Tenebris

A galaxy-wide announcement halted every other broadcast, littered with images of the Echani Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance, Tenebris E'lann, clasping the hand of the young Imperial Head of State, Raven Zinthos. E'lann-Zinthos Treaty Signed "Following massive losses on the Imperial capital of Carida and multiple terrorist attacks on Coruscant, the threat of the Sith seems to have been enough to push the Imperials and the Galactic Alliance into one another's arms. The treaty includes provisions for immediate response to any military threat against either party, a joint outpost established on the planet Anaxes, and will be sealed by a state dinner to be hosted at Coruscant's famed Link Headquarters. No representatives from the Jedi Order have responded to requests to comment on the treaty, and critics have expressed concerns that the military allegiance will bring anything constructive into the galaxy, merely tying everything up in additional red tape and escalating the eminent threats already facing the galaxy. However, there are many who are hopeful that this alliance represents a new leaf for the galaxy, multiplying the reach of these respective militaries for mutual benefit and protection against such unknowns and beginning, as demonstrated by the successful Imperial operation into the Y'toub system, to even drive down crime syndicates that have long held roots in the outer rim of the galaxy."

Recall orders for the harvesting teams arrived from the Galactic Alliance base on Hesperidium. All starfighter squadrons were to rendezvous with their respective ships and all cargo ships were to proceed immediately back to Triple Zero in order to distribute the harvest to the most useful locations.

A holographic comm using Galactic Alliance military encryption arrives for Jedi Knight Aira Cadan. The image is of a smartly dressed Zabrak in fatigues, his rank pips honoring him as a Captain.

Construction begins on a Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser. AP Cost: 3 Scheduled for completion on 11/7/17

Construction of a Golan II Space Defense Platform begins above Chandrila. Golan II AP cost: 2 Scheduled for completion on 10/15/17.

Construction of a Golan II Space Defense Platform begins above Borleias. Golan II AP cost: 2 Scheduled for completion on 10/15/17.

Construction of a Golan III Space Defense Platform begins. Golan III AP cost: 3 Scheduled for completion on 10/22/17.

Construction of a Golan III Space Defense Platform begins in the shipyards at Bilbringi. Golan III AP cost: 3 Scheduled for completion on 10/22/17.

A heavily encrypted comm from Coruscant arrives for the Imperial Head of State.

Looking at her was like looking at an Ansion pixie. Flighty and nervous, the twitch of her dark thumb more of a tic than a caress, Tenebris nevertheless kept his eyes trained on her. It required more effort than he would have liked to admit: keeping his demeanor soft, not military-crisp, was a foreign exercise. He didn't know what to make of her confession: feelings were not something he discussed openly, if ever, and to hear that he had been on repeat in the Thyrsian's mind brought a stunned query and apology to his lips, but since neither one was strong enough to win out, he remained silent. It was likely what she needed, just to process all the events that had happened at the start of the day; it had been a long and unforeseen series of unpredictable and dangerous crises. Slowly, ever-so-slowly, as to avoid startling the alighted pixie, he moved his other hand to clasp her dark Thyrsian fingers in his own, gentle pressure of reassurance given from one to another. Unsure of the social protocol and what degree of the professionalism called for in the circumstance, he released them probably a little too quickly. Lux appeared to need a friend; he could not be that. But a sympathetic and understanding commanding officer could understand the waves of loss and grief that had rolled over her, from the death of her friends to his own betrayal on Onderon, to clutching the hand of the Dark Lord of the Sith. That thought alone above the rest spurred him to action. There was so much to do. The Holonet was rife with accusations, with the crumbling of stability and peace, with doubt and warmongering and insecurity. "We'll do this the formal way when we get back to Coruscant, but I'm assigning you the provisional rank of Lieutenant," he said finally, pushing himself up to his feet. "If you'd like to take the time to collect your things when we arrive on Coruscant, you're welcome to do so before you report back in. Mithwyr at least will be accompanying me to the Senate to deliver my report, but you are also welcome to come along, though you'll need to dress in CoreSec standard." He glanced at his chrono, and awkwardly looked back to her, feeling that he should say something more but every tendril of thought seemed utterly at odds with the nature of the situation. Sensitivity was probably overrated anyways. "Get some rest, we'll be on Coruscant soon," he murmured, and then he slipped out the door and disappeared with crisp footsteps down the hall.

