The Red Curtain [First Order Dominion of Quintas]

[Progflaw99]

---------------
Location: Space Station
Objective: Unspecified
Post: 1
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Unfortunately for the TIE Interceptor pilot, the base in it's not-yet-finished state failed to draw much of his interest. The hangar hadn't been terrible, the design actually quite accommodating considering the layout. The fighters and interceptors assigned to the base would definitely have a smooth deployment given the setup. He'd gotten a tour of the bunk situation, and surprisingly he found it too was more than adequate. It wasn't what you'd call lavish but certainly an improvement from his academy days. He'd gotten a hankering for something and had left his temporary quarters to find it.

At first he couldn't be sure. He knew it smelled good but he didn't dare hope. As he'd made his way wandering around the corridors he knew he could smell it he just didn't know where it was coming from. After turning down a few more corridors he finally caught sight of the temporary signs pointing towards the mess hall.

*This base is nice, but really? You'd think they'd mark off the mess hall better. Guy's gotta eat!*

His footsteps led him into the newly constructed mess hall, the smell of food overwhelming. Nils felt a slight twinge in his stomach as his eyes locked on to where that savory smell was coming from.

*Mmmm. Bacon.*

His somewhat of a scowl quickly picked up as he shuffled along behind what appeared to be some off duty troopers. He listened to them banter for a moment, smirking as he silently related to much of what they were saying.

"Hey, you think they've got that tato salad?"

"Nah, they only had that once and it was Empire day or something like that. I don't know."

"Well that's a shame... I wonder why they feed us this slop instead of the good stuff. You been to the Officer's club?"

"Are you kidding? I'm not walking in there. With my luck there'd be one of those Ren types and then I'd get spaced!"

They both laughed about that before shuffling on down the line. Nils found it hilarious that the two had't noticed the Lieutenant behind them. He held out his tray as the food service worker shelled out a couple of different colored lumps of mush and what looked like mass cooked poultry of some sort. He'd had worse, and he was sure he would have worse in the future. Apparently high command thought it was pertinent for many of the 100th's pilots to attend a cold weather/ mountain survival course on... you guessed it.. Hoth. Word was the First Order was developing a small training facility there and a permanent starfighter garrison.

Approaching the end of the line Nils watched as the troopers ahead of him head over towards the seating area. He nabbed a cup, filling it to the brim with a light sugary soda. He smirked. As a kid, he'd always called it 'pop', the fizzy bubbles popping as he drank it. He was young yet, but not a child. No, that had all changed so quickly once he joined the Starfighter Corps, even so he still had a boyish glow about him. His eyes scanned the mess hall looking for familiar faces.

[member="Sara Lee Jones"] | [member="Ishana Pavanos"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

----- ----- -----​

Location: Space Station, Central Command Hub, Console 53-E​

Objective: Unspecified​

Post: 2
----- ----- -----​

"Lieutenant Varren."​

Impressive. Equipped with some of the newest technology too. Keys tapped away beneath the woman's nimble fingers. According to this readout, the technician who'd set up the network, at least for the non-mobile systems wasn't a complete dolt either. A few more clicks and taps as she examined the hardware readouts. Not bad on that front either, the systems should more than handle the load they were putting on...

"Lieutenant Varren"​

​

Feth. Who was that and what did they...

As the woman turned her eyes were immediately drawn to the hefty stack of ribbons mounted on the uniform worm by the dashingly handsome Communication's Officer. Strange, she didn't think a communication officer would have so many ribbons. Given their technical expertise they were rarely front line troops, much less put near anything remotely dangerous. Maybe he was a grunt before, one of the 'bucketheads' as they were so commonly referred to as. That was neither here nor there. Her fingers stopped, spinning about in her chair to face her fellow Lieutenant.

"What can I do for you Lieutenant Kobol?"

She stressed the word Lieutenant as she narrowed her eyes at the man. The two were technically of the same rank, though in truth Lieutenant Emily Varren wasn't really her name, and she wasn't really a Lieutenant. Valerie Kordova was a field agent with the FOSB. She'd been tasked with taking stock of the station's computer systems. While it might not have been the first thing you'd expect she was good at, Val was an avid technician, quite talented in slicing, computers, and really any sort of electronics. It came in handy, especially during field operations.

"Are you just about finished? Command's saying they want you to take a look at a core out in the hangar, sounds like one of the technicians was watching holo-vids in his downtime and mucked up one of the computers."

Emily sighed, rolling her eyes at the young lieutenant. Again? She hoped discipline among the First Order hadn't slipped this far. The rules were pretty clear, holo-vids were definitely not on the 'authorized list' of applications of First Order military property. She'd have to give the techs a talking to. While not explicitly her responsibility, meddling with station systems outside the realms of approved use could be devastating if anything serious were to get into the system due to some trooper or technicians lack of self control. Work machines were for work use, not for looking at the newest Uni-star fight video or the new wave of cat videos spreading across the holo-net. With a frustrated frown she turned back to the console and input a few more commands, logging herself out and resuming the console to normal operation. She rose, looking at the other lieutenant.

