[First Order] Boom Crunch

[Natasi Fortan]

​

It was not for the first time that Natasi Fortan woke up with a start, enveloped in a suffocating darkness, from some unfamiliar sound. She lay, disoriented, for a few moments, lost in the bizarre sounds and unfamiliar smells that were assaulting her at this moment, and then pushed up onto one elbow and looked around. As it turned out, she was not in total darkness, but in a room bathed in an indigo light. The light, First Order scientists had posited that the shade of light -- the frequency of light, that is -- was difficult for the Ssi-Ruuk to see and process, so they had improvised shades and films to put over the emergency lights in the tunnels. It was eerie, and strange -- a constant reminder of the threat under which the refugees at The Garden -- that is, the never-completed Garden Square Station -- lived, if you could call what they were doing living, hundreds of feet below the surface.

Still, they were better off than many other citizens of the Avalonia and, Natasi assumed, the other major cities on the capital. Details were sketchy, at best, thanks to the saurian invaders' ruthlessly efficient dispatching of the planetary communications. But in the nine days since the Ssi-Ruuk had invaded, there were estimates that uwpards of twenty percent of the city's population was either enteched or awaiting entechment in the massive Ssi-Ruuk entechment facility that currently desecrated Victory & Memorial Park. Another percentage were dead -- hovering around eight percent, per the most recent estimates. That left nearly seventy percent that had fled to the underground or other emergency shelters, evacuated the city, or were missing in action.

There would be inquiries, no doubt, if the First Order survived this offense. All branches had egg on their faces, not least of all the Government, for discounting the threat of the Ssi-Ruuk in the first place; the Security Bureau, for advising that the Ssi-Ruuk fleet would be too busy protecting their entechment processes in the Endor region of the galaxy to split their forces to attack anywhere else; and the military division, for the breakdown in military communication. But while these institutions would face scrutiny, the men and women who made them up -- particularly the Navy and Stormtrooper Corps -- had acquited themselves admirably. Elements of the 2nd Fleet, left behind to defend the capital, had delayed the Ssi-Ruuk invasions long enough to give the citizens of Dosuun a fighting chance -- to evacuate into the countryside, to seek shelter, to form resistance cells -- and sacrificed much for their trouble. But the Ssi-Ruuk had come in numbers almost too large to contemplate, and certainly more than could ever have been expected. That the shell of the 2nd Fleet -- minus the Concordia -- had managed to delay the invasion had already become First Order legend, the tales of bravery and sacrifice being passed along the tunnels of the Avalonia Underground by the refugees that took shelter there.

Still, there would be wigs on the green before it was all said and done. Natasi could take comfort, at least, in the fact that Supreme Leader was safe and sound in a nearly impenetrable fortress in the north. Cousin Pierce and Colonel von Brinkerhoff, with some pilots, had commandeered Breakriver as a hidden base from which to run raids. A second, city-based resistance cell had been created, as well as several smaller, mostly-civilian shelters around the city. Couriers -- runners, really, as they rarely carried things so much as strategic messages and orders, though they occasionally ventured out for supplies in the form of preserved food, weapons, and medicine. It was amazing how well organized they were, and how quickly, until Natasi thought about it. Then it became obvious: when the chips were down, the First Order got the job done.

Natasi pushed the blanket off her and sat up, then climbing to her feet. Rank had its privileges, indeed; while most everyone slept on the floor in the tunnels -- and were grateful for it -- Natasi had a small utility closet off a small security office to herself, where a disused sofa had been wedged hap-hazardly inside. The security office had become her office and the command center-cum-situation room, with paper maps -- paper! -- scrawled with notes and lines and shading.

It was old school, but it was the best they could do in the circumstances.

Natasi worked her feet into her boots and looked around the office as she pushed the door open and emerged from the closet. "Anything new?" she murmured to the watch commander, who was sitting by the short-range radio on the far side of the room. Short-range radio was the only communication that worked without the transmitters and satellites that the Ssi-Ruuk had destroyed.

"No, ma'am. But we're expecting Barineker back before dawn."

Natasi approached an indigo lamp and held her wrist up so she could see the face. 3:30 -- in the morning, apparently. She glanced longingly back towards her makeshift bed which, for all its cheap, scratchy upholstery, was at least soft and warm, but decided that she would walk about. She picked up her holster and strapped her blaster to her thigh. "Thank you. I'll be... around, if anything comes up," she murmured to the watch commander. Her office was centrally located, so as had become her habit over the past week to make a loop down the tunnel, to where the trains had been stopped as a barrier against encroaching Ssi-Ruuk, then back down to where it had happened at the other end.

The Garden was the shelter site of many, including -- in addition to several dozen stormtroopers who had bee on patrol in the city during the evacuation and countless civilians of varying utility in military affairs -- some notable names: [member="Rolf Amsel"], who was recovering from injuries sustained during the early battles of the Ssi-Ruuk invasion; [member="Irajah Ven"], a woman with whom Natasi was not very familiar yet; [member="Halcyon Greenslade"], a First Order soldier assigned to security and the occasional reconnaisance mission; and she had seen [member="Marzena Choi"] in the mix as well. Natasi was loathe to deploy her as an asset in case something should happen to her.

Still. Action had to be taken if the citizens here were to survive, and Natasi had plans. She just needed to know that the other assets were ready to assist so they could put their plans in motion. Nine days had given the Ssi-Ruuk such an advantage, and the First Order had planned efforts in the Bakura theater to be nearly a month. If the resistance on Dosuun didn't act, the First Order fleet would return to nothing but ashes, and their former citizens enteched into a new wing of the Ssi-Ruuk war machine. It would only be possible, Natasi reflected, over her own dead body. But she suspected that the Ssi-Ruuk would't let that stop them.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy2WDT3FovA[/media]​

​

In the nine days since the Ssi-Ruuk had seized the planet, the Ambassador found herself playing an all too familiar role. Runner, courier, and otherwise playing the all important messenger. She volunteered to do it this time, unlike before with the Rufigioni and Curovao families back on Brentaal IV where she'd been volunteered. Indigo, who knew that that would be the color to save the day? No longer dressed in her fine gowns and delicate jewelry. Valessia had long since disposed of those and taken to blaster vests and combat pants where she could find them. Her carbine was strapped against her back as she kept the vital Resistance document close to her. She wasn't too far from the Garden now, and they had managed to get some form of code off to Prosperia. "Shhhh," she told the men behind her as she carefully peeked out around the corner, aside from vital strategic information that the Grand Moff [member="Natasi Fortan"] had been needing for days now. Valessia was with a group of guards, guards who had been with the Grand Moff's family. Namely the two younger of the Yvarro line. Ryssa and Ariel, ages eleven and four and the two girls were scared out of their minds, Ariel was no older than Valessia's own daughter Riona who was safely tucked away on Tygara with her mum Siobhan. For that, Valessia was grateful as she knelt down to lift Ariel into her arms.

