SeNet scanners picked up an emergency transmission call for help. Odan-Urr was fast in relaying the message through their communications system to all members capable and with clearance to answer the call. The message containing the mission file spread to a chain of command that was reviewed and they trickled it down the lower echelons they felt could handle the mission. It was deemed high risk and low impact, as the client was of no direct political affiliation, yet Odan-Urr has been known to respond to all distress signals within its reach and is sometimes open to new alliances. When its clearance fell into Creon’s datapad he reviewed the transmission video of a probe video of a standoff blockade of security forces surrounding a factory plant the size of a large city. There were also files that gave the identification of Govenor Malium of planet Kyasis as the high value target for rescue, and the coordinates for the Almora Corps factory region where he was last seen.
Time was of the essence for Creon in the success of this mission. He sent a mass message through a planetary-localized network to a multitude of address channels of active mercenaries. The message involved the mission details he had received, the request to work with him, the hangar location of his ship, and the frequency codes of an encrypted comms channel. He had his droid monitor the communications array in his vessel for any incoming transmissions, and then sat at the open hangar door to the bay outside and reviewed the mission details on a datapad whilst smoking a death stick.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the wilderness of Kiast onboard the Dead Parrot a young Houk male sat in the pilot’s seat. He was playing, pretending to pilot the GX1 civillian short hauler. But he stopped immediately when he heard the beeping of the communications system. He leaned closer to the control panel and paused, he then looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was there. When he was sure that he was alone he reached with his hand and pressed the button to receive the incomming transmission.
Dissapointed he he leaned back as he couldn’t read but then he saw there was a holovideo attached to it. Once more he looked over his shoulder and chuckled before pressing play. His eyes widened when he saw the images of a standoff blockade at a factory plant.
That moment he heard someone behind him, clearing their throat. “Baka.. how many times did I tell you not to play in here?!” the small Kushiban knight sighed and took a seat in the co-pilot’s seat. “And never play with the comms” she added and looked at the Houk boy with an angry look in her eyes. The boy grunted and looked sad “Baka sorry” he managed to say in Basic. His vocabulary was limited but he was learning. “why don’t you go play in your room.. so I can have a look at this” Wenet suggested.
Baka nodded and quietly left the cockpit, allowing Wenet to read the messages and go over the file. “hmm Kyasis” she mumbled, she had never visited that world. “Govener Malium.. Almora Corps.. hmm interesting” she continued reading before sending a reply that she was accepting the mission. Not long after that the engines of the GX1 rumbled as she departed their camping site to rendezvous with the team..
Jon in his seat in the command center of the Grande Carnivale as he looked over the report from the Envoy Corps, an eyebrow raised in thought.
So somebody doesn’t want us making any inroads with Kyasis? he thought, quickly doing a mental check of all the players he knew to be active in that region of space. None came to mind that had any particular grudge with the Brotherhood, but that didn’t necessarily mean there weren’t any.
Truth be told, he’d been surreptitiously following the news coming in from that particular pet project pf the Exarch. If all went well, there’d be a lot of credits suddenly flowing into the Clans’ coffers, and he always kept one eye on such opportunities.
If someone had slipped under his radar with a score to settle, be it with the Brotherhood as a whole, any particular Clan, or perhaps Kyasis itself, then he needed to step up his attention. And speaking of attention, a very familiar name caught his attention on the communications channel the Envoy Corp had set up.
Grinning, he typed in a command, and the holoprojector on the desk, and sent a request.
“Captain Silvon to Lieutenant Neverse. Creon old pal, is that you?”
After replying to Wenet’s confirmation to accept the mission through his vambrace, Creon turned to his helmet in hearing Jon in his helmet. Putting it on he saw the camera feed from the Grande Carnivale of Jon to the holoprojector using small crystals within Creon’s helmet’s visor screen processed and programmed by an AI. He appeared as a 2D camera screen sitting on the helmet near Creon’s left cheek, and the screen would follow his eye by staying outside his scope of focus but within is peripheral field. Creon’s suit has circuitry along each component that’s used in the silhouhette field generation of both his shields and stealth systems. This also allows his full armor to be display to one’s holoprojector in by just having established contact. What Jon saw on his desk was the hologram of a miniature black armored mandalorian sitting in a relaxed state with his back behind his ship’s hangar post.
“Neverse to Silvon, good copy. Jon you old space pirate! What are you doing on this channel?” Creon replied with a chuckle.
“Haha! Saving your butt, again! You need help with this? You know my cut.”
Creon smiled in reminiscence of adventures past with this wild space cowboy, and Jon’s uncanny luck has been coincidentally consistent in most matters. It could be the Force, yet Creon had never witnessed his friend use it nor sense a presence. Irregardless, his addition to the team would give Creon confidence in the rescue’s success, “Yeah, the factory the governor is being held up in is a lot of ground to cover for just a solo rescue. Time is also of the essence. If a ransom isn’t paid they’ll just kill him, how fast can you get here? I want to make a grouped stealth insertion and extraction using a ship suited for such.”
