Fandom Stranded on Ryloth

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala'uun​

Reaver slowly stepped through the twilight cloud of dust towards what he was convinced was the Shadow Argent. His pistol back in its holster, not wanting to end up on the wrong side of a lightsaber, but easily in reach.

"Aunt mind putting the slim-jim away? You've done a lot of cleaning already." Casually pointing to her lit saber and turning his hands palm up in a harmless motion. He smiled in a friendly manner and stopped when he was just a couple of metres away. "Though it does make grabbing the shiny bolts a bit easier." The human gave a sly wink and a nod towards the droids. 'If she ain't Argent, I'm an alecake.'

While he outwardly appeared hey calm and relaxed, inwardly he was a coiled spring. The recent explosion had set him on edge, he kept straining his hearing to see if it was back to normal and to make sure he was not about to caught off guard by a droid patrol, or the overly aggressive Twi'leks.

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five Bear Kala’uun

Argent made short work of the squad of Battle Droids , largely due to her skills with the combat arts. The falling halves of the B2 ‘Super’ Battle Droid revealed an unknown human male - at least , very likely a human male - to her sight. He didn’t appear familiar to her , although her also didn’t have the reddish tint most malicious sentients possessed. In fact , he even appeared to have something of a bluish tone to his form , albeit one not especially bright.

Though the Shadow’s fight with the squad of droids had been brief and not especially exhausting , her long trek in the desert still had her looking extremely deshelved , her stocky frame covered in sweat and her robes bloodied and torn in several places , her breathing heavier than normal. She was just about to speak when he quickly holstered his blaster and started talking to her , using what she could only assume to be some form of slang. Her head quirked to the side , a slightly confused , rather incensed expression appearing on her pale features. Her silver lightsaber stayed ignited , pointed at the unfamiliar man , the thrumming of it’s blade underscoring her

“Who are you? What kind of.. Wretched Slang were you using? Are you employed by the Hutt Clans? How did you bypass the Seperatist’s formidable blockade? Those Malicious Creatures aren’t allowing any ship through , least of all Scum such as yourself. If you approached me assuming you’d found a Battle-weary Jedi as easy prey to kill or capture under the Dark Banner of your Vile Masters , you’re sorely mistaken. I’m a Jedi Shadow , I’ve faced and triumphed over far worse than Huttese-hired Criminal Vermin. If you choose to face me , your Life of Dark Deeds shall end here!” The Miraluka seemed awfully hostile despite his attempt at appearing non-threatening , though one couldn’t tell for sure whether it was simply being so far behind enemy lines by herself making her that way , or simply an existing facet of her personality only magnified by her situation. At the very least , it was abundantly clear she’d follow through with her threats if an explanation wasn’t given post-haste.

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala'uun​

Reaver smiled and chuckled a little. 'This has to be Argent. Very blunt.' He kept his hands up and in a non threatening manner speaking in a calm manner. "Slim jim, the lightsaber, turn it off? And I'll tell you my name then." Keeping his movements calm he scanned the area, looking and listening for any signs of movement or ambush. "You can keep it out if you want, ice smoked a free deathsticks in my time, but I'm buying tea for our neighbors, but we both work for the Old Lady and the Grandparents sent me to find you." The human smiled some more and made every effort to appear calm and make sure his emotions could be felt through the Force as well. 'I do not need her to buy my tea.'

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Argent’s teeth grit at the Smuggler’s laughter. The fact that he was somehow happy enough to laugh worried her , as - in her experience - it meant he at least believed he had some sort of advantage. For her that meant she had to be all the more vigilant , ready to defend herself from all manner of tricks the unknown man could use , including an ambush by hidden criminal allies.

The Shadow seemed a bit irritated to hear more of the indecipherable slang , though at least this time there was one sentence she could understand. At first she baulked at having to put away her blade , but after a moment she seemed to reevaluate the idea. “If I put away my blade , you’ll tell me everything about yourself - and I do mean everything. Why you’re here , what vile masters you work for , how you and whatever other scum you work with managed to infiltrate the Seperatist blockade. And tell me the truth , or I swear upon the Force your life of Ill-Repute comes to an end by my hand. And use the standard form of Galactic Basic , not whatever perverted slang you insist on using.” If he agreed to her terms she would , although very tentatively , follow through on her promise and deactivate her Lightsaber , returning it to her belt.

 

[Proletariat]

The Lonely Five near Kala'uun

By now the stone dust and sand from the battle was caught in a wind gust and became a larger dust storm. The pair of Shadows was nearly engulfed in thick grey dust that crawled over the hills, consuming everything that it passed over in darkness. The sun was hardly visible and a faux night time fell over the area. The two could no longer make out distinguishable characteristics on each other and it was becoming harder to see by the second. In addition to that, the stone dust was coarse and difficult to breathe, it scratched the throat, lungs, and blinded the eyes. Vulture droids could be heard, rather than seen, flying overhead. Something heavy and mechanical was moving in the distance, though it was hard to tell how far away or what direction it was with the dust storm.