The girls had been at school when everything happened. Guards got to them as soon as they could, but the Imperial Academy had been one of the first targets unfortunately. It had not been enough to attack the adults and desecrate their dead, but the bloody scales went after the First Order's young. Ryssa was holding a blaster pistol and looked scared holding it too. "We go on my word," she whispers to Ryssa and the guards form up, and they wait, they wait in the Underground. Valessia had been a crafty little devil in connecting Prosperia and Avalonia together, it's a shame Victoria's underground wasn't completed, but then Victoria was home to the war college and naval base. She had no doubt in her mind the men and women of the military would be able to get some form of communication going.

"Three, two, one," Valessia nodded and the group rushed out from cover and down the tracks rolling up against the train, a went to Ariel's head. "You're okay," she told the toddler who was too scared to make a sound. The all too familiar sound of the Ssi-Ruuk's clicking could be heard, and if Valessia's patched up arm and shoulder were of any indication. Neither one of the two girls could afford to get caught up in a match with them. Setting Ariel down, she watched as Ryssa held her younger sister, Valessia knew they weren't too far from Natasi's location now, it would be run down past the trains. Searching her vest she pulled out a fractured compact mirror and glinted it's indigo filtered light toward the Garden.

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena Choi sat up slowly, her hand rose to rub the side of her neck. She missed the comfort and warmth of her bed, and her body ached from sleeping on the ground, but she did have a thick wool blanket. It certainly wasn’t much, but it was more than some had. With bleary eyes, she gazed out across the sea of sleeping forms. People were curled up on the cold ground, some were huddled together, and others attempted to find warmth beneath whatever stray materials they could find. Times were tough for those that made their home in the Garden.

It was a far cry from the life she knew, and she had lived the first few days here in shock. However, the numb sense of disbelief had melted away to reveal the harsh reality they all faced. Indeed, the outlook was quite grim. Still, no matter how dark the situation seemed here in the underground, she was sure that the world above was far worse. It was a frightening thought.

Turning to her side, a small smile found her face at the sight of a sleeping child.

During her first frightening moments here, she had looked down to find a small boy clinging to her skirt. He had been separated from his family during the evacuation of the city. In the nine days spent together, the two had formed a bond. Each day, they ventured through the station, and searched for his mother, father, and siblings. She had learned that his name was Nicholas, he was four and a half, and lived in Avalonia. The company of this young boy had given her a sense of purpose, and a much needed distraction.

Marzena gently woke him with a hand upon his shoulder. “Nicholas, I have to leave for a little while. But I’ll be back by the time you wake up. Stay here.” She said soothingly, and placed her blanket over him. She waited until he had closed his eyes again, and then stood to her feet. The pop star was now without her expensive outfits and designer shoes, she had been forced to adapt to their new living conditions. Her current ensemble included a pair of utility trousers, a large shirt, vest, and rugged boots. She also had a belt, complete with a holster for the blaster pistol that she carried with her.

She wondered what [member="Ludolf Vaas"] would think, if he could see her now. She missed him dearly, and prayed daily for his safety. But for once, Marzena was thankful that the Supreme Commander was away from Dosuun. She knew that Ludolf would not want her or their baby to come to harm, but if things didn’t change…he would not have a home to return to. And Marzena didn’t want to muse about what kind of future that would mean for her and their child.

It would be a terrible fate, to be sure.

There were many reasons to fight, even if she was not as skilled or brave as the others. She would contribute in any way she could. For now, that duty included going out on patrol, and it was nearly time. Deep down, she liked to think that the Supreme Commander would be proud of her. It was a thought that helped get her through the day.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Beka Barineker had been sitting in the front of a derailed subway car, crouched behind the conductor's seat, almost certainly hidden from view of any saurian eyes peering her way. She was just about finished running a status report from Falcon Point on their readiness and assets, but an unforeseen delay had caused her to miss the window where access to the Garden would be assumed safe. So while she was technically in the tunnels, reports suggesting increased scale patrols of this point -- one of the rare sections of the underground that was actually exposed to the city -- had been seen. The Runners had devised a code of obscure symbols to communicate with each other, and Beka had discovered in the location suggested by a symbol scratched into a rail track nearby that they had pieced together a scheduled of these patrols. Beka wouldn't miss the opportunity to corroborate the data ifs he could, and she also wanted to stay out of sight in case she had been trying to get into the tunnels while the saurians were patrolling.

Any wrong move would be catastrophic.

The young Security Bureau agent stared at the mostly-in-tact mirror which she had been able to reposition to show her the lay of the land outside, when a flicker of -- something -- caught her eye. She blinked herself into focus and narrowed her gaze, her heart pounded. When she saw the signal, she immediately recognized the indigo filtered light. It's one of us.

Beka shifted immeasurably, placing her pinlight flush with the armrest of the seat, pointing out the shattered window and into the secluded area where the first signal had come. She was about to signal when she caught another glimpse of movement in the mirror. Hulking lizards prowling above [member="Valessia Brentioch"]'s position, on the overpass above where the signal had come from. She gasped and quickly signaled: DANGER SHELTER NOW

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Valessia caught the glimpse of the signal: Danger Shelter Now.

Shelter. Valessia looked around, there wasn't much they could do right now, they were trapped. The overpass above them was now crawling with the all familiar sound of Ssi-Ruuk clicking. They were out in the open and the underpass was their only shelter, she instructed the girls and guards to crawl up to the space between. In her satchel she had priority information from Prosperia regarding the Resistance there it was carefully held together by the First Order flag. The planetary defense cannon that they had gotten from Archangel, they were getting closer to accessing it.

Not just that, those in Prosperia were also looking to take over the outpost surrounding the cannon. The idea was to break one of the cannons free to give room to what little naval power still rested at Dosuun, if any. Without communication to Victoria, Kalast or even Finalizer City there was no telling what military power they did possess outside of the planetary defense cannon which to be quiet honest. Was most likely not even completely done being built, still they had try, didn't they? Valessia's concentrate broke when she heard Ariel's whimpers.

"Shhh," she put her finger to her lips looking to Ryssa and Ariel, but by far - the most important package here, were the youngest. Not just because of who they were related to but because of what they represented; the Future. She gripped the carbine and watched as the Ssi-Ruuk dropped down in front of her. She knew they could smell them, it would be impossible not to, and so she readied her carbine with the stock to her shoulder and looked down the sights. "Ryssa."

Ryssa nervously held her weapon and readied just as Valessia had instructed her when they first left Prosperia. It had taken Valessia the entire time to get to Prosperia and now on her way back. "Three, two - now!" She squeezed the trigger on her carbine, she and the guards fired first, "go, go, go!" Grabbing Ariel in one arm she slid down the embankment keeping the toddler tucked into her body. Ryssa fired off a shot or two as they reached the end of the embankment. The guards would have to be sacrificed, "go!" She slid Ariel into her sister's hands and ran behind them as she fired off behind them.

Valessia spied the derailed subway car and caught the images in the reflection, "Ryssa, keep running get to that car, now!" Spinning on her heels she drew from the force and used a telekinetic push to shove the Ssi-Ruuk backward.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv6GPwkT2wA[/media]​

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Charging forward she barreled into them, a claw dug into her shoulder. She cried out but kept her momentum, using the butt of her rifle to clock him in the jaw. Rolling out of the way of his comrade's slash. Valessia kicked away his weapon and grabbed for it, using it against, one and two of the Ssi-Ruuk. A third caught her in the leg, she drew from the pain and exerted another force push to give herself some breathing room.

