Dominion Gloves of Metal | Dominion of The Redoubt | NIO

[Saaveina]

M A C H I N A
Q U E E N O F S W O R D S
Dagon Kaze | Djonas Val
// Excursion //

​

Skepticism gathered at the forefront of her mind upon seeing the unfamiliar face and Djonas Val 's words did very little to quell it. However, it was by the narrowing grace of time that the codru-ji bought into it. A heavy sigh saw her chest swell and cave in an instant, puffing out a breath of frustration that this man who was a friend to her partner and unfamiliar to her had absolutely butchered their chances of remaining under wraps for their excursion here. She was frustrated, though, beyond her lone sigh, it didn't show.

Her attention was grasped by the prickling alarm rising against the nape of her neck yet again and she snap-turned on a dime- propelled by forces beyond her control- to raise her shield in protection against the streaks of searing pain spent down the corridor. Steps backward carried her into the lift with her other, though her wolfish gaze remained on the stranger intently, almost warning him not to follow. The pieces connected in her mind and she reached down with her lower hands, grabbing the arm of the unconscious man and moving him about to hover his bare palm over the scanner to activate the lift.

And the very second Dagon Kaze was pulled towards them to safety, she would have done so- slamming the doors shut and plummeting the three of them into the belly of this beast.

​

 

[Dagon Kaze]

​

NEW JEDI ORDER | GALACTIC ALLIANCE | THE TETA CONSPIRACY
Djonas Val | Saaveina

"Could've warned me, y'know." Dagon picked himself up after Djon had yanked him with the Force into the turbolift. He dusted himself off while his mind ran all the possible scenarios on why his old friend had resurfaced here as an Imperial Knight. Djon had bid farewell to the Order and left for home. Tion, he suddenly recalled, and almost everything made some sense. His world fell under the Sith Empire and the Sith weren't really benevolent on Jedi, former or not.

What exactly had happened between then and now was the question?

Given the Sith, all answers seemed grim.

But all the questions burning on his tongue were for another time, most definitely not now.

The ride down was quite short, the doors slid open to reveal a fully equipped manufacturing hall with product lines, state-of-the-art machinery and...a speeder bursting away into a tunnel. Whoever those were they had made their escape and left behind an operational Cell-X factory. It fit the modus operandi - concealing the identity of those behind the scenes was more important than the chemical agent being produced. Just another lead that hits a dead end. Again.

"Just like every other time. No loose ends left behind." he muttered. Whether it was people, factories, firms, or anything else - they always were one step ahead even if it meant cutting off loose any asset. And the mystery just becomes more tangled.

Dagon sighed, his hands on his waist, as he scanned the abandoned area. Then he turned to his old friend, throwing a curious glance at his partner, "Well, this is one hell of a reunion, huh." he said, trying hard not to address the elephant in the room. Their last memory of each other wasn't a pleasant one, wasn't really friendly either. One of the many failures of Dagon Kaze. "So what're you here for?" the Jedi asked striving to be casual for no other particular reason rather than evading the awkwardness. He moved to one of the nearby computer terminals accessing and browsing through its content for any piece of a lead.

 

[Djonas Val]

Dagon Kaze | Saaveina

​

The door slammed shut a split second after Dagon had been brought into the lift. Perfectly timed, he remarked with an appreciative nod in the direction of Saaveina. Shooting a glance back in the direction of Dagon, a dark brow arced upwards. "No time." There had been an opportunity to, Djonas knew. Through the Force he could've reached out, projected an image, an idea of what was coming. In hindsight, that was the case, no doubt about it. But in the moment, Djonas acted.

It was all he could ever do.

Extensive planning... His dark eyes tightened, as if scrutinizing the man Dagon had grown to be. No symbol of the Jedi on him, stealth attire, but still the presence of the Force lingered on him. No attempt to hide it at all. "You still a Jedi? A New Jedi?" He quickly added. There was no love lost between Djonas and the Silver Jedi. If they thought they could intervene with the eradication of the Sith, then they were an enemy. Simple as.

It wasn't hard to determine that Dagon was scrutinizing him in return. He'd always been analytical, close attention to the details. The one who put the plan together so he, more akin to a hammer, could strike at the best point. This time however, it seemed Dagon's planning had wound up with him karking shit up again.

Not as bad as the last time they were together.

Djonas' hard features shifted, threatening to break apart into a softer visage, but just as the lines appeared, the doors to the lift slid open.

Back to business.

The silver hilt found its place in his hand again, and stepping out into the open space, he felt nothing.

No threatening soldiers, no blaster fire flying through the air to gun them down before they could even get their bearings. It was dead silent save for the trio of force users and the fading sound of the speeder racing down a dark tunnel.

"Fuck," Djonas muttered.

Raising a hand, he scratched the side of his temple.

I should've left him... Would've had enough time. He thought, brows furrowing before he shook his head.

Nodding to Saaveina , he said aloud, "Call it in. Lost the culprits, but we've got the chit they been flying out." Battlegroup Victrix was nearby, just outside of the cluster of stars ready to jump at their warning. The people they were hunting down probably would've fled the instant they saw a Star Destroyer's taskforce in orbit. At least this way, they had been unprepared.

