Freeze![Open Skirmish On Belgaroth]

[Chevu Visz]

Team 3: Starshooter's Compound

"My boyfriend?" Chevu chuckled, raising amused black brows at the comment. It was a joke, but even so, she didn't know what to say. Chevu didn't have boyfriends. She had complicated-as-hell relationships, one with her Master and the other with the father of her two children. She didn't know what she was to either one of them, and to make matters worse, both men hated one another. The whole situation was a powder keg waiting to explode.

The Mirialan simply shook her head, looking away with a grin. One minute she knew the perfect thing to say to Peyton. The next, the other woman had her all tied up in knots. Her clear blue pools were just deadly to Chevu's focus. Speaking of focus. Mission, Chevu. Now.

"No lightsabers yet, I'm going to..." Her commlink clicked on, startling her for a moment, as a thin voice came over the line. "Team 1 and 3, where are you?" it said in a panicked tone. The Knight's onyx eyes flashed to her partner.

"Sounds like some trouble at the weapons facility. You slice, I'll call for backup?"

The Jedi Marshal tapped on her Datalogger, sending an encrypted message to waiting GADF soldiers and NJO apprentices to head to the facility and reinforce Team 2. At this rate, they would get there much faster than she and Peyton.

[member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Galatea Raste"] [member="Sha'Lom Kolos"]

 

[Sha'Lom Kolos]

"[member="Chevu Visz"], this is Sha'Lom. All of team 2 is dead but me! I'm fighting Mulllarus, Abelain and Atrox! Please send help soon!"
Sha'Lom again clashed blades with [member="Knight Mullarus"] and [member="Darth Atrox"].
"Reinforcements will be here soon, and with that you will be arrested!"

 

[Darth Atrox]

"Arrested? No, no no, my little grey friend. You will die before your allies arrive."

A sickening smile etched it's way slowly across Darth Atrox's red and black skin. In one swift movement, the Sith pushed out a hand, throwing [member="Sha'Lom Kolos"] backwards, into a wall. The Zabrak began to laugh, holding out his hand where strands of flame were already beginning to burn.

"You shouldn't of come here tonight. I think a good burning will teach you not to deal with the power of The One Sith."

As the word power dropped out of the Knight's mouth, bursts of red hot flames erupted from his hands, engulfing Sha'Lom in an inferno. The sudden rise in temperature caused sweat to pour out of the pores in Mala's face instantly, and his mouth was twisted in a sickening, guttural roar as the power surged through his veins. Triumph spread through his rage-filled eyes as he cut off the endless flames issuing from his palms and fingertips. He gave [member="Knight Mullarus"] a side glance, sweat trickling like small streams, gathering on his brow.

"Now, you can watch your friends die."

He hissed at Sha'Lom, before clipping the lightsabers back on his belt, muttering a few profanities in Zabraki.

@Abelein Narv'uk

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Mullarus exhaled, shaking his head as [member="Darth Atrox"] began to handle [member="Sha'Lom Kolos"] himself. The young Sith Knight deactivated his lightsaber, "I trust you can handle this one, zabrak! I'm heading out to find the rest of them!" he said as he quickly turned and made his way out of the room, leaving the two to their duel amongst the fire.

Meanwhile, Mullarus would meet back up with [member="Abelain Narv'uk"] in the corridors. "With me, apprentice, we're on high alert now. Listen for any troopers calling out orders." Mullarus began to patrol the hallways, listening on his comlink for any chatter from the troopers in case they find more hostiles.

 

[Sha'Lom Kolos]

"Nonsense, I will not be killed by these flames. Hyahh!"
Sha'Lom absorbed the flames in his hands. He sent them back much hotter and faster at [member="Darth Atrox"].
"Petty fool, your flames mean nothing to me! [member="Knight Mullarus"] I'm coming for you next!"
Sha'Lom clashed sabers with Atrox. He continued to beat down on him and threw him yet again into a wall.
"I'm going to show my powers now! You won't be able to stand!"
Sha'Lom grabbed Atrox with the Force and slammed him around the room. His tossed him aside, and began his force maelstrom. He drew up flames and wall debris into the 'cloud'. He released it with much force, and ignited his saber again.
"How do you like me now!"

