Lusef Aryan

Amid the paper stacks that Sophia had been pouring over were a sheaf of collected pages, hidden amid the battle documents due to some careless filing, as if the papers were jammed aside abruptly to ensure they were safely hidden amid the stacks.

The expedition took several long hours to reach their destination after landing, unsure on what security measures were in place. The ship, an ordinary Lambda T-4a shuttle commissioned by the expedition's leader, was set into a crevice, the group heading out on speeder. Its leader dressed in a white parka and environmental suit, sitting rear driver's side, though the other three on the expedition suspected the environmental gear was for show. One was a Rodian mercenary at the pilot's seat, another a Mon Cal slicer, and the last, though it was hard to tell given the layering of clothing, was a Jawa who specialized in mining tech, arguably making him the most important member of this trip. Their leader went by the alias "Marlowe White", but none of the three were fooled, but decided to stick to the fiction in their interactions. "White" knew this and his lips, visible beneath his hood, twisted into a sardonic, thin smile. "Is the plan understood?" Faust's incarnation asked in basic. "A quick extraction job. No engaging security or any watchers the Jedi may have left in their temple or caverns if we can help it. We load up on their crystals and get out... though if we can leave a surprise in our wake, all the better..." Recon showed the Jedi hadn't had a solid temple on Ilum that was active in some time, but no reason not to trash the grounds one done out of spite and fun. Since losing the Force, making his lightsabers was harder, much harder. The Sith believed in artificially creating their gems, but either way, the Force's need to detect imperfections was not something he could rely on. Harvesting natural crystals on the other hand, known for their purity, well that was a different matter entirely... All the same, he wanted to be prepared, just in case watchers showed up or someone else hunted his scent. He doubted it, but given everything, he took no chances. ((Just some optional mischief for the Jedi to swat down. Enjoy! ))

Wayson returned to his family in short order, which was contacting his parents, siblings and extended family, being something of a bachelor, unable to believe his luck, or was it fate, the Force, and all that allowing him to survive the attack on his ship. Given everything he witnessed, he wasn't exactly a believer, but he started to have faith in the Force, that maybe, just maybe there was something out there that balanced the cosmic scales, and helped those who wanted to do right by others against the face of such overwhelming evil. He remembered a story from a Gungan rogue by the name of Rem'oh, who in the Clone Wars, saved his domed city from a bomb planted by the Trade Federation. He'd saved the city and asked why he did it, just gave this response. "I just risked my life to save people I hate, for reasons I don't fully understand." Yet he was a hero all the same. Wayson looked up to Aelyn, who risked more, saved more, and understood those personal reasons. Could he... should he do any less? He spent time reviewing data obtained from Maloba's files and was disturbed. Not just at what was taken to produce such a creature, and the destructive aims he'd had in trying to create such a beast, but the veiled references within the data that Maloba had to other experiments conducted by his mysterious "benefactor" in creating the monstrosity. Wayson looked out over the top of his computer, glancing out at the ocean through a near-by window. Blue and vast, one sea threatened by this. He thought long about what Aelyn said, about being a mere liberal arts student who became something more through the grace of the Force. He'd never be a Jedi, but he had training as a peacekeeper and military man. If he could protect Naboo's seas, could he do more to protect the starfilled seas of space above? Inspired, the answer was a firm yes! ***** Elsewhere in Theed in a backroom, a trio of Gungans sat across the table from a man in a white hood and robe. The hood concealed his face, preventing it from being seen. "Wessa disappointed, very disappointed, messa," the lead Gungan, sitting in the middle said, trying to sound cross and firm, but sounding intimidated all the same. "I am Marlowe White," the man continued in a soft voice, smooth and low, but also with a hint of durasteel hardness underneath. "But you know that, don't you? And you should be grateful you received what you got." The two Gungans off to the side stiffened. This venture was profitable, but not nearly as profitable as they'd hoped. It involved commodities market manipulations, buying up plasma features in the lead up to the mad Gungan's attacks, then selling them off as the crisis reached its apex. They hadn't fully unloaded their assets when Maloba and his creature were stopped. The lead Gungan tried to stare down White, but the white hooded figure lifted his head, and for a moment a flash of blue could be seen. The Gungan backed down, chewing his lip, admitting defeat. He suspected who Marlowe was an agent of, and did not feel inclined to argue. "I'll expect my commission for this generous tip," Marlowe continued. "Wired to the usual broker account. Good-day, gentlemen," he said, rising up and leaving, openly turning his back on the three Gungan gangsters. As "Marlowe White" departed Theed, he tried to take in what he could about the Jedi he'd heard about, the child that thwarted his plan. It wasn't a complete failure, even if a useful tool like Maloba was lost, as he still profited from it. There would be time to sync back up with his other selves, and there were always, always more plans waiting in the wings. All the same, it was a padawan from what he'd picked up.. or a stripling of a child that was a padawan, now a knight. He found the irony in a child like that being the instrument to thwart his designs, but as much as he hated it, even if he could no longer feel it, he acknowledged the will of the Living Force, bearing no grudge against her for her role in this. "Oh, child," he murmured aloud to himself as he departed Naboo. "Welcome to the Jedi Order in earnest. Welcome to the great game board of Light and Dark. Do not think this marks the end... Your battles are just truly beginning..."

