Beyond the Horizon Run-On: TEAM 6

OPENING FICTION

Please use the link above to read the opening fiction above and continue the story.

How does your team meet? Has your team been assigned to defend against the boarding party on one of the Plagueian ships? Has your team been assigned to clear the ground of the forces invading the planets throughout the Jusadih system? There are many possibilities for you to explore, use your imagination.

Please make each post follow on from the previous post. Each post must be at least 250 words to count. Each individual from the group must post TWICE by the end of week 2 for the team run-on to count.

Placeholders may be used; all you need to do is post saying: "Placeholder" and you will hold that spot for a maximum of four hours. After that time, other people are allowed to follow on from the post prior.

It is up to you all how you organise posts and storyline. We suggest you start an email chain and brainstorm, but you are ultimately the ones posting.

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Team 6:

-- Cethgus
-- Kalon
-- Etah
-- Vessicant
-- Kuro Kogarasu

BAC Darkest Night
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Cethgus walked down the corridor of the House ship, hearing the sirens signaling that combat had begun out in space. A small smirk came to the Exarch’s lips as he pondered what they would find once deployed, his orders simple as the day he was going to accompany Spectre Cell on the battlefield. As he wandered down towards his quarters before entering them his holocom device beeped at him. A small sigh came out of his lips knowing that he was being summoned, as he activated the device the familiar figure came into view. Cethgus instantly bowed his head in respect towards the figure.

“My Quaestor how may I serve?” the Exarch’s voice echoed out cold as always.

“As you know you are to be deployed with Spectre cell in aiding and assisting Plagueis on the planet surface, you have been told however that you can choose anyone who accompanys you if you wish to do so let me know now” the voice came over as Sang waited for a response.

“If possible sir, I request to meet up with an old Plagueis member I knew when I served them. Kuro shouldn’t be too hard to find him, tell him he can bring whoever he feels is required with him, I have no problem with another pair of hands helping out,” Cethgus said, finishing the conversation.

Leaving his corridor he went to head down towards the usual situation room where Spectre Cell could be found. As he headed down members of the ship scurried around him, getting on with what seemed to be an interesting fight out there. It was was at that moment that the lights around the ship flickered and the ship shuddered, the sound of the ship’s weapons firing echoing and creaking throughout her hull.

Entering into the situation room of his Battleteam, Cethgus looked around and found a familiar face standing there, though it wasn’t the one that was expected nonetheless it was still a member of the Battleteam. Kalon turned around to face the man that had just entered only to see the face of the Iridonian returned the gaze.

“Where is your Battleteam Leader?” Cethgus voice echoed around he room.

“Sir, he is currently on his way here, though he was held up, his shuttle should be landing in the hanger bay shortly.

“And I presume you were just on your way to the hanger bay?” Cethgus looked for an indication, but only found a small nod to accept his words that had been given.
Kalon instantly began to move out of the room, the Exarch followed in suit with him, knowing that right now they needed to make sure that they were fully prepared for what was going to happen. This was once more a combat situation that Clan Arcona found itself in, and one that Cethgus was all too readily prepared for.

As the two members of Arcona continued down towards the hangar, the two remained in silence. It was he way the Aedile prefered things; conversation only needed to take place if it was important, and as far as he could tell Kalon would not inform him of anything that Etah would not be able to when he arrived.

As the two entered the hangar it was clear that the Bothan Assult Cruiser was at war; the crew were running around sorting the fighters that it carried out, as pilots were being briefed on what was happening and how they would deploy themselves, it was truly a sight to behold the amount of men and women preparing to fight against someone who dared attack the Brotherhood.

Instantly the Exarch noticed a shuttle slipping through the hangar entrance. As it slowed down, the shuttle turned slowly around, landing legs extending and it came down onto the metal surface of the hangar. A small hiss could be heard as it slumped down, the back hatch hissed open, and as it went down gently, the figure departed from the shuttle to the two members waiting for him.
Cethgus looked at Etah, a small sigh escaped his lips at that moment as he watched the Battleteam Leader exit the ship, knowing that he needed to make sure the leader was fully up to speed on what was taking place. He wasted no time and, before Etah was off the shuttle, the Aedile was already in front of him expecting his full attention.

“You’re late. I don’t appreciate you not being here when we go into war. As it stand, Clan Arcona has answered the call of aid from House Plagueis, and we are expected to be seen planetside. I will be coming with you to oversee you in actions,” Cethgus allowed his cold voice to echo out.

“"Who the hell are you again? Oh, the Aedile? Right. I was a little held up at the Shadow Academy, something about a horde of fracking zombies. Ya that little thing," Etah chuckled. "You can follow me around if you like, and you can tell me what to do all you want, but if you want to get stuff done, or if you want any amount of cooperation, then you can talk to me like a civil being. If not, I’ll ignore you and communicate directly with Sang," Etah said shaking his head and heading toward his quarters without waiting for a response from the new Aedile of Galeres.

