The Queen trusts my judgment [ OP Dominion of Naboo ]

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Felicity Mason"]


Master Elaris would not have come alone, for a small contingent of Firemane mercenaries would have accompanied her. After all, at present the short stack of fire was one of the two highest-ranking employees of the corporation left in this reality, so it was imperative to keep her alive. For one anything ill happening to her would be terrible for morale. Moreover, everyone knew what a tempestuous rage Lady Kerrigan would fall into if such a terrible thing came to pass.



The fact that the Lady was believed to be in the netherworld at present was besides the point. See, few Firemane soldiers believed the woman who had led the charge to wipe out the Bando Gora back when they had been an actual force to be reckoned with ruling over a hellish kingdom of their own, fought Lotek'k twice and survived getting spaced would be permanently gone. Hence an honour guard and protective detail for the master empath. Mercenaries clad in heavy duraplast armour, equipped with bolters, shattergun variants and blades. A small group of Eldorai warriors was among them, brilliant in their crimson armour and equipped with their customary sarixi and polearms, like implacable sentinels amidst the chaos raging around them.


They quickly went about reinforcing the defences of the palace, setting up defensive emplacements with heavy bolters and shattercannons. See, the thing about Reavers is that when it comes down to it, they're just a bunch of primitive, savage cannibals with some limited ability to use actual tactics. Even an actually trained force with modern firearms, they get smashed. There was a reason the Bando Gora sorcerers had mostly used them in raids on starships and poorly defended settlements in the beginning, relying on their ferocity just as much as the fear they spread. Once faced with an opponent who could fight back, they were cannon fodder. More to the point, after the dual exterminatus of Gehenna the Bando Gora would logically be lacking in their demon engines and abominations.


As if this was not enough, Firemane had brought three Mag'ladroth walkers with it. Whilst very few in number, these bipedal, mechanical constructs towered over any man and bristled with firepower, ready to unleash destruction upon any savage who wished the short stack of fire and the Princess ill.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

[member="Felicity Mason"]

Coryth sighed, and glanced to the minions that had come with her. "Keep me updated, I want reports on the fighting hourly. And if Reavers get within one mile of the palace I want to be alerted immediately." The master said firmly to one of the mercenaries standing near to her.

"I understand, Marea." Coryth spoke softly as they moved into the palace halls. "Well we'll get communications set up and see if we can get more support here for Naboo and the government. And see if we can start figuring out what to do from here. " It was the best she could do. Coryth couldn't fight, but she could send the Firemane mercenaries with ease. The idea made her a little queasy, knowing that she would be sending people to die. One way or another not everyone was going to get out of this alive. She watched as the mercenary ran off, heading back to the ship to get communicate equipment. At the very least the palace needed to be able to reach the protectorate forces, one way or another.

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

A Repair Shop - Naboo

Amnell set in the empty shop, it'd been the first place they'd really been able to stop and rest for a little while. While the brunette had heard about things happening in the streets, Reavers was the word she'd yet to see one. And the repair shop had been completely empty so she paid no mind to that fact and headed inside to borrow some parts and work space.

A sigh came as Nine whistled his annoyance at her. "I'm just borrowing tools, and I'll leave enough credits behind. It's not like they are the ones doing the work anyway." And who knows, they might be dead. It was certainly a thought that crossed her mind.

"Come on Caerys, I think they have what we need to fix you up here." Urging the HRD into the shop with her.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]


"This sudden mass resurgence of Reavers is illogical. Even with the chaos caused by mass disappearances, those cultists who survived the purges would not have the tools, time and alchemical know-how to spawn legions within a few weeks. Never mind the logistical basis and ships to have them invade highly-developed worlds across the western rim," Caerys stated randomly, something she did sometimes. It appeared that when she was not committing homicide, the droid had strong opinions on what she considered to be the general illogicality of the universe.



Then again, she was an old droid, so she might be a bit biased. "I have faced Reavers before. They are primitive ghouls. The Bando Gora cultists also have a moderately bizarre tendency to elevate anyone who excels at mass slaughter to godhood. Especially those who massacre them, hence worship of Kerrigan. It is indicative of deep-seated psychological disorders," her point made she stepped into the repair shop, obviously heading in before Amnell to cover if need be, though her scan revealed nothing. The door was close behind the two droids and Amnell. After all, even if the infinite Reaver hordes were not the great menace everyone made out to be, they could still be dangerous en masse. Never mind the fact that looters might show up.


