Drama and Subversion

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie beamed with a bright smile, though it would go unseen behind the mask covering her neck and face, hood pulled up.

"Been working on it in my spare time." The armor itself was simple enough. Armorweave with interwoven shadowsilk and photoreactive fibers made being spotted under the cover of darkness incredibly difficult, while maintaining a great deal of flexibility and comfort. "Took me a bit to find and purchase the few gadgets though." Hopefully they were worth the investment. The armor was hardly cheap to make, and even more difficult to receive delivery of the items she purchased.

"I suppose some of the things I learned back home got put to use more so than I had imagined they would ever be."

The Padawan found it a bit odd when the pilot stood at attention and saluted a Jedi, let alone Aela. But if that was what they wanted to do who was she to say anything? Instead she simply remained quiet and followed Aela's lead. There was enough on her mind at the moment to keep her well enough occupied with her own thoughts than wondering what the point was in saluting a Jedi. By now Kurt had likely been discharged from the hospital on Pelagon. She wondered whether or not he would spend the full week or just cut his losses on the down payment and return back to her.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela smiled at Jamie. This wasn't something she had taught her or anything, in fact she was pretty sure that she'd never even mentioned armor or anything else like that to her Padawan, but it was still a pretty neat piece of equipment. "Good job, It looks great."

She told her before suddenly being faced with a saluting man.

Her eyebrow perked, the 5th Legion soldiers behind her let out chuckles, but Aela only gave the man a firm nod. She wasn't exactly a stranger to being saluted, she'd worked with the GADF for the last couple of years, those guys were salute crazy. The 5th Legion had really only recently joined her in the last few months, and since then they'd grown more casual, but still, she was used to the healthy respects of military folk. Though perhaps Jamie wasn't.

"Great." She said as she motioned to the others. "What's your name?"

Aela didn't wait for him to answer, instead she beginning to walk towards the shuttle in the back of the hangar, obviously expecting both him and Jamie to follow.

They didn't have much time to waste.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"It's Wing Commander Janes Ma'am," he replied as they walked towards the shuttle. There was no copilot on the mission. Just himself. Already ahead of them several fighters were whining as their engines ramped up. jet blast deflectors rose up from the flight deck behind them.

He turned over his shoulder to the two Jedi, breaking his stoic visage with a warm smile. "Not long ago I was Rogue One," he added.

"Take-off will be pretty sharp. We're launching hot in close sequence so the Subversion can change its course almost as soon as we revert to realspace. I'll keep the inertial dampeners ramped up high though, you won't feel much at all."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Aela's Padawan snickered quietly from behind the fabric covering her face, "Ma'am."

Walking abreast of the woman she listened to Janes, not that she understood what he was talking about. The pilot lingo went straight over her head. Whatever Rogue One was sounded like he was proud to announce having been part of it. Maybe that meant they wouldn't crash land on Niril? If so Jamie was happy to have him behind the controls of their shuttle.

Up the ramp behind the other Jedi she followed into the smaller ship, taking up one of the seats nearest to the back. She was hardly in the mood for socializing and even if she were, there was little input she could provide that would be relevant to what they were doing. Jamie wasn't even supposed to be here for this mission. If things hadn't gone totally sideways between her and Kurt, she'd still be back on Pelagon. Such was life though. Here she was.

The blonde crossed her leg over the other, leaning her head back against the cool durasteel of the hull and shut her eyes, lingering in her own thoughts.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

Aela gave Jamie a disapproving glance, hearing the word beneath her breath. The boy was trying hard, there was no need to mock him...or was she mocking her? Aela frowned for a moment and decided that she might have smacked Jamie on the back of the head had she not just been through what she had. Either way her head shook and slowly she stepped onto the shuttle.

”Do your best Commander.” Aela said as she watched the 5th Legion Marines quickly step themselves into the seats around the shuttle.

The craft was small, so there were in total only eight of them. Janes, Jamie, five Marines, and Aela herself. She hoped that they wouldn't need more than that, mostly because The Subversion really didn't have the capabilities of taking on an entire fleet. She frowned for a moment and made sure that everyone properly took their seats, the pit in her stomach already forming as the thought of their deployment loomed.

”Remember that this might be a trap.” She said as she strapped herself into the seat next to Jamie. ”Keep a watchful eye.”

That was really all she could say on the matter.

The truth was they were flying in blind. The outpost hadn't reported in for two days and all connections to their long-range sensors were down. The Subversion itself hadn't picked anything up, but that didn't really mean much given that one could hide a small armada behind Niril's moon.

