Bounty Hunt for the Sovereign of Strength (Closed)

[Delsin Shaw]

The Crimson saber tore through the troops. Cleaving in pieces. Their screams fueling the blade and it's strength. The power of the wielder, a Dark Sovereign was all that could be seen from the man who once was. Troops, Sith troopers, Sithspawn, and all that had once been the powerbase of the man was strewn in front of him. He could see the burn marks of the barely cohesive blade. Tearing into them of an unnatural might powered and engorged by the Dark side of the force. A rage filled the man with such vigor. His might brought about the final end of all that would be the Warlords.

They were weak. They fell under the might of the New Imperial Order. They fell under the growing strength of the Maw. For the Order of the Few, was now of only one. A singular man upon which his entire foundation was breaking. The dust and sand of Tash-Taral continued to blow around the man. Coming within the Temple that had once been formed upon the Might of the Sovereigns and Prophets of the Sith. Their Failures would only be a speedbump for Vora. He would one day consume them all. He vowed it. He knew it to be the truth of all before him. The Order of the Few, The Rule of One, Rule of Order. All would come under his influence should it be without a fight.

Even the Sith would one day see his machinations come to truth.

"You are angry."
"Fuck off"

The Twilek sneered at the man as she had watched all of this. Her body standing before him. Tash was loving this rage from her adoptive father. All of this because of some falling out. Surely, that they would bounce back from this. Tis the way of the Sith. Becoming stronger from their deaths. Moving forward, she lifted her hand to touch her Father in his onyx armor. The helmet being caressed.

"We will find the Sith, father. They will be stronger with you as Sith'ari."
"No."
"What is it?"
"I have the strength to lead them."
"Yes. Yet you are troubled."
"I have chains that need to be broken."
"Do it. I will stand by your side for it all."

With a snap hiss, the crossguard saber activated directly into the chest of the Twi'lek. Her gurgled blood rising up her throat and out her red lips. Crimson painting her with the anger of her Father. Betrayed by the very person she looked to, yet hated. Yet the man, Vora, Reached his gloved hand up. Rubbing her face gently, began to speak words of pure truth and emotion. The only time she has heard him say something even lovingly.

"Thank you."

The saber ceased in function as her body was held up by the man. Holding her standing as she was dying. Her eyes wide with surprise and betrayal. Unable to speak. His gauntlet petting the crown of her head and running down her lekku. For one final time, he looked upon his daughter with a love and hatred only few would understand. Her body, slowly easing down onto the floor of the temple, He unclipped her saber. Having her hold it tightly within her hands, and against her breast. Grip yet fading upon the iconic Sith weapon. Laying her gingerly upon the floor, he moved to stand up above her. His mask looking down upon her, the visage she had always seen, She was borne into this world with that image, and would leave it as such. Her face, contorting with anger. However, Vora sought to bring her end with mercy. Reaching out, he clutched her heart, and held it in stasis. Her body left behind, while the soul, her mind, perished from existence.

Walking away from her, he moved out into the desert, to continue his work.

Alone in the Cold.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

S I T H
H U N T

Location: Space, Tash-Taral
Local Time: 15:11
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Capture HVT Alive
Secondary Objective: N/A
Equipment: Loadout 1 (Right Vambrace’s retractable Fusion Cutter swapped with Paralyzing Darts)
Friendlies: Eliz Krayt | Gwyneira Vizsla
Hostiles: Delsin Shaw

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited about this bounty mission. They were out on a hunt to capture Vora Kaar, a Dark Sovereign. He was very short of being listed among the top priority targets in the list. The Dar’Jetii was listed as a Tier Four bounty for The Enclave. There was a hefty prize on his head. There was very little known about the man they would be hunting today. It cost him several thousand credits to get some solid information about the Dark Lord and his whereabouts from the contacts the giant had.

He couldn’t care less about the reward if the giant was being honest, though. He never cared for the rewards in bounties such as this one. The test of his strength, his mettle, and the bragging rights it could have yielded if they successfully captured the Dark Lord alive, was what he looked up to.