A comm arrives for the Dark Lord Exodus. It comes in via top line encryption, secured and meant to be untraceable, though its author makes no attempt to hide his presence on Coruscant. Faust outlined his plans, the same he gave to his three soldiers. Faust outlined what he wanted, his trifling matter as payment.

On the Dejarik Board, a sword strike meant nothing and everything. A willful strike could bounce off a foe, ineffective, or pass through a form like it was a cloud, doing naught. The intent, the will behind it was the most important. In that case, the strike was more than a mere swing of a lightsaber blade. It was an affirmation and denial, so when the phantom of malice and rage parted under the blow, it vanished, first in half, then vanishing into a fine mist, sinking back into the Darkness and Chaos of the Force. It couldn't be destroyed, but there was a Light to Balance it, to meet it, and counter it. At once, Aelyn was back in the control room. The Sith Steel dagger looked... blasted, like the jewels inside exploded, scarring the face, having fallen from the mad doctor's grip. Unconscious, Maloba gave a moan of pain, his wounded leg twitching painfully. All the same, he didn't wake, or struggle. The Leviathan's durasteel frames that Maloba created were as cramped as ever, shaking as the beast fought and convulsed, doing battle with the Naboo fleet. Just in the nick of time, Aelyn would reach a round chamber via ladder, surrounded by missiles. Egg-like sacs covered everything, some encased in missiles. Wires showed where plasma, and another black ichor, one that gave off a dangerous, but faint Dark Side aura, fed into the egg sacs. A wall panel showed the count-down to launch, with 3 minutes left, and also the scope of the mad doctor's plan, showing their prospective destinations. The missiles sat there, waiting, with one empty one left open, just big enough for Aelyn and her captive to squeeze into, though it'd be very uncomfortable- a hint that perhaps the doctor had been intent on using it to make his own escape.

