[IC] Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

[EliteCommander]

Down a long, tall, and mostly empty hallway in the Jedi Temple, the light tapping of Kresst’s talons against the floor echoed off of the walls. For the diminutive Jedi, merely moving from place to place tended to be a long process when he did not have a mind to rush, and at the moment, he was in no hurry to be anywhere. Of course, he was on the way to a ship that would be leaving in less than half an hour, taking him on his first mission in months, but that did not mean he was in a rush to be there.

Kresst gave a quick glance up as he passed at the only other individual, a temple guard on his patrol, in a corridor that could have held hundreds or more. Granted, the Temple was never that crowded, but it had still felt empty these last few years. The Clone Wars had called so many of their Order into action over its duration, and it had taken great efforts from Kresst to avoid being wrapped up in anything significant. Even then, the missions he could not avoid tended to relate to the Clone Wars in some way. There were few things Kresst despised more than the war, but at the very least, it was seeming to near its end. The Republic’s successes were now far outweighing its failures, and the Confederacy was being pushed back further into the outer rim. Most importantly, all of the Jedi were not needed for the war effort, so Kresst could take on assignments he found much more suitable. This mission in particular hardly related to the war at all, at least not directly. The situation was caused by the war, as some resistance fighters on an outer rim planet had happened to uncover an ancient Sith artifact in some old tunnels they had been using as a hideaway during a Separatist occupation, but Kresst was at least not going on the mission to get into a fight. He was there to help facilitate negotiations to obtain the artifact for safekeeping by the Order.

Finally, Kresst reached the path to the landing pad, though it would probably take him another minute just to cross it at his leisurely pace. As usual for these sorts of missions, they would be taking a Consular-class cruiser to their destination. They were not going to have any sort of armed escort, aside from a squad of clones accompanying them, as they were not anticipating any sort of conflict. With luck, this would just be a mundane negotiation, and Kresst would be able to get back to his research.

[Sep]

Mevenn had once led a very different path. She had always shown an aptitude for lightsaber combat, as well as the finer intricacies of the Force. She had always been destined to become a Guardian, she never wanted to sit in the temple as a scholar. She felt it was her job to be out there in the Galaxy doing the good that the Jedi were destined to do. So when she passed her Trial of Knighthood near the start of the Clone Wars she had leapt into action. She had been assigned to the 414th Clone Battallion, who had not yet having a Jedi General and throughout the war she had traversed the Galaxy venturing into conflicts throughout the Outer Rim.

Now the council has reassigned her and a small team of her clone troopers to protect some scholar from the temple on a mission to some backwater world that had already been freed from Separatist occupation. Were there pockets of Separatist Resistance? Trouble with fighting among the survivors? No.

Instead they had apparently found some old Sith Relic from thousands of years ago, and the Jedi council were getting themselves in a fuss about it. The council said this would be a nice 'easy' mission to get her head on straight, her choice to wear modified Clone armour rather than robes was chastised by her own master let alone the council. She sighed as she broke her meditationa s she felt Mach approach. Standing up as the door hissed open Mevenn smiled at the friendly face of a Clone.

Identical in appearance to eachother, she knew the difference. Their presence in the Force, the way they held themselves and even the way they spoke was different. "What's going on Mach?"

"Ships ready to depart General. The Jedi we're escorting has reached the landing pad, I figured you'd want to go greet him personally." She sighed, part of her was tempted to don the helmet she had sitting in the corner of the room. Not that she often found use for it, but it was a nice gift from her unit after their first operation together on Sullust.

"I suppose I should. He's probably some stuffy old master who rarely leaves the temple." She sighed as she unclipped the blaster holster from her hip and threw it into the corner beside the helmet. Not many Jedi carried a sidearm, the Lightsaber was the symbol of the Jedi after all. Why would they need a Blaster? Though she had learned over time that the ability to have increased range was beneficial in a fight. She could sit and take out droids without having to get too close and personal and put herself at increased risk. Walking through the hallways of the small ship, Mach picked up his helmet and donned it on the journey. 'War Machine' written on the side in Aurabesh.

She wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten the nickname, all he would tell about it was that he had gained it during training and that was that.

Walking down the ramp she smiled as she approached the diminuative avain Jedi, Mevenn was convinced she had probably seen him lurking around the archives before. "Greetings Master. I'm Mevenn-" she gestured towards the clone beside her. "-This is Captain Mach. We're to be your escort for the mission. So, you ready to go?"

[EliteCommander]

Kresst, while not the most sociable of Jedi on his own time, was at least capable of being professional. Even friendly. He might have even smiled, if he would have had the physical ability to make that expression. "Yes, thank you. You can...just call me Kresst. From your...demeanor, I think it is safe to assume you have seen to everything being ready for our departure." He commented. Just from his first impressions of Mevenn, he took her as being a more "military-oriented" Jedi. The armor gave that away rather strongly. Kresst could write volumes about why he felt that it was a horrible idea for any Jedi to fully embrace that kind of a mentality, but at the very least, it likely meant that she was a professional. She had probably showed up at the landing pad an hour early, performed three separate security sweeps of the ship, and mind-wiped all of the droids.

As a courtesy, Kresst picked up his pace as they moved into the ship, expecting that she did not want to wait for him to stroll up the loading ramp. "Were you and your squad given the full explanation of what we will be doing?" Kresst asked. "I would think so, but it is never really wise to assume competence among the bureaucracy, now is it?" He chuckled.

Kresst had his eyes on the clones, as they did on him. They had been the core fixture of the military since the beginning of the war, and unquestionably valuable for safeguarding the Republic, but he still could not help but to have some pity for them. They were not droids, they were organics. People. It was true that they would not even exist if the Republic was not paying to create them, but the fact that they were still fighting without choice seemed far too close to slavery in his mind. Just one of the many reasons he had always wanted to avoid the war.

[Sep]

Mevenn smiled as she turned, powering ahead just assuming that Kresst would keep pace. They didn't have time to waste after all, she wanted to get this mission done so she could get onto far more important things. Dooku was dead, killed above Coruscant and the Separatist alliance was on the back foot, as agents scoured the Galaxy to look for General Grevious who was now the leader of the droid army. Find Grevious and the rest of the Separatists and the war could finally be brought to an end. She just hoped that she could be apart of it, then ocne the peace was restored to the Galaxy the Jedi could go about their standard job of maintaining it.

Maybe she could finally try and go down a different path, what that path was now she didn't know. Despite the short time of the war she found it hard to think of a life outside of the war, throughout her childhood it had all been leading up to the War until it's inevitable eruption. Now she would soon have to think about what she would do after the war. She'd stay with Mach and the rest of the squad, if she could. They had been through so much together and she'd want to help them in whatever came next, and maybe eventually help them transition into civillian life.

Four more clones awaited them as they arrived in the main seating area of the ship. Patcher - The Medic sat playing Sabaac with Trio and Ace while Hotshot who was the newest to the group appeared to be polishing his weapon. They all stood at attention when the two Jedi entered with Mach. Mevenn merely waved it off as she turned her attention back to the other Jedi.

"We've not had a chance to go over the full mission briefing. On our way here we were called to assist at Scarif, there was a Separatist incursion there."

"Not that we got to do much."

"Cool it Hotshot." The voice told a story between that of Hotshot and Mach. Machs was authoritative and held weight to it. Weight of years, battles lost. Whereas the voice of Hotshot seemed fresh and new, with a level of naivity that he appeared to hold over the others.

Mevenn raised her hand at both of them, before continuing to speak. "Apparently some resistance fighters found what could be a Sith artifact out on Belkaden. You're to go see what it is, we're to make sure that no Seps mess with you. Sound about right?" Her tone was that of a veteran. This wasn't her first day, she knew the mission and she would conduct it professionally. She felt like this was a joke, she was essentially babysitting a Jedi who was at least ten years her senior. Surely he knew enough to keep himself safe, and didn't need her to look after him.

[EliteCommander]

Kresst had mostly been joking about the bureaucracy, though there was not much more to this “mission” than what Mevenn already knew. He paused a moment and took the time to climb himself up into one of the seats. It was quite evidently not designed to seat one of his size, though it was still far more comfortable than the floor.