“You will at least stand and receive orders, or do I need someone who is civil enough to do that?” the Exarchs voice flared with annoyance, and he couldn’t help but growl slightly under his breath, but kept his cool, voice becoming more familiar and friendly than before. That way, he could hope to at least hand one of his Battleteam Leaders their orders.

Instantly Etah stopped, his eyes snapped round to the Aedile as he stood silently waiting for what the Exarch had to say to him before he did anything else. Knowing that though it sounded like a friendly tone it could quite easily also be considered as a threat.

“We are to aid House Plagueis any way possible. This does mean that I want Spectre Cell ready to land boots on the ground in the next thirty minutes. Once there we will meet up with two Plagueis members that I have requested to join us. Your team is about to go into the eye of the storm. I expect you not to fail me. And remember: Arcona Invicta. Dismissed.” Cethgus turned away from the Battleteam Leader as he looked around the bustling hangar.

Etah turned around and walked out, closely followed by Kalon in suit, leaving the Aedile in the hanger as he shook his head, turning around he headed out knowing that he himself needed to prepare for what was about to take place, he needed to gather his equipment in preparation. As he headed off he knew he needed to be quick to meet the two of them back at the hangar.

“So, it has come to this,” he mumbled, his words audible only to himself at that moment in time.

Space Battle
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

The Sith swore as yet another pack of fighter-bombers, fresh from loosing the tail end of its ordnance into the stricken Ascendancy, slipped back through the exsanguinated cordon on its way home. They’d need their bombs for Arcona now. What did Control expect him to do about it? One of the tailing machine’s wings was sheered off by a potshot before he was forced to disengage, making for a dramatic little death spiral. Through the utter ecstasy of getting the Force back it still felt like they were fighting the thrice-damned Vong again. They’d simply lost too much ground to have ever hoped to pull this ass-kicking out of the fire, especially when their returning strength and the news of their foes’ master had only served to spur greater fanaticism. The unannounced arrival of Arcona had done nothing to alleviate that either. Then again they had gotten the Warlord feeling a fair bit stubborn as well. What a great day in Plagueian history this was; Arcona to the rescue. What could possibly go wrong?

He dove toward the entwined starships as blessed intuition took him, braving a head to head pass with two preempted pairs of lasers, and forcing his shadows to split wide around the vertically intruding gunboats. With their lines of sight momentarily broken he was able to cut his thrust by half and more and tighten his next dive. A quick turn and roll brought him upright relative to the destroyers, and he opened his throttle. They’d have a visual by now, and be on him again in short order, but the lumbering starwings had lost out on making this a four on one affair. His last missile was away in a trice, dumbfire, no warning. It took the one on the left, peppering the other with blast and debris. It survived, but bugged out pretty damn quickly.

He tried his radio again as he swept past his flagship’s bridge viewport, finding that the surviving Kites were too scattered and preoccupied in the chaos to heed his summons. He loved them for it. The other avengers’ pilots were good, probably good enough to vape him if the plague were still playing the great equalizer. Now, however, they were as good as space dust once he got them off his six. Help or no help. He glanced at his rear view windows, glaring as the Force guide him around the incoming bursts before the firing studs had even been pressed. His HUD suddenly showed three friendlies ahead, and they resolved into the shapes of TIE Interceptors: Arconan Interceptors. He had no choice but to trust them. The enemy, so disciplined with their fire before, patiently reacting to his movements until the moments he strayed into a better firing solution, now let loose blindly in an attempt to bracket him. His escape route coalesced in his mind as the trio of potential betrayers sped in overhead. The avengers had no choice but to lift their noses and meet them head-on.

The Captain recovered quickly, unnerved as always that the Quaestor hadn’t so much as blinked at the fighters streaking by a few meters from his face. It was discomforting to find out that it was Vessicant, one of his master’s best, being so harassed. It seemed to be the order of the day. Not for the first time he wondered what he’d do when they got to his bridge, and more importantly what Reith would command him to do. His earpiece buzzed, and he relayed the message on the instant. “My Lord, we’ve confirmed the enemy is abandoning its boarding of The Baron for now, as our analysts predicted. We expect it and our second attacker to reposition within fifteen minutes, at which point they’ll start trading fire with the Arconans.”

Etah’s Personal Quarters
BAC Darkest Night
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Hordes.

Mindless monsters.

Evil creatures chasing me.

I am running, running for my life.

But then I realize that I am one of them.

I am one of the mindless monsters.

I am just a part of the herd.

Nameless, irrelevant.

Powerless.

