Extending the Front (The Moross Crusade Dominion of Ceto)

[Crystal]

[member="Selka Ventus"] [member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Zoey Marix"]

Crystal looked over at Zoey upon hearing the response over the comm. It was muted. She spoke to Zoey, and loud enough for others around her to hear. "Isn't that convenient?" She grinned. "Looks like we're going to make first contact."

She took mute off and responded. "We'd be delighted to join you and pleased to personally make your acquaintance."

And then she responded to Dashiell "We were just about to head over to the Pathfinder. Would you care to join or shall we schedule a meeting for another time?"

 

[Garza]

I watched as Crystal spoke with the two people we were supposed to meet with. Saying that we were going to make first contact. I just shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes. Sure if may have been convenient, but I was trying so hard to hold my tongue. Usually I would be blunt and to the point, but on a diplomatic mission like this one, I would have to keep my tongue held. Clamped in the back of my throat as The Sith master spoke once more about heading towards the pathfinder. I turned to one of the many men that were there.

"We need a ship to get there, Grab us one with not another soul. Only the Captain and ourselves will go down." if we wanted a diplomatic stance, then bringing troops would not help us there. However, I knew that we would bring our weapons, as we both had those apart of us. And well, sometimes it looked nice to have a beskad in an ornate scabbard just for looks. Maybe.

[member="Crystal"], [member="Judah Dashiell"], [member="Selka Ventus"]

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Zoey Marix"] [member="Crystal"] [member="Selka Ventus"]

"Copy. I'll be there."

There was no chance Judah was rescheduling. The little no-name transport glided through the near-space above Ceto,straight towards the Pathfinder. He worked out docking procedures with the Pathfinders crew after explaining his reason for coming aboard -- and who he was. The small shuttle was soon resting against the larger exploration vehicle, comfortable docked and ready for entry. Checking over the systems in their own shuttle, Judah and Chalu soon found themselves in the gleaming hall of the Pathfinder, being escorted by its crew the conference room.

Entering the space, Judah spotted some Ceto Royalty and various other leaders, along with Miss Ventus and others he did not recognize. Possibly Silk Holdings higher ups or Moross Crusaders. The pair bowed to the Cetan royalty and leaders before finding a spot to sit down at the middle of the table.

"Miss Ventus, a pleasure to see you again. Unfortunate the circumstances though."

 

[Siara Vorru]

In her office awhile later reviewing the sensor reports that [member="Crystal"] had requested Siara received notification that Crystal had managed to arrange contact with not the major corporate players on Ceto but also the members of the Royal family at the same time she couldn't help but be skeptical, it seemed awful convenient that this meeting was arranged so easily. If she were negotiating she would take this as a sign of weakness and negotiate a better fee. Tapping her comm she made contact with both [member="Loxa Visl"] and [member="Piraiba"] .

"Seems we have arranged a meeting with all interested parties at once, we will focus our efforts on this one meeting for now. Join Crystal and [member="Zoey Marix"] on whatever transport they arrange. We want a show of strength but we don't want to scare them, we are not here to dominate these people, we are here to protect them, that in mind we will carry light weaponry, nothing more then a blaster pistol or it's equivalent and no armor, we shouldn't need it and it will just intimidate our hosts." Siara glanced at her chrono then the mission reports in front of her, she decided they could wait, she would go along for the ride.

Adjusting the frequency on her comm she got in contact with the Captain. "I will be joining the team in their meeting with the rulers of this planet, keep a comm line open and keep me informed on any developments up here."

"Yes ma'am, our scans have revealed another Crusade ship in system, it is holding position further out and hasn't made contact with us or the planet from what we can tell. I wasn't aware there was any other ships joining our mission here, should we make contact with them?" The Captain asked.

"Yes, set up a transmission and put it through to me, we don't want to spook our hosts and I have no doubt that if we have located that ship our hosts will as well." Siara replied as a frown crossed her features, either someone didn't trust that she could achieve this mission with the team she had assembled or they were waiting to swoop in to take credit at the last moment. Realistically neither was true but that's how she saw it and no one was going to convince her of otherwise until she spoke with whoever commanded the other vessel.

