The Secrets of Zoph

[Ivan Stadd]

Location : Zoph
Primary Objective : Capture Jerec Asyr
Secondary Objective : Secure Zophis Crystals

As James Cerensp’s Supercommandos kept their stance with their Verpine Gunes aimed at Jerec Asyr and Cole Merrill and then the latter snapped his fingers followed by both men fleeing behind a trailside boulder. The Supercommandos then pulled the trigger but nothing came out. James Cerensp turned back and looked at his men. “What are you waiting for open fire!” He shouted. “Sir our weapons are jammed i don’t know how”. Then James Cerensp looked back and chuckled. “Well well , not a bad trick Merrill. But I must say it’s not going to save you.” James then pressed a button on his holo watch.

Before confronting Jerec Asyr , James Cerensp had ordered his men to place a homing beacon to relay the position of Jerec’s Ship the Colichemarde. When James Cerensp press the button on his holo watch it activated the homing beacon transmitting to coordinates of the Colichemarde to the Enforcer in which immediately moved into position to fire it’s Shrapnel Torpedos in which could be guided towards their target. With everything set , James knew that the fates of the men onboard of the Colichemarde were now his to decide and that Jerec Asyr , the Captain of the Colichemarde would have only one choice to surrender or he would see his Crew perish.

“However , I have a group of Star Destroyers in orbit in which contain Shrapnel Torpedos capable of bypassing any shields and being able to penetrate even the strongest of hulls. Once inside a ship , these Torpedos will implode inflicting heavy damage to the area of that Ship. However for a Corvette like yours it will only take two dozen torpedoes to destroy it. I will repeat this one more time , Surrender now and perhaps i might not order my Ship to kill everyone onboard the Colichemarde. It’s your choice Jerec and I await your response.”

James however did not care is Jerec surrendered or not. As he would still kill the Crewmembers of the Colichemarde anyways , Jerec and his friends had killed many Directorate Soldiers and Crewmen and therefore James intended to return the favor by killing the entire crew of the Colichemarde and show both Jerec and Cole the wrath of the Directorate.


Tags : [member="Cole Merrill"] | [member="Jerec Asyr"]

 

[Cei Kyros]

@James Cerensp

Cole slid over the protruding boulder blind firing along with [member="Jerec Asyr"] to keep the Directorate troopers at bay. He landed awkwardly with a grunt before scurrying back against the rock until he was shoulder to shoulder with the Colichemarde's captain. All he had to defend himself with was a rusty old Renegade heavy blaster and the vibroknife on his hip. Good enough for most streets fights. Not ideal when it came to taking out squads of trained soldiers.

"I don't think he likes us," he muttered loud enough for Jerec to hear, "If you think these goons are gonna let us off the hook, I got a freighter to sell ya."

Neither death nor surrender sounded particularly appealing to the freelancer. Jamming a few guns was one thing but he could not hope to influence a ship in orbit. Merill pulled a chunk of Zophis crystal from his satchel. Supposedly the energy blades Zophis produced were powerful but unstable and he was willing to bet that meant if exposed to enough heat like say a las bolt it might make a pretty good improvised explosive.

"This was supposed to pay off my bar tab," Cole admired the precious gem wistfully, "I toss, you shoot?"

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Ships and more people. Jared was not really ready to have to deal with people coming for him. He didn’t have his weapon yet. It wasn’t built, and even the pieces he did have? Well, it’d be a few days before he was ready to construct the final working blade, the one that would hopefully stick with him during this path of discovery. Was the Force calling all these people to this world, or were more people hunting the crystals than he suspected? There were others with the Force here, much like the Jedi before him, and others not far off.

He reached out, looking, searching, for those others in the Force, wondering if Ohm-Lai felt it too. Light, darkness, balance.

“I believe we need to be moving, Ohm. The others… I think they are too.” He wasn’t certain, but there was something pulling him, the crystal, the others? He wasn’t sure.


Forcers: [member="Anna Sachae"] @Xzaien @Kale Seleare [member="Ohm-Lai"]
Others: [member="Jerec Asyr"] [member="Cole Merrill"]

 

[Kaleleon]

LOCATION: Zoph - Surface
OBJECTIVE: Something is going on - Retrieve Zophis crystals.
NEARBY: [member="Jared Starchaser"], [member="Anna Sachae"], [member="Ohm-Lai"],
OTHERS: [member="James Cerensp "], [member="Jerec Asyr"], [member="Xzaien"], [member="Cole Merrill"],

Something weird was going on. Boots crunching smaller rocks beneath my feet, carrying me closer and close to where these ripples within the pond were. All I could tell is that they were there. Master Jade had told me many times in the past of how she was easily able to tell the difference between Light siders, and Dark siders within the force. Their signature being different. If you were really good enough, then you could even tell the difference of species, or distinguish people themselves. Such as Master Romi being able to tell it was me within the force, compared to another student, or Force User. It seems I was still unable to do as such. Deep limitations and blockers were upon me. Prohibiting the force.