“The less vessels spotted in the skies the better, so anyone watching won’t have reason to be on high alert. When we arrive on the planet the ship can tap into the media satellites to feed relevant intel on our time limit to the government’s secondary leaders to decide in response to the ransom demand. I know I’m using the Wildcard method in recruiting, but you already know how this song and dance goes. The droids will ferry my ship with more incoming helping hands after you arrive. The sooner this mission is complete the better.”
“Ok Baka.. I need you to stay onboard” Wenet said as their destination came into view. “can’t have you running around while I’m working.. ok? You’ll stay here with Hrubý” the Kushiban said and glanced af the young Houk sitting in the co-pilot’s seat.“Baka help..” he said, nodding to emphasize his desire to assist. “Not this time” was Wenet’s answer before she hailed the large vessle to request landing permission in their hangar.
Dissapointed, Baka got up and left the cockpit. Wenet watched him leave, she knew he wanted to help but he was to young, untrained and reckless. Baka would be like a bull Rancor in a china shop, making a mess without even realizing it. Sighing she turned back to the comms. Bake wasn’t the brightest, but she still hoped that one day she could give him more Purpose.
The beeping of the comms caught her attention. Control send her permission to land. Slowing down she approached the main hangar. Just a couple of minutes later, the ramp of the Dead Parrot lowered and Wenet stepped out to meet the others..
She found two human men and a lot of droids near an unfamiliar starship model. One of the men, dressed in black armor smiled and extended his hand in welcome, announcing himself as Creon in greeting. The other did so by a smile and a nod of his hat, and gave the name Jon Silvon. With radio silence from the comms array in recruitment, and in anticipation of the time constraint of the mission, Creon insisted to begin making their way to the factory.
“My ship is designed for stealth. My HK droid will drop us off and ferry others who respond to his continual call for aid.”
“False joy: What better way to use the assassin droid than with a desk job monitoring calls.” The HK droid stated.
“The more the merrier in those that address this.” Creon replied.
“Have the tiny furry creature do so. It has the bone structure of prey not fit for our work.” The droid spat.
“Don’t be rude,” Creon snapped. “Unless someone volunteers, it’s your responsibility. Lets move.”
Through the airlock past the boarding ramp, the doors open up to a hallway. The left side Creon said was off-limits and guided them to the right. Going down the hallway, to the right past the door from the airlock was a gunner’s ramp. The hallway opened up into a large and empy room with a holoterminal in the center and furniture next to the walls on all sides. Cabinets and kitchen items were assorted on one section.
“Looking towards to the hallway you see a door to your left and right from it. To the left is the medbay. That’s where the bathroom is, don’t touch my stuff unless it’s life, limb, or eyesight. To the right is a conference room I never use that’s yours to use should you need too. We have some time before we arrive so this is where you can make yourselves at home.”
He further led them to a door towards the bow of the ship that gave to another, yet shorter, hallway. To its left was an escape pod Creon said will be used for entry if the vessel can’t sneak in to land without being detected by the Pirate armada, and to the right was his quarters. Further ahead was the Bridge, with an AI that greeted Creon and his guests with a calm feminine robotic voice. There were three chairs near the navigation module that everyone made themselves comfortable on. With the coordinates already input the vessel was automatically igniting and beginning to takeoff. The AIs autopilot fled them out off the surface and pinpointed a direction for hyperspace. Faster than manual input the AI was able to take them off from a Class 1 hyperdrive. The response time was uncanny.
“I can control all aspects of this ship at a faster processing rate than any organic species and known droid models, only by simply the basis of being fully integrated with the ship.” The AI explained.
“so… what’s the plan?” Wenet bluntly asked as she tried to get comfortable in the large chair. *“do we have a schematic of the factory? Any new intel from the probe droids?” she continued to ask while at the same time she was thinking of the best approach. “unlike your friendly droid seems to think, my bone structure is perfect for this job.. I might be small, but I’m quiet and agile. I can get through air vents, infiltrate a building without anyone noticing” she started with confident smile.
She looked at the two others waiting for a response but in her mind she thought about the earlier comment the HK droid had made about her. She was used to people underestimated her, it was in fact something she often used to her advantage. But now with their current mission she was feeling a little doubt. Was she out of her league on this one? Ofcourse she did not show her doubt to the others. On the contrary, as usual she would seem confident and eager. She was always eager to get her hands dirty, looking forward to some action.
“This ship will drop us off at the closest vantage point. We’ll split up, stay on the same frequency, and report when we have sightings of the governor, or possible sightings. Once the target is found we’ll come together and perfrom what I call a "distraction extraction”. We’ll divert their attention with a decoy, or a few, with someone stealthy on the flank to free the governor. The Ship’s AI will extract us at drop off location unless compromised.“
The center holoprojector in the room turned on and hummed the hardrive. Soon enough a protocol droid was inputting a display that brought about a hologram map of the planet, to which then zoomed into an overview satellite image of the factory area. It was blurry to get a scope on any details, but the general geographical structure of the factory city could be seen. A separate holoprojector displayed a miniaturized model of the governor.
“Before we assign roles for key maneuvers, I’ll need to know each of your strengths.”
“Distraction extraction” she repeated softly for herself, making mental notes of the plan. When the holo-projector switched on Wenet hopped off her seat to have a good look at the layout.
