Corellia

[Qaela]

((Going to state that this was my initial reaction upon first reading that Faust's agent "surrendered" and that had I been here, I would have done this sooner. I am not following any sort of hints or OOC clues from Faust's subsequent posts: Qaela would have killed him moments after he "surrendered."))

 

Qaela was incredulous that Starlisk was being duped so easily. To be fair, she shouldn't be so surprised considering that he was willing to accept her so quickly, but to take the word of a being serving such as who they were facing was beyond folly: it was dangerous. This wasn't some random rampaging Sith they were dealing with. This Faust was on a level she didn't even pretend to be at, and unlike her, he had no goals but destruction. Even though this slave's attempt to attack them wasn't successful, they were foolish to attempt to take anything this man said as truth. She didn't react immediately hoping that Starlisk would come to his senses, but he didn't.

 

If Starlisk was going to be such a fool, she would have to rescue him. It wouldn't do for him to lead them all into a trap nor be led around by the Sith once again. Like their late grandmaster, would let himself be led around by the Sith and get himself and possibly many more killed in the process. It wasn't that she minded other Jedi being taken down a notch, it was that she didn't want to see Starlisk fall into that web.

 

Without effort, she reached out into the Force and applied a sudden, violent pressure to the captured agent's neck until three of the vertebrae shattered and the man fell dead. There was no more remorse in her than if she had squashed a bug. She didn't attempt to hide what she did and would accept whatever anger Starlisk had toward her, but not without explaining herself. "This man was useless at best, and dangerous at worst," she said blandly. "You may not be able to discern anything, but there is nothing near the level of darkness needed to do what was done on Dantooine present. If this man knew anything at all, he was leading us on a wild chase to throw us off Faust's scent or into a trap that might have been better planned than their last one. Faust is a master planner. Anyone who is capable of pulling off what he has so far is likely multiple steps ahead of us: well far enough to leave misleading agents to sow chaos."

 

She flung her arm outward and said, "Can't you feel the Force! The darkness is not here, it is somewhere else. I am astonished you cannot feel it erupting just like it did on Dantooine. It is calling to me, drawing me towards it, almost crooning for attention. We are following this one and he is leading us on a merry chase. It is pointless to continually react to his moves: we need to take the initiative.

 

"I know too little of this Faust, but you clearly know of him. You can't win if you only follow because he can strike wherever he wants and be long gone by the time we arrive. What are his traditional hideouts? Who were his friends, allies, or lovers? What did he fight to acquire or protect? What planets did he build his fortresses or temples on? What lands did he consider his own domain? We need to stop playing his game and go on the offensive. Hit hard and fast, without warning or mercy. Put him on the defensive and make him chase us or lose his backing. If he has no planets, strike at whatever Sith targets can be found. Sooner or later, he take interest in our challenge and come after us instead of leading us on a pointless chase around the Galaxy."

[Qaela]

The icy spear of betrayal was almost a comforting familiarity to Qaela by now. Starlisk was angry at her delaying them? She already knew that Faust wasn't here and told them as much. Could they not sense the great darkness erupting somewhere else in the Galaxy?

 

The man whose body now lay at their feet was going to betray them and lead them even more astray, and the Jedi would have fallen for it and gotten more people killed. It would not have surprised her if the man had a poison capsule somewhere on him or in his body and was waiting for the opportunity to kill them all. She had seen it before when dealing with Sith. In all likelihood, she had saved lives by killing the slave before he could activate whatever trap he had waiting for them, and now Starlisk was turning against her.

 

Several arguments sprang to mind, but with the tension coming from the CoreSec officers and the Jedi, she doubted it would work well. She swallowed the anger and indignation at being betrayed like this and turned it into a frosty core of fury. Clutching her spear in both hands and slowly backed up a few steps. She wasn't under any illusion that she could prevail in a fight like this, not with a Jedi Master, a knight level Jedi, and the CoreSec officers opposing her. That didn't much matter, though, because she wouldn't go down without a fight and there would be casualties. The officers were simply too vulnerable and weak to protect themselves in any protracted battle.

 

With a low, dangerous voice she had not ever let Starlisk hear before, she said tersely, "I am not going to be arrested for killing that worm, not when I am trying to help you. It isn't murder if he already tried to kill me. You can try to kill me, but I guarantee you, Master Starlisk, that I will not go out alone. I did what I did to help you and am not your enemy, but if you try to arrest or kill me, I will not hold back and people will die. You know that if there was a fight, some or all of these officers and perhaps other innocents will die. I suggest that you either accept what I did was to protect you and other lives and move on or you let me go."

 

She glared at him and added, "If you turn on me, I have nothing to live for. You know how dangerous that makes a woman, so the choice is up to you."

[Qaela]

Despite the the master Jedi's seeming to relax, Qaela didn't let her guard down while the officers left. For all she knew, Starlisk was simply getting them out of the way so he and Ads could deal with her with fewer liabilities. She kept her grip tight on her spear and made sure to watch even Arleigh, though the girl didn't seem much of a threat at this point.

 

When the officers had left, she glared at Starlisk. The anger at him being so quick to turn on her had not lessened, neither had the impending sense of betrayal and hopelessness that was encircling her heart. "So, what do we do now? If you think I will be your prisoner, you are sorely mistaken."

[Qaela]

So Starlisk wasn't going to fight, at least not now. She still wasn't going to lower her guard, not with those CoreSec minions hovering around. "Black Sun is easy to find," she said dourly. "Their headquarters are on Dubrillion and they now control Cloud City on Bespin." She thought such information was fairly widely known, but perhaps not. Kirlocca had been on Cloud City, but she wasn't sure how much the Jedi shared information. She knew about Dubrillion because of ties to Ca'Aran, so that might be more difficult to figure out. "As for Faust, I told you—"

 

She stopped mid-sentence as her already on alert senses felt a familiar, sinking feeling. On Dagobah, the Sith known as Slicer had tried to kill her and her allies by bombing them with a missile fired from a ship. That had failed due to their depth underground, but the feeling of rapidly moving doom was not one she would likely forget any time soon. Her lips curled into a snarl as her first thought was that Starlisk or CoreSec had indeed betrayed her, but then her brain caught up with her heart. There was no way that Starlisk would order a strike on himself, not with Ads and Arleigh here. Seeing how much CoreSec and the Corellians nearly worshiped Starlisk, she thought it unlikely that they would kill him and another Jedi just because she killed an enemy slave. That left only one other person, and she was furious at the thought of being ambushed yet again.

 

"Incoming missile!" she breathed angrily. Her anger at someone trying to kill her twice in one day began to swell. Anger would only drive her to fury right now, and that wasn't what she needed. She needed clarity and focus, so she kept her mind as free of emotions as possible. She closed her eyes briefly and sought out the source of the threat. As with most Nightsisters (and plenty of Sith), she had always had a heightened sense of danger and threats that bordered on paranoia. While Faust's voice mocked them, she stretched her senses upward and out. It didn't take but a few seconds to sense a throbbing, pulsing sphere of danger streaking rapidly toward her.