HK Fifty
Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Unfortunately for Argent , before the Smuggler could give her an answer a massive and very unexpected dust storm overwhelmed them both. Her innate Force Sight just managed to give her some measure of visibility , around a foot and a half immediately before her. The edges of the monochromatic shapes she could perceive were blurred and fuzzy , constantly moving to the point where she wasn’t quite sure where objects and potential landmarks ended and the surrounding dust began. Regardless , it was just scarcely enough so that she could hopefully find shelter before she suffocated to death , or found herself buried in the dust.

The Miraluka took barely a moment to think something over before turning around and attempting to grab the arm of the unfamiliar man. The more suspicious side of her wanted to leave him behind , but she knew he still had information useful to her - and he did have a bluish tint to his form , which also made it easier to distinguish his shape from the dust surrounding them. She might’ve called out to him and informed him of what she was doing , but she could just scarcely Labor for breath as it was without speaking. ‘I’ll explain myself to this Scum once we’re to safety - and after he’s answered my questions.’

Once the Shadow was sure she had him in her grasp she started to make her way through the storm , hoping to find some sort of cave or alcove , or even another bone-filled trench , anything that could shield them. Hopefully in her haste to find refuge she’d avoid blundering into the large , mechanical-sounding creature somewhere indeterminately in the distance , likely dispatched due to the sentry Droid spotting her. It could’ve been anything from an Advanced Dwarf Spider Droid to a Corporate Alliance NR-N99 Droid Enforcer , to perhaps even a new prototype she didn’t yet recognize , but whatever it was she’d do poorly fighting it in such conditions. At least , not unless it too could barely see or function , which she couldn’t afford to assume if it’s Commanders had sent it out in these conditions to look for her.

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala'uun
​

Reaver was nodding slowly as the other Shadow spoke. 'You are not used to conversation.' Her clipped and authoritative manner made it seem like she gave orders and ultimatums she expected to followed without question.

As line of questioning orders came to an end, one that would allow for the other half to add their contributions to a form two way communication one of the many dust storms made its presence known. "Frang!" Was all that managed to make it out before the cloud of sand and debris tried to invade his mouth and lungs. Quickly pulling edge of shirt over lower half of his face as an improvised filter, closing his eyes and reaching out in front of himself. The ominous sounds of machinery bent of his death did not sound pleasant, when he felt a hand grip his. 'Well she didn't buy my tea so may as well jog.' He left her head him, hopefully to safety.

 

[Scavenger]

Phantom

Phantom waited for his moment to move. He knew that leaving cover was a big risk, especially with so many damned clankers patrolling around the place. Whatever was behind the wall must have been of some importance. When the patrols changed and there were no droids in sight, the Shadow bolted for the earthen wall. Using Force Phase, he walked forward through the wall until half of his body vanished. His long wolf nose poked through the earth on the other side, followed by his predatory eyes.

What the shadow saw was a sort of Separatist outpost. Roughly 500 feet away from him, across an open field of arid dirt, there was a compound of grey metal buildings. In the center was a dome shaped building, what must have been the command post. To the left of that, connected by hallway, was an open garage with STAP's, mechanical tools, and some deactivated Droidekas. Slightly behind the command center on the opposite side was a large radar installation with a satellite dish on the top. The command complex sat at the bottom of a slow dip in the land. From the edge of the plateau to the center, the land sloped down towards the center so that none of the compound was visible from ground level around the plateau. In a square shape around the complex there were four circular guard towers at about fifteen feet tall. Atop each guard tower were three B-1 battle droids and a Battle Droid Assassin variant with a sniper rifle. Connecting the towers was a twelve foot tall energy fence that looked like it would incinerate anything that touched it. Phantom could clearly hear the loud humming of the energy field from here. At the center of the closest fence wall was a wide metal gate that was manned by one B-1 battle droid and a B-1 command variant.

Besides the complex he could see guards posted everywhere inside the fence facing outward in every direction. There was one patrol group passing another halfway to the compound, one group was on its way out, another group was on its way in. Phantom had a lot of confidence in his abilities as a Jedi Shadow, but he knew that there was no way he could possibly get into the compound undetected with that much open ground to cover and so many droids watching every possible entry point. To add insult to injury, four assassin droids and maybe half a dozen droidekas would make it nearly impossible to win open combat against the two dozen B-1's and B-2's in sight. There was no telling how many more droids would appear once the fighting started.

Phantom was certain that the center of the command compound was the exact coordinate he received from his handler when he arrived planet side. Suddenly, he felt a force presence that he did not recognize. There was a clear and strong force presence nearby that he never detected on his approach to the facility. As the droid patrol continued to approach Phantom, he felt the force presence grow even stronger, it was directing its energy at him. He could feel an unknown figure pulling at him through the Force. The figure began to send him simple ideas, images directly to his mind. Phantom saw himself walking through the earthen wall and then transforming into his human form, right past the damn droids! They didn't even notice him as he passed. When he approached the metal entrance, the gate slid open for him and he walked right by the threatening B-2's standing guard at the command post door. There was nothing after that, the images stopped, and Phantom's attention returned to the approaching droids, who were now within twenty feet of the wall. As of yet they had not noticed the wolf head sticking through the dirt, but they were bound to see him in a manner of seconds.

Was the force presence to be trusted, or was it just a trick by the Separatists?