"What is the console designation?"

Taking a datapad from his pocket he tapped its screen.

"Looks like Hangar 2, section 43 B. It's hooked up to port 8424. Room is registered as a supply office."

Emily took a breath and nodded, letting her feet take her quickly from the room and into the wide corridors of the station. Ah supply. Leave it to one of the supply clerks to muck up one of the computers. It made her realize how much she missed being in the thick of it, on the ground, surveillance, dead drops, intel gathering. This internal work was far less interesting and definitely not as fun, but, the FOSB was like that. Sometimes things were fast paced, exciting and fun. Other times it was slow and painfully boring. He quick footsteps found her headed towards the hangars.

 

[knight_of_fire98]

Location: Third Asteroid Belt
Objective: (3) Mysterious Distress Signal
Post: 4
Involving:[member="Darth Veles"], [member="Tanomas Graf"], @Carlyle Rausgeber , [member="Jude Falkrowe"] First Order Starfighters, Boarding Parties.

Their landing was not perfect. As the well oiled bridge crew of Carlyle's Vindicator had brought the shields up to strength, so had the number of enemy fighters that switched targets from the heavily armoured destroyers to the vulnerable landers that were fast approaching the station. Despite this, the Vindicator and its deployment of TIE fighters had successfully ravaged a good deal of the defensive placements that had guarded the landers path to the main hangar the Mon Cal, Jude and CT-47B were planning to land on.

But it was not enough, a squadron of B wings in V formation struck from above, their nonstop laser fire engulfing three of the landers in their red hot stream of fury as they detonated in the sky. A fourth lander, on which hosted CT-47B, his squad and another ten man squad. Also found itself alight. With its pilot burning in the cockpit as they crash landed into the hangars edge, casting Jude and a single fortunate Stormtrooper onto the floor before the out of control ship slipped back outside and settled on the small rocky outcrop that seperated the stations entrance from groundless space.
Darkness had engulfed them, they were trapped in the void of space with only their armour and a limited air supply to keep them alive. By the time CT-47B awoke from his brief dose of unconciousness he found himself being dragged towards the hangar by a member of his team, their magboots keeping them secured to the metalic flooring as they pushed their way through. Behind them, CT-47B saw those who were less fortunate. 4 dead Stormtroopers, floating peacefully in space as the breach in their suits released precious oxygen. Pushing them in random directions as the gas escaped, forcing them into the deep nothingness where the Vindicator and the pirate fleet were enganged.

Soon, CT-47B took control of his body, dragging himself to the ground on which his squad had carried him like children with a helium balloon. Eventually, they reached the hangars entrance. Passing through the shielding to relative safety with universal sighs of relief. They encountered the corpses Veles had left behind, and noticed that one of the pirates the Mon Cal had killed had been wielding a first order blaster pistol. Something no criminal should have had.

CT-47B however, paused. Taking a moment to look back through the shielding and realising he had nearly died. That he could've been caught out there, suffocating like the fifth Stormtrooper, whose suit had breached by shrapnel while he was floating towards the shield. Knocking him off course.

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From the third hangar, the only one on the station that was still under pirate control after a tie fighter had severed a cable and incidentally caused an asteroid to crash into the second hangar. More ships were leaving, a similar batch to the wave that came before but for one significant addition. That of brightly painted, pirate controlled. TIE superiority fighters.​

​

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​

Of course, the two men the Mon Cal had slaughtered were not the only ones securing the hangar, but they were the only ones that stayed. At the sign of the Siths red sabers the four men who had began moving two FWMB-10 repeating blasters into the hangar from the hallway at the end stopped, before shuffling back inside as quickly as they could and locking the doors behind them to slow the troops advance.

 

[Darth Veles]

Location: Asteroid base
Objective: 3
Allies: [member="CT-47B"] [member="Jude Falkrowe"]


Fiery gaze watched the runners let go of their weapons and retreat from their positions, not stupid enough to test their skills against a Sith Lord. All that remained was a strong trace of fear in their wake as the door shut closed, leaving the Darth without a challenge to overcome. Passing the now abandoned repeating blasters, the Sith assassin swiftly cut the distance between himself and the freshly closed and locked door, silent footsteps lost in the sound of machinery inside the hanger. Hitting this operation before its defenders put up the inner defences and prepared themselves for the incoming assault was vital in order to minimalize the First Order’s casualties, thus he did not allow hesitation to rob him of precious time, immediately cutting through the locked door with his blades, sparks and molten metal breaking the stereotypical grey painting the door.