 

She spat out a quick spell, but she wasn't strong enough on her own to physically move the missile up and away from them or anyone else. She needed more power, and conveniently there were two other sources of such power standing right next to her. Nightsisters often linked together to perform spells of greater magnitude, so it would be quite simple for her to link up with the two Jedi. She opened her eyes and said quickly, "I cannot move it on my own, I need more strength! Open yourselves to me and lend me your strength so I can move this missile away from us."

 

She knew it would be difficult for Starlisk to trust her, but unless he had another idea, they had few choices. Perhaps this would help convince him that she was on his side.

[Qaela]

To her relief, the others did not hesitate to open themselves and lend her their power. Qaela's pulse quickened as she felt energy wash over her. She had been the center of spells before while training, but not while able to wield this much power and certainly not while being connected to two Jedi who had equal potential. The power of the three Sisters she had been linked up with were much paler than the two whom she was now connected. With this power, she could do all sorts of things that she had only dreamed of. There was danger with having so much power flowing through her. Power of this magnitude could easily begin burning out her cells if it wasn't directed somewhere else.

 

The first thing she did was to address the situation on hand. With the added power, her efforts to move the incoming missile's trajectory were far more successful than before. With a grunt of effort, she began pushing it up and away from the ground. She kept on directing her efforts against it until she felt a massive tremor that shook the building and shattered glass.

 

Now that the missile was no longer a threat, she was able to relax her efforts and think about something other than immediate survival. For the briefest moments, she realized that she had control over the power of two Jedi, the very same two Jedi who moments before were ready to attack her. Self preservation rose up and she briefly considered how easy it would be to simply turn their power back on them. If she could move a missile, how much easier would it be to apply enough torque to their bodies shatter their spines?

 

She pushed this instinct down. The Jedi had indeed been ready to turn on her, but they hadn't. Furthermore, they had trusted her enough to give her their strength. It would be so easy to betray them and end their threat to her, but she couldn't. She had chosen her lot and would stick with it until the situation made it untenable. Her loyalty to Starlisk had nothing to do with convenience at this point and everything to do with an irrational emotion that she neither understood or wanted.

 

With a sigh, she released the power that had been given to her. The sudden loss of that much power left her winded and panting so she leaned against her spear. There was a good deal of chaos going on around them, but she had no fear of that. Her attention was focused on the Jedi to see what they would do next.

[Qaela]

((Was waiting on Ads, but will move on))

 

Qaela didn't like the idea of going to this Thyferra planet. Nobody with even a quarter the competence of Faust would alert their enemy where they were going to strike next unless it was a full on trap or a deception designed to mislead them. "Why would he tell us where he was attacking next?" she said. "Either it is a major trap or he is trying to mislead us from his real goal."

 

Even as she said it, she knew that they had to check. If he followed her advice and Faust did attack Thyferra—even if it was a trap—Starlisk would never forgive her for recommending going somewhere else. "By all means, send some of your Jedi there just in case, but I suggest we do something different. We can't win by playing his game and letting him choose our path. I still think the way to victory is to strike out at your enemy, not wait for them to come to you. We know he is working with Black Sun and we know where Black Sun is. We need to keep his allies busy so they have more to think about than attacking others. Gather some of your resources and allies then strike out against Dubrillion. Black Sun has already declared war here, so why not uproot them at their source? You are a battle commander, not a dog to be tugged at by a leash. Bring war to Black Sun instead of continuing to play on the defensive while your civilians die."

[Qaela]

Despite it going against her instinct to strike out at her foes, Qaela was forced to admit that Starlisk's words made some sense. She still thought he underestimated the cunning and ruthlessness of Sith like Faust, but that was his mistake to make. In the most strictest of terms, she was not against the Sith nor was she with the Jedi. All she cared about was her survival and the accomplishment of a very small number of goals. One of those goals happened to be standing in front of her and it was her intent to keep him alive despite himself.

 

She nodded at Starlisk's words. "If you feel it is best, I will follow your direction."

 

While she might be able to consider herself friendly with the Sith, the same could not be said of her relationship with Black Sun, not after what happened on Bespin. "I will give CoreSec what information I have, but it is not much. I know for a fact that they were part of the attack on your temple at Gala. I know their headquarters is on Dubrillion and that they also destroyed Cloud City on Bespin before rebuilding it to their own desires and claiming it as their own. Their forces are not designed for frontal assault, but they can unleash a lot of damage if loose in a civilian population. Strike them hard and with might and you can destroy many of them before they can counter you."

[Qaela]

T̵̢̛͍̥̼̰̱͈̭̤̽̈́̀̈̚h̵͎̔͊̀è̸̘̯̺̭̦̘͍̦̀̎͌͑̀͛̏̕ ̶̝̰̗̳̭̭̏̓͑͂͗̈͂̏̔̕R̴̭̱̦͒͐́͋̀̃̑̅̏̕ę̸͍̂́̀̏͂̑̕͝c̸̘̉͒̿̈́̃̑̀̌k̵̳̻̦̲̞̠̺̽͋̍̌͛̊͜͝ò̴͕̘̼̞̭͓̳̣̓͜ǹ̴̡͇̻̇͂ǐ̶̧̛̼͙͕̬̜̭̋̄̉̈̌͘̕͝n̴̡̻̪̟̲̪͂͒̆͛͘g̴͓̟͚͍̓̒̇̏̍̕͝ ̴̡̨̞̰̱̒͋͌̑̀̾̆̅ḩ̷͓͎̓̋̾͛͗̓̐̿̚a̷̡̩̠̬͑́̄s̵̟̤͚̟̫̙̱̭̄͊̑́̌̍ ̵̛̭̙̜̾́̀͛͝c̸̗̣̼̠̳̼͖͇̒͑̈̌ò̶͙͋͘͝m̴̗̌̇̇́̇͒e̵̠̳͗͊̉̃̓̓̔͑̚͜.̴̪̠̩̃̏̉̎

 

With minimal warning, the dark mass that was the Kyber class Star Destroyer Herløv and a small cluster of ships proudly bearing the symbol of the glorious Sith Empire on their hulls shot out of hyperspace and into the blackness of realspace. Despite the size of her ship, Qaela's eyes quickly fixated on the truly titanic mass of ancient durasteel that hovered before her fleet. Centerpoint didn't truly hold any direct tactical importance in the grand scheme of things, but it was central to the Twin Worlds of Tralus and Talus which were the weaker of the defended worlds within the Corellian System and would serve as a good launching point to invade the rest of the system.

