Private A more permanent ally.

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 1
Location: Inside The Utopian Victory Star Destroyer, the hangar.

Heath Valhoun was no stranger to mercenaries, assassins, Bounty Hunters, and other less-reputable people. He had become accustomed to hiring them for jobs rather than risking the reputation of The Elysium Empire. Today he had summoned a few mercenaries to inspect. But this time it wasn't for a simple job. He planned to test them, find their strengths and more importantly their weaknesses. Indeed, he was scouting them out. The purpose? He was looking for elite fighters, and possible leaders to help him build his Empire. While popular among the people, The Elysium Empire had a small army and a small fleet. It needed an elite force and to have an elite force they needed elite leaders, more fighters, and perhaps someone to help train recruits.

He hoped to find what he was looking for but today's collection of "criminals" wasn't promising. Perhaps the most promising was Var-Sulis , a human that apparently hunted Jedi. Heath had no quarrel with The Jedi, though The Silver Jedi Concord would eventually be an enemy as they stood in his way. He didn't need the man to hunt Jedi, but perhaps the Bryn...or any Force users that opposed The Elysium Empire. Still, the man would have to pass the test.

The trial today was a simple one: Work as a unit to wipe out another group of Mercs hired by Heath. The defending mercs had failed their test and the King wanted his credits back. He'd leave that out of the briefing.

"I have hired you all to destroy a group of bandits on the planet Dagobah. You will need to adapt to the swampy terrain, and work as a unit to wipe them out. They'll be expecting you. They stole from me. I want my credits back. I've uploaded their location to your data pads. There are six of you and about twelve of them. Don't fail me and you'll be compensated as we discuseed. Any questions?"

 

[Var-Sulis]

"Six on twelve..I'd say they're outnumbered." *Var-Sulis leans against a wall with arms crossed. As He looked around glancing at a few of the others..Another man looks up from the group and dashes a glance at Sulis' Armor. "That armor you sport will tell a different story." Sulis glances over..."And who might you be?" He asks curiously while nodding in reference to the King's command. Before the man could answer, Sulis turns to leave..He knew this mission would require haste..There was plenty of time to chat along the way. The man who pointed out Sulis' armor in question approaches the King. "My King..Adrian Paul at your service...I know this is a proving ground..however..some of the Armor these men are wearing are sub-par...Do we get to keep the spoils of war? This is of course after you receive your payment."

Tag: Heath Valhoun

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 2

"You keep anything from the men you kill except the credits that I want. Even then, you get a portion of those credits as payment. However I don't know what you mean by proving grounds? You aren't here to prove anything, you're here to do a job."

The King didn't know where they got the idea that this was a test, Perhaps he had hired too many mercenaries for the same reason and word had gotten out. He would brush it aside as a rumor for now. The worse that could happen is they try harder. This would reveal who among them was more determined than the others.

"If there are no further questions, proceed with the mission. Good luck."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Location: Inside The Utopian Victory Star Destroyer, the hangar.


Adrian would reply with a simple nod and heads out. Was it a competition? Or a test?It was not..but to him it was...personal to be the best. As He continued onward, Var-sulis headed to the loading bay glaring at his spacecraft. The K-LM 2400 was being polished by two maintenance droids. As the droids saw Var-Sulis approaching from a distance.they began to scramble as they knew their time was up with thier current task. Sulis placed his hands on his hips and echoes back at the group while staring at his companion. "Man and machine...Could work very well together if you know and trust one another. This is my ship...my ally..Seeing as she's the biggest one here..i vote we use her for travel..Enough fuel to get from here to Dagobah and back..Sub fuel lines.reinforced hyperdrive core..the works..Let's go get our Lord's cred back!" He sounds off while twirling his finger in the air the loading ramp extends with the natural hissing of compressed gas. As they are loading up Sulis watches the others and points them in the general direction of where to go within the cabin. "Were off in a shake.." He explains while going into the onboard bathroom stall in belief no one would do anything stupid. He knew his ship like the back of his hand...and therefore it was rigged with stunners and other mechanisms built to incapacitate any intruder.


He looks into the mirror clearing his throat, while taking out the small vial as a blue vein starts to appear along the right side of his neck. He inhales the liquid as vapors seep into his lungs and exhales deeply. "I may need to talk to that doc sooner than later.." He mumbled to himself as he returns out into the main corridor preparing to leave.

Tag: Heath Valhoun

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 3
Tag: Var-Sulis

Heath watched as the mercs dispersed to their ships, each performing their pre-battle rituals, be it saying a prayer or in what appeared to be Var-Sulis' case, drinking. It wasn't an uncommon act to drink before a battle, it calmed the nerves of most species, especially humans. Heath just hoped it wasn't a fault in his most anticipated recruit-to-be. He'd need to keep an eye on it.

