The Battle of Ithor: Sellout Takeout

[Valen Pelora]

Prompt: The planet of Genassa is home to a hub of the Imperial intelligence network. The operatives supply the Empire with information for the region. Imperial operatives subtly exert their control over Genassa rather than using ‘traditional’ authoritarian methods. Nonetheless, the planet is still in the suffocating grip of the Empire. The agents of Imperial authority operate from an expansive estate outside one of Genassa’s main cities. The Order has discovered the estate is filled with information on the Empire’s dastardly dealings on Genassa and in the region. If those secrets were to be exposed, the Empire’s fragile control of Genassa would shatter. Infiltrate the manor, defeat any resistance you encounter, and release the information on the holonet. The citizens of Genassa will take care of the rest.

Your strike team has landed on the outskirts of the estate. The sun is beginning to set in the distance. It was a painstaking process to deliver the team to this location without being detected. Unfortunately, very little is known about the inner workings of the estate. The Empire has done a masterful job of keeping the estate's true nature hidden. No doubt, you will encounter many difficult challenges once inside. Before you can wreck any havoc you must find a way in. As the strike team unloads from the transport a message plays on your comm links. The voice of the Grand Master can be heard. "May the Force be with you."
@Fyston @Relent @christhebarker

​

 

[Logan]

Sena stepped from the transport silently, dropping to the ground with a subtle thud as it hovered only a few feet off the ground. Their operation was supposed to be fast and hard, but most importantly - it was supposed to be a surprise. The shuttle would find a safer place to lay low and let the engines cool, allowing it to remain hidden from even the prying eye of infrared sensors. A small sneer creased Sena's lips as she gazed out on the grounds of the estate. The path inside was covered, the lawn of the Sith Estate being prim and properly horticultured. Bushes, trees, all manner of things for intelligent Jedi to hid behind as they approached the estate proper. it was perfect.

Doing a mental check of her gear, Sena was more than comfortable in a situation like this. She was wearing her modular armor beneath her robes, both of her lightsabers hanging on opposite hips. Normally this would be all the gear she would bring, but not knowing exactly what they would encounter inside Sena brought a few extra items along with her - stashing them inside her utility belt for good measure. There was a single thermal detonator and two smackdown grenades in one pouch and her usual belt items in the rest. Sena also brought a sunspear heavy blaser pistol which was strapped to her thigh. Normally, Sena stayed away from guns in general. She found them clumsy and unwieldy, but she thought it better to be safe than sorry on this mission. Failure was not an option.

Turning towards her compatriots, Sena cocked her head towards the estate. "I'm sure everyone has been briefed on the mission, but for thoroughness's sake I'll tell you once more. We're to get inside and eliminate any resistance, find any information that would paint the Empire in the shitty light they live in and release it on the holonet. They won't have time for damage control and the information should be enough to wrestle control of Genassa back." Sena paused for a moment before turning back towards the estate. "Lets get a move on then. The less we dawdle the less chance we'll get intercepted. Time is money, friends."

Sena would wait for her compatriots before fully setting off. Moving as a unit was their best bet at success. Sena didn't have any technical authority over her partners but she hoped they would listen to her advice. She was smart and resourceful, and at the end of the day, would succeed no matter what. Or die trying.

@Fyston @christhebarker

 

[christhebetrayer]

Fabian stepped down with Sena landing beside her with same quiet thud. He moved to cover immediately behind a low wall. Listening to Sena he was in agreement time was not there ally here. "I agree with you Sena, this is a smash and grab. We don't need to be bogged down with fighting" he replies to her plan looking out over the lawn.

Fabian makes a double check of his equipment. his collapsible lightsaber hanging from his belt along side two smoke grenades to help cover there escape and another two EMP grenades . Fabian doesn't wear armour preferring greater maneuverability and since most armour doesn't protect against lightsabers it seem more of a hinderance than anything. He also brought his blaster pistol strapped to his leg. you never know when one will be useful. Now they just had to wait for there over companion to join them.

 

[Fyston]

Red light illuminated Xene's face, his lips curved upwards at the ends to indicate a slight smile. The recently promoted Knight was looking forward to proving that his promotion was deserved. Deep in thought, Xene looked past the landscape as it blazed past them. He hoped that he could prove himself a good Knight by bringing further victories to the Jedi, though he didn't quite look the part. While he wore a black tunic, the Jedi wore no Jedi robes or insignia to indicate his affiliation. Xene's Jedi Modular Armor was still dirty from his last mission, though the once-noticeable weight had become a familiar part of the Knight's life. On the Jedi's belt was a set of tools, two thermal detonators, and a caltrop grenade, as well as the Knight's lightsaber and two extra magazines for the pistol in his hand.

