Ask Korriban Hedging Bets

[Vizim]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

Vizim's mission had been handed down from the top. Lord Trelain had given it to him, and that made him nervous for more reasons than one. But he wasn't going to question orders on this one, and he knew enough to not ask too many questions. Instead, he kept his head down and followed orders.

His partner for the job was one Champion by the name of Wodan. He doubted the other man knew even as much as he did, but their job wasn't to know things. Their job - at this point - was to follow orders.

Korriban had been hit by the Killiks, of course, and that meant that there was a great deal of suspicion here. The two of them had been sent here to create more uncertainty. This was the life of the Sith and specifically the life of a Sith in intelligence.

We get into the comm relay station, upload the data, and get out. No witnesses, he said. Which hopefully meant they wouldn't be spotted, but also had a second meaning if need be. Vizim didn't enjoy killing other Imperials, but for the good of the Empire, sometimes people had to die. It was simply the nature of things.

 

[Wodan]

Wodan hadn’t been told much, actually he had been told nothing. Only that SIN was looking for someone to carry out a sensitive mission. The Firrerrian’s track record with Darth Trelain was rocky at best and he needed whatever clout he could get from those with a Darth in front of their name in the months to come.

Like pretty much everyone else on the planet Wodan was dressed in an assortment of dark clothes, a single saber clipped to his belt, a couple of gas grenades were brought along to help clear out any crowded areas the two came about. Even though the Killik attack has caused a fair amount of damage to the planet's infrastructure this was still the Sith’s home and much had been done to repair it all as quickly as possible.

“Understood.” Wodan replied, he stepped up alongside the Sith Master as they entered the building. He kept his head up and smiled and nodded at other Sith in the area, he knew some of the faces from his time in the academy here. But many were new, replacements for those that died to the Killik's.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim pressed through the building, wondering if Wodan had ever done anything like this before. Fact of the matter was that Vizim didn't really know him at all, and that - while it on the surface may have seemed to be for the best - was not something that Vizim particularly liked. To say he trusted any of his fellow Sith was probably a bit too far, but he at least wanted to know he could rely on them to get the job done.

How are you at distractions? Or infiltrations in general? he asked, flicking a glance back at the Sith Champion.

For his part, Vizim put on an exterior facade of calm and nonchalance that was well practiced with his years as a member of the ISB. They didn't have space for being jittery, and Vizim... well, he prided himself on his work. He killed people, and he was very good at it.

He hit a control for one of the doors and it slid open, leading inside and away from the blistering outdoor heat. A welcome relief. I hate the heat. This planet isn't something I've missed, he bemoaned quietly.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“Its the dry heat which kills me. I don’t mind the warmth but a little moisture makes it bearable at least.” Wodan replied as he stepped through the door into the much cooler building. He shook his jacket depositing a small amount of sand which had built up onto the grated floor beside the door. Apparently an old Academy headmaster had been tired of all the sand getting into the buildings, so started having these grates installed next to the doors for the students to shake their belongings into. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Korriban facilities followed suit.

“Infiltration, not my strong suit, more of a blow off the front door guy. But I am sure I can make a distraction or two if needed.” He said, finishing the sand removal and stepping through the next door into the building proper. Faces here were more serious than outside, these were men and women at work. “Do you know what data we are uploading?” Wodan hadn’t been told and doubted he would get the answer from Vizim, but it was worth asking.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim shook out his own clothes, and his jaw tightened slightly at the question. He couldn't blame the guy, he'd have wanted answers, too.

The kind you probably don't want to know about, he said. The kind that if people think you know, they might come after you, he added. He was no stranger to the "loose ends" game. He'd narrowly evaded the loose end treatment before himself.

He almost added it was some political infighting, but he held his tongue for the sake of the other man. Particularly if he wasn't used to the game of infighting and deception that was the ISB.

Oh Wodan! a young woman came around the corner. Although they didn't know each other well, he would recognize her from several of his classes when he was an Acolyte. Evidently, she'd been stationed here for something after promotion.

What brings you out to Korriban? What have you been up to? she asked, and Vizim... was just silent. He wasn't quite judging, but he was patiently waiting for this chat to conclude as he kept walking a little ways so he was still in earshot but not immediately visible. Out of sight, out of mind.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Vizim’s stiff reply got through to Wodan loud and clear. Don’t ask anymore questions less he end up with a lightsaber in his back one crisp spring morning down by the river. Perhaps once the Firrerrian had a little more clout behind his back he would press a little more on such escapades but for now the little Champion was, just a little Champion.