“It’s not much more complicated than that, correct. If I am being honest, you all can probably consider this assignment a vacation. The chance of the Separatists coming anywhere close to the system, let alone the planet, are slim to none, especially after that battle above Coruscant. They’re pretty much on the run. I don’t personally think it’s necessary to even have an escort, but, well, I suppose it is still technically wartime. Their reasoning is at least present.” Kresst replied. He did not expect that the clones would be happy about being given an easy assignment while they still had brothers out fighting the enemy, but he supposed it was possible, albeit unlikely, that Mevenn might appreciate the chance to avoid fighting. Most Jedi would, but he did not know her well enough to say.

[Sep]

Mevenn waved a hand at Kresst. "We don't need an assignment that is a vacation, the war going on we have more important things to be doing right now." No doubt Kresst could sense Mevenns agitation, it rolled off her. She just wanted to get this mission over and done with so that she could get back to the more important issues at hand. If she could be the one to find and finish Grevious. That would have been her way in order to become a Master and recognition throughout the order. Maybe then her former master would stop harping on about her choice of attire. As if it was the most important thing going on right now.

Mevenn nodded to Ace who sighed and threw down his cards before moving off to the cockpit to fire up the engines in order to have them underway. "So, fancy seeing you're quarters? The trip to Belkaden isn't exactly short, and you may want to stay aboard when we reach Belkaden. Just for safety reasons of course. I don't think they've set up a Garrison yet-" She turned to Mach who shook his head. "-Yeah they've not set up a Garrison yet on Belkaden so there could still be some Separatist unrest on the planet."

[EliteCommander]

"Yes, please." Kresst replied with a nod. "I am sure that whatever is available on the ship will be suitable. I do not require much, in either space or amenities. All that I prefer to have is a chance for privacy."

Kresst started to stand, but the soldiers around him, and the talk of their "mission", did bring up some thoughts in his mind about their assignment. He usually was not terribly enthused about most of his assignments, but in this case, he was just as motivated as the Jedi Order to actually successfully recover the Sith artifact. It was easy enough for him to gain access to Jedi relics to study, but anything pertaining to the Sith fell under far more scrutiny. As a Jedi historian and scholar, he did have some "legitimate" reasons for some access to them, but it was never enough for his purposes.

"There is one...comment I would like to make, though." Kresst added. "I have done my research on the Belkadans. These former resistance fighters, they are a people who greatly value their history, traditions, and customs. It is actually one of the greatest reasons they opposed the Separatists, despite having little to no connection to the Republic. They saw the Separatists and their demands as a threat to their culture. However, they also seem to view this Sith relic they have found as being part of their history as well. It was found on their planet, in one of their lost ruins, so it is a reasonable conclusion for them to make. Most today do not know what the Sith are, or were. We will need to be cautious in negotiations to avoid being seen as threatening them, just as the Separatists did. We need to be patient with them, and I would prefer not to meet their representative in the company of armed soldiers. Perhaps do not wear that armor, or at least hide it well under a robe."

[Sep]

Mevenn practically pouted as the Jedi once again, like many others told her that her attire wasn't appropriate for a member of the Jedi Order. She had seen some scantily clad Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights throughout the years, that didn't exactly promote the best of the Jedi Order. She sighed as the ship rocked taking off from the platform heading through the designated travel lines on it's way into space. "The armour protects me from blastershots, which is always a possibility on a planet that is as chaotic as Belkaden is right now. I'll wear a cloak but I'm not going to take the armour off until peace is restored throughout the Galaxy."

She extended her hand and a mug of caf flew out of Machs hand and into hers. "Hey!" She smirked looking over at him.

"You should know better by now Mach, you make a great cup of Caf." He grumbled at the smirk she cast his way as he went about making himself another mug. Taking a sip she turned back to Kresst as she signalled for him to follow her. Mevenn set a slower pace to let Kresst keep up at a comfortable pace. "At the end of the day, me and my squad have left the rest of the 414th behind to keep you and whatever this artefact is safe. Surely they can understand the need for increased security. Though, in the end if you wish for them to remain at the ship that is your call, Master." Instead of bowing her whole upper torso she merely relegated the movement to a slight tip of the head.