The Knight turned the pistol over and examined it from each angle. The SA-17 Mercy stun gun, once a shining beacon to indicate their position, had been blacked out and even the shot indicator at the rear of the pistol had been dimmed. All in all, it would be extremely difficult to tell that the pistol was there if not for the red light illuminating the inside of the transport.

As the transport arrived on scene, Xenefious waited for his comrades to debark before stepping off behind them. He had said little for most of the ride and, when his comrade spoke, he simply nodded. He knew not to speak and, while he could have used the Force to communicate telepathically, knew it was not needed. The plan was one that had been meticulously covered and further studying would only muddy the waters. Xene focused on rear security as they moved, ensuring that nobody would be able to sneak up behind them as they moved.

 

[TAC]

Palist Takkur grunted at the fool technician working on the main hub of the mansion's technological infrastructure. The human seemed to flinch a bit at the noise, glancing to the Sith Marauder who stood looking over his shoulder before dutifully to work. The Quarren watched carefully. He had a limited understanding of the encryption that went into the Imperium's advanced intelligence agencies, but he understood his assignment quite easily: make sure no one that did know compromised the systems. This technician was no problem, a loyal and faithful member of the mighty Empire his entire life (although the Sith hadn't been ruling a mighty Empire for nearly that amount of time), but nonetheless the Sith stood guard.

"Ah, okay - yes, Sith, sir?" the technician said, nervously. He must have seen some more aggressive Sith slice a technician in half before, or some such nonsense. The Quarren looked at him apprehensively, but gave him nothing more. "Yes, well, sir, I took all of the other sites off-line, sir. I'll have my encryption updates completed within the standard hour, uh, sir, and then we will be ready to reconnect the hub with the rest of the terminals, and, uh, then everything will be back on line." The nervousness was laughable. Palist sighed internally. He was here to ensure the material and encryption was safe, to baby sit this man, but he hadn't realize how tender the technician really was.

"Proceed," he commanded firmly in his quiet voice. The technician hesitated again for a second, blinking hard in case the man decided to cut him in half. When he realized no such attack was coming, he quickly went about his work. There was an automated noise as he took the other terminals offline, centralizing the information to the hub on the top floor of the four story mansion. The technician was busy at work, and so Palist walked over to the windows. He rapped his knuckles on them a few times, listening to the *bonk* that replied. They were a secure glass, blaster-proof, but he had absolutely no idea what they were made of. Might be an interesting question for the Imperial Legion security agents, if they ever showed up. Sighing again Palist supervised the area. The mansion was well guarded and staffed by Imperial Legion and agents of all sorts of stripes, and he saw some of them milling about the courtyard on the beautiful, sunny afternoon. Palist found it a bit annoying he had been assigned the task, considering the security of the local Imperial base. Why wouldn't a few Legionnaires have sufficed, why did was he required to stand around and watch the stuttering technician do his work?

Must be some reason, he thought, but wasn't close to convincing himself. He had foregone the ominous black robes for a snug pair of black pants and a black shirt. They were in stark contrast to his burnt orange skin, and tentacles flickered as he ran a self-check. Truthfully, while the technician worked, this was the most sensitive time, and he would do well to make sure he was attentive to the task. Sith did not appreciate failure, and if this was a test or some ridiculous thing like that, he would want to be prepared. No blasters or detonators hung at his hip. He was a sith, why would he need those? No, a simple lightsaber, his comlink, and a small datapad were all that hung on his hip off of his belt.

Two minutes down, he mused to himself.

 

[Crim]

The network was down again, forcing Darth Trepidus' research to a grinding halt once more. The Sith Lord sat back and ran her hands through her hair, trying to fight the urge to smash the terminal. Hell, she wanted to go choke the life out of the technicians. She was on the fourth floor; it would have been a short walk down a hallway for a good, cathartic Force choke. But that would be an awful idea. The technicians had to update the network encryption constantly due to trouble near Ithor. The Grand Inquisitor was posted on Genassa, the AgriWorld that fed dozens of star systems in its vicinity, to keep an eye on the increasing tensions. She did not imagine the Sith would lose their grip on Genassa or Ithor, though in the case that they did, she was prepared to burn a few bridges out of sheer punishment.

She turned and grabbed her notebook, etching a few things down. She'd have to remember to add them to the terminal later. If she'd had a statistician droid, it could merely glance at her work and tell her what she needed to know without even needing the terminal. But the terminal was on a closed network, and if that network was down, the terminal was down. The Grand Inquisitor stood and decided to make a few notes on her work.

