Onslaught of the Empire

[ElladanKenet]

Ilia made her way into the barracks, striding purposefully to the clerk on duty. The man in uniform seemed to be lazily lounging in his chair, a sight that irked Ilia. Grinding her teeth, the woman strode up and banged her fist on the table. "You there. I'm looking for the troopers that came back from the spaceport about half an hour ago. Direct me to them."

Jumping out of his stupor, the corporal apologized profusely, directing the Lady Nightwind into one of the adjoining rooms. Ilia followed his instructions and found herself in the home of Platoon 543. The five soldiers from Bravo Squad. At her approach, the lounging soldiers stood to attention, upon which point the woman dismissed them. "At ease. I came to visit the remnants of your team. Who's in charge?"

One of the men stepped forward. This had to be the officer who had first directed his rifle at Nova. "Corporal Bett Jonson, Red Team, Bravo Squad, Platoon 543. What can we do for you, Lady Nightwind?"

"I just wanted to talk about your work at the spaceport. You and your men served admirably against the Jedi."

The man's cheeks blushed ever so slightly from the praise, causing him to bow in order to hide it. "You honor me my lady. We were just doing our job. I only wish we could've stopped them."

"You and I both, Corporal." Ilia replied. "I'm sure we'll catch him in time. I wanted to come to you first and offer my personal thanks for your good work, before I go interrogate the woman you arrested."

At the mention of Nova, the soldier scowled. "Blast that girl. She assaulted my my men. She got one of my boys killed, even if she didn't shoot him herself. I hope she rots."

"She'll be punished," Ilia assuaged him, a slight edge to her voice. "You have no need to worry about that anymore. I'll make sure personally that you and your men never have anything to do with her again. That much I can promise you. But, I'll make it worth your anyway to forget it ever happened,"

The soldiers exchanged quick glances. "My lord?"

"I'm giving you and your men the day off. Use it as you see fit. Enjoy the cantinas. Enjoy the women and ale you find there. You'll be compensated for all your men lost, any damaged equipment, and your forces will be replenished. I only demand that the incident at the spaceport be forgotten."

The corporal frowned. "I don't know... it is a generous offer my lord, but.." he hesitate slightly.

"It is not an offer. It's an order, and a gift. Enjoy your TWO days off, Sergeant."

Sensing the warning and the addendum, the now-former Corporal snapped to attention. "As you wish, Lady Nightwind. Was there anything else?"

Ilia nearly chuckled at the abrupt change of tone. True, she had bribed them, but they really had no choice but to take it. By refusing it, they were refusing an order from a Sith, the one in control of them. True she might get in trouble for it later, but the woman could kill them if she wanted to. Ilia had certainly considered such an option, but thankfully it hadn't happened. "No. That will be all, Sergeant. Enjoy your shore leave." She nodded to them again, before walking back out, leaving the troopers alone. She was confident she had bought their silence and loyalty. All she had to do was keep Nova under control, and this situation could be forgotten.

And the better part? She really hadn't given them much of anything. As commanding officer, the corporal would've likely been promoted anyway. The Republic trap was being sprung, and if everything went as planned, the soldiers wouldn't be needed for much over the next few days. Their squad would certainly be replenished, and Ilia had more than enough credits to pay for a night or two in a cantina.

It looked like today just might end on a good note.  

[Cale Darksun]

With each Battlecruiser supported by a Trio of Frigates and a smattering of Pursuit vessels, the Republic was in for a rough time. They were now trapped between the Executioner and her two sister ships, who began to spin to bring fearsome Broadsides to bear. Caught in the crossfire of the Imperial vessels, the Republic Fleet began to lose vessels at a quick rate.
 

[Nelowulf]

Nelowulf

NPC
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
Type: Republic Frigate
Number: 1.5/2

Type: Republic Corvette
Number: 6/7

Type: Republic Transport
Number: 12/12

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

The superior firepower of the Sith fleet was more than obvious. Shields went down faster than they could even attempt to consider making a counter assault. The Aurora was no exception. It's shields already at 70% and steadily dropping, the captain could only watch the transports slowly move to alter the vectors enough to make whatever jumps they could.

