Onslaught of the Empire

[Cale Darksun]

"Because the Republic breeds weakness." Cinn replied. "The Jedi with their passive philosophy, the Senate with their endless bickering, and their military who lacks the stomach to fight. No such weakness dwells in the ranks of the Sith. Only the strong survive."
The Cobra swept in, strafing enemy gun positions with a pass and swinging about to land at the platform. The ramp lowered before Cinn and he strolled aboard as Sith Fighters screamed across the sky over head, hunting for fresh targets. Once both he and Danika were aboard, the pilot lifted off and started heading for the Executioner.

 

[Darkened Angel]

Danika was caught off guard by Cinn's words. He wasn't supposed to hear her, but it wasn't too surprising. It was hard to keep any secrets from the Sith. Normally, she would argue the statement of strength and weakness, but she knew better than to tell him he was wrong. Once they were on their way back to the Executioner, Danika looked out to the world below. " Another one falls. " she said quietly.  

[Skyeborne]

It was late afternoon in the wilds of Yelsain, as the sounds of blaster-fire and speeder bikes echoed through the enormous trees of this heavily forested planet. Weaving amongst the branches was Khyber on a commandeered Sith speeder bike, being pursued by three Sith military scouts who were all that was left of a patrol he and a squad of Republic snipers had ambushed merely six minutes ago. The snipers he had sent to rendezvous with Caisar and the rest of the Republic forces they had borrowed to assist in defending Yelsain, while he led off the last of the patrol in what had turned into a desperate flight.

Khyber had spent the last two months traveling with the older Jedi, helping to calm unrest caused by the Sith invasion, aiding refugees in withdrawing from areas close to the front lines, and occasionally fighting off Sith attacks. While traveling with him, Khyber had taken the opportunity to learn what he could from Caisar, meditating with him on the nature of the Force and even sparring a few times. It was clear that his companion had earned his rank in the Order, and that as capable as Khyber was, he still had much more to learn from him.

During these recent travels, the young Jedi continued to monitor the unrest in the region, searching for any signs of his quarry's involvement. About a month ago he began to notice more and more clues to point towards his activities, clues which led him here, to Yelsain. It seemed as if Krosis wanted Khyber to find him, and Khyber had to keep reminding himself to be cautious, lest his obsession lead him into a trap...  

[Nelowulf]

Knight-errant Jian Yakamura
Location: Minos Cluster
Personal Location: Travnin, Minos Cluster
Accompanying People: None
Current Attire: http://fong-saiyuk.deviantart.com/art/Wudang-Swordsman-285257811

The young Jedi stood, trying to practice his swings. The fight against the Sith may have been months ago, but in that time, he had done what he could to hone his speed, his agility. Sadly, remotes could only do so much. Plus, the remotes only did ranged attacks. They couldn't mimick a strong opponent, nor could they be so well armored. Part of him had wanted to get a loader droid to try and fight, but in the end, he was reduced to practicing the basics again. Not that it was a bad thing.

