Enduring Hope

[Desmond C'artyom]

[media]https://youtu.be/aQ3poU70uIE[/media]​

[SIZE=11pt]It was a somber cold day and the clouds were dark and swollen with rain. The wind swept through the capital of Manda like a scythe through chaff. Desmond C’artyom watched as the endless mass of Stormtroopers marched through the city streets, followed occasionally by AT-ST’s or the odd turbo tank. The thunderous sound of thousands of boots connecting with durasteel roads simultaneously rang throughout the thoroughfare. All civilians were quiet as the might of the Imperial war machine was thrusted onto the populace. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]It was a parade which all were ordered to attend. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The Imperials had plans to unveil the Empire’s newest weapon. It was to be a glorious day, yet the people stared out at the parade with sunken expressions or melancholy smiles. Detention probe droids floated listlessly among the masses and occasionally targeted people for inspection, after which they would be approached by a pair of troopers and taken away. The people of this planet had slaved away night and day to build these terrible weapons and now they were all simply tired. Tired of the terrible way they were forced to live, the disgusting weapons they were forced to make, but what could they do? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Those who had refused to cooperate simply disappeared and were never seen again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Several star destroyers floated in the darkened skies, like giant vultures waiting to descend upon the corpse of a broken people. Admiral Thrael’s fleet. His command ship already being equipped with the new deadly weapon. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Desmond took his eyes away from the scope as finally the weapons passed in the parade. Several large missiles the size of small corvettes. The sight took his breath away and left him speechless. They were only a few out of the hundreds that had been produced, but even the sight of a few was awe inspiring. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]These missiles carried within them a biological weapon so potent that it could kill a man within thirty seconds. A pathogen derived from the blood sample of a rather unwilling Jedi. She was currently being held in the detention center of Admiral Thrael’s flagship. Desmond decided he had seen enough of the parade and that their was no longer any immediate danger. He entered the building and was immediately approached by a stormtrooper. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Sir you are needed for prisoner transfer,” Desmond quirked a brow at the trooper and the man merely shrugged “Apparently there’s a saboteur aboard Admiral Thrael’s ship. The higher ups are worried the rebel scum will try to free the prisoners,” The Trooper offered as way of explanation. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Desmond merely nodded. Today's parade was not only to celebrate the Imperials might, but also an elaborate ruse to route out any undesirables. Those that were targeted for inspection were being loaded aboard prison ships and the amount of people selected was staggering. Such an influx of prisoners easily warranted closer inspection from a more trained eye. It was likely these "political" prisoners would never be heard from again. Sent to spend the rest of their days at a unnamed Imperial labor camp or selected for reeducation and conscripted into the Stormtrooper corps where they'd die for a cause they never truly believed in...[/SIZE]

[member="Mitth'rae'leios"]

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Deep within the unseen alleys and corner streets, abandoned to their silence and grot as the commotion and noises of an Imperial parade thummed in the distance, a body lay, weak and unmoving, too weak to call out, but still conscious, that is until a swift blow from a dark boot connected to the man's head, leading him to the peacefulness of sleep. The boot in question belonged to a one, Leo Vandermolen, a roguish devil if ever there was one, however he had a job to do, a mission at hand.

Without missing a beat, Leo relieved the man of his Imperial armor, while magna-cuffing his body to a nearby industrial pipe and covering him in some nearby refuse, something in quite the abundance around here, just to be safe. He donned the storm-troopers armor, unfamiliar with the foreign straps and plates, and uncomfortable with the snug fit, but it would have to do, time was of the essence, after all. Leo stashed his usual attire in a place only he would think to look and activated his secure holo-link to open communication with his team for this job, the Empire would take the highest of precautions during the ceremony and as such, he would have to be careful. "Alright people," Leo whispered, completely forgetting he was alone, before realizing and resuming his regular tone, "I'm almost in position. Keep the chatter to a low and make sure you get on that destroyer, one way or the other." Was that all he had to say? Was he being helpful? Leo just assumed the best, adding, "Over and out" with a sly smile before proceeding out onto the streets, looking for an opportune moment to slip back into the ceremony unnoticed and find his way onto the flagship.