In the case that the men failed Heath had one Quarantine Enforcer Droid to rescue-or kill-the men. Heath himself would watch the events using a tactical map on the ship. Each merc had been given a data pad with the mission instructions on them. The men didn't know that these pads could be used to track their movement as well as connecting to make a 3D map of their surroundings. In short, Heath could see everything from ground level with decent accuracy.

Now all he had to do was wait and watch the battle unfold.

 

[Var-Sulis]

Tag: Heath Valhoun


As The hissing of the K-LM spread exhaust fumes throughout, it was time for liftoff. Var-Sulis..inside approaching the cockpit looks over at another of the men..whom was rather young in the face..and judging from the look and look only..it seemed as if he was nervous. Sulis lets off a subtle smirk while reaching into the compartment above to the left. Switching on lights and activating levers as only he could at such a pace he looks forward through the panel. "What's your name kid?". The younger man looked over as if unimpressed with Var-Sulis' bravado. "Duke.." He now offered a glance as to looking over Var-Sulis without revealing is curiosity. Sulis nods while the ship moves forward. "Well..Duke..Pop a squat..kid...Unless you want your head rolling to the emergency hatch when we really take off." He responds now lighting a cigar. The kid stared at him for but a moment as if he was thinking of a response but would not form the words in time to escape his lips. Sulis..While taking a puff of smoke utters lowly mumbled words to himself and looks over to Duke out of boredom? Curiosity? Perhaps a little of both. "How'd you get here? I'm not talkin' well my mom and pop got together and woohoo...I mean how are you HERE?" He chuckled lightly ready for any answer Duke could provide.

"I am good with mapping and terrain. Also I'm a good shot.." He nods while strapping the belt over to secure himself. Sulis' eyes glare over to meet Dukes and he gives a nod. "So they all say...We're hunting down a group of bandits..Bandits are Merciless..ruthless..uncaring fodder that will gut you within a second..You give them a centimeter they take a mile..You cut out for this?" He smiles.."Don't answer that..Stick by me and we'll make it." He nods. As The ship entered space and began it's travel..He enters coordinates for Dagobah. He looks over at his data pad and turns it on, curious as to what details if any would be there.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 4

Heath listened in on the conversation, taking away the important things. Var-Sulis seemed to have a sense of humor. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, he'd remember it just in case it became important. The one called "Duke" had revealed some things worth a note as well. Heath opened a data pad and swiped to the next page, naming it "Duke" he jotted down a few bulletins. He wrote down the words: "Prideful?", "Good shot", "Good mapper."

With the new notes taken, Heath turned to the nav computer. Sure enough the data pads given to the mercs all sent a signal back to the computer, and a 3D map appeared. Things were going according to plan so far. Good.

Heath watched the ships depart one by one, each pilot would likely check their data pads to see the details before the battle. The data pads had simple things...the known location of the bandits, what weapons they likely had, what the mercs needed to look for, and a mission end date. It also had a way to contact Heath in case the comms devices were destroyed, jammed, or otherwise disabled.

Heath again leaned back into his chair and awaited any new information to present itself.

 

[Var-Sulis]

"Alright boys..Dagobah..Here...On my mark..V-formation..Fall in." Sulis commanded over the comms link as his eyes fluttered at the approaching atmosphere of the murky mysterious planet. He knew it was essential to land far enough..yet within the reach of civilization. Out into the swamp area perhaps? No..according to coordinates they would be landing in the hills...The thrusters are tabbed in reverse as they all begin thier decent. "Here we are...Nice and easy..We land..Get thermal ready..we hunt and get those creds back.." He spoke once more over the coms. And yes..It was possible he loved the sound of his own voice..As long as he knew he had the commanding presence..everything should be fine. Call it a side effect of his upbringing from his father.

As They land successfully, the exit ramps open up with ease. Sulis takes a pull off of his cigar and uses his data pad to mark thier landing. As he begins to walk..fully equipped for the terrain he looked back but for a second to see a smaller framed mercenary with a visored helmet exiting on of the fighters. A female? Perhaps..But hey..If so..She would have to prove her value just as well as he was commissioned to do.

Teg: Heath Valhoun

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 5

Heath continued to listen and watch. The men had now reached Dagobah and Heath had observed something else from Var-Sulis . This one was good. Sulis appeared to have some natural leadership. He had marked Dagobah for the others, and took command, having them form a V formation. Then, once they had landed, he instructed them to use their thermals.