“My strengths?” Wenet replied with a confident smile “like I mentioned before I might be small but I use that to my advantage. I’m fast and agile, I can easily hide and sneak around, get through tight spaces.” she paused to give them a chance to respond before continuing again “I’m a warrior, proficient with blades weapons and blasters.. I’m perceptive and creative.. not sure what else would be useful for this mission”* she squinted her eyes as she thought about it for a moment but eventually shook her head “that’s it I guess”
“I’m not exactly one for the frontal assault myself,” Jon added over the comms. “I can fight in a one-on-one duel well enough – You’ve seen that first hand, my efficacious compatriot – but large-scale military operations are not my forte, so to speak. And it sounds like Wenet here is volunteering to take up the flanking role, yes?”
Straightening her back she nodded, “I am indeed sir” she answered eagerly “but if there is a better role for me to play I am ready anything” she confidently added and adjusted her armour.
There was an excited twinkle in her eyes, she was ready for some action. This time she came prepared, she brought several goodies to help in all sorts of situations. With help of Waza, she’d also trained a lot the past couple of months.
Creon nodded, “The plan was made before I knew what team would show. Three isn’t enough for an assault on a pirate crew holding a hostage, however. We’re going to have adjust and be as stealthy as we can.”
He looks to Jon Silvon, “I know you’ve a sharp tongue and good wits. It’s your greatest asset, as I’ve known your charisma to get us out of sticky situations. I’m wondering if you could establish comms with the pirates, as either the ransom payer or something else, that would get out in the open. We can ambush them there.”
He then looks to Wenet, “The Force is strong in you. What studies you may have had with the Odanite masters will need to be used here. I ask that you trust your instincts, as they are the will of the Force, with whatever circumstances may transpire. Whatever happens we must not let that hostage die.”
Wenet nodded “yes sir. I’ll do whatever I have to, to achieve our objectives” she responded and glanced around the room.
“So..” she looked at Jon and then back at Creon. “If your tongue and charisma are your greatest assets, you could distract them.. and I can sneak around them” she said looking at the map. The map unfortunately lacked details but like any other place, it would have plenty of vents or other crawl spaces the Kushiban could easily get through. “Just an idea.. ofcourse we need more information first on how many pirated were up against.. unless” she glanced at the data feed “unless the probes have gathered more already” she had a serious look on her face.
Jon grinned, taking off his hat and do a dramatic bow.
“If it’s a performance you’re needing, I’m surely your man.” He turned to Creon. “I’ve got a few tricks that can fool these raiders. But if I’m the face, and Wenet is our cat’s paw, than that leaves you as the muscle. Wenet’s not wrong, Creon, we don’t have solid intel on how many we’re up against, and I’m only a talent in one-on-one duels. Even if it’s to be an ambush, you’d be facing an awful lot of opponents effectively solo. Are you sure you’re up to that?”
“I have a few explosives, and HK and I can draw attention. Can’t say I can hold them for long, but it will have to be long enough yo ensure you get the governor out of there. It’s the best we can do with what we have.”
As Creon finished his reply the vessel pulled out of hyperspace over the glossed world of Kyasis. His Droid pulled into the upper atmosphere and began communicating codes to nearby ports to the factory.
“So have I” Wenet said tapping on her backpack. “When in doubt, just blow it up” she chuckled thinking back on previous missions where explosives actually saved the day.
Wenet felt the jolt of the vessle pulling out of hyperspace and instantly her excitement spiked. “I guess it’s time to saddle up and get ready” she said and began to do a last gear and weapons check.
The ship slipped through the atmosphere and landed within an urban industrial complex that spread for kilometers in each direction. As the hangar hatched opened Creon, Jon, and Wenet stepped out of and took in the atmosphere. It was a dark grey clotted in faded smoke with the occasional towers fueling flames. The streets were quiet, and scaffolding was around most major structures of massive piping and electrical sheets of wiring plastered within the confined spaces accessible in their surroundings. Creon had shared a digital map system with shepherd chip tracking with his comrades, allowing them to assess their locations relative to each other.
“Spread out, we need to move fast if we are to make it in time. Call it in when you’ve found the target, until then keep radio silence for sweeps and monitors by either both the pirates or the cordon of security forces surrounding this place.”
Creon then sprinted forward and took off with the ignition of his jetpack. His HK Droid walked out carrying a blaster rifle, “Excitement: To once again reopen protocols of my primary programming has my circuits operating at higher than normal efficiency. Let us hunt together, fleshbags.”
