Dominion ZU Dominion of Ilum - Kyber Crisis

[Carn Taur]

Ben Craig Chris Walker
Objective, scout the area where the ZU troops landed and report any native or beastly activity
Second objective: kill and don't get killed

Carn picked up the small metal ornament.
As a former Ikthochi marine, he learned how to track beast and sentient creatures to fulfil his missions, often to kill or kidnap.
But nowadays, he was finding himself often working for the ZU, as a bounty hunter or scouting landing areas before invasions, the payment was more than enough to keep him happy. His merc group was of doing some other contracts as they preferred to work for different contractors.

"that's their own business, ain't it Ghost"

He peted the head of the big white Anooba that was standing next to him, watching the sorroundings. The other two where of walking around and hunting for small creatures, but Carn knew that one of his whisels would make them return to him.
The small ornament was lost by one of the natives, that must have passed not long ago, since Carn could still feel the body head of the wearer in the metal.
He put it in his pocket and walked on. Hearing some ZU communication in his ear piece, he decided to move to the troop closest to him and report to the officer leading it, his findings.

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

Eldoc took a large drink of his flask. He hated this place. He shook his head, he had seen the weird writing and it had activated what he drank to flee from. Ever since he had been abandoned on Korriban all those years ago. The memories, the voices and hallucinations still haunted him. He held strong but it took all he had to even stay in these caves. He needed to do this job, and purge whatever was here. He felt people ahead, heard a scuffle and gunfire. Slowly approaching he struck out with his saber killing another lurking native just as they were about to pounce on him. He found himself in the area with Chris Walker "Finally someone else, we need to be careful these people are some sort of Sith. See those markings on the wall, stay away from them. If you don't mind I am going to stay near your team, this blasted place unnerves me, Reminds me of places I rather forget."

Eldoc took a deep breath and then another swig of his flask. He just hoped he had enough to drink becuase he had a feeling he was going to need it all to get through this place. He took his lightsaber and ruined the strange writing, Only then did he seem to relax. He was pale, and probably didn't look well. This all brought back dark memories. Eldoc took another swig for good measure and prepared to follow the other men. "We should keep moving, who knows what else is in these passages."

 

[Mir Rhor]

Objective: BYOO
Tag: Ben Craig | Charles Castex

It wasn't every day that one would find themselves wandering through caves lined with Kyber crystals, though at some places numerous, the crystals had diminished a lot, both in growth and in multitude, yet despite it all, this place was still much of a treasure trove to all who wished to gain access to this rare and quite valuable resource. Something the Zweihander Union had apparently instantly recognised, by quickly acting and sending in large numbers of assets to assess the situation on Ilum and to determine the remaining value and prospecting possibilities of the planet.

In the midst of this grand scale operation, a lone girl, arguably any older than twelve years, dressed in a simple short-sleeved black and gray dress and a simple pair of gray loafers seemingly managed to get a ride in one of the first dropships, not much later finding herself standing at one of the entrances to the caves which reached into the depths of the very planet's core, spreading out in a multitude of tunnels inhabited by canibals and creatures of various sizes and demeanors.

With her shaggy black hair rolling down over her shoulders and onto her back in long thick strands, obscuring part of her face which had a milky white skin and almond shaped eyes which depending on the light seemed to be blue, green, gray or something in between.

Hearing the boots of men drum on the cave floors, the girl's expression turned from avid glee to a somewhat sinister expression akin to being annoyed or maybe somewhat disturbed, yet this twisted expression quickly faded when she noticed the origin of the sounds resonating through the caves, quickly hiding behind a large stalacmite, trying to obscure herself from what looked like soldiers and other people with stern looks on their faces. One man seemed to be leading them, dressed in immaculate white, a uniform of sorts, she was sure of it.

"Ehm...what are you people doing?" The girl showed herself, revealing her whereabouts to the soldiers and the man dressed in white. "You're not supposed to be here...no wait, I'm not supposed to be here...wait, where IS here?"