It wasn't until mid morning that Jian had finished his own training with the saber, and begun his conscious attempt to empower his own force techniques. The stealth, the newest technique, needed much more honing, as he concentrated, closing his eyes and thinking hard on the lessons.

~~~~
Nine Years ago…
Eshan System

“Master, for almost a year now we’ve been doing mostly exercises and routine force regimens. When are we going to actually get to go on one of these so-called fantastic adventures you’ve been promising me?” Jian asked. Though only ten, the youth had been slowly developing into a young man, but had already impressed Le’wenna on a number of accounts. While still a little weak in the ability to manipulate objects, the lad was a diligent learner, but just as antsy as before. In so many ways the boy had changed, and yet, in so few as well.

“A wise master does not merely toss their padawan into the deep end of the ocean and expect him to swim. While that tactic may work for Master Thul, it also has led your friend Valek into the infirmary a few times. Plus, unlike Valek who is learning from blasterburns and bonks on the head, you’re refining your foundation skills. He may win against you in a lightsaber duel, but it won’t be pretty,” Le’wenna said, relaxing into the chair, watching the ship make its descents. “Plus, he doesn’t use weighted robes. Were you to remove that handicap, you’d probably beat him anyway through sheer nimble speed and agility. You’ve already gotten up to fifteen kilos per appendage. Trust me, you are no better or worse off than what you were before. You’ll need that strength and speed when we start your training on Ataru.”

“Such an aggressive technique, I can never understand why anyone would want to waste their energy hopping around like that,” Jian snipped, leaning against his palm as he propped his elbow into the concave plexiwindow.

“I promise you that learning Soresu can be done on your own. First Shii-cho, then Ataru, then what you wish. I use the same techniques myself to train.” Le’wenna stood up and headed towards the cockpit. “Plus, today’s a treat. I’m going to show you my home and perhaps we can find you something that not every jedi will find. Just have faith, if I lead you astray, it’d only reflect badly upon me anyways.”

Jian had never heard of a particular jedi claiming home to be anywhere, still it wasn’t entirely impossible. To live in an academy all one’s life or to be thrown to the stars were both fates which seemed just as lonely. His attention snapped back as Le’wenna continued to speak. “I’ll try to teach you some wisdom later, when you can be better suited to absorb it, but for now, I think that teaching you the skills to fight and defend yourself with weapons on hand would be better. Even if mastery takes years, the foundation can be set here.”

The transport began its final descent into the planet’s atmosphere, as the shuttle gave a small buckle over the chilled world. Jian watched through his viewport as it guided itself into a larger building, monastic in its decorum, far from others. He silently wondered if his master thought this was a joke, taking him from one school to another. Yet he wasn’t bound to question her. What she had in mind might play more into his future than he realized.

The pair exited down the boarding ramp and into the hangar bay, met by a fair woman with white hair and red robes. A long ponytail drooped down her back while her sides were braided into long tails themselves. She and Le’weenna stared at each other, before throwing several punches. Jian looked on in curiosity, reaching for his saber, when the two embraced in a hug.

“So this is your padawan you spoke so highly of. It looks as though you haven’t lost your edge or told him anything about our culture,” the new woman said aloud. She was proud in her speech and confident in her stance as she looked at the boy with her hands on her hips. “A bit smaller than I expected… For a second I thought he was a girl when he walked down the ramp and I almost believed you told me wrong Le’wenna.” Jian bit the tip of his tongue, a bit flustered by the remark, when his master put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Enough of that Aeryn. I’m here to teach the boy the foundations as masters before me have. As I understand, you have a pupil of yours that needs a sparring partner anyways. Consider this a friendly wager that my pupil will be great as your own. He needs something to rely upon when the saber is gone and the Force is all that remains. “

Aeryn looked rather agitated. “We don’t teach our secrets to everyone.”

“I’m not asking you to. I know that the training is reserved for certain caste members. There is no harm in teaching the basic principles of self defense though,” Le’wenna stated, smirking.