Beyond leadership he had good foresight. Dagobah was a swampy, dark, and often times misty place. Thermals would reveal any threats, hidden or not. One last observation was the piloting ability of all the mercs. Dagobah was not an easy moon to land on. From uneven, shifting and wet terrain, to the mist, landing often ended in disaster. The mercs had all landed without issue.

Var-sulis had a cigar...that was no problem, millions in the galaxy, especially mercenaries and military men liked the occasional cigar. It wasn't like he was smoking Deathsticks or using Spice. Though that drink Heath saw earlier could potentially be an issue.

So far the man was looking like an excellent recruit. Hopefully things would stay that way, The Empire needed recruits.

 

[Var-Sulis]

"You all know we need to keep it tight..No need to tell you anything else.." He continues on with the others as they begin scanning the area. Sulis taps the inside of his left wrist on his wrist band that sends out a vibrating pulse every few seconds scanning for lifeforms in the area. He was caolm..and collected..He did far worse before..And was sloppier in the past. The terrain reminded him of the time his daughter and he went on a camping trip..Forrest like terrain..Mucky..humid..walk in the park..What he could not quite grasp is why a group would come here of all places to hide..Yes..The moss and trees provided excellent coverage..But There were questions that needed answering before he ended them. Confidence is key.

He uses his fingers..pointing at his eyes and signaling left as the scans picked up several tracks. He crouches slightly in observation. The others look on and keep thier blasters at the ready. Duke approaches over to the right. "Those aren't animal tracks..We can't be far behind..Judging by the humidity..They would have stopped soon..perhaps beyond that mucky swamp to the North East of our position." He points out as Sulis looks on with a brow raised. [impressive] he thought to himself as he approached a tree to find a good scouting position before moving any further.


Tag: Heath Valhoun

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 6

The men were getting closer to the target. It seemed that the closer they got, the more desirable traits of Var-Sulis were revealed. He was a tracker, or at least had some knowledge of tracking as he observed the tracks on the muddy terrain and correctly recognized their location. There was no doubt in The King's mind that he would be recruiting Sulis, and perhaps the other mercs with him.

The only steps left were to kill the enemy and get the credits.

For Heath, he needed to figure out how to recruit the men. The Elysium Empire had a strong reserve of credits due to the currency change, but the price of making a mercenary take a permanent job was far from cheap. It wasn't like promoting a militia captain to take a normal wage. The mercs were accustomed to earning a lot of credits for their work. Perhaps he could find some kind of leverage on them.

He'd figure that out. For now he needed to focus, the battle was soon and he needed to watch each man to see how they performed.

Var-Sulis​

 

[Var-Sulis]

Looking on past the swamp, a flickering light revealed the centerpoint of a campsite, illuminating the tents mildly within the area. Was this who they were looking for? Perhaps so. Interesting enough to take a look at the very least. Sulis uses his thermal visor and picks up several heat signatures...one a bit far from the tent to the North West standing still in an upright position, and three others circling near the fire. (You don't just camp out here for pleasure) he thought to himself as the movement of the group near by confirmed suspicion. He nods to Duke. " North West star....Non-Lethals...We want them alive..If we can help it..." He nods and crouches low. He signals Duke who begins to move wide to the Right hand side while signaling the others to the left...He strides up the center cautiously. One of the men at the campsite turns out to be a humanoid with large bug like eyes and one antenna upon his forehead. He looks around and turns towards a chest like container. (OOObAU..DafuunnggAAA..Togatou...Unk..) He utters as another one of the humanoids..looking the same as the commanding thug walks over to it. He opens it and slowly looks inside as vapors escape the container. He nods in agreement.

Meanwhile..Duke tosses a rock against a tree near the guard on lookout. He turns slightly in curiosity and is suddenly hit with a dart that drops him fast. Duke sneaks up to the guard and pats him down quickly as Sulis moves on. The others on the left circle around the outskirts of the campsite. The female draws her blaster and aims above at the branches that tower over the campsite. She fires and the branch crackles falling over into the fire. The sparks and ash rise like an inferno obscuring vision and providing cover. It becomes a mini laser show as each group begins firing. Sulis sneaks in up the middle from behind and rolls onto the container quickly and enters the closest tent. He opens up the container with ease....Peering inside he finds 825 credit's. Looking onward..he pauses..."I COUNTED FOUR....Data said Twelve....." He turns to get up suddenly while pocketing the cred and hears silence outside the tent and some words being exchanged......