 

[Charles Castex]

U N I O N​

Objectives: Top Priority: 1. Protect Mir Rhor from harm and allow her to complete any personal objective on planet, or see her back safely to the shuttle. All other objectives are now secondary and may be fully abandon to secure Mir Rhor. The same goes for life lost in the process… protect Mir Rhor at all cost

Primary: 1. Secure cavern system so that Kybar Crystals can be retrieved for R&D

2. Clear any hostiles that get in the way of research department personal

Secondary: 1. Collect a personal stash of the Kybar Crystals to start construction of lightsaber

2. To use this as a chance to work on front line combat skills with a sword and short sword in a dangerous environment.

”Director… Director… We have a major problem here…!” In just a moment the Sith’s composed, emotionless, and yet strangely warm demeanor when he was around Ben would slowly began to dissolve before the man’s eyes. Charles had again reached out through the Force, seeking even deeper into the caves to try and find any enemy they might encounter as well as the location of a good concentration of crystals. If the details he knew about their force properties were correct then that meant he should be able to sense the largest vein, and one with the highest concentration of the force. What he found was something… no… someone who was not supposed to be on Ilum. It was Mir Rhor… his dear little Mir Rhor. The young girl that not only was very important to his Master’s goals, but she had also become like a dear little sister to him. At this point tact in front of the Vern and the other men was secondary, Mir’s safety was all that mattered,

”It’s Mir… my little Mir Rhor is here on Ilum… down in the caves alone. I don’t know how the little scamp did it, but she must have snuck on a transport when someone wasn’t looking. I swear I am going to skin alive the entire guard of that project and replace it with my own personal choices. Maybe even something Tranquility would recommend… that is if your Executors are not up to the task…” By this point Charles had already turned around and grabbed Ben by the collar, lifting him up off his feet, pure anger swirling behind those dark eyes as he brought the man close. Strangely though his hold was rather… gentle if it could be called that. He wasn’t trying to chock the man, and the way he held him gave some support so he could breath. It didn’t take long to realize what Charles was acting like, a panicking father, or older brother, and as he let the man back on his feet he was quick to apologize,

”Look I am sorry, but I can’t wait for five minutes I need to go now to her side. Please forgive me if I harmed you. Also I need to borrow some of your men if I can take the group twenty Union troopers we brought along. If what I sensed was correct she is near a large vein of crystal. So we can leave markers along for your men to follow at your own pace because I am not slowing up… for anyone. Union Troopers you know who you are so follow me now… I will watch your back your back if you fight hard, but anyone who slows down or acts like a coward I will kill you myself.” The large Sith took off at a dead run, not looking back to see if anyone actually followed. He wasn’t sure if they did or not, but he did make sure to give back a quick stare that was meant to put the fear of death into anyone not moving.

He smiled at the fact that the well trained Union men didn’t need to be told more than orders to ‘move out’. The instant that he crested the snow bank, he looked down at the pack of beast, growling as they turned to look up at him, one of them came to charge up at him and the large man dodged to the side and grabbed the side of the beast. With a quick hop up and over he stabbed his blade into the weak spot he read about before the mission, bringing the hulking beast down as the rest of the pack was bearing down. Only to be showered by blaster fire which proved ineffective, not that the Sith had any time to wait around for the large guns to be brought in. Mir needed him, and so extending his hand he reached out, simply grabbed at the very life essence of the creatures with the Force and used Force Drain on them all, many tendrils of black energy flowed back to Charles as he moved ahead into the cave, ”Mir!!! Mir where are you?!! If you can hear me just stay were you are I will find you!!”

It didn’t take long for the troops to catch up and Charles had to admit that he was rather impressed, and though he wasn’t distracted from his goal. He did slow down just a tad as he promise he would protect them if they did their part and kept up with him while he fought his way forward to find the girl. The monsters at the entrance were not the only things they ran into though, a group of the cannibals were he had read about in the briefings also appeared… having picked the wrong tunnel, on the wrong day, and the wrong Sith to cross, ”You have chosen the wrong food to even consider… now die…” His movements were a bit wild with his Vibro sword nor the fact that a few shots of friendly fire were hitting around him. This resulted in more wounds than had he been careful, but slowly he would cut the creatures asunder one by one, in one case two at a time through the neck. The last few he simply did like he had with the beast outside and Force Drained them of their life, ”Do what you can to make sure that we can be followed men. I don’t want Mir trapped down here because we didn’t do this right…”

Continuing to march forward the resistance had faded away, though running on the high of people’s life force and his own adrenaline, Charles knew that he was close. The girl’s unique signature in the Force was one he knew intimately given his job to protect her life. However it was not he that found her, but she found him, but her words at first confused him. He was so wrapped up in his own panic and rage that he forgot for a moment… he was her caretaker and so any such immature emotions were to be cast away when around her. It didn’t take much to remind him, that face, even when its eyes reflected a sinister evil much like his own calmed his heart from a stormy day to a perfectly sunny afternoon. Standing over her Charles didn’t care who was watching as he began to remove his mask, revealing the horrible nature of his facial injuries while at the same time slowly kneel down to Mir Rhoe’s level.

