Invasion: Hex

Consul Duga Arkarso rubbed sleep from his eyes and growled as the comm unit on his wall beeped. He thought he'd left express instructions not to be bothered in the middle of the night, but somehow those instructions always seemed to get lost or ignored. Duga rolled out of bed and punched the audio-only button on the side of the unit - no need for the masses to see him with bed-head. "What?"

"Sorry to disturb you, sir. This is Lieutenant Vreek in the operations centre. We've had reports from the Home Guard that Admiral Lanar's ships have made another appearance at the edge of the system. This time they had their flagship with them." Duga's ears had perked up at the mention of Admiral Lanar, and his expression had turned grave at the mention of the flagship.

"Very well. Assemble the Summit on Karufr immediately, and notify me if any more of his ships cross our border. Duga out." With a sigh, Duga went to the refresher to run cold water over his face. So much for a few hours more sleep.

----------

The assembled Taldryan Summit met in the strategic planning room of the Clan Hall. The three Quaestors were there, flanked on either side by their Aediles and Envoys. They all sat around a large rectangular table, with each party on one side. Duga sat alone at the head of the table, with a large holographic display behind him. On it were formations and statistics of the Taldryan fleet, plus a holo of a stoic-looking Human man with a shaved head and neatly-trimmed goatee.

"The sentient you see on the screen behind me is a former Imperal Admiral named Lanar. After the death of the Emperor, Lanar took his fleet and disappeared into the Unknown Regions, intending to carve out a territory of his own. Nobody has heard from him since then... until a few weeks ago, when he started sending his warships across Taldryan's borders." The image on the screen changed to show a readout of known ships in Lanar's fleet. Of great concern was the Imperial-class Star Destroyer that seemed to be its flagship.

Frowns went around the table. Dark Jedi Master Alanna, Envoy of House Ektrosis, was the first to speak. "Why weren't we notified of this earlier?"

"Until now, Lanar hasn't been seen as a threat," Duga said. "I believe Erinyes was actually the first Clan member to know about this - she was able to provide positive IDs on the original scans." All eyes went to Erinyes, who nodded. "As it stands right now," Duga continued, "Lanar's forces appear to be similar in size to ours, and it looks like he's intent on using them. The most recent incursion was led by his flagship, an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer named Lanar's Fist."

"Egomaniac, is he?" Battlelord Taku "Crix" Matsuki Taldrya, Quaestor of Archanis, spoke up.

"Yeah, Crix, almost as bad as you are," Dark Adept Erinyes replied with a grin. She was leader of House Dinaari, and picked up where Duga had left off. "From what I discovered on my initial reconnaissance mission, Lanar has the Star Destroyer, a second Victory-class Star Destroyer named Lanar's Wrath, and a handful of smaller capital ships including Lancer frigates, strike cruisers and a pair of escort carriers. His fighter complement is significantly smaller than ours, but those Lancer will do a lot to even the odds. On his home base, which the Dark Hall has temporarily named Elyssia, he has a command base and a small shipyard. All of this is protected by a large minefield."

"It used to be protected by a minefield," Duga corrected. "As of now, I'm officially sick of dealing with Lanar. Sending his flagship in was a show of force - he wants to try to intimidate us with threat of conflict." Duga grinned. "Fortunately, we don't intimidate easily. Twelve hours from now, we'll launch an attack on his forces where they're massing at Elyssia. We'll be dividing up into three main battle groups, two space and one ground."

"I wouldn't mind knowing how the command structure will work," Templar Chaosrain, Ektrosis Quaestor, said from the other side of the table.

"The overall operation will be under my command," Duga said. "The regular military forces will be subordinate to the Summit. Crix and the Archanis Summit will command the naval forces. Erinyes and the Dinaari Summit will be in charge of the space assault forces. Chaos, you and the Ektrosis Summit will command the ground assault."

"Of course, I'd prefer you all say in the rear where it's safe, but I know you won't." Duga rolled his eyes at the chuckles around the table. "Individual missions will be given to each Battle-Team. We launch in twelve hours."