In the heat of combat, a dark chill settled in. Hungry, cold and grasping. It seemed to run through the fledgling Jedi's stomach and then shoulder as the cold seeped in. As Aelyn hoped she could exorcise the darkness, she didn't realize she'd have a chance, but not in the way in which she thought. With the lightsaber strike, the Gungan's knee gave out and he fell. The dark force animating the unconscious Gungan as a Reborn imprinted with the Force could only do so much with the meat and muscle that held together Maloba's flesh. By then, the dark energies craving substance and form, having bitten into the Jedi's flesh, started to move, leaving a weak vessel behind. There was a flash of light and while Aelyn was physically still in the proverbial belly of the Leviathan, breathing and living, her mind and spirit were taken elsewhere. Images flashed and swirled as the cold feeling increased, coalescing into a number of lights. There was no falling sensation, instead Aelyn stood on a circular board, vast and hovering in the void, comprised of twelve squares in an inner and then outer right, leaving Aelyn in the middle. Tall, flickering pieces hung over her, like statues of colossi. Others were fallen over on their sides. Maloba's piece was one of the fallen, and the Leviathan he'd breathed to life was tottering. On the opposite side of the board was a piece for Aira, looking solid and distinct, along with several members of the Jedi Order. Behind the fallen Maloba were other shadowy figures that she might recognize from the Sith Order, looking down and as solid as Aira behind her. She still had her lightsaber and it seemed to be more than a mere blade, but an actual weapon of Light in the metaphysical sense. For a brief moment, Aelyn would see everything from this vantage point... One worlds from the Core to the fleeting darkness of hyperspace lanes in space. All the players arranged on the board. The moment passed, too quickly for it to be grasped. So... The Jedi whelp emerges a Jedi Knight from her trials, saving Naboo and perhaps a wider Galaxy from a terrible fate... The voice echoed around her, coming from a tattered, wraith-like figure, black and off to the side. Its tone was harsh, but not menacing, as if it was a curious observer, wearied and yet surprised to see another here. But will the whelp enjoy her Knighthood, or will she falter on her re-entry, burning up like chaff in the turbulent atmosphere of the Force? Before Aelyn was something Dark, also coalescing into something... humanoid. It had all the forms of one, despite having no distinct features like a face or digits on its limbs. It still emanated a wrongness... Hatred, Hunger, Destruction. The hated that possessed the doctor's already black heart is seeking to take you, little Jedi Knight, and through you wield greater power. This trial is yours... I wish you the grace to fight it off as I can only observe... The mercy you showed in sparing the Doctor and your determination not to kill has prevented it from getting a foothold within you. Drive it back to the Chaos from wince it came! Then stop the Leviathan's spawn from launching its young and spare the Galaxy this madness! Images flashed of a missile room full of the young. Once... if she escaped it would be a race to get there through the creature's internal structures, but the missile tubes offered something else to Aelyn and her captive... a way out. No time had passed on the physical plane even as time moved swiftly... even mercilessly... on the Dejarik Board. Aelyn still stood within the control room, locked in that second, able to act once her mind and spirit were reunited with it and this confrontation concluded. The Dark Side force incarnate, an imprint of madness, hatred, and anger faced her from its own square, then lunged. It moved not to merely take her space, but to take her, trying to lunge and press into her, trying to consume her from within. It was a shallow, hollow thing, but it burned with a fierce, absolute zero cold, and offered amid the pain a release, and a power... the power to change the Galaxy... to consume one's foes... to change things... if only it was let in... if only Aelyn wouldn't fight it.

Maloba was not one to listen to reason and as the Jedi broke through the final security door, he fell into an adrenalin rush, actually looking forward to getting his hands dirty for once. He kept his blaster at a lethal setting, intending to fry this impertinent fool who dared challenge him. He grew more and more frustrated, his shots more wild as the Jedi kept reflecting them. She was toying with him! Mocking him! If she was serious, she'd have killed him instead of playing around and deflecting his shots, causing them to strike around him at the mix of metallic and organic substances that lined his control room, causing his creation to writhe in pain when it was hit. That all just enraged him further, not able to comprehend that she might genuinely want him alive. "DIE!" he yelled, breaking into a desperate lunge with that Sith Steel dagger as he saw his blaster was taken. His "charge", if it could be called that, ended with him sprawled out flat on the floor, the dagger clenched in one hand, stunned and unconscious. With no combat training, no skills other than his work with the sciences, he was the easy opponent. As Aelyn looked around for consoles that may have offered a means to stop the Leviathan, a few damaged ones showing some potential promise, several things happened at once. Camera screens were up and they showed the young ones, ready to be born... and launched... and while no direct console could stop that now, it was left half as a taunt, and half so the doctor could watch his revenge take shape after he killed the Jedi. The Naboo fleet increased the intensity of their attack, deterring the creature and causing it to pause and try to attack them. It couldn't launch its EMP attack, not without the doctor and another recharge, but its sheer mass and intensity made it a frightful opponent. As they fought, unable to break the thing's hide open enough to do any significant damage, they called out to Aelyn, still refraining from attacking near the creature's head. "Aelyn! Come in, Aelyn!" cracked the voice on the comm. The second thing was the doctor was sat up. Not that he sat up, as he was stunned and unconscious, but he was pulled up, like someone manipulating a puppet. The Force energies in the room reacted, and the token protection Maloba's patron gave years ago woke up, drawing in, summoning... something. There was nothing left really draw in, the force it called in with its Master's dark arts destroyed at a conscious level, but it was enough. The Gungan silently rose to his feet, still moving as if being pulled by puppet strings, a dark sided shroud falling over the room. A vicious laughter, mindless and animal sounding escaped the Gungan's lips, with a voice and inflections that weren't his own, as he struck, trying his hardest to attack the Jedi with the dagger, the sapphire eyes in the hilt glowing a bright blue that matched what was in the Gungan's eyes now. It could summon only malice and hunger, but nothing else.

