May Their Tears Run Red [ TSE Dominion of Yavin ]

[Darth Carnifex]

Yavin IV
The Gordian Reach

The temple gates were a mess.

The ancient stone was speckled with carbon scoring -- the result of a furious firefight that had taken place prior to their arrival. Bodies lined the entryway steps, their torsos blown open and their innards liquified by blaster fire. A row of Massassi warriors guarded the temple approach, their grizzled crimson faces turning towards the pair as they approached as they simultaneously fell to one knee in the presence of their lords. Their captain was a equally battle-scarred Pureblood, one of the many commanders of the Resurgent Empire who had bent the knee when the government he served fell and the New Sith Empire swept in to replace it.

He hurried to meet them.

"We've breached the inner courtyard, milords. But there's fierce resistance in the rest of the temple. These cultists have had ample time to learn every nook and cranny of the structure, and fortify what they could. It didn't seem like they were expecting us, which enabled us to get the upper hand in breaching the gate. It won't be as easy from here on out."

The sounds of explosions and fighting could be heard emanating from deeper within the temple, "These cultists and their defenses do not concern me, Captain. I want them driven out of the Sanctuary by any means necessary. Baptize these heretics in fire -- flood the chambers with flames if you must. Just ensure that the temple remains standing."

[member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="The Matador"] | [member="Syrena Colsin "]| [member="Lark"] | [member="The Slave"] | [member="Bernard of Arca"]​

 

[Zerrak Windwalker]

Silence notices the blip and follows Zahori blaster at the ready and follows her into the blood trail

[member="Zahori Denko"]

 

[Salara Zambrano]

Yavin IV
The Gordian Reach

Long, coal-colored robes lingered behind Lady Salara her footsteps were quiet and in her hand, the ominous wafts of green mist flowed. It reflected lightly on the ground, her eyes tainted with the dark side sulphuric eyes coated in a blood red. She paid no mind to the bodies that littered the path before them, in fact, she delighted in the slaughter but did so secretly. Black lace leather gloves that hooked on her middle finger moved as the green mist dissipated. She remained silent and watched as her husband dispatched the Pureblood. She closed her eyes to the noise around her and pushed out with the force, and then when she opened her eyes, "do you wish for me to dispatch the Talonguard?" Salara's voice was hushed and she spoke in Epicant, and turned to her own personal House Kesare guards, "take a few of the bodies, I wish to keep them for research."

Research. Her labs were always filled with chemical research, but sometimes chemistry required just a little bit of biology. She had followed her husband to Yavin IV to aid him in the expansion of his empire. It always moved Salara to know that her husband could simply put her mind to something and do it. All his life he had dedicated himself to his works, and for that she loved him. Once more she surveyed the brutality of the room, liquified innards and the smell of charred bodies could not be ignored. "Take the blasters too, I'll need to compare them to the others."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Diranor Cadain]

Maridun, Mining Facility

"Cameo to Gallant. This will be our final transmission. We're aborting the mission and prepping for immediate extraction. The Sith are here."

And just like that, Listening Post 0713-Besh was disbanded. Shutting down the encrypted long-range communicator, Diranor Cadain paused for a moment, watching the frenzied activity all around him. The four technicians who had manned this post were now swiftly and callously ensuring that no trace would remain to tie Artorian Royal Intelligence to this place. Laine, a slim human woman and one hell of a pazaak player, wiped each datapad in sequence. Grol, the resident Givin neat freak, smashed the terminals with a hydrospanner. Alli and Abbi, the Twi'lek twins, set the charges that would cleanse what remained.

The small team had enjoyed the dubious hospitality of Attila the Hutt, slaver-king of Maridun, for the past six standard months, gathering intelligence on the Sith fleet's rapid progress coreward. Diranor didn't care for the idea of so much as tolerating slavers, but as Gallant, his ever-pragmatic handler, had pointed out, the situation on Maridun was beyond the power of the Artorian government to change. A bribe to the crime lord had allowed them to set up in one of his mining complexes, getting a front-row seat as the Sith Empire gobbled up Kushibah and crushed an attempted assault on Mirial. It was chilling footage.

