Fandom Star Wars: Tainted Alliance (IC)

Darrian_Gabriel · Jul 28, 2021

Nar Shadda, perhaps the most feared, crime ridden and notorious moon in the known galaxy. Every vile bit of treachery, extortion and violence that the criminal underworld had to offer could be found within it's vast and sprawling urban slums. On the far side of the moon, within the hellish East Districts, an elicit deal between two shadowy parties was taking place. On the upper levels of the Glam Trinkets nightclub and brothel, a slim and gangly Rodian, stood flanked by three hulking guards, all carrying intimidating blaster rifles at the ready. This is Voldrik Kyvan, a well known black market dealer who owned several casinos and brothels on several different planets. Kyvan stood confident as he owned the Glam Trinkets in which the back alley transaction was taking place. One of the guards places a large metallic container on a table in front of them. The container glowed with almost a radioactive sheen through portholes on the side. Across from the table, a phantom like wraith, completely obscured by a black robe and hood, stood silent and brooding.

"Here are the parts you ordered my lord Mahaliel. I must say, even for a Rodian with my connections, this was not easy to acquire."

"That'll cost you four hundred thousand credits...as agreed." says one of the guards.

The shadowy figure across the table tosses a large satchel into view and it lands with a thud onto the table. Kyvan retrieves the satchel and digs one of his scaly hands into the bag, pulling out lumps of credit tokens.

Kyvan laughs "Always a pleasure doing business with such an esteemed Sith Lord such as yourself." he says as he tosses the satchel to one of his guards "Now is there anything else I can do for you, perhaps interest you in a lovely Twilek or Zeltron companion for the night? Any species you desire is yours for the asking."

The figure just menacingly stares out from beneath his hood and waves Kyvan off dismissively.

"Very well, I have more business to attend to on the lower levels, Dimitri here can see you out." Kyvan says as he addresses a second guard "Boltan, put that deposit in one of the deck safes, I'll attend to it later."

Boltan nods with a grin and begins to walk out of the room, when a laser bolt from out of nowhere strikes the guardsman directly in his midsection..he lets out a yelp of agony and his body goes flying back, the satchel full of credits spilling onto the ground. The front doors to the upper level smash inward in a blinding barrage of laser fire as dozens of heavily armed mercenaries flood into the room. Kyvan scoops the fallen bag of credits off the ground and begins to flee.

"They must be Sarthian's goons, how did they find me so quickly?" he screams as he exits in the melee and confusion.

The Rodian manages to find his way to the lower levels and continues to flee out an exit that leads to a dark alley adjacent to the Glam Trinkets. For a brief moment, Kyvan thinks he has successfully evaded capture, until the distinct hum of a lightsaber can be heard mere inches away. Kyvan freezes in his tracks and slowly starts to turn around...but before he can turn to face the threat, a red lightsaber slices down, gruesomely detaching the Rodian's right arm from the rest of his body. Kyvan howls in pain and drops to his knees, clutching at his now smoldering stump. In shock and terror, he slowly looks up to see another frightening phantasm draped in a black hood and robe. Out of the darkness steps forth one Darth Tragedis, his demonic like glowing eyes peering from the shadows, his lightsaber blade resting almost serenely at his side. He steps a few paces closer to the grievously injured Rodian, staring down, his face adorned with several tribal tattoos enunciating his status as a malignant Sith Lord.

"Hello Kyvan, I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." says Tragedis, his voice mockingly calm and casual.

"Please Lord Tragedis, I beg of you! Tell Sarthian I have his money, I was just on my way to delivering it!" screams Kyvan.

"Your over thirty solar days delinquent in your payment dear Kyvan. You know how Sarthian hates to be kept waiting."

"Please, I'll do anything..." pleads Kyvan.

In a show of absent minded cruelty, Tragedis begins to pat the Rodian's head with his black gloved hand, the way a master would groom a loyal pet "Sadly Voldrik, Sarthian has deemed you too much of a liability. Besides, you had to have known that this was to be your ultimate fate."

Green tears begin to flow from the stricken Rodian's black eyes "I'll give you anything! Money, women, holdings, property...just name it!"

Tragedis grins with sinister glee "How's that old saying go...ahhh yes. Be it too little, be it too late."

Back on the upper level of The Glam Trinkets, Sarthian's mercenaries have decimated most of the occupants of the club, many of them looting whatever goods they can find. Several of the mercs help themselves to the plethora of exotic and beautiful brothel girls literally everywhere. However there is one denizen who has not gone down so easily. Mahaliel, the shadowy figure in which Kyvan was first doing business, stands stoically in the corner, seemingly not bothered one bit by the chaos going on around him. In fact, he has killed a good number of the mercs that dared to come near him. One of Sarthian's top henchmen, a Mandalorian bounty trooper named Kato Dass and several of his men engage in a tense stand off with Darth Mahaliel. Suddenly a severed head comes bouncing into the room, momentarily breaking the tension. The morbid appendage, slowly rolls into the light, revealing it to be the decapitated cranium of Voldrik Kyvan.

"So much for that..." says Dass beneath his helmet.

"Indeed Dass...round up your men and let's get off this decrepit rock. Our business here is finished." says Tragedis as he strides into the room.

"I'm afraid it ain't that simple gunner. We gotta little problem." says Dass as he points to Mahaliel in the corner "Bastard took out five of my best jockeys!"

Tragedis squints slightly as he immediately recognizes the other Sith Lord "Well, well, well...Lord Mahaliel. What brings the likes of you out to the scum wastes of Nar Shadda?"

"So he's one of you aye? Should'a known with all that Force mumbo jumbo he was flailing about with. Listen tell your fellow Slimp or Slith, or whatever you bastards call yourselves, to stand down!" says Dass angrily.

This prompts Tragedis to reach out, violently putting Dass into a Force Choke "Hold your tongue Mandalorian! The next time you dare to besmirch the name of the Sith...I'll happily rip your vocal cords out of your throat, do you understand me!"

Dass struggles to breath against the invisible energy slowly strangling the life out of him as he weakly manages to nod. Tragedis savors the Mandalorian's suffering as he finally relinquishes his Force hold around the mercenary's throat. Dass staggers back, violently coughing to try and regain his breath, being humbled by the Sith Lord.

"Beggin your pardon caps...but you might wanna come and see this!" says another merc, looking out a nearby window.

Tragedis walks up to the other merc and peers out the window. In the far distance, the Sith Lord sees two gigantic ships of an unknown design, both beginning to dominate the tops of the Nar Shadda skyline. Than without warning, one of the ships emits a devastating wave of neon blue energy that incinerates several yards of buildings and structures beneath. The terrified screams of civilians and bystanders could be heard.

"What in the name of the Ancient Sith is that?" asks Tragedis, not recognizing the origin of the hostile craft.

"I don't know, but I ain't stickin around to see what it does when it gets here!" says the merc as he and several others begin to evacuate the brothel.

Tragedis looks down onto the dimply lit roads, to see waves of citizens flooding onto the streets, trying to escape the incoming destruction. The wayward Sith goes over and looks Darth Mahaliel dead in his eye "So what of it Mahaliel...you know anything about this? Furthermore, what are you even doing here?"

K.O.D

AtlannianSpy · Jul 28, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

Nar Shaddaa was home to nearly all of the galaxy's uncountably vast number of evils, Kallade knew this well, but she had sincerely believed until tonight that whatever other crimes might transpire on this cursed moon Mon Calamari Opera would not be one of them. How naïve. It was true that Nar Shaddaa was hardly a bastion of sophisticated culture, but it was full of gangsters with too much money and one of the few things wealthy gangsters enjoyed as much as a acquiring more money was spending it pretending to have class. In that sense it was almost a surprise someone had not built an opera house sooner but it had only been a few years ago that One of the local crimelords had developed a taste for the art on Coruscant and brought it back to Nar Shaddaa in the most ostentatious way possible. The Theatre was an eye searing travesty of gold and crystal. It had been so over ornamented that, much to the chagrin of the sadly dedicated performers, the acoustics in the place were actually rather poor, in her seat near the back of the theatre Kallade almost couldn't hear the performance at all, mercifully.

It wasn't that Kallade had no appreciation whatsoever for Mon Calamari art; their literature was beautiful and evocative and even some of the more restrained poetry works were good. but something about the operatic genre brought out the worst, most self indulgent artistic impulses in the aquatic species. Every Mon Calamari opera Kallade had ever seen had been to had been unnecessarily complex narratively; sung in a warbling, ear piercing pitch and at least two hours too long. Tonight's rendition of The Seahorse Prince was no exception and Kallade was nearing the end of her considerable reserves of patience, hopefully her contact would be arriving soon.

"Ahhh, Lady Runan, you're looking resplendent this evening? Is this seat next to you taken by any chance?" right on queue an elderly Sullustan in a dark set of evening wear made his way over to Kallade's seat, taking the one next to her without waiting for her response.

"Oh this old thing? Just something I threw on," Kallade said, with a thin smile and a dismissive gesture towards her pale, blue evening gown. "Thought I'd leave the robes at home tonight, It's good to see you Mllr"

Mllr Mipo ran a ring of starship chop shops, purchasing prizes taken by pirates or raiders, disassembling them and using the parts to make new ships that were sold on to smugglers or other customers looking to buy ships with no legal records attached to them. This buisness had not only made Mllr rich enough to be able to afford nightly trips out to the Electrum Globe Theatre, it also gave him links to nearly every smuggler on Nar Shadaa, most of whom went to his shops to have their freighters remodelled whenever they were receiving too much attention from the authorities. This technically made the aging Sullustan someone Kallade should really be trying to arrest, but Mip kept his organization mostly clear of direct violence and he had a distaste for slavery and some of the nastier drugs that moved through Nar Shaddaa so he ocasionally provided Kallade with some useful tipoffs.

"Oh I appreciate it," said Mllr, after gesturing towards a nearby waiter to bring him a drink. "Besides looking fantastic it's very considerate of you, it's not so good for my health to be seen meeting with a jedi openly here on Nar Shaddaa,"

"Oh think nothing of it," Kallade said, declining the waiter's attention with a polite shake of her head. "It's mutually beneficial after all, I'd have some difficult questions to answer if I was known to be consorting openly with... well with a man in your line of work. Still as always there are ways we can help each other out and make a the galaxy a brighter place together,"

"I have to admit I usually sleep a little better after our little meetings," said Mllr with a chuckle. "Though it's usually me that contacts you, I hope this isn't about something too dire,"

"Well it's not pleasant," Kallade said, letting her smile fall. "I'm trying to trace back a shipment of deathsticks that made their way onto the market on Hosnian Prime. They were cut with something particularly nasty and there's been several deaths already alongside dozens of hospitalizations,"

Mllr shook his head and sighed heavily. "Ya hate to hear that. I can't say it rings a bell off the top of my head but I can ask around in the usual places, see what my people know,"

"Thank you Mllr, that's all I can ask for," Kallade said sincerely, glancing away from the Sullustan towards the stage where the warbling soprano that had been dragging on through their conversation had died out. "It looks like the intermission is starting, so I'm going to stretch my legs for a bit,"

"Of course, of course," said Mllr, content to keep his seat and finish his drink. "You'll join me again for the second act though?"

