Recon on the Hydian Way: Yavin IV

[Ender]

Theme Music

Massassi Valley, 0345 Local Standard Time

The jungle stank. There was no way getting around it, it just stank. Like rotting flesh and decay. The noises were all around, animals and insects, big and small. Oh Gods, Chang thought to himself, I hope there aren't snakes. And to top it all off, it was raining like a son of a gun. Soaking him to the very bone, his only saving grace was the thermal mesh underneath his armor and fatigues. This was Alan's first mission with the Border Alliance and he'd come to a conclusion. This sucked. It wasn't anything like his time with the Alderaanian Self Defense Force. What was even worse was that, he, Alan Chang, an elite anti-terrorism operator on Alderaan was saddled with carrying the communication gear.

Alan sighed and wiped the water droplets off his goggles and looked around at his two companions. They'd taken a knee in a small clearing to get their bearings. They'd made landfall about a hour ago, the landing craft sneaking in along with a meteor shower and then flying low through the valley to keep clear of any sensors there might be looking for them. The pilot had dropped them as close as possible without risking being seen. There was almost no chance they'd been spotted coming in, electronically or visually.They'd humped it for an hour and were getting close to the first recon site. Still, moving quietly, slowly and methodically to hide their movements was awful in the mud and rain.

He thought back to the briefing they'd been given and ticked off the objectives in his head.​

• Insert without being detected.​

Check.​

• Recon first site. ​

ETA 15 minutes.​

• If enemy activity detected, Sith or otherwise, document with photographic evidence, record video, take note of capabilities. Call in for a bombing run, then hightail it to the nearest LZ for extraction. If no enemy activity detected, prep for engineers to establish a FOB. Win/win.​

It seemed simple enough, and they'd been moving undetected for an hour now. They just had to maintain their discipline they'd had for the first hour and either score a new FOB on Yavin, or get to kill some bad guys. He suppressed a smile at having been given such an important mission for his first assignments and looked back at his companions again, before turning to maintain perimeter security, keeping his blaster rifle at the ready.​

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Tseebo crept closely behind Chang, his head on a swivel. The sound of the rain pattering against leaves all around drowned out their footsteps as they moved the jungle. His green skin combined with the color and pattern of his camouflaged fatigues made him difficult to spot in the dense foliage. Dax hadn’t felt this nervous about a mission in quite a while. It wasn’t the threat of combat that was on his mind, but rather the significance this mission carried. If the squad was able to find evidence of Sith expansion or preparation it could mean dramatic changes in both the Alliance, and hopefully the Senate.

Similar to the burden of the communications equipment on Chang, so was Tseebo charged with the care and transport of the squad’s portable missile launcher. The launcher Tseebo carried was designed for use against aircraft, and fired homing missiles. The launcher was heavy, but Tseebo had grown accustomed to carrying various gear in his time with the security forces on Bandomeer. He rose from his kneeling position next to Aust and caught up close with Chang.

"I have point, you have our most important piece of equipment.”, said Dax as he motioned towards the communications equipment carried by Chang.

He looked back to ensure Aust was moving along, then raised his blaster rifle and pushed onward into the jungle.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

Rain, why did always have to Rain. They had been trudging through mud and jungle for the past hour. Jacen had taken point, occasionally using his sword to cut through the thick underbrush. When he didn't have his blaster rifle in hand he kept it slung at his side a single quick motion would bring it to bear. The going was tough and the weather miserable but this is exactly what Jacen had been trained for as a Toprawan Ranger. He was trained to inserted into what ever conditions the mission required and to be able to live off the land for as long as it took.

Finally they had taken a breather. Jacen crouched with the other two, keeping all his senses alert. "I will take rear guard." Jacen quietly remarked. After a short time they were on the move again. This time Jacen took the rear guard as Tseebo too point. Jacen repositioned the anti-vehicle launcher that he carried on his back. He hated carrying the heavier stuff. Its not that he couldn't, it just slowed him and he felt it put him at risk. They had trudged another 10 minutes when in front of them it looked as if the forest might be thinning a bit. It could be a clearing and if it was they would have to move slower and more cautiously. Jacen readied is blaster rife, ready for anything.

