Ilum

[Nokrt]

The Captain turned and handed the Lieutenant a datapad with the readouts of his Star Destroyer including units available on the ship and emergency functions necessary to save the ship in any situation where such a move was nesessary.

 

"Enjoy your command Lieutenant," said Captain Il'kal dismissing the Lieutenant from his ship to go to his own.

[Durandal!]

This gets better and better.

 

"Aye sir. Will be be getting any sort of weather proper gear?" he asked as the grand admiral turned and exited towards his shuttlecraft.

 

"I guess not. Fantastic. Well gents, let's get going, I suppose."

 

He grabbed what gear he could find, holstered his blaster and set out for the surface.

 

((Leaving for 2 days for the 4'th 'o' july. Will write back sunday))

[Sanj-Misavj]

Wrong alias.

[Kento Galen]

((I'm assuming that the ship is full of people.))

 

Kento grabbed the data pad from the captain. Kento then said to him, ”œI need to get my things from the barracks, then I'll be on my way.”

Edited July 5, 2009 by Guest

[Doran Krote]

Doran listened to Norkt's instructions and shook his head distastefully, he wasn't looking forward to searching Ilum, a giant ice ball, for crystals and the fact he had to do it with his fellow Imperial Knights only made the task worse. He put in a command into his ship to take him to the surface, as he waited to land he geared up with all of his weapons to be safe. The last thing he gathered was his helmet, he placed it on his head and securely hid his face from the rest of the Galaxy. The Black Avenger landed on a snowy stretch of land, Doran stepped out with Remote following him closely, Remote was there to help him harvest his crystal and scout for any enemies. His first step was to check for ice, once he securely placed both feet onto non-slippery ground he waited for the others to meet up with him.

 

(This isn't one of the 5 posts, I am just trying to get us together so we can begin.)

[Cathair Breslin]

Allowing a small nod as the Admiral finished his statement, Cathair made his way to the barracks to equip himself for this mission. The only weapon he currently carried was the Serive Pistol given to him by the now Emperor. He knew this weapon would pack a powerful punch when called for, but a nagging feeling at the back of his mind made him uncomfortable only carrying one pistol. As he entered the armory, he silently placed his Knight helmet on a small table and began to inspect the weapons before him. Blaster pistols, rifles, and carbines were organized in a fashion that Lt. Breslin could not recognize and was glad he only had to use these weapons instead of store them. Removing his belt holsters, the young Imperial Knight strapped two thigh holsters to the dark grey under armor and slid a pair of DL-44 blaster pistols in their place. Deciding to place his Service pistol at the small of his back, the former Stormtrooper slid a small vibro-knife into his boot before placing his dark helmet once more over his head. As the systems came online once more, Cathair discovered the name of the shuttle meant to take him to the planet's surface and quickly made his way there. Within moments of boarding, he felt the ship rise and begin its descent to the planet.

 

As he made his way down the landing ramp of the shuttle, Cathair could already see a storm had been brewing for some time. He could see snow whipping by the lower half of the ramp, and he knew they were in for a chilly welcome to this coveted planet. As he continued making his way down the ramp, he closed his eyes and allowed the chilled wind to overtake him. He felt his cloak being pulled to his side, threatening to rip from its clasp at his neck. Pulling the hood over his helmet for added protection, Cathair took his first step onto the planet and felt his feet sink into the snow. Opening himself up to the Force, Breslin felt the Force slowing strongly around this planet. It almost seemed like it was beckoning to those who could feel the Force. To the inexperienced Force-user, it seemed to bolster his power, make him stronger and asked for nothing in return. Looking toward the horizon, the Imperial Knight noticed a mountain that seemed to stand out above all others. Yet it was not higher or more pronounced in its features. To a normal man it may have seemed like yet another peak to be explored or climbed. But to the former Stormtrooper, it was his destiny. Although he could not explain how he knew this was where he needed to go, he knew it on a primal and instinctual level. He could just feel it.

 

Taking several steps toward Doran, he noticed a small machine hovering in the air. Beneath his hood, Cathair shook his head slightly and drew the Service pistol from his back. Without pausing to aim, Breslin fired a single shot, which smashed through the remote and kept going, only to burn its way through a small amount of snow before being extinguished. Turning towards his fellow Knight, he spoke harshly, the filter in his helmet distorting his voice to an almost mechanical sound.

 

”œWe are here to use the Force. If you can't do this without remotes, then leave. I don't want a weak Knight on my team.”

[Durandal!]

As Dominic arrived on the planet's surface, he made sure his armor was properly fitted to his skin, as to keep the bitter wind, and the blowing snow out. He checked his blaster and took a deep breath. The air almost made him go into a coughing fit. His lungs filled, and he exhaled a plume of white air. "Funny place to keep something so coveted, eh?" he said as he was walking over to the remaining two knights. He took position and looked up at the horizon. A storm was a'brewing. "I'm willing to bet a weeks pay the Grand Admiral dropped us here knowing full well that the weather was looking like" he quipped while lighting a death stick. "Shame too, I packed tropical."