"Oh I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kallade said dryly as she stood up and made for the exit. Mllr, detecting the sarcasm in her voice, laughed and his chuckle accompanied Kallade out of the theatre, towards the attached dining room for something to eat.

Darrian_Gabriel

nh1

nh1 · Jul 29, 2021

Collun Lonsar

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

As he moved carefully through the throng of civilians moving towards the various concession stands placed near the edges of the theater, he couldn't help but think back to his circumstances. Everything had been going so well, he had taken a sector torn apart by civil war and anarchy. Blood was running in the streets. Instead, he had taken control and made the sector more prosperous than ever. Sure you could condemn his methods. But what was methods in the face of the such success. Besides, it wasn't like he was robbing systems blind. Or even doing what the old trade federation did forcing the sectors to give up democratic controls both in their votes in the galactic senate and local autonomy in exchange for trade federation protection. No, instead, the corporate sector had simply asked the various systems to buy corporate sector products exclusively in areas where the corporate sector made products.

However, that was all in the past. Too many nights spent wallowing in depression had helped Collun on towards the decision that after decades of having a goal and stable job he was pursuing, he needed something different. It was time to get out and stop wasting away. To that end he liquidated his large estate in the corporate sector, moved his various goods, and robots onto his 890 jump and left. Throughout his time back on the field, he had come back into touch with his old skills. Infiltrating star systems and collecting information on the ground had been extremely fun, in a way he hadn't expected.

At the moment, he was seeking out intelligence on the various movers and shakers in hutt territory. He had a sever distaste for slavery but is was the nature of the corporate sector to seek out information from the its competitors. Since the days of the old republic, Hutt space, and particularly Nar Shadda had been a haven for illegal and highly experimental electronics, cybernetics, and all sorts of bodily modifications. Since his time here, Collun has learned a lot. The Hutts were continuing the old history in providing a haven for those groups seeking to undertake illegal and downright unethical experiments.

During his time here, he has spent time impersonating various hutt enforces, dealers, corporate businessmen, and cybernetic customers. All of which had provided him a bevy of information. Currently, he was posing as a Corellian company manager seeking to expand some business to Nar Shadda and was spending time in the opera to grow a social footprint during his time. None of this prepared him to see a Jedi ducking right in front of him from around a particular corner just towards a dining area. Seeing as she recognized him instantly, with widened eyes. He couldn't pass it off as a mistake. Smiling slightly he moved towards her and decided to play this off as a casual meeting. He could only hope she would play along.

"Miss Runan! I couldn't help but recognize your illustrious presence. It is treat to see you here miss. Your work precedes you. If you wouldn't mind joining me in the dining room for some quick refreshments, I would dearly appreciate you presence."

It was a good move. Jedi were moralizers but they hated civilian casualties. A good tactic was always keep them in populated areas. Keep them from using some of their more extreme tactics. Sadly such a move wouldn't work with Sith. If only the galaxy was simple. Also, after reading through reams of reports direct from the archives, at some point quite a few Jedi could be recognized on sight. Hopefully, he could avert any anger before things went critical. Though he didn't have much hope.

Darrian_Gabriel ,

AtlannianSpy

AtlannianSpy · Jul 29, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

Despite recognizing the older man's face instantly it took Kallade a second longer to put a name to it. "You're Collun Lonsar, from the Corporate Sector" said Kallade, her mouth twisting in a wry expression of humour. "You never can tell who you'll meet on Nar Shaddaa can you?" Truthfully Kallade was surprised not only to bump into Lonsar but that he would make a point of introducing himself and asking for a meeting, tensions between his corporate sector and the Order had more or less ousted him from power. Kallade briefly wondered if this was an assassination attempt but decided it was unlikely: everything Kallade had read about the man suggested he was extremely practical and it was difficult to see what he would have to gain from such a rash move.

Overall Kallade found herself more curious than alarmed, it might be interesting to try and learn what Lonsar had been up to since his early retirement from public life. The jedi master made a show of checking her communicator for the time. "I suppose I have about an hour before the show starts," Kallade said placidly. "And if I get back late, well, I already know how this one ends. Come along, my friend has a table in the reserved section we can borrow," Kallade said, deciding that although an assassination attempt was unlikely it might still be advantageous to control the setting a little bit, Lonsar could choose to keep them in the dining room, but she would pick the table. Without waiting for an answer Kallade turned and lead the way gracefully over to a section of the dining room hemmed off by velvet ropes and guarded by an attendant who waved Kallade through with an expression of recognition.

nh1

nh1 · Jul 29, 2021

Collun Lonsar

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

Ah. He followed closely after her before sitting down across from her at her table. "Its of no concern my friend. If I had wanted to kill you we wouldn't be here now would we? Besides, if its one thing Jedi can do its make if out of seemingly life or death situations. Not my business, I prefer to bet on sure things."

He leaned back and took a look at the woman before sighing. "I suppose it's useless to pretend ignorance. I'm assuming whatever is said is off the record. If you wanted to I suppose you could force me to say anything. hehe. And your testimony in a court of law is much more relevant than mine. So I'll put my cards on the table. I don't know why you're here. But if this is about the scandal. Legally, I did nothing wrong. My lawyers will attest that. However, since you are here, I'm sure you have some questions from your masters. If this is about accepting legal blame, I just can't accept that. But if the order would prefer to play ball, I'm sure I could come up with something useful Miss Runan. I prefer freedom after all."

He glanced to the side. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure how this happened. He had been sure to cover his tracks religiously. Based on rumors, he was sure the order already knew what had happened and how they did it. It was what made him leave after all. Of course, this could be the force at work. Leading the woman to his location despite no intelligence to act upon. It was a theory. Honestly, he hadn't put much into it in his younger years until he had first started infiltrating the order. He was shocked.

It was one thing to be in the right place at the right time. But for an order of monks whose mission reports often read more like holonovels and epic journeys than field reports from quaint do-gooders, it was shocking. So many times, knights could be counted on to have just sensed something or caught something that they had no business knowing about only to then go on to some heroic adventure. It was all to much for him. If there was one thing the corporate sector bet on it was facts. Which competitor is doing what, how were shipping rates influenced by the latest pirate attack, what does the new processor mean for bottom line sales and so on.

Feelings? Definitely beneath the bottom line. However, he wasn't so sure anymore. He could only hope this woman wouldn't see fit to go sifting through his mind. At that thought he began running the last 20 odd years of holoball scores back through his head....

AtlannianSpy

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki · Jul 30, 2021

An few hours before invasion

Lana entered the smog filled atmosphere of Nar Shadda, the sprawling skyscrapers and various bright holograms entering her view. The brightness was almost enough to blind her. She frowned as slowly her eyesight adjusted to the assault of her senses, she hated this moon. It was like Coruscant but any sort of charm or even cleanliness taken out of it, it worst aspect front and centre. She already felt dirty and she hadn't even stepped out of the ship. However it was not just the cleanliness that made her feel dirty, despite her best efforts she could still sensed the force in a place like this. The ripples of violence and suffering. People that needed help and she could do nothing about it.

She sighed and shook her head. Your not a jedi anymore Lana, she thought to herself, the galaxy's problems are no longer yours to short out. She clicked on her ships communicator and soon a human figure appeared on her holo. "I have the cargo as you requested. It was not easy to get through the New Republic borders. They are jumpy now with these sighting of strange ships." She said to the hologram.

"As long as you are here." Her contact said with a smile. Her contact was a middle aged male human, with blond hair and a five a cloak shadow. He smiled but she could tell it was forced, he looked uncomfortable like something was hurting him. "ExGal would not have hired you if it was easy to transport the goods here. ExGel thanks you for your efforts. You are furthering the cause of extragalactic discovery with your little delivery."

The delivery was three cannisters of an unknown liquid from a BioChemical lab. What it was, wasn't her business but she did wonder why a Republic funded organisation would need something smuggled. Best she could guess it was some sort of fuel for their expeditions, still she could not help have a bad feeling about this. "We are sending you coordinates where you can dock." He contact continued. Lana checked her computers.

"Received. Have your credits ready." She replied switching of her communicator and changing course to the landing pad.

K.O.D · Jul 30, 2021

Darth Mahaliel, Sith lord
Glam trinkets Brothel & nightclub

The dark lord sat comfortably in the booth idly watching the patrons as he awaited his product. He was about to grow frustrated until he spotted the familiar Rodian and a grin spread beneath his helmet. Kyvan was quick to take his seat with several others joining him. No pleasantries were exchanged as the men went straight to business with Kyvan commenting about the difficulty of acquiring such parts, the guard reminding the dark lord of the price and missing the scowl the dark lord had due to the mask hiding his face. However he would still need the smuggler for a few more missions so he allowed Kyvans guard to keep his head for the time being. He would hand over the bag of credits as agreed watching as The smuggler dug his hand in the bag and was clearly satisfied. He simply inclined his head as Kyvan complimented him and watched in bemusement as Bolton took the bag to go and deposit it.

A chuckle actually escaped his lips as the Blaster bolt sent Boltan reeling in agony, in the very same moment he began to stand as the Front doors crumpled and from the opening came a storm of blaster fire. In a swift motion Darth Mahaliel grabbed the handle of the container with his right hand and moved it into the booth behind him. A band of mercenaries flooded the room, he thought for a moment that he recognized their insignia but couldn’t care enough to jog his memory, after all such things were irrelevant at the moment. As the men spread out and began blasting and looting any and everyone who seemed even the slightest bit hesitant to hand over everything. As men approached him he eyed them noting body language and stature. The one in the back was jittery and younger while the one in the front was obviously more seasoned. A wicked grin spread over his face once again obstructed by the helmet.

The Younger man wasted no time giving the trigger a squeeze in an attempt to quickly dispatch what he assumed was simply another slum rat. His eagerness was easy to exploit and with a gentle shove on the guns barrel with the force the young man would be stunned and confused to see he had shot his older comrade in the back of the head. Before he could even register what had happened the Sith Lord ruptured the blasters power cell with a force choke, causing it to explode in the young mans hands, removing them from the young man altogether while peppering his face and neck with shrapnel. The altercation had captured the attention of several more mercenaries who turned their attention to the Sith Lord. The two on the left of him moved in first yet Mahaliel distracted them both with a shove of his hand that cast the table at them.