 

[Ender]

They moved silently for a long while, exchanging hand signals when necessary. The rain fell, making a soft pitter patter on Alan's helmet, the rain falling down the brim of his helmet and onto his goggles, cheeks and down his chin and into his shirt, mingling with the rest of the rain on his thermal mesh shirt.

There was something digging into his leg, something heavy and thick and for the life of him, Alan Couldn't remember what it was. Reaching down, he felt along the sopping wet cargo pants and around his combat armor until he reached the object and with a jolt he remembered. A ten pound SC40 demo kit, capable of leveling most buildings. Glancing up at his comrade on point, he recalled they all had one. It was plan B to the bombing run, thirty pounds of plastique explosives, easily capable of collapsing the temples suspected of housing Sith outposts.

As Alan was just thinking of this, something large and dark came into view and Alan's hand raised in a fist, signalling for stop. He dropped to his stomach, signalling for his comrades to do the same and begin to low crawl. Gods this sucks, Alan thought as he slithered through the muddy undergrowth, pushing away the occasional branch. This extended travel time by a long while, but was quieter than walking or low crouching and was even more effective at staying hidden, with the mud helping to mask any thermal readings they were previously producing. Not that we're warm, thought Alan. He was definitely a good deal colder than he wanted to be.

The structure came into view, and, to Alan's dismay, so did a few sparse lights. This was an enemy outpost alright, the question was, were they Sith? Alan brought his macrobinoculars to his face and began to observe, what he saw threw his heart into his mouth. "U-uh.... Guys, this is definitely Sith territory. And there's a lot more here than we expected." As Alan looked through his macrobinoculars, he could see that this structure was huge, that it was inhabitated, and that if they kicked this thing it would be like kicking a hornets net. Regaining his composure, his voice now steadied. "Gentlemen, start recording as much data as possible. Get this all on video, get pictures, write down any observations you see. Take note of static defenses, locate weak spots. We need as much information as we can get." As he spoke, he turned on the record feature on his macrobinoculars and began to video every inch of the complex laid out before him. "And everybody, stay low!"​

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Tseebo stayed crouched as the squad trudged through the jungle mud and brush, his boots squishing as they moved along slowly. After what seemed like forever, the jungle started to thin out. Chang spotted the structure before Dax did, throwing his hand up and motioning to the lights spread throughout the facility. He then motioned toward the ground, and started a low crawl. Crawling? Dax had done it before, but not in the mud and rain. He let out a sigh as he lowered himself to the ground and began a low-crawl.

By the time the 3 were within surveillance range of the large structure they were drenched and covered with mud. If they hadn't been camouflaged before, they were now. Chang took out a pair of binoculars and began to survey the area. Dax reached into his pack for his datapad, scraping the mud that had ended up on it off of the locked screen. He grabbed a mesh rag out of his pack as well, and through it over his head and shoulders, covering the dim light of the datapad from spotters while he began to plot a map of the area, surrounding defenses, supplies, and soldiers. He hoped they were soldiers, he didn't want to deal with Sith. He reached down and tapped the demo pack at his leg to make sure he hadn't lost it on the crawl, and felt it still secured.

"I've calculated our location for the strike run, and I believe I've found some weak points in the superstructure of the facility that can cause some serious damage if that isn't an option. Whenever you're ready.", whispered Dax as he continued to log information on his datapad.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

Jacen look out over the temple with macro binoculars just like his comrades. There was definitely more there then they had expected. Jacen was recording and snapping stills with his binoculars. "I've got three weak points in the building superstructure." Jacen spoke very quietly, just loud enough for his two squad mates to hear. The structure in front of them was a large stone pyramid. The pyramid had four sides with a main entrance on one of the sides. Their squad was positioned on a bit of elevated ground compared to the base of the temple. It was a 10ft shallow slope down to the base of the temple. They were facing the back corner of the temple with a complete view of the rear side and a good view of most of one of the other sides.

"From what I have gathered, if we place one pack of explosives on the base of the corner and then a pack each on the sides about 20ft out from the corners we can collapse that side of the temple causing the rest of it to collapse from lack of support." When Jacen said we he actually meant I. He was on demolition duty this time. Jacen collected the explosives from his squad mates and passed the detonator to Tseebo and left his anti-vehicle launcher next to Chang. Jacen didn't want to be weighted down if he had to move quickly and he wanted the detonator up here in case he didn't make it back. They could blow the temple without him if they needed to.

