Reaching a crossroad (Coci Sinopi/The Ethelwulf)

[The Ethelwulf]

>-- CHANDRILA --<​

Chandrila, a rich place full of life and beautiful natural resources. It's culture and archeological sites are so old that the very ground speaks about the legacy of it's people.

From the Silver Sea to the Crystal Canyons, any being with any sort of Force sensitivity would feel the refreshing whisper of the Force and would find a sense of calmness that highly populated planets usually lacked.

Nevertheless, regardless of the feeling that it brought, as one of the Core Founders of the Republic; Chandrila was usually the target of several terrorist groups and even cults linked to the darkside and Sith... for that reason, it was not uncommon for the planet's populance to see heavy military presence and even the Jedi Order... and today was no exception.

G.I.A. recently received reports from the local authorities about an incursion of dark figures threatening the citizens... further intel suggested that they showed three standard weeks ago in the system and proceeded to set camp close to the Silver Sea with unknown intentions. But aproximately three weeks ago... an encrypted transmission from the group identified themselves as the "Tinʹovi soldaty" and it's leader: Karbola Magur; threatened to start with attacks in local areas if the Seantor of the system does not present himself in the Silver Sea.

As a political move, the Senator was sent with a small Republic force... however, G.I.A. couldn't allow any hostages and decided to cut the terrorist attack by sending a single operative with the mission to capture the leader of the group and to seize any evidence that provided insight in their nature... for that reason, @[member="Coci Sinopi"] was sent to complete the objectives with complete stealth and deadly accuracy.

Nevertheless, little did she knew that a fraction of the Jedi Order was also interested in the event, and decided to send their own operative to deal with the situation in a different way...

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]



One of the things that had struck her was the beauty of the planet, Chandrila with it's purples and orange as light filled through the protective lay of the atmosphere. She only allowed herself a moment to marvel on this, before pushing the ship to descent to the surface. Although Coci hates flying, it is less stressful if she is in command affording her the ability to be distracted from her fear. She had requisitioned an unmarked ship from the GIA fleet, however she decided to apply a signature and name to it, The Star Hopper, an innoxious name in order to provide more credibility to her cover. She is going to play the role of tourist.

Once through the atmosphere, and the co-ordinates lock for the Silver Sea and the City of Hanna.

​

She took to the remaining time to go over the intelligence once more. The blue holodisplay showing her the identity of a man known as Karbola Magur and his association with a group called the Tin'ovi Soldaty, the intel suggesting he and this group are responsible for issuing threats of terrorist activity if their demands are not met. The culture of the Chandrilians allows for freedom of speech especially in the political arena, however this also incites heated debate and from time to time, attempts of assassinations. But this group posed more of a threat as there is strong connections to the dark side and the possible making of a Sith cult.

------------------------------------

The Star Hopper touched down at the starport of Hanna, Coci concealed all files and locked down the ship. She is dressed appropriately for her cover as tourist, simply light clothes to allow for freedom of movement, and more importantly to conceal her weapons. A white shirt, cream trousers with boots, and a light cloak. She made her way to the checking station and registered the fake name and signature of the ship. Stating her business on this planet as 'pleasure' and that she is looking forward to visiting the Brionelle Memorial Military Academy, the wild game reserve and mostly the Hanna Institute of Antiquities. She looked the part and played the part, with open smiles and a twinkle in her eyes to be eager to sight see.

But her intentions are much different. From Hanna she will travel to the outskirts and to the last known location of the Tin'ovi Soldaty.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

@[member="Coci Sinopi"]

What a beautiful place... a beatiful pearl in this galaxy. However, at the moment was not place for vacations and no momemt to witness the marvels of the Force... But for the time being, the dark figure didn't have time to enjoy such view.

Due to the nature of the situation, the Sith looking man was sent to perform a simple job with the usual objectives he had with the similar parameters for all the covert operations that he usually carried out on behalf of... the lightside.

The mission's information was uploaded to the internal memory of the mask he had on, such details were promptly displayed in an internal hud that aided him in his task... After analysing the information, he understood what had to be done: The Senator of Chandrila was likely to be abducted, however; the Republic couldn't just back out in their views in order to achieve resolution by peaceful ways, that would just make them look unreasonable and lacking in diplomacy, it was a bold move from the so-called Tin'ovi Soldaty and kind of clever... but their intention were not just to abduct the Senator.

