Shoring up the Border | Galactic Alliance

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

She walked with a steady pace and Lord Fa simply enjoyed the scenery for the moment.

At least until she stopped.

The Thirriken was about to ask what the problem was, but then her voice piped up again and mentioned the existence of hidden turrets. This probably should not surprise them at all. Mainly because secrecy only worked up to a certain point for your security needs, no, the fact that these smugglers were intelligent enough to also invest in more physical security was only heartening.

It meant that this would not be a boring affair in the slightest.

"Yes." External focus expanded and she would suddenly see blue hue flashing past her eyes, before it enveloped her entire body. "There."

Aver Brand would notice something else as well though. It was the fact that the avian on her shoulder had leeched onto her presence within the Force - in his mind this mercenary was a simple human, who was not aware of the Force, how it worked and how it felt, so Tai considered it only fair to take just as much as he was expending to keep this one safe.

The drain on her energy was minimal, just enough to off-set the energy he was utilizing to protect her.

If she had not been a forcer, she probably wouldn't have even noticed it in the first place.

 

[Aver Brand]

8
Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

What little Force sense she possessed was pretty basic when it came to others; she could detect Forcers when they were close, but that was about it. Couldn’t even pinpoint them in space.

Her sense of self, however, was a whole ‘nother animal. A rush of adversity pricked down her spine and she tensed for a moment when the presence washed over her. It wasn’t exactly invasive, but saying Aver was a private person was like saying that Zambranos were a tad inbred.

She bared her teeth at the low light of her HUD, but bit her tongue. If the audacious avian so much as blinked wrong, the merc would wring his little chicken neck. Until then, it was better to keep her true nature quiet.

With a practiced gesture she swung the rifle from her back and braced it against her locked elbow. Nary a sound but the howling of wind and her heavy steps in the snow. Then a soft click, and red light exploded across the slope, highlighting them under the overcast sky. The bolts hissed and died against the barrier, and Aver continued undeterred, ready to burn a hole through the first face that came out of that compound.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Tai's head cocked slightly as a certain hum within the Force returned to him from her.

It was gone as quickly as it had arrived and Lord Fa had never been much of a mentalist, so it was difficult to pin-point exactly what had happened there. But it seemed to suggest a sense of unease radiating from her for a singular moment, before it was extinguished utterly and without hesitation. This could mean a great many of things, of course, and in the moment itself? Tai did not truly care enough to investigate further.

The clash of plasma and bolts against his barriers was an interesting change of scenery. There Tai Fa focused intently and as much as possible the Thirriken siphoned off energy from the bolts, before they could punch into the shield.

This made the draw of energy away from his core manageable.

Aver would even feel the drain on her body dissipate, until her reserves were her own again. Ten meters, six, four and just like that they were inside the turrets' deadzone, where they couldn't reach just like that.

Now there was just a heavy reinforced turidium door between the two of them.

Nobody had come outside to stop them - probably wary of any tricks they might have, why try to kill them, when the chances of them breaching that door was very low anyway? Well, as far as they knew, of course. In truth a little blast-door could do little to stop them, both Sith Lords... one way or another.

"They seem cautious." Tai remarked as they stood before the door and studied it.

 

[Aver Brand]

9
Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

“Nah, they seem stupid,” she retorted, looking up at the structure of the very smooth, very tall wall. “I had this kinda fortress, I’d set up an avalanche defense system.” An unpleasant smile split her face behind the helmet as she contemplated the ways to do it. Could be fun, setting up the big 'ole red button, just for shets and giggles. One press, and your enemies would go flying off a cliff with all their gear and ships. Heavenly. With a shake of her head she returned to the problem of the door and reached to her gunbelt.

Funny thing, that. Plenty of stuff in there she was sure she’d never restocked, but lo and behold – a directed charge. Aver considered the placement for a breath, then affixed the explosive just about where the bird would’ve reached if he were actually standing in the snow.

“Fire in the hole,” she crooned with gusto, taking a measured five steps back.

A bit of smoke, then— BANG

“Ladies first.”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

An avalanche system would be an... interesting approach.

But it would be difficult to keep using it, unless they somehow could control the weather and ensure that there would be more snow at the top within a reasonable amount of time. Not even speaking of the trouble of having to shovel themselves out every single time again. No, that did not seem overly efficient, but what did Tai know about breaching fortresses and maintaining them?

Fairly little in comparison to the Lady of War herself next to him.

