Ask Flashpoint [Arda I] And They All Came Tumbling Down

[Verse Tillo]

Verse sensed the rebel in hiding soon after her datapad picked up on it. She knew the other Sith could too, the way they tensed minimally. Verse did some quick thinking and figured they would approach it with diplomacy, although the rebels would likely be ready for a fight. Perhaps it would catch them off guard, and prevent needless death. "Present them with the terms and offer surrender," she said. "Taking the system under our control would be much easier if they cooperated," she said.

She kept walking forwards and slowed down a little at a larger entrance. She could hear a faint beeping and could sense more people ahead.

"We have arrived," she said, a small smile creeping onto her face.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Sola Zappal]

Sola knew Verse was going to suggest diplomacy before the words were out of her mouth. She still kept her lightsaber in her hands, should the rebels try to pull an ambush or surprise attack. She too sensed the rebel scout in hiding, and looked up. It was indeed a rebel; a human female who looked to be around the same age as Verse. The rebel woman and Sola locked eyes and Sola smirked maliciously at her, but kept walking.

Verse hadn't said anything about using their fear factor to hurry diplomacy along.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

As they approached the entrance of the rebel base, Zactar slowed with the rest of the group, hands still politely held behind his back. He heard the faint beep and became curious about its source: was it Verse's datapad or something more sinister lying in wait? There were three people he could see; a Duros behind a barricade on the left, a human tucked behind part of the wall on the right, and another human front and center dressed as an officer behind some large crates.

With the doors plainly in view, Zack halted with a wide smile and brought his arms out wide in an unarming gesture, his eyes set on the officer. "Hail, Officer! We are imperial representatives, seeking an audience with your leaders for the purposes of negotiation. Speaking on the Empire's behalf will be Miss Celeste Stythani." he called out with a slight bow of his head before stepping to the side with an arm swept back at Celeste in presentation.

The faint sound continued, adding to the rising tension with each passing beep. The soldiers behind cover to the left and right were clearly armed with blaster rifles which they had trained in the group's direction; there were definitely more behind the doors. The officer appeared to be holding a large blaster pistol, though not readily aiming it. Zack sincerely hoped it wouldn't become a needless slaughter, but he would do what needed to be done for the good of the Empire. Reaching out with invisible tendrils of the Force, Zactar formed the beginnings of a telekinetic grip on the saber hilt at his belt, ready to call it to his hand in an instant should the rebels decide to play foolish games.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Celeste Stythani]

When their little squad came to a halt, Celeste automatically moved to the front, her lightsaber still concealed, but she was ready to pull it out instantaneously if necessary. A warm, polite smile landed on her lips when she let gerade gaze wander across the scene in front of her. The rebels were apparently ready for an attack, but they would seemingly wait for them to speak and present their terms.

She directed her gaze at the apparent Officer, her posture relatively relaxed so that her body language would give nothing away but diplomatic interests. "We have not come for bloodshed. I am a firm believer that meaningless fighting can and should be avoided at all costs and that is exactly why I'm specifically addressing you", her blue eyes were still on the man who was supposedly in charge of their little group. "You seem to give the commands here, at least that's what I can tell from the way the people I can see look at you. Tell them to surrender. Lay down your weapons and leave and we can grant you safe passage. There is no need to be hostile and there is no need for you to waste the lives of your men". Celeste kept her voice soft, but there was a certain authority in it. She wasn't exactly threatening them, but she wanted them to understand that if they would start a fight, they would lose.

@Reylo4evr @Burpee

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse kept silent, but stood next to Sola behind Celeste and Zactar, making sure to meet all of the rebels' eyes. Sure, they would approach the rebels with diplomacy but the way they were holding their blasters, Verse had a feeling diplomacy would not last long. She was not holding her saber in her hand like Sola, but she did not appear as at ease as Zactar or Celeste. Verse crossed her arms as the leader spoke.

"Your kind has wasted the lives of our men and women before," he said. He wasn't shouting but it still echoed all around them. "What's to say once we surrender you did it again?"