Based on the records available, the Tin'ovi Soldaty had strong ties to the darkside and were also gathering artifacts across the planet in order to gain the control of the goverment with Karbola Magur as the leader de facto leader of the planet... that would allow him to gain further control in the system and spread even more chaos. Such information was not available to the G.I.A. unfortunately, in fact, it wasn't even "officially" available for the Jedi Order... it was part of the intel gathered by a series of operatives with strong ties to the Jedi but not officially sanctioned... which might cause a slight problem.

Nevertheless, as a member of those operatives, the Ethelwulf knew the risks and repercutions of his actions and ties to the group. Still, it was for the greater good and someone had to do it... Walking in the beach with the Force as it's ally, the man concealed himself from view to the point where he couldn't even be heard by normal beings... although a Force Sensitive would normally sense a slight disturbance of the Force if he or she approached the hodded man.

With a relentless desire to end this as soon as possible, he proceeded to approach what was suspected to be entrance of the hideout and to carry out his duty.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]


In the true form of a tourist, Coci had hired a ground speeder, a generic BARC bike speeder to transport her around Hanna. Having the knowledge of the last known location of Magur and his group, she headed in that direction. The path taking her along the side of the beach, on a high wall surrounding the city and protecting it from the water. The City of Hanna is exquisite with it's old stone buildings and walk ways, a soft light from the street lamps giving it a calm atmosphere and added to it's sense of antiquity and long history. On the far side of the street, many Cafs lined the pavement filled with beings enjoying the cool air coming off the sea and company. The smell of Caf lingered in the air, and if she was not here for a mission, she would love nothing more then to be a part of it. But another time for that maybe.

Finally she reached her destination, the steps of the Hanna Institute of Antiquities. She parked her bike outside and casually took to the stairs up to the entrance. She would spend some time here, just to establish her cover more before making her way to the co-ordinates close by. Again, given time she would like to see this place in a relaxed mode, but a conversation near by caught her attention. Two curates of the Institute are discussion a recent break in and the theft of some important artifacts .. they did not speak of what the nature of them is .. but something told Coci this had something to do with Magur.

It was time to go. Deciding to leave the bike she walked up the street only blocks away from the Magur's possible hide out.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

@[member="Coci Sinopi"]

Being as careful as ever, the dark figured reached the building were the terrorist and his group was taking garrison. He found it odd though, the meeting with the Senator was scheduled to be in exactly 1 hour 52 minutes and 36 seconds according to the chrono inside his hud, but there were no soldiers arriving to the place, no personnel nor security in order to establish a perimeter around the area... Based on the night vision device installed in the mask, only one sentient could be seen in the vicinity... and accordinging to the IFF system, it was a G.I.A. officer approaching the area...

The Ethelwulf actually expected the company... but he had strict orders to remain unnoticed and be just a whisper, he was not there... for that reason he proceded to push himself to the limites and reinforced his Force Concealing technique... he knew that no one would notice his presence, unless that person was trained to detect Force Sensitives or had some sort of knowledge in Force cloak, which would trigger a small tingling in the back of the head that would alert the sentient.

Still, it was not likely for a G.I.A. officer to have such training or knowledge, only a handful of members of the Order had such skills and the Ethelwulf knew that they wouldn't come... Proceeding with his task, the figure continued the mission and approached the building carefully while he remained in full alert and ready to avoid any enemy until he had reached his target... or at least that is how any other envoy of the Order would react...

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]


As she walked toward the building, the hold up of the suspected terrorist group, her eyes flick around the tops of the buildings noticing the locations of all the security cameras. A smile formed on her face while in her mind's eye she ascertained the viewing range of the cameras .. there are blind spots. She took out her data pad and stopped looking at it as though seaching on a map for directions, turning her head this way and that as if trying to work out her location but the street names. All a ruse of course, as she had stopped directly at the entrance of an alley way that would lead to the back of the building housing the group.

