The Shadows......

[Via Dolorosa]

Standing on a platform overlooking the training grounds of the Sisterhood troops, Darth Venefica carefully took notice of certain individuals excelling at the training than others. Their spirit and their desire to go above and beyond was more than commendable; it was beautiful. After watching those that excelled for a few hours began to plant an idea in the bizarre mind of the Sith Lady.​

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"Sargeant....send that lot to the far eastern training grounds," Darth Venefica yelled from her post while pointing a finger at the individuals.​

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The military of the Black Rose was growing, and now it was time to expand even further. Front line soldiers had their parts, but the Black Rose had always been designed to work among the shadows in secrecy. And it was time they had a special operations unit to reflect their beliefs.​

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Shadows of the Black Rose would be their name. Operations of a sensitive nature would be there forte, conducting business where a standing army could not without attracting the unwanted attention of prying eyes. They would be the fingers that gripped throats, the hands that closed tight around throats, they would be a nightmare all those that opposed the Black Rose would learn to fear.​

 

[Komo]

Greta had plans. Big, ambitious plans. It was to create an elite armed force that would eventually serve as her personal guard. She didn't want just any random soldier plucked from the bowels of the empire, what she wanted was the best of the best, the elite picked out of the various prestigious military academies and institutions situated in Coruscant, the One Sith's capital.

Being from the military in the past certainly helped, as she retained her contacts of several officers who were her superiors then. A quick twist of events had led her to this day and towards a new life of being Sith, but she had never forgotten her roots, and always ensured that she kept close ties with the military wherever possible.

Using both her new status as a Sith knight and her previous existing military connections, the blonde sith had managed to gather one hundred of the Coruscanti's best into the Black Rose training grounds today. Working together with her previous master, [member="Darth Venefica"], the pair had decided to train their new armed forces together, sharing tactics and strategies with one another.

After all, bilateral trainings were always great, as both sides could benefit by learning what each might not know. These 'graduates' of hers had assembled her today to go through the final phase of their training as Noxia worked towards converting them into not just great soldiers, but lethal combatants in a wide array of fields as well.

As the saying goes, 'there's no time like the present.'

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Any battle hardened troops could train with one another; learning their strengths and weaknesses as a team. The best trained troops that gel together are those that understand each individual's strong pointes, while working hard to smooth out the weak edges. But the true test comes when training with another group, one you are unfamiliar with. To have another group reach out and exploit your weak links while allowing yourself to actually see what you're capable of really achieving. Hence the joint training mission.​

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"You have selected some fine soldiers," Darth Veneica proudly comments to the Knight standing next to her.​

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"The Force aside....it's the ability and initiative of highly trained troops that can sway the tide of battle," she added.​

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The Sith Lady was eager to see her girls in action. Like the Sisterhood troops who proudly wore the Black Rose emblem on their white armour suits, this lot would far succeed them. But now they needed to be trained; and well disciplined before being sent out into the field. No foolish commander, even if they bore the title Sith, would never send unprepared soldiers into the maws of the enemy. Real lives, unlike droids, were not easily replaced.​

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"I think it's time to see them pair off and how our teams fare in hand-to-hand combat."​

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[member="Darth Noxia"]​

 

[Komo]

The soldiers Darth Noxia had gathered here today weren't exactly the same ones as the one [member="Darth Venefica"] had fielded. Her former master's troops were all female and their talents lied in stealth and subterfuge with the occasional assassinations. They also already had a name of their unit along with sets of matching uniforms. Noxia's forces on the other hand were a mixed group of male and female, and their expertise not only lay in covert operations, but also in assault and protection detail.

They were also trained to handle a wide variety of situations including ambushes, sieges extraction, blitzkrieg and clear and hold. These brave well-trained men and women were fully committed and loyal to the Sith knight, and by extension of that, the One Sith and Covenant of the Black Rose. Allegiances matter.

They were eventually going to form up the unit that would serve as her personal guard anyhow. Noxia saw no reason to separate them by genders, as both were equally capable of excellence when the given the opportunity to shine.