Maloba's ears rose, fanning out in anger as his eyes flitted between several consoles, the scope for the pursuing Naboo fleet, and then the Jedi. That stupid, meddling, Jedi! His anger rose up and another animal snarl escaped the mad doctor's lips. He had far, far less time than he'd hoped. He should have known! Should have known that the Jedi would be able to use its trickery to guess at the codes. "Messa gunna stop yuzz," he snarled, fingering the blaster. He heard the Jedi's words and to a more rationale opponent, that might have given him pause, or made him think further about the consequences of what was happening. Then again, Maloba believed he was fighting for his home. A Naboo free of the idiots that exiled him, and one rid off all the offworlders that looked down on him and his species. No, he was not swayed. He would die fighting for Naboo... That he told himself, never mind he truly fought for his pride and out of a narcissistic superiority complex. He waited until the Jedi was near the command center, one last door between the Jedi's fearsome blade and Maloba's soft flesh. He leveled his blaster and fired. He didn't take his own life. He'd go down fighting. He didn't try to shoot the door or the Jedi beyond, not that the blast would have penetrated. He aimed straight for the control panel off to the side, the same one the Jedi would be keying in on the other side, now rendered useless with its mechanisms fried. Satisfied he brought himself more time, he started to enter in commands to prime the missiles for launch, watching his gauges show how little time left he had until he could surface and make a viable launch. The commands locked in, a course set, he fired his blaster once more, destroying the console. Drawing in a deep, slow breath, his blaster in one hand, the tainted dagger in the other, he turned to face the door. He knew he was no match for a Jedi normally, no matter what gifts his patron gave, but if she was wounded, he could fight her, and possibly escape to fight another day. "Come'on Jed'ai fool. Yussa gonna meet yourz end at 'da hands of the great Dr. Maloba!" he yelled. Not a combatant, he hoped she'd underestimate him. Those fools always did. Always! Giggling and bereft of sanity, he waited for her to break through.

Dr. Maloba's systems came back on slowly, and at once he began to realize things were going wrong. He didn't know how at first, thinking an error with the scanners, but he saw the Naboo ships assembled to challenge him moving at speeds that shouldn't have been possible. He didn't understand. The EMP should have floored them all and made them easy prey for his most wondrous creation. Second, his creature reared back violently in pain just as internal alarms went off. The Gungan's eyes went wide, trying to find some sort of monitor or feed that would allow him to see what happened. Sensors were still booting back up after the EMP, and while they switched off before it struck, they Leviathan's systems were far, far more complex than a starship's and took longer to boot up. His fingers cycled through the various commands, trying to find the source of this intrusion. Another alarm went off at the same time, a breach leading into the Leviathan's networks near the command center, just as it was about to use its breath weapon. Mind racing, Maloba started to realize the impossible was happening. Somehow, something got inside his Leviathan as it was about to strike and got past the bioframe into the techframe network he used to pull in cargo and even enter and exit his creation. "No! No! Ussa stupid id'ots! Ussa all supposed to die! Die! DIE! DIE! DIE!" he screamed, pounding on the controls frantically, trying to tap into military comm channels. "-rvived... etrieve...." "-atter! Watch out for the breath!" "Clear out! Now!" He watched as the fleet scattered like a school of fish with an opee sea killer bearing down on them just as the blast started to shoot forth. The leviathan reared its head, sending the city destroying beam moving in a wide swath. The fleet was mostly spared, but a few ships were not so luck, either caught in the blast and destroyed, or damaged and sent careening into the dark cold waters.. Aelyn, though shielded by the door, would still feel her hair raise and a heavy, radiating heat turn from the door which turned a bright red, then white, starting to buckle. The creature's tough membrane was meant to shield it, but there was difference between an intense and passing plasma charge and then there was a dedicated lightsaber attack. The membrane, wounded, didn't return in time to shield the door, and the metal gave off an intense heat. The beam passed, and somehow, the door hung on, wounded, but intact, though the heat radiating in that tight space would easily give off first degree and even second degree burns to those too close to it, sending off blasts of hot scalding steam, an effect mitigated by the insulation in Aelyn's wetsuit. Maloba's creation was designed to be impregnable, and so interior defenses were lacking with in the techframe. His monitors came on, catching a figure on all fours just within. The camera used to verify certain goods were retrieved, Maloba's eyes narrowed, a hissing snarl escaping his lips as he saw the blue blade shining. "Jedi. Issa Jedi." He reached over to a small compartment under his console, retrieving two things. He took a blaster, holstering it. He knew all too well what a Jedi could do to one wielding such a weapon, but he wasn't foolish enough to go unarmed. The second, was a dagger, a gift from his benefactor. made out of Sith steel, the blade's pommel ended in the image of a snarling sea-beast with two cold blue sapphires for eyes, mimicking the eyes of Maloba's one-time Sith patron. His benefactor stated such tools could ward off lightsabers and hurt fools like Jedi when it was gifted, but didn't elaborate on how. Prepared, he had his creature lunge forward, trying to move past the opening the fleet created in their scattered attempt to evade its blast-ray. He knew his attack on Otoh Gunga would fail at this point, and with a Jedi on board, his situation perilous. He'd bring his creature back to the surface one last time and send its spawn out among the stars. His bid for revenge on Naboo may be destined for failure at this rate, but he'd still have his revenge on the Galaxy. He had to fight through the thing's bloodlust, and at the same time, his creature was roaring, an echoing, shaking cry that wracked the interior. His creature was in pain. Those chattel, this fodder for his genius were striking out against him! The fleet, turned over to command of a middle-aged Gungan captain, quickly tried to rally everyone. They knew Aelyn was inside, and focused first and foremost on evading the thing's mouth, claws, and then tail as it darted past them, sending one more ship spiraling into the rocky walls of the Naboo Abyss. While they trusted Aelyn to stop that thing, the started firing on its tail and rear, doing their best to wound and slow the creature, careful not to fire near its head, which despite likely being too shielded, risked hurting the Jedi that gave then this chance for victory. Even as he kept one large eye on the Jedi, trying to gauge how much time he had before she reached his command center and the various security doors with her lightsaber, Maloba kept at the helm. He'd show them! He'd show them all if it was the last thing he did!

