Private Promises of Rescue?

[Darth Strosius]

Somewhere in the South-East Tingel Arm...

The Altorius slowly drifted through the vast empty abyss of space, relatively peaceful given the circumstances. Far too close to enemy space, I might add. Alisteri clicked his tongue at the thought and turned off the welding tool in his hand before setting it aside. As much as he loved this ship, he wouldn't mind if it were a bit more...complete. It had many missing systems, most of them fairly minor and not too noticeable. Unfortunately several of those 'minor' systems happened to include systematic regulators and even some cooling systems, meaning that a good bit of the remaining systems in the ship had a tendency to...well occasionally break down or malfunction.

Systems malfunctioning for whatever reason wasn't uncommon, such as the engines for instance.

Alisteri sighed and tapped his communicator as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Haxim to bridge, I've got the patch done. Fire it up and let's see if it holds." A moment of pause before the sounds of the engine's fuel line powering up, no catching or leaking in sight. "Hah! Success!" The Acolyte tapped on the panel that he had just welded, said panel covering the fuel line of course. "All signs are green, good work Haxim." "No problem at all bridge crew, alert me whenever you need another hole patched."

We can finally get out of this fething place. Seeing nothing but endless stars outside the window does tend to get old after awhile, even if it still a sight to behold. "Uh, Haxim? Can you report to the bridge? Our scopes are getting some strange readings." That raised an eyebrow from the Sith, taking a moment to pull his mask back on. Is something else broken? I don't do electronics well... Another sigh escaped him as he tapped on his communicator again. "Strange readings in what regard?"

"Strange as in, we believe that there may be a ship either heading towards us or trying to hail us."


Damsy Callat
Arlo Renard
The Battalion

 

[Damsy Callat]

Aboard the Chambered Nautilus, Damsy hurried down a circular hallway that led from the galley to cockpit. She was bound at high speeds for the latter with a buttered slice of honest-to-goodness bread hanging halfway out of her mouth. She was just barely able to bring up a hand to catch half as it broke off and began falling towards the floor. Mouth free of obstruction once she swallowed what food still remained in her palate, she was free to complain. "You're an AI! You're supposed to do math good."

The disembodied voice of U85-1a, nicknamed Ursula, chirped back at her captain from over the intercoms, : || Even I make mistakes from time to time, Miss Callat. What would you have me do? || :

"Follow your programming's what!" the organic exclaimed, breathless not just from her ongoing sprint but at the gall of her Artificial Intelligence unit. "This chit..." She trailed off to duck into the piloting cabin, then motion out the viewing shield as soon as she had straightened back up. "...is why you got it. That ain't suppos' to happen."

Another spaceship was far off bow but unmistakable in silhouette. And in the sudden warning chimes (which Damsy had muted quite a bit, to little more than a blinking whisper, to accommodate Kai's sensory preferences), that had rippled across Nauti's enclosed deck. Whether they had been quiet or not, Damsy wasn't when she cursed and bolted off to command. In hindsight, she hoped she hadn't caused the other Sithspawn much, but ideally any, bother. He wouldn't be able to hear her all the way up here though, unless he crept in to join, so until then she would continue her discussion with the AI at volume.

: || What is not to happen, exactly? || :

"The ship, Urs, twelve o'clock!"

There was a computational pause. : || You are aware we share space, yes? || :

"Oh, Ashla," Damsy murmured under her breath, turning half an about face on one heel before returning her attention where it had been. "I got that, yeah. But I told you to redirect us from traffic way before we could see 'em or, more important, they could see us."

Another pause stretched on, longer this time by a power of at least ten. : || I am afraid I cannot find that command in my databanks. || :

Damsy refused to roll her eyes, red-gold flakes still scattered across her ocean irises, a handful of Korriban souvenirs. Ursula couldn't see Damsy's upset, but Syreni could surely feel it. Ever more intensely as the argument played on.

