Break In Your Stride - CIS Ministry of Secrets (Invite Only)

Spirit of Knowledge · Sep 17, 2019

It’d taken a while, but finally the Ministry of Secrets had been hitting its stride. Largely successful operations on Crait and Ichtor VIII had gotten the momentum of the Confederacy’s intelligence branch going, and as the Ministry’s roster expanded they became more ambitious. Safe houses across the galaxy, operations against pirates, establishing of contacts -- and now, this.

Last week, Kelsie Sylvan and a team of birds were sent to investigate a station in Wild Space, south of CIS territory. The Ministry had gathered intelligence on the hidden space station and soon sought to determine its purpose. Its activity and magnitude was unprecedented -- and with the recent betrayal in the Savareen Sector, the CIS needed to chase every lead to uncover new threats before they arise.

Without more concrete information, the Ministry was forced to send a relatively varied team to infiltrate the station. Using a Scimitar II-class Courier, six Ministry operatives managed to board the station and began their investigation.

Three days later, they’re a twenty-four hours late for their check in.

The passive, low-frequency transmission from the Ministry vessel stopped about an hour after the agents were supposed to check in. Contact with all agents had been lost. Despite the lack of good information, the Ministry didn’t give up hope -- and thus a second team was assembled.

Perhaps not all the lessons of the past had been learned; the objectives of the new team were straightforward and familiar.

Determine if any agents are still alive. If they are captured, free them, then bring them to the ship for a quick escape.

Search for clues pertaining to the station's owner. Steal data and other evidence. Determine the purpose of the station.

Determine additional objectives after infiltration.

The briefing had long concluded, the ship had long departed. But only now did it arrive, the Stormcrow-class cruiser cutting through the asteroid field towards the nearly eighteen kilometer-wide station. It would only be a few more moments before they reached their destination and would need to begin the infiltration...

Tags

[member="Rhaina Tira"]
[member="Alexander Kingston"]
[member="Ciri Jade"]
[member="Ingrid L'lerim"]
[member="Azura"]
[member="Kelsie Sylvan"]
[member="Scherezade deWinter"]
[member="Shakti Sweet"]
[member="Mr. Antilles"]
[member="Oz Verde"]
[member="Damien Wynter"]
[member="Ephraim"]
[member="Razelle Breuner"]
[member="Holt"]
[member="Nekana Quane"]
[member="Jorik Valnora"]
[member="Visanj T'shkali"]
[member="Nyx N1X3"]

Scherezade deWinter · Sep 18, 2019

Scherezade sat in the cockpit of the Stormcrow ship, feet propped up on the dashboard. A few of the crew had muttered their discontent over it, but she figured, they weren't using that part of the controls right there and then, and she wanted to see.

The space station that had not too recently come into view was a massive one. Scherezade held a big bag of popcorn in her hand, chewing slowly as she just stared at it. What could possibly be hiding in there? The briefing they'd received was as vague as it could be. She and the rest of the birds were well aware that they were headed into the big unknown.

And not just anywhere. This was not a planet. This was not a place where there would be potential allies in the form of locals. This was a space station. If it went entirely down, or exploded, or anything went wrong… There weren't many birds left that would know to come for them. And there wouldn’t be anyone outside of the Ministry to know to come for them.

If they failed that day, they would only be a memory, and nothing else.

With a sigh, Scherezade rose from her seat and tossed the popcorn ban into the bin, making her way deeper into the ship.

"Three minutes, birds!" she yelled, hoping to garner the attention of those who were present.

Celiana · Sep 19, 2019

I'd slipped into a Stormcrow class ship for help with Ministry business. Since taking a leave of absence from The Silver Jedi I'd been....experimenting with different allies. My talents prior to joining The Order, assassination, slicing, information acquisition and selling. Seemed I was back in my old hunting habits.... Currently there was Scherezade up front in the pilots seat. She'd....recruited me not long ago on Coruscant. Now, here I sat. Armored up, sabers hanging from either hip. Flechette pistol locked against my left thigh plate. DC-17m rifle in my lap....clipping it secure into a catch on my breastplate I locked it down magnetically. Scherezade was busy crunching away at some snack or another up front.

