Wanna Steal a Space Station?

[Catalys Maijora]

You ever wanted to do something big?

Catalys looked out of the viewport of his vessel, an Aj'Rou-class Dreadnought, his eyes glanced to every corner of the space before him as the small fleet dropped out of hyperspace. The fleet placed under his command consisted of seven vessels, specifically the following:

x3 Aj'Rou-class Dreadnoughts
x2 Raze-class Transports
x2 Bastion-class Gunboats

Their mission? To capture the Libertalia, a very large space station that was essentially a city drifting in space. After securing the station and warding off any threats, they'd maneuver the 4,000m behemoth into Primeval space and utilize the creation for their own and otherwise currently unknown purposes. It was not an easy task to say the least, which is why the Primeval agent took it upon himself to hire a helping hand under the name of [member="Khaleel Malvern"], together the two would pull off this daring heist.

Turning to the captain, "We're almost there. Order the transports to prepare for boarding procedures and get me on com with the mercenary." Catalys ordered.

Looking back out towards the black, the agent couldn't help but wonder what unforeseen outcomes might come from this mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdpmOwGO-TY

[member="Ice"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Mir once told me something.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]At that point in time I hadn’t really considered it. Oh, I thought I had, really thought that I got the message he was trying to bring over to me. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Don’t be [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]that[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] guy, Khal. A scoundrel and a bastard are two different things.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]That was basically what he had told me, paraphrasing of course. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]In the end a man’s gotta make his own decision though and I think my decisions took me to a place that Vaudin wouldn’t like, a place I didn’t like, but you can’t get everything you want. Can’t even get mostly what you want.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Just gotta do what ya gotta do.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Walker here.” the merc would reply over the comm, waiting for whatever Catalys needed. The main reason why Khal was here was two-fold, one it was establishment of his business on a huge, sprawling city in space.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Two… the city held something that he needed. [/SIZE]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

The Primeval's small fleet maneuvered itself closer to their destination, the space station was an already visible sight due to its immense size. Catalys' fixation on its design was only broken when a message was received, the mercenary had finally responded.

Taking direct control of the com, "I need you on board before we start. Get any pesky defenses we don't want on us down immediately -- if there are any." It was quite a simple task, assuming he could blend in long enough before anyone noticed what was going on. Surely a space station that could hold several 1,000m ships would not immediately become worried by the arrival of such large ships.

There were nay number of explanations for The Primeval's presence and due to their lack of appearances outside of their own territory, it was nearly impossible for anyone to tell their ship designs unless they were unlucky enough to have faced them in battle before and that was a rare encounter in its own right. The agent watched carefully as his plans were put into place, the transports made their way forward inside the pocket protected by the warships and prepared themselves for boarding procedures.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Khal was currently sitting in his own ship, encrypted comms buzzing back and forth the wire and keeping him up to date with the latest happenings. In the end he didn’t have a lot of personal feelings when it came to the Primeval, there were rumors of atrocities committed by them in their own territories and Malvern should care about that.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]He taught me better than that, didn’t he?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But there was something Khaleel needed from that station, a portion that would fit the puzzle he was currently working on and that was more important than his own personal feelings. It had been sheer luck that the Prime and him had the same basic objective in this regard.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Affirmative.” the Underlord would reply, before gesturing towards his men to start guiding the ship towards the station. Docking procedures would commence soon.[/SIZE]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Catalys was not like most in The Primeval, his affinity towards the greater galaxy and its culture was almost heretical. In fact; if he weren't an agent of the Bleeding Sun he might have been declared just that, a heretic, there was always something in his heart that guided him to place one foot out the door but never both. So far this connection had been beneficial, people who do not understand the true nature of The Primeval tend to find it easier dealing with him in such matter, at least he knew how to bargain.

"I want our ships in place soon, don't do anything to scare our target until we get the signal from Walker." He turned to the ship's captain, expressing his commands.

The captain of the vessel couldn't help but feel at odds with what he was saying. "What, do you think the station will run away?"

