Dressed to Kill - SJO Dominion of the Umbara Hex

[Valkren Calderon]

Objective: Wedding, protection detail.​

Location: Umbara - Security room, briefing​

Nearby: [member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Charlie"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]| [member="Pandora"]​

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"]​

_________________________________________________________________​

Valkren felt Echo's hand lock in with his arm, giving him a quick shiver before looking to her. She was stunning, perhaps more beautiful than the night at the Silver Ball, but he wasn't too sure about that one..Most of his memories were shotty from that night. He blinked, looking back up towards the center of the security room after she mentioned his looks.

"You should know, you picked out the look."

Osmari's words about the wedding came next, and Valkren couldn't agree with that more. Even if dressing up was nice at some points, he much preferred a pub or cantina over this any day.

"I can't remember the last time everyone went out for a drink in one of our usual places, honestly."

The operator's full attention was taken away from Echo as the room was suddenly filled with heavily armored soldiers. The armor was off-putting for the colonel, to say the least. It's resemblance to Sith trooper armor through its 'evil' shade of black could easily help any soldier misidentify them without closer inspection.

Farani's lingering gaze among his date took the eerie feeling he had a step further. He couldn't read her expressions like others, it just seemed harrowing. The colonel was racking his mind quickly at why she'd be looking towards his teammate. Perhaps it was just Valkren overreacting to something small.

Then, Jettah's voice brought him back into reality.

"I can have a couple of my guys head to the upper level, a little more heavily armed than our patrols on the floor. I'll contact my people on the floor first before moving the security around." The colonel agreed with the security chief, some more rangers would always make him feel a bit more secure.

Valkren went to move away, but forgot that Roo already had her arm interlocked with his, practically taking her a step back with him. An embarrassing mistake, even for a hardened soldier. He could only blink and silently yell at himself afterwards, continuing with his motions as he reached for his earpiece.

"Charlie, Asaraa. You there? Echo and I are moving onto the floor now."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Objective: Void Wings
Location: The Spooby Nebula

Think fast, think fast - oh yeah…

Allyson heard Aubrey over the comms, but at the moment she was a little busy trying to fix the fact that her weapons system had gone off line. Being a sitting duck wasn’t something the Corellian liked to be, so she quickly went to work with the only other skill she knew besides piloting. A heavy exhale and she focused on the systems that were jammed, she needed to override them with the Force and make them work again.

Along with doing that she needed to fly a Cuervo in the middle of what felt like a million bogeys. She could feel the systems begin to show life again and it was a blessing when the CIS showed up and saved her rear end, along with Aubrey. With the weapons systems soon becoming active again, Allyson activate the screamer jammer and head straight forward into combat. Getting a visual on where Onyx 1 was, the XO quickly fell back into her usual self.

The Fighter, rolled and changed direction to enter the fight again. She fell behind a pair of headhunters and quickly made work of them with the laser cannon. It took her a moment, but she fell back into formation with the Onyx one. In the back of her head, Allyson wondered why she panicked. This was something she had done before, why all of a sudden.

The CIS came over the comms and Allyson smiled. “Thanks for the help and we’ll keep some alive for ya.” Peeling off slightly, she chase down another pair of the erratic pirate fighters and erased them from her radar. Feeling the way the machine moved and how responsive it was especially after she connected to it with the Force, the panic she had earlier seemed distant.

She did enjoy the quiet, but this was something else.

[member="Varindar Asyt"] | [member="Aubrey King"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"] | [member="Rath Exigo"] | [member="Aryn Teth"]

 

[Minerva Vessia]

Objective: Ghost Hunters​

Location: Mining Facility, Altoa​

Posts: 6​

Allies: SJO /CIS​

Tags: [member="Katarine Ryiah"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Suna Gallia"] [member="Dajara Boshtet"] [member="Sigrid Forsberg"] [member="Gianna Aegis"]​

​

​

Would could be seen was cut short. It was a cave and in this area all technology was not working. The lights Kat and Mini had brought with them shorted out from the activity of the spirits. Kat was not going to be going back to the ship unless she had some light. For that matter Minerva was not going to go forward without any light.

Minerva lips parted, she was about to say something. The darkness departed for just another moment as another person walked up behind them. Gianna’s lantern shorted out and then they were back in the dark again.

Whatever the science behind it, somehow the spirit activity was draining batteries. No energy, no light. It sucked just standing there in the dark when not too far away you could hear the people you come to help in distress.

