Onslaught of the Empire

[Des Voh]

Caisar pursed his lips, and looked down for a moment, contemplating. The terror he had sensed before was worming its way to the surface, and it had even stunned her companion. Truly life as a citizen of the Sith Empire made one's nerves... touchy."I already said, I only want answers to a few simple questions. Simple, but important." He said, then stood up slowly, looking around the rec room."Perhaps some caf or tea would calm everything down. What would you each like?" He asked while walking over to a counter, where upon a caf maker and auto-kettle sat.

Setting each to brew and boil, he easily found three duraceramic mugs, and aligned them in a row on the counter, then he sought through the draws and cabinets for tea bags, or perhaps the instant powder-type. He would expect an officer's rec to have the good stuff on a well-stocked supply ship like this one.

Victoriously he found just what he was hoping to; premium tea leaves all the way from the deep core agricult-worlds. Though this container had a 'Lieutenant Orsus'es name on it. He shrugged and set it on the counter anyway.  

[Cale Darksun]

Free of the woman's attempt at mental control, Cinn gasped as he was now able to think clearly. Shaking his head, he glared at the woman unconcious on the floor before him. He gestured to the door, unlocking it, and Thule Guardsmen entered.
"Place her in one of your solitary confinement cells and keep a droid watch on her. I will return for her when my hunt is complete." He said as he exeited the room. His destination now was his ship to finalize preparations for his hunt, confident now that, with the Jedi woman captured, there was nothing left to impede his current objective.
 

[stellarmagic]

Zaala stared at the Jedi making tea, completely and totally flummoxed. He seemed to be speaking and acting... kindly. Zaala shivered, whatever he wanted it must be bad... dangerous. Like everything else she'd done.

Still it was.. strange. She felt like she was being lubricated, like he was being nice in order to ask something of her. Why would a force user bother with that, she was nothing compared to them. Why didn't he just come out and say what he wanted.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the question as to what she wanted, and her attention snapped to Alyn when he said. "Corellian Orange-Spice would be great."

Corellian what? Zaala thought with a scowl and glanced over at the jedi looking even more confused.  

[Darkened Angel]

Danika came to and looked around, quickly realizing what happened. There was no point in attempting an escape now. Even if she could get away, she had no place to go that would be safe. She looked outside and saw the security guard standing guard. Almost out of sight, she saw some soldiers carrying around a few fabrics that looked like some of her outfits. " I guess that means they searched the room I was in. " she thought.

She sat down on the bed, which was barely more comfortable than the floor, and began to meditate. She healed herself with the Force to recover from her struggle with the Sith, and tried to determine why the Sith was on Thule. " He couldn't be here because of me. There must be something else. " she thought.  

[Des Voh]

The very distinct change in Zaala's composure set Cairsar at ease, but he still knew it'd be an uphill battle to win her trust. But he wasn't here to make friends, so he only had to go so far."Corellian Orange-Spice it is... Good choice." He said, dropping a small net of tea leaves into each mug, gathering all of them in other hand and a container of sugar with the other, carrying them over to the table before the two and setting them down, taking his own cup back to his seat. Sitting as he did before, he sipped at his tea, hot as it was.

"I can tell that you must be used to very different kinds of hospitality, Miss Xor. You must be assured that I am not here to put you at unease, only to ask questions pertaining to the Sith Lord you fought on Ruuria, and your homeplanet."He spoke calmly, taking another sip of his tea and looking directly at her.  

[lady_skuld]

DAGGER squad stomped through the forest. Sounds of battle echoed over the treetops as they moved along. Sythica looked around as she heard the sounds of Artillery firing from both sides. She noticed that the trees were aligned across as a wind barrier to the farms. This provided some cover between fields as the squad marched along. Two soldiers took point as they moved forward and took cover behind a piece of farm machinery. They peeked over, giving a wave, as Rasczek moved forward with most of the squad in tow.

A large field was between them and a farmhouse. Several squads were assaulting this house. Heavy Repeater fire pinned them down from the top part of the farmhouse. Blue orbs fired up into the sky to fall back down again obviously a form of artillery. Sith War droids moved forward only to be blasted apart from heavy grenades from within the farmhouse.

"Blast them. They're pinning the main group down." Rasczek said. It was a statement of the obvious.

"We can flank them from the left side, and sweep around. It'll be faster than trying to hope the main line can wrap around," she said. Local military troops took up defensive positions around the farmhouse as she said this. Sythica pointed to a small block of buildings not far from he house. "Permission to take point on this?"