It probably was a good day to die.... however unwilling a person might be. The first of the transports arced up to try to align itself with a new vector, as turbolaser fire ripped into it's now exposed being. A corvette was already beginning to show signs of flaming; the evacuation order had already been announced. There was no dishonor in trying to go to the escape pods for that particular vessel.

 

[lady_skuld]

Kira drifted slowly to the left as the fighter craft tried to pick her up on their scopes. The scrambler did what it could, as the droid destroyed one fighter. Two more picked up on their tail as Kira leveled herself out. The nav computer got the coordinates locked in.

"I hope that you don't mind me getting out of here. I'm not staying around for a fuzzball like this," she said. Her green hand pulled a pair of levers as the stars began to stretch beyond the cockpit. The Tranquility lurched forward and blasted off.

Kira spun around in her chair. "Well, broke through three cruisers, numerous frigates and support craft. I do say that my services were well worth the cost, don't you?"



At the shooting range Sythica exchanged her blaster packs. She lifted the rifle up to her shoulder and took aim. Three new targets popped up as she drilled the heads off with three shots a piece. A fourth target popped up as she fired, the blasterbolt going wide. A small groan left her mouth. She didn't care much for the inaccuracy of the carbines they were issued. Sometimes their bolts just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. The longer rifles were much better suited to her accuracy needs. Still, that was the drawback of standard issue equipment.

She put the carbine down and drew her sidearm. "I really wish that I could practice my swordsmanship as easy as this," she grumbled, as the targets popped up. Several expended bolts later showed a number of hits on the center of mass. A small grin curled on her lips. "If only these targets would be able to deflect, then I could really get good."  

[Nelowulf]

Jian felt a bit of apprehension regarding the fate of the fleet. He probably would only be able to tell his success by seeing who would meet up at point Besh. The ship was bound on a course of zigzags to help throw off any followers, Jian didn't have that much trust in a smuggler to not just take the shortcut route and lead the enemy to their doorstep. Young as she was, Jian sensed, she was smart, but easily could overlook details.

"Well, here's hoping. Just follow the jump points I put in, and don't worry. The Republic will afford you for carrying us through such dangers. I assure you, we are capable of it. If you'll excuse me ma'am," He said with a polite bow. Putting his hands together, the first thing he wanted to do was change his clothing. This plebian dress was just not for him, and the day's events left him weary. The freighter was large enough to find space, and reflect on the day's events.

~~~~
Ten years earlier..
Jedi Testing Cave, Caamas

The beast glared at him, large and insectoid in shape, as Jian froze up. A mechanical noise of hellish nature echoed through the cavern, Jian fumbling back as the beast reared up and gave another roar. The training saber ignited, as Jian couldn’t feel anything from the creature. It seemed determined to attack, as its legs shot forward to strike at the lad. Ducking to the side, Jian took off running a short distance to center himself, relying on the standard grip of the saber rather than his fancy footwork style he demonstrated before. The insectoid crawled after him, making another attack on Jian, who deflected the leg off the glowing blade’s edge. The impact was harder than he thought it would be. It nearly forced him to the ground, as another leg shot forth, evaded only by millimeters on Jian’s half.

“Not good, not good!” Jian cried. His heart raced, he could feel the blood pump through his body. His chest felt tight as the all too familiar feeling of fear tried to creep into him. Shaking his head, the feeling was pushed to the back of his head, as he noticed the beast tried to turn him around. Now, he found himself being backed towards the unconscious body, outmuscled and outskilled by his opponent. With something almost as fast as he was as well, what advantages Jian had seemed meaningless, as another pair of legs stretched forth, as Jian sidestepped again. A downward swing connected, slicing an arm off, as Jian circled again, trying to let out a breath of exhaustion. This trial wasn’t designed for youth, and it showed as a quick thrust gave a slice through the youth’s sleeve, deeply lacerating Jian’s arm underneath and spilling blood.

The youth tried to cry out, but it wouldn’t make a difference. Pain had to be shifted elsewhere on his body, as a broad sided swipe from the insectoid leg sent young Jian flying across the room and into a rock wall. Slumping to the ground, the throbbing pain of his head made the room swirl around in a twisted amalgamation of black and color, the creature advancing. Getting back up, Jian moved around again, then charged the beast. The monstrous creature took a swing, only to find its target sliding underneath the body. A rash of pain from the friction burned into Jian’s leg, annoying and aggravating his previous wound. It was getting harder and harder to focus, as the boy stepped back. His heel caught onto something, forcing him to fall onto his butt and stare down. The leg from before, cut and still on the ground, tripped Jian. Except now, the leg wasn’t a leg, but merely a metallic arm, droidlike in nature. Jian realized now what he was fighting was no better than a training bot, but it was definitely not going to stop until he was unconscious. At least, he hoped. Maybe knights had to fight against a robot going for blood. Jian looked up, as the monster grew closer to him, feeling his lightsaber shut off in his hand. He was too tired, too weak to continue.

“If this was real,” he breathed, his own labored panting barely forming words. The colors swirled, showing the tree in the room turn to a bright red, as the beast went for a final swipe. Jian closed his eyes, only to feel nothing. Slowly he opened one eye, wondering what had happened, as the droid seemed to be fighting… something. It was fighting itself, it seemed, as it swung wildly and eventually turned and headed into the hallways again. Jian looked up, and saw a bit of fog surrounding him, and to his right, what appeared to be a glowing presence, a face he recognized from somewhere. From his own tutelage, and examination of the library archives, Jian recognized it as… did he recognize it?

“Rest, youngling. You’ve done well. What’s your name?” the phantom asked. Jian blinked, his vision blurry.

“Jian…” He replied. His savior gave a smile.

“Jian. Jian… JIAN!” The sound of his voice echoed as the phantom was brushed aside by the fog, a falleen looking down at him as his vision went black…
~~~~