“Welcome aboard”, Minerva said to Gianna wishing not to be rude to the new person who joined them.​

​

It was not the time to exchange cookie recopies. Minerva knew first hand Force Spirits could be dangerous.​

Through pastel pink lips Minerva began to sing. A light pierced the veil of darkness. A bright blue orb appeared in Minerva’s hand then floated to a fixed position just above Minerva’s head. The light strong enough filled the open cave area where the SJO and CIS party now stood. People could see again, no longer to fumble around in the dark.

This was a start. Now they could move into the area without stumbling over mining equipment or slipping on lose rock.​

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Objective: Black Wedding
Location: Main hall
Allies: Champagne!
Enemies: [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]'s jokes

As the man with braided hair waxed poetic, Siala leaned away, angling herself so that her cold shoulder faced him slightly. Rolling her eyes, she took a long sip from her glass. Squeezing the stem of her almost empty flute, she knew that she’d need a refill quite soon if she were to endure the ceremony. Much to her relief, the man’s flowery speech ended with a chuckle.

“Ah,” She said, nodding. “Josh it is, then.”

The Echani woman placed an index finger to her temple, as if trying to put the name to memory. It was a futile attempt, but it was something.
But, this man called Josh had finally gained her interest with the mention of being a swordsman. Siala wrinkled her nose slightly when he brought up the fact that she’d come here without a date. Placing a hand on her hip, she gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

“Since when is a date required?” She posed, “A strong woman can stand on her own. I’m a firedancer, you see.” Siala noted proudly.

Holding her glass up to a passing waiter ([member="Wenwynig"]), she narrowed her eyes when he walked right past her without so much as a glance. His eyes seemed to be anywhere but on the guests that he was supposed to be attending.

“Excuse me,” She called, hoping to catch his attention. “Another one of these.” She held up her flute again.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Objective: Black Wedding
Location: Main Hall
Allies: [member="Siala Brennus"], Alcohol

She didn't seem all that happy about the jokes, which was fine. Making a noblewoman jolly was about as difficult as making a nun out of a Sith Lord, so it didn't bother him any. "You're right. It's not required" He would respond with a casual shrug. "Just surprised" He corrected as the Jedi would polish off his drink fairly quickly. He was going to need a few more if he was going to get through this wedding without openly mocking it. Regardless, it seemed that he'd toned down on the jokes and the dramatics, indicating he was listening to her and paying attention to her and her expressions and body language as well as what he could sense of her emotions.

"Firedancer? Do tell" He would express interest as she mentioned the name. He had heard of the name before, but didn't know much... As if to emphasize why he might be interested, the fingers on his free hand would move to and fro, as flames would dance between them.

 

[Wenwynig]

Location: Black Wedding
Objective: Make the wedding red
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Siala Brennus"] | [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] | SJO and CIS

Wenwynig paused as he stared at the woman who hailed him for another glass. He moved the tray in his hand over to her, "please enjoy", Wenwynig said as he took the empty glass in exchange. He noted they were both likely Jedi from the Silver Order, he doubted there would be many rangers from the Silver Jedi Order. But he couldn't be certain, gone were the days that Jedi wandered in robes very obvious in their appearance. Now they could blend in with others, made them difficult to spot, especially since he couldn't "sense" them like they could sense each other. Wenwynig took the tray around once or twice, just to get a feel for the people around.

Farani hadn't left her sercuity room which was frustrating him, the longer they attempted to disguise themselves the sooner it would be that someone discovered that this was leading to a hit. Taking a tray of food, Wenwynig moved quietly around the crowd, offering the food. His frustration having to be put aside for now. He couldn't let on that this was anything but a normal wedding.

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Objective: The Black Wedding
Mission: Fight the Goop

Charlie was enjoying herself and in a way she was cheating the little game. Remembering that she was on a mission made the padawan slowly detoxify herself if the effects of the alcohol. She didn't need to have herself be impaired in case something did occur.

Her laughter suddenly stopped, something didn't sit right with her and she stood up from her seat. Nodding to her drinking partner, Charlie headed to the door and looked around. Eyes fell on [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] and the waiter that was near him. Charlie never remembered seeing the waiter when she first entered.

The small hairs on her neck stood and she slinked out of the room she was in. She didn't make a sound to respond to the rangers, but tapped in Morse code against her comm letting them know that she had eyes on someone suspicious.

