Commonwealth Mission: Search, Retrieve, Establish

[Horus]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Search, Retrieve, Establish
Allies: Commonwealth + Mercenaries
Enemies: Unknown

The quiet growl of a pair of MARV-1a's hung heavy in the winter storm. The wheels were wrapped in chains as they trudged through the snow, slowly but surely. Despite the military presence, all was relatively calm. Commonwealth MPD's were ferrying troops down from a carrier and onto the surface of the planet, among them were hired mercenaries.

The Marine Corps was establishing a temporary command centre and forward camp while large industrial vehicles began digging up the snow. Perhaps ten meters beneath their feet was a complex that ran half a kilometer wide and long, all buried in snow. A maze of corridors and cabins that were interconnected. The Commonwealth weren't sure what was down there, but they wanted to know. It was the only structure found on the planets scan.

Thousands of kilometers above Iskeria was the CRS No Land Beyond II. Unlike the Home Fleet No Land Beyond, this one was much smaller, designed for special operations outside of Commonwealth space. With the absence of an Intelligence Director Horus was temporarily holding the position, as well as Commander-In-Chief of the army until the positions were filled with new candidates.

Aboard the Commonwealth vessel was Horus, Lord of Admirals and the sole leader of a crippled Commonwealth. He was overseeing the operation, tens of dozens of military personnel were on the surface, and more were to be ferried down. With a last glance out the viewport he peeled his gaze away and moved for an access elevator that took him to the hanger bay. Fireteam Black were to meet him there, as well as the mercenaries on this mission.

____________________________
| [member="Lorraei"] | [member="Kami Meran"] | [member="Phislo Bress"] | [member="Corrax Talrus"] |
| [member="Maris Jolner"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Cait Falcor"] |

 

[Xis]

Location: Underground Compound
Objective: Fortify and Hold position
Allies: Black Sun forces
Enemies: Commonwealth



Beneath the feet of the Commonwealth, perhaps even unknowingly members of the Black Sun kicked into high gear as alarms began to wail inside the facility. They needed to get their defenses in order for what would be an eventual battle. The compound was large stretching wide and far, it had served for many months as a location that the Black Sun produced spice. Considering the planet was so far out the way they didn’t think anyone would find it much less come to actually investigate it. Just my luck. Xis thought. The worry he was feeling did not show on the Falleen’s face nor in the way he carried himself but his mind was running at breakneck speed as he pieced together what was happening.

Grabbing a duros that was walking by Xis stared down at him. “Send someone to check on the energy spiders, it was dangerous enough bringing them to a planet outside their natural habitat." Xis had funneled thousands of credits into creating the artificial habitat in a section of the compound. Actually a good portion of it was taking over by the energy spiders, but for good reason. It gave the Black Sun a way to produce glitterstim without worrying about dealing with the Silver Sanctum holding Kessel. They had other operations but too much work had gone into this to lose it now. Shimmersilk robes billowing as the Falleen took long purposeful strides Xis cut an interesting figure when compared to the scoundrels that surrounded him.

Standing before a wide door Xis typed in the access code and it slid open revealing a command room with the full loadout. A large holoprojector sat in the center of the room displaying what was happening above for all to see. In the room the engineers got to work. Just another week and the laser canons Xis had ordered would’ve been here. Clicking a button built into the holoprojector Xis activated the intercom. The falleen needed the few people he could trust and he needed them now. “Flannigan, Thraxis, Ghoura, and Cadan. I need you in the command room gear up we may be having visitors soon.”

Looking away from his console a twi’lek looked over at Xis. “Is everything alright sir?”

“Why of course, we just have military forces bearing down on our location and our operation is at risk.” A smile touched his lips and the twi’lek was slowly lifted from the chair hands shooting for his neck. “Everything’s just fine.” A portion of Xis wanted to end the twi’lek’s life but that would be a waste. Releasing his telekinetic hold Xis turned away. “Ensure the droids are activated and send them on patrol.”


[member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Horus"]

 

[Corrax Talrus]

[member="Horus"]

Stifling a yawn, Corrax looked around the hangar bay with feigned disinterest. He was doing his best to look nonplussed, but to be honest he was reminded too heavily of his past in the Abregado-rae Defense Force. It wasn't exactly a good memory, which left him feeling a bit of anxiety at the moment. Still, Corrax needed money and he'd been offered a job, so he'd suck it up and deal with his past like a man; try his best to ignore it and have plenty to drink.

His beat up cargo hauler sat in the hangar of the ​No Land Beyond II​, looking rather dilapidated next to the well-maintained craft of the Commonwealth. It was almost embarrassing ... ok, it was embarrassing. But nothing for it.

