Scout's Honor (The First Order Scouting of Dosuun)

[Alleycat]

"I'll hold you to that… The officer's lounge has a good brandy," Daska had replied.

Brandy had been her beloved father's favored spirit after dinner while the rear admiral sat in his study at their mansion staring into the red-orange flames of a warm evening fire. She drank it when not wanting to get drunk, but rather in a reflective mood. Plain whiskey did the trick otherwise to numb the pain and starve off the nightmares she suffered. The blonde was indeed Harrington Tess' daughter. The death of him had hit her hard, much harder than that of her older brother, Maximillian. Both were decorated Imperial TIE pilots and had died in glorious battle for the First Order, but Max had ruined any career advancement. The brash young Tess had an illicit affair with a moff's daughter, who was engaged to marry an officer from another prominent Imperial family. Harry had always been the true embodiment of an Imperial officer. His son had sullied their name. His daughter wouldn't, though at the same time would not make her mother, Baroness Rosette Tess, happy at all. Playing the high society game was not her cup of tea. A full military career was.

But that was neither here nor there, now it was time to get her mind back on the present situation.

"Oh I like the way you think," Tess responded with a small smirk to the Ren as she slipped in behind him as his twin red lightsabers snap-hissed to life.

It took a moment for the two to find their rhythm, but soon Daska and Jaron moved as as team; she stepping out with blaster rifle drawn sending precise bolts at the security droids taking them out one by one. But when the droidekas rolled up that was, now that was a different matter.

"We need to get out of here before getting pinned down," the elite pilot said as her keen blue gaze scanned the room for an exit other than going past those menacing killers. Only way she saw was by window.

[member="Belis Ren"]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

There was no knowing [member="Daska Tess"]' past. Jaron was not privy to the files of military officers, and personal tragedies were typically not included. Her flight record was, but even that was not visible to a Ren of Jaron's rank. He wondered at times whether he should be a better study of the personnel, but he left that to the masters and knights for now. He had his own history, and not all of it was shared. Jaron had mentioned his uncle, but nothing about his parents. They had sent him to his uncle not because they wanted him trained, but because they had no grid for how to raise him. Once he was with Judah, his parents stayed of his life.

Daska was an excellent shot. The experiment was a bit slow at the beginning but they found their rhythm, and Jaron was even able to start deflecting bolts back to the droids. He heard her about needing to escape. A nod confirmed he'd heard. There was a window, but that was too easy, and it meant tbey'd leave the facility. They needed to see more. Looking up, Jaron found a ventilation shaft. It was hard to left if they both could fit in the opening, but it was better than nothing.

"Cover me," he said as he deflected one last bolt.

A hand stretched out, and Jaron ripped the pannel from the shaft opening it up. His best guess was that it was large enough to fit them both. Jaron also saw this as one of those situations where it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. Coming around to fave Daska, he wrapped his hand around her waist.

"Hold on tight."

Pressing the force to his legs, leaped into the air, and passed the pair through the shaft opening. They were safe from the droidekas, and Jaron breathed a sigh of relief.

"We need to find the the control center for the security protocols. We need to disable the droids."

[member="Belis Ren"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska had steeled herself to break for the window to make a hasty exit when [member="Jaron Lesan"] had another idea come to mind it seemed.

"Covering!" Tess answered, stepping in front of him with a spray of suppression fire shot from her F-11D blaster rifle at the remaining droidekas.

Blue orbs chanced a quick look to where the Dark Jedi's hand had stretched up to. The cover panel to the ventilation shaft on the ceiling was ripped off. The space was just barely big enough for two humans to fit into. She had a bad feeling about this, but did as the Ren ordered.

Jaron's hand suddenly came around her waist snuggly pulling her form to his and he said to hang on tight. She didn't argue and her free arm went around his broad shoulders and neck while the other had the blaster rifle in it. There was a spicy masculine scent about him. It was nice. The two shot upward as if they had a jet pack on, then into the narrow metal shaft nearly landing atop of each other.

They had made it up into a "T" intersection. The question was which direction to go along the horizontal part of the ventilation system. The elite TIE pilot pulled out her scanner again. It had a compass/GPS on it. Remembering which way the room faced, they would need to go to his right most likely to get to the droid control center hopefully.

"Start moving down that way… " Tess motioned, pointing with her finger past him, then quickly diverted her eyes from his that were so close and put the device back into the pouch on her uniform's utility belt.

"There should be another major "T" intersection up ahead where we can exit at," she added getting herself righted and ready to move after him in the small confines of the shaft.

[member="Belis Ren"]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"Well that was fun wasn't it," Jaron said with a smirk.

He was clearly flirting at that moment. That was the Corellian influence coming out in him. A refined imperial pilot was likely to not like the Corellian attitude much, but Jaron honeslty didn't care. His Corellian flare was all he had left of the world he was raised on, and no one would take that from him. He could smell her scent, it was something of a fun smell that he could easily get carried away in. His eyes closed briefly as he breathed it in, making a memory from the awkward situation they found themselves in.

