Session export: “GJW XVII - [GoldNovaeScotia]
Cor'neria System
The armed might of the Brotherhood and its Clans poured into the Cor’neria System. More than a hundred warships and thousands of fighters emerged from hyperspace all around the system in groups and clusters, clearly following some masterful strategic plan to avoid collisions. The Brotherhood was here to end the fight with the Collective once and for all, and to end the threat ever-posed by its fanatical leader Rath Oligard. It was the Grandmaster’s command that Oligard be found and brought him. The Clans organized themselves and mobilized under the aegis of the Brotherhood’s own formidable 1st Battle Fleet. One Clan though was not content to sit in the shade of the Brotherhood, they would lead from the front as was their long tradition.
A lone Raider II-class corvette, the Revenenant, emerged from Hyperspace from an odd vector. It had no stealth systems but its approach was masked by the sheer number of vessels appearing in the system at the same time. Against the backdrop of the Brotherhood’s task forces and battlegroups this lone ship went overlooked. The mass of the planet Cor’neria loomed before it, getting ever-larger as the swift warship dove towards it. Their approach was not unnoticed for long however as the planet was protected by orbital sensors and defensive platforms. With the majority of the defenses occupied at that exact moment however the majority of turbolaser fire that could have been directed the ship’s way was missing. It juked and weaved as it strove towards the planet’s upper atmosphere but it was continually turned away.
A flight of Collective starfighters sprinted towards it, redirected from other deployments. The Revenant pulled off its initial course once its crew determined the fighters would intercept them. It fired defensively as it peeled away from a direct approach to the planet. The warship was quite nimble for its size but it was still a warship, not a starfighter. The fighters overtook it and strafed its shielding. The vessel shook under the assault.
TRNF Revenant
The shaking caused those running through its corridors to stumble and grasp for railings to support themselves. Three such individuals raced through the disciplined mayhem of the warship to its rear. It always paid to have a Plan Besh for when Plan Aleph was foiled, but the trouble with Plan Besh was that it was less good of an option than Plan Aleph was supposed to have been. This was the trouble Dameeze was having with the plan.
“Meez does not like tight spaces. Meez finds them constricting, and besides Meez is not fond of falling. Meez would not like–”
Colonel Shanree shut down the Lonto’s babbling with a pointed finger in his face, “Meez gets in the pod or Meez doesn’t get paid. You Understand?”
Meez understood well-enough, and he made a contorted face at the eyeless Miraluka when the Colonel turned around. Shanree didn’t need eyes to sense what the Lonto was doing, but he chose to ignore it lest Oriana outstride him. At 6ft3 Shanree was often among the tallest humanoids in any given situation, but at 7ft1 the Epicanthix Jedi strode with the best of them. He could sense she didn’t like Plan Besh anymore than he did, but the Revenant’s Commander had made it clear he would not be taking his ship any closer to the planet with it still so well defended. They were on a tight timetable however, and the mission that the three were tasked with necessitated them to push forward regardless. Cassandra Oriana Taldrya knew what was at stake and she knew that meant putting her doubts aside. Shanree was filled with those same doubts, and he likewise put a tamper on them to achieve the mission.
That’s what he always did– achieve the mission. No matter the mission.
They finally stumbled their way to the Revenants rear cargo hold where an orbital drop pod was prepped for them by the crew. Shanree had been on a lot of missions and had been inserted in countless ways but this was a first. Three hatches, placed equidistantly around the pod, were open allowing access to a coffin-like space just large enough for one sentient each. The pod was built, thankfully, with a headspace sufficient for even exceptionally tall specimens like Oriana. The three of them climbed into their designated hatch and allowed the crew members to buckle them in. One by one the hatches were sealed up, and then the hold evacuated. Shanree’s heart was racing despite his attempts to calm himself, but he couldn’t help but feel that this pod would make for a rather lack-luster smudge against the Cor’nerian sky if the right targeting droid locked them in its sights.
“May the Force be with you, both of you”, Oriana’s voice came over their shared comlink.
Shanree replied, “And with you, of course. Good luck to you Oriana, and you Meez.”
“Meez doesn’t want to die like this! Meez wants to die surrounded by wealth and dancing girls!” The Lonto couldn’t perceive the shared annoyance of the two Elders who could sense one another through the Force.
The Revenant pitched up and accelerated. The rear cargo ramp descended and the air in the hold began to race out. Their orbital descent pod lifted on repulsors and it was quickly swept from the hold by the escaping atmosphere. Propelled into space clear of the warship the pod oriented itself and then accelerated towards the planet. The acceleration was brutal, pushing blood from their feet and legs up into their torsos and heads. It was smooth enough until they hit atmosphere, whereupon the pod was buffeted by growing friction and resistance. Meez’s panicked yelling was inescapable through the comlink, which did nothing to help Shanree to not start yelling himself. The shaking and rattling of the pod increased the more of the atmosphere it came into contact with; had he not been restrained Shanree would have been black and blue from head to foot.
The right targeting droid, or the wrong one depending on perspective, did unfortunately lock its sights on a bright ball of durasteel wrapped in atmospheric plasma descending at a meteor-like velocity. He trained his sensors on the falling object and identified it as something manufactured and intact, it was not debris. With mechanical efficiency it tapped commands into its data terminal. Targeting algorithms ran lightning-fast calculations and trained two different missile turrets on the orbital drop pod. Three missiles fired from the turrets and streaked skyward.
A prickle ran down Shanree’s spine. He sensed the incoming attack and pressed his hands to the hatch’s interior. Concentrating he focused on the incoming missiles and pushed with the Force. The first veered off course and exploded harmlessly over their heads. The second barely missed them and exploded close enough that the pod was showered with shrapnel and debris, immediately setting alarms and warning in each hatch. Shanree desperately tried to turn his focus to the third but it was upon them too quickly and he wasn’t able to send it off course. It detonated just below them, damaging the repulsor engines and introducing a lateral tumble to the pod’s descent. Over and around and over again they fell at terminal velocity to the soundtrack of Shanree, Oriana, and Meez all yelling for their lives. Between Shanree and Oriana both trying to reorient the pod with the Force and the remaining back up repulsor struggling for its life they managed to hit the ground at a survivable velocity.