She looked across the interior of the shop, eyes studying the tools. "This is adequate." To recapitulate, Caerys had fought Klaxxi on Sullust and later blown up a tunnel to bury lots of them. Using thermal detonators. So suffice to say she looked a mess, most of her skin had been fried and she was lacking an arm. "Have you taken your meds?"

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

[member="Andromeda Versai"]

Sarge's ship brought him to the surface on the outskirts of Theed, and he and the Inquisition soldiers filed out under no immediate threat. Likely the Reavers were coming this way though, and so they formed a perimeter while waiting for a few more squads to land. Once they had the forces, they'd push for the capital and find whoever remained alive. Hopefully no one of import was dead; wishing no one was dead was a fool's dream. "Weapons ready." He says.

The click of safeties flicking off filled the air.

 

[Felicity Mason]

"I don't know if it'll help much," Felicity offered uncertainly, "but... I think my mother would be more concerned about protecting her people, than protecting the palace."

It was probably just a useless comment. She'd never be taken seriously. Still she had to try.
"Um... What I mean is, in the event of an emergency, the government issues a warning and the the citizens of Theed head to designated evacuation shelters."

"Well... that is true, Felicity," Marea smiled weakly, and Felicity knew she should probably shut up about now, "but the Queen or the Princess of Theed must issue the evacuation order. And since neither are here..."

"W-well, no. Technically they aren't, but..." she glanced meekly at [member="Coryth Elaris"], "we have something, um, close. I mean... you are the Queens double, and if it isn't common knowledge..."

 

[Onrai]

And lo, the Venator's fighters did engage. With a passion, they moved swiftly towards the Scrapmetals, which peeled off and began to engage the obsolete craft with a level of firepower often derided as weak. An old TIE/LN did go spiraling away, however, crashing into the side of a nearby shielded corvette as the drones drew ever closer to the Venator. Suddenly, outside of the tenacious dogfight, one broke away, increasing its speed as it began to fire at the shield of the vessel's hangar bay. This seemed to be no big deal... until another Scrapmetal followed it in doing the same thing, and another, and another...

Then the explanation for their actions was revealed. The first Scrapmetal flew through the shield of the vessel's hangar, still firing at craft being prepared for launch, before turning down and impacting the hangar floor. The baradium charge within detonated, producing a potent plasma fireball within the hangar bay that was dozens of meters in diameter. What made it worse was that the shields helped hold in the force of the explosion, forcing the gases to be redirected elsewhere - such as into the hull of the ship. Visible chunks of a part of the lower hull blew out from the vessel's bottom.

The second and third Scrapmetals also flew into the hangar, damaging and destroying more unflown craft in their wake. Unlike the other drone, however, the third scrapmetal turned up, while the second turned to the left, entering the forward launch tube and detonating there. More of the forward upper hull was blasted away, and a jet of burning plasma flew out the front of the capital ship. The third scrapmetal impacted the vessel's hangar comm system, vaporizing it and causing more damage to the vessel's interior.

At the last second, the fourth Scrapmetal turned up, flying forward and impacting the ship's starboard bridge quadrant on its port side. The explosion removed a tremendous chunk of metal from both sides of the bridge, leaving this fleet's command ship practically helpless. Its bridge was destroyed, and the hangar bay was quite unusable for fighter launches through any of the main methods. The remaining Scrapmetals quickly turned, moving back into escort position around the bombers that were now offloading some of their proton bombs into a nearby CR90 corvette. That vessel would soon break up from the onslaught of ordnance as the ships turned once again, looking for another target.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"The Palace is much more than a place, it's a point of morale for the people." Coryth said softly, "Not only that, but neither you nor I are really in any shape to fight a battle. More so me, not being able to at all with my injuries. So, it must be protected. Not only that, it is our point of entry on the planet, if we lose this ground we lose an evacuation point for you and I as well as anyone in the Palace."

Coryth nodded, "Felicity has a fair point. It might be time to issue that warning Maere." A sigh followed, "If anything at this point it will protect innocent lives and that is what is needed most right now." It seemed the best course of action they could take for now. "We may just have to throw protocol to the wind, and do what is required. It will save lives and that makes it extremely important."

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell nodded, "I will admit, even I find it strange. It wasn't so long ago that they were eradicated from the galaxy. But now they are back?" A sigh followed, "I expect some other ploy is behind this." She could have been completely wrong, but things were just too fishy to her. Reavers didn't just come from no where. One needed a base, resources and things of that nature. And this, there wasn't enough time.