He stood next to his ship awkwardly, waiting for the arrival of the head honcho who would be briefing them on their roles.

 

[Mr. OOC]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Time Will Tell

A shiver ran down his spine. Each falling snowflake proved a bitter memory of ones which fell before it. Being of a reptilian persuasion was certainly no favor to him upon this inhospitable world. Pulling his hood further over his masked head, he stepped across frozen wilderness towards his destination, following in footsteps created by other soldiers who passed before him. Each individual left a different sized print in soft surface, though each was quickly covered by freshly fallen powder. Counting the differences in gait, depth, and size proved to be a fruitless endeavor which only made him long for surprisingly warm outer space. Warm, at least, in comparison to Iskeria.

He would make a western approach. An entry point was being carved through snow and ice, which had control over the world. Beneath it lay a research facility, their objective on this particular mission. Why it was so important to their efforts was beyond him, but he was of no mind to question authorities decision of sending a full military unit down to ground on an icy rock to secure a facility which was long believed to be dormant. Besides, he had a feeling that it wasn't as dormant as they were all led to believe. Nothing was ever so easy.

"Move forward and set up a secure perimeter," he instructed his associates, fellow Kaleesh exiles who were equally as cold as he was. "We will be a part of initial breaching actions and then sweep each side room while others secure research and facility control."

They approached where crews were completing excavation work. By now, mounds of snow and ice debris had begun to pile up outside of a large hole, creating an artificial wind barrier which served to break some of Iskeria's chill. Many of his fellows sighed in minor relief, their suits having to be sufficiently warmed with power packs in order to keep them from freezing. He supposed it could be worse. If they were on a lava world such as Mustafar then there would be a greater cause for concern. It was easier to put more clothing on than it was to take clothing off. At some point, there would be no clothing to take off.

"Remain on guard. We will be in shortly."

[member="Corrax Talrus"] [member="Xis"] [member="Horus"]

 

[Phislo Bress]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Opposition Unknown

Loadout:
-WESTAR 34 blaster pistol
-WESTAR M5
-WESTAR Rogue Armor
- WESTAR wa-01

Cold. Iskerian winter makes the ones on Concord Dawn feel like a pleasant spring day. The upshot of it is the suit's climate control made it pretty much a non-issue. The downside is another round of the karking medicine she had to take to keep foreign bacteria from ravaging her immune system.

Phislo found a quiet little corner of the landing zone of the CRS No Land Beyond II and took off her helmet. In doing so she was greeted to a sudden rush of cold air across her face. She quickly took the mask out of her belt and put a cartridge into the little block with a threaded slot attached to it labeled "Compound L Immuno Booster". Then she pulled the tab to release the medicine and took three deep breaths.

"Bitter as always", she remarked as she quickly put the medicine away and put her helmet back on. She then picked up her and went to the hangar bay to meet Lord Admiral [member="Horus"] and his men to figure out their plan of attack. If there was a plan. Not like an empty facility could fight back or anything.

At least, that's what she hoped.

| [member="Lorraei"] | [member="Kami Meran"] | [member="Horus"] | [member="Corrax Talrus"] |
| [member="Maris Jolner"] | [member="Zee"] | [member="Cait Falcor"] |

 

[Flannigan Mcnash]

Spinning Coin, Chances Head​

​

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ejjZhcv7Ho[/video]​

Location: Underground Compound
Objective: Fortify and Hold position
Allies: Black Sun forces
Enemies: Commonwealth

"Reading you loud and clear [member="Xis"]." He huffed reclining into his chair, the steam swirling vaporise clouds of mist in-front of his vox-box, he looked to his wall a neatly stacked collection of liquor and rare spice. He sat there a long minute just staring caught in nostalgia's tender embrace, 'what was it like to feel again, to feel a cool liquid down run down your throat? Or the warm touch of a girl?' he covered his eye's with a large hand for what seemed a life time a slight pause as memory was snatched away and the present was thrust upon him. He pulled himself from the seat with a 'thump' smooth lines were drawn against the floor as his clawed toes dragged across it, he lifted an arm towards the wrack pulling two cups from it and a red wine.

"[member="Xis"], you've called and I've answered." he entered the command room with a 'WOOSH' as the automatic doors pronouced his entrance, his hand instantly going to the bottle and the two cups beginning to pour two glasses of thick red wine, taking his own glass swirling it around violently, drops clung to the rim falling off in a 'drop' 'drop' leaving the floor and table stained, his other hand tapping against the table his finger's rising and falling like metallic rain as they tapped on the command table, small rivulets of pressure were beginning to form on the table creating intricate dents and scratches. "How much do they know, who will they be sending? And please take a drink, its of a great year."