As she put the data pad away and looked up, her black piercing eyes detected a movement in the air, like the shimmer of light on a hot summers day. It only lasted a second and then gone as quickly as it had arrived, it was odd to say the least considering the weather would not play a part in this event, but she felt nothing sensed nothing, no sign of anything to indicate significance to it. With her position blind to the cameras she turned quickly down the alley way and came to a back entrance. She is protected by the high walls of the surrounding buildings, no one able to see her unless they too .. walked the alley.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

Completely concealed with the Force, the young man walked to an alley and surprisingly, he saw the G.I.A. Operative right in front of him. Thanks to his skills, he was able to remain unnoticed, however; he was immersed in holding the power and avoiding detection to the point where he couldn't sense the movements of the operative.

The dark figure approached the lady with care, and he could see who was the operative sent to perform the task: @[member="Coci Sinopi"]

With amazing speed, the young man proceeded to assest the situation... her presence was unexpected, he knew an agent would come but not her... the dark robbed man remained stilled while he attempted to reach a conclusion. Her safety became a secondary objective now, something that he would accomplish at all costs... and remaining in the shadows for her was not an option since he would need her cooperation in order to achieve that goal.

Revealing himself, the dark figure knew that she would recognize him from a previous encounter.

"Agent @[member="Coci Sinopi"]..." the man talked with his traditional unrecognizable voice and a harsh but straight forward tone "...we meet again" although he was used to see her, but not the other way around... right?

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]


Her black eyes scanned the build looking for a way in. The back door the only real means to enter save for a window high up and shut, no doubt locked. Her mind is on this problem .. trying to figure out the most effective way to enter without detection. Then came a faint whisper through the force, the indication of a presence close by and revealing themselves, Coci blaster already in hand, gripped the handle a little tighter, but she did not move. Her eyes did though and focused her concentration through the force to target the presence. Even before the presence had completed their uncloaking, with a swift clean motion she spun and aimed the blaster toward the presence and squeezed the trigger to the point just before firing. Her black eyes focused with only one intent, to kill the intruder. She was about to send a round of bolts when recognition entered her mind

Revealed before her eyes, is the Shadow, Ethelwulf. A man she had once met on a mission when with the Army of Light. Her face remained stern .. her force presence giving away nothing of any emotion or thoughts. She lifted the barrel of the blaster up indicating she had disengaged her intention.

"Ethelwulf! .. indeed we do", she said turned back to the building to continue with the problem, "I assume you are here .. for the same reason I am, if so .. then help me get inside". She flashed a look back him, standing there in his shadow robes still as fancy as ever, however she is pleased to have his aid now as he showed her to be a valuable asset on any mission.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

The robbed man didn't deny nor he accepted her assumption, he was not there to discuss his objective... he was in front of her with another purpose... to be as close as possible so that he could protect her.

Looking at his surrounding, the Ethelwulf already had an entrance pinpointed, however it required them to be stealthy and to jump to the roof of the warehouse where the terrorists were supposed to be.

"The roof, we can open a hole through a wall and we will be able to get inside..." moving with the help of the Force, he proceeded to conceal his Force Signature and diminish it as much as possible to be almost untraceble... he couldn't cloak his presence completely just yet. With a jump, the figure jumped to a nearby building in the alley and then propelled himself to the roof of the warehouse... once in the roof, he waited for Coci to join him before doing any other move.

@[member="Coci Sinopi"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]

"Hm good idea, or we could .... ", she turned to look at him and he was gone. Her eye brows raised, I really must learn how to do that, I shall ask Vexander. Her black eyes looked back to the roof .. Coci could not physically see Ethelwulf but she did catch sight of that shimmer in the air just near the edge of the roof... Ah! that is what I saw, she smiled to herself.

It was going to take her a bit more effort to achieve the roof, as she is much smaller in height, she looked around the immediate area and caught sight of an out side scaffolding on the opposite building. She quickly went to that and began to climb until she reached the roof of the building opposite. Pushing the force to the legs, she jumped over to the roof and near Ethelwulf. He is still not visible to her, but she knew he was close by.

"We might bring attention to our presence if we cut through, maybe we could crawl through the vents?", she is only providing options, but looking him over, he might not fit.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

@[member="Coci Sinopi"]

The girl managed to climb gracefully... not in the same way that he did but her movements were even better... or perhaps they just looked better in his eyes.

