Down for Danuta (SJO Dominion of Danuta Hex)

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 2: Brains for B'omarr
Allies: [member="Reggie Faayare"]
Suspicious: B'omarr

"I apologize, Reggie, but checking ledgers is a complex operation. The best thing for you to do is to check against the notes to each journal entry and then ask questions about if notes, or the sums thereof, seem suspicious, and then check against supporting documentation. Might sound nosy, but that's what testing of details is about, vouching in this case. Tracing is when you go from the supporting documentation to the ledger"

It wasn't merely checking the ledger: usually ledgers were split into several computer files, one for each subledger. The subledgers I'm most interested in are the AR/AP, PP&E, cash and other revenue-related or expense-related subledgers, she thought, knowing the B'omarr don't just let anyone with access to the brains, which they viewed as their greatest assets, or at least their highest-maintenance assets. So at least the controls surrounding the brains are decent. The acolyte was perhaps a little confused by Griet asking for access to the accounting records, but Reggie seemed to follow Griet without questioning what to look for in the ledgers. Then again, for NFPOs, ARs are usually not recorded except when there is merchandise sold on account or when grant revenue was, well, granted and with reasonable probability of receipt but not received immediately. Typically charities didn't even have an AFDA, so testing for it was not an option. But the B'omarr had no merchandise to sell. An audit? What is the meaning of this? For free? the temple's accountant telepathically asked her, while she was checking the accounts receivable subledger, and found the single largest amount to belong to the authorities, accounting for virtually the entire AR balance. There were so few AR transactions that she would need to send out positive confirmations to each and every single one of the B'omarr's debtors. I'm afraid the authorities will withdraw the grant if we don't proceed with the audit because they want to ensure the B'omarr don't defraud the people. As I told the acolyte that brought me here to check on what people owe the Order, an unqualified audit opinion is just part of the path to collective enlightenment, she explained telepathically with the controller.

"You may want to check the enlightenment-specific ledgers"

 

[Tulan Kor]

Objective: 2 - Brains for B’omarr - Ongoing Investigation

Location: Central Authority Plaza, Trid

Allies: [member="Allura Kahli"]| Open

Enemies: Cultists


He pondered for a while, examining the Umbaran. Part of him debated just shooting her dead on the street. He didn't trust her, she didn't trust him. But he was here for blood, she was here for...whatever shifty reason she was here for. She didn't fit the Silver Jedi schtick-

Then again, neither did he.

The looming bass of the moving parts of the city occupied the spaces between talking for them. There was never silence in the city, truthfully, there was never silence anywhere. Tulan put his hands in his jacket, minding the pistol tucked into the back of his waistband. Spacer clothes helped him blend in. He turned his head, observing the street.

"No cells, no prisons, no judges, no juries, no Jedi. We make sure these people never hurt anyone again."

He turned his head back to the dangerous woman.

"Their coroner was in on it. Falsifying records, selling bodies and people to the cult. Give them a ton of sedatives, take a few photos, and then he'd lie about a cremation and the cult would get another person. He had no idea what they did with them." He paused and took a long drag of his cigarra, then continued.

"I put two in the back of his skull."

He didn't care that he was out in the open. There wasn't a soul on the planet that could stop him-

Tulan Kor, was out for blood.

"I go with you- but nobody gets out of this alive that's involved with them."

 

[Allura Kahli]

Objective: 2 - Brains for B’omarr - Ongoing Investigation
Location: Central Authority Plaza, Trid
Allies: [member="Tulan Kor"] | Open
Enemies: None

Kahli turned to face the man as he spoke, the muscles in her body relaxed and not poised to strike. Not that she couldn't at any moment, but tension only slowed her down. "Let me deal with the Jedi," the Umbaran replied to Tulan's initial declaration of this being black book. The Captain already had a plan how to meet the Jedi's expectations while not handicapping what needed done.

With a tap, a hovercar swept down into the plaza before the two of them. Kahli hopped over the side into the driver's seat. "Then let's go." She'd heard everything the man had said. She simply didn't care how he'd gotten the information he had. Unlike the Jedi that hoped she might be a good Umbaran that'd learn the value of life, the Captain could not care less.

Once Tulan was in, or only a few seconds later if he suddenly took a liking to the plaza for some reason, the hovercar would shift into high gear.

