Justice for All... (Dominion of Chalcedon LotF)

[Yasha Cadera]

'You adore it, I adore it, we're all going to enjoy that certainty in the end. We can work with the teaching thing, maybe you'll have other tidbits to envy later on.' I can't help but grin and smirk as I stand beside Bucket. [member="Brom Burnside"] doesn't trust me yet? Or he does but how far? It's all going to be okay and now I actually feel it. I feel it down in the pit of my stomach and further into my spine. I send that certainty to Dissero and shoulder the doubts and burdens holding him in a fragile state

'And tell the guy you have with you we're waiting on Team One. If he wants to take up the stalling tactics of [member="Ashin Varanin"] and [member="Jared Ovmar"], he can be my guest. We have to hit at a cohesive moment, or it becomes one gigantic chainsaw blender. Tell him 'thanks' though, I'm glad he's there.' I bite the inside of my cheek and rub my arms with my hands.

"[member="Sargon Vynea"] where are we at on Team One? My guys are at the perfect temperament to strike. Unless you want me to calm them down and potentially lose their fighting edge."

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anders Sivas"]

Gavin sat in the lounge of the ship sipping tea and willing his head ache away. He thought about getting up soon he really did. However, first he needed to kill his head ache and figure out where he was going.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

There was someone missing from the 'chomping at the bit' form of the team. Someone the Sivas Counsellor knew at least more than a little. "Where's [member="Gavin Ovmar"]? Right as I say we're all ready to go the Other Ovmar goes honky."

My fingers brush against the bridge of my nose and I sniff. 'Gavin, what's. . . oh dang, son!' I hop out of his head and slam my palm onto my temple. "Ow! What the Hoth?"

I pull a layer of healing onto my own mind, slicking back toward Gavin's mental presence and 'knock on the door'. 'So headache. Need some help with that?'

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Anders Sivas"]

Having nothing intelligent to say to explain his hungover condition he did what any smart man would do.

"I blame the bartender." He said

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Palm, meet face. "Oh for the love of Amidala." Hung over. [member="Gavin Ovmar"]'s brain was squished and lacking water, and that's not an easy 'wave my magic hand' fix. That's a pump him full of fluids and watch the grey matter dance the expansion dance. 'Really? The night before a mission and you blame the bartender. . . yeah I see how that could work. Hold on. You wouldn't happen to know how to control your pain, would you?'

My eyes shut, I pull into Gavin Ovmar's mind and begin my attempt at controlling his pain. Hopefully it starts getting less fuzzy.

 

[Inger Strömfire]

Everything about her scream out more then a business then to anyone else that wasn't a force user other things could be seen out of place. Making sure she had her head up to make it look as if she was the one that need to be looked at with respect. Finding herself being able to be harder for ones not to take a second glance. Finding her own way to sitting beside what she could call her Master. Teaching her more then just the force how to blend it to her own will.

Even so she as still young need to learn so much more then this force business but other life skills as will. Finding it harder for her to do anything but wait for their own ride to be finished then the real fun could begin. Looking down now she couldn't help but smile upon the one looking at her in a hungry way. Brushing this own thought from her mind.

Then made to wait feeling she didn't even need the force to tell how her master was faring so fare on this matter and waiting. Not very good as it would seem. Making her own way towards what only seem to be who they was going to met. Even the look but it was the smell of smell that lingered in the hair. Wanting nothing more then to cut all these slaver down but knowing that first was to play the part then they could come back and take everyone back but also having stability.

"Yes, my lord.", was all she really need to say as she knew to say less was more.

[member="Lucien Cordel"]

 

[Shinju]

Shinju and her team were... kicking their feet. The plan of coming in when contacted was on the wayside and she had found some amusement with the servants attending to them while her fingers gleamed with the glistening bone in her mouth. She had gotten hungry and sat there relaxing with a plate of food while sitting and waiting for the call to come in and do what she did best. Negotiate and cause mayhem, destruction and chaos. "I want my baby back baby back baby back ribs.... I want my baby back baby back baby back ribs..... barbeque sauce."

 

[Belle Morte]

Sadly team three was boring, the stealth ships were nice and as the biot in her eye socket flicked around tracking almost. Belle could admit to a few things... She was having a fun time with this. It was a relaxing if boring time but not running into every fight and not having to deal with an entire battlefield was well worth being bored out of your skull. She could last longer then needed and make sure she was going to be having a good moment while the cannibal ate one of their attendants and she straightened out the armored inqusitors suit she was wearing. The red leather and armored sectins tightening while she grab her saber.

