Onderon

[Delta73]

Delta's C-90 Corvette Marie exited hyperspace over the planet. His mind roiled, a decrepit ship, a darkness in Iziz. He boarded his ancient ARC-170, and departed for the surface. If this was some type of contest, it was definitely a strange one. Delta felt called to the port. As he landed he looked about, a large dark ship stared at him from across the port. His mind pulled him from his seat, towards the dark behemoth. He could already see another boarding the craft, and Delta quickly followed, fully armed to the teeth, in his armor. He was here to represent the honorable Black Sun in the coming mission. He walked aboard the ship, He was glad to have a helmet on with a clean air supply. There was death on this ship.

 

Delta73 was the second to board.....

[Delta73]

Delta looked at the people quickly entering the ship, it was quite the party. Mostly Jedi though, Delta watched them as they boarded. They all seemed a little staggered by the smells aboard the ship, it made Delta happy that he had a helmet on. Not matter how useful the force was, it was nothing next to a top quality air filter. Delta watched the newest pair of jedi as they arrived, he decided to investigate and walked towards them.

 

He did not count on the rotten corpse he had stepped on to stick to his leg. Somehow a rotten entrail had bound itself over his boot and brought him crashing to the ground in a heap of expensive armor. Not a good way to announce his existence aboard the rotting ship. He picked himself up and tried his best to brush of the mass of rotten organs off of his front. No matter, he walked towards them anyway. He approached the younger male, Arlan, and waved.

 

"Hello Jedi, I assume you're here because your mind called you to this place as well?" Delta extended his non covered in guts hand, "Delta seventy-three at your disposal."

[Delta73]

Delta fell into line with the others, his two E-11s out and prepared to blast anything that wasn't a corpse. He followed Arlan, keeping close to his back, yet keeping his eyes on the rear of the makeshift party, just in case a assassin or something thought sneaking up on a bunch of Jedi and a few others a good idea. Delta stepped into the turbolift with his new found allies, he gazed about the ship as it shuddered and groaned. The masses of shivering and bouncing corpses freaked him out a bit. Luckily, he had put his helmet back on, but the smell still lingered in his oxygen system. Gross.....

[Delta73]

The Marie and her assigned fighter and bomber escorts exited hyperspace over the ancient planet of Onderon. The black painted Corvette began to ping away with its advanced Pax Hustana sensor package in an effort to find and pinpoint any ships that could be labeled as hostile. Nothing came up immediately hostile, though a cluster of corvettes did draw his attention. Onderon space traffic control requested that they stand down their active arrays and power down the turbolaser batteries. Delta informed the commander of Onderon Space Command that they were not here to fight, but merely protect an asset from Jedi attack. They would not be firing into Iziz or any civilian ships. This seemed to satisfy them for the moment. Though Delta could not guarantee that space debris would not fall onto the world should there be a fight. The Marie began to charge its weapons and shields in preparation for a confrontation with any coresec vessels that might attempt to attack though there were none on scan. The scanner package began to feed Delta and the rest of the fleet a series of images and statistics of the distant ships as Delta began to transfer control of The Marie to the inbound AVATAR KAIN. He had his orders. He was to screen the fleet with the two wings of fighters and bombers, in case enemy reinforcements arrived. The rest of the overwhelming Sith forces would be quickly emerging from hyperspace, and if any battle occurred, there would be hell to pay.

 

He walked down to where his ARC was docked to the Marie and boarded it through the docking tube, greeting his crew as he buckled into the starfighter he had flown since training in the republic military. They were old ships, though having been rebuilt by the Black Sun and retrofitted with new weaponry and shields, not many were still seen in the galaxy. He believed the 12 that he was flying alongside were the last of their kind. As the docking tube detached he looked across the S-Foils to the overlarge cannons. Triggering the sensor jammers, he and his 12 ARC fighterbombers joined the rest of the starfighter wings.

 

 

To follow rules of the RP our forces have been rearranged to 72 starfighters and the two capital ships.

 

The forces under Delta were arranged as follows.

 

Delta’s ARC-170F Rebuilt Uriel

Black Painted

Armed with:

2x Proton Torpedos, 4 Diamond Boron missiles, 2 EMP/ION bombs

2x Forward Medium Laser Cannons

1x Rear mounted Laser Cannon

1x R4 Series Astromech (Nicknamed Mess)

1 Gunner (Nathaniel Burley)

1 Co-pilot (Caitlyn Liveria)

 

12 TIE Defenders, 24 TIE Interdictors established the space superiority wing. Classified as Grey Flight.

24 K-Wing Bombers and 11 Rebuilt Black Sun ARCs established the anti capital wing. Classified as Green Flight

 

For a total of 72 fighters including the Uriel.

 

The setup for the armament on the ARCs is here

 

[Delta73]

Delta glanced down at the screen readout that the TAC officer sitting directly behind him was feeding him and let a grin spread over his face. He triggered his comm to the Starfighter commanders and let his thoughts about the Jedi fleet’s retreat come to the very surface of his mind to relay it to the mindmeld. He could feel and hear the dark Lords response to the Jedi retreat and he relayed that to his men. As he spoke into the throat mic, a tinge of excitement came edging into his voice. “The Jedi Fleet is in full retreat, prepare for possible stage reinforcements, fall back to cover the Marie and the St Cathryne, if this is a trap to lure us off, that’ll be a bad move, I know you wanted blood boys, but we have an objective on the ground for extraction first and foremost. Let the big guys do the communicating while we form a screen in case any GA or CS forces want to play at fighting. Solid copy?”

 

A string of acknowledgements flooded through the communications headset and Delta banked the ARC to port and placed his fighter wing a klick planetside of the capital ships as the capital Iziz slowly rotated below them. He glanced across his readout, keeping an eye on the Jedi forces signatures as their hyperdrives began to spool up hundreds of kilometers out. Blissfully out of turbolaser range, it would take over a minute of solid burn to get to them, which would leave the caps undefended in case the Jedi decided to microjump back towards the Black Sun ships. Delta knew that they would see those ships again, they would destroy them then, when there were no Faustian adventures to play rescue for. For now his men kept an eye on their sensors, ready to intercept anything that came planetward.

 

Delta turned his head and triggered the flight comm to his two copilots, the TAC officer and main gunner. “TAC give us readouts on onderonian forces, give us vectors for attack. After you get that up get us a trajectory to Iziz, bombing and strafing runs programmed into flight computers throughout Grey and Green wings, call it pattern Omega. Calculate for maximum military casualties and infrastructure damage, label that plan for Green Flight. Also calculate secondary targets for maximum civilian infrastructure damage for Gray Flight." If the rescue mission went sour and their man was killed, they would have a backup.

