Ask [Rattatak] Torn

[Zactar Hakka]

As the keys sung through the air, Zack’s armored glove snatched them mid-flight and turned the ignition over, engines rumbling to life with a whir. With her suggestion to wait for nightfall, he hopped into the driver seat anyway and patted the cushion next to him. “Perhaps we can take the long way, to give us a chance to chat and allow night to fall naturally.” he offered with a sympathetic smile. They’d have plenty of time and resources to pull over for a while if needed, or take a small tour of the areas near Celeste’s residence.

Pending Celeste’s boarding, Zack would throttle up and take off roughly in the direction Celeste had gestured, kicking up a trail of sand and dust behind them. As the Rattataki sun baked the planet in its heat, Zack detached a small canteen of water that was fastened to his belt and took a sip, swishing the water around his mouth to replace lost moisture. He’d need to if he intended to talk for any amount of time in the dry heat of this world.

“So…if I may ask, how did you get into this warlord's clutches? He must have caught you off-guard somehow..." he began to ponder before catching himself and reminding him to keep his mind in the present moment. He needed to be an ear - a shoulder to lean on - not an instigator. He needed to keep his emotions in check, just for a little while longer. "Sorry, Celeste. Don't mean to push you. Talk when you're ready. At your speed." he said, briefly looking over to her with a reassuring pat on her leg.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste felt indeed not only comfortable in his presence, but she had regained her composure already which was a good thing even though they had quite some time left. "That sounds like a good plan. I know a detour we can take and then we'll have to decide whether we'll just drive into their hangar as it's usually unlocked anyway, or whether we'll sneak our way in". Truth was, she was fine with either. She wouldn't show mercy to any of those bastards and so she didn't care whether they would assault them with full fire power, or whether they'd try a stealthy approach. After all, she had deliberately chosen that only the two of them would go, so perhaps a sneaky endeavor was better...

Anyway, they still had plenty of time to decide on that and they could figure out their strategy once they were close. For now, she wanted to focus on the conversation that they were about to have. She elegantly glided into the seat next to him and focused on the bumpy road ahead for a moment, recalling the exact way before she let out a deep sigh. She briefly rubbed her temples before she glanced over to him, her voice relatively composed again. "Yes...one could say so. It was much worse to be honest. It turned out I had a mole right next to me and he apparently spied on me the whole time. He had contacted this warlord and filled him in so that he and his men ambushed is. They had exactly known where and when we would approach and we were so heavily outnumbered...". As she began, she was forced to be confronted with those memories again, but the more words she spoke, the easier it got. "It's okay, Zack. I need to confront those fears if I want to keep it together later on. It's...been a while and I've learned to live with it", she then added softly, while she still appreciated his comfort and his support highly.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"That sounds lovely." Zack responded with a smile. "Hmm, well...if you were to truly unleash your anger, a stealthy approach probably wouldn't help for long. I say let them come at us. I think we can handle them." he added with a brief wink at Celeste. He wasn't terribly practiced in stealth, but beyond that, he wanted to give the slavers the anticipation. Let them watch their mates be slaughtered as they wait for their turn. Show them an 'honorable' fight with an open challenge. Just thinking of the coming battle brought Zack's blood to a boil before he remembered his place and compartmentalized his anger as best he could. They'd have time to work out their plans.

As Celeste took a deep breath and began to speak, Zactar listened intently while keeping eyes on the deserts ahead. He wasn't surprised to hear that a 'partner' had sold her out. Working as part of the Sith, he'd felt the normal attitude amongst them was to deceive and backstab at any opportunity so as to climb further themselves. Sith or not, the news deeply saddened him and Zack offered his sympathies, as little as it would do. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Celeste." He paused for a few moments to allow the feelings to simmer and process, for both of them. "I can only assume how you're feeling right now...but never forget that you are not at fault for putting your trust in the wrong person. They are at fault for betraying your trust and hospitality." he said, looking over to Celeste sympathetically for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

Truth be told, Zack had trusted little since the events that transpired on Serenno in his youth. The one thing he thought he trusted - the Sith Empire - turned out to be exactly what he thought he was fighting against. But Celeste had shown him otherwise; that there were still good people within the Empire that wanted justice as badly as he did. She'd helped him open a heart that had been long forgotten and unused, hence the reason that he'd risked so much to show her his true feelings and risk his life to help her end this painful chapter of her life. Though he didn't want to dwell on these painful memories, his curiosity got the better of him. "Is this 'mole' still alive?"

