Pain and Gain [Republic Dominion of Attahox]

[Hal Terrano]

[member="Avalore Eden"], [member="Jannik Morlandt"]

Hal Terrano was found. We can just leave it at that, there's only so many times that you can talk about a man and his rigorous routine, which he performs regularly while frowning. You an entering a no fun zone, sir, put that silly string down. Of course, he could have actually been thinking about somebody. Somebody close, somebody that he had suffered alongside continuously and had come out the other end with. Still alive. Still Jedi.

But I mean, I've skipped the first exposition post so you'll never know what Hal Terrano was doing, or thinking about. He was totally scowling the entire time, however, wait, what are we doing? Peep peeping in the hangar? Can you imagine our stoic blonde friend saying peep? In the correct context?

The regulation man stood slightly behind Avalore in his regulation brown robes, looking to Knight Morlandt with his trademark stoic expression fixed upon his face. He wasn't good at small talk on a quiet day, never mind on an occasion in which they had to roll out like glow stick wielding autobots.

“Is everybody ready?”

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus had noted the arrival of [member="Avalore Eden"], [member="Jannik Morlandt"] and [member="Hal Terrano"], and from what he could tell he was being roped into their group, being summoned by a glance and a hand motion. When he gathered his attention to the trio, however, he was a bit confused at the short explanation of Avalore, a smile finding his face as he shook his head slightly.

He knew they were in a hurry, and they had a long trip ahead of them, but being too brief could set on unnecessary confusion, which was something Varus actively tried to avoid. Orders were orders and when they weren't followed bad things happened, but at least in any other scenario someone had the choice whether or not to follow them. In this case, the orders weren't very clear, and one couldn't follow orders without making sure to get the details.

"Ready and willing. Just one thing.", Varus said, smiling at them for a time as he followed them through the hangar.

"Who is one Team 1 and who is on Team 2?"

 

[Gala Geert]

The ship shivered slightly indicating that they were approaching the atmosphere. She could hear in the distance some communicated exchanges between the pilot and some drone that spoke over static speakers. Numbers and coordinates were exchanged, and the ship perused calmly to the left. Or maybe it was the right -- flying around wasn't Gala's strong suit and her sense of direction only seemed to carry merit on the ground.

Sir? Had Gala been flirting with a superior without her knowing? Well, wouldn't be the first time -- and likely not the last.

After a few moments, the shuttle seemed to ease into a stop -- just behind another that had deployed from a major Republic Vessel. One of those Force-y hotels. Apparently there had been other collaborative orders to have some of the squadrons collaborate. Perhaps not. Her svelte figure lifted from it's seated position and she grinned wryly at [member="Zane Watts"], with a small shrug of her shoulders she shook her head at his request for her name. A slender finger tapped the tip of her nose to accompany that mischievous curl of her lips; "The pleasure is all yours, Zane Watts."
That said, those leather-coated curves slinked in the direction of the cockpit, to which she leaned against one of the pilot's seats.

"I've done a few uninvited operations, boys. There's already a shuttle down there -- don't land so near it, keep a little distance so we have some leverage for movement if those Force-boys need some leeway." Coffee-hued gaze drifted over the facility -- the amount of persons to greet those other Republic members seemed too aggressive for a conversation.


[member="Caleb Brolen"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Haytham Kaze"] | [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Trevin Neros"]

 

[Zane Watts]

"I sincerely hope the pleasure will be as much yours as it is mine later, my dear," Zane said, unabashedly flirting because despite being a Colonel he was clearly a terrible human being and probably needed a decent talking to from the powers that be. However, not one to ignore his compatriot, he turned to Trevin with a serious look on his face for probably the first time all mission. It was go time now.

"Currently our mission is to lend support until we get some serious orders to deploy to a specific area. I'm sure the boss will call us to drop the heavy end of the hammer as need be."

In fact, speaking of the boss, Zane needed to send a message. Directly to one [member="Caid Centurion"], in fact. With his datapad, he called up the boss' frequency knowing he was around and sent him a quick text-only message.