[Delta73]

“Command lead one ex contact sunward side.” The smooth voice of the TAC officer came through the comm in Delta’s helmet and he looked down at his screen. A new blotch of yellow had appeared starside of Onderon on the map. He knew that he didn’t need to ask if its transponder was being run by his trusted Lieutenant, and with a quick keystroke inquiry to the Marie the shuttle came back out of Raxus Prime, to a John Skywalker, Sith Lord. Older than space dust code too. Confusing. He relayed this over the mindmeld and comm and began his course of action. Delta immediately turned his ARC towards the distant shuttle and punched engines to full. The 11 other ARCs and 12 TIE defenders went full afterburner with him as Delta opened a comm to rapidly approaching the shuttle. Leaving the K-Wings and TIE Interdictors to handle the Onderon Forces if things got shooty.

 

“Sith Shuttle, what is your business on Onderon, please follow current trajectory and join the Fleet over Iziz or you will be shot down. Please state your business, intention, and identity. Immediately.”

Delta and his fighters triggered their missile locks in an effort to push to message home. They would still be out of range for the moment, but it would light up the board for the shuttle pilot. What a Sith lord would be doing here, unbeckoned, unwanted, and uncontacted put a measure of concern in the back of Delta’s head, either this was an ally of Faust, or someone playing the dangerous game of deception. And if it were the latter, a diamond boron missile or three would end that conversation before it even began.

[Delta73]

Delta laughed at the typical Jedi self righteous arrogance that came flooding through his comm speakers. As he and his fighters swung around to form a guard around and behind the hulking Lambda, he toggled the comm again, his voice the heavy accent of a clone trooper that would be instantly recognizable for anyone that had watched enough old republic era holodramas. Holodramas that usually ended in the swift deaths of the Jedi celebrities when old Palpy triggered his death order. Delta had seen plenty and lived through enough of the real thing.

 

“I need no lecture from you Jedi Ardel, you are to be escorted to Iziz and you are not to make landfall until negotiations are finished. Solid copy Jedi?”

 

There was no hesitation in his voice as his ARC settled in a half kilometer on the shuttle's tail. The sensors in the shuttle would be chirping away as the fighters maintained target locks. Delta himself letting the reticle for the two medium laser cannons settle on the rear compartment engines of the Lambda and the red halo of the missile lock turn an ominous green. It would be all too easy to push the trigger and send another Jedi cartwheeling into the atmosphere. Sadly, he and the other pilots in the rear guard did not trigger their weapons, but kept the lock as they slowly began to follow the shuttle in a vector towards Iziz proper. The rest of the non assigned bombers maintained a slow approach vector towards the city and the Onderon Space Defense forces in low atmospheric orbit.

[Delta73]

As the mindmeld became aware of the OSC forces gathering from the jungle moon of Dxun, Grey and Green wings spun in unison towards them. The ARCs about a kilometer in front of the rest of the wings. With expert, trained precision, augmented heavily by the mindmeld, Delta’s ARCs activated their heavy sensor jammers and accelerated at half speed towards the IPV and the V-Wings. The silent irony of old model V-Wings squaring off against their upgraded brethren from the clone wars was not lost on Delta. The sensor jammers pulled a great deal of power from the cores of the ARCs, pulling them to half speed so the wings advanced in slow meticulous array towards the OSC fleet. As the sensor jammers hammered away at the enemies targeting scopes, the OSC forces would not be able to acquire lock on any of the fighters or bombers within the jamming sphere, preventing long range locks from any of the V-Wing squadrons or turbolaser batteries. Any gunners who fired at the Sith forces would have to do so without the guidance of their computer systems, missile systems, or guided warfare sensors, their systems overloaded with the clouds of jammers coming from the ARCs. This conflict would occur in the atmosphere between the two worlds if at all, which would be exceptionally dangerous to the Onderonian civilians below.

 

Delta and his pilots activated the homing and heat sensors on their launched weapons to enable once outside the sensor jamming field, the idea being that they could fire from range at the OSC forces without having to trouble themselves with the reverse. Once the missiles left the allied jamming, they would easily be able to acquire lock on the enemy signatures and drop them from the sky like so many meteors. Meteors filled with screaming, burning, human beings. The Sith and Black Sun pilots knew their jobs, and were unflinching in the face of a firefight over a civilian city, when the OSC fleet entered the optimal killzone, it would begin. Delta asked for orders again through the mind meld, he and his pilots ready to fire at the given command, their lust for combat and blood palpable through the force. If the OSC forces decided to engage it would be a dance of death. The question was…

 

Would the OSC blink in the face of destruction? Their IPV would get shredded, their pilots trapped in their old model V-wings blotted out of the sky in black oily blotches of fire, smoke, and viscera. If they managed to go EV after getting shot down they would be sky jumping into a sky filled with death. The pilots would know it, the IPV crew would know it. And most importantly of all, the Sith fleet knew it. The pilots in the mindmeld begged the Onderonians to face them in slaughter. They begged their Dark Lord to begin the decimation.

[Delta73]

As the CoreSec and Jedi forces pulled out faster than the Force with Shmi, Deltas two wings of starfighters continued their slow circles in front of the St. Cathryne and the Marie. The wind howled against the cockpit of the Uriel as Delta banked the ARC hard to starboard with a push of his foot, adjusting the pitch of the engines and the position of the ailerons to bring his fighterbomber to bear on the Onderonian forces. As the rest of the ARCs fell in behind him in ‘V’ like formation the TIE Defenders, TIE Interdictors, Scimitar Assault Bombers, and K-Wings fell in as well behind the jamming cloud. Resuming their same positions relative to the Sith fleet as they had when the OSC forces had been spotted. The OSC would have to issue a stand down order soon, otherwise, there would be quite the hell to pay. He and his men asked for orders through the Sith battlemind, begging for the chance to turn a thousand souls into slag.

 

Delta knew that Exodus and the others had a plan, a plan he would not deviate from, even if it meant throwing their starfighters against the mass of V-Wings that were gathered around the OSC Paladin. It wouldn't be much of a fight, the Sith would win, and the OSC could either surrender without loosing a thousand brave men and women, or they could go down with some semblance of hounour. Representing their state, their king, their world. Blotted from existence in the face of the Sith war machine. A pretty light show for the citizens who didn't have family members in the Onderon Space Command.

[Delta73]

As the voice of the Dark Lord filled his head Delta dropped his jamming field with a press of a button on his control panel. Below the cockpit, slung between the fuselage and the hardened outer layer of the crew section the Seinar Fleet Systems modified RC092 ECM integrated jamming package ceased operation. Power fully restored to engines, the ARCs shot into a dive over the city of Iziz, their sensors sweeping the landscape from the long double antennae that extended from the snub drooping nose of the black painted fighterbomber. This sensor data, matched and registered alongside the data from the more powerful but less precise sensors of the Marie soon formed a comprehensive 3d map of the expansive city. The operations commander, looking over the populating map in the projector bed onboard the Marie, indicated a possible location on the edge of the city, in the mountainous, wooded terrain that made up so much of the planet. It was a stable location, easily accessed from the air, with a view of the entire city and the damaged palace.