The Sith Lady then complimented her on her selection assembled her today, agreeing with the fact that in most cases, what a war needs is a group of elite, highly-trained soldiers to the tip the battle in your favour. Darth Noxia would return the compliment to Venefica's choices as well. "That's a fine bunch sisters you have there yourself!" The Sith Lady then suggested pitting their forces against each other in a training exercise, hoping for the the group of soldiers to learn and practice against one another.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

She stood there, hands clasped behind her back, as drill instructors from both groups began to evenly pair them up. Since her group was composed only females, it meant guys would be faced off against girls. She smiled outwardly at some of the thoughts floating in the mind's of the men when paired with a woman. Most men, real men, never wanted to fight girls; for all manners of reasons. But that was only in the NFU cirlces, for those that were Sith or Jedi genders didn't matter. An enemy is a enemy regardless of the plumbing they possessed. ​

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A small chuckle emerged from her lips. Her girls were more than just girls, they were dangerous feminists who held grudges against men for different reasons. She didn't believe in their mantra that all men were scum, but like Sith are taught to embrace their anger and other emotions, the drill instructors encouraged them to hold tight to the reasons that made them hate men. ​

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"Are you ready down there," she yelled to the instructors.​

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"Are we ready up here," she said to the female Knight.​

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[member="Darth Noxia"]​

 

[Komo]

Darth Noxia smiled to herself as she saw [member="Darth Venefica"] gaze upon the troopers of both groups got into their pairs to initiate hand-to-hand combat against each other. The blonde was not able to read the Sith Lady's mind, but she could definitely guess what she was thinking about right now. These men weren't your ordinary run-of-the-mill men.

They had learnt by experience not to underestimate their opponent, be it men or woman. Some of them have had a nasty shock followed by a rude awakening during their academy days when they have either underestimate their female cadets or given them special treatment or harassed them because of their gender.

Female cadets have proven to be equally superior when given an equal opportunity to excel, and had even outperformed several of the males The fact that they stood here today held great testament to their abilities. The men have began to respect that, respecting the fact that women could be equally as dangerous, and had worked alongside their female comrades well, developing the cohort into a tight and cohesive group of soldiers who could rely on one another in the field of battle.

They were the best for a reason. The only thing they lacked was actual combat experience, which Noxia would subject them to, as soon as they were ready. As [member="Darth Venefica"] shouted to the drill instructors for them to be ready, the knight was similarly asked as well. She was ready. Her troops were ready. Ever vigilant and ready, that was what made them such capable combatants. "I am ready, my lady. Shall we begin?"

 

[Via Dolorosa]

With a small nod from her head, the two Dragonsnake teeth woven into to her dangled forward as she dropped her raised hand down. Her head moved slowly upright just as the festivities below began. Screams and jeers and mock insults were exchanged as both groups quickly engaged one another. Darth Venefica didn't care if her group came out as the losers, because where failure was success would be born. She wanted to see how they performed now, and later have the drill instructors correct their flaws.​

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This little exhibition was just a prelude to the joint mission both she and Knight Noxia were planning. They both understood that before sending their boys and girls out into the galaxy, they had to be assured that they were not only properly trained and ready, but casualties would be minimal. Darth Venefica, a warmonger at one time, believed that the limit of dead soldiers on her side would mean less fresh recruits to break and whip into shape. Droids were easily replaceable, bodies were not.​

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"Your team is doing remarkably well," she said to her former Apprentice.​

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"Let's up the stakes."​

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Darth Venefica gestured with her hand and several low grade stun mines, placed throughout the field, became active. If anyone from either side stepped or fell on one, they would receive a nasty little shock meant to turn bodies numb; not kill them. To be fair to the two groups below, the mines glowed and crackled alerting the combatants that they were active. Now she folded her hands over as she watched some of the engaged parties try to toss each other on the mines.​

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[member="Darth Noxia"]​

 

[Komo]

All it took was a nod, and a simple gesture, for the training to begin. After all, they were waiting on the Sith Lady's signal. The training grounds rose to a flurry of sounds as the men and women assembled began throwing all sorts of attack moves and techniques at each other, trying to best them at their game. Punches were thrown, kicks were received and throws were taken as both teams worked their way into a frenzy. Darth Noxia looked over at her forces as she noticed them having a slight edge over the opposing team.