Bringing along Eliz and Gwyneira would also prove to be beneficial for them all, particularly for Gwyn. Her training wasn’t completed yet, but she had made good enough progress to be included in the hunt. This wouldn’t be Eliz’ first hunt for a Sith Lord, though. The Supercommando was with the young lad in Barbatos when he lost his arm. The giant let out a sigh as he remembered Eliz’ injury as he looked out the thick transparisteel port of The Tauntaun, standing tall behind the pilot seats, right behind Gwyneira. Tash-Taral. The desert planet stood before them in the vast, empty expanse also known as space.

<”Watch out for radar. I rather not get blown to bits, lass.”> The Sith Empire was no more, but their vast armies still remained. Fractured across the stars it might be, but its remnants were just as dangerous as ever. They just lacked a bigger objective, and were used for the infighting between the Sith Lords now. Such remnants of the once mighty Empire of the Sith were located in Tash-Taral as well.

Their intel stated the target was on that planet. They were yet to pinpoint his exact location, but what they had was a start, at least.

The Tauntaun’s comms array would pick up a sudden spike of comms chatter between the remnants of the Sith army in the planet after a while as the ship flew closer to the desert planet. That was strange. Were they spotted already? Walking away from Gwyn in a brisk pace, Kranak moved towards a console in the ship’s spacious cockpit and began decrypting and analyzing the coms exchange between the Sith army remnant units.

The decryption took him more than a few minutes, as he was being extra careful to not tip them off to their presence as he tapped into the comlink chatter. Once he was in, he could hear everything. Hundreds of voices talking at the same time in a hurried manner. The giant grimaced at the cacophony of the startled voices. Quickly, he started to filter out chatter from units he was receiving down to only garrison units on the planet. The voices were reduced to a few hundred. It was better, but still was not enough.

He got way better results when he filtered out the chatter from NCO’s and lower ranking troops, listening to officers’ chatter between one another. This was far more manageable from listening to those voices speaking at the same time. He could hear intelligible sentences now.

::”He’s gone rogue! I repeat, he’s gone rogue!”::
::”What? But-”::
::”Engage him on sight and shoot to kill! He’s killed troopers!”::
::”Are you sure it’s not one of his-”::
::”Yes I’m sure! He’s wiped out an entire garrison in sector five! Mobilize your forces!”::

The frantic chatter between the officers went on. The giant tapped out of their com circuit afterwards. He had heard enough. He left his backdoor to tap back in and listen to the chatter again if needed. Punching several buttons in order, the giant brought up the contact reports of whoever that went rogue. Could it be Vora Kaar? He didn’t know at the time, but if it indeed was him, then why kill your own minions? Were they so discardable to the Sith, the lives of their men?

Having fought them and knowing who they were, their lives were dirt cheap to their masters. They meant nothing to them. Their single purpose in life was to serve and die at their master’s whim. It was a short and brutal life. He almost felt sorry for them. Almost. They were just as detestable as their masters. They got what they deserved, whether they were granted a choice in choosing their servitude to the Sith or not. <”Better to wither away and die than serve the Sith.”> Kranak thought out loud softly as he began triangulating the point of interest in the reports about this individual going rogue and killing their own men.

It didn’t take him too long to locate the general area the reports referred to. He managed to narrow the point of interest from a few dozen clicks to less than a click. The giant then quickly cross-referenced his findings with the planet’s map, using his GPS in his interactive heads-up display. He didn’t have to go over the entire planet from top to bottom while doing so, as he referred to the grid coordinates on the reports. The grids took him in a little over click range of a large structure half buried under sand. The readings weren’t exactly accurate as to what the structure was, though. Using the ship’s scanner to determine it also had the potential to tip off the garrison on the planet as well. He’d scan the structure and the surrounding area using his probe droid once they were on the ground.

The giant walked back to Gwyn’s seat as he finished analyzing the data. <”Gwyn’ika, set us down here.”> The giant referred to a grid coordinate a few clicks away from the half buried structure for them to land relatively undetected. <”Fly low and avoid any detection.”>

He shared the data he analyzed to both of them, sending the data directly to Eliz’ heads-up display for him to check. He punched a few buttons on the small console to his right side to share the data with Gwyn. She hadn’t had a beskar’gam yet, so no helmet for Kranak to upload the data directly into for her to view it. After the data was shared with the both of them, he turned around and walked towards the cargo bay at a brisk pace to conduct last minute equipment checks on his weapons and gear, leaving Gwyn and Eliz alone in the cockpit.