Gentle fingers, much gentler than the firm grip they were accustomed to, reached for Lux's arms that cradled her head, seeming to draw her entire body into a cocoon in which she might be made whole. Intending to help her to stand, Tenebris stopped just millimeters shy of contact with the Thyrsian, the erratic energy of her trembling breaths almost tangible under his fingers before the Commissioner thought better of it. The pale skin of his hands glinted in the ship's artificial light and his mind stuttered back to the memory of his fingers clasping around her throat, desperate to wring the life from her. Letting his arms drop to his sides, he instead folded his legs underneath himself to sit on the floor in front of her. He had come to clear the air with the Thyrsian whom he had wronged, but as confidently as he had entered, Tenebris now realized he had given no thought to what, in fact, he would say. The reassurances of a soldier did not seem poetic enough to soothe the wounds of a traumatized girl. Instead, he lapsed into facts. "We're on our way to Coruscant," he murmured quietly. "Skye sent a message to say that she and her other Jedi friend are off somewhere else on Jedi business. She has some leads on Faust--the real Faust." He exhaled intentionally once more, evaluating that he did, in fact, want to give her the option that had come to mind. Her descent into the palace had proven ineffective and foolhardy, but she alone of his men had found their way to stand face-to-face with the Hunter and make it out alive, regardless of the fact that it had merely been a facsimile of such an adversary. "If you'd like, I would be pleased for you to join my staff. I need to deliver a report to the Senate, and your assistance would be valuable to me. You're foolhardy, but you're one hell of a fighter. I can understand if you want nothing to do with me, though." Looking askance, he racked his brain for delicate ways to approach the conversation but grew quickly impatient with the exercise. "What happened at the University was inexcusable. I don't expect your forgiveness. I don't know what it was, that trap that Van Isel left behind, but I assure you, it was never my intent to cause you harm." His voice was somber, solemn, syncing with the lullaby pulse of the ship's engines. "If you'd like, I'll happily drop you off at the central branch of the bank, and you can forget this ever happened; forget Onderon, forget me." Sincere apology shone in his eyes, and almost as an afterthought, he added, "What do you need? What can I do?"

Unmoved in the entirety of the chaos that followed, Tenebris' hands remained by his sides, not even giving the barest twitch toward his blaster. Everything, everything here was a test, a game to see who could make the other flinch. The severed head clutched in the vicious fingers of the Dark Lord sparked and fizzed unnaturally, and it was this confirmation of his suspicions that finally drew the first response from the Commissioner, a tightening of his mandible that clenched his teeth together. Skye had warned him of the Hunter's trickery: she had said time and again that things were never what they seemed to be. The cold throttling darkness that had come over him in Van Isel's office should have been evidence enough of this. Had his race's pale complexion not reigned so utterly, the wrathful flush of heat that he felt in his cheeks might have been visible. As it was, it granted him a coldly deliberate ire nonetheless. An ire that only increased as the Jedi Master spoke out of turn, showing an underbelly to the darkness before her. He had made the mistake of ignoring Skye's warnings twice before, he would not do it again. However, her hasty plea for their retreat only compounded the realization that they had been soundly beaten by an unexpected adversary who deserved no quarter in the galaxy; and Tenebris was under no delusions that the Galactic Alliance would have a flag on the stronghold of Onderon once they had left the system. She was right, and they would leave. But that did not explain the vested interest the Sith had in the system, not now that Faust was dead if that was truly the purpose of their presence, which he doubted. But he would not show his back to this predator. As he met the bioluminescent gaze of the Shadow who stood before him, the Echani inclined his head once more. "It appears my quarry was a..." He paused, crystalline eyes flickered to the dark one's lackeys in the process of collecting the decoy's halves. "...dead end. My gratitude for putting a stop to his show. Our purpose here has expired." He offered the man the crisp Echani warrior's salute, his fist pressed briefly to his breast, aloof eyes never leaving his adversary. Equality of skill was not something he claimed to possess where this dark creature was concerned, but underestimating one's opponent would always lead to defeat. Let this man think him an impotent fool, at the whims of the Alliance or of the Jedi Order. A return to Coruscant would set things in motion that would not be undone, not with the evidence he had collected here. Conflagrating adrenaline coursed through his veins as the Commissioner straightened. "You will see nothing but the dust of our heels in an hour's time," he bade the Shadow farewell. "Dark Lord." Proud eyes remained unwavering as he backed away, turning sharply on the third step and parting the gathered pool of his men. Captain Leed was waiting for him at the command center, his eyes wide. "You're leaving?" The smirk that had played across Tenebris' face vanished at the accosting from the Onderonian. "The planet is safer if we go. I won't repeat Carida; it's a fool's choice either way." As agreed, within the hour, the mobile command center had been dismantled, the perimeter around the palace dissolved. The Raisonneur, having hovered just below the Black Sun Corvette for the duration of the talks, touched down in the square to refuel, and having done so, departed in tandem with the Lambda-class shuttle. Broadcasting their intent to the blockading fleet, the pair of ships moved to safe distance and blasted off into hyperspace, the pair of Jedi and the Thyrsian and Echani aboard. ---- Meanwhile, within the palace, a riotous laugh echoed through the vaulted ceilings of the Throne Room. One of the guards standing just behind the one who had so dramatically attempted to cover her embarrassment could no longer contain his mirth at this entertaining specimen who had entered their presence. Impulsively, he broke formation to cross the room and sit on the floor beside her. For a moment, it appeared that his break in formality might earn him the wrath of a commander, as all the other guards looked back and forth at each other as though something was drastically amiss. Pulling off his helmet, he looked at Ailbasí with a twinkle in his dark eyes. "You are no Sith, for whatever your paperwork says. Tell me, do you know who I am?" He punctuated his spontaneity by seizing a piece of her nerf jerky and gnawing on it, revealing perfectly straight and glimmering teeth that matched the picture plastered on the outside of the crates of packaged meals lining the room.

