Capitalist with a Gun: Mandalorian Invasion of Roche (Mando vs Republic)

[Ali Hadrix]

Character: Captain Macer Heln, Kol'k Oto, Abram, Funke
Location: Nickel One Control Station
Allies: Galactic Republic | Verpine Government | Civilians
Enemies: Lisette Kuhn | Keira Ticon | Mandalorians | [member=Janira Fenni]?
Objective: Defend Nickel One, evacuate civilians, arrest Keira Ticon
Equipment: Full duranium beskar'gam, EM protected helmet and weapons. Verpine Assault Carbine, 2 x DL-44 blaster pistols, wrist rocket, wrist-cable, various grenades (lethal and non-lethal), beskad, stun gauntlet, small-jetpack, bacta injection system.
NPC's (for narrative): Geft, Tresler, Abram, Funke, Vitor, Aulx, Astor, Umlar, Wolcraft


Ali was just pulling her helmet over her head as they stepped out of the turbolift, when a small Echani woman and an accompaniment of droids met them outside. The woman was slight of build, but carried herself and the sword in her hand with an expert's level of confidence. The woman demanded custody of the Verpine delegation, and purported herself to be a member of the Senate. Ali checked that swiftly from her HUD as Geft used his own to send a simple, secured text-based message: ::EMP the droids.:: Ali wondered if this woman was working with Lasedri and her clones or if she really fought for the Republic, the true Republic. The thought of the former Chancellor made Ali's blood boil; she'd sworn to the Senate she'd burn the woman alive. Abram was busy looking bored as he communicated with the Republic commander on his own secured text-line. ::Eyes on the turbolift; we've got trouble.::
Ali stepped in front of the Verpine delegation, putting herself between them and the young woman. "The Vice Chancellor's office has issued no orders regarding these individuals," Ali replied casually; her three BOG Commandos had shuffled the Verpine delegates and their remaining technician back against the wall. Ali's search for the woman's face came back positive: Janira Fenni. Ali frowned within the confines of her buy'ce.
"And seeing as how you're only a junior senate member, you have no authority to tell me otherwise." Ali asserted, holding her rifle's grip with her firing hand and shaking it slightly as if to show it off. "And I think they'd agree with me," she said, nodding beyond the woman and her droids. Behind them, the Republic soldiers in the hangar bay had stopped their work and picked up their weapons. An E-WEB cannon stationed in by the entrance of the chamber turned to angle for the woman and her escorts.
A Rodian bearing the rank of Major called to Ali from the nearest shuttle transport. He stepped towards the two groups, coming up from the left and behind of the Echani woman and her droids. "Is there a problem, Commander?" The Rodian asked, flanked by two Republic soldiers.
Ali began to worry about the woman's presence. Once already a Jedi had claimed the same authority this woman did, while standing aside a Mandalorian warlord. The woman might be part of the Senate, but she truly had no warzone authority. Surely a Senator would know that...unless they weren't on the right side. Ali frowned inwardly, increasingly concerned that this Echani woman was aligned with the despot Genevieve Lasedri. She could be in league with Keira Ticon, she realised. Ali keyed a quick message to be transmitted out of the system that included the last half minute of her helmet's holocam recordings. It would be earmarked for priority transmission by Republic warships and hopefully passed along quickly to Lady Kay-Larr, Ali's trusted contact in the Senate.
As the message queued, Ali shook her head at the Rodian. "I don't think so, Captain Gadi." Ali replied. "We just need use of a transport to escort these prisoners to Chazwa. But our new friends seem to have other plans." Ali jerked her head to the right, signaling Geft to start attempting to escort the Verpine toward the nearby shuttle. Ali kept her eyes on the young Echani woman, prepared at any moment to put a shatter-round in her thigh if necessary.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Location: The Central Hub
Allies: Saber Team and Republic Marine forces.
Enemies: [member="Katalyn"] + Mandalorian forces
Equipment: Armor + Communications pack | Rifle | Voice | Side Arm | Rotary Cannon + Thermal detonators. (Valkren's team of five men currently posses the same armaments that he does.) Equipment of 102nd Marine Security division varies.

Valkren's eyes went wide behind his shimmering blue visor, quickly gripping one of the marines that thought it was a good idea to begin his advance. He yanked the younger marine back just as he heard the first 'POP'

"Oh..Kark."

Valkren began to move most of his men to the doorway that was jut beyond the barricade. This doorway led to the connecting two corridors and the messhall that was just beyond them. He only had a few moments as the Mando's were taking the time to launch the grenades. "Young, Michaels! Grab that table over here and drag the damn thing here!" As he was giving off orders, he was cautiously counting the amount of 'pops'. One..two..three....eleven..fifteen. Fifteen grenades. As the mix of marines and commandos yanked over one of the messhall tables, they all reached behind it and grunted in sync as they attempted to flip it towards the corridor. Just in time as I might add. The grenades began to go off.

Not all of the grenades had reached the barricade due to the hostile simply not aiming as he stuck the weapon around the bend, but a good bit had reached it and one had even gone beyond it, taking the leg off of a Republic marine that had fallen behind during their short retreat. He screamed in agony as the younger marine fell to the ground, blood pooling almost imedietly at his leg. The shrapnel from the single grenade had peppered his whole lower body and parts of his torso, peeling of pieces of armor. Valkren simply stared as the rest of the grenades wen't off about ten meters from their new barricade, turning the old barricade into a scrap pile. The grenades that hadn't reached the barricade were only tearing away at the few pieces of cover in the corridor, so he figured it had to be abit harder for the enemy forces to advance down the middle corridor with less cover. He slowly counted in his head once more as the last of the grenades went off, spinning his weapon up and peeking back above the new piece of weaker cover. They'd just have to compensate for their new flimsier piece of cover with more firepower down the corridor.