The first hatch to open opened as the manufacturer intended, though Meez tumbled out comically. The second was blown off of its hinges by the hatch’s emergency explosive bolts, allowing the Epicanthix Oriana to extract herself on uneasy legs. The third hatch took some convincing: Shanree beat on it and tried putting his shoulder into it when the emergency explosive bolts failed him. It was sent flying by an invisible strike born of his frustration, and its absence allowed him to unstrap from his restraints and climb out onto the solid ground of Cor’neria.
“Meez is good at lifting heavy things, don’t you worry about it. Meez can do all the work.” The still slightly-discombobulated Lonto muttered to himself as he reached into the pod and dragged out the equipment piece by piece. His statement could be interpreted as sarcastic by some, but both Cassandra and Shanree’s attunement with the Force afforded more insight into the inner workings of his mind: Dameeze actually enjoyed it.
“Good, Meez. Try it in silence now.” Colonel Argentin commanded, fighting to keep from sounding exasperated already. Dameeze turned to look back at Shanree, confused, before continuing quietly. He had come well recommended for the task at hand, but the Miraluka’s contact clearly withheld some details. Still, his expertise with explosives would likely be vital should Plan Besh fail as well. And it probably would. Plans rarely held together.
The final landing location of the pod was a couple kilometers outside Nei’joule City, on the Spaceport side. Shanree estimated it would take roughly fifteen minutes to reach the outskirts of the city, moving double-time, but that assumed there would be no resistance on the way there. The Liberation Front presence was already high prior to hostilities breaking out, it certainly would have increased exponentially since. At least they would have the cover of relative darkness for the time being: Cor’neria wouldn’t be cresting over the horizon for a few more hours.
“What do you see?” The Lady Second inquired as she strode up next to her Jedi companion. Colonel Argentin faced in the direction of their destination, eyeless yet nonetheless searching, extending his mind with the Force across the expanse of farmland between them.
“He doesn’t see anything. Even Meez knows this.” Dameeze said over his shoulder while he pulled thermal detonators from a crate and clipped them to his bandolier.
“Liberation Front presence is increased as expected. Security droids, mounted turrets, both anti-aircraft and anti-vehicle. Modified Imperial Battle Tanks, at least three. And a lot of grunts on foot.” Shanree responded, ignoring the Lonto entirely. “The densely packed structures in the Sprawl district appear to give us the best opportunity for stealth.”
“Then we will need to disable the power fence and cause a distraction to slip through.” Cassandra noted.
“Meez can make distractions. Big explosions. Lots of attention.” He walked up beside the pair as he spoke, holding his grenade launcher enthusiastically.
“No, Meez. Stealth is our objective. We will tell you when it’s time to blow something up.” Cassandra chided. “I will take care of this.”
Meez sighed in a dejected manner as lowered the grenade launcher, his enthusiasm completely gone. “But Meez just wants to blow stuff up.”
Shanree sighed and shook their heads as they continued on.
The fields were in the middle of season clearly as they progressed, passing through some that had tall grain stalks, some with what looked like a tall green crop but none of the three were quite certain what it was.
It wasn’t long before barking noises could be heard in the distance and noises coming through the thick fields. Lights came on at a small house nearby, with a group of people coming outside holding their own lights.
The three ducked, with Shanree cursing under his breath. “This is bad.”
“Meez can blow stuff up now?” the Lonto excitedly said, as Shanree put his hand over his mouth to shut him up.
“Stay here.” Cassandra said as she suddenly disappeared from sight.
Shanree was caught off guard by her sudden disappearance, barely noticing the shape of a small orange and white creature as it bolted into the crops.
Both himself and Meez glanced up over the top of the cropline and watched as the crops moved showing as the creature moved away from them. The barking noises and opposite crop movement were getting closer and closer. Suddenly the creature’s path veered off to the side with the barking noises following behind it.
“What is it?” someone in the distance called out.
“No idea. Duke found something though, we should check it out.”
“Wait, there it is! It’s a Loth Cat!”
“A Loth Cat? Here of all places?”
“Eh, let Duke play with it. He hasn’t had a good meal in ages.”
“Fine. Back to the card game I guess.”
The voices went off to the distance and Shanree watched as they went back inside the house, extinguishing their lights. This was their opportunity to continue and get away from that place.
As they moved, not far away Cassandra the Loth Cat continued to bolt into the next set of crops and kept running. She glanced behind as she ran and saw what looked like a Charhound closing in on her.
”A charhound of all things…” she thought to herself as she continued to run at full speed. Now that they were a ways away, she let her concentration slip and she shifted back to human form. The charhound came to a standstill, seemingly confused at what it was seeing. It was only a moment longer that it charged at her, teeth bared.
With a twist of her wrist, the charhound’s head turned sharply with a cracking sound. It dropped to the ground with a thud. She sat back for a moment on her hands and took a breath. She was used to changing into that form quite a bit, but running at full speed while trying to maintain it was a whole new thing. She would need to practice more.
Slowly she brought herself up to her feet and thought for a moment. Going back across the open road towards where Shanree and Meez are might be a solid idea, but also continuing ahead in case if anyone else around might be better.
She shifted back down into the small feline form and began trotting off towards back where they were at, singing a little tune of meows as she went.
“What are we waiting for? We should go! Meez thinks this is a good plan.” Meez said.
Shanree would have rolled his eyes, if he’d had any, “We stay put.”
The Lonto body language screamed frustration but he said nothing. Shanree continued to point his head in different directions, sensing about and getting a sense of what was going on around them and where they were in relation to anything else. He was quite perceptive despite the lack of eyes, and his intuition told him the small life form approaching them through the brush was their colleague.
