradcasted to the surface below a simple message both with voice and text. 'Smuggler freighter, jedi aboard.'

The missile salvo killed another two of the Tri-Fighters and they peeled off before Goddor could even reach the turret, Tohkran found himself concerned, Marack still had the nose of the freighter pointed for an inevitable meeting with the ground as the missile Salvo missed striking the Whale. A third salvo was launched and Tohkran glanced at Marack. "What are you doing?"

"Rapid Surface Deceleration Manoeuvre." Marack answered.

"What?"

"Sounds better than 'deliberately smashing into something hopefully not made of granite to avoid being splattered across the landscape by missiles.' yeah?" Marack replied. And then it appeared, a hillock of rough dirt and the patchiest looking grass you ever did see. "Hold onto your seats and kiss your ass goodbye if this doesn't work."

...

...

Impact.

The Whale Juddered and her aft end lifted high as Marack killed the power instantly so that the engines didn't drive it any deeper. Fortunately the hillock was simple dirt and with the shields still up most of the damage was little more than a dinged up nose and some severe bruising. But the craft 'landed' after bursting through the Hillock more or less intact, though two of the men in the back had concussions after accidentally headbutting during Maracks Wyld Ryde.

But they were down, and the missiles lost their target detonating some kilometres away.

Groaning Tohkran came to his senses and used a little force healing to nurture his bumps and bruises. "Nice flying... I think."

Marack was still manning the controls and shrugged, "We seem to be mostly in one piece."

He groaned and checked to see if his leg worked, it thankfully did, at that point Goddor walked in, nursing his head. "Are landings like this normal for you?" He asked the Herglic.

"Stay on my ship for a while as I go places and find out." Came the reply.

Goddor winced and said nothing, leaving Tohkran to fill the void. "Well... that could have gone better... Did anyone respond to my message... or in fact any sign of anything? CIS or otherwise?"

Marack shrugged again, "Nothing at all, at least message wise, there are some speeders approaching though from the treeline. If its a welcome committee... well I wouldn't feel welcome."

Tohkran nodded, "Right... Marack power down the ship, but lwoer the boarding ramp." Marack nodded and proceeded to do so while Tohkran motioned for Goddor to follow, with Goddor standing in the ship Tohkran decided to wait outside for the speeders to arrive, but just to be safe he instructed Goddor to get a bubble of protection around himself while he did his more advanced version of force absorb, just in case.

As they closed it became clear there were three speeders on approach, two stopped well back and began setting up what appeared to be mobile launchers, and a pair of Mortars.

The other closed to within 200 metres and stopped, ten men emerging. They carried an assortment of weapons ranging from Blaster Carbines to Sniper Rifles and even a Flechette launcher. They closed on the Whale with extreme professionalism.

They noticed Tohkran standing outside and came to a half at a safe distance from them. Their leader seemed to pause considering the implications of what he saw. "You work for the tinheads." He finally declared. "Well you're prisoners now. Turn yourselves over and we'll only rough you up a little bit. Make it hard we rough you up more. We don't have time to play games with petty bureaucrats."

Tohkran raised a brow, "I do not work for the tinheads, but I and my crew will come willingly. Goddor get Marack please. No weapons, please hand me yours." There was a moment of hesitation and Goddor tossed his lightsaber to Tohkran who grabbed it, hearing the rodian knight head deeper inside to get Marack.

Turning to the spokesperson he showed the lightsaber and then placed it on the ground.

Tohkran allowed himself to be manacled, and didn;t bat an eye as one of them took his cane, he did spoke up at one point however. "I don't suppose you could get the ship into cover somewhere, out of sight of the CIS? If they bother to investigate. It would also lessen the chances of your own discovery."

Tohkran blinked and saw Marack's eyes bulge open wide and he quickly spoke up. "No, please listen to me. I do not work for the CIS, you must have heard that there was a CIS transport suddenly at these coordinates as if it appeared out of nowhere, look at that ship, it is of corellian design, not CIS. Therefore a smuggler ship of some kind, by the force I came here to offer my assistance, we are already coming willingly and that ship, might be our only way out to rendezvous with our people."

"He begs so nicely." One of the troopers remarked rolling his eyes. "Can we keep him sir. I'll feed him and take him for walks."

"Shaddup, i'm trying to concentrate." The trooper named Jax remarked before the leader held up a hand.

"Hold it Jax. Team 2, wire that thing to blow to pieces, then cover it with a camo-net. If this drek's lying to us I'll push the detonator myself. If he's not, well we'll see what the Boss says then."

Tohkran let out a sigh of relief, "You have my thanks." He nodded in, what he hopes it was, a reassuring gesture to Marack who relaxed somewhat but glared at the missile trooper and then the commander before letting out a grunt.

The leader looks at Tohkran. "Shut up, you've convinced me to delay the execution of that ship you arrived in. But speak again and I might just push the force forsaken button out of spite."

The trip took almost four hours, and despite all the techniques one might use to memorize a route by the time the speeders began to slow Tohkran and his team would have been thoroughly lost, that is if they hadn't already actually known where the airbase was.

Arriving showed cream coloured walls of the airbases interior and the open hatch above looking up into space with a number of ships all hauled back out of sight. Most of them look to be in adequate repair and some look positively as if they were off the showroom floor, though a keen eye would spot that it had more to do with a fresh coat of paint than any quality repairs. Designed to confuse the casual observer.

Rudely shoved from the speeders the teams captors emerged. "Get the boss."

Some minutes later a man emerges, a tall muscular humanoid wearing much the same camouflaged armour as the rest of those coming and going. His heavily tanned skin that spoke of much outdoors activity and a thick head of dreadlocks and a stripe that ran across his face below the eyeline. He looked harried, busy and not a little bit angry at being disturbed. His eyes widen imperceptibly as he notices his 'guests' and he turns to the team Leader. "Where did you find these."

"Beyond Marker 10, They bore a CIS Transponder and were under escort by CIS Tri-Fighters. We considered it an opportunity target, a transport under escort uncomfortably close to the Aerie. On firing their craft crashed and these surrendered to us."

Tohkran held his tongue and so did Marack and Goddor, Tohkran was observing for the moment, waiting to be spoken to.

The 'Boss' went over to the insurgent carrying the confiscated weapons and instantly picked the lightsabre from the stack his eyes glowing as he pulled what knowledge he could from the weapon his face expressionless and now that the man was using it Tohkran could feel a very strong force presence from the man. He turned to face Tohkran with a less certain expression. "Well... Tohkran..." He said as if trying the name on for the first time... "You've bought yourself ten minutes to explain your presence here."

Tohkran raised an eyebrow and let out a chuckle, nodding to the walking stick. "My lightsaber is concealed in there, if you wanted to use psychometry on that as well." He studied the man and nodded. "So you are the jedi I heard rumours about, very well, you already learned my name, and that I am a jedi, so is the Rodian with me. I got some reports recently about this system, that the CIS had taken over and that a insurgency was taking place and that a jedi was leading them, so I felt it required a investigation up close. Hence here I am. And after my ship did some scans of the surface I was considering offering my help, if you want it."

"How incredibly vague of you." The man replied. "Ranger Captain Pierce, take their belongings to secure room 1, Ranger Captain Kensi, inform command that I will have to delay the meeting with the Generals. Ranger Captain Shaundi, escort them to our 'guest quarters'. Ranger Captain Oleg, with me, tell me everything." The man turned away as one of the female insurgents indicated that Tohkran and company should move ahead of her.

*

Two hours later the woman, Shaundi, collected them from their 'guest quarters' which were little more than three metre wide cube with a door that lacked a method of opening from the inside.

Finally you're lead into a room almost twenty metres in radius, the round room had all the hallmarks of a Jedi's Meditation chamber writ large. And in the centre of it, on a cold marble dais surrounded by a small moat and a rock garden around that, carefully maintained, was the "Boss" that the others had referred to. After being ushered in, and pointedly forced to look at the sign that said 'stay on the path' the door hissed closed.

"You took a great risk in coming here Jedi. For even rumour of me to have spread far enough to be heard I seriously entertained the idea of having you all executed as CIS spies and your ship blown to pieces. I am still not yet certain that is not the wisest cause of action."

He turned to Tokhran. "I am Quinlan Vos, and you have precisely one chance to genuinely convince me otherwise."

"A question first, your people, did say they suddenly detected the smuggler freighter as if it appeared out of nowhere, correct?" Tohkran said, looking calmly at the force user. "It might validate what I have to say next."

"No they did not. They mentioned detecting your ship after it passed over their duty station on their targeting computers as a CIS Transponder Code and Identifcation with a Droid Tri-Fighter Escort." Vos replied looking into Tohkran's eyes.

"Ah, how unfortunate. Well the ship was launched from a capital class vessel, the Illusion of Grace, a ship with a fully operational and currently active stygium cloaking device. As for the CIS transponder, well your crew have seen the ship, if any of them have ever seen a corellian design they must have seen it was clearly not CIS. It belongs to the Herglic with me, Marack is his name and it has been modified to... well easily change transponder codes. Unfortunately the CIS patrol of droid fighters had no log of our arrival and demanded we had to turn to the capital or shot down, the rest of what happened after you know.

But ask me what you will, I have no secrets, you showed you can read objects, probably enhanced beyond what a Kiffar like yourself can usually do, I have several hundred Kiffu Guardians in my employ as it happens, so our weapons must have showed you that myself and the rodian are jedi."

Vos nodded. "They did. But Jedi working with CIS is not unheard of in these times of trouble." He answered. "Indeed. Talk is ripe that the Jedi and Sith are not concealing themselves as once they were, that they were... making a return. Why have you come here. Why do you want to help us." Quinlan said with a note of almost tired resignation in his voice.

Tohkran raised a brow, "Well I do not support the CIS, if you must know I have a more Republic leaning, if I could I would have shown you some of the republic clones I have in my service but I feared to be caught by the CIS and be executed by them as spies for the Republic, so I do hope you see the irony of the situation that you were considering executing me and my people as CIS spies.

As for the reasons of me wanting to help you, they were twofold at first but sicne arriving here I got three reasons. One, I wish to support any jedi I encounter, we are all in this together and should help each other if possible. Two, I know about the lore of Antarian rangers and their aid to the jedi when they were formed and wished to repay the favour. Three, my ship scanned the surface, I know what they are doing here, what they are turning this world into and are using its population for and I will not stand for it."

"You do know that you cannot help us overnight." Quinlan said suddenly standing his own lightsabre now hanging from his belt. It was clear it was not something he typically wore about the base, but now wore over his indecision over what should be done about Tohkran. "IF you truly wish to help you will be committing to a significant and lengthy campaign? Because bluntly, we are losing this insurgency, and of late our most effective strategy has been strapping bombs to our most dedicated men, women... and children..." He said finally with a tear in one eye, "And sending them out hoping to hit those damnable droid foundries and slow construction more. Trying to free the people of this world has been even less fruitful!" You could almost feel a seething anger beneath his rough appearance. "Not an hour ago a speeder we sent to try and free a number of our bomb experts that were captured and sent to the mines for their 'sedition' was bombed to nothing by Droid Bombers. Do you have the courage, the conviction... the resources to stand with us until the end?" Quinlan said marching up to Tohkran with long, light strides. "Because if you cannot. We can't use you. If you give us hope and then are called away by whatever else you have going then we will break. My people are not invincible. And without help...."

There is long minutes of pause.

"Without help, this resistance may not last a single month more." Vos said finally.

Tohkran looked at Quinlan, hoping the Kiffar force user could sense the honesty in his words, "For that reason, when I decided to come here, I loaded up some of my best troops on that cloaked capital ship I mentioned, and are ready to be left here and help you fight, as well as a small number of tanks and vehicles. Then when I saw what was happening here I started to consider to make contact, and offer a alternative plan, I still wish to grant you the use of my troops and vehicles, perhaps even a number of squadrons if you can use them, but also that I might see if some of my friends and allies can get together and combine our ships and troops and help out in a bigger way. Not to mention, as I said I have a cloaked capital ship and one of my friends is... well connected in way that might be a bit beyond the law and might be able to send in smuggler to deliver more weapons, ammunition, food, medical supplies."

He raised a hand, "I can't say it will happen but I would promise, on my life and that of the living force I serve I will try my hardest to do so."

Quinlan looked indecisive. "I will accept your offer Tohkran. One one condition." He left it hanging.

Tohkran frowned but gestured for Quinlan to continue.

"You remain here, personally, until we either succeed in freeing this world, or die at the hands of the CIS." Quinlan said dispassionately.

Tohkran rose his eyebrows in surprise, but then slowly nodded after a moment of thought, "Agreed, but Goddor and Marack are free to return to my ship, especially Goddor... I have a number of younglings in my care and if I am to stay here, he has to take care and protect them along with my other eldest padawans. My friend who is in command of my ship can contact my friends, inform them of what is going and perhaps see about more reinforcements. Is that acceptable? And if so, where can a cloaked ship perhaps enter the atmosphere and start offloading troops and material."

Quinlan nodded and left the room indicating that Tohkran should follow. "Bluntly, with this blockade I do not believe it is possible for you to do so at all, we have no access to weather monitoring systems and we do not even dare use commlinks or other transmitters, you were only spotted by the passive fire control sensors on the teams anti-air weapons systems." He said continuing down a corridor. "I do not know how you are going to get your aid to us, but unless we are able to take a weather scan station bringing your capital ship into the atmosphere would be suicide, they would detect it's entry and the Malefactor would speed up its orbit and fire on your ship, from orbit." He entered a mess hall and waved at the chef, a Sullustian, to prepare some food. The alien got to work.

"Then there are the Lucrehulks and the other escorts, the blockade is not even as they send ships to try and scan when we attack, but it is effective enough to give them a virtually total skyscan capability."

"I see." Tohkran said, tracing through his beard. "How well are the weather stations guarded?"

"Very well. They're guarded day and night, it's why our fleet of smugglers is grounded, after the CIS realised we were using the, then unguarded, stations to direct our own smugglers bringing us weapons, they took the facilities and now guard them day and night. We're talking at least a couple of hundred droids per station, more if it's near a sensitive area. Hell if we tried to reach the one in their new industrial park we'd have to pass through a couple thousand droids, just to get a look at it." Quinlan admitted before sighing. "A situation made worse by the CIS getting closer to discovering our strongholds with ever raid."

"Hmm... well I am trained to conceal myself, even from the sensors of electronic surveillance, including droids. I could potentially try and sneak my way into one of these stations but then what would that accomplish after that." Tohkran murmured out loud.

"We need access to at least one of those Weather Stations if we're to bring your ship down at all." Vos said taking a plate with some food on it that had the indecency to still be wriggling. "It'd be even better if we had permanent access to some sort of weather monitoring so our smugglers could operate again."

Tohkran suddenly got an idea though, a Nu class loaded with commando's storming one of the weather stations via a ram-raid. It'd probably be a write off... but if Vos could provide a way to exifiltrate... it might, just might, work. Tohkran frowned, stroking through his beard and turned to Quinlan Vos. "I have a idea... but it is somewhat crazy... I am considering... contacting my ship, load up one of my vessels with a bunch of commandos... and ram it inside a weather station of our choosing, as for permanent access... the commander of my ship is quite a gifted slicer... perhaps he can install a program, that remains hidden... but gives your people remote access to 'blind' or otherwise influence their readings for your purposes."

Vos sits there watching without any overtly obvious reception to the idea. "And what exactly do you need from me."

"Provide the relatively easiest target, perhaps a combined ground assault if they are distracted by the sudden commando ram-raid in their nerve center, use the weather station for our purposes, install a program so the resistance here can perhaps keep manipulating the weather station through a slicing backdoor and extract us all."

"If we could afford to commit to a ground assault of any sort I wouldn't be strapping baradium bombs to my youngest and most loyal." Vos remarked plainly. "Certainly not against somewhere so well fortified."

Tohkran frowns, feeling there was only one option... he however decided to ask something else, "These CIS droids, are these the one that can act on their own or do these need a central control that gives them directions."

Vos sighed. "The first generation needed a droid control ship. But our jamming and attacks caused enough disruption they pulled all those out. Now they're all independent units."

He was expecting that answer but he still sighed. "I see, unfortunate... well... do you have a secure transmitter at least with which I can contact my ship?"

He shook his head emphatically. "No, after losing four of our strongholds to Hyena bombers due to communications being detected I had runners take speeder bikes and reach each place I have left and...."

He pauses...

"And I ordered all communications devices destroyed." He finished.

After dishing out some more of the minor details Tohkran frowned and rubbed his temple. "It will be difficult... but not impossible..." He looked at Quinlan Vos. "I need to return to my ship and discuss this with my people." He raised his hand to interupt Quinlan before he could make a object. "I gave you my word and oath I would stay here, and I will, but I know my people, Thrall will not go along with this unless I have told him of this in person and my decision to stay."

Vos looked up from the display that he'd provided. "Remember. When exfiltrating do not retreat southwards, at a minimum there will be three units of AAT's converging towards your position. And upwards of three units of Droideka's, we don't have any exact information, this map is only what we can confirm. The AAA Emplacements are of unknown strength and we're not entirely certain of their position. If resistance on the way out is too intense. I recommend taking up a stealth posture and begin heading for this emergency exfil point, it's a sewer, and we can't support you. Regardless of which you end up using head towards these co-ordinates, we'll try and have some speeders to pick you up."

Voss looked at Tohkran a moment longer. "But you will have to leave someone here. As proof of your noble intentions. I believe you, but the Jedi are not infallible as the last four hundred years shows, and my men and women will want some assurances."

Tohkran nods and gestures, to Goddor. "Goddor, I'd like to ask if yo-"

Goddor cut him off and nodded, "I'll stay. No need to ask ma-" He paused and smiled, "Tohkran."

Tohkran snorted but smiled back, nodding and turned back to Vos. "Goddor has recently been raised to the level of jedi knight, he wishes to stay. Knowing Thrall he will be back in orbit around the spot we launched the freighter, wondering what the hell has happened and why we haven't made contact with him yet. If you want you can assign a observer with us on the ship." Tohkran paused for a moment. "I don't know if it is a sensitive topic but... I know what the name, the clan name, Vos implies... can't the Kiffar offer assistance if asked? I could have my people ask aid in your name."

"No, this is not their fight." Quinlan said. "You offered to help. As I offered to help these people when the invasion happened. I am one of them now. Shaundi may return with you as an observer." He said and turned as he began preparing to send forces to help them escape.

Some more minor details were discussed and in the end Marack, Tohkran and Shaundi were brought back to the Killer Whale and managed to lift off and dock with the Illusion of Grace without any apparent trouble.

The trouble began when Tohkran explained what happened and the plan they had made with the resistance forces... as well with the minor fact that Tohkran was going to stay if the mission was a success.

Thrall's eyes bulged. "Are you insane!? Well of course you are, you are a frigging jedi but this is a whole other level of crazy." He raised up his hands and groaned, "Why am I even bothering you already made up your mind, haven't you?" He snorted when he saw the guilty look on Tohkran's face and shook his head. "Right I will have a Nu-shuttle prepared for the task.... and I am coming along too... you have any idea how hard it is to make a program like that without knowing the security? I am coming and that is final." With a snort and smirk he turned around and slithered away to set things in motion.

Shaking his head, but somewhat amused by all of this Tohkran turned to their observer. "Will you be coming along too? And if so, what are your specialties?"

"My specialties are killing." She responded without any excessive description. She removed a weapon from the holster on her back. A VES-700 Pulse Rifle.

"Good to know..." Tohkran said evenly and then proceeded to make a few personal and private messages to his various friends and some of his most trusted crew. Eventually Thrall came back, "Nu-shuttle is prepared... and ship is heading to the location specified, let's hope this works."

"So do I thrall, so do I."

The sluissi snorts, "Just so you know, if I die, I may not be force sensitive, but I will haunt your ass even so!" In response tohkran laughed and was still smiling as they all boarded the shuttle. He made a point to thank each of the commandos, who volunteered for this potentially suicide mission and after that it was time for them all to strap themselves in and prepare to be launched.

Shaundi climbed in and strapped herself into place while keeping her weapon on her lap.

Tohkran was meditating, or trying to when the command to launch was given and the Nu-shuttle sped away, to make it's ramming approach of their objective.

+++++

The shuttle began its deadly descent the near-suicidal plan was... detected almost immediately but the plummeting course was meteor-straight and powerfully accurate as it ripped down through the atmosphere. The AAA opened fire on it as soon as it entered range, rippled missile fire tearing up towards it, but its terminal path was unbelievable and so the course prediction algorithms failed to lock on properly before, with exceptional skill, the shuttle plunged down in the square and through the front of the weather monitoring station, the armoured walls tearing the fuselage near to ruin. But it was down. And nobody has died.

Tohkran groaned and released the safety harness, getting out, hearing grunts and voices checking in they were ok, Thrall was the loudest of them all. "Still alive! No thanks to this crazy plan!"

Taking a deep breath Tohkran checked in... and then lowered the hatch door, lightsaber in hand and pulled up a bubble of protection around himself to see what might lie in wait for them if the CIS responded quickly.

The reaction was fierce. While the shuttle had "safely crashed" into the buildings the reaction from outside was instantaneous. Fire from the B2 Battle Droids across the street instantly began slashing into the building, of the nearby tanks and B1s there was no immediately obvious response, though Tohkran could feel that they were already responding.
Somewhere in the distance, alarms began to chime.

"Everyone out, I will take point, Trianii, Thrall, Marack and Shaundie follow behind, Cathar you watch our rear! Let's go we are on the clock!" And with that they marched out and headed for the main frame.

Two squads of Trianii remained behind, they would follow but had a other task, booby-trapping the crashed shuttle and placing other obstacles in the way of any droids who would pursuit in the direction the main group had gone.

The Trianii worked to booby trap the shuttle but the B2 Battle Droids fire continued to disrupt the operations, though it was not enough to strike the targets expected, the sounds of B1's moving up and the AAT could be heard.

So far the point team had yet to face any direct opposition yet.

Running out of time the Trianii try to do their best before the CIS became too much of a trouble at their position.

Tohkran was still leading the others, hoping his senses woudl warn him in advance of any trouble as he led the others deeper into the building.

Outside an AAT fired at the building trying to strike the crashed shuttle within as the B2 droids continued firing salvos into the building while the B1's prepared to storm the structure. The commando's fighting around the shuttle too occupied to trap the transport or fire back with much effect.

Meanwhile Tohkran, Thrall and Marack are shoved aside, the first two by commanders, the last by Shaundi, as Droid Commando's burst from the spaces they'd concealed themselves and opened fire. The Commando's return fire, and Shaundi's dropping two of them with excellent skills.

One squad of Trianii urged the other to leave while they remained behind, still rigging up the shuttle to blow but now with the intention of taking as many droids with them as they could while those of the squad not rigging explosives would do their best to snipe targets.

Tohkran ignites his blade and mvoes to attack, Marack wit hhis massive vibro-axe and the cathar commandos following suit while the Trianii and Thrall follow Shaundi's example and fired with their blasters at the commandos who would not be entering the melee.

As the team ran to catch up with the others, unfortunately the unit of B1 Battle Droids assaulted the entrance killing three of the commandos in their opening.

The B2s however did not fare so well at the fire that unit had sung out with killing three of the clankers as the Tank fired another shot that came too close to striking the downed shuttle.

Marack cleaves two of the droid commando's in two as Thrall and Tohkran are pushed back by them your own commando's doing very little more. Shaundi managed to kill another of the droids.

But precious time was being taken.

The remaining two commandos took a decision, gathering all explosives they had and prepped them, both holding a detonator... and waited, for the right moment as most of the droids seemed about to overwhelm their position.

Tohkran moved back and frowned, reaching otu with the force to perhaps make the commando droids freeze in stasis, giving his people a easier time of neutralizing them.

The commando's remaining at the shuttle nodded in accord before turning out to wait for the droids. "Oh shit." One remarked as the B2's leveled an absolutely devastating volley that cut them apart before a pair of AAT's came into view and blasted the shuttle, and what remained of the two commando's into ruin.

One of the remaining three commando droids was frozen by the stasis and was blasted apart with another of them by Thrall and Shaundi, the last retreated further into the structure it's own fire killing three of the Cathar in as many seconds.

Tohkran frowned as only one squad returned, givign a quick report of what happened and he felt a pang of guilt and shame before shaking it off, he knew casualties were likely. "Right enough time wasted, we continue with the mission, hurry!" He shouted as they resumed their running to the weather station mainframe.

Unopposed so far Tohkran knew it in his bones that outside the Droids would be closing in but it only took them a minute to find one of the main observation centres.

Tohkran turned to Thrall, "You are up Thrall, everyone else set up position... Trianii... set up explosives, as if we were about to blow up this mainframe."

Thrall moved quickly, but not quickly enough, it took him almost four minutes to get through the CIS military grade firewalls, but they weren't standard, someone had altered the coding to make it harder. But after a good four minutes Thrall finally managed to get in.

Meanwhile the Trianii worked to place the explosives.

Thrall cursed as the re-coding gave him trouble. But it had only taken a minute so far before he hit a block having to start once again.

But now weapons fire sang into the room as the rogue Droid Commando returned.

And it sounded like B1 Droids were only a minute behind them.

Marack, Shaundi and the commandos responded at once to keep the CIS droids at bay while Tohkran drew upon the force to activate his force valor ability to enhance the resistance and fighting prowess of his people.

The Commando's fire suddenly took on a far far too accurate tone, five more commando's fell under its fire before it was itself destroyed by fire from the others and Marack's Vibro-ax.

Thrall however fought to ignore the battle going on and managed to write the program necessary. It was time to bury it, and then remove all trace of access.

Tohkran nodded to Thrall, "Do what you can." He walked out, he would be the first to meet the next wave of hostiles, his lightsaber at the ready while the remaining commanders took up sniper positions and Marack just grunted and lifted his axe, preparing to charge.

Thrall manages to bury the program where the CIS couldn't find it with the tap in the landlines Vos indicated was needed, The Commando's managed to gun down the unit of B1 Battle Droids, but they came very close to wounding the Jedi bringing down his protective abilities.

Tohkran shivered and renewed his protection, that had been close, standing in the crossfire. "Thrall! We are running out of time."

"Oh keep your damned pants or robes on, I am working here!" Thrall shouted back and then ignored the beard face.

Thrall finally managed to disguise the fact that he'd ever accessed the computer. Maybe it'd be wise to trash the room and get out. The sounds of droids closing in grew richer. It could not be wise to go out the way they came in.

Thrall let out a sigh, whipped out his blaster and made some scorch marks on parts he knew wouldn't harm the function of this place but might jsut look liek a desperate last attempt at sabotage. "Right I'm done! Let's go, start running you bipedals, see if you can keep up!" He shouted as he started slithering away... before being roughly picked up by Marack who started carrying the sluissi, while Tohkran and the others also started running, hoping their extraction point was still secure.

The retreat out of the back of the structure seemed to go well, but not unnoticed. "There they are!"

"Roger roger!" Can be heard as the team emerges from the back of the building.

In response some of the Trianii pulled out droid poppers and threw them down the alley the sounds of droids had come from while they all still kept running. They had not time to waste.

The grenades bounced down the alley as the team retreated, the blast slowing down the droids as half their unit dropped. But it was a fair bet that reinforcements were now closing.

Letting the others lead ahead Tohkran remained behind and watched for signs of pursuit, preparing to once again use stasis if any droids followed, slowing them down further.

As they pulled back and Tokhran held, the Jedi could only bear witness as two units of B1 emerged into the quad. And moments behind them a unit of Droideka deployed and their shields raised. The team retreating also found itself pursued by a unit of Droideka who deployed with a unit of B1's not far behind.