Wodan was taken by surprise when Andruizella burst round the corner. The poor girl was named after the former Empress and spent most of her time in the Academy either being teased about it, but it seemed that she had brushed it off enough to get a stationing here on Korriban. “Andruizella, it's been a while.” He replied with a smile. Wodan made sure to keep walking even if it was slower than before, they were on a little bit of a timeline. “Running errands for Darth’s and Imperial Commanders. Mostly been in the southern regions, how about yourself?” He asked as they continued to move through the more common areas of the building.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Get rid of her, get rid of her, get rid of her, Vizim kept repeating in his mind as he pressed on into the base. His fingers fell down to one of the knives concealed among his clothes, debating whether he would have to deal with her "another" way if she started asking too many questions.

For now, though, he let Wodan do what he needed to and hoped the other Sith would manage to get her to leave them alone.

Oh yes, sounds quite familiar, she agreed. I'm apprenticed to Master Anezu, and he keeps me running around until all hours of the day preparing mission briefs and other mind numbingly boring things, she said.

He's up here at Korriban, so I am too for much of the time, she said. After the Killiks hit, there's been a lot of clean up to do, she said.

You were there for the battle, weren't you? she asked.

 

[Wodan]

Wodan smiled and nodded along as Andruilzella chatted about her time among the Sith. He had no clue who Anezu was but made the gesture that he was impressed by her positioning within the Korriban hierarchy. “I was.” He said, his voice a little more solemn than before. Wodan hated to think or talk about the Killik attack on Korriban, not because of the damage it did or the people that were slaughtered. But about how ineffectual and pointless he was on that day, a medal for taking part, not the grand story a Sith builds their reputation on.

Snapping out of his momentary melancholy he stopped Andruilzella, placing a light hand on her arm. “Hey, I really need to get back to it. But how about we grab a bite to eat later in the week. I’ll be here for at least a fortnight. Ok?” It was all a lie as soon as this mission was done, he was heading back to Eriadu away from Korriban, just encase.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim had been certain she was never going to shut up, but fortunately, Wodan finally managed to cut the tie after a few moments more and the woman seemed to relent from the conversation or from questioning him further.

Thank the Dark Side, he thought to himself, rolling his eyes just before Wodan made it back up to him.

I thought she was never going to go away, he stated deadpan.

Quite the lady's man, apparently, he said, pressing on into another room that would lead to the first of their targets.

I need you to draw them out while I slip in and upload the data. I'll climb in through the outer windwo, he said, holding up the datastick.

I only need about thirty seconds, think you can handle it? he asked.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

She seemed to buy it and with a smile left him to go about his mission. As Andruilzella walked away he let out a sigh before turning and taking a couple of quick steps to catch up with Vizim. He cracked him an awkward smile and just shrugged his shoulders as they carried on walking. “She has always been a chatterbox.” He replied, ignoring the comment about being a lady’s man, it wasn’t something he really had time for right now.

Nearing their first target he gave the room in question a quick look. He couldn’t see much from their position. “I think I can sort something out.” Wodan answered, checking out the hallway and the surrounding area whilst Vizim made his way to the spot. The corridor outside the room was crammed with passing workers and the occasional droid.

Vizim was gone so he would have to act quickly, a passing protocol droid gave him a spark of inspiration. Spark being the key word. Between a pair of passing Imperial NCO’s Wodan let off a small jolt of Force Lightning, jarring into the protocol droid. Causing it to begin to spaz out near the door of the room. A little force push on its right knee joint sent it clattering to the ground in a smoking mess just inside the doorframe of the room. Hopefully that would be enough.

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim snorted as Wodan mentioned the woman had always been a chatterbox. Way too many people were. They felt they had to fill the void of silence with words no matter how meaningless. It was almost painful at times, but fortunately, Vizim's profession left him largely working alone or focusing on business.

Wodan stated that he could sort something out and Vizim gave a nod before heading off in the other direction, slipping into a side room that gave him access to the ledges outside the window. The same ledges the High Overseer had used to flee. How everything came full circle.