Without his black mask that face was now exposed to the world. Anyone near would be able see that it had nothing to cover his white teeth and pink gums almost down to the skeleton which formed the structure of the jaw line and even at that point his skin clung so tightly to the skeleton tht it left little to the imagination. Evidence of burn scars pocketed what skin was there, but there was hardly any here except what was pulled tight over his chin. Why he felt the need to show such a horrible sight to the little girl even as his tongue that was more exposed when he talked wag around abit was something that Charles hoped would become clear, ”Mir my lady you gave me quit a scare. Just remain calm it is me Charles remember. You are on the planet Ilum, down in the Kyber crystal caverns, and I think you got here by riding in on one of the shuttles. If you had wanted to go out for a trip this bad you should have told me and I would have arranged it. I am glad you are ok… you are ok right? Did anything hurt you?” He gently reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, the sheer warmth in his eyes was very unusual for Charles… Mir was becoming slowly… over time the only one to earn such affection. The Sith even went so far as to lower his head for her looking towards the ground till she indicated otherwise.

Mir Rhor Ben Craig

​

 

[Haon Hafey]

It had been a while, possibly a few hours since he started scanning crystals. Green and Blue seem to be the most common colors with red and yellow being secondary to them. Scanning through a few sections, his counter would start spiking on purity levels as he merely slowly lowered it to the snowy floor. It kept reacting heavily...right where he was. Leaning down, he would start pushing it away as he merely got to an ice like section, almost see through. Frowning, he touched his counter onto it as it spiked massively, showing it was indeed, a kyber crystal. But it was...see through. Better yet, it was white, almost a grayish look. Going into his tent, he would grab a small fold up shovel and starting digging the snow out.

The crystal itself was a bit massive, the size of a small speeder bike yet its purity was almost unmatched. This would be the perfect sample he would need to create his reactor. Smacking into it a few times, he realized he will need to use the laser cutters he brought along to even remotely have a chance of cutting this one...but for some odd reason, it was relaxing him. He just did not know why.

 

[Auriel]

​

O B J E C T I V E: DIPLOMACYYYY​

((OOC: post written from a post-dom pov, the dom is still on-going. Lets gooooo guys!))​

The deed was done. Ilum was now a part of the Union. The shit-storm would soon follow, but Auriel was confident in the strength of the Union, and by extension, confident in the likelihood of being able to manage the Union’s relations with its neighbours, as well as the other great powers in the galaxy.​

​

Auriel boarded the craft to her destination. The modified TGT1 was her favourite ship, having been modified for maximum comfort- and she’d be needing all the rest she could get in between all these meetings. Who would’ve thought that taking a single planet would cause such ripples across the galaxy?​

 

[Tyrael]

​

O B J E C T I V E:BYOO​

Kaleleon

​

Tyrael felt restless. Malthael was out, and the mother-child pair had calmed down too, leaving him with nothing to do. ZU comms suggested that something was going down at the nearby caves, so why not check it out? He didn’t trust some random cannibal to not try to kill Malthae, so he tossed a personal shield on his brother. Even if someone tried to takeout the shield, the violent noise that the shield would make ought to wake up Malthael.​

And off he went, heading towards the nearest cave, hoping to find some ZU people to link up with. Hopefully, something would turn up. After all, something always did.​

He heard footsteps, and speaking into ZU channels revealed that the people inside were indeed friends- allies. And then he looked in the direction the ZU squad was staring, and saw what they had been observing- a duo of Asharl Panthers, their blue coats of fur shining with the ice that rested on top of it, and their golden eyes gleamed in the comparative darkness of the cave. Tyrael was about to jump in and save the poor chap who had founf himself in front of the two predator, when something clicked in his mind- that particular armour, if he wasn’t misrememberin, was of Jedi make. As such, Tyrael decided to wait and observe. He kept to the sideline, stealthily making his way ever nearer to the man whom he suspected of being a Jedi. If he was just another civilian, Tyrael was close enough to save him, but at the same time too far away to be suprised if the suspected Jedi took a swing at him.​

 

[Alli Vern]

Construction ships arrived in orbit as the expedition happened on the planet. To preserve the planet a Grand Welcoming and administration station was being built and that meant that Tanlab answered the call. So Alli Vern herself was here to see what all the fuss was about. The prep was being handled, This area of space was closed off temporarily. She was on board her favorite ship, overseeing it all. The LO-203 Furia-class Frigate was ship that she had turned into her personal luxury yacht. It could do more serious work but it was mainly to let her travel safely in style.