Jon watched Creon and Wenet disappear into the winding network of buildings. A tangled nest of a city like this was a playground for Jedi. Jon, on the other hand, had to rely on more a more eclectic skillset. One eye kept on the holo-display, Jon casually strolled over to the nearest access terminal, his astromech droid Artemis in tow. Leaning up against the wall, he said: “Alright, your turn.” Artemis bleeped something at the pirate that made him roll his eyes. “Don’t gimme that attitude, Artemis. You want Creon’s dinky old HK unit to upstage you?” That got the temperamental old R3-Unit into action; she quickly jacked in, and got to work. “Anything on the location of the hostage?” he asked. Artemis bleeped in response. “Well I didn’t think it would be that easy,” Jon sighed. “Back to Plan A then. See if you can connect me to whoever sounds like he’s in charge of this operation.” A few moments later, and Jon was looking at a holo-call to a very annoyed looking Rodian. Well. He assumed annoyed. It was always hard to tell on those faces. Speaking of faces, Jon signaled Artemis to scan the Grande Carnivale’s data-banks for any bounties or rap-sheets on this one. “How did you get this signal? Who are you?” “Who I am is the man with the offer of a lifetime for you, my cromulent customer. But you can refer to me as Niktar.” “And why shouldn’t I have my men hunt you down and skin you alive, Niktar?” “Well, you won’t get your magnificent deal I’m offering you if you do that.” “…I’m listening.” “It’s really quite simple. That poor, pompous, public servant you lot have tied up back there, as it turns out, has some most wealthy of friends, who have kindly contacted me to act as their… go-between.” “We haven’t sent any ransom request. And what ‘friends’ does this cowardly sleemo have?” “Well, they paid extra to remain anonymous, but just between you and me… that ‘cowardly sleemo’ made pretty regular visits to the ship of Tull the Hutt.”
This is where it paid well to have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the galaxy’s criminals on hand. Jon suppressed a smirk at the Rodian’s reaction. Tull the Hutt was a major player in this area, not the kind of person you wanted to cross. The fact that his ship was currently in another sector, and Jon was almost certain he’d never been anywhere near this planet, was not something his new Rodian friend needed to be aware of. “…Where do you want to mee?” Jon glanced at the holo-map Creon had provided, looking for a place close to where Creon was heading and far from where Wenet was searching for the hostage. “Oh, how about…”
Despite being short of stature, Wenet knew that she was going to stand out. Kushiban weren’t exactly known for travelling the galaxy. So while Creon took to the sky, Wenet made sure she got off the streets. they might look quiet, she thought to herself, but there’s eyes everywhere.
Dashing on all fours, staying in the shadows, she turned into a dark alley. There, using her strong legs she jumped onto a container and from there onto a latch of one buildings. Fast but cautious she continued to move up, untill she was on the roof. There she took a moment to get her barrings. She could see the factory in the nearby distance. With all the scaffolding around most buildings it seemed it was going to be easy to get there. Looking at the holo map she could see Creon and Jon move around, each moving towards their objective from a different angle. There was still date with more details coming in from the probedroids giving them better view of the lay out of the entire complex. Several ventilation shafts had popped up on the map, *time to make an entrance * Wenet said as darted towards the edge of the room. Ahe managed to jump to the next building and from there she used the scaffolding and anything else she could hold on to, to get to the complex.
But as she got closer she knew she had to be careful. These pirates weren’t to be underestimated, she expected they would have their own probedroids circling the area plus they would probably use the factories own security system. So stuck to the shadows she kept going untill reached the outer wall that surrounded the factory.
Wenet stopped and looked over the edge of the building she was on. Down below there was a quiet street with lights, the wall across was to far to jump to for a small Kushiban. However Wenet wasnt an ordinary Kushiban, she had the Force. “I can do this” she whispered to herself and took a few steps back.
After a moment to channel the Force she leaped forward, sprinting towards edge and push herself up and of. Like flash she shot across the street. But mid air she suddenly noticed a shimmer along the wall. She gasped, the was barbed wire lined the top wall, ahe hadn’t noticed in the darkness. Her plan was to land on the wall as she couldn’t see what was on the other side. But now she had no choice to go over as there was no going back. Wenet used the lamppost to push herself off, to get some extra height, hoping to avoid getting stuck.
It was a close call, but managed to fly over. Only the tip of her furry tail brushed against the wire. Some of their hair got tangled and was pulled out but atleast she wasn’t trapped. To her relief there was nothing directly behind the wall. Holding her front paws out she touched the ground and rolled untill she came to a full stop CLANK against a pile of metal scraps. Kriff she thought to herself when she heard someone in the distance, Ofcourse they had heard the noise of her landing. But Wenet was quick found a shadowy nook to hid in. For a few minutes Wenet waited in shadows untill the voices faded again.. She hoped that the noise would’ve at least been a distraction to allow Creon or Jon to get in without being caught..
Orbital scans from his vessel’s AI were uploaded to both Creon’s helmet and HK. Radial sweep signals echoed on the minimap to which Creon turned his direction in flight upon approach. He landed on a scaffold tower surrounding a chemical piping complex. Automatic protocols performed by the armor’s integrated AI activated the suit’s optimal camoflauge system as the next immediate input after the jetpack extinguished. He brought his blaster rifle at the ready from it’s magnetic holster and sweeped the area until he reached the top from where the scaffold extended. The headphones in his helmet hummed with transmission frequencies within range of his sensors, but he left the vocal keywork pattern recognition job to the Ai helmet’s protocol in pinpointing a more precise location. He removed his helmet and looked to the landscape with his eyes unfiltered, his ears undisturbed, and with unwaivering focus to distraction. It was something of a work of art to him. The horizon looked painted with colors of fire, ash, and a night sky. Towers of steel like trees with roots in pressured valved piping and tank farms. It became clear to him why some of the locals would refer to such an industrial complex casually as a “plant”.