Damsy fisted a hand at her right side, leaving it tensed for ten seconds or so before letting her fingers uncoil from her palm. She felt a little better. Some anger escaped that way, a much better dispersal method than the one Syreni was vying after: shocking Urs out of the nearest console. Controlling herself all the more, with deep breaths and slow steps, Damsy moved over to the pilot's seat and sat. "Okay good, okay fine," she sighed, too focused on not letting Syreni take over any more than she already had to notice a budding new habit. She really was adopting a conglomeration of her friends' quirks from Kai's phraseology to Dagon Kaze 's hero complex.

"Just do it from here on out, yeah?"

Although, now that she was thinking about it, it was a lightyear more likely that Syreni had implanted a memory that had never really happened to mess with her rather than Urs deleting code from her servers to do the same. The AI was a smartshebbs who had machine-learned to enjoy teasing from analyzing Damsy's personality, but she wasn't malicious. Syreni, on the other hand...

Thought we were gettin' along, she thought generally, though she wasn't sure she had directed it properly. Just as well, maybe.

"Tell me you have something on 'er."

The ship, she meant.



**
Arlo Renard | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

Into the cockpit ducked a rather concerned looking Kai, straightening to stand next to the pilot’s seat. The doppelganger had changed quite a bit following recent events. No longer a mirror image of Dagon, his kiddish new face was actually a hodgepodge of features borrowed from various people. He wasn’t sure if Damsy had noticed, but he’d stolen her cheekbones.

Anyway, Kai had been roused by the softly chirping alarm, then spurred on by Damsy’s increasing agitation, palpable in the Force. Peering out the viewport window, he saw the source of all the ruckus. The area they were flying through bordered on Sith Imperial space—well, former Sith Imperial space—hence why they had tried to evade other vessels. This ship might very well be a Sith remnant adrift, or crewed by pirate marauders scrounging the wreckage of a fallen empire.

<Do they have tractor beams?> he asked. Kai knew enough about space battles to have developed a dread of being hooked by another ship and reeled in against their will. Then, with a bluntness that might be construed as comedic, he asked, <Can we blow them up?>

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[Darth Strosius]

There wasn't a single thing stopping him on his way to the bridge. No people in the way, no closed doors, nothing. He didn't even stop to answer or respond to the various "High Priest is that a ship?" from those who happened to be staring out of a window. The door to the bridge slid open just in time, not slowing him down in the slightest as he glanced over the faces of the crew and then out into the lonely vastness of space.

Well, not so lonely anymore it would seem.

"Report, what type of ship is it? Can the guns take it out?" A brief pause as several crew bean typing all at once. "Well sir, we could take out that ship...if the guns had any ammunition to fire." Right. Chit. "Scanners are on the fritz again High Priest, we can't get a good reading on her." The masked man did his best to silence the audible sigh at the news. So no ammunition and no way to tell if it could blow us up. Fantastic. He clicked his tongue and turned to one of the crew on communications. "You, get up a beacon on secure channels. Something calling for rescue or reinforcement, and let's hope someone's able and willing to come and get us."

With that underway he pointed at one of the guards on the bridge and gestured to the rest of the ship with a small nod. "You get everyone not fit for combat somewhere safe and alert us when it's done, we'll close as many doors and bulkheads as we can just in case. Everyone able to fight is to report to me immediately thereafter." A salute for the Sith and then the guard was gone out the door, Alisteri finally turning back to look out towards the other ship.

"Someone try to hail them, with any luck it's a bunch of scared smugglers trying to get away from authority."

Damsy Callat
Arlo Renard
The Battalion

 

[Damsy Callat]

Then, with a bluntness that might be construed as comedic, he asked, <Can we blow them up?>

But Damsy knew better. She had been so new to the greater galaxy once, surprised that little was as relatively simple and solitary life at open sea, though she hadn’t been literally fresh-faced. So she simply began to explain with an understanding and empathy that nearly anyone else might well have lacked:

“Theoretically, sure.”