Three more approached from the right only to walk into a storm of searing electricity emanating from the Sith Lords hand. Finally with his back still turned to the two he had distracted with the table he shifted his hand dragging down a large Chandelier onto them with More force than it would have had if it simply fell. By then the attention of several others had fallen on him and found them to far spread out to incapacitate them all easily and quickly. A faint click would be heard as the inside part of his armors left forearm opened and ejected a black and silver rod into the Sith Lords hand. The moment the rod was in his hand a ferocious hum would fill the air as his crimson saber ignited. “Come now you Brave men, allow me to introduce you to Death.”

The Sith never got the opportunity to make his promised introductions however as Kyvans head was tossed in and Tragedis walked into the Room earning a chuckle as he choked his unruly subordinate, for besmirching him. He was about to respond to Tragedis when another of his subordinates told him to check something out. Mahaliel’s interest was piqued when he mentioned the ancient Sith and so he sheathed his saber, grabbed his crate, and proceeded towards the window where he observed the strange craft with a cold analytical gaze. Finally the other Sith Lord turned to face him as the area cleared out and he began to see civilians flooding the streets. “To answer your first question lord Tragedis, no…I’m afraid these ships are unlike any I have ever seen before, and I reckon most will say the same as I am fairly well versed with Ships. As for your second question, Nothing particularly important, just picking up components for a new experiment I am working on…I suggest we return to Korriban, perhaps the archives will enlighten us.” He tapped the side of his helmet and a comm connected to the hemorrhage which was stealth’s in orbit a few hundred kilometers from them. “Mirabella send a Shuttle with a class Three Escort.” A few moments would go by before Mirabella responded with her usual “Yes master.”
~~~
Lady Mirabella, Sith Apprentice
The Hemorrhage, Nar Shadda Low Orbit.

Mirabella’s eyes scanned the poorly lit lab, the Glow of her lightsaber contributing to her ability to see in the dark expanse. Her breathing was even but her heart was thumping with exertion in her chest and a light sheen of sweat coated her skin. It was clear she was tired but far from spent. The hum of a saber igniting behind her let’s her know to whirl around where her saber collides with The Saber of a force hunter droid which has sprung out for cover to attack. With her right hand holding the saber that stopped the droids attack Mirabella cocked her left hand back with a curled fist and drove it forward with inhuman speed. The blow slammed into the droids mid section with a tremendous KRANG and the droid was sent flying backwards at a high rate of speed. Two more sabers ignited at either side of her, to which she responded by igniting the other side of her dual bladed saber and proceeded to endure a flurry of blows from both sides.

With her attention on the duo she didn’t notice the first droid pivot in air and plant it’s feet into the wall it was flying at before springing back towards her. She noticed it’s approach at the last possible moment and leapt upwards wile casting her other two foes blades aside with her own and flipping over the first droid who managed to take a lock of hair where the Sith apprentice once was. Rather than landing however she kicked off the roof to gain even more distance throwing her saber end over end at one of the three drones who had gone to pursue forcing it to backpedal back to the others. Finally her feet touched the ground and she unleashed a mighty maelstrom of force lightening attack the grouped up droids, who responded in kind each unleashing a blast of stored Sith lightning that managed to clash with and match Mirabella’s for a few moments before overwhelming it and forcing her to leap in the air and pull her saber back to her preparing to launch a strike when Mahaliel’s voice echoed through the ships intercom system and she disengaged her saber causing the droids to do the same as their training protocols dictated.

She looked at the droids who had already begun to go off towards the hangar designating themselves as escorts and waiting for the three others and her to join them on the shuttle. Seeing this all going as dictated she simply leaned towards the console and responded with “Yes Master” before she pivoted on her heel and wandered with the droids toward the hanger. As she entered the shuttle she grabbed herself a towel from the decontamination chamber and began to wipe away the sweaty sheen. The Six Force Hunter droids armed themselves with both Blasters and Sabers as a level three escort dictated. “What could Make master need a level three escort…” She mused as she took the shuttles controls and began to head towards the planets surface, her Silent thoughts interrupted but the Droid co-pilot who began listing off the possible level three protocols. “The Question was rhetorical S-9.” she said in a seemingly amused tone.

Darrian_Gabriel

holyman1998 · Jul 30, 2021

Ensign Rekk Derron

On a Viscount-Class Star Defender, Somewhere near Nar Shadda.

A few hours before the invasion

Rekk was at his post, overviewing his section of the spectacularly huge warship. There was not much rest for the Ensign, disturbing reports had come from the outer rim, and the fleet was on high alert. As much as he fatigued at his job, the Orangish, fishy fellow could not let up now. After all, he wanted to be a hero like his father Vickars Derron, or like the legendary Admiral Ackbar; one of his childhood idols. He could close his eyes and think back to his childhood; intensely training for his future career in the republic navy while preparing a report about the battle of Endor for his history class at the same time.

But alas, he cannot keep his eyes closed for but a blink, for an officer must stay vigilant. Pirates, Criminals, Sith lords; He never knew what could come next. All of a sudden, a greenish Quarren tapped on his shoulder, his friend from back on Mon Cala. As Rekk turned to meet his old pal, the Quarren grabbed his eyes with his squid-like hands. "Ensign Grekks! You can't sneak up on me like that! Let me go before I get an MP!" Rekk struggled. The Quarren let go and walked around to meet him eye to eye. "Sorry, Ensign Derron, I was just trying to be friendly." Rekk sighed, slightly pinching his own nose in frustration. "This isn't downtime, and this especially isn't the academy. I thought the instructors drilled that humor out of you." Grekks sighed, returning to his post across the room.

AtlannianSpy · Jul 31, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

"I think there's been some mistake Mr. Lonsar, my visit to Nar Shaddaa has nothing to do with you," Kallade said, casually perusing a menu. "It's true you're probably something of wanted man but if tried to apprehend everyone wanted by the Order I happened to bump into on this blighted rock I'd be trying to cram half the population of Nar Shaddaa into my cargo hold,"

This Lonsar fellow was certainly cautious, Kallade noted, paranoid might even be a fair term. Kallade wasn't even aware that the council was making serious efforts to apprehend him. While they'd certainly be interested in prosecuting something if the man fell into their lap, they probably considered his withdrawal from public life a reasonable outcome. Actually prosecuting Lonsar would be a thorny issue indeed and would keep the embarrassment of the spying scandal in the public consciousness for even longer than it already had been. The council were probably hoping that whole affair would be forgotten in time. Still there wasn't any reason to let Lonsar know all this, leverage was such a terrible thing to waste if it could be put to the greater good after all.

"The way I see it, we have a few options for how to proceed here," Kallade said, choosing her words carefully despite her airy tone. "As a master myself I have considerable leeway in terms of where I focus my efforts and what I bring to the attention of the Council. Even the jedi are but motes of dust against the vastness of the galaxy, so we are always in the position of having to decide where our efforts can do the most good. If you're willing to put some work towards the common good than it might be most constructive to focus my attention elsewhere and simply leave you to your own devices. Alternatively, we could raise this issue with the Council and potentially work out a more formalized arrangement. But the Council tend to significantly more conservative about such arrangements than me and the kind of contributions needed to convince them of the wisdom of such an arrangement," Kallede put her menu down as a waiter approached their table. "For now though what will you have? The crepe Malreux is quite good here if you aren't sure. I'm thinking the poached ice fish myself, Mon Calamari opera always puts me in the mood for seafood,"

nh1

nh1 · Jul 31, 2021

Collun Lonsar

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

He leaned back again and processed the words said. It certainly was an idea.....

"I'll accede to your recomendation then. One Crepe Malreux."

He sat back and waited for the server as he watched the Jedi. It was rare he got the chance to really examine in person a Jedi. Much less a master. As he watched he couldn't help but relax slightly, from her body language it was clear she didn't mean to kill him. Tone offered no help, Jedi were masters of their emotions. However, there was one tell. A little known trick here in the outer rim. You see its quite common to invite an enemy to dinner. Some Hutts have great sport poisoning each others meals and then having 'testers' test out the food only to drop dead. Apparantly its great fun to see who can get one over on the other with deadly stakes.

Of course, its also accepted that in this business, credits mean everything. So often if you intend detect poisoned food, a good tip to tell is if the food ordered is of lower cost. You'd be surprised how few killers will commit to ordering high quality food to throw away. One could argue that the truly committed hunters (of which there were some) would do that. But poisoning was in poor taste for Jedi, rarely done. Certainly not here in any case where food prices could cost as much as some small apartments. He nodded to himself outwardly. He could trust this so far.

He glanced up. "I'm willing to make a deal here. No need to bring in the council." Its important when dealing with certain groups to look reasonably contrite. It some societies and worlds, its appropriate to brag about yourself even in defeat. Admitting weakness is as good as a death sentence. For the Republic? Honeyed words all the way.

"I have quite a few things I could offer yourself or even the Jedi as a whole. I am not without resources to help. I understand my actions have damaged the Jedi Oder. Would you be interested in information? I have some good info about the Hutt's. Its good info, recently sourced" very recently as it were. "very reliable. I could also offer equipment? though I suppose given my ahem recent activities you may not want such gifts from me. If you do however, I'm happy to keep everything above board." for once. Never cross Jedi twice. "I also have credits if you would prefer a more,...direct form of remittance" Never let it be said Collum Lonsar was above greasing a few palms.

Nonetheless, He would watch to see how she would react. He also made mental note of the various exit points. The pistol in his pocket and the communicator in his coat. Worst comes to worst and all. A good agent doesn't let himself be captured.

AtlannianSpy

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki · Aug 1, 2021

The location of the landing pad was in a skyscraper not far from on of the bigger hutt palaces. From what it looked like to Lana, the section of the skyscrapers appeared disused and dilapidated which did not make her feel any better about this job. This is not where she expected an organisation like ExGal would congregate in. She almost thought there was a mistake in the coordinates but as she neared she saw her contact waiting on the landing pad waiving at her. Instict told her to cut and ran but people like her made a living from there reputation, ruining it could mean she might never find a job.

Therefore she landed with the next couple of minutes and she opened her ships cargo hold to her contact. She waited in her cockpit as two other mean exited from inside the skyscraper and went to take out the canisters. She would have been happy to stay in the ship, it was not necessary to step out of the ship unless there was an issue with the product and she wanted to keep interaction to a minimum. She saw the men take the canister in the skyscrapper but her contact did not give her the sign things were settled, instead he indicated for her to step out. She groaned but obeyed keeping her hand close to one of her blasters.