As the EMP wave passed over the Naboo armada, the creature knew what it needed to do. It had been trained and conditioned for this moment- to breath its destruction, to hunt, and to destroy. It knew its prey would be helpless, sitting there, easy to devour. It felt something towards this other voice, the voice that had that brightness that made it hurt, that was its antithesis. It was still confused, but its anger was starting to boil over. Wayson, for his part, was still shocked at how close he felt everything had been cut between the blast and the EMP, but the ship's working conditions gave way to a feeling of instant relief. "Punching it," he said, working through the start up conditions, coming back on in record time. Flooring it wasn't a term used often in a submersible vehicle, but it sped out ahead of the rest of the armada, making a beeline towards the creature. For the first time, a glimpse of the thing could be seen. The thing was massive, bigger than a sando aqua monster by far. It was long and serpentine, at least a good 600 meters, if not a full kilometer long. Its scales had a metallic sheen, and it seemed to have armor growing out of its body. Despite being a serpent-like beast, it had long claws at the front and back, that looked, and were, sharp enough to cut through durasteel and permacrete like butter. As for the creature, it felt and saw the vehicle run towards it. Nothing that small ever attacked it before. A sando or two had tried, but they were much bigger. It reacted with its own surprise as it charged its face, its maw opening wide. Its malevolence could be felt in waves now, washing over Aelyn. It felt her, it knew her, and some part of her, operating on a level the creature was not conscious of, knew she was a threat now. Dr. Maloba, waiting impatiently in his control center, steadied himself, knowing his creation was in for a fight. As Aelyn dove into the creature's mouth, Wayson punched in, trying to get as close as he could dare, watching Aelyn dive. He turned sharply, trying to get away as the thing struck out, one claw moving with an unearthly speed. A crunching sound could be heard in the water behind Aelyn, the sound gutwrenching and its vibrations felt, carried almost immediately by a shockwave that would propel Aelyn forward along with bits of metal and debris. Within the things mouth, there was a gaping maw, cilia lined and leading into a fiery blue abyss, those same cilia-like tentacles extending out, familiar to the Jedi from the one that was severed at the colony before. That blue abyss glowed with plasma and looked like an underwater furnace. The heat of heated and boiling water rushing up could be felt. In that hole lay death. If Aelyn's senses were on key, she'd sense, hidden behind mounds of flesh, an opening, sealed with an organic metal that was harder and more durable than durasteel, covered with a fleshy membrane. And if she couldn't sense that, she'd sense she had less than a good 30 seconds to act within the thing's mouth as the blue glow intensified, a realization coming that like at the colony, it followed up its EMP with a deadly breath attack, one that decimated the colony... one it breathed as a lethal ray out of its mouth...

