Fish People and Jedi Oh My!

[Mak Manto]

Manaan Orbit

Standing on the deck of a Republic cruiser, Mak looked down at the planet. Pulling out his pipe, he lit it up, hearing the commands and orders of the officers as they relayed data back and forth.

War...

He was back in war again. Darron Wraith had requested for him to come into the battle, and seeing as how he was no longer the decrepit Jedi Master who had to walk with a cane, but was biologically at the age of 35, he was well suited to serve again. He had always been one to be in war, serving a Senior General during the Clone Wars. Now, it would come again as he fought against the opposing forces that stood against democracy and freedom.

 

[Darron Wraith]

Manaan Orbit

Standing in the hangar bay of the Teferi, Darron Wraith quickly approached the Thisspiasian Jedi Master. He had been gone for quite some time, and now was the time for his skills to be used once again for the defense of peace. The pirates on Manaan had been quite troublesome, and the supplies of Kolto on this world were vital. At the moment a deal was being struck between the planet and the Republic for it to be annexed into the government of systems. That deal hinged on the pirates being stopped, and that was why the GrandMaster of the Jedi Order was there. Mak had been brought along for his skill in battle and his formidable knowledge in most subjects, as well as his ability in the Force. In reality it was a test to see if he was ready to claim a seat on the re-formed Jedi Council, this mission had multiple layers of importance to many different parties.

His boots echoed off the hangar floor as ht approached the Thisspiasian, and came to a parade rest by him.

"Any questions before we go down there Master Manto?"

 

[Mak Manto]

"None, actually. It feels strange to be here again, serving in battle, but I know what to do when the time comes if we need to go in. Let's get started..."

 

[Darron Wraith]

"Okay good my friend, follow me and we shall make this a quick decisive strike."

Darron quickly walked towards the shuttle, and with a wave of his hand the hatch opened and a walkway activated. As it touched the floor the pair of Jedi Masters walked/slithered up the ramp and got into the shuttle. Without a word, he got into the pilots seat and strapped himself in. A few button presses later, and a fully system diagnostic had been done on the shuttle. It was ready to go, and Darron closed the hatch and the ramp went back into the ship. "This is shuttle to Teferi, Jedi cargo is in route to Manaan." Looking at the display he saw that the Teferi had acknowledged his commands, the massive ship would give cover fire from orbit should they need it.

"Remember Mak, we are to capture the Pirate leader so he can stand trial. I sure hope you can swim old friend."

 

[Mak Manto]

"Hah! Back during the old days, when I was on Coruscant, I used to swim a hundred laps. I'm agile in water. Though, what's up with the pirate? Any special weapons or traps we have to worry about when trying to get him? Wouldn't look good for me if I got in trouble and you had to save my tail on my first mission back."

 

[Darron Wraith]

"His name is Baylore the Terrible, or so they call him. He's wanted in over seventeen systems for multiple counts of murder, destruction, and even attempted genocide. He even is known for breaking into some ancient tech vaults from the Old Republic and confiscating old war droids."

Darron idly piloted the ship out of the hangar, and quickly throttled up to quickly get away from the Teferi. The quicker they got through the atmosphere and down on Manaan the better.

"Basically his army is a bunch of pirates and a lot of Magna-Guards that have been re-serviced."

 

[Mak Manto]

"MagnaGuard's, huh...?"

Now there was a word he hadn't heard in a long time. Another Clone Wars relic that had haunted many of the Jedi. The droids that there able to spar with a Jedi almost evenly. He had remembered fighting one during the Battle of Esseles. He had been commanding troops on the planet when several MagnaGuard's had come down, slaughter a platoon before Mak had engaged them. Rodo had also taken the body of one when they had been fighting.

"We'll need to be careful, naturally. Electrostaffs aren't as deadly as lightsabers, but one jab in the right spot can bring a Jedi down permanently."

