[HSP RO] Looking Home - Ptolomea

Ptolomea, Cocytus System
Undisclosed Location in Almagast

Damp floors and the lingering smell of sewage quickly changed the atmosphere from the beautiful and respectful city above deep into the city beneath the city. It was hardly an environment fitting for the Emperor, but the operation ahead must be done in secrecy, without the knowledge of those above. High pitched squeals masked the sounds of dripping water and the scurrying feet of rodents as Xen'Mordin pressed open a metal door and finally joined the rest of his House ahead of the coming mission.

"Fashionably late as usual my Lord," a smile crossed the face of Evant Taelyan who stepped out of the shadows across the poorly lit room of the underground pumping station.

"And fashionable he is too, check out that mask," spoke out Varkain quickly before he could explain himself.

As the Quaestor removed his mask Shadow Nighthunter too stepped forward with a small bow to greet the Emperor respectfully. Noticing the gesture Evant and Varkain chose to do the same, despite their jesting they both held a deep respect for their leader. The door behind him gave out a whining cry as he closed it, topped by a loud clank as it closed shut.

Xen'Mordin tucked away his mask into his robes before finally getting a word in, "Good evening. We don't venture into sewers without purpose, so lets get on with it. Elsewhere under the city there are other members of the House already in action. Each of us has the same overall objective, to take over the central command room for the city, and neutralize the twin brothers of the Dictator as we move to completely replace the planetary government. They are fiercely loyal to their older brother and are heirs to his seat of power, and happen to be incredibly well trained in combat. They know that there are Dark Jedi involved, and they know we are coming after them."

A brief pause came, looking for questions but none came, the three Sith with him understood what needed to be done. The pump they shared the room with kicked on unexpectedly, a loud churning hummed in the small room and a fresh damp smell of sewage whirled through the air. The group of Sith seemed as ready to get underway as they were to simply get out of the cramped underground pump station as Xen'Mordin replaced his mask once again covering his face and lead the way deeper underground in the direction of the command center. His fellow Sith following closely behind.

Ptolemea, Cocytus System,
Undisclosed location in Almagast

Xantros could hardly believe that Ptolomea would ever need to be reclaimed from the hands of a dictator by its rightful owners, House Scholae Palatinae. However, the lingering campaign against the One Sith, which had involved all Dark Jedi of the Imperial House, had made some of the planetary dictators in the Cocytus system too confident. They started to believe that their power was endless. The dictator of Ptolomea thought that he could have done anything he would like to without any fear of punishment. It was probable that he was going to try to overthrow the rule of the Emperor.

However, as the last phase of the Dark Crusade had been delayed for two months. The Summit of the Imperial House had decided to bring the order in their home system back. Several Dark Jedi volunteered to carry out the mission, the goal of which was to kill twin brothers of the dictator. They spread into groups, which infiltrated the sewers under the city of Almagast, in which the headquarters of the dictator were located.

Xantros, as the Aedile of the House, led the second group, which included Dante, Koryn, Lucyeth and Elincia.

"It is not a nice location, is it?" asked Dante with slight irony in his voice, when he arrived at the rendevouz point of the second group and noticed Xantros, who had already been waiting for the rest of the team.

"It perfectly suits the nature of our job. We need to clean this planet of all disloyal people and it is going to be a dirty job."

"Indeed," spoke Elincia, who just walked out from the darkness. "Who are we waiting for?"

"Just us," answered Koryn, as he and Lucyeth appeared in the Dark Jedi's field of vision. "We are ready to move out."

"Very well, then. We have to hurry up, but be careful. This action must be quick and efficient. Failure is not option. Unnecessary casualties are not welcome, on both sides. We do not know, who have truly sided with the outlaw and his twin brothers. They must be punished, but innocent clerks and officers may not be harmed. We need them to make sure that our operations here remain intact."

The members of the team nodded and moved through the smelly and dirty sewer to the headquarters of the hostile group.

Ptolemea, Cocytus System,
Undisclosed location in Almagast

Forcing the unsanitary conditions out of their mind, the group pressed on in the knowledge the outcome of this mission could be crucial for the future of Ptolomea. Xantros’ feet came within inches of squashing a small rodent into the ground as he led the group underneath Almagast, towards the direction of the control room. Some members of the group however, were handling the conditions better than others.