His presence was masked, but not because he wanted to be away from her sight but because the mission required him to do so. Having two sentients going to a roof and talking between each other might turn them in.

Taking a knee in order to remain as hidden as possible, he made himself slightly visible in order to talk with the beautiful operative that captivated his thoughts and feelings "Go ahead... I'll find a way to catch up with you without giving our position..." the robbed figure proceeded to disappear once again, and before he did a few words could be heard "...take care Agent Sinopi..." although different, for some reason it sounded familiar but hard to determine when the mind was focused in the task at hand.

With that being said, Vex proceeded to walk in the roof, looking for a place and touching the surface of the place... surveying through the Force in order to determine a suitable place for him to get inside and join her inside.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]

She agreed with him, they needed to separate at this point. And only for a brief moment had her appeared to her again, before disappearing back into the shadows of the force. "May the Force be with you Ethelwulf", she said softly.

She turned and looked around the top of the roof and quickly found what she sort. An air vent, it's funnel coming up from the roof only a meter and wide enough for her to fit in, as she is not exactly big or tall, this would do to give her access to the building. She could not sense Ethelwulf through the force now, but she knew he would her signature and he would find her. She crouched low and made her way across the roof. The funnel's protective grill gave way easy and she climbed inside, she pressed her back to on side of it and the same with her legs and began the downward climb, it would be slow at first until the vent leveled off and she could crawl along it's length.

Coci's nose wrinkled up as the smells for the building carried on a breeze through the vents. Stall air and odours of food mixed together in a rancid aroma, her hands placed on the surface of the vent, felt the thin film of grease collected there over time and she hated the idea of it. Who's bright idea was this, she chided herself, now wishing she had stuck with Ethelwulf.

Slowly she crawled with care, placing her hands and knees down with silence, evenly distributing her weight. She could not allow not one single noise or else she could give away her presence. Up head she could see the grill of a vent allowing access to a room, but as she neared she heard voices. Not able to make out the conversation yet, she proceeded toward the grill. It took longer, but soon she was about one meter from the grill and stopped.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

The Ethelwulf took advantage in his skills as a Jedi Shadow and used Force Concealment along with the nice placement of the shadows in the hallways to remain completely unnoticed, he just moved from a place to another with complete stealth and without even making noises.

For a moment, he thought that sending @[member="Coci Sinopi"] through another route was the best course of action since he was able to move freely without worrying about her... but still, the robbed man was worried about her. Moving with haste but with care, he managed to find a backdoor to the warehouse... but it had a terminal that required a password in order to enter... a password he didn't have.

Using the Force, he placed his hand on top of the keys and attempted to feel any traces through the Force that might allow him to enter the password... but he didn't find anything at all... Knowing that he might trigger and alarm if he used his lightsaber on the terminal, he began to move to the left side of the door with his hand touching the wall and extending himself through the Force in order to "see" what was in other side and if it was safe.

After walking a few meters, he managed to find a place that seemed to be empty and quite lonely... the best place to be. Igniting his cyan blade away from the eyes of unwanted witnesses, he lunged the blade to the wall and slowly began to melt the wall in order to create a hole big enough for him to enter. It took him a couple of minutes to do it silently. Finally, once that the hole was created, he proceeded to retract the energy blade to the hilt and then place it safely in the belt away from view.

Walking slowly, he managed to see a couple of sentients talking between one another, the ones that seemed to be close to a grill of a ventilation system, a grill that Vex felt was were Coci was... approaching them almost ducked, he got close to them and placed himself next to a corner where he could listen to them clearly while he remained away from view...

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]

"Sir, the artifact has been secured and ready for transport off world. That only leave one left to find and then all pieces can be assembled", a voice below her said. Coci had not moved she is to close to the grill and the other would no doubt hear her presence. There was no way of knowing where Ethelwulf was, she could not sense him in the force, she just had to believe he was alright and close by. If not, she would have to retreat and call for back up.

"Good, as soon as we have the Senator hostage you will take both the Senator and the artifact to our next destination .. there we will get ready for the next phase of my plan", the gruff voice of Karbola Magur replied. "Are the transports ready and loaded with the explosives? ... we need to move quickly .. I don't want to stay on this planet a moment longer".