Genassa was an AgriWorld. It fed dozens, if not hundreds of worlds in its galactic vicinity. If Ithor was somehow lost, or if the Empire needed to come in with martial law on Genassa, starvation was to be the primary option of punishment. The room Darth Trepidus was in was filled with rows of planters, all labeled and contained in closed, miniature greenhouses. In each planter, a golden wheat crop sat. Along the perimeter of the room, sealed rows of fungi sat in dirt planters. This native fungus was known to cause massive wheat failure on the planet. Fungicides rendered it mostly harmless, though some strains were becoming resistant to the fungicide. Should this strain of fungus become prevalent, it would cause a catastrophic wheat shortage on the planet.

In short, widespread famine on Genassa and Ithor.

As the Grand Inquisitor surveyed rows of these plants, she saw varying results. When she had started this experiment, as few as 8% of wheat crops exposed to the resistant fungus were killed. Now, one in three treated plants showed visible signs of decay and disease from this fungus. She wrote down visible observations. As she wrote, a chill ran down her spine. She smirked and tapped her chin with her pen. It would appear someone has taken an interest in my research, she thought. The Sith Lord had been preparing for a possible incursion since the news of fighting on Ithor. She wore a maroon, flame-retardant, quilted bodyglove, with an arm bracer fixed to her dueling arm to protect it from glancing blows. Over it, she wore a black tabbard and, in this current lab setting, a black labcoat. Her dueling lightsaber dangled from her belt, along with several scalpels. Her cloak and cape hung by the door, with her mask sitting on the table. She'd wear them if this disturbance in the Force actually meant something.

As she gave herself a patdown to check what she had, she grunted, shrugged, and went back to work.
@Force_In_Balance

 

[Force_In_Balance]

Vetas sat upon the third floor of the estate, feeling the frustration and slowly-fermenting anger of his fellow Sith through the Force, as well as their own intense foci chosen to try and either enhance, focus or distract them from their anger. As for himself, Vetas sat simply in a small gallery room that appeared as if it would normally be used to hold private meetings between government officials. Now however, the Moff of Vanqor sat and meditated while semi-focusing on a game of Dejarik before him. Using the mentally-stimulating game to facilitate slipping into a meditative trance more easily. Around the room, six troopers from his own planet of Vanqor stood dutifully and loyally to watch over their Moff. Directly across from the Moff, and his current Dejarik opponent, sat a Sith Acolyte by the name of Rayis. The younger Sith was mounting in his anger and frustration over their game, as his Moff had instructed him to be open with his feelings, and as the noose of his defeat at the game tightened with every move made the negative energy flowing from the Acolyte was growing more and more palpable.

Finally, at his defeat, Rayis let out a deep, long breathe and Vetas watched him closely. His attention having seamlessly transitioned from the game to the individual behind it as he laced his hands before him. Speaking in a level, probing tone "Do you understand the lesson here, Rayis?" The Acolyte hesitated, before clenching his fists and lowering his head "I-... I do not... my Lord." Vetas hummed, before motioning to the board "Your defeat, it was preventable. In my movements, there was a very obvious weakness to be exploited if you had taken the time to see it." Rayis' anger grew, and he all but spit back at Vetas "YOU told me to express my anger, to not hold back for the sake of strategy!" Vetas smiled a small, cold smile and leaned back in his chair as his gaze focused on the young Sith's eyes "Indeed I did Rayis, and when your opponent offers you the key to your own defeat, will you always take it?"

Rayis paused, his anger swelling and the air grew heavy with burgeoning energy as Vetas eyed the young Sith before waving a hand "That is your lesson for today, you are dismissed Rayis." The Acolyte's eyes flashed dangerously and Vetas remained unfazed as he simply waited, silence prevailing over the room for a tense moment before Rayis stood and bowed slightly, before leaving the room. Vetas reset the Dejarik board with a less-than-casual effort through the Force as one of his troopers stepped forward "My Lord? Shall we detain Acolyte Rayis for disciplinary action?" Vetas glanced out the window of the Estate, pausing for a moment as he studied the movements of the Imperial Legion troopers outside the mansion before shaking his head "That won't be necessary Sergeant. Rayis is young, and my methods are..... unique." The Sergeant, Sergeant Malken if he recalled correctly, nodded an affirmative before stating "As you wish My Lord." Vetas paused, before looking up at the ceiling above him and noting the near-constant pacing and studying of Darth Trepidus. This made Vetas consider things for a moment before once again revisiting the reason for his presence here.

In truth, if one of the Empire's own Dark Lords were present... then he began to reconsider his previously-assumed stance of being here just as reassurance for a place considered a temporary liability to the Empire's security. In addition, with the barely-restrained and distracted anger of the Darth easily palpable to him, he severely doubted Darth Trepidus was here for her own enjoyment. Regardless of whatever 'fascinating' fungi she spent her time scraping from this world for study. Closing his eyes, Vetas focused his intentions on a telepathic link to the Darth in the form of a simply conveyed message "Distracting though the pursuit of knowledge may be, should you desire a more....variable experiment, feel free to join me."