If the helmets weren't on Sythica could have seen a few smiles appear on a few of her squadmates. Rasczek responded. "Permission granted. Take the sith with you and let's see how the rookies can handle a simple picket line. We'll be behind you."

Sythica wanted to roll her eyes. Looking at Nova she nodded her head to have the girl follow her. "Acknowledged, Sir."


Squad objectives:
- Secure an LZ.
- Shut down comm transmitters
- Destroy air defenses
- Remove the main communication tower.
- Secure spaceport  

[Skyeborne]

Ruuria: One week ago...

The security guard, a tall Gran with a muscular build, lumbered past the waiting room door for the 7th time in the past hour, always from the same direction, once every 7-9 minutes without fail. He was wearing stiff clothing, designed to look like normal everyday wear, but the Gran's outfit was just barely thicker than regular cloth should be, which suggested an armored weave through the material. There was a small lump in the fabric next to his rib cage, which by the size and shape (as well as the way it moved when he walked), suggested a heavy blaster pistol riding in a shoulder rig. Khyber had been here for precisely 72 minutes and 13 seconds, and having quickly taken in the details of the room around him, now analyzed the particulars of the persons who passed by.

The waiting room was inside one of the larger banks in the capital city of this jungle planet. Recently, the Sith had invaded, decimating the small Republic fleet in orbit, and taking over the planet within a matter of days. The Ruurians had repeatedly sided with the Sith in previous wars, and offered little resistance to their arrival or to the installation of a Sith-backed puppet government to control the populace. A few ragtag remnants of the token force the Republic had stationed here still fought a desperate guerilla campaign in the jungles, but the cities and colonies, and thus the planet, were firmly under Sith control.

Khyber had arrived here just a few weeks before the Sith, masking his presence in the Force and hiding inside the ruins of an abandoned Jedi temple to mask it further, in case a Sith Lord powerful enough to pierce his veil accompanied the Sith forces. He had considered assisting the small Republic force in defending the planet, but knew how grim their chances were and decided instead on a different purpose.

The Gran walked by for the 8th time...  

[Miss-Pandemica]

As Nova observed the surrounding battle she did not allow herself to become too distracted and kept quiet she moved with the rest of the squad. It was obvious that the enemy was at somewhat of an advantage, and while her usual instinct would’ve been to avoid such dangers and simply evade them she didn’t have the luxury to pursue such an initiative. But she made sure to pull out the two pieces of her vibrostaff from the back of her armour and clicked them together just as Rasczek gave the orders for Nova to pair up with Sythica.

Nova obediently acknowledged the orders and followed Sythica towards the enemy farmhouse..
 

[Skyeborne]

Ruuria: One week ago...

A well-dressed businessman exited the office before him, and Khyber was beckoned through the door. Behind the desk was a fourteen-legged insectoid just over a meter tall, and twice that in length. Each leg had four opposable fingers, and its head bore a pair of fine, almost feathery, antennae and large, multifaceted eyes. A native of the planet, and the head of the bank, the Ruurian welcomed Khyber into the office and offered him a seat.

"I thank you for coming on such short notice Mister Copperplate," said the Ruurian bank manager in Basic. "I hope your journey from the Drenix colony was uneventful."

Khyber replied in perfect Ruurian.

the Ruurian responded.



he said in a reassuring tone.

"Thirteen percent!" Khyber exclaimed in Basic. "That is outrageous!"



"No...no that won't be necessary..." Khyber stammered, acting suddenly fearful at the mention of an Inquisitor. "I will endeavor to convince my employer that the tax is of a most reasonable rate."







Khyber said, without batting an eye. He laid a credit chip on the desk, which the manager calmly picked up and inserted into his desk terminal.

stated the Ruurian. He moved his hand to remove the chip, but before he could complete the motion Khyber reached out with his mind and gave the Ruurian's a small push. The bank manager sat frozen for a few minutes, before completing the motion and handing Khyber's chip back as if nothing had occurred.  

[Nelowulf]

The academy echoed with the bang of the stun grenade. Too arrogant, the acolytes were, marching in as if nothing was wrong. Even the subtle hints of the force could not deter those with such a cocky attitude. Even so they were warned not to underestimate the dangers within, the simplest and crudest of traps had already caught the first Sith to be with enough of a daze to keep him down rather well. The remaining five were now alert, drawing weapons to face a threat which hadn't mobilized. Jian could only stifle a small chuckle as he sat, drinking a small bit of water from his canteen, looking down at the front entrance...  