She had more to say, but Ursula cut in, : || Her identification specification looks to be outdated Sith Imperial. || :

Damsy laughed curtly there; that was comical.

Outdated.

“Whole fac’s outdated by now, Urs,” she reminded the AI before sitting back in her chair and inclining her head up the headrest, insinuating she was about to speak to Kai though she couldn’t see him--just the ceiling above them both. “But most bigguns like that have shields ‘gainst bombardments…” Where big words too much? “...so they don’t always blow up too easy. Plus, they’re Sith. Remnants. Probably, anyway, but scorned Sith are the most dangerous kind. And they have hella reason to be angrier than normal out here.” She turned the second most likely option briefly over in her mind as well, before deciding that most pirates were smart enough to not feth with even a badly wounded Sith. But if, somehow against all odds, this ship’s crew was ragtag, the two to three of Nauti’s would be in for quite the showdown.

“I don’t really wanna go picking a fight we can’t win, y’know?” No, he might not; explain, Dams. “If we miss and they come board… Well, it’s me, you, and Kezi against whatever grab bag’s in that thing.” The latter, bless her little horse heart, would try her best, but her fighting prowess was not exactly helpful, so that left both of the masquerading humanoids. Syreni too, if Damsy didn’t count the alter as part of her. Which, actually, since the Annihilation, she was starting to.

There can only be Two…

A Master to have power, an Apprentice to crave it…

Yeah, Syreni fancied herself the latter half to Bane’s ancient equation, while Damsy emphatically did not.

Shut the feth up and settle the hell down.



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai looked a little disappointed as his hopes for a cool light show were dashed, but it was hardly the end of his world—and he knew it was wrong to want to destroy things when you didn’t have to. <Okay good, okay fine.> He gestured vaguely. <Can we just fly past them?>

If the Sith were wise, they’d want to avoid a fight too. But there was no guarantee of wisdom from the Sith. They might fire upon the Nautilus out of paranoia or simple hatred for anything that wasn’t like them. That wasn’t even taking into account the likelihood that the Sith were out here doing something bad. Something Sith-y that ought to be stopped.

<We have to try to talk to them,> he remembered, pointing toward the comm. If his observations seemed obvious, it was only because he was literally thinking out loud. <Then if they do something bad like attack us, we can start shooting at them. But they have to shoot us first.>

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[Darth Strosius]

"The distress signal is live, here's to hoping that channel hasn't been compromised." One of the crew spoke up, Alisteri nodding in silent agreement. The last thing they needed was more unknown ships coming out of nowhere. "Someone get our guns angled towards that ship before we try to open up communications. Let's give them the illusion of danger." Some sort of bargaining chip would be good.

"Tell the militia and the Legionnaires to guard the airlocks and the cargo hold, just in case some boarding action happens." Always better to be safe than sorry. Another minute of waiting for everything to get into position and it was time. The masked man turned to one of the crew and gave a nod, the transmission starting right after. :"Unknown vessel, this is Acolyte Haxim of the Sith Empire, and you are trespassing in our space. We mean you no harm however, we have civilians aboard and want no bloodshed today. Turn around now and we will allow you to leave unharmed. Failure to comply will result in dire consequences.": Another nod and the message was sent out.

The crew on the bridge held their breaths, each eye watching the ship in question. "Think they'll buy it sir?" The Sith glanced at the man that spoke, giving no response for a few moments before shrugging. "If they don't, then we had better hope the shields and engines can get us out of here safely then."

Damsy Callat Arlo Renard The Battalion

 

[Damsy Callat]

Damsy had just been able to think of a response to Kai, but not get it out before a foreign voice filled the cockpit:

"Unknown vessel, this is Acolyte Haxim of the Sith Empire, and you are trespassing in our space. We mean you no harm however, we have civilians aboard and want no bloodshed today. Turn around now and we will allow you to leave unharmed. Failure to comply will result in dire consequences."

Yep, Sith.