Phantom felt the force presence pulling him to act, he knew that he had to act soon or the next patrol would be over the hill and would catch him. Realising that whether it was a trap or not he had very little choice in the matter, he would just have to try and fight his way out if they noticed him. Backing up ever so slightly so that he was out of the wall his pack fell off his back even as, with a series of pops and cracks his form began to change back into his human form. As soon as he was fully changed he opened the pack and pulled a civilian robe over his head and pack onto his back even as he stepped back into the wall and the tread of droid footsteps became audible.

He took several deep breaths before pulsing an acceptance in the force, the small ripple was to small for any physical result but Phantom hoped that if those ideas had come from a freindly source then they would take it as an acknowledgement of their plan. And so with another deep breath he stepped out of the wall and began calmly walking towards the base. As he emerged he reached into an outer pocket of his pack and withdrew his Ghost saber but concealed it up his sleeve.

 

[Proletariat]

The Lonely Five near Kala'uun

Argent desperately dragged Reaver North, into the shadow of the mountains. It was an uncoordinated scramble through the thick dust and sand net they were caught in. Both of the shadows became covered in such a layer of gray dust that they looked like a pair of coal miners at the end of the day. On the eastern side of the lonely five, an incredibly long shadow was cast over their heads, it looked as if the shadow of the mountain was trying to escape into the night lands, stretching far to get away from the stationary Twi'lek star. In order to avoid the dust, Argent and Reaver skirted along the base of the mountains until they found a narrow crevice in which they could take shelter. The crack in the mountain rock barely ran five feet deep and was just wide enough for them to stand nose to nose. Argent went in first and occupied the furthest possible point she could, whereas Reaver stood close to the entrance, watching the rock debris whiz by his face at speed. To their South came the sound of large mechanical legs operating. The acoustics of the crevice made it impossible to determine the distance, but it seemed to be pretty far away, closer to the entrance to Kala'uun. Outside the dust storm grew weaker as the debris spread, but it was still incredibly dark in the shadow of the mountain. The pair were faced with a decision to make about their next course of action.

HK Fifty Grim Wraithe Stjerna

Unknown Listening Post

Phantom decided to go with his gut instinct and take a gamble with the force. He trusted the strange presence and walked as calmly as he could right over the earthen wall into the view of the incoming droids. The droid patrol leader's head snapped to Phantom and for a millisecond the entire patrol froze. One assassin droid's scope was already in the process of acquiring Phantom as a target when the droid patrol resumed its march, nearly brushing shoulders with the Jedi. It was a tense and lonely walk up to the gates of the listening post. The assassin droids watched him carefully, at any moment he was a trigger squeeze away from becoming a heap of burnt flesh. A command variant B-1 droid eyed him down from the inner side of the gate, then mumbled something incoherent in a robotic language. A similar faint droid chatter could be heard in response, then the gate lurched and slid open in seconds. Phantom carefully walked past the super battle droids that stood taller than he. It was never easy to tell what they were looking at, but he had a feeling that this time they were staring straight down at him. The door to the command center hissed open and Phantom entered.

The interior of the listening post did not surprise him. It was a circular building, roughly 35 feet in diameter. Everything inside screamed of pragmatism and mechanical efficiency. Unless it was a tech component, it was colorless metal flooring, metal railing, metal desks, or metal chairs. Following the curvature of the wall were massive computer monitors with control panels in a dashboard format below them. Complicated numerical feeds, camera footage, and radar displays surrounded him. B-1 utility and combat support variants manned most of the stations, but Phantom did spy a maintenance droid rolling out of the room as he entered. At the center of the room was a small circle with railing 3/4 of the way around it. A voice came over the intercom, it was a droid's voice that said, "Stand on the circle in the center. Do not move once you get there."

Scavenger

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Argent eventually found a crevice for herself and the unfamialr man to hide in , darting in and quickly making her way to the very back just as she had when the Droid patrol was looking for her. Thankfully she didn’t have another such enemy pursuing her , although the heavy mechanical footfalls worried her in much the same way. While the unknown adversary seemed to be farther away , the acoustics of the cave conspired to ensure that she couldn’t possibly be certain of that fact - nor what sort of machine it could’ve been.

Of course , the Miraluka also wanted to stay so far back was simply due to her unfamiliarity with the smuggler she had chosen drag along behind her. The sandstorm has interrupted any possible introduction on his part , although it had likely also freed her of any allies of his , if there were any. ‘I suppose I still need to inquire who this Smuggler Scum is , and what sort of Perverse Master he answers to..’

Groaning , the Shadow walked back over to the unfamiliar man , this time without her Lightsaber. The sandstorm has caused her voice to sound much more hoarse , which has the strange side-effect of revealing a previously hidden accent to her voice. It sounded faintly like the accent possessed by the native Twi’leks , oddly enough , and seemed to become more pronounced when she placed emphasis on certain words. “Are you going to tell me who you are , Scum? I very well could have left you to rot in the Sandstorm , but I chose to drag you along after me , despite what I’m sure are Dark , Vile Deeds you’ve committed in the past. You owe me an introduction. And for the Love of the Force itself , use Standard Basic. If I hear any of that Perverse , Disgusting Slang , I’ll leave you here to hope whatever Filth you deem allies decide to try and find you.”

