Ask Shadows in The Mist

[Jonathen Baize]

Ord Biniir - Imperial Listening Station​

Commander Jonathen Baize had been sent to routinely inspect the small garrison stationed at the remote listening station tucked into the Ord Biniir wilderness. He was a day into his inspection when the odd occurrences started. They began losing power sporadically, flashes at first, and then the entire base at gone offline. Communication had also gone done, something blocking all incoming and outgoing messages.

Just before the base had gone dark, they had sent a request out for assistance but had never heard anything back. Then the mist came, it settled in one morning, which was a normal enough occurrence, but it didn't burn away in the morning heat; it had persisted for the last two days.

The base Commander had sent a squad out to the nearby power station, but that squad had been MIA for the last six hours. Their situation was growing a little precarious. Jon, who was not in Command, offered what advice he could. The fellow Commander was inexperienced, clearly never having had to face much in the way of tough situations.

On the morning of the third day, Jon found himself standing atop the wall surrounding the outpost. He stared out into the mist, swearing there was something moving about.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique's shuttle entered the planet's orbit in full speed, the pilot droid fulfilling its mission to bring her in as quickly as possible perfectly. The ship rocked heavily as a few aerial turbulence lingered in the way of her direct route downwards, but the Knight wasn't deterred by that at all.

Jonathen had mentioned that he had been sent to Ord Biniir for a routine inspection with another Commander, however getting messages out had been rather complicated over there, but as there was nothing getting through any more, she had found herself rather worried. She didn't let it stop her from her regular duties, but she had just finished accompanying a recon mission in the Outer Rim when a message about Imperials needing help on Ord Biniir had popped up.

The request for reinforcement had just barely reached them, to be fair, as apperently, comms were really down, but she hadn't hesitated a single second before she had accepted. She wasn't entirely sure whether Jonathen was still there but it was most logical as she still hadn't heard from him otherwise. Regardless, Imperials in need of help were always an emergency for her, but somehow, as she had boarded the ship, she had still felt differently.

She was more concerned this time as her personal interest in finding out what was causing issues over there mingled with her regular dutifulness. However, as all attempts to reach the Imperial Station afterwards had been in vain all the details she had received beforehand had been rather cryptic, which was why she was generally more on edge as usual.

The last update she had received was that a few platoons had also been sent to assist, but the Knight reached the planet way before they'd arrive. The droid maneuvered the ship down carefully and as soon as it touched the hangar, Kalique had clipped the lightsabers to the belt of her uniform and was immediately headed to the Commanders.

Even from above the mysterious fog all around had seemed rather eerie and it hadn't seemed like a regular weather phenomenon, but well, her job probably involved finding that out. The rest of her belongings, armor included, were being transported to her quarters while a Lieutenant guided her towards Jonathen.

Somehow, it was as if a fuzzy tension lingered in the air while the Force felt rather disturbed, but she couldn't exactly tell whether the feeling resulted from the planet's regular atmosphere or whether something else was literally in the air. With her mind already in the regular focused mission mode, she approached the very familiar face with a frown in her features.

As soon as he turned, they softened a little at the sheer realization that he was fine, however, she could still tell that he was worried. For as long as the other Imperial was around, she refrained from greeting him as affectionately as she had wanted to, especially because they hadn't seen each other for a bit, but given the nature of their official mission, it would only be considered inappropriate if she had given in to that feeling.

"Sir, Knight Demici has arrived as requested assistance", she patiently waited for the Lieutenant to announce her before he left with a polite inclination of his head. Only as he descended the stairs that led up the wall, she quickly glanced around and checked their surroundings before she walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Hey you...I'm glad you're unharmed...you had me worried after there were no updates" she softly whispered before she pulled back and kissed him. The kiss wasn't lacking any warmth or emotions, yet it wasn't very long as she knew this wasn't their getaway on Serenno anymore. "What's happening here? I have to admit that something seems...off".

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He stood for some time, the mist forming a blanket around everything. It seemed to push in on him if he focused hard enough. He wasn't in command here and couldn't help but feel a bit useless. His mind wandered for a bit when a soldier finally addressed him.