 

The other two knights were much quieter than himself. The Grand Admiral had indeed selected a motley crew. The other two were stern, military men. Dominic was a smuggler and gambler. This training could be crucial to being able to make a better life for himself, or maybe it was going to be a dead end like so many other failed careers. All he knew was this place made him feel confident, and his constant chatter may be a problem. Not his problem, but a problem nonetheless. His train of thought was interrupted by a shot fired by Cathair. The bolt zipped past Dominic and nailed a small floating probe in the teeth (or where it's teeth would likely be, if droids had'em) His heart nearly stopped.

 

"Dick.." he said stone faced as the little thing fell to the ground, sputtering and sparking. This made the whole operation significantly harder than it could have been. The death stick pressed between his lips fell out of his mouth and made a hiss as it was extinguished in the soft snow.

 

"Using remotes? Cheating? Did you happen to notice all the high tech equipment on the Star Destroyer we were just sitting pretty on? One little remote is cheating? On my ship, you'd be airlocked for that." He said looking down at the little droid making a puddle on the ground. "Could've at least told him to get back on the ship.. Poor little guy didn't even have a chance."

 

He took a deep breath and slid a replacement stick between his lips and lifted his collar up as high as it could go to cover his neck from the cold. "Ugh.. Whatever. Let's go." He said as they began their trek through the ice and wind.

[Doran Krote]

Doran almost shot Cathair as he drew his weapon but restrained himself as he aimed at his remote, taking an easy shot on an unarmed droid that could have been told to return to his ship. A new hate for the man grew within Doran, he had built that remote when he was a ad'ika on Mandalore and it had done more for the Mandolorian than the Imperial boy could ever do. Krote hated all Storm troopers, they thought they were soldiers but they were nothing more than over trained chakaare and if a Storm trooper went up against a Mando the outcome wouldn't be good for the Imp, he strongly wanted to drop Cathair to shut him up but decided to be the bigger man and let it go.

 

”œWe are here to use the Force. If you can't do this without remotes, then leave. I don't want a weak Knight on my team.”

[Durandal!]

They walked for what felt like hours along the wind-swept snow covered terrain of Illum. The whole way Dominic scrunched up his nose and placed an open palm on the tip. It didn't really help since his hands were just as frozen. He rubbed his hands together and tried in any small way to generate some heat. No such luck. His teeth were chattering, his toes could have fallen off miles ago for all he knew, and his comb sat begrudgingly in his pocket. Too afraid to make a pass through his black hair for fear it might break off all together. Some test, he thought. This is suicide. He felt like a lemming about to jump off a cliff onto the jagged rocks below. An end he would almost welcome at this point- just as long as the jagged rocks were heated. The afterlife and the option of an eternity swimming in a lake of fire sounded pretty damn good. He turned to Doran and gestured with his head towards Cathair with a nod. "I'm gonna say it first. You guys get hungry, you're not eatin' me. The big guy could house the both of us if we cut'im open." He said with a grin. He didn't think it would actually come to that, but he desperately needed to lighten the mood. Especially if it meant forgetting the cold for a few minutes.

 

He got lost in the realization that he managed to forget about the bitter cold for a moment. He stopped dead in his tracks and lifted an eyebrow. His mind wandered like a drunk stumbling home. Lost, but with a destination just out of reach. How did he manage to do that? He felt warm. Not just preoccupied, but genuine warmth. Before he could figure it out, the feeling came back. Like whiskey in his stomach and a blanket over his shoulders, he felt warm. "Tell me this isn't just me." he said, hoping this wasn't common sense for force sensitive people. "I'm feeling toasty." he said with a grin.

 

He felt like clicking his heels and lost his sense of mental balance. As soon as it left, the bitter cold came crashing back into his body. Dominic Skallig nearly had a heart attack from the instantaneous return to freezing to death.

 

"..."

 

 

"...Fun while it lasted.."

 

He furled his brow and stuffed his hands in his pockets and caught up with the other two knights. They had stopped just short of a small snow bank. He sprinted up to them, and looked directly down to the jagged rocks of what was apparently a very deep fall from a snow bank. In fact, they were all standing on the precipice of a chasm.

 

"Fan-F*ing-tastic" he quipped. It looked too far to jump.

 

The other knights ignored him and Doran began to run backwards. "You're not actually.. No way. You'll never make it." he said to the Mandalorian as he backtracked to get a running start.

 

"That chasm's easily ten feet across. Without the right equipment you're good as dea...."

 

The Mandalorian sprinted and almost took flight. He flew over the chasm and tumbled over the other side. "Never..mind.." Dominic said wide-eyed.

 

He glanced over to Cathair and gave him an almost challenging grin. "Well cap, if that guy can do it.."

 

Dominic ran backwards a good 20 feet. His sensitivity to the force was returning to familiar grounds with this jump. He'd jumped crates, chasms, scaffolding, anything you can think of when it came to ducking imperial scanning crews way back when. It had been a while since he had tried anything like this, though. He shook out his arms and legs. "Loosey goosey, baby. Loosey-Goosey." He said while cracking his neck. He began to hyperfocus. The path between the ledge and the chasm became so detailed, his brain began to think it wasn't going to be a difficult jump at all. He took a brief moment to whip out a flask he had been hiding and took a gulp. Cathair noticed (( I'm told this is god-modding, but since it's such a small thing I hope it's no big deal)) and Dominic shot him a stink eye. "Hey, if I'm gonna fall on some sharp rocks after a long fall, I'd prefer not to feel it thankyaverymuch."