Dark Adept Erinyes strode into the briefing room where the assembled members of Hex waited. They were all shifting slightly in their chairs. For some, it was the anxiety of meeting their first battle - for others, it was anticipation of their next one. The room fell silent as the Dinaari Quaestor stepped up to the podium.

"Hex, your objective for this mission is to capture Admiral Lanar's command centre on Elyssia, as well as Admiral Lanar himself." Erinyes pressed a button on her console, and a holoprojector showed images of the objective and the team's equipment. "You'll be taking a transport down to the surface under cover of our starfighter forces, infiltrate the base through five kilometres of forest, and bring the Admiral back to us alive."

"Your main objective will be to seize the command centre's control room," Erinyes continued, pointing to the room in the centre of the display. "The base itself is light in automatic defences, unusually enough. The primary threat that you'll run into on this mission are the Echani commandos. We don't know how, but Admiral Lanar has gotten his hands on some old Echani mental discipline techniques. Any of you below the rank of Guardian will find your mind-affecting powers won't work. The second threat to you will be from Admiral Lanar's entourage... his office and personal quarters are all nested with ysalamiri." The more experienced team members all shuddered or cursed at the mention of the Force-negating creatures.

Finally, Erinyes punched another button on the console, and the projection faded. "That's it, everyone. You have one hour to get ready before we drop out of hyperspace. Everyone has to be ready to deploy by then. I'd wish you good luck, but you're Taldryan Dark Jedi... we all know you're not going to need it." With those final words of encouragement, Erinyes turned and stepped out of the briefing room's door, leaving the Battle-Team to plan their next moves.

This thread is ONLY for the use of members of Hex or the Taldryan Summit, and only for in-character contribution to the run-on. Other posts will be deleted.

Hel-Pa gazed as Erinyes left the room, being temporarily distracted by her gorgeous curves and stung figure. As the door hissed to a close, Sklib stood up and began addressing the other members of the Battle Team. “Welcome, gents. Since we won’t be facing any force sensitive in this battle, I am allowing the younger members to join the mission and develop their combat skills in a real-life scenario. I will be leading the endeavor, and will be your direct commanding officer. Vodo will act as my executive officer, and we will coordinate efforts to deliver the most quick and efficient method of completing the task at hand. Any questions should be directed to me.”

The Acolyte Ravan raised his hand and when Sklib nodded to him, he asked, “What should we bring? Is there any certain type of armor or weaponry that would most benefit the Team?”

“Good question. Nexus, Vodo and I will carry lightsabers. I will also carry a blaster pistol, vibroknife, and bacta patches in case the need arises. Nexus will be the primary Force user and will provide the majority of the power in that department. Since the enemy will most likely not wield lightsabers, I would recommend that any member under the rank of Dark Jedi Knight carry a sword/dagger/etc/ of their choosing. Projectile weapons such as rifles and/or shotguns would help as well, if you have them. The clan will not supply such weapons. Pistols only.”

Acolyte Kierkkadon shouted above muffled voices in the briefing room, “Will we need explosives of any type?”

“No, not from my knowledge.” Sklib cleared his throat and began speaking again. “This brings me to another point. Each member will have a certain tactical role while we pursue our target. Ravan and Vodo will take point, and be the initial fighters should we encounter resistance in melee. Amiz and I will serve as support for the two, and engage in melee combat should the need arise and prepare for enemy flanking maneuvers or any other tricks up their sleeves. Nexus will provide Force suppression, and use any telekinetic abilities and/or Battle Meditation. After the buffs, he will engage in melee combat as well. The rest of you will watch the rear and provide projectile support with your choice of ranged weapon excluding sniper rifles or any other weapon you do not have feasible access to. Just don’t hit us.”

“If there aren’t any other questions, please take the rest of the hour to prepare equipment and secure any armor you wish to wield as long as your rank allows you.”

Vodo stood and dismissed the BT so that he and Hel-Pa could speak privately. He folded his arms into his outer robe, uncomfortable in the cold air of the briefing room. Vodo disliked space craft, especially their climate controls. The air was kept chilled, so that anyone who needed something different only needed to dress warmly to counter it. But, having served so long on harsh, hot planets, his preferences overcame any garments he may have used, namely his robes.