‘That was clean on this morning’, Elincia silently complained to herself as she looked down at her lab coat which shone a pristine white earlier in the day. Having spent the last five years of her life in research offices and labs, the Ptolomea sewers were a stark contrast for the scientist, but she had personal reasons for joining this mission. In a past life Elincia had been Quaestor of Caliburnus, Ptolomea was her dominion and the site of her most famous achievements. When scientific support was requested for this mission, Elincia offered to go herself, disappointed that the situation had become this bad in the first place.

She trailed behind the group, keeping herself close enough for protection but not too close to get in the way. Virtually defenceless without breaking her cover, Elincia’s mind was her greatest asset. She carried with her a small assortment of chemicals, nerve agents, medical supplies, and highly volatile explosive compounds.

“I’ll be here if you need anything blown up or poisoned,” she informed the group with an even tone, maintaining her professional aura. “And watch the rats; the amount of toxic waste pumped down here has mutated the inhabiting lifeforms. Their bites can be venomous to humans and I don't have enough first aid for everyone.”

Ptolomea, Cocytus System
Undisclosed Location in Almagast

Xen’Mordin had felt many kinds of rage over the years. Against enemies known and unknown, against friend’s planned betrayal, against himself. Each carried its own signature, no single hatred and anger was the same as the last. In this instance he was angry, very angry, but beneath that angry was the feeling of annoyance.

Someone had gotten cocky and thought they could stand against the Empire, stand against it within the Empire’s boundaries. This was something he would not stand.

Xen stepped carefully along the sewer, trying to not think about where he was walking. If anyone saw them, and knew who he was. He dreaded to see those headlines. The team came to a junction and stopped.

“Evant, you planned this assault, which way?” Xen asked.

“Uhhh…” Evant stalled quickly referencing his datapad.

“Left”

“That datapad is upside down.” Shadow whispered to Evant.

“Oh, yes… Right. We go right.” Evant corrected. Through his mask, Xen noticed that everyone getting a bit pale.

“I think we should pick up the pace. The fumes down here don’t seem to be doing anyone any favors. It isn’t going to do us any good if everyone passes out down here.” Xen said. Varkian let out a slight gagging cough.

“We should hit a secondary power station on the way. If we take that out, that will disable the alarm system inside the complex,” Evant suggested as the team moved on.

“How long would it give us to get in before they notice and send people to fix it?” Shadow asked.

“Maybe 5 minutes. Enough to get inside at least,” Evant said.

“We better hope the other team is ready to move in that window then,” Varkain replied. Xen nodded before pressing at his communicator.

Static.

“Yeah well these are useless down here. Xantros better not be distracted when I try to reach him with the force,” Xen said.

“Something tells me that will be the case,” Evant smirked.

Ptolemea, Cocytus System,
Undisclosed location in Almagast

As the team moved through the tunnel of the sewer system, the environment reeked of raw sewage that continued to get worse as they moved further through the pipes. The city above showed a distinct elegance of landscape; however the sewer system was home to all the lovely waste of the city that they were trudging through to get into the headquarters undetected.

Lucyeth did not believe that anyone was anticipating this part of the task with joy as they proceeded further into the sewage. His training had never prepared him for a journey through a sewer pipe while avoiding mutated rodents as they moved. I’ll have to learn on the job I guess, he thought to himself.

“Be careful, there is a rat coming up on your right side” said Elincia. “I don’t wish to use any first aid on you; I don’t have enough for everyone.”
“Thanks for the warning,” replied Lucyeth as he kept moving, sidestepping to avoid the rat.

Lucyeth hoped they got to the end soon because he was starting to have a hard time from gagging, while the air just seemed to get more stagnant. He looked ahead towards Koryn and called out: “are we almost there? I don’t know how much longer I can last down here.” He was barely holding back his disgust, nearly retching from the odor.

“Just keep moving, we should be there soon,” said Koryn with a sense of hope.

“We are nearing the end of the pipe and should resurface momentarily,” stated Xantros with a feeling of excitement. Thank you, he thought with a sigh of relief, but he knew everyone else was thinking something similar to themselves.