JSO Lead in Attahox AO flying solo. What's my ROE? Any special requests?

Because he'd get it.

Picking up the AC2 plasma cannon, he gave it a cursory glance and decided that he could probably handle this on a run. That, or the saber; either one would be enough to take care of the crowd assembling. It was set back down - chances are he wouldn't need the biggest gun in the Republic arsenal for this one.

"I'm with you. This isn't my first playdate, either," Zane said from the seats, rising to the occasion as he did so. Never mind he'd earned the rank of Colonel out in the field. Needless to say, he didn't like the look, or the feel, of this situation. Zane wasn't about to let this happen without his allies having some support, though. "I'll make sure they don't get their teeth kicked in. Neros, grab a gun. On me. We're gonna play tag with some bogeys."

So he scooped up his SR4, checked that it was indeed in blaster rifle configuration, and readied that to be sure. Long-range precision sniper fire was probably wiser than a bleeding lightsaber or a melted corpse.

[member="Caleb Brolen"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Haytham Kaze"] | [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Trevin Neros"] | [member="Gala Geert"]

 

[Sen Kando]

[member="Kelly Perris"] [member="Rion Ke Teldan"] [member="Zooey Walsh"] [member="Iasos Kontarr"] [member="Keanu Shan"] @Ar'rek Zavros [member="Kallista Zhorren"] [member="Camellia Swift"] [member="Aedan Miles"]

Lectures were what was expected. However, Sen forgot the most basic expectation. Standing when the commander stands and especially when he's/she's addressing you. He stood up and listened to the conversation. He didn't even think about speaking at the current time. Chatter, had just offered a game of cards but Sen had no interest. He instead got everything he needed out of his bag. An extra blaster, basic armor, and his yellow light saber. Probably too much since the Wraith's probably have flight shits and armor already but you can never be too safe. Even though he wouldn't participate in the game, he walked over to the table Keanu sat at and searched up something on his data pad. Nothing off the topic and work of the current situation but something about the X-Wing they would be using. He forgot where a few buttons were, not really important ones though.

 

[Marcello Matteo]

((OOC: Sorry for the delay... Now that I'm past and opening on the holidays, posts should come more regularly.))

Location: Main Production Facility
[member="Caleb Brolen"] | [member="Zane Watts"] | [member="Gala Geert"] | [member="Trevin Neros"] | [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Haytham Kaze"]

One of the three individuals responded quickly to Marcello's declaration. "No. It was not."

A man standing slightly to the right glanced at his associated before shaking his head and stepping forward. "Forgive my colleague. The scientists and engineers are having a bit of trouble with current production, and it's grossly effected our ability to meet demand. As if that weren't enough, we've been having some issues with communications, so we'd not received any notification of interest on the part of the Republic."

Marcello's glacier-blue gaze remain fixed on the personal ahead of them as he stopped perhaps fifteen or twenty feet away. Far enough to create some time, space, and opportunity (albeit not much) but not so far as to appear standoffish. "Perfectly understandable. Communications have a tendency to be problematic."

The original speaker seemed to resume control of his...associates...at that point. "Yes. Now...if you don't mind, we're afraid we will have to ask you to leave. You can understand we have much work."

Marcello did not consider himself a genius, but he figured it was fairly obvious to see what they were being presented with. Thus far, two individuals had spoken. One was very gruff and straight forward...certainly not what you'd expect to see from any type of executive concerned with customer retention. Especially if they were really having issues meeting demands of said customer. Further more, his suit hung somewhat loosely off his frame, though Marcello had a feeling that was because he...rarely wore one. The second individual was much more polished and...diplomatic. The third guy? He hadn't said a word, he just stared openly at Marcello like the Jedi Master would become a foe at any moment.

The Naboo native knew that look. The look of a fighter. Exhaling softly, the large Jedi raised his left hand momentarily. He really wasn't the type you sent on a diplomatic venture. He too was very...blunt and straight forward. It was not his purpose to soothe egos and make everyone feel comfortable. The existence of a Padawan that had designs on becoming some type of Jedi Diplomat at his side was probably...well...it just wasn't good for Caleb maybe. "I can appreciate...that you have no idea what you're talking about. I've been doing this for a bit now, and I've grown impatient. So how about you get on the radio to your boss and have him come down here for a little chat."