"Cover me" Jacen said as he started off. It was going to be slow going but Jacen crawled through the brush toward the temple., the whole time he had his blaster rifle ready He reached the side that would be closer to the entrance and planted the first charge. He then crawled to the corner, stopping every so often to listen for any signs of the enemy. Soon he reached the corner and planted the second charge. Finally he crawled, using the same process, to the third spot along the back side of the temple and planted the third charge. As he had with the other charges he planted them so they would be hard for someone passing by to see. After planting that last charge Jacen crouched and glanced around, scanning with his blaster rifle, to makes sure the coast was clear before he headed back.

( @Dakota )

 

[Darth Vyrdesseus]

Prayer to Bogan requires sacrifice, the blood of the unwilling blasphemer—warm, fresh from the kill—spread equally about the obsidian alter. Both hands hold aloft his tool of war, his religious instrument; the ancient Sword whose sharpened edges quietly drip the crimson liquid over the tabernacle. The steps that comprise the ziggurat have been made wet by the humid air, but it is of no consequence. This, after all, is but a replica of the true Holy Alter that resides upon the necropolis of Moraband. He remembers it fondly. In the days of old, every Dark Lord would render themselves nothing more than the mouthpiece of the ancient Sith Lords entombed upon their sacred burial world. To survive this process would prove, beyond all doubt, the Sith's unquestionable power. Within that tomb sits the statues of the most powerful men the Order has ever produced. They stand eternal watch over their charges and subjects. Vyrdesseus, who likewise survived his ritual, seeks to one day join them.

Drip, drip, drip.

He stood there consumed by the shadow, an eldritch horror made abject by years of corruption, left to his own devices at the alter. Alone, until the gentle rustling of grass reached his ears. He lifted his head slowly, looking over his shoulder with a kind of morbid curiosity he would typically reserve for his sacrificial victims. His sword, marked with runes, was returned swiftly to it's sheath upon his back. Upon this world, where the Dark Side has been given free reign to fester and corrupt everything it touched, he felt rejuvenated. Despite the fact that this temple had long since been lost to the jungle after the seat of power transferred to the Sith homeworld, it held a personal importance to him. It was among the first temples he visited during his tenure as a slave in the Sith war machine. Merely a replica of the Pyramid found on Moraband, desolate and free of all life but him, it is nevertheless a site of peace. Or it was. As the Dark Side penetrated his body, the Dark Lord brought forth memories long lost, the rage and greed that lay hidden beneath the shadow conjured over his face, and extended his senses outward—the faint outline of three auras, he could feel them. They were.....unclean. One was close, closer....tick, tick, tick. His senses retracted and, like a wraith upon the grounds of his demise, he shuffled out of the Pyramid's entrance.

Upon his back, the three men could see clearly the hilt of an ancient looking sword, made black through it's encounters with the Dark Side, it's hilt wrapped in various animal hides. Vyrdesseus himself appeared a holy, un-holy being in the depths of the jungle; his cloak, tattered at the edges, covered his body entirely in a thick shroud of black. Even his face remain covered by the malignant shadow that pervades him like the aura of malice and dread that follows every step he takes. As Jacen departs, the Dark Lord's head lifts to the ridge upon which he felt the others' presence. He was only sure of one, a man. The others were likely backup. As he stood, he showed no intention of attack yet, simply noting the devices that had been attached to the sides of the pyramid. But, if necessary, his sword was within reach if he augmented his reflexes through the Dark Side, just as the hilt of his lightsaber remain hidden within the depths of his robes on his right hip. His voice, rough but loud enough for the others to hear, crackled to life before them. "......It is unwise for blasphemers to trespass upon sacred land.....turn back, turn back now, and Bogan may spare your eternal souls."

 

[Ender]

No, no he couldn't see them. The hooded figure, a veritable giant of a man (Was it a man?), carried on his back a terrifying presence. That, and a sword that appeared to be made of pure nightmares. He was death incarnate, and Alan struggled to suppress the shudder that was stirring in his core. He couldn't, and suddenly Alan was shaking. This creature was here for them, he could feel it. But it couldn't see them, it wasn't possible. And then, it spoke. And it was horrible.