Having changed his clothing to that which he wore upon Ruuria, and tossing it aside, he felt a sigh of regret well up inside him that he could not have had something more on his body. He hadn't expected losing his possessions so swiftly (mostly a change of clothing) on the planet. Still, what could be done could be.

Seeking out Danika from before, he motioned to speak with her, preferably in private.  

[ElladanKenet]

The door to the holding cells opened. Nova could hear the cllip of boots as an Imperial officer approached, wearing a black uniform and a glarey look on his face. Behind him stoof Nightwind. The two women stood in front of Nova's celldoor, the ray shielding deactivated. The man called out. "Prisoner, step forth for interrogation. Fail to comply, and you will be punished."

Here in the Empire, some prisoners had rights. Very very limited ones, and only extended to Sith and Imperial soldiers. Usually these were more just 'being polite', since often the captors were not in the least bit polite or gentle with their prisoners, if they took them.  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Nova opened her eyes, releasing herself from her meditative state. She slowly stood up and walked over to the door and gave a bow of her head to the Lady Nightwind. No words passed between them. All had been said before and there was no need for such pleasantries again. Many questions would be asked of her during her interrogation and she was fully prepared to answer any and all questions. Squaring her shoulders and straightening her stance she looked at them with a serene expression on her face.  

[ElladanKenet]

The two soldiers who had been standing guard outside her room each took a step up, placing their hands firmly on her shoulders. The Interrogator nodded curtly, turned, and led the way to a nearby room. Nightwind followed him, and then followed by the escorted Nova.

The interrogation room was plain, a metallic room with no windows. Sound proof, it contained a pair of hidden holorecorders, a table, and two chairs. Nova was forced into one chair, her wrists secured by cuffs. The Interrogator sat at the other end, and Ilia stood unobtrusively in the corner. The guards left the room.

After a few moments, the Interrogator lifted his head, eyeing Nova. "You are Nova, Sith acolyte, correct?" A formality. "You have been charged with assaulting a squad of the Emperor's troops and preventing the capture of wanted persons. How do you plead?"  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Nova stared directly at the Interrogator without blinking. “Guilty on all counts, sir,” she spoke plainly. She wasn’t going to point out that it was not entirely correct to charge her with ‘preventing the capture of wanted persons’ but she kept silent.  

[ElladanKenet]

Pleading guilty, eh? By all accounts, that's the same thing she said when the troopers first arrested her. The interrogator sat up. "You admit you're guilty. Tell me then, your version of the events that led to your arrest."

