Ancient. Imperial. Derelict.

[Darth Metus]

​

Derelict Imperial Star Destroyer, Wild Space​

It was not often that the Mandalorian bothered to hearken to the reports given by the deep-space exploration teams. They were scholars, searching for new, uncharted worlds to bring into the Confederacy's fold; and Isley was a soldier. In his mind, both he and the cartographers had an ocean of responsibilities to attend to; and taking time to learn about the other's trade was a distracting waste. However, the Mandalorian's opinion was vastly shaken when he overheard a report that caused old, buried memories to rise to the surface. Apparently, the exploration corps had discovered a derelict Star Destroyer that was floating about the edge of Wild Space. From their assessment, the vessel was several hundred years of age and hailed from the period of Palpatine's Empire.

Those facts were enough to send chills racing up and down the Mandalorian's spine, for the last time such a ship had been discovered, "bad" things happened. During his days as a Mandalorian Initiate, his people uncovered a vessel that was damn-near identical to this one in description. Ancient. Imperial. Derelict. As such, they launched an operation to board the vessel in order to see if there was anything valuable worth salvaging. The operation turned into a literal horror story, for the Mandalorians had uncovered a ship filled to the brim with Sithspawn. The handful of Mandalorians who escaped the vessel alive still bore the traumatic scars from the experience; Isley included. As such, when he heard about this discovery, Isley exercised what was his right as a ranking officer in the military.

He took the damn operation over and turned it military.

Under his watch, the Mandalorian was convinced that not a single individual would fall prey to a Sithspawn-infested ship ever again. To this end, he pieced together a small group of ships, consisting of three Indoctrination-class Frigates, and personally led the operation to investigate the derelict ship. The ride throughout the depths of Hyperspace was one filled to the brim with anxiety, which was out of character for Isley. He had been on numerous battlefields and, on the way to each operation, was perfectly calm within his private quarters. Hell, sometimes he was even jovial and swapped jokes with members of the Dread Guard! However, this time, silence ruled both he and his quarters. He sat upon the edge of his bed, datapad in hand, and flipped through the images stored upon it.

There was his wife. His children. His friends...Isley was dead afraid of losing each and every one of them by becoming a snack to some Sithspawn. Fear was something that very rarely manifested itself in Isley's gullet...but it was there this day. It ate away at his nerves with each passing moment; requiring him to make conscious efforts to keep himself calm. Then, showtime arrived. There was a slight lurch as the Frigates dropped out of hyperspace and the sound of the helmsman's voice soon echoed through the PA system. <"Now here this: All boarding teams are to report to their stations. Guns prepped and at the ready."> Yep. Showtime. Isley reluctantly rose from his bed and lobbed the datapad onto the mattress before striding out into the halls.

His destination was the hangar bay, which only took a handful of seconds to arrive within. Immediately upon entering the open space that was dotted with vessels, an automaton bounded over to its master. 'Twas the Cin Bes'uliik: Isley's personal mount. The hulking War Droid rushed to the beskar-clad warrior's side like a puppy that had gone without its Master for days and eagerly lowered itself for him to climb aboard. With but a single leap, Isley jumped atop its back and slid its cockpit into place before goading it forward. Ahead of the boarding teams, the War Droid bounded out of the hangar and into the black of space. Isley hung on for dear life as its rear-most compartments opened, revealing a duo of high-boost engines. Upon roaring to life, they propelled Droid and Rider across the distance between the ships until arriving within the Star Destroyer's hangar bay.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." muttered the Mandalorian. He then opened a transmission to the individuals under his command and said: "Alright, we're going by the book on this one. Squad one, you're headed towards the generators. See if you can't get some emergency power flooding into this thing. Squad two, you're headed to the bridge. Any and all information that you can pull of the databanks is coming with us. Squad three, you're with me. We're headed towards the medical bay...gotta make sure there's nothing experimental crawling about. Move out!" There were a chorus of "yes sirs!" yelled over the channel and Isley quickly dismounted the Bes'uliik. It's size was such that it wouldn't be able to fit into the adjoining corridors, so within the hangar it'd have to wait.

Utilizing his jetpack to get him moving in the weightless environment, the Mandalorian quickly made his way throughout the vessel. As he moved, his comm blinked with confirmation messages from the squads. They had boarded and were fast approaching their objectives. This was good news; but it was also the most nerve-wracking part of the operation. Upon coming before the lift that would typically ferry one to the medical bay, the Mandalorian had to improvise. Years of being powered down had resulted in its refusal to budge...so a telekinetic shove tore down the doors and he relied upon his jetpack to ferry him down. Once free of the blackness of the lift, he strafed carefully forward, blaster pistol at the ready just in case anything decided to leap at him.