Catalys eyed the man, "maybe."

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]His freighter docked with the station, common procedure followed until finally Khal was allowed to leave the ship and stretch his legs a little bit in the docking bay. Of course he had been told to leave all his weaponry back at the ship, scanners would have made sure to check if he tried to enter the station proper with any of them.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Which would have provided its own problems.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But Khal didn’t need no gun anymore these days, different path leads to different solutions and possibilities which all ended up in one simple truth.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]And the truth was-[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Well.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]That woulda been spoiling the surprise, now wouldn’t it? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]All leather duster and gruff the Underlord left the freighter proper and casually walked into the bustling crowd of people leaving or entering the private or not so private docking bays themselves. There was pretty much a stream of people going back and forth.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Pretty good commerce though, whoever had constructed this station had been able to at least get a wide variety of people interested.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Kudos on that.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“I am in.” the simple message would be relayed as he spotted the various security points, visible turrets and all the other nonsense. He would probably need to break into one of the offices and try to disable the security procedures remotely, before Catalys could get in.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Would be a slaughterhouse otherwise.[/SIZE]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

The troop transports carried twenty-two thousand soldiers on board but the dropships, the only vessels that'll board properly, only carried eighty-five and the transports only had four of them each. So with those defenses online it would indeed be a slaughterhouse. Even the Gulandi that will be accompanying the agent wouldn't stand much of a chance. It was a good arrangement the two of them had, one would disable the security and the other would take over the station. They both did what they were good at and each got what they wanted.

The small fleet slowed its overall speeds, halting completely would raise the alarm far too early but getting too close to the station itself would reveal the nature of their warships. Time was of the essence, once they got started there was no turning back.

"Why should we be putting faith in one man?" The captain asked.

Catalys was still peering out of the viewport, "Why do we put all of our faith in Gods we've never seen nor met?" The rhetorical retort was expressed through a rather cold and low tone of voice. The captain grumbled audibly at the response.

"Careful, Catalys. You may be her favourite but no one would blame us for killing a heretic."

"I know."

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Khal casually strolled down the lane while making sure he didn’t bump into people. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It was the number one thing that could get ya spotted, made people realize ya might not be exactly what they had bargained for, there was a subtle art to not being noticed and most of the time Khal failed at it or at least he failed at it [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]these [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]days. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Used to be he could pass around unnoticed. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Scrawny, malnourished and always keeping to the corners.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But that’s a long time ago and people change, he was tall now, broad-shouldered with a jaw set in determination most of the time. Eyes that made a man halt in his tracks and all that personal bullcrap that men used to talk ‘emselves up. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Ah… there it was.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Took a trained eye to spot it, but there it was in all its glory. Side-room, only one guard leaning against a nearby wall and a security cam going back and forth, this was the spot that held the control room for this sector.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Found the room.” Khal relayed right after. “Gonna get loud fast, have your men at standby.”[/SIZE]

 

[Spark Finn]

By part vacation, part mission, and part mischief Spark Finn found herself in the massive space station. This was day three. The slicer was trying to work herself up for a dip in the pool. After that Underground refugee mission, she wanted to test some of the nautolan tech they gave her.

The thing was, the blond slicer didn't do swimming. Or pools. Or bathing suits.

Whether by kismet, the force, a pinch of luck, or a bucket of misfortune, she caught a familiar swagger with sandy-hair to match. "Uh-oh," she muttered with a straw full of rackle-berry shake. Khaleel had that look on his face and it meant one thing: trouble.

Vacation cancelled.

Good thing her mission objectives were already well in place. Without sacrificing her fruit-shake, she shifted to a stand and quietly trailed the man that helped her escape hell once upon a time.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

When the news came in, Catalys stepped away from where he was standing.

As he walked, "I want the dropships prepped and ready to go on my signal, have my ship ready by the time I arrive." He ordered the Captain, making his way to the dreadnought's rather small hangar that fit only a single dropship. Already aboard were a contingent of Gulandi Warriors granted to him by the Host Lord, the Sephi of Gulamendis were renowned for their pain endurance and fearlessness in battle.