A few moment later the comm line to the other ship was arranged, Siara stood and stared out of the viewport in her office for a moment while the Captain did his own introduction before passing the line on to her. "This is Siara Vorru on board the Aurora, we were not aware there was any other assets joining our mission here, we just wished to establish contact so we knew your mission here to ensure it coincided with the goals of our mission." Pausing to let the other ship reply the Kiffar soldier listened to the secured line intently.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Crystal]

Crystal smiled upon hearing Judah's reply. "Excellent," she said with a grin. Zoey had already taken the liberty of ordering a ship for them to journey to the pathfinder in, so she turned to make her way to the docking bay. The Sith Princess was confident that everything would be prepared by the time that she got there. She and her companions would be on their way.

 

[Blackthorne]

"Thank you, Crusader Vorru, we will join them shortly," Loxa replied to @Siarra Vorru. She made no movement to drop any weapons - the only one she carried was that of her lightsaber, something she never went without.

The Priestess turned a light gaze upon her togorian companion, considering his stature. Truly, it would be better to leave him behind if they did not wish to intimidate their hosts, but the possibility of showing these people that his might could be put to good would leave a bigger impression.

"Come with me," she said with a smile, "bring your claws and fangs, but leave the blasters and blades."

When he was ready, they departed for the hangar and the ship that awaited the Morossian diplomatic party.

 

[Piraiba]

Piraiba looked down upon Loxa as she touched his arm. He hadn’t met the priestess yet, but there was something calming and comforting about her presence. The Togorian might have been a Sith Knight, but there was a deeper raw beastial nature there that could be manipulated. After a moment he nodded in response.

The feline wasn’t a fool. He knew he wasn’t there for his diplomatic verbal abilities. Piraiba was simply a tool for intimidation to make sure no one got any ideas of pulling weapons. After all if a wookie could rip a man’s arms off, why not bring a creature that could rip the arms off of a wookie?

A while later Piraiba approached [member="Loxa Visl"] in the corridor after he had grabbed his additional gear. The creature looked even more imposing than before as additional pieces of armor and weapons such as pauldrons and blaster repeaters had been added to his load out. That was when Siara chimed in over their comm links, and Loxa further asked him only to bring his claws and fangs.

Conflict rose in the Togorian's facial features as he struggled mentally against the request. His father had placed Crusader Vorru in command. Therefore that must have made her wishes the same those of his father. In the end Piraiba decided to mostly obey. The feline stuffed his two large lightsaber hilts into his pockets, but he also began to unclasp the fastenings on his armor.

His weapons, bicep and forearm braces, pauldrons, and leg bracing all fell to the floor with loud clanks as if it were simply discarded trash. The torso armor given to him during his time in the Mandalorian Deathwatch was taken off with much greater care. That had been held in hand by the Togorian until he met a faithful Crusade soldier to whom he bid to return it to his chambers.

Now Piraiba literally had only pants on. The creature went without gauntlets and boots so as to not restrict the use of his gloves. His armor was not a sealed system like many soldiers wore. It was only metallic plates held together by metal brace framework. Due to this and how jackets rubbed away his fur, the cat had been reduced to literally only the one most crucial garment ... pants.

If anything the Togorian looked more like a slave used for combat by the Crusade than an actual member. His slave marking that had been branded into his bicep years prior was now exposed along with a myriad of other scars along his torso that exposed the black skin underneath his fur.

"Piraiba must keep his blades. This one will be yelled at if he loses them again."

 

[Blackthorne]

A low, deep chuckle sounded from the Priestess. She could respect the need to maintain those particular blades, and she nodded in return to his words.

"You surprise me with those weapons, my friend. I should not think you would have need of them. Who did you train with?"

[member="Piraiba"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Loxa Visl"]
[member="Piraiba"]
[member="Crystal"]
[member="Siara Vorru"]
[member="Judah Dashiell"]
[member="Zoey Marix"]

The Pathfinder-class vessel Baobab, the flagship of Silk Holdings, was spacious and, in its way, ornate. The leaders of the planet Ceto had been encamped here, with legions of aides, for several days. Selka was the host, but not the one running the show; that was what politicians were for. Still, the co-CEO of one of the galaxy's most powerful corporations was on hand at the airlock to welcome the Moross delegates aboard and lead them to the immense conference room.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael still stood on the bridge of his ship, though he was hardly paying attention to anyone or anything around him, though when someone tapped his shoulder he finally managed to snap back into reality.

“My Lord...a message for you.”