[member="Beka Barineker"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"Fuck me running," Beka snarled as combat broke out. They would have to kill the scales -- all of them -- if they had any hope of preventing them from reporting on the activity here. The last thing they needed was more saurians prowling around the area and possibly connecting it to the resistance. She unslung her carbine and braced it against the window frame, lining up a shot on one of the Ssi-Ruuk. Her weapon, a silenced projectile weapon, was effective against the lizards, but ammunition was limited. In this case, its use was both effective and warranted. The bullet went through the lizard's head and it collapsed, sending confusion throughout the others.

Beka leaned into the sights of her rifle, scanning the area. The two younger girls were running -- that was good -- but the woman seemed to be struggling, and the two men were engaged in combat with the Ssi-Ruuk. She observed, watched as one of the lizards stumbled backwards. She took a breath, steadied herself, and fired a bullet through its head before it could recover the stumble. But the girls were approaching too quickly now; Beka set her rifle aside and went to open the top emergency hatch -- now serving as an entrance since the train had derailed -- so they could get in, then quickly returned to the front with an instruction to get down and stay down, peering into the battlefield and looking for a way to help [member="Valessia Brentioch"] escape, but it was no good.

From this angle, any shot would have a good chance of hitting the woman, so Beka scanned the rest of the field of view, picking off the other two Ssi-Ruuk who had by now killed the First Order guardsmen. "Come on, lady," Beka growled, following the battle with her scope raised.

 

[Kuzo]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OynRoSnDxkQ[/media]

Flailing. Falling. Failing.

Gideon

Irajah clung to the lives in need around her. She moved through the shelter's designated medical section, her actions numb and mechanical.

Less than two hours after [member="Boo Chiyo"] had left for his 'field trip', Irajah had received a message. One of her contacts, [member="Munin"], had potentially found a lead. Could she meet him? So far, every lead in the search for the genesis of the Virus had led to dead ends. False leads, dead ends and cold trails. So of course, with several days free before her ward returned, of course she had said yes. Hopeful, that they would find something. But not really expecting to. After all, everything else had led to nothing more than more questions.

She had been wrong. About everything.

Project Gideon

She shook her head, an almost violent motion. The words had been circling through her head since Gap Nine. Tiny. Insidious.

Coming back to Dosuun hadn't been difficult. In truth, she had practically fled here. She had hoped, intended, to force her life back in to it's normal patterns. If she could get back to the 'new' normal that she and Boo had been building, maybe the dark epiphanies she had uncovered wouldn't seem so bad. Maybe, just maybe, she could recover something of herself. Something without the shadow of Project Gideon and it's implications looming over her. She could parse them out, deal with them. Find an equilibrium.

Instead she had returned to an empty apartment. She had not slept that night. She had shut the doors. Shut off the lights. She had too much pride to pull the sheets above her head. So quietly she waited- but catharsis was not forthcoming.

And then, the Ssi-Ruuk had come, and any chance at understanding within the silence had vanished.

Irajah looked exhausted- but then, so did everyone. Her usual neat, long sleeved tunic was torn and dirty. The first day, in the chaos and smoke and blood, she had torn the sleeves from it to bind wounds. Her skin was paler than usual, the bruises creeping up her jawbone and mapped, dark and angry, on her bare arms. It was easy to claim that they had come from the initial attack. The fact that they weren't fading? Well, everyone else had far bigger problems to deal with, and Irajah wasn't about to draw more attention to it anyway.

Gideon

No. Go away.

"Come on, it's time to change the dressing on that wound," she murmured to the next person in line. Keep moving. Don't think about it.

It was a convenient excuse- of course there was too much to worry about. She couldn't think about that right now. She filled her time, working ceaselessly as the circles beneath her eyes grew darker and darker.

Stage one. Denial.

 

[Maurice Dalton]

One Day Ago...

Maurice and a group of other technicians stood over a table in a ruined starship. For two days they had been trapped there, dodging and avoiding Ssi-Ruuk patrols. If not for their limited knowledge of the spaceport, they likely would've been found already. It didn't help that Maurice almost never came to Dosuun, save for the Commissioner meetings. That's why he was on Dosuun, because he had arrived at the capital early, and what did he get for that? A swarm of people and nothing but chaos in the spaceport as people tried to flee the spaceport or get to their ships. At that point, the more orderly of the people had eventually realized that it was safer in shelters, or merely fled the city on foot, but Maurice wasn't afforded that luxury.

The spaceport contained a military garrison, thankfully. They remained there for what felt like forever, but was only a few hours. Within the second hour, it was attacked, swarmed by the lizard people. But the spaceport was shut down, there was no getting out of there. Not yet anyway. Runners said the upper levels of the garrison were sealed off, but the lower levels held a tunnel system that went deeper into the cliff side it was built into and eventually brought them close to the entrance.

But the entrance was watched. They wouldn't be able to get out, not unless they all sought a quick death.

"So, we've got this," one of the technicians, Maurice presumed, said.

​

​

"So?" Maurice said as he crossed his arms. The suit that he wore normally was gone. All that he wore was a black shirt and coat and two slugthrowers, borrowed from the military garrison's upper level armouries in the earlier confusion of the week.

"They've got sensors," another one said. Maurice's head turned to look at him. "The aliens."

"Yeah, yeah, they'll be watching for our use of technology, right? So we use that as a distraction."

"What do you mean? How?"

"Someone's gotta run it."

"Who?"

"Heard you were a Commando back in the day, uh, Commissioner, sir."

Present...

The lights were out in the spaceport. Almost completely. After the first attack on Skye and Virgillia, the First Order had realized that the Ssi-Ruuk were sensitive to light. Naturally, turning out the lights would be the first thing they did. Maurice had a stormtrooper's helmet on, minus the gear as he hid behind one of the collapsed walls towards the centre of the spaceport.

In the tunnels were the group of people that were remained in the military garrison and in other parts in the spaceport, all of them gathered. Or at least, as many as they had found and located in the last nine days.

After departing from the group, Maurice had no way of contacting them. He had a chronometre, gifted to him by one of the citizens he had supplied a tourniquet for a few days ago. Time constraints. Anticipating the speed of the lizards too. Difficult. Pretty much impossible. "Fun," he muttered to himself lowly as he swapped to nightvision optics and peeked over the wall. Clear. He hopped the wall and ran.

It took him a moment to realize that there were additional steps. Steps echoing his, he slipped one of the pistols from the holster from around his midsection. He started to slow. The echoing steps did the same. A few metres at least, he figured. He turned. Nothi- something in the corner of his visor. He tracked it, and so did the pistol. It was a person. Circling. Why? And then they started running straight for him. The pistol wasn't silenced.

He holstered it as he started running off again. Nearly in the centre.

The steps weren't catching up, gradually getting fainter. I'm faster than this guy. Why is he even chasing me?

He clicked the commlink as soon as he got into the spaceport's central area that sorted where people's ships were located and how to get there. Reaching up into the skies were powerful rods, hardly seen in the dark. Really early in the morning. Why was he even awake again? All the commlink gave off was white noise, static, but that was enough to be picked up on sensors. Unbeknownst to Maurice and the herd of people that he was distracting for, the plan was working, but they hadn't foreseen every outcome.