A Loth cat scampered out of a thicket and leapt up at the Miralukan. Shanree caught the small creature under both of its arms, “I’m not carrying you. You’re a big girl, use your feet.”
Cassandra changed back into a humanoid, leaving Shanree grasping her ribcage under her arms and uncomfortably close to her bosom. She smirked, which he sensed and then quickly pulled his hands back. She feigned a quick pout, “Caught with your hands in the cookie jar? Tsk, tsk.”
Meez watched on in bewilderment, “Cookies? What jar?”
Shanree cleared his throat, “We shouldn’t be messing around right now, your Ladyship. We need to head west to get to Oligard’s redoubt. We need to move fast, we’re probably 2km out.”
He led the way at a trot. They moved through fields to stay off of the roads which, while probably seeing very little real traffic on any given day, could produce a Collective patrol at any moment. The bounds of the extensive grain fields were punctuated by hedge rows of some swarthy, local bramble that had been cultivated over years to grow in the place of a fence. They were too tall to leap over, too dense to push through, and possessed thumb-sized thorns that seemed to have their own sub-thorns in a spiraling fractal of smaller and smaller thorns. Meez nearly touched one, out of curiosity, but had his hand slapped by Oriana who told him he’d better not.
“We’ve got to go through it”, she said, now speaking to the Colonel, “If we’re quick about it a lightsaber won’t give us away.”
Shanree didn’t like it but with speed such a factor they didn’t have time to seek out and affect alternatives, “Alright. Give me a moment, I want to have a look around.”
He was used to using Sighted Language, it was just easier to communicate with other species that were overreliant on their visual organs that way. Shanree backpeddled a couple of steps before turning and jogging a ways back into the field. Meez watched him curiously but said nothing. Oriana figured she knew what he meant and knew there wouldn’t be anything spectacular to watch so she turned to examine the hedge some more to satisfy her own curiosity. Shanree found a place, just far away enough from his companions that he felt alone. Taking some deep breaths he centered himself in the Force, quieted his mind, and just allowed himself to be receptive. The Force was part of everything, it surrounded and binded everything. There was only one Force, and it was everywhere at once. What it touched and suffused in one place it knew and remembered in others. If one listened, they could know it as well.
Shanree returned to them only a minute later, “There’s no one around these parts to see the glow of a lightsaber. There’s a droid surveillance craft to the South but it’s headed away from us.”
Oriana didn’t need anything else. Her hand went to her belt, grasped the hilt there, activated it, and began boring a tunnel through the hedge thicket. The branches and vines of the hedge hissed and steamed as the coherent light burned through them. It smells pleasant enough, so that by the time she’d finished creating a passage they were surrounded by the fragrance of green foliage and smoked wood. They continued in this manner moving across vast grain fields, then cutting through the next boundary thicket. The last field stopped short of the now looming enemy fortress, built onto the side of an anomalous mountain of rock that rose out of the otherwise fertile plain, leaving a scorched flat of earth half a klick across and devoid of any cover.
Weapons emplacements fired into the sky from the top of the redoubt. Openings, hangar entrances, appeared on many levels and facing in seemingly all directions. Craft of all sizes and purposes were constantly flying in and departing, coming and going. A perimeter of duracrete formed a curtain wall around the base of the mountain, dotted with towers and look outs. They needed to get into that structure, but first they’d need to cross the cleared fire zone and then through the walls and past its towers.
The dark field before them was illuminated with the rhythmic crimson of the anti-air vehicle blaster cannons, several different emplacements sending streaks into the sky in all directions. It was otherwise absent of lights, except the searchlights position on each tower of the wall, scanning their own small section of the defenses. Though both Shanree and Oriana knew more surprises almost certainly laid in wait if they weren’t careful.
“Meez can lead the way.” The hulking Lonto gestured over his shoulder toward the wall as he spoke. “Is right there.”
“Not so fast, Meez. What do you see in this field?” The Lady Second replied, physically turning Dameeze’s head to look.
“Meez sees nothing. But Meez is not stupid. Is probably mined. Meez knows mines.” He pulled an uncharged mine from his bandolier and held it up in front of them. “See?” Oriana released her grip on the sides of the Lonto’s head and looked over to Shanree, exasperated. The Colonel couldn’t see her reaction but he felt the sentiment through the Force.
“Following behind you while you search for and disable mines would be far too slow and leave us vulnerable to patrols. That’s not a good plan.” The Miraluka chided. “We need to get to the base of that wall as quickly as possible.”
“What do you suggest then?” Oriana asked.
“A Loth Cat might have an easier time navigating around the mines. I can track you and drag this one along with me.”
“And then Meez blows up the wall.” Dameeze interjected, still holding the mine. Shanree nodded.
“Yes Meez, then you can blow up the wall.”
—
Their progress across the cleared field was quicker than they expected. Though it was indeed mined, they were spread out far enough that Oriana moved deftly between them in her feline form. Shanree kept a lock on her Force signature and followed her zigzagging trail through the dark. Dameeze did not have the endurance or agility of his two superiors and found himself falling behind the pace on multiple occasions, the others having to slow down and allow the Lonto to catch up. Even so, they made it safely to the perimeter of the wall.Bright white searchlights from the guard towers panned back and forth along the ground just meters from where the squad waited. Though they overlapped frequently, the pattern was easy enough for them to exploit.
“Meez, it’s finally time for you to blow something up.” The Miraluka Colonel rested a hand on the crouching Lonto’s shoulder. “We need you to set up a distraction to lure the bulk of the forces away. The Lady Second and I will disable one of the towers and together we can lift you up over the wall.”
“Meez likes this plan. This is what Meez has been waiting for!” Dameeze was nodding his head enthusiastically as he spoke.
“You’re going to go down that way a few hundred meters,” Shanree pointed to the left of their position, “time the searchlights, run out to the wall, and set up your charges. We will go a few hundred meters this way,” he swung his hand over the right, simplifying the instructions as much as he was capable, “as soon as you’re finished you need to get over to us. Understand?”