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

A smirk crossed Celeste's face as Zac suggested a different approach. He was right about the thing with the anger. Celeste was still furious and could barely wait to give them all what they deserved, but perhaps storming in or announcing their arrival was not the best idea. After taking a sip from the water cannister next to her she cleared her throat and directed her gaze back at her companion. "I agree. Well surely handle them all, but I still think we should sneak in first. We don't want to have to deal with all the turrets, so I say we try to slip inside unnoticed before we'll loudly let them know we're there". Her sideways glance was a bit mischievous, but it was good to know that Zac wanted to make them pay as much as she wanted it herself.

After their short strategic discussion the mood had changed dramatically, but the story Celeste was about to tell was far from pleasant. After she had quickly surveyed their way ahead she had thrown him a genuinely thankful smile. She knew that everything coming from him, even his sympathy was honest and heartfelt and she appreciated his comforting words. "Thank you, Zac. That was definitely a painful lesson to learn though. I trusted each and every man underlying my...command if you want to put it that way, but it had turned out that some were indeed still challenging us...and those gutless cowards were not even brave enough to do it themselves". Saying those words wasn't painful anymore. She had made ammends and dealt with the culprits. All that was left was the former warlords lair and his henchmen needed to be dealt with now. They would get what they deserve and they would have no idea what was coming for them now.

As he mentioned the traitor she darkly chuckled before she smirked at him again. "No, he isn't. It wasn't difficult to find out who it was, and he was immediately interrogated. I didn't just kill him though afterwards. Even after all he had done, I gave him a fair trial and let the people decide. Surprisingly, it turned out he even had help from someone else and they were already planing on getting Kat out of the way too...but it didn't matter. They were both sentenced to death for their treason". Celeste had never been vengeful or anything, but their deaths had felt like satisfaction. She had always been a firm believer in mercy but they had been a threat for everything they had built up here.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

As Celeste further confirmed their plans, Zack nodded in silent agreement. He had no idea what sort of defensives the slavers would have so he fully trusted in Celeste's leadership for their mission. Hearing of turrets put any idea of heroics out of his mind, refocusing on practicality and lethality instead. In any case, Zactar could serve as a decent distraction if he weren't able to sneak his way in; that would certainly help Celeste's stealth if nothing else. "Aye, the sort of people that would betray you are indeed the same type that wouldn't dirty their own hands with it." he said with a slight snarl. Loyalty aside, he was just angry that anyone would try to take advantage of his friend.

A chill went down Zactar's spine as Celeste smirked at him with mention of the death of the traitor. He hadn't quite seen what she was capable of in combat, but her tone suggested that she was deadlier than most would suspect. Hearing that the traitor stood trial was surprising and...oddly comforting. He didn't imagine Celeste to be the type of person to kill in cold blood, but after all that she'd been through..."Wow, Celeste. I'm in awe of you. The fact that you had them stand trial is honestly inspiring." He sat in silence for a few minutes, mulling over what she'd said as well as his own past; in particular, thinking of the blood-stained hydrospanner in his ship. If only he'd had the strength to abate his anger, who knows where he might be. Possibly still toiling away on Serenno, which was not an attractive prospect...

As they continued their drive out through the wastelands, Zack made note of the setting sun. "The skies are turning to dusk." he mentioned aloud, trying to shift their attention to something more positive. "It's beautiful, even on Rattatak." he said with a slight smile, taking in the swirling pinks and purples above them. They'd already been on the road for a while and he had some slight interest in pulling over to rehydrate but figured Celeste would let him know when they were getting close. "Whenever we're close, I'd like to pull over and refill my canteen if you don't mind. The heat has really taken a lot out of me."

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

While Zactar continued driving, Celeste was checking on their position and the coordinates of the former warlord's lair, so that they would take their detour in the right arc, avoiding to cross any outposts of the hostile tribe or what remained of it. She was assuming that after their boss was killed, they had to regroup and since there weren't many left of them, she was quite sure that they would all wait in their headquarter, but even if the outposts were presumably deserted, she didn't want to risk anything.