From all accounts there are only two in the room, but there had to be more, now. This is a big operation and they had to have more men somewhere. They might be in the hide out or already in position for the apparent attack. Coci wished she could contact Ethelwulf. Where are you? she thought to herself.

 

[The Ethelwulf]

@[member="Coci Sinopi"]

Coci's words didn't have to remain in her head that much... in just a split second, a cyan blade came to life from the outside and the robbed figure revealed himself just in front of the two sentients and Coci who was in the grill.

Although his Force Presence was still concealed, the robbed figure released all tjhe control he had on the light and the sound around him and he could be physically seen by those around. Perhaps there were more guards or there were other cultists with control over the Force... but the capture of the leader would prevent them from moving further.

"You are not going anywhere Karbola..." said the robbed man with his interesting and unique voice hardly recognizable.

The man next to him didn't think twice and in fact attacked the Ethelwulf with what seemed to be a vibroblade. However, the Jedi Shadow was too fast and he placed his left elbow in the hands of the man deflecting the blow, and he opened his chest which the dark figure took advantage of... with a thrust, he struck down the man.

Hesitation and fear filled Karbola's eyes, the Ethewulf could feel it... with a broken voice he took a step back.

"W...wha...what is the mee-aaning..." the man reached to his hip at what seemed to be a button and inmediately called for backup out of dispair... however, he began to relax when he noticed that the man seemed to be a Sith "...it seems that my methods are already paying off" said with a smile in his face "My intention is to pay tribute the Empire and become a Sith Lord along with my followers! We can send a blow to the Republic and their Jedi dogs!"

Boots could be heard in the catwalk above the warehouse... perhaps 5 to 10 men were approaching... cultists that carried with them some sort of Force power. Still, the Ethelwulf didn't even looked anywhere... he just remained fixed in Karbola, or he wasn't... it is hard to tell when he has a mask in his face shielding his facial expressions.

"Your plan benefits yourself..." pointing the blade to the man, the cyan blade lid the place where they were located "...and for that I was sent to deal with you."

The man began to regain his composture as he also heard the boots of his backup "What do you mean? It benefits the Empire! It benefits you!"

"I am not a Sith... darksider..."

The troops arrived and placed themselves next to Karbola, all of them holding a lightsaber hilt... however, they were just cultists with little Force experience, nothing compared to the years of training and rigorous lessons taken by the two operatives now working in the case.

"Well... if that is the case... perhaps we can also take another trophy to the Sith Empire!" with a small movement, he ignited a red lightsaber and the rest of the troops did the same. "Your head and lightsaber along a Senator... I would be named Sith Lord above Sith Lords! Prepare yourself intruder!" With a small move, the man ordered the attack on the Ethelwulf, and two of them charged at the Jedi Shadow.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="The Cyan Blade"]

[SIZE=12pt]As Coci listened to the conversation between Ethelwulf and Karbola, her head was turned upwards as if her eyes could pierce the walls to look for the men now coming to aid Karbola. Their foot falls echoing strongly through the vent in which she is still situated.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She could not sense Ethelwulf through the force but the fact he was speaking indicated to her he had revealed his presence physically. She moved closer to the grill and could see the body of the dead man on the floor, which a saber slash across his chest. At this moment the door opened and more men rushed into the room to position themselves by Karbola’s side. In unison all ignited their sabers, but only two moved toward Ethelwulf, a smiled crossed her face, as his abilities far out reached their’s. But still they had the numbers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]As she is unable to ignite her saber or rather put it to any good use within the vent, she reached for her blaster. It was time to even up the odds. Silently she unclipped the grill from the frame and lifted it aside. Karbola’s men with their backs to her, not aware of her presence, they are either to focused on the events in front of them or they lack the ability to sense her through the force, but soon they would know of her presence regardless.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Two bolts flew from her blaster in quick secession to the backs of the heads of the nearest men. Instantly they fell to the ground dead. In that instant Coci leapt from the vent to the floor, now able to ignite her saber, she plunged it into the back of another. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She moved to the right to flank them, they would have to divide in order to fight both her and Ethelwulf. No emotion crossed her face, no emotion is present in her mind or heart, she .. as well as Ethelwulf, are there to do a job at whatever the cost.[/SIZE]