He perked up a bit at the all-too-familiar name, turning to see Kali ascending the stairs. "Thank you, Lietenant. Dismissed." he said, the soldier saluting and disappearing back into the mist. Alone for the moment, he grunted slightly as they collided. He returned the kiss, it ending far too quickly. He took a step back, letting out a small cough. "Kali, It's good to see you." he said genuinely. "If I had known all I had to do to get to see you was get myself stranded, I would have done so weeks ago." he said with a wink. "I'm fine though, maybe a little bored, but fine." he reassured her.

He turned back, facing the fog beyond the wall. "I am glad something got out, at least..I was starting to think no one was coming." he said. "I don't know. This mist rolled in three days ago when we started losing power all over the base. We sent a squad out to see if they could restore power, but they never returned." he said.

"Can you sense anything out there?" he asked. "I keep feeling like I can see something out there, maybe its just my imagination running wild." he said, trying to dismiss his worry.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The happiness about being reunited lifted her spirits a lot, yet she couldn't shake this weird feeling that seemingly tugged at her through the Force. "Oh please don't...I'll be super worried each and every time" she replied with a smirk, taking a step back to talk.

"Bored? I'm afraid that's over now" even though she was smirking, there was still a subtle double entendré. If she was here to investigate, they probably won't stay stranded and cut off for much longer. He then jumped straight to the point and while she took her place next to him, she scanned the fog carefully.

"A missing squad...no power, mysterious fog. That sounds like the beginning of a movie and I can't help but to think back to Entralla..." she admitted with a concerned frown, thinking back to the curious incidents back then. She couldn't make out a dark nexus or whatever just yet, but this whole situation didn't give her the best feeling.

"Hmm..." she closed her eyes as she reached out as far as she could, being able to make out a few diffuse presences in the mist but finding it incredibly hard to grasp them. "I do sense a few things...but they're very vague and fuzzy...so as if something is messing with the Force. But it doesn't feel fully evil, but rather veiled" she explained slowly before she reopened her eyes and glanced up at him.

"If your squad went missing, we need to go find them. Do you have some holo maps of the surroundings? Did scans pick anything up?" she directed her gaze back to the mist for a moment, but for no, she couldn't see any shapes.

"Where is the power supply usually coming from?" there were a few things she had to know before starting, but what worried her were the things he possibly saw. "I'll keep looking...but if there's something messing with you again, I'll get it out asap". As she turned back to him, she took his hands into hers and softly stroked the backs on his hands.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"I know you will." he said. He didn't want her to worry but had given up on that prospect some time ago. Now, he just accepted it as a way she showed affection; it was just who she was.

"True, I never manage to stay bored long with you around." he said, grinning. "I haven't decided if that's a good or bad thing yet." he teased.

Jon nodded with her conclusion. "I was thinking the same thing, another reason I am glad you are here," he said, most certainly not joking this time. He was glad to have her at his side, whether mundane or magical, whatever they were facing.

"Kals..The base commander prohibited anyone from leaving the base. I am sure he will want to talk with you at some point, but there is something I would like to check first. Whatever this is, its been draining power from all electrical systems. I would like to take a look at your ship's systems before they go completely dark; maybe your sensors picked up something." he said. He wasn't making the calls on this one; if they were going to convince the base commander of any plan of action, they would need evidence.

"We had holomaps, but all of that went away with the power. Maybe we can find some physical maps some where.." he thought out loud.

"Come on, lets go take a look at your ship first." he said, making his way down off the wall.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Well...I'd say mostly good but I can't shake this feeling that this might be some supernatural spooky stuff again". Admittedly, she loved horror holos, but she absolutely didn't appreciate lost squads, no power and Imperials in actually danger at all.

As he started explaining she nodded, knowing that she was obviously under both of their command but it was in their shared interest to get the squad back, preferably unharmed. "Yes, it love to talk to him, but I agree. Let's try that and communicate with the others if we still can" she agreed, immediately turning to walk alongside him.

"We'll keep an eye out...maybe they have a rough outline somewhere" it was perhaps unlikely as almost everything was digital, but sometimes people still used physical maps as backup. "So something is draining electricity...and it's not like someone is officially tapping the hardware...right? And also, if I understood correctly its also disabling ships?" she reiterated what she had gathered so far, pondering on the facts.

