Ask Who Dunnit

[Altair Din]

Though waking up next to Celeste after a cozy night in the blankets under the stars was exquisite, it came with mixed feelings since he had to return to the academy. He was already getting blown up on his comlink by his fellow officer recruits warning that he would be in trouble. Altair ignored most of it, cuddling with Celeste and lounging around till the absolute last minute.

“Next date, huh?” He asked with a grin as he recalled her words from the night before.

It wasn’t long before he was dressed and ready to go. He even decided to forego his morning training so he could spend more time with Celeste. After promising to see one another again, he boarded a ship to head back to Ziost.

—
Obroa-Skai​

Altair was not pleased in the least. He had a battalion with him composed of tanks, droids, IAF soldiers. There were also TIE fighters and bombers that hovered in the atmosphere, spilling out from a frigate. While there was no naval battle anticipated, the Sith had a penchant for showing up overprepared than not.

“Can’t we just light ‘em up?” Lt. Aval, often the officer Altair left in command, asked him. The tiefling shook his head.

“Apparently one of our own is down there,” Altair explained with a hint of irritation, “Went to negotiate but it backfired,” He rolled his eyes as he walked over to put his helmet on.

“Ugh, why do they bother?” Aval sighed as the shuttle lowered to the planet.

Within moments, Altair and his battalion were on the ground. Almost at once they were met with resistance from Chazrach warriors. The reptilian soldiers were ferocious and served the war mongering humans that now controlled the planet. No amount of diplomacy would work here as the takeover had been with a militaristic coup. The citizens lived in terror and Sith had been sent to change that. Of course, no amount of kind words were going to get the current leaders to give up their power.

His soldiers engaged the groups of Chazrach on the field while Altair and five men broke off from the thick of fighting, “We need to extract the Sith diplomat from here,” He explained to the others, “We don’t know if they have the diplomat as a hostage or if they’re somewhere safe,” Altair already hated this mission. Anytime there were complications like this, it meant there couldn’t be a clean battle and victory.

Worse yet, he had a guess as to who the diplomat in question was. This was a fool’s endeavor and few Sith would risk even bothering. If it was who he thought it was, she would be even more furious that an entire army and naval support arrived on the planet. Altair sighed and pulled up his official radio and broadcasted on the channel used by Imperial missions, “Champion Din and a battalion have landed and engaged the enemy. If you receive this, ping your location immediately for an extraction. Over,” He said curtly as he looked up at the battle going on. Every now and then he used the Force to either light several of them on fire or bodily toss them around for his soldiers to exploit.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Obroa-Skai


What happened before...​

Another diplomatic mission...or at least that was what she had intended at first. Obroa-Skai should be brought under control, but the ones from above had decided that if the ones in charge were not laying down their arms, the Empire would answer with force. Celeste had directly received the orders to stay back and to refrain from trying to open another potential diplomatic negotiations, but she had switched off the comms and had headed down towards the planet anyway. She knew the inhabitants were hostile and violent and the Empire was attempting to bring in order, yet Celeste was convinced there was a different solution possible...

She was fairly convinced that whoever gave the orders on the planet could be persuaded, either with convincing arguments and out of free will, or she would mind trick him into giving in with ease, but once she had maneuvered the ship down, she had soon learnt that this planet was a Rattatak-level problem...but even worse.

There had been chaos everywhere and she had literally fought her way into the great halls where this so called leader was residing and she had already lost a few of her own men while doing so, which was why she had stormed inside while already being decently enraged. She was not wearing her senator attire, but her normal Sith uniform today because she was definitely here to represent the Empire, even though she had obviously broken protocol...

She had surely had had better days...Celeste was never someone to easily lose her temper, but as she had confronted those rebellious idiots she might have lashed out a little bit. Through a slight performance of her power she had at least established a decent level of respect and it seemed like they had at least tried to listen, yet she wasn't even close to making any progress at all. There was something like a short ceasefire between the two opposing parties, yet neither seemed to trust the other...

Now...​

"Milady...there are...well Imperial troops approaching", one of her Officers had informed her, "maybe you should open the comms". THE WHAT?! His last remark was a display of pure audacity and if glances would be lethal, the Officer's heart would have immediately stopped as she furiously glared at him. Since she wanted to avoid getting blown up just like that, she had switched the transmission on again though, internally fuming as she pushed the button. "I've got in under control, so whoever I'm speaking to, back off immediately!", she hissed into the comms, not actually caring who was receiving her reply, because the situation was already quite tense within those halls and she did not want it to escalate. She had no time to discuss anything via the comlink, yet before she could consider any answers, the leader started laughing.

All she had wanted was to avoid further conflicts, but the leader was still rather rigid, yet open to discussions at least. Or so she thought. "Under control? We are not bowing to that filth. Look what the Empire does! They came here to bomb the whole planet if we do not accept your terms!", the one in charge had replied and well...technically he had a point now, but that was only true because some idiots had decided to follow her after she had made if perfectly clear that she would deal with them.

Celeste was well aware that she could get punished for having disobeyed like that, but she had been too stubborn to refrain from trying. "They will not, if you would simply listen. We could work that out...All we want is to establish some order and stability while-" she tried again, but while the leader began to scoff, his men began to roar. "There is an army...even naval troops. We'll fight until the last men and we do not care if we die. We will not surrender!", he said again, his laugh just mocking her and everything she had tried to establish here...Meanwhile she was even more furious that the Imperial troops that had shown up destroyed all of her last efforts...She literally had him close to where she wanted him to be, but now all her attempts seemed to have been in vain.