"Is there something wron..." She went to say as she stepped out of the ship and her contact approached her. She paused as she instinctively tried to use the force to sense motivation or truthfulness, sensing nothing. Her contact gave no presence in the force at all, she hadn't ever felt the like before and it should be impossible. The sensation, or the lack of one, was extremely unsettling.

"There is one matter, we need to settle before you go." The contact said indicating the inside of the skyscrapper. Jana could see the two men working on the canister, tinkering with some sort of control panel on the canister. Instantly she had two premonitions of danger, the cannister was trouble and movement to the corner of her eyes. She side stepped quickled narrowly avoiding a dagger aimed at her side.

"What the hell?!" She cried looking at her contact. Her contact face seemed to distorted to both an act of desperation and glee. He went for another strike and Jana reacted instinctively with an attempt at a force push. The push struck true but instead of throwing her attacker back it simply made him pause brieflytr before he went for another attack. She cursed and she began to try and avoid further blows, she may not have used her force abilities for a while but she was sure she could push back a single human.

She managed to get over her surprise and tried to conter, grapping the attacker hand and attempted to twist the man's wrist to disarm him. Though she succeeded her attacker seemed more amused than pained and attempted to continue the attack with his free hand forcing her to throw him hard to the ground. She quickly went for her blaster in her hip and drew it. Instinct told her to turn as the two other males were charaging at her with a reckless abadoned. She quickly fired two shots and the two fell. She turned to her contact who was trying to get to his feet. "Not clever you two friends charging a blaster wielding opponent. "She commented aiming the blaster at him.

"To die in a fight of a strong foe, is a glorious death.. Infidel... Their sacrifice and mine serve a greater good." He said studying Jana with a keen eye. Was he waiting for an opening or delaying her, without the force she could tell.

"Greater good, what are you talking about what is this all about?" She asked. "Tell me or i will."

The contact didnt answer but charged again forcing Jana to fire striking him twice in the chest. The man fell and cried in pain but than followed it with laughter. "You have done nothing, You may kill us with your dishonourable ways but you have done little to stop us. The pollution would cleansed from this world and others...." He managed to say before finally dying from his wounds. She watched him confused for a few seconds before remembering the canister. She rushed to it careful not to be met with any more surprises. The canister was in an abadoned warehouse, noone else seemed to have been present.

Checking the canister she found a timer set for an hour from now, she cursed realising she had helped transport some sort of bomb likely after one of the hurt families. She had not love for the gangsters but she feared who else would get caught in the blast so made effort to disarmed it. She was not expert in bombs but she was sure pulling some wire would do the trick. She trusted in the force to guide her and yanked several wires, tensing with each one. Finally the timer stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Left with questions and unsure were to go she moved toward her ship. She wasnt sure what made her do it but she looked up at the sky what she saw made her blood run cold.

Darrian_Gabriel · Aug 1, 2021

As Tragedis and Mahaliel made their way out onto the chaotic streets, more citizens were hurriedly rushing their way out and scattering in all directions. The mysterious ships were intensifying their barrage, incinerating everything in their path. It wouldn't be long till the destruction was right on top of the two Sith Lords. Tragedis savagely grabs a fleeing Bothan female and yanks her by her collar.

"You...what's going on?! Who is operating those ships?" he asks impatiently.

"I don't know...please. I heard some rumblings that the Republic might be trying to expand into Hutt space. I just need to make it back the Lower Quadrants to get to my family. Please, let me go!"

Tragedis' eyes begin to glow in frustration as he drops the Bothan back onto the ground. Without a second thought, she scrambles to her feet and scurries away. The Sith Lord walks beside Mahaliel as they continue to their supposed rendezvous point of pickup "Those are clearly not New Republic vessels...and even if they were, why on Korriban would they suddenly decide to attack Hutt controlled space?"

Mahaliel didn't answer, almost as if he was pondering the very same questions inside his own mind. A few minutes later the two Sith meet up with Mahaliel's dispatch escort. Without missing a beat, the Dark Siders boarded the the shuttle as they made their way to the cockpit, where a lithe young woman was at the controls, flanked by a few assistant droids. Tragedis just gave a cursory nod to Mirabella and grinned from one corner of his mouth "...and of course, the apprentice." he said wryly.

Not a second later, a well placed incendiary blast, just a few yards away, jolts the craft with such force, that it nearly knocks Tragedis off his feet.

"Take off...now!" he angrily shouts towards Mirabella's direction.

Mirabella doesn't move, instead looking to Mahaliel for his express approval, noting her devotion to never take orders from anyone else besides her master. Mahaliel just waves his fingers and that simple gesture alone was enough to get Mirabella to comply. She engages the shuttle's systems and in seconds, the craft is climbing it's way through the upper atmosphere and into the black void of space above Nar Shadda. In more frustration, Darth Tragedis gets right up in Mahaliel's face, his eyes nothing more than hollow silver orbs, infested with the Dark Side "I suggest you instill a better sense of urgency in your apprentice. Because the next time she hesitates in the absence of swift action...I may just take my frustrations out on you." says Tragedis in a calm yet sinister tone.

At that, Tragedis breaks eye contact with his fellow Sith Lord and peers out the forward port to witness am awe inspiring sight. Two megalithic World Ships, similar in design, to the smaller craft that were laying waste to Nar Shadda, hovered ominously nearby. A mixture of confusion, concern and even amusement were coursing through his head. As the World Ships stood prepared to engage another onslaught, it almost made Tragedis smirk to see the meager and almost laughable planetary defense fleet haphazardly thrown together by the home world of Nal Hutta. The Hutts were gangsters, racketeers and criminal overlords, but what was clear was that they certainly weren't soldiers.

"Incredulous fools, they'll be wiped out in less than a solar wind's pass!"

Almost as an after thought, Tragedis decides to amuse himself with a bit of comedic cruelty as he contacts Sarthian via hologram. The over bloated Hutt, responds "Tragedis, what is your report? What's going on down there on Nar Shadda, who in the blazes is ordering these attacks! What do you know?"

In mocking formality, Tragedis replies "I humbly bring myself before His Excellency, Sarthian the Hutt. My last mission to secure and execute Voldrik Kyvan was successful, however with the current situation at hand, it matters very little. I would give you and the other governing cartels one last bit of advice and advise you to evacuate Nal Hutta immediately, but judging by the size of those World Ships and the fact that they will be baring down on the planet in the space of an hour, it would be a futile gesture at best."

"You listen to me, you pathetic miscreant! You work for me, do you understand...me!" shouts Sarthian.

Tragedis smiles wickedly as he continues with his mockery "Consider this my tendered resignation in the employ of His Excellency. However there is a bit of good news in all this, again, judging by the size of those World Ships...your death should be relatively swift. Try not to get to uncomfortable in Hutt Hell, Sarthian. Something tells me it's going to be an overcrowded lot. Darth Tragedis, out." No sooner does Tragedis cut his transmission, a wave of incinerating heat blasts cut their way through the governing hall of Nal Hutta, eliminating the power elites of the Hutt Cartels in one fell swoop.

In the meantime, the shuttle carrying the three Sith, nears docking with the Hemmorrage station. Disembarking on the platform, Tragedis looks around the vessel, clearly impressed with the sophistication of the design specs.

"I suggest we don't continue to lag. We must get to Korriban without delay."

K.O.D

AtlannianSpy · Aug 1, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

Kallade made an amused, humming sound at Lonsar's mention of credits. "You should exercise more caution in the future when extending such offers to jedi. We usually have access to sufficient funding to accomplish our missions and it tends to complicate the whole ascetic monk thing that some of us take very seriously. We are similarly self sufficient in terms of material and equipment, but knowledge, knowledge is something one can never have enough of, particularly when it comes to the Hutts and their dealings," Kallade sipped delicately from a glass of water that had been brought to her. "It does beg the question of why you happen to have such valuable intelligence however. If we're to work together than I'd like to know a bit about what you've been up to since you're retirement from politics and what you plan to do going forwards," Kallade met Collun's gaze directly and her tone and expression were deadly serious. Not intimidating or emotionally heightened, but simply absolutely serious without a trace of the wry humor and easy patter of a moment ago. "You don't need to put all your cards on the table, but I need to know I'm not abetting anything that I can't condone. I am more flexible and practical than many of my peers but I am not less dedicated to my duties,"

Kallade looked as though she was about to continue speaking when suddenly she looked up and away, as if distracted by something on the ceiling or rather, something past the ceiling. Nar Shaddaa was a more difficult place to sense the eddies and fluctuations of the Force than most, the density of life and suffering layered upon each other gave the moon a constant buzzing unease to anyone sensitive to the force and Kallade often found it easier to rely on her more conventional abilities to get by here. Still though, for a moment Kallade felt as though she had sensed something or... the absence of something behind the chattering cacaphony of the Smuggler's moon. It was unlike anything Kallade had ever felt before and it made her stomach twist uneasily, but as soon as she tried to focus on the sensation it was gone, slipping back underneath the muddy sea of Nar Shaddaa's usual fog.

"My apologies," Kallade said to Lonsar smoothly, her poise returning almost as quickly as it had been disrupted. "I usually hate to do the far seeing mystic bit, especially at dinner but I felt for a moment as though... well nevermind,"

nh1

holyman1998 · Aug 1, 2021

Ensign Rekk Derron

Viscount Class Star Defender, Nearby Nar Shadda

During the Attack

"All hands to battle stations, Potentially hostile ships in the area, This is NOT a drill."
The warship was on full alert. Just minutes ago, two capital warships jumped out of hyperspace and began attacking the planet. While they didn't seem to notice the Republic Star Defender nearby, It was only a matter of time before the ship was attacked. Initially, the ship was stationed in Hutt space to investigate disappearances of Republic explorers in the far unknown. They hoped that it was just a freak galactic storm or an asteroid.

Rekk can barely watch the carnage. Hutt or not, they should've intervened. But republic procedure dictated that ships in foreign space cannot intervene unless attacked, to lessen the chance of an intergalactic incident. After all, the Hutts should have enough mercenaries on the ground to somewhat withhold a ground invasion, especially on a moon as important as Nar Shadda. Still, the ship was to stay on alert nevertheless, as the enemies could turn their sights on the republic. As far as Derron was concerned, they were unintended spectators to an alien attack.

But Rekk didn't have time to contemplate, as most of the republic officers had to report to a briefing on the bridge. With Grekks left behind to watch over their section of the ship. Rekk hurried up to an elevator and made it to the briefing room; taking his place amongst other officers which were mainly human or Mon Calamari. At the front was the ship's captain, Rear Admiral Fikles Drekkar; a greenish and aged Mon Calamari male. Rekk kept eye contact with the captain as Drekker began the briefing.

"Gentlemen, we are facing an alien fleet. They came without warning, they've mercilessly attacked a Hutt moon, and as far as we know, might be responsible for several explorer dissapeerances. For now, we will stay on alert and monitor the situation. I've notified local Hutt forces in the area, but I've yet to hear back from them. Whatever comes out of this encounter, remember that you are some of the finest officers the New Republic has seen, and we are the first line of defense in the case of an all-out alien invasion."