Syreni perked at the news while Damsy tried her best to hide her physical bristle. At least the civilian part was exciting to the latter somewhat. She latched onto that, trying to separate her will from her alter's. Damsy had spent a great deal of the last few months living a double life between her padawan persona with the NJO and her side hustle in the Coruscanti underworld. It had started even before the multi-battles of Korriban, after which she had blown Dagon Kaze's track record for bringing Sithspawn back to the Temple (or thereabouts) out of the godsdamned water. Since then and relocating them down the The Works, she had been obsessed with growing the population of the shanty refugee camp.

A great deal of her was telling her to take this chance.

But what to do wasn't up to just her. She rose an eyebrow at Kai. The more she looked--really looked--at his new face, the more she was beginning to recognize a bit of herself in the mirror. The bit around that cheekbone area. The full revelation, though, was for another time. Until then, it'd stay at the tip of her tongue, frustrating and just about flattered. "Wanna try to talk now?" she asked, wondering honestly what he thought.

Regardless of his answer, she sat forward to power up the hailing beacon. It'd be a good idea to inform this Haxim of their intentions either way, so they wouldn't get blasted out of realspace.

"Er, I'd talk. That's...not a telepathy joke."



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

“That's… not a telepathy joke.”

Kai stuck his tongue out at Damsy.

Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if the goal here was survival, or if they wanted to throw some Sith down and take names. The former would be easy—tell them “understandable, have a great day” and leave. Yet it would also be somehow un-Jedi-like to leave civilians in the hands of Sith, even if they were “Sith civilians”, which sounded like an oxymoron to Kai anyway.

<We can’t blow up the ship if there are civilians on it.> He paused. <Maybe we can board them? Tell them we're Sith and need their help, just to convince them to let us inside? It wouldn't be that difficult...> He reached inside his chest, fishing around for the amulet which hid his tainted aura from others. Once he removed it, everyone with the Force could sense his true nature. <We're Sithspawn, after all.>

He was starting to get a little excited at the prospect of fighting actual Sith. That was what Jedi did, and there were few things in the galaxy Kai wanted more than to be a Jedi. It didn't even cross his mind that they would be heavily outnumbered by the crew if a fight broke out.

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[Damsy Callat]

Feth.

Kai was right, they were Sithspawn after all. She didn't have an amulet similar to his anymore, having accidently broken it and never replaced it, but she hadn't had to anyway because she had gotten good at Buried Presence. So all she'd have to do if they tried this bamboozle, all she had to do was let up her leash on Syreni...

...which was Damsy liked to pretend wasn't even on the list of options, here and now or ever, but, alas, there it was.

But doing as the Jedi did was something that she wanted for herself as well. She just didn't care for the possibility of losing control on that ship and hurting Kai, or any of the civilians for that matter--if they were in fact aboard.

Damsy sighed.

"It'd be worth a go, yeah," she admitted. "I can say somethin' like we've heard about the Empire's collapse when on mission in the..." Damsy paused to check the navi computer and scroll around displayed the galaxy map with a fingerpad on glass pane. "...Wyl Sector with our creator. He died, we didn't, and we've returned to search for survivors. From there, offer assistance?" She looked up at Kai. Wyl could suggest they had been tussling with the Ashlans.

"Whattya think?"



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai nodded. <Works for me.> For all that his inexperienced and largely ignorant opinion mattered.

The doppelganger started to grow taller and broader in the shoulders, bulking up in preparation for a meeting with the Sith. His current baby-faced Padawan look would seem a little bit weird for a Sithspawn, or so he thought. Maybe he should go for a full-on monstrous appearance to really sell their cover story, crawling aboard on all fours or slithering through the airlock...

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[Damsy Callat]

Damsy, along with a nod, started half-coughing with her entire throat. It had been years since she last spoke with the natural rasp that had defined her humanoid voice. It had gone away since Atrisia specifically, where she had been infected with Blackwing and grown a new body. She then switched on the comms, hoping to sound less human--as she once had been so insecure about, but would be just this once very, very secure in it.