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Sola Zappal]

Sola was ready to defend her master. She was also ready to cut down any rebels that thought they could carry out a surprise attack on them when that was exactly what they expected. She watched Zactar, Celeste, and the rebel talk. She glanced at Verse out of the corner of her eyes, always alert, making sure any of the surrounding rebels did not fire at them.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Zactar listened as Celeste began her negotiation though most of his senses were honed in on watching the three visible rebels for signs of attack. He fought back a chuckle as the rebel officer voiced his concern. What choice did the rebels have? They could either put up a fight and certainly die, or they could put some measure of trust in Sith’s words and possibly leave this rock alive with information of the Sith’s new territory.

Zactar could feel the pressure growing in the air between the groups; could see the sweat beading on the anxious officer’s forehead. His heart fluttered between beats. Something wasn’t right. In the midst of the stand-off, Zactar could just make out the slight twitch of muscle movement in the officer’s sleeved arm and knew what was coming. The faint beeping they’d been hearing paused for but a moment too long before concussive explosions swept out from several crates near the front of the entrance, in a semi-circle around the Sith.

It looked like Zack was right about his armor. The fire wrapped around him and singed the finish of his duraplast plates but left his flesh healthily intact. Having sensed the attack coming, he leapt forward towards the rebel entrance with crimson saber now in hand, deflecting blaster bolts from the rebel to the right back in his direction. Two deflected bolts blackened the stone wall of the bunker entrance next to the original shooter, but two more found their way back to the shooter’s head and chest. Zack grinned as the rebel fell and he advanced. The rebels had made their choice, which left the Sith with only one…

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

Spoiler: d20 rolls

Roll for Zack’s reactions: 20
Roll for Accuracy of deflected bolts: 14

 

[Celeste Stythani]

When Celeste had began her speech, she had felt rather confidently. She had hoped that the rebels would consider her offer, but once the apparent leader started his reply, she began to get a bad feeling about it. While she had been all relaxed and calm before, she suddenly sensed danger. She had not only noticed the beeping, but the rebel who was speaking with her did seem oddly tense as well.

However, Celeste kept her cool. She would wait. She had learned to remain patient, even if she was doing the rebels a favor with her patience right now. She would let them have an advantage by not being the first to react, but she felt this last bit of hope for avoiding bloodshed.

The suspense expanded to a maximum, but she still held back, hoping that they would come to their senses, but unfortunately they didn't. Instead, the faint and now absent beeping turned out to be the first act of their planned ambush and since Celeste was too owned by the idea that they could avoid a fight, she hadn't even notice them fast enough. She desperately tried to wrap herself in the Force to protect her unarmoured body, but her attempt was in vain since the pressure wave that followed the explosion was already throwing her off balance, so that she crashed into the nearby wall and lost consciousness for a brief moment.

So that was apparently it. This was would you would get if you desperately tried to hold on to diplomacy. The ungrateful rebel scum had just proven that bloodshed couldn't always be avoided...

Spoiler: Dice Roll

Roll 2/20

@Reylo4evr @Burpee

 

[Verse Tillo]

Just like Verse had suspected, the rebels thought to outsmart and defeat the Sith. One would have thought they would have learned their lesson the first time, but rebels will be rebels, even if they weren't the same time. This particular thought especially annoyed Verse, and she wasn't slow to ignite her saber. The pressure of the explosion threw her back a little; but she quickly regained control; flipping backwards in mid air and landing in a crouch, her boots skidding against the hard rock beneath them.

She sprung up just as fast and ran up to where Zactar was still standing. He had managed to be mostly out of range of the explosion since he was closer up and to the side; Verse, Sola, and Celeste had gotten the brunt of it. His armor did hold up pretty well, but Verse felt a little pride when she entered fire and it held up better than his. Her chestplate was Phrik, which not only resisted blaster fire but also saber attacks; not for too long though. Verse had personally made her armor, and personally made the dagger that she threw. It lodged itself in the leader's throat and he froze mid-fire, shock and panic still on his face, before he toppled over, blood flowing from his jugular wound. Verse marched over to his body and plucked out her dagger. She wiped it on the leader's pants and re-sheathed it, turning to the other rebels. "Where are your comrades?" she exclaimed. "Your leader is dead! Surrender now, and you can spare each other!" She figured it would be best to stick with the diplomacy route until the end, if only to prove that the rebels had a choice not only once, but twice.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Sola Zappal]

Sola was totally prepared for the sudden explosion. Still having the Force wrapped around her like a thick blanket, it shielded her from the force of the explosion, only moving her backwards an inch. The female rebel eyed her with her fear and opened fire, which Sola happily deflected. In the woman's panic, most of the shots missed, making black, singed holes in the rock at Sola's feet. What little shots she did manage to aim correctly Sola easily deflected onto the walls of the tunnel they were in.

