The Womb Of Rhea | Raiding Empress Teta's Titan Stronghold

[Anija Betna]

Location: Aboard the Wrath of the Manda, disguised as Shield of Bastion
Allies: [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Tsavong Kraal"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Atrace"] [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Kiran Vess"] [member="Reverance"]

Anija was, in fact, heading down to the Wrath of the Manda's aft hangar bay as her comm went off. She'd been keeping an ear on the secured comm traffic, and she had to admit that her own feelings echoed those of Alec. This whole situation was... slippery. And sending a scout in was really the only way to find out what they were up against. No sense risking the entirety of their small fleet against an armada... if that's what the Sith had. There was only way to find out....

She would be lying to herself if she said that she'd not been expecting that particular call from Arrbi. Even so, the thought left knots of apprehension in her gut. Deep breath... she reminded herself as she stepped out into the hangar proper. It was then that she laid eyes on Shev'la Prudii. Arrbi's ship. Their ship. She wasn't much to look at, but it was what was beneath the consoles and hull plating that mattered.

"Copy that, Field Marshal..." Her tone was cool and professional, as she tried desperately not to let her emotions run rampant. She knew Arrbi wouldn't ask this of her without a very good reason. It didn't take her long at all to cross the decksole and clamber up the boarding ramp into the ship's interior. It was as small as she remembered, and for a moment a smile tugged at her lips as she remembered the first time she'd been aboard.

And now, she was here alone.... Sighing softly, she made her way towards the small cockpit and dropped into the pilot's chair. With the touch of a few controls, her helmet systems began to sync up with those of the Shev'la Prudii. ANNE instantly began chattering away about upgrades the ship needed, and the best way to accomplish them. Shaking her head, Anija quickly ran through the preflight checks, watching as the status lights on her console slowly flickered over from yellow to green.

Tapping a few controls, she began warming the engines before opening a comm to Captain Tupu. "Captain, this is Field Marshal Ordo. I'll be forming up with you momentarily.." Suiting words to actions, she gently guided the flight controls forward, smiling to herself as the ship lifted smoothly off the deck and drifted towards the magcon field on repulsors. The nose of Prudii kissed the magcon field, and continued her slow forward momentum. Once clear of the hangar's magcon field, Anija kicked in the sublights and rolled slightly to starboard before looping around and towards Naast'ika Laran's position. For now, she left the cloak inactive, and contented herself with checking the sensors.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

Location: Deep Space
Objective: To Boldly Go
Allies: [member="Tsavong Kraal"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Anija Ordo"], [member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Vilaz Munin"],
Enemies: [member="Darth Atrace"], [member="Darth Venefica"], [member="Reverance"],
Neutral: [member="Kiran Vess"], [member="Lok Jorunn"], (?)
Team: Team Mando


Naast'ika glided silently beside the other ships in the small flotilla, senses fully extended as he watched the nearby ships with rapt attention. He was eager for the group to make their way towards the target system. He wanted to fly next to these ships and play with whatever ships rose to attack Naast'ika and his new friends. They excited him. His perception of space was based on multiple sensor readings overlapping with one another, and a combination of sensory organs unique to his species. In his mind's eye, he did not see space in the binocular manner of humanoids. He saw space as a fully three dimensional bubble of reality. His perception of the four other ships was of four three-dimensional objects in a sea of cold and radiation. He saw their armor and hulls by a sense not dissimilar to both taste and smell. He saw the electronic and electromagnetic energy that flowed under their outer metal skin like a nervous system. He could see the radiating heart of ionization reactors burning brightly within them, energy coursing through power conduits like blood within a beast. Most importantly, he could see the humans and other bipedal organisms that made up their crews. Each ship was a multilayered, bright, living thing to him, full of more living things. And he loved gliding next to them.

They were not like him. These ships could not sing with Naast'ika or convey their love of gliding through the void. But their crew... they talked quite a bit. And as a message was transmitted to Captain Tupu, Naast'ika could not help but to listen.

swapping frequencies to the bio-ship accompanying them. "Captain Tupu, if you would be so kind as to jump ahead of us and take a look-see at what we're facing? If it get's too hot, hyper out, but see what you can find for us. I'm sending a second ship, a scout ship, with you."

"We copy Field Marshal." Captain Tupu said to the group commander. "We'll try to aim for the dark side of the planet's moon. Should let us get a good view of things without stirring up too much trouble."

Naast'ika was a little sad that he would have to leave the group of ships. But he was also a little excited to find out which ship would be traveling with him. Maybe the big one? Naast'ika's perception of the ships around him did not change, but his attention was drawn to the deactivated weapons of the ships that surrounded him. This lose to them, he could see the power and motors that connected to each turret. He wasn't completely sure what each ship's weapons did... but a sudden realization dawned on Naast'ika that would have made him smile were he capable of the act.