Their course was to the The B’omarr Order's Temple. Kahli glanced over at the man along the way. "Let's get something straight so you can work out whatever moral issues you have before it hits the fan. If you care about the victims, you're about to have a bad day. If all you want is to kill those responsible, shoot whoever you like. Just make sure you aren't wearing anything identifying you as part of the Order."

When the Temple came into view Kahli reached back and drew over the hood of her uniform to cover her face. "There's going to be a member of government with them today. The Order needs his face intact. Everything else is fair game." An important note for her kill-happy friend beside her. No head shots. No explosions. No skull crushing. On one target. Should be simple enough for him to manage that much restraint, she hoped.

The hovercar swept into place along side a Temple balcony with Talon's side closer to the platform. There'd only be seconds before an alarm was raised as this was not a loading and unloading zone; but then Kahli didn't really care about No Parking ordinances and permission. Unfortunately, once the alarm did go up those responsible were going to unleash a particular horror powered by the victims -- the moral issue that the Umbaran had alluded to earlier. Shoot them and live, or dance around until those responsible escaped. Really, if he was as much of a hard ass as he appeared Kahli was expecting him to put them down like rapid beasts and move on -- which was just fine with her. They weren't here to give them peace or tell them everything would be okay. Far as she was concerned they were already dead.

 

[Zef Halo]

Objective One: Brodsport is fair game.
Allies: Himself
Necessary Allies: Mandalorian Raiders
Enemies: [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] [member="Veiere Arenais"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"] [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]
Oops: Grankiddo [member="Nida Perl"]


Ol' granpa Zef didn't really dig the white knight attitude the brute carried in his voice as he cuffed him. Hard to trust an ogre of a human for anything, to be honest, when just a slap of their paws could send you to Tatooine and back in the matter of seconds. Unfortunately, Zef's big mouth couldn't really reply as the remote got struck by a flash of blaster fire and the shockwave of the massive explosion the smuggler had set up for the Jedi group sent them all like sacks of potatoes flying and unto the ground.

Stun cuffs didn't really help. At all. He ate dirt like there was no tomorrow as his face was dragged through the ground like a sledge. The familiar sanguine colored liquid ran down from the wounds which opened up, one nearly slicing his eye. As the smoke began clearing out, Zef knew it was time to go. The perfect moment, the ideal opportunity. Smugglers saw it before the Force could even whisper it to the Jedi. Yet, blame old bones and old wounds for the ol' scoundrel couldn't really pick himself up from the ground. He brought himself up on his knees and frantically scanned around for any signs of his granddaughter. Her safety came first, as much as the ancient instincts for survival of the smuggler wanted to drive his gears into flight mode.

Spitting dirt and trying to shake away the strands of hair from his vision, Zef's eyes finally laid on Nida. He stood up and dashed with all the willpower he could muster towards her. She had been shielded by the massive barbarian who stood above her unflinching but also incredibly intimate to his next of kin. Aged hands locked in stun cuffs twitched for a blaster he did not carry.

"Nida!"

The shout was drowned underneath the sudden burst of heavy blaster fire up from the facility where an ambush was earlier planned by the Mandalorians. Montross had quickly seen the opportunity to counter-attack the dizzied Silver Jedi group. With all guns blazing, the beskar clad warriors hurried down the mound aiming to quickly dispatch their stunned foes with superior firepower.

"Nida, run!!" Zef's husky voice finally made it through the commotion before following up at the armored behemoth guarding his granddaughter. "Hey, you ugly son of an ogre, get these cuffs off and gimme a fethin' gun!!"

Motherkarker.​

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I am too old for this chit.​

 

[Tulan Kor]

Objective: 2 - Brains for B’omarr - Ongoing Investigation

Location: Central Authority Plaza, Trid

Allies: [member="Allura Kahli"] | Open

Enemies: None


They pulled beside the temple, and Tulan did what he always did, cuffed his sleeves, slipped on his gloves, and checked the magazine. Slugthrowers were mean, worked mean, and produced mean results. He stopped, when he reached for the door. Time slowed, the world moved to a crawl.