 

Within the hour, a large contingent of Black Sun Marines had secured the area and were busy stringing detcord from tree to tree in a kilometer wide circle. As the Marie positioned overhead, the marines detonated the cords, flattening the woody terrain in a rough outline for the Marie and construction ships to make a landing. Within another hour, the first prefab landing platform was erected by construction droids to mixed cheers of the troops on the ground. The fuel tanks were filled from reserves brought in from Mechis III, and within another hour, most of the starfighters were parking in flights to refuel. The ARCs stayed where they parked, their engines primed in case they needed to engage any GA forces that decided to counter attack.

 

Onderon Advanced Forward Base:

Multiple kilometers wide, the base would have multiple landing platforms for the air defense fighters to base off of. In the center of the platforms the tower that made up the majority of resources dedicated to making the base loomed. A large satellite dish reached heavenwards from its center, intended to quickly transfer communications from the core worlds to the expansive Sith Empire. Below the tower, in hardened bunkers, the central command station sat, its large map room showing the spiral galaxy in all its expanse, as the war planning department plotted attack vectors towards the Core. Below the landing platforms, the construction droids slowly erected large training stations to accommodate and train thousands of troops and pilots in the expensive sim stations.

 

When finished, this base would be protected by an expansive network of heavy turbolaser towers and point defense guns. With landing fields large enough for frigates and corvettes.

[Delta73]

Delta walked into the Onderonian Commander meeting with all the air and ceremony of a royal guard, his steps high and gooselike. He was dressed in the blood splattered uniform that he had worn during the so called ‘Naboo Crisis’ where he and a handful of others had slaughtered the Naboo royal family and a host of gungans in what could only be described by a local holo news agency as: “The greatest slaughter known to civilization.” That was of course pushing the description to ‘fake news’ hieghts, and many other acts of slaughter surpassed the event in pure body count a thousand fold, but Delta liked the holoreel and had kept it on playback throughout the Marie’s many holo terminals.

 

He saluted the great Hutt with a high Onderonian salute, arm outstretched and straight at an angle above his head, fingers together, palm down. The pink Coresec uniform in all its glory still splattered with the blood of a few ‘democratically elected’ princesses shone brightly in the dim battleroom light. He tipped the pink cap that contrasted horribly against his blonde hair and placed it under his arm before addressing the room. “Lords and ladies of Onderon, you are hereby occupied by the joint venture of the Sith and Black Sun. There is no reason to be alarmed. Everything will be just fine.”

 

He looked about and grinned roguishly, “Oh great Sheog, Lord of the Krath, the 7 sectors, and the Sithari first of his name, king of Nubia and all lesser beings, I believe we shall be hosting a ball in the main courtyard in a few days time and all are invited. Including that pretty little furry thing you have stashed somewhere around here.”

 

Grabbing at his collar, he tugged, ripping away the pink uniform and revealing his jumpsuit and blasterbelt. A handsome if a bit mass produced man. Ready for war, dining, dancing, and mercenary work. Not at all a famous terrorist or jedi killer.

[Delta73]

“RC-A2532-D73 reporting sir.” The words escaped his bleeding lips, swollen and split from a direct blow from another clone, a clone that was lying at his feet, moaning softly and blessedly unconscious. Bleeding from a broken nose and with a little bit of clear fluid running from his right ear. Probably CSF, Cerebrospinal fluid, from the knee to head blow that had laid him out. The poor man would be out for weeks from the ‘training’ injury. A completely avoidable training injury if they had practiced punching bags and targets instead of each other, but this is how their trainer had wanted them to prove themselves. The trainer, a Cuy'val Dar Mandalorian named Dred Priest and his girlfriend Issy, just nodded their approval and beckoned another pair of clones to begin their match in the other circle. When their backs were turned, Delta knelt down next to his brother and making sure his neck was stable, lifted him from the ring to the medical station. It was an effective method of training them for combat, even if it pared them down to half strength, it made them effective ARCs in the end. Or at least that was the hope. Two hours in a bacta tank later, and Delta was good as new, at least on the outside. His brother had expired from the blow he had given him, and that shook Delta to the core. It was his first kill, and it had been his pod brother.

 

The ring of a comm unit brought Delta swiftly from his reverie, it was from the Dark Lord and while it carried an approving tone, he knew that there were warnings written in it. A man of overindulgences? What was it that she had said to him so long ago…

 

Be careful of your heart Ca’Aran, it is precious to me, you were raised a slave to service and that dulled it. Don’t let it awaken to lust and greed.

 

Her words cut to his heart as they whispered across the eons to strike him again like an icy fist to his stomach. He kept reading until the end, ignoring for the moment the icy tendrils of memories pulling him into the past of a hundred years prior. He sat for a while at the feast pondering over his datapad, until he had written up a proper response.

 

 

“Lord Master of the Sith, the Dark Lord, I thank you for the opportunity and accept it in order to make the Black Sun into a force that together with your Sith Empire will bring the galaxy to heel. Without the Sith and your support, we may not have seen this new golden age, and for that I am forever in your debt. Please allow me to put down in writing some of my thoughts as towards our future together.

 

I propose a mutual Defensive and Offensive Alliance between the Black Sun and the Sith Empire.

 

Starting on Onderon, we will assist and bolster the Sith forces in building this world into the Beachhead from which we will conquer the Core. Though Black Sun’s assets are far and spread out, they can provide the necessary funding and logistics to supply the coming push.

 

If a Sith planet comes under attack by outside forces, be it the Imperial Remnant or the frail Galactic Alliance, our fleets, soldiers, and lives will stand to defend the Sith Empire. To further this goal of mutual defense and offense, I will be relocating the Black Sun fleet and capital to here on Onderon, where through our joint efforts we will establish a capital for both our peoples, From which they may conduct joint operations.

 

To further our goal of destabilization and making the maximum profit from a war, the first strike from the Black Sun will commence on the sole Bacta producing world of Thyferra in two weeks. If the world can be taken and held, we will corner the bacta production for the entire galaxy and can from there limit its export to the factions opposing us. Greatly reducing their combat effectiveness and moral. As we are still rebuilding our forces to full efficiency, I would like to request assistance from the Sith Empire in conquering this first target.