---​

[member="Horus"], [member="Corrax Talrus"], [member="Maris Jolner"], [member="Phislo Bress"]​

 

[Lorraei]

Location: Orbit above Iskeria
Objective: Search, Retrieve, Establish
Allies: [member="Horus"] , [member="Corrax Talrus"] , [member="Maris Jolner"] , [member="Phislo Bress"] , Commonwealth Forces , Other Mercenaries
Enemies: [member="Xis"] , [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] , Black Sun Forces

The Desert Fox sat quietly on the hanger floor, his legs folded beneath him. Behind him his ship, Shangri-La, squatted on it's landing gear, it's engines had gone cold some time ago. The caramel fingers of both his hands danced as he waited, though one was doing something wholly different from the other. His right hand played across the screen of his Browncoat Datalogger, while his left occupied itself manipulating The Force. A throwing knife, a security spike and the curved hilt of his lightsaber drifted in a lazy circle in the air before the desert nomad, tumbling end over end as they spun.

Nearby, a group of Commonwealth Marines were bustling about as they gathered and readied equipment. Another mercenary was off to one side, equally as bored as the Desert Fox. Lorraei paid no mind to the lot of them. He was lost in concentration as he continued picking through line after line of coding to the program he was examining. A program given to him by a lover as a gift and one that any Slicer worth his salt would have killed to get their hands on. Blue Phoenix was the king of slicing programs, and it was a pain in the arse to go through! He knew the program worked. He knew what it could do and how devastatingly efficient it was. Yet he wanted to know how it did it's devilish work. The need to know plagued his inquisitive mind.

Unfortunately the pursuit of knowledge would have to wait. Marines had begun to form a line, snapping a crisp salute as they did. It seemed The Lord of Admirals had arrived. Ray absently switched his Datalogger to sleep mode, rose from the floor and moved to stand to one side of the gathered Marines. The fingers of his left hand continued to dance as the Admiral walk onto the hanger floor. A knife, a security spike and the curved saber hilt spun their lazy circle around Lorraei's left hand. End over end they tumbled as Ray's coal black eyes tracked the Admiral.

 

[Thraxis]

Location: Underground Compound
Objective, Make sure no one gets in
Allies: Jackals, by extension Black Sun
Enemies: Whoever wasn't listed as an Ally
Equipment: Pistolas, DEMP, Jack-Knife, Tazi Executioner Armor
Thraxis lazed around in his ceiling chair, a lather of duct tape, glue, gum and blu tac holding it closely tied to some pipe, the vibrations rushing from the pipe through to the chair. Slowly the chair swung round, his fingers interlocked between each other as an air of menace wrapped around him, though behind his mask he was very displeased. He heard the snickers of the men as they wandered round, watching as the attempt of seriousness fell flat. Slowly a sigh relived itself from his breath as he looked to the men as they walked past, slowly his fingers peeled back and apart, placing themselves onto his lap as his fingers started to dance along his legs, the thump almost metronome in nature before he stopped and paused. Flannigan had entered the room. An action Thraxis had been biding his time for.

Slowly, Thraxis slipped from the room, his presence going unnoticed by the Diabolical Droid Commander, the chance was taken, he had began his march. With Flannigan distracted it was time for Thraxis to go and get himself a drink. Out of Flannigan's personal collection. He slipped to and fro, he was never incognito, but with his face masked and not being a well known man in the Galaxy, slipping into his room was easy enough. Slowly he looked around, he had an idea why Flannigan kept all these trinkets, they served him no good. But they served him as a reminder, a reminder of what he had lost. To the Jedi and Sith. And now to Thraxis because he had already started to take his drinks, stashing them in his duffel bag with a grin on his face.

After stealing three of his fine bottles he made his escape, moving back towards the captain with a grin hidden behind a layer of metal, all the while whistling. He was proud to know that Flannigans booze was gonna get some use, rather then gather dust all day. With the hush of a rancor he hopped back into his seat, rocking the chair back and fourth, there was no point in being down in the dumps about some assault on a planet. If this was to be his last day, he was gonna go out with booze in his body, and blood rushing out.
[member="Lorraei"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Phislo Bress"]
[member="Maris Jolner"] [member="Corrax Talrus"] [member="Xis"] [member="Horus"]

 

[Cadan Tazi]

Location: Underground Compound.
Objective: Fortify and Hold Postition.
Allies: Black Sun Forces.
Enemies: Commonwealth.