He looked over at Allura, and saw only one thing: everyone who had ever controlled him. Everyone who had ever given him an order. The Sith, the Alliance, all the contractors, all the people who hired him when he was rampaging around the Outer Rim. He was just a tool, a weapon to be unleashed. A monster, a brute. Once he opened the door, he was dooming himself to a life spent in the service of someone else, to be the Reaper's personal architect of hatred and malice. Avarice, greed, wanting, lead him to take life for money.

What was he taking it for today?

Revenge? Justice? Because someone told him to?

He killed a lot of people just to get to the temple.

He was going to kill a lot more.

He paused, for just a half second. He turned to say something to the Captain, but decided against it. She was not the person to talk about this with. That was for someone else, someone better. His actions, his sins, would need a lot more than the cold-hearted queen next to him to make him feel better, feel something, anything. Besides anger, besides wrath. But truth be told, those were chemical reactions in his body. He was empty, soulless. He left his soul somewhere out in the fringes of the galaxy, under the first planet burned, under the pile of bodies of the innocent. Tulan Kor was guilty, he had red in his ledger and no amount could ever bring it back.

He was hell-bound and destined for damnation.

That's why he opened the door and stepped onto the platform.

"Nobody but you knows I'm here."

The gun, even itself was bought from a gun dealer for this specific purpose. Untraceable, a model reserved for old Alliance special forces members. Not that the Alliance even mattered anymore. He racked the slide as he stepped out, leveling it with the security guard that came to approach the would-be illegal parkers. He was carrying a blaster at the low-ready, ready to engage whoever with lethal force.

Tulan had no qualms about putting a bullet in his throat, letting him fall over, clutching his throat. He walked by him, kicking the blaster out of his hands and continuing onwards. Once he failed the radio check-in, Tulan was content with the fact that the temple was going to come after him with whatever they had. But it wasn't enough to stop his wrath. His wrath was judgement itself, punishment incarnate. Tulan had come because that's how the galaxy worked. Eventually, someone, or something came to get you. It was fate itself that the Cultists had incurred his wrath. And they would feel it, that burning fire.

They would reap what they sowed.

Tulan moved further inward, shooting two cultists idly staring at a wall, in the chest. His shot placement was expertly put, to say the least. Right in the lungs. No time to scream, no surviving that. Suffering would occur before they died. They'd feel fear, panic, desperation. He wanted them to. He grit his teeth and pressed on, poised to kill more and more, either until they were all dead- or someone stopped him.

Fat chance, however. Tulan worked quickly, and he was moving fast.

 

[Samatharis]

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Obj 3: Dams of Danuta


The SSC was going to dam the Dauni River.

Diana stood on the hilly rise of a white and yellow pasture. Buried amid endless waves of windswept amber grain. She smiled to the bright blue sky and nodded to the chill of autumn's first brush. It was another perfect day and another perfect opportunity. Mmm. Oh yes. Today the SSC was going to dam the Dauni River and build a power planet and pumping station for the people of the Dauni Valley. An agriculture center for the planet and it's hardscrabble farmers. Helping to take their ancient form of subsistence farming and push them into the future. All with modern plumbing too.

Diana turned from her gorgeous view and looked back at the small landing of SSC Cargo Frigates. Three giant ships loaded down with supplies, vehicles, and expeditionary crews. All ready to get their hands dirty and get to work. Their target? The base of the Dauni River Canyon. The exact spot where the highlands river waterflows leaked down into the Dauni River and pushed the life-giving waters out into the valley. To begin. They would start by carving a second channel, rerouting the river flows, and then excavating the foundation for the new dam site. The whole process was expected to take a month. Weather and negotiations permitting.

A small SSC encampment of prefab tents had been erected on this hilltop to survey the local ecosystem and help guide the building effort amid the locals. Diana moved from her perch above the amber fields towards the shade of the white billowing command tent nearby. The flag of the SSC development team, blowing freely in the chilly autumn wind. Inside, their was a mixed team of Human scientists and Bimm cartographers. Some tall, some short; some like tiny goblin elves. All fusing and musing over the blueprint maps and building developments soon to come forth.

"Doctor Cartwright. How are we doing?" Diana asked of a happy fellow in a long white trench.

He pushed up on his wide glasses and turned to nod, "Very well. Very well. The locals have taken to helping with rerouting the stream. Crews out at the mouth of the canyon are reporting grand success with the locals."

"Excellent. Glad to hear they're enjoying the idea. ...And. How about our plumbers?"