The trianii retrieved more droid poppers, hoping to take out the droidekas with them while Marack put Thrall down, engaged his shield and charge, vbiro-ax raised.

Tohkran looked at the opposition, he had managed to use the force to stop several of the B-1 droids, not liking his odds however he ran to get out of view and use force concealment to shield himself from them.

The Droid Poppers did little good though they did drop the shields on two of the Droidekas, Thrall killed both of them with a single volley and little effort. The other Droideka's return fire failing to do anything of any import whatsoever.

And then, somewhere on the other side of the city a mushroom cloud rose over the structures and the blast shockwave of a Baradium Bomb detonated. And suddenly the majority of the droids had new priorities.

Tohkran would realise almost instantly that it was near the sewer exit Vos had mentioned. It seemed one of the few men the Jedi could spare as backup to help them get out had sacrificed himself to buy you time.

Tohkran looked back and sighed, shaking his head but ran to try and regroup with the others.

Thrall blinked, "Ok... right enough silliness, Marack, ya big oaf pick me back up, we are running ladies and gents! Really, really fast now!"

Without further pause, the Droideka's recieving recall orders retreated towards the blast.

Tohkran returned to the attentions of his team as they ran for the exit. Seemingly unopposed.

He was glad to be back with the others but frowned, urging them to stop as they made sure they were not followed.

Finally they found the cleft in the wall that Voss had spoken of and number of speeders beyond the wall shrouded by camouflage netting and a handful of Voss's men ready to pull them out.

"RIght everyone out, I will be the last to do so."

Thrall snorted, "Now wait just a mi-"

"Marack drag him out of here, I will be last." With a curse Thrall tried to get out of the herglic's grasp but it was futile as Marack held on and did as he was instructed. The commandos following suit, Shaundi doing what she wanted naturally.

Without further issue, the team, or what remained of it, and the Speeders began their retreat, unwatched.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Gat
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Kuryi Gabriel Saros
En-route to Annamar at best speed.


The Art of Battle had stopped by the mountain complex Kuryi had been using as a headquarters for the past year and rotated out some personnel, in particular he had brought Miria and her beast scouts on board thinking that the assault he had intel about would be a good test of their skills on the battlefeild rather than the few staged hunts and fugitive tracking jobs they had been assigned so far. the stop had been short enough that only a few hours had been lost compared to a trip straight from Arami to Annamar and now The Art of Battle was ploughing through hyperspace like the proverbial blaster bolt.

That was until the hyperspace 'tunnel' collapsed back into the usual stars of sublight speeds while the helm console sounded an alert and started spitting out warnings of an unexpected gravity well in their flight path. "What the hell is that noise?" Kuryi asked as he strode onto the bridge a minute or so later, having noticed the unexpected drop from hyperspace from his quarters.
"Proximity alarm sir." one of the crew manning the sensors announced, "We were pulled out of hyperspace by a rogue asteroid in the lane and there are now two interceptor IV frigates on approach."
"Pirates most likely. Bring all weapons online and target the approaching vessels, hold your fire however." Kuryi ordered as he walked up to the large holo-emitter in the decking of the bridge. "Tactical view." He ordered and the holo-emitter came to life and showed the two vessels, The Art of Battle and the asteroid. The vessels appeared to have been modified with large claws designed to grip and cut into the hull of their prey in order to deliver boarding parties without the need of assault craft. A rather crude if simple concept. "Open a channel to those ships." Kuryi ordered next as the holo-emitter switched to communication mode.
"Channel open sir."

Kuryi stood straight and put on his best sabbacc face as he started to speak. "Approaching vessels, This is Kuryi Gabriel Saros of the Saros Outfit. I see no Syndicate affiliated marking on your hulls so I'm going to assume you're independent and thus no one would be terribly upset if they never saw you again. Stand down at once or I shall have no hard feelings about disintegrating those junk heaps you call ships." Kuryi paused to await a response for a few moments before a crewman spoke up to say they two vessels were not changing course or slowing. "Very well." Kuryi said as he watched the ships out the bridge windows. "Give each of them a warning volley across their bows from the mass drivers, Close enough to shave the shields." Kuryi waited as the mass drivers cycled and fired their shots.

The two ships maintained comm silence as they continued to approach The Art of Battle. Kuryi shook his head as his warning shot appeared to be ignored, “The hard way it is then.” He said to himself before addressing the bridge crew. “Power up the engines and get us past those two vessels, on the other side come about and target their engines. At that point all gun crews are weapons free until their engines are disabled then cease fire.” The bridge crew leaped into action relaying the orders to the various sections of the ship to make the orders manifest.

A few moments later The Art of Battle accelerated hard and passed between the two approaching ships who seemed stunned enough by the manoeuvre to do little more than have their gun batteries fire off some scattered reaction shots which were soaked up by the shields easily. The Art of battle came about faster than one might expect for a ship its size and once it had a deadly stream of Ion and turbolaser fire streaked towards both of the pirate vessels engines. The barrage overwhelmed the ships meagre defences in short order and one was left entirely without engines and sensors picked up a radiation leak spreading through the engineering decks of the engine-less vessel. The Art of battle then returned to a defensive posture and Kuryi smirked in appreciation of his crews efforts.
“They're wanting to talk now it seems.” The crewman on comms said with a short laugh.
“By all means, put them through.” Kuryi replied as he turned back to the holo-imager and smoothed his face to a practised stillness. The holo-image of a human man no older than twenty five flickered into being before Kuryi

“Mr Saros, I...” The man started saying before Kuryi held up a hand to cut him off.
“You have pulled my vessel out of hyperspace with intent to raid her and likely kill me and my crew to take the vessel as your prize.” Kuryi said clearly and in a level tone. The pirate seemed at a loss for words as he gapped at Kuryi. “Only once you discovered your two vessels are no match for mine did you agree to speak, something you may have noticed I tried at the outset. My question to you now is this; How do you plan to repay me for wasting my time?”

The pirate was still struggling for words and stammered out a half response that sounded halfway between and excuse and an apology before Kuryi cut him off again by addressing the gunnery officers. “Target their reactor cores, we don't have time to waste here.”
“Wait!” The pirate said urgently as he finally understood Kuryi's intentions. “We can transfer seven hundred and thirty thousand credits to you immediately.”

Kuryi made a show of considering the offer, it wasn't like The Art of Battle has suffered any damage that needed credits to repair, all they had really lost was time, how damaging that would prove to be remained to be seen of course. These pirates on the other hand would not be preying on anyone else for a while, as it was they may need to abandon the second vessel entirely. Kuryi was not entirely unsympathtic of course, he had conducted a few tours or piracy in his time though he had focused mainly on smuggling for his own criminal empire. “Very well,” He said after a near a minute of silence. “Transfer the credits and I will leave you to tend to your wounds.”

The pirate made good on his word and the credits soon filled Kuryi's accounts. Upon confirmation Kuryi turned back to the holo-imager once more. “Pray we do not meet again, I may not be in such a forgiving mood next time.” he said before cutting the transmission and turning to the helm officers. “Resume course for Annamar, best speed.” The officers affirmed the order and Kuryi left the bridge to relax a little in his sanctum. Trusting that there would be no more problems before they arrived at Five Points.

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Gat
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Sith Lord Narthais
Aboard the Vivacious Strength
In orbit of the planet Sleyheyron


Narthais stood within his meditation chamber aboard the Vivacious Strength, his sabre held before him with the but planted firmly on the deck. as one might expect from meditation his eyes were closed and his breathing rhythmic and slow. he had been standing like that for nearly twelve hours now, in some kind of meditative trance while he waited for news from the planet. In this state he had felt small tugs in the force which he had then concentrated on, after some time he had come to the conclusion there was a dark side presence on the planet. Not a single strong entity, but a gathering they were more difficult to detect until they came together but he was sure a cult of the Dark side of the force was present on the planet, something which could work to his advantage if they did not find their smuggler prey soon. A few more hours passed with Narthais remaining in his trance before the intercom chimed once, twice and thrice. on the third chime Narthais opened his eyes and slowly worked the muscles in is limbs for a few moments before walking to the command answering. "Yes?" He said simply.

"Report from the planet my lord, A local agent of yours has located Kahl Reyce." A crewman in the CnC said. Narthais smiled as he ordered the crewman to transfer the agents report to the sith lords datapad and to contact De'ann and have her ready the Dancing Twi'lek for a trip to the planet. Not waiting for an acknowledgement Narthais closed the channel and contacted Darths Amourus and Nacitus to join him in the hanger with their apprentices. A short time later the party of six were aboard the Dancing Twilek and headed down to the planets surface

They are easily waved through to the planet's surface, Sleyheyron having no trouble in getting people to land, it was much easier to get their credits on the surface after all. Upon landing a Toydarian comes over, flapping rapidly with it's wings. "Hello there, welcome, welcome to Sleheyron, you need anything, you ask Gizmo, that's me, after you pay the fee for using my landing pad of course." He grinned and held out a hand expectingly.

Narthais reached into his pocket and retrieved a couple of moderate denomination credit chits before tossing them towards the Toydarian, a little over the being head deliberately, before clearly ignoring him and walking off the landing pad with his people following. De'ann near running to catch up as she finished securing her ship. The Toydarian lets out a shout and grumbles, just loud enough for Narthais to hear as he walks past. "Bloody tourists..."

The group walked through the rather busy streets of Sleheyron, merchant stalls were practically everywhere with various beings selling their wares, from fruits to blasters, to various slicing tools. At some point the crossed a square with a raised platform and a large crowd, a slave auction was taking place, various youngsters of a multitude of species were being sold to the highest bidder.

They managed to push their way through the crowd, Annika momentarily distracted by something bumped into a hutt and fell with her face right into something slimy the hutt was eating, getting away while trying to get slimey gunk out of her eyes, the Hutt made no effort to stop her because he was laughing too hard. Eventually they reached the place, standing outside Boggurd the Hutt's establishment, 'cleverly' called 'Gold Whispers'.

In front of the entrance they could see a mixed party of guards, three of them were Gamorreans while the other two were humans.

Knowing where they were going most of the party had left their weapons aboard the Dancing Twi'lek, however Annika and De'ann retained their blasters and Narthais carried his sabrepike which to the an eye not familiar with lightsabres or related weapons appeared to be a walking staff. The party of six approached the guards at the entrance, fully expecting the guards demand Annika and De'ann surrender their blasters as all other patrons of the gold whispers were expected to do.

Upon their approach the guards spring to attention, or at least the humans do, the Gamorreans just tighten the hold on their axes and look with on with narrowed eyes. One of the humans speaks up, perhaps the leader of these guards. "What can we do for you, you ain't a familiar face."

"I have business in the Gold Whispers." Narthais replied simply as he stopped before the human.
The human pulled out a slate of some kind. "Name."
"You don't need to know my name." Narthais replied as he tapped into the force and made a small hand gesture.
The man blinked and then snorted. "Old geezer, if I am asking your name then I need to know. Or are you one of those, if I know who you are you have to kill me types?" The other human laughed at that, the Gamorreans following a split second later but they probably didn't get the joke.
"Very well, Tarlson Bey." Narthais said with a small sigh, "May we enter now?"
Some tapping follows and the man frowned, "You aren't on the list. Nobody invited you, and you didn't ask to set up a trade deal either it seems, so stop wasting time geezer and move along." He waved with the slate. "You either are invited, have set up a deal or have a special visitation pass. And you seem to have none of those three."

“Remind me to execute that Kubaz.” Narthais said quietly to Annika as he turned away from the five thugs. “Dismiss them,” He then said casually to her.

Annika smiled and stepped towards the thugs. “Have you ever experienced Regulan Bloodworms before?” She asked the group as she set her mind to directing the force on their subconsious. “Nasty creatures, they lie dormant in the bloodstream of their hosts as they mature, though how they get there in the first place no one is entirely sure.” She said in a curious tone, “Once they mature they start to grow rapidly, causing tremors though the hosts veins that are easy to feel as they move about.” She continued as she applied more of the force into 'bringing the bloodworms to life' in their minds. “Eventually they need to leave the hosts veins, frequently with terminal results. Unless a doctor can extract them first at least.”

At first the guards just looked surprised, one of the humans opening his mouth, probably to ask what in the blazes this woman was yapping about. But then he just let out a fearful moan, eyes wide, the three gamorreans were oinking, gripping their chests, one of them passing otu with fear. The one human that had spoken to them fell over on the ground, screaming as he started to scratch and tear at his arms with his nails, digging deep and drawing blood as if to pull something out.

A moment later a slot in the steel door of the entrance to the club slides open and what looks like the barrel of a heavy gun slides out, opening fire. Several wildly aimed blaster shots come out, but instead of blowing holes in any of Narthais' party they just glance or singe off the clothes that Annika and De'ann are wearing.

“Nacitus, take care of that if you will.” Narthais said as he moved to cover to break LOS of the E-web firing at them, “Amoura, De'ann, covering fire.”[/b] He added as he saw everyone else doing much the same as he. As ordered Annika and De'ann drew their blasters and began firing on the door while Alfhildr gathered the force into a destructive wave to 'open' the door and silence the gun.

The blasterfire from Narthais's people just ping off the metal surface of the door while the E-web resumes firing, Alfhildr who had been about to use his power on the door was forced to dodge the incoming blaster fire, unable to fully release the power. Meanwhile the E-web inside was running a bit too hot, as in the E-web had been bought as 'new from the assembly lines' ten owners ago and with this much fire and a cooling system that hadn't been repaired four owners ago it was inevitable as the E-web just exploded and outside the Sith hear screams of anguish and pain.

“Its odd hearing that when I'm not the cause.” Annika said with a slightly disappointed look. Narthais waved them all forward as he approached the door as well. “We must find our quarry before he can escape, we don't know how much commotion this may have caused inside.” He said as he activated his pike on reaching the door and began cutting a way inside.

As Narthais starts cutting from inside they hear shouts from further in the club while closer, directly behind the door were more groans of pains and a sound as if someone was trying to get up. With ease Narthais cut through the door and then gave it a push, there was a short shout and then a groan of pain as the door fell on top of the still living guard that had been lying on the ground and was now covered, but not crushed, yet, by the door he was supposed to guard. Looking inside Narthais and his people could see a small ante-chamber, with a set of rails, probably where the E-web had been placed upon for easy moving to and from the door before it blew up. To the right was a passage that probably led further into the club from where the shouts were coming from.

“Amourus, Tayma, with me.” Narthais said as he cloaked himself in the force, Annika and Tayma following suit a few moments later. “Nacitus, you and Zoyk hold here with De'ann and cover our backs.” Narthais said from his concealment before he started down the right passage followed by Annika and Tayma.

As the three sith moved through the passage and rounded a corner they could see down further a body on the ground, his appearance similar to the human guards outside, with shouts coming from down further behind the body. At that point however a secret door of some kind in the passage opened and out stormed two guards, one a Weequay, the other a Nikto, both with blasters out but oblivious to the three cloaked sith as they seemed to rush straight towards them without seeing them.

Narthais gave a quick signal to the other two and flattened himself against the wall to let the two armed men pass by. The two guards run past still oblivious to any presence of the three sith they almost bumped into and reached the passage, where a grinning Alfhildr was waiting for them.

Seeing the two appear Alfhildr tapped into the force to to strengthen and speed himself dredging memories and grievances to the surface of his mind in the process and directing his rage at the two guards before charging the pair with intent to mangle them with his bare hands.

The two guards had no idea what was happening, first they noticed the state of the ante-chamber and its apparent destruction and then they saw three people while they had been informed to expect six. The Nikto had no time to raise his blaster as the seemingly frenzied humanoid intruder charged and then just pounced, he was able to let out one scream before Alfhildr started to crush his neck and throat with both hands, growling like a animal. The Weequay with him raised his blaster in time but his shot went wild as the sith had just accelerated and pounced his comrade.

Alfhildr finished the nikto by pushing his thumbs in the guards eyeballs to make them pop on top of the crushed throat and then stood up to lunge for the Weequay, but missed because said Weequay had dropped his blaster and was running way, trying to get past the other two intruders and flee outside.

De'ann waved Zoyk back from trying to stop the weequay as she too stepped back to let him pass, only to then raise her blaster, take aim on the fleeing mans back and fire. The Weequay let out a soundless shout as the blastershot hit him in the back and he just fell to the ground, rolling a little before just lying still.

With the two guards having passed them Narthais continued to lead Annika and Tayma deeper into the gold whispers. He stopped for a moment at the door the two guards had come out of to be certain there were not more guards in there waiting in possible ambush.

What Narthais saw was a security station, showing camera feeds from outside the club and the ante-chamber they had entered through. A feed from the ante-chamber was enlarged at which the two guards inside were watching horrified as a big blonde humanoid had just leaped upon one of their fellow guards. "Frak this, they need help." One of them said and pulled out his blaster. Narthais did not intend to give them the chance this time as he stepped into the room and struck out at the standing guard with his sabrepike.

The guard was utterly surprised as suddenly a silver blade was sticking out of his chest, the other guard sitting at the controls stared wide eyed and then noticed a man who could be his grandfather calmly standing there with some kind of staff. "Ferglutz!" He shouted and reached for his blaster, shooting wildly and hitting the ceiling. Narthais paid the wild shots no mind as he moved to eliminate the guard with his blade. What followed after Narthais was done with the guard was best described as 'shiskebab' as pieces of guard slid to the floor. Meanwhile, further on, a shout was cut short with a blastershot.

“Evidently we are not the only ones conducting aggressive negotiations here.” Narthais said before cloaking himself in the force again and heading deeper into the club, stopping at the door with the dead guard to get a better sense of what they were walking into.

What they were walking into was a security desk, normally it seemed there would be two security droids as well as two guards, but now the two droids were destroyed and the two guards were dead, one who Narthais had stepped over and the other just now, after probably giving the codes to some secure lockers to the five rough looking humanoids of various races who were now armed with the weapons they probably had handed in earlier.

To the side was a set of short stairs that seemed to lead to various booths of the club, Narthais could spot a number of people fearfully looking over the side of their booth before ducking back down, no idea of what was going on but probably thinking that if they kept their heads down things would pass. In fact in one booth a Falleen and Nikto were calmly discussing matters still, ignoring whatever was going on.

Narthais, curious as to what was happening himself remained in concealment and watched the thugs to see what they were doing or what they might say.

The five humanoids did not sense or see any sign of other intruders and finished equipping themselves, two of them rushing back to the booths, in fact to the one the Falleen and Nikto were discussing matters. A short conversation followed and the Falleen nodded, standing up and placing something in front of the Nikto who quickly pocketed while the Falleen was being led by the two armed individuals to the other three and once they were together made their way for the passage Narthais and his people were standing in. Two of them with blasters at the ready at the front.

“I tire of these obstacles.” Narthais said as he raised an arm towards the approaching armed men and engaged the force in a powerful display of lightning. Annika and Tayma hesitated for a moment longer before Annika nodded at her apprentice and mouthed the word 'fire'. The two of them then used the force to influence the minds of the fallen and the five armed men into thinking that they were actually burning alive.

There was surprise on the faces of the group when it seems out of thin air people appeared, surprise quickly turned into terror and pain as lightning slammed into the leading two people, frying them alive with sith lightning before it arced and shot through their chests into two more right behind them. The remaining armed adversary and the Falleen meanwhile suddenly started screaming and shouting that they were on fire and rolled over the ground as if trying to put out non-existing fire.

The other people, cowering in their booths saw all of this happening and just pulled themselves deeper into hiding.

“Stun the Falleen, kill the guard.” Narthais told Annika as he began scanning his eyes over the booths to see if he could spot the smuggler he was looking for. Narthais could see no sign of the smuggler, but then these booths were rather tall, intended to keep their occupants hidden from view.

"Wait here, no one leaves until I say so." Narthais said to Annika and Tayma before he descended the stairs, using his pike much like a walking stick as he began moving by the booths looking into each one he passed intent on finding Kahl Reyce.

Narthais passed the booths and then paused, turning his head, noticing this one was surprisingly empty. He was not fooled however and bend down to look under the table, and there was his errant smuggler. Who cursed and bolted out from under the table in a attempt to get out of there, drawing a hidden blade as he did so, for a seemingly old man however Narthais had a arm and fist like steel and just extended his arm, letting the smuggler run right into that, knocking him down and letting the knife clatter on the floor.

Meanwhile back at the others the Nikto had gotten up and showing no sign of fear approached Annika who was busy securing the Falleen. "So... what is your business with that fella?" He said gesturing to the Falleen, who was still writhing and sweating, muttering about fire everywhere. Before Annika shot a stun blast between the eyes to make him shut up.

Annika turned to face the Nikto and raised an eyeridge. “I might be pursued to tell you, if you would tell me what he gave you and why.” Annika said with a small smile as she replaced the blaster in its holster.

THe nikto grinned, "Oh a example of what lay in store of me if I didn't do what he wanted, so if you want to kill him be my guest." Grinning he crossed his arms.

Meanwhile a certain Corellian smuggler was not having a good day, groaning he looked up and saw Narthais looming over him. "Poodoo..."

Narthais leaned down a little closer to the smuggler and extended a hand. “Kahl Reyce. Come with me if you want to live.” he said in a calm almost grandfatherly tone.

“I have no intention of killing him.” Annika said simply before deciding to probe further. “What was it he wanted you to do?” she asked of the nikto.

The Nikto winked at Annika, "Smuggle dangerous goods that would have gotten me killed, but if I didn't he'd have me sold out to the authorities..." He coughed and muttered under his breath. "And a Hutt who thinks I'm dead..."

Kahl looked at the hand and snorted, "Because if I don't you'll kill me no doubt, I saw what you did, you one of them jedai things."

Narthais sighed audibly. “I don't actually need your compliance to take you with me, of course if you do cooperate then I see no reason to hold you under any ill will. All I seek from you is information. Come with me willingly, give me the information I require of your own free will and I would have no reason to hold you further.” He explained in a bored tone, he really was tired of these roadblocks in his plans today.

“You seek an escape then.” Annika said to the nikto.

The Nikto shrugged, "Could be, I know I'd owe a favour or two if you would be so kind to set your blaster accidentally on kill and blast that blackmailing son of a gundark between the eyes. After all he would have died by someone other than me so my hands and those of my crew are clean."

"E chu ta sleemo." Was Kahl's response, spitting at Narthais's feet.

“You don't need your legs to tell me what I want to know. Do you need them for other things?” Nathais said as he added a touch of force fear to his voice while rotating his sabrepike so that the emitter was poised near the smugglers legs, though he did not activate the blade.

“Perhaps...” Annika replied to the nikto “I have my instructions however, he stays alive, for now.”

"Shame that, not even by accident? Ah well, name's Goll Javn. So you a force user like the old man? Don't see your kind that often, some even think you lot are supposed to be extinct." He said making conversation as he pulled out a cigarra and lit it, puffing out a trail of smoke.

Kahl blinked and quickly raised up his hands. "Ok, ok, you got me jedai, you got me. I'll come willingly and I'll talk oh I will talk so much it'll hurt your ears but I'll talk. What do you want me to talk about?" He started blurting out, eyes wide with fear.

“You will find out in due course. Now be silent and follow.” Narthais said as he grounded the butt of his pike into the floor and turned to head for the exit.

“You don't appear particularly worried, most people fear those that can use the force, as you may have noticed.” Annika said as she gestured around the room. Noticing Narthias coming back up the stairs from the main floor with the smuggler in tow she turned her attention to the dark lord. “We are ready to leave then? Before we do this one would like a favour,” she said gesturing to Goll Javn. “ Kill the Falleen, and then he owes you.”

Narthais looked at the Nikto for a moment before asking the obvious question. “Who is the Falleen and who is he connected to?”

Goll shrugged, "Name is Fenro, nobody important from what I can tell, he actually wanted to use me to impress some syndicate fellow and get his foot in the door. Got lucky on finding out who I was and who I am hiding from and decided to see if he could put a hand up my ass and use me as a puppet." He gestured to Annika wit his cigarra. "As for your remark, are you here for me? No? Then why be worried, if you were then I'd be dead anyway I imagine so again, why should I be worried.... would ask for a last drink though.... also a free tip, the hutt who owns this den has probably more security on their way."

"I have no doubt, and assuming the Hutt has camera's in here to watch things despite the supposed privacy you have now been seen associating with the ones that have caused a lot of the trouble in here." Narthais said before he raised a hand and let out a stream of leathal lightening into the stunned falleen. He then gestured for Annika and Tayma to take Kahl to the exit and meet up with the others. "Walk with me." Narthais said to Goll as he started for the exit himself.

"Sure thing." Goll said, looking at Kahl. "Hey Kahl, not your lucky day?"

Kahl just shivered and was meekly following Narthais like he had been instructed to.

Shrugging Goll turned back to the old man. "Thanks for that, wasn't joking when I told your pretty assistant there I would owe you a number of favours." He rummaged through his pockets and came out with a data crystal of some kind. "Contact information, if you ever need a smugglers view on things and since I am feeling generous, guessing you need a quick get-away from this world, just tell the 'officials' if they want to stop you that you are a trader with a cargo of Klatooinian paddy frogs for a Hutt feast, they usually let you go before double checking that."

“I will make sure our pilot is aware of that.” Narthais answered as he took the data crystal. “Lets see what, if anything is awaiting us shall we.” He then added as he picked up the pace a little and rounded the corner to find the rest of his subordinates waiting at the door where he had left them. He didn't even blink at the guards corpse that Alfhildr had dispatched. “How does it look out there De'ann?” He asked when he saw her near the hole in the door and peering out.

The streets were abandoned still, De'ann only reported seeing a Kubaz walk past with a cart who with a delighted sound had picked up the corpse of the Weequay and carried it towards the end of the street where he had vanished from view.

“Then we leave while we still have the chance, Everyone stay alert however I doubt the Hutt that owns this place is particularly happy right now.” Narthais said as he took the lead and stepped out onto the street to lead his party to the spaceport.

Goll nodded and saluted, "My ship is on the other side of this settlement, wish you luck though." He went to the side of the establishment and hopped on a swoop bike there, activating it and smirked as it hovered off the ground. "See you around old geezer, pretty lady." He winked at Annika before he revved the swoop engine and sped off.

Looking where Goll had grabbed his swoop bike Narthais and the others could see several speeder bikes and even some speeder cars, if he thought he or any of his people had a talent of hotwiring any. “We have what we came for and I do not like the idea of losing it if the hutt tries to chase us on these streets.” Narthais said before turning to De'ann. “I know your sister is the mechanic but see what you can do about getting one of those speeder cars started to speed our departure.” He added.

She successfully hotwires a speeder car large enough to hold all of them and De'ann slips behind the wheel, bringing the speeder around to the group. "Need a ride handsomes?" Annika cocked an eyeridge at the comment before climbing in with everyone else.

“Get us back to the dancing twi'lek so that we can leave this hutt-slime of a planet if you would De'ann.” Narthais said sternly. A moment later De'ann had the speeder moving rapidly towards the landing pad her ship was parked at.

They were at the end of the street and about to disappear from view when on the other end two speeders came into view, heading directly towards the Golden Whispers but in the blink of a second De'ann was steering the speeder around the corner and they were on their merry way towards their parked ship.

A short time later the party step out of the speeder and make their way across the landing pad, De'ann moving ahead of them to disarm her security measures and open the ship so that they could board. It only took a minute or so before De'ann had the boarding ramp lowering and the group filed aboard. De'ann spun up the engines and gunned the throttle for space. Narthais filled her in on what Goll had said and sure enough it had worked when the planetary 'officials' contacted them.