 

Immediately after reverting from hyperspace, the squadrons of bombers and heavy interceptors began to stream out of the Herløv's launch bay and form up to prepare for their missions. A mixture of dozens of assault shuttles loaded with troops and three score medium sized cargo transports reverted out of hyperspace behind the main fleet moments later and began orienting themselves for a run against Centerpoint Station once the way was determined to be clear. Qaela didn't expect there to be a tremendous amount of resistance on the Station itself, but it needed to be claimed nonetheless because she had a purpose for it. Her troops would blitz the station and its meager defenders, secure its civilian population in Hollowtown, and then use the Station as a rally and launch point for invasions throughout the Corellian System's Five Worlds. The Twins would first fall in one swift action, then the rest. Probes were shot out all around the fleet and Centerpoint Station itself to both scan for hostiles while also coordinating fire control at enemy ships.

 

Qaela wasn't completely experienced in naval combat, but the officers onboard her ship under the command of Captain Geratos were and she wasn't so prideful as to demand control over how the battle proceeded. She had long ago learned what her strengths and weaknesses were and how to use others to fill in the gaps in her ability. When Corellia fell to the Sith, she would receive glory enough to share with those who helped her do so, far more than if she allowed her pride to get in her way and cost the Empire troops, ships, and pride.

 

This was the first move of a strategy she had put together with her commanders. As was more akin to her personal style, it wouldn't rely just on blunt firepower and force as was the wont of the Sith Empire, but rather on deception, guile, and misdirection to keep her enemies at bay and guide them into the slaughter. The Sith would claim the Corellian System one way or another: it would be far better for them if its conqueror was Qaela Darksong rather than the far heavier hand of other Sith Lords.

 

"Take the Station," she ordered calmly. "Slay only those who resist, preserve as much as you can. We are here to add to the Glory of the Empire, not to create pointless destruction. Our Dark Lord wishes a prize to build his Imperial Might, not a pile of molten rubble and ash." Those who fought under her command were carefully selected. The most brutal of the soldiers in the Empire were excluded: she wanted only those who shared her own vision of building a mighty empire under the confines and philosophy of The Balance and who could restrain themselves. There was no glory hunting among her officers: all was for the Empire and the greater good of the Sith Order.

 

She stood calmly on the bridge of her ship waiting the results of the scans and probes as to what she would be facing.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Qaela

[Qaela]

Ợ̸̺̓̈́̋̽̿̿̕p̷̯͑̅͛̌̒̂ȩ̷̝̫̯̳͙͓͎͐n̵̢̜̼̙̝͐̈́̀͒ȉ̶̲̹̤̪̪̐̌n̴̼͉̫̠͊̿͌̒̍̕͠g̶̢̩͍̫͇̻͈̱̪͌̔͛̄̅̾̌̕ ̴͍͙̖̭̲̞͈̯́́̏M̶̡̛̹̤̦͉̥͔̺̠̣̐͗ơ̷̧̱̭̖̲̙̣̪̥͐͋͒͜v̴̗͆̂͗̄̀̏̚͠e̸̛͉̟̺͇̦̞̰̔s̷̩̓̏̅̈́̀̎̏͘͝

 

Near Centerpoint Station

 

Sith Empire Destroyer Group: Turbolaser Focus Fire

Taskforce Experience Green - Assigned PC Qaela

 

Kyber Class Star Destroyer Herløv |20/20|

 

Sith Empire Asset Denial Group: Surgical Strike*

Taskforce Experience Green - Assigned PC Mordecai

 

Victory II Class Star Destroyer Wyvern |9/9|

Lancer Frigate |3/3|

 

Tartan Corvette (1) |2/1|

Tartan Corvette (2) |2/1|

Tartan Corvette (3) |2/1|

Tartan Corvette (4) |2/1|

*Ship Names forthcoming

 

_______________________

 

Qaela heard the voice Imperial Knight ordering them to withdraw with a good deal of bemusement. It was almost as though he was unaware of the fact that there was a war going on and that the Sith Empire could be stopped by merely demanding in a stern voice. Even with a probe as small as what she was bringing, it should be clear that the Sith weren't just visiting. She and the ships with her now were but the tip of a very large spear that was about to lance deep into the heart of the Corellian System and claim it for the glory of the Sith Empire and nothing here could stop it. Win or lose this initial skirmish, more ships were coming until the skies above Coronet City were filled with the sight of the glorious Sith fleet.

 

Considering the enemy before her with a mix of consideration and disdain, she quickly realized that this initial force would need to be dealt with in order to secure her primary objective. Should that fail, she would have to resort to the secondary objective which wasn't quite as appealing, but still doable.

 

She opened a secured and encrypted comm to Mordecai. "We engage them here, but not to suicide. This is but the first stroke: there is no point in throwing everything at them so early when there is so much more to come."

 

To their Rebel foes, she said nothing for such pointless comments did not warrant a response.

[Qaela]

F̷͙͖̝̏̓̇̉̽̋̚i̴̡̩͖̓̄͒͜r̶̠̺̙̉͒̍̇͌̀̏͠ş̵̺͈̖̻̚͜ṯ̷̨̫̮̙̦̻̹̻̀̿̇̈́̄́̀ ̸̧̥̥̘͋͜S̶̱͓͑ḧ̵̤̼̜̯̤̥͉͓͙͎͆̑̽̉̄̃͠o̶̧̨͔̖̗͚̥̲͍͛ẗ̸̰̺s̵̢̨͔͔͎̮̯̝̝̍̅́̌̎̏̉̀̾͘ͅ

 

Near Centerpoint Station

 

Paying the Rebel threats no heed, the Sith combat fleet continued a controlled advance towards Centerpoint Station while the troop transports and cargo ships remained back away from the upcoming fight. There was a sense of focus and primal anticipation that permeated the ship which delighted Qaela. She loved the way all sentient beings felt when going into combat where they had to kill or be killed. It was primitive, base, and yet, so very natural to all no matter what their background or beliefs. Jedi or Sith, Force sensitive or blind to its call: it didn't matter. All felt it.

 

Somewhere out there, across the rapidly decreasing distance of cold lifeless space, were thousands of beings feeling the exact same thing. It was a rare point of unity that bonded both sides, just as Nature intended. It didn't matter if one wore the uniform of a Rebel or of the Sith: they were all feeling a variation of anticipation, fear, eagerness, or even a desire to kill. Those feelings saturated the Force if one was open to it and Qaela was definitely open to it. She drank it in and used it to focus herself to the task at hand.

 

She had always loved and cherished subtlety when it came to personal interactions, politics, and duels, but when it came to fleet tactics she preferred to be excessively blunt and direct. When it came to selecting a ship of her own to command, she immediately went about ensuring the crew was well trained in intensely focused fire against a particular target she wanted dead. The Kyber Class Star Destroyers that the Sith enjoyed producing and fielding excelled at such blunt tactics and for good reason. In her experience, there was little that inspired fear in one's enemy more than an exceedingly large and expertly focused fire that sent streams of highly charged energy straight into a singular target.