She nodded in agreement with his statement as he mentioned the thugs again, immediately shifting her gaze back onto her friend. "True. But those cowardly bastards had all drawn their lasts breaths..." she added with a slight sigh as she still couldn't believe that this had chosen treason in the first place anyway, but she didn't want to waste any more thoughts on it. What he said next immediately made her smile warmly again as she was genuinely appreciating his honest compliment. "Thank you very much, Zac. That means a lot to me. It still takes a lot to separate my feelings from such emotional causes, but I'm really trying to inspire the people to follow my lead. It would have been the easiest to strike them down immediately. To be honest, it would have even been the Rattataki way. I have to admit that even though I'm not vengeful at all, it would have been satisfying in a way, but this is not at all what I want. I want justice and to involve the people in all those processes. However for our current targets, there's nothing more to negotiate about. They are quite open about their resentment against us and they would never stop enslaving people or trying to kill us, so trying to involve them in fair trials would not be an option...". She paused here, taking a deep breath before she let the air out again. The people they were about to kill were indeed terrible people, because slavery was indeed even one of the mildest atrocities they committed on a daily base. She would never forget the torture and everything they had done to her and Null...

But yes, a change of topic was a good idea. After they had driven for a whole other while she examined not only the road ahead but also the shades of orange, red and purple in front of them. "You're right. The sunset is always very beautiful, especially because the temperatures drop then" she answered softly before his remark made her chuckle. "That's more than understandable. We are getting indeed close. I know a place where we can park the speeder. We should reach the point in about twenty minutes and from there on we should continue on foot anyway, so we definitely have the chance to refill then. I've also brought some snacks. We need all the energy we can get so we can have a short on the road picnic before we can start our approach. This was when she realized that the had indeed been driving for a while and Zac had ran out of water quite a while ago. Oh no...I'm sorry, by the way...how rude of me. I should have inserted a break earlier. I've grown used to not drinking for quite some time, but your body isn't used to all that heat and dryness" she added with genuine regret and worry in her voice. The heat could wreck the body and the mind if you didn't stay hydrated...

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Zack looked at Celeste with a smile as she spoke of separating her feelings to allow justice to be properly served. It was no lie; she was inspiring to him, and likely to all of those under her command or guidance as well. It takes a lot to hold back your feelings and take an unbiased look at a situation, especially when it is so deeply tied into your psyche. And as a Sith, they were only encouraged to steep in their anger and lash out tenfold. Since learning the ways of the Force and seeing the devastation unfettered use could cause, Zactar had worked hard to keep his anger in check - like a saber hilt stowed on the belt - inactive until needed. "That's incredibly noble, Celeste. And I'm sure the people sincerely appreciated the gesture, as the slavers have likely tormented the rest of the public too. I'm intrigued with the Rattataki people. I've not read much about their culture or history. Perhaps when we are less busy you could introduce me to some of the more sociable folks of this planet, assuming they exist." he said with a hearty chuckle. From what he'd seen of the harsh wastelands, he could only guess that it had hardened the natives similarly.

"Yes, I'd have to agree. I have no patience for anyone who thinks they can own another person, and have no qualms with erasing their kind from this galaxy. There's enough suffering to go around without them..." he trailed off. Hearing that the temperatures would be dropping overnight was good news to Zack, and he audibly breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled as Celeste mentioned her snacks. He'd heard of grandmothers keeping snacks around for hungry children but had never had the type of family to experience such a thing. Even in the middle of the desert, it was comforting and made him feel somewhat at home. With Celeste's apology, Zack laughed and waved a hand at the air in dismissal. "No worries, love! I'm built to last, hahaha! I can take another twenty minutes if it will get us to our checkpoint." he added with a grin and a wink.

It was sweet of her to be so concerned, and it was no lie that the Rattataki sun had been beating down upon him, especially in his black armor. Truthfully, Zack had 'roughed it' enough in his earlier life that he was familiar with putting hunger and thirst pangs out of his mind for a time, and it was only easier with the aid of the Force. No amount of water or air would keep him from being thoroughly covered in sweat, though, and his swept-back hair began to fall into his face a bit as it became soaked through. As they continued their drive, Zack could feel the temperature steadily dropping as the sun beat down upon them less and less and the horizon became darker. When they approached on foot, he'd be able to summon a Shroud of Darkness around them to further bend the shadows to cover their entry.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

His soft-spoken answer immediately made her smile warmly. His honest words were just so sweet and heart-warming that she sometimes couldn't believe that only because of Verse's endeavor on Arda she had met this kind soul. "Thank you, Zac. That's still so incredibly kind of you to say. I really appreciate it. I know it's frowned upon in the Empire and the Rattataki are also having a hard time adjusting to all these changes I'm implementing, but in the end they usually see that all I want is justice and peace", she replied, smiling softly if not even a little sheepishly. She knew he wasn't trying to meaninglessly flatter her with empty words but it warmed her heart that he was so genuinely impressed. "Yes, there is not much publicly known about the Rattataki and all I learned about them was first-hand experience, but trust me...their culture is very complicated. They have so many traditions and believe in countless rituals, you would spend ages if you would try to understand it all. I can definitely arrange an opportunity to socialize though. After all this time they have opened up so much and they are not all as hard and cold as they sometimes see" she then added slighlty amused as she knew far too well how much the appearance was deceptive.