The men bowed before the Rear Admiral and everyone was to be ordered back to their posts. But, as they were about to leave the area, the ship was shaken from several blasts on the port side.

"Commander, one of the ships has noticed us! Slight damage to the port side but they're opening fire on us!" A purple Twi'lek female at the control said, reporting into the briefing.

Drekkar's eyes widen as he hurried back to the bridge in his hoverchair.

"Get back to your posts and prepare to return fire! I'll get a distress signal out to the republic and tell them we are under attack by an unknown enemy force!"

Derron nodded and hurried to the elevator. His first battle with this new enemy has just begun.

nh1 · Aug 2, 2021

Collun Lonsar

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

Collun smiled slightly as he listened to Kallade's words. This seemed like it may just work out. Never kill something a few steps from the finish line though.

"I can assure you Miss Runan, my desires are purely commercial. As you know the Commercial sector is always looking for new clients for our products. You may also know that we utilize our various agencies to recognize hmmm....shall we say......opportunities in the market. The Hutts have been known to dabble in high end electronics. Nar Shadda is a haven for the more,,.....unethical methods of developing electronics and cybernetics.

Highly experimental and costly but quite a few corporations in that space have offices here to test out the next big thing as it were. Republic regulations mean that product development takes years before being cleared for use among civilians. Here though? I can guarantee you that whatever stuff you see here will be in the hands of customers galaxy wide in the next fifteen years.

That's the primary interest of the Corporate Sector, we always try to stay one step ahead of the competition you see. Can't have any old competitor just overtake us now could we? On the other hand,...."

Once again Collun glanced around. "You didn't hear this from me, but Hutt space has also been a haven for slave and pirate groups galore. Often hurting our client worlds in the process. We have deployed a number of wolf packs out to hunt down slaver ships but having the coordinates of their regular attack vectors? Priceless. The Hutt navy, if you can call it that, may be small but they are very good at what they do."

He took a bite of his food before turning back to Kallade. "I can't guarantee what I have so far is all of what they have. I have enough to make your time worthwhile though in whatever type of information you trade. Slave ship routes, Hutt finance, information on the big players in the cybernetics world, arms dealers, I've got a little bit of everything."

He turned back to his food and began to eat his food. If the meeting went sour, at least he could say he got a meal out of it.

AtlannianSpy

AtlannianSpy · Aug 2, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

The Electrum Globe Theatre House, Nar Shadaa, a few hours earlier

"Slavers and Pirates in Hutt Space?" Kallade held her hand in front of her mouth in mock surprise. "Surely not. But in all seriousness any kind of intelligence that could lead to us saving lives is of great value to the Order, and to me. I suppose I don't begrudge you pursuing the financial interests of your sector either, if I had to arrest everybody doing that I would be trying to cram every senator I've ever met into my cargo hold along with that half of the population of Nar Shaddaa I mentioned earlier. I think we have a deal: You can consider your troubled history with the Order a matter of the past and some good will doubtless come from the intelligence you pass along," Kallade allowed herself a smile with a faint trace of genuine warmth. "You might even find yourself sleeping a little better Mister Lonsar,"

---

Presently

With the main business out of the way, the rest of meal passed by rather quickly, in a whirlwind of the kind of polite verbal jousting Kallade was well accustomed to. Kallade uncovered little more of value from Lonsar, he was cagey and just as adept with his words as she was, but he was at least an entertaining dinner companion and before she knew it Kallade was politely declining a waiter's offer of dessert.

"No, no I'd better get back to my seat and at least offer Mllr the pleasure of my company after borrowing his table. I've enjoyed our chat Mr. Lonsar, we'll have to do it again sometime-"

For the second time that night Kallade broke off her sentence midway through, the incessant buzzing Kallade always sensed on Nar Shadda was twisting and amplifying, as if millions of its citizens were seized by abject terror. Kallade could almost hear them screaming in her mind and she fought off a wave of dizziness and tried to sense whatever was causing this but there was nothing. Just like before there as an absence of something and Kallade could feel only the reaction of the pitiful inhabitants. No one on Nar Shaddaa was unexposed to violence or cruelty and yet these hardened souls felt their death approaching keenly.

WIthout a word Kallade bolted from her seat, storming out the doors of the restaurant into the street to see the city planet she had been born on burning to the ground. Two vast, alien vessels hung in the sky, sending lances of pale, blue energy thundering down to raze slums and mansions alike as peopls screamed and ran aimlessly.

"What in the name of the force is this..." Kallade whispered to herself, gazing up at the ships. She did not recognize the designs, she could not even say she had ever seen any remotely similar, but worst of all was the sensation she felt when she tried to sense them with the force. These ships were the void she had not sensed earlier, whoever or whatever commanded them was apart and outside of the force that was supposed to permeate every living thing in the Universe. Dread and guilt twisted in Kallade's stomach, how many nights had she been cooped up behind a desk in the Jedi temple secretly wishing for something exciting to happen? for some adventure to come along and pull her out from behind her paperwork and false smile, in some small way had she wished this violent oblivion upon some nameless victim so she could play hero one more time?

Almost as soon as these feeling welled up Kallade quelled them with the practiced ease that decades of training and reflection brought on. Her guilt was a frivolous luxury that would save nobody and accomplish nothing. These people needed whatever paltry aid she could give them.

"Mr Lonsar you should flee," Kallade said, turning next to the older man who had presumably followed her out of the restaurant. "I have no idea what those ships are, but I am certain they mean the destruction of this planet so flee and warn everyone you can. Warn your people in the Corporate sector, warn the Order and the Republic if they'll listen to you," Kallade bowed her head humbly. "If you have a ship of your own I beg you to take on as many civilians as you safely can and get them away from here, if not speak to-"

"KALLADE! WHAT THE LIMIPDS IS GOIN ON!?" Mllr Mipo had also emerged from restaurant, chasing after the two humans as fast as his stout little body would allow. "What in the-" he trailed off as he followed their gazes up to the sky.

"Mllr, my friend," Kallade said urgently, striding over to put her hands on the old Sullustan's shoulders. "Contact every one of your crews, every dockyard, every ship. I need you to fill them all to the brim with people, everyone you can take and get them off this planet, Nar Shaddaa will be destroyed, we must save as many people as we can,"

Mipo looked up at Kallade searchingly and then glanced back at the ominous ships in the sky. Mipo's expressioned hardened and the short little Sullustan seemed to grow a few centimetres as he straightened up. "Okay," he said, nodding once and pulling a bronze colored communicator from his suit pocket. "Kracket! Yeah I know! I know! Listen! Get the boys moving! Get our ships ready to take off and start loading people up! Everybody! Anybody! Whoever ya can! We're getting off this rock for the last time! Spread the word!"

"Thank you Mllr," Kallade said with a sad smile. "I need to ask you for one more favor, a fighter: something nimble and sturdy,"

Mllr looked up at Kallade again with searching eyes. "What... Whaddya think you're going to do with one fighter Kallade?"

"I'm going to try to buy you all some time," Kallade said solemnly.

Mipo sighed sadly. "Okay. There's a garage a few blocks down thattaway, got an old A wing I was restoring as a vanity project, will that do?"

"That will be perfect, thank you Mllr," Kallade said with gentle smile. "You'd better get moving now old man, if you leave now you might not have to pay off the meal I put on your tab,"

Kallade turned back to Collun Lonsar. "You should go to though I do have one last request for you as well, a more personal one. If you find yourself on Coruscant for whatever reason please deliver a message to my former apprentice, her name is Lillin Sharenza, she's a knight now," Kallade smiled wistfully. "Tell her to water the plants. She'll know what it means. Thank you in advance for whatever you can do, I really did enjoy our meal,"

With that Kallade turned and sprinted for the garage Mllr Mipo had pointed out, using the force to accelerate her movement until she was little more than a blur to onlookers.

nh1

nh1 · Aug 3, 2021

Collun Lonsar

Present

Water the plants?.......Dangit he hated running messages. Cursing under his breath, he watched as Kallade sprinted away. He may be a corporatist but never let it be said he wanted people to die. He began running the other way grabbing his comlink as he did. "S-4, start up the ship. Send out a code black to our agents and contacts. This is it. I want everyone out. Full evac. Get our agents out. Plants, contacts, everything. People first, of course, but...." he sighed sometimes needs must... "Post a triple bounty for any tech or information from our competitors. This is the final shot. If they can make it out they're getting paid."

He ran forward towards the docks as the engines of the 890 jump started.

A large corvette slightly longer than the cr90, the 890 jump looked like a large private yacht but over the years, the ship had been upgraded significantly in terms of speed, defenses, electronics, engines, and firepower. He ran up the ramp speaking again into the comlink.

"S-4, also,....if you could.....*sigh hack into the nearby hanger and speaker systems send out a general broadcast to the hanger and nearby areas to get to the ships. Use the backdoor codes, they won't be much use after today. And....let them know my ship is open..."

He sighed. At maximum capacity, the ship is supposed to hold hundreds of people. With people sleeping on the floor, the number extends to thousands. It certainly would be something organizing everyone.

"S-4 also if you wouldn't mind starting up the droids in here. Get them armed, I don't want thieves cutting up my ship. You can activate the interior turrets as well. Make it clear we aren't here for the taking."

He walked briskly to his room as he pulled off his suit and put on some of his gear more oriented for combat before holstering his pistols and shouldering his rifle.

"Also,.....plot a course for Coruscant. We'll head there when we finish up..."

AtlannianSpy · Aug 7, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

Nar Shadaa

Mllr had not been exaggerating when he described his secret A wing as "a vanity project". What would have once been a fairly spartan little fighter had been repainted in a garish, purple and gold color scheme and the interior had been reupholstered with plush, Corellian leather. Kallade almost made a face at some of Mllr's bolder design choices, but a tacky colour scheme wasn't enough to slow her down in the current situation so without stopping she vaulted into the open cockpit and flipped some toggles to start up the A wing's reactors and engines. Start up went smoothly and soon the arrow shaped fighter was humming energetically, like a trained mount eager to race off into battle. Kallade closed her eyes for just a moment to gather herself and then pressed down hard on the acceleration, launching the A wing forwards and pulling up on the flight controls to pull it into a steep climb.

The fire, smoke and neon lights of the burning city scape blurred in Kallade's peripheral vision as she rocketed up into Nar Shadaa's stratosphere, hastening to catch up to the motley cloud of fighters and armed frigates that had risen up to meet the invaders like a swarm of angry, misshapen bees. As she flew Kallade flicked through comm channels, hoping to catch some chatter from the other ships. Nar Shaddaa had no formal navy or defence fleet as such and the ships in attendance here were mostly just mercenaries, pirates and raiders probably assuming the Hutt's would reward them for a victory here. That hope seemed slim now, most of the chatter Kallade picked up consisted of panicked swearing and screaming. The mysterious ships had smaller, fighter size escorts that were tearing through the disorganized Nar Shadaa ships with brutal precision and some of the defenders were starting to retreat to hyperspace, often being picked off as they calculated jump vectors.