The moment he entered the Med Bay, Squad One completed its objective. The power flickered on, artificial gravity gripped the Mandalorian's form, and oxygen began to flood the room. He landed gracefully and strode forth, inspecting the now-illuminated room with immense intrigue. Of course, by this time his own Squad had caught up and each pointed their rifles forward, aiming at the most obvious target: a single, stasis pod centered in the midst of the room. Isley's heart drummed away like a freight train as he reached for the release console and activated it, then stepped back as vapor began to flood forth from the pod. He, and the Squad, stiffened and raised their blasters...awaiting whatever horror that was within the pod to emerge.

@[member="Salem Norongachi"], @CIS peeps

 

[Salem Norongachi]

OOC: Can someone delete this?

 

[Salem Norongachi]

It was a dream. The same dream of a life far behind him or were they memories? It was growing harder to tell, instances of his life played out like his own personal biography but details were different, subtle ones granted but things he had never noticed before. The way the Republic M90 Star Cruisers hull blistered and cracked as his CSA fleet cleaved a swathe through the defenders in orbit over Kuat. A look, a fleeting glimpse of acceptance as he drove his blade into Matrims gut. It was the last expression the pirate ever had but until he had gone into stasis he had never remembered seeing it. It would be a shame, he mused, to lose this clarity of thought. To once again be riddled with emotion that can distract the eye from the whole of a picture.

What would he find out there when Emah finally released him? Would the galaxy be in ruin or would it still be locked in the ebb and flow of war? Time had passed, too much time, he could feel that keenly. It was to be expected, the ship had taken a beating before they jumped. Where they had jumped to was a mystery even for the all knowing A.I that set their course. He was too wounded, too desperate to escape, to live, that he had commanded her to take them anywhere. A blind jump, one that could have seen them in the heart of a star or far beyond the reaches of their galaxy.

Something stirred within him, a shimmer of the Force coursing up his body. They were not alone. Who and how many were beyond the realms of his power in his current state, his mind was all but dormant along with his body. Patience, Norongachi thought, no one can resist a mysterious box.

The first signs that his long sleep would soon be over was an ache all over his body. He had heard of side effects from prolonged hypersleep but had never experienced it first hand. As the thaw spread, so did the pain. It were as if all the years he had missed were assaulting his body all at once. A wince managed to escape his lips before he suppressed it, turning over the pain to a part of his mind where it would not bother him. Whomever had awoken the Darth would not find a whimpering pup huddled in his pod crying for a bacta bath.

Light seeped in through the crack of the opening lid and his body tensed, marshalling what strength he had for what was to come. A groping hand felt his side and was comforted by the cold bronzium hilt of his lightsaber. As the lid opened a few inches he found that the Force was returning to him along with the full functionality of his body. Salem drew upon his connection and let it spread throughout his body, speeding the process that was occurring far too slowly for his reckoning.

"In fact..." He thought thrusting his hand toward the frosted plexiglass releasing a fist of telekinetic energy that ripped the lid from its moorings. As it rose and crashed against the medbay celling he followed, flipping up and over to the other side of the pod from his "guests" and ignited the viridian blade as he landed. His body protested the sudden movement and doled out its punishment in a flash of agony that set his legs to tremble. Green eyes flicked between the armoured intruders and for the first time in eight centuries, he spoke.

"Find anything interesting...."
@[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Curupira Hawk]

It was like a thing. A mission. Or something like that. Curupira was just too bored to stick around on the planet. So she went with Isley. He seemed kinda off on it though. Kinda. Not that Curupira actually paid attention to that sort of thing. She did however dress the part. It was a mission, she was an Illuminati now. It was kind of a thing too. Actually, it was all about the suit. The suit was gorgeous, Ket approved... to put it mildly.

She was mostly wandering around the ship for the most of the journey before she heard the helmsman's voice through the PA system. All boarding teams had to report to their stations. She turned on the heels quickly after that and made her way to the cargobay. That much she knew. It was where she was waiting when Isley arrived, the large animal-droid went up to him and he got up to it. It was a big mechanical beast. Though it kind of reminded her of those large rancors they had on Dathomir though scarier. Rancors were kinda cute, this one not so much. "Wait up," the redhead still said and jumped up, concentrating on the Force ever so slightly to give herself a bit of a boost her her jump, which is what her petite form required to actually jump high enough so she could land on the mechanical animal. "That was fun," she said quietly as she caught on to Isley's shoulders, keeping herself from falling.