The small padawan weaved through the crowd remaining a few steps behind the suspect using her training as a shadow to remain unnoticed.

[member="Wenwynig"] [member="Siala Brennus"][member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] [member="Alyisa Mithel"]

 

[KitKat]

Objective: Ghost Hunters
Location: Mining Facility, Altoa
Standing Within Earshot (but not eyesight of) :Yuroic Xeraic Suna Gallia Dajara Boshtet Sigrid Forsberg
Standing Right Next To: [member="Gianna Aegis"] and [member="Minerva Vessia"]

Everything went dark and they were joined by a new Jedi. Katarine cussed internally to herself. She really wanted to return to the ship, and at least get medical supplies. They could hear the others were in trouble and she didn't want it coming off that she couldn't follow simple orders or that she thought she was better than standing by the ship.

"Now what?"

 

[Rath Exigo]

​

Post #3​

Objective: Void Wings​

Ship: T-77 Strike Interceptor​

Attn: [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Aubrey King"] | [member="Varindar Asyt"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Aryn Teth"]​

​

• Reaper Squadron
  Ghost Nebula

"Copy that, Jedi starfighter," the Anubian's richly-accented voice responded, before breaking off his chase of the rapidly dispersing pirates in front of him. It would not do to keep heading straight ahead and allow some enterprising pirate hotshot to loop back and swoop in on his tail.

Some distance away, the carrier-interdictor launched three additional starfighter squadrons, the remainder of its complement of strike craft. TIE Reapers, Death Gliders and Vulture droids now joined the fray, unleashing salvos of green, orange and red laser bolts against enemy fighters and strafing an enemy corvette's engines, crippling it, filling the battlespace with after-images of broken pirate vessels and burning wrecks.

The Absolution and its fighters were part of the Confederacy's Sword Armada, a massive task force consisting of three battlegroups that were commanded by Darth Tacitus himself. As a result, they were disciplined, swift and deadly efficient in their tasks, the Lord of Admirals having seen to their training and honing them into the elite forces that they had become since enlisting. Comms chatter was kept to a minimum, the silence interrupted only by short sentences as the various pilots reported kills, damage, or requests for backup.

Reaper squadron did not break the silence at all. They were the silent predators that stalked this battlespace, darting in and out of enemy formations and dancing their deadly dance with their foes. Following Allyson's course, Exigo slammed the acceleration forward, changing course to meet them. Hand flitting over the controls, he allowed his starfighter to perform a controlled half-spin as he fell in behind and under his ally, using her to conceal his position from the confused pirates that searched for him. He commanded his astromech to open a channel to Aubrey's vessel. "Jedi Starfighter, this is Reaper One. I propose that we execute a pincer maneuver against this group of pirates, to confuse them further and break what is left of their formation."

​

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Location: Umbara
Objective: The Black Wedding

The earbud in her ear buzzed, Colonel Calderon's voice echoing through the device, catching her attention as the pink-haired girl swept her gaze out over the room, catching sight of the Ranger as he stumbled with sergeant Osmari, a small smile touching her lips as she raised one hand to her ear, speaking into the bracelet on her wrist.

Asaraa's voice was a soft whisper, cast purposefully low to avoid disturbing the other wedding goers. "I'm still here, on the floor right now near the front entrance." She hadn't picked this position because of the smell of fresh air wafting in from the open door. "There's nothing unusual here...well not more than a bunch of guests who really don't like one another."

Turning on the spot, she could feel her skirt swishing around her legs as she let her gaze move over the crowd, her brow furrowing as she caught sight of Charlie intently homing in on a waiter. "Hold on...I think there might be something happening, tell your guys to be careful, it looks like Charlie spotted something." Letting out a breath she took a sip of her yet untouched champagne, resting it on a nearby table as she slipped into the crowd, following behind her friend.

[member="Charlie"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Roona Osmari"]

 

[Roona Osmari]

Objective: Wedding, protection detail.
Location: Umbara – Main hall
Nearby: [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Charlie"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]|[member="Pandora"] | [member="Wenwynig"]

The slightest chuckle escaped Roona as Valkren mentioned his look for the evening. Indeed she had picked it out herself, and she was feeling pretty pleased with her choices. Now, her own ensemble for the evening was an issue. As pretty as it was, she disliked the shoes – they were slim and had tall heels. It was not ideal for the situation, especially if she needed to run. But, she knew that combat boots clashed hard with formal wear.