Only once was I actively able to use the force. Protecting a man from strikes that would have otherwise killed him. After recounting it to my master, she could surmise that it was likely a barrier type of Force Power. Even having me perform research over such powers to see if that would be the path I would take. So far, nothing. All I could do was feel the "ripples within the stream."

Just barely able to make out presences within the force. Unable to tell them apart. However, I could sense how powerful they were! The stronger the ripples, or even waves for others, the easier it was for me to tell it was more powerful or just had a much stronger presence. Those that I was beginning to feel, were mostly ripples. Not much stronger than the ones I created. However, further away from me, and those I was trying to reach, was one much larger one. Almost waves. Not quite. On the tipping point.

I could feel them closer and closer as I came to a ridge. Lowering my form to look over the top, I could see that there were three people in a group. Explained why the ripples were crossing each other so rapidly. From their clothing, and robes, it was clear they were either Jedi, or at least not Sith. Though, I couldn't be too sure. Never could be in this day and age. A sigh escaped with thoughts of leaving safety into the open where they could see me. I am sure they could also sense my presence drawing closer, so there was no point in just hiding. Doing so would make me look bad.

Standing up, I crested it ever so slightly and made my way down. My body turned to the side to prevent me from falling down the ridge towards their position. As I got closer, raised hands put to the sides to show no harm. Plus, I doubt they wanted to get into a fight right now.

"I must have not been the only one to feel a pull to come here?"

 

[Jerec Asyr]

[member="James Cerensp"] [member="Cole Merrill"]

"Fething do it, Merrill."

When Merrill lobbed the unstable energy crystal, Jerec leaned around the rock that sheltered both of them. He snapped off a handful of shots, conscious that the troopers' big guns might start working again at some point.

One of his shots connected and the crystal became a scathing, concussive fireball in the collective face of the Directorate group. Even half-protected as he was, the blast threw him tumbling down a rocky slope, into a shallow and grimy ravine. His comlink and geosensor crunched ominously.

Not a lot of options presented themselves. At least he'd kept hold of his blaster.

 

[Ivan Stadd]

Location : Zoph
Primary Objective : Capture Jerec Asyr
Secondary Objective : Secure Zophis Crystals

As James awaited for Jerec’s Response and soon he’d get his response yet not the response he expected , soon Cole Merrill threw a Zophis Crystal and Jerec Asyr opened fire on it. Then a bolt his the crystal and soon it blew up in front of Cerensp and his men , killing at least half of his men and severely injuring the other half yet James came out unharmed as he had activated his Personal Energy shield before the crystal blew up.

A pitty James thought as clearly Jerec Asyr chose to sacrifice his entire crew for his own safety . then James with his Personal Energy Shield still up pressed a button on his Holowatch signaling his Fleet to fire the Shrapnel Torpedo on the positions of the Colichemarde in order to teach the arrogant Jerec Asyr a lesson. Soon the 3 Subjugators already in position fired 3 dozen guided Shrapnel torpedos in which quickly speed towards the Colichemarde.

“A pitty Jerec.” James said. “You could of surrendered and saved your crewmates. But now with such bold move you have sealed the fate of your crewmates.” Soon , the Shrapnel Torpedoes hit the Colichemarde quickly creating an explosion that split the Corvette in two followed by subsequent explosions that destroyed the entire ship killing every since person on board it.

Then James Cerensp took his Electrostaff and activated it soon moving towards the position of Jerec and Cole intending to neutralize them himself and finally teach them a lesson for their arrogance. As he took off to attack them he pressed a button on his holowatch again , this time to signal the Fleet to begin deploying Squads of Directorate Crusaders in order to begin preparing to secure the Zophis Crystals , James would make sure he would succeed in his mission and make sure those who stood in the way of the Directorate would pay for their foolish ways.

Tag : [member="Cole Merrill"] | [member="Jerec Asyr"]

 

[Ohm-Lai]

[member="Jared Starchaser"] [member="Kale Seleare"]

Ohm-Lai's head was tilted oddly and a frown etched across his face. Something was distracting him. Was that blasterfire? Why was there a firefight? And why were there so many ripples in the Force. As if someone had thrown a giant rock into a pond to cause some chaos. But even that was disturbed the sudden sound he headn't heard in years. The atmosphere burning and exploding around orbit-based projectiles. He turned his face upwards, blind to what was coming, but he could feel the ripples in the Force and and the earth-shaking concussive roar of whatever was detonating.

A voice came from just above them and he turned. "A pull to come? Aye, I felt one as well. Though I fear there may have been more to the pull than crystals." His face searched above them for the source of the speaker, but he couldn't pinpoint the location through the Force. Everything was too muddied. To complicated.