One strong telekinetic push launched the carved disc forward, ruining the defence position some have assumed in front of the door in hopes of shooting the Sith the moment his dark clothed figure passed through. Disoriented and surprised, they did not manage to pull off more than a few shots, all easily deflected by the Mon Cal’s rapidly approaching red beam of humming energy. A few stabs and cuts and the whole situation’s been resolved, accompanied by orange lights rhythmically illuminating the scene as the station’s alarms furiously prompted the remaining forces to grab their gear and fight off the attacker.

Veles did not remain stationary and waiting more opponents to arrive to this position; decided to face them head-on, the amphibious Sith marched through the hallway in long strides while simultaneously cloaking himself to disappear from everyone’s sight, the silent assassin advanced deeper into the station’s bowels, sowing death and incapacitation to those in his way and preparing the station for the incoming First Order forces to secure. The hanger should be fairly hostile-free and ready for takeover. Nothing could stop him, for the all-powerful Force was his slave and the Sith Lord wielded it like a weapon, much like his twin lightsabers.

 

[Zef Halo]

Objective: III - Mysterious Distress Signal
Location: On the way towards the seemingly hijacked freighter.

[2]​

Well, kark.

The chaos of the battlefield was something he had been upon not a few times. He'd been a tech specialist and a recon operative before he was drafted to Intelligence but when you that chaos does not become your daily life, one always seems to experience as if it is the first time in the midst of death. Barely surviving after the crash, Jude was only able to tell that the arsenal the pirates​possessed was fairly...powerful. It raised a lot of questions that needed answers.

The answers that would not be found yet as the agent was busy lifting himself and jumping behind cover. The blaster pistol that army officers carried was certainly not the most efficient weapons but it did the job of keeping the pirates at bay. Well, not as much as the Mon Cal with a red lightsaber that sowed death in the hangar. A Knight of Ren ? This was becoming more and more odd. He'd gather intel about that later. For now he was glad that the Force wielder was here, he'd certainly helped ease the insertion of troops into the hot zone.

Jude's eyes scanned the surroundings and he found the maintenance door. Most, if not all, hangars had such locations. A door that led to the maintenance section of the hangar and usually such sections spread out all around the locations for the sole purpose of making it easier for the maintenance people to move through the whole base unobstructed or becoming an obstacle to the dwellers of the base in case of an emergency or a drill.

The agent dashed forward pulling out a security spike from his utility belt and quickly made work of the locked down door. The ruckus behind him was to his advantage. It would help him mask his disappearance from prying eyes. The blonde entered and locked the door behind him. There was an operation at hand and he proceeded down the maintenance corridor leaving the dampened noises of war behind him. He had to find a terminal. One that would be intact and a main maintenance one would be very, very helpful.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="CT-47B"] | [member="Carlyle Rausgeber"]

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post: 6/20
Allies: [member="Asharad Graush"]

(had permission to continue without Valessia)

As Doctor West was about to respond to Vaas' comment, a small red light behind him began to blip at a workstation. The Field Marshal looked over Doctor West's shoulder, as he couldn't help but notice it.

"Doctor?" One of the station attendants said. The group, including Ludolf, encircled the man's workstation.

"It seems our particle accelerator is overheated again," the attendant said. On his screen was a diagram of one of the particle accelerators used to create the black hole in the singularity drive, outlined in red.

"Does this kind of thing happen often?" Ludolf asked Doctor West.

"Unfortunately, it does. The singularity requires an immense amount of energy to sustain it inside our machine. Sometimes it's too much for our systems to handle. But it's nothing to worry about," West replied. "The particle accelerator should cool down on its own after a few minutes."

Ludolf nodded and observed with piqued interest, crossing his arms.

"Cut the accelerator," West ordered.

The attendant scientist typed a quick vigorous command into the keyboard and hit one final button. The screen gave another beep.

Error: system controls unresponsive. Execute alternate command?

 

[Asharad Graush]

Objective: Quantum Leap.
Post Four.
[member="Ludolf Vaas"]

I don't even know what they're saying.

The words that Doctor West had spoken to him entered one ear, floated around, and then exited. Personally, it felt as if the Doctor had dodged the question entirely, and had only offered some poor explanation for an excuse. Innovation, the young Sith decided to go with. Was pointless innovation a thing? Besides that, just the look of the Doctor gave him the urge to separate him into two different pieces. But he said nothing, his only visual dislike was a furrowing of his brow.

Particle accelerator overheated?

Happens frequently?

High Colonel Graush didn't move from his position. He wasn't even looking at the computer, but when he did, he saw that there was an error on the screen.

"Slow it down gradually." One would think that if you could accelerate it, you'd be able to decelerate it in the same fashion.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post: 7/20
Allies: [member="Asharad Graush"]

"Try again," Doctor West said to the attendant, and this time Ludolf noticed a bit more urgency in his voice. Then came Graush's suggestion. The poor attendant, being inundated with commands, mashed away haplessly at the keyboard.