Even here the presence of the Force permeated with what felt like many energies in constant motion and flux with one another. The residual will of the plant’s workforce bear a powerful impact felt as a pressure in one’s mind. Many men make their living, with who’s wages are now postponed by the politics of money and state. The craftsmen and engineers of this place rely upon its success for their livelihood, all in danger now over the ransom. When Creon closed his eyes, he could feel their fear.
The Living Force brought forth the emotions like a radiative wave that always had blanketed over the attachment to the plant, for in their hearts this place was their work and life. Fear for losing one’s job, anger in it being over something political, hate for the system at large for those who want a simple peaceful lifespan. The Dark Side grew within Creon from his attunement to environment’s presence. It pulled him like a hunger by instinct due a given direction. He chose to follow this path and placed his helmet back on, taking flight across the skies once again.
“Pending Message: Jon Silvon” an AI voice said to Creon within his helmet.
“Play Message,” Creon replied.
“I made contact with the pirates. I’m sending you coordinates to meet with someone.”
Creon grinned with pride at Jon’s work. All he needed was to find one and it was enough to take care of the rest. Where Creon relied on sweeps and the Force, Jon had a knack of knowing where to find people from his whitts. Despite his steep asking price, from Creon’s experience Jon has always gotten the results he’s needed for.
He landed along a roof and saw below a small party of humanoids led by a Rodian. He sent his camera feed and had the AI uploading at a stream to Jon, Wenet, and HK.
Through the feed one could see Creon bring up the grenade launcher connected under the barrel of his blaster rifle. From a pouch Creon loaded a sonic grenade and launched it at the group. It’s impact caused them to fall off their feet, scream and try to collect themselves from shock and disorientation. Creon jumped from the building and used the momentum of his weight’s fall and channeled it in tandem with a detonation of telekinesis in a wave crashing out from the epicenter of his landing fist to the ground in every direction around him. The ground beneath his landing cracked at the impact, and brought a crater encompassing the surrounding party of pirates. For those who tried to get on their feet back from the grenade found themselves face first on the ground once again, and those who remained more pressured than before by it’s crushing impact.
When Creon rose to his feet the camouflage system automatically re-activated and he faded from view. Blaster rounds then appeared from seemingly nowhere in directions towards the patrol of pirates. All dropped dead save for the Rodian who was then pulled by the force as if dragged by his feet towards the epicenter of the crater. Creon appeared and drew a lightsaber at his throat.
“In mere moments an armed droid will meet you here and you will escort it to where your leader’s are holding their hostage. Do this and you will live and perhaps even get paid. If you do not comply, you will be given a swift and meaningless death, am I understood?” Creon said.
The Rodian nodded and agreed.
“Good,” Creon said. He then withdrew his saber’s blade and faded from view once again.
When the pirate stood on his feet he turned and could see in the distance an HK droid on approach.
Her long furry ears twitched on top of her head, listening to the voices that moved around. While waiting she received the message from her partners. To avoid anyone hearing she opened the text version. ‘kriff’ she thought and felt a little dissapointed, she had hoped she would have been the first to make some progress in their search for the hostage. But here she was, hiding in the shadows because of the sloppy mistake she had made. Not long after receiving the message, the voices searching, moved away and she finally emerged from the the little nook between the piles of scrap. After making sure she was alone, she checked the holomap “I can’t make that on time” she whispered to herself when she saw the coordinates were at the other side of the plant. “but I can go ahead” she said zooming in on the area she was at. There was a window that looked promising as well as an air vent. After closing the map she looked around, the piles of scrap seemed to be the only way she could make it and that was risky. what if they fell?‘, that would definitely made alot of noise. “then I’ll be long gone” she told herself and nodded.
Taking a few steps back she looked at the best route and then then launched herself. Sprinting to the first pile she jumped up, and immediately pushed herself off to the next. The moment she landed on top of the next pile she could feel it wobbling, so she jumped to the next. Two more jumps and she was on a narrow ledge near the air vent. When she moved closer she could feel a surge of air blowing out, it was warm and quite strong. “that’s gonna be a problem” she said to herself.
On that moment her comlink beeped again. She opened it to see the live feed provided by Creon. She paused for a moment to look, seeing the group of pirates. The sound was muted but not long after she saw the flash of the grenade and could hear the screams in the distance. “arrgh.. Creon is having all the fun” Wenet pouted while she watched the scene.
The sounds in the distance were quite loud, it was definitely drawing attention giving Wenet and opening to enter the building. The air vent was to risky so she she to the window. It was small, but so was she. Peering inside she checked to see if anyone was there. The room was dark and she couldn’t sense anyone close by through the Force. Using the multi tool she burned the lock and opened it. While noises outside continued, the Kushiban slipped inside.