"I am the boss."

Marcello shook his head. "You're wearing the identification credentials of a completely different person around your neck." The man wasn't...wearing anything around his neck.

However, the as-yet-unnamed individual looked down to see if something was hanging from his neck anyways.

"Did you seriously just check to see if you had the ID of someone else around your neck?" Shaking his head, Marcello took several more steps forward. "I want to see your boss. Now."

The silent greeter literally sprung into action at that moment. Withdrawing a hold-out blaster, he began to level the weapon in Marcello and Caleb's direction.

Sensing the impending danger, Marcello motioned with his right hand to send a crushing wave of force energy slamming into the man and sending him reeling. At that moment, another individual exited the main building of the production plant. This one, however, was dressed quite casually and appeared to have a grip on hygiene one might expect of someone involved in a criminal organization. "Quite enough, I think, Jedi."

Marcello shifted his gaze. "Look. I really hate diplomacy, and I particularly dislike garbage planets so...are you in charge?"

"Of this facility, yes. I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave. Immediately."

"Can't do that. I'm trying to impress a girl." The vague mention of [member="Kiskla Grayson"] wasn't...really accurate. It was, however, ironically the best excuse he could come up with for being there at that precise moment. Maybe he'd just fully absorbed his role and responsibility with the Order and not even noticed? Can't fight nature.

The new individual laughed softly, but he was cut off by the intellectual from earlier. "Please. Just go. We will all be fine."

The boss' response was to shoot the scientist. "Not all of them, it would seem," he commented dryly with a thin smile in Marcello's direction.

Instinctively and immediately, the strength of Marcello's presence flooded the Force as a concussive wave of energy rocketed out from the core of his being towards the two remaining individuals. Glacier-blue eyes watched with tranquility as their bodies sailed through the air and crashed into the exterior of the main building with a bone-crushing sound. Briefly, the Jedi Master made a comment to Caleb. "Congrats kid. You get to see what happens when diplomacy fails." The last syllable to leave the Jedi's mouth did so as Marcello's feet immediately carried him towards the facility. He'd no idea what kind of other defense might have been lying in wait, so priority one was to get to cover...quickly.

While he could sense the presence of others nearby, Marcello did not exactly have a great deal of time to wake. He would have to breach the facility with the Padawan and try to override security protocols quickly to at least make a coordinated sweep of the production facility...well...possible.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid's personal datapad beeped softly indicating an incoming transmission. After verifying the identification code, the Admiral dispatched an immediate encrypted reply to [member="Zane Watts"].

Colonel - just keep your associates from the glowstick brigade from getting themselves or others killed unnecessarily. You are clear to respond to hostile action as necessary to prevent the loss of innocent life. No idea who the Order sent to coordinate. Keep me appraised if this turns into a battleground.

Hopefully...that wouldn't be a message he received, but he didn't really make assumptions.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

Location: Main Production Facility

As we ran through the door I turned to see glimpse of a man carrying a riffle though he looked different. It was like he wasn't from this planet at all. Could be PMCs but they aren't organized enough to be mercenary so I had to go one step under that. "Pirates" I screamed out to Master Matteo as we were running. As I continued down the hall maybe 5 feet from the Jedi Master I saw blaster fire wiz past my body. These guys were serious about keeping us out of this place.

As we ran through another door I ignited out my lightsaber and deflected a incoming shot to hit the door panel. It slammed shut and I kept running with Matteo. I then asked "Where are we going?"

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Location: Main Facility

Perhaps inevitably, Ryan Korr arrived when the shooting started.

The Jedi Knight found himself high up on a maintenance catwalk aiming to infiltrate the facility. From below came the sounds of shouting and blaster fire. Korr grimaced as he felt a familiar presence racing somewhere inside.

"Well," he muttered, "This can't be good."