Even Nine whistled his annoyance at the Reavers, "They came, they saw, they dined, they died." Was about the sum of what Nine spoke to the HRD and Amnell. Such an interesting trio they were.

Reaching into a drawer Amnell started to pull out some rather advanced circuit pieces. "No, I haven't." She admitted before she set her tools down, and started to fish through her pocket trying to find her medication packet so she could do that quickly. "Guess I should do that before the pain gets to be unmanageable." As much as she didn't like to admit it, Caerys had been good for her. The HRD was helping her to better care for herself, which was something the young woman desperately needed help with.

[member="Caerys Argente"]

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]



"Yes, you should," Caerys said bluntly. The HRD was...not good at giving pep talks or being encouraging. But she was good at making sure you took your meds!


"The last time the Bando Gora came to Naboo, it was only a band of Cultists that tried to seize the palace and murder the Queen. They were thwarted by the Pyre, but it turned out that it was merely part of a ploy by an ambitious handmaiden to make the Queen disappear and take her place. The media has built up Reavers as such a massive threat that they are the ideal bogeyman. Useful for any ambitious noble who covets the throne. With the right cocktail of narcotics and primitive alchemy, it is easy to imitate Reavers." There, Caerys was indulging in deconstructionism again.


If Caerys had been 'noble' or 'heroic' she would have wanted to investigate and discover what was really happening. However...she happened to be an amoral death machine who frankly did not care about the affairs of organics. So as far as she was concerned it was not her problem whether false or true Reavers were invading.

 

[Onrai]

A command ship crippled, a corvette destroyed... Still the Bando Gora pressed on. Cultists consumed by a rabid passion for potently Dark-Sided death sticks, they pursued the bombers, whose guns retaliated with laser fire against them. Several of the ships were destroyed, while the Coryphins suffered only minor shield loss. Another Ugly starfighter, this one a Chir'daki, went flying out of control as the bombers found another target - a Nebulon-B Frigate. Laser fire and more proton bombs sent this barbaric construct in half as the last of their ordnance was exhausted.

The Coryphins prepared to jump out, as the Scrapmetals put the pedal to the metal and floored it towards nearby targets. The remaining eight paired up into small groups, engaging four of the outdated corvettes - two Assassins, another CR90, and a Marauder. All found themselves missing tremendous chunks of durasteel from the explosive impacts - the Marauder found itself snapped in two, while the assassins and CR90 were all left as powerless derelicts due to impacts straight into the ship's main reactor.

Then the bombers jumped out themselves. The test was complete, and the Omega Protectorate would soon be forwarded the results of their newest war machines' capabilities. Hopefully more of these vessels would be ordered and manufactured.

Possibly.

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity was glad to have Coryth here. She knew what she was doing. She had enough confidence for both of them. Felicity would consider herself lucky if she grew up to be half the woman Master Elaris was. How did she manage it? Felicity couldn't even manage giving one suggestion without stuttering. It was pathetic. She was a Queens daughter, and this was her world. She should at least have it in her to give the order, rather than just make a casual suggestion...

Okay. Take a deep breath. Let it out... and go.

"Well, Marea," Felicity said after some internal coaching, "I think it's been decided."

"Yes," she agreed, standing up. "I'll make sure the order is given."

The girl watched the Handmaiden disappear with a swift bow before turning her attention back to [member="Coryth Elaris"]. Well, she'd done... something right, for once. Maybe when Mother came back from... where ever she was, she might be proud.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

[member="Madeline Kahoshi"]


Theed was a city of beauty and peace. It almost seemed idyllic, which made it terribly ironic that again and again it had been invaded by hostile forces and turned into a battlefield. Today was another such day. Yet, even a city as paradisical as Theed was not without its share of class differences and barriers. To be sure, Naboo might be more enlightened than many monarchies, but there were always those who simply did not rise and who were thus reduced to being the poor, the impoverished and the underprivileged.


Needless to say, these were the areas that particularly attracted the Reavers. Back in the day when the Bando Gora had been a potent threat, they had gained recruits by drugs infused with dark sorcery throughout the slums, badlands and undertowns of worlds across the Galaxy. Their message of Chaos and promise of power had resonated with the desperate, who, having given up hope for betterment, hoped that these Gods would empower them. Before they realised what cause they had joined, they were already hooked.