Well..no...If she was being honest to herself, she had seen a few signs...Unlike on Rattatak, she did not have months to strategically plan here. The planet had missed an ultimatum and it seemed like there was no chance they would surrender...especially not under these new circumstances. "One moment..." she said to the leader that was carrying a huge maze with a fake, polite smile, before she stepped back a bit, suddenly remembering an interesting detail about the reply she had recieved. "Did...did you say Champion Din is in command of that endeavor?! Send him here, I'll meet him outside". That...couldn't be fucking true, could it?? She inhaled deeply before she somehow tried to keep her cool, yet it got more and more challenging. If that was really Altair out there...no...that simply couldn't be. Maybe she had misheard that after all...

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Governor Stythani has..erm.. Requested that we back off,” An officer reported to Altair while he yanked his spear out of a Chazrach’s head. The tiefling growled in frustration, making his way over to the officer as he wiped his spear off on another dead body’s armor to clean the blood, “Inform the Governor that we just caught a group of locals planting explosives on her ship and that the situation was never under control.”

He glanced up at the officer and paused for a moment, “Wait, did you say Governor Stythani?” He scowled “Why ain’t I shocked,” He gruffly said under his breath. Within moments he was informed she would meet him.

The leader Celeste was meeting with was just buying time to sabotage her. The Imperial boots on the ground was just the icing on cake to justify things. While she left to meet the aggressors, he gave a few orders discreetly to his men.

Meanwhile, Altair was waiting outside, some of the fighting coming right up against the building. He took his helmet off, his hair sticking up in odd ends from sweat and blood around his mouth from the hits he took. He glanced over when he spotted Celeste, not having seen her in some time. Before he could say anything, another warrior began to run towards him with a sword raised. Altair whirled around and hurled his wan-shen directly at the man’s chest. The soldier was pierced mid run and lurched back to the ground with the spear protruding from his heart.

Altair spat a glob of blood on the ground before looking up at Celeste, “I hope this wasn’t your idea of a date,” He said with a grin as he wiped off his mouth before using the Force to yank his bloody spear back into his hand.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste's gaze had shot back at the Obroan leader who still had a smug grin on his lips. He didn't like any of this, yet she had no choice. Well not anymore. Her rage was boiling up from inside and those around her already gave her a careful, slightly intimidated side glance. They knew well that they did not want to see her angry...as rare as it was, they were all approaching dangerous terrain. Not that she couldn't control herself, but her own men knew that things could get slightly unpleasant for the leader.

She was about to open her mouth again to 'negotiate' with their leader when one of the Officers whispered something in her ear which made it even worse. "YOU ARE DOING WHAT?!" she hissed into the direction of the apparent dishonest humanoid with the shit eating grin on his lips as she furiously glared at him. Judging from his reaction, he was already guessing that the news about her ship had reached her and all of a sudden, it was as if the temperature in this very room dropped a few degrees.

She stepped forwards menacingly, so that the grin slightly began to fade from the Obroan in front of her, but that was when another Officer informed her that the Champion with the familiar name was approaching. "We're not done here" she growled at the leader, before she turned to the troopers. "Keep an eye on him. No one leaves this hall" she ordered before she walked into the said direction.

The very moment she spun, she could already see how someone very familiar removed his helmet. So it was Altair indeed. Fantastic. She was unfortunately not at all in the mood to talk to anyone right now and she did not even want him to her like that, especially because he had probably already been informed of her disobedience. It was not that she wasn't happy to see him -quite the contrary: she hadn't seem him in a while and they had been supposed to meet under different, much more pleasant circumstances- but this...was a problem.

She was still furious and frustrated as the negotiations hadn't led to anything yet and now they had a whole damn army on Obroa-Skai. She approached him with big steps, her walk confident and assertive, but as she opened her mouth to answer, she fought hard to suppress the anger in her voice. His remark had managed to make her snort, bht her amusement was still rather small. "No...definitely not. What the..." she sighed, "What are you doing here? I said send back the army, I will bring the situation under control" she replied, but it was still half a hiss. She stopped in front of him, glancing up with that headstrong fire still burning in her eyes. When looking closely, he would even see small hints of golden to ember shades mirrored in her usually light blue eyes. She hadn't been this on edge in months...no years even, but what the kark was he doing here...and why him? Somehow his grin made her even angier...had he known she was down here?

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had never seen her angry before and it caught him by surprise. However, he was not fazed by angry Sith women and had dealt with a fair amount of them. He didn’t miss the golden glint in her gaze and even that didn’t rattle him. Instead he calmly wiped the blood off his spear as he looked at her, “If you had it under control, I wouldn’t be here, darlin’,” He fired right back at her, “Some of the people that accompanied you sent out the distress call. I didn't come here just on a whim,” Altair stated flatly. Celeste had a very stubborn streak to her and he knew she would try to use words to get her way even while being threatened. Fortunately, others around her had some more sense.

“I’m here to take you back and take out the current leader,” He told her as he slung his spear over his shoulder. He barely got the words out when a group of soldiers broke through some of his Imperials and began to fire blasters at the two Sith. Altair jumped into action, his wan-shen deflecting the bolts as he put himself in between Celeste and the incoming soldiers. He popped his helmet back on, addressing Celeste while his back faced her.