"Tseebo, the detonator." Alan's voice came clear and free of the utter terror that was threatening to overtake him. It sounded confident and authoritative. "If that figure moves, detonate those charges. He knows we're here." Through the macrobinoculars, there was a clear picture of the figure. Alan could not see it's face and for that he was thankful. The video was still running. Even so, Alan let the macrobinoculars drop to his chest as the young soldier reached for the comms, flicking it on. "Nerf herder, nerf herder this is Joker Actual. Requesting immediate evac at LZ Charlie, possible hot LZ. We have been made. Charges are placed, vector bombers on Alpha Three-Niner. How copy?"

For what seemed like an eternity, only silence greeted him on the radio. His heart pounded like a drum, threatening to tear itself from his chest. And then, "Joker Actual, we read five by five. Evac heading to LZ Charlie, callsign Rockwing. Be advised, bombers are off station.Detonate charges and move. Standby for Rockwing."

Alan turned to look at the Rodian next to him, pulling his rifle into firing position and training it on the Sith Lord who'd appeared as if he were a ghost. "Tseebo, do you understand what I said? Blow those damned charges." ​

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

It was like a cold dark fog had descended over him when he saw the hooded figure come walking from within the temple. Tseebo’s biggest problem with this mission was that there was the possibility of running into a force user. He was frozen, his gaze fixed upon the shrouded figure. Tseebo didn’t think they were discovered, which granted him a short sense of calm.

“…It is unwise for blasphemers to trespass upon sacred land… turn back, turn back now, and Bogan may spare your eternal souls”, he heard from under the hood.

How? It was impossible. He was gripped by anxiety, his eyes darting back and forth between the crawling Aust who was now apparently in danger, and the cloaked figure. For a moment, he just laid there and stared, the mesh still over his head and his datapad still held in his hands.

“Tseebo, the detonator.”, said Alan.

He heard it, but at the moment it just seemed like white noise. All he could think about was how they were going to do anything with what he could only assume was a Sith aware of their presence.

“Tseebo, do you understand what I said? Blow those damned charges.”

The sudden sense of urgency in Alan’s voice broke Tseebo’s gaze upon the Sith and Tseebo turned to stare back at him, suddenly remembering the mission at hand. He dropped his datapad and gripped the detonator. Once Aust was out of the blast zone, he pushed the drop switch.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each charge exploded in turn, decimating the supporting structure of the temple’s outer walls. There was a brief pause in destruction, and only the sound of crumbling rocks could be heard. Suddenly, the temple began to give way. Their charges had been set correctly, and the temple began to fall inward upon itself, losing the support of its outer foundation. The lower levels of the temple would be crushed and covered in the heavy stone. The blast was large, and for a brief moment the night had been alight. It had only made the imposing figure more menacing against a backdrop of fire and dust, but he was lost in a moment as the debris cloud from the explosions covered the entire area of the temple.

“Let’s get out of here before that thing finds us”, said Tseebo, stowing his datapad and the detonator.

He pulled his rifle over his shoulder and stood, leading the others away at a jog back into the jungle, towards LZ Charlie.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

Jacen was almost back to his squad squad mates location when suddenly felt ice cold. He was chilled deeper then he had been from the wet rain. When Jacen heard the voice hit chilled him even further. There was something about that voice. Something that nearly froze him in place. He had never felt like that before. However Jacen forced himself to turn and raise is blaster rifle. Strangely it seemed as if time had slowed almost to a stop. Jacen sighted the menacing figure. The creature was clocked all in black and held a gruesome weapon at the ready. There seemed to be a pit of darkness around the being that Jacen knew if he fell into he would never get back out.

It seemed like an eternity before Jacen's mind finally told his finger to pull the trigger but before he did the explosions started. Jacen was thankful Tseebo had finally blown the charges. It snapped Jacen out of whatever state he was in. Not bothering to see what became of the being Jacen turned and followed after his comrades to LZ Charlie. As the rear guard Jacen's responsibility was to do just that. Every so often Jacen turned quickly and scanned with his blaster rifle where they had come from. Hoping with every part of his being that the black shape was not following them.