The beacons were being placed to mark the zone as closed off and the orbit being checked to make sure that all the schematics had made assumptions about the orbital range and it was now time to test the math. She didn't trust it till she saw the planet in person. After all one small mistake and the station could crash into the planet or something. So now it was time to do the prep. Soon, they would have a station here that would show off why Tanlab was entrusted with this project. A third station to show just how capable Tanlab Industries was.

 

[Tranquility]

Objective: Save Charles from Himself

A droid appeared out of nowhere. It was one of the special ops droids that Tranquility had made for reasons like this. It wasn't her usual HRD droid that she spun up to go on an trek but when she found that one of the subjects wanted to go out, she wanted to see it play out so she followed. Then she ended up here. On Ilum of all places. She knew it was going to be a recent mission, to secure it and make it a safer place for visitars but she had not planned on coming. "Greetings Charles, Mir, its me Tranquility."

Tranquility walked up to Charles and Mir and flicked both of them on the forehead, in a way that wouldn't hurt, she had to control her droid body's use of force. "Mir, you should of asked if you wanted to leave the facility. I would of arranged for you to come with Charles. Charles, don't let her escape get you too angry, both you and I know its easy for a child to slip away if they want to. " She looked at them both and took a step back. "Mir, at this rate maybe you have a future working for me, I was impressed with your escape, I can't wait till you get older." She had to remember that organics needed to gro and things called child labor laws were generally accepted by the majority of the civilized world. She couldn't employ Mir, this was her time to enjoy her childhood. "I will return now that I know Mir is in capable hands, I just wanted to make sure she was safe."

Mir Rhor | Charles Castex

 

[Chris Walker]

/////:Combat report://///
Objectives: Work with Eldoc to clear the rest of the cave
Tags: Eldoc Quasat​

Personal Equipment: Judicator Command Carapace Mk.2, Negotiator Blaster Pistol, Mauler Kinetic Rifle, a custom 1m vibroblade
Commanding infantry using: Constable Reactive Carapaces, Tranquilizer Las-Hands, Mauler Kinetic Rifles, Brazier APCs, vibro knives

Chris replied to the dark jedi "We made sure we aren't getting flanked" he eyed the force user's lightsaber warrily, "The only thing left to do is keep moving forwards." The peacekeepers began to clear the tunnels in front of them, sweeping corridors and carefully leaning around corners. As they advanced the walls became almost completely covered in the strange writing, and diagrams that spoke to a time gladly forgotten by the people of the galaxy. From a crevice in the ceiling another shrieking figure dropped in front of Chris, and was met with 15 rounds of high caliber slugs. He gingerly stepped over the ruined corpse, seeing the cultist's entire face was covered in thin tattoos that suggested lines of text from some awful book. Loading another magazine he checked his armour's sensors, and the cultist still showed flickering life signs. He turned back around to Eldoc "Do you know what's going on here? I trust you more than an out and out sith, but I need an explaination."

​

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

"They appear to be some offshoot from even traditional sith. I unfortunately am more familiar than I would like to be with their writing. They seem to think they gather power from those they eat and wear. Has anyone reported some stronger ones? Because I fear that what we have seen are just the fodder, the scavengers who are in the outskirts. When we find the main group, its going to be ugly. You don't last this long killing would be jedi being weak. Sure these scavengers get lucky or find the weak but they wouldn't stop someone prepared for this test or the mentor that is probably close by. I am afraid that we haven't seen anything yet. " Eldoc took another swig of his flask. This is not what he signed up for. He took a deep breath and felt with the force. "Be careful I fear we are approaching more of them, a cluster, They know we are coming. " This was not his day. He ignited his lighsaber again and looked to the group with him. "Be prepared, I have a feeling that sooner or later we are going to find a room or two that words can not describe, Our best bet is to just destroy them. Don't take anything from these rooms, they could corrupt you or worse."

Chris Walker

 

[Chris Walker]

/////:Combat report://///
Objectives: Work with Eldoc to clear the rest of the cave
Tags: Eldoc Quasat
​

The group continued to move through the tunnels, so far it hadn't branched off but the crystals became more and more clouded and dark. Disturbingly the glow remained, but it began to turn a sickly sulfurous yellow-green. A strange noise hummed, always seeming to come from behind no matter which direction you faced. Chris dumped the crystal necklaces from his armour's storage pouch on the Dark Jedi's recommendation and felt calmer. "If you... sense anything, tell me immediately. I don't want to end up as a coat." They continued to the beginning of a large chamber, its walls dripping with foul smelling condensation. The room had bunks covered in furs from the native animals of Ilum, a table, chairs, and a small and very outdated electric heater and stove with a small pot of still cooking soup still on top. Chris shut off the heater and the peacekeepers checked every bunk and crevice for traps and hostiles. They could hear hushed voices ahead in the next tunnel on their route deeper into the cave system. "Eldoc, is that someone talking, or is it something worse." he paused, "All over the galaxy, especially on colder planets, there are stories of what happens if you eat the flesh of another of your species. Stories of things that crawled from caves and forests. I'd always thought they were just wildlife or maybe loose sithspawn, but... that talking doesn't sound right."