Putting up a smile on her face, she held on as the droid started in a run, her small frame leaning into the Mandalorian, her hold around him tighting so as she realized it was just about to jump out of the ship and into open space. Her eyes shut in that moment and the last breath she inhaled stayed in her lungs. She didn't even notice for a few moments that she was protected. When she finally let one of her eyelids open, she took in the sight of space first hand. She didn't even pay attention to the large ship ahead of her, her attention focused solely on the beauty around her. She held on pretty tight though. It was scary. But oh so beautiful.

The beauty was sort of rushed after that, the sudden speed making the calm stars suddenly move faster. And then it was all gone, her gaze noting the hanger bay they entered into. She exhaled then. It was over, for now at least.

Curupira heard a mutter from the man but she didn't quite register what he had actually said, her mind still on what she had just experienced. But she did hear him give out different commands before he finally gave out the command that included him and there for her. Medical bay. They had to make sure there was nothing experimental crawling about. She had no idea what he actually meant by that but that hardly mattered. A bunch of different voices came through his communicator before the creature allowed to get off. She let go of Isley then, realizing she had to, and she waited for him to get off before she jumped off herself.

As soon as her feet touched the metal ground, they left them. "Wow," she just said and realized Isley had turned on a jetpack. "Hey, I want one of those!" But he was already on his way and she was just floating about for a few. She'd have to discuss this one with the Force, Curupira realized quickly and reached out to it, pushing herself forward in the direct of the male. It took her a bit of time to catch up with him that way but when she did, she had found a door broken into and Isley ahead of her. Alright, she was all caught up now with him. She still gave her a bit more of a telekinetic push once she adjusted her direction, entering the medical bay after him. Lights had come up by then, making it easier for her to see. Now she could actually see others there and actually noticed there were others now there as well. Paying attention to things that didn't matter too much to her... yeah, that was something Curupira still had to learn.

The loud sound made her focus back on Isley. Or better yet to the object he was at. It was a sort of pod. Not something the redhead was familiar with. But the top of it falling back to the ground from the ceiling which made her take a small guess on what had made the sound before she looked back at the bottom of the pod, noticing a male figure there. With a blade in his hand. "Our host isn't very host-like?" She said out of the blue, golden gaze staring at him. While Curupira was armed, her two slugthrowers were still holstered to the side of her hips. Her hands never actually went to it as she watched the man, hearing him speak. Anything interesting?

"I found lack of manners...," the female just commented.

@[member="Salem Norongachi"] @[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Azlyn Vay]

By the time the boarding party had arrived within the ship's hangar bay, they'd notice a lone shuttle already docked there. Unlike the other vessels in the hanger, this one was quite new. Someone had obviously got to this derelict ship first. A trail of recently destroyed, extremely old security droids would lead away, most cut down by blaster fire, some cut down by a lightsaber. And judging by the still smoking burn marks on their chassis, this battle happened extremely recently.
@[member="Isley Verd"]
@[member="Salem Norongachi"]
@[member="Curupira Hawk"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Although the process of awakening only took seconds, for the Mandalorian it felt like a small eternity. The anticipation of what laid beyond the glass of the pod caused his heart to thunder away and perspiration to form upon his palms. However, despite these sensations, Isley retained a solid grasp of his rifle and kept his attention dead ahead. Then...the moment of truth happened. For a split second, the vapor stopped and an eerie silence befell the Medical Bay. It was then that the Mandalorian began to sincerely hope that whatever was stored within the pod had simply died from the centuries of slumber...but the Force had other plans. Its presence crept across the room and suddenly surged forth, bursting the glass of the pod out and over their heads.

Isley damn near leapt out of his skin in response to the sudden telekinetic shove, so much so that he missed the blur that had leapt over his head in addition to the glass. If not for the motion scanners within his helmet, he would have been slow to the punch; score one for good equipment. Turning on his heel, Isley blinked as the glass shattered upon the Medical Bay's floor; causing a mighty din to fill the room. He then stepped forward, taking a moment to inspect the individual who had emerged from the pod. There was a symphony of movement on the part of the Mandalorian's team, for they all turned and raised their rifles in response to the newfound threat; who had an ignited lightsaber in his hand. However, Isley raised his hand in order to keep them from firing.

"Hold." he ordered, making his way forward.