 

With that he took off, his stride became fluid, his eyes remained level on the landing target. He gripped the ledge with one foot and leaped.

 

After what felt like ages, he came tumbling down on the other side.

 

"Not bad if I do say so, m'self." He said with a genuine smile. "I'd give it at least a 9.5" He chuckled. "What do you think, pally?" He glanced over to Doran and brushed the snow off his armor.

[Cathair Breslin]

Turning his attention back to the Imperial Knights behind him, Lt. Breslins eyes narrowed as they spoke to him. One seemed intent only on making jokes. That did not bother the former Stormtrooper much. During his basic training, he had known men like that. They often made jokes to disguise their own fear or uncertainty. While Cathair did not yet know Dominic well enough to discern if he was afraid or not, he still spoke his own response.

 

”œOur task is not the commanding of a Star Destroyer. We were chosen to be trained as Imperial Knights. Our tools, our task, our mission is to be trained in the use of the Force. I don't know if you noticed, but our connection to the Force has deepened each time we were hard pressed to find a solution to our problems. Using a remote to locate a crystal would make things too easy. Open yourself to the Force. Use that to find what we are looking for.”

[Nokrt]

The Grand Admiral recieved a comm from one of his agents in the Unkown Regions. In the outskirts of this part of the galaxy, their lied a planet that held tons of importance to galactic history, and the Grand Admiral knew this would have to be the location of the new Academy needed for the Empire. Replying quickly to the agent's comm message he quickly began another to the prisoner coordinator on Ryloth, the message was not meant to be seen by others as the operation was not meant to be known to the whole galaxy.

 

After he was done he opend up his comm again and began a message to Kenot Galen.

 

"Lieutenant Galen, take your Star Destroyer to the system Lehon, whose coordinantes have been uploaded to your computer. You will supervise my activities on the planet until we arrive. Dismissed."

 

The Grand Admiral then sent a message to the ship Jyggalag.

 

"Captain Il'kal, take your ship to the Naboo system, find out what you can about the Freedom Alliance."

 

_________________________________

 

The Captain took the Jyggalag into hyperspace.

[Kento Galen]

Kento listened to the comm from the Grand Admiral. Black then jumped to hyperspace heading towards Lehon.

[Nokrt]

The Grand Admiral was wondering why his Imperial Knights were taking so long to accomplish their goal. With their training thus far and tenacious attitudes they should be having their crystals and requesting a shuttle to land at their location and bring them back to the Amaunator. Disappointed the Grand Admiral considered bombarding the location they were at and destroying them then and there just to cease their uselessness. However, logic dictated otherwise. He would need to be more paitent with these beings, they were not Sith who could be punished at whim. They were Imperial Knights, the epitome of Lord Kann's "Twilight of the Force", and they would serve the Empire well in the long run. They, unlike Nokrt, could not rely on their hatred, and lust for power to drive them to new levels of greatness.

 

"Grand Admiral, I have a message from the Emperor," said the ships XO behind him. Nokrt paused for a moment and then turned about face toward his successor in battle should he perish.

 

"Very good Commander, the helm is yours until I return."

 

The Chiss marched to his private chambers in the center of the ship enjoying the stroll through the lifeless walls of his Super Star Destroyer. After a few minutes he had made his way to his chambers, and the door slid open for him. The Grand Admiral made his way to the control panel and activated his holo reciever so that he could have his conversation with the Emperor. Within moments the two had come into contact and their discussion, over the future of Nokrt, and the future of the Empire, was one that would remain a private matter between the two figureheads of the Galactic Empire.

 

The Grand Admiral remained in his chambers for sometime discussing the next step with the Emperor, but when he came out of his door the Chiss did not have a look that was wholly pleasing, he was infuriated over something but after a few minutes he realized he was still in command regardless of what was discussed between the two. He went back to the helm of his ship and waited. The Imperial Knights needed to hurry. Or they would be left to die.

[Durandal!]

((Are we posting in rotating order? Because I'm waiting on that.))

[Doran Krote]

((Sorry for my lack of posting, I haven't had time to post anything good and this isn't even that good. I got the okay to post the Gorgodon things.))

 

After watching his fellow knights make the jump he turned and started on his way, they needed to move as quickly as possible if they were to survive. The cold would kill them if they were out in it for too long and moving would keep them a little bit warmer. He kept on trekking though even if it was getting to him, he started to think back to the lightsaber instructions and where each piece went to keep his mind off of the weather. He walked into the center of an open plain, the wind picked up there and consequently so did the "snow" that was whipping at him. He heard a feint roaring sound before feeling the ground rumbling under him, he realized what was about to happen and grabbed his blaster rifle and aimed it where he thought the creatures would come from. He didn't want to take his eyes off and risk getting attack so he just yelled out.

 

"Keep silent, these nasty buggers can't see well and rely on there hearing and sense of smell mostly."