 

[Darth Vyrdesseus]

They took his temple. But, in their hurry to strike at the heart of their fledgling Empire, they made one simple mistake. They were in his jungle now, a world in which he was the apex predator. And as the pyramid folded in on itself, as the Tabernacle's holy presence became dimmed beneath the collapsing stone and vines, he was now relieved of responsibility in the eyes of his God. As the flames licked his back, rolling forth from the atrium of the once proud temple, he concluded that this was no longer a mission of reconnaissance. In the eyes of the Dark Lord, this was an act of war. And war, just like any other conflict in the history of this galaxy, demands bloodshed. As the dust cleared from the ruins of the temple mount, there could be seen no figure standing in reverence. As they departed the ridge, so did he, making his way into the depths of the jungle. He'd suspected as such, Border Alliance presence on this world. Such things could be avoided, and what visual and sonic information they gathered would do little good; Yavin, after all, has been a world under the influence of the Sith for generations. Temples were not uncommon. But he knew he would be next on their transmissions to Bandomeer. He might as well let them know who was chasing them.

A predator obscured by foliage and trees, Vyrdesseus cautiously scaled the ridge, looking down the path that the three had taken out of the area. His eyes remained fixated on the ground beneath him for a few moments, but before long he began to glide across the jungle floor in search of his prey. His sword remained held within its sheath, replaced by a curious object in his hand, retrieved after several seconds spent digging within the nebulous depths of his robes. As the three walked, should they take the time to look, they might've sworn they've seen him lurking there, watching them from the brush. And again, on the other side of the path. Perhaps in one of the high branches. All shadows cast by the trees, falsehoods created by the waning Sun in the sky. In truth, he wasn't far behind. His steps dulled by the thick dirt that spans beneath the grass of Yavin's fourth moon, he remained of the path but well within the rear-guard's line of vision, should he be focusing hard enough. As he approached an open clearing, close to a rendezvous point with the group, Jacen could begin to make out clearly the object he was holding in his right hand. A handcrafted lightsaber hilt, one half casted from a standard phrik/durasteel alloy, and the bottom half baring a garish fang of copper tint. From the emitter ring projected three sharp prongs, equally dangerous stabbing weapons should it come to that.

Several moments later, he could see the being emerge from the brush, well within sight of the trio, about 35 feet behind him. They were not far from their landing zone, but would have to deal with him first. Before they could fire a single shot, that signature noise echoed through the branches and the brush; the chilling swoosh associated with the activation of a lightsaber. The crimson blade, aching for the blood of it's enemy, hummed quietly. ".....Come...face your perdition, your holy punishment for interfering on this sacred world." With every word he seemed to lurch toward one step at a time, sensations of the macabre following him.

 

[Ender]

The explosions rocked him to the very core, blooming petals of orange and red illuminating the night, the rain momentarily dissipating having been forced away by the shockwave. It washed over Alan, it felt like he was being pushed away by the air itself. And as it left him, Alan scrambled up, gathering his gear, snatching up the rocket launcher left by Jacen. The creature was going to be after them, best to move now.

And they did, Chang foregoing formation and shouting "Just move, dammit! Before it can catch up!" to his comrades, clutching the combat rifle to his chest and sprinting forward. Branches slapped his face, vines reaching out to him, slowing his progress. A root came up and grabbed him by the ankle, forcing him to stumble forward. Attempting to regain his footing, Alan felt a loud crack! underfoot and looked down, finding, to his horror, an ancient skull wrapped around his boot. It took all his effort not to scream, continuing to sprint, attempting to shake off the skull his foot had desecrated.

And then, materializing in front of him, was the shadow. The wraith of Yavin, Massassi's guardian. He towered above Alan like a giant, and a blade of crimson terror shot into the night.

".....Come...face your perdition, your holy punishment for interfering on this sacred world."

It's voice was deep and menacing, not horrid and terrifying like he'd imagined. Instead, low and cool. Rough, but clear. Alan focused this as he dropped his rifle, feeling it bounce off his chest. He began to reach for something, something that had been slung under his left arm. The voice, Alan thought. Hold onto that voice. It's real, the voice is real. It was all he could do, focus on that voice. If he did that, it grounded him in reality. Not those horrid orange eyes, not the terrifying red blade. Come, it had said. Face your perdition. Face it.

Face it.

Face it.

FACE HIM!

"Face this you son of a bitch!"

Fwoosh!