 

With a cruel smile as she look at the tactical holograms on the bridge, she selected the target that she wanted to see disappear first with a casually raised finger, silently dooming the crew of that ship to be the next sacrifices on the alter of the glorious Sith Empire. Captain Geratos nodded and immediately began relaying orders to the gunners and the squadrons of bombers. As soon as they got into range, an intense, blinding tidal wave of turbolaser, blaster, and ion cannon fire would flow over the hapless Rebel ship. The bomber squadrons would dip "below" the field of fire giving the gunners a clear shot before darting into range to fire the first barrage in their payload against the same target further adding to the terrible toll of damage being inflicted. This might be but the first shots of this campaign, but Qaela wanted them to be as memorable as they were brutal.

 

((1))

[Qaela]

F̸̬̰͆̓ì̴̞̪̼̱̩̙͊̐̌̈́̃̕r̶͓̤̘̺̯̀̋͌̑͐̑͜͠ś̴̡̢̒̅̃͆̐̑͝t̵̳͖̮̽̈́̅̇͂̈́̔̕͝ ̷̢̡̛̱̠̺̻͍̳̯̟̔͒̋̂B̸̛͚͗͌̃́̈́̊̑̎ḻ̵̟͙̤̩̙̑̾o̵̧͓͈̮̗̬͖̒̿͜͝o̸̡̳̦͍̯͚͓̙̺͖̍̉̓̆͠ḓ̸̡͍͍̟̈́ͅ ̴̟̠̰͐D̵̻̱͖̺̈́̈́͐̉͐̆͆͜r̷̪̅̇͜a̷̰̒̈́́̈́̑̊͘̚͝͝w̶̛̠̆̅̾̏̑͛̿͂͌n̷̯͖̫͈̙͓̳̣͕͑ͅ

 

Near Centerpoint Station

 

With a feral smile of satisfaction on her face, Qaela relished the combat going on around her. Even as her own ship took heavy fire from a massive wave of bombers launched from the enemy, she could sense the deaths and fierce determination of her crew. Enemy turbolasers lit up her shields while bombs blasted apart hull armor killing some of those here, causing their deaths to ripple throughout the Force like tiny grains of sand on a still pond. The feeling of those handfuls of deaths were nothing compared to the steeled determination and fervor of the rest of her crew and it was that delectable nectar she fed upon.

 

As her bombers returned after their successful bombing run, she realized with some sense of regret that it was time to switch to defense. Only a complete fool would fail to recognize the effectiveness of the enemy's own bombing runs. As powerful as her ship was, it would not last long against the amount of enemy firepower being unleashed against her. With a few intricate dance moves of her fingers over her command console, she ordered her fighters to keep an eye out for returning enemy bombers and destroy anything that approached. As much as she wanted to destroy her enemy, she also didn't want to lose the ship entrusted to her by the Spider. She had to console herself knowing that there was still a massive amount of firepower being unleashed against the enemy cruiser.

 

((2))

[Qaela]

Qaela was almost saddened to see the enemy fleet already retreating. She had hoped to be able to destroy some of the enemy in their first confrontation, but seeing one of their cruisers take heavy damage as it limped away was at least somewhat enjoyable. Even though she wasn't able to destroy anything, she had ultimately achieved her objective of securing the space around Centerpoint opening it up to the boarding force. The Sith would have their beachhead and would be able to expand their influence in this system until it was entirely under the rule of the Dark Lord.

 

She ordered repairs to begin on the damage her ship had suffered while making sure the mighty Star Destroyer's guns were able to cover the assault craft as they landed and began securing Hollowtown and the station itself. They anticipated enemy saboteurs so a large number of small hovering drones were dispersed throughout the titanic station to track heat, movement, and sound and relay the information to strike forces that could neutralize the intruders. It would take some time, but soon, there would be nowhere for the enemy to hide.

 

The number of cargo ships landed on the surface of Centerpoint and began opening up to reveal their contents. Each one had a twin heavy turbolaser cannon that would serve as a sort of "planetary" defense network thus turning the previously unarmed Centerpoint into a weapon platform capable of assisting the Sith should the Rebels attempt to retake the station. Sith Troopers secured the hull around these ships to prevent sabotage from within.

 

Reinforcements began flowing into the system, too, joining the small Sith initial fleet in preparation for striking against the nearby Twin Worlds.

[Qaela]

Even as Sith forces marched down the main streets of Hollowtown and took control of the mayor's office and the control centers, ships began flowing into the newly formed Sith beachhead. The Imperial II Star Destroyer Lightsbane was first to arrive, adding its own firepower to that of the Herløv. That ship was soon joined by two more smaller but still impressive warships, the Neutron Star-Class Bulk Cruiser Shadow's Sleight and the Gladiator II Star Destroyer Gleeful Glutton bringing the armada under Qaela to four. Though she lacked smaller escorting ships, she preferred the sheer strength of the heavy destroyers while her smaller two cruisers would be there to help mitigate and divert any incoming enemy fire.

 

While the Herløv underwent quick repairs for the moderate damage done to her hull in their previous engagement, Qaela turned her attention elsewhere. For now, while she waited for further Sith reinforcements, she was content to sit back and watch as the Rebel forces arrayed against her grew. This pleased her because it meant that her plan for drawing in enemy ships to be destroyed was working. Plus, the greater the numbers against her, the more glory would be found within the victory. As long as the Rebels hesitated to attack, she was content to wait until the right time presented itself.

 

For now, she contented her officers and warriors by further securing Centerpoint Station and sending out probes and scouts to investigate the Corellian System. The system had long been a center of trade and manufacturing, so there was plenty of activity even in the war torn Core. Though the Sith held many of Corellia's neighbors there was still plenty of trade to be had. One of the early thoughts she had possessed was to blockade the trade routes with mines and interdictors. She elected against it for psychological reasons: she didn't want to come upon the system too harshly and fan the flames of resistance against the Sith Empire even greater than they might otherwise be. Crushing the trade routes were an option, but one she would use only if other avenues failed. Until then, she would watch, wait, and gain as much information about the system as possible before moving against the planets.

 

While she was waiting, she kept pushing herself to higher and higher levels. She constantly trained in personal combat, especially with a lightsaber, against the Sith allies she had summoned from Korriban's Academy. Even more so, she delved into some of her own Nightsister teachings and worked on new ways to marry them to Sith practices and usage. It was that latter part that occupied her attention now.