Mevenn hit a button opening a door. Opening the door to her room, helmet and blaster in the corner. Various other pieces of equipment lay around the room. "This is my quarters, if I'm not here I'll either be in the common room or sparring in the hold with a remote or a trooper. If you want to spar at any point just let me know, I'm always down for a little bit of practice. After all practice makes perfect."

She chuckled closing the door as she walked across the hall and opened the door. There was a veritable amount of dust as she opened the door to another set of quarters. "This will be yours, sorry for the mess it's not been used for a while. The Clones all stay in one room at the end of the hall if you need them, but one will always be on duty in the cockpit. Anything you need before you get settled?"

[EliteCommander]

"I did not say that they necessarily need to remain on the ship, just that they should not be present in the meeting itself. Regardless of whether or not I agree with the...need for security, I understand you and your men just want to fulfill your assigned role. Just think of this as something of a...stealth or infiltration mission." Kresst remarked with a light chuckle as they were walking through the halls of the ship. "They need to be close enough to provide assistance in the unlikely event something goes wrong, without drawing too much attention to themselves. For the most part, we just need to avoid threatening, or appearing to threaten, the locals. When the Separatists tried to intimidate them into joining their cause, they responded with a planet-wide resistance movement. That may be one reason I was assigned to this task; to the uninformed, I am as non-threatening as one can be."

Kresst showed little in the way of a reaction to his quarters. While perhaps not as comfortable or arranged to his liking as his quarters in the Jedi Temple, he was not bothered by a layer of dust. They were flying to the outer rim, so there would be a decent amount of travel time, but he still doubted this assignment would last long enough to worry about the particulars of his quarters. He saw that there was a comfortable place to sit, and it was quiet enough for him to meditate, so he needed little else. "I think I will be quite all right, thank you. I expect I will be spending much of my time meditating. I would appreciate relative silence near my quarters, but I can deal with having distractions if need be. Should you desire to train your force techniques, you will know where to find me. After all, practice makes...consistent."

[Sep]

Mevenn shrugged. "You're choice, I would say however if you haven't been out in the war I would recommend joining me for evening practice. There's a lot of different techniques that you may find useful, in terms of training with the Force... I have a knack for... explosions that isn't really suited for testing on a ship. I'm not really sure how I managed to figure out the ability to make things blow up with the Force. It's pretty useful on a battlefield though." She chuckled slightly. "I managed to damage a tank pretty heavily once, not completely but it saved my backside so that's something."

She turned around "Dinner is at half six." With that she turned and walked out the door.

[EliteCommander]

Once they parted ways, Kressed headed inside his squarters and climbed up onto the bed. It was much larger than what he used back on Coruscant, but at least it was not uncomfortable for him. He sat down, then pulled out the pouch he carried under his robe to retrieve his camera. He set it to record, then hovered it in front of himself with the Force. "I will need to show at least some restraint with these journal entries; I do not have too many storage drives with me. But, at any rate, it seems even the battle of Coruscant was not enough to stop this assignment. I suppose I had been avoiding them for too long. The escort I have been given are professionals, which will hopefully extend to their sense of subtlety during negotiations. I have prepared my knowledge of Belkadan history as much as I can, though in truth, there is not much there to research. It is, and has always been, a minor footnote in galactic affairs. Its population in small and insular, and I highly doubt they will be willing to open themselves up to the Republic more than they already have. Before the war, the Republic mostly ignored the planet, much like the rest of the outer rim, but the natives were perfectly happy with that arrangement. I will just need to focus the conversation on the artifact itself. Unfortunately, we have not been given a detailed nor consistent enough description of the artifact to know precisely what it is. They did not even describe its size other than the fact that 'it can be held in the hand.' I think it is most likely a holocron, though, which at least makes it less likely that they will accidentally activate it. Still, that would not be something that should be in their possession..."

