Private A storm in the sky

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli had heard the quip, but at least the boarding helm she wore managed to hide the ruddy tint that followed grow over her face.

No time to think on that.

She crouched beside Trix, eyes narrowing at the flickering schematic on the datapad. The blast door's thick durasteel frame reflected the faint blue glow of emergency lights, casting long shadows down the corridor. It felt wrong -- too quiet, too staged. She'd seen enough ambushes to recognize the signs, but hesitation got people killed just as fast as walking into one.

She thumbed the strap of her sonic blaster, gaze flicking to Trextan.

"Straight through's exactly what they want," Choli muttered, scanning the bulkheads, the vents, anywhere a droid could be tucked away. "If we route around, we lose time. But if we bull our way in, we're boxed in with no cover."

She clicked her tongue against her teeth, weighing options. Blast it all, the mission was to get to the vault before the Ren locked it down.

"Alright," she decided, standing. "We split. Trix, Brassycc, take the flank --silent as you can. Trextan, you're with me. We punch through fast, hard. If it's a trap, we're springing it on our terms."

She didn't wait for agreement. Just shot Trextan a look sharp enough to slice through durasteel. "Ready?"

The tension coiled in her chest wasn't just about the mission, but she shoved that aside. Focus. Get it done.

Her hand hovered over the control panel, then slammed the override. The blast door hissed open.

"Move!"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Ready?"

Trextan gave a sharp nod.

He had an odd sense of calm in moments like these. That hadn't always been the case. His first experience of a battlefield had seen him crawling through the mud and screaming for help.

Saving Choli and Tiny had taken him too far in the other direction. His determination had changed to cold anger. He couldn't let something like that control him.

Lightsaber in one hand, handcannon in the other, he went through first.

A warning ripples through the Force. In the darkness, he made out the shape of a turret rising from the ground ahead of them.

Trextan called out a warning and lifted his lightsaber into a guard position. The lights flickered on.

"Shi..."

The boxy turret pointed an array of dark slits towards them. He reached out with the Force and tried to crush the fletchette launcher. It was a large enough array that he would never block them with his lightsaber.

A soft hiss sounded at the same time as metal cried out at being assaulted. Trextan lashed out.

"Oh dear..."

Trextan stumbled back. He bolstered his blaster and reached for the sharp of metal sticking out of his suit. He yanked it free. The last centimeters of jagged metal was coated in blood.

"...not...poisoned..." he hissed through clenched teeth.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

"Could have fooled me," Choli shot back, already moving.

The turret whirred, recalibrating, but she didn't wait to see if Trextan could stay on his feet, despite the instinct of desire of wanting to check, knowing that she had to neutralize what was coming next. The corridor was already alive with movement -- droids rolling forward, red optics glowing in the dim emergency lighting. With a flick of her wrist, she lobbed a ionic detonator straight at the base of the turret.

The explosion sent a shockwave through the tight space, momentarily drowning out the sound of blaster fire as ionic waves went crashing. The turret sputtered and died, but the droids kept coming.

Choli spun back to Trextan. His face had gone a shade too pale, his free hand pressed against the puncture in his suit. Blood welled between his fingers.

"You're lucky that wasn't center mass," she muttered, her eyes darkening in worry. A hand came up, yanking a patch from her belt and slapping it onto the wound. She barely had time to check his breathing before another round of blaster fire forced her to duck. Sparks rained from the ceiling as a bolt tore through an exposed wire.

Trextan seemed to let out a breath that was supposed to be a laugh, but it hitched in his throat. She didn't like that.

A droid lurched forward, weapon raised. Choli snapped her blaster up and fired, the shot slamming into its chassis. It staggered but didn't drop.

"Think you can still swing that saber, or am I dragging your arse to cover?" she asked, voice sharp, but laced with concern buried under pragmatism. The droids were regrouping, shifting into new firing positions. If that turret was just the opening move, the vault was going to be one hell of a fight.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan growled through clenched teeth. It took him three sharp breaths to get his pulse back under control. Another two to draw upon the Force to try and start the healing process.