Man, he'd always wanted to say that.

| [member="Desmond C'artyom"] |

 

[Iturizu Yuvie]

Yuvie waded though the back ally observing the parade from a vantage point across the street from the allusive [member="Leo Vandermolen"], spying on each imperial that past her position, each step the parade members took being in sync with each other, scarily similar to driods, but that what the imperial training academy taught you, discipline. The former inquisitor lowered her binocular, sighing slightly, there were times she regretted defecting, the spark and spank of the empire and power being on of that factor that made her join in the first place, but she could no longer serve such a tyrannical regime, not one that lied so directly to her face.

"I'm almost in position. Keep the chatter to a low and make sure you get on that destroyer, one way or the other."

Yuvie placed the comm link to her ear as the message sounded, "I hear you loud and clear, you should have a nice chance comming up in a few seconds when the missiles come by, shadow strike over and out". Shadow strike, such a bad code name, but she was not really given a choice, the Rebel Alliance often changing her code name to prevent leaks and to her sorts of mishaps, she just hoped they started coming up with better ones in the near future.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] l [member="Leo Vandermolen"]

 

[Ben Revan]

darth miargo stood at the head of the parade with absolute silence
focusing on the small amount of light in the force that he could sense
For the first time during the parade
He spoke simply saying in his dark death like voice "Trooper order your men to be alert"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sat in her office aboard a modified freighter. It had the markings and tags of some lower level company, nothing that'd draw attention at all. The freighter floated in orbit, seemingly to wait like much of the other space traffic before being allowed to enter the atmosphere. Although she had no intention of going down there.

Her datapad was on, as well as her commlink, listening in to a few different channels. With the help of one of her slicers, Kay managed to get to listen in on some of the Imperials encrypted channels. That meant a lot for this mission. There were rebels down there that were part of a big plan. Rumours had spread about some new secret weapon. She needed to know what that weapon was and how to stop it. Hiring help outside of her own territory was the only way to go. She didn't want her world to become a target.

Kay sipped her tea, overhearing both [member="Leo Vandermolen"] and [member="Iturizu Yuvie"] . They were on the move. She wished that she had eyes on the ground as well as ears, but it was far too dangerous.

Outside of her ship, Admiral Thrael's ship was seen in the distance amongst the many others. That was the real target. But they were only at stage one of the plan. Stage two would happen in due time. They just all needed to be patient.

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Darth Miargo"]

 

[Ben Revan]

Screw it
Im checking on my own terms
The dark lord moved quickly through the crowd heading to his ship
If the rebels were here we would dispose of them

 

[Avin Starfire]

He had heard the babble of communications traffic being fired directly into his ear. He winced and downed the rest of his drink to stand up from the bench that had been a solace amongst the rabble. His face felt warm from the burning liquid that ran down his throat. He generally found suicide missions easier when he wasn't sober...

"Roger all units this is Alpha 1-1 in position at front of parade. Good luck I'll see you up there."

Avin took three steps and barged his way to the front of the crowd. His sense flaring as he pressed round into eye-line of the parade. The black-clad figure stood to stride in step with the legions upon legion of stormtroopers. The sound of boots meeting ground sent shocks through the crowd. The matching pearlescent whites of each plastoid clad man sending a reflection of light into the crowd. His attention flew back to the dark presence at the front of the column.

This is not going to be fun. Avin thought as his hand reached into his coat pocket to pull out his hipflask once last time. He tipped the bottom up and pressed it to his lips letting the cold steel run empty into his mouth.


His hand slid down to his belt and gripped the DE-10 heavy blaster. His thumb sliding the power to the minimum.

Wish me luck. and he stepped out into the path of the parade and raised his blaster level with the black figure not more than twenty meters ahead of him.

He eyed in the target and fired.

[member="Darth Miargo"] [member="Iturizu Yuvie"] [member="Leo Vandermolen"] [member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Ben Revan]

The dark Lord Heard a shot coming towards him he ignited his Red saber and lifted it up without breaking a sweat the blaster shot flew into a nearby wall
The crowd dropping and screaming
the man who shot standing out like a sore thumb
[member="Avin Starfire"]

 

[Leo Vandermolen]

Chit

The proceeding came to a startling halt as the sound of blaster fire rang out through the streets. Something had disrupted the parade, and that thing now had an army of Imperials bearing down on them, so much for stealth. Leo sent out a silent prayer of good luck to whomever had caused the commotion, turning his attention towards utilizing this newfound distraction. Amongst the cacophony of yells, and the orderly rush of troopers as they evacuated the civilians from the area attempting to engage the problem head-on, Leo slipped away, falling back with a small group of troopers who had been ordered back to the darkness of an Imperial transport that had docked with the small fleet of ships, the ones that had carried the soldiers to the proceedings.