 

Swathed in her favored black Krath leathers, she entered a moderately sized room that was once an officer's mess that she had taken over and converted to her own needs. There were four figures within the room lit by self contained torches emitting raw firelight. Two wore the black robes and lightsabers showing themselves to be Sith Lords, but their role here was to simply observe and constrain should it be needed. Right now, Qaela's needs and attention were centered on the two individuals sitting in the middle about three meters apart. Both were quite different in almost every way and the duality struck her own personal fancy giving her a small amount of pleasure.

 

The first individual was a young woman, perhaps barely even two standard decades old. She sat quietly in her chair, looking by all appearances to be slightly nervous as though before a job interview or first date. She fidgeted a little and her head darted from side to side at various minor noises, but she remained in her chair without any further prompting. However, to Qaela's Force enhanced senses, she radiated anxiety and nervousness like a trapped animal readying itself for flight.

 

The other was an middle aged man, human or near human. Unlike the woman, he was calm and controlled, staring forward at the blank wall across from him, but not in the manner of one in a drug induced haze, but rather of deep contemplation. Also contrasting from the woman was how he appeared through the Force: his outward appearance was bolstered by an internal resolve and determination his companion purely lacked. A casual observer would pick the woman to be the one most likely to bolt from their chair, at least, until they saw the short chains and shackles constraining the man.

 

With a predatory smile, Qaela evaluated both individuals before setting to work. The woman, though frightened, was here by her own choice, though Qaela would be honest in saying the poor woman's choices were not very desirable from the start. She was from Onderon, one of the most poor and helpless of the Empire. Through a most unfortunate series of events, her parents had been killed leaving her and her four younger siblings with little to support themselves with. Some within the Sith Empire enjoyed preying upon these desperate people because they were willing to do extreme things to survive. For this one, Qaela's aides had picked her from a long list of "applicants" and offered her a choice: give herself and her soul over to the Sith Empire and her siblings would be provided for. The woman wasn't ignorant, she knew what that likely entailed, but she loved her family and with the choice of sacrificing herself or watching the young ones starve to death or slave away in dangerous menial labor was not really a choice.

 

The man, on the other hand, was a Rebel prisoner, an officer of middling rank who knew what was likely to happen to him, but believed himself able to resist. He had been kept alive for a purpose similar to this as the Sith had a constant need for live victims of various dark and sometimes profane rituals. His own stoicism did him credit, but would not spare him for what was about to come. He had served the Rebel Alliance, then the Galactic Alliance, and now the Rebels once more and had no regrets for his service. He believed that he did what was right and knew that his life would be sacrificed as soon as he was captured.

 

Obviously, the Rebel officer was not here of his own free will, but that was what was needed for this experiment: Qaela needed a volunteer who had regrets over their life situation, and a prisoner who had no regrets yet was not here of their own accord. Both spirits were different, both were key for her next test. The strength of a spirit was affected by many things ranging from deeply held convictions to even the concept of a free will choice, no matter how reluctant. She wanted to test her new method on a weak volunteer as well as a resolute enemy.

 

What needed to be done had to be accomplished quickly to be of practical use. Qaela could rive their spirits quite easily, but the key for now was to be able to do it quickly rather than needing the long, drawn out rituals she normally practiced. For months, bit by bit, Qaela and five of her most trusted aides whom she had exclusively cross trained in the Nightsister arts had been working and practicing on taking that Nightsister template and shortening it using Sith methods. It wasn't an easy task and many hapless spirits had been needed before they had come to this point where a practical demonstration was possible.

 

With a nod to herself, Qaela began. Delving quickly into the old Nightsister spells she learned as a child and perfected as an adult, Qaela began by opening a small tear into the spirit world. She tempered the rough, almost primal primitive nature of these spells with the refined, almost smooth flowing practices of the Sith's way of using the Force and, within moments, reached out to the two hapless victims before her and slipped an invisible knife deep into their very being. That knife cut and tore, but not at the flesh. This knife was there to cut away the spirit from the body, drawing it further into the spirit world with each slice until the natural attraction of the spirit world was stronger than the body's pull to retain it.

 

Qaela ignored the horrific, blood curdling sounds coming from her victims, instead focusing on riving their spirits apart until they were completely free after which the sounds abruptly stopped. The spirits, now free of their corporeal bodies, were quickly absorbed into the spirit world where they vanished among the countless others that already inhabited that void.

 

Only thirteen seconds had passed from the moment she started until the point the bodies stopped moving. It was longer than she had hoped, but still much quicker than her previous attempts. She noted, wryly, that the young woman had actually made it out of her chair and was now sprawled lifelessly a meter from the door. Qaela briefly wondered if the girl knew the door was locked, or if she had actually harbored some hope of escape, but those musings faded in less than a second.

 

"Clean up the mess," she ordered. "We will evaluate and resume at a later point."

 

With that, she stalked out of the room to return to the bridge and see if any new information had been uncovered in her absence.

[Qaela]

 

 

T̸̲̺̰͔̔͝h̵̛̻̉͊̍́͑è̶̹̰̦̖̫͔͇̝͇̊ ̷̣̗̝̥̘̩̗̎͆S̸̠͓̠̯̈́̃̀h̴̡͚̪̫̭̤̯͓̓͜͝͝͝͝ā̶̘̘̜͓d̵̠̦̮͈̭͙̤̼͈̬͒̀̅͊̋̏̕o̷̧̹̣͙͒͌́̾͊̓̿̐͠w̶̢̭̟̮̍̅̚͜ ̶̻̗͆̒̂̈́̕G̵̨̥̫͍̲̫͈͈̒́͂͂́̓̃͜ͅr̶̨̐͋̊͊̈͗͊́̈́̊ͅo̶̲̻͔̗̐̃ẅ̴̭͍̱̬̬̦̥͍́̍̏͒͋ͅs̸̢̨̰͙̥͉̺̾͒́̚ ̶̝̫̹̲̺͒́̂́̇͌D̵͉͌e̴͖̙͝ĕ̵̡̼͚͓̻̩͕̯̆͌͛͋͘͝͝ͅp̷̜̼͇͖̳̤̻̪̦̞̃̽̂̊̎̃̊̂̅ȩ̶̛̫̬̲̔͘̚͝r̶̡̫̦̫̤̲̕

 

 

With reinforcements having arrived and repairs to her own Herløv complete, Qaela was ready for the Sith to move to their next target: the Twin Worlds. The two worlds orbited each other almost like equal moons while also orbiting Corell. Centerpoint, their stronghold, was firmly between the two planets thus making the two worlds the next logical move simply due to proximity. While their first skirmish was just that, a skirmish, this time she would be attacking with a much larger force designed to do significant damage if needed.

 

With barely over three million inhabitants, Talus didn't have a large population, especially compared to Corellia itself, but Qaela was determined to take it as part of the Sith's overall objective of taking this system. Her goal was to occupy one of the two worlds then swiftly take the other all in one fell swoop. The ship manufacturing on these two planets wasn't huge, but it was still worthy of occupying.

