Dominion Commercial Boycott | EE Dominion of Cerea and Conglomerate Prime

[Vidalu Na'an]

Equipment : One(1) shoto lightsaber, One(1) standard E-11D blaster carbine, One(1) industrial-strength syntherope (50m), Three(3) standard thermal detonators, One(1) Imperial trooper helmet with standard comm connections
Ship: Standard-kit HWK-290 light freighter
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , LE-03 (Leigh) , Mark Cross, Naten Harel , BB-610 , Aerarii Tithe. Eskk Jannik
​

Na'an had turned towards a nearby door, half-collapsed in the last explosion. "Hold on a second," she said absently. "I can't hear in all this noise--"

Without looking away, she flung a fist outwards in a sudden swift movement and squeezed; in the nearby corner, the speaker blaring out the alarm crumpled, its call cutting off in a digital gurgle. A sudden silence descended on the hallway.

"I heard something down there," she said by way of explanation, turning back towards Leigh. "A guy, I think? Several? There was...singing?"

The sign next to the half-collapsed doorway read that "Prisoner Block 2037". If Na'an remembered correctly, this part of the prison didn't hold anyone the Empire considered proper Rebels--just smugglers and the like, people labeled more a public nuisance than so-called "seditionists". All the same, she found herself stepping over the rubble and making her way into the block's double-door mechanism, almost humming to herself. She shouldn't have heard what she thought she heard, right? The double-door mechanism was designed for security, the second durasteel door too thick to allow easy sound to pass into the hallway they were now in.

But still. But still. There'd been a voice--a male voice--a rusty-sounding baritone, singing an odd little tune she hadn't heard since she was a teenager.

"Indulge me for a sec, Leigh--we're allowed to do whatever we want over here, as long as we're making trouble, right?"

The look on her droid partner's face set Vidalu Na'an to grinning. Her lightsaber snapped to life, and crackled as she plunged it into the door to start cutting her and Leigh a path into the block. As the blade carved its way through, leaving a molten path behind it, she found herself humming, then half-singing, the first lilting half-verse of that odd little tune.

"Finity’s End is a far-trav’lin’ ship,
and wide space is the deep that she knows.
Infinity’s black is the emblem she bears,
and never a mark does it show--"​

She was halfway through the door before she got a response--the baritone again, even raspier now in its eagerness, the accent unfamiliar but not unpleasant. Whoever was on the other side of the door had heard her.

"The stuff of dead suns is her iron and her steel;
in the light of a new, she was made.
She set out to travel the day she was born
in the free-runnin’, longhaulin’ trade--"​

When her blade had made a full circle, she withdrew it from the durasteel and reared back, kicking hard to punch the shape she'd cut through with the heel of her boot. It flew into the hall beyond it with loud metallic clattering, and Na'an stepped into the cell block to look around her with a bright, expectant feeling in her chest.
As they had expected, the place was full to bursting. Imperial prisons were no stranger to smugglers, if the smugglers weren't affiliated with the few groups they kept on their own payroll; this facility was keeping them ten to a cell, with no windows to the outside and the bars doubled up with laser shielding to keep them in. The men in the nearest cell were all crowded away in the farthest corner from her possible. Most of them were watching the small woman with the Imperial helmet and the bloodshine lightsaber now in their midst with the kind of wariness that said they clearly expected to be murdered by her in the next few seconds. The one exception was a stocky Trandoshan clinging to the bars, watching her approach with a different sort of expectation in his eye.

"Yer 'ere on purpose, ain'tcha?" he said, and Na'an recognized once again the baritone. Of course. She should have known from the start it was a Trandoshan. Their species didn't produce many Force sensitives, true, but the rough quality of his voice should have been impossible to mistake. He released his grip on the bars and backed away, licking his lips in an expectant grin. "Yer not 'ere to kill us like these idiots think. Yeh know the smugglin' songs. Yer gon' let us out."

In response, Na'an tilted her helmet back just a little--just enough to let the Trando see the grin spreading across her own lips. "Of course I am. One Voice calls to another, ne?"

She heard Leigh shift behind her, and saw the Trando's expression shift even further into disbelief at her words. "Yeh mean--"

But she cut the Trando off before he could complete that thought. "Stand back," she said briskly, twirling her saber deftly to slice through the cell's laser emitter. "Hand back the bars as I cut through them, you'll need weapons. And don't stop before you hit the chorus, man. I love that part."

 

[Naten Harel]

Naten shook off Eskk Jannik words as he followed Loreena Arenais-Valhoun and BB-610 since he had no idea what the man was talking about and why out of all times he wanted to form a deal with his client. When he finally caught up to the droid, he heard and felt the rushed marching of the security droids heading down their way, making him switch out his rifle for his DXR-6 disruptor rifle for a pair of his DX-2 disruptor pistols since he knew he would be engaging in close quarter combat from here on out. He peeked around the corner of the hall and opened fire at the droids, doing his best to keep BB-610 out of harm's way until the cell doors opened. But during the midst of his firing, he could hear the small droid struggling to hack open the rest of the cells as smoke began to fly out of the little droids.

