Children of Darzu: NJO (TJO)(Jedi)

[RC 212]

Tython
Near Snowcapped Mountains
Links:
Belias Fortress,
Techno Beasts


Word had come down to the New Jedi Order. They'd suffered a loss. A loss of a Master to be specific, who'd gone in to investigate some rumors of a Dark Cult long thought to be forgotten. A cult that was from an ancient time, but somehow, had resurfaced under the New Jedi Orders very nose. Somehow had Rebuilt Belia Darzus fortress.

After a quick convocation, a few of the Masters had reviewed the information and decided the facts. Belia Darzu's fortress, long overlooked in the effort to restore Tython, was now inhabited by Dark Jedi. It could not be allowed to stand, not in the Jewel of their very Sanctuary.

Karren had reached out across party lines to a few of her Jedi Order associates. Mainly [member="Romi Jade"] and [member="Cassius Droma"].

Others had made their own arrangements.

She was at the newly formed Tython Temple, landing pad sixty three kresh, leaning up against her StealthX. The clearing was to come in two waves. An attack from the sky, and an attack from the sewers of the fortress. The cultists had a few TIE Interceptors, and the place was well guarded.

She waited, clad in her orange jumpsuit, and full of weapons for the other Jedi to convene if they wished...

POI

Belias Fortress: Attack from underneath the Sewers and take control of the main Throne Room. Here you'll encounter Techno beasts, as well as Sith Spawn Remants and a few Dark Jedi

Skies: Above the Fortress TIE Interceptors patrol in low orbit, just above the mountain tops. Tangle with them to give the landing craft a chance to disgorge their Jedi Passengers.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius Droma approaching Tython in his RZ-X A-wing interceptor​

Cassius Droma had been surprised when he saw the message from Karren Trask, a Jedi he had not seen for some time. Then again, due to his isolated period on Eadu, he hadn’t seen many Jedi at all, except for his master. Regardless, he packed up and shipped off the moment he read the message and understood what was going on. Tython was almost sacred to the Jedi, and having a dark presence on the world was almost like having a looming thunderstorm in an oasis.

His RZ-X A-wing interceptor broke through Tython’s atmosphere and headed for the new temple, putting in a request for landing as soon as he was close enough. He took a brief moment to marvel at the beauty of the planet once more, the feeling of aesthetic warmth bolstered by the Force.

He was given landing pad sixty-two kresh, and already he could see the orange-clad woman waiting by her obsidian StealthX. The repulsors happily purred as the green A-wing settled down onto the landing pad. Easing the engines off, Cassius slid the cockpit open and hopped out. Taking off his helmet, he tucked it under his arm as he walked towards Karren, his lightsaber hanging from his belt as he did so.

“You rang?” he asked, smiling at her. Keeping the mood light before a battle was supposed to help morale. At least, that’s what he’d been told.

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Cassius Droma"]

A familiar face approached. One that Karren was very glad to see.

She grinned, patting the StealthX and nodding.

"I did. Did you hear the news? Cultists in the valley. We're going to clear them out."

For a moment she felt a pang of regret. She was about to ask him to fly her wing, when she had abandoned his at Mirial to fight with the grounders. Even then the mission hadn't been very fruitful. She'd sustained plenty of scars through her force barrier from Arisa's wall of light.

"I gotta apologize for ditching you at Mirial. I..... Don’t know what came over me. Will you fly my wing this time, all things considered?"

 

[Cassius Droma]

Mirial. The mere mention of the planet gave him pause. For only a moment, his expression became somber. He’d lost three-fourths of his squadron that day. They’d failed their mission to free it from the Sith. However, a lot had happened since then, including his extended period of training on Eadu, where the pain and anguish he’d received from battle was something he had to move on from. The Bendu had helped in that, helped him to see that the flow of life couldn’t always be stopped by a single man. Part of him had wanted to stop being a fighter pilot all together, to focus more on his Jedi studies.

And yet, here he was.

His expression brightened as he looked at the woman. “Hey, no worries,” he said, placing a reassuring clap on her shoulder. “A lot of stuff happened that day. It’s best if we just forget them and move on. I’ll be glad to fly your wing, as long as you don’t mind me flying the A-wing.” It’d been awhile since we had piloted a starfighter, but it was just like riding a speeder bike - it was second nature to him.

“So, what’s the battle plan?”

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Cassius Droma"]

Karren nodded, her feelings spilling over in the force. She knew the losses of that day and had suffered quite a few of her own. Still she knew Cassius would feel her gratitude in the force, and made no effort to hide it. She was not a good Jedi in that way, giving in far too much to emotion.

"You can fly whatever you want buddy. The skinny is that there is a few squads of old TIE Interceptors flying the patrol around the Fortress. Fortress is located in the Valley, between two high peaks so naturally we have chance to be picked off by PLEX launchers or AA defences. The inhabitants of the Fort are Dark Jedi Cultists though and I doubt they have that much experience at smuggling in those things past Alliance Customs."

She paused, breathing deep and then continuing.

"Come to think of it, I don't know if the fighter Pilots are Dark Jedi themselves or actual Mercs. Still, we can do this. I know we can do this. We clear the way for the U-Wings and other ground forces to get in, then join them. How do you feel about going up against the unknown?"

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius nodded as he listened to the plan. Solid, simple – just the way he liked it. He was already thinking about various strategies and entry points. TIE Interceptors were supposed to be the Imperial match for the A-wing, but Cassius had confidence his was more advanced. Karren asked about how he felt about going up against something he didn’t know. A small smile perked at the edge of his lips. “Same as always – fly straight in and hope it’s not your day to die.”