Valkren was running low on his Cannon, but the other two commandos that watched the two corridors on either side of them got a whole lot less action from the sound of it. "O'Connor, O'Riley. Take two marines each and move down the corridors. Use both of your thermal grenades to cover your advance. We'll pinch them in and cause a retreat."

With O'Connor taking two men from his barricade, and O'Riley taking two from his. That left only two on each barricade behind to cover them. With Valkren just losing one of his own men, he had only three other marines, plus Young and Michaels, the remaining two commandos that he had yet to order anywhere but behind him.

"Thermal det out!" The two assault specialists almost said in sync as they ripped both detonators from their utility belt, heaving it over their own barricades. As they heard it clank to the ground, they'd both advance down their separate corridors, with two marines entail. Their rotary cannons were already spun up, focused on the end of the corridor as they moved swiftly. "Use the pillars on the side as cover boys, if anyone pops out of the end, drop 'em"

Valkren hoped for the best, those two men leading those small groups were his friends, but also his best men. If anything happened to them under his command, he could never forgive himself. His middle corridor had been caught offguard, which meant the mandos had focused on them for the most part. If they wanted to advance he would let them. The Sergeant was banking on his tactical experience being much greater of his enemies, since they almost seemed to outnumber them. He attempted to get his own men to regroup, they'd be able to advance as much as they needed down the middle corridor until he could get the rest of his men out of the shock of losing one so horrifically. If they advanced, they'd be able to get much easier shots off on them, but they'd also leave their rear almost completely exposed, he hoped.

 

[Dish]

Location: 200 meters from Nickel One, on the asteroid
Objective: Fight
Allies: [member="Commander Lusk"], [member="Keira Ticon"]
Enemies: [member="Vilaz Munin"], [member="Elijah Rekali"], [member="Ali Hadrix"] (Sorta kinda)
Gear: DC-18 Blaster Rifle, x2 S-6C Blaster Pistols, Phase V Confederate Marine Armor, Vortex 8 Shotgun, Vibro-kukri, x2 Vibroknife, x4 Thermal Detonator

"Understatement of the century." Remarked DG-052 in his usual tone back to Keira. She made quite the point, their little group, Lusk, her, and Dish himself all were more or less weapons themselves. Yes they had personalities, feelings, drives, emotions, all things that made them human, but they were meant to be in the battlefield, it was their home. Standing in the darkness of the dropship, only the red glow of the signal light illuminated the darkness, casting its light over Dish and the squad of troopers backing him. For a moment the only sound was the racking of slides and clips being slapped into place. Then the light turned green, and the doors swept open.

Instantly he and the other troopers stormed out into the silence alongside Keira. He'd never liked combat in the void, there was the fact that one bolt in the right place depressurized your suit and killed you, but a single lucky shot could kill you in any event, but what bothered him was the quiet. As his boots left the ramp and impacted the asteroids surface the Dreadguard sank his knees and snapped up his rifle, scanning for any immediate infantry threats. Then as Keira doled out commands the soldier got to work. "You heard the lady let's go! Get inside move, move, move!" Barked the former ARC, rising from his firing stance and bolting forwards.

Then, as the dropships containing what could only be Mandalorian soldiers soared in, Dish felt nothing. It was arrogance, pure, programmed arrogance that stopped Dish feeling the level of concern he should've felt at the sight of the galaxy's fiercest warriors coming to face him. He'd been trained his entire life, just like them, fought since he could remember, just like them, and war was what he lived for, just like them. To him they were the same as he was, but with what the architects had done to him, the transformation into a warrior of the Dreadguard, the conditioning from his childhood to believe that he and his brethren were the best seemed all the more convincing. He could beat them, he wasn't so foolish as to think it would be all that easy, but he and the others, they could win this battle.

He sure hoped so anyway.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Location: Nickel One
Allies: Democracy, [member="Janira Fenni"]
Enemies: Criminals, [member="Ali Hadrix"], [member="Keira Ticon"]
Equipment: Bio
[member="Darth Vulkan"]

Disapproval emanated from Korr at Vulkan's methods, but he could not deny their effectiveness. Power and efficiency had never been the dangers of the Dark Side. It was the lasting effects which plagued Korr's worries. He might have taken the hands and arms of two men, but they could be outfitted with cybernetics. They might curse the artificiality of those limbs, but they would still be functional. What of those who had suffered Vulkan's power? The very life force had been sapped from them, then a foreign entity had invaded their minds, broken their wills and taken over their bodies. Outwardly, they would look no different, but how many would sleep that night? How many would still have the use of all their limbs, but be spiritually shattered? Depression, likely. Suicide, possible. In an age where information and travel spanned the galaxy, the mind was the last true refuge. And they'd had even that stripped from them. When would they trust their thoughts again? Would they ever? As paranoia and psychosis set in, their bodies would remain whole while their minds would continue to disintegrate. These were the true effects of the Dark Side when one stripped away the lies and saw to the horrors within.

Even so, Korr couldn't help but think they deserved it.

* * *​

​

The Jedi Master emerged from a turbo lift, Mandalorian representative in tow, just as Ali Hadrix finished her pronunciation. The woman wore beskar'gam, but it was the same she'd worn in the holorecordings Vulkan had found. This was her. Ar-Nine confirmed it a second later in Korr's headset.

Grey eyes the pallor of unyielding stone swept the room, taking in the soldiers, the E-web, the prisoners shuffling toward the transport. He noted the position of the Echani senator, whose stance seemed definitively hostile toward the SuCoR. In the Force, he could feel another dark presence nearby, oddly familiar. Ticon. Korr held up a hand.

"That's far enough. Those prisoners are to be remanded to the custody of the Jedi Order. Supreme Commander Ali Hadrix, you and your staff are under arrest for the willful killing of civilians and a depraved indifference to loss of innocent lives, be they drone workers, or Mandalorian citizens of this civilian station. Surrender your weapons and come quietly. There's been enough death today."