Sitting on a large stack of crates with his Paranaor in his hands, the giant began to conduct his equipment and weapons check on himself as he patiently waited for the Tantaun to land. They would be using Speeder Bikes to reach their target, as much as he would have loved to cross the arid, barren terrain on foot in order to deny the Dark Lord the realisation of their presence until the very last moment, they needed transportation for this.

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Another desert. God he hated deserts.

Even when he left his father's suit unmodified, it had a temperature regulator within. Keeping him from ever overheating on deserts or other hot worlds. Sandstorms. Those were what he hated most. The violent winds disrupted electronics, blinded through walls of airborne sand. At least in a blizzard his equipment would still work. He frowned as the planet came into view. That wasn't the reason he was nervous to be here, though. Slowly he flexed his new mechanical arm, curling and uncurling the Beskar covered digits. He'd gotten better with his new cybernetics, but the reason he had lost them before was because of a Sith.

Like the one they were here to hunt.

Kranak Vizsla was there the last time. Many were. But this was different. So much more different. Gwyneira Vizsla was here, too. The last thing he wanted was for her to be harmed, and yet. She wasn't someone for him to protect anymore. She was on her way to become Vod. A proper warrior, not just the refugee he'd met before. Aubin, his ever faithful Ursod, gently bumped his hand.

Right. Focus.

<"Any information on the Sith we're targeting?"> Anything more on Delsin Shaw , at least. They all had a dossier on the Sovereign of Strength. It wasn't someone to toy with or underestimate. Though, neither was Maliphant, and that still cost Eliz his arm.

<"We stick to the plan, right?">

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira Craft was following every instruction of Kranak Vizsla's, flying low and stealthily. She sighed as she hovered along the desert sands.

"I really need to add a stealth shield to my baby..."

As Eliz asked for more information on their target, Gwyneira winced. She was usually far more prepared, far more knowledgeable. This was a hunt she had been summoned on with such short notice, she had no time to research anything on their target.

"No..." She sounded quite embarrassed to admitting this.

The voices Kranak had heard through the comlink, of entire battalions fighting who was likely their target... Gwyn shivered as they echoed in her mind long after the com was turned off. Were she, Kranak, and Jac'Eli'Zirem enough to take such a Sith Lord down? The last time any of them had tried... the love of her life lost his arm.

Gwyn bit her lip, focusing on flying. As she landed the ship, her astromech Mini once again said it as it was. His binary beeping caused her to hiss, "Quiet, Mini! I'm concentrating!"

No. No, she was not scared... Well, maybe she was a little scared.

Yet, at the same time, she felt a deep desire to impress her mentor. She felt a rush from being able to fight alongside Eliz again, being able to protect him this time. She was desperate to prove herself worthy of being a Vod, and by the Force she would give everything in her to complete this mission set before them. Personal vengeance also left a hunger for this inside. She never forgave the Sith for destroying her homeworld and removing her lover's arm. The only good Sith was a dead Sith, and she would be happy to put this evil creature out of his wretched existence.

As the Tauntaun settled, gentle and hidden, Gwyneira stood up. Her equipment was inside her quarters. She paused, looking over to Eliz. Mini once again tried to speak, but Gwyn outright told the droid to shut up. Gwyn leaned down, kissing Eliz's blonde head before turning to fetch her equipment.

"I'll be ready in the cargo hold in a moment."

She gave Aubin and gentle head scratch and was on her way. She left Eliz, Aubin, and Mini in the cockpit as she entered her chambers. Where one of the beds was, she had a bunch of equipment and weapons all hung up, lying around, ready for use. Gwyneira strapped her load bearing system onto her chest, over her lithe, black leather jacket. She took a small arsenal of blasters and hung them onto her load bearing system and belt, alongside refills of all her needed ammo. She also strapped her combat knife on.