@Crim

After communicating to the Darth, Vetas opened his eyes and glanced side-long to the helmet of his armor sat upon the table before smoothing back his hair with an exasperated motion. "Sergeant?" The man in question stepped forward "My Lord?" Vetas sighed and waved a hand towards the back of the Mansion "If you and your men would be so kind, go and collect my gift to Darth Trepidus." Sergeant Malken saluted and motioned for his men to begin moving "As you say my Lord. Where shall we find you once the task is done?" Vetas flipped a switch on the Dejarik board, activating the built-in A.I. for his opponent on the highest setting of difficulty and stateds imply "I will be right here."

@Relent

Spoiler: Equipment

Pictured is Vetas' armor

He is also carrying his usual three lightsabers and two EMP grenades.

 

[Logan]

The transport had dropped off the group of Jedi not too far from the outer grounds of the estate. The massive building was easy to distinguish as the only real source of light in the surrounding area, the estate itself being surrounded by thick forest. The sun was quickly setting giving the group the benefit of the cover of darkness, something that Sena was thankful for. She didn't much fancy the idea of storming head first into a building full of Sith during broad daylight. Luckily, their Grandmaster had thought at least that much ahead.

The gates that loomed in front of them - assuming the other two Jedi would have followed Sena as she made her way close to the estate - were made of thick durasteel. Lightsabers could have probably cut them a path through, but that would draw attention. Easier to just bypass them entirely, she thought. With a running start Sena took to the sky with a force assisted leap, the strength of which landed her firmly on top of the fencing before she took a step and dropped to the other side. She was sure her compatriots would have the requisite skill to silently follow her lead.

Sena could see what appeared to be a back door leading into the estate, guarded by two surly looking sith troopers who were holding rifles. There wasn't much distance between where she came down from over the wall and where the troopers were standing, but some shrubbery blocked her from sitting in plain sight. Reaching out with the force Sena picked up a rock and tossed it near the guards to draw their attention. The one of the left turned his head abruptly to look for the source of the sound, Sena using that chance to float a sharp stick off the ground and drive it through the guard on the right's left temple. He died before he even realized what was going on.

With swift movements Sena covered the distance between her and the remaining guard, taking out her lightsaber as she approached him from behind and taking off his head with a clean slice. She quickly used the force to levitate the bodies into somewhere secluded nearby, motioning with her hand for her partners to hurry the hell up so they could get inside.

From here, she would let whoever chose to lead the way into the Esate. Sena would bring up the rear, playing the role of the paranoid and alert.

@Fyston @christhebarker

 

[christhebetrayer]

Fabian followed close behind Sena as they made their way to the estate's grounds, he remained vigil as they crossed as they might wondering patrols outside the grounds. once at the gates he was the last to jump over the gate, watching their backs, once both of them were over he join them on the other side and watched as Sena took out two guards. fabian stacked up against the wall beside the door and nodding towards sena to say he's going in. unhooking his lightsaber from his belt he opens the door.

Fabian opens the door to a dark room, he searches the walls beside the door for a light switch, finding it he flips it to illuminate the near pitch black room. a kitchen appears before him, a large one at that, big enough to feed a small banquet. it was stocked with lasted kitchen appliances and expensive sets of durasteels knives line the counters and islands. four doors line the walls two lead to the pantry and a large walk-in refrigerator, the other two lead further into the estate mostly likely a dining hall of some kind.

Fabian silently navigated across the room through the alleys between the counters and islands, once again stacking beside one of the exits waiting for his allies to join before advancing further. "We need to find a map of some kind, we can't search the estate all night, I presume they have some sort of security room with a plan of the site, but we'll have to find it first" he whispers to his companions once they join him.

@Fyston

 

[Fyston]

The group moved quickly, though silently. Xenefious had hoped to avoid bloodshed so early in the mission, if only to avoid more chances of being detected. As Sena worked, Xenefious launched a rock into the lens of the camera overlooking the back door. While not perfect, it should have done enough to prevent the slaughter from being seen by the cameras and avoid an alarm. When none sounded, Xenefious breathed a silent sigh of relief and watched as his comrade began moving the bodies. Give me a second, said the Jedi through the Force as he communicated directly with Sena. The Knight waited for the bodies to stop moving and began searching them, his hands roaming over the body in a focused but quick search. It took but a few seconds and Xenefious felt a smile creep across his face. Two items, once belonging to the guard, were now in the hands of the Jedi: A security keycard and a comlink.

Xenefious made sure to open the door with the keycard in order to avoid sounding any alarms, though he was frustrated when his ally went to turn on the lights. The Knight didn't hesitate to throw his hand over and stop Fabian from activating the lights. Use the Force to see, particularly that camera. We cannot afford careless mistakes. As he spoke, the Knight closed his eyes and focused on the room around him, allowing the Force to act as his guide. As he moved, he made sure to keep his aura pulled as tightly as possible.