Approaching Sklib, Vodo bowed in to speak quietly as Hex strode out of the room behind him, "Tetrarch, I have been speaking to Lord Katarn, and he has given Hex approval to use one the Taldryan Ground Forces aboard his ship."

Skilb looked surprised for a moment, "He isn't part of the official order of battle, or in a position to grant us use of that vehicle"

"Lord Katarn is a close friend of mine, just short of my former Master, and has promised to clear up any red tape there may be. He is having it shipped from the Dark Prophet to here [Katarn] as we speak. I believe this craft is far more suited for our mission than one of the Gamma's or Lambda's you were intending to use."

Sklib folded his own arms into his sleeves as well as he thought, "If I remember correctly, the HAET-221 is unable to take off from the planet once it has entered the atmosphere. If we need to make a getaway, we'd be unable to reach orbit."

"This is true. But the advantage I'm looking at is the fact that it is small and fast. it would speed past the battle, scream through the atmosphere without being detected to our LZ, and remain hidden well. I do not intend to reach a situation in which we will need to retreat, and therefore, the ability to reach orbit is irrelevant. The only way we will be getting off that rock is when we've secured the compound, and the Clan sends in it's troops. We hitch a ride then."

"You do realize your plan is incredibly foolish don't you", Sklib was not convinced

Vodo bared his sharp yellow teeth in a wicked grin, "Of course. We are dealing with Military men, men who think that their enemy will fight as they do. A military man would not send a small team of lightly armed soldiers far behind enemy lines. A military man would not sacrifice Force using commandos on an impossible mission. The military men on that planet will not be expecting us to come as we are, and therefore, we already hold the upper hand."

Vodo slapped Hel-Pa on the back, treating him as an equal at last. Sklib was smug, but could see the reasoning in Vodo's line of thought, "How did a slave come to understand psychology so well?"

Sklib had noted on Vodo's prior life, "This slave, watched mad men, and mean masters for twenty three years, until he found their weakness, and made his escape. Fighting is not all sword play and blaster rifles. Its a mind game. Outmanuever your enemy's thoughts, and you're already winning."

OOC Note: I'd rather you didn't use the "I have a buddy who can help out" as a way of getting equipment. I'll allow the use the HAET, but you won't have access to its armaments during the mission, and I would appreciate it if you didn't try to grab resources outside of your own reach.

The battle team scooped up their weapons and strapped into the shuttle. Kierkkadon fingered his gaffi stick, running his finger along the spike on one side. The knights patted their lightsabres as the automated pilot landed in the jungle. As they hopped out, Sklib shouted, “Alright, you all know you positions, Nexus: Force; Ravan, Vodo: point; Amiz and myself: support; the rest of you: hang back. Move!”

The team moved as one, forming up and marching forward. The jungle was dense, but none of them could sense or see life other than the various small animals. As they got within a mile of the complex, the forest thinned. Sklib called them to halt. “We’re close. Although there shouldn’t be much of automated defense, we should be careful. Get moving.” The team plunged into the remaining forest.

"Alright Kierkkadon, quit dreaming. We haven't gotten there yet! Everyone keep preparing for the descent to our specified planet. Start boarding the HAET-221 Drop Ship whenever you feel ready. I will be the last one aboard."

Sklib caressed the stromtrooper battle armor he he donned since his achievement of Dark Jedi Knight and slipped his fingers in and out of various dents from past encounters with unfriendly forces. He was the only trooper who chose to wear the armor, and the added protection it provided him had nearly saved his life countless times in his quests with his Battle Team. Hel-Pa watched Vodo and Kierkkadon file into the craft and don their battle robes and proper weapons. He awaited the few more members to board the craft and leaned against the hangar bay wall as they sorted out their proper equipment.

One thought still lingered in Sklib's head, were the Guardians and Acolytes ready for combat? The Echani skills of the warriors could prove to be a great test, and Hel-Pa had never had any of his men die under his command. Hel-Pa kept his eye on the younger members as they boarded the ship, and prepared to defend their right to love for as long as possible.