Xis' voice echoed through Cadan's helmet. The pirate looked around his small room for a bit, looking for the rest of his armour. Only to find it laying on the floor next to a Twi'lek slave that he had brought with him. Cadan stood up in naught but his helmet and stained and holey, tighty whiteys and left the room, putting on his armour as he walked to the command room. Thankfully he by the time he was at the doors of the control room he had managed to placed on the rest of his armour concisting of two wrist mounted weapons, and he had his DL-18 by his side and his guass rifle slung across his back. He also threw on his stain trench coat then press entered the room.

The Duros first saw the form of his Boss Flannigan McNash. "Aye boss, you seen any of that glitterstim? I 'eard they make it 'ere and I ain't actually ever tried it." Cadan didn't even take notice of Xis until the words left his mouth he then saw the wine in Flannigan hands. "You said we 'ave visitors. So just the usual aye? Make sure nobody interupts the dinner party? But I gotta say, this is a weird place for a dinner party or is this just where we get told not to stick our fingers in the food and not to 'it on the politicians?" Cadan's spice addled mind completely miss understood what Xis meant by the 'visitors' and assume that it was visitors for a dinner party.

[member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Xis"]

 

[Darth Caecus]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Opposition Unknown

Zee's boots crunched against the ice and she frowned as she looked down. [member="Cait Falcor"] had gotten them this job- Zee had never heard of the Commonwealth before, but then, she'd been in cold storage for 500 years, so it was probably fair.

The clone had shut down, hard, after her first run in with the First Order. Unwilling to talk about it to the woman who's ship she crashed on, she'd withdrawn in to silence even deeper than usual, distant and guarded as she sorted out her feelings on the whole mess. Having a job to do was a good thing, get her mind off of it. She suspected that had been part of Cait's intent in truth. But being unwilling to confront the other woman about it meant that it all stayed subtext in the strange friendship they had.

Despite the cold, snow and ice, it was good to be armored with a rifle slung over her shoulder again. The armor was new, but the rifle was old, beyond 'antique' and practically falling under the category of 'artifact'. But it was in good working order, Zee made sure of that. Her sidearm was equally old, and told a story she didn't really want anyone to read. But she wasn't ready to put it aside yet. It fit her hand- she knew the weapon well. Her free hand brushed over a few.... specialty items on her belt.... before going back to the butt of her rifle in a familiar but subconscious motion.

Mentally brushing away some of her musings, she looked up, squinting in to the snow glare.

"Reminds me of Arkania," she commented to Cait. They both stood off to the side, not far from [member="Maris Jolner"] . They were to be part of the second wave, going in after the initial entrance had been secured, to move farther in to the facility. Sharp grey green eyes scanned the snow, but the weather made seeing any distance difficult.

"Makes me twitchy," she said after a pause. Neither had to comment about how much they both detested Arkania, even if their reasons were different.

"Why can't they ever find secret facilities on.... I don't know. Velusia?"

 

[Cait Falcor]

Cait Falcor
Location: Iskeria, LZ Hydra
Objective: Secure Research Facility
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Opposition Unknown
[1]
[member="Zee"], [member="Maris Jolner"], [member="Horus"]
______________________________

"Why can't they ever find secret facilities on.... I don't know. Velusia?"

Cait was fine under her thermal layers, but her exposed cheeks and the tip of her nose felt as if they might freeze off. Her eye-protection had smart-shading to keep the snow from blinding her, and she looked to her petite friend.

"Heh. Falcor, we need to do you to do some Search and Retrieval on a tropical island planet full of simple minded but well muscled men who make a mean Sonic Screwdriver and give great backrubs.

...said no one ever"

She lamented over their direct comm. Something about this job had peaked Cait's interest. She too had never heard of the Commonwealth, but she was no student of geo-politics.

Her experience thus far, had really struck a chord with her. The Commonwealth might have been a smaller power, but they had no shortage of manpower, and they seemed to take good care of their people. Even in this moment The Errant Venture sat being refit and maintained by Commonwealth Techs aboard the No Land Beyond - II. Watching the Marines tramping through the Covert Ops Destroyer on their way here had filled Cait with a sense of...nostalgia. Their pervasive sense of purpose had reminded her of something, even if she couldn't quite put their finger on it.

"I guess people don't abandon paradise worlds." Cait observed over the local-net, inviting the Kaleeshi mercs in the vicinity into the conversation.

Cait looked back to see a convoy of MARV 1a's unloading several Commonwealth Marine fire-teams to join the Mercenaries in securing and exploiting the breach. It warmed the cockles of her heart to know that Lord Admiral Horus wasn't going into the facility half cocked.

Fething Jedi would have gone in with a third of these numbers and been completely surprised when they lost half of their men. Karking fools would still have considered it an operational success.