The bare minimum.

"Huh?" Twisting about to look at Dagon. For a moment he deliberated about whether or not he should lie, or at the least be vague. But with all the contraband that was left behind, that surrounded them at this very moment, there wasn't really a point. "Whatever the substance they've got down here is -- it's being shipped out from a couple Imperial worlds. And some other places, I bet... Which is why you're here, yeah?"

 

[Dagon Kaze]

​

NEW JEDI ORDER | GALACTIC ALLIANCE | THE TETA CONSPIRACY
Djonas Val | Saaveina

"Yeah." Dagon replied while he plugged in his datapad into the terminal to download all of its contents. He briefly considered wiping the data off after, given his own reservations towards the New Imperial Order, but his mind wandered off back to the elephant in the room; seeing Djon after so many years as an Imperial Knight brought back both memories he didn't want to relive and questions he didn't want to have answered. Even if it was inevitable.

"Wait, you said it's being shipped from Imperial space?" he threw a glance his friend's way, a frown on his face. So Kable Shipping Enterprises' freights to New Imperial space weren't just business as usual. Were they even trying to front?

 

[Saaveina]

M A C H I N A
Q U E E N O F S W O R D S
Dagon Kaze | Djonas Val
// Excursion //

​

She was quiet as the two caught up and busied her hands by breaking her shield back down into its much more compact frame and sliding it back around beneath her jacket. Her staff was returned to its concealed sling as well, flashing briefly, the golden, metallic glint of its twin. Her curls were gathered and wound out of her face by her upper hands, finally getting the wild ringlets out of her eyes now that she had the opportunity to. Stoic, she waited for the doors to part, only nodding in acknowledgment to return Djonas Val 's appreciation. Her suspicion, however, could not be ignored.

Not only towards this undercover Jedi, but towards the operation as a whole.

It was enough to make her sigh as she stepped out, moving towards what little evidence was left behind, and drawing the camera out of her sling-bag to snap a few pictures. A call was placed to the command of the operation, the Knight busying herself with it as the two men continued their half-hearted, awkward discussions. She was thankful she wasn't part of it, really- she hated talking just to fill space. "Wilco, out."

Wolfish eyes flicked back to Djon and darted temporarily towards Dagon. "We're to gather what we can and send the coordinates in. Tox team will be dispatched after." Carefully she stepped around the busted, half-gutted equipment strewn across the powdered floor, "That means you should go before they get here." More clicks from her camera stole frames from the scene, though she was careful to angle and frame each shot so that Dagon wasn't apparent in any of them. The Jedi were looking into this, as well? Perhaps their insight could be valuable.

Having more of a mission mind, once she had tucked her camera away, she turned to a console as well, poising her hands across the entirety of the keyboard to type at breakneck speed after plugging in her own breaching datapad. It didn't seem like this was a particularly professional operation, as she managed to break through the weak encryption in mere minutes. "What's the Jedi's theory on this, hm?" Her head turned lazily, rolling back as she looked to the bruised man, "Or, more curiously, what's your theory?" ​

 

[Djonas Val]

Dagon Kaze | Saaveina

As every moment passed, Djonas was certain that his assignment to this certain investigation would continue. The style of stealth was beyond him. It was simpler to walk in, cause havoc, and let someone else in during the distraction. He was a Knight of the Empire, not an agent of the shadowy COMPNOR. In the future, Djonas was certain things would be different.

At Dagon's query, Djonas' head bobbed stiffly. "In some way. It's... Unlikely that an organization bold enough to develop ties in the Order will operate solely in Imperial space." At which point, a blank look spread across his ebon features. The look, the closest Djonas would get to an accusatory stare, held just long enough to ensure that the target of his ire was certain of his words implication.

"Still," he nodded in the direction of Saaveina, "I'd also like to know what you think." Slipping his thumbs into the loops of his belt, he leaned back, and leaned on a wall.

Even if he felt that his one time friend had a bad track record in leading missions, his ability to analyze was unparalleled, Djonas remembered. He could give COMPNOR a run for its money.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

NEW JEDI ORDER | GALACTIC ALLIANCE | THE TETA CONSPIRACY
Djonas Val | Saaveina

The faint accusatory shade in Djon's look didn't go unnoticed and a bitter taste formed in Dagon's mouth. Even after all these years-- not surprising. It had been an extravagant fiasco that cost the life of their brother. One of the many burdens the padawan somehow managed to live day by day with. Dagon evaded the veiled scrutiny by shifting his attention to Djon's partner. The wolfish curve of her eyes carried an indiscernible meaning to the Jedi; not even his analytical flair could shape a solid profile of her character. For a brief moment, Dagon hesitated on how much he wanted to divulge to the two Imperial Knights.

He sighed, unplugged his datapad from the terminal, set it inside the black leather jacket, and crossed his arms. If these operations had begun to sprawl over Imperial space, Dagon knew he would need the Knights' help on it, as much as he refused to admit it that would be the case.