Tag: Heath Valhoun

 

[Var-Sulis]

Sulis peeks out of the tent and his thermal signature visor picks up his crew being surrounded by the others...indeed they must have been expecting company at some point..If only there was a way to distract them.....Then like a blessing from the universe..his com chimes as Duke patches in..."Sulis...We can go about this two ways...Smoke and dash....or good ol' fashioned sack and blast..your call..." He explains as Sulis looks around once more...."Hmmmm..." He grunts as he sees the others from the crew kneeling with their hands above their heads...."Barbecue?? Something tells me those antennas on those guys heads wouldn't be able to detect us through the smoke...bring the clouds..Duke.." He smirks and readies his blasters. Moments later (((SSSSKKKkkSSShshshshshhhhhh))..Smoke bombs are deployed in on the location and Sulis immediately switches to comms for the party. "Tuck and Roll!" He yells aloud as he aims with laser precision and begins shooting at the knee caps of the opposition. Hitting several of them forcing them to drop their weapons the crew makes an escape but not before Duke is seen dragging off the guard he put to sleep before hand. As they are all now on the run..The woman in the group catches up to Sulis..."Way to go hot shot! Almost got us killed!" She laughs while continuing on. Sulis laughs while sprinting.."Oh your fine! Good shooting guys! Outta here! Let's rendezvous and get off this muck of a planet!"


Tag: Heath Valhoun

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 7
Var-Sulis

The battle had begun, the men led by Var-Sulis making short work of four mercs. They looked professional, and Heath liked it. There were eight more and Var-Sulis seemed to not realize until they had moved in. That being said, the creds had been retrieved. Maybe he didn't want to engage the enemies' superior numbers. Or maybe the man had simply forgotten that there were twelve foes until now. Heath hope for the first of the possibilities, but he expected it was likely just an error in an otherwise flawless operation.

But it was a major error at that...to forget such a vital piece of information. Heath himself didn't know where the other eight mercs were. Most likely they were out of the camp, making a defensive perimeter that Sulis and his troops had managed to bypass. If that was the case, he was now surrounded in a six vs eight situation. Maybe the eight men were located elsewhere, and the mercs had split the credits in case they were hunted down.

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The King was tense as he watched the six recruits-to-be slowly become surrounded by the eight mercs. Indeed there had been a defensive wall of troops and Var-Sulis had bypassed it by some miracle. Or maybe it wasn't a miracle as it now came to bite them in the butt. Heath listened as Sulis and Duke formulated a plan. It was a simple plan but he would have done no different. The men were going to pop smokes and make a quick escape.

The King held his breath, hoping Var-Sulis was right about the antennas being blocked by the smoke.

Pop
The smokes deploy
SSsshhhhhhshhhhh
It fills the small camp
Silence
A few footsteps and some communication by the insectoids


A few more seconds of silence and its' over. Heath released a heavy breath, his heart pounding as a female in the group of recruits speaks. He cared at this point because each one of the six recruits-to-be had skills. Had they failed early on, he probably wouldn't care much. But they didn't. Each one was needed in The Elysium Empire. They weren't the standard infantry type. They were observant, they worked as a unit, and Var-Sulis was leadership material. Perhaps more than Carl Mako was. With some training and studying, that raw talent could grow and Sulis could..perhaps...become leader of The Elite Stormtroopers, or even more.

But that was the future, for now Heath needed to prepare a debriefing and the pitch that'd convince the six to join The Elysium Empire. He hoped it wouldn't cost him too much but he knew that the odds of making this cheap were stacked against him.

 

[Var-Sulis]

As the group makes it down a hill past an open field..Var-Sulis takes out his communicator device. Almost dropping it due to the sudden adrenaline rush, he gathers his composure knowing that every move he made would be carefully observed from the group and eventually Mr. Valhoun himself..if it wasn't already. "Bug-boys are on our tail..Starting up K-LM...we have 20 seconds to get there before auto-lift off!" He presses a red button that illuminates with a soft echo every five seconds. Duke and the others continue onward.."This one's a bit heavy Sulis!" He calls out as the weight of the merc on his shoulder causes him to be half a click behind. As several laser blasts hit the mercky dirt near the squadron Sulis stops suddenly and turns around allowing Duke to catch up. Sulis fires off several shots at low branches in the area to cut off the pursuers as Duke passes. He turns around and escorts him back. The crew hurriedly enter the loading ramps of their perspective ships as the lift-off sequences are in full effect. Sulis knocks against the side panel and pants heavily with Duke behind him. He coughs aloud and again while observing Duke placing the body in a small holding cell onboard. "Wow!...Ohh....Yeah!" He exclaims while shaking a finger at Duke. "My terrain man! That's how you navigate soldier!" He smirks and coughs again. He regains composure and heads around the corner towards the control command. He looks around and reaches into his pocket, taking out the light blue vial of liquid. "Damn.." He says to himself as the realization of having one medical dose left meant one of two things..either he gets cred for more..Or he finds a more permanent solution..And fast...