Massing invasion fleets along the ever-expanding border of the Empire had tipped Gallant off that it might be time to decommission this particular listening post, and Diranor, codenamed Cameo, had been sent to make sure that happened ahead of any possible invasion. They'd assumed that the Sith would take Yavin, maybe move on Toprawa, but not reach this far in a single strike. Now, as blasterfire echoed through the halls of the facility and an explosion ripped away the fortified central doors, it was obvious that Royal Intelligence had badly miscalculated. There wasn't much time to get these people, and their data, out of here.

A hand on his shoulder brought the young agent back to the present. It was Laine, her fingers surprisingly strong for one of her slight build. "The charges are set and the databanks are scrubbed," she told him, brushing sweaty blonde bangs out of her eyes. "We'd better get going, though. The slavers are collapsing. It's the Forty-Second Airborne out there, and they're kicking ass and taking names." Diranor nodded, standing and checking the power pack in his blaster. "Just got word that Attila the Hutt is dead, so morale around here will collapse pretty soon. At least the slug won't be able to squeal on us."

Exchanging a nod with each of the four members of the team, Diranor moved to the door. He drew his blaster, took a deep breath, and spun out, checking his corners carefully as he moved. The hallway was clear... for now. The sounds of fighting were getting closer and closer. The young agent waved the team on, and they moved, quick and low like they'd been taught. Alli was the last one out, and clicked the detonator as casually as if turning off the lights at the close of business. The incendiaries took effect practically soundlessly, melting the equipment to slag in seconds. The only evidence now was the agents themselves.

If they could reach their concealed airspeeder, they could disappear into the local villages, gone like shadows. Getting to the hangar would be the hard part.

[member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Morgan Vance"] | [member="Darth Banshee"]​

 

[Vereshin]

Objective: Survive the temple
Allies: [member="Darren Korpil"]
Location: Yavin IV

When Darren did not accept his hand to shake, Vereshin recoiled slightly and pulled his wrist away. The little mage turned away and diverted his gaze to the scientists and explorers clearing out and making their way towards the grand entrance of the temple. Brushing down the front of his trousers, he moved away from his perch and gestured to Darren to join him as they followed the expedition.

"We know the nexus is located in the peak of the temple." Vereshin began as he pointed to the beam of violet energy rising from the pyramidal spire and breaching the sky. "Bypassing spells to reach it will prove the true challenge." The Sith sorcerer said as he tuned away and pressed on forward. A great stone frame crowned shadows looming from the entrance at the foot of the temple and the expedition stopped in their tracks. The burgundy jewel on Vereshin's delicate ring emitted a feint glow as the light grew feint. They passed beneath the stone frame and into the darkness.

"Be on your guard for illusions and Sithspawn. Lord Sadow was a master of distorting light and crafting abominations of the flesh." He continued as they moved forward into the temple. Torches glowed lavender against damp walls. Moss and vines entwined over glossy obsidian and obscured endless hieroglyphs. Raising his hand against the stone, the jewel on Vereshin's ring absorbed the darkness and provided adequate light, allowing him to pass his hand over the moss and read the High Sith. The characters condemned all those who denied the rule of Naga Sadow and banished him to the jungle world following his defeat at the hands of the Republic.

The torches along the walls became rarer and soon the expedition faced perpetual darkness. Even the glow of Vereshin's ring began to wane and die, as though the power had been sucked away. As he reached forward to guide his footsteps, an iridescent ripple flowed the black visage beneath the tips of his fingers and ominous shapes began to form from the dark matter. Vereshin took one step backwards and began to silently panic over the realization that he could not revise his equations in his notebook. He began to mutter an incantation beneath his breath, relying purely on memory to counteract the illusion. Gradually the darkness absorbed into his ring and the coherent shape of objects began to form.

 

[Dante Sotari]

Maridun
Mining Facility

Oh, Dante had her theories about what had caused the change in him. She was wrong, of course, but that could hardly be helped. And it annoyed her. This was why she didn't sleep with people twice. They started getting ideas, getting weird. His previous stoicism and mindless calm had bothered her before, and now his more relaxed, genial behavior bothered her.

If she were really honest with herself, she'd be able to admit that the problem wasn't him, it was her.

But Dante was a pro at denial.

"I could do with less off channel chatter," she muttered, lining up another shot.

The call came in from Lt. Alta and she flicked back to his channel.