Kresst, as usual, recorded his thoughts for quite some time, albeit less frequently during their voyage to the outer rim. It was not as long of a trip as it could have been, since Belkadan was not too far off of the Hydian Way. Still, it took days for them to finally enter the system. During that time, Kresst was not terribly sociable with the other passengers on the ship, even his fellow Jedi. He did not avoid them, and was polite on the occasions where they did speak, but he mostly kept to himself when given the choice. He did not take Mevenn up on her offer of sparring, nor did she join him for meditation. The times they did meet were usually to discuss the specifics of how Mevenn's squad should conduct themselves during the negotiations, and once for Kresst to complain about the rookie of her squad making too much noise near his quarters.

Upon landing on Belkadan, Kresst had already been prepared to leave for hours, though he still was not the first one to meet in the common room. The planet was heavily forested and lightly populated by mostly Humans, and now that the loading ramp was presumably lowered, Kresst could feel the humidity even inside the ship. They had not landed at a proper settlement, but rather, just outside one of the local resistance bases. From Kresst's understanding, the artifact was on-site, so they hopefully would not need to remain for too long.

"Well, I am ready to begin if the rest of you are. Do you feel there is anything we should address before we go meet the welcoming party, Mevann?" Kresst asked.

[Sep]

Mevenn had spent the majority of time training, honing her skills. Kresst had offered to help guide her in meditation, she was far calmer and far more centred when moving through a variety of lightsaber forms. The movement helped her concentrate, helped her find her peace. Sitting still, closing your eyes and just thinking about the world just didn't do it for her anymore. She had once understood it, it had come naturally to her but as the war went on and changed the galaxy at a hole it had changed her too. She had once been faced with the prospect of a very different path. She had once been destined for a path very similar to that of Kresst, she didn't doubt that there was no real going back for her.

Mevenn had even contemplated leaving the Jedi Order, she believed in the methods the Jedi had at their disposal. There was no doubt about that, but sometimes the code that kept the more violent and undisciplined members of the order in check also limited the Jedi like her. If the Council truly separated themselves from the Military and shut themselves off after the war, she wouldn't remain with them. She couldn't.

The rest of the trip was pretty standard, they had all had a laugh when Kresst had chastised Hotshot for making too much noise near his quarters. They claimed like it was being back on Kamino with curfew and quiet hours. They had deserved a little R&R, and it was a little disappointing that Kresst didn't see that because he needed complete and utter silence in order to meditate. Eventually they reached Belkaden, which was a relief. Getting the co-ordinates for the artefact Ace brought them down outside of a resistance camp. The ramp descended as the welcoming committee approached. Pistol strapped to one hip, lightsaber to another Mevenn looked around the squad. "Mach, you're with me and Kresst. We'll go speak to the welcoming committee. Hotshot, you and Patcher stay inside the ship incase anything goes south. Ace and Trio, you secure the ramp and keep our backs covered."

As Kresst entered Mevenn turned to face him. "The important thing is that we get in and out as quick as possible to secure the artefact. There could still be Separatist activity on the planet, and even anti-Republic sentimentality between resistance members. You handle the negotiations, I'll handle the security."

[EliteCommander]

Kresst returned a nod towards Mevenn. "I can certainly agree with wanting to be through with this quickly, but...be prepared to be patient. And be particularly patient with the locals. Some of them may not like us, but that does not mean they will be violent as long as we show that we are here peacefully. Now, let us go, and try not to put your weapons on too much of a display."

Without further delay, Kresst walked down the ramp ahead of Mevenn and the clone, setting the pace for the both of them. The outpost at which they had landed was situated within the dense jungles, and it was difficult to get a clear view of the sky above through the trees. The heat was sweltering, which, for the Humans at least, was only worsened by the humidity. The purpose of the outpost was unquestionable, considering that it was both well-defended, and well-hidden. Even from their landing area, they could see multiple entrenched heavy blasters, covered from above in foliage to make them even more difficult to spot from the sky. The main buildings of the outpost were prefabricated structures that had been quickly put together on-site, with yet more tents and other primitive structures surrounding them. Naturally, their landing area was surrounded with armed resistance members, but the demeanor of the majority of them were not particularly threatening. Likewise, the man who step forward towards the ramp to greet them was polite, and did not even appear to be armed. Although, he did not waste too much time with pleasantries.