That was when Maurice was blindsided and tackled.

 

[Roderik von Brinkerhoff]

​

There was an eerie quiet throughout Breakriver House, the personal getaway home of the First Order's Grand Moff, [member="Natasi Fortan"]. The ever present background hum of running electronics, holo-television sets, or even radios outside of a designated room, had all been replaced by an unsettling quiet -- save for the occasional launch or recovery of the few TIE Fighters still fighting a makeshift resistance against the Ssi-Ruuk invasion force. Roderik, along with [member="Pierce Fortan III"] and a few other surviving Starfighter Corps pilots had successfully secured just short of a half-dozen TIE/sf mark two starfighters and relocated to Breakriver in order to regroup.

The home was immediately adopted to serve as the full-time base of operations for the fighter strike force, principally for the remote and highly concealed location, hidden away from maps - but also because of the moderately sized landing pad, allowing for the storage of five of the TIE Fighters at any given time. It was simply the perfect place to position a forward aerial strike team.

"Do you recall ammunition counts - off the top of your head, by any chance?" Colonel Roderik von Brinkerhoff inquired with a hopeful tone in his voice, to Captain [member="Pierce Fortan III"]. The Colonel didn't look up from him the pad of paper he was scribbling in, while sitting, comfortably slouched on a couch in the same room as Pierce. Roderik was in the midst of writing an operations order for an upcoming strike against a known entechment site used by the Ssi-Ruuvi since their successfully established planetary beachhead. He knew that their fighters were getting low on concussion missiles, as well as mag-pulse warheads, but he held out hope that they might still have some to utilize later.

They had relegated themselves to strafing attacks for the last few sorties, in an attempt to minimize the hit to their dwindling munitions supplies. "I think we can spare a few of those EMP missiles for this one." He added absently before looking up finally, staring out one of the windows to watch the swaying of the trees outside. The sound of electronics, of technology, had been replaced by something that sounded both simultaneously calming, and concerning - the howling of the wind outside. It provided a natural ebb and flow of noise, a fleeting distraction from time to time.

"Where is bartoo?" Roderik found himself inquiring aloud, as he suddenly sensed the distinct lack of noise that constantly emanated from the small droid. His attention turned to Pierce as he flashed the man a grin. "Stirring up trouble with the boss?" [member="Hyacinth Fortan"] had been present at Breakriver House when Roderik and company had first arrived, and she had taken it upon herself to perform the role of den mother for the young pilots, including her son. Although it was equally possible that the little droid was providing sentry with another Breakriver defender-at-large, [member="Lilith Sedarri"].

They had little to fear from random discovery, although it was a genuine concern whenever the pilots returned from a sortie. Attempts were always made to prevent being tailed back to their home base, but nothing was ever taken for granted, and the periods after missions was always rather tense. In the case of discovery, they had only a small token defense force of Breakriver staff, and a smaller retinue of stormtroopers whom were generally out patrolling the wilderness perimeter.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

One Ssi-Ruuk hulk against Valessia Brentioch, he came in for the attack and she ducked underneath. He turned to get her with his tail and caught part of her as her wounded leg did her no good in trying to dodge the attack. Still holding onto her weapon she waited for him rear up and then she let loose a fury of slugs into his chest. It wouldn't put him down but it sure as feth would slow him down. Channelling into her pain she used her force push once more to push him back a little bit more, hopefully now giving her comrade ( @Beka Barineker ) enough time and distance to finish the job.

He was down, and Valessia was all too glad for it to have been over. She should have waited, but there would have been no guarantee that they would have made it. Still, she curses herself and looks down at her leg. Biting down on the inside of her lower lip she trudges forward. Getting to her feet she didn't bother looking back and headed for the train, one leg covered in blood the other was fine. Wincing she slowly got toward what she considered to be safe, "thanks," she says to the watch, as she makes her way in. Looking behind her she can see the trail of blood and looks down at her leg. Taking a breath she gets down to the ground and sighs. She had to find a way down to the tunnels, grabbing at her own shirt she ripped part of it off and tied it around her leg. The hatch toward the Gardens was open and down below Ariel and Ryssa waited.

"C'mon girls," she says motioning to them, and in the distance @Natasi Fortan's little makeshift command centre could be seen.

"We made it," a soft smile from Valessia as her body reacted to the damage she had taken. Ryssa held Ariel's hand as they walked together those in the Underground welcomed them, and Val checked her satchel the information was still there. Still wrapped in that First Order flag, Stumbling forward someone helped her back up. As they got closer to the respective office, it was clear the girls were overwhelmed to be reunited with their cousin. Ariel practically ran to Natasi with Ryssa handing the blaster to someone- well to an adult. Quietly Ryssa placed herself to get a one armed hug from her cousin, as Valessia. Well, Valessia made it to the command centre and looked to be in worse shape than she was a few moments ago, but at least they were here.

​

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi had stopped to chat with one of the 'regulars' -- a man in his sixties or seventies, who volunteered every day for guard duty and external sweeps, and who seemed astonished to see Natasi every time she came by. "Can't believe you're 'ere," he would say. "You're 'ere with us. Always knew you were a good'un." His name was Craig. "Anyone'd expect you t'run off, save yer'own skin, but you're'ere, with us. Gods bless, ma'am." Natasi had tried to tell him that it was no act of bravery that she had ended up here, but he wouldn't hear it. Now, he was holding out his hand with something in it; just what it was the Grand Moff couldn't see. "Can I tempt you, ma'am?"

"What is it?"

"Cigarette," he grunted. "Down'a my last one."

"I couldn't possibly," said Natasi, reaching forward to squeeze the man's arm lightly. "You're a darling to think of me, Craig."

"We'll split it, eh? I'll even let you take the first drag."

"Craig -- "

"Won't take no for an answer. Tell y'what. If'n we get out o'this mess, you ring me up and I'll let ye reimburse me from the stocks at Number 10, eh?" There was a flicker of orange light and Natasi looked around anxiously. Craig had lit the cigarette; in the flash of warm light, Natasi saw that he was looking at her, looking concerned and scared and hungry. He handed her the cigarette and she murmured her thanks before taking a drag. She had to admit it was a welcome luxury in a world of want. "Who knows, maybe we'll all have quit for want of a smoke. These dirty lizards'll add years to our lives if we survive."

Natasi smirked and handed the cigarette back, savoring the t'bac before exhaling slowly through her mouth and nose. "If we've quit, then you'll come to Number 10 for drinks and dinner." Craig snorted, laughing out the smoke he had just inhaled, ending on a cough as he passed the cigarette back to her. She took another drag and smiled at him in the low light, when there was a commotion coming from up the tunnel. Natasi gasped and handed the cigarette back. "Sorry -- I have to see -- I'll talk to you later, Craig."

"Be careful, ma'am," hissed Craig.