The explosion rocked the scene, but Tai did not seem overly worried about it. He calmly studied the remnants of the door, there were shadows past it and it was difficult to see through them.

Her voice filtered through, clinical and robotic, but it made Lord Fa snort.

"I see an oversized super soldier and a peacock. No sentients of the female persuasion in sight." The avian retorted after a moment, before shrugging. "I suppose that means it falls to me to do the honors."

A step or four took him into the complex with Aver in tow, presumably.

Almost immediately his barrier flared up as a whole hailstorm of plasma reached him. Again the Thirriken stood there and took it with all the patience in the world, before the fire died down again.

He sighed.

"Done?" His voice echoed through the, now, silent corridor. "My turn."

The situation devolved from there.

 

[Aver Brand]

10
Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

The ‘oversized super soldier’ did, in fact, follow. Just not immediately. Imagine for a moment she were the smoking type – she would calmly finish off a figurative cigarette before heading in after the bird. Her rifle was ready, but the entrance corridor was empty.

Well, empty of anything that was still breathing, anyway.

Aver stepped over a cooling corpse, inspecting the deep cut marks. Her gaze followed the trail until she reached the responsible party, surprisingly free of blood spurts. Interesting. “Now where’s a peacock keep a blade that size?”

Rifle at the ready, the merc passed him and confidently marched around the corner into another long stretch of corridor. It was utterly vacant, just like her sensors had promised. Not even a frakking door in sight, though.

Man. Did the Sith know how to build a fortress or what? That was a fine funneling example if she’d ever seen one. Unfortunately she was on the other side of this funnel for a change, which meant drastic measures would have to be implemented unless they wanted to wade through a maze of guerrilla attacks and traps.

“You’re a Space-mage, yeah? Wouldn’t happen to carry one of them glowsticks?” She pointed to the floor directly beneath them. “Scanners say this level of the station is just corridors. No lifeforms left.”

“Down there is where it gets warmer.”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Space-mage.

Said in such a way as if she wasn't part of that equation herself. Tai knew better, of course. He wasn't sure why she was covering up her tracks as well as she did. But he was also a firm believer in the right to a sentient's privacy. In other words it wasn’t his business why Aver did the things she did and it was the main reason why he had pulled out of his leeching of her power.

Which was substantial.

It just seemed silly not to actually utilize it in the first place, but that too wasn't his business.

"Yes and no." Lightsabers weren't to his liking. Maybe one day he would construct a lighsaber pike for himself, as it was a better fit for his combat style, but that wasn’t all that relevant now. "But we have no need of one of those."

External focus shifted back to internal.

Blue hue dissipated and instead the strength in his limbs magnified itself. Tai eyed the floor, before unnaturally sharp talons suddenly sweeped through the metal, clawing deep gashes into it. A moment later those claws pulled with insentient strength.

"Super-soldiers first this time." Lord Fa simply said, before waiting patiently for Aver to jump through the rough hole he had made.

 

[Aver Brand]

11
Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

Quietly, Aver took note of yet another expenditure of the Force. Of its application. Of the passion with which the bird tore into the metal floor like it was paper. She hummed, an old, old melody, taught to her by another liar of her same ilk. When was it? Eclipse, raging through an abandoned station much like this one?

She grinned, nodded, and went down like a stone.

No need for the Force – she just used a guard as a landing cushion, breaking his spine in so many little pieces. The others scrambled for cover and weapons, but Aver was quicker. Her boots found ample purchase on the bare floor, executing turns and lunges with surprising agility. Tall and strong did not mean slow, as so many wrongly assumed.

No sooner than a minute later, she’d unloaded her whole (extended!) clip into the lot. Curls of smoke looped around the rec room, and the stink of burned flesh would challenge the stomach of anyone without a helmet filter.

“Clear,” she notified the bird without glancing up. There was shuffling and muffled voices on the other side of the door. Sounded familiar.

Sounded like panic.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Like a faint whisper the Thirriken dropped down next to her.

The smell of charred flesh and burning blood was nothing new to him - had they not made a fancy barbecue out of the remains of the Butcher of Korriban? What had her name been again... Charzon? That seemed to be about right. It had been a tasty appetizer and Velok had certainly made the best of it. Even if there was little substance to the meat, but that had not been his fault.

After all one can't add something that was never there in the first place.

"So I see." The poor guard whose spine had been broken was still alive surprisingly enough. Completely paralyzed, of course. His feathers turned rigid again and with a blur they snapped through the guard's neck.