"I can sense something electrical or rather static in the air, but it's so...diffuse. It's not like I can tell it's flowing in a certain direction, but that's very odd" she mused, automatically reaching for his hand but realizing that they shouldn't do that while walking through camp on an official mission. "Did you sleep well here?"it wasn't just a casual question, but an allusion to Entralla. Even if there was no clear sinister force around, this wild energy could still affect them.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He agreed. There had been a time when he hadn't believed in all of this supernatural stuff, but now it had become more frequent. They made their way to the Knight's ship, talking along the way. The exterior of the base was mostly empty; only guard patrols were allowed out in the mist.

"Something like that; I assumed it has something to do with the mist. Perhaps it's just an odd weather phenomenon," he said, admittedly entertaining wishful thinking. "Any device in the area quickly loses power, and that's it. The backup generators are a click to the east; that's where the soldiers were heading when they went dark." he explained.

He listened to her thoughts, glad to have her expertise here. Their hands brushed together before she pulled away. He gave a warm smile. "It is good to see you.." he said affectionately.

"Mostly." he said. "Though you don't realize how quiet these buildings are without electrical hum. My assigned quarters feel like a tomb." he said.

They ascended the ramp of her ship and made their way to the cockpit. "Try pulling up the scanners from when you entered orbit until you landed." he said, sitting in one of the chairs.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

They started walking back to her ship, but while they kept talking, she kept staying alerted within the sphere of the Force. "Hmm..." again, she checked the air again and analyzed the static, but she simply couldn't grasp any direct connections in terms of whether something flowed towards it as it was just...fuzzy.

"Weather phenomenon perhaps...but actually I'd assume it's something more than that. This mist isn't pure moisture...it's coming from somewhere and I'd like to figure out the source" she was as determined about that as she was about figuring out where and how the missing squad had disappeared, but first things first.

This all didn't add up yet, but she was confident they'd figure something out. "So am I. I've missed you" she admitted, however her voice lowered as this was only for his ears. As he described the absence of the hum she nodded, already noticing that this placed seemed rather eerie and somehow she was already dreading the night...

If shadows lurked in the mist, what would they do if the sun set? "I'll change that tonight" she replied with a soft smile, actually looking forward to a shared cot if she could slip in unnoticed, but not only because she craved his proximity but also because she'd know he was safe.

In the ship, she took a seat in the pilot's chair and turned on the system before she tried to extract the information he wanted, however, the system was extremely slow to respond. "Oh no...I've never seen anything like this to be honest...like, look at that! It's like something is interfering with all the signals" she shook her head, brows quirked in confusion why she double tapped the screen as if that would start the analysis quicker.

"Yumi?" she called for the pilot droid, the 4UM unit that has been accompanying her for a whole while by now, but it took quite a moment until the droid switched from standby to action and steered towards the cockpit from its waiting position in its socket. "You've probably got a copy of what the scanners picked up, right?". the droid beeper in agreement. "Transfer them to my datapad".

While the droid cheered in binary at first, it suddenly shifted into a more complaining tone that made her raise a brow. "What do you mean the data is corrupted?". Her gaze flicked back to Jon, before she demanded Yumi still transferred the data as long as the droid and her data pad still had power. "So...do you have an available tech expert down here? Maybe they can make a meaning out of it. It looks all so...fuzzy".

What the scanners did show was a static inference and several magnetic impulses before there was not much data left. They could neither pinpoint a set location, nor tell what had caused the disruptions, but what was already apperent was something clearly wasn't right. "Whatever draws all this power, needs to convert it into something else...like it can't just vanish into thin air, maybe-" that was when the droid did suddenly find something. "Oh...look at that. East of this camp, there's apperently a lot of energy dispersed in a wider area...it seems mostly magnetic though...Odd. Then the scanners failed though" she pointed out, not actually having gathered helpful information, but maybe someone else could decipher the data chaos.

@Raydo

Spoiler: roll

7

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He sighed. "I suppose a natural occurrence would be too easy anyway; we wouldn't want that.." he replied to her comment. He agreed with her; even without the supernatural senses she had, he could tell something just wasn't quite natural here. They poured through the data together, noting the sheer oddness of it. She called in her pilot droid, which seemed to be functional still.

"Yeah, this base is mostly tech experts of one kind or another. Their job is to decode information. It will be good to give them a project, its my understanding they have grown quite jittery since the power shut down." he said. As she pointed to the last area the scanner had picked up, she pointed to an area to the east. "That's exactly where that squad went missing.." he said. "Come on, let's see if they can piece any more of this together." He wanted to act quickly; he wasn't sure how long the droid holding the information would last with its power supply.