The Knight approached the panel under the camera, the pitch-black room obscuring the view of the camera and making it difficult to see. The Knight removed the panel with his tools and briefly examined the wiring before flipping a switch, briefly shutting down the power to the panel and preventing his electrocution. With that done, he spliced the wires from the power supply to that of the camera. This would result in a surge traveling through the system and, hopefully, shutting down all of the cameras across the base, though would at least shut down the cameras in the vicinity of the Jedi. With the comlink in hand and on the lowest volume, they would be able to determine the security forces' movements.

With that done, the Knight moved towards the nearby security terminal and accessed it with his new keycard. It took a bit, though he was able to figure out how to set off the alarms and sounded them on the opposite side of the facility. The Jedi could faintly hear the alarms and, using the Force, flipped the switch. Here we go, thought the Jedi to himself in the dark, waiting to see what would happen.

 

[TAC]

The Quarren stood, astute and unmoving with his arms crossed, as the technician did his work. The Sith Marauder had not realized there were other Sith at this particular base, which caused him some concern. Who in their right minds would be training on a planet like this? To Palist, Ithor, and especially this mansion base that had little to do with the Force, were relatively insignificant for the presence of so many Sith. But nevertheless, the Quarren could feel the strong tug of the Dark Side of the Force extremely close. Using the passing time to meditate where he stood, he focused in on the Sith - one on his floor and one below - while taking careful action to ensure he did not in any way assault their mental defenses or barriers. They were extremely unique signatures within the Force, and while Palist was still developing his abilities within the Force, he was fascinated by the Force auras of the two fellow Sith.

Several more minutes passed when he was startled to hear the alarms system all around him triggered. He jumped a bit, pulling his mind from its meditation as he looked around now fully alert. The nervous technician also looked at him, more than a little startled. "Uh, what is it, sir?" Palist did not reply. His job was to stay here and protect this technician's work, not deal with any local intruder who had a grudge against the Empire. Forcing himself back into his meditation, he felt angry that he had been so startled. Again focusing back in on the force signatures of the two Sith, he realized they were now in motion. Expanding his limited abilities to their limit, he felt three additional signatures faintly from the bottom floor.

The Quarren's eyes flicked open as he removed his lightsaber from his belt. He was not well trained, and one of the force auras was somewhat murky, there was no mistaking these signatures for the two he had felt before. These were Jedi. While it may not have been his job, the Sith was far more interested in the intruders now. "Stay and continue your work," he muttered, his angry flaring, as he marched towards the door. They whooshed open in front of him, and he stopped only to lock them behind him. He had no idea who the other Sith were, but he was uninterested in them enough to not care - all he cared about was heading for the Jedi.

Walking over to the only turbolift in the mansion, he punched in his security code. A small hum acknowledged his presence and then the lift opened, allowing him to step in. He descended to the first floor and stepped into the hallway. The lift closed behind him, but he ignored it. His bright red lightsaber sputtered to life as he looked around, his ability to acutely sense the Jedi lost with the calmness that came with his meditation. Nonetheless, the Force pushed and pulled strangely from the cafeteria area. Gritting his teeth, the Sith started his march down the twelve yard hallway that led to the wide, automatic door of the mansion's dining room.

@Crim @Force_In_Balance

 

[Crim]

The Dark Lord held a test tube in front of her face, observing the sample within. A cloudy substance gathered in the bottom, separated from the clear fluid in the test tube. Putting the samples through the centrifuge seemed to do the job of separating the genetic material she needed for the experiment from the suspension fluid. She set the test tubes in an oven to heat them for a few minutes. This addition of heat would denature the DNA inside the test tubes, allowing her to work with single-stranded DNA. It looked like another day of running the same reaction about 80 times. Once again, she found herself wishing she had a droid to help her out. Or an undergrad. Both had varying degrees of usefulness. A droid did things without question and they usually did them right. Plus, droids don't require food. Undergrads on the other hand, given enough food and marijuana, could accomplish some impressive results. Either could run a simple polymerase chain reaction - or 80 - while she was doing better things.

Really anything else.

As if on cue, a voice entered her head. "Distracting though the pursuit of knowledge may be, should you desire a more....variable experiment, feel free to join me."
The Zelosian sighed and put her hands on a table. "An Inquisitor never stops asking questions, Vetas Malin. The pursuit of knowledge is a holy calling that I humbly accept," Darth Trepidus responded mentally.

If she knew him, he was playing Dejarik. There are two groups of people one does not challenge to holochess without a spare set of arms - Wookiees and Sith Lords. The man was an Anzat - a parasitic race with powers of persuasion and the ability to consume brains via straws in their cheeks. It was truly an intriguing power. When she was done experimenting on Miraluka, she considered turning her focus on Anzati, though her vivisections on Miraluka continued to lead promising results. She'd be taking them apart for a long time.