 

-The Blood prince”

 

[Delta73]

High over the world of Christophosis Delta’s ARC-170 whirled in intricate cohesive patterns, not a regulation maneuver but he was after all a Republic Commando and in the modified Recon ARC on long distance patrol behind the enemy frontier. And the navigator behind him was his Jedi general, who he was currently trying to impress by flying through the thickest parts of the planetary asteroid belt. Her laughter came from behind her fiercely clenched jaw as they finally slowed their speed and came to rest on one of the larger asteroids. With the shudder of the landing struts connecting with ferrite iron ore, they knew they were locked in. At least for the moment. He reached up to his console and activated the long distance low emission sensor array and positioned it towards separatist held space. The long antennae, slung underneath the crooked nose of the ARC cost upwards of 16 million republic credits, more than he or she would ever see in their lives, but it was a vital piece, able to detect hyperspace signatures within a few minutes of their arrival in the distant microjump point several thousand AU away which would give the Republic military the precious minutes or hours to prepare for the inevitable separatist reinforcement of their blockade of the planet. On the planet below, Delta knew that troops, jedi, and materiel were running dangerously low, and that without the Republic counterattack all would soon be lost. The asteroid belt was well patrolled by droid starfighters and Delta and his passenger knew that they would be here in cold vacuum for days if not weeks. The third passenger spot, usually occupied by the tail gunner was now filled with crates of rations and an o2 generator. Enough to last them for at least two months of constant operation.

 

It would be hell. But such is war.

 

Then suddenly the control panel lit up like an Alderaani fireworks display. Something capital class had just made a forward jump right as their last sensor ping had reached location. It was heading planetside, and according to the computer’s calculations would be at the Galactic eastern approach within ten minutes. No time to warn the fleet, though he did send his findings. The report bounced back within a minute.

 

Engage with the weapon.

 

He looked back to Kailen and she bumped her helmet on his. The antimatter bomb was powerful enough to take out such a ship, and instantly if its shields were down. Delta gulped down a swig of water and was about to close his T-visor when Kailen worked her way around his seat and kissed him.

 

For luck-

 

For luck....

 

Delta looked up at the door as it whisked open to let a beautiful feline through, her white fur sparkling in the harsh red light of blood spattered glow lamps. He grinned roguishly and pulling himself finally from his stupor, extended his black gloved hand. As he walked around the now cleaned off benches he apologetically spoke,

 

“Ma’am I am glad you could join us, sorry for the mess, the maids should be here shortly. I know that this level of destruction may not go over well, but I assure you, you will not see such a slaughter on Onderon again. I am Delta seventy three, Leader of the Black Sun, at your service. ”

 

As if to accent this statement, the cleaning droids began to finish their last bits of repair and wiped off the glowlamps. Now there were no more bodies to get in the way. And now business could occur with no fear of getting one's shoes wet with discarded human remains.

[Delta73]

Delta triggered the comm unit attached to his arm armour and spoke into it at Zalis.

 

“Hey girl, long time since we have killed bothans together, land at bay 4892 and come join the feast. Dress up, this is a super formal event. Totally legit.”

[Delta73]

Delta let his grin fall into a slight frown at her words,

 

“You mean to tell me that you have no rooms? Stately or otherwise? I can take care of that right away free of charge of course. I have three suites available aboard the Marie, all are over 2000 square feet and the height of luxury. Some even have controls for point defense cannons on them so you can fight from the comfort of your own bed.” He winked agressively, “Though you can always share my quarters if the prince doesn’t mind.”

 

He laughed, and took a deep swig of brandy from a goblet.

 

“So tell me about yourself Miss Feline.”

 

At least she wasn’t a bothan, those dog headed creatures disgusted him. Cathar’s on the other hand...Well surely Qaela wouldn't mind, she wasn’t human after all, so no extra bastards to worry about if things went wrong.

 

______

 

Wrong.

 

Deactivate it, that's a refugee ship from Honoghr, please God deactivate it

 

It's too late my general...Too late.

 

Delta's voice in all its lack of emotion echoed through the decades to pummel his ears. Then the antimatter bomb went off in a giant explosion that swallowed the previously unregistered refugee ship and its half a million Noghri in a blink of an eye. Dragging innocents into the abyss with no regard for age, gender, or background. A warcime unprecedented in its time, only to be eclipsed by such things as the Caamas Firestorm or Base Delta Zero attacks carried out by the Empire later in the coming decades. But for now,

 

The silence was defending from the rear seat, and Delta could hear Kailen sob as she tried to choke back tears or rage and desperation. Her presence in the force completely withdrawn.

 

War is no place for a Jedi. They are not prepared to live with the choices that have to be made. Delta could justify it, and he did just that before the tribunal, but Kailen had never been the same.

[Delta73]

Delta’s eyebrows raised and he took another bite of his food as the girl wandered off. She reminded him of a young Qaela, full of misguided malice and bitchiness and prime for the hunt. He ran the girls name through the database and set up flagging so he would know if she popped up anywhere else. She could be useful, though he was generally tired of people ignoring his questions and pissing off to do other things. He looked over his account billing and ordered another Victory Star Destroyer to be made at Mechis before finishing his dinner and going on a walk. His feast a complete and unattended disaster. Such was life. He considered sending Jaina another unanswered comm but figured that would be too stalkery.

 

Several hours passed like Nal Hutta Molasses before his datapad chirped and indicated the the feline had been checked into the trauma ward. He laughed, and set off on a brisk walk to the hospital where he entered her room just as she was stirring awake. She looked in very poor shape, her fur matted in places and a good deal of IV's hooked up to a mainline in her neck. She was also wearing bindercuffs that indicated that she was probably in some kind of protective custody. Which would explain the man who had tried to stop him from getting in. Which would in turn explain why said man was slumped against the outside wall due to a triple stun bolt to the groin. He coughed lightly to wake her up if the blaster discharge hadn't already done that and feigned looking away from her state of undress, though he had already made sure to memorize every detail. He made a scene of flipping through the many paged folder that hung on the end of her bed before letting out a low whistle.

 

"You've been through hell and back little cat, being the gentleman I am, I should tell you I have come to rescue you from Onderon Security." He tossed a sheet over her body to keep her dignity and began the task of dismantling the soft restraints that held her firmly in place for eventual interrogation. At the sound of a human scream from the doorway he leveled his large caliber blaster pistol at the nurse who was standing in shock at the door.

 

"Now be quiet my sweet. You haven't seen a thing."

 

He let out a wicked grin and gestured with the gun to a chair.

 

"Now let me and the kitty do a quick chat, followed by just as quick escape..." He eyed her and his brow rose slightly, "She will also need your clothes. All of them so pip pip get on with it."