“We are not some after-school dojo, Le’wenna.” The two women stared at each other. Jian wasn’t sure if they were going to break back out into fighting, or something just as explosive.

“We’ll see where he is after a single year. After that, we shall depart. The Jedi Order can only have my absence after so long. If he learns but a single tier, or he learns over three, that will be where it ends. Your secrets will be as safe as his determination and his innate abilities. You are not threatened to reveal the higher forms, only the stuff you teach to children. If that scares you so, then perhaps I was mistaken in the skill of this dojo and should seek someone with a bit more resolve, perhaps on Thyrsus…”

“No,” Aeryn snapped suddenly. “To let the boy learn such crude techniques from those barbarians, and then claim to be using our own would be an insult. You have your year to learn.”

Le’wenna bowed with a small grin as she looked to Jian. “She means well, but tradition dictates.” Le’wenna led the way through the grand hallways and rooms, as Jian began to soak up the various pathways and décor. Really, none existed, it was Spartan and dull, duracrete everywhere. Passing by one room, his eye caught glimpse of a young woman. Something about her just called to hi-

“Come along padawan. No peeking in on other’s rooms,” Le’wenna said, tugging at his ear gently.  

[lady_skuld]

Kira spent about half an hour sipping down her drink. The feelings swelled back up as she recalled what had happened in the last few months. It wasn’t the issue of love. She was too young for that. She simply didn’t like the guilt of the situation. It was one thing to have someone die. It was a totally different thing to have them die because you didn’t stop them.

“Another refill?” Kira looked up, seeing the Herch from before. She nodded, and took a sip. “You left off where you at the interrogation. I assume the next part of the story is how you hunted down Jer’zee?”

“You’ll ruin the surprise,” Kira said. “I spent the entire day trying to track her down, in fact. For the amount she had, there was not much of a lead. Especially with the fuzz sneaking around too. I managed to get into another fight, only to save Mr. Greene’s skin. Of course, he’d deny it, and tried to make an offer to have me follow him around. I guess he caught on that we were both after the same thing. He probably knew the truth all along, hoping I would redeem myself or something.”

“ But you don’t think you did? I already guess you didn’t take the offer.”

“Well…”

----
A while back...
----

Kira poked her head around the corner. The building seemed quiet. Just enough to where she had to hold her pistol at the ready in her hands. She moved through the grey hallways. She poked her gun through the doorway, then moved in. As expected the Zeltron was inside. She was standing over the piles but turned around with pistol in hand as if she had sensed Kira’s approach. The two stared at each other for several moments in silence.

“If you were a killer, you wouldn’t have waited this long.”

“Same with you, Jer’zee. Why are you holding off?” The two women stared at each other unflinching. Kira guessed at the Zeltron’s thoughts. Maybe she thought she would not be subtle enough?

“Because I want to know why Ferrel didn’t kill you.”

“The captain thought me better kept in a cell. He arrived with the security,” Kira answered. “You don’t have to do this. You can just walk away, with your life. Otherwise..” Kira said, before a blasterbolt wizzed past her head.

“I doubt that either of you will. I’m getting my credits back,” the voice of the feral captain announced. “Drop your…”

He didn’t finish, as the smoking blaster from Kira’s spin fired as she dodged his attempt to fire at her before she could shoot him down . She heard the click of another blaster being primed. She whispered a curse to herself as she turned to see the inspector Greene.

“I was sure you’d eventually find this place. Now, it’s not a good habit to start, but I’ll offer you a deal Step away from the money, and I won’t have to arrest you.” Kira stood, weapon drawn and prepared. Who was this guy? “I’m not a bounty hunter. But that’s evidence you’re standing on. And I can count. You have some stashed somewhere. Just walk away.” She kept her blaster trained on him, as much as he kept on her. “You’re probably quicker on the trigger. Maybe not. I’d rather not try. Just take what money you got, and flee. “

“Are you a gambler?”

“No. But I know when to hold, and when to fold. And I know better than you that you shoot me, you’ll be in deeper. Don’t make me list the reasons.” For several moments Kira didn’t move. Neither did Lorne. Then Kira slowly lowered her weapon.

----
Current Day
----

“You just gave up?” the Herch asked. “And walked away? That’s it?”