 

[Bundori]

Her master was here and that was good but she wasn't on the planet and that was bad. Bundori skipped around in her new dress while she wondered if her older sister [member="Minerva Vessia"] was going to be here as well.. granted she wasn't trained to fight but as Bundori looked on at the dress her mommy had bought for her she was enjoying the time for it all and her chain sword... it was a wonderful day while she sang a little with her skipping. "He's got the whole world in his hands... he's got the whole world in his hands... he's got the whole wide world in his hands." She laughed as now slowly the few attendants from Rakata and Soledad they had were being used to feed the hunger pains she and her mommy were feeling as she smiled showing him dainty teeth. "We're going to play a game."

 

[Dissero]

What do I look like? the Archivist sniped back at [member="Anders Sivas"], eyes still keen upon [member="RC 212 "]and Co., a messenger boy?

If there was such a thing as a humorous emphatic shot to the shoulder, he offered it to the Councilor.

"Management's alright with a bit of stalling," a nod towards the armored man was given, "just keep it low profile, do what you do best."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

'Yep. Pretty much. At the moment. I'm bored.' I start telepathically humming a tune, and put the image of a dancing bantha in [member="Brom Burnside"]'s brain. 'I mean. . . you look like you could use some action and a hug.'

I check my chrono and notice my foot's been tapping. "[member="Sargon Vynea"], what's going on with Team One? Are they in trouble or did they forget to comm us? Is it something I said? But seriously, my team's getting bored. They're losing their excitement for the mission at hand."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The command-level channels filtered through Ashin's earbud; she sorted the messages and the silences with long-buried access keys and bitter disappointment. Embarrassment, too.

There had been a time when the Lords of the Fringe were the most powerful, feared, and proactive members of the galactic community. There had been a time when a simple three-prong op would have been crushed out in minutes. There had been a time when they hadn't been quite so afraid to step on each other's toes when necessary, or to let the tired rest. There had been a time when they cared.

In a very real sense, the Fringe's weakness was her fault; she knew that. Not just because she'd handed the Confederation democracy long before it was ready, but because she, as a founder and as their teacher, had begun giving them mixed signals. The message had been lost. She could only blame herself.

That had been two or three High Councils ago, and she could almost smell the rust. In that time she'd walked other paths, returning to the Unknown Regions only when Spencer asked, or to command the Chimaera for the Confederation. She couldn't regret those paths, but if she was to ponder there had been a time, there had been a time when her responsibility to the people of the Unknown Regions came before everything -- even her honor, even her personal desires, even her strength and her growth.

Walking along the final stretch to the Team One objective, listening to the comm channels bleat and silence reign in key sectors, she found herself at the moment she'd anticipated for years now. She turned and looked at Team One - [member="Jared Ovmar"], [member="Lucianus Adair"], and [member="Matsu Xiangu"]. Each, in their way, her successor. Each capable of stopping her.

But she knew they knew what was necessary. She knew they were just as tired of this neutered song and dance. Eyes on them, with a mental apology to [member="Sargon Vynea"], she adjusted her comlink and earbud to transmit to all Fringe team members, and to Command.

"Now hear this. This is Ashin Varanin assuming callsign Fringe Actual."

Take a breath, let it out. Back in the saddle.

"[member="Anders Sivas"], Team One will be in position in ninety seconds. Stand by for new orders relevant to Team Three."

With a practiced twist of the miniaturized controls, she patched through to Captain [member="Livia Maddox"], the backup.

"Captain Maddox, this is Fringe Actual, Grand Admiral Ashin Varanin. Ground operations will be underway in five. You are ordered to move into position to interdict any escape traffic from the surface. The spaceport will be locked down, but we can't rule out peripheral single-ship landing facilities. These are slaver ships; ion cannons only. Out."

Switch. Team Two had entered the meeting with their putative hosts, in the well-guarded obsidian building. The Force gathered around Ashin, and far across the hideout she was about to torch, a massive communications suite began to crumple.

"Team Two: [member="Inger Strömfire"], [member="Maddock Kane"], [member="Spencer Jacobs"], [member="Lucien Cordel"]. Your position is acknowledged. Engage."


Switch. Team Three had been sitting on its hands, which was sort of the point of Team Three, at least according to the original plan. The comm suite squalled like an infant at four in the morning, and then went mercifully silent.

"[member="Anders Sivas"], [member="Brom Burnside"], [member="Lady Exedō"], [member="Bourne Cavanagh"], [member="Nickolas Imura"], @RC 212, [member="Belle Morte"], @Bundori. Enemy comms are down, teams One and Two have engaged, you are go for insertion operations. Repeat, you have a go order."