The group went into the sewer clean, but would emerge out of the other side dirty. These minor physical abnormalities would not matter, as they all still had the same level of determination to press on with the mission at hand.

Ptolomea, Cocytus System
Undisclosed Location in Almagast

Rancid water dripped from the sewer ceiling, splashing against Koryn’s shoulder. He turned his face away so the spray didn’t get in his eye. Pulling the hood of his robes over his head, he wiped his cheek dry. He didn’t like this place, but he understood the importance of a stealthy approach in this situation. Ahead, the pipe they had been travelling through opened up into a vast chamber. The sounds of machinery echoed through the sewer; the team deduced they had reached one of the pumping stations. A scarlet ray shield divided the station in half and blocked their passage casting its glow across the area; on either side of it stood two squads of guards.

"Looks like Khebe has his own private military," informed Kell, a coy smile playing on the edge of his mouth. "I don't think he trusts the Scholae armed forces to protect him." Koryn removed his Westar from its holster, holding it out grip first towards Elincia.

"Stay down, doctor, and cover us if you can." The Togruta scientist reached out almost hesitantly and took the pistol. "How's this going to play out?" he asked turning back to Kell and Xantros; they were both scanning the battleground and forming their own personal strategies.

"We'll take the flanks first, that way we won't be fighting on two fronts," informed Xantros. "From there we'll move in and surround the remaining units." Ever the soldier, Dante disagreed, arguing for a full frontal assault in order to overwhelm the enemy. With a sigh, Xantros agreed to a compromise: he and Koryn would take the flanks by stealth, while Kell charged the vanguard, with Lucyeth providing rifle cover from the rear. "Wait until we're in position before you begin your assault," ordered the Duros.

Silently, both the Aedile and Rollmaster made their way around opposite edges of the pumping station. They came to a stop behind two of the rear guard. Xantros held up three fingers to Koryn, dropping them one at a time. As the last disappeared, their lightsabers ignited simultaneously stabbing through their targets’ chests. The remaining guards were alerted to their presence by the thrum of the blades, turning their attention to the two Krath and away from Dante. Crimson bolts poured from their rifles, striking the human shields that were their allies.

The Obelisk began his assault on the private military, signalling Lucyeth to also begin his attack. The Protector pulled back the trigger of his E-15A rifle, his bolts joining with flurry of the guards’. Dante’s violet blade was a blur as he brought it to deflect blaster fire before twisting his grip and slicing through the nearest trooper. Koryn and Xantros had both also joined the midst of the combat and in no time at all, they had secured the location. As a result, they had also drawn a crowd: soldiers on the opposite side of the ray shield had gathered to watch intently.

“How are we getting through?” asked Lucyeth as the Dark Jedi gathered at the ray shield, each looking it over. Xantros’ eyes were closed and his brow furrowed in concentration.

“The Emperor…” he began before the unmistakable whine of a blaster cut him off. Three lightsabers ignited simultaneously as they spun around. Standing before them was Elincia, both hands gripping the pistol tightly and pointed at a seemingly fallen soldier. The shot hadn’t finished him but had struck his shoulder, throwing his shot wide. Koryn walked towards the trooper and plunged the crimson blade into his chest. He looked up at the scientist: her eyes were wide and she was shaking, the blaster still pointed at the soldier. It was the obvious sign of one untrained in combat taking their first life. He reached out towards her, placing his hand on hers and lowering them.

“It’s okay,” said the Rodian reassuringly. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to speak, but no words came forth. “You did well.” Elincia tried to offer the blaster to him, but he told her to keep a hold of it for the time being.

“As I was trying to say,” continued Xantros. “The Emperor and his team are going to take down a secondary power supply to take the alarm system offline.” Dante looked at him somewhat sceptically.

“You realise that if it doesn’t take down the ray shield, we’ll have less than five minutes to figure out how to get inside?” Xantros nodded.

“I am aware of that,” he said. “So we’d better come up with something and quickly.”

Second by second, Dante’s scepticism seemed to become more and more justified. The ray shield looked certain to win its staring contest with the Dark Jedi, while Elincia appeared disinterested, escaping attention, muttering unintelligible terminology into a commlink.