Sola quickly sank into a groove. This was her element. This was what she was good at. Just as quickly as it had started, however, the fire ceased. Sola paused when Verse spoke. So they were still going to try for diplomacy. Some part of Sola realized it was probably strategically smart, but adrenaline still pumped through her veins.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

With his immediate threat dispatched, Zactar turned his head to the side to check on his comrades out of the corner of his vision. He caught the pale stature of Verse as she carefully launched a dagger into the officer's throat, and saw Sola confidently deflect a few bolts, and Celeste...wait, where was Celeste? Turning his head more fully, Zack was able to more clearly see Celeste's body on the rocky ground a short distance back, honey blonde hair now tousled messily. Rage boiled over behind his amber eyes seeing the fallen comrade. It was only Verse's demand for surrender that pulled his mind away from a swift and brutal slaughter.

Through gritted teeth, Zactar spit out at the remaining rebel on the exterior: "You're lucky she's giving you a second chance. Open the doors. NOW!" he screamed at the end, his usual warm voice now rasping around the edges. He heard the repetitive thuds of trooper boots behind the doors and grew more impatient. Without waiting for compliance, Zactar reached an arm out towards the large metal doors with a tensed hand and quickly twisted his hand closed into a firm fist. The Force bent to his will and peeled the doors outward from their center seam with a horrifying metallic screech, leaving an opening a meter or two across.

Though he could not yet see into the bunker through the smoke and sparks of their bout, he hoped for the rebels' sake they would not be visible once it cleared. Though normally the patient, level-headed Sith, disrespect was the one thing Zactar could not stand. How little these rebels must think of them, thinking a few demolition charges would change their fate. It was infuriating. Insulting. It almost made him sick to think they came here willing to negotiate with these scum.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste slowly regained consciousness while her companions were seemingly busy already. Normally, it always took a lot more to make the blonde lose her temper, but this made her extremely angry. Her wrath was boiling up slowly but steady as she got up, but it seemed as though she had survived the explosion more or less unscathed. However, she knew that this was calling for revenge.

She slowly made her way back to the other three, quickly brushing her hair back in place with her fingers before she immediately ignited her lightsaber. Their disrespect made her furious and she could feel her emotions taking over, desperately urging her to kill the rebel scum, but Verse's comment quickly brought her back to reality.

This wasn't her. Celeste was never losing control easily, but she had to admit to herself that it was very hard to keep her calm in those moments. The rebels had made a very stupid mistake, and even if she wasn't badly injured, her head was aching and there was a slight trace of blood that originated from an apparent laceration on her head.

Now that she stood, she additionally felt further effects of her crash, as her vision began to spin slightly in front of her eyes. She wouldn't let anyone notice, but it was hard to overplay a slight tumbling. "This is your last chance. Try anything funny again and you're literally taking your last breaths right now" she added threateningly, her voice loud and determined. She had wanted a diplomatic solution, but now she was starting to run out of patience and she gained the exact same impression from her companions.

@Reylo4evr @Burpee

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse was surprised at how quickly things had descended into chaos. It seemed the two advocates of diplomacy were now advocates of violence. After Zactar ripped the door open with the Force, Verse raised an amused eyebrow. She appeared to be the only one in control of herself right now.

The rebels emerged slowly from behind the door Zactar had destroyed, blasters held in hands that were raised above their heads. Finally, they were making a smart decision. However, just because they appeared to surrender didn't mean they weren't going to try something else. Verse lowered her saber and reached out for the female rebel's mind; the one that Sola had been fighting. "You will tell everyone to stand down." she paused as the words were repeated back to her in a monotone voice. "You will drop all your weapons. You will kneel in front of us with your hands on your heads." she ordered, using the Force to manipulate not only the female rebel but all the other rebels near her.