With the Dancing Twi'lek back in the Vivacious Strength's hanger bay Narthais rendered Kalh Reyce into Annika's custody and set her the task of extracting the information about the auction. When the smuggler had pleaded that Narthais had said he wouldn't harm him if he came willingly the sith lord turned to the smuggler, looked him in the eyes and said two simple words.

“I lied.”

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Helios
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Helios

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Corusca Sector (L-9)
Coruscant
Sergi Dio's Private Quarters


Sergi’s cheeks burned with a dull fire. He had been smiling incessantly for the past 5 hours during an interview and he was feeling the effects. His undershirt was dripping with sweat beneath his pristine, stylish robes. All he wanted in this life was a cool glass of water and a nap.

As he sat in a lounge chair massaging his cheeks the familiar footsteps of Sophia, his body guard, could be heard pacing toward him. He groaned to himself knowing that the emphasis in her foot fall could only mean she was bearing bad news.

“Dr. Dio, we have a situation.”

Sergi’s hands wrenched at his hair in frustration. He looked up and saw both Sophia and Kayleigh standing side by side. Their body positioning suggested there was still tension but they both seemed completely transfixed on the burgeoning politician. Whatever it was they had to say must have been important to garner such cooperation from the two.

Sophia continued to speak, briefly checking the datapad in her arms as she did so. “Our techs near Kuat have gotten intel that several ranking R&D scientists from Balmoran Arms are quietly looking for a way out. It seems that they have become disenchanted with the CIS and have no wish to continue designing and building war droids for them. Problem is the CIS would likely imprison them as they have worked on several of the more experimental designs produced for the CIS war machine over the past year. To top it off Balmorra has a fleet of luckrehulks protecting it from Republic assaults.”

“—those are the big fuckers right?” Sergi interjected. His mental exhaustion was still apparent but he seemed much more engaged in the conversation than originally.

“Yessir, very big. The Isangoma would last a half hour at best against a single one. They have more droid fighters than a bantha has fleas. However, we do know the complex that the VIPs are being held in and that they are all Balmorra natives. One by the name of Tellex Sigor appears to be a senior operator with 30 years under his belt. These guys are big timers. Unfortunately that’s all the information we have.”

“That’s it? I’m expected to extract 3 random pencil pushers who are discontent with the color of their cubicles?” Sergi sounded more disappointed than frustrated. It was going to be a risky operation but he knew this could be a major play for the Republic. Knocking out a handful of lead R&D specialists would not only cripple their respective programs but give the GAR valuable information that could save thousands of lives. At least Republic lives.

Sergi continued to sift his fingers through his hair, a tell-tale sign of his stress. Suddenly the outstretched hand of Kayleigh Walsh nudged his shoulder. She was offering him her canteen. She remained silent and simply nodded. Her characteristic smirk was replaced with a hardened gaze which Sergi mirrored back. Sergi quickly unscrewed the bottle and took a long sip. The cold water in his mouth was a miniature paradise. He poured some on the top of his head and swept his hand through the soaked hairs. Instantly he felt like a new man. His mind raced into action and his words followed in swift pursuit.

“Put all appropriate hands on deck in the Isangoma. Karns, Barr, Quain, and Shalla have 4 hours to be on station and their subordinates accounted for. I want the shuttle with all the doo-dads and sensors off of the Galipot and onto my vessel, Miss Valencia doesn’t need it. Tell her to stay here on Coruscant and kiss any bare ass she comes across. Scramble Glaxtus from Uyter and have him meet us in our holding pattern outside the Balmorra system. Kayleigh, get your ground team ready, they’re your pick by hand. I want as much intel on that planet and complex that we can muster and I want to know everything about Tellex Sigor; where he’s from, who his family is, what hand he wipes his ass with. Dangle a couple thousand credits over the heads of the techs that got us this intel and see what else they can scrape up before we go topside. And get me a glass of water.”

Within the hour, the Isangoma was enroute to the Balmorra system just outside of where the crew suspected the CIS holding fleet could make sensor contact.

________________________________________
________________________________________


Outer Rim Territories (S-18)
Lamaro System
Lamaredd




*Cchhhhhhh* “Uhh, all operators be advised, Which Doctor 2.2 has eyes on a mosquito the size of a midget. Over” *Cchhhhhh*

The small taskforce of Twi’leks bounced through the rough jungles of Lamaredd on their skimpy light-armored vehicles. Four of the warriors rode on top of the vehicles while the other half were forced to endure the sea-sickening ride from inside. Were they hit by a mine or ambush this would relatively ensure the survival of half the crew but many inside would argue that they would rather be dead then endure navigating story tall root systems for much longer.

The crews on the outside were enjoying themselves as much as one could in the situation. They wore all wore black body suits and camouflaged torso armor but that was where the similarities ended. Each of the Twi’lek operators had a different signature style about his garb. Whether it was tribal paintings, intricate lekku tattoos, or talismans hanging from random parts of their uniforms, they were all a unique group of very grungy men. What united their looks were the gallons of sweat and mud that clung to each of their bodies.

This particular mission was one along the list of many like it. Their vessel, the Shaman, had received an unknown distress signal while on “general patrol” as their commander Sergi Dio liked to call it. What it really meant was to wait around said area and do nice things for people. Help damaged vessels, ward off any meandering pirates, and if anyone crashed into a shithole like the one they were in now, be the first one to help and make sure someone was filming. Though this planet was inhabited by a small colony, the locals were deathly afraid of the far north jungles where the distress beacon of a crashed shuttle emanated. It fell upon this motley crew to check it out. Naturally the story was running 24 hour coverage on local news.

The convoy of four light vehicles came to a sudden stop. Almost instantly a large, dark human leaped from the passenger side of his second to rear vehicle and coolly strode up to the front. He was puffing on a fat spice joint that was clearly out of regulation. It was Paccu Xcubu, the eccentric and universally loved leader of the Witch Doctor unit. He was an intimidating figure with long, mangy dreadlocks that seemed to have something growing in them at all times. He was at best unkempt but he had a fierce intuition and knew his way around even the most backwater of worlds.

When the large figure reached the front of the convoy he saw what had stopped them. Before the rescue team was a large lake covered in a tick film of algae and various floating flora. At the other edge of the shore were the outlines of small huts with the faint imprint of campfire smoke smudging the sky.

“My boyyys, why it is that you stopping, eh? Tell me which one of you can’t swim; they get to go first.” Paccu spoke with an almost indiscernible accent that was made even more difficult by his rumbling laughter. The Twi’lek warriors seemed to understand as they chucked morbidly at the colonel’s joke. Without further dialogue the convoy lurched forward into the unwelcoming swamp and Paccu jumped atop the lead vehicle.
“All units, this is Which Doctor 1.1. Be advised, we have eyes on a native hamlet 2 clicks north east of our pos. Break. Maintain defensive posture… Please keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times. I’d bet my next leave that there is an Opee waiting for every toe that goes in this water. 1.1 Out.”

The team that sat atop the point vehicle with Paccu shook their heads in subtle laughter. Their A280’s were clinically trained on the water surrounding their amphibious craft as they putted across the filthy water at incredibly slow speed. It wasn’t clear if their rate of attack was intentional so as not to disturb anything that might be lurking beneath or if their kit really was as subpar as they always lead themselves to believe.

“Any bets on how fine the ass is in this little town were rolling into?”

“I’d say if the creatures in that hamlet even have accommodating parts they are probably shaped like a sarlacc pit. I doubt these things even stand on two legs.”

“That has never stopped him before.”

“I don’t care if they look like a damn verpine, I’ve got 20 credits and a liberty pass when were stationed at the Estate that I can nail the brains out of one of them by the time we exfil.”

“You are aware you literally condoning yourself to a night licking Lieutenant Dan’s boots instead of hitting Lilly town, right? Like you realize you are the stupidest thing floating on this truck right?”

“I’m making an alphabetical list of every species I’ve done the deed to and I’m already in the U’s. I don’t care if these things don’t even speak basic, home-girl is gonna make an uhhh sound and I’m scratching U off the list.”

Paccu interjected into the all Twi’lek conversation, his lack of Basic making him miss most of the childish punchlines his troops threw about. “Dese guys speakin dat Menahu shiit. Dat’s some bad shiit to be speakin too. They sound like they talkin to da devil when they sayin the hello.”

The team aboard Paccu’s APC stifled their laughter. Their commanding officer was like one of the people you saw on the Holonews and wondered if they were even speaking the same language as you. Admittedly, Basic was Paccu’s 4th language so the troops gave him some slack. He hadn’t even begun to learn it until a year before he entered Sergi’s services. How Colonel Paccu Xcubu (a name only pronounceable with a tongue click) really communicated was through body language. His slightly jaundiced eyes, sun beaten forehead, and coarse scarred hands gestured in any way he needed to speak. But for now, while his men’s sights were trained on their respective sectors, he was practically a mute.

As the convoy approached the small village, the planets natives began to appear. They were only rudimentary cloths made of animal skins. Though unattractive by any means, many of the race’s females were topless. Having not seen women for almost a month now, many of the Twi’lek marines exchanged subtle fist bumps.

The natives crowded the shoreline. It appeared that many were drawing bows and preparing to fire on the floating armored beasts. Immediately the four vehicles fanned out to laterally take the beach in force if necessary. Marines atop the roofs scrambled to present a 75% frontal firing arc, picking out targets of opportunity. But before a shot could be fired, Paccu stood up on his craft and waved slowly at the on looking crowd. Perhaps he was trying to show that these were sentient beings riding the armored beasts and not some sort of spinney creature trying to attack them. Whatever it was, it worked.

As the APC’s took to the beachhead they were met by cheering children and slightly bewildered but pacified adults. The top-side marines had dropped their defensive posturing and were mingling with the natives. Within minutes the APC’s were emptied of troops who were playing with children and handing out humanitarian rations. The Menahuun seemed enthralled with the vehicles, believing them to be great beasts that the warriors had tamed and ridden to their town. Clearly this lot had not been the ones assaulting the colonists thousands of miles to the south.

As the squad leaders of the 40 men tried to maintain order and security over the bustling scene, Paccu had begun looking for the village elder. He had strapped the upper body of a protocol droid to his back. It was to act as a translator for when they did find someone who might know about the crashed vessel the team had received a distress signal from. The bottom half of the droid had been bitten off by a nexu on a previous operation and they had never received funds to replace it. Though it was only a talking torso, C4-PK received an inordinate amount of adoration from the populace.

“Colonel, how do you say ‘vote Loyalist’ in Menahu?”

“I think it sounds something like, *click* *gulp* watch your *click* fucking *purr* sector.” Replied Paccu with a crystal white smile. However his face clearly showed he was also quite disturbed by the clamoring situation. “I don’t like these people. They smile with daemons behind their eyes.”

Suddenly a flare ripped into the sky from inside the village. The Twi’lek marines immediately drew their weapons to bare and scrambled into defensive positions. The turrets of the APCs swiveled quickly to train their ordinance on the origin of the red smoke streak. Natives dispersed in all directions. Paccu quickly shot up a one fingered hand signal and began moving at pace into the town. Team one’s operators began following him before the order was even relayed by their squad leader over comms.

The 11 men moved quickly through the town, only stopping to clear sporadic alleyways between the thatched huts. They moved deeper and deeper into the primitive village until they came to a central courtyard. In it were crowded a number of Menahuun natives and a thrashing Muun female hog-tied to a beam. The team quickly took up a defensive half circle arcing at the 30 or so natives standing around the figure and began to advance. The APC that had transported the team soon rolled in behind with five more marines from team three as its escort. All the Twi’leks had their weapons fixed on the mob that was accumulating around the captive Muun.

A shrieking chant reverberated as the mob joined in one after another. Sticks were being assembled at the base of the Muun’s feet and her piercing cries drowned into the chorus of the natives. Her face was badly bloodied and her long nose was visibly broken. All around her tattered body, the natives were whipping themselves up into a frenzy. Pieces of her equipment and clothing, and what appeared to be scraps from a space shuttle were all being tossed about the horde that bolstered in size every minute. This prisoner of theirs had stolen all the attention that had been given to the landing party minutes before.

It was as if the presence of the 15 marines and APC poised to slaughter the gathering wholesale were of no importance. Paccu’s screams at the crowd to disperse fell upon the turned backs of the dancing villagers. The crowd had now quadrupled in size. Paccu finally lowered his weapon and began to push through the crowd toward the captive. Naturally his men thought this a brash move but they maintained their posture and took up kneeling and prone positions to provide support. The elements of team three that had joined the fray began to take up sniper positions on the thatched roof tops.

When Paccu had finally elbowed his way to the center of the crowd there was a man clad in feathered regalia holding a flaming torch aloft feet from the well fueled pyre of the prisoner. His hands were stretched out upward and so too climbed the horrendous chanting of the mob. Paccu brandished the barrel of his A280 inches from the chieftain’s face and yelled desperately at the droid on his back to interpret what he was saying. But it was to no avail. The crowd was deafening and the chieftain couldn’t have heard the protocol droid even if he wanted to.

The chieftain instead slowly lowered his torch toward the pyre, his stare transfixed on that of Paccu’s. The creature was in a trance. The eyes that had appeared like daemons to Paccu were now soulless, glazed with white. The colonel’s ears were ringing from the steady, unrelenting wail.

With a swift jab, Paccu sent the muzzle of his rifle into the mouth from which the earsplitting wail was emanating. The blow dashed out most of the chieftain’s teeth and he fell to the dusty ground. The torch in his hand toppled harmlessly into the dirt. All of the noise stopped. It was as if someone had pressed mute on the whole world…

“Tell him she is mine!” Paccu yelled at the droid strapped to his back, his voice booming in the eerily silent courtyard. The droid did not respond. The dreadlocked warrior had no idea why of all times the protocol droid was dead now, but it was. He was alone in the midst of some 200 crazed Menahuun all staring at him with sealed lips and unrelenting eyes.

Paccu kept his composure, or at least tried too as a cocktail of sweat and adrenaline dripped from every pore of his face. He pointed at the broken Muun girl whose muffled whimpers now filled the silence—much to Paccu’s relief. He then pointed sternly at himself.

The gesture was understood immediately and the chieftain arose to his feet filled with the greatest rage the grizzled ranger had ever seen in a creature. The Menahuun lunged at him with white furry. Paccu grappled with his assailant’s weight before plummeting to the ground with the beast. The deranged chieftain bit into his face before Paccu could draw his knife and slice the creature’s abdomen. The Menahuun lurched off in surprise as much as pain. As he did so, Paccu sent a head shake toward his troops eager to flay his attacker with blaster rounds. Paccu knew he would have to speak a universal language to these people: trial by combat.

The chieftain was thrown a crude spear from the crowd which he expertly caught without looking. The man paced back and forth in front of Paccu as he unlatched his defunct protocol droid and tossed down his blaster. He even peeled off his drenched fatigues and tactical vest, allowing his tattooed, rippling muscles to gleam in the searing light of the sun. All the while the chieftain waited longingly, the daemon in his eyes growing in strength with every passing second.

Finally Paccu outstretched his barrel-like arms and gestured a “come hither” sign to his opponent. Without further ado, the chieftain lunged at him with an outstretched spear. Paccu cleanly parried the attack with the chop of his Ryyk machete. Howling in rage the chieftain pivoted and sent the blunt end of his spear crashing into the side of Paccu’s ribs. The blow made Paccu crescent his body but his bearlike frame contained the blow.

Paccu quickly grabbed the rear end of the spear that was jabbed into his side before his opponent could fully retract it. With the dull side of his blade, Paccu backhanded a blow onto the Menahuun’s elbow and heard it shatter with glorious effect. The creature shrieked a pitch that made Paccu retract from further attacks.

The chieftain took advantage of this and once again lunged at the dark heap of muscle. This time the creature was off balance, hindered by his limp right arm. The spear thrust was aimed downward at Paccu’s right leg. It was a slow strike and easily juked; leaving the spear tip plunged into the soft ground.

Paccu hacked at the lodged weapon and it split in two. He harnessed the same circular force of his strike back around and careened the blade into the shin of his opponent’s leg which had been outstretched supporting the earlier thrust. The slash cleanly severed through the anterior portion of the shin and sent splintered bone hailing out of its opening.

The creature was silent this time but still attacked again in frenzy. The chieftain grabbed at Paccu’s hair with his only usable arm and went again to bite the man’s face. But this time Paccu easily pivoted him off-balance. The crippled native still clung fanatically onto Paccu’s dreadlocks and wrenched his head toward the ground with the falling beast. Paccu loomed over the silent creature as it writhed about the floor trying to pull him downward.

With an upward swoop Paccu severed the chieftain’s left arm just below the shoulder. The cleaved arm still clung to its first full of dreadlocks as Paccu descended down on his maimed prey. He tossed his weapon to the side and it splashed gently in the dark blood pooling around the victim’s severed, squirming shoulder.

As he straddled the man’s heaving chest Paccu looked one last time into those soulless eyes. For a moment he felt like he had lost himself in them… Without thinking, Paccu’s hands felt their way up the Menahuun’s face. He was still lost in those eyes, those unrelenting white eyes that looked into him and yet through him to another, darker world. He felt his thumbs slowly slip over the empty vessels. And then they squeezed. They squeezed with a force that Paccu had never known he had. They delved deeper and deeper into the silent skull like wells frothing with red, gelatinous liquid. He wanted to tear the entire head asunder and cast its brains over the village for all the crazed citizens to see. But he did not. He could not… Mostly because that’s a really fucking hard thing to do.

As Paccu slowly drew his bruised body off the slain animal he saw that the crowd around him had dispersed. Only stragglers remained now and they seemed completely unenthused by the whole scene. They hung their heads and went on about their daily lives as if nothing had happened; as if they had never even known the man whose mangled body lay ashen in a pond of his own bodily fluids.

Amongst the dispersing natives were the familiar frames of team one. They appeared still very leery of the situation but now had their weapons pointed softly at the ground. A disbelieving smile crept across many of their faces as they secured a perimeter around Paccu and the still bound prisoner.

“Seems like they weren’t very impressed with your display, colonel. You would think that they were pretty keen on seeing people die beforehand.”

“—it is because you killed the hunter.” The Munn prisoner interjected weakly. “He was the one who captured me…” She sputtered for breath and spit out a clump of congealed blood. “You could tell they thought nothing of him until they saw he had me. Now he is dead, there is no strength. Their people crumble at the feet of the next warrior from a different tribe. I am yours now and I owe you my life.”

“You pretty wise, yeah? I’m sorry to say that wouldn’t be the case if we had gotten here sooner. You would not have seen these things for what they were and we’d have all much betta for dat,” Paccu whispered as he untied the crude ropes holding the girl prisoner. “Speaking of tribes, which one do you work for?”

The Muun woman looked pensively at her rescuer before answering, perhaps trying to assume what side of the galactic conflict this motley crew served. “I am an envoy of the Galactic Banking Clan on behalf of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Return me and you will be rewarded handsomely.”

“Oops, wrong answer,” whispered one of the Twi’lek marines. His joking comment was met with general laughter. However, the Muun found it less funny to suddenly realize she was probably moving from the hands of one captor to another. Her face soured in panic to what it had been atop the sacrificial pyre.

“You have nothing to fear, love. I will not see you return to the torture you just escaped. Dis is not something one person does to another but what only a creature can do. When I ask what tribe you are for, I see in your eyes that you are for the tribe of light. In the end we are the same tribe… I will see dat you are sent home. You will be treated as or flesh aboard our boat and when we part, I will wish you all the grace under the stars.”

---

“Muun… That starts with an M doesn’t it. Well when Pacco pronounces it, it starts with a U so that’s just how well have to spell it…”

Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Genais
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Genais

Member Offline since relaunch

Yavin 4 sanctuary

Jacoiba, accompanied by Eltarr, Helena and Yeonara walked the halls of her newest addition to her assets, the sanctuary had been a nice find, and one she would quite happily keep to herself. The sanctuary had not been the only thing she had procured over the past 12 months, she had possession of her own moon, and a small shipyard. The year had been good to her, two apprentices raised to the ranks of darth, both were previously under the tutelage of jedi, and a Jedi knight who had proven herself quite capable in her own regard.

The 4 of them entered the training room and Halena and Eltarr took one side, they spared with each most days when they were at the sanctuary, keeping each other on their toes was important to them both, and they have developed a sort of rivalry between them during their training.

Yeonara began to train alone while Jacoiba watched for a short while before joining her, the former jedi proved to be a capable sparring partner even for herself, however she would never let that be known.

Jacoiba was relaxing in her quarters when a crewman arrived with the reports from her agents.
Azazel seemed to be making some waves in the Tapani sector, involving the Mecrosa Order, and it appears she was pregnant with twins.. and the lapdog was their father, much to Andreas dismay.
“Oh that is rich” Jacoiba chuckled to herself, Andreas temper tantrums always amused her.
“She's almost like a child some days”

From her agent in amongst Andreas people, she learnt similar to that of Azazel, the pregnancy, the bad blood between the two of them. But the thing that intrigued her was the talk of her changing her looks beyond mere surgeries, the information was vague but somewhat useful.

Her eyes widened as she read the report from her agent in amongst the republic senate, large scale plans of mobilisation of fleets and armies near Columus whose sole purpose was to push forward, secure Corellia from the CIS incursion and if successful push through to liberate Duros. This information included names of the officers in charge, routes of supply lines and exact numbers of troops and ships.
“Well, this could be.. interesting”

As she finished reviewing what her agents had learnt, she ordered for the reports to be destroyed, this was her information only.

She had some much needed thinking to do, the report from the republic senate had her mind spinning. She rose to her feet and made her way to her holocron vault, a place where she could centre herself and think more clearly. She had plans to make.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Sarzu
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Sarzu

Member Offline since relaunch

In the life of two Sith and their minions....

Gra'tua returned to the bridge, lost in thought, he had just ordered Talinna and Tihk to grab a hyperspace capable craft and head for the Tapani Sector to protect Azazel. As he got into his seat he did not notice Kashiir waiting for him with a raised eyebrow. When he heard him cough however he looked up and saw the questioning look on his face, letting out a snort he answered the unasked question. "Azazel... is expecting twins."

Kashiir blinked and did a double take... and then let out a groan. "Please tell me they are not going to be as much trouble as your other offspring, she was quite... vexing at times in her youth."

Gra'tua just sat back in his command throne. "We'll see, there are other matters that we need to accomplish however... contact Lena." At a gesture one of the communications officers established a link and once she accepted he nodded to her holographic representation. "We are nearly there, what is our approach? Considering the fact that you told me the CIS might be present."

Lena was going over the little data she had of Teth when Gra'tua called, "Patch him through Verat." She asked of her Givin commander and then listened to Gra'tua. "Hello to you as well, as for our approach. While I do not rule out combat, I would prefer if a... diplomatic solution can be arranged with whatever CIS presence is there in the system. So I suggest we do not show any aggressive behavior unless provoked."

He let out a sound of disdain but nodded, "Very well, I doubt the CIS will be cooperative however, if they truly believe some of the ancient Mando'Ade hid a superweapon here then I doubt they will go quietly, but we will try your way first." He then turned to Kashiir, "Get the secondary bridge prepared, just in case." The Chiss nodded and went ahead to do just that. "Once we reach Teth it's your show Lena, but I will be ready to start... aggressive negotiations when called upon."

Lena stared evenly at Gra'tua. "That's all I can ask for I suppose. Well then I suppose all we can do now is prepare and see what happens when we reach the system."

It didn't take much longer to reach the Teth System and for the vessels to drop out of hyperspace a safe distance away. Nothing was immediately revealed on sensors, but at the extreme ranges a number of sensor shadows could be estimated to be approaching the planet.

Gra'tua leaned back, he and his command crew had relocated to the secondary bridge. "Slow and steady as she goes Kashiir, we follow Lena's lead for the moment..."

"Well here we are, approach the planet, make sure weapons are powered down, we want to try diplomacy first after all." Lena said to herself as she kept a eye on the sensors.

The approach to the planet was not the fastest, but finally the advanced sensors of the two flagships finally began to pick out the shapes of a pair of Lucrehulks and a Recusant Light cruiser as well as one of the two moons of Teth.

Now that some of the shadows had been identified Lena nodded to Verat who told the communications officer to open a line towards the CIS presence, once it was established on sending she started to speak. "Greetings, this is Lena, owner of a private business conglomerate, requesting communication."

A droid's voice came back over the channel. "This is Lucrehulk Battleship Task Group 7043. You are entering restricted space by order of the CIS Senate. Turn back immediately. Security Provisions 559.186 Subsection 11 have been issued and this is declared an Active Zone of CIS National Security. Private craft are not welcome. Do not approach." The transmission cut off immediately following and sensors revealed both Lucrehulks launching a half dozen squadrons of Vultures each.

She gestured for Verat to hold their position and then resumed talking. "I disagree, I am here representing the interest of Mandalorian Clan Gra'tua, who have reason to believe you are here to disturb heirlooms that are part of his Mandalorian heritage and culture."

The voice came back, still completely droid in monotone. "Mandalorian Claims are not Recognized by the Conferacy of Independent Systems. Turn back immediately." Sensors revealed more craft launching.

She frowned, "I repeat again, my name is Lena and I have a friend in the offices of Chancellor Bonteri herself, we are not showing any aggressive behavior and wish to come to a peaceful resolution. We will defend ourselves however, if aggression is shown."

"Who you are friends with has no bearing on CIS Security Directives. Turn back now." More bombers were launched by the Lucrehulks and now the Recusant that could be seen was beginning to break orbit.

"We are not here to fight, we only came here because the Mandalorian clan I represent wishes to restore the mandalorian heritage back to its people, I would imagine a Mandalorian view of things would be helpful but perhaps not." She turned to Verat, "Turn the ship around we are leaving."

As the Shadows Regret begins its turn the alarm klaxons on the bridge go off as a large number of vessels suddenly drop out of Hyperspace on course for the planet in a wall formation.

Gra'tua looked at the sensors. "Well... this has turned to poodoo. Launch fighters." Gra'tua growled as Kashiir started shouting orders and the ship become combat ready. "Lena, if you can hear me, I think we are about to get in the middle of a space battle, I follow your lead but know this, I won't let my ship be shot at without repercussion."

She looked at the sensors and silently cursed. "We are getting out of the way, Verat launch fighters just in case and hail those republic vessels." She waited for a moment and when told to spoke up again. "Republic vessels this is the private vessel Regret accompanying Mandolorian Vessel Kandosii Naast, we are neutral and are getting out of the way."

The response came over short and curt. "Understood, and wise decision Regret."

The response from the CIS was ... less ... polite. The Droid craft already flying redirected towards the Regret and Naast with orders to 'detain' the ships for questioning, the suspicious nature of the Droid Commander coupled with the Regret's republic shape and apparent willingness of the Republic Commander to consider them neutral caused it to correlate the data and assume the Regret had actually been some forward scout.

One of the Lucrehulks and all of the Recusants began heading for the Republic fleet. The other however took position over an area on the southern Hemisphere and began deploying its Landing craft.

She bit her lip and cursed again. "Steady as she goes, giving you input coordinates of a course." Once she gave them she saw Verat looking at her oddly but she had a look that booked no argument. With a sigh and silent muttering he gave the orders and the Regret started to move once more.
"What in the blazes is she thinking... just follow her, we'll see where this leads us."

The CIS Ships continued to make their run for the Republic Fleet as the Lucrehulk began spitting out squadrons intended for the Republic as the already launched craft continued on their attempt to stop the interlopers.

Lena looked warily at the approaching droid squadrons. "Pull the bombers back and send the interceptors to the fore... prepare anti-fighter weaponry. But only fire when fired upon or when sensors detect they are actively targetting us, we are not starting this. Make sure all data is recorded."