Alan shouted, dropping to his knee and firing the rocket launcher at the man's feet in front of him, just outside the range of the lightaber. Not a killing blow, but it would give them the time they need. The launcher was a one shot, and Alan tossed it away, sprinting forward shouting "Move, you bastards, move it!"​

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

It felt like the shrouded figure was everywhere. The jungle was so dark, and much more foreboding than Tseebo remembered on their way in. Everywhere he looked as they ran it felt as though he saw something lurking in the shadows. Twigs and brush crunched underfoot as the group sprinted further and further from the site of the explosion. The natural grassy clearing came into view shortly ahead, giving Tseebo the chance to breathe a sigh of relief. The sprint however continued, he did not want to see that thing, man, whatever it was, again.

Suddenly ahead of them, a red glow leapt to life. Tseebo had only heard the sound once before, but it was unmistakable. His eyes widened as the figure stood before the three squad members. The words he spoke were cold and hard. The voice was almost commanding. Alan stood staring at the figure, Tseebo and Jacen standing just behind him to either side. He didn’t know how, but Tseebo was able to snap out of his stare quickly, acting just before Alan did. He reached out and grabbed the mic attached to the comm gear on Chang’s back and spoke as Chang reached for the missile launcher he held.

“Rocking this is Joker we are arrived what is your ETA!? (‘Face this you son of a bitch!’ )LZ is hot I repeat LZ is hot! *FWOOSH, BOOM!*”, the sound of the firing missile launcher and subsequent explosion finished the radio transmission as the mic was still open.

“Move, you bastards, move it!”

Tseebo sprinted behind Alan, and could hear the sound of the comm from Chang’s back as they sprinted.

“Joker this is Rockwing ETA is within the minute, circling around.”

The group continued to sprint. As they did so Tseebo turned and poured blaster fire into the cloud of dust where the missile had struck in a desperate attempt to slow down whatever had survived the explosion.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

Even though Jacen hoped that the shadow of death wasn't following them he knew it was. He could feel it deep in his bones. That chill was still there and it caused the hair on the back of Jacen's neck to stand on end. As if the nightmare was almost over the three crashed into the clearing. It was there evac LZ... but where was the shuttle. It should have been here by now. Jacen suddenly felt the chill again and heard the distinctive snap his.

The red glow reflected in Jacen's eyes. This was most definitely a Sith. Horrible memories of grief and loss flooded through Jacen. The Sith overran his homeworld, killed his family, and forced him to flee more than once. He would not flee this time. Jacen drew his sword; maybe this time he could finally take his revenge. He knew that his comrades blasters were no good in this fight. But Jacen could hold off the Sith just long enough for his squad mates to escape. Jacen closed his eyes for just a moment and took a breath, readying himself for what was to come.

Fwoosh Jacen's eyes snapped open just in time to see the explosion. He had completely forgotten about the launcher he had left. Jacen was glad Chang had the foresight to grab it. The second the explosion happened they all turned and ran. As Tseebo fired back toward the Sith Jacen took out a smoke grenade, activated it, and threw it toward the Sith. A thick grey smoke emanated from the grenade shielding them from view of the Sith. Soon the whine of the shuttles engines were heard. The shuttle landed and the ramp opened, an escape from the pursing evil.

 

[Darth Vyrdesseus]

These were physical objections. Flames, shrapnel, the sting of a blaster's kiss, all were beneath him. But he could not deny the obvious threat. As the Rodian removed the Rocket Launcher from it's resting place against his back, the Sith Lord did what would seem like suicide to most men; he deactivated his lightsaber, and placed it back into the depths of his robes, albeit for a brief moment. As the three ran, Vyrdesseus closed his eyes, channeling to his person a rage and malignant greed so substantial that may even make the great Ajunta Pall may shake in his tomb. Acts of personal stasis were difficult to achieve, especially in combat, but they had the obvious upper hand, and the higher caliber weapons. Channeling the Dark Side through the core of his body, he repeated a sacred chant under his breath, feeling himself slip further and further from the bonds that kept him humanoid. His ties to reality grew softer still, as did the ties between his mind and his body. As the missile burst forth upon him, the three would find that not only did the explosion rock the trees behind him, but that it had passed through his body completely as if he were a ghost. To make ones' self intangible, even for a short amount of time, would prove moderately taxing on his ability to tap into the Dark Side's lurid secrets for now. But the rats were all but gone, and there would be no use for anything more extravagant.