"Greetings, master Jedi. Shall I take you to our captain right away?" The Human asked, after giving a slight, respectful bow. Although the locals were strongly independent by their culture, there was still some recent goodwill between them and the Republic. They were still allies, after all, so the negotiations would not immediately be an uphill battle. Kresst just knew enough of their culture to realize that the situation could change alarmingly quickly if they made any mistakes, and any of the friendliness that the locals were currently showing could disappear in an instant.

"Yes, thank you. We appreciate your hospitality." Kresst replied, following behind the Human.

[Sep]

Mevenn followed at a respectable distance from Kresst and the Captain who had been sent to great them as he lead them towards what she assumed was the command centre. As instructed Ace and Trio walked to the bottom of the ramp and then remained there, scanning the surrounding area for the visible and hidden weapons that were trained on them and their ship. It was a true resistance base, there was no outright wall that destroyed trees that would make it easily visible from the air. There were spread out weapon encampments, they weren't spread at even and identifcal intervals but instead they were placed in a way that made it hard to predict one emplacmenets position based on that of the others. It was all very guerilla warfare, she had seen it before. Some worlds had decided to resist the Separatist invasions without calling for Republic aid, wishing to remain neutral and on those worlds the Jedi had often been sent in to help set up resistance movements. The brainchild of Anakin Skywalker.

She followed the human as she lead them into what could have been some form of Research Centre before the resistance members had moved in and made it their base of operations. Standing at in the centre of the room surrounded by aliens of varying species was an Alien she didn't recognise. He was obviously the centre of attention and as such likely the commanding officer. Mevenn bowed respectfully to him, as Mach offered a salute. They didn't say anything, she was too busy scanning the exits and the guards. Four exits, each had two guards and almost everyone in the room carried a sidearm. These were people who were used to trouble, if things kicked off it would be a task for all three of them to get out of here alive. Especially if kresst was behind on his lightsaber exercises.

The being turned to them and spoke in a rough, deep voice. "So. You're the Jedi who want our artefact?" He picked up a cigarra and stuck it in his mouth. "You know. There's not been life on this planet long, a couple of minor colonies. We're just starting to have people born who call this planet their homeworld, and then you Jedi want to come and take an artefact that may suggest there was once life on this planet. So you're brought to the negotiating table with me. What is it and why do you want it?"

[EliteCommander]

The Captain was, obviously, getting straight to the point, and foregoing some of the pleasantries that they had been greeted with. Kresst, being the least threatening of the group, aimed to keep the attention on himself rather than his allies. He stepped up and climbed his way into a chair at the table in the center of the room, and remained both calm and friendly in his tone in his reply to the Captain. "It is the dangerous sort of artifact, I'm afraid. We would not wish to take it from your possession if that was not the case. Based on the descriptions I was given, it is an ancient relic of one of our past enemies: a sect of dark force users. Their relics tend to be imbued with their dark power, and can bring great harm to those around them. Not to mention, they can make anyone who possesses them into a target for those who seek to abuse that power. It is the intention of the Jedi Order to take the relic for safekeeping, as we have experience containing and protecting these sorts of artifacts. We can provide a fair sum of Republic credits to compensate for any inconvenience, of course."

Kresst paused for just a moment before adding one more addendum to his statement. "Though, it is true that all of this is based on the description I was given of what you uncovered. If I can see the relic, or, if you are not comfortable with that, at least an image of it, then I can positively identify if it is indeed what we have been assuming. If it is not a dangerous relic, then we can safely leave it in your care. Otherwise, I will be able to answer whatever questions you might have about it."

[Sep]

The captain chuckled, and his whole body seemed to shake with the effort. Meanwhile Mevenn was already bored of negotiations. She wanted something to happen, something interesting. Why she needed to be here, she didn't know. It seemed like a pretty straightforward negotiation to her. She shifted her head slightly as she felt something cold calling towards her. She turned to look at Mach, who seemed unfazed by whatever it was she was sensing. Shrugging it off she turned back to the negotiation just as a door at the back of the room opened to reveal a large block of rock with a metallic sheen to the outside of it. Carbon scoring littered the outside of it, where it had been shot and where they had apparently attempted to cut it open.