He preferred to keep people alive in all honesty.

But this one was beyond saving and that was a shame.

A twist of the wing and any traces of blood dropped away from the feathers, leaving it clean and beautiful once again. Then his attention was taken up by the door at the far-end of the room, his ears were far more sensitive than of a regular human, which allowed him to hear the cries of chaos and fear. It was palpable, Tai could practically drench himself in it.

Disgusting.

From the depths of his cloak a long blade suddenly appeared, as if it had been in his claws from the very beginning.

A sleight of hand surely.

 

[Aver Brand]

12
Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

“I see,” Aver nodded sagely, “cloaca then.”

She’d reloaded her rifle while strolling over into cover. That wing trick looked pretty neat. Something Force-related, probably. Guy used it too much – shouldn’t be reliant on that shet. Too draining, prone to leaving you high and dry… and frakking ysalamiri. If her years with the One Sith had taught her anything, it was to always have a backup plan.

Or twenty.

One look at the door had the merc opting for the wall. Couldn’t kick through turadium, but duracrete? Yes please.

Turned out phrik combat boots were pretty effective when attached to a super soldier. With eyes the size of saucers, a devaronian smuggler gaped at Aver. In lieu of a greeting, the woman chucked a thermal detonator through the hole and dropped flat on the ground.

The explosion finished the work she’d started on the wall, leaving it in a pile of smoking rubble. Plus, y’know, it vaporized any organism on the wrong side of the 10-inch turadium.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Tai was not a doctor or a biologist and as such he was not aware what cloaca meant.

Neither did he particularly care enough to find out.

It was a mystery for the most part how the blade always seemed to find its way into realspace from the depths of a, relatively, small robe of an equally small bird. But the Echani were masters of forging and if there was one thing that they could do well, it was come up with wonderful designs - such as echani compression technology, a concept that allowed something immensely small to become frighteningly big in no time whatsoever.

Phrashing.

Tai would probably have agreed with Aver's other musings, but sadly he had little in the way of experience such as hers. His was still a developing path, as he walked and stumbled and picked himself up again and learned, it would take time and energy, before Fa could consider himself a true master.

Behind the explosion there was only smoke, grime and screaming echoes, but the Thirriken managed just fine. Stepping carefully over and into the hole to the other side, he was treated with the image of something he had not been expecting.

"Oh."

He ducked.

Just in time to feel the singing heat of an explosion burn past where his head had been just a moment ago.

In front of him was an entity made out of metal. A droid, of sorts, but far larger and bulkier than anything else. A practiced eye told Tai that the sheer thickness of the metal had probably been enough to withstand the thermal detonator's radius, but its lack of scorching elaborated that the mech had been engaged after the explosion.

Probably as a last resort type of deal.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Post: 1/15 (IGR Brokerage)
Objective: Raise and sell war bonds

Now that Jamie Pyne has been crowned Queen of Naboo, Ugohr's life among the general populace is made difficult. Nevertheless, his duty with the NJO called once again to grant a multi-stage travel in order to sell the war bonds needed to finance everyone else's defensive upgrades. Then again, as part of the probation conditions, he needed to submit the travel plans; because his business was a high NJO priority, it was easier to grant a mulit-stage travel, spending no more than 24 hours at each location. Just this once, Ugohr donned his old uniform he wore when he was the commanding officer of the then-regiment-sized Army of Malastare (slated to be increased to a division-sized unit) because the first stop was about shooting a commercial, with IGR's funding, and a green dress uniform at that. With that said, he left Sullust alongside a few service members, most of whom actually served in the GADF reserve. But none of them were Gungan, Dug or Gran: they were simply to go on Lothal, with the NJO feeling that shooting a war bond ad on a world likely to be under attack by the First Order would have a greater effect that shooting it somewhere deep inside GA space.

"Yousa play a role in sellin war bonds: theysa sent mesa because other Jedi no understand da importance of war bonds for oursa war effort"

"So we are to both shoot an ad for war bonds and sell the bonds, general?" an extra asked.

"Yes"

"I didn't imagine Jedi to even understand the financing of wars" another extra commented.

 

[Aver Brand]

Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

Aver sighed. It was the sort of sigh an executioner might let out when he’d just finished wiping off his axe and the bureaucrat responsible for scheduling executions rushed in a last-minute victim right at the tail-end of his workday.

Then she stepped through that hole in the wall. Steps all heavy-like, the rifle slung in her arms with the practiced grip of a veteran. She put all of her considerable presence into each stride, mouth a curve of displeasure.