“Yes, Meez understands. You won’t leave Meez though, right?”
“We will if we have to. Don’t be late.” Oriana replied coolly, with the hint of a smirk obscured by the darkness. Meez gulped.
“Okay, Meez can do this. See you soon!” The Lonto scurried off to the left, staying in the dark for now, already pulling at more explosives on his person. His companions watched him curiously.
Do you think he’ll make it?”
“Maybe.” Shanree shrugged. “Either way, it should be one hell of a distraction.” The Jedi pair crouched low and sprinted to the right, heading for the next closest guard tower. As they closed the distance Oriana held back and focused her attention on the searchlight, now beginning its path back across toward them. Her lightsaber hilt floated up into the air in front of her, guided only by her mind, before flying off toward the light. Just as it made contact and shattered the glass, Shanree leapt from the base of the wall, channeling the Force into his legs to greatly extend the distance. With his momentum slowing around the midpoint, the Colonel drew his own lightsaber and ignited it, burying the blade into the duracrete wall.
Now spreading the Force to his arms as well, Shanree leapt again, climbing effortlessly over the crest of the wall. Just as his feet touched down on the roof of the tower, the Force screamed a warning and he ducked low. A massive explosion ripped through the darkness, sending a shockwave rippling past. Large chunks of duracrete rained down into the smoke.
Wasting no time, the Miraluka checked over the edge and noted his ally beginning her own climb up. As Oriana reached the same midpoint of the wall, Shanree reached out his hand and willed the Force to bring her closer. The Lady Second glided into the front of the guard tower with her lightsaber already ignited and silenced the two guards with a single slash. The Colonel swung down from the roof and landed beside her.
“Good work.”
“Thanks for the lift.” Oriana said with a smile. Shanree nodded.
“Anytime.” He turned back out toward the field and focused his mind, sensing for a bumbling Lonto in the dark. “Ah, he did make it. A pleasant surprise.” Dameeze was running directly toward them across the field, panting heavily. Once he was close enough, the combined strength of the two Jedi easily lifted him into the tower beside them.
He clattered to the floor and laid there for a few moments.
It wasn’t long however, before the sounds of boots and voices began to close on their location. Cassandra raised her head and looked back where the Lonto had came from and sensed a rather large group headed their way.
“Seems they saw Meez ran this way.” Cass remarked as she noticed Shanree was prepared to leap down into the fray.
She tried to stop him, but it was too late. “Shanree!”
He was down on the ground with his lightsaber in hand as several hundred feet ahead the group came into view and began moving down the road with him in their sights. While she wanted to help him, she knew the mission to find a way into Oligard’s area was of paramount importance.
“Meez, stay here and rest. Catch up to us when you feel up to it.” Cassandra said as she prepared to leap down herself, but into a darker alley away from where the commotion was.
“Wait, how will Meez find you?”
She smiled at him with her eyes closed. “Just follow Shanree’s trail of death.”
With that, she leapt down quietly and began to move. Meez just stared quietly from what she said.
As she moved, rain drops began to fall from the sky. Gradually the rainfall increased until it was coming down at a steady rate.
”At least this will make it easier to move around and avoid being detected…” Cassandra mentally said to herself as she snuck from corner to corner, using the noise of the rain to mask her steps. Several guards along the way were fairly easy to dispatch due to this, with her being able to sneak up behind them and snap their necks by augmenting her arms to increase her strength.
In the distance she heard cries and screams, most likely where Shanree was moving to next. Several explosions followed which slightly frustrated her as she felt bringing attention to themselves was not an optimal way to do this since Oligard would almost all but know they were coming and his defenses would be raised.
Just as she was about to advance on the outer perimeter however, over the sound of rain she heard something that brought her to a pause. Her head turned to a building behind her.
”Is that…a child crying?” she thought to herself and she tried to listen closer. The rain made it extremely hard to be certain. Could just be an animal, could be nothing. She looked at the wall ahead that led into the compound, then back to the building.
Cassandra clenched her fist and mentally cursed to herself as she returned her lightsabers to their clips on her outfit. ”Kriff it.”
The mission had to come first, but she couldn’t leave a child in need if that was indeed the case. At the least she could figure out if that feeling was true, and if it were, reassure them at the minimum. Plan an escape route where she picks them up at the worst.
She quickly turned and sprinted towards the building and opened the door to go inside. The building was dark, no lights on anywhere. Water ran down her soaked clothing and body, dripping onto the floor as she entered. The drips could barely be heard over the now torrential downpour outside.
In case it was a child that needed reassuring, she closed the door behind her. Immediately something felt off, as the sound of the rain was greatly diminished. The crying continued however and she knew almost instantly it was a child.
Cassandra pushed the thought of something being wrong out of her mind and began to search around.
“Hello?” She called out while also reaching out in the force. There were dozens of others she sensed in the vicinity, a sign that her stealth to this point had succeeded. But it made locking onto the one she was with virtually impossible.
Instead she relied on her perception and followed the cries and sniffles. This took her to the second floor, where she made out the silhouette of a blond haired girl in the corner with her head buried into her arms, legs pulled up to her chest. Around her neck was a chain and collar.
This sight stunned Cassandra. “…what the?”
She ran over to the girl and knelt down, her hands firmly around the collar as she pulled with all of her strength while feeding the force into the pull. With her augmented strength, the collar shattered into two pieces.
The girl remained still and in her position, the crying now having stopped.
“It’s OK. You’re safe now.” Cassandra reassured as she placed her left hand onto the girl’s arm. The girl looked up at her, her hair blocking view of her left eye. Her right was the exact same shade as Cassandra’s.
“…you aren’t.” the girl said with a firm and solid voice, fully emotionless almost as if she had never been crying. Every fiber in Cass’s being screamed at her to get out of there.