"I can't! The entire interface is frozen!" He said.

"Move over!" Doctor West commanded. The scientists seemed to be in full panic mode now. Ludolf gave A'sharad a sidelong glance as the Doctor took the helm of the workstation, and a buzzing sound coming from the other room became more audible.

"Doctor, what is going on?" Ludolf demanded.

"We have to evacuate!" West turned back over his shoulder, wide-eyed. "The particle accelerator will explode and kill everyone on board! We'll never make it in time if -"

"Is there no other way?" Vaas threw his arms up, finding himself engaging in his Agent-prescribed meditations to lower his pulse rate.

Doctor West breathed heavily through gritted teeth. "The only other way to shut it down now is to manually pull the plug. If we don't, we all die."

Ludolf began to head off in the direction of the buzzing sound, which had grown to the level of an audible hum. Doctor West was quick to grab his forearm in an attempt to pull him back.
"Field Marshal! Manually cutting the power has never been done before! I don't know what will happen if we - "

"It's our only choice," Ludolf interrupted. "You said it yourself, Doctor! Either we pull the plug, or death is a certainty. And this entire space station will be lost in the process."

 

[Asharad Graush]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post Five.
[member="Ludolf Vaas"]

The exchanges between everyone in the room were growing more heated.

Field Marshal Vaas likely didn't understand as much as the Doctors gave him credit for, or so the High Colonel thought. But still, he could sense that the Marshal was growing irritated with the situation. A'sharad wasn't afraid of death, but the idea of a Black Hole was daunting. Still, he existed to live and to die, he had learned that after he had killed his first peer, in the form of a much smaller Sith acolyte.

Some people just had to be losers in this world.

And if A'sharad had learned anything in this world...

It was that he didn't lose enough to think it were even possible.

After the Field Marshal had been stopped from going in, the High Colonel just stepped forward. "You're too valuable to the Order, Sir," he said, and he continued forwards to the buzzing sound. Unexpected actions, even for A'sharad, why was he even doing this? Because if he didn't die, the benefits outweighed the cons. Death was just death, he knew. "Tell me what to do," he said. If there had been warmth in his voice, it was gone. It was just another day on the battlefield for him now.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post: 8/20
Allies: [member="Asharad Graush"]

Ludolf felt another tug on his arm, and was surprised to see it come from A'sharad.

The Field Marshal's icy blue gaze fell upon the Sith and lingered there for a moment. He made another movement, as if to protest, but finally relented with a silent nod. Deep down he knew A'sharad was right, not because of his own inflated ego, but because Ludolf knew how hard it was for him not to personally take command of every situation and put himself at risk. Part of being a great commander was to learn to trust your subordinates, a lesson which Ludolf could stand to learn well. The offer of self-sacrifice had come from the oddest of places: from a Sith. A'sharad had surprised Ludolf today, and he suddenly felt a new sense of respect for the High Colonel.

"You have to pull all the plugs from the back of the accelerator!" Doctor West yelled at Graush. "Don't use the Force, we can't risk you accidentally pulling out any vital components!" Behind the particle accelerator, there were at least thirty different cables attached to different power sources.

"Sound the alarm," Ludolf said as calmly as possible. "Tell the station to evacuate."

Doctor West moved over to another control station and slammed down on a button. Instantly, a red strobelight whirred overhead and a warning horn blared across the Kleve.

Attention all personnel, commence evacuation procedures immediately. Repeat: attention all personnel, commence evacuation procedures immediately. This is not a drill.

"The accelerator is nearly at 90% maximum heat level!" The station attendant blared.

"He's not going to make it in time," Doctor West cursed. "He's not going to!"

 

[Asharad Graush]

Objective: Quantum Leap.
Post Six.
[member="Ludolf Vaas"]

If only he had Left and Right with him; his two Massassi Warriors, relatives of some kind. Both of them loyal to him, they would do whatever he said without hesitation. He frowned as he pushed a hand through his hair, its previously neat, perfected, black form almost instantly transforming into a mess as he moved around the accelerator's side.

Not to use the Force?

He didn't have enough hands to not use the Force.

He started pulling out the plugs with his hands.

The Force helped him here. Pull, pull, tug, tug, faster, faster. He almost fumbled, but with three fingers out of the four on his right, he tugged out one of those plugs. He reached to one that was immediately out of his reach. It took him a second longer than it should've, but he had to be precise, he pulled the plug out of the wall. And then he continued. It took time. Thirty plugs? He had never even seen that many plugs in one area at the same time. From crouching to raising, he removed plugs from one side of the room, and steadily worked to the other side.

A bead of sweat on his brow.

Why was that there?

