War Contraband

[Esfir Radin]

Klatooine
​

Imperial supply depot C-24 stood proudly on the arid landscape. Flying in from the eastern sky was a single large freighter. It had been scheduled for food delivery to the garrison troops and it was on time and giving the proper recognition codes. Yet what the Sith troops didn’t realized yet was a whole unit of rebels were hidden inside the ship. Among them was Esfir Radin clad her armor standing in the middle of the ranks.

Checking her gear for a last-minute inspection, the Sahminain breathed a sigh.

Not too long ago she had barely survived the slaughter of Hoth. The events of that day had caused many sleepless nights for the desert dweller since then. Even now the memory of the frozen wasteland and the bombardment caused Esfir shiver a bit. Squeezing her right hand into a fist, she thought.

Stay focus. Remember the others are counting on you.

Reminded so Esfir glanced around her comrades who were handling the tension in their own various ways. Many converse in softy with one another, some muttered prayers and even one Twi’lek nearby even quietly whistle a tune to himself. Nodding to herself Esfir relaxed slightly. Their mission as their superiors was to raid the depot, seize the supplies there and if possible destroy the station. Simple and to the point.

Next to her was Harkam Gant, a rebel she hadn’t partnered before. He seemed capable enough, and Esfir hoped it was true just as the ship was about to descend on the landing pad. Turning toward Harkam, the huntress whispered through her helmet while griping the blaster carbine.

“Hope you’re ready comrade.”

@Ecclessey

 

[Harkam Gant]

Harkam was nervous as hell. Up until now his job had been fighting criminals and negotiating with shipbuilders, but this marked his first real combat mission against the antagonist -otherwise known as the rebellion's arch enemy- the Empire. It seemed impossible to relax the muscles in his legs despite his overbearing attempts to find some quiet moments of contemplation. He couldn't. Today would either see him dead or born again. He would either die by the hands of some Sith or Imperial soldier, or grow to be more than a severely underpaid security agent. Harkam 'the battle-hardened' Gant.. he still had difficulty thinking he'd come out of this alive.

When Esfir spoke it pulled him somewhat from his nervosity, but her words didn't do much to boost his confidence and thus he replied with a nervous "me too."

Then the freighter descended and came to halt on the landing pad before the cargo ramp opened and the first rebels ran out. Harkam inhaled deeply and held his breath as he watched two more jog passed him before releasing and standing up himself. "May the Force be with us," he said to no one in particular as he shut out the anxiety and went into, what he hoped was, his battle mode, as he ran down the ramp and towards the closest entrance into the depot.

@Minuteman75

 

[Varyn Rask]

The Sith Lord known mostly commonly as "Darth Corax" had come onto the scene nearly as mysteriously as the Emperor himself. It was no secret to those few who knew he existed that the man was a skilled fighter, but what was a mystery was where the man had derived his authority. The Sith Lord appeared on a scene with authority that always superseded those of the individuals on site, he executed his task, and was gone as quickly as he'd come. In other words, he was like a phantom.

More importantly, until the sudden flash of a security code cylinder that granted the Sith Lord access to whatever he wanted in an instant, few even knew that the man existed, which was precisely how the Emperor wanted it.

The reality of the situation was that the existence of "Darth Corax" was nothing more than a misdirection. It was a persona Varyn had adopted many years ago to cover a slew of questionable deeds for the Venatori. Now in order to throw people off of the scent of the Sith Lord's true identity, Dav Tesh would even periodically appear beside the Emperor wearing the armor to eliminate any suspicion they were the same man. Even his speeches on Holonet were masked behind a distortion of his voice that made connecting the two far more difficult without personal acquaintance. It was no accident on the Emperor's part. Not at all.

The beauty of the situation was that it allowed Varyn to see the true Empire. There was no pomp, procession, or ceremony when Corax arrived, and it allowed the Emperor to gain a true understanding of what was going on or even join an operation without garnering suspicion. And so, today he was Darth Corax, wearing the appropriate battle armor, and poking his nose around the far corners of his Empire.

These inspections didn't exclude even odd worlds that the Emperor wouldn't normally be seen at such as Klatooine. The planet wasn't the jewel of the Empire, but there were reports of Mandalorians on nearby worlds, which suddenly brought the planet into relevancy.

Along with the Sith Lord was the Acolyte he had met at the party only recently, though not in disguise at the time. Whether she had put together who he really was remained to be seen, though in her case it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. The Emperor had requested she accompany his Sith Lord personally. Call it premonitions of hazard, but Varyn learned long ago it paid to be careful.