“Are you gonna tell me where that fucker is or are you gonna be a pain in my ass?” Altair asked in his modulated voice while he deflected a few more bolts. He followed up with sending a concussive blast of the Force towards three of the soldiers, sending them flying back into a heap towards his Imperials.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Even though his smug grin was just adding fuel to the fire, she forced herself to breathe deeply. Usually, she would have been extremely happy to see him again, but the circumstances in which they were reunited were literally terrible. Celeste was not only on edge and slightly injured, but also deeply frustrated, not only because an entire Imperial army was now here on Obroa-Skai, thus complicating the issues further, but she also had this rigid leader waiting inside who had obviously tried to play with her.

She was angry that she had tried to give him a fair chance to accept their terms, yet he had prefered to abuse the slight trust she had offered him and she would make him feel her wrath soon enough...yet with those unsuccessful negotiations, she did not find herself in the best position right now. She was about to calm down when he suddenly adressed her in that passive aggressive, obviously teasing manner, but today was not a day for such bantering for her. "Altair...I was just about to get it all under control. I would have bent his will in the next few minutes and no blood would have to be shed like...that" she gestured to the blood on him and all around them. "You don't have to take me back, I'll finish my mission" she added with slightly gritted teeth while she warningly glared at him.

She was about to turn around and leave, wanting to finish her business, but that was when they were assaulted right on the spot with the enemy soldiers breaking through. The calmness was immediately gone and she let out an extremely annoyed sigh before she sprang into action, too. Regardless of the diplomatic nature of her own mission, she hadn't come unprepared and so the lightsaber was immediately in her right hand before she redirected the blaster bolts at the causers. "I think you know the answer to that, sweetheart" she replied challengingly, now a slight smirk appearing on her lips before she sent the first Force Push into the direction of the violent attackers.

The fact that they just blindly started shooting at her was not helping at all and it was basically just justifying Altair's statement, yet she was still stubbornly convinced that she would turn things around here, as long as Altair and his men would stay out of this. Regardless of how pissed she was, she was accepting his 'help' right now since she didn't have much of a chance either as they were standing amidst of the ongoing fight, but Celeste was still insisting on not just letting him take out the leader and be done with it. While dodging a few more blaster bolts, she skillfully moved around him to have a better angle at the next few attackers that had managed to break through, before he already met one of the attacker's with her ignited lightsaber.

She had dealt with the Obroan swiftly before she glanced over to Altair. "Killing their leader doesn't help. He has a vice and many officers, so it wouldn't change too much as they will just continue" she outlined flatly, ducking under a swing from a Chazrach who had just approached her with a loud roar. She pushed him back before she hit him with a horizontal slash that let the hissing, violent attacker hiss and sink down to the ground in pain. "I know what I'm doing" she hissed determinantly, reaching out with her left hand to stop a blaster bolt that came dangerously close to the Tiefling.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“They back whoever is the toughest,” Altair said as he ducked under a swinging club from one of the chazrach that got a bit close. He swept the reptile’s leg to make it topple on its back shortly before plunging his spear through the heart, “Kill the leader and his officers and the rest will fall in line,” Altair yanked his spear out. None of this was under control and he knew it. He wondered if deep down inside she did too.

“Celeste, you need to tell me where he is,” Altair said again, using the Force to throw back another group of soldiers. Up ahead, he could see several Imperials lying dead and rage began to course through him. The tiefling was about to speak again when a giant explosion erupted not too far from them. The blast would send both he and Celeste flying back to land in a heap. Altair sat up and patted out the flames on his legs, looking over to ensure Celeste was all right. There was a high pitched ringing in his ear from the explosion as he coughed and slowly rose to stand.

“This is Rattatak but much worse,” He explained as he looked at the thick smoke rising from the explosion, “The leader had sent orders to sabotage you and everyone that came with you while pretending to hold talks,” Altair grabbed her hand and began to step backwards as more explosions erupted.

“Stop being so damn stubborn, Cel!” He called out as he looked around. From the looks of things, they were rapidly becoming surrounded by chazrach soldiers. Altair reached for his comlink, addressing his men, “Where the fuck are you? Send Bravo Squad to the citadel!” He cried out as more explosions erupted. The area outside of the building was quickly becoming a war zone.

“Bravo’s en route, sir, but it’ll be at least ten minutes!” Lt. Aval commed back, “Do you have the Governor?”

“Aye, but she’s resisting and bein’ a god damn pest,” Altair commed back loudly enough for Celeste to hear.

“We need an air strike, sir! We can’t keep engaging on ground! Too many of them!” Lt. Aval cried back, “Knock out the Governor and bring her if you need!”

Altair briefly looked at Celeste, “Trust me I’m strongly considerin’ it,” He responded while slamming a fist into a Chazrach’s face hard enough to shatter its skull. They were horribly outnumbered here and he knew just the two of them couldn’t take out the surrounding forces. It was clear the leader had planned for a fight all along.

“That man just wants to serve your head on a platter to show the warlords he can conquer Sith,” Altair said to Celeste in the middle of fighting, “Not everything can be won with words, god damn it,” He added through gritted teeth, growing frustrated with her defiance even in the middle of a crisis.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

As he replied she couldn't help but to roll her eyes in a very annoyed manner. He may have been a solider, but she was the diplomat and politician and she saw many parallels. "They won't. You need to deal with all the higher ranked members in command" she stubbornly insisted through gritted teeth, growling as someone suddenly sprang at her from behind. The attacker pressed his arm against her throat, obstructing the air flow for a few second while she rammed her elbow backwards, however a flash of pain shit through her as the joint hit a part of armor. Gasping for air, she coiled the Force around her once again, just to release it in a forceful blast that was aimed right at the assailants head as she diagonally reached behind with her left hand. Simultaneously, she twisted her lightsaber around with a flick of her wrist just to cut him on knee level, which was already enough to make him let go and her spin around and behead him as he tumbled forward with a groan.