Soliael watched the man for a few seconds from beneath his mask. The darkness in the back of his mind screeched at him, called to him, demanded that he kill the man for no reason at all. The Sith Lord stared for a second, blood dripping form his eye beneath his mask as he fought the urge to lash out and snap the mans neck for no offense at all. It became a struggle, a war within him until finally he seized the force away from the darkness and spoke. “Thank you ensign.”

The man nodded and walked away.

Soliael let out a deep breath, reading the message and nodding slightly. He wondered what the reaction to him would be, rather amused he would think.. With the thought of amusement the last of the darkness was stamped out within his mind, albeit for a short while.

“This is the Freya, personal vessel of the Aesir Neth. We are here to observe and aid. Continue on.” That was the message that Soliael ordered be sent back, simple and effective. He would be here if they needed it, the word of a god went a long way.

 

[Crystal]

The group of [member="Loxa Visl"], [member="Piraiba"], [member="Zoey Marix"], [member="Siara Vorru"] and Crystal reached the Pathfinder designated Baobab a short time later and were greeted by [member="Selka Ventus"]. The Sith Princess offered her hand and a slight bow in greeting before speaking.

"Thank you for the invitation. I am Crystal. I believe we spoke earlier." She offered a smile. "I think we can save the introductions until we're all in the same room so we don't spend our time repeating ourselves."

Selka took the liberty of accompanying them to the conference room. The Sith Princess made sure to shake the hand of every person at the table and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear her.

"Greetings. We are representatives of the Moross Crusade. I am Crusader Crystal Carter." She then gestured to her companions as she introduced them. "Crusader Loxa Visl, Disciple Piraiba and Disciple Zoey Marix and Commander Siara Vorru."

And then she took a seat at the table. Crystal was quiet now, to allow their hosts to introduce themselves and possibly make inquiries.

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

 

[Garza]

Meeting with all of these other people. I noticed that this was the first time that I had seen [member="Crystal"] actually take the lead with a voice that was quite different. Still she seemed to match here well. Nodding my head and following suit of giving handshakes and introducing myself as Zoey, I turned to the woman who seemed to be leading most of this. [member="Selka Ventus"] I believe her name was.

"Hello, and I hope that we can talk this over and come to a reasonable conclusion for the both of our parties."

[member="Loxa Visl"], [member="Piraiba"], [member="Siara Vorru"], [member="Judah Dashiell"]

 

[Malik Rodarch]

Furry fingers tinkered away.

What were they working on? Explosives of course. Dangerous unstable incendiary devices that could rip a good-sized hole in wall of a Nexu-class Corvette. Feel safe? Feel warm?

“WAAAAAAAARGH!”

The ship lurched violently, sending the paintbrush flying from the Cantrosian's grip. Sigh of relief. The furry little scamp was only decorating a thermal detonator. Giving it a touch-up, giving it style, the last thing you see before you die in a fiery inferno should at least look good. The signature of Brill, a neon menace, B-E-A-Utiful.

The tiny pot of mohwak green had been tipped over, staining both his fur, the wall and the floor. That was enough painting for one day.

He scurried out of his den (the broom closet) and made his way towards society, otherwise known as the mess hall. Things were happening, there was excitement in the air, people were making plans and decisions. Diplomacy was in the air! With his goggles slapped on tight, the tiny terror made his way through the excitement.

Until he noticed the scattered deck of cards upon the floor. Time for a spot of fifty-two pick up methinks.

 

[Sam Aellin]

Sam sat at one of the tables in the mess hall with a cup of yogurt, rimming the top of the yogurt was a collection of mattered berries, red, black and even a few blue. They were all mixed into the plain white Vanilla yogurt. Slowly Sam stirring them into the yogurt absent minded. There was apparently some big mission going on today, diplomacy and all that. It was no place for a Soldier so of course Sam stayed out of it all.

Until he was needed that was.

Slowly the Moross Crusade scooped up a spoon of yogurt and berries taking a slow bite. He closed his eyes as the ecstasy of the berries fell over him, the diving satisfaction rolling over him in droves, complete gratification filling him as he crunched down on the blue berries.

He let out a loud sigh, removing the spoon from his mouth.