And then he tugged another out of the wall.

Wrapping both hands around the last plug, he pulled it out of the wall as if he were removing an arrowhead the wrong way; aggressively, as if he wanted to rip apart the wall it came out of.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Post 1

Concordia orbited Bespin. It seemed the world was becoming something of a second home to Natasi. Some of the crew had liberty, and were enjoying what Cloud City had to offer. Natasi Fortan, on the other hand, was enjoying a quiet moment at the end of a long day with her cousin, Pierce. He had been assigned to the Concordia and she was pleased. It gave them time together they mightn't have had otherwise. They were in her office, he on one end of the sofa, she in the armchair opposite him, across a coffee table. Both were nursing gin and tonics, and both were solemn.

"Does it hurt?" Pierce asked. It was a little boy's question, spoken by a man who suddenly looked very much like her younger, clear-eyed little cousin. Natasi restrained the urge to reach over and touch his hair, muss it affectionately. "Are you in pain?" She could have kissed him for his concern.

"No," Natasi replied in a low murmur, studying the ice in her empty gin and tonic as it melted. "It doesn't hurt. Not yet. I'm just... tired."

"Have you told -- "

Natasi cut across him immediately. "No. And neither will you. It's the sort of thing that demands to be spoken of in person. Perhaps when we're on Galidraan next month." She stood and collected his empty glass, taking it over to the bar with her own to refill them. She unscrewed the lid on the gin bottle, then waved away Pierce's question as he inquired whether she should be drinking. "Probably not. But what Dr. Penneford doesn't know won't hurt him." She took the glasses back over to the sofa, sitting on the coffee table opposite Pierce and thrusting the glass to him. "It's not going to change how I live my life. That would be admitting defeat."

"But you'll cut back, won't you? You've got to take -- Natasi?" His cousin had taken a faraway look in her eyes, and the pilot reached with his free hand to touch her shoulder. "Are you worrying about -- about this?" She shook her head no. "Then what? Telling Irani? Telling the Supreme Leader?" Again she shook her head no. "Natasi. Talk to me. That's why I'm here."

"I thought you were here to drink better gin than what they have in the mess."

"That too," Pierce said, touching his glass to Natasi's to create a melodious tink of fine crystal against fine crystal. "Talk to me, Tasi."

"It's nothing," said Natasi. She looked up at him; he was staring at her hard. "All right. It's Quintas. It's -- a black hole! -- so dangerous, and he -- we've got some of our most important people there. Anything could go wrong, and probably will." She lifted her glass to her lips and took a long, slow sip. She stood and went to her desk, hitting the intercom. "Sioux, can you get me the latest on Quintas?" Pierce studied Natasi over his shoulder as she stared at the wall, her finger tracing along the Cosmic Balance brooch at her shoulder, wondering what she was thinking.

Behind the dark brown eyes, gazing emptily at the bulkhead of her shipboard office, Natasi was bothered by something. Some detail. Some tiny little thing that was tugging at her mind. Maybe it was something she had forgotten to do. Maybe it was something she had read but didn't process fully. Her subconscious was pulling at her, testing the equilibrium in her mind. Equilibrium was beautiful; it meant all was right with the world. But like most beautiful things, equilibrium was fragile. The slightest shift, the smallest change, and the entire galaxy could go spinning out of control...

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

"West, Cyone." Dr. Harrison said with calmness, an eerie calm. "Go." The young man and the Commander looked at him with long eyes. "Dr. West, I told your father I'd look after you and I will. Go, now, take the Commander and evacuate the station as ordered. Get the fighters and marines off of here temporarily."

The young man looked at Dr. Harrison as if a father had told his son the truth of the entire situation. West's eyes watered. "I-"

"Theo," Harrison's voice was so calm, "go take the Commander and Friehaas who I am certain is livid without her there, and go. Kleve can be saved, and you will lead this." He said softly and looked to Field Marshall Vaas. "This was not an accident, Field Marshall. This was sabotage, while our systems are not perfect - there are very few people who know how to work this system. High Colonel, thank you."

He was still calm, the alarms still sounded and the system looked as if it was cooling, but it was a false reading. "This room is built to withstand a substantial blast." He explained and he waited for them to leave, he waited for them all to leave.

Dr. West was being dragged by Commander Cyone. He broke free of the Commander's grasp and put his arms around Dr. Harrison, Jessup put a hand to Theo's back and rubbed a small circle around it. "You've done your best, Theo." He planted a fatherly kiss on the young man's head and watched him depart the room. "Computer activate containment Harrison-Five-Five-One-Six. Code, Vector-Seven-Bravo. Authorization Jessup Harrison."

"Containment initiated," the computer's robotic voice confirmed. Heavy walls were brought down, thick, thick alusteel reinforced durasteel and turanium. Harrison stepped into a small control unit, and punched in a few numbers that would bring the heat of the explosion toward him.