He about all but scoffed but relented, fine let the CIS make their move first, if they wanted a battle he would make sure to finish it by turning those droids into molten metal.

The CIS continues advancing when suddenly the Naast and Regret both being blaring with missile-lock alarms from the incoming squadrons. Meanwhile the Republic Fleet continues to advance up for a confrontation as the Lucrehulk continues to pour fighters into the fray.

She then looked at the sensors, rubbing her temples. "Open fire with spinal laser and concussion missile launcher at the enemy cruiser as well."

Gra'tua couldn't resist a chuckle, "Well here we go, Kashiir, the ship is yours." Gra'tua said, leaning back in the command throne.

Kashiir nodded, "Interceptors engage enemy fighters directly ahead, any anti-fighter weaponry open fire on targets, bombers and enemy missiles are priority targets. Open fire with spinal weaponry and proton torpedoes at enemy Recussant."

The laser fire from the Naast at the Vultures was less than impressive missing wildly before the battery overheated. And indeed, from both the strangers to their attacks fell short of their intended goals, the narrow form of the Recusant proving difficult to hit with their Spinal weapons at this range, only one squadron of Furies had any luck at all, and it managed to decimate one and a half squadrons worth of the Vultures as they concentrated on their attack run.

The Vultures turned their attention on the Interceptors as the Hyena's launched all their Concussion Missiles at the two interlopers as they moved to try and get behind and get a solution on the engines while the Recusant, having being attacked, returned the favour, its attention taken from the Republic ships for now.

The Vultures fire did little if anything of note other than maybe keeping enemy squadrons busy, as for the Hyena's they were more mixed. Two of the Squadrons struck the Naast with their missile salvos, but with its Hyper-Shield it barely even registered the hit. But one of the Hyena's missiles actually jammed.

The Recusants fire missing the Kandosii Naast.

"Starfighters attack enemy squadrons, move us closer and fire mass drivers and heavy weaponry." Lena ordered as she the battle progress.

Kashiir looked at the sitation with a calm demeanor, "Move us forward and open fire with all batteries at the Recussant, anti-fighter measures target isolated droid squadrons, have our bombers and Kad Fighters prepare bombing attack runs."

Suddenly there was a flash on both Capital Ships sensors. Observant men and women watching the Optical sensors would witness a massive ion pulse further away, the Republic testing some new anti-droid bomb?

The Regret's laser and flak weapons obliterated the Vulture Droid squadron leaving the second group of Fury squadrons expending energy at rapidly dissipating clouds of gas. One cheeky gunner firing a message to the squadron. "The Early Bird gets the worm." The third fury squadron managed to all but totally obliterate the Hyena's it was up against, though the Dark Wolfs had less success only killing two of them.

The Spinal laser of the Regret hammers into the shields of the Recusant, through them and directly into the weapon-well containing the Recusants own equivalent weapon trashing it as the Mass Drivers pounded against the armour allowing the Concussion Missile to bury itself deep in a starboard section blowing it out into space disabling another battery of the ships guns.

The Interceptors fail to get any real hits on target as their pilots fight to avoid being locked onto themselves but the much more numerous Droid Fighters, The Recusant didn't fare nearly as well with the Naast's Spinal Guns burrowing deep into the superstructure practically crippling the forward facing armament of the craft, though fortunately the rest of the Naast's armaments fell short of their aim.

The Recusant began to burn its engines hard as it aimed its prow for the Kandosii Naast, the damage turning out to be fairly close to terminal, the Droid Commander of the fleet seeing only one easy solution.

The Droid fighters and bombers however, had been redirected to the much more present danger of the Republics new Proton-Ion bomb.

Kashiir, orders the helm to begin evasive maneuvers, however the officer on duty interprets it beyond badly as "play chicken" with the Recusant and aims the Kandosii Naast's prow straight at the oncoming suicide ship with expectedly disastrous results.

The Recusant ploughs into the Naast the Hypershield and shields of the Capital Ship failing like a burst soap bubble the feedback actually destroying two of the smaller generators before it ploughed into the ship. In the first few seconds it looked like the armour would hold before the Spinal Superheavies failed, while not destroy their barrels were rent apart like so much tissue paper and the forward fifty metres of the Naast was crushed into the bulkheads behind it and the Recusant blew apart destroying every forward-facing sensor the Naast had brought to bear and compromising the hull integrity of the ship, it would not be capable of atmospheric re-entry before the damage was suitably shored up.

One poor Kad fighter that had been flying Cap, it turned out, found himself between the two giants at the wrong time. "Well shit..." was the last thing his flight recorder would play if recovered.

On the Republic Flagship one Captain turned to his second in Command. "Lieutenant, can you explain to me why that ship just tried to play chicken with a droid?"

"No sir. No I can't." The man replied.

Kashiir turned to the helmsman. "What was that about?" He asked tight-lipped.

Before the helmsman could answer a lightsaber was ignited and stabbed through his head before the now lifeless corspe was hurled to the side with a force push. "You are relieved." Gra'tua all but growled.

The Droid Squadrons unknowing all this unleashed their Proton Torpedoes on the nearest Venator the successive explosions blowing it to pieces.

Lena looked aghast at what she was seeing, "Someone write this down, I owe Gra'tua a great deal of credits... relay our sensor data to his bridge assuming our readings are correct that his sensors are completely gone on the front, don't want him flying blind, head in front of his ship. Ordr the Fury squadrons to engage enemy droid squadrons battling the Republic forces, right now the elimination of the CIS here must be achieved." She sighed again.

Gra'tua didn't say a further word after the execution of his previosu helmsman, simply staring ahead while Kashiir was giving the orders. "Power down all weapons, I want as much power to be diverted into restoring shield strenght! Now!" He shouted across the bridge, he let out a shiver... if Gra'tua had not insisted on them relocating to the secondary bridge.... he shook his head to clear it. "What are you all waiting for! Recharge the shields, now!"

The Interceptors engaged the Hyena's as ordered though two of the groups failed to do much while the other group managed to kill all its targets removing one group of enemy squadrons from the board.

The Squadrons now moved up and were engaged with the Republic the swarms preparing to overwhelm the Republic defense. Entire Salvos of Discord Missiles slammed out towards the Republic and now the outcome didn't look quite as certain with the small Buzz Droids within swarming over the closest two Venators beyond a Victory used the improvised Mass Driver to throw another Proton-Ion Bomb into the midst of the Droid Fighters destroying another three squadrons.

She chewed the inside of her cheek, "Order bombers and starfighters to make bombing runs towards the lucrehulk, all available weaponry also fire, make it stop from launching more squadrons so aim for the hangar sections of the arms if possible."

Seeing what Lena was doing thanks to her sharing her sensor record Kashiir ordered their starfighters and bombers to do the same. While their interceptors also went to attack enemy bombers as well.

The Furies had their typical effect, the first group obliterating its target with the other two faffling around, though group 3 almost got itself destroyed by flying near into the fire of a Vulture group. The Starfighters however didn't perform very well despite both Bomber groups pummeling the Lucrehulk with their guided munitions the shots smashing into the outer hull after punching a weakness into the shield on that side allowing the heavier concussion missile through to cripple the starboard launch bay.

The Interceptors carve a hole through the enemy Hyenas like a hot knive through butter actually obliterating two groups as they lead the charge on the hangars or expressed a desire to. But the Kad fighters made the most difference. Their torpedoes ripped into the guts of the Lucrehulk with incredible efficiency and secondary explosions began to ripple through the vessel as the core ship detached from its ring hoping to contain the destruction, a measure that saved the Core-ship, but that was all that could be said in their favour.

The CIS and Republic fleets meanwhile continued to pound one another, though the newly orphaned Core Ship began a long run to try and reach a safe distance to hyperspace out.

Lena clacked her tongue, "Very well, have our bombers and starfighters head for the lucrehulk in orbit of the planet, inform the Furies to resume their target practice but concentrate on the enemy bombers, I don't want them getting outnumbered and encircled by the enemy squadrons."

Kashiir looked at his master who just nods, "Interceptors resume attacking enemy fighters, Bombers and Starfighters, prepare attack runs on enemy recussant."

The first furies group does what it does best by now, the main Squadron Commander Emile Hastaven guiding her unit flawlessly in its destruction of another group of Hyena bombers before that Gra'tua's grubby animals could threaten her kill-streak. The other furies however seemed determined to just get in one another road and failed to achieve much at all.

The Kad Fighters and Bombers attempted to engage the trailing recusant with torpedo fire and while the Kad Fighters salvo was accurate, the Recusants laser defenses scythed apart more than three quarters of the salvo before the remained ploughed into its shields threatening to overwhelm them, but the bomber group failed to capitalist on their attack leaving it intact.

Massive bursts of proton-ion bombs light up space annihilating more of the droid ships as the Victories fired about them, still nobody had launched any fighters, but the Bombers that were out of range engaged the Victory class Star Destroyers.

Their fire was devastating and one of the Victory's flanks burned from repeated torpedo strikes, though the other blasted its aftmost attacker with punitive effort. Meanwhile the Recusants blasted apart another Venator though one lost its own life as a Venator pounded the one weakened by Gra'tua's fighters to scrap.

At the planet, the Lucrehulk seeing which way the battle was going began to break orbit and flee.

She frowned at the Lucrehulk escaping, "Target the hyperdrive of that vessel." She commanded quickly in the channel opened with the bombers and starfighters."

The crippled Kandosii Naast continued merrily on it's way while the starfighters did their thing.

The Hyena's had exhausted their missile loadout on the Republic ships now and turned viciously on the Furies that had been harrying them but neither they, nor the furies, could manage to get on target this time both groups pecking away at one another fruitlessly. The Recusant firing at the incoming salvo of fire with slaving... ineffectiveness, little of the incoming salvo could be stopped before they slammed into the Light Cruiser crippling one of its engines and most of its port-side battery.

The weight of fire on the heavily damaged Victory finally proved too much with the Vultures and Hyenas strafing the damaged sections over and over the ship finally blasting apart damaging its neighbour, but the death eliminated well over half the attackers. The furies attacking the Bombers noticed at the last moment the way the Victory seemed to shake and hitting max thust to get out of the blast.

Both of the surviving Republic ships opened up with everything they had on the Recusant and pounded it to nothing more than scrap now outside of the vessels main weapons ability to fire back and its port-side armaments already crippled by the Kad Fighters torpedo salvo. With a burst of light it died.

But now...

Now the Droid Starfighters adopted collision courses.

The Dark Wolf squadrons broke off and went for a torpedo run on the fleeing center of the first lucrehulk before they would regroup with the bombers.

The Mandalorian starfighters turned and went to see if they could shoot down some kamikaze droid fighters while the bombers went for the fleeing lucrehulk center.

Once more Emile lead her squadron into the breach and combined with Fury Group 3 the last of the Hyena Bombers were cleaned up with almost a clinical perfection thanks to her beyond masterful flying and energising effect on her squadmates. Meanwhile the Dark Wolf Squadrons blasted apart the escaping Core ship before it could make good its getaway.

The Attempted ramming by the Hyenas fell short as they were cut apart by lasers or impacted harmlessly on the shields, but it wasn't over yet with two squadrons still on a collision course as the last Lucrehulk uses the moon to slingshot around for a higher velocity, it was only a few short minutes from escape.

The Dark Wolf squadrons went to catch up but the squadron leadrs of the Hornets decided to overclock their engines and speed up to catch their errant prey.

The fury squadrons meanwhile were getting barked on by squadron leader Emile to destroy the last remaining droid fighters before they became a threat.

Meanwhile the chatter of the Mandalorian squadrons was filled with exclamations how the hell some non-mandos were stealing all the kills and glory.

The Mandalorians it seemed were intent on proving that they were just as capable with the Interceptors and one Kad fighter group mopping up the last of the suicidal Droid Fighters. A message went out from the surviving Victory Class Star Destroyer. "Many thanks chaps. We thought that they might have made us spill our fresh pot of tea."

Meanwhile the Lucrehulk continued its high velocity escape vector.

Lena watched sensor readings. "Recall the interceptors." She murmured quietly and then focused on the bombers, willing them to succeed.

Gra'tua finally spoke up after minutes of silence. "Recall the squadrons, they did their duty... How are my shields... what is left of them Kashiir."

"Sufficient my lord." The Chiss replied after conferring with the shield operators.

"Good, bring power back to weapons and continue on as you were."

The Missiles screamed out, on group failing to achieve any lock of meaning and the other managing to achieve their lockon well enough. But the vast number of laser batteries on the Lucrehulk lit up the void with enough fire to swat every single missile from the void as it continued on its escape vector.

And with a flash of incandescent light, it engaged its Hyperdrive.

*Some time later...*

The Battle was over and the remaining Republic Forces were while relatively undamaged, they had not emerged unscathed, four Venators obliterated and one of the precious Victory class.

"Those CIS Chaps didn't seem keen to let you be neutral in that fight Regret." The Republic Commander transmitted. "Care to explain?"

Lena sighed and closed her eyes, calming down for a moment first, before she replied. "It probably doesn't help that I... have one of the first Victory prototypes thanks to some contacts I happen to have with Kuat stardrives, they must have assumed, in combination with your arrival that we were some kind of advance republic scout. I merely defended myself... and my Mandalorian companion... though I think eh rather enjoyed the fight, before the CIS vessel rammed him. Does that explanation satisfy you, commander?"

Kashiir had a moment of thought and instead of recalling the fighters, looking apologetic towards his lord, ordered the fighters to make sensor runs of the debris of the Lucrehulk ring and Recussant wrecks, for any salvageable systems, weapons or other scrap.

"Eminently my dear. My Second in Command James Curiosity is most happy with that response, the man lives up to his name all too often. In any case. We will continue our patrol of the system and an in-depth scan of the planet. Feel free to conduct your business, your aid was invaluable, when I find the imbecile at HQ that felt that it was a good idea to deploy an experimental squadron without their fighter and bomber complements i'll have the bastard up on charges." Without further ado the Communication ceased the Victory taking course to the wreckage of its sister-ship while the Venator continued its course to scan the planet.

Lena was relieved that this was not going to be a second battle and resumed her communications with Gra'tua, "I suggest we scan the planet's surface for the supposed Mandalorian Ruins."

Gra'tua let out a snort, "Already on it, with whatever sensors I have left... I am having Kashiir trying to find the locations of the CIS forces, that escaped vessel had plenty of time to launch landing craft..."

The scans for scrap yielded nothing worthy of the name scrap, though with the sensor damage they couldn't be 100% certain as the ships moved into orbit. As they began their scans Gra'tua couldn't help but hear the occasional curse from the sensor pit as the crew struggled to do their job with a crippled sensor suite, but the Regret managed to locate four of the CIS Landing ships deployed around an old dilapidated complex.

Lena looked at the data and mad sure to share it with Gra'tua, giving him a moment to go over with before asking her question. "Well, you are more versed in these kind of situations, what do you suggest?"

"Load up whatever troops you wish to bring along... I am going to do the same, with my starfighters and bombers leading ahead, possibly destroying some ground targets before we disembark the troops on the surface, with my most accurate weapons neutralised for planetary bombardment I feel that is the best course of action." He turned to Kashiir, "Inform Andrieke to load up all her men in the transport craft." After a moment of thought he added something else, "Ready the Basilisks for launch... including Goreamas."

"You heard the Mandalorian clan leader, Verat inform the Sigil troopers to prepare, tell the noghri to do the same." Lena responded after hearing Gra'tua out. "Also, if you don't mind me saying this Gra'tua, your sensors are somewhat... damaged so that is probably why you did not suggest it, but I will also commence planetary bombardment of the CIS transports and any troop concentrations we can detect on the ground."

He let out a dry chuckle and just gestured as if to indicate the planet below. "By all means." He then turned to Kashiir, "Set maintenance and repair crews to do preliminary work."

The preliminary shots screamed down into the atmosphere blasting apart three of the CIS Transports, the last missing by very little, showering it with dirt obscuring it from an easy second shot.

Gra'tua observed the sensor telemetry forwarded by Lena's vessel and had to grudgingly admit that her people were quite competent. "Well that's settled..." He turned to Lena's holographic face and then smirked and activated a command key that would connect him to the hangar where Andrieke and her troops were boarding dropships. "Begin landing your troops..."

End of part 1...
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Tempest
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Tempest Feminazi

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Azazel rubs her eyes, having spent most of the last, she checks her wristlink and still couldn't believe the hours that had passed. She groans and places a hand over her abdomen, still in disbelief. Indeed, Xen and Kitt had been in the right to forcibly bring her to the clinic for check-ups. The bill of clean health for her and her children was reassuring, but she was still so very... She growls and slams her hand out towards the wall, fire wrapping around and scorching the metal to a dingy black. She blinks and withdraws her hand. Bezol was showing Janii about the facility now, and the Dagda in hopes of familiarizing the cyborg woman with the areas.

Taking a deep breath, she tries to calm herself from her irrational anger, but it was doing little. And she still had to inform the others. The first attempt to contact Andrea on the last ship she had been on was a bust. For the best, she did not know if she could handle a conversation with her now... But she still needed to tell Gra'tua. Still agitated, she starts down the halls, slipping into a bit of stealth anytime she thought she even heard any of her followers, and went straight to the communications room of the Red Sanctuary. She would not be doted upon like some frail thing a minute longer. Not in her base of operations, her home. The Noghri could be understandable, they were a familial society and she was 'a member of the clan' but the others. She sneers at the thought as she closes and locks the door before looking at the console. She flits through the name of her contacts, hesitating at Andrea's before scrolling through to Gra'tua's line. Taking a moment to collect herself as best she could, she hit the button to establish a line and moved to the holoprojector, awaiting impatiently for him to pick up.

Gra'tua was on the bridge, talking with Kashiir when he frowned and looked at his wrist. "Incoming call? On my private line." The chiss just nodded that he would take over. "If Lena seeks contact tell her I am occupied for the moment." He said before leaving the bridge and get to his quarters and accepted the call, standing on the holoprojector so his image would be broadcasted.

A smile touched his face briefly when he saw it was Azazel and he pulled Revan's mask off his face and then frowned when he saw the look on her face, she was upset about something, he could tell that without using any force talents. "What has happened." He glanced down over her body at her stomach and abdomen. "Is something wrong with the child..." He was saying, trailing off.

She hesitates for a moment, biting back a comment before shaking her head, “No, the children are fine...” She clenches her hand, nails digging into the flesh of her palm looking back at Gra'tua, letting that sink in for a moment. “Of course, I think my life was in genuine danger the other day. Drawn to the limits of my capabilities, scrambling to avoid guards and blasts of destructive force energies that could rival Andrea's.” She trembles, remembering it, hatred starting to gleam in her eyes.

Gra'tua blinked, did she just say... children? As in more than one? He was about to inquire about that further when she continued. Avoiding blasts of destructive force energies!? He took a deep breath, thinking but spoke up quickly, "We... you... expecting more than one child... that is... wonderful news Azazel I..." He then growled and clenched his fists. "But what did you mean, avoiding guards and destructive force energies... did another force user tried to harm you? What happened." He asked, trying to sound calm and reasonable but emotion was creeping into his voice, anger and worry laced with his words.

Azazel wraps her arms loosely about herself, pursing her lips as she tries to work through the fog of anger that demanded she lash out at everything around her. “Good news unless I meet a Sith noble who has the an entire facility at his back as support.” She glares at Gra'tua, wondering where he even was, “There's a Sith in the Tapani sector trying to usurp me as the master of the Mecrossa Order. I stumbled upon him by accident at a resort owned by a rather rude woman.” She lightly clenches and unclenches her hands as she seethes, “If I did not have to think about these... children,” she spits out almost venomously, obviously thinking another word, “I would have been able to see both him and the entire facility nothing but burning rubble in my wake.” She finally starts to snap at him, “And where are you?! I needed you here!”

Gra'tua frowned at the tone Azazel was using on him but did not comment, he had been through this before, with Andrea, but he thought it wise not to say that. "I am furthening my goal, our goal, of me becoming Mandalore so that we can use the Mandalorians for our purposes, there is a supposed Mandalorian superweapon hidden somewhere, frankly I think it's unlikely but who knows." He said calmly.

"As I recall you preferred I stayed out of the Tapani Sector, unless you asked me beforehand. You did not." He said quietly before he continued. "Do you still need my help?"

She tenses for a moment, fighting down the urge to snap at him about chasing wild rumors and putting words into her mouth before she closes her eyes. “No, I-I don't. I'll talk to Andrea.” Her expression suddenly relaxes, and she begins to look crestfallen, “I have to tell her anyways that this Sith will know where she and Korriban is. As much her problem if this goes unchecked...”

Gra'tua let out a growl, "I see. Are you certain, because I am perfectly willing to turn around, head to the Tapani sector, find this sith and rend him limb for limb..." He said anger evident now and then let out a snort. "Then again I think you'd prefer I hand him over to you alive so you can have your way with him."

He looked directly at her face. "If he'd hurt you..." He just let out another growl and shook his head, regaining his composure. "He knows about Korriban though? Strange, how?"

A flicker of doubt passes over her face as she looks away from, Gra'tua, before mumbling out quietly, “The Mecrossa Order knew...” She bites her lip, reluctant to say more.

Gra'tua was silent for a moment. "I see..." He did not feel the need to add more, the way she said that told him enough. "I do not envy your talk with Andrea then... Azazel." He became serious as he said her name. "If you ever need my assistance... I will destroy whatever is in my way, be it planets or fleets, to assist you, remember that. So I ask again, how can I help."

She swallows, tears starting to well up, “It might be best you keep your distance for a little bit, until I talk to her... She might... have... hard feelings...” Azazel wipes her eyes on her sleeves, hiccuping quietly as she tries to fight down the tears. “If you think this might be a good lead, we might need it, keep at it... I don't know what Traiserus has up his sleeves. He's a noble. And powerful... But, I w-was just caught off guard... without... without my disciples.”

He nods slowly, "I have two of my disciples back at Mandalorian space... ask and they will serve you for the time being. I may not be able to stand by you in person." He growls again, "But I will not stand by and do nothing... while I would love to find where this... Traiserus... lives and bomb it back to the stone age... I can offer you the services of my disciples, troops or anything else you need."

She covers her face as the dam breaks and the sobs begin, reluctant to see her cry as she nods and croaks out, “A-alright. I'll... h-have them w-with me.” She takes a whimpering breath, spreading her fingers to look at him, “S-sorry...”

Gra'tua frowned. Looking at her, "Don't be, we are sith, but still human, your hormones are just reacting to the chemistry its going through to..." He cracks a smile again at last. "Keep our... our children healthy and safe. So... two, huh?" He blinked. "At least I assume it is twins... it's not... triplets... or more, is it?" He sounded a bit afraid at the notion of more than two.

She looks horrified at that comment, quickly shaking her head, “N-no! Just two, twins.” She bites her lip, before murmuring, “They were a little uncertain at first, but, they're... a girl, and a... a boy.” She looks at Gra'tua, still sniffling and tears streaking her face. He was a Mando, but how far would he go to assure he raised his son...

He laughed softly and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the stars... more than two newborns would have been... unsettling." He left it at that and thought. "We already agreed on how to raise our child... I see no chance with the revelation it is now two children. I... however would like to at least instrict the boy in the way of the Mando'Ade... hoping you will do the same for the girl but that is your choice." He nods slowly.

Azazel wipes her face, feeling a little like a mess and nods, “I... Yes... But I insist in having a part to play... Traditions or not...” She bites her lip and looks at Gra'tua, “They... I...” she frowns, at a loss for words and unable to explain herself properly, “Sullivan, she was like my mother... and... If I could be half as wonderful to them as she was to me... I just... want that chance...”

He chuckles, "Do not worry... I think the thoughts you currently have in your head crossed my mind as well when I had to take care of Kyr'am... trust your instincts. I am also there to help you... just don't tell my men..." He rubbed his cheek.

She sniffs and nods with a diminutive smile, “Ah, yes... Admittedly... You do have.... boundless more experience than I with... uhm...” She gestures with her hands, like holding a small bundle, “B-babies... I ah...” She flushes and looks away, “I did not think, see... that... well... They are loud, and demanding and tiny malformed people... so I never learned...” She winces embarrassed, “Help?”

He smiled and moved a hand as if to caress or scoop up er tears on her holographic image. "I will make certain to stay at your side when the time comes for their birth and some time after... it has been almost 20 years after all since I last held a baby."

Azazel flushes and nods softly, “That's... good...” She frowns and raises a hand to the hologram, “I do wish you were here, though... This, does not quite do the trick.” Her mind flickers to a different line of thought... and briefly to Andrea... and for the life of her, she could not draw it away. Guiltily, her hands go out to the railing as she watches Gra'tua carefully, “I'm probably keeping you from your duties, and I'm more than certain a particular Kubaz is tearing at his quills with worry since I slipped out of the medbay without his knowing... You will keep in touch, though... right?”

He smiled. "I will and once this endeavor is finished I think I will head directly to the tapani sector or contact you to meet up with you in person." He stared at her for a moment. "I love you Azazel." He coughed and looked away, "Stay safe, I will contact my people and have my disciples head to you, they will obey your commands."

She blushes and the waterworks begin anew. “I love you too, Gra'tua,” Azazel chokes out, “I w-will see you soon.” She tries to force a smile and raise her head to look at him.

He smiled and looked back at her and let out a wry chuckle. "Now then... time for you to get back to your dedicated, scary self and me worshipping the ground you walk on, yes?" He smirked and let out a amused chuckle. "Ignore this Traiserus, he might be as powerful as Andrea or whatever... you are you... you will ground him into dust and leave nothing of his name and legacy intact, that's what you do because your are Azazel, self-proclaimed Sith'ari, or are you saying that you are not?" He just grinned, finishing saying that.

Azazel huffs, sniffling and trying to stop the flood of tears as she stands proud, wincing at the slight pain in her legs and lower abdomen, “I still am Sith'ari, Gra'tua.” Her lips curl into a twisted smile as she leans forward with a purr even though her cheeks were streaked and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, “And I left that man battered and scarred for the rest of his life already. I will see him quaking in fear before crushing him like the worm he is, next we meet.”

He smirked, "Good, enjoy crushing taht pitiful worm Azazel... I shall see you soon, hopefully."

She nods and her hand hesitates over the key to terminate the communications before finally pressing it. She sighs as the lights flicker out and she is left alone in the room. Her gaze flickers at the terminal and with a swipe she finds the name once more. Her smile falters back to a deepset frown as she takes a seat, lightly tapping the key but not pressing it. She should tell her immediately. Get the word out. Tell her the terrible news. Yet, Andrea must despise her for her moment of weakness, pushing her away in her hurt. Yet had she not done something similar, albeit less personal now. She rubs her eyes, wiping at a new surge of tears as she steels herself and hits the connection to contact Andrea's flagship.

The hail was on a private channel and put through after a moment and was answered. By a rather tired looking Andrea who looked like she had just stepped out of the shower. "Can't be back on my ship for a hour or I'm getting.... called...." She said trailing off, looking in surprise at Azazel's image.

Her jaw hangs open before she starts to hyperventilate tears streaming freely as she draws her knees up to her chest. There was not even someone in between to take a message. It went directly to Andrea. How could she tell her this after everything. So she simply sobs, words caught behind a lump in her throat.

Andrea looks on in silence. Not sure what was going on right now, she had not even considered it was Azazel calling her, thinking it was one of her own people with some nonesense. "Uhm... Azazel.... what, why?" She looked at her crying and frowned. "Snap out of it!" She said irritated as Azazel showed no sign of stopping. "Last time we talked I thought you did not want to see, least of all talk to me and now you are contacting me personally? What is going on."