 

[Figure In White]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Stop the Filth
Allies: Mandos/Real Republic/ [member="Ryan Korr"] / [member="Ember Rekali"]
Enemies: [member="Ali Hadrix"]
Gear: See sig

HANGAR BAY

"I wouldn't be sure they'd all agree with you, Ms. Hadrix."

Oh, she wasn't going to have her title used by this Echani. She didn't deserve that sort of respect. Javin stepped forward and whispered something in her ear that caused her eye to twitch a bit.

"I'm getting reports that you personally ordered your troops to vent atmosphere on a civilian station if sections were lost. As a war criminal, you are now devoid of rank. You will be taken into custody for trial along with your Verpine compatriots..."

Unfortunately for her, some of the soldiers in the hangar bay were actually Echani, ones that came off of one of the docked ships that Janira had arrived upon. And with this new accusation of a war crime against the "Supreme Commander," a rank which should not exist within the Republic, she would lose all of her credibility. Given that Janira had also never met Genevieve Lasedri, and was a business owner that operated within the confines of Republic space without a contract with the Republic, it was safe to say that she was not a supporter of the woman. They could fire that E-web all they wanted. They'd never hit her.

A smile touched her features as the Jedi stepped forth.

"Master Jedi, truthfully, you have no authority in this matter. I respect your desire to see these criminals detained, but I think this is a matter for the Republic and the Mandalorians. We don't always need Jedi intervention."

Any EMP would have no affect on the droids since their energy shields were active. Only if they were not, or were in recharge, would an EMP have an effect upon the droids. She flicked a hand and two of them moved over to block the path of her friend, unafraid, shields still active. The Echani soldiers in the mix separated themselves. Janira was an important figure in Echani culture. Though this version was young, she still was the same person that had once run the Echani Compact prior to her death.

"Your finger gets any closer to that trigger and I'll remove it, Ms. Hadrix. No violence would be a preferential method of resolving this."

ELSEWHERE

/I am under the orders of Senator Janira Fenni of Eshan./

The droid handed over the personal effects and lowered its arms. It's head tilted to the side.

/The individuals responsible for your daughters death are currently being held up in Hangar Bay 24 by the Senator and several Echani troopers and EMBU units. A Jedi and a few Mandalorians have just arrived as well./

Its information parted, it turned to head towards where the others were.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Location: Nickel One
Allies: [member="Janira Fenni"]
Enemies: [member="Ali Hadrix"], [member="Keira Ticon"]
Temporary Ally: [member="Darth Vulkan"]

The muscles in Korr's jaw writhed for a moment before he spoke, words crisp and clipped. "Very well, Senator," her name escaped him, "I will bear witness."

Proud in bearing, though a relict of a tattered Order, he waited, unlit saber in hand, for Hadrix to give voice to the refusal and denial that practically seeped from her in the Force.

 

[Falcon Rekali]

Location: Nickel One - Mandalorian Quarter
Allies: [member="Ember Rekali"]
Other Tags: [member="Janira Fenni"]
Available to tango.

The last of the fresh corpses crumpled to the deck and he turned to look over the litter of organic waste, detached in emotion as he slipped the short edges into sheaths, his form blotted and sprayed with what he'd freed, not so unlike the works of an artist of the drip-painting technique. Ember's approval did not go unnoticed, a tip of the head leveraged at his father-in-law, the younger man's mind wheeling back to much, much younger version of himself, doing much the same, and how futile it had been in the end to try and escape what those early years had made of him.

"Seems I've come," he followed the gaze to the same findings, "full circle...", and stared for a moment or two as Ember went forward, once he caught notice of what the droid carried. A long, quiet breath, his brows gathering to the centre beneath the obscuring of his helm, was the cork in the bottle when he saw the pile of armour. He willed his legs into movement when Ember accepted the personal effects, and subsequently passed them on to him. There were no words for this, at least not at first, while his covered head tipped down. A moment, to collect himself.

"Thank you," he spoke with a rasp, then clearing his throat and lifting his head to look on the EMBU, "My thanks to the Senator Fenni."

An errant thought buzzed as the EMBU turned and headed on, for this was the second senator they had connected with, one way or another, this day. He looked to Ember and sorted the package, packing it away to free his hands. He thought he could smell his wife's scent on the pieces, but with no doubt could recall the line of her collarbone and the curve of her neck as he handled the pendant.

"We follow, or have you something else in mind?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Objective: Arrest SuCoR
Allies: [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Janira Fenni"]
Enemies: [member="Keira Ticon"] | [member="Ali Hadrix"]
Gear: Signature

The Sith Lord, stood behind the Jedi Master and to his left. Currently he had no weapons in his hands, but that was far from the truth. He had weapons on his hands, and his hands were deadly weapons. The Force pulsed around him from the men he had drained of their Force, and his mood crackled noticeably. Vulkan didn't trust the Republic to deal with this. He didn't trust the Jedi to either, but he figured the Jedi would stand against the Supreme Commander, and the woman, in a fit of arrogance and pride, would fight back, giving Vulkan the chance to kill the queen.

But, it was now three to one, and against Vulkan's favor. He surged in the Force, yet to act, still sitting behind Korr patiently, but his aura in the Force was not that of a relaxed diplomatic escort. It was of someone getting ready to do something. Fingers quietly slipped a small red and metallic crystal from a pouch and clutched like his life depended on holding on to that little Dark Side crystal.

"Mandalore wants to see justice as well. Her head is the only chance of peace you have." The words were said through a clenched jaw, as though the warrior was straining to keep something back.