Just as she reacted and rolled backwards, the girl had slashed outward with a dagger that had been obscured from sight. Her speed in the horizontal slash of it was incredible, just inches from catching Cassandra’s leg.
She felt more warnings, this time from all over. She glanced around and saw she was surrounded…by more children. None of this was making sense, but her confusion around what was going on was proved to be a pitfall however, as she felt a sharp pain in her back as something tackled straight into her with immense force.
Barely able to bring her arms up in time, she telekinetically broke through the wall in front of her which luckily was not very thick. She flew through the debris and landed on the dirty path below outside the building.
As she brought herself back up to her feet and shook off the pain she felt from the hit, her eyes widened and she unclipped both of her sabers once more. Children were slowly coming out of the building she was in, others were on the rooftop. The building on the opposite side of the way was the exact same thing, children on the roof and walking outside. With the wall at her back, she was surrounded by over three dozen children.
They were not very old, anywhere from what she perceived to be early teenagers to no older than seven or eight. She did not want to fight them.
Before she could turn and leap away however, one of them was already on top of her and grabbed onto her leg. Another was nearly to her with another dagger in hand. Just with seconds to spare her fire-red lightsaber was ignited and moved to counter.
The startling realization struck her far worse than she had been just earlier. Oligard augmented his troops to be more powerful, faster, and stronger to keep up with force users.
He had done the same to these children. And using them to play on the emotions of Brotherhood forces to trap and ambush them.
Ambush people like her, who would fall straight into the trap.
The trap for Cassandra.
Cassandra’s trap.
Shanree had finished clearing his own path, with Meez having destroyed several buildings along the way where some had tried to entrench. As Meez celebrated, Shanree felt something was wrong.
“…Oriana.”
He turned to the right and ran down along the wall that separated the enclave from the area they were in.
Pain. Suffering. Anguish. These were feelings he knew all too well, but they were a foreign concept when it came to the Lady Second.
When he finally reached where she was only a few minutes later, he stopped dead in his tracks and was completely without words.
There were bodies everywhere. Children in dark uniforms, others in tattered clothing, along with various blasters and weapons scattered about. Many appeared to just be dazed or unconscious, but that was not the case for over a fourth of them. At the center of the carnage was Cassandra who was knelt down closely clutching the body of a blond haired girl that looked no older than eight. What looked like a lightsaber cut was straight into her chest.
“Im sorry…I’m sorry…I’m so so sorry…” he heard her repeating to herself as she rocked back and forth while holding the girl. Slowly he began to approach and Cassandra turned her head to him. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her emotional state in complete ruin.
“Shanree…” she started, trying to keep any semblance of composure.
He clenched his fist as he saw what looked like bio-augmentation on the girl’s arm. Anger started to well up inside of him as he looked to other children around him. It was the same thing.
Oligard had altered them. Just the same as his own troops. And if they had done what he feels had just occurred here, potentially brainwashed them as well or raised to be fiercely loyal.
Meez had made his way here at this point, and unlike his usual joking self, was completely silent with his hands over his mouth at the scene.
“We have to continue, Oriana.” he said to her as he knelt down next to Cassandra. “We will come back here and give them proper graves, see what we can do to help the rest that survived.”
She continued to cry, though at a slower pace while now looking at the girl in her arms. Shanree noticed the shocking similarity between the two.
“Come on.” he said as he reached his arm out. “We have to stop Oligard, so…this…never happens again.”
With a deep sigh and an inhale to clear her nostrils, Cassandra laid the girl onto the ground at her feet and stood up.
“…alright.” she said as she re-clipped her lightsabers to her outfit and looked at him with exhausted almost defeated eyes. “We have to stop him.”
Shanree’s outrage at the use of child soldiers, technologically enslaved ones, was replaced with more immediate concerns. The thundering screech of orbital defense turbolasers filled the air as three different batteries around the towering fortress opened up on the first of the Brotherhood’s fleets to arrive in orbit. They felt the noise in their chests, a reminder that they were under multiple deadlines– the least of which were the forces of the Iron Throne catching up to them before they could claim the prize.
Shanree beckoned Oriana and Meez to follow him, “We’re around the backside of Oligard’s fortress, there’s a gate up-ahead we can forc–”
There was a whistling noise that rapidly gained in volume until it suddenly terminated in the roar of an explosion and the quaking of the ground. From orbit counter-fire descended like lethal neon rain. More booms and concussions went off around them, sometimes punctuated by the screech of planet-based turbolasers firing up.
“Ahhh! Meez must get to cover!” the Lonto sprinted in the direction Shanree had been leading them, “Follow Meez to safety!”
“Hey!” Oriana shouted to no avail. She grunted, “I guess we follow him.”
The two Jedi chased off after the mercenary. Meez made for the gate Shanree had mentioned, built where the fortress’s rock met this inner curtain wall. Automated defense turrets began tracking them as they came closer and opened fire. The Lonto bounded on long strides, firing off his minigrenade launcher with reckless abandon. It was highly effective against the turrets, but less so against the armored gate doors made of reinforced durasteel.
Shanree’s spine tingled. He lunged sideways, tackling Cassandra to the ground and covering her as a turbolaser strike from orbit crashed into the side of the stone chimney of an ancient volcano Oligard had made his final redoubt. The red hypercharged bolt of laser fire crashed into the stone and tore out hovercar sized chunks and globs of molten slag to the ground below. They were sprayed with small rocks and dust as an enormous boulder landed where they would have been had they kept running.
Shanree’s ears rang and he couldn’t tell that he was yelling in Oriana’s face, “Get to that door!”
She pushed him off of her and was on her feet before he was, “You pull one side, Colonel, and I’ll pull the other!”