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

Abelain nodded, twisting once more and shifting the cape on his back to flicker final shadows upon the floor before departing with his teacher as he exited out of the room. ​"Teacher, it is conceivable that other foes will be approaching from different attack locations. It may be best for us to find a centralized area for rapid deployment upon confirmation of these attacks."

He passed a rapid trooper, one who was apparently rushing through the area and checking rooms, and once more felt the slight twinge of power that having his orders followed presented. The air was checked multiple times as they walked, each one scenting for the metallic tang of blood that would mark new intruders reaching his sphere of sense. For now, there seemed to be little, but it could change in a moment's notice.

In a moment's notice, there could be more dead.
[member="Knight Mullarus"]

 

[Galatea Raste]

She was busy staring at the artifact when a disturbance reached her. One of the guards was quickly discussing something and turned her eyes to him and saw that he had his comlink out and activated. Clearly he was talking to someone about something important, and he seemed agitated. She stood there watching them, and dimmed her Force presence, making herself appear weaker, but not fully hiding it. She had a feeling something was up.

"Lady Sith, we'll need you to leave with us. Our communications people have picked up distress calls from the arms factory and we're going to have to go investigate."

Galatea frowned and shook her head.

"I think not, my young friend. I will remain here."

"Ma'am, if you don't come with us we will be forced to detain you."

"The way I see it," she said, turning fully towards him, "is that you have three options. One, you go to search out the cause of this disturbance and leave me here. Two, you don't go and stay here with me, in which case you'll be killed for failing to do your duty. Three, you attempt to detain me, in which case you die immediately as my lightsaber removes your head from your shoulders. Take your pick."

She allowed her hands to rest simply at her side, watching the two guards as they seemed to mull over their options. They looked back and forth between each other, the one that talked visibly gulped, and then they looked back at her.

"We will leave you here since the security systems are online, and we will go investigate."

With that, they turned and left, leaving Galatea to watch the artifacts herself. She drifted back into the shadows and knelt down to wait, as she knew something, or someone, was coming, and an opportunity was going to make itself present. It would be advantageous to her to wait. She smiled to herself. If the two outside, which she only knew there was one, were careful, they could avoid the guards altogether.

[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Peyton Steele"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

“Yeah, didn’t you bed the Wrath?” She wasn’t really one for cutting around the bush, but that was the word on the street, and there was that near a year of Chevu being gone. There wasn’t much math in there, and Peyton made the leap of faith. “Is it true you converted him?” Still, that was just talk among the barracks, barracks the Operative, thankfully, rarely ever gone to.

She looked to the Jedi when the message came through, as an operative, Peyton carried a beacon that she could throw on the next objective if her life was in danger. But if it came to it? There wasn’t a rescue boat waiting for her. Galactic Alliance intelligence got their job done and they knew the risks.

“Can’t they hold?” She shook her head as she opened up her own datapad. She was one for the mission, the tasks needed to get done. “Do those names mean anything to you?” Peyton wasn’t briefed on the names she didn’t need to know. The blonde was going to need to get inside to access the files. But would Chevu make the choice of the mission, or the lives to save?

[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Galatea Raste"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu knew the questions were coming. Once she made the mistake of eavesdropping on the conversations in the GADF barracks, and never again. She knew she was the subject of rumors and scorn and the butt of jokes. Still, a rosy blush crept along her cheeks, when Peyton asked her if she'd "bedded" the Wrath. The Mirilian didn't quite know exactly how to answer the blonde agent. Did she sleep with the Wrath? Yes and no. Did she convert the Wrath? Yes and no. It was a complicated event that she couldn't sum up in a few quip-laden sentences. So Chevu did what she did best. Deflected.

"Hey, at least buy me dinner before I start spilling details about my love life," she said with a smirk, dark eyes still glued to her Datalogger.

"Wait," She cocked a green ear to the logger's commlink. "Did he say Mullarus and Darth Atrox? Oh feth. We gotta go."