Cait couldn't find any wood to knock on, and she didn't want to jinx it. But her impression of the Commonwealth was, so far...pretty good.

 

[Horus]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Search, Retrieve, Establish
Allies: Commonwealth + Mercenaries
Enemies: Unknown

Corrax, Phislo and Lorraei awaited Horus in the hanger. As the blast doors opened and Horus marched out onto the hanger deck, a squadron of marines marched past with a retinue of intelligence field agents in tow. They were quick to board a MPD, and by the time Horus had reached the small crew of mercenaries the MPD had taken flight and left the hanger.

"Greetings," Horus said, Fireteam Black stepping forward to line up beside him. "I am the Lord of Admirals, and your operations commander during this mission." The venerable admiral motioned to the man in blue, "This is Dean Letham, Senior Commander of Fireteam Black, he'll be accompanying you and providing fire support."

Horus made no mention of the other two with Dean, he didn't need to. It wasn't for a bunch of mercenaries to know. His gaze slowly drifted to Lorraei and his floating weapons, a ping of suspicion grew but he quickly dismissed it. The Commonwealth was slow to trust force users.

"Currently the first wave should be breaching the lab anytime now, spearheaded by Maris Jolner, the second wave will be followed by Zee and Cait Falcor." Horus pointed a finger at the three, "And you're the third and final wave. My marines will remain on standby on the surface. If anything goes wrong down there, we'll flood the place with firepower."

While the Galactic Alliance and One Sith had the Force as their greatest strength, and the Mandalorians had impenetrable armor, the Commonwealth had sheer firepower and numbers. It was a nest of bees whose hive you wouldn't want to go swinging at. There was strength in numbers.

"You heard the Admiral," Senior Commander Dean Letham barked, stepping forward with rifle lowered. It was a slugthrower, a staple of the Commonwealth military. With a silencer attached, Commonwealth slugthrowers were the perfect tool. Silent and unseen, the enemy often didn't know where they were being attacked from.

"Board the bird, we leave in one minute," Dean commanded, it was a short time but the mercenaries should be prepared. He didn't trust them, but they were more disposable than Commonwealth marines. The humming vibration of a repulsor engine bounced through the hanger, the pilot was warming the MPD for lift off. Fireteam Black took for the troop bay at the rear end of the transport, they quickly took a seat and buckled in.

"Goodluck," Horus mentioned, "Fireteam Black have bodycams, I'll be with you for the length of the mission. Make it to the other side and drinks are on me, and your paycheck." He saluted the mercenaries before making a quick departure for the command centre of the No Land Beyond II.

| [member="Xis"] | [member="Corrax Talrus"] | [member="Maris Jolner"] |
| [member="Phislo Bress"] | [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] |
| [member="Lorraei"] | [member="Thraxis"] | [member="Cadan Tazi"] |
| [member="Zee"] | [member="Cait Falcor"] |

 

[Xis]

Location: Underground Compound/Command Center
Objective: Fortify and Hold position
Allies: [member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"]

Enemies: Commonwealth

At least there were some competent individuals among the Black Sun. Xis didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Flannigan. He could hear the heavy footsteps, the raspy breathing. The cyborg was easily an intimidating presence and incredibly lethal to top it off. Or at least that’s what Xis thought, one didn’t live as long as Flannigan did in the criminal underworld. It would devour a week person whole. “Yes welcome Flannigan it’s a good thing you and your crew decided to join me out here. We’ve enjoyed the profits this facility has brought us but I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep it, and no thank you. I’ll drink once we know that the facility is still ours.” Tapping a few commands into the holoprojector a map of the facility was shown with entry points marked.

Mouth opening to explain what was before them Xis looked over to see both Thraxis and Cadan enter the command center. Three out of four wasn’t so bad. Xis would catch Ghoura up later on what was happening. Caught off guard by Cadan’s statement Xis reached over picking up the drink that had been offered by Flannigan. “Nevermind Flannigan I will join you in a drink.” There was no swirling of the glass, just Xis tossing his head back and draining the entire glass the bitter taste taking over his tastebuds as the warm liquid retreated down his throat. Don’t mind the spice junkie. They’re still good at what they do. Xis thought fighting the urge to hiptoss the duros out the command center.

“What we’re looking at here are three entry points.” Pointing at the red mark Xis continued on. “This right here is the entry point into the caverns filled with energy spiders. As you well know I care nothing about the energy spiders. They can be replaced. But the glitterstim that hasn’t been gathered is our priority. Would one or two of you go ensure what people we do have gather it and fast. Do not take droids with you, any source of power will attract the attention of the spiders.”