Leo waited patiently inside, formulating a plan on how to approach the situation once the ship had taken off back to the armada in orbit. Sweat beaded from his face, coating the inside layer of his armor, he wasn't used to the uncomfortable bulkiness of it, it just wasn't his thing. Leo tapped his fingers patiently as he sat upon his seat, the anarchy outside would be over soon, whether they would capture the 'problem' alive or just flat out execute them was another ordeal entirely, Leo just hoped it was the former, it was a stupid plan to get onboard, but it just might work, and Leo was all about stupid plans.

| [member="Desmond C'artyom"] | [member="Iturizu Yuvie"] | [member="Darth Miargo"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Avin Starfire"] |

 

[Desmond C'artyom]

[SIZE=11pt]Desmond made his way out of the building and onto the city streets below. He raised his hood just as the rain began to fall. It landed in fat droplets and splashed on the pavement with an audible plop. Desmond looked up at the bleak skies and wondered just how much it would rain today. It caressed his blue cheeks and he wiped at his face with the sleeve of his jacket. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Darth Miargo was leading the parade and Desmond noted how the man’s dark aura seemed to cause those in the crowd to shrink away from him. It was as if the man was diseased. The fear that came off those who stared to longly at Miargo was palpable. It sent a shiver down even Desmond’s spine. He wondered just what exactly Miargo could do with a blade, but it wasn't long until Desmond got to find out. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Quick as a viper Miargo withdrew his saber a split second before the blast was fired. The shot barrelled towards him, but he deflected it easily with his weapon. The crowd around the parade ducked instinctively, the people began to panic and scream profanities. Desmond ran towards where the shot had originated from. He shouted to the Stormtroopers who had just been on parade duty attempting to get their attention[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Cordon off this entire block! No one leaves and if they try to, shoot them!” Desmond roared angrily then he addressed the people of the crowd “Everyone sit down and remain calm or face dire consequences,” he shouted above the cries and pleas for help. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Slowly people began to collect themselves as troopers with guns raised ordered them to remain calm and sit down. Desmond motioned for the guards to step forward and pointed at two civilians. A loving couple by the looks of them. The rain was pouring in great billowing swathes now. Desmond gave the troopers a nod, the lovers shared a final embrace, and a moment later the soldiers squeezed cold steel triggers. The couple fell to the ground dead. Their blood mixing with the rivers of rain that flowed through the drains.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The people fidgeted or jostled in fear. But, none dare move lest they be next. Desmond could not identify the shooter so he simply raised a fist in the air, after which a Stormtrooper platoon commander raced forward. Desmond regarded him with an angry glare[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Arrest everyone within a block of here. They are all suspected of treason. Then escort them to the prison barges,” Desmond ordered vehemently and the trooper merely nodded.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=11pt]A hundred or so civilians were rounded up by a platoon of stormtroopers and escorted towards the Imperial military shuttle area. A few tried to run, but they were swiftly shot in the back. As they boarded the prison barges Desmond stared at each of them with his fiery red gaze. He had seen the shooters face just before he disappeared into the crowd. If the Imperials had cast a wide enough net, they might have caught him...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt][member="Leo Vandermolen"] [member="Darth Miargo"] [member="Avin Starfire"]was [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Iturizu Yuvie"] [/SIZE]

 

[Ben Revan]

The dark lord walked into the crowd the amount of panic did not bother him
Stomping his feet against the cold ground he moved Aggressively
He ordered his troopers to take the man who shot the blaster into custody
he moved towards an agent


I need you round up the troops and get them to be more...
organised i trust you will not disappoint me. [member="Desmond C'artyom"]

 

[Iturizu Yuvie]

Yuive face palmed at the sudden sound of blaster fire coming from the parade direction, people running away in panic as some guy gunned down storm troopers, standing out in the middle of the path way like a sore thumb, 'I guess that was the distraction, that mean [member="Leo Vandermolen"] will have started infiltration, with that Sith and security distracted he should have no problem slipping in'. It would not take long for the lone gun man to be taken in, but she needed to keep the distraction going long enough for what even ship Leo bordered to reach the star destroyer before following him, nothing destructive, just something to incite more panic.