“I'm sorry, this is all my fault,” she whimpers out, keeping her face hidden. She tries to catch her breath and even her breathing, to continue. “K-Korriban, is... its...” she fumbles, unable to get it out as she looks up at the site of Andrea, quivering. Why could it not be one of her communications officers. That would have been easier.

She got a frown on her face, concerned. "Korriban... what? Its what?"

“Someone knows where it is... Another Sith... And its my fault... I.. I didn't know about him, Andrea... But I still told the Mecrossa Order... and now...” She shudders and shakes her head, “He might attack... I already ran into him... He has resources... and he's at least as strong as you in the force...” She cringes and buries her face once more, “I've made a mess of everything... I am so sorry...”

Andrea sat stunned in silence, taking this all in... Azazel... had told... had told her precious Mecrossa Order about Korriban... and now some other sith knew about it and might come after her sith tomb world!? She scoffed at the notion this other sith was as strong as her, ludicrious....

She stared long and hard at Azazel, her anger clearly evident. "You... blame me... for keeping secrets... for witholding information about my past to you... and now... you have done something similar? YOU TOLD THEM ABOUT KORRIBAN!?" She all but shouted and growled.

Azazels' hands run up, into her hair, clenching fistfuls of the raven black locks as she rocks in her seat, “Y-yes... You've every right... t-to hate me...” She looses a quiet hiccuping sob, trying to make herself small. “I... There's n-no way to... to c-convince you how... s-sorry I am... is there....”

Andrea looked furiously at the image of Azazel, lightning appeared and crackled around her body as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Mentally counting to ten and then exhaled, sitting down, still staring at Azazel's image with anger and accusation. "Start... from the beginning because right now... you are actually making no sense at all."

She quivers and takes a deep breath, “A-after, you and I... Talked last... Xen... Xen met me with some information... Someone named Jehemath the Fifth wanted him... Me... to kill a woman accused of stealing from the Order... He told Xen his aunt, Braghda, my contact, had died in a skiing accident... But, you see... They found Zarra and she was obviously being hunted... Rei'Ki let her free and brought me her tools... I read what I could from them, but it was mostly nonsense... I decided to start investigating, and I went to see Gustav here to see if he had anything I could use... I learned the truth there, that Zarra is his niece and was being framed by Jehemath... That they tried to.. to assassinate Braghda, at a mountain resort?...”

She shakes her head, “He showed me what was left of Braghda, but I needed more information than simply running in there blind... Go figure that when I thought I had it... I went to a resort where I was to find a Lord Traiserus, a friend of Jehemath's. I was going to pump him for information to see how deep this whole... Mess... ran... And... And he attacked me... Throwing lightning, force destruction,” she swallows, “I thought I caught him with my fire, but he still got out and he had just so much power... He... He's obviously making a bid against me for the Order... and is already deeply set in it, having followers in its midst...” She closes her eyes, “I started to connect two and two... This man was planning to hunt me, he knew much about myself and Braghda, my own involvement... And I just... put two and two together, that all this has been happening since I told... Braghda, the Order about Korriban...” She clenches her teeth, looking up and wiping her eyes. “I miss you...”

She closed her eyes again, thinking, a sith knew about korriban and from the sound of it he would not be persuaded to join their little alliance. "Does he know about me... does he know korriban is populated." She asked tersely.

Azazel frowns as Andrea fails to respond and she starts to feel a little cold, “Ah, yes... If he has all the information I gave Braghda, he should know there is someone there... I did not want what I believed to be followers being shot down. They would have contacted you, but... ah... yes...” She makes a small noncommittal gesture of her hand.

She was silent again for a moment. "I... see..." She sighed and put her head in her hands, shaking it off. "I am furious... I... I don't know, I would probably hurl a force storm your way if we were talking in person but..." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking at the ceiling, avoiding looking at Azazel directly. "I would be... lying if I did not say I... missed you too..." She snorts. "Even considered after my latest adventure to find your current whereabout... engage your ship in battle, board it, fighting my way before you and beg your forgivness..." She snorts again, "But this way might be better..."

She looked back at Azazel, "We clearly need to talk... I am heading to Korriban and will be there for the time being, head there when you are able."

Azazel gives a wry smile, “Sorry, that chevalier daring-do wouldn't have worked... And I'm not sure if I can travel yet... I ran afoul of a Lucrehulk on my way here, and it did a number on my ship. The Dagda is docked til she can get the repairs done, and to that point,” she gestures around herself, “I'm stuck in the Red Sanctuary until Ibeth sees The Aberrancy back.” She watches Andrea, hand skirting out and brushing at the lights of the hologram. “I... I have to wait for Gra'tua's disciples to arrive as well... He is worried...” She frowns, “Sorry, I should not have brought that up.” She looks away, “I'll make it there as soon as I can, but... Be safe... I... I...” She rubs her cheek awkwardly, “I couldn't say it before... I was... lost, and hurting... I didn't know how to react, but...” She swallows, looking at Andrea, “I ah... I... I do l--” She bites her lip, looking away. Of course, she could say it back to Gra'tua so easily, but here... Andrea could still be upset with her... likely was... and how could she say such a thing after everything.

Andrea was tight-lipped and nodded slowly. "We can sit down and talk about this... or have a showdown were we try to kill each other after this whole mess has been resolved. From the sound of things though I can expect a attack on Korriban, my academy and I will not allow that. As for Gra'tua." She snorts and made a gesture that deemed him unimportant.

"The two of you can clearly be happy together." She said, perhaps a bit snidely but she was still hurt on how things had gone the last time they talked.

Azazel looses a soft cry, “Do not be so cruel, Andrea!” She leans forward as if to kiss the cheek of the Sith before remembering once more it was the hologram. She frowns and murmurs, “I have always loved you, you silly woman... and I would never raise a hand against you...” She tries to raise her gaze to meet Andrea's. “Or do you want me out of your life so dearly...”

She shuddered and finally a crack in her angry mask appeared and she sighed. "No." She said weakly and then took a deep breath and said it more strongly. "No... I... have been thinking about you a lot recently... and I... miss you." She growled again, either still angry or perhaps angry with herself. "Lets... lets talk... in person... soon... and figure this out."

A small small genuine smile passes over her lips as she sniffs. “I'll be there as soon as I can break away from matters here and have a suitable ship.” She chuckles, “Want me to leave Hakkri behind while I'm at it?”

She tried to remain serious but let out a chuckle. "Heh... probably best..." She frowned. "How did Gra'tua actually take it... learning about us... behind his back... do I have to worry about him trying to kill me?"

Azazel flushes and looks away, “He... was a little jealous, and felt betrayed... but... he seemed... accepting. Still... loyal...” She closes her eyes, “Perhaps a bit wounded we carried on behind his back and he learned it from Hakkri, not I.” She clears her throat, “He, ah, was happy to hear about my being with child, well... children so I found out today... And never even demanded I end things...”

Andrea blinked. "I... huh." She looks utterly surprised. "I can say... I honestly did not expect that... also don't know if I am dissapointed by that or not..." She groaned and held her head. "Too much to take in at the moment. Wait... did you say children... plural?" She blinked and looked at Azazel... and then couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You poor woman, and I thought having one parasite was bad."

Azazel cringes and nods, “You... are telling me.” She looses a nervous laugh, “I still haven't figured out what I am always hungry for... and am sick when I wake up, and throughout the day... And the night...” She frowns and looks at Andrea, “I suppose I do have two pampering nurse maids between Kitt and Xen, so it could be worse.”

Smirking she nodded, "I suppose so... heh." She looked at Azazel with longing. "I hope... we can get together soon."

“Promise you won't hurl lightning at me?” she tries to pout.

She laughed, "Promise to not set me or my bedchambers on fire, again?"

Azazel stops as if to consider it, “So long as it does not get too hot in there, very well.” She rubs her cheek in embarrassment.

She grinned, "Very well... see you soon, hopefully." She said, feeling genuinely happy for once and winked as she terminated the call and let out a sigh. "Well.. this will be interesting..." She muttered and then frowned, she know had to make plans to counter a possible invasion of Korriban. "Fun times ahead..."

Azazel smiles and lays back in her chair, delighted with the sudden turn of events. She raises her wristlink to see if there were any updates on the ship repairs. A knock comes from the door before it creaks open. A demure Kitt looks on, clearing her throat. Azazel frowns looking at the door she had locked.

“Sorry, Xen gave me the master key, so to speak.” She holds up a card with a magnetic strip. “He said you ah, disappeared from the clinic and you had us worried you'd go on to hunt Traiserus on your own.”

Azazel waves her hand, “No, no. I am not suicidal. I am still recovering.”

Kitt looks at the terminal and the name at the top of the list, confirming what she had thought she heard.“Ah, I see. I will tell him you are alright and still here.”

Azazel hesitates for a moment before looking at Kitt, “Do you think you could get me some frozen hot cocoa, sea salt and some hot peppers?”

Kitt frowns, looking at Azazel, “Uhm, what?”

Azazel looks aside, “Sorry, it just sounds really good...”

Kitt nods slowly, “Right, I'll see what I can do. Why don't you go back to your room, though. We'll put on a holovid.”

Azazel wrinkles her nose, still sitting in her chair. “I don't know if I can rest so easily. I have much to deal with. Where are Lydavis and Tannus?”

Kitt sighs, taking a moment to stretch her arms, “On their way. They say they have news. Big stuff.”

The Sith nods and leans back, “I think I will go to the holocron vault and meditate for a time. Perhaps I will turn up something interesting. Or revisit holocrons from Sullivan.”

The Echani woman hesitates, “Sullivan?”

Azazel blinks, “My M-- My mistress, before I was a sith in my own right.” She relaxes back, closing her eyes, a sudden heavy weight on her chest.

“Oh...” She furrows her brow, crossing her arms, “Was she ah, like other sith masters?”

Azazel peers at Kitt before a small smile spreads, “No, no she was not. She was... A good woman. Probably closer to being a Jedi than most of us. Perhaps she was one for a time. I do not know, I never asked, I was just so focused on trying to better myself.” She leans forward, clasping her hands together, “Yes, I will definitely be going to the holocron vault.” With that, she stands and begins to leave the room, brushing past Kitt.

“Wait, when did you last sleep?”

Azazel furrows her brow, “Oh, I am not sure, some time ago, I suppose. I will rest in time, fret not. You are all so...” she wrinkles her nose once more, “I do not need nurse maids, Kitt.”

Kitt blushes and nods, drawing her hands back. “Xen has information for you, when you are ready, by the way.”

Azazel nods and continues on her path, too distracted in her own musing.
Azazel's brow knit together as the holocron chamber continues to mutter to her. Whispers of promised power meet her, unnerving her at times in their hollow whispers. She was too distracted to pinpoint them and ask questions of the old siths in this room, though. She whimpers and reaches out, her hand brushing across a familiar holocron. The original of her collection, one she had always been too frightened to access before.

A soft light flickers before a pale green light flickers on within the chamber before a woman appears, standing over Azazel. The age was, indeterminate. Azazel looks up at the image, her heart swelling as she looks at the image of Sullivan. She was both wizened and young in appearance it seemed as of this moment. A faint memory of mint scent comes to mind and she smiles, looking up at her old master. “Sullivan... It has... been too long.”

Sullivan appears distracted, looking over Azazel, a moment of surprise echoes over the ethereal woman's face before disappointment is called to her face, “A mother... but, you have fallen, little bird.”

Azazel flushes and rubs over her arms, “I have not... I... I follow your teachings.”

Sullivan shakes her head, going onto her knees and staring at Azazel's face, “I can feel it in you, the dark side. You have forgotten my teachings... Or distorted them... Do you not remember?”

Azazel's face twists, “I do what I must to make the Galaxy better, Sullivan... I take a less passive roll than you, that is all.”

Sullivan's face appears hurt as she shakes her head, pale hair tinted gold cascading, “I always feared this... You were a wild youth... But, you are still of mine... I just wish you did not...”

Azazel furrows her brow, “Sullivan, I am not a terrible person... I lost my way, surely, but... I have found it again, I have taken counsel of those who will consider what I do not, I accept I need not kill, I try to hold myself in such a way as to cause less harm. I do not wish to be the filth I wish to purge.”

Sullivan gives her a pitying look, “And in doing so, you become which you despise, Azazel. I was not... How I was learned later in life, I too lost my footing, but I had more hope for you... Little bird, do find yourself again.”

The Sith cringes and shakes her head, “I have found myself, master... I know myself better than ever and what I must do... But it is trying... I have erred of late... More than once... I have haphazardly thrown those who follow me into danger... I have... Lost... To a Sith and a battleship.”

Sullivan appears to take this in and gives a soft tut tut, “Defeat is not so bad, if victory means you lose much. Win or lose should not matter, as long as you are true to yourself, little bird.” Sullivan appears to reach out, as if to caress Azazel's cheek. “Child, trust me, I have lived life far longer, walking a balance between. I have seen much that you have yet... So listen to an old woman for once in your life.”

Azazel tries to nuzzle the hand offered to her, “I always have trusted you, Sullivan, which is why I am here... I... Am scared, and unsure. There is a threat to the ones I love... A threat to myself and the children I carry... Yet, I am unsure if I can handle it in my state...”

Sullivan appears to hesitate, face clouding over before she looks at Azazel, pained, “If the threat is so great, then you must act... But I tell you again, victory at what cost... Can it not wait?”

Azazel shakes her head, tears beginning to flow, “I fear he will hunt me down, and harm those close to me. If I do not act, then there could be much dear to me gone...”

The image of her master nods slowly before reaching out, as if to place a hand upon Azazel's swollen belly. “Your young should be at the foremost of your mind. As you were with mine, little bird. Do not risk them. You will regret it more than anything. I would know.”

Azazel frowns and looks up at her master, “What do you mean?”

Sullivan hesitates, “I remember, an old entry of mine, in my younger days. When I was reckless and wild... I still wish to forget this time...”

The Sith perks up, raising up and looking at Sullivan, “Can you explain?”

Sullivan places a hand over her own front, in thought. “I was younger, a mother to be. I lost my child in an accident. Just my luck, I did not know the skill I later saved you with. It wounded me, terribly. I was never to bear child again. It was... a hard experience, I thought I would never be well again, never forget what foolhardiness brought me to that...” She hesitates, lights shifting before she turns about, pacing, “But, it was a hard lesson I fear I had to learn. I found myself again in my loss... Learned to walk the path of light once more... And it led me to you.” A warm smile spreads over her face, older features becoming more apparent. “And I do not regret, child, that I found you.”

Azazel looks aside, uncertain what it would have been like to have competition in her youth. “How can you not? You say I have fallen. Surely you must see that as a failing in your own part?”

Sullivan's face clouds with pain, “It... Is. Perhaps if I had taught you otherwise, focused more on the old teaching then seeing you safe... If I had been more strict, even. But I was a poor Jedi, young one. I still hated them for their old ways. I would have forged my own path any day, then have such strict rules upon myself or another. Their teachings were... flawed. But my own must have been too. Azazel, I taught you so you could defend yourself and do good. What have you done with that?”

Azazel frowns, thinking over these past events, “I have saved a woman I loved from death's door... And given a young woman sight she had never before had... I have... seen a Morgukai warrior have purpose once more when he lost himself to gambling... Proven myself and learned of traditions and ways of life not my own... I have saved my own apprentices each, time and time again...” Her face twists in memory, “But I have caused so much pain... Another apprentice of mine... I lost myself to rage towards him, hurt him so badly when I did not wish it... And his lover, I could not help him. I led them all into the den of a Sith of old, and... And he died, trying to face what he was not ready for.”

Horror flashes over Sullican's face, “You went into a Sith's den?... A TOMB?!”

Azazel cringes and nods her head, hanging it in shame, “I have... I have ventured into many, to find their old secrets.” She swallows and looks away, “At first, my thirst for knowledge was to mimic yourself, to... Learn the secrets you saved me with. Then, to rectify this Galaxy. Slavers, murderers, thieves... They... disgusted me... And now, I just... I need to be stronger.”

Sullivan's lights flicker discordantly before settling into the expression of a troubled old woman, “Why must you be stronger? Are you not strong enough? I taught you well..”

Azazel glowers, fire flickering over her form and forcing Sullivan to appear even more upset, “NO! I am not. I could not protect them, Sullivan! I let them die, I could do nothing! What am I but a joke if I cannot keep them all safe?! I allowed harm to come to people that I see as my family. And if I am not stronger, how can I protect my kids once they are born? How can I even assure I do not have troubles now and lose them?... What if their father dies, or the woman I love?! All because I was weak and could not do more...”

Sullivan's frown is knit deeply at her brow as she seems to consider her words, “Azazel, strength is not the only way to assure those about you do not meet destruction. You cannot rule everything through force. You were such a smart girl when you were young, always able to get what you wanted from the crew with words alone. What happened to that girl? Sometimes, the path to what you need do, can come with less resistance. But even then, you cannot always protect everyone. I learned this too. Now these people you love... Trust them to defend themselves. I am sure you would not allow yourself so close to someone who was not enduring and sure in their own ways.” She sighs and rocks on her feet, “I am both proud and saddened by these turns of events... But how long has it been... This is the first time you have contacted me, yet you look much older than what I remember.”

Azazel looks uncertain, “Some many years, Sullivan. I had.. contacted you, hoping you might tell me more so I am ready for what lays ahead. So far, you have done little to ease my fears.”

Sullivan furrows her brow, “You will overcome your own fears, as you always have. Only you have the power to conquer them. But, if you are worried of Siths and being a parent... Look to your friends and loved ones. Someone will have the answers if you do not. If not, you have always been a studious girl. You will find your answer.” She reaches out and taps an intangible finger to Azazel's heart and brow, “But listen to your heart, and mind, for the right path. I would see you turn away from this path... before it is too late.” With that, the holocron image flickers away, leaving Azazel to herself.

The Sith stands there, certain now her master had not been a Sith... but now more uncertain than before. With a sigh, she leaves the chamber and begins to walk the halls of the Red Sanctuary. Some of what Sullivan had to say made sense, but other bits were like listening to nonsensical ravings. She was Sith, and that she was most certain of. Yet, she had always forged her own path. So what if it meant destruction of others to achieve her goals, it led her to who she had become, and Sullivan could not truly be disappointed in that. The holocron must have been incomplete, or damaged. She hoped.
Azazel enters into the officer's lounge of the Red Sanctuary and looks about before moving to sit at a table. Kitt quickly gets up and moves to prepare something at a food station as Azazel leans forward and murmurs to Xen, “You had information for me, Master Grian?”

Xen blinks, the lights ending their flickering over his eyes as he looks at Azazel. He had been checking over files and going over new data, “Ah, yes. The Bounty Hunters took another hit. Much worse after their last losses. They are out for a month. Zarra must not have gotten the memo that we are on her side.” He draws out his computer and displays a screen. “Spies found out some information on Traiserus. He's still here in Tapani space. However, no trace of where. Oh, but, his signature was found on some documents sending out a couple cruisers, three actually, and their crew to an unspecified location somewhere in galactic north-east.”

Azazel grimaces and nods, “Forward that information to Gra'tua, Lena, Jacoiba and Andrea. They need to know of the risk in that area. I am unsure how much he knows, but I would not put anything past him at this point.” She furrows her brow and points at the next file, “This?”

Xen scrunches his face and nods, “Ah, yes. A Jawa on the Wheel perhaps has a hypermatter reactor for sale. Information courtesy of our smuggler friends.”

Azazel nods as Kitt settles back down and sets a full mug before Azazel. The Sith arches a brow and looks at it. “What you wanted earlier. Its frozen hot cocoa, turned more into ah... Some sorta shaved ice thing? With sea salt and chunked frozen peppers, whatever you want, Lady.”

The Sith's eyes light onto the mug with ravenously and she grabs the spoon, shoveling it into her mouth with happy mewls of delight, enjoying the crunching of the ice and cool heat. Kitt and Xen both make disgusted faces, looking away politely. “Mnf, right, anything else?”

Xen makes a gag and shakes his head, “Not that I'm aware. Any plans on your end?”

Azazel blinks, pausing with spoon in her mouth and shrugs, “Wait for reinforcements. Kill Traiserus. Go to the Wheel. Meet Andrea... Or, wait, you go to the Wheel. Can meet Andrea sooner.”

Xen furrows his brow, “What?...”

Azazel makes a groan around her frozen treat and shakes her head, “Andrea and I are good. For now. I hope. She wants to meet me. Gra'tua is sending people to us too, by the way.”

Xen flashes Kitt a very unpleased look and Kitt makes a little grimace and shrugs, mouthing to the Kubaz 'What did you want me to do?' The operative grumbles under his breath and draws his computer, setting about sending out the information to the other sith so they could prepare for a possible assault. He was not pleased about the revelation about Andrea. Kitt ruffles her hair and looks back to Azazel, “Do you ah, want to go watch those holovids again? Ditzy would be nice. Its nice being able to watch the animation, instead of just listening. Kind of makes it funnier.”

Azazel blinks and nods, “Let me get in my pajamas, though. Hakkri said he picked up something nice last time he was out shopping.”

Kitt suddenly snorts in her attempt to stifle a laugh, “You do not want to wear them.”

“What? Why? Hakkri has such good tastes.”

“He was being an ass at the time. Trust me. You'll see if you open the box.”

Azazel furrows her brow, “Just tell me.” She shovels another spoonful in her mouth, making a pleased face as she just lets it all melt on her tongue.

Kitt sighs and rubs her face, “Unless you like big baggy pajams that resemble a certain Loony Cathar... You will not like them.”

Azazel scrunches her nose, “As long as they are comfortable, I don't care. My old bed clothes aren't fitting right.”

“How are you fitting in the robes, anyways?”

Azazel pouts, licking the spoon, “They're just a bunch of wrapped cloth. Big normally, they have growing room.”

Kitt blinks, “Has to be better than these suits, comfortable?”

“Would I be wearing them otherwise?”

Kitt nods, “Okay, point one for Jedi and Sith fashion sense, I guess.”

Azazel beams, “You haven't seen Andrea sporting a robe. You would like that, I think.”

Kitt flushes, “W-what do you even mean?”

Azazel grins and drops her spoon in the empty mug, “Bezol said something about toast... Toast and jam? Or butter? I don't know, but she said something about you being into the fairer sex.”

Kitt covers her face, eyes wide as her gaze shifts over to the pilot who was boisterously playing a drinking games with Hakkri. “Did she say, ah, anything else?”

Azazel furrows her brow, “Maybe, but who knows what that woman is ever saying. She confuses me.”

Kitt is still crimson as she nods, “Yeah, she doesn't make a lick of sense... Thankfully.”

Azazel smiles and can't help but raise the mug and start licking off the last of the cocoa residue.

“Azazel...” Xen murmurs, staring at her.

The Sith pauses, lowering the mug, a small ring of chocolate about her face, “Uh, what?”

“No. Just... Stop. Kitt will fetch you another,” with that, he draws out a wet-nap and pauses it to the Sith, disappointment on his face.

“Its just my officers, though!” she whines, looking at the last of the contents as Kitt giggles and gets up to go back to the food recepticle. “WAIT! Tapani slices too! With pineapple and pepperoni!”

Xen grimaces and buries his face in his head, quills quivering on his head. “Feeling less sick, at least?...”

“Not really.” She runs her fingers on the inside of her mug after cleaning her face and sucks the last of the cocoa off her finger with a grin, “But I am just really hungry. I talked to Sullivan, by the way. Sort of.”

“The old crone? Whatever for?”

“Advice. She gave me stuff to think on. I think I will be having my disciples... And others... handling the matters. Janii definitely will have a chance to prove herself with this affair. And I hope she will stick around afterwards... Do you think she is good with children?”
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Selvi
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Selvi

Member Offline since relaunch

A loyal subject of Darth Lena,
Ko'Chul on the Night Owl, heading home.


Finishing placing in the hyperspace coordinates to return home Ko'Chul sagged back in her chair in silence as the consoles whirred and beeped for a moment as the coordiantes were acknowledged and laid in, there were no threats in the system so she could relax and let the autopilot do most of the work. She got up and moved out of the cockpit of her vessel deeper withing the folds of the ship. Her mind going over the details of what happened these past few days as she walked.

She and her team had left from the facilities on the Phindar moon, heading to Thyferra to foil a republic plot to sabotage the bacta shipments that were meant for some people in the CIS leadership who desperately needed them, possibly including the confidant Lena had in the CIS leadership inner circle. It had been a uneventful journey she and her team of Noghri had manged to reach the system without any trouble on the way and once making planetside quietly went to work trying to find out if the Republic strike team was already present or if they were not, when they were due to arrive and how to neutralize them without making a global spectacle of it noticed by everyone.

They were quick to discover that not only was the republic force already present but they found out where and went to confront them, hoping to ambush them with the element of surprise on their side. She broke her chain of thought as she went into the cargohold and looked over the only contents present. They were embalmed and secured for transport, the five Noghri Assassins who had gone in first had found out that the Republic were not as easy to surprise and had paid the price as the Republic strike team struck them hard in retaliation.

She bend down and removed the shroud from one of the corpses, revealing the upper body of one of the dead Noghri. Moving closer she sniffed him and let out a soft growl and then sighed, pulling the shroud back up. She had not much of a personal life in the service of lady Lena but she had been able to do so for brief periods when she was allowed to return home. During one of those periods she had found a mate and deliver offspring, seeing one of them dead like this... was disheartening but she took strength in that when several of their clan were killed she and those that remained took action. Tracking and hunting the Republic down with minimal exposure to the public or authorities, eliminating them all in retaliation.

Of course minimal exposure was not completely covert and the local authorities came to the scene, she had been given explicit orders by Lena to not engage them or flee the scene as if they were criminals. Instead they had faced them and told the truth, that they had been informed of a sabotage attempt of Bacta for the CIS and had come to stop it. According to the investigation that followed, especially from the building the strike team had been based where several plans and explosives had been found that proved their intent here was not to purchase bacta like most sentients. But there was no proof that they were from the republic, the local government and bacta merchants who would have been the target of the sabotage were grateful however and they had handed the deed of a working chemical plant on Thyferra, some fees had to be transferred, in fact most of the reward for foiling the plot had to be paid to official but there was still 150'000 credits left, along with the deed to a chemical plant.

She left the cargohold and went to the quarters and looked over the other commandos, they had some minor injuries but they were alive at least. They greeted her quietly and went about what they were doing, recovering, resting, two of them were sparring lightly. She returned to the cockpit and settled back in her chair, going over the controls, satisfied they were still on course. She looked out for a few more moments before she just leaned back and started to remember happier times, her mate... her offspring... he eldest son, so strong, so loyal to the clan and lady Lena... died in service to her, but still it hurt. Slowly at first but steadily she began to sing as the stars became stripes as they entered hyperspace.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Andrea
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Andrea

Member Offline since relaunch

Korriban,
Homecoming


There was a small gathering of disciples and troops standing by, presenting themselves for inspection as the ship bearing Andrea landed and lowered its ramp. Rhak-skuri was leading the procession and bowed as they saw Andrea leave the ship, she opened her mouth to welcome her but Andrea cut her off before she could utter a single word. "Yes, yes, glad to be back and be honoured, enough with the formalities. There is a lot to do in little time." She all but growled. "Someone get Talon to the medical wing and see about attaching her hand back or grow her a clone limb, with me." She just started walking off the honour guard not moving but Rhak-skuri and the others quickly stepping in her wake. "I want all armed forced stand ready for anything and the squadrons prepped for launch, if there is a invasion coming I want it repelled without any effort or before any of those bastards can make planet fall. And instead of preparing as I ordered you organize honour guards, bah. At least Reneva is doing something useful, ever since I informed her of a potential invasion of Korriban she has the Dark Rebirth and its crew running combat scenarios around the clock.