A trooper entered the room, holding something. "A gift from Vetas Malin," the trooper said, kneeling to Darth Trepidus.
"That Anzat really-" the Grand Inquisitor said, hearing a litany of noises on the same floor - the alarm system. Someone was inside the house. She narrowed her eyes and felt the Force around her. She took in a deep breath, allowing the flow and ebb of the Force to wash over her. There were three people actively using the Force to communicate. She couldn't make any words out, but they were trying their damnedest not to get caught. They didn't carry the stink of a Sith, but the guarded, pseudopacifism of a Jedi. But the Jedi were murderers now. The all-too familiar stink of the Dark Side was slowly tainting the hearts of the Jedi. The Grand Inquisitor sighed. She'd have to leave her experiment alone, meaning that sample was going to get cooked to hell.

She removed her lab coat in a fluid motion and walked to the door, drawing the hanging cape over her shoulders. As she left the room, she grasped the helm laying on the desk. The trooper followed her, gift tucked beneath his arms.
@Force_In_Balance

 

[Force_In_Balance]

Vetas paused mid-movement of one of his chess pieces, making the A.I. of the Dejarik board beep in alerting him of his "illegal action", before setting the piece down in finality. The A.I. immediately beginning to 'hum' electronically in thought of it's next move. Darth Trepidus' reply brought a small half-smile to the Anzat's face, though in truth this was due to a small amount of mirth at the studious Darth's answer because of how... expected it was. He made it a point to hide this amusement as he simply responded "I see. Very well, I do hope your findings are worth the zeal you pursue them with...." Vetas could feel Sergeant Malken arrive with his gift, which was two-fold. The first part of the gift, was an official invitation to visit Vanqor written in his own hand, along with a specific pass-code for entering the planet's airspace once docked with it's space station. The second, and likely far more interesting part of the gift, was a key-card for the "Akkard Research and Development Facility" also located on Vanqor.

As Vetas made his next move on the Dejarik board, he then reached out to Sergeant Malken through the Force and Darth Trepidus would no doubt see the trooper stop in his tracks as he was given a mental command by his Moff. In truth, Vetas had sensed the death in the Force and disturbance caused by the subtle manipulations a moment or two after Trepidus herself and had instructed the Sergeant to take his gift to the Darth's personal shuttle away from where the disturbances had originated from. After all, it was poor practice to have one's gifts trampled underfoot during a skirmish or be potentially crushed under rubble or bodies. Thus, Vetas erred on the side of strategic thinking and chuckled as the irony of it all struck him. While they expertly kept their signatures in the Force restrained, it was impossible to make use of one's powers while also hiding themselves in the Force. Not only this, but he could feel the intruder's restrained, faint light. These were Jedi, and with a smirk both amused and just a bit hard he picked up another piece as he stood and placed it down. Obtaining checkmate against the A.I. which glowed a yellow light in defeat. "It seems the Jedi have made the first move."

Glancing towards his helmet, Vetas lifted it before placing it upon his head and locking it into place atop his armored torso. Taking a moment to focus, Vetas had at least enough of a grasp on the intruders to tell they were on the first floor. Thinking for a moment, he noted that Darth Trepidus and the other Sith were above him, the Sith he did not know had apparently sensed the disturbance as well as they were at the turbolift. While Darth Trepidus would be approaching it and the Mansion's stairwell in only a moment. Taking a moment to consider his course of action, a few ideas became readily apparent to him and each had their merit. Deciding on a course of action, Vetas took a moment to hide himself and his Force signature and activate one of his lightsabers before leaving the room in question on the third floor. Opting to move towards the stairwell where he could see the turbolift ascend or descend and act accordingly, as which way it went would tell him who was using it. He also kept an eye on the stairwell in case anyone attempted to use it.

@Relent

 

[Logan]

Her partners were smart. Getting the keycard to enter the building undetected was something that she hadn't thought of intially and she was somewhat disappointed in herself. Perhaps her sleuthing skills were starting to slip, that or her subconscious ego was telling her that there could be five dozen sith inside and she wasn't afraid because, well, Sith were weak from the ground up. Even their leader, their Darths, nothing but children masquerading as people of power. Truly pathetic pieces of pond scum were they.

While Xen worked his magic with the security systems Sena pulled the into herself before letting it disperse, doing her best to scope out the area with her mind. Scanning the the area as far as her own aptitude would allow, a small crease of a smile cut the corners of Sena's lips. They were not alone. Even more curious, through her heightened senses, she could have almost sworn she heard the snap of a lightsaber.