The silver-haired woman paused a moment , sighing in exasperation. “Listen , the sooner you Truthfully tell me what I need to know , without any of that Defiled form of Basic you insist on using , the sooner we can both resume what we were doing , and hope that.. mechanical abomination out there doesn’t kill us both.”

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun​

Reaver moved, was pulled really and somewhat dragged when he stumbled blindly behind his fellow Shadow. Though once in the relative safety of the crevice he was relieved he could see and breath a bit easier, once the soot, dust and sand were cleared from his eyes and throat.

Coughing heavily and spitting a few pebbles as the diatribe washed over him. He held up his hands in a surrendering fashion. "Alright, Argent, you win. Plain basic, just stop with the withering speeches!" He watched her carefully as he used her code name. The smile only half formed as he continued, with a slightly raised eyebrow at the shift in her accent. 'Trying to blend in?' "Reaver, that's what you can call me, and yes I've done some smuggling, but for the Republic and the Jedi."

The sounds of howling wind, falling and blowing sand, mingling with the omni present metallic foot steps was starting to give him a massive headache, not to mention not being able to smoke one of the carababba cigarra in a belt pouch, but that would likely lead to more trouble then he wanted right now. So he leaned against the rock wall, resting his head against it. "You're not the only Shadow here."

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Argent’s was quite taken aback when the unfamiliar man used her code name. ‘I didn’t tell him my identity at any point! How does he know what to call me?’ Her dust-covered features twisted into a snarl as her hand dropped down to her belt , clutching at her lightsaber , ready to draw and ignite it at a moment’s notice. Subconsciously she assumed what was easily recognizable as a Shien opening stance , poised to strike should the conspicuously knowledgeable Smuggler prove hostile.

The Shadow seemed rather bemused to hear the man use a similar code name and identify himself as commonly working for the Jedi. ‘Smuggler Scum working for the Jedi Council? That can’t be true , the Jedi Council is above using such.. Vermin to accomplish any goal! Only the Seperatists would use such.. such Vile methods!’ Nevertheless , she could feel through the Force that he was being fully and completely genuine , which only confused her yet further - though she remained at the ready regardless of her befuddlement.

At first Reaver’s subtle revelation seemed to elude her , the Miraluka’s head quirking to one side and her snarl mostly fading into a perplexed expression. However , after puzzling it over and finally seemed to grasp her situation , her mouth falling open. “Force forgive me , I’ve been insulting a Jedi..” Shortly after she softly intoned her regret she fell on her knees and assumed a meditative position , whispering the Jedi Code to herself over and over again as if she was praying , and perhaps trying to soothe herself as well. If she wasn’t interrupted it was very likely she would continue on in this manner for quite some time , perhaps even a quarter of a standard hour.

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun
​

Reaver blinked in astonishment. He had expected the angry reaction, the stunned reaction, but he had not expected the complete shutdown of a fellow Jedi.

"What the hell?" His mouth partially open in surprise and confusion written on his face. "Hey! Snap out of it! You're a Jedi, a Shadow! Things far more devastating then this should shock you! What are you doing? Penance?! Really!" He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, his left hand unconsciously drew out one of the cigarra from the pouch and began walking it through his fingers, so casually and with such ease it was obviously a well practiced habit.

"Argent! Look at me!" Vexation and mild irritation showing on his dirty dust covered face. He reached down with his right hand to gently shake her shoulder. "What were the orders you got to get here? What are the coordinates of our rally point?" Another sigh as he pulled out the encrypted comlink, and sent another burst transmission, stating he had linked up with Argent and awaiting further instructions. "You may be a good spanner but you would be a terrible shark." He muttered under his breath.

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Argent seemed completely absorbed by her recitations of the Jedi Code. If she registered Reaver attempt to speak with her she gave no external sign , although she did start to recite her precious Code at an increasingly high volume. Her right hand constantly hovered over the metallic hilt of her Lightsaber , running her hand over it at the end of every recitation. Perhaps being unfazed by a mass-grave only to be shutdown by insults she herself delivered at a fellow Jedi seemed rather ludicrous , and it likely was to most others , but in her possibly warped estimation insulting a fellow Jedi was one of the worst things she could possible do , knowingly or not. Midway through her sixth repetition of the code , the Shadow felt a hand gently shake her shoulder. She didn’t immediately register what her fellow Jedi had said to her as he jarred her from her praying , though she immediately got back up to her feet nevertheless. She was actually cringing and assuming a mildly submissive posture.

The Miraluka was just about to profusely apologize for her transgression when the human’s words finally registered with her , causing her to once again seem a little surprised. Thankfully she didn't hear what Reaver muttered , instead immediately detailing all she had done ever since she had finished her mission on Atraken , including receiving her orders - which she repeated in their exact form as if she had memorized them by heart - and the coordinates she had been told to arrive at. She seemed to become more at ease as she continued on , most likely feeling she had atoned for her transgressions , or at least had been forgiven for them. “I wasn’t informed that there would be any other Shadows undertaking this mission with me , beyond my new handler Ghoul of course. Now , if I may ask , Reaver , how did you arrive?” The Shadow wanted to ask him more questions , or start planning their next moves , but instead chose to hear about his journey before moving on.

