Take All Your Fans

[Kratacos]

Vorzyd V

Numerous shuttles came out of hyperspace above the planet Vorzyd V. None of them sported actual symbols or logos upon their hulls, but to each other, upon their hulls they read as being tied to the recently legitimized company Crimson Laboratories. Many of the passengers and crew members of these ships were Purebloods, hundreds of slaves being transported in the cargo bay, chained to the walls, floors, ceilings, and even each other as they began heading into orbit of the planet.

This day, Lord Drakash didn't accompany Vraukt like he had when they had visited Commenor.

That had been finalizing a deal.

Here, with [member="Vitor Avendahl"], Vraukt was closing out a deal he had made with the weird human.

"My Lord Vraukt," the Captain said. Surprisingly, it wasn't a Pureblood he had found at the head of the taskforce, but instead a Human. "We have arrived at the planet," the man said.

"Open up communications with Mister Avendahl. Tell him we've arrived and await coordinates to land."

Most ships held cargo bays full of slaves, some held Zuguruks which had been the deal the two had come to. Some held a combination of both, which, undoubtedly, were the most valuable to Crimson Laboratories.

"Very well, My Lord."

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor took a ride to Wraithguard Base Joko the moment a communication channel came from Vraukt. Their arrival in the system did not come unnoticed, he would think. The ships were of different design than those that usually traveled through this parts of the galaxy.

Along with issuing coordinates of landig at the base, Avendahl had made sure Saigo put the paramilitary on alert. The local police force was instructed to keep an eye and ear on any dubious movement of underground elements, just in case. After securing the Vorzyd system in his pocket, well partially, Vitor had become cautious of any insurgent elements of previous kingpins and the disgusting Commonality.

Upon one of the landing pads that the Base possessed, the Sith Knight would await the arrival of the Pureblood.

[member="Vraukt"]

 

[Kratacos]

Vraukt nodded to the Captain.

"My Lord, we have been given the coordinates."

"Send shuttles one and two down first." He said, crimson orbs glowing underneath that hood of his head. "We've had reports of hostile activity in this system. Stay vigilant," he said. Outside of the system was the Crimson Dawn an ancient Star Destroyer that was retrofitted to the galactic standard.

"Yes, My Lord, deploying fighter screens."

There was a nod.

As the shuttles entered the atmosphere, Vraukt departed from the bridge of the ship as he headed for the last shuttle, solely made up of both zuguruks and massassi. As they departed from the ships hangar, through the connected comm channel frequency, he heard screams and then static. There was a pause , the only sound more static before he heard frantic cries.

"My Lord, shuttle two has been shot out of the sky! It's crashing near the Jokoflow!"

"Bring me down there. Send word to Avendahl. We will meet him at his base."

Vraukt wasn't fearful for the lives of the zuguruks that lost their lives, or if they were alive or dead. He didn't know anyone personally, his concern however, was the reaction that Drakash would have if they didn't bring in results.

I will not fail you, my Master he thought to himself.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor had been twirling the datapad in his hand waiting for the shuttles to arrive when hasty steps came from behind him.

Kadyr.

"One of the shuttle your guest had been coming with has been hit by a ground-to-orbit missile and destroyed." He reported grimly.

"What?!" Vitor slammed his hands on the desk and stood up from his seat. "Where's Saigo??"

"Command room, waiting for you." Kadyr moved to the side to let the Sith bypass him as both headed to where a few officers and General Urik-Kar Saigo had gathered.

A holographic projection of the planet stood in the middle.

"General, sitrep." Avendahl ordered. He had been using a lot more military phrases lately. Stiriok's boot camp had been the beginning but being directly involved with Wraithguard had been the biggest factor.

"Ground-to-Orbit, standard proton ordnance, I think. Somewhere around quadrant C6." The Zabrak replied turning to face Vitor. "We have already sent in men."

"Any word from Alana?" Vitor inquired impatiently. "Our amazing chief of intelligence."

"Nothing yet."

"Enough, enough." Avendahl waved Saigo remain silent. "Open a comm channel to Vraukt, now."

"He's already sent a message that he will be coming here, no matter what." Kadyr interjected from behind.

"Then don't open a comm channel. Escort him to this room when he lands."

Hopefully he did.

[member="Vraukt"]​

 

[Kratacos]

Vraukt's shuttle was landing at the Wraithguard Base at Lake Joko, the Sith Pureblood was almost immediately escorted from the landing pad and up into the command centre. On either side of him, he was mirrored by two hulking Massassi Warriors, the brutish, unintelligent kind that followed orders without a second thought. There was a time when he had sought to mirror their personalities, which were lacking, but now, in this very instant he was seeing that it was pointless to do so.

He would accomplish nothing as a mindless drone other than to be taken advantage of.

Like his people were today.

Vraukt on the other hand needed to put on a show for his followers.