He was wearing a sealed suit to protect against poison and it had already been breached. Trextan wiped blood away on the outside of his suit.

"I'm good."

He draw his handcannon and fired a shot down the corridor. The bolts spread out and clipped two droids. The fletchette turret had been made to do the same job: send down a spread of dangerous shots that a lightsaber could never block.

The closest droid had taken several hits. He drew it towards them with the Force and lashed out. His blade cut it in half.

"I'll cover you and press forwards, you put them down?" he suggested, standing tall.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

"I'm good."

Choli didn't believe him for a second. She caught the way he wiped at his suit, the way his stance wavered before he straightened up. But now wasn't the time to argue.

The sharp boom of his handcannon roared through the corridor, scattering flechettes into the nearest droid. Choli lunged in right after, igniting her lightsaber dagger in a snap-hiss of white-blue. The blade cut clean through metal plating, sparks flying as the droid crumpled.

"One down," she muttered.

Trextan yanked another droid closer with the Force, cutting it clean in half. Then he looked at her, standing tall despite whatever damage he was trying to shake off.

"I'll cover you and press forwards, you put them down?"

Choli flicked her wrist, rolling her saber in her grip. The last droid whirred, recalibrating its aim.

"Sounds like a plan," she said, already moving, attempting to use the Force on the last droid -- but it didn't work. No, it had a Taozin nodule in it.

Choli barely had time to process the fact that the Force had just failed her before she was dodging another round of paddle beams, her heart slamming against her ribs. Of course, her left hand got hit and immediately it went numb.

Well feth.

Rave. Fething. Merrill. Of course she'd built her nightmare vault ship with Force-dampening materials. Made perfect sense. Too bad Choli didn't realize it before she'd tried to go all telekinetic on the droids.

"Can't use the Force on that one!" Choli warned Trextan, peeking over her cover, lips pursing in a thin line that she was the one who got hit.

Well Trextan was now not going to let her live this down.

 

[Makko Vyres]

.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Can't use the Force on that one!" Choli warned Trextan, peeking over her cover, lips pursing in a thin line that she was the one who got hit.

"Noted!" Trextan called out.

Thin silvery wisps of paddle beams cut through the air around them. It was impossible to deflect them with a lightsaber. If he felt confident, his blade could direct them upwards.

"I'll come up with a joke about your numb hand later!" he declared.

If there was a later. He wasn't making much progress in pressing forwards.

"The walls. I think we can use the Force on those..."

He put his theory into practise. Several thick durasteel grates were ripped away. Metal bolts screamed in protest before they were sheared.

Metal panels were flung down the corridor, battering the droids and giving them both some breathing space.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli ducked instinctively as the metal panels went flying, the shriek of tearing durasteel rattling through her helmet's audio feed. For half a second, she thought Trextan had lost it, until she saw the droids get hammered by the debris, their limbs sparking as they staggered under the impact.

"Nice one!" she called, exhaling hard.

Her left hand still tingled from the earlier hit, but she flexed her fingers, forcing feeling back into them. No way was she about to let some nerve-deadening paddle beams slow her down, but it would take time before she could completely move it again so for now, she was one arm down.

With the droid momentarily off balance, she lunged forward, ducking low to slash at a joint seam. The saber dagger cut through like butter, sending the last droid collapsing in a heap.

Breathing hard, Choli surveyed the damage and the scene before glancing back at Trextan to check on his status.

"How are you doing now?" she asked, moving over towards him to get a check. Especially if she'd need to assist him with a quick patch or Force healing.

Just then, Trix's voice crackled from the comm.

[ Gonna need some help here! We got three Ren here pinning us down! ]

So much for catching one's breath.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He felt a moment of pride at her compliment. It felt like a very long time since they had been side by side, fighting against the odds. They hadn't walked into a situation as dire as this before, but they had never been as prepared either.