Jaron didn't miss the fact Daska moved her eyes away. His dark orbs had caught her icy blue gaze for a bit longer than she likely intended. He nodded when she pointed where to go, and Jaron positioned himself to lead on. The space was tight, and there was room for them to travel one at a time. Now was likely a good time to apologize about pressing that button earlier, but Jaron was proud and didn't want to hear an I told you not to. Then again, he wasn't sure she'd say that.

"Sorry about hitting that button back there," he said as he crawled along the ducting.

The "T" section was not that far of a crawl, and there was indeed an exit. A small force push saw the cover shoot off the shaft, and Jaron looked down. The drop was not an issue for Jaron, but Daska would have a hard time with it. In fact, she'd likely break an ankle or leg on the land. Jaron was about to find out how much she trusted him. Leaping down, Jaron looked up to Daska.

"Jump, and I'll catch you," he called motioning for her to do as he instructed. "I promise!"

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska was relieved when [member="Jaron Lesan"] finally turned himself around in to the narrow vent shaft and started crawling ahead of her so she wouldn't have to look into his searching eyes any longer. When they were upon her, those steamy dark chocolate pools of his seemingly started to melt her ice cold exterior, and that made the Imperial officer uncomfortable in a good and bad way. Though for Tess, that was more so in a negative way since duty and professionalism was at the foremost of her being.

"You did not know, and I was not quick enough to tell you. That was on me. Perhaps next time we should check with each other first before pushing buttons."

The blonde pilot really tried not to run into the Dark Jedi's cute back side that was just in front of her as they crawled one in front of the other to the next "T" intersection. Luckily it wasn't too far, now to get out and find that droid controls and turn the security system off.

Daska waited patiently up in the vent shaft for Jaron to get down, then quirked a blondish-brown brow up when the young Ren said he promised to catch her.

"You better," is all Tess replied giving the dark-haired Ren one of her looks, then moved to position herself over the opening so she'd fall and he could catch her like he was going to carry her over the threshold. The blaster rifle was held up and outward so the pilot didn't accidentally shoot her knight in shinning armor. Though if he did drop her, she would reconsider.

 

[Jaron Lesan]

The twenty foot drop was something most wouldn't manage without breaking or spraining something. Jaron didn't doubt Daska's ability to make the jump, he just didn't want her to get hurt. When she jumped, he leaped into the air in her direction to catch her, and landed with her safe in his arms. He even paused, levitating slightly to slow the descent, and to show off a bit. Again, the Corellian was flirting in a way. His booted feet touched the ground softly, and without a sound. His eyes locked with hers again, and Corellian smirk crossed his lips.

"I told you, I'd catch you," he said with a wink, and set her down on her feet in a hurry.

Jaron could tell she was trying to hide the fact she actually enjoyed the attention. He didn't need the force to tell him that, not when he'd been trained by his uncle to observe body language. The skill was one which came in handy for a Jedi Shadow, and since Jaron had trained to be one, he used the skill to his advantage often. Other dark siders liked to rip the information they wanted from their victim's mind, but Jaron was not as dark. He was more gray, and believed in the dark sides use to further his own agenda. Jaron was a man of passion, and no one would take that from him.

He took stock of the room. There was a circular command center in the center, and lining the walls were the docking stations for more droids. This was clearly the control station, but Jaron didn't know which control was the right one. He stepped aside to let Daska take a look. The last thing he wanted was to push the wrong button again. There were more droids in this room than what had been released to deal with them in the command center.

"Well I think we're in the right place, now to get these droids off. How familiar are you with old Imperial controls?"

This was a weakness for Jaron, at least until he learned how to communicate with electronic equipment through the force. Judah hadn't taught him tha before Brokellia happened.

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

Booted feet set them down onto the room's flooring with a slightest of thuds. The Ren was showing off no doubt with his Force moves. Men?! [member="Jaron Lesan"] thankfully though put Daska down quickly so as not to prolong the intimate nature of their contact.

"Yes, yes you did. And I do appreciate that," Tess nodded, blue eyes catching his brown for the briefest of moments, then the blonde pilot moved with purpose over to the control panel going back to the business at hand. It was old and antiquated, but still Imperial made with many redundant back up systems no doubt built in.

"Enough… " she replied, yeah hopefully enough, then pulled the front cover off the lower part of the control panel and grabbed a maglite off her utility belt.

Tess got down on all fours to look inside. Just as the academy trained officer thought. She grumbled something, then reached back out with her hand and pulled a multi-tool off the utility belt next.

"I an going to cut a wire. Get ready in case it doesn't shut things down," came her voice from inside the control panel guts.

With the maglite between her teeth, nimble fingers feathered through the array of colored wires. If she could find the terminator sequence of wires, everything would shut off. If not, it could become real fun real fast even more than before.