In fact when we left she was starting a new series of drills seeing how fast the pilots and hangar crew could respond to fuel and arm the craft and launch them to repel possibly threats. What do I see when I go here... not troops patrolling or marching with vehicles moving about... but a honour guard that is not required at this time. So tell me Rhak-skuri... tell me why I see such incompetence?" Andrea finally finished her little tirade and had stopped, turning around to glare at the Togruta.

Rhak-skuri was furious and would like nothing more than to blast her insufferable master off her feet, she suppressed it as best she could and just narrowed her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. "My... apologies, mistress. But you only saw that landing pad, everywhere else in and around the academy patrols are taking place and drills are being carried out. Weapon systems are tested and the planetary ion cannon is showing optimal readings. We are hard at work, I was going to give you a report on what we already did when you started your little tirade... mistress."

Andrea kept glaring for a moment and with a huff turned around and continued walking. "Very well, there's still some competence present then." She grudgingly admitted, her mind was constant in motion since that call with Azazel... part of her was filled with such hatred. Hatred at Azazel for betraying her like this, revealing the location to Korriban to some sith cult which led to some sith lord wanting to take Korriban, her world! But the hatred also faded to be replaced with relief and even some genuine warmth when she considered that this crisis... at least made talking between her and Azazel possible again.

She brushed it aside to let her anger resurface however, "Azazel is coming to Korriban too, so while indeed commendable I don't want them to shoot allies. Even if they betrayed this location which is the reason for this invasion." That last sentence she muttered before shaking her head and resumed. "But yes if everyone is doing as I instructed, then all of you go back to your duties. I am... going to be occupied for the foreseeable time and are not to be disturbed... by anything or anyone. This includes the invasion, if I am still occupied if that event happens I will still not be disturbed, because I will kill anyone who does. Trizz and Darth Reave, you two will remain with me." With a gesture she dismissed them all but the two Zabrak females, who glanced at each other before following after her.

Rhak-skuri watched the three of them leave, frowning, what was Andrea up to...

_________________
Surface of Korriban,
Outside the tomb of Drachass Nuur....

_________________

The one sith on Korriban not summoned to meet the return of their mistress was actually carrying out her orders when Andrea had contacted the academy. When Andrea had been informed that Khanna had a ability that somehow made the Tuk'ata like her almost as much as they did Andrea, she seemed very pleased and immediately contacted her to give her a assignment. Head to the tomb Andrea and Azazel had visited and head inside to find the Tuk'ata alpha, the Matriarch they had found there and see if she could convince or tame the sith hound where they had failed when they were there.

Khanna had arrived outside the tomb with ease, if she had been informed of the Tuk'ata that had been outside the tomb, then there was no sign of them anymore, not even a trace of any of the bodies both sith had slain, it was likely that some of the other native predators of Korriban had carried them off.

She had no real interest in bodies, she was here to see if the dominant matriarch was still present and if so to tame her for Andrea. Recalling her mistress's words that it was rather dark in this tomb she had brought a flashlight and turned it on as she entered, looking for the signs on the walls her mistress and Azazel had left behind. As well as keeping herself alert for any sign of the Tuk'ata or other predators that were in the tomb or had moved in since the forcefield had been deactivated.

Khanna traveled along the marked path for a while, following the markers that were left behind, her flashlight flickered and went out suddenly, distracting her as she tried to turn it back on, when she did she suddenly saw a large lizard materialize out of thin air right in front of her, just as it lunged at the intruding sith. The Dathomir sith however managed to evade the lunge.

With a curse she activated her lightsaber pike and lunged at the beast, it was not a Tuk'ata for sure and she was not in the mood to become some reptile's lunch.

Khanna manages to skewer and impale the Hssiss without any apparent effort and seemed free to resume her way.

She smirked and deactivated her lightsaber pike, bending down to gain genetic material of this beast, Andrea was always looking for genetic material of predators, this beast had some kind of cloaking ability, perhaps through the force so she was certain her mistress would be intrigued. Once done she went on her way, trying to reach this fake tomb where apparently the matriarch had been found before.

She reached an intersection when she saw glowing red eyes in the darkness up ahead, moving towards her, reaching the edge of her light source she could see the faint outline of a Tuk'ata, it seemed she had been going in the right direction. The sith hound was snarling silently, showing it's teeth to her.

She moved slowly, trying to show no aggression as she spoke in sith to it, using her newfound powers to control and influence beasts as well. <"Ssh... be calm. I Khanna, sith. Seeking matriarch Tuk'ata. You, let me pass?">

The Tuk'ata shook it's head confused for a moment and took a few steps back, hunching down and growling. <"Go back."> It hissed.

She growled in return and again used the force while speaking to it. <"Let me pass!"> These hounds were meant to serve and obey the sith and she was here to make sure that happened.

The Tuk'ata kept growling and then blinked, letting out a whine and stood upright, bowing. <"May pass."> It said, obeying Khanna now.

Smiling she clapped her hands. "Good." She said to herself and stepped forwards, snapping her fingers at the Sith hound. <"Follow.">

The sith hound obeyed it's new master and followed Khanna, guiding her to the Tuk'ata den in the fake tomb. There were a few other Tuk'ata present who watched them but did not stop them, clearly seeing one of their own pack leading this stranger in their midst was something they've seen before as they reached the tomb proper a large shadow moved from the wall and a enormous Tuk'ata came into view, growling and speaking sith. <"Intruder...."> It sniffed the air. <"Hurr, you have the faint smell of one of the others who came before. Why have you come here, this tomb is empty, they killed the one who commanded us to protect it.">

Khanna smiled, glancing at the other Tuk'ata before looking solely at the matriarch. <"Aware of that. Came here to convince you to join her. To join."> She stepped forwards and reached out with her hand, motioning for the Tuk'ata to approach her and accept her control.

The matriarch looked at the hand and then growled, walking boldly forwards, snapping her jaws shut before she spoke again. <"You should leave... Or I and my pack will devour you.">

Her smile faltered and she did looked worried for a moment before she took a deep breath and remembered who she was and why she was here, again she tapped into the force and let out a growl of her own. <"You. Will. Obey."> She hissed.

The matriarch was about to pounce but then whined when she felt the control on her mind but was unable to shrug it off. She approached Khanna and nuzzles against the hand, without biting it off, the matriarch was hers now.

She cooed and petted over the flank of the matriarch. <"Good. Good. Andrea pleased to have you."> She said, looking over the massive sith hound with a smile. Yes her mistress would be very pleased with this.

As Khanna left the pack, or at least what was left of it, followed too, six of them.

_________________
Korriban Academy,
Just outside Andrea's quarters....

_________________

Khanna had walked through the outer perimeter with ease, her face was known to the sentries, even with the increased security and she made straight for Andrea's quarters, she had been informed that Andrea had indeed returned but that she didn't wanted to be disturbed. That might be so but she disregarded those words, she had direct orders from Andrea to return and present herself to her and she was not going to disobey that.

She frowned as she got closer to Andrea's quarters. Darth Reave and that Zabrak mercenary, Trizz, were standing outside as if on guard and on her approach, along with the giant Tuk'ata they quickly seemed to get to attention, making Khanna frown even more when she saw Trizz go for her blaster and Reave seemed to hold her sith saber a bit too tight and combat ready. She stopped in front of them and raised her brows, gesturing at them. "So... is this how you greet a fellow disciple and confidant of Andrea? With signs of hostility?" She looked at them both and then at the door leading to Andrea's quarters. "Let me pass, I am following Andrea's orders."

Both of the Zabrak females looked at each other and then stepped in front of the doors, turning to Darth Khanna, Reave spoke up softly. "I am afraid we are following Andrea's orders as well, orders that countermand any prior ones." She ignites her sith saber. "She is not to be disturbed-"

Suddenly the intercom besides the door crackled to life, "Let Khanna in, Trizz, you come in too, show Khanna where to go." Andrea's voice seemed strained, tired. Again both Zabrak looked at each other but it seemed Reave was satisfied and she turned her saber off and stepped to the side. Khanna was looking disturbed now but she had heard Andrea's voice and as Trizz gestured her to follow she did, looking suspiciously around.

She frowned as they went inside that she saw no sign of Andre anywhere, before she could ask where their mistress was she blinked in surprise as Trizz walked to Andrea private terminal and put in some kind of code and a section of the wall moved out of the way, revealing a hidden elevator. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked warily now, why had Andrea given orders to keep people out, not to mention having a secret elevator in her chambers and why was she shown this?

Trizz stepped on the elevator and looked at Khanna, gesturing beside her. "Get yourself and... that over-sized sith hound on the elevator and it will be made clear to you." When Khanna did not she snorted and crossed her arms. "Do you want to keep Andrea waiting?" Khanna hesitated for a moment longer and then with a sigh stepped on the elevator along with the Tuk'ata matriarch. Trizz just smirked, "See now that wasn't so hard, was it? Right, next floor, Andrea's sex dungeon." Khanna sharply turned her head and looked questioningly at Trizz. Who just smirked and shrugged as she pressed the button combination that would take them down. "Joking, just the regular dungeon with the weird laboratory attached..."

Moments later the elevator arrived at the secret level of the academy and the both of them along with the Tuk'ata stepped off, Khanna widening her eyes as she took note of the cages with sentient beings and strange looking chemical apparatuses and benches scattered around. "What is this place..." She muttered.

"Currently, it is my future." Came the tired voice from nearby and as they turned they saw Andrea, hooked up to several devices, her body appeared weak, her face looked old and tired as she shuddered. "Correction... it is determining my future... Trizz." She gestured at the devices and the Zabrak female quickly scurried forwards and went to check the readings, cursing.

"You went too fast! Didn't you!?" She sighed and muttered in her native tongue. "Hell even after you explained, I do not know still what half of these machines do, not to mention what your precious force is factoring in the working of them." She snorts and went to check Andrea's vitals.

While she looked weak there was fire in Andrea's eyes as she stared at Khanna. "Come closer."

Khanna was stunned but those words snapped her out of it as she walked towards her teacher, her mistress. "Who did this... tell me who and I will-" She silenced herself when Andrea gestured her to do so.

Andrea took a shuddering breath and smirked before she grimaced in pain. "Nobody... did this to me, but myself. I am changing Khanna... you are, just fortunate to be one of my witnesses." She groaned and shuddered and Khanna saw a sudden red tint spread from Andrea's skin and she groaned. "By the sith, this fucking hurts.... should have known that after seeing what it did to the test subjects..." She mutters and grimaces again.

Khanna looked even more mystified. "What is going on..."

Andrea groaned and rolled her eyes. "She hears but does not listen, typical. I am changing Khanna... and this change, weakens me right now and you... you are one of the few currently here who I trust completely. Karis is overseeing my troops, Reneva is commanding my ship, Hannah is out on assignment and Talon is in the medical bay. That left me with yourself, Trizz and Reave. Trizz will remain here to monitor my body so I don't end up killing myself. Reave stands guard in front of my door with orders to kill. That leaves you... I need you to keep a eye on Rhak-skuri. I suspect Jade and Nyriss can also be trusted but not to this level."

She frowns, "Watch Rhak-skuri? Why she is loyal-"

"If you finish that sentence you are more blind than I thought. Rhak-skuri has her uses but she cannot be trusted, least of all my health. If I am weak she would be the first shark in the water to sniff out my blood to devour me. Especially as I am right now with what I am about to do." She suddenly screamed out in pain and both Khanna and Trizz looked on with wide eyes as they saw movement under Andrea's skin... almost as if her bones, organs and more were rearranging themselves. Andrea was breathing deeply and cursed again, "And I thought wrestling a Hutt for that one wrestling episode of Hutt in Love was painful." She stared into Khanna's eyes. "Can I trust you on this?"

She opened and closed her mouth for a moment before she just seemed lost in thought and then nodded. "You taught me much, granted Rhak-skuri brought me towards you but you unlocked my potential. So if you command me to watch Rhak-skuri while you are... changing, I will do so."

Her eyes glowed golden and Andrea smiled. "Good.... Good..." She groaned and shuddered as her eyes returned to normal for a moment and she shuddered in her chair. "Now... go..."

Khanna stepped back and turned to order the Tuk'ata matriarch to follow but as she did so the beast was already moving, towards Andrea.

The hound came close to Andrea who watched it as she sniffed her, shook her head and sniffed her again, looking up at the weak looking sith lord. <"You smell of old.">

Andrea chuckled before groaning and shuddering against the restraints of her chair, her face changing, transforming as bones moved underneath her skin. When the seizure was over she resumed chuckling. <"That means... it is working... You stay here... and make sure... that I do keep smelling, as you said, of old...">

The last thing Khanna heard as she stepped on the elevator was her mistress laughing.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Tempest
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Tempest Feminazi

Member Seen 5 yrs ago

Aboard Aberrancy, En Route Rendezvous with The Dagda

The Aberrancy drops out of hyperspace, stopped in its tracks by a gravity well reactor. Her power flickers off and her crew scrambles to restore systems and identify the threats. Outside, unbeknownst to the crew as they are in black-out conditions for visuals, a series of fighters are launched and the sensors begin to work, identifying the new prey in their trap.

Ibeth gets to work immediately, barking out commands. Restore shields, reacquire sensory arrays, acquire stability for life support and fix the weapon grid. Already, his crew was running to their stations about him and he listens as reports flood in.

The weapons were still down, as were sensors but they at least had a visual before them once more across the outward video feed in the bridge. The screens fuzz before displaying the scene before them. Ibeth picks out the targets before them before announcing, “Pirates. Move up priority of weapons and launch fighters and light support crafts. Fighters, on launch, initiate Flight V pattern and deliver guerrila strikes against enemy targets. I don't want to lose a soul.” He looks to his crew as they viciously assault their consoles with codes and commands, engineers were still running from system to system. “Life Support achieved!” is called out. “Shield integrity restored!” chimes in moments later.

Ibeth nods and redirects focus to movement and weapons. The sooner they could get momentum behind them and fight back, the better.

Before him, he could see the screen flare with streaks of light as the pilots all took initiative and launched with relative ease. The begin in a pattern and dive in to attack, only for their numbers to split apart and have to dart back around as the enemy blasts apart the lead wing. The MKIs on the strike begin circling back to reestablish their V flight pattern as a squad of MKIIs streak through, sidelong to the fighters of the enemy wing and scythe through them, halving their numbers.

Trumpeting through the ship, a cry comes out, “Sensor array active! And they've locked their weapons!”

“What's the status of my engines?!” Ibeth barks out, about to strike out at a lowly engineer leader.

“Still down, commander! We're working at it,” the engineer squeaks and darts out of the way. Ibeth rubs over his face irritably before checking the statuses of his small fleet. “And what the hell happened to my comms?!”

“You never asked for them sir!”

Just then, the Aberrancy is wracked by heavy fire, the shields taking the brunt of the impact but a battery of their weapons taking heavy damage and breaking into nothing but space scrap. Ibeth curses under his breath and calls out for reports.

“Engines connection reestablished!” someone pipes up.

Ibeth strikes a hand through the air, “Begin evasive maneuvers, Delta-Swing.” The Aberrancy lurches for a moment as the engines splutter and then start out full-burst, sending them forward before the controls shift and their visual begins to go askew, the enemy ship appearing to roll sideway as they take begin to turn and advance to a position under the belly of the beast. “Where's my weapons?!”

“Back online, commander! Orders?”

“Load and fire weapons, starboard, full assault,” he instructs, watching as rounds blast out to each side of his visual display but cannot reach them with the scope of the weapon arrays on the pirate vessel.

Fighters streak past their visual array as the MKI squads are utterly destroyed by a second launch party from the pirates. Scrap hits the outer visual display and a portion of the screen goes dark as it is ruined. Ibeth slams a fist down onto the console and suddenly before him great red panels burst forth:

'ERROR: SYSTEM OVERLOAD.'
'SHUTTING DOWN.'
'HAVE A GOOD DAY.'


Ibeth blinks and removes the visual apparatus, looking at the simulator panels with a disheartened expression. And he thought he was doing so well on this test run of Xen's latest sim-program. He definitely felt he had a better understanding of basic tactical routines. He would just have to remind the Kubaz to install something a little less touchy to being abused.

Ibeth gets up and starts marching back towards the halls. They were almost to the Tapani sector and so far things had been uneventful. He looks at his wristlink and finds a message waiting for him as the light blips red. He blinks in surprise, going to open it. The simulator was fairly impressive and he had not even noticed through the practice that anyone had tried to contact him.

As he starts the message, the screen flickers and Azazel starts back in a routine, initially irritated and asking where he was before appearing to, relax slightly and appear even accepting he was bothering with training routines. He looses a sigh of relief that this shoddy crew had the sense to relay that information, after all, Ilo was not the greatest of commanders and this crew had largely been left to her devices. He scrunches his face, scales rasping as he grimaces. “Great... The Sith wants me to babysit her sector while she runs off and has fun. When does Ibeth get a break, huh? No one ever asks, 'Hey Ibeth! Do you want a chance to meet a nice lady and get lucky?!' Nooo. Not me, not ever. Just work, work, work.”

A crew member looks at him, absolutely perplexed and unsure if the Noghri was talking to him. He coughs and gives a questioning look, pointing at themselves before Ibeth plants his face in his hand, just shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing. I wasn't talking to you. Get back to your maintenance routines.”
Aboard the Dagda, Preparing for Launch

Azazel scrolls back through her messages, checking what there was to be learned. So far, a great deal of nothing. Xen had informed her that his blackmailed resources turned up nothing, and apparently her explorers got lost for several days looking for a new famous donut shop that marketed some off flaky new pastry called 'a cronut.' Her stomach turns at the thought of something and she finds herself racing to the closest waste recepticle.

Xen gives her a concerned look as he comes through the doorway and clears his throat, “Lady, Loremaster Yevin wishes a word?”

Azazel continues to heave, unable to respond for a few moments longer before she stands up and wipes the corner of her mouth. Still feeling woozy and nauseous, she carefully takes a seat a few paces away and looks up at Yevin, “Sorry, excuse me... What did you want?”

Yevin's face twists in uncertainty, tinged with a little queasiness of his own as he shuffles his feet, “Well, quite honestly, you to take a moment in the hygienic facilities after that...”

Azazel frowns and nods, standing up and going to her bathroom to freshen up and thoroughly clean her mouth. After rinsing for what had to be the fifth time, she staggers back and takes her seat, gesturing for the loremaster to continue.

He clears his throat and nods, “Yes, well, I believe I am onto something. Something big.” He readjusts his robes, obviously a bit awkward not amongst his books and data collections as he looks to Xen. The Kubax nods and waves for him to continue. “But, I want to cross-reference this information before I say one way or another if I have anything for you... Ah, could you, perhaps, refer me to additional resources on Sith and Jedi?”

Azazel hesitates for a moment, thinking to her holocron collection. She had given the loremaster access once or twice but was not quite ready to grant it again. “Actually, I could refer you to numerous sources. Unfortunately, a few are off the table. The Mecrossa Order is in a sorry state for providing anything as of this time.. And I am unsure if my Sith allies would be willing to divulge information at this time... Gra'tua perhaps, but he is off with that Lena to... Well, somewhere. I'm unsure the location.” She leans forward, toying with the options. Much of her holocron collection, she was far too uncertain of at this time given the source of it. Khaelesh's holocrons had already proven once to lead to great danger. She pinches the bridge of her nose before raising a hand. “I have it... The order on Bpfssh. I have not contacted them in some time and they in their own respects are keepers of lore. They follow the darkside as well. Perhaps not as inclusive as other sources, but it could be a start. If it becomes necessary, I will redirect you to another sith, if they allow it, but for now, they should be more than helpful.” She offers a smile and looks to Xen.

Xen furrows his brow in thought, digital lenses clicking over his cybernetic eyes before he nods, “It will do, though we have not had contact for a time. There of course would be concerns for his health, given the time. If they are more loyal than the scum of the Mecrossa, then indeed they will do. I, however, would see another joins him in this. One of your disciples they know. It would be a good exercise to see that they remember where their loyalties lie.”

Azazel nods slowly, a little dumfounded she had not considered that. “You raise a good point.” She looks over the loremaster who looked positively pale at the thought he might indeed be in danger in the pursuit of more knowledge. “Do not worry, I will send Tannus with you. As your personal pilot and protector. He has had dealings with these... individuals, and would be more than happy to assist you. He always seems ready for a new endeavor anyways. I feel he has grown beyond a simple pilot of late. It holds less... interest of his. A sith, through and through.” She smiles sweetly and nods, waving a hand to dismiss him as her wristlink begins to chime a warning that a new message was being patched through to her. She wrinkles her nose, standing, unsteady and stumbling at the unusual weight of her increasingly swollen belly and begins to walk to the conference room and communications.

Not even all the way to the communications room, her wristlink begins to chime again. She raises it to see a message flashed across the screen 'Aberrancy returned.' She nods, happily to herself and continues on, punching the button for the door to slide open before it swooshes closed behind her once more. She blinks in surprise seeing both Kitt and Xen there already before a holographic display of a single individual, swathed in a cloak that hid much of their features.

Azazel looks at them curiously and Xen shrugs. It seemed Azazel was having a little more trouble and needing more time to get around. She sighs and moves up to the console, taking a step onto the display and addressing the darkside cultist before her. “Yes? I hope I have not kept you waiting.”

The cultist bows their head and murmurs, “You have not, Dark Lady. I wait as you wish. Some of us, indeed, are still loyal to the Lady Hejaran, and in turn, to you.”

Azazel pauses before nodding, “That... Is indeed good to hear. Of course, I have my hesitance to accept such, given what I have born witness to.”

The cloaked figure chuckles, “Indeed, I do not loathe your position, Darth Azazel. Many I have once considered friend and ally now are indeed torn between yourself and this new Lord. But there are still some who know where our loyalties lie.”

Azazel leans forward, gripping the rails of the holographic pad to steady herself. Her lower back and legs were beginning to ache greatly after traversing the halls. “Indeed it would seem. Have you any information for me?”

The sole figure shakes his head, blue cascading about the room from his holographic form. “I am afraid not, Dark Lady. None except that there are those amongst the Order that know the traitor Jehemath and this false lord and witness it. We follow you and Braghda still and will be of assistance to you. Our ears will be yours and should we hear word, you will be amongst first to know, fear not.”

Azazel smiles slightly and gives a short nod, “Very well. I look forward to future word. I would find this Traiserus and see him pay for all this he has caused.” With that, she kills the feed.

Kitt and Xen look on with hardened gaze as Azazel clenches her fists tighter on the rail. “Well?” she snaps, looking at the pair.

Xen sits back, folding his arms behind his head and delegating the response officially to the Echani. “We can't trust a word we say. It could be a trap.”

“I am well aware, but a trap that could eventually lead us to the snake. We will keep a line open to this supposed traitor. Trust nothing they say, but indeed... Listen to what they might have to tell. Truth or not, we will have the upperhand in the end. Let them think we trust their words. If Traiserus thinks it is so easy to pull the wool over a true Sith's eyes, he will be sorely mistaken yet.”
The Red Sanctuary: A Reunion of Sith and Disciples

Rei'Ki waits, fiddling with her lightsaber to adjust it to her own settings. She was still adjusting to the weapon she had taken from Azazel's display still. Despite holding her tongue, her mistress could still sense the prickling anticipation of the Dathomiri to reunite with her lover. A faint smile passes over the older woman's lips at the thought. Did she not feel the same when going to meet her own, after all.

Xen taps away at his keyboard relentlessly. Azazel wonders for a moment the last time she had seen him not doing something related to his duties of late. Perhaps it was time to force a leave upon him. He could use it, certainly. His performance had indeed been slipping recently, after all. He was likely overworked.

Janii herself had out a small screwdriver and was flexing her robotic hand manually. The vibroshivs flex out intermittently as she tests the internal mechanisms and assures they are up to par. She had been oddly quiet in her time on board.

Kitt, however, had a cap on her head, tipped down as she slumbers peacefully. Azazel shakes her head softly at the sight. Of anyone, the Echani was perhaps the most diligent in trying to follow duties aside from Xen. It was endearing, to a point. She would not have one of her elite warriors working herself to such ends, though. If she were to enter into battle, she would be performing far below average.

Hakkri and Bezol sat together, laughing and playing a game with their hands. It seemed to be a test of reflexes and as far as she could see, Bezol was beating him each time. Except for the occasional once or twice, though. She focuses her attention on the duo and feels it. A slight tug in the force moments before Bezol draws her hands into position. Hakkri was indeed attempting to use the force to manipulate how her hands rest, but it seemed the training she had given her crew to block such things had largely paid off. Indeed, Bezol hardly seemed to notice the subtle manipulations.

Azazel licks her lips and settles back into her chair as the doors swoop open to the Officer's longue. In strides the rest of her officers. Ibeth, bursting in boisterously and tossing something to Rei'Ki. A small souvenir from Togoria... Which leaves the disciple shrieking and tossing it into the air. Azazel blinks and narrows her eyes, trying to scrutinize what it was... And indeed, it was a small furry critter. She watches as Rei'Ki nurses her hand after having been bitten by the creature in its frenzy to escape after being thrown so rudely. The Sith stifles a laugh and watches as Lydavis strides in and sweeps the Dathomiri into her arms and kisses her deeply.

Hakkri makes a choking gagging sound, pretending to be sickened before Tannus snorts and clanks in, mechno-arms scraing against the metal walls. “Enough, Hakkri. I've been having to bear witness to them swapping spit far longer than you... And don't think I never caught you with some of the crew, either.”

Hakkri flushes and his ears lay flat as he turns aside, hand raising up and scratching the scruff of a small beard starting to come in. Azazel blinks upon noticing that. She could not remember a time Hakkri had not kept up on his appearances ritualistically. Something must still be bothering him. “Welcome back, it has been awhile. Anything to report.”

Ilo shrugs and takes a seat beside Xen, “Not much. Ibeth helped straightened out the routines on the Aberrancy well enough. Lydavis had us trying to track down a whole lot of slavers. Seems she has a crush on some big furry jedi man.”

Lydavis narrows her eyes and straightens up, looking past Rei'Ki's shoulder. “I have not. I just thought it would be worth an attempt to get him onto our side. It would do well to have one as strong as him on our side. He would be quite skilled and perhaps have alternative techniques to our own that he might add to our repertoire.”

Ilo snorts, “Right, right. And I'm a bantha-faced moron. You had the hots for him.”

Rei'Ki scrunches up her face, trying to picture this but eventually just slips an arm possessively about the Twi'Lek. “Yeah, right. Get over it, Ilo. She's just not into that sort.”

Ibeth snorts and rolls his shoulders, “Sure. But she did make an ass of herself trying to convince the Jedi. He's at least on her and Tannus' level. Seemed in a real funk, though. Guy living in a cave as if exiled, cuz his 'shaman' master died. Yeah, seems like a depressed nutjob to me.”

Azazel nods, taking all this in. “I'll check into it at a later time. I assume you all got the updates I sent?”

The others nod in unison. “Yeah, about that Sith. Jeeze, did he really drive you off that resort?” Lydavis inquires, obviously unconvinced.

“I am afraid so. It comes with encountering an enemy in his own den, while you are unaware of such.”

Lydavis frowns, nodding and looking to Janii. “It was not all a bust, though, it seems?”

Azazel nods and stands, struggling for a moment to get out of the deep seat. “Indeed. Everyone, this is Janii. For the time-being, she will be assisting us in the capture and punishment of this Lord Traiserus for the crimes he has committed against other nobles of the Tapani sector. Janii, this is everyone. She has some special rules for coming along with us and I ask you abide by them. She is not to be commanded. She is to be asked politely.”

