Private Reorganisation

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

A curious look was shot to Alisteri as he mentioned his armament. A vibroknife was not quite what Mathieu had expected from someone wishing to take down a warlord. Before he managed to mention it, Alisteri added that he had been forced to sell his blaster. Mathieu offered a sympathetic nod "Can't have been a good trade, considering the rising inflation. When the economy is in freefall, a blaster may very well be worth more than a shuttle ticket." They pushed a little further into the jungle. Mathieu turned to add another comment "But, I can't say that I'm surprised that noone wanted to follow you if all you had was a knife." A chuckle escaped the large Morellian as he heard his ally's idea - not at all because he underestimated unarmed fighting, bur rather because of how he imagined that the townsfolk would have reacted upon hearing the idea when Alisteri tried to persuade them to join him in the fight against the Grub Lord. Regaining his composure quickly, Mathieu let out a more serious "Yeah, I can deflect a few bolts should the need arise. Just, try to stay close when the time comes."

As the duo got closer to the compound, their pace slowed down. Not producing noise or fast movements was becoming more important in their bid to avoid discovery. It was concerning how well guarded the compound was. It was a sign that the warlord did indeed have some resources at his disposal. It was sad to see how capable young men and women would dedicate their lives to this. But then, seeing the sad state of Har Gau, it was easy to understand why they would choose the alternative. At least if their own home regions were in the same situation.

Looking to Alisteri, Mathieu shrugged. "For a bit. It becomes harder to keep it up if I have to do a bunch of other stuff at the same time but I could probably remain hidden in place for a while." he whispered, hoping that it would give his masked ally a rough idea of the parameters that had to be taken into account.

Mathieu was not quite sure how to get into the compound undetected. Jumping or climbing up the wall would be difficult, seeing as both his powerful physique and heavy armour made complicated things and there was no obvious part of the structure that seemed climbable except for where the flora had closed in on the walls again. Mathieu glanced to Alisteri Maybe he could be thrown onto the wall? A reckless idea, considering his ally's poor armament and them not being able to see what laid behind the wall. "Do you have any ideas? Otherwise, it might be best for us to just keep circling around the place. To see if there are any weaknesses we can exploit."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber
Tag: Mathieu Brion
-----------------------------

The masked man idly nodded as he listened to the limitations of Mathieu's stealth ability. Not too surprising really, Alisteri had little doubt that such a skill required intense focus to manage at all. It did give him some valuable information to tuck away for later use as well of course, but nothing that would help him at the moment. "Duly noted." Of course it meant that their infiltration options were a little bit more limited, but that could be rectified. "That could help us when we're inside I suppose, getting in at all is still an issue however."

His gaze ran over the wall before them once more, idly flickering out to check for any incoming patrols. Their hiding spot was relatively safe for the moment, but one close look could spell disaster for them. "Circling around is definitely an option. If I know anything about these sorts of buildings and Felucia, I have little doubt that a root or vine has claimed a portion of the wall somewhere. Moving does carry risk though." Staying still carried just as much of course. Anything from here on out would be risky, at least until their enemies were fleeing or dead. "How would you feel about parading in some armor? Perhaps we could ambush one of their smaller patrols and walk right in the front entrance dressed as their comrades." Admittedly the plan had a few flaws, but it was still an option. Having to don a stranger's apparel in the middle of a hostile environment was hardly ever a good idea but if it worked and got them inside then it was good enough.

"We could always wait until nightfall, hope that their guards are fewer and more lax then try to scale the wall." The obvious lack of any handholds or gaps to use to climb it was concerning and spelled almost certain failure for such a plan, at least one that was finished in a timely manner, but it was still something to consider. "If we're willing to play the waiting game, the Grub Lord has been known to send out a squad or so to collect food from Har Gau from time to time. Hiding in whatever transport they use could be viable, but I'm not too fond of waiting around and hoping for them to get hungry." Starving out the defenders by sabotaging said shipments had been a plan of his originally, but it fell apart quickly when he had learned just how collaborative the villagers were content to be with their apparent 'ruler.' Given their attitudes, it's not hard to see how they quickly submitted to Sith Eternal control after being forced from Sith-Imperial rule.

All in all none of the options were all that appealing, and he doubted that a full on assault would work with him pretending to be a normal mercenary. Being forced to himself as a Sith in the midst of some half-baked attempt at entry would only get him injured at best, and possibly killed or left crippled in the jungle at worst. Thus he had to keep their options somewhat limited to keep his identity secret. The last thing he needed was the Jedi catching on to his little lie while they were scheming on how to infiltrate the depot. Regardless of how they got in, there was a head that still needed claiming. One way or another. "Perhaps we could draw the Grub Lord out into the open? If enough patrols go silent and missing, they may decide to investigate the matter personally."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

Alisteri was full of ideas, it seemed. Mathieu listened to him speak of them and the risks that were also mentioned in the process. He quickly ruled out waiting until nightfall - it was something which he would gladly have done normally but this time, he was on something of a schedule. But then, if there was need for it, sacrifices would most likely be made - at least if it meant that he could do some real good for the locals. Still, he did lean more towards the other suggestions, seeing as they appeared to be faster.