 

[Marcus Lok]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Reach Central Control Station
Allies: Mandalorians
Enemies: Republic
Gear: Beskar'gam, Modified E-11, 2x T-6 Blaster Pistols, Wrist Mounts, 2x Frag Grenades, 2x Anti Force User Grenades

The sounds of battle drew ever closer as he advanced towards the Control Station. From the sounds of it, the Mandalorian forces had already been engaged near the Control Station for some time. His thoughts were confirmed as a small group of Mandalorians ran past him with the metallic clicks of their boots bearing down and heading for the hanger turbolifts that were connected to the Control Station. He had to be fast, as opportunity now presented itself. He sprinted after the small group of vod into the Control Station where multiple bodies lay in unnatural, almost broken, positions. Some of their bodies still smoked from the blaster wounds they had received. Marcus paid them no heed, however, as he had more important things to worry about. There was no way he could have known that the engagement that occurred here only a matter of minutes before was the doing of [member="Darth Vulkan"] and his temporary ally [member="Ryan Korr"]. But it would have hardly mattered to him either way, he had work to do.

As the other Mandalorians pressed on to the turbolift in an attempt to get closer to the Republic held hangars, Marcus accessed the central terminal and gawked at the vast array of control that he had at his fingertips. He should have assumed as much, as it was the Control Station... The only problem with this terminal was that most if not all of the controls were in some way code locked. The young slicer quickly slung the pack from his back and onto the floor next to him. He had just the tools for the coding, but it would take some time. He plugged in his datapad and set to work scrambling multiple security protocols and generating corrupting viruses to cripple the console's countermeasures before most of the small lock and key icons on the console turned green to signal that they were open for control. He was in, and as the console whirred with activity he scrolled through the options that were presented to him. Several Main Hangar doors on the Republic end of the station could be accessed from here, and he would have to take advantage of this. He began to close them off one by one; Hangar 1 Status: Closing, Hanger 2 Status: Closing. The hangar doors in those areas would begin to close off any possible escape or reinforcement of the Republic forces and he continued this process until he reached Hangar 8. Now, this was just like any other control and there was nothing particularly impeding him, but from one of the security cameras, it appeared that there multiple personnel already inhabiting this one. The figures of multiple combatants, which looked to be Echani greeted his sight. There were others in the room and they were all converged, more or less, on one figure. The surprising figure that he could make out, was wearing the armor of one of the clan. He recognized it nearly immediately as it had been referred to by many vod who had been talking up the battle to come whilst they were en route. Dark with a half drawn black tabard secured around his waist. What was he doing in there?.. Had the advance troops reached that area already? Perhaps not, as this appeared to be a sort of standoff. At any rate, he needed to secure this hangar as well. If not to prevent the escape of the figure that [member="Darth Vulkan"] and his allies seemed to gather around, then to prevent the incoming of possible Republic reinforcements that could overrun the area. In one fluid motion he set the door of this final hangar to close. Those within would hear the metallic whine first, and then the large blast door would come across to block the shielded hangar entrance until it completely closed off the Hangar behind a thick veil of durasteel. Of course, all of these doors could be overridden or sliced if the Republic had anyone experienced enough to do it, but they would have a much more difficult time as Marcus now had enough time to comfortably begin putting multiple data corruption codes into all of the Hangar door control systems. These would act as multiple barricades that any slicer would have trouble coding through, but it left Marcus with the ability to open them with ease as he had the codes that would disable the corruptors. For better or for worse, the occupants would find it quite difficult to exit the hangar bay in any sort of starship.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Medical Relief Efforts
Location: Medical Aid Station - Roche Asteroids (Not located on Nickel One)
Medics: [member="Vaet"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Avalore Eden"]
Protectors: @Jason Vacuumchaser, [member="Julius Sedaire"]
Injured Party: N/A

He might have felt something, he might have reeled over in anguish over the loss presented on Nickel One. Ripples shooting out from a vented hold, he might feel a shiver or tremor of it's reflection, looking back at him from the medical pod. But no, sometimes, the cheapest of emotions canceled out those deeper feelings. Like irritation, frustration, or general helplessness.

::Please consult your user manual, a power failure has been detected in the third power cell::

"What do you mean a power failure?!?" He pressed his fingers against whatever button blinked fastest. Eyes darted from the control panel to the digital display as he tensed his jaw, revealing a toothy grimace.

::Please consult your user manual for proper query.::

"I don't have the blasted manual!" He pressed some more buttons, the glass casing opened up and he exhaled, the red light still blinking.

"Sir, have you tried reading the manual?" Clickity clank, D-3PO came down the ramp and along the path in all his robotic movements. The cavern was starting to fill with the wounded, others preoccupied with the loss as they attempted to tend to the countless civilians.

"No, Dick. It's missing."
"Oh yes sir, I was reading it."
"Oh?" Gabe lifted his eyebrows, crossing his arms. "Well, where is it?"
"Dear me, sir. I threw it away. Utter garbage, incomprehensible. Truly. I grieve to know someone actually spent time writing that."

Gabe blinked slowly, biting down hard as he approached the droid. "You threw it away?"
"Oh, yes sir! But please don't thank me, I haven't really done anything. Just tending to my custodial duties. Garbage goes in the bin, sir, just like at home."
"Home! You're not gonna have a home, I'm gonna launch you into orbit over th-"
"Sorry sir, I can't hear you over the sounds of the wounded. You really should get to it."

Gabe breathed in hard, burning holes into the droid. The medical pod beeped again.

::Diagnostics complete. Please reconnect cord to power cell three. Automated healing will resume once sufficient power has been supplied.::

"Sir, have you tried reconnecting the power cell?"

Gabe looked back towards the droid, who lifted his hands in the air in response to the glare.

"Dear me, look at the time. I truly must get back to work, sir. You always find ways to distract me." Turning robotically, the droid scampered down the cavern back towards the ship.

Leaning over, Gabe quickly found the cord and reattached it. Must have been kicked loose in the move. Waving on the first set of wounded, the pod opened up for the first to be carried in by a Mandalorian warrior. Gabe remained quiet for the sensitive nature of this aid, pressing the machine to begin diagnostics and administer what healing was needed.