“Hey,” Naten called over to BB-610 as he kept firing at the security droids, taking out a few pair by pair, “Try not to over do it little guy, we’ll still need you down the road."

 

[Eskk Jannik]

Eskk followed the group of rebels into the prison. He kept his stolen saber up and deflected any blaster fire that came near him. Eskk wanted to help to slight the Empire he had abandoned. They didnt deserve an oppurtunity to make Martyrs of these rebels. They should have done so from the beginning, but the weakness of the hierarchy in power has spread.

Plus, it was personal. Eskk just didnt like the empire anymore. They had failed to live up to his expectations. The only suitable punishment was their destruction. The whole system needed to be rebuilt and Eskk's mission was to facilitate that process by erasing what was already in place.

Of course he wanted to help, but he knew he couldn't trust the present company not to shoot him in the back. So Eskk hung back. He saw it as defending the rear.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Objective: 2

Lori was proud of BB-610 in doing his job. Without him getting into the right portion of the prison would've been more difficult. She'd of needed to hire a slicer, besides Naten Harel and Leenic Ellsil . And then there was Eskk Jannik . Just what it was that he was proposing, she had no idea. But now wasn't the time to think about that. There were people to save. Their lives were important. Far more important than herself.

The voices seemed to take over from wing to wing in the prison, using the blaster fire and boots on the ground as a sort of tempo for their song. Space pirates and rebels alike often used song to poke fun at their enemies and to unite themselves in a jovial manner. Usually it was done in cantinas and the like, but here it was being sung in a prison, in pure defiance of the death that could await them.

And as no sun could hold us and keep us for long,
For infinity's ours, and infinity's free.
No star can own her and no world's her own,
For Finity's End is she.

The stuff of dead suns is her iron and her steel,
In the lgiht of a new, she was made.
She set out to travel the day she was born,
In the free runnin', longhaulin' trade.

The Empire, they thought they'd make them a law,
And have all the ships for their own.
"Your Imperial ships and Imperial crews,
And you'll pay us and serve us alone".
​

Lori couldn't help but smile when she heard it, and fired one of her iron fisted arrowheads at one of the guards, it's helmet cracking under the velocity of her arrow. Already some of the prisoners were fighting back, tackling the guards down and stealing their weapons. It was such a sight to see! The freedom brought with it a willingness to fight for survival. Such was the metaphor for the Rebellion itself.

She couldn't be more proud.

Vidalu Na'an LE-03 (Leigh)

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Civila City, Conglomerate Prime
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | G1 OmniLink | Shield talisman | Taozin amulet || Empyrean gland
Tag: Ladybug | Alli Vern | Erick Pryde

After Ingrid's question, Miss Vern began to speak, and the Empress didn't bother the other woman to say what she wanted. ZU is really a success story; wasn't sure Tacitus would have approved such a move, but it didn't interest Ingrid. After all, she contradicted the Emperor several times in his rule, true only in private when no one else was present. She watched the woman speak, but her thoughts partly wandered in the direction of Adrian that she wished her husband was here; wanted him to be alive…

The deputies continued to talk to each other, softly. The majority were already inclined to accept the offer as they did not want to lose everything, while others still wanted to remain independent. There were those who brought up that people would protect them from the Imperials. Ingrid "got sick" at hearing this; she had seldom heard such a disgusting and petty thing. For her, all people were equal, they had to be given equal protection, with the same rights. No one was more just because they had money.

A ruler may not have thought so, but the woman still did not want the throne. And in the Eternal Empire, who was not a soldier but a resident of the state, they were considered a civilian. They can be wealthy, poor, their rights the same. They received the same treatment from the state; here it will be. She will not allow some individuals who imagine themselves to be powerful lords to sacrifice civilians in order to retain their own power. She heard that many local MPs were also outraged at the suggestion that they were not like that, they could not afford it.

"Arrest those who would have sent civilians against us and also those who agreed."

Ingrid told the soldiers with them, coldly, militarily. And they didn't ask anything, they could only hear from their direction that they had secured the weapons and headed inside the room. Ingrid felt Miss Vern's thoughts, and it was time for her actions to receive a smaller reward. The soldiers grabbed the roughly half a dozen MPs who matched the description, then handcuffed them and began to escort them out of the room.

"Miss Vern, I think the ZU has just gained influence over some new imperial companies…"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

Objective: A Little Off the Top (BYOO)
Location: Conglomerate Prime
Allies: N/A​

His breath hung still, as he sat behind the scope of his weapon. Adjusting the lens to clear up for his vision. He watched as the man stopped in front of a building and waves at the crowd before going inside. He was preparing for a speech, that would be taken place off the balcony on the second story window. Ranulf knew where the guards would be posted, which is precisely why he chose the location that he was in. It hid himself from the other rooftops with the construction equipment surrounded the small spot that he was laying in. He had lain down a tarp below him to allow for nothing to remain as he did his mission.