"Master Organa is in the command center," replied the lieutenant that met Xae-Lin Ardel at the base of the ramp. "The Commissioner wants to see you. Come this way, please." ----- Unsurprisingly, the Sith ambassador skulked away without rebuttal to Tenebris' accusations, and just as he was about to demand satisfaction, the smooth voice of a newcomer met his ears. The man that had materialized out of the darkness, however, stood with the easy grace of a relaxed predator. He was not to be trifled with, that much was apparent. He was no politician or equivocator, yet his bearing warned of a hidden danger that you might never see before it had utterly destroyed you. Unintentionally, Tenebris' posture straightened in response, senses now on alert. Then Faust's greeting met his ears. It was a title utterly unsurprising except for its context; just as he had never dreamed to stumble upon a reborn Vladimir Faust in a routine investigation, neither did he expect to be entreating with the Dark Lord of the Sith in the darkened Palace Square of Iziz. Extending a hand to this man seemed out of place, but respect flooded his bearing. He was carrying a match in a room full of gunpowder, and the circumstance before him must be handled with utmost delicacy. "I should be so lucky as to wound the Dark Lord of the Sith with mere words," he acknowledged the newcomer, settling on a grave bow of his head before turning to the white-robed form of the jakrab who had evaded his trap and nodding once more. "Darth Luciferian. How good of you to join us again; I was afraid you had gone on your merry way." Several others joined the delegation behind him as he spoke: at their head, a diminutive auburn-haired woman in traditional robes who must have been the Jedi Ardel. A murmured greeting at his elbow signified the arrival of Lux and Skye as well. A fiery irritation spiked as he regarded the latter pair; Lux had been told explicitly to remain in the command center, and while it was likely that the Jedi Master had taken it upon herself to re-engage the Sith parties present, he had entrusted the Thyrsian with the Jedi Master's safety. She was altogether too headstrong for her own good, and while her initiative was admirable, her casual inability to take orders was not. But he would not chastise her here and now in front of the assembled, not when so many lives were at stake. In any case, now it was a party. "Introductions, one and all," he said, holding his hands palms-up as if to signify the collected delegation of negotiators. "I am Commissioner E'lann of CoreSec. Master Skye Organa you know. My associate Lux, Master Xae-Lin Ardel, and the rest are my men." Blue-white eyes stared into the shadows of the unreadable face before him. "This man must answer for his crimes, Dark Lord. Your ambassador tells me you plan to carry out justice, but I confess myself skeptical."

While never having had any actual experience with the Sith Empire or its affiliates, the nature of the Sith as evil, menacing, supernaturally powerful terrorists had been reinforced time and time again throughout Tenebris' training. Ambassador Cook was a welcome change from the stereotype and seemed genuinely eager to assist, so much so that he began to wonder if he had not misjudged them as he had misjudged Skye. Then the Ambassador made a mistake. It was as though a steadily pulsating rhythm in his ear had dropped a beat, the 3/4 measure breaking the illusion. Jolted out of what he could now see had been a silver-tongued painting of the situation, Tenebris's lips pursed in a thin smile. His childhood had been steeped in politics, impotent men spewing lies and smiles while brandishing daggers behind their backs. He had joined CoreSec to avoid that world, and here once again he had been plunged into it headfirst. Lies, daggers, and smiles. Luckily for him, as distasteful as it was, he knew how to play that game. "Perhaps, Ambassador, we can work together to extract what we need from Faust. I know something of his booby traps, having been privy to them myself," he said hollowly, mind hearkening back to the RAGE toxin that had filled his mind back in Van Isel's office. "As for cleanup and containment, I have it on good authority that Faust's indirect holdings among the University will be given a thorough investigation. Being that Iziz is the only city on the planet, I hardly see where reinforcing its boundaries will become a significant project. The people here have had to defend themselves from some of the most vicious beasts in the galaxy for millennia. They have allowed me to conduct an investigation, given the standing agreement they have with the GA, but they are not beholden to your... assistance." His eyes flashed as he reached his final point. "And thank you for reminding me why I'm here in the first place. Yes, CoreSec's tight on money, but that has nothing to do with the Galactic Alliance fleet, and everything to do with the madman now in your custody. He is responsible for the destruction of the CoreSec outpost in Coronet City and the loss of life that was incurred there. I don't doubt that he probably had his hands in the destruction of the Coruscant Headquarters as well. I tracked him here from Corellia, and I intend to hold him accountable for his crimes. Do not think the galaxy has so quickly forgotten Carida. Whatever you say that the Sith are, the galaxy has no great love for you. As it stands, you and your men are free to go; do so before I reconsider our arrangement." Tenebris signaled to the lieutenant on his left, who immediately broke into a sprint in the direction of the command center, before pausing to address the liaison once more to reveal his single greatest mistake, steely eyes set in stone, though his genial smile never faltered. "Oh, and Ambassador? I am Echani. Weapons and armor, bells and whistles, these do not a warrior make." ----- A comm went out from the mobile command center all the way to Coruscant, bearing the signature of CoreSec's Commissioner, its missive clear.