Aela snapped the strap into place and gave Janes the signal to get them going.

 

[Asmus Janes]

It was a good job Asmus hadn't heard Jamie's comment. He took his job seriously - most of the time. He was still the trouble making scoundrel beneath the military veneer. He might have turned the inertial dampeners down a few notches and had Aela's lunch splattered across the viewscreen.

Amber lights flashes and he felt the reversion the realspace. The bay doors opened before them. He slowly pushed forwards on the thrust lever to a roar of the engines. A small tractor held them still. The front pair of fighters suddenly launched at break-neck speed, their jet deflectors falling away. Then the second rank.

Asmus waited for the green lights to appear before his craft. It winked on. Both engine thrust and tractor accelerated the shuttle out, but true to his word they barely felt it.

"We're away," he called.

"Roger that Wraith One. We're going dark on comms, but keep us updated."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Do your best? That seemed like an odd thing to remind a pilot to do when about to transport two Jedi through a potential combat zone or trap. One would hope they did their best all the time, but if he needed a reminder they might have chosen the wrong man for the job.

Jamie perked an eye up, looking from Aela to the man sitting in the pilot's seat with an odd look, one that was obscured at least enough to hide said look of apprehension from her master.

She remained still as the ship took off, her head still resting against the inner wall of the ship.

Thankfully Janes was actually a seemingly decent pilot. Much to his promise she barely felt anything when they had taken off out of the hangar of the Subversion towards Niril. Still, whatever was on the ground waiting would still likely have forewarning that they were coming, if not through scans than perhaps simply visuals.

 

[Aela Talith]

As they got closer and closer to the outpost it became clear that there was...well nothing.

The outpost was seemingly abandoned. There were no fires, no blast marks, no signs of explosions or any damage to the outside of the structure itself. Aela saw through one of the viewports as Asmus dragged them in an approach towards the hangar bay located inside of the cliff. She frowned slightly and undid the straps, her stomach already turning upside down as she suffered from the cursed ships bout of motion sickness. She took careful steps, using seats as hand holds so she could step up behind Asmus.

"Make a couple of flybys." She told him.

She frowned as she ship bucked.

"I want to get a good look at everything." It was the wiser choice. "Careful please."

Aela really wasn't good at flying.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Well, that answered the question of which Jedi had a problem with flying. He preferred a good hit of the acceleration, it gave him a good feel for the ship - especially when in the atmosphere. Not all the force of course; in a Starfighter accelerating at full thrust with no dampeners was fatal.

Dextrous hands danced across the controls and he flashed the Jedi a disarming smile. "No problem." The AG started to compensate for gravity so that the Jedi would feel practically nothing as he started to fly slow concentric circles around the downed ship.

With a flick of a switch he activated both GADF and public insecure comm signals. "This is Shuttle Kresh-Three," Asmus called, giving nothing away, "is anyone down there receiving?" Even a regular comm link would pick up the broadcast, but he kept it low power and short range.

"I'm going to bring us down lower and do an environmental sweep. I want to check there's nothing wrong with the atmosphere.

"Janes to Wraiths, I'm taking us in. Keep high and continue to sweep the area."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Even where she was sitting she could hear the exchange of words between Asmus and Aela, and that of Asmus' attempt to contact the outpost on the ground. Judging by their reaction and the lack of response, it seemed as though things were eerily quiet, though there were no obvious signs of battle, and certainly none that could be heard or spotted from the air.

"Abandoned?" She finally chirped, as if confirming what it was that Aela and Asmus was seeing, without the need to get up. "On a planet like this?"

Fishy.

Perhaps it was pirates after all then. Perhaps the type of pirates that were more like slavers happened upon this outpost.

"Maybe everyone was abducted. Ransom or something."

The blonde caught sight of one of the marines eyeing her getup with a certain curiosity, in particular the gadget on her wrist. It was little more than a compact radial screen that was currently powered off, but it had quite a number of uses. A finger pressed down along the front, bringing the device to life with a number of small icons. "It's a recon tool I picked up." She said, her eyes raising to the man. "Motion tracker, sound recorder, encrypted comm." Some high tech stuff. "Also functions as a blood sample analyzer, a distress signal beacon, and a standard electronic PIN decryption."

He blinked, nodded, and settled back into his aloof state of mind while Jamie turned off the screen and looked back over towards Aela.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She smiled at Jamie for a moment and then returned her attention towards the building. She found pirates to be somewhat unlikely, if only because she felt as though they wouldn't have been able to pull this off so quickly or quietly.