::Glad to be able to help, we'll keep Overwatch position till you're clear. Rook out.::

She kept ignoring Morgan, sweeping the area in long, slow patterns. If someone came out into the open that wasn't one of theirs....

She'd know.

[member="Morgan Vance"] [member="Scipio Alta"] [member="Diranor Cadain"]

 

[Zef Halo]

MINING FACILITY, MARIDUN
STILETTO TWO-ONE

Stiletto Two-One soon joined Two-Two and Two-Three within the mining facility's hangar, the door of which they had blown to pieces a minute earlier.

:: Affirmative, Rook Overwatch. Stiletto Two Actual out. ::

The Sith-Imperial trooper stormed the place seeking cover wherever it was in the tight quarter scenario that was unfolding before them. Certainly the numbers of the slavers were less but their positions were better. Hailing fire upon the Legion soldiers from vantage points while the latter using the protection of their armor to shrug off glancing damage and proceed into better positions.

:: Turbolift's been disab- :: Nava's voice came through and Scipio saw her smashing her fist in the panel of a disabled turbolift with anger.

Her sentence went into static when an explosion occurred somewhere on the upper floors. It took with it layers of steel and bodies of slavers which fell upon the positions of the platoon. Whatever it was, the fire from the slavers ceased. Were they falling back?

:: Rook Overwatch, Strider, this' Stiletto-Two Actual. How copy? :: He transmitted through encrypted Legion frequencies within his helm :: Be advised, hostiles are retreatin' from hangar after explosion. You see any odd movements? We didn't cause the boom. ::

Was the explosion an accident or were the slavers springing up a trap? Scipio would hate to drive his platoon in a trap.

​

[member="Morgan Vance"] | [member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Diranor Cadain"]​

 

[Darth Banshee]

Location: Mine
Allies: [member="Scipio Alta"] [member="Dante Sotari"]
Enemy unknown: [member="Diranor Cadain"]

She had finally arrived at the newly acquired asset for the sith empire, to only watch it go up with a bang. As it did one of her guards jumped on her to protect her, then as the danger past. They got out of speeder, and began to move towards it, the place was alight with the metal fires. Someone had decided they where not having a working mine, they had to be found and dealt with. She ran forward leaving her hostages behind, with couple of her men. She soon reached the mine, with a couple of royal guards just behind her. She looked at the officer in charge, and asked him a blunt question, ​What resources do you have available right now, as who this was is not going to hang around. She looked at Lieutenant Alta, and waited for his reply. They need to secure space as well above the planet, to stop him from leaving but this would be impractical. So what ship they had would have to try and secure local space above them. She was annoyed by the damage mine, but also secretly pleased, as it meant she could supply equipment to get up and running again.

 

[Diranor Cadain]

Maridun, Mining Facility

Laine's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Cameo, we've got a problem. There's been a secondary explosion. A loud one."

Internally, Diranor cursed. The incendiaries they'd set inside the listening post were designed to be near-silent, impossible to hear over the chaos of the battle going on several floors down. What had gone wrong? A gas leak, perhaps, that had ignited in the heat, or a faulty piece of equipment that had gone out with a bang instead of a sizzle. Either way, the enemy would know that something was up; the Forty-Second Airborne was not composed of idiots. Behind him, Alli and Abbi held a low but fierce conversation about how they'd set the charges, fear and frustration etched on their faces. He cut them off with a gesture.

"No use worrying about it now," he said simply. "There's no way we'll get to the speeder; the slavers will be falling back from the hangar. They're probably assuming the upper floors have been breached and they're about to be surrounded. Time for Plan Besh." Really it was Plan Cresh or beyond by now, but no one on the team needed to know how much he was sweating inside; he was the leader, and had to at least appear calm and collected. So what was this plan, whatever its designation should be? He was making this up on the go, and all the intel he had on the mining facility and its surroundings was dancing frantically through his mind.

"Plan Besh is..." he withdrew a smoke grenade from his gear harness, tossing it once and catching it to get a feel for its weight. "The slavers will be looking for a way out. We provide them cover, then get lost in the crowd. If we get separated, find a place to lie low until this thing is over, then get to your fallback points. They don't know who we are, what we look like, or why we're here; we'll blend into the population and wait out the rest of the invasion." It wasn't a big change from the original escape plan, but there were a lot more ways it could go wrong. Their best defense - and really their only one - was that they could blend in.