"The door." She whispered loud enough for her partners to hear. "A visitor on the other side. Sith, most likely. Not security detail." She closed her eyes again, focusing the force and her eyes on the door until she could see through it - just barely. An aura on the other side, dark and shimmering. Yes. "Prepare yourselves."

Still holding her lightsaber in her right hand, its tawny blade glowing menacingly in the darkness, Sena dropped her feet into a defensive stance and let the force flow through her freely. Trying to hide now was of no consequence. They were aware of the Jedi now. Fighting was inevitable. But Sena's cooler head would still prevail, deciding that charging headfirst into the unknown was hardly ever a good idea. She would let their prey come to them, and she would be ready and willing to mount whatever it was on the other side of that door's head on the wall when it was over.

"If either of you want to get preemptive, I will support you from behind. We have surprise and numbers on our side." Sena paused, narrowing her eyes for a moment. "Or we could lay in wait and attempt to spring a trap. The choice belongs with the group."

Sena would follow the lead of whoever spoke up first. There was no time for bickering or deciding which plan would be better, only to decide on a plan and go. The race had started and they had an objective to complete and no Sith would stand in the way of that.

@Fyston @christhebarker

 

[christhebetrayer]

Fabian kept guard by the door his hand hovering over his lightsaber as his companion put himself to work as he fiddled with the camera and then security console. he remained vigilante reaching out with the force like his companion sensing the dark side of the two others above them before one disappear from his senses, this was disconcerting for Fabian but he steeled himself for the coming fight.

Fabian activated his ivory blade, it lit up his immediate area in a white glow. "There are two other above but one has hidden them selves from senses, I say we take him while he's alone, makes it easier for us" he's whisper back to sena, positioning himself in front of the door and nodding towards sena before pushing button to open the door. the door opened with a quiet swoosh and Fabian walked in calmly with his Ivory blade, twirling it a couple time as his he walked to the right side of the hallway and assumed his fighting stance ready for Sith's next move.

 

[Fyston]

Xenefious felt the familiar presence of a Sith and heard the closing doors of what he assumed to be a turbolift. The Knight took a deep breath and felt the calming energy of the Force flow through him, further steeling his body against what he knew would come soon. Stretching out with the Force and aiming to gather as much information as possible, Xenefious felt one other presence and, for the slightest of moments, thought he felt something, or someone, else, though he could not be certain.

Xene was about to suggest a plan, his mind racing to consider the possibilities and work out an effective course of action, when Fabian spoke and paused only briefly before walking through the door. Nevermind, no time for plans, thought the Jedi as he moved with purpose to reinforce his comrade, activating his lightsaber with a snap-hiss. Xene was not far behind Fabian as he walked through the door and he could see the Sith still relatively close to the turbolift. While Fabian kept his blade in a more defensive posture and ready if the Sith were to attack, Xenefious kept his off to the side to ensure that he could not harm his ally. In addition, the Knight kept enough space so that, if needed, he could fall back into the previous room. If he were able to enter the hallway, he would move to the left and enter the defensive stance characteristic of Soresu. As he stepped into his stance, he felt a sense of calm wash over his body. "Hi, we're here to check the plumbing, mind stepping out of our way?"

 

[TAC]

As the Quarren slowly approached the door, his lightsaber held up in front of him, he heard the distinct sound of two more lightsabers shrieking as they lit. The Sith stopped, tentatively watching the door that was now only a few meters in front of him. With a quiet whoosh, the door opened, revealing three Jedi, just as Palist had predicted. He stood stock still in a defensive position.

The first Jedi that came through the door was a middle aged human. He had brown hair down to his shoulders, and an off-white blade that he twirled a few times as he stepped to the right, the Quarren's left. He said nothing, taking a defensive stance. The second Jedi, a much younger human male, stepped to Palist's right with his own ignited lightsaber. The third, an Echani, stood behind them in the room from whence they came.

The Jedi to Palist's right asked about the pluming. The Quarren looked at the Jedi as if he smelled something rather unpleasant. "I do not understand how murderers are so quippy," Palist responded. He stepped forward, flicking the tip of his blade at the younger male (Xen) more to annoy than to attack, whilst paying careful attention to the other two. In the same motion he reassumed his original defensive position.

"You are not funny. You will die."

@Crim @Force_In_Balance

 

[Force_In_Balance]

After noting the turbolift's singular descent Vetas was simultaneously curious and aggravated by the apparent lack of decisive action by Darth Trepidus. Nonetheless he was not of the mindset to allow the Jedi free-reign to do as they pleased, regardless of odds or numbers arrayed against him. Glancing to his activated lightsaber, Vetas decided to deactivate the device and clip it back to his armor in order to avoid the ever-present hum it generated conflicting with his more tactful approach. Making the decision to descend the stairwell with as much careful, silent movement as he could while also being marginally fast, Vetas found himself a hallway over from where Palist stood against the three Jedi and could hear the sounds of light-sabers activating and muffled speech just barely perceptible through the wall between himself and the group. The hall he was in joined with the room the Jedi has initially entered the base through, via an open secondary door and thankfully the floor beneath him was lavishly carpeted. Greatly aiding in all but completely muffling his footsteps as he moved towards that very same room to get behind their adversaries. Making sure to keep his weight evenly distributed, his steps silent and Force signature as muted as possible.