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

Eldoc took a deep breath as they heard the whispering. "That is something worse. I am not getting normal signs from up ahead, " He took a swig from his flask as he calmed his mind and prepared for whatever they were going to engage. "I don't think I have heard those stories, I just know that if you spend too long around places where you find script like what is on these walls and the like you start hearing voices. Seeing things, some of the things can hurt you and you can't hurt them. " He sighed. "When I was young hundreds of years ago if not longer, cryo-stasis really messes with your sense of time. I was abandoned on the planet Korriban by my Jedi Master, and then saved by another. Whenever you see what we are seeing, it is not a good sign. Be prepared and know that if worse comes to worse, I will hold it off. I at least have the connection to the force that enables me to fight it in non physical ways."

Eldoc was prepared to throw himself at whatever might or might not be ahead. It could just be voices, it could be a spirit, it could be something worse. Some manifestation caused by the beings that called these caves home and corrupted it with the dark side. He might be a Dark Jedi but he did not agree with the creation of places like this. He would help purge this world of whatever evil was conjured here.

Chris Walker

 

[Chris Walker]

/////:Combat report://///
Objective: Wipe out the cultists
Tags: Eldoc Quasat
​

"I hope I haven't lost my mind just yet," Chris said as he checked his ammunition counters, "I have yet to fight anything completely unnatural, but 30 high explosive slugthrower rounds in under 30 seconds should mulch anything we find." He gestured for the peacekeepers to follow him, "Alright, once more into the breach." With that Chris started into the tunnel, Mauler at the ready. As he stepped down the tunnel the voices got louder and more distinct. They were human, but the language was unlike anything Chris had heard. As he rounded the corner he saw the beginning of a massive cavern, stretching a great deal into the distance, and separated into two sides by a wall of crystalline stalactites and stalagmites grown together save for a few gaps. He saw a large number of cultists, dozens of them with knives, swords, spears, slugthrowers, and blasters. Every weapon was different, no two were of the same make or model. Each cultist wore a some kind of skinned garment from a victim that they had caught over the time the cult had been active. Chris whispered to Eldoc and his peacekeepers "They haven't seen us yet, fan out among the rocks. On Eldoc's signal every second man activate your shields, then dump as many rounds as you can. Once we've cut them down secure the passages into the other section of the cavern."

 

[Tristan Evore]

The room began to change. He listened very carefully as one by one, the mystics began a low yet strong hymn which made the Sith Lord emotional. But as he looked around, he watched as out of each of thier mouths mist began appearing. It wasn't unnatural no, instead it was the blessing of the holy Force.

He joined them and for the very first time in his long life he felt truly one with the Force. Soon, the mist began to form clouds small but venerable. And those clouds began to rain giving the children whom were quite thirsty, water. It was a miracle.

"Attention Zweihander forces, this is Fleet Admiral Evore. Stand down from harming the mystics. Repeat, stand down from harming the mystics and connect me with the Chancellery of Unity immediately" He then began to project with he saw and felt to Charles Castex , the only man whom he knew was a force user on the planet.

<"Charles, these people have an unusual connection to the force. Watch">

Ben Craig , Tranquility , Chris Walker , Eldoc Quasat , @Ali Vern

 

[Mir Rhor]

Objective: BYOO
Tags: Ben Craig | Charles Castex | Tranquility | Tristan Evore

She was slightly dazed, completely confused as to where she was, but there was one thing the girl had to admit to herself, she could've ended up in a place far less beautiful than this one, as she stood in a cave surrounded by sparkling and twinkling lights emanating from small crystals embedded within the cave walls, lining the entire naturally formed structure. "Charles?"

Noticing how quickly the man came to her, seemingly just having been in a scuffle with the other men who had come along with him, Mir hesitated to say anything, but there was this strange, yet somewhat nice looking lady who seemed to intervene on Charles' own behalf, attempting to prevent any further harm to be done to the man who was called 'Ben'. That man looked quite scary, despite the fact that Charles seemed more imposing when it came to stature and overall physique. "I only wanted to see what was going on, I slipped out of the lab...but all I can remember is...a voice, bright orange lights in the back of my head and then poof...I woke up right here...like really, poof."