Coughing, she turned around to face Altair, beginning with a "I will, once you-" but she was already interrupted by the explosions that hurled them through the air. For a moment, the world was silencend her body felt numb. She blinked a few times, her vision slowly adjusted while there was only a ringing in her ears. Started, she raised her head, still stomach first on the ground before she pushed herself back to unsteady feet, summoning the lightsaberback to her hand as it had landed a few feet away. While slightly staggering she looked over to Altair, her own body bruised and scratched in a few areas.

As soon as she could understand his words again, she confidently shook her head. "They don't want to be overthrown and they do not get that we are just trying to establish order, but they'll soon understand" she insisted determinantly again, reluctantly following him as he yanked her away. "Let go" she hissed feistily after a few steps though, quickly patting the dirt from her clothes before she glanced around them. It was funny how right now his touches were extremely infuriating to her, while she had barely managed to keep her hands off him those few weeks ago.

"We are surrounded" she admitted frustratedly, knowing exactly that he was pissing her off on purpose right now. "Seems like your Bravo team isn't so reliable when it comes to punctuality...I'm glad we're not about to be overrun right now" she sarcastically remarked as she shot him another dangerously angry glare before she finally redirected her attention onto the action up ahead. She was immediately involved in action again, outmaneuvering the first attacker with a few agile, yet slightly staggering steps before she disarmed him with the Force. "I can...and I will" she clarified again, her words almost spat while she was still involved in the heat of the next battle. "This is exactly what I do, so piss off and let me finish my mission" she snarled, furiously frustrated with this bickering and this fucking fight. If he would really decide to try knocking her out, the Tiefling would have a huge problem. How could he be so stubborn right now anyway? And who the hell had decided to send him after her. It was more than ironic, but not in an amusing way.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“They don’t give a fuck about establishing order,” Altair snapped back at her as he continued to lead her away from the chaos. However, when she made a comment about Bravo company, he suddenly released her hand. He turned to look at her and she would know he was glaring at her from beneath the helmet, “Bravo Squad is delayed because they were clearing out the forces attempting to sabotage your ship,” He said through gritted teeth, “So how about you stop being a fucking brat and start using that big, diplomatic brain of yours? Clearly it hasn’t seen much use on your mission so far or we wouldn’t be here in the first place!”

He was angry now and it was abundantly clear even in the way his tail was flicking back and forth. Thankfully there were plenty of enemies for him to take his rage out on and it showed very clearly in how he continued to punch and smash in faces and chests. Blasterfire erupted all around them and in the distance he could see Imperials attempting to fight their way through swaths of soldiers.

Altair yanked his spear out of another Chazrach before he addressed Celeste again, “I’m going to order an air strike,” He said flatly, “You can stay here and get your ass blown up or come with me. This ain’t a discussion,” He growled before ducking as an ax was swung through where his head had been. He slammed the attacker in the solar plexus to make him buckle before driving his horns into the underside of his jaw, killing him instantly.

The tiefling drew back and channeled the Force before blasting out with inferno. He ignited one of the chazrach and used that to throw him into another to spread the flames. This began to create a column of fire as Altair reached for his comlink, “I’m drawing the main forces. Prepare a strike,” He said to the aerial units. That was when one of his men commed back.

“Sir! We intercepted the local comms and Kaz Davon has issued an assassination order on the Governor!”

Celeste would hear this - Kaz Davon was the warlord she was meeting with and trying to convince.

“He’s summoned all his forces to bring him her head! We must guard her at all costs!”

“What?” Altair growled before looking at Celeste, “Go on, go hand him your head so you can stop annoying me out here,” He sarcastically pointed his spear at the building for her to walk back. Funnily enough, he used the Force to blast back several of the reptilian soldiers that attempted to attack her just then, making it clear he had no intention of letting anything happen to her despite his rage.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The more he said, the more furious she got. He wasn't even making sense! Yes, until now nothing was under control, but claiming that there was no way to fix this was just a straight, stupid lie. She dodged another spear, a force grip tightening around the Chazrach's throat as she yanked him away, squeezing his windpipe tightly enough to let him start gasping for air before she forcefully hurled him away. "You're making me so anrgy right now! Where the fuck is your trust?!" she spat angrily, literally wondering how the kark things had escalated so quickly between the two of them.

Right now she literally wanted to compress his own throat to hopefully kick some reason back into the Tiefling, but there was no time for their bickering. His last comment about her not having reached its diplomatic goal made her burn from the inside, and as she spun around to face him again she was literally tempted to hurl him into oblivion. "You're such an insensitive ass right now, Altair!" she fiercely hissed while deflecting more blaster bolts with her lightsaber, those personal insults adding more and more fuel to her inner fire. She reached out to pull a dropped blaster into her own hand before she started to fire back, pressed back to back with him for a moment as she deactivated her lightsaber for a moment and clipped it back to her side. "It would have all worked out if the karking horned knight in shining armor wouldn't have arrived to save the helpless princess that wasn't even in need of help at all!" the governor sarcastically snapped back next as she yanked a few Reptillians around.