She left her stun pistol behind for this mission, more than unlikely to try to just subdue a being that deserved death. Her hands hovered over her Shroudsabers, but she instead opted for the average looking lightsaber next to them. She could sense the purified crystal singing in serenity as she strapped the sacred weapon to her belt. Then...

She reached for the weapon she was truly excited to test out today. Her sniper-assault rifle hybrid, the Distant Chill. Light for its intimidating size, Gwyn gently ran her hands along the weapon's frame. She had crafted this blaster with her own hands, from blueprints to building. This was entirely her creation, her masterpiece artwork. She was proud of it already, but how would it fair out in the field? Well, today was the day she found out. She slung the blaster over her back.

After pulling her vambraces on, she turned and left the room to head to the cargo hold where Kranak and likely Eliz were with the speeders.

"I'm ready. How about you?"

[OOC: Equipment List:]

Spoiler

Armor:

• MV-18 Force Class Vambraces.

Weapons:

• The Distant Chill DC-01 Blaster Rifle.
• Standard boring single hilt single blade lightsaber with a plain purified white kyber crystal.
• One BAW 57 Heavy Blaster Pistol.
• Two BAW 56 Blaster Pistols.
• Two Hekler'Kok FP-01 Pistols.
• LPD-34 Cracken Combat Knife.

Other:

• Load Bearing System.

Delsin Shaw Kranak Vizsla Eliz Krayt

 

[Delsin Shaw]

The blaster weapons Vora had made, wearing the armor he had designed. Using his own technology and technical knowledge of such systems, were now being used against him. The crossguard saber crackling with energy as it pierced through the air and into the chest cavity of one of his Lieutenants. Twisting his body around, and almost yanking the weapon from behind him over his head and back to be in front of him. The body would fall to the ground. Partly bisected from the weapon that had once been a symbol of their power as a Sith Trooper.

Round after round of blaster fire came at the man clad in dark armorweave. Dripping gore and viscous crimson life from him. The saber seemed to move of its own to deflect the directed fire back at its source for multiple foes. It was no speed that this man moved. No. He merely walked to close the distance as the trooper tripped over a fallen comrade. Turning around to run away from the Fallen Lord. He cried out for help. Asking, pleading, begging for anyone to shoot at the man so that he might get away. Yet all that was, is a bright crimson blade piercing through and through the helmet. Poking out of the visor and into the ground.

Saber yanked through the helmet and head, leaving behind a crater of destroyed matter, and seared metal. This fear, this agony, this anguish filled Vora's body with a vigor unlike any other he had felt in a long time. It had been some time since he had been able to let loose. It had been forever it seemed. And it felt... good. Liberating even.

"Dark Sovereign, I wish to serve you!"

Turning around to face a Captain. The Pauldron marked him as so. His helmet in his hands. Dropping to the dust and blood below him. He pleaded to be spared by appeasing to any kind of human side that Vora may have had. This man's entire squad was wiped out before his very eyes. Vora's saber ceased to be. The blackened boots drew the man closer to the kneeling, almost groveling individual. Vora appeased the man. Kneeling down with him. A hand gripping the back of the man's head.

Blue eyes raised up to look into the onyx dome and visage of the Sovereign of Strength.

"Sir, We only serve you. The other Lords are gone. You are the one Sith we seek."
"O' captain. I wish one such as you would understand."
"Sir?"
"I am promoting you."
"I- I'm sorry?"
"A Promotion is in effect."
"You killed my men?"
"Yes. To test you."
"I see."
"Do you?"

Still kneeling there, The gloved hand of Vora rose to the man's face. While holding the back of his head, Vora used his thumb and began to stick them into the sockets. Scrambling and prying out the Captain's eyes. His screams of pain and agony filled the air as the Sith dropped him to the ground. Hands clutching his face as they were no longer there. He would be blinded for the rest of his life.

"You lie, you grovel, and you are breathing my precious air."