Tugging at Charles' uniform, Mir looked up at him and started to pout. "Did I do something wrong, was I not supposed to be here?"

 

[Ben Craig]

U N I O N​

Location: Ilum , Unknown Cave
Focus: Charles Castex , Mir Rhor , Tranquility
Dress: Uniform , Armor
Gear: DB-46C
Forces:

• Executor Troopers x40
• ISB Agents x10
• Union Troopers x20
• Engineers x20

Ben nodded to Charles as he spoke. While technically Ben held a higher rank and position then Charles, the Sith somehow had won Ben's respect. There weren't many who Ben respected, but Charles had won that right. So he let him speak. "Of course Captain." Ben pulled out the datapad and looked to where Charles pointed. "Hm alright, I will notify the troopers to be on high alert." The group descended into the cave, the troopers forming a protective circle around the officers and agents in the middle. The sound of the men's boots echoed throughout the deep cavern.

The group stopped as Charles spoke, "A problem?" Ben's eyes widened as Charles turned on him. The troopers raised their blasters at Charles as he picked up Ben several feet off the ground. The troopers were about to fire when Charles put Ben down and apologized. He adjusted his collar, "Don't touch me ever again Captain. You have earned my respect but even you have gone too far." Ben glared at the captain. While Charles hadn't hurt Ben, he had surely embarrassed him in front of his men and if some sort of disciplinary action was not taken, not only would Ben seem weak, it could happen again.

Ben waved his hand and the troopers lowered their rifles, a bit hesitantly. "Lets go" The group followed Charles down the path. When the contingent caught up to Charles, bodies were strewn across the floor. "Cannibals." Ben spat. They once more caught up with Charles who was talking to a little creature. Ben held his hand up and the men stopped, watching the interaction between Charles and the creature called Mir. Suddenly, a droid appeared out of one of the entrances. "What the kriff? Tranquility?"

​

 

[Adele Crawford]

//: ADELE //:
//: MISSION //: Observe Ilum Cavern
//: TEAM //: Ben Craig Charles Castex Mir Rhor Tranquility
//: EQUIPMENT //: Signature, Data Pad, Contact Lenses

It was one of her first missions in the field, mostly as an observer this round. The woman wrapped herself tightly in her military-issued jacket and scarf, silently using the Force passively to keep herself warm. A datapad flickered as her eyes scanned the scene, watching others remove the crystals for the project at hand. Adele kept mostly to herself through excavation, monitoring, and maintaining samples of the cave itself. A small woman helped the Corellian gather the different crystals for her research.

The entire excavation for Adele remained uneventful, and the woman would blink quickly, examining every square inch of the cave and the faces of those commanding. Crossing her arms, she sent off the small woman who waddles back towards the craft ships that had brought the team to the location. While Adele murmured to herself, she heard a commotion and ran towards the uniformed man named Ben Craig.

Ice crunching under her feet as she arrived and examined the room, taking in the carnage that had ensued. Adele looked around, and then at the others in the room, she blinked again, rapidly examining once more the state of the cavern. It wasn't the first time the woman had seen a slaughter like this, but she feigned her feelings of disgust. Something more was at play here and she wondered if it was part of what was happening. She wasn't as skilled as a trained force user - Jedi specifically, but she knew the tales and the importance of the cave. With what they were doing, could it have disturbed something that had been locked away? Adele decided to investigate further later, for now, she needed to check on the man leading the mission. Tucking the datapad away, she moved towards the man who had been attacked and slightly tilted her head. "Everything okay?" The force-sensitive made a note of the others, specifically the Sith in the room - with a child and droid? Curious matters were happening on Ilum; that was a fact.