“As for this point.” Motioning to the orange one Xis looked at them. “I’d like one to ensure that we get the personnel evacuated out that area and kill whoever enters. Take a squad of droids and whatever else from our armory that you need. Don’t worry about the final entry point. I’ll take care of them myself sometimes its best for the host to greet his guests.”

Spoiler: ”Forces”

Droids: 100 Wardroids
Objective: Patrol and repel intruders
Equipment: Sonic shotguns, Blaster Carbine (Built In), Grenade Launcher (Built In)


Sentient workers: 40
Objective: Secure facility, gather glitterstim from Spider Caverns.
Equipment: Basic Slugthrower rifles and pistols.

Energy Spiders: 12
Objective: Nom Noms

Spoiler: ”Map”

After discussion with Horus we have decided as this on the map for the facility.

Map

[member="Horus"] [member="Cait Falcor"] [member="Zee"] [member="Lorraei"] [member="Phislo Bress"] [member="Maris Jolner"] [member="Corrax Talrus"]

 

[Mr. OOC]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Energy Spiders of Doom

"Entry point opened!"

Good. It had taken them long enough to break through considering it was just ice and snow that they had to bore through. Imagine if it had been pure rock, or rock laced with some other hardened mineral. This was something he was going to have to mention to higher brass when all was said and done. Better excavation equipment, or more competent personnel, were going to be needed for future missions of this nature. Shaking his head, he motioned for his team to move forward and stepped inside himself, following immediately after them.

Immediately he was greeted with a large cavern. No lights illuminated it, as far as he could see, but he could tell that something was moving about. Incidentally he almost immediately had webbing all over his face and clothing, making it somewhat difficult to progress.

"What is this stuff?" one of his people asked.

"It's everywhere," another said.

Maris paused. He looked around, and ducked down.

"Everyone quiet and listen."

Nobody moved for a few seconds. Voices were trickling across frozen rock towards them. This place was definitely not empty. On top of that, with a lack of light usage even from whomever was speaking, he had an ominous feeling that something else loomed among them. Having never been to Kessel, and having little knowledge of it, he could not begin to guess that Energy Spiders were looming around them, waiting to drain energy from wherever they could find a source.

"Move forward cautiously and quietly. Do not use anything but a blade until we determine what we're up again. Whomever is across from us will know we're here, but I believe something else lurks in this darkness. Pass the word. No weapons other than blades. Sweep and clear, engage if engaged."

Maris drew his own blade, a Lig Sword that was sadly not made of Impervium, and held it in one hand while using his other to fend off webs. As he moved forward he became aware of something stalking him. A hunter always knew when he was being hunted. Readying his blade, he prepared for combat with the source of their webbed plight. What would it be?

[member="Xis"] [member="Horus"] [member="Cait Falcor"] [member="Zee"] [member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Lorraei"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Phislo Bress"] [member="Corrax Talrus"]

 

[Flannigan Mcnash]

Spider Drugs​

​

[video][/video][video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXhuso4OTG4&list=RDylGkm2EHHvE&index=8[/video]​

​

Location: Underground Compound
Objective: Fortify and Hold position
Allies: Black Sun forces
Enemies: Commonwealth

"Good quality." he brought the glass to his face plate, the eye's narrowing to slits of light in the cyborgs face as he stared at it as if to breath in deep to smell the rich fruity scent of the drink, but he couldn't smell it or even drink it and with a careless wave of his elongated arm he threw it against the wall with a glass shattering 'SMASH'. "Not to my tastes, but you'll find it enjoyable enough."

"I sadly am required to wear power on my collar, and we know well enough about the spiders for me to stay away from them. [member="Thraxis"], you and Cadan, will take care of that." he moved towards Thraxis, placing a large hand of his shoulder coming level with his head. "Dunk his head in some water, I don't want him trying to eat the web straight from the spider's ass, they're not just some big Bantha, they're dangerous so keep it tasteful." he gained his height and moved towards [member="Xis"]. "In fact we know the spiders intimately. Cadan, had a little farm on Kessel going and still does, I think. Ask him about it, when he's more sober of course."

"I'll handle the point evacuation. My care for our employees knows no bounds." he turned to [member="Thraxis"], [member="Cadan Tazi"], in those moments nodded his head. "Now lets get down to killing like honest folk."