He stood, ready to leave them inside. They stepped into the dark hallway of the base, each door having to be manually opened. The stillness of the air in these corridors gave it an unnecessarily eerie feel. Jon felt the walls were closing in on him, but he pushed through.

Jon led the Knight and her droid to a nearby common room lit by candles. As they stepped inside...

"You walk into a tavern; there is a bard playing in the corner. You approach the tavern keeper...what do you say." the analyst said to the other techs gathered around the table. The table was littered with hastily drawn maps and small figures. Jon gave Kali a slightly puzzled look before coughing, drawing attention to them.

The analyst squeaked slightly as she stood and saluted, followed quickly by the others. "I'm sorry, Sir! We didn't see you come in.." she said. Jon waved the apology off. "At ease, soldier." he said. "I do have a job for you, though. I need you to look through the corrupted data on this pilot droid. Knight Demici can explain further if needed." he said. All of the eyes of the tech looked down at the functional droid, eyes growing hungry as this was the first piece of working technology they had seen in days.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Yup. That's not our style" she sarcastically added, however the hope in her mind not being completely dead yet. His confirmation about the missing squad worried her a little, as this seemed to decrease the survival chances of the disappeared crew, but maybe those anomalies weren't all evil, but he was right about proceeding as quickly as possible.

They entered the tech analysts quarters just to find them playing some kind of a board game in the candle lights. Her brow immediately quirked while a grin tugged at her lips while she find it rather amusing that they were oblivious to the Commander who had just entered. Apperently, it was a role play she soon realized and they were interrupting a potentially tense moment.

A quick, relatively poised salute followed, but she could sense the embarrassment and subtle nervousity in the group of experts. Jonathen explained their tasks and the analysts approached the droid which slightly backed down at first. "It's okay..." she gently said to the Yumi, knowing the pilot droid usually chilled in the ship without much human contact before she adressed the lead analyst. "Maybe you could assess this weird static the scanners have picked up".

The man eagerly nodded and hastily made his way over to the tech equipment that was stored here before he brought over the gear they needed to read and transfer the data. "Can I...access the unit for a little power, too?", he hesitantly asked and Kalique weighted the options for a moment. "Sure...the droid might have about 49 hours left, given that nothing drains it before that". Those were the parameters if the ship wouldn't supply another charge, but who knew when the ship's power would be depleted?

"I'd have to take about 30 percent...", he explained and Kalique shot Jon a look. He'd have to call the shots on that in the end. They'd lose the droid at some point anyway, but they'd have 34 hours left. "If that allows you to potentially decipher the data, I'd give it a try. Commander?". If he agreed, the analyst would plug his devices into the droid and Yumi would begin chirping while the data was being copied.

Kalique watched rather critically as her mind tried to explain those odd occurrences. She has a bad feeling about this all and her insticts were telling her to get out there and try to find them, but she knew patience was the much wiser choice, as they couldn't risk endangering more lives. While she called on everything she had learnt during her earlier studies in training, the only thing that came to her mind were mynocks...but they would have spotted those bat like creatures for sure.

Suddenly, she felt a disturbance within the Force as though tension was strongly building which immediately made her spun and one hand gripping her lightsaber's hilt while the other coiled the Force around it. The tech expert's eyes quickly darted back and forth before he frowned. "Wait wait wait...what is it doing?! Were losing energy quickly right now!".

"I...yes. I sense it". Her eyes widened, but she let go off the hilt before she used both hands to reach out and someone try to grab it, but this obscure, chaotic energy didn't respond. The candles were suddenly extinguished by a subtle breeze, so that they were left in pitch-black darkness. "Take...the lightsaber" she brought forward under the strain, fearing they might something might expose them to danger, but instead of focusing on preparing to attack whatever threatened them, she breathed deeply and slowly. It seemed hungry and wild, yet rather unbalanced and not necessarily hostile.

She offered the lightsaber to Jon as it would shed immediate light while she forced the tension out of her muscles and focused. Maybe this chaos needed soothing instead of fighting fire with fire, and so she began to meditate, trying to tap into the ethereal plane as quickly as possible. It was still fuzzy and impossible to grasp, yet someone, it seemed like she could reach it somehow. She focused on Jonathen's energy as she herself found much calmness in it and slowly but steadily, the chaos was seemingly waning. "Did...it...stop?". Was it stopping consuming the energy? She couldn't even fully tell, but somehow the darkness felt less oppressive.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He watched as Kali and the lead tech began working on the droid. He had little technical know-how and had learned in his time as a leader that it was sometimes best to let those more knowledgeable work than to stick his nose into every little thing.