The window was quite high up, just enough to let through some natural light during the day. Once inside Wenet could see it was a storage area, and the only way in or out seemed to be the door on the other side of the room. After climbing down she went to the door, again she didn’t feel anyone close by, well.. not on the other side anyway. Unlocking the door she stepped into a corridor. ‘do I go left? Or right?’ she thought as she looked into both directions. But before she could make a choice she heard footsteps approaching. Acting as quick as she could she jumped up and got ontop of some pipes that ran along the ceiling. Quietly she watched as two individuals walked around the corner. They didn’t look like pirates, they seemed to be workers of the plant. They past beneath her and disappeared into a room further along the corridor. She send a message to the others telling them she was “in” and that she was going ahead. Using the pipes the small Kushiban continued to venture deeper into the plant, searching for the hostage.
While Creon led the cowed Rodian through the bowels of the plant and Wenet skulked through its upper reaches, Jon remained by the terminal, watching both the Jedi advance on Creon’s holo-map. “Status update people, how’s everything going?” he asked. “So far so good,” Creon muttered back, eyes trained on the Rodian’s back. “All clear where I am sir, advancing to the next area,” Wenet replied. “Copy that, and cut it with the ‘sir’ stuff Wenet,” Jon huffed. “Once Creon reaches the– wait, what’s that? Creon, Artemis is reporting a power spike in your area, be on guard.” Creon didn’t notice anything, even as the Rodian led him into a large chamber with covered iron alcoves all along the walls. “How far until we reach the hostage?” he asked. The Rodian chuckled. “Oh, not far now, Jedi,” he said as he palmed a button on his sleeve. “In fact, end of the road for you.” Before Creon could react, each alcove opened up to reveal a host of B2 battle droids, all trained on him. Jon watched all this happen from his position, and swore. “Wenet, can you hear me? Creon needs help, I’m gonna guide you through to his location!” “Copy that sir-uh, Jon!”
‘arrgh.. I’m so close’ she thought to herself, imagining she would be the one to rescue Governor Malium. “just lead the way” she replied to Jon over the coms while. While she waited for instructions, Wenet checked the holomap. She was on the second level, few meters away from a door that would lead to large hall.
“Ok Wenet, listen to me” she heard Jon over the coms again. “I need you to go to the control room” he told her. “ok.. I’m listening” she said, scanning the holomap for a possible location. “you see the door infront of you?… it will lead to a large hall. At the very top… three levels up, theres a control room that overlooks the entire hall.” as Jon described it Wenet checked the map “I see it sir.. eh.. Jon. I’ll head there at once”
Using the pipes she moved closer to the door. “Wenet, the plant is active, there will be workers in that hall.. we don’t know what side they are on. So be careful, don’t let them see you” “aye.. I’m like a shadow” Wenet replied and lowered herself to be able to use the door.
The moment they opened shes was welcomed by a wall of heat. “uugh” she blinked a couple of times, and then sought cover behind a couple or crates. After making sure no one could see her, she hopped to the edge, and looked down at the workers moving around. Then she looked up at a chamber at the very centre of the ceiling of the hall. It had glass walls and even glass floor panels that allowed them to see the work floor and all the machinery. There were two stairs on each side that lead to the walkways along the walls. “that’s where I have to go” she whisper and looked for a way up..there were ladders and stairs even an elevator but they were all in plain sight.
While she was looking for the best route, footsteps approached. Before she knew it someone grabbed the crate she was hiding behind. Without thinking she used the Force to cloak herself and then lowered herself off the edge. Dangling eight metres above ground, she knew she couldn’t stay forever, within minutes, seconds probably, someone would notice the Kushiban as she wouldn’t be able to cloak herself that long. She looked down, she was directly above a conveyor belt with parts of whatever they were making here. She dropped down, and once she had the chance she hope off the belt and slipped underneath instead. ‘did anyone see me?’ she asked herself, worried the cloak hadn’t worked as she barely had any experience with it in the field. Once she realized no one was looking for her she continued to find her way to the control room. Crawling underneath the conveyor belt she made her way to the only elevator that could take her up to the very top.
Hiding underneath the belt, she used telekinesis to press the call button of the elevator. She waited, keeping her eyes on her surroundings. The doors opened, no one seemed to notice the cabin was empty. Wenet waited patiently, untill the doors began to close again. Again using the cloak she dashed towards the elevator and slipped between the doors before the closed. With her tail she pressed on the top button then messaged Jon “I’m in the elevator… almost there…” she said as the lift went up..
At first Creon began to count from scanning left to right the number of droids, but concluded on the spot in the sight of them all a failsafe he’d kept hidden for the longest time. It’s one thing for NFUs to witness his ability, but it’s another should Wenet sense how the Force was channeled. If her senses are as keen as her ears, and she learn what he was about to do, the exposure could bring trouble with his standing with the Odanites as it most certainly uses the Dark Side. Yet as the Rhodian walked of his own confidence and volition he was beginning to turn and point his finger towards Creon. Creon wasted no time jumping into the air and curling himself into a fetal position. He remained seemingly levitating midair and a dense spherical barrier formed around him.