Even when crouched, the Jedi's large form was still notable. While he did not say it outright, he did have his doubts about finding an intact uniform that would fit him. Otherwise, it might have been one of the least violent solutions on the table. From a pure tactical point of view, he had the most faith in drawing the warlord out. It would most likely have them engage with a number of patrols in battle but it would also give them the possibility of a more fair fight that would not be taking place in the heart of the Grub Lord's base of operations. But then, having spent so much time apart from the Jedi and so much under the tutelage of the Admiral, his more strategical side was often followed. This time was one of those - with something of an added caveat.

"If we can find an intact uniform I can fit in, we can try to walk into the base. But until then, we can try to draw him out" regardless of which path they would end up taking, the first step would remain the same. Take out a few patrols.

Turning, Mathieu would point towards the way the came. The logical approach was to trace back their steps to the route where they come from before entering the thicker jungle to the base. It would allow them to take a relatively safe path - one that had already been trekked before - to a location where a patrol would most likely pass by.

Once there, the Jedi would start trying to hide himself on the opposite side of the path as Alisteri, this time in a more conventional manner than before. If hiding underneath shrubbery and behind large trunks would do, then why lean on the force as a crutch? At least now that time was not as limited as before.

After perhaps a quarter of an hour, voices could be heard approaching from the distance. They came from the same direction that Alisteri and Mathieu had rushed, suggesting that the patrol routes went in both directions. Or perhaps they were just heading back to the base. Regardless, they were coming towards the two allies who lied in waiting to attack. Figuring that he had a heavier responsibility - partially by virtue of being a Jedi and partially by virtue of actually having a weapon - Mathieu would take the initiative to pounce on their targets first. It was a well timed attack that started with an immensely powerful tackle at the man closest to him, sending him tumbling towards the masked figure. Mathieu then ignited his sabre for a quick cut to his foe, immediately causing the woman to slump down to the ground. The sabre was then extinguished just as fast to reduce the risk of detection. With one guard killed by the sword, Mathieu looked over to see how Alisteri was doing.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber
Tag: Mathieu Brion
-----------------------------

"I'm glad we agree then." Even with the ability to properly asses their enemy's numbers, thinning them out was always wise. Given that they could only guess at how many they would face, it only made sense to ambush and take out what few they could without arousing suspicion. They knew that they were outnumbered regardless. A situation that, while difficult, could still be rectified with enough time and care.

Alisteri spared little time in thinking on how ironic the situation was, ambushing a force of Sith remnants alongside a Jedi. He had work to do, and it mattered little how it got done so long as he didn't leave the planet empty handed. With that in mind he was quick to follow Mathieu back the way that they had came. Traversing through the jungle was easier with retraced steps, but he still ensured that he was careful and quiet. After all, there were things far more dangerous and bloodthirsty than the Grub Lord out in the wilds of Felucia.

Wasting no time he positioned himself in a relatively hidden, yet easily escapable, position across from his companion once the path had come back into view. He pulled the vibroknife from his belt and idly rested his hand on the hilt of his hidden lightsaber a moment before recomposing himself. The Sith had gotten this far with his concealment of his allegiance, there was little point in drawing his blade now when there was still so much to do. So much to do indeed. Alisteri idly mused, sitting back in his hiding spot and allowing himself to rest his mind and clear his thoughts as they awaited their prey. Thankfully for the both of them, they would not have to wait for very long.

Tension and excitement flared up in equal parts as he heard, and soon caught a glimpse, of the approaching patrol. His grip on his small weapon tightened as he readied himself to leap out the moment that the opportunity arose. The Jedi pounced first, but the Sith wasn't far behind. The man that had been knocked over barely had time to register which direction he was facing before Alisteri was upon him, a quick slice across his neck in the gap between helmet and armor silencing any cries or calls for help before they could be made. He lifted himself off of the dead trooper and glanced over at his ally, nodding at the sight of the other dead patroller. "Nice to see that all that pet saving and child rescuing still left time for some combat training." He joked, his attention returning to the body at his feet.

The Sith knelt down, examining the attire of the patroller for a few moments. It was nothing special, thankfully, just standard Legionnaire armor. He did his best to ignore a thought about how at any other time a dead legionnaire would bring him dread. "This armor is a bit too big for me, not big enough to fit you though." He paused and gestured towards the other guard. "I doubt that her armor is any more forgiving. Let's hide these two and see if we can find a better fitting pair to snatch up."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

He looked to Alisteri with an amused smirk. After all the wars and battles he had been through, he was a little surprised the the Jedi's tree-hugging image remained intact. In a way, it was nice to hear - that, at least in the eyes of Alisteri, all of the fighting had not eroded the essence of the Jedi. With a slight tilt to his head, Mathieu let out a seemingly nostalgic "Those were the days, eh?" Of course, true nostalgia was not quite possible for him. Having taken the path of the Jedi after some time as a Mercenary, he often found himself in combat situations from quite early on.

Keeping his gaze on the route, Mathieu only glanced down to Alisteri who inspected the uniforms for a few brief occasions. With his ally busying himself with trying to find out if their uniforms would fit, it was only natural to keep watch so avoid getting caught off guard by another patrol. "Figures" he said before nodding in agreement that they should hide the bodies. Picking the male up and throwing the body over his shoulder, Mathieu started to move away from the path and deeper into the jungle. There was a great degree of risk in hiding them within eyesight, seeing as the patrolmen most likely had a good idea of what the surroundings' normal state looked like.

