Operation Burnout [CIS Dominion of Thaere]

[Desmond Voralis.]

"Don't worry, I got you covered," he absently patted a hand on the top of his rifle. Along with the DC-15, he'd packed a variety of grenades in easy reach on his bandolier, and a sawed off scattergun rested in a holster strapped to his right thigh.

Hell, I can think of far worse things to spend an evening watching.

He followed her out of the pod promptly on contact, switching his helmet's vision mode to low light and bringing his rifle up to his shoulder, keeping a loose and ready combat stance. He swiveled his head from side to side, checking behind the various nooks, crannies and corners in the corridor.

"Don't have to tell me twice. Isley, we'll have this place livable in no time."

@[member="Rayn H'voc"] @[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Sephoria Lasranae]

[Orders given OOCly]

During the proceedings of the briefing, Sephoria had sat in the back of the room with one foot propped up on her chair and her chin on her knee. The soldiers that made up 'Venom Squad' were so varied and out of place that she herself had blended right in. Pale skin and blue eyes peeked out between wild black hair as she watched as squad members continued to arrive. A couple of her new compatriots might have seemed right at home at a merc meeting, but most of these combatants were just plain strange to be at a formal military planning. Her mind raced a mile a minute with the possibilities.

She wondered how many of them had been approached just like her. Was the whole of the Venom Squad made up out of the best 'talent' that the CIS intel officers could find? Most of the soldiers here were moderately high ranking officers. It's possible that they just flung together all of the hotheaded loose cannons into one unit. That would have been one way to get rid of problems and keep the rest of the military orderly. Then there was that Colonel Isley who looked most unlike what she had known Colonels to look like. Was he simply just the highest ranked loose cannon here? No that theory didn't make any sense. They wouldn't have sought out a mercenary like her if they were just trying to get rid of their own problems.

It's possible that they really had just went to great lengths to put together a unit of the very best in CIS space. That would explain why the spooks that approached her for recruitment didn't even bat an eyelash when she made her crazy demands. Truthfully Sephoria had to raise her eyebrows when they accepted. She may not have been a soldier, but she was a true artisan of death. The CIS wanted to buy the reaper and made an offer she couldn't turn down.

Now here the Garhoon woman sat and watched as the squad received their orders. She was very interested to see what the rest of the squad could do. What talents did they bring to the table that they were sought out among such a vast military? Then her mind snapped back to the present as she heard her name called. @[member="Xalus"] and @[member="XV-265"] eh? She watched for reactions and then rolled eyes eyes slightly. Isley had paired her with the two giants in the room. Well perhaps she should have taken it as a compliment. She assumed that they had to be real slaughter houses to get onto this unit.

Moments later the Venom members started to file out of the room as the briefing came to an end. The Gen'Dai she was to work with uttered a single word as if ordering them to board a pod. Was this guy for real? 'Board?' A soft sigh escaped the woman's lips as she followed. Unintentionally her hands moved back on impulse to check to see if her sword and blaster carbine was still on her back. They would be boarding the station soon.

 

[XV-265]

This mission was starting to sound promising and the fact that XV would go to the worst part of the Station only made him appreciate this mission more. He would finally have a real challenge again, not like all the other missions during which he had slaughtered the Fleshlings and Mindless chunks of metal called ''Droids''. This assignment would hopefully give him plenty of things to kill and hopefully a couple things that won't go down in a couple of seconds. He would probably have to split the fun with the woman and the Gen'Dai that he was assigned to accompany. From the patterns in teams he deduced that there was always one who completes the mission objective and another who acts as a bodyguard. XV didn't really care about which position he had to fill, since it seemed like there would be enough things to kill on the station.

XV liked the Gen'Dai already. He seemed like he was able to handle himself during a battle and his directness was appreciated as well. He didn't know about the female Fleshling yet, she didn't seem as if she was able to do much, but maybe she was the one supposed to complete the mission objective, while XV and the Gen'Dai protected her. But maybe he was wrong and she was able to hold her own. He would find out soon.

@[member="Sephoria Lasranae"] @[member="Xalus"]

 

[Xalus]

As Xalus watched the others file out to begin the boarding operations, he still felt naked without something in his hands. After watching armed men launch from their pod, he took that quick moment to retreat into the hallway and into the nearby armory and snatch a DC-17m. The hulking form also took care to fill up his ammo rig with as much as he could. And within moments, he was decked out and prepared for combat in the instant.

An experienced hand pulled the bolt back on the rifle, a satisfactory snap sounding across the room as his team began to board their own pod. The doors sealed shut, the Gen'Dai banged on the side of it to signify they were air-tight and ready and then it rocketed off into the vastness of space. Xalus never really liked space much, but there were times when he thought of it as majestic.

"Pod 2. Away."

They were already inside the space station. It'd taken them about a minute or so to pierce the side of the station, ejecting all 3 occupants into an eerily black hallway connected to the outer areas of the medical sector. Xalus had the little hallway secure in seconds. His pair of helmet spotlamps snapped on in an instant and his rifle bore down each nook and cranny before cocking his head at the other two. A third blob of light extended forth as he switched on his rifle's tactical light.