The captain grunted, "Aye-aye, sir." His sarcastic remark was followed by furthered orders to the transports and hangar.

The walk to the hangar was not a very long one, the logistics of the starship made sure that important persons had access to shuttles. When he arrived the Gulandi were already geared up and ready to go, personnel had prepped the ship for takeoff and a small boy held out a rifle for the agent to take with him. His eyes glanced down to the child, a hand reached for the weapon and slowly took it. Catalys gave the kid a quick salute before heading into the dropship, the ramp raised, closed shut and the engines fired up.

"On standby," he replied to Walker.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"] | [member="Spark Finn"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px][member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Spark Finn"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]See, if it was any other day. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Any other day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Khaleel would have noticed the trail hugging his rear and had some stern words for the blonde that was following him right now. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But he was too focused on what was ahead of him, of all the little details that had to be followed to make this as smooth as possible.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]He rounded the corner, looked around before finally spotting what he was looking for. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A bathroom[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Khal walked into it and the door shut behind him.[/SIZE]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

The dim crimson lights barely lit the dropship's interior, the Gulandi looked like ghosts as they hugged the walls. Catalys took a seat and looked over his rifle, the entire hull rumbled as the engines fired. By now the transports were ready to launch their dropships as well, all waiting for the signal. It would only take a couple minutes for their ships to board but once they do it would be all up to their inside man's success to give them the advantage they need to successfully take the station.

Back aboard the Dreadnought and on the command deck, the captain observed the space station as their formation drifted into its space. Only a moment until they're hailed.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Catalys Maijora"]

Huh. Guess the guy really had to pee. With an obnoxious slurpple-gurgle, she finished off the shake that would undoubtedly earn her a separate trip to the ladies room, later. Checking her chrono, she leaned against the wall just outside of the restroom door. Just like she was waiting for someone.

She'd give him a few minutes knowing very well he was probably doing anything but relieving himself in there.

Then what?

Then, she'd have to go in.

Eww, gross.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px][member="Spark Finn"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px][Talked it over with Cata, he doesn’t mind if we back and forth a little. To make the story more coherent, so feel free to post without waiting for his reply.][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]The bathroom was luckily empty at the moment, not that it really mattered for Khal one way or another, just woulda been awkward to walk in as one man and walk out as another while you were having an audience and all that, ya know?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]So Khal stepped into one of the cabins, closed the door behind him and locked it for good measure. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hmm.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]He tilted his head slightly and pondered for a while, expression shifted slightly to confusement when there was this [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]nagging[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] feeling.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Almost as if Khaleel was missing something vital, something that shouldn’t be missed whatsoever and that was bothering him. Almost… as if there was something familiar in the air - and he certainly ain’t talking about the smell or anything like that.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A shrug followed soon enough.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It didn’t really matter at this point.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Only moments after Khaleel’s face started to melt away into a different one, thinner and sharper lines with a big nose and watery eyes. The hair grew shorter, getting a more reddish tint and it was greasier too. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]One ear was slightly enlarged and the other shrunk a little bit, giving it a comical sense.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]His suit changed too, black tint replacing the duster and now it was suddenly more akin to a Black Ops suit. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Gotta love the yuuzhan vong cloaker. [/SIZE]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"] [member="Catalys Maijora"]

Checking her chrono one last time, she took a deep breath - for more reasons than one. She took an extra second to give herself a mental pep-talk. She considered going all-in white-current and stealth-mode. But the thing was, she wanted to confront Khaleel, figure out what he was up to.

There was some interesting data coming in about the presence of a fleet on her juiced-up datapad.

She had no doubt Khal was involved. Too coincidental. Firming up her bony-shoulders, she stepped inside. Careful not to touch ANYTHING and to stay away from grossness, she tiptoed deeper into the small bathroom. There was one door closed.

A small exhale of relief left her lips.