Or rather, his Master's followers.

"What happened?" He said, the doors to the command centre slamming open as if with the force of an explosion. The deep and guttural voice of the Pureblood spoke the Basic language much clearer than when they had last encountered each other on Etti IV. The Pureblood's gaze swept across the room. At that point, he'd take an answer from anyone.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Any other time, Vitor would've said welcome. He would smile like a good salesman and nod but this time that would not happen. Not with all the rain of poodoo that was sweeping in.

He had been told, no, he had been guaranteed that security was tight enough. That no one had the capability of even engaging in insurgent firefights, there were no cells left or Commonality supporters, let alone manned surface-to-orbit proton ordnance.

Apparently that was not the case.

"We're still trying to figure out." The Sith said reluctantly and gestured for Vraukt to come closer to the holoprojection. "What have we lost, exactly and what remais?"

Saigo seemed to want to say something but awaited for the Pureblood that had arrived to respond first before speaking.

[member="Vraukt"]

 

[Kratacos]

Vraukt's long legs carried him to the console where [member="Vitor Avendahl"] was with his employees. Vraukt didn't know much about the man and his exploits, but some part of him was forced to remain wary of the man. He may not have revealed himself to be a Sith to the Pureblood, but he could feel that he was of the Dark Side.

Tread carefully amongst unknown Sith.

A simple lesson that he had known for as long as he could learn them.

"Shuttle two contained an entire passenger bay of Zuguruks - Your Engineers," Vraukt uttered darkly, the evident line of irritation underlining his words as he spoke them. "There will be survivors. My species is rare, and I will not suffer them being captured."

In Vraukt's mind, they had to hurry to the crash site.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

What Vraukt said was enough for Vitor to order an immediate transport from the base to the crash location. The two Sith and General Saigo would board the shuttle and depart to where the shuttle was supposed to be.

The shuttle had crash landed into a forest near the capital city of Vorzyd V. Vitor and company had reached the location before any fire department. Thus, volatile fire spread had engulfed the shuttle and was beginning to contaminate the forest.

"Saigo, order the men to enclose the immediate area and set up a secure zone." Vitor ordered but Saigo had already done so.

"Done long ago. We're also using orbital satellites to monitor movements in the surrounding area. Nothing can move in within the perimeter or out of it without us knowing." The general explained.

"Good." Avendahl said. He then turned to Vraukt and coldly spoke. "Let's see how durable your people are."

There was no malice in his words towards the man's species but certainly there was irritation at the whole situation.

The Sith was hungry for retaliation.

[member="Vraukt"]​

​

 

[Kratacos]

The shuttle they arrived in brought them to the crash site as fast as it possibly could.

The fuel from the shape leaked out into the surrounding forest, likely as it descended to the planet, and after it created the furrow through the earth until it finally came to a stop. Vraukt blinked, the ship looked much smaller than it should've.

"My people are not here." The Pureblood said.

"This is only the back end of the ship." He said matter of factly, his orbs widening and shrinking as both anger and surprise radiated off of him. Was he grateful? Likely not, he sought to find the survivors. There should've been some here... Unless they were already taken.

"We must move," and the Pureblood led off into the forest.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

It made sense.

Forget life-form scanners. Avendahl could not feel even a meager presence in the ship.

"General, stay here." He said unnecessarily. It was not like Saigo was going to join them. He had men to command.

The Sith duo went into the forest and away from the fumes of the burning part of the ship. Vraukt was leading the way through the thicket while Vitor expanded his senses through the Force.

A signal.

"Did you feel that?" Vitor asked the Pureblood before resuming his walk again. "Pain echoes through the Force."

What did that foretell?

He was not sure yet but they are about to find out.

[member="Vraukt"]​

 

[Kratacos]

Not only was there pain, there was anger and rage.

Cries of fear and pain came along as well as they entered a small clearing, the sound of combat was heard as well.

Vraukt reached out as he drew his lightsabre hilt after [member="Vitor Avendahl"] had slowed down to a walk.

On the other end of the clearing, there was blaster fire, and the faint sound of bolts being deflected, even the smell of burnt ozone. In the trees surrounding the crimson coloured Sith in the centre of the clearing, bolts and slugs were firing towards the centre as the small group of Zuguruks did their best to fight off their enemies.

"Clear the trees."

 

[Zef Halo]

The view from the thicket was not a pleasant view. Large Pureblood figures were encircled and were barely having space for cover. The assailants seemed to be coming in never ending waves.

From a business point of view, his assets were now under direct attack. So when Vraukt spoke of clearing the trees, Vitor dashed with an ignited blade across the flora.

Tree after tree began falling down basically nowhere. Not until Vitor tapped into the Force to expel a blast of the Force sending the jungle trees upon the encroaching enemies.

A brief silence in fire as the enemies were caught in surprise. Then a rain of fire came upon the two.