When he spoke about the slavers again she nodded, blocking out her anger again as this was still not the time to get emotional. She was saving all of her strength and wrath for later. "I couldn't agree more. Those are hideous believes and I'm not tolerating that at all. Also, those bastards are not just enslaving others, but they torture, kill and commit even more terrible atrocities". She was sparing him further details, as she had seen almost everything in the short period of time in which she had been captured but he knew the most important parts anyway. They had to die. All of them. And there wouldn't be any negotiations today, but her mind was quickly taking off this serious matter again once he started laughing whole-heartedly. "Oh I believe you can last...still I could have been more attentive to your needs. It should cool down a little soon, but I'm afraid you'll still have to stand a bit of heat. But yes, we will have our well-deserved break very soon" she then replied with a soft chuckling while she double checked the coordinates yet another time, but if everything was going as planned they would find a fitting indentation right behind the next rock formation. Celeste was usually a very caring person and that was why it bugged her a little that due to the talking she hadn't paid enough attention to her friend, but she was about to change that soon. She had packed all kinds of Rattataki delicacies just for him, so that he would be able to pick whatever he wanted and needed before they would start seeking vengeance.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

"If there's anything worth dying for, it's justice and peace." he said with a smile and determined nod. As Celeste went on to describe her experience with the Rattataki, Zack listened intently and tried to imagine such a prim and proper lady mingling with what he imagined as rather savage people. Despite his amusement, he controlled his reaction and kept his face curiously stoic. The more she spoke, the more he wanted to meet the Rattataki himself and in his experience, immersion was the best teacher when it came to cultures. "That's great! I would definitely love the chance to mingle. I tend to stay reserved when learning new cultures; trying to absorb as much as I can before I really bring myself into the mix. I could definitely use any advice you have to offer as well, when the time comes."

Hearing that the slavers were torturing their slaves brought anger to the forefront of his mind once more. What was the purpose? Were they specifically trying to be cruel? He couldn't even imagine trying to 'own' another person, but...why would you then hurt them? He'd thought even slavers would try to protect their own investments, but apparently this group was a different breed altogether. He would have NO qualms with disposing of such trash. As Celeste chuckled, Zack's anger dissipated once more and he continued driving on their path with a smile, sweeping left and right past various rock formations in the harsh desert.

Sensing they were getting close based on the increased checks of Celeste's datapad, Zactar eased up on the throttle in hopes of kicking up less sand behind them. Though it would be getting dark soon, an approaching dust cloud might possibly give their position away and, from the little he'd heard of their defenses, they needed to stack as much as they could in their favor. He flicked a switch near the steering column to cycle the exterior lights off as well. Slowing his breathing, Zactar brought his focus to the Force and relied upon it to aid him in dodging the incoming rock formations. The dark could play tricks on his eyes that the Force would see through.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

"I couldn't agree more" she immediately replied with a smile, genuinely happy that they shared the same opinion on that even if their shared background had taught them differently before, but at the same time she was reminded of something else: The talk they had earlier hadn't left her mind and she was still unsure about how she should feel in regard to his idea of consulting the Jedi. The idea of losing her friend was terrible and she knew that Zack was someone who would sacrifice himself for such a higher purpose. She knew he would want to take the Empire down with him, yet Celeste would try her best to protect the man that had grown so close to her.

All those years ago, she hadn't been able to save her parents, but if the last years had taught her anything, it was that she would never stop protecting the people she cared about and Zack, who almost felt like a second father to her, would be no exception to that. However, before she could drift deeper into her own thoughts she was suddenly by the thing he mentioned concerning meeting the people. "Oh don't worry about that. I will definitely give you some advice, but all the Rattataki in Barterus have become rather open-minded anyway. Let's say as open-minded as their warrior culture would allow them to become. Once we're done with our business we can get something started. The people will be happy to know that we have exterminated each and every last bastard...". Celeste knew well that tye Rattataki were quite vengeful and if she had brought a few of her soldiers, they would have had great fun as well, but this was a personal matter.