While she was delighted to see that, it was but a slight margin and she wouldn't necessary classify Darth Venefica's girls as inferior, as they were clearly not. It didn't exactly matter which team came out on top, as they were after all still fighting on the same side.

Grabbing out her trusty flimsiplast notebook from one of her pockets, the blonde knight hastily jotted down her observations of her team as she recorded down their strengths and weaknesses. These information would then go forward in refining their training further to push them to excel, keeping them on par with the galaxy's best.

Her former master than spoke, indicating the knight's thoughts earlier, on the fact that her forces were doing remarkably well. Noxia would acknowledge the Sith Lady's comment with a curt nod, replying in kind. "Your girls aren't faring any worse than my are. That's commendable." It was then that [member="Darth Venefica"] gave the order to up the stakes.

With yet another quick gesture, rows of several low grade stun mines raised up from the ground, glowing and crackling to signify activation. When the combatants on both teams realised what those were, they were suddenly galvanised into trying to toss or fling their opponent into the stun mines, effectively putting them out of the fight with an unharmful zap.

Plenty of such zaps rang rang through the air, with 'BZZT's' occurring like a fly-swatter at work. The teams were mostly evenly-matched as combatants on both side had fallen victim to the stun mines. The crowd was rapidly thinning as more and more fell prey to the training stun mines. These soldiers had indeed done well with the training so far.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

The herd of the combatants thinned rapidly leaving just a hand few from each side, and even they were trying to catch their breaths while some placed hands on knees and others slowly circled around one another; waiting for the other to attack. Several bodies lied scattered on the field, some from defeat and others from feeling the effects of the shock mines. All in all, it was an excellent showing from both sides.​

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Darth Venefica saw all that she needed, and judging by her former Apprentices note taking skills, she had as well. It was time, once everyone recuperated from this day's training event, to begin making preparations for their final test; a mission of importance. A mission that would test their mental and physical fortitude. ​

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"Come....it's time we discussed the mission details," she said to the Knight.​

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Battle medics and medical droids entered the training ground and began administering first-aid to the troops. No real serious threats had occurred but these boys and girls where more than just troops; they were an investment. ​

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[member="Darth Noxia"]​

 

[Komo]

It had been a rather electrifying training exercise that saw many of its participants zapped, some more than others. These brave souls who had braved more than one shock to get back in the game although it was just a mere training exercise deserved to be commended for showing their utmost dedication in their tasks.

The training subsequently ended as the last few got the last few zaps of the day. Her notebook was filled with valuable notes and observations taken from the exercise, Darth Noxia was more than ready to look over them once more before relaying the critical feedback to the instructors and sergeants to be used for the improvement of the men and women under their charge.

While the former master and apprentice duo adjourned to a more comfortable area to discuss the next agenda of the day, both groups soldiers would given an hour's rest to recuperate and recover for what awaited them ahead, a mission that would test their abilities and fortitude.

While coming up with possible mission scenarios, Noxia happened to hear a distress message playing on one of the military radios, asking for any available military units assistance. There was a hostage situation on hand, and a group of organised pirates had decided to raid one of the governor's leisure yacht, where his son was having a party on board with a host of wealthy guests and invitees.

All of the party's guest were held hostage and the situation was turning ugly quickly. The blonde knight exchanged knowing looks with her former master, as she quickly placed her finger on the transmitting button. "This is Darth Noxia, count your lucky stars, we just happened to be nearby, and your hostage situation will do just fine for our training mission." The governor's staff may not be too pleased to hear the last part of the transmission, but there was hardly anything they could do, being the useless morons they were in the first place., and them being the almighty Sith. Sucks to be them.

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

The hostage situation was more than a fitting mission to test both groups, and it would give both groups a positive image among the peers of the other military units. Nothing boasts ranks and recruiting like saving a governor's son and his wealthy friends. Perhaps in the end, when the rescue mission was successful, the good 'ol governor would be more than willingly to donate a substantial amount of credits to both groups; allowing them to upgrade weapons and armours and gadgets.​

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"We should mobilize the teams quickly," Darth Venefica said.​