It was just the bad luck of the drug-addled Cultists that a murderous machine cult had the same idea. This district was far off from where the Protectorate and Firemane troops had landed, in an area already cut off from the centre of Theed. There was nothing of strategic or economic importance, only an abundance in human bodies. A dark ritual of the Chaos cultists was crashed when a band of HRDs fell upon them. The violent but savage ferocity of the Reavers met the dispassionate, efficient violence of a machine.


It was not much of a contest. Moira Skaldi led the attack herself, though obviously she was wearing a different face. Nothing would tie her to the former Director of MICO. Or to Nalia Alderana, wealthy and cultured businesswoman on Loronar and Denon. When one considered that she had a bolter and her skeleton was made of phrik, the battle was most unfair. An HRD was quite similar to a walking tank. She was mobile and strong, encased in heavy armour and with almost indestructible bones. Her purple-colured lightsabre, ignited in a flash, was wielded with the superior reflexes and precision of a droid. Her strength more than matched those of Reavers and her technique was far superior. Thus her blade reaped a bitter harvest, cleaving in twain abominations, her bolt pistol did the rest as she scythed her way through.


Added to that, a number of HRDs were equipped with Gorgon web rifles and stun blasters, using them to great effect to immobilise and then stun the Reaver-like creatures. Truth be told, Moira had already captured several from the time of the Bando Gora War, but she could always get more. Backed up by her fellow droids, she would have soon cleaved a path free, leaving corpses and captives behind her. They had crashed a Reaver attempt to gain new recruits by taking the impoverished captive and at first the captives believed help had come for them, for the HRDs were clad in Omegan armour, recovered from Denon after the Protectorate lost control and before the Republic took over.


Through a bit of playacting, Moira even played along for a bit, then they those amongst the captives who were still lucid got a rude awakening when stun bolts put them into the dreamlands and they were carted off to a waiting truck. Small groups of HRDs fanned out, looking for more Reavers and civilians to capture in the warehouses and dilapidated buildings. Personally Moira Skaldi, Child of Mechanus and veteran of the Bando Gora War, up to and including the final battle of Gehenna, found the idea that the Cultists had miraculously recovered from the past exterminatuses and amassed such a masssive armada absurd, but she would not complain about having more processing materiel. Her minions would soon have the task fulfilled, but Moira had another errand in mind for herself.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth sighed, feeling a little too weak and helpless for her own good at this point. Her eyes only followed as she watched the Firemane mercenaries race off, setting up defensive points throughout the Palace and the surrounding areas. "Thank you, Marea." The redhead said softly, as the woman headed off.

Her attention soon turned to Felicity, "Just take a breath, Felicity. There's a first time for everything." For Coryth had picked up on a few of the young blonde's emotions through her own empathy. "Everything is going to work out. One way or another, it will." Coryth couldn't go as far as to promise such, but she had faith that it would. The threat to the Palace and them was relatively small in the scheme of the galaxy. And so they would be safe here for the moment.

"I know this might not seem like the time for it, but for now all we can do is wait and let others see to the tasks that we've handed them. So, why don't we take a moment to get to know one another?" She said with a smile upon her lips, though it did not follow through to her eyes. For in her eyes was much worry and the weight of the galaxy seemed to be resting upon her shoulders. "Why don't you tell me what it was like to grow up here?" The little Jedi inquired. The conversation would help pass the time, and well .. if she was to train the girl, then getting to know her was only the right thing to do.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Just talk? Felicity jumped to her feet nervously. She couldn't just sit and wait around! Both of her parents were missing, Naboo's government was crumbling, and on top of that, the threat of reavers was hanging over them every second. The blonde girl bit her lip, pacing back and forth. Where was Owain? He promised he;d be right down after her. He promised...

"I didn't grow up here," she answered, pausing to glance nervously out the window, "Grew up in Imerria. Lot of wind storms. Couldn't play outside much. Came here much later. I think I was... eight. Mom grew up here though. Naboo is nicer than Imerria though. I'm not allowed outside the Palace walls very often, but at least I can go outside."

She felt so jittery, nervous. So much so that she forgot to politely ask a question back to [member="Coryth Elaris"]. Very rude.