It was a good call to turn of the lights and so Celeste focused as well, keeping a second eye with the Force out as they were maneuvering through the dusky terrain. After a few more minutes they had reached the designated rock spur and so she reached out with the Force, checking whether anything living was close, but as there was nothing to be sensed shebturned back to her trusted friend. "We can leave the speeder here. We should be all alone and I'm pretty sure that our foes are not yet alerted". It wouldn't take long now. Once they had eaten and drank a little, it was go time. Slowly but steadily Celeste could feel some kind of nervousity boiling up, but this slight excitement wasn't necessarily something negative. She knew that they had to be careful, but at the same time she couldn't wait to let it all out and end this once and for all.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

Zactar smiled as Celeste agreed with his sentiment regarding a worthy death. He’d had half a thought to encourage her to meet the Jedi with him, but the thought of her being found by the Inquisitorious quickly pushed the idea out of his mind. He was okay with the idea of martyrdom, but that wasn’t something he could push onto someone else, especially a friend. He’d have to make sure there would be as little collateral damage as possible if he were discovered.

The prospect of a small announcement after their success was exciting. Even if the Rattataki people weren’t keen on outsiders, hearing that he would have helped slay some of their demons would likely warm them up to Zack. “Absolutely! I consider myself somewhat of a warrior so perhaps I can learn from them as well. Not to get ahead of myself…” he smiled sheepishly. He didn’t want to assume anything about Celeste’s people and would bide his time until they could properly meet. Simply observing the locals would teach him a lot.

With Celeste’s remark, Zack slowed the speeder to a stop behind the rocky outcropping and powered it down with the flip of a few switches on the console. As promised, the deserts had cooled significantly with nightfall and Zack was already feeling much more comfortable. “Excellent. And I seem to have finally stopped sweating!” he added with a hearty laugh to follow. Climbing out of the speeder, he took his canteen to the water crate in the back and refilled it before immediately chugging the entire thing and refilling it again. His body urged him to replenish his fluids after so much sweating, but it had done its job to keep him cool. Knowing little of Rattatak, he began to ponder the possibilities of water being used as currency. From what he’d seen so far, he couldn’t imagine the planet had many water reservoirs.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste was glad that they had almost reached their destination as the anticipation grew with every meter. She wanted to get this done as fast as possible and for now everything had worked out well. Their conversation had even been more pleasant as expected and it felt truly good to have it off her chest now. She was in fact very glad that her dear friend had accompanied her as he had not only kept her from freaking out, but it had also felt like a relief to her that she had entrusted him with this nightmarish story while knowing that he wouldn't tell anyone else about it. She knew that hearing it had made him furious as well, but both of them had done a good job in preserving their wrath for now. Yet, they were both still waiting to release it soon, but they first had to prepare themselves.

When the speeder came to a halt Celeste alighted and started to sort their equipment and supplies in the back while Zack was already busy drinking. "Oh trust me, I'm just as glad as you over the temperatures now...I still find it amazing that my body has already fully adjusted to the climate and so I feel like I don't even need to drink more than back on Kalist" she told him amusedly before she still drank quite a bit herself as staying hydrated was important nonetheless. She then spread out the various snacks that she had brought and gestured him to help himself to anything he wanted. "Here. We don't have much variety as we're still confronted with import issues from time to time but I still hope you find anything you like" she told him with a warm smile before she briefly wanted to come back to what he had said about her people. "Oh I can definitely arrange something for you! The Rattataki have, for example, impressive fighting skills in weaponless combat but they also know how to handle all sorts of arms, but they are always happy to teach my friends something. As a pro tip: They love to learn something new as well, something that is not as common in their culture so if you want to impress them, feel free to share any of knowledge or skills as well" with a wink and a sweet smile she waited for him to help himself to any of the snacks before she herself would grab a bite.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

With his thirst quenched and his beard fully soaked again, Zactar watched with growing anticipation as Celeste unpacked the smorgasbord of snacks for the two of them. Despite having just replenished his fluids, his mouth started to water as he saw some sticks of an unidentified smoke meat, a variety of nuts and roots, and what looked like a cactus that had been cleaned of its spines and diced into bite-sized chunks, glistening in the little light still available around them. "Thank you so much! It all looks delicious." he said in earnest while immediately reaching for a stick of smoked meat.