He leaned his shoulder into the bulkhead and took a breath.

"How are you doing now?" she asked, moving over towards him to get a check. Especially if she'd need to assist him with a quick patch or Force healing.

Just then, Trix's voice crackled from the comm.

[ Gonna need some help here! We got three Ren here pinning us down! ]

Trextan had been about to admit that he needed a moment to check the wound. They had patched it quickly and it would be safer to check they had stemmed the blood flow. He didn't think it was deep.

"I'll make do," he said firmly.

"We'll come at them from the other side," Trextan replied into the comms. "Hold fire when we call out."

He pushed up off the bulkhead. The corridor reached an intersection and they were able to cut towards the skirmish.

Blaster fire lashed down a corridor from their left to their right. Trextan glanced around the next corner.

"One Ren," he whispered. "Behind a pack of troopers."

Clearly the Ren had not wanted to be first into the maze of traps.

"How do toy want to play this," he whispered.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker


Felt good to be back in the field with Trextan-- though she could've done without the whole bleeding out in a death trap part. But at least they weren't flying blind. They had a plan.

Mostly.

Choli exhaled slowly, flexing her fingers around the hilt of her saber dagger. She cast a sidelong glance at Trextan, catching the way he leaned off the bulkhead, his stance just a little stiffer than before. Stubborn as ever.

"'Make do,' huh?" she muttered under her breath. She knew what that meant; he wasn't gonna admit how bad it was until they were out of this mess. Stubborn.

She crept up beside him at the intersection, peering past his shoulder. Blaster fire streaked through the dim corridor, throwing jagged shadows against the walls. Trix and company were holding their ground, but at this pace who knew for how long --- and what other surprises ther emight be in store.

Choli tilted her head, considering their options.

"We could go loud," she murmured, keeping her voice low. "Hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard....make 'em panic." Her fingers ghosted over the hilt of her dagger before she shook her head. She had a stun grenade she could use.

"But if we're smart about it, we can cut the troopers down before the Ren even knows what's what."

She shifted back, rolling her shoulders. "I say we hit the flank. Come in low, use the cover. I'll take the first few....if you're up for it corner the Ren.. and you know... have you do your usual powerhouse Force show."

Or at least, that was the last she'd seen him fight. She hadn't seen him go all out with his blasters and guns.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"I'll deal with the Ren," Trextan agreed.

There was a solemn look of determination, but there - just in the corner of his eye - was that exhilaration for meeting the challenge head on.

"You've got good with that dagger."

He stretched out with the Force and listened to its guidance.

"I'll be exposed when I make a move on the Knight. I trust you..." Trextan said. "...
and the other Wardens," he added quickly.

He unholstered his scattergun. He would get to use it just once from the flank before the risk of catching someone in the crossfire became too high. If he timed it correctly he could put three troopers out of action.

"Ready."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli's fingers tightened around her blaster as she flicked a glance at Trextan. He had that look, the kind that said he wasn't just prepared, but itching for the fight. She'd seen it before, back when things had been simpler, when it was just them against the odds, trusting each other to make it out in one piece...

"Yeah, well," she muttered, shifting her stance. "You're not bad with that scattergun either."

She exhaled through her nose, rolling her shoulders. He was right, he'd be wide open the second he moved on the Ren. Which meant it was on her to cover him. On instinct, she connected her dagger back to the magnetic clip and checked her QQ-83N Sidearm's charge and readjusted her grip. The weight of the dagger at her hip was a reassuring presence, but she'd tended to draw it when things got up close and personal in combination to the Warden's fighting technique. Anything with range that wasn't a droid the sidearm worked well.

Choli met his gaze, her smirk edged with something steadier, more certain. "I've got you."

No hesitation. No doubt.

She could hear the blaster fire ahead, the steady rhythm of the fight waiting for them. No more talking. No more planning.

It was time to move.