"But Jared, I think you are right. Something is happening and we may be needed to bring an end to it." The Arkanian waved in the direction of the new voice. "I am Ohm-Lai, Watchman of Fresia. And now I know nothing of why the Force brought me here." He shrugged.

 

[Xzaien]

Well. It would appear there was no response by the Subjugator Class Star Destroyers. In-fact, they went completely radio silent. On-board of the Cathay Rahtai it was a extremely concerning. Not to mention the Significant-Emotional-Event perpetrated by the Subjugator Ships firing off torpedoes without any prior warning. The usage of military weapons in a non-fire neutral zone despite any sort of declaration of a fire-zone or a previous war zone as well as the usage of military grade weapons against presumably primitive ground targets seemed to essentially "Rub Admiral Raxis the wrong way." The Eight Admirals including Admiral Keyes relayed their declarations toward the lead Subjugator ship.

Catharian Fleet in Attack Position​

"Attention, Unidentified Vessels. This is High Admiral Raxis Keyes of the Catarian Navy. Cease and Desist all attempts of orbital bombardment against local populations. Failure to do so is an act of war against the Catharian Hegemony if you would explain your fleet's actions, We may be able to sort this out diplomatically without any bloodshed on both our hands."

Forward Observers on the Three Subjugators could see the Catharian Fleet form up into an attack formation reminiscent of the Massive Ship formations used millennia before the fall of the Republic and rise of the First Galactic Empire. Heavy hitters such as the Harrower Class Dreadnoughts, and Centurion Class Battlecruisers up front alongside of the Catharian Interdictor Class Heavy Battlecruiser. Forming by the sides of these massive ships would be the Hammerhead Heavy Cruisers alongside a small contingent Foray Class Blockade Runners presumably full of Catharian Space Marines. The latter of which would split off from the main body of the Catharian Fleet to head down to where the Torpedoes have impacted and to form intercept on the Directorate Crusaders as they landed. Shortly after said ships turned off toward Planet-side, the Hangar Bays on all of the Harrower Class Dreadnoughts, Centurion Battlecruisers, Republic Hammerheads, and finally the Cathay Rahtai's were all opened revealing many hundreds of Sith snub fighters, Fury Class-Heavy Interceptors, B-25 Extinction Class Bombers, aswell as large contingents of Sith Drop-ships likely pregnant with both torpedoes as swell as Catharian Army Troopers.

As this massive cloud of exited through the hulls and hangar bays of all of their mother-ships and entered formation alongside of the larger heavy-hitters as both a fighter screen and a point defense screen against torpedoes and missile weapons fired by the Subjugators if the needs arise. Each of the larger ships within point defense range of each-other so that each ship can defend the other with lasers as well as missile batteries. Onboard of Each of the larger ships, the Turbolaser Turrets can be seen turning toward the Subjugator Formation as well as many thousands of Missile Batteries alongside point-defense rotary lasers among similar weapons. In the large fighter screens, approximately Half of the Sith Dropships can be seen exiting formation with a small Long-Range Fury Class Interceptor escort of approximately ten interceptors and two fast recon craft which sped ahead of the main Dropship formation.

It would seem a Space Battle was nearing fruition of no response or justification was given by the Directorate's Commanders in this situation...

Meanwhile inside of the Cave...

Xzaien idly walked alongside of her followers. Before stopping suddenly as both she and Anna came to a small passageway that seemed to lead to a large main chamber. Xzaien only moved her hand slightly, signalling for her followers and most importantly, her black armored bodyguard to stop and wait. While Xzaien waited for Anna to appear from the back she crossed her arms underneath her bright red cloak which turned to a dull maroon in the somewhat darkened cave passages. Once Anna had appeared, Xzaien spoke in similarly cordial tone. Now that it was quiet, Anna could hear the accent. Unfamiliar, and Alien.

"I hope you do know, I can sense that you are Force Sensitive. And I am sure that you know that I am too. However I may not exactly... practice. The Light as you might. I prefer more... straightforward problem solving with my hands... Do you feel it? The Crystals calling to you? Intoxicating isn't it? Your very own Crystal to put into a weapon as soft like a Lightsaber. I prefer a more steadfast weapon personally. Do you have a preference? Oh and forgive me, I forgot to ask for a name."

As the two talked, they made their way into the grand chamber. It was a sight that could take almost anyone's breath out of the chest. From ceiling to ground stood hundreds of thousands of multi-colored crystals. Each of which holding some kind of property in the force be it a small boon given by the crystal itself to a crystal of unholy power. They glowed and dazzled different colors, from blue to green. Very pretty to look at. Xzaien made a comment of course.

"Hmm. They are slightly smaller than I thought."