Meez was busy shooting at guards on higher platforms firing down on him when they caught up. Oriana reached out with both hands and concentrated on the gate’s left side. Shanree reached out with both of his hands and made as if grabbing something unseen, he envisioned himself pulling at the gate’s right side. The gate groaned and shuddered as its mechanical mechanisms fought the outside influence trying to pry it open. The Taldryanites were practiced Force Users though and the gate, large enough for hover tanks to drive through it two abreast, finally started to open up. There was no point in tearing it asunder, they didn’t have that sort of time. Once Meez was able to run through it easily they both let go and sprinted towards the slender opening.
The din of battle immediately died down as they entered the fortress proper. The sound of turbolasers firing and exploding faded, and sometimes still rattled the ground, but it was replaced with the klaxon of alarms and orders issued over the public address system.
The late evening darkness, frequently cut by the crimson flash of the turbolasers, was replaced by the bright, stark white, ever-present overhead lights within the facility. As the trio squeezed through the makeshift opening on the gate, the alarms echoing off the wide hallways confirmed the element of surprise had been lost. A long, slightly ascending ramp was laid out before them, leading to what was likely to be the vehicle garage and depot. A smaller secondary hallway branched off to the left about 25 meters ahead of them. Meez hastily began reloading his grenade launcher as he followed the two Taldryanites toward the hallway.
Shanree led the way with Cassandra close behind, both with their lightsabers drawn and ignited - there was no reason to pretend they wouldn’t need them. If Rath was willing to throw child soldiers at them, there was no telling what to expect deeper in the facility. The Lady Second stole a glance over her shoulder at Dameeze, whose normally jovial expression remained absent. He held his grenade launcher high and close to his chest. For a moment felt a tinge of worry, but she shook it off and turned back forward.
After another 20 meters down that hallway it split into a T-intersection, with several doorways on either side. The Miraluka stood right in the middle of the hallway and took a few deep, calm breaths, centering his mind. The alarm overhead faded away as he let the Force guide him. Suddenly one of the doors opened on the left side and one of the Collective’s augmented soldiers stepped out, a Hive Mind marine that was once human but now was something else. It made eye contact with the trio and began to draw its blaster. Cassandra was already on the move. She closed the gap between them quickly and removed its head from its shoulders, the body crumpling to the ground without a single shot fired. Unfortunately the damage had been done; one by one each of the doors began to open and more Hive Mind marines poured out.
Dameeze immediately turned to his right and fired several grenades down the hallway, catching the soldiers as they ran through the doorways and sending their bodies flying in all directions. Shanree went left and joined his Jedi compatriot, slicing through the augmented marines easily. After only a few moments, the corpses were piled high in the halls and the stream of soldiers had ceased, at least temporarily.
“We need to move, now! Time is not on our side.” The Colonel called out to his allies. “Follow me.”
Dameeze nodded and ran over to trail behind them as Shanree led the way, having been able to discern the path forward before the chaos unfolded. They passed through a small barracks and another set of doors that led to a nearly identical hallway. The Miraluka turned right this time, passing several closed doorways before reaching the end and turning left, though here the stopped abruptly. Before them was the turbolift, the most efficient way for them to gain access to the upper levels of the facility. However it appeared that one of the strikes from orbit had damaged it. The doors were bent open and the lift was jammed into the opening.
Before anyone said anything, Dameeze walked over and removed two thermal detonators from his pack; neither of the Jedi intervened. He activated them and rolled them underneath the lift, then quickly moved back to the group and ushered them to step back further. The blast blew the doors the rest of the way open and dislodged the lift, which clattered down the rest of the shaft.
“There, this time Meez open the door.” The Lonto said, the smile creeping back onto his face.
“Good work Meez.” Shanree nodded and walked over to the damaged doorway, looking up and down the turbolift shaft, then back to the group. “Ladies first?”
Cassandra let out a slight smile, the first she had since earlier. She didn’t know if Meez was just being kind in light of what happened, or if this was naturally how he was. If it was the latter, he truly was a sweet Lonto.
“By all means.” she said as she stepped inside and looked upward. With a crouch she leapt upward several floors before she grabbed the side, leapt up several additional, before finally making her way to the top. The upper doors were closed tightly but she gripped onto them with her hands and began to pull.
As Shanree made his way up as well, choosing instead to climb the vertical cable with repeated grabs and pulls, she started to dislodge the door. No sooner than the locking mechanism released and it quickly opened did Cassandra see a flash of red light right in her face.
It stopped only inches from her, hovering in the air. The pressure from it was making her hair flow away from her face. Refocusing her eyes away from the now frozen blaster bolt, she saw what looked like Oligard’s vanguard force standing between them and large ornate doors behind them.
“Shanree, Meez,” Cassandra started as the bolt continued to sit there. Oligard’s forces looked perplexed at this, momentarily caught off guard. She knew it wouldn’t last. “Find a way to get those doors open. I’ll handle this.”
“Cassandra, you’re in no condition to-” Shanree started to protest but it was too late. She stepped to the side and let the blaster bolt strike the rear of the shaft. Meez let out a startled noise.
Her lightsabers fell to her hands and ignited in their brilliant fire red and frost blue as one of the vanguard force threw their hand forward. Blaster fire erupted straight towards her from behind the dozen pillars and the fortification in front of the doors.
With spins and arcs of her lightsaber the bolts were deflected in various directions. Some returned back to where they came from, striking down guard after guard. It wasn’t long before additional reinforcements came, with their strategy now shifting to direct hand-to-hand combat while some continued to take pot shots at her.
“Uh-oh, she’s mad…” Meez said as Shanree climbed up to the floor. After briefly glancing around, he noticed two power conduits actively feeding the door power from the upper balcony. He reached into Meez’ bag and retrieved a bomb.
“Listen. I’m going to handle the left side conduit, you handle the right side. We have to get that door open.” Shanree quietly told the Lonto as he stayed crouched and started towards a set of stairs on the left. Meez was beside himself, looking to his explosives, then Shanree, and then the battle.
He wanted to help Cass. But he also knew Shanree was right, and they needed to keep moving. “Meez doesn’t like this.” he protested to himself as he stumbled to his feet and ran to the right side stairs.