"Go," she said, already shifting forward, her body coiled and ready. She'd cover him -- as she always had.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He had come to realise that there was a difference between confident, assertive action and arrogant and hasty decisions. When she told him she would watch his back, he trusted her implicitly.

"Go,"

Trextan rushed forwards. The Force stretched out ahead of him. It guided his hand as he fired just one shot. Gaps in armor were found. Three troopers went down.

Trextan dropped the scattergun. He shouldered the next trooper to the ground and finally had a clear line of sight to the Ren.

Snap-hiss

Blue and scarlet met in the air. Trextan planted his feet and used the leverage of his artificial arm to break the deadlock and force the Knight to give ground.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli moved the second Trextan did. The moment his scattergun roared, she was already lining up her next shot. Then the second and third troopers dropped in thuds, armor sparking where the bolts found their mark.

Then the snap-hiss. That telltale clash of saber against saber. Choli didn't stop to watch. Trextan had the Ren. She had the rest.

HEr blaster spat fire as she weaved through cover, dropping low behind a fallen trooper before snapping up to take a shot at one of the stragglers. Another went down, but one of them was quick --too quick. He ducked her shot, turning his rifle toward her.

Damn it.

She dove sideways, rolling hard behind a support strut as the trooper's return fire stitched scorch marks into the wall where she'd just been standing. Heart pounding, she gritted her teeth and yanked the light saber dagger from her hip.

Fine. Close and personal it was.

She flicked a glance at Trextan, seeing him still locked in that saberfight, before pushing off from cover. The fight wasn't over yet.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan could feel the shift behind him. Trix, Arryk and Brassycc weren't out of the fight but they were taking stock. One of them was wounded.

He swung his saber down, but changed the angle. His blade skipped off red. Half a step forwards and he swung upwards.

Sparks flew. The Ren darted backwards and yanked off his - her - helmet. She spat as she tossed the helmet aside. Half the front of the mask had been torn away.

"How many of you are on the ship?" Trextan asked.

She didn't answer.

Trextan stabbed forwards. She deflected the blow but he rolled his saber again. The next two blows simply overpowered her defences and when his blade came down he severed her hand from the wrist.

He pointed his blade at her throat. It didn't waver.

"I asked you..."

The Knight of Ren simply stepped forwards. The blade went straight through her, just bellow her chin. Trextan swore under his breath.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli barely had time to register the Knight's last, defiant step before she collapsed. A sharp breath hitched in her throat, but she forced it down, tightening her grip on her blaster.

No time to dwell.

She pushed up from cover, scanning the fight. Trix, Arryk, and Brassycc were still standing but barely. One of them was clutching a wound, and the others looked like they were recalculating their odds. Not great.

Choli moved. A quick sprint, sliding in beside Trix, her free hand already yanking a field dressing from her belt. "You still with me?" she muttered, pressing it against the wound.

Trix cursed a blur streak — well looks like she's just fine!

Trextan stood a few paces ahead, his saber still humming, still pointed at a body that wasn't getting back up. His jaw was tight, his posture rigid, but Choli knew that look. She'd seen it before on pilots who'd made it out of a dogfight only to realize they weren't sure if they won or just survived.

She didn't waste words. Just a quick glance at him, then back to securing Trix's wound. "We need to move," she said, keeping her voice even. "More could be on the way."

Because they weren't done yet. And if the Ren had been willing to die like that, it meant she had backup.

Or were just as crazy as Rave.

"See if we can crack into that data console… get a map of this ship's interior…, and find that vault," Choli told Brassycc, nodding to one beside where the dead Ren was. The Wookiee nodded and got to work.

Finishing up with Trix, Choli got up and came next to Trextan, checking on him before bending down to grab Ren's fallen saber just inches from the severed hand.

"Not the kind of tactic I expected," she quipped, jaw flexing in memory of her imprisonment before tucking away the blade. The Kyler was corrupted but usable.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan stood over the Ren in silence for a few seconds. He hadn't expected such a sudden show of defiance from the Ren. He deactivated his lightsaber. With that level of determination, the Ren would be fighting to the last.