 

[Mirshko Betna]

Location: Nickel One Tunnels - Near the Atmo Controls for the Mando Quarter
Objective: Help
Allies: [member="Zak Dymo"] / [member="Vorhi Alestrani"] / [member="Barrien Siegfried"] / Any Other Good Guys
Enemies: Whoever murdered innocent people
Gear:

Spoiler

Advanced Hyperion Combat Armor: Advanced - Modified for reduced weight of 12kg
PDW-M1 "Neutralizer"
DX-2 Disruptor Pistol
Dinu’ul
Strill Claw Beskad

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0zAspzNfHCs[/media]​

​

Zak's question caught her a bit off-guard. "I'm...." She hesitated. "I'm a Mandalorian. We came to help secure our people and assets against seizure by the Republic." It almost sounded to others as if she was reciting something she'd heard, or been told to say. She just knew it was her duty to help. She really wasn't sure what he was doing here in the middle of such a place like this. For Mirshko's part, she had come to help the Mandalorians secure their people against the perceived threat which the actions of some in the Republic had caused. She still couldn't make sense of exactly what that was.... but then who could expect a 12-year old to do so?

His next question threw her off a bit. "It's uh.....Death Cab for Kushiba...." she mumbled, suddenly nervous. But that didn't even seem to matter. The look on his face changed, and as she stared into the bottomless wells of his eyes, she felt it too. A cold chill wormed it's way down her spine, and as she stared at him she felt as if someone had gut punched her. A swift glance towards the adults as she felt the sudden tug of depressurization. But it only lasted a few seconds. They were safe, along with the multitude of AliitDrahr warrior who still remained in the room.

That didn't stop the ache in her chest which made it hard to breathe. She might not have known many of them... least of all those in Clan Rekali and Vereen. But Mom did. Even so, she too felt as if the galaxy had suddenly become darker. Whether it was to do with the sudden dark intent she felt rippling from [member="Darth Vulkan"], or the multitude of lifesparks suddenly extinguished - she couldn't tell. A frantic glance between the two adults before they vanished down the tunnel on the other side of the room.

Well, feth... she thought to herself as she tried to make sense of everything. Many would say that a warzone was no place for children. And perhaps they were right. But Mom and Da had always told her that it was through battle and adversity that a warrior was born. There were times that even she doubted that. But... maybe, just maybe they were right. As she crouched there, her fingers curled into fists at her thighs as she wrestled with the emotions. It wasn't easy as it used to be. But, she had to try. A deep breath. Another.

But her attempts at calm were shattered a moment later as she heard the broadcast which was echoing across all open channels in the sector.

“I am speaking to the Republic. Master Aaralyn Rekali, Sword of the Jedi, was just murdered while trying to save civilians from the Republic. It wasn’t enough,” he said, and coughed. “It wasn’t enough for you to use us as shields against the Sith Empire and ignore seven years of requests for aid. It wasn’t enough for me to sacrifice my conscience to your wetwork. It wasn’t enough for you to sneer at us, call us barbarians. It wasn’t enough for you to take my life, my devotion, my help, my money, my family’s hopes. It wasn’t enough for my son and my daughter to die for you before they’d turned twenty, fighting a pointless campaign for a world where you butchered civilians…you just had to kill my last baby, too.”

Rekali... that name sent a shiver through Mirshko. The voice, it was one she recognized. She'd maybe met him once or twice when she was quite young. She honestly couldn't remember. But Mom had said that he'd trained her in the Force. And yet, something about the voice's pitch and timbre had changed. As if something had reached in and ripped his heart in two. That was certainly confirmed by the words which echoed inside her helmet. And if she'd heard it.... it was a good bet everyone else had too.

With shaking hands which she clenched into fists on her thighs again, Mirshko took a deep shuddering breath. It didn't do much to steady her racing pulse. Anger, loss... grief.... they all lashed out at her from within the Force. After a few moments and yet another deep breath, she looked up at Zak. "Help...? I don't know what to do...." For a moment, she felt utterly lost amid the sea of emotion before she managed to find her center. Her gaze tracked upward and to the left as she heard the voice of the newcomer. Whoever he was, he obviously knew the boy.

Nervously, chewing at her lip, Mirshko took another deep breath and hesitated a moment before she reached out to grip Zak's hand with her gloved fingers... and tried not to crush it. As distraught as she was, she was still trying to offer the younger boy comfort. Frowning under her helmet, Mirshko took a slow breath and began to focus on dissembling. No need for the entire room to feel her emotions. Though Zak and the older Jetti probably already had. She didn't much care. They both had a point. And something inside her surged in response to his request.

There was silence between the three of them before she spoke again, giving his hand one last squeeze before she pushed carefully to her feet. There was something to be said for growing up practically raised wearing armor. She moved easily in it, even at her young age. "I've not had much medical training.... but I want to help..." she said softly, her gaze meeting that of the older Jedi. "I am trained in combat and stealth. If you need, I can provide a rear guard...."

 

[Micah tol Powl]

NICKEL ONE
Objective: Dance Battle Have Force Heal, Use It
Allies: [member="Mirshko Betna"] | [member="Barrien Siegfried"]
Enemies: None, currently
Gear: None, currently (HoloBoy Advanced currently in Mirshko Betna's possession)

The young Nautolan's head-tails whipped around as he looked up in surprise to see Master Barrien there.

The older Jedi called to the boy to help. And that was exactly what the youngling hoped to do. But, as the girl beside him sank to her knees, the young Guardian was presented with the fact that someone, right here, needed someone to care.

He didn't know who she was.

It didn't matter.​

He didn't know why she was here.

It wasn't relevant.​

He only knew she was hurting.

Slipping his short, skinny arms around the girl's waist, as she came up, the boy pulled himself up to her in an embrace that pressed his face up against the armored plating that she wore. She seemed like she needed a hug. And that was okay. Zak needed a hug, too.