Of all the ships here, even the one that was almost twice his size, Naast'ika was the strongest. A happy little chirp crossed the bridge of Naast'ika Laaran.

opening a comm to Captain Tupu. "Captain, this is Field Marshal Ordo. I'll be forming up with you momentarily.."

Anija kicked in the sublights and rolled slightly to starboard before looping around and towards Naast'ika Laaran's position. For now, she left the cloak inactive, and contented herself with checking the sensors.

"Understood Field Marshal Ordo." Captain Tupu said to the [member="Anija Ordo"]. "We'll be entering hyperspace first. Try to follow whatever path we take."

Naast'ika let a happy little beep escape him again and he focused his attention of each of the big ships. Which one would be joining him in hyperspace?

But as the small ship undocked from the lead ship, Naast'ika was both a little sad that one of the big ships would not be coming with him, and a little curious.

It was so little!

The tiny little ship was four times smaller than Naast'ika. He couldn't see it very well, but supposedly that was the point.

Did other ships have a hard time seeing Naast'ika?

Naast'ika chirped as he watched the little ship fly close to his side. He also tried very, very hard to resist the urge to nudge the tiny little ship.

"Naast'ika. We've got orders to jump into the Empress Teta system." Captain Tupu said to Naast'ika. "Do you have a hyperspace route ready yet?"

A startled beep escaped Naast'ika. He knew he wasn't doing something! Quickly, he began sifting through hyperspace signals. He could feel them. All the time, he could feel the threads of hyperspace and how they acted upon reality. What he couldn't feel, was where each thread went. He had to listen to each one as he tried to find a cluster of threads that went to the right system. Then he had to find the threads that went to the right planet. Then he had to find the one that... felt right. Each one sounded different. Different pitch and tone... sort of. Even if Naast'ika had the words to explain it, he doubt he could make his crew understand. He had always been able to do it... so how could he explain it to someone who could not?

The Navigation Officer's sent Naast'ika information on some known hyperspace signals... Naast'ika listened to each string, catching the subtle difference in notes... and tried to find one that was similar. Absently, Naast'ika noticed that he had been drifting towards the tiny little ship and stopped himself. He had to focus.

But then he found it.

Chirping happily, Naast'ika tucked in his nacelle and activated his starburst drive.

He really wanted to nudge the ship.

 

[Anija Betna]

Location: Aboard the Shev'la Prudii; Deep Space
Allies: [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Tsavong Kraal"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Atrace"] [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Reverance"]
Unknown: [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Kiran Vess"]

Try to follow.... Anija's lips twisted into a hint of a grin at Captain Tupu's words. Admittedly, she was nervous. They were going into an area that, last they knew had been swarming with Sith. And there was no guarantee it wasn't the same now. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. Nervous though she was, she couldn't deny the thread of excitement that ran through her for a moment. As she gazed out the forward viewport, she could faintly sense the crew of the Wrath of the Manda off to the stern.

And, if she focused harder, she could just pick up a hint of excitement coming from the general direction of Naast'ika. But, it wasn't from Naast'ika's crew. No, they were focused and watchful. This... instead... as far as she could tell came from the ship itself. Smiling slightly to herself, Anija busied herself with the controls for a moment. "Copy, Captain Tupu.." she said evenly, as she reached out more with her senses. Much like the navigation that Ember had taught her so long ago, she felt that it would apply here.

Taking another deep breath, she let her eyes drift closed. letting out the breath, she let the Force guide her hands across the console. As Naast'ika jumped, Anija felt a sharp tug in her gut in the direction he had gone. As if someone had attached a roped to her belt. Nodding to herself, Anija pressed the controls engaging her own hyperdrive after she activated the Stygium cloak. She continued to feel the pull in her gut and let the Force guide her hands as she made small adjustments to the course. It wouldn't be long before they were in-system.

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

Location: Deep Space
Objective: To Boldly Go
Allies: [member="Tsavong Kraal"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Anija Ordo"], [member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Vilaz Munin"],
Enemies: [member="Darth Atrace"], [member="Darth Venefica"], [member="Reverance"],
Neutral: [member="Kiran Vess"], [member="Lok Jorunn"], (?)
Team: Team Mando

Naast'ika slipped quietly from hyperspace not too far from where he had intended. Right planet. Right moon. Just... a little farther away than he had wanted. He'd have to strain himself to get a good scan of the planet from this distance. And even then, he'd need to move quite a ways before he could remove the moon's shadow from his scans. It was currently blotting out a sizable portion of the planet's emissions. The team of Navigational Officers that occupied his bridge plotted a course for him that was counter-rotational to the planet's primary moon. A series of holographic way-points appeared in his mind, and he began making his way in that direction.