He disappeared down the catwalk in a flutter of brown robes.

[member="Marcello Matteo"] [member="Caleb Brolen"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Jannik! There you are, I thought you were off-planet-" Avalore glanced around at her team as [member="Hal Terrano"] stood looking authoritative and prepared.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," Avalore nodded, "yes we are, let's go everyone. Hop-to."

With a flutter of hands and blue robes, the Healer was up the ramp and into the ship, trailed by the most stand-up group of Jedi Knights that ever did Jedi. With a great flurry of movement and writer collaborative efforts of moving this shindig along, they all boarded up, sealed up, and shoved off. Before long Ossus was but a speck within a large swath of black space from the small viewports of their ship.

((Any Jedi that still haven't entered the thread or hitched a ride to Attahox feel free to place yourself in this group. We'll be magically arriving in my next post.))

[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

The comm aboard Evard's ship crackled with static from the quick slicing job his computer had done, and he barely heard the muffled noise that meant the Jedi shuttle was taking off. He knew Attahox was the destination, but he didn't know where Attahox was. Sighing with annoyance, he spoke over the tapped comm line.

"Can one of you fine Jedi tell me where exactly Attahox is? Don't wanna jump in and shoot up the wrong system, if you get my drift."

He smiled at the mental image of the Jedi's commander and whoever was flying their shuttle scrambling to find out why there was an Imperial-accented man speaking over their encrypted channel. They'd have a hell of a time finding any records of him.

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

The Captain of the Jedi's transport blinked at the sudden incoming message, checked his channel's security and motioned for his co-pilot with a nod to return the requested information.

"This is a diplomatic mission, there should be no need to bring out the guns. Sending coordinates for drop-point to you. Give us your call-sign so we can mark you in."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

A call-sign, huh? Evard quickly racked his brain for something fitting... And it hit him like an asteroid hits a planet.

"Call me Fullmetal. Moving to escort position. And good luck keeping it diplomatic... Didn't think pirates were too fond of you Jedi and your glowsticks."

(No, I'm not sinking into my playby at all, I swear )

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Ryan]

[member="Camellia Swift"] 's orders were loud and clear over the Ready Room's intercom. Wraith squadron was to fly escort for the relief transports that were headed planet side. Rion would take a few steps over and pressed the button on the intercom to reply back "Copy that Commodore Swift! Wraith will be up and ready in ten, ma'am!"

Rion would nod towards his commander and then would continue on with what needed to be done. This was it, first mission for Wraith. It was milk run but a mission was a mission. "Listen up!" Rion really did not need not to reiterate what the Commodore had sent through the intercom for all could hear that "Get to your birds, you have a few minutes to run pre flight and then it will be take off. We will get rendezvous coordinates soon for the transports. This may be a easy go, but I want you all on your game" Rion would brief the squadron. "DISMISSED!"

The Prince, like the rest, would rush out of the room and head to their X-wings to begin pref-light checks and start up procedures. Rion would reach his X-wing, climb the ladder and into the cockpit. This was home for him. Few clicked on the command console and his main data screen would com to life along with a whole army of other buttons. 'Boss' His R2 unit was already harnessed in and began chirping away with diagnostics giving the ship a clean bill of health. "Alright Boss! Lets start Pre-check!"

about a minute later Boss chirped back stating that pre check has been completed and showing the data upon his screen. With a two clicks of a button the X-wing roared to life, he engines purring like a kitten...... to his ears. That was a positive start to the mission, thus far.

"Anvil has good start!" Rion would announce over Wraith's comms.

