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Tython, Jedi Temple

"We move to the landing platform next," the padawan explained. "We'll be assaulted by waves of troops while the freighter powers up."

Seron froze in disbelief, for a moment. A mandalorian with a vibrosword and a Jedi padawan, defending against droves of stormtroopers? There was no way they were surviving this. Unless... One thing you never did was never leave your rifle at home in the military. You bring it to the mess hall with you. You bring it to mission briefings with you. You sleep with it. You must have your rifle with you at all times.

Seron turned his duffel, resting against the simulated wall a few yards behind them.

"Understood, ma'am!" Seron said turning and running. "Getting set up now!"

Seron came to a halt quickly, knelt down and set his sword on the ground, not bothering to properly replace it in his bag. Instead, he used both hands to heft up a KX-80 rifle out of his bag, spinning on the ball of his foot so he could run back to the padawan's current position. Even the two of them got overwhelmed, the rifle would take down more troopers, and it firing the weapon would be less exhausting than swinging his sword around all over the place.

Predator

Morbella sat still on the edge of the bed in her quarters surrounded by the dead. Holonet communications from the planet had been re-routed through the fleet’s communications officers until the sources of the signals could be determined, leaving the Predator a great echo of the ghosts below. A signal delay of approximately thirteen minutes was enough for the Lieutenant to assure herself that the voices of the dying were truly the voices of the dead and that there was nothing she could do for them; a cold comfort.

You should have said no, Bella.She told herself. When the Admiral had proposed this mission she’d accepted, and why – to forestall her final judgement, of course. So now she was alive, but she’d cut out her soul to ensure it. There are worse things than dying.

Shakily, she approached the discreet computer terminal across the chambers and entered her own decrypted code into the machine - a combination of the Admiral’s codes she’d been taught, enough that the code could be recognized by any skilled Imperial technician, but not enough that those technicians would be able to decrypt it easily. In fact, no technician would attempt unless under orders and those orders would not come from her.

Using the hololink that remained to the fleet, Morbella stood back for the machine to capture her image while she spoke.

“By now you will have heard rumours of an Imperial fleet massing and heading towards the Core. These rumours are correct. I’ve been put at the head of it by the Grand Admiral on the Corruo, either a twist of fate or your Force at work... I never know which.”

The Gurlannin paused, taking a deep breath before continuing so that her voice would not break with her emotions.

“If you follow these rumours you will undoubtedly connect them to the outrage and fear that will be sparked by our actions today. You have to know that Kinyen will not be the last world that the Empire marks on this mission. The Corellian trade spire runs along many planets, and each of those planets will be given the choice to joine the Empire or suffer the same fate. Corellia itself and other stronger planets have been Imperial since Venia’s reign and the Admiral does not anticipate any significant resistance until we reach Anaxes.”

“If you have people on these planets,” Morbella’s voice dropped and her tone weighed with heavy sincerity, “Then get them out. This fleet will not stop until Anaxes and it will burn anyone that gets in its way.”

She shut down the recording then, shaking at her own words before returning to the computer to send the message. The planet would be considered neutralized soon, but not before the message made it through.

Anaxes .
Seeker...

xxxxx░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Companion to our demons
They will dance and we will play
With chairs, candles, and clothXXXXXXXX
Making darkness in the day

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░ ░░░░░ XXXXX



Venia was here, alright, Mab was so sure of it that until the blonde spoke she had forgotten her presence. Silly Mabysyn, you can't forget her...

With a flourish born of both impatience and sudden dramatics, in an excitement that accompanied the thrill of reality catching up to her, Mab twirled with a laugh. "I thought you would never ask, sister!" For a moment she lost herself in that twirl, dancing to music that only she could hear, and in a pass near Irella she caught the other woman's wrist in her own hand strongly. "Your wish--"

In that same moment, she envisioned Validus' palace - sprawling towers of the blackest night, sparkling red against the speeder and swoop bike engines that passed it in traffic, and glittering with the stars that were still visible in the thin atmo of its elevation - and they were there. At the far end of the palace's long receiving area for ships and visitors, and midst a company of guardians.

"Is my command." She finished with feral grin, her dance becoming deadly as she dispatched first one, then a second, and the third and fourth of Massassi guardians with deadly accuracy and a drunken power gained from sensing Venia's presence. The blur of blackness, darkness and herself in violent frenzy, stilled and she smiled at those guardian's she had left.

"Take me to your leader."

[ The Missing Score ]

Mina's expression shifts subtly -- so subtly only Kennero could tell, if he were looking, but he more likely picks up the hint in the Force; it's a sort of mental roll of the eyes. She is generally very much against Force persuasion except in the most extreme cases, and the same goes for her Falleen fiance's biological advantage (some situations excluded).

She's annoyed enough now that she lets it slide, though.

"Thank you for your understanding," Mina tells Commander Barranks with a gentle smile. <We must make haste for privacy then,> she tells Kennero as she speaks. "And thank you for your offer, but we will decline. Also -- I have been reassigned, so keep your eye out for the new Jedi diplomat. I'm sure one will be appointed, soon." Maybe Sam -- who had more experience than the ex-Grandmaster?

As for the offered ship... Mina doesn't want to risk being tracked once the commander's Force and pheromone induced cheer dissipates. "Kennero?" the Knight prompts before she exits the room and heads towards the hangar bay.

Anya smirked when the Mandalorian abandoned his sword and switched over to a heavy blaster rifle. She rolled her eyes slightly. "Just make sure you turn down the power setting. If we damage the simulators, we'll both be in serious trouble." The scene changed again to a landing platform. On the end of the platform was an old, beaten up Corellian YT-1300 light freighter. The High Value Targets began to move towards the freighter. Anya pointed to several crates appearing on the platform. "You cover me. I'm going to move forward and engage the targets when they appear."