Not just their fight continued to be intense and the enemies kept closing in, but this air strike idea was just a cunning attempt of him to lure her away. "I'd rather get blown up right now" she feistily muttered though gritted teeth, however obviously following him away to move away from that area. Chaos and bloodshed was exactly what she wanted to avoid and now that was exactly what was all around and she hated every last part of that. "Don't you think-" she indignantly began, however she immediately went silent after picking up what his Officer reported. Her initial impulse was to skeptically tilt her head, wondering whether this was just another false assumption or conclusion, however the signs were...well...getting more and more obvious and she had to admit a few things to herself. "Oh I'm not doing you that favor" she now replied a bit calmer, a smirk forming on her lips as she still kept up the provocative bickering, however she didn't have a chance but to follow his lead right now.

Yes...maybe he had been right when he mentioned that Obroa-Skai aas even more hostile and aggressive, however she had still not giving up on her goal. She rigorously pushed another wave back before she quickly assessed the situation. They were still in a very tough spot but the field slowly seemed to clear, however right then a whole group of armored Obroan entered the current battlefield, a whole lot of them letting several blaster bolts free while the one at the far left had even sent a missile their way. "MOVE!" she yelled, nit quite sure whether he had witnessed what they planned to do as she roughly yanked him to the side, hurrying to avoid the brute force of the rocket if it would explode anywhere near them.

"You should have invited me to Bandomeer..." she provocatively teased after they had both dove out of the way, debris shooting through the air while the missile had fortunately generously missed its target, but as the new wave of blaster bolts came flying towards them, she did manage to drop the blaster, summon and reactivate the lightsaber, but while she managed to evade a few blasts and redirect a few that were aimed at him, one grazed her vastly unprotected left arm right at the biceps. The shot didn't go right through, but burned enough flesh away to hurt quite a bit, which made her hiss in pain. He would still realize that regardless of her deep frustration and anger, she was looking out for him.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Insensitive?!” Altair shot back incredulously, “I would’ve blown up this place from a ship if it weren’t for you being down here, you insufferable- “ he stopped there. His mother taught him better than to call women names, especially women he respected. Altair swallowed his words, once again taking his anger out on fighting his enemies. One of his attacks was particularly violent and he yanked out bloody entrails in his hand after his punch crushed right through a torso. He tossed the guts aside as he cast Celeste a sideways glance, “I’m flattered you think I’m a knight in shinin’ armor,” Even with the helmet, she would be able to tell he was grinning.

He was a bit focused on the bickering and missed the missile heading over. Altair felt her yank him away and they both just barely dodged the explosion. The blast sent them flying, landing into a heap before they had to return to fighting. Exhaustion was setting in and the constant fighting was starting to wear him down. He had taken a few hits and strikes, though the adrenaline rush kept him going.

Altair turned in time to see Celeste take a hit to her arm, “No!” He called out, whirling around to coil the Force around the neck of the attacker. There was a snap as the neck twisted and broke, killing the soldier instantly. The tiefling looked over and could see Bravo Squad finally approaching. They started to engage the soldiers and clear out the field.

“Okay, we gotta go!” Altair yelled. However, this time he didn’t wait for her to argue. Without warning, he abruptly scooped her up and unceremoniously tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He was in no mood to argue or talk, and he used the Force to spring up to higher elevation. Because she was over his shoulder, he had a free hand to keep fighting. He only hoped she wouldn’t struggle too much or it would make them both fall over in the middle of a war zone.

“We’re clear!” Altair spoke into his comms as he leapt over a hill and landed on the other side and behind some cover, “Execute the strike!”

Within seconds, there was a massive explosion as the starfighters loomed low and strafed and bombed the entire battle field. Bravo Squad was out of the way and would catch up later. Altair collapsed on the ground to sit down, Celeste rolling off him and plopping on the ground beside him. He took his helmet off and was breathing heavily, turning his head to spit out some blood again.

“You want me to bring your crazy ass to Bandomeer? Gonna try to diplomacy them away from Sith?” Altair teased as he turned to look at her with a smile. Behind them, massive explosions erupted and screams could be heard of dying local soldiers. He reached down for a medpack, “Lemme see that arm,” Altair said to Celeste in between heavy breaths, “You’re gonna be the death of me,” He shook his head with a scowl.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She wasn't quite sure whether they were finally approaching the calm after the storm, but as Altair stopped mid-sentence, she suddenly noticed that her wild emotions had literally gotten the best of her. She had been mean too, not fully able to control herself in that overly emotional, frustrated state and now immediate regret set in. She knew that this was neither the place nor the right time for extensive apologies, but while her anger directed towards him faded, a soft feeling of remorse set in. The feisty glare faded away and she already threw him an almost apologetic look, facial expressions softening before she couldn't help but to chuckle. "Yes...my horned knight in shining armor came to the rescue..." she sarcastically replied, but right after the words had left her smirking lips they were called back to action.

What happened within the next few seconds felt extremely fast and before she even knew she was hit, a soaring pain radiated from the affected area on her arm. "Those....bastards" she hissed, still using that arm to send another row of attackers flying, letting them all collide mid-air with force to incapacitate them for a while. It was right then that his team finally showed up, but the way he unceremoniously tossed her over his shoulder was making her cry out in complaints."I can run on my own!" she protested fretfully, however not physically resisting. She was scowling when she glanced around, ensuring that no one was firing at them while Bravo Team prepared its strike. There were just a few last bolts loosened as the majority of the enemies began to understand that they had to run, but only very few made it out of that radius in time.