"Uh, Khal?" Distinctly feminine voice called directly from the other side of what she assumed as his closed stall-door.

Yeah, this was gonna be loads of awkward.

 

[Ellie Mors]

In one of the most expensive rooms on the entire station dwelt a woman who had gone by many names, and now remained in her first real home with the notion that none would come to find her here, in a literal city secluded in space. She'd lived here, once, with her sister, a girl who was probably all grown up with the One Sith as her companions, perhaps she'd even made friends, back when the station had first been constructed. She knew the girl likely hated her, like everyone now did. She had her husband, once she had finished with her business in the galaxy at large, and when she was done with what little held her to the rest of the galaxy she would sink back into those shadows and disappear again, with Alric Kuhn, to never be seen or heard from again.

That wasn't the point of lounging about in her penthouse suite, adjacent to her sister's vacant room. She remembered when she was in her twenties, when she'd slept just feet away from her little sister. In the cold and black heart that hung like expired coal in her chest, Silara knew that her family would forever linger with her, even as they expired. In years from now she would be a widow, left alone by a man who could not survive as she could through the force, and though she would try to prevent the inevitable, it was indeed just that. Often times she came to this room, [member="Maja Vern"]'s, to rest and to meditate, to dwell on the past, the present, and think on the future. She was a plotter, a manipulator, perhaps how she'd disappeared was evidence of that, but what she was in terms of her personality did not matter in the grand scheme of things. In the end, even this refuge was just one more place to let go of.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"], [member="Spark Finn"], [member="Catalys Maijora"]

 

[William Kerkov Sr]

Spoiler: Current Fleet

1x Victory-I Class Heavy Cruiser
3x Consular-Class Cruisers
2x Umbara Class Carrier Cruiser
4x Sentinel Class Landing Craft
Fighter/Bomber Compliment (Divided up by the Carrriers and heavy cruiser)
162xShell Class Fighters
52x Raid Class Bomber Model As
Infantry count
300 mobilized OCA Marines (Sentinel Landing Crafts)
2,000 Non-Deployable (Unless Docked) OCA Marines (Victory Class)

An unrecognized fleet appeared out of hyperspace a sector away from the Libertallia space station. Almost unnoticeable except by long range scopes. 10 ships in all, 3 escort, 4 infantry support, 2 carriers, and the flagship. It wasn't the finest fleet, but they sure had some of the best captains in the galaxy. Unknown to any of the others, but it was the Open Circle Armada a mercenary fleet. Although their intentions included taking the station, it was undecided what side they would join. Their leader, Fleet Admiral William Kerkov, had many plans for how the situation would get underway. But they all began with one order,

"Captain Nublar, have our men send out a untraceable transmission to the Primeval operations leader. Word it, Greetings, Primeval. It seems you have come to this station for it's wealth as well. Now my Mercenary group can offer it's services for you for a small price and some percentages and uses for the space station. It is your choice, and I must add that my friends and I will not be leaving no matter what response you give us. Good evening."

Now all they had to do was wait.

Spoiler: Tag Bag

[member="A.D.A.M."] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Farlon Orbit"] @ Boral Sandov @Airal Thanmne [member="Herza Xaos"] [member="Kuropatkin"] [member="Jay Nebula"]

[member="Silara Kuhn"] [member="Spark Finn"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"] [member="Catalys Maijora"]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

The sudden arrival of a fleet out of hyperspace was not expected, but it wasn't unanticipated. The Bastion-class gunboats were equipped with advanced sensory arrays capable of picking up activity before it was physically visible and during the time it took for the warships to leave hyperspace their fleet was already in formation for any potential engagements. With the Destroyers facing the new threat, their central command vessel received the message.

The captain looked to the comm officer, "How'd they figure out who we are?" He was genuinely puzzled, Primeval fleets are rarely seen out this far beyond their territories. So even assuming they had somehow caught word of their activity it was somewhat of a surprise that they'd show up at all. Of course they'd deal with mercenaries, when the time was right, but they had no plans for that right now.