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Manaan Orbit

Lysander waited with silent eagerness aboard the shuttle. His belt now held a lightsaber, creation courtesy of instruction and oversight from Ben Watts. It was a simple, yet elegant weapon, its core of adegan crystal. Lysander, a Soresu stylist, did not go into battle seeking single combat fights. Rather, he sought to assist the battle in its entirety. He planned on doing so through use of his empathic and healing abilities, inspiring troops and healing the wounded. A lightsaber was a defensive weapon to him. As it should be. It could be wielded to kill, but only with care and caution. He would seek to disarm before he fought to kill. It was the way of the Jedi.

He glanced at the other occupants. Mak Manto and Darron Wraith. Esteemed Jedi in their own rights. Darron even had a statue of himself outside the temple, erected to his legacy. Lysander could only dream of such a legacy after his eventual death. All things die, even stars.

"If they have that many Magnaguards, it would be advisable to go for the droid control center, Masters."

 

[Darron Wraith]

Darron worked the controls some more as they drew closer to the atmosphere, the air heating up around the viewport and turning it red at the edges.

"Yes, we will need to be wary of the Magna-guards. We shall be taking the droid control center first before we handle Baylore if everyone is agreement with me."

Suddenly realizing he hadn't introduced the pair, the GrandMaster mentally kicked himself for being rude. "Oh Lysander, meet Jedi Master Mak Manto. Mak, meet Padawan Lysander. He comes on good recommendation from his Master, Ben Watts."

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Lysander gave a slight bow, "Master Manto. A pleasure." Mismatched eyes, one blue, one brown, stared at the Thisspiasian Master.

His eyes then turned to the cockpit viewport as they descended through atmosphere and grew closer to the planet's surface. Soon they would be engaged in combat and Lysander would need every bit of his Jedi training, as well as his previous experience from 6 years spent campaigning against pirates in the Suarbi System.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

A deep hum rose from the Ithorian in the corner. It was remarkably easy to forget that Boolon Murr was present, involved, or significant. An unassuming pacifist, he carried a lightsabre with exceptional lack of expertise. He was, in point of fact, an Ithorian priest, and had been so before joining the Jedi.

No point in bringing such a Jedi on a combat mission. So said some. But then again, the Ithorian had a sterling record as a Jedi Shadow, an expert recovery specialist relative to the most dangerous Sith artifacts.

He continued humming from both throats, singing or meditating.

 

[Mak Manto]

"A pleasure to meet you, padawan Lysander."

Returning the bow, he looked out into orbit, seeing the planet coming closer. It had been a long time since he had been on Manaan. The last time he had come, it had ended in a disastrous event...

 

[Darron Wraith]

"Remember everyone, don't let them corrupt the Kolto on this world. It would cripple Manaan's economy as well as completely de-rail this mission."

The ship finally broke through the atmosphere, and looking at the display before him he could see they were on a perfect course for the facility. This all feels too easy, and in reality it was. Just as Darron was about to comment on what he was thinking, a tingle went up his spine. A klaxon sounded, and an explosion rocked the shuttle.

The Pirates were firing upon them.

"Lysander, man the turret!. Mak, battle meditation if you don't mind?"

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Lysander glanced at the Ithorian in the corner. Strange, he hadn't even noticed him before. The Ithorian said nothing. Unassuming? Or asleep. Lysander could not tell. He glanced toward the viewport again, watching as the ocean planet was unveiled in all her glory.

The ship bucked.

Mismatched eyes ripped themselves away from the blue planet's shimmering surface. Flak fire. Turrets would do them little good unless there were starfighters on their tail. The high pitched screaming of a missile lock answered that question. Lysander cursed and moved toward the turret's hatch entrance.

He stumbled as incoming fire splashed against the ship's shields, rocking the vessel. However, Lysander had spent many years in combat in just such vessels. His 'space legs' were well accustomed to recovering from shuddering ships. Grabbing either side of the hatch, he bunched both feet until his knees touched his chest and exploded forward through the small entrance. He landed lightly on his feet and strapped himself into the turret. It swung to point at one of the incoming fighters.