Once they had reached far enough into the jungle, Mathieu set the body down by the root of a massive turquoise leaf-like plant. What kind of plant it was, was far beyond his scope of knowledge. But it was wide and could, with the aid of some nearby foliage, hide the deceased soldiers. Mathieu turned to look if Alisteri needed some help and would offer it if there appeared to be any need of it. Perhaps he wouldn't have done so if he had known that the masked one was Sangir - but this was not the case.

"Check if any of their weapons will do you any good" he said, figuring that the vibroknife had a rather limited utility if they were to find themselves in a more significant battle. Meanwhile, the Jedi started to gather up some of the nearby foliage to better hide the corpses once his ally was done.

As they worked, the sound of two speeder bikes could be heard from far in the distance. It was not a constant sound as the two vehicles made their way through the jungle with trees and other vegetation dampening the roar of their engines. Mathieu's gaze shot up to meet Alisteri's mask "They're getting closer"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
-----------------------------

With a final once over to check for any hidden grenades or communication devices, the masked man hefted the body of the female over his shoulder with ease and followed after Mathieu. Of course, he waited until the Jedi's back was turned. By all accounts any normal human of his fit shouldn't have such an easy time carrying an armored body, but his Sangnir blood gave him plenty of strength to toss it around as much as he would like. Not that he intended to show off of course, and certainly not to his current companion at any rate.

Alisteri did his best not to appear too nonchalant about the load that he was carrying, even slinging the body over both his shoulders and using both of his hands as well to give the appearance of some sort of strain. Falling a bit behind Mathieu was only natural to keep up the act as well. Picking their way through the dense jungle had gotten slightly easier given the amount of time they had spent trekking through it thus far, but for the life of him he had no idea what plant the Jedi had decided to use to conceal the bodies. All he knew was that it was native to Felucia, and therefore potentially deadly. Everything on this Force forsaken planet is potentially deadly until proven otherwise. A feigned grunt of effort left him as he dropped the body he had been carrying next to it's partner, taking a moment to act as if he were catching his breath. "At least we know that they're eating good."

He knelt down to examine the bodies one last time after Mathieu had asked him the question, inspecting a blaster pistol pulled from one of their hips before sliding it back into its holster and instead taking one of their rifles. "It's far from a silent and deadly weapon, but these patrols don't seem to be too concerned about concealing their presence." The masked Sith idly checked and pocketed more energy cells for the weapon as he spoke, slinging the rifle around his back via a strap on the weapon before standing back up. Finding foliage and other bits of greenery to cover the bodies was all too easy a task. Hiding remains wasn't difficult in environments such as this one, and Alisteri had hidden plenty of bodies in his time. His work only paused as the telltale sound of a speeder bike reached his ears, glancing in the direction of the noise as if he could try to spot the bikes even through the dense jungle.

"They're using speeder bikes?" He returned Mathieu's gaze, albeit with one of confusion rather than concern. "Who the feth uses speeder bikes in a jungle?!" It was practically a disaster waiting to happen in his eyes. The masked man would have to wait to critique their strategy later, as the sound of engines grew ever closer. "Alright, up into the trees and hurry. Lets see if we can't put an obstacle or two in their path eh?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

"In these instances, I find it safer to have too much firepower rather than too little." he said, responding to the comment about the rifle. It was true that it did not seem to be well suited for stealth. But then, stealth was the best case scenario. In all other scenarios, the rifle would probably be great, all things considered. Of course, a militia to help bring the Grub Lord down would have been better.

When they noticed the speeder sounds, Alisteri sounded somewhat skeptical. It was a fair point - using them in dense jungle could be dangerous. Especially to ones not used to that type of piloting. But then, there were fewer moving objects than in an asteroid field and was something that was not all too uncommon around the galaxy. But even then, straying away from the main paths and heading into the jungle was risky of not outright reckless. "Someone with a goal" he mumbled, wondering how much trouble they were in.

With a nod, Mathieu did as his ally said. Climbing in heavy armour was never a good idea. What helped was his natural strength, height and importantly, the force. Quickly, he moved to a more traditional tree, one similar to those which could be found on many other planets. It had a thick dark brown trunk with slightly wet bark and a plethora of wines hanging down from it. From the mighty tree, it would be easy to get a good look down to where they hid the bodies. It was also a good location to see the speeder bikes as they approached.

Approached. Mathieu's eyebrows furrowed as he saw the warlord's troops. They were coming towards Alisteri and himself. Two rode at the front with quite a bit of distance between them and one was trailing behind - seemingly with more cargo on his speeder than the first two. If one looked closely - which Mathieu did not - it would be possible to see that an overwhelming majority of his bags and boxes were marked as medical supplies.

Regardless of whether the two attackers readied themselves to cut down a large branch to create a crash or not would have little significance. For instead of passing the large tree by, the two scouts at the front slowed down as they came near. Immediately, it became obvious that they were looking for something. It was only when they called out names and serial numbers that it clicked for the large Jedi. This had to be some sort of rescue party, making it plausible to believe that the soldiers had some kind of tracking device on them. He looked to Alisteri and mouthed a silent "It's your call" before reading himself to comply with whichever path that his ally chose.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
-----------------------------

Given his natural abilities, enhanced by his Sangnir blood, and his lack of anything that could be considered armor, Alisteri was quick to climb up into the nearest tree that he could find and sit himself up above the jungle floor. The masked man was just above Mathieu, who by then had already clambered up another tree, and had a decent view of the area. Well, between the branches and vines that seemed to wrap all around the tree anyway. He reached back and flicked the safety off of the blaster rifle as the speeders neared them, his gaze narrowing and searching for them as the evidently began to slow down rather than speed by.