 

_____________________

 

Elsewhere the construction of a Golan III defense platform begins over the planet of Onderon with the ETA of 11/15/2017

[Delta73]

The Marie was lovely in its dark paint job, silhouetted as a dark shadow against the bright moon of Dxun. It green ridge mountains distant flecks seen through two thick atmospheres. As the shuttle pulled up to the dorsal docking portal Delta was quite pleased to see that the hull was still in pristine condition, the sleek curves of the added engines and power reactor made for a beautiful variant of the often used CR-90. It was home. Or had been for the last decade since the departure if Silas, Kayal, Piccolo, Crosa, and the rest of his old team. They were sorely missed, those old partners in crime who he had shared his early days as a fresh agent with. Now all gone, dead, departed, murdered. This ship was all that he had left of that era.

 

And now here he was dragging a beautiful kitten chick on board, with her bodyguard in tow, with a great deal of strangers following him in. He surrendered the lady cat to the medical Droid who quickly gave her a medical clearance before letting her back into the ship, free to wander or attend the briefing.

 

He looked across the gathered section of men and women of the crew, as well as any of the crew that Ailbasí may have brought. He noted the new Onderonian Nobles that had also accompanied them up and spread his hands in a large gesture across the starmap in the center of the room. With his fingers he indicated the large swath of space that represented Hutt Space.

 

“My Sith lords of Onderon, loyal crew, agents of The Black Sun, and beast Riders, welcome. As you may have heard, the old empire of the Hutts has fallen against imperial might. This leaves a power vacuum in their exterior operations including on the small isolated world of Tatooine. We will strike there with the full fleet while the Golan is under construction overhead. Any and everyone is invited to participate and show their worth.”

[Delta73]

The Marie’s command center was packed to the gills with the lords and nobles, various mercenaries called from the surface, and the ex leader of the Black Sun Zalis. Who Delta was glad to see. The breathing mass of men and women sat or stood around the starmaps as Delta outlined his plan for the quick and efficient seizure of the outer rim territory of Tatooine. Though not originally thought as important in the smuggling realms, the lonely desert planet would become the lifeblood of smuggling in the outer rim territories under Black Sun, supplying spice, slaves, and ill will throughout the now relatively undefended outer rim and colonies.

 

With the destruction of the Nar Shaddaa smuggling rings by the woeful imperials, it was time for the Black Sun to strike. Within moments of finishing the planning phase, the entire Black Sun Armada entered hyperspace towards the distant sandy world on the edge of the Arkanis Sector.

[Delta73]

"Ahh, Tros Ardel, most powerful of the Mandalorians to walk this side of Concord Dawn, welcome to the Free state of Onderon. Attached to this tightbeam is the order of battle against the coming storm. Familiarize yourself with it, and win or lose this will honour the Gods of Battle and war. Please join the fleet staging point aboard the Black Sun Golan III and prepare for action should we need it. We are expecting Jedi, Remnant, and Galactic Alliance to attack us here. Please be wary of your entry path towards the Golans and the planet, it is treacherous. In the packet, which is provided to our fleet commanders is the exact location and density of the field, as well as the locations of hyperspace entrances from both the Core and the Black Sun staging."

 

The voice of Onderon Space Command, routed through the Black Sun Golan, was crisp but welcoming. Likely coming from a beautiful young lady of noble birth. The package of data and plans was also placed into the hands of the Trandoshan Hunter, who was bidden to join the fleet and prepare for a great hunt.

 

Before the mighty Mandalorian Hunter lay the vast expanse of the Japrael system, the second planet of which was considered the jewel of the Lesser Lantillian Route, the main fueling and staging hub for the entrance to the core worlds. The two Golan III Space Defense NovaGuns belonging to the owner demesne of the system, were great dark blots against the twin jewels of Onderon and Dxun. Intimidating space stations, the Golans were each bigger than an Imperial Class Star destroyer and well armed. Before them, covering any approach were the minefields set up by the daughter of Ar-Pharazon and the minelayer Hellespont. The system was locked down and prepared for whatever bitter siege the Allies could muster. If there was to be a war, it would be a bitter one. The one approach past the Golans and to the surface was filled with civilian traffic, and big enough for a single star destroyer to pass through, all the while under the watchful eye of the two Golan’s mighty guns and siege torpedo launchers. Should two attempt the pass, one would stray into the minefield and be destroyed. Or at least that was the idea.

 

Next to the Twin Golans the Sith and Black Sun Fleets stood in readiness. The Black Sun Nebulon B2 Canto Bight Fiasco, the CR-90 Hellespont, and the Agave Totenkopf II waited for fighters and smaller ships. The Canto keeping a constant low-band communications signal to the distant main fleet of the Black Sun. While the Sith fleet Warspite, Sunder, Chronoweave, and the flagship The Bleeding Kyber also stood in prepared battle state. Their high frequency sensors pinging out into the depths of the Japrael system. For now only finding dust and debris.

[Delta73]

“Hey Delta, I have a present for you. Where are you at?”

Where am I at? Girl im trying to get to a prisoner to see if I can get any.

 

The commlink buzzed again annoyingly and cut Delta’s ambitions to see the oh so sadly now childless and very single and alone miss Jaina Jade Skywalker in her cell or where ever the dark lord was keeping her. But alas, that would not be. For now Delta strode through the depths of the Super Star Destroyer Black Scarab, his bodyguard and he dressed smartly in black Katarn armour with crimson capes that turned the heads of any female in the area. With a twitch of his eye, Delta activated a return comm to Zalis, the head of the financial and money making wing of the Black Sun.

 

“Yes ma’am, I am aboard the Scarab, How can I help? I hear we have lost Bespin?”

 

_________________

 

On the surface, shuttles were retrieving the thousands of Alliance prisoners and securing them for transport to holding facilities at the Black Sun complex next to Iziz. Its large sensor array peaking above the treeline some one hundred meters in the air. It was busy beaming coordination data from the fleet to the surface, as well as tightbeaming holonet recordings of embedded Red Dawn and Black Sun reporters to Ord Mantell.

[Delta73]

“Well we win some and we loose some Zalis, sad about Bespin, but you know we can always take it back when they aren’t looking. And I’ll be honest I have no clue who Yuri On Ice is or what their report is full of, i’ve been running a warzone here and we will be running straight into another one soon enough. I’ll try to find the Dark Lord and my daughter, they are probably somewhere on the Scarab so join me here.”

 

He didn't mind the Black Sun Vigo all that much, in fact he had died beside her on a whim just to smoke some furries, so he wouldn’t mind her company for the next journey. He continued his very long walk towards wherever this long dark corridor brought him. As he composed a message to the Dark Lord on his wrist mounted datapad.