There were three on their tail, closing fast in TIE uglies. Relics of a bygone era, but even relics could kill. Lysander centered the targeting reticle on the first ugly and began to open fire. Whump. Whump. Whump. The Anti-Aircraft gun fired away, spewing red lancets of energy toward the lead fighter. It broke off in alarm. The one behind it, and the one Lysander had truly been aiming at, was not so lucky. The plasma tore through the ugly, ripping off a wing and sending it spiraling down toward the ocean below.
One down. Two to g- missile lock ons blared again.

"Master Wraith, fire our chaff and flares!" Lysander called behind. No amount of piloting could make a shuttle outmaneuver a missile.

 

[Darron Wraith]

Mental note, remind me to tell Ben his student Lysander should be Knighted.

If not for him digging deeply into the Force, and his face taking on it's normal calm expression. The GrandMaster of the Jedi Order would be smiling at how well the Padawan was handling himself in this situation. His file had clearly stated he had seen battle before, but his actions were quickly showing that the reports were accurate. Lysander nimbly moved through the bucking shuttle with ease, and soon the turrets were firing at incoming missiles.

While the Padawan was shooting, Darron was deep in the Force moving the ship. Mak's battle mediation helped him significantly, and the GrandMaster noted how quiet Boo was being. His calm in battle was legendary, and it was showing on this day. Upon Lysander's request, Darron fired the flares and chafe as they managed to avoid another round of missles.

Then the target lock klaxon sounded again, and their viewport was filled with projectiles...

 

[Adonari Cinn]

The deep blue ocean resting peacefully twenty meters beneath the shuttle that had transported @[member="Damon Kurosaki"] @[member="Ben Watts"] and A'donari reflected the sky above like a mirror. The beauty was breath taking but a vacation was not why they had come to Manaan. His conscious thoughts were connected with the force. His calm demeanor came from the knowledge of their present safety entering the ocean at the precise location. He took a quick inhale of air that was coming through his thin flexible underwater suits breathing system before leaping forward arms spread like a bird with prey in it's eyes. He kept his position before he was five feet from the water below before throwing his arms out in front of his head and slipping through the surface with a clean dive.

Reaching out in all directions A'donari could feel the underwater and surface mines throughout the water that he marked out as a radius of close to three hundred yards on all sides. He knew that Ben could feel every mine from where he was to the floating city. Still he had been given the go head to lead them to the submerged cargo bays and underwater hangers below the city. He connected with each of their minds while speaking telepathically, "It's a mile south of this location. Damon, open yourself completely to the force and allow it to flow through you continuously without thought and watch as the limitations you thought bound you, even as a Jedi, are lifted." It was strange to him that he already taken on the responsibility of a Padawan and now taught Damon some of the same lessons Ben had taught A'donari. Even stranger was the fact that Ben was with him during the Knight and Padawan's first mission together.

Turning by kicking his hands and feet softly A'donari lined himself up while feeling out every mine surrounding him at that point. The worries he once had before entering the water were gone now that he connected with them and could feel their very being from the inside. Peace took control of his body and he shot forward using the force to guide his limbs and thoughts shooting him through the water like a strange blue fish. He ducked and weaved through the maze of mines. Every second getting closer and closer to aiding Master's Darron and Mak who had briefed the Jedi team entering from below of their chosen aerial breach on the city. A'donari and Ben had chosen the latter for this exact reason. It would be a great chance to train Damon while simultaneously building his confidence in himself and the force through mission experience. The more experience his young Padawan had would aid in his ability to relax and trust in the force during sticky situations that Ben and A'donari usually found themselves in.

 

[Mak Manto]

As his eyes closed and he stationed his Battle Meditation on Darron, he heard the klaxons blaring, alerting them to projectiles coming from the enemy fighters. Lifting up a hand, he stretched out with the Force, feeling the missiles. While blowing them up would be easy, his hand shook as he took control of them, redirecting their path back to the fighters.