Moving through the room the Jedi had entered from, Vetas could see the three engaging his fellow Sith despite there being a decent twenty feet between himself and them, due to the lights overhead and the glow of the combatants lightsabers. What was more, and profoundly lucky for him, was that all three of them were solely focused on Palist. The two men in the front being spread out slightly to the side, while a woman wielding a tawny lightsaber was in the middle closest to him being in the back of their group. Presented with a momentary dilemma, Vetas decided to try his best to not only even the playing field for Palist, but also give himself the element of surprise over the Jedi.

Stepping quietly, Vetas moved himself into a darkened section of the room behind the Jedi and brought up one of his EMP grenades, a small vibration the only indication that he had primed the thing. Steadying his breathe and physical fortitude, he readied himself for the quick succession of actions he was about to take, and that were about to happen. Waiting until the woman closest to him had stopped moving, now a mere seventeen or so feet from him, Vetas lined the himself up so that even if he missed the girl the grenade would be going towards Xen, then cocked his arm back before throwing the grenade as hard as he could, while still being accurate, at the back of her head, though it was possible the blunt metal object would also impact her upper back or neck. Either way, the impact would hurt and pain... was distracting.

In the breathe of a second after he had thrown the grenade, Vetas readied himself mentally for battle as best he could. Then, regardless of whether the grenade had hit the woman's head, back, neck or missed and went towards Xen. Vetas dropped his Force concealment just after the EMP grenade went off and raised his hands, two streams of crimson red Sith lightning arcing towards Sena (and by extension, Xen if she dodges or moves herself). A powerful pulse going off from the EMP grenade and regardless of whether it had hit Sena and rolled a bit back towards him or went a bit further, it would still short out the lights overhead. Leaving the only illumination in the room and hall down to the blades in the hands of the combatants, and the twin streams of blood red lightning currently arcing towards Sena.

@Relent @Fyston

 

[Logan]

Decisions were important. On the battlefield more than anywhere else, you needed to be able to make instantaneous choices while still being able to weigh the pros and cons and select the most optimal direction with the least investment. Causalities stacked against success rate, objective control compared to threat dissection. It was a multitude of information that needed to be processed, diagnosed, rearranged and decided upon. What you needed was a catalyst to make the decision for you, a point of reference that makes the next step obvious. Luckily Sena got hers, and that was the lone sith on the other side of the door. What a fool.

She had two allies in the hall to occupy the Sith so Sena's eyes drifted to the room she stood in, to the door that lead off to the side and presumably wrapped around and would end up behind their current lone enemy. Flanking was the decision Sena made. The surprise, even if the Sith in the hall was a Darth or something, would still give them the advantage of surprise. The thought process that caused Sena to deactivate her lightsaber and make a stealthy break for the hall took not but mere seconds. As she rounded the corner, Sena building the force within herself as she did so, her eyes fell firmly onto the form of a Sith that was trying to do to them what she was going to do to Palist. Perhaps these degenerate beasts were smarter than they looked.

Her lightsaber ignited again instantly, bathing the hall in harsh tawny light. Sena's eyes were set firmly onto the Sith who had no weapon drawn, only a small silver sphere held in his hand. There was no way forward left for him to go. His options were fight or retreat, but both of those would end in his death. Hopefully he chose not the way of the coward but Sena did not have high hopes -- the man was a filthy Sith after all. Nothing but a failed Jedi, scared and alone.

@Fyston @christhebarker

 

[christhebetrayer]

the irony that spewed from the Quarren mouth annoyed Fabian, to call them murderers while they fight in a campaign to control Ithor. The planet the Sith burnt to the ground, slaughtering millions and he had the gall to call them the murderers. he collected himself they were not here for the Sith he reminded himself, their objective lay else where but he wasn't the best one to do. His grip tightened around his hilt, he turns to Xen "go for the objective, I'll handle the Sith" he says knowing they can't be too bogged down with combat.

Fabian extends his lightsaber into its pike form, stepping into the middle of the hallway, putting a hand on Xen's shoulder a pushing him behind .he assumed a stance where he held his pike two handed to get most reach out of the 7'9 long pike. it was angled towards the Sith head. once again he say's "Go, go now!" he implored to Xen before sending a jab towards the Quarren chest.