“The Victory has cost us little and brought much pain and death upon the Tripartite pact of Jedi, GA, and imperials. My Lord, we are on the verge of victory and we must continue our press into the Core before they have a chance to rebuild we must strike their allies while the Iron is hot and bring the Empire to ruin. I submit the target of Kuat as a place to begin our assault on the Core. I eagerly await your reply, also say hi to Jaina from me. Thx - Blood Prince”

[Delta73]

“Well Zalis, we were thinking of kicking in the empire’s teeth with a swift and decisive battle at Kuat if you were interested, though such a thing may not be suitable for a lovely lady like yourself.” He winked viciously and pointed to the twin star destroyers Erdgeist and Mephistopheles, “With our numbers, as well as the Sith fleet, we can lay waste to the uppity empress and her Remnant once and for all, seize the shipyards of Kuat-” He accented this by grabbing hold of her hips and pulling her into an unwanted embrace. Until he could whisper into her ear with laughter on his voice. “-The Trellent Trade Route, Balmorra, Neimoidia, and situates the Colonies and the outer core firmly in our hands, in your hands rather to exploit however you desire.” Some Sith deck officers were watching with open mouths and one looked just about ready to dial for the constabulary to file a ‘me too’ complaint in Zalis’ favour. But Delta knew that she could very well fight for herself, and fully anticipated a knee to the groin.

 

He laughed again and released her, running a hand through his short cropped hair. “Can’t you feel it? An awakening? Our victory is almost at hand!”

 

________________________________

 

Outside, the Fleets began to form up, refueling and aligning hyperdrives with the Sith Fleet to make for Kuat. Victory was only mere hours away.

 

Information packets were distributed to all Black Sun Agents, Mercenaries, and allies that had taken part in the last few battles detailing orders, codes, and rendezvous points outside the Kuat Sector.

[Delta73]

Delta produced a flask of amber coloured liquid, sickly sweet and 70 proof, it was a kind mixture developed during the short cycle R&R times the clone troopers got in order to get as happy and as drunk as possible. It usually only took the user on a ride of less than an hour, and with very little hangover, though there was always copious vomiting.

 

“Perhaps little lady we can party after we kriff that empress into the dirt.”

 

He laughed heartily and raised his arm, with a few button clicks the Assembled Black Sun fleet finished their formup and the joint fleet commanders were alerted.

 

“All hands, we make for Kuat, rendezvous will be along the trade route to Commenor.”

 

He signaled the Mad Hutt and his Sith Legions.

 

“My lord we strike now before the element of surprise is lost, I will see you on the battlefield.”

 

Together, the two leaders of the Black Sun boarded the Star Destroyer Mephistopheles and made for space.

 

Black Sun Combined Fleet.

 

2 Sith Kyber-class Star Destroyer Erdgeist and Mephistopheles

3 Victory II-class Star Destroyers Red Hussar, Silent Spring, and Sariel's Judgement

2 Modified CR-90 Corvettes The Marie and Hellespont

1 MC30c Cruiser St. Cathryne

1 Nebulon B Frigate Canto Bight Fiasco

1 Agave-class corvette Totenkopf II

1 CR90-class corvette Rhodes

[Delta73]

A message arrived for the King Beyond the Stars. That beloved and feared Lord, the spider with his web of darkness. 

 

"My Lord, Black Sun calls for aid, it appears the last remnants of those Jedi ad Rebels have come together as one to rescue their empress. We are currently outnumbered and require your assistance." 

 

The call was short, but Delta hoped his years of loyal servitude had earned him some help. 

[Delta73]

First off, let me just appreciate the work both of you did in retelling a homage to the ‘Trinity’ and the battle of Gala. Having reread that fight after a first passthrough and then rereading this fight again I must say it is a fitting addition, both sides having shown tremendous growth in both character and writing ability. 

 

My only complaint was that actions can sometimes get lost in the midst of dialogue and perhaps highlighting them could have been more helpful to the mod teams. However it does ruin the aesthetic of the posts so I understand why it would not be included. 

 

Now on to a ruling. 

 

While both characters used quite a few actions in their posts it is to be expected as both are master level PCs. Ryu’s attacks were succinct and feasible in the environment of the last duels aftermath. His three main attacks (Debris launched via warhammer, the warhammer hammer itself, and the lightsaber) were dismissed entirely by Draygo. While it is normally a good idea to not take massive damage in a single post duel, completely ignoring your opponent’s attacks is not the direction you should take.

 

Draygo’s two attacks (A grapple followed by placing a lightsaber hilt against Ryu’s chest) while a feasible attack it should be noted that this is a closed attack. (posting successfully completing a grapple is posting the effects of an open ended attack which is disallowed in the RP.) While obviously not intended abusively, it does tip the duel in Ryu’s favour. 

 

As such Kakuto Ryu is the winner and may have the next post.

[Delta73]

The alarm klaxons echoed throughout the Onderon System as the Sith Imperial Fleet emerged from hyperspace over the dual planets. Initial scans told the engineers in orbit everything they needed to know about how the assault on Corellia had gone. Though the fleet had lost many support ships, the gaping holes in Goliath and other star destroyers told the story of the firefight. Perhaps, they thought, the Galactic Alliance had finally found a spine.

 

But the fleet was not wholly disemboweled. The majestic Kyber class Star Destroyers had not been left in smoking ruin in the stars. The commanders had seen their men through the worst of the fighting, and they would see them safely docked at the emergency yards in low orbit. 

 

“Scramble them an escort, bring the reserve fleet to bear. And the Ion cannon online. We do not know if the Rebels are pursuing.” 

 

“Command!.”  Came the confident voice of a lieutenant from comms, and all eyes glanced to her. Feeling the sudden press of eyes, her countenance shrank but she pressed through the embarrassment. “Reports from the automatic fire suppression systems and AI in the interior of the Goliath report blaster fire. It appears the command ship may have suffered from a Jedi or Rebel strike team.” 

 

The Governor nodded. 

 

“Then we will send a team of our own.” 

 

___________________________

 

“Now follow through.” Delta shook his head as he watched the young woman squeeze her eyes shut as she pulled the trigger. The bolt sailed into one of the stone facades that made up the old black sun and now Sith Marine quarters, showering splinters of stone into the grey dirt. He let out a laugh as did the Marines relaxing behind him in the shade of a barrack door. The target was, as of yet, untouched despite the girls best efforts. 

 

She groaned and placed the pistol onto the granite countertop before looking ashamedly back to Delta. He held up a finger to ward off tears or apologies then extended the arm to pull her into a close hug. 

 

“You are still closing your eyes Æthe. Work with sergeant Liminsdurn after dinner on it. But I see improvement.” 

 

She nodded and then returned the hug. And Delta could feel the little droplets of unacknowledged tears against his chest. He sighed and patted her red hair, making sure to not hit the thin styled cybernetic unit that stretched along the backside of her head. Connecting from temple to temple. “You are doing great Æthe.” He pulled the hug tighter for a moment before letting her go. 

 

“Thanks Dad.” 