:: We apologize thoroughly for any alarm, Master Haxim. My brother, :: she glanced up to the inflated doppelganger, :: and I are the only survivors of a mission to the Wyl Sector. Our creator's last actions allowed us to steal this ship, and we have only recently returned. Will you allow us to board and be of assistance to you now? ::

The very impression of a good little grotthu, desperate to serve.

Ashla.

Damsy grit her teeth to keep in a scoff.

No. Freedom was her jam. Absolute and unabashed.



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[The Battalion]

Wearing: Warrior's Skin

Armed With: Elaine Tear's Lightsaber (Corrupted)

Deployed from: The Blood of Vjun (Sarka Class Frigate)

Arrived in: Ession's Shadow. (TIE Reaper)

Xiphos had been kind enough to give her this ship, based off an old Galactic Republic Design.

She could remember a time when even fielding a relatively small ship like this frigate had been an immensely expensive affair due to the gulag virus breaking down galactic trade.

The Battalion, who bore the face of Elaine Tear had been dealing with the ramifications of the fall of nearly every major Sith Faction except the ones obviously controlling the Maw.

How Ironic she should go to hibernation when her Cult was endangered only to wake up in an era where her cult was in danger once again.

The Witch knelt in front of the Holotransmitter in her private quarters. The Amalgam shimmered into view.

"Battalion. So nice to see you." The near impossibly beautiful Sithspawn remarked.

"Your daughter continues to impress, Amalgam. Who would have thought she'd have a mind for designing Droids and Starships?"

"I saw flashes of her intelligence...when she was younger. But before her rebellion against the Jedi, she really never had a motive to truly apply it." The Amalgam replied. "And congratulations on getting under her skin. You must have if she gave you a ship. You're practically besties at this point."

"She's still pining for Syd."

"She won't eventually. I have foreseen it."

"Amalgam...no offense, but...I think you may have misjudged her." The Battalion said, head still lowered respectfully.

The Amalgam raised an eyebrow.

"Speak."

"We have given her aid without question, on the off chance she might turn. But have we asked ourselves what we ever got out of the bargain?"

"Seduction to the Darkness is best when it's slow, has time to accumulate. You know this. You've employed it against others. You're employing it against her are you not. She battled the Darkness in herself even now. Acceptance of the Bogan is like Gravity. All it requires is a little...push..."

"How little does the push have to be? Aren't you even a little bit concerned your own feelings might be clouding your judgement on the matter?" The Battalion asked carefully.

"Careful, Battalion..." The Amalgam hissed softly. "I revived you in this era because you are powerful, clever, and one of the few besides me who has a higher than average chance of defeating Xiphos should it be necessary. But Insolence does not do you any favors."

"It is not insolence to question all the advantages our assistance has given her. We basically propped her up in her first few engagements, and it was our stabilizing her efforts that bought her enough time to construct her 'children'."

"Do you know how long it took Sidious to break Anakin Skywalker?" The Amalgam asked. "It basically took the entirety of the Clone Wars. And Xiphos is far from finished with her feuds. We do this right, and not only does Xiphos end up with those who truly have her best interests in mind, but The Unholy Spirit acquires a champion of Darkness and War that the Bogan hasn't enjoyed in a generation. But it can't be rushed, anymore than you can rush a pizza or a meatloaf if you want it to be cooked to perfection."

"Xiphos has built herself up as a Warlord of sorts. And whether we like it or not, she has more guns." The Battalion pointed out. "If she decides we're no longer an asset..."

"She won't. She loves me too much..."

"Perhaps it is not me that should be seducing her if you are so certain." The Battalion countered.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." The Amalgam said sternly.

"Amalgam, did it ever occur to you that the reason she hooked up with Syd was because Syd reminded her of you?" The Battalion outright asked. "You ask me, it's you that should be drawing her closer. Instead of using me as a surrogate the same way she used Syd as one."