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun​

Reaver raised an eyebrow at the continuing strange behavior of his fellow Shadow. 'Penance, submissive posture, awkward social interactions. What do you do?' These thoughts ran through his mind as the miraluka rattled off the events, all of them, and most importantly the coordinates.

With deft fingers the information was quickly entered into his datapad. "When are we ever given all the information?" It was a rhetorical question, but he felt she would answer anyways.

A long sigh/whistle escaped the humans lips as the location came back. "Well I came in like an asteroid that the clankers were using as target practice. Floating in on a glider through the debris and flaming wreckage. But what we need now..." He held up the pad for her to see, for what it was worth, or just out of habit, or just to egg her on some more. "Is some transpo. Otherwise we're not making a rendezvous anytime soon. "

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun

Argent cocked her head to the side in a somewhat mystified manner , unsure why her fellow Jedi would ask such a question. Nevertheless , she hurried to answer the question before the data pad loaded - which would indeed take several seconds , given their remote location. “The Council gives us all the information we deserve to know , Reaver. If we aren’t meant to know it they won’t tell us , and I obviously wasn’t meant to know other Shadows would be operating alongside me. Simple Shadows such as you and I couldn’t possibly fathom to know the Council’s wisdom , Reaver - we are to simply carry out their will , without question. Questioning the Council’s wisdom is one of the most foolish things a Jedi could ever do , Reaver , you should know that!” Her words sounded as if she was giving some kind of sermon , though she did seem to be holding herself back somewhat.

The Miraluka paid rapt attention as Reaver recounted his story , though it was much shorter than her own. To her that seemed to indicate he had only recently arrived , perhaps only an hour ago. It was rather unfortunate his ship , too , was destroyed , although secretly she felt a little relieved that she wasn’t the only Shadow to have their ship destroyed - indeed , it seemed as if she had preserved her own Shadow’s Blade more than Reaver had his vessel.

The Shadow seemed taken aback to see how far they were from the rendezvous coordinates. “We could attempt to venture into the city and acquire some sort of Landspeeder , or even a larger speeder bike of some sort , but with that.. Vile War Machine marching around it and the Twi’lek’s having put the Seperatist’s Dark Forces on alert , it’d be quite difficult , even for two Shadows such as ourselves. The Droid forces I mentioned I encountered down at the base of the mountain have STAPs , but we’d require two of them , and that may attract far too much attentio as we’d need to have them come to us first. On the other hand , we could attempt to locate any of those speeder bikes the Twi’lek Revolutionaries were utilizing , but if any remain in this area they’re likely beyond our capabilities to repair. I very much doubt they left any methods for us to follow them and enlist their aid.” She sighed. “If we’re to sneak into the city to acquire a vehicle we’d have to be extremely stealthy , which.. may be difficult as I’ve never had proficiency with any form of Force Concealment. There’s also only a single entrance or exit , and it’s likely to be very heavily guarded without that Mechanized Behemoth walking outside the gates.” She put a hand over her blindfold , sighing in sheer exasperation. “Any of the ideas I just mentioned would be extremely difficult to enact , even with the aid and blessing of the Force. I don’t suppose you have any ideas of your own , Reaver?”

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun​

Reaver sighed and almost chuckled at the unasked for response to the rhetorical question. 'You really do not talk other sentient's.' The human looked up at her statement about never questioning the council. "That's our job. To look for and track down all forms of the Dark Side want eradicate it. So to question the Council is to ensure their continued adherence to the Light." Looking at her while shaking his head.

The human Shadow let another exasperated sigh escaped him as she outlined all the ways they were doomed from the start, and continued speaking as if it had been one thought. "Have you never had to infiltrate a facility? Never had to acquire modes of transportation not provided for you by the Grandparents?" The slip of Smugglers Cant referring to the Jedi Council, may or not have been intentional. "The clankers outside make the most sense if we wanted to get into the city as I'm sure they have a transponder to signal they are authorized to enter. Not only that if there independent mobile units they already have something we can steal. And if the behemoth, as you call it, is out there it may be the best way to get smaller faster units. Take it out and others will be sent to investigate or destroy us." He clapped the datapad into his other hand to emphasize his point.

 

[Proletariat]

The Lonely Five
Day 2 10:00

Outside of their safe haven, the dust storm thinned. The harsh wind on the surface managed to blow the storm away from the mountain and into the Nightlands, but the tail end of it still lingered around. When he checked outside from his limited view point, Reaver saw a small patrol of B-1 Battle Droids walking by, away from the entrance of Kala'uun. They looked worse for wear and one was missing a hand. The patrol walked parallel with the mountain about 35 meters away from the pair of Shadows. The mechanical stomping noise stopped abruptly, it was followed by the sound of hydraulics and well oiled mechanical parts locking into place. Then the noise of a flight engine of some sort filled the air. It grew quieter and quieter with each passing second until it could not be heard at all. Blaster fire and speed bike engines were also completely gone from the area, the eerie sound of howling winds wrapping around the mountains was all that remained.