Now that she was closer Kallade could see that the attackers were even more alien than she had initially realized, both the larger and smaller ships had odd, lumpy silhouettes and mottled exterior that looked uncomfortably like skin or fungus. Kallade could not shake the feeling that she was looking at living animals, which made their absence from the force even more disconcerting. A scream that came to Kallade over the crackling comm lines refocused her on her more immediate concerns and Kalladde brought her A wing in behind one of the alien fighters that was cutting through a squadron of aging pirate fighters. The force could not sense these strange ships, but it still sharpened Kallade's reflexes and senses and Mipo had obviously retrofitted the A wing she was flying for improved speed and manoeuvrability so Kallade had little difficulty sneaking up behing the lumpy ship and firing a burst of laser cannon fire at its rear.

Kallade frowned shortly after unleashing her volley, the lasers seemed to bend down wards and disappear underneath the alien ship as if pulled in and devoured by some mysterious force. Whatever had just happened it seemingly wasn't perfect however, the last laser in Kallade's volley didn't sink as much as the others and collider with what looked to be the engine, causing a small explosion and leaving the fighter to drift out of the battle uncontrollably. Kallade received some raucous cheers over the comms from her unlikely allies as her hit jogged their flagging morale.

"They go down like any other ship," Kallade said, speaking into the comms for the first time. "Try to group up and cover each other, make them work for it!" Kallade said, reaching out through the force to try and touch the hearts of the other pilots. Kallade had no real aptitude for the prized battle meditation skill but she hoped that if she could convey a subtle sense of calm to the defenders they might be able to employ what basics they already knew of tactics and coordination and give them more of a fighting chance. The outcome seemed inevitable however and Kallade's heart sunk as she watched one of the alien ships fall in behind a heavily armed bomber, Kallade watched in confusion as the bomber's shields seemed to flare up briefly then disappear as if overloaded just before the alien ship launched some kind of fiery projectile that tore through the less nimble ship, it seemed these invading vessels had capabilities as as strange as their appearances.

Kallade was tempted to stay and help the struggling defenders, but she sensed there was little she good do for them, the attacking fighters were both powerful and quite agile and now that she no longer had the element of surprise she wasn't going to be picking up any more easy knock outs. Kallade was a reasonably good pilot, especially with the aid of the force, but she wasn't the kind of ace that could turn this fight around singlehandedly by dogfighting. Instead, Kallade pointed the nose of Mipo's A wing towards the closer of the two larger ships and pushed the throttle up to its maximum, zipping towards the larger ship like a missile. Now that she was free of the pack of smaller vessels Kallade was an obvious target and the ship she was aiming for began firing at her with unfamiliar armaments probably analogous to conventional point defence weapons. Kallade was forced to dip, roll and circle around the incoming fire but the A-wing's agility allowed her to see her course through without taking any damage.

Now comes the tricky part Kallade throught grimly as she closed in on her target. As one last projectile hurtled towards her Kallade swerved just slightly, allowing it to clip the wing of the A wing. The little ship was rocked by the impact and it set off a cavalcade of blaring alarm tones that complained loudly as Kallade wrestled with the controls, bringing her damaged ship alongside the hull of the larger vessel. Just as she had hoped, the larger vessel dismissed Kallade's A wing after it was hit and she was able to drift close enough to put on a rebreather, eject from the cockpit of her A wing and leap onto the strange, pseudo organic hull of the ship. The void of space was muted despite the fierce battle raging close by and Kallade felt an odd sense of calm as she floated over to the ship. The surface of the ship's hull was rough and uneven and Kallade had little trouble maintaining a grip on it with one hand and her feet as she drew her lightsabre and began cutting into the ship. The material Kallade was cutting through had a flesh consistency and steamed as her lightsabre burned away some liquid component of its internal structure, briefly Kallade wondered if whatever this thing was could feel pain from what she was doing and the jedi master allowed herself a pang of pity for it if that were so. Unfortunately for the creature, if the ship was one, cutting through it was a slow process, but Kallade eventually made a hole large enough to wriggle herself through and landed, a bit ungracefully, in a strange sort of corridor. Inside the ship the atmosphere was uncomfortably warm and moist and the walls and the material underneath Kallade's heels was unpleasantly spongey.

Kallade took a moment to get her bearings, instead of reaching out with the force she focused it insider of herself, sharpening her senses and instincts. The are around immediately around Kallade seemed deserted, although there were many unfamiliar sounds coming from all around her they were rhythmic and pulsating enough that they seemed to be part of the ship's internal systems rather than from some kind of crew, though Kallade had to admit the crew of this ship might not conform to her expectations so readily. With no real knowledge of how the ship she was was in was layed out, Kallade picked a direction at random and began walking purposefully down the corridor like structure, hopefully she would find some kind of important internal system she could sabotage, she might also run into crew members she could subdue easily. Of course it was also possible the ship had guards or marines ready to defend it from the kind of boarding action Kallade was mounting. If it came to that well, Kallade gripped the hilt of her lightsabre, letting its finely balanced weight comfort her, she would do what she could, what she must.

Darrian_Gabriel

Darrian_Gabriel · Aug 7, 2021

As the the three Sith made their way to the main bridge of The Hemorrage, Tragedis looks out one of the front port windows to get a bird's eye view of the melee outside. The World Ships had sent out waves of their smaller attack craft, which were decimating the quasi planetary fleets that were being used to defend Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda. Large swaths of the moon and it's planetary sire were seen literally burning from space. As Tragedis looked out into the carnage, he squinted his hollow eyes slightly as he intook a sharp breath. It was not only that he had never seen the likes of whoever these mysterious attackers were, he could feel no ripple in The Force when it came to their presence, something he had not noticed before in the excitement that led to this point. The malignant Sith Lord slowly turns to look at Mahaliel, only to find him transfixed on another point of the titanic battle outside.

"Tell me Mahaliel, what are you sensing at this very moment?" asked Tragedis as the other Sith Lord just shoots him a telling glance, to which Tragedis just grins "You feel it the same as I do. Somehow, whoever these abominations are, have no discernable vibrations within the ether. In some unconceivable way, these creatures have absolutely no presence within the nexus of The Living Force. Which by all accounts, should be all but impossible."

Mahaliel simply nods "Indeed...if we survive this, I'd say this warrants further study."

A wave of alien fighters swoops just above the Hemorrage and fires off a barrage of unknown energy weapons that strike the vessel in several different spots. The Hemorrage buckles under the assault.

"Korriban now, if you would my apprentice." says Mahaliel matter of factly.

"Yes Master..." says Mirabella as she flips a few switches and tries to engage the Hyper Drive. However this is met with a blaring contingent of alerts and sirens throughout The Hemorrage.

"Data indicates the rear Hyper Drive generators have been damaged." says S-9

"Fantastic getaway plan Mahaliel...now what?!"

"The plasma shields should keep any oncoming fire at bay, but since we don't know the nature of our enemy's assault weapons, even that is a variance." says Mahaliel.

"Master, without Hyper Drive capabilities, and especially up against the nature of whoever these invaders are, we're as good as dead out here. We'll fare no better than those pathetic Hutt duster fleets."

Mahaliel clenches his fists in frustration "An astute observation my apprentice, perhaps a tactical retreat is in order."

"To go where...both Nal Hutta and that scorched rock below us wont last another solar day in this melee!" objects Tragedis.

"S-9, do a nearby sector scan of any outbound freighters and swift runners. Perhaps we can commandeer a fleeing vessel with a suitable Hyper Drive." says Mirabella.

Tragedis smirks "I like the way you think young apprentice. We could send a distress signal to some wayward freight runner seeking asylum. We'll prey on any good natured dupes that are fool hearted enough to pick us up, kill what crew they have and make a B-Line to Korriban."

"Scan complete, there is a class 890 Jump on the very horizon on our sensors. They've sent out an invitation beacon to any that are fleeing the attack. It's a good size vessel with an active Hyper Drive." says S-9.

"Absolutely perfect." says Tragedis with a wicked smile "We could blend in with all the other herding dregs and no one will be the wiser."

"We can use one of lower deck transports. It can mimic distress protocols to near perfection. It'll be suitable camouflage." says Mirabella.

"Than what in the name of Malacore are we waiting for?" asks Tragedis.

"You two go on ahead and take S-9 with you. Get the transport primed, I'll join you shortly." says Mahaliel.

"Master?" asks Mirabella.

"I said go Mirabella...do not question me on this."

The beautiful Sith Apprentice nods in compliance. Her, S-9 and Darth Tragedis make their way to one of the lower decks to an awaiting transport runner. Mahaliel waits till they are out of sight and begins to address The Hemorrage's main onboard A.I.

"Central Photon Operating Core, you will await my sequence commands than engage manual directional vectors straight into the densest layers of Nar Shadda's upper stratosphere. Once you've reached those specific coordinates, activate gravitational cloaking procedures and activate minimal functional power cells throughout the entirety of The Hemorrage. Hopefully that should keep the vessel well hidden and undetected until such time as I return."

"Sequences on stand by...awaiting your key in commands Darth Mahaliel" blurts out the central A.I.

Mahaliel grins slightly as Tragedis shouts out over comm link "Mahaliel, you straggling fool! Get down here now lest we blast off without you!"

Content with his plans, Mahaliel meets Tragedis and his apprentice on the transport and the small ships blasts off, leaving The Hemorrage temporarily abandoned. As the small shuttle makes it's way into the ensuing maelstrom, Mahaliel keys in some sequence commands on a digitized pad hidden within one of his vambraces. The Hemorrage immediately engages auto pilot and makes it's long decent into Nar Shadda's stratosphere as the Sith Lord had previously commanded. A short time later the three Sith spot the massive 890 Jump on their scanners and witness dozens upon dozens of refugee ships haphazardly docking with the vessel, no doubt carrying scores of fleeing sentients, desperate to escape Nal Hutta's destruction.

"Aim straight for one of the lowest docking tiers. We'll be much less conspicuous that way." says Mahaliel.

"As you command my Master." says Mirabella obediently as she and S-9 guide the small craft into docking position with the 890...

nh1

nh1 · Aug 8, 2021

Collun Lonsar

Present

As Collun, sat in the bridge of the ship he couldn't help but rub his face in despair. It was one thing thinking about enacting a mercy mission. It was certainly another to begin stacking the various civilians onto ones ship. Now, in a time long ago, his father would have laughed at the situation. During the civil wars that wracked the corporate sector, it was very common to encounter the hungry, destitute, and starving. Thankfully, Collun hadn't had to experience such things in a long time.