The Battalion felt a slight pressure on her esophagus as The Amalgam Death Glared her.

"Has...she said anything to that effect?" The Cult Matriarch asked.

"Don't play innocent. You're awful at it." The Battalion said snidely. "She doesn't have to say it. She had the same reaction towards my throat that you're having. You two have some serious fething issues...you can't have really been in the dark about she actually felt... could you?"

The Amalgam blinked, then smiled, bemused.

"So that's what was bothering Julia. I never understood. Scouts honor, I never considered it."

"I don't buy that answer for a second. You knew. Deep down."

The Amalgam leaned forward in the Hologram, smiling.

"Maybe."

"So how come I'm the one doing this?"

The Amalgam paused at the question.

"As paradoxical as this will sound...I love her that much."

It was The Battalion's turn to raise an eyebrow as the Hologram cut.

She turned, spotting Darth Xiphos sitting in a seat in her biker leathers. She had been using a spell Syd had taught her to conceal her Force Presence. She was mostly covered by the shadows of the dimly lit room, save her eyes.

"Curiosity sated?" The Battalion asked, having allowed her to listen in on the conversation.

"For now..." Xiphos answered back, quietly and grimly. "I have another favor to ask..."

"You mean letting you listen in on a conversation with my Boss wasn't favor enough?" The Battalion wondered.

"It was, but you'll like this next favor..." Xiphos said, teleporting a Datapad to her hands.

"Cargo Defense?"

"Fleeing Sith Cultists led by Darth Strosius . One of my spies reported he is fleeing former Imperial Territory. I want to ensure he succeeds."

"When do you care if Dark Acolytes make it or not?"

Xiphos teleported next to the Witch in the skintight white catsuit.

"Haven't I been showing concern over you?" Xiphos asked, playfully stroking The Battalion's chin, indulging her own urges on a very slight level.

"I suppose giving a girl a heavily armed military frigate is a good Icebreaker." The Battalion answered back coyly.

"Relax, Batty, it's not entirely Altruism motivating me..." The Light Sith admitted. "If Haxim succeeds because of our help, we might be able to call upon him for a favor in the future. Plus, if his Civilians live, they will live for revenge on the Jedi. They may grow strong enough to prove a surprise threat to them. An annoyance if nothing else."

"Clever. Long Range AND Self Serving. For someone who says they don't want to be a real Darksider, you are awfully good at thinking like us..."

The Battalion slinked closer to Xiphos, who didn't back away.

"So you want me to lend assistance, eh? And what do I get out of it?"

Not feeling nearly so formal as she usually did, Xiphos went full Bond and kissed the Witch. This spontaneously caused "You Know My Name." by Chris Cornell to play for a few seconds OOC.

The Battalion seized Xiphos with a snarl, returning the Kiss. Speech Check. Fething. Passed.

"I suppose that's one incentive..." The Battalion admitted. "When do I leave?"

"Immediately." Xiphos answered. "Take some of my children with you."

"I'll deliver them to strength..." The Battalion replied coyly. She turned to head to the Bridge.

"Batty!"

The Witch turned.

"Your mortal name...what was it?"

The Battalion smiled.

"She is dead, but if you must know...it was Elaine..."

"Don't be gone long, Batty." Xiphos replied.

The Battalion winked, nearly skipping her way to a turbolift in a fit of amorous excitement.

Xiphos sat at the edge of her bed.

Then she had a bit of a fit.

"Ohchitohchitohchit*whatthefethdidyoudo?*" she asked herself, so stressed she was running the words together rapidly...

"Stick to the plan...just gotta stick to the plan with her..."

Present...

The TIE Reaper known as Ession's Shadow, streaked out of hyperspace, The Battalion at the pilot controls.

She had brought a squad of Nuetralizer Model 1's with her. They were supplied with Multiple repair kits and had a crate of Sonic Disruptors. Xiphos seemed to like breaking the Ice with those.