“Pretty much. I heard blasterfire about a minute later. When I returned, Lorne was dead, killed by Ferrel’s men. I dispatched them, but… the damage was done. The local fuzz came by almost an hour later and told them I just found him here like that. I packed up my things, and came here. That’s it.” The Herch scratched his head. Kira didn’t pay attention to his lines after that. Something about it being a good tale. Something else about doing the right thing. She didn’t care much right now. Giving thanks and dropping a credit on the bar, she shoved her hands in her pockets and exited the building. She put a hand to her ear, and paged her ship.

“SAM, give me the details. What’s our next shipment?”  

[Skyeborne]

More blaster-fire from behind snapped Khyber out of his musings, and he turned hard to the right, bending around one of the massive trees in order an attempt to lose his pursuers for a few moments. He over-compensated on the turn, however, and the speeder bike went into a fast roll. Almost panicking, Khyber yanked the contols back to the left and managed to level the speeder out just in time to avoid colliding with another tree.

"Master," said DEVRO from his position tightly strapped to the back of the bike, "I would advise against that manuever in the future. It did not seem conducive to our continued survival."

"Why don't you fly, then?" Khyber said, pulling an electronic cable from the droid and plugging it into the diagnostic panel of the bike. "I'm a little distracted at the moment..."

His manuever, in spite of its imperfect execution, bought him enough time to regain his bearings before the pursuing scouts closed on him again. No longer burdened with the pressures of flying, Khyber reached out with the Force and touched each speeder bike, waiting for the opportune moment before making them suddenly change course and go flying into each other.

With that situation dealt with, Khyber instructed DEVRO to fly them towards Mount Valtheim, a nearby mountain that was rumored to have the ruins of an ancient temple near the summit. It was there that Krosis was supposed to be, probably expecting Khyber's arrival. He meditated as the speeder drew closer, determined to persevere through whatever trap his rival had prepared for him...  

[Sayla-girl]

In a clearing at the foot of Mount Valtheim, on the backwater Minos Cluster planet of Yelsain, a small starship was parked before the remains of a crumbling, inhuman statue. A number of guard droids watched the perimeter of the clearing as a trio of organics, a Twilek, and a pair of Rodians waited for something to happen.

They weren't the only ones, for watching the ship and its party from a distance was a bounty hunter. She was clad in a suit of armor cobbled together from Republic Trooper armor with a dented trooper helm hanging from her belt, removed to permit her to use her macrobinoculars. At her hips were a mismatched but well worn pair of pistols and a punching dagger, the woman's weapons of choice.

The Hunter's name was Qaina, and for the past two days she had been staking out this particular spot near Mt. Valtheim, just waiting for her acquisition to arrive. It had taken a lot of patience, work, and a generous dipping into her already strained funds, but the tip she had was solid. The target of her 21st hunt was going to make a deal on this planet at this location, and with his business partners waiting for him she was certain he was going to show any time now.

The target was Trikki D'an, a Bith Smuggler who had turned his back on the Hutt Cartel to run cargoes for the Exchange. The Hutts wanted his hide, and for the price they were offering, even if Qaina brought him in dead, it would mean a month of something other than Mandalorian Iron Rations, Instant Rodian Noodles, and water.

Now, as the hunter spied on the men waiting to meet Trikki D'an through her macrobinoculars, she could imagine tasting peppered nerf steak on Adarlon, and the thought of it made her mouth water.
"That dumb freighter jocky aught to be flying in any second now..." She muttered under her breath, zooming out to catch a glimpse of the sky in the event his ship was coming in. "Any....second....now...."  

[Nelowulf]

Lieutenant Warren McJump
Location: Minos Cluster - Shesharile system
Personal Location: Bridge of the Indefatigable
Accompanying ships: 2 Wayfarers.

Fighters zoomed outside the viewports of the Lepi's "flagship". These kinds of assaults were none too foreign to him before, but with the addition to his own fleet, he now felt the relative ease of having such a strong arm to subdue what was already a weak target for his own forces. His fightercraft were already more powerful in number and strength, and for the most part, the remains of the escort were destroyed. Now came the power of the boarding party to ram what little resistance out.