There he perched for several moments, as sandflies began to buzz around, forcing him to flail an arm around dramatically to try to keep them at bay.

Kriffing vermin, he growled under his breath.

He moved over, feeling the surge of surprise echoing through the Force and looked into the window before spotting... the door was open and everyone was looking in its direction.

His eyes went wide and he flicked his head to the side when Wodan looked at him in a "get them out of here!" sort of way.

 

[Wodan]

’Its is harder than it looks’, he thought when Vizim gave him that look. The hallway was filled with passing men and women, getting them out was going to be difficult and he had hoped a distraction would be enough. But apparently Vizim wanted more. Typical Sith.

“Ok people, what’s going on here.” He shouted, as he pushed through the assembled crowd towards the downed droid, still smoking and twitching as the circuits tried to fire. His face dropped a look of fake panic appearing on his face. “His power unit has overheated. We need to clear out the area, this can be dangerous.” “And who are yo…” Wodan turned on one of the men he was trying to remove from the location, luckily he was Imperial not Sith. The Firrerrian’s face darkened, his fangs crept from the corners of his mouth and a deep growl rumbled from his chest. “I am one of the Sith who defended this planet from the Killik threat, I am one of the Sith who fights daily to defend our very Empire. I am your better and your master, now move before this droid explodes or I run you through.”

There was a moment of defiance in the officer before he caved under the pressure of Wodan’s stare and the Dark Side radiating from both the Firrerrian and the shard around his neck. With a nod he and the others quickly departed the room and Wodan cleared an area around the doorward the droid half resided in. There Vizim happy now?

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Ah yes, this is going to be much better, Vizim thought to himself as others began to clear out of the room and Vizim slipped in the window, using a gloved hand to press it open. He went to work quickly, not wasting any time as he slipped the datadrive into the terminal and watched the bar as it uploaded.

Aaaaany day now, he thought to himself as he watched the numbers tick by before moving into a position where he had a better view of the room and the door. If this went sideways, he'd kill anyone he had to but here was hoping that no one would give Wodan trouble, and if they did, that the two Sith could talk their way out of it.

Outside the room, Wodan would start getting the first of the pushback from others. Namely an officer - a Captain - in charge of communications on this watch made his way over to see what the fuss was about. Unlike the man that Wodan had intimidated, the rank disparity here technically put Wodan at the disadvantage.

What's going on here? the man asked, his eyes narrowing at darting between the variety of people now gathered in the hall outside the comm station.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan spotted movement from the corner of his vision as he backed the populace away from the fried droid. Vizim was doing his thing, Wodan just hoped it didn’t take too long, he couldn’t keep people out forever. He was going on Sith rank alone here, that only held so much weight in certain peoples eyes.

Annoyingly, a certain someone made an appearance through the crowd. The Imperial Captain, was at least ten years the Sith’s senior and the look in his eye meant that he wouldn’t back down from stiff words and aggressive tones. Wodan would need to be a bit more diplomatic with this man, at least stall him until Vizim was done. The Firrerrian stepped forward a pace or two to cut the Captain off from the room.

Purposefully looking down at his rank before his face Wodan spoke stiffly. “Captain, one of your droid’s malfunctioned. Probably due to lack of care from your staff I would comment. Your same staff then decided to stare at it with googly eyes whilst its reactor was making up its mind if it wanted to explode in their face or not.” He shifted his shoulder to the side for a moment allowing the man to see before continuing. “Luckily for them and their partners at home, I arrived and told them to back off less they lose their faces to plasma burns. We are waiting for a technical team to arrive to make sure the droid does not explode on us.”

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim snatched the data drive out of the computer as soon as the status bar was filled and slipped back out of the window, swinging around to the way he had originally climbed out and coming up behind Wodan as he spoke to the Captain.

The Captain looked as if he was growing more annoyed, though whether with Wodan or his staff wasn't clear.

Good work, Vizim came up and said to Wodan before further comment could be had. Fortunately, Vizim outranked everyone here, which had its benefits.

Let's get everyone clear until the techs have sorted this out, he said with decisiveness before turning to Wodan.

We still have to get to our meeting. I have confidence that Captain is more than capable of handling things from here, he said and gave a polite but slightly dismissive nod in the direction of the Captain before heading onward down the hall to their "meeting."