As DarkAmiz follows his seniors into the ships, his thoughts reminded him of his recent absence. I hope all the training I went through while I was not here is worthwhile, considering how much I missed. DarkAmiz caresses his beloved katana, sharpened on his recent adventures back home.

"Hey Amiz"

Snapped back to reality, DarkAmiz finally focused himself truly on the journey ahead. "Yes leader, I will do as I'm told"

"Good, we will need all the concentration we can get out of our Hex members"

As the battle team passes on into the smaller ship from the larger capital ship theyre exiting, a battle spirit passes through each of them, as if giving them the urge for battle.

As all that goes by as quickly as a passing speed bike, DarkAmiz thinks to himself, this, shall be fun, I wonder if there'll be cookies at the end.

“Ok, Boys and Girls, all aboard”, a crew chief was helping the Dark Jedi aboard the drop ship.

Vodo refused his help, taking a small leap into the cabin of the spacious HAET-221. The ship, a Clone Wars era vehicle had been battle proven using the Clone Army of the Old Republic, and had found wide spread use during the Galactic Era with fringe groups and Pirates. More than a few had found their way into the Brotherhood.

Once aboard, Vodo joined Hel-Pa in ensuring all Tyros were aboard and secured tightly. The shoulder straps came down over the chest and secured themselves to a quick release strap that secured itself around the waist of the occupant. Kierkkadon, Amiz, Nexus, and Hel-Pa were all comfortably seated by the time Vodo found his way to his own seat, next to Sklib, and fastened himself in. The Tetrarch checked him to be sure.

The whine of the repulsorlifts began to grow louder, once the cabin was closed and pressurized. From the front of the ship, Vodo could see a red flight helmet peek back into the cabin, giving the Dark Jedi a thumbs up. The helmet was stylized with sith tattoos marked in black and gold, outlined in silver. The user was likely a drop out of the Brotherhood, who had found a home in the pilot corps, using the small amount of Force Sensitivity they possessed.

Over the cabin com-system, Dark Adept Erinyes’ voice spoke clearly, “May the Force be with you Hex. We entrust this mission to you with care, and respect. Do not let us down”

Adding to the message, Obelisk Exarch Duga Arkarso spoke up from his position on the Bridge of the Dark Prophet, “I say the same, Hex. When you get down there, you will be alone, and you will find no support from us till we break through the blockade above the planet, and get through the mine field. Focus, meditate, and prepare yourself before you get to your destination. May the Force be with you…”

From his position in the back of the Crew Cabin, Vodo could see out the forward view screen of the Drop Ship. The seamless white stripes of Hyperspace slowly became more congruent and turned into individual white dots of distant stars and planetary systems. The Fleet had reverted to real space. The Drop Ship lifted up off the deck of the flight deck of the Dark Prophet, and waited till a flight of TIE Interceptors thrusted into space ahead of them.

“That’s Specter Squadron, isn’t it?” Amiz asked

“I believe so. They’ve been assigned to escort us.” Hel-Pa answered swiftly

Vodo thumbed through the commander datapad on his left, which technically belonged to Sklib, but he had been allowed access to. Embedded into the armrest of the Tetrarch’s seat, it allowed the viewer access to data such as tactical analysis’ and flight plans. Vodo noted that their flight plan took them far away from the battle, away from the enemy warships, fighters, and the minefield. They planned to fly far to the starboard flank, and enter the atmosphere at a shallow angle, and come down on their LZ from over the horizon, the perfect entry plan for placing the Battle team deep behind enemy lines without being detected.

Zach was strapped into his harness inside of the LAET, he ran his fingers down the Sith war blade observing its fine craftsmanship. As he admired his beautiful sword, a sudden shock came upon him. Zach immediately shifted his attention toward Sklib and Vodo who seemed to be feeling the same thing.

Hel-Pa and Vodo read each other's expressions and decided what they needed to do. The Knights unstrapped themselves immediately and ignited their lightsabers, followed by the rest of the team. The seven of them bolted to the cockpit. After trying the door several times, they noticed it was jammed. Hel-pa slashed open the control panel and Ravan wired it to open. The seven rushed in and discovered the co-pilot on the floor with a litch-blade lodged in his back.