However, it was certainly something to see up close. One blessing was that, he was able to rescue a fair amount of the agents and contacts the corporate sector had planted on Nar Shadda. The various agents on Nal Hutta had also been able to escape, barring a few deep plants who had yet to report in. However, a code black was black for a reason. Within the intelligence agency, code black was nicknamed endgame. The reason was, in a normal intelligence setting, various codes were given to establish the plan within which the agents, or information would be extracted. This could mean anything from creating a fake death, or some other elaborate exit strategy. Often, the corporate sector preferred to keep the aliases of its agents alive, creating instead false reasons for leaving. This allowed agents to build up long term aliases which could build trust within opposition over a long time.

Code black though, was the opposite. Code black stated that the agent or asset was to leave the system by any means necessary. The goal was total extraction with no holds barred. All attempts at subterfuge, relationship building, and asset management were thrown out the window with immediate evac being the primary goal. He glanced back over towards the computer at the head of the bridge. So far, the assets had reported in. Most were headed towards the Corporate sector to be redeployed. It would be all hands on deck for quite a while to figure out what was going on with this. After all, Nar Shadda and Nal Hutta represented a sizable portion of the total amount of Hutt assets. With that off the table, other criminal groups would swoop in to take over Hutt assets galaxy wide while they were still in disarray. Large amounts of the Hutt control structure was also on Nar Shadda and Nal Hutta so a civil war was also bound to happen soon to see who would be in charge of Hutt Space.

He turned to some of the agents in the room.

"Report in."

A weequay agent spoke up, "Well, I can speak for everyone here. From the last look we got, the Hutts will be shattered for decades. From my contacts, we are looking at 100% asset destruction, maybe more if you count cyber....Not to mention hard assets like dockyards, and drydocks which few systems have. The nearest friendly drydocks are quite a few lightyears away. Can't say anything about who this new party is though. We can guess they hate the Hutts. This wasn't a takeover, this was a wipeout. They were looking to burn down the system. We saw no attempt at keeping control over any of the buildings or anything. Just straight orbital bombardment. I will say, from my contacts in the corporate sector, interest in planetary shields just went up five hundred percent. If this continues, we should be selling those like hotcakes."

"Sounds good. How goes our ship?"

"Fairly secure. Quite a few of the passengers worked for us and our contacts so they know the drill. Most of the others are just random civilians. Not to many Hutt loyalists but the few here have been secured. Found a few wanted criminals as well we can turn in for some petty finance. I suggest having some agents do that. Otherwise, we've also got some shuttles docked...."

Right at that moment another shuttle requested access to dock.

"Boss?"

"Let them on, standard procedure, check for weapons and so on. Facial scans?"

"Our systems are running facial scans, as well as collecting biometrics on everyone, DNA, bodily fluids, hair folicles, skin samples, everything."

"Good, I want total surveillance. We are carrying the highest level of information on this ship gentlemen. I want total lockdown."

"yes sir, we'll have guards around the clock on top of the droids."

"Make sure of it. Any reports on what we got?"

"Not much but Jirai was able to secure Turulla the Hutt's blackbooks before we left. We've got a good idea of the some of their financial assets, we can start looking into from headquarters."

"Any robotics?"

"We'll have to wait and see. The instructions were to make it to the Corporate Sector so we'll give it a few days. Our ship was focused on immediate evac and it'll take about a day or two to make it there. We've got a few days to Coruscant ourselves. We'll link back up with them when we make it to Coruscant."

"Alright. Good work Tudo. We'll meet back up with in a day and go over everything then. And Tudo?"

"Sir?"

"Good work, your people will be getting a bonus for this. Let them know if we make it out its double pay for everyone."

"I'll let them know sir."

Back to work then....

holyman1998 · Aug 9, 2021

Rekk Derron

The Retreat to Coruscant

*BOOOM*
Another strafing run by the alien fighters shook the ship as Rekk struggled to gain his composure. "Keep up the flak, we have to lessen pressure on the shields." The Ensign ordered. Watching through a window, he could see various fighters flying by. If he was on the other side, he wouldn't be this close to the windows, but as long as the shield kept up; the hull wouldn't take damage. But the shield can only take in so much.

"Rekk! Proton!" Grekks yelled. Both of them ducked as a proton torpedo from one of the alien bombers penetrated through the shields, slamming near the top of the window and shattered the glass in a fiery explosion. Derron struggled back up but soon realized they needed to run as the room started to depressurize. "Come on Grekks, we can't suffocate here!" The quarren nodded, evacuating the crew from the area. Soon enough, they made it to a safe corridor as the two ensigns put on their oxygen packs. The situation was tense, and while they were officers, it was up to the rear admiral to manage the defense as a whole. For now, they reported to the bridge.

"This is Derron and Grekks, we took a proton to the window and we've had to evacuate. Send damage control teams and a medic-"
"We copy Ensign Derron, these aliens are about done with the hutt fleets and they're starting to turn on us. I've just heard back from Coruscant, we'll have to withdraw and regroup with the main fleet. Get to medbay for now and prepare for the jump to lightspeed."
"Yes, Rear Admiral. May the force be with us." Derron finished the call.

As they made it to medbay and were examined by the bots and crew on staff, the intercom announced the order for retreat. Grekks smirked at the Mon Calamari. "Not bad for your first battle, huh?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid things are just getting started." Derron sighed.

Darrian_Gabriel · Aug 11, 2021

The lower decks of the 890 were a bombardment of chaos. Literally hundreds of panicked refugees who had answered the invitation beacon milled about, some even setting up makeshift camp like enclosures while their self appointed leaders tried to get a layout of what exactly was going on. The 890 was moving at break neck speed away from Hutt controlled space, most certainly headed for a suitable vector lane to safety make a jump to light speed. Taking advantage of the immense confusion, the three Sith, accompanied the S-9 droid, stealthily blended in with the mixed crowd which was a hodge podge of frightened civilians, opportunistic mercenaries and low life criminals, all from the bowels of both Nar Shadda and Nal Hutta. The Dark Siders holed up near a few maze like storage corridors under one of the main hangar bays. They were vacant, secluded and best of all hidden. Due to their untoward appearance, Darth Tragedis and Darth Mahaliel stayed behind, while Mirabella ran reconnaissance, trying to learn as much as she could about the layout of the ship, it's intended destination and whatever crew that manned her. After a short time she returns, quietly making her way down back towards the under corridors.

"What is your report my apprentice?" asks Mahaliel.

"It's a star class 890 Jump as indicated in the scans and not much crew to speak of. However what I did manage to pick up is that there seems to be a curious lack of designation sub codes on any of the main holo consoles." says Mirabella as she removes her hood and black robe.

"Most likely some kind of intel runner, since vessels of this size almost always have designation codes." says Mahaliel.

"Intel runners for whom?" asks Tragedis.

"Anyone...The Republic, the numerous Skynar Privateer Federations, even the Corporate Sector." chimed in S-9.

"Anyway, that's about as far as I could gather, no readouts on any intended destination." says Mirabella.

"That's it? A ship full of refugees with no designation codes whose probably an intel runner, for just about anybody!" says Tragedis in angered annoyance.

"We must approach this with patience Lord Tragedis." says Mahaliel.

"...and what do you hope to accomplish by essentially stowing away in what equates to an under carriage broom closet! We are Sith Mahaliel, we want something, we take it. Hiding away like cowards will get us no closer to our objectives!"

"But yet The Lost Tribe has been doing exactly that for centuries on Korriban." remarks Mirabella snidely.

Tragedis swiftly reaches out with the Force and immediately gets Mirabella in a choke hold. His eyes begin to glow malevolently as he levitates her off the ground with a gesture of his hand. Mirabella struggles to breathe as her hands desperately clutch at her throat "Perhaps the little girl needs a quick lesson in respect. Funny that your master mentioned patience...something I have never been known to have a great deal of. To bad you had to find that out the hard way."

Suddenly two voices are heard just beyond the opening of the corridor the Sith occupy. Mahaliel shoots his fellow Sith Lord and angered glance "Enough..." he whispers. Tragedis looks up at the still struggling apprentice, squints his eyes and slowly closes his fist, a gesture that releases Mirabella from the Force attack, causing her to drop to the ground like a stone. She gasps for air as the four scramble to get out of sight of whoever was approaching.

"Lonsar wanted us to do a quick sweep of the lower corridors, let's check this under carriage before heading back up to the bridge..." says one of the voices.

As the two get ever closer to the Sith hiding spot, Tragedis suddenly scowls with a diabolical grin. Without warning he leaps out of the darkened corridor, with his lightsaber fully ignited. He catches the two intel crew, one Togruta the other a Human, completely off guard. In one fell and vicious swoop, Tragedis decapitates the Togruta male and brutally sinks his knee into the Human's stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Tragedis than grabs the man by his hair and tosses him into the darkened corridor, where the other Sith await. Giving him no time to recover, Darth Tragedis grabs the man's head and begins to invasively probe the man's mind with the Force.

"Now listen to me carefully dreg, if you don't tell me everything I want to know, I'll rip your pathetic mind apart like a Bantha through a sand dune, do you understand me!"

The man's body begins to convulse violently as Tragedis continues his Force Probe, the strain on his mind so great that he begins to bleed from his eyes and nose.

"You might sooner kill the poor fool before he even gets a chance to tell us any pertinent information." says Mahaliel calmly.

Tragedis looks back and indeed realizing that the man could expire from such a brutal assault, relents and tosses the his victim in Mahaliel's direction.

"Be my guest..." retorts Tragedis in an almost mocking tone.

Mahaliel catches the man and waves his hand in front of the victim's face, immediately calming him. Mirabella grins slightly as she recognizes that her master was going to perform Force Manipulation.

"What is your name officer?" asks the Sith Lord.

"Dell Chastain..." says the man in a catatonic like voice, blood still seeping from his eyes.

"...and what is your function aboard this vessel, Dell Chastain?"

"InfoNet Intel Operative, undercover assimilation of Kraygen the Hutt's cartel."

"..and what of the destination of this particular 890, Dell? Where are you headed?"

Chastain just stares blankly into space, his eyes dead pan.

"Interesting, it seems that particular amount of info even this dreg is not privy too." says Mahaliel.

"Than he's useless." says Tragedis as he once again ignites his light saber.

Mahaliel grins "Perhaps not my Lord. Dell here can almost certainly get that information for us." Mahaliel again waves his hand in front of Chastain "You will report back to the bridge as previously indicated and report that you and your companion had a clean sweep. You will than inquire to whoever is heading this vessel up as to the exact destination. Am I clear, Dell?" says Mahaliel.

Chastain simply nods as Mahaliel steps back and wipes the blood from the man's face as he would a child "Good, now go..."

The intel officer turns around and mindlessly heads back to the bridge.

"Follow discreetly behind him my apprentice and be sure to avoid any kind of detection, than report back." says Mahliel.

"Yes master..." responds Mirabella as she again dons her hood and robe and quickly begins to follow Chastain.

A short time later, Chastain approaches the bridge where he finds Collum Lonsar monitoring more incoming craft "Just got back from the lower corridor sweep, Daggs said he was gonna do some checking on the west tiers and will report in later. Everything is clean. But things are getting pretty hectic below deck...by the way, what coordinates did we set for the jump into hyperspace?" asks Chastain in a more or less usual tone of voice, but still eerily monotone.

Several feet away, hidden in the shadows obscured by a few sensor columns, Mirabella listens in intently.

nh1

holyman1998 · Aug 11, 2021

Ensign Rekk Derron

Refugees and Sith? The return to Coruscant!