The Prelates eyes shot open. He hadn’t meant to nap, but his adventures in the Shadow Academy had left him exhausted. Upon returning to his quarters to drop off his civilian cloths and gear up for his first mission with Spectre Cell, he sat in a chair for what he had only meant to be only a moment, but he fell fast asleep. He looked at the time from across the room; the Obelisk had only been asleep for fifteen minutes.

The room was chilly in a way that reminded him that he was in space, but despite the temperature of the room a cold sweat still managed to drip down his arm, uncomfortably reminding him of the nightmare. The same nightmare he had every night since his encounter with the herd in the Shadow Academy and the Horizon virus. A nightmare he had shared with no one.

Standing with some amount of urgency Etah switched the light in his room on, in an attempt to dispel the nightmare. Grabbing his leather vest from the back of the chair he had been napping on, he threw the cut around his back, grabbing the pistol from his dresser he holstered in, grabbing the assault pack from his bed he threw that over his shoulder and grabbing his blaster rifle he threw it over his right shoulder.

He turned and exited the room, the light switching off automatically.

Shuttle Hanger
BAC Darkest Night
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Etah walked through the hatch into the Shuttle Hanger. Though he was dressed like a swooper, the man who stepped into the hanger was most defiantly an Imperial Sector Ranger. The Mirialan knew he was late to the party, and he knew that Cethgus was going to be cross with him, but he didn’t care. The unintended nap had rejuvenated him and thus he considered it time well spent.

Cethgus looked at Etah very sternly, likely due to his tardiness. But Etah starred defiantly back. Cethgus backed down, not because he was intimidated but because he didn’t want to weaken his new subordinate leaders command presence, but the Aedile quietly resolved to confront the disaffected Obelisk Prelate in private. Etah smiled and nodded glibly at Cethgus, acknowledging the Aedile’s surrender, which momentarily made the Exarch reconsider his decision.

The six other members of Specre Cell were lined up in a militaristic manner. Putra was an Obelisk Prelate and Epicanthix, which meant he looked more or less human; he also looked too young to be in this unit. Etah starred into the eyes of a man he knew quite well, a man every fiber in his body made him want to murder right then and there. The Mirialans murderous instincts weren’t just a reaction to the human males blue Mandalorian armor, or his Erinos name, but Etah had at one time called Talos a brother before he became a traitor. The only reason the d’Tana crime family hadn’t slaughtered the confused child, was out of loyalty to the Clan Arcona.

The third man in the line was a friend, and technically, an employee, Templar Kratus Vahillus. He bore a striking figure, with broad shoulders and a muscular chest. His displayed a distinguished silver streak and his face carried a gentleman’s goatee. Also part of his body was metal, being a cyborg. Etah regarded the Jedi Knight Kalon Dane standing next to him, who was wearing green, virtually identical Mandalorian Armor.

‘Great’ Etah internally lamented. ‘Now I have to keep which one is which straight!’

The Battle Team Leader had just started to reflect on the team’s lack of diversity when he regarded Jedi Hunter Anigrel, a tall and imposing, red skinned Devaronian, curiously wearing some sort of trench coat. Jedi Hunter Saarin Vahn was a human in the kind of gaudy black armor that Etah would normally want his soldiers to avoid, but since they were landing in an area already under fire, it didn’t presently matter. The last was also the lowest ranking, was a human Protector named Xel. Xel was lean, wiry and also very young.

“I am assuming that you have figured out that I am Etah d’Tana and I am your new Commander” the Prelate said, addressing the group.

“Some of you I know, others I will come to know. I hope you have read the materials I sent you on our new standard operating procedures and have familiarized yourself with your new equipment. I apologize that we weren’t able to do this in less exigent circumstances, but things being what they are, we are deploying immediately,” Etah instructed his Battle Team.

“Since we are hitting the ground, potentially under fire, we are gonna operate in two groups instead of tandem pairs,” the Prelate announced, assuming his subordinates read the materials he had sent them.

“I will lead team one, Talos will lead team two. On my team will be Kretus, Anigrel and Xel. Telos’s Team will consist of himself, Putra, Kalon and Saarin. Our new equipment is already loaded onto the shuttle we will be using. Our friendly neighborhood Aedile will brief us on the mission specifics,” Etah rattled off, sounding professional.

Cethgus stepped out in front of the group. Close onlookers could tell this was the moment he had been waiting for.

“Kapsina is a large, flat desert. We will be sending you to two points around the Clans holdings on the planet to gather accurate, real time battlefield intelligence. I want it made known that the civilian population centers on the planet’s surface are not important for our purposes. We will only be concerned with the Clans holdings. Clear and occupy the area, relay information, identify priority targets and call for fire. Just like your Battle Team Leader detailed in his communications with you prior to his arrival,” Cethgus said with a tone of finality.

“LOOOOOOOOOOOOAD UP!” Etah shouted, followed by the sound scuffling of boots on a metal deck.