~~~~
Inside the slave transport...


Boarding pods slammed into the side of the transport, giving a small jolt to the crews inside. Attempting to stem the tide, blasterfire could be heard from inside the next corridor. Slaver mercenaries huddled against the alcoves within the hallway prepped their blasters as they prepared for the onslaught, listening to the sounds of blasterfire dying down. For a moment, silence followed, as the sounds of a cutting torch began, creating a thin, burning line to carve a hole into the door. The line traced up, then right, then back down and left again, the scorch marks the only sign of what was to come. Silence again followed, as muffled arguing could be heard. The slaver mercs looked at each other, unsure of what could possibly be there to argue about.

Suddenly, and without warning, a loud thumping could be heard. Despite the klaxon going off, it did not stop the sounds from echoing within the hallway. Two thumps were heard, before a pause, and then a louder clang rang out. The mercs joked at the sound, shouting surrender. The door fell down, skidding across the floor several meters before blasterfire erupted. Leading the charge was a large, heavyset man, with a blade shaped tattoo across the right side of his face, with a trio of clawmarks down his right. Standing easily 1.98 meters tall, if not larger (depending on who asked) was the vanguard of the boarding party. Throwing a large pneumatic ram to the side, he unslung an assault cannon down, and opened fire as he charged the position, nailing in a berzerker rage a series of mercenaries. So furious was he in his storming (followed by the far more accurate shots of the crew behind him now filtering through the door), many within could not do more than flee. Those that ran were nailed in the back, while the wild spraying of blasterfire pinned others down enough to be hit by accurate fire from the back. A loud battle roar echoed down the halls as the large-framed man chased after the fleeting boarding crew, with scorch marks adorning his freshly polished armor.

The strange cathar stepped through the opening several seconds later. "Gundark! Wait!" she cried out, with no avail. She gave a small sigh and looked to her right, seeing the turbolift doors open beside her. "Men... Can't do anything with them when the testosterone is pumping." Stepping inside, she took the lift up to the next floor, prepping a pair of diskblades as the doors opened up. A pair of security droids leveled their blasters at her, before she let the blades fly. Embedding into the wall behind the droids, the blades had met their mark, slicing through the fibrous cords along the neck of the droids as they lost a fair chunk of their motor functions along half of their chassis, falling to the side and shooting wildly at the wall. The cathar smiled, as she stepped forward and disposed of the pair using their own weapons. Retrieving her weaponry from the wall, she made her way towards the commanding bridge.


Elsewhere, the Gundark and his crew slogged through the hallways, the last bit of mercenary resistance having been seemingly disposed of. Gundark looked around a bit in the hallway, trying to regain his bearings.

"Have we been here before?" he asked. Looking back to the three man squad behind him, they shrugged their shoulders. The truth was, even if they did know, there was no real point to it. Gundark would probably take off in his own direction and they'd have to tag along, or else hear of it later. "We have been here before! Which way to the engineering?" Three sets of fingers pointed backwards towards the lifts down. "Heh, the Gundark will enjoy setting his half-a-meter pythons on some poor Jabronis, brothers! To engineerin!" He cried, the stomping of armored boots making a decisive 180, and down the levels into the back of the ship.


Topside, on the bridge, the commander was having a fit. "Repeat, where is that squad? Seal all compartments, slow them down by any means possible." The radio chatter for the last several minutes had been mostly screams and shouts of a crazed madman shouting lines of mad words and speaking about Gundarks. The confusion alone was bad enough to have the bridge crew thinking that the Republic forces had indeed let a wild animal on board, but further communications had only confirmed that of a man. "Don't let him get to engineering. Seal off the bridge. If you can manage to capture them, do so, it may provide a bargaining chip to aid in our es-" He was cut off as the sound of the blast door opened behind him. Standing there was the Cathar, a small smirk on her face as she held the diskblades behind her back. The captain turned to her, broad profile, as the bridge mercenaries leveled their blasters towards her and flanked her sides. She clipped the blades to her back, as he breathed a sigh of relief. "For a moment there I thought it was that rampant squad. Arrest her," he commanded. "It's nice of them to provide such an easy hostage."

Jen'nee gave what passed for a pout on her face. "I do believe I'm being insulted," she said, as the mercs moved close at hand. Reaching to her right, she grabbed the stock of a blaster rifle just as the merc fired, shooting into his partner. The cohort, being struck several times by burst fire, began to fall to the ground and uncontrollably pulled his own trigger. The Zeison Sha adept, however, had already spun the man she had begun to disarm around as a body shield, taking the hits for her as she continued to spin around, reaching behind her back for the diskblades once more. The command crew had already begun to reach for their weapons, as they fired at the Cathar spinning to the side, as her blades were let loose, hitting the armored men to each side of the Captain, as he stared in awe as his own bodyguards went down. He looked back to where he had been shooting, only to note that his target had now closed the gap with a running start, leaping at him. Two shots fired wildly, as Jen'nee landed with her feet implanting into his chest, taking the captain down as she forced her knee against his throat.