 

Her grey blue eyes met his and she gave him another hug before sticking her tongue out at the marines behind him. That was greeted by a chorus of laughter that Delta happily joined in on as he watched her run away back to the command quarters. 

 

Then the siren sounded over the courtyard and he was sprinting towards the barracks. 

 

___________________________

 

“Bring us in slowly, there is still a lot of electricity in the area.” 

 

Delta’s voice was muffled as he leaned over the shoulder of the pilot in the shuttle. The naval pilot nodded silently as he pulled the shuttle into the destroyed hanger bay and Delta got his first sight of the ragged interior. 

 

“Mag locks on, move in bounding cover.” 

 

The rear hatch dropped and the marines of Echo company moved in formation down the ramp. It was a damn horror show, bodies floating, girders collapsed and whole sections of the ship were open to space. But there were no signs of active resistance. 

 

“Midicos are clear for entry, start triage. Tag any Jedi or Sith bodies.” 

[Delta73]

The elderly Y-Wing bomber’s engines sputtered for a moment as a long string of green energy impacted the starboard nacelle that held the engines firmly to the battered chassis. Hands played fitfully over the controls as the bomber began to loose power but not its forward momentum. The starboard engine was not reacting to any commands, and the central power core itself was beginning to go out. Likely coolant lines cut by the TIE fighter’s aggressive blast. 

 

“R3, get me a full diagnostic.” 

 

But the grey metallic surface was looming closer. How many seconds before they impacted to the side of the trench? Ten? Five? There was a whistle and the controls beneath her hands began to react, though sluggish, she was able to slowly pulled the stricken Y-Wing out of its suicidal low arc. Feeling the controls buck horribly against her hands. The blasted thing was falling apart. But without engine power she was still less maneuverable than a lambada shuttle…

 

“Can you cut power from weapons to the engine repair?” 

 

DING

 

What the...

 

“R3?” 

 

DING

 

Oh 

 

DING

 

“Halt simulation.” 

 

The Y-wing fuzzed into nothingness and the “Y-Wing Death Star Assault” logo appeared over where the Y-Wing had been. She blinked once, then twice and it all faded away. She was staring at a stone ceiling and laying in bed. She brought a hand up and disconnected the thick cable that was pinned into her cybernetic unit. Twist then pull, then she snapped shut the cable and charging inputs before she sat up. 

 

DING

 

It was the comm unit that Dad always kept on the table. She jumped out of bed and ran to the unit, slapping the ‘acknowledge’ button as soon as she got to the comm. The words were mostly lost in the low bandwidth but as they repeated again she cocked her head to the side and let the automation take over. A few dials were turned and the message came in clearer. It was a distress signal! Her fingers flew over the keyboard, letting the comm unit do its own triangulation to give an approximate location. Many miles away. 

 

“MO34?” It took a few seconds for the nanny droid to respond in its usual huffy tone. “I can’t get a hold of Dad on his personal comm? Is he still on a mission?” She could have just checked the military archive, but it seemed better to ask before she used Dad’s codes again. 

 

“Yes he will not get back until 1400 tomorrow according to the secretary AI.”  

 

An Idea began to blossom in her head. A dangerous idea. An idea that would make him proud. An idea that her programming fought against with every tooth and nail. But after all what was ‘personal choice/responsibility’ really for if you never disobeyed your programming? That shut the little protesting voices up and Æthe let a slow smile crawl across her face. She took a step back from the comm after she typed a quick response. MO34 turned her pale yellow photoreceptors on Æthe and let out a little robotic gasp. 

 

“Misstress Æthe, surely you don’t intend to go after this woman!” The red haired girl simply smiled and walked towards one of the locked closets where her Dad kept his armoury. The droid hurried to intervene, placing itself between the girl and the armoury door. “Æthe 43391!” Why did she use those numbers? The sound of them caused a flash of anger and she paused for a moment before firmly kicking the robot in its padded chest. The droid spun on its repulsors and crashed into doors, crashing through them before coming to a sputtering stop. Its yellow receptors fading to black as Æthe stepped over her into the expansive closet armoury. 

 

She selected one of the large DC-15 pistols that her father had kept on the wall, along with the harded kydex holster that went along with it. She threaded it through her belt and grabbed a poncho and cap that had the dark crimson star of black sun on them. Both were too large but at least the cap covered the bulky cybernetic unit. Which Æthe was glad for. She grabbed a medical kit and stuffed it into her backpack before she retreated to her own room to get fully dressed. 

 

Sitting down on her bed, she slipped on the heavy leather boots she had gotten for her lifeday then plugged an automation cable back into her head. 

 

“Computer. Full emergency medical download.” Her eyelids fluttered and she could sense a large amount of the virtual memory she kept blank get suddenly filled with a large amount of data. It was an addicting feeling. She considered accessing the battle mechanics and training that were heavily restricted but decided against it. She would get enough trouble for battering down Nanny. No reason to get in even more trouble. It wasn’t like the forests of Onderon were that dangerous. She withdrew the cable and tucked it back into its wall slot. She double checked the signal location before she walked into the attached garage. 

 

She selected one of the two seater swoops that her dad kept and slipped her datacard into its ignition slot. 

 

“IS THIS AN EMERGENCY?”

 

“Yes!” She yelled in frustration. And the swoop roared to life under her. No doubt it would send a ping to dad, but there was not much she could do to help that. His friend needed a rescue. He couldn’t be mad about that right? The garage rolled open and she accelerated slowly out into the dirt roads behind the barracks. She let the automation direct her movements and before she knew it she was closing in on the abandoned suburbs of Iziz. 

 

That caused her to slow as soon the overgrowth was lashing endlessly at the bottom of the swoop. Scratching it’s bright white paint to a dull grey. She took another few turns and soon she was mostly surrounded by gnarled trees and the long shadows cast by the setting sun. Everything here was so overgrown. Abandoned. A creepy feeling shot up her spine as she pulled the swoop up fifty meters short of the triangulated SOS. The woods were thick now, and very little light penetrated the overhanging branches. There was little or no sign of life.

 

She pulled a glowrod from her backpack and snapped it on. The pale blue light illuminating the looming old manse, half drowned in a swamp of mud and roots. It had likely once belonged to a great princely house. Now long destroyed, but its elegance still clung to the grounds like a mist. She gulped down a mouthful of water and shone the glowrod on the house itself as she began to walk towards it. Slowly wading through the mud as she neared the entrance. 

 

“Hello?” She called in a voice that echoed dully off the overgrown walls.