As the two made their way upwards, the main focus stayed on the Epicanthix. Two larger people charged in on her with long pikes which resisted her lightsaber strikes. She immediately recognized that they were made of a resistant alloy, most likely Beskar, as she took several steps back.
One of them lunged forward after the other struck diagonally, to which she let the right lightsaber ignite and clatter to the floor. She tightly grasped onto the pike and with the body of it against her side, twisted full force with her strength augmented by the force to throw the one into the other causing them to fall to the ground.
While they tried to recover she slashed her left arm upward and cut through both at once. Blasters continued to ring out towards her now with their allies out of the way, but the bolts just seemed to fly away from her now as she twitched her right index finger.
Shanree and Meez had made their way to the energy conduits and secured their respective bombs to each. Shanree gave a thumbs up and bolted away from his position. As he did, Meez went toward the railing the pressed the detonator.
“BOOM TIME!” Meez yelled out excitedly as the bombs went off. The conduits both went up in a brilliant explosion, their blue light fading as well as the lights on the door. Several guards turned and gave their attention briefly to the door as if wondering if they should fall back.
That brief moment of distraction was their downfall as Cassandra now launched herself forward past several other guards with incredible augmented speed. With a spiral spin of her body, the guards at the door had no time to react. They were dead before even falling to the floor.
As the others turned to fire inward at her, Shanree had already descended from the balcony and was upon the rear ones. Meez threw various objects at some other ones, who turned their attention to him and began to fire on the balcony. Meez brought his arms up defensively and fell backwards as they rang past and struck the upper wall and ceiling.
It was only a few more moments before the room was cleared, bodies strung about and smoking holes all over the room from the constant blaster fire. Shanree brought his arm up, fist extended towards Cassandra. WIth a slight smile she brought her arm up and fist-bumped his in turn.
Meez had scrambled his way downstairs and retrieved the fallen saber as the other two pushed the massive ornate doors open. The final quarry laid ahead, along with most likely his final defensive line.
This was it.
What the trio found beyond those large, ornate doors both surprised and confused them. The room was massive, with the walls on either side completely obscured by darkness, giving the impression of endless, lightless space. Directly in line with the doorway was a narrow path illuminated with small red lights embedded in the floor, resembling a landing pad or runway. That path continued forward for over a hundred meters, guiding the eyeline of the group towards their target. At the end was a hulking, brightly glowing series of consoles and terminals. Positioned in front was a throne of sorts, rough and jagged but mechanical by design. Heavy industrial wires and tubing descended from above and connected into both the terminals and the throne. Seated on it, staring coldly and confidently at the group, was Rath Oligard.
Silhouetted against the glow of the screens, they could still easily make out the broad shoulders and sharp mohawk. His amber eyes seemed to almost burn in contrast. He made no effort to move, he just stared forward, waiting. Cassandra scanned the room quickly while Shanree’s attention was focused purely on Rath.
“I don’t see any obvious defenses,” The Lady Second said in a hushed tone. “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t here. Do you sense anyone lying in wait?” Shanree shook his head.
“No, the only other living being in this room is him.”
“Security droids then, from the darkness?” Cassandra strained her eyes to peer on either side of the illuminated path, but still saw nothing. It did not reassure her.
“Meez will go get him. He no look so tough.” The Lonto started to lumber forward before he spoke, both Jedi reaching out to grab him and pull him back. Unfortunately he took one step too far. All at once the red lights along the path flared bright white and four massive automated defense turrets rose from the floor, two on either side, each of their targeting reticles locked onto Dameeze. The Force screamed a warning to both Cassandra and Shanree, who together were able to deflect three of the four bolts. One still found its target and the Lonto was thrown backwards from the strike, rolling several feet before coming to a rest, a smoking hole where his right shoulder had been.
There was no time to be concerned for Dameeze, the two remaining Taldryanites instead acted on instinct. Cassandra reached out with the Force and ripped the bandolier of explosives off the fallen Lonto, hurling them towards the bases of the automated turrets. Suddenly the entire room was filled with the bright red orange of fire, revealing what Shanree already knew: Oligard truly was alone here. The Miraluka was already sprinting forward before the heat had even dissipated. He closed on the first of the now damaged turrets and slashed at the barrel but his blade bounced off with a shower of sparks. He quickly redirected his attacks to the base of the turret, where the large explosion had exposed some internal circuitry, slashing over and over as if it were a metallic Wroshyr tree. His Epicanthix ally was doing the same, using one of the lightsabers in her hand and sending the other out with the Force to work on two turrets simultaneously. They moved with practiced speed and precision. One by one, the turrets erupted into showers of smoke and sparks.
Shanree turned his attention to Oligard.
Rath Oligard, the Lord Supreme of the Collective, sat in his techno-throne. His expressionless face observed the destruction before him dispassionately. He was not moved by the explosions of Meez’s bandolier, he wasn’t phased by the lightsabers waving around before him theatrically, and he seemingly cared nothing for the Miralukan who stormed toward him in a determined stride.
“Stand up, you animal.” Colonel Shanree Argentin grabbed at Rath’s collar, challenging the man to resist him and just give him a reason.
Rath did not react however, he allowed the Force imbued Jedi to lift him limply. Shanree’s nostrils flared in indignation, “Look at me you fracker! Those were children!”
The Colonel angrily shook the Lord Supreme with both hands, intentionally allowing his fists to beat into Rath’s chest roughly, “What, did you finally crack under the pressure?”
Rath’s eye rolled up to look at his attacker’s face, his gaze focusing where Shanree’s eyes should have been if he’d been Human, “Do what you came here to do, assassin. Don’t preach at me, Jedi.”
That was enough reason for Shanree who let the anger get the better of him. He wound up a fist and slammed it into Rath’s cheek bone. The Collective’s leader took the blow, his head snapping to the side. Shanree hit him again and threw him down into the seat from when he’d been lifted.