Xzaien promptly marched forward to one large column, before moving toward what looked to be a small natural made pedestal with a finger sized crystal sticking from it. It glowed slightly in the darkness, only lit by a crack through the cave's ceiling. As Xzaien approached the Crystal's nearby the finger sized crystal seemed to turn a sickly blackish gray color. Likely reacting to the Dark-Side within the Cathar's body. But the Crystal sticking from the pedestal continued to glow a bright Reddish-Purple. Xzaien only peered down at the crystal as its light illuminated Xzaien's Dark-Side Corrupted Features. She smiled before taking the crystal in her right hand. It seemingly breaking off the main body of the Crystal Deposit as if it were a stone in a creek. Xzaien, with her free hand flicked aside her red robe, revealing the armor beneath it. If Anna even bothered to look, it would appear to be over a blood red body-glove with the individual plates being made of some unknown Black Material. She reached to her belt and plucked a odd looking hilt from it. It was completely Red, with Black Metal Accents and was curved ever so slightly. And seemed to fit in only one hand, Only when she pushed it in-front of her with the force alongside the crystal she had picked up. Were the inner workings of the Light-saber revealed. It was clearly double bladed, and seemed to be empty one crystal with the only crystal inside of the case being a singular Synthetic Crystal used by the Ancient Sith, Xzaien only smiled as she slotted the crystal into its holdings before closing it up and pulling the light-saber back toward her body. While doing so, she'd adjust her cloak again revealing that just beyond where the light-saber sat was a wicked looking Sith Warblade, about the size of a short sword kept inside of a specially designed scabbard that sat flush with Xzaien's Thigh. Only when she was done did she actually say something. Sounding more oddly confused than triumphant.

"Far too... Easy?"

Meanwhile, Nearby the Colichemarde's Wreckage

​

Catharian Landing Craft​

From the Sky, three Unfamiliar Black Hulled Ships made their landings followed by a slightly larger troop transport, with each ship blasting strange music from their side mounted speakers which shook the ground they flew over, landing nearby the Wreckage of the Ruins just behind a large outcrop of Rocks from the nearby cliff-face. To afford its occupants at least a minor amount of Cover and Concealment. The doors of the Landing Craft can be heard opening alongside a platoon sized contingent of Troopers moving to take cover behind the Rocky Outcrops just around 100 meters from the Colichemarde's Wreckage.

Catharian Dark-Templar​

Approximately forty White and Black Armored Space Troopers poked their heads and rifles at the Wreckage waiting for anyone to catch sight of or for their commander to order to fire, at their head stood an oddly tall individual who had his hands in a prayer motion while some sort of purple energy surrounded his person. The Helmet was closed face, but it showed portions of the face behind the helmet. A Red Skinned humanlike individual, bearing face tattoos and small tendrils on his cheeks which poked out from underneath his helmet. He then took his hand back and opened his eyes, with them glowing with the power of pure dark-side energy. After, a large blade like object shot forth from his wrist akin to a push dagger. His other hand was in a semi-prayer formation.

Mentions: @James Cerensp [member="Jerec Asyr"] [member="Cole Merrill"]

 

[Anna Sachae]

Wow yeah, no, she absolutely did intend to bring a whole squad into a mystical cave for some reason. Weird choice, but Anna was bringing a toolbelt, which would be just about as helpful in a hole in the ground full of magic rocks. To each their own. As long as they didn't try to blow up the whole cave system when they got antsy, it was probably no bother. The whole reason you didn't normally bring a big group of people into a place of power, from what she remembered from Petra's little sermons, was because you didn't want them to disturb anything. These guys? If Anna didn't know better she'd think they were droids.

She did know better, of course. One or two of them had some cybernetic bits, but that was about all. If they hung out after their spelunking adventure, Anna might give that guy's leg a tune-up. From the way he limped and the lack of structural damage, it was probably a crossed NMI wire...

Hm? The whole column had stopped. After a couple of seconds, Anna wandered up to the front to see what they'd found that was interesting enough to bring a dozen mindless jarheads to a halt. Zaen... Ksain? Force, Anna was going to have to brush up on Cathar sooner or later. The alien probably-a-Sith started talking Forcie stuff. In response, Anna grinned and crossed her own arms right back. "Yeah, I kinda figured it out from the robes and the dramatic speeches. I'm guessing keeping a low profile isn't high on your list of priorities right now?"

With a shrug, the bronze-skinned woman shook her head. Her expression remained pleasant. "I'm Anna. I don't really do the Force thing. Not intentionally, anyway. I'm pretty sure I felt my way here through some kind of Force shenanigans, but I don't really pay that sort of thing much thought." She held up a finger and pointed right at Xzaien, giving an impish wink. "You do you, though. Knowing what you're all about is an important step towards being comfortable with yourself."