“Yes, we all need another night out. Very soon.” Roona replied, it would be nice to have all the rangers together for some fun.

But then, the notion of fun slipped to the back of her mind. As the door to the briefing room opened, she stiffened at the sight of the rather dark-looking soldiers that entered. However, Roona kept her cool and turned her attention to Farani, just in time to meet the Umbaran woman’s gaze. It was when this gaze lingered pointedly on her that Roona’s brow rose ever slightly. It was as though the other woman was attempting to tell her something without words, but she hadn’t quite grasped it. Perhaps it was just nerves. After all, Farani would be walking down the aisle shortly.

After details were settled, Roona was surprised to feel Valkren move suddenly – tugging her along as well. Roona said nothing, only gave his arm a tiny squeeze and listened for the responses from their teammates already out on the floor.

As Asaraa mentioned that Charlie may have found something of suspicion, Roona glanced up at Valkren and gave him a nod. “Let’s move,”

Out into the main hall the ‘couple’ went, the last flow of guests was streaming quickly into the building. The ceremony was only moments away now. If there was a time to strike, Roona felt this was it. They would need to be on their guard.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Objective: The Ghost Wings
Location: Ghost Nebula
Allies: [member="Varindar Asyt"] [member="Aubrey King"] [member="Allyson Locke"]
Ship: Modern Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor

Before Tana could pose a question to what just happened with the flag ship a huge shock wave shook his ship, the young pilot looking back to see that flag ship blow up like the Death Star. It was quite the interesting sight, all but a little scary to see, more so with bits of ship flying towards him, the Padawan having to loop his small fighter around the avoid getting hit by the shrapnel. 'That was probably the largest explosion I've seen in my entire life, whem glad I was not near that'. Turning his coms back on Tana addressed Asyt as the formation few back to the fleet. "Seems Allyson and that new CIS force had been taking are of the forward enemies, quite a large fleet that have there", maybe little over kill. "We joining up with the transports and hyperspacing out of here"?

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Objective: Wedding, protection detail.​

Location: Umbara - Wedding, main floor​

Nearby: [member="Roona Osmari"] | [member="Charlie"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]|​

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] | [member="Pandora"] |[member="Wenwynig"] | [member="Siala Brennus"]​

_________________________________________________________________​

Valkren heard Asaraa's response, nodding to himself as the pair made their way out into the hall. Then, a quick series of clicks from Charlie's end. It took Calderon a second to realize just what kind of message she was trying to send, but Asaraa was quick to pick up on it and confirm it on their end.

He looked to Roona just as she urged him to keep moving to the floor. After giving a nod, he'd move with her into the crowds, reaching up to the earpiece and tapping it on quickly before he lowered his hand towards his date.

"I read you, Asaraa. Move to assist Charlie if possible. I'd maintain distance though until we see something solid we can go off of."

Valkren separated his arm from Osmari's own just for a moment, continuing to speak as he reached for a pair of champagne glasses. He'd hand his companion one of the flutes before finishing out his transmission.

"There should be men close to your position. You say the word, they'll be there."

The lead Charlie had was their only eyes on a potential threat so far, and it was very possible that she correctly identified a threat, but there was just too high a chance of there being another hostile present at the wedding. Too much ground to cover, they wouldn't be able to focus all of their assets on the first target to pop up. Valkren figured they could hold the main floor with some of the other members of the protection detail, just for now.

He took a quick sip from the flute, flashing a glance over to the sergeant, preparing to say something. Valkren then recalled that his earpiece was still transmitting, so he gave it a quick swipe with his free hand, muting his microphone.

"You do look nice, just saying."

Valkren attempted to say this without staring too hard, having already probably brought some attention to them with the awkward motions toward his ear. This was the closest thing they had to a real dinner date since the ball on Kashyyyk. Ever since that, it had been constant work and deployments for a number of different operations. Even if they were still working, it was 'sort of' nice to be somewhere not in a full suit of combat armor.

Suddenly, his earpiece rang again, this time the voice came from one of the ranger operatives handpicked for security detail on this mission.

"Sir, we have a weapo-" The man was cut off as an elbow caught his nose, pushing him away from a 'VIP' in disguise. A second ranger was also on the other side of the man, gripping an arm with a drawn blaster pistol in it. Few people on the main floor realized what exactly was happening, looking on for a moment in disbelief before actually backing away from the threat. The soldier that was elbowed away came back, moving to help secure the discovered assassin and assist the other ranger in keeping his weapon pointed at the ground.