As the blaring stopped, a second later, explosions could be heard and seen from the windows. As he opened his eyes, he got up, looking at the two. Seeing the Ithorian, Mak also spoke to him.

"We're not going to be bothered anymore, at least at this part. If we're already being tracked, Darron, it's easy to say that we're going to be facing someone who's going to put all of their energy in stopping us."

 

[Selena Halcyon]

Water skiffs were dropping quickly, and little could be done from the perspective of the Jedi. She was useful in taking on the pirate base when they got to it. The pirate's skiffs and airspeeders were now coming at the already dwindling Selkath force. This was absurd. The Republic had been initially aiding the Selkath plans, but their plans were clearly incompetent and really not prepared. Mines were knocking down skiffs, as were the enemy skiffs and airspeeders. It was kind of annoying to watch. Sure, some of their opponents were sinking into the water, but honestly not enough. Selena stood on the deck of her skiff and was done.

She walked up to the commander on her skiff, "Pull us out now. The Republic will take this from here."

Pirates should not be this hard.

 

[Darron Wraith]

A bit of laughter escaped Darron's lips as he pushed down on the controls, sending the craft into a dive towards the facility. Mak's adept use of the Force had been well timed, and Darron was going to do the same thing if the situation called for it. Flying low, he managed to set the damaged shuttle down on a landing platform, and the Force was buzzing around him. Things were about to get very dangerous very quick...as if they weren't already.

"Alright guys, lets get unstrapped and do some damage."

With the Darron loosened his seat-belt and ran out of the shuttle, the Force aiding his speed. Just as he rounding the corner around the hatch, blaster bolts came firing at him...

 

[Adonari Cinn]

The mines wizzed by him as bubbles shot up all around him from the release of oxygen and an occassional fart rolling through the water resistant fabric. The constant movment from his limbs as he swam faster and faster towards the floating structure caused the air to disperse rapidly around him. In the distance he felt a strange rumble on the surface followed by multiple other and realized what was going on. "Dive! Dive Dive!" A'donari shouted into his helmet that allowed him to speak to Ben and Damon.

Large explosions could be seen erupting one after another around the mines. Each one that went off set off two around it causing a domino effect. Swimming as fast as he could with the help of the force A'donari felt the tight pressure on his body as light began to grow thin. Continuing down for what felt like an hour but he was sure had only been five minutes they reached the bottom of the submerged mine field. Vibrations could still be felt randomly through the dense and thick water but at least they were safer than being near the for now. We'll have to swim the last hundred meters down here he said allowed while pushing himself to keep up the pace to arrive to the underwater hangers on time. Huge sea creatures moved past them, some friendly while others saw food when looking at the three. A'donari connected with the minds of the creatures that were hostile and caste a projection of the predator they feared the most swimming towards them. It always ended in them fleeing for their life.

In the dark A'donari relied on the force as his vision. "Adonari look up." Ben said already treading water behind him and looking towards the surface that couldn't be seen from such a depth. A Skiff was sinking rapidly blowing up mine after mine though they were doing little to alter it's course. "Ben it's heading straight for us. What do we do?"

Answering the question with action Ben lifted his hand before resonating the strongest amount of force A'donari had ever felt. Ben grasped the vessel, wrapping it completely with the force and began to move it slowly from it's path. The skiff began to blow through mines further and further to the right of it before it broke through the final mines on the bottom of the field and crashed before them in the distance. The dark ocean water began to light up from the false lights directly in front of them resonating partially from the destroyed skiff and partially from the cities huge lights surrounding the submerged hanger doors. A smaller door beside one of the massive hanger entrances opened as droids filed out responding to the damage that the wreckage had done to the exterior of the city. "That's our entry point." said Ben. A'donari agreed while continuing forward towards the the huge doors that were shut in the distance. A'donari swam ahead noticing the service droids paid no mind to them. After a few more minutes he reached the entry way and proceeded forward after reaching out with the force and detecting no threat in the area.