Standing in the center of the square to meet the incoming delegation with a half-dozen of his men surrounding him, his silver hair glistening in the floodlights posted atop the mobile command center some two hundred yards away, the CoreSec Commissioner extended his hand to the Sith liaison. "Ambassador," Tenebris said firmly, his features betraying no hint of emotion. In truth, he was irritated in no small amount by the arrangement they had come to, feeling that although he had established the terms of the arrangement, he was getting the short end of the deal. There was no room for a display of weakness, nor second-guessing, however, so he continued. "I am disquieted by the fact that Faust was able to slip our nets, though I am relieved to hear that he has entered your custody. I don't suppose there will be an opportunity for me to speak with him." He let the questioning tone of his statement hang in the air for a moment. "Your fleet is not required to remain here. The Minister of Finance has informed me that payment in the amount of one million credits has already been transferred into government accounts, tagged for the reconstruction project. The damage is not so severe as to require such drastic measures." He looked toward the Lambda-class shuttle, where another half-dozen men were gathered around the base, and back to Ambassador Cook. "Assuming that your purpose is fulfilled here, then, I see no reason for you to remain. You have your prize, I have mine, we can both now be on our way and leave these good people to their ordinary lives." There was a polite warning hidden in his tone, a suggestion that bore heavy implication. He would not go so far as to abandon niceties at this juncture, but assuming the Sith fleet did not pull out nigh immediately, he would return with a fleet from the Galactic Alliance if the Onderon government deemed it necessary.

The cobalt gaze of the white-robed Hunter disappeared in a blaze of smoke, but in the distance, Tenebris could make out the outline of a woman's form lying on the ground. Cursing, he yanked the headset off and darted out of the Mobile Command Unit, leaving it to dangle by its attached cord as he rushed to the site of Faust's ascension. His agents had already surrounded the prone form, but as he shouldered his way through, they quickly made room for him to kneel at her side. "Master Organa? Skye, can you hear me?" He snapped his fingers at one of the hovering CoreSec agents. "Get a medic on site, now." After quickly scanning to ensure nothing was injured or broken, and that her heartbeat and breathing were steady, Tenebris scooped up her body and hoisted her in his arms back to the command unit. "Someone, find out where that crazy son of a Hutt went to, and how he broke through our nets," he commanded his officers. A pair of medics had a stretcher laid out, and as he set her down gently, the telltale whine of engines grew louder from overhead. He pointed a sharp finger at Lux. "Keep an eye on her," he ordered the Thyrsian as he walked away from the bustling medical personnel. "She doesn't leave your sight." Growling at the comm officer to open a channel, Tenebris kept half an eye on the still form of the Jedi Master as the channel to the skies opened once more. "Ambassador Cook, I assume you have taken your quarry into your possession since he has evaded mine," he said irritably, "and I neither have the interest nor the manpower to mount a hunt for Vladimir Faust across the entirety of Iziz." Sincerely, he hoped that the inbound Lambda-class shuttle did, in fact, hold a Jedi, and not an imposter. An ally of Skye Organa's would be a welcome asset on this rather dangerous ground. If not, he would address that when it came to it, but he had no intention of allowing the Healer's departure on any ship but the Raisonneur, which remained just above the square, working in tandem with the Onderon guard to bring in the ships from the Sith envoy.

"Sir, one of the fleets just jumped back to hyperspace," the radar tech called across the control center. A curt nod was all the man received by way of reply, but internally Tenebris was reeling. The ships that had just departed bore registrations that were untraceable, shadowy transponder IDs that led, impossibly, back to nowhere, giving him pause. It could no longer be of concern, however, as the other fleet grew ever larger in the viewports. He was spared the futile exercise of speculation as an amiable voice echoed through the command center. The Echani kept his eyes trained on Captain Leed, trading knowing glances with the man. Sith. In this galactic political climate, where the Imperial Remnant had placed a death warrant on the heads of any and all Sith, they had the audacity to show up in force above Onderon. Had he the resources of the Galactic Alliance at his fingertips, the scenario would be entirely different. But this was not Galactic Alliance space, and he was charged with the defense of not only his men but of the Onderonian people, who almost certainly had their eye on the destruction of Carida. He was unwilling to make this a repeat of that fiasco, where the firebombs rained from the sky as careless combat took its toll in collateral damage. Moving to open a channel to offer his reply, the comm officer drew his attention to another missive. This just keeps getting better... He rubbed a hand across his face. "Lambda-class shuttle, you are cleared for entry; proceed directly to Iziz' Royal Square. Try to keep to yourself, Master Ardel," he warned. So Skye's distress call had come to something. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried, given the identity of the fleet that now hovered over the planet. The registration of the erstwhile Jedi Knight's ship showed up strangely in their database, but it wasn't enough to draw his suspicion. He had been by Skye's side when she had sent the comm and it was only reasonable that a Jedi Councilwoman would receive an answer to a plea for help. "Ambassador," Tenebris began sharply, opening a comm to the fleet overhead, "your offer of assistance is duly noted, and your desire to avoid collateral damage is shared. I should ask where you received your information, or why you have any inklings of Faust's whereabouts, or tell you that I utterly mistrust your intent to--what was it, 'pass judgment on him'?--but to my mind that is less relevant than what is at stake here." Leed nodded fractionally, the intent clear: let this one go. It rankled to let the lunatic walk free, especially as Faust's prior affiliation with the Sith as Darth Luciferian was no secret to the wider galaxy, but the thought of letting him retreat with Skye in his clutches, the most renowned Jedi Healer the order had ever seen, was unbearable. Not to mention he had no way of knowing the whereabouts of his impulsive Thyrsian companion. "We accept your offer, on these terms: Faust has one of my officers in his custody, a provisional agent by the name of Organa. I would like this agent returned to me unharmed, to be extracted by the Lambda-class shuttle currently inbound on this system, at which point your explosive friend is all yours. Should peaceful conduct continue, and should you not deviate from your singular task, you will be allowed to leave the system uninhibited, provided you leave some form of collateral until all structural damage to the Iziz Palace and Courtyard has been repaired. Do you agree?" Iziz' reserve fleet stood ready for deployment should their Ambassador refuse terms or any hijinks take place. Hoping he looked more confident than he felt before these men with whose command he was entrusted, Tenebris silenced his comm, leaving the channel open for a response, just as he made out the slim figure of his ebony companion being heralded his way, unharmed but looking certainly shaken. Without thinking anything of it, he extended an open palm to Lux, wordlessly offering a place beside him as he waited for an answer from the fleet before looking into answers from her. He said nothing of her foray into the palace, or her headstrong decisions, or her choice to forego communication and approval of her actions. He owed her that much, and Mithwyr had been clearer than Mon Calamari waters: the woman was intent on holding her own in this fight. More than he could say, his Echani heart swelled with pride over her determination.