Sharing a nod, the team of five sprinted down the hallway, and soon they ran into other groups in full retreat. It was a rough collection of thugs and mercenaries of all species, with little in common except for the knowledge written on all of their faces: they were outnumbered, outgunned, and overall thoroughly fethed. They needed a way out that wasn't straight into the waiting blasters of the Forty-Second, some kind of side exit - and even then they would almost certainly be under sniper fire. Running fill tilt, the motley crew streamed out from one of the mine's side access tunnels, coming directly into the scopes of the Sith overwatch contingent.

"Smoke out," Diranor ordered, just before his own team came into the open. Five metal cylinders bounced among the running feet of the fleeing slavers, who were doing their best to skirt the west side of the valley and get out past the troops besieging the mine entrance at its center. A large cloud of thick grey vapor emerged above them, and soon they were swallowed up by its opaqueness. It was pretty clear where they were, but no one outside the cloud could tell exactly where any individual stood. That would have to be enough cover. "Go," Diranor commanded, and the five of them pelted out of the mineshaft and into the bloodsoaked valley.

[member="Darth Banshee"] | [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Morgan Vance"]​

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

OBJECTIVES:​ Yavin IV: Assault the Sanctuary and remove the Tears of Vahl
LOCATION:​ Inner courtyard

​The fighting had been tough, however the difficulty was in the copious amounts of enemy forces there by comparison to the accompanying Empire's forces. The Matador and a small remainder of the Sith troopers that had pushed into the Temple were situated in a hallway adjacent to the open inner courtyard. They were attempting to flank the enemy forces, however had encountered fierce resistance. The Matador lay flat, his back perched against the corner of a corridor as chips of concrete dashed through the air, pelted by a turret.

​The Matador's eyes shot up as he examined the walls of the large corridor. So much history embedded in these walls, yet the most significant thing he could see was the scores of blaster marks embedded in the wall, making strange shapes where many bodes had fallen. He recalled how a single soldier rushed from cover, and his body shot backward to the wall, riddled with plasma as his body convulsed in pain. The Matador saw opposite him, a soldier clinging his rifle to his chest. They had been pinned for but a moment, and the soldier daren't move before he did.

​"I will draw his fire. You take out the gunner."

​He roared, the soldier checked his rifle for a moment, hoping it was jammed. His head turned slowly with an anxiety of death. He nodded and pushed himself into a crouch as the Matador ignited his saber and pushed from the cover. He extended his hand, channelling a form of redirection from his palm as the blaster bolts collided with his hand. Blaster bolts ricocheted from his palm, his wrist tensing as he began to make slow steps forward. The soldier pushed from cover, aiming down the site of his rifle and firing a single charged shot that caught the turret gunner in his chest, impacting on his Durasteel mesh breastplate and knocking him from his feet.

The Matador broke into a charge, his long strides quickly reaching the fallen gunner. He leapt over the turret in a spin, his saber slashing through the torso of the man as he tried to push himself to his feet. The Matador landed with a thud, they had done it. Ahead of them was a locked door that lead to the middle level of the inner courtyard where the enemy had set up their heaviest defence.

[member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Syrena Colsin "]| [member="Lark"] | [member="The Slave"] | [member="Bernard of Arca"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Location: Yavin IV - Temple
Objective: Cleanse the Sanctuary.
Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="The Matador"] | [member="Syrena Colsin "]| [member="Lark"] | [member="The Slave"]
TBD: [member="Bernard of Arca"]

The force-field fell and the gates were breached.

Usually it would have been Lord Saarai and his allies that were first through the gate to draw fire, but this time around the Thirriken simply watched and observed as waves of Sith troopers stormed the place. The battle shifted from keeping them out to trying to push them out... but the Tears were limited in their number and more and more troopers were flowing in.

Radio chatter was a constant buzz in their ears as the troopers took one corridor after another.

Each bloody.

Each one a war by itself, but for every trooper that fell? Three Tears fell down in their place. It was the difference between luck and competence, experience and simple dogged determination, between being bred for blood and forged by the fire of war. Until the final room fell and the place was properly... conquered. Not a single one of them had tried to surrender.