He couldn't quite tell if the meat was from a creature he was familiar with, but the smoky flavor of the wood eased the gamey taste. Grabbing a hand full of the nuts and roots, he happily crunched on them and particularly enjoyed the inclusion of cashews - one of his favorites! The root in the mix was more bitter than he might of liked, but it was likely an acquired taste. The diced cactus, however, was the star of the show. Not only was the additional moisture appreciated, but it was deliciously sweet and had a smooth, creamy texture that coated the mouth. He was glad to have saved it for last, so he could continue savoring the taste for a while.

Between bites, Zack would respond to his friend. "Ahh, that's a great tip. Most of my combat skills relate to the lightsaber, but I'm sure it could be translated to most blades with ease. Perhaps I could teach them a bit of Makashi! It is my favorite, after all. Or if they are interested in more practical skills, I could show them a bit of engineering, though by today's standards most of my work would probably look amateurish. Still functional! Just...not pretty."

With his hunger sated, Zack would turn his attention to the skies, watching the distant stars twinkle into view as the sun fully set behind the horizon. He would wait a while after he finished to make sure Celeste was done picking through the snacks, but eventually he would stand, check the clasps of his equipment, and smile at Celeste with a downward nod. He didn't need to say anything; the gesture was clear: Whenever you're ready.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Once Celeste was done with the unpacking she quickly glanced around attentively while simultaneously reaching out with the Force to ensure that no one was either watching or tracking them already. She let out a soft, relieved sigh as everything had gone as planned so far before she directed her attention back towards her friend, softly smiling because he seemed rather happy with her selection. "It might look delicious, but I dearly hope you will also find it delicious. Rattataki flavors can be...unique" she then chuckled softly while she watched him choose his first snack before she reached for some nuts herself. She was truly curious whether he actually found the selected snacks as tasty as he looked like he did, but she was assuming he would be honest anyway.

While she crunched on the nuts she happily listened to his reply before she nodded with a smile. "Perfect. They'll definitely enjoy both very much. The majority is of course more interested into the combating skills, but some have started to take a liking in engineering which I'm quite proud of because we've been kind of behind here...whatever you do, they'll love you anyway" she answered softly and she was completely honest about it. She had seen him fight before and once she would spread the news that he had helped her with the warlord's successor, they would celebrate him anyway. Additionally, they would strongly benefit from his skills and Zack was always very pleasant company anyway, so she couldn't wait to get this feast started.

After they had shared the rest of this meal Celeste packed away the remains, but only after Zack was truly finished. She had drunken quite a lot of water but not eaten as much as to fill her up fully since she couldn't risk being lethargic or anything. "Okay. Then let's finally end this" she then said to him in a fully determined manner while her eyes even began to glister with a hint of ferocity. She had contained her wrath so far, but it wasn't long until she could finally release it and Zac seemed just as ready as she was, so she grabbed the necessary gear before she locked the speeder and started moving. "I've grabbed some thermal scopes. They'll sure come in handy and we won't have to drain ourselves while tapping into Force sight" she explained confidently as she handed him one.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

With their food packed away and the speeder locked, Zactar began to follow Celeste into the darkness of the desert, sand crunching under his armored bootfalls. He gratefully took the thermal scope from her and gave it a quick test. "These will come in handy." he said with a smile. She was right; it would allow him to focus the Force into more useful applications such as maintaining a shroud of darkness over the two of them. As they walked, Zack would summon the Force and, with an exhale and downward push with a palm-down open hand, the light would continuously dampen around them until they were nearly walking in pitch black.

Peering through the thermal scope now, he was clearly able to see the glow of Celeste's body just in front of him as well as some distant glows of what he assumed to be the fortress in which his friend had been held prisoner. Even though he couldn't actually see Celeste with his own eyes, he could feel the anger radiating out from her, driving them onward with every step. Normally feeling such powerful hate from a friend would be cause of concern, but knowing the source and sharing the pain with her left no room for questions. He wouldn't try to curb any of their feelings; just hold onto them until the moment to unleash them came.

As the distance closed between the predators and their prey, the outline of two turrets outside their gates became evident through the thermal scope: Zack's largest concern for their assault. He was used to dealing with blaster fire by returning it to its source, but that trick wouldn't be quite so devastating against a turret. Though they were still a distance away, none of the guard's heat signatures appeared to move erratically with their approach, hopefully demonstrating success in their stealth. Zack turned toward Celeste and whispered, "So where is our entrance?"