The crew disembarks quickly from Dagobah..With plenty of time for interrogation of the captured merc.


Tag: Heath Valhoun OPEN

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 7
Tags: Var-Sulis

They had made it, and would return soon. Heath was glad, but he still had no plan other than to spend a considerable amount of credits. Then something caught his eye. Sulis was looking at the vials again. There was only one left. He still didn't know if it was alcohol, or drugs, or something else entirely. It was reasonable to want a drink to calm the nerves after an intense situation.

He didn't think much on it because he had just realized something: The men captured a prisoner. That'd be fine, except he had hired those mercs just as he had hired Sulis and the others. If they interrogated the merc...The plot would be revealed. They probably wouldn't like being used as they were. He needed to tell them to off the prisoner, even if it meant they knew he was watching them.

He activated his comms device and began: "Well done. There's no need for the prisoner, finish him."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Sulis stopped immediately and turned to Duke who just approached the cockpit. Hearing Mr. Valhouns command over the comms device opened up “Pandora’s box” in his mind. There was no time to negotiate or ask why and engage in conversation. A command was just that. As his left leg begin to bounce slightly from his medicine intake he slowed his breathing and knew he had to remain focused. He clears his throat before answering on the comm device. “Yes Sir.” He responded calmly. “You get that too?” Duke looked at Sulis who rose from the cockpit chair. “Yep...I’ll do it...fast and painless...” he nods...Duke gives off a look of slight concern but shrugs it off and takes over the chair as Sulis passes him by. Heading over to the small 8x5 holding cell, He taps on the reinforced glass to see if the merc is awake. Seeing the humanoid still in a slumber, he inputs the unlock code on the data pad and enters while pulling out a small Viroblade from his utility belt. He pats the male down quickly for anything useful before the execution. He finds a card with a symbol imprinted on the back. Could be his clan tag. He pockets it and puts the blade to his temple. He quickly inserts the blade as the bug like humanoid twitches in shock slightly....it was over....he retracts the blade and cleans it off thinking about the amount of kills he’s committed over his lifetime...it was something he was getting used to...but he hoped he could always remember why he is killing. If he ever couldn’t ...that’s when the real trouble would begin...

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post:8
Tag: Var-Sulis

The men hadn't asked any questions. That was an unspoken code that most mercs, assassins, and bounty hunters followed. It was bad business to ask any questions, and Heath was glad that they had refrained this time. Sulis had executed the mercenary, but something caught The King's eye. Before killing the insectoid, Sulis had patted him down and recovered something. The image wasn't clear enough to make out the card. It was probably nothing. He decided to let the man keep the card, it wasn't Elysium property.

One other thing that Heath saw was the uneasy leg tapping from Var-sulis. It certainly could have been nerves, though the battle was over. Maybe he was uneasy killing an unarmed prisoner. That was understandable. Heath didn't care for the idea either, but it had to be done. Another cause could be the revelation that they were being watched, but they had nothing to hide as far as Heath had observed.

He shrugged it off, they'd be back very soon. He had prepared a large reserve of credits as he gave up on the prospect of convincing them to join The Empire without credits being involved.

 

[Var-Sulis]

Making it back to the hangar bay of the Utopian Star destroyer, Sulis initiates docking procedures and landing gear. Making note of the asteroid charting system along the way as the asteroid field seemed to shift slightly. Duke looks on as the fighter ship comes to a halt. He turns to Sulis. "Did that go as PLANNED? Or we're we close enough?" He asks casually with a slight grin not wanting to give off any actual hint of failure. Sulis lights a cigar after unstrapping his safety belt. "Exactly..as..planned.." He would let off a wink of confidence before going back to retrieve the body. As he does so the loading ramp extends to the ground below. "Alright..Been a pleasure..Let's get this thug over to Heath Valhoun . If Were not together in the future..let's hope none of you are a target of mine.." He speaks over the comms device in his ear as he receives a few chuckles in return. Lugging the body over his shoulder and descending down the ramp he nods to the female that was with the group. She nods back..staring at him..Onward..for payment..questions..and an unknown future...

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 9
Tag: Var-Sulis

Heath stood in the hangar, ready to greet the successful party and then throw his recruitment pitch at them. They had all done well enough, they had worked as a team, and they were efficient. With a little training they could be on par with the elite stormtroopers. Heath would explain this to them and try to sweeten the deal with a bonus, and some exaggerated promises. He hoped it'd' be enough...he wanted these men in his Empire.

If it wasn't enough, he was willing to up the offer, he just wouldn't tell them that of course.