Ejecting out my hookblade, I retracted it and then ejected the polished phrik razor whip from the same gauntlet. shaking it out I retracted it back. I began spinning my knife across my left knuckles as we approached. I was told this was an extraction. Whether person or intel I wasn't sure, whatever the job was I'd handle it. I couldn't help but feel that as Scherezade had been the one to recruit me that this was a mission to scout the talent level of the new recruit. I heard her boots slide off the console and down onto the deckplating. Then as she walked into the back of the transport I heard her boots against the deckplating. She called out three minutes and I rolled my helm in my palms and rotating it I looked her way and inclined my head slightly.

Pulling my helm over my head I adjusted it until it clicked in place and sealed. Disabling the vocal filter as the HUD powered on I looked towards Scherezade. "Any actual intel on what's up here? Or we flying blind? I mean I'm good to kill anything in my way but I'd like to know what we're up to."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

Tess Valnora · Sep 19, 2019

Weapons: Shadow's Sting, Oathkeeper, Shoto saber, compact sub (concealed), Phrik combat knife (boot), electrostaff
Armor: Black Letheris trench coat (Norris root dye), black shirt, trousers, combat boots
Location: Stormcrow-class cruiser

Tags: [member="Celiana"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

Tess sat scrolling through a data pad, the briefing had been, well… brief, and she was hoping to find anything in between the lines of the information they had been given. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to glean from it. Six agents, MIA, and all contact lost. Period. There were so many holes that could be filled with the proper recon of a Raven that Tess could have screamed. The amount of frustration for not having enough information on her target or targets was stupid.

She looked up, set down the data pad abruptly and pulled her chip from it, immediately erasing all data that was on it when the call came from the front of the ship. She pocketed the chip and looked at the Jedi as she cycled through her armaments. “Too flashy.” She thought to herself as she mentally noted her own weapons hidden about herself. The only two visible weapons she had were her electro-staff and her rifle. The staff was in arms reach, resting against the wall, and her rifle was slung across her back. Her gloves could be considered weapons, but they just looked like gloves until powered on.

“If ‘Team missing, find them’ is considered intel, then we have a mother lode of it.” Tess sarcastically commented to the Jedi’s question, “I’ve been poring over the data given to us and couldn’t make out anything else from it. I hate these kinds of missions. But that won’t stop me from having fun on them.”

Nyx N1X3 · Sep 20, 2019

Objective: Acquire Data. Acquire Material. ~~Acquire Blackmail.~~ [Redacted]
Allies: Ministry of Secrets Personnel
Enemies: Anyone that stands to obstruct Mission Parameters

"It would be appreciated if the efforts taken to locate and secure survivors could be performed without damage to the station's computer core, or its primary power systems," Nyx remarked as the women present discussed their particular focus. The droid had no disagreement to issue regarding the lack of intelligence available prior to their arrival, however. From a purely rational point of view the more information one had to make informed tactical decisions, the greater the likelihood of reaching a desired outcome. Then again, how often were the plans rational, strictly speaking?

The droid's red eyes turned to Scherezade in particular. "Explosive decompression would also be inadvisable." Yes that comment was specifically for deWinter. She'd given no indication of anything so over the top yet, but Nyx only feared what circumstances might arise later when she was not present. Best to set the bar just short of "blow the station up" and hope for the best.

"Perhaps the other agents were carrying locators," Nyx added to the group as a whole. In fact, she wanted to inquire if they'd been implanted with anything that could be tracked, but with Celiana it was unclear how much operational detail or capability should be shared outright. Fortunately, it was a matter the droid would not need to worry about for long. The Jedi -- recruit? -- would be under Scherezade's wing for this operation. Meanwhile, Nyx would likely be elsewhere. Ideally the command center. The computer core if a direct connection was needed. Hopefully there would be sufficient power she wouldn't need to repair the power core.

Tag: [member="Celiana"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Tess Valnora"]

Ingrid L'lerim · Sep 26, 2019

Location: Stormcrow-class cruiser
Equipment: Bio link
Tags: [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Celiana"] | [member="Tess Valnora"] | [member="Nyx N1X3"]

She didn’t like that kind of jobs. It means someone is messed up, or that was a trap. Normally the agents are don’t get trapped. If they are, it means they are not enough qualified to the job, or that was a trap. She hoped, they just not qualified and the MoS don’t send other agents to trap again.

Nevertheless this is a job, and Ingrid wants to save the others, if not for anything else, just information. When she was arrived to the ship, she was already wearing her armor. As before, she still didn't know who she was going to work with. Four “people”, women again and the droid from before.