The droids pointed and aimed in unison, and at the Rhodian’s command sent showering bolts in waves centered on Creon’s barrier. HK turned and ran as far away in the opposite direction as fast as it could with complete disregard to anyone who might try to shoot him down. A sonic wave of telekinetic energy gathered from all outer directions like a shrinking ring into a concentrated center on Creon’s core. This shift in concentration priority caused his Force barrier to break under pressure, with the personal energy shield generator activated enabling a secondary shield sphere around him. It wasn’t long before this one broke under fire but lasted long enough for another focused concentration of telekinetic energy to be pulled and condensed within Creon’s core. A third was gathered at the expense of being fired upon with the vambrace’s shield active and faith in his Mandalorian armor before unleashing from a scream a Force Repulse, an expansion of telekinetic spherical influence of the Force applied spiraling outward in high enough velocities to where those exposed would disintegrate instantaneously. Only from knowledge of and in anticipation for this attack was HK able to make the threshold of disintegration into the outer layer of influence which merely threw him off his feet. To include that of the other B2 droids that stood outside its deathly reach. When Creon landed, he did so posed in a lunge, but his front knee wobbled almost buckling under a wound from a blaster that tore through the armoreweave threaded seams between his beskar. A rocketed explosive on the top of his jetpack fired onto a group of B2s that were making their way back to their feet, and to another group he pitched a thermal detonator from his utility belt. Following their explosions came his whistling birds that hunted what few droids were left with a signal of life. Creon then fired off his jetpack again into the skies to escape the area.
“Any good news? Time’s ticking on my end.” Creon called into the comms.
“I’m almost there! I just need a little more time!” Wenet’s chipper voice replied.
The Mandalorian Jedi landed behind a tower that kept clear the blaster fire from the residual droids that remained from his assault. He used the bacta bomb where he stood for the wounds that incurred losing his last shield to use Force Repulse. The familiar sound of HK’s blaster fire was heard which in a breath Creon drew in focus and confidence to draw his own rifle and use its sonic scope to scan out what droids still functioned and fired where he could line up a good shot. Though the duo was able to clear their immediate vicinity, nearby on approach came more marches of battle droids. Creon also became alert to the sound of speeder engines and signaled HK to retreat.
The droid met up with him and Creon gave HK his jetpack and told him to retreat to extraction, taking as much of the enemy as he can with him. When the droid took off in flight Creon activated his camouflage system and made his way deeper towards the hall that led to the control room Wenet was arriving to. He moved slowly, and tossed aside each droid and person, worker or pirate, in a telekinetic throw as his energy within the Force began to return with each passing breath and heartbeat. If not instant kills then instantaneous knockouts occurred by all organics, and complete chasis destruction of each droid he moved passed. Everyone near and within the entrance were in a panic uncertain of the horrific situation of some paranormal apparition tossing them all aside like delicate rag dolls. Sealed blast doors buckled broke by his telekinetic strikes and sent the entire building in a security alert. All cameras in every room displayed on screen Creon’s work as a wave of silent, unwavering, unseen death and destruction walked the halls. There were screams of confusion, laughs of insanity, prayers to deities, and even firing of weapons in random directions. The latter being the most effective brought a swift response, and that movement bore a sliver of revealed opaque structure of Creon’s silhouette to nearby eyes.
A pair of eyes whom eluded Creon’s attention by playing dead as he trampled through to the next room without looking back. This employer he missed, a bright one at that, was able to spot Creon out and fire from a pistol it had concealed on its person. The shot hit Creon’s backplate who then whirled around swiftly and sent a retaliation shot from his vambrace. The movement revealed him to another and soon enough Creon was being overturned by the hall. Instead of using the Force to take the odds back in his favor, he instead escaped through a window and fired a grappling hook to a higher level of the building. Once it was set in place Creon pulled himself to the hook and amplified his capabilities to jump with the Force to leap high and launch forward his grappling hook again. He repeated this process till he could sense Wenet’s presence nearby. Through a glass wall of the upper levels of the control room Wenet was seen with what Creon thought was negotiations.
From the cappling hook he swung back and as his body swung forward towards the glass wall he used the Force to push onto the glass, shattering it, to where his body was able to swing inside and in disconnecting from the hook’s rope from the vambrace Creon landed within sight of Wenet, the governor, and a host of pirates all in shock and some off their feet from his entrance. Wenet’s ears stood straight and she blushed with wide eyes at the unexpected change in plans. Her face then turned sharp and her hands withdrew her lightsaber. She dashed and slashed through two pirates and made space between the rest of them, her, and the governor she was protecting as Creon sent flurries of blaster bolts from his rifle. AS the pirates would fire back, Creon performed precognitively performed martial arts poses that brought the beskar plates of his armor in the way of the bolt’s trajectories. Between the two working together the room was cleared of threats without any harm to either of them or Governor Malium.
Panting, Wenet looked around the control chamber at the death and destruction they had caused. Shattered glass and lifeless bodies covered the ground, lights flickering, control panels sparking and smoke filling the air. Her eyes then fell on the Governor who sat tied to a chair against the wall near the main exit. Eyes wide he stared at the two in fear, not sure if they were there to safe him of just another party to abduct him.
Wenet extinguished her lightsaber and approached the frightened Governor. “Governor Malium, we are the extraction team send by Odan-Urr” she said. It sounded a lot cooler now that she said it aloud, making her feel proud. While she started to remove restraints Creon kept an eye on their surroundings. “Hurry up Wenet, more are coming” he said a little anxious.