 

When the Gorgodons came into sight Doran picked one to take on, he ran at it to get a better aim, he made sure to stay light on his feet to prevent from slipping and to stay silent. When he got close enough he leaped over it with the help of the Force and landed behind it. He switched on his thermal detonator launcher and shot one at it, it roared in pain before turning around and charging Doran. He backpedaled but fell, the monstrous beast jumped on top of him and tried to squeeze him to death, he kicked and punched to try and escape but it was too strong and that's when the idea hit him. He kicked it again and again but using the Force almost if he was jumping, with the extra power he easily escaped. He grabbed his blaster off of the ground and jumped onto it's back, let off a few shots and jumped back off making sure to not get injured in the process. He pulled out a time bomb, he silently cat walked towards it keeping as silent as possible. His breathing was restricted so as not to let an unnecessary sound escape him and alert the creature that was trying to murder him. He stretched out his right hand at it, he concentrated a blast from it which sent the monster to the ground and a few feet back and that's when Doran acted, he ran at it disregarding his urge to keep quiet and activated the time bomb, he set it for 5 seconds. In one swift motion he shoved his arm with the bomb up the creatures rectum and dropped the bomb and then ran like hell. In a large, gory, fury explosion the Gorgodon was dead and Doran was pleased. He shook his hand that was used to "dispose" of the bomb because it smelt a little funky.

 

Doran didn't realize that behind him another Gorgodon was lurking, angry that it's best friend was killed it leaped and pinned teh proud Mandolorian to the ground. Krote struggled but couldn't manage to hit the beast that was about to end his life. As it opened it's mouth a brown liquid leaked out onto his helmet, Doran was grateful it didn't penetrate it but when it realized that it was blinding him it used one of it's claws to bat his head which hurt his neck. The anger bubbled up inside him, he "exploded" up sending the Gorgodon up in the air, he sidestepped it as it came plummeting down. His first instinct was to shoot it's head but remembered the best way to kill it was to sever it's spine so he got to it's flank and jumped up on it, he took his gauntlet which was made of strong, resistant metal and started punching at it's spine, with each thrust he could feel it's muscles tense up and try to throw him off. He kept hitting it, each time he hit harder and harder with more and more anger. Soon he found that he was beating a dead, lifeless body and stood up. He looked at his gauntlet and noticed the blood, he couldn't believe himself.

 

'What have I done?' He couldn't get over the fact he didn't stop when teh monster was dead, what the Force had done to him. Did he really want it that much if it caused him to do that, to compromise his beliefs? As a Mandolorian his honor subsided and realized that if he didn't control himself he wouldn't be better than the blood thirsty Sith that he despised so much. With a sake of his head he pledged to himself that he would let his anger control him, he had to prove to himself that he was better than that.

 

On the ledge that was surrounding the plain was a pack of Gorgadons, in his moment of weakness where he let his anger control him he didn't notice them. They moved quickly surrounding him, he knew that he wouldn't get out of the situation alone.

[Cathair Breslin]

Lt. Breslin pulled his cloak tight around himself as the three Imperial Knights made their way across the frozen plains. Turning his eyes skywards, Cathair watched as the sun began to descended toward the horizon. Within a couple hours, darkness would overtake the planet, and the temperature would drop even more, and god only knows how the weather would change once nightfall occurred. Whether the simple yet brutal snowstorms would turn into frozen hurricanes, or would it simply become too cold to drop anything. The young Knight was not sure, but he also had no desire to discover the answer. Throughout the journey, the Force had been keeping his body comfortable, but after nearly dying at the ledge, Cathair was beginning to doubt his strength in that mystical energy field. Could he really become as powerful as he was told? Back at the ledge, he had seen the Force fail him at a time when he desperately needed it to succeed. Would it fail him again, in another dire moment when his life would be on the line? What if all that he had already achieved was the limit of his power? How could he expect to become what Admiral Nokrt and Emperor Deton wanted him to be, if the Force was so weak in him?

 

As those thoughts clouded his mind, he turned his attention towards the foot of the mountain they had just reached. It was the mountain that had called out to him as soon as the three had stepped foot on the planet. At that time, Cathair had looked forward to reaching their destination, looked forward to entering the Crystal Caves, and finding the crystals that would ignite the lightsabers they were to build aboard the Amaunator. But now it only represented one more mission he would fail. It meant he was one objective closer to reporting failure to Nokrt. He could only imagine the punishment he would receive upon failing the Empire yet again. Breslin closed his eyes and wondered what would become of him once the mission was over.

 

In that instant, the Gorgodons leapt upon Doran. Cursing himself for allowing his attention to focus on despair, Lt. Breslin drew the blaster pistols at his side and took aim at the furry beasts charging toward his fellow Knight. As he charged toward the monsters, he activated his helmets targeting systems and began tracking the movements of all 8 animals circling the three of them. Still firing crimson lances from his pistols, he watched as the blasts slammed almost harmlessly into the thick fur of their backsides. Cursing silently beneath his helmet, Cathair thought back to the documents he read pertaining to these beasts. As the information rushed through his mind, he noticed a lone Gorgadon rushing towards him.

 

They prefer to bind their prey using their unique saliva. Once bound, the Gorgadon uses its enhanced skeleton and muscles to wrap itself around the prey and crush it to death.

 

”œDefinitely not the most pleasant way to go.”