”Scherezade, Nyx!” she nods her partners, and then she turned the other two women.”Hello, I’m Valeria Ragal, or the Red Witch!”

She introduce herself on her code names, not the real one. That name was only known to Scherezade from here. Ingrid didn’t sit this time, just leaned against the wall, watched and listened the others. She didn’t now so much, just what they said to her, when she accepted the mission.

Ingrid knows about the space station, the missing group, and the missing of course. Nothing more data. She worked with less information before, but obviously it wasn't among her favorite tasks.

”Nyx, or anyone else, the Ministry was received some transmission from Kelsie Sylvan’s team before they disappeard?” she asked.

If they are, maybe it would be a good, or less good starting point…

Spirit of Knowledge · Sep 26, 2019

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Celiana"] | [member="Tess Valnora"] | [member="Nyx N1X3"] | [member="Ingrid L'lerim"]

The cruiser rocked lightly as it began to slow, and from the hangar the station came into view. There were a few words for such a celestial emplacement -- simply put, it was massive. Ministry intelligence put the giant facility at around fourteen kilometers in length, but from up close it felt so much bigger. The circular hunk of durasteel loomed over the little birds of the Ministry. Perhaps it reminded them how futile this mission was, or perhaps it gave them hope. Fourteen kilometers meant lots of hiding spots for their agents. Surely they'd survived...

Short announcements buzzed over the intercom as the birds prepared themselves for the mission ahead. A small shuttle had been prepared -- a modified RC-2 Twilight, with enough space for the entire team. Once they were all ready and boarded, the ship took off and pushed smoothly out of the hangar, gliding towards the station.

The change was unnoticeable, but finally the tiny ship drew to a stop. The bottom hatch opened into one of the station's maintenance doors, and the team finally boarded...

Measure each step, for it could be your last. Keep your momentum lest you lose your ability to move.

Nighthaunter · Sep 27, 2019

Location: RC-2 Twilight
Equipment: CS-21 catsuit, Shuriken throwing blades, Katana, collapsible sniper rifle, two vibro daggers and a pistol.
Tags: [member="Ingrid L'lerim"] [member="Nyx N1X3"] [member="Tess Valnora"] [member="Celiana"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

Nighthaunter sat silently and alone in the Twilight shuttle as the rest of the birds came on board. He was dressed in a black CS-21 catsuit, with a black hood and mask covering his face. The only thing that could be seen through the hood and mask was his sparkling green eyes. He didn't stand up to greet the other agents that boarded the shuttle, it didn't matter to him, knowing the way the ministry worked the likelihood that they would be telling him the truth about who they were was highly unlikely. He instead sat in the shuttle and did an equipment check to make sure that it was all functioning and in it's best condition.

He studied each and every one of birds that walked onto the shuttle, the only person he recognized Scherezade. She had recruited him after she had heard about his brutal assassinations of certain high flying politicians and diplomats. He respected her, as she had been the first and only person to tie that series of assassinations to him and track him down. He then looked to the other agents boarding the shuttle, he observed the one known as the "red witch". She looked to be very professional and confident in her abilities. He then eyed the jedi with piqued curiosity, 'her abilities could come in handy on a mission like this,' he thought to himself.

He then finally observed the cybernetic, if he was honest he had never really liked machines. However, he could see the use of having such a machine on board as she was unlikely to let emotions to guide her actions and would use logic and rationality to solve problems. Scherezade hadn't told him much about the mission at hand, only that a team of birds went missing and they were to find them. And if they were alive, extract them from the space station. These types of missions suited the Nighthaunter as he was very good at adapting to new situations and was never the type to stick to a plan.

H3xle · Sep 29, 2019

Vyxen sat in a crouch against the wall of the scoutship. She knew that once everyone was aboard, it was going to be tight quarters in there. For the moment there was one other person present, and she was able to easily block him out of her awareness as she readied for the mission. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her focus was turned inward. Some people on this mission were tasked with finding what happened to the previous agents who had infiltrated the station, and recovering them if at all possible. Vyxen, on the other hand, was part of the team that was tasked with getting the intel the previous team had been tasked to retrieve. They needed to not have reason to mount a second rescue mission, which was why they had placed her on the team, she assumed.

'If I'd been assigned to this mission from the outset, though, it'd be done.' She thought to herself, allowing the thought for only a moment before putting it, and her hubris, aside. 'Focus, Vyx, we've got to focus on the present and not the past.'