Wayson listened. He heard with his head, and partially with his heart. He think he felt some of that connection, that grandness of the Force. A small part of him was having a hard time believing, other parts of him felt awed. A small, dark part of him flitted with envy too at how passionately she spoke about the connection with the great cosmic superpower. Not a being, and he definitely gave Aelyn a sharp look at the not a religion comment, but her tone hushed up any further questions, impressing the gravity of their assault. He tried to keep himself occupied, maintaining their comm channels. There was an ominous silence through it all. They guessed at some of the mad doctor's capabilities, but didn't know if tapping comms or other radio channels was something it did. He nodded to the Jedi's plan. "Don't worry," he said, trying to sound casual. "As soon as you're gone, I'll be taking this thing far, far away from here," he continued, giving a smile that never once reached his worried eyes. As the Leviathan geared for battle, pushed on by its creator, it could sense at some level, the light approaching it. Dim at first, it caused its anger to swell. It reacted out of instinct, hating that light, wanting to destroy it. Wanting to destroy everything. It would eat, it would consume. Its brood would spread and it would prosper, eating all that had form, swimming among the endless waves. Instinctively, it felt the fear on that connection. Maloba, trying to rile the creature up for his attack, saw the spike in the creature's brain to show the increased aggression. He didn't know what caused it, but cackled with glee, clapping his hands. The Naboo ships weren't within scanner range yet, so he didn't know what had it all excited, but pleased him to see the anger drawn out. The Leviathan started to move, uncoiling, drawing in the direction of Aelyn. It didn't know where she was exactly, or what she was, but it felt that connection, and trailed on it like a slender string. It would destroy. It would destroy this threat to its young. It somehow knew that deep down. It kept repeating that thought when it felt something blindside it. That light blinded it. It felt confused. It felt a connection. It knew it was wrong as some level, but its anger halted, wracked with indecision. What was this? It could feel it young within, growing in their pods, but it felt the call from outside. How? Why? Maloba lurched forward as the Leviathan's momentum halted. Clutching his console, he stared, looking at the vitals from the various sensors around the creature. It was birthing yet, but its heart-rate and brain-waves showed something along the lines of confusion. His long ears drew back and an angry hiss escaped his lips as sensors picked up the first of the ships. His hands moved quickly, and while the Jedi was teasing out a connection to the Leviathan, he activated the EMP blast, angrily pounding on the button. The interior went dark and the blue, plasmic lights flared to a blinding brightness for a second. The creature froze completely, then the pulse of electromagnetic energy radiated out in an invisible sphere of subtle destruction. Maloba's screens went dark, but he knew that his darling creature would be able to devour or annihilate the oncoming ships with its breath.

Admiral Egan kept at work, trying to get everything prepared. The type of assault they were preparing for was going to be difficult, Naboo's government more worried about heavy duty threats from spacers and pirates from above than serious trouble deep in their oceans. Even so, a sizeable armada was assembled, the largest part of it coming from the Gungans. Their craft were ironically designed to help ward off and protect against the mega-fauna in Naboo's oceans, but nothing on the scale, both in size and threat they were facing. They were aware of the Jedi quietly meditating. A few thought she was sleeping and recovering, but the decorated Admiral, along with Wayson and many others knew that she was likely becoming one with the Force, and "doing Jedi things", making sure she wasn't disturbed unless there was some emergency. Assembling at Theed, the armada was ready for an assault, preparations made to quick-kill the electronics in the craft to avoid having them fry out permanently. Wayson reluctantly volunteered to accompany Aelyn one final time. He trusted the Jedi, but on hearing she'd likely have to get deep inside that beast, which meant getting all too close, he had a lot of doubts, all reasonable. In the end, he went ahead, not wanting to let his planet down. "You're still piloting," he said in a level tone, dressed in his own wetsuit. "There's more forces on the way," Wayson explained, taking his co-pilot seat. "But if we have to leave now, we're not going to wait." He gave her a penetrating look. "How do you do it?" he asked. "There's so much resting on your shoulders, and yet just going off what you feel and believe? I mean, what if the Force is wrong? I ah, sorry, forget I said anything," he said, breaking off into an apology and strapping himself into his seat. Dozens of small ships, from attack subs to support bongos were arrayed. After the crew departed, Admiral Egan's command staff greeted Aira on her arrival, one of his lieutenant's greeting her. The lieutenant, young for her age, gave a run down of the plans, focusing most of their defense on Otoh Gunga. "It's not that we don't think Theed's in danger, but based on what we know of this creature, we're better positioned to defend ourselves on land against it and can muster conventional air defense against it." The mad doctor made his own preparations. So little time. So very, very little time. A final infusion of drugs and their alchemic magic would make the young ready to launch. He gave his creation a couple more hours to rest, wanting it in fit fighting form for his assault. He wondered if they'd survive the attack on the city, but as long as his "grandchildren" were able to launch, he'd consider it a risk. Win or lose, his genius would be known, though he still envisioned leading Gungan survivors under his fist, cleansing the surface, liberated from their moronic, short-sighted bosses. Finally back in the control center, deep under layers of protective scales, metal plating, and the creature's coral and bone cavities, he checked the plasma cannon's power outputs. With the plasma stolen from the colony, he could unleash a salvo that would burn the city to the ground. It'd need to be at close range, but he could... he would do it. Giggling like a madman, he went to the main console. His leviathan's serpentine body was curled up in a deep slumber near the core, recouping after the attack. Slowly it woke, sinuously straightening out, preparing for its assault. The creature itself was uneasy. It knew it's young were ready to hatch. It could feel the extra rage and anger running through it, that need to destroy. It felt uneasy though. While not Force sensitive despite being a dark side creation, at least in the conventional sense, its dark taint could feel Aelyn's rising light in its future. It didn't know where or how, nor when, but it knew it was there, coming to challenge it. Letting out a roar, it let itself be worked itself up into a frenzy.