Starboard Battery
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System


Fire erupted from the hallways to the starboard battery. Debris and sparks littered the whole ship as Kuro made his way to one of the unaffected guns of the battery. Pilots and workers rushed past to find shelter from the unrelenting turbolasers as they seemed to carve out a hole in the hull. “Soon they will try to board us. I will be ready,” Kuro thought to himself.

Manning the only working turbolaser on the starboard side, Kuro fired the weapon at any and all enemy ships that came into view, and since Zoraan had such a large force in orbit and engaging Plagueis, it was pretty much everything that flew by.

Several minutes that felt like hours, went by and Kuro had yet to destroy any enemy fighters. Just as he saw his chance, an enemy fighter crashed into the hull of the Ascendancy right beside the barrel, rendering it inoperable. The explosion knocked the Templar out of the seat and onto the floor. A flood of flames and sparks covered him as he laid on the durasteel floor, looking up as chunks of wall flew past his body to slam into the wall on the opposite side.

The elite warrior got up and dusted himself off, the smell of his chard clothing filled his nose and made him cough, as well as the smell of burning wires and circuits. Kuro was not one who liked to get hurt, not that anyone liked that feeling but Kuro really did not like it. Kogarasu’s rage escalated to enormous amounts, releasing a large amount of force as he approached the blocked doorway to the bridge clearing a path with just one small gesture of his hand and a growl.

“Sir, the battery is down and another large hole is being cut into the hull, Im going to assume they are going to be trying to board us soon.” Kuro told Tra’an. “im well aware of this, gather some men and head to the hanger, if they are going to board, thats the most logical entrance.” Kuro gave his Quaestor a salute, turned and walked away thinking to himself, “they are anything but logical”

Shuttle Hanger
BAC Darkest Night
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Kalon scrambled to the shuttle. He had not brought much with him in the way of equipment. Carrying just his armour, his lightsaber, his Beskad and his trusty EE-3 carbine rifle. As he took a seat and fastened himself in he came to reflect on recent events. He had only returned to civilized space two weeks ago with the Templar Celevon Edraven after they had been forced to flee due to the Horizon Plague. After this he had decided to transfer himself from House Qel-Droma to Galeres. He hadn’t really had time to meet the other members of Spectre Cell officially but that didn’t really bother him as long as they would manage to work together fluently in the coming mission.

The Dark Jedi Knight’s gaze caught that of the regal yet imposing figure sitting opposite from him, the man’s blue Mandalorian Armour was almost identical to his own. Kalon had not met Talos personally but had heard that he held no sense of loyalty towards the Consul, and this couldn’t help but make his skin crawl. Shooting back a threatening stare with that of his own, Kalon slide his helmet onto his head, instantly he felt more comfortable knowing that anyone who set their sights upon him would meet the chilling sight of his pitch black visor.

As the ramp to the shuttle began to lift and the last of the team settled in their seats a blank voice, no doubt that of the Pilot’s came over the intercom. “Brace for take off! Look’s like we’ll be flying through a warzone.” the voice said, and Kalon could not help but be surprised by the lack of nerve in the voice of the Pilot. With a jolt the shuttle lifted from the hanger, turning around and slowly flying out into the unconfined space of Kapsina’s Orbit.

Sharp jolts continued to rock the shuttle and its passengers as the transport headed towards it’s destination. Kalon turned his head to his right, looking on as Anigrel was in the midst of preparing his own weapon’s for the rapidly approaching fighting. It was only briefly that Kalon had begun to train the young Jedi Hunter but he had lost all communication with the Devaronian after he stepped down from the his position as Sith Commander of Qel-Droma’s Void Squadron. This was the first time the Mandalorian had seen him since, smirking under his helmet as he noticed the occasional glances made his way by the tall, crimson-skinned being.

The Dark Jedi’s hand slipped to his belt and round the hilt of his Beskad. Slipping it silently from it’s sheath he began to sharpen the blade against his thick chest plate.

“Mandálii kote, su'van ca'atrë.” spoke Kalon, his voice distorted by the beskar’gam’s helmet.

He guessed that only Talos would know the meaning of the words and what they represented, but the Dark Jedi Knight was too busy sharpening his blade to look for a reaction from the Prelate.

Shuttle 9027
BAC Darkest Night
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Cethgus stood in the shuttle, his team preparing their decent to planet side, at that moment in time he knew that this was where most of the battle would take place. As the shuttle creaked as it lifted off, he felt it slipping out of the hangar, and beginning to advance towards their destination. Shifting his gaze from the front window as he looked over to Spectre Cell, the team preparing themselves for battle at that moment in time.

“Sir we have an incoming message from the Darkest Night” Speaking quickly the pilot turned his attention to Cethgus for a split second in time.

“This is Cethgus, what is the issue up there?” his voice chillingly cold at that moment in time.