Dante’s lightsaber crashed off the ray shield, hissing loudly at each other, sparks of energy erupted in all directions, but the shield held firm. It was worth a try. “The Emperor and his team will take the shield down,” Xantros repeated.

“That doesn’t seem likely. We will break through ourselves,” Dante responded, preferring to batter through the obstacle than wait for help. Koryn joined the assault, a bright blue spark of lightning shot from his fingertips, coursing across the surface of the ray shield, crackling wildly. It had no effect. The room was then shook by the thundering blasts of Lucyeth’s blaster, rapid fire bolts of plasma hammering against the impenetrable shield.

The ray shield looked back apathetically. All was quiet. They may as well have tried diplomacy. “And the coefficient of restitution?” a quiet voice sounded from behind, reminding the Dark Jedi of the scientist’s existence.

“Elincia!” she didn’t seem to be paying attention.

“22.5 will be sufficient? …. Thank you Leeda,” Elincia cut off the call.

“Mind explaining what was more important than getting through here?” Xantros’ irritation at her apparent preference to chat with her research student than sort out the problem at hand was evident.

“Explosion dynamics,” she said simply, walking towards the ray shield. Two simple words can change attitudes so quickly, especially when one of those words is ‘explosion’. She stood in front of the Dark Jedi, body language and mannerisms of a lecturer. “Ray shields are harnessed electromagnetic energy. It’s like trying to destroy light without targeting the source, it just sends more energy.”

“But we can’t see the source,” Lucyeth interrupted but Elincia continued.

“Photons travel in a straight line… mostly… point to point. The ray shield is indestructible with our weapons, but the floor… sewage networks aren’t built to resist explosions. And as we’re underground, underneath this floor is soil. An explosion directed downwards will blow a big enough hole in the floor for us to crawl underneath the shield.”

“The noise will alert the enemy to our presence,” Xantros said, unsure if explosions were the most sensible option, but Elincia had considered that too.

“I think lightsabers, lightning and blasters will have done that already,” she responded succinctly. She crouched down in front of the ray shield, delicately pouring precise mixtures of exotic chemicals. “This mix of chemicals will react with the energy of ten thermal detonators. When I shout get back, it would be prudent to get back to the pipe.”

Ptolomea, Cocytus System
Undisclosed Location in Almagast

As they ventured deeper the air got more dense and humid, almost palpable. It certainly wasn't a welcome development as the four Sith worked their way through the labyrinth beneath the city of Almagast. Yet it was enough of a distraction to catch them off guard as brilliant green flashes illuminated the narrow corridor as the group of Dark Jedi dove for cover against the walls.

"Unless these mutant rats can now spit particle beam energy I think someone knows we're here," Evant announced, a bit surprised to run into a patrol this far from the power station.

"They obviously know we're here." Shadow responded, with a tinge of her own sarcasm.

"Whatever Xantros group is up to must have alerted them, still doesn't change our mission. Lets get past these two scouts and take down the security grid so we can all get inside." Xen commanded to get things back on track.

Stepping away from the wall, the corridor was bathed in crimson light as Evant ignited his lightsaber. As the next emerald blasts came forward, gripping his saber high on the hilt, he deflected them back down the corridor at the attackers causing them to take their own cover. The brief opening was all that his companions needed as Xen and Varkain charged the attackers, closing the distance much more quickly than the pair anticipated. It was obvious they had never faced Dark Jedi in combat.

Their surprise and awe of the incoming Dark Jedi was a fatal mistake as they were cut down effortlessly by the incoming lightsabers. Xen and Varkain stood over their lifeless bodies, keeping their lightsabers ready as they could sense additional incoming enemies. Behind them Shadow and Evant quickly caught up.

"We have no time to waste now, we need to get inside and end this," Xen declaimed, his anger and annoyance recognizable beneath his calm demeanor.

"The secondary power station is just ahead, and beyond that is a service entrance to the command room," Evant announced as he reviewed mission data to help plan their next move.

"Just an idea here, but, a distraction would allow us to more easily take down the secondary power station." Shadow spoke up, looking over Evant's shoulder at the area schematic.