That was telling.

There were prisoners and that was good.

The Sanctuary was theirs and that was better.

"Sanctuary... cleansed, my Lord." The Thirriken simply stated, before moving past the soldiers moving in and out, entering the temple itself. It was time to survey their handiwork from up-close. The day was theirs, yes, but there was more... the Reach had caught a sickness. It was time to figure out just how deep the corruption ran here and what to do about it.

 

[Kenth Typho]

Maridun
Mining Facility
[member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Diranor Cadain"] | [member="Darth Banshee"]

Silence first.

Eyes tracking movement, any movem-

:: Stiletto Two Actual, we got movement out here. Western corridor, the side-entrance. :: Dante started firing, but that's when the smoke canisters came into play and made everything just a touch more difficult. Morgan frowned, eyes blinked and the cybernetics took over. Difficult to see, yes, but better now. :: They are deploying smoke to obscure their exit, over. ::

This was the Morgan Dante had come to know across all those months.

Not gone, but just a few steps away from reappearing when the need was the most.

Dante hissed- she wasn't able to get a good beat on them. It wasn't his job to be a spotter, but right now that was their only option. They didn't need to pick all of them off at once. All they had to do was project power and underline the fact that even smoke wouldn't keep them safe. The fear might be enough for them to stop running and instead take their chances with... surrender.

After all, the Sith Empire didn't have a problem with criminals.

Just with the ones that didn't obey.

"Six degrees north, fourteen west, two clicks." He murmured as his eyes caught one of them. Leader, stood just a bit taller than most and kept his eye on the progress of everyone running. Take him out? Things would turn, shift one way or the other. "Small incline, half a foot calibration... gets you his head."

First time spotting... right?

Why did it feel so familiar then. Words weren't exactly how they were supposed to be, but the intent was relayed as best as he could.

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

Location: Vaal
Objective: Fight off Predators
Allies: [member="Zahori Denko"]

Jorryn fell back against a nearby table filled with various pens and papers as the dullness began to set it, her companion being the only thing that helped the time from slowing to a crawl. "It's more enjoyable than I expected, perhaps you were right about this planet." The sarcasm returned dryly to the Admiral as her eyes began to wander across the room, looking for something to entertain herself with.

Her golden eyes fell on the woman's delicate hands, watching streaks of energy dance across the slim fingers excitedly in contrast to the girl's bored face. A loud sigh came out to express her boredom as she stared meaninglessly at the ceiling, before the raven haired girl in front of her chimed in once more.

"Ambition is the way of the Sith, Captain, any weak enough to not chase what they want will simply be trampled in the way of those that do." She grinned as her eyes met the girl in front of her, the nickname teasing at her rank.

"But sometimes one has to be patient," The Echani said as she lifted herself from the desk and neared Zahori, the voice coming teasingly from behind crimson lips. "Though that doesn't mean I can't have fun biding my time."

Jorryn's attention was pulled away from the Kraljica by the alarm noise and red flashing of the hologram, her grin turning into a more solemn look.

"It never leaves my side." A small hint of enjoyment came as she followed the dark haired girl outside of the tent, watching the soldiers scramble to set up the perimeter again. Jorryn gave a small look torward the torn corpses of the workers before calmly following behind the admiral, leaving the lightsaber resting against her hip for now.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

Location: Yavin IV -Temple
Objective: Cleanse the Sanctuary.
Allies: [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Darth Saarai"] | [member="Syrena Colsin "]| [member="Lark"] | [member="The Slave"]

​The Matador dropped to the inner courtyards lower level with a thud, the area had become silent after perhaps a few tense minutes of fighting. The sanctuary's corridors were littered with bodies and fine old tapestries and old walls were disturbed by scores of blaster rounds that steam still rose freshly from. It was like nothing else, the silence following a battle.

​The Matador watched as the few remaining cultists were executed. He stopped, watching one of them cry morbidly. He didn't understand it, the sorrow that was apparent on their face. They had fought, and lost. They didn't fight hard enough, they were not strong enough. It made little sense to him as to why they were crying. They should've been angry, and pensive and fighting to the last breath. Surrender was cowardice. He had no pity for them.