His eyes went to the loaded speeder bike, then back to the two in front as they slowed and clearly began to look around the area. The bodies were hidden enough to not see at first glance, but if any of the scouts disembarked and went poking around then they would be spotted fairly quickly. They couldn't have that. Surprise may have been compromised, but the situation was far from salvageable. As he returned the Jedi's gaze and nodded, he intended to salvage it.

Slowly and quietly he pulled the rifle around and took aim at the third of the group, the one loaded down with supplies. He spared little thought on how useful they would be to the people or even where they had been acquired, for all that mattered was their driver at the moment. Alisteri was no precise shot, but he knew how to aim and shoot just as well as any soldier in the Sith Empire had, and it would have to be enough regardless. The Sith sighted the helmeted head of the third rider and held up a hand for his ally to see. Five fingers were up as he rested his other hand on the trigger. Four. Three. Two. One.

The rifle barely recoiled as he fired and managed to put a bolt straight through the head of the third assailant, quick to slip it back around and draw his vibroknife as he threw himself from the tree and towards the nearest soldier below him. It may not be quiet, but he did have a plan on how to cover it up. All he would need was one of their transmitters, and all of the witnesses dead.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

As he observed the new arrivals, Mathieu could see Alisteri take aim through the corner of his eye. He looked up at his ally who had found a branch to sit on higher up in another tree. His hopes for a more peaceful resolution fell - but then, peace was not truly an option. Not when they hoped to lure the Grub Lord out. Hopefully, he would soon emerge, now that he had already lost two patrols and was about to loose a third one.

The Jedi carefully observed his ally's fingers, being well aware that they would both have to spring into action once the shot was fired. He shot a quick glance to which one of the troopers that was being targeted. It was the one that was lagging behind with the greater cargo. It was a good decision, seeing as it would be considerably much easier for them to target the other two who were closer.

Once the shot was fired, the heavy speeder quickly sped out of control as its pilot was hit in the head. Much of its cargo fell off as it tumbled forth between numerous trees whilst smashing through some of the higher foliage that would otherwise have been flown over or around. Eventually, the side of the speeder scraped by a tree which caused its dead pilot's leg to get stuck in between. The corpse was immediately and violently torn off of the vehicle that only continued forth - albeit at a decelerating speed. Fortunately, it also descended to the ground rapidly and would soon start to skid against it, tearing up brushes and other foliage as it went. Instead of crashing into a tree and creating a greater explosion, it would instead be stopped by friction, both from the ground and a few more trees that it brushed up against on its path.

Naturally, Mathieu didn't stop to watch the somewhat prolonged destruction of the speeder bike. Instead, he leapt down from where he sat on the tree. This time, he would not have to draw his sabre. Instead, he would let gravity and his heavy armour do the job. Trusting in the force to direct him to his foe, the large Morellian would soon land on top of one of the pilots. The rather violent impact would immediately knock the trooper our and bring her with him as they both fell from the speeder and down onto the ground. He grimaced in pain from the impact as he slowly got back up on his feet. "This one still seem to be in working order" he said, pointing to the speeder bike whilst turning to look how Alisteri was doing.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
-----------------------------

The out of control speeder and the cargo it threw about as its pilot's body was thrown off served as a perfect distraction for their little ambush. The pilot that Alisteri had leapt on had just enough time to look back at the flying supplies before the masked man sunk his weapon into the soldier's side as he knocked him off of the vehicle. The wounded man attempted to get up, clutching the hilt of the weapon buried in him as he tried to grasp ahold of his blaster pistol with his other hand.

Right as his hand found the grip of his weapon though, Alisteri's foot slammed into his stomach and knocked the breath out of him. The moment of daze was all that the Sith needed to end his opponent, quickly snapping the soldier's neck with one movement of his hand. As the body went slack he retrieved his vibroknife, taking a moment to wipe it off, before bending down to inspect the body for any other equipment. "Good, this one should be fine as well." He gestured to the speeder bike behind him. "The third one may not be however...but it is of no matter." After a moment he stood up with a new communicator in hand, plucked from the helmet of his deceased opponent, and showed it to Mathieu. "We have what we need. Hopefully we can radio in and try to throw them off our trail, say something about the wildlife being upset by the patrols."

His thumb hovered over the button to speak on the device, but it let out a message which stopped his finger from pressing anything. :"Grub Base to Salvage Team Alpha, any word on our missing patrol yet?": Alisteri stared at the communicator as the person on the other side awaited a response, finally looking back up at his companion. Normally he wouldn't hesitate in responding and giving some sort of fake report, but he considered their options for a moment before he spoke. "I wonder, do we want to draw them in or lead them away?" With his free hand he gestured to the scattered supplies and the trees around them. "We could set up a proper ambush and get them to come looking, try to fight it out on an uneven field, but spreading them out would make it easier for us to take them down one by one."