Voldo ran towards the pilot and tore him out of the seat and changed the course. Zach grabbed the dazed pilot and knocked him to the ground with a vicious punch to his ribcage. Ravan took him and slid him down the hall with the other five to interrogate him while Zach took the co-pilot controls.

Vodo frantically shouted out to the Acolyte, "Tachyon, get us off this damn autopilot!"

"I'm working on it! Just a few more.... and.... done!"

"I still don't have control of the transport, what the hell is going on?"

"It looks like the engines have been locked to their current position. I don't see any way around this."

The Obelisk Hel-Pa Sklib had very little piloting experience, but he had a basic understanding of mechanics. He called out into the cockpit, "I'll go down to the hull and see what I can do. Amiz, come with me."

"Roger."

Hel-Pa hastily made his way into the deeper infrastructure of the transport and tanked open a panel with carious wires bulging through the cracks and holes in the durasteel. [Expletive Deleted] [Expletive Deleted] [Expletive Deleted]! There were various wires severed and broken, obviously this has been pre-arranged. Hel-Pa looked at three wires: one red, blue, and one purple. Think.... which one would bring power to the engine? The Tetrarch slid his finger across the purple and red wires, having a distinct feeling that the two belonged together. After twisting the malleable metal around each other, a low groan was heard coming from the large engine around him somewhere.

Tachyon called out through the cockpit and through the intercom, "We have power!"

Vodo responded to Tachyon, "Roger, we are descending to 2000 feet and continuing are descent. This'll be a tough one!"

Hel-Pa grabbed onto a handrail and called out to the members, "Brace yourselves!

GRRRRANGGG!!! BOOM!!!

The horrendous jolting of the LAET threw everyone from their seats, and Hel-Pa had hit his head on a nearby storage locker, causing a shallow gash on his skull. As the transport speedily brushed through the treetops and eventually began severing the large trees below them, the craft began losing its structural integrity and bending in abnormal configurations. There was a small patch of deforested land, and the LAET luckily began skidding across it, still traveling far faster than standard landing speeds. Screams and bellows from the Battle Team were heard as they were thrown about the craft, victims to nature’s will. The transport began sliding along the plain and eventually hit a solitary tree in the middle of the field, causing the craft to stop immediately and send all of the members hitting the walls around them at full force.

Most of the members had been securely strapped in before the crash, but for ones such as Sklib and DarkAmiz who were left standing before the crash, the future did not look bright. Hel-Pa stumbled upon crates and other obstructions in his path, and ran his fingers through his hair, only to spot the excess of blood seeping out of his skull. His first priority was himself, and he immediately began to attempt to heal himself, although if took much longer than expected due to the crash and his fragile state. NexusMage stumbled over numerous boxes to begin healing DarkAmiz, placing his hands on his wounds and accelerating the pace of natural regeneration.

After Sklib had dulled the pain of his head wound, he called out to the Team, ”Is everyone okay?” Moans and groans followed, but Hel-Pa did not feel a deathly presence. After several moments of recuperation, Hel-Pa forcefully kicked open a door and glanced outside at the planet they had landed on. It was filled by trees and forest, and all around the plain he saw thick clusters of large trees enveloping everything below. There was an eerie presence surrounding the trees, but Hel-Pa had other matters to attend to.

”Hel-Pa, the Battle Team is generally in good health, and all are able to walk.”

”Generally? And can they fight?”

”That I don’t know. Some of the younger ones such as Ravan and Tachyon may have trouble, but they should be able to walk it off.”

”Good, we’ll be moving out shortly, there’s something…”

BEEYO!!!

"What the!" Hel-Pa shouted after a laser blast whizzed past his head. ”Get everyone out of the ship! We have trouble here! Vodo ran back into the transport and began dragging people out. ”We don’t have time for this Vodo, get them out and ready to fight! Hel-Pa ignited his saber and deflected another incoming laser. The shots were coming from within the trees, and Sklib could not make out the creatures shooting at him with his bare eyes. He closed his eyes and felt the ebb of the Force flowing through him, deflecting blaster bolts back at the shooters, but not hitting any due to the distance between them. Sklib heard another lightsaber engage behind him, and he knew Vodo had come to aid him.