​He continued to stalk the halls for a moment, it had been a successful battle. The Empire had lost quite a few of their initial ground troops, however they had won the battle. The Matador knew a handsome pay check was in bound. But something else perturbed him, a sickness that had sunk into the temple itself. He felt it but it gave him no cause to investigate. He awaited his opportunity to leave, passing by [member="Darth Saarai"] as he left the temple. The odd figure drew his eyes for but a moment before they had passed from each others view.

 

[Darth Athora]

Vaal - Groundside
Objective - The Hunt
Post V

The trail of crimson droplets led Zahori and her retinue to a cave. Bones littered the entrance of the cave as the air was filled with the scent of fresh kill. "Here we are. Seems our pests have retreated back into their hovel with their fresh kill. This means one of two things. There's younglings in there or they're protecting their kill from larger predators. Either way, they won't be bothering anyone else after today." Zahori reached beneath her cloak and pulled out her lightsaber hilt and ignited the blade. "Let's make this quick, eh?" Zahori said before flashing a sly grin at Jorryn.

Slowly, Zahori stepped inside the cave, darkness washed out by the light from her saber. "They're here. I smell death." Zahori sniffed lightly. "No, wait. That's my perfume.." Zahori continued on through the cave, treading carefully so she not make a wrong step and roll her ankle or suffer some other injury. Not far into the cavern, they reached the end, where the pack of hyenax rested after filling their bellies with Imperial meat. "What beasts. Don't even clean up behind themselves after their meals. We're doing them a favor, honestly." Zahori took her lightsaber and impaled it into the nearest slumbering hyenax, killing it instantly, but it's yelp of pain would awaken the rest. There were 5 of them, all grown and strong and ready to defend their home. "Slaughter them all.."

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"] | [member="Silence"]​

 

[Zerrak Windwalker]

Silence takes aim at a hyenaxs at and fires leaving a burning hole in its head before getting behind cover and shooting at the nearest one

 

[Dante Sotari]

Maridun
Mining Facility

Well, that was unexpected. Dante grimaced, sweeping the field, but the smoke did exactly what it was suposed to do. She cursed.

::Stiletto Two I got bupkis up here-::

Then Morgan's voice cut through the annoyance, familiar, steady....

Gods it made her heart ache.

But she shoved it down, gritting her teeth and taking aim at the location he'd charted. The smoke screen was thickest and even with the magnification on the scope she couldn't see anything through it. All she had was Morgan's word, the careful markings piece by piece of a sniper's spotter.

"Stationary or on the move?"

​"On the move, marked three point two north north west, three point three- three point four-"

As he rattled off she found that mark and tracked with him. Nothing but smoke and trust.

At three four, she fired.

She didn't even know what she was shooting at. In this case, it didn't matter.

[member="Scipio Alta"] [member="Morgan Vance"] [member="Diranor Cadain"]

 

[Diranor Cadain]

The five of them blended seamlessly into the crowd of fleeing slavers, enveloped and embraced by the shield of smoke. The whole mass of them ran for their lives down from the secondary access tunnels, trying to circumvent the last gasps of the battle. Order had collapsed, and word had spread through the ranks that the boss was dead. Those who still fought did so with the terrified fury of desperate men, certain that they would be extended no more mercy than Attila the Hutt had received, while those who could escape took their chances, tumbling and stumbling down the uneven rocks and dust of the valley's edge.

Diranor paused every so often, making a quick headcount of his team. This was the easy part, before the long sprint across open ground to reach some town where they could vanish, but there were still plenty of opportunities for everything to go wrong. The real galaxy wasn't like the holovids. The heroes of your story were just as likely as any grunt to be cut down by a stray blaster bolt or ignominiously trampled in a panicked retreat, and luck was as great a determinant of who lived and who died as skill. So he needed to take care of his people, make sure they didn't become meaningless casualties, get them home.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grol stumble, one of the Givin's slender legs buckling beneath him as a loose stone rolled out from under his foot. Diranor pushed his way back through the crowd, fighting upstream, and struggled to stand upright as body after body bumped past and into him. But he was strong, like a stone that forces the river to bend around it, and he forced his way back to where Grol had fallen. Leaning down, he grasped the man by the forearm and hauled him back to his feet. He didn't realize it at the time, but the small action of bending over to help saved his life, though it did not leave him unscathed.