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Even as she was speaking the words she was already relaying the orders to the instructors to get them prepared for mobilization. The quicker the reacted to the hostage situation the more lives that would be saved. In her personal dealings with pirates, credits where their main objective; either through thievery or extortion or ransoms. If the governor in question had ties to the Sith, then it was a sure bet he would not fork over any credits for the life of his son. Corruption and greed had a way of coming in between families.​

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"My team will consist of snipers....a couple of slicers and demo teams....and five assault troops. We must not let the pirates escape the hands of justice. The snipers will provide long range cover. The slicers and demos will work with my troops to prevent the pirate ship from escaping. Your team should focus on the hostages and the governor's son."​

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The Mission​

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Under the cover of night, the snipers moved through the docks in the harbour. Luckily the governor's son had elected not to take the yacht out to sea. To avoid any detection from the pirates, the snipers began to filter inside buildings, moving to their rooftops, and behind several kiosks. The area was absent of any visitors and seafarers due to the lateness of the night. When the snipers where in position, doubling up on their duty to survey the yacht and provide covering fire if needed to Darth Noxia's boys and girls and those of the slicers, demos, and assault girls of their own team.​

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With the code word spoken, the small five woman assault team with their blaster's at the ready led the slicers and demo teams to the pirate's small parked transport; stopping to take cover behind a row of pink and white bushes. Through their scopes, the snipers alerted them that there was at least three pirates standing guard outside the ship. Three members of the assault team swiped out their blasters for ASN-676s and in tandem squeezed their respected triggers.​

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Three highly neurotoxin tipped darts whizzed through the air, and when they made contact with the unsuspecting pirates; all three bodies slumped to the ground. Moving through the shadows and avoiding the patches of moonlight, the assault team boarded the pirate vessel and quickly secured it. The slicers and demos teams followed a few seconds later.​

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The slicers began hacking the ship's system while the demo teams began to place well calculated charges inside the vessel. The slicers, in manner of seconds, downloaded every useful bit of information from the ship's nav computer plus misc files. With the charges set, the information plundered, all three teams exited the ship. The demo and slicers team headed for the extraction zone, while the assault team rendezvoused with the snipers, granting more supporting fire if needed.​

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When the word from Darth Noxia's team was given, the pirate ship exploded and the assault team, covered by the all ten snipers now, moved down toward the yacht to assist with prisoner transfers.​

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[member="Darth Noxia"]​

 

[Komo]

That was a go. It's mobilisation time. Finally time to get some action on the road and show what her forces were capable about. It was a test for them, a test Darth Noxia had no doubt they would excel. In hardly any time at all, the combined armed forces of the the Siths were assembled and ready and raring to go. [member="Darth Venefica"] would be providing long range fire support as well as her team's technical and demolitions expertise of slicers and demolitions crew along with a few of her assault team. Noxia's soldiers would be fulfilling the role of both the main assault crew as well as the hostage extraction team. These were just some of the scenarios they were trained and excelled in.

Night had dawned upon them, and the troops moved silently under the cover of darkness. Silence was paramount, to avoid any unwanted attention from the pirates lest they start executing hostages out of fear or desperation. Her former master's crew had already gotten into position and the rescue operation would be happening simultaneously, as both teams worked together to free the governor's son and his bevy or wealthy party guests. The blonde knight had split her forces into two teams, one to draw the pirates attention as part of the main assault crew. The other team would be climbing on board the yacht was sea, focusing on the rescue of the hostages instead.

When the code word 'OMEGA' was spoke, the teams sprung into action, taking out the guards on sentry duty outside the ship, and swiftly boarding the yacht. On the other side of the ship, members of the hostage extraction team would climb onboard, droplets of water dripping off them, like the amphibious fighting machines they were. As the pirates started to become aware of what was going as as the main assault crew forced their way in, a shootout occurred between the pirates and Sith forces. With the pirates attention fully focused onto the assault crew, the extraction team went unnoticed, moving until they reached were the main area where the hostages were being kept.

Several well-placed blaster shots to the head later, three pirates lay dead on the floor among a sea of terrified party guests. These former hostages were promptly secured as they reported back that the hostages were secured. Once the word was given, and the pirates on the yacht thoroughly exterminated without mercy, all of the teams evacuated the luxury ship, as the charges rigged to blow on the pirates transport craft blew sky high. The mission was a complete success, and the governor had better remember who helped him on this one.