"We found it in some form of pyramid temple underground. The reason you were called was because we found a couple of lightsabers littering the area." He moved some papers on the table, revealing some extremely rusted lightsabers, they looked ancient. Ornate hilts and long lost designs. She almost wanted to move over and try one of them, her own lightsaber was an older design. Dual-Phase, two crystals. With a flip of a switch she could change the length and girth of her blade in the middle of a fight. She hadn't fought against anyone with a saber, and merely a handful of melee combatants but it was useful in a pinch.

"What did you try? Blowing it open?" The being turned it's gargantuan head towards her and eyed her with disdain before turning back to Kresst.

"Do you always let this female child ask questions? Or do you usually have her in check?" Her hand clenched into a fist. Big man, felt he was the best thing to enter the Galaxy because he took out a couple of droids. She'd seen war, and he doubted her skill?

[EliteCommander]

Kresst remained calm with an outward peaceful demeanor, despite his irritation with Mevann's interjection. He held his hand up towards her, as if to order her to back down. "Indeed, I am sure you know how excitable the youth can be. She is loyal and dedicated to her cause, though, much like your men. Sometimes, we need that kind of fire to stand up against threats like the Separatists. But, I digress."

Pausing a moment, Kresst seemed to look more closely at the relics at the back of the room, though he did not move from where he was sitting. He did not need to see the minor details to recognize the shadow that the relic cast through the force. The larger issue, obviously, was the fact that the object seemed to be contained within some sort of dark side-imbued stone structure. "Yes...that is indeed genuine. I can feel it reaching out to me, but this stone structure...I did not expect it. I believe there is something within it, perhaps a holocron or some other important Sith relic, but the stone itself is also imbued with the dark side. This is a most interesting discovery, I have to say; I have never seen anything quite like it in person. It has obviously shown itself resistant to physical damage, so it is likely meant to protect whatever is contained within. An ancient safe, perhaps? Simply fascinating. My first instinct would be that the key lies with the force itself, but I am not sure what exactly I would need to do. But you say you found this in a temple underground..."

Kresst's voice trailed off as his mind began to run through his knowledge of ancient Sith lore. He climbed down from his chair and stepped somewhat closer to the relic, though still keeping a respectful distance. "I propose an exchange. You wish to understand the history of your new home, but a force user is required to open this relic without completely destroying whatever it protects. If I can examine the temple you discovered, I may be able to figure out how to unlock it. I can record and copy anything I discover about the temple and the relic, if we can open it, for your records, while we take the relic itself for safekeeping afterwards. You will be able to build out your understanding of your planet's history, and we will be able to prevent the relic itself from causing any potential harm. And I am only referring to the stone and whatever it is protecting, of course. The lightsabers are not nearly as dangerous, ironically. Despite being weapons strongly associated with force-users, they are ultimately just pieces of technology with a minor connection to the force. Fancy laser swords. I would not recommend trying to repair or reactivate them, given their age. They could malfunction. But, you can keep them with no arguments from me."

[Sep]

Kresst didn't even defend her, all he said was that she had her place in all of this. She let out a frustrated grunt before turning around and storming out of the command centre. Machs helmet shifted between Kresst and the door Mevenn left out of before he decided that if Mevenn was gone that his duty was to remain with Kresst. Mevenn just couldn't stand to be in that room any longer, it was ridiculous. She got sent on this stupid mission while there was a war going on, and then got insulted by someone who felt he was a big deal because he had shot at a couple of idiotic droids.

Mevenn could feel the cold still, at first she believed it was the darkside emanating from the object but this was something else. Something different. Something was coming. "Hotshot, you picking up anything?" She didn't let him respond to the call before she started talking. This was important, whatever it was.