In the middle of their talk, Anna, Xzaien, Fleshbot-Zero, and Fleshbots -One through -Eight all walked through one small corridor and into a much larger room. The hallways so far had been relatively dark, save for the whole mess of flashlights the armed military escort had brought with them. This room? Not so much. Every crystal glowed on its own in a scintillating panorama of color, a tiny light of blue or green or pink against the cold darkness of the cavern. It would have been beautiful in its own right, but a single sunbeam showed through a crack in the ceiling, refracting off each stone a hundred times.

With so many lights on a black tapestry, it wasn't at all unlike looking at a child's star globe from the inside. Obviously, it was utterly gorgeous.

Anna missed whatever stuff the Cathar was doing, as she was far too wrapped up in how pretty it all was. She did snap back to reality when she heard another quiet commentary. Xzaien's voice was the only thing making a single sound in this cave apart from water droplets, and the acoustics were wonderful. With a smirk, Anna turned to her and left both hands on her hips. "What, did you expect the whole cave to rise up against you?"

A second later, she blinked, the sudden realization that that wasn't abjectly impossible hitting her all at once. Her face settled on a look of mildly uncomfortable contemplation. "...Because now that I think about it maybe walking into an ancient mystical cave full of wonder and power entirely defenseless wasn't my best idea to date."

[member="Xzaien"] | [member="Kale Seleare"] | [member="Jared Starchaser"]

 

[Tristan Evore]

It semmed everything that politicians did, couldn't be trusted. Apparently, @Marcell Yorkell II had been busy. Busy, doing any and everythingnfor ascension to power. Something, Tristan himself wasn't a stranger with. And so, the Jedi had departed his luxury office on Courscant and taken a Subjagator Class Star Destoyer, complement's of Yorkell to Zoph, a planet rich in crystals that would no doubt be of value to the Son's of Ession.

"Preparing to exit hyperspace, Grand Marshal. Duke Yorkell has instructed us to locate and if nesscary extract the Crystals from the planet" reported a DIA Officer, whom seemed uncomfortable with Tristan's presence aboard the starship.

"I don't take orders from Duke Yorkell, nor do I take them from you. The Directorate is under the jurisdiction of the Imperium and as such you and him are under mine. Prepare the Imperium Fleet." Tristan responded. He nearly lost control of himself and what he wielded.

Anger flowed through his body. But, he had to remember, Anger was a tumor. A side affect of the disease the Ashala had. Something, he had to remember was that.

[member="THE DIRECTOR"]ate, [member="Xzaien"]

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Things were definitely… moving on this planet. The Force was in, for lack of a better term, turmoil. Conflict here. He wasn’t sure if this was what it had been on Ilum once upon a time, but Jared wasn’t so sure it had happened on Zoph. He really wasn’t sure how this world had survived the extermination of the Jedi millenia ago. This world apparently had kyber crystals, but a different breed, a different formation. But all he knew was he needed a new weapon. He wasn’t sure where he stood on the scale of a Jedi, or something else, but he knew he needed a lightsaber. He would do more good with that than without. He knew that his family was Jedi, but maybe he could be something more.

Or something better.

Looking at Ohm and the new comer, the one he recognized. Kale Seleare. “There isn’t much I can do like this. No lightsaber, and only my fighter.” He looked around. “I think we need to get under cover, the cave? I sense there are others ahead of us.” One major sense of the Force, maybe they would have to deal with that. He was traveling lighter than some, just the gear on his back, and his side arm. He didn’t brandish the weapon but he did start walking to the cave.

“If you’d like to get out from under all… that.” If he could find the crystal, and build a lightsaber here, then maybe, maybe he could do something. But putting himself in harms way without the ability to do something? It was foolhardy. And there was a threat on the planet as well.

[member="Anna Sachae"]
[member="Xzaien"]
[member="Ohm-Lai"]
[member="Kale Seleare"]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayuooyWPEUc

 

[Jerec Asyr]

[member="James Cerensp "][member="Cole Merrill"]

OOC/ Hey James - though it's not a board rule, most folks on Chaos prefer to leave it up to the target to decide what hits they take. I'm rolling with you blowing up the Colichemarde, I'm fine with that, but next time someone else might not be. Word to the wise, carry on.

IC/ Scraped-up and filthy in the gully, Jerec flinched as something large blew up back the way he'd come. The Directorate bastich had made good on his threat. That detonation had been the Colichemarde, and Jerec's entire crew was certainly dead. None of them were what he'd call close personal friends, but still. Still.

He flinched again when an electrostaff crackled to life. From here he could see Cerensp's head and shoulders, and the brilliant electricity snapping around his weapon. A hit from that electrostaff would capital-H Hurt. What with all the dust from the zophis crystal explosion, Jerec couldn't see much else. Cole Merrill was around here somewhere, maybe knocked out or dead or running away or just getting in a better position.

Jerec dragged himself up, swapped his blaster to his left hand, drew his long knife with his right, and got ready to boogie. He aimed for Cerensp's center of mass. "Everyone else is wrong. You don't talk too much at all."