The mech backed up in a hurry, firing off a sloppy shot as it did.

Lips curled up in an instant. The staccato of the mounted E-WEB sailed right over her head as she closed in. She let the blaster sling over onto her back, hands free and jump. Her fingers found ample purchase on the plates of its arm, momentum leading her right over and on top. The merc landed on its shoulder and brought the rifle back around. Trigger, locked aim, concentrated bursts.

Right through the frakking cockpit.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Post: 2/15 (IGR Brokerage)
Objective: Raise and sell war bonds

Also the other Jedi he brought in tow for this operation were the students in the economics courses he taught at the Temple. Which means that they were younglings, padawans at most. While still en route to Lothal, especially with the First Order rumored to be on the move to Anoth and Faldos, Ugohr needs to talk to the students of the course. About how he feels that the padawans should not take their positions for granted financially. He knew that one of the reasons why Jedi deserted Republican service was the Republic's inability to provide for the Jedi's finances, so he would like to make that clear that the NJO's fate depends on its finances.

"Yousa must understand that yoursa services to da Alliance not comen for free, and disen people yousa serve must also understand dat. Also, if oursa finances not in order, wesa may fall to da dark side"

"Are we also going after the tax dodgers?"

"No. Tax evasion issa mostly a corporate thing, but issa mostly evaden Jedi jurisdiction"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

The mech collapsed almost immediately as the driver behind it shuddered his last shudder and was executed.

Quite an anti-climax, but in the larger scheme of things Tai was the kind of bird who liked results over showmanship. It would have made little sense to extend the fight if there was a possibility to end it right there. He quietly climbed back over the rubble and approach the mercenary as she climbed off the mech and waited for him there.

He hummed softly to himself as those eyes ran across the surface of the mech.

Quite an advanced thing, which made him wonder where it had come from in the first place. This wasn't truly the place to expect experimental, advanced tech like this.

"Curious." Tai mumbled to himself, before gesturing with his wing towards the reinforced door at the far-end of the room. "That is the place with the brains of these operations, I assume."

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Post: 3/15 (IGR Brokerage)
Objective: Raise and sell war bonds

Ugohr soon landed on Lothal, where he may as well be shooting a recruitment advertisement, with captured Rogue Imperial assets that may as well be used to pose as an enemy symbol. Stormtrooper armors with mostly One Sith helmets with some modifications that would put it closer to the First Order design, AT-ATs (speaking of AT-ATs, there was a barge somewhere with two of those in tow) as well as other implements to make believe that an enemy attack would be impending on Lothal for the purposes of shooting an advertisement for war bonds.

"Yousa prepare da cameras, wesa shooten da advertisement today!"

"Copy that"

 

[Aver Brand]

Location: Faldos > Sith Station
[member="Tai Fa"]

“Don’t do that,” Aver quipped back and jumped off the smoking wreckage. For someone of her bulk, she landed in a manner rather unnervingly feline, boots a light ‘thud’ on the ground. Folding back to full height, the merc began reloading her rifle with methodical precision.

“I’m out of detonators,” she said over the clicking of the well-oiled mechanisms, “so feel free to start pulling that wing-blade shet right about now.”

That bit about explosives wasn’t strictly true. Maybe she had some more on her belt, maybe she didn’t – never knew until she reached into a pouch. The half-lie suited her though. She wanted to observe what the Forcer did more closely. Seemed like handy ace to keep up your sleeve.

And combined with CERS?

The possibilities alone cut a twisted grin across her features.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]​

Tai snorted.

Before tip-toeing his way around the wreckage towards the reinforced door, where he settled in and studied the metal with a careful eye. Sadly this wasn't simple durasteel like the floors before, no, this seemed to be made of a stronger alloy.

Turadium maybe?

It was a distinct possibility, especially with its hue. But whatever it did, it complicated the matters, because cutting through this would leave him far too drained than he was comfortable with. If it had been with Ashin or Maleagant or even Thengil, he might have done it either way, but Aver was an unknown quantity and whilst she had little reason to betray him?

The Sith way was the way of paranoia and utmost distrustful caution.

"Too durable to cut through." A blatant lie, but unless she was willing to test him on it, one that she couldn't know was true. "How strong are you?"

An idea was forming at the back of his head.

What if she threw him with her magnification of strength and he enhanced his own body in the process? The combination of strength would most likely blow the door out of its frame without shedding him of all his reserves.