She turned to Zactar. "Would you like the honor of executing them?" she said, taking a small step back.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Sola Zappal]

Sola watched with a little bit of awe as Verse manipulated the minds of the weaker rebels, forcing them to kneel and await their execution. They deserved it; they were dirty, conniving, rebel scum. The Empire was bringing order to this chaos. A sadistic grin spread across her face as she looked from Zactar to the rebels, waiting for him to act. If he couldn't do it, she would, with pleasure.

@Burpee @LadyRen

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Good. Celeste was back on her feet. He hadn't assumed her to be down for the count by any means, but it was reassuring to hear her shout toward the rebels. It went a long way to dousing the rage that had built within him, and he lowered his saber arm and relaxed his posture, watching on as Verse now mentally turned her commands into defeated movements across the rebels. As they dropped their arms and knelt, Zack couldn't help but feel some measure of pity for them. How weak they are, he thought, shaking his head at the display of sheep before them.

He wouldn't slaughter them; not like this. If they were to die by his crimson blade, they would have their full capacity to defend themselves or flee as they would. There was no honor in this.
Unfortunately, these weak-minded fools were of little use to the Sith. Perhaps one or two 'in the know' could have information extracted from them, but they would serve no purpose as captives or otherwise. Zactar turned his head away from the groveling and with a quick yank through the Force, pulled the scattered blasters across the stone ground and behind the Sith with a clatter. Zactar unignited the saber hilt in his hand and carefully walked closer to Verse.

"These fools are no longer a threat. I suggest we escort them to their transports and see them offworld. The HoloNet has been unkind to the Empire. Perhaps a small show of mercy will help in the long run." he said quietly, so only the Sith would hear him. Saber hilt still in hand, Zack marched through the lines of kneeling rebels and toward the hole he'd ripped in the doors with his red cape billowing behind him. If the other Sith slaughtered the rebels, that was their prerogative. He wouldn't fight his comrades, but he would have nothing to do with such butchery. Stepping through the broken metal doors, he hoped to begin a search of the bunker to make sure all forces were out and unarmed. If there were any other diplomats or officers, they could potentially have information on defenses throughout the rest of the Arda system.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The Sith weren't necessarily known for their forgiving nature, but lucky for them, Celeste was. The same seemed to apply to Zactar, who was now the first one to propose showing mercy in order to improve the Empire's reputation.

Celeste completely agreed with his opinion on that. First of all, it was true that the Empire's reputation had suffered vehemently due to the misbehavior and several infamous actions of a few. Secondly, Celeste would never shed meaningless blood. She was still furious and frustrated, because they had decided to ambush them, but wouldn't initiate a massacre because of some stupid rebels.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest she let her authoritarian gaze wander across the yielding rebels. Now that their leader was dead, the majority seemed actually frightened. Very few still had that fire in their eyes and she would definitely watch their steps closely, but she was convinced that it would be the right decision to escort them away.

"I agree with Champion Hakka" she explained curtly, her voice icy to supress her inner annoyance and upboiling emotions, but there was still a slight trace of dismay in her voice. "Get up" she ordered the rebel closest to her while she approached him and even pulled him back to his feet. Before starting to escort them back, however, she glaced to Verse, curious whether she would agree with their...still rather diplomatic solution.

@Reylo4evr @Burpee

 

[Verse Tillo]

Verse knew that was what they were going to say. Had hoped for it, in fact; it definitely added to the fear factor. She nodded her head, her face still expressionless. "Sola, escort them back to the ship," she ordered. She knew Sola would keep more than a watchful eye over them; this would also be another chance for her to prove herself. She turned to Celeste and Zactar as Zactar moved deeper into the compound to look around.