As the explosion rang through the depths of the Jungle, he reached once more for his lightsaber, igniting it in an effort to repel the Rodian's blaster fire. He was largely accurate, with three bolts blazing scars across his robes. As they rebound off of his blade, sparks can be seen as they crash into nearby trees. "....An admirable decision," he remarked, noting Jacen's decision to remove his own sword. But his words were cut short as the smoke enveloped him and the area that surrounded him. In the distance, he could hear the distinct mechanical sounds of their shuttle landing. He would not let them leave without their absolution, a wound they could point to, a direct consequence of tampering with a world far outside their understanding. All movement seemed to cease for a moment as he stood there, calculating the logistics of his next move. Then, suddenly, the crimson blade was flung in a circular saber throw out of the depths of the smoke. It was angled at first to the right, only for the blade to slowly travel left across his field of vision, and then eventually back into his hand. As he threw, he maintained a quiet concentration over the hilt, directing it toward his enemies. He hadn't given ample warning, but given the speed and direction at which he'd thrown his blade, it would cause it's victim a deep gash along the back, a painful but survivable wound. He simply waited within the shadow of the smoke for his blade to return, having either missed, or cut one of his targets before their escape.

 

[Lt. Alan Chang]

They were almost out of this nightmare, behind him the remnants of the temple on Yavin burned along with the surrounding forestry. Beneath his feet, mud squelched, his macrobinoculars smacking against his rifle butt, the rifle itself hanging from its sling and bouncing off his chest. Ahead, the small shuttle was landing and Alan could hear Rockwing over his radio.

"Joker Actual, this is Rockwing, we are at the LZ." The whine of engines filled the air, and out of the shuttle came three troopers, a fourth manned a light machine gun in the doorway. They were a gorgeous sight, dropping to the valley floor and forming a perimeter around the craft. Grabbing the mic off the comms gear, he began to shout into it

"Rockwing, Rockwing this is Joker Actual we are approaching now!"

Alan broke into a smile, approaching the craft at a run, he could feel the engine in his stomach. The troopers on the ground seemed to see something else than him, raising blasters and shouting something at him. One started waving at him, but Alan couldn't make out what they were saying. Yet, there was a growing feeling in the pit of his stomach. And he didn't like it.

He heard it before he felt it, a rapid vwum vwum vwum, that singed the air behind him. That's when he felt it, blinding pain right between his shoulder blades and slashing down to the center of his back. Somewhere in the distance he heard a scream, and it grew louder and louder and it hurt his ears and then his throat. That's when Alan realized it was his own scream he had heard. The scream broke in his throat as he tumbled to the ground, pain blossoming across his back to envelope his entire torso. The comms gear had caught fire, burning his back even more than it had been before. The world began to falter around him, diimming. Sleeping sounded like a good idea, just drift off now. The pain would be gone.

A voice in his head told him to sleep, and Alan had to agree with it. Sleep, join mom and be okay. Another, softer voice sounded in the back of his mind."Don't sleep," it said. "You have a duty to fullfill." A duty, what duty? Rain began to drop onto his neck and back, it felt cool and relaxing. Alan missed the rain in a way. Alderaanian rain.

Your duty, Alan. The one you left Alderaan for.

Alan tried to remember why he left Alderaan, why would he ever do that? It was so peaceful there, nobody would ever leave that unless somebody threatened that peace. Wait, hadn't somebody threatened that peace? Oh. Right. The Sith. They were real. They were behind him.

The rain drops increased, pounding his back. His back burned and that horrid, animal scream returned. Alan roared to life, his scream almost overtaking the whine of the engines around him as two of the troopers from the shuttle dragged him into the shuttle. Blaster bolts were flying, there were voices shouting around him but Alan couldn't for the life of him understand them the pain in his back was so terrible.

The comms gear was gone, the pain remained though. The troopers were removing the rest of his gear, cutting away the back plate of his armor, tossing it aside. So too left the helmet, bouncing off the floor as his comrades moved to mount the shuttle. Finally, the rifle was tossed aside, and then the macrobinoculars. The red light still blinking on the front, never having ceased recording.​

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

He was running faster than he had ever run before, or so it felt. The motivation of the Sith that followed gave him a speed he had never had before, a speed caused by fear. He didn’t understand it, it felt unnatural. After a few moments that seemed like an hour, the shuttle landed and troopers poured out, securing a perimeter.