In a normal op, she would tap her chronometer and bring up an AR overview of the station. It would never be a complete map, often had some wrong details, and would generally prove useful only in the first hour or so of the operation, but it was comforting to be able to plan. This time, however, they had nothing beyond some superficial scans. Planning, in this case, trended towards wishful thinking or doomsday prophecy.

Still, she considered herself to be nearly (if not entirely) the best. Improvising was always part of the gig, just this time it was from the outset.

Taking a deep breath, she stood in one fluid motion and waited for the green light to enter the facility.

Scherezade deWinter · Oct 1, 2019

[member="Celiana"] had been sitting with Scherezade in the cockpit, the pale haired woman keeping her hands much busier than Scherezade had been. There had been no reason to make mention of it; Scherezade herself tended to fidget when she felt as though she did not know enough and yet there was too much time they had to make pass. The Sithling was far from being any sort of good at the waiting game, and that was probably something that was going to hurt her at some point in the future.

Turning to her, the Sithling answered, "Of course we're going in blind. Where would the fun be in going in with this new shiny vessel and all the way at the edge of the galaxy if we had any actual intel to rely on? Pshaw!" and grinned. Every word spoken had been truth. They were going in almost completely blind – and Scherezade had every intention of enjoying that little fact. Unknown dangers! Maybe some monsters! A big bad (or big smol) evil! What was there to not be excited about?

Looking over to [member="Tess Valnora"], the Sithling smiled again. Tess' sentiments echoed her own almost exactly the same.

As [member="Nyx N1X3"] spoke, Scherezade glanced at those gathered, and hid a small giggle that threatened to escape. They were all, droid included, of the female variant. It often seemed to her as though it were the women of the Ministry that carried all the work. Part of her hoped that the elusive Minister, whose identity was concealed even from them, was a woman too, but she'd seen too many holoseries such as Charlie's Celestials and James Blonde Junior to know that the person in top was too often a dude who was a male. "What if we make the station go kaboom after we've retrieved what we need and leave it behind?" she asked with another one of her grins.

As the three began to walk, they were greeted by [member="Ingrid L'lerim"]. Scherezade loved the woman's actual name, but she knew many of the birds preferred to go by handle names instead. The notion was odd to her, as she was one who preferred using her actual name in most scenarios, but it was one of those things she just accepted. "Not that we were told," she answered the redhead's question. Truly, they were all going in much more blind than they were used to. Scherezade made a note to convince everyone, once this was over, to give their Minster a harsh talk to. She was so certain that there was information available, but that they just weren't made aware of it.

The girls boarded the shuttle that had been prepared for them, and Scherezade tossed [member="Nighthaunter"] a smile. He was one of the many recruits she'd recently managed to get for the Ministry, and she was mighty proud of that. His real name was something she didn't have, and for a split of a moment she glanced at everyone gathered, wondering when they'd find themselves for the first time in a situation in which everyone lost track of which was name was real, which name was fake, and who was called what and when.

Last but not least was [member="Caitlin Hawke"]. She was one of those that Scherezade would be working with for the first time during this mission.

As everyone strapped in, the little vessel left the MoS HQ and headed into the dark Space Station of which they knew close to nothing. "I'm taking bets," Scherezade turned to the others with a grin, "Five hundred credits say they shoot on sight. Two thousand credits say they try to grab our lovely droid girl before the others."

Slowly, the transport began to dock at the space station. Scherezade peered out of the window. There was something about this place that made her not like it all, even regardless of the fact that an entire group of birds had gone radio silent here. "The scimitar is not here," she said, looking at the information that was running on the holoscreens, "Not in this docking bay, anyway." That was to be expected though. It would be too much to ask for things to go completely smooth.

"Time to get off the ship," Scherezade announced, and jumped from her seat. It was hard to keep the Sithling still for too long.

One by one they jumped down the hatch that let them in through the maintenance door. If anyone chose to stay aboard the transport vessel, that was entirely up to them. Scherezade, having jumped and therefore landed first, looked to her left and to her light at a darkened hall that seemed entirely void of organics or droids. "Creepy," she murmured.