The good doctor swung over to a holo-map and pointed to an exact position just shy of the village,

"Our drill teams are going to start cutting here this afternoon and move all the way over to this point. Well... After we get all the vehicle unloaded. I believe Captain Traunt is still briefing the security teams onboard the Murdock about local customs. We had a few late arrivals, I suppose."

"Ah. I see."

Diana moved over to the map and gave another look at the building plans. Four weeks wasn't much time. Hopefully everything went off without a hitch. You never know when the politics are still brewing planetside.

"Very good Doctor. I'll go see if there is any way I can help him push things forward with the unloading. Text me if you need anything with the mapping expedition."

She waved goodbye and the good doctor nodded his reply,

"Very well Master Jedi. I think we're covered for now. God speed. God speed."

Diana exited the tent and returned back out into the flowing yellow hills and the chilly autumn breeze. Pulling her fuzzy coat closer about her strong magical shoulders. She was off to see about unloading the Frigates. Yet, stillness remained well contemplating. Smiling to the bright blue sky and nodded to the chill of autumn's first brush. It was another perfect day.

And another perfectly good, Silver Service Corps, opportunity.

 

[Allura Kahli]

Objective: 2 - Brains for B’omarr - Ongoing Investigation
Location: Central Authority Plaza, Trid
Allies: [member="Tulan Kor"] | Open
Enemies: None

"No one else ever will," Kahli replied as she stepped over and out of the hovercar. One panel of the long jacket was swept aside to reveal the slug thrower under her arm. Her left hand drew it from the holster.

Was it wrong what they did? Were they "bad" people? Did it matter? Unlike her partner in this sordid affair, Captain Allura Kahli, Umbaran, Assassin, Infiltrator, Spy had no doubts about what she did or what she was. No regrets. No sorrows. Nothing plagued her at night how things might have or should have been. Even when the damnable Rangers shot someone they should have kept alive for their information right in front of her, she didn't lose any sleep over it. Not that her ire had dulled from the 'conflict' in purpose, but whether they lived or died was not her problem. Whether she lived or died didn't matter. She had a mission, and the mission would get done. She had a purpose, and it would be fulfilled. Everything else was pointless navel gazing.

Call her cold. Call her heartless. When it came time to pull the trigger on one or ten or a thousand to save millions she would be there. And she wouldn't bat an eye.

Loud claps sounded as she dropped a guard as they came around the corner. A sound she'd been expecting skittered at their rear, and the Umbaran drew forth a second gun in her right hand. "Here they come. Twenty meters right, forty meters left, door on the right. Expect resistance. No headshots," Kahli called out. "Move," she snapped as both weapons were trained back the way they'd come and flung projectiles down the hallway.

Coming their way was an eight legged, black contraption with a clear dome on its belly with a brain in the jar. The first two shots only managed to crack the transparent container, but at least the shots hit with the shields the thing put up making blaster fire even less effective.

 

[Reggie Faayare]

Objective 2
Allies:[member="Griet van Vliet"]

"No apology needed. I understand that how it's a difficult task, especially with my limited knowledge on such matters."

Reggie definitely wasn't experienced with what they were doing, so he probably should have asked for guidance to begin with. He would do what he could with the information given though.

Reggie would check any documentation available, trying to apply what Griet told him to do. He was a bit with his task since most of this was new to him, but he was able to gain an understanding of what was going on. He was looking for anything suspicious, which shouldn't be too difficult to find if there is something to find. As he searched, there was one thing that caught his eye. Why does the notes for one of the entries seemed to be much different than others.

 

[WolfMortum]

Objective One: Brodsport is fair game.​

Present Company: [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"], [member="Nida Perl"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​

Scouting Party: Pathfinder Unit Besh & [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]​

Suspected Hostiles: [member="Zef Halo"] & Rogue Mandalorian Raiders​

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Smoke, fire and burning debris.​

​

The world around him quaked, the walls seemed to be shaking, or perhaps it was the concussion of the explosives having shell-shocked his senses whilst throwing him back to the floor, his breath being stolen from his lungs with the force of the impact. It was Premeditated.

The explosions had decimated the surrounding area without warning. Placed prior to the Jedi's arrival, Veiere crawling back to his feet, lightsaber in hand as blaster-fire whizzed passed them, raining down upon the strike team.