Spoiler

[member="Kelly Perris"]
[member="Rion Ke Teldan"]
[member="Zooey Walsh"]
[member="Iasos Kontarr"]
[member="Keanu Shan"]
[member="Ar'rek Zavros"]
[member="Aedan Miles"]
[member="Sen Kando"]

 

[Keanu Shan]

Keanu jumped up. A mission! This was it what they had hoped for. Along with the others he sprinted to his ship. "Green" (his astromech) was getting loaded. Keanu got the thumbs up from the mechanic, telling him the ship was ready. He climbed the ladder in two steps, and jumped in his seat. Master power on the console, blinked awake greeting him with a menagerie of steady and flashing lights, instrument panels, and sensors. "Green" Keanu ran through the checklist carefully each providing insurance for the other, as "Green" simultaneously ran a diagnostics check. Every thing good, he spooled up the engine. Doing a final check once everything was on he signaled the deck crew to remove the chalks and gun covers.
Although Keanu may have tended to talk alot outside the ship; on a mission he was all business, especially on the comms (one thing he couldnt stand was lack of comm discipline). "Chatter ready...over"

Kelly Perris
Rion Ke Teldan
Zooey Walsh
Iasos Kontarr
Keanu Shan
Ar'rek Zavros
Aedan Miles
Sen Kando

 

[Zane Watts]

10-4, boss. No idea who's running the show.

Zane knew that he had equal responsibility to the Jedi and the Republic military. However, he was first loyal to the Republic, as he'd been bred to be. He had respect for the chain of command and the means to back that up. Unfortunately, it was an occasional conflict of interest. That said, Zane was also very interested in conflict, so it worked out. [member="Caid Centurion"] needed to be kept in the loop, regardless.

And then it was Force Repulse time on the part of a Jedi Master, so Zane got typing as fast as he could.

Scratch last. GB has engaged unknowns. Because GB was a great shorthand for the glowstick brigade, and frankly Zane wouldn't mind calling himself in that brigade. They sound deadly. Going tactical - frequency open.

With that out of the way, the datapad was left where it belonged - not in focus of the frame, clearly - and Zane slammed the power pack of his blaster rifle in clean. "On me, boys and girls. Let's bring the ruckus."

As he charged down the ramp of their transport, Zane was already reaching into the Force; even though he did not have his squad with him, he still had the powers that were normally afforded to him to effect a good result through battle. While he normally had a perfect mind-meld with his four fellow Jedi, he could do it on a smaller scale for the uninitiated, linking his mind to both Gala and Trevin. This meant that they'd be able to move together, attack targets in sync, and move as a single, cohesive unit. In firefights like this, cohesion tended to go out the window - being able to maintain it was a critical advantage.

Meanwhile, Zane hit the com, finding his way into the building. He decided that the Republic command frequency was the way to go. As he crossed the expanse towards the production facility, his blaster was scanning, searching for any exterior signs of movement. For now, there were none. Penetrating the facility was now objective one.

"Watts here. Sitrep, now."


[member="Caleb Brolen"] | [member="Marcello Matteo"] | [member="Haytham Kaze"] | [member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Trevin Neros"] | [member="Gala Geert"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Location: Production Facility

Marcello pretty much ignored any comments made by [member="Caleb Brolen"]. He did, however, note that the young Padawan seemed to be quite adept at lightsaber combat for someone that ranted about diplomacy and constantly fretted over the potential courses a situation could take. When they'd reached the security room which actually wasn't far from the main entrance, Marcello quickly became aware of the fact that it was likely an auxiliary control center.

Reaching into his pocket, Marcello withdrew the earpiece communicator that he carried on every mission just in case things went south. After putting the device into his ear, he gave Caleb brief instructions. "Transmit a message on the secure Jedi Order frequency. Inform everyone we've discovered a criminal organization of some sort in firm control of the Phosovane Production facility. Hostile negotiations initiated. More to follow."

As Marcello spoke to Caleb, his fingers flew over the terminal control console in front of him. Once he'd reached the root interface screen, he pulled out his datapad and activated the hacking program he'd developed based off of R9's algorithms following the mission to Eclipse. Connecting the device, he heard the voice of [member="Zane Watts"] though use of the name 'Watts' made him think first of Ben. "Matteo. I've breached the facility plus one..." A familiar presence shifted at the edge of his perception. He knew that presence anywhere. "...plus two. Hacking into the security network now. Secure for the moment, what do you have with you?"

[member="Ryan Korr"] | [member="Gala Geert"] | [member="Trevin Neros"] | [member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid did not reply to [member="Zane Watts"]' message. Laughing softly to himself, he merely shook his head. "Captain!"