Celiana · Oct 1, 2019

Wearing: Gear in sig/bio
Tags: [member="Scherezade deWinter"] ~ [member="Caitlin Hawke"] ~[member="Nighthaunter"] ~[member="Ingrid L'lerim"] ~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~ [member="Tess Valnora"]

As we docked I stood, dropping into a loose ready stance I waited for the hatch to open. Once it did Scherezade was the first out, well at least a leader was leading rather than cowering in bunkers. Just another reason I was glad to be working with someone other the The Silver Jedi... Apparently there was a ship missing as well. Listening to Scherezade I smiled at her betting on things. Having gone out after Scherezade I landed by her as she was saying creepy. Smirking I looked at my HUD and realized the atmosphere was safe to breathe I cracked the seal on my helm. Shaking out my platinum blonde hair I said "You think this is creepy then you need to spend a night walking through the Shadowlands of Kasshhyyyk..."

Clipping my helm to my belt I looked around and reached out. There were... ripples here in the hangar. Around where the ship had been, someone had moved it. Looking around I waited for the rest of the team, I'd be going with Scherezade to find and hopefully extract other birds. In my experience there were rarely extractions that weren't hot.

Unsheathing my Force imbued blade I stood by Scherezade, blades were quiet typically and I didn't exactly want to go shining bright lights about when we were in a dark station. It brought too much attention to where people were, plus after Eshan and the physiological changes to my body I didn't really need a light. My night vision, hearing, and sense of smell had all been amplified. I was fine with a blade.

For now I waited for what the rest of the birds would do and I'd follow Scherezade.

Ingrid L'lerim · Oct 1, 2019

Ingrid smiled at Scherezade’s answer; of course they are going in blind. They were agents, that was their job, and not the first one, and hope not the last. After she gets the answer to her question, she nodded briefly to the other woman. So no transmission… they disappears quickly, or just they didn’t want to send a message. Strange, and interesting.

She hoped, they will find answers soon. Of course she listened to the others, their words, ideas, but she didn’t speak, just listened. Until her former and current partner made the bet. She almost laughed, but Ingrid restrained herself.

”Holding the bet!” Ingrid grinned briefly under her helmet.

She loved gamble, but rarely used it, her job was more important than the game. But this time, they are not on the destination yet, so it still fit her time. After they were there, they didn’t saw the other group’s ship.

”Think they deserted?” she asked Scherezade.

Maybe they did, that was maybe a reasonable explanation, why they hadn’t hear about the other group. but the question, why? Why they deserted, if they did this? Ingrid holding her sniper rifle and she will followed Scherezade and the others when they are get going. She not responded to Celiana’s words. If they are arrived to the hanger, just tried to explore the place, with her eyes and sensors, and with her sniper’s macroscope.

H3xle · Oct 2, 2019

Vyxen dropped into the darkened hall beside the others and moved aside. Her needler was drawn and at the ready, and her eyes searched the shadowy confines around them for anything that could be a threat. She saw what the others had seen, a hallway devoid of anyone or anything besides their group. She stood from her kneeling position and looked from the hallway to the group.

"I'll scout the hallway." She spoke softly, then paused a moment before moving down the hallway on silent feet.

She kept her needler at the ready, her knees bent as she moved, and her eyes searching, never lingering on anything in particular. She reached a point roughly fifty feet from the group and paused. Above there were slightly darker patches where Vyxen assumed maintenance hatches waited for someone to open them, but she didn't find a doorway on their level just yet.

Attempting to keep silent, she turned back to the group and made a series of hand signals.

'Clear to here, three hatches up.' Then she turned back and knelt where she was, guarding from where she had gotten. She knew she was going to have to split from some of the group eventually, but for the moment there wasn't very many choices for direction.

Nyx N1X3 · Oct 2, 2019

Objective: Acquire Data. Acquire Material. ~~Acquire Blackmail.~~ [Redacted]
Allies: Ministry of Secrets Personnel
Enemies: Anyone that stands to obstruct Mission Parameters

"Valeria," Nyx inclined her cranial unit in acknowledgement. Another inclination followed Scherezade's response of a lack of information having been provided to them.

But the worst part of their assignment? Not having nearly enough computational power necessary to simulate a space station of the size now before them. Perhaps if this were not a clandestine missions she could rely on a feed from an external server farm, but such was not an option. Well, provided the threat was relatively limited in the number of lifeforms involved it shouldn't be too trying to properly evaluate and respond to any situations that would arise.