With the message relayed to Catalys, the agent managed to get word out to his asset. "Seems we've got unexpected company, there's a change of plans. I want external defenses to target the new arrivals to see if they won't turn around." He sent word to Walker.

Back on the bridge word was sent out to the newly arrived fleet. "Leave the system at once, this is your only warning." [member="William Kerkov"]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"] | [member="Spark Finn"] | [member="Silara Kuhn"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px][member="William Kerkov"] | [member="Silara Kuhn"] | [member="Catalys Maijora"] | [member="Spark Finn"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“You too? Ain’t we a lucky bunch.” Khal would answer the relay with a normal speaking voice, not even bothering to cover it up anymore. Because that feminine voice that had just called him by his name could only belong to one specific person, a person he had saved back when the Galaxy was all fethed up and he himself had been stuck in hell. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Ain’t that one lucky coincidence.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]The vong cloaker retreated from his face, revealing one Khaleel with an expression that wasn’t entirely too amused at the situation involved.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“I will handle it on my end, pretty sure we just got an ally.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]After that Khal flushed the toilet out of habit and stepped out of the cabin, cold blue eyes staring pointedly at Spark.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“What the feth are you doing here?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Was the question asked.[/SIZE]

 

[Darth Zilti]

[member="Silara Kuhn"]

The thing about Life Bonds is that you can’t turn them off. Even if you wanted to. Who knew what your mental link shared? Maja’s recent…athletic endeavours for example. It seemed strong emotions were some of the most obvious things to bleed through the mental link – and she’d had plenty of those on Korriban!

Proximity played a role too. Not just the obviously physical kind but it seemed that places and shared experiences heightened the link. Maja was travelling to Tython to meet her Master. Why Tython? She had no idea, but it was different to Coruscant and that was good. Since settling into her new apartment all that time ago, Maja had got wanderlust. If she stayed on a planet more than a couple of days she seemed to get land-sick. Maybe it was her Vahla blood? Her need to remain a space nomad? Who knew? Who cared?

As she sat in the cockpit she felt her sister’s presence. Not here of course, but it could have been – the feeling was so real. No, her sister was…in their suite. She simply knew it.

Since the wedding she’d not seen her. Silara had her life and she had hers. Whereas once that spectrum of love and hate could once be traversed in a heart-beat she was now settled in her life. Her love for her sister was unbounded – but her focus on her training meant that she once more ignored her sibling. And maybe Silara thought it was for negative reasons? And whereas once Maja would have blamed her older sister for it, today – the more grown up younger sibling blamed herself.

So she seized the chance to make some sort of amends. In sleep, in dreams, they’d talked before but that was not possible now. But she knew she could somehow project something into her sister’s consciousness.

So she closed her eyes and pictured the apartment. She imagined walking from her sister’s room to her own. A journey she’d done so often – especially when her sister wasn’t there. She found comfort in her sister’s things, her sister’s smell, her mere presence.

And as she ‘guided’ her sister into the room, she walked over to the bed-side cabinet and opened a drawer. She knew her sister hadn’t looked there yet, because she would have felt it.

Wrapped in simple but elegant black rose paper, tied in red silk ribbon was a present. The card on it had few words...

‘Silara. The best. xxx.’

She knew when Silara opened the present it would contain an unimpressive piece of black material. A very old robe in fact. But the aura would be unmistakeable. It was old because it was old Sith. She’d recovered it from Dxun when she’d gone looking for Bane’s Holocron but come up short. It was on his ship in the swamp – or rather what was left of his ship. It was the only thing left intact in truth. Perhaps his presence and the nature of the moon had help preserve it? Who knew. But to Maja it was priceless and the symbolism perfect. It once belonged to the one that Zannah owed everything to – and now it served a similar purpose for Maja.

She shared images of Onderon’s moon, of the trek through the swamp – of finding the ship eventually. She knew her sister would understand.

And she smiled broadly and grabbed a candy bar and took a large bite. Life was good...what could possibly go wrong on Tython?