Standing up, Vora moved around him. Gently placing a foot over the man's head, and smashed down. The first slipped with the man's hands. Sliding down to his throat and jaw. Snapping echoed from his body as the man may have gone limp in death. However, Vora had to prove a point. He slammed down again and again with an eerie calm. Removing his boot one final time, his masterpiece of the man's face and head was reduced to pulp of flesh, bones, and viscera. Looking at his blood soaked glove, he removed it and tossed it to land on top of the man's body.

"O' child mine, you so seek to serve me. Do so in your dying breaths of my air I so gave you in benevolence."

Kranak Vizsla Eliz Krayt Gwyneira Vizsla

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

S I T H
H U N T

Location: Tash-Taral, Several clicks away from Temple half-buried under sand
Local Time: 18:45
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Capture HVT Alive
Secondary Objective: N/A
Equipment: Loadout 1 + Goran’s Stand (Right Vambrace’s retractable Fusion Cutter swapped with Paralyzing Darts)
Friendlies: Eliz Krayt | Gwyneira Vizsla
Hostiles: Delsin Shaw

As he was in the process of finishing his equipment check on his weapons and gear, the Supercommando would feel the ship gradually slowing down as it flew over the arid terrain outside. With a mechanical hum, the ship’s landing gear lowered. With the tender judder of the craft, he felt the landing gears press onto the ground.

They had made planetfall.

A covert one at that. They were not intercepted by any bogies in the air, nor did they take any ground fire from any anti aircraft battery during their descent onto the planet’s desolate surface. They had slipped past their radar undetected. He could not help but grin, satisfied with Gwyn’ika’s flying. Avoiding detection was no easy task, afterall. Sliding down the large crate he had sat on, the giant walked towards the two speeder bikes tightly secured in the cargo hold of the Tauntaun to stow some of his gear on one of the speeders. Coming to a halt halfway towards the bikes, the giant glanced over his right shoulder to his rear. The pommel of his great beskad shone brightly under the fluorescent lights of the cargo bay. Turning towards the greatsword, the giant walked the ancient relic to pick it up.

His hand grasped the sheathed sword by its scabbard. They were going to be fighting a Sith Lord. Having a blade such as this could perhaps prove to be very useful during their encounter with Vora. After making up his mind, in a smooth motion, the giant strapped the scabbard over his left pistol holster on his long, black kama.

<”We stick to the plan, right?”>

The giant gave a casual glance at the young warrior as he entered the cargo hold. The Vizsla nodded. <”Yes. We subdue the Dark Lord. He’s no good to us if he’s dead.”> They still needed to locate the Lord, first. The Supercommando walked towards the pair of speeder bikes with Eliz. The giant would stop the lad as he grasped his left shoulder. Kranak leaned down before he spoke below his breath. <”... Are you ready for this?”>

He cared for the well being of all of his vode. Eliz and Gwyn’ika? Even more. The last time Eliz and Kranak were out on a bounty mission hunting for a Sith Lord, the young lad had lost his arm. He was concerned about the young warrior’s state of mind. And now they had Gwyneira with them. If something were to happen to Gwyn’ika, he wasn’t sure about how Eliz would react in a combat situation.

He also was not sure how the young girl would react if something were to happen to Eliz, or himself. She loved Eliz, after all. He didn’t forget her reaction when she found out about Eliz losing his arm. The way she had cried, feeling betrayed, having kept in the dark for a week straight…

”I’m ready. How about you?”

He straightened up before giving a glance at Gwyn’ika. The Supercommando gave a curt, approving nod of his head silently in response. He grinned underneath his helmet faceplate as he laid eyes on her numerous weapons and gear. Though she was carrying way too many pistols on herself. <”Hah, you’re packing enough heat to arm a small gang, lass.”> The Supercommando quipped. That much was true. Managing that many weapon platforms that would share separate munitions could very well prove to be counterproductive. Not to mention it would add unnecessary weight. The weight would not be a problem for this mission perhaps, but could prove to be in the future.

He made a mental note about teaching her how to properly gear up for a given mission with its parameters in mind. If they survived the ordeal ahead of them, that is.