"I don't see anything." She admitted after a few moments.

There wasn't really much to see. If it had been pirates she would have expected scorch marks, blast burns, maybe even a few chunks taken out of the building, but Aela saw none of that. Granted she wasn't exactly an expert in investigation, but at the very least she could take in the obvious signs. A sigh escaped her lips and slowly she straightened herself besides Asmus' seat, eyes wandering over the control console for a moment before glancing back up at the structure.

"Alright take us in." Might as well. "Carefully."

She turned and motion towards the others.

The five marines immediately began to load their weapons, slapping powerpacks into place and ensuring everything was charged and set.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"No," Asmus agreed. His hands worked the controls but his keen eyes scanned the landing zone. His left rolled back the thrust control, thumb catching the landing mode switch. There was a groan as the struts extended and the repulsors took the weight of the craft. He put them down no more than fifty metres from the entrance, between several ventilation ducts that extended up from the ground.

"Alright we're down, hold on a moment." A display showed a slowly filling bar. When it was complete it was replaced by ream of text. Asmus hunched over the console, but didn't move to open the shuttle bay doors. He gave a slow shake of his head.

"Nothing dangerous in the air, but I'm picking up some blaster fire particles." He looked out of the canopy again. No sign of any scorch marks or blaster fire. But they were perched right near the ventilation system. "Possibly blaster fire inside the compound. Or..." he added with a shrug. "Some vaguely radioactive rocks in the region."

With a hiss the bay doors opened and let the warm air mingle with the stale, conditioned shuttle air.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Right." Feet settled on the floor of the shuttle the moment it touched down on soil. The harness holding her to the seat she'd chosen was released and the Padawan stood up with the others. It was obvious to her that they weren't going to be getting answers by circling the outpost and wondering what might have happened.

Jamie was first out of the shuttle as Asmus lowered the ramp, the marines in tow behind. Their weapons were out and ready as they looked from left to right, ensuring the safety of their landing site. The temperature here was notably cold, forming small clouds of condensation with each breath taken. She frowned, rather unhappy with the sudden change in comfort.

Aside from their footsteps everything was eerily quiet as the two Jedi and those accompanying them made their way towards the outpost.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She frowned slightly as they walked across the open landing deck, there were crates stacked everywhere, the far side still held the outposts own shuttle, but it all seemed rather...abandoned. If pirates had come through here they would have taken the supplies, at least they would have taken the ship, it was quite literally a free shuttle. Not to mention there would have been blast marks all over the place. She frowned slightly and then motioned to one of the Marines.

"Neil, check out the shuttle." One of the 5th Legion soldiers gave her a nod and broke off from the group, quickly breaking into a jog and heading towards the distant craft. The rest of them continued on towards the door, Jamie and Aela walking side by side as the four left over marines slowly pointed their rifles. Another one of them quickly stepped forward and headed towards the main doors access panel.

There was a loud error noise as he attempted to open the door.

"Aela, they initiated lock-down procedure, we need your override codes."

She frowned for a moment. Lockdown? That was usually only activated during an assault or biological contamination. She frowned for a moment and looked over towards Jamie, her nerves fraying just a bit. "Does that mask have a rebreather?"

Aela asked as she gave the marine her override codes, one of the other soldiers handing her a small breathing device.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus left the engines warm, but pulled his crypto cylinder from the console. It prevented anyone else from using any of the shuttle's controls whilst he was away. He stepped out of the shuttle once the area was clear and made for the shuttle that had been abandoned. All he had on him was a blaster pistol, standard affair for the shuttle pilot going into a dangerous zone.

He arrived a few moments after the marine, who appeared to think that checking out a shuttle meant looking at it. As if eyeballing the walls inside and out was going to reveal anything. "I'll check the launch schedule," Asmus suggested. The soldier offered a shrug and let Asmus at the console. He flicked a few switches and brought some power up. His code cylinder was able to access the vessel's logs. He started to look for any kind of emergency or warning. Perhaps even a broadcast to leave. There was nothing.

"I'm going to run through the manifest and journey schedule and see if there's anything there."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie nodded, her hand raising to press a small recessed activator on the side of the visor. "Eight hours." Hopefully they wouldn't be here that long, though all the same she tapped the screen to the device on her wrist and set a timer, as well as activating the motion sensor. Any movement extending out to fifty meters would show up as a small blip on the screen with a relative direction. Helpful for locating missing persons.