This wedding was starting to look like a real bad idea at this point.

 

[Wenwynig]

Location: Black Wedding
Allies: None
Enemies: [member="Charlie"] (stalker much!) | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Roona Osmari"]
Objective: Lose the tail, get the kill.

Wenwynig easily noticed the number of eyes moving on him, it seemed someone seemed to think they had made him. Luckily for the assassin, he didn't carry weapons, if they inspected him he would be as clean as any other waiter. His body was a living weapon in a literal sense. Noting the very short and young girl sneaking on him, the assassin smirked to himself. As stealthy as they might think they were being, Wenwynig had spent centuries stalking prey and being stalked by Jedi and their hunters. He grabbed a cup and twirled dramatically and faced his stalker, "hello there little one. Looking for a drink?" He said in a forced polite voice.

Commotion occurred away from them as another assassin was being detained for drawing out their weapon. Amateurs had little patience, Wenwynig's only increased now, wanting to get the kill right under their Jedi snobby noses. Looking over to the assassin, he let a fake gasp and shook his head. "For shame! Assassins at the minister's wedding! It is outrageous and improper. Blood should never be shed at a wedding. I wonder if they were here for a Jedi or the minister? What do you think miss?" He asked the young Jedi.

His tactic was to feign ignorance and work off the girl naivity, if she had any. His plan wasn't to strike till the ceremony anyway, so using this time to bluff his innocence was easy enough.

 

[Sigrid Forsberg]

Location: Main Chamber
Allies: [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Minerva Vessia"] | [member="Katarine Ryiah"] | [member="Dajara Boshtet"] |
Objective: Ghost busters!

"Yuroic..." she repeated slowly, then beamed behind her helmet. The Valkyri weren't exactly big on protocol, so she welcomed a laid-back commander. "You may call me Sigrid."

After the priestess made her introduction, she stepped aside to let the team pass into the mine. Yuroic suggested they stick together, an assessment she agreed with wholeheartedly.

"Alpha on me," she ordered with a raised fist. "The rest of you establish a perimeter and make sure no unauthorized personnel follows us inside."

The two squads split off, Alpha now following Sigrid in groups of three. She herself was behind all the Jedi and other friendly Forcers gathered, letting them take the lead. The Valkyri certainly wasn't a stranger to the eerie, but she would defer to her Jedi counterparts the experts here, simply offering her squad as backup.

Slowly the crept into inner mining complex, making thorough sweeps at every turn and opening they came across with raised carbines and swords.

At first, everything seemed just as quiet on the inside, but then the trouble began as the Rangers' electronics began to go on the fritz, and then fail completely, HUD dying. It became dark in her helmet, now the only light coming through the thin transparisteel visor.

"What the Feth?!" one Berserker complained as he was tapping his carbine. "Everything is dead."

The whole squad stopped to complain and examine their gear. Either everything was deactivated, or malfunctioning so poorly that it might as well be. It was like they had just walked through a massive ion blast, but there had been no signs of attack. It was weird.

Sigrid didn't have much time to ponder their new predicament, as a blood-curdling scream rang through the mining complex. She winced, nearly dropping her own useless gun as she raised her hands reflexively to cover up her ears.

"Look out!" another Berserker yelled, unsheathing his sword in place of guns, others following suit.

Ears still ringing, she was initially confused, but stiffened right up as she came face to face with some large black...thing skittering toward her direction.

The Valkyri did not cower, but let out a great roar as she chucked her gun to the side, grabbing for her warhammer in one hand, and a dagger in the other as she charged headfirst for the new threat. The rest of her squad followed suit, matching her roars with raised melee weapons.

Just before she could close the distance with the spider to deliver mighty a blow of her warhammer, it suddenly reversed direction, skittering backward into the shadows*.

In an adrenaline-fueled charge, she continued to bound forward several more steps to give chase but finally skidded to a halt as her training took over. The terrain was foreign and their equipment compromised. It would be a bad move to continue to follow. Her objective to ward away the shadowy beast had been achieved.

"Well...now what?" her Sergent asked.

"I don't really know," Sigrid admitted with a shrug. "Let's regroup with the Jedi."

And just like that, the Beserkers moved back closer to the rest of the party eyes trained on the shadows where the monster had first appeared.