Once they were out of earshot, Vizim turned back to Wodan. Nice work, data's in and we can get off to our next destination, he said.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan felt a small wave of relief wash over him as he spotted Vizim appear through the crowd behind the Captain. Stage one of their little escapade had finished and not a moment too soon, the Firrerrian doubted he could have kept the Captain and his men out of the room for too much longer. Anyone with half a brain in electronics could probably tell the droid’s power core wasn’t any real threat.

The Sith gave both Vizim and the Captain a nod before he turned and followed the former out of the corridor and onto their next destination. “Hmm, it didn't help the amount of people on Korriban today. Is there something we aren’t aware of happening, it's usually a lot quieter in this part of the base?” He asked as they wound their way deeper into the complex.

As they ventured deeper, past the ordinary day to day offices, the Imperials slowly began to phase out being replaced by Sith, the archaic hierarchy of the Sith Empire was evident when you got to the heart of the bureaucracy and military chain of command. It would be harder here for Wodan to use any rank he held as a Sith to get their way. More than likely force or more will need to be implemented to achieve their goals. “How many more stops?”

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim wound his way through the base as they spoke. Don't know, he admitted. Maybe a lot of people still trying to get everything set back up since the Killik attack. Heard even some of the Red Sith tribes were having problems with them, he said, though it was only rumor. He hadn't gone out to see it himself yet.

I don't spend a lot of time on Korriban. Too hot for my tastes, he said. He preferred planets with large cities and climate control across the board. Or even Dromuund Kaas for that matter.

They weaved in and out of crowds of people until they arrived at the hangar bays where Vizim had already reserved a ship for them off world. It was an officially unmarked ISB craft with multiple ID transponders. Good for going wherever you wanted without being tracked. A full droid crew that would have their minds wiped after the mission.

Well, our next one's a long way off, he said. Deep space, edge of the Unknown Region, he said. In other words, the other side of the galaxy and no short trip. Several days at least.

He headed aboard and the ship would begin to take off almost immediately, angling through the atmosphere as Vizim watched out one of the viewports.

Similar mission far out, this one not with Imperials or Sith though. Comm station is run by locals, he said.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“Possibly.” He replied as they continued to weave through the colossal complex. Wodan was a little taken aback when Vizim mentioned that the next leg of their mission would be off world, he hadn’t planned on leaving the planet with the Sith Master, already arranging his own retreat from the planet once he was done. Shrugging, he could pocket the lost credits on the private charter; there were more than enough ways to recoup the cost in the galaxy.

Wodan boarded the ship shortly after Vizim, noticing the entire crew was mechanical in nature, that made sense considering the apparent sensitivity of their mission. Before he was even able to take his seat, the boarding ramp had been raised and the engines were firing. Wodan fell into his seat as the ship lurched off the ground and made its way into the atmosphere. Soon the curvature of the planet was visible from the viewport opposite him. “I am hoping they brought some food with them.” He said motioning to the droids, if this was going to be a few days' journey he hoped the Sith Master had packed more than military rations for the trip.

It was a few hours before he brought up the courage to ask. “Who does the Comm station belong to?”

@Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

It was only once they were aboard and tearing through space that Vizim stripped off his outer coat and some of his weaponry, before placing it in one of the bedrooms.

They did, he replied as he made his way over to the kitchenette area. Locals, he repeated.

Black Spire on Batuu, he said. It was one of the last stops before the edge of the Unknown Region and Wild Space. It was precisely for that reason that they needed a relay system that could feasibly be implied as sending data to and from that nothingness.

They don't actually run on the holonet out there, too far out, but they've got their own off-world comm conversion system, he said.

He started pulling down some pans and rummaging through the fridge for anything meaty to fry up.

 

[Wodan]

Wodan pulled up a chair, he was a menace in the kitchen so best to stay out less he gave the pair of them food poisoning. “Must be boring without the holonet?” He commented as he began picking at some fruit left on the side. Wodan always had something on in the background whilst he worked or trained, most of the time he wasn’t evening listening or watching but it helped break the silence.

He had no idea where Batuu was, but considering it was on the edges of the known Galaxy that made sense, he would just have to hope that the droid crew and the Sith Master would get them their and back without too much of an incident.

Wodan didn’t say much as food was made, just some polite conversation to break the tension as they ate. Before retiring to his room early, even if it was just to put on the holonet and stare at his phone.

@Phoenix