The eyes of the communications officer widened in a mix of fear and disgust, throwing the headset on the console before him. Captain Leed sent him a firm scowl that demanded an explanation, but the officer simply shook his head in puzzlement. "Captain, I've never heard anything like it. That fleet... it responded... as one." There was no other way of putting it, but even having turned the words loose into Onderon's open-aired twilight, a hot flush crept over his cheeks as he realized how ridiculous he probably sounded. Something echoed in the otherworldly voices that rang through his mind, replaying over and over and over, some undercurrent that whispered of death and despair that drove him instinctively to take a faltering half-step away from the console. The Onderonian captain demanded the words be played back, jamming the headset down over his ears. Opposite to his subordinate, his face drained of all color, taking on a grim set. "Get the Commissioner back here. This is his rodeo. I don't care if it is Vladimir Faust in those crypts, one man with a death wish and a hostage is less important than a fleet's worth of destruction unleashed on our homeworld," he directed solemnly. A chill permeated the air that had nothing to do with the fading last light of Onderon's star. ----- "Acknowledged," Tenebris said grimly as the earpiece in his comm crackled. Even over the emergency line, the jammers were powerful enough to have some effect. Nothing within him sat well as he turned on his heels, leaving his female traveling companions to fend for themselves against the galaxy's most well-known mass murderer, but he also had his men to think of, and the fleets overhead. If Lux still had her comm attuned to the CoreSec emergency frequency, he had a chance at reaching her. If not, she had chosen her own fate when she dove into the fox's den. "Lux, this is the Commissioner. If you find him, do not engage. Repeat, do not engage. He brought some friends to this party we weren't prepared for," he said coldly. "Get out of there and return to the square, now. That's an order." He certainly could not fault her for wanting to do her part to rescue the Jedi Master, but she was woefully underprepared, and he had neither the time nor the manpower to save her from the consequences of her brash and headstrong choices. At a brisk jog, he arrived back at the command center, the disappearance of the system's star rendering this side of the planet to gathering dark, a metaphor that was not lost on him. Wresting control of the comm from the bewildered officer, he addressed the overhead fleet as exhaustion and anger and frustration and the edges of desperation blended together like ribbons of sediment running through the bedrock of his consciousness. "Unidentified fleet, this is Commissioner E'lann of CoreSec. Hold position and do not advance on the planet or prepare to be fired upon. Faust is a known criminal and is wanted by the governing bodies of the Galactic Alliance and by extension CoreSec, as well as the Onderonian military. What business do you have with him?" His voice boomed with reckoning, by his anger keeping at bay the fronds of fear that caressed the edges of his senses. Sith or no, perhaps the overhead fleets could buy him a tourniquet to stem the flow of destruction that would occur in this place if he failed. Perhaps there was still a way to retrieve Skye. ----- The team of a dozen agents continued into the palace, passing corpses bearing the insignia of the Palace Guard, sweeping corridors for any lingering tricks Faust might have deigned to leave behind. Per the Commissioner's instructions, they were to tighten the perimeter bit by bit, approaching the throne room from every door, east, west, and south. Sergeant Yorl, the de facto leader of the team in Tenebris' absence, thought he could just make out a distant humming that sounded vaguely familiar. Onderon's reserve guard had stationed officers by the exits to the tunnels and catacombs that led out from the Palace itself. The planet's defense fleet itself was on standby, ready to dart out of atmosphere at a moment's notice should negotiations go sour, but desperate to avoid the possibility of goading the militant fleet into an unwanted fight.