Derron stared at the ceiling, waiting on the medical bed for the all-clear to return to posts. He's had his depressurization treatment, he's had a Bacta infusion, he's been checked twice over by the med bots. But alas, he and Grekk's old post was hull breached by a missile. It was a fairly small breach, but compared to the other damaged parts of the ships, it wasn't that bad.
"Medbay to Bridge, all injured or affected crewmembers from affected areas have been treated. All but five are triage status green. Two triage status red and stabilized, three triage status yellow and stabilized. No fatalities." One of the surgical bots reported through an intercom.
"Excellent. We've set up the quickest hyper lane to coruscant, jumping now." The rear admiral responded. "Let those cleared for redeployment know we have fixed all minor damages and may return to their posts two to three hours after depressurization."
"Acknowledged, Medbay out." The surgical bot replied, disconnecting from the intercom.
The orange Mon Calamari smiled, knowing everyone made it out alright. "So Grekks, Where do you think we'll go from here?" He asked his Quarren friend.
The greenish quarren stroked his mouth tendrils. "Well after jumping to Coruscant, we'll have to wait for the main fleet to all converge and the rear admiral's going to probably set up some sort of war council, not sure we're all invited though." Rekk nodded in response: "I wouldn't be surprised, think of all the officers that can make up one giant fleet like that?"

Later, at Coruscant
The star defender exited from hyperspace, overlooking a fantastical city of a planet. It may look the same from space, but after all the history it's gone through, it looks different on the inside. As Rear Admiral Drekkar, an aged, Greenish Mon Calamari looked out the view for any sign of the New Republic fleet, he checked in with the rest of the bridge.
"Any republic ships incoming by hyperspace?"
"Aye, but they're many lightyears away. We're one of the first ones here. On the other hand, there is an 890 with several life signs; likely refugees." A brown mon calamari male noted.
"Hail them," Drekkar ordered. Soon enough, they got a response.

"This is Rear Admiral Drekkar of the Star Defender Cala, we believe there might be some refugees onboard. Please respond with your status and allegiance to the New Republic."

To be continued....

AtlannianSpy

nh1

AtlannianSpy · Aug 12, 2021

Kallade Runan, jedi master

Nar Shadaa, aboard the alien vessel

As she moved through the ship she had boarded, Kallade was troubled by the notion that she had been swallowed by some enormous, living organism. THe air inside the ship was uncomfortably warm and moist and the corridor itself was rounded and uneven, with a soft, spongy texture altogether far too similar to some exotic creature’s digestive tract. There had been a few rooms branching off from the main corridor which Kallade had taken the opportunity to sabotage with her lightsabre, but they hadn’t given the impression of being terribly important. Most had looked to be storage for supplies in strange, chitinous containers, others had appeared to be personal quarters, with gelatinous, pod-like structures that Kallade supposed were for sleeping. In a way Kallade found it reassuring that these attackers, whoever they were actually needed sleep and, judging from the size of the pods, were roughly humanoid, though on the tall side.

Kallade was trying to calculate what the quarters she had seen so far might mean in terms of total crew complement for the ship when one of pds behind her shivered and unfurled itself, revealing a humanoid figure who sat up and locked eyes with Kallade for long, slow moment.

The figure was male, or appeared to be and had a broad, muscular build that would have towered over Kallade while standing up. Almost every inch of the alien’s pale, sallow skin was covered in horrific scars and other blemishes and a short, stubby nose gave him a fierce, skull-like facial appearance. The alien stared groggily at Kallade as he shook off whatever hibernation he had been in and processed her appearance; it took only a second and within that time his expression hardened into one of martial fury. The alien bolted to his feet, scooping up some kind of curved staff that had been lying by his pod and, with a ferocious war cry he bounded across the room to Kallade.

Kallade’s own features hardened with resolve and just as the alien came within striking range she brought her lightsabre up and ignited the blade, blocking his strike at the last possible moment. The alien didn’t miss a beat, quickly transition from the wild overhead swing he had lead with to a horizontal slash with the bladed end of his staff at Kallade’s stomach.

Kallade jumped backwards, out of the range of her opponent’s slash and then made as if to block his next attack, but just as his staff was to come into contact with the blade of her lightsaber Kallade switched it off, letting his weapon pass through without resistance and his momentum over balance him while Kallade herself flowed around his staff, reignited her weapon and drove the blade of cracking energy deep into his midsection. The alien stiffened and sank to his knees, where Kallade caught him by the shoulder and lowered him to the ground, watching him pass on with a grim expression.

Skillful and physically powerful, with the training or instincts to attack seconds after waking up and weapon that could block the beam of her lightsaber, an imposing foe all told. If they all fight like this the galaxy is in grave danger Kallade thought to herself, just as heavy footsteps behind her forced Kallade to spin around and confront a new threat.

Kallade cursed her inattention, she was truly unused to relying only on her physical senses, despite sharpening them with the force and her fight with the first alien had lead to the sounds around her being drowned out by her focus.

There were two more of the aliens upon her now, of similar build and armed with the same serpentine, bladed staffs but clad now in black armor with an unusual design, more like the exoskleton of some creature than something wrought by intelligent hands. Kallade raised her empty hand and called on the force to push one of them back so she could focus temporarily on one foe, but a bolt of cold fear lanced through Kallade as her force blast did nothing and the aliens closed in to launch a coordinated, melee assault.

So not only can I not sense you, I can’t affect you at all!?” Kallade thought, desperately backing away as she parried the first blow from one of the aliens. As another strike came in from the other alien Kallade went to move her lightsaber over to ward away this next attack but she felt resistance tugging on it and heard a reptilian hissing sound.

Kallade glanced back for a split second to see with horror that the alien’s staff weapon had coiled itself around the blade of her lightsaber and its head, which Kallade had believed to be an ornamaental design, was glaring at her and hissing with animalistic malice. In that same split second Kallade called with the force to her second lightsaber, pulling it up the sleeve of her robe and into her empty offhand where she ignited it’s smaller blade just in time to meet the staff of the second alien. Meanwhile the serpent coiled around Kallade’s primary weapon lunged with its upper body and managed to sink its fangs into her forearm.

Kallade screamed s white hot pain coursed through her veins, but she managed to channel the force into her leg muscles and send the alien whose staff she had blocked with her shoto flying with a kick far beyond what her small frame was naturally capable of.

Kallade dashed forwards into the space she cleared for herself and whirled around to face the the first alien, who had opted to stand his ground rather than chase after her, sizing her up with what seemed to be a calculating expression. Both Kallade and the alien knew time was against her, poison was crawling up veins towards her vital organs and reinforcements could be arriving at any moment, a battle of attrition would mean her death her and now.

There was no time to try and purge the poison from her system with the force and that probably wouldn’t work anyway so Kallade took a deep breath and her shoto lightsabre flicked across her body, severing her poisoned arm just above the elbow. Kallade yelled, a mono syllabic yelp of pain as her left forearm dropped to the floor and she was surprised when the aliens joined her, both aliens letting out a course, war like roar similar to the battle cry from earlier.

Kallade had trouble reading the aliens’ expressions in that moment. Neither of the two seemed shocked or horrified, their posture was still aggressive but there was something like acknowledgement or possibly even respect in their hard gazes. Kallade grit her teeth hard and dropped the shoto lightsaber, instead pulling her full length sabre from the ground to replace it, reigniting the blade and holding it up to invite her two opponents back into the fray.

The two aliens roared again and charged back in with a flurry of aggressive blows. Kallade responded knew she would need a different approach and this time focused on staying mobile: meeting the alien weapons only for brief instances to parry or deflect their strikes but withdrawing her blade before their living weapons could try to ensnare it.Just as Kallade judged her opponent’s were getting frustrated with her elusive footwork she let one snag her blade, then closed in on him instead of drawing away, shutting off her lightsabre blade to free it from the serpent weapon’s grasp and reigniting it instantly to drive into the chestpiece of the surprised alien.

Kallade felt her blade hit the chest piece and it released a shower of sparks from the contact but instead of sinking in deep she felt it meet hard resistance and Kallade leapt to the side instinctively, just in time to avoid a slash from the other alien. Kalldae tucked her dive into a roll and tumbled back up to her feet, turning around to face her opponents and panting lightly.

I could laugh, Kallade thought ruefully as she fought to control her breathing of course their armor is lightsaber proof why wouldn’t it be? Why would anything be easy?

Kallade’s opponents sensed her hesitation like predators homing in on wounded prey and they renewed their offensive with even more aggression. Now that they knew this foreign interloper couldn’t pierce their armor they realised her avenues for effective attacks were extremely limited, they could easily guard their vulnerable, bare heads and shrug off the attacks aimed at the rest of their bodies. Confident in their victory now the aliens charged rapidly towards Kallade.

As they closed into finish her off Kallade closed her eyes, seeming almost to give up as she took one, deep breath

feel it. These creatures and their technology are not of the force but the force IS NOT GONE! It is still here with you, within you and within everything else

Kallade raised her one remaining hand, letting the lightsaber fall from her grip and baring an empty palm to her oncoming foes. The aliens had already seen this gesture and they knew to ignore it so their charge continued unchecked. Just as the lead alien was about to bring his staff down on Kallade a round spot of molten heat appeared on his forehead and then the blade of Kallade’s shoto lightsabre burst through his skull from behind where Kallade had pulled it with the force. In that same moment Kallade made a pushing gesture to the left and the floating sabre sliced through the alien’s head and continued on to bisect that of his partner, neatly removing the top half of the remaining creature’s head with a swift, smooth cut.
The two aliens dropped to the floor, now lifeless corpses and Kallade let herself fall as well, stumbling down onto her butt and the palms of her hands and panting heavily.

By the light I am out of shape! Kallade thought, panting loudly and letting out a short, shaky laugh. If Lillin could see me right now she’d never let me hear the end of it

nh1 · Aug 13, 2021

Collun Lonsar

As Chastain checked in with the group, Collun couldn't help but glance around the room. It looked like he wasn't the only one to question the way Chastain was acting. As he glanced around, he caught the eye of the other officers as they each gave a slight nod as they reached for their blasters.

"Chastain, I believe we already covered our destination. Is there any reason you need to know that information?"

He remained casual but this was becoming something else. A quick glance at the instrument panel let him know that nothing seemed to wrong with the internal workings of the ship. Everybody seemed to be checking in fine. Daggs hadn't reported in yet but Chastain had mentioned his intentions to check the west tier. That appeared sort of fine. Giving a discrete hand signal, he motioned his officers to wait. He hated passing judgement on his contacts and summarily doing something drastic before giving them a chance to explain themselves. It was a tense situation on the ship anyway with the hectic exodus as well as all of the passengers to account for. He would give Chastain a chance to explain himself.

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