 

Leaving Mordecai and his task force to protect Centerpoint, she and the substantial reinforcements that had recently arrived began its steady sublight advance towards Talus. Assault shuttles and massive landing craft followed, waiting for their opportunity to land and claim the planet in the name of their glorious Emperor.

 

Qaela stood on the bridge of the Herløv, watching and waiting to see what the enemy response would be.

 

 

Sith Empire Forces

Assigned PC: Qaela

Spoiler

 

Destroyer Group [Turbolasers]: Focus Fire

Task Force Experience: Green, 2XP

Assigned Callsign: Herløv

Kyber class Star Destroyer Herløv (20/20)

 

Destroyer Group [Missiles]: Focus Fire

Task Force Experience: Green, 1XP

Assigned Callsign: Lightsbane

Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer Lightsbane (20/20)

 

Rapid Intervention Escort: Deadly Response

Task Force Experience: Green, 1XP

Assigned Callsign: Obsidian Shield

Neutron Star-Class Bulk Cruiser Shadow's Sleight (9/9)

Gladiator II-Class Star Destroyer Gleeful Glutton (9/9)

 

 

[Qaela]

Qaela's eyes lit up in anticipation when the enemy dropping out of hyperspace before the Sith forces. This would be a glorious battle sending many to their deaths. As both sides began squaring up for battle, a high priority message flashed across her command console. Normally, she would ignore incoming messages at the start of battle, but this was of such urgent priority that she read it, fearing it was the Emperor himself.

 

To her dismay, it was not the Spider, but rather the panicked governor of Kuat indicating a sizable Rebel incursion into the shipyards of that planet begging for help from any nearby Sith forces. With much of the Sith fleet dedicated to expanding the Empire, the defenses at Kuat itself had been slightly lower than normal with the thoughts that the Rebels would never dare be so audacious as to strike such a fortified location. Even some of her own fleet here had been taken from Kuat, so she was quite angered at this report.

 

For a few moments, she debated what to do: it was frustrating to see the enemy present and battle ready to commence, but she knew that she must do what was best for the Empire. As much as she wanted to draw blood and conquer Corellia, it was far more important to the Empire to protect Kuat. Since they were relatively close, it was critical that they answer the call for help. With gritted teeth, she called out new orders to the fleet.

 

"Kuat is under attack by the Rebels, we must answer the call for help and protect our hard won shipyards. Corellia will have to wait, it will have its day, but we must withdraw and go to Kuat to deal with the Rebels there."

 

Even if it meant losing the beachhead on Centerpoint, they needed to withdraw and with every ship available. With a fleet like what was now facing them, they couldn't risk leaving a portion of their forces behind. Giving the order and coordinates to Commander Jorus, her ships immediately began pulling back, recalling their fighters and bombers, and preparing for the jump to Kuat.

 

She looked back at the enemy forces arrayed against them with a small shake of her head in sorrow. The Rebels might think they won a victory here, but she knew what the ultimate result of this disruption of her plan would be. The Empire could not lose face to this attack and would return to take Corellia. Instead of the methodical, tactical, step by step approach she had planned, they would come in overwhelming numbers without any thought to holding back the destruction they would unleash. Corellia would be devastated and left in ruin as a symbol to those who would resist the Empire's might. Many more would die than would otherwise had and while Qaela didn't care about loss of life, she did care about wasting good resources and upsetting the Balance.

 

Her fleet would jump momentarily and soon, they would face battle over Kuat.

[Qaela]

Endan Gon'draur had spent at least 97% of his life in the cold vacuum of space or hyperspace and didn't regret his choices one tiny bit. Born under the streaking, swirling miasma of hyperspace on a mega-freighter, he had been the bastard son of the first mate of that massive ship. Though initially not wanted, his mother, despite being little more than a slave herself, had done everything she could to make him strong and help him survive. He had done so, and over the years and numerous ships, he had clawed his way up from a mere unglorified janitor to a deckhand to a loadmaster to an officer, and finally to the captain of his own ship. For sixty-eight years, he had glided between the stars as part of the infinitely large web network of ships that kept Galactic trade alive. He hated being on firm ground and preferred to be on a ship in orbit or on another run. Time was money, and every moment that a freighter was not in hyperspace with a full hold was a minute wasted.

 

For almost all of his life, he had been non-political. He didn't remember the old Republic or the Clone Wars, but he did remember the first Galactic Empire and every other government that had come and gone since then. He remembered all the wars, all the carnage, and the foolish waste of resources. In a way, he was glad for it because wars meant that people needed supplies and the extra hazards meant he could charge more to move the same goods. He had not been part of any of it and always flown under the radar, even when governments rose in glory or fell in bitter ashes. Nobody paid him or his ship, the hundred meter long Brayl-class freighter Septim's Pale carrying whatever bulk cargo various planets needed along the Corellian Trade Spine.

 

That had changed a month ago when he was approached on Bestine IV by a trio of beings initially posing as buyers. It had taken him all of two seconds to realize this was going to be trouble and, sure enough, as soon as the conversation got past initial pleasantries, the velvet claws came out. These were representatives of the Sith Empire and, though they appeared to be pleasant on the surface, Gon'draur could read between the lines at the hidden threats of non-compliance. They needed someone who had been coming and going through Corellia for decades with no known political connections and no criminal record. In short, they needed someone who wouldn't be noticed or whose presence wouldn't raise alarms.

The job they were conscripting him for was, at least on the datapad, simple. All he needed to do was allow the Sith agents to rig the Septim's Pale to look like it was carrying its normal cargo all the while it was holding an entire battalion of Sith troops. He would go along his normal route, enter the Corellian system, pass through customs, and land in Coronet City in the massive docks. From there, the troops would begin doing what they did best and he was free to escape in the ensuing chaos.

 

Only, he knew that wasn't as easy as it sounded and that he was putting himself and his eight man crew at a great risk. Even then, though the pay was extremely good—over two years of his normal income—it would be dangerous. He had little choice, truly, for he was smart enough to know that if he denied the Sith their due, he would quickly disappear. He may make it off Bestine, but even if he did, he was certain some mysterious problem would occur on his ship and he would become one of the hundreds or thousands of ships that simply disappeared every year on the long, lonely treks between stars. 

 

That is how, even though he didn't want to do it, Captain Endan Gon'draur found himself reverting from hyperspace to the familiar sight of Corellia, its shipyards, and its constant buzz of traffic with a hull full of Sith troopers primed and ready to fight. He only hoped to live through this day and then, maybe he would sell the Septim's Pale, buy a smaller ship, and retire to travel for pleasure.