Wayson, at the admiral's behest, set out at once to see about procuring something to Aelyn's specifications for creating a dedicated wet suit. The other staff, from the admiral on up, had ignored the wet and dripping Jedi and her escort for a couple reasons, one simply because the need for decisions and a quick debrief was too great, and second, they understood that both just came in from the field. As Wayson set about to get that wetsuit, and the admiral started working with his various counterparts to coordinate an offensive to find Maloba's leviathan, the mad Gungan made preparations on his own, unknowingly setting a clock for Naboo's defenders, and placing more weight on Aelyn's shoulders. Doctor Maloba was deep in the bowels of his creation, moving through a small conduit that looked like a sewer and smelled about as fresh, hunching over to avoid hitting his head. Even so, it gave him access to one small, but key part of his creation's body. He would have his demonstration and revenge by one last strike that would leave its mark on Naboo, but his aims were to leave a mark on the Galaxy. His benefactor had been very clear on that piece, and he also had to exercise more caution now with his precious creation in these advanced stages. Descending a ladder, Maloba looked over a room that looked like a cross between a fleshy sack and a torpedo bay, standing upright finally. Large gelatinous pods grew in the walls, black and looking not unlike oversized caviar, which would be apt. Aelyn had sensed the thing's protectiveness, and while it knew its "father", the creature, a she, was also protective of its young, finally ready to hatch. Infusions of the alchemic drugs his benefactor left, coupled with the plasma he'd harvested and grown would ensure this batch of spawn would grow big and strong. Maloba scuttled over to a panel in the room, looking at the pieces. He was an expert in biotech, but scavenged parts would work here too to get his spawn where they needed to go. Some would hatch here on Naboo, but he and his benefactor agreed on this point. The wider Galaxy must know that they'd mess with the Gungan race at their peril, and after those fools who exiled him had been made to pay, they would know that for sure. "Mon Calamari," he said, his tone frenzied, but with a mantra like reverence as he read the various missile bays in this room. "Manaan... Kamino... Zeltros... Selonia..." A half dozen other names he rattled off, each with their own set of missiles, all equipped with hyperdrives. Once he'd finished with those fools here on Naboo, he would bring his creature to the surface, and the missiles would launch skyward and then go into space to crashland in the oceans of those chosen worlds, unmarked, unnoticed. They would grow in those foreign oceans, and feed, and while they would be unable to send their spawn out among the stars without help, Maloba's mark would be made on the Galaxy once they grew to size, spreading chaos and terror unlike anything that had been seen before. Cackling insanely, the Gungan made his way back to the bridge, gleefully rubbing his hands.