Just when it looked like things could not get any more complicated, a comm from Onderon Space Command came through to the mobile command center in Iziz' Palace Square, alerting the communications officer to the presence of two approaching fleets. Tenebris was unsurprised at this development, given the distress call Skye had sent, but the presence of two fleets was disconcerting, a fault line in the proverbial quaking ground that was the Japrael system. Neither of the fleets were instantly attributable to the Jedi or the Galactic Alliance, which was another count against them. Swearing under his breath, he pressed fingertips into his tired eyelids and moved to the comm station. Captain Leed, the head of Iziz' reserve guard, was standing nearby overseeing the tactical readouts streaming onto their screen, calculating the number and purpose of the approaching capital ships. Tenebris glanced at the bulky officer. "Any chance this is a fluke?" Leed sighed. "Slim to none. We had an open channel with one of them, the HWK-290, but when the second fleet jumped in-system they shut up real quick." The Echani nodded and gestured to the comm console. "Do you mind?" Captain Leed stepped to the side, his answer implicit. Relaying instructions to the communications officer, Tenebris ducked out of the mobile command center, the localized comm jamming around the palace still in place on all but the CoreSec emergency frequency. Calibrating all of his gear, he assumed his place at the head of CoreSec's troops and began to lead his men into the palace, trusting that the planet's military force would do their part in holding the perimeter, having been alerted to Faust's trickery with the sonics. The medical team tending to the badly burned and wounded Lieutenant Cochran almost missed the tiny Dathomiri figurine in the smoldering metal fragments that were all that was left of Faust's hoverchair. But by the time they had retrieved it, the commissioner had already vanished. It was delivered into the hands of Mithwyr, the commissioner's most loyal agent and acting captain of the Raisonneur. ----- Moments after Tenebris disappeared into the palace, the communications officer opened a channel, and with a grim set of his face, addressed the fleets that gathered overhead like storm clouds. "Unidentified vessels, this is Onderon Space Command. Identify yourselves and state your purpose immediately." Reaching across his instruments, he modified the comm channel to contact the freighter individually. "HWK freighter, this is Onderon Space Command. Are you in distress? Please respond." The officer had explicit instructions from the CoreSec officer; if any of the vessels above so much as mentioned the comm from Skye Organa, they were to be given instructions to stall in orbit as long as humanly possible in order to run interference and prevent any escape attempts should the fly manage to shirk the web. One thing was certain: this had become much more complicated than a simple investigation of a terrorist incident on Corellia.

With unerring speed and accuracy, the CoreSec troops poured into the square, leveling fire at the cursed remotes that had thwarted every effort of Tenebris to subdue the Hunter's facsimile. A trio of scattered pops, punctuated by a chorus of blasterfire louder than he had been expecting, and their wreckage plummeted to the cobblestones. The Commissioner, seizing his discarded Onderonian garb in order to smother the remaining flames on the form of his lieutenant, cast a vague glance toward the palace in an attempt to pinpoint the escape vector of the madman who was escaping with Skye in his clutches. It was no use: his eyes were still adjusting after the brilliant burst of flame from the hoverchair. Just at that moment, however, the familiar shape of the X4 Gunship crested the hill and paused above the palace for the span of fifteen seconds before it moved to hover above the square, its turrets and floodlights swinging to and fro as though daring Faust to come out and play. He was pleased to note that even following the unexpected detonation of the hoverchair, whatever electromagnetic pulse it may have generated was not enough to affect their communication systems. "Chief, you alive down there?" The familiar voice of Mithwyr crackled with static. "Barely," he coughed, turning a sooty face up to the sky. "You didn't happen to see where he took her, did you?" "Into the palace, sir. He blasted a hole in the damn roof. Talia's rolling over in her grave." "Patch into the whole squad and the Palace Guard. Set up a perimeter around the palace," he ordered swiftly. "No one in, no one out, unless I give the say-so. He's likely to be too at-home in there." "Uh, Chief?" The Zabrak's voice was automatically apologetic. A feeling of dread crept into the Echani's gut. "What?" "The girl. Lux. She asked what happened. Wanted to do her part to help." That was inconsistent with the quivering wreck Tenebris had watched depart the University in the aftermath of actions not his own. "So you put her on a turret?" The silence of three extra seconds passed on the comm. "Uh, no, Chief. She wanted to go after him. Bee in her bonnet. We dropped her down the hole." Oh, kriffing son of a... ----- The Onderonian Palace Guard was efficient, militaristic in the speed at which they established the perimeter, several squadrons of men aided by the dozen or so CoreSec agents on the ground. Infrared scanners would be the first sign of an attempted escape. All inner security doors had been sealed strategically, and patrol droids and armed guards had been deployed, each with a live feed patched into the de facto mission control that they set up in the square outside. The computer systems of the Palace were being overseen by the director of security. Communications jammers had been set up, with no small reticence on the Commissioner's part, as he would now be unable to reach the headstrong Thyrsian. In short order, Tenebris' shields had been recharged, and he stood at the forefront of a dozen highly trained commandos, all outfitted with sonic dampeners after the report he had given on his showdown with the invalid in the chair. There was no indication he had brought any backup, but Tenebris could not honestly accept the idea that he had come alone, even with former acolytes to interface with. It was no small irritation that, had Lux not deigned to be a hero, they might have some alternative method of tracking down the whereabouts of Master Skye, and likely the Hunter as well. He would just have to hope that her call for backup would yield a favorable result, or he might be here to collect bodies instead of information.