​

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nfP7aU1hHI[/media]​

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Post:1

Delilah Beckett went where the TIES went, and that meant that she was currently holed up in an unfinished space station. It didn’t matter much, for she didn’t have much of a chance to actually leave the hangar anyway. It’s where her fighters lived, so that’s where she lived too. She was Assistant Crew Chief now, a role that came with many responsibilities and long hours. It was strange to move into her new role as a supervisor, making sure that her techs were all in line and on schedule. Unlike their current Crew Chief, Del still had a decent amount of time to complete some of the work with her own two hands.

With a happy sigh her gaze shifted down the length of the flight line, all was quiet and peaceful. The TIE Fighters and Interceptors sat in their serene rows, all of them deemed mission capable for the moment. Just peachy. Her black boots brought her over towards one of the fighters, and she rubbed the hull with the palm of her hand in an affectionate way. But a totally not creepy kind of way. It was only a matter of time before her ships left the safety of the hangar again. Del hated it when they came back in various states of disrepair... or worse, when they did not come back at all.

After taking a last look back, she moved out of the hangar. Her stomach was growling something fierce, and she needed some food before she actually passed out. It wasn’t long before she could smell the sweet aroma of breakfast; it was the kind of smell that almost swept her off her feet. The roasty stimcaf, the warm oatmeal, and the sizzling bacon – it was probably the closest to heaven that she would ever come. She passed through the doors in a hurry, immediately grabbed a tray and made for the line, joining the other hungry service members.

The line seemed to move agonizingly slow, but she made it to the end with a full plate. This breakfast wasn’t anything like the ones she’d made back home, no fluffy biscuits or scrambled eggs... but it would have to do. Del could cook a mean meal, but she rarely had the time anymore. As she walked towards an empty table, she looked down to see that her boot had come untied. With her eyes watching the lace flapping about the floor, she made a concentrated effort not to trip. But she failed to look where she was going.

She bumped right into [member="Nils Brenner"], and immediately looked up, shock and surprise written on her face.

“Oh my goodness.” She stammered, “I’m sorry, Sir.”

Del called most people ‘sir’, most everyone had a rank much higher than her own... so it worked. Her eyes narrowed slightly, this man was familiar. Ah, yes... a pilot. She had even seen him around a few times, but had never spoken to him before. Still relatively new to the scene, she hadn’t had the chance to meet any of the pilots here. Her gaze shifted down again, now spotting the beige blob that was her oatmeal... on the toe of her boot. Nice one, Del... way to make a first impression.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post: 9/20
Allies: [member="Asharad Graush"] [member="Valessia Brentioch"]

"95% maximum temperature!" The attendant screamed as A'sharad frantically began pulling the plugs.

Ludolf could do nothing but watch from behind the window as the High Colonel worked as fast as he could. Vaas' jaw flared as Graush moved from one plug to the next, his eyes momentarily darting to the screen in front of the attendant, which displayed the particle accelerator's overheating temperature.

"98%!"

He's not going to make it in time, Ludolf thought to himself. Instantly, he sprung up and moved towards the door to the room with the particle accelerator. Bursting through, he rushed towards the High Colonel. "Graush!"

At that moment, A'sharad pulled the last plug from its socket.

Ludolf looked on for a moment, frozen in place, and then followed the High Colonel out of the room. Together the two ran back towards the workstation, with the attendant and Dr. West. They, along with Dr. Harrison, were the only ones left in the room after everyone else had evacuated. As Harrison activated the containment procedures, he explained the situation of a possible saboteur to Ludolf, while the room vibrated with pressure simultaneously.

"We can discuss that later, Dr. Harrison," Ludolf said. "For now, let's go."

The group of men hurried out of the facility as the reinforced doors came down to close off the area. Running to the last remaining open door with the rest, Ludolf took one last look behind him at the doorway to see if there were any more stragglers. Everyone had made it, it seemed. He turned around into the open hallway. There was no time to even process the sudden surge of force that impacted against the side of his head. One of the turanium doors malfunctioned, shooting out at high speed and catching Ludolf in the doorway. The edge of the door cracked against his skull and sent him sprawling forward into the hallway with an anguished yell.

Behind him, the door closed completely. A faint explosion was heard from behind the massive doors within the laboratory, but the station was safe. Graush had done it in time. Ludolf slumped against the corridor wall as he slipped out of consciousness, shortly after a trickle of blood dripping from his nose.

 

[Asharad Graush]

Objective: Quantum Leap
Post Seven.
[member="Ludolf Vaas"]

A'sharad had done it in time. The Force had played in part in him having enough time to pull the plugs out of the wall.

And they were saying don't use the Force.

He would've had an amused smirk on his face were it not for the running they were doing to get out of the facility.