"There is only one route into the area. How do you presume we do that?" Evant responded, a bit confused but intrigued by what he may have missed.

"One route for a human, many options for a rat," Shadow grinned as she looked down at a small rat now chewing on the corpse of one of the guards. A rather unwholesome sight that almost made sense considering their surroundings.

"Do it, we will assault the service entrance and keep them busy providing you cover while your... rat, takes down the power generator," Xen hesitated a bit but knew it was the fastest plan and especially hated rates anyways.

Evant tucked away his datapad and reignited his saber along with his fellow Sith before looking over at Shadow, "Just don't get too attached to that rat. He has a mission to do."

Shadow joined the other Sith as they gathered around the service entrance of the command room. Behind her, two rats skittered after the group, their little feet pitter-pattering on the floor. Shadow had managed to convince Xen that two rats were necessary.

“I still don’t understand why you had to have a second one come a long,” Evant said looking back at the rodents.

“It’s good to have back up, is it not?” Shadow said smiling. “Plus, it means double trouble for the enemy.”

“That or double trouble for us.”

“Nah, Cusco and Chonsy won’t be any trouble for us at all.”

“They have names?” Varkain asked a little bit disgusted.

“Of course, makes it easier for me to keep track of them. They already know to listen to me when I call them by their names.”

“Just remember, they’re not pets,” Evant reminded Shadow. “Stay focused.”

“I know, I know. I’ll make sure they get the job done.”

“Good, because it’s time,” Xen said. “You ready?”

“Just say the word,” Shadow responded as she looked over the two critters. “They’re ready.”

“Now would be good.”

Shadow nodded and knelt down next to her furry companions. Through the Force, she told them what to do and where to go, making it as clear as she could for the rats to understand the objective. As if excited, the rodents scurried around Shadow in a circle before running off into a small crevice in the wall.

“They...decided to go on ahead. I’ll give them further instructions as they get closer to the power generator.”

“Good,” Xen said looking at the service entrance. “Let’s get this over with…and make sure those… things don’t mess up”

Shadow smiled. “Don’t worry. Cusco and Chonsy will not fail us.”

The group adjusted their positioning to glance around the corner to see through the shields protecting the power station. They needed to be ready to jump into action the second the power was cut, in order to prevent the guards from alerting the facility above.

“If those rats do this, I’ll give them a bloody medal.” Xen muttered under his breath. Shadow gave an irritated SHHHHH as she concentrated. Cusco and Chonsy were already scampering away down the sewer. After a moment they were gone, vanishing into a small hole in the wall.

Xen poked his head around the corner and saw the two rats appear right near the main power conduit.

“There, that big wire there. Have them go at that,” Xen whispered. Shadow nodded. Cusco and Chonsy went to town chewing at the wire. They made short order of the protective plastic wrap.

Then came a loud pulsing of energy as they cut out the wire. The shield and lights flickers, and then were gone. The team jumped into action quickly taking down the surprised guards that had moments before been safely behind a shield.

“Does anyone smell that?” Varkain asked. Xen turned and held his lightsaber over where the two rats had attacked the power cable.

“Yummy, extra crispy recipe.” Xen said with a slight hint of a chuckle.

“Oh no! Cusco and Chonsy!” Shadow exclaimed.

Beneath his mask Xen rolled his eyes and motioned toward the blast door.

“New issues face us. Thank you lightsabers,” he said before plunging his red blade into the door frame.

Ptolomea, Cocytus System
Undisclosed Location in Almagast

The entire team ran away from the ray shield the second everyone heard “get back” yelling as Elincia began running towards us as her chemical reaction began taking its course, causing a deafening blast that shook the ground below.

“Nicely done, now everyone down into the hole I want Dante on point.” Said Xantros as the team began moving into the make shift tunnel.

“Good thing you brought these chemicals, they made quick work of an alternative route” said Koryn as he passed Elincia before descending down into the tunnel.

The team kept moving underground beneath the ray shield until we hit solid soil.
“Elincia, take the front, I think we are going to need a few smaller scale explosions from your chemicals to continue a path” stated Dante as Elincia began moving towards the front of the group.