Reaching over to her bag Yuive produced a grenade launcher that held a load of smoke and discombobulate grenades, a couple of these should be enough to by both rebel enough time to complete their end of the mission. Taking aim she fired several of the shoots into the air, a whistling like sound coming from them as they moved in a wide arc towards their target. Placing down the launcher Yuvie motioned with the force to alter the trajectory of each canister, making them fall in a wide curve in from of the parade, each detonating at the same time, blinding the road with smoke, the discombobulation canisters sending a non-lethal shock wave out designed to disorientate people, 'Now to try and save that idiot'.

[member="Avin Starfire"] l [member="Desmond C'artyom"] l [member="Darth Miargo"]

 

[Avin Starfire]

He saw the bolt glance off into the wall not more than a split second after the trigger on Avin's weapon had been pushed in.

Well, that could have gone worse, no civilians had gone down.

He dropped the pistol letting the clank of steel on the road emit in the seconds of silence that followed the blaster shot. Then came the shouts. A shattering shockwave of screams broke out from the crowd and worked its way out with a rush of feet and limbs turning to flee the parade line leaving Avin stood upright in the center of the road.

No more than 30 seconds must have passed before Avin was met with a group of gleaming white Stormtroopers surrounding him. Monotone and vocoded shouts drew over his ears.

"Hands in the air NOW!"

The troopers leveled what seemed to be a modernized E-11 blaster rifle, no doubt set to kill him if he moved more than an inch.

He complied and for a moment he looked up to see if the distraction had worked, yet he was met with a sharp blow to the back and the next thing he saw was the road in front of him as he lay spread on the floor hands cuffed behind his back. A flurry of other radio communications seemed to be muttered by the troopers now in a tight circle cutting Avin from the rest of the square. Seems at least his way on board the ship had worked, he wasn't dead that just needed to be maintained until he was on board.

[member="Iturizu Yuvie"] l [member="Darth Miargo"] l [member="Desmond C'artyom"] l [member="Leo Vandermolen"]

 

[Mitth'rae'leios]

While it hadn't immediately concerned him that there were foreign individuals on his ship, it hadn't escaped his attention entirely. Rather, contrary any standing opinion, the Chiss had begun to watch the unfolding events on his private holoprojector inside his office. While it was not the most sound approach to handling the situation, he found it simpler to observe and coordinate from a distance; taking advantage of a more broad vantage point.

It wasn't until after people were starting to be rounded up that the Chiss made his way out of his office and to the deck in question. Ysalamiri clinging to his back, his hands clasped carefully beneath it at his waist, he slowly approached the scene unfolding with an expression of curiosity infused apathy. It was as he stopped, almost as if on cue, that Cerberus Squadron formed up on his flanks standing at attention and uttering external nonsense as they waited for their commanding officers orders.

His eyes first drifted to what he presumed to be a Sith and then to the individuals who were being corralled into a group by Major C'artyom's forces. It was then that, with a simple gesture of a lifted hand, that Hades 3, 5 and 7 took up positions observing all flanks of the surrounding area as the Chiss stepped forward towards the commotion.

"Major, I want you to order your troops to the room containing the prisoner," his voice was calm as his posture as he turned to look at the officer he'd addressed. It was then that he turned to the man standing over a precariously placed blaster pistol and eyed him quizzically. "I will attend to this prisoner myself while the rest of our personnel attend to preventing any of these saboteurs from leaving this ship. Do I make myself clear?"

The question had been delivered, the Major would have noticed that the Admiral's attention had already shifted to him before the question had even been spoken. The Chiss lowered his hand, straightened his posture and took a few brief steps towards the man he had previously identified as an intruder and gave him a once over as Cerberus Squadron formed up near him, following succinctly in suit.

"Sith," he breathed and turned his head towards Mirago for the briefest of moments. "I implore you to consider chain of command before ordering my troops to take action outside their current operation. I will, however, acknowledge the aptitude you have displayed."

While this Sith was hardly a concern of his, he did not want disorder on his vessel. He had saboteurs to crush beneath his boot and it was desirable that the one before him held the answers he sought. Signalling forward, the Chiss watched as Hades 6 and 8 moved to flank the prisoner ([member="Avin Starfire"]) in question while the others took up covering positions.

"I applaud your efforts," he mused as he took up a safe but venturous position just feet from the man in question. "But I assure you your operation here is futile."

[member="Desmond C'artyom"] [member="Darth Miargo"]