The blasts from his rifle seemed to set off a chain reaction, one that the CoreSec officer's mind processed almost in slow-motion. Reflexes honed by decades speaking the native language of the Echani, hand-to-hand combat, instinctively tensed his body to readiness as the world went to hell before him. While he had expected a simple deactivation of the hoverchair and not a full-fledged seismic event, the erupting cloud of flame formed the crescendo of the sonic disruption, the equipment's violent explosion bringing an end to the emitters that were eating slowly at Tenebris' personal shield. A sizzling shot hit the cobblestones before him just before he flew into a roll over the still form of the Jedi Master, carrying him more than a meter away. As the masked figure closed, Cochran's body clutched in his outstretched hand, a flash of blue activated the Echani's reflexes once more, firing off a burst of blaster bolts towards the eerie droid-like being before he rolled once more, carrying him in the opposite direction. A Jedi relic that missed its mark spun past him, but his shots went wide, simply adding to the inferno as the airborne flame rushed toward him. A crackling voice echoed over his in-ear comm, but it was indistinguishable in the dull scream of twisting metal as shrapnel from the hover chair flew in every direction, its momentum carrying the bulk of it uselessly toward the place he had occupied seconds before. Vaguely, Tenebris was aware of the lieutenant's body flying at him, limp from the unintended stun blasts, just as the false Faust wrapped his fingers around Skye and yanked her clear of the radiant heat. In that moment, he made a tactician's choice. He had held no great love for Skye Organa when she waltzed onto the scene of his investigation on Coruscant, but she had proven herself over and again since that time. The madman who could have orchestrated the chaos on Corellia--this insane nihilist who had attempted to destroy the galaxy itself--he could not be allowed to take her as a captive. Not unless Tenebris himself could find her again. The lieutenant's body collided with his own, and as the flames washed over him, setting Cochran's body aflame and eating away the remainder of his own shield as the blast dispersed, Tenebris hit the ground, arms outstretched as though to cradle his subordinate. He took exquisite aim, exacting in measure by virtue of constant practice, but he did not fire the blaster that clattered uselessly to the ground as his mind uttered a silent apology to the Healer. Instead, eyes squinted against the relentless light, a quick flexion of his wrist sent his barbed grappling hook rocketing towards the figure on the steps--which embedded itself firmly in the pack that the bounding simulacrum clutched in one hand. Another flex of his wrist and the hook reversed its direction; if not carrying the pack out of the hands of the Hunter, it would certainly tear the fabric asunder, sending whatever relics the defunct Givin had collected tumbling toward the cobblestone square. A high whistle sounded in his ears, ringing out relentlessly as he rolled the rookie lieutenant onto his back in an attempt to smother the flames. The telltale whoop of blaster bolts punctuated the hum as the rest of the away team arrived at Iziz' central square, endeavoring the takedown of the escaping lunatic. Should he wish to retrieve his personal belongings, he would need to descend into a slowly tightening noose of angry officers and Onderon's mobilizing reserve guard, as the Raisonneur drew ever nearer en route from the spaceport...

"Not the Force..." Skye managed to say as she succumbed to the trap the Hunter had set. Her knees buckled as she fought against the blackness descending upon her, and as if in slow motion, she sank to the ground. The Healer had been searching through her catalogue of knowledge of symptoms and side effects since she had started feeling nauseated, and the last conscious word she thought but couldn't communicate was 'sonic'. ----- The CoreSec commissioner caught the wavering of his companion out of the corner of his eye, and with trained reflexes, reached out to grasp her as her body crumpled toward the ground, halting the impact before he released her. Some hundred and fifty yards away from where Tenebris stood, a body tumbled from the roof of the Royal Palace: a Bith sniper new to the crew whose name Tenebris had not yet learned. Blood streamed from his aural openings. Klaxons pealed in Tenebris' mind, and with great alarm, he looked back and forth between the prostrate Jedi Master and the medical hoverchair as if trying to decipher what was happening. Not the Force, Skye had said. Not the Force, but not a weapon, not airborne, or he too would have been compromised. The flashing light on his wrist finally caught his attention. His personal shield, a hallmark of the Echani, was ebbing slowly, under assault by an invisible weapon. You clever bastard, he thought for only a fraction of a second. Falling onto an armored knee in front of the prone form of Master Organa, he swiftly brought his rifle to bear with a marksman's keen eye and fired a trio of succinct bursts--not at the hooded form itself, but at the hoverchair in which he had entered, with intent to medically disable the invalid it contained. If the figure in the chair was truly the fabled madman, he was about to find out. The remaining sniper on the palace rooftop abandoned trigger diligence when the sound of the Echani's shot rang out, and his finger tightened, sending a stun blast toward the extremities of the man who brandished Lieutenant Cochran as a shield. ----- A chorus of expletives rang out in the cockpit of the Raisonneur as they witnessed Master Organa tumble to the cobblestones without a single shot fired. Without another delay, the gunship rose from the spaceport and began its convergence on the location, signaling to all the agents stationed in the alleys and byways to do the same. Mithwyr patched his comm through to the Thyrsian and her tagalong crew. "Buckle up, kid," he called. "Hope you're at the extraction point, because this might get bumpy." <>