"You've probably heard of Cell-X, right? Illegal, volatile...experimental. Otherwise, I doubt you'd be hitting a detergent factory." he stuck a thumb at the machinery behind him, "I've been tracking down its production in Alliance space for a while now--" the Jedi skipped mentioning the connection to the murders with the Krath symbol carved on the vics' foreheads, "--the ramping up in the production of the chemical hasn't been a coincidence, not exactly a 'natural black market response to demand' kind of thing, but rather all of it points to a deliberate, concise setup; what I mean is that every info I've gathered, every factory I've hit seems to be connected with another in one way or another. And it's not a cartel, either, no." Dagon uncrossed his arms and put his hands to the side, "Now my theory is that whoever's behind this whole thing got too much heat on them back in Alliance space, making them move operations into you guys' space."

His signature, lopsided smirk slightly curved his lips; a veiled jab, "So what's the Imps' theory?"

 

[Saaveina]

M A C H I N A
Q U E E N O F S W O R D S
Dagon Kaze | Djonas Val
// Excursion //

Rapidly the codru-ji copied what little useful data she could from the console, muttering in soft frustration to herself as she fought against the half-baked attempts to wipe it clean. "Not a bad assumption or a stretch of a conclusion," she said with a nod, "my own theory strides mostly along the same line, knowing what I do now." She turned her attention back to the terminal and reached down to collect her datapad, tucking it safely into her sling bag after her successful fishing venture. "There's ID numbers tacked onto the end of some of these communications, I'm sure they're probably burners- if these people are smart- but we can hand them over to the techs regardless." The Knight stated to Djonas Val with a tired nod.

She didn't answer Dagon's question directly, though it didn't seem like she had any intention of doing so. He had showed his hand but it certainly didn't mean she was going to show hers. She left the Jedi's question in the air for either her partner to answer or leave hanging as well, and in the meantime, she moved across the room, testing the closed door opposite. It rattled; locked. The Knight huffed and stepped back, torqued her shoulders about, and slammed her weight through it, forcing it open. She stepped through, widening her eyes to try and adjust to the darkness.

"Security office, Djonas." The codru-ji hummed loudly, shoving the roller chair out of the way and moving in front of the screens, pulling up the login screens, "We might be able to recover the camera feeds..."

 

[Djonas Val]

Dagon Kaze | Saaveina

The length of the day had taken its toll. To say that it was productive would've been arguable. Hours spent waiting just to lose it all in the space of seconds. There were no Imperial collaborators caught, barely any of the supposed performance enhancing substance. At this point, it was little more than hearsay. And no matter what Dagon, or those above them thought was going on, the Order relied on results. Of which they ultimately provided none.

At Saaveina referral of the techs, Djonas noted the state that she too was in. Were he not wrong, he would've read her as if she had a similar outlook on the days events.

"If they're Imp trained, they definitely will be." Likely with associated origin creations in differing governments spread throughout the galaxy to sow dissent between them and the New Imperial Order. But even so, even if he a simple Knight could determine that, it did not mean that those higher ups would not act on the information. False or not, investigations would be made. Man hours and equipment wasted on distractions.

The blank look on his face was reminiscent of him concealing his internal thoughts. Watching as she crossed to a closed door, mentally, Djonas eroded the bond that linked their minds.

So that he could sulk on his own.

"You should go," the Knight said to Dagon as he moved past him. Pulling back one of his sleeves and eyeing the wristpad, he nodded up to the ceiling - where the warehouse they had attempted to sneak into was. "The dropships will be coming down by now, tasked with setting a perimeter." Shooting a glance over his shoulder, he arced a dark brow up at him. "Although, I wouldn't mind having to not cover for you, with our superiors."

A moment later, he looked away and strode through the door to see the multitude of screens.

Audibly, he sighed. "How do you want to play this? If the brass want someone's head for the failure, you can throw me under," Djonas said while he watched the screens. "The camera feeds will expose that the Jedi was here." They'd also ask how the mission had gone south. The two of them knew it had been Dagon that had triggered the security measures. Slowly shaking his head, "And then they'd want to know why he wasn't detained."

 

[Dagon Kaze]

NEW JEDI ORDER | GALACTIC ALLIANCE | THE TETA CONSPIRACY
Djonas Val | Saaveina

Both Knights gave him the cold shoulder and their attitude, or rather decision, was non-negotiable - Dagon had to leave. As much as the Jedi disliked the idea of being refused access to the holofeeds, he did not protest.

He remained planted for a while, gazing at Djon's back as he followed the other Knight into the security room. Regret of old mistakes began to resurface in the cold silence. Dagon couldn't help but wonder how much had Djonas truly changed and how much had he forgiven his old friend, if at all.

Without a word, the Jedi left through the same tunnel the culprits had escaped the facility. A part of his thoughts left him wondering whether Djon's partner would let his friend free of consequences for leaving the Jedi to go free.

Imps were pretty rigid.

And unapologetic.

If anything bad happened to his ex-Jedi comrade-

Well, it won't. If anyone could get out of a sitch through raw strength, that's Djon.

He hoped.