[Durandal!]

((Work schedule has been hectic past few days. Will post tomorrow. Sorry guys))

[Nokrt]

The Grand Admiral recieved an urgent message from the Emperor and was annoyed by the request. His Knights training should come as priority but as always the Empire came first even if it meant botching a mission. Resigned by the superiority of the Emperor, Grand Admiral Nokrt went to his comm pressing a button and sending his message to all his units, both on Ilum and throughout the galaxy.

 

"Imperials, return to base, we have been called to Coruscant by the Emperor himself. Knights you are close to the cave now get in and get out and on this ship now!"

 

The Grand Admiral left his comm and went to his room brooding over the Emperor's plans and its future for the Empire. And for him.

 

((One post each of you. Post getting in a cave and getting out and aboard the Amaunator in one post. I don't care about length at this moment, blast a crystal off for all it matters. We have dwadled too long.))

[Doran Krote]

Doran let the Gorgodons get close to him, they neared and were about to pounce on their prey, that's when he jumped into the air using the Force to accompany him. He landed outside of the circle of death and pulled a blaster out, he directed at the spine of each one and in one lap of the beasts he had severed each of their spines nice and neat. He knew he probably should have helped the rest of his team out but he received a message at that moment from Norkt.

 

"Imperials, return to base, we have been called to Coruscant by the Emperor himself. Knights you are close to the cave now get in and get out and on this ship now!"

 

He started running, not to fast to wear him out but at a moderately fast pace. He saw a large cave approaching and knew what it was, a crystal cave. When he entered it he noticed the light coming from the crystals that were attached to the walls. He walked deeper and deeper into the cave looking for perfect crystal but couldn't find one that stuck out to him. Soon he found himself at a dead end and realized he had seen all of the crystals, he was about to turn back when he saw a small crystal that was hanging on the wall beside him, he stepped closer to examine it. IT was smooth except for one ridge that came out from the rest of it, it sparked as he touched it. He took a step back and brought his foot up and he let it drop like a hammer on the crystal. Doran picked it up and put it in a compartment on his armor.

 

He opened a com with R5 and told him where to meet him. As he stepped into the freezing wind once more he shivered. R5 landed the Black Avenger right outside the cave and he walked on and set course for the Amaunator. He pulled it into the hangar bay and stepped out, he made his way directly for the Grand Admiral's chambers. He approached Norkt, stopped and saluted.

 

"Sir."

[Cathair Breslin]

OOC: Will make a better post later, this is just to hurry things along.

 

IC: Cathair watched as Doran and Dominic finished off the rest of the Gorgodons before he began to follow them to the crystal caves. Within moments, Doran emerged and boarded his own ship, returning to the SSD that awaited them. Taking several steps into the cave, Breslin could feel the pull of the Force, urging him inside, beckoning him with the promise of more power. As he ran his hands along the walls of the cave, he felt the smooth surfaces of the crystals, each feeling quite unique in its own way. He knew when he found his own crystal, it would bond with him through the Force, and they would be one entity.

 

The moment his hand touched a cluster of crystals, he dropped to his knees and vision overtook him.(The vision will be expanded upon when he builds his saber). when he awoke, he held the cluster of crystals in his hand. Each gleamed brightly and he knew, within this cluster was the crystal that would power his lightsaber. Exiting the cave, Cathair summoned the shuttle that awaited him. As his feet stepped upon the landing ramp, the ship made its way toward the flagship of Grand Admiral Nokrt. As the shuttle docked, Lt. Breslin tucked the crystal cluster into his belt and made his way to the Admirals quarters. As he stepped inside, he stood at parade rest, hands clasped at the small of his back as he waited his orders.

 

------------------------

After several days of waiting, Cathair decides to make his way to Coruscant himself. Walking to the hangar, and entering a TIE Predator. As he exited the hangar, Breslin blasted off into hyperspace.

[Nokrt]

Lt. Skallig also made his way aboard the Super Star Destroyer and the small Battlegroup made its way to Coruscant.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Quietly slipping in from hyperspace on the outside of the system was a Lambda-class shuttle that was quite capable of stealth. It wasn't a great system, but by keeping sensors passive and ion trails low, any ship that was being careful could reasonably avoid detection, so long as it didn't get too close to that from which it was trying to hide.

 

Aboard, Onderin Starlisk stretched carefully out in the Force to see what he could find out in absence of active sensor scans. He was relieved to determine that there were no Sith present and neither was there an Imperial battlefleet. Instead, there were just a small pocket of Imperials planetside and a small defense network. Not much.

 

Using his years of piloting and tactical experience and his own Force-guided intuition, the Jedi Master carefully piloted the shuttle towards the opposite side of the planet from the collection of Imperial presences. His mission had nothing to do with them--it only had to do with the other person aboard the shuttle, his apprentice Aira Cadan.

 

"I can remember a time when a Jedi could come and go freely from Ilum," he said. "Maybe I should just bring a fleet here and knock out that installation and return things to those times." Or maybe I can ask the Augury to do it.

 

((Let's give it a day before we land just in case the Empire has some reasonable way of detecting us.))