Bezol snorts at this, as the others look at each other as if Azazel had just made a joke they did not quite comprehend. A metallic coughing noise comes from Janii as she clears her throat. “Indeed. I look forward to acquainting myself with all of you. That way I know who to turn into the authorities when this is all done.” Ilo's amused expression suddenly drops at those words as she looks incredulously at Azazel. Face still as passive and unmoving as ever, revealing no emotional, the monotone Janii rings out, “That. Was a joke. In truth, if you are all as... eccentric as those I have met already...” This time, her gaze averts to Hakkri and Bezol snickering in the corner, and the lights of her eyes beam red for a moment, “Then this should be an interesting experience for all of us.”

Azazel stands and nods, “Indeed. But, I think this concludes our discussions so far.” She gestures towards Ibeth, “Nemain, I trust you and Miss Xaff to work peaceably together. I will be leaving you both here in defense of the Tapani sector...” She hesitates for a moment. “Tannus, you will be escorting out Loremaster so that he might meet and research with the Order on Bpfssh. If it perhaps suits you, take the Oldship and a small retinue. I imagine they might have some possible potential amidst them, since it is a relatively nice place for force-users to spring up.” Tannus nods excitedly, looking to Xen for permission to take the ship. Xen nods, a bit subdued to agree to lend his private ship out.

Azazel smiles and nods, “Nicely done. Now that that is all sorted out... Those of you that remain, we will be splitting into two groups later on. I will have Xen contact and address those who will be meeting up with us later one. Some of Gra'tua's disciples, actually. But, part of you will be aboard the Aberrancy until we reach The Wheel. There, Xen and a few of you will split off and see about securing a Hypermatter Reactor Core for The Dagda so we might install it. The rest of us... We will be heading to Korriban.”

A hushed murmur goes through those new to arrive, uncertain about returning to Korriban so soon. Hakkri's expression darkens and he finally ceases his game with Bezol. Kitt, who had only appeared to be sleeping, tips her hat back, a grimace on her face. It appeared most everyone was against the idea of a return visit to the Sith tomb world.
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Sarzu
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Sarzu

Member Offline since relaunch

In the life of two Sith & Their Minions


Gra'tua was sitting in a Kalikir gunship, ready to be launched, listening to the chatter on the bridge between Kashiir, the bridge crew and Lena's ship captain. "Have you found us a suitable location yet?" He growled.

Kashiir's voice was curt as he replied. "Not yet, be ready to launch while we still search, if you Lena's vessel opening fire then we decided to make a landing zone ourselves."

Gra'tua blinked and let out a guffaw and smirked, "Very well, keep up the good work Kashiir." With that he just leaned back and heard the alarms going off as the signal was given for the ships to launch.

Lena had herself strapped in and was silently meditating, she hated dropping in with a combat force but there might not be another way, one of the CIS transports had survived so there might be quite a hostile force present still. "Verat." She suddenly said and waited for the Givin captain to acknowledge her.

"Yes my lady?" He asked, sounding a bit distracted.

"Scan the surface one more time if you cannot detect the CIS forces that survived the bombardment."

It doesn't take long to find a suitable landing site note even three kilometres from the ruins. Though it also seems to be the only suitable landing site within a thousand kilometres not occupied by wrecked CIS ships. The one potential worrying part was the large cliff surrounding the good landing site, perfect for artillery or armour though there were enough breaches in it to reach the site of the ruins, they would be exposing themselves.

When he heard that, Gra'tua went to contact the Kalikir Gunship with Bo. "Well you are up Bo."

Her voice came over, seemingly eager, perhaps Bo hoped that her somewhat abysmal performance during the battle with the former Black Sun vigo would be forgotten after today. "Acknowledged, we hunt." She grinned and slammed the bulkhead with her fist, a gesture that was followed by her commando squads as the gunship sped ahead of the others to inspect the landing site and scout the surrounding area.

As the gunship descended five walkers emerged from the trees. The pilot of the gunship was busy lighting a slightly narcotic cigarette when Bo recognized the CIS Flak Cannons for what they were, but it was too late, the shields took a massive pounding from the shots two of them being brought down entirely and the third cherry-red with the strain.

Cursing the pilot pulled up and away. "Well that landing site is definitely a hot zone." He muttered as he ignored the cursing and shouting from the back compartments and contacted the ships. "Kalikir one here, landing zone has at least five CIS flak cannons."

Kashiir heard those words and frowned, "Get out of there." He ordered and then turned to the holographic representation of Verat. "Our sensors are still fried, would you take care of this?"

Verat nodded slowly, his Givin skeletal features giving away no emotion as he looked at the data provided by the gunship belonging to Gra'tua. "Prepare to get us closer, down to the upper atmosphere of the planet and ready the ion cannons, let's not ruin the landing zone with turbolaser fire." In response the crew went to work.

Kashiir frowned as he saw what the Shadow's Regret was doing but shrugged, "What sensors we have left... tell me what the Republic is doing. Assuming they are still in the system." He asked out loud.

The sensor operators on the Naast reported that there was little solid information, most being that the other Victory was still with its destroyed cousin.

The Regret meanwhile descended into the atmosphere without difficulty firing on the Flak Cannons with their ion cannons but the shots fell short of the mark as the Flak Guns continued to try and hit the gunship, though their fire went wide as the gunship extended the gap.

"Recalibrate the weapons, we are not firing at another ship in space, we are trying to hit targets on the surface of the planet, take your time, aim and fire when ready." Verat calmly ordered.

The shots land closer but the crew, still unused to firing on vehicles with such precise weapons are still trying to get their aim in.

Finally they manage to get their aim in and the droids are struck by the ion cannon fire, three exploding violently as their shells detonate from the discharge, the other two resting disabled.

The Kalikir pilot, sulking after Bo had confiscated his smokes, was told the zone was clear and returned to make another pass and to open fire and destroy the two disabled walkers.

The Gunship sweeps the survivors up in a curtain of flames. "Can I have my smokes back now?" The pilot asked.

"No." Bo asked icily. "I will keep them and if you survive this you will report to your duty officer or Andrieke for punishment." The pilot groaned and muttered something that sounded like 'Didn't ask to suddenly become a Mandalorian.' Which made Bo give him a backhanded slap to the head. "Just land the ship and let myself and my commandos disembark. We have a scouting party to organize."

The pilot brought down the gunship before suddenly killing power for a second deliberately causing a somewhat rough landing. "Woops." He said convincingly.

Bo cursed as she stumbled, steadying herself against a seat before landing with her face on the deck and cursed incompetent pilots and then gestured to the commandos as if nothing happened to head out and head towards the structure to scout for more CIS presence, the CIS were at least 5 flak cannons less. But who knows what else they got on the surface.

The landing area was however clear, the high sandstone walls smooth and eroded by the water, the passages leading towards the ruins were capable of being traversed by a couple speeders side by side, but the high sides made a perfect ambush point.

Bo looked up at the high sides and gestured to two squads of the commandos and pointed up ahead. "Go up, stay in contact while we move on the ground." The ten Mandalorian commandos obeyed and moved up, engaging their jetpacks to get to the high point. Once they were they moved out, while behind them more gunships and other landing craft appeared to touch down on the surface and disembark their troops.

All three of the groups move up without encountering any enemy forces, meanwhile the pilot sat there getting out the toy Nerf and Rancor. "Yes. Yes, this is a fertile land,
and we will thrive." He said animating the toy Nerf, "We will rule over all this land, and
we will call it... 'This Land.'" He continued.

Well there were no further CIS currently present after the first kilometer of scouting or so. "First click is secure." She reported while motioning for her squads to continue.

Back at the landing zone Gra'tua heard this and nodded, "Good, report back as we agreed." He said and then stepped to the side as several Mando'ade warriors march past, unloading crates of grenades and other weaponry, handing them out to warriors who approached.

He walked past his warriors towards where Lena and her people were disembarking, he frowned and looked at her troopers, her so-called 'Black Sigil' Troopers. They seemed competent, nothing like his Mando'ade but they would do. He approached Lena and nodded to her. "How are your preparations?"

The Lena figured turned to regard Gra'tua and then flickered as the holographic disguise was deactivated, Gra'tua was looking at one of Lena's assassin droids who seemed to look curiously at him. "My preperations are going smoothly, my troops are trained for this and are ready when you are." The voice of the real Lena came from behind Gra'tua and she smiled. "To me." She said and the droid joined it's fellow droid who was moving behind Lena, once it was both of them resumed their holographic disguise of looking like their creator and mistress.

He silently cursed and narrowed his eyes behind Revan's mask as he glared at the droids. "Didn't knew you liked to play with droids... with how you dumped those CIS ones with me."

"They had no use to me, these ones do." She smiled again, the holographic disguises of the droids doing the same. "Now then, I suppose we have to wait for your scouts to report, I can also send my own people after them?"

Goreamas looked around. "Her tin cans aren't that impressive." He remarked. "We getting on with this?"

Gra'tua smirked at Goreamas's words. "Up to you Lena, we move out, depending on what Bo has to report next. Of course." He said as he approached Goreamas. "You be patient... and get your 'pilot'." He said with a light scowl, Goreamas needed to activate the holographic filter that made it appear as if he had a pilot, so his troops, and Lena, wouldn't think they had a rogue Basilisk on their hands.

Lena frowned and stared at the lumbering machine of death and destruction, Gra'tua had claimed that one was a experiment to give his Basilisk War droids more personality and sentience. But it seemed strange to her, even so she turned to Grom and Kwilnae. "Go after the Mandalorians, remember, use stealth." The two Noghri disciples nodded and went off in a run.

Goreamas used what force power he could manifest to begin circling small pebbles around his legs as he started preparing to move on the ruins.

The teams finally reach the ruins site, again without opposition and a new scene was revealed...

Hundreds of droids destroyed, the lower half of the CIS landing ship blasted open as a few B1 droids seemed bent of repetetive tasks, the fresh smell of ozone from a battle stinking up the air with burned plastic and metal...

And yet no sign of their attacker.

Bo blinked and looked at the scene of carnage before her, taking a moment and seeing that the CIS were not a threat anymore. "Alor Gra'tua... you can pack up the army and send them home I think... we reached the site of the ruins... whatever happened here, well it wiped out all the droids in a battle. And it seems the droids were unable to kill any of their attackers because I see nothing besides droid scrap. That or they clean up really well after themselves."

Gra'tua couldn't believe what he was hearing for a moment and turned to Lena, "I assume you heard the same. A shame, I was hoping for a grand battle against the droids, they did not even had the decency to withstand whoever assaulted them." He smirked, "Does mean who or what killed them is even more ferocious however, that I look forward to."

Frowning Lena considered the implications, speaking slowly when her thoughts were formed. "I suggest we keep the troops here, as backup. I don't know what happened the droids of the CIS but the information I have spoke of ageless terrors guarding their secrets or somesuch. Perhaps it is best if only a group of our must trusted and capable head to the ruins and investigate it."

"A challenge to be worthy of." Goreamas said as he charged his weapons.

She looked at the Basilisk again. "You have a rather... unique personality, even for a programmed one." She murmurs.

"You're not that pretty either." Goreamas replied.

He snorts but considered Lena's suggestion. "Agreed... you!" He said pointing to a pilot, who for some reason had a toy rancor which he quickly hid and turned around to face his employer. "Go prep your ship to take us to the site ruins." He then turned back to Lena, ignoring the pilot, but expecting him to do his job. "I'll leave Andrieke here with the troops, taking my command crew with me to join up with Bo and the others, can offer you a ride as well."

"I'm a leaf on the wind." The pilot replies with a rushed salute.

Lena almost didn't hear Gra'tua, she was studying the rather rude Basilisk droid but nodded slowly, she had gotten enough of his words to understand what he was asking. "I will take my command crew with me as well, along with my two droids."

"Excellent, we will leave shortly then. After I make sure that pilot was not high or something... Leaf on the wind? I really need Kashiir to check if the pilots are overusing the allowance of light narcotics..." He muttered under his breath as he strode away.

After some minutes the gunship is underway when one of the secrets of why the droids damage was revealed. Walls hinged open and turbolasers and ion cannons attempted to track the gunship but the pilot, a fellow named Wash, managed to avoid it all. "I'm a leaf on the wind. By the way, Bo stole my smokes boss." He said navigating the incoming fire.

Gra'tua let out a short bark of laughter as he heard this and was informed of the defenses. "See if you can take the defenses out and I will consider ordering Bo giving them back."

Lena looked alarmed at quietly informed her people to activate force protection bubbles or personal shields, if that would help in any way if they were about to crash.

Wash moved to engage the defenses unleashing some proton grenades, the salvo was not entirely on target, though it did destroy one of the turbolasers.

However Goreamas stole the show arriving on his limited engine and sweeping the defenses with firepower from his battery of weapons. The defensive face of the ruin was simply obliterated.

Gra'tua shook his head and grinned, he was glad Goreamas was on his side, for now at least. "You did adequately pilot, now set us down."

Setting down and dismounting near Goreamas it quickly becomes clear that Lena's orbital bombardment had been largely unecessary, though utterly ruined enough evidence remains to see that most of the other Landers had been gutted with shots similarly to the intact one. One shattered wing of a landing ship revealed how some of the Flak tanks had escaped.

Gra'tua looked around and surveyed the scene of battle, from the surrounding woods came Bo and her commandos. "I must say, if this was done by three defensive towers, colour me impressed." He said after a moment.

Lena also looked at the scene and nods. "Perhaps, but perhaps Irys can make sure if it was just those defenses." She gestured to the Bothan and then at some of the malfunctioning droids. "Perhaps you can see if their memories can be retrieved? Bodhicai you be there to protect her if the droids are still dangerous."

Irys sighs, "Why couldn't we have done this somewhere more comfortable, I am used to my creature comforts now, ah well you are the one paying my check Lena." The bothan replied with a grin and moved to some of the droids, her slicing tools in hand while Bodhicai followed her.

Going over the memories of the droid Irys watches the Turbolasers gut the Landing ships as the droids had begun unloading, before the ion cannons unhoused and swept the droids, from there the memory becomes scrambled repetitions of the droid picking up and moving the same box...

"Well..." Irys says after a moment, "Seems it was just those cannons."

Lena nodded a little bit relieved but still wary as she glanced at the ruins. "Automated or operated by someone though?" She asked out loud.

"Only one way to find out." Gra'tua said, "But first, Bo, you and the commandos, eliminate the malfunctioning droids. Don't want them to recover their senses and go after us." He turned to the ruins. "Let's find a entrance."

"Or we could just go through that." Goreamas pointed towards a large deep-set door that had been partly concealed by dust and smoke, several blaster scores across its surface...

From the gunship those nearest it would hear the strange and enigmatic words, "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

Lena looked at the doors, noting the blaster marks and turned to Irys again, "See if you can find a access panel or some such to open those doors."

"There's too much walking for me I feel, can't we get some comfy chairs? No? Ah well, no harm in asking." The bothan said mostly to herself.

"I'd say use some enemy bodies for a seat," Goreamas remarked, "but all the dead enemies are arguably harder than the ground."

Bo frowned, recognizing the Kalikir pilot and snorts, "What are you doing here?" She asked while her people began terminating malfunctioning droids.

"He brought us here." Gra'tua replied as he approached, "Give him his smokes back, he did rather well."

Frowning still she complied and tossed the smokes to the pilot, shaking her head.

Though Irys can't immediately identify an access panel, Gra'tua being more familiar with ancient mandalorian systems thanks to Goreamas manages to spot a very very old style security access panel that would need to be removed to access the computer within.

Gra'tua nods, "Well it is of Mandalorian design at least..." He murmurs and then turned to the Bothan, who was staring at a wall. "Bothan, over here. Hidden in plain sight, you will need to remove the access panel to get to the wiring within, if it even works after four thousand years."

"The name is Irys, Irys Dza and not 'Bothan'." She muttered and went to the specified panel. "Give me a few moments." She said to nobody in particular and got out her tools to carefully remove the panel and then use her slicing equipment to see if she could open these doors and potentially learn more about these ruins and what it contained within.

"Odd. I thought it was moldy flesh popsicle." Goreamas remarked at Irys' indignation.

Lena frowned, "Gra'tua, refrain your droid from threatening or making such comments about my people."She said quietly.

If Goreamas' eyes hadn't been sensors he'd have rolled them at Lena. Meanwhile Irys managed to avoid electrocuting herself and the doors hissed open with, frankly, an unusual degree of apparent maintenance.

Gra'tua glared at the Basilisk Droid and mentally sighed, he had no subtlety whatsoever.

Irys frowned, looking at the panel and then the doors. "Ok that is just not normal, those defenses working, fluke. But these doors and this wiring working so smoothly as well. Even if they ahve droids doing it all and somehow get repaired and maintained over the course of history passing. This just feels wrong." She mutters.

"Your concern is noted Irys." Lena said, looking warily at the entrance. "The two of us lead? Gra'tua?"

Goreamas spoke up again this time... "No dust?" He remarked.

Irys looked at the droid. "The droid is making my point, this feels wrong."

"Let's find out by exploring it inside." Gra'tua said, eagerness evident in his tone of voice as he stepped forwards and into the build, smirking. "Care to join me Lena? Bo your commandos stay with Latesh outside, making sure the perimeter is secure and no battle droid stragglers surprise us."

Bo did not like going in without the support of the commandos but informed her squads they were now under the command of Latesh while she went inside with Gra'tua.

Stepping into the facility the group moved about a hundred yards before encountering a cross-corridor, there continued to be no sign of dust, worse, the word ruin didn't seem to have any real relevance here when suddenly guns unhoused themselves from the ceilings and aimed at the people of Lena's party. "Halt intruders."

Lena obeyed, looking at the defenses, frowning as she saw none of them were aimed at Gra'tua. "I think you need to do something about this... at least they haven't fired already..."

"Do not move." Gra'tua said at once and looked at the defenses, noting that none of them were aimed at his people. Recalling a certain base at Onderon and chuckled. "Well... it recognizes Mandalorians. Allow me to try something." He looked at the defenses and shrugged, "I am Alor Gra'tua, of the Mando'Ade. We fight and die for Mand'alor. Let us and the serfs who have not been worthy of the armour yet pass."

There was a very long pause when suddenly the guns retracted into the roof. Goreamas shrugged. "Well... that was too easy.."

He turned to Goreamas and shrugs, "That or it recognizes when a true Mandalorian announces himself, I suggest we continue heading deeper and look for any terminals or other devices that might tell us what this place is. Hell I will even take wall murals or books."

Lena relaxes when the guns resided back into the roof. "No idea what you said Gra'tua but it worked and I agree, keep a eye out for those... and other defenses, so far I get the feeling the people who built this really didn't want intruders." She glances at the people of Gra'tua wearing their mandalorian armour. "Except other Mandalorians."

"He said the Lions in the third house of the Raven and he had brought the ritual sacrifices for the second dawn." Goreamas remared mentally grinning.

Lena looked form the basilisk to Gra'tua questioningly. "I... I see."

He ignored Goreamas but could not help but smirk a little. "Perhaps, I am as eager to get to those secrets like you are Lena." He smiled behind his mask as he looked around. "This is a part of my people's history and I would love to uncover it's secrets." He squared his shoulders, "But that requires exploring, so let's have at it."

"Agreed, but I think I will have myself and my people stay close to your people, in case of more defenses." Lena said, urging caution in her people.

Proceeding deeper into the facility the team would notice numerous blast doors before finally reaching a round round chamber with a blast door in the floor. On entering the chamber the doors closed and weapons deployed. Then a voice boomed through speaking in ancient Mandalorian. "You claim to be an Alor of the Mandalorians. What is your purpose for seeking the Exile Clan of Toreth."

Lena said nothing and looked at Gra'tua. This was getting interested all of a sudden.

Gra'tua looked up in surprise, ignoring the weapons and thought for a moment before he replied in the same, ancient tongue. "My purpose here is simple. I was told of a ancient Mandalorian ruin, from the time of the great Crusades. To find out relics of that great time, so when we came in the system and saw the CIS, the battle droids, to desecrate it. I was going to wipe them all out for such a transgression against what belong to the Mando'ade. That there is an Exile clan of Toreth here... I was not aware. This clan... your clan, survived on this world, cut off from Manda'yaim for four thousand years?"

"You disrespect us by doubting." The voice took on a particular note of anger.

Gra'tua felt a pang of irritation and anger but let it shimmer, remaining calm. "No disrespect was intended, though it also shows no respect to not speak to fellow warriors face to face, but we clearly invaded your home. I was simply... surprised, expecting ruins and no-one living in them. I give you my word, as a Warrior of Manda'yaim that I came here only to seek signs of our glorious past."

She had no idea what was said but scanned the defenses they might possible be up against.

Seeing that there were about 20 blaster barrels pointed their she hoped that whatever Gra'tua was doing was working.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how one would put it the floor hissed open and a platform rose into view. A warrior stood there resplendent in his armour with no helmet upon his head. But the look in his eyes was one of distrust and hate. Within each hand he carried a long blade four feet long, appearing as a reflective blue steel, but Gra'tua recognized the Beskar for what it was.

Swords made of true Beskar were rare enough but as Gra'tua looked at the warrior he was simply stunned and could hear muttering form behind him as Magog, Canderous, Goran and Bo too seemed surprised and stunned at what they were seeing. Magog went as far to go down on a knee and bow his head.

Gra'tua was the first to break the silence. "You are... you are Dha Werda Verda, a Taung. How... how is that possible." He did not care if his wonder and surprise at this were evident. He went for his Mandalorian mask and released it, removing it from his face, speaking slowly. "While it is an... honour to stand in your presence warrior, may I request the honour of knowing your name as well?"

She still had no idea what was going on but when the warrior appeared the reaction of Gra'tua was.. disturbing, she had never seen the Mandalorian Sith act like this, well except those times with Azazel. She had not enough information to go on if this warrior was a threat or not so she kept her hands from her weapons and made sure her people did the same.

"Alor Al'verde Kyr'am." He said examining Gra'tua contemptuously. "You use the force?" He said moving around Gra'tua. Goreamas followed the warrior with his head his weapons fully armed.

Gra'tua blinked, this warrior was named like his daughter, amusing, and he followed the Taung warrior with his eyes. "I can use the force, yes. But in battle I prefer to use my blades, or since recently having been convinced of using it more, a blaster." He answered truthfully.

Suddenly something Gra'tua said seemed to reach the Taung. "What do you mean how is it possible I am Taung?" His voice dripped with contempt. "You dare suggest our race has failed?"

Gra'tua calmly looked at the warrior. "They have not, as evident by myself and my people, the Mando'ade still exist... your culture... still exists. But the last true Taung, according to our history, died in battle thousands of years ago in the great Crusade."

He appeared to engage in some internal conflict for some minutes. "Well then... I have also failed." He said low enough that only Gra'tua could hear. "I am no fit leader... challenge me." He said moving back towards the platform at the centre of the room.

Gra'tua watched the warrior and nods solemnly, gesturing for his warriors to clear the room and stick to the walls, going back to galactic basic he addressed Lena. "Get back and stay to the walls." He said as he placed the mask back on his face and reached for his sabers, igniting them and aimed one at the Taung warrior. "Alor Al'verde Kyr'am. I challenge you to a duel, may your blades strike true."

She wasn ow utterly confused but complied... the strange warrior and Gra'tua were going to fight? Mandalorians... so confusing at times.

The Taung readied his weapons and accepted the ritual challenge charging in for Gra'tua swinging his weapons in a manner that demonstrated time had not dulled the Taung's abilities at all.

Their blades met and yet the Taung failed with a swing and the Lightsabre delivered a punishing blow to his ribs, but not lethal, not yet.

Gra'tua decided to honour this warrior and this duel by not actively using his force powers, this would be settled by the blade as he pulled his two sabers back and started a flurry of movements to further wound and give this Taung a honourable death he deserved.

The Taung responded with a fluid series of movements of his own, each intended to deflect a sabre blade and nick the flesh of his opponent.

But each warrior manages no more than to keep their opponents blades from reaching their target.

He grinned despite the situation, he was fighting a Mandalorian legend! A real, living Taung, the creator species of his culture. That thought lasted a short moment as he felt his battle rush come over him and with a cry he lashed out once more.

The Taung moved to deflect the blades with his right hand coming in low with the left for a stinging thrust to the belly.

But once more the human Alor's blades managed to score his flesh while he failed to land his own hit. Doubt coursed through him, at his abilities and the words of the Alor before.

Sensing the doubt in the warrior before him he decided to become more aggressive and redouble his effort to attack, perhaps his arrogance and overconfidence would be his undoing but at this moment Gra'tua did not care.

The Taung slipped into another style as effortlessly as the breeze through the trees, each movement fluid and designed to deflect all attack away from the body followed by sudden thrusts.

He saw the opening now and pulled the darksaber back, time to end this, he would not make this warrior suffer. "For Manda'yaim!" He growled as he slashed, feinting so his true strike to the opening in the warrior's armour might end this.

"For honour!" The warrior responded his blades moving savagely.

Gra'tua's strike failed to connect as the Cortosis blades opened up his right arm, slickening it with blood in moments. While not lethal if treated it was going to slow down Gra'tua.

He let out a cry of pain and then chuckled, feeling the adrenaline pump through him. "A good fight!" He grinned behind his mask and went to attack once more, minding and testing how the wound would affect his performance.

The Taung moved to try and press the advantage despite his wounds.

But once more both warriors do little but manage to keep each others blades apart.

Gra'tua decided to push forward, trying to unbalance the Taung as he struck out with his blades, again and again.

The Taung moved to avoid the strikes as he swung his right to force the deflection and left for Gra'tua's legs.

This time the blade bit into Gra'tua's right leg punching through the kneecap damaging it badly.

He shouted out in pain and with a growl, viciously started attacking the Taung with both blades, weaving the blades in a blurry pattern.

The Taung looked for a moments opportunity and swept his blades to take advantage of it.

But it seemed the wounds of both warriors was dulling them and no blows landed home.

He shuddered, feeling his leg and arm tremble and gritted his teeth, moving his blades up in salute. Resuming his attack in the blink of an eye after he made a salute to a honourable warrior.

The Taung nodded and leaped to meet the attack with both blades.

The Taung's movements flung the Darksaber across the room Gratua forced to release his grip, or his fingers, as a Cortosis blade left a long angry red slice along the hands length the other blade holding the other sabre at bay.

He gasps, seeing his blade fly off, leaving him with Revans blade, holding it up en garde, breathing deeply as he stood ready. He been in worse situations... granted never against a Taung. Taking a deep breath he let out a cry and attacked, part fueled by anger, part desperation.

The Taung moved in as well roaring a call of fury as he moved to bash aside the blade and attempt to run through his foe.

Gra'tau turned the blades of the Taung and destroyed one of them at the hilt with Revans blade removing the Taung's hand in the process. "Well struck." The Taung said with respect.

He grunted with pain but could nto help but smile at the praise. "Same to you, let us end this. Honour in death!" He shouted the last part as he attacked.

"Death is honour." The Taung replied moving to strike once more.

Again their strikes were skilled to the point no meaningful blow landed.

With a growl Gra'tua tightened his grip around the hilt of Revan's blade and pulled it back to thrust it forward as if to impale the warrior upon the blade.

The Taung mirrored the gesture, a last gasp perhaps?

The Taung avoided the lightsabre and rammed the Cortosis blade through Gra'tua's midriff missing the Sith's heart by less than a thumbs breath before he sinks to his knees. "You fought well Alor. You are worthy and so I spare you a fatal blow." Though no doubt Gra'tua wasn't feeling too grateful about a sword so close to his heart. The Taung began whispering to Gra'tua imparting the command codes of the facility.