"If anyone is alive here we should be able to pick them up by following this."

If anyone was alive. The lack of response from their communication, the lack of workers outside, lack of a storm and presence of a fight was incredibly off putting. The soldier entered in Aela's code, prompting the large blast doors to creak and slowly open to reveal a darkened corridor in front of them, with all power including the emergency lighting dead.

On each of their blaster rifles the soldiers attached a small flashlight to help guide their path. Jamie pressed another button on the visor of her armor, suddenly shifting the darkness to a hue of green to navigate through the dark. Just like the exterior everything looked relatively untouched at first glance. "No blaster marks or damage." She glanced to her wrist. "No movement yet either."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela frowned slightly, looking around at her companions as she slowly fitted the rebreather over her face.

She really felt under-dressed. "Command center first."

Aela said as they stepped into the facility. The soldiers went first of course, flashlight beams casting light into the abandoned hallway. The Jedi Marshall drew one of her lightsabers, though didn't ignite the blade. For now the light from the 5th Legions flashlights would be enough to guide them. An eerie creaking noise rung out just ahead of them as they began to wander down the corridors, a slow and oddly rolling fog coming from one of the sections up ahead.

The Marshall hesitated for a moment.

There shouldn't have been any fog inside of the building unless a coolant seal had broken. She frowned and then motion for one of the soldiers to head forward first, flashlight breaking across and then the hallway, as he moved there was a loud...odd squishing sound as he stepped into something organic. The soldier hesitated for a moment, frowning and slowly looking down.

"Uhh"

Aela frowned and slowly followed after him with the others, bending down to look at the odd ooze that the man had stepped in. She frowned as she inspected the mess. "It's not blood."

At least not human blood.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Neil decided to stay with the shuttle. He didn't help a great deal, mostly he loitered around the ramp. he watched the direction the others had gone suspiciously.

"Anything?" He grunted over his shoulder.

Asmus shook his head. "The shuttle is fine. But...It was prepped for launch around the time they went silent. It's still fuelled with authorisation for launch. They did...A run to meet an alliance supply freighter for components. Missed two food shipments due to a change in patrols, negotiated with some smugglers to bring some food in."

Asmus glanced around the shuttle. A blaster rifle stowed in its rack on the wall. Another one on the deck. He picked it up to put it away.

"This was fired," he remarked.

"What?"

"They're always given charged packs when a shuttle comes in. This has fired right times."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Do we have a layout of this place by chance?" The question was asked quietly. "Or do you know where we're going?"

Jamie's eyes danced along the walls, floor, and ceiling for any clues. There was seemingly nothing, even with the help of the visor's vision enhancements. The only movement showing on the tracker was still their own. The presence of a fog was certainly discomforting. It made no sense. Her eyebrows furrowed, confused as to what was going on inside this place. When the soldier stepped in something, she took her eyes off the tracker for a second, looking down at the floor beside Aela and the soldier.

"What is that?" She asked, running her gloved finger through the substance, pressing it between her index and thumb.

The compound was thick, sticky, and clear. "Revolting."

It was quickly wiped away against the leg of her pants before standing back up. As sickening as it was, it was hardly a clue as to what had happened here. There still appeared to be no sign of any human life, no damage to the interior or exterior of the compound, and no sign of a fight or attack, aside from maybe a leaking pipe or something on the far side of the corridor.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She frowned and mimicked Jamie, scooping up some of the odd gooze with her finger. She pressed her thumb against her finger inspected the odd liquid. Her frown only deepened as she looked at his, disgust rolling through her stomach. For a moment she paused, then looked up at the soldiers.

They all gave her the same odd look, or rather body language that said they weren't very keen on finding out what the hell that stuff was.

"Command Center. We can get power back on from there." She motioned to the left most hall. Aela did in fact know where they were going, so did the soldiers. Outposts built by the Galactic Alliance all tended to have the same layout, unless there was something significantly different about the planet that it was built on. This one would be the exact same as the one on the next world over. It was a nice system, made finding ones way around these places much easier.

The five of them continued on, taking two more left turns before eventually hitting another set of heavy blast doors.

The same Marine quickly moved towards the panel. He entered Aela's override code and quickly the doors before them fell open.

If they had not been wearing rebreathers and helmets they would have immediately been struck by the small of rotting meat and death. An odd fog of decay seemed to hang within the room, it's floor smeared with blood, a dead man hanging over the central console, the body appearing as though it had been picked apart my scavengers.