The droid looked over at Scherezade for a moment. "So long as it does not interfere with the mission objectives or its parameters," Nyx replied to the suggestion they blow it up after they were done. Personally, she'd not waste time planting explosives or rigging the power core to overload. If Scherezade was able to perform her duties and do so that was her business. Any efforts that undermined mission success, however, would require corrective action.

As they strode onto the shuttle, Nyx made note of the extra passenger and Scherezade's smile. More captivating was the woman's rather enthusiastic and playful banter. "That--" Val's acceptance cut Nyx off and had the droid pause from resuming her comment. "Would be unlikely." Two thousand credits? With nothing to substantiate it as a possibility? It was quite likely the opposition would shoot on sight, however.

Mission Counter began the second their ship settled into place and the hatch opened. A visual record of their activities could prove worthwhile. Worst case scenario they were wiped out, but Nyx's core remained intact enough for the next team to extract something useful from it. Provided at that point the station wasn't simply blown out of the stars.

While the team descended, Nyx attached a miniaturized repulsor pack to each limb. When it was her turn, she hopped over the opening; the packs flared to life after she fell out of the ship like a metallic boulder. Once she'd touched down the boosters snapped off. "Those of us tasked with data recovery will collect logs that will affirm whether conditions warranted abandoning station," Nyx replied, with her vocabulator turned down in volume. And her descent had been quiet -- quiter anyway that a loud bang-and-clang from simply dropping onto the deck plating.

Nighthaunter · Oct 2, 2019

Location: Maintenance shaft
Equipment: CS-21 catsuit, Shuriken throwing stars, Katana, collapsible sniper rifle, two vibro daggers and a pistol.
Tags: [member="Nyx N1X3"] [member="Caitlin Hawke"] [member="Ingrid L'lerim"] @Celiana @Scherezade deWinter [member="Eternal Paragon"][member="Tess Valnora"]

The nighthaunter nodded back at Scherezade in response to her warm smile, almost as if to say 'point me at my next target boss, and I'll make sure the next time you see him is in a body bag'. He sat in the back of the RC-2 Twilight scout ship dead silent as he listened to his other team members talk among themselves, they all seemed remarkably relaxed for such a dangerous mission. Especially Scherezade, he was pretty sure he heard her up at the front of the ship in the cockpit taking bets as to whether the space station would fire on them as they approached. He couldn't lie it did feel a bit strange working with a team, as he was used to going solo in his missions and only having himself to rely on. So the idea of relying on a team to achieve the objective was still very foreign to him. He also didn't realize until everyone else had come on board that he was the only male on the team, not that he cared. A team was a team in his eyes, he just found it rather strange that there wasn't more male agents involved with the ministry of secrets. As they were approaching the station he pressed a button on the side of his mask, it fully enveloping his face under his hood. The mask was a precaution in case it turned out the atmosphere on the ship was toxic, it also had many different voice settings. The mask also had a fully functioning HUD that monitored all of his vitals and allowed him to scan his immediate surroundings for heat signatures. Being slightly paranoid he did one last equipment check just as they arrived on the space station. He was fully prepared to have to suddenly be engaged in a firefight with many hostiles as he exited the ship.

He was one of the last off the ship as he followed... Nyx was it? He had always been awful at remembering people's names, not that it mattered with the way the ministry worked. He slipped down the hatch silently with the rest of the team, he landed next Scherezade in a catlike stance, as he then stood up and analysed his surroundings. He saw that they were in an old musty maintenance shaft, he watched as one of the team went and scouted ahead of them. He looked above him to see if there were any air vents in the maintenance shaft, unfortunately he couldn't see any. The reason he was looking to see if there were any is that they were a very good way of navigating a hostile environment without being seen if you were small as he was. It was one of the primary ways he had scouted hostile environments when he was an independent assassin, before he was brought in by the CIS.

Seeing the other agent signal that the coast was clear, he moved forward quickly but quietly up to her position. He crouched low and stuck to the shadows always checking his masks HUD for hostile heat signatures. The only thing giving off where he was would be the sound of the air as he came up behind her, almost like a ghost. Not saying a word his green eyes studied his surroundings as he waited for the rest of the team to catch up to their position. As much as he wanted to ditch the rest of the team and look for the remaining agents by himself, he knew that wasn't part of the plan and was going to wait for Scherezade's orders before doing anything else.