Vodo's specialty in Saber combat was defense. It had kept him alive, and earned the respect of those he fought along side. Blaster bolts were only a minor inconvenience to the master of the Soresu form. The bolts of energy lurched towards Hel-Pa, the primary light saber user, a person the attackers were intent on killing first. Vodo leaped forward, and using his sense of the force, batted the attack back at the origin of the bolt. A scream of pain emitted from the origin as the bolt killed it's owner.

The Twi'lek twirled his light saber several times repeating this defense until the attack slowed to a stop, all attackers presumably dead, smoking from their own weapon's attacks. Vodo took deep breaths to calm himself, his nerves still half fried from manging to crash land the drop ship in one piece. He turned back to the drop ship to see the battle team recovering, Rannik, Amiz, and Nexus all tending to themselves. Zach and Hel-Pa were discussing something in hurried and hushed tones, leaving Vodo to calm himself.

"Ehh, Biask, try to land us more gently next time", Nexus dusted his hands off as he regained his feet after patching Amiz.

"I'll keep it in mind" Vodo snarled, in no mood to be trifled with.

In fact, Vodo's meticulous mind was now turning. The co-pilot had been stabbed in the back by the pilot, who purposefully sabotoged the engines. The attackers on the ground responded almost immediately to the crash landing, and so knew the area of our crash down ahead of time. It was unlikely the Pilot was operating alone, and could be presumed that more enemy agents were aboard the Taldyan Fleet.

"The Com is fried" Rannik returned from the interior of the drop ship, clutching the pitiful remains of the Com the team was supposed to use to keep in touch with the fleet. It was almost ironic, as though some supreme being was mocking Vodo's thoughts.

Rannik tossed the piece of junk to the ground. Nexus leapt towards the end of the clearing, at the tail end of the ship, igniting his saber in the same movement. Three broad strokes through the air blocked the sailing echani fighting knives destined for Vodo and Hel-Pa. To the group, it appeared as though the Equite had just randomly attacked the air, but after a moment, Vodo and Hel-Pa were able to sense the danger and mind of hostile intent through the force that had alerted Nexus to the attack.

"Form up!" Hel-Pa shouted to Hex as he drew his saber, Vodo by his side.

From the forest, lightly armored, and swift moving guerrillas emerged, each bearing two fighting knives. They moved swiftly, as though they were trained force users, which they weren't, from Vodo's observations through the Force. The first wave hit Nexus, still ahead of Vodo and the Tetrarch who were racing towards him. At first, it seemed the equite would hold them by himself, batting away their attacks with his saber, but soon, his feet began to backpedal as the fighters bore down on him.

Vodo and Hel-Pa reached his side in time to turn the tide on the six knife fighters. Vodo found his thoughts distracted momentarily before locking his mind down from the influence his opponents seemed to be inflicting on him. He sensed the Corellian Skilb do the same, and assumed Nexus was either not effected or had already found a solution. The three of them made swift work of the guerrillas before the rest of the battle team had assembled their weaponry and caught up to the fight.

"Echani Knife Fighters..." Nexus seethed

"Echani?" Amiz gasped as he placed his weight on his knees

"An ancient fighting form that focuses on agility and mind manipulation. Our Royal Guard utilizes it" Hel-Pa responded swiftly, beating out Vodo who was about to say the same thing.

Nexus lifted his neck, stretching the muscles, "I sense more"

Vodo placed a hand on Sklib's shoulder, "As do I, I suggest we gather what supplies we have, and complete our mission".

“Amiz, go with the others to get the supplies while we still can”, orders Hel-Pa.

DarkAmiz runs off with a few of them and gets the supplies readied for their oncoming journey into the forest towards the command base. The squad picks up what is left of their weapons and other goods that are needed, essential and will be useful for their survival on this dangerous mission. Vodo in the meantime does a little “scouting” as he ran off as quiet as a mouse into the forest.