I sense a disturbance in the Force, he said, tilting his head to the side. He couldn't put a finger on what it was, but people were... nervous. More nervous than people should have been even for a Sith Lord's visit. It reminded him of the apprehension before war, and that put him on alert even if he didn't know what caused it. @Logan @Minuteman75 @Ecclessey

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

The past few days had been exceptionally strange. Two mornings ago Aadya had awoken to a personal call from the Emperor himself. She almost thought it may have been Milo playing a trick on her, but as soon as she'd heard the voice on the other end of the line she knew it was far from it. She had heard the Emperor's voice before, at her party, and it was one worth remembering.

The assignment she'd been given was to accompany a Sith that she did not know, a man named Corax. Aadya had accepted the assignment as is without asking for much else. The details provided had been sufficient, though she wasn't surprised with the conciseness of the Emperor's request. He seemed... the type. Given the potential nature of Sith assignments, Aadya was wearing her armor and carried her usual weapons, her lightsabers tucked away neatly and securely out of sight.

When Corax spoke, Aadya nodded in agreement. She had felt the strangeness in the air, but she was inexperienced and had brushed it off as "maybe this was just that kind of place."

"Mandalorians?" She inquired, though it was pretty much rhetoric as there was no real way to know - at least not yet. It seemed the most likely to Aadya, though. The Mandos had been getting increasingly brave in their expansion attempts, and as far as she could tell the supposed "rebel alliance" was doing little more hiding in their holes, pitiful and useless.

Not that it really mattered, whatever was coming if it even was. At the end of the day, everything died the same.

@Ecclessey @Phoenix @Minuteman75

 

[Harkam Gant]

Harkam hadn't set both feets off the ramp when a sudden dread gripped around his heart. What the Kriff- He had never felt something like this despite master Swan's teaching on 'sensing the world around you' and it was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. "Stop-" he muttered, "-Esfir, stop." He knew she could hear him say it and the other rebels around him stopped as well, clearly surprised by the sudden expression of true unabated dread on his face. "I feel so-" his voice was unsteady and his hands started shaking, "-so cold and heavy, as if something is forcing me into experiencing my worst regrets." There was no better way he could possibly describe it having not experienced true loss yet.

Suddenly his eyes widened and he turned to Esfir proper, "There's a powerful Sith here." Too powerful if his mere presence could cripple Harkam like this. "But if I can sense him-" he looked back towards the depot, "-he can sense me, too."

The hearts of the rebel operatives sank with those last words and Harkam felt their desperation almost equal his own. However was inside could surely sense all of this, which meant their time was extremely short. "Get back in the transport, now!" Harkam cried and with some sudden courage he was determined to cover their escape if need be. He took his quick-draw pistol in his right hand and the R-5 in his left, pointing both at the depot with slightly shaking hands as he took one step back onto the freighter's ramp.


@Minuteman75 @Phoenix @Logan

 

[Esfir Radin]

Esfir Radin charged out with her fellow rebels. However, at few meters the armored woman halted at Harkam’s insistence along the rest of the team. Needless to say they were shocked by the man’s actions. Hearing Harkam’s next words caused further confusion until he turned finally explained. Underneath her mask Esfir’s jaw dropped at the mention of a Sith Lord being in the base. Questions flooded her mind.

A part of her wanted to believe the man was only losing his nerve and imagining things and yet. He’s force sensitive. She quickly concluded as it was the only logical explanation. Without further delay she echoed the other rebel’s sentiment. “Back to the ship!”

Considering they were not the rebels ran back inside and Esfir informed the pilot to get them airborne as the ramp closed up. Due to the entrance being closed and still some distance away no could see the would-be raiders from that angle. Of course the suspected Sith inside the facility would certainly have sensed the intruders by now. The freighter subsequently lifted off from the ground and with burning thrusters flew away into the sky facing the rising sun, obstructing any view of them.

//Exit

@Phoenix @Logan @Ecclessey

 

[Harkam Gant]

Nothing happened and for a moment Harkam doubted himself. Should they move to try and fulfill their mission now that no one came out to meet them? As a padawan his Force signature might not be so overt that the Sith could sense him? Harkam hesitated for the entire time that he held guard with his blasters aimed at the door.

Meanwhile all rebel operatives had returned to the ship and the small freighter was ready to go with a pre-calculated course to dodge any Imperial eyes. Slowly, Harkam stepped backwards and up the ramp, keeping his eyes and blasters at the door.. waiting for something to happen.

Was this the rebellion? Running at the first sight, or rather sense, of a Sith. The young rebel finally reached the top of the ramp and with his right pressed the button to lift and close it.

He stood silent in the cargo bay for a long time as the freighter took off and left Klatooine behind. He couldn't find another word for today's event other than...disappointing. Finally he holstered his pistols and began his short walk to the galley. He'd pop his combat cherry another time, then.

/exit thread