[Qaela]

𝔖𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔪 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔄𝔟𝔬𝔳𝔢

 

 

Coronet City, Corellia

 

Captain Gon'draur did his best not to show his nervousness as the Septim's Pale was escorted down to the dockyards in Coronet City just like he had many times before. When they landed, he began the normal procedures while his crew went about their business, preparing for the normal transfer of cargo. About a quarter of his hold was full of genuine cargo so they began offloading it just like always. The rest of the holds were life sign shielded and calibrated to reflect mass consistent to having a full hull of mechanical parts meant eventually for the small craft shipyards on the planet's surface. He never messed much with the heavy equipment that went into the frigates and capital ships that were constructed in orbit. His Sith handler had not yet given the signal, so they remained in their disguised holds while his crew unloaded crates of parts.

 

* * * * *

 

Corellia Orbit, an hour later

 

It began as a series of flashes that even inexperienced spacers knew meant ships were reverting from hyperspace in the hundreds. While the Rebel fleets had taken their combined might to attempt to push the Sith forces out of Centerpoint a couple of lighthours away, they had left the prize of the system all but undefended. The gamble might have worked, for had they managed to push out the Sith incursion, they could have forced the Sith to reconsider their invasion plans. Though she didn't know what thoughts went through the heads of the Rebel command structure, Qaela was glad they had come to the conclusion they did.

 

Instead of facing the small garrison she had left behind when she had been forced to come to the aid of Kuat's defenders, they now faced the might of a full Sith invasion armada led by the Glorious Spider himself. Instead of quickly overwhelming the weakened defenders of that station, the Rebels were facing a brutally effective war machine fresh from victory after victory that was ready and howling for blood. And, to make matters for them worse, while their fleets were fighting against the Sith Navy, the system's capital would now face the wrath of the Sith's Army led by a truly hacked off Nightsister turned Sith Mistress.

 

Wing after wing of fighters and bombers dropped out of hyperspace escorting over a hundred landing craft carrying armored vehicles and assault shuttles. These shuttles were carrying ten thousand battle hardened Sith troopers from campaigns like Kashyyyk, Kuat, and Corellia along with scores upon scores of assault tanks, speeder bikes, and APC's to aid the Sith forces in their conquest of Coronet City. These men and women of the Empire were instructed to show no mercy to any who stood in their way and not to worry about civilian casualties in this fight. They wouldn't go out of their way to slaughter civilians, but neither would they hold their fire or hesitate to level buildings if it would advance their lines. Qaela had tried to be nice and benevolent in this invasion, but the Rebels had attacked Kuat so now they must face the wrath of the Empire.

 

While the fighters and bombers spread out in rapidly developing dogfights with Corellia's few remaining defenses, the shuttles and landers approached Corellia's atmosphere at rapid speeds. When the first dozen shuttles hit the exosphere over Coronet City, they opened their cargo bays and began spiraling around their center axis, releasing tens of thousands of small, soft stones and spraying them out in all directions in front of the invasion fleet. With their momentum and being this close to the gravity well, they quickly began raining down on a wide swath of Corellia in a brilliant firestorm of meteorites that lit up the sky. These stones were specifically selected for both mass and size to ensure they burned plenty bright, but would be consumed well before hitting Corellia's surface. To those below, it would seem that the sky was falling upon them in some sort of primitive religion's apocalypse of doom.

 

And doom it was, for behind the flaming streaks came the Sith invasion force howling for vengeance. Though some of the shuttles were intercepted by AA placements or Rebel fighters, the majority of them landed throughout the city. Most were able to choose open areas such as parks or major squares to land, but some simply blasted buildings into rubble to create their landing zone. Jamming fields were emitted from each shuttle and lander overloading the comm waves with static and random noise that would hamper any communications throughout the city and further add to the chaos.

 

Each shuttle and lander had specific targets that they were to take and hold, so as soon as they landed, their troops would begin assaulting key areas such as mass transit hubs, police stations, power plants, broadcast towers, and CorSec Headquarters, and the capitol building. They might not all succeed in taking their targets, but the plan was that with so many smaller units attacking all over at once, the Rebel defenders couldn't figure out exactly what to defend or where to attack. Chaos was glorious.

 

Qaela herself was with a group of several hundred troopers backed by assault tanks that was tasked with taking the capitol building along with whatever government officials that were present. Anyone who attempted to leave the building would be shot at and hopefully killed, for she was in no mood to be nice. With her blood red lightsaber and a small army at her back, she led the charge in, cutting through whatever paltry defenders she could until she either took the capitol or met someone worthy to fight.

[Qaela]

𝔊𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰 ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔬𝔰 𝔘𝔫𝔣𝔲𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔡

 

Coronet City, Corellia

 

Though she realized it likely had more to do with the shock and awe of their invasion than a mark of the Rebel's defenses, the Sith invasion force was managing to take several objectives. Reports relayed via the network of troopers on speeder bikes to bypass the comms blackout indicated that there was a sizable counterattack forming outside the city and advancing methodically in towards the Capitol. Qaela smiled at that and immediately sent orders for explosive traps and mines to be laid out along their path as best as possible, snipers to take up positions, and for general Sith forces to undergo a fighting withdraw in the face of the superior numbers. She wanted to draw them in and bleed them before pulling more of her scattered Sith forces to confront them. The main weakness of her attack was that she simply didn't have a force large enough to fight them head on, but her troops were everywhere and couldn't yet be pinned down in one location.

 

As she supervised the reduction of the last bit of resistance from the Capitol building, a series of shots lanced out at the cadre of officers that were following her. Another burst let her know more closely where the shots had come from and she smiled even as she ignited her crimson lightsaber and summoned the Force to guide her hands against any more attacks. She and the remaining men around her took cover while a nearby AT-ST turned its guns on the area pointed out by various troops who had seen the direction the shots came from.

 

Once the AT-ST began opening fire saturating the area with its main blaster cannons to keep the sniper busy and possibly even kill them, Qaela ordered the officers to finish securing the Capitol while she went out to clear this annoyance. A platoon of black armored troopers went with her as they picked their way rapidly from one place of cover to another. Qaela kept her lightsaber at the ready to take care of any more attacks as they went out to engage. She wasn't about to go too far and walk into a trap, but they needed to keep their new prey busy until more Sith flooded the area.

[Qaela]

ℌ𝔦𝔤𝔥 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔡𝔲𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰

 

Coronet City, Capitol Square

 

Qaela and her commando platoon picked their way through bits of cover as they worked their way to the edge of the Capitol Square where the enemy sniper was. As they did, they began to encounter resistance from what clearly was not Corellian or even Rebel regulars. Irregular, non-blaster fire began to rain down on the platoon as they hopped from wrecked or abandoned speeders to statues glorifying some long dead Corellian hero. A large explosion hit the AT-ST that had been covering them, blasting a crater in its center and no doubt killing the two pilots.