Amiz tunes down his music plugged into his ears and listens to the sound of the forest hearing rumbling nearby.

“Hel-Pa, I hear something coming, I think more echani or allies of them are gonna try to destroy us.” Says Amiz towards the team leader.

“I know, that’s why we need to hurry before they arrive, but even if they do arrive they will be no match for the likes of us”, Hel-Pa assures Amiz and the rest.

As they prepare for the stuff and repack everything, more rumbling was heard from inside the forest. Just as all of them got ready and was just waiting for Vodo to return, a few blasters shots came from the direction of the big forest. Everyone went down on the ground and got ready for a battle. Just then, Vodo came running out clutching something tightly in his arms.

“Hey guys, check this out, I just got us a radio, I wonder if we can signal to the mother ship with this.”

Just then a small blast sound came from the direction the blaster fire came from.

“Oops, that must be my extra ‘gift’ for them” grins Vodo.

A few short moments later, as the forest silence returned, the group of dark Jedi members began their entry into the forest, a big step to get to their target, quite a distance away. Silently, they moved on prepared for any danger that was to come their way. Every few meters they would here the sound of crunching leaves, not done by them as they walked as silently as possible. The group was not disturbed my any danger as they moved towards the heart of the forest.

The occasional leaves crackling under boots or a brush of flora against a Jedi’s face were the only sounds that could be perceived by anyone else in the forest. The Battle Team was drawing closer to Lanar’s position by the minute, and eventually the skilled members would perform a capture of the threat to Taldryan. According to Hel-Pa’s calculations, the Battle Team should be within three kilometers of Lanar, and strangely Hex had met no resistance on the way.

”Are we there yet?” The Tetrarch heard a Protector complain.

”Quiet, no more talking!” Hel-Pa quickly snapped back who he recognized as Tachyon. A sudden sound of a blade slicing through the currents in the air filled Hel-Pa’s ears, and he instinctively grabbed for his saber and contorted his torso to be parallel with the ground. The song of the knife in the air was ended by the damp bark of a large tree next to him, and the knife effortlessly twanged back and forth. Nexus and Vodo had ignited their sabers as well, and the members without lightsabers readied their weapons, ready for action. A raging Echani Berserker leapt upon Kierkkadon, and the Protector struggled to battle the skilled warrior. Hel-Pa dealt with the knife throwers around them, hurling dead branches at them and using his skill in the Force to twist the branches around its victims, making them useless in the skirmish.

”Gah! Gerrofofme!” Kierkkadon growled through his teeth as he wrestled with the Berserker. Sklib disengaged his saber, as there was no more harm that could be done to the Battle Team, save Kierkkadon. Ravan rushed to pull the Echani off of Kierkkadon, but Vodo quickly froze his body with the Force, knowing exactly what Hel-Pa was doing. ”Hel… help! I can’t… agh!” Sklib grinned as the Protector struggled, attempting to stab him with his weapon, but failing due to the Berserker’s great strength and speed. The Tetrarch could sense the fear overcoming Kierkkadon; surely he would die by the hands of the superior warrior. The hate and rage quickly replaced this fear, and the Protector began repelling the Berserker, using his anger to fuel his muscles. Kierkkadon rolled on top of the enemy and attempted to strangle him, but wasn’t able to get a grasp around his throat. He managed to fumble around his boot and retrieve his vibroshiv, and raised it above his head to strike his foe. The commando stopped his arm mid-swing, and the two battled out their fatal encounter. The Battle Team watched in awe as the Protector’s “test” continued on.

”Finish him!” Sklib screamed at the Protector. Within moments, the blade began sinking into the Berserker’s neck, and the blood began to gush out from his arteries, spraying Kierkkadon with the contents of his victim. As more blood spewed from his neck, the Echani warrior’s strength began to fail, and after some time Kierkkadon thrusted the knife into his opponent, finally ending his misery. The Hex member panted heavily, thrusting the knife away from the slain enemy’s corpse, and wiped the blood from his eyes. Sklib grinned mischievously and turned his back to the combatant and began walking away ”We move on, let’s go!” The team began moving in-strife with Sklib, and Kierkkadon frantically got up and went with the group. The blood still dripped from his chin, and the trail he left behind marked his first accomplishment as a servant of the Dark Side.

