Ask A Prison for a Planet

[Edward Warwick]

Edward looked up at the cloud’s, far beyond Incomparable floated in the upper atmosphere, its suite of sensors and cameras scanning every centimetre of land in and around Unreal City, the ex-private prison and now Cultist stronghold on Metalorn. Apparently this little group had been working here for years, back when the Empire was run by the Sith and praying to the Dark Side wasn’t frowned upon in this part of the Galaxy, but times had changed and the cultists had not. Normally a group like this, even this large would be ignored by the Empire at large, it was already stretched thin in manpower and metals to deal with every sighting of a Force User. However, Metalorn was an industrial powerhouse, supplying first the CIS and then the Empire with vast quantities of metallic goodies. The promise of these goodies to the new Empire is what drew Edward and those around him to the location around Unreal City. The Skakoan rulers had given the Empire a simple task: remove the cultists and their foundries will be open for Imperial business. Not a bad trade.

Stretching from side to side, Edward tried to find a little flexibility in the armour he was given as well as adjust the straps so it no longer pinched the ribs on his right side. He hadn’t worn proper armour since the fall of the Sith and the extra weight made him feel sluggish and clumsy. He was armed as usual, his Thermic blades and a blaster, there to oversee the grunts he wasn’t expecting to have to get his hands too dirty, but he was going to be prepared. You never knew what these fanatics can throw at you. “Lieutenant, the last of the troops from the Incomparable have just arrived.” The sergeant said, giving unneeded commentary to the shuttle landing off to one side of the small staging area they were in. “Thank you Sergeant.” Edward replied, rolling his eyes as soon as the man turned his back on him. This was going to be a long day.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique surely wasn't too fond of industrial planets, but as her ship approached Lieutenant Warwick's position, the Knight-Captain was in a fairly good mood. Life was busy, but good, and Metalorn was an undeniable important target. The Empire was expanding its sphere of influence and Metalorn would serve them well. The promise the Skakoan had made was that Metalorn would re-join the Empire if the Empire would manage to rid the prison of the remaining Sith that dwelled within. It was Kalique's area of expertise, but who knew what else awaited them inside?

What Kalique knew was that ths Lieutenant and his platoon had requested assistance of a seasoned Knight and she had gotten assigned to the task right away. She had packed her belongings and shortly before dropping out of hyperspace, she had already changed into her Knight-Captain armor. As always, she didn't go for the helmet, simply because even after all this year the weird feeling hadn't change. The armor was bulky enough on its own, she didn't need her senses to be dulled through a visor as well.

She didn't knew the man she was working with today, but she was rather optimistic as the change in attitude towards the Knights she had worked so hard for was still noticeable on Raxus. Whether the same applied here, remained to be seen, but as she was alighting from her ship, a soft, polite smile grazed her lips. Her lightsabers were clipped to her belt already, just like a regular back-up blaster. "Lieutenant Warwick, Knight-Captain Demici reporting for duty". She respectfully inclined her head as she greeted the man while walking up to him.

@Braden

 

[Edward Warwick]

Edward hadn’t requested any support from the Imperial Knights and hadn’t been informed that his Commander had done so until the woman’s ship was already descending from orbit. “Does he not think we can handle this ourselves.” Edward moaned to the men around him. He had no love for the Imperial Force Users, seeing it as only a thinly veiled attempt for those in power to keep their Force Sensitive friends around, whilst labelling their enemies Sith or worse.

He took a few steps away from his men as the woman’s ship landed. For an Imperial Knight at least she was good looking, that would ease some of the pain of dealing with her. Edward nodded his head in return, there was at least manners to be had in this arrangement. “Demici, good to have you with us.” He replied with a fake smile. “Shall we show you what we have so far.” Edward said, directing her towards one of the small tents set up in the staging area.

Ducking under the flap, Kalique would be presented with three men surrounding a holo table, a map of the prison floating above it. Small dots blinked in and out, as the cultist’s came in and out of sensor range of the Incomparable in orbit. “What do you think?”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

While she picked up relative neutrality from most of the soldiers around, there was something subtle in the Lieutenant's tone that left a slightly bitter taste in he'd mouth. "Please" she offered in return while she began to follow him into the tent.

The air inside was much thicker than outside and it took a second until her eyes were fully adapted to the dimmer light and holo shimmer inside the tent. She studied the map now that she was no longer bound to the map she had already seen on her own ship and quickly assessed the activity levels.

"Frequent activity. They don't move like they're actively patrolling, their patterns seems a little too random, but I don't think an aggressive offensive will air our course". The prison had many security protocols and features and if fully manned, it wouldn't be easy to get in in the first place, so Kalique met the Lieutenant's gaze again.