She raised an eyebrow at Jared, Lucianus and Matsu, crossed the street, and leaped. Her old lightsabre flared to life, starfire-yellow. Three vertical stories, a window and a quick three-way cut put her inside the control center. Her sabre at the duty man's throat got the spaceport lockdown going. The slavers' port security engaged, loudly. Every blast door, every hangar door, anything that involved durasteel and a lock got locked. Some of it even got ray shielded, not to mention the stun traps. This would have been the time to bring in a canister of Ssi-Ruuvi paralysis gas, but such had not been one of the options presented.

Descending the control tower stairs, she and her lightsabre got to work.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

‘Ah… we are back in business.’ was the thought the Sith Lord experienced when Varanin re-assumed direct control. It was a pleasant feeling to be once again led by the Grand Admiral, simply because in the grand scheme of things this was more her territory than anyone else’s. She had bled for the Fringe and when she had decided to disband the Junta and install a democracy… Ovmar hadn’t agreed with the decision, but he knew better then to complain.

Simply because the decision had had its own logic - with a democracy firmly in place the Republic would have had less reasons to complain. Didn’t stop them from invading a few months later, but that wasn’t Varanin’s fault. Who would have thought them to desire such an extensive asswhooping?

So the Sith Lord nodded towards his Empress with an expression of appreciation and then gestured towards the two experimental astromech droids which had been following him for quite some time now. They were constructed by Neuro-Saav Corporation - drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, mostly the GTF0 astromech which construction he himself had supervised a few years ago.

...it had coincided with his own extensive asswhooping at the hands of Anaya Fen. Funny how things turned around for all of ‘em in the end, he shook his head at that thought and proceeded to follow Varanin’s jump into the commander center. The two droids used their thruster’s to follow their Master and quickly disabled two sentients who were ‘bout to fill Ovmar with holes.

He wasn’t much of a lightsaber specialist, instead he attempted to fill up the holes Varanin was leaving by mentally suggesting the men into attacking their own comrades, jumping in front of shots that should have hit the Empress and cetera.

In the meanwhile one of the Astromechs tried to slice itself into the security systems to override the turrets. They would probably come in handy later on.

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

Matsu hadn’t been around to witness the beginnings of the Fringe or its rise to power, though she knew exactly the powerhouse it had been. Even now, out of the all the places in the Galaxy she could call home, the Outer Rim and the Fringe were where she felt right. Regardless of any decline or quiet she felt a sense of loyalty awarded to not much else.

So when Varanin took over there was a thrill up her spine that she followed without hesitation.

It seemed all plans for quiet had been abandoned as they went in sabers ignited, the hum louder than normal in its suddenness. Varanin didn’t need more than Ovmar covering her back so she went to work making sure no one important escaped through any exits her team might be unaware of. She, like her Master, was not particularly skilled when it came to her saber but she was not up against any master duelists here, swinging her blade in a sweeping arc to deflect a barrage of bolts back at a trio of attackers that fell shortly after.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a man in uniform huddling by himself, gesturing wildly in to his comms and looking around with the gaze of a man desperate for a way out of something he really should have known might happen one day. Reaching out she latched on to a mind weak and malleable, projecting an image of herself in front of him smiling and soft.

D̞o͎̠̺̖ͨn̮̬̙̤̅̌͛̂̅͆ͫ'͇͆͗̇̋͗ͨt͍̭̺ͪ̉̚ ̜̩̲͈̻̪̼ͯbͩ̃̄ͥĕ̩̻͎̼ͅͅ ͨ͌̾̒̄͊ͯͅà̤̦̠̭͕̿ͅf͓̱̯͑̑͊̔͊ȓ͓̤͒a͈̩͙ͨ͆ͫ̔̃iͭ̊̆̎d͎͎͓̿̅ͮ.̘̖̙̦͍͙̅͌̈ ̟͗̒̈̔ͨ̚ͅ​

It gave her enough time to reach him and cut him in two before moving around the outside of the control room to make sure there was no one else calling in the cavalry.

[member="Ashin Varanin"] | [member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Lucianus Adair"]​

 

[Yasha Cadera]

The regal voice of [member="Ashin Varanin"] settles in my brain and I stand to attention, back straight and eyes forward on the host of holoscreens showing my team's position and sight lines.

"Roger that, Fringe Actual. Team three ready and waiting go-time." Bucket's servo-motors are twitching and engaging with the security systems and patch systems in Team Three's entry point.