The smoke had gotten them this far, but the enemy, it seemed, had tools to make sure that it didn't get them much further.

The sniper bolt sizzled across his left shoulder, burning through armor and flesh with the heat of its lethal passage. The force of the impact spun Diranor around like a child's toy, and the world dropped out from under him. Grol watched helplessly as the young agent, the ragged streak across his back still smoking, tumbled away down the side of the valley. Half-conscious through the pain, Diranor managed to cover his head with his hands, taking the impact of each fall on his forearms rather than his face. His left arm, only partly responsive, twisted oddly as he fell, and he felt the bones of his wrist grind together and snap.

Down, down, down he tumbled, sliding toward the base of the valley like a creature falling into a sarlaac's mouth. He could hardly think straight through the pain, could hardly even recognize what was happening. And then, just short of the position where the Forty-Second was breaching the mine's main doors, he crashed down below ground level and hit liquid. Trenches filled with mineral slurry carried waste away from the mine, the water laden with junk rock from which the valuable ore had already been extracted. The vile mixture tried to invade his mouth and nose - it was deep enough to be over his head.

Reaching out with his right arm, Diranor scrambled to keep his face above water even as the current carried him away, down the valley toward the waste dump. Back up on the hill, the wind was beginning to dissipate the smoke. Some of the slavers kept running, using what cover remained to their advantage. Others were less optimistic about their chances. They threw down their blasters, putting their hands behind their heads in a gesture of surrender. They were gambling that the Sith would not throw away a tool they could use - after all, they knew the mine's workings. Maybe they could just change bosses.

Unaware of these developments, the young agent fought through his agony as he tried desperately not to drown...

[member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Morgan Vance"] | [member="Scipio Alta"] | [member="Darth Banshee"]​

 

[Zef Halo]

MINING FACILITY, MARIDUN
STILETTO TWO-ONE

The platoon was spreading out, clearing the building of any opposition but finding none. It seemed their objective was complete especially with Strider's report of massive flight in the Western side of the facility. What worried him was whether the explosion earlier was a premature malfunction part of a chain reaction aimed to take the whole facility down with the troopers inside.

Yet, nothing happened.

:: LT, we've found no signs of any other explosives nor booby traps. Facility seems clear. :: Nava reported through the comms.

:: Same here, LT. But we've found something odd here. :: Dev came through. :: Found a room that's been incinerated, as if melted. Nothing to do with the explosion earlier. ::

That was odd. Scipio had been a demolition expert during his enlisted days, a closer look and some time and he could figure out what it was.

:: Looks fresh, Dev? ::

:: Fresh as they get, LT. ::

Really odd. Black ops used similar demolitions where stealth was a necessity. They'd breach doors silently and quickly. Why would slavers have such equipment?

:: Transfer all video and audio feed of the place to the Saaraishash and move out. ::

Before he could focus on other tasks, the appearance of a Sith Lord made him turn his attention to her.

"It's just my platoon, m'lady, here. Doubt slaver's rabble are worth any resources, besides the Armada's up in space blockadin' the planet."

Scipio's mission was done here, or so he thought.

:: Got a guy drownin' in the mine wastes, LT. :: SSGT Tusk's husky voice came through.

The lieutenant remained silent wondering what exactly to do. As far as he knew, this mission was done. Stiletto did their job fine as always. Why would they care about a drowning slaver thug?

:: Strider, Rook Overwatch, this is Stiletto Two Actual. Mining facility is clear. Repeat - mining facility is clear. Just got a drownin' thug in the mine wastes, irrelevant to me and my troops but I don't what y'all got as orders. Actual out. ::

[member="Darth Banshee"] | [member="Dante Sotari"] | [member="Morgan Vance"] | [member="Diranor Cadain"]​

 

[Darth Banshee]

[member="Scipio Alta"]

Her eyes dropped slightly, and told the Lieutenant The slavers did not do this, they just surrender, this was some else. We have an saboteur, and no means of capturing them it seems. Fair enough, the slavers here have joined the empire, make sure you put them to use. Also make sure with them everyone on their side was who they said they where. The saboteur was no doubt already getting away, they have to cut their losses, and get rebuilding this mine. She decide it was time to get back to Serenno she done what she can here.


Exit stage left.