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste immediately shot Zack a grateful look as he slowky began to cover them in darkness. It would be impossible for the enemies to spot them covered from human and also Rattataki sight and simultaneously the thermal scopes gave them a wonderful advantage. They wouldn't see them coming at all so there stealthy approach would be successful, or at least that was what she was hoping for. Otherwise they'd have to use pure strength, but as soon as Celeste spotted the turrets and the men behind them in the distance, her enthusiasm stopped for a second. Right. They still had to deal with them.

She pressed the scopes back onto her eyes while she scanned the rest of the scenery in front of them while they carefully went on. She was forcing herself to breathe calmly, still trying to contain her emotions until it was time to relase all fury, but those turrets were indeed an annoying obstacle, but they could fully avoid them anyway. Additionally, there was also a chance that they were not even fully operational as maintenance was usually none of their concerns, so she quickly regained her vengeful, unrestrained ferocious spirit. "Right behind the corner of those rocks we'll find their hangar. It's usually open and unprotected, but since this successor took over he might have changed that, so we should rather be careful" she answered, her voice low and her gaze still attentively scanning the area before she nodded into the right direction.

Celeste's watchful glare never left the men and the turrets while she kept moving forward, steadily but carefully approaching the said hangar. Last time they had been as stupid as to let them escape through it, so she was assuming there would be more safely precautions this time, but as they finally reached the corner the gates were literally open again. She internally cautioned herself not to be too optimistic and naive just yet, but that was at least a good sign. She gave Zack a reassuring smile though before she moved forward again. There was some dim lighting in the hangar and a few older speeders parked here and there, but as she reached out with the Force there was literally not a single soul inside. Perhaps their regrouping hadn't even been as effective and there were even less bastards still alive than expected?

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

As Celeste's boiling emotions made themselves known through the strands of the Force between them, Zack briefly placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, just to let her know he was there and he understood, if nothing else. When the hangar came into view through the narrowed sight of the thermal scope, Zack silently smirked. How foolish, to leave their method of escape unguarded. Despite the apparent lack of fortifications near their hangar, he wouldn't let his guard drop. Slowly allowing the small amount of light around them to return, Zack let the shroud of darkness fade since they had made it to the hidden entrance unseen.

As vision returned, he smiled at Celeste and unclipped the saber hilt from his belt, gripping it firmly in his right hand with his thumb resting on the activator switch. "We may want to deal with these speeders if we want to avoid stragglers. Explosives would obviously be loud, and messy. Perhaps we plunge a saber through each engine?" With that said, Zactar scanned the area around them to make sure no one was near before engaging his crimson saber blade with a hiss-hum and walking toward one of the speeders. To make as little sound as possible, Zack plunged the tip of the blade into the stagnant engines slowly, watching the metal melt around the edges before withdrawing his blade and moving to the next. While the damage might not be so devastating to keep the speeders from running, they wouldn't get far before breaking down.

Creeping toward the hallway that led into the rest of the bunker, Zack peered through to check for resistance. Despite his eyes coming up empty, the Force reached out further and pinged his mind to a few sentients on the edge of his range. He could quite see what kind of weapons or armor they might have had, but what he could tell was that they weren't yet aware of the ambush. The people seemed calm, which is exactly what they were hoping for with their nighttime attack. He turned to Celeste to share the information he had gleaned.

"I can't tell if there's barely anyone here or if they're further into the fortress. I barely felt three or four people that are a good ways in there. They don't seem to be alarmed to our existence yet. Ladies first?" he finished with a grin, gesturing to the hallway with his saber-less hand. He was eager to wipe this group out, but he also knew it could be therapeutic to Celeste. He reminded himself, he's here for backup. His friend had already run these hallways before and would likely know where more guards or fortifications would be, if there were any.

Spoiler: d20 rolls

Warlord's forces: 9
Warlord's armament: 11

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

It was good to quickly feel this soothing, physical touch on her shoulder as it calmed her down immensely. She knew she had his support anyway, but this last reassuring gesture helped the blonde senator a lot. She gratefully glanced back at her friend, her tense muscles relaxing, even though she kept her gaze attentive as she redirected it back to the front. 'They haven't even learnt anything from last time...' she sarcastically remarked as she telepathically communicated with Zack, her lips curling into a slight, dangerous smirk.