Tess Valnora · Oct 3, 2019

Location: Maintenance Hallway

Everyone else had already exited the lander, Tess didn't mind that she was last out, it gave her time to do a last quick sweep and make sure nothing important was left. Grabbing her electrostaff she walked to the exit of the ship with a tik tik as she used it like a walking stick. She wasn't even sure if she would need it on this mission, as the issue was most likely pirates, bandits or some other type of space thug. Highly unlikely to be a melee wielding enemy, but one can never bee too prepaired. Well they could, if they were to over-pack then... "Off topic. Focus Tess." she thought to herself. Before stepping over the edge to drop into the awaiting hallway Tess grasped her staff near the center, twisted and pulled in opposite directions. With a click the two halves separated and created identical batons about two and a half feet each. She fastened them to her belt then stepped into the darkened hall below.

After standing up from a nest to silent landing Tess turned her back to the group and peered in the opposite direction as there forward scout [Vyxen]. Turning her head slightly back to the group she commented on DeWinter's bet, "Oh, most definitely they will start shooting on sight. But I will take you up on that bet for our droid here. I bet you that they will attempt to nab our scout first." she finished up by pointing a thumb over her shoulder in Vyxen's direction. So far the entire area had been silent besides their talking and betting. Tess stood off from the group a tad bit, surveying the hallway behind where they all stood. Peering into the dark hallway she couldn't make much out except that the hallway started to curve slightly to her left as it went on.

"I say we break up into two teams, or maybe three? We could cover more ground that way." she suggested taking a few steps down the hallway, the quiet was suddenly shattered by the sound of an automatic door sliding open and closed. Tess dropped to an immediate crouch and drew her slugthrower SMG. Pointing it down the hallway, she listened, intently. The squeaking of a mouse droid soon filled the air, she couldn't see it just yet, but she heard it. Keeping her SMG in hand she stood up from her crouch and glanced back to see if anyone else had seen her near heart attack reaction to a mouse droid. She hoped to the stars they didn't, she was sure someone would make fun of her for the rest of the time if they did.

Scherezade deWinter · Oct 5, 2019

Scherezade gave [member="Nyx N1X3"] the most innocent of smiles. Interfere with mission objectives or parameters? Her? Nahhhhh.

She smirked at [member="Celiana"] 's comment. "What makes you think I haven't yet?" came the retort, "But Kashyyyk is full of life, even in the Shadowlands, if you listen close enough. This place… Is different."

Did she think the area was deserted? Scherezade reached forward with the Force, trying to gather any sort of sense about what was to come. She had little doubt about the station being deserted, as it could simply not be. But the immediate surroundings? Not for a radius to come. But… "Below us," she said quietly, "But not immediately below us."

It was not that long ago that she and [member="Ingrid L'lerim"] had found a moff in a similar way. Scherezade had then opened holes in floors by punching them, lowering herself and Ingrid floor by floor until they got to the Moff, at which point Ingrid shined by taking care of their opposition. But that tactic would not work right now, not when they were blind and had no idea about what else was there. The Force helped her sense the organics out, but it did little when it came to droids and machinery.

As @Caitlyn Hawke began to scout, Scherezade nodded, her Knight Obsidian Sword pulled from its sheathe and into her hand, just in case something decided to attack them. Her eyes cast back towards Nyx, trying to think for a moment if their favorite droid was the only one in charge with actual information gathering. She trusted the droid almost as much as she would an organic, but now it seemed as though perhaps they should've had some backup. While the Blood Hound carried a few neat gadgets with her, it was nowhere close to what Nyx was capable of doing.

Looking at [member="Nighthaunter"] and his mask though, that made the Sithling blink. She… Had not considered that the air might be toxic. Judging by what others were wearing, most of them hadn't. "Huh," she uttered, frowning. Okay. Well, they were lucky the air wasn't toxic in that case. Here was to hoping it'd remain non-toxic.

At [member="Tess Valnora"] 's suggestion, Scherezade paused. The other Crow was right; breaking up into two or three teams would be the sensible thing to do – but not when they didn't know what they were facing. Covering more ground almost sounded like a dream right there and then, but what if their opposition would have a too easy time picking off smaller groups of Birds that way? At present, they didn't even know what their relative power was compared to the enemy. They didn't even know who their enemy was.

"Hold that-" Scherezade started to say, wanting to give voice to her thoughts, but seeing Tess crouch made her stop, her entire body frozen as she looked at the blonde woman, only now seeing the… Droid mouse?