[Delta73]

It was so dark and dank in the building that it caused a shiver of disgust to tingle up her spine. Diagnostics thundered their reports in the back of her head as she stepped through the front door that she had pushed open. Immediately she could feel the sucking mire clinging to her boots and calves but nothing in the diagnostics explained the sudden howl of fear that peaked in her stomach. It was an easy thing to suppress, the cybernetic unit helped overcome the fear with a quick suppression of her nervous system but that also came with a dulling of her other senses. Immediately the smell of rot faded as did the sour taste in her mouth. The air still felt oppressive, but she couldn't figure out if it was some kind of humidity trapped within the old walls or some other danger sense. 

 

Still she couldn’t be afraid right? She let her eyes trace up the grand staircase until they settled on a young woman in a slightly outdated dress from the imperial era of Onderon. Was it unusual? Not really, Dad had kept all kinds of old uniforms, some of them from the republic of all eras but this woman carried with her a tragic elegance that Æthe knew that she could never hope to compare. She had a beauty in all things, like a faded rose she carried herself with grace and sadness. Or was it sadness. Æthe couldn’t tell but the voice caused another impulsive shiver up her spine that the cybernetic unit could not suppress. 

 

She took a step forward and the mire sucked up to her calf. She grimaced then pulled off the cap she had taken from her father’s armoury. She tucked it into her belt and gave a half bow that was more manners programming that anything she could identify. It felt like it fit the situation though, and she found herself half wishing for such a pretty dress…

 

“I am Æthe.” But it was incomplete. Did she even have a surname? She thought for a second before continuing. Settling what she perceived to be her dad’s last name, though she did not know the Mandoa’ that would have made it intelligible.  “Æthe uhhhh Aran. I came because my dad got a distress signal….” A little bit of doubt began to creep into her mind and her side of the conversation stuttered out. How could she say that she just up and came because he was busy? Was this even the person who had called? Programming told her nothing. And she was at a loss for words so her confidence slipped. But she did take another step forward. Almost involuntarily. 

[Delta73]

How long has it been since recovery operations? Sixteen hours? Twenty? Delta couldn’t know, sure he could have looked at the multiple data packet reports that were waiting on his datapad, or he could even ask his team who all looked about as tired as he felt. His clear blue eyes flicked around the helmetless faces in the shuttle and settled on Lieutenant Hensi’s exhausted face. Like many of the old guard of Hellkite, Darkhand, and Lima One before it, she had come from the upper echelon of the Black Sun commandos. They had a long and storied history together but even her grey eyes told him nothing of her thoughts. 

 

The Dark Lord had been very badly hurt in the Corellian campaign, and beside it all Delta could only feel that it was his own fault. Didn’t everyone? If he had only been there. Her eyes narrowed for a second and she blinked away her tiredness. 

 

“Don’t think of it that way.” 

 

He tapped the barrel of his E-22 in return, feeling the heat warped metal through the thin pressure gloves he was wearing. 

 

“I can’t help it Sigrid.” 

 

There was a snapping sound, like someone had just snapped their fingers in front of his face and the smiling face of Blacktorin leaned in beside him. 

 

“She means it, it’s not your fault he took a fight like that. He and we will know for next time. THe Empire survives.” 

 

Another snapping sound and Sigrid wiped a stream of black blood away from the corners of her mouth with the back of her glove. Redheaded Blacktorin tucked a lock behind a blood drained pale ear and smiled. The gums showing white and bloodless at the base of her white teeth. Snap! And he was pushed violently sideways, his head smacking into the bulkhead with enough force that a flash of lights overcame his vision. He furiously rubbed the posts out of his eyes and saw the very concerned face of Langraf leaning over him. 

 

“Be quiet or you will scare the men. We are all tired, but do not speak to ghosts right now. Please.” 

 

Oh. That was right of course. They were dead. Sigrid against that blasted Jedi, and Blacktorin back on Mon Calamari. He gripped Landgraf’s hand fiercely and hauled himself back into his seat. The men and Women of Darkhand pretended not to notice. Their eyes avoiding his gaze. 

 

“Your datapad is firing on all cylinders Ca’Aran.” She whispered, indicating the blinking lights on his arm’s armour. A priority message from The Nanny bot that normally cared for Æthe.

 

“Spast.” 

 

_____________________________

 

The Swoop bike hummed delightfully as the pair zipped over the receding swamplands. The roar of passing air was like a hurricane in her ears, but Æthe didn’t much care. She had a friend now after all, even if her appearance was bizarre, and her attachment to her Father even more so. 

 

But as they neared the barracks she started to slow down, The shuttles were back, and the sight of the blonde man standing in grey armour at the garage door, brought her hopes for something new and interesting crashing down. Even his arms were folded. She sighed and brought the bike to a skidding halt in front of Ca’Aran a flush already building behind her freckles. 

 

But he wasn’t angry. 

 

______________________________

 

“Æthe!” Delta shouted, the extreme tiredness now beginning to return to his voice with the newfound relief of seeing her alive and well. And who was that behind her? He strode out to the two of them and hugged his daughter before reaching out to the waif-like woman who was her companion. He let a smile flicker across his face. A sad smile of relief.

“I did not know I would see you again so soon Ailbasí“ And he gave the bow expected of a soldier to a Sith Master. 

[Delta73]

“And just what was holding you back?” 

 

The flashing red light and siren blasted any good attempt of conversation away and left Delta with little room to talk. A quick glance at his comm and attached datapad told him it was from the medical hospital about a kilometer away from the barracks. And As he considered the opening move, the majority of his strike team came boiling into ranks in front of him and miss Zirtani. He gave her a wary and friendly smile before dismissing Æthe with a glance and a quick hug. Then he looked out at the tired mass of men and women. 

 

“All right we have a possible containment breech of a high level force user. Possible Jedi Knight or Corrupted Sith Lord. Whatever was on that spasted star destroyer, looks like we brought it back with us. Medics, administer Medperanazine. As per protocol.” He gave his men an apologetic look and mimicked a shrug. “Sorry for the letdown tonight lads, nothing else we can do after a 20 hour deployment. Drink water and get into the transports. When we get home we will have a party and work off the drugs okay?” 

 

They all saluted. Armoured arms crashing across their chests in a melody of noise. 

 

“Surround the hospital and prepare strike teams. Myself and our Sith Companion here will make first entry and discern the danger. You know those Sec boys, They are notoriously jumpy.” 

 

And as a unit they moved to the short hop transports. Delta escorting the lovely Sith Lord. When they were seated for the less than a minute flight he held out his arm so that she could see the screen of the datapad that was mounted there. 

 

“Kakuto Ryu. If you know the name it means the hammer is right behind it. There’s a statue of him on Korriban you know. One of the old trinity at the battle of Gala. When the music starts its a damn tune to dance to.” 

 

So he was either an ally, or a very dangerous enemy. But he found himself grinning at her despite it all. Whichever way this went it was good to see her again. 

 

And the shuttle touched down outside the hospital with a flurry of blown dust and small branches.