"I do not wish to harm you. You will willingly surrender unconditionally now, yes?" She asked, as the captain gave a panicked nod, or the best he could with a leg under his chin. She let the man up, reaching out as the disks returned to her hands.

~~~~
Aboard the Indefatigable...

"Sir, they are refusing to respond to our coms," a bridge officer stated, as Warren glared out of the viewport. "They could have defe-... One moment." the Lepi looked back, cocking an eyebrow and looked behind him as a holoprojector beamed the image of a cathar up.

"We've secured the transport. Zero Casualties, three wounded. Boarding droids needing repair, sir."

"As expected, Jen'nee. Sending some crewmembers over to help pilot the ship for you. When we regroup at Travnin, we'll begin to take account of those enslaved. We don't risk any potential hostiles being freed early."  

[Cale Darksun]

Cinn stood on the Command deck of the Cobra as his Pilots aimed the ship towards the Executioner, watching the command vessel grow before them.
"Hail the ship." He ordered, and soon he was in direct holocontact with the Admiral he had left in charge.
"Admiral, I am departing for Regellia." He said. "I expect this system to be conquered in time for the unveiling of my new superweapon."
The Admiral's hologram saluted and was dismissed as Cinn turned to depart the command deck.
"Alert me when we have reached the Station." Cinn declared to the crew behind him. "I will be in my quarters."

 

[Sayla-girl]

It was not too much longer that Qaina had to wait. She heard the whine of powerful engines overhead before she saw D'an's ship, a hotrodded light freighter studded with maneuvering thrusters and harnessed to a pair of over-sized propulsion units. The ship did a barrel roll as it flew past and Qaina frowned distastefully.

"Just like a smuggler. Can't resist showing off." She muttered as she watched the vessel land. That was always the trick with smugglers. You had to catch them on the ground. It was the rare Law enforcement craft or Bounty Hunter Ship that could keep up with a smuggling vessel. When they were outside their ship, that was when they could be caught.

The ramp of the freighter descended and a Bith in a trench coat and a leather aviator's helmet strolled down it, smoking a tabacc stick as he casually approached the party awaiting his arrival.

Qaina grinned. She had visual confirmation. Now it was time to get down to business. She placed her macrobinnoculars into her pack, slapped on her bucket, and drew her pistols. Moving off into the brush, she started to slowly, carefully, sneak his way over to the Smuggler meeting.
 

[Skyeborne]

The whine of the speeder died down as Khyber stepped off, surveying the mountainside around him. He had landed at a long, winding set of stone steps that led from the mountain's base to the temple near the top. Khyber had been worried that the noise from the speeder would alert Krosis to his presence, but luckily a smuggling vessel had passed him on his approach to the mountain and drowned out most other sounds in the valley. It was a strange coincidence, the vessel arriving at such a time, and Khyber would be sure to investigate the ship once his business here was done.

Instructing his companion to remain silent, Khyber began his climb. The locals had told him that there were seven thousand steps leading to the mountain's summit, and even landing in the middle of them, there was sure to be a long climb ahead of the young Jedi...  

[lady_skuld]

Two months. Two deaths. DAGGER squad had seen some changes. After Otzz Beto took a blasterbolt to the knee, he fell in battle to an explosion from a bombing run against their position. And Luna Serth, aka Sugar, had hardly gotten that far before a land mine blew her to bits. Sythica had been promoted to Corporal in this time. But the missions kept getting harder. Two new guys fresh from selection had helped bolster the squad's fighting strength. Fresh blood sucked to keep alive though.

"Listen up," Z-man said. He was now a master sergeant since the time their first battle. Pretty much got it by surviving, like the rest of them. "Intel on this op comes from the informants we seized off Nabrilldor. The package is aboard a heavy freighter, outside of the Teh'jar system. There is a small crew and a security detail on board."

"Rules of engagement, sir?" Asked Boone Tinto, nicknamed Dog. One of the new recruits. Sythica didn't pay much attention to him yet. Trial by fire.