When Kali looked to him for approval, he nodded. He trusted both her and the tech; besides, they might as well get as much use out of the droid before its batteries were drained as well. "I agree, do it." he responded.

He watched the two work, seeing Kali deep in thought as she tried to figure out the issue. He saw her tense, which caused an immediate response for him as his eyes darted to the open door in the dark hallway beyond. His blaster pistol was in hand in an instant. His eyes darted back to the tech as he announced the droid was being drained rapidly.

"What's going on?" he asked, taking the lightsaber. He flicked the ignition switch, and the room was bathed in its orange glow. he held away from him, blaster in his other hand. As Kali closed her eyes, the remaining techs backed away towards the back of the room. Jon moved to place himself in between the meditating Knight and the door, muscles tense with the anticipation of combat.

Nothing ever came though as he stared into the dark abyss beyond. The only noise was the hum of the orange blade in his hand. Kali finally broke the silence, and Jon spared a look over his shoulder. "Everything okay?" he said. Nothing had felt different to Jon without the ability to sense the Force, but he had long learned to trust Kali's intuition in these matters.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

As the warm, orange glow shed some light into the room, they'd find the Knight all tensed up and with her eyes closed before the muscles slowly relaxed. She breathed deeply while she attempted to tame this upcoming chaos and after she felt it leave, she opened them again.

A wave of fatigue washed over her and she started to stagger a little, before she cleared her throat. "Now, yes. It's under control and left..." she sounded cryptic at first, her thoughts racing while she tried to understand the odd phenomenon she had just encountered.

"Is the droid still losing power?" she asked more directly facing the leading tech analyst before she twirled her hand, conjured a flame and flicked little sparks of it towards the candles that had gone extinguished just a little while earlier. "No...it seems stable now", came the response before she let out a sigh of relief.

"That's nothing I've ever dealt with before, but I could gather some insights" she started to explain, throwing Jonathen a short 'everything is fine glance before she went over to the tech specialist. "It was as if a fuzzy presence entered the room and was hungry..it tried consuming the energy flowing between the droid and your devices, but somehow its uncontrolled fierceness could be tamed...or maybe it wasn't in the mood for a negotiation". She was confused and looked back at Jonathen.

"Regardless of the findings, I need to check out the condensed anomalies out there? There needs to be a way to deal with it". Maybe there was a way to appease it further or maybe it could be destroyed, banished or whatsoever. Right now though, she couldn't even tell whether it was a living creature, something sentient or just a presence, which didn't really please her and just raised more questions.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

The tension slowly receded in the room, Jon letting a small breath of air he had been holding. When she finally spoke, he switched the lightsaber off, the room now seeming darker than ever, even with the candlelight.

Jon handed back the lightsaber to Kalique. He had certainly come a long way in his prejudice against the blades and their users, but this weapon held bad memories for him, Kalique lying on the ground, creature ready to consume both of them.

He snapped back to the present as Kali glanced at him, letting him know she was fine. He gave a slight nod in return before returning to the conversation. He tried to follow her words, his experiences not matching what she had felt through her own senses; it was jarring even if he did trust her fully.

"We will need to get permission, and I agree the answers we seek are out there. I already tried earlier before you arrived and was given a hard no." he said, smirk growing on his face. "But I don't know anyone foolish enough to stand up to you, Lady Demici." he joked. "Come on, lets go find him."

They would leave the techs, stepping out into the dark hallway once again. "We will need to climb the service ladder up to the third floor." he said, leading them down the hallway.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

When he handed her lightsaber back, she realized another thing. No one had ever laid hands on her weapon before and as she had crafted them herself, she obviously had a special bond with them. She usually never gave them out of her hands, yet she had never questioned what had happened on Entralla.

She hadn't just been grateful because he had saved them with them, but she also was totally fine with entrusting him with them. Without special training and the Force, they were obviously hard to wield, but he had seem relatively capable with them so far and she didn't mind laying them into his hands at all.