 

[Charles Castex]

U N I O N​

Objectives: Top Priority: 1. Protect Mir Rhor from harm and allow her to complete any personal objective on planet, or see her back safely to the shuttle. All other objectives are now secondary and may be fully abandon to secure Mir Rhor. The same goes for life lost in the process… protect Mir Rhor at all cost

Primary: 1. Secure cavern system so that Kybar Crystals can be retrieved for R&D

2. Clear any hostiles that get in the way of research department personal

Secondary: 1. Collect a personal stash of the Kybar Crystals to start construction of lightsaber

2. To use this as a chance to work on front line combat skills with a sword and short sword in a dangerous environment.

”Yes Mir it is me…” His voice suddenly faded at the stealthy patter of something coming up behind him that certainly wasn’t the boots of the Union soldiers. The Sith quickly stood up, turning on a dime despite his large size and put himself between the perceived threat and Mir, only to find himself staring at one of Tranquilities android bodies. Normally he wouldn’t have been bothered by the suddenly appearance of one of the AI’s stealth droids, but the instant it came with the implication that she had figured about Mir’s escape from the lab and then proceeded not to inform him about it, the Sith growled low as he extended his hand in Tranquilities direction reaching out with the force as he spoke, ”You let my dear Mir, get into a ship, and get off at this frozen planet in the middle of an invasion and told me nothing… risking her precious life… Tranquility I swear I…” While he spoke the droid would register that a few parts were get ripped up bit by bit… affecting only backup systems, as was typical of Charles slow methods of torture, but then… just as quick as it started… it stopped,

”What have I done…” For a rare moment Charles sound horrified by something he had done, and at this point as the Sith looked down towards the ground he noticed that on his special communication device he had with Tranquility around his wrist and realized… he had been told. Like a fool… he had not noticed. The time on the message was around the same time they were in orbit. It was not anyone else fault, but his own... the Sith looked up at the AI like a defeated animal… more like sad puppy as he realized he had done something wrong and feared she was about to harm him. In fact he seemed to half flinch from the flick to his forehead, hesitant to say any anything, ”Forgive me Tranquility it was just that her sudden presence here scared me given how dangerous this place is. Thank you so much for watching over her… I will do anything to earn your forgiveness and pay you back for threatening you… you know we might have to think seriously about getting that ship commissioned for you.”

Awkwardly he rubbed the back of his head, before a look of remembrance crossed his feature, Mir Rhor, the Sith was quick to turn his attention back to the young girl. Charles kneeled down on the ground so that he could be as close to eye level with her as possible, placing a gentle hand on both her shoulders, he would speak in that soft kind voice that Tranquility never heard him speak to anyone else with. Gently brushing the hair from his from her face, before playfully poking her with a laugh ”It is ok. No one is mad at you, all that matters is that you are safe, and guess what… you are going to get that tour of this place you wanted. We actually came here to get some of the pretty crystals, a few are going to be for me, and if you are good I will get one for you and make it into a necklace. Would you like that?” Charles realized very fast what was going on. He was dealing with the side of Mir Rhor, that he simply called ‘Mir’ whose personality was that of kind little girl. He was thankful that they were not dealing with the monster he nicknamed ‘Rhor’… the one he saw so much of himself in. Over time he was starting to realize that it was becoming rather crowded when it came to the soldiers, ”Hold on for a second dear… we need to… create some fresh air…”

He stood up and turned to look at the Union, about to tell them to back the frell up, but then suddenly saw Director Ben. The Sith was glad because the man had managed to temper his words with the ‘cold water’ of who was actually in charge… and prevented him from potentially scaring his dear Mir. At that point he remembered the way he had panicked and picked up the feeling rather embarrassed over the ordeal… he had acted unprofessional in front of someone who respect he had earned the hard way and who had done the same in kind. So reaching to ruffle the girl hair and reassure her he said, ”Wait here Mir… I made a mistake with my boss… and need to take responsibility.”

So stepping forward towards Ben he went to attention, saluted and then to parade rest. It was usual to see the Sith so formal, but he had messed up and was owning up to it. He also felt that it was best if Ben knew exactly what the reason was for his actions… so he understand his reactions… even if they inexcusable, ”Director Ben I would like to apologize my inappropriate reaction before, and I am fully prepared for any disciplinary action you recommend that I receive. All I ask is that you listen to the reason for my sudden panic, because it is a matter of grave importance to the Union, and so please leave my disciplinary hearing till after I have completed a new objective that has presented itself and precedes even our original mission.” Then the Sith would gently reach forward, in a manner that was familiar to Ben as Charles method of showing respect and affection, but the large male suddenly pulled out his data pad and stood there awkwardly for a minute typing... state secrets as they were needed to be encrypted and once the message was done he handed the data pad to Ben. Resisting the urge to indicated its hush hush nature in a playful manner... the message read as follows,