Once on provisional safety, she was harshly tumbling towards the ground. She sat up mildly dazed, her arm still burning in pain while she smoothed down her hair and patted the dirt and debris from the slightly torn Sith uniform. "Oh of course. I thought you already knew me by now" she sarcastically quipped as she shot him a mischievous smirk, their initial banter almost forgotten for now. "Why do I feel like this will become a habit for us" she gestured around them for a moment, referring not only to their destroyed surroundings but also to their torn clothes and injured bodies and the fact that they had found themselves in a very intense situation again.

She tried to block out the pain-stricken cries of pain and terror as she knew that no one would be able to help them any more, her emotions slowly getting back under control. As he mentioned her arm she shook her head, simply brushing it off. "I'm okay. Go fix yourself. This is barely a scratch" it was only half true, but she was definitely more worried about him than about herself. "Wouldn't it be boring if I weren't?" she amusedly teased back, however knowing that they could have saved themselves some troubles and that a relaxed date somewhere else would have been the better choice for their reunion anyway. "Thank you, Altair...for saving me and I guess for not fully losing your patience" she softly added, genuinely grateful as she leaned over a bit, carefully placing a hand on his cheek while there was pure affection in her gaze as the ocean of her light blue gaze finally met his vibrant, purple eyes without that fierce anger. "We should...deal with that warlord and then get the fuck out of here".

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair largely ignored Celeste as she complained while he ran around with her over his shoulder. Thankfully she didn’t start trying to hit him or flail her arms to where they both fell. He was tired when they had a temporary break and he quirked a brow at her comment on this becoming a habit, “What, you’re gonna purposely fuck up diplomatic sessions so I show up in armor?” He asked with a grin. Altair simply rolled his eyes as she told him her injury was just a scratch. He didn’t fight her on it, using the medical supplies on his own injuries.

He paused when she thanked him, genuine surprise on his face. He had expected her to keep complaining or yelling at him, but this was unexpected. Altair’s tail swished back and forth to betray that he was humbled. He only smiled in return before speaking, “I know you can handle yourself. Don’t ever think I don’t believe that,” Altair explained. He felt her familiar touch on his face, the gesture spreading warmth throughout his entire body. He reached up to layer a hand over hers before he tilted his face to kiss her palm, “But if I’m there I don’t want you to have to,” He said quietly as he gazed at her.

The moment was shortlived as his comlink exploded with chatter following the strikes. There was a calm on the field for a moment as the enemy forces retreated for now. Altair jumped to his feet, extending a hand to help Celeste up. She would hear some of the chatter on his radio.

“We have an evac shuttle ready for the Governor! Sent you location!”

Altair looked at Celeste, “Will you please go with them and let me deal with Kaz Davon?” He asked, almost pleading and hoping she wouldn’t be defiant, “I can meet you in orbit after we clean up here,” Altair explained, placing his hands on her shoulders. It was clear this was an urgent situation and choices had to be made quickly.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She was pretty sure he would start arguing right away, but fortunately he accepted her comment about her own wound for now. The truth was that the adrenaline pumping through her veins was distracting her too much from the wound so that she paid no attention right now and so for now, everything was quite alright, concerning their unfortunate circumstances. "Oh definitely. You can count on it. I'm sending you a list with planets in advance though, maybe that's easier for you to schedule then" she replied with a mischievous grin, wiping a trace of blood from his cheeks.

His answer was surprisingly sweet and it seemed like all the rage had left him, too. This pure, affectionate Tiefling she had gotten to know was back and his words definitely touched her from the inside, sending an immediate warmth through her body. "I appreciate that...let's just say your arrival was unexpected and making things more difficult" she explained calmly, not mentioning the extremely bad mood she had had after those unsuccessful negotiation with that lying scumbag.

As the comlink chimed in she glanced over ber shoulder and over that cover, but it literally seemed like they had made it for now. She gratefully accepted his hand with a smile before she pondered on his words for a moment. The way he was almost begging her mixed with that super concerned look touched her, but she was hoping he would already know her answer. "I've started this. I've come here on my own, so I'll definitely help you end it. Don't worry, I'm not going to protect the bastard anymore, but I'm coming with you" she replied determinantly, her usual stubborn fierceness immediately back even though her voice was still rather soft.

She was dearly hoping he would not try anything funny and knock her out to get her off the planet without her consent...she was dearly hoping he wouldn't try that- for his own sake. Without waiting for a reply she nodded into the direction of the great halls and started to walk, her steps fast and confident as she dangerously spun her lightsaber in her hand. She was tired of those games now and if he had really decided to betray her trust like that, he would pay for that.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair sighed as she protested yet again. However, he didn’t argue back, “Fine,” He said as she began marching back towards the citadel with her saber like some sort of revolutionary. He fell into step near her, gazing ahead, “All right, here’s the plan I’m thinkin’,” He explained, “My soldiers will surround the exits and then you and I can-” In the middle of his sentence without warning, his fist abruptly collided with a precision strike against her temple. It was hard enough to instantly knock her out, but nowhere near enough to do any real kind of damage. As a Matukai, he had extensive training on subduing moves and this was one of the elementary ones. Since he was in the middle of talking, Celeste would have had no way of seeing it coming.

The tiefling caught her as she fell, switching off her saber to stash it back on her hip. Altair lifted her off her feet, carrying her back towards the shuttle bridal style. For a moment he glanced down at her unconscious form, gazing at her peaceful face for a moment. His gaze lingered there as he walked, a tender smile appearing beneath the helmet. He knew she wouldn’t forgive him for this, but he had his orders. Altair paused briefly as he looked at her, “I like you too, you little shit,” He spoke barely above a whisper, knowing she couldn’t hear. It was the only time it felt safe to say it.