"Crew is expendable." The squad was silent as they sat. Comm chatter was mostly spent between the pilots. Buff prepared a cable, as the team secured their helmets. This wasn't a typical boarding action. The small shuttle opened the hatch, as a cable fired and attached itself to the side of the freighter. The cable was secured, as the squad floated through the vaccuum of space to the airlock, as Toma Shapric sliced the door open. Waving the squad in, he continued to disable the sensors to this part of the ship, as the line to the shuttle was cut. The shuttle flew off, leaving the squad on board.

This wasn't time for chat. Repressurizing the airlock, the door opened to let the boarding team enter the ship. They already knew who split up with who. Sythica led four others to the right, while Z led the others left. Crawling through the decks, she peeked her weapon around the corner. Three men sat playing cards. Three quick shots and they were dead.

"Move on," she ordered. She waved her hand as the new people spread out and searched the rest of the close quarters. As they checked the rooms, they reported back.

"This deck secure, moving below," She announced to Z over the coms.

"We'll secure the bridge and coms. Take out Engineering."


Squad objectives:
- Board the Star of Refuge
- Secure Airlock
- Secure Engineering/Bridge  

[Des Voh]

Southeastern Continent of Yelsain, Eighteen-hundred Thirty-three Hours, 94th Day since Sith Invasion

Caisar surveyed the landscape far below as he peered out the viewport of the armoured NR2 shuttle. He sat behind the two pilots while in the back of the shuttle a squad of twelve Falcon Company vanguard troopers waited, each on loan to him from the Rapid Response Force he met up with on Travnin. His own shuttle waited back in the small spaceport of an outlying city some 150 kilometers from the skirmish zone of the invading sith and local PDFs. The mountain known locally as Valtheim was still on the horizon and they were on a careful approach vector high above the already towering trees of the planet for protection, though this was still far from the Sith lines and their presence in the area was little more than bike scouts as Khyber had reported from his ground-side approach.

He thought about the intel that Khyber had used to discern his quarries location here on Yelsain, it seemed rather convenient that after a year of searching, he would fall into the Jedi's hand in this manner. He had warned the young man of a trap, but he was confident of his foresight enough to be cautious. Caisar hoped he would arrive in time, but the younger Jedi moved with a swiftness as if possessed by demons. Demons he was sure the boy had, after his research into the matter that set Khyber off onto the trail of this Sith spy. He knew that he suppressed it well, but after two months in each others company, he saw a certain hunger in the boy for anything that could lead him to the Sith, though others might mistake it as eager enthusiasm for justice, there was subtle differences that Caisar was trained to read in emotion that ensured him of a fact. He feared for Khyber's hidden motives and desires.

He readjusted the rebreather that hung around his neck, he had brought it along just in case, but his training would allow him to remain unaffected by high oxygen atmosphere of Yelsain, having the mask would serve him well if he required all of his concentration for a task. He had made sure the RFF squad was properly equipped with them as well and he hopped that Khyber had not forgotten his own. The lower gravity of the planet didn't help matters either, fighting may become disorienting to those untrained or steady of mind and body. Looking up at the sky around them also proved another issue he would have to contend with, which were the severe storms that struck the planet's night-side nearly every cycle. Taking a breath and holding it, he reached out telepathically to Khyber with his mind. "Do not rush I am on my way, Brother Strife."

As the clouds darkened infront of the fading sky, Caisar knew that tonight there would be a storm, there had not been in several days and it was heavily building up. Air-traffic was officially cut off for all but the most important uses on each side near this time of the day as night and the storm clouds crept in, for both the Sith and the natives for fear of having their tech toasted. He had been told that the old ruins atop the mountain and several others on the planet like it, had been fitted with massive electromagnetic lightning rods, but when the facility was abandoned some centuries past, they fell into disrepair. He knew that at one, his Master had spoken about his own visit to one of the mountain-top ruins upon this planet centuries ago, how at night during a storm, the overloading capacitors of the lightning rods would light the ruins like a beacon, and one could see it from over two hundred kilometers away or more over the towering trees. Farther if you watched the lightning itself, centering onto the peak mountain every minute or so, looking not unlike the discharge of a planetary ion cannon, several times over-sized. He wondered if the facility had been heavily insulated against sound to ward off the booming thunder on the spot. He also wondered at the chose of location for the anicent Jedi... Seclusion was to be a surety, but still it was strange.