Upon coming to a halt, the Mandalorian holstered his weapon and lowered his hands, keeping them at his sides in a non-threatening manner. However, his dominant hand was right beside his own saberstaff, sending a rather clear message. He did not mean the man any harm, but he would defend himself if necessary. "I found a derelict ship, centuries old, floating around Wild Space...and a fellow wielder of the Force to go right along with it." he began, addressing the man with baritone words that echoed about the Medical Bay. "And I'm inclined to agree with Curupira, there is a divine lack of manners here, so allow me to rectify that. My name is Colonel Isley Verd, I'm with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Special Forces. This is my student, Curupira Hawk, a member of our Templar Order."

He paused, then addressed the elephant in the room.

"You know who we are now...So who are you?"

@[member="Azlyn Vay"]
@[member="Curupira Hawk"]
@[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

Outnumbered. Out gunned.

Salem could only listen, he had little option right now. Even his ego was not large enough to think he could handle a whole team of obviously well trained soldiers while his body and his connection to the Force were still less than optimum. A flurry of questions entered his mind as this...Colonel finished.

"Derelict?" Norongachi finally got a look around the medlab, it wasn't in pristine condition but he could see in the corridor beyond it was almost wrecked. Wires, long dead, and tubing hung from the ceiling like the very bowls of the ship had fallen. A thought occurred to him then and he held up a hand to his guests. The first impression of having little to no manners would no doubt be secure.

"Emah?" He seemed to ask the air. No answer came. No flicker of lights. No clap of thunder. Nothing to signify that the ships A.I had survived the centuries that had passed. This made him a little sad, if he were honest. Shame he was rarely, if ever, so.

"Salem Norongachi, exceptionally old man as the case would have it." He waved his hand to indicate the ship. "Owner and sole occupant of the mighty Imperial Star Destroyer Hand of Fate." The sarcasm dripping from his rough voice before looked to the redhead in the back and quipped. "Sorry darlin', I'm cranky after a nap."
@Azlyn Vay
@Curupira Hawk

@Isley Verd

 

[Curupira Hawk]

Hold. Curupira turned back and noticed the team in attention, aiming at the man who had just woken up. Wow. Wow. Wow. Twitchy hands. At least Isley had put a stop to it and they seemed to be obeying. The redhead looked back at the man for a few moments before her trainer spoke, explaining himself and agreeing with her.

Wait what? Did @[member="Isley Verd"] just agreed with her? Apperently. But then it turned out that he wasn't really, he just seemed to steal from her to introduce himself and her. Slick move there. Curupira didn't hold it against him much. Instead, she looked at the jumpy stranger and waved. "Hi," she added to that wave and smiled a little. Since she was being introduced, she figured she could be polite too.

Said stranger though seemed to be on something else. There was first the choice of Isley's words. And then there was a word that made zero sense. Curupira just mentally shrugged it off before she finally heard the polite thing. Salem Norongachi. That was an odd name. She did however like the name of the ship. It was a name she could remember. "Hand of Fate. I like that."

Oh, and then @[member="Salem Norongachi"] talked to her. Darlin'? Okay, that happened. Cranky after a nap. "Noted, Sal." Hey. Apperently they were on nicknames. Curupira was gonna use that option then. Not a problem.

@[member="Azlyn Vay"]

 

[Xavier Vi'dreya]

Oh great, more old people. Coming in behind @[member="Isley Verd"] and @[member="Curupira Hawk"] with arms crossed was the adolescent Umbaran known as Xavier Vi'dreya. He'd decided to finally get out of the house figuratively and actually join his elder half-brother on this little trip. @[member="Salem Norongachi"] was the survivor, and if Xavier had guessed correctly, captain of the now derelict ship which they stood aboard. Actually paying attention would've let him know he was right, but what fun was that?

"Imperial? Which Empire?" He questioned, thinking of the thousands that had existed over the years and all named their primary battleships star destroyers. He figured Palpatine's but one could never be to sure. Unlike the troops, he'd never raised his weapon, the crossbow he wielded was cradled loosely in his arms. IT would do until he finally got that damn lightsaber operating properly.

@[member="Azlyn Vay"]'s trail of destruction wasn't unnoticed, Xavier had picked up on it on his way in, in fact that was why he was in the medical bay at this moment. Some little voice in his head had warned against running off alone. "Isley, we aren't alone, security droids have been cut down recently. Lightsabers and blasters." He notified the colonel, bright blue eyes emotionless and cold as usual.