He let his dovin basal's slowly build with power as he gradually increased their collective pull upon his mass. It was the naval equivalent to tiptoeing for Naast'ika, as the gradual increase in gravitational force would be less likely to appear on sensors than a sudden spike of activity. He was also muffling his own electronic and radio emissions as much as he was able. Captain Tupu had warned him that there were enemies here and he had to be as quiet as possible to avoid detection.

Behind him, a small hyperspace signature marked the arrival of [member="Anija Ordo"]'s small ship. Naast'ika had to resist the urge to beep out a greeting to the small ship as he made his way towards the first waypoint and passively took in his surroundings. Radiation emissions, electronic signals, subspace signals, and the trillions of other sounds, smells, and sensations that made up the background noise of space filled Naast'ika's senses. The emissions of planets and stars both near and far were layered heavily on top of the galactic background noise... and the emissions of ships and stations were scattered on top of those. It would take Naast'ika some time to filter through it all from this distance, but he could already tell that the planet was heavily populated and sported great deal of functioning technology.

Maybe Anija and her little ship would be able to help him?

 

[Reverance]

Location: Empress Teta Naval Defense Headquarters
Forces: 1 Miles, 2 gallons of Caf, and an abundance of planetary defenses.
Allies: [member="Darth Venefica"], [member="Darth Atrace"], [member="Kiran Vess"]
Enemies: Dust in the night, maybe [member="Anija Ordo"], [member="Naast'ika Laaran"], [member="Tsavong Kraal"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Alec Rekali"]

Miles cupped his palm against his mouth, muffling the sounds of his words as he jumped up from the chair, knocking the thing over as it rolled across the scuffed enamel. "Firing in...4...3...2...1." Lunging forward, he smacked the console of the defense controls as the alarms sounded in the room. Blaring hisses of chirps echoed in the background, spinning reflective nodes cascaded shimmers of red and white across the room as his right hand jutted out. Sweat dripping down his forehead, he steadied himself as he slowly pulled the trigger. "Bang...Bang...BANG!"

The darts flew across the room, plastic and vibrant, as the suction cups whirled against the ballistic force, before colliding with a bobble head version of a miniature wookiee. With the precision equivalent to the greatest snipers in the history of everything, Miles cracked his elbow down in a celebratory salute to his own prowess, as Donny walked in. Even in the flashing lights, his face was as red as a tattooine sun. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Faster than one might think possible, Miles was back in his chair and the sirens were off. Business as usual as he fumbled over his words, digging himself out of his caf produced hole. "Uhh...uhh...uhm...just running a test is all." He fiddled with the dials, checking over readings, as he looked over his shoulder. "You're 10 minutes early."

Donny approached, cro-magnon brow furrowed and casting a dark shadow upon his defined cheekbones. He was sweaty as well. "Yeah...that's cause someone signaled the alarm." He grabbed what was left of Miles caf. "Spilled mine back there, running to figure out what was happening. Hope you don't mind..." He gave a sardonic smile as he looked over to the display. "Why are the defenses primed?"

"Ole Jim gave me the go ahead, we were reading some cosmic anomalies within the sensor array. Just a safety precaution." Donny took a sip of the caf, Miles gave a small squint of his eyes as he turned back to his displays. "I'll keep you updated if anything happens." Miles fiddled with the equipment, nothing changing, as he continued to see space do what it does: act all strange and what not. Donny gave a laugh and sipped. "Sure thing. I'm gonna take a walk and check the perimeter defense systems."

Miles gave a sarcastic salute and shook his head, listening to the click of well polished shoes, fading away.

 

[Anija Betna]

Location: Aboard the Shev'la Prudii; Teta System
Allies: [member="Alec Rekali"] [member="Vilaz Munin"] [member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Naast'ika Laaran"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Tsavong Kraal"]
Enemies: [member="Darth Atrace"] [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Reverance"]
Unknown: [member="Lok Jorunn"] [member="Kiran Vess"]
Objective: Information-gathering

As the Prudii blinked back into existence, Anija sighed. She'd closed herself down in the Force as much as she could, and made certain the Prudii's stealth systems were active. To say she was nervous was a bit of an understatement. Sure, she'd gone into combat before... but... not quite like this. The only engagement that came close was the Mandalorian Invasion of Empress Teta years back. They'd held their own, even amid devastating losses... but eventually they'd retreated.

She sighed and shook her head, working to re-focus on the task at hand. Pulling gently on the flight controls, she looped around to slide into position off Naast'ika's port side. She too was taking passive sensor readings, and trying to gauge what they might be up against. She frowned slightly as sensor readings began filtering back. They were far enough out, that any readings they would get from passives would be ..well. Not as accurate as she would have liked. In spite of that, she was picking up some heavy energy signatures, even this far out.