“Wont we have to worry about the dirt blocking our only way in which we are shoveling behind us from every blast?” asked Lucyeth to the team. “doesn’t matter because when they find the hole that we blew in the floor they are going to be on high alert as they already are so, that means that this exit is a one way trip.” stated Xantros, answering Lucyeth’s question with full confidence.

“Additionally, once we are behind the ray shield, we will need to shut it down because it would only compromise everything” added Koryn.

“Almost there” said Elincia to everyone as her chemical mixtures made small concussions that continued to hack away at the tunnel. Lucyeth thought to himself as we will most likely hit heavy resistance at the top with all this blasting. Lucyeth’s thought was answered in a moment’s notice when Xantros began devising a plan.

“Alright when we reach the other end, I want Dante on point, flanked by Koryn” said Xantros as he fell into the line along with them.

“Lucyeth and Elincia will fall back to provide us with blaster support as there will be multiple enemies” added Koryn. Xantros nodded with agreement.

Lucyeth checked his blaster as he exited the tunnel on the other side of the ray shield with everyone else.

“Back to the fun part” murmured Dante, grinning as he ignited his crimson lightsaber with Koryn and Xantros in unison. On the other side of the ray shield, dozens of enemies were waiting for us as they began their own assault towards the team.

Since their infiltration into the sewers of Almagast, Varkain had been ruminating about the whole scheme. Though he was content in working alongside like-minded Sith, members of the Brotherhood who thought and acted nearly the same as he did, and pleased that he did not have to suffer the presence of Krath bookies or Obelisk brutes, he was uneasy about the entire game. Something nagged at him, in the back of his mind, and as he sliced through his adversaries with no apparent remorse, he felt an odd sense that the mission at hand was simply in order to prove his allegience to his Quaestor. He did not voice his thoughts, but kept them shrouded in darkness and bloodlust as he happily dispatched his enemies.

He was happy to serve his leader and friend, and to get a chance to plunge his lightsaber into something different than a training droid, but he could not help but be suspicious of the whole operation. A government leader had overstepped his boundaries, his kin were ruling unjustly and abusing their seats of power. So what? He knew that anyone in that group, given the chance, would not hesitate to abuse their authority just as the Dictator had done. For wasn't it that very trait that kept the scheming Sith above the rest? The problem was, Varkain couldn't tell who exactly it was who was scheming this time. He hoped he wasn't the only one feeling that way. However, as Varkain looked into the eyes of Evant and Shadow, he saw unparalleled loyalty and no measure of suspicion in the slightest.

“Got a problem?” questioned Shadow as she noticed Varkain's far-off gaze.

The sparks that flew from Xen's crimson blade distracted Varkain out of his pondering and the Sith Warrior nodded. “Should I have?”

Shadow did not reply, but returned to her rats. “It's a shame.” She concluded.

“Men, a little help perhaps?” Came the swift order of their Quaestor.

“If I have to...” Came the lazy response of Varkain. He was actually starting to like it down there in the sewers, despite the various aromas that wafted in from the extensive tunnels underneath the city. He felt secure, just as he did while in space aboard his own aircraft or in one of his House's Star Destroyers. It was the confinement that gave him that feeling. As it was, he wished he did not have to leave the confines of the underground.

Immediately, Varkain ignited his amber blade with a snap-hiss and plunged it deep into the formidable blast door. Like a cutting torch, Varkain and Xen's blades slowly sliced through the durable blastdoor, making headway only slowly. Meanwhile, Evant and Shadow searched the room for anything that might aid them in their mission. From the guards Shadow took a pass-key. “Don't think this will help, will it?”

Evant snatched it from the Knight. “It's never that easy...is it, Xen?”

The Quaestor ignored the Warrior and continued his work on the door. Within moments, the large blastdoor was defeated, and Xen and Varkain each lifted the slab using the Force and placed it to the side with a loud thud. The edges of the blastdoor that remained glowed a deep golden. “Watch your step.” Came the advice of Varkain.

Before them was small passageway and at the end of it was another large door with a terminal beside it. Evant smirked and held up the pass-key Shadow had found, “It is that easy.”