Altair dropped her off at the shuttle, ensured it was guarded and stepped down the ramp, “Take her back to the freighter in orbit. If she shows any signs of trying to storm the ship bridge, jump into hyperspace and head right for Sith space.”

Lt. Aval shook his head, “Storm the bridge? You're really gonna leave her with me?” He grumbled.

“Yeah, I can only handle one pain in the ass during combat at a time and Kaz Dovan’s my target now,” Altair grinned before knocking fists with Aval and jumping off the ramp as the shuttle took off.

When Celeste came to, she would realize immediately that she was aboard a ship hovering far above the atmosphere of the planet. Within moments there was a knock and the door opened to reveal a human man. She would have seen him a few times before, but he wore no helmet this time, “Hi Governor Stythani,” He said slightly awkwardly, “I’m Lieutenant Aval, but you can uh.. Call me Jin. We’ve been asked to extract you as first priority before the full skirmish could begin. Is there anything you need?” He had been warned about her temper and was half expecting to be thrown across the hallway, his face betraying his nervousness.

Meanwhile, the city was being bombarded as Dovan’s men were being rooted out. Altair was in the thick of the fight and he and a small group of men were actively attempting to chase the warlord down. The latest intel suggested he was holed up in an underground base.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste had almost been certain he would try to argue with her and a wave of actual relief swept over as he didn't. He was saving her plenty of energy and she was absolutely grateful, as yet another discussion would have probably just made her angry anyway. She wanted to be all composed when she would reach that bastard again and so she went her way without questioning his acceptance. He began outlining the plan and her eyes remained fixed on the building ahead, her gaze concentrated and determinant, but before she even got close, a sudden strike not her out. Without warning, the Tiefling had let his fist collide with her temple and she lost consciousness before she even touched the ground.

As the blonde Govenor woke up, she felt herself laying on a field bed in a ship and it didn't even take a second before she knew what was going on. With narrowed eyes she massaged her temple but the headache was actually bearable. Celeste knew that as a trained Matukai, Altair was excellent and precise hits and he had apparently given her one of his finest displays of his skills. She growled furiously as she swung her legs from the bed and sat up. It didn't take long and the door opened and in came a human male who looked rather familiar. With a short glance downwards she realized that her lightsaber was still there...how convenient.

She immediately got up and closed the distance between them, her steps confident and intimidating while her eyes dangerously glistened. "Lieutenant Aval, where is champion Din" she determinantly demanded, forcing the man to step backwards as she warningly glared up to him. Her voice was icy and she was still trying to keep her rage at bay, but she was dangerously close to losing her temper. Altair had vehemently betrayed her and she was furious on the inside. A hint of that fury was reflected in her light blue eyes while she was quite grateful that the two of them were alone in that room.

She recklessly pushed him backwards with the Force, soon fixating him on the wall behind, but that was right after she had snatched his comlink. While she held him firmly with one hand she was not waiting for a reply, but instead she contacted Altair as she figured this would be the fastest way. She was certain he was still on that planet and if the warlord wouldn't have already killed him, she was dangerously close to fulfilling that task herself. "I demand a status report, champion Din" she snarled into the comlink, her voice heavy with anger. This fucking idiot...how could he have betrayed her like that?! How could he have been so stubborn as to actually knock her out to 'extract' her as planned. This would have consequences...Without knowing how many men were aboard this ship, they would soon leave the orbit and enter the atmosphere again, one way or another.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“This isn’t going to end pleasantly for you either way. I can make it slow or quick and it’ll depend on how you answer,” Altair stated curtly while he stared at the captured Kaz Davon that was now tied up in a chair.

That was right when his comlink went off and he saw it was from Aval. Naturally Altair answered it but instead heard Celeste’s grumpy voice coming through. The tiefling immediately scowled, “Damn it, woman, I’m in the middle of an interrogation,” He quipped back before looking at Kaz Davon again. Already he could see the warlord beginning to snicker before the man started to laugh. Before it could go any further, Altair’s fist collided with his face immediately knocking out a tooth. Kaz spat a glob of blood on the ground.

“Tell your little girlfriend she can join us and my men would love to carve her up like we always planned. But first, we’ll each take turns-”

Another punch across the face and more teeth scattered across the floor. Altair followed up with another slam to the gut that made the man vomit loudly at once. He started to dry heave and groan, his eyes watering. Altair had forgotten about the comlink so Celeste would hear all of this happening.

“Location of the other warlords,” Altair stated curtly. Kaz was wheezing now, blood running down the front of his chin and torso, “We already caught Arfon,” This was a bluff but it caused Kaz to suddenly look up in surprise. Altair knew he could count on warlords and their tendencies for disloyalty, “He’s singing quite a tale about you. Tellin’ us where your family is and how to find ‘em. I s’ppose you twist enough joints and everyone starts talkin’.”

Fear flashed across Kaz’s eyes, “No..You wouldn’t.”

“We’re Sith,” Altair leaned in closer to the man’s face, his demonic helmet and visor suddenly looking that much more intimidating, “You know we’re capable.”

“Okay…okay..” Kaz said in an almost pleading tone, “Please..please keep my kids outta this.. I’ll tell you everything.”

Altair looked at the other Imperials in the room, “Go validate the intel. We don’t release Davon until we do.”

Meanwhile back on the ship, Aval was rubbing the back of his head from being tossed back. He groaned as he shook his head and sighed, “Damn I don’t get paid enough for this..” He grumbled under his breath. He turned to look at Celeste, “Governor.. Please don’t blame Champion Din. We had orders to extract you. If he ignored those orders, he’d be punished for it. We only arrived on the planet because some of your aides frantically requested military intervention.”