“Finally.”, thought Tseebo.

The squad continued their sprint, unable to assume that whatever that thing was had died. Tseebo ran to the right of Alan. As they had nearly reached the shuttle, Tseebo saw the soldiers throwing their free hands out in front of them. It was like they were reaching for something behind the squad that was out of reach as they screamed and then raised their blasters. Tseebo glanced back as he ran to see the spinning red glow fast approaching. His eyes widened at the realization that the lightsaber was on path for Chang. In that quick second he had tried to think of a way to help, but what could he do? There was no way to grab the weapon safely, and how could he stop it? He felt helpless. In a feeble attempt he did the first thing that came to mind, tossing his rifle up at the weapon, hoping by some miracle to connect with the hilt and stop it.

He failed, the weapon sliced straight through his rifle and continued on into Chang’s back, through the comm equipment. Chang screamed in agony, falling into the muddy jungle floor as the communications equipment began to smolder and catch fire. Tseebo tore the comm equipment off of his back to reveal a terrible wound that had gone straight through Chang’s rear armor plate. Pulling his blaster pistol he threw Chang’s arm over his shoulder and began carrying him to the shuttle as the other troopers arrived to help him inside. Tseebo would fire his blaster at the dark figure if it appeared again, pistol raised and ready as he boarded the shuttle with the injured Chang.

 

[MasterTyvokka]

It seemed as if they had escaped. The landing craft had made it to their ground. Backup was here and fanning out to provide cover. But as often happened in combat things weren't as they appeared. Jacen had been running to Chang's left and just begun to move closer so he could follow him up the ramp. Suddenly a whirring noise reached Jacen's ears. He turned to see the red lightsaber on a path toward them. No... toward Alan. Jacen had his sword in his hand and he knew that he could block the blade if only he could reach it. But he was too far their was no chance. He watched in dismay as the blade cleaved through the weapon Tseebo through and cut into Chang's back.

After Tseebo had ripped the comm equipment off Chang Jacen reached him and the helped the Rodian carry their squad mate into the shuttle. The second they were aboard the shuttle lurched into the air with a roar. They set Alan down and Jacen immediately got to work. He wasn't an official combat medic but his training had included combat first aid. Jacen requisitioned a couple of medpacs from the shuttle and opened them. He cut off Chang's shirt and applied to access the damage and apply bacta patches. Jacen then injected Alan with stims to prevent infection and for the pain. Jacen stood up. "I think he'll live" Jacen reassured Dax. He had done all be could do for Alan; they would have to get him to a proper medical facility.

 

[Darth Vyrdesseus]

Oh, he would live. But, perhaps that is the real punishment. Amid the flurry of blaster fire, several found their way to the Dark Lord's body; one against his left shoulder, one against his right shin. Though covered by a moderate armor, the bolts still stung. And, with the party departing the planet anyway, he found no reason to pursue them further. Instead, as soon as the blade reached his hand, he deactivated the crimson terror and placed it within the depths of his robes for another day. For now, he would skulk back into the depths of the forest, clutching his wound and feeding upon the anger and pain that radiated throughout his body. And after ten minutes, he would arrive at the crumbling wreck that once constituted his glorious temple. Over the ashes, he would wave his hands, clutch his sword, and speak aloud an ancient prayer in the old language of the Sith. Those who blaspheme would be rightly punished. But his revenge could not be too hasty, nor could it be too light. He would have to ponder these questions in due time, as he walked toward the empty clearing that contained his transport. He would find his answers on Korriban, in the council of his Supreme Leader.

 

[Ender]

The shuttle lifted off, sending dirt and mud flying as lighting flashed, illuminating the shuttle against the dark sky. Alan groaned in his seat, face down on the cold durasteel floor. As the painkillers kicked in, he slowly sat up, grabbing up the macrobinoculars hastily and groaned loudly. He didn't say a word, instead he depressed a button on the high tech binoculars, ceasing the recording. This was his first mission, and had also been the first shots of a new war. But all Alan knew, was that they needed the Jedi to fight these monsters.

Below, as the fires began to wane and the Sith that remained on Yavin fought to put out those fires, if they looked up they would see that small shuttle dart into the sky, to join its fighter escort and to never be seen again.

Outro​