Natasi hurried along the tracks, picking her way over the people seeking refuge there -- some sleeping, some sitting up, others working or cooking on electric hotplates or cleaning their guns -- towards the sound of the commotion. The figures coming along the tracks resolved themselves into the figures of two of her nieces, [member="Valessia Brentioch"], and [member="Beka Barineker"]. Natasi's eyes searched for the guards she had sent with Valessia to retrieve the girls, but when they didn't appear, Natasi didn't need to ask any questions. There was only one reason why they wouldn't be there. She had no time to react before Ariel had flung herself around her legs. Natasi closed her eyes and half-crouched to wrap am around around her head, patting her shoulders. "You're all right," she said softly. "You're all right, darling." Her other arm wrapped around Ryssa in genuine relief and affection. She squeezed them both. "We're all right. Come on."

Natasi had half-turned towards the command center -- such as it was -- when [member="Beka Barineker"] said, "Ma'am, we need to dispose of those scales or there's a chance they'll be seen. Permission to take a team out to burn them?" Natasi nodded and glanced around. "Take three or four of our stronger men and take the bodies somewhere inconspicuous and -- yes, burn them. Take [member="Halcyon Greenslade"] and make sure you both have sufficient kinetic ammunition. And be careful." Barineker nodded. "One more thing, ma'am. Falcon Point is still operational, but they're in need of food and have requested a resupply." "Aren't we all?" asked Natasi grimly. Beka frowned and nodded, then set off to find Greenslade, while Natasi took Ryssa and Ariel with her back to the command center. "Sit in there, all right," she said, pointing towards the sofa she slept on. "I'm going to see if we can get a doctor to come look at you, once they've seen to Valessia. You're all right, right? Not bleeding?" She gave them a cursory look in the dim indigo light, eyes searching for anything amiss. When she was satisfied, the Grand Moff stood and leaned down to kiss Ariel on the forehead, then stroked Ryssa's hair lightly.

"There's some food in that file cabinet. Not much, but whatever's in there is yours." She stepped back into the command center, catching the eye of [member="Valessia Brentioch"] and then [member="Rolf Amsel"]. "We need to move a food run from priority three to priority one. Who do we have available to make a run?" She ran her finger down the list of personnel. "Barineker is busy -- Valessia, you're in no condition to go out. I've got a patrol with [member="Marzena Choi"] and [member="Viktor DuSang"], but perhaps we three can go on a run and move the next shift up for patrol." She sighed. "We really need more people," she whispered, almost to herself as she looked aside. "What do you think, Major Amsel?"

 

[Halcyon Greenslade]

https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E​

Adorned in dirtied and battered stormtrooper armor, and wielding a heavy flechette-launcher, Halcyon Greenslade stood some distance apart from the makeshift command center which housed [member="Natasi Fortan"], [member="Rolf Amsel"], and the other leadership elements that existed at the 'Garden'. Halcyon was there providing a debriefing to a small squad of stormtroopers who had just returned from a foot patrol of the outer-most defensive perimeter. The location was setup with a series of defensive layers extending quite a distance out of the subway itself. It was a military doctrine known as defense in depth, which afforded them some wiggle room in the event of discovery and attack. The civilians could, theoretically, be granted enough time to flee to a pre-arranged secondary safe location. Provided they had an escape route unhindered by Ssi-Ruuvi forces.

In the event of discovery, however, it would more likely turn into an all-out massacre - or worse, survivors could be rounded up for the entechment process, which Halcyon thankfully had little-to-zero knowledge of.

"Sounds like everything went smoothly out there." He wrapped up the debriefing by taking a piece of paper with some scribbled down notes, from the lead trooper conducting the patrol. It contained ammunition counts and defensive arrangement conditions -- trip-mines, vibration sensors to detect movement, and all other arrangements of devices that were being used by all of the perimeter posts. Halcyon would pass the report over to his commander, Major Amsel as soon as he could.

"Dismissed, everyone." The lieutenant allowed the troopers to depart for a well deserved but all too short rest. Most of them were muddied, and dirtied in equal amounts to his own armor. Less a matter of lack of discipline or polish, it was a concerted effort to minimize detection by the enemy and to break up the trooper's silhouette. These stormtroopers were down, but not out, and were determined to use every advantage they could possibly muster against the overwhelming superiority of the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium at the moment.

Halcyon turned away from the scattering troopers and noticed [member="Beka Barineker"] on an approach trajectory. She had demonstrated a tremendous deal of courage and bravery, in the face of increasingly adverse conditions. He had run several patrols now, escorting her to the outer reaches of the Garden's perimeter only to turn back where she strode on. She had on more than one occasion displayed a calm and bravery under combat conditions that Halcyon could feel confident in pinning her as at least a former combatant of one sort or another, herself. But he did not ask, for fear of prying. It was enough that she was competent and skilled, and with so few people, it was better not to look for faults where there otherwise were none.

"Barineker, what can I do for you?" He said in a joking tone, fully evident from lack of helmet-augmented voice emitter. His helmet had been irreparably damaged by the clawed swipe of an all-too-close Ssi-Ruuk days prior. It now rested on the footlocker next to his bunk, a testament to their as-of-yet miraculous survival.

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena stepped lightly through the sea of sleeping forms, her eyes focused towards the ground, to avoid treading on any hands or feet. It was difficult to be graceful in such heavy duty footwear; they were not the slim, elegant shoes that she loved so much. After making her way to the edge of the area, she began to make her way towards the command center. However, her dark eyes paused on a familiar face. She stood silently, watching as [member="Irajah Ven"] beckoned to the next person in line for medical attention. Marzena had recently met Dr. Ven at the medical center in Avalonia, when her regular doctor had been unavailable. That day, she had taken note of Irajah’s delicate features and petite stature. But now, the other woman looked… fragile.

Then again, it was certainly understandable, considering what they had all been through.

Slowly, she lifted a slender hand in a wave to the doctor and offered a warm smile. She wasn’t sure if Irajah had seen, for she seemed to be quite focused on her patients at the moment. Perhaps she would stop by later on to see how she was doing, a friendly word never hurt. It was time to move on. Movement caught her eye; she looked up to see [member="Valessia Brentioch"] appear with two girls. Even from a distance, she could see the scarlet color that marked the noblewoman’s leg. Marzena brought her hand to her chest, attempting to press back the fear. She walked on, trying to make her face appear even and calm. But on the inside, she was frightened and her heart was pounding.

Marzena came to a halt at the edge of the area designated as the command center, where [member="Natasi Fortan"] was conversing with other members of their party. She waited with her back turned, her fingers absently tugged at the hem of her shirt. Pushing out a breath, she forced her hands to remain still, clasped gently beneath her growing stomach.

Her eyes closed, focusing on the tiny movements within, and she used this moment of quiet to begin gathering her courage.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Beka approached [member="Halcyon Greenslade"] and inclined her head in greeting. "Morning," she murmured as she stepped closer. She was clad in a pair of slim-fitting jeans, a handgun strapped to her thigh and her rifle slung over her shoulder, a grey hoodie under a brown leather jacket to protect her from the cold of the rapidly approaching Avalonia winter. She pushed the hood off her face, allowing her skin to be bathed in the dim, dark indigo light, and let her gaze scrutinize Greenslade for a moment. He was a first-rate stormtrooper, from her experience, so she was glad to have him on this project. It might have been a waste of his talents, but it was important enough that they get it done and get it done right.