Either way, he doubted the "Grub Base" would wait all day for them to come up with some form of response. They were still operating in unfamiliar and unknown territory with an enemy that outnumbered and outgunned them. "Breaching into the supply depot will be easier if there are less men to stop us from getting in, but dying out in the jungle to a bunch of rejected Legionnaires will get us nowhere at all. We still have no idea if they have any heavier vehicles than speeders either. What do you think?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

Mathieu looked to the third speeder bike when Alisteri mentioned it. He was right - it did not look to be in working order. Without wandering very far, the young Morellian took a few steps towards some of the supplies that had been scattered across the area in a long, disorganised, line. He was about to pick a bag of kolto up when his ally drew his attention to a communications device. An interested eyebrow rose "That's an idea" he said, his voice filled with a subtle sense of enthusiasm.

Then a voice could be heard from the device. They were lucky, it seemed. For now they knew that they were Salvage Team Alpha and addressing Grub Base. It was probably essential for the deception to work. Where Mathieu would have responded as soon as possible in fear of being suspicious, his ally proved to be more cool under pressure. For instead of responding immediately, he instead looked to Mathieu and once more laid out a few suggestions on how to proceed.

"Try to draw the Grub Lord out" he spoke the sentence quickly, thinking that they were under time pressure to respond. It was a snap decision - or suggestion, rather. To him, it made sense. In the best case, they would be able to make the warlord leave the safety of his base to come deal with whatever it was that Alisteri said needed dealing with. It would allow them to cut the head off of the snake and avoid most of the followers. If their target was more clever than that, at least they would be able to ambush some of his followers and thin the lines a bit. If it continued like this, the Jedi wouldn't be surprised if they'd eventually be able to do a head-on assault. While risky, he had now been impressed by Alisteri's prowess and had high confidence in his own capabilities.

Refraining from picking up the medical supplies, Mathieu walked to where they had hid the other two bodies. The aid he could offer when communicating with the Legionnaires was minimal. Instead, he would prepare for the ambush. After picking up a rifle, he gathered their up their grenades. Once being in possession of the items, he hid the bodies again. Figuring that whoever came would most likely investigate the speeders and the dead troopers by them, the former Mercenary made his way there. He then put grenades in the bags that hung by the engines of both vehicles. If their aim were true - they would be able to create some serious explosions upon initiating the ambush.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
------------------------------

There was a small shift in his demeanor, a look of surprise evident even in his body language, when Mathieu made his decision. He didn't respond for another moment, looking around at the supplies scattered about before his gaze landed back on the device in his hand. It was as if he was surprised to hear it come from a Jedi, but he didn't bother to hesitate any longer. Instead he clicked the button to respond and did his best to sound rather panicked. "This is Salvage Team Alpha to Grub Base, we are falling back through the jungle! We have a man down and the patrol is confirmed dead, need reinforcements now!"

Alisteri nodded to the Jedi as he noticed the other man looking through the supplies and seemingly preparing some traps. That was good, he had no idea how long it would take for their enemies to respond. :"Grub Base to Salvage Team Alpha, repeat?": The masked man wasted no time in responding the second time. "Reinforcements! Fething reinforcements now! Monsters are heading towards the base and our speeders are down! Jedi are in the jungle after us, repeat Jedi are in-" With a yelp he dropped the communicator and crushed it underneath his boot, letting out a small sigh of relief before turning his gaze back to his companion. "Right then, let's get setup for our guests then."

He moved quickly to assist in the trap setting, checking over the bodies around him to pull out their spare ammunition and grenades before gathering them together in a spare satchel that had been strewn about with the rest of the supplies from the third speeder. It wouldn't be as big as the grenade bag that Mathieu had made, but it would help to disorient their enemy by adding more chaos to the battle. If he could throw it well enough he may even be able to take our the Grub Lord in one shot. "Hope you don't mind me calling you out on the radio by the way, but from what I hear Sith can't resist facing down a Jedi." The Sith would know himself of course, not that he was admitting too much of his insight at the moment. With any luck their opponent would be as prideful as some of his other compatriots and be confident enough to come alone.

It was unlikely, but one could hope. He slung the satchel over his shoulder and checked over his rifle to ensure that it was fully loaded. "Alright, so we lead them in with the speeders and blow them when they get close enough. Say that we take out a decent bit of whatever they send at us, what about our prime target of the Grub Lord? I can try to take him out, but if he blocks blasters like you then that may be difficult. Think you can take him on while I pick off whoever survives the explosion?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

For someone who just wore a mask, this Alisteri was a surprisingly good actor. Mathieu would have assumed that someone who could just ignore one of the most important parts of communication would have underdeveloped capacities when it came to acting - but perhaps the opposite was true. Or perhaps it wasn't related in the first place. Regardless, those skills seemed to be extremely useful for the time being. "Maybe you should consider a new career." he said whilst working on setting up the trap "Would certainly be safer than this"

It was good that the masked one was also working on setting up the trap - it made the process go faster and ensured that there would be multiple chances for something to go their way. Mathieu threw a glance at his ally and offered a smile "Maybe it was for the best." he wasn't sure - maybe it would be as Alisteri said, Maybe it would not. There was also a risk that their target would bring a significant force to clear out the Jedi. At any rate, he held no grudge over being revealed. It was what Alisteri thought was best.