 

[Azlyn Vay]

Xavier's attentiveness did him credit, when suddenly, the noise of blaster fire would be heard from down a nearby corridor, another wave of security droids attacking the mysterious third party aboard the ship, perhaps? The bright flashes of blue and red light would be drawing closer, when suddenly, a group of black armored stormtroopers lead by a lone, heavily tattooed Lethan Twi'lek armed with a red-bladed lightsaber would retreat towards the med-lab, one armed with a Rotary Cannon firing off a rapid volley of shots at the pursuing squad of old Imperial security droids, cutting a few of them down as they fled.

@[member="Xavier Vi'dreya"]
@[member="Curupira Hawk"]
@[member="Salem Norongachi"]
@[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Before the Mandalorian could so much as open his mouth to formulate an appropriate response, he found himself being casually told to hush through the body language of the Imperial. When the so-called Salem Norongachi spoke out into the air, Isley raised an eyebrow with apprehension. Was the man calling out for someone in particular? A droid, perhaps? Or...did he have voices swimming in the back of his head, like the Mandalorian. Of course, upon hearing no response, Isley choked it up to the latter. After all, there were many whose minds were affected by the Force and being in stasis for so long was bound to have an effect. As such, the Mandalorian took a careful step forward and extended his right hand in greeting. Despite an untold amount of time having passed since Salem's entering stasis, Isley was sure the traditional handshake would suffice for a proper meeting.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Salem." he began calmly. "I have a task force of vessels just outside of your Hand of Fate, ready and willing to give you a lift. You, having just woken up, might be in need of some medical attention as well. The Confederacy would be more than happy to open its doors to you and get you, and your vessel, back on your feet."

The Mandalorian then paused, hearing the words of his younger sibling before allowing an exhale to escape his lips. "Alright, so there's unwanted company aboard. Salem, Curupira, up for a little hunting?"

@[member="Salem Norongachi"]
@[member="Curupira Hawk"]
@[member="Xavier Vi'dreya"]
@[member="Azlyn Vay"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

"Palpatines. The old mans successor saw fit to...gift me this vessel." Norongachi responded to the boy, thinking of the look on the Grand Viziers face when he presented him with his proposal. The memory would have made him smile at the simplicity of the scheme, if it were not for the dark clouds the boys reaction had cast. It was official then, he was far from home.

Now it was Isley's turn to speak and his words further cemented the notion that raising his hackles and meeting these people with aggression would be folly. If he somehow managed to evade them, the fleet outside would simply turn what remained of his flagship to slag. No, it was time to shed off the old paranoia and mistrust, those that had instilled it in him were long gone if his intuition was right.

"Medical attention I can do without, my ship on the other hand could use your assistance." Curt, he thought afterwards, old habits die hard. "I had wondered what the commotion was. I assumed it was another of your party. If not, then lead the way." He finished, deactivating his blade as a show of good faith.

@[member="Isley Verd"]
@[member="Azlyn Vay"]
@[member="Xavier Vi'dreya"]
@[member="Curupira Hawk"]

 

[Darth Metus]

When the lightsaber wielded by the ancient Imperial deactivated with the typical Ziiiiip!, the Mandalorian first responded with a nod of acknowledgment. He then commenced a transmission from his helmet; establishing a connection with the task force that had accompanied him to the derelict vessel. "This is Isley, come in." he said aloud, making it perfectly obvious that he was on a call. After a moment of silence, a female voice answered; 'twas the senior helmsman of the congregation of Confederate vessels. "This is First Officer Nagase of the CSS Kothlis, go ahead sir." she replied in a voice that absolutely bled with a militant tone. Unphased, Isley then went on to fill the woman in on the situation aboard the vessel; starting with the most pressing matter. "We have released the owner of this vessel, [member="Salem Norongachi"], from stasis. The power is on and apparently we have some uninvited guests on the ship. We're moving to intercept. In the meantime, a tow back to Confederate space would be highly appreciated." he said, folding his arms about his chest.

Once more, a pause of verbiage occurred until the First Officer responded. "Colonel, the Interdictors will commence the tow in less than thirty seconds. It is advised that you and your subordinates vacate the vessel and return to the CSS Kothlis immediately. Scans indicate that the Life Support System is damaged and will most likely malfunction when the tractor beams make contact." Isley nodded along with the words of the woman and uttered a single word in response: "Acknowledged." before turning his attention to [member="Curupira Hawk"] and the ancient Imperial. "We can save the hunting for another time I surmise. Whoever's on board is going to be without oxygen with the tug starts...let's make sure it's not us as well." With that said, the beskar-clad warrior began to stride off towards the hangar of the vessel whilst his subordinates began to make transmissions to one another advising the same.

Spoiler

[member="Salem Norongachi"]
[member="Curupira Hawk"]