“Sir, we have reports that they plan on a full scale boarding of the Ascendancy, request you go engage the enemy aboard the NSD” The man was young in his carrier with the Arcona fleet.

“Understood, we will divert there straight away” Cethgus turned off the communication and nodded towards the pilot before heading back into passenger section.

Feeling the shuttle changing direction as it headed straight towards the hangar bay of the NSD Ascendancy, as was required of the team and knowing full well that they were probably going straight into a fight that would be blaring on board the ship, the Exarch didn’t have many options on what to do.

“Listen up, we are not going plant side. Instead we have been instructed to help aid the fleet in forcing the borders off of the NSD, are we understood?” Cethgus’ voice boomed out through the entire cabin, as he turned back and walked to the front once more. Standing with the pilots, he looked out of the front of the ship, seeing beams of shots rippling through space as the fleets engaged each other.

The shuttle was coming closer to their target, seeing shuttles around the place, and the hangar clearly had been the main scene for the fighting, the shuttle began its approach maintain a constant level of high speed, as it headed towards the hanger, the members of Spectre Cell were standing up ready to be dropped off quickly.

“Pilot, make this quick, get in and get out, don’t hang around at all” Cethgus saw the nod of the pilot from the corner of his eye.

The shuttle moved quickly for its approach, slipping inside the hangar, it was visible that men and women of Plagueis were engaged against their opponents, with a hiss the shuttle door opened up, revealing the whole scene that was taking place. Spectre Cell moved out swiftly jumping from the shuttle and splitting into two teams, taking cover where it was available.

The last two people out were the Aedile and the Battleteam Leader both who split up as well. Instantly Cethgus had his saber in his hand, blasters shots rippled around the hanger as the two forces engaged each other in combat.


Hanger Bay
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

Cethgus moved swiftly, using the starfighters as cover he scanned around to see if he could spot anyone that looked familiar to the Exarch, but from what he noticed it seemed like the fighting was the only thing that was on everyone’s mind, he needed to be clear about what was currently unfolding and knew that in order for that to happen he needed to get in touch with a member of Plagueis. Instantly he spotted a familiar character a small snarl arrived on the Exarchs lips only for him to whip them away as he approached.

“What’s the situation currently taking place?” The Exarchs voice boomed over the sound of blaster bolts hitting the metal surfaces of ships in the hanger bay.

“You” Kuro replied swiftly as he glanced at the Iridonian.

“Helpful answer that you have given me, I guess” Cethgus picked himself up, his saber hissing as it activated, deflecting an oncoming shot, that would have seen him dead, he stood there glaring at the enemy.

“Why are you here?” Kuro was still not expecting to see the Iridonian again, or at least not with his boots on this ship.

“We brought reinforcements, I guess now would be the best time to clear these enemies from this ship, after all you needed our help to sort this issue out, and we have given it.” Cethgus voice was talking down to Kuro. Arcona had finally arrived, ready to give aid to Plagueis, and it seemed that their first attention was to clear the ships hanger, then they could clear up what was left of the enemy boarding teams at the same time.

Forming up what little remained of his squadron took less time than expected, due in no small part to his new Arconan friends. Fortunately, their orders were to provide general assistance to Ascendancy and her fighters so he didn’t need to force them about at gunpoint. Which he was fully prepared to do regardless. Their leaders had rightly expected as much; there was precious little room for gratitude among Dark Jedi even at the best of times. Still, and in spite of the green IFF markers on his display, he kept them in diamond formation with himself in the fourth slot. Let them plow the road for him, he wasn't showing anyone else his engines today.

About five minutes later, as the third of his mishmash of Kite and Verdict survivors joined him under the former’s banner, he prepared to dismiss the Interceptors with a perfunctory wish for further good hunting and an ego boosting burst of acceleration. He could handle gathering the rest of his ducklings alone now, and it wouldn't hurt to present the enemy easier meat just to give his boys a break. The words died on his lips as the radio brought a status update. He cracked his neck and set to work, not exactly happy with the task or what it meant.

Coming into range of their new charges he heard the faint squawk of an encrypted conversation jutting against his own equally secretive line back to the flag. Just a standard confirmation of identity as his eye on the Force betrayed no ill intent aimed his way. Vessicant and his bastardized half-squadron took their place on the left of the redirected Lambda, two LAATs, and their own half dozen Interceptor escort. Enemy progress was gaining at their main beachhead, and in the hangars under siege to prevent any evacuation attempt. The situation was desperate. It had been from the moment Zoraan’s forces arrived, and he was used to adversity, they all were, but this seemed to defy even the ficklest whim of a destiny in Shadow. He swallowed as he surveyed the tattered, burning fleet from a distance. It would be in spacedock for months at best. This could really be the death of their domain; of all his attempts to regain clout and fulfill his aspirations. Starting over, if he survived at all, was unthinkable. He calmed himself by remembering that Arcona had been blooded already as well. They had to prevail, but they would hopefully pay for it enough that only an arm and leg, and not the head, would be needed to pay them off. It was a razor’s edge alright.