[Aira Cadan]

Ilum felt like a massive chunk of ice. It looked that way from space, too. I mentally grumbled at that fact. Of course Jedi crystals would choose to grow on a desolate hunk of snow.

 

I started at Onderin's comment that Ilum was in the hands of the Empire. "Aren't there other places Jedi can come to get crystals? If not, then you should take this place; it would be a shame if Jedi couldn't get the crystals they need for their lightsabers."

 

I stretched out with the Force, which was quickly becoming my habit when I visited a new world. Astonishingly, I could almost feel the crystals themselves. It was like a gentle but compelling pull, and I realized suddenly that I was eager to get down there.

 

I'll never quite get used to the Force drawing me to something that looks so uninviting, like a planet where I'll freeze to death in a few minutes.

[Deton]

It seemed today wasn't a normal day in the neighborhood for Ilum. Given the sudden recall of the special imperial commando force that had recently traveled here, they had no been expecting any other traffic to travel to the remote ice world. So naturally they were on a higher alert than normal.

 

After all Ilum was really only known for one thing in particular. That being a hang out for Jedi to show up and grab some lightsaber crystals. Having already watched a top secret organization leave in a hurry. Coupled with the now almost legendary tale of how some rebel special ops wiped out not just a shipyard but an entire planet's worth of Imperials in a shadowy display of obvious jedi magics and powers. Well the Empire was very much into crossing their t's and dotting their i's. After all no one wanted to be taken out especially by a treacherous jedi.

 

 

A couple of caf was gently set down as a sudden fluctuation appeared on the young man's charts. Ever since a high military target had been hit in a covert manner, all installations regardless of size had been forced to routinely check out every single small disturbance. No matter how minute it may have seemed.

 

"Sir, it seems we have a sudden ion signature over in beta quandrant. Given how we marked all hyperspace routes in and out of the system and have been monitoring them as such, I felt the need to bring it to your attention."

 

"Very well." Came the almost weary sigh of the man's commander.

"Mark that position and what do we have in that area?"

 

"Well sir we have on of our patrol craft in that region, I have already alerted the captain to the disturbance. Shall I scramble a few tie fighters or alert the Star destroyer in orbit on the other side of the planet?"

 

"Yes, yes do all of that, mark all potential vector points, and have the star destroyer scramble one of its own ties. Off hand I don't know what would cause such a low ion trail to suddenly erupt in the middle of space, save a.... Looks like we have an enemy ship. Bring us up to battle readiness. The whole reason we exist is to intercept fleeing star ships. Chances are we got a recon or commando group trying to make contact with the planet!"

 

"Yes, sir right away sir. I have marked all possible vectors the potential mystery craft could have taken. Hold on sir, we seemed to be getting something from out in the field."

 

--comm--

"We have a visual on an unidentified shuttle crossing to the opposite side of the planet. Permission to engage?"

 

--end comm--

 

The other side of the planet, well what do you know, he is actually moving toward where the Star destroyer is perched. Much easier to cover an entire planet when you have a star destroyer literately watching your back.

 

--comm--

"We have no scheduled shuttle rides, and the behavior is suspicious. Take her down softly captain. I want captives not prisoners. Ties will be meeting you shortly. Alter the destroyer, it may be a shuttle but I want no mistakes. We can not afford another.... you know. Over and out."

--end comm--

 

==roger that== came the reply.

 

 

Crossing the vast expanse of space came the IPV-1 System Patrol Craft. The first line of defense against purveyors of contraband and various organizations attempting insurrection against a system. Though it relied on its speed to catch and disable or destroy enemy craft it was perfect for such a situation. There was no way the shuttle would outrun a vessel not only meant for such a situation, but was a superior craft in every single way.

 

The captain of the ship smiled.

"Looks like our first catch, guess we will be ahead of the other crew after all."

 

Adrenaline began pumping through the crew. This was it! Contact with the enemy and the enemy was most likely a Jedi. All of the pieces fit. The shuttle had by now crossed more than enough space to be easily catch able. No longer by a patrolled hyperspace route, the shuttle would have to turn around, break past them, and then get to a hyperspace lane to fly on out. It was its own fault for attempting to get through the space undetected.

 

"Sir its systems are passive I doubt they even see us coming."

 

"Excellent, jam their signal the moment we are in range."

 

If space had the ability to make noise, the sound of Tie fighters moving to flank the patrol craft. Not your normal Death star Ties either. This was a next generation of tie fighter. Predator-class fighters were streaming to the position for the simple reason to if for some reason the patrol craft was unable to do what it was meant to. They would be able to hold the line until the Star Destroyer with the tractor beam and tie fighters arrived.

 

Some would say that the amount of attention diverted to this single shuttle was overkill. That all that would have been needed was the customs ship. Yet for a place full of bored Imperials looking for the chance to jump at something ever since being told they need to jump at everything... well it wasn't even half of what the response could be.

 

As the Imperial Star Destroyer shifted to move en route. The forty Tie fighters, were moving into attack range, using the back drop of space, to keep themselves from being easily recognizable.

 

"Sir we are in attack range."

 

"Excellent, orders are for a disable. Aim for the engines first, we got the drop on it from behind. Remember chances are this is a Jedi. Go for overkill and overwhelm as per POSLWJK protocols."