There were teammates in grave danger and that took precedence over looting a Sith Lord's compound. Donning her helmet, the Mirialan Knight hopped back on her swoop bike and shot off in the direction of the weapons testing facility.

[member="Darth Atrox"] [member="Knight Mullarus"] [member="Galatea Raste"] [member="Abelain Narv'uk"] [member="Sha'Lom Kolos"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

“Dinner?” She looked up at the dark eyed Mirialan. “Maybe, if we get out of this one.” With the chatter on the radio, they’d be needing more than a bit of good luck, and the Force. Maybe Chevu could pull them out. “So… no on the raid of this property?” She wasn’t sure what good she could do against a Sith, but she could definitely take down the assistants.

She looked at the compound and bit her lip. Couldn’t they just… One person… Right, the Jedi. They were a bit odd, weren’t they? The war needed to be won, and working with everyone, well, maybe that would win it. But if they didn’t get the logistics of the Sith military? They were just as screwed as they were before this mission even took place.

She knew that no one else could get there, but Chevu, what could one Jedi do?

[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

Walking down the corridors, still scenting for threats, the monstrous figure wondered at how many opponents they would be facing, and also what the ulterior motive behind the attacks must have been. There was little logic in simply assailing a fortification for the sake of casualties, especially when one considered the galactic scale that was at play. Endless soldiers meant that there could be endless bodies, and that meant it was a pointless endeavor. No, casualties had definitely not been the objective.

That left weapons research, which was the purpose of the facility after all. It made sense that a hostile foe would attempt to scour the research of their opponents, to develop weaponry before they could utilize their own. Battles were fought with advanced technologies, and while soldiers were endless, such devices were not. It could mean the fate of a battle whether one side was equipped with a new shield or a new 'blaster'.

It might be best to consult the teacher on his opinions on such things, he was far more wise in the tactics of the greater galaxy. "Teacher. Why do you believe that the enemy attacks this place? It cannot be for the sake of causing injury, there are simply too many beings on each side for that to be successful."

On the periphery of Abelain's hearing was a gentle droning. "Another machine come to spill more foes unto us?"
[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Knight Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Abelain sure asked a lot of questions. That was good, it helped him teach the alien and it helped him learn more. "On the contrary, apprentice, the Republic loves to spill the blood of the Sith." It may become apparent to his student that his anger was beginning to show. Though he still had no idea the enemy here was not the Galactic Republic, nothing had shown the Knight that it was not. "They don't really care how many bodies they throw at us. Just as long as our patriots lay dead with them. You preach of judging others often, Abelain. The Republic...is the faction in this galaxy made up of the most inferior slime you'll meet. They kill, burn, and maim in the name of 'galactic peace' and lie about it in their politics and brand us as the ones who go too far. They're scum, and they all deserve to suffer."

When [member="Abelain Narv'uk"] mentioned another machine, Mullarus cocked a brow. "You hear something?" Mullarus heard nothing of the sort. He did, however, feel something. A source of light in the dark. Possibly more than a single one. Mullarus secretly hoped it was not Jedi, as it felt like. Abelain was not ready.

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu cut the engine on her swoop a half a mile away from the weapons testing facility. The entire area swam in the dark side of the Force, and the structure itself was ablaze. The Force was wailing with the suffering inside. Orange-yellow flames shimmered in the Mirialan's eyes as they brimmed with regret. She'd underestimated the Sith, like she'd done on Onderon and this time? It would probably cost lives.

Oh, why didn't we come straight here from the transports? I must have been mad to take a detour.

Remorsefully, the Knight sprinted towards the building, so hellbent on getting help to the friendlies, she barely checked to see if Peyton was following, but assumed that Blondie was close behind.

As she entered the facility, Chevu gathered the Force around her, and palmed her Zeison Sha Discblades. She would need both to dance with the devils inside. Reaching out with the Force, she searched for the wounded first.

[member="Knight Mullarus"] [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Abelain Narv'uk"] [member="Galatea Raste"] [member="Darth Atrox"] [member="Sha'Lom Kolos"]

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

Abelain shook his head, listening again to the peripheral noises, but it seemed that now he could not hear it. He cast a glance to the teacher, who spoke that he could not hear it, and in that moment, he heard the droning noise once more. Another familiar noise seemed to accompany it, a gentle crackling. That noise was close enough to Abelain's being that he recognized it almost as family, it was the sound of fire. That did not quite explain the droning noise that he continued to hear, though in another moment it became quite evident.