One of the Arconans disintegrated under the boarder’s bursting flak a few seconds before it lifted. Vessicant passed through the cloud emotionlessly, snapping his craft into the reforming battle line as he watched for the inevitable and stiff fighter resistance. He addressed his little slice of the co-op pie, having no authority, or at least time to assert it, over the newcomers. “Tighten up, stay on me, and keep your eyes open. They’re not going to take our interference lightly. We’ll concentrate on vaping those shuttles once the fighters are clear.”

“Defenders, two low!”

The Sith’s eyes narrowed as he shifted his gaze from the wall of incoming fighters dead ahead to look where one of his remaining pair of Interceptors had pointed. A lot of good men had died whittling down the enemy’s best to this handful carefully kept in reserve; a lot of them had been his. Now he again found himself the only one capable of facing them. This time he’d end them. “Kite squadron, move right. Interceptors, we’ll hit them first, catch up ASAP.”

One of the vaunted machines shredded under his cannons, the pilot managing to eject just before the reactor went. He performed a mocking corkscrew past the drifting cockpit, revenge in the grand scheme of things for the loss of one of the lartys. Both of the others had made it unscathed, or so he’d heard. He hoped they enjoyed their trip. Now they could bleed heroically for Plagueis. As if on cue, showboating decided to rear its ugly price tag. One of the Deuce’s gunners got lucky. A blinding flash filled the void, followed by the wails of multiple alarms. He silenced them with a frenzied resetting of switches, cursing as he next felt a noticeable sluggishness in the controls. Looking rearward he could see the thin trail of smoke and solar panel fragments. The Force guided him past a trio of successive shots, and steadied his hand as he tore homeward. The diagnostic streamed before his eyes, and he breathed again. No damage to the life support or weapons, and nothing the shop couldn’t hammer flat again. Fortunately, he was too close to safety for anyone to capitalize on his emergency landing.

Hanger Bay
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System


The sound of blaster bolts reflecting off of saber blades echoed throughout the hanger. Kuro was slightly happy to see his old friend and former boss, but the fact that he would barge in on him with the assumption that he needed help, did not set well with the young, angry and arrogant Templar. “ Plagueis and the Ascendancy may need yalls help, but I dont. Just stay out of my way old man” Kuro growled out as he masterfully blocked a few more blaster rounds with his saber in one hand and shot a few more of Zorrans thugs with the other.

Cethgus glared at Kogarasu for a moment but drew his attention back to the enemy. “We may have our differences and alliance to our own house’s but we both belong to the same brotherhood. don't forget that I was once in Plagaueis, I have every right to protect my former house.” Cethgus said as he cleared one side of the hanger. Kuro’s anger raged on as he started to shift into his Berserkr state from his old friends words. Kuro’s eyes turned solid blood red, veins bulged from his body and just as he disposed of the final thug in the hanger, Kuro turned to Ceth and in a enormous growl and the releasing of a wave of energy that warped nearby walls, he yelled out “But you Left us!” and turned back around and left the hanger to go back to the Bridge to report the situation update to Tra’an.

Kuro reached his Quaestor and gave him the update. “Sir, the hanger bay is clear..for now, Arcona has also arrived and offered their...”Kuro paused a little and Tra’an knew that Kuro was not one to ask for help. “..help?” Kuro snarled a bit to the response that came from behind him. “Aw Cethgus, nice to see you” Tra’an said. “What's the situation?” He asked. “Well, after Kuro and I cleared the Hanger, I blocked the hole near the battery with creates and panels but I don't know how long it will hold.” “nice work you two, I hear that we may still have some of Zorrans men on board, clear them out before we have another boarding wave come in” The two men nodded and turned and walked away.

Deck 7
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

The sound of boots clanking against metal echoed down the dimly lit corridor of the NSD Ascendancy as Talos’s team helped defend the ship from the boarding parties. Kalon glanced to his right as he followed the blue armoured Mandalorian in front of him, noticing that Putra and Saarin were keeping pace well. The hardships faced by the Clans of Mandalore made the people strong and sturdy warriors, capable of running great distances in armour without slowing down. They had left the shuttle as soon as it touched the deck and had begun to head west of the hangar bay, splitting up from the Aedile and the other half of the Battleteam. They had not encountered much resistance by the boarders yet but an instinct told Kalon that that would change very soon.

As if on cue, Talos signalled for them to stop at a T junction of corridors. Signalling to them again to be ready, Kalon dropped to one knee, bringing his rifle up, ready if any hostiles came round the corners. A smirk spread across the Dark Jedi’s lips as he could feel the others do the same, while he longed for close combat with his lightsaber and trusty beskad, he knew that the time would soon come and it would be more efficient to deal with any hostiles at range.