...it was still a little awkward hugging a piece of two-legged besk'ar though.

As he stepped back, the small Nautolan took hold of the girl's hand. Felt her squeeze it, and didn't let go. With his free hand, the young boy motioned toward where Barrien had run off toward. There must be people in need of help that way. "It's 'kay," the boy assured the girl.

"I won't be scared if you're with me."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Protect
Allies: Mandalorians
Enemies: The Republic
Other Tags: [member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Mirshko Betna"]
Gear: Armor, Basic Lightsaber, bag of candy, bag of Kewafi Flower seeds, the Force

The broadcast echoed, but none of it made sense really, Rekali? Aaralyn? Couldn't be...Republic killing Civilians? ​

Democracy was dead...​

This wasn’t real, this feeling wasn’t real. Spencer continued to run down the hallway of Nickel One, the voices in the back of her mind echoed continuously - the lives that were snuffed out cried out in pain. She heard them, she heard every single voice echo through the Force. All she could do was run, maybe there was someone that made it, maybe she could get there in time to do something. Someone had to do something. There were Jedi here, right? The Republic saved people, democracy saved people...the mandos would do this either - who would kill innocent lives? Everything came so quickly as Spencer stopped and turned a corner. At this corner, she heard one voice - it didn’t scream, it didn’t beg for life, the voice was brave and somewhat at peace with itself. The voice accepted death. Spencer closed her eyes and inhaled deeply trying to center herself. Who ever this voice was, they made the biggest ripple in the Force.

Focusing on the voice, the ripple she soon realized who it had been, what was said over the broadcast was true. A hand clutched against her armor feeling that familiar pain in her heart. Spencer fought back any emotion, now wasn’t the time to grieve over an old friend. Deep breaths fought the tears as she reached within the Force to help in any way guide those that were lost especially one who would be missed dearly.

...Be safe and watch over those that perished with you...my old friend…​

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]​

After finding her center, her mind completely shut off from the outside. The voices stopped and she was at peace for the time being. Focus was her greatest ally and she continued to move down the hallways. Turning the last corner, she watched as asphyxiated bodies floated by the windows - they were twisted in horror as they suffocated to death - well aware that there was no hope for them. She was too late, she couldn’t help them, not like this. Drawing her wrist to her lips, she began to open a communication line for a pick up. She was of no use in this battle.

“Mrs. Varanin we read you loud and clear…”

“A p--” Something caught her attention, only a few things could get through to her. She always searched out for his feeling, for the way he felt in the Force. It wasn’t his blood and flesh that coursed through her, it was his Force that did. She, like her twin brother was created with the Force by her Father and then carried and brought into this life by her Dathomirian mother. The woman raised them and sent them to be Jedi. Of course the Force had other plans for the Twins as Spencer was separated and followed her own path. Still no matter how much of her mental training she accomplished - she always felt him, she always knew where he was and could feel her cells call to him. He was her creator and at times she hated it. She had felt him perish and she felt as if a part of her died, moving on was what she had to do. There was never any closure with their issues, his choices and her own never lined up correctly.

But why did she feel him here? Did he fake his death to avoid something? Did he cause her brother grief for no reason? There was unfinished business as she would seek him and out and deal with her own personal issues with the man she called Father - Kamon Vondiranach. It didn’t take long for her to pinpoint him, he was the one that made her and it made finding him as easy as finding Aston. A hand opened and a lightsaber flew into it, the blade would ignite as she came face to face with [member="Barrien Siegfried"].

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Location: Nickel One Control Station
Allies: Galactic Republic | Verpine Government | Civilians
Enemies: [member=Lisette Kuhn] | [member=Keira Ticon] | Mandalorians | [member=Janira Fenni], definitely her now
Objective: Deliver Verpine delegation to trustworthy Republic authorities
Equipment: Full duranium beskar'gam, EM protected helmet and weapons. Verpine Assault Carbine, 2 x DL-44 blaster pistols, wrist rocket, wrist-cable, various grenades (lethal and non-lethal), beskad, stun gauntlet, small-jetpack, bacta injection system.
NPC's (for narrative): Geft, Tresler, Abram, Funke, Vitor, Aulx, Astor, Umlar, Wolcraft, Kol'k Oto, Verpine Technician



Has everyone lost their minds? Nothing was making sense anymore, and until Ali had the chance to speak to someone in the government she could trust, they wouldn't. She did not know the full extent of the Jedi's involvement with the Mandalorian, nor did she know if the Echani woman had been on their side from the beginning or not. As the hangar bay door whined and began to close, Ali realized that banter would only waste the little time they had. The sounds of the closing bay doors had spurred her Commandos into action as well, and with convenient timing provided by necessity, they dropped their EMP grenades as they backed toward the stealthy Eidolon shuttle, lifting their Verpine assault rifles and firing away at close range. The three of them managed to cover the Jedi, the Echani woman and the Mandalorian with their slug rounds; indefensible by lightsabers and energy shields. The Verpine delegation and their accompanying technician rushed ahead toward the landing ramp; Captain Gadi stepped forward and lifted his rifle, firing upon the Jedi and the Mandalorian with a spray of heated bolts. One of the delegates caught a blaster bolt in the leg and crumpled to the ground, left behind by their Verpine compatriots. The majority of the Republic soldiers turned their rifles on either the revealed Echani or the collection attempting to halt their Supreme Commander. Another turned to the hangar bay door controls and began attempting to reverse the sudden and inexplicable closure with override codes. The E-WEB cannon traced a raucous stream of fire across the hangar that separated Ali and company from their would be assailants, sparks exploding into the air as the powerful bolts scored the deck plating. Blaster bolts began flying, burning the air in the hangar as soldiers simply attempted to figure things out through trial-and-error in an overly heated situation. Soldiers dove for cover and came up just long enough to put out handfuls of rounds at a time.
The doors continued their inevitable journey toward closure, crawling their way toward the last shuttle in line, the Eidolon. Ali's jetpack kicked on as the EMP grenades were dropped, throwing her into the air where she fired down upon the Mandalorian and the Echani woman with her two DL-44 blaster pistols. Her shots seemed errant, but were intentionally scattered to avoid the Jedi and his deflective lightsaber. Ali landed on the ramp just behind Abram and Geft as the shuttle lifted off into the air. The doors creaked closed passed the shuttle to their left, then began to encroach on the space reserved for their own. Ali held the Echani woman's gaze for a moment through the T-shaped visor of her helm before the doors knocked and scraped against the wingtip of the shuttle as their pilots attempted to extract them from the bay. The shuttle rocked rightward as the door became caught in front of the wing, but the pilot pulled a fast left bank that freed the rear of the vessel from the bay and allowed them to wiggle out and into the black.