Aval hoped against hope the Governor wouldn’t toss him again. He despised being put in this position and he would certainly chew off Altair’s ear for this later. For now, he had to keep her calm enough to keep from blowing up the damn ship.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

While she stared at the comlink, waiting for the device to spit out Altair's response, her angry gaze flicked towards the Lieutenant. This wasn't his fault...Altair had knocked her out without a warning and she was fuming because of him. It was wrong to let Lt. Aval - Jin, as he had introduced himself- feel her rage, but it was definitely hard to hold herself back. As his voice finally snapped back at her, she rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. So he was still on the planet...her eyes quickly flicked towards his Lieutenant again before she gripped the device tighter. "Of course you are" she angrily muttered under her breath, not letting go of the comlink before she grabbed the Lieutenant by his collar and pulled him with her. She muted herself, not letting any sounds transmit to Altair while she could simultaneously still listen to him though. "We're flying back down" she stated, her tone suggesting that this was a command and not to be questioned by anyone. She wouldn't argue with any of them and she didn't care who else was on that ship as she pulled him into the direction of the bridge.

As she kept walking, the Lieutenant stumbling behind her, she listened to the transmission by Altair, the warlords remark making her even angrier. The violence that followed didn't surprise her at all, but what was rather unexpected was the clever trick he pulled as he continued his aggressive negotiations. Altair definitely proved his resourcefulness, but this was only mildly soothing her. Same for what the Lieutenant said. Of course he had followed orders...most Sith did but she was not most Sith. Celeste had decided to fly to Obroa-Skai and well, even if her mission had failed, she had tried nonetheless. This was no excuse for Altair's behavior...knocking her out to get her aboard this ship had been more than rude and audacious. Did he have a choice though? Hmm. Maybe not. She would have accompanied him to this interrogation and she could not accept that he had taken this chance away from her and now regardless of how much she hated behaving like a 'classic' Sith, she would not leave those in command of that ship a choice either. "Tell your Officers to bring that damn ship down" she urged the Lieutenant before reaching the bridge, snarling as she did. She was obviously frustrated and still furious, but she was hoping she could avoid further conflict.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Aval groaned to himself. He was definitely not paid enough for this. As the Governor stormed past him, he quickly attempted to comm the people in the bridge, “Code red code red. Just as Champion Din ordered-”

However, he watched the Governor barge her way in and knew it was a lost cause. Aval stood outside pinching the bridge of his nose as the pilots began to flounder and stall. That was when the comlink chatter erupted to suggest that the attacks had been successful and the warlords were killed or captured. The Lt. heaved a sigh of relief as he walked towards Celeste, “There won’t be any need for us to go back to surface - Champion Din is arriving now.”

After a few minutes, a shuttle docked on the ship and Altair emerged. His helmet was off and he looked exhausted, his armor and spear covered in blood. It was clear he took a few more hits and strikes in the skirmish, but things were finally under control now. Aval led Celeste down the corridor towards where the shuttles arrived, desperate to hand her off and not deal with her anymore.

The tiefling stared at Celeste for a moment and wiped more blood from his mouth. He knew she would chew him out and quite frankly he didn’t have the energy for it. However, he also knew he wasn’t exactly fair in his approach in sending her up. He gave an exhausted sigh when they were alone in the hallway, “I know you’re pissed, but you left me no choice,” Altair said quietly, “I don’t wanna fight you over this. Mission is done and that’s what’s important,” He said as he stared at her and waited to see how she would react.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

After she had dragged the poor, actually uninvolved Lieutenant behind a slight trace of regret set in. Was she too harsh too him? After all, he was just following Altair's orders...so it did come back to Altair. That devious Tiefling. She didn't gave a single fuck about whether he had just followed orders or not, this had been not okay, and she would let him feel that sooner or later.

Before she could spiral deeper into that inner rage, Lt. Aval suddenly mentioned something that immediately alarmed the Govenor, and her right hand had already jumped down to her lightsaber's hilt, her muscles all on edge as she dangerously glared at him. She had already reached the bridge, with Aval bring behind her, but in this very moment she had expected stun bolts to fly at her from various directions. After she had already spun around, he had luckily given her news that at least slightly soothed her and without activating her blade she kept staring him down. "Oh is he? How delightful" she snarled in return before the Lieutenant walked her down the corridor. She tired to breathe deeply, however nothing could have wiped that scowl from her face in that moment.

Her gaze immediately landed on the exhausted Tiefling as he met in her in the corridor. His armor was stained, just like his skin, was bruises and blood scattered all over the places. Seeing him so roughed up let a wave of sympathy wash over her, but it still couldn't calm that raging storm of emotions inside her.

She forced herself to another deep breath as she waited for the others to leave while she just silently glared ar him. This was it. The literal calm before she storm. She waited for each and every echoing step in the metal corridor to die down before she began. The heat immediately rushed through her as she stepped closer, closing the small distance between them as she firmly grabbed him by the collar. She was determined, yet careful in order not to harm him further. "Are you fucking out of your damn mind Altair!?" she furiously hissed, however attempting to keep her voice halfway low as their conflict was none of their concern. "You betrayed me! You betrayed my trust and...damn it, how could you?! This wasn't about disobedience! You could have just let me come with you!". Her tone was definitely accusing and apart from the rage, he would definitely notice the deep disappointment.

@Sreeya