Mathieu offered his ally a nod upon hearing the question. He could - most likely - take on the Grub Lord if Alisteri got rid of the support that the Grub Lord would bring. However, it may not have been his preferred way of dealing with the challenge ahead of them. Specialised in Soresu, the Jedi was much more inclined to offer himself and his ally protection whilst slowly whittling their foes down to a manageable number. Not expecting the masked man to know of lightsabre forms, he decided to keep it simple "I'll try to keep us safe until we can focus down the Grub Lord." He paused for a moment, walking towards the same tree that he had hid in the previous time "If he decides to come, that is."

Once they were both in position, it would still be a bit of time before the familiar sound of speeders could be heard. This time, there were four of them. One at the front, scouting ahead, two trailing behind in a wide flank and a fourth one being even further behind with its pilot ready to hop off to provide covering fire to her fellow speeder pilots. Mathieu readied his rifle and took aim at the one by the back, ready to pull the trigger on Alisteri's signal.

What he couldn't hear - or at least didn't take note of - was the rumbles in the trees stemming from a somewhat large number of young gelagrubs. The gelatinous grubs had not yet pupated and had thus not yet gained a hard shell. It allowed them sufficient flexibility to move along the lower reaches of the massive jungle trees' crowns. Normally, gelagrubs were relatively docile creatures - but these, however, roughly followed the path of the speeders with a frenzy. Even harder to notice was the Grub Lord who was still rather far away from their location as he trailed far behind the speeder-riding scouts, riding on the hard carapace of his matured gelagrub,

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
------------------------------

A small chuckle was his only response to the suggestion of a career change, although he did have to admit that being an entertainer certainly paid more than being a Sith. Well, as an Acolyte anyhow. I can only imagine how many credits get sunk into one of those Darth's palaces and capital ships. Probably all of it was taxed or stolen too. He doubted audiences would enjoy his dry humor as well, but regardless he had setup to finish before their targets arrived. And he had a feeling that it would be soon.

"Well, I figured the best way to bring out an irrational tyrant is to present an ideological challenge. And a physical one of course." There was always a chance that the Grub Lord wouldn't show up of course, but given what little Alisteri knew of the other Sith he highly doubted that such a challenge would go unanswered.

The response to his question seemed to pause the masked man for a moment, with him not replying until he had climbed back up into his tree and settled in. His bag of grenades was laid next to him as he finally turned back to look at his ally. "Glad to hear it, I'd hate for one of his flunkies to nail us with a lucky shot before we even get a chance at their boss." The concern of the Grub Lord appearing at all still hung in the air, but they could only hope for it to turn in their favor. "Worst case scenario, we whittle down his forces and he hides away in his base until he has no one left but himself to man the defenses. Either way we can still hunt him down."

As they awaited the arrival of their enemies, he idly kept checking his weapon and occasionally shifted the grenade bag around for easier access. Being without the ability to use his lightsaber was making him far too antsy and anxious for his liking. Thankfully though, the silence was eventually broken by the sound of approaching speeders. One more than the last, let's hope they're just as incompetent. Alisteri shifted and brought the scope of the rifle up, readying himself as he aligned the barrel of the weapon with where he assumed the speeders would appear from.

When the four came into view, he was tempted to aim for one of their explosive traps to end them all quickly but instead trained his rifle on the front most scout. In his opinion it would be a waste to blow a resource just to kill four speeders, and they were a bit too spread out for an effective attack like that anyhow. He glanced over at Mathieu to ensure that he wasn't aiming at the same target, and when he saw that he wasn't he put his finger on the trigger of his rifle.

Right before the first rumble of movement far behind the speeders reached his ears, the front scout drew close to the halted speeders and right past the scattered supplies. There was no hesitation or second thought, the moment that he saw his target's helmet visor reflect the other two speeders he pulled the trigger and fired a bolt right through the reflection.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

Mathieu smirked "Not sure how lucky they'd need to be in order to hit two persons in a tree." Their positions were exposed and the branches were far less potent as cover than the thicker tree trunks down below were. The main thing they had going for them was that they were hard to find and quite far up in the tree.

"Few have your determination" The Jedi spoke sincerely upon hearing that his ally was willing to whittle their foes down until they could breach the base. Mathieu wasn't even sure if he had the time to stay for that long himself. When the weather cleared, Chaussidier would probably ask for his return rather promptly.

Although he would have loved to continue the conversation, their foes soon appeared. The two of them took aim, Mathieu at the one at the back while Alisteri pointed his rifle to the one at the front. Then they opened fire. The masked one appeared to hit his target right off the bat while Mathieu only did so on the third shot. Perhaps he needed some time at the practice range after all. It had been some time since he became a Jedi. The attack left a few burning bushes on the ground and two dead speeder pilots, one parked speeder at the front and one crashed speeder a fair distance away from the one by the back.

The two pilots who had been riding in the middle quickly veered off their path, making them extremely hard targets to hit. Soon, they found two separate spots to hop off and quickly started to open fire towards the tree in which the ambushers sat. A blue light suddenly flashed to life as Mathieu ignited his sabre to bat away the few bolts that came close enough to pose a danger. Trying to put away the blaster rifle, deal with the incoming blaster bolts and keeping his balance at the same time was something of a challenge. With a strained voice, he spoke "Can you deal with them?"