After what they had done to Choli and what was as stake, he wouldn't back down either.

"See if we can crack into that data console… get a map of this ship's interior…, and find that vault," Choli told Brassycc, nodding to one beside where the dead Ren was.

He turned around slowly, gaze checking the others for wounds. Trix had been clipped. Brassycc was working on the console. He had to replay what Choli had asked of the wookie.

"Not the kind of tactic I expected," she quipped

"No," Trextan agreed. Even though he could remember sith attempting to brainwash him, he felt no sympathy.

"Bryssacc says there are four vaults in the schematics, but each has its own codeword," Arryk called.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli swore under her breath. Four vaults. Of course there were four blasted vaults.

They didn't have time to crack them all. Hell, they barely had time to crack one before more Ren came loooking to settle the score. And if each vault had its own codeword? Yeah, that just made things worse.

She exhaled sharply, eyes darting over the map Brassycc had pulled up. The layout flickered, half-corrupted in places, but she could make out the vault's placements. No clear way to tell which one held what they needed.

Her gut twisted. From what Chloe told her, important relics could be in anyone of those vaults. Something the Ren wanted so bad to come this far into space to find it.

Her gaze swept the others. Trextan was still standing firm, but she knew that the tension in his jaw meant he was already steeling himself for what came next. Arryk looked like he wanted to punch a hole through the bulkhead. Brassycc was still plugging away at the console growling low under his breath. Trix had staunched the bleeding but still upright, kept glancing toward the corridor, like she could already hear boots closing in.

They needed a call. Now.

"Alright," Choli said, forcing the hesitation out of her voice. "We pick one. Best guess, best odds, and we commit."

She looked at Trextan, at the way his fingers flexed near his saber. "You feel anything? Force wise?" He'd be the best to pick up on it with the tremendous Force potential he had, after all, he’d sensed a force krayt dragon in the middle of a sandstorm — and if he could give them even a hint, she'd take it.

Otherwise their choices would be limited to worst case scenarios… maybe even eliminating the vault ship…

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"We could blow the ship," Trextan immediately responded. Because, of course, his mind took the shortest path. He'd never had Choli's clear decision making, but he didn't tend to think around a problem.

"Let me see..."

The adrenaline was still flowing, but he had it under control. Trextan closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force. Using it, calling it to order, came more naturally than asking questions of it.

The maze of the ship seemed to stretch out into the Force. Instead if a smooth flow, it churned through the labyrinth.

Trextan grunted in frustration. He pushed out further.

"Another team and a Knight are dead. They have the map too. It can't be trusted."

He pushed out further, feeling his own presence flow down the corridors. There was danger. He could sense that too, even for his presence. His understanding and command of the Force was that of a toddler to the person that had constructed this ship. There was magic he didn't understand, threatening to draw him in and trap him.

"They opened a vault. It was empty. There is... A strong presence on the landing ship. Waiting."

His eyes snapped open.

"They know we're here."

He turned to Choli. He didn't know which vault to go for.

"Go for the closest vault. If this team was going for it we have a clear run. If not... We could go for the Ren landing craft."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli exhaled sharply, weighing their options. The Ren already knew they were here - - no surprise there. But an empty vault? That complicated things.

She glanced at the holomap, then at the others. Trextan had that look again, the one that meant the Force was giving him more questions than answers.

However, gut instincts hadn’t done them wrong.

"Closest vault, then," she decided. "We push fast, get in, get out. If things get hot…" She shook her head, already setting her jaw. "Then we reassess. But I'm not leaving whatever they deemed it important enough to torture me for the information behind just 'cause the Ren are waiting to pounce."

Her fingers flexed against her blaster grip. Every second they stood here was a second wasted.

"Move," she said, already stepping forward. "If we have to blow the ship, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."