[Skyeborne]

Ruuria: One week ago...

Khyber returned to the temple ruins later that day, after dodging two attempts by Sith probe droids to follow him through the city. He exited the city via a series of underground tunnels he had discovered during his first week on the planet, and was able to move about the local area quite easily while using the presence of the ruins as a sort of "magnetic north" to guide him. As he arrived at the entrance to the ruins, a blaster bolt hit the ground near Khyber's feet, sending him diving for cover.

"Come out with your hands up, meatbag!" ordered a robotic voice from inside the ruins.

"DEVRO, it's me."

"Really? Apologies, master. I did not recognize you in that atrocious get-up," said a small Republic military probe droid, floating into view. "Do you really think all of that is necessary for a proper disguise?"

"It seldom hurts to be too careful," Khyber replied, pulling off a fake goatee and popping out a pair of contact lenses. "And besides, some of the oldest methods are still the best ones."

"If you say so, master."

"I do. How has your mission come along?"

"Quite well. Alpha and Omega squads are in position and awaiting my signal," DEVRO reported, sounding proud of his efforts. DEVRO was actually a highly advanced artificial intelligence of Khyber's own design, currently housed in the droid's body for the time being. "The rest of our would-be guerrillas are scattered throughout the jungles, engaging targets of opportunity and seeing to the bare necessities of life."

"Well done, my faithful companion. We'll be off then. A short trudge through the jungle and we'll meet up with Alpha squad as they are completing their objective."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One short trudge later, Khyber and DEVRO came to a small clearing near the outskirts of the city. There a small transport had landed, and a few Sith troops were loading local captives on board, to be used as slave labor off-world. After most of the captives had been loaded onto the transport, Khyber signaled to DEVRO and the little droid sent out a short message to Alpha squad, which was hidden on the other side of the clearing. He then began jamming the Sith's communications.

Suddenly, blaster fire erupted from the other side of the clearing, cutting down three of the soldiers before they could react. The couple that remained raced towards the ramp of the transport. They stopped however, when they saw Khyber at the top of the ramp, hands resting calmly upon his cane. The soldiers began to raise their blasters, but Khyber just looked at them and they both flew out of the ship and into the clearing below.

"A Jedi, huh?" said a camouflaged Republic soldier, approaching the ramp. "I guess that explains the tactical skill that's kept us alive this past week. Devraelis Blackwater, I presume?"

"You would be in error to do so," Khyber replied, gesturing towards DEVRO as the metallic sphere hovered over towards the transport. "This is Mr. Blackwater."

"A droid?!" said the soldier, swearing in surprise. "For the past six days we've been following the orders of a droid? Well...I guess I have no room in which to complain. No matter the source, we'd be dead now if it wasn't for your assistance. I would shake your hand, but you seem to lack the necessary appendage..."

"That won't be necessary," DEVRO said. "The compliment is thanks enough."

Still shaking his head in apparent disbelief, the soldier ordered his men aboard the transport, where they freed the captives who were chained there. Most, after hearing Khyber's plans to leave Ruuria, decided to tag along, though a few disappeared into the jungle to return to their previous lives.

The transport followed its original flight plan until it passed the Sith sentries in the system, then made the jump into hyperspace, heading for Republic territory...  

[lady_skuld]

Sythica moved around to the 'side' of the line. She crept up, using a shed for cover. Listening to the radio she could hear the advance and retreat of the other two platoons assaulting. She watched the droids take the attention of the heavy repeater up top, preparing a grenade.

"Sith, what skills do you got?" she asked. She peeked around, as the rest of the squad caught up.

"Steady..." she added. "Go!" she shouted, moving out and forward. Rasczek ordered the supressing fire upon the target. The heavy repeater answered back. Sythica had already crossed half the distance to a bale of grain when the repeater aimed at her. Red bolts crossed overhead as she dove in and slid safely behind. She peeked around the bale, and noticed the farmhouse was the start of several buildings making up a small series of buildings perhaps a farming community. Originally it was hidden by a treeline behind
the house they were assaulting. The trooper now had a better glance at her target.

First platoon radioed in their charge on the target. The artillery compensated, firing forward. Explosions from shells could be heard as the squads moved forward for cover.

"So, skills?" Sythica asked.