Perhaps the request was premature. The rumbles in the distance grew closer and much more noticeable at a rapid rate. While the Grub Lord himself was still out of sight, the flock of Grublings could soon be seen making their way towards the humans by the treetops. The creatures made an eerie hissing sound as the closed in on them, causing a chill to creep through the large Morellian's spine "Grubs" the voice with which he uttered the warning made it abundantly clear that Mathieu was utterly confused by the nature of their new foes. This was new.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
------------------------------

The response brought forth a small amused snicker, as well as memories of Legionnaire target practice, from the masked man before he settled into his position once more. He chose not to make a comment on his apparent "determination" out of both convenience and a small amount of respect. If only he knew how determined we Sith can be.

There was a small amount of satisfaction that he had hit his target with one shot while the Jedi took three to put down his, but he was quick to stamp out that pride lest it distract him from the task at hand. The other two speeders were clearly smarter than their comrades as they sped off in different directions, their speed keeping them safe from the precise shots that had ended the other half of their group. Not that Alisteri was going to stop trying it of course. He fired off a couple stray shots after one of the speeders, cursing under his breath as they all missed. "Incoming!" Unable to use his own lightsaber to fend off the two attackers, he instead leapt from his perch and rolled into the brush below to avoid their enemy's fire.

"On it! Just keep them off my flank!" His reply did draw some attention as he sprung up from the foliage, but he quickly fired in the vague direction of the nearest pilot to cover himself as he moved forward. Using his naturally enhanced speed, idly hoping that Mathieu was too distracted to notice, he closed the distance between himself and one of the pilots in mere seconds. The soldier managed three shots, all of which missed, before Alisteri slammed into him and shot a hole straight through him at point blank range.

Not wanting to lose the initiative he spun on his heel and attempted to find the other pilot in the treeline, firing a couple of shots blindly to keep his enemy from getting a clear shot at either him or his ally. He moved forward steadily, still shooting into the foliage as he finally spotted the other pilot running for cover. The Sith made it back to the base of the trees and paused to reload, only now hearing how close the rumbling had gotten without the blaster fire to deafen it. "Grubs?"

The moment of pause worked against him however. Right as he reloaded his weapon the other pilot struck, popping out from behind a tree and shooting towards Mathieu before the masked man could get a bearing on him. He quickly swung his weapon around to try and finish off the last pilot, but the near rumbling stopped him from pulling the trigger. "Fething Felucia." Alisteri slid the satchel into his hand and prepped to throw it at the incoming enemy, expecting something monstrous to break through the jungle at any moment.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

Mathieu glanced down for a brief moment as Alisteri dropped from the branch they were on. It would make it much harder to keep them both safe at the same time. Hopefully, their attackers would remain focused on Mathieu. His ally expressed similar thoughts. Their situation seemed dire as the Jedi kept deflecting the bolts that came his way - for his capacities of counter attacking were rather limited. When he was busy defending, however, it seemed as if Alisteri managed to gain an edge over one of their attackers. It heavily tilted the scales in their favour as it removed half of the opposition.

The good tides soon turned. Gelagrubbs appeared, crawling along the lower fringes of the tree crowns where the branches were thicker. At first, Mathieu only glanced to note that they were there, still unaware of their hostile intents. All that went through his mind was slight surprise that the grubs were capable of climbing before returning his attention to the immediate threat of an incoming blaster bolt. With a swift flick of his switch, he batted it away.

As the battle continued, it was hard not to notice the appraoching grubs. While he had not been suspicious of them so far, their squeal-like noises sounded more aggressive and ferocious than he he thought. The sounds, while tiny had a most eerie tune to them. Soon enough, the beings were on his tree too and they were approaching rapidly.

He wondered if it was just some local thing that he didn't know of. It made him hesitant to strike at the little creatures first. Instead, he slowly moved further out towards the edge of the branch. Naturally, there was a limit to how far he could go as weight and balance were also factors. Regardless, they kept coming closer. It was only when one of the grubs leaped at him that he swung his blade at it, cutting it in half. Fortunately, these ones weren't lightsabre resistant. But, they were many.

"We're in trouble!" he exclaimed as he slashed against another grub that got near. Mathieu suddenly looked up to see a grub tumbling down towards him from above with a high pitched squeal. He quickly thrusted his blade up and impaled the creature. It was, however, becoming abundantly clear that he would sooner or later be forced to retreat from the tree. Their numbers and the instability of the branch he was on made the situation unsustainable.

As the Jedi fought the grubs and the remaining pilot fired a few rounds towards Alisteri, an intense rumble could be heard coming closer at a rapid rate. Just like the masked one expected, a monsterously sized grub soon smashed through some of the thicker shrubbery. Unlike the ones in the trees with Mathieu, this one was fully grown with developed plates. And on top of it sat what a man - presumably the grub lord. With the Jedi still fighting the youth at the tree, the giant grub would charge towards Alisteri.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
------------------------------

Amidst the running and gunning with the pilots, the masked man had paid only passing glances to the tree that his ally occupied. He trusted the Jedi to be able to handle himself against one blaster after all. The sight of the tree being swarmed by Gelagrubbs wasn't expected however. His gaze narrowed and he briefly moved to aim at the ones still clambering up the tree to try and pick them off before they got any closer to his ally. "I see them."

Unfortunately he was quickly reminded to take cover instead of standing out in the open as a burst of blaster bolts were fired towards him from the remaining pilot. Alisteri dove to the ground and fired back, pulling himself behind a tree as he clutched the improvised bomb satchel tightly. "Give me a moment, I can't shoot them with the other pilot still-" Right before he could get too comfortable, or try to get back up to his own perch in a tree, the jungle decided to spew forth a new adversary to their little engagement.