 

Qaela was not, at this point, overly concerned, but her evaluation of her current foes went up as she saw they weren't just typical Rebel soldiers. That appreciation went up even higher when she had that familiar tingle of premonition from the Force that screamed danger directed at her. Considering the slugs that were used against her officers before and the irregular blue munitions being shot at her commandos now, Qaela was going to play it cautious and brought her lightsaber up to deflect even as quickly sidestepped. Despite her own speed and momentum, it wasn't quite enough.

 

When she blocked the incoming shot, instead of reflecting back like a blaster bolt, the metal slug split in half but lost only a little momentum and continued going forward straight into the front of her right shoulder. The impact was like being punched by an attack droid and it quite literally threw her off of her feet while her momentum was thrown off. She landed on her back and was immediately attended by one of her commandos who pulled her to the cover of the base of a statue. The Krath leathers she was wearing prevented penetration, but were not as adept at diffusing the momentum and impact from the two fragments. Pain radiated across her body as her collar bone was likely fractured or worse and her shoulder didn't want to move like it normally would.

 

The pain sparked genuine anger and fury within her. Until now, she had been fighting mostly with a cool head, calm and in control. Now, she was pissed and could use that fury to fuel her fire. With the loss of the AT-ST and her commandos up against well prepared resistance, she was needing to take stock and reconsider this approach. She wouldn't want to charge into things pointlessly, so now was time to return some pain upon her foes.

 

"Set up shop and destroy everything," she barked out. She had little care of what collateral damage was done and neither did her commandos. The enemy wasn't the only one with explosives, so now it was time to use them. Four of the commandos launched their own thermal detonators at the source of the incoming blue fire while snipers got into position and started scanning for targets. A heavy E-web was going to be brought up from behind them, but wasn't yet here so for now, a fire team got in position and started laying down cover fire at anything that moved that wasn't clearly Imperial.

 

For Qaela, she wanted to know more, to see what was going on with her foe. She stretched out with the Force and got a sense of what was in front of them. There were still some frightened beings not far, likely civilians who were too terrified to run or who were trapped. They were meaningless except as potential hostages. There were perhaps half a dozen steeled minds, alertly focused and extremely complex, not your typical police officer or new recruit, but well trained and deadly.

 

Most interesting was a rather...damaged... sort of soul. Qaela felt that she should know more of what this was, but in the moment, she wasn't quite in research mode and filed that information away until it could be useful. Right now, she had a target and was not keen on scholarly research.

 

With her lightsaber shoulder inhibited from the hit, Qaela would resort to new tactics, one befit of her creed. She was a Sith Master, not a coward, and she would not hide like a Jedi Padawan. Her legs worked just fine, as did the fury that was now fueling her. Shutting down her lightsaber for the time being, she clipped it to her belt to free up both hands and then began diving into the Force. She began weaving the spells of her youth then mixing them with the powers of the Sith until she stepped out and began walking forward with deliberation and fury.

 

With a flick of her hands, she summoned a new set of armor: large granite or duracrete blocks that were rubble from the battle. These formed a half dome in front of her, protecting her from incoming slugs and far enough in front to shield from most explosives. With this new shield, she ran forward, closing the gap between her and the foes, relying on her shield and the covering fire from her commandos to allow her to get in closer and unleash some of the spells she was brewing.

 

((1))


Coronet City: Dockyards

 

With the battle raging throughout Coronet City, Captain Gron'draur wasn't quite sure what the Sith troopers in his hold were waiting on. With the enemy fighters all around, anyone who launched from here was at risk of drawing their attention and getting blasted, so some elected to stay hunkered down. So far, the Sith had not directly attacked the Dockyards, despite rumors of them hitting all over the city. None of the Sith dropships approached the Docks, so they were fairly quiet with tense anticipation of what was to come.

[Qaela]

𝔇𝔦𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔠 𝔒𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯

 

Coronet City, Capitol Square

 

A giant force of high impact metal slammed into the E-web generator casing before it was able to get mounted. Even without being charged, the resulting explosion shredded the device and sent two of the armored commandos flying to the sides. Qaela didn't know nor much care at this point if they had survived because they were likely out of this fight for the next few minutes at the least and were of no more use to her. Though the blast hadn't been of any laser weapon, her sniper teams would start backtracking general trajectory and would find the sniper nest eventually. Once they did, they would respond in kind.

 

What caught Qaela's attention more was the glaring threats in the Force that lit up her sphere of influence. She had expected an attack against her and explosives were the only logical response since blaster rifles or slugthrowers weren't going to be accurate against her swirling defenses. Grenades were a bit cliche, but she supposed the Rebels they were facing had no heavy blaster cannons or tanks to use against her. As soon as she sensed the threat, she pushed out with the miniature telekinetic Force storm she had conjured as a shielding distraction and then jumped.

 

She wasn't sure whether it was the telekinesis or simply one of the stones or rubble that intercepted the grenades and pushed them back, but that didn't stop them from exploding brilliantly between her and her opponents while she dove to the side and the cover of a statue base that hadn't yet been ripped up or blasted apart. A quick glance over the edge of her cover showed her that multiple targets were withdrawing or repositioning using jetpacks and it dawned upon her exactly who she was now facing.

 

Mandalorians

 

It took a few moments while Qaela utilized the relative protection of her cover to process and allow a few things to fall into place. Heavily armored and well skilled Mandalorians. A strangely familiar and decidedly odd Force presence. Various intelligence reports about the leader of the Mandalorian Crusaders the Sith Empire had faced on Coruscant. Memories from many years ago from when she was new to the Galaxy at large and still trying to find how to survive in it. Visions of someone who stepped into the fray to defend Qaela when one of their number decided to try to kill her.

 

Terra.

 

It was a name that surprised Qaela quite a bit because she had thought that the leader of the Crusaders had been destroyed on Chandrila when the Rebels retook the planet. It surprised her more to encounter a former ally aiding the very Rebels who had been so brutally crushed by her forces. The surprise of this new situation drained the previous fury at having been shot and replaced it with a great deal of curiosity. Qaela thought for several moments, then made a rather impulsive decision.

 

"Cease fire!" she shouted at her men, reinforced with a wave of her hand. "Cease fire and remain defensive," she reaffirmed. The well trained commandos, while confused at the sudden order, were disciplined and possibly afraid enough to not question a Sith commander.

 

Using the Force to enhance the sound of her own voice and carry it in the general direction of the cluster of Mandalorians, Qaela shouted out, "Terra, it is Qaela Darksong of the Scorpions. Why are we fighting each other? We aren't enemies!"

Taking a chance, though keeping her senses extremely peeled for any threat or sniper fire, she slowly got up from her cover and, with arms spread wide, stepped out into the open. "Let us have a truce so we can speak as the allies we once were and see if we can find a way out of this situation. If not, we can still go back to the pointless slaughter, but I would like to find out what led you to fight along side these weak Rebels instead of basking the the glory and honor you were meant to have."

 

((2))