He checked his wrist scanners, showing a limited portion of the station through his HUD motion sensors. He started down for the infirmary area, giving a hand signal for them to follow.

@[member="Sephoria Lasranae"] @[member="XV-265"]

 

[Ak'lya]

Strask sat at the controls of pod 6, wondering what the armory had in store for them. The idea of a weapon capable of turning people insane..... It made no sense. But here they were, heading to see what was up.

"Pod 6 Away"
@[member="Alek Skywalker"]

 

[Charlyn Nairne]

She had no doubt in her mind that she would get the power up and running. Chloe wasn't sure though the station had actually ever been fully powered up before. Rumor had it that it had been half powered up but the slicer whom was working on it just disappeared without a trace. It was all a bunch of silly ghost stories if one were to ask Chloe which she didn't believe in anymore. Fairy tales and ghost stories were just things people made up because they were bored. It was a lesson that she had learned the hard way and now she relied on hard facts, the data. It was easier that way or at least that was how she saw it now.

"Please call me Chloe," she smiled pulled on her oxygen mask. Chloe was glad when they finally made it to the station as she was more than ready to get this party started already and see what was in this station. Following Isley out of the pod Chloe she turned her light on as well in order to better see.

Glancing around her she saw nothing but scattered bones and odds and ends nothing useful at the moment. They could cover more ground if they split up but in a place like this she didn't want to take any chances plus this place kind of gave her the creeps but that wasn't something she was willing to admit to herself. "I hope we can find something so I can turn the power back on. If I have to make something that will be difficult. Not impossible but it would take longer."

@[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Cadmon Geller]

@[member="Strask Ak'lya"]

As the pod fired off, Alek was all but silent, not saying a word as he simply stared out of the pod's viewport, doing his best to calm himself before undertaking the mission. This planet was a ghost, no contact, and a floating installation in the sky, it screamed trouble. And not the good kind.

 

[Rayn H'voc]

Rayn kept her blade within it's sheathe but her grip upon the hilt was strong and ready to weild the force-imbued sword when necessary. She kept her pistol aimed forward with it's flashlight bright. "We're just a half a kilometer away from the life support deck, Desmon. Let's hurry and turn the air on, eh?"

Rayn quickly strode down the long, dark corridor keeping her senses high and her squat low. Her feet made little sound as the heels clicked against the metal floor. The low groaning of the station filled her ears. Rayn turned her commlink to the public channel and spoke. "Isley, when we get off this station, you owe me a drink cause this place is givin' old Desmond here the spooks." She was joking, of course.

@[member="Desmond Voralis."] @[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Sephoria Lasranae]

The trip over to the station had been a quiet one for XV, Xalus, and Seph. The large specimen of a droid seemed to be even less talkative than the Gen'Dai. The Garhoon woman chose to reserve her words for now until she had something good to say. Of course truthfully she was not overly fond of space. Not talking helped to hide that discomfort as the pod jettisoned off. She decided to just close her eyes and listen to the engines hum. Luckily it was a short trip before her feet were on solid metallic decking once more.

The Garhoon wasn't wearing a helmet due to the hampering of peripherals that it would have caused. She was however sporting a half face mask, which was providing her with a steady oxygen intake.

"This is Captain Lasranae, our boots are on deck in the medical bay. Moving to objective now."

Sephoria reached up to click off her comm link when Xalus turned back with his flashlights. She squinted her eyes and moved her left hand up to shield them. The Garhoon woman didn't seem to have possession of any kind of light source. Instead her eyes glowed dangerously as the reflective lenses were illuminated by the Gen'Dai's lights. It appeared that the woman was capable of navigating the dark corridors without night vision or flashlights.

"Lets get this grunt work over with and see if there is anything that bleeds in this rust bucket."

@Xalus @[member="XV-265"]

 

[Desmond Voralis.]

"Yeah right. I've seen scarier things on Rodian stages," he snickered, keeping pace with Rayn easily even with the heavy armor. If nothing else, he'd clearly learned how to move in it, "Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of signs of fighting, but nothing moving. Whatever was here sure isn't in a rush to stick its head out."

It only took a few minutes to cover the half kilometer. Desmond kept watch, continuing to move with the easy, relaxed practice of a professional soldier, "Alright, H'voc, go ahead and work your magic."

@[member="Rayn H'voc"] @Isley Verd

 

[Darth Metus]

The scene was beginning to look a lot like one the Mandalorian had lived through only a handful of years ago, and due to this he was on edge. Of course, he dared not breathe a word of this tension to his teammates; but instead forced himself to focus on the mission. The events which had transpired on the derelict ship so long ago were long since past, and he was much stronger than at that moment; at least...that's what Isley told himself. As the transmissions began to flood in, he drew a few breaths in order to calm his nerves. Now was not the time to live in the past; now was the time to get the job done and to get the kark off this behemoth of death. "Roger Banshee (@[member="Rayn H'voc"])," he said, answering the first transmission, "I'll be sure to have a bottle of Corellian Whiskey awaiting you and @[member="Desmond Voralis."] My treat." The jesting was enough to cause him to smirk from underneath his visor, but the mirth vanished from his face the moment he damn near tripped over a rib cage.