"Well here goes nothing… " Cut. Three wires out of ten were sniped at the same time.

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"I will always have your back," he said before he really knew why. He didn't really know whether that professionally, personally, or both. It was likely both if he searched his feelings. Jaron was certainly on the chase, and it had not been something he woke up thinking he would do today.

The tension was also getting to him, and he had to keep up appearances. Jaron was little more free to flirt, but wasn't sure if the pilot would report him to keep him away so as to avoid anything from happening. Daska seemed proper enough to do something like that, but then again there was something else he sensed in her as well. They made a good team, that much was already determined by how quickly they fell into rhythm when fending off the droids.

Daska moved to the pannel, and Jaron observed as she looked over the system. In a moment she was ripping off the front pannel cover and on her hands and knees into the wires. The male brain was all over the view he was getting from the pilot at the moment, but kept his mouth shut about how perfectly shapped he thought her backside was. He found himself looking at it a tad longer than he should, but as long as her attention was on the wires she would never know. He hoped.

Jaron was ready to grab Daska and speed off with the help of the force, or make a shield, if she got the wires wrong, but she didn't. Her basic knowledge turned out to be enough to shut the power down on the security system. It was a relief that they could be free to explore the rest of the area without the difficulty of dealing with securty droids, but it would have to be rewired once, or if, they took the base as theirs. Jaron was finding the world, and the layout, ideal for the Ren.

"Well that did it. Now we can get out of here and see what else this place has to offer. Hopefully your droids will be done with their search soon, and we can be back on the ship in time for lunch."

Naturally Jaron was joking, and his humor was a bit dry. It was a Lesan trait, and something he was proud of, and not really able to change honestly. The doors leading out the room opened when Jaron approached them, and he took point just in case. The next thing to look into was the old armory. Was it able to support the supply of weapons for a full military, and a full complement of Ren. If the armory, housing, and sustainables were in good order, then Dosuun was near move in ready as far as Jaron was concerned.

"Well let's hit the armory shall we? We might even find something useful there."

[member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska released a big breath she didn't know she was holding. She had been ninety percent sure the wires were the right ones to cut, but… ninety wasn't one hundred percent, which could hurt or kill them and put the mission in jeopardy. That wasn't Imperially acceptable.

When the elite pilot crawled out from under the control panel she happened to notice how quickly [member="Jaron Lesan"]'s dark eyes diverted to something else other than her behind that had been visibly sticking out. Men?!

"There are a variety of ration bars I am sure you will enjoy then," the blonde answered with a slight smirk gracing her lips.

Lieutenant Tess put the multi-tool away on her pilot uniform's utility belt, then picked up her blaster rifle off the floor and followed the disciple out of the room.

"The standard Imperial protocol is to not leave anything of worth behind that may be retrievable by the enemy, though this particular installation seems rather still intact. We may then be in luck," Daska replied as they grew closer to where the armory was located.

"So as far as the Knights of Ren are concerned, do you believe this planet would provide a suitable place to build your following?"

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"You would be amazed at what I can do with just ration bars," he quipped back.

For a stuffy imperial Daska had a fun side to her, and he was glad he seemed to be able to pull it out of her. As soon as she let show it was put away again though and business was right back to usual. This facility was going to be cleared soon, so if she was the business before pleasure type, then they could get it over with so she could drop the act and they could have normal interaction. Jaron was a rebel in a lot of ways, and so he would never have that Imperial personality which demanded precision and perfection. He would let the force deal with that. It had its own way of weeding out those who could not cut it.

"We can hope when they left they had to leave in a hurry and said to hell with protocol then. Not that it's bad, but anything we can use and not have to spend the credits to make is more toward upgrades to the fighters coming your way."

Maybe that would perk her ears. Jaron knew Daska liked a good fighter, and found herself vying for elite status. There were rumors circulating about her future specifically, and Jaron couldn't wait to see if they were true. At this point, the two were doing a lot of work for the First Order, and it was out of duty. Even Jaron, rebellious as he was, understood duty.

He hit the controls for the armory door, and it slid open slowly. It jammed about half way through. Stepping back, Jaron waved his hand and the door slid open the rest of the way. He was not going to waste anymore time in getting the inspection over with. A smile corssed his lips as he walked in. There were not a lot of heavy ordinances, but enough rifles to outfit the entire 501st. This bounty was good enough considering Daska would have likely been more right than not.

"Not a lot of the best stuff, but the 501st can use those. As far as the Ren are concerend this place would work well. Whether this facility, or another section of this base. The hills and cliffs near hear give us natural places to train in certain skills that require more of a challenge, and ample motivation, to succeed. I am satisfied."

Jaron turned and looked to the blonde.

"What about you? Will this suffice from a military perspective?"

[member="Daska Tess"]
[member="Belis Ren"]