“The irony here, Sleemo, is that we didn’t come here to kill you.” The Taldryanite soldier leaned down over Rath, “But after seeing those children, the slave circuited ones programmed to defend you, I don’t think I’ll be following those orders.”
Rath’s eyes again rolled to look at Shanree, as he sat motionlessly and without care, “So you prove you’re exactly who I have always said your kind were? Great. Be done with it.”
Shanree was shaking from rage and barely contained violence. The passivity of Oligard, his complete lack of a single frell to give about his own actions or impending doom only served to feed into his anger. The lightsaber hilt from the sheath on the small of his back was in his hand before his conscious mind registered that fact, but it did nothing to remedy it either. His hand flexed on the Wroshyr Wood hilt and its long worn leather wrapping.
Behind him Cassandra looked up from where she was helping Dameeze recover. She had heard Shanree’s shouting and had said nothing, she wasn’t sure that she could have stopped herself from shouting the same in his place. This was different though. She felt the incandescent anger within her partner.
“Do, or do not… That’s what you Lot like to say, isn’t it? Do it then, or don’t and leave me be.” Rath rolled his head back into the throne and stared up at the ceiling despondently.
The emerald blade emerged from the saber’s hilt almost without noise. Had she not already been looking, Cassandra probably wouldn’t have heard it or noticed until it was too late, “Shanree! No!”
He drew the blade back, its tip pointed at Rath’s heart, “Die you swamp rat!”
Shanree was pulled backwards by an invisible hand. He knew what had happened in an instant– Oriana. The Colonel’s body twisted and reoriented in midair so that he landed on his feet and his weapon facing hers. Cassandra already held her cerulean blade before her defensively and caught the Colonel’s swing.
“What are you doing!?” She shouted at him, “This isn’t you!”
Shanree leaned in, placing his head uncomfortably close to where both of their lightsabers’ blades stood proud over where they locked, “You should know better than anyone what I’m feeling right now! Why are you stopping me?”
“Because…” Cassandra began, internally questioning even herself. “…while he may be detectable slime, it isn’t the Jedi way. You can’t do this.”
Shanree pushed back against her and oddly enough she lept back and slightly retreated. He slowly began to step towards her, still angry.
“You forget one thing, I am no ‘Jedi’ nor am I bound by ‘your’ rules anymore Oriana. You’ve always been a goody-two-shoes hero even as Chancellor and look where that’s gotten you. You know as well as I he is too dangerous to be left alive.”
Cassandra stood there for a moment, silent. He was right. She was all but broken, shattered. The events of the last Great Jedi War told her she wasn’t ready. And she was all but walked over when her most trusted advisor betrayed her and nearly killed her. Her attention was brought back when Shanree turned towards Rath once more and began to approach. Cassandra ran and defiantly stood in his path.
“Move out of the way, Oriana. I don’t want to have to kill you.” Shanree said as he tightened the grip on his lightsaber. Rath sat there and watched, curiously.
“I won’t.” she said, her eyes locked directly on Shanree’s face. “While you may be right, that many of my decisions brought me to this point, it was those decisions that allowed us to survive. To maintain who we are. Sure, I could have killed Frei-Jar. You could kill Oligard. But what would that change?”
Shanree stood there for a moment, seemingly listening, giving her a chance. She didn’t know how long that patience would last.
“If I had killed Frei-Jar, the de-facto leader of the Loyalists killed by the Chancellor with Traditionalist ties, Taldryan would have descended into full on civil war. I realized that in the years afterwards. He baited me.” she continued, then turning her gaze to Rath. “Him being here, undefended, alone…he wants us to do the same. We kill him, all of the Collective along with their allies will rise up and double their efforts. More senseless, and endless killing.”
She turned back to Shanree with a smile, and slight tears down her eyes. “It has to stop, Shanree. We can’t maintain this animus any longer. I want him dead just as much as you, but…it will be done the proper way. The Taldryan and Brotherhood way.”
Shanree took in a breath, held it for a second, and then released it as he disengaged his lightsaber. “Fine. As always…you win. I don’t know how the kriff you do it, but damned if I couldn’t hate you more Oriana.”
“AGH!” Meez suddenly cried out as a blaster bolt struck him straight in the chest. Rath was holding a blaster in his hands, who now was standing and facing the two. Shanree bolted towards him but was blocked by a newly formed energy shield in front of him.
“I swear, you lot are nothing but trouble. A true pity you wouldn’t make this easy.” Oligard said as the floor section he stood on began to descend downward. “Alas, I will just have to try again it seems.”
As he disappeared into the floor, a blast door sealing the hatch through which he descended, the energy shield dissipated. Shanree cursed to himself before he turned his attention to Meez, who laid there on the floor.
“Meez…did good?” Lonto said with a smile.
Shanree nodded. “Meez did good.”
Meez smiled, then let his head fall backwards with one final breath. Cassandra and Shanree stood there for a moment, with her placing a hand on his shoulder. As they mourned, Meez raised his head up and curiously looked around.
“Is this what the afterlife is like? Is Meez a force ghost now?” he said. Shanree and Cassandra were perplexed. Shanree looked behind the burned blaster hole in Meez’s tunic and saw a silver plate.
“Is that?” Cassandra started to ask, almost all but certain it was.
“Oh. Meez stole that during the fighting. It was shiny.” Meez said with a smile.
A small plate of Beskar.
Shanree began to laugh hysterically at the odds.
“I’m glad you’re alright, Meez.” Cassandra said with a smile. “You two get out of here. I have…a task I need to accomplish.”
“Burying those children, I take it?” he asked, already knowing the answer. She nodded affirmatively with no words. “We’ll come with you. We can leave the military to continue from here, since our own mission is concluded.”
She blinked in surprise.
“Meez help too.” the Lonto said ecstatically.
With a simple smile she turned back the direction they came, with both in tow. It was going to be a long evening, but…it was the right thing to do. The right way to end this war for them, even if the war itself was yet to be over.