Squad objectives:
- Secure an LZ.
- Shut down comm transmitters
- Destroy air defenses
- Remove the main communication tower.
- Secure spaceport  

[stellarmagic]

A chill ran down Zaala’s spine as she thought of home… what would the Jedi do if they knew of it, it’s defenses. Her throat tightened. No, I can’t talk about that… not with them. This Jedi might seem nice but he could still kill me for anything and no one would raise a hand to stop him… well, except maybe Alyn.

She stared down at the steaming cup of tea and swallowed. “I don’t expect any hospitality from those that can wield the force… Master Jedi.” She sniffed and stared down at the cup again. “As for the sith lord, I’m afraid I don’t know much about him… I always tried to stay away from them when I could.”

Alyn glanced at her and frowned slightly. “Zaala… what is it? Are you afraid of him?”

Zaala froze, her hand shaking uncontrollably and then closed her eyes. She nodded dumbly then stared down at the steaming cup of tea.  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Nova wasn’t sure how to respond to Sythica’s question at first, and since they were currently trying to flank the enemy the timing of such a question seemed rather unusual to say the least. The blaster bolts from the repeater were easy enough to dodge as she joined Sythica behind the bale of grain.

“It would be easier to show you then describe it, ma’am,” she replied. “But I can handle defense while you assume an offensive strike.” In all honestly Nova was following Sythica’s lead in this assault. She figured the idea was to assault the enemy from the side of the farmhouse and take them out from that point, which would leave the first platoon a better chance of finishing them off. “So what are your orders, ma’am?”
 

[Des Voh]

Caisar thought for a long moment, looking over at Zaala, trying to formulate the correct response. After taking a sip of his tea, he cleared his throat."Miss Xor... I do not know what you were taught by your Empire concerning what the 'Jedi Order' is and what we are like, but if you do not mind, I shall grant you an insight into what we are, our place in the Republic, and who the Sith truly are. Please have it that this is on good authority, for among other things, I am a Historian within the Order."

Straightening his posture in the chair, the Jedi held the steaming cup of tea before him in his lap, one hand beneath the other, and began."For more than twenty-thousands years the Jedi Order has existed, we were but enlightened philosophers in those early days. Though conflict within us did exist, forcing members inclined to peace to take up arms against more radical thinkers, those that used their abilities to grant ever-increasing power, over others and through The Force. Centuries later, other individuals decided to follow suit, and the Dark Jedi came to be, and they were battled with and exiled. After they returned and warred with the republic and us in stronger numbers... Beings crossed with the dreaded 'Sith' species of Korriban, which I believe you are familiar with, and we fought them again, pushing them back. We thought them destroyed, but we were apparently wrong."

"We devoted ourselves to the defense of the Republic and some might say, justicars of those who would abuse the power of the Force. We became Her protectors, and the guardians of democracy and free-thinking to the betterment of all, though we were not and are not warriors, we study the martial practices so that we might do our jobs better, but above all, we are philosophers, diplomats, and preservers of peace and knowledge throughout the galaxy. We study TheForce, so that we might have better understandings of ourselves and our places in the Universe, not for power, that is a path corrupt and paved with disaster."

Giving a slight sigh, he looked down."Many would claim otherwise, and I am sure the Sith themselves claim us weak, but they have denied also that nearly every attempt they have made to overcome our devotion to The Light and the people we protect has been thwarted. Crusades to push the Dark Ones away and bring peace. This war shall be no different, though I suspect it might be our most harsh yet. Even Revan, one of the most powerful Sith Lords the Republic has faced in centuries, who returned and worked to erase the Sith presence he brought from the Outer Regions, was overcome. Though unlike most, he saw that we was wrong and returned to the Light."

He smiled at Zaala Xor."You can trust me if you like, but know that my hospitality and demeanor are not a show. I have nothing in store for you that is devious. I do not expect you to know the codes to allow us to reach the Empire's heart, the secrets of the Sith, nor do I presume to strong arm you into a conflict you have no desire to be apart of."He took a lingering sip of his tea, and leaned forward to set it on the table before him. satisfied with the beverage. Straightening out how robe out as he sat back, he turned to Alyn, then back to Zaala."Your suspicions are true, as I know you must have them; There is a job I have to ask of each of you, but that is only if you would take it. For now, I only have simple questions, Miss Xor. Ones the likes of which yourself or republic intelligence would find mundane or inconsequential. But to myself, they are key."