There was one last door that was open. The High Colonel had been one step ahead of the Field Marshal, so when the door flew out at him, as he shot one last look behind him, he had spotted the turanium door shooting out of the wall suddenly as if some unseen force willed it to kill him, and he was sent forwards. And such a shame it would've been if he had been caught on the other side of the door. There was a faint explosion, muffled by the last bulkhead door, and he turned and lowered into a crouch to the Field Marshal.

Would he live? Was he subject to carry him? A'sharad was the tallest of all of them without a doubt, standing at a clear six foot three, but he made no moves, just silently watched him before he came to a decision.

"Lead me to the Medical Station."

He took Vaas' arms and through them over his shoulders as he grounded himself to the ground with the help of the Force, and then he went upwards, lifting the Field Marshal over his shoulder and turning to look at Harrison.

"Now." The Force intoned with his words. A'sharad didn't have the same curiosity as the Field Marshal for the science of the station, he didn't need an explanation on the multiple scenarios that had happened, or potentially happened.

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Post: 2

Marzena Choi stood in the middle of her flat in Cloud City, a place where she had many fond memories. Though she still liked the space, it no longer felt like home. Perhaps it was just the fact that most of her belongings had either been packed away, or already taken to Avalonia. The pop star had been living in the capital city for several weeks now, but only after her recent engagement to [member="Ludolf Vaas"], did she decide to make the move permanent. It was time to build their life together, and it just couldn’t be done when living on two separate worlds.

A small beeping sound signaled the arrival of her assistant.

“Ms. Choi, I have the garment bags that you asked for.” Bonnie said cheerfully, “And I got you a cup of tea from Perennial.”

Slowly, Marzena turned to accept the warm tea; the herbal aroma was a brief but welcome breath of calm. She took a tiny sip, leaving a light hint of her red lipstick behind on the lid. Her hands wrapped around the cup and she turned to face the window, her gaze shifting out to look aimlessly over the city below. While her expression did not quite betray the anxiety that lingered in her chest, it was a far cry from the brightness and the smiles that normally found her face. Marzena had little idea where Ludolf actually was right now, but she hoped with all of her being that he was safe.

Her eyes blinked hard, only realizing just then that Bonnie had been speaking to her. Her assistant stepped towards her, and placed a friendly hand upon Marzena’s shoulder. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Marzena said softly, nodding. “I always worry when he’s away.”

Marzena gazed down at the diamond that graced her left hand, and then placed her palm against her stomach. It was deeply comforting to know that even now she was not alone; their child was there beneath her heart, safe and sound. She closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath.

Ludolf would come back – he always did.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

She knew the moment she felt it coming. Natasi had experienced this sensation only once before, when Mathes was killed in action. She hadn't known it then, had only been able to count back the days to connect the horrible feeling to the event she was sure had caused it. Just like before, the world around her seemed to fall back, grey with haze and sound muddling, the audio-visual equivalent of the tide pulling away from shore before the tidal wave rolled in.

The highball glass slipped from her fingers as something cold and black seized at her chest, shattering on the ground. Pieces of glass and ice carried like ice floes on a rushing river of gin and tonic. Pierce was on his feet in an instant, taking her by the elbow and guiding her to one of the guest chairs facing her desk, forcing her rigid body into the seat as he tried to look into her unfocused eyes. "Natasi? Are you all right? What happened?"

She gaped at him, trying to make sense of his words, feeling only immense relief that Pierce was here and safe and alive -- she needn't worry about him. Had something happened to Irani? She reached for her comlink across the desk, but Pierce shook her by the shoulders. "Say something, damn it! Do you need Dr. Penneford?"

"Like feet upon my grave," she whispered. A beat, and then she blinked and her eyes focused again. "I'm -- fine." She went to reach for the comlink again, but at that moment, Sioux knocked twice and palmed the door open. She looked as apprehensive and stressed as Natasi had ever seen her. Little did she know that this was just the beginning.

"Ma'am, priority signal. Eyes only." She glanced meaningfully at Pierce, who nodded and headed for the door with every intention of fetching Dr. Penneford. Natasi took the flimsi, still hot from the printer, and looked at it. What little color was left in her face drained in an instant.

INCIDENT ALERT - EYES ONLY - GRAND MOFF FORTAN​

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR EXPLOSION AT KLEVE​

ALL-SURFACE GUARD EN ROUTE​

KLEVE STATION EVACUATION IN PROCESS​

CASUALTY LIST​

DR. JESSUP HARRISON - DECEASED​

PVT. WILHLEM McBRIDE - DECEASED​

FLD MSHL [member="Ludolf Vaas"] - CRITICAL​

​

She put her hand to her mouth, shivering violently. "I need more details on this," Natasi said, her voice muffled by her fingers. "Get me -- get -- find -- can you patch us into their response team? And -- this is Kleve -- highly classified -- Marzena wouldn't be told --I have to -- I have her -- send a steward to my quarters to fetch my datebook, the number is there."