"Kark!" he growled, doing his best to keep his voice down. He then turned to his teammate and gave the cliche' thumbs up before giving the Bridge another look around. When he found something worth mention, he waved her over and motioned to it. T'was a terminal, one where the navigational officer would sit and plot hyperspace jumps. While this was not exactly the greatest means of getting to the power, an expert slicer like herself would be able to make it work. "This terminal doesn't seem too karked up from age, why don't you try slicing it? I think you could get the power on from here." he said. (@[member="Chloe Hinata"])

When the duo of Voralis and H'voc reached the Life Support corridor, they would be greeted by a rather large set of blast doors that would either need to be blow apart or sliced in order to open. Behind which would be the Life Support terminal and all the wires and metal that went along with it. Of course, as they drew nearer, a din of metal scraping upon metal scurried from behind the doors; as if something was desperately attempting to get out...

The Medical Bay had just as many "spooky" traits to it, for upon arrival, the team would be greeted with the sight of numerous pods. They were white in hue and the glass ports, behind which one would typically see the face of the occupant inside, was frosted over with a solid layer of ice. Aside from these pods, which littered the room and walls, the Medical Bay was standard, complete with gurneys, bloody rags, and flawed wires strewn about. There was definitely a fight here, but perhaps one of the terminals would tell a better story when sliced into? @[member="Xalus"], @[member="XV-265"], @[member="Sephoria Lasranae"].

Lastly, the Armory was simply looked up tight. The corridor leading up to it was a mirror of the Bridge: littered with decayed bodies. Some appeared to be wearing the uniforms which matched the colors of the station while othes wore uniforms matching that of archaic, Republic forces. A gunfight had obviously gone down here, but perhaps the answer to why would be behind the hulking doors barring the path to the Armory itself? A simple slicing, or detonation, would get them open and the story could, possibly, unfold...@[member="Alek Skywalker"], @[member="Strask Ak'lya"].

 

[Ak'lya]

"Strask to Isley. We're in." The bothan reported to @[member="Isley Verd"]. The battle scene, undisturbed for decades, was undoubtedly unable to render any hints or affect the team..... except for one body in republic uniform. A bothan.

The corpse, nothing more than a skeleton now, could still be identified as an Ak'lya family member. A ring on his left hand, identical to one Strask wore, of silver, was all the agent needed. Kneeling down, he whispered: "Rest in peace, brother. I will return you home." And he slipped the ring off the man's finger. He graced his fallen kin with a tear before rising.

The door. Sealed. The terminal was nearby, and as Strask approached, he withdrew a datapad. Using it to gain remote access to the system, a procedure made simple by the conputer's age, he punched the controls for the door into the terminal. The datapad was his fallback option, as he worked best on a full access terminal.
@[member="Alek Skywalker"]

 

[Rayn H'voc]

Rayn stared down the large blast doors before her and her squadmate. "Hmm." she groaned. "This shouldn't be too hard to crack open." she concluded. Then the eerie sounds came. Something attempting to escape? Possibly. Rayn removed the panel covering the wires that operated the door. "Keep that gun ready, Desmond. We aren't the only ones on this station, I fear." she stated as her fingers worked their magic on the wires.

@[member="Desmond Voralis."]

 

[Desmond Voralis.]

"Well that sounded thoroughly unpleasant... Hey Verd, might have a contact here. We'll keep you updated," Desmond raised his weapon, taking up a position on the opposite side of the doorframe from Rayn and waiting to see just what came out the other end.

@[member="Rayn H'voc"] @[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[XV-265]

Once the three mercenaries had arrived at the station and boarded it, XV switched on his night-vision mode. It came in quite handy in situations like these and he still couldn't figured out why his initial creators hadn't included this feature when they built him. He had to upgrade himself a couple of years after he had become independent with night-vision and a couple hundred years after that he had included thermal vision, because he had almost been destroyed in a fight in which pirates had used smoke against him that blinded him and left him almost defenseless.

But now on the station he didn't have that problem. He had both kinds of vision, which would hopefully come in handy during this mission. Especially if they would face enemies who use stealth and who hid in the dark. With a bit of luck that was exactly the case and XV would get to kill many, many enemies by himself, leaving the other two to do whatever it was they were supposed to do. But for now he followed the Gen'dai and the woman. ''Affirmative. Completion of primary mission objective is the highest priority.''

@[member="Sephoria Lasranae"] @[member="Xalus"]

 

[Rayn H'voc]

@[member="Desmond Voralis."]

Sparks and snaps hissed from the wires in the wall as Rayn continued to configure them in order to open the door. "Almost.." A click sounded. "Got it!" Rayn exclaimed as the blast doors slid open, revealing the Life Support terminal. "Whatever we heard is probably still in here, Des. Keep an eye out.." Rayn warned. She removed her force-imbued blade from it's sheathe and gripped onto her gun and pointed it forward as she slowly walked into the small room, stepping in the spaces in between the ruptured floor and exposed wires.