 

[Uriel]

[member="Andromeda Versai"] [member="Sarge Potteiger"]

The call came down the line. Weapons ready. At the will of the Lord Inquisitor, blue-clad warriors formed defensive lines, forming 45-degree kill zones in which they could lay down suppressive fire. It was standard procedure, a tactic designed to make maximum use of their weapons and provide no reprieve to an enemy. It allowed everyone to provide support to one another. The perfect way to attack an enemy.

Sergeant Uriel was just glad he was back. He had been to Hell itself. So had the Lord Inquisitor; though they had not spoken directly about it, there was a certain edge to their voices-- Uriel innately understood. There was no taking that away from someone. There was no way to undo the things they'd done or wash those bloodstains from their hands.

"Uriel Squad will take point," announced the Brother-Sergeant over the com. "Ready by your command, my Lord."

 

[Roth Tillian]

Aurek squadron cruised above the city, fingers twitching slightly and everyone looking over their shoulder in all directions. Overwatch was great, except it meant staying in location while who knew what else was going on elsewhere, especially with a fleet battle above their heads.

Roth craned his neck to look up above him. He couldn't see anything from here, unfortunately. That was pretty common, but it unnerved him.

"Check your tails, Aureks. I feel like we might have trouble soon."

"Roger that, Lead. Anything specific?"

"Negative, just a hunch."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

[member="Felicity Mason"]

Coryth nodded slowly, thinking through her own troubled childhood. It'd been a complicated affair, born to a single mother a slave no less, and then the escape from slavery. From there she was constantly on the move.

"Ah, can't say I've heard of it." She sighed softly, and tried to at least smile for Felicity's sake.

"I was born on a slavers ship. Never really knew the meaning of home for a very long time. Home was just a pretty idea that seemed nothing more than a far off dream. My mom escaped her master with me when I was a toddler and from there we were always on the move, begging and bartering passages from ship to ship. Place to place, all to keep ahead of the bounty hunters who were eager to cash in on the Hutt's desire to never let a single slave get away." A shrug followed, knowing too well her life was a rather sad one in the scheme of the galaxy, but it was far from the worst one.

"My mother, passed away from an illness. Travoidain flu, was what they called it. Was only seven years old and I was on my own."

A smile did follow soon enough as her mood started to bright, "Even with such a crummy start in life, it didn't turn out half bad. Just have a little faith. We'll find your mother if I have to go to this netherworld place myself. We'll find her."

 

[Moira Skaldi]

In a district of Theed away from the main fighting,


The onslaught had been brutal, ruthless and it was all over in a matter of minutes. When you thought about it, had almost been unfair. The Reavers might have numbers, but they were primitives, the Force was acting erratically and they had been facing assassin droids. Where possible the HRDs would try not to kill the insane fanatics, but rather just take them captive by using Gorgon web rifles, specifically designed by the old Sith Empire to combat and capture force-users, Czerka headbangers, which emitted a stun blast so strong it could even put down a Wookiee.


When the HRDs stormed what seemed to be an air filtration station, one Bando Gora fanatic devoted to the insane Mad Gods had sought to rally his brethren and blast the heretical machines with a torrent of searing lightning, but due to the instability of reality and the Force had only succeeded in burning himself before being cut down by buckshot rounds. Vials filled with Bando Gora narcotics, evidently meant for aerosal dispersal, were found, along with a setup to release them through the air filtration system.



Finishing the job and releasing them was tempting, but then the HRDs decided to confiscate the loot, along with their human cargo. Doubtless [member="Madeline Kahoshi"] would enjoy having more toys to play with. The Protectorate forces had not yet arrived in this area. Indeed, their advance seemed to be rather low, and so the merchandise was loaded up in a truck and the HRDs, still clad in their Omegan armour and livery, began vacating the ruined, squalid district.

 

[Felicity Mason]

And once again, Felicity was reminded that she led a beautiful life. Not that she ever thought for a second that her childhood was a bad one. Sure, she didn't have many friends. Sure, mom wasn't ever really around. Sure, she lost family. Slevin's death had been a hard one on her. And sure, sometimes her family expected too much from her. But to even think for a second that she had a single thing to complain about in her charmed life was laughable. No. The only thing she really had to be upset about now was her missing parents.

"I'm sorry, Master Elaris," she mumbled, looking down at her feet, "You must think that I'm some awful spoiled brat."

But she knew she owed her pretty life to her parents. They worked hard to give her this life. Both of them.

"My daddy was a slave too, you know. On Nal Hutta. I guess it just goes to show that where you come from doesn't really matter all that much."


[member="Coryth Elaris"]