All of the sudden, the ground seemed to shift around the droids. Out of the dirt rose four dirt-colored Twi'leks with vibroblades in their hands. In the blink of an eye the Battle Droids became scrap metal, without a single blaster being fired. The Twi'leks spoke to one another in hushed voices and acted like they were getting ready to scatter from the area. The furthest Twi'lek scanned the mountain warily. After a few moments he dropped his gaze and through the dust happened to lock eyes with Reaver. The Twi'lek froze for a second, staring at the human. In a quiet voice he said something indiscernible and all of the warriors turned to look at Reaver, who was barely visible in the crevice. None of them seemed sure what to do, until a vulture droid passed overhead and the Twi'lek in the front wearing a headband raised his hand and they all began running towards Reaver. The four Twi'leks all kept their blades drawn.

HK Fifty Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five

Argent grit her teeth at the chuckle , unsure why simply answering his question merited such a response. The human’s flawed , incorrect , almost treasonous words cause her lips to curl in something of a snarl , albeit less aggressively. She opened her mouth to correct him , but quickly shut it. For now it simply served her better to listen to any ideas he may have , and lecture him on the error of his statement once they were well on their way to making the rendezvous point.

Unfortunately , the Miraluka found herself yet more irritated by Reaver’s observations , the slip into his indecipherable slang serving to increase her annoyance. She once again seemed as if she were about to launch into a lecture , and once again just barely forced herself to listen to what he had to say. His plan seemed to be the best they had available to them , and indeed acquiring vehicles from an auxiliary position would bring less resistance. ‘Although speed won’t be able to aid us if that Mechanical Abomination chooses to fire upon us while we’re rewiring whatever Vehicles we manage to locate.’

Once her fellow Jedi was finished speaking the Shadow rapidly started to formulate her reply. “Yes , I have infiltrated cities before , Reaver , I’d be hardly different from a Jedi Guardian if I couldn’t. However , I haven’t been forced to infiltrated a city this well-guarded before , not without the diversion of battle to occupy the-“ Her speech abruptly stopped as she heard the heavy mechanical footsteps cease , replaced by sounds reminiscent of some sort of starfighter.

‘Droid Starfighter!’ Argent’s right hand dropped to her lightsaber whilst her left hand shot out to form a peculiar symbol that had her index and middle fingers pushed to one side , and her ring and pinkie to another , with her thumb curled up over the negative space. Each of her two sets of fingers were maneuvered directly over each other with an equal amount of space between them , the top of each set curled slightly. The sign actually indicated the prescience of some sort of Droid Starfighter - either a Vulture-class or a Hyena-Class bomber , though the former had a much more shrill whine to it’s engine than the latter - commonly used among ARC Troopers and Clone Commandos. However , with the human likely having little familiarity with the Elite Clone forces. Shortly afterwards the same hand cupped around her left ear in a gesture indicating ‘listen’ that Reaver might’ve had an easier time recognizing , as it may have seen use among smuggling groups.

After the hover-engine noise had faded away - along with the heavy mechanical walking noise - the Shadow dropped her guard. “With that Droid Starfighter gone we should have an easier time of acquiring a vehicle. If The Force is with us we should be long gone by the time one’s-“ Once again she was cut off by the high-pitched whine of a Vulture’s engines cut her off , quickly followed by the snap-hiss of her Lightsaber igniting. Her hand once again formed the same signal for ‘Droid Fighter’ , which the human might’ve understood this time simply by context clues.

The pale Miraluka surreptitiously glanced around the corner - not enough to be in plain view , but enough to allow her sight to easily see through any obstructions and still provide a decent view of what was immediately outside the cave. Four Twi’leks were running directly for them at rapid pace with drawn vibroblades , a Vulture directly over them - at it’s height there was extremely little chance it hadn’t noticed the four resistance fighters. She swiftly pointed at her human compatriot and subsequently held up her left fist , signaling him to stay where he was. She then darted out of the cave with the hope of drawing the Vulture’s attention away from the Twi’leks , motioning them to go into the cave with the other Jedi as she ran to where the remains of the scrapped droids laid.

 

[boo.]

Basement of Droid Command Center

Chors wouldn't have called this mission the highlight of his career. At least, not yet. At the moment, he was stuck in the basement of the command center. At any rate, he was sure he had memorized the layout of said basement, seeing how long he had paced the various corridors. Ghoul at least had some sort of protection with that mask if his, but Chors had to stay totally out of sight. That would have been fine, had he had something to do. For now, he was simply waiting on everyone else to show up. From the little he had heard, other Shadows were supposedly gathering, which Chors thought was a bad idea. "Shadows" and "working together" never fit right, and definitely not on such a delicate mission. But he wasn't here to question the command. He was just here to do his job, whatever that might be.

The Nautolan sat cross-legged on a large crate, his eyes closed. Meditation always calmed his mind and allowed him to stretch his senses further, but at this time he found it difficult. He was itching to do something, but there was nothing he could do without getting in the way of things. He knew Ghoul was in the room with him, fiddling with some kind of code in the corner, but neither the Pau'uan nor himself were much of talkers, so they had gone about their business rather silently.

A small, almost indistinct beep caused Chors to break out of his meditation. Finally! Letting himself down, he made his way to an open panel on the wall, where an intricate configuration of wires showed that he had been working on something. It was a particularly delicate operation, but as he looked over his work, Chors was pleased to see that he had managed to hack into the listening post's security cameras. He had routed the feeds onto a wireless transmitter, which allowed him to page through the cameras on a secure channel with a small device he had brought with him.
​

 

[Grim Wraithe Stjerna]

The Lonely Five near Kala’uun​

Reaver wasn't entirely paying attention to the other Shadows hand motions to catch their meaning or really notice them. He listened only to part of what she had said.