Sioux swallowed and muttered, "Very good, ma'am. Shall I instruct the helm to set coordinates for Quintas?"

Natasi looked up blankly. "Of course not. We need to get Marzena first. No one will have told her. Please ask a steward -- no. No, I'll get it myself. Send any updates to me directly." She tapped her datapad on the desk and picked it up, then without another word to her PPS, she rushed out of the room. Five minutes later she was sitting at the small desk in her suite, punching the numbers into the handset of her comlink -- she had Marzena's number from when they were working on the Memorial Center together. She held the comlink to her ear and waited, tracing her finger around her Balance brooch and praying that [member="Marzena Choi"] would pick up.

 

[Ludolf Vaas]

Objective: Survive
Post: 10/20
Allies: [member="Asharad Graush"] [member="Natasi Fortan"] [member="Marzena Choi"]

The station assistant leaned down to place a finger on the side of Ludolf's neck, and then leaned in to place the side of his head against his chest before Graush continued to carry him.

"He's breathing," The assistant reported. "Here, this way," He directed A'sharad towards the location of the medical bay, which was thankfully just around the corner.

"He needs an MRI, stat," Doctor West said from behind. "He could be hemorrhaging."

Suddenly, Ludolf's eyes opened slightly, and tried to make sense of his bearings. He caught sight of A'sharad as he was carried on his back. He wasn't sure if Graush could see him, but Vaas' cold blue eyes stared intensely at him for a moment, as if screaming to be heard, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. In another second, he was out of consciousness again... perhaps for good.

Hours later, an encrypted message was sent out across the First Order's channels.

FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER​

ARAM KALAST​

PRIORITY ONE​

TO: Grand Moff Natasi Fortan, Interim Director [member="Sentiri"]​

CC: High Colonel A'sharad Graush​

Attention High Command,

An incident has occurred on the First Order space station Kleve orbiting the Quintas black hole involving Field Marshal Ludolf Vaas. The Field Marshal has sustained a critical injury due to an accident on board, the precise cause of which is currently unknown.

At approximately 14:12 local Avalonia time, the singularity drive aboard Kleve experienced a malfunction, causing an evacuation of the station. In the course of the evacuation, a bulkhead door malfunctioned and struck Field Marshal Vaas on the side of the head, causing cranial damage. Field Marshal Vaas was evacuated from the facility via medical transport to Blenheim Military Hospital on Keskin, where he has been placed into a medically-induced coma while doctors deal with brain hemorrhaging.

The current prognosis of Field Marshal Vaas is unknown at this time. As such it ought to be clear that this information should be treated as TOP SECRET and for the eyes of High Command only. Under no circumstances is the media to learn of the extent of Field Marshal Vaas' injuries at this time, to avoid a propaganda disaster. Foul play has not been ruled out in this incident and we ask Interim Director Sentiri and the Security Bureau to conduct a full investigation aboard the Kleve to assess any possible sabotage.

May we keep Ludolf Vaas in our thoughts.
Supreme Commander Aram Kalast

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

FIV LONDINIUM - BLACKWELL CLASS
EMERGENCY EVAC EN ROUTE TO KESKIN
ALL UNITS RESPOND - ALL UNITS

Medical Cutter, FIV Mercy transferred all casualties including the Field Marshall to the Londinium. They were en route to Keskin as fast as the Blackwell could push with three dagger escorts the FIV Scythe, FIV Waraxe and FIV Hammer. Kleve itself had completed evacuation, FISFO Hublin where [member="Nils Brenner"], [member="Sara Lee Jones"], [member="Delilah Beckett"], and [member="Ishana Pavanos"] had been - were urged out through their hangars in their own craft. Camp Bragh was evacuated on several Fortan-class ships and the All-Surface Guard now surrounded Kleve with hazard teams who worked to clear the station before anyone else arrived to investigate.

The corridor leading to the lab was sealed off from the command center. Quintas still moved like a tempest begging for the weary and the desperate to sleep in her arms. Lieutenant Commander Yvonne Gregory waited for further instructions. What happened here, who was here when it happened - kept all of this top secret. Kept all of this still until the proper procedures were followed and that meant waiting for the brass. The blast had been contained, mostly, unfortunately, the shipment of Turadsteel had come too late, and even then - they would've needed the Phrik to truly have prevented any kind of disaster. Then again, how had the accelerator gone off? Why was there a particle accelerator here? Weren't they just studying the black hole? It was all above her pay grade anyhow, and now, now she waited for the unknown as she looked out onto the black hole of Quintas.

[member="Sentiri"] | [member="Ludolf Vaas"] | [member="Marzena Choi"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Asharad Graush"]