 

The gunner almost crackled with glee. He hadn't had anything to fire out at a while. Destructive bolts lanced forward toward the shuttle craft, just as a small barrage of missiles, a total of three, were released from their hold. The mini barrage from the ship was sudden and it was vicious. Almost as a matter of pride the aim had been perhaps the best manageable, in an attempt to blow through any shielding and knock out the engines in a single blow.

 

The Tie fighters were just out of range to add anything to the attack but their own observations, and a protective screen to prevent escape.

 

<>

[Onderin Starlisk]

<>

 

As the shuttle continued to move toward Ilum, Onderin listened in the Force. It didn't take him long to discover that he had been mistaken about the entire Imperial presence being on the surface in one area. No, there was another body of presences on the other side of the world--the side where he was headed, unfortunately. Given the way they weren't on the surface, he figured he had a Star Destroyer on his hands.

 

Well, it was worth a shot, he thought as he detected the sudden alarm and excitement in the minds of those he was purveying, which meant that they had spotted him. The way they scrambled was impressively quick, and he was so focused on the Star Destroyer and ground base that he barely noticed the shuttle that was much closer, especially given the extremely few presences aboard.

 

Suddenly, they were practically right on top of him, and he didn't have a good tactical way of turning this boat around and heading out the way he came in. It would be an extremely dangerous maneuver. He shrugged then and pulled the shuttle up enough so its nose cleared the planet, then pulled the hyperspace levers. The maneuver took all of a second. After all, he didn't need to turn all the way around and get in a hyperspace lane, he just had to microjump out of range and plot a real course from there. Even if the Empire tracked his vector, they would have no way of knowing how far he jumped, since he had no real destination.

 

Even quicker than they had arrived, the two Jedi left, their mission abandoned and their shuttle launching itself through the dimensional barrier and into faster-than-light travel.

[King Kheldar vos Correlli]

Ruling on Deton's killshot on Onderin. The latter took a precautious approach to Ilum that in turn, resulted in nearly every bit of Imperial machinery on the planet following after- which was soundly deployed and done brilliantly. Onderin in turn used a simple and practical manuver to evade with excellent execution- Force presense for alert, then clear of the planet's grav well, punching a blind jump to hyperspace. While that last is especially dangerous, I do not believe, al Dune that a quick jump for someone with prescient abilities would guarantee death.\

 

Killshot foiled.

[Deton]

"Ah curses we have been foiled." came the reply of the captain as the ship made a pretty obvious blind jump out.

 

Wait a moment, we may catch them yet.

 

"Ensign hyperspace isn't like dusting crops boy, if they messed up their jump they could have ended up in a star. Therefore the safest blind jump is a short one. I want all potential vectors plotted and mapped out. Place all nearby Imperial worlds on high alert and see if you can scrounge up an in director or two. "

 

Yes we still have a possibility of success. They had to do a micro jump. they could potentially still be in system!

 

"Also I want this entire sector on alert, the moment they pop up, mark it, and attempt a capture. Alert the star destroyer of the situation. Maybe we will find the commando base."

 

Why take full responsibility for losing them, if they are not yet lost.

 

"Make sure all of the information we have on the shuttle is also broad casted. Hell even put up a small bounty for it. The bounty might not bring the shuttle in but, could lead us onward to bigger badder fish."

 

Perhaps if he knew the irony of his words, he would have at least had a slight chuckle but, far to obsessed with his goal was the small patrol captain. He had to beat the other patrol ship captain. Then he too could command a Star destroyer.

[Ason Antilles]

A thousand white streaks raced violently toward the beryl eyes of the abhorrent figure approaching, snapping to halt when the bombinating sublight engines proclaimed his arrival. Auto-pilot saw fit not to disturb the lingering shadow still in his room, his robes spreading over the floor like spilt ink on the blank page. Meditation was a practice typically associated with the jedi, a brand of cowards who let the force tell them how to live their lives (or at least that was the claim of these hypocrites). However, Ason was not meditating because he required any guidance or to get ”œin touch”

[Scorp Jedi Knight]

((Sorry posted in wrong thread... delete))

Edited September 8, 2009 by Guest

[Deton]

Eight stories high, it stood like a rigid watchdog. The desolate landscape that stretched out around it for miles only seemed to add to its appearance, almost giving it a majestic angle by those unfortunate enough to be on the ground floor.

 

Yet as it were, it was simply another example of military efficiency. Walls, and floors, all looked the same from left to right. This place was kept in tip top shape, for no other reason that the possibility of combat. Unlike many world where such a thing was installed to keep the local populous in line. Here this same magnificent structure was install to keep away for the most part tourist. Though they be tourist of a special sort.

 

Hands clasped behind his back Major General Netwon stood gazing out from his office. Behind him sat the men who helped keep this organization a smooth running process. Turning to face his command structure he gave the gesture and allowed for the briefing to begin.

 

"Good evening gentlemen. It seems today at 08300 hours, a small ship was seen entering the atmosphere. How it slipped past the patrol crafts is unknown. However, it is on the surface. Landing near the crystal cave area sector 009-a2b a lone figure was later seen disembarking from the ship. Since then we have set up surveillance but have made no moves against the owner. "

 

"Well what are we dealing with?" Came the obvious question from Netwon

 

"Well the troops claimed to have been almost startled by the being's presence. They feel that it is a Sith that walks among us now.