Point Nadir, Zietta's Palace


Bundled comfortably in her fur-lined jacket, Malo woke, still dressed, on the richly padded bed that had been granted to her during her stay. It had been so long since she'd slept in a real bed rather than a cot on her ship that as soon as she'd laid down to test it out that had been it; a short drop and a sudden stop into sleep.

Now that she was awake, however, she had better things to do than think to herself about how wonderful a sleep she'd had. She changed quickly from a cargo container that had been delivered from her ship into more casual clothes, a robe that she still carried from her days with the Jedi over a body glove and her jacket once more, and then moved on. She was certain that Zietta didn't give a room like this to just anyone and Whitesun or no Whitesun, Zietta didn't give a room like this for free. The first listening device was inside a decorative vase, the second underneath the control panel to the room's holoterminal, and the third was sliced into the room's provided safe - not doubt placed there to also keep security codes for the safe recorded. After finding only two others she was confident that they were all accounted for and, after deactivating them, she stored them all inside the same vase that had contained the original device. Let Zietta's people find them later.

She left one message for Eden, who was either busy on her line or not present, letting her know that everything had, so far, gone according to her plan. Then she was off, locking the door behind her as she left, and once again drowning in the atmosphere of vice inside the Hutt's palace.

Today Zietta was out among her 'people' it seemed, but Malo paid her no heed. She had nothing of worth to either tell or give the Hutt, yet, so she wouldn't occupy the slug's time unless she did come up with something. Coming up with something was the harder part.

"Got any Lum?" She asked the bar tender, sliding into a seat where she could see most of the room. Try as she might to not be inconspicuous, she knew it would be difficult as one of the few off-worlders... and then she knew what questions she should ask. As the bartender returned with a purple pint she smiled, producing more than enough credits for the drink, and said, "I'm looking for some friends of mine -- any interesting people come through the docks recently?"

Tython/ Temple Tour, combat simulator room

It did Ronyo good to hear Sam speak in a much more optimistic tone and spirit. She almost looked like she was about to crack a smile upon stepping foot onto the legendary soil but a slightly curved mouth was about all she managed. It would do for the time being and with enough time maybe Ronyo could have her smiling once again.

With Omega pacing them from behind a few feet Ronyo gave Sam the tour of the Temple, which in and of itself was a grand thing as the first few weeks in the Coruscant Temple Ronyo had needed a map and still got lost. Now the Jedi was going down hallways without thinking as they moved to the areas he had encountered events from his original journey. He showed Sam the grand library full of old and now new holocrons from across space and time. He mentioned the several holocrons he still had with him that had taught him while on Tython.

“They were the only thing that kept me sane until I meet Omega’s pack. If you ever wish to see any of them let me know, the small green alien is most amusing and has wisdom beyond any Jedi I have known.”

Ronyo showed Sam just about every nook and cranny he could think of as they went down the halls and through the Temple. They ended in the training section of the Temple where Ronyo talked about the new programs they had put into the simulators. They had been his idea, and now they had both straight hologram simulations for the younger and newer younglings and starters, and hologram based droids designed to mimic and copy personalities and even some fighting styles. It was leftover technology from Nexus that the few Mandolorians who had stayed brought with them.

Ronyo went on about the great relationship they had formed with the group of Mandolorians who had stayed and how he felt it might be a step towards an even bigger alliance with the warrior culture. Some of the older council members had their doubts and concerns about them staying on but Ronyo talked about wanting to bridge the gap from the old ways and the new ways and find some middle ground.

As they spoke Ronyo caught the sound of blaster fire and the yells and shouts of battle. It was a sound often heard in this section but one Ronyo always liked to heart. It meant some student was hard at work practicing and perfecting their technique and pushing their skills that one step further. As they came to the room Ronyo and Sam entered to the viewing area above the main area and where able to see a young Jedi learner and a Mandalorian fighting together through an old post Galactic Civil War encounter.

“This could not be better if I had planed it myself. This is just what I was hoping for, Jedi and Mandolorian working side by side, a more formidable team I could not imagine honestly. Any bets on who takes the more kills? So far Omega seems to have a knack for picking winners, every time we watch several of the younger students go through the simulations we always make selections, he’s beating me by three so far.”

Anaxes

As much as the sudden grab by the dangerously playful Anzat came to a surprise, ever so slightly confusing the blonde, it had been but a mild sensation as compared to the instantaneous travel that followed suit.

Had it not been for the strength lend to her by Mab, she wasn't sure if the disorientating experience would've caused her to throw up otherwise. It also helped that she hadn't eaten a thing yet. Having warm meal hadn't exactly been a first priority with everything going on.

She was hardly even aware of their current situation until the Anzat was well on her way of clearing out her third opponent. All Irella managed to do was subconsciously reach for the hilt of weapon that was not even present, an old reflex, much unlike her heart which was beating even faster by the fright of it all.

By the time her fumbling fingers found a hold of the blaster she did carry on her belt, Mab had already gotten her point across to these monstrous red warriors. In a way she was glad it already over, feeling uncertainty about her own combat abilities. On the other hand, she cursed herself for letting herself be held back by these uncertainties. Why couldn't she simply just remember again?

She carefully inched closer to Mabysyn as she eyed the Massassi, feeling just a little bit safer in doing so, even if it did weigh in heavy on her own pride. She couldn't even fathom what kind of powerful being would be guarded by such brute and predatory looking things. She really had to try her best to appear as calm as possible, to appear like she belonged. She figured she once did, why else would the Anzat go through the trouble of dragging her along?