"Had to take out five or six of the scales on our way in," she said, jerking her head towards the tunnel from whence she had come with [member="Valessia Brentioch"] and the two girls. "I had intel from my run and Brentioch had precious cargo, and she got torn up pretty badly," said Beka grimly. "So we couldn't stop to bury and burn the scales." The practice, so named because it involved digging up an inconspicuous section of dirt, hauling the scales into it and burning them there, then shoveling the dirt back over the evidence. "Fortan -- the Grand Moff, that is -- said to take you and four guys out to do the job before they're seen." She glanced at her chrono in the dim light and frowned.

"Almost oh-four-hundred," she muttered. "We've got an hour til dawn, give or take. Are you supplied?"

 

[Halcyon Greenslade]

Halcyon took in the information relayed by [member="Beka Barineker"], nodding along while she spoke. Burning the 'scales', as the saurian creatures were frequently being referred to as by now. It was important to clear the evidence to avoid any unnecessary detection or further Ssi-Ruuvi investigation of their little plot of dirt. "Hmm," He pondered aloud before nodding one last time to Barineker, an affirmative to her question. "I've got us covered." Halcyon tapped the boxy shape of the flechette launcher, which was strapped around him, and dangling from the front of his body - just waiting to be raised in anger, against any invading creature large or small.

"Let me pass off some info to the boss-man," He spoke of Major [member="Rolf Amsel"], the ranking stormtrooper at the Garden, and commander of the Grand Moff's stormtrooper retinue, hardened shock-troopers to which Halcyon was also a proud member. "He will know which four to bring." Halcyon loathed the idea of recalling his small group of stormtroopers just returned, in order to provide a few mandatory volunteers for the job. Whichever troopers just happened to be nearby the Major, would most likely be the ones chosen to roll out with the runner, and lieutenant.

Halcyon frowned a little as he looked down at his own chrono device - a traditional wrist-chrono crudely taped to the underside of his armored gauntlet. A necessary addition to his outfit, since he could no longer rely on his helmet's internal time display. He motioned for Beka to follow as he started off towards the command center at a brisk pace.

"How far out are the bodies?" He asked as they walked, before reaching the Major. Halcyon caught his attention, offering up the slip of paper with notes from earlier. "Patrol reports for you, sir. Also, Ms. Barineker is taking me out to dispose of some of our new friends, orders of the Grand Moff. We need four - eh, five, to come with." He shot a glance over to the unbeknownst-to-him, FOSB Agent, which read, 'If he can spare it, we can get done faster'. It never hurt to ask for additional resources - even if they would just be denied, anyways.

 

[Progflaw99]

​

​

A ​veteran of battle, a connoisseur of combat, a soldier first. Rolf had dutifully carried out his duties as a First Order Officer, at one time leading troops into battle with a spirited war cry, but command had it's cost. As he'd been promoted through the ranks he'd grown one step further away from leading troops directly into battle as he'd done as a Sergeant, sharing in the dirt and grime of the battlefield. Now a Major, he was one of the few officers who pushed forward with the men, though high command certainly didn't appreciate his proximity to the front lines. Somehow though, he managed to stay engaged with his men, getting out to see them when he could, sometimes even donning a standard set of trooper armor if only to hide from his staff and visit the men on the ground.​

​

Screams. It had been the first thing that had hinted at something sinister afoot. The general bustle of the hospital did much to cover the initial shock and outburst but a shrill, piercing squeal had filled the halls of the hospital. Rolf had been left behind on Dosuun by the expeditionary forces headed for the Bakura Hex. It was a forcible push into Ssi-Ruuvi occupied space, they were finally going to push back and bring the fight to the invaders... or at least that had been the idea. With the main bulk of their forces gone, they'd never even anticipated an assault on Dosuun, much less on the capital city of Avalonia. The Ssi-Ruuk had been underestimated, perhaps a symptom of a greater problem; one thing was certain, there would be an official inquiry as to how this was allowed to happen. The Major had been present during the push against the Ssi-Ruuk at Skye, his shuttle going down hard as they'd entered the atmosphere. It amused him that he'd survived that ordeal with naught but a few bumps and bruises, or at least the landing. His shoulder still caused him pain, nothing he couldn't solve with a few painkillers and a tumbler of scotch, but an annoyance nonetheless. He'd gone toe to toe with one of the saurian beasts, his men describing the scene as if written by an ancient playwright himself, fated to join the epics of the age. Rolf on the other hand knew exactly how lucky he'd been in overcoming the beast, the cost had been high and wrought with pain.​

​

The small red ember burned with a renewed vigor as Rolf took a long drag on the thin cigarette. Releasing the built up smoke he paused, blinking as he tried in vain to read some of the chicken-scratch he'd noted down earlier. Was that a four? A nine? He sighed. Since the day of the invasion he'd regained full function in his arm and shoulder but the recovery process was far from over. He found writing particularly challenging. The wounds had been deep and only now was he beginning to retrain his fine motor skills. Taking one final drag he crouched, putting out the tiny ember and dropping the butt in a small wastebasket.​

​

*It's definitely a four.*​

​

Four days of rations, and that's if they were careful. Maybe. And that was three days ago. The Major had become the defacto chief of security, or at least he'd been put in charge of a large majority of the day to day operations schedule of the underground station they now called home. Looking to his left he spotted the figure of the Grand Moff. He had to give her credit, despite their limited existence and resources she still managed to project an air of authority and poise. A small commotion towards one end of the command center drew his attention from the handwritten notes attached to the clipboard grasped between his fingers.​

​

*Speaking of the devil, or perhaps our guardian angel...*​

​

Rolf noted the entrance of [member="Natasi Fortan"] to the small, dimly lit command center. Looking back to the clipboard he reached down, flipping the page over, searching for anything that might give him a better idea of what the situation was. He cringed as he paged past the personnel roster. It was obvious that it hadn't been updated for at least a few days. Understandable he supposed. Lieutenant Daryn had been gone MIA during a supply run to the surface, it looked like no one had been updating their records. The Major couldn't blame them, in the matter of a few short weeks everything had drastically changed. Limited to the technology they had on hand, they were unaccustomed to manual records-keeping. It was something he'd have to address. His silent musings were interrupted, this time by the voice of Natasi.​

​

*Food is definitely the priority*​

​

He couldn't have agreed more. Flipping a few pages on the clipboard he nodded, responding as he turned to the personnel roster.​

​

"It does look like the reserves are getting a bit low, doesn't it? Let me see..."​

​

Rolf turned back to the clipboard, his eyes scanning the page. Silently scratching out a few names he knew were no longer among the living he'd narrowed it down a bit. Of course they could always ask for volunteers amongst the populous but Rolf doubted the feasability of that, besides the majority of the survivors holed up here were civilians, they'd do their part, and many had, but few were veterans and fewer still able to overcome the fear of the saurian menace in their own minds let alone on the now foreign streets of Avalonia. Circling a few names and organizing he turned back to face [member="Natasi Fortan"] he spoke.​