"On your feet!" Veiere shouted above all else, looking to his peers. "Rangers, open fire!" he ordered [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] and his fellow Antarian Unit, throwing his free hand in the direction of the Mandalorian's charging their way.

The Force beckoned, calling to the Jedi Master's attention to instinctively raise his guard, the lightsaber sweeping out in front of him to deflect several blaster bolts back at the enemy, the swift manipulation of the blade keeping the cross-fire from striking him, or those at his back.

[member="Zef Halo"] had previously been carrying a detonator, Thirdas had pointed it out though Veiere hadn't caught what had happened to it, nor whether or not it had triggered the explosives laid out in ambush of his team. Less concerned with the Smuggler, more focused on fending off their aggressors, Veiere stepped in ahead of the other Silver Jedi placing his full concentration in his defensive practice of Soresu, as well as reading the Force for guidance in keeping as much of the blaster-fire from taking casualties on their side.

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

Objective I: Brodsport Is Fair Game
Location: Mining Facility
Allies: [member="Nida Perl"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | @Asharaa Vaashe | [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"] | [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]
Enemies: Rogue Mandalorians
Neutral: [member="Zef Halo"]

Nida's Zeltron technique alleviated him from any pain sustained during the cave-in, save for some stiffness in his back but nothing he couldn't live with. When she then turned her attention to her grandfather, Thirdas was first to scramble to his feet and effortlessly pulled Nida to her feet so they may check on Zef together. However before they could even take a single step a hail of blaster fire rained down on them, prompting them to seek cover once more. Master Arenais was quick to react, drawing most of their fire and blocking each shot with his lightsaber the way only an experienced Jedi Master could.

At least they learned that Zef was still alive, hollering to be set free. "Stay here," he told Nida before leaping out of cover into a combat roll as he picked his rifle off the ground, hoping it would still be intact. Without stopping he then rushed to where Zef knelt amidst rubble and debris. "My name is Thirdas," he shouted over the sound of blaster volleys as he reached behind Zef to simply tear the stun cuffs apart with his bare hand in one brief display of strength, before handing the old man his sidearm. "I ain't an orge!"

With Zef taken care of, as well as trusting him not to immediately shot him in the back the moment he turns around, Thirdas began returning fire. He could only get a couple good shots in, dropping a few Mandalorians while the others were too well-entrenched. They'd laid their ambush well. "Grenade out," he shouted as he fired a grenade round from the underbarrel of his rifle, shattering some of the Mando cover. "Hostiles in the open, take them down!"

 

[H3xle]

Location: Danuta Temple
Objective Two: Brains for B'omarr

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​

Aurel stepped out of the temple and walked back to the speeder she had parked outside. Her face remained passive as she slipped into the speeder, closed the door, and began to move off. Only when she was out of sight of the temple did she let her face fall. She had spent hours talking to one Embodied Master after another, flashing pictures of the abducted and asking questions. She had started as an inquiry, but after the third Embodied Master she knew she was being given the run around. It was only after an hour with a brain in a jar that needed an Embodied Master to "translate" for it, did she give up. She thanked the Masters and walked out.

She couldn't help but feel she had completely failed her investigation thus far, and she needed to regroup to figure out what tac to come at this again.

She drove her speeder in a serpentine pattern through the city, pausing in several parking garages and backtracking until she was sure that she wasn't being followed. Then she proceeded to drive to a local eatery and park. She slipped in like she was going for lunch, and even ordered food and ate as she thought about her next move and awaited contact from her handler.

 

[Griet van Vliet]

Objective 2: Brains for B'omarr
Allies: [member="Reggie Faayare"]
Suspicious: B'omarr

"What is the meaning of this?" Griet asked, while pointing at the enlightenment journal entry Reggie found that seemed a bit off, as well as the AR entry. "State-sponsored enlightenment? Do you have a deal in writing? Usually your enlightenment budget seemed to come from the general fund, and then you proceed to pay off the APs, as well as capitalize the costs of extracting the brains"