Velez appeared in the doorway near-instantly. "Sir?"

"Distribute a FRAGO to 1st and 3rd Beta. Combat operations authorized in the Attahox system, suppression of non-government militant organization. Oh and Captain...that does not equate to guns blazing. They're still there to support the Jedi effort. For now."

Captain Velez offered a simple nod. "Got it sir."

When the Captain disappeared, Caid dispatched a brief message to [member="Aurelia Saelari"] and [member="Alena Beswin"] informing them of the new development on Attahox.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

As we got into the security room I followed Master Matteos instruction to the very last letter and left nothing out. I ran over to a nearby com terminal and patched in a Jedi specific frequency then sent this message out to all Jedi.

"To all Jedi forces currently in route to Attahox as I speak me and another Jedi have come in contact with what looks to be some sort of criminal element in firm control of the Phosavane Production facility. They are considered armed and dangerous so consider caution when dealing with them. Hostile negotiations have been initiated. More information to come soon. May the force be with you. Brolen out".

As I disconnected my communicator I noticed some credit transaction and holo recordings that could go to use. I started to download them on to a storage device immediately. As I did I wondered how the hack was coming.

[member="Marcello Matteo"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Zane Watts"]

 

[The End Narrator]

Uneventful.

That would pretty much sum up the trip from the Teraab Sector to the Hocatar Sector. A sigh escaped her lips as she adjusted her hair, twirling her chestnut brown locks around her fingers and pulling them through the band into a tight ponytail. Her droid “Rowdy” chirped and whistled as he maneuvered the old 2400 series through the atmosphere and towards the coordinates that [member="Marcello Matteo"] had sent her previously.

Attahox wasn’t an interesting planet, you know, like Coruscant or Corellia. Nothing stuck out that made this place unique. It was essentially a garbage planet that had inhabitants who required assistance beyond the local bureaucrats who were more corrupt that a Hutt – One couldn’t really spin that into a joke. There was an advantage for Aaralyn while she was aiding the good citizens of Attahox – parts. Like all good junk planets, there were secrets they held and pieces of ancient ships that would no doubt be in decent condition.

More uneventful sequences of clearing procedures, codes and jabbering to Officers of higher order within the Republic military before she finally landed a good kilometer outside the coordinates given to her by Marcello. “Stay here with the ship…” She said to Rowdy as she patted him on the dome. “I need you to make sure it doesn’t fall apart or…” She took a look outside the cockpit as she approached the entrance to the cockpit itself. “Get taken apart by scavengers.”

Rowdy let off a wail as she exited the cockpit and headed into the main galley. She approached the ramp to the vessel and reached down to grab the utility belt with her two sabers attached. As she brought the belt around, attaching the belt at various points to her waist and thighs, memories of battles long since gone flooded her mind. It took her a moment to re-align her thoughts and emotions, snapping the last piece of the belt together and bringing her elbow up to hit the button on the ramp control panel. As the explosion of oxygen and other gasses combined, it hissed loudly and created a plume of steam that turned red from the ramp lights.

Without warning and without a reason, a hellish scream filled her mind causing her to falter backwards and direct her gaze into the mist before her – And in what seemed like a human heart-beat is how fast Aaralyn brought her lightsabers up and ignited them in a blue and violet blaze as the face of [member="Darth Isolda"] lashed out from the bloody reddish haze of atmosphere before her. Aaralyn stumbled back, caught off-guard as she made a half-attempt to swing her violet blade at the visage of the dark woman.

And as fast as it had come…it was gone.

Aaralyn dis-engaged her lightsabers and sat down at the top of the ramp, panting slightly. Her black gloved hands gripped both lightsabers tightly as she stared straight ahead at the glowing red light infront of her. Where had that come from? Why had it come now?

A cold chill ran up her spine, causing her to shiver for a moment. Was Isolda haunting her somehow? No, she would know. She would have felt her from a distance. These had to be memories from when times were dark. Yeah – that was it.