Ali pulled off her helmet and threw it to the deck, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "What in the hell is going on?" She asked to herself in a tone that made it clear she did not want a response. The Senate would never have sent a delegate into combat to make an arrest, and she'd done nothing unlawful in the first place. Well, let's be honest, that's not true, but war crimes? "Gross negligence maybe...for letting these di'kutla civvies listen in on my conversations!" She almost shouted. Kol'k Oto cringed, his damaged antennae twitching furiously. Ali left her rifle to hang from her shoulder as she felt the shuttle turn beneath her feet, making for the Republic fleet. The Commander left Geft in charge of the...prisoners, I guess...and made for the cockpit.
The pilots, a Human and a Sullustan, greeted her quietly. "We heard the Captain ask about you, you're lucky we were already prepped for take off, Commander." Ali nodded, "I appreciate you being so fast at the stick, Leftenant." She replied. "How long till we reach the fleet?" She asked. The Sullustan garbled something that displayed on the center read-out. "Few minutes, huh? Alright, thanks. I'm leaving one of my boys with you. No offense...it's just been a trying day, and no one seems to be who they claim they are." The Human pilot nodded as Abram stepped into the cockpit and took the flight engineer's seat behind them, a hand on his sidearm at all times in case the Echani had managed to plant more traitors. The Human pilot reached for the comm set and made contact with the nearest Republic vessels via LOS comms, since the jamming was still up. Abram put a hand on the man's shoulder and stopped him. "No transmissions. Of any kind. It's a stealth vessel, yeah? Get your stealth systems online." The pilot nodded and did as instructed, activating the Blackest Night stealth system and the optical camouflage. "We won't have ray shields to protect us with these on, and the damage to that wingtip will prevent the optical camo from working on that entire stabilizer," the pilot warned Abram, who merely nodded. "That's fine, just fly fancy if you have to. We haven't got far to go and the less anyone can see of us, the better, mate. Trust me." As Abram sat in silence, waiting, he rewatched the security footage on his HUD, wondering where in the hell everything went so terribly sideward.

[member=Darth Vulkan] | [member=Ryan Korr] | [member=Gir Quee] | [member=Marcus Lok]​

 

[Figure In White]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Uhh, Spencer? You ok?
Allies: [member="Zak Dymo"] / [member="Mirshko Betna"]
Enemies: [member="Spencer Jacobs"]
Gear: Shield, lance, two more lightsabers

The girl fell down, seemingly unable to take to the anguish of the loss. Zak was quick to rush to her, which was fine. Loss affected everyone differently, and Zak was doing the right thing by ensuring that the young mandalorian was comforted in this time of loss. He couldn't fault him for that, but he still had work to do, so he turned to move on.

But he didn't get the chance.

There in front of him was, of all people, his sister. How had he not felt her coming? Why did she have her lightsaber drawn with a look of dark intensity on her face. He stared at her dumbfounded for a few moments, face still hidden behind the helm. It would be easy to mistake him physically for their father, though he most certainly was not the deceased man that had sired the both of them. Kamon would no longer walk in their galaxy.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?"

One arm hung at his side, and the other still gripped his lance, but was holding it more like a staff.

 

[Figure In White]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Don't let her escape!
Allies: [member="Ryan Korr"], [member="Ember Rekali"], [member="Darth Vulkan"] (sad day when I'm helping a Sith), [member="Marcus Lok"], [member="Lady Kay"], [member="Jack Sparrow"], [member="Ember Rekali"]
Enemies: [member="Ali Hadrix"]
Gear: See below

The entrance to the hangar was now sealed off. No ship could escape. It was a fools move, the one that the Supreme Commander then made. The shields the Echani wore were far more advanced than they appeared. They were a primary kinetic shield, with a pulsed energy shield. Meaning? The slug rounds did nothing, and the shield absorbed at least a few rounds of regular fire before it had to recharge. Of course that would require that those wearing the shields be hit. Echani were hard to hit.

The droids moved swiftly, drawing their energy blades, and cutting down weapons. They were not authorized to kill, but they could disarm, and energy swords were essentially as good as a lightsaber. Unless you were trying to stop a blaster bolt.

"Javin, keep the hangar sealed."

"Right!"

As the man ran over to a terminal and jacked in, he began to assist the Mandalorian that was trying to keep the place sealed off as well. Janira turn and ran after the fleeing delegation, and the woman at their head. Coward. Couldn't take her punishment. Well, Janira would ensure she got it. Even though it wouldn't be now as she saw the ship racing off.

"Fething criminal!"

She pointed her vibrosword at the throat of the nearest Republic trooper.

"Pull that trigger and I'll have you court martialed."

The trooper looked a bit nervous but eventually lowered his weapons. Javin came over and shrugged.

"Sorry."

"Not your fault. I want all the data we have sent directly back to the senate. Immediately. Then I want it sent to every major news outlet within the Republic. I want everyone to know the atrocity committed here, and the fact that that woman ordered it to happen."