"Protect my people Alor. Or I will haunt your soul for eternity."

Gra'tua gritted his teeth, reaching up and removed his mask as he started coughing up a little blood but managed to spit out the words. "So I swear, on my life... however long it will last." Which he admitted, right now, he was not sure how long it was.

Staring into Gra'tua's eyes the Taung nodded before the light within them went out.

Gra'tua groaned and grabbed the hilt of the sword, "Magog... Lena... assistance, please..."

The Mandalorian medic rushed forwards to assist his Alor.

Lena also walked forwards, shaking her head. "I do not claim to know what that was about but it seemed foolish to me. You, Magog was it, lets get this sword out of him and treat him as best you can."

Magog is able to remove the blade, but not without causing considerably more pain to Gra'tua than putting it in had revealed. Goreamas watching let out a low chuckle. "No need to wiggle it so much on the way out, didn't you get a raise you asked for or something?"

Gra'tua groaned and shuddered, "Be silent, do not try and enjoy this so much, this had been a honourable fight, a good fight, I shall wear the scars with pride."

"If I thought otherwise do you really think I wouldn't have just smote him with my weaponry?" Goreamas sniffed offendedly.

"It was foolish in my eyes, but I suppose you would know better." Lena said, shaking her head at how Gra'tua now looked.

"You make a excellent point I suppose." Gra'tua said and then looked worried at Magog as he pulled out his medical tools and started to hum a little bit too happy for the task he was about to do.

Unfortunately, as it went on Magog it seemed couldn't do anything about the knee, either Gra'tua would need surgery to replace it with a prosthetic kneecap, or take a chance and hope the Bacta alone is enough to repair the damage.

Though most fortunately, it seems the Taung had been true to his word and Magog was able to patch up the chest wound without any problems. "This will make a fine scar." He even intoned.

"Good, someone help me up so I won't put too much stress on my leg. He gave me the command codes for this base before he passed... and revealed certain things." He was eager to get moving and see if the words of the fallen Taung leader were true. "Canderous, give him the last honours and guard his body. Lena... I think you will be very interested in what lies hidden here..."

Not caring if he would protest she gestured for her assassin droid to pick Gra'tua up and if need to carry him or support him. "Well, glad the fight wasn't for nothing, and I will see about that, whatever it is you are talking about."

They got on the elevator the Taung warrior had used and managed to get down to the lower levels of the base, coming down into a large chamber with sections of the wall filled with pods. Gra'tua looked at them with a look that bordered to reverence. "He was speaking the truth before he died... A lost clan that has survived." He laughed and turned to Lena as the elevator stopped. "He told me, his clan was exiled by Mandalore the Indomitable for cowardly tactics. Those are stasis pods, containing the last of the Taung."

She blinked and looked at the pods. "I see... well clearly not a superweapon then." She noticed a terminal and gestured for Irys to work on that to retrieve whatever information they could. A moment later, when Lena was thinking the fawning of Gra'tua over these pods and their contents was getting tiresome Irys called out to them.

"Good news and bad news... well depends really. Good news, those are indeed stasis pods containing, what were they called, Taung? But yeah those, bad news after four thousand years even the strongest power source fails. That guy muscle guy there fought was their leader and he came out of stasis every few hundred years or so to perform maintenance on the defenses, he discovered that over time the power supply of the stasis pods failed and began shutting some down. Only 90 have survived, the other pods, roughly 10'000 or so, are all dead."

Gra'tua widened his eyes and cursed, stumbling away and groaned, he had already been imaging to return to Mandalorian space in triumph, bringing the Taung species back to life. But it was just a failure. He clenched his fist, no. No he would not allow that, he turned to Magog. "Bring your crews down here and check the stasis pods... revive the still surviving Taung. Those that died, will be honoured." He quickly switched to a private channel in his helmet and then spoke directly to him. "Collect genetic data from the dead Taung... specifically to perhaps clone them." Magog turned around at that, staring at Gra'tua but then merely nodded and went to the surface to contact the ship to bring down medical crews.

Lena meanwhile had been going over other data Irys had found and called Gra'tua over. "Irys found a storage list of some kind, they had some ships but apparently they degraded over time and were destroyed. Some stacks of weapons and armour, more useful to you I imagine... some artifacts and other plunder that could be sold for quite a sizable amount of credits. Seven Basilisk war droids, of the rather ancient design. But more importantly, you said they were exiled for cowardly tactics? I assume that is where the Stygium cloaking device comes in, the only piece of technology they found worth salvaging of their cruiser."

Gra'tua looked at Lena and thought she would begin drooling, he snorted. "I don't mind keeping the ancient Basilisks, they make good ornamental pieces... you keep the Stygium cloaking device. I have no use for such a device, at least not now."

Lena beamed, "Excellent, my thanks Gra'tua. Let's have our people transport the items to the surface and prepare to leave, don't want to stay too long for the CIS to return or the Republic to ask more questions than we want to answer."

Gra'tua was about to reply when Magog approached, "We revived the Taung alor... they are demanding answers, I think the only reason they haven't started to fight us is because we wear Mandalorian armour but they are getting to a boiling point."

Gra'tua nodded and turned to Lena, "Do what you must, I will address some people of my heritage." He grinned and with the help of Magog and another Mandalorian warrior was brought away to were the Taung were gathered, they were muttering and talking to each other but went silent as Gra'tua approached. He took a deep breath and looked over them all, "Warriors of Manda'yaim, Taung... the Dha Werda Verda. Your clan was exiled, your Alor Al'verde Kyr'am told me so, much has changed in the years that have passed the Taung species... have died out, at least in the known worlds but your culture, your legacy lives on still. When your leader heard this he said he failed in his task, I challenged him to honourable combat and defeated him, the strongest prevailed, I. Which means your clan is no more, you are now all part of clan Gra'tua, my clan. I am alor Gra'tua and I will keep you safe and together we will show the clans of Mandalore and the galaxy that the Taung... are still very much alive and able to fight.

What say you all?"

The Taung looked at each other and then at the stasis pods they and their clan went into so long ago, one of the throng stepped forwards. Speaking slowly, "We will fight for you, for ourselves, for glory, for honour and for Manda'yaim, our home."

"Excellent, follow al'verde Bo who will take you to the surface and our ships that will take you to my ship. We are heading to Mandalorian space, to home." At those words he saw some of the Taung relax, perhaps even anticipating to see their home even if it had changed. "Well then, Magog, take me to my ship... I have a appointment for surgery I believe."

Magog nodded and gestured to the warrior to now help Gra'tua back on the ship. After a moment Magog talked to Gra'tua on a private channel. "Alor, I have done as you asked, I and my people have gathered the genetic data you requested... I am afraid only 5831 samples are suitable for cloning."

He stiffened and turned to Magog, "I do not care... over five thousand... those samples Magog, have just become more important than anything to you, you will guard them with your life and keep them optimally preserved."

Magog nodded, "As you wish, alor." He then turned off the private channel. "Now then, time to cut you open and see how your insides are alor." He laughed and Gra'tua just let out a indignant growl.

She watched from the sidelines, shaking her head and then turned around, raising a brow as the two noghri disciples stopped using the force to conceal themselves. "What do you have to report?" She asked quietly.

Grom looked at Kwilnae who shrugged, her first Noghri apprentice bowed his head. "That doctor of his, did more than reviving those living Taung, he and his people, they took something from several hundreds of bodies of the dead Taung. We do not know what or why."

She frowned and nodded slowly. "I see, thanks. We will be heading to the Regret soon enough." She put on a smile, "All in all this mission was very fruitful for us all." She looked at Gra'tua and raised a eyebrow. "Though for some reason, even if I got the cloaking device, Gra'tua seems to be the one who seems happier about what he got." She shrugged, "At least he bled for it." She kept smiling and ignored the odd looks of her disciples and walked to the elevator to also get out of here. Gra'tua had said he was heading to Mandalorian space before heading to Korriban, she was considering offering to give him a ride or just travel along.

But that would have to wait...
Hidden 10 yrs ago Post by Gat
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Gat

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Five Points
Annamar System.


It was a quiet dawn on Annamar when the sensors of Five Point Base begin to chime with contacts. They swept in from high orbit at near dangerous speeds before flying too low to detect easily with the sensors in a cavern some distance away.

Bapyr cut off a conversation he was having with one of the brokers who ran the Pleasure Den when the alerts sounded and waved for a couple of the security troopers in attendance to escort the broker from the room and make sure they were secure elsewhere while Bapyr went to the hub control room for Five Points. “Sit-rep!” He called as he entered the room that monitored all the outposts vital systems. A few improvements had been made to the hub since the power plant hijacking, it was now tied into all the security monitors in the outpost where as previously it had only monitored the high security sections, there had been an issue or two with some of the crew getting too interested in the feeds from the Pleasure Den however for the first few days, Iella had quickly disabused the culprits of that behaviour.

“A number of contacts sir, a mix of starfighter and dropships, might have been a corvette in the mix but we didn't get a solid read before they dropped into the canyons a few clicks out.” one of the crew replied. “The attack the boss warned us of?” he then asked sounding a little nervous.
“Seems likely.” Bapyr replied. “Alright bring all perimeter defences online and start deploying troops to protect the more vital assets.” Bapyr added as he went to a holotable that held a 3d map of the outpost. “Get the valentines in the air, patrolling the perimeter, I'd rather not send them out against unknown strength when we might need them here.” Bapyr looked around the room for a moment as he took in the men and women doing their jobs before adding another order. “And get me a secure link with Cazador and Iella, they'll be on the front lines I imagine.”

A mere couple of minutes later the sensors ring again as three squadrons appear on the sensors, two of them appearing to be bomber squadrons of some type and an unidentified heavy fighter squadron.

“Sir!” One of the crew exclaimed.
“I see them.” Bapyr said simply as he kept a calm mind and analysed the situation. “Have the interceptors strike the starfighters while the defence towers focus on the bombers.”

The enemy advance continued throwing into contrast more attackers, another two squadrons of heavy starfighters had been detected and something else harder to get any solid information on, some sort of stealth properties making it hard to get a fix.

“Well that's problematic...” Bapyr muttered as the additional starfighters appeared on sensors. “Why aren't we getting a clear reading on this contact...” he muttered again as he watched the contact that they had not discernible information for.
“Sir, comms established with Iella and Cazador.” A crewman reported.
“Good morning friends, Cazador if you would mind getting yourself to one of the defensive laser towers I believe you're skill in putting down targets will be needed.” Bapyr said in opening. “We have multiple starfighter and bomber squadrons on intercept and I suspect the valentines will be outmatched in a straight fight. We thought we detected troop ships earlier as well so keep your people alert you two.” He then added.
Iella's voice crackled over the comm for a moment before clearing up. “I'm headed to the spaceport, we've got a few 'visitors on planet atm that might be willing to lend a hand in our defences, specially if we can properly compensate them.” The Echani woman said confidently.
“Kuryi trusts your judgement so see what you can do Iella, just remember we'll have troops on the ground before long I suspect, your skills will be more use in putting them down.” Bapyr replied.
“Copy, give me a shout if anything goes drastically wrong then.” Iella said before she muted her comm input so she could continue to hear the conversation but not add to it.

“How far is the boss?” Cazador asked while the sensors showed his comm signal was headed for the north east laser tower.
“Haven’t heard from Kuryi yet but last communique reported he would be arriving soon, one can just hope he brought enough reinforcements with him.” Bapyr replied before turning to the personnel around him. “Recall the Valentines, they'll do better working in concert with the towers than speeding out there alone with that many contacts facing them.”

The enemy squadrons advanced fast before suddenly beginning an bank southwards as they detected they were about to fly into two sets of Laser Turrets. Bapyr is the first to notice a Corvette moving into sensors range now its coming over the hills.

Meanwhile, at the request for aid, one of the Smugglers gets in his craft, a heavily modified YT-1300, and flees as fast as his engines can go, the captain of the second smuggler vessel is too deep into his cups to even notice the request. The last, a 'Captain Jack' of a mid-sized freighter, the Last Bet, accepts the offer to aid in the defence and tells Iella to just tell him where to be.

Iella patched Captain Jack into the Hubs channels and let Bapyr know the freighter was at his command while she went to supervise the outposts defensive troops.
“Alright, Captain we've got hostile contacts heading southwest, I'm detailing our squadron to intercept them, I'd like you to join them and see what you can do to thin their numbers.” Bapyr said to the smuggler before issuing the orders to the Valentines.

The enemy advances on the facility quickly, but not too quickly for the Valentines, at long range the Bombers achieve missile lock and launch a salvo of Concussion Missiles.

“We cant let those bombers inside the shields.” Bapyr said before he ordered the Valentine squadron to make a run on the southern bombers. The Last Bet would have to get there when it could even though Bapyr would prefer to have the two air assets supporting each other. “Turrets at the ready, contacts will be in your range momentarily.” He then advised over the comms.

Three of the twelve bombers the Valentine Squadron attacked were destroyed in the salvo as their pilots concentrated on the bombing run their defence turrets spraying fire wildly incapable of hitting the interceptors.

The missile salvoes scream in towards the base entering the engagement range of the turrets which do a stunning job of thinning the herd of over ninety missiles only allowing thirteen of them through, which the shields then destroy ten of on impact leaving only three missiles incoming, one for a Laser Tower, two for the empty Hangar. And then it was the attacking craft's turn.

One of the enemy Squadrons couldn't get adequate lead on the squadron their fire going wide, the same could not be said of the other squadron whose withering fire struck eleven of the Valentines, and yet, thanks to the armour they bore, all eleven emerged virtually unscathed.

The Last Bet continued its comparability lumbering pace towards the attacking craft while the Valentine squadron threw power to their engines and made an attack run on the northern bomber squadron. In the Hub one end of the holotable started emitting a second image, that of Kuryi himself as they received a transmission from The Art of Battle which sensors were registered as having just entered the system.

“Five points, come in, We're in system and on approach, we're detecting a lot of traffic down there, what's going on?” Kuryi said while Bapyr went to place himself before the holo-imager so he could reply.
“Your timing couldn't be better sir.” Bapyr said breathing a small sigh of relief. “We're under attack, 4 squadrons of old style Hutt Starfighters, 2 bomber squadrons and a corvette, theres another group of contacts we cant get a sensor fix on, so far they haven't tried firing on anything so I suspect them to be dropships sir.” Bapyr said to fill Kuryi in.
“Any troops on the ground yet?” Kuryi asked pausing for a moment while bapyr shook his head. “I'll bring support, we're still a little way out though, make sure you're still alive when we get there won't you Bapyr.” He then added.
“Of course sir.” Bapyr replied as the holo-imager faded.

The fire from the Valentine squadron failed to pursue the bombers with any accuracy, the close passing of the shady contacts revealed modified SS-54 Assault Ships rebuilt with stealth armour and engines. The missiles in flight finally found their targets however one of them destroying a laser tower as two more severely gutted the, thankfully empty, barracks. And then the three Squadrons of enemy craft attacked the Valentines, and yet, despite the overwhelming numbers advantage concern for hitting each other prevented the enemy from laying any accurate shots on the preternaturally lucky squadron of interceptors.

“North bombers on a run against the power plant, making another run on them.” The lead of the interceptor squadron announced over the comms as Bapyr returned to studying the holomap. “Cazador those bombers are about to pass into your range, help the valentines remove them could you.” Bapyr said over the comms as he noted The Last Bet was moving to intercept the southern bombers. “South east tower focus on those bombers next to that corvette they appear to be the biggest threat.” Bapyr glanced somewhat nervously at the revealed gunships, they could be problematic...Kuryi needed to arrive faster he thought as he glanced sideways at a counter that had appeared at the corner of the holomap showing Kuryi's approximate ETA.

The concentrated fire of the Last Bet and the remainder of the Laser Battery decimated the bomber squadron in a hail of blaster fire and a proton torpedo with utterly devastating effect as the Valentines capitalised on the enemies biggest mistake, the bombers flew too straight for too long and they annihilated ten of the enemy bombers for it.

The enemy transports meanwhile dived in and hit the ground disgorging a large number of what look to be highly skilled troops while the crippled bomber Squadron, seeing its number decimated rolls and runs for the hills. Meanwhile the poor Valentine Squadron finds itself with the undivided attention of all four enemy escort squadrons. The Valentines however continue their seemingly unnatural streak of luck as the enemy heavy fighters continue to try and jockey for shots on them.

“Gunships are sitting ducks!” The lead pilot said over the comms, “Starting a strafing run on them, maybe we can take a few of those troops out too.” He added as the Last Bet moved to get a better shot at the hostile starfighters that the south eastern tower was also opening fire on.

On the ground Bapyr watched as the outfits troops readied to meet the enemy, Iella in among them looking for a chance to use her own skill set as best she could.

Fortune favours the Brave it is said, and so it was the Valentines managing not to get hit on their strafing run. Though the attack revealed at least one of the Commando squadrons had surface to air missiles. The Valentines fire stabbed down, though their accuracy was good, it seemed the defences of the gunships were pretty good as they hit one and damaged it badly. .... But then...The gunships came in pursuit the Last Bet failing to hit anything except several homes and the towers destroyed one of the transports before damaging another. But they still pursued the Valentines with intent to destroy. The Gunships are however unable to lay fire onto the Interceptors with any luck.
The enemy fighters moved to intercept the Last Bet hoping it was an easier target as the Corvette moved up and began firing on the damaged Hangar with its Turbolasers. The Commando teams heading out, two for the defence guns, the other four for the facility proper. Though one of the enemy squadrons couldn't hit the Last Bet, the other two didn't have the same issue, one of them doing little direct damage, but the other squadron blasting it apart with unholy prejudice. There wasn't much left to hit the ground below except flaming debris.
The battle took other turns for the worst with one of the Commando teams beginning an assault on the Laser Battery to take it out of contention crippling one of the three remaining guns, meanwhile two of the Commando teams assaulted one of the security trooper squadrons with extreme prejudice, one failing to do anything of note, but the other killing nine of the Security men. The unit that failed to do much taking a casualty when one of them stuck their head out at the wrong moment when the security troopers returned fire.

“Bapyr you have multiple squads heading in your direction.” Kuryi said over the comm as the Capone flew over the Hub. “I want you out there leading the troops with Iella. I have Miria and the Scouts aboard the Capone with me, I'll put down just outside and drop them so you can meet the coming attack.” He then added as he directed the Capones pilot to do just that. Kuryi studied the sensor details being routed to the Capone from the outposts systems as it augmented the Capones on sensor readings on the battle those gunships could prove hazardous with their stealth systems but the more immediate threat now was the corvette. Problem was only the Capone and the turbolaser towers really had a good shot at bringing the vessel down. “Gris, you on that quad turret yet?” He asked over the ships internal comms. A guttural grunt was all the reply he got. “Hurry up then we'll have things for you to shoot shortly.” Kuryi said as he directed the Valentines to come about and tackle the gunships.

The Dropships of the enemy are annihilated as the Valentines come back around for another pass without much fanfare. Just Maser fire. Meanwhile the Tower and Security Troops fail to do anything one of the Security troopers killed by a headshot from near three hundred metres away after he stood up, removed his helment and complained to his CO that his headset wasn't working.

The enemy response was somewhat predictable, and at the same time less so, two of the enemy fighter squadrons engaged the Valentines once more, both failing horribly when one craft from each squadron, trying to get the best shot, actually collided destroying each other. Meanwhile the attempt of another squadron to strafe the towers was ineffectual, as they attacked one of the destroyed weapons. The last squadron meanwhile attacked one of the shield generators, the damage it suffered bringing down the shield entirely and nearly destroying it while the enemy Corvette fired on the Barracks next inflicting superficial, but noticeable damage that would require repairs.

The Commando's attacking the tower had little more luck, though they managed to finish the destruction of the critical tower and begin assaulting another. Meanwhile three of the other Commando teams assault the entrenched Security men, however before two of them even get a chance team five wipes out the squad with repeating blaster fire.

As the valiant security squad that had simply been to close for comfort to the enemy troops fell, the other forces which now had time to regroup moved up to face the enemy forces. Overhead Cazador began firing on the squadron that had attacked the shield generator and the Valentines turned to dogfight with their attackers at Kuryi's order.

The Valentines and towers failed to achieve anything as finally The Art of Battle arrived during which time the Commandos on the ground nearly wiped out the enemy commando unit they were facing. The enemy response was less predictable, one of the squadrons continued its assault on the Shield Generator as another moved to hit the Utilities, of the other two both began to flee as the Corvette set down on the ground, on the ground Kuryi's men would see the Commando units beginning a retreat. The shield Generator under attack lay fairly close to total destruction as the heavy fighters strafed it with fire. A destruction nearly shared by the Electrical Utilities facility, the reactor taking heavy damage in the assault, blacking out near four fifths of all those depending on power from it. Though fortunately the defences had self-contained power.

With the arrival and ever present movement of The Art of Battle and the enemy in retreat, the Ness shuttles forwent dropping off their troops and started in towards the nearest fighter squadron opening up with everything they had while the Capone lifted off again and targeted the squadron that had attacked the shield generator, the same squadron that the Valentines attacked from behind. Even with the enemy troops in retreat Kuryi ordered his troops on the ground to push the attack rather than let them go. The south east tower, now free of the attacking commandos continued to fire on the fleeing fighter squadrons while, Cazador, in the north east tower fired on the only squadron in his range

The squadron attacking the Shield Generator was wiped out after being hit by the Valentines, but the real star of that show was the North East Laser Battery which managed to avert a catastrophic overload of one of its guns and retask in time to finish off their attackers. The Ness Squadron had little luck only succeeding in dropping the shield of a single craft. The Commando's pursuing the lone survivor failing to catch the man in his fighting retreat, forced to admit he knows what he's doing when the Duros stumble into a booby trap the commando had somehow managed to plant annihilating five of them in the blast. The Security troopers moving in from the north attempt to assault the Commando's only to see the three, bravest, of them cut down in as many seconds by a Concussion Rifle and the called out worlds "COME GET SOME!" The other seventeen get the hint and dive for cover.

Four of the Valentines, which had fought so valiantly and againt such odds since the attack began finally felt the sting of enemy fire as four of their number go down to the superior enemy firepower. The enemy forces continue to retreat in the majority for the Corvette, all except the squadron of attackers that had reversed course from assaulting the Electrical Utilities to turn on the Valentines once more. And one of the Commando's that seems to have gone to ground doing who knows what. All that remains is the last recorded position he was seen in. Meanwhile the Commando's who were all "Come Get Some" turned their guns on the Security men and eviscerated fourteen of the valiant men with superior firepower. A death toll that was reflected against Kuryi's Operations men when the other Commando squad struck them with a barrage of grenades.

The Art of Battle kept up its advance and brought its mass drivers to bare on the grounded corvette while the Capone moved in and fired everything it had at the corvette as well. Meanwhile the remaining Valentines joined with the Ness shuttles and the south east tower to attack the remaining starfighters.

The commandos that had eliminated most of the rearmost enemy squad skirted the survivors last known position while the beast scouts, Miri at the lead moved up at a ground eating pace, their trained Nexu alongside and the Banshee birds overhead as they pursued the fleeing forces. The two units of troops that had suffered at the hands of the commandos only moments before took the opportunity to back off, they would likely be disciplined or not following orders later but at least they wouldn't be following their comrades into an early grave.

The attackers sweeping in on the last remaining unit of enemy escorts who weren't running couldn't seemingly aim, even the Valentines morale seems to have been broken by the unexpected deaths. Then the Art of Battle's Mass Drivers rang and the Corvette was struck amidships, her shields shattering under the salvo, as did it's reactor, the craft blasting apart badly enough to nearly cause the Capone to crash. The two retreating squadrons and bomber had completed their run for space as the last squadron turned back and once more decided to strafe the Valentine's rear, for revenge. Another of the Valentines spirals towards the ground smoking the scent of blood in the attackers nostrils. The Commando's seeing their ride destroyed however seem to have been revitalised into a last stand.

The Commandos attacking the Security found them bunkered down too well to strike, unlike their comrades who caught the Operations officers in the open with their sudden reversal and cut them down like wheat before the Scythe. The Commandos trying to strike the Beast Squad however failed to do anything before Kuryi got a warning on the bridge from one of the crew of the Turbolaser Battery on the South East end. "Sir! One of the Enemy Commandos, he's setting up a bomb of some sort! It's all Chrome looking."

The Art of battle continued its advance to bring its laser batteries to bare on the remaining fighter squadron while the Capone swung around and aimed to eliminate the squadron as well. For that matter the lone squadron found itself the target of the Valentine interceptors and the two Eastern laser defence towers.

Miria lead the beast scouts into a position to better assault the commando squad ahead of them while they were supported by the nearby squad of crimson commandos. The Ness shuttles had seen fit to put down and deploy their troops with the enemy no longer retreating while one of them moved to the south to deploy their troops to investigate the explosive the sole commando was arming.

The Combined laser fire from the Valentines, the defence towers, the Capone and The Art of Battle saw the remaining enemy fighters quickly overwhelmed and eliminated. Miria and her scouts Forged ahead with a barrage of fire from their blaster carbines and supporting fire from those of them armed with longrifles. With the Airspace mostly clear the Banshee birds became more adventurous and started circling above the remaining enemy attackers while the Nexu of the squads lopped forward at a stunning pace, avoiding the return blaster fire as they had been trained to do and ran down the attackers with a savagery that could not be matched by blasters. Additional supporting fire came from the other security and operations squads still on the ground as well as the crimson commando squads, with Miria and her beast scouts leading the charge moral soared and the remaining attackers were defeated in short order, killed to the last man as none had even tried to surrender.

On the other side of Five Points the other Ness shuttle had set down and deployed its squads and quickly eliminated the sole enemy commando as he guarded the explosive he had set. The squads fast discovered it was an explosive with a yeild high enough to wipe out at least half the shadowport from its present position. The Squads watched the counter and made sure the area was secure while Cazador arrived on a speeder bike he had borrowed from an unsuspecting resident of Annamar.

“They've left us a nasty going away present sir.” Cazador said over his comlink to Kuryi. “The trigger mechanism is a touchy one and the blast is significant.” He added as he examined the explosive further.
“You will disarm it Cazador, wont you.” Kuryi replied in a straight laced and confident tone.
“Uh.. yes sir...” Cazador answered hesitantly. “Im not sure this speeder could escape the blast radius anyway...” he said without activating the comlink while he set to work figuring out how to disarm the explosive. There was only about 2 minutes left on the timer as he got to work, forst prying off the outer casing and exposing the wiring and circuitry underneath. Then sorting the connections in his mind into critical and secondary relays, ones that were ultimately irrelevant and ones that might detonate the explosive immediately. One of the outfit security troopers there offered Cazador his canteen which he gratefully accepted while he thought about the connections for a few more moments

Handing the canteen back he pulled a couple of tools including a polar ionic destabiliser and a pair of fine wire cutters before carefully reaching into the explosive with 30 seconds left on the timer. The moment he touched the destabiliser to the circuit he was aiming for the bomb started beeping rapidly as if it was about to detonate before it went silent and dead a moment later as he cut a blue wire.

“Explosive disarmed sir.” Cazador said over the comlink as he breathed a steady sigh of relief. “Please tell me you know who ordered this attack?” Cazador then asked.
“I am quite aware of who ordered it,” Kuryi replied. “And Keller Hudron will wish he had never caught my attention when I am through with him.” The cold tone Cazador heard over the comlink made him glad he was working for Kuryi, he did not want to be the man's enemy under any circumstances.

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