"Attention, Altorius..." The Battalion said, transmitting to the ship, noting the presence of another. "This is The Battalion...I've come to offer my assistance. I've deployed from a vessel of my own at the edge of the system. I bring repair parts, supplies, and weapons. Request permission to come aboard."

Hopefully he would recognize the name. Xiphos's Infamy had increased following the deadly trap she had sprung at the Bastille on Ziost. The Battalion had gained notoriety too for helping the crumbling Sith Empire pull off the surprise victory. Xiphos had the equivalent of a five star wanted level in GTA, while the Battalion had a three at best.

If nothing else, surely he would sense her intense Dark Aura...

Arlo Renard

Damsy Callat

 

[Darth Strosius]

The seconds spent waiting for a response on the bridge were tense. At first. "Think we should've given them a countdown or something similar sir?" Alisteri clicked his tongue and shrugged. "Probably. Then again it's not like we could've done anything after the countdown other than run away now could we?" "Ah, right well that's a fair point."

Even still, no one dared move too much. Just in case the other ship opened fire or something else happened, better to be as prepared as possible. Thankfully though, not one shot was fired. Yet anyway. "Incoming transmission, permission to let it through?" Alisteri nodded, the crewmate quickly patching it through.

:: We apologize thoroughly for any alarm, Master Haxim. My brother and I are the only survivors of a mission to the Wyl Sector. Our creator's last actions allowed us to steal this ship, and we have only recently returned. Will you allow us to board and be of assistance to you now? ::

"Creator, sir?" The masked Sith could only offer another shrug. "People call their parents and masters weird things all the time, I'd say that's probably the least of the strange ones that I have ever heard of." He wasn't too sure where they would have gotten that ship in the Wyl Sector, but in the end it wasn't really his problem. He was confident that he could handle whoever these people were, even if they were lying. If they weren't then they could have some new allies for the ship, so it wouldn't be too bad either way. "Give them clearance to board, they shouldn't be that much trouble if they're not who they say they are."

The signal was sent and Alisteri went to leave the room and head to where they would dock to meet these strange people, but he was stopped by an alert. Evidently another ship had arrived. "We're being hailed by this new ship sir. Permission to patch it through?" He could idly feel something in the back of his mind, but he chalked it up to paranoia. "Permission granted."

"Attention, Altorius... This is The Battalion...I've come to offer my assistance. I've deployed from a vessel of my own at the edge of the system. I bring repair parts, supplies, and weapons. Request permission to come aboard."

"Oh, looks like our call for help found someone after all. Give this 'Battalion' permission to board as well." He vaguely recognized the name, having read over the reports of some of the later battles of the Sith Empire. At the very least she had been an ally, so she should be safe to let aboard. "Sounds like we should've made more welcome gifts, sir." The masked man scoffed and went to leave the bridge. "You're not wrong."

Evidently he had some guests to get acquainted.


Damsy Callat Arlo Renard The Battalion

 

[Damsy Callat]

Damsy finally let out a breath when sure her finger was off the talk button.

Dammit. She had forgotten to identify herself as Sith Imperial. Here's to hoping indoctrinated Spawn were just that dumb.

...

The ping of docking clearance resounded high and shrill through the cabin. Damsy blinked open the eyes she had screwed closed with pure cringe.

Apparently they were.

"Ashla's with us today, bud," she muttered after double-checking her voice input was off. "I haven't done that for a while."

With that, Damsy began easing the Chambered Nautilus to the port the unknown ship had specified.

"Go meet 'em," she said again to Kai, referencing the airlock. "I'll be right behind you, but if they're ready for us from the bat, I don't want them to have free rein of my baby."



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

Not sure whether Damsy’s “baby” was him or the ship, a large and monstrous Kai toddled over to the airlock, sprouting hands with which to open the mechanism.