She snapped back to the issue at hand quickly after though, still trying to connect those pieces she had gathered. He lightened the mood with his soft quip a little and after thanking the tech experts they made their way towards the Commander in charge. "So...do you really think it will be hard to appeal to him?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"The service ladder?" What was he doing up there? Hiding? One way or another, they wouldn't gain anything from waiting for this occurrence to sap the last power. He hadn't joked, she soon figured that out, but she enthusiastically started her climb. "Then do at least enjoy the view" she stopped for a second, throwing him a quick smirk before she continued her ascend. Keeping the mood light helped her to focus and as no one else was around here, she allowed herself the joke.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"I don't know." he said in a low voice, not wanting to stir up anything. Jon was a bit of a stickler for rules and regulations. He knew he wouldn't tolerate being questioned on his command, though he also knew when to be humble enough to accept the advice of experts and adjust accordingly. "It might be a bit of a power thing, but also, I can understand being a bit timid about sending more people out after losing the first group so quickly. All we can do is present reason," he said.

It complicated things that they were the same rank. If he were seen letting Jon run the show, he would look weak, like Jon very much wanted to do. Jon hoped the Kalique would be the wild card to get things going in their direction.

She started climbing the ladder, eyes drifting down. "I very much intend to." he said suggestively. "Why do you think I brought you here instead of the stairs." he joked, beginning to follow her up the ladder. The truth was, the doors to the stairwells had hard locked down when the base had lost power. This is how they had to move between floors for now.

They finished their climb; Jon straightened his uniform as he led her toward the Commander's Office. Stepping inside, he knocked on the outside door. The young commander looked up. "Commander Conors." he said in greeting. "This is Knight Kalique Demici. She responded to the base's distress call. She has some information she would like to share." He stood and gave the Knight a nod, extending a hand for a handshake. "Thank you for responding to our call. We find ourselves in a bit of a mess here.." the Commander spoke before sitting back down.

"What is it you have to relay." he asked.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

While abiding by the rules wasn't a problem for her, careful diplomacy often was and so she already tried to arrange words in a considerate manner in the back of her mind. They couldn't be too upfront then, yet they had to make their point clear. "Okay...then let's hope for the best" maybe her presence would change something. She could at least sense the invisible danger.

On the ladder, she suppressed a chuckle and responded with a smirk instead, teasingly adding. "I see. So it's only the professional choice". As much as the lightened mood help, she forced her facial features into professional neutrality then as they reached the floor and cleared her throat before entering.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander" she politely offered as a reply, shaking his hand before she folded her hands against the small of her back and straightened it. "We have been able to pinpoint a location where there's a density of those energy related anomalies. It's East of the camp, around the generators, right where the squad had intended to go before they vanished" she stated calmly, however a frown soon crossing her face.

"When we tried to access my ship's data, this...presence had attempted to drain energy from my pilot droid, but I could make it stop" she kept on explaining, before she tried appealing to him from her special position.

"I can sense it, Commander, and as we now know it's dwelling on the East, I would propose leaving to investigate. I know it's dangerous, and I understand that you don't want to risk any more soldiers, hence I would suggest going on my own". She knew this part would displease Jonathen, but she didn't want him in a position to risk his life again and this problem needed to be dealt with immediately, hence as she didn't count as a soldier, she hoped he'd allow her to go.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He stood by as Kali gave her report to the Commander. The Commander, more desperate than he had been even yesterday, latched on to the new evidence. A frown grew on Jon's face as she suggested going alone. "Absolutely not." he said while the other Commander nodded his head and spoke at the same time. "I like that plan, Knight."

Jon eyed Kalique before turning back to the other commander. "She is our best bet at stopping this thing quickly, but she is also our best defense here as well. We can't afford to let her go alone." he said. "We don't need to send out other soldiers; I will back up Knight Demici." he said, expression daring the other Commander to push back. They got into a grey area of who could order who around in matters dealing outside the base.

The young commander eyed both of them for a moment, sensing the tension, and finally sighed. "Very well, Jon. Requisition whatever supplies you need and feel free to leave whenever ready." he said. "But, no heroic bullshit, we need answers, not two more missing bodies," he said, hand moving to his forehead; the man was clearly not doing well under the pressure of the situation. "Of course." Jon replied.