The facility was burning nearer to the explosion site, and some of the machinery in those areas was starting to be eaten away, especially machines that were currently on, which were creating droning noises as their engines were turned off forcibly. "It is damage from the fire, I believe." He continued down the hallways, following the teacher closely, hand resting softly upon the hilt of the lightsaber he had taken through a trial by combat. It would seem unlikely that he would need such a weapon, even against these legendary Jedi foes that the teacher mentioned on occasion. Their beams of light could not harm him.

The scent of blood permeated his senses, all around him, most of it still inside of bodies, though it seemed that at least some had left the body, whether through combat or accident. The Arue'tii twisted his head around to the left, seeming to stare into a wall. There was a stronger scent in that direction, one that seemed to indicate wounds, and farther was a scent he had not yet smelled. It was different than the others. "Do you take note of anything in this direction?"
[member="Knight Mullarus"] | [member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

Apparently it was time to go. Peyton was musing about the likelihood that she and Chevu would do any good in a place that had already lost a team of people. Was it wrong? Yeah, probably, but she was in Intelligence, she knew that this wasn’t always a game of numbers, but of who struck first. And the Supreme Commander could always welcome some good news, including the location of Sith supply lanes and what was being transported when. Word was, it was for some bigger offensive on the enemy of the Alliance.

Or all the enemies. She was not privy to that information, part of the ‘need to know’ basis.

What she did do was try to install at least a Trojan horse on the systems of the Sith, but without a Jedi abck up, it was time to get moving elsewhere. She ran to her swoop, with Chevu already away from their location by the time she had installed a quick virus in the Sith systems, and hopped on. Speeding off after Chevu, she found the other swoop parked and did the same, no need to come in too far on this.

If they Jedi had any sense, they’d get heavier weapons, and stop trying to arrest people, and instead fire on sight. Sith were animals, and there was no discussion or diplomacy with animals. Dismounting her swoop, the blonde scrambled after the green Jedi.

“Nothing we could have done, if we were here.” They’d be dead. She did reach back and grab her stun batons, not activating them, instead going to use them for their melee use first.

Spoiler

[member="Abelain Narv'uk"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Knight Mullarus"]
[member="Sha'Lom Kolos"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Mullarus sighed. What should have been a normal day training his new apprentice has become a battle. As an apprentice to Darth Pyrrhus, Mullarus never saw real combat until months after his training began. Now here he was with the massice alien on day one and he had a chance to completely lose his first apprentice.

"No, I don't. It's too dark to se-" Suddenly, something did feel off. It wasnt something he could see or hear. But he felt it.

Jedi.

"As a matter of fact...I do. Stay with me, Abelain, they will come to us. If they want to spill our blood so badly, they can fight through a legion of stormtroopers and climb a concrete wall." he said, heading in the direction of the front of the facility, where the heaviest concentration of stormtroopers defended.

[member="Chevu Visz"] / [member="Abelain Narv'uk"] / [member="Peyton Steele"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Team 3: Weapon Testing Facility

Peyton was right. If it was as much of a bloodbath as it looked to be, they might have also been dead had they not taken their detour to Starshooter's Compound. The smoke inside the facility was thick, and Chevu buried her face in the crook of one arm. The other involuntarily shot out to protect the blonde agent, as she saw a figure walk into the room, full of confidence and brimming with power, the Sith Knight, Mullarus, soaked in the dark side of the Force. Chevu recognized him from her Holo-dossier. Most of the information on the One Sith had been provided by [member="The Revenant"], who shared a body with his brother, Reverance, until the two men were separated. He saw through the Wrath's eyes, and knew names, faces, powers, Lightsaber forms. Gabe was almost a walking intel file on the One Sith.

The best defense is a good offense.