And this one made a smashing entrance.

Oh chit. The Sith's head whipped around as foliage and vines alike were sent flying from the fully grown Gelagrubb, his gaze narrowing at the sight of someone sat on the creature's back. The Grub Lord looked surprisingly more sane than he had expected, with well kept hair and a complexion not marred by scars nor a long age. Thankfully the Sith's armor didn't appear all that thick, mostly plating around the chest, arms, and legs in order to keep light yet fairly protected from strikes. A classic duelist's armor.

He initially spotted Mathieu, smirking at the sight of the man struggling against the smaller grubs, but the creature he rode drew his attention to the masked man before him. "Ah good, a snack before the main course." The Grub Lord spurred his mount forward to charge Alisteri, the other Sith quick to leap to the side as the beast nearly ripped the tree that he had been leaning against out of the ground with its thunderous momentum. While the boss took on the other Sith, the pilot would turn his attention back to Mathieu. "This is it? One Jedi and some gunman attempting to defeat me?! I'm insulted!" The grub roared to punctuate its master, but Alisteri didn't hesitate to act on the opportunity.

With a flick of his wrist he sent the satchel sailing into the creature's open maw and fired a bolt after it, the Sith Warlord's eyes widening as he jumped from his pet's back. The Gelagrubb caught the satchel with ease, but the bolt that impacted the bag a moment after sealed its fate. The large plates on the creature's body helped to insulate the resulting blast from tearing into either of the Sith, but the grub itself was not so lucky.

The warlord gazed down at his dead mount with a mixture of surprise and anger, his yellow eyes soon meeting the masked gaze of Alisteri. "That. Was my favorite pet." Without breaking eye contact, he drew his lightsaber and ignited the red blade. "Once I cut you to pieces, your Jedi friend will get his turn at the end of my blade as well you vermin!"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Reorganisation​

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Notable Equipment: Jedi armour, other items
Tags: Darth Strosius

---​

The now dead grub which his raised blade pierced was soon tossed aside. Distracted, Mathieu was forced to take a step back as the other grubs came towards him aggressively. The branch shook as he stepped out even further on it. The tree was starting to groan and the strain was clear to see from the way its branch was moving and its bark was giving way.

Mathieu swung his blade, either to rid himself of the nearest grub or at the very least to scare it from coming any closer. His attention would soon be drawn to the entrance of who he could only assume was the Grub Lord. The man hardly kept his dark nature a secret and the massive grub which he was riding certainly did make for a good clue. Mathieu knew that it was important that he provided his new ally with support in this for he had no expectations of Alisteri doing well against the warlord whom they had come to eliminate.

His entrance would come sooner than expected. For right after he thought of coming to his ally's aid, he was forced to take another step back. This time, however, the branch gave way. Together with a multitude of grubs, Mathieu fell down towards the forest floor. One thicker branch managed to slow his fall at the cost of a rather painful smack to his torso. It was all he needed in order to ensure a somewhat safe landing - for he followed by slowing his impact with the branch with the force.

Once landed, he extinguished his blade and quickly rolled forth, knowing that a bunch of grubs would arrive soon after he did. They were sturdy, in a way, so he wouldn't be surprised of some survived. "Impressive" he mumbled upon seeing the exploded remains of the massive grub that the Grub Lord hade rode in on.

"You are not cutting anything." he announced with, perhaps underserved, authority. Moving forth with determined steps, Mathieu spoke an order as grubs fell down onto the ground behind him "Surrender"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Har Gau, Felucia
Equipment: Lightsaber, Vibroknife, Blaster Rifle
Tag: Mathieu Brion
------------------------------

Alisteri held no fear and gave no response as the Grub Lord uttered the threat, resisting the urge to reach for his own lightsaber all the while, he raised his blaster and trained it on the other Sith. Like any other target before. Evidently the nonchalance in his movement and stance aggravated his opponent, the Grub Lord sneering as he raised his lightsaber. "You won't be so smug when you're in five pieces."

Before either of them could make a move however, both of their heads turned at the sound of a branch snapping and Grubs squealing. The Sith paused for a moment at the sight before laughing. "You can't be serious! Sith never surrender, and certainly not to some Jedi scum like you." The Grub Lord turned to face Mathieu with a smug look across his face. "This is my forest. My planet. I tap one button on my communicator and all my forces descend on this position like a tidal wave. What can you possibly hope to do against me Jedi?"

Alisteri watched with no amount of amusement, more so disgust. Of all the Sith to survive the fall it had to be one like this? A part of him had been hoping that most of his arrogant and prideful brethren had been amongst the bodies left in the wake of the war. He had yet to see that hope realized. While he was tempted to try and put a shot straight through the Grub Lord's head, his attention was drawn away from the little monologue towards the smaller Grubs that were now picking themselves up and growling.

"I'll handle them, you shut him up." The masked man ignored the offended glare from the other Sith as he turned his rifle on the Grubs that had fallen from the tree, opening fire on them as they attempted to rush towards Mathieu. The Grub Lord turned back to the Jedi and smirked as he raised his lightsaber and clasped the hilt in both hands.

"I can't wait to mount your heads on my wall." With a yell he leapt into the air and swung his lightsaber, aiming to hit Mathieu's neck and sever his head in a single strike.