'Here we go, [member="Brom Burnside"]. You've all got this, give them bloody heck. Don't hit collaterals.' I mentally project a sense of readiness and excitement to Team Three's [member="Brom Burnside"] [member="Lady Exedō"] [member="Bourne Cavanagh"] [member="Nickolas Imura"] [member="Gavin Ovmar"] [member="RC 212 "][member="Belle Morte"] and [member="Bundori "]. The view screens beside me and around [member="Sargon Vynea"] burst with the actions of Team One, and Team Two. I do a little fist pump and dig my boots into the deck of the stealth ship. With [member="Livia Maddox"] in the skies and [member="Jared Ovmar"] below I feel well enough that we don't only have this, but have it with efficiency and verve. Now that we're going.

"Team Three, we are go. Rip them up and hit them hard before the garrison can re-equip the enemies around Teams One and Two. Go!" I punch the lead on the team and send the message to their support crew to open the hangar bay and let them out. It was time to shred the slavers of Chalcedon.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

TEAM A

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]


This felt pretty fething right. Not being in charge -- she'd led enough armies, campaigns, fights, task forces that there wasn't much of a thrill in being The One -- but knowing that she had the complete picture, or close enough. Knowing that they were standing beside her. Knowing that they trusted her to coordinate their individual creativity, their disparate talents, their most uncontrollable and personalized manifestations of the Force, into a coherent whole that built upon their agency without constraining it.

It felt efficient, in the most pleasant of ways.

The starfire-yellow sabre sheared through slaver after slaver. As Xiangu split off after targets of opportunity, Ashin let Ovmar take the lead for a moment, in order to double-check her comms. Not all of this came through clearly when those sounds had to compete with the noise of death.

 

[Shinju]

Shinju grinned when she heard the news it was time to go in and she smiled running a hand. "You heard the order, it is time to go in and have a little fun. All of team three engage and lets show them why we are the fun ones." Shinju looked at all of team three and she had been there for the formation of the Fringe while she was moving about waiting for the ship to arrive and let them out. Her interest in killing brought her chainsword up as she started to rev it and waited. Then she felt [member="Anders Sivas"] and spoke not sure if they could hear... Sargon and Dranok knew not to try and send her a link in a fight.. It was to much fun to swallow it down and take more and more. "Careful sweetie." Her mind racing while she thought of things to do and let the doors open. "Bundori... tear them apart they have candy surprises inside." Shinju moved quickly letting the chainsword rev and go into another ones chest while it painted the walls and she was moving faster.

 

[Livia Maddox]

[member="Ashin Varanin"] patched through at the best possible hour for the crew of the Vi'Nu Star Destroyer. Their Captain Livia Maddox had been taking the opportunity of waiting in Chalcedon space to see how fast she could tap her fingernails on her command chair's arm rest. Another few seconds and Commander Dasha was bound to fall over and groan in defeat of his patience.

The Fury was counting on it. The Comm Officer - a Chandaari woman named Navine primed up the transmission and let it run across the vast and elegant bridge. "About ruddy time."

"You telling me, Captain?" Dasha groaned and rubbed his temples. "Open channel for the Captain."

"Roger that, Fringe Actual. Ion Cannons only, suppress and corner. We'll keep any sly sons of voorpahs from escaping with those slaves. Won't we, lads?" A hearty cheer came from the bridge crew, filtering into the comm link with the relief of action. Captain Fury drew her fingers across her neck and Lieutenant Navine cut off her comm signal.

"Signal the Tirta and the Divya to prep coordinates for their final hyperspace jump. We don't need them yet, but I want a moment's notice."

"Yes Ma'am." Said Lieutenant Navine, whose strikingly clear voice enunciated into her local comm with the practice of the orator.

"Ops, give me on the dime sensor sweeps. Check outcoming and incoming ships. Tactical ready Ion Cannon groups one, five, seven and fifteen. There are collaterals on those ships, Tactical. I don't want bloody fingers, thank you! Helm! Bring us about on trajectory Oh-seven-seven-four. Bring us at them with their star at our backs."

"Tactical teams ready and engaged seeking targets." The Echani Lieutenant at Tactical creeped the woman straight out. Bloody Echani men looking like their forefathers. It wasn't the easiest to see Admiral Xextos' face on seventeen different men aboard her ship. "We're about, Captain. Setting up outside orbit."

"Ship incoming. One, 75m freighter the. . . Collar Wide. I'm reading three hundred life forms aboard, most in what appears to be its cargo bay."

"Tirta and Divya are go for hyperspace jump, Ma'am."

"Comm, open channel four-two."

"Open, Ma'am."