BZAP BZAP BZAP BZAP BZAP

 

[Ivan Stadd]

Location : Zoph
Primary Objective : Capture Jerec Asyr
Secondary Objective : Secure Zoph Crystals

As James advanced towards Jerec Asyr , the Prospector shot 5 times towards James Cerensp aiming for his stomach. However with his personal shield still up , the shoots did nothing as they hit the deflector shield harmlessly. "Well then let the fight begin" James said as he took up a blaster with his other hand and shot back at Jerec 3 times aiming at his legs and attempting to knock him down.

Meanwhile , 4 Modified Star Commuter 2000 Shuttles landed near the wreckage of the Colichemarde with 96 Directorate Crusaders exited the Shuttles in total and began approaching the remains of the Colichemarde with a group of 10 Directorate Crusaders moving forward to reinforce James Cerensp who was currently engaged in a firefight with Jerec Asyr and Cole Merril.

Meanwhile on board the Enforcer , the Captain of the vessel received a message from the Catharian Fleet and after a long time thinking he decided to respond. “This is the Captain of the Enforcer , we opened fire on a vessel that belonged to the individuals that we are hunting down. In addition we would like to inform you that we are sending a Battalion to the surface to secure the Zophis Crystals for Yorkell Industries. If you have any concerns please respond. “ The Captain then summoned one of his officers and told him to prepare to contact Jeremiah Dunrep in case the Catharian Fleet attacked the Directorate Forces.

Once more what was intended to be a quick and swift mission to capture Jerec Asyr and Cole Merrill along with secure the Zophis Crystals , was seeming to transform into a bloody confrontation between the Directorate and the Catharian Hegemony.

Tag : [member="Cole Merrill"] | [member="Jerec Asyr"] | @Xzaien

 

[Cei Kyros]

Seconds after the Colichemarde was destroyed Cole was on his feet and running.

He was no coward but a good swoop biker knew when to cut his losses. For whatever reason [member="James Cerensp"] had a personal vendetta against [member="Jerec Asyr"] in particular. Merrill wasn't above taking advantage of that to disappear in all the commotion. Sudden orbital strikes sent the prospector's camp into a frenzy. Several transports were damaged by the explosion's fallout, and any ships which could still take off were scattering like womp rats. Cole glimpsed the familiar sign of shock trooper armor in the smoky haze.

He ducked behind a piece of wreckage, taking a circuitous route around the camp. Directorate troopers were all over the place but he had spent most of his life in dark mines devoid of any light or backwater undercities. Cole didn't need the Force to make himself a shadow. Whether by fate or luck he practically stumbled over the loading ramp to a Star Commuter shuttle.

"Halt! Identify yourse-"

Cole threw his vibroknife with unerring precision. A few moments later he was sitting in the pilot's seat of a Directorate ship trying to work out its basic controls. He knew a lot about ships but Merrill wasn't much of a pilot. That was always Jerec's job or, more often than not, someone Jerec paid to do it for him. How different could it possibly be from riding a swoop? He managed to wobble up into flight after ramming the other shuttles into each other and considered his next steps. Every instinct told him to burn for orbit and not look back.

"This is some life debt karabast."

He banked into a tight turn that upended everything in the shuttle not bolted down. Asyr was probably already dead but there was no harm in making sure.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

[member="Cole Merrill"] [member="James Cerensp"]

Jerec's blasterfire slapped against the operative's energy shield harmlessly. Maybe, between gunfire and the crystal explosion, he'd depleted the shield in whole or in part, but he had no easy way to tell other than more shooting. And the operative made that complicated by shooting back.

The incoming fire crashed into the gully's crumbled edge and blasted Jerec with stinging pebbles. He set his jaw and his feet and fired back. There would be backup coming. He doubted he could take down the shield in time by plain blasterfire alone.

But right now the operative was holding a large, energized electrostaff that wouldn't fit inside any personal shield Jerec had ever seen.

He switched targets and fired at the crackling head of the electrostaff. If he could make that blow up, it might take down the shield, and also hurt. And then he could shoot the operative in the nuts.

 

[Xzaien]

At the pre-stages of a large space battle...


Well. It would seem that the Directorate had finally got its head out of its butt and responded a few minutes later than expected. The Catharian Fleet was already scrambled and ready for a fight but the oddly benign response only exacerbated the suspicions. Surely one or two men need not a battalion sized contingent to capture unless they were amazing fighters or just plain unnaturally lucky. Admiral Raxis Keyes finally responded.

"Directorate Commander, We are well aware of your intentions to capture this P.O.I. But it would seem that negotiations on assistance or otherwise co-operation have not been met, alongside an unwarranted attempt to orbital bombard a portion of Zoph. In exchange for our helping of you Capture these individuals we ask that you turn at least one of them over to us. We can guarantee that if this individual is turned over, they will never attempt to disrupt your plans again."