"Let's flank them through the jungle and take the fire away from the Purebloods, alright?!"

Vitor did not wait for an answer. He was already on the move.

[member="Vraukt"]​

 

[Kratacos]

Vraukt wasn't in a position to hear the words of [member="Vitor Avendahl"] once he had used the Force to send the trees tumbling upon the hostiles.

Flanking them through the trees had been what the young Pureblood had meant originally, and once he had spoken those words he was already off, six foot whatever form dashing through the trees expertly as if he had been there before, though it was all the Force's manipulation as he crashed into the first opponent.

The Force enhanced him, and all the Pureblood heard was shattering bones as he continued to drive through the assailant, driving his heels into the earth as he slashed across the midsection of the being and went on to the next ones with the same brutality. Despite the lightsabre's cauterizing effects, Vraukt still spilled blood.

He utilized his entire body as a weapon.

Fists, legs, even his forehead every now and then.

He did leave one alive however, and when he was done, he deactivated his lightsabre.

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor rushed at the left flank of the enemy positions with the lightsaber off to keep the hostile targets unaware of his movement. The moment a moderately armed man was found behind cover, the red blade hissed in activation before an arc slash ended his life.

He proceeded tearing through their entrenched positions using his Force enhanced speed to quickly move through their ranks disrupting their formation.

Vraukt was apparently doing something similar as the men immediately were sent routing. He was not surprised. Force users were rightfully feared throughout the galaxy.

The fire lessened until it disappeared and the Zuguruks safely approached their Pureblood brother. A minute later Vitor joined them as they encircled one survivor. The Zuguruks were muttering something in their language possibly about the insurgent who had the very bad luck to have remained alive.

"Who?" The Sith stepped forward and his gaze fell upon the survivor.

"W-we are j-just mercenaries, got paid to shoot it down."

Mercenaries?

How the hell were they able to move in on Vorzyd with anti-air equipment?!

"Not you. Who hired you?" Avendahl coldly asked.

"I don't know, Sir, just hired to fight." The man replied, fear coursing through his veins.

"How were you able to get your hands on surface-to-air missiles?" The businessman's patience was running low.

"They were just set up for us to utilize-"

He interrupted the man by waving his hand in disgust. Vitor left the fate of the man in the Pureblood's hands.

​

[member="Vraukt"]​

 

[Kratacos]

Vraukt remained silent during the interrogation.

It only lasted a few seconds, but the Pureblood remained silent all the same.

It was pretty clear as to what the issue was.

When [member="Vitor Avendahl"] was done with his interrogation, Vraukt reactivated his lightsabre and he decapitated the head of the sole survivor before he replaced it to his belt, off.

"Mr. Avendahl," the Pureblood said

"You have a leak in your organization."

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor walked away from the scene preferring not to witness the execution of the man. His mind bustled with activity with the thoughts of a leak within his organization. He clenched his fists in anger.

"That is something to take care of another time." The Sith replied. "Your people are here and they are safe."

The businessman tapped a few buttons on his wrist datapad requesting aerial transport before halting. He turned around to face Vraukt and his Pureblood companion. "Our priority remains our deal at this moment."

"The rest will be dealt with."

"Properly."

​

[member="Vraukt"]​

 

[Kratacos]

"My people are threatened here," the Pureblood said, the other Zuguruks standing vigilant, though the closer ones were certainly lending an ear to the conversation.

"If they remain threatened here and die," he said, crimson orbs leaping past the human to the handful of zuguruks who laid slain in the centre of the clearing, "You will receive no more." And thus, [member="Vitor Avendahl"] would learn nothing more of his species. "From here on, I ban those that are within your service to teach you the Sith Language."

Simple.

All he had to do was put his house in order. No delays. A failure to do so would merely give those within time to plan again. Vraukt's concerns were solely for his people. The Red Sith were above all other species.

"Or," there was a pause. "I leave my second, and a platoon of my soldiers to head the investigation."

The deal was altered.

 

[Zef Halo]

A grimace formed on his face as he listened to Vraukt speak. The urge to ignite his lightsaber and have him share the mercenary's fate clawed in the back of his mind. Vitor was a man that did not dislike events not going according to plan.

Yet, the teachings of his former master, Lord Fa, prevailed.

The grimace turned into a blank expression and the malicious intent was buried deep beneath.

"The threat to your people shall be eliminated." He assured the Pureblood dryly. So would you too, if you pull a wild card on me again. Vitor kept his thoughts to himself.

So the man cared for his people but was lending his men to head the investigation and the act of retribution on the perpetrators? Sure, if he had the men to spare.

"So be it." Vitor curtly nodded. "I will take up on your offer."

"Hopefully there will be no more alterations in the future." He calmly concluded, the meaning clear in his words, before the humming engines from above signaled the arrival of Saigo and Avendahl's men.

[member="Vraukt"]​