That said, she turned back to the others and approached them. She really wanted to speak with Ember Rekali, but he wasn't there, so she pointed her blade at the Mando that was there.

"Where is Ember Rekali? I must speak with him. And I'd like you to come as well, Master Jedi, if you are willing. I apologize for my brashness earlier."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: Unfinished Buisness
Allies: Mandalorians
Enemies: The Republic/[member="Barrien Siegfried"]
Other Tags: [member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Mirshko Betna"]
Gear: Armor, Basic Lightsaber, bag of candy, bag of Kewafi Flower seeds, the Force

The children didn’t phase Spencer at this moment, everything was zeroed in on the man that stood with the lance. The lance was something new, she had never seen her father use something like that. The man was proud and of course like most Jedi used a saber. Her fingers gripped the lightsaber tightly, but loose enough that she was still fluid with any motion. Her eyes closed for a minute as she remembered training with him back on Eshan, it was one of the few times she was happy with him - he showed her how to survive hand to hand combat, something that was her weakest point. WIth his training she became something stronger.

“I came to help the people that were just killed by your Republic. How can you stand by them? How can you even trust that they won’t do the same to you?” Her head flicked away the stray bangs from her face as she smirked slightly. This was a moment she waited for, some sort of closure with her Father. A hand rose to call the Force to her side, but she noticed at the last second the kids that were near him. They had nothing to do with their fight or her daddy issues. Reaching into her armor she removed a bag of candy and held it toward Zak. “Take this and give it to your friend. It will help her and leave.”

Her saber pointed towards the man she assumed to be her father. “You and I have some unfinished business. Dad.”

 

[Azula Tindara]

Nickel One – Command centre
Allies: [member="Rigor"] | [member="Laguz Vald"]
Enemies:
Objective: Open Season

Thrukk's open hand patted the ground beneath his seat until he found what he was after. He held the remaining shreds of his cigarra before him and sighed.

"Weel noo aam pished," he exclaimed, throwing it aside angrily. His organic hand worked the clasps on his belts whilst his massive metal claw grasped the control panel before him to yank his bulk up. His anger manifested in a series of indentations from his claw - designed for mining droids - across the deck.

Looking through the viewport he saw a series of beams of lights swinging back and forth. "Oh swatch a welcome party!" he said. The grin was back.



The Republic soldiers took up positions around the shuttle. A neat little line of men in gleaming armour with their rifles up.

"Awrite wee Jimmy's!" came a shout and a door flung itself to the cavern floor. It was closely followed by a deafening bang that resounded around the around region. Then there was the sound of a swarm of angry bees. What followed was screaming.

The flechette cannon - designed to be mounted to a light vehicle - fired whole shells full of the slender metal shards. When the cannister burts in mid air it unleaded a cloud of flechette that tore through light cover, armour and flesh with abandon.

Thrukk had a freshly lit cigarra in his smiling most.

 

[Figure In White]

Location: Nickel One
Objective: I'm Dad Now?
Allies: [member="Zak Dymo"], [member="Mirshko Betna"]
Enemies: [member="Spencer Jacobs"]
Gear: same as before

"My Republic? The Republic doesn't kill innocent people. Not member of the real Republic. We stand for truth, justice, and peace. Not murder."

He frowned. What was she getting at? He'd heard that words that came through the comms, of course, but he hadn't been paying much attention to them. A Jedi had died, but it was the Mandalorians that were most upset by it. Had a member of the Republic been the cause of all of the deaths that he had felt? How could that be? Who would do such a thing? Better question: why would anyone do something of that magnitude on a civilian station?

That certainly didn't sound like the Republic to him.

And then she went and called him dad. That made his eyes go wide.

"I'm not our father, Spencer. Kamon is dead. Surely you felt it when he died."

He watched her as she was near the kids, but she didn't harm them. This was very confusing and he honestly didn't understand what was going on here. Still he kept the lance, inactivated, in his hand just in case she decided to not just point her saber at him, but try and thrust it at him.

 

[Mirshko Betna]

Location: Nickel One Tunnels - Near the Atmo Controls for the Mando Quarter
Objective: Help
Allies: [member="Zak Dymo"] / [member="Spencer Jacobs"]? / [member="Barrien Siegfried"] / Any Other Good Guys
Enemies: Whoever murdered innocent people
Gear: Advanced Hyperion Combat Armor: Advanced - Modified for reduced weight of 12kg | PDW-M1 "Neutralizer" | DX-2 Disruptor Pistol | Dinu’ul | Strill Claw Beskad

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R-YYXmfxoZw[/media]​

As she stood, she was quite surprised to feel the boy's arms wrap around her middle. A hug was certainly the very last thing she'd expected. But as he'd rightly sensed, she did indeed need one. hesitating a moment, she too reached out and wrapped her gloved hands loosely around his slender shoulders as she let her head fall to her chest. And she just breathed. Maybe... just maybe there were some small pockets of sanity and compassion in amongst all the crazy events.

She remained that way until she heard the older Jedi move past them and down the corridor. It wasn't long before he stopped. And, if her auditory sensors were correct, he seemed to be talking to someone. She stiffened for a moment as she heard the distinctive snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber. A low giggle erupted at Zak's comment. She couldn't help it. Reflexively, she drew her DX-2 in her left hand and carried it low but ready. "Well, I hope I won't disappoint..." she said softly as she nudged Zak behind her as she turned and made her way down the hall towards where the older Jedi was.

And well... this wasn't what she expected. The older Jedi held a lightsaber pike of some kind in front of himself in a defensive posture, while the lady held a lightsaber out towards him.... almost as if trying to ward him off somehow. Mirshko frowned. She was about to say something as the woman noticed them. She spoke to Zak, tossing him a bag of candy. Which Mirshko noticed he caught a bit clumsily. Surprise most likely. Her jaw worked for a moment, and she glanced nervously between Barrien and the lady. "Which way to the hangars...? We want to help..."