"Why is there a-" came the next question, and then she heard it.

That soft click sound.

"BOMB!" Scherezade screamed, and ran backwards towards the area Caitlin had deemed safe – trying to pull as many Birds with her through motion, while tossing up a Force Bubble around them all, hoping that would be enough.

Celiana · Oct 5, 2019

Listening to Scherezade's comment about the shadowlands I smiled, something told me she had in fact been to Kasshhyyk. She'd mentioned this was different, lifeless largely. When she said below us I thought idly, just like a predator allowing us to run free for the time being anyways...Other birds had begun to spread out, scouting around and preparing for the next step in our mission. Scherezade said hold and we did... I'd heard the mouse droid, I hadn't been anticipating it to be a bomb.

Sighing I drew in a breath and stepped forward as all the other birbs took cover. Throwing up a Force Shield I dropped into a stance. My focus on the shrapnel that'd inevitably come, and it did. Though it didn't get very far, halting the shrapnel midair I flicked my fingers out sending the shrapnel into the corridor with exactly the same amount of force. After the shrapnel came, I dropped my Force shield and simply split the fire.

After splitting the fire I brought it around me, wreathing myself in flames, with a palmheel strike I channeled the energy, The Force and sent the fire down the hallway away from my new birb friends. Breathing out I sank back into a loose ready stance. Holding a small bit of fire in hand as my own lightsource I looked back towards the birds and called "clear." The corridor was a mess....but that happened when you threw exploding shrapnel with the same amount of force. Least someone could make a nice knife out of it....

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] ~ [member="Tess Valnora"] ~[member="Nighthaunter"] ~ [member="Nyx N1X3"] ~ [member="Caitlin Hawke"] ~ [member="Ingrid L'lerim"]

Ingrid L'lerim · Oct 6, 2019

She nods to Nyx’s answer, maybe they didn't desert anyway. After that she is fully focused on the mission. “The good old way” she thought after Scherezade “points” the target. Ingrid changes her weapons to the two Westars. She knew perfectly well, what is coming now. She worked with Scherezade before, and when they attack the moff on Icthor VIII they use the same way, just like now.

This time she didn’t surprised on her partner’s action, now she knows what Scherezade doing. When the other woman hit the floor and reach the other level Ingrid followed her, just like on their other mission. Nonetheless she scouting the levels and the environment, maybe there is no living being here, but droids, or other things, what her partners can’t sense… yes.

As soon as they got down Ingrid looked around, she saw that mouse droid too, and the warning. She turned and started running, after a few steps, the bomb exploded. She almost felt the heat, her ears rang, but other than that it she was fine. Hereupon she joined to [member="Celiana"] and maybe the others, if she was the last one who went forward. She checked the corridor, it was a mess, or disaster, she didn’t know which is the better word right now.

”Thanks for the save!” she asked quietly.

She hopes someone bring EMP grenades, if they enemies are droids, they need more technology stuffs. Because the team had two or more force-users, so Ingrid letting them decide about the sequel. Maybe they sense here someone, and don’t lead the team into a trap and maybe they will find the other birds sooner than others.

Spirit of Knowledge · Oct 7, 2019

Without a doubt the Ministry team sent to the station were quite formidable. Assassins, force users, snipers -- a little bomb wouldn't stand in the way of their mission. But the little mouse droid would certainly plague them for the rest of their assignment. Unfortunately for the birds, mouse droids were first and foremost communications droids aboard such a large vessel. This one patrolled the older maintenance corridors in case there were infiltrators, and it seemed that it was its lucky -- or perhaps, unlucky -- day.

Whether it was malfunction or intention, the little droid exploded, but the birds were quick to react. Their poor luck had just begun, though. The Jedi's quick thinking had saved the group, but sending the additional force down the hallway blew open the durasteel door several meters down. At least they weren't being sucked into space, but their advantage of stealth may have been lost...

---

The main corridor that the maintenance hall lead into split into a T intersection. Fortunately enough the hall was empty for the moment, but those who kept their ears open might hear heavy footsteps approaching to their left. Little options for escape were left to the team: a small vent was just above them, the right corridor seemed to be quiet, and of course they always had the maintenance hall... but discovery could be imminent. With the footsteps drawing closer, there would be no time to clean up the mess from the destruction of the door.

Break In Your Stride - CIS Ministry of Secrets (Invite Only)

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E T E R N A L - E M P R E S S

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