*Sigrid is not aware, but it was the aura of her dagger warded the apparition away.

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Objective: The Black Wedding
Mission: Hang out with the Goop
[member="Wenwynig"] [member="Siala Brennus"][member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Roona Osmari"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] [member="Alyisa Mithel"]

Charlie followed quite pleased with herself at this point. Her gut was telling her this guy couldn’t be trusted, but as she continued to follow her eyes were starting to tell her maybe she was wrong. Shaking her head, she couldn’t stray from this. If she was wrong, her master always said it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Though, she wondered if that line even worked in this situation. Scoffing slightly under her breath she didn’t care - it made sense.

The man quickly turned to her which threw the padawan off slightly. He offered her a drink and she blinked and then quickly shook her head. “No, I’m okay” Before she could try and think of an excuse as to why she was following him, a commotion had started. She looked quickly and noticed the assassin being taken off by security. Charlie had her doubts about following the man, maybe the assassin that was taken was the one she should have been following. Yet, when he questioned her, she looked towards him and raised an eyebrow.

“Jedi?" Charlie decided to play dumb for a moment. Like her the others we wearing other things, and she didn't notice any robed Jedi at the moment. Looking around quickly, she turned her attention back to the waiter. A smile crossed her face, showing excitement. "I've never seen a Jedi, can you show me them? If you do maybe I can help you with something like handing out drinks?" Charlie gave the man her sweetest smile as she giggled like a giddy school girl.

"Jedi are so cool."

 

[Wenwynig]

Location: Wedding
Objective: Ditch the brat
Enemies [member="Charlie"] (aka the brat)

Wenwynig was too old to fall for her innocent act. His gut shouted she was a Jedi, though he couldn't sense it, there was something too naive about her to be real. He shook his head, "no sorry. I'm only guessing the Jedi are here from the minister announcing that the Silver Jedi Order are here. Could be Antarian Rangers are the only ones who appeared but you've just seen them in action. So sorry dear but I got to get back to work. Want to make sure everyone is seen to before the ceremony starts, also want to reassure our guests that everything is under control. Perhaps you should go find your parents? They'll want to know where you've wandered off to." Wenwynig commented before he turned around and continued his faux role.

He moved around gracefully, demonstrating to anyone still stalking him that there was no way he could be trying to conceal a weapon, unlike another assassin who was dressed as a guest and attempted to draw a blade out. Wenwynig internally tutted at these amateurs, he would show them what a real assassin would look like, however, there were still half a dozen more assassins hidden in the crowd from his calculations, and he could tell they were getting all antsy. He was ready to get the ceremony under way so he could strike himself but he kept a level head. The girl ensured that he didn't get overconfident or sloppy, they seemed to find him suspicious. A reason he couldn't figure out why.

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Location: Main Chamber
Allies: [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Minerva Vessia"] | [member="Katarine Ryiah"] | [member="Dajara Boshtet"] | [member="Sigrid Forsberg"] | [member="Gianna Aegis"]
Objective: Ghost busters!

The voice of Jedi Xeraic brought Suna out of her daze, her dark eyes shifted to find his form. His expression was troubled. Yes, her people knew of the atrocities committed by the Empire of old – but she never thought that she would actually stand upon that ground, where such horrors unfolded. The Priestess’s eyes went to her feet, and then to the cold cavern floor beneath them.

Her gaze softened with sudden understanding.

As the Jedi General advised them not to harm the spirits, Suna was surprised by a feeling of calm. Turning, she came to see that a woman with flame-colored hair had joined them. She seemed to radiate such warmth, like feeling the light of the sun on a cold day. With the presence of the Jedi at her side, the Priestess finally stood up straight – feeling a renewed sense of confidence and spirit.

Using her empathic connection, she closed her eyes and attempted to make contact with the spirits.

“If you can draw the spirits with your light, please do. They need a beacon.” The Priestess spoke calmly.

Letting the palms of her hands open in a gesture of welcome, she waited for a moment. A congregation of spirits began to form – gathering slowly within the opening of the mine that bore down deep into the surface of their home. It was the sacred place they had unwillingly given their lives. Suna wished to convey the fact that they understood now.

“Please accept our deepest apologies for disturbing your place of rest,” Suna spoke aloud, honesty ringing in her tone. “We did not intend to wake you or cause you further distress. Your lives were taken, but they will not be forgotten – I will ensure that our people remember.”