Was that an old Sullustan saying? Or did she hear that idiom from somewhere else? No matter. What was important now was that Chevu was flicking two Zeison Sha Discblades in the direction of the Knight. If her aim was true, they would scream towards him, aiming to sink into his skin in two places, one his right arm, which she presumed to be his lightsaber arm. The other would fly right towards his neck, going for the jugular itself. The nifty thing about these Force-imbued discblades was that once hurled, they would return to Chevu through telekinetic means, if they did not get lodged in the Knight's flesh, of course.

[member="Knight Mullarus"] [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Abelain Narv'uk"]

 

[Abelain Narv'uk]

The being did not speak again after initially pointing out the disturbance. It seemed incorrect for the teacher and himself; leaders by all rights, to be retreating away from a fight while also sending their inferiors to their imminent deaths. Abelain sighed, and continued down the hallway, taking note of how the blood scent of this new type of being seemed to be drawing closer as well. Very close, it may have been another chance to alert the teacher, but the Arue'tii assumed that he could sense the disturbance.

Mullarus seemed to turn a corner towards a room, and the explorer suddenly realized that he might not sense the disturbance. He lashed his chitinous arm outwards, it making impact with the pair of discs which soared towards his teacher, and stepping into view of the green-skinned female. Curious, he had not seen one of her race before. The pair of discs seemed to have caused no damage to the arm, simply having impacted with a loud clinking noise.

These were the Jedi that the teacher had spoken of? Were they so petty as to resort to sneak attacks and weapons which barely seemed capable of harming flies.

"Greetings Jedi." The voice spoke from behind the exoskeletal smile which covered his face. "I have heard many stories of your kind, though I did not expect such brutality. I am Abelain Narv'uk, who are you?" He bowed his head briefly, hands leaning downwards for the Sith vibroblade and the Iridonian lightsaber at his side.

[member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Knight Mullarus"] | [member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Silver-green eyes probed the moderate darkness of the dimly lit corridors. He had elected to remain out of the affairs of the Jedi on this planet simply because...they were but a pin attempting to prick a solid brick wall. What did they hope to truly accomplish by assaulting this weapons facility? Perhaps there was information to be gained, perhaps. However, an attack on this facility certainly would have no lasting effect on the mammoth war machine that was the One Sith.

The entire operation seemed to have abruptly lost steam until some measure of reinforcements had seemed to arrive. To an indisputable point, [member="Knight Mullarus"] and his...swarm of acolytes were more than capable of handling what the Sith Lord presently sensed. His curiosity remained with the very familiar presence he had felt but briefly. Was his family hiding from him? That would be quite out of character as of late. The Sith Lord only ever wanted to make them better. A continuous challenge.

Cameron was more than aware that Soliael understood the realities of the galaxy. If his family chose to engage in this continuous war, then they naturally ran the risk of failing, of losing their lives. Yet...to kill was easy...to empower your enemy in order to challenge yourself? That was far more interesting to the Sith Lord.

The involuntary flooding of his presence into the Force rather pointedly preceded his arrival into the immediate area of the fighting. As it stood, however, he was perhaps another sixty seconds of walking or so from the room where all the action was taking place.

And...he certainly was in no rush.

[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Abelain Narv'uk"]

 

[Galatea Raste]

Interesting. They had left rather than pressing inward. The place was largely deserted at this point, but they'd gone away rather than entering and having their chance at all of the artifacts that lay within. She could not ascertain why such a decision would be made, but she knew it was likely due to outside forces. Something, most likely, had redirected their motivations, which left Galatea alone in a sea of wealth and wonder.

She turned her gaze back to the artifact in front of her and stared at it. The information she'd read on the placard was vague. It was unknown if this was the only one or if there were others. It was called a shard, which implied a greater whole. That, in turn, implied that there were likely others. Should she risk it?

This was what she contemplated as she sat in the shadows, keeping her presence largely hidden. She wasn't visible on any of the cameras, either. Her location was chosen for this reason. She wanted the cameras to lose her, and she wanted to be forgotten. Her intent had been to use the outsider woman to come in and try to claim the shard, and then take it from her, but that wasn't an option now. No, now she would have to figure out a new plan.

She would have the shard.

[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Peyton Steele"]