To agree with his concern, the head-pilot chimed in."Sir, Im not sure how long we'll have before we'll be forced to stay until the storm passes, this could be a long night if we don't wrap things up pretty quickly."

"I am aware, thank you lieutenant." He responded while turning his eyes back to the mountain. He began suppressing his presence in the Force further, if this Krosis was expecting Khyber, he would not allow him to expect him until it was too late to escape. The capture of this agent would be a great success for the Jedi and Republic. As they approached though, higher up near the clouds he spied a small starship descending towards the tree level. Narrowing his eyes, he said nothing though he noted that the pilots took notice as well, but decided that there would have to be an investigation towards the strange ship and its purpose if time could be spared, but they were in a rush.  

[Nelowulf]

Lieutenant Warren McJump
Location: Minos Cluster - Travnin system
Personal Location: Bridge of the Indefatigable
Accompanying ships: 2 Wayfarers, 1 Thranta (Zelbinion)

Long trips through hyperspace always seemed to wear on the crew. While this wasn't considerably a "long" trip as traveling from one end of the sector to the other, the anxiety of the transport ship and it's crew was enough to make minutes turn into hours. While Warren hadn't much to go on, he had been more than anxious in his own right. The ship, while not of sith alignment, may have held valuable information overlooked by the standard military. He paced himself wondering what his techs would gather from the databanks.

Giving a sigh, the time had come to review the data which had been pilfered from the banks. His time to spend looking over these details would be cut short with a message from Republic Command. They had come in more and more these days. Usually about trying to quell this, suppress that, and he would respond with the typical affirmations, and recommend more troops, which would in turn also gain a response of the effort was being made, and so forth. The banter of the Republic's commanding posts displayed a lot of promises, but in reality, the effect was unfelt. They demanded updates on the theaters, information regarding troop movements, details of how things were going in sectors of space which didn't even have relevance to this sector. Details which, even if they had, wouldn't produce any change in the results, but Warren did what he could to give them what they asked for. The people he arrested, their thoughts and feelings, and other things. Despite having been regaled amongst several as a sort of bulwark against the Sith onslaught, the festivities were meaningless and shortlived. Saving a group of slaves? Probably wouldn't even register as anything aside from duty. The worst part of it all would be the subterfuge that he was bound to run into. With "official" fleet presence, there were bound to be officers who considered his more rag-tag group of freedom fighters as guerilla vagrants, militia. Perhaps they were right to an extent, but they would have trouble proving it against such an academic record of success.

The call was simple, and as the holoprojector opened up with the same face that had been barking orders at him for the last two months started up, the difference was the addition of a new face. A human woman, for sure. The discussion was simple: the details of the raid. Why he had broken protocol, and of course, the thanks of the Republic. While the attempt to pin problems on Warren was made, the discussion lasting nearly two hours was nothing he hadn't skinned before. Now came the waiting game, as Warren resumed his duties onboard the frigate, told to go back to his post and help keep the peace of the star systems.  

[Darkened Angel]

Danika followed Cinn into his quarters. Her place was at his side unless he said otherwise, so she assumed he'd want to take her for his own pleasure before they arrived at the Executioner. " Do you desire pleasure, Master? " she asked, her tone reluctant as she remembered the times he'd taken her before, and her inability to resist crying out in the heat of passion, despite her unwillingness in the matter.