 

"Ah a Sith, those beings are always using their powers to make us fanatical to their cause. A some what distrustful lot but highly useful. Hmm has this been transmitted to high command."

 

 

"Ah yes sir, seems ISB was less than please with the performance of out space escorts up above. Seems the shuttle they failed to apprehend actually contained the Alliance's head military commander. Since then they have been taking a special interest in all operations concerning this planet."

 

"What word have we received from them?"

 

"They have rescinded the order against guarding the crystal caves. How they gained such authority is beyond me. However, they do not wish this one apprehended. Seems they want him more or less followed."

 

"Followed? Are they joking. These creatures have that that that... um force. Lets them do just about everything imaginable. How do they propose we follow a being that can read minds and choke a person with out laying a finger."

 

"No sir you misunderstand, they want to know his movements off world."

 

"Ah I see. This is possible. Send in two scout teams. Have that ship tagged... Twice. IN case his senses give him warning about the first one some how. I want that ship also inspected and searched, if there is time. I want as much detail on that ship as possible. After all, if we lose the tags might still be able to pick him up later through visuals. Also deploy four combat teams. POSLWJK protocols apply and radio on up to our eyes in the sky. we are going to want to have air support on this one. Sith are far more destructive than jedi when they want to be. Nor do they have any problems giving into such wanton slaughter. I don't want to writer any letters home today gentlemen. This meeting is adjourned... get moving."

 

Though knowing how these Force users are, perhaps I should hope for the stars while I am at it.

 

 

------

Elsewhere two figures lay prone, unmoving. They had been that way for a classified amount of time, and no doubt would continue to stay that way. The man in charge adjusted his electros. Though temperature treated, the snow drifts some times got stuck in his lens all the same.

 

"Still no movement coming out of the cave. What is the Eta on the boys in white?"

 

"Five minutes." Came from the voice of the spotter.

 

"Five minutes could be too late with these kinds of folks."

 

"I know but that is what was just radioed to me moments ago. Also we might be getting eyes in the sky for this guy."

 

"Now that is what I like to hear. What is the plan."

 

"When the boys in white arrive, we will be switching to fire team status. Also three more teams of our sort will be deployed. Bring the ability to reach out and touch some one up to four teams or eight men. The boys in white, get to be suppression teams. Our combat unit is being called up along with three others. Over kill is the name of the game this go around."

 

"Wait... who engages? "

 

"No one, we are all a Fubar operation. Plan is two additional scout teams are moving in. Gonna tag the ship and watch it fly off. We are here if things go sour. Orders are to then bring down the owner. Non lethal rounds of course unless necessary. "

 

"Annoying."

 

"I'll say but, if you pray, I say you better pray to who ever you pray to that the two scout teams are able to accomplish their mission. If four combat teams are being brought up, I can't help but wonder who is this guy."

 

------

Silence filled the landscape, only the crunching sound of snow and gravel was the indication of life and movement amongst the jagged desolate plains before reaching the rocky outcroppings and the caves therin. Silence as the men moved, yet each man was apart of a vibrant and abet colorful conversation amidst closed channels.

 

Each team was taking up a cardinal direction in relation to the ship. That did lead to a short hike by one team, in order to efficiently get on top of the cave outcropping. While the sniper teams not already deployed move into position, weapons emplacements were set up. Everyone always figured that use of the e-web was a good thing. In this case it was use of the F-web that made the day, due to its shields. Shields were normally a good thing when dealing with force users... especially those with lightsabers. However, the e-web hadn't been abandoned. The WW-676 repulsorlift sled was being brought to bear in this conflict, it speed and firepower, hopefully being able to unjammed the scouts if things go wrong. Each one had been fitted with an e-web instead, due to the tendency of force users to cause grenades to explode in one's hand or on the belt.

 

With the combat teams ready, a total of sixty-eight men stood ready and waiting. Their minds occupied with everything but the mission. In this case due to the sparse populous their minds had been trained to resemble far more base instincts than they average typical solider. They were almost at feral or animal like state. The longer they could keep the balance in their favor the better. Further more, if they had no need for force they wouldn't use it. Which is why each combat team, was stashed away in such a manner as to resemble a desolate landscape. Now it was all up to the scout teams.

---------------

"Look stop your belly aching. We have the easy job. All we have to do is a fix our tag to the outside of the ship and then keep look out for the other team. THe other team actually has to board that thing. If the rumors are true and it IS a sith we are dealing with, who knows what horrors might await them inside."

 

Sgt Jute shook his head slowly at his comrade's remark.

 

"I am just saying that they expect us to run over their tag the ship, then watch for a Sith Lord. How do we know he doesn't already know we are coming."

 

"I am going to say this again. Last anyone heard, there had still been no movement leaving the cave. He is doing what ever it is Sith lords do. So chill out and hope we get this job done fast enough so we don't even have to worry about it. Besides look at the other team, they are already moving in to breech the ship. So hustle solider."

 

With those words, the two scout teams each with their own objective quickly and quietly began to fill their assigned roles.