Onboard of the Cathay Rahtai, the Deck Officers spoke up to Raxis Keyes. Stating that a ship has left orbit unannounced. Fortunately, the Cathay Rahtai's Interdiction Gravity Wells were well and truely operation and likely escape into hyperspace for that small dropship would be... unlikely. Nevertheless Raxis Keyes spoke once more to the Directorate's Commander.

"Our concerns are of as follows. Provided that these individuals are otherwise captured or killed. We expect a equal opportunity for similar mining operations on the surface of Zoph."

In space, the Catharian Warships would slow, alongside its large fighter and gunship escorts. They wouldn't stop but would allow for some time for Negotiations to continue.

Meanwhile, Planetside...

Xzaien would turn toward her accompanying Anna Sachae and would simply leave her there as she'd simply walk out of the small cave entrance. She met up with her followers. Who have left small translocation beacons inside of the cave if the Catharian Hegemony chose to come back to mine the crystals out. In the cave, Xzaien had a few unheard words with her platoon sized following and took back toward the entrance of the cave with Xzaien at its head. After a few uneventful moments, Xzaien would emerge out of the cave first. She would immedietly come face to face with [member="Jared Starchaser"] [member="Ohm-Lai"] and Kale. So that was what the growing sensation of Force Users was. Xzaien stood at the head of her infantry column with them a few meters back into the cave. She stood there, enigmatic in her movements and generalities. All that was seen was her head and face, Pale furred with a nearly white blond hair in a regular bun. If anyone cared to notice.

She opened her mouth. Speaking to the two.

"So I presume that this feeling had been attributed to you three? I hope I hadn't startled you, this world has a affinity to do so."

Even from this distance Xzaien ever-so-clear Dark-Side oriented power could be felt by at least two of the three before her. She had this, neutral expression on her face. Stoic. Clearly Xzaien knew that two of them were Jedi but was unsure if they would follow the Jedi Code and attack a Dark-Sider of her magnitude. She casually put her hands on her hips. Looking toward the three of them.

"There is one more inside, but I am sure she will not harm any of you. There is also a large deposit of Zophis Crystals below, follow the Markers."

She would move to walk toward them. Her hands were at her sides, and the rest of her body concealed by a blood red cloak.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​Aboard the Conquester Divine Brutality
​Objective: Secure Zophis Crystals for research
​Location: Orbiting Zoph

​Bryn'adûl Listening Posts in the Outer Rim picked up a flash of activity nearby a neutral system. The activity flare had evidence of seismic activity and Hyper-Drive ruptures detected, twenty-four in total. The Battlenet alerted their closest vessel to investigate. The Titan sat cross-legged within the anechoic chamber, deep in meditation; the world shut off to him. Not every Conquester had an anechoic chamber, it'd been installed upon request due to the frequency of his travel aboard the Divine Brutality. The same could be said for the Deployment bay specifically designed for the Dreddikkast.

​Exceptions were made when the Conquester had been outfitted with additional staffing and Zealot Honour Guards. The information within the Archive Stones was too precious to allow into any hand but his own. Even if the Humans could not transcribe the information within for hundreds of years. They could always get lucky - he would not take that chance. It had only been fifteen minutes since the Hyper-drive signatures of several ships had fallen out of Hyper-Space above Zoph. It would have taken them a few days to travel from Draemidus Prime.

​As treacherous luck would have it, Tathra was mid-return to Bryn'adûl space from the Outer Rim worlds. A Station of the AI Constructs design had been scuttled by a exorbitantly lucky group of pirates. Those ships carried delicate information pertaining to the Draelvasier, information Tathra was not so willing to share.

The AI had become more than a nuisance or a threat, but a security risk to the Bryn'adûl. It was troublesome, half-measures had confounded their results to small victories, a final strike was required; however the Hierarch [member="Selkollar"] had assured him the trip to Zoph would be worth the detour. He'd seen it, or so he always implied.

​However the Conquester would not arrive alone nor outgunned. That would have been tactically inadvisable. A total of twenty additional Conquesters would arrive with the Divine Brutality, spread out in a semi-circular on varying levels, operating to maintain clear lines of fire in every direction. Tathra contacted the bridge using the View stone within the Chamber, Admiral Farask opened the channel; linking with the View Stone on the Bridges Command Centre, illuminating them both within each others minds.

​

[Do we have them?] ​The Titan inquired, keeping the meeting brief.

"Yes, sire." ​Farask responded, maintaining concentration on the situation at hand. He knew the Chieftain would not be with them on the Conquester for very long, he had no intention of delaying their tactics for pleasantries.

​

[Good. Deploy the Carriers.] ​The Chieftain did not wait for a reply as he rose from his seated position. The anechoic chamber unravelled in response, many sheltering plates untethering as they folded down into the ground; allowing Tathra to exit the circular formation and reach his armaments.