Dr. Enlightenment cash X, Cr. General fund cash X, or so it usually went. But here Dr. Enlightenment cash Y, Cr. Enlightenment revenue Y, and they still capitalize the cost of the brains, so the brains were one of the big items in the breakdown of the PP&E under the custody of the enlightenment fund, the other being the surgical equipment. Of course, what's suspicious about it was the speed at which the cash was received: they received approximately half the cash up front, whereas cash was normally transferred to pay for each AP. Or at least that's what she could make out from the enlightenment ledger. Then the acolyte assigned to record-keeping, which has no custodial duties beyond custody of the records, seems a little reluctant to get the documents related to the deal with the authorities for the enlightenment. And not just a little reluctant: she feels she has no choice but to dangle the consequences of a disclaimer of opinion. Even then the record-keeper would probably roll his eyes because very few non-accountants actually understand the consequences of a qualified, adverse or disclaimer of opinion.

"You will tell us about this deal or else your unqualified audit opinion will be compromised!"

"Why would the audit opinion be compromised?"

"I would then be forced to issue a disclaimer of opinion, which would lead to the deal being declared void and to you refunding the money already paid"

"I must warn you, the deal in question is a deal you can, under no circumstances, reveal to the general public. But we received half the money up front and the other half once a certain list of individuals, which is in the appendix of this top secret deal, has been captured in its entirety. It appears that many on that list are somehow opponents to the current regime but we weren't told in what way"

 

[WolfMortum]

Objective One: Brodsport is fair game.​

Present Company: [member="Nida Perl"], [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​

Scouting Party: Pathfinder Unit Besh & [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]​

Suspected Hostiles: [member="Zef Halo"] & Rogue Mandalorian Raiders​

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A smaller explosion erupted ahead of Veiere, [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] having slung a grenade round back at the Mandalorian Raiders forcing them to be exposed. The showering debris and smog of dust rained down around them, giving the Silver Jedi the opportunity to drive forward against their assailants, Veiere Arenais sparing no time in accelerating his movement, augmenting his body and momentum using the force to cross the small distance swiftly.

Flashes of green and blue energy clashed with the metal frames of the Raider's firearms and armor, the Jedi Master targeting their weapons and gauntlets in the hope of disarming as many as possible while too having to keep his guard up in the case one of them were able to get a shot off at him at such close proximity. Point blank, thanks to Force Speed. The insurgents had been taken off guard and the Jedi's lightsaber ran hot across the blaster rifles, many of which weren't made with as dense a material as their protective armor plating.

When those before him had been removed of their ability to fight back, Veiere reached out with the Force and sent a wall of kinetic energy throwing the group back against the nearby wall, incapacitating many of them, while those that remained conscious lay crumbled and groaning in pain. Blaster-fire from the Antarian Rangers continued to bellow passed him however, giving Veiere and the Silver Forces cover from the hostiles in place further up the corridor. The aggressive push forward opened the group up to further cover from the battle, yet there seemed to be little end in sight. At the very least, some of the mandalorian's would be taken into custody still alive, yet it remained up to Pathfinder Besh to secure the hostages whilst the most of the noise was being made by the strike team keeping the enemies focus steadily upon them and the damage they were doing to buy time.

 

[Nida Perl]

Objective One: Brodsport is fair game.
Location: Mining Facility
Allies: [member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"] |[member="Asaraa Vaashe"] | [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]
Disappointment: Grandpa [member="Zef Halo"]

Run.

Stay here.

Hide. Don’t move. Keep quiet. Get away. Nida’s instincts were pushing for her to run, to avoid. They always were. Thirdas and her grandfather supported this notion, wanting to keep her safe. Wanting to put themselves in danger in place of her. It was almost always the same story, no matter where she was and who she was with. In the end, she always found herself staring at the back of braver men and women.

Against her better judgement, the Padawan stepped out from behind shelter and concentrated. She could hear Thirdas and Zef bickering over the din of battle, but their words were foreign to her as her focus shifted to the Mandalorians. Or rather—the sentients on the other side who she assumed to be the opposition. With a swing of the Force, Master Arenais had knocked a good swath of them back against a wall. Nida picked out one, a sniper on the level above them, taking advantage of the facility’s open air structure. Her focus deepened, honing in on the Mandalorian’s body, causing an unsettling sensation to spread along his stomach and dizzy his mind. It wasn’t particularly severe, but the sudden onset had caused the sniper a brief moment of panic, then a pause.