His eyes fell on a strange cat like creature wandering through the Mess Hall. He cocked his head slightly. Sam was used to aliens in the Crusaders, but a cat? How very strange. He watched it as he took another bite of his yogurt.
[member="Brill"]

 

[Malik Rodarch]

This is what nails were made for.

Have you ever tried to pick up a card or a piece of paper from the floor but you just couldn't get your nails underneath? Yeah, that's not a problem for the mighty Cantrosian. Oh no, not with these claws. This was a new record winning time for the noble game of fifty-two card pick up. What a speed! Watch him go!

Brill felt the gaze of another upon the back of his head, ears prickled as he heard teeth clattering against spoon. The kitty-cat turned, cringing slightly.

Who bites yoghurt?

He stood up, having previously been bent over to pick up the fallen cards. “Hey buddy, wanna take a holo-pic? It'll last longer,” he sniggered, flicking his tail out slightly.

[member="Sam Aellin"]

 

[Sam Aellin]

Sam watched the cat for a few minutes, taking another bite of his yogurt. Then slowly he reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a small datapad, pointing it at the Cat's face.

“Okay.” A loud snap could be heard the datapads camera went off and took a picture of the Cantrosian. Sam had called the creatures bluff. He slowly chewed the berries in his yogurt as he waited for the creature to react, only flicking his eyes to the datapad so he could see what the picture looked like. It was really a terrible picture, not at all flattering of the cat like creature, but that didn't really matter.

He waited.
[member="Brill"]

 

[Malik Rodarch]

Brill shuddered, the man's teeth clattering upon the spoon being one of those triggers of unpleasantness, like nails on a chalkboard or a fluffy towel against your teeth.

“Hey hey hey!”

The snap went off, he had literally just taken a holo-picture, what a dolt!

The Cantrosian rushed up to the soldier, who naturally towered over him and he bit back the temptation to climb the man. “You didn't get my good side!” he snickered once more, looking up at the other man's chin, “Oh well!”

The creature known as Brill waved about his newly claimed deck of pazaak cards. Diplomacy clearly wasn't either one of their strong suits, they would be no use here.

“Wanna play?”

[member="Sam Aellin"]

 

[Sam Aellin]

Sam narrowed his eyes for a few seconds, watching the cat like creature as he slowly bit down on the spoon full of yogurt for the last time. He looked at the empty berry-less cup and let a single tear of mourning roll down his cheek before looking back at the Cantrosian.

“Okay.” Sam said solemnly as he reached down and from his cargo pants pocket pulled out a plastic deck protector. He popped open the lid to reveal a sterling set of Pazaak cards. Slowly he turned away from the cat and faced the table again.

Sam was an excellent pazaak player, in that he bought a lot of cards.

It was part of his addictive personality. Sam loved to gamble, he loved to drink, and he loved to win. This was what Sam was, and as he prepared to take the Cat for everything he had a certain spike of glee filled him.

 

[Malik Rodarch]

Another wince.

“Broseph, stop biting that frakking spoon!”

A bit of a futile statement as the soldier finished his yoghurt, why was he crying? Did he really have that much of a hard-on for yoghurt? He grinned. Great! Nothing passed the time quite like a good old fashioned game of pazaak. Of course, he would have to take a gander at his newly acquired deck of cards before actually playing. He shielded them from his soon-to-be-opponent.

+1, +1, +1, +1, +1, +1...

What the heck?!

Behind the green goggles his perplexity was hidden. Not a single card above or below the value of one, not one. Was there somebody who actually played with this deck? And won?! There was no turning back no.

“Name's Brill by the way,” he said waltzing over to a table and scrambling up onto the seat. Let's hope that there were no high stakes here. Not with these cards.

[member="Sam Aellin"]

 

[Sam Aellin]

Sam dealt out his own deck like an expert. He shuffled and shifted the cards in an almost magical way, the plastic intertwining between his fingers over and over again in a hypnotic fashion. Then like an absolute pro he dealt out the cards to himself.

He looked at Brill for a second, staring the cat creature into the...goggles.

“Sam.” He said as he picked up the hand from in front of him and checked the cards. He nodded to himself, checking over the card. +7 +/-3 +1 +2 -5 +/-4. Sam nodded to himself, yes this was an excellent hand, something that he could win with, something that he could dominate with. He smiled slightly, looking at the Cantrosian. “How about we make this interesting?”

He attempted to hide a dastardly grin, this would be his game.
[member="Brill"]