Instead attention was on the passing patrol. 'Easy enough to take down, but not ideal to get what we need.' As he was about to suggest they follow for a little while, the patrol was decimated. 'Well, they're effective.' He watched as the ambush was over before the droids had a chance react.

But as he made eye contact with one of them he smiled and waved, and began to step out, when Argent ignited her saber, pushed by him and ran off in the opposite direction. Frustrated and off balance Reaver let out a sigh as he dusted himself off. "Frang." Looking to the Vulture droid and charging Twi'leks and back to the flying droid, he shook his and pulled out a dummy remote. Looking at the Vulture, concentrating slightly on it, as if timing something and pressing the button in an obvious manner; he was actually using the Force power Combustion to cause an explosion in the solid fuel slug chamber. Which would at a minimum cause an explosion and the droid to suffer damage and loss of control causing it to crash, at maximum the droid would suffer a catastrophic chain reaction in its fuel system and end its service life in a fiery ball of burning metal and circuits.

 

[Proletariat]

The Lonely Five

The Twi'leks that headed towards Reaver were surprised to see another humanoid come sprinting out of the cavern at them. Immediately they all tensed and held their blades in a combat stance towards her. Before they could react she sprinted by them at an immortal pace. Before they had a chance to properly digest that situation, the vulture droid in the distance did a complete flip and rotation so that it was now facing Argent and the Twi'leks. It activated its thrusters to slow itself and begin heading towards them. The Twi'lek leader shouted something in his native language and the other fighters sheathed their blades. They began hoofing it towards Reaver and the crevice, looking rather worried.

Reaver stepped out of the crevice and attempted to eliminate the vulture with minimal effort using force combustion. By the time he acted, the vulture was already slowing for its descent. The solid fuel slug fuel chamber suddenly erupted in fire, causing a streak of black smoke to follow the droid through the sky. With a loud pop the solid fuel slug jettisoned off of the vulture and crashed into the side of the mountain. Flaming fuel sprayed out of the vulture all over the ground beneath it. In a matter of seconds the droid had slowed enough to begin converting its flight wings into walking legs. With four ground-shaking thuds the flight droid became a four-legged walker in the dry dirt only ten meters in front of Argent. The 22 foot tall vulture stared down at the Jedi with its glowing "eyes" which were actually its primary sensor ports.

HK Fifty Grim Wraithe Stjerna

 

[HK Fifty]

The Lonely Five

Argent wasn’t concerned with the Twi’leks reactions for the moment , sprinting past them to engage the Vulture Droid. Eventually they’d either realize she was a Jedi , or else allow herself and her fellow Shadow to explain who she was and how she was their ally , but for the moment they were all doomed if she didn’t destroy the Vulture Droid hovering overhead. It’s fuel slug chamber suddenly catching aflame did force the Droid Starfighter to face her in it’s ground-Walker mode , although she knew with the slow speeds it was traveling at to strafe them it wouldn’t destroy it. Nevertheless , she found the event rather interesting , though she didn’t have time to put much thought into evaluating the circumstances - beyond finding it rather fortunate for her , of course.

In a moment the towering Droid was standing directly in front of the Shadow , staring down at her with it’s red photoreceptors. Her immediate reaction was to reach out with the Force and attempt to fry it’s Central Control Cluster using her skills with Ionization , which would instantly render the Vulture Droid nothing more than an especially large pile of scrap. If that should fail to destroy it , she’d weave underneath it’s legs and sever each of the four pillars as high as she could , which would cause it to crash down to the ground on it’s belly. Intending to be behind it , she’d plunge her Lightsaber directly into it’s Central Control Cluster , underneath the durasteel armor on it’s cranial unit.

 

[Epiphany]

Aboard the CA-12 Frigate, Intruder​

"We're almost there, Lieutenant. Do you understand your orders?"

Sasha tilted her head slightly towards Captain Leylante Narad, who didn't fill out his uniform nearly as well as she filled out hers. "Of course, sir. You want me to oversee the initial offloading of these Corporate Alliance munitions before tagging along with a shipment to one of the outlying cities where I'm to collect first hand observation on how our product's being used."

"And look for cost-cutting opportunities."

"Of course, sir," Sasha said, inclining her head a bit deeper in respect. "War is good for business...but only when someone's buying."

"The Confederacy of Independent Systems is a worthwhile investment," Captain Narad said, stroking his scaly chin. "As you're well aware, given your service." He frowned briefly. "Remind me how long you've been with us?"

"Ten years, sir. I worked under Gilber Cross before he assigned me to be your aide, remember? I hope you'll be as pleased with my service as he was."

It didn't take any Force Persuasion or any direct memory manipulation to nudge the Koorivar Captain's confusion away, particularly given his distraction with the Intruder's approach to Ryloth. After all, her insertion was rather good for such a last-minute affair.