They would never learn. She was pretty sure they weren't expecting her to come back for the rest and she suddenly felt this almost thrilling sensation as they went through the doors. It was a good call of him to destroy the engines as this vehemently narrowed their chances of escape down. Last time she was forced to flee, but they wouldn't get this chance, so she affirmatively nodded before she carefully did the same to other vehicles around.

After they were done they regrouped and Celeste quickly rolled her shoulders while the crimson bladed lightsaber was still ignited in her right hand. "Thank you. I'll gladly begin" she then replied with a smirk before she made her way into the empty corridor. He was right. There weren't many around yet, but this underground complex was bigger than expected so they still had to be careful. For now, no one had noticed their arrival, but if they would get alerted, Celeste would switch into a fully different mode. For now she stealthed through the corridor, carefully sensing her enemies before she gestured for Zack that the first three awaited them in a room right around the corner.

Without hesitation she stepped forward while the smirk was still on her lips. "Surpise" she bluntly said, her eyes ferociously glistering while she reached out with her left hand, Force choking the first foe that was seated on a couch right in front of her. Their eyes all widened in horror as the invisible grip tightened around the neck of the first one while she confidently stepped forward with big steps. She had closed the distance between them within a few seconds and before the second one had reached for his blaster, her blade went already through his chest. She left the one on the right for Zack, but it amused her that he was still too shocked to react in time.

@Burpee

 

[Zactar Hakka]

As Celeste's words entered his mind following her cold smirk, Zack would press his mind to return a telepathic response to his companion: Then let us teach them a lesson, he sent back equally icy, taking up his spot behind her in the hallway. He was impressed as Celeste crept forward without a sound besides the thrum of her saber. Stealth was never his strong suit, and he opted for heavier armor than most as a sort of trade-off. His lack of stealth became immediately noticeable as a chain that Celeste had ducked under with ease caught Zack's armor at the back of the shoulder, causing the chain to jingle and clack against his duraplast plate.

He looked up in fear, hoping he hadn't given away their position, just in time to see Celeste cutting down one of the henchmen in the next room as she telekinetically strangled another. Unsure of how many more could be waiting, Zack panicked and cut through the chain that was binding him with his lightsaber. As the chains fell and rattled against the walls and floor, Zack pulled the Force into his legs and leapt through the remainder of the hallway in large, empowered strides, closing the distance to his friend as quickly as he could. Entering the room with a whirlwind in his wake, Zack only briefly saw the flash of plasma as two red blaster bolts escaped the pistol in the remaining guards hand, aimed for Celeste's torso.

His literal hang-up in the hallway had costed him precious reaction time. Though he was too late to deflect the bolts, he could make sure no further shots were loosed. Wrapping a telekinetic grip around the guard's wrist, he snapped it uncomfortably to the side, causing the pistol to soar toward Zack. With a swift downward slice, he cut the blaster pistol in two before unleashing a barrage of lightning at its wielder with his other hand, cooking them until he could audibly hear the sizzle. With the last threat in the room dispatched, Zactar quickly turned to check on his friend, hoping the two blaster shots hadn't found their target.

Spoiler: d20 roll

Zack's stealth: -2

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She had nodded fiercely at his comment, the smirk even widening further before she had made her first move. She had kept in mind that Zack had not only told her that stealth wasn't exactly what he was good at, but she also knew that his heavier armor would make it harder for him to move soundlessly, but since she had done a decent job with approaching her targets stealthily she wasn't worried about when and how he would follow.

However before she had made her way into the first room and dealt with the first two, Zack created some unmistakably loud rattling which let her quickly glance backwards over her shoulder in slight confusion mixed with a feisty amusement. So much for stealthy approaches. It wasn't too bad though, as having them see their demise coming would more fun to watch anyway, but the sudden commotion enabled the third one to set two blaster bolts free before Zack electrified him.

Celeste gasped and moved her blade upwards in the very last second, barely managing to protect her torso, but as a result the bolts uncontrollably zoomed through the air. Luckily, they didn't grace Zack and once the last one was dealt with, she could already sense the a wave of incoming foes approaching. "Alright. So this is when the fun begins. Don't hold back" she threw him a smirk as she spun around to face the door. She left the noise uncommented as she neither blamed him nor found that this had been unfortunate. Her heartbeat had accelerated and she could already sense the thrill of the upcoming battle ahead.

@Burpee