The weapons slid comfortably onto his armoured back; plates of bone, skin and Kraelmundr metal shifting to readjust. He felt wrong, unfinished without them. They were part of him, righteous tools that he had carried for many decades. Some, like his armour were newer additions. Others like his Long-Axe had been with him for nearly half a century. It felt right to wear them, without them his body felt as though it was lacking, a feather-weight. The hilts of the Axe and Sword crossed the length of his shoulder-blades, arcing over the fanged edges of his collar. Menacingly large, stained and cleaned a hundred-thousand times over. Tathra would lead a landing party, and assess the situation himself. Whatever priceless quarry these insects had fought over would soon be in the possession of the Bryn'adûl. Nothing could stop that now.

​Moments later, nine Phedrak carriers deployed in groups of three. Two groups deployed behind each of the enemy fleets, and the third above the Conquesters. There were no words spoken, no warnings.

​The Conquesters divided their attention among the two forces, opening fire with their Ballsita's on the enemy whilst the Phedrak carriers prepared their Fighters for launch.

​| [member="Xzaien"] | [member="Jerec Asyr"] | [member="Cole Merrill"] | @James Cerensp | [member="Jared Starchaser"] | [member="Kale Seleare"] | ​

 

[Ivan Stadd]

Location : Zoph
Primary Objective : Capture Cole Merrill and Jerec Asyr
Secondary Objectives : Secure Zophis Crystals and Defeat the Bryn’adul Threat.
Allies : [member="Xzaien"] (Against the Bryn’adul)
Enemies : @Cole Merril , [member="Jerec Asyr"] , [member="Tathra Khaeus"]

As James engaged Jerec Asyr , the prospector fired at the electrostaff in which it’s head was poking out of James personal Shield. Immediately , James realized what Jerec was trying to do and deactivated his Electrostaff and swapped it with a trio of flash grenades. Soon James deactivated his personal shield in which was already weakened by the damage it absorbed through the explosion. Then James threw the flash grenades at Jerec intending to temporarily blind the prospector and stun him so that he could finally deliver him to Natian Sanorge.

Meanwhile Directorate Crusaders were moving in position as squads of Crusaders were scouting through the wreckage of the Colichemarde when suddenly Cole Merril took a Shuttle and rammed the other shuttles though not destroying them. As the Shuttle piloted by Cole Merril took off , the Crusaders opened fire at it though the shuttle managed to escape them. Soon after a group of Directorate Crusaders arrived at James Cerensp’s position and began pointing their blaster towards Jerec Asyr with Cerensp and his men now closing in on the prospector’s position.

In Orbit , the DIA Fleet was still in a standoff with the Catharian Fleet when suddenly a Bryn’adul Task Force entered the system and attacked both the Catharian and Directorate Forces without any warning. However the Fleet of 3 Subjugators was not the only force the Directorate had. In the scenario that the Directorate would encounter hostiles , James Cerensp had positioned a Fleet of 1 Preatorian Star Destroyer , 5 Pellaeon-III Star Destroyers , 3 Donnager Star Destroyers and 3 Nebulon A Frigates in a nearby system to serve as a backup force for the 3 Subjugators that were positioned over Zoph at the moment. The Captain of the Enforcer now facing a threat that the Directorate had never encountered before then contacted the commander of this task force , Jeremiah Dunrep to move in his forces as the Directorate was under attack by the Bryn’adul.

Soon enough Jeremiah Dunrep arrived with his Fleet of 12 Warships in which arrived behind the Fleet of Subjugators and opened fire on the Phedrak Carriers with Tie Avengers and Tie Phantoms also being deployed and immediately attacking the enemy Carriers intending to disable the Carriers before they could even deploy their fighters. This was soon followed by the Subjugators in which were under heavy fire from the enemy Fleet , who then returned fire at the enemy Conquestors launching a quarter of their Shrapnel Torpedos towards the bridge of 5 Conquestors intending to disable a few Conquestors with the shield penetrating abilities of the Shrapnel Torpedos.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

[member="James Cerensp "][member="Cole Merrill"]

When a shielded man puts away his main weapon in favor of multiple grenades, it's generally considered a good time to run. Jerec caught a glimpse of Directorate reinforcements on their way as well, to arrive sooner rather than later. As Cerensp lobbed the unknown grenades, Jerec took off at a sprint. Stunningly loud detonations slapped against his back and set his ears ringing painfully. The visual component of the flashbangs cast a long, stark shadow ahead of him.

A shuttle roared in, stitched by ground fire. He grudgingly admitted that the quality of the flying was pretty decent. When it presented a hatch, Jerec pulsed his repulsor belt as hard as it would go. The belt sparked out. An instant later, Jerec slammed into the hatch. It opened to dump him inside.

"Fly, Merrill!" he snapped, because it couldn't really be anyone else.