The door slid open. Dozens of eyes all over the Sithspawn abomination’s body blinked as Kai beheld the guards on the other side. If they reacted to his eldritch appearance at all, Kai paid them no heed, cruising along past them and into the Sith vessel.

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[Darth Strosius]

The docking airlock seemed to be guarded by only two Legionnaires, both of which were all too eager to get out of the way of the Sithspawn as it passed them. Right beyond them however, the Acolyte waited at the end of the short hall. The mask visibly hid his confusion at the sight of the mysterious vessel's passenger. He idly attempted to count how many eyes dotted the surface of the creature's body before simply giving up and shifting his stance slightly.

At the very least he could act like he wasn't seeing...well whatever his guest was for the first time.

"Welcome aboard the Altorius." Alisteri was tempted to offer a hand out of formality, but he hesitated and kept his hands clasped behind his back instead. Better to be cautious for the time-being, you never know if someone likes a good handshake or not. Besides. he didn't have very thick gloves on at the moment.

"So...I believe your message said something about you and a sibling...are there any other guests aboard your ship that we should be prepared to accommodate?"

Damsy Callat Arlo Renard The Battalion

 

[Damsy Callat]

Damsy watched Kai on the cargo hold cams as she switched on all the systems needed to stabilize the Nauti to the ship she didn't know yet was called the Altorius. When she saw him exit right out of the opening door, she thought to herself, Goddammit, Kai. She made the mental note she swore she had made before, and probably would many times over still: be clearer with that wee bab.

Before Damsy joined Kai as promised, she stopped at her quarters. Kezi was curled up at the end of the bed, napping. Bubbles were blowing out of her little snout at every out breath. "Kezi?" Damsy called out softly.

The water dragon perked right up. She unfolded herself and bounded down off the mattress to the floor, across it, and them into Damsy's arms. She stood then, walking to a hidden cubby in the wall. A handprint opened it and she placed Kezi gently down inside; the little equine circled a few times before laying down on the bare hull floor, like a pet who was used to going to its kennel.

"I will never understand why you like travelling with me, hun."

A ride on the hyperlanes wasn't as uneventful these days as it used to be when Damsy was in between gigs.

Kezi mewled before the door slid back into place and locked, then stayed perfectly quiet as not to be found. She knew the drill by now. And Damsy, she headed out to the open airlock.



**
Arlo Renard | The Battalion | Darth Strosius

 

[Arlo Renard]

<Hi.>

Kai’s mental greeting, accompanied by a friendly wave with his arm-appendages, was either terrifying or shockingly cute coming from such a monstrosity.

<Nope,> he replied. <I mean, no sir. No more guests. Just me and my sister.> His numerous multi-colored eyes darted as he looked around the ship. <Are there any more Sithspawn like us here?>

Damsy Callat Darth Strosius The Battalion​

 

[The Battalion]

The Battalion was soon given clearance to dock and she immediately did so. As the Reaper docked, the Witch turned to the skeleton like Soldier Droids.

"Not to lecture but it's probably not a good idea to be all...Jokey..." She cautioned.

"Doesn't matter. They'll know what we are..." One of them answered back.

"We 'do' tend to joke a lot during violent murders." another admitted.

"We're here to make sure Darth Strosius escapes with everyone in tow. Work quickly, do what you can for the ship. Keep their faith in the Dark Side strong." The Battalion ordered.

She exited out of the Reaper with the silvery droids just as Arlo Renard asked his question, Damsy Callat next to him.

"You would be rather correct in assuming such..." The catsuit clad Witch spoke, a poisonous Dark Side Aura infusing her very being.

She stared at Haxim, giving a slight, but polite bow.

"Lord Haxim, a pleasure. These Droids I have brought with me are for the express purpose of making any repairs this ship of yours requires..." she explained as The Model 1's began offloading supplies and repair parts, along with a few crates of deadly weaponry, among them Heavy Sonic Blaster Pistols and rifles, along with grenades. They were opened, presented to Haxim for inspection.

"I trust these will prove useful?" The Battalion asked.