“With how many are you?” The Governor asked rubbing his wrists after he was freed from the restraints. “three and a droid” Wenet replied. “three?! That’s all they send?!” Malium responded with shock and worry. *“Don’t worry Govenor, it’s more than enough” Creon said as he prepared himself for another fight. “Wenet I need you to take the Governor to the extraction point, HK is already there. I’ll hold them off here” he said. Wenet’s eyes opened wide in shock, “alone?….eh.. yes Ofcourse!” she responded somewhat nervous. “this way Governor” she said and guided him towards one of the doors on the side, that led to the durasteel walkways. “quickly!” Wenet said as she glanced down to the work floor beneath them. Most of the workers were gone, others were hiding behind crates and machines while several pirates and alot more battle droids entered the hall. Creon had stepped into the elevator and it was zooming down. He readied himself and the moment the doors opened he bursted out to fight. Under the sound of screams and explosions, Wenet guided the Governor across the walkway, towards a door at the other side of the room.
“Where do you think you are going!?” a voice said the moment they stepped into what seemed to be a stairwell. ‘Would have been to easy’, Wenet thought as she ignited her lightsaber. “I’m taking the Governor for some fresh air” the Kushiban said as looking down the stairs. She pirates and droid’s were waiting for her. “ha! You’re kinda cute.. When this is over I’m going to keep you as a pet!” the pirate laughed as did his partners. His comment filled the Kushiban with rage, he wasn’t the first to think less of her and he wouldn’t be the last, she was used to it. Still it made her angry and without warning she launched herself at him swinging her lightsaber. Before they knew it the pirate dropped to the floor. His limb body rolled down the stairs causing other to fall. Wenet didn’t wait “stay close” she said as she began mow down the remaining pirates and droids..
A couple of minutes later they reached the ground floor. Wenet glanced at the holomap and motioned to the Governor to follow her. “we’re almost out” she said over the coms, “Jon what’s your status?” she asked as she hadn’t heard from him for a while now. Meanwhile she and the Governor stopped infront of the doors that lead the loading bay. “its blocked” Wenet noticed and looked for another way to enter. “wait here.. I’ll be back” she said as she kicked in a wall grate. “wait here? You’re leaving me” the Malium trembled and tried to find somewhere to hide as Wenet disappeared. The Kushiban crawled through the vents to the other side.
“don’t hurt us!” someone said as she emerged from the ventilation shaft. Workers of the plant looked at her in fear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to open that door though” she said. The workers nodded and stepped to the doors, using the control panel to unlock it. “come on in Governor, it’s safe!” Wenet called out. Malium got in and raised his hands when he saw the room was filled with people. “don’t worry, they won’t hurt you…”
The workers locked the door again. They told the Kushiban and the Governor that they were hiding until the coast was clear. When Wenet asked them why they didn’t just leave using the speeder truck in the loading bay, they told her that they were worried they they would lose their jobs if they left or would be arrested for stealing the truck.
Wenet didn’t have to worry about those things, so she didn’t hesitate to use the speeder truck for their escape. “hop in Governor!” she said as she go behind the wheel. “Jon.. Creon? What’s your status?.. I found a way out!” she called over the coms again and waited for a response. But then they heard banging on the door.. “we have to go!” the Governor nervously urged the Kushiban. “yes we do indeed” and she have the workers the signal to open the outer doors.
“going to extraction now! See you there” Wenet said over the coms “I hope” she added in whisper as they zoomed through the bay doors.
Jon had moved quickly after seeing Creon’s predicament; he and Artemis quickly dashed back to where Creon’s ship was waiting for them. “Hope Creon hasn’t modified his controls too much,” Jon said, leaping into the cockpit. “Man, I wish Zlid were here.” Lifting the ship into the air, Jon looked at where Wenet and Creon were on the map. Lucky him, the two weren’t that far apart, and both were heading towards the extraction point. Wenet was actually moving very fast… “Creon, Wenet, I’ve got the ship and I’m heading to pick you up, what’s your status?” “Little banged and bruised, but able to keep moving,” Creon replied. “Your client is dead, though. Don’t think you’ll be getting a good review.” “I’ve got the Governor,” Wenet replied. “Heading your way.” “Wenet, what are you driving?” Jon asked, as he maneuvered between buildings to reach the extraction point. Just as he was landing the ship he heard her shout: “LOOK OUT!” A huge hover-truck was barreling down the road towards him, and Jon just barely got the ship back into the air in time, the bottom of the hull and the top of the truck scraping against each other. “What the kriff?” He asked, watching the truck slide to halt, only for Wenet to emerge a moment later with a dazed looking human man in tow. “Well… that’s one problem solved I imagine,” he said to Artemis as he lowered the disembarkation ramp. “Now where’s – aha!” Creon made a much less dramatic entrance, hopping off of a stolen speederbike, and leaping onto the disembarkation ramp. “Well, well done, ladies and gentleman,” Jon said to his compatriots as they joined him on the bridge. “Creon, I’ll send you my bill.” “I’ll take it out of the repairs for the hull of my ship,” Creon said drily, causing Jon to chuckle. “Now leaving Kyasis.”