After receiving Ghoul's request for reinforcements, Sasha had tapped one of her confidential informants to get an underground contact with the Corporate Alliance. Catching a fast ship to the independent space station of Crimson Crescent, the only Force she'd had to use was to convince the Corporate Alliance recruiting kiosk that she was already an employee who'd lost her papers. The HR clerk so helpfully filed Sasha into the system as a Project Manager under Corporate Alliance's QA Branch, reporting up to Gilber Cross...who reported to Leylante Narad whose ship had just stopped for refueling. Printing orders, the new 'Lieutenant' reported for duty along with a dozen other recruits or transfers waiting on the station to join the crew of the Intruder.

So far, Sasha had played her role perfectly. It'd helped that she'd infiltrated the Corporate Alliance before, eight years ago, while investigating rumors of a Sith artifact being used to orchestrate a corporate takeover. Since then, they'd joined the Separatist movement but they were still a business and she knew the rules of how businesses worked. All she had to do was stay in character.

"You'll check in every 24 Galactic Standard hours, of course."

"I can certainly send updates that frequently. I may be in the field a while, sir, inspecting the droid armies and their deployment for compliance with our standards. You can expect me back in person in a week, of course."

"The Intruder's only due to remain in orbit of Ryloth for a week, Lieutenant. If you need more time-"

"You'll know well in advance and I'll make my own transit arrangements, and only if there's legitimate opportunities to merit missing the rendezvous with the Intruder. It'll be entirely your decision, sir."

The Koorivarian made a harrumphing noise but otherwise seemed content with her approach. With any luck, they'd dock soon and she could be on her way to intersect with Ghoul, per his instructions. And the Force willing, she'd even have a ride back out of here depending on the scope and success of her mission.

 

[Proletariat]

The Lonely Five

The Vulture Droid towering over Argent did not wait around for the Jedi to use her force abilities to cripple it. Instead, energy torpedoes shot out of the body of the droid and sailed directly at Argent. The Jedi managed to react quickly, she sprinted forward to carry out her backup plan as the torpedoes whirred by right over her head. The explosion behind her shook the ground and the shockwave tripped her up for a moment, which allowed the droid to dig in its extendable leg claw and launch a heavy load of earth and rock directly into Argent. The Jedi caught a rock the size of a thermal detonator with her head and the sheer force of the dirt launched her backwards onto the ground. The Vulture decided to try to take advantage of the situation by walking towards the Jedi in an attempt to crush her body with one of its leg claws, one step later it and it was nearly on top of her.

The Twi'leks huddled together near the mountain, watching the scene with mixed feelings. Meanwhile their leader was deciding whether or not they should use the Vulture droid's distraction to flee. There were sure to be other droids inbound to investigate the explosion and the Twi'leks knew that their mechanical adversaries took no prisoners.

HK Fifty Grim Wraithe Stjerna

Planet Ryloth, City of Nabat

The Intruder made its descent through Ryloth's atmosphere towards the small city of Nabat. The customs check at the orbital blockade went smoothly, although it took longer than usual. The Separatists at Ryloth were growing increasingly paranoid due to the reports they were receiving regarding insurgent activity from the Twi'leks. In addition to that, there were a few reports that even suggested Jedi activity on the planet's surface. Although Wat Tambor would never admit it to his superiors, the thought of Jedi lurking on Ryloth worried him greatly; that pressured him into increasing his personal security as well as the security guarding the treasure convoys headed for Lessu.

Upon their landing, the officers of the Intruder were met by a T-series tactical droid named TX-20. Sasha noted that compared to other battle droids, TX-20 seemed highly perceptive, autonomous, and intelligent. Although just like other battle droids, the T-series had a one track mind, it executed its commands and did little else. Most of the munitions that they offloaded for Nabat were proton cannon rounds and it did not take long for Sasha to find out why. Nabat was a subterranean city mostly, but the surface portion contained landing pads, cantinas, and tightly packed slums. The slums were abandoned by now, save for a few droid patrols. As they walked through the dusty and lonesome streets, Sasha couldn't help but wonder what happened to the people living there before. Once they cleared the maze of slums they reached a disk shaped area amid tall rocky cliffs. From the air this area was only visible from directly above, but from the ground one could see the sky all around Nabat.

Sasha saw nearly one dozen J-1 semi-autonomous proton cannon droids scattered around the open area. What startled her was the clusters of Twi'lek civilians herded together in groups around the cannons. Her superiors never once questioned it, of course. They were there on business, not to conduct war crime trials. Battle droids watched over the harried, starving Twi'leks and kept them in line so that the Separatist army could be assured that no Republic force would dare bomb their proton cannons, for fear of killing the civilians. It was equal parts genius and evil. After the initial inspection and unloading, Sasha said her goodbyes to her superiors and she watched the Intruder lift off from Nabat to re-enter orbit. Except for logistics personnel from the Intruder, she was the only organic being in the city besides the Twi'lek prisoners.

As they stood together in the center of the proton cannon defense, TX-20 remarked to Sasha, "These munitions will keep this outpost supplied for months. The Republic stands no chance at retaking Nabat, let alone the entire planet." After he finished his gloating he began his inquiry into Sasha's business, "Tell me agent, how long do you plan on staying on Ryloth? Emir Tambor does not wish for merchants or corporate agents to linger planetside."

Epiphany