​

"Well, we can move your patrol along the Western Tunnels to a surface run. It sounds like the scouts have located a warehouse about 5km out. Looks like a distribution center maybe. Hard to tell from the reports but it might be worth checking out."​

​

As he overheard Natasi speak of her patrol he took a deep breath. He didn't particularly like the idea of the figurehead of the First Order running around Avalonia with the Ssi-Ruuk about but the woman had insisted she do something more, if he remembered correctly her exact words had been something along the lines of "I'm not a wallflower" but he'd been under the influence of several different painkillers at the time so he wasn't completely sure. Now however he had cut the medications, instead allowing the phantom pain in his shoulder to help him cut through the fog of their situation. In some ways he even thought it might be helping him see clearer. Despite his own reservations, the Grand Moff's move to join the rank and file and go out on patrol had only caused the civilian rabble to adore her further. She really was earning brownie points with the people. Brought back once more from his musings he heard what was likely meant to be a self utterance but it had given him hope. Addressing the patrols first he continued.​

​

"We've got a group of civilians who have been quite adamant about helping out." Tapping the small ink stick on the clipboard he continued. "They call themselves 'The Guardians'. Rumor has it they dispatched a few Ssi-Ruuk vessels during the initial invasion, even managed to keep them at bay for a time. One of our patrols stumbled across their little resistance effort and convinced them to come back here but they've been itching to get back into the fight. I could put them on a close patrol route, nothing too high profile but it would give them something to do and help us bolster our numbers. We'll move the interior patrol of troopers to an exterior run, and then your group can redirect for a food run."​

​

He risked talking the woman's ear off if he continued but the Major didn't care. Trying to hide his excitement at the prospect of once more putting boot to ground and getting out of his administrative role, even temporarily, he set the clipboard down on a small table in front of him, turning to face the Grand Moff directly.​

​

"Your excellency..." He said, pausing as he attempted to put the words together. "...I could use a jog myself, too much time wading through paperwork and bureaucracy and not enough time on my feet. It would do the men well to see me back up and running as well. Perhaps I could join the men outside the wire, stretch the ol' legs?"​

​

Hoping against all hope he shifted on his feet, his eyes catching movement from the far corner. Another familiar face, Lieutenant... Hal or Haly-something. The markings on the man's armor were concealed though not intentionally, the trooper armor looked battered and covered in a layer of dirt, as if the man himself had been living in them. Pretty easy assumption given the situation they all found themselves in. As the Lieutenant approached, he turned to face him, reaching out and eyeing the report. His eyes flew to the casualty list first, then followed up by looking at contact markings, noted locations. Good intel but he'd have to go over it in depth later, or at very least pass it on to... well, he was pretty much stuck on that front. Briefly glancing over his shoulder he raised his voice.​

​

"Cromwell, Mattings, dig through these reports." He lifted the sheets over his shoulder, stifling a grunt and covering it up with a cough. He still hadn't gotten used to his injury, accidentally moving his arm a little bit too quick. Rapidly Lieutenant Cromwell retrieved the reports, letting loose a "Yes sir!" before returning to a map table. Rolf looked back to Lieutenant Halcyon, raising an eyebrow before nodding. They were right, they needed to get rid of those bodies, and sooner rather than later. The longer they stayed there, the more likely it was that the scales would find their fallen and be drawn to this place. An idea began forming in his head. Perhaps this was just the thing to get him out of the administrative role temporarily. It was low enough risk but high enough priority that perhaps, if he was lucky, the Grand Moff would approve of his accompanying. With a sly smile he looked back to Natasi and motioning towards the Lieutenant.​

​

"Well?"​

​

Rolf straightened his posture as he awaited either an approval or a denial of his request. Was it chance that the moment he had requested permission to get 'outside the wire' Lieutenant Halcyon had appeared requiring assistance? Perhaps, perhaps not, but Rolf wasn't one to waste a golden opportunity. In retrospect, it may have been better to ask once the Lieutenant had gone to gear up but what was done, was done. In a final act of desperation, Rolf gave her the puppy dog eyes. It wasn't something he would be proud of, but if he didn't get a breath of fresh air, he was going to go postal.​

​

[member="Halcyon Greenslade"] | [member="Beka Barineker"]| [member="Marzena Choi"] | [member="Valessia Brentioch"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

​

​

She still wasn't used to the weight of a blaster in her hand, but she made do. She'd seen the reports from where she and the others had originally been when the first talk of invasion had pierced the air waves, Breakriver. Resting her palm on the grip of the elegant holdout blaster she listened carefully. The silence bothered her, nothing like the sound of songbirds and the sounds of nature that she'd awoken to her first night at the small mountainside estate. So much had changed since then. Tucking her hands inside the pockets of her jacket Lilith Sedarri made her way around the outside of the home along the balcony.

Outside of the main house, she could see her breath condense in the morning chill, a beautiful morning by normal standards but she found it difficult to enjoy the scenery. Everything had changed in a blink and while they seemed to be safe where they were, it hadn't been easy on her, recurring nightmares taking their toll on her rest. Everyone was running on empty, surviving the initial attack had been the easy part, now it was up to them to survive and coordinate resistance. They'd managed to make contact with several smaller groups in the city of Avalonia but using electronics was a tricky business and long range communications were out of the question. Thankfully they'd managed to stay off the Ssi-Ruuk's radar, operating on a tight schedule of hit and run, or at least the boys had been busy.

Lilith had kept herself busy, helping where she could. The larders had been taking a hit. Already they had been relatively small due to the relative un-use of the cabin, but now with additional staff supplies had been dwindling. They weren't out yet but if they weren't careful they would be. Lilith had been in charge of a good portion of the preparations for meals. Right now soup was a staple, it made the most of what they had, supplemented by what she could scavenge from the local wildlife. Yesterday it had been some wild mushrooms she'd found beneath a small alcove, the day before she'd found a whole bushel of wild berries, all edible species too. If there was one thing Lilith wasn't, it was uneducated. She'd done a great deal of her free time researching topics ranging from wildlife to the philosophies of some of the greatest figures in history. She was glad she'd done some reading on fauna and edible plants. Even so, their supplies had begin to run low, the meals slowly but surely relying more and more on what she could scavenge. At night she'd been sneaking out and hunting rabbits. So far she'd managed to keep her excursions undiscovered but she knew it wasn't long before someone ceased accepting the excuse that "She had her ways" and began to truly wonder how she managed to bring in fresh coney's almost daily.

It was something she didn't particularly enjoy doing, killing the creatures but she knew full well that this was now the survival of the fittest. Carefully searching for the animals she would levitate one of the small pebbles she'd collected, always in a small pouch, and send it shooting towards the animal, usually able to dispatch the animal in one solid blow to the head. She'd become quite proficient at small level telekinesis and it served her well in her search for food. Even now she had just returned from one of her forays into the nearby woods, the snow on her boots indicative of a short walk through the highland. Four small coney's hung from her belt, the sight likely surprising to anyone who didn't know Lilith aside from her extravagant dress and elegant poise. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. It had been risky, making a trip during the day, at least if she intended to keep her hunting a secret but she also knew the Ssi-Ruuk were agile hunters in the night and with supplies as critically low as they were, she could no longer afford to wait till nightfall to provide.