---​

[member="Horus"], [member="Corrax Talrus"], [member="Maris Jolner"], [member="Phislo Bress"], [member="Zee"], [member="Cait Falcor"]​

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

LOCATION: UNDERGROUND COMPOUND, FASHIONABLY LATE
EQUIPMENT: IN BIO
CURRENT MOOD: GRIM
ALLIES: @Xis. [member="Cadan Tazi"], [member="Thraxis"], [member="Flannigan Mcnash"], BLACK SUN
ENEMIES: [member="Maris Jolner"], [member="Horus"], [member="Cait Falcor"], [member="Zee"], [member="Lorraei"], [member="Phislo Bress"], [member="Corrax Talrus"], COMMONWEALTH
THEME: Mwahahahahahaha

A small probe droid zipped along the hallways, headed for the command center. It dodged combat droids and Black Sun personnel as it went, twittering nervously. Eventually, the little sphere burst into the room of Black Sun higher-ups, and whirred robotically. A life-sized hologram of a massive armored Herglic greeted them hastily attaching a bandolier to his waist. Ghorua the Shark spoke, his deep voice tinny. "Sorry for the delay, gentlemen, but I doubted I could have ever made it to the command center through all these tight corridors. Let me tell ya, if I were claustrophobic..."

Ghorua stopped his good-natured rant, looking up seriously. "I'm currently in the armory, suiting up. My probes tell me we have multiple possible break-in locales." The Bounty Hunter looked to Xis specifically, a tone of seriousness in his words. "Tell me where I need to be, and I will be there." As Ghorua said this, he primed the blasters on his wrist gauntlets, testing the firing mechanisms. A contingent of ten Wardroids became visible behind the Herglic, waiting at attention.

Finally, the Shark lifted his enormous gatling cannon off the ground, and spun the tines menacingly. It was about time he got his hands dirty again. Too much time had been spent gathering info, or vacationing on Tatooine. He enjoyed a little rest every now and again, but Ghorua was a warrior. He couldn't sit still forever.

 

[Corrax Talrus]

Location:​ Wrong place, wrong time
Objective:​ Don't die, try not to do anything stupid {{​Objective ||FAILED​||}}
Allies:​ Not my bank account, amirite?
Enemies:​ My luck
​Equipment:​ I brought some nerf jerky ... I know it's here somewhere ....

Board the bird?​ Corrax thought frantically. He was a pilot, not a bloody marine! ​Drac'is​ and I are going to have some words when this is all over.​ The contract had been arranged by a third party, and clearly there was some miscommunication. When he'd been told he had a job, he'd assumed it would be flying ... since that was what he did. Next time he'd have to ask more questions.

Being totally unprepared for any kind of ground mission - especially one on a world with a climate approximating his ex-girlfriend's heart - necessitated a quick return to his ship. Fortunately, it was right next to him. Slapping a command code into his datapad, he ran for the entry ramp. He climbed inside before it was all the way dropped, due to the whole lack of time thing, and ran to the cockpit where his survival bag for the trip was located. Inside he had the necessities for survival on an ice planet: a blaster rifle with a fold out stock and heavy scope, a sidearm, power packs for both of them, a heavy winter coat, flares, and a few other odds and ends that would only be useful if he was really frakked.

He ran back out of the ship with his duffel over his shoulder and had to step up onto the ramp, it's servos whirring as it raised to a close position in preparation for pre-flight checks. Having barely made it, he let out a sigh of relief and gave a sheepish grin to one of the other merc's as he made his way inside - the one who had been sitting on the floor all hippy style with random crap floating around him. "Nature calls," he said to the man as he made his way to an empty seat. He'd considered letting someone know politely that this wasn't what he'd signed up for and disappearing into the star-spangled yonder, but rejected it due to his current credit-flow issues. Namely, that the credits weren't flowing.

It was a simple in and out mission, however. ​What could possibly go wrong?

​| [member="Horus"] | [member="Lorraei"] |​

| All those people on the planet who aren't affected even slightly by me ... yet ... |​

 

[Thraxis]

Location: Underground Compound
Objective, Make sure no one gets in
Allies: Jackals, by extension Black Sun.
Enemies: Whoever wasn't listed as an Ally
People who are allies Thraxis is ready to kill: Cadan

Thraxis came for a fight. And instead he got babysitting duty. His form shrunk, his eyes looking down as the bounce to his step became a saddened drag, his arms hanging loosely, if they were long enough they would be dragged along the ground, "Yeah... party..." he said as he grabbed Cadan by the collar, his muscles flaring with anguish as he pulled him to the ground with a heavy pull, he was ready to kill the spice head, he wanted a fight and instead he had to look after him and some stupid spiders. Everyone always wanted spice.