Vodo was pleased with the Protector's performance. He proved to the unofficial combat master that he would be able to hold his own in the coming fight. At least for a little while. That was less baby sitting the Knight would have to do in this party, half of which carried nothing more than a blaster and maybe the occasional detonator. On his back, Vodo carried the radio he;d confiscated from the Echani Commandos a while back. Though it was unable to penetrate to the fleet above the planet, the radio did come in handy to hunt down the location of the Base, based on telemetry and triangulation with what little skill the team as a whole possessed in pioneering with a map and compass.

Little by little, the forest thinned, and began to edge slightly upward as the coastal flat lands they'd crashed in turned into the vast interior plateau Vodo had noted during the briefing provided by Master Erinyes. The slope was gradual, and caused no damper on their forward progress for some hours until the forest diminished, and was replaced by a barren, rocky land. It was impressive, the Twi'lek Knight acknowledged, when they stopped for a rest, how quickly the landscape changed from verdant vegetation to craggy rock outcroppings.

The team had no time to discuss the possible geological and planetology of the planet's history, and continued onward. Having crashed early in the sunlight, and having treked through the day, the Team was only ten miles from their objective. The sun, a golden disk Vodo could easily fit within the circle of his forefinger and thumb at arm's length, was now setting behind them. This cast large, dark shadows along their path, all pointing towards their eventual destination as though the ball of fusion energy was pointing the way for them.

With the sun setting, and night approaching, Hex redoubled it's efforts to make it to the base soon, and begin their operation in earnest. The Echani Warriors either all dead after his bomb, or regrouping for the next attack, had not been heard from in some time, and slightly worried the Tetrarch. Vodo shared his concern through the force, and urged him forward with a gentle push. Within an hour, the team could see a large hill dominated by a massive duracrete fortress. Around it ran a 20 meter high wall, supported by guard towers every 100 meters.

Nexus observed this with his tactical knowledge in mind immediately, and discovered they could approach from this direction up until just under 50 meters by staying low to the ground, next to an elevated pathway that led westward. Hex did so, advancing quickly, staying unobserved the entire time. Once the team had established a base camp at the end of their cover, Nexus quickly laid out his plan for the team.

"Kierk, and Amiz, take the Nightstingers. You'll need them. Biask, Sklib. Follow me, and push me up the wall. The Rest of you will wait here until we give the signal."

Those few words imparted much, Vodo and Sklib already having in mind what Nexus had in store, and the two Journeymen with the Sniper Rifles did not need anymore information for their job. On Nexus' count, Kierk and Amiz took aim with their high powered sniper rifles, and fired. The invisible bolts arced towards the observers in the watch towers nearest the Battleteam, killing them without a sound. At that instant, Nexus burst from the base camp, sprinting at his full speed towards the wall. Aided by the force, his legs propelled him far quicker than any bipedal being could possibly achieve alone. Behind him, not quite as swiftly, but with the same intensity, came the Knights.

The three Dark jedi raced across the bare plain between the base camp and the wall, all aided by the Dark Side. At five meters from the wall, Nexus took a giant leap, planting his right foot into the ground, and reached for the wall with his left. This maneuver left no room for anyone to be distracted or fail. using his own force power, strength, and momentum, Nexus ran up the wall. He pulled himself to the wall to maintain a grip, and provided the last of his waning strength with the Dark Side. As Vodo and Sklib neared, they pushed him up, supporting his momentum until he crested the top and sailed onto the walkway atop the wall.

Vodo collapsed against the reinforced Duracrete wall, gasping for breath, every muscle of his body screaming for oxygen. Sklib, slightly more athletic, was doing the same. Nexus, crashed to the surface of the walkway, his lungs burning, and his legs as heavy as lead. Once they managed to regain their strength, it would only be a matter of force pulling/jumping the rest of the team over the wall.

Clan RO comp is now closed. Any posts made after this point will cause the RO to be disqualified.