Just as the thought left his mind, several men appeared, swerving round the corner. Kalon and the rest of his team hesitated for a moment, they had to be careful that they were not going to open fire on the ships defenders as this may have dire consequences for the already thin relationship between Arcona and Plagueis. The men did not seem to be wearing identical uniforms and there was no identification which marked them as subjects of Plagueis or any other House of the Brotherhood. Before the men could raise their weapons the dark corridor was filled with the red glow of blaster fire and screams, moments past and as the firing ceased all that good be seen was the smouldering corpses of the boarders.

“Mmmh toasty.” Commented Saarin, his black armour appeared untouched and rather out of place amongst the debri and human body parts scattered around the team. Kalon couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, turning to face Talos.

“We need to keep moving, we don’t know how many more of Zorran’s troops are onboard and I have a feeling that Plagueis are going to need our assistance if they don’t want to lose the ship.”

To the Dark Jedi Knight’s surprise, the Prelate turned to face him for a brief moment, staring at him through his pitch black visor. He then
nodded and muttered.

“I agree with you on that.” Talos addressed Putra and Saarin before continuing. “

We will continue to scour this deck clean of hostiles and then move down systematically clearing as we go. Lets move out!”

And once again the sound of metal clanking against the metal deck echoed down the empty passageways of the NCD Ascendancy as Talos, Putra, Kalon and Saarin got to work.

Corridor adjacent to Bridge
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

“Team one, listen up!” Etah raised his voice right before they entered the contested part of the vessel.

“OK. The Bridge of the Ascendancy has been captured and occupied and is being as a Tactical Operations Center by Zoraan’s forces. Our job is going to be to clear the bridge of all hostile resistance so the furries can reoccupy it. We will clear the starboard corridor towards the bridge, while Team Two moves down and clears the port corridor toward the bridge.” The battle team leader looked about; making sure everyone understood the order.

“Clearing both corridors will protect either team from getting flanked, and will ensure that one of the two teams will make it to the bridge. Let’s move!” Etah commanded loudly.

The cyborg Obelisk that on the Team took point, with the Battle Team Leader took rear. They began traveling through the metallic corridor, dark with spent flames and littered with wreckage and exposed wire. It wasn’t long before shots began to wiz over the heads of the Arconan soldiers.

Kretus and the young Xel found cover on the left side of the corridor. Etah grabbed the odd Devaronian out and pulled him to the right side of the corridor. The Prelate motioned to Kretus, who had been in combat with Etah before and indicated that the two groups would start to leapfrog, or travel by bounding over-watch in professional military terms.

Kretus and Xel laid down a base of fire while Etah moved across the corridor and in front of the other two, grabbing the Devaronian by the shoulder and dragging him along until he got the idea. Then Kretus’s tandem zipped to the other side, while Etah and Anigrel laid down a base of fire.

Inch by inch the team moved through the heavily contested corridor. Shots would wiz right by, one team would lay down cover fire and the other team would bound forward and across, while the enemy fell dead, or severely injured or fell back farther towards the cabin. In a time that seemed an eternity but in reality it was only fifteen minutes or so before Team One had cleared the starboard corridor.

At the entrance to the bridge Team One was reunited with Talos’s team which looked no worse for wear. A few sizzles, a few scars, but no missing faces. Etah nodded at the Mandalorians in the baby blue armor before him. Etah button hooked right, while Talos button hooked left into the bridge and so their teams followed. With Spectre Cell reunited, the Team breeched their objective point.

Once inside they cleared corners and obstacles, and eliminated threats. The mercenaries they eliminated ranged from lackeys, to thugs and professionals. The only thing that united them was that they all died to Arconan hands.

One of the last remaining mercenaries was a big brutish fellow and looked like he could have been their commander. Etah sighted him with his EE3 and pressed the trigger but there was no response from the rifle. The combat veteran dropped the magazine and reached for another one instinctively, but found no other. Finding no other magazine, he threw the rifle around his back and plugged the thuggish commander a half a dozen times with his DL-44.

“All Clear!” Etah yelled as he watched the large man dissolve.

“All Clear!” Talos yelled as he let a few last shots rip in a different direction.

“All clear!” bellowed Kretus.

A regal looking blue skinned man stepped forward. Etah could tell he was Wroonian, not Chiss, because of his yellow eyes. The Arconan knew some about Plagueis and realized that this was most likely Sith Warlord Vesicant, a well respected furry or as well respected as they come.

“We thank you for what you have done here and so far. Our forces can finish securing this vessel. But we must get to the surface below or Kapsina will be lost!” Vesicant said with some emphasis.

“We have a shuttle, come with us.” Etah said to his comrade.