“I think I can help take care of the Interceptors, if you want to stick closer to the transports and maybe go for any air defenses, if they have them,” Cassius shared the sentiment that it was likely improbable that such weapons had been smuggled here. It was Tython, after all, and they were in Galactic Alliance space.

“We ready to go wheels up?” Cassius asked, as ready as he ever was. He shifted his helmet under his arm, itching to put it on and go liberate the temple.

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Cassius Droma"]

En Route to Fortress

Karren grinned. This was the fun part. On the pad other strikes teams were loading into their respective transports, locking the last loads down with cargo nets. Some of them looked scared as hell, white knuckle grip on their scatterguns. They all had scatterguns, just in case.

She glanced around and then nodded.

"Yep. Let's do it."

Minutes later she was conducting the final preflight checks of her StealthX and then they were in the air.

The Fortress was a few klicks out. She estimated they'd close that distance in mere minutes, pushing her StealthX to the max, and firing her custom afterburners at the end of each wing tip.

​

"As soon as you see the Interceptors, I'll break off and fly low. If there isn't any AA for me to take care of I can fly up and provide support. Either way, I'll have an eyeball on you."​

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius nodded and fit his helmet onto his noggin as soon as the orders were given to move out. He didn’t have much to look over or check on - he’d just flown his A-wing to get there, after all. That being said, since Cassius was a cautious man, he double-checked his systems with a quick diagnostics run, as well as checking to make sure he was full-up on concussion missiles. He was - eight in total.

The RZ-X A-wing interceptor touched off of the landing pad and shot towards the mountain range, sticking close to the U-wings. Cassius nodded at Karren’s words, although she wouldn’t be able to see it. “Copy that. I’ll keep those interceptors high so you can go low.”

As soon as the castle came into view, the TIE interceptors broke off and came straight for them, firing green plasma. Cassius spun out of the way and headed straight for one of them, shredding the TIE to pieces and flying through the cloud of smoke it created in the explosion. Although it was risky, Cassius’s strategy was to make himself look like a more dangerous and viable target than the U-wings, so as to pull as many interceptors away as possible.

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Cassius Droma"]

The U-wings came low as interceptors screamed in. Cassius made good work and Karrens scanner didn't pick up any AA.

"Paladin, moving on high. LZ is clear."​

"Copy that Paladin, keep em off our backs!"​

​

"Will do."​

She pitched the yoke, jamming her nose straight up and hit the thrusters. Her entire body went numb with the G forces and she smiled, a wild sense of joy thundering through her veins. More Interceptors began to launch from the tower, six of them in flights of two.

"Watch it Cassius!"​

She jammed the trigger, sending a thunderous slurry of mass driver rounds into the air. Steel shattered steel, sending pieces of solar panel careening down into the mountain oeaks below. A single fighter spun out. She jammed left, rolling juts as return fire blazed by.

BEEEP

​

"On my six, missile lock. Nail him!"​

 

[Cassius Droma]

A TIE Interceptor scattered into pieces as Cassius blasted it with his laser cannons. All in all, their little skirmish was going well. The U-wings were barely being touched, and their door gunners were firing off at anything that came remotely close to them. Perhaps this temple of cultists were wildly unprepared – they didn’t even have any anti-air measurements in place to oppose them.

“I’m on it!” Cassius responded to Karren, shooting in at a downwards diagonal angle to the TIE Interceptor. He pulled the trigger, and red plasma blew through the interceptor’s shields and made quick work of the hull before a missile could be fired.

Cassius pulled up before he could hit the rocky face of a mountain, but when he came around for another pass, two TIEs made a pass at him, pelting his hull with laser fire. He looked down to his shield readout – fifty percent. The A-wing was designed to not be hit because of its speed and maneuverability, and as a result, its shields were lowered. He banked hard left, hoping to move under the TIEs as they tried to make another pass.

[member="Karren Trask"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Cassius Droma"]

Karren was right behind him, scanning with her eyes and jamming the yoke back. She climbed vertical, damn near pinned solid to the seat and roared in joy. He was dead in her sights.

A flurry of heavy metal smashed through the interceptors cockpit, pulping the pilot and spraying flame and crimson ichor through the air. Cassius was saved from the second by a well placed concussion missile, that dashed the Interceptor into pieces.

The rest peeled off, abandoning the battle.

"What the hell?"

​

"Karren, Cassius. We need you on the ground. Strike teams are running into heavy resistance. Droids of some sort. Wel..... just get down here please!"​

​

"Roger that Command. Cassius on me, let's give em hell."​

 

[Cassius Droma]

His shields had been lowered by nearly seventy-five percent, so he was relieved to see the two starfighters trailing him explode into fiery puffs of smoke. “Thanks for that,” Cassius said, knowing that it would have been difficult to shake off two TIE Interceptors if it hadn’t been for Trask’s interference. He was just getting ready to engage more starfighters when they all split off. Something was happening, apparently, and just before Cassius could radio in to figure out just what could have made the TIEs flee, a new communication came over.

“Copy that,” Cassius said, aiming the nose of his fighter down and then towards the landing pad of the castle. The U-wings had landed and made a small defensive perimeter for them to evac from if needed. Cassius landed behind them, taking off his crash webbing and opening his canopy at the same time. Quickly, he peeled off his life-support box and flak vest and left them in the cockpit, as well as his helmet. They would only slow him down.

Reaching to his belt, Cassius pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, the blue blade springing to life. Although he had never switched so quickly from air to ground other than at Hoylin, he was ready.

[member="Karren Trask"]