The Priestess formed the image of a memorial in her mind, dedicated to all that lost their lives during that dark time. She felt hope and peace, and it was her wish that the spirits of this pace would feel it too. And after a moment, the chamber was still and quiet once more.

Shadows faded away, for one last time.

 

[Roona Osmari]

Objective: Wedding, protection detail.
Location: Umbara – Main hall
Nearby: [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Charlie"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]|@Pandora | [member="Wenwynig"] | [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

As she moved at Valkren’s side, Roona attempted to keep her posture straight but not rigid. However, her movements felt unnatural somehow, it was odd pretending to be wedding guests. Nice clothing and drinks in hand and smiling faces – the Sergeant and the Colonel fit in quite well, in terms of appearance at least. But, the presence of their earpieces kept them firmly grounded in their work.

Roona made a show of adjusting the skirt of her dress as Valkren spoke to the others. However, her sharp eyes were studying the crowd. Of course, it was quite possible that the enemy was already here. It was easy to slip into a disguise, they knew that well enough from tonight’s experience. There were guests conversing happily, eagerly waiting for the couple to walk the aisle.

Music started to play, a cue for guests to begin moving towards their seats.

She glanced sidelong at Valkren, unable to keep the smile from appearing on her face. Her arm still locked with his, she moved just a touch closer. Just act natural. Had they been alone, perhaps she would have stood to kiss him on the cheek. But, before she could respond, there were voices in their earpieces again.

Turning, she could see the crowd shuffling as an assassin was revealed and restrained by two Rangers.

Needless to say, her first instinct was to jump in and assist… but she realized that it would also mean blowing their cover. “Oh my,” She feigned surprise, placing a hand on her chest. It might have been a rather unconvincing performance, so she moved closer to Valkren, as if frightened.

Sea green eyes moved to the door where the bride had planned to make her entrance – still locked up tight. The commotion would likely complicate the wedding plans; perhaps even put a stop to the even entirely. Roona knew that love was strong, but was a wedding truly an occasion to risk life and death?

 

[Audren Sykes]

Objective: 3 - Void Wings
Location: Ghost Nebula, onboard the Nephilim corvette Faradrim
Post: 4

The corvette's engines lit up and the vessel began gaining speed. Instead of banking into a wide turn - growing wider as speed increased - the engines themselves pivoted and simply rotated the ship almost in place. It was a maneuver the multi-limbed Codru-Ji pilot was almost uniquely qualified for, involving multiple sets of controls that not many could have manipulated simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Audren was mentally plotting firing vectors. Just as the pilot had to plot an intercept course not to where the target ship was but to where it would be, the firing vectors had to account for the ship's position, direction, and speed in relation to the target. Theoretically the targeting computer could handle all of that, but the missile had first priority. The closer they got to the freighter, the quicker the computer could confirm a targeting solution, and the quicker the guns could be brought to play.

The stealth systems the Faradrim sported were good, but they weren't a cloaking device. The closer they got the more likely that the freighter would spot them on sensors. It was obvious when that happened...the wobble happened first, then an abrupt change in the vector. Not ten seconds later, there was another change in direction. The reason was obvious: the first would have kept them within the gravity well for longer and they had to choose between the target they could see and the ones that would inevitably be joining them.

By now they were well-within range for the targeting computer to make a solid solution. Still the captain didn't give the order. He was tempted to glance over, but could sense that she was calculating and didn't want to screw that up. Finally she spoke.

"Fire guns. Visual targeting only."

Even as unexpected as the instructions were, it took Audren barely two seconds to follow the order. Quad turbolaser laser beams lanced from the corvette and splashed across the freighter's shields, causing it to start juking and slowing it's forward flight. Follow-up blasts came close, but didn't do more than graze the shields.

"Since you already have the targeting computer up, Master Sykes, please use it to launch a missile."

"Bringing targeting computer online, waiting for solution, captain. Firing."

They'd gotten close enough that the missile lock was nearly instantaneous, but were far enough away that the juking didn't really affect the locking capabilities. Prime distance. As soon as the lock tone sounded, the firing button was hit and a single missile launched from the larger ship. There was barely any time before it slammed through the weakened shields and into the freighter....but it didn't explode. A dud, one of those rare exceptions that made it through the QA production process. A few more shots from the guns, none of which hit. Seconds later, the ship reached the edge of the grav well and vanished into hyperspace.