Omen

[Tarrlok]

She'd left a Holo-message for Josh, seeing as she couldn't get him on a live feed at the moment. It was busy last few months as they both transitioned into what their new life would consist of. When he got the message a miniature, full framed, translucent image of Shmi would appear to him. Her right hand would rest on her stomach, a noticeable baby bump. She was about 3 months into the pregnancy, and was on her way to finishing up her last assignment before she went on leave.

"Hey Josh, I have one more assignment to finish up before I make it back home." Her head jolted to the right as some caught her attention, then her attention returned. "Apparently, we've been getting some weird signals from the Malachor system?" She had a confused expression on her face, "It's odd...but because of my proximity to the planet I'm going to go check it out. It's a dead planet and a wasteland for scrapped vessels, I suspect it's one of those lost ships." She sighed, "It should be a simple scouting mission and nothing else..." She cradled her tummy, "We miss you, and we're looking forward to this downtime. Don't worry, I'll update you regularly as things progress." Well he was a worrywort, and since she'd been pregnant she grew accustomed to speaking with him regularly when she was away. She smiled before ended the message.

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She looked through the window, as she was in the orbit of Malachor. Her arms were folded, and she had a perplexed expression on her face. She shook her head just as a voice cut through on the holoprojector of her ship. "General...I don't think that's the best decision. We can always send someone in your place..."

"No, It'll be quicker if I just go and check it out. I didn't plan on going into the field but, there doesn't seem to be any other options." She bit down on her lip as she went and looked over the records again. "This just doesn't make any sense...Don't worry about it, I'll check it out." She ended the transmission before they could object.

She took a breath, and then called [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] again. This time she'd hoped he'd be able to pick up. "Honey, I'm going to have to go into the field. I just have to get a closer look at things, if you can please make your way here, i'd feel slightly better, right now I'm just not feeling right about this at all." she sighed, "I'll send you my location so you can track it." She ended the transmission.

Her first destination was the The Tainted City At least that's where she'd end up.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Malachor V, The Tainted City - The Black Port

"Unknown vessel, here Tainted City Flight Control. Please take course to docking bay 3. Transmitting coordinates."

It wasn't standard procedure to allow a unknown ship to dock at the main spaceport of a city, but the Tainted City itself was far from standard. A place with no rules and laws, where crime and violence ruled the streets as much as art and creativity, existing below the public eye on the dead shell of a planet where no one would come looking for it. The two men inside the control room changed looks, and after a few moments the younger of the two began to talk, with a bit of worry in his voice.

"The ship, looks like Alliance. Should... Should we inform the Prophet?"

The man besides him just shrugged, and tipped at the display besides them, where numerous transponder codes were listed, most of them tracing back to stolen or hacked codes that wouldn't hold anywhere but here.

"Easy there newbie. You don't call him up without any solid evidence that something is going on. For now this could be as stolen as any other ship here. Let the shadows do their job."

While there was no standard procedure for landing ships, there was one for events that could be a possible danger for the city itself. And ships that looked like they belonged to the enemy were definitely counted as potential danger. Abyss agents were advised to track down anyone going in and out of such vessels, but they were called to keep it strictly at surveillance until commanded otherwise. On the rooftops around the port, several men took position, using electronic binoculars to keep an eye on whoever would walk out of the ship.
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Malachor V, The Tainted City - Citadel of the Darkness

Darth Abyss rested on top of his ivory tower, the only structure that could rival the height of the spires which filled the city with light. A short sound from the comm terminal pulled him out of his meditative trance. With a slightly annoyed sigh the sith lord moved to the terminal to read the message. "Possible Alliances Activity inside the CIty. Surveillance is already in place." With a single push of the terminal Abyss notified his men that he had acknowledged the information, and that he expected them to report back once they knew more. This could mean nothing, but he had a feeling in his gut that something unexpected was about to happen.

[member="Shmi Labooda"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Bloody hell, woman. Was it so hard to understand "You are pregnant" and "Do not go out on the field"? He'd told her that before, for missions, but... Well, he supposed he couldn't fault her, they were both workaholics, after all. But he thought Shmi had been meaning to finish up and focus on resting, this... Wasn't what he had thought she meant.

When he did get both transmissions, he hadn't been around, but he did end up receiving them. He would send one back immediately, and should Shmi receive it, a hologram of the Jedi Master would come into view.

"Honey, do not go into the field. I repeat, do not. Go into. The field. I've already jumped into hyperspace by the time you've gotten this message, let me handle it. Stay behind and wait, please. Malachor isn't a safe planet, it's never been a safe planet. Just let me handle it."

It was rare that Joshua was stern with Shmi. But in the time since she'd become pregnant, his worrywart habits had increased. And this? Well, this just flat out took the cake. A scouting mission on Malachor didn't sound so bad until you realized it was, well, Malachor. He had every right to be worried astronomically. What if something happened? What if they lost the baby? What if he lost Shmi?

And he had a feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to be an easy scouting mission. Still, he dropped everything to chart a course to Malachor, so even if it did end up being an easy scouting mission, Shmi could complain about it when she was safe at home.

 

[Tarrlok]

Well...she had already dispatched and was on the surface by time she got his message. With a slight guilty expression, she felt bad listening to his message but she just felt the need to get it done. She knew when he got here she wouldn't hear the end, or he'd probably try to make her go home but the usual workaholic in her was being hardheaded. She placed her hand on the bottom of the bump, talking to herself "He's gonna be mad...but we can do this together." She took a deep breath before walking down the ramp of the ship.

There was an eerie air which was usual for Malachor, just signs of nothing good. However the sooner she figured it all out the quicker she could leave. After constant travel she'd been following the signals she'd been getting. She maneuvered through the cavernous surface of the dead planet and proceeded with the task to distract her from the clapping of the thunder above.