Brushing the melting snow from her boots, she stepped inside, a friendly smile dispatched the bewildered guard.

"Nice day for a stroll, don't you think?" She said as she passed.

Her footsteps led her to the kitchen where a pot of water had already begin to boil. Warm tendrils of steam rose over the edge, dissipating as they rose. It was one of the small conveniences they had out here, a stove and an almost limitless supply of water. Setting the four rabbits on the small island in the center of the kitchen, she hung her coat on a hook and moved over to the sink. Running her hands beneath the water, she washed the blood and dirt from her fingers, she'd had the sense to gut the animals in the woods, burying their innards where any patrols of Ssi-Ruuk would be unlikely to discover them, though she hadn't seen any evidence of the saurians during her foray. Nimbly picking up a small knife from the butcher's block and procuring a wooden cutting board she began to get to work, preparing the coneys, careful to use everything she could. Once that had been completed, she began to remove what vegetables they had, cutting them up and adding them all to the pot of boiling water. She reached down to the control panel, lowering the temperature on the electrical stove, the mixture would have to boil for a while yet before it was ready. As she finished adding the ingredients, she perused the small spice rack, choosing a few that would go nicely with the soup on the stove.

Looking out from where she stood behind the island she spied [member="Roderik von Brinkerhoff"] and [member="Pierce Fortan III"], probably going over manifests. Gently reaching over as she cast her eyes on the younger of the two men, she placed a clear glass lid atop the pot to trap the moisture as their meal slowly began to cook. Soon enough the smell would likely begin to spread through the home. With the cooking started, she gathered up a small tray of cups, filling them with water before making her way towards where the two men were seated.

"Care for any water gentlemen?"

She let her touch linger on Pierce's shoulder, giving it a little squeeze as she held the tray out towards the two. She had yet to see [member="Hyacinth Fortan"], or Pierce's droid companion, what was it... Bartoo? She'd gotten to know the woman during the first day of the invasion, or more likely the woman had gotten to know Lilith. In truth it had felt more like an interrogation but she'd given the answers she felt were truthful without revealing too much. What the elder woman could read between the lines she'd drawn were anyone's guess but Lilith had become good at weaving truth and half-truth. She was careful not to lie however, lies were tricky things, hard to remember once said, it was much easier to provide only truths and let the listener make assumptions, even if they were incorrect, that way the folly lay with them, not with her.

 

[Rexus Wenck]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXb4yhfByUQ

Rexus Wenck gently tiptoed around the spaceport, watching behind his as the cabal of survivors he'd been escorting made their way to the spaceport. Rexus and many of his unit had been on Dosuun on leave, rather than on active service. When the Ssi-Ruuk invasion began, Rexus and the troopers he could muster, about twenty in all, attempted a defence near Clivedens before retreating into the rotting alleys of the red light district. Once there Rexus' men found a group of inebriated civilians and prostitutes, before they hunkered down. For the first three days, the group drank like it was 999 ABY. They had no contact with the outside, but did assist in harbouring runners for a few hours. But after eight days, morale broke down, there needed to be movement. An off duty naval technician offered to shuttle the civilians off in some sort of ship, should they find one at the spaceport.

So Rexus lead a forward advance group made up of stormtroopers and a few naval folks. "Boss, you hear that?" One of the stormtroopers called.

Rexus' ears pricked up, he could hear the sound of footsteps running. "Its coming this way!" He whispered, some of the technicians froze, fearful of what was coming. The stormtroopers raised their rifles, and aimed them from where the noise was coming from. The next thing they knew, they saw a figure being tackled. Rexus ran forward, covered by stormtroopers with their rifles raised.

"Hands up, the lot of you!" The lieutenant barked.

[member="Maurice Dalton"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi noticed Marzena hovering around the periphery of the command center and raised her hand to beckon the singer-turned-guerilla in. "Marzena -- come!" She barked the order like she would have commanded Sioux to enter her office. She turned to listen to the rest of [member="Rolf Amsel"]'s remarks, thinking carefully. Her dark eyes looked between Major Amsel and [member="Marzena Choi"], processing the information that she was being provided. She was loathe to risk Marzena, who was not a military figure. But on the other hand, she was a part of the community here. She needed food as much as the rest of them -- perhaps more, Natasi thought sardonically -- and it would not be fair to spare her risk and ask someone else to go in her place. Particularly when she knew how to hold and fire a blaster, better than many others that had sought refuge in Garden Square Station.

Finally, the Grand Moff nodded. "Marzena, plans have changed by necessity. We will not be patrolling this morning; we need to make a supply run. Both the Garden and Falcon Point are running dangerously low on food stores, and we need to address this problem before it reaches a crisis level. I know that you -- that neither of us wants to place you in danger right now, but with the state of affairs here at the Garden, we don't have much choice. Of course, I wouldn't make that choice for you," she murmured thoughtfully. "If you'd prefer not to leave the Garden for this run, you'll need to find a replacement."

She turned back to Rolf. "The same goes for you. Designate someone to be in charge until one of us returns. Give me a name that you trust. It might be a horrible idea to have both of us out of the Garden for an extended period, but -- we have staffing problems and we don't have the option at the moment." She scratched her eyebrow, inadvertently opening a scab that had developed there following an injury during her flight to the Garden. She sighed and pressed her sleeve into her brow.

"Where is [member="Viktor DuSang"]? He's on this patrol, too," Natasi said. "We'll take another man -- or two -- to carry the food we find, Balance willing."

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena’s moment of quiet did not last for long. Her shoulders jerked upwards at the sound of the Grand Moff’s voice, and she turned in time to see their leader beckoning to her. With a quick nod, she stepped briskly to join [member="Natasi Fortan"] and [member="Rolf Amsel"]. Needless to say, Marzena was most definitely not a soldier. The thought of her armed and out on patrol was probably a bit laughable. Or it would have been… had their situation not been so dire. At least, she was not completely hopeless when it came to using a blaster. After returning from Seoul, the Supreme Commander had given her some hands-on training. It was information and experience that Marzena had filed away in the back of her mind, never thinking once that she would need it so soon.

At any rate, she was an able body. Well, mostly able.

The pregnancy was apparent now; she had a noticeable swell at her stomach. But she was not so far along that she was encumbered, movement was still relatively easy. Of course, this was not at all the ideal situation for a pregnant woman. There were dangers at every turn, but it was better than sitting in the corner and feeling utterly useless. If the Grand Moff was willing to risk her own life for the cause, then Marzena was content to do the same.

She offered Natasi a quick smile, and Major Amsel a mild nod. Marzena listened quietly as the Grand Moff revealed that their plans had been altered. The thought of leaving the Garden was terrifying, but she found herself nodding.

“Don’t worry, I know.” She spoke softly; she truly did appreciate Natasi’s concern. “I’ll go.”

No matter how frightened she was, she didn’t want to send someone else out in her place. Her expression brightened slightly at the mention of [member="Viktor DuSang"]. The two had met a while back in the Garden District and had bonded over their love of fashion. At the time, she’d had no idea of the young man’s skill and his position as a guard to the Grand Moff. She looked around, realizing that she had yet to see him today.