Why are you here?

He shook his head, focus, it wasn't time to dilly-dally on those thoughts, of... of how he had ended up like this. Ranulf let out a deep breath as he closed his eyes and opened them and readjusted himself on the rifle he was behind. All there was to do now was to be patient, the time will come and when he does finally pull the trigger he is going to have to be prepared to book it off this blasted world before the authorities could put together a hint of what would transpire here today.

 

[LE-03 (Leigh)]

Equipment: Passive/Active Holonet comm system, multi-phase arm cannon (part of chassis), Five (5) standard thermal detonators, One(1) 50-meter syntherope coil
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , Mark Cross, Naten Harel , BB-610 , Aerarii Tithe, Vidalu Na'an , Eskk Jannik

The Empire, they thought then they’d make them a law,
and have all the ships for their own.
“You’re Imperial ships and Imperial crews,
and you’ll pay us and serve us alone!​

Leigh helped wrench bars loose from the cells, and watched the increasing number of freed smugglers set upon yet more cells, and heard the raucous singing redouble with every smashed door, with an odd feeling in her circuits. She had not...expected a musical number to be part of this mission, but somehow it seemed appropriate. This, after all, was their first major operation since properly freeing themselves from Kalidan and the Imperial grasp. Na'an had been all but giddy with the liberty of relief, and Leigh herself had felt lighter despite her chassis's weight not changing a kilogram. The release of being out had dulled all other complaints, at least for a while. Was it so wrong for a group of people reclaiming their freedom to want to celebrate?

She turned to hand another bar back, only to find herself face-to-face with the Trandoshan Na'an had made that strange connection with. The lizard fixed the droid with an odd, speculative look that, in Leigh's memory, was not common to their species.

"Lemme asssssk yeh sometin'," it said, tossing the bar to another prisoner behind them. "Dat lil' 'un who 'erd me."

Leigh kept working, kept handing bars off to whoever came looking for them, but kept her visual sensors on the Trando's eyes. "What about her?" she asked, keeping her vocal modulator carefully mild.

"Sssshe really the Voa?"

Now that was a term Leigh had not heard before, not even on the Eclipse network. "The what?"

The Trando scowled. "The Voa. Voissssse 'a Abbaji. The 'idden mind of the Rebellion. The unknown benefacta' of all the free peopl'a the Regionsssss? Bounty sssssecond only to Arenais? Yeh know, the Voa."

"I have never heard them called that before."

"Damn easier to ssssay than a whole sssstupid phrassse." The Trando looked away from Leigh to a moment, to where Na'an had been slicing the cell bedframes into more makeshift weapons. She was singing along with the smugglers all around her, grinning widely as one of them even dared to ruffle her hair. "So is sssshe, or not?"

For once, Leigh did not know how to respond. An hour ago, she might have considered saying 'no', that SHE was the Voice of Abbaji, and Na'an was just doing something stupid pretending otherwise. But Na'an had connected with this being, on some small level, over the song now ringing through the block. That and the fact that the Trando was asking at all meant she might already have some guess at the truth...
"Does it matter?" she found herself saying instead. "All that matters is that the Empress will believe it."

For a long moment, the Trando stared at Leigh's dome, her reptilian eyes narrowed to sharp, suspicious points. Then her posture relaxed, and she reached out to clap the droid's shoulder with a rueful laugh. "Heh. Point taken. She's sssssometin' sspecial, 'aight, but better her head on a pike than the Voa, eh?"

And that, was that. The Trando went back to her work, and Leigh found that the next few bars were easier to pull free. She tossed them loose, her mind spinning with how fast everything had moved in the space of a conversation with a stranger. Voa. Bounties. Heads on pikes. She'd considered herself a spy, at best, during their time on Kalidan, plotting whatever she had to to protect her people. Had she become some sort of mythic figure to these strangers so quickly? And the Empire had apparently placed a bounty on her head...Had Na'an known that? Was that what she had been thinking, when she had stolen that title in the Empress' eyes? That stupid human had always placed Leigh too high on her list of priorities...were other people thinking of her that way now, too? As one of the keys to their freedom, alongside Loreena Arenais?

They were wild people, smugglers. Willing to go to any lengths, take any risk, to keep what was theirs--and take it singing, apparently.

Hondo Ohnaka was her captain that day,
and he sent out to crews like our own:
“Farewell to their ports and good luck to them all,
for what they can’t catch they can’t own!”​

And as they broke into the last few cells on the block, the destruction growing ever more extreme, Leigh could hear Na'an singing as raucously as the rest. Leigh joined in on the chorus.

And as no sun can hold us and keep us for long,
for infinity’s ours, and infinity’s free.
No star can own her and no world’s her own,
for Finity’s End is she.​