”The girl… she is one of the C o C projects subjects. In fact I guess the proper term is to call her the most successful one yet. I have been tasked to be her personal protector along with my other duties. So the fact that she is here, means that I have failed… and well… it seemed that Tranquility thought that the girl going for a little walk as long she was watch over safely was ok. Also for not having been more aware of the location of such an important state secret that I am meant to protect... I take responsibility.” He stepped back for a moment saying nothing else, the look on his face showed he wasn’t expecting to be excused. Ben knew Charles took responsibility for his mistakes, but he wanted him to know what they were dealing with when it came to having Mir in their midst. She had to be protected, even if that meant taking her with them to get the crystals… they would just need to make sure a close eye was kept on her. A very close eye… The Sith would return to parade rest until Ben gave him leave to return to his most important job of caring for Mir. It was about that time he felt her tugging at his uniform…. and his heart-strings… like always,

”Mir no why would think that. Remember I have told you many times, you can’t do anything wrong my lady. You can go anywhere your heart desires, it is just… well… you should have told someone so we could have made sure I was there with the entire time. Just to watch over you like I promised I would always do. Remember I won’t ever break that promise, no matter what… I just need you to tell me when you want to go somewhere. Anywhere… you name it.” The large Sith was obviously wrapped around Mir’s proverbial pinky in the most adorable way. This time he had decided to pull her into a hug for a moment to let her know that everything was going to be ok, and that nothing was wrong. It was obvious how worried he had been, the way his fingers curled into her hair and his arms pulled her close … the poor dear was acting like a worried parent… at that was when he sense a new presence… an unknown,

”Mir promise you won’t come out from behind me until I say it is safe. I won’t let you come to harm… no one here will…” He wanted her to trust Ben and his men if something happened to him. That had to get her back home with Tranquilities help, and so letting go of the girl, he turned still kneeling low… he stared at the woman with intent of a mother bear protecting its cub. It was his promises to Tranquility and his desire to keep Ben’s respect that rooted him to the ground, but most of all it was his desire to hide the monster within, from the ‘Mir’ side of Mir Rhor, ”No everything is not ok. Who are you? No don’t answer that to me because I don’t care, but the Director there I am sure will be happy to take care of talking with you. As for me and my position… do not take a step closer… not one step please…” The last tone held a note of a man who wasn’t so much commanding, but borderline pleading, he had picked up his blood stained vibro-sword and kept it pointed straight at Adele, his other hand kept unclenching and clenching the snow…

Charles was worried because he knew how he looked, and he looked like a dangerous being. Only Tranquility knew the full details of it, of the people present, just like he was hoping that Mir stayed in her more peaceful mentality. He had to do everything to protect the girl behind though, not just for his Master, but more for himself. His gazed turned to Tranquility almost begging her… help… her usual calm diplomatic solutions and problem solving. He was scared to verbally ask for it, because it made him look weak, but he just hoped she could read the room…

Mir Rhor Ben Craig Tranquility Adele Crawford

​

 

[Vyr]

// Kyber Crisis //
// Within the Crystal Caves //
// Protect the President // Yee-haw //
// Adele Crawford // Charles Castex //

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Vyr wandered through the cave, adjusting the red-tinted sunglasses he favored when working out in the field. Something about them made him feel powerful, such feelings only doubling as brushed his mustache into proper shape. He craned his head from left to right, eyeing the crystals with a perked brow. Wandering the caves left the hired help feeling a plethora of emotions, most of which were negative. He opted not to focus on them, his attention falling on Adele as she wandered towards Ben Craig. Shifting directions, Vyr hummed a jaunty tune to himself as he cleared half of the room before noticing a darker presence approaching Adele. The mercenary's hands fell to his side, hovering close to the twin blaster pistols decorating his waist. Over his shoulder, a viboblade poked out, noticeable by anything with even a basic level of observational skills.

"Well damn, Adele, you dun' got yerself in trouble in the five minutes it took me to take a quick piss outside this durn cave," Vyr's voice cut through the silence after Charles' questioned the operative. The first thing the glasses toting mercenary did? Step closer to the Sith Acolyte, positioning himself between the three-hander agent and her momentary conversational partner. "Listen, missy, if yer gun' hire me to keep ye' safe, I'm gon' need you to sit still and not cause no-damn stir with these random dark and spooky types, ye hear me?" the merc turned his attention back to the Sithling, brow perked as he studied the large, scarred, human male.

"As for you, padnerr, I'm gun' need you to stop with them ther' crypticisms," Vyr raised his hands. "Do not take a step closer...." he paused for emphasis, waving his hands slightly while impersonating the Sith. "Not one step closer," the merc raised a hand, shifting the shades so they hung more comfortably on his nose. "We're all here for the same job, ye hearin' me? We're killin' these goddamn natives and we dun' gon' git ourselves some of these spicy kyburr crystals. Help us with this durned cold and all this 'n' that."