The admiral, more familiar with the Force in an academic sense than Wayson, had heard of techniques like battle mediation, having studied the great battles of the Clone Wars when the Jedi were at their prime. He could sense the Aelyn's concern, realizing he was placing a lot on her shoulders. His armada, and all of Naboo if things went wrong could depend on her. All the same, just like his staff and the various Gungans before him, he had faith in the Jedi and the hope they offered in these dark hours. A Gungan engineer brought up records of Maloba's work, retrieved from records transmitted from Otoh Gunga. Some of it was shared, much of it classified since he'd been a military engineer, but he had a reputation for a certain "hands on" approach. The best guess was he'd be inside it, making it half-ship, half-creature. It wasn't definite, but it was looking that way. "Thessa speculation, Jedi Ael'een," the Gungan said, working through a hologram that tried to render together various accounts of the creature that attacked the mining colony. "But we thinks 'dat if the doctor was gun'a control his creation, he'da wants a direct neural interface." Despite the somewhat broken sounding Basic, there was a knowledgeable confidence in the Gungan's voice, pointing towards the head. "If he's'a able to process 'dat plasma he stole, there's a gots to be a filt'ar or some'ting in the mouth to catch it, ya?" He gave a grimace. "Notsa saying you should let yourself get swallowed though," he added hastily, "but it'a seems the only way to get in without blast'n it open." His tone however suggested he'd like nothing more than to destroy the creature entirely, and several looks in the room showed most of the others shared that sentiment. "We don't know where he'll strike," the Admiral said gravely. "Theed is of concern, especially since he hates humans and wants us wiped off Naboo's surface. "But, he also reportedly had harsh words with his people when they exiled him. Otoh Gunga is also a prime target." He gave Aelyn a direct look. "We can split our forces to protect both areas. We'll need to actually," he said, shaking his head. "Unless he's going after more mining facilities and settlements, and we've started to evacuate them, he's going to lash out now that we're onto him. Alternatively," he said, bringing up a map of Naboo's ocean region. "His attacks started in the core area, near the Naboo Abyss. We could try taking the fight to it." He stirred, looking uncomfortable. "We know Jedi are keepers of the peace, not soldiers, but a lot depends on you and there's only one of you. What would you do?"

Wayson's demeanor changed when they were above water again, finding the warm Naboo sun a welcome relief. He listened to what Aelyn said, nodding glumly. "That's going to be a tall order," he concluded. "Doable, but hasn't been done since the Federation Blockade." He shook his head. "A lot of the Bosses aren't going to like that, not are my superiors, but I don't think we have a choice." He remained buckled in through the landing, on line with his superiors and getting them assembled. He gave a very high level overview. It was rough, but he could tell Aelyn took to piloting this type of ship very well indeed. Though they were greeted by more chill and blowing air once they were in the hangar. "Yeah..." he said, following her, leaving a wet trail behind him. "Next time, we need something better equipped for aquatic travel." he observed, trying to wring out the hem of his uniform off to the side of the hall before stepping into the command center. There was a bustle of activity in the command center once Aelyn had been fully debriefed. There was some disbelief as Aelyn relayed her story, but one of the Gungan attendants had an "ah-ha!" moment and a feeling of grim excitement could be felt running through him. A short time later, a likely suspect appeared. Dr. Malu Maloba was once a preeminent Gungan engineer, but very isolationist in his policies, believing that Naboo belonged to the Gungans alone. He'd advocated on using political, and if necessary, military means, to force Humans and other species off Naboo. Brilliant, he knew how to work with the Gungan's unique plasma, as well as bio-engineer Gungan ships and other structures. Agitating too heavily, he was exiled from Otoh Gungah. He pretty much vanished, save for a blip where he came up on the radar, associated with some suspicious financial activities around a figure known only as Marlowe White who was linked to various wars and conflicts on other star systems and seemed to have disappeared completely a few years back. Holorecordings of the trial where Maloba was exiled would match with what Aelyn saw. Dealing with the EMPs was going to be a problem. Ion shielding could work, but not underwater. "We could power down during those initial blasts," suggested a decorated admiral, "there seems to be down time between those waves based on data we got back from the colony attack, but we'd need to know exactly when those were happening so we could avoid having our ships and weapons fried and then coordinate that with precision." The admiral gave Aelyn a meaningful look. One other problem emerged as they dug into Maloba's work, one that made this a lot more dangerous. The doctor had been known to build creations like this, bio-organic constructs like almost everything else the Gungans created. Most of the time, and there was thought this wouldn't be an exception, was that they weren't creatures left to their own devices and controlled remotely, but also vehicles...