"Take anything that might be useful," she said. "There are no rebel bases on Arda II or III, so with Arda I under our control, the rest of the system should fall easily. Do you think you could make a broadcast with this technology?" she directed her last question to Celeste, who was the most qualified with diplomacy. She gestured with her hand at the stuff laying around that had been dropped at the last minute once they knew the Sith were here.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Sola Zappal]

Sola could feel the rebel's fear and smiled. She nodded at Verse's order and used the Force to shove the rebels to their feet. "Move," she said, an unspoken threat in her voice. She may be young but she was not to be underestimated. The rebels had no choice but to stumble forward, their heads hanging. Sola walked behind them so they couldn't try anything. The walk back to the ship was long but Sola enjoyed it. She herded them like cattle, using the Force to get them to move faster up the ramp and into the cargo bay. She locked all the doors or exits that the rebels might think to use for escape, and stood in front of the main entrance at alert, waiting for the others to return.

@LadyRen @Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

He was silently relieved that the other Sith agreed on a show of mercy. It wasn't a popular option amongst their kind, but if they wanted to widen the Sith Empire, diplomacy and reason tended to be longer lasting than destruction and conquest. Stepping into the bunker, Zactar paused for a moment to listen for movement. He focused his senses into the Force within and around him, pushing the awareness outward to gain a sense of lifeforms in the vicinity. It seemed that all of the large lifeforms were already outside of the bunker and being herded toward their transports by Sola. There was the pip of three or four small lifeforms that Zack paid no mind to; nothing larger than a housecat.

Zack nodded in understanding at the lack of rebels in the rest of the Arda system. That certainly would make things easier. When she asked Celeste about making a broadcast, his interest piqued and he immediately began scanning the equipment in the room. He was fairly surprised at the quality of the equipment he found. About half of it was fairly new, but even the rest looked like it had been well taken care of and only recently unpacked. He spotted a newish mixer, some older microphones, a decent amplifier that hadn't seen much use. With his technical know-how, he'd be able to rig up some broadcasting equipment in no time.

"I used to make a living doing engineering and mechanical work. I should be able to get something set up for you, Celeste." he said with a smile from his crouched position next to some equipment on the ground. With tools already within the bunker, Zactar got to work, pulling cables out of other devices and retrofitting them for the purposes of broadcasting. Once he had the basic components set up and operational, he performed a brief test broadcast and heard dataphones pinging from the rebels in the distance. The system wouldn't be great for long-term use but it would work for their purposes.

He stood from a crouch with an 'old man groan' and nodded towards his Sith companions with an amused look, tossing the small pliers he'd been using off into the bunker. "This should work well enough. Didn't seem to get much interference on a quick test broadcast. Feel free to look it over and make improvements if you can. It's been a while since I did this kind of thing."

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

Spoiler: dice rolls

Roll for quality of equipment to work with: 14
Roll for quality of Zactar's handiwork: 15

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste was still a little busy swallowing her hostility towards the rebel scum, but only because they had made her furious, she wouldn't sentence them to death. It was good that Verse decided to let Sola escort them back, because she was indeed capable enough to do so, but a slight hint of misstrust remained since Celeste couldn't judge whether Sola would be able to hold herself back. It would be fatal if anything would happen and Sola would decide to execute them on their way, so she was considering whether she should accompany her, but in the end she decided to trust Verse's judgment. After all, she was her apprentice and that's why she knew her best. She still wasn't fully convinced, but they had more pressing matters to tend to anyway.

Celeste was positively surprised that Zactar seemed to be versed in engineering. The idea of a short broadcast was a good idea in terms of positive publicity for the Empire and so it came in very handy that the fellow champion had seemingly lots of experience with the technical equipment. She watched him closely as he was starting to set things up, but simultaneously she was also gathering useful tools the rebels had left behind. It was admittedly not much, but definitely better than nothing. "I'm very impressed, Zactar. Good job", she praised her fellow champion with a genuine smile before she addressed Verse as well. "If we are starting a transmission, we should, however, quickly discuss how we are going to explain the situation. Maybe we shouldn't broadcast it all the way through, since we have overthrown the rebels with force. We have still conquered the planet and many would question our motifs, so perhaps it's better if we only inform the Empire of our success. We could, however, ensure to gather some footage which proves that we let the rest go unscathed. It will positively affect affect our standing within the galaxy if we prove to be merciful, but we shouldn't brag about killing their leader" she explained with a nod into the direction of the lifeless body a few feet away.

@Reylo4evr @Burpee