A young and prideful human stepped out from behind Vesicant, looking at his Arconan rival with contempt beyond his station. The Obelisk Prelate assumed he would accompany Vesicant onto the shuttle, and the planet below and was glad another furry would be there to put him in his place.

“Spectre Cell! Take a swig of fracking water cause we are gonna go secure the surface of the planet below. Back to the shuttle. MOVE OUUUUT” Etah ordered, watching as each of his soldiers each took a few swigs of water before jogging back down the corridor they had secured moments earlier.

Cethgus allowed himself to look at the team that was stood in the back of the lambert shuttle knowing that they would all soon enough be down on the planet surface. The real combat was about to start down there it seemed that everyone was already getting involved down on the planet surface. The shuttle continued to move quickly in its decent pattern, the planet continued to grow larger in the front screen of the shuttle. As the Exarch allowed his eyes to go from the screen to the men that would be coming with him a small smile came to his lips.

“The fun is only just starting, our main objective is only to serve as a mop up crew, from what I have been able to understand the planet fighting is nearly over, and we are just coming in to take out a small forward operations post nothing more” Cethgus voice echoed over the humming of the engines.

A few nods here and there from the members of Specter Cell Etah was sat next to Kuro and Vessicant, all three men remained silent during this time none of them speaking a single word to each other. As they waited knowing that soon enough they would be in the thick of things once more. As the shuttle hit the atmosphere of the planet it became a rough ride, the rattling of the metal as it descended towards the required coordinates that had been given to the pilots.

As the shuttle moved quickly down towards the targeted outpost the team was already on the move, standing up and grabbing their gear preparing themselves for a quick exit, the only surprise that they had was that of timing, they had to make this fast and quick. The outpost was probably well guarded even if it was a light force, their experience would soon make up for that. Instantly the shuttle came down to a landing pattern, dropping down low as it followed the best laid trajectory.
The ramp hissed, as blaster bolts pinged off the hardened metal hull of the shuttle. Lowering itself slowly down the men serving in Spectre Cell where already out and into the main fray of the fight. Following them down onto the planet was Kuro and Vessicant, both getting into the thick of things already as a team they only had to worry about achieving the goal that had been set for them by the higher up authorities of Plagueis and Arcona.

“I will call in when we need a pick up from this location, we shouldn’t take too long in achieving our task” Cethgus turned around from the pilot and launched himself out of the back, landing on the ground with a dull thud. His saber coming up from his belt as he activated the blade, the nearest enemy was quickly dispatched with a simple yet effective flick of the wrist. As blaster fire rippled everywhere it seemed that they where working now in two man teams, Kuro had found his back pressed against that of Cethgus as two continued to fight off the enemy.

Vessicant and Etah where ripping through a squad that had just walked out a bunker, taking the fight inside as small arms fire could be heard from that room. Kalon and members of Spectre Cell where now fighting as a complete unit taking care of as many of them as possible. The fighting was ruthless as the team made their mission a priority. Soon enough the outpost that held very little people was empty, the men scattered around the floor that had fallen in combat, it seemed that their job had been finished for now.

The team took all the data that they were able to find, knowing that any Intel could be vital but from reports that were coming through the comm system it seemed that Arcona and Plagueis where slowly taking the enemy apart. As they began work on securing the outpost it was becoming clear that this place was only running on a skeleton crew from the information they had been gathering. It didn’t seem too long till they would be out of here back onto their serving ships, but what they saw next would see them into even more combat.

“We got incoming guys, look sharp and make sure you are prepared for the fight that will take place” Kalon was the one to speak, as the group made their efforts to use the cover supplied knowing that the fight was about to get serious.

Blaster fire rippled the air as the reinforcements arrived a little too late, by this point Arcona and Plagueis where already sending troops to relive the Dark Jedi. As sabers ignited once more it became a pure fight for survival now. The group was backed into the corner, Plagueis members fighting alongside Arconan’s for a pure survival battle, Kuro severed a enemies head from his shoulders, at the same time Kalon went low, taking the shins off another man. It was brutal and blunt combat, but it was required.

As the men feel before lightsabers their souls being crushed as they did so, knowing that this was a fight they were unable to win they began their retreat, finally it seemed that this team had a break in their life. As the full retreat was happening a blast could be heard from the ground, the team still in full fighting mode cutting down the retreating enemy. All but one member of the Team that had been sent to capture the outpost. Cethgus felt the pain ripple through his chest, as his eyes looked down to see blood dripping free from his chest.

Waves of pain smashed through the Exarch as his legs gave way seeing himself collapse onto the ground his saber slipping free from his grip. The weight of his eyelids slowly began lapsing onto him, as he witnessed the emptiness of the outpost the mission they were set on finally complete. Seeing figures heading towards him he was unable to make out who they where. Everything faded to black as he passed out.

THE END