A robed woman with her eyes closed, deep in concentration, was a significant target. A Jetii. Before the nausea hit him and the rifle fell from his hands, he noticed her. A single shot fired her way, and Nida had been so deep in meditation that she didn’t see the blaster bolt coming until it lanced through her shoulder, sending her stumbling back into a fall.

Succumbed to nausea, the Mandalorian’s rifle clattered a single story to the ground. Nida had about half a second to process all that had happened before the pain blossomed in her shoulder. She’d never been hurt before, but this was the first time she’d been shot.

To what would eventually be her own surprise, she let out a string of curse words. “Mother karking son of a schutta—!” She hissed through her teeth while clambering to her knees, her good hand coming up to her injured shoulder in an attempt to soothe the fresh wound.

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

Objective I: Brodsport Is Fair Game
Location: Mining Facility
Allies: [member="Nida Perl"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] | [member="Nesota Kynnovan"]
Enemies: Rogue Mandalorians
Neutral: [member="Zef Halo"]

Returning fire wherever possible, the Rangers of the group were greatly helped by the Jedi in their midst debilitating and drawing much of the enemy fire, allowing for more pot-shots safely from behind cover. It was slow and frustrating work, picking away at the Mandos until one would eventually drop, then move on to the next one. Both sides were completely bogged down, neither being able to advance on the other. "Besh Unit," he hailed the Pathfinders, "now is the time to get the hostages out! We are drawing their fire and their backs should be exposed to you!"

While down behind cover to reload a fresh clip into his rifle, he saw Nida wince from having been injured. "Nida!" He rushed for her, leaping from cover to cover until at her side. Noting the grazed blaster wound on her shoulder, he forsook Ranger protocol by picking her up in his arms and got up his feet only to head for a closed door nearby. With a forceful shoulder-charge he tackled the steel door open to find themselves in what looked like an office. Free of enemy fire for the time being, Thirdas slumped down on the floor with his back against the wall, Nida still in his arms.

There he took a moment to catch his breath, his chest riding and falling rapidly. "And you keep telling me to not get hurt," he spoke through laboured breath as their eyes met. "Let me see..." Gently he propped her up against the wall in his stead in order to tend to her wounded shoulder, reaching into his pack for some anti-burn and field dressing. "This stuff might not be as fancy as your Jedi techniques, but it gets the job done." The anti-burn would sting at first, but soon help to soothe the pain of singed flesh.

As he applied the dressing he leaned in close, and by the time he was finished patching her up his lips had founds hers for the most gentle of kisses.

 

[Zef Halo]

With Montross seeking the glory to crush Jedi and get off with the loot, he more or less undestimated the Silvers valor. With Jedi as the shield and Rangers as the sword, the Silver Jedi task force hammered a hefty blow on the Mandalorian raiders giving the subtle specialists of Besh Unit of the Pathfinders to surgically enter the facility and extract the hostages from the mining facility. The smuggler Zef's ship was detained and the cargo was returned to its rightful owners - the Brodsport Corporation.

Meanwhile, the deadly duo of [member="Allura Kahli"] and [member="Tulan Kor"] solved the kidnapping mystery the only way they knew how. Where morale stopped Jedi from acting, the lack of it thrusted the two forward in a murderous spree of the culprits who abducted civilians for their own twisted needs. What a romantic first date for the two Rangers.

Who said there were no cunning opportunists among the Jedi? @Diana Mclaine, an ambitious Jedi Master of trader and banking background, was no stranger to penetrating markets before as she is no stranger to leading a team of the Silvers Service Corps developers to help build the essential dam and power plant for the locals. Bathrobe monks got to have some economic skills after all, right?

It might've been all fun and games for all of the above but the same could not be said for the unlucky son of a schutta Zef Halo. Seeing his ship detained and the goods removed wouldn't be the end of this nightmare for the old man. No, instead he had to witness his youngest granddaughter be kissed by an ogre. He just stood staring at the two like an amnesiac before a part of Silvers and local forces approached him for a round of inquisitive questioning regarding the ship and the illegal stolen goods aboard it. Nida might be experiencing the time of her life but ol' granps was deep in trouble.

And calling Joza for a favor was the last thing on his mind.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] [member="Veiere Arenais"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] [member="Illyria Sol Rhia"] [member="Nesota Kynnovan"] Grankiddo [member="Nida Perl"]​