Ilia tilted her head up, the better to listen. She too was curious to know about how Nova tracked the Jedi.  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Taking a breath she began to retell how she got on planet, but smuggling herself into one of the ships. “I sensed his presence within the city, it wasn’t hard since he wasn’t masking it at the time. If anything I was rather lucky to be in the same place as him,” she stated. She retold how she followed him to the place he was staying at and how she encounters soldiers which she assumed were Ilia’s. She admits that she wasn’t aware who they were at the time and so she assaulted them with the use of the Force. How she tried to track him as he escaped through the building and how she managed to follow him all the way to the cantina where she had encountered Ilia. After the cantina debacle she had trouble tracking him down and admitted her that she had lost him until she sensed his presence at the space port. Again she attributed this to her luck and retold how she assaulted the Imperial soldier and took his weapon to use in her attempt to stall the Jedi from leaving.

“And that is all, sir. Your soldiers arrested me right after the Jedi had escaped.”
 

[Darkened Angel]

Danika felt a bit useless aboard the freighter. She leaned against a wall and just kept quiet for a bit, until she noticed Jian motioning her over. She walked over to him and began to talk quietly. " What's on your mind, honey? If it's anything about the mess we just got out of, I'm just as confused as you probably are. "  

[Nelowulf]

"My name is Jian, not Honey. and no. I was just curious if you could help me learn how to diminish my presence like you do in the force. It would appear to be quite a useful skill," Jian spoke in a quiet tone. He looked to the side and tried not to make much eye contact except when speaking. "In the end, I believe that is how I attracted such a furball."  

[Darkened Angel]

" It's a habit, hon... Jian. " Danika said. " Half Zeltron, complete with the desire to please, and in general, people feel more at ease when spoken to using terms of endearment. " She swayed her hips teasingly for a moment. " The dancing helps too. " she said. " Both for that and what you're asking. Nobody suspects someone like me to be a Jedi, at least until something like what we just went through happens, but that kinda cover likely won't work for you. "

Danika paused for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, before continuing. " If you were to try reading my mind right now, you'd only get Pazaak, cantina music, and the sense of pleasure a dancer gets from doing a good job. That helps to hide. It's a simple matter of focusing one's mind on something specific that doesn't relate to anything. For example, you could focus your mind on juggling, so that anyone attempting to probe your mind would only see that, and nothing about your true identity. As for preventing being sensed outright, that requires more control of the Force. Imagine trying to suppress an opponent's strength in the Force, but apply it to yourself in a more passive way. That's the best I can explain it. You really have to train for it to understand it. "  

[ElladanKenet]

The interrogator listened intently. Ilia herself paid close attention, adding up the details. They made sense, and Ilia did remember meeting her in the cantina after she first cornered Jian. More, her admittal to attacking one of her soldiers' at the hotel had offered a unique oppurtunity.

When she finished, the man sat up. "You admit to smuggling yourself here, and attacking Imperial troops twice. You thought yourself better trained with a rifle than one of His Majesty's finest? Silly, stupid girl. And you smuggled yourself. You've broken more laws in one day than most criminals ever get to... and once captured, they've been executed for far less."

Ilia knew this as well. The Empire happily enslaved those under it's influence, especially aliens and those non-force sensitive. Rebellion was not tolerated at all, and even petty crimes were harshly punished. Nova was but an acolyte, but she was not above the law. She decide to speak up. "Captain, if I might?"

The man nodded, standing. "Yes, Lady Nightwind?"

"Nova attacked troops under my command. As a fugitive and stowaway, I have the right to punish her. More, to execute an acolyte, even a troublesome one such as her would be a waste of resources. She's not Sith yet, but she could be one day. As a fully trained Sith, and leader of military forces on Ruuria, I took official possession over Nova upon her arrest. She is mine to punish as I deem fit."

The officer eyed Nightwind a bit, then turned to Nova. He looked at the girl, then turned back. "I can hardly go against such a demand. You have the right, my Lady. How will you punish her?"

The woman turned, eyeing Nova carefully. She knew what she had to do. With a wave of her hand, she undid Nova's bindings. Waiting for the girl to stand, she move beside her. "For attacking troops under my command and abandoning your duties on Dromund Kaas, you will burn."

Raising her hand, the air around Ilia's fingers wavered as lightning burst out of her hand, raining over Nova. It wasn't much, and she did not shock her extensively, but for a few moments at least, Nova would know pain.