His grip was hard and rough, though his mind was so loosened that if Cadan had gotten free he would never had known, though as he walked there he went pass Cadans room, he knew he had brought some Twi'lek with him and Thraxis was going to spill some blood today, his body stiffened, his eyes became engrossed with rage and hate as his knee smashed into the door, his fingers clenching down on the gun, even the girl couldn't show any fear she was so out of it. Slowly he approached her, his mind was loose with everything he could do, he wanted to make it long, painful and arduous but instead his hands loosened up, possibly releasing from Cadan's collar as his fingers coiled around the Twi'lek girls throat, pressure quickly building up as his mouth widened with joy, a twitch in his eye as his breath became panted and almost sweaty in nature.

For what felt like an eternity he slowly turned from strangulation, to simply crushing her throat, his hands digging deeper and deeper into her throat, his mind wishing he could do the same to Cadan, but no, had to look after him and make sure he didn't start sucking on some spider ass. Soon he felt the metal clang as his armored gauntlets touched each other, loosening his grip he regained his composure, looking as he had essentally cut straight through her, her head severed from the rest of her body as a short lived wave of calmness rushed over him. "Well. I got to kill something today at least." he said to himself as he made his way to the spider nest. In truth, he hadn't been shown the map. He had really not even explored the location, he simply thought that this was the center point of everything. But it seemed he was to be wrong.
[member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Maris Jolner"]

 

[Phislo Bress]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility, Third Wave
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Opposition Unknown

Phislo looked on as the marines moved about the encampment but her attention was suddenly captured by the voice of the Admiral starting his speech. After hearing what he had to say and the ensuing order by Commander Lethim to move to the transports she cradled her rifle in her arms and went off to the troop transport to join the others in the third wave securing the compound. Finding an empty seat next to [member="Corrax Talrus"] and strapping in she gave him a quick look. He had the look of a man who wasn't happy with his current situation. He wasn't one of the Commonwealth Marines that she could tell which obviously made him one of the mercenaries. Why was he on this mission if not to fight then?

She looks at Corrax through her helmet with the T-visor that defines all mandalore armor. "You okay?"

[member="Horus"] | [member="Lorraei"]

 

[Lorraei]

Location: Iskeria
Objective: Secure Research Facility, Third Wave
Allies: Commonwealth and Mercenaries
Enemies: Black Sun Forces

He ignored it, that swelling sensation of suspicion that rose up from the Lord of Admirals as his gaze settled on The Desert Fox. Lorraei was accustomed to such sensations. He understood, to a certain degree, why the man held him suspect. Force sensitives where rarely trustworthy folk. They were far more susceptible to corruption than most and far to many believed themselves beyond reproach. Frell, Lorraei hated most Jedi himself.

The caramel skinned Companion dismissed the Admiral's fleeting emotions of negativity, bowing his head deeply toward the older man, a gesture meant to convey respect. He followed the Marines of Fireteam Black onto their waiting Dropship a moment later, taking an open seat quietly. The fine digits of his left hand dancing as he continued to spin his trio of tools through the air. His fellow mercenaries settled into seats, one offering a nervous smile, the other offering not but a cool Mandalorian stare courtesy of her concealing helmet.

Lorraei extended his awareness toward them, searching for surface emotions and thoughts. Interesting, he thought as he regarded his fellow hired . . . Guns. Fellow hirelings was perhaps a more accurate description as he carried no firearms himself. After a few moments of examining them he spoke, his voice a smooth, rich Baritone, "Don't be nervous, my friend. You are out of your element I would wager, but that does not mean you need to be fearful." His coal black eyes settled on the young man across from him. "Fear has it's place. It is a survival tool built into every creature in this vast galaxy. Use it to sharpen your senses, let it help fuel your reactions to dangers. Don't let it control you and Gods above, don't let it seize you."

Lorraei settled back against his seat. A knife, a security spike and the curved hilt of his lightsaber drifted into the air in front of him, each spinning end over end in a slow circle. He spoke again, though to no one in particular, "Knowledge is fear's ultimate enemy. Once we react our destination we will learn more about what is expected of us. If my words have not alleviated your fears to some degree then perhaps another piece of knowledge might. You are far better equipped for this mission than I am, my friend. These here are my only weapons." His right hand rose to gesture to the trio of floating items in front of him. The statement was not wholly true but still accurate. He had a dozen more throwing weapons hidden about his person and plenty more tools for dealing with any electronic systems he might need access to. His equipment was lackluster, an armorweave body glove lay beneath his heavy cold weather attire, some knives and electronic equipment. Otherwise his saber and the Force itself were his only true weapons.

[member="Horus"] [member="Xis"] [member="Corrax Talrus"] [member="Maris Jolner"] [member="Phislo Bress"] [member="Flannigan Mcnash"] [member="Thraxis"] [member="Cadan Tazi"] [member="Zee"] [member="Cait Falcor"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"]