"This is Captain Livia Maddox of the Fringe Confederacy Sv'Yato Fleet Assault Destroyer Vi'Nu. All space travel to and from Chalcedon is from this point forth to be regulated by the High Council. Your Spaceport is taken. Your planet is ours. All ships return to Chalcedon, I repeat all ships return to Chalcedon or prepare to be disabled and towed to a corral." Her calm voice was punctuated by the severity of her speech. The Captain sat in her chair and watched as her crew blitzed to their duty and attentions.

"Fringe Actual, Chalcedon space is now under our control. We have ships incoming. Nothing we can't handle." She cut off her voice on Comm again and watched as the Collar Wide's engines blared to a harder burn.

"Tactical, fire warning shots."

"Firing warning shots across their bow. Oh, oh dear Captain, I hit their engine couplings. They're dead in space." He grinned and sat forward.

"Pity, that! Quick, Comm send them our regards and tell them it's no trouble at all for us to tow them to a safe position. Oh, and casually mention if they so much as twitch on another part of their power core again we'll lose our sense of hospitality."

"Yes Ma'am. Relaying cuddle message now."

Livia loved her bloodthirsty ship.

 

[Velok the Younger]

The frigate Lethewalker decelerated from hyperspace over Chalcedon. A modified Mandalorian-build Haran'uliik, it resembled a really ugly little attack dog with enough spinal-mounted bow guns to make disproportionately large ships think twice. Rave loved her Haran'uliik.

Up ahead, the Vi'Nu rained ionic coma on a freighter whose telesponder read Collar Wide. Nothing the San Hill-class couldn't handle, not by a long shot.

"Vi'Nu, this is the Lethewalker, Rave Merrill commanding. We've got five ion cannons, better engines than any of these jokers, and enough hyperflak to make a wing go away. Awaiting your command."

[member="Livia Maddox"]

 

[Livia Maddox]

"What is that . . . spine urchin doing in my space?" Captain Maddox grimaced in abject horror at [member="Rave Merrill"] s ship: It was a crime against fashion! Space fashion! Where were the sleek starships of her home planet Naboo? But it was also the sort of ship that gave her a great deal of pause. "How many guns has she got on that spine of hers? Ops! Sensors!"

"Ah. . wow, Ma'am. That's not a ship that's a mobile navy. I'm reading it close to. . . "

"It looks like a Haran'uliik, but not one I've seen. Tasty thing, me likey." The Tactical Officer piped up, glancing up from his read outs and console.

Livia blinked. "Ma'am, it's hailing us."

"Open the channel."

'

"Vi'Nu, this is the Lethewalker, Rave Merrill commanding. We've got five ion cannons, better engines than any of these jokers, and enough hyperflak to make a wing go away. Awaiting your command."

Livia went from wondering how the heck she'd crack that gloriously pointy space urchin open to grinning in the time it took Rave Merrill to say her own name. "Oohohohoh. Yes, yes indeed."

Rubbing her hands together, the Vi'Nu's Captain spoke to the Lethewalker. "Lethewalker, this is Captain Livia Maddox of the Vi'Nu we read your entry and commend you on your choice of guns. I think my gunnery commander is about to buy your ship a box of sweets and ask it out for R&R." Commander Dasha snorted and bit his lips as Lieutenant Xextos opened and closed his mouth then shrugged and nodded his head.

"Change your heading to the following coordinates, we're reading ships attempting to take off from the opposite pole. Take custody of their ships, be aware there are most likely slaves on board. We'd like to set them free with all their heads and arms attached. If they give you trouble, make the Lieutenant's day and fire away. I have two assault ships incoming, the Tirta and the Divya. They will provide fighter support if need be. I'll rally the Divya to your location to cover your six. Thank you for your assistance, it's a pleasure."

She cut the comm off and her officers chimed up.

"Divya and Tirta incoming, Ma'am. I've relayed the Divya's orders to support Lethewalker."

"Helm's sent coordinates to Lethewalker."

"I read six ships incoming from out of system. Their weapons systems appear powered up and they aren't slowing down, despite our comm buoys."

"Lietenant Yendos, ready gunners two, four, six and eleven. Prepare to open up on the incoming ships. Comm. Open channel to the incoming."

She heard her 'aye aye' and swivelled her command chair to see beyond the panoramic glasteel viewport. The Collar Wide drifted in space, it sent pinging signals of defeat and the Captain Fury smirked. There we go. The rest should follow the leader.

"This is Captain Livia Maddox of the Fringe Naval Sv'Yato Fleet Destroyer Vi'Nu. We have taken Chalcedon under our protection. Power down your weapons and halt your engines. You may follow coordinates to a cluster cordon. Repeat, power down your weapons or you will be fired upon. You have sixty seconds to comply. At sixty one, my officers will begin firing. Forty seconds."

The skies above Chalcedon were finally having a party.