In the distance, she'd seen a bright glimmer of light that peeked through the cracks of the rocks which divided her from it. She moved through the shadows and perched herself up to look through the whole. She saw a large spire which gave off a bright light, what she saw next signaled for her eyes to grow wide.

"What..?"

"There's a city...a city on Malachor?"

She lowered herself and caressed her chin with her thumb and index finger. "What in the Force..." Her voice softly cut through the resonance of the stone surrounding her. She took a breath, and looked over her shoulder. "I'm gonna have to get a closer look..." She pulled her hood over her head and proceeded to enter the city.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] | [member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"The video feed should be live by now, my lord."

On the terminal way up in the citadel that looked over the Tainted City, a video jumped to live, showing the new arrival in his city from a bunch of different angles. The hood masked her face to some degree, but Abyss was still able to get a glimpse of the woman's face. It had something familiar, yet he was unable to say for sure why. The memory that popped in his head was that of the Yutan temple raid, but while he could make out some resemblance between the jedi he fought that day and the woman approaching the city, it was impossible to prove that it was the same woman from the flimsy camera feeds, collected by the binoculars of his spies.

He needed something in comparison, a picture of her. Reaching for a piece of paper and a pen, Abyss closed his eyes and descended to the ground, his legs crossed to meditate. With the force he reached out to the small metal crown that rested on his head, activating his artifact by channeling the dark side into it. It allowed him to rather vividly depict memories to his inner eye, not just his own but also those he stole and stored in there. Luckily he had drained the minds of a handful of soldiers that day, allowing him to combine the various glimpses on the jedis face into one solid, clear picture. His eyes still closed he began to reproduce the picture from his mind onto the paper.

"I want any sharpshooters in the era onto her. Shoot to stun, not to kill. Do not engage her until I give the command. Prophet out."

A jedi on Malachor. Bad news for the free cities. Until recently they had secrecy on their side, but a few had already caught on to the new criminal havens build on the dead shell of a world. If the alliance and the jedi would be the next to show up, it would not end well for them. So they needed a pawn, something to use when negotiating their independence. A jedi would do nicely.

On a speeder bike Abyss would cut through the city, using the many hidden corners and shortcuts that allowed the inhabitants to get around fairly quick. His path would stop on a rooftop, which gave him sight on the jedi woman. At the same time his sharpshooters had already gone into position, ready to rain shoots at her would Abyss command them to. But for now the sith lord was satisfied with allowing the fog that normally clouded his presence in the force to fade away, revealing to her that there was a sith lord close to her.

[member="Shmi Labooda"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

-Skipping, one turn more before The Final Dragon lands-​

 

[Tarrlok]

Her figure emerged into the light from the shadows the held the outskirts of the city; she fell into the crowds. Her hood up, her gaze fell upon the massive spires you could see from any part of the man-made city. However, she felt the eyes from those so far upon her figure. However she wouldn't know whom, but regardless she continued her investigation. Her intention was to cover as much ground as she could and make the report so her associates would be able to finish the assignment.

Camouflaged in the crowd of citizens suddenly, the brown figure cut left and exited down a street which would lead her into what appeared to be a Red Light District. The neon lights reflected a multitude of colors off her cloak. Looking up her eyes caught a flash and her head tilted down in a reaction. Soon, she was able to look back up and she found what seemed to be prostitutes looking over her as she walked through the streets.

"Who would have been able to build an entire city such as this without anyone noticing." she said under her breath. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she had a feeling in her stomach. Gently caressing the underside of her bump, she looked over her shoulder into the buildings above before stepping off the street and disappearing behind a wall.

"Hmm...I sense the presence of darkness lurking..."

[member="Darth Abyss"] | [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

From above the rooftops Abyss watched as the jedi walked through his city, monitoring her path as closely as possible. The edges of the Tainted City were even more dangerous than its core, but she somehow managed to stumble into the one part that stood out above any else. The red light district was on the brink of open street war, and only by being cautious he had been able to keep the gang on gang violence from spilling into the rest of the city. His sharpshooters still had a visual on her, but the sound of gunshots could have unforeseen consequences. The second the gangs in the area would hear it, they would jump to conclusions and then both he and the jedi would end up in the crossfire, which would probably end bad for either of them. Again he reached for his comm.

"Inner Eye, release a bounty on the jedi, but keep her identity hidden. 10000 credits alive, Zero dead. Prophet out."

So this called for a silent solution then, and when there was one thing he was good at it was staying silent and unseen. Anyone going after the bounty would probably end up dead, but it was more about inhibiting her from fleeing the city quietly, should his initial plan fail. Cloaked by the force, visually but not spiritually, he descended down from his vantage point, leaving almost no sound as his feet touched the ground. Like a shadow he moved through the masses, never touching another person despite how crowded the streets were.

Through his sharpshooters he had a constant track on her position, as well as through the force. In return she would feel the darkness closing in on her, as he used his knowledge of the city's paths to get in a position to ambush her from behind.

[member="Shmi Labooda"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The dark side had been prevalent on Malachor for longer then his entire family line had existed, and yet, as The Final Dragon touched down, it felt... He wasn't sure, stronger, somehow. Then it'd been the last time he had been here. The presence was stronger, for some reason, and that told the story... Something was wrong. The fact Shmi had been gone this long without reporting back confirmed it. The ship would land, and as the ramp went down, Josh would march down, motioning for R4 to watch the ship as he would flip his cloak's hood onto his head.

He would click his communicator a few times, and try to get in touch with [member="Shmi Labooda"] once again...

[member="Darth Abyss"]