"We can try to infiltrate it and take them out from the inside. The resources inside are still of value to us, so perhaps we can do some damage control while exterminating the remaining cultists". Kalique had accompanied many IAF missions and gained plenty of experience in the military anyway, so she knew the drills. If his Commander had already voted for a direct offense, she'd have to adapt, but she was curious on Warwick's thoughts on that.

@Braden

 

[Edward Warwick]

He studied the map as Kalique spoke, Edward had spent only a little time in the tent since he arrived on the planet's surface. Instead he was more focused on organising the soldiers outside, setting up a suitable camp and vantage point for Imperial Forces. Snipers had been sent to surround the Prison, taking any highground they could. With a single radio transmission he could have a dozen of the cultist’s executed, but that would only send the scum into a frenzy.

“What item’s of value would these Sith still hold for the Empire?” He asked, wondering if Miss Demici was intent on stealing some artefacts and scuttling back to her Order’s lair. Sith by another name are still Sith, he thought. “I have called on a full bombardment of the prison, lay bare its walls and storm its inner sanctum. The Skakoan would prefer that the prison be kept as intact as possible, but I value the lives of my men above the monetary gains of the Skakoan’s.” Edward added as he moved around the prison map. Pointing at a few locations where a bombardment might be effective, before looking up at the Imperial Knight. “Thoughts?”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique's gaze drifted away from the map and onto the Lieutenant as he suddenly disregarded everything she had carefully outlined. There was not a single trace of annoyance in her features, but it slightly began to boil on the inside. Why was he so keen on destroying the prison? Was he one of those who prefered not to get her hands dirty?

"Items? No, I don't think so. The facility itself is highly useful though" she walked to the left, studying the prison from a different angle, the one were literally only a few enemies scurried around. "The Skakoan won't have a use for the prison on their own. It's suitable for keeping dangerous enemies though. Its system should still be functional, so I'm pretty sure the ISB would appreciate it" she explained, her tone still not reflecting any of her internal displeasure. Imperial diplomats could discuss further terms, but she was truly a little surprised by how quickly he wanted to get this over with.

His Commander hadn't ordered her to watch a bombing from above either, so she didn't see a point in bombing such a strategically important location. "It might aid our course if we don't piss them off anyway". She added, however patiently waiting for his thoughts in return.

"The Sith inside will die regardless". She had a feeling that mattered to him, "But I can assure you that protecting your men is my highest priority". His life as well. Kalique was no stranger to the usual drill and she had repeatedly put soldiers' lives above her own for the Empire. It still wasn't hard to tell that he apperently lacked a certain amount of trust and confidence into her services.

@Braden

 

[Edward Warwick]

He eyed the woman with a mixture of suspicion and disdain for not agreeing with him. Granted she had no need to agree with the Lieutenant but still, her word would go towards swaying the Commander to keep the prison in one piece and threaten the lives of his men and more importantly himself. So he was unhappy with the Imperial Knight and her choice. Edward looked up at one of the men surrounding the table, with a flick of the head the soldier departed to relay the woman’s advice to the Commander. Knowing that he would side with the Imperial Knight, Edward didn’t waste time in waiting for an answer to begin planning their offensive.

With a flick of his hand the map of the prison rose up from the table to meet their eye line, showing the depths that Unreal sunk into the earth. “No way to tunnel in, we could try an airdrop at night.” He began, pointing towards a larger open section of the prison that they could try and land in. “These old tunnels are another option, they were used to construct the lower leves but were filled in and capped once it was done. They can get us into the heart of the prison quickly, but we would need to use explosives, causing quite a stir.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The disdain and dissatisfaction that permeated the air was impossible to miss. Not that Kalique wasn't used to it - even if there reputation had steadily imporved, even if she had been working so hard to strengthen the bonds between the Knights of the New Order and the other Imperial branches - such meetings weren't even rare.

He wasn't happy, yet he finally conceded and one of his men was sent away. She attentively listened to the options he outlined, knowing he had probably studied the options for as long as he had been here and thus trusting his judgement on this. "If we try it from above, they'll know" she deduced, fairy certain their radars were still functional.

Explosives would cause a huge turmoil, too, but they still had other options. "I'd favor the element of surprise. We might not need too many explosives. I'm certain I can help clearing us a little path from within...but what if we keep their main attention elsewhere? If the tunnels are fully capped, we can blow them open while we feign an aerial attack" she suggested, concluding the plan on basis of the objective of damage control.

If they'd be busy firing for the ships above, they wouldn't be able to locate the explosion which would buy them time. Kalique was literally just drafting ideas as he was the solider after all: "I'll trust your judgement. I'm here to protect and assist, so I'll go with whatever you'll decide". Even if he didn't appreciate having a Knight here, she was confident they'd get the mission done.

@Braden