Colonel Zaidon Mithwyr, still remaining on board the Raisonneur to direct personnel, had sprung into action as soon as the white-robed figure in the hoverchair became visible on E'lann's armor-mounted camera. When the provisional Thyrsian agent's comm arrived, he took it as a heads-up and all ship personnel remaining on board moved immediately to battle stations. Having interfaced with the city's government, Mithwyr brought up the spaceport cams, tracing the progress that the speeder bearing Lux and her refugees made from the residential areas of Iziz toward the extraction point. Hopefully, nothing--and no one--would get in their way. --------------------- Skye shared a quick glance with Tenebris as the Hunter spoke. “They may have killed you, but you were going to do a lot more than kill a couple of Jedi. You were going to kill us all and the Force as well!” Her voice was hard, the grief she felt for those two valiant Jedi kept hidden from the monster that was speaking with them now. “Trust is earned and you have NOT done anything to inspire my trust.” Again she searched for any sort of trap he might be readying to spring. She reinforced her Force bubble as he continued to speak. “That you came back wrong should be telling you something, Faust. You should have stayed dead. Don’t expect me to heal you.” She added the last as an aside when she heard the wheezing cough. This was one instance that she didn’t feel a twinge in letting someone deal with it themselves. “... and there it is,” she continued, “the threat in case something doesn’t go your way. You are nothing if not predictable in that area. And what about your people, if they make a move - for I have NO doubt that you are up to something. You always are. Don’t think I can’t feel the areas where the Force is strangely vacant where it wasn’t before we went in. If you were making an appearance in good faith as you put it… you wouldn’t be hiding yourself beneath a hood or the ysalamiri.” Skye swallowed back a sudden nausea, not liking that it had something to do with whatever Faust was up to. She was wary in believing how it was caused. When it came to this poor excuse of a man you couldn’t believe everything that came out of his mouth. With a sudden thought, she added, "If that is even you." Stony-faced and silent when presented with the locations of his men, not to mention Faust’s silent and unannounced takedown of Lieutenant Cochran, whose body was held like a shield in front of the frail and otherworldly being, Tenebris raised a single hand as though to halt Skye’s impassioned denouncement. They were at an impasse. They could not let him go. They could not defeat him here. But they could try. “It may be a few hours yet before your little friend wakes up. But you can have him back, with my blessing. He’s more trouble than he’s worth. A disappointment, really,” Tenebris said, throwing Geister’s body on the cobblestones before him and activating his personal shield with the tap of his gauntleted wrist. Without subtlety, he gripped his blaster rifle, training it on the hoverchair. “I'd like all my men to leave in one piece, as well. So I propose we have our little chat while we’re waiting.” "Sarge?" the voice came in his ear, a bad habit of the men who had gotten used to his previous rank. "Not yet," he muttered near-silently in reply to his overwatch. Skye's reaction proved one thing: this was no phantom, whoever sat in that hoverchair carried the essence of the galaxy's most enigmatic nihilist. But there was something he was hiding, some underbelly he refused to reveal, even as his entire presentation smacked of weakness. Any man could push a button and activate an explosive. Faust generally had more tricks up his sleeve than that. He would not let the white-robed cretin out of his sight until he knew what those tricks might be.

These kriffing dark types and their threats... "What crowds?" Tenebris growled under his breath in response to the Hunter's voice. Surely there would be some public outrage, a panicked scurry, any reaction at all to such a well-known malfeasant. For a moment, he had considered acquiescing to the madman's request and releasing the unconscious Givin, but no sooner had the thought entered his mind than Skye spoke it aloud. Knowing that the Jedi Master had personal dealings with Faust cemented his acceptance of her opinion: releasing the Givin would give no security to the people of Onderon. Or, for that matter, the people of the galaxy, if Faust had indeed returned. Utterly absent were the crowds of tourists, shopgoers, politicians, students. Talia's stomping grounds had gone silent. Had they emerged from the crypts into some other dimension, or had Faust already done something nefarious in the time they spent underground? A ping from Mithwyr in his in-ear comm told him that they were in position around the square, but even Tenebris could not readily spot them, so well were they hidden. His troop, easily a dozen men that went over and beyond the Raisonneur's complement, had been with him since long before the Sith incursion at Coruscant General, and he trusted them implicitly to be careful overwatch on the situation. One was posted near the entrance to the Merchant Quarter, three more near the streets that led to the University, two would be carefully watching through scoped rifles from the rooftop, and another six at least in various alleyways and streets that poured into the square. "Are you getting this?" he muttered into his comm. A double-click of acknowledgment came. "Patch into the Onderonian Royal Guard. Let them know we might have a terrorist on our hands." Another double-click sounded, and Tenebris slung Geister towards the ground, applying the stun cuffs that Skye had referenced to hold his arms securely behind his skeletal back. Kneeling, he held the Givin's body propped up as a shield and grabbed for his blaster rifle, holding it securely in his hands. "Any chance those friendly spirits have an idea of how to blow up an undead, invisible maniac?" he said to Skye as an aside, pointedly ignoring her question given the possibility of eavesdropping. He was not keen to decide a negotiation plan in the open air. But neither did he have any intent to release the Givin: if they were to get some answers, the acolyte was one of their best options. "You know, I don't know if you're new at this, or you just forgot how things worked after a couple Jedi Masters yanked you into oblivion, but usually, a deal gives some assurances to the other party. You want to talk? Come and talk," he yelled, letting his bait hang in the air. Now they would see if Faust would show his hand, or call the bluff of whoever was using his voice.

"Didn't even give us the courtesy of Greeting Maths. The answer, my friend, is three," he said, nudging the unconscious Givin with his toe. Tenebris crouched beside the robed alien, his head cocked to one side. Under the dark outer cloak, he carried matériel of an unknown origin, but the Commissioner had learned his lesson, and would not handle it until it had been thoroughly scanned. Wrapping the cloak more firmly around the limp body as one would wrap a gift package, he lifted the Givin over his shoulder. "I agree, I think it's a better idea to secure him in the ship before we do much else here. We can come back with the whole team once we know he's contained, and see what information we can extract from him," he said decisively. "For now, we should check on Lux." Beside Skye, he made his way out of the crypts, through the lobby of the palace, and into the cool evening air of Onderon's capital, blaster pistol clutched in the hand that wasn't balancing the Givin's body on his shoulder.