Patting Eliz on the shoulder, the giant continued to his speeder bike and began stowing his Medical Backpack on the speeder. <”Remember, we are trying to capture him alive. Shoot to wound.”> The Supercommando reminded them both, making sure they understood their mission objective. He had the medical gear and the training to patch up any lethal wounds. If they caught the Sith Lord alive, he would not let him die under his watch.

The tie-down hooks clattered on the durasteel floor of the cargo hold as the giant untied the straps holding the speeder in place. His speeder’s repulsor engine whirred and whined softly at first as he turned it on. He then reached for the cargo bay controls of the ship by the steel plating to his left.

The ramp lowered with mechanical whines, revealing the barren, utterly arid terrain before them. Grasping the speeder bike by its handle, the giant dragged the speeder outside. The sand crunched underneath his armored feet. The repulsor engine of his speeder bike faintly kicked off the dust and sand around him; his kama fluttered softly in the wind.

Letting go of the handle, the giant reached for his utility pouch at the back of his warbelt, retrieving his probe droid. Its repulsors came to life as he pushed down on its power button with his index finger. It’s large optical cluster flickered to life, emitting a faint red glow as the droid hovered in the air in front of the giant’s face. The optical cluster faced the giant’s faceplate.

The giant then gave out verbal commands, setting the droid’s reconnaissance parameters. <”Loitering altitude: One thousand meters. Engage stealth protocol. Designated point of interest,”> With a pre-recorded movement of his eyes, the giant uploaded necessary mission data to the probe droid using his interactive heads-up display. <”Loitering distance from Point of Interest: Five hundred meters.”>

The probe droid confirmed the commands given to it from the Supercommando with a series of long and short beeps. The probe took off into the darkening sky above a moment after. The probe would initiate a scan of the target area; the half buried temple and its surroundings. He would wait patiently for the reconnaissance report from the droid. The giant would tap back into the Officer communications of the Sith remnant forces on the planet, monitoring it for any unusual comm activity that could tip them off to Vora Kaar’s whereabouts.

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Eliz let out a low, soft whistle as he approached Kranak Vizsla and readied up by the ramp. Find Delsin Shaw , get the drop on him, bring him in alive. The last part was probably going to be the hardest. A well placed shot from a distance would kill off most Sith. Taking them alive though? Aubin immediately got up from the couch, stepping beside the armored Chiss. At attention, as trained.

"I'm ready."

Right. The last time they'd been on a hunt together he lost.. His helmed gaze drifted to his arm as he tightened his fist. No, it wouldn't happen again. His real concern? He turned his head towards Gwyneira Vizsla , silently watching the girl as she finished getting ready for the coming battle. Mini was more than capable of heading their ship. What would she do? Could she handle this?

Could he handle seeing her get hurt?

Fighting a Sith wasn't something anyone could just do. Fighting a Sith Lord always came with a high chance of death. Even higher chance of being maimed. Hopefully they'd make it out all in one piece, but no one could say for certain what was going to happen.

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Kranak obviously meant no harm in his comments, but Gwyn was too sensitive. She silently turned to some of the crates and pulled her two smaller blasters off, placing them on on top the crate and turning back to the group.

Oh. They were taking him in alive. Wonderful... She should have gotten her stun pistol after all. She looked over to Eliz. Despite his helmet, she was growing used to reading his subtle turns of the helm. He was looking at his arm, then looking at her. Was he scared? Gwyn walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She nodded to the two as they left the ship and entered the desert. As an engineer who had learned all but majored in ships, Gwyn was no stranger to dirt a grime. Yet, sand was particularly abrasive for working on equipment. She was going to have so much fun cleaning the Tauntaun later...

She looked over to Eliz and adjusted her rifle, "I think I should ride with you. I don't have a speeder, y'know."

Even then, she walked over to Kranak. He was way taller than her, Force! Still, she rose to her tippy toes as she had to ask, "That's a neat drone. How does it work? Can you see anything so far?"

Droids were yet another thing she had studied at her academy. She was just intrigued. She also wanted to keep on top of the mission. Where was their Sith? What was the environment? Would she be able to strategize from there? With no helmet to cover her features, it was obvious in her facial expressions that she was thinking hard about this already.

Delsin Shaw Eliz Krayt Kranak Vizsla