Meanwhile the Captain smirked as Mevenn walked out of the room. He grabbed a flask of something and handed it to the small being, its scent decidedly alcoholic. "Women. You know as well as I do that they don't have a place in the theater of war. Too hot headed." He took a swig from his own flask. "I'll show you to the ruins. You and that-" he pointed at the trooper as he clipped one of the lightsaber to his belt "-droid thing of yours at least." Mach shifted uncomfortably but didn't move from where he stood, didn't say anything. Instead he just stood there, still and watching.

The Captain signalled to Kresst as he turned and took a stride out of the opposite exit that Mevenn had used, hopping into a nearby speeder and looking over at the Jedi and Clone. "You coming?"

[EliteCommander]

Kresst made no comment towards Mevann, nor towards the Captain's comments. What was important here was the goal of claiming the Sith relic, not winning over a moral argument with the Captain. Mevann could still perform her role securing the area, and Kresst could hopefully come to an agreement more quickly with the Captain without her. Kresst, for the moment, simply gave a chuckle as he looked to the flask. "I'm afraid I will have to save the drinking for after we are done. I weigh less than twenty kilograms, and I'm sure you would be able to drink me under the table by halfway through the first round." He commented. It was not exactly true, given a Jedi's ability to deal with toxins, but it was a convenient enough statement for now.

Kresst motioned for the clone, Mach, to follow him. "Come, come. Hopefully we shall not be too long. I know your commander will likely want us to get back soon."

Following the Captain's lead, Kresst made a quick leap up into the speeder in an effort to pick up the pace. The Captain might not have been the most respectable of individuals, but he was currently being receptive enough to Kresst himself that he felt they would be able to go through with their agreement once Kresst had the relic open. Hopefully, there would be enough surviving inscriptions in the temple to discern the nature of the stone vault. He could read even ancient dialects of most languages that the Sith might have used.

[Sep]

Mevenn looked up towards the sky as she heard a speeder head off in the opposite direction out of camp. She sighed as there was a boom above her head. Looking up she saw several objects streaking through the sky. She broke into a sprint towards the cruiser as she recognised the distinctive shape of the sheathipede-class transport shuttles. The Separatists had come again, and by the angle of their descent they were coming straight for this camp. They knew that there was an artefact here and they wanted it. A slight smile broke onto her face, not only did this mean that this artefact was something worth having if the Separatists wanted it.

It gave her something to do, and after the long trip here she was just itching to stretch her limbs. As she ran over to the ramp she signalled for the clones to follow her aboard, running into the vessel she reached her hand as she passed the open door to her room and her helmet threw into her hand. Pulling it over her head she clicked on her comms as she sent out a message to Mach. "Mach just a heads up, we got Separatists inbound. We'll hold them off from the ship. You need to get into that temple and find out how to get the artefact quickly so we can get it out of here before more turn up." She activated the hologram in the common room of the ship looking at the collection of four shuttles.

"From the size of the ships there'll probably be around thirty or forty Separatist units. We'll be able to keep the camp safe, it won't take me too long to deal with them. Mevenn, out."

She turned to Hotshot. "There's a shield generator in the bay. Take it to the camp and turn it on, it'll stop the Separatists from taking out our ship or any gun emplacements from the air. Ace, I want you in the highest vantage point you can find, call out targets and take shots when you're ready." she turned to Patcher. "I need you in reserve, the resistance fighters aren't trained and we may need a good medic. Stay on the ship and use the cannons as artillery, once Ace spots the landing site try and take out their shuttles. That'll take away their air superiority."

Trio shouldered his rotary cannon while looking straight at her. "What about me General?"

"Co-ordinate with the resistance leaders, try and make them as effective a fighting force as you possibly can."

"and you?"

A smile crossed her face beneath her helmet. "Me? I'm going straight at them."

---

The Captain sped them towards a nearby hillock as the shuttles entered the atmosphere. Mach spoke up once he got the call, turning to Kresst as he did so. "General. We got Separatists Shuttles inbound, should we turn around?"

The Captain meanwhile just shook one of his gargantuan hands, practically making the whole speeder wobble. "I'm sure between the female and my people the Separatists will be dealt with soon enough. Don't you think we should focus on the matter at hand, Master Jedi?"