Jon turned to leave, having won this round. He understood her intention and where it came from, but he wasn't about to be sidelined that easily. "A few minutes on world and your so quick to be rid of me?" he asked once they cleared the office. He wasn't mad at her. Perhaps he would have tried to same thing if he had been in her shoes.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Tension immediately grew in the room as both Commanders answered simultaneously, however their opinions completely contrary. Kalique held her tongue, knowing she was in no position to argue and already having disclosed all the information she had. Her proposition was also stated, but she wasn't surprised but Jon's reaction at all.

She lowered her gaze as Jonathen brought forth his point, but wasn't delighted by how quickly the other Commander conceded as this meant he was tagging along. "Yes, Sir" she agreed curtly before she respectfully nodded and turned to leave

She was convinced he was the most capable soldier here, yet obviously, she wasn't amused about the agreement the two Commanders reached in the end. She kept quiet until they were outside and out of earshot of others before she worriedly replied, "Seemingly it hasn't worked...".

She knew all about his stubbornness as well, and obviously out of respect and as her place was simply to serve, she wasn't going to talk him out of this, but he'd see it in her face that she wasn't pleased, even if she tried to overplay it with a little smirk. "I'm not sure what I had expected...maybe that he would have just accepted my proposition, but seems like we can both fight for our lives alongside each other again".

She sighed, stopping where she was right now. She could feel that no one else was close by and so she reached for his hands. "I know that you trust me, but you also know that I'm yours to command" that was the official hierarchy and she'd abide by the rules, yet she was very concerned about how close this had been last time.

"Could you at least try to listen to me this time? He's right. We can't afford missing or dead soldiers, thus, could you run and gather reinforcements if I'd ask you to?". Her serious tone was still mingling with those deep worries. She know she was asking a lot and maybe she already knew the answer to the question, but she at least tried to appeal to him.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He certainly didn't need any supernatural senses to pick up on her displeasure. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air as they stepped down the corridor. This whole thing was still new to them, this being the first time actually working together after Serenno. It made sense there would be some conflict here as they both figured things out, though he was willing to work through it.

"Look, we make a good team. We are better together than apart." he reassured her, taking her hands. "I do trust you." he said, letting out a sigh. Yes, part of her punishment had been to accept orders from any officer she worked with, but their dynamic had to change that.

He sighed again. "If you can honestly, and I mean, truly honestly, look me in the eyes and tell me you think it is better for this base that I stay back and you go alone, I will listen," he said. She knew more about what they were facing; there was a real possibility that he actually could be a liability, as much as he hated to admit it. The mission was bigger than any one of them; it had to be. Deep down, he did worry about what he would do if he had to choose between the mission and her.

The corridor grew still as he waited for her response.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

She wasn't mad, he didn't seem mad either, but this still was a difficult situation and their first real mission after Serenno. It wasn't like she hadn't been worried about him on Endor or Entralla, but obviously, this was a whole different level now.

"We do, this I know" she agreed with him, letting out a sigh herself before he took her hands into his. The decision wasn't an easy one, yet he had spoken up against the commanding officer and hence fully turning back now would only turn the man sour, she assumed.

She did hold his gaze as she pondered on his words, running through a few scenarios. "I tell you what. It didn't seem that hostile, but it still wanted to consume power. The Force is out of balance and I might manage to help that to some extent, but honestly, I can't really tell what we're really facing", she admitted truthfully.

It wasn't like she was assuming he couldn't be helpful, but rather that she'd still constantly be afraid of his wellbeing if they were facing something so strong and unpredictable again. "I'd say come with me and we'll check out that mist first, but if I'd ask you to return at some point, I'd love you to do so" maybe he would be fine with a compromise.

One way or another, she'd protect him with her life, like she did it with every Imperial soldiers, yet obviously, it was now a huge personal interest as well. "You know that I can either pin down enemies or purposely let them focus on me, so if I'd ask you to run for reinforcements or to warn the base, it would be awesome if you wouldn't attempt some 'heroic bullshit'. She airquoted Conors, however meaning it this way.

"I love you and I want you to be safe and I know this feeling is mutual, but if you can save the others by abandoning me, you have to familiarize yourself with the thought that you might have to do it". Their personal interests couldn't interfere with the general good and she assumed they both knew it...however they